CCC Gainesville | Blog
Psalm 128
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 128 is a portion of a group known as the “Psalms of Ascent.” These mark the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem in observance of the covenantally prescribed feasts and provide an excellent occasion to reflect on God’s gracious provision in every area of life.
A superficial glance might suggest that this Psalm sets us up for a kind of mechanistic “paint by numbers” sort of faith. I do this and God gives me that. But this is not the way to read any portion of Holy Scripture. We read it as part of the big story of God’s revelation to us about who he is, who we are, and what this world is like. This Psalm is trying to get across that God’s ways are good and that following him and trusting him are the path to life. Sometimes that path is smooth and sometimes that path is rocky. He gives, and he takes away. As Scotty Smith has said:
As a Psalm of Ascent, this is a song of hope—a song sung as God’s people approached the Temple, which for them was a taste of the future. We all long for the Shalom of life in the new heaven and new earth, when as Tolkien said, “everything sad will come untrue”. This isn’t a Psalm of hype, but hope. We know there are plenty of other Psalms that are laments, cries for mercy, songs of confusion, etc. that clearly show us (along with the rest of the Bible) that the Christian life isn’t pain or suffering free. Jesus is the only one who has completely fulfilled Psalm 128 for us. Only Jesus has “feared the Lord enough” to secure for us a life of perfection in the new heaven and new earth, when as Tom Wright has said, “everything will be put right.” In Philippians 1:29, Paul describes believing in Christ and suffering for Christ, both as gifts of grace, and in chapter 3 he prayed to enter the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. As with everything else, we must let our Father define “blessing” however he wants. Hebrews 11:32-38 shows us that a life of fearing the Lord includes everything from receiving our children back from the dead to being sawn in half!
This Fall Christ Community will spend several weeks thinking and praying about the bible truths contained in this little book. Hard copies will be available for $5.
Today only you can grab kindle version for 99 cents.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C7T33ZQ/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
Hello dear CCC family,
I hope that most of you were in worship yesterday. Those of you who were not, I announced that God is calling me to Montgomery, Alabama. About 10 days ago I accepted a position on the staff of Trinity Presbyterian Church. Here is the gist of what I announced.
Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for everything; seasons of life; The Pendleys’ season of calling Gainesville home is over and the time for me to be your pastor will end the last day of August. The recognition of God calling us to a new place of living and serving, Trinity Presbyterian in Montgomery Alabama, has been very clear from the Lord. I’ll be serving along with 4 other ministers as the Director of Discipleship.
During the process of deciding I was absolutely excited about the future of Christ Community. We were making plans that will still happen, and I’m going to miss seeing them executed and that is a sincere loss to me. I believe this Fall you are headed for a different, hard, and wonderful time.
Leaving your session, and the fellowship we share, is one of the things that made this call so difficult Thankfully, all along the way the past 6 weeks there have been confirmation after confirmation from God that this is the move he is calling us to make. But the clarity does not remove the pain. I love you guys. I love Gainesville. #gogators
The recognition of God calling us to a new place of living and serving has been very clear from the Lord. The elders here, with heavy hearts, understand this. And that is important to me. I’ve enjoyed serving with your session. They are godly men who love Christ and love you. Hear me clearly: My leaving is unrelated to anything happening here. That is what makes the leaving sweeter, but also harder.
This is home, and you guys have been largely responsible for this. I’m so “proud” of you. As Paul said to a church he loved:
My brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
You will forever have a place in my heart. Christ Community is a wonderful congregation. This will be a desired destination for a good and gifted man. I think there will be guys clawing their way to apply for this position. You are going to be just fine. The session will tell you more about next steps during the service on July 27.
I’ll be joining 4 other ministers on the staff at Trinity church, charged with overseeing the Discipleship of the 600 adults in the congregation. The opportunity to step out of the lead position and work alongside fellow ministers that I have known for more than 20 years, and get closer to our families, are the main factors God used to draw us there. For the first time since we were in college, Kim and I will live less than 8 hours from our parents.
I know this is a shock, and hard to hear. It is hard to say! You have a great group of guys serving you as elders. The session (Nate, Mike, Charlie) and elders who support them (Larry, Richard).
Dates:
July 27: last day at CCC for Kim, Olivia, and John Reid (school starts Aug 7 in Montgomery)
August 31: My last Sunday. Kim and kids will return for us to say goodbye and y’all to pray for us. (This is labor day weekend.)
Prayer is so important right now. Pray that we’ll be able to say goodbye to each other well. Pray for my friend Chris Hiatt, there will be alot on his shoulders. I hope you know what a special, gifted, and godly man you have as a staff member. His friendship through the years, and impeccable work for the good and advancement of this church have been constantly energizing for me.
As we study 1st Peter together, we will see Jesus referred to as our Chief Shepherd. And he is. And faithful he remains.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Grace and peace,
Rob
I wanted to get in front of you some of the materials I recommended Sunday during our look at the consummation of all things. Plus a few more resources.
I. Study Bibles
The Gospel Transformation Study Bible
The ESV Study Bible
II. On Future Things (Specifically Heaven and The New Heavens and New Earth)
Booklet by Sam Storms: The Restoration of All Things
Heaven Is a Place on Earth: Why Everything You Do Matters to God
The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
III. Inexpensive Kindle purchases this week: $1.99 through July 13
Schaeffer on the Christian Life
Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life
IV. Recommended Websites
This past weekend several Christ Community women participated in the The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference. A conference for women, all about the Word! Plenary speakers unfolded the book of Nehemiah—the story of God’s people returned to a broken-down city and called to trust God’s Word at a point of great need. It’s about God redeeming a people for himself through his Son. This is our story. They focused on listening to this Word…living in light of it…helping others hear it…worshiping according to it…waiting on the Spirit who inspired it…exalting Jesus at the center of it.
