October Pastoral Letter

Greetings in the Name of the Lord!

It is hard to believe that we are coming upon my family and I’s one-year anniversary of joining you here in Ellisville. It is amazing to see how many ways God has blessed us by your love and fellowship. We look forward to many more years of service and friendship with you as we work together for the Gospel and the Glory and Majesty of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We have also come to the end of our most recent sermon series on the Book of Ruth and I hope our time with Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz has been a blessing to you as it has been to me. It never ceases to amaze me as I read through Holy Scripture the way in which God blessedly orders everyone’s lives for His Glory. You can imagine that when Ruth awoke the morning she was introduced to Mahlon she had no idea what the Lord had in store for her in the next decade of her young life. But what we see in that decade is salvation for Ruth, redemption for Naomi, and the extension of the line of Christ by the mercy of the Kinsman-Redeemer Boaz. One of the things that sets apart the Scriptures is how often the focus of the stories in the Bible are on ordinary folks, living ordinary lives, seeking in their day-to-day life to serve and honor God in everything they do. We see that Boaz’s selfless acts towards Ruth and Naomi were done not for personal gain, but because he loved God and he loved his neighbor first. It is a reminder to us that if we put our trust and faith in the purposes of God and in His Wisdom and Direction then God will bless us in His mercy.

Our next sermon series will see us attend to the relationship between Jesus and His Father. John 17 begins after Jesus had spent the previous couple of chapters preparing His disciples for His departure. Jesus now is preparing Himself for the cross and He does so by going to God the Father in prayer. One of the problems in the Church today is we have lost a real understanding and appreciation for the relationship between the members of the Trinity and what it means to us that God the Father sent God the Son to die upon a cross for His people.

I again want to welcome you to join us for Sunday evening Bible Study at 5:00pm in the Pastor’s Study. We have been enjoying the study and hope that you will consider meeting with us. As always if there is anything I can do for you do not hesitate to give me a ring or stop by the study during the week. There is also some interest in having a weeknight prayer meeting. If you have questions about this or are interested in attending such a meeting please let me know.

In God’s Love,

     Rev. Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div.

Pastor, Ellisville Presbyterian Church (Independent)

www.ellisvillepres.org

August Pastoral Letter

 

Greetings in the Name of the Lord!

While the temperatures may still be in the 90’s here in Ellisville we have certainly entered into a new season of discovery and wonder as our kids and grandkids start afresh in new schools and grade-levels. Lily began Kindergarten, Mackenzie started preschool, and the Probst children entered Moselle Elementary after spending the last year at South Jones Elementary.  It has not just been a beginning for the kids we also congratulate Hope Kelley on starting her teaching career at Bay Springs Elementary!

One of the many things to be brought out of our series on the Book of Ruth has been a healthy dose of the doctrine of Providence. Providence is a word that we use to describe the hand of God in the life of the believer. What we have seen in the lives of Naomi and Ruth has been both what we can call “easy” and “hard” Providences. It is most assuredly true that while these things were happening to Naomi and Ruth they probably did not see God’s plan in their lives and the part they had to play in the Birth of the Messiah, our Savior Jesus Christ (Matt 1:5). The Puritan pastor John Flavel speaks of Providence in this way, “Some Providences like Hebrew letters must be read backwards.” We don’t often see the plan God has for us while we deal with adversity in our lives, but what makes us as Christians able to deal with such adversity is the faith we have in a Sovereign God that has ordered our lives for His Glory. There is a great peace and contentment to be gained in resting in the Providence of God. When you know that God holds you in His hand and has ordained your life before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-6) you can deal, through the work of His Spirit, with even the worst of possible situations and can keep a proper perspective in the greatest of circumstances. You can confess with Job in Job 1:21:

 “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

               I again want to welcome you to join us for Sunday evening Bible Study at 5:00pm in the Pastor’s Study. We have been enjoying the study and hope that you will consider meeting with us. As always if there is anything I can do for you do not hesitate to give me a ring or stop by the study during the week.

In God’s Love,

     Rev. Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div.

Pastor, Ellisville Presbyterian Church (Independent)

www.ellisvillepres.org

Prayer Before Lecturing

Prayer.

Grant Almighty God, that since we are daily chastised by thy scourges, we may know that we are justly punished by thee, and so examine our whole life, that with true and sincere confession we may humbly flee to thy mercy, which is offered to us by thy gospel in Christ our Lord; and since thou dost also show us so many favors, may we not be ungrateful, and may no forgetfulness of thy grace creep over us, but may we especially exercise ourselves through our whole life in the worship of thy name and in giving thanks to thee, and so offer to thee, with our tongues, the sacrifices of praise, that our whole life may be consistent, and thus glorify thy name on earth, that at length we may be gathered into thy celestial kingdom through the same Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

 

From John Calvin’s Commentary On Nahum

John Calvin On Faith,Adoption, and Prayer

“Faith, there is no doubt, lies idle and even dead without prayer, in which the spirit of adoption shows and exercises itself, and by which we evidence that all his promises are considered by us as stable and sure. The inestimable grace of God, in short, towards believers, appears in this, that he exhibits himself to them as a Father. As many doubts steal upon us when we pray to God, and we either approach him with trembling, or fail by becoming discouraged and lifeless, David declares it to be true without exception, that God hears all who call upon him. At the same time, as most men pervert and profane the method of calling upon God through inventions of their own, the right manner of praying is laid down in the next part of the verse, which is, that we should pray in truth. Although men resort to God in a cold manner, or even in their prayers expostulate with him, while their hearts are swelling with pride or with anger, they yet complain that they are not heard; just as if there were no difference between praying and quarreling, or the exercise of faith and hypocrisy. The greater part of men, involved in infidelity, scarcely believe that there is a God in heaven at all; others would banish him from it if they could; others would tie him down to their views and, wishes, while some seek slight and insufficient ways of reconciling him, so that the common way of praying is but an idle and empty ceremony.” — John Calvin on Psalm 145:17-18

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom12.xxix.iv.html