by Bob Hall | Nov 6, 2012 | Uncategorized
I do not look for a political savior. I have no king but Jesus. But Jesus tells me to submit to governing authorities and, therefore, I will vote in this election.
Here is the basis of my vote:
No man has the right to rule over another; yet we need to be governed. James Madison said in Federalist 51, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” We live in a fallen world and we must give the power of the sword into the hands of somebody. We must, however, take into consideration the reality of original sin.
Alexander Solzhenitzen, who certainly knew something about tyranny, said that evil cuts through every one of us. We are not angels; we are inherently prone to evil according to Genesis 6:5, “Every thought and intent of his [every person’s] heart was only evil all the time.” How then do we give someone the right to rule over us without that person becoming an oppressor? By limiting that person’s power in an agreement between the magistrate and the people, typically called a constitution.
But that, in itself is not enough. That relationship must be presided over by a higher authority, namely, the God of this universe, the One who speaks and it is so. He is the source of justice. That magistrate-citizen relationship places obligations on both. Both leader and citizen have an obligation to abide by the mutually agreed upon relationship–under God! It is called the rule of law. Without it, we face two dangers: the tyranny of the leader, and the tyranny of the mob.
In a word, I shall vote for the person who most closely believes in a government limited by the constitution. That said, I pray, most of all, for leaders who will “kiss the Son.”
by Bob Hall | Oct 29, 2012 | Uncategorized
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 ESV)
This story is about two sinners and the universal human need for justification.
Make no mistake, the Pharisee believed that he was a sinner (after all, nobody’s perfect)–but he was also confident that his religious diligence made him acceptable to God. He had (with the help of God, of course) lifted himself above the bar of acceptability. Yes, although he gave credit to God that he was not like other men, he had, in his own mind, justified himself.
By contrast, that “scumbag” publican saw no hope, in and of himself, to be accepted by God. His only recourse was to cast himself on the mercy of God, the means of which would be shortly revealed in the Cross.
His prayer, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” commonly called “The Sinner’s Prayer,” are not the magic words by which someone gets saved. No, it was a cry of the heart that actually said, God propitiate me, that is, in mercy turn your wrath away from me, one who justly deserves it.
How is that wrath turned away? Through Christ—who, through His death, reconciles us to the Father and who alone can justify us.
Indeed, this wrath-deserving sinner “went down to his house justified before God.”
by Bob Hall | Oct 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
People have been asking, “What’s going on? We thought the case was over and done with when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear our appeal in December of 2011…” We thought so too–but by a stroke of God’s sovereign hand, our case was reopened in Federal District Court thanks, in part, to a new Supreme Court ruling in January of this year.
Judge Preska also ruled in our favor denying a motion by the city to stay the injunction pending appeal. Had this stay been granted, this would have meant that, even though there was a favorable ruling, all of the churches would have had to vacate the schools until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruled on the appeal. This would have been a very awkward and difficult situation for all of us, not to mention it being mean spirited.
Yes, the city is appealing the decision to the Second Circuit. Oral arguments will be presented on November 19th, and then we will wait for a ruling. Please continue to pray for this very important matter, the implications of which stretch beyond what is happening in our general culture with its increasingly visible hostility to the historic Christian faith.
by Bob Hall | Oct 10, 2012 | Uncategorized
When we signed the contract in May to finish the construction on our building, the contractor told us that they expected to be finished by December. We thought to ourselves, “Sure! It’ll never happen.” Now, they’re talking about Thanksgiving and from what we can see, it just might happen.
As far as building construction goes, we are small potatoes compared to typically non-residential construction, and contractors like jobs like ours to “fill in” those gaps in their larger projects. Granted, this would tend to slow things down for us but it would help our cash flow. Guess what? There are no big jobs, or, at least, they are few and far between thanks to our current economy. We are it. They want to finish our building so that they can get their money.
There’s only one problem: we don’t have the money to complete the project. Well, the obvious question is, why did you proceed? We had to. We didn’t want to lose the generous foundation grant. We didn’t want the financial exposure of expired permits and reapplication which would require us, literally, to go back to the drawing board. We have already absorbed the cost of unexpected new building code regulations. We were concerned about deterioration of the existing structure. We didn’t want to lose our tax exemption. The city needs revenue and it does not allow unimproved properties to be tax exempt even though they are owned by a church. Once that tax exemption is revoked, it is a long process to get it back. There are other reasons.
Did I mention that we need this building to multiply our existing ministries and to launch new ones? In order for our church, any church for that matter, to grow, to be alive, we have to be continually reaching out.
A donor is putting forth this challenge. Someone has come forward with a new gift of $50,000 for the building. He is asking you for gifts of any amount that will match (and yes, exceed) that amount. This is not a matching grant. It is a gift that is already in place for which we thank the Lord. But he feels so strongly about the ministry potential behind this building that he is asking you to join him towards seeing it come to fruition. Yes, it will be our house of worship but it is also designed as a multi-purpose ministry center. That is who we are.
We are mindful and grateful of the many and generous gifts that have come in both large and small. We are learning by experience that we serve a mighty God and with Him, all things are possible.
For Jack Roberts and me, we count it a privilege to labor in this corner of God’s vineyard and we thank you for bringing this matter before the Lord.
Together in Christ we are blessed and kept,
Bob Hall, co-pastor
