An Evening with Dr. Paul Tripp & Dr. Philip Ryken

You are cordially invited to a dessert reception
on April 6 following the evening worship service at approximately 8:00 pm at a
Center City location in close proximity to Tenth Presbyterian Church.

Drs. Tripp and Ryken are hosting a series of dessert receptions to present their vision for ministry and to visit with people who worship at Tenth, particularly the evening service. There will be an opportunity to discuss Tenth’s current significant spiritual journey as represented by its capital campaign.

Come meet Tenth’s pastors in an intimate setting and hear first-hand about the work God is calling this generation to do in Philadelphia and beyond. RSVPs are necessary as each dessert will have a limited number of guests. Regrettably, due to the limited space children will not be allowed. However, child care will be provided at the church for the March 30 reception. Please call or e-mail Nancy Hala at 215.735.7688 or nhala@tenth.org to reserve a spot.

Stewardship Center

In an effort to provide the congregation with a better understanding of financial issues and information on ways to give a Stewardship Center has been placed in Reception Hall. This display features brochures and guides that provide a basic understanding of key financial issues.

Provided below are a list of resources:

Brochures:
• Your Guide to Outright Charitable Gifts
• Your Guide to Making a Will
• Your Guide to Gifts of Securities
• Your Guide to Gifts of Real Estate
• Your Guide to Gifts of Life Insurance
• Your Guide to Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets
• Your Guide to Charitable Remainder Trusts
• Your Guide to Charitable Gift Annuities
[Also, Questions & Answers on Gift
Annuities]
• Your Guide to Basic Estate Planning
• Your Guide to Memorials and Endowments
• Your Guide to Effective Bequests

Guide to Important Stewardship Websites
Guide to Stewardship Radio Stations
Guide to Legal Assistance
Guide to Recommended Books from the Library
Guide to Stewardship Audios of John Piper

Campaign Case Statements
Campaign Devotional/Commitment guides
PCA Foundation Brochures

Coming soon:
Ten Ways to Give to Tenth
Answers to Common Excuses for Not Giving
Codicil/Bequest Language

If you require further information, please contact Chairman of the Planned Giving Committee, Bryce Bartruff, at 856.773.4756 (o) or bryce.bartruff@actelion.com

Prayer

From the Spiritual Formation Committee, here are some suggestions to guide you as a pray for the campaign:

Praise God for:

• The congregation's earnest participation in last Sunday's quarterly day of prayer and 2nd round of praying tours.
• The continued enthusiastic interest and fundraising efforts of our children in support of the campaign.
  

Pray for:

• Good health and strength for Dr. Ryken during a very busy spring of this year.
• Campaign donations to meet--and even exceed--commitments in the promised time frames.

Journey of Faith

Below is a story shared by Peggy Ann Garver. I had heard that she had a testimony that others might find encouraging as they consider their campaign commitments. When I asked her to share it, she was gracious enough to provide this post. I’m so glad I was encouraged to find out her story, it truly is comforting and inspirational to know that God is working through all details of the campaign and our lives as we consider what our commitment to the campaign will be.

I have a long history at Tenth Church. When I was a little girl, friends of my parents took me to Tenth to hear Dr. Barnhouse. We arrived early and I was delighted and amazed at the building structure. Philadelphia, itself was always a wonderful place to visit. I never dreamed that one day I would be a resident! Years later after our son became a member of Tenth, we visited off and on especially for Christmas Eve services and during our summer vacations. Several years back my husband had the privilege of marrying our son and daughter-in-law in the Tenth sanctuary. We certainly enjoyed the ministry of Dr. Boice and now of Dr. Ryken and the other fine men who are a part of Tenth Church.

Last year we had planned to give to a church my IRA money which was required to be withdrawn. This was not a difficulty for us since we had planned on giving this as a charitable gift since the government at that time allowed for this to be tax-free income! We felt that this was just good stewardship. Many things happened in our lives and we felt drawn to Tenth Church where we found worship in the true sense of the word. After a few months I joined the membership class and last August became a member of Tenth. When it came time to withdraw those IRA monies Tenth was the choice and that was our mutual decision.

My husband and I have been home missionaries for over thirty-eight years and we felt that the gift we were able to give to the Capital Campaign last year was, in fact, not enough. We should do more. We began to pray and so many infinite details came to us that we could hardly believe what was happening. First, we looked at annuities that would benefit us and the church, but after further observation and talking with our financial person, etc. we decided that this would not benefit our church in the way we would want. Two groupings of monies were coming to us in late January and early February. These monies were to be invested in the event we need some day to go to a retirement facility. The financial market was far from good and our financial person gave us the rates he had obtained and both of us had done computer lookups to see the best rates for CD’s in the US. This money was definitely in the CD portion of our finances. The credit union in my hometown was offering the best long-term rate of any place, however, we did not have the money just yet to invest. Time went on and it got near the time I would be having money to invest so I talked with one of the people at the bank. They in turn talked with someone higher up and decided they would hold that rate for us for a time. The first CD matured and was moved to a money market and then electronically to my checking account. It was a day late in arriving and we got a phone message that they could not hold the rate longer since the market was down and to give them a call. This was a Friday but the rates did not change and on Saturday the money was in our account. They seemed to indicate they would hold the rate. The following Monday the bottom dropped out of those CD rates! When we were going to bed my husband said that the Lord would give us the rate he wanted us to have. Even with some money in our account it was not nearly enough to get the rate we had asked for. However, God had a plan – the second CD was coming from a bank in another state and they did not have a system that would wire the money. They did agree to send it FED-X. The money arrived on the very day needed and we drove to the credit union window and deposited our check. The man at the credit union knew that we wanted to give a portion of this money to our church. Later that day both accounts were put into one CD with the best rate in the US. I had never ever heard of a bank holding a rate for a customer for such an extended period of time. Once the monies were reinvested and all the paperwork cleared we wrote a check for the Capital Campaign. That all these rather small pieces came together shows God’s protection and care for us. This very day another bank called and asked what they could do to get our business back and since they called me I did tell them about the providence of our Great God in giving us such a good rate, etc. The woman on the other end agreed they could not match that story.

We not only are blessed in being able to teach in Tenth’s Bible School, but we are truly enjoying the worship of our great God in the fellowship of believers. It is something new and special to me to Enjoy God! I feel certain that there will be many more stories to tell by our brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God which is exactly what Tenth Church looks like to us. This is our journey of faith.

Bon Appetit!

On February 24 the first of three luncheons hosted by our senior minister occurred following the 11 am service and approximately 30 people attended. Invitations were sent to members and regular attenders who have not been at Tenth for a long period of time. The focus on this group came about as a result of last year’s spiritual health survey. The results of that survey indicated that those who have been at Tenth the shortest period of time felt least connected to the church body and the pastoral staff. These luncheons are a chance for some of the relative newcomers (like me!) to spend time with Dr. Ryken and some of the elders in a more intimate setting. Dr. Ryken shared about his sense of calling to Tenth and his lifetime ministry commitment to the church, as well as his vision for ministry at Tenth. In addition, there was an opportunity to share about the significant spiritual journey the church is on right now, the capital campaign. The invitation to attend one of the remaining two luncheons on March 16 or March 30 is now open to all, but seating is limited. If you would like to come, RSVP to Diana Frazier (215.237.2619 or dsfrazier@msn.com). The committee also asks for prayer for the upcoming lunches – that they would be well attended and that the attendees would be equally blessed.

To whet your appetite, here’s some feedback from someone who attended the February 24 luncheon:

Many Thanks for the wonderful time of fellowship, great meal, and extra bonus of background information on how the Lord brought the Rykens to minister at Tenth! Of course, it all naturally flowed into a family discussion: How is the Lord calling us to participate? And then more importantly, How are we as a family evaluating each purchase in light of the Capital Campaign?Many thoughts, but most importantly, Thanks!

It's a Small World

On February 17 we were visited by Professor Frédéric Hammann of the Reformed Seminary in Aix-en-Provence. After hearing a bit about the seminary which I shared in an earlier post, it was great to hear from someone at the seminary. Below I’ve included his remarks from the service.

It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to be here and to share in this worship with you.

I bring with me warm greetings from my colleagues at the Reformed Seminary in Aix-en-Provence and, of course, from my wife and our two little children.

I am very grateful to you for all you have done for our Seminary, and especially for the James Montgomery Boice Chair of Practical Theology, in the past, in the last months and for what you are planning to do this year in the context of your special Campaign.

You know, your support is very important and means a lot for us. It is the first time I come to the US and I am deeply moved with all what I see. I knew that you had interest in our French situation, but now I see how concrete it is, and it’s wonderful to discover the reality of such a fellowship in Christ.

As Reformed Evangelical Christians in France, we are a small minority within a minority! Protestant people, all together, represent about 2% of all the population living in France. And so you can understand how important it is for us to know that we are not alone in the ministry God gave us. Every day is a struggle for us. But we see the faithfulness of God, and the power of His promises as we persevere in our Christian walk.

Our students are a source of great motivation for us. They really want to serve the Lord, they love the Gospel, they love the truth and they want to speak it to the people around them, whomever they may be and wherever it might be. So it is a daily stimulation for us to try to find the proper articulation between theological education and spiritual formation. Both have to be closely linked together.

As the occupant of the James Montgomery Boice chair of practical theology, I am the coordinator of the program for practical theology, though we are several in the department. I personally give, (1) an introductory course to practical theology (where I show the unity and the coherence of all aspects of the life of the Church, of her unique ministry); I also teach (2) homiletics (preaching) and (3) pastoral care (counselling).

I have to recognize that, in this teaching ministry, I use a great deal of material / books which come from here, especially from Westminster Seminary. And I hope and pray that, one day, we’ll have good Reformed books in French too. We have work for the future!

Again, thank you for your invitation, and thank you very much for your support.
May God bless you.

A Few Updates

First, I would like to explain the dearth of new material on the blog this past week. Last week, my husband and I welcomed our daughter into the world and have been busy learning the ways of parenthood! We’re slowly getting into the swing of things so I wanted to get back to the blog to share some of the news from the past week and also resume sharing some of the amazing stories of the campaign that have been shared with me. Be sure to check back in soon as I plan on posting new material throughout the week.

• On February 29, the first campaign e-newsletter was sent out. If you didn’t receive it, check your spam to make sure it didn’t get accidentally filtered. And if it’s not there, please contact Dot Boersma (dboersma@tenth.org) to make sure your email is added to the database.
• Last Sunday was the Quarterly Day of Prayer. Brian Esterly had the following to say about the day: "There was a wonderful turnout of over 50 members and we had a rich time of praying for more than 75 minutes for the campaign. The spiritual formation group, led by George McFarland, had an excellent prayer guide that took us through praising God for his faithfulness and each of the six projects. I think everyone came away blessed as we were able to approach God's throne of grace and pray specifically for the spiritual journey God has put us on through this campaign." Let this congregational day of prayer inspire you to continue praying for the campaign! The spiritual formation committee has provided some items to guide you as you pray this week: for strength, energy and perseverance for the extended campaign committee as they are in the midst of a busy time, for the next round of praying tours and that the devotional study guide will be a useful resource for congregational members.
• Last week the devotional guide went out. If you didn’t receive one, please pick one up at the church. George McFarland of the spiritual formation committee shared the following post about the guide.

As Tenth Presbyterian Church moves forward with its Capital Campaign, the Spiritual Formation Committee is distributing to the congregation a 30 day devotional guide for their spiritual nourishment and instruction. In keeping with the rich history of biblical teaching and preaching at Tenth, this guide is comprised of various sermons which were preached by Dr. Philip Graham Ryken, Dr. Paul David Tripp, and the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice. All the sermons are expositions of portions of scripture that deal specifically with the idea of stewardship. The majority of sermons are taken out of the Gospel of Luke. The sermons have been divided into daily devotionals that span a total of four weeks. The length of each daily devotional is approximately two pages.

The Pastors and Elders of Tenth Presbyterian Church are encouraging the members of Tenth to read these devotionals privately as individuals, corporately with their families, and together with one another in other places of fellowship throughout the thirty days period of stewardship teaching. While the guide is formatted to be used during the month of March, it can be used during any 30-day period. Our hope is that you will go through the texts, lessons, questions, and prayers in preparation for Sunday, April 20, the day we plan to formally make financial commitments to the capital campaign. Those who read these devotionals should find them to be a rich means of instruction. The aim of the devotionals is to encourage Christian growth, by means of the word of God, in the lives of the people of God. We’re praying that the Lord will greatly use this Devotional Guide in the life of Tenth Church.