Why I Hate Cats

My wife and I used to own a cat. I inherited the cat when I married my wife. The cat and I never really took to each other. I always felt as if the cat never really liked me. Maybe that's because cats are smart and she knew I didn't like her so she was just returning the favor. I don't know what it is about cats. Maybe it is the smell of the litterbox, or their arrogance, or their perceived independance. I just don't like them that much. I also think my prejudice probably comes from that fact that I believe that cats are always planning. I think that when they are sitting in the window sill and won't take their eyes off you that they are planning. They are planning how they might stalk you and take you down. I think they understand that if they were just a little bit bigger that you would be food rather than a caretaker.

This is what sin is like. Yes, sin is like cats. It is pretty, fluffy, attractive, lying around in wait, purring, looking innocent...but yet just under the surface is a ferocity, a stench, an arrogance and disloyalty. My wife and I were watching a "scary animals" video when we saw an incredible sight. Some tourists were in India on vacation filming one of the Bengal tigers. It was a huge cat that was very pretty. Everyone on the tape was admiring this gigantic cat. The cat looked innocent enough as it stood there proudly among the admiring crowd. But all of the sudden in an instant, the cat went from a beautiful sight to a terrifying entity. When the tape was slowed down you could observe a magnificent transformation as the cat went from docile to killer machine as it charged its prey--the tourist bus.

Words cannot explain the picture of this tiger as every muscle was flexed, every tooth was bared and every hair standing on end. This was a picture of sin. Sin is teasing, beautiful, fluffy, purring, cuddly and attractive. Some times we stand in awe of what sin offers. But in an instant it becomes our worst enemy, looking to destroy us.

This is the danger that lies in the regenerate person. The flesh in the Christian has been dealt its final death blow. The flesh is dying yet always recoiling and gathering its forces to pounce when we least expect it. The flesh no longer has dominion over us yet it is still struggling to live. The flesh will never have complete victory but will win battles from time to time. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ the battle has just begun. Now there is a real war going on. That is why we can echo Paul's words when he says, "I know there is nothing good that lives in me, that is in my sinful nature." AND we can also say, "I have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but Christ lives in me. This life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."

There is one nature in the Christian--the Spirit born nature. But the principle of sin still infiltrates throughout as it dies its slow death. One day, when either Christ returns or you go home to be with the Lord you will finally realize the promise from Romans 8:30, "Those he predestined he also called, those he called he also justified and those he justified he also glorified." Ah, let the day come quickly.

FOUND Part II: Divine Prep-Work

Pastor Dan's sermon from 2/24/2008
Scripture Reference: Acts 10 & 16
Click here to listen.

Update: Master Thesis

Well, I am through! I will be the 43rd person to graduate RTS virtual campus. I am very excited about this. I couldn't stop smiling when I was finished with my 2 hours of presentations. There are only a few more small things to do (exit exams etc) but for all intents and purposes I have finished my Master's Degree with RTS!

Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement through this long journey. I can't wait to be with all of you this Sunday for the Lord's Day celebration.

PD

My Masters Thesis Presentation

Here I am in Charlotte, NC in the library of RTS waiting for the last 45 minutes to tick down before I present my Master Thesis. I is Monday at just about 2pm. Myself, Chuck L., and Scott Winchester (all RTS students) made the flight. As Chuck begins his journey toward his seminary degree (he already has his Doctorate!) I am finishing mine. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in this library thinking about how much time I had yet to finish my degree, become licensed and ordained and "move on" with life.

Well now there are only a few more minutes to go before I present my thesis on "the Perpetual Significance of the Lord's Day". I am slightly nervous and also very excited and am hoping that all goes well.

But as I sit here I am reminded of how appreciative I am of GRPC and the position I am in. There are many men and women who take seminary classes, receive a degree and never are able to serve in a church like GRPC. I thank the Lord every day for the calling he has given me. I was reminded of that once again this past week as I was given another opportunity to preach the Gospel at 9:15.

Well, I better get back to it. I need to sharpen up a few points and just get ready for the fun. I will be sure to report in a few hours as to how things progressed. Well, that is if it is good news to report! I covet your prayers.

PD

FOUND Part II: Our Need For New Birth

This week I will continue and complete the first part of our series on FOUND concerning regeneration or the new birth that Jesus speaks of in John 3 and that is evident in the conversion experiences throughout Acts (the book we are currently studying).

Last week, we began to take a look at the necessity of regeneration. This week we will finish up studying our need for regeneration. In the following weeks we will take a look at the nature of the new birth as we study the mysteries of God in salvation.

We could spend months and years on this subject matter. I hope that it is blessing to you as we move through the series. Remember to always be thinking about how God FOUND you. Studying these teachings should encourage us to live out the Gospel in our lives as we live in LIGHT of the Gospel a life of gratitude. May the Lord bless you until we come together this Lord's Day.

Found Part I: Divine Prep-Work

Pastor Dan's sermon from 2/17/2008
Scripture Reference: Acts 10 & 16
Click here to listen.

This past Sunday was a real blessing for me. It was good to be back with my brothers and sisters and diving into God's Word. You all had many encouraging things to say after our gathering on Sunday. It is my hope that this past week you have been strengthened in the Word and that you are reaching deeper in the Word to better understand what you believe and why you believe it concerning your salvation and how God FOUND you.

This week, we will begin distributing a tool for each of you to use during the week. This publication will have devotions for you and your family, stories from church history, stories from our own church and testimonies which will draw you deeper into God's Word.

Remember, that I am looking for people to share their testimony of how God FOUND them. If you are willing and God leads you to share, send me an e-mail with you testimony. I know that God will bless your efforts to spread the Word to others of how God FOUND you.

I Once Was Lost

I am a big fan of the TV series "LOST". My wife and I enjoy sitting down and finding out what new secrets will be revealed from week to week and what twisting path the show will take us down next. What intrigues me about the show are the themes of redemption. We like to dive into the characters lives to find out more about their past. Where did they come from? What were they doing on the plane? What is going on in their lives now? There are definite redemptive overtones to the show that draw us into the story.

Each person in this world has been lost at one point or another. I am not talking about the road trip kind of lost or even the stranded on a desert island brand. What I am talking about is the condition of man without a Savior. Each person is born depraved and hence lost as they have been separated from the God of the Universe. The only way they can be found is through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

But how does one go from a lost sinful condition to which they were born to being found? Our stories are very much like the stories we see unfold before us in a show like Lost. Each person is intertwined into God's great redemptive plan. Each person has come from somehwhere and is going somewhere. God has brought lost people to himself through his choosing, the redemptive work of Christ and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

Haven't you ever asked yourself how it is that you believe what you believe about life and Jesus in general? What spurs you on to continue believing the Bible? Or maybe you haven't even taken that step yet and you are trying to still figure some things out.

Each person has been lost and some now have been found. There are some who are still on the proverbial island trying to understand redemption and their need for a Savior. Others have been found by the Lord Jesus Christ and will never be snatched away.

How God finds us is what this next series is about. We are going to take a leap from Acts 10 and Acts 16 into the Scriptures as we take a look at the conversions of Cornelius, Lydia, and the Philippian jailor. What does the Bible tell us about their conversions? What brought them from being God-fearers or outright pagans to the point of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ? We will look at the prep-work, the calling of God, regeneration, the elements of conversion, faith and repentance unto life, justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification as we find out how we, once lost, are now found.

Join us on February 17 as I begin this series and study entitled, "FOUND".

Daybreak in the Middle of the Night

I am sitting here on vacation and yet my heart is at home. My prayers are with the Funston family tonight and the extended GRPC family. There are so many questions without any earthly answers tonight.

I want you to know that I am praying for you and my heart is with you. All that I can think of right now are the words of Hebrews 11. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Right now I am sure there are many who are unsure of what we hope for and uncertain of things we cannot see. So let us walk in this valley together. These are times where only a miraculous faith that is given to us by the Lord will pull us through--and even then it will feel more like a dragging than an actual victory.

I am praying for grace in the darkness, daybreak in the middle of the night, the ability to move when we feel paralyzed and a reliance upon the cross of Jesus where there is a peace that passes all understanding.

May the Lord be with you tonight.

Pastor Dan

Just Do It - Part I

Pastor Dan's sermon from 1/27/2008
Scripture Reference: Acts 10-11
Click here to listen.