Here is a bit of an excerpt from one of Jacob's recent sermons on John 1:29-34
Herein lies our great hope and the great reality that is. While Jesus earthly life and ministry occurred in a certain space and time, his ascended reign does not restrict itself to space or time. It is not enough to simply say Jesus Was God, Jesus Was man. If Jesus only existed or only reigned in the past, then what hope do we have here today? We would have none! If the perfect Godman was only in the past then we have no hope!
How happy, joyful, and content we can be to rest in the knowledge that God the father did not leave us to the depths of our own despair! God in his abundant mercy did not leave us drowning in our own pool of sin. He provided for his people by sending his Son to live, die, rise again, and reign forever! It is not enough to simply say with the past tense:
Jesus Lived
Jesus Died
Jesus Arose
Jesus Reigned
We can Rightly say Jesus lived, Jesus died, and Jesus arose. Past tense is the appropriate tense to describe all those events. But if we end with the past tense we reject God's own testimony that Jesus is his Son and as such he Lives forever. It is not enough to say Jesus Was, any unbeliever may accept that Jesus was. It is quite another thing to say that Jesus IS. Jesus IS the Son of God, he IS the promised one of Israel who was revealed to John the baptist so that Jesus might be revealed to his people. Jesus lives, and reigns, and IS forever.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 11:36
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
The apostle is not speaking exclusively about the past, nor is he exclusively speaking about the present, nor is he exclusively speaking about the future. The Apostle in these words is echoing what John the baptist said concerning Jesus of Nazareth “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God”. This is
it! This Jesus is he who for so many generations the Jewish people were waiting for! This is he who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Summer
Let Summer begin!!!
Who would have thought that after so many years of schooling my married life would be revolving around a school calendar. Doesn't our lives and schedules always revolve around something? Well ours revolves around the Holt school calendar, and the funny thing is we don't live in Holt or have kids! My employer works for the school district and therefore gets school holidays, including summer off. When I was asked back for next school year my first thought was "on no how are we going to survive this summer?" I became so worried about finding a job and financial how we were going to survive on Jacob's income.
At this time I began looking for employment, but not just any employment. I wanted a babysitting/nanny job that would allow me to continue my joy of watching kids. I searched and searched and wasn't able to find anything that would fit with our vacation schedule, and my one day a week job. After much thought and consideration we decided to try living on one income this summer and allow me to be a stay at home wife. Now when I say this, many people laugh and say a stay at home wife, you can't do that you can only be a stay at home mom. Well, I disagree. There is a lot to be done as a stay at home wife and this too needs to be looked at as a job. Since Jacob and I didn't have a honeymoon, this is my first opportunity to cook every night, be more efficient with a clean house, laundry and evangelizing. We are thrilled that I am able to have this great opportunity and focus on being a wife.
We would like to ask that you pray for us as we make the transition from a 2 income family, to a 1 income family (for 2 and 1/2 months) and as I learn my new roles as a stay at home wife. I am very excited but at the same time am worried about not having the motivation to complete what needs to be completed. Hopefully I will be able to blog more and keep you all updated on whats going on.
Let the summer begin!!!
Who would have thought that after so many years of schooling my married life would be revolving around a school calendar. Doesn't our lives and schedules always revolve around something? Well ours revolves around the Holt school calendar, and the funny thing is we don't live in Holt or have kids! My employer works for the school district and therefore gets school holidays, including summer off. When I was asked back for next school year my first thought was "on no how are we going to survive this summer?" I became so worried about finding a job and financial how we were going to survive on Jacob's income.
At this time I began looking for employment, but not just any employment. I wanted a babysitting/nanny job that would allow me to continue my joy of watching kids. I searched and searched and wasn't able to find anything that would fit with our vacation schedule, and my one day a week job. After much thought and consideration we decided to try living on one income this summer and allow me to be a stay at home wife. Now when I say this, many people laugh and say a stay at home wife, you can't do that you can only be a stay at home mom. Well, I disagree. There is a lot to be done as a stay at home wife and this too needs to be looked at as a job. Since Jacob and I didn't have a honeymoon, this is my first opportunity to cook every night, be more efficient with a clean house, laundry and evangelizing. We are thrilled that I am able to have this great opportunity and focus on being a wife.
We would like to ask that you pray for us as we make the transition from a 2 income family, to a 1 income family (for 2 and 1/2 months) and as I learn my new roles as a stay at home wife. I am very excited but at the same time am worried about not having the motivation to complete what needs to be completed. Hopefully I will be able to blog more and keep you all updated on whats going on.
Let the summer begin!!!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Centurion
Let's begin this post with a little story: Around Easter time, the 3 year old boy I watch was learning about Jesus's death on the cross. He came home one day from preschool and sat at the table during lunch and told me all about what he learned. I agreed with most of what he said until he said, "Roman soldiers killed Jesus". He continued on this train of thought and talked about how bad and mean the Centurions were for killing Jesus. I felt the need to clarify and explain to him that it wasn't just the soldiers that killed Jesus, but all of us played a part in his death. This was a difficult concept for a 3 year old to understand but eventually he said "I wanted Jesus to die to so I could be saved." WOW! What an amazing statement for a preschooler.
This conversation got me thinking about how we view our participation in Jesus's death. At least once a year, usually around Easter, we read the story of Jesus's death and resurrection. We are told about Pilate asking the crowd who they want released (the crowd choosing Barabas not Jesus)and washing his hands of Jesus's blood. The next part of the story we hear is from Matthew 27:27
"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him."
When someone mentions a centurion, or Roman soldier, this section of scripture is the first to come to my mind. As Christians we have heard this section of scripture so many times and tend to focus on the aspect of the soldiers doing this evil to Jesus. The soldiers were the ones who put a robe on him, a crown of thorns, spit on him and mocked him. We don't connect what the soldiers did to what we do every single day to our Lord. A lot of Christians believe they weren't there and didn't take part in the death of Jesus but we did. In a way every day when we sin we are taking part in Jesus's death. It wasn't just the centurions who killed Jesus but all mankind. We are all just as guilty in Jesus's death as those centurions. You may be saying to yourself "if I was alive then I wouldn't kill Jesus", but ask yourself this questions: have you sinned? If you have sinned then you have played a part in the death of Jesus. If you believe you have never sinned just take a look at question 16 from the Westminster shorter Catechism.
Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam,not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.
Every man/women/child is a sinner and has put Jesus to death. Just take a minute to let this sink in: you played a part in the death of Jesus. By examining the crowd which Pilate appeared before we can see someone from every walk of life with religious leaders acting as agitators. Even though we might not have played a direct role in the death of Christ by being physically present, how are we to say that we wouldn't be a member of the crowd asking for Barabas instead of Christ? Those that trusted and believed in Jesus stood among the crowd and allowed Jesus's death to occur because it had to happen. Because of our sin Jesus had to die in order for us to be saved. Jesus died and rose again to save us and to unite us with Christ, without the death and resurrection of Christ, we wouldn't be able to reunite with God and be forgiven for the miserable sins we commit. Jesus is the way to the Father and only through him can we truly be forgiven for our sins.
After Jesus's death, the centurion is quoted in Luke saying "47Now(BS) when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent!" This "bad, mean" centurion witnessed the death of Christ and is now proclaiming that he was innocent. May we proclaim Christ to be innocent and thank God the Father for the gift of his son whose death has purchased eternal life for those who believe in him
This conversation got me thinking about how we view our participation in Jesus's death. At least once a year, usually around Easter, we read the story of Jesus's death and resurrection. We are told about Pilate asking the crowd who they want released (the crowd choosing Barabas not Jesus)and washing his hands of Jesus's blood. The next part of the story we hear is from Matthew 27:27
"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him."
When someone mentions a centurion, or Roman soldier, this section of scripture is the first to come to my mind. As Christians we have heard this section of scripture so many times and tend to focus on the aspect of the soldiers doing this evil to Jesus. The soldiers were the ones who put a robe on him, a crown of thorns, spit on him and mocked him. We don't connect what the soldiers did to what we do every single day to our Lord. A lot of Christians believe they weren't there and didn't take part in the death of Jesus but we did. In a way every day when we sin we are taking part in Jesus's death. It wasn't just the centurions who killed Jesus but all mankind. We are all just as guilty in Jesus's death as those centurions. You may be saying to yourself "if I was alive then I wouldn't kill Jesus", but ask yourself this questions: have you sinned? If you have sinned then you have played a part in the death of Jesus. If you believe you have never sinned just take a look at question 16 from the Westminster shorter Catechism.
Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam,not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.
Every man/women/child is a sinner and has put Jesus to death. Just take a minute to let this sink in: you played a part in the death of Jesus. By examining the crowd which Pilate appeared before we can see someone from every walk of life with religious leaders acting as agitators. Even though we might not have played a direct role in the death of Christ by being physically present, how are we to say that we wouldn't be a member of the crowd asking for Barabas instead of Christ? Those that trusted and believed in Jesus stood among the crowd and allowed Jesus's death to occur because it had to happen. Because of our sin Jesus had to die in order for us to be saved. Jesus died and rose again to save us and to unite us with Christ, without the death and resurrection of Christ, we wouldn't be able to reunite with God and be forgiven for the miserable sins we commit. Jesus is the way to the Father and only through him can we truly be forgiven for our sins.
After Jesus's death, the centurion is quoted in Luke saying "47Now(BS) when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent!" This "bad, mean" centurion witnessed the death of Christ and is now proclaiming that he was innocent. May we proclaim Christ to be innocent and thank God the Father for the gift of his son whose death has purchased eternal life for those who believe in him
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A Few Thoughts
For the past few months both of us have been mulling over prayer. What is prayer? How do we pray? What is prayer good for? What should we pray for? Does prayer do anything? Thanks to a few good books (A Method for Prayer by Matthew Henry, A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts, and A Praying Life by Paul Miller) and numerous experiences of direct and specific answers to prayer, we have been able to witness God great love for us. At one point Jacob was at work and his nose began to bleed. He was the only person covering his department and did not want to leave his post, after saying a quick prayer that God would stop the bleeding a customer needed some assistance, for God's own glory he stopped the bloody nose! On a Tuesday night this month we prayed before we ate our dinner that God would grant us humility. An hour later we had conversation with a complete stranger and had opportunity to show God's love, simultaneously we both felt like total idiots. We both now say to be careful what we pray for or we just might get it, praise God for his wonderful treatment of his people.
Are these two examples of using prayer as a wishing method or God as a genie in a bottle? No, and God certainly hates being treated as a good luck charm. These are merely two instances of God response to his children for his own glory.
Are these two examples of using prayer as a wishing method or God as a genie in a bottle? No, and God certainly hates being treated as a good luck charm. These are merely two instances of God response to his children for his own glory.
Internship Update
Internship
Presbytery
This month Jacob came under care of the Great Lakes Presbytery as an intern. This was quite a big step. The call we feel to work in the ministry has now been officially recognized and supported by the church. We feel very blessed to know that our life in the ministry will be prayerfully supported by the wonderful churches in the Great Lakes Presbytery. Shaun Newsome ( Reformed University Fellowship) was ordained at this past Presbytery. This is another great blessing to the church, students at MSU, and us. Jacob's wife, Amy, and his mother-in-law were both able to be there and witness this wonderful event, as well as other members from Providence PCA.
Teaching
Jacob taught another LADS (life and doctrine study) this past month finishing up the survey of the minor prophets. There were a lot of great discussions and things learned. This month was hard teaching since there were a few times that Jacob would spend all week preparing just to cancel the study. This was very discouraging but he kept with it and did end up growing in many ways.
Jacob and Amy are still teaching the young kids Sunday school,. We loves teaching these kids but we do find it hard at times to keep their attention. He is taking this as an opportunity to learn all aspects of the ministry from the youngest to oldest. It has been such a joy to see God's love through the eyes of children.
Another big event of this past month for teaching was Jacob preaching at the Lansing City Rescue Mission. Usually the people who attend are male, but this week there were many women and children there as well. Jacob was very nervous at first but was glad to be able to preach and is excited to preach again soon.
Speaking of preaching again soon, Jacob has been offered the opportunity to preach at a small church in Hastings Michigan. He will be preaching on John 1:29-34 on the first Sunday in June. This is a great learning experience and opportunity to preach and we are thrilled at this chance!
Studying
This month Jacob has been studying 3 books. He has been reading Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul; The Westminster Assembly: Reading It's Theology in Historical Context by Robert Letham; and A Praying Life by Paul Miller. If you are interested in learning more about these books please visit our blog, the site is listed below.
Presbytery
This month Jacob came under care of the Great Lakes Presbytery as an intern. This was quite a big step. The call we feel to work in the ministry has now been officially recognized and supported by the church. We feel very blessed to know that our life in the ministry will be prayerfully supported by the wonderful churches in the Great Lakes Presbytery. Shaun Newsome ( Reformed University Fellowship) was ordained at this past Presbytery. This is another great blessing to the church, students at MSU, and us. Jacob's wife, Amy, and his mother-in-law were both able to be there and witness this wonderful event, as well as other members from Providence PCA.
Teaching
Jacob taught another LADS (life and doctrine study) this past month finishing up the survey of the minor prophets. There were a lot of great discussions and things learned. This month was hard teaching since there were a few times that Jacob would spend all week preparing just to cancel the study. This was very discouraging but he kept with it and did end up growing in many ways.
Jacob and Amy are still teaching the young kids Sunday school,. We loves teaching these kids but we do find it hard at times to keep their attention. He is taking this as an opportunity to learn all aspects of the ministry from the youngest to oldest. It has been such a joy to see God's love through the eyes of children.
Another big event of this past month for teaching was Jacob preaching at the Lansing City Rescue Mission. Usually the people who attend are male, but this week there were many women and children there as well. Jacob was very nervous at first but was glad to be able to preach and is excited to preach again soon.
Speaking of preaching again soon, Jacob has been offered the opportunity to preach at a small church in Hastings Michigan. He will be preaching on John 1:29-34 on the first Sunday in June. This is a great learning experience and opportunity to preach and we are thrilled at this chance!
Studying
This month Jacob has been studying 3 books. He has been reading Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul; The Westminster Assembly: Reading It's Theology in Historical Context by Robert Letham; and A Praying Life by Paul Miller. If you are interested in learning more about these books please visit our blog, the site is listed below.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Who is God?
It is rather difficult to describe God. When we begin to ponder who God is several different qualifiers rear up: who is God in relation to me? Who is God in relation to creation? Who is God in relation to himself? The description of God depends on the qualifying context.
"What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to you? Perhaps through your walk with the Lord you have grown in relationship with him and some very detailed and intimate words may be used to describe who God is in relation to you.
Perhaps through your walk in life you have been distant with the Lord and thus the words used to describe him in relation to you are vast and impersonal. What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to creation? Perhaps through the work of the Holy Ghost you understand the Scriptures to reveal God as creator of all things and thus describe God as creator of creation and in relation to creation as being King of all things.
Perhaps through cynicism, doubt, and disbelief your perception of God in relation to creation is near deism. Because of this disbelief you describe God in relation to his creation as far away and distant. a
What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to himself? The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Question 4 paints a wonderful picture of God describe WHAT God is:
Q 4: What is God?
A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
This is very helpful to gain a little understanding of what God is and through learning what God is we can know a bit about who God is.
But the question remains how can we describe God? If we try to use the right words to elaborate on his attributes we fall short since mere human words cannot grasp or display who he is. If we try to use enough words to describe God we will fall short simply due to God's eternal infinite nature, there simply aren't enough words in existence to add up to a perfect human description of God.
Yet there is a perfect description of God. It is not because a pious or holy person thought of it, it is not because a gifted or devout person devised it. The only perfect description of who God is, is the description he himself has given. Exodus Chapter 3:13-14 God states who he is.
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'
This is who God is and this is his description of himself. He cannot be described in any way we know because there is nothing with which we can compare him to in order to fully understand who he is. When describing himself God refers back to himself. This is rather funny to think when defining or describing words one of the first rules is: do not use the word you are trying to describe in it's definition or description. Yet God does exactly that, God WAS, IS, and WILL BE forever!
"What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to you? Perhaps through your walk with the Lord you have grown in relationship with him and some very detailed and intimate words may be used to describe who God is in relation to you.
Perhaps through your walk in life you have been distant with the Lord and thus the words used to describe him in relation to you are vast and impersonal. What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to creation? Perhaps through the work of the Holy Ghost you understand the Scriptures to reveal God as creator of all things and thus describe God as creator of creation and in relation to creation as being King of all things.
Perhaps through cynicism, doubt, and disbelief your perception of God in relation to creation is near deism. Because of this disbelief you describe God in relation to his creation as far away and distant. a
What is your answer if the context is: describe who God is in relation to himself? The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Question 4 paints a wonderful picture of God describe WHAT God is:
Q 4: What is God?
A: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
This is very helpful to gain a little understanding of what God is and through learning what God is we can know a bit about who God is.
But the question remains how can we describe God? If we try to use the right words to elaborate on his attributes we fall short since mere human words cannot grasp or display who he is. If we try to use enough words to describe God we will fall short simply due to God's eternal infinite nature, there simply aren't enough words in existence to add up to a perfect human description of God.
Yet there is a perfect description of God. It is not because a pious or holy person thought of it, it is not because a gifted or devout person devised it. The only perfect description of who God is, is the description he himself has given. Exodus Chapter 3:13-14 God states who he is.
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'
This is who God is and this is his description of himself. He cannot be described in any way we know because there is nothing with which we can compare him to in order to fully understand who he is. When describing himself God refers back to himself. This is rather funny to think when defining or describing words one of the first rules is: do not use the word you are trying to describe in it's definition or description. Yet God does exactly that, God WAS, IS, and WILL BE forever!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
April Newsletter
This is a copy of our monthly newsletter. If you would like to be on our list please send an email to jatoman09@gmail.com
Internship:
Jacob's internship this month focused on officially coming under care of Great Lakes Presbytery. In order to come under care the local church session of Christ Church first had to interview and recommend Jacob to Presbytery. The next step is Great Lakes Presbytery interviewing and then hopefully officially bringing Jacob under care. This is a great opportunity for us to have the support from the Michigan churches and congregations and is in many ways final confirmation of the call God has placed on both our lives. As an intern at Providence PCA Jacob will be developing goals for his personal growth, learning to prepare sermons, teaching, visiting, evangelizing and working closely with pastor Helopoulos. We are so thankful that Jacob has been given the opportunity to be an intern at Providence and work for the glory of God's kingdom in Lansing and the world.
Fun Happenings:
This month was a ton of fun! It started off by celebrating Easter with our Providence family. This was a great time of fellowship and we loved being able to celebrate our first married Easter at Providence. We also had the privilege of watching the children of friends from church for a weekend. It was very energy consuming, but we kept up pretty well thanks to the obedience of the children and plenty of mountain dew and coffee. We enjoyed practicing our parenting skills and working together to get meals prepared and kids ready for bed. We also celebrated Amy's birthday which was a wonderful time to be especially thankful for Amy. We had a great day relaxing together and enjoy each others company. Another big event this month was a kids movie night which was hosted at Grandad Henning's house. The event went great! The kids enjoyed having a big room to play in before the movie and to spread out in during. This was a great time of fellowship for the children of Providence.
Ways you Can Help
If you would like to make a charitable donation to help with internship expenses please write a check to Providence PCA and put in the memo line Internship Fund, and mail them to
If you would like to help via prayer, prayers can be sent to the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit.
Prayer Requests
together as a married couple and our ministry. Thank you all so much.
Internship:
Jacob's internship this month focused on officially coming under care of Great Lakes Presbytery. In order to come under care the local church session of Christ Church first had to interview and recommend Jacob to Presbytery. The next step is Great Lakes Presbytery interviewing and then hopefully officially bringing Jacob under care. This is a great opportunity for us to have the support from the Michigan churches and congregations and is in many ways final confirmation of the call God has placed on both our lives. As an intern at Providence PCA Jacob will be developing goals for his personal growth, learning to prepare sermons, teaching, visiting, evangelizing and working closely with pastor Helopoulos. We are so thankful that Jacob has been given the opportunity to be an intern at Providence and work for the glory of God's kingdom in Lansing and the world.
Fun Happenings:
This month was a ton of fun! It started off by celebrating Easter with our Providence family. This was a great time of fellowship and we loved being able to celebrate our first married Easter at Providence. We also had the privilege of watching the children of friends from church for a weekend. It was very energy consuming, but we kept up pretty well thanks to the obedience of the children and plenty of mountain dew and coffee. We enjoyed practicing our parenting skills and working together to get meals prepared and kids ready for bed. We also celebrated Amy's birthday which was a wonderful time to be especially thankful for Amy. We had a great day relaxing together and enjoy each others company. Another big event this month was a kids movie night which was hosted at Grandad Henning's house. The event went great! The kids enjoyed having a big room to play in before the movie and to spread out in during. This was a great time of fellowship for the children of Providence.
Ways you Can Help
If you would like to make a charitable donation to help with internship expenses please write a check to Providence PCA and put in the memo line Internship Fund, and mail them to
Providence PCA
P.O. Box 16097
P.O. Box 16097
Lansing, MI 48901
If you would like to help with tuition please mail a check to (please write Jacob Toman tuition in the memo line)Covenant Theological Seminary
12330 Conway Road
St. Louis, MO 63141
If you would like to help with living expenses please contact us for the information. Send an email to jatoman09@gmail.comIf you would like to help via prayer, prayers can be sent to the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit.
Prayer Requests
- Seminary Funds
- Funds to help offset the cost of internship expenses
- Summer work for Amy
- Shaun Newsome and his family as they move to Michigan
- Growth of Providence and be spared from wicked conflict
- Health
together as a married couple and our ministry. Thank you all so much.
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