TPC Pastor's Page

Tag: jesus

  • Usury

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    Ronald Wallace summarizes John Calvin’s view of usury: “For centuries before Calvin’s day, the Church and most other authorities had applied the Biblical condemnation of usury quite directly to commercial practices, and had prohibited loans at interest. Exceptions had been allowed. Interest had been deemed payable, for example, when the loan could be shown to…

  • Random Notes on Ephesians

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us God the Father has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” A couple notes on this jam-packed verse: 1. Why are the blessings called “spiritual” blessings? The point is not that they are immaterial or non-physical. They are Spiritual blessings with a capital “S.”…

  • Preaching and the Eucharist

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    I don’t think it’s helpful to think of preaching and Eucharist as in competition for the center of the worship service. They go together, as Doug Wilson says, like cooking and eating. The Word makes us hungry for the meal. The Word and Eucharist work together as inseparable aspects of covenant renewal. Each is incomplete without…

  • The Pentecostal Church

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    I have preached many sermons on Pentecost over the years. Here are some notes that went with my May 27, 2007 sermon: A few notes on Acts 2, with Pentecost coming up this Sunday: V. 46 says that they ate together with glad and generous hearts. There is an overwhelming note of joy. Earlier in…

  • Baptism is the Gospel FOR YOU

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    Baptism personalizes the gospel. Baptism puts your name into the promises of the gospel. Baptism turns, “for God so loved the world…” into “for God so loved Rich…” Baptism makes the gospel yours. Baptism makes God *your* God. Baptism makes the church *your* family. The call to “remember your baptism” is precisely the call to…

  • Baptism as Entrance

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    If you visit my church (Trinity Presbyterian CREC in Birmingham), one of the first things you’ll notice when you come into our sanctuary is that the baptismal font is at the entrance. Here’s an explanation: The placement of the baptismal font at the entry point of the sanctuary is not accidental. It serves an important…

  • Two Kinds of Ecclesiocentrism, Ecclesiocentrism vs. Liberalism, Church Discipline, and More

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    I have called myself “ecclesiocentric” but I think the meaning of the label often gets confused with other things. If ecclesiocentrism means cultural and political retreat (eg, pietism), I want no part of it. An ecclesiocentric church will assume the center. An ecclesiocentric church will operate out of and build upon the reality that Jesus…

  • 1 Samuel 24: A Parable and a Paradigm for Our Times

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    This is a brief follow-up to last Sunday’s sermon. I’d like to develop my thoughts on 1 Samuel 24 more fully later when I have more time, but here are a few notes. The meaning of 1 Samuel 24: David was Israel against for the sake of Israel because he loved Israel. (Alternatively: David was…

  • Preaching on Negative World in 2003: Lessons from Jonah

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    Going through some old work of mine, I found an unfinished/unedited collection of sermon on the book of Jonah, preached when I was at Auburn Avenue in Monroe, LA in the early 2000s. Uri Brito and I eventually published a short commentary on Jonah, but prior to that I had been planning a much longer…

  • A Note on the Bryan Chapell Debacle

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    Pastor Rich Lusk
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    I was asked my opinion on this on X, so I gave it: I have some friends and some old FV enemies on that list. But I respect many of the guys who opposed me over FV far, far more than I respect Chapell after this. At least those men were forthright about what they…