Month: May 2025

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

You’ve likely heard the saying that ‘Good Presbyterians want all things to be done decently and in order.’

That little line is actually derived from the New Testament.  Paul says this to the Corinthians: “But all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40).  A few verses before this memorable statement, the Apostle writes this: “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

As we read the amazing story of redemption that unfolds before us from Genesis to Revelation, we find our Creator’s determination to bring order out of chaos; that universe-wide disruption that our sins have caused.  We also discover that the diabolical champion of disorder and chaos is the devil himself.  He is, as Scripture clearly portrays him, the ‘great disrupter.’

All of this takes us back to the words of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:11-14.  As we have seen over the last couple of Sundays, the Apostle’s concern is for a heavenly order to prevail in the home and in the Church, which is the family and “the household of God” (1 Tim 3:15).  Oder in both of these essential institutions demands that men and women function properly in their respective roles, according to the wise and good design of our loving God.

However, it is in the home and in the Church that the assault against order by the devilish forces of chaos is most focused and intense.  The great enemy of our souls has determined to destroy both home and Church for obvious reasons. If the evil one, and his minions, can disrupt the home by seeking to confuse and obscure the respective roles of the husband and the wife, then the Church will naturally fall under the same wicked attack.

This is why we are proceeding very slowly and prayerfully through these most strategic verses in 1 Timothy 2.  While they are often difficult for us to comprehend, they are nevertheless the inspired pathway out of the chaos of sin and back to the cosmos of Eden.

Our message this Lord’s Day will come from 1 Timothy 2:11-14.  Let’s soak our hearts in prayer as we prepare to come under the instruction of our Father’s nourishing Word.

I love you all with all my heart, always!

Mike

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

Before I introduce our sermon for this coming Sunday, I am thrilled to make a very special announcement to you on behalf of your Session.

On Sunday June 22 immediately after worship, there will be a Called Meeting of the Congregation for the purpose of electing Dr. Matthew Elliott as our Associate Pastor, and to the Office of Teaching Elder.

As you know, Dr. Matthew has faithfully served our congregation as a ministry assistant for many years, and we have all witnessed his loyalty to the Lord, His love for the Church, and his gifts for ministry in action, including his preaching, counseling, worship leadership, teaching, and pastoral care.  Over and over again he has proven himself to be a man of deep devotion to Christ, spiritual maturity, and God-honoring integrity. Matthew has also been licensed to the Gospel ministry by our Presbytery, and over the last several months he has been dutifully preparing for his ordination exams.

In view of this, the Session of CPC is most delighted to present him to you as a candidate for election to the ministry role of Associate Pastor, and to the Office of Teaching Elder.

Our Book of Church Order specifies that Associate Pastors are called by the congregation (whereas Assistant Pastors are called by the Session).  This means that only a vote of our congregation can make this change in Matthew’s title and Office. Once Matthew is elected and officially called to this Office by the congregation, he will then be formally examined by the Presbytery in the August meeting.  Following this, there will be a Service of Ordination and Installation at CPC on a Sunday evening (TBA).

What this means both for us and for Matthew is that, following his election and ordination, he will be able to perform any ministry function that I am permitted to carry out.  Most notably, this will involve not only regular preaching, teaching, and pastoral care, but administering the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  These added ministry responsibilities will be of great benefit and blessing to our congregation, but will also be of immeasurable help to me in caring for our people.

Please lift up Matthew, Meghan and their children in your fervent prayers, and make your plans to be a part of this great moment in the history of our fellowship!

Sunday’s sermon will come once again from 1 Timothy 2:11-15 with a focus upon the words of verses 11-13.  Our message will set forth God’s will for our sisters in Christ as they serve the home and the Church for His glory.

And remember, there is No Sunday School during the summer beginning this week.  Our pre-worship fellowship will be from 10:00 AM until 10:30, with morning worship immediately following at 10:30 AM each week.

I love you all so very much!

Mike

Beloved Ones in the Lord,

Our studies in the First Epistle of Timothy will continue this Lord’s Day as we begin our investigation of 1 Timothy 2:11-15.  It is here that the Apostle Paul sets forth God’s will as it concerns the role and function of women, both in the home and in the Church.

Looking at this text through our modern Western eyes, there is much to be offended by upon an initial glance. Indeed, such offense has been regularly taken by readers, even among those who might otherwise affirm the Bible’s authority.  The sweeping language that Paul uses regarding women sounds restrictive at best, and misogynistic at worst.  In fact, these are the very charges often leveled at Paul by his modern critics.

This is why we have deliberately slowed down our pace of study at this point in the letter.  In order to understand what Paul’s message is, it will take much more than an initial look.  In fact, we will need to go way back in time in order to appreciate the fuller Biblical context for the authoritative teaching that we find here.

This coming Sunday we will look at 1 Timothy 2:11-15 through the lens of Creation, the Fall, and the Promise of Redemption as set forth in Genesis 1:26-3:24. In other words, we will be careful not to read Paul’s words through the lens of fallen human history, and the various non-Biblical ideologies and customs that have been and are at work today as a result. Rather, we will seek to view Paul’s teaching through the inspired story of what God initially created, what He blessed, and what He called “very good” (Gen 1:31).  Only then can we understand the righteousness and beauty of what the Apostle Paul is commanding for the home and the Church, and how conformity to his words will result in nothing less than a recovery of our humanity as divine image-bearers, made either male or female for His glory.

Let me encourage you to prayerfully meditate upon several passages of Scripture that will inform our message this Sunday:  Genesis 1:26-3:24 (note especially 3:16); 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7.

It is such a joy to serve a congregation of brothers and sisters in the Lord who love and treasure the Word of God!  I know we will be blessed as we open the Holy Scriptures together this Sunday!

I love each of you so much, and you are always on my heart and in my fervent prayers,

Mike

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we come together for worship this Lord’s Day, we will focus our attention upon the words of 1 Timothy 2:9-10.  Verse 9 begins a paragraph in which the Apostle Paul turns from his teaching on the duties of “the men” in worship and in the home, to address the divinely ordered duties of the “women” of the Church (vv. 9-15).

It will come as no surprise to you that the verses found in this section of Paul’s letter are the very epicenter of vigorous debate. In fact, one New Testament scholar has noted that virtually every single word in this paragraph is disputed among the critics of Paul.  Admittedly, even those of us who receive these words as the inspired Word of the Lord recognize the difficulties with interpreting and applying Paul’s teaching to in today’s Church and home (note especially verse 15). Consequently, our study of this section of the Epistle will be slow and methodical, and bathed in much prayer.

As we begin our messages on these verses, I want to set forth my assumptions (and those you will find among theological conservatives):

First, what is set forth here by Paul represents the will of the Lord Himself. These are the Words of our God.

Second, what Paul teaches here has universal applicability for all Christians and Churches everywhere, at all times, and in all cultures.

Third, when this teaching is followed carefully and faithfully, it results in the glory of our Savior, the health of the family and the Church, and the good of His people.

Finally, despite the charges leveled by the critical scholars and other voices in our world, what is promoted here regarding women is something most beautiful and fulfilling.

On Sunday, we will discover that while the men are responsible to “pray” (v. 8), the women are called to “adorn themselves” in a way that is distinctly Christian (vv. 9-10). That is, with “good works” (v. 10).

Two More Weeks Left in Sunday School

This coming Sunday and May 18 will be our final two meetings of Sunday School before our summer break. For the last two sessions of our Adult Class on Apologetics, I will be teaching lessons on the critical issues of abortion (this week), and sexuality and gender (on the 18^th).

I hope to see you all this Lord’s Day, and I love you dearly!

Mike

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This coming Sunday we will take another look at 1 Timothy 2:8. As we previously discovered, the Apostle Paul is making his case for the leadership of “the men” of the Church for both corporate worship and in the home.  This is indicated by the words, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray.”

This Lord’s Day, we will consider how the men of the Church are to lead in and model their prayers.  Paul commands that such prayers should be offered up by “holy hands,” which are free of “anger” and “quarreling.”   As you would suspect, there is an entire ocean’s worth of truth and practical instruction compressed into these simple words.

Going forward, our sermons over the next few weeks will be focused upon 1 Timothy 2:9-15 where Paul speaks to the women of the Church.  We will break down this passage into the following sections as we examine them on the Sundays to come:

Sunday May 11: The text will be 1 Timothy 2:9-10, and the message will address the topic of God’s Word to the women of the Church regarding their dress and deportment as servants of Christ.

Sunday May 18: The text will be 1 Timothy 2:11-15, and the sermon will be an introduction to this controversial passage of Scripture.  We will consider why this text has been so hard to understand and apply in modern times.

Sunday May 25: The text will again be 1 Timothy 2:11-15, and we will study God’s Word to the women of the Church regarding their role in the Church and in the family.

Let me again encourage you to study these passages and prayerfully prepare your heart each week for our messages.

I love you all so dearly!

Mike