ATTENTION: Blog Moved

Hi all,

I've moved this blog over to a self-hosted Wordpress site. Check it out at www.philmorgan.org

Phil

A Great Mystery

This morning's Message Outline:

4/19/09 - First Assembly of God

"A Great Mystery"

Ephesians 5:22-33

Christian marriage is not an end in itself. Marriage is God’s living illustration of His relationship with His people – Christ’s relationship to His bride, the Church.

1. Jesus is the Founder and Head of the Church (v23-24)

2. Jesus is the greatest Lover of the Church (v25)

3. Jesus is the Perfector of the Church (v26-27)

Church Membership classes commence Sunday morning, May 17th, at 9.30am. If you attend First Assembly and have not yet become a member we invite you to join us for this 4 week series.

CLICK HERE to download this message as an audio podcast, or listen online streaming, and / or download the full notes.

Phil

Town Hall for Hope event

We are very pleased to be hosting Dave Ramsey's nationwide "Town Hall for Hope".

Next Thursday night, April 23rd at 8.00pm.

[Note: the event is at our church facility -

not at the local Town Hall.]

Last year we ran Dave's "Financial Peace University" training course at First Assembly, and it was one of the best-attended, most talked-about programs we've had. So many people were encouraged and helped very practically with getting their finances in better shape. This is just THE best stuff out there on personal financial management ... bar none ... no question!

What a timely course it turned out to be with what has ensued over the following months in our economy, and the fear and gloom that has gripped so many people as a result.

This one night event is designed to give people back hope, and some real answers and strategies for their families. If you live in the Danbury area, don't miss being with us next Thursday night! If you live further away, this event is being beamed live via internet into churches all over the place so go to www.townhallforhope.com and find out the nearest venue to where you live. There's also a cool video on that page for everyone to watch that will just get you excited about what next week's event is all about.

This is a no-cost event. Just come, and bring all your friends! I look forward to seeing you there.

Phil

Easter's Joy

Yesterday's Message Outline:

Easter Sunday 4/12/09 - First Assembly of God

"Easter's Joy"

John 20:19-20

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is MORE than just a historical fact ; MORE than simply a theological truth; MORE than a doctrinal statement (though it IS all of these things). The resurrection is the most wonderful, practical, liberating comfort for believers. To know that Jesus is alive!

1. The Distress of not Knowing that Jesus is Risen

2. The Distrust of not Believing that Jesus is Risen

3. The Joy of Knowing that Jesus is Risen

CLICK HERE to download this message as an audio podcast, or listen online streaming, and / or download the full notes.

Please Note: We apologize that there is no audio podcast available of Good Friday's message. The full notes, however, can be downloaded at the same link above.

Phil

Quotes for chewing on #3 – Piper: a prayer for eternal perspective

“Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity."

John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, p.72.

Do You Think He Will Not Come?

This morning's Message Outline:

Palm Sunday 4/5/09 - First Assembly of God

"Do You Think He Will Not Come?"

John 11:56

So, will He come to Jerusalem? Does He dare? The question is about to be resoundly answered. Absolutely He will come!

1. He’ll come because it was for this purpose that He took on flesh

2. He’ll come because no man holds His destiny

3. He’ll come because this week is the apex of eternity

Once again in 2009 the same question is being asked. 2 Peter 3:3-10.

He will come. Are you ready?

CLICK HERE to download this message as an audio podcast, or listen online streaming, and / or download the full notes.

Phil

Palm Sunday & Holy Week

Tomorrow we begin “Holy Week”, the central event of the Christian calendar. If you’re in the Danbury area we hope you’ll come out and join us at First Assembly for our Palm Sunday service at 10.45am.

My message tomorrow morning is titled “Do you think He will not come?” from John 11:56. A question that was asked in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, that was powerfully answered by God, and is being asked again in 2009. I can’t wait to preach what I’ve felt God putting on my heart for this very special day.

Join us also for our regular Sunday Night Revival Prayer meeting at 6.00pm.

A look forward to Good Friday morning, we’ll be having a one hour communion service together at 9.00am. Our theme will be “The True Agony of the Cross.” A lot of attention has been paid in recent years to the physical suffering Jesus endured at the Cross. Films like “The Passion of the Christ” have emphasized it for us. Jesus DID suffer a horrific death, but the Scriptures show very clearly that the TRUE agony He bore was not primarily the physical torture. Something else caused Him to sweat drops of blood in anticipation. Don’t miss our Good Friday service!

Then our week will climax on next Easter Sunday morning with the celebration that “He is Risen!”

Looking forward to sharing this wonderful week with you, and giving all the honor, praise, adoration and glory to our Savior. He alone is worthy!

Phil

The Uniqueness of God

The Book of Deuteronomy recounts Moses "farewell" at the end of his life. He is preparing the people of Israel to move into the Promised Land under the leadership of his successor Joshua. Moses himself would not go in with them.

The name "Deuteronomy" comes from two words: "deuteros" meaning "two" or "second", and "nomos" meaning "law" - so it is "the second giving of the law". Moses is repeating all of God's requirements to a new generation of Israelites. Their parents had been delivered from slavery in Egypt, but faltered at the opportunity to enter the Promised Land through fear, and so they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until this new generation came up to once again be given the opportunity to obey God.

That's the context.

I've been musing on Deuteronomy chapter 4 this week, where we read about a number of aspects of God's uniqueness.

He alone is God, and there is none like Him. Of course, in reality there are no other "gods" to even pretend to compare with Him, but even the so-called gods that exist as fantasies in the imagination of men cannot compare with His glory.

Usually, when men get outside the realm of reality and create fictional places and people, they are better, stronger, richer, greater. This is how we entertain ourselves with Utopian bliss. What if a man was indestructible and could fly? Ah yes, Superman! Better than a man with our mundane limitations. Or a James Bond, or a Sherlock Holmes, etc, etc.

But when it comes to God, all of man's wildest imaginations about how powerful such a being might be pale into insignificance beside the reality! The only true and living God is actually greater by far than all that men could dream up. God Himself points this out to us in Isaiah 55:9, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

This truth is all over the Bible, of course, but in this one passage in Deuteronomy chapter 4, just look at the ways that God is shown to be unique:

1. No other "god" is near to His people whenever they call (v7).


2. No other "god" has such righteous law (v8).


3. No other "god" is a merciful covenant-keeping God (v31).


4. No other "god" is a speaking God (v33).


5. No other "god" powerfully delivered a chosen people for Himself (v34).

Check the other religions of the world for yourself! None have a god like the True and Living God, Jehovah.

In all man's idolatrous and imaginitive scheming over 6000 years of history, not ONE of their "gods" is worthy to compare with the glory and beauty of their real Creator.

Phil

Congratulations Alli!

My amazing wife ...

recently completed studies with the Danbury Nurses Aide Training School, and on Monday she sat for the Connecticut State Exam and passed with flying colors! She is now a Certified Nurses Aide (CNA). Tomorrow she's off to add CPR training to her skills. Is there anything this gal can't do, and pack into a lifetime?

Congratulations, honey!

Phil

Quotes for chewing on #2 - Calvin on the Pastor's voice

"The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both."

John Calvin, Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, Baker p.296

Sermon - "The Madhouse of the Universe"

Oswald J. Smith was the Pastor of The People's Church in Toronto, Canada.

He had a burning passion for evangelism, and over the course of his ministry raised millions of dollars for the cause of world missions. He popularized the Faith Promise system of prioritizing missions giving that is still used in thousands of local churches.

"The Madhouse of the Universe" is an evangelistic sermon he preached on the subject of hell. Based on a simple idea and outline, Smith's imagery is vivid and compelling. CLICK HERE to read this classic sermon.

Phil

Quotes for chewing on #1 - Piper on the rightful centrality of God's glory in our lives

"We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things; and when we trade that treasure for images, everything is disordered. The sun of God's glory was made to shine at the center of the solar system of our soul. And when it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart. The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to it's flaming, all-attracting place at the center."

John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, p.15.

BOOK REVIEW - "Why We're Not Emergent"

Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.

This book has been reviewed quite extensively around the internet since it's publication last year. I bought a copy quite early, but had not gotten around to reading it.

The ideas postulated by the very nebulous group that come under the umbrella term of the "emergent church", is clearly nothing more or other than a regurgitation of the standard liberal theology that rose (and largely fizzled as a real force) in the 20th Century. Emergents claim to be a "revolution" in the church for a postmodern generation, but there is absolutely nothing new in what they are saying, so any thought of being revolutionary is quite ridiculous.

The authors of this book are far less blunt in their writing than I have been in the paragraph above, but their conclusion is the same. I should mention that they have a website where you can download a sample chapter.

This is a good read, and I believe every committed, Bible-believing Christian ought to know something about this movement. (If only to steer others from it, and back to orthodox Christianity.) It's written in a popular style, with the authors alternating chapters. DeYoung is the more pastoral and theological of the two; Kluck the more amusing and provocative. If you want a more scholarly treatment of the subject, D.A.Carson's contribution ("Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church") has been very well received.

My only complaint with the book is that I found it a little repetitive after the first few chapters, and was tempted to start skimming.

For me: 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.

Phil

Seek ... do ... teach

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra7:10)

I love this character, Ezra. He was an honorable man, chosen by God to lead in the rebuilding of the Temple. He was not a warrior or a king; nor even a thundering prophet. He was a “plain” man, faithful to his calling as “a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses” (v6). In other words, he was a “workman in the Word” (see 2 Timothy 2:15).

Note what verse 10 says. Ezra gave himself with a serious commitment to “seeking”, “doing” and “teaching” the Word of God. Some people might see these skills, this occupation, as mundane and unglamorous, but God seeks out such a servant to use for His purposes – for “He has magnified His Word above all His Name”. (Psalm 138:2)

Ezra’s distinction was in his devotion to his calling. He “prepared his heart” for it. A lot of people have been deemed great Christian leaders for their charisma or natural leadership ability, but the Christians who have changed the course of world history for God’s glory have been those that have buried themselves in the Word of God, seeking to know His message, and have meticulously applied it to their own lives to be changed by it, and only then have emerged to teach it to others. This is the only right order – “SEEKING” (studying) … “DOING” … then “TEACHING”.

Think of St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, and others, who “though dead yet still speak” … men bent over parchments and books by lamplight, wrestling with the great truths of God, and emerging broken and humbled, walking with a spiritual “limp” as real as Jacob’s physical limp after his wrestling match with God (Genesis 32). And only then did they dare to open their mouths and with trembling lips instruct others.

What a contrast to the flippancy of our day. The spotlight seems to fall on any novice who can tell a joke with good timing. If a preacher comes out with something that seems ”new” and pithy, it is received with oohs and aahs, regardless of whether it has any substantive basis in rightly interpreted Scripture.

Thank God there are still Ezras. In fact, there is a growing column of “soldiers of the Book”, who love God’s Word and are dedicated to SEEKING, DOING and only then TEACHING it. We need more.

There is a clear challenge here, of course, to pastors and preachers. But not exclusively. Every Christian ought to be a seeker, a doer, and a teacher of God’s Word. Can I challenge you with the following:

1. Avoid “soundbyte” Christianity, where we live on a diet of sermonettes and bumper sticker slogans. Don’t look for “3 steps to a happier life” – learn everything God’s Word has to say about living for His glory. It will take you a lifetime.


2. Prayerfully read God’s Word every day.Learn to study God’s Word (take some training in how to rightly interpret the Bible. CLICK HERE for a resource I highly recommend).


3. Eagerly participate in Bible Study opportunities at your church. Be there when it's being taught, sit up the front, take notes; be determined to get everything you can!


4. Be sure to put what you are learning into practice in your own life; don’t allow hypocrisy in your life by “knowing and teaching” but not LIVING it.


5. Share the truth with others. Tell the gospel to unbelievers, and share the encouragement and correction of God’s Word with other committed Christians to build them up.

Phil

Paul's burden

"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles ... that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel" (Ephesians 3:1, 6)

We see here what was driving Paul in his passion for preaching the gospel. He had a very evident love for the Lord, and also a love for people; for precious lost souls. He said “I am Christ's prisoner FOR YOU GENTILES." "I wouldn’t be in this prison cell, except for my love for you, that you hear and know the truth, and come to Christ."

It's the same burden that he conveys in Romans 1:14, "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel ..."

He was a prisoner. He was a debtor. He saw their faces when he was lying down at night trying to sleep. He was haunted by the sound of their footsteps marching toward the precipice of hell without Christ, and therefore with no hope.

God is always looking for the man or woman that He can yoke His passion for souls to. Such people have changed time and eternity by their prayers and preaching.

“Oh mother! Mother! The thud of these Christless feet on their way to hell breaks my heart!” (Willie Burns, at age 17, later used by God to start revivals in Scotland and China)

"I care not where I go, or how I live, or what I endure so that I may save souls. When I sleep I dream of them; when I awake they are first in my thoughts…no amount of scholastic attainment, of able and profound exposition of brilliant and stirring eloquence can atone for the absence of a deep impassioned sympathetic love for human souls." (David Brainerd)

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." (Charles Spurgeon)

These men had caught a glimpse of the lake of fire; they had smelled it's rising sulphur. Do WE have any idea what an eternity in hell will be like?

Listen to the words of Jonathan Edwards:

"Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is; and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isa. 66:23,24. 'And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.'

"It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For 'who knows the power of God's anger?'"

(Excerpted from "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God")

If we would only shake off our apathy and stupor, and get this same vision before our eyes, it would drive us to 2 certain things:

1. To examine ourselves and make sure WE are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5)


2. To reach out to others like nothing else on earth matters at all. “Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11)

Many will scoff and call this "alarmist". But if the flames are real (and God's Word leaves us in no doubt that they are), we will very shortly wish that we had screamed ourselves to the last breath raising the alarm.

Phil

New Sermon Podcast

BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT: Now you can listen to some of the weekly messages I preach at First Assembly online.

Scroll down to the bottom of this blog page and you'll find my new Sermon Media Player Podcast.

For now, I've uploaded a selection of messages that I had readily available on CD. I'll post a few more through this week, and then my plan (my good intention) will be to upload a brand new message each Monday.

If you have a listen and find the messages helpful, you can subscribe to receive each new weekly update automatically downloaded to your iTunes / iPod. If you think they're worthwhile, tell a friend.

Phil

Changed Church Service schedule tomorrow

Important Announcement for all First Assembly of God church family.

Hope you managed to stay warm and dry today, and dug yourself out after the good 8 inch New England snow storm yesterday.

Well, we're watching the forecast and it looks like we're going to be hit again overnight tonight and into tomorrow. SO ...

• There will NO Sunday School or Growth Groups at 9.30am.


• We are moving our 10.45am service to 2.00pm - this will be our only service for the day.

I hope these arrangements will help so that as many people as possible can get out for one great service together tomorrow. We'll see you at 2.00pm!

CLICK HERE for our local weather forecast.

Pastor Phil

Christmas ... it's about the cross!

Enjoy the video. For more great songs by Go Fish, check out their web site at http://www.gofishguys.com/

Phil

Wretched Radio

OK, it's time to admit it ... My name's Phil, and I have been a "Way of the Master Radio" junkie. (All together now: "Hi Phil")

I've been used to getting the podcast every day and listening in my car while driving. It's an excellent program, hosted by Todd Friel, promoting sound theology, sane discernment, and passionate evangelism. We would have some disagreements on peripheral issues of the faith (perpetuity of some spiritual gifts, etc) - but on the essentials of the nature of God and His salvation plan ... united! Great stuff.

It pains me to say it, but I feel a lot more affinity with Todd & Co than I do with many of today's pentecostal and charismatic preachers who have abandoned the gospel of the New Testament. Traded it in for man-centered craziness.

WELL ... as of December 1st ...
the show is no more! (At least - not by the old name.)

Aaaaargh!

BUT the good news is that it has been relaunched under the new name "Wretched Radio" which aligns it with the Family Net TV Show "Wretched". Both shows are hosted by Todd Friel.

Phew!

If you haven't tuned in yet, I highly recommend it. CLICK HERE to visit their web site. You can download a sample segment. If you want the archive of daily podcasts, plus access to all the TV programs, and some other great privileges, you can sign up to be a member very inexpensively. Well worth it!

Enjoy!

Phil

Precious!

1 Peter 2:7 - “Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious…”

This was the text that Charles Haddon Spurgeon took for the first sermon he ever preached. He was just 16 years of age at the time, and he was asked to preached to a group of farmers in a small cottage in the village of Teversham. Some years later he said: “I do not think I could have said anything upon any other text, but Christ was precious to my soul.”

And that's about all I want to blog today. Jesus is precious to ME.

1. He is precious to me because of who He is.

The King of all kings, and the Lord of all lords, Co-partner of the eternal throne of God Almighty, Creator of the rolling spheres and Sustainer of all things. The Self-existent God who needed nothing, had to prove nothing, was challenged by nothing. Yet He set His love on the sons of men whom He had made. And when mankind rebelled and went astray (every one of us, without exception, the Bible says), He left all the glories of Heaven behind in a moment, just as He had planned to do, and subjected Himself to poverty, and mistreatment, and rejection – to stand by our side.

Jesus, our Savior, the eternal God, is good. Worthy of glory, and worthy of honor, and worthy of praise. He is precious to me because of who He is.

2. He is precious to me because of all that He has done.

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

His humiliation took Him all the way to the Cross. He suffered and died there in my place - in OUR place. In His death He paid the price for our sins, satisfying the demands of Holy justice. God can now justly commute our death sentence. Having made that payment in His own blood, Jesus rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven where He now lives interceding for us. He’s applying the victory that He won for us, over and over again – blessing our lives. He salvages us from sins, He saves us from ourselves, He makes us holy through the power of His Holy Spirit, He heals, He leads us, He provides, He empowers us, He’s preparing a place for us, He’s coming again for us!

Oh, Jesus is precious to me for all that He has done.

3. He is precious to me because I am precious to Him.

“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Jesus came to stand by our side, not because we were calling for Him – we weren’t. He came because He knew we needed Him. Because He knew there was no other way. And because He loves us with an everlasting love.

Jesus esteems US as precious. Precious enough for Him to seek and to save us. Doesn’t that amaze you? Doesn’t it change everything?

Andrae Crouch used to sing:

“I don’t know why Jesus loved me
I don’t know why He cared,
I don’t know why He sacrificed His life,
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did.”

Phil