The Church at Ellerslie
SUNDAY SERMON NOTES
Eric Ludy
Sunday, February 5, 2016
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The Donald and
the Dunce Cap
a reminder to the Church of what really matters
Our Culture’s True Colors
The Seven Year Old and the Swastika
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control,
brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of
godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Timothy 3:1-5
54 Genders?
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You have heard of a man referring to himself as a woman
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You have heard of a woman referring to herself as a man
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But have you heard a man or a woman that refuses to identify with being either a man or a woman?
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Have you heard of the lady who wants to be classified as trans-species: half giraffe, half person?
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Have you heard the lady who wants the classification of half cat, half person?
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Have you heard of the older man who classifies himself as a five year old girl?
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living
and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and
out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and
they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
2 Timothy 4:1-4
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Outrage
The Noun - an extremely strong reaction of anger, shock, or indignation.
synonyms: indignation, fury, anger, rage, disapproval, wrath, resentment
The Verb - arouse fierce anger, shock, or indignation in (someone).
synonyms: enrage, infuriate, incense, anger, scandalize, offend, give offense to, affront, shock, horrify,
disgust, appall
. . . the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:20
Social Outrage is the Soil for Social Prejudice
Introducing Jon Duns
Excerpted from The Bold Return of the Dunces
The tall pointy dunce cap has been a symbol of shame for centuries. To be the schoolboy
stuck in the proverbial corner with the idiot’s hat pressed down on his head is second in
shame only to the idea of being paraded through the school hallways in one’s underwear.
As a result, the word dunce and the concept of “abject humiliation” have always been
closely associated. And for those of us that are walking thesauruses, we are well aware
that the word dunce has been conjoined to words like fool, stupid, idiot, dullard, and dolt
for time immemorial.
Rule #1 of the social classroom states, “Don’t be the dunce!” It’s a simple rule and one
that the typical student is able to grasp without much arm-twisting. For the consequences
of ignoring its valuable lesson is an embarrassment and humiliation too much for most
dignified souls to endure.
Ironically, this very unattractive and shame-laden word dunce was derived from an
intriguing Scotsman who lived back in the late thirteenth, early fourteenth century. His
name was Jon Duns (often known in history as Duns Scotus). And if you pronounce his
surname, Duns, properly, you would find that it sounds just like our word dunce. That’s
because it is the same word. Jon Duns Scotus has been inextricably tied to the idea of
recalcitrant, shame-faced idiocy for hundreds of years.
I run a Bible college called Ellerslie. Interestingly, Ellerslie is a Scottish name. It’s named
after the birthplace of another notable Scot: William Wallace. These two men, Wallace
and Duns, were born a mere four years apart and twenty miles away from each other. So
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it seems that whether I want it or not, being named Ellerslie brings me uncomfortably
close to the front door of another Scot with a less attractive name. As a result, I feel
somewhat of a providential kinship with this unfortunate “dunce” from seven hundred
years ago.
Though Duns’s name is forever tied to the idea of the thickskulled dolt, history attests to
the fact that Jon Duns was actually a brilliant man. In fact, the word brilliant would be a
vast understatement. Many in his generation considered him the world’s most intelligent
man while he was alive, and many scholars throughout history would attest to the fact
that he was likely one of the most astute and developed minds throughout the entire
thousand year epoch known to us as the Middle Ages.
This begs an important and obvious question. How did a man noted for such brilliance go
down in history as such an imbecile?
What Defines this Church Body?
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Is it that we pray?
Is it the hours a day that we pray?
Is it that we confess?
Is it the number of new converts we have weekly?
Is it that we are a generous people?
Is it the amount we give to the Kingdom of Heaven?
Is it that we serve?
Is it the challenging and trying ways in which we serve?
Is it our morality?
Is it our ethical rightness?
Is it our purity prior to marriage?
Is it the manliness of our men?
Is it our boldness to preach and listen to the hard things?
Is it the feminine grace of our women?
Is it our doctrinal excellence?
Is it our theological brilliance?
Is it our loud preaching?
Is it our long sermons?
Is it our missions-mindedness?
Is it our large families?
Is it our passion for adoption?
Is it our percentage of home-schoolers?
Is it the obedience of our children and their ability to sit still during a sermon?
Is it our dutiful attendance on Tuesday nights?
Is it our skill in discipleship?
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What is it That Defines Us?
We love Jesus Christ so much. We are all about Jesus. Everything we do points to Jesus. We believe that Jesus is the Center.
We make Him the Center. We study Him, pursue Him, worship Him, seek to know Him more, exalt Him, share Him, discuss
Him, and make Him known.
Jesus!
He's the Purpose Statement of this Church
Our New List
What Defines this Church?
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Is it that we believe in Immigration reform?
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Is it that we think the Keystone Pipeline is a great idea?
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Is it that we think building a wall along the border of Mexico is grand thinking?
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Is it that we believe extreme vetting is necessary today for at least seven countries in this world?
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Is it that we believe that Neil Gorsuch should be quickly approved by Congress as the next Supreme Court justice?
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Is it that we believe the mainstream media outlets of our day are liberally biased and spewing out fake news?
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Is it that we think that all these noisy naysayers that want Trump ousted are just plain idiots?
What Is it That Defines Us?
We love Jesus Christ so much. We are all about Jesus. Everything we do points to Jesus. We believe that Jesus is the Center.
We make Him the Center. We study Him, pursue Him, worship Him, seek to know Him more, exalt Him, share Him, discuss
Him, and make Him known.
There is a Clear and Present Danger for the Church in America
The Current Bait for the Bible-Believing Christian
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive,
if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24
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The Simplitists
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3
Simplicity
Haplous - Hä-plü’s
able to see clearly, singular in focus (without blurriness, without cloud, without confusion)
Haplotēs - Hä-plo’-tās
focused on one thing, of singular aim, without pretense, without false motive, leading to great selfless
sacrifice
For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in
the world in haplotēs and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of
God, and more abundantly toward you.
2 Corinthians 1:12
(speaking of the churches at Macedonia) that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of
their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their haplotēs.
2 Corinthians 8:2
. . . you are enriched in everything for all haplotēs
2 Corinthians 9:11
What Might Distract us from Center Right Now?
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Donald Trump. He can fix the downward moral spiral in our country. He can stabilize our economy. He can
protect us Christians from the agenda of the Left, ISIS, and the UN.
However, whenever we put trust in man’s leadership and ease in the focus of soul
and blur, no matter how slightly, in the singularity of focus on the Kingdom of
Heaven - becoming captivated with the intriguing activities of this fallen world,
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losing sight of the all-important activities of the Holy Spirit IN this fallen world - we
lose our haplotēs. And that is the Devil’s business.
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The Donald Trump Haters. After all, these guys are just plain irritating. They need to shut up. They are well
deserving of our disgust.
However, whenever we turn off the spigot of God’s grace, love, and mercy towards
the lost and dying in this world, we immediately discard our haplotēs. And we
immediately lose our true purpose for being here on this earth. We are love-bearers,
not just towards those that think like us, but also towards those that oppose us. Our
Christian witness must not lose its love; its forgiveness; its joy amidst persecution;
and its haplotēs in the most noisy of circumstances.
The Christian in 2017 America
What must define us?
Haplotēs: staying attuned and fully focused on the One Man that we can and must always lean on - the One who will never
leave us, forsake us, fail us - and who will undoubtedly deliver on all His promises
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2
Haplotēs: so attuned on Jesus that Jesus flows out of us, like a mighty rushing river of grace, kindness, love, and mercy.
You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I
say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have
you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only,
what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you
shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
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