An Impartial God?

                In my sermon on June 28, 2026, I insisted that no one will go to eternal damnation without having had the opportunity to respond to God’s grace. Salvation is offered to all. I believe this because if God did otherwise – randomly save some and randomly reject others – it would mean God is arbitrary. I believe God is intentional in God’s oversight of the universe. I also believe God is just and generous. So, God offers salvation to all.

               In this assertion, I am referring to God’s character. One of many verses that I believe indicates this generous character of God is 1 Peter 1:17: “If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.” In the sermon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QlVnHUkcYY , beginning at the 40:30 mark), I explain what Peter means in calling the church members “exiles.” As followers of Christ, we belong to the Kingdom of God, so we are strangers in the kingdoms of the world. However, we are here, in the world, to draw the world to Christ. We are in this strange world for God’s purposes.

               As exiles, people outside the mainstream, we will suffer because of our allegiance to Christ. Peter tells us that when that happens, we are to “live in reverent fear.” We are to know God’s ways and live by God’s ethics. The world says that if someone hits me, I ought to hit back, harder. Jesus says, “turn the other cheek.” The world says, seek your own self-interest. Jesus says, “love your neighbor as yourself.” In a world that doesn’t show any regard for Jesus, we are to live by the ethical standard he set, knowing it will put us out of step with the world.

               This reverent fear 1 Peter speaks of means we give absolute respect and deference to a God who judges impartially. It is a relief to think of God as a judge who puts everyone on equal footing. God doesn’t favor one person over another. It should also terrify us that God is impartial because everyone, including each one of us, is a sinner who has offended God with our rejection of his authority. If God were to judge the people of the world with pure impartiality, we would all deserve punishment and separation from his kingdom.

               Here is where the work of Christ on the cross mitigates God’s impartial judgment. God’s impartiality means every person has access to God. It also means, because all have sinned, that every person will come under condemnation. The work of Christ on the cross means our sins are covered. The condemnation is removed. His resurrection means our death has been defeated. We are bound for eternal life in God’s Kingdom. God’s impartiality means this grace is open to all. I believe it is extended to all, which means no person will enter eternity without having had the opportunity to put their faith in Jesus.

               Notice, I have not described God as “fair.” It’s the wrong word. If God were fair, Jesus would have not died on the cross. He didn’t deserve that. His death is a result of human sin. God allowed it because God loves us. God is not fair. God is generous. I also would not call God impartial. God judges impartially, but God gives grace extravagantly. “Gracious” is a more apt epithet for God than “impartial.” As you read 1 Peter this summer, keep in mind that the God we meet in this work is one who welcomes you with love and grace. Put your faith in that God.

A Summer Discussion of Everyday Church (beginning June 17)

 

            In an effort to help our members grow as disciples, I will be leading a summer book study. We’ll be looking at the book Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission. Authors Tim Chester and Steve Timms read the New Testament book of 1 Peter and several other Biblical texts as a foundation for evangelism. The intent is to attract people to Jesus. How we function as a church is in itself an expression of the gospel. And, how we relate to our unchurched neighbors is an expression of the gospel.

This group is meant to equip us. We will use this work and, more importantly, 1 Peter and other New Testament passages, to become a more evangelistic church. Studying this work in community will help each participant as we learn from each other, from the Bible, from Chester & Timms, and most importantly from the Holy Spirit.

            I hope you can participate in this group. If you are interested, I recommend ordering your copy of the book begin reading it now. It is out of print, but used copies can be found on the following sites: Ebay, Amazon, AbeBooks.com, World of Books, Thriftbooks.com, Biblestore.com, HalfPriceBook (HPB.com), HighDiscountBooks.com, & Biblio.com. Order the book now, begin reading it, and write down your own thoughts and questions about evangelism.

            The small group will be a Zoom book discussion group meeting on Wednesday nights, 7:00-8:00PM. The first meeting will be June 17, and the group will conclude on September 2. If there is enough interest for an in-person group, that will be held Tuesdays from 11AM-Noon.

            Please email Karen Taylor or Me to let me know you’ll be joining the group.

-        Pastor Rob (Robert.j.tennant70@gmail.com)

 

 

Witness (May 2026)

            On May 4, 2026, our associate minister, Kim Koonts, and I attended an informal gathering of leaders and pastors from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. Our sole purpose was to discuss how Cooperative Baptists practice evangelism. We want to make the practice of sharing our faith a bigger emphasis in the CBF. At Hillside church, we want evangelistic efforts to define us as a people.

After the resurrection, Jesus met with his disciples. He told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What did they witness? They stood with Jesus after that had seen him die with their own eyes. They were witnesses of the resurrection.

            What have we witnessed? Having received forgiveness and having been filled with the Holy Spirit, we have seen that the testimony handed down to us by those original disciples is true. Jesus is the Savior. He indeed did die for our sins. He was raised from the dead. All who turn to him in faith, confess their sins, receive forgiveness, and entrust their lives to him will be saved. That’s our testimony. Like the original followers of Jesus, we are disciples and we are witnesses God has sent to testify.

            What’s the point of bearing witness? After being raised from the dead, the resurrected Jesus met with his disciples and told them, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). We tell our faith stories as a step in our work of sharing Christ with the world. We want to help go from being lost, cut off from God in sin, to being saved. We want to help our neighbors the people we meet become disciples of Jesus.

            How do you and I, the people of the Hillside Church congregation, answer this call from our Lord? How do we practice evangelism and disciple-making in a way that’s faithful to the words of Jesus and true to our church’s culture and personality? We’re going to spend much of the rest of 2026, attending to these questions.

            We’ve already become members of the National Association of Evangelicals. I encourage you to read up on their organization (https://www.nae.org/). This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with sharing Jesus with the world. I also ask that you pray. Ask God to help the Hillside elders lead our church to be more energetic in our efforts to share Jesus with lost, unchurched people. Ask God to show how to best take up this work. Ask God to help you personally grow in your own walk with Christ.

            Ultimately, I believe that the closer we get to God in our relationship with God in Christ, the more natural it will be to tell others about him. I have no trouble talking to people about my wife or my kids. They’re always on my mind. It can be this way with Jesus. We grow closer and closer to him, and he becomes the center of our thought. Our identity in him is such that our lives wouldn’t make sense apart from who we are in Christ.

            How do we impart this understanding to the people of Hillside? How do we guide the people of Hillside to live lives centered on Jesus? Working to know Christ and share Christ is what Hillside will strive to do as a church. I encourage you to seek to understand your role in this.

           

Ephesians: A Call to Discipleship

 

            “We are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (2:10). This is one of my favorite verses from one of my favorite Biblical books, Ephesians. It is classified as an epistle or letter, but really, it’s more of a theological treatise. This work from Paul shows us who God is and who we are, when we define ourselves in terms of our relationship with Jesus. We are created in Christ.

            This is what I encourage you to do. Read through Ephesians. You could read through the entire book every day for a week. It’s only 6 chapters, but those short chapters are packed with spiritual insight. After you’ve read through the letter a few times, answer the following questions. What verse or passage speaks deeply to you? This would be what motivates or inspires you. What section do you find confusing? This would be what you have trouble understanding. What teaching in this epistle do you find to be most challenging? This would be what you understand perfectly well but are hesitant to apply to your own life.

            When you’ve thought about these three questions, share with me your answers to each. For several Sundays after Easter, the sermons will be based on Ephesians. You’ll get the most out of Sunday mornings if you come to worship with thoughts of your own. Read Ephesians as the word of God for you. Read it and then live out the message.

A Wartime Prayer (3/3/2026)

 

 

When Jesus walked the earth (approximately 6BC – 30AD), God in human flesh, one empire was more powerful than the rest and imposed its will on other nations, disregarding their sovereignty. That was Rome. The country that does that today, the 21^st century equivalent of the Roman Empire, is the United States of America. The U.S.A forced a regime change in Venezuela in January of this year, now in March, the U.S.A is in the process of doing it again, this time in Iran. The United States can do this because it is bigger and stronger than other nations.

In the first century, Jesus was of the people dominated by the imperial power. The contemporary of example if Israel’s powerlessness in the face of Roman might would be Venezuela or Iran or any other nation we choose to crush. This is not a value statement or a moral statement. It’s an observation.

The spiritual assertion, backed by passages like Luke 1:52, is that God favors the victim and the vanquished when the powerful exert their power. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. Also, consider Jesus’ own words. The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me … to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). This is not to say God is thoroughly against America and for Iran and Venezuela. That would be an absurd statement. God is for people, and especially for poor people.

There are many poor people in Iran and Venezuela, and maybe someday, they will be helped by a regime change, but that rarely comes about from a foreign invasion. Ask the people of Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam of America’s invasion of their nations brought uplift and prosperity. It did not. When we pray in wartime, if we are disciples of Jesus, are prayers are to be motivated by what motivated him during his earthly ministry.

So …

A Wartime Prayer

Lord of the Universe, bring the war to an end … before it begins.

Protect the peasants who live near the facilities targeted for bombing.

Reach into the psyche of the fighter jet pilots; forgive them for taking lives, convict their hearts of their part in the violence, and then heal their souls whenever the remorse comes.

Effect a course correction in the minds of leaders whose decisions bring about death and destruction.

Prepare the world for the ripple effects: rising fuel costs; travel bans; unstable markets; distrust between nations.

Put in the hearts of the people of your church a longing for your kingdom; may that longing overpower illusions of lost greatness.

 Take from us our misguided nationalism and toxic patriotism and replace these with true faith, hope, and love.

Yours, AND ONLY YOURS, is the kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever.

Forgive us Lord.

AMEN

Titus - a Man who could be Trusted

 

            I began last year with a practice I hope to continue going forward. I selected a Biblical figure to be a role model for me for the year. In 2025, I focused on Simeon (Luke 2:25-35). His spiritual work was literally to wait for God to act. Looking to him as an example, I decided to develop waiting as a spiritual discipline. I had no idea this practice would be so important for me in 2025, but it became clear as my mother, siblings, and I waited at our dad’s deathbed. We prayed and waited for God to call him home, and God did. We grieved but also rejoiced because Dad lived a full, blessed life. Like Simeon, God released dad into everlasting peace.

            Waiting, as a spiritual practice, will continue to be important for me. To this discipline, I add trustworthiness in the New Testament sense of the idea. Many in the Bible exemplify this value. For 2026, Titus will be my example.

            Titus was a trusted co-worker of Paul. He accepted Paul’s authority but also held Paul’s trust. Paul left the church in Crete in Titus’ capable hands (Titus 1:5). Titus was also a key emissary for Paul in Corinth. Paul’s relationship with that congregation was fraught with tension.

            Titus reassured Paul that the Corinthians did indeed love him (2 Corinthians 7:6). He was just as concerned as Paul was about that church. Because so much of the New Testament was written by Paul, we don’t hear testimony from Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, or Titus. Each one was as much a leader in the early church as Paul. Each cared for the churches as Paul did. Paul reports that Titus was filled with joy when he encountered the Corinthians’ repentant attitude (2 Cor. 7:13).

            Paul also craved Titus’ approval. “Just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved true as well” (2 Cor. 7:14). Paul told Titus how great the Corinthian congregation was, despite its struggles. He needed Titus to see this. He needed his friend to confirm his own testimony, and Titus did.

            I want to be like Titus. I want to be trustworthy. I want to be well-grounded in my own thought and vision that other ministry leaders trust me with their ideas and ask what I think. I want to be entrusted with ministry responsibility, as Titus was. He will be my 2026 faith role model.

            I encourage you, in 2026, to select someone from the Bible who models faith in the way you would like to live it. Last year, and again this year, I chose lesser-known characters. If you prefer a more high-profile individual like Hannah or Mary, or Peter or John, that’s fine. I find great joy in meeting God in those quiet, background people.

            How ever you choose to do it, pick a Biblical role model for 2026. Identify characteristics of that person and then try to live out those values in your life. I am not trying to become Titus. I do want to be trusted as Titus was trusted. I want to be a faithful disciple of Jesus as he was.

 

Merry Christmas to the church I Love

 

Merry Christmas, Hillside Church

            You of the crumbled dumpster walls

            Ethiopia Trips, Passport Youth Missions, Fort Caswell Beach

May you continue to pick up the pieces of crumbled lives and make space for broken, crumpled people. They need you and you need them.

Merry Christmas, Hillside

            You of waterlogged office carpets

            Union Chapel, Old Venable Chapel, Carrboro Baptist, HillSong

May people be soaked, drenched with the baptismal waters that fill your pool, waters that mark a person a new creation in Christ.

Merry Christmas, Church on Culbreth Road

            You of burned-out sanctuary lights

Carpenter’s Tools, Tuesday Morning Ladies, Encounter, The Radio Ramblers

Whether it’s by 1’s and 2’s, or by the dozens, or by the hundreds, may those who come through your doors see the light and walk in the light.

Merry Christmas, Family

            You imperfect, beautiful, redeemed, new creation

            Chinese New Year, International Foods fundraiser, Vacation Bible School

May you continue to be that safe place lost people dare to enter. May those who come to you meet Christ and be made new. Made new, may you then be sent into the world to proclaim the gospel.

Merry Christmas, body of Christ,

            You gathering of forgiven sinners, sons and daughters of God.

            Bethlehem Village, Holiday Potluck, Christmas Eve, Silent Night

May you know that you are beloved, God’s precious treasure; and may that knowledge lift your spirit, put life in you, and fill you with joy.