Trinity Fellowship

The glory of men is their strength. Men were made to do hard things. Men were made to bear heavy loads. When men work out physically, they get stronger. When men push themselves to do more, they generally get better at it. It's trendy in our world, even our Christian world to warn one another about burnout and over-doing it, but where in the Bible are we warned about that? The Bible certainly instructs us to take a weekly Sabbath, a day of rest, but beyond that, it says we are to be known for hard, diligent work, and it warns us against sloth, laziness, and cowardice over and over. David fell into sexual sin in the springtime when kings were supposed to go out to battle. So where is the battle that God is calling you to? Is it dealing with a sin in your life? Is it leading your wife or family more intentionally? Is it starting some new venture, a new project? Does it look hard? Will it require suffering? Might you mess up along the way? You were made for this. This is your glory in Christ. - Toby Sumpter

God has been pleased to redeem a mass of humanity to give as an inheritance to His Son. Scripture speaks of this group as the church, the assembly, the body, and as the bride of Christ. The first Adam and his bride failed their probation, casting creation into ruin and curse. The Second Adam has taken a bride to Himself as He passes His probation. The Second Adam doesn't shrug off His headship and His strength, but invests it fully into the welfare of His bride. When we are unfaithful, He remains faithful to us, entrusting us to the affairs of His household until He returns. To be so closely united to Christ that we are called His body and His bride is a heavy joy that we must take seriously. A faithful steward and a virtuous wife will seek to honour their Head in all they do. So, our charge is to see our mission as a church in light of the headship of Christ. We are His body, and we are to do our work as an extension and a support of His work. As individual members and as a corporate body, let us consider ways to make Christ known in the world, so filled with His grace that it pours out through us and fills creation.

All men seek glory, this is inescapable. If misdirected, this search for glory is going to turn in on itself, attempting in vain to find it in ourselves or in our circumstances. We will find our searching to be eternally elusive. To try to find glory, meaning, and peace in the creation instead of in the Creator, in the reflection instead of the Source is very literally the definition of lunacy. Men go mad apart from God, and rightly so. When our search leads us to the God of all glory, the fountain of all reality, our souls will indeed find rest. We will find ourselves where we were always meant to be; like a river that has finally returned to the sea. The charge is this – meditate on what it means that all things are from God, through God, and to God. Which areas of your life need to be brought into submission under His lordship? As the Spirit gives us eyes to see, we will discover that it is true, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

Baptism is a step of obedience for those that have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. It is a sign to the world around us that our allegiances have changed; we are no longer slaves to sin but belong body and soul to Jesus Christ. In baptism we are confessing that we have died to sin and been made alive to the things of God. And as we do this, Christ is also ministering to us, reminding us of what He has done on our behalf. Adoption into God's family and union with Christ are two of the sweetest gifts of grace that God gives. So the charge, remember your baptism! Reflect on what this all means, and let's also love each other well as we encourage one another to keep pressing ahead, making sure we leave the reminders of the old man behind and as the new man is formed in us

Everyone here is in earshot of the gospel. Many of us have grown up around it, and have the tremendous blessing of having learned it over a lifetime. Whether this morning is the first time you've heard an invitation from Christ, or whether this is just another occasion over 70 years, His offer stands. He is offering rest for those who come to Him in empty-handed faith. To hear this and walk away, or to hear this and not care, or to hear this and try to sit it alongside your unbelief, or to hear it and treat it as just one option on a menu of religious options is to be guilty of a sin for which there is no other remedy. Take the warning seriously. It will go worse for you if you walk away from Christ than if you had never heard of Him. This is an unsettling message, and it is designed to be so. We need to wrestle through the turmoil so the offer makes sense. So, the charge is this, quit your striving. Walk away from your despair. Put down your arms. Bring your restlessness and your shame and your guilt to Jesus. He has gone on ahead of you, and if you become His partner in the yoke you will find rest for your soul. You will see just how light His load really is.