Pastor’s Notes (Page 24)

• I’ve been off-and-on working through James K. A. Smith’s “Desiring the Kingdom,” in which he makes the case that we are shaped more by what we love than by what we believe. So he says our primary way of “intending” the world is through what we desire, rather than through what we find logically consistent or compelling.

Here are 7 reasons to join us for the Men’s Night of Prayer. For men, obviously, but I think the broader ideas will be of value to anyone serious about following God. Women, encourage your men read these. 

• Please consider joining us tomorrow at 5:00 for the CPC family Christmas party (food served), an event that will benefit the kids of Sacred Road Ministries on the Yakama reservation. Here’s an interesting fact: when Paul’s quotes Jesus as saying “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), he is recording words not captured in any of the Gospels. These…

Retreat speaker  Dr. Dan Zink is Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Counseling at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He joined the full-time faculty in 1995 after serving for five years as adjunct professor in Counseling and Director of Student Services, and for 11 years as a family counselor, case-worker, and supervisor of public children’s…

• Our story as believers begins with a glorious creation, followed by a woman being seduced by Satan. Mayhem ensues, and with it a list of unsettling questions. For example, how could a good God create a world in which evil and pain are permitted to exist? As defenders of the Faith, we are endlessly troubled by the Fall and its indictment of God’s character.

Please set aside Saturday, December 20 to celebrate with your church family. We will be enjoying a meal at church at 5:30 then heading downtown to Benaroya Hall for a performance of Handel’s Messiah in which our brother Ross Hauck will be performing the tenor solo. Seats for this stirring musical reflection on the life of our Lord are $30. High school students are…

• Doing a lot of thinking but haven’t had time to write. So here’s a bonus note for this week. • This takes time, and the gradual erosion of pride, but once you accept the truth that there is no such thing as a morally good human being, the love and grace of God begin to astound you. Listen again to Paul and try to take this into your own heart: “None is righteous, no,…

• Permit me to ask: What if the forces that sustain you, day-in-day-out, are not the direct result of faith in Jesus Christ? In other words, what if we are similar to the people (2 Tim 2:5) Paul tells Timothy to avoid, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power”? Is it the power and grace of God that sustain you? Or are you sustained by other forces: anger…

• At a Washington prayer breakfast last May, conservative Roman Catholic, Princeton law professor, and public intellectual Robert P. George captured the cultural shift of the last ten years: “…For us… it is now Good Friday. The memory of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem has faded. Yes, he had been greeted — and not long ago — by throngs of people waving palm…

• We’re receiving many requests to pray for Christians in the Middle East, especially those threatened by ISIS (or Islamic State). The requests are constant, but the two below, unfortunately, can be taken as representative. A friend just got a text message from her brother asking her to shower him and his parish in prayer. He is part of a mission and ISIS has taken over…