Ruth and Boaz

Gospel Singer/Songwriter Maurette Brown-Clark at the Berean Easter Celebration. She is a Very Nice Lady!

Cross, Crucifixion, Celebration At Berean 

The important top half of Salvidor (which means “Saviour”) Dali’s “Christ of Saint John on the Cross”

EASTER SABBATH AT BEREAN SDA CHURCH, ATLANTA

This Sabbath’s celebration of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, was a seamless production that integrated speech and music for the edification and enlightenment of all who either attended in person, watched on the internet, or (this may be you) intend to watch on the internet. It would represent only the smallest touch of hyperbole to refer this service as an example of Gesamkunstwerk, the German expression for a “total work of art.” Here, as usual, is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE.

Music was provided by noted Gospel singer/songwriter Maurette Brown-Clark, and also by the singers and musicians that are regularly featured in services at Berean. The two forces operated independently until the close of today’s program, at which time they joined forces in a rendition of Maurette Brown-Clark’s most recognizable composition, “I Just Want to Praise You.” The choir was under the direction of David Trofort (also a songwriter). His wife Terra (a singer like Maurette Brown-Clark) offered support and encouragment to the musicians from her position in the pews. Luther Washington manned the organ, and just to his left Natalie Raggins (whom I have christened “The Dexterous”) operated the electric piano. The last two musicians are so  seasoned, they can hold a conversation with each other while they are also playing their instruments. They could be swapping recipes, for all I know. David Trofort welcomes Maurette Brown-Clark to the podium at time marker 1:03:18. She closes the service with her “showstopper” beginning at time marker 1:44:35.

Words were provided by Pastor Danielle Pilgrim, Lead Pastor Fredrick Russell, and a pair of special guests. Emphasis upon the redemptive power of the Blood that Jesus shed for us at Calvary is a continuing theme at Berean Church, but given the season, a special emphasis upon this marked today’s worship. The service was relatively short (less than two hours) by Berean standards. Introductory notes and a prayer are proffered by Pastor Pilgrim, beginning at time marker 17:19. She informed the worshippers that the intent of this Sabbath’s service was to “magnify the name of Jesus.” We were free to do this in whatever manner we may choose. Pastor Russell interviews his two guests, and offers some brief, but cogent remarks starting at time marker 1:15:25.

A promo for an appearance, in 2015, on TBN by Maurette Brown-Clark, one hosted by actor, singer, songwriter, and pastor Clifton Davis.

MAURETTE BROWN-CLARK

Born in Long Island, New York, Maurette Brown-Clark has been singing most all of her life. She launched her solo career in 1998 with the release of the Gospel album “How I Feel” on Verity Records (part of the Sony universe, and also Richard Smallwood’s label). She puts out a new album about every four years. For her second release, “By His Grace,” she switched from Verity Records to a now obseletely named enterprise called Atlanta International Records, also known as “AIR Gospel” (the link is to a BlogSpot page associated with legendary Malaco Records, of Jackson, Mississippi. I will assume that AIR has been purchased by Malaco, as all searches lead to the latter operation). The next two albums to be released by Ms. Brown-Clark were “The Dream” (kind of a short one; it may be what is called an “EP”) and “The Sound of Victory.” Atlanta International Records was owned, until 2005, by Alan Freeman. He is current president of Dottie People’s DP Music Group, located in Fayetteville, GA. According to his Linked-In profile, he also buys cars at auction, and then sells them AutoTrader. AutoTrader is an Atlanta company, and owned by Cox Enterprises, another Atlanta company, and one that makes Billions. But I don’t think Atlanta International Records has much to do with Atlanta these days, and I am also pretty confident that Alan Freeman is not, himself, a billionaire.

“The Debt is Paid,” a lithograph by Cecil Bernard, and available for $400 at this LINK. You say you can’t afford art? I say that you cannot afford to do without it!

AN ARTIST: CECIL JACKSON (AKA CECIL BERNARD)

Pastor Fredrick Russell prefaced his portion of the service by stating that he liked Maurette Brown-Clark not only because she is a “singer,” but also because she is a “worshipper.”
Pastor Russell and his wife, Brenda, are in the process of attempting to acquire some “black” art for their house (here is a LINK about black artist Romare Bearden, a household name). They already own a few pieces. He mentioned artist Cecil Jackson (who paints under the name of Cecil Bernard). Pastor Russell was in school with Mr. Jackson’s wife. The pastor was with Mr. Jackson, and was admiring the artist’s use of color. All of a sudden, Mr. Jackson revealed a picture that Pastor Russell said just “blew me away.” It is the image replicated above, one of Jesus on his way to the Cross. “What was he thinking as he created this work?” the pastor mused. Cecil Jackson would reveal this, in his own words, as he happened to be present at today’s “Celebration.”

As Cecil Jackson mounted the podium, Pastor Russell noted the “crown of thorns” and the “drops of blood” that are discernable in the work, albeit in a most abstract manner. The pastor noted the artist’s deft use of color as well. The pastor now had an opportunity to get an answer to his question, “what were you thinking, and what was in your heart when you created this?”

A sketch by Wassily Kandinsky from his “Blue Rider” period (1911-1914), prophetic of WWI some say. An influence on Mr. Jackson’s style, no doubt.

“God is the Master Artist,” Cecil Jackson responded. “Everything I do is inspired by Him.” Although all of his art is “spiritual,” not that much of it is “religious.” One day Mr. Jackson was contemplating the debt [our debt] that Jesus paid. The work under scrutiny was created out of a sense of gratitude to Jesus for having paid this debt. “I’m not afraid of color,” the artist revealed. The painting utilizes a juxtaposition of the complimentary colors red (the Blood) and green in the upper portion. “Cool” colors like blue (symbol of peace, purity, the Virgin Mary, and the color of the tie Pastor Russell was wearing today) and purple (which, succeeded by white, is the Easter color par excellence) dominate the lower portion of the composition.

Jesus takes all of our sins upon Himself. “Those sins come in lots of colors,” the artist stated. A little audio trouble temporarily compromises the video at this point (Berean is working hard to rectify these glitches), but an undistorted message from Pastor Russell comes across. He views the artist’s efforts as “an act of devotion.” Mr. Jackson provided an analogy between an emotional response to anointed music, and the feelings he experiences while creating his art (the glitch has now resolved itself, praise God). The artist referred to the process of creating the work that was being discussed as being one that would be impossible to duplicate. This is what compelled him to replicate the painting in a series of lithographs (available, as noted earlier, at this LINK).

A still from the March 19 Sabbath service. Ms. Alexander apprises us of her dilemma at UFG.

REBELLION AND REDEMPTION IN GATOR TERRITORY

Pastor Russell provided a bridge between his first and second guests by stating that the work of art created by his first guest depicted the moments before Jesus died. The next guest had just experienced a “resurrection” of sorts. Jolie Alexander was present at the March 19 Sabbath service. Pastor Russell brought her before the congregation. Jolie had taken a stand for her Christian faith during a graduate studies course she was attending at the University of Florida [editorial note: the hapless writer of these sentences spent the two most miserable years of his life as an undergraduate at God-forsaken University of Florida, Gainesville. I thought I had thoroughly purged my memory of this time, but Ms. Alexander’s adventures have “resurrected” them, but not in a good way at all]. The students were unsupportive, and the professor changed Ms. Alexander’s “A” average to an “D.” She attributes some of this abuse to the fact that she was the only black in the class {editorial note: animosity can also be strongly exhibited without regard to race at all at the mysteriously “prestigious” U of F]. Here, just for laughs, is a LINK to the University of Florida non-discrimination policy. Bereans prayed hard for Ms. Alexander. This Sabbath featured a positive report of her triumph over adversity. Were the “demonic forces of Hell” that the pastor referred to last week utterly vanquished? The situation is much improved, and God is to be praised for this upturn in Ms. Alexander’s fortunes {editorial note: a metaphorical “National Guard” escorts Ms. Alexander to her classes. There is now slightly less slack in Satan’s chain].

Maurette Brown-Clark keeps shifting the key in an upward direction as she sings “Awesome God.” David Trofort looks on, approvingly.

NOT A BAND-AID, BUT A PERMANENT SOLUTION: THE CROSS

A final transition by the pastor is provided. “I’m not sure where you are this morning. I’m not sure whether you are facing your Cross, or in a resurrection season.” If you keep trusting God, “there will be a resurrection.” At this point (time marker 1:26:30) Maurette Brown-Clark regained the podium to sing a song that she wrote herself, “Awesome God” (here I will replicate the word “Gesamkunstwerk“).

Pastor Russell resumed the “recitative” segments of this day’s Grand Opera at time marker1:32:25. It was an Appeal. “Some of you this morning need a resurrection in your life.” He informed us that, despite having died for our sins, had Jesus stayed in the grave, it would not have been enough. The pastor alluded to (I am 85% certain) First Corinthians 15:9-10: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Any moribund state that you may be trapped in can be overcome by Christ. “There is nothing as moving in your life as when Jesus becomes real and alive,” Pastor Russell asserted. The congregation was invited to stand and to join hands, and were now directly participating in the unfolding drama as everyone sang the chorus from Donnie McClurkin’s “Just For Me.”

Pastor Russell repeated, for the Easter crowd, a thought that he had previously related to the Berean congregation. The solution to our problems is not “Jesus, plus another thing.” The solution is “Jesus, plus nothing.”

“Resurrection of Christ and the Women at the Tomb” by Fra Angelico, from 1440-1441, located at the Convento di San Marco in Florence, Italy.

“The most joyful experience is to know that you know that you know you are saved, right now,” Pastor artistically announced. No matter what may happen, it is a comfort to know that you are in the arms of God, That you are saved. “Eternal life doesn’t start at the Second Coming of Christ,” Pastor Russell asserted. “Eternal life begins at the point you receive Jesus as your savior.” The pastor issued an invitation to those who had not yet received Jesus. The saved and the unsaved were invited to sing, again (not for everyone, but just for themselves) “Just For Me.” Pastor Russell then provided a prayer, one thanking God for sending His Son. An illuminated citation of John 3:16 (a verse especially appropriate to Easter) was included in the prayer. It is with great pleasure that I copy it from biblehub, and then paste it below:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The pastor offered profuse thanks for many things to God on our behalf, and (doubtlessly) on his own behalf as well. Pastor Russell concluded by thanking Him for being present for today’s “Celebration.” “Just For Me” was briefly reprised for a third time. Here is one last paste job. It is about Maurette Brown-Clark, and it comes from the second paragraph of this post: ” She closes the service with her “showstopper” beginning at time marker 1:44:35.” This “showstopper” was, of course, “I Just Want to Praise You,” and has been a traditional terminus for more than a few other services at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta.

Jonathan Edwards Was a Calvinist. Adventists Are More Into Arminianism!

AN EXCLUSIVE POST FOR RICHARD BURNETTE

This picture of Jesus reading the scripture is pretty primitive, and may come from an illuminated manuscript. This is only a guess.

SABBATH SERMON: A RERUN OF A “CLASSIC EPISODE”

The greatest preacher that ever lived, being omniscient, had  a perfect grasp on His material. One of His most significant sermons was probably also one of His shortest. It was nothing but the truth, yet the congregation was so offended by it they wanted to kill the preacher.
It took as it’s text Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord…”

The sermon can be found in Luke 4:21: “…This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

A LINK TO A SERMON BY JONATHAN EDWARDS

The First Great Awakening had many contributors, but Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards was among the foremost of these. Edward’s brand of preaching tended toward rationality, in contrast to fellow “Awakener” George Whitefield, who was more charismatic. Neither man thought much of Arminianism (my second use of this useful link), a theology that believes that man has the freewill to choose either salvation or, by rejecting Christ, damnation. Adventists are influenced by Arminianism. Despite his rejection of this doctrine (one embraced by John Wesley , whose views proved more successful in winning souls), Jonathan Edwards penned a sermon that is perhaps the most famous one in modern religious history. It is called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ,” and could be described as the Puritan equivalent of “Hellfire and Brimstone.”

“Christ Descent Into Hell,” detail, by Hieronymus Bosch, a favorite painter of Most Catholic Phillip II.

Jonathan Edward’s sermon ask the question, “if the hell-bound are irredeemable, then why doesn’t God just go ahead and throw them into Hell right now and be done with it?” We Arminians know that, according to First Timothy 2:4, God is one “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” The worst of sinners can undergo a change of heart, and God is allowing then time to accomplish this, to exercise their “freewill.” Hardboiled Calvinists like Edwards, who are all about predestination, must cook up alternate explanations. His linked sermon has this to say about sinners: ” The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God’s mere will, that holds it back.” This statement insinuates that God can act in an “arbitrary” manner. But the sermon does end with an appeal: “Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy.” If you are not converted, then you will be consigned to a condition that Edwards (rather sadistically) describes as follows: “There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery.” Edwards states the extreme need for his listeners to be converted, but gives no clear directions on how to satisfy this need. “God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land…” he declares. Election is a prerequisite!

The late Dr. William R. Crews was a modern-day “hardboiled” Calvinist like Edwards. I used to watch him on TV all the time when I was a kid. He was headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, a most God-fearing milieu, and a stone’s throw away from my childhood home. God “elected” him subsequent to his lucrative career as a pool hustler, as may be discovered in his testimony. He had, and may still have (like the late D. James Kennedy , another Calvinist) a dedicated following of people who are assured of their election. His operation is known as “The Awakening Hour.” I cannot get my computer to access his old website, as there seems to be a security issue. Here is a LINK that disparages his theology. Here is a LINK to his 2009 obituary. Here is a LINK to a “Wayback Machine” resuscitation of the skeleton of his website from the year just before he died. He draws an incredible amount of criticism from anti-Christian forces, but as a kid, I never doubted for an instant his sincerity. He was just a little deluded.

The late Dr. William R. Crews, a native of Stark, Florida. This is appropriate, as he was a very “stark” man: ex-hustler, twin-engine certified airplane pilot, and diehard Calvinist. Founder of “The Awakening Hour.

Some Enlightenment from Scripture on the Nature of Prayer

The “War Room” Is Open For Business at Berean

 

The old sanctuary of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, representative of a an era when lots of churches were constructed with glue-lam frames, an attractive system, but no longer relatively economical.

A SHORT PREFACE

Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Satan, like Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, knows that he is not going to win the war, but he exerts himself to the utmost in order to win the battle. Yamamoto, before WWII, attended Harvard, and had seen firsthand the size and strength of America. But, as a samurai by adoption, he was committed to a war he knew his side would lose.  Allied codebreakers identified the course of a plane he was travelling in, and shot it down. The key to breaking Satan’s code is the “sword” of scripture, and the atomic bomb that can force unconditional surrender is prayer. We are not detached observers of the “great controversy,” but participants, soldiers at the frontlines of the conflict.  The war analogies (shield, helmet, breastplate, etc.) that Paul cites, starting In Ephesians 6:11, culminate with 6:18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” The act of prayer stands in a class apart. Paul does not feel the need to embellish it with metaphors.

The battle between good and evil is such a dominant condition that a description of it as “metaphorical war” is inadequate. When Pastor Fredrick Russell chose “The War Room” as a theme for prayer meetings, he was referring to a real war. People get killed in this war. The inaugural remarks by pastor Russell focused on another room, the “throne room” of God. This is where prayers are processed.

For 200 years Krupps have been manufacturing armaments for the formerly bloodthirsty Germans, In terms of the “great controversy,” I would not place them on the side of the angels.

The inspiration for the name “War Room” comes from the 2015 movie of the same name. Here is a LINK to the Wikipedia article on the movie. It quotes a review by the Catholic World Report that includes the following statement that the movie successfully portrays “prayer… forgiveness, temptation, conversion, and, most importantly, the cosmic struggle between God and the devil that occurs in every home and every heart.” This review could have been written by an Adventist. In this week’s Sabbath School lessons, author David Tasker refers to instances of the “great controversy” that are purely internal, citing the war between good and bad inclinations that raged in the recesses of David’s heart.

Berean’s “War Room” is located, for the moment, in the chapel area of the old church facility. This medium sized space is the aesthetic twin to the larger, adjacent main sanctuary. It features “prairie style” light fixtures (in the manner of Frank Lloyd Wright), in addition to cove lighting. The structure, like the sanctuary structure, is tongue-in-groove planks on glue-laminated frames. The focus of the space has been relocated from an end wall to a side wall, a provision that puts most of the congregation much closer to the podium than does a more traditional layout, The first time I ever noticed this counter-intuitive seating arrangement was in the floorplan of Robert H. Schuller‘s Crystal Cathedral, now renamed (in a rather clever manner) Christ Cathedral, and operated by the highly solvent Catholic church. If you click on the link, the central building is the cathedral itself, the interior of which is well known to anyone who has ever watched former broadcasts of the “Hour of Power.”

This is as good a place as any to display a bad photo of a good design. The lighting scheme in the Berean “War Room” features these fixtures that are precisely in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The design is by Philip Johnson, not a personal favorite of mine, but this church is not representative of his decadent period. The late Robert Schuller took a lot of the credit for this design, but it may be a case of self-delusion. The reverend was a great patron of architecture. On the link, the building seen at far right is by Richard Neutra , the 1968 “Tower of Hope,” part of a group of structures by the California based émigré architect. It was a late addition to Schuller’s Shepherd’s Grove. This last link briefly summarizes the rise and fall of the Schuller empire. The neo-gothic tower at the far left of the “Christ Cathedral” link is something I neither know about, nor care about, but given the track record of Schuller, it was (no doubt) designed by another “name” architect. I would describe it as “high mediocre.”

THE OPENING SALVO. ALL FOUR PASTORS IN ATTENDANCE.

The first of the four current Berean Seventh-day Adventist pastors to speak was Pastor Austin Humphreys. He was featured last Wednesday, but just spoke a minute this evening. Last week he introduced his sermon with a reference to the movie “Mission Impossible.” Tonight he began with a reference to the TV show “West Wing.” I expected a full sermon to follow, but this did not happen. Instead, the pastor just briefly alluded to the “situation room” in the White House, a private place where the characters would take themselves away into in order to talk to the Commander in Chief. It was a most succinct talk, but it went straight to the point.

The projection screen in the “War Room” is of a configuration I have never seen before. It is like a pliable cowhide that has been stretched out in order to cure.

Pastor Danielle Pilgrim (who sang with the praise team at the beginning of the service) followed with some equally brief remarks on prayer (the theme de jour). She stated that she was thankful that she served a God who answers prayers, and can take care of any situation (a serendipitous restatement of Pastor Humphrey’s “situation room” reference). She anticipated a later remark by Lead Pastor Fredrick Russell by informing us that we needed to go beyond simply asking for things in prayer. We needed to be sure to thank God. “Think about the goodness of Jesus, and all that He has done for you,” she said. She quoted Thessalonians 5:18: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Practically a full sermon could be preached on this verse, and I am pretty sure one has been in the last months. My memory is too faulty, however, to pin it down. A statement by Pastor Pilgrim hit me like a ton of bricks, as it relates to last Sabbath’s “substitute” sermon (there was no service at Berean due to inclement weather) by Post-Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards. It raised the issue of freewill versus Calvinistic election. The Edwards sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God,” pondered why God suffered hardened sinners to live. Pastor Pilgrim made a passing statement with some theological implications, “it is of your mercy that we are not consumed.” It also reminds me of a verse used in the text of the “Messiah,” Malachi 3:2: “But who may abide the day of his coming?” The mention of “mercy” gives us hope. In his sermon, Johnathan Edwards speaks of “arbitrary mercy.” This sounds too much like “caprice” to inspire a lot of hope. That John Calvin was an austere man.

Michelangelo’s “Moses,” a man who spoke to God “face to face.” Pastor Russell came pretty close to this, from the sound of it.

Pastor Russell was nervous about the inaugural night at the “War Room,” losing some sleep over it. A remarkable breakthrough in his prayer life was the principal topic of his remarks. He began his talk by declaring that, should the “War Room” require a larger facility, Berean had access to a couple. Tonight’s crowd was just the right size for the space. The meeting was no standard Wednesday night prayer meeting. It enjoyed the production values of a Sabbath service.

Pastor Russell told the crowd that two Wednesday mornings ago he was up early, talking to God. The pastor was attempting to resolve an issue that was personally painful, one that had bothered him since he was a child. For twenty minutes he argued with God. “You know how much pain it has caused me,” the pastor lamented. Two hours after this heated exchange, the remarkable nature of the incident struck him. The pastor had actually experienced a real-time, contemporaneous conversation with God. The pastor had been praying for an encounter like this for years. God had slipped it in, so deftly that it did not even initially strike the pastor as something unusual. In his rear-view mirror, the pastor was able to grasp the enormity of this incident. THAT is prayer!

“The Vision By John of Heaven” by Matthias Gerung, circa 1530. This is not fine art by any stretch, but you can see the golden bowls Revelation describes.

Pastor Russell shifted the scene to heaven. He quoted from Revelation 5:2 and beyond as prelude to a description of the “throne room” of God. “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” The “Lion of Judah” proves to be worthy. Here is a self-serving LINK to my song, “Unsealed,” which picks up the story at this point. Pastor interrupts the narrative where the “throne room” is being described. Christ takes the scroll, whereupon the four living creatures “fell down,” an attribute of true worship. The pastor then described the twenty-four elders, they each “having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints” (pastor used the NIV, but I am one of those King James nuts).

Apropos of the theme of “prayer,” the pastor now focused on the golden “bowls,” the NIV improvement on golden “vails.” The pastor made a humorous allusion to the misuses of incense in his youth, as a mask for less socially accepted aromas. Real-world incense is strongly identified with Roman Catholicism. I have encountered it in “high church” Episcopalian worship. I have almost finished an essay entitled “The Church of Christ Ban On Musical Instruments.” It is an unintended defense of instruments, one that surprised me, as I don’t really care that much one way or the other about the issue. But the Church of Christ argument is so flawed, that just pointing out the flaws sounds like a refutation of their views. Here is an insane extract from the forthcoming piece: “The description of instruments in heaven is acknowledged. M.C. Kurfees’s [primary apologist for the church’s doctrine] scholarly rejoinder? So what! They got incense too! You want incense? These Church of Christ folk really seem to have a thing against incense.” This facetious extract faithfully mirrors the tone the apologist adopts. I love Church of Christ people, and regret that my reaction to their polemic makes it sound as if I don’t.

The golden altar of incense in the tabernacle, a sweet-smelling aroma offered unto the Lord.

Pastor Russell assured us that our “prayers are a sweet smelling aroma in the nostrils of God.” (Here is a LINK to the recipe for “holy incense” found in the Book of Exodus) This is where Pastor Russell repeated a thought stated earlier by Pastor Pilgrim. “You pray a few minutes of thanks, and then a half-hour wish list!” This aside is pretty much always guaranteed to hit a target, no matter who says it, or when they say it. It represented the briefest of digressions.

Overwhelmed by the idea of talking to God in “real-time,” the pastor asked himself how he could have that experience all of the time. He said that sometimes God speaks to us in a clear voice, and sometimes God speaks to us in His Word. He concluded by reiterating that our prayers ascend like sweet-smelling incense to the throne room of God, and quoted from Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Some fervent and voluble prayers, and a few heartfelt testimonies, followed the pastor’s remarks. The pastor requested that we “call out” our prayers, as they did in the Book of Acts (some old criticism of Pastor Russell by an internet crank likened spoken prayer to “talking in tongues,” and seemed to have the same kind of grudge against the latter as Church of Christ apologist M.C. Kurfees has against incense. Both spoken prayer and talking in tongues are 100% scriptural).

Pentecost, painted by Jean II Restout, 1732. This French work makes “Pentecost” seem like some female allegorical figure.

Pastor James Lamb, the last of the four “officers” present in the “War Room,” closed out the service with a prayer. He ushered the congregation from the “throne of heaven,” where our prayers are received, back down to our earthly operations center, the “War Room.” The great controversy continues to rage. Pastor Lamb cited the famous bit of scripture regarding warfare that was on everybody’s mind, including mine when I jotted down the preface to this post Tuesday night. It is an extended metaphor, but easily comes to mind when just the first verse is quoted, Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

This Message is for All Times, for All People, and for All Places! Jesus Informs Nicodemus:"You Must Be Born Again!"

Pastor Fredrick Russell: How to Be “Born Again” 

 

 

THREE STEPS TO SALVATION

 

Pastor Fredrick Russell officiated over the quarterly Communion Service at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta today. Last week’s sermon, due to its urgency, provoked me to suppress my penchant for digression and marginalia. This week’s sermon distills the essence of Christianity into 26 minutes of concentrated wisdom. Last week’s sermon cited the eternal (Christ’s everlasting kingdom) as an anodyne for difficulties in the temporal realm (the current political climate). This week’s message, centered on Jesus’ words to Nicodemus, “you must be born again,” represents an eternal solution to difficulties that plague us in the personal realm. The solution is a personal Savior. Pastor Russell’s jewel-like presentation requires only the simplest of settings. Again, I will strive to remain in the background as I provide a brief summary at the bottom of this post. Here (as usual) is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. Today’s untitled, but unforgettable sermon resides in the YouTube video from time markers 1:22:46 to 1:49:13.

No notes were provided for today’s sermon, as it was lodged in a framework so short and simple that it could be easily committed to memory. Here are the three short steps to be taken in order to be “born again:”

• Repent (of specific sins, and not just in a general manner)
• Turn to Christ
• Join the Family of God

“Christ and Nicodemus” by Rembrandt, pen and wash.

NO ONE CAN SEE THE KINDOM OF GOD UNLESS THEY ARE “BORN AGAIN”

Pastor Russell began his talk, one based on John 3 (Jesus speaking with Nicodemus in the night) by confessing that he is a “lover of amusement parks.” While attending a meeting in Florida two weeks ago, he was presented with an opportunity to pay a visit to Busch Gardens. He styled himself a “roller coaster aficionado,” but had not ridden one for twenty years. He and the group he was with were determined to ride all four big coasters at the park. They approached the first of these, hopeful that they would be able to sit in the front. Pastor Russell said “the greatest thrill is to sit in the front seat.” He was assume this coveted berth, and described the experience of “slowly ascending to the top,” a stately prelude that serves to build anticipation. As the cars paused at the top of the ascent, Pastor Russell wondered what he may have been thinking, to place himself, voluntarily, in such a perilous condition. He was staring into the abyss. “What was I trying to prove by all of this?” But his pride was on the line. He closed his eyes, whispered a prayer, and began to sing, “Lord, I’m Coming Home.”

The thrills commenced, and during the tumultuous passage the pastor thought to himself, typically, “I’ll never get on one of these things again!” But when the ride was over, he was eager to ride again. “Where’s the second one,” he intrepidly asked. His group patronized another thrill ride, one called “The Drop.” He was raised a few hundred feet, preparatory to a swift descent. The seats of “The Drop” leaned forward, giving the riders a clear view of the pavement below, a viewpoint not designed to comfort them. A description of these two thrill rides, products of man’s ingenuity, proved to be only a preface for a description of a much more significant thrill.

“About 1:30 the other morning,” Pastor Russell said, “the Lord woke me up.” The pastor was overwhelmed that he was poised at the top of metaphorical “roller coaster.” “All I could see was where this world is going to go,” he informed us. He opened his Bible to Daniel 2:21 [And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding]. After a few hours of pre-dawn worship, the pastor “officially” woke up. He was led by the spirit to the third chapter of John. “Bring this word…” was God’s instruction to the preacher. Nicodemus, a subject of this chapter, is becoming more open to Jesus, but desires a private (and crucial) conversation with Him. Nicodemus testifies to Jesus in regard to his faith in the Lord’s divinity. Nicodemus assays to engage Jesus in an intellectual discourse, but Pastor Russell revealed that this is not our Lord’s didactic technique. “He never matches intellect to intellect,” Pastor Russell revealed, “He [instead] cuts right to the chase.” The chase is this proclamation: “You must be born again.” The pastor now proceeded to inform his listeners of the three-step method whereby we may be “born again.”

“The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt

THE FIRST STEP: “REPENTENCE”

The pastor reached out not only to those who had not yet been “born again.” but also to those who had already experienced this essential transformation, yet had grown “flabby” over the course of time. The pastor elaborated upon step one. “When you are confessing your sins, you don’t confess them in broad generalities. You begin to name exactly what that sin is.” We vaguely pray to the Lord that our sins be forgiven. “Which ones?” might be his rejoinder. “When you don’t name clearly what your sin is,” Pastor Russell declared, you may be conspiring to “paper over” transgressions.

THE SECOND STEP: “TURNING TO CHRIST FOR SALVATION”

“There is no way out of this world, there is no way you can be saved other than through a connection and experience of receiving Jesus Christ into your life. It is never Jesus plus a million other things. It is always Jesus plus nothing. There is no way out, other than Jesus!”

THE THIRD STEP: “WE BECOME PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD”

“God is not out to save denominations.” Scripture reveals that God is “building a nation,” one that will ultimately become the family of God. Being a member in good standing of a particular fold means nothing unless you turn to Christ. When we are “born again,” we will members of the family of God, forever.

A “family of God.” This church is composed of English speaking African immigrants headquartered in Rome, Italy. They have not wasted their tithes on fancy seating. The $10 plastic chair is now ubiquitous.

These steps unfold as the Holy spirit takes a hold of your life. “When I ask Jesus into my life,” the pastor preached (literally) to the choir, “this person called the Holy Spirit will work in my life in such a way” to where one begins to lean more toward the things of God. The Holy Spirit begins to do a “mystery work” in you that compels you to reset your priorities. “By nature,” Pastor Russell stated, “we are not members of the family of God.” You have to choose to be a part of the family of God. “By nature,” the pastor added, “we do not have a right to eternal life.” There exists no Scriptural “Bill of Rights.” “When it comes to God,” Pastor Russell claimed, “we don’t have any rights at all.” To emphasis this important point, the pastor repeated, “You do not deserve eternal life!”
The reasons that we are not automatically members of the family of God, and the reasons that we do not deserve eternal life were served up to the congregation by Pastor Russell in three portions, each of which addressed the obstinacy of, and unregenerate nature of mankind:

1. “Because of sin.” “Every last one of us,” the pastor asserted, “has sinned in our lives.” Problems arise when you become “comfortable” with your sin. The act of wrongdoing may no longer bother you. People subject to this perilous state might still desire to have a good feeling about God, but do not desire the “deep things” of God. Pastor Russell revived one of his adages: “We live close enough to God, never to feel guilty, but live far enough away from God, never to change.” Just showing up at church is not going to improve this lukewarm condition. The pastor revealed the true solution, “you must be born again.”
2. “Because we have rebelled against God.” We are resistant to allowing God to have full control over our life. When you don’t give God everything, you are standing in rebellion against God. Rebellion is likened to the sin of witchcraft. Pastor Russell stated that many “good church folk” were living in rebellion against God, due to a lack of total commitment.
3. “Due to the hardening of our hearts.” The pastor revealed that “when you don’t confess your sins on a regular basis, on a daily basis, out hearts naturally begin to harden against God. Confession is a method of making “quickly right with God.” If you have the Holy Spirit to convict you whenever you have gone astray, then you are in a good place. The Spirit may not keep you from sinning, but will motivate you to fix whatever may be wrong. When nothing bothers you, there is a serious problem.

“Nicodemus Came to Him at Night” is the title attached to this image of stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany, but I suspect Tiffany did not give it a title.

The pastor postulated in regard to a reaction Jesus may have had to  influence and education in Nicodemus’s make-up. Jesus to Nicodemus: “your experience is based upon information, but you have never experienced me! Let’s cut to the chase: you must be born again.” Pastor Russell requested the congregation to pray as he presented the conclusion of his message. He restated his main points:

• “The first thing you must do is repent of your sins.” Do not hold to your transgressions. You must be born again.
• “You must turn to Christ for salvation.” Jesus made salvation a possibility on the Cross, and would be quick to inform us that “you cannot die for your own sins. I must die for your sins. You must take what I have done for you as a free gift.” When we accept Jesus, Pastor Russell said, “eternal life does not begin at the Second Coming. Eternal life begins right now.” The grave just represents a “brief break” in the continuity of unending time. The pastor issued a warning: “If you’re waiting for the Second Coming of Christ, it is too late.”
• “I ask Jesus, ‘Jesus, bring me now into your family.'” We will join the redeemed of all ages.

A tract from www.ernestangly.org      I just found an 8×10 glossy of Ernest Angley in a used book I bought, one suitable for framing. I think I will frame it!

The prayer that the pastor had just led us into now included the essential three steps to salvation. He told his auditors “If you prayed that prayer this morning, you will work this thing out in your heart. It is just that simple.” We were admonished not to heed those who would insinuate that salvation is complicated. “its not! Its not! Its not!” When he was growing up in the faith community, the pastor related that there was not a lot of talk about salvation. Instead, there was a lot of “do this, and don’t do that.” But rules are an unsatisfactory alternative to Jesus Himself. Once you have accepted Jesus, Pastor Russell informed us that we will want “more, and more.” He concluded his remarks with another prayer.

“Thank you God, for speaking to me afresh the other morning.” The pastor importuned God to keep their relationship “very childlike, very simple.” He prayed there would arise no complications. “Keep my heart very open. Don’t let me carry anything in my life that is not going to please you.” Should anything displeasing occur, the pastor implored an immediate repentance, and a return to God.
“May our lives glorify you. May our lives be … a sweet smell in your nostrils. Thank you God. Thank you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

A much less elaborate rendition of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt than an earlier image on this post, and a good transition into Holy Communion.

Communion immediately followed Pastor Russell’s remarks. It was, as always, a liturgical tour de force, and featured, as always, exceptional music that set a proper mood for the memorial. This part of the service was prefaced by a verse from Hebrews, 9:28, one which includes both the Cross and the Second Coming:

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

Judgment Revelation Chapter 20

Gethsemane

Pastor Austin Humphreys Offers Insights Based on Events Proximate to the "Beautiful Gate"

A Sermon on the Power of the Name of Jesus

 

PASTOR AUSTIN HUMPHREYS DRAWS SOME LESSONS FROM ACTS 3: THE HEALING OF THE LAME MAN BY PETER

As an act of unforgivable vanity, and shameless self-promotion (not to mention an exhibition of a serious lack of discernment), here is a link to a SONG that coincidentally (or is it coincidence?) covers the topic covered by Pastor Humphreys in the Wednesday night, March 16 session of the “War Room.” Peter, en route to the Temple with John, is importuned by a lame man for some largesse. “Silver and gold have I none,” Peter informs the cripple, but manages to give him something beyond price. Peter heals the man. And, even though Peter has the power to do this himself (“… greater works than these shall he do…” John 14:12), he choses to unambiguously place the credit for the miracle where all credit is due, to Jesus. As the song says (not mine, as it is a good one), there is power in the name of Jesus.

Pastor Humphreys read aloud of the incident from Acts Chapter 3. He began his commentaries with reference to the famous “gate called “Beautiful.” It must have been a sight to behold, as the pastor informed us that it was fashioned from brass and gold, “the very thing that the man was begging for.” (Cross-reference #1: in a previous War Room sermon, “Just Hang in There ,” Pastor Humphreys described a walk on the water, by Jesus, to His imperiled disciples as being a treading upon the very substance that was trying to kill everyone.)

Because of his physical deformities, the lame man was not allowed to go into the Temple with the less afflicted Hebrews to worship. He was stuck outside, beside the gate. The folks who passed by the beggar had the opportunity to do one last good deed before passing into the Temple. They could throw a few coppers to the lame man. But, Pastor Humphreys noted, most just “stepped over” the man, and went on about their business. It was relatively late in the day (the ninth hour) when Peter and John approached the spot where the beggar lay. The beggar had probably not met with much success so far, but must persist in soliciting alms. As the disciples neared, Pastor Humphreys stated that his solicitation may have been something like this, “Listen, brothers, do you mind sparing me some coin?” Peter and John, unlike the vast majority of passersby, cannot simply “step over” the man. They cannot do this because Jesus has not “stepped over” them. They were aware that God had been “too good to them!”

A detail from one of the many “beautiful gates” associated with the Palace of Versailles, seat of Louis IXV, the “Sun King”

The pastor issued a caution to the assembly. He observed that many people attend worship services who look just like we used to look. “We overlook these people,” he said, “but forget that we used to be just as messed up.” (Cross-reference #2: Here is a quote from guest Pastor Michael Kelly’s “War Room” sermon, one expressing the same sentiment: “When people come into the church, they are told that they cannot do certain things. Sometimes, they may look around and note that some other people are still doing things that they themselves believe to be forbidden.” Pastor Kelly said that these people may just be in a different stage of their relationship with Jesus, one not quite as advanced.)

The beggar looked at Peter and John as they neared him, expectant of a possible windfall. Pastor Humphreys paraphrased what Peter’s attitude towards the lame man’s needs might have been, “the symptoms I can’t fix, but the root of the problem I can.” Pastor Humphreys informed us that the beggar may have gotten “comfortable in the mess he was in.” (Cross-reference #3: The “comfortable rut” that the lame man that lay by the Pool of Bethesda may have inhabited formed a major component of a Dec. 26, 2015 sermon by guest Pastor Tyrone Boyd entitled “You Got to Have to Want to.”)

Returning briefly to the topic of judgmental attitudes by some church-going types, Pastor Humphreys said that, prior to healing the beggar, Peter did not:

• Ask him what denomination he was in.
• Ask him what he had been eating.

Now the all-important subject of the “name” was introduced. As previously noted, Peter had plenty of power and authority delegated to him by Jesus. He could have healed the beggar on his own, should he have chosen to do so. But [perhaps for evangelical reasons] Peter decided that this miracle would transpire “not in my name, but in the name of a greater authority.” (Cross-reference #4 shall be cited not as a footnote to the pastor’s next anecdote, but as a preface. Pastor Humphreys delivered a Dec. 5, 2015 Sabbath sermon that featured some comments on the value of a good “name,” citing the “name” recognition value inherent in designer merchandise. The title of the sermon is “I Refuse to Turn Back Now,” and features the woman who informed Jesus that “yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”)

Detail from another “beautiful gate” at the Palace of Versailles, one that restates the theme of the previous image.

The pastor told the congregation that he had been having some car problems, and needed to get a battery. He went to the store, and informed the sales clerk that he needed “the cheapest battery that you have.” The knowledgeable salesman told the pastor that, if he wanted his car to perform at peak capacity, he ought not settle for a regular battery. What the pastor really needed was a “name brand” battery. Pastor Humphreys stated that “I had to spend a little more for something that would bless me for the rest of my days.” He added that a similar investment in making Jesus a priority would also bless us for the rest of our days.

Peter, upon approaching the lame beggar of Acts 3, said to himself, “I am not going to step over this man, because I can see the potential of the situation.” Peter, as noted, did not wish for personal glory to be the result of the healing. Credit would go where credit was due. When the powerful word of Jesus was enunciated, the beggar “immediately” was healed. (Cross-reference #5: the practically instantaneous effect of a divine intervention in one’s affairs was also a secondary theme of one of Pastor Humphreys’ sermons, the previously linked “Just Hang in There,” and was mentioned in regard to the “immediate” ending of the storm as Jesus stepped into His disciple’s boat.)
A tie-in to the pending “radical” series of upcoming presentations at Berean was promulgated. Pastor Humphreys reminded us that the events under discussion occurred at the “ninth hour.” At this hour, a rather boring ritual was offered in the sanctuary of the Temple. When the healed man, alongside Peter and John, enters into the Temple with a “radical” grace, the praise that flows spontaneously from him is of a type so extreme, that none present had ever witnessed it before. The thankful beggar is not worshipping “tradition,” but “Jesus!” Pastor Humphreys took his listeners into the minds of these witnesses, stating that they thought to themselves, “This was the guy who used to be messed up. If something this great can happen, then there must be something to this ‘Jesus.'”

A third detail from a “beautiful gate” at Versailles, featuring, yet again, the “Sun King,” Louis IXV

This kind of “radical” praise is not covered in the church manual, the pastor said. He urged us not to be the kind of person who “steps over” a problem. (Cross-reference #6, and the last. Your attention is directed to Luke 25-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.) “You don’t come to church as a social event. You don’t attend church as a spectator sport,” the pastor exhorted. He noted that he was currently reading a book, Revolution (by Christian pollster George Barna, whose last name betrays Hungarian ancestry), and that this book was changing his thinking. These revolutionaries are so hungry for God, Pastor Humphreys said [I sure hope I’ve go the right book linked], “their only goal is to magnify the name of God, and then to share that with other people.” The pastor told us that we should be “so in love with Jesus that we cannot help but talk about Him” We are rich in blessings as Bereans, and owe a debt of gratitude to our predecessors. “God wants to do some incredible things in our lives!” Notice was taken of the old Berean church facility where the “War Room is located, a 1963 structure built under the leadership of H.L. Cleveland. “We have been blessed to be beneficiaries of the works of people who were not dedicated to a building, but to Jesus.”
The theme of “stepping over” was touched upon in a prayer that closed Pastor Humphreys’ message. It featured the phrase, “thank you for not ‘stepping over’ us, even when we deserved it!”

The First Sermon in a Series on Nehemiah Remains Unsummarized, but Here is a Minute of Chat About It

Sabbath Sermon: “Travailing Prayer”     

Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church Lead Pastor Fredrick Russell, back in the pulpit again after a brief period of Holiday-related distractions.

Today’s Sabbath Worship Service at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta featured the first in a proposed series of sermons based on the Book of Nehemiah. The series is titled “Rebuilding the Ruins.” I learned today that Berean Community Services is planning on working all day tomorrow, so the world will be spared a text synopsis of this week’s Sabbath sermon ( for today anyway), as I had better rest up for the effort. Here, as usual, is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. The sermon begins at time marker 1:19:55. It weaves together several topical threads floating around the church these days, including an emphasis on prayer in the new year of 2016, and tangentially, the need for some facilities maintenance. Berean is situated in a beautiful old building benighted by an obsolete and deteriorating infrastructure, kind of like Buckingham Palace. It is usually packed to capacity, but there exists no reasonable way to expand the sanctuary, as all of the walls are bearing walls. The pastor voiced an option, about a year ago,  of just tearing the old building down and starting from scratch. The reaction of the congregation was unanimously against this sacrilege.

Our new pastor, Danielle Pilgrim, inaugurated her service at Berean by leading the Pastoral Prayer, which may be viewed at time marker 28:55.

Pastor Danielle Pilgrim in her first speaking role at Berean, leading the Pastoral Prayer. She is from the Caribbean, but has no trace of an accent.

When I looked at the program for today’s sermon, I saw that it was to be based on the Book of Nehemiah. As it is a short book, I reread it before Sabbath School, curious as to what kind of raw material it might provide for a sermon series. I jotted down a summary for my own use. I may tack it on to this post at sometime, just so I will know where to find it. It ties in a little with the Sabbath School theme of “Rebellion and Redemption.” Our last quarter’s lessons on the Book of Jeremiah ended with many Israelites in a rebellion of sorts against their new Babylonian overlords, despite Jeremiah’s warning to them that “resistance is futile!” The activities described in both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah illustrate a “redemption” (temporary, at least) of the Jewish state.

A few hundred people stayed after the New Year’s Eve communion service in order to watch the movie “The War Room.” Pastor Russell has been deeply touched by this film. He said that it was all about “travailing prayer,” and was thus linked to the first four verses of Nehemiah. In these verses Nehemiah, who is doing OK by himself as a highly placed civil servant in Babylon, hears about the sorry plight of his fellow Jews back in wasted Jerusalem. The key scripture for Pastor Russell’s sermon is Nehemiah 1:4: “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,” Nehemiah was all torn up about the situation, and the pastor informed us that his prayer to God was a “travailing prayer.” Pastor Russell defined “travailing” in terms of it’s scriptural meaning, “as in the pangs of childbirth.” My pathetic contribution is this: it is the French word for plain, old-fashioned work.

Keyboard virtuoso Natalie Ragins. The biography on her website lists many disparate musical styles she is familiar with.

During the offertory, my favorite keyboardist Natalie Ragins (her page, again) displayed her unique, jazz-inflected improvisational skills during that part of the service that often consists of little more than soothing “elevator music.” This interlude starts at time marker 1:03:55. She had a laptop computer sitting beside her during the service, but I am way to shy to go and ask her what it is for. As previously mentioned, one of her day jobs is working for Tyler Perry’s road shows. It is like having Herbie Hancock in the church praise band.

The other principal musicians visible in the video are Elder Bruce Seawood (directly behind Ms. Ragins) on the Hammond organ, and legendary Luther Washington II, seated at Ms. Ragin’s right, on the big organ. A traditional hymn with organ accompaniment is offered at every service. Luther Washington II follows an unvarying, but very satisfying, pattern for this music. For a three stanza hymn the pattern would be: moderate tempo, moderate tempo, interlude with a key change up, and a final, thunderous finale played at practically a snail’s pace. You may witness this typical performance at time marker 11:33 on the YouTube Video. Note: today Pastor Russell mentioned that the Berean Service is one of the most watched church services in the nation. The YouTube numbers are respectable, usually nearing 1,000 views, but the majority watch on streaming sites such as “churchpond,” an Adventist endeavor.

 

A Rare Appearance by Berean Pastor James Lamb, PhD

10 Days of Prayer Begins at Berean SDA

The Wednesday night prayer meeting at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church marked the beginning of ten continuous days of nightly sessions. It marked the ending of ten hours of exhausting physical effort by myself. I tried to note the speaker’s main points, but was so knackered I just managed to jot down some scriptural citations. The main address was by Berean Associate Pastor James Lamb, an academic administrator who meticulously prepares his talks. His record of the sermonette will be the one that is fit for posterity.

The service began with a brief speech by the Berean Prayer Ministry Coordinator. There is no program, brochure, or videotape of Wednesday night services. She did not mention her name. Since I am not a serious reporter, I did not seek her out after the service in order to get her name. I hoped it would be in my copy of the Nominating Committee Report back at home. It wasn’t. She said that tonight was the beginning of the ten day stretch of nightly prayer, slated to wrap up on the 16th of this month. She then listed a seven day syllabus of subject matter: Epistles, Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, and the Gospel. Two prayer days are Sabbaths. That leaves one more, in order to make a total of ten. That day was today, the “Introduction.” It took several minutes for my exhausted brain to apprehend this.

The new kid on the block, Pastor Danielle Pilgrim, followed the Prayer Coordinator with a short message about “confessional prayer.” I recall a Wednesday night service a year or so ago where Pastor Jeremiah Sepolan had us write down our abiding sins on a piece of paper. At the close of the service, everyone assembled outdoors, at the front of the church, to incinerate the pieces of paper. It was highly theatrical. Tonight confession assumed a simpler complexion, as we just paired off to speak and pray about our sin. I have already confessed on FaceBook that I ate some scallops this Christmas. I have muttered some four-letter words in desperate moments. That is about it, but sin is sin. These are two bad situations I have need to repent of.

Only God has the power to forgive sins. This has been stated as a good reason why the scenario shown above in ineffective. “Bless me Father, for I have sinned…”

Pastor Pilgrim thus dispatched the subject of “confessional prayer.” It was now time for Pastor James Lamb to cover the subject of “intercessory prayer.” He set the stage for the “Ten Days of Prayer” project with a fifteen minute discourse on the subject of the Holy Spirit. He spoke of a passage in scripture that cites an instance of Jesus Himself praying. It is the incident where Jesus says to Peter that the Devil wishes to “sift him like wheat.” Pastor Lamb told us that “sifting” was a violent operation back in Bible times. But Jesus braced Peter by asserting that He would “pray for him.” This was a case of “intercessory prayer” by none other than Christ. Pastor Lamb told us that “right now, Jesus, in the Heavenly Sanctuary, is interceding on our behalf.” This statement served to remind me that I was in an Adventist, and not a Baptist or Episcopal church. I aspire not just to being a good Christian, but to being a good Adventist as well. I have started a amateur gloss on this week’s Sabbath School lesson. It is practically an Ellen White quote-a-thon. Chapter 3 of “Patriarchs and Prophets” appears to be one of the sources for the lesson, “Crises in Eden.”

Here the sermon paused in order for the congregation to again team up for intercessory prayer. Pastor Lamb noted that, when we are praying for others, we don’t worry about ourselves so much. I was paired with Cheryl, who requested me to pray for her cousin Denise, a person on the verge of losing her house. I requested Cheryl to pray for my sister’s bad back, a condition that has recently proved debilitating in the extreme. She can take pain medicine, or she can work, but she can’t do both at once. She has to work, so she is always in pain. Cheryl said that by this time next week she hoped to hear news of the cure of my sister’s condition. That, indeed, would constitute a miracle.

A screen capture from the French silent film I purloined for the YouTube video “The Childhood of Jesus,” featuring John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

After prayer, Pastor Lamb resumed his sermon, with a new emphasis upon the Holy Spirit. He said that this was our greatest need, and that God was eager to grant the spirit to us. An example of God’s generosity was given in the form of a statement made by Jesus in Matthew 7:11: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” The “good thing” the Pastor meant is the granting of the Holy Spirit. I was now so exhausted I could barely listen, and I missed most of Pastor Lamb’s commentary. I did have wit enough to recognize the verses of scripture cited, however. They are so familiar, a few key words from each will suffice to bring them to the reader’s remembrance. 1: “if I go not away, the comforter…”  2: “will guide you into all truth…”

How do we acquire the Spirit? We ask for it. This second reference to the word “ask” is from Luke 11:13, which is so similar to Matthew 7:11 that the match is almost word for word. Referring to these passages, I once told my former employer that I had asked him for a fish, and he had given me a serpent. I once told an incompetent optometrist that I was “blinded on the road to Damascus.”
Pastor Lamb asserted that “a revival is to be expected only in answer to prayer.” He promised that those who attend the projected prayer meetings will enjoy a “precious experience.” But he added that this promise was conditional, for we must first surrender our souls to God in order to receive the gift (of the Spirit). If David Trofort were at the keyboard, at this point he would have begun to quietly play “I Surrender All.” But, tonight, he was not at the  keyboard. Pastor Lamb ended with a quote from Jesus found in John 14:12: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…” He conjectured that the disciples would have been surprised to hear such a comment, that they could, on their own, actually accomplish “greater things than Jesus.” But this is true. Jesus said it. And we can accomplish “greater things” too. Those in attendance were now excited about the next “ten days of prayer.” Pastor James Lamb’s pre-game “pep-rally” had served it’s purpose admirably.

Pastor James Lamb. I wish that he would speak more frequently, but his attention is mainly directed to his role as an administrator, and not to preaching.

A Second Sermon in the Series on Nehemiah by Lead Pastor Fredrick Russell

Sabbath Sermon, "What God Thinks / What God Does"

Pastor Fredrick Russell, captured from this Sabbath’s  video, a rare moment when his hands were in repose.

The sermon this Sabbath at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta, was delivered by lead Pastor Fredrick Russell. It represents the second installment in a series of talks based on the Book of Nehemiah, “Rebuilding the Ruins.” The title of today’s installment is “What God Thinks / What God Does.” As usual, here is a link to the ENTIRE SEVICE. Pastor Russell’s sermon begins at time marker 1:17:45. Two pre-sermon songs by the choir commence at time marker1:02:30. Luther Washington II relinquished his spot at the organ in order to direct the choir today. He is kind of a perfectionist. His classical predilection is evident in the first number. The second number is like a “torch song” interpretation of Psalm 23, and not nearly as “Washingtonian.”

A brief summary of the sermon may be found below some relatively lengthy marginalia concerning the Sabbath School lesson. The sermon served a threefold purpose:

1. Lessons in the importance and efficacy of prayer, using Nehemiah’s (and Daniel’s) prayer life as an example for us to emulate. As stated last week, this relates it to the church’s current emphasis on prayer.
2. General educational material about the rarely highlighted Book of Nehemiah. A parallel between the restoration of Jerusalem’s defenses, and our own defense against the snares of Satan was mentioned last week, and, tangentially, this week as well.
3. The lamentable state of Berean’s physical plant. If this is not applicable to your life, you may mentally substitute “state of my soul” for church repair references, a dual-purpose message akin to the “dual prophecy” discussed in the December 27 Sabbath School lesson, “The Fall in Heaven.”

SOME COGENT REMARKS BY A YOUNG SCHOLAR

As I was walking into the main sanctuary, a sincere young Adventist (name not known to me, and not on the video) was making a brief, but very topical speech to the early arrivals. He expressed his support for the “Spirit of Prophecy,” and then told us that his remarks were not intended to advocate any particular political position.

The speaker mentioned some recent, and controversial remarks by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The Justice spoke a day or two ago at a Catholic High School, a speech that may be fully scrutinized at this LINK. It emphasizes the relationship between church and state in this country, a relationship that Ellen White expressed concern about. But the main Antonin Scalia reference the speaker brought to our attention were some insensitive, and inaccurate, opinions the Justice uttered early in December regarding the capabilities of minorities to function, scholastically, on a level playing field. This New York Times LINK should refresh your memory. I am not virulently anti-Catholic, but the remarks reminded me of dozens of similar displays of ignorant prejudice by the British author G.K. Chesterton, a convert to Catholicism, like Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene (who were not, however, idiots like Chesterton).

The mother church of the Society of Jesuits, “Il Gesu” in Rome. The “consoles” at either side of the nave made their first appearance anywhere on this façade.

The Society of Jesus could be considered the elite of the Catholic hierarchy, and the current pope has a Jesuit background. The young speaker at Berean this morning alluded to Antonin Scalia’s Jesuit training. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was a good Jesuit. I consider John McLaughlin a bad Jesuit. There is such a thing as being too conservative (in the current, politically compromised meaning of the term), and social justice (and subsequently, African-American interest) is better served by the Democrats. But, alas, the Democrat tent is too big for comfort. In Europe one of the major parties is named the Christian Democrats, inaugurated as a Catholic endeavor, but grown up into something more ecumenical. They are “moderate conservatives” like myself, and not “rabid conservatives” like yet another Catholic I will link, Patrick Buchanan. The Wikipedia article calls him a “paleoconservative,” not a very objective sounding name, and akin to my rabies analogy.

This morning’s speaker referred to Scalia as America’s foremost “conservative intellectual.” I am just perverse enough to call this usage an “oxymoron.” Most progress in this country has been made by “limousine liberals.” The speaker noted that there were currently no Protestants on the Supreme Court. This statement would seem to contradict the speaker’s inferred preference for a Jeffersonian separation of church and state. Justice, like vengeance, is best served cold, without denominational taint, and the dispassionate execution of it is a worthy ideal. I am sure that the reality is quite the opposite of “ideal,” however.

The Adventist agenda regarding these matters is partially displayed in Chapter 21 of “The Great Controversy,” entitled A Warning Rejected (on the deterioration of denominations, not just Catholicism), and in Chapter 35, Liberty of Conscience Threatened (touching on the dangers of church-state fusion). I am getting on in years. Every time I hear of some new calamity, I find myself in reluctant agreement with Ecclesiastes 1:9″ “…there is no new thing under the sun.” What will be new is “a new heaven and a new earth.”

Here is one last Jesuit reference, one that is probably already known to everyone. It is a famous quote from Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus: “We should always be prepared so as never to err to believe that what I see as white is black, if the hierarchic Church defines it thus” (from Spiritual Exercises, 1548). This is the quintessential example of “blind loyalty.”


A LUDICROUSLY SHORT SUMMARY OF TODAY”S SERMON

Pastor Fredrick Russell prefaced today’s sermon, “What God Thinks / What God Does” with some personal reflections on prayer technique. He said that while out west recently, up in the skies, over the mountains, he thought of the prayer life of Daniel. It was so disciplined, God Himself would drop by. He said that a lot of us are so self-centered these days, that God gets excluded from our affairs. God finally gets consulted when it is usually late in the game, sometimes too late. The pastor told of recent difficulties with a slow leak at his house. The wooden basement floor buckled severely due to the moisture. He got in a tizzy about the situation, seeking advice and estimates, but then eventually got God involved in the crises. The pastor reflected that, in retrospect, it would have been a good idea to get God in on the ground floor of the dilemma.

The text for the sermon, from Nehemiah, is from Chapter 2, verses 17,18, & 19. After his secret, moonlight reconnaissance of the broken walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah informs his hitherto rather complacent fellow Jerusalemites of his intention to rebuild. This is what the King of Babylon, current master of the Hebrews, had authorized Nehemiah to do. The locals agree that it would be a good idea. My soon-to-vanish song “Go To the Ant” has a line from Nehemiah 4:6: “…the people had a mind to work.” But opposition existed in the form of three powerful local adversaries. I understood the identity of “Geshem the Arab,” but was educated when Pastor Russell told us that the other two (Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite) were Jewish. My view is that the arrival of Nehemiah in their midst, out of the blue, and bearing authority delegated to him by Babylon, represented a threat to their cushy status quo.

Last week’s sermon highlighted the “travailing prayer” of Nehemiah when first informed of Jerusalem’s sorry plight. This week, the fact that the balance of the Book of Nehemiah documents a continuous prayerful connection of the author with God was noted. Nehemiah’s prayers were, according to the sermon and the handy notes provided us:

• Daring (I was reminded of three times at the end of the book, where Nehemiah cites his virtuous activity to God, asking that the Lord “remember it,” but this kind of presumption is not at all what Pastor Russell was referring to).
• Defiant (against enemies, spiritual and physical; the later would soon come in for scrutiny).
• Disciplined (in the manner of Daniel).

The pastor said that Nehemiah did not make a move without consulting God. In bold type the printed notes to the sermon stated: “What God Thinks and What God Does Matters More Than What Anyone Else In the World Thinks Or Does.” If this is true (and none disputed this), then God should be consulted at the beginning of any activity. You need to ask him to be the one to inaugurate an action. The whole church had, in connection with a fitness campaign, earlier sung the juvenile song that starts with “I May Never March In the Infantry.” Pastor Russell was, in effect, advocating that we let God lay down an “artillery” barrage, before we, ourselves get embroiled in a skirmish (my weak metaphor).

…Artillery hard at work. My favorite character in “War and Peace” was the affable and self-effacing artillery officer who lost an arm by the end of the book.

The pastor provided four points in the sermon outline which encapsulated the situation of the Jerusalemites. The keywords are (1) Trouble! (2) Ruins! (3) Burned! (4) Rebuild! A quote from the relevant verses of Nehemiah, spoken by the people: “let us start building” (NIV), or in superior King James parlance: “Let us rise up and build.” At this stage, the “Triple Trouble,” as the notes designate it, tried to block progress. The pastor was subtly introducing the secondary theme of the sermon at this time, the urgent need for some major repair on the church building. He quickly cited:

• Bad downstairs bathroom conditions.
• Pews coming apart at the seams.
• A kitchen that is “dark, gritty, and grimy.”
• Cracked asphalt in the parking lot.
• Puddles on the walk in front of the church (more precisely, one mega-puddle)

A figure of 1.5 million came and went so fast I barely had time to catch it. I stared at it there. sitting in my hand, and remarked to myself what a reasonable little figure it was. If there really are 4000 Bereans, that requires just $375 from each one of them to do the job. But the pastor warned against the inevitable “naysayers,” likening them to Nehemiah’s adversaries in Jerusalem.

An image that can be appropriately inserted just about anywhere. It represents “truth in advertising,” for the church in fact “Welcomes You.”

This painless digression into the temporal realm yielded, at the conclusion of the sermon, to a restatement of it’s primary emphasis on prayer. The pastor encouraged the congregation to make a commitment to pray “three times a day,” the frequency that Daniel employed for his prayers. Daniel also prayed in the direction of Jerusalem, but the pastor omitted this refinement. My unfinished song “What Prayer Can Do” mentions this direction, but it is most confusing if you are not familiar with the Book of Daniel. Muslims face Mecca, and offer “Salah” five times a day. Muslim “Zakat,” their version of tithing, is just 2.5%.

Prayer concluded the sermon. Pastor Russell spoke a collective desire to commit to praying “morning, noon, and night.” He enjoined us not only to learn how to pray to God, but how to “listen to God” as well.