Below is part 1 of a booklet I put together for an upcoming sermon series, and a booklet we will hand out to all in attendance on Easter Sunday. I posted the rough draft as a .pdf file a couple of weeks ago. I want to now provide each section as an individual blog post. I hope it is both encouraging and challenging to you as we enter into this Spring season of 2013. FOLLOW We all follow something… Who (or what) do you follow? ____________________ “Follow Me” ~ Jesus, Luke 5:27 Everybody in life follows something or someone. So who, or what, do you follow? Who is the person that … [Read more...] about Follow (pt. 1): Give Up Your Life for Jesus
For your reading pleasure…
I'm doing something a little different with this post. Most of what I have to say is going to be contained in an attached .pdf file. (file here: follow) The church I pastor is smallish (60-90, any given Sunday) in a small town (1700 peeps), so needless to say we don't have the resources (read $$$$) to purchase a lot of outreach materials. So, what happens is I end up writing some homemade tracts, pamphlets, booklets, etc. Then we print 'em and hand 'em out. Good thing I actually like writing, when I have time... :) This April, I've put together a sermon series for my church, simply … [Read more...] about For your reading pleasure…
I Bless the Rains Down in Africa
Perhaps I should apologize for the Toto lyrics in the title. If you’re anything like me, all you have to do is read those words and then the song is playing in your mind for the next several hours. Perhaps some words from Habakkuk will help: For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ~ Habakkuk 2:14 Those words have become one of my favorite verses of the Bible—it is the end game, it is what we as Christians are (should be) pining for… When Jesus returns, his kingdom will be established forever. We shall see a glorified … [Read more...] about I Bless the Rains Down in Africa
Maybe Our Worship Needs to be More “Organic”
Francis Chan in a video session of Crazy Love brings up an idea that I’ve been kicking around in my head for a while—what would happen if we took the Gospel to a group of people, devoid of our cultural traditions about church, and they had nothing to build a church by except the Bible in their hands? Would their church look much like our churches in America do today? Probably not. A couple of weeks back, Dave Miller wrote about the idea of our culture dictating our worship “styles” and asked whether or not we were harming the God-intended cross-cultural unity of the church by demanding … [Read more...] about Maybe Our Worship Needs to be More “Organic”
Merry Christmas To All!
Galatians 4:1-7 (ESV) 1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principlesof the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas To All!
A Holiday Reminder
‘Tis the season… for depression and struggles, at least that’s what it seems like. I have found here in recent weeks an upswing in counseling and people struggling with sin. This seems odd given what we take this time of year to celebrate—the joy of the coming of our great Savior-King. Through the birth, life, perfect sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus we have hope. By the grace of God through faith in Christ we have perfect salvation. We who are born into this world in a state of sin, guilty and cursed, with no righteousness of our own, are given as a free gift the righteousness of … [Read more...] about A Holiday Reminder
Halloween—Should We or Shouldn’t We?
Okay…it’s that time of year again. Pumpkins and skeletons are lining people’s houses. Charlie Brown is receiving rocks while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin. And debates rage—should the kid’s go trick-‘r-treating or do we take them down to the Fall Festival or Harvest Party or just stay at home? I’ll admit—I’ve had my times of being a bit of a brat when it comes to this subject. My last year at seminary, my roommate and I bought Halloween decorations and hung them on the door of our on-campus apartment. I wanted to include the smiling witch’s head but my roommate thought that was … [Read more...] about Halloween—Should We or Shouldn’t We?
Godliness and P90X
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ~ Paul, 1 Timothy 4:7-8 I’m always looking for ways to help stay in shape and fight the dreaded curse of pounds gained after a Baptist potluck. For the last ten weeks, I’ve been doing P90X, having borrowed it from my nephew who borrowed it from my brother. Granted I have not been diligent in sticking with the recommended diet, I can still honestly say, … [Read more...] about Godliness and P90X
You Might Be a Tongues-Speaker, If…
Back in August, Mike Leake (one of our contributors here) wrote a three-part series on his own blog about the pros and cons of spiritual gift testing (I link here to the third part, as it has its own links to the first two). One thing he mentioned that hit me with one of those “well, duh, why didn’t you ever think of it that way” moments, was the fact that when Paul wrote his letters to the churches of Corinth and Rome (the two letters where we find the most significant spiritual gifts listings), he wrote to two different churches in two different situations. That sounds straightforward … [Read more...] about You Might Be a Tongues-Speaker, If…
Trust and the Trustees of MBTS
The presidential search team at the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary plan on presenting Dr. Jason Allen as their nominee to be the next president of the institution. The process has raised the ire of some bloggers, one in particular who has now at least twice posted a list of trustee addresses (which are publically available) while encouraging others to write and express their displeasure. One of the main issues is the desire of the search team and trustees to keep details of meetings and other aspects of the search process in confidence. Part of the rally cry has been, “If you … [Read more...] about Trust and the Trustees of MBTS