Post Category: Articles by Pastor Matt

As I sit here writing this note on my back porch in the early morning cool of Autumn the COVID numbers are ticking up again and things are slowly beginning to shut down. All Saints is anticipating a move back into the school, which we are pleased will allow us to keep meeting on Sunday mornings, but which presents the possibility of being "homeless" again if the school nee...

Finally Middle Tennessee is getting some cool weather as we officially pass into Autumn. Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love the cool weather and the beautiful colors. Some of my favorite childhood memories of annual rituals are associated with Autumn and into the Advent season, when Autumn officially ends. Watching Charlie Brown Specials and bundling up ...

One of the principles of worship I mentioned last week is the dialogical principleworship is a dialogue between God and his people. We see this in the worship described in Exodus 1924, for example. Appropriately, the dialogue begins with God calling his people to worship and only then do his people respond.This principle has two practical impacts on our worship. First, our...

Last week, we considered the biblical understanding we are to have when faced with trials of any kind. In his sovereignty, God allows his people to experience suffering, and he intends it for our good. He is like a master at the potter's wheel who shapes and works the clay until it is formed according to his intended purpose. He removes the debris that weakens the vessel a...

COVID-19 NOTE:Our adult Sunday school classes and worship services will be live streamed each Sunday until we are able to meet in person. Join the live stream at 9am for Sunday school, and our worship service will begin on the same live stream at 10am. We will consider Psalm 36:1-12 in Sunday school this week. The following links will enable you to join us for Sunday scho...

Click here to view this week's Order of Worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027.Our Sunday School text for this Sunday will be Psalm 35, and our sermon text will be Matthew 5:1720, The Will of God. Our first Scripture Lesson will be Ezra 7, and ou...

Unlike my wife,Alex, I am not prone to nostalgia. However, she knows that our roles reverse periodically. On Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, times of long-standing traditions in my family growing up, she expects the mild bouts of melancholy that regularly arrive. Why? Likely homesickness.Home. We long to get home after long trips or busy days at work. Our childhood ho...

Click here to view this week's Order of Worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027. We will consider Psalm 21 in Sunday School this week.Our sermon text for this Sunday will be Ruth 1:622, Prodigal Daughters. Our first Scripture Lesson will be Ezekie...

Click here forthis week's order of worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027. We will consider Psalm 20 in Sunday School this week.Our sermon text for this Sunday will be Ruth 1:15, Fleeing Famine. Our first Scripture Lesson will be Ezekiel 39:1729,...

Click here forthis week's order of worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027. We will consider Psalm 19 in Sunday School this week.Our sermon text for this Sunday will be Revelation 22:621, Trustworthy and True. Our first Scripture Lesson will be Ez...

Click hereforthis week's order of worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027. We will consider Psalm 18:3750 in Sunday School this week.Our sermon text for this Sunday will be Revelation 22:15, Welcome Home. Our first Scripture Lesson will be Ezekiel...

Click here forthis week's order of worship. Join us for Sunday School at 9 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday at Lipscomb Elementary! Lipscomb is located at 8011 Concord Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027. We will continue our study of the Psalms in Sunday School with Psalm 11.Our sermon text for this Sunday will be Revelation 17, Satan's Counterfeit Kingdom. Our first Scrip...

This week I want to take a moment to encourage each of you to really lean into your All Saints family. We all fill our days moving from one sphere to another. We have our coworkers, our immediate family, our extended family, and our friends. If we have school-aged children, we have our school community (or maybe several!) as well. Perhaps you are involved in a civic organi...

We will wrap up our series on the ordinary means of grace by considering the hope that is ours in these means. First, when we speak of the hope that is ours as Christians, we mean a hope that is certain to be fulfilled. We aren't using the word the way it is often used in Englishto describe a wish that we would like to have fulfilled, and maybe it will and maybe it won't....

We've been considering the "ordinary means of grace" over the past fewweeks. These are the means by which God ordinarily cares for us, comforting us, building us up into the image of Christ, sanctifying us, making us ready as a bride adorned for her husband. We've discussed the Word of God, particularly the preaching of the Word. We've also looked at the sacramentsbaptism ...

God ordinarily works not only through the preaching of his word, but through the sacraments as well. In these sacramentsbaptism and the Lord's SupperGod gives us signs and seals of his promised grace toward us. In so doing, he strengthens us and builds us up for our vocation in the world until Christ returns. Our Father knows our weaknesses, and so he gives us sensible si...

The ordinary means of grace are central to our ministry at All Saints because we believe they are the answer to the question, "How does God ordinarily provide for his Church?" Are we mourning and in need of comfort? Are we afraid and in need of reassurance? Are we meek when we need to be bold? Sinning and in need of repentance? Whatever we need, it is God who provides, and...

As we continue thinking through the ordinary means of grace, the first thing we should address is the word "ordinary." Why do we call them that? Doesn't "ordinary"sound boring? It certainly doesn't sound very exciting. First, we should recognize that it's being used in contrast to "extraordinary." We're talking about how God works. God certainly can and does work in extra...

So much about how All Saints is organized and what informs the way we worship and fellowship is captured in a simple phrase, "the ordinary means of grace." Those of you who have attended the Exploring All Saints class have heard us talk about it. It is a classic expression within the Reformed faith that helps keep us anchored in what matters by reminding us what is most im...

Are you thinking about seminary and full-time gospel ministry? Head over to The Christward Collective to get some insight into how to wrestle with the question, "Is God calling me to seminary?" Pastor Matt describes seven questions you should be asking yourself and those who know you well....