Welcome to MPC Connected! With our church family separated, we will be communicating with you throughout the week in a more intentional way, including emails from Max and Jeff, opportunities to serve others, and more. Enjoy!
Dear Church Family,
I have been enjoying a book by Herman Bavinck entitled The Wonderful Works of God. Originally published in 1909 in Dutch under the title Magnalia Dei, it was re-published in 2019 by Westminster Seminary Press and has been completely updated for modern readers. While the text is the same, it has been re-typeset, nicely bound, and fully indexed, and now reads like a book written today. Bavinck lived from 1854-1921 and taught theology at the Free University of Amsterdam. He wrote voluminously, with his most famous work being a four-volume systematic theology.
The Wonderful Works of God is, I believe, now the best single-volume work of theology in existence, and I highly recommend to all of you. Fellow pastor and Westminster professor Carlton Wynne writes, “It is safe to say that this book is one of the richest, clearest, and most persuasive single-volume accounts of Reformed theology ever produced.”
In the first chapter, entitled Man’s Highest Good, Bavinck concludes with, “Science cannot explain this contradiction in man. It reckons only with his greatness and not with his misery, or only with his misery and not with his greatness. It exalts him too high, or it depresses him too far, for science does not know of his Divine origin, nor of his profound fall. But the Scriptures know of both, and they shed their light over man and over mankind; and the contradictions are reconciled, the mists are cleared, and the hidden things are revealed. Man is an enigma whose solution can be found only in God.”
Of course, you’ll have to read the rest of the chapter to see how that conclusion fits his argument perfectly, but I have found that there is more biblical wisdom to be found in Bavinck concerning our current situation (despite that the book was written over a hundred years ago) than in almost anything else written today. So if you’d like something worthwhile to do during this shutdown, as Augustine would say, “Pick up and read!”
Love, in Christ,
Max
Though we are separated during this unique season, we want you to know we are available. We will be doing our best to stay in touch in many ways, but if you need prayer or just need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can always send a prayer request to Donna (mpcadminteam@gmail.com). You can also email or call Max or Jeff or any of our elders. Max's email is mbenfer@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone # is 484-886-7726. Jeff's email is jeff@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone number is 540-818-6215.