This past Sunday we looked at the Old Testament book of Esther. Here are some resources from that message. 

1. Two resources on a popular level.

                                                                                                                                       We referenced a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers and a film by M. Night Shyamala called Signs. Neither of these make any claim to be Christian in any sense, but both raise insightful questions concerning the apparently random events in our lives. They are also useful in introducing one to the category of providence.

2. From an old sermon

God’s Providence. C.H. Spurgeon

I believe that every particle of dust that dances
in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or
less than God wishes; that every particle of spray
that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit
as well as the sun in the heavens; that the chaff
from the hand of the winnower is steered as
surely as the stars in their courses; that the
creeping of an insect over a rosebud is as much
fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence;
and the fall of leaves from the poplar is as fully
ordained as the tumbling avalanche.
He who believes in God must believe this truth.
There is no standing point between this and Atheism.
There is no halfway between an Almighty God, who
works all things according to the good pleasure of
his will, and no God at all!

4.The Scroll of Esther as Deuteronomic Theology. Jonathan Matias

Don’t let the title scare you. This brief article provides a valuable literary analysis of Esther, as well as a useful reader’s guide to the book. (Jonathan also pastors a sister church of Emmanuel in Alexandria, VA.)

5.Not by Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God. Layton Talbert

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Last Sunday provided an overview of the Old Testament book of Psalms. Here are some of the resources referenced in that message.

1. Martin Luther’s Preface to the German Psalter (1531)

Psalms is a little Bible. It seems to me as if the Holy Spirit had been pleased to take on himself the trouble of putting together a short Bible, touching the whole of Christianity, in order that they who are unable to read the whole Bible may nevertheless find almost the whole sum comprehended in one little book. 

2. Treasury of David: A Commentary on the Psalms, 3 Vol. C. H. Spurgeon 

Even though it is dated, Spurgeon’s Treasury of David is still the best collection of devotional insights on the Psalms. The link above provides a wonderful online version. For a hard copy, you can go here. 

3. “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” in Wages of Spin. Carl Trueman

This insightful essay reminds us of the harm done to the church by feeding on “a diet of unremittingly jolly choruses and hymns” while neglecting the anguished cries and melancholy themes of the Psalms. Here is an excerpt from Trueman’s essay:

By excluding the cries of loneliness, dispossession, and desolation from
its worship, the church has effectively silenced and excluded the voices of those who are themselves lonely, dispossessed, and desolate, both inside and outside the church. By so doing, it has implicitly endorsed the banal aspirations of consumerism, generated an insipid, trivial and unrealistically triumphalist Christianity, and confirmed its impeccable credentials as a club for the complacent.

At the beginning of each week we will try to post some resources referenced from the previous Sunday’s message. We post the resources because they are helpful, not because they are perfect.

Last Sunday provided an overview of the Old Testament book of Song of Solomon, and here are some of the resources referenced in that message.

1. Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. C. J. Mahaney

2. Song of Songs (NICOT). Tremper Longman

3. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (NAC). Duane A. Garrett

Two more resources that might be helpful.

1. Sex and the Supremacy of Christ. (Available in audio, book, or PDF format.)
2. The Peasant Princess: A Love Story from The Song of Songs. (An 11-part sermon series by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church that’s very frank, not always the very best exegesis, but, nonetheless, a very beneficial take on the Song of Solomon.)

Bethel Elementary School is just around the corner from our church in Mauldin. Over the past year, we’ve enjoyed the privilege of serving and praying for the the students and teachers at Bethel. With the school year starting in just a week (yikes!), we have an another opportunity to serve the teachers at Bethel Elementary.

Public school teachers are usually provided money to stock their classrooms. However, due to budget cuts this year, teachers will not be receiving that money. Our church is looking to put together a goodie bag for each of the 70 teachers at Bethel. Below is a list of suggested supplies:

• Ink pens
• Pencils
• Scotch tape (dispensers)
• Masking tape
• Post-it notes
• Paper clips

If you are still not sure what supplies to purchase, then you can simply donate some money and we can purchase supplies for you.

We know it’s short notice, but we would like to get the supplies to the teachers by Friday (August 13). If you are willing to donate money or supplies, please contact our own Stephanie Rees or email the church at info@ebcupstate.com

Our church family has the wonderful opportunity to serve our community through volunteering at the Maudlin Summer Bash on July 24. This is the second year in a row we’ve been privileged to help with this event! Mauldin Summer Bash is geared towards families and children. Read more about it here. 

The city needs our help with registration, set-up, running the events and take-down. If you’re able to volunteer, and you didn’t sign up at shepherding group, please reply to ebcinformation@gmail.com with the times that you are available (anytime from 2-11 p.m.) We plan to have a tentative volunteer schedule created by this Sunday.

The following day we’re having a church service at 10:30 a.m. at a picnic-shelter in Sunset Park. We’ll also have a bring-your-own-picnic lunch following the service, and we’d love to see some of the Summer Bash attendees join us for the service and picnic.

Pray for a great weekend!

As we’ve been working through each book of the OT in one message, some have asked for more resources on understanding not just the OT, but the entire Bible. Here are two more resources that might be helpful as we seek to make sense of the Bible’s story-line.

The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story. It’s hard to say that any book outside of the Bible is a must read. This one must be close. The book’s purpose is to unpack the story-line of the Bible for both the Christian and the skeptic. While being a tremendous tool to help you understand the overall message of the Bible, it will also be a great book for you to read through with an unbelieving friend. Perhaps The God Who Is There will do for adults what The Jesus Storybook Bible does for children. Best of all, it’s 65% off until Friday! You can order it here for only $6.

Zondervan Handbook to the Bible. This volume is packed with illustrations, charts, in-depth articles, and photographs. It goes through each book of the Bible, providing helpful comments on every chapter. You can preview portions of this book by clicking on the link above.

(From C. H. Spurgeon via our own George Collins)

July 7 - Morning

“Brethren, pray for us.” 1 Thessalonians 5:25

This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader’s memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us.

Brethren, our work is solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labour to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink.

We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel.

We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you “BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US.”

~from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

When EBC started a few years ago one of the important questions we wrestled with was what songs we would use for our corporate worship. Ultimately we decided against using one particular hymnal, not because we think a hymnal is unhelpful, but because we thought it would be more helpful to select songs from a variety of sources. (Plus, not having to purchase hymnals saved money in our initial start-up costs, which is always a concern when planting a church.) Our congregation has been enriched by singing songs with solid texts from a variety of sources, including: NetHymnal, The Worship Songs Books, Reformed Praise, Getty Music, The RUF Hymnbook, and music from our own Brian Pinner.

Recently, the ministry of our friends at Church Works Media has been helpful. In particular, these brothers have set a number of important Psalms to music. The poetic settings reflect well the biblical text and, perhaps even more important, the poetic settings reflect the canonical tension and trajectory of the Psalter that makes us long for Jesus Christ. Many of the tunes they use are recycled from other traditional hymns, a beneficial familiarity because people don’t have to learn a new tune and a new text at the same time. Additionally, most of the traditional hymn tunes can be played in a variety of styles, making these Psalms settings useful, we think, in a number of different contexts. This past Sunday we sang their setting of Psalm 1, and the previous Sunday we sang their setting of Psalm 2. Both richly added to our time of corporate worship. We hope you take the time to check out all their work here.

Regardless of the source in choosing songs for the church, be discerning. The collection of hymns you use will be the only “theology book” some of your people will ever read. 

Update on John Lawrence’s Mom

“Let us consider how to provoke one-another to love and good works” Hebrews 10:24.

After visiting with John today, he mentioned several ways we could keep up with his mom’s progress and serve his family. 

1. Facebook.

• John is posting regular updates via his Facebook account, and this is the best way to find out the most recent information about his mother.
• Checking his Facebook page will also help serve him so that he does not have to repeat the same information each time someone calls.

2. Contact.

• Text messages and emails are better than phone calls, though they certainly appreciate the phone calls.

3. Visiting.

• They will be at the hospital (Greenville Memorial) from 4:00pm to 9:00pm every evening.
• John mentioned this would be the best way to encourage them. 
• They really want to use to this time to grow close to their church family, and that could happen as people stop by to spend some time with them in conversation or just going on a walk around the hospital.

4. Needs.

• Michelle Johnson will be checking in with Rebekah on a regular basis.
• In order not to overload Rebekah right now, please touch base with Michelle for ways to help with meals and/or child-care.