A Great Update from The Dash Network!

by Pastor Nick on May 18, 2012
dash

DASH (DFW Asylum Seeker Housing), the Rooted’s way to provide housing for asylum seekers, is up and going! Below is an email that Ashley (Director of DASH)  forwarded me written to Solomon, the first asylum seeker being placed. Praise God for his providence and care for us all!

Also, Solomon will be moving into his largely unfurnished apartment on Sunday. If you have any household items you would like to donate, please bring them to church on Sunday or comment below so we can make arrangements.

Read more →

The Story of the Old Testament

by Pastor Nick on May 10, 2012

“The story told by the Old Testament is that of the glory of God, who reveals himself to be both merciful and just, righteous and forgiving.

The story began in the garden, where our first father was judged and shown mercy. It continued with God’s choice of and promise to Abraham, his deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and his long patience with the wayward nation. God’s justice finally fell when the nation was exiled, and all the cruelty of the destruction of Israel and Judah points to the incalculable worth of the God who would exact such punishment.

The Old Testament is a forward-looking book. It ends with the demonstration of God’s faithfulness to the promises he has made to his people. It also ends with the frank acknowledgment that not all the promises have been realized, and those with eyes of faith strain to glimpse their fulfillment.

…The story of the Old Testament is a story that leads its readers to think high thoughts of the Lord Yahweh, to glorify him. And the reason we are led to glorify him is that we see his justice and his mercy, which he makes to kiss each other (Ps. 85:11). When the story continues with the coming of the baptizing prophet, there will be more salvation that comes through more judgment, and this will only lead to more praise for the one who is worthy.”

(Hamilton Jr., James M. God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology)

What Kind of Father Should I Be?

by Pastor Nick on May 8, 2012
dad

Men, how do you know what kind of father to be? Should you be:

  • the fun, silly, care-free dad?
  • the strict, disciplinarian dad?
  • the cool, trendy dad?
  • the always-serious, theological dad?
  • the athletic, coach dad?
  • the outdoorsy, camping dad?
  • the proper, buttoned-up dad?
  • the long haired flip-flop dad?
  • the “I teach my kids what is true” dad?
  • the “I let my kids discover truth on their own” dad?

The One who made us has not left us to figure it out alone. A pattern has been set. And it has been set by God himself. “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18). Want to be an awesome, godly father? First be a really good son. Trust your Heavenly Father. Obey him as a good Dad. Get to know him better than anyone else in life. What he is to you, be that to your children.

After all, you are preparing your children to meet the King. This is your job. Above all other reasons, it’s why dads exist. Everything you say, teach, do, and fail to do for your children is included in this preparation. It is an all-encompassing task.

  • the words you speak
  • the instruction you give
  • the discipline you hand out
  • the wife you honor
  • the neighbors you serve
  • the love you express
  • the anger you display
  • the beauty you enjoy
  • the church you submit to
  • the “stuff” you treasure
  • the joy you impart
  • the God/god you hope in

The day may come when the King will call your child’s name, and your child will decide “Do I want this person – this King – to be my Father?” More than anything else in this life, their answer is influenced by you.

“God works through who we actually are…”

by Pastor Nick on April 18, 2012

“The desire for beauty and the good is infinitely frustrating, for mostly we are aware of what we are not. When we do things well, there is satisfaction in it. When we are well, we are unconscious of it and so get no satisfaction, at least not in the sense of ego gratification, which is the kind of satisfaction most of us have such a huge appetite for. And since mostly we are not well (holy), we mostly live with a deep sense of inadequacy. The only reason we continue to aspire to holiness is that the alternative is so insipid…

“Putting the mirror up to us and showing us our failure would be a severe and unbearable burden if it were not for this other dimension in the story — that God works his purposes through who we actually are, our rash disobedience and our heartless obedience, and generously uses our lives as he finds us to do his work.”

Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant

 

 

← Older Entries