Nathan E. Lewis

Contend for the Faith
Jude 1-4
(written and preached by Nathan Lewis at Ascension PCA and Evergreen PCA in Beaverton, Oregon)

The Epistle of Jude is an urgent message to the church. Jude not only rallies the church to combat false teaching, but also presents merciful pastoral support of the church. As Dick Lucas writes, “The believers are to ‘contend’ for the truth, and the verb here is unusually strong. They are to ‘fight’ for the faith…. Jude, however, is no mere polemicist, spoiling for a fight, seeking any excuse for a controversy. He too has a pastor’s heart. It is wise to link verse 3 with verse 20a.” (3) calls us to contend for the faith and (20) calls us to have mercy toward restoration. Continue reading »

Running from God (January 10 ,2010)
Jonah 1

The book of Jonah is one of the more beautifully constructed stories in the Bible and in all ancient literature. Its language is terse and the opening and concluding sentences in each of the four chapters are a fine lesson for aspiring writers. These sentences serve as pointers and keys as well as hooks to capture the attention and imagination of the reader.
A remarkable feature of this book is its candor, that is, its honesty and directness whether refreshing or distasteful. Though it is written in the third person, I suspect that the author may have well been Jonah. And if this is the case, then its candor is all the more remarkable. Continue reading »

In the most recent issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, Andrew Lawler writes an article, “Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?” Discovered in 1947 these 800 plus manuscripts have been made increasingly available to Jewish and Christian scholars collaborating and now more and more to the general populace. I have listed for your personal online exposure to these manuscripts sites that I have found interesting and helpful. Continue reading »

Once upon a time I met a man named Love, who told me that he was an identical twin. We met in the flower of our youth hopeful in romance, seeking the loves of our lives. Love and I went about our courting in quite a different order. Love would ask a girl to dinner and a movie. At the table he would make it clear up front that he desired to get to know her to determine whether or not she would be the woman of his dreams. He peppered their dinner conversation with many a question, getting to know her through, what I would consider to be more of an interview than pleasant dialogue. Admittedly, I was a bit naive in those days. I would meet a girl and say, “Wow! Here is the girl of my dreams!” Then, I would sit at the table to discover as much as I was able about this amazing creature. Continue reading »

Last night several hundred atheists and Christians viewed Collision at the Bagdad in Portland. In the backstage bar, at the conclusion of the film my dream came true: 30-40 atheists engaged in lively, in-depth conversation with six Christians, myself included! One person described for me the glue holding his atheist friends together: “Nathan, our group shares one thing in common - we disagree with you. In most other respects we are totally different.” Another person described himself as a doubting Thomas said, “Nathan, you should feel the weight of your responsibility to provide me with the evidence I need to become a Christian.” Another person said, “You can believe whatever you like, just don’t twist the facts, or manipulate me.” Continue reading »

Come join him! Box office opens at 6 p.m. selling $5.00 tickets. Purchase drinks and food and eat dinner while you view Christopher Hitchens debate Doug Wilson concerning whether or not God exists. For more information about this film go to Collision and for more information about the event, go to the Bagdad.

raising a new generation to practice a selfless stewardship

1. Help your children to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the smallest gift received and to express gratefulness to the giver.

2. Teach your children that every gift they offer is an expression of Christ’s love.

3. Help your children to memorize “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” (Acts 20:35), and “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

4. Consistently confront selfish language and behavior, teaching your children to “put the interests of others before their own.” (Philippians 2)

5. Expose your children to the great needs in the world – famine, disease, poor housing, mental illness, broken families…. Read and view news reports of natural disasters and human atrocities then pray and discuss how you as a family might contribute to relieve the needs.

6. Read stories to your children about philanthropy.

7. Teach your children at an early age to give a tenth of the money they receive and earn, to the Church and to view 10% as a minimum goal in a lifetime of increased giving.
Continue reading »

November 29
First Sunday of Advent
“The Promised Seed”
Genesis 3:15; 12:7 and Galatians 3:16

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written over a span of 1,600 years by 40 different authors. Its cohesion is what we call redemptive history, the story of God redeeming his people. Everything written in the Bible supports this grand theme. One of the central expressions of this theme is the seed, not the seed of the garden but the seed of conception. The seed refers to the ultimate promised Son, Jesus Christ and then, secondarily to all those who are united to him by faith. Continue reading »

Nathan Lewis preached this sermon on November 22 at Ascension PCA and Evergreen PCA in Beaverton, Oregon
Exodus 17: 8-16, “The Staff and the Sword: Our Church Planting Mission in Oregon” Continue reading »

This past week during the memorial services at Fort Hood, Texas, Steve Inskeep of National Public Radio interviewed Chaplain Maj. Dawud Agbere, one of the 10 Muslim chaplains employed by the U.S. military. A few of his responses to Inkeep’s questions reminded me that the Christian’s one, unique message, is the gospel. Here’s the clip of the interview that caught my attention:
INSKEEP: We should make clear for people who may not know: Youre not just seeing Muslim soldiers, are you?
Maj. AGBERE: Exactly. So, you know, I tell people all the time, I am not a Muslim Chaplain. I am a Chaplain who happens to be of the Islamic faith. So, yes, the Christian chaplain will take care of the Muslim soldier. The Jewish rabbi will take care of the Mormon soldier. So sometimes, I find myself in a unit, and Im the only Muslim in that unit.
INSKEEP: And Islam has enough in common with Christianity and other religions that you have no trouble giving all kinds of people advice that youre comfortable with and that theyre comfortable with?
Maj. AGBERE: Exactly. I mean, look at human situations. You know, when you talk of divorce, financial problems, these things don’t have religion. These are things human beings go through. Continue reading »