Trinity Blog

Ladies Night Out!

llerro — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:48:31 +0000

Come and join us for a wonderful night filled with food, fellowship and fun.

Here are a few hints as to what will be taking place!

6:30 pm

The Levin Center,

27 N Main Street, Smyrna DE 19977

Community Training Recap

Dan Lerro — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:54:15 +0000

Last week we talked about some basic historical arguments for the authenticity of the Scriptures. You can see much of this material laid out in Tim Keller’s, The Reason For God. There were 2 main arguments that we looked at. First, the NT documents were written too early to be written off as false. Consider the fact that the NT contains so many historical details (names, places, events, etc…) that could have been verified by the original readers of the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the resurrected Christ appearing to over 500 eyewitness, many of whom were still alive at the time of writing. Because the writings of the NT were written so close to the events of Jesus’ life, eyewitnesses were still available to testify to the accuracy of the writings. If you want to write a historical myth, it will be much easier to do so hundreds of years after the “supposed” events. That way there are no witnesses still available, the cultural details have changed, and there is more room for you to make errors without others knowing. But the NT documents were written within 60 years of Christ’s death, and we have manuscript evidence from within 100 years of those original writings. The fact that the NT was written so early points to their authenticity.

Second, There are many things in the NT that would be counter productive to include if you are writing a myth to support your own position. If you were writing a story to bolster support for the leaders of the early church, would you include all the doubts and shortcomings of the disciples of Christ? The disciples basically tell Jesus that He is wrong about going to Jerusalem to be crucified. They flee away from Christ in the end, Peter even denies knowing Jesus. If you were making up a religion, you probably wouldn’t paint it’s initial leaders in such a negative light… unless that’s the truth.

These are just a couple of historical factors that point to the authenticity of the NT Scriptures. Join us next week when we address the important concerns that arise when we see things in the Scriptures that don’t match up with our cultural perspectives. Can we reject the Scriptures because they support cultural practices that are unacceptable to us? Doesn’t the Bible support things like slavery, polygamy, and harsh views toward women? What do we do with these objections? Join us Sunday as we work through some of these important issues.

Gospel Resource

Dan Lerro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:22:40 +0000

Yesterday, I mentioned this resource as one that is particularly helpful in directing us to apply the gospel to our daily lives. Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick walks the reader through the work of God in the gospel and then draws some helpful conclusions in light of those realities. I think that if you read through this book carefully and prayerfully, and perhaps with someone else, you will come out with a better understanding of how the gospel functions.

The book is available at our resource center for $10.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

Rightly understood and cherished, God’s love makes Christians increasingly more like the One who has lavished his love on them. In this book a well-known biblical counselor points you to your true identity as God’s beloved child and teaches you how to become who you already are, without legalism or lawlessness.

Simply speaking, love changes people. Christians, then, by definition, should exhibit the greatest transformation of all because, rightly understood and cherished, God’s love makes them increasingly more like the One who has lavished his love on them.

This truth is meant to tell believers who they are, their purpose and destiny, and how to faithfully persevere in their struggles against all opposition. But sometimes people lose sight of this. Because He Loves Me restores that vision, reminding Christians of their true identity as beloved children of God—adopted by the Father, espoused to the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Christianity is not a self-improvement program but a transferring of identity and growth, accomplished in history through Christ and in our daily lives through his Spirit. This book explores and celebrates these truths in an unforgettable way. Study questions and invitations for deeper discovery conclude each chapter.

Community Training – Historical Evidence

Dan Lerro — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:03:30 +0000

Examining the historical evidence for the authenticity of the Bible is an important task. This chart is from the Associates For Biblical Research, and it stacks the writings of the New Testament up against other writings from the same time period. Do you see things in this chart that support the reliability of the New Testament Scriptures? We’ll talk about this in Community Training, this Sunday at 9:40. Join us then!

What Do You Trust?

Dan Lerro — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:54:01 +0000

Last week, we began our new Community Training class, “Introduction to the Bible”. We began by considering the fact that trusting and understanding the Bible is essential to our mission of glorifying God by declaring and demonstrating the gospel. Jesus’ statement in John 5:39 ought to stop us, and cause us to consider.

John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

Apparently, we can search the Scriptures, and miss the point. It isn’t good enough to just say you trust the Bible, or even to just read the Bible. We have to know the Bible. We have to know where it came from, and what it’s all about.

This Sunday, we will continue our discussion on this topic by considering the important question of authority. How do you go about determining what is true and authoritative for your life? When you are trying to evaluate something, to what do you measure it up against? We all live our lives based on some ultimate authority, the question is, what do you trust and acknowledge to be your authority?

As Christians, it is proper to say that the Bible is your ultimate authority. Ding, ding, ding! That is the right answer! But why? How do you know? Do you ever have doubts about that? And beyond that, if you say that the Bible is your authority, how many of the decisions that make up your life are actually based on the Bible? Do you find it easy to live functionally as if the Bible isn’t really authoritative, even though you say it is? These are hard questions, and if you struggle with them, you are not alone. I hope that you will join us on Sundays at 9:40 as we seek to answer some of these questions together.

What is Idolatry?

Dan Lerro — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:07:49 +0000

See you tomorrow!

Dan Lerro — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:12:45 +0000

New Year’s Day

Dan Lerro — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:49:26 +0000

Music Sale!

Dan Lerro — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:04:10 +0000

Amazon is offering several recordings from Sovereign Grace Ministries for only $4.99. We sing lots of songs from these recordings in our worship gatherings, so it would be great to get familiar with them.

The titles that are available for $4.99 are:

The Gathering

Risen

Sons & Daughters

Valley of Vision

Psalms

Next: Live

Together for the Gospel: Live

To Be Like Jesus

Walking With The Wise

Songs For The Cross Centered Life

Operation Christmas!

Dan Lerro — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:58:57 +0000

Thanks to those of you who packed boxes. This little guy seems thankful!