Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
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Trump wins!
This is part of the email going out to my congregation this morning: “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” Those words from Psalm 2:4 certainly rang true last night. In the providence of God, we have just witnessed the greatest political comeback in American history. Donald Trump has battled back from losing the 2020…
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From the Archives: A Visionary Ecclesiology (2002)
A Primer for Church Members on the Nature and Functions of the Body of Christ Introductory Note: I intend this paper to serve as something of a “user’s guide” for church members, though church leaders may also find it valuable in developing vision statements for their local bodies. I have not “proven” all my assertions with…
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TPC Constitution — Appendix #2
Note: At TPC, we are working on revision of our Constitution that we hope to complete in November. This will be the third set of revisions since we adopted the Constitution and joined the CREC in 2006. When we were working through affiliating with the CREC, one of the things we had to address was…
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Post-War Dehumanization: How We Defeated the Nazis and Lost Our Souls
“Everything you’ve been told is a lie.” Well, ok, that’s probably true. Our institutions – our political leaders, educational systems, and mainstream media – have definitely lost the trust and respect of the people. But note: Even if the major narratives we have been handed are lies, that does not automatically mean the opposite of those…
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Worship Exhortation (8/3/24): The Church Wins Down Here
At TPC, we are committed to the reality that Jesus is building his church. Jesus has promised to grow his church. Jesus will inherit the nations. He sends his church out, going forth conquering and to conquer. We are a nation of priestly warriors, given a mission of global conquest that cannot fail. In Matthew…
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Worship Exhortation – 7/28/24 (Re: Olympics Opening Ceremony)
This is a rough summary that combines ad expands the exhortation I gave before worship and before the Lord’s Supper on July 28, 2024: I did not see the Olympic opening ceremonies the other day. I was traveling, but honestly, even if I was not traveling, I probably still would not have watched. However, I…
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Wedding Homily #5 (notes)
P and J, it is a great honor to officiate your wedding today. P, it has been a real joy getting to know you over the last several years, to see the tremendous faithfulness and maturity that mark your life. J, I do not know you as well, but from the first time I met…
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Sermon Follow Up, 1 Samuel 13-16
1 Samuel 14:47ff might make it sound like Saul was a great warrior. And he did have a measure of success, obviously. But his ongoing wars have to be understood as a mixed blessing to Israel. V. 52 tells us he fought the Philistines “all his days.” The problem is that the never actually won. …
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Worship Exhortation, July 14, 2024 (and other notes)
This is a slightly expanded version of the opening exhortation given at TPC on July 14, the day after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump: Presidential candidate Donald Trump dodged a bullet yesterday, and that means our whole nation dodged a bullet yesterday. I think it’s fair to say that our nation was just a…
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Happy Presbyterian Rebellion Day (and other notes)
I wanted to provide some follow up to my sermon from last Sunday. In the sermon, I developed the pattern of the three falls/three heroes in Genesis, then showed how Saul recapitulated the three falls in 1 Samuel 13-15. This is a pattern I learned from that master Bible teacher, Jim Jordan. Jim develops the…
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