{"id":20235,"date":"2026-02-16T21:48:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=20235"},"modified":"2026-02-25T00:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T04:01:16","slug":"journal-of-the-week-104","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycphantom.com\/journal\/?p=20235","title":{"rendered":"Journal of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

02\/21\/2026 Saturday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GCC Men's fellowship<\/strong>, led by Vincent, topic's good, which was on \"Church Growth\" but the content gets sidetracked here and there especially when others chimed in. I have no clue where Frank, who talked the longest (more than 5 mins, while others average to 1.5 minutes) thought he was going with some miracle happening in his life finding a long lost friend. The focus should be on our responsibility rather than the lack of before God. The pastor, Clyde, and even Phil got it right most. Phil's was a little impressive bringing Esther into the picture where her uncle told the queen if she does nothing, God will raise up others to accomplish His plan. That's spot on. But the group does err into the let go and let God false dichotomy: If it's my work, then it's not God's work<\/strong>. So overall, it's is shallow. A fail in understanding active vs. passive. A fail in the understanding of Matthew 5:16 ...let \"your<\/strong>\" light shine. Not God's light. Focus is on your (plural) light, so it's YOUR work (biblical), through the Spirit (Reformed understanding in Biblical Theology)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clyde <\/strong>raised an interesting question: So I guess our failure was built into the plan? <\/strong>@36:24
The pastor answered: I mean, we're liable for it. We're wrong in it. We don't say, God wanted me to do wrong. He wanted me to do faithfully. And we have to look back and say, if I was obedient, it would have been better. But even in my failure, he turns it around and I learn this lesson, which I needed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would have answered: Failure was not built into the plan, but the correction or discipline of our failure was built into the plan. You can say failure was decreed. But you cannot say failure was built into the plan. Beyond that would just be semantics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

02\/18\/2026 Wednesday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's interesting to know from Presbycast <\/strong>that there are more conservative PCA elders who do not approve of removing noisy children<\/strong> from service, having halftime <\/strong>in the middle of service for social activities and announcements, etc. Nothing new to me, I believe these are relative matters<\/strong> to be treated with wisdom, there's no need to absolutize it because the reasons they gave don't always work either: i.e. @44:48 \"solemnity can be caught\" by children <\/strong>observing their parents, which could also<\/strong> lead to hypocrisy <\/strong>without learning much of God's words, making the pew an idol<\/strong>. I also learned that the Directory for the Publick Worship of God<\/a> (1647 - Scottish rendition) is Westminster's standard replacement <\/strong>of the Book of Common Prayer<\/strong>, due to the abolishment of Catholicism rituals, but this replacement didn't last long, resulting in the Book of Common Prayer still being used in Anglicanism while the Presbyterians use the Directory for the Publick Worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also the 2nd time (First from GRII) I heard of Zwingli's people having sausage feast during Lent<\/strong> as a protest (grace vs. work) to Catholicism's Lent fasting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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