Bulletin for January 14, 2024

Pray for Missions

If you’re looking for a way to personally support missions, here’s a great opportunity.

Many (or really, most) of our EPC missionaries are in very dangerous places, so World Outreach cannot publicly post prayer requests. What they’ve done instead is put together a prayer network. If you join the prayer network, you’ll get access to the list of missionaries in our denomination as well as specific prayer requests that they have. I consistently hear from our missionaries that their two greatest needs are funding and prayer, so this is an opportunity to meet one of those needs and build up the Church around the world.

Click here to sign up.

Updates

We’ve got several things coming up in the next few weeks!

1. Communion will be served on January 28th. Please be preparing spiritually. The reason for this date is that I’ll be at Presbytery in Monroa, LA, on Friday and Saturday, so please be in prayer for that meeting as well.

2. Souper-bowl Sunday is February 11th. We’ll have lunch immediately following worship. Please bring enough of your favorite soup to feed your family plus a little extra.

3. We’ll have a special Ash Wednesday service on February 14th at 6pm.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for January 7, 2024

Reviewing Bible Translations

Recently, I’ve received some questions about Bible translation, and since I gave some recommendations for Bible reading last week, I thought it’d be a good idea to go ahead and lay this out for your reference. So below are some thoughts on the top five bestselling translations.

1. New International Version (NIV)

I believe all of my childhood Bibles were NIV, so this is a translation I’ve used a lot. It is a “dynamic equivalent,” which means the translators were working at the level of phrases and thoughts rather than words. However, very often, the NIV is actually pretty close to word-for-word. The big problem with the NIV is that the 2011 edition (the only edition available today) takes gender neutrality too far. This is not a problem if you have the 1984 edition. I don’t have space to go into detail on that, but this video covers the issues pretty well.

I cannot recommend the NIV (2011). If you like how the NIV reads, but can’t find a 1984 edition, check out the New English Translation (NET).

2. English Standard Version (ESV)

This is my translation of choice. It’s what I teach and preach from, and it’s what I use personally. It’s also by far the most common translation in Reformed and Presbyterian circles. You’ll find it in the pews of most conservative Presbyterian churches in the US as well as on the desks of most conservative Presbyterian seminary professors. It is very highly regarded in broader evangelical circles as well.

It is a very literal translation in the King James line of Bibles. That means it attempts to preserve some of the style and language of the King James. For example, if you compare Psalm 23 in the ESV and KJV, you’ll find that there are lots of similarities. It also normally reflects the Hebrew and Greek texts with a high level of accuracy. I often have quibbles with some of its translation choices, but it is very consistent in its translation choices. The NIV, for example, can be very word-for-word in some places, but very loose in others. The ESV stays at about the same level throughout, so you always know what you’re getting.

The one quibble that many people have with the ESV is that there’s a clear bent toward complementarianism (male headship in the home and church). That doesn’t bother me so much because I happen to agree with their interpretations, but it’s good to know that they have that tendency. Whenever you’re dealing with men and women passages, I always recommend comparing the ESV to the KJV because the KJV was done in a context where gender wasn’t hot button issue.

If can only have one Bible, get an ESV.

3. New Living Translation (NLT)

The NLT is a very good “easy reading” Bible. On this list, it’s the loosest translation, on the far end of dynamic equivalence. A lot of translations in the range of the NLT don’t come from trustworthy sources, but the NLT is an exception here. The team that worked on this translation are highly qualified and respected. I would just be sure to have a more literal translation (such as the ESV) if you’re doing deeper Bible study. But for children or more relaxed reading, the NLT is great. If you don’t want to use two Bibles, but you still want something a little easier to read, I’ll recommend again the NET.

If you want an easy reading Bible, the NLT is a good choice, but make sure you pair it with something more literal.

4. Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The CSB is a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). The Holman name might tip you off to the fact that this is a Southern Baptist translation. (In fact, we used to joke that HCSB stood for Hard-Core Southern Baptist.) The CSB dropped the Holman name in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience, but it’s also a major revision from the old HCSB. In general, I thought the HCSB was a very good translation, but the CSB is, in my opinion, a significant downgrade. The stated goal of the translation committee was to get a maximum balance between readability and accuracy, but the result is a Bible that’s not very good at either. In the end you’d probably be better served by an ESV or an NET.

I do not recommend the CSB, but you’ll be fine if that’s what you want to use.

5. King James Version (KJV)

I love the KJV. I consistently find it to be the most accurate translation of the Hebrew and Greek. Add to that it’s impressive historical pedigree, and you’ve got a great Bible translation. But there’s one glaring problem: it’s 400 years old. The language is archaic. There are lots of words that you’ll have to look up to understand, and there will be many words that you think you understand but don’t because their meaning has changed. Now, the vast majority of the time, that’s not a barrier to understanding, especially if you’ve grown up with the KJV. The easy solution is to get one of these modern Bibles and compare, not unlike how you’d handle the NLT.

Every home should have a KJV, but it probably shouldn’t be the only Bible in the home.

Updates

God willing, we will be back to our full schedule for Wednesday night next week! Hopefully, everyone who is still sick will be feeling better, but continue to pray that our church would be guarded from further illness.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for December 31, 2023

A Bible Plan for the New Year

It’s almost the new year, so that means people will start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, and, of course, Bible reading plans!

This year, I’ll be doing the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible reading plan. It’s four chapters per day, but M’Cheyne originally intended for two chapters to be read privately and two to be read in family worship. That makes the plan very flexible. Here are some options for reading it:

1. As M’Cheyne intended, two chapters privately and two chapter in your family.
2. Read four chapters privately.
3. Read two chapters privately, extending the plan over two years.
4. Break the plan into two years, but read one chapter privately and another in your family.

Any of these options work, and of course, there are any number of plans available online. Do whatever works best for you and your family, but make sure you do something!

My only other piece of advice is this: don’t catch up. If you get behind, just pick up with whatever day you’re on. It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday; it matters that you read today.

Here are some links to get you started:

• Daily Readings Webpage
• Full Plan PDF
• Printable Bookmarks
• M’Cheyne’s original instructions

Also, if you search M’Cheyne on your favorite Bible app, you’ll probably be able to find it. My favorite website with everything in one place is here.

Updates

If you haven’t already heard, we will not be having communion tomorrow. Rev. Bradley is sick will not be able to join us. We will reschedule a communion service in the near future.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for December 24, 2023

Bulletin for December 17, 2023

Reeds in Exodus 2

Last Lord’s Day, I briefly mentioned the significance of Moses’ name. Moses’ name means “one who draws out,” and he draws the people out the Red Sea in Exodus 14. His name points forward to that event.

But there’s an interesting linguistic connection between these two events (Moses’ birth and the crossing of the Red Sea) as well. In Exodus 2:3-5, Moses is placed bassuph, “among the reeds.” Now, our English translations of the Bible give us the common name of the Red Sea, the name we use for it in the English-speaking world. But, in Hebrew, it is called the yam suph, “the Sea of Reeds.”

In other words, just as Moses was drawn from the reeds by Pharaoh’s daughter, so the Israelites were drawn from the reeds by Moses. In fact, the whole story of Moses in Exodus 2 has implications for the rest of the Exodus. Exodus 2 is the story of Moses’ preparation to be the redeemer of God’s people. I’ll try to point out where these connections are, but have your antennae up for these kinds of connections!

A Hymn for Sunday

This Sunday, since we’re reading through Luke, we’ll have a chance to hear Zechariah’s song, traditionally called the Benedictus. Since we’re reading it, we’ll also sing it in worship. It is a song after all!

Here are the words. We will sing to the tune of Come, Thou Fount.

1. Blest be God, the Lord of Israel; he has come to set us free! And a horn of full salvation he has raised from David’s seed. God has visited his people to redeem them as foretold in the promise he had spoken thro’ his prophets from of old.

2. God has come in might to save us from the hatred of our foes. From their cruel hand he frees us, and his tender mercy shows mercy promised in his cov’nant to our fathers whom he chose. He will keep his oath to Abr’am to release us from our woes.

3. God has sworn to grant deliv’rance and restore us to our place: serving boldly in his presence, just and holy all our days. You, my child, will be his Prophet, called and sent by God Most High. You must go before the Lord now to prepare his ways aright.

4. Bring the knowledge of salvation to God’s people in their sin. Preach that God is tenderhearted, and by him are sins forgiv’n. His great mercy, like the sunrise, brightly shines in deepest night, guiding those who sit in darkness to the way of peace and light.

The video should start here automatically, but the song begins at 5:00.

Updates

1. Madeleine is preparing to serve lunch on Christmas Eve after worship. We know that you’re all preparing for your own family Christmas celebrations on top of the many ways you are all serving the church this month, so we wanted to give you a chance to rest and enjoy fellowship together on the Lord’s Day. Be sure to let Madeleine know if you’re joining us. This is not a potluck, but if you want to bring extra food, we won’t turn you down!

2. Don’t forget our special service on Christmas Eve at 6PM! The kids have been preparing over the last couple of weeks, so come along to support them and sing along with them!

3. We will have communion on December 31st, so be sure to prayerfully prepare your hearts. If you want something to reflect on, I suggest looking at Larger Catechism 171.

Q.171. How are they that receive the sacrament of the Lord’s supper to prepare themselves before they come unto it?

A. They that receive the sacrament of the Lord’s supper are, before they come, to prepare themselves thereunto, by examining themselves of their being in Christ, of their sins and wants; of the truth and measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance; love to God and the brethren, charity to all men, forgiving those that have done them wrong; of their desires after Christ, and of their new obedience; and by renewing the exercise of these graces, by serious meditation, and fervent prayer.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for December 10, 2023

From the Cutting Room Floor

While we’re preaching our way through Exodus, you’ll notice that I’m taking pretty big sections of Scripture each week. For the sake of time, I’m going to have to skip through some of the details of the text. But I do want to occasionally share some things that didn’t make the sermon.

Last week, we read Exodus 1. In every Bible translation I checked, the first word of Exodus is missing–“and.” (The King James and some translations put “now” there.) This is important because it tells us something about the relationship between Genesis and Exodus, namely, that they go together. When you are reading Exodus, the underlying assumption is that you have already read Genesis. So there’s a sense in which we’re starting in the middle of the story. “And” is also the first word of Leviticus and Numbers, but not Deuteronomy. If you want a Bible study question to think about, you might look into why that’s the case.

And of course, if you haven’t read Genesis, it might be a good idea to do that at some point during this series. Also, providentially, we’re studying Genesis in adult Sunday school as well. So if you want some guidance on Genesis, be sure to join us at 9:30 on Sunday mornings.

Hymns You’ve Never Heard

“Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People” is a hymn based on Isaiah 40, the main prophetic account of John the Baptist’s ministry. What I really love about this song is the tune: Geneva 42. This tune was written for Psalm 42 during John Calvin’s time there. What people often don’t realize is that traditional Protestant church music is usually based on folk music, not classical music. Our tendency is to think of traditional music as kind of dull, but as you’ll hear in the recording below, it was actually quite lively when it was written.

1 Comfort, comfort ye my people, speak ye peace, thus saith our God; comfort those who sit in darkness mourning ’neath their sorrow’s load. Speak ye to Jerusalem of the peace that waits for them! Tell her that her sins I cover, and her warfare now is over.

2 Yea, her sins our God will pardon, blotting out each dark misdeed; all that well deserved His anger He will no more see nor heed. She hath suffered many a day, now her griefs have passed away; God will change her pining sadness into ever-springing gladness.

3 For Elijah’s voice is crying in the desert far and near, bidding all men to repentance, since the kingdom now is here. O that warning cry obey, now prepare for God a way; let the valleys rise to meet Him, and the hills bow down to greet Him.

4 Make ye straight what long was crooked, make the rougher places plain, let your hearts be true and humble, as befits His holy reign; for the glory of the LORD now o’er earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token that His Word is never broken.

Here it is as sung by First-Plymouth Church in Nebraska.

Updates

1. We’ll be having a special service on Christmas Eve at 6PM. I got to see some of the kids’ program Wednesday, and I’m excited for everyone else to see it as well!

2. On December 31st, Bob Bradley from Diamondhead will be in town to serve the Lord’s Supper. Be preparing spiritually for that Lord’s Day as it approaches.

3. Information concerning Jackie Merritt’s funeral service is listed in the bulletin. Thank you for your continued prayers for her family.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for December 3, 2023

Getting Ready for Christmas

The past few days, I’ve been working on a seminary paper related to C.S. Lewis’ views on Christmas. The two essays that Lewis wrote on Christmas are Xmas and Christmas and What Christmas Means to Me. Both are found in God in the Dock. These are very different essays, but his point is pretty much the same. Lewis distinguishes between two different kinds of Christmas: Christmas the religious holiday and Christmas the “commercial racket.” His concern is that the second will subsume the first, that the cultural and commercial event will overcome the real “reason for the season.” This is, in fact, one of the reasons that the Reformers opposed the celebration of Christmas and other holidays. Calvin, Knox, and later Presbyterians and Puritans opposed the celebration of Christmas on the basis that it took away from the regular worship of God. And most Protestant Christians were on the same page for a long time. As late as 1899, the PCUS (commonly called the “Southern Presbyterian Church”) declared that Christmas ought not be celebrated.

Now, over the past hundred years, Reformed Christians have come to a more moderate position, and we now do regularly celebrate Christmas. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be reflecting on the advent and incarnation of Jesus. But I do think it’s wise to take the concerns of our forebearers and of C.S. Lewis seriously. We tend to guard our hearts against distraction in other seasons. It’s easy to talk about sports seasons, hunting seasons, or vacation seasons as potential having potential to distract us from Christ. But during Advent and Christmas, because they are so tied up with the story of Jesus, it’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking that we’re doing something spiritual when we’re really not. During this season, secular artists sing songs about Jesus. Walmart puts out nativity scenes. We send each other cards with Bible verses. All these things have potential to take us away from the true worship of God.

Of course, I don’t intend that as a condemnation of any of those thing as such. When Charlie Brown reads the Bible on national TV, we ought to say, “Glory to Christ!” But Charlie Brown can’t sustain your soul. That’s the job of the Spirit working through the ordinary means of grace: Word, sacrament, and prayer.

So over the next few weeks, enjoy Advent and Christmas. Enjoy the decorations, the parties, the movies, and the music, but don’t neglect your calling as a Christian. Come join us in worship to hear the Word read and preached and to pray together with the saints. Let the Word and prayer be heard in your home as well. And prepare yourself to receive the Lord’s Supper on December 31st. It is good to remember Christ in a special way during this season, but let’s not neglect to meet him in the places he’s promised to meet us.

Hymns You’ve Never Heard

Another thing I want to do over the next couple of weeks is share some less well-known Christmas and Advent hymns. One of my favorites is “This Little Babe” by Robert Southwell. Here are the words:

1 This little Babe so few days old Is come to rifle Satan’s fold; All hell doth at His presence quake, Though He Himself for cold doth shake; For in this weak unarmed wise The gates of hell He will surprise.

2 With tears He fights and wins the field, His tiny breast stands for a shield; His battering shot are babish cries, His arrows looks of weeping eyes, His martial ensigns cold and need, And feeble flesh His warrior’s steed.

3 His camp is builded in a stall, His bulwark but a broken wall, The crib His trench, haystalks His stakes, Of shepherds He His army makes; And thus, as sure His foe to wound, The angels’ trumps the charge now sound.

4 My soul with Christ join thou in fight; Stick to His tents, the place of might. Within His crib is surest ward; This little Babe will be thy Guard. If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, Then flit not from this heav’nly Boy!

There is a congregational setting for this hymn, but the most popular setting is by Benjamin Britten. Here it is as sung by the University of Minnesota women’s choir.

Updates

1. We’ll be having a special service on Christmas Eve at 6PM. The kids are preparing music and a pageant. Be sure to join us, and invite your neighbor!

2. On December 31st, Bob Bradley from Diamondhead will be in town to serve the Lord’s Supper. Be preparing spiritually for that Lord’s Day as it approaches.

3. If you haven’t been with us for Wednesday night, be sure to join us! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing a study on the Lord’s Prayer.

4. Finally, this Lord’s Day, we’re starting a new sermon series in the book of Exodus. I highly recommend that you prepare by reading the Scripture ahead of time. Due to the nature of the book, we’ll be working through fairly large sections each week, so it will help you to have read those sections prior to worship so that you will be familiar with the story as it progresses.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for November 26, 2023

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Thank you to all of you that joined us for the Community Thanksgiving Service. It was a great time with our community! Next time you see someone from Vernal Full Gospel, be sure to thank them for hosting us. If you were unable to join us but would like to read my portion of the sermon, let me know, and I’ll get you a copy.

There are no new major announcments this week, but be on the lookout for Advent and Christmas updates very soon.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for November 19, 2023

Vernal Community Thanksgiving Service

The annual community Thanksgiving service is on Sunday at 5PM at Vernal Full Gospel. Since this is a change, please be sure to spread the word to others in the community!

More on Baptism in 1 Peter 3

As I continue to get questions about 1 Peter 3, I came across Matthew Henry’s comments on the passage. I happily agree with everything he says. You can read it here.

Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary is quite possibly the most popular complete commentary ever published. (It also may very well be the first complete commentary published in English, but I can’t confirm or deny that.) It’s been lauded by the likes of George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and John Wesley. The original was written in the late 17th and early 18th century, so you might want to look at an edition with updated language. I recommend this one.

A Recommended Resource

If you’re looking for a good YouTube channel to follow, check out Matthew Everhard. He’s currently a PCA pastor in Pennsylvania, but he formerly served an EPC church in Florida. I’m drawing your attention to his content because this most recent video on leading your family in the faith is particularly good.

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

Bulletin for November 12, 2023

Updates

1. Operation Christmas Child boxes are due Monday at 2PM. The kids packed 35 boxes on Wednesday, and we’re excited to add your boxes to our count!

2. The Community Thanksgiving service is scheduled for November 21, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This year, it’s going to be held at Vernal Full Gospel. I’m meeting with the other ministers involved on Sunday afternoon, and we should have more details (including time) after that. So be on the lookout, and go ahead and put it on your calendars!

3. If you haven’t been with us for our Wednesday night adult Bible study, this is a great week to join us. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be talking about prayer. So if you find prayer hard (and lots of people do), this may be a great way to get a kick-start toward a healthier prayer life. We’ll be in the back Sunday school room at 6:30. See you there!

Your friend in Christ,
Reid

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