The Answer

Have you ever been wrecked by the very words that come out of your mouth?

Today - as I was preparing for the message tomorrow morning - I spoke words that cut me to the heart and wrecked me at the moment I spoke them. In the midst of preaching (to myself I proclaimed, "How can we claim that Jesus is the answer for our world when we don't depend on him as the answer for our churches - our homes - our relationships?"

As I proceeded to fall to the ground and to pray through this very phrase, I was more and more convicted by the Holy Spirit.

As believers we make the claim that Hesus is the answer for our world - that He and He alone is the source of hope, healing, and joy that the world needs so desperately. And yet, we often find ourselves in the midst of difficult situations - worried, fearful, or searching for answers within our own control - and we leave Jesus out. 

Relationships are broken, souls are lost, illness plagues us daily, and we struggle with our emotions and yet we fail to go to Jesus and trust in His power and provisions. 

Let us renew our faith in and faithfulness to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

Let us depend on Jesu as the answer and as our answer. 

Rejoice - Pray - Peace

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

This is a Scripture passage that I often struggle with. While I find it easy to be joyful in many of the circumstances of my life, I find it very difficult to be without anxiety. Often times I feel like this is just the way that I am, this is the way that God has made me. If you are struggling with anxiety this morning, if you have moments of your life that you are fearful of what is going to happen next or how you are going to find your way through a certain situation, this morning’s message is for you!

There are two commandments that we will look at this morning as we walk through this passage together, two requirements of a Christian that Paul writes of. The first commandment given to all Christians can be found in verse 4.

REJOICE ALWAYS!

Rejoice in the Lord always. This means that regardless of the day, whether it is dark or bright, whether it is difficult or easy, whether it brings problems and temptations or a clear path to success. We are commanded to rejoice. He repeats it, in case we missed it the first time: “again I say, Rejoice.” 

Joy is something that we cannot produce ourselves; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, sometimes we forget this! Many of us are familiar with the fruit of the Spirit, we rattle it off and go on with our lives, Galatians 5:22-33; “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This same chapter in Galatians gives a list of the characteristics that oppose the fruits of the Spirit and goes on to warn that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. I would urge you to read Galatians chapter 5 this next week and gauge where you stand with the fruits of the Spirit. Gauge where you stand in your joyfulness.

You see, you can’t be a Christian with power if you lack joy, that’s what gets up the steam. Joy in the Lord is the source of power.  A successful salesman is a happy one. None of us have ever gone into a store to buy something and had some sad salesman begin to cry on our shoulder when we asked about something in the store! Of course not. He begins to smile and tell us how wonderful hisproduct is. On the same hand, how can we be good witnesses of what Christ is if we are not joyful, if the world cannot see the joy within our lives of the power that is Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior? 

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Paul believed that the Lord would soon return and he wanted to remind others of this truth. We should be willing and eager to do the same with joyful hearts.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

In his inaugural address Franklin Roosevelt said: “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”. Perhaps this is where you are today. We have no lack of things to be fearful of and to be anxious about. But, you see, Paul took a different approach, which is where we find our second commandment of the passage. 

WORRY ABOUT NOTHING, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!

Paul says that we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything. This means that we are to talk to the Lord about everything in our lives. Nothing should be left out.  If joy in the Lord is the source of power, prayer is the secret of the power.

The word “petition” caught my eye as I read this verse, by prayer and petition, other versions use the word “supplication” but I like the word petition. If we have a request, a need, God says bring it to me, I want to know what you desire, I want to know what needs you have so that I can meet them. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “approach the throne of grace, the throne of God, with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” When we think of a petition we think of a list of names brought before a person or a committee to show support or displeasure over something. When I think of praying by petition I think of bringing my request before God day after day, I think of sharing my requests with others and asking them to pray for me and with me over this request until I am clear on the Lord’s answer. ”. And God answers every request that we bring before Him, sometimes the answer is not yet, sometimes it’s just no. Often times the best answers that we receive for our requests is no. A prayer by petition lets the Lord know that this need is important enough to you to talk to Him about, that you believe that He is your source of hope, that you believe He is able to meet this need and you are trusting in Him to do so.

As believers we need to get in the habit of bringing everything to Him in prayer, nothing excluded. And Paul says that when we go to God with a request, thank Him. Thank Him right then and there. Paul never lets prayer become a leap in the dark. It rests on a foundation. 

Romans 10:17 says that faith comes through hearing and hearing comes from the Word of God. Prayer rests on faith and faith rests on the word of God. Romans 5 says “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ , through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” 

REJOICE ALWAYS!

WORRY ABOUT NOTHING, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!

Given these two commandments, what is the outcome? What will follow? Paul tells us in verse 7. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:7)

The Scripture speaks of other kinds of peace which we can understand. There is world peace. We have the assurance that someday peace will cover the earth as waters cover the sea. And it will come through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Jesus said in John 14:27; “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

As we close this morning allow me to summarize by saying, prayer does change things. But that is not the primary purpose of prayer. We entered this passage in anxiety, with worry, and we come out of the passage with peace. Between the two was prayer. Have things changed? Not really. The storm may still be raging, the waves still rolling high, the thunder still resounding. In our anxiety we want God to change everything around us. “Give us this.” “Don’t let this happen.” “Open up this door.” We should be praying, “Oh God, change me.” Prayer is the secret of power. We enter with worry, we can come out with peace. Joy is the source of power, prayer is the secret of power.

2015 Preaching Calendar

Well, another year of preaching is in the books! I am humbled and honored whenever I consider the reality that I speak on behalf of God on a regular basis. It is beyond comprehension to me that God has counted me worthy of His name and that people listen (sometimes intently) to the words I speak.

In 2015 our church family decided to use a whole-church curriculum, implementing it in our children, youth, and adult classes, small groups, and sermons. This was particularly strange to me as it (broadly) dictated what passages I preached from each week. Because I could never preach another person's sermon, nor would I desire to, I developed a preaching calendar based on the 31 chapters (plus one for Easter) of The Story. I am a series preacher and found that planning our specific series helped me in the preparation of the sermons because I had a focused theme to concentrate on. I also believe that preaching various sermon series over the course of 32 weeks helped keep our church family to stay better connected to the themes. Likewise, I found that developing six different series kept the church family from getting bored because the images and illustrations used changed from month to month and (sometimes) week to week.



I tried my best to keep a flow from start to finish of The Story. Yet, for those who did not recognize the theme, I thought I would share what the plan looked like in my mind more than a year ago. And, where I failed to adequately convey the theme or the subject matter, you have the outline before you and, perhaps on paper it will make sense.

God Is Speaking

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1) 

Currently I am preaching a sermon series entitled "God is speaking". In this series we are considering the way God spoke to the Israelite community and - from a practical point of view - the way God is speaking to us today. Through this series we are asking the question "are we listening?".

As I read from Psalm 19 this morning I could not help but think how often we miss the voice of God speaking to us through everyday occurrences. Of course we know that God is speaking to us through Scripture and through prayer. But sometimes God is speaking to us through other people, sometimes, He is speaking to us through situations, and often times He is speaking to us through His creation.

The question is not whether God is speaking to you or not. The question is whether you are listening and hearing God's word for you today.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1) 

The Toenail

This morning I had the privilege of preaching on 1 Corinthians 12 and the fact that - as Christians - we are a part of the body of Jesus Christ (sermon audio is available here).

As I preached I pointed out that we are all given different gifts, talents, abilities, and resources that are to be used to build up and unify The Church. Furthermore, even if we feel as though we are insignificant or that we play a small part in The Church, we are an indispensable part of the body of Jesus Christ. We may look at ourselves as inconsequential or ugly, but Jesus has called us to be just who we are, to embrace our part in His body (The Church), and to rejoice that we are a part of His body.

After the message, as I greeted friends in the foyer, one woman said to me; "I think I'm the toenail on the little toe that you were talking about this morning". I began to chuckle as I thought about the way I described the toenail on the little toe, even a toenail that has a case of fungus growing on it.

But then something caught my eye. I saw the bright red nail polish on the toes of a little girl as she walked through the foyer. Her toe nails were beautiful - even the tiny little toenail.

What is God has created you and equipped you to be the toenail? For many He has!

Right now you may feel like you've got a bad case of fungus growing in your life - be that sin, depression, low self worth, or some other factor. One purpose of Jesus' crucifixion on the cross was so that we might look to Him for all cleansing and healing.Look to Jesus and let Him forgive, encourage, and lift you up.

What's more, God will cover your blemishes - your very unsightly qualities. He will not only bring cleansing and healing to you, He will make you shine as one to be admired.

What if God has created you as the toenail? Rejoice and be glad, you are the toenail of Jesus Christ!

What if God's purpose for you is that of a painted and polished toenail? What if your sole purpose is for others to look at you and realize just how beautiful the foot on the body of Jesus Christ is?

So let Him cleanse you and bring healing to you until you shine and admirable.

Restore and Revive Us Again

The following is from a message that I gave on October 5th, the audio can be found here. 

Isaiah 64:1; That You would come down from heaven and dwell among us.

Have you ever wanted to see God?

• To meet with Him and know His thoughts?
• To talk with Him and ask Him about His ways?
• To gaze upon His face and see His beauty?
• To stand in His presence and feel His power?

Just as the prophet Isaiah wrote (700 BC), We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.

And He did. God came down from His thrown in heaven. He spent 30 years living among us as a common man - born of a humble birth, living a humble, ordinary life. He then spent the final three years of His life teaching, mentoring, healing, training, and ministering to those who are desperate in need. 

But we were not satisfied. We wanted a King, not a servant. We asked God  to come down from heaven and do what He had done in the past – to stand against our enemies – to establish a Kingdom.

Our response was to hand Him over to the highest power we could find so that He could be nailed to a cross, suffocate, and die. 

And because He is God in the flesh, He does something amazing, something that we never expected God to do – He died.

He said that He was dying for us and for our sins. He said that He was dying so that all of humanity can be reconciled to Him. But He died!?

And maybe He did die for my sin. But a dead man can't save me, and a dead man can't save you! 

Three days later this dead man is not a dead man anymore - He is alive – and He is God. He has taken away the curse – the sin of mankind and He has proven that He has power over sin, over Satan, and over death. 

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.

He did for a while, but then He left. God ascended back to heaven with the promise of a future gift. 

Ten days later – with sound of a mighty wind and the appearance of tongues of flames – God came down from heaven in the form of His Holy Spirit. 

But this time He does not simply dwell among us – as we have begged Him to – Now He also dwells within us. 

God came down from heaven and gave us help, comfort, understanding, and power. 

But, again, we were not satisfied. We wanted a God that we could see – a God that we could understand, a God that we could control. 

Our response was fear. We began to shut down and close God's Spirit out. We continued to live our lives without this gift – who is God. We continued to live our lives without this help, this comfort, this power. We continued to live our lives without God!

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.  And sometimes we wonder why He hasn't.

• Where is God in our world?
• Where is God in our churches?
• Where is God in our lives?

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven

One day God will come down from heaven and He will make all things right.

• On this day, every knee will bow before Jesus – our King
• On this day every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord
• On this day God will establish His Kingdom

Now is the time to make sure that we are right with God,

• That we have a right relationship with Jesus Christ
• That we have a right relationship with His Holy Spirit

Let me invite you to consider these questions:

·        Do you have a right relationship with Jesus Christ?

• Jesus wants to be more than your Savior - to save you from the penalty of sin.
• Jesus wants to be more than your source of eternal life. 
• Jesus wants to be your everything - and to provide you with everything.
• Do you have unconfessed sin in your life that you need to seek repentance for?
• God cannot be in the presence of sin
• God cannot bless you if you have sin in your life
• Have you dishonored God’s Holy Spirit?
• We cannot fully embrace God until we accept all of Him
• God has more in store for you and for your life.

Let us go beyond the plea of Isaiah 64. Let us make Psalm 85 our prayer:

• Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. (4, 6-7)

All I Want For Christmas Is Jesus

This past Sunday we began new series. It was unable to be recorded. Below are some of the sermon notes from the first sermon in this exciting series.

I often find it odd that We spend a season celebrating what we are most thankful for and then we immediately follow it with a season concentrating on what else we want - what else we still need.

“What do you want for Christmas?” This is, perhaps, the most frequently asked question at Christmastime.

Personally, I never have a good answer for this question, ether because I don’t know what I want or because I don’t want to ask someone for it. And it is frustrating to hear “I don’t know”

“What do you want for Christmas?” My mother-in-law asked me this question, to which I responded “I don’t know”.

“What do you want for Christmas?” Children ask their parents this question. To this day when we ask mom she will say “to have all of my family to be healthy and to be together”. This answer is even more frustrating than “I don’t know” because I can't provide this for my mom.

But it is sometimes that things that we want – and need – the most that we don’t ask for, we won’t ask for, we don’t even talk about them. Most of us have a need that we rarely recognize. Most of us have a need that we seldom express - a need we would never state on our Christmas list - even though it’s all that we really want and all that we really desire

What do you want for Christmas? What do you really need? Joy?  Peace?  Love? Hope?

Over the next month we will take part in a series together; "All I Want For Christmas Is…" Throughout this series we will continue to ask the question: "What do you want for Christmas?” And we will continue to come back to Isaiah 61 - the mission statement of Jesus - the purpose of why He came to earth.

Isaiah 61:1-3a: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

All I want for Christmas is Jesus.

·       Jesus is our Joy

o   Good news for the poor and the afflicted

·       Jesus is our Peace

o   Healing for the brokenhearted and troubled

·       Jesus is our Love and our Salvation

o   Freedom for the captives and a pardon for all prisoners

·       Jesus is our Hope

o   The time of the Lord’s favor has come for us

Where all other gifts fall short, Jesus fulfills. This year He can bring you joy, peace, love, and peace

It’s time that we take our focus off of the hurry, the greed, the chaos, and the rush of Christmas – that’s not Christmas anyway! It’s time we stop asking and wishing for gifts that break down, spoil, rust, and disappoint us. It’s time we focus on the true gift of Christmas – Jesus Christ. Who reigns eternally and fulfills our every desire and need.

All I want for Christmas is Jesus. Jesus is our peace. Jesus is our love. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is our hope. Now and for all of eternity

This Christmas let us look for opportunities to speak Jesus into lives - to speak Jesus into our own life and to speak Jesus into the lives of others.

God Show Up

As I reviewed my demon notes this evening - the first in a series called "Be Still" - I read over Psalm 46. And I came to the deep understanding that I have nothing profound to say tomorrow, I have no groundbreaking insight or wisdom to expound, I have very little for the people who come to worship with us tomorrow. Yet, I am still counting on transformation and life-change to happen!

So, tonight - as I stood in our kitchen - my prayer rang out; 

"I need You to show up tomorrow God."

"I am depending on You to show up tomorrow God."

"I am expecting You to show up tomorrow God."

See, no matter who else shows up to worship tomorrow, no matter what is said - or not said, no matter what else happens, we are hopeless - truly lost - without God. So, I am basing everything on God showing up in our worship - in the stillness, in the quiet, in our lives. 

Do you always say what needs to be said?

Sunday, as I was preparing to leave for church, I stopped in the living room to pick up my Bible and my sermon notes. My daughter pointed to my notes and asked me; "What is that?" "These are my sermon notes", I responded, "this is what I think needs to be said in the sermon this morning".
She then asked;

 

"Do you always say what needs to be said?"

 

This question of hers has been on my mind all day. Do I always say what needs to be said?

• Do I always say what needs to be said in the sermon?
• Do I always say what needs to be said in life?

So, I will pose this same question to you today.

• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is in need?
• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is hurting?
• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is fighting?

Jesus Christ is our answer. He is our hope, He is our salvation, He is our joy. He is everything!
 

 

"Do you always say what needs to be said?"


Clinging to Worthless Idols

Currently we are walking through the book of Jonah during our Sunday morning worship services with the focus of "God's heart fro the lost". Last week we looked at chapter 2. One of the key verses from this chapter that speaks of God's heart for he lost is verse 8;

Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.

Not only do we turn away from God's love for us, we also turn away from His grace and mercy for us. Likewise, when we cling to worthless idols we turn our love and attention away from God. In addition to this, we turn our love and attention from others that surround us.

What does it mean to "cling" to something? It does not simply mean that we turn our attention to it, it means that we choose to continually remain close and attached to this object. And, what is a "worthless idol"? It is any object of worship that is of little or no value. See, we all have "worthless idols" in our lives that we need to be free of. This passage does not speak to those worthless idols that have caught our attention, tempted us in some way, or even those worthless idols that we have worshiped from time to time. This passage speaks specifically about those worthless idols in our lives that have become so important to us that we have begun to cling to them, we have made the choice time after time to remain close to them and to remain attached to them.

And we have a choice - each and every one of us - to be free of these worthless idols. We have been given this choice - this opportunity - to be free of these worthless idols through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and through the power of His Holy Spirit - Christ's gift to us.

God's heart for the lost is a heart of salvation, a heart of redemption, a heart of forgiveness, a heart of compassion, and a heart of love. God's heart for you is crying out that you would be free from the worthless idols that have kept to prisoner for far too long.

Won't you do away with these worthless idols in your life and turn to The One who died to give you a new life and a new way to live? Won't you today cling to Jesus Christ?

Humbled, Honored, and Confused

After having preached for a few years now, I know right away if the words I am speaking from the pulpit are not clear or when I am not connecting with the audience. As Professor Howard Hendricks says; “If it is a mist in the pulpit, it is a fog in the pew." 

As I consider this morning's sermon I fear that I may have left our church family with an very unclear message. Yet, I walk away, seeking God's guidance, mercy, and direction for the next time I enter His pulpit. And, when I stand before others proclaiming God's Word next I will, as always be honored and humbled and the opportunity, while being continually confused that anyone would listen for any amount of time to my thoughts and understanding of God's Holy Word. 

surviving the impossible

Just a month and a half ago we moved from northern Indiana to southern Illinois. This, as we knew it would, came with many struggles (can't help but think of the Illinois fans that I have dealt with so far). These struggles started months before we moved with the stress of packing, leaving a church family and a job that I loved and that I felt more than comfortable doing. The anxiety that followed when we considered that our income would change, our insurance would change, our stability, and knowledge of so many of the surrounding elements would change.

I'll take a moment here to mention just how wonderful Kim (my wife) is. She has never questioned the move, the change in jobs, the change in income, or the change in comfort. She has never mentioned that fact that I have taken her (once again) away from all of her friends and have moved here four hours away from her parents. Further, she has taken on so many new duties (such as teaching a Sunday School class), she has taken on new responsibilities (with the additional stress), and she has been my sounding board and listening ear more than I could mention. Bottom line, she's amazing.

One of the biggest challenges for me has been the ability to write a solid sermon every week. And yet, I am not expected to write one sermon, but two sermons (for the morning and evening services). When I stop to consider that fact that every week I am going before people double, triple, even quadruple my age and share with tell a teaching from the word of God, scared is an understatement. The people that I am "teaching" are scholars, executives, business owners, and teachers themselves. At any moment I am expecting one, or all, of the people in the church to stand up and ask "what are you talking about" or "what are you doing up there". Weekly I open my Bible and share a teaching based on truths that are taken from the best selling book of all time, a book that was written by the creator of the universe, the creator of mankind. It is not uncommon for me to ask myself "what are you doing". This is impossible for me! Today a friend of mine reminded me that "God lives in the impossible".

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

How do we get through the impossible? I know that for me it is through the daily, sometimes hourly, reminder that God has called me to this task. It is when I remind myself of this that the anxiety is lifted and it becomes a joy to write a sermon. This is because I am no longer studying, preparing, or writing, but rather God that is writing through me, it is Christ that is working through me. When we allow The Spirit to use the gifts that He has blessed us with to bring Him glory and to further His Kingdom it is no longer an impossibility or an anxiety but it is a joy to see it His work fulfilled.

May God continue to be glorified as He ministers and does the impossible through me.