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Pastor Steve Mathewson
Senior Pastor
12-06-18
Todd Miles was a boy who loved comic books. He spent every dollar he earned at a local drugstore on the latest Spider-Man or Captain America comics. By the time he left home for Oregon State University, his collection filled several boxes. Today, Todd still loves comics. But now he is a theology professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. One day, it dawned on Dr. Todd Miles that every bad idea about Jesus can be illustrated by a superhero. It’s not that superheroes are bad. It’s just that none of them measure up to Jesus...
11-29-18
Forty years ago this fall, a significant event took place in Chicago. In October 1978, 300 evangelical leaders—those who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ—met for a conference on biblical inerrancy. “Inerrancy” means “without error.” These leaders felt a need to respond to some of the attacks on the integrity of the Bible. As a result, they produced a landmark statement known as The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. One of the 330+ signers, Don Carson, is a current member of our church. Two former members of our church signed it as well...
11-21-18
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, so I’m writing to you a day earlier this week. As I write, I’m looking at a pile of leaves on my desk. More on that in a moment. I hope all of you have a restful Thanksgiving Day with family and friends—and a day filled with thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings. We had a great Thanksgiving Service on Sunday evening, and I’m pleased to report that our crisis relief offering amounted to $7697.00...
11-15-18
I will return home this evening after a week in Colorado. It began last weekend in the mountains near Rocky Mountain National Park where Priscilla and I had participated in a retreat for small group leaders in their 20s and 30s. They all serve at Waterstone Community Church where our son, Luke, and his wife, Janzyn, are members (and on staff). We met at the YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park. I spoke at four sessions...
11-08-18
“God knows what he is doing even we don’t.” This was the testimony of Grant Osborne, long-time professor of New Testament at nearby Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Grant went home to be with the Lord early last Sunday morning. He lived in Libertyville, and I always appreciated the conversations I had with him over the years. He had a remarkable outlook on his struggle with asthma—the condition which ended his life at 76 years of age...
11-01-18
How do we live as exiles in a nation that marginalizes or mocks our Christian faith? Rick McKinley suggests five “spiritual practices” in his book, Faith for This Moment. You probably won’t be surprised by this list, but these practices are vital for both blessing (Jeremiah 29:7) and resisting (Revelation 18:4) “Babylon”--the secular age in which we live...
10-25-18
Earlier this week, a faithful pastor went home to be with the Lord. Eugene Peterson died on Monday at age 85. For over fifty years, he served as a pastor and as a ‘pastor to pastors.’ You likely know him as the author of The Message, one of the finest paraphrases of the Bible ever produced. I’d like to reflect a bit on his life and ministry. I will save the topic I promised to address today (five practices for living as exiles in a post-Christian culture) for next week’s letter...
10-18-18
As Christians, we live in exile. That is, we are living outside our native country in a foreign land that holds different values than we do. The Apostle Peter refers twice to God’s elect as “exiles” (see 1 Peter 1:1, 2:11). The Apostle Paul told the believers in Philippi, a colony proud of its Roman citizenship, that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Rick McKinley, a pastor in Portland, Oregon, explores this metaphor in his book, Faith for This Moment (Baker Books, 2018) to help us with “navigating a polarized world as the people of God.”..
10-11-18
Today I am writing from St. Francis Hospital in Peoria where my Mom is resting after her Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). The procedure took place yesterday, and it lasted less than an hour. We’re thankful to the Lord that my Mom is doing great and will go home tomorrow. My three younger brothers are here as well. It’s the first time her four boys have all been with her since her 75th birthday four years ago. I’m returning to Libertyville this afternoon...
10-04-18
How should Christians think about and engage in politics? Tim Keller addressed this question in the New York Times a few days ago. I always appreciate Keller’s wise, biblical counsel. Here are four of his key points in his opinion piece as well as my reflections on them...
09-27-18
This is not my father’s world. No, it’s not the world in which my dad lived. Nor is it the world in which I grew up as a boy. I can remember the day when almost everyone called themselves “Christians” whether they were or not. Most Americans affirmed Judeo-Christian values. I can remember when the Christmas programs at my public grade school in central Illinois featured traditional carols and a manger scene. But everything has changed...
09-20-18
This week I have been fly fishing in and around Yellowstone National Park. My friend, Dave, from Wheaton, is with me. We make an annual 4-day trip to this area to fly fish. We’re staying with my son-in-law Grant’s parents near Bozeman, Montana. I’m grateful to our church for the vacation time it gives to our ministry staff members. I love serving as a pastor, but it’s always refreshing to step away from the intensity of ministry—especially when I get to spend it in the outdoors...
“A church with the truth of the gospel in its theology can produce the opposite of the gospel in its practice.” Ray Ortlund Jr., a former member of our church family, made this observation in his book, The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. However, as he points out, the gospel should create “a culture of grace where good things happen to bad people.” Today I’d like to share some of Ray’s wisdom, because I love his vision for the way the gospel should shape the culture of the church. But first, let’s remind ourselves what the glorious gospel is. According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, it is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised to life. Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished God’s glorious victory over the powers of sin and death and made it possible for us to be rescued by faith alone in Christ alone.
Unfortunately, as Ray observes, “A gospel culture is harder to lay hold of than gospel doctrine.” The reason for this is a barrier every church faces. Ray explains: “The primary barrier to the ministry of the gospel through your church is not out in the world; the primary barrier is within your church itself. Every church, to some extent, clogs and hinders the gospel, even as we intend to advance the gospel.”
Yes, the fact is that churches are full of sin. That’s why the Apostle Paul, in his letters, keeps challenging us to let the gospel shape the way that we live and treat each other. To believers struggling to get along, he writes: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:3-8). Similarly, in Ephesians 4:32, Paul says: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Then, to believers struggling to control their passions, Paul writes: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11). It’s clear, then that the gospel of Christ should inform how we live as the church.
Allowing the gospel to shape our church’s culture is a huge challenge. Ray Ortlund says: “It requires more relational wisdom and finesse. It involves stepping into a kind of community unlike anything we’ve experienced, where we happily live together on a love we can’t create. A gospel culture requires us not to bank on our own importance or virtues, but to forsake self-assurance and exult together in Christ alone.” I can assure you that our elders and our ministry are constantly wrestling with what adjustments we need to make so that our church is more aligned with the gospel. We cannot advance it if we are not practicing it and living out its values. May the gospel shape us into a church of what Ray calls “bright, resilient, rugged hope”—a church that faces life as it is and is not defeated.”
This Sunday, August 27, I look forward to preaching Matthew 18:1-14. This is the second message in our Kingdom Character sermon series, and the title is “What Jesus Said about Humility.” Also, I’m making a quick trip to Portland, Oregon to speak at Western Seminary’s faculty retreat. I’m scheduled to deliver the plenary address on Monday, August 28, at noon (Chicago time) on “The Transforming Power of the Gospel.” So I would appreciate your prayers. I consider this opportunity as an extension of our church’s ministry to the larger body of Christ.
Our family is in the “back to school” mode. Priscilla is back at her job running the lunch program at Adler Grade School, and our grandson, Blake started first grade at Copeland Grade School. On the lighter side, our daughter Erin, who lives in southern California, told us a funny story about our one-year old grandson, Madden. Recently, Manny (Erin’s husband) went to their church’s nursery to pick up Madden after a recent worship service, and he found Madden going up and down a slide. The nursery worker said that every time Madden got to the bottom, he would point to the top. He wanted the worker to carry him and put him on top of the slide so he didn’t have to crawl the three feet and climb the two step. Erin said, “It looks like we have a lazy one.” Alright, thanks for reading. I’ll see you on Sunday!
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services - 4:30 & 6 pm