Farmers Need The Rain

Record rainfall has flooded many roads and fields. And, inevitably, someone calls out in ignorance “but the farmers need the rain”. 

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It is true, the farmers need the rain. The farmers need the rain to prepare the ground for the planting of the seed. The farmers need the rain to nurture the plants and help them grow throughout the season. The farmers need the rain to prepare for the planting and for the harvest. But, there comes a time when the farmers do not need more rain. 

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It occurs to me that - just as rain is God’s preparation for the ground and nutrients for the plants preparing them for harvest - Bible studies within The Church prepare The Church for the planting of seeds - evangelism - and for nurture Christians as we grow and mature in our faith. 

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But, just as there comes a time when the farmers do not need more rain, there comes a time when The Church does not need more Bible study. There comes a time when believers must open the doors, walk out into the world and begin to sow the seed of God. There comes as time when The Church must plant the truth of Jesus into the lives of those that are lost, hurt, and in need. There comes a time when Christians must help make the fields ready for harvest. 

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This is the call on The Church today.

A Life of Freedom

The escaped prisoner is still on the loose (see previous post for more information) and he is reported to still be in the Robinson area.

My wife and I went driving around town this afternoon. As we did I could not help but notice the absence of people - especially children; very few people walking down the sidewalk, no one playing at the park, very few people out in their yards.

It occurs to me - as I sit in my living room, all of our doors and windows closed, not allowing our children to go outside - that many are acting as prisoners in their homes today. Many are sitting behind closed - some locked - doors in fear and apprehension of what could be.

The same is true for many as they live their lives in fear; so many are lacking the knowledge, so many are lacking the hope, so many are lacking the freedom that can be found in Christ.

And those of us that have the knowledge, understand the hope, and have experienced the freedom that is found on Jesus need to be sharing His truth with those  who are so desperately in need.

No one needs to live a life of fear!

No one needs to live a life of hopelessness!

No one needs to live a life of imprisonment!

 

Jesus has set us free!

Let us get out and share His truth with the world.

Keeping versus Reaching

These insights to the local church were written by Pastor Tony Morgan a few weeks back. After reading through them a few times and giving some consideration I thought I would pass them on.

These insights will be helpful to my Pastor friends and colleagues and also to laity within the church, especially those individuals that are reluctant to change and more progressive models of ministry within the church.

When churches value keeping who they have over reaching people outside the church and outside the faith, their thinking, language and actions tend to look like this:

They program for people who already attend the church.

They create environments that assume only Christ-followers will be present.

They use insider language that’s confusing to people new to the church.

They assume any growth that happens will be initiated by a heart-change outside the church rather than one inside the church.

They never stop ministries because that might offend someone inside the church.

They are slow to do something new because it might offend someone inside the church.

They think it’s a choice between “going deeper” and “reaching the lost” when it’s actually both.

They choose personal preferences over potential ministry impact.

They make decisions based on who they’ll keep rather than who they’ll reach.

Handing Out Cold Water

The county fair was this past week and we were under a heat advisory the entire week - at one point hitting 106 degrees. Because our church wanted to reach out and help we loaded up in cars, vans, and trucks with coolers filled with ice and cases of water and we passed out more than 1,000 bottles to fair goers!

We tried various methods of distributing the water until we found out what would work best. First we reserved a booth space and sat down at a table hoping to reach those that walked by and also provide a "water station" where people could come to throughout the week and grab a bottle of ice cold water. This worked well, but we weren't reaching enough. So, we changed our method a bit and located ourselves in the bed of a truck just outside the barn where the livestock shows and auction happened and we passed out bottles of ice cold water to those that went in and came out. This method was working better, but we still wanted to reach more. So, keeping both of these previous methods intact, we took to the ground, walking with coolers, pulling wagons, and asking anyone and everyone that was walking, sitting, standing, riding, sleeping, showing, judging, buying, or selling. We handed out water to children, teens, adults, and the elderly.

As we walked the fairgrounds this afternoon the though occurred to me that our process of water distribution and our method of handing out water can be applied to churches too. If we were just to sit in our church building praying for people to come by and worship God with us we might wait a long time and we may never reach the very people that are in need of Him the most. Yet, when we hit the streets, sharing the love of Christ through our words, actions, and lives and sharing the Gospel message of Jesus as He has called us to, we see the influence of our service and we reach the people God desires for us to reach - connecting them to God and teaching them about His love for them.

It Was A Week before Christmas...

It was the week before Christmas
And all through the church
People sung about Jesus
While others just searched
 
It was the week before Christmas
And I sat in my pew
Focusing on Christ’s birth
It was the least I could do

It was the week before Christmas

Still a lot on my mind
Things to be wrapped up
And others to find

It was the week before Christmas

And I sat in my pew
Christ called me to action
Said; “go, I’m calling you”

It was the week before Christmas
And God pulled on my heart
Said, this is my message
Now go, do your part

It was the week before Christmas

And I sat in my pew
God’s message was clear
Now what will I do

A Letter To You

To any and all who would lend me your ear and your heart, I beg you to consider the following story and plea from my heart.

A few months back a member of our church family passed away. As her pastor I had the great honor of speaking at her funeral service and sharing encouragement with her family members and friends. Although her death was sudden and unexpected, and although it brought much sorrow to her loved ones, it was truly a celebration of her life and her reception in heaven with Jesus.

This past week, one of her sons was laid in the same position, in the same room, with much of the same people looking in the same direction, in the same manner, with much of the same tears flowing down their cheeks. Although I had met this gentlemen only one time, I was asked to speak at his funeral service.

There was something much different about this gentleman's funeral service than there was of his mother's just months earlier. This gentleman never professed a faith in Jesus Christ, his family members and his friends did not know where he stood with his maker, no one was able to offer a testimony on his behalf, and no one stood secure on where his soul would spend eternity.

As the funeral service continued, as it concluded, and as the casket was placed over it's final resting place, the uncertainty grew, as did the sorrow, the heartbreak, and the grief. This day we were able to honor his life, we were able to remember the memories made with this man, we were able to reflect on the impact that he has made in the lives of others, yet we were not able to celebrate , and we were not able to rest assured.

Now, I believe that God offers comfort, encouragement, and support in our time of need, I believe that God will strengthen this family in the same way. But, as a sister stood at her brother's casket for more than ten minutes repeating; "I will see you again, you are in heaven now".

"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"
"I will see you again, you are in heaven now!"

For ten minutes she continued, over and over she cried, over and over she wailed, over and over she shouted; "I will see you again, you are in heaven now!" This poor woman tried her best to convince herself, tried her best to convince those around her, tried her best to convince God, that her brother was going to make it into heaven. How troubling it must be to see the cold body of a loved one and know that it might be too late.

As I stood beside the casket that day, I could only hope that the second half of that statement was true, hope that he had made a commitment before his life was taken from him, hope that he called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ before his last breath passed from his body. I could only hope, because it was too late for prayers.

And, as I stood beside the casket that day, I could not help but see the faces and think of the names of the individuals close to me that have not yet made a commitment to Jesus. Prayers were offered for you that day - prayers that you will come to know Jesus Christ, prayers that you will come to accept Jesus Christ, prayers that you will come to experience Jesus Christ - because without Him you are lost.

Salvation gained a whole new meaning that day!

So, as I conclude this letter to you, I must ask: "have you accepted Jesus". I don't care how inconvenient it is for you to make it to church, I don't care how boring you find a preacher's sermon, I don't care how many excuses you have for staying away from church people. Simply this, I care about you and I want to make sure that I can celebrate with you some day. Maybe I won't be around to celebrate your life at your funeral service, but I will be around to celebrate your life for all of eternity.

I love you and I want the best for you.

Questions from Jesus

A couple weeks ago we were in the middle of our sermon series "Evangelism Jesus' Way" with the focus on questions that Jesus asked in His evangelism efforts. what we found was that there were three questions posed by Jesus that really strike the heart, and these three simple questions sum up all His evangelism efforts.

Not only are these questions beneficial to us as we strive to fulfill the calling that Jesus left us with, that is to make disciples in His name, these questions must be asked to keep each of us on the straight path to becoming Christ's disciples.

For the first question we look to John chapter 1:

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

What do you want?

Jesus asks us, first and foremost; “What do you want?”

When we approach Him, He asks;

What are are your goals?

What are your aspirations?

What are your desires?

And if we respond that we desire Him, Jesus says “come, and you will see”.

Then, after we have seen, after we have witnessed His power and His glory,

He strikes us with another question.  

And for this question we look to Matthew chapter 22:

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Christ?

What do you think?

After we have seen Jesus,

after we have encountered His Spirit,

after we have experienced His love, peace, and joy,

Jesus asks; “What do you think?”

What do you think about Christ?

What do you think about Christ’s Truth?

What do you think about Christ’s will and my ways?

And, if you answer in the same way that Simon Peter did in Matthew 16,
“you are the Christ, the Son of the living God”,

Jesus will follow up in the same way He followed up with Peter, with a question.

For this final question we look to John chapter 21:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” "Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

Do you love me?

This is the heart of Jesus’ questions,

this is the goal of His evangelism efforts;

a deep love for Him.

So, Jesus asks us, “do you love me?”

Do you love me more than these?

Do you love Jesus more than your family?

Do you love Jesus more than your hobbies?

Do you love Jesus more than your addictions?

Does your love for Jesus exceed everything else?

Jesus’ evangelism came down to three simple questions:

What do you want?
What do you think?
Do you love me?

And for us, it comes down to three simple questions:

Do you desire Jesus?

Do you believe Jesus?

Do you love Jesus?

Ask yourself, and others, these questions today!

What are you going to do?

These past few weeks this question has been running through my mind. As we approach Resurrection Sunday, or as some call it, Easter, we have been hitting the subject of evangelism head on at our church. I think that all too often we make it far too difficult.
Jesus has left us with the mission of sharing His message with the lost and the hurting. We are obligated by our Master to tell those who do not know and those that need to know about the hope and grace that He, and He alone brings.

Jesus has left us with the promise that He has gone to prepare a place for us to come and be with Him for all of eternity. As believers, this is where we find our hope, our drive, and our passion, to keep on keeping on.

Jesus has blessed us with gifts which we are to use to share the message of love and restoration with everyone that we come in contact with. Further, He has made these blessings known to us through the power of His Spirit and revelation.

Jesus has blessed us with relationships; people that we love and people and have a deep desire to help and offer assistance to.

Jesus has left us with the promise of His ever present guidance, assistance, and support, also known as

So, given all of these things; the obligation by Christ, the opportunity through Christ, and the omnipresence of Christ.....

...what are you going to do?

Let me give you some reasons to get up, get out, and get moving...

Do it for your sake; But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

Do it for your loved one's sake; For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (2 Corinthians 15:4)

Do it for Jesus' sake; eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body. (Philippians 1:20)

State Farm Commercial

I'm sure you're all familiar with these State Farm commercials with that super-smug guy walking around telling us to contact an agent, BUT NOT YET, first talk to someone that already has a State Farm policy.



State Farm obviously knows that "word of mouth" is the best method of advertising and they are confident that their policy holders are pleased with their service and will give a good recommendation if asked. As I watch these commercials the thought comes to me; how am I suppose to find a "State Farm driver"? Does State Farm actually want us to try and search out one of these 40 million drivers that "trust" them or are they just trying to point out we have 40 million policy holders and no one else does. Basically, "we must be good if so many people use us".

As a Pastor, this commercial also got me thinking about evangelism, that is, spreading the message of Christ. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gave us the call to GO and SPREAD the message. If followers of Christ were to put together a commercial it could look much like that of State Farm's; leading off with all the misconceptions and sounding something like this:

"The big bang theory, a big kill-joy in the sky, followers like a bunch of crazy fanatics. Come on! Isn't it time someone gave it to you straight? That's why you should talk to Jesus Christ. But not yet, first, talk to any one of the 2.1 billion who already trust Jesus Christ. 2.1 billion, yeah, that's more than John Smith or Buddha have combined. By a lot. 2.1 billion followers, hope for tomorrow, and eternal security. Where else can you find that? Talk to Jesus in prayer right now or open a Bible to read about Him."  

Notice, Christians could put a commercial together much like this, not that we should. The biggest problem I see with State Farm's commercial, as I said before, is trying to find one of these 40 million drivers to ask, it is not like these drivers walk around with sandwich boards on talking about their insurance coverage and/or agent. Likewise, not too many Christians walk around with sandwich boards (or even t-shirts) on talking about Jesus Christ and/or sharing their testimony.

State Farm customers have been trusted to spread the word about their coverage and about their agents. State Farm customers have been trusted to do this by their agents and by their super-smug spokesman.
Christians have been trusted to spread the word about Jesus Christ and the hope, joy, love, and salvation that He brings to life. Christians have been trusted to do this by Jesus Christ Himself (Matthew 28:19).

So let us do it! By the way, I am both a follower of Christ and a State Farm policy holder, I can tell you about my experience with both.