Focused For Him

Prominent Prayers of the Bible!

2012-02-19T07:58:00.000-04:00

Timothy A. Douglass has complied an impressive list of the major prayer recorded in God's Word for us. In our Church we are currently studying Matthew 6:9-15 and the principles Jesus teaches for prayer. Thought this would be helpful for all to find and read different prayers as a means to see how Jesus teaching is consistent with those who followed God.
One thought or suggestion would be to read a different prayer a day and simply allow the Holy Spirit to speak and teach you about prayer through the example of Scripture itself.

Old Testament

Abraham’s Intercession for Sodom & Gomorrah Genesis 18:23-33

Daniel's Prayer Daniel 9:4-19

David's Prayer for Protection Psalm 3

David’s Prayer for Favour Psalm 4

David’s Prayer for Guidance Psalm 5

David’s Prayer for Mercy Psalm 6

David’s Prayer from Persecution Psalm 7

David’s Prayer for God’s Help Psalm 13

David’s Prayer Psalm 23

David’s Prayer For Trust Psalm 25

David's Prayer & Fasting Psalm 35

David’s Prayer For Forgiveness Psalm 51

Elijah's Prayer for the Widow’s Son 1 Kings 17:20-22

Elijah's Prayer at Mt. Carmel 1 Kings 18:36-39

Elisha’s Prayer 2 Kings 6:15-18

Esther and the Nation of Israel Prayer & Fasting Esther 4-5

Ezra Prayer & Fasting 8:21-23

Hannah's Prayer for a Child 1 Samuel 1:10-12

Hannah's Prayer of Thanksgiving 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hezekiah 2 Kings 20

Jacob’s Deliverance From Essau Genesis 32:9-12

Jacob At Peniel Genesis 32:24-30

Jehoshaphat For Deliverance 2 Chronicles 20

Jonah Jonah 2:2-9

Moses Intercession For His People Exodus 32:11-13 32:31-32

Moses Intercession For Miriam Numbers 12:13

Moses and the Lord Exodus 33:12-13 Exodus 33:18

Moses Exodus 33:15,16

Moses & Promise Land Deuteronomy 3:24-29

Moses & Israel Deuteronomy 9:26-29

Moses' 40 Day Prayer Deuteronomy 9:18-20; 9:25-29

Nehemiah's Prayer & Fasting Nehemiah 1:3-11

Nehemiah and Israel Prayer & Fasting Nehemiah 9:1

Samson Judges 16:28

Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom 1 Kings 3:6-9

Solomon's Prayer to Dedicate the Temple 1 Kings 8:22-61

Habakkuk's Prayer - Habakkuk 3:2-19

The Prayer of Ezra - Ezra 9:5-15

Daniel's Prayer for the Captive Jews - Daniel 9:4-19

Hezekiah's Prayer when Sick - Isaiah 38:2-8

The Prayer of Jabez - 1 Chronicles 4:10

King Hezekiah's Prayer - 2 Kings 19:15-19

David's Prayer of Thanks - 2 Samuel 7:18-29

New Testament

Jesus Temptation & Fasting Matthew 4:1

Jesus Praying in the Wilderness Matthew 6:6

The Lord's Prayer Matthew 6:9-15 & Luke 11:2-4

Jesus to the Father John 12:27-28

Jesus Prayer of Thanksgiving Matthew 11:25-26

Jesus Prayer for Lazarus John 11:41-42

Jesus High Priestly Prayer John 17

Jesus in Gethsemane Matthew 26:39 & 42

Jesus at the Cross Luke 23:34, 46 Matthew 27:46

The Tax Collector's Prayer - Luke 18:13

Apostles For Divine Direction Acts 1:24,25

Apostles & Believer’s Prayer Acts 4:24-31

Stephen for His Murderers Acts 7:59-60

Paul His First Plea Acts 9:6

Cornelius Prayer & Fasting Acts 10:30-31

Early Church Praying & Fasting for Paul & Barnabas Acts 13:1-3

Paul For the Corinthians 2 Corinthians 13:7

Paul For the Ephesians Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul For the Philippians Philippians 1:3-11

Paul For the Colossians Colossians 1:9-17

Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom - Ephesians 1:15-23

A Prayer of Praise - Jude 1:24-25

What and How to pick a church? Trevin Wax writes

2012-02-07T11:00:00.000-04:00

I often get e-mails from people looking for a church. The questions are always similar:

What kind of church is ideal?
What kind of church should we settle for?
How long should we wait before joining a church?

I have found the insights of Francis Schaeffer and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to be a helpful resource in advising people who are looking for a church.
1. LOOK FOR AN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Schaeffer focuses on the church being orthodox:

First, there should be an “orthodoxy of doctrine”- that is, it should be Bible-believing in the full sense of the term.
Second, there should be an “orthokardia of community.” This means that people would care for each other in the whole spectrum of life, including financially if this is needed. There should be real community among those in the church and a real sense of the importance of this – rather than the church just being a preaching point or an activity center.

I would add to both of these qualifications an “orthopraxy of mission,” where church leaders emphasize the need for Christians to represent Christ and proclaim the gospel outside the church walls.
After Schaeffer focuses on orthodoxy, he turns to the matter of personal preferences:

Third, after these two points are met, then you must find a church which meets your personal needs. Theoretically all churches should meet all people’s needs, but in a fallen world this is not possible. Some people, for example, like one kind of music and some another; some like one kind of preaching and some another. Some churches meet the needs of certain individuals, but not the needs of others.

2. BE PREPARED FOR AN IMPERFECT CHURCH.
Next, Schaeffer points to the reality that no church is perfect. In fact, he challenges the reader to anticipate imperfection:

When you put the three things together, we must recognize that there is no church in this fallen world which is perfect, and unhappily there are an appreciable number of communities where it is difficult to find any church that meets the three criteria.
Two further things must be said simultaneously: first, we must not accept what is poor; second, however, if we will only accept what is perfect or else nothing at all, we will always get the nothing in this fallen and abnormal world.

That’s where Dietrich Bonhoeffer has something to offer to this discussion. He begins with the love of God for sinful humanity:

God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love.

This unshakeable, unfathomable love of God for the real world is the basis for Bonhoeffer’s appeal for real people to love real people. That’s why he warns against excessive idealism when considering the church:

The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own laws, and judges the brethren and God himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of the brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together.
When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

3. GROW IN GRACE WITH AN IMPERFECT COMMUNITY.
But here is where we need to take a step further. We don’t just settle for an imperfect church. We expect that the imperfect, bungling bunch of believers we’ve united with will become the means by which God sanctifies us.
Bonhoeffer writes about the sanctifying grace that comes from one’s disillusionment with the church:

Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? The bright day of Christian community dawns wherever the early morning mists of dreamy visions are lifting.

Here’s the key to remember: God uses imperfect churches to perfect His children.
Too many people are looking for a church in the abstract rather than the flesh-and-blood people they bump into on the way to the nursery. That’s one reason I devoted an entire chapter to this subject in Counterfeit Gospels:

I remember seeing a Peanuts cartoon in which Linus yells, “I love mankind… it’s people I can’t stand!” G. K. Chesterton said something similar: “I learned with little labor the way to love my fellow-man and hate my next-door neighbor.”
Truth be told, we talk about loving others, but we’re quick to hit the road when loving people gets hard. We’re not called to love an idea, we’re called to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Too many people think that the church’s problems are an obstacle to becoming more like Jesus. Actually, the opposite is true: commitment to bear with the church’s problems is the method by which we become more like Christ.

So look for an orthodox church on mission for God’s kingdom. Expect the church to be imperfect. And then watch how God uses that church’s imperfections to sanctify your heart.

What Does it Mean to Please God?

2012-01-18T15:02:00.000-04:00

Rick Thomas writes an insightful piece entitled “The Danger of Trying to Please God.” The counselor in this story sounds way too much like the way many of us preachers preach:

Sandra has struggled all her life with people pleasing. She said she could not remember a time when she was free from thinking about what others thought about her. The way she dresses, the car she drives, the technology she carries, and the house she owns are all controlled to some degree by what others think of her.

A Peek Into Her Life
She is fanatical about working out because of her keen awareness of what a “nice looking body” should look like. On a few occasions she has caught herself stretching the truth. She says she spins her stories because the real story doesn’t seem as interesting. She is fearful of bringing a bag lunch to the office because everyone else goes out to a local restaurant to eat. She’d rather go into debt than feeling like the odd man out. She has a low-grade anger toward her boyfriend because he pressured her to have sex with him. She believed he would leave her if she didn’t have sex. She needs to be loved by someone. Having a boyfriend is one of her ways of feeling significant.

Her biblical counselor quickly discerned that her problem was fear of man (Proverbs 29:25). The counselor told her she needed to be more concerned with pleasing God rather than others.
From there, the counselor laid out a plan of prayer, Bible study, and service oriented activities in order for her to practice a lifestyle of pleasing God. The mistake the counselor made was not carefully unpacking what pleasing God meant to an idolator like Sandra. Sandra is an idolator who has been living a performance-driven, people pleasing lifestyle. When she was told that she needed to be more willing to please God than man, it was not a difficult thing for her to do. People pleasing was what she knew best. Unfortunately, she was not told what pleases God so she did what she has always done–she ratcheted up her obedience.
Who Can Please God?

And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. – Mark 1:11 (ESV)

Christ pleases God. Anything the Son does pleases the Father. Jesus came to do the will of the Father and He completed that task perfectly. The Father received the finished work of the Son and now a way has been made for us to please the Father by accepting the Son’s work.

Without faith it is impossible to please him. – Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

A Christian, who is living by faith in the works of the Son, is pleasing God. Pleasing God is not about what we do, but about believing in the only One who could authentically please the Father. Even on our best day, with our best works, we would not be acceptable to God.

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. – Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)

          Sandra is a Christian. However, she is not seeking to please God by trusting (faith) in Him. She is still performing, but this time she is performing for the Father, hoping to get a good grade. Rather than accepting what is pleasing to God–the works of the Son–she tries to please Him by her obedience. For example, she says she feels more spiritual by going to church. She believes her activity for God gives her more of God. She feels more spiritual when she is doing. She also says that if she misses her prayer time, Bible reading, or a church meeting she feels less spiritual. She will read her 4 chapters each day, even while brushing her teeth so she can check it off.
          Sandra is convinced that if she has her morning prayer time and things go well for her during the day, then she will partially contribute God’s favor on her based on her prayer-time-obedience. As you might imagine, if she does not have her prayer time and things do not go well for her during the day, she feels as though her lack of prayer (disobedience) caused her day to go bad. Sometimes her friends affirm her theology of legalism when they observe her bad day and say, “You must not be prayed-up today.”
As you can see, when her biblical counselor gave her a list of things to do in order to please God,
          Sandra initially was excited about the list. Any people pleasing, self-reliant, performance-driven person would be.
However, as time went by, she could not juggle her list of spiritual disciplines with the rest of her life. Eventually discouragement and depression set in–she could not keep up. From her perspective, God was not pleased with her–basing this on her poor performance. According to Sandra’s functional theology she could control God’s pleasure by what she did rather than what the Son did. Her understanding of Christ’s work was limited. She believed the Gospel was for her salvation, while her obedience was the primary thing needed for her sanctification. Obedience is obviously hugely important to any Christian. However, the key is to make sure that your obedience is not an effort to please God, but a response to your faith in God.

Speaking Winsomely About Complementarianism

2012-01-16T16:39:00.000-04:00

Speaking Winsomely About Complementarianism

Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches. Part II

2012-01-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

This is the second part of Tom Rainer's article on trends of healthy churches. These last 6 are excellent but will likely raise more questions than the first 6. Imagine a church that actually considered doing less? Cutting ministry or ministries so that better focus and accountability would be the result of what or how it functioned.
I love the fact that a healthy church is also one that wants to not only make disciples but mature disciples. Too many churches are content to pursue quantity and not quality. We are so superficial looking on the outside not even considering the inside of a person. Yet, Christ was unapologetic in His demand for heart purity and holiness, not exterior business or flash...So, give this a read, pray over what you read and allow the Holy Spirit to move you in the direction He wants to make your church a healthy, vibrant church in 2012!

These healthy churches have pastors who love the members. That love is obvious in their words, their actions, and their pastoral concern. It does not mean that a pastor is present for every need of a member of a church member; that is physically impossible. It does mean that the church has a ministry in place that cares for all the members. Above all, though, you can sense intuitively when you walk into these churches that the pastor deeply loves the members, even those who may often oppose him.
The churches allow their pastors to spend time in sermon preparation. Our research has confirmed over the years that pastors in healthier churches spend more time in sermon preparation than those in other churches. For that to take place, the congregation must understand the primacy of preaching, and they must be willing for their pastor to forego some areas of activity and ministry so he can spend many hours in the Word.
There is clarity of the process of disciple making. Such was the theme of the book, Simple Church, written by Eric Geiger and me. For the healthy churches, the ministries and activities are not just busy work; instead they have a clear purpose toward moving the members to greater levels of commitment toward Christ.
These churches do less better. They realize that they can't be all things to all people; and they shouldn’t have such a flurry of activities that they hurt rather than help families. So the leaders of these congregations focus on doing fewer ministries, but doing those few better than they could with an overabundance of activities.
The process of discipleship moves members into ongoing small groups. A member is almost guaranteed to leave the church or become inactive in the church if he or she does not get involved in an ongoing small group. These groups have a variety of names: Sunday school; small groups; home groups; life groups; cell groups; and others. The name is not the issue. The issue is getting members connected to ongoing groups.
Corporate prayer is intentional and prioritized.Prayer is not incidental in these churches. The leadership regularly emphasizes the importance and priority of prayer. The congregation is led regularly in times of corporate prayer.

Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches.

2012-01-06T16:29:00.000-04:00

With the beginning of another year and for us here at Grace Baptist Church looking for new Pastors I found this article by Tom Rainer and wanted to share it with you my blog readers. Tom gives some trends that are to be found in healthy churches. I whole-heartedly agree that if we submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit strive for these things we will not only have a God exalting year but one that will transform our lives forever as well.
May we work together to see these things define us at Grace for God's Glory and our refinement!

The beginning of a new year inevitably brings a plethora of predictions, resolutions, and trends. I see no need to alter that course in this article. My assignment is simple; but my conclusions are debatable. I am providing twelve trends for 2012 in the healthiest churches we have observed.

          A few caveats are necessary.
          First, the trends are for healthy churches. They are not inclusive of all 400,000 American churches, much less the millions of churches around the world.
          Second, the trends are based on both detailed empirical research and anecdotal observations. In other words, I can point to some outstanding research projects for my conclusions in some cases. In other cases, I am simply expressing what I hope is an informed opinion.
          Third, the trends are not ranked in order of any priority.

Today I will share with you the first six of the trends. The final six will be in my article tomorrow.

The churches have a high view of Scripture. A number of research projects over the past four decades point to this trend. Healthy churches have leaders and members who believe the totality of the Bible, often expressed as a view called inerrancy.
A large number of church members read the Bible daily. The simplicity of this trend often surprises church leaders. But we can no longer assume that all of the congregants read their Bibles every day. That is a practice that must be encouraged and monitored. In our research on spiritual health of Christian, we found that the highest correlative factor in practicing other healthy spiritual discipline was reading the Bible every day.
The churches have a priority and focus on the nations. This priority is manifest in short-term mission trips, in care and adoption of the orphaned, in giving to mission causes, and in the number of congregants who commit their lives to reaching the nations with the gospel.
The churches have a missional community presence. The leadership and members do not look at their community as a pool for prospects. Rather, they love their community. They serve their community. The live in their community. They have deep relationships in their community.
The congregations have membership that matters. These healthy churches are high expectation churches. Membership is much more than completing a card or walking an aisle. These churches have entry point classes that set the expectations of membership. Church members are expected to serve, to give, to be in small groups, and to be accountable to others. Church discipline is practiced in most of these congregations. Because membership is meaningful, the assimilation rate in these churches is very high.
The members are evangelistically intentional. The gospel is central in these healthy churches. As a consequence, the sharing of the good news is natural and consequential. But leaders in these churches do not simply assume that evangelism is taking place. There are constant reminders of the priority of evangelism. There is inherent in many of these churches some type of accountability for ongoing evangelism in a number of contexts.

There is a lot of bad news in the world today. Indeed there is a lot of bad news in many of our churches today. I am not the metaphorical ostrich with my head in the sand. But I am convinced that there are many reasons to be encouraged about God’s work in our churches.

Why are teens leaving our Church?

2012-01-05T17:28:00.000-04:00

          Found this great article today...the title really says it all, "Desperate Time, Desperate Measures: Lets Try the Gospel"
          It is well worth the read and the application right here in our lives in our church in our school today. Give it a read and please tell me what you think. Steve
          It's THE mysterious question. Everyone in church culture is talking about it: "Why are the kids leaving?"
          And then the follow-up questions, "Should we start new programs?" "Maybe we should have even awesome-r music?" "Maybe we should rename our church something cool?" "Should our pastor try the half-tuck?"
          Actually, if this researcher's right, and I suspect strongly she is, it has nothing to do with any of that.
          Kara Powell works with Fuller Youth Institute, and talks with Relevant Magazine about their extensive research:

The students involved in our research definitely tended to view the Gospel as a list of dos and do-nots, a list of behaviors. We asked our students when they were college juniors, “How would you define what it really means to be a Christian?” and one out of three—and these were all youth group students—didn’t mention Jesus Christ in their answer; they mentioned behaviors. So it seems like [young adults] have really picked up a behavioralist view of the Gospel. That’s problematic for a lot of reasons, but one of which is that when students fail to live up to those behaviors, then they end up running from God and the Church when they need both the most.

          So youth group kids got the impression that the Gospel was about what we do, not what Jesus already did. They went to church, and got the t-shirts, but they don't understand the Gospel. We can blame THEM, of course - we love doing that, when people don't go for our programs - or we can wonder, did they ever really understand it?
          Did they understand that because of what Jesus already did, God's approval of them is NOT based on their behavior? Did they understand that Jesus knows that we cannot fulfill the law ourselves, and therefore fulfilled it for us? Did they understand why He said, "It is finished!" and the temple veil was torn in two, once and for all? Did they understand they are - truly, seriously, literally - no longer under the law?
          Let's be honest: Probably not. Because when people actually hear the scandalous Gospel, they don't tend to forget it. They can't. If they "got it", they wouldn't, then, define what it means to be a Christian with behaviors.
          And, as a former youth minister, I can guess why they probably didn't hear it: Because of the well-meaning hey-let's-not-get-too-crazy-with-the-grace folks, who think the radical message of grace needs "balanced", lest people, you know, go nuts and start having sex and killing people simply because their Sunday School teacher convinced them of how good God is.
          Thing is, that grace, through the Holy Spirit, actually CHANGES people. Once they grasp how wonderful it is, how - truly! - amazing grace really is, they don't tend to start sport-hunting humans. They are changed, with a faith that lasts, yes, even through four years of glorious brokenness and learning at State Tech.
          We want to control people. But, there's a problem: We can't control people. You can make a slave out of someone, sure - but even then, you can't control his heart. Perhaps his heart could be won by the shocking love of God, the one that sets him free of religous tyranny, once and for all?
          So I say we go all in. Let's tell them. Let's go ahead and give people the Gospel, the whole, stunning, wonderful thing, and take our chance that God wins their hearts. The risk of telling them the truth, of course, about how GOOD the "Good News" is, is that they'll go morally crazy, which, as we noted, when people "get" grace, doesn't tend to happen. (I realize my parents love me unconditionally. This makes me want to please them.)
          If we tell them the Gospel, which is anti-moralistic, they will not confuse Jesus with moralism. Good thing, too, because moralism is boring. And it doesn't work. And it's a lie. There's that, too.
The risk of NOT telling them is this: They grow up thinking Jesus is just another religion, and they suspect they are moral failures, and go through life missing out on the romance they were made for with their Creator. They'll feel like their beating their heads against a wall, constantly playing a morals game, with the sneaking suspicion they're not really winning. They'll either become Pharisees, or, worse... they'll just walk away. (Wait, is that worse...?)
          And, by the way, that last scenario...? It's happening all the time. So let's go ahead and try the Good News.
          Oh - one more reason to go ahead and tell them the whole, scandalous, amazing truth about the Gospel:

It's true.

Jesus+Nothing=Everything! Even our resolutions...

2012-01-03T07:02:00.000-04:00

It is already January 3rd and how many of us I wonder have tanked our resolutions? I know there are at least two that I have failed to keep so far...but is that a bad thing? Tullian Tchividjian has some excellent thoughts on this very issue that I want to share with you.
We need to be a people who try, who strive, who resolve and who commit, but we must never find our acceptance from God wrapped in our successes and failures, but ONLY in Jesus accomplished work of Salvation. Let 2012 be a year where you work harder than ever to be like Christ, but let it also be a year in which you rest in Jesus work for you more than ever as well.

          "Today is the very first day of a brand new year. And for many that means a fresh start.
This is the year. It all starts now. We resolve to turn over a new leaf–and this time we’re serious. This time we’re really going to try, we’re not going to quit. We promise ourselves that we’re going to quit bad habits and start good ones. We’re going to get in shape, eat better, lust less, waste less time, be more content, more disciplined, more intentional. We’re going to be better husbands, wives, fathers, mothers. We’re going to pray more, serve more, plan more, give more, read more, and memorize more Bible verses. We’re going to finally be all that we can be. No more messing around.
          Well…I say try. Seriously, try. You might make some great strides this year. I’m hoping to. There are a lot of improvements I’m hoping to make over the next 12 months. But don’t be surprised a year from now when you realize that you’ve fallen short…again.
          For those who try and try, year after year, again and again, to get better and better, with seemingly less and less success…I have good news for you: you’re in good company!
          My friend Jean Larroux sent me this powerful illustration that he got from Jack Miller.
Miller recounts the valiant efforts of Samuel Johnson (a literary giant of the 18th century) to fight sloth and to get up early in the morning to pray. Taken from Johnson’s diary and prayer journal, Jack gives us a record–through the years–of Johnson’s life-long resolutions, failures, and frustrations:

1738: He wrote, “Oh Lord, enable me to redeem the time which I have spent in sloth.”
1757: (19 years later) “Oh mighty God, enable me to shake off sloth and redeem the time misspent in idleness and sin by diligent application of the days yet remaining.”
1759: (2 years later) “Enable me to shake off idleness and sloth.”
1761: “I have resolved until I have resolved that I am afraid to resolve again.”
1764: “My indolence since my last reception of the sacrament has sunk into grossest sluggishness. My purpose is from this time to avoid idleness and to rise early.”
1764: (5 months later) He resolves to rise early, “not later than 6 if I can.”
1765: “I purpose to rise at 8 because, though, I shall not rise early it will be much earlier than I now rise for I often lie until 2.”
1769: “I am not yet in a state to form any resolutions. I purpose and hope to rise early in the morning, by 8, and by degrees, at 6.”
1775: “When I look back upon resolution of improvement and amendments which have, year after year, been made and broken, why do I yet try to resolve again? I try because reformation is necessary and despair is criminal.” He resolves again to rise at 8.
1781: (3 years before his death) “I will not despair, help me, help me, oh my God.” He resolves to rise at 8 or sooner to avoid idleness.

          I love the never-quit effort of Johnson. What he chronicles sounds so much like me over the years. Try and fail. Fail then try. Try and succeed. Succeed then fail. Two steps forward. One step back. One step forward. Three steps back.
          What I’m most deeply grateful for (as was Johnson) is that God’s love for me, approval of me, and commitment to me is not dependent on my success and resolve, but on Christ’s success and resolve for me. The gospel is the good news announcing Christ’s infallible devotion to us in spite of our lack of devotion to him. The gospel is not a command to hang onto Jesus. Rather, it’s a promise that no matter how weak and unsuccessful your faith and efforts may be, God is always holding on to you.
          It’s ironically comforting to me as this new year gets under way that I am weak and He is strong–that while my love for Jesus will continue to fall short, Jesus’ love for me will never fall short. For, as Mark Twain said, “Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, your dog would get in and you would stay out.”
Thank God!
Happy New Year!

A Great Prayer from Scotty Smith to start the Christmas season

2011-12-07T13:56:00.000-04:00

A Prayer about Jesus’ Many Advent Names and Offices

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Isa. 9:6-7

          Lord Jesus, you are the one of whom Isaiah was speaking hundreds of years before a manger became your first bed in this world. Every name, appellation and office the prophet gives you in this Scripture underscores the greatness of your glory and the wonders of your love. Knowing the government of the whole world already rests on your shoulders profoundly gladdens me. It fills me with a joy second only to knowing your shoulders fully bore the sin of the world, including mine. As this day begins, I raise my face to bask in your beauty and I lift my hands to offer you praise.
          You are Wonderful Counselor, for in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You teach me everything I need to know about great mysteries and things eternal, but you’re also the one to whom I look for counsel about old wounds, fresh hurts and unfulfilled longings. You care about everything.
          You are Mighty God—the one who created and sustains the entire universe; the one who upholds all things by the power of your Word; the one in whom all things are being summed up. But you also marshal your might to help me humble myself when I’d rather stay proud; to boast in my weaknesses when I’d rather be self-sufficient; to run to you, rather than just run away.
          You are Everlasting Father, for to see you is to see the Father and to know you is to know the Father. You tenderly care for the needs of the world—even the flowers of every field and the birds in every sky; but you also care about me. You didn’t leave me as an orphan, Jesus. Through your work, I’m not only declared righteous in God’s sight, but also secure in his embrace. I now cry, “Abba, Father!”, with certainty and joy.
          You are the Prince of Peace, for you paid the price of peace on the cross. Indeed, your cross was my Judgment Day. Because of you, God is at peace with me and his peace is ruling in my heart. We’re no longer enemies; there’s no more enmity left between us. You are my peace, Lord Jesus. There will never be an end to the greatness of your government and peace, for even as you are making all things new, they will stay new forever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! So very Amen I pray, with humility and elation.

Paul Tripp nails it!

2011-12-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

As You Are

Though the power of sin has been broken, the presence of sin remains. So it's vital that we remember the deceitfulness of sin. We tend to want to believe that we hold an accurate and reliable view of ourselves. But on this side of glorification that is not always true, precisely because sin lives in a costume. While counselling pastors, I have often been struck with the reality that the man sitting in front of me lacked accurate knowledge of himself. And you can't grieve what you don't see, you can't confess what you haven't grieved, and you can't repent of what you haven't confessed.
Evil doesn't always look evil, and sin often looks so good---this is part of what makes it so bad. In order for sin to do its evil work, it must present itself as something that is anything but evil. Life in a fallen world is like attending the ultimate masquerade party. An impatient moment of yelling wears the costume of zeal for truth. Lust masquerades as a love for beauty. Gossip lives in the costume of concern and prayer. Craving for power and control wears the mask of biblical leadership. Fear of man gets dressed up as being a peacemaker or having a servant heart. Pride in always being right masquerades as a love for biblical wisdom.
You'll never understand sin's sleight of hand until you acknowledge that a significant part of the DNA of sin is deception. As sinners we are all very committed and gifted self-swindlers. No one is more influential in your life than you, because you talk to yourself more than anyone else does. What you say to yourself is profoundly important. Your words either aid God's work of conviction and confession or they assist sin's system of deception. So it's important to humbly admit that we're all too skilled at looking at our own wrong and seeing good. We're all much better at seeing the sin, weakness, and failure of others than we are our own. We're all very good at being intolerant in others the very things that we willingly tolerate in ourselves. The bottom line is that sin causes us not to hear or see ourselves with accuracy. And we not only tend to be blind, but, to compound matters, we also tend to be blind to our blindness.
What does all of this mean? Even as you do the work of the ministry, it is important to remember that accurate self-assessment is the product of grace. Only in the mirror of God's Word and with the sight-giving help of the Holy Spirit are we able to see ourselves accurately. In those painful moments of accurate self-sight, we may not feel as if we are being loved, but that is exactly what is happening. God, who loves us enough to sacrifice his Son for our redemption, works so that we would see ourselves clearly, so that we would not buy into the delusion of our own righteousness. He gives us a humble sense of personal need so we'll seek the resources of grace that can only be found in him.
In this way, your painful moments of sight, conviction, grief, and confession are both the saddest and most joyous of moments. It is sad that we yet need to confess what we must confess. At the same time, accurately seeing and fully acknowledging our sin is a cause for celebration. Only Jesus can open blind eyes. Whenever a sinner accurately assesses his sin, the angels in heaven rejoice, and so should we, even when that sinner is us.

What Christians Really Believe: “I Must Try Harder”

2011-11-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

Ed Welch wrote this very interesting article...

“Hello, I am a moralistic therapeutic deist.” That’s the word from a number of evangelical teens.
I really liked that phrase when I first read it, though it seemed a little clunky. It was introduced by the 2005 book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. After listening to about 3,000 interviews the authors suggested that evangelical teens describe their beliefs this way:

God created
God wants us to be happy
God waits around until we have a problem then jumps in to help
Good people – people who are nice – go to heaven

In other words, they are moralistic therapeutic deists.
And don’t bug these teens with religious questions for too long because they have more important things to do. They are disinterested moralistic therapeutic deists, and who wouldn’t be disinterested in such a religion?
Oh – and this is important – teens are regular people who just speak a little more blatantly than the rest of us. Poll 3,000 evangelical adults and you uncover the same basic beliefs.
To these beliefs I can add one more (Thank you for pointing this one out, Laura Andrews!).

“I must try harder.”

          While so many other functional beliefs immediately sound heterodox, this one sounds biblical. Who among us isn’t trying harder to love our neighbor, love God, eat better, go greener, and exercise more? And aren’t we supposed to work out our salvation and live like athletes who want to win a race?
          Yet, “I must try harder,” as I have heard it used, is always doomed to fail, as it should. It can mean: “I have tried harder and it didn’t help, and maybe I should keep trying harder, but why bother?” It can mean: “I have tried harder, and it didn’t help, but I will keep trying harder because I don’t know what else to do.” Or it can mean: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I messed up. I’ll try harder. Okay? (Now stop bothering me.)”
          “I must try harder” comes from the set of beliefs in which Jesus, at most, is our [distant] coach, giving direction, encouragement, and a good tongue lashing from the side-lines while we try to compete, without much assistance, against someone clearly more skilled than ourselves. Victory is never really possible. We just hope to avoid an embarrassingly lopsided loss.
          Life in Jesus, however, is restless rest, with the accent on rest. Faith, which is the primary human response to God, means that we trust him and not ourselves. More specifically, faith means, “Jesus, help!” And this is very different from a foundational belief, “I must try harder.”
          I want to try harder too, but in the right way. We need to be activists in our rest. We actively ask God to show us the way, to do what he is calling us to do, in the Spirit’s power. But the belief I hear most often is the resigned, self-reliant version of “I must try harder.”
          Now is always a good time to assign ourselves a new task, such as to rest in, abide in, believe in, trust in, know and enjoy the rescuer of our souls

A Prayer about Caring for Sin-Entangled Friends

2011-11-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

          Pastor Scotty Smith has a very unique blog of prayers. He simply posts prayers about certian topics each day. I have so often been blessed and challenged by these prayers and this is one that I felt compelled to share.

          We often times know what the Bible says we should do but we struggle with how to do it. Scotty offers a prayer of transparency and honesty that articulates so well what we might be thinking and what we should be thinking.

          I hope this prayer will strengthen our resolve to obedience and encourage us in Christ. My prayer is that we will see, obedience is better than sacrifice with God. Love is not something that is easy but worth it and for the sake of both unity and purity may we confront each other daily with our sin. Oh God! May You get the glory today.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Gal. 6:1-2

          Heavenly Father, we come to your throne of grace this morning praying for wisdom and gentleness to love our struggling friends well. None of us naturally likes confrontation, and we decry self-righteous busybodies who show up in our lives like self-appointed prosecuting attorneys. But these words of Paul paint a different picture and present a different way of caring for our sin-entangled friends.
          Give us kindness and strength. If a friend loves in all seasons, that certainly must involve the seasons when we get entangled in sin. Sin kills; it destroys; it brings death. We tend to forget this. If we saw a friend drinking poison, we wouldn’t hesitate to knock the cup from their hand. If we saw a friend stepping close to a pit of rattlesnakes, we’d yell and push them out of harm’s way. Help us hate sin enough and love our friends enough to get involved. Better to risk the awkwardness, anger, messiness, and defensiveness than to watch another life or marriage simply go down.
          Give us discernment and persistence. It’s not about a rush to judgment but about a journey to restoration. Help us to listen before launching. The goal must always be restoration, not just rebuke. Entanglements take a while to get disentangled. We may have to carry some of these burdens longer than we realize. Father, we need the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of Jesus. You promise to give us sufficient grace for all things, and we take you at your Word. We need great grace to do this well.
          Give us gentleness and hope. Those who remove specks the best are those who are most aware of the log in their own eye. Keep us humble and keep us aware of our own “temptability.” None of us is beyond the need of grace, and none of us is beyond the reach of grace. Make us wise and careful. Our joy is in remembering that Jesus is the great Restorer, not us. This is the law of Christ we are fulfilling; his yoke we are bearing; his story that’s being written. Super-size our hope in this messy process.
          Lastly, Father, we praise you for churches that are stepping up and are seeking to do the hard and heart work of discipline and restoration. Increase their tribe and bless their endeavors. It’s never easy. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ holy and loving name.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

2011-10-26T14:30:00.000-03:00

Justin Taylor was so good to post this article on his blog. I could not pass up the opportunity to share it what you all as well. I have just ordered this book for myself and I am really excited to read it. Tullian is very honest in sharing the things that happened to him and how God molded him. Having been through some transition and change here, this was a huge encouragement to me and a huge challenge. It just confirmed again why I should buy this book and read it. I love to read books that will always point me back to, "The Bible". I believe this is one of those books.

In this interview with Leadership magazine, Tullian Tchividjian describes some of the ugliness and pain that resulted from attempting to merge his church plant with Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 2009:

There were people in the choir who, when I would stand up to preach, would get up and walk out.
People would sit in the front row and just stare me down as I preached. It was extremely uncomfortable.

People would grab me in the hallway between services and say, “You’re ruining this church, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop you.”

I would come out to my car and it would be keyed. . . .

They put petitions on car windows during the worship service.

They started an anonymous blog, which was very painful . . . fueling rumors and lies. The blog almost ruined my wife’s life.

Anonymous letters were sent out to the entire congregation with accusations and character assassinations.
It was absolutely terrible.

He then recounts a family vacation that summer when he poured out his frustration to God. But then things began to change as he read God’s word:

But then I started thinking, why does this bother me so much? Yes, I have people writing nasty things about me, lying about me, spreading rumors about my team. They’re after power. And they’re not getting it, and these are the tactics they’re using. But why does that bother me so much?
I remember saying to God in that moment, “Just give me my old life back.” And he said, “It’s not your old life you want back. It’s your old idols you want back. And I love you too much to give them to you.”

I opened up my Bible. In the reading plan I was following, it so happened that the day’s passages included the first chapter of Colossians. As I read those verses, my eyes were opened. My true situation came into focus. I’d never realized how dependent I’d become on human approval and acceptance until so much of it was taken away in the roiling controversy at Coral Ridge.

In every church I’d been a part of, I was widely accepted and approved and appreciated. I’d always felt loved in church. Now, for the first time, I found myself in the uncomfortable position of being deeply disliked and distrusted, and by more than a few people. Now I realized just how much I’d been relying on something other than the approval and acceptance and love that were already mine in Jesus. I was realizing in a fresh way the now-power of the gospel—that the gospel doesn’t simply rescue us from the past and rescue us for the future; it also rescues us in the present from being enslaved to things like fear, insecurity, anger, self-reliance, bitterness, entitlement, and insignificance.

Through my pain, I was being convinced all over again that the power of the gospel is just as necessary and relevant after you become a Christian as it is before. When that biblical reality gripped my heart, I was free like I had never felt before in my life. It gives you the backbone to walk into a room full of church leaders and say “this is what we’re going to do and this is why we’re going to do it, even if it gets me thrown into the street.” There is a fresh I-don’t-care-ness that accompanies belief in the gospel. Whether you like me or not doesn’t matter, because my worth and my dignity and my identity are anchored in God’s approval. Christ won all of the approval and acceptance I need.

Five Warning Signs of Declining Church Health

2011-10-24T17:12:00.000-03:00

Found this article by Thom Rainer today, and it really got me to thinking about Church health. I thought I would share this with any who read and would love and invite your comments. Grace Baptist Church is going through some transition. God has called one of our Elders to new ministry in Ontario and we are very excited for him and his family. But as we now look to see what God has in store for us it is a great time to pray and think about our own spiritual health and how God would have us respond.

The truth is, some things in this article convict and challenge me, while others encourage and confirm for me that God is working and we are on the right track. I am more convinced than ever that prayer and quiet time with God is needed to reflect and hear His still small voice.

Yet I am excited and thrilled to know God's love and grace and have a peace that God has amazing things planned for Grace Baptist Church. Praise God from whom all blessings flow and may God get all the glory in His Church both now and forever.

          "December 17, 2004, should have been a day of celebration.
           Nellie Jo and I had been married 27 years on that date. We were in Naples, Florida, enjoying the sunshine and each other.
Then the phone call came.
           We had been given a great deal of confidence that the biopsy would likely prove negative. Proceed with our anniversary celebration, we were told. In the unlikely event that the report was not good, they would let us know.
           The report was not good. Nellie Jo had cancer. The next two years would prove to be some of the most challenging years of our lives and marriage.

When an Unhealthy Body Looks Healthy

Looking back, it is amazing to recall how healthy Nellie Jo looked. She showed no signs of fatigue or sickness. Had she not seen a couple of warning signs, she might have found out too late about her cancer. She might not be alive today.
I’ve seen it countless times. My team would go into a church for a consultation, and we would begin interviewing church members. We would hear from many of the congregants that their church was healthy and thriving. Then we would see the warning signs. And we would begin to fear that the apparently healthy body was not really healthy at all.
The church was sick. Some of the churches were really sick.

Five Warning Signs

What were some of the warning signs my team saw? Though the list is not exhaustive, these five issues were common. Some of the churches had one or two on the list; some had all five.

1. The church has few outwardly focused ministries. Most of the budget dollars in the church are spent on the desires and comforts of church members. The ministry staff spends most of its time taking care of members, with little time to reach out and minister to the community the church is supposed to serve.

2. The dropout rate is increasing. Members are leaving for other churches in the community, or they are leaving the local church completely. A common exit interview theme we heard was a lack of deep biblical teaching and preaching in the church.

3. The church is experiencing conflict over issues of budgets and building. When the focus of church members becomes how the facilities and money can meet their preferences, church health is clearly on the wane.

4. Corporate prayer is minimized. If the church makes prayer a low priority, it makes God a low priority.

5. The pastor has become a chaplain. The church members view the pastor as their personal chaplain, expecting him to be on call for their needs and preferences. When he doesn’t make a visit at the expected time, or when he doesn’t show up for the Bible class fellowship, he receives criticism. In not a few cases, the pastor has lost his job at that church because he was not omnipresent for the church members.

Where Do We Go from Here?

           The bad news is that few churches recover if the patterns above become normative. The church is a church in name only. It is self-gratifying rather than missional. It is more concerned about great comfort than the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
           The good news is that a few churches have moved from sickness to health. The path was not easy. It first required that the congregants be brutally honest with themselves and God. It does no good to speak glowingly of a church that is unhealthy and getting worse.
            Many of the turnaround churches we consulted then moved to a time of corporate confession and repentance. They confessed to God their lack of obedience and their selfish desire for their own comfort.
            And still other churches made an intentional effort to shift the ministries and the money of the church to a greater outward focus. This step can be particularly painful since a number of church members often protest with vigor that their needs are no longer being met.

To Become a Healthy Church

Indeed we could focus on the reality that the great majority of sick churches do not recover. But that focus provides little value.
We should look at the admittedly few churches that have moved from sickness to health. We should learn how they turned from an inward focus to an outward focus. We should follow their examples of moving from selfish desires to radical obedience to God.
In His power the unhealthy church can become healthy.
Heed the warning signs.
It could be the difference between life and death.

A note about myself!

2011-08-24T10:35:00.000-03:00

We are about to have our Bible conference for 2011 start here at Grace Baptist Church. I have just returned from vacation, all of our ministries are about to launch, the summer is still here so many are traveling, we have several construction projects we are trying to finish up and pay for, plus we are trying to get our school ready for the coming year. Finances are tight, attendance is down, giving is down and stress is high!
I know, I know, do I want some cheese to go with my wine. No; I don't. In fact, I am rejoicing in the Lord right now! I truly feel a sense of peace and am confident that God has some amazing and wonderful things to accomplish in the life of myself and His Church here in Charlottetown. But I would be lying if I said I haven't had some pressure moments or some anxious moments. While in the midst of one of those moments I came across this article by Kevin DeYoung and I wanted to pass it on to you all as well. Please take special note of the bolded sections and as always comments are welcomed.

Pastoral Pressure and Apostolic Anxiety

          2 Corinthians 11:28 always seemed like a strange verse to me–until I became a pastor.
Here’s Paul rattling off all the ways he’s been beat up for Jesus—imprisonments, lashes, rods, stoned, shipwrecked, adrift at sea, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure, danger from everyone everywhere (v. 23-27)—and then as the cherry on top Paul mentions one more trial: “apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (v. 28). This is the mighty Apostle Paul, the one counted it a joy to “spend and be spent” for his people (12:15), the one who was sorrowful yet always rejoicing (6:10). This is the Paul who faced every imaginable opposition and yet learned to be content (Phil. 4:11) and anxious about nothing (4:6). And here he is admitting that even with everything else he’s endured he still feels daily pressure and anxiety for all the churches.
          Ever since becoming a pastor I have found unusual comfort in this verse. It’s not that I have accomplished what Paul accomplished, or suffered what he suffered, but every earnest minister will feel this burden for the church. And Paul had several churches to burden him! The churches were full of infighting and backbiting. They put up with false teaching. They were prone to legalism on one end and complete chaos on the other. Some of the church members were making insignificant matters too important, while others were too willing to compromise on Christian essentials. Paul loved these churches and their struggles burdened him more than shipwreck or imprisonment.
          Before I go any further, let me be clear: I don’t think pastors are the only ones with burdens. We are not the only ones with anxiety. In many ways we have the best job in the whole world. I certainly feel exceedingly thankful to do what I do on most days. I have no interest in comparing the difficulty of pastoral ministry with the difficulties of other vocations. All I want to do is encourage pastors to keep fighting the good fight, and encourage congregations to keep encouraging their pastors.
          I’m not surprised Paul felt daily pressure for the churches. His work never seemed to let up. He had letters to write, visits to make, a collection to gather for the saints in Jerusalem. He had to send people here and there and manage the affairs of his churches from a distance. He had to respond to a myriad of criticisms, often conflicting criticisms. Some people thought he was too harsh. Others said he was too weak. Some people in his churches were ascetics and thought Paul was worldly. Others were licentious and thought Paul was too ethically demanding. They complained about his teaching. They questioned his credentials. They compared him negatively to the original apostles. They thought him lame compared to the false apostles. They didn’t like the way he handled money. They didn’t like his preaching style. They didn’t like the way he arranged his travel plans. They didn’t like his discipline. On some days they just didn’t like Paul. All this for the man who led them to Christ, loved them like a Father, planted (many of) their churches, refused their money, and risked his neck for their spiritual good. No wonder there was no weight for Paul like the weight of caring for God’s people.
          Ask any pastor who really takes his work seriously and he will tell you of the pressures he feels in ministry—people in crisis, people leaving, people coming, people falling through the cracks, people disappointed by the pastor, people disappointing to the pastor. In the midst of this work the pastor is trying to find time for study, prayer, preparation, and family. He’s trying to improve himself, train up new leaders, meet the budget, get to know a few missionaries, champion important program, manage staff, take care of administrative details, provide for deep, accessible worship and preaching, be responsive to new ideas, listen to new concerns, be ready to help when people are in trouble.
          And most pastors feel a burden for all the other things they could
          But be encouraged. God uses weak things to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27). His grace is sufficient for you; his power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). For the sake of Christ, then, be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when you are weak, then you are strong (v. 10).
Paul had pressure. You have pressure too. But God can handle the pressure. And he looks good when you can’t.

I love the Church!

2011-08-19T14:53:00.000-03:00

          We are about to host our Bible conference next week with Josh Harris. Josh has written several books in reference to the Church, one of which is called, "Why Church Matters" this book explores and explains why the Church is so important, why we should all belong to a local church and why God did it this way. I have to say openly and honestly I love the church!
          I know we don't make church perfect, but God is building His Church and one day it will be perfect. I believe deeply that here in the West we don't take church seriously enough and we have grown complainant and consumeristic about church. Yet, God commands and blesses His children through the church and I ache for so many who are missing out on those blessings.
          Kevin DeYoung has also written extensively on Church and here is a little something he wrote...

Glory of God: Glory to God and Going to Church

Ephesians 3:14-21
…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus… (v. 21)
          As a pastor I hear the question fairly often: “Why do Christians need to go church?” Sometimes the questioner is a young child wanting to get out of his boredom on Sunday morning. Other times the questioner sincerely wonders why we must be a part of a church if we can have a relationship with God anywhere, anytime. Most often, the questioner is an adult hoping to be “spiritual but not religious.”
          The local church is the hope of the world. Unless we are physically unable, every Christian should be a part of a church. The church is where Christ gets glory (Eph. 3:21) and where we (not just I) shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15). The New Testament assumes that believers belong, not just to the church universal, but to a specific community of Christians.
          That’s why Paul wrote nine of his thirteen letters to churches and why each church in Revelation is represented by an individual lampstand. God’s plan has always been to establish a people, not simply a loose assortment of individuals.
          It’s through the preaching of the word, the giving of gifts, the building up of the body, the loving of the unlovely–all in the context of the local church–that Christ gets glory.

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 4)

2011-07-30T09:24:00.000-03:00

The old saying goes, "better late than never!" well here is part four of Kevin DeYoung's posts on Friendship...enjoy. Steve

Question Three: Are You a Faithful Friend
Yesterday, I gave three characteristics of a foul friend. Today I conclude the four part series with three characteristics of faithful friend.
First, a faithful friend is there in times of trouble. “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of a calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away” (Prov. 27:10). Given how important family is in the Old Testament, it is surprising that Proverbs would say don’t go to your brother’s house. The thought seems to be, “Don’t overlook your friends. They will be there for you every bit as much as your family will.” Contacts are good. Networking can be valuable. Having a plethora of acquaintances and well-wishers is nice. Racking up friends on Facebook is fine. But real friendship is proven in adversity (Prov. 17:17).
Fake friends go away when you’re in trouble. Faithful friends get better when times get harder. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). The next time you are in the midst of suffering and ask God, “What possible reason can there be for this trial?” consider one thing he may be up to is making your friendships sweeter and stronger.
Second, a faithful friend knows how to handle conflict. He doesn’t hold grudges. He doesn’t keep an open file in his brain marked “ways you’ve hurt me.” Keeping a long, detailed record of wrongs is like building friendships with a revolver under your coat. It’s no way to make friends, or keep them. “Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done’” (Prov. 24:28-29). Faithful friends never seek revenge. They are eager to overlook faults and quick to forgive. “The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes” (Prov. 21:10).
Part of handling conflict well is being slow to speak of your friends’ faults to others. “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends” (Prov. 17:9). Good friends speak to someone, not around him. It’s amazing how many people we will talk when we have a personal conflict, but we avoid talking to the person with whom we have the conflict. It’s like driving in a round-about and never getting off (“Big Ben…Parliament”). Proverbs is right: “Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, lest he who hears you brings shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end” (Prov. 25:9-10).
Third, faithful friends make each other better. “A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good” (Prov. 16:29). This is not the way of a good friend. We’ve probably all had those friends that make us feel nobler and purer, and those friends that make you feel a little dirty and out of sorts. Bad company corrupts good character (1 Cor. 15:33). Your strongest relationships should be with those who lead you to Christ, not with those who draw you away. This is especially true when you are young or when you are outnumbered. Your deepest friendships should be gospel friendships.
Faithful friends help each other with their words. “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel” (Prov. 27:9). The writer mentions two precious things in this proverb, oil and perfume, but neither are as precious as a wise friend. Go to your friends with your toughest predicaments and darkest secrets. Talk to them about sex and money and all the things we keep hidden. Get their advice before buying a house or taking a new job or getting married. The best friends combine their IQ’s and get smarter as a result.
We all know the proverb: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). It’s a great word picture. Ask yourself: am I sponge that never hurts anyone, but never helps much either? Am I a sword that cuts to the quick but also destroys? Or am I a stone, the kind of friend upon which others can be sharpened, made better and more mature? Faithful friends make better stones than sponges or swords.
Jesus Is a Friend
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t end this series by point us to the One to whom all Scripture points. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). That means the greatest friend is the one who laid down the most for his friends. No question who this is.
To be sure, Jesus is more than a friend, but not less. He is the Divine Friend better than any other. He is never a fake friend, but always seeks our best. Neither is he a foul friend. He is slow to anger instead of quick to criticize. He is thoughtful and tender instead of annoying. He’s always trustworthy and never lets us down. Best of all, Jesus is a faithful friend. He not only sympathizes and comforts you in trouble, he delivers you from your greatest trouble, which is sin. Not only does he speak the truth and handle conflict, he made peace through his blood when were at enmity with him. And he doesn’t just make us better, he makes us new. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to him in prayer.

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 3)

2011-07-13T10:58:00.000-03:00

          Here is the third installment of Kevin DeYoung's series on friendship. Again it is another pointed article meant to cause us to be honest and reflective in our approach to this all important part of our lives. Read and apply...Steve

Question 2: Are You a Foul Friend?
Let me suggest three traits.

          First, a foul friend is quick to criticize. In my opinion, there are two kinds of people that have the hardest time making friends. One is the person wants to have friends so badly she can’t understand what it means to be a friend. These people are socially unaware. They don’t ask questions. They see the relationship as a one way street. Everything about them screams “I’m an empty vessel ready for you to pour your love and affirmation and curiosity into me.”
          The other type that has a hard time making friends is the super critical person. These people have an opinion on everything and must verbalize that opinion to everyone (probably bloggers!). More than just offering their opinion, they rain down a relentless barrage of negativity. “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent” (Prov. 11:12).
          A few weeks ago I was riding in a car with an older Christian man I’d never met before. I was struck by the bridle he put on his tongue. He would ask me a question and when he saw that we might not completely agree, he’d simply say, “I see you’ve thought about that. I don’t need to say anything more.” He asked good questions and kept his thoughts to himself sharing them would have served no constructive purpose. Bad friends share every thought, however critical, as a means of self-expression.
          They don’t think what their words are doing or whether they are necessary in this situation.
Consequently, the foul friend gets into conflict that could have been avoided. “Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm” (Prov. 3:29-30). It’s all too easy to ruin friendships because we had a bad day. It’s just as easy to get into a senseless argument because of our own jealousy, insensitivity, or hypersensitivity. Foul friends are quick to criticize.
          Second, a foul friend is annoying. We’re not talking personality or temperament. Some people rub us the wrong way. Fine. But other people are just plain rude. Rude, annoying people aren’t aware of, or don’t care about, social customs and cultural norms. This may seem like an innocent quirk, but the Bible calls it sin (1 Cor. 13:5).
          Proverbs gives two concrete examples of annoyingness in action.
1) Being obnoxious. “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing” (Prov. 27:14). Got it? Don’t be the life of the party when you wake up. (Kids, this applies to you too.)

2) Not knowing your place. “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you” (Prov. 25:17). If you’re the sort of friend who comes over unannounced, never says please or thank you, always expects people to wait on you, and has no recognition of your role as a guest, then you’re not the sort of friend people are looking for.

          Third, a foul friend can’t be trusted. This may mean you’re a blatant liar (Prov. 23:10-11; 25:18). But duplicity can be more subtle. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give’–when you have it with you” (Prov. 3:27-28). Foul friends don’t keep their end of the bargain. They don’t return favors. They don’t give back what they borrow. They are slow to help and quick to look for ways to avoid being put upon. You can’t trust them to keep their word.
           Along the same lines, they are careless with their words. “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, ‘I am only joking’” (Prov. 26:18-19). Words hurt after you launch them, no matter what you say your intention was. So be careful. If you don’t care about the effect of your words, people won’t trust you. And if you can’t be trusted you won’t be a very good friend.

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 2)

2011-07-12T08:57:00.000-03:00

Continuing the series by Kevin DeYoung...This post is especially pointed. My Father often told me growing up, "Stephen, you will be blessed of God to have one or two best friends" I never believed him then, but boy; was my Dad right! Now I find myself passing this advice on to the children God has blessed Debbie and I with. The strange thing though, is that I find myself being more aware of another point of view on friendship, namely; am I a real friend? That is the subject Kevin deals with in this post, read, enjoy and be changed... Steve

Question 1: Are You a Fake Friend?
There is one defining characteristic of the phony friend in Proverbs: he uses people. The fake friend makes friends with people who can give him things. He establishes relationships solely for personal gain. In Proverbs this means money.

“Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend” (19:4).
“The poor is disliked by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends” (14:20).
“Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. All a poor man’s brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them” (19:6-7).

It’s hard to tell if Proverbs is making a moral judgment on those who cozy up to the rich. Certainly, part of the point is simply to show the privilege of the rich versus the poor. But I think we are meant to see the recognize the fickleness of these friends. Faithful friends are hard to find (Prov. 20:6). Fake friends come in abundance, and they come for your stuff.
Fake friends use people. Money is the example in Proverbs, but there are other ways to use people. Some people get close to pastors or politicians or athletes because they want access, power, or popularity. Others may be so accustomed to soliciting favors for business or school or church affairs that they can no longer tell when their personal charm is genuine and when it’s an act. None of us are immune to the dangers of friendship fakery. It’s possible to plug a book, or speak at a conference, or rave about a blog, or feign chumminess with a Christian mover-and-shaker and all the while wonder if you are doing this to receive the same treatment.
A few years ago I read a book about Billy Graham and the presidents. What struck me most was how these powerful men welcomed Graham into their lives because he seemed like the only person who didn’t want anything from them. History shows they often wanted something from Graham, but he gave them the gift of friendship without manipulation. He was no fake friend.
If I ever get into the business of writing fortune cookies, this will be one of my first ones: “Beware the friend who passes out back-scratchers. He does not have your best interest at heart.”

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 1)

2011-07-08T17:10:00.001-03:00

I will be posting Kevin DeYoung's four part series, "what is real friendship". I trust you all enjoy it as much as I did. Steve

          We talk a lot about relationships in the church. There are scores of marriage seminars, retreats, and conferences. There are video series and books for newlyweds and engaged couples. Most every church offers marital counseling and most every pastor preaches somewhat regularly on marriage. And the same is true for parenting. There are dozens of books on raising children. There are Sunday school classes, blog sites, and ministries that focus on the parenting relationship. All this is good.
But have you ever noticed we seldom study friendship? It is the most important-least talked about relationship in the church.
          Think about your greatest joys in life. They probably center around your friends–the fun times hanging out, the great conversations, the laughter, the sharing, the pleasure of “clicking” (not cliquing!) with someone else or a group of people.
          And now think of the most painful times in life. No doubt, sickness and tragedy are on the list. And yet, oftentimes these difficulties are made sweeter by the support of friends and family. But when friendship goes bad–when things get awkward or you feel like you are on the outside looking in–no amount of health and prosperity can fill the gap. Almost anything bad can be wonderful with friends, and almost anything good can be terrible without them.
          The worst summer of my life was the summer I spent holed up in a cabin in the mountains of Colorado working on a national government textbook. For three months I worked 10 hours a day studying political science with a classmate and our college professor. We had no electricity (we charged our laptop batteries in town every day) and no indoor plumbing (we used an outhouse). But that wasn’t the main problem. I got used to the rustic lifestyle. The problem was the absence of friends. I was surrounded by amazing natural beauty, engaged in work that I liked fairly well, and allowed time every night and every weekend to read, run, or explore. But I was miserable because I felt all alone.
          It’s surprising we don’t talk more about friendship in the church. Depending on how you define friendship, the Bible may have more to say about the friend relationship than it does about marriage and parenting. Further, I bet church “satisfaction” is largely based on two things. If you find happy churchgoers I wager you’ll find these two items present, and where church members are unhappy, I can almost guarantee these two things are missing: quality teaching and quality relationships. No doubt, there are many other important aspects of church life. But for most folks these are the two that matter most. People want a church that teaches them well (which includes sermons, songs, classes, and Bible studies) and a church where they can make friends.
          I don’t know if making friends is harder than ever. In some ways, with travel and technology, it is easier than it used to be. But there are still a number of factors that mitigate against genuine friendship.

We are extremely mobile, moving from place to place, rarely settling down in one spot for a long time.
We are consumed by family life, pouring almost all our spare time into our children and what’s left over into our spouse.
We are deceived by email and Facebook, imagining we have hundreds of spectacular relationships when actually we have lots of well-wishers and acquaintances and few flesh and blood friends.
We are entranced by one-way relationships, expending emotional energy as we bond with our favorite sitcom actor, sports star, or American Idol contestant.

Friendship is wonderful, and we all want it. But friends can be hard to come by. This is nothing new. A true friend has always been one of God’s most sought after gifts. “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6). Thankfully, the book of Proverbs says a lot about friendship. It won’t help you find friends, at least not directly. But Proverbs will help you be a better friend. And the best friends usually have the best friends.
In particular, Proverbs invites us to ask three questions relative to friendship: Are you fake? Are you foul? Or are you faithful? We’ll look at these three questions over the next three days. Be a friend and read along.

Do Christians Have to Go to Church?

2011-07-08T17:07:00.000-03:00

Here is a great two minute video from Pastor Mike McKinley, author of Am I Really a Christian? on the issues of going to church give it a listen and tell me what you all think
http://vimeo.com/25255715

Thoughts on the Kingdom

2011-06-13T12:08:00.000-03:00

I am presently preaching through the Gospel of Matthew, it has been very rewarding to this point and I am only at chapter 4. There are many things I have asked God to help me with in this time of study. I really want to be open to the Spirit's teaching and not to my pre-suppositions. I have asked for humility and confidence that God's words can be read and understood and applied. One of the elephants in the room for me is the "Kingdom of Heaven, Kingdom of God" expressions used by Matthew.
I was raised in a classic dispensational world, yet exposed to progressive dispensationalism and to covenantal ideology as well. I truthfully have found much of this challenging. I am driven to prayer and study, but I honestly want to further my understanding of what John the Baptist and Jesus meant when they preached... "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand". Kevin DeYoung recently posted a very interesting study on the Kingdom taken from various Scriptures, this is what he writes...

Does the Kingdom Grow?

When you look at the Gospels and examine the verbs associated with the kingdom, you discover something surprising. Much of our language about the kingdom is a bit off. We often speak of “building the kingdom,” “ushering in the kingdom,” “establishing the kingdom,” or “helping the kingdom grow.” But is this really the way the New Testament talks about the kingdom? George Eldon Ladd, the man who put kingdom back on the map for evangelicals, didn’t think so.

The Kingdom can draw near to men (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; etc.); it can come (Matt. 6:10; Luke 17:20; etc.), arrive (Matt. 12:28), appear (Luke 19:11), be active (Matt. 11:12). God can give the Kingdom to men (Matt. 21:43; Luke 12:32), but men do not give the Kingdom to one another.
Further, God can take the Kingdom away from men (Matt. 21:43), but men do not take it away from one another, although they can prevent others from entering it. Men can enter the Kingdom (Matt. 5:20; 7:21; Mark 9:47; 10:23; etc.), but they are never said to erect it or to build it. Men can receive the Kingdom (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17), inherit it (Matt. 25:34), and possess it (Matt. 5:4), but they are never said to establish it. Men can reject the Kingdom, i.e., refuse to receive it (Luke 10:11) or enter it (Matt. 23:13), but they cannot destroy it.
They can look for it (Luke 23:51), pray for its coming (Matt. 6:10), and seek it (Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31), but they cannot bring it. Men may be in the Kingdom (Matt. 5:19; 8:11; Luke 13:29; etc.), but we are not told that the Kingdom grows. Men can do things for the sake of the Kingdom (Matt. 19:12; Luke 18:29), but they are not said to act upon the Kingdom itself. Men can preach the Kingdom (Matt. 10:7; Luke 10:9), but only God can give it to men (Luke 12:32). (The Presence of the Future, 193)

          I’ve quoted this section several times, probably on this blog before. But when I’ve used it in the past I’ve been uncomfortable with the line “we are not told that the kingdom grows.” It seemed to me that the parable of the sleepy farmer (Mark 4:26-29) and the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) clearly teaches that the kingdom grows. But as I’ve studied the passages more carefully I think you can make a good case that Jesus is not teaching about the growth of the kingdom as much as he is demonstrating that the kingdom of small beginnings will, at the close of the age, be the kingdom of cosmic significance. The kingdom may look unimpressive now, with nothing but a twelve-man band of fumbling disciples, but one day all will see its glorious end.

          To borrow a tired cliché, the kingdom is what it is. It does not expand. It does not increase. It does not grow. But the kingdom can break in more and more. Think of it like the sun. When the clouds part on a cloudy day we don’t say, “the sun has grown.” We say, “the sun has broken through.” Our view of the sun has changed or obstacles to the sun have been removed, but we have no changed the sun. The sun does not depend on us. We do not bring the sun or act upon it. The sun can appear. Its warmth can be felt or stifled. But the sun does not grow (science guys, don’t get all technical, you know what I mean). This seems a good analogy for the kingdom.

          God certainly uses means and employs us in his work. But we are not makers or bringers of the kingdom. The kingdom can be received by more and more people but this does entail growth of the kingdom. We herald the kingdom and live according to its rules. But we do not build it or cause it to grow because it already is and already has come. As LaddA Theology of the New Testament, 102).

          I find Kevin's discussion here very helpful but also challenging and I have many other questions. For instance what is the continuity-discontinuity between the Old Earth and Heaven and the New Earth and Heaven? What is the purpose and role of the Church post the rapture? What is the connection between the Millennium and the Eternal State? Why does all the NT Scripture seems to refer to Jesus dying for the Church? What does that make believing Jews and Gentiles from the OT? What do we call Tribulation saints, Millennium saints and even the, "Little Season" saints of Revelation 20?

          These are but a few of many other questions that I have and plan to study, pray and read to answer in my own mind. I know that God is not the author of confusion and yet there seems to be so much surrounding these issues. The only other conclusion I can come to is that God never intended for us to be dogmatic on this, or to fully understand it or explain it, but to live by faith in the steadfast hope of the bodily return of Jesus, the sure resurrection unto life of ALL believers from every age, and the absolute certainty that the end is secure in Christ! Stay tuned for more as I wrestle with these things and feel free to comment.

Hello I am back!

2011-05-20T15:13:00.000-03:00

          First: Allow me apologize for taking so long to post anything new. My Father-in-Law says, "exuses are the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie" and he is right. I have simply not given this any time and I either have to shut it down or by God's strength and mercy be faithful to post at least once a week. So I ask for your forgiveness and for your prayer. To be faithful, to not waste time, to be balanced, but to use this technology in a way that will glorify God and encoruage any and all who read.

          Second: The next few posts are going to deal with some controversial issues. Things that deal with tradition, philosophy and structures in our chruches. I have been reading, studying, praying and searching, asking the Holy Spirit to teach me and show me what is truth. My life has been blessed by God in the parents He gave me, the churches He added me to, along with the pastors and elders I have been positioned under. But, I also believe that in those experiences God has been showing me the differences between tradition and the gospel. My greatst joy these last few years has been the joy of discovering the ongoing need of the gosepl I need in my life every day. These discovery, has lead me to really turn to God's Word and honestly ask what does this passage actually say and teach. It has been the scariest time and yet the greatest time of my life.

          So, with that said, I give you my first controversial issue...The Alter Call! All of my life I have sat through countless services where at the end the preacher then closed in prayer announced the hymn and then issued a plea for people to come forward to the alter and publiclly respond to the sermon. I never questioned this practice, truthfully withe my personality, I quite enjoyed it. I have responded many, many times to an alter call. However, since I have been in ministry and been reading God's Word and studying the format of the NT Church, I noticed a lack of evidence for the modern Alter call. I also started to evaluate my life and the fruit that was produced from these pleas to come forward.
          The following are some thoughts from a Pastor who is sharing some of the same concerns that I share. I believe we have to get back to not only saying the gospel is the power of God unto Salvation, but practicing it as well. Give this a read and tell me what you think...
          Thabiti Anyabwile is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Grand Cayman Islands and a Council member with The Gospel Coalition.

I’m sometimes asked by people why we don’t do “altar calls” at our services. Like the people who ask the question, the churches in my personal background pretty much all practiced “altar calls” at the conclusion of a sermon or service. I’ve seen them done in very poor fashion, and I’ve seen some pastors be really clear about the gospel, repentance, faith, and the fact that “coming forward” does not save. I date my own conversion to the preaching of Exodus 32, which concluded with an altar call.
So, why don’t we practice “altar calls”? I don’t think the pastor who practices an “invitation” at the end of a sermon is in sin, but he may not be acting wisely either.
This list of reasons, compiled by Pastor Ryan Kelly of Desert Springs Church, is a pretty good summation of some of my thinking (HT: Z).

1. The altar call is simply and completely absent from the pages of the N.T.
2. The altar call is historically absent until the 19th century, and its use at that time (via Charles Finney) was directly based upon bad theology and a man-centered, manipulative methodology.
3. The altar call very easily confuses the physical act of “coming forward” with the spiritual act of “coming to Christ.” These two can happen simultaneously, but too often people believe that coming to Christ is going forward (and vice-versa).
4. The altar call can easily deceive people about the reality of their spiritual state and the biblical basis for assurance. The Bible never offers us assurance on the ground that we “went forward.”
5. The altar call partially replaces baptism as the means of public profession of faith.
6. The altar call can mislead us to think that salvation (or any official response to God’s Word) happens primarily on Sundays, only at the end of the service, and only “up front.”
7. The altar call can confuse people regarding “sacred” things and “sacred” places, as the name “altar call” suggests.
8. The altar call is not sensitive to our cautious and relational age where most people come to faith over a period of time and often with the interaction of a good friend.
9. The altar call is often seen as “the most important part of the service”, and this de-emphasizes the truly more important parts of corporate worship which God has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing).
10. God is glorified to powerfully bless the things He has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing), not the things we have invented. We should always be leery of adding to God’s prescriptions for His corporate worship.

          Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 of Ryan’s list are the most compelling reasons in my opinion. These would seem very serious objections for anyone who takes seriously the idea that our Christian lives and gatherings should conform to what the NT commands, models, and prohibits. Perhaps I would add an 11th: The “altar call” teaches the congregation to evaluate the “success” or “effectiveness” of the ministry on outward, visible actions and results.
          Further, the need to be pastorally careful and sensitive with the souls of men needing to repent and believe couldn’t be more urgent. So, anything that obscures the reality of God the Holy Spirit’s work in conversion and the necessity of repentance and faith must be regarded–at best–a practice with potential to undermine the very work we’re giving our lives to.
          Do people “respond” to the word of God at our services? They do. And we give them a number of ways they may follow up on what they’ve heard, from talking to an elder or Christian friend after the service, to scheduling an appointment during the week, to letting us know they would like us to visit with them, and so on. One thing I appreciate about our approach is that it allows us to meet, listen, question, encourage, teach and pray in a much more thorough way. By God’s grace we’re seeing people converted and profess their faith in baptism as the Spirit opens their hearts. We’re not perfect by any means. But I do hope we’re being faithful to the scripture’s commands, examples, and restrictions.
          What do you think about Kelly’s list? Are you “for” or “against” and why? Would you add anything to or challenge anything on the list?

We need to get rid of religion and start preaching and living the gospel!

2011-04-09T19:23:00.001-03:00

          I am both thankful and challenged by the fact that the gospel is something entirely different from the religion we see in far too many of our churches today. I listened with Interest to a short video of Perry Noble, James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll. In it James was pointing out his concern with some of Perry's ministry choices in the church he pastors. While I personally totally agree with James in his concerns, I was more interested and rebuked by what Mark Driscoll said.
          He pointed out that at least Perry is trying, that at least Perry is telling people about hell and that they need to be saved and transformed by Christ.
          Mark went on to say that we rebuke the pastor who trys new things even progressive things that are right on the edge, but we never go after the guy who is the coward, not preaching, nor living out the transforming power of the gospel and the very real judgement that will befall those who reject Christ.
          What we need in our lives and in our pulpits and in our Churches is the living saving power of the gospel not more same old, same old religion. If we have not seen anyone come to Christ in the last number of weeks, months, years????!! Where is our passion, our urgency, our desperation to preach and pray and plead both with God and with people to hear the message, "Jesus Saves" and "Jesus is Judge".
           I read this post from Resurgence today and thought I would tag it on to these thoughts and may we all, do things according to Scripture, but might I say I would rather calm down a fanatic than resurrect a corpse when it comes to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. So Perry, I may not do what you did, but I applaud your passion for souls and will simply add my voice of caution with James. But I humbly tell you I am rebuked that I need to preach with greater fear of God than man and with deeper love and desperation for people than the status-quo.

"Because sin is not merely doing bad things but an even deeper problem of building our identity on someone or something other than God alone, the solution to idolatry is not to change our behavior but to have a complete reorientation of our nature at the deepest level of our being, or what Jesus called being born again."

You must be born again

In the third chapter of John’s Gospel, a man named Nicodemus came to meet with Jesus. Nicodemus was a devoutly religious man. As a Pharisee, he would have committed large sections of the Hebrew Old Testament to memory and been revered as morally upright, intelligent, and among the holiest of men. In John 3:3, Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This confused Nicodemus, so Jesus explained that there are two births. The first birth is our physical birth that occurs when our mother’s water breaks and we are brought into this world. By virtue of our first birth we are physically alive but spiritually dead. The second birth is our spiritual birth whereby God the Holy Spirit causes us to be born again so that we are both physically and spiritually alive. Nicodemus considered himself spiritually alive by virtue of his religion, spirituality, theology, and morality. But he was likely astounded when Jesus told him plainly, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

“ Unlike religion, which is based on fear that forces people to do what they do not want to do, regeneration is based on love and God inviting new people to live new lives of worship.”

We need life, not religion

In this way he was much like those today who know some theological truth, have been baptized, attend religious meetings, live a “moral” life, believe in God, devote time to serve others, and even give some of their income to spiritual causes and organizations as members, leaders, and pastors who need to be born again. Why? Because they are living out of their old nature solely by their will and effort rather than out of a new nature by the power of God the Holy Spirit. John Piper says in his book, Finally Alive: What Happens When We Are Born Again:

What Nicodemus needs, and what you and I need, is not religion but life. The point of referring to new birth is that birth brings a new life into the world. In one sense, of course, Nicodemus is alive. He is breathing, thinking, feeling, acting. He is a human created in God’s image. But evidently, Jesus thinks he’s dead. There is no spiritual life in Nicodemus. Spiritually, he is unborn. He needs life, not more religious activities or more religious zeal. He has plenty of that.

Regeneration is being born again

Being born again is theologically summarized as the doctrine of regeneration, which is the biblical teaching that salvation includes both God’s work for us at the cross of Jesus and in us by the Holy Spirit. To say it another way, regeneration is not a separate work of the Holy Spirit added to the saving work of Jesus; rather, it is the subjective actualization of Jesus’ work.
While the word “regeneration” only appears twice in the Bible (Matthew 19:28, Titus 3:5), it is described in both the Old and New Testaments by a constellation of images. It is important to note that each signifies a permanent, unalterable change in someone at his or her deepest level.

The imagery of regeneration in Scripture

The Old Testament frequently speaks of regeneration in terms of deep work in the heart, our total inner self, so that a new life flows from a new heart empowered by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 24:7; 31:31–33; 32:39–40; Ezekiel 11:19–20; 36:26–27).
Like the Old Testament, the New Testament speaks of being born again on many occasions (John 1:13; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 5:1). Elsewhere in the New Testament, many other images are used to explain regeneration. These include “partakers of the divine nature," (2 Peter 1:4) “new creation,” (2 Corinthians 5:17) “new man,” (Ephesians 2:15; 4:24) “alive together with Christ,” (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13) and “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10).

New Testament truths about regeneration

Regeneration is done to ill-deserving, not just undeserving, sinners (Ephesians 2:1–5). Therefore, regeneration is a gift of grace, as Titus 3:5 says: “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
Regeneration is something God the Holy Spirit does for us (John 3:5–8). Therefore, unless God accomplishes regeneration in a person, it is impossible for them to live as a worshiper of God.
Without regeneration there is no possibility of eternal life in God’s kingdom (John 3:3, 5; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:6–16). Therefore, regeneration is required for someone to be a true worshiper of God.

What happens to a regenerated person?

Accompanying the new birth are ten soul-transforming, life-changing, and eternity-altering occurrences (For further reading, see Question 4 of Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions).

A regenerated person has the Trinitarian Creator God of the Bible as their new Lord, thereby displacing all other false and functional lords who had previously ruled over them (1 John 5:18).
A regenerated person is a new creation so that they are transformed at the deepest levels of their existence to begin living a new life. People being renamed at their conversion, so that Saul becomes Paul and Cephas becomes Peter, illustrates that we are new people in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Gal. 6:15).
A regenerated person has a new identity from which to live their new life because their old identity no longer defines them (Ephesians 4:22–24).
A regenerated person has a new mind that enables them to enjoy Scripture and thus to begin to think God’s truthful thoughts after him (Romans 7:22; 1 Corinthians 2:14–16; 1 Peter 2:2).
A regenerated person has new emotions so that they love God, fellow Christians, strangers, and even their enemies (1 John 4:7).
A regenerated person has new desires for holiness and no longer is their deepest appetite for sin and folly (Psalm 37:4; Romans 7:4-6; Galatians 5:16–17).
A regenerated person enjoys a new community and fellowship with other Christians as members of the church (1 John 1:3).
A regenerated person lives by a new power to follow God by the Holy Spirit’s enabling (Romans 8:4–13).
A regenerated person enjoys a new freedom to no longer tolerate, manage, excuse, or accept their sin but rather put it to death and live free from habitually besetting sin (Rom. 6:6; 7:6).
The culmination of the effects of regeneration is a new life of worship that is markedly different from how life would otherwise be (Galatians 5:19–23).

New birth, new needs

In some ways our new birth is like our birth. Upon birth someone cries, moves, hungers, trusts their father to protect and provide for them, enjoys human comfort, and begins to grow. Similarly, a newly born-again person cries out to God in prayer, moves out in new life, hungers for the Scriptures, trusts God as their Father, enjoys God’s family the church, and begins to grow spiritually, maturing in their imaging of God.
G. K. Beale explains regeneration in terms of how Christians become restored into the image of God in his book, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry:

It is in Christ that people, formerly conformed to the world’s image (Romans 1:18-32), begin to be transformed into God’s image (Romans 8:28-30; 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:4). . . . This process of transformation into the divine image will be completed at the end of history, when Christians will be resurrected and fully reflect God’s image in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45-54; Philippians 3:20-21). They will be resurrected by the Spirit-imparting power of the risen Christ. Since it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 1:4), so the Spirit of Christ will raise Christians from the dead at the end of the age. . . . The Spirit’s work in people will enable them to be restored and revere the Lord and resemble his image, so that God will be glorified in and through them.

Regeneration is an invitation to worship

Therefore, it is only through the regenerating and ongoing empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can worship, until one day in our glorified resurrected state we image God perfectly as unceasing worshipers. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Commenting on this verse in his book John: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Andreas Köstenberger says:

The terms “spirit” and “truth” are joined later in the expression “Spirit of truth,” referring to the Holy Spirit (see 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; cf. 1 John 4:6; 5:6; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13) . . . the present reference therefore seems to point John’s readers ultimately to worship in the Holy Spirit. Thus, true worship is not a matter of geographical location (worship in a church building), physical posture (kneeling or standing), or following a particular liturgy or external rituals (cf. Matthew 6:5–13); it is a matter of the heart and of the Spirit.”

A regenerated heart shares the desires of God

Importantly, because of our new hearts, worshiping God by imaging him well through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is exactly what we want to do in our innermost depths. Speaking of the Spirit-empowered regenerated desires of the heart Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Practically, this means that as we enjoy and delight in who God is, what he has done, and what he will do for us, our regenerated hearts share in the same desires of God. Subsequently, unlike religion, which is based on fear that forces people to do what they do not want to do, regeneration is based on love and God inviting new people to live new lives of worship, which is exactly what their new hearts want to do at the deepest level. The result is ever-growing, never-ending, ever-worshiping, passionate joy!

Adapted from Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears.

Some Lessons Learned from Calvin’s Biography

2011-04-04T18:28:00.000-03:00

Kevin DeYoung has this great post today that I just had to share with those of you who check out my blog. John Calvin is one of my earthly heros. God saved and used him for His glory and I have and continue to learn so much. Read and enjoy...

The title is all the introduction you need. Here we go. (All quotations are from Bruce Gordon’s Calvin.)

1. If you want to make an impact beyond your little lifespan, teach people the Bible. “What made Calvin Calvin, and not another sixteenth-century writer was his brilliance as a thinker and writer, and, above all, his ability to interpret the Bible” (viii).
2. The big public personalities are often privately awkward. “In the public arena Calvin walked and spoke with stunning confidence. In private he was, by his own admission, shy and awkward” (x).
3. We read too much causality into our childhoods. “With his contemporaries, and much in contrast to our age, Calvin did not consider his childhood as psychologically formative: it was a brief and brutal preparation for adulthood associated primarily with ignorance, volatility and waywardness” (2).
4. The best friendships are forged in fire. “All his life Calvin would define friendship in terms of a commitment to a common cause; it was within that framework that he was able to express fraternity and intimacy” (29).
5. True strength is knowing your weakness. “However, one of his greatest strengths in his later career was an acute awareness that despite remarkable confidence in his calling and intellect he remained dangerously prone to moments of poor judgment on account of anger” (91).
6. If you want to impact your city, be prepared to work hard and consistently. “And here was a formula that would serve Calvin well throughout his time in the city: extremely hard work on his part combined with the disorganization and failings of his opponents” (133).
7. Beware the temptation to want to be proved right in everything. “From the pulpit, before the Consistory and Council, and from the printing press, issued forth a single-minded determination to have the last word and to be proved right. This was not simply for the sake of ego: he was absolutely certain that he was right” (145).
8. Some contextualization is appropriate. “Like Luther with his first translation of the Bible into German, he understood that the Reformation stood or fell on the ability of the reformers to speak to the people in their own language” (148).
9. Not every kind of accommodation is sinful people pleasing. Calvin wrote to the obstinate and fiery William Farel: “We only earnestly desire that insofar as your duty permits you will accommodate yourself more to the people. There are, as you know, two kinds of popularity: the one, when we seek favour from motives of ambition and the desire of pleasing; the other, when, by fairness and moderation, we gain their esteem so as to make them teachable by us” (151).
10. The Church needs good deacons. “The deacons of the Genevan church did just about anything and everything. They purchased clothing and firewood, provided medical care, and not infrequently were present at births. They arranged guardians for the children of the sick. Essentially, they attempted to meet any need. Their task was thankless” (201).
11. Endurance is a neglected virtue. “If one were to admire Calvin for nothing else, his ability to sustain the relentless onslaught of the 1550s is astonishing” (233).
12. Preaching has always been difficult. “Far from the solemn quiet of modern churches, preaching in the sixteenth century was somewhat akin to speaking in a tavern. Preachers had to compete with barking dogs, crying babies, general chatter and constant movements, even fist-fights. They required presence to command respect and their most important tool was their voice” (291).
13. Some traditions must change. “He argued for the freedom of the marriage contract and mutual consent of man and woman, a fundamental point he continually defended in his sermons. Consensual engagements were essential; children were not to be forced into unions by their parents” (295).
14. Every hero (except for Jesus) is a divided hero. “This was Calvin’s divided self: the confidence in his calling as a prophet and apostle set against his ever present sense of unworthiness and dissatisfaction. . . .It was his acute sensitivity to the gap between what was and what should be that distressed him” (334-35).
15. Biography is particularly strategic and can be used to build up the church or lead it astray. “Calvin’s friends had good reason for proceeding to publish [a biography] with haste. There were others who wanted to tell a very different story. Calvin’s nemesis Jerome Bolsec lived to have the last word, and penned two accounts ten years after the reformer’s death. Like many Catholics, he feared that the Protestant reformers were being accorded the status of saints, and he sought to destroy the reputation of Calvin and Geneva. In this, as Irena Backus has shown, he was extraordinarily successful” (338).
16. Work hard, but don’t neglect the body. “Calvin’s punishing routine and recurring illnesses aged him and put him in an early grave” (339).
17. Pray that your fruitfulness outlives you in expression of gratitude you will not see. “For a man who lived his life in exile, the most fitting memorial came from a land he never saw. In 1583 Geneva was under military threat from the Duke of Savoy, and Beza sent a delegation to England to seek financial assistance. Despite Elizabeth’s frostiness towards Calvin, the collection raised was extraordinarily generous, reflecting the gratitude of a nation for a city and a man that had once offered refuge and Christian teaching” (340).

5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church

2011-03-26T20:59:00.002-03:00

Excellent article from Resurgence! Every Christian Parent needs to read this and be honest if you see yourself in any way. We are all in need of a little wake up call every now and then, and with 8 out of 10 of our kids walking away from God after High School, then these challenges are in order. I know that my children's souls belong to God and He alone can save them. My goal must be faithfulness not success. But living the gospel in front of my children should be the norm, not the exception. If I am truly a born-again believer who has been transformed by the grace of God then my children should easily see it, and who better to know if my fruit is real than my children.

Thomas Weaver » Family Children Church Wisdom

1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public

Go to church... at least most of the time. Make sure you agree with what you hear the preacher say, and affirm on the way home what was said especially when it has to do with your kids obeying, but let it stop there. Don’t read your bible at home. The pastor will say everything you need to hear on Sundays. Don’t engage your children in questions they have concerning Jesus and God. Live like you want to live during the week so that your kids can see that duplicity is ok.

2. Pray only in front of people

The only times you need to pray are when your family is over, Holiday meals, when someone is sick, and when you want something. Besides that, don’t bother. Your kids will see you pray when other people are watching, no need to do it with them in private.

3. Focus on your morals

Make sure you insist your kids be honest with you. Let them know it is the right thing for them to do, but then feel free to lie in your own life and disregard the need to tell them and others the truth. Get very angry with your children when they say words that are “naughty” and “bad”, but post, read, watch, and say whatever you want on TV, Facebook, and Twitter. Make sure you focus on being a good person. Be ambiguous about what this means.

4. Give financially as long as it doesn’t impede your needs

Make a big deal out of giving at church. Stress the need to your children the value of tithing, while not giving sacrificially yourself. Allow them to see you spend a ton of money on what you want, while negating your command from scripture to give sacrificially.

5. Make church community a priority. As long as there is nothing else you want to do

Hey, you are a church going family, right? I mean, that’s what you tell your friends and family anyways. Make sure you attend on Sundays. As long as you didn’t stay up too late Saturday night. Or your family isn’t having a big bar-b-que. Or the big game isn’t on. Or this week you just don’t feel like it. Or... I mean, you are church going family so what’s the big deal?

Accountability is Not the Silver Bullet... But it is a Bullet

2011-03-22T17:18:00.000-03:00

I have been challenged lately in my own personal life to understand accountability. I have two teenage boys and I have witnesses first hand how hard it is to stay pure and upright in this present age. It is my desire to help my boys be accountable not to lord over them or shelter them but to protect them. Then in recent months I have seen several acquaintances fall to moral failure! It has been devastating and yet scary. It has forced me to ask myself questions about my personal accountability. What have I done to guard against sin? Who do I look to for help and accountability? I found this very helpful article today from Scott Thomas. I hope any who read it will be as helped and encouraged as I am and that together we will help hold each other up in purity and integrity for the cause of Christ and His Holy name.

by Scott Thomas, Acts 29 President

Pastors Leaping into Sexual Immorality

I am concerned about the number of pastors falling (or more likely, leaping) into sexual immorality. It is not a new problem. The Internet seems to have exposed some of these formerly quiet indiscretions hidden in the walls of the church out into the public. I spoke with two wives recently whose pastor husbands left them for a younger woman who was employed in the church. These wives were both devastated over the tragedy and they were full of anxiety about how they were going to provide direction and provision for the young children at home. In both cases, the pastors had carried on their immorality for an extended period of time. This raised the question about their personal accountability.

Accountability Will Fix Everything... or Not.

A way to protect the pastor is through accountability but it is not a foolproof way to protect them and the church. One of the men who committed adultery was in a regular accountability with other pastors in the church. These younger associate pastors asked their senior pastor the right questions and he lied to them for seven months.
I am not convinced that accountability is properly administered within the church. I think men join an accountability group as a façade to hide their spiritually anemic lives. I even think some men are in an accountability group to get their wives off their backs. Somebody had to say it. I think some “Men’s Accountability Groups” miss the point altogether. The focus, it seems, is on the accountability and not on responding to the Gospel. There has to be a greater motivation for an accountability group other than checking off our list of questions asked by men who hope you don’t ask them the same questions. Asking a list of the same questions can do nothing but produce self-righteousness. We need to ask, "How jacked up were you this week?" rather than basically ask questions like "How good were you?"

Accountability is the Bridge, not the Destination.

I view accountability like a bridge over a body of water. The goal is to get across the water. The means of crossing the water is the bridge. And the pillars that uphold the bridge are important for its structural integrity. But when you set out to cross a bridge, you don’t say, “We drove to the bridge to focus on the pillars and to talk about them and to take pictures of these massive pillars of concrete and steel.” Rather, you say, “We drove to the bridge so that we can cross this body of water and get to the other side.” You focus primarily on the destination, a little on the method to get there (the bridge), and hardly ever on the pillars. The purpose for accountability is to provide the spiritual integrity to uphold the means to allow the Gospel to transform every aspect of your life. The other side of the water is Christ–likeness. When you focus exclusively on the accountability, it is like the Bridge to Nowhere with awesome pillars.
I have a formalized and detailed accountability structure for my personal life, my spiritual life and my missional life. Four men serve me well and ask me hard questions. They have access to my wife to ask questions and they have access to my two sons.

Five Basics for Accountability:

Focus on the gospel and your responding to the grace of God.
Find men who have regular contact with you and can observe your life closely.
Find men who are not employed by you or under your direct authority. Sometimes silence on their part means not getting fired. It is okay to supplement your accountability with men under your supervision, but they cannot be the only ones who are holding you accountable.
You have to train participants to ask hard questions and to be relentless about their receiving an accurate answer, even if they question your honesty. Someone asked me how I would know if an accountability team was actually working for their benefit. I told him to lie to them and see if they press anyway. If you can lie to your accountability team, it is of no value or protection to you. Now, I know where all liars go. It is the same place that all whoremongers go (Rev 21:8). I am not encouraging lying; I am encouraging raw honesty.
Utilize questions that are not the same every week and find questions that examine sins in your head and your heart and not just in your hands. I believe sin starts in our head where we entertain ungodly thoughts and if unchecked, sin moves into our heart were we long to fulfill that lustful thought. Jesus spoke about this as he condemned not only the act of adultery but the thoughts of adultery (Matt. 5:28). James said, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15-16).

Accountability is not the silver bullet––but it is a bullet; it is a tool to be implemented with precision. It can be helpful when the focus is on Gospel transformation and not merely on behavioral modification. Pastors, Men, “ponder the path of your feet [and allow others to carefully observe your thoughts and your heart’s passion’s]; then all your ways will be sure” (Proverbs 4:26).

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-03-18T12:04:00.001-03:00

I am challenged in my life to be dicerning when it comes to the Bible and to the doctrines it teaches. I am also challenged to be humble and teachable and not to think for one second that I am always right. Only God's Word is always right. God is perfect I am not. I am from Newfoundland, an east coast island off Canada. I was raised in a conservative Baptist Church on traditional hymnal music and quartet southern gosple music. I have been blessed by this and would not trade it for anything. I am also learning that God is not only infinite in His person but in His creativity as well. I am learning that our world and cultures present and display the gospel in many ways. That the message of the Bible transcends culture but God allows for diversity in the presentation as a means to reach more and more. This video is an example of that very creativity. It is also an example of God molding me...this genre of presentation is something I could never do, but I was moved, challenged, blessed and uplifted by the sheer honesty and grace by which the truth and power of the gospel is presented. Listen and enjoy.
G.O.S.P.E.L.

What does being on Mission mean anyway?

2011-03-10T09:55:00.000-04:00

Terms, words and phrases, we all use them, especially in church circles. But its what we mean when we say these things that can make a world of difference. Lately the term, "Mission" is being tossed around quite a bit. "Is your church on mission?" is a question I have been asked frequently lately.
Yet, what does it mean to be on mission as a church? Some would quote Matthew 28:18-20, others would point to the end of Acts 2, still others would go to Ephesians 4, not to mention all of Titus and I Timothy. Now all of these passages are God's Word and they all do point out and teach things the Church is suppose to do. BUT! How are we to know if we are on mission, or not? Timmy Brister has an excellent aritlce on his blog... "Provocations & Pantings" called, "Being on Mission in Community" This I has helped me personally and I hope it will do the same for you all.

Be-ing on Mission in Community

There’s a lot of talk these days about missional communities. Currently, I am working through Porterbrook’s Missional Community Life curriculum in three different venues, so I am discussing it quite a bit. About a year ago, I started my kingly moleksine when I accidentally bought a sketchbook moleskine instead of a regular hardback journal. I am not an artist, so there’s really nothing for me to sketch, but I do like to lay out my thinking in various ways, including systems, charts, diagrams, etc.
Several months ago, I began thinking about what would be the process of an unbeliever being engaged in a gospel community on mission. The result of that thinking was this process I “skecthed” out on my kingly moleskine:

Be-ing on Mission in Community

1. Be-friending – gospel-driven believers neighboring well in their community and building intentional relationships with unbelievers with a “sent” focus
2. Be-longing - these believers cultivate these relationships by dwelling (incarnationally) with their new unbelieving friends and invite them to be a part their small (group) community where they are engaged within a network of authentic relationships with other Christians
3. Be-holding – as unbelievers embrace the hospitality Christians have shown them, they witness firsthand and behold what the Christian life looks like (embracing the gospel). They see and experience up close both in word and deed lives transformed by the gospel.
4. Be-lieving – unbelievers come to understand what responding to the gospel means, namely repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ because they have seen it lived out among Christians. Through this, they also come to believe themselves in the good news of Jesus Christ.
5. Be-longing – new believers are incorporated into covenant membership in the body of Christ through the ordinance of baptism and learn life in the family of God
6. Be-coming - new believers begin to grow through continual rediscovery of the gospel in all its implications and application, being conformed to Christ in a community aggressively pursuing holiness and authentically practicing humility.
7. Be-getting – growing Christians reproduce themselves by making disciples in a community of disciple-making disciples
So the process of being on mission in a community takes an unbeliever from first engaged with gospel intentionality and ends with gospel reproduction (the process then repeats). The process can be broken down in pairs as well:
Mission and Community –> Befriending and Belonging
Mission and Gospel –> Beholding and Believing
Mission and Discipleship –> Belonging and Becoming
Mission and Leadership –> Begetting
That’s a brief summary of some of the inner working in my reflection of be-ing on mission in a gospel community. I’d love to get your thoughts on this. My hope is to create meaningful pathways for both believers to move out for the mission and for unbelievers to move for the message.

Looks like a great book

2011-03-09T10:38:00.000-04:00

I am currently preaching through the gospel of Matthew and will be coming up on chapter 4 in the next few weeks. This is the narrative of Jesus temptations and how He examples victory for us. I was very excited to read this article on Russel Moores new book, "Tempted and Tried". I will be buying this book to read and have in my library.

Feel the Horror of the Stories Around You

Several years ago Jessica, a new Christian, found her father hanging from a rope in her room, dead by his own hand. She was haunted by this horror, of course, and even more so because it was obvious he had planned to be found in a place where she’d be the one to find him. In the suicide note, he criticized and taunted Jessica, calling her a disappointment and a failure.

For years, she didn’t want to fall in love, didn’t want to marry, because she knew her destiny. Her father wasn’t alone in killing himself. His father had done the same, as had his father before him. There was something dark in the gene pool back there, she thought, and she saw the same depressive tendencies in herself that her father had at that age. She could see her future before her, and in it she was hanging from a rope. She just didn’t want there to be any children there to suffer for another generation as she had through hers.

Now you might not have something as horrific as all of that behind you and in front of you. But there’s something there. And many of us often feel as helpless as Jessica when surveying our past patterns and our future prospects. Jessica is wrong in the way she’s seeing this—and so are you. You are not your history, and you are not your destiny. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Your past is his past, and your future is his future. You do not have to be what you are.
In one sense, Jessica is actually gifted with a perception many of us can’t see (or ignore). She has looked at the possible outcome of her life, if she follows a particular path. If she embraces this as a Christian, this could actually prove to be a way to empower her resistance to temptation.
The apostle Paul warned the church at Corinth about the consequences of sin by pointing them to a picture of an alternative reality, to what would happen if they fell to Satan’s strategies. The Israelite ancestors, Paul wrote, were “destroyed by serpents” and “destroyed by the Destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:9-10). Twenty-three thousand of them fell “in a single day” (1 Cor. 10:8). They were “overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Cor. 10:5). This, Paul wrote, is an “example” for us (1 Cor. 10:11). Again, these were clearly believers in the church at Corinth. But the apostle nonetheless thought they ought to know about the disaster that could await them, a theme consistent throughout the Bible. God uses warnings to keep us from falling.
As you face whatever temptation you’re up against, consider the warning of temporal disaster. The simple truth is that, when you’re in the throes of giving in to a temptation, you just don’t know what you really want. The bread that was previously stone might have tasted good, but Jesus knew it wasn’t worth being excluded from the table of God. God has designed the universe in such a way that we flourish when we walk with the grain of the cosmos and not against it. Taking a dog by the ears might seem to be an exciting thing to do, in the moment, but observation of human nature and of dog nature and of the way the world works ought to keep you from doing it (Prov. 26:17).

In the Proverbs, a father showed his son the inevitable results of adultery. These aren’t just the eschatological results (that we can know by faith), but also those that can be observed, over the period of a life, by sight. The bitter end of this momentary ecstasy is disgrace and ruin (Prov. 5:8-14). In his providential discipline of us, God tends to put such pictures before us, that we might watch and take warning. A while back, I heard of a pastor I’d long respected who was caught in a secret pattern of sin. What seared into my conscience wasn’t his sin (which wasn’t all that unusual) or even the loss of his ministry, his reputation, and his home. What I remember most is hearing him talk about what it is like to drive several hours away to his daughter’s college dormitory room to tell her what her Dad had done. I don’t even have a daughter, and my children are far from college-aged, but I could envision that scenario, with horror. The human carnage of that struck me, and haunts me even now. Often in moments like this, what you hear is the Spirit saying, “This easily could be you. Hear and be warned.”

This is one of the reason we need an intimacy between generations in our families and in our churches. These days most people spend a large portion of their lives staring at screens and “consuming media.” Previous generations would have ended their evenings gathered around listening to one another tell stories or sing ballads or recite sagas. There is something lost there. When all I have is my peer group and the “entertainment” marketed to my peer group, I lose the kind of perspective that sees the ultimate comeuppance of pride or the heartbreak of sexual licentiousness or the sadness of dying with nothing more than a bunch of stuff piled around you.
Moreover, we’re all going to face the unique temptations that come with each stage of life. We teach our children ahead of time that puberty will mean “a lot of strange things will be happening.” Why don’t we do the same thing in having older men preparing thirty-somethings for the testosterone drop that often prompts a so-called “midlife crisis”? Why can’t older women teach younger women how to handle the hormonal upheaval that can come with menopause, and how to go through it with Christlikeness? Why couldn’t the elderly in our congregations warn the younger generations about the pull toward bitterness or despondency or rage that can come with failing health or life in nursing homes?
As you resist temptation, keep a close watch on the stories around you, not with a prurient interest and certainly not with a sense of moral superiority, but with a sense of warned empathy. You could be in every one of those situations. Feel the horror that comes with each of them.
*************************
Taken from Tempted and Tried by Russell Moore copyright ©2011. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.org.

Russell Moore is the dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic ddministration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He also serves as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church. For additional resources by Moore visit Moore to the Point.

Love and Marriage

2011-03-07T21:21:00.000-04:00

          Often there are discussions in our churches about how culture is creeping in. Divorce is almost as high within the church as it is without. Our teens are walking away from God at a pace of 8 out of 10. Pornography viewing is at an all time high inside the church among our young men and climbing at an alarming rate among young women.
          What is most incredible is that rather than being honest about our sin, Christians seem more content to play the blame game.Families blame the church and the church blames the family. Some will blame public schools and others Christian schools. Others will say we've abandoned old traditions like Sunday School and youth group, while others fire back that we've over churched the kids?
           Whoa! Lets all stand back and think for a second. I am going to sound very old fashioned here but...maybe we are now seeing the consequences of several generations raised on TV?
We have flat screen, 3D televisions with over a hundred channels and almost no supervision when it comes to family viewing. One blog a couple of weeks ago reported that the average person is watching over 30 hours of TV per week and that is no different in the church?
            More kids have TV's in their bedroom along with computers and iphones all with high-speed Internet and they are watching and listening to the worlds definition of truth which includes love! The tragedy is that we now have multiple generations in both parents and children that have been raised on TV. My fear is that we need a radical moving of the Holy Spirit to realign us with Biblical truth. From what I've observed on facebook, and listening to our teenagers, not to mention our parents, reality TV, ( if there is such a thing) is all the rage. But what are they actually teaching us about things like love and relationships?
            "Think Christian" has a great article on one such show called, "The Bachelor" a show that I have heard many talk about, especially among our young ladies. Groups of professing Christians gathering to watch a show that actually celebrates a man having multiple relationships with other women???? Please give this a careful read and may we all be honest about where we've allowed our mind to go. Romans 12: 2 says... "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
            We need to admit our failure, repent of our sin and confess it to our great Saviour! Yes! It's time to start being honest we've allowed the world to educate us, to influence us and all in the name of harmless entertainment.

How “The Bachelor” shapes
our cultural view of love

Posted March 6th, 2011 @ 10:13 pm by Jerod Clark

“I came here looking for love.”

         That’s the sentence I’ve come accustomed to hearing each week after the latest woman is eliminated from “The Bachelor.” Like many men across the country, I’ve found myself involved in the drama of this reality dating show thanks to the fact that my wife watches it. While it began as simply background noise for me, I’ve now become interested in the details and stressed out by the conflict and drama.
         While I can put aside some of the petty stupidity that comes along with reality television, I can’t shake how messed up the idea of love is with contestants on the show. I have to question how someone who claims they’re looking for true love can say, “Yes, the best way to find it is to go on a national game show where the prize is a marriage proposal.”
         I think this is all an amplification of what the definition of love has become in society. Love has morphed into the need for attention with the side benefits of what love really is: a committed relationship. And in this quest for attention, many of these women are willing to throw out their standards for the pursuit love.
         For example, in the journey for true love many of these women are willing to share a man – who they say they’re falling in love with – among lots of other women. Weekly, The Bachelor, Brad Womack, goes on dates with multiple ladies, which usually end in the pair making out. Along with that comes a profession from him to each woman of how special he thinks she is and how he could be falling for her. Notice he doesn’t say love. The women are okay with totally baring their souls to say they are in love only to get that lukewarm response. The show is what it is, but you can see the pain in these women who say they’re falling in love with this man but are realizing he’s having a relationship with several others.
         Throughout the show, which will have its season finale on March 14, I keep hoping for a voice of reason. Someone who would remind these contestants what’s really going on. A couple of weeks ago, Womack traveled to meet the families of the four finalists. I thought surely some parent would question what’s really happening. Yet parent after parent gave their blessings for a proposal if their daughter is the one chosen. None asked their daughter, “Are you really in love and ready to marry a guy who’s currently having relationships with three other women and can’t decide which one to propose to?” None of them questioned Womack in the same way – at least it wasn’t shown.
        I can hear people responding to this by saying, don’t watch the show. But I think in many ways there’s a need to be an active viewer to understand where culture is in terms of interpreting love. And if you understand that view of love, you can better serve the friends around you who are in a situation of trying to find a mate. I’m not fully convinced the local church is doing a good job of providing a real interpretation of love, so people are turning to things like “The Bachelor” instead.
        For the millions of people watching, “The Bachelor” is shaping our cultural view of love. It’s saying you have to compete for love. Plus you have to not be yourself and do things you normally wouldn’t to prove you’re worthy of love. Where’s the sacrifice? Where is the pursuit of true love over fictionalized romance? And what happens once the show’s over?
        You never really get to see what it’s like for the women who get kicked off the show. Being on “The Bachelor” is a crazy lifestyle. Dates include traveling the world to exotic locations, going on endless shopping sprees, performing on stage with Cirque du Soleil and having a whole carnival set up just for you. Once that’s gone, what are you left with when you’re back at home forced into finding a normal relationship?
         I hope there’s the realization of the difference between being given attention and being genuinely romanced. I’m guessing the above scenario is the case for some of the women who leave “The Bachelor.” But history shows others get the fame and attention they’re trying to find. They pop up in other places in the media realm. And some, who have a dramatic enough story, actually come back as “The Bachelorette” to try to find love again. They love the attention they get. But it’s not a fairy-tale ending for those who have “won”
         “The Bachelor” over the years either. After the cameras are off and the elaborate dates are done, very few of the couples actually end up married. Once the real courtship begins, the thrill that comes from getting all the attention is gone. Then the search for love starts again. My hope is it doesn’t get blurred with the need for attention the next time around.
Jerod Clark is the project leader for Church Juice, which helps train and consult with churches on how to use media better as an outreach tool. Read more at the Church Juice blog.

Video Games are Not Sinful, They're Just Stupid

2011-03-04T16:55:00.000-04:00

Another great article, that I thought many of you might like me with teenage boys benefit from...
Video Games are Not Sinful, They're Just Stupid

Strength in weakness

2011-03-04T12:23:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone,
Here is a great quote I found on Ray Ortlunds blog. I am praying that God will give me the strength in weakness I need and to glory only in the Cross each and every day.
Strength in weakness

No Change without Confession!

2011-03-02T14:57:00.000-04:00

I have recently purchased a book called, "What did you Expect?? by Paul Tripp. This book takes a gopsel focused approach to marriage and is an excellent tool for marriages of all ages. I was excited to see this post on Vitamin Z today for it fits perfectly with what Debbie and I hope to do this fall. We are planning right now to do a Grace Group on Marriage using this book as a spring board to learn from God's Word. Here is a sample quote from the book...

The couple is stuck in a cycle of repeating the same things over and over again. They repeat the same misunderstandings. They rehearse and re-rehearse the same arguments. They repeat the same wrongs. Again and again things are not resolved. Night after night they go to bed with nothing reconciled; they awake with memories of another bad moment, and they march toward the next time when the cycle will be repeated. It all becomes predictable and discouraging. They hate the cycle. They wish things were what they once were. Their minds swing between nostalgia and disappointment. They want things to be different, but they don’t seem to know how to break free, and they don’t seem willing to do the one thing that makes change possible—confess.

They tell themselves they will do better. They promise they will spend more time together. They promise they will pray together for a moment before they start their day. They decide to spend more time together outside the house. They promise they will talk more. But it is not long before all the promises fade away. It is not long before they are in the same place again. All their commitments to change have been subverted by the one thing they seem unwilling to do: take the focus off the other and put it on themselves. Here is the point: no change takes place in a marriage that does not begin with confession.

Confession is the doorway to growth and change in your relationship. It is essential. It is fundamental. Without it you are relegated to a cycle of repeated and deepening patterns of misunderstanding, wrong, and conflict. With it, the future is bright and hopeful, no matter how big the issues that you are now facing.- Paul Tripp, What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, p. 72, 73

Rob Bell, Josh Harris and the Role of an Elder

2011-03-01T13:00:00.000-04:00

I have been burdened to live by example what God expects an Elder to be in a local church. Paul told the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20... "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears."

Many in Christian circles have heard of and read Rob Bell, he is a pastor, communicator, writer and has produced many DVDs called, "Nooma". I have read most of Rob's book's and even own several of the Nooma series. I have been cautious to say the least, but now it seems that Rob is declaring a belief system that deminishes God's Holiness and Justice. He is about to release a new book called, Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. The basic premise is that Hell will be empty because God is going to let everyone into Heaven?

Josh Harris who we have booked to come in August has addressed Rob's book. I thought it would be great to share his thoughts with you. Josh has been gifted by God to write and communicate well. I am very excited to have him coming to our church, as I know God will use him to bless us.

I share this with you, not to pick a fight with Rob Bell, nor to come across as better. My desire is to fulfill the mandiate Paul laid before the Ephesian Elders. We need to stand firm on the essentials of the gospel, and universalism is an afront to the justice of an Almight God.

I hope you will read this with a discerning mind and humble heart. I pray that God will show Rob the balance between God's Love and God's Justice. I hope that as you read Josh's words you will be encouraged and excited to hear him in August.

Many people have challenged me for tweeting my dismay over Rob Bell's new book when it hasn't been released yet. I think the content of his video alone is concerning enough to be challenged. But I will read the book and if it contradicts the publisher's description and the content of the video I will rejoice and I will apologize to Rob for jumping to conclusions. (At which point I hope Rob will forgive me and also thank me for helping to make his book a best-seller.) Honestly, I would loved to be proved wrong and look stupid on this one. But based on the trajectory I've observed of Rob's teaching, and the content of his video and the statement of his publisher, I have a sinking feeling.

We also need to remember that all discussion about hell (for those of us who believe scripture teaches its existence) should be done with heavy hearts. Hell is what our sin deserves (Eph. 2:3). Hell is what God in his love has rescued us from. And we are not rescued from hell by our merit or the rightness of our doctrine. We are rescued from God's wrath by the self-giving love and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (Rom. 5:8-9). We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8). So there should be no glee or triumph in our tone in seeking to proving this biblical doctrine. Our hearts should break for the lost and for our own coldness of heart towards their spiritual condition. This conversation should lead us to redouble our prayers and our evangelistic, risk-taking efforts to proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, to the ends of the earth.

Read the rest of the article here

Counseling Is Not About Pat Answers But a Person

2011-03-01T11:50:00.001-04:00

This is a great interview with David Powlison on the foundations of Biblical Counseling.
Counseling Is Not About Pat Answers But a Person

$25,000 Worship Resource Giveaway from Proclaim

2011-02-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

New church presentation software is coming out soon called Proclaim and
it’s located here http://proclaimonline.com/. Unlike all other church
presentation software systems, this one will allow pastors, worship
leaders, and worship team members to all access and add to the same
presentation before it’s presented, and then use the same application to
run the presentation during the service.

To add to the excitement of the release of Proclaim, they are giving away
$25,000 in worship resources in The Great Worship Resource Giveaway.
They are going to have 100’s of winners of some of the best worship
resources on the market. The giveaway is located on the Proclaim home
page http://proclaimonline.com/ where you will see how to enter. You can
also see all the prize partners there, listing out some great resources from
companies like Planning Center Online, Graceway Media, Worship Leader
Magazine, Centerline Media, Musicademy, Clover Sites, Christian Musician
Summit, Luna Guitars, National Worship Leader Conference, and prizes
from many more.

I’m excited about this new product Proclaim. You can see a video of the
software on their site which gives a quick detail of how it will help worship
leaders and ministry teams. Visit http://proclaimonline.com/ to see the
video, and enter ‘The $25,000 Great Worship Resource Giveaway’.

A Husband who gets the Gospel!

2011-02-28T14:32:00.000-04:00

Justin Taylor does us all a great service in sharing this piece about Roberston McAuikin. The Vision of God for Husbands is shared by Paul in Ephesians 5:22-33. Men we are called upon by God to put our wives before ourselves, just as Christ put the Church before Himself. Give this little video a listen and may we all be so passionate, so loving, and so gospel focused as to treat our wives in a Christ honouring way. Notice at the end of the tape, Robertson describes his sacrifice as not a duty but a privilege!

In 1990 Robertson McQuilkin resigned his post as president of Columbia Bible College and Graduate School, in order to care for his beloved wife Muriel, who stopped recognizing him in 1993 and went to be with the Lord in 2003 at the age of 81. Someone had a tape recorder at his resignation speech, and you can watch a portion of it below. May God make us men like this:

Living the Gospel in Real Life

2011-02-25T13:43:00.001-04:00

Today I start sharing my heart with those who choose to read. My deepest desire is to draw us towards the bigness and greatness of God. To focus ourselves on Him for Him.

Here is a great post from Justin Taylor's blog, "Between Two Worlds" It is an open letter from the Stellrecht family. Their son Trent was killed in a youth group skiing accident a week ago today. Not only do I ask us to pray for this family my prayer is that we will learn from this family.

God has been working in my life as the lead Pastor of Grace Baptist Church that I along with our whole Church body need to be gospel focused. Not just in our theology but in the way we live out our theology. Here in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak these parents live out the gospel in real time and real life. Oh God strengthen this family and may You receive glory and praise while bestowing grace and mercy.

How Do You Respond When Your 12-Year-Old Dies? “Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives”

A moving testimony here from Rob and Terri Stellrecht, whose 12-year-old boy Trent was killed in a youth group skiing accident last Friday. May God continue to give them much grace, and may he bring much gospel fruit from Trent’s short life and death.

On Friday February 18, 2011, God did the unthinkable in our life: He chose to take our 12-year-old son, Trent Lee Stellrecht, home in a skiing accident.
It is only considered “the unthinkable” because our plans are not God’s plans, and our ways are not God’s ways.

Before Trent was born we have entrusted the Lord with his life and have asked Him, above all else, to bring salvation to our son, to use him in a mighty way for God’s glory, and to let him dwell in heaven for eternity.

God only answered our prayers last Friday in a mightier way than we could have imagined, and we have been rejoicing in His good works and His mercies ever since.
Trent was a boy who truly lived. From the very beginning he did what he loved and enjoyed the gifts and skills that God gave him to the full. In his short life he saw much of this world, traveling as far as India, the Bahamas, and Missouri to his favorite destination of Bass Pro Shop for his golden birthday, as well as many camping trips. God instilled a love of hunting and fishing into Trent and a joy of the great outdoors. Since he was little all he wanted was to turn 12 to be able to go hunting. During his 12th year God allowed him to shoot two deer. Trent loved to cook, to pick on his siblings Alexis, Cole, Grace, and Micah, to protect his mother, to snuggle with his father, to be with his friends, especially his best friends Thomas and Samuel. Everything he was interested in he tried, even carving his own long bow and succeeding in taxidermy. In his short years he truly lived.
But as we are all destined to, Trent also died. On Friday, February 18, 2011, we said goodbye to our son as he left for a skiing trip with his friends. Gods says he knows the number of our days, that He has created each one, and that He will do what He pleases. For most of his life Trent struggled with his own sinfulness before God. He knew that he was not right before God, and nothing he could do would ever make up for the sins he committed to make him worthy to enter heaven. In the summer of 2010 God graciously chose to bring salvation to Trent through repentance and the saving grace of Christ Jesus. Trent’s life was transformed and we enjoyed the young fruit in his life as we watched God work.
It was with great peace and much rejoicing that we as his family have sent him off before us and accepted God’s perfect plan for Trent’s life. Our longing is that God would be glorified in what He has done to wake up many to the realization that we are not guaranteed any number of years in this world.
On Friday morning we had our son, on Friday afternoon he was gone.
God’s standards to enter his kingdom are high: He expects perfection. Trent was not perfect, not even close. God graciously provided His perfect son, Jesus Christ, as an atonement for our sinfulness and requires that we simply believe and acknowledge Him for it. God does the rest.
What we have asked nearly every person we have seen since Friday is “What if it had been you? Where would you be right now?” We diligently raised Trent up to know his sinful state and taught him what the Word of God says because we know the implications of denying Christ now, and God was gracious to answer our prayers and to save Him. Scripture says that the gospel will go forth with much sorrow and heartache. Please let Trent’s short life be a wake-up call to you. We are rejoicing in the sorrow because we know where our son is and that we will one day be with him again for eternity because of our own salvation.
God’s mercies are new every day, and His peace does surpass all understanding. God has been so gracious to us in these few days by blessing us first of all with His peace. The family and friends that have surrounded us and have lifted us up in prayer are amazing and another testimony to God’s goodness.
It is with great rejoicing that we release our son, Trent Lee Stellrecht, age 12, to our Heavenly Father. Dance before your King my son.

Allow me to introduce myself

2011-02-23T11:33:00.001-04:00

Hello World,
My name is Pastor Stephen Bray and I have been gloriously saved by Jesus Christ in His Sovereign will and grace. I have the privilege of serving the body of Christ at Grace Baptist Church. God has wonderfully given me a wife and three beautiful children. It is my desire to pursue the glories of God and enjoy Him forever and I believe this is best accomplished by focusing on Jesus Christ!

Focused For Him

Prominent Prayers of the Bible!

Old Testament

New Testament

What and How to pick a church? Trevin Wax writes

What Does it Mean to Please God?

Speaking Winsomely About Complementarianism

Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches. Part II

Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches.

Why are teens leaving our Church?

Jesus+Nothing=Everything! Even our resolutions...

A Great Prayer from Scotty Smith to start the Christmas season

Paul Tripp nails it!

As You Are

What Christians Really Believe: “I Must Try Harder”

A Prayer about Caring for Sin-Entangled Friends

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Five Warning Signs of Declining Church Health

A note about myself!

Pastoral Pressure and Apostolic Anxiety

I love the Church!

Glory of God: Glory to God and Going to Church

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 4)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 3)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 2)

The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 1)

Do Christians Have to Go to Church?

Thoughts on the Kingdom

Does the Kingdom Grow?

Hello I am back!

We need to get rid of religion and start preaching and living the gospel!

You must be born again

We need life, not religion

Regeneration is being born again

The imagery of regeneration in Scripture

New Testament truths about regeneration

What happens to a regenerated person?

New birth, new needs

Regeneration is an invitation to worship

A regenerated heart shares the desires of God

Some Lessons Learned from Calvin’s Biography

5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church

1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public

2. Pray only in front of people

3. Focus on your morals

4. Give financially as long as it doesn’t impede your needs

5. Make church community a priority. As long as there is nothing else you want to do

Accountability is Not the Silver Bullet... But it is a Bullet

Pastors Leaping into Sexual Immorality

Accountability Will Fix Everything... or Not.

Accountability is the Bridge, not the Destination.

Five Basics for Accountability:

G.O.S.P.E.L.

What does being on Mission mean anyway?

Be-ing on Mission in Community

Be-ing on Mission in Community

Looks like a great book

Feel the Horror of the Stories Around You

Love and Marriage

How “The Bachelor” shapesour cultural view of love

Video Games are Not Sinful, They're Just Stupid

Strength in weakness

No Change without Confession!

Rob Bell, Josh Harris and the Role of an Elder

Counseling Is Not About Pat Answers But a Person

$25,000 Worship Resource Giveaway from Proclaim

A Husband who gets the Gospel!

Living the Gospel in Real Life

How Do You Respond When Your 12-Year-Old Dies? “Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives”

Allow me to introduce myself

How “The Bachelor” shapes
our cultural view of love