(By David Giarrizzo)

In 1997, a 21-year old Joshua Harris wrote these words about the way many young people view the church:

Too many people my age have lost a vision for the church. To us it’s a building, not a living community of believers walking out their faith side by side. It’s a place we go to on Sundays and Wednesday nights for youth group. It’s run by a bunch of adults – their show. Some of us go because we have to. Others go because all our friends are there. What we’ve forgotten (or never knew) is that the church is the structure God established to make disciples, strengthen families, and steadily advance His Kingdom throughout the world. The church was God’s idea – it’s what He’s passionate about. And He calls every person who believes in Him to share that passion and commitment. You and I are called to play a part of service with our gifts and abilities in a local church. We’re not the youth group, guys, WE ARE THE CHURCH!

I appreciate Harris’ words because I think they touch to the  heart of a very important matter. Being raised in a Christian home all my life, I have known what it’s like to think that the church is just a building to go to once a week (twice, if you had Wednesday night youth group) and a place that is run by a bunch of men around my dad’s age. In fact, I think a lot of young people have thought along similar lines. But regardless of denomination, young people from their teens to early adulthood need their hearts and minds genuinely impressed with a biblical understanding of the doctrine of the church. As Josh Harris said, “We are the church!”


The church is a living entity; a breathing, moving, blood-pumping body with various working parts and Jesus as its Head. The church is the bride of Christ, the beloved of the Lord, the one for whom He gave His very life. And if this is the description we are given of the church in God’s Word, are we promoting as high a view of the church through our lives? Is this the biblical vision of the church that we are passing down to our children and grandchildren? Do we even possess this vision ourselves? Do we live like we love the church, like we understand the place of the church in theology and history? Do we love the bride of Christ because we love the Bridegroom of the church? Or do we think of the church only as that building we fill on Sunday mornings?

The church is a visible expression of God’s love. God loved a people enough to send His only, begotten Son to take our sin and the Father’s wrath and die on our behalf, thus presenting us as righteous before the only holy God. Those for whom Christ died—they are the church!

I relate to Josh Harris who wrote when he himself was just a young adult, “My dream is to be a part of bringing the church back to the place God has always meant for it to play in our lives.”

This is the vision of the church that the Building Tomorrow’s Church conferences seek to promote. The goal of this ministry is to see the conference become more than just an annual gathering for young adults. Instead, the hope is that it would become a movement of young people throughout churches nationwide who take their Christianity seriously by engaging in serving the Lord by serving the needs of the body of Christ. Church membership, church ministry, and church leadership are all emphasized to today’s generation through Building Tomorrow’s Church. The goal is to see this generation of young people filled with a sincere enthusiasm for strengthening the body of Christ by actively participating in Christian service.

We are the church!

To learn more about the Building Tomorrow’s Church conferences, click here. To register online for BTC 2010, click here before June 1^st.

(By David Giarrizzo)

Man: A mist, a vapor, a withering weed; dust. We are temporary mortals, little lives bound by the constraints of time on earth. Here today, gone tomorrow.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time: It flies; it rolls; it ticks; it slips. Time acts as the governor of human events, a universal rule by which all must abide until death.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

God: Infinite; outside of time; from everlasting to everlasting. Unlike fragile, finite man, God is, was, and always will be; the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

…The passing of one year to the next often prompts such important thoughts as these above. The most important thought to dwell on, however, is of course our help and our hope, God Himself.

I thank the Lord for another year. Most of all, though, I praise the Lord for His powerful grace that softened my heart and peeled back the scales on my eyes to behold and acknowledge the wonderful reality of Him. Without His divine, mysterious mercy upon my soul, I would not know God as I do in this personal, sanctifying way. Apart from that predestining, all-compelling, life-changing love of the Father, I would yet be confined to my sin nature and under His ever-present wrath. Such is the state of millions of people today who live in willful rebellion against God. Their rebellion is played out both actively and passively, visibly and in secret. One of the most observable manifestations of man’s rebellion and Truth-suppression is seen through false religions with made-up deities. Simply put, this is blatant idolatry.

Brit Hume was right when he recently alluded that Christianity is a better religion than Buddhism. In fact, Brit may already know what he and Tiger Woods will one day see—that Christianity is better than any religion. But Christianity isn’t the best religion because of its teachings on compassion or forgiveness or love. Christianity is not just “a safer bet” because of its doctrines on heaven and hell. And Christianity certainly isn’t the best religion because of any of the people who call themselves Christians. No, Christianity is better than Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Neopaganism, Mormonism, Scientology, Islam, or any other man-made belief system simply because the God of Christianity is the only true God.

I am reminded of the events of 1 Kings 18. Here we read that the prophet Elijah confronted 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. We read Elijah’s challenge to the 450 flesh-cutting prophets in verse 24: “And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” Of course we all know the conclusion of the matter: God won. And those who saw the dramatic events of the day observed first-hand the power of the one, true, living God and the impotence of the imagined Baal. The moral of the story is plain: FEAR THE GOD WHO LIVES! (Hebrews 10:31).

Therefore, let us proclaim much like the people there that day near Mt. Carmel, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

“…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:10-11)

May it be our mission—not just for 2010, but for life—to bring the reality of the one, true God to bear upon the hearts and minds of all who suppress His existence in their unbelief. Let us pray that the fear of the holy God of the Bible will be seen in our own lives as we take the message of salvation through Christ alone to all the world.

I’ve heard my dad preach on various occasions these simple but memorable lines:

Life is short.
Death is certain.
Hell is real.
But Jesus saves!

…Words to remember as we enter another year of our short-lived lives. Happy New Year!

(By David Giarrizzo)
[I’m taking a break this week and next from the series on “Christians and Culture.” The following is based on a sermon I delivered a few weeks ago from Lamentations 3.]

There’s no doubt that we live in dark times. Even a quick glance at the evening news reminds us of this fact. Every one of us has concerns that weigh us down from week to week. The economic recession, social and political hostility, and violence and strife here and around the world are only a reflection of the deeper spiritual problem that is sin. This world is a sad place—a sin-filled, moral cesspool of unrighteousness reminiscent of the days of Noah. And we all have our own struggles, don’t we? We struggle daily with our flesh, with fighting the sin that remains. We struggle with physical bodies that are wasting away little by little every day. And we struggle with our finances and with our careers, with our houses and our cars, with our marriages and families and our other relationships. These are difficult times, but not completely unsimilar to the days of the prophet Jeremiah.

In Lamentations 3 we read about Jeremiah in a time of true discouragement. This chapter can be divided simply under two headings:

1. The Misery of Man
2. The Goodness of God

The Misery of Man (Lam. 3:1-20)
Jeremiah begins in verse 1 by explaining his condition as a man who has seen affliction. It’s enough here in this one verse to make us feel for the man. And it is a terrible place to be—under the affliction of God’s wrath. By verse 4, as if things weren’t bad enough, it begins to get more graphic: “He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones.” Think about that for a moment. Does your stomach begin to turn? But this is the metaphorical description that Jeremiah is giving us of his current condition. The prophet describes himself as enveloped with “bitterness” and “tribulation;” other versions use words like “anguish,” “distress,” and “woe.” The point is clearly made: this is a terrible state the writer finds himself in.

“…He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.” (Lam. 3:6-9)

Imagine being laid in a grave while you are still alive and forgotten like the dead. What a dark, chilling place. These verses bring to mind the picture of a prison, or an old castle dungeon. The writer feels trapped and without any signs of escape. And in verses 8 and 9, though he cries for help from this pit of despair, his cries go unheard. What an utterly terrifying thought that must be! Something like this we would think to only read about in an Edgar Allan Poe story or see in a Hollywood thriller: A man who is beaten and broken and wasting away, dwelling in darkness like a man alive in a grave, with chains hanging from his limbs, and walled in like a forgotten prisoner with no means of escape, and even when he cries out for help, there is no one to hear him.

The dire situation as it is described gets even worse so that by Lamentations 3:17, the prophet has been in this predicament so long that he says his soul has no peace and he has forgotten what happiness is. But how many of us have been in similar situations where it seems like there’s this dark cloud hanging over us for days or weeks or months on end and the hits just keep on comin’? To have no peace; to forget what happiness is. How sad is this misery of man, a misery that accompanies a loss of hope in God.

But then we read these transitionary words in verse 21: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope…” What exactly is it that Jeremiah called to his recollection in these darkest of circumstances?…

The Goodness of God (Lam. 3:21-32)

Even in this deepest of pits, Jeremiah is granted the ability to recall God’s truth to mind and find hope in it. One of the things that I love most about this little piece of Scripture is how refreshing it is to the believer’s heart. Just when things in life seem their darkest, God sends the light of His Word.

It wasn’t until Jeremiah remembered the words of God to saints since past that he regained his hope and happiness. Jeremiah could have referred back to the words of God to Joseph when he was in prison in Genesis  39:21—“But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Or the words spoken to Moses at Sinai in Exodus 34:6—”The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” Maybe these words of the Old Testament were what came to Jeremiah’s mind in his time of distress because they were hidden deep within his heart and the Holy Spirit brought them to bear upon his thinking at that moment. The Word of God is powerful because by God’s Spirit, it lives and acts. It has the ability to convict and encourage. And here Jeremiah experiences the encouragement of the Lord because he had knowledge of Him through His Word. What an important reminder this is to us that true encouragement in dark, dark times does not just come by thinking happy thoughts which lead to warm, fuzzy feelings. No, true encouragement from God comes through His Word and His promises therein.

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” Ps. 36:5

“I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” Ps. 89:1

And how much we should love these verses as they can be applied to all of our lives. God’s love is steadfast. His mercies are endless. His faithfulness is great.

By David Giarrizzo

This past weekend our church family spent three days and two nights up near scenic Sedona, Arizona, for our annual family camp. The event provided an opportunity for many to escape the 116 degree heat of Phoenix and trade it for the more tolerable 101 degrees of Oak Creek Canyon. As nice as it always is to leave the fast-paced, big-city atmosphere for a few days and to relax and fellowship with God’s people surrounded by the beautiful mountains, trees, and streams of His creation, at this year’s conference we were especially blessed by the sound, biblical preaching of Pastor David Dykstra.

In four valuable messages Pastor Dykstra covered the four chapters of Ruth through clear, exegetical observations and practical, encouraging applications. The central theme of Ruth focuses on God’s providence and provision in a family’s life. Of course, though, while God is the central theme, there are many other thoughts and lessons that stem from the story like spokes on a wheel: wise and unwise decision making (Ruth 1); providing for God’s people (Ruth 2); the kinsman redeemer as a type of Christ (Ruth 3); and redemption from sin, adoption by grace (Ruth 4). Ultimately, as Pastor Dykstra pointed out for us, this story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz is but one historical snapshot that is a part of the metanarrative of scripture as we see later through the life of David and the birth of Jesus in the opening pages of Matthew’s gospel.

But it was the focus on God’s providence in the story of Ruth that refreshed me most this weekend. To define God’s providence, Dykstra quoted from the Heidelberg Catechism which states,

27. Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. God’s providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand.

In reformed circles, God’s providence, his sovereignty, his divine authority are spoken of often, especially as these attributes relate to election and salvation (and rightly so!). But as a Reformed Baptist, what I find most refreshing in this study is considering this doctrine while looking at a biblical example of God’s providence being acted out through the characters Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. It was God in his providence who guided Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, to Bethlehem where Ruth would meet Boaz. And it was God who provided them food and safety and a kinsman redeemer. From the smallest details of this story to the most prevalent, we are assured from scripture that all things are under the authority and will of God (Job 42:2; Proverbs 16:33; Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:17; Matthew 10:29; Romans 9:14-21).

As I listened to these lessons from Ruth about the providence of God in all things—“fruitful and barren years…health and sickness, riches and poverty”—I was struck by the very little, seemingly insignificant things in life that I let come and go without even taking much notice of how God’s fatherly hand is involved. Last week, for example, my wife Paige and I celebrated four years of marriage. As I think back to the days before I knew my wife, and then the months and years we spent getting to know one another, and then the last four years that we spent getting to know each other even more, that 20/20-hindsight kicks in, and I am able to recognize the providence of God in initially turning my affections towards Paige and in the conversations and quiet moments we shared and through our friends and family and in other countless events that, put together, have led us to where we are today. And none of this by chance, but by God’s loving guidance every step of the way (Proverbs 16:9). As encouraging as this thought is, I am likewise reminded that I need to continually be transformed by the renewing of my mind that I may be able to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

I give glory to God for granting me with a wife who He knew would be a godly, faithful, perfectly suited helper and life-long companion to me. It was God’s providential hand that provided me with a wife. And whether it is the ancient relationship of Boaz and Ruth or the modern marriage of David and Paige Giarrizzo, the same God is the sovereign orchestrator of our lives and love. Praise God for His providence and provision!

(By David Giarrizzo)

As Reformed Baptist believers, we love doctrine. We understand doctrine’s important place in our hearts, homes, and churches. There can be no separating deep intimacy with God and the knowledge of His Word and Truth. The tri-unity, eternality, and sovereignty of God; the complete depravity of man; God’s predestinating, irresistible grace; Christ’s limited, blood atonement on the cross; justification by faith alone in Christ alone; the inerrancy of God’s Word—These doctrines of Scripture bring deep conviction, grant sweet comfort, and instill great courage for the beloved of God.

We find a great example of solid, doctrinal truth explained clearly in the first half of Paul’s letters to the Romans. Paul lays out all of the tenets of the gospel in Romans 1-11:

• Man is utterly sinful and under God’s condemnation (1:18, 3:12).
• God is the only holy and righteous Judge who judges men’s hearts (2:1-2).
• God sovereignly chooses to save some (9:18).
• God grants both the Jew and the Gentile salvation by grace alone (3:22-24).
• Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone (3:24-26, 5:8-9).

A similar explanation of God’s wonderful, mysterious plan of salvation is laid out in the first half of Ephesians. And in both books, after spending considerable time developing deep doctrine, Paul bursts forth in doxology, or praise, in Romans 11 and Ephesians 3. 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen
Romans 11:33-36 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Here we see doxology following doctrine as an automatic response to the thoughts of God and His deeds. The Psalms, too, are full of similar praises:

“Oh sing to the LORD  a new song, for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”
Psalm 98:1

Peter Jeffery says it well: “Don’t let anyone tell you that doctrine is cold, academic stuff that dampens Christian enthusiasm. Doctrine is the truth about God and his gospel, and to contemplate such things…must lead you to want to pray, to thank and praise God for such amazing love.”

Christians should be the most joyful people on the planet. Our lives should be evidenced by thanksgiving and praise. And the more a believer learns of the wonders of God and His love for sinners, the more joyful that believer should become. Out of our doctrines about God, there should spring doxology to God! This concept is similar to James’ point in James 2 about believing in God and living out our faith through our deeds. So too, if we claim to hold fast to the great doctrines of Scripture, we should live our lives worthy of Him Who has called us—with hearts full of joy and praise to God. Like a physical reflex—a knee-jerk reaction of sorts—our minds, when filled with the thought of God, should cause our hearts to pour forth praise.

I have seen this excitement demonstrated in the life of a “baby” Christian who hungers for the Word and lives his life in gratitude, like a man just saved from the clutches of death. Because that is what he is, what we all are. So should we all live with such humility and gratitude before a great God Who saves sinners. From our waking moments as born-again believers to our dying days, we should remain excited about doctrine and therefore live lives evidenced by doxology (Psalm 71:17).

I pray that the theme of this website—and the theme of each of our lives—be one of doxology to God rooted in a biblical understanding of Him and His many works.

As we contemplate
Your awesome grace
And wonder at your fame,
Our ardent cries
Are lifted high
To glorify Your name.