Truth Community Church

Pastoral ministry has its joys and privileges.

But it is also hard work if done biblically.

I had a lot to say during this message from Colossians 1:24-29. 📷

- Pastor Don Green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMT3v...

1 day ago | [YT] | 4

Truth Community Church

Yes, those in America should vote today. I will.

But I say it gently: if you live for politics, you’ll die by politics.

If you died with Christ, you’ll live with Christ.

Choose your affections wisely. Peace.

- Pastor Don Green

5 days ago | [YT] | 26

Truth Community Church

I said this in a message last year about biblical ministry. I think it worthwhile to post here. I have largely left it in the unedited spoken version rather than trying to change it for a written style:

I wish that seminaries as they're trying to get people to sign on the dotted line and to come to their school, would screen them by telling them about the difficulties biblical ministry brings.

Give them examples. Let them feel the weight of it on the front end to separate, as it were, the wheat from the chaff of those who are willing to suffer, and thereby prove that they're really called by God.

If a young man came to me and said, "I'm thinking about going into ministry," I want to be kind and supportive of that at one level. But at another level, I think that you should screen that by saying, "I don't think you should. I don't think that you should pursue this path of suffering. It's going to be too difficult, too hard for you to do this. I don't want you to experience the suffering that biblical ministry brings as shown through Scripture and is illustrated throughout all of church history."

I get animated about this. Beloved, read about our brothers in ministry from centuries ago. Take the nonconformist ministers in England who suffered so greatly under the 1662 Act of Uniformity. These men lost their ministries, lost all sense of livelihood, all because they would not go along with the Church of England. I mean, these men suffered profoundly.

Look at the Scottish Covenanters, as they're gathering people around them in outdoor settings where they could hide from the people that were seeking to destroy them, to find them out and to get these men and to carry them off and stop their ministries. These people suffered in a way I know nothing about.

What does that have to do with attending seminary in our modern day?

The nature of a seminary is that it has to recruit students. They have to retain students. And not only do they have to recruit and retain them in order to keep their cash flow going, in most circumstances, they've got to have the income flow of tuition. They have to justify their existence.

So they bring in a lot of men to try to train them in the name of training them for ministry. That's all well and good.

But because of that model, it is essential for seminaries to make ministry attractive, to give a sense of nobility to what you're about to embark upon. And so it has to be put forth in attractive terms.

When you're in seminary, (I can say these things, having attended seminary, taught in a seminary, and spoken in seminary chapel from time to time), the whole idea is that you're just elevating men to think about themselves as God's servants to the world.

I can't tell you how many times that I sang and heard the song, "Rise up, O men of God, the church for you doth wait. Rise up and make her great." It just gives you this high and lofty thing to aspire after. In one sense that's all well and good.

But it can also inflate an untested and unproven man in pride, and make him insufferably arrogant.

So what's needed, in my opinion, but what is carefully avoided instead, is this whole discussion about the fact that ministry will bring the man suffering.

If he genuinely goes into genuine biblical ministry, he will suffer for it because he is following in the footsteps of the suffering apostles who followed in the suffering footsteps of Christ.

Beloved, the suffering when you're going through it in ministry, it doesn't seem all noble. It doesn't seem great. It is painful. It is hurtful. It is discouraging for most ordinary men.

(Some men say they were never discouraged in ministry, but that's not the biblical pattern to be expected, and is contradicted by the testimony of no less a man than Charles Spurgeon.)

And I just wish, I just wish that on the front end, instead of promising all the glory of ministry to men who are going into seminary in large part because they've seen prominent men in ministry and profited under his teaching, they see him speaking at conferences or doing this or that, and they say, "Man, that would be the life," and they're attracted by all of these fleshly reasons to go into ministry.

So to recruit and to retain, you kind of have to shuffle off to the side these certain indications from Scripture that you're going to suffer for this. In the last days, difficult times will come, and the suffering that Paul describes in 2 Timothy, and the isolation he has as all of the men that were around him had left him and abandoned him, save Luke and all of that.

The point that I'm making is that the rosy picture that's given to prospective students and held out to them should be balanced by an honest assessment, "Listen, you are going to hurt and suffer in ministry if you pursue this path. Are you sure that's what you want to do? You will be on the receiving end of satanic attacks. You will be on the receiving end of lying people who slander you because you won't be in a position to defend yourself. Are you sure that's what you want? Is that what you are after? Your family will probably suffer. You will have hardship in ministry. You're far more likely to be obscure than popular.

Is THAT what you're signing up for, or do you just aspire to be the next Big Thing pastor to see your book sell and your name in lights at the next big conference with whoever's putting the conference on?"

Tell these men to count the cost because biblical ministry will bring them suffering. He ought to be given the opportunity to have that set before him, and so he can give informed consent: "Yes, that is what I want. If it brings me suffering, I'm willing to endure that."

At least have the discussion and make a point of it so that when he inevitably suffers in ministry, he can look back and say, "Ah, this is what they were telling me about."

I think that's what ought to be done. And after giving my life to whatever ministry God has allowed to me, I think I am at least entitled to an opinion.

- Pastor Don Green
ttwpress.com/

6 days ago | [YT] | 19

Truth Community Church

May the Lord bring your estranged child back to you while you are alive to embrace him/her with tear-filled joy.

But while you stand on the road, peering into the horizon for some sign of the prodigal’s return, I wrote this book to give you hope.

ttwpress.com/product/when-a-child-breaks-your-hear…

1 week ago | [YT] | 21

Truth Community Church

A (relatively) brief word for my friends today as we cultivate together our hope in Christ.

Christ is sufficient for you in these times in which we live. Three realities could lead to no other conclusion:

1. He Is Sovereign

He is directing all social discord and all details of your personal life to accomplish His purposes.

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

2. He Is Savior

If you are in Christ, it’s only because God determined to set His love on you for all eternity. Christ came to deliver you from sin, Satan, and this evil world system. He accomplished that work at the cross.

Having delivered you in love so decisively, how could He ever let those defeated powers gain victory over you now or in the future?

“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)

3. He Is the Shepherd

The Shepherd lives among the sheep to feed them, protect them, and lead them through every situation and over every hostile force. You’ve read Psalm 23 to see that, right?

Who is Christ to His people, but that promised Shepherd?

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:14-16)

My wavering Christian friend, so agitated over the events of life. We must walk by faith, not by sight.

Remember the written Word of God, which tells you in unqualified terms about the triumph of Christ—this Christ who is a sovereign, saving Shepherd.

Don’t you see how that banishes all fear of the future for those (and those alone) who have received Him and now rest in Him for their only righteousness before a holy God?

And don’t you see, then, how David’s words 3000 years ago abide unchangingly true for us in Christ today?

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Not only in the life to come, but even now in these weary days, it is well with your soul.
Turn off the news, turn away from the social media that agitates you so easily, and feed your soul on Christ until you can reach the only possible conclusion of these great truths:

“Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6)


- Pastor Don Green
ttwpress.com/

1 week ago | [YT] | 27

Truth Community Church

A few thoughts on preaching, which to me are self-evident but which may be controversial to some.

In what follows I am assuming a consistent desire and effort to communicate the meaning of the biblical text to an audience.

Stated differently, what follows is about wisdom in applying the same basic philosophy of pulpit ministry.

1. Preaching differs from man to man, in part because the Spirit gifts men differently.
No one with a right mind would dismiss Spurgeon because he didn’t preach like MacArthur.

2. Preaching will differ from church to church.
What is appropriate for a mature, well-taught congregation in the United States may not be fit for an impoverished church in the mountains of Mexico to new believers coming out of generations of Catholicism.

3. Preaching will differ in the same man over time.
“Let your progress be evident to all” (1 Timothy 4:15). Men who continue to study will develop greater depth as they preach over the years. 1970s MacArthur was different from 2010s MacArthur, even while teaching the same essential doctrine.

4. Preaching may differ to the same church over time.
A church that started well may need to hear the theme of repentance if it has lost its first love (Revelation 2:4-5).

5. Preaching emphases may differ due to doctrinal winds in the broader church.
Jude delivered a different message than he originally intended because certain men had crept in unnoticed (Jude 3-4).

6. Preaching may differ from man to man within the same church.
A good associate pastor will recognize the need to supplement the primary teaching pastor, not simply parrot him.

7. A man may have far greater depth than what you initially attribute to him.
Seminary students might despise the writings of Warren Wiersbe, for example, but he was a master who sold many, many books for a reason. You can learn from such proven men if you adopt the humility to do so.

In what I have said here, I am decidedly NOT inviting unscrupulous men to invent their own doctrines, to deviate from orthodoxy, or to proclaim their own visions as though they were truth from God. Anyone who preaches a different gospel is accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).

A true preacher will find his own voice over the years. Perhaps he starts as a close mimic to his esteemed mentor, but he isn’t meant to become a clone forever. Over time and experience, he comes into his own.

He should not be the next Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He should be the first of his own kind.
Yes, there is a certain science to preaching in the exegesis of the text. But there is also an art and subjective skill of wisdom in applying that science to the people in front of you.

I expect resistance to what I have said here, but in my opinion you neglect and reject it at your peril.

- Pastor Don Green

1 week ago | [YT] | 23

Truth Community Church

I’m probably unleashing a whirlwind with this post. But I just want to help young people make good decisions. (You’ll find self-explanatory links to two of my messages below.)

Over the decades, I have heard or seen pastors who, in my humble opinion, trivialized the matter of compatibility when talking to young adult Christians on the topic of marriage. The gist of it is “Just hurry up and get married and don’t worry about it. If you’re both Christians it will be fine.”

Well, yeah, sort of, I understand the general point. I’m certainly not a fan of long engagements, for example. But pushing hesitant people into a lifelong covenant is not the best pastoral practice.

So for example.

Should Christians include physical attraction in their consideration of a potential mate? Is that unspiritual?

I have heard men minimize it. But I beg to differ.

*Of course* physical attraction should be part of the consideration in a culture like ours that does not arrange marriage for the couple.

Physical intimacy is an important part of marriage. So when I do premarital counseling, I directly and separately ask the man and the woman:

Do you want that person? Do you want that person to have you?

Physical attraction isn’t the most critical factor in choosing a mate, but you must consider it.

Marriage is a comprehensive statement that says I want to give myself completely to you.

If you recoil at the thought of intimacy with that romantic partner, you’re not being realistic. And you’re not being fair to a potential mate.

Your deception will cause much harm if you make vows knowing you feel that way.

Don’t marry someone if the thought of physical touch repels you. You will devastate them with your cold reactions and the hurt will be irreparable.

Yet it’s important to be balanced in this overly sensual culture of ours. You need to be realistic. That potential mate may not be a movie star.

But let’s face it: you’re not going to Hollywood, either.

In most cases, a Christian, marrying-kind of man and a Christian, marrying-kind of woman will have physical attraction that flows from shared spiritual values. So don’t over-think it.

But if you know in advance that you have no attraction to that person, do him/her, yourself, and everyone around you a favor:

Don’t get married. Wait.

It is better not to have something (marriage) you want, than to have someone you don’t want.

You’ve got to be honest. You won’t be able to fake attraction, and you don’t want to sin against God or that person with a deception.

Grace and peace.

- Pastor Don Green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTU2U...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08rjM...

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 32

Truth Community Church

If I could identify a single message I have preached that defines my philosophy of ministry, and that indirectly explains why I always seem to be giving the minority report on things in the church, this would be the one.

It’s my message “Confronting the Sexual Chaos” from the Truth Matters conference in 2022. It catalogues the profound responsibility evangelical and Reformed circles themselves have in paving the way for the degeneracy all around us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-JKJ...

Despite its title, this message is not about LGBTQ+ matters—it’s about the nature of truth itself. It’s about the profound failure of the Christian pulpit over the past 50 years, which has made a distinct contribution to the collapse of Western society.

If you have been drawn by my recent books, I invite you to this message which manifests the biblical foundation of it all. I re-viewed it on a flight today, and I’m fired up all over again.

This message in the comments below prompted me to preach a 55-part series titled “Building a Christian Mind.”
www.sermonaudio.com/series/173541

The church, broadly so-called, has been a cattle stampede to spiritual oblivion. We should not be steers joining the rush with all the others.

We need to be wranglers who lead the herd some place else.

This message is my first swing of a lonely lasso against the mob rush, as the spiritual sun sets on the horizon.

- Pastor Don Green

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 10

Truth Community Church

"[In the end] nothing matters but the fact that we are in God’s hands. We and our works are nothing. It is His choosing us before the foundation of the world that matters, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. More and more do I see that what we need is a simple childlike faith, just to believe His word and surrender ourselves to Him utterly."

~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones, facing death at the age of 81.

"We talk about loving the Lord, but are we not too light-hearted as we say this? Have we ever known deep repentance? Have we ever known sorrow for sin? Those who have are the people who love the Lord." ~ Martyn Lloyd Jones

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 42

Truth Community Church

I have no one particularly in mind here. I am only standing for an important principle.

Beware of self-appointed teachers and discernment experts on social media, no matter how large their following may be, especially those who have no accountability to a local church.

As shown by the elder qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, men are to be examined before they undertake to teach. Scripture calls for a process of training and testing, not only of doctrine, but also of character.

No one should grab for a mantle that was never handed to them.

Where do you come from? Who has taught you? Who has affirmed you? To whom are you accountable? What biblical process led you here? Of what church body have you been a part, and for how long? What sort of sustained, systematic biblical teaching have you done? What doctrinal statement or confession of faith expresses your views?

All these and more are legitimate questions to ask of those who hold themselves forth as teachers of Scripture, biblical doctrine, or spiritual influence.

I know these truths are at a discount today in our era of weak churches and social media clickbait. It seems impolite to even ask. But we all neglect the biblical guidance to our own peril and spiritual exposure.

“Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” — 1 Timothy 5:22

- Pastor Don Green
ttwpress.com/product/essential-truth-study-guide/

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 30