Saturday

I had a great 40th birthday yesterday. Thanks to all of the friends and family who sent birthday blessings. My wife took me out to dinner.

We are rapidly approaching our trip to SE Asia. Please pray as we need to raise about $8,000 more. There are some additional ministry expenses and transportation costs. We are also hoping to bring gifts to the 5 orphanages, the churches and Bible colleges. Please also pray that we would be discerning about the greatest needs. We want to apply the resources in the right places.

I am studying Romans 2 in anticipation of the Lord's Day.

Today, may you know the peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ.

Thursday December 22, 2011

We received word about another donation to our trip. The Lord is so kind to us.

I am asking for your prayers. I need to prepare about 40 messages for our trip. The will be about half the length of my normal Sunday sermons due to translation. The challenge I have is the different formats and settings. I will be preaching evangelistic messages and discipleship/edification of the saints messages. I will also be teaching seminary/Bible college students and possibly children and staff at orphanages. Please pray that the Lord would give me the texts and topics that will be most helpful to the brethren there.

I spent a fair amount of time in Romans 2 in anticipation of Sunday's morning sermon. I have always loved Romans but through the course of sermon study appreciate it even more.

Elisabeth is feeling better today. Thanks for praying.

Wednesday

We have a sick little baby doll tonight. Please pray for Elisabeth Caroline. She has a fever and other symptoms.

We have been praying about our proposed trip. Please join us in prayer. I am amazed at how our Lord orchestrated the events. There is another potential blessing that I will share with you if it comes to pass. I would say it is a 50-50 proposition from a human perspective. Of course, God's purposes will be fulfilled.

I am under conviction (again) about prayer. R. M'Cheyne said something like,"You are only the man you are when you are on your knees. Nothing else..." In other words, as a man/woman/child prays, so they are. It strips away all of the ornaments and reveals the essence.

I am so glad MD had a good outcome to outpatient surgery. Praise the Lord for his kindness...

Friday

We enjoyed having my brother in-law's family over this evening to celebrate his birthday.

Tomorrow is a big ministry service day for Covenant. We will be joining the Risler's weekly ministry at the abortion clinic, reading the entire Gospel of John at Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs and then going to minister to the nursing home in east Orlando. Come join us!

Tonight, I am working on my message in Romans 2. What a privilege to study God's Word in this way.

Please continue to pray for our proposed ministry to SE Asia in Jan/Feb. Time is short to raise support and work out logistics. We need prayer...

Wednesday

We will be having prayer meeting tonight. Come join us if you can.

We are enjoying the faith building process of the proposed trip to Asia. My friend is eager for us to come but we can't quite see how it will come to pass. Faith is the substance of things hoped for...

I just read my research dissertation for the first time in years. I could make some improvements if I were to rewrite it today.

Sanctification is a process that will be completed in our glorification. We must be faithfully long-suffering.

Theology Tuesday

Today, I begin the cycle which yields Sunday sermons. I am beginning to think about Romans 2 from a technical vantage point. Hermeneutics requires a deep grammatical analysis of the words used in the texts and in the larger context. This is the part I wish people could see more of. Often much thought has to go into a phrase that will be uttered in a sermon.

I began reading Dennis Johnson's, Him We Proclaim-Preaching Christ From All The Scriptures today. It is my favorite subject. I love reading books in this genre. It inspires me to continue preaching Christ from the whole Bible and not be discouraged. I will try to synthesize elements from my daily readings and share them with you.

I received word from my friend yesterday about my proposed trip to Asia. The schedule is filling up. We need to raise a ton of money. I will need to prepare some seminary type lectures, sermons and Bible studies and evangelistic messages. I am delighted that some of you are praying for the work. They are hopeful my wife will come to minister to the women...

Monday

Today, my mind is consumed with thoughts of Malaysia and Burma. After doing more research on the Chin people I am increasingly hoping the Lord will make it possible to go on our trip.

The discipleship race is long and hard. Steady endurance is required. Take a small step forward everyday and you will see growth. I fear we are unwilling to make incremental gains.

After talking with pastor friends over the last couple of weeks I am convinced the church is in a state of long-term apathy. Let's pray that the Lord would cause us to treasure him above all else.

Saturday

The day of preparation is here. Saturdays are always a work day for me. My studying is always in process and I am praying about tomorrow's corporate gathering. In our house, we take pains to have our clothes ready and everything in place so that Sunday morning goes smoothly. I hope you delight in gathering with the saints (lit. "holy ones"). This evening, take some time reading the Scriptures together and spiritually prepare for the Lord's Day.

Please continue to pray about my possible trip to SE Asia.

Thursday

I led a Bible study this morning followed by a meeting with a local pastor. It was a great time of fellowship. I was encouraged by his labors in the harvest.

The work of the ministry is very hard and rewarding at the same time. The Lord is so good to us.

Please pray that we will continue to seek opportunities to call our neighbors and friends to worship Christ. Behold today is the day of salvation!

International Missions/Preaching Opportunity

Please be in prayer for a ministry opportunity. I have been invited to SE Asia for a series of preaching meetings. Please pray for the Lord to provide resources and to direct the textual messages He wants preached. The first location has me preaching numerous messages day and night for 3-4 days. I don't know exactly what that will be like. I am usually tired after 2 on Sundays!

At the first location I would have the opportunity to minister to a congregation made up of refugees displaced and persecuted from the second location. After about 4-5 days in country A, I would then travel to country B (the homeland of the refugee population) to minister to and encorage a wide group of people ranging from seminary professors and students, to new converts and unbelievers. This has been a matter of prayer for me for about 3 years. This is all subject to the Lord's willingness to bring it about. Let me know if you would like to participate through prayer or other means.
reformedbaptistpastor@yahoo.com

There is a great opportunity to have an ongoing ministry there. This people group is very much in the middle of international news. Our US secretary of state recently traveled to the country in question. The people are the hated ethnic minority...

Theology Thursday

Word of the day:
Propitiation in its barest sense means appeasement. For the Christian however, it goes beyond that. Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Christ as our Mediator endures the just wrath of God in our stead. God's justice is vindicated and our guilt is atoned for.

One of the attributes of God that I appreciate today is His immutability (unchangeable). He is perfectly holy and just. He doesn't compromise that in his dealings with us. Our sin must be punished or He would fail to be just. Thanks be to God we have Christ to bear our guilty shame and our sentence of death. The Mediator dies in place of His people satisfying God's holy demand for justice and in so doing procures our salvation.

Praise His Holy Name!

Teaching schedule/texts now through Sunday

Lord willing, this evening we will be having our prayer meeting and I will be discussing Psalm 94. Tomorrow morning, I will be teaching Exodus 24 to the "Senior" Bible Study. Thursday evening, I will be teaching Ephesians 4 at the ABIDE (students of Reformation Bible College) Bible study in Sanford. Saturday morning, I will not be leading but participating in the men's Bible study on Philippians 1. On the Lord's Day I will continue the series in Romans 1 in the a.m. service and teach Matthew 6 on Sunday night. For family devotions we will be in Mark 5. Please pray that I will be faithful to preach Christ through the texts and that the saints will be edified and mobilized for ministry service.

True greatness is revealed by offering Christ worship and obedience in the power of the Holy Spirit.

An Idea For A Regular Feature

How about a theological word of the day? This could be helpful in your theological reading.

Today the word is:
ecclesial (pronounced ekk-leez-ial)
It means of or pertaining to the church, or its organization, the institution of, teaching or doctrine of the Church.
This word is increasingly being used in place of "ecclesiastical" in theological writings. The root word is from the Koine (biblical) Greek word transliterated "ekklesia"(which means assembly/church). This is often pronounced ekk-la-see-a which is fine. But if you want to say it more accurately, say ekk-lay-see-a. Pronunciation is of little importance so don't become an elocution Pharisee.

I am taking requests for article and content ideas. Please send your requeststo:
reformedbaptistpastor@yahoo.com

I will blog

I have been a bad blogger. I don't have much to say but I am going to try again to do it 5-6 times a week.

I will be writing short articles on biblical/theological subjects. Please put me on probation for a couple of weeks. If I pass the test, please invite others.

Christopher Brenyo, V.D.M.

Who are your Jews and Gentiles?

A Godly Legacy

My mother and I have a renewed interest in our family tree. This was again sparked by my visit to our family cemetery in western PA last summer. The critical piece for me was my spiritual heritage. As a pastor who wants to see generational faithfulness I hoped that my family line would reflect a legacy of faithfulness. I was blown away by two of my forefathers, Rev. Moses and Elijah Embree. I just learned that Elijah wrote and published the first anti-slavery periodical dedicated to the abolition of the practice (entitled the Manumission Intelligencer "Emancipator") on American soil in the 1700's while living in East Tennessee. The exciting part was this was done before it was popular to be against slavery. They were bold and courageous for Christ. This wasn't so much a political ideology, it was a theological one. They believed man-stealing and trading were violations of God's Law. These Calvinists had a legacy of defending the Truth of Scripture. I am proud of them and hope some of that spirit lives within me. One of the funny revelations was they left the PA/OH frontier because of the ongoing problem with the Abenaki Indians.

This week I am studying the last chapter of Acts and Galatians 5 for Sunday night. As our Acts study comes to a close I am beginning to think I will miss my constant companion for these last 2 years. I am entertaining the idea of preaching through Romans next after a short series elsewhere. It took 2 years for John, 2 yrs. for Hebrews and 2 yrs. for Acts. Romans will be longer...

My devotional reading is again in the minor prophets. I am certain the Church has under-appreciated these inspired books. If you haven't read your Bible today, turn off your computer and don't come back to it until you have...

Monthly post (haha)

I am continuing to study the minor prophets. I also picked up my new book, Christ Of The Prophets by OP Robertson today. This is the follow up to Christ Of The Covenants. Tracing the redemptive story line is extremely rewarding.

Mark S. and I enjoyed lunch with 3 national pastor's discussing what God is doing in China. It was remarkable to consider God's global redemption in Christ. The nations believe!

The church is about to enter a transformative period. I expect we will see many conversions and disciple-making opportunities as the Lord expands our reach. We must pray that He will use us for His Glory and namesake.

Radicalize your devotion to Christ. Leave nothing in reserve. We have only one life to give in service to Him.

Friday Fellowship

Our friends from Kansas, the Hulets, arrived last night. They are headed over to the beach today. They were members of the first church I served. It is great to have life-long friends.

This week I read Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, by JI Packer. It was very encouraging and came at the right time for me. My personal devotional reading has been in the Minor prophets. Surely, all of these words were written for our instruction. The Word (and the prayers that accompany it) is our most practical comfort. Rekindle your Bible reading zeal.

I am looking forward to Sunday. I will be preaching from Acts 26 in the morning and Gal. 2:22-25 The Fruit of the Spirit-Patience. I need to heed these words more than anyone. I want it all and I want it now. May the Lord be pleased to give me victory over this sin.

Antinomian evils

One reason a proper view of the law is so important is found in the definition of sin. Jesus had to die on the cross to be the propitiation of God's righteous wrath. If you start tinkering with what law is you effectively redefine sin. The Catechism answer to the question What is sin? is "Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God." If you say law is unimportant you unwittingly assault the very reason that Christ had to be our representative. The holiness of God demands absolute conformity to His Law. We are personally disqualified by original sin and our own transgressions. This is the backdrop for the glorious Gospel of Christ. As our federal representative the righteous requirements of the Law, which He fulfilled, are imputed to our account. Faith is the only mechanism for redemption and it is a gift of a gracious, electing God. A proper view of Law keeps the Gospel God-centered. Can anyone argue against the need for a more robust God-centered soteriology in our day?

The trouble with us is we feel justified in creating our own subjective and inconsistent measures of righteousness. Idolatry in its essence is fashioning a God in an image of our liking, either physically or intellectually. This is the great transgression of our time and every other...We need to repent of our hatred for God's holy standards. In so doing, we will see more of the Glory of Christ!

Wednesday evening

Let's face it, I am a stinky blogger.

Wednesday night prayer meeting was a blessing. We studied Psalm 72 and prayed for the many needs of our body and for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom.

Tomorrow, we will be studying Exodus 19 in the Sr. Bible study.

The Sunday morning message will be in Acts 24. The evening service will be the second installment of the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5.

Mediatorial Kingship of Christ

The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about Christ's Reign over every sphere. If we lived acknowledging Christ as King our lives would be graciously ordered. He must have the preeminence in all things. Every decision would take on greater spiritual meaning.

We have had many families in varying states of illness in recent months. Please pray that everyone will be restored to full health.

I am really praying that the Lord will give us a greater desire to reach the lost and under churched. We must advance His Kingdom cause.

It was great to have the Boehlkes and Quinlan boys at prayer meeting last evening. We miss our former member families. My wife and I were thinking about how different the dynamics of our church would be if the Carmichaels, Boehlkes, Quinlans and Vances were still in town.

May the Lord build His church in Orlando!

Tuesday

This morning we had a 5 hour long elders meeting. The saints of Covenant are loved.

This week I will be working in the second half of Exodus 22 for Sunday morning and the first of two concluding messages on the 10 commandments. I am also praying about my next Sunday evening series. I am thinking of doing something like the Beatitudes or Fruits of the Spirit.

The thunderstorms and severe weather were quite entertaining. We did not suffer any damage though at one point they said a tornado was near our town (it never touched down). All of the kids went into disaster preparedness mode and it was quite a spectacle. Weaponry and barbies don't seem critical to many disaster planners but figured prominently in their contingency plans.

The 2 kids taking piano are very excited about their recital on Saturday. I hope they enjoy the learning experience of meeting a deadline and executing their practiced arrangements.

I really feel as though I am the most blessed man on the earth. It is good to delight in our LORD.

Thursday

I am very interested to learn more about Isaiah. Some of my devotional reading will be in the book and I am eager to again plumb the depths.

My wife is the best, she is such a merchant of love and grace.

Jameson and I are going to Subway to spend more of his gift card. The kid should get an endorsement deal from them.

I am looking forward to the Sunday morning sermon in Acts and the Sunday evening message on the tenth commandment. I am still praying about some writing projects. I am thinking about free, e and self-publishing. The goal being to get the work in the hands of the people for encouragement free of charge.

Wednesday

We are looking forward to prayer meeting tonight. We are starting a new series. Please join us.

I am reading the Hoeksma sermons on Isaiah, Redeemed in Judgment. If you want to understand prophecy about Christ, learn from Isaiah. It is quoted frequently in the NT, second only to the Psalms. The Psalm quotations are also very much related to Isaiah in many instances.

I will continue my study in Exodus tomorrow for the "senior's" Bible study. Please join us if you are able.

I am looking forward to seeing my grandmother on Friday evening. She is approaching 80 and yet is so full of life and energy.