On the blogs for Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Here are some good reads for today:

Evangelicals (deep, but informative)

Why You should bring a bible on Sunday (thought these were some good thoughts)

A little short...more to come later

Some more blogs for Monday, December 28, 2009

Financial Resources (these would prove helpful if you are in need of some financial assistance)

What the bible is not (interesting take on this)

More on the Manhattan Declaration (thought this was interesting with all the debate about who did & did not sign it from the evangelical world)

Decision making with regard to the community of faith (interesting perspective)

Going back to the basics

Yesterday with the church, we talked about going back to the basics of the Christian life. The fundamentals we emphasized were personal devotions & prayer.

Personal devotions refers to the time spent in the scriptures sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him. He desires to speak to us and commune with us.

We looked at Luke 10:38-42 to discover the necessity of sitting at Jesus' feet particularly in a busy world of activity in which most of us live.

We also surveyed John 6 where Jesus explains & emphasizes himself as the "bread of life" and the "true bread from heaven".

I was particularly struck by John 6:63. By God's grace & the work of the Holy Spirit through the word, true spiritual life & growth in our spiritual life comes through the consistent exposure to and obedience to the word of God.

We also surveyed John 15:1-8 about abiding in Christ and his words abiding in us as the gateway to fruitfulness and an effective prayer life.

We finished up looking at 1 Peter 2:2 and the appetite that Christians must have for the word as if it were their very sustenance for life--that which they cannot do without.

To help us get back to the basics of personal devotions (we'll tackle prayer in two weeks on Sunday, January 10), we provided some guidelines that can be used in personal devotions to help us focus on and remember and apply what the Holy Spirit teaches us in our daily time at the feet of Jesus. We also provided a reading schedule for the first 35 days of 2010 as a tool.

Here is the reading schedule & the guidelines. May God use these in your life to "sit at the feet" of the Master Teacher.

Daily Bible Reading Plan
January 2010
The Book of 1 John & James

Day 1: 1 John 1:1-4
Day 2: 1 John 1:5-2:2
Day 3: 1 John 2:3-6
Day 4: 1 John 2:7-11
Day 5: 1 John 2:12-14
Day 6: 1 John 2:15-17
Day 7: 1 John 2:18-23
Day 8: 1 John 2:24-29
Day 9: 1 John 3:1-3
Day 10: 1 John 3:4-9
Day 11: 1 John 3:10-15
Day 12: 1 John 3:16-23
Day 13: 1 John 3:24-4:6
Day 14: 1 John 4:7-11
Day 15: 1 John 4:12-16
Day 16: 1 John 4:17-19
Day 17: 1 John 4:20-5:5
Day 18: 1 John 5:6-13
Day 19: 1 John 5:14-17
Day 20: 1 John 5:18-21
Day 21: James 1:1-11
Day 22: James 1:12-18
Day 23: James 1:19-27
Day 24: James 2:1-13
Day 25: James 2:14-26
Day 26: James 3:1-12
Day 27: James 3:13-18
Day 28: James 4:1-6
Day 29: James 4:7-10
Day 30: James 4:11-12
Day 31: James 4:13-17
Day 32: James 5:1-6
Day 33: James 5:7-12
Day 34: James 5:13-18
Day 35: James 5:19-20


Guidelines for Daily Devotions

Goal: to spend 20-30 minutes daily being nourished in the scriptures sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him

A. Begin each time with prayer asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you and apply the word to your heart and life
B. Read the scripture provided
C. Use the following to think about & meditate on the scripture you’ve read
a. Write out word for word the verse(s) that jumped out to you as you read.
b. Write down the observations & questions that come to mind.
c. Summarize the main idea of the verse in a phrase or two
d. Write down ways to apply this verse(s) to your life.
e. How will you live differently based on the truth you have learned?
D. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you live out the truth that you have been taught.
E. If possible, discuss your observations & questions about the passage you’ve read with family or friends.

On the blogs for Monday, December 28, 2009

Some reading for today:

The New Paganism (deep, but good foundational truth about worldviews today)

Employment (I thought this was interesting, particularly for pastors)

Prayer (good reminder about praying without ceasing)

Improving the Gospel or Losing the Gospel (this is a good reminder of the centrality of the gospel and the importance of holding fast to it)

Enjoy...

On the blogs for Sunday, December 27, 2009

Here are some good reads today:

What the young church did not have (interesting)

For the New Year (these are good to review every now and then)

The Danger of Distracting Ourselves

Enjoy!

On Christmas

Whether you will agree with the following two posts, they are at the least very thought-provoking & worth our attention. Read them in order.

Why we no longer celebrate Christmas

Christmas, revisited

Enjoy...

On the blogs for Friday, December 18, 2009

Here are a couple of good reads for today. Enjoy!

Building up the body of Christ (excellent!)

Godly Man, part 3 (guys, pay attention)

On the blogs for Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009

Happy reading today:

Mutuality & Maturing

Materialism

Criticism from others (good reminder)

The Inclusion of all in the ministry (interesting & good reminder)

7 Questions Leadership Teams Should be asking (these are good & thought-provoking)

Pragmatism, part 1

Pragmatism, part 2

Bible Study (good reminders for personal bible study)

Godly Man, part 2

Who are we here to serve? (funny & convicting at the same time--might make you blush, too)

On the blogs for Mon., December 14, 2009

Here are some good reads for today:

Bait & Switch and Evangelism (good reminder for us)

Firstfruits (interesting perspective on Sundays)

Thoughts on Tiger (even if you read nothing but the last paragraph)

Man's Inability (this is deep, but very thought-provoking)

Prayers of an excellent wife (pass along to your wives)

Godly Man (pass along to the men)

Daily Devotionals (if you are looking for a daily devotional for next year, here is a good list to choose from)

Congregational Care & Oversight, part 1 (good overview)

Care & Oversight, part 2 (overlaps part 1 just a little, but good)

Info-maniacs (interesting)

Prosperity Gospel (if you listen to these folks, don't read this article--ouch!)

Maybe some more later...

On the blogs for Mon., Dec. 7, 2009

Here are some good reads today:

Genuine Life (particularly good for ministry leaders)

From a four year old (this was cute & convicting, be careful)

9 ways the internet has changed our world (this is interesting)

Prosperity Gospel (this is not for the faint of heart or for those who are sympathetic to any of the wealth & health prosperity preachers on TV--just so you are warned)

Senior Pastor (thought provoking)

Furture of SBC (these posts will be enlightening I'm sure)

Verse Card Makers (cool resource)

Consider How You Listen (this is a great challenge for us all)

Holiness (I think I might get this book)

Happy reading!

God bless you all.

Some more blogs for today...

Repent for the kingdom of God

Cheaters & Tigers & Idiots (ouch!)

Twilight & Abstinence (interesting)

Twilight & the Mormons (interesting)

"Senior" Pastor: Pros & Cons (good article that could prompt some good discussion)

Principle of the Presiding Elder (another good article about church leadership)

Real Men Provide

On the Blogs Friday, December 4, 2009

Here are some good reads from the last couple of days.

Hunting Tiger Woods (the peril of sin's pursuit)

Theology of the Twilight Series

Wedding Facebook style (this is funny)

Imitation as Discipleship (hmmmmmm....)

Real Men Protect (my title)

The Spirit's True Work, part 4

Sexual purity at the gym (great advice)

Toys, Kids, & Christmas

Parenting Messages (these are good)

Warren & Obama (interesting)

More on the state of the American Woman

A Call for Discernment

Maybe more later...

On the blogs for Wed., Dec. 2, 2009

Here are some interesting reads today. Enjoy at your leisure.

Why I am Frustrated (I'm sure we can all relate)

A Godly Man Leads (guys, man up: stop being wimps!)

Marks of a true Church (this is excellent)

Sexual Relapse (if you know someone who is struggling, send this to them)

The Spirit's True Work, part 3

Bible study tip (this is really good for bible teachers)

The Gospel: Old & New (good reminder in an age of lots of "gospels")

Mutual Sanctification (how we need the body of Christ to be healthy Christians)

Jesus has aids (interesting perspective)

"Be Still and Know..." Psalm 46:10 (part 1)

Have you ever noticed how noisy our world is? I mean, there are “noise makers” all around us—from TVs, computers, cell phones to radios, mp3 players, ipods, cd players—all of them with their noise-making capabilities. Whether we are at work or play, there is noise of some kind.

As I write this, the washer has finally stopped making its noise, and there is at least some quietness…at least until Carter needs me again.

With all the noise around us, I wonder if we have forgotten how to listen to the voice of the one that really matters. I started reading Wayne Cordeiro’s book Leading on Empty this past weekend and came across this quote: “I needed God to quiet every voice but his own.” Can you relate to that? Boy, I sure can.

Sometimes in the busyness of life, the voice of the one who truly matters gets drowned out by the noise. Somewhere along the way, I confused busyness with deep spirituality & productivity; maybe you have, too.

So, what can we do about it? What if we were more intentional about creating time in our lives for silence & solitude? Jesus did: "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself alone."

It is not natural for me to have times of silence & solitude (just to be clear: we are not talking about getting in the lotus position and chanting ohm for three or four hours & seeking to find our navel) in any extended way--I feel lazy, unproductive, and useless. Sure, my devotional times are certainly valuable & indispensible, but an extended period of silence & solitude--that's pushing it for me.

But…it is something I plan to be more intentional about beginning this month--to take time every week & every month to get "unplugged" from the noise of my world…I need it…I need to get unplugged before I short circuit. I wonder, do any of you feel the same way?

Let's journey together this month of December in re-engineering our lives in connecting with Jesus through silence & solitude. To help us, I will draw upon the writings of Mark Driscoll & Wayne Cordeiro and maybe a few others to give us some direction & thoughts to consider as we get "unplugged" from the noise & re-aquainted with the voice that really matters--God's.

A pilgrim on a journey,
Michael

On the blogs for Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009

Here is some interesting reading this morning. Enjoy!

Reasons why marriages fail (pass it along to married couples & those preparing to get married)

Fences, part 2 (good stuff)

A Defense for Leadership in the Home (guys, pay attention)

The Spirit's True Work, part 2

Marks of True Church (thought this was interesting for discussion)

Justified by Faith (be ready to read the whole of Kevin's article)

The Swiss & the Muslims (interesting development)

On the blogs for Mon., November 30, 2009

Here are some good reads for today:

The Spirit's True Work by John MacArthur

Miunderstandings about the Trinity

Leadership in the Home (ladies, send this to your husbands)

Warning, part 2 from California State Convention President (this is good)

Fences make good neighbors (interesting post about fellowship)

Tim Keller (good article)

On the blogs for Saturday, November 28, 2009

Some good & thought provoking reads this morning:

Obama's Opening Speech (very interesting)

Marriage (this is good)

Biblical Parenting (I commend all of these to all parents, especially the "Pastor Dad" book)

Enjoy your Saturday afternoon reading...

Two Kinds of Popularity

The Church & Apostasy (this will be an interesting read)

Gospel Driven Life

Christmas Boycott (whether you agree or disagree, something to think about)

Mutual Submission (good answer to this question)

Address from the California Southern Baptist Convention president (this is only part 1, but it is excellent)

On the blogs for Friday, November 27, 2009 Morning Edition

A few to read this morning:

Infants & Salvation (good read & links to other articles)

Andre Agassi (for all the tennis fans, a review of his book)

Numb to the Voice of God (more than just sexual sin can make us numb to the voice of God)

Enjoy!

I pray everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Blessings to you all.

On the blogs for Nov. 25, Afternoon edition

Just a couple for today so far:

Do You Pray? (great reminder)

Quiet Time? (another good reminder)

Over-parenting

Wow--this is good--especially the quote by Paul Tripp

Silence & Solitude

I really needed this today over at Mars Hill Church

On the Blogs for Nov. 24, 2009 Morning Edition

Something good to read today:

Protecting your teens (a good reminder for all us parents)

Proclaim, teach, serve (doing ministry like Jesus did, wow! what a concept)

We will Never (a good reminder, especially for those in leadership ministry positions)

Gender Questions w/ Mrs. Patterson

Over-parenting (interesting)

Church Discipline

10 things I believe about your ministry (good one for ministry leaders)

Do we still need the local church (this is excellent)

Happy Reading!

Religion

The link is to a sermon transcript by Mark Driscoll. In it, he explains the difference between 4 popular worldviews & then the biblical worldview. His explanation of "theism" or "religion" is very good.

Take a look.

On the blogs for November 23, 2009 Morning Edition

Here are some good reads for today:

Origin of the Church (interesting perspective)

Worship and Our Fears (very good)

Working Women & Husbands (very interesting)

Foundational Biblical Doctrine (good stuff)

Vision for Ministry (some good points about having a healthy vision for ministry particularly about being gospel-centered--scroll down after you click on the link)

Meditative Prayer (a discipline I need to implement more often)

Lead Your Family Well (I really needed this exhortation)

Forgiveness (pretty good)

Jesus better than the Angels

Response to "A Common Word" (response by John Piper to a statement about the relationship between Muslims & Christians--might be helpful to read the statement entitled "A Common Word" first)

Worldliness & the Jealousy of God (interesting test for worldliness)

Happy Reading...

On the Blogs for November 20, Afternoon Edition

Here are some good reads:

Killing the Fuzzy Gospel, part 2

The Pastor's Teaching (mainly for preachers/teachers, but good nonetheless)

Gifting vs. Office (thought this was intriguing)

The Blur of Gender (always informed from Dr. Mohler's blogposts)

Praying Like a Champ for your Sexual Purity (if you are struggling or know someone who is)

Hebrews 1:5-14 (another follow up to our sermon series in Hebrews)

Happy reading everyone...

The Cult of Oprah

My sister, Abigail, posted a blurb wondering if Oprah was a cult leader on her Facebook. I commented in the affirmative, that "yes, she is."

As I have read somewhere before, "the church of Oprah is probably the largest in America." She might even be larger than Osteen.

I just heard on the radio this morning at the coffee shop a little while ago that Oprah's ratings had dropped 7% since last year--my prayers are being answered! She is possibly thinking about doing her last show in 2011. We can pray & hope!

Some people will think I dog Oprah too much--maybe. Of one thing I am certain, though I love Oprah as Jesus would have me to, I believe she is a wolf seeking to destroy the body of Christ & is indoctrinating the culture (and many Christians) with the "doctrine of demons." And, because of that, I would be a horrible shepherd if I did not shout "BEWARE" when the wolves are around.

Do I desire that Oprah be saved? Absolutely. Do I believe Christians should be listening to her and taking their advice from her? Absolutely not, but that is also true of others who grace (bad word) the airwaves of TV or radio (Dr. Phill, Osteen, etc.)

Michael, you shouldn't name them. Someone has to point them out. We've been walking on eggshells around their supporters for far too long.

May Jesus grant us the boldness & compassion that is necessary in a time when wolves are running around seeking sheep that they would devour.

On the Blogs Morning Edition - November 19, 2009

Here are some good reads for today:

Why Minimize Rules

Be Careful How you Pray

Hebrews 1:1-4 (a good follow up to our sermon series through Hebrews)

More on Idolatry

What is the Church? (this would be a huge mindset change for many people in our churches)

Missional Church

Here's a good post:

How Not to be Missional, part 2

To Those in Leadership or those looking for Leaders

Here is an excellent post by John Piper about Spiritual Leadership.

Marks of a Spiritual Leader (I know I have some room for growth)

I would also recommend Henry Blackaby's book entitled "Spiritual Leadership

Enjoy

The Shrinking Church?

I thought this was rather eye-opening and convicting for me.

Honey, I Shrunk the Church

On the Blogs for November 17, 2009 Morning Edition

Good reads this morning:

The Danger of a Superficial Ministry

Duties of a Christian Husband (short, but challenging from a Puritan named Richard Baxter)

Recommended Books on the Doctrine of God (any one of these books would be good for your soul & mind)

More to come later this afternoon...

Blogroll for November 16, 2009

Check out the following for some good & challenging reading:

Killing the Fuzzy Gospel

How Not to be Missional

How to Protect your Family (mainly for other pastors' wives)

Journal for Theological Studies (great articles for some deep reading & thinking)

Madeline Murray O'Hair (strange, but interesting)

Theological Triage

Hebrews 11 (sermon by Matt Chandler; worth listening to)

Worldliness

Here's a great quote from Ian Murray:

"Worldliness is departing from God. It is a man-centered way of thinking...It judges the importance of things by present and material results; it weighs success by numbers; it covets human esteem and wants no unpopularity; it knows no truth for which it is worth suffering...It adopts idols and is at war with God."

Quotes on Idolatry

These are from Tim Keller's book Counterfeit Gods:

"The idol of success cannot be just expelled, it must be replaced. The human heart's desire for a particular valuable object may be conquered, but its need to have some such object is unconquerable. How can we beat our heart's fixation on doing 'some great thing' in order to heal ourselves of our sense of inadequacy, in order to give our lives meaning? Only when we see what Jesus, our great Suffering Servant, has done for us will we finally understand why God's salvation does not require us to do 'some great thing.' We don't have to do it, because Jesus has."

"When we are completely immersed in a society of people who consider a particular idolatrous attachment normal, it becomes almost impossible to discern it for what it is."

"Is there any hope? Yes, if we begin to realize that idols cannot simply be removed. They must be replaced. If you only try to uproot them, they grow back; but they can be supplanted. By what? By God himself, of course. But by God we do not mean a general belief in His existence. Most people have that, yet their souls are riddled with idols. What we need is a living encounter with God."

"It is impossible to understand your heart or your culture if you do not discern the counterfeit gods that influence them."

"There is no way to challenge idols without doing cultural criticism, and there is no way to do cultural criticism without discerning and challenging idols."

Church Leader look alikes...

I thought these were funny...

Look Alikes

On the Blogs...

Found the following intriguing, challenging & encouraging:

5 Ways Sin is Serious

First Step to Effectiveness

Personal Application

Convert your Complaint

The Idols of my heart

I just read this prayer by Scotty Smith--something I need to pray everyday...

Heavenly Father, how I long for the Day when I will no longer be tempt-able, deceive-able, or even capable of worshipping any other "god" but you. I so look forward to an eternity of giving you the adoration, affection, attention and allegiance of which you alone are worthy. No one cares like you. No one understands like you. No one redeems like you. No one loves like you. No one restores like you. There is no God but you.

In Jesus, you have already given me a new heart and have placed your Spirit in me. In Jesus, you have already turned my heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:25-27). In Jesus, you have already given me a heart to know and love you (Jeremiah 24:7). In Jesus you have already written your law upon my heart (Jeremiah 31:33). In Jesus, you have already given me a perfectly forgiven heart.

YET, it is not a fully perfected heart. The battle for my heart's daily worship continues, and will continue until the Day Jesus returns to finish making all things new. Thus, the warning to keep myself from idols has never had more meaning, Father. Help me discern which "idols of the heart" (Ezekiel 14:4) I am most susceptible to trusting in, rather than you. When I don't think you are "enough," where do I take the worship you deserve--where do I go for life, deliverance and salvation?

Sometimes the collaboration and conspiracy of the duplicity within me... the world around me... and the devil, invisible to me, is overwhelming... I need the gospel every minute of every hour.

I praise you for the assurance that I am already one of your "beloved children." You cannot love me more than you already do, and you will never love me less, for you love all of your children just as much as you love your beloved Son, Jesus. Surely the gospel, this gospel, will win the day, my heart and the entire cosmos. So very Amen, I pray, in Jesus' name.

Interesting about "murmuring"

Check out this by Russell Moore over at Moore to the Point about "Grumbling, Whining, and the Holy Spirit"

It would also be helpful to listen to the previous post by Dr. Moore on this subject...scroll down on his website for the conversation to listen to.

Enjoy.

The words we speak & how we say them

I found this humbling and challenging by Sinclair Ferguson. May it be our prayer...to have the "accent of Jesus"...

"My native land is Scotland. I have the privileged status of being a resident alien in the United States. I carry a green card. But people often remind me, “You have an accent.” (That said, it is one of the wonderful things about the presence and work of Christ’s Spirit in preaching that, fifteen minutes into the exposition, it is possible that others cease to notice the accent and hear only his accent.)

Being “afflicted,” therefore, with an “accent,” brief elevator rides—and the usual brief conversations that ensue there—often give me a certain mischievous pleasure. As the doors open at my floor and I step out, someone will occasionally call, “You have an accent. Where do you come from?” As I watch the doors begin to close, I say with a smile, “Columbia, South Carolina,” and watch the puzzled faces whose expression says, “Come on! You’re not from around here . . . are you?”

That is surely a parable of what it is possible for the people of God to become in the way we use our tongues, as by God’s grace we learn to speak with a Jesus-like accent.

At the end of the day, it may not be so much what people say to you when you are in a room that is the really telling thing about your speech as a Christian. Rather it may be the questions people ask when you leave the room. “Where does he come from?” “Do you know where she belongs?”

Do you speak like someone who “sounds” a little like Jesus because, born broken in your consciousness of your sinful tongue, you have found pardon and renewal in Christ, and now his Word dwells richly in you?

At the end of the day, that is what spiritual maturity looks like—or better, sounds like—because of the transformation of our use of the tongue.

May that be true of us more and more!"

Consistent Prayer

Here is a timely exhortation for battling against prayerlessness by Kevin DeYoung:

Prayer is essential for the Christian, as much for what it says about us as for what it can do through God. The simple act of getting on our knees (or faces or feet or whatever) for 5 or 50 minutes every day is the surest sign of our humility and dependence on Father in heaven. There may be many reasons for our prayerlessness—time management, busyness, lack of concentration—but most fundamentally, we ask not because we think we need not or we think God can give not. Deep down we feel secure when we have money in the bank, a healthy report from the doctor, and powerful people on our side. We do not trust in God alone. Prayerlessness is an expression of our meager confidence in God’s ability to provide and of our strong confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves without God’s help.

Too often when we struggle with prayer we focus on the wrong things. We focus on praying better instead of focusing on knowing better the one to whom we pray. We focus on our need for discipline rather than our need for God. Almost all of us want to pray more frequently, and yet our lives seem too disordered. But in God’s mind our messy, chaotic lives are an impetus to prayer instead of an obstacle to prayer.

You don’t need to work and work at discipline nearly as much as you need faith. You don’t need an ordered life to enable prayer, you need a messy life to drive you to prayer. You don’t need to have everything in order before you can pray. You need to know you’re disordered so you will pray. You don’t need your life to be fixed up. You need a broken heart. You need to think to yourself: “Tomorrow is another day that I need God. I need to know him. I need forgiveness. I need help. I need protection. I need deliverance. I need patience. I need courage. Therefore, I need prayer.”

If you know you are needy and believe that God helps the needy, you will pray. Conversely, if we seldom pray, the problem goes much deeper than a lack of organization and follow through. The heart that never talks to God is the heart that trusts in itself and not in the power of God. Prayerlessness is unbelief.

Prayerfulness, on the other hand is an evidence of humility and faith, which is why God loves it when we pray.

Children & Family Worship

I thought this was a thought-provoking article by Voddie Bauchum:

The response to our new monthly feature has been tremendous. We’ve received questions on subjects spanning the spectrum. Some of the questions have already been answered in past blogs, others were a bit off topic (especially those asking for responses to myths, lies and half truths from attack sites), and others were a bit too personal/specific (Note: I cannot use this blog to do pastoral counseling, and I only offer such counseling to members of my own church).

Question Of the Month:

What are practical ways to involve and teach your preschoolers during your family devotional times (ie: morning pray/read/sing)

A Word of Warning

First, let me say that I do not believe in ‘dumbing down’ family worship (or the worship of the church for that matter) for small children. We aim our family worship at Mom, Dad, and our older children (nineteen and sixteen), while recognizing the need to bring the younger children (five, two, one, and newborn) along. Our philosophy is simple; our younger children do not need to be entertained, they need to be taught. They need to see a picture of family worship that calls them upward.

This is a bit of a departure from the current child-centered philosophy dominating the burgeoning family worship movement. In that sense, there’s some good news, and some bad news. The good news is people are waking up to this crucial practice. The bad news is people are viewing this practice through the lens of the current watered-down worship environment of modern evangelicalism, and worse, the media-driven, high-energy, world-mimicking, “KidZone” experience of the modern Children’s Church. As a result, parents are trying to compete with the entertainment culture and capture the attention of their preschoolers on a daily basis. STOP! This is insane. You can’t compete with Barney and Sesame Street (or KidZone); nor should you try.

Worship is not about entertainment. Worship is a solemn encounter. Sure, there are times when we have powerful, emotional encounters with God. However, those are not the norm. And when we try to make that the norm, we miss a very important truth. Spiritual Disciplines are just that... Disciplines! We don’t pray because it’s fun; we do it because it’s necessary (1 Ths. 5:17; Lk 18:1). We don’t read Scripture because it’s enthralling (though it can be at times); we read Scripture because our souls need to feed on something more than bread (Matthew 4:4). We don’t believe every meal needs to be a grand feast, do we? Unfortunately, somebody told us that worship should be ‘exciting’ and ‘fun’ and we believed them. The fact is, sometimes worship is boring, and that’s alright. Dinner is boring sometimes too, but we still need to eat (by the way, catering all our meals to preschoolers’ likes and dislikes would be quite unhealthy as well).

We have created a generation of children who think everything is supposed to be ‘fun’ and the results are tragic. Don’t fall into that same trap with family worship. If our children think reading, singing, and praying is boring, the problem is not with those practices; the problem is with the appetites we’ve created in our children. Are they watching too much TV? Are they being over-stimulated by electronics and video games? Are they spending time during a typical day learning the discipline of sitting quietly for a while? Are they spending Sunday morning in something resembling a television studio shooting an episode of the latest kid’s show?

We will never have meaningful family worship if we don’t unplug. Christianity is in many ways a quiet, contemplative, meditative, religion. Listening to God’s word requires concentration and discipline. Singing biblical, theologically driven songs requires paying attention. Prevailing in prayer requires perseverance. How do we expect this from children whose entire religious foundation is built upon entertainment? Ironically, one of the most important things small children learn in family worship is the discipline of ‘sitting through’ something that is not necessarily entertaining.

Now that that’s out of the way... here are some helpful hints for those who, like me, have young children in the home and want family worship to be meaningful for them.


A Few Helpful Hints

1. Keep It Simple

Remember, family worship is not an attempt to reproduce at home what we get in church each week. In other words, Dad doesn’t need to prepare a “sermon” each morning, and you don’t have to sing five or six songs. Our goal is simply to honor God and transmit a faith-filled . As such, we simply need to read together, sing together, and pray together (some add catechism, however, other families do catechism as part of their ‘education’ each day). Remember, we’re not replacing what happens in church; we’re supplementing, and strengthening it. As Richard Baxter has aptly said:

We must have a special eye upon families, to see that they are well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all. What are we like to do ourselves to the reforming of a congregation, if all the work be cast on us alone; and masters of families neglect that necessary duty of their own, by which they are bound to help us? If any good be begun by the ministry in any soul, a careless, prayer-less, worldly family is likely to stifle it, or very much hinder it; whereas, if you could but get the rulers of families to do their duty, to take up the work where you left it, and help it on, what abundance of good might be done! I beseech you, therefore, if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion. (Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor)


1. More is Caught Than Taught

Small children usually learn to love what Mom and Dad love. Show me a ten year-old who loves the Texas Longhorns, and I’ll show you a parent who had him in front of the TV (or on the fifty yard line in Austin) when he was smaller. Moreover, show me a parent who views daily family worship as drudgery and I’ll show you a kid who probably thinks the same. This is not to say we have to be fake, or that we have to make our family worship artificially “exciting” in order to appease our kids. It is, however, to say that we must buy in to this. We need to have a passion for the God of the gospel and a desire to honor him in our homes. As Arthur Pink has written:

If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, then let its members gather together daily for praise and prayer. 'Them that honour Me I will honour" is His promise. (Arthur Pink, “Family Worship”)
This goes far beyond emotion. Nor is this unique to family worship. We see this in the worship of the church as well. There is a difference between a family that is committed to the worship of almighty God and one that will let any and everything get in the way of gathering with God’s people on the Lord’s Day.

Thus, the place to start with family worship is our own motives. We must be motivated by a love for God, and a desire to express that love daily in our homes, and see our children do the same. Go before God in prayer and ask him to bend your heart toward his. Beg him for a passion for the gospel and a yearning to proclaim and celebrate it. Without this, we will have little hope of creating a winsome environment for our children.

1. Small Children Need Repetition

If you have small children, you know one of their favorite phrases is, “Do it again!” Children thrive on repetition. Family worship is no different. Our little boys love to do the same things over and over each day. It helps them feel like they are a real part of what’s going on. When we sing the Doxology EVERY MORNING, it helps my two year-old look forward to doing something he knows long before he can pronounce, let alone understand the words. When we keep our same “order of worship” (read a passage, make observations, make applications, sing a song, pray, sing the Doxology), it helps our young children jump in and participate. In fact, it creates a sense of uniformity for them. They say things like, “Dad

We also incorporate a few strategic things that help our smaller children. For example, we keep the format the same each day. Also, we sing one song for an entire month (and no, it is not a “children’s song;” we sing meaty hymns). Doing so helps our smaller children learn the words.

1. Don’t Neglect Discipline

Our children are sinners. As such, they are going to display their sin nature regardless of the setting. Engaging in family worship will not eliminate this reality. As such, we must discipline our children consistently, even during family worship. Some parents believe that correction is somehow incompatible with worship. They reason, “I don’t want to force my child to worship God,” or similarly, “I don’t want them to remember family worship as a time when they were spanked, since it may cause them to have a warped view of God.”

I understand where this is coming from. However, it is misguided. Our children need to know that all discipline is about God. They need to know that we correct them because God says so. They need to know that the worship of God is no less serious than their school time, or their meal time, or any other time. Do we avoid discipline at the dinner table, or the schoolroom because we don’t want our children to have bad experiences there? In fact, what place is there for correction if we take this position? Is there some place where you do want your children to have this supposed traumatic experience? It makes no sense. Much of the difficulty involved with doing family worship with preschoolers comes down to this very simple issue. Undisciplined children don’t do very well in situations that require discipline.

In short, we must treat family worship like an essential, normal, non-negotiable part of our lives. We cannot have the attitude that it is something we will do as long as the children “like it.” We must view it in the same way we view breakfast, or dinner. Dinner is not always easy with preschoolers. Nevertheless, we persevere because we know they cannot survive without it. The same is true of spiritual food. Have an unwavering attitude; not one that goes along grudgingly, but one that views nothing more highly than the God of the gospel. Have an attitude that pursues God relentlessly because you know nothing else will satisfy. Have an attitude that keeps the gospel before your children because you know it is their greatest need.

This attitude will eventually bear fruit both in your life and in theirs. Early on that fruit may be nothing more than seeing your children walk through the motions and learn things by rote. Moreover, there may be days when they are less than enthusiastic. Eventually, though, they will get the hang of it and their participation will improve. Then one day, out of the blue, you’ll look at them and realize they own it. Will it become their passion? Perhaps. However, that’s not your department. Your job is merely to give them the necessary tools and the disciplines, and model what you hope they will embrace.

By the way, if you have a problem with what I just described, answer one question... what would your attitude be if the previous paragraph was attached to a blog about teaching your child to read?

VB

For more tips on family worship, see my section on the subject in Family Driven Faith: Doing What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters who Walk with God.

Modesty--a different angle

I just read this article over at Time--interesting perspective.

Church in Trouble

Here are some signs from Perry Noble to see if one's church is in trouble. They are very thought-provoking...

#1 – When excuses are made about the way things are instead of embracing a willingness to roll up the sleeves and fix the problem.

#2 – When the church becomes content with merely receiving people that come rather than actually going out and finding them…in other words, they lose their passion for evangelism!

#3 – The focus of the church is to build a great church (complete with the pastors picture…and his wife’s…on everything) and not the Kingdom of God.

#4 – The leadership begins to settle for the natural rather than rely on the supernatural.

#5 – The church begins to view success/failure in regards to how they are viewed in the church world rather than whether or not they are actually fulfilling the Great Commission!

#6 – The leaders within the church cease to be coachable.

#7 – There is a loss of a sense of urgency! (Hell is no longer hot, sin is no longer wrong and the cross is no longer important!)

#8 – Scripture isn’t central in every decision that is made!

#9 – The church is reactive rather than proactive.

#10 – The people in the church lose sight of the next generation and refuse to fund ministry simply because they don’t understand “those young people.”

#11 – The goal of the church is to simply maintain the way things are…to NOT rock the boat and/or upset anyone…especially the big givers!

#12 – The church is no longer willing to take steps of faith because “there is just to must to lose.”

#13 – The church simply does not care about the obvious and immediate needs that exist in the community.

#14 – The people learn how to depend on one man to minister to everyone rather than everyone embracing their role in the body, thus allowing the body to care for itself.

#15 – When the leaders/staff refuse to go the extra mile in leading and serving because of how “inconvenient” doing so would be.

Vision...

I thought this was really good from Perry Noble about vision...

Ten Ways To Kill Vision In Your Church
perry noble

#1 – Pray really small prayers…seriously, don’t ask God for ANYTHING big. He DID put an interstate highway through a sea, demolished the walls of Jericho and brought the dead back to life…but I’m sure He doesn’t do things like that anymore! :-)

#2 – Celebrate the past WAY more than you anticipate the future, thus becoming a museum and not a movement!

#3 – Allow those who have never actually done anything for Jesus dictate to you what they believe you can and can’t do for Him!

#4 – Listen and repond to every critic.

#5 – Wait until everything makes perfect sense before you make a decision.

#6 – Spend more time on blogs than you do in your Bible.

#7 – Become more agenda driven than GOSPEL driven!

#8 – Actually believe that EVERYONE must be 100% happy with every detail.

#9 – Vote!

#10 – Become angry/jealous over what God is doing at other places and become hyper focused on all of their problems, thus overlooking your own!

The Church: a team of ministers

I thought this was an intriguing article: Discerning Your Church's Call to Ministry

Enjoy!

Spiritual Progress

I have just read 2 Peter 1:2-11.

The foundation for spiritual progress described in vv. 5-7 is found in vv. 2-4.

The foundation is:
1) Grace & peace multiplied to us
2) the knowledge of God and of Jesus
3) divine power given to us
4) great and precious promises
5) partakers of the divine nature
6) escaped the corruption of the world

These are the reality of what we have been given in Jesus Christ by grace through faith. Therefore, because all of this is by grace through faith, we are enabled to "give all diligence" to "add" to our faith in vv. 5-7.
1) virtue
2) knowledge
3) self-control
4) perseverance
5) godliness
6) brotherly kindness
7) love

Now read 2 Peter 1:8

How is our spiritual progress? Have we become spiritually sluggish (Hebrews 5:11-14)?

New Sermon Series

Next week, Lord willing, I will begin to teach through the book of Hebrews. This is going to be an awesome study and a challenging study. I am definitely looking forward to all that the Holy Spirit desires to teach us through this study.

If you hear the sermons in person or on-line, I pray that you will be edified and built up in your faith in Jesus to love him more dearly and obey him more diligently.

Please pray for my study time to be multiplied that I might rightly divide the word of truth for the good of the body. Pray for the Holy Spirit to illuminate his word that I might learn as I am to learn and prepare as I am to prepare and teach as I am to teach.

This coming week's text will be Hebrews 1:1-4. Pray for God to impress upon our hearts the awesomeness of Jesus.

On the blogs 10/2/09

Here are some good ones from my reading today:

Is the Deacon just a Servant?

Implications from Psalm 23 for Elders, Fathers, and Husbands

Training Pastors in Church

A Few More Thoughts on Church Membership

Enjoy reading!

Just Thinking...

This morning, I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Sanford across from the "train depot" with my son. He is working on school work while I study and prepare to begin a series of messages that will take our church through the daunting book of Hebrews, which will take several months--probably a couple of years, actually.

In the last few days, I have been pondering just how awesome Jesus is and all that he is "for us". This has been so much on my mind that I was actually pumped up to cut my grass yesterday while listening to worship music. This was nothing more than the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart because I HATE cutting grass. Even though, it was a sweet time of worship--it blew me away...

Even during Wednesday night bible study this week, I sensed my emotions rising up in me as we studied Exodus 24 and the reality that the elders of Israel and Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu "saw the God of Israel" and they "ate and drank in His presence". Dude, that is awesome! And, I think about how much closer and sweeter the fellowship is because Jesus has come and He has passed through the heavens as our great High Priest and ever lives to make intercession for us...WOW!

In the modified words of Muhammed Ali--"Jesus is the Greatest"

On the blogs...

Here are few blog posts worth your time today...

What hath Jerusalem to do with Mecca?

Seattle and Human Trafficking

Church Membership and "Special Needs"

Shocking New Abortion Video (Discretion Advised)

Disciple-Making in the Local Church

The Assembled Church in Corinth (To make us think)

Can our bodies make us sin?

The Greatest Fear of a Minister

Christians in a Digital Age (haven't watched the videos, but my guess is they are instructive)

Happy reading and watching!

Today on the blogs...

Check out the following blogs...

Voddie Baucham for a post about Youth and Children's Ministry

Biblical Manhood & Womanhood for a post entitled "Modern Women are Unhappy"--a very interesting commentary on another article--check it out

Christian Counseling entitled "The Doctor is In" part 1 asking the question "Can our body make us sin?"--interesting...

I pray you will be edified and challenged by these posts.

Love our Neighbor

Check this blog out at www.desiringgod.org/blog entitled "I have not always obeyed this command."

Very apt after this past week's sermon.

God Bless!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

John 13:34-35

In these verses, John 13:34-35, Jesus commands his disciples to love one another.

Jesus also sets two parameters for our obedience to this command: model and purpose

1) The model - Jesus - "as I have loved you, love one another"

a) Service -- Jesus had just washed his disciple's feet as an example

b) Sacrifice -- Jesus is about to lay down his life for them

Is our love for one another characterized by service and sacrifice?

2) The purpose - so the world will know

Loving one another in the body of Christ is to be a picture of the gospel in action.

What does our picture look like?

On the Blog today

Check out the following two blogs I read today:

9 Marks

Clayton King

Long time...

Well, it has been awhile. Times have been busy lately. Should be back to writing pretty soon.

Thanks for your patience.

Hold Fast to the Word, part 2

The following is the manuscript from last week's sermon. I pray that it will encourage you in your walk with Jesus in holding fast to the word------

Our holding fast to the word is the result and effect of the word holding fast to us and gripping our hearts and “owning” us.

In our examination of this exhortation to hold fast to the word, we began answering the question, why is it important, why it is necessary & absolutely essential, for us to hold fast to the word?

To answer that question, we began to do an excavation of chapters 3 and 4.

From 3:1-13, we found the first answer to our question.

It is important & necessary for us to hold fast to the word because of our perilous times.

Paul gives various descriptions of the attitudes, actions, and atmosphere that characterize these perilous & dangerous times.

In v. 1-4, Paul describes the corrupt character of people that would be dominant during these perilous times.

Then, we said that holding fast to the word enables us to turn away from corrupt character, and consequently help us build and cultivate godly character that will stand in contrast and distinction to the ungodliness that we as followers of Jesus would be in the midst of.

In v. 5, Paul describes the religious atmosphere in these perilous times—a description that is very apt for our day, particularly for churches in the South—“a form of godliness”

In light of the reality of reckless religion, we concluded that holding fast to the word helps keep us from the reckless religion of our day because it is damning and altogether spiritually unhealthy as it denies the transforming power of the gospel in people’s lives.

In v. 6-9 and 13, Paul draws our attention to the diabolical deceivers who have marching orders from Satan himself to “creep” into the households and churches to take captive and deceive those who are morally and spiritually weak.

Our only protection is to hold fast to the word and use the sword of the Spirit to test the spirits to evaluate and determine and make judgments concerning the teachings of those that would seek to influence us and shape our thinking as to whether they may be embraced or avoided.

In vv. 10-12, Paul reminded Timothy of the persistent persecution he faced as a messenger of Jesus Christ.

He also reminded Timothy that all who desire to live godly lives would suffer persecution.

Therefore, within the context of chapter 3 and main subject matter of the word, holding fast to the word is that which can sustain us in the midst of persistent persecution as well—

In each of these sections of chapter 3 so far, Paul has expanded for us the first reason why it is important and necessary to hold fast to the word in perilous times given the particular characteristics of those perilous times: the corrupt character, the reckless religion, the diabolical deceivers, and the persistent persecution.

A second reason why it is important and necessary for us to hold fast to word that we got about half-way through last week was this…

It is important and necessary for us to hold fast to the word because the Word is sufficient for our Christian lives.

There are many Christians today who will proclaim the authority of the bible as “God’s word”, but in actual practice deny its authority and its sufficiency.

We begin to reason with our own wisdom and experience—we look to other models for church organization and structure—we look to the world to find solutions for life’s issues—all to which the Bible clearly speaks

Based upon this reality, Hendricks is right on another point—many times we pay lip service to the sufficiency of God’s word, but not life service.

In reference to this reason of sufficiency for holding fast to the word, we began answering the question, “how and in what areas of life is the bible sufficient?”

In vv. 14-15 of chapter 3, we learned that the word is sufficient for salvation.

The primary tool that the Holy Spirit uses to bring about regeneration and conversion is the Word of God—particularly the gospel.

This primarily for us today refers to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This would include his sinless life, his substitutionary death, and his subsequent resurrection from the dead to conquer our final enemy.

Romans 1:16 tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe…”

Later in Romans 10:17, Paul writes, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”

The gospel proclaimed verbally and lived out honestly, openly, and obediently are necessary elements in the salvation experience of those who do come to a saving knowledge of Jesus through faith—the gospel & its implications are necessary and sufficient as used by the Holy Spirit.

A second area where the word is sufficient for our lives is in the area of sanctification.

Sanctification is the process that begins at the moment of conversion whereby the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives to transform us and mold us and shape us into the image and character and likeness of Jesus.

The primary tool that the Holy Spirit uses to do perform this work is the Word of God.

That is why it is absolutely essential for us to spend quality and consistent time in the scriptures on a personal basis as well as in formal teaching settings like Sunday school and corporate worship/teaching gatherings so that the Holy Spirit can work in us and on us to continually transform our character.

We will never grow toward the spiritual maturity that God desires for us or in conformity to the likeness of Jesus without consistent time in and exposure to the word of God.

Some believe that life experience automatically equals spiritual maturity—some believe that common sense (whatever that is) automatically equals spiritual maturity—some believe that intellectual knowledge automatically equals spiritual maturity—some people believe that giftedness and talent automatically equal spiritual maturity—God may use all these to transform us, but none are infallible measurements of spiritual maturity

Spiritual maturity is not measured by any of those things but is measured by the knowledge of and application of scripture to life, the practical discernment of truth and error, and the conformity of one’s character to the likeness of Jesus in attitude, word, and deed in obedience to the Father’s will

As the Holy Spirit changes us and transforms us, we respond in obedience by putting off the old way of living whether it is attitudes or actions and putting on the new way of living in Christ and walking as Christ Himself walked by the enabling power/ability of the Holy Spirit—that is in consistent fellowship with the Father and in obedience to the will of the Father.

Another way we might say this is the way James says it—“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”

Real biblical, life-change moving forward to spiritual maturity occurs as we apply and implement what the Holy Spirit teaches us through the scriptures into life.

Notice how this works from 3:16.

The scripture is profitable, useful, and valuable because it is God-breathed—it is the sword of the Spirit according to Ephesians 6:17.

The Holy Spirit of God wrote the bible and therefore, the bible is the primary tool the Holy Spirit uses in the life of a believer to produce life-change and transformation of character—our attitudes and actions—to bring us into conformity with Jesus.

Notice the four areas of the work of the word in v. 16…

• For doctrine

This primarily refers to right teaching, which in turn affects our thinking.

The scriptures are the plumb line, the gauge, the standard by which all other doctrine is evaluated and judged—it is the standard by which we judge our own thoughts, motives, and intentions.

No matter the credentials that are held by a teacher, the ultimate judge is the Word of God.

Our thinking about truth and doctrine must be informed by scripture—not by the latest news articles or books by famous people, but by the scriptures themselves.

This requires that we spend significant time in the scriptures so that we might understand what “sound doctrine” and “spiritual truth” is according to the Holy Spirit, and then, we will be equipped to test the spirits as we are instructed in 1 John 4 to determine if that which is being taught—that which we are reading—that which we are listening to—is truly from God.

• For reproof

Reproof, by the scripture, is the act of exposing error.

It can refer to the exposing of error in false teachers and also error and sin in our personal lives.

It is a rebuke—where we are made aware of our sin, our straying off the path of righteousness, our missing the mark of God’s holiness for us.

Let me see if I can illustrate this spiritual reality with a human example…

When one child desires to have a toy that another child has, conflict occurs—one starts yelling for the toy and the other begins screaming, “I had it first”—the behavior by both children is the expression of an internal desire—“selfishness”—that selfishness expresses itself in desiring that toy too much, making that toy into an idol…

As parents, we need to get to the heart of the issue, not merely the behavior modification

The word gets to the heart of the matter—that is the selfishness in both children’s hearts—most of the time we parents “rebuke” the behavior without ever using the scripture to rebuke the internal attitude that produced the behavior

The tool for rebuke is the scripture—the Holy Spirit uses the scalpel of the word to dig to the heart in order to bring conviction, even godly guilt and shame, in order that the person might be brought to true confession and repentance

Why does the Holy Spirit use the word (and consequently why should we)…

One reason is because of Hebrews 4:12-13—“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

The word of God reproves and rebukes us in our hearts—our motives, our thoughts, and the intentions of our heart—all is lay bare before the Word of God.

If “rebuking” is negative, then the next phrase is the positive side…

• For correction

Correcting is the idea of being made straight—being brought back in line with the life that God desires for His people to live modeled by Jesus

Again the primary tool of the Spirit is the Word.

Rebuking and correcting are two sides of the same coin that are expounded in other passages of scripture.

Paul uses language of “putting off” and “putting on” in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3.

The Holy Spirit rebukes/reproves us through the scriptures concerning the heart issues and then transforms us through the scriptures so that the internal heart issues are corrected and the fruit of the Spirit is demonstrated/produced in our lives as we walk in the Spirit being obedient to the Word of God as we are corrected and brought back in line in our hearts.

When we stray from the path of righteousness, Blackaby says there has been a heart shift; the word gets to the heart of the matter and begins to correct our wayward hearts and bring us back in line with God’s desires.

As the Holy Spirit uses the scripture to inform our thinking through right teaching, rebuke us when we go astray, and correct us, the fourth use of scripture continues the process of sanctification…

• For instruction in righteousness

The instruction or training referred to here denotes the positive training and discipline used to develop within a person Christian character and keep us on the right spiritual track toward godliness—1 Timothy 4:6—“exercise yourself unto godliness”

This Christian character is evidenced in a holy-set apart lifestyle that avoids sin and embraces practical righteousness—basically, it is Christ-like character in attitude and behavior—

The instructor in this gymnasium of training is the Holy Spirit and the training manual is the Word of God—its teaching and modeling presented by Jesus

Each of these four uses of the word declared in 3:16 form the foundation and blueprint for the sanctifying work of the Spirit in our lives—personally and corporately—and our development and progress as Christians depends upon following the blueprint

Spiritual growth will not and cannot occur if the Word of God is neglected or even marginalized in our personal lives, our families’ lives, or our church’s life—this is God’s goal for us and the Word by the Spirit is the avenue to reach that goal

It is essential that we hold fast to the word because it is sufficient for our sanctification.

Another area in which the word is sufficient is the area of service.

Look with me at v. 17…

The word “that” in the beginning of verse 17 introduces a purpose clause—“so that” or “in order that”—the on-going process of sanctification is for the purpose of equipping Christians for every good work that God might call them to do for the advancement of the kingdom.

To be equipped is the picture of someone who is “furnished completely” or “in fit shape or condition.”

I had the opportunity to play some tennis this week with some friends—a sport that I haven’t played in two, three, maybe even 4 years—

It only took playing about an hour and a half to realize that I was not “furnished completely” or in fit shape or condition to go on tour with the likes of Andy Roddick or Roger Federer.

I would have to do a major overhaul in my fitness lifestyle and practice and practice some more—I would need to hire a coach, probably even go back in time 10 or fifteen years to be in fit shape or condition.

For Christians to be equipped or furnished completely for the work to which God calls them, we must be nourished in the scriptures and in the process of being transformed by the scriptures as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and on our character.

The condition of being thoroughly equipped carries with it the idea readiness—always being ready for God’s call upon our lives whatever that might be in his sovereign providence…

Here’s how one commentator summarized this: “If Timothy would nurture his spiritual life in the scriptures that he would use in his ministry, he would be fully qualified and prepared to undertake whatever tasks God put before him. What a tragedy for any Christian to be labeled as spiritually unprepared for a task when the means of instruction and preparation are readily at hand.”

God has called all Christians into His service for the expansion of His kingdom upon this earth through our lives, and the primary tool by which we are equipped for this calling is the “nourishment” of the scriptures as the Holy Spirit works in us and on us to fully prepare us and equip us.

The Word of God is sufficient for our lives in the area of salvation, sanctification, and service; therefore, it is important and necessary for us to hold fast to the word.

We have so far examined two reasons why it is important and essential for us to hold fast to the word…

--because of our perilous times
--because of its sufficiency for our lives

Next Sunday, Lord willing, we will examine the third reason why it is important and necessary for us to the hold fast to the word…that is…

It is important and necessary for us to hold fast to the word because of the coming judgment

Until then, let’s return to the questions we posed last Sunday…

What kind of grip do we have on the word in our personal lives?
• Do we acknowledge that the Word is essential to our spiritual growth and that without it we will not grow?
• Do we acknowledge that spiritual growth occurs as we apply and implement what the Holy Spirit teaches us as we immerse ourselves in the word?

What kind of grip do we have on the word in our church’s life?
• Do we acknowledge and use the scriptures as our primary tool for “making disciples” and fulfilling the Great Commission?
• Do we acknowledge and follow the scriptures as our primary blueprint for being a faithful and dare I say successful church?

What kind of grip does the Word have on us?

May I challenge you today in one particular area…that of personal bible study?

How often are you in direct contact with the Word yourself—not in Sunday school, not in preaching, not listening to sermons, but direct contact?

Are Sunday school and consistency in sitting under the teaching of God’s word essential—absolutely—

However, oftentimes, people will substitute all of those things for personal bible study and never actually get into the Word themselves—whether personally or in a small group of believers just to study the bible.

For spiritual growth to occur, God has designed the Christian life in such a way that we need all of these exposures to the scriptures.

They are all important and necessary for us to grow up to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ according to Ephesians 4.

The one that seems to be neglected most today is personal bible study…many think that spiritual growth just happens, but it doesn’t…it cannot happen unless we nourish the spiritual life that God imparted to us on the day of our regeneration and conversion…

So, here is the challenge…will you commit today to begin spending just 15 minutes a day in personal bible study?

Start with the book of 1 John or the book of Ephesians.

Most bibles have the books separated into paragraphs with headings or bold-print verse numbers.

Read a paragraph a day—usually a few verses.

Then, on the insert in your bulletin, there are some questions that you can ask the text you are reading—and as you ask those questions and answer them, you’ll be “studying” & “applying” before you know it.

Then, as we study, learn, and apply what we learn we will see how important and essential the scriptures are to our sanctification—

God desires for all of us to grow—and we cannot grow apart from the scriptures—they are important and necessary, therefore we must hold fast to the Word.

-----------
The insert referred to is copied below:

Questions for Personal Bible Study
(taken from Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks and class notes from Dr. Daniel Akin)

1. What does this passage say about God?
2. What does this passage say about Jesus?
3. What does this passage say about the Holy Spirit?
4. What does this passage say about man?
5. What does this passage say about the gospel?
6. What does this passage say about the Christian life?
a. Is there an example for me to follow?
b. Is there a sin to avoid/confess?
c. Is there a promise to claim?
d. Is there a prayer to repeat?
e. Is there a command to obey?
f. Is there a condition to meet?
g. Is there a verse to memorize?
h. Is there an error to avoid?
i. Is there a challenge to face?
j. Is there a principle to apply?
k. Is there a habit to change - i.e. start or stop?
l. Is there an attitude to correct?
m. Is there a truth to believe?

Articles on the Gospel & Its Implications

Here is a link to a site with some good articles.

Check these out when you get a chance. There is some good reading here.

Home Schooling

Well, we began our homeschooling journey with our older son, Cameron today. I am looking forward to the challenge and the extra time I get to spend with my son. I pray for God's grace in attempting this endeavor.

Pray for us as we make the necessary transitions for this to work. I know it means extra work for me, but in the end, I believe it will be worth the effort and sacrifice.

Thank you for praying.

Making Disciples

A friend emailed the following to me with the caption "The Test of Successful Ministry":

The measure of how ministry is progressing in your church or fellowship, and the way to evaluate whether you are making progress, is not attendance on Sunday, signed up members, people in small groups, or the size of our budget (as important and valuable as all these things are!). The real test is how successfully you are making disciples who make other disciples. Are we seeing people converted from being dead in their transgressions to being alive in Christ? And once converted, are we seeing them followed-up and established as mature disciples of Jesus? And as they become established, are we training them in knowledge, godliness and skills so that they will in turn make disciples of others?

This is the Great Commission—the making of disciples who obey all that Christ has taught, including the command to make disciples. And this is the touchstone of our faithfulness to Christ's mission in the world, and the sign of a healthy church: whether or not it is making genuine disciple-making disciples of Jesus Christ.

That's how we should evaluate the "success" of our churches.

What do you think?

I would say we have much work to do.

Hold Fast to the Word

This past Sunday, we examined 2 Timothy 1:13.

In that examination, we explored reasons why Paul exhorted Timothy to "hold fast" from 2 Timothy 3 and 4.

Here is reason #1: Hold fast to the word because of our perilous times (2 Timothy 3:1)

Holding fast in perilous times to the word helps us...
1) Turn away from corrupt character (2 Tim. 3:2-4)
2) Keep away from reckless religion (2 Tim. 3:5)
3) Protect us from diabolical deceivers (2 Tim. 3:6-9, 13)
4) Sustain us in persistent persecution (2 Tim. 3:10-12)

We also explored part of reason #2: Hold fast to the word because of its sufficiency for our lives (2 Timothy 3:16)

The word is sufficient in the following areas...
1) Sufficient for salvation (2 Tim. 3:14-15)
2) Sufficient for sanctification (2 Tim. 3:16)

This is where we finished up yesterday.

We plan to pick up here with some review and finish our examination of the reasons this coming Sunday.

With that being said, I have started another blog over at Hold Fast.

The title of this blog has come about because of the gripping of my heart concerning this passage (2 Timothy 1:13-14). This new blog may not get as much attention, but I hope to use it as a journal of sorts as I study the scriptures and their implications for my life personally and the life of the church.

God bless...

Is there any hope?

After teaching through the 10 commandments over the last 13 weeks or so, it is very easy to become discouraged when we see the perfection of God in his holiness revealed in those commandments and then to realize that He requires perfection in us...so, last week we asked the question, "Is there any hope?"

And, the answer: absolutely YES!

Our hope is in Jesus.

Here are 6 reasons from the sermon why Jesus is our hope:

A. Jesus is my hope because He fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law.
Romans 8:1-11
B. Jesus is my hope because He became the curse of the law.
Galatians 3:10-14
C. Jesus is my hope because He satisfied the wrath of God against sinners
Romans 3:21-26
D. Jesus is my hope because He gave me His righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21
E. Jesus is my hope because He is my faithful and merciful high priest
Hebrews 4:14-16
F. Jesus is my hope because He enables me to obey God’s commands
Romans 6:1-14

May your faith be strengthened today by God's grace and Jesus Christ, the hope of glory!

On the Sovereignty of God

I read these two paragraphs in The Peacemaker by Ken Sande in the chapter entitled "Trust in the Lord and Do Good"...

"Nothing is a surprise to God; nothing is a setback to his plans; nothing can thwart his purposes; and nothing is beyond his control. His sovereignty is absolute. Everything that happens is uniquely ordained of God. Sovereignty is a weighty thing to ascribe to the nature and character of God. Yet if he were not sovereign, he would not be God. The Bible is clear that God is in control of everything that happens." (p. 69)

"If examining the sovereignty of God teaches us anything, it teaches us that real satisfaction comes not in understanding God's motives, but in understanding his character, in trusting his promises, and in leaning on him and resting in him as the Sovereign who know what he is doing and does all things well." (p. 69)

Some deep thoughts to ponder on this Thursday morning...

Back from vacation

We are back from our vacation in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. We had a great time just being together as a family. Regular posts should begin again at the beginning of the week.

God bless you all.

For quicker updates, blurbs, and comments on what I'm reading or studying you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Commandment #10 - Covetousness

Today's message was on Coveting, the 10th commandment.

I made the following two points about the purpose of the commandment being last in the list:
1) It gets at the root heart motivation that underlies the breaking of the other commandments that relate to loving our neighbor
2) It exposes the idol that plagues us all--that is "unchecked desires"

Our desires can go unchecked in at least three ways:
1) the motivation of our desire
2) the direction of our desire
3) the depth or intensity of our desire

Principles to overcome covetousness:
A. Cultivating consistent repentance of our unchecked desires
B. Cultivating contentment in God’s providence
C. Cultivating trust in God’s promises
D. Cultivating reliance on God’s provision
E. Cultivating an open-handed/generous lifestyle
F. Cultivating an eternal perspective
G. Cultivating the reality that Jesus is all we need

Here are some scripture references to meditate upon:
1- Psalm 16:11
2- Psalm 73:25-26
3- Matthew 6:25-34
4- Philippians 4:11-12
5- James 4:1-4
6- Hebrews 13:5-6

You can check out our website for the audio of today's message.

God bless.

Reliance upon whom?

Read 2 Chronicles 16:7

Where does our reliance lie? What areas of life are we relying upon someone other than God?

Here's why we can rely on God all the time...read 2 Chronicles 16:9

Praise the Lord that He said He would never leave us, nor forsake us!

Be Forewarned - This one might sting

This is a fictional story, but carries much truth.

"Reality Blindness"

This was interesting by Thom Rainer

Entertainment and Us

Found this over at PluggedIn Online.

Commandment #9 - Bearing False Witness

Here is the sermon transcript from today's sermon on the 9th commandment:

Exodus 20:16 – Truth-telling in a World of Lies
July 26, 2009

One of the most famous movie dialogues with regard to our subject this morning comes from the early 1990s movie “A Few Good Men”.

The scene is the courtroom where Lt. Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is questioning Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) concerning a murder incident that took place on his marine base where a young private Santiago was killed by two other marines.

In the midst of the heated exchange between Lt. Kaffee and Col. Jessup, Kaffee shouts, “I want the truth”…

To which Col. Jessup responds in classic Jack Nicholson fashion… “You can’t handle the truth!”

Truth and truth-telling in particular has become an elusive creature within our post-modern era—certainly in courtrooms, but even more so within the context of the various dimensions of human relationships.

Its elusive nature is reflected in teenage TV shows that flood the Disney channel and movies in theatres where “bearing false witness” is just the way life is done.

It can also be detected in the smallest of human beings—“Carter, did you hit your sister?”—“No” or “It was an accident”

It would seem that lying and bearing false witness and deceiving is built into our fallen human nature—

All of this began with the “father of lies”, Satan, in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve bearing false witness about God and His love and Word, thereby precipitating the eventual fall of the human race through the deliberate sin of Adam.

From there, Adam sought to blame Eve (which was really blaming God b/c God gave Eve to Adam), and then Eve sought to blame the serpent…all participating in a form of “bearing false witness” trying to “save face” and participate in some form of “self-preservation”

What happened in the Garden of Eden in the fall has bent our human nature toward a profound tendency of self-preservation and keeping up appearances before others as more important than the “truth”—

In fact this “self-preservation” is a form of idolatry because it becomes the thing that we worship and the altar upon which we sacrifice truth instead of worshiping the one who is the Truth—that is Jesus

Ever since the fall, we have been prone to outright lies, cover ups, deception, hypocrisy, “white” lies, gossip, slander, exaggerations, embellishments, flattery, half-truths, or plagiarism…

This is something that we are all guilty of at times and the consequences and repercussions of these violations differ depending upon the context and the relationship that has been damaged because of the violation…though they are all violations of this commandment

Michael Horton quotes an essay by Paul Gray about this very subject providing a good summary of the mixed bag this commandment brings to the table of our relationships in society as a whole:

“The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked ambivalent, conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everybody condemns lying. On the other, nearly everyone does it every day.”

With that being said, let us hear afresh this morning through the prophet Moses, God’s instruction and mandate for His people to be truthful in all there dealings within the context of human relationships as He declares, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

The overall biblical principle that this commandment speaks to is the principle of “truth-telling” with respect to the many and varied contexts of human relationships in which we find ourselves.

With respect to the Israelite people, God gave further instructions on the application of this commandment within their community of faith…

Here are some of those instructions from the OT…

Exodus 23:1-3
You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in a dispute.

Leviticus 5:1
If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or know of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.

The NAC says that this verse indicates that a false testimony includes the refusal to divulge pertinent information, thus creating a false impression of what the facts really are.

Leviticus 11:11, 16-17
You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

You shall not go about as a talebearer (slanderer) among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

This verse indicates that slander, that is (AW Pink) “a lie invented and circulated with malicious intentions”, is a form of bearing false witness.

On the other hand, to refuse to rebuke a fellow brother or sister who is sinning while acting as if everything is ok, is also a form of bearing false witness—this is the form of bearing false witness that the Corinthian church was guilty of in 1 Corinthians 5.

Loving our neighbor is the biblical command for us in both situations—not slandering our brother or sister, but also rebuking our brother or sister at the right time in the right place with the right movitation.

Deuteronomy 19:18-19
And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil among you.

It is true that most of these OT contexts refer to a courtroom type setting; however, the larger principle of truth-telling in all circumstances is clearly seen, particularly in the Leviticus texts.

The implications of this commandment go beyond just our words, though they are certainly and most definitely included, but to any manner in which we communicate—our actions, through telephone, email, facebook, myspace…in any of these ways, there is potential to bear false witness.

At this point, we are going to list a few ways in which we commonly violate this biblical principle of truth-telling, honesty, forthrightness, and trustworthiness—maybe without even realizing it…

The possibilities will most likely fall into one of two categories…not fixed categories, but they might give us ample room to examine our own hearts by the Holy Spirit…

Here are the two categories…
1) We can bear false witness about a neighbor to other neighbors (drawing them into our web of sinful activity), or
2) We can bear false witness about ourselves to our neighbor…(b/c who is my neighbor...everybody)

Both cases violate the biblical principle of loving our neighbor with regard to honesty, forthrightness, integrity, and truth-telling…

And, as we begin this list…let me say that it is potentially an endless list of possibilities of violating this principle because of the endless set of circumstances and situations we could find ourselves in…AND we are all probably guilty in more than one point…

So, buckle your seatbelt, change into your steel toed shoes…here we go…

1) Maliciously gossiping about someone—“circulating a false report—occurs also regardless if what is being said is true or false—masked as a “prayer request”
2) Misrepresenting ourselves to others—giving false impressions to other people—Facebook; Myspace—what’s your real age, young people?—
a. Resumes—George O’Leary—Notre Dame coach—didn’t actually play college football
3) Calling ourselves Christians—bear false witness to the world if we claim to be Christians, but live contrary to the way the Bible describes the Christian way of life
4) When we give a false impression of what the facts are in a situation instead of what the facts really are…
5) Telling little “white” lies—to ease a situation, to get out of a jam, to save face in an embarrassing situation, to avoid getting in trouble, to avoid—getting our kids to lie for us…”mommy’s not home right now”
a. What about kids’ meals at restaurants—these kids know how old they are—
6) Flattery and false praise—how often do we do this with our kids—have we allowed the self-esteem movement to keep us from being honest to our own kids?
a. American Idol – bad singers – their friends?
b. I read this lengthy quote this week..."The Bible actually has a very simple way of explaining what is at the heart of the self-esteem movement and its other not-so-funny effects. Proverbs 26:28 states, “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” No matter how sophisticated our theory, telling someone something that isn’t true just so they will feel better is flattery. This proverb makes plain that flattery is just a nice word for lying. No matter how noble our motivation, and despite its comic value, giving someone a false picture of themselves doesn’t help them, but only sets them up for ruin. Without bothering to speculate on our motivation, the Bible simply calls this “hatred” because of its effect. Love means speaking in a way that helps the other person to grow, that gives them the best shot at success, not ruin, shame, and embarrassment. As a counselor as well as a husband, father, friend, and neighbor I need to remember that sometimes speaking the truth in love isn’t easy and isn’t always welcomed by the hearer. But it is love...
c. "I think that maybe some of the contestants on American Idol would have been better served if a few trusted people in their lives had taken just a few minutes to kindly tell them, “You know, singing may not be the best use of your talents. Let me tell you what you are really good at . . ."

Does that mean, Michael, that when my wife asks me how her hair looks, I have to tell the truth?

Well, if your relationship with your husband or wife is not so that you can tell the truth about something like that…there are probably deeper issues that you need to talk about other than hair…

Having said that though, that does bring up a question…Is it ever right to lie…is there ever a situation where we must lie—because if we are honest all of these little “names” we have proposed are just fancy ways of lying

Think with me about Rahab, the harlot, in the OT…remember when the spies came from into the promised land…Joshua 2…did she lie…yes—was it still a sin?—there is a quandary for us to ponder……(battered wife or children)

Another question that arises—is it right to always be brutally honest with people?

One quote I read this week about this said… “There also seems to be an honesty threshold, a point beyond which a virtue turns mean and nasty. Constantly hearing the truth, the cold, hard, brutal unsparing truth, from spouses, relatives, friend and colleagues is not a pleasant prospect. ‘Human kind,’ as TS Elliot wrote, ‘cannot bear very much reality.” Truth telling makes it possible for people to coexist; a little lying makes such society tolerable.”

What do you think about that? I’m still pondering those statements…I’m certain that this type of “honesty” can very easily become overly critical…interesting thoughts anyway…

With regard to prohibiting the bearing of false witness, God is calling His people to be honest and to have integrity.

A few scriptures to give us direction and exhortation on this matter as we reflect on our own lives with respect to this commandment…

Let’s begin with James 3:1-12

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

ESV Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

ESV Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

ESV Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Notice that none of these forbid the rebuking of a brother or sister in sin—but, it does give us direction and guidance in the attitude with we “speak the truth”—that it is always done in love.

ESV Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

As this command pertains to “bearing false witness about ourselves to others”, we are called in scripture to…
1) Live lives that are “above reproach”—that does not mean perfection, but it does mean we own up to mistakes made, sins committed and take responsibility for actions in such a way that no one can point fingers and bring a charge against us—this is having integrity
2) Similarly, we are called to live lives that “abstain from all appearance” of evil—we have a responsibility not to compromise our testimony or to misrepresent Jesus and the name that we claim Christian

These scriptures and principles about truth-telling and truth-living do not mince any words—some, it will cause to shake in their shoes—some it will cause to want to crawl in a hole—

But, they should drive all of us to the cross of Jesus—the one who is the truth

They should drive all of us to our knees—in confession and repentance—in total dependence on the Holy Spirit by God’s enabling grace to walk with integrity and speak with honesty in all situations from this day forward