Hearing the Music

Results filtered by “Andrew VanderMaas”
in sermon series

Dawn on our Darkness

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The title of our Advent series is "Dawn on our Darkness", a line taken from the hymn Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning. It captures this frequent Advent theme of light breaking into our darkness. One of the verses often associated with Advent puts it this way, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone (Isaiah 9:2)." 

As we make our way toward Christmas this year, I have been acutely aware of how desperate we are as a people to have light break into our lives. From health struggles to heart struggles, darkness threatens a stranglehold in our lives. Whether it is the self sabotage of allowing created things to become greater than our creator, or the invasive corruption of a world crumbling around us, we find ourselves groping in darkness, longing for light.

This is why the message of the Gospel writers is so staggering! As we heard Sunday, Mark's opening line, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God" is more than just an easy on-ramp into telling the story of Jesus. Rather, it is a bold infusion of light into a world cowering in the darkness of Roman Imperialism. It is a proclamation to counter the "gospel" of the would-be son of god, Caesar Augustus, with the declaration that the real Son of God has come, not bringing more taxes, slavery and crosses, but with the intent to go to THE CROSS himself to truly set his people free. When Luke tells the story, he introduces us to the angels, these majestic heavenly creatures who live in the presence of the Almighty, who burst on the scene with this message, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10–11)." A light shines in the darkness.

We all know the darkness is real -- health, relational strife, financial hardship, loneliness, depression, besetting sin, controlling idolatries, creational decay and the list goes on. But Advent reminds us that true Light always dispels darkness (cf. Jn. 1:5)!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you (Isaiah 60:1).

Posted by Andrew VanderMaas
in missions

Missional Task

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As the snow flies and we begin to head into the Advent and Christmas holiday season, we ask ourselves again, "Why did Christ exchange the comforts of heaven for a wallow in the mud of fallen humanity?" Answer: to bring reconciliation, to offer to the lost a way of redemption, to effect rescue for those who could not save themselves. It is our prayer that over these next six weeks or so, this story would grip us afresh with all the attendant emotions and motivations.

One such motivation might be toward extending the good news of this rescue to those who remain wandering. Last week I attended a gathering of PCA folks representing what they call the Midwest. It includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, North/South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan (I guess the people in Atlanta came up with the "midwest" for that group?). It is 13 States totaling 72,439,000 which is 21% of the U.S. population. As a region it is the world's 15th largest mission field, having in excess of 60 million people who are not connected to a church, and many of whom are not in relationship with the Lord. It is the mission of our churches to reach these lost or dechurched people with the good news of the gospel.  To put that in perspective, the midwest region is right behind Turkey and Germany for unreached.  

Our goal as a denomination, as a midwest alliance, as presbyteries, and as individual churches is to proliferate the light of the gospel in the darkness of peoples' wanderings. At a regional level, we would love to see over 500 churches where we currently have 244. Closer to home, our desire is to see our West MI PCA double from our current 9 churches to 18 by 2035. Our recent Muskegon church plant and our enfolding of New City Fellowship are the first two of the 9. But we are still praying for cities like Benton Harbor, Allegan, Grand Haven/Spring Lake, and seeking for wisdom as to our own Grand Rapids daughter plant.

While it can be easy to get lost in goals and numbers of churches, all of these endeavors have people in mind.  If we were to plant or enfold 250 new churches across the region and each new church reached only 20 people who were either lost or dechurched, that would be over 5,000 souls connected to the gospel, in addition to all the other good work being done through the churches.

Planting churches and seeing people won to the gospel is the same mission that Paul so earnestly pursued until the very end of his life. This week we will take up the very last words that we have recorded from this ordinary man who God used to do extraordinary things in 2 Tim 4:9-22.  May our hearts be as galvanized as Paul's was to see the gospel go forth!

Posted by Andrew VanderMaas
in sanctification, gospel rest

Duty and Grace Post Election

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How are you doing? It is the first Friday post election after all. Like the pre-election, the post election editorializing has ranged from Nirvana to Netherworld, from ecstasy to agony. As we have said in various ways throughout this cycle, and would say again here, it is not that politics are unimportant, but they are not the most important. And whoever sits in the white house, senate, congress or city hall, their hearts are all in the hands of THE KING. So humility for the winners. Grace for those who feel they have lost. And confidence for all in the King of Kings.

Even as we start with the election, we move quickly to our lives. After all, the day to day hasn't changed. As we woke up Wednesday and head into this weekend, there are still leaves to be cleaned up, laundry to be done, work left unfinished and relationships to attend to. How do we do this as God's people in ways that bring honor to our Lord?  

This is the heart of what we have been talking about in our Adult Institute class on sanctification. How do we live lives of holiness that reflect the new nature that we have been given by grace? Sometimes we stumble a bit when we think about the call to holiness in a community of grace. Isn't the pursuit of holiness antithetical to a reception of grace? Do we try or do we trust? And the answer is.... Yes! John Owen puts it this way:

Let us consider what regard we ought to have to our own duty and to the grace of God. Some would separate these things as inconsistent, If holiness be our duty, they would say, there is no room for grace; and if it be the result of grace there is no place for duty. But our duty and God’s grace are nowhere opposed in the matter of sanctification; for one absolutely supposes the other. We cannot perform our duty without the grace of God; nor does God give his grace for any other purpose than that we may perform our duty.               

You have been made new to live as a new creation in the midst of a world that desperately needs beacons of light. People, both inside the church and without, are constantly finding that the cisterns they are trusting in are broken. They are thirsty, longing to know where to find living water. This is why Paul charges Timothy to "preach the word". In the midst of culture that doesn't flock to Biblical truth, we are to live as to point to Christ.

Posted by Andrew VanderMaas

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