Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
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Romans 1:18-32: Reversing the Exchanges
In Romans 1:18-32, Paul identifies the pattern by which humanity (and particular civilizations within humanity) slide into apostasy and damnation. The sequence is ingratitude, leading to idolatry, leading to immorality. We refuse to thank and glorify the God who made us, turning to idols instead; the outworking of this idolatry is manifested in various forms…
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Pastoral Leadership in an Age of Wokeness
Are woke pastors committing vocational suicide? Is it enough to not be woke? Or must a pastor be explicitly anti-woke in order to remain faithful? I admit upfront I know absolutely nothing first hand about the Scott Sauls case and therefore anything I say here is strictly speculative. The charges brought against Sauls that he has been abusive and manipulative are very…
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Thanksgiving Day Note
This was sent out in the TPC congregational email today: George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Day proclamation opened with these words: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas…
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Baptismal Exhortation: Jesus Loves the Little (Covenant) Children
In Psalm 71, the psalmist says “You are my trust from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from birth.” In Psalm 22, David says, “You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.” In Luke 18, believing parents bring their infants to Jesus for a blessing. Jesus laid hands on them and said, “To such belongs the kingdom of God.” In…
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Thanksgiving
This week, millions of Americans will gather for Thanksgiving. But will they really be giving thanks? And who will they thank? The Thanksgiving holiday is an annual reminder that our nation has wonderful (though obviously imperfect) Christian heritage. The influence of the Christian faith upon our nation, its government, its culture, its institutions, is the…
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Why the West Has Been the Best
A study was done by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2002 to discover why the West has had such historical success. This is what they found: “One of the things we were asked to look into was what accounted for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world.…
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Sermon Follow Up (11/12/23)
Robert Rayburn’s sermon on 1 Samuel 6 captures the essence of the point I was driving at in my sermon on the same text, namely the demand that our faith in God must produce fear of God and obedience to God. Here some excerpts from his sermon (the last two paragraphs are especially important): “Behold the goodness…
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Sermon and Sunday School Follow Up (11/5/23)
These notes went out in last week’s updates email. The bulk of the message is follow up material on Sunday School (audio available soon) and the sermon from 1 Samuel 5 (audio available here). In Sunday School, we looked at various roles and titles ascribed to Mary in Scripture and in church history. We spent a…
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The True Fight for Social Justice
Let the Church Challenge the Idols of Our Day(Or: Let the Church Fight for True Social Justice) The article was originally written in 2017, but I trust it’s still relevant. Let the church recover her role as a promoter of true social justice, especially against the most pernicious idols of our day, same-sex “marriage” and…
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TPC: Building for the Future (notes from the 10/15/23 congregational meeting)
These are some notes summarizing a recent presentation at a TPC congregational meeting, laying out plans for a long term building project. The session recently formed a building committee to develop a master plan for our property that ties into our vision for our congregation as a whole. When we purchased this property, we knew…
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