I was recently asked to speak at a Men’s Conference at a nearby church in Nassau. Initially I was told that the theme would be the “Solas” of reformed theology and that my assignment would be to teach on “Soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory). Shortly after receiving this assignment, the conference theme changed to: “What Is The Gospel?”. I then came to understand that I was to attempt to answer the question, as best as I could, while staying with my assigned “Sola”.

The audio message below does not provide a comprehensive answer to the question: “What Is The Gospel?”, but it does make the assertion (based on Romans 3) that Christ did not merely die for our sake, but that He died for the sake of His Heavenly Father, and His righteousness.

I am indebted to Pastor John Piper who was the first to highlight for me the God-centredness of the Gospel in his best selling book, “Desiring God”.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Today was a very special day.

I began visiting the Ranfurly Homes for Children a little over 2 years ago, shortly after my arrival in Nassau. It began with a basketball game in which I was greatly outmatched by a group of emerging basketball stars and where I learned what it feels like to be dunked over (a bit frightening). I quickly discerned that I needed another venue to connect with the Ranfurly youth—realizing that my aging body wouldn’t hold up playing ball against these boys. I began to regularly take a few boys from Ranfurly to breakfast at McDonalds on Saturday mornings. Relationships were forged, and I began formally mentoring one of the boys. Over time, they began to ask more and more questions about the Kirk and about Christianity. Eventually, I am told, that many of the youth requested to the Ranfurly Administrator that they be allowed to attend services at the Kirk. Shortly thereafter, a bus was procured by Ranfurly and was used to transport most of their youth to the Kirk each Sunday.

Those who know me well, know that I resist titles. I’d rather you not call me Reverend MacPhail or Pastor MacPhail. “Just call me Bryn” has been my mantra during my 15 years in ministry. These youth, however, only refer to me as “Pastor Bryn” (pronounced “Pasta Bryn!”). I must admit, that I’ve grown to like that address. Not because I like being addressed according to what I do, but because of what I think they intend by the phrase. To many of the youth at Ranfurly Home, they see me as their pastor. This theory was confirmed when I inquired as to whether some of them were interested in taking Bible classes with me, with a view to joining the Kirk as members. The children were surveyed, and 7 signed up for the 6-week course.

When I showed up at Ranfurly to teach the first class, 17 showed up! For 6 weeks we studied together, what I termed, “the essentials of the Christian faith”. To my delight, some of the leaders from the Kirk showed up each Tuesday to audit the class and to build relationships with these children. The youth at Ranfurly enthusiastically engaged in the process. They were eager to read Scripture, ask questions, and dialogue about what it means to be a Christian living in Nassau in the 21st Century.

As the course drew to a close, it dawned on me that there might be a couple youth who have not yet been baptized. I asked them to put up their hand if they needed baptism. 11 of the 17 raised their hand.

This morning, at St. Andrew’s Kirk, 17 youth from Ranfurly professed their faith in Jesus Christ and became members of the church. 11 of the 17 were first baptized.

It is difficult to put into words how I felt. I tried not to think too much about what was happening for fear that I might be overwhelmed by emotion and not be able to proceed effectively. I could see people in my periphery wiping tears from their eyes. I think everyone in the room fully understood how huge this moment was–first, for these 17 youth, secondly, for this 202 year-old congregation, and thirdly (most importantly) for the kingdom of God. Young lives are being transformed and these baptisms and professions of faith were marking this profound change for us.

After the professions of faith, I proceeded to hand out Bibles to the youth, along with a hand written note for each of them. When the formalities were done, someone yelled (uncharacteristically!) from the congregation, “Amen!”. Moments later the congregation broke out into spontaneous applause.

I recognize that not every Sunday service is a memorable one for those that gather. Today was different. I suspect that everyone present at the Kirk today will remember what they saw, and will give thanks to God for it.

After lunch, I took a couple of visitors to Nassau on a tour of Ranfurly. When we went into the boys dormitory we immediately realized that we had awakened one of the boys from a nap. It was one of the boys who had professed his faith in Jesus earlier in the day. I was moved by what I saw–this boy awoke, not clutching his pillow, but clutching the Bible which was given to him a few hours ago.

I will forever thank God for allowing me the privilege to participate in His plan to draw young men and women to Himself. What a blessing.

Yes, today was a very special day.

On Maundy Thursday I was interviewed on JCN’s “The Platform” by Wendell Jones and Godfrey Eneas. I was asked to explain why Jesus exclaimed “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” while hanging on the cross. The video above provides part of my answer. The audio below is a more comprehensive answer from my Good Friday message, delivered at St. Andrew’s Kirk, “God Forsaken For Our Sake”.

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Just before Christmas I had the opportunity to be a guest on “The Platform”, a Bahamian talk show. Given that I’ve only lived in The Bahamas for less than two years, the hosts recognized my limitations in answering questions related to Bahamian culture and politics. Accordingly, to my delight, they asked a series of questions aimed at uncovering my theological convictions.

Providentially, I had the opportunity to explain the gospel—that is, I got to reflect on what the Scriptures say about moral perfection and how it relates to getting into heaven. I think I surprised The Platform hosts when I pointed out that Jesus commands our perfection (Matthew 5:48; Leviticus 11:45). Maybe reading that surprises you as well. The good news is that getting into heaven doesn’t hinge on your efforts to “be a good person”.

As you can imagine, a talk show interview does not offer the opportunity to be as thorough with my answer as I would like to be. A more comprehensive explanation of the Christian gospel can be found in my sermon manuscript, “The Necessity of The Law That Cannot Save“, based on Romans 3.

And, perhaps one of the best gospel explanations within a hymn is in Augustus Toplady’s, “Rock of Ages”:

Not the labours of my hands can fulfill Thy laws demands,

Could my zeal no respite know; could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.

We typically resist people who want to “get into our business”, don’t we? And yet, I want to suggest to you that there are occasions when interference by others can actually be a good thing.

I vividly recall being challenged to engage in an after-school fight when I was ten years-old. Foolishly, I agreed.

When the final bell rang I proceeded reluctantly to the designated spot where my opponent and his motley crew were waiting for me. As I approached, my opponent scoffed at me, taunting me to make the first move . . . until we were interrupted by the sound of a man’s voice.

The crowd which had assembled quickly scattered as the man approached. He summoned me forward and ordered the rest of the children to go home.

It was my father.

So you see, interference can be a good thing; especially if the one who is interfering knows better than we do. Interference can be a good thing if the one interfering has abilities that we lack to remedy a problem.

We are reminded at Christmas that this is the story of God’s intervention in human history. Conceivably, God could have left us to our own devices, but He knew that the problem was beyond our ability to remedy.

The core problem, as is identified throughout Scripture, is the problem of sin. Sure, there were, and are, other problems—problems of war, problems of injustice, and problems of poverty—but, clearly, these are the symptoms of the core problem.

What we soon learn is that Jesus did not come to this earth to give us a band-aid solution to our problems. This is not heaven’s version of a public relations visit. Jesus did not come merely to provide humanity with a helpful body of teachings, as if sufficient education could fix our problems. This was a rescue mission. Jesus came to overcome for us the fundamental barrier between God and humanity.

I appreciate the specific details provided by the angel in Matthew’s narrative. Otherwise, we might have missed the primary purpose of Jesus’ birth. Without the angel’s words we might have imagined that our sin was not that big of a problem. Without the angel’s words we might have imagined, as many did, that the role of the Messiah was to be a national liberator. Thankfully, the angel leaves no doubt about what we need saving from: “give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).

In the person of Jesus, born two thousand years ago, God powerfully entered into the affairs of humanity. It was a profound interruption in human history; it was interference of the best kind.

While we recognize and celebrate the intervention of God in human history at Christmas, I also want to invite you to think about the intervention of God in your personal history. Has there been a point in your life where you discerned that God was breaking in? Perhaps, even now, you sense His presence. Perhaps, even now, you detect God wanting to intervene—wanting to change the trajectory of your life and to shower you with His grace.

My plea is for you to allow God to “get into your business”. Interference can be a good thing. Interference from God will always be a good thing. This Christmas, and beyond, my encouragement is for you to let God in.