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Luther had many other attacks to endure. At Erfurth, he was blamed for the violent and haughty manner in which he condemned the opinions of others: this is the reproach usually made against those men who possess that strength of conviction which proceeds from the Word of God. He was also accused of precipitation and levity. They require moderation in me," answered Luther, "and they trample it under foot in the judgment they pass on me!......We can always see the mote in our brother's eye, and we overlook the beam in our own ......Truth will not gain more by my moderation, than it will lose by my rashness. I desire to know (continues he, addressing Lange) what errors you and your theologians have found in my theses? Who does not know that a man rarely puts forth any new idea without having some appearance of pride, and without being accused of exciting quarrels? If humility herself should undertake something new, her opponents would accuse her of pride! Why were Christ and all the martyrs put to death? Because they seemed to be proud contemners of the wisdom of the time, and because they advanced novelties, without having first humbly taken counsel of the oracles of the ancient opinions. Do not let the wise of our days expect from me humility, or rather hypocrisy, enough to ask their advice, before publishing what duty compels me to say. Whatever I do will be done, not by the prudence of men, but by the counsel of God. If the work be of God, who shall stop it? if it be not, who can forward it? Not my will, nor theirs, nor ours; but thy will, O Holy Father, which art in heaven."-What courage, what noble enthusiasm, what confidence in God, and above all, what truth in these words, and what truth for all ages!" - (D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation, 103)

My dear brothers and sisters. I am immensely grateful for your prayers for this past weekend and the encouraging messages that I received from many of you. The weekend went amazingly, and the word was powerful and effective in the hearts of many. A few of you have asked for recordings of the messages. Below you will find a summary of each message and an audio recording (the video didn't work apparently). Talk 1 — Hollow Joys and Fleeting Treasure Life in this world can feel so hollow and empty. Why is life so hard and joyless? Why is there so much pain? At times it feels like no matter what we do, we never manage to find joy, it can feel like chasing the wind. On top of that, when we do obtain an object of joy, it is fleeting and never leaves us satisfied. In this message, we will consider the reason why we have a feeling of emptiness and sorrow in this world. Is it meant to be this way if the Lord is on the throne? Talk 2 — Joy has Dawned upon the World We grasp at joy in this life, but like sand, it perpetually slips through our fingers. Where do we go to find joy that will not disappoint? Well, at the birth of Jesus Christ, the angels declared, “We bring you good news of great joy”. Why is the coming of Jesus Christ a story of joy and how does that help us? In this message we will contemplate why the incarnation of Christ was a moment of great joy for humanity and how it helps us in our pursuit of joy and delight. Talk 3 — Joy that Seekest me through Pain All Christian’s lives continue to be filled with much pain and sorrow. How do we find joy in the darkest of times? Are afflictions a sign of God’s displeasure? In this message we will consider the key to facing the vales of sorrow in the Christian life. Talk 4 — Solid Joys and Lasting Treasure Often we hear people say that a loved one is in a “better place”. Is there a greater joy to come? Is there a joy that is worth obtaining in heaven? After all, doesn't heaven sound pretty boring with all the harps and angels? In this message me will look towards eternity and contemplate whether there is an infinitely greater joy to come, what that joy is, and what difference it makes to us here and now.

Like most people, you probably find directories pretty boring. I mean, who really wants to read a list of names, or a bunch of boring points in a document? There is one directory that is worth reading. It is called "The Directory of Public Worship". You may not be aware that our denomination (Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand) has a book of church order. This book details how we govern our church. At the bottom of this document, there is a section on how we, at Covenant, ought* to order our worship. Rather than giving you the whole document and telling you to read it (though you can definitely do that!), I thought it might be helpful to share it with you in chunks, with some commentary. Chapter 47 - The Principles and Elements of Public Worship 47.1. Since the Holy Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice, the principles of public worship must be derived from the Bible, and from no other source. The Scriptures forbid the worshipping of God by images, or in any other way not appointed in His Word, and requires the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in His Word (WSC 51, 50). The Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand holds to what is called the regulative principle of worship. As 47.1 states, this means God alone regulates how he is to be worshipped. We are to make sure that we do not do what God forbids AND we are to do what God appoints. Commonly people will say, "But God hasn't said we can't do 'x'". That misses the very heart of this principle. We do not have the freedom to worship God as we please, because we cannot know how to worship God in a way that he approves unless he tells us. Therefore, we must worship him according to what he declares. I unpack this further in a sermon on 2 Chronicles 29-31 and a devotion on 1 Corinthians 14. I'd encourage you to check them out for a deeper explanation. The regulative principle of worship is an essential aspect of the life of our Church and all the decisions the elders make around worship are bound by it. Let me encourage you to consider the different aspects of our worship and, if you ever see anything done that is not set forth in Scripture, to approach one of us. As we close out the first point of the directory for public worship, let me leave you with the thoughts of the Westminster divines on the subject: The acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture. (Westminster Confession of Faith, 21.1) *It is important to note that I used the word "ought" above. This is because the directory does not have the force of law, but rather should be taken seriously as an approved guide.

My dear sheep, it is hard for us to appreciate life without the free grace of the gospel. For many dark years, the people of God lived in a world where grace had to be earned. The father of Myconius, just before the dawn of the Reformation, would say the following: "The blood of Christ, is the only ransom for the sins of the whole world. O my son, though three men only should be saved by Christ's blood, believe, and believe with assurance, that thou art one of those three men. It is an insult to the Saviour's blood to doubt that he can save." - J H Merle d'Aubigne It's a precious reminder for us that our salvation belongs to God alone, through Christ alone. It is only the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ that is sufficient to wash away sins. Which reminds me of the blessed sermon we had from Egimar on Sunday morning. If you were away, I would strongly encourage you to listen to it. It was a very precious reminder for us of the all-sufficient work of Christ upon the cross. Speaking of substitutionary atonement. Last week I read a fantastic article on the subject by Nick Batzig. Why is the substitutionary atonement essential? Well worth a read!

Welcome to a shepherd's pen. If you thought that was a play on words, you are correct. It may have been an accidental play on words, but it is a play on words, nonetheless! This blog is named, 'A Shepherd's Pen', because it is directed from a shepherd's hand to a shepherd's flock. I wanted to briefly introduce why I (Pastor Logan) have created this blog. The Purpose The purpose of this blog is to provide a way for me to communicate with you (my sheep) in a way that is much simpler than emails and newsletters. As a shepherd, I frequently stumble across a variety of important things that I would love to share with you all. However, it is not easy to achieve this. This, Lord willing, is the solution. So, in a nutshell, this is a place for your shepherd to communicate with you outside of Sunday. The Content So what are you going to find in this place? You will find quotes, recommended material for consumption, answers to your questions, a comments section to interact together, warnings about matters swirling around the internet, and anything else that mind come to my mind! On top of this, I would delight to share and interact with things that you find interesting. Worth adding that I am not going to be working to create highly polished content. It'll be a bit rough around the edges. In my mind, that is okay. It is simply the thoughts of the shepherd to the sheep. The Frequency I have no idea. To be honest. The Lord knows. However, worth noting that this will replace the weekly newsletter, "Gems from the Pages". If you have been blessed by that, I trust that you will be equally blessed by this. I will send out an update about this matter to the newsletter email list. The Audience As you might have picked up from the introduction of this post, the intended audience of this blog is my own congregation. My aim is for the shepherd of Covenant Presbyterian Church, to have the sheep at CPC in view, and them alone. If other sheep from other pens are blessed, that is wonderful, but I will be very glad if only my congregation read my posts, because they are the sheep I have been given to care for.