Pastor’s Notes (Page 27)

• Here’s a follow-up to last week’s note which created some questions and confusion. First, that note had (in retrospect) two points: to free people from worrying that if they don’t rightly read the will of God out of their circumstances, they will lose his favor and find themselves “out of God’s will.” My hope was to give relief to some of you who labor under false…

• A single clause jarred me awake as I was reading in Leviticus this morning, but a couple important items before I get to that.

• Paedocommunion, the practice of giving communion to (weaned) infants, was a topic of debate at this year’s General Assembly because a minister had been ordained in our own presbytery (Pacific Northwest) who held the view. The denominational position is that communion can be given only to those “as are of years and ability to examine themselves.” While the man we…

• I owe you two more comments on General Assembly, one on something called the Federal Vision movement and another on Paedo-Communion. I think I’ll get to the first tomorrow. For now, two important prayer needs. I encourage you to steal a moment and bring both of these to God today.

Didn’t accomplish as much this week as I would have liked, but let me make a beginning on key issues at this year’s General Assembly, which ended last Friday, June 21. As you may know, Presbyterian government involves three main levels of accountability: the sessions of individual churches (the elders) are accountable to presbyteries (we file our meeting minutes with the…

The reemergence of debate over the role of women in the Church is based on a confusion, I believe. The confusion is the result of asking, and attempting to answer, the wrong question — namely, what value does biblical Christianity assign to women? The answer to that question is not gender-specific, and it is a disappointment to anyone hoping to find the center of what…

» A favor: one of my assignments for Hannah & Adam’s wedding (June 1) is to line up men to grill marinated chicken-skewers a day in advance (we’ll use the church’s food-warmer to reheat them the day of the wedding). If there’s any way you can bring a grill to the church on Friday May 31 around…

• I was with a dear friend this week whose father, a German Jew, was sent to a concentration camp during the war. All the historic horrors ensued. I asked her if her father felt betrayed by his country, or was it more the Nazi party, and she said, “I think he felt betrayed by God.” That line hung in the air and neither of us spoke for a while, but I kept thinking of Job’s…

• We celebrate and reflect on 50 years of God’s faithfulness to Covenant Presbyterian Church this Sunday. We hope you can join us for worship (10:30), followed by wonderful food and fellowship.

• Lisa and I would like you all to join us for the wedding of our daughter, Hannah, at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, at Covenant Presbyterian. The groom, lucky man, is Adam Lutz of Asheville, N.C. If you are able to join us, an RSVP would be appreciated by the first week in May. Alana Roecker is making Hannah’s dress; Heidi Dillow is preparing the feast; Julie Bilbro is…