​I humbly borrow the following Puritan supplication, my sincere prayer and desire:
My Master God,
I am desired to preach today, but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth, that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer, with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertinent to my subject, with fullness of matter and clarity of thought, proper expressions, fluency, fervency, a feeling sense of the things I preach, and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects, and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself, and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people, and to set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached, and awaken the attention of my slothful audience. 
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted, and help me to use the strongest arguments drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings, that men might be made holy.
I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness, that I might be a pure channel of thy grace, and be able to do something for thee; 
Give me then refreshment among thy people, and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way, or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer, or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end, from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.
         
          -- The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions
 
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

 Over the last several weeks we have been thinking about the nature and value of our shared covenant at Oak Crest.  This week we will conclude with the final phrases of the covenant.   The conclusion of the covenant states, “to express Christian sympathy; to be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation, honoring the teachings of our Savior.  Moreover, we covenant that when we remove from this place, we will, as soon as possible, unite with another New Testament church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.”

Within the church, more than any other relationships we have, we should be slow to become bitter or angry.  I know how easy it is to be hurt by the words or the actions of others.  One thing we can count on is that people will inevitably let us down.  Not one of us is perfect.  We are humans that make mistakes.  We say the wrong thing, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.  We must truly love one another in the love of Jesus Christ.  We must be constantly willing to extend forgiveness and love to one another.  We must be willing to seek reconciliation rapidly.  If bitterness and unforgiveness are allowed to simmer in the body of Christ, horrible things result.  Because we are Christians, bought with the blood of Christ, forgiven of a debt we could never repay, we must willing forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ.  There is no hurt you or I could ever endure equal to the hurt our own sin caused Christ on the Cross.  There is no offense we could ever experience that equals the offense of our sin before a holy God.  Let’s harbor an atmosphere of love and reconciliation according to the covenant we hold together.
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Finally, the covenant requires that if there is ever a time we leave this place, we must join with another church as soon as possible.  There should never be a time when a believer is not plugged into a local congregation.  We desperately need the love and support and encouragement of others.  We need the wisdom and teaching of others.  We need to hear the Word of God through the mouths of others.  The spirit of this final part of the covenant is best reflected in the book of Hebrews.  “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near,” (Hebrews 10: 24-25).
           
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​The next portion of our Covenant states, “We further covenant to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress;”
            Not only is our responsibility to behave like Christians in the outside world, but also to be Christians in our behavior to one another.  We are to watch over one another in brotherly love.  That does not merely mean we are to care for each other, although it certainly does mean that.  It is more than care, it is accountability.  This is something that many, many churches neglect in this modern age of consumer driven church.  We don’t like the idea of accountability.  We don’t like to think about answering to anyone outside ourselves.  We may even say, “I am accountable to Christ alone!”  That is true, but the means Christ has established to disciple his people is the church.  This mutual accountability is clear throughout Scripture.  It is not something to be feared, but embraced.  God loves us and through his word provides for our growth and maturity.  Hebrews says, “It is for discipline that you have to endure.  God is treating you as sons.  For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it,” Hebrews 12: 7,11.  Please remember, this accountability, this “watching over” is redemptive not judgmental.  We need one another to grow in the faith.
            So what does this covenant of accountability look like?  We see it described in the next phrases of the covenant.  We must lift one another up in intercessory prayer.  If we are all accountable to the Lord, we should pray for one another fervently.  I hope you will pray for all the people of our church on a regular basis, not only when they are ill.  Pray they will grow and mature in the things of Christ.  Pray they will develop a passion and desire for the word of God.  Pray that they will be all that God wants them to be at Oak Crest and in his glorious kingdom.  Equally, we are to love one another in times of sickness.  Our desire for one another should always be health and growth both spiritually and physically.  There is nothing quite like facing sickness with the love and support of your church family.  Many of you have felt the prayers of our church as you or a loved one has recovered in a time of illness.  We need and depend on each other.  There is no substitute for a church family when times are difficult.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

The third paragraph of our Covenant states, “We also covenant to maintain family and personal devotions; provide religious education for our families; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk cautiously and wisely in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our commitments, and passionate in our efforts to spread the gospel for the sake of the kingdom of our Savior..”
            As we see, our covenant together extends outside the walls of our church building.  This paragraph is almost entirely devoted to the things we do as a church while we are not meeting together.  We must constantly remind ourselves that we are not just the church on Sunday mornings, or even Sunday nights or Wednesday nights.  We are the church of Jesus Christ 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  Just as God never leaves us or forsakes us, we never cease to be his people.  That simply means that we continue to be in covenant together even when we are not physically together.
            I love the emphasis placed on the family in the opening phrases of this paragraph.  We are charged with the solemn duty, responsibility and joy of nurturing our children in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Children’s time in Sunday School and church activities should not be the only time of learning about the faith.  In fact, those times should really be a supplement to the growth that is happening in the home.  Parents are directly and ultimately responsible for the education of their children according to the principles of Scripture.  We must not abdicate this responsibility to anyone.  The church body is a support, not a substitute.  I am thankful that Stephenie Stokes and so many other volunteers are emphasizing this important goal of family worship each week as our children gather together at Oak Crest.
            Did you notice the third phrase?  We are in covenant together to share our faith through our actions and our words with our friends and neighbors.  I don’t know about you, but I need constant improvement in this area.  It should be a top priority of our lives to share the gospel with the people in our lives.  As the final phrases of the paragraph imply, we sometimes share the love of Christ through our lives and actions.  Only in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit can we even hope to be wise and just and faithful in all our dealings.  As we live out this covenant together, day by day we will be making Christ known in our community.  Integrity and honesty and hard work are increasingly rare in our culture.  God is ready to use us to be a blessing to others.  I am reminded of the old hymn, Make Me a Blessing, “Make me a blessing, out of my life may Jesus shine, make me a blessing, O Savior I pray, make me a blessing to someone today.”

​In Christ,
Blain Craig

​The second paragraph of our Covenant states, “We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk in Christian Love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote the church’s prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.”
            I gladly and joyfully recommit to this noble ambition.  If we truly understand what the church of Jesus Christ really is, we will not shy away from this commitment, but fully and gloriously embrace this Covenant.  The first part of the paragraph is crucial.  It is only by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are able to be faithful to Christ and each other.  Also, the Spirit leads us to do something.  He leads us to walk in Christian love.  The Covenant we share with one another is grounded in love.  The Bible says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love,” (1 John 4: 7-8).
            What does love in the church look like?  Love results in our striving for the church to be more like Christ.  We want each other to grow in knowledge and holiness and comfort in the Lord.  In His word, God has shown us that this maturity in Christ comes as we encourage and support and edify one another in Christ.  That is why it is vitally important that each and every one of us actively sustains all that the church is.
            How do you think of your role at Oak Crest?  Is it merely the church you happen to attend to hear preaching and sing songs?  Or is it your covenant family that God has joined you to for your good and growth?  As we each are conformed to the image of Christ, the church becomes healthier.  That means we support the gospel work with our presence and our gifts and talents, as well as our financial support.  As we contribute to the budget and various other special offerings such as Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon, we are doing kingdom work both here and all over the world.
            I hope you will join me in diligently praying for the health and well-being of Oak Crest Baptist Church.  When the church God has called us to is healthy and vibrant, we all grow closer to God and each other in the process.  We are part of the Bride of Christ.  Let us daily die to self, “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish,” (Ephesians 5: 27).
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​I am amazed at what Jesus prayed in his final hours before his arrest and crucifixion.  He prayed for us.  He prayed this. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me,” (John 17: 20-23).
            I am convicted and convinced that a top goal at Oak Crest this year is our unity as a family and as the body of Christ.  At Oak Crest, we use the word “Covenant” a lot.  It may not be a popular word in the world, but I think it is a crucial word for the church.  You have probably heard me say that I think the current lack of commitment in the American Evangelical church is due to a lack of understanding of what covenant is and why it is important.  I take it very seriously that I am in covenant relationship with each one of you.  I hope you are aware that we have a document that expresses this covenant relationship, appropriately known as the “Church Covenant.”  Very simply, the “Covenant” is a written promise of our mutual desire to live according to Scripture.  We read a portion of this document when someone joins the church and we read it in its entirety at the beginning of a Members’ Meeting, but aside from that you may be largely unfamiliar with this important statement.  We need a renewed awareness of this covenant.  We should be familiar with our covenant, so let’s think about it together.   Each “block” for the next several weeks I will share a portion of our “Covenant” and make some commentary on it.  I am certainly aware that many of you have heard this before, but when your children tell you they love you I doubt you say, “I’ve heard that before!”  We can’t be reminded too often of the love relationship God has granted us to one another.
            The covenant begins, “Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully, enter into this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.” 
        This opening paragraph of the covenant is absolutely crucial.  I think there are three main parts to this paragraph.  If we don’t have these, we are not in covenant.  The first prerequisite to covenant is faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  That is the very first part of the covenant.  We don’t believe just anything.  We believe Jesus is Lord.  The Spirit himself has revealed this truth through the Word of God.  This is the foundation of our love relationship with one another.  We are not joined together because we like the same kind of music or style or preaching or hobbies, all that may be true, but what joins us in covenant is the gospel and our trust in Christ alone for salvation.  Isn’t it beautiful that a group of people who otherwise might not even associate with one another are called together by a power and person outside themselves to be joined together.
            The second prerequisite is baptism.  The baptism we have upon our salvation is our public profession of faith.  Baptism is our press release to the world that we have been crucified with Christ, and that one day we will be physically raised by Christ to be with him forever.  Baptism is also the testimony of the church that the baptismal candidate has passed through judgment in Christ and has been raised again to new life in Christ.  Together these first two parts of the covenant tell us something.  There is not to be a mixed multitude in the body of Christ.  The church is composed of a regenerate or “born-again” membership.  This is not meant to be rude or arrogant, but a person simply cannot consider himself or herself in the covenant body of Christ if he is not redeemed in Christ. 
            The third and final part of this first paragraph is the active participation in the covenant.  Based on the first two, salvation and baptism, we are to “solemnly and joyfully” enter into an amazing God-honoring relationship with each other.  Solemnly signifies that this is not something we take lightly.  Joyfully means we are anticipating great things in the Lord.  So in other words, joining in covenant with a local body of believers is neither like joining Sam’s Club or getting a prison sentence.  It is not like Sam’s club because we are not merely affiliating with this group because of the personal benefit it provides, but because we have been bound together by the finished work of Christ.  It is not a prison sentence because it is a joyful participation in the abundant life Christ gives his people.  Oh, what a blessing to be in the Body of Christ.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​For several years I have found The Valley of Vision to be a magnificent source of devotional praise.  It is a collection of Puritan prayers on various topics.  Occasionally I reproduce one of these prayer for your encouragement.  Consider the following as an appropriate prayer for Morning Needs:
 
O God, the author of all good,
I come to thee for the grace another day will require
                      For its duties and events.
          I step out into a wicked world,
          I carry about with me an evil heart,
          I know that without thee I can do nothing,
                      That everything with which I shall be concerned,
                                        However harmless in itself,
                             May prove an occasion of sin or folly,
                             Unless I am kept by thy power.
Hold thou me up and I shall be safe.
Preserve my understanding from subtlety of error,
               my affection from love of idols,
               my character from stain of vice,
               my profession for every form of evil.
May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore thy blessing.
          And in which I cannot invite they inspection.
Prosper me in all lawful undertakings,
          Or prepare me for disappointments.
Give me neither poverty not riches;
Feed me with food convenient for me,
          lest I be full and deny thee
          and say, Who is the Lord?
          or be poor, and steal, and take thy name in vain.
May every creature be mad good to me by prayer and thy will;
Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,
                       to improve my talents,
                       to redeem my time,
                       to walk in wisdom toward those without,
                            and in kindness to those within,
                        to do good to all men,
                             and especially my fellow Christians.
And to thee by the glory.        
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​There once was a king whose daughter was getting married to a prince.  The king wanted to throw a huge marriage feast and invite everyone in the kingdom.  He certainly wanted the feast to be special to honor his daughter’s marriage to he had an idea.  He sent word to everyone in his kingdom that they were to bring their best wine to the feast.  But the unique idea was that everyone would combine their best wine into one giant vat for all to drink.  The day of the feast arrived, each family made their way to the giant vat and poured their wine in.  Finally it was time to pour the first cup. To the shock of everyone present, only water came out.  The king thought there must be some mistake to he poured another and another.  The result was always the same, only water.  The king was shamed and his daughter embarrassed.
          Of course, we quickly see what happened.  Everyone was supposed to bring their best, but they didn’t.  Family after family thought no one would notice if their one measly batch was water instead of wine.  After all with so much wine, how could a little water make a difference?  The problem with that thinking is everyone else had the same idea.  In the end, everyone only brought water.
          There is an important lesson in this story for the church.  Often we are tempted to bring less than our best in service to Christ, but like the feast, the end result can be disastrous.  Your service, your prayer matters.  What if the pastor just didn’t show up one Sunday?  Maybe he thinks well the other elders can handle everything.  (You might let it slide one Sunday, but pretty soon you would be seeking another pastor.)  The elders decide not to pray, thinking the deacons have it covered.  The deacons decide not to pray, thinking the committees have it covered.  The committees decide not to pray, thinking the Sunday School teachers have it covered.  Do you see how quickly this can become a problem?  I do not say all of this to try to make you feel guilty.  We all need to be reminded that we are all gifted by the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry.  If we all think someone else will do what we are called to do, that ministry won’t happen at all.  Let’s recommit to serve the Lord in whatever he has called us to for his glory.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

It saddens me to think about all the attempted “programs” in Southern Baptist life over the last decades.  For the most part, I am convinced programs are a substitute for genuine, biblical discipleship.  I believe genuine Christian maturity doesn’t come in a box.  Maturity comes as God’s people are amazingly transformed when they engage His word individually and corporately.  That is not to say that God does not occasionally do something great through a man made program.  I think one of the greatest examples of this is Vacation Bible School.  I love VBS!!  Year after year, decade after decade God blesses this time in the lives of both children and adults.

According to Willie Beaty in his book New Horizons in Vacation Bible School, “VBS was the idea of Mrs. Walter Aylett Hawes, a doctor's wife. Her goal was to get children off the streets of New York. In 1898 and 1899 Mrs. Hawes rented a beer hall in New York's East Side to conduct her Everyday Bible School. In 1900 Mrs. Hawes' pastor, Howard Lee Jones, insisted that the Bible school move to the church building, Epiphany Baptist Church. After two weeks it became clear that children from the East Side would not attend at the church, so Mrs. Hawes moved the school back to a site near the beer hall.”

“In the early 20th century, VBS became a growing trend. While Mrs. Hawes was indeed a Baptist, VBS was a non-denominational event in those early years. In 1922 the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention assigned the work of VBS to the Sunday School Administration Department. In 1924 a Vacation Bible School Department was formed and Homer Grice, a pastor from Georgia, became its first director. At that point VBS was usually a 4-week event!”

Vacation Bible School is a unique opportunity for outreach.  This week we have a chance to share the message and love of Jesus Christ with many children.  Some of the children will be here at Oak Crest who might not come to a church any other time of the year.  What an opportunity!  Pray for the children and workers who are working so diligently in VBS this week.  I am so thank for all the work Stephenie Stokes and so many others have put in not only this week, but in the weeks leading up to VBS.  Pray that God will do awesome things in the lives of both children and adults. The Bible says, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  Mark 10: 13-14
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In Christ,
Blain Craig

We should never stop learning.  Whatever your calling or vocation, whether that be school or ministry or a career, you should never stop being teachable.  We never know all there is to know.  In this life, we will never know all the wonderful truth of the Bible.  Likewise, you will never know all there is to know about your career area.  That is where humility is needed.  If we come to the point where we arrogantly think we have arrived, we have deceived ourselves.  I have said before; the more I know, the more I know I don’t know. 

I read a story about a young seminarian who was excited about preaching his first sermon in his home church. After three years in seminary, he felt adequately prepared, and when he was introduced to the congregation, he walked boldly to the pulpit, his head high, radiating self-confidence.

But he stumbled reading the Scriptures and then lost his train of thought halfway through the message. He began to panic, so he did the safest thing: He quickly ended the message, prayed, and walked dejectedly from the pulpit, his head down, his self-assurance gone.

Later, one of the godly elders whispered to the embarrassed young man, “If you had gone up to the pulpit the way you came down, you might have come down the way you went up.”
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Oak Crest, all of us would do well to learn the lesson of the young seminarian.  Let’s recommit ourselves to being teachable in the things of God.  But the need for humility does not apply only to knowledge and doctrinal maturity.  There is also a great need in the Body of Christ for humility toward others.  Everyone who is a believer is in a process of sanctification.  There is no shame in being five years old, if indeed you are five years old.  It is immature and childish for a ten year old to think he or she is better than the five year old simply because the five year old is younger.  The same principle applies spiritually.  We must not look down upon anyone for being at a different level in the sanctification process.  Rather, we should encourage them and edify them and help them grow.  In other words, we should be humble.  Philippians 3:8-11, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig