Month: June 2025

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

Weather warnings are a common feature of life here in the South, or in ‘Tornado Alley.’  Particularly in the spring and fall (especially the months of April and November) we are quite used to the threat of big, spinning thunderstorms that often spawn tornadoes. Thankfully, most communities now have loud sirens that sound when a threatening storm is approaching.

One hidden danger that we might not even be aware of is ‘warning fatigue.’  This happens when we unconsciously become immune to the announcements of the weather warnings. We hear them so often that there is the very real peril of ignoring them, which could prove deadly.

This very thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago.  I had heard that violent storms were passing through the area, and that warnings had been issued.  Yet, I simply dismissed the threat and the alerts and thought nothing more of the danger, after all we have had so many this spring.  Rather than making preparations for what could happen, I tuned the TV to a cable network and became engrossed in a crime drama.

After several minutes of watching the program, I received a text from our daughter Brooke, who was on the other side of town, that our neighborhood was in the bullseyes of a tornado, apparently on the ground!  Mercifully, the storm did not hit us, nor did it do any damage to our area.  Yet, I learned a most valuable lesson as to what could happen and the to need take all warnings seriously.

In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, the Apostle Paul sounds a dire warning to Timothy and his Church in Ephesus.  It is a warning that we find frequently activating in the New Testament, first and foremost from the lips of our Lord Jesus Himself.  Paul’s language is nothing short of frightening. He declares that, “in the later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”

However, we’ve all heard this before.  It’s almost impossible to read any New Testament Epistle without running into such a dire word of caution aimed directly at the Church. If we are not very careful, we might very well suffer from ‘warning fatigue’ and be caught off guard in the middle of a demonic tempest of false doctrine.

On Sunday, we will examine the ominous words of 1 Timothy 4:1-2.  And as we do, we will see that there are, for sure, massive storms approaching. This is not a drill!  The alerts are about a very real and present danger!  We cannot afford to ignore them if we are to remain faithful to our Blessed Redeemer and King!

I love you all so very much!

Mike

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This coming Sunday will be a very special and significant day in the life of our Church.  As we have been announcing, following our service of Worship there will be a Called Meeting of the Congregation for the purpose of voting on our Session’s unanimous and enthusiastic recommendation that we elect Dr. Matthew Elliott as our Associate Pastor.

For over six years Matthew has faithfully served as our Pastoral Assistant for Counseling, as well as assisted me in the many aspects of practical pastoral ministry and care of the Church.  Matthew has also been elected to the positon of Ruling Elder and has served on our Session for over four years. You will also remember that Matthew has been engaged in the arduous process of becoming ordained by our Presbytery as a Teaching Elder.

With his journey toward ordination coming to an end, the Session desires that Matthew would serve our Lord and our Church in an even more substantial way as an Associate Minister of the Gospel.  Additionally, this proposed change in Matthew’s ministry will require him to transition from the Office of Ruling Elder to that of Teaching Elder.

In the PCA, an Associate Pastor (in contrast to an Assistant Pastor) is permitted to perform any ministry function that the Senior Minister may engage in, including regular preaching, worship leadership, and the administration of the Sacraments as assigned by the Session.  Also, our Book of Church Order specifies that an Associate Pastor must be elected and called to this position by a majority vote of the congregation (whereas an Assistant Pastor is chosen and called by the Session only).

If elected and called by the congregation this Sunday, Matthew will then appear before the Credentials Committee of Providence Presbytery on July 22 for his final oral examinations in the subjects of Church History and the Sacraments (there are five subject areas of both written and oral examinations required of all candidates of ordination: Theology, Bible Content, Book of Church Order, Church History, and Sacraments. Matthew has already completed and passed the first three of these).

Then, he will come before the entire Presbytery on August 5 to be examined again in all five of the ordination subjects.  Upon the successful completion of his oral examinations, and by vote of the Presbytery, Matthew will take his ordination vows as a Minister of the Gospel at that meeting.  After that, a Sunday night of worship at CPC will be scheduled for his Service of Ordination and Installation conducted by a Commission of Teaching and Ruling Elders from our Presbytery.

On a more personal note, I am absolutely thrilled at the prospect of having Matthew as our Associate Pastor, and of working with him in the pastoral leadership, ministry, and care of our precious Church family!  His special gifts and skills that are essential for ministry are obvious. His love for our Lord and the Body of Christ is exemplary, and there is no doubt that he will greatly assist me as our fellowship grows by God’s marvelous grace.

The Called Meeting will immediately follow Worship and will be very brief.  The vote will be by ballot, and the results will be communicated to the Church on Sunday night by email.

Please pray fervently for Mathew, Meghan, and their children, Liza, Caroline, Daniel, and Jonathan.  And let’s also beseech the Lord to accomplish His will through us in this most important moment.

I love you all,

Mike

PS:  Sunday’s sermon will come from 1 Timothy 3:16. And our subject will be ‘The Mystery of Godliness.’

Beloved ones in the Lord,

With summer now in full swing, I wanted to take a moment to share with you our plan for our Sunday morning messages through August.  In years past, we have used the summer months for a shorter series of messages on a different topic or section of God’s Word.  However, this summer, we will continue our studies in 1 Timothy.

Going forward, beginning this Sunday, we will pick up Paul’s First Letter to Timothy at chapter 3 and verse 14.  We will save the Apostle’s detailed instructions on Church leadership (3:1-13; 4:6-5:24) for later as we enter the Fall.

Following our look at 3:14-16, we will then move on into chapter 4 of the letter, paying particular attention to 4:1-5.  After this, we will move to chapter 6 and examine all twenty-one verses.

This Lord’s Day, the subject is the Church (3:14-16), and the behavior that is expected of all those who, by faith alone in Christ Jesus, belong to the “household of God.”

May our Father bless you all with a restful weekend, and I can’t wait to see you on Sunday!

All my love,

Mike

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our sermon for this coming Lord’s Day will come from 1 Timothy 2:13-15.  The message will be our third and final look at the subject of the role of our sisters in Christ in the Church.

I want to thank you for your kind patience as we have traveled very slowly and methodically over these verses for the last few weeks.  Their difficulty lies not in the fact that they are necessarily unclear, but in the fact that they set forth a picture of womanhood which is all but foreign (and terribly offensive!) to our world today.

This week, our focus will be upon Paul’s theological rationale for his teaching on the beautiful role and distinctive function of our sisters in Christ, both in the home and in the Church.

First of all, as seen in verses 13-14, Paul will address the sin of Eve in the story of mankind’s fall as recorded in Genesis 3.  Then in verse 15, the Apostle will set forth a glorious promise to be claimed by all believing women who find their hope for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Admittedly, verse 15 seems quite complicated as we consider it initially.  But once we have established its meaning, we will see that our Creator has bestowed the most magnificent blessing and honor upon our sisters in Christ.

I hope you will have time to ponder these verses prayerfully before Sunday.  And thank you also for your faithful intercession for us as we prepare to deliver God’s Word.

I love you all so very much!!

Mike