This blog will cover two weeks of information, so I’ll jump right in. Have your heart before the Lord: 1993 was a monumental year for me. I served Ovilla Road Baptist Church (my home church) as the youth pastor, and things were going well. Yes, I made typical immature decisions and acted like many of…
When our kids were younger, we wanted them to memorize key Bible verses, such as James 4:1. We did this because conflict is inevitable. Our kids were going to experience it, and we wanted them prepared. The biblical perspective is that we must ask ourselves what our contribution has been to the conflict. James 4:1…
There are a few key things I want to jump into regarding Sunday’s sermon from James 3:13-18. I’ll get right to it. My personal experience: Early in ministry, I prided myself on my courage and strength. I regularly applauded myself for defending the truth and for speaking with courage. Others applauded me for my ‘power’ and ‘anointing.’ I…
Hallelujah, what a Savior! This morning (Monday), I wanted to read the resurrection narrative from Luke’s gospel. I was reminded anew what a glorious Savior we serve. I sent this to our elder team: “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were…
Several years ago, I was a worry wart. I would make up things to worry about to feel like I was doing something. Jill told me I didn’t need to worry, but I did. I memorized key verses about worry and tried to apply them, but to no avail. It was a long-term issue for me. I struggled with anxiety…
I moved to Oregon in 1994 from Texas. Texas was my home for my first 24 years and was the only culture I knew. In a country as big as the United States, it’s hard to imagine the vastness of different cultures. But when I moved to Oregon, I was in a bit of culture shock. This was not…
The last six weeks have been a challenge. Many of you asked me if I was okay after Sunday. Many of you have never seen me cry the way I did at the beginning of the sermon, and others saw tears combined with me checking my phone and thought something was wrong. I greatly appreciate the…
I’m not sure that I have given much thought to how temptation to sin follows trials. But James sure did. After thinking about James 1:12-18 for the past week, the Lord allowed me to see several moments where this was true in my past. Here are a few examples: In most of these moments, I failed miserably. Looking…
I was asked a couple questions after Sunday’s sermon, so I’ll use this post to address those. “The Proverbs of the New Testament” If you’ve ever read Proverbs, I’m sure you’ve noticed the different topics addressed. Those topics seem to come up randomly, and it feels like the author switches between them at will. That’s what…
“Wisdom tells knowledge how to behave” (H.B. Charles). That quote has served me well in recent years. The older I get, the greater I need wisdom, and I have found a greater appreciation for wisdom. In this post, I want to talk about James’ approach to wisdom and hopefully give you a bit of a grid to see…
It is never easy, as a pastor, to look at the text you’re teaching on Sunday and know how challenging it will be for your people. Last week, as I studied James 1:2-4, I became aware of a new cancer diagnosis, more relational conflicts, and a congregant battling lung issues. Extra-locally, I became aware of another pastor…
To say I’ve been looking forward to our study of James would be an understatement. I’m thrilled to be in this book. One reason: it’s WAY different than Genesis. It’s shorter, and the study and prep work will focus on shorter sections of scripture. I’m eager to dig deep into the language and think deeply about each section. The other…
Sunday was another privilege to share God’s word and mission with our church. Over the last few weeks, we have introduced our church’s mission statement and ministry process to our church. We have attempted to share some non-negotiables and how people connect and grow at CLF. It’s been a clarifying series. This past Sunday was about growing…
Being known by and developing close relationships with other Christians presents many challenges. In this post, I will list a few of those and ponder some biblical solutions. But first, we prayed Sunday about the devastating fires in California, specifically for our brothers and sisters at Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena. I also announced that some…
This post has much to cover, so let’s get to it. Clarifications After Sunday’s service, Chris Guastaferro sent this text to our elder group thread: “The example you gave about sick kids. I want to make sure I understand. Are we encouraging parents to attend even with sick kids? I’m sure I misunderstood.” My response was, “Haha! No.…
The last Sunday of 2024 was a memorable one. Preaching through the prologue of John’s gospel was an enormous task and treat. As I said in my introduction, that text makes me tremble because of its density and breadth concerning Jesus. Hearing our church worship at the end of the sermon was a joy because sermons should draw…
There are many reasons for joy. Sunday’s sermon was another example. I want to explore a few ways to apply that sermon in this post. Why is the joy of the Lord our strength? Nehemiah 8:10 makes this case. In that text, the people of God were under duress while reconstructing the walls, and Ezra reads from the…
One of our hopes for the Advent series was to create a sense of anticipation. We arranged the series to start in Genesis, hoping to build each week upon the longing and anticipation that the Jewish people might’ve felt. As I studied Luke 1:26-38, I could feel this in the text. It was a sweet privilege to think…
My favorite sermon topics are those about mundane life. In this post, I want to clarify some points and give practical advice on serving Christ right where we are. The Lure of the Secret As a young Christian, I was deeply concerned about missing God’s will. I worried I would somehow miss God’s signs and wanted…
Generally, the promises in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah were given in times of upheaval and distress. As each OT prophet foresaw, there was a future age of turmoil for the people of Israel. It was no different in the prophecy we looked at Sunday from Micah 5. As I noted in my sermon, the…
This past week is one of those weeks that Jill and I highlight on our calendar. We all look forward to our annual elder and wives’ planning retreat. There are many reasons for this, and I’ll use this post to highlight them. Lots of Discussions I collect information and ideas we must discuss each year…
It will be challenging to keep this post short, so I’m preparing you now… As promised on Sunday, here’s a debrief of our recent trips to the Philippines, Sydney, and the SGC Pastors Conference. God’s gospel is Moving Forward When people ask me about my view of the end times, I tell them that God’s…
Greetings from Cebu City, Philippines! Today is Tuesday morning, and it is likely that by the time you receive this, Jill and I will be in Manila. We have been in Cebu since Friday evening. We’ve had a busy but incredible time. A Quick Update When we left Eugene on Thursday, our flight was delayed by almost two…
If you’ve been in our church for very long, you have heard me talk about long-term faithfulness. In my mind, Joseph is the first biblical case study of that. We obviously can’t miss the big story of why God put Joseph in Egypt. Joseph was there to provide for God’s people during the famine in Egypt. He was also there to bring Israel to Egypt, eventually bringing Israel’s growth and Exodus to the Promised Land. But Joseph’s faithful service, no matter where he landed. The Lord brought favor in leaders’ eyes each time—from the jailer to Potiphar to Pharaoh.
Talking about forgiveness is remarkably challenging. One of the daunting tasks for the pastor is to explain principles, knowing that there can be a variety of applications. Every situation is different, but the biblical principles are the same. And quite honestly, publicly preaching/teaching cannot get into every application. But it can give principle. That’s why faithful church ministry does not…
Sunday’s sermon on Genesis 42-43 dealt with one of the more challenging theological ideas in the Bible. I was trying to explain that practically, encouragingly, and clearly. What made this daunting was the unexpected trip to Texas for a family funeral. I crammed most of my study and writing in two days, and one of those was…
We have had some wonderful Sundays the past few weeks. I will share a few thoughts from those weeks, and I hope it’ll be helpful and encouraging. Genesis 37 and Baptism Preaching at One Champion Field is challenging because the net that separates the field from the stands creates a false barrier and makes it…
Through the years, Jill and I have sought to help our kids deal with the idols of their hearts. One of the ways that we’ve helped them identify these dastardly enemies of our souls is by helping them see that when idols are close to being exposed, sinful responses usually follow. Anger, dismissal, covering up, hiding, or other things have helped our kids see where their idols lurk. I have often said that when I’m counseling people when they get mad, we’re “about to hit paydirt.” My point is that we will do anything to keep our idols.
The lifelong lessons of Jacob and his family keep coming. Remembering his compromise and his son’s overzealous actions is a great reminder that there is never a time in our lives to get sloppy or lazy. As leaders, there’s too much at stake. As young people who tend to be more zealous and idealistic, it’s imperative that you lean into older, seasoned, experienced, and mature Christians as you navigate how to deal with the stuff you see in your world. I’m sure you’ll find that there are many warriors who’ve gone before you who have learned how to engage in this spiritual war in a way that honors the Lord and makes an impact.
The story from Genesis 30:25-43 is a story about this very thing. The Lord is the provider. But the Lord gave Jacob wisdom, expertise, and resourcefulness to breed his flocks. We find this throughout the Bible. David’s building projects, Solomon’s Temple build, weapons of warfare that God’s people invented, and governmental laws were all given by God and done by the people of God. One of the hallmarks of Christianity is the freedom of thought, invention, and resourcefulness that it brings.
The study of Genesis has been good for my soul and the soul of our church. One of the areas that’s been good has been the warnings about jealousy and selfish ambition. It’s very interesting how often these issues arise in the Old Testament: In Genesis alone, we see Cain and Abel, Sarai and Hagar, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, and Joseph and his brothers. In other parts of the Old Testament history, you’ll see Miriam and Aaron being jealous of Moses and the sons of Korah doing the same. You’ll read of King Saul’s jealousy about David and David’s son, Absalom, selfishly taking the throne.
Over the course of the last 8-10 years, anything from sexual ethics to abortion politics has become a war zone. To enter these worlds, you must be prepared to speak courageously, as I mentioned above. But Galatians 5:15 reveals to us a truth that will help us as we engage in public with the truth: those who bite and devour will consume themselves.
One of my trepidations about preaching about trials is the question: “Are trials in our near future?” Some have told me they might not be at church often during this series because of that (they said that sarcastically…even though I haven’t seen them at church lately😂). But the reality is that many in our church are already in the throws of earthly pain, and I’m grateful that this series has served our church and them. Several of them have mentioned how helpful this series had been to them, and like so many in our church, they’re leaning into what God is teaching them.
Recently, as I was reflecting on the journey the Lord has had us on, I began to wonder if we, as a church, have become impatient and ungrateful and, in doing so, have lost sight of the mission of the gospel.
I have always been deeply affected by something the Lord told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:17-18, when He said, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
I’m writing this on Memorial Day. Like many of you, we will enjoy the day of rest, eat good food, and have family over for a BBQ. It’s the official start of summer, and outdoor weather is here. But today, my mind is drawn to another year of great freedoms in our great country. I thank God for those who served in the military and your friends who gave their lives for our freedoms. Those freedoms should never be taken lightly; we should be grateful for them and the sacrifices paid to earn them. God has been kind to us, and one of the great gifts He’s given us is the nation in which we live.
When you read this prophecy in Genesis 25:23, it’s essential to see this correctly. In the stories of Isaac/Ishmael and Jacob/Esau, the older will serve the younger. But we could also say the first will serve the last. Just because something comes first in order does not mean it’s first in prominence.
Think of Adam. Adam is called the first Adam. Jesus is called the last Adam. See?
The world’s system values the order of things: first in class, firstborn, and first in position. God values something else.
Genesis 25 is a bit of a bear. There’s the death of Abraham and Ishmael—the transition to Isaac, and the introduction to Jacob and Esau. As I stated in my post last week, Genesis 25 was on the docket for this past Sunday. However, once I started looking at it more closely, I had no idea how to cover it. I broke into separate sermons. We will cover Genesis 25:12-34 this coming Sunday.
But there are two things from this Sunday’s sermon that I’d like to expound on a bit more in this post.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Wasn’t that a great day at church? Resurrection Day service followed by baptisms was a great way to celebrate our Savior. I was reminded on Sunday about Luke 15:7, when Jesus said, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The joy of our people hearing testimonies and observing baptisms was heaven-like. What a day!
It dawned on me: look around and rejoice…all that we have needed, God has provided. Let’s use it for the mission of the gospel. Easter is coming, CLF…, and there are plenty of seats at Jacoby to invite friends to church.
Sunday’s sermon was a ‘sweet spot’ for me. I struggled with anxiety for much of my early Christian life. I wanted to please God and do His will, but I was always worried I was missing it. I was taught about God’s ‘perfect’ will and that, if I missed it, I would not be in the ‘center’ of God’s will. It created tons of anxiety. Things started to change one night when Major Ian Thomas spoke at our church on that topic. He talked about how God actively led His people and that God’s goodness met them as they obeyed Him. After his sermon, I asked, “Major, I want to be led by God. How can I be sure I’m in the ‘center’ of His will?” His reply stunned me. He said in a wonderful British accent, “My dear son, God is already leading you. You don’t have to worry about that.”
I’m a warrior at heart. I like competition, and I don’t mind getting in the fray. However, I have learned through the years that living a “peaceful and quiet life” has afforded more opportunities for the gospel than being loud and aggressive. I have learned through the years when to fight and when to create conflict (even though I don’t believe that’s what happened).
In my sermon on Genesis 20, a question came to me about God’s sovereignty over human sin. I stated that God works with, in, and through human sin to accomplish His purposes. I placed a high view of God’s sovereignty and made it clear that even though Abraham sinned, God’s purposes were not thwarted, and God used Abraham’s sin to accomplish His purposes.
The Church is the only eternal institution in the Bible. The Church started before time began (Ephesians 1:3-6). The Church is the only institution that Jesus said He would build, and the gates of hell would not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). The Church was given by God to make disciples of all nations for the good of all nations.
I’m grateful to have finished the Sodom and Gomorrah story. It’s been a long, dark, and challenging week of study. I’m thankful that the sermon culminated with a sighting of Jesus because it’s not good for my soul to be left in the judgment of Sodom. I hope it was good for you as well.
One point I didn’t have time to cover in the sermon is something that I find very important when thinking about God doing the impossible. Often, people get frustrated or disillusioned with God because they believe He hasn’t come through for them on issues not clearly addressed in His Word. Let me explain.
I have been looking forward to getting back into Genesis. I enjoy expositional preaching and exegetical study. I knew when I planned to jump back in that we would start with Genesis 17 and the sign of the covenant: circumcision. So you can imagine my angst as I thought about how that might go.
Last Friday night, before heading home, I wrote down three different conclusions for Sunday’s sermon. All three would be good. But all three together would be confusing. I let myself roll into Saturday and let the sermon ruminate in my head. By the time Saturday night rolled around, I still did not have clarity on how to end the sermon. I decided to get up extra early on Sunday and landed with the ending of 1 Corinthians 13 that I did. There was quite a bit that I cut out of the sermon. For most of this post, I’ll cover some items I cut out.
What I learned through this experience is this truth: correctly understanding God’s character changes us to be more like Jesus, and improperly understanding God’s character causes us to stay dominated by sin (namely condemnation and guilt).
But one reason I didn’t mention is that sometimes we lack peace because we knowingly sin against God. You can see this example in Genesis 4 when Cain offered a sacrifice that God did not receive. He instantly lacked peace. As Christians, this happens to us, as well. Conviction of sin can cause anxiety when we don’t repent. This is a kindness of God. It’s a way that He shows us that there’s a better way to live.
When hard things happen, if we think God’s character is sinister, mean, or, at minimum, can’t be trusted, that makes us hopeless. But, if we believe that God’s nature is always good, loving, and merciful, then we know that He has reasons for these hard things, and His reasons are good, loving, and merciful. Even if we don’t understand ‘why’ they’re happening. What we believe about God’s character affects our hope.
The last Saturday I wasn’t out of town or didn’t have a ministry event was September 2nd. Since September, I have traveled to Denver, Manila, Bend, and Orlando. In between, we’ve had local conferences and weddings. I realize I’m weak compared to many of you who travel a lot, but I’m happy to be home now for a while. I don’t have another travel week planned for ministry until March. It feels nice to unpack my bags and put my feet up finally.
I haven’t done the math yet, but since the beginning of the summer, my preaching schedule has been the lightest it’s been in years. I feel it in my soul. I love preaching at CLF. Sometimes, like Sunday, it’s like we’ve come into our family room at our house and we’re rejoicing in Christ and learning from Christ. It’s amazing to me how comfortable it is to preach at ‘home.’ I know from other pastors, in other places, their churches don’t feel this way. I’m grateful for this.
This made me consider generosity. Most of the time, we ask questions like, ‘Can we afford to give?’ ‘Do we have enough at the end of the month to give?’ These are all good questions…for an accountant. Farmer thinking would be, ‘How can I afford NOT to give? And ‘If I give at the front end of the month (sow), will God NOT fulfill His promise to meet me on the back of the month (reap)?’
I’m writing this from my last flight home from my trip to the Philippines. I’ve been trying to think about how to summarize this trip. Quite a bit happened personally and in the work we’re attempting to do in developing Sovereign Grace Philippines. So, I think I’ll divide this post into those categories to help me write.
As I stated on Sunday, our main reason for covering the shaping virtues is to show what we believe defines gospel culture in a church—most who stay for very long experience this at CLF. But knowing why it’s important and how it’s happened is important.
I was reminded not to go through the motions and that God is evaluating our worship gatherings and my heart. I was struck by the fact that Colossians 3:16 shows people singing to one another, where we remind one another of God’s faithfulness and our hope in the gospel. I was encouraged to intentionally engage with the people of God in our gatherings by reminding them that they are part of the congregation, just like the worship team is part of the congregation.
I tried to do this on Sunday with this statement: CLF exists to equip people to worship Jesus, serve Jesus, and love others. I said that a few times. While this is not our written ‘mission’ statement (we’re working on that), it does define what we’ve tried to do and what we believe is our part in the Great Commission. Our goal over the next several months is to ensure that every ministry in our church accomplishes this mission. We want to equip people to worship Jesus, love Jesus, and love others. And we want to do this in community together.
One of the reasons for our new series on the Great Commission is that we need to see how the everyday Christian life is to represent Jesus in a Genesis 3 world. We see this clearly throughout the New Testament. We hope to show how ‘minutely’ and ‘daily’ this making disciples is to be in our lives. In this post, I’ll point us to the result of the Great Commission and show the importance of seeing how practical the Great Commission is.
We’re tempted to trust in measurables in adversity. When we look across the metaphorical battlefield and see an army bigger than ours or an enemy stronger than us, it could be the cultural war on morality, the business competitor flooding the market with their product, or the sin that so easily snares us. We measure our strength and capacity compared to others and are found wanting. Then, we fret, worry, and stew (to quote Bill Heard).
Rick’s sermon ends a study this summer of many Psalms of lament. I’m grateful we covered psalms like this for a few reasons: 1) it gave us biblical answers and hope; 2) it gave us categories for times when life doesn’t make sense; 3) it shows that we’re a congregation that doesn’t want to ignore hard things in God’s word. Each teacher this summer did a wonderful job of laying out truths from God’s word that we hard to hear. But those hard-to-hear things were from hard-to-hear inspired texts from God that are good for our souls.
What struck me was how ‘real’ our sermon series in the Psalms had been to them and us. I have noticed a remarkable theme through our summer psalms: hardships and trials that seem to come without rhyme or reason. We are left with asking the Lord to alleviate the pain, and we’re left with, ‘How long, O Lord?’
These last two weeks have found our family in Ferndale, Washington, for a baseball trip with a 14U Babe Ruth team and at our church campout at Bastendorff on the Oregon Coast. It was a full two weeks with tons of memories made. It was nice to get away, and it was needed.
This is very helpful and encouraging for people like me who talk to themselves (don’t tell anyone). I have to say aloud to myself things like “Don’t say that!” or “Don’t think that!” And I repeat gospel truths to myself regularly. I remind myself that I’m forgiven, that I have access to God, and that God looks upon me favorably because of Jesus. I remind myself of God’s approval and acceptance. I do this because I am prone to forget. We all are. David was.
I was thinking about this recently as I took some time off. I could have done a better job taking time off over the last few years. I love to work. I love my job. I love my church, and I love serving the people that I mentioned above. When people love the church, it makes pastoring them easy. But it also makes you want to work hard.
It’s been a few weeks since my last post, and there are a few things that I’ve had stored up to share. I have planned on writing each of the last few weeks, but inevitably something came up that kept me away from the keyboard. Today, I’m finally able to get some things down. I hope these things will inform and encourage you.
As I have said over these past few weeks, each sermon has had a very personal feel to it. Sunday’s was no different. Only this time, it wasn’t just targeting my heart. It was targeting ‘our’ heart as a church. Last year, during my sermon planning, discussing jealousy and selfish ambition seemed like an excellent follow-up to Sarai and Hagar. But I didn’t envision what God was about to do in our church and how quickly things were changing in CLF. So this sermon not only ‘felt’ right, it felt like prophetic guardrails around the ‘soul’ of our church.
I don’t know if enough attention gets drawn to the idols of our hearts. Idols are generally not evil or sinful things. Usually, they are good things that we want too much and want now. They move from desires to needs. They become things we crave and think we cannot live without. And they dominate our thinking.
In the last two posts, I have mentioned how I’ve been dealing with some spiritual ‘heart’ issues. In the 34 years of Christian ministry, I have found that the Lord does not leave me alone, and He normally walks me through texts that I’m preaching on to get my attention. That has been true over the last several weeks. Some of you have asked me about this. You’ve noticed a sober approach to my preaching that you haven’t seen before or that the sermons seem more personal than usual to me.
I needed to be in church on Sunday. I had an odd week. It had no rhythm to it. It was long. I was frustrated with some things that went on, and I was battling through some heart issues. Then, the church service started. The lyrics from the songs began to re-speak the truth of the gospel to my soul. My eyes were lifted upward, and my heart began to settle down. When I got up to preach, I shared the story about ‘not doing more’ because ‘it is finished’ it was for my heart more than anyone else.
There are so many directions that a teacher could take on Genesis 12:10-20. The amount of preparation for Sunday’s sermon and the differences in commentators was interesting. It was a wonderful study, and I learned a ton. I like hard texts like this, and I enjoy exegeting the text for interpretation and our congregation for application.
One of the things I said on Sunday needs to be drawn out a bit more. And that’s Easter hope. I was very encouraged by the quote I shared from John Piper at the end of the sermon. Piper wrote, “The best news of the Christian gospel is that the supremely glorious Creator of the universe has acted in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection to remove every obstacle between us and himself so that we may find everlasting joy in seeing and savoring his infinite beauty.”
I was provoked by Luis’ treatment of John 8 and the Jewish leaders’ interaction about being Abraham’s people. It is not those who are physical descendants of Abraham who are his people, but spiritual descendants by faith. But this also struck me as I raise my family and teach my church.
We hit another weird moment in Genesis 9 with Ham’s sin and Noah’s drunkenness. So I thought I would give you an inside look at how to see odd moments, like this, in the Bible.
This is one of those posts where I brag about our church and our family of churches. The weekend we just had gives me ample reasons for this, and I thought it would be great for you to hear about.
One of my favorite topics or ideas to preach on is big themes found in the Bible. I tried to accomplish that on Sunday with an overview of the biblical covenants. What’s challenging about doing overviews like this is knowing what to cut out and what to include that fits the overall big theme. But teaching on big themes gives us the big picture of the Bible and begins to put things in perspective for us.
What a remarkable Sunday. As I wrote to our group leaders, if anyone predicted what happened on Sunday, they need to get me the winner of the 2023 World Series. You’re prophetic! I’m not sure if it was my lack of faith or my knowledge of who was preaching, but I was not anticipating what I experienced on Sunday. I actually didn’t sleep well on Sunday night because I couldn’t shut my adrenaline off. My mind kept thanking God, marveling at His kindness towards our church, and celebrating His work.
On Sunday, after the second service, someone approached me and said, “that was the adult lesson for Noah’s Ark.” I appreciated that. That’s how I felt. Sometimes we forget the wonder and awe of stories like Noah’s Ark and the Genesis flood. There is simplicity and joy in just reading a text as if it’s the first time.
Over the course of our study of Genesis, we will bump into some weird or odd stuff. And because of the pace with which we’re covering Genesis (so we’re not in it for 8 years), there will be times when we can’t cover all the perspectives on particular things. Sunday was one of those days, and Genesis 6:2 and 4 are two of those verses.
I mentioned to you last Sunday that I would be out of town last week. I went to Louisville, Kentucky, to the Sovereign Grace Pastors’ College to take a class on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology). This is a part of the ongoing growth that I feel is important as I get older. At 52 and in the ministry for over 30 years, I don’t want to coast home nor “phone it in,” as Stan cautioned. I want to be pushing hard until the Lord calls me home.
As I said in Sunday’s 2nd service, I firmly believe that one reason why the church has lost its voice in the gender discussion in our culture is that we have compromised the gender roles in the church. We have failed to honor gender roles, protect gender roles, and deeply value one another.
So, when we look around the world today and see the confusion about any of the issues listed in Genesis 2, we need to realize that it’s because sin and Satan have clouded our vision of what God intended and why God gave us these things. There is no confusion with God. The confusion is with us. We want something other than what He lovingly gave us. That’s the issue with us and our world.
One point of clarity that I want to bring up from Sunday is that I believe there should be a time to discuss things like “old-earth,” “young-earth,” science challenges to the Bible, and so forth. I just don’t think that it has a place in the pulpit for a Sunday morning gathering. I think the point of that moment is to preach the author’s intent and draw conclusions for the congregation from the author’s intent.
Sunday, as I got up to prepare for our Sunday gathering, I knew that preparing my heart was more important than re-reading my sermon manuscript. The Lord was working on me, and I knew it. There were issues in my heart that needed to be addressed before my Maker, and He was already pursuing me. So as I bowed my head to pray at my kitchen table, He graciously reminded me that my identity was not in what I was about to do (preach and lead CLF), but my identity was found before Him. I was made to worship God and represent Him on this earth. I am a child of God before I am anything else. That’s my true identity.
This past week as I was reading through the gospel of John, I came across this verse in John 7:16, “So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.’” As I sat and considered this statement, there were a few things that struck me: 1) Jesus’ humility continues to amaze me, 2) Jesus’ understanding that He was here to do His Father’s business, and 3) this is our calling as Christians and every pastor’s calling.
Sunday’s sermon from Isaiah 9:6-7 was so much fun. It was fun because of the example I just gave. But it was also fun because our series from the Minor Prophets that we had just finished prepared us for some of the history of Isaiah’s text.
What a Sunday! That’s how I feel this morning (Monday). I’m exhausted, for sure, but I’m amazed at God’s kindness to our church and me. There are several things on my mind today.
I can’t remember a week of sermon prep that was more challenging than last week. Zechariah is a tough book. It would be challenging to teach that book in a series of sermons. But to try to do it in one sermon made this a difficult task.
There is quite a bit of content that I want to get to in this post, but let me start with a few areas of conviction from the message from Haggai. The Lord used Haggai to “adjust” me a bit in these areas.
The challenge that Zephaniah gives the student of the Bible is immense. As with most Minor Prophets, there’s constant friction between immediate and far-off future prophecies. This is why studying end times (eschatology) is so challenging.
This week’s edition of musings will be more like ramblings. It’s been a few weeks since I last posted anything, but I thought I would touch on several things in this post that might be of interest.
There is simply too much to talk about when it came to my trip to the Phillippines. Here is a trip report that attempts to describe how grateful I was to be part of this ministry team.
The next time you get worried about sharing the gospel with someone or worried about how God could use someone like you, just remember that Jonah preached a 5-word sermon, and God flipped Ninevah upside. Just give that some thought…much like God speaking through a donkey (Numbers 22:28), God did the miraculous in a most unusual way. The Lord will always send out His word to accomplish his plans.
Bruce’s sermon was fantastic. It was clear, challenging, and faithful and made us long for Jesus more. I think if the Apostle Paul were writing about men today, Bruce Wells would be one of those who have the interests of Christ in his heart and who have given their lives for the Lord. I’m grateful for Bruce, and I know you are as well.
One of the reasons why Amos is such an intriguing study for me is because I like straight talkers. I’ve never been a fan of people hiding their intentions, playing games, and never telling me the straight truth. I’m not a veiled communicator, and I’m not a fan when others are veiled in their communication to me. So, while Amos is hard-hitting, he was remarkably refreshing to study.
I mentioned on Sunday that my hope for us to learn the book of Joel was to see how big our God is and how He is intricately involved in every facet of universal history. And I said in the 2nd service that I would write a little on this from the book of Job.
This new series that we began on Sunday is one that I’ve been looking forward to teaching. Most of that is because of the cultural moment we find ourselves in being “on the outside looking in.” But also, I know how refreshing it was to my soul to spend in the Minor Prophets. I found solace in the fact that these prophets spoke forthrightly and directly to God’s people about their sins and how they should think during their time in exile.
I have always been reluctant to extend myself beyond my “borders” regarding leadership. So, I declined anytime an outside organization asked me to serve on a board. I did this because I want my time given to my family, church, and community. And when it comes to community things, I’ve limited myself to the game of baseball because that’s about all I can handle. I have also declined because I don’t “need” other leadership positions for my self-esteem or prestige. In my younger years, this would’ve been a huge temptation, and part of my declination over the years has been to guard my soul against any speck of selfish ambition.
Several people approached me before preaching on Sunday to let me know that Romans 8:12-25 was one of their favorite passages in the Bible. So, I sure hope that I did that passage justice for those of you who love it, and I hope that the wonder of that passage still resonates in your hearts. What a text!
This is why we must cling to the truths of Romans 5-8. In our union with Christ, God no longer determines our relationship with Him based on our sin, our fickle love for Him, or how we feel in the morning. God relates to us solely on our union with Christ.