Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3251 Greendale Road, Cahaba Heights

Help us O Lord, to hold your word in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patiece!

The Parable of the Sower And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Psalm 24 Domini est terra

1 The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, *the world and all who dwell therein. 2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep. 3 "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? *and who can stand in his holy place?" 4 "Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,nor sworn by what is a fraud. 5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD *and a just reward from the God of their salvation." 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. 8 "Who is this King of glory?" *"The LORD, strong and mighty,the LORD, mighty in battle." 9 Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. 10 "Who is he, this King of glory?" *"The LORD of hosts,he is the King of glory."

100 Days of Change for the American Family...

President Obama took a few minutes during yesterday's primetime press conference to respond to a question by CNN reporter Ed Henry about his plans for the Freedom of Choice Act. Obama hedged his answer at first with his standard lines on abortion as a "moral issue." He went on to say, "... [T]his is an issue that... individual women have to wrestle with... And I think they are in a better position to make these decisions ultimately than members of Congress or a president of the United States... So that has been my consistent position. The other thing that I said consistently during the campaign is I would like to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies that result in women feeling compelled to get an abortion, or at least considering getting an abortion... Now, the Freedom of Choice Act is not highest legislative priority..." Has the President used his term to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies? For the answer, log on to www.frc.org and watch their brand new video, "100 Days of Change for the American Family." Additional Resources Watch our video "100 Days of Change for the American Family"

Sermon Notes April 26, 2009

3rd Sunday of Easter Jesus became a sinner to pay for sins. At the resurrection he inaugurated a whole new creation. The power of the resurrection is at work in us and through us. Easter is not just a happy ending to a story but it is truly a happy beginning of a story. Jesus was resurrected at sunrise on the first day of the week--this began a new creation. Resurrection means this physical world--the whole created order is being renewed. Man was made out of the dust of the earth. People are living dirt--the destiny of man and creation are forever intertwined. Resurrection is the moment at which the whole creation is set free. Man and earth, the whole world will be re-born. The Bible gives us theology for the care of the creation. Christians have always been on the cutting edge of environmental stewardship. God is going to redeem the environment. The resurrection gives us hope for the cosmos. We expect new creation AND new culture. Isaiah 60:5 "Then you sall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you." God made man to re-shape culture into a mature fashion. The original creation of a garden is developed into a city. Eden becomes the New Jerusalem. All of history is about maturity. God put his hands in the dirt to make man. Now man must put his hands in the dirt to shape/create culture. Jesus engages in culture in his resurrection body. Jesus is the NEW Adam, the NEW gardener, the NEW caretaker. What are we going to be doing in our resurection bodies for eternity? We will have discontinuity and continuity. We will have jobs to do. There will be work to do in the new creation but there won't be anymore thorns and thistles. Our works follow us in the new creation. The new creation will include all that we accomplish in this life. All our life's work belongs to God. Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people, meaning that religious people are so "other-worldly minded" that they are as if they are drugged and do not care about fixing the problems of this world....if religion is the opiate, resurrection is the smelling salt! Resurrection summons us to bring change to the world--it sets us ree to give up ourselves, our lives for the sake of the world. Death O Death, where is thy sting! We cannot be cynical about the condition of the world. The resurrection calls us to participate in God's triumph over evil. We must be governed by the standards of the Kingdom of God whih has already invaded the world at the resurection. The new creation will be free from sin and exploitation. It will be a place of peace, justice and love. Strive for such things NOW! The kingdom of God is at hand. Stand against tyranny and injustice NOW. Pull the future into the present. We are not polishing brass on a sinking ship. We can stand up for what is right in the face of death. Faith without works is dead! Faith that doesn't renew the culture is dead! Forward faithful ones!

Leithart exoneration upheld in Northwest Presbytery, PCA

http://deregnisduobus.blogspot.com/2009/04/update-on-peter-leithart-and-pacific.htm

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