​At least a couple of times a year, sometimes up to once a quarter, our church hosts the “Welcome Home Class.”  This class is one way our constitution provides for our emphasizing meaningful church membership.  During this four session course, visitors and new members cover a range of issues related to life as a Christian and specifically life at Oak Crest.  The first week is called “Why Christian?” this session reviews the basics of salvation and the gospel.  If a visitor is not a believer, they will certainly hear the gospel in this first session.  The second session is called “Why Church?” it covers the basic biblical teachings about the nature of the church and why membership is needed.  This is a needed session in the midst of increasing individualism in our culture.  The third session is “Why Baptist?” this session covers some of the Baptist distinctives that we hold dear.  Finally, the last session is called “Why Oak Crest?” in this session, some of the unique aspects of life and ministry at Oak Crest are explored and questions are often answered.
          Church membership is a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ, not to be taken lightly.  I am so thankful to be a part of Oak Crest.  God continues to bless our church with new and potential members.  It is vital that we communicate the importance of covenant community to these new members of our family.  Mutual accountability in the church is crucial to discipleship and growth in the word of God.  Maybe you have been a member for quite a long time.  You’re invited too.  We can never be reminded too much of the biblical responsibilities and privileges of church membership.
          I recently read the following quote by Mark Dever, “In one sense, church membership begins when Christ saves us and makes us a member of his body.  Yet his work must then be given expression in an actual local church.  In that sense, church membership begins when we commit to a particular body. . .A recovered practice of careful church membership will have many benefits.  It will make the witness of our churches to non-Christians more clear.  It will make it harder for weaker sheep to stray from the fold and still call themselves sheep.  It will help shape and focus the discipleship of more mature Christians.  It will help church leaders know exactly for whom they are responsible.  In all of this, God will be glorified.”
          Our “Welcome Home Class” is such an important part of our church.  I hope you will pray for our next series of sessions set to begin on this Sunday, July 7th.  The class will meet in the sanctuary during the Sunday School hour at 9:30AM.  You are welcome to attend one or all of the sessions.  If we all have a clear understanding of our identity in Christ as the family of God, we will be better equipped to take the gospel to our friends and family.
 
In Christ, 
Blain Craig

One of my favorite parts of serving as a pastor of a local church is the opportunity to hear people’s questions about the Bible or doctrine.  I certainly don’t have all the answers to all the questions, but I love to think about the questions and search out the answers.  A lot of our questions have to do with what the Bible allows and prohibits.  For instance, just the other day I was having a conversation with a church member about tattoos.  What does the Bible say about tattoos, and is there not a specific verse forbidding them?  That is a fun discussion to me.
          The issue of tattoos falls into the same broad category as other issues relating to Christian freedom.  In other words, often our questions reflect our desire to know what we can do and what can we not do as Christians.  Is kissing allowed before marriage?  Is dancing permitted?  Should we watch this movie or read that book?  You see, the list goes on and on.  And quite honestly, sometimes the Bible allows for differences of opinion on some of these issues.  So the question remains, what is the solution to this ethical and behavioral dilemma.  I think the Bible is abundantly clear on that issue.
          Read 1 Corinthians 10: 31-33 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.”  I think these verses provide us the answers we are seeking.  We should never reduce Christianity to a list of rules and regulations, dos and don’ts.  It is about a relationship with the savior Jesus Christ.  He has radically and finally set us free from the bondage of sin and death.  Therefore our desire is not to do the minimum in obedience to him, but to have a life that totally glorifies him and makes his name great.
          So back to our illustration, should Christians get tattoos.  Well each person considering this option must ask the simple question or whether or not this action will make God’s name great or not.  Will it glorify God or not?  Will it help the lost love and embrace the gospel or not?  So whether we are talking about tattoos, dancing, movies, or whatever; the glory of God is the supreme factor in the life of the follower of Christ.  This does not mean that these question and issues are not important to talk about and discuss.  I just mean to remind us that as children of God, we have a different worldview.  Everything must be considered in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of God.
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In Christ, 
Blain Craig

This is the final block devoted to the Trinity.  I hope these last few articles have caused us to think more carefully about the wonderful, glorious Trinity.  God is the one and only one God, having three eternal persons of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Another way of saying this is that God is one in essence in three distinct persons.   In hindsight, maybe to tackle the issue of the Trinity in a church newsletter was a little overambitious.  As I look over what we have concluded in these last couple of months, it is clear we haven’t even scratched the surface of the depth of this doctrine.  We have considered how God is one.  We have considered how God is three by seeing that the Father is God and the Son is God.  One person remains, the Holy Spirit.  Do we know that there is a third person of the Trinity, known as the Spirit?  Yes, the Bible is clear.  Is this one called the Spirit just another way of referring to the Father?  No, he is a third person of the Trinity?  What is the role of the Holy Spirit?  He is a helper and a comforter.
          Having an entire article devoted to the Holy Spirit is ironic in itself.  We are shining the spotlight on the Holy Spirit, and that is precisely what he never wants in Scripture.  Everywhere we read of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament he is pointing to Jesus.  He doesn’t enjoy the spotlight, rather he wants to be behind the scenes giving Jesus the spotlight.  Bruce Ware, a brilliant theologian, has said, “In creation, redemption, and consummation, he willingly accepts the role of supporter, helper, sustainer, and equipper, and in all these respects he forsakes the spotlight.”  Paul says that it is by the very power of the Spirit that the Christian is even able to acknowledge Jesus as savior and lord.  “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”  How do you say Jesus is your lord?  It is by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He indwells the believer and the church so that we might glorify God.  He is our comforter and help.  He is our empowerment for missions and evangelism.  He is the source of the inspiration of Scripture and source of our illumination of Scripture.  He is an indispensable member of the Trinity seeking no glory for himself, but pointing to Christ to the Glory of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  May we follow the Spirit’s example of humility and focus on Jesus Christ to the Glory of God the Father.
 
 In Christ, 
Blain Craig

We have been thinking about the Trinity for several weeks.  We have rejected various heresies about the Trinity, while defending the biblical understanding of God.  We have said God is one in nature while having three persons.  We have seen God the Father is God, now we turn to Jesus.  Is Jesus actually God?  For a Bible believing Christian, that is almost a silly question.  Of course Jesus is God. 

Although the divinity of Jesus has been questioned by some throughout the history of the church, for the person who believes the Bible is true and authoritative, there is no question.  He is God.  The book of John is especially clear in teaching Jesus’ divinity.  John 8:56-59 is clear evidence, “‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’  Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”  Why did they pick up stones to throw at him?  The answer is simply that he was claiming to be God.
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The greater issue for the Christian is what we can learn from Jesus’ relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  It is amazing to consider that Jesus is actually God, yet he “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,” (Philippians 2: 6b).  That verse certainly does not mean that during his time on earth Jesus ceased to be God.  It does not even mean he gave up his divine attributes.  It does mean that Jesus is the perfect example of humility and submission to the will of the Father.  He who was the very creator of the universe and equal to the Father in every attribute, has eternally humbled himself in obedience to the Father.  In coming to earth, he came to save lost sinners.  He died in obedience to the will of the Father.  He was the ultimate sacrifice for sin.  The only reason his sacrifice was acceptable is that he was both God and man.  He was fully God and fully man.  He was perfect in his obedience.  He was perfect in his death.  He was perfect in his resurrection.  He is perfect now as the eternal prophet, priest, and king.
 
 
In Christ, 
Blain Craig

​Last week we examined the fact that God is one in both the Old and New Testaments.  This week we will consider the other side of the coin that God is also three distinct persons within the one God.  Our confession is this, “God is a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.”  Therefore in addition to teaching that God is one, the Bible should also teach that God is three.  The best way to understand this truth is to examine each of the persons in turn to discover whether or not the Bible actually makes the claim of deity for the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
          This week we will consider the Father.  For everyone who believes in God, the deity of the Father is never called into question.  It would be meaningless to try to prove the deity of the Father as we will the Son and the Spirit because we believe everywhere in the Bible God is mentioned at least the Father is being referred to.  The bigger problem related to the person of the Father is to think he is more God than the Son or the Spirit.  In other words, God the Father does not have more divine attributes than any other member of the Trinity.  What he does have is a different role.  His role is unique as Father.  Jesus prays that the will of the Father would be accomplished and that the kingdom of the Father would come, (Matthew 6: 9-10).  We have another example of the “positional supremacy” of the Father in 1 Corinthians 15: 28 which says, “When all things are subjected to him (speaking of Jesus), then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”  What does that mean?  It simply means that there is a role of authority which the Father holds over the Son and the Spirit.  That does not mean the Father is more God than the Son or the Spirit, nor does it mean that there is not perfect harmony in the Trinity.  It is not as if the Father gets two votes and the Son and the Spirit get one vote each.  No, there is no voting in the Trinity.  There is pure, unadulterated unity in all things.  This is complicated and heavy no doubt.
          The important thing for us to remember is that the Trinity is not just some mysterious part of the Christian life for theologians to debate.  The perfect relationship between the members of the Trinity is a model for us to follow.  How perfect the Father’s love is.  That should be an example for earthly fathers in their love.  How willing the Father is to shine the spotlight on the Son, and how willing the Son is to shine it back on the father.  Our God is perfect beyond our comprehension.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​How do we know God is a Trinity?  Everything we know about God must be grounded in the truth of his word.  God has written us a personal love letter in the pages of Scripture.  Just as we might reveal things about ourselves in a letter to a loved one, God has revealed some things about himself in his letter to us.  God tells us he is one and he tells us that he is three.  Many would say that is a nonsensical statement.  They would say he is either one or three, he cannot be both.  The simple truth is that the Bible has clearly said God is both one and three.  Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to think about what the Bible says that helps us know God is one and three.
          God is one.  The most famous verse telling us this truth is Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”  This verse is the clearest statement of the truth that separated Israel from all of the other nations around them.  Israel was monotheistic.  That means they not only were supposed to trust in one God, they were supposed to believe in one God.  Now, often they were guilty of breaking God’s command to believe only in him, but that doesn’t mean there are really any gods other than Yahweh, the one true and living God.  Over and over throughout the Old Testament God reminds his people that he alone is to be worshipped.   "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.  Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; yes, let him recount it to Me in order; from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?  And you are My witnesses is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'" (Isaiah 44: 6-8).
          The New Testament does not change the fact that God is one.  James says, “You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” (James 2: 19)  Even though Jesus is obviously God, and the Holy Spirit is God, never does the New Testament say, “You know, we were wrong, we thought there was one God, but now we see there are three.”  That never happens because God has always been one and will always be one.  Next week we will see from Scripture how He is three.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

​We are continuing to focus on God as Trinity.  This doctrine is heavy and beautiful at the same time.  Brilliant theologians have invested their lives in trying to better understand the nature of God as Trinity.  The fact that we cannot really understand how God is three in one is evidence that he is Almighty God.  No human could conceive or contrive something so grand and complex as the Trinity.
          Last week we said what the Trinity is not.  God is not three gods, nor is he like superman, changing his appearance from the Father to the Son to the Spirit.  These beliefs are common misconceptions, but they are also dangerous heresies.  Let’s begin to think about what the Trinity is.  God is one God, he has one nature or essence that is in three distinct persons.  That means the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the spirit.  They are separate persons.  The danger in calling them persons is that we think of human persons with human personalities and human characteristics.  This is not what we are talking about when we say the person of Christ or the person of the Holy Spirit.  C. S. Lewis said he is beyond personality.  That is a good way of thinking about how God is three.  He is super-personal.  If we focus on the person of Jesus as a self contained independent personality like we would a human person, we can quickly lose sight of the unity within God.  See, without the Father and the Spirit, the Son ceases to exist.  That is very different from human relationships.  Unlike humans, the persons of God are grounded in His unity.  They are in perfect, eternal communion and undivided union.
          There is so much we could say about all of this, but an ancient theologian named Gregory of Nazianzen (there will be a test later) has said it beautifully in 381AD, “No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one.  When I think of any one of the three I think of him as the whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me.  I cannot grasp the greatness of that one so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest.  When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light.”
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig

Every major heresy in the history of the church as started with a misunderstanding of the nature of God.  Without fail, heretical cultic groups diminish the person of Jesus Christ and the nature of God in general.  Maybe the main reason Baptists in particular are so susceptible to cultic teachings is that we don’t have a solid, biblical understanding of the nature of the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The perfect, mind-boggling truth is that God is one nature in three persons.  Over the next weeks I will devote the space of this block to rediscovering the truth of the triune God.  That is almost a laughable ambition, considering how short these articles are each week and how complex the doctrine is.  Writing on the Trinity would take years of blocks to do the doctrine justice.  Nevertheless, we will focus on this because I am convinced that our understanding of God as Trinity impacts how we understand all of Scripture. As a matter of fact, we should go so far as to say that the Christian faith stands or falls on the doctrine of the Trinity.  “The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all,” 2 Corinthians 13: 14.

When the issue of the Trinity comes up, we usually say it is a mystery.  I do understand that the Trinity is in some ways a mystery.  None of us, for all eternity, will ever really grasp the intricacies of God within himself as one God in three persons.  As we think about the Trinity, the subject is daunting and almost overwhelming.  Where to begin is one of hardest parts of the discussion.  I think it is best to describe what God is not, before trying to explain what he is.
First of all, the word Trinity does not mean we worship three gods.  As we often see in various cult groups, when Jesus is misunderstood in Scripture the result is often tri-theism.  That simply means three distinct gods to be worshiped.  Hinduism as well as ancient Greek mythology were polytheistic, in other words they had hundreds of gods.  That is most certainly not what we mean when we say, the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God.  Deuteronomy 6: 4 settles that discussion saying, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”  The Jews of the Old Testament were very unique from the neighboring nations because they were distinctly monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one God.

As true as this is, there is another error that can be committed regarding the doctrine of the Trinity.  Some people want to emphasis God’s oneness so much that they deny his threeness.  This is a dangerous heresy.  These people will say that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are only different manifestations of God.  In other words, they understand God as being like an actor in a play wearing masks.  Sometimes he is the Father, sometimes he is the Son, but he is never both at the same time.  This belief is sometimes called the “Superman” theology.  You know, Clark Kent steps into the phone booth as a man, he steps out Superman.  The proper term for this belief is modalism because God takes on different modes.

These two very easily committed errors are why the Trinity is such a difficult thing to talk about.  We love analogies.  The problem is that every analogy of the Trinity almost always commits one of the two errors mentioned above.  For example, sometimes people will describe the Trinity as being like water.  Water can be in liquid form, solid form as ice or gas form as steam, but it is still H2O.  The problem is that the analogy leads to modalism because the element cannot be liquid and solid at the same time.  God is simultaneously three persons of exactly the same essence and nature, one God!
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In Christ,
Blain Craig

​I mentioned briefly Sunday morning that we were in need of nursery volunteers.  I want to share with you an article that I recently read about how every person can be a part of the ministry to our smallest parishioners. 
 
Why We Should All Work in the Church Nursery
By: Melissa Edginton
 
I remember when Emerald was tiny, and I was completely overwhelmed with my life. I had a first grader, a preschooler, and a new baby, and I couldn’t wait for those glorious two hours on Sunday when I could drop all of them off in their various classes and go have some adult conversation, without any tiny hands grasping for my dress, my hands, my hair, or any other body part. For two hours, I was my own, at least physically. I thanked God for those blessed men and women who volunteered to take a needy baby out of the worn out hands of her ragged mother, those saints who were willing to handle the crying, the spitting up, the diaper changes and the bottles. It was a magnificent ministry to exhausted, overwrought mothers like me.
 
Yet, the nursery always seems to be a touchy subject in churches. Everyone has their own ideas about how it should function and who should work in there. Some churches have more resources than others, some have more small children than others, some have an easier time finding volunteers than others. Just a few days ago I ran across an online discussion about church nurseries, and tired young mothers were declaring that they shouldn’t have to volunteer there, that other people should step up and take care of the babies and small children so that these exhausted moms can enjoy their time at church, one of the few respites that they get in their long week.
 
I understand why they feel this way. I have felt that way myself at different stages of life. But, there’s an important reason why mamas should continue to volunteer, even if it means that once or twice a quarter they will be rocking babies or playing with preschoolers during the church service. And that reason has nothing to do with the fact that churches need that young mama demographic to help out (although they do). The reason mothers should help in the nursery is because it gives us a chance to serve one another.
 
Who can better sympathize with an overwhelmed, somewhat depressed, sleep-deprived, dark-circles-sporting mother than one who is there herself? Who will be most sensitive to a mother’s needs and concerns?  Other young mamas, of course. Who sees most clearly how frightening it can be to drop off a baby for the first time? Who can most sincerely take a young mother’s hand and say, I’m with you, sister. I am just as tired as you are, and there is solidarity in the two of us caring for each other’s children in the name of Christ.
 
Now, these young mothers can’t carry this task of serving one another all alone. We often hear older mothers saying that they’ve already served their time in the nursery. We hear men claim that the nursery is a woman’s territory. We hear young married couples say that they aren’t equipped to handle small children. But young mothers need help. They need our ministry and our assistance and our encouragement. They need us to say, Just get here, sweet girl, and we will take care of the rest. It really matters. And it sets up a pattern in that family’s life–one of regular church attendance, of reliance on the church, of children who love to come to God’s house.
 
Sometimes we tend to think that when we are in the nursery we’re cut off from worship. We feel like we missed church. Even those precious young mothers may claim that they simply can’t worship if they are sequestered to the nursery. But, if any of us feel that way or try to use that as an excuse not to volunteer, then we are forgetting an important element of worship: service. Coming to church isn’t just about us getting our “Jesus fix.” It isn’t about seeing what we can get out of it or waiting around to be served. One of the functions of the church is to serve each other. We should be trying to out-do each other with love and help and servanthood instead of keeping score to see if enough is being done for us.
 
And, yes, dear church. These truths apply to the church nursery.
 
So, all of us–young moms, college students, grandmothers, dads, and all–should view the church nursery as an opportunity to serve the families of the church, which is a true act of worship. And, young mamas, don’t miss out on your chance to sympathize with and help out other women who feel just as overwhelmed as you do. They need your arms, your understanding heart, your gracious overlooking of the disheveled state of their hair. They need to know that you are all in this together, and what better way to show love to your fellow mamas than to love on their babies on Sunday morning a few times a year? I don’t think it’s too much to ask of any of us, no matter our phase of life.
 
In Christ,
Blain Craig