Precious Memories Isaiah 43:23-28

• Memorial Day is a very special holiday. It is striking different than most holidays because it is not about celebrating with family as much it is about remembering those who have sacrificed themselves for us.
• I am not aware of a single giddy song that has been penned like Frosty the Snowman was for Christmas. I am not aware of any special chocolates candies being sold or gifts being exchanged.. No Memorial Day is more about deep thoughts about those who have laid down their lives for us and remembering exactly what is that we have forgotten.
• In truth, it is sad that we have to take the time, set aside a day and have it preprinted on a calendar. We should have the presence of mind to hold these brave and valiant servants in a higher regard and not let their courageous service slip away.
• That is why I think what we say and do hear today is gravely important. What we remember here today is of astounding importance because it points others as well as our own hearts to what is most important.
• As we look at this mornings text I pray if will be painfully clear what it most important what or who should be remembered most of all. Who is it that gave their live in service for us and our countrymen in such a way that they should be remembered above all others?

Isaiah 43:22-28 "But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel. 23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities. 25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. 27 Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches.




We Have Forgotten God
But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel. 23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities
• The first portion of our text can be summed us as “We Have Forgotten God.” Listen to the words of God as He directly speaks to our shame. Not only does God address the shameful lack of attention, but his neatly lists them for us.
o First the Great Adonai reminds us that we have forgotten God as we have forgotten our relationship with Him. It is brought to our attention that we pay little attention to our relationship with God as we do not call upon the name God.
o But this portion of Word does not address just the fact that we are indifferent towards God, but that we are worship something else other that Him. Our actions of piety are really about ourselves. We are living religion and not faith.
o As the Lords address our lack of desire, “Nor wearied you with incense,” He does not beat around the bush. He openly and honestly tells that we have not worn Him out. He is not bone weary from being overcome with so many requests. We have not worn out our welcome because we have spent too much time with Him. Yahweh’s ears do not ache because we have prayed too much.
• Quite the contrary has happened. Verse 24 call us out. Isaiah 43:24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
o We have not brought our Redeemer God the sweetness of our sacrifices, but we have devoured sin like candy. We have weighed Him down with our sins and burdened Him with our faults. We kept bringing Him our sin and piling up the trophies our offences, indiscretions and purposed transgressions
o Instead of carrying to God the offering of our sins in which we admit We Have Forgotten God, we need to confess our failure and take purposeful steps to live for Him.


God Has Not Forgotten Us
God shifts out attention in this next verse as He directs us to how He is still fulfilling His side of the relationship. And even though we have forgotten God we need to understand that God has not forgotten us.

25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
• Like unfolding the flaps of a gift box to see what is inside, El Shaddi, the Almighty, opens up for us how He has not forgotten us.
o God pulls away the tissue paper to reveal to us the excellency of God's gift of salvation. Look at the focus of who does the salvation work for us.
o I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake. It can unmistakably be seen God is the One who cleans the sin in our life. He and only He as the Almighty have the capabilities to remove the stain and the stench of sin that is ground in to our souls like grass on the knees of a 5th grader after recess.
o What is even more important and drastically more impressive is His faithfulness found the second half of this verse - I will not remember your sins. Not only does God not forget us but he purposely forgets our sins.
o This is where God’s remembrance of us comes into play. It His remembrance to continually forget the sins we have committed against When we yield ourselves to Him and with a penitent heart ask for forgiveness He no longer remembers
o Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."
o We should find great satisfaction and have supreme gratification in these words as we find that we can feel confident that our Savior will not leave and will not fail.
o And if we do have fleeting moments of faith … if we do find ourselves feeling as sure let us be reminded these words in Isaiah 44:21 “Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! It is true that God Has Not Forgotten Us.




Remember Our Situation
There is still a point that must be addressed. This point deals with us. We must Remember our Situation. Let us look at the Text again to see what we are talking about.

• 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. 27 Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches
• Here we find ourselves with the imperative to remember God. This is a command that is to start now and keep going coupled with the design of never stopping.
• This command leaps from the pages at the Bible. Yet, it is not the situation that we are in. Not we find out grim situation in the rest of this text.
• We are told that we need to be acquitted. That our sins need to be canceled out. We need exoneration from our sins. The reason that we need this pardon is that we have a long line of sin in our lives. It started with Adam has never stopped. For our personal sins we are inform that we are cursed and will be castigated. Reproach stands waiting for us. Rebuke is ahead.
• What we really need as we Remember Our Situation is that we are in need of God’s everlasting grace. We are in need of His beautiful mercy. We are not in need being embraced by Him, but crashing head first into His Love. We desperately must barrel into His benevolence, into his fellowship and in to his compassion. As we Remember Our Situation as sinners we must also know that we need Christ from on high to save us as lowly sinner. We need His goodness to drench us are entrust ourselves to Him and handover our determination to be our own. For years we have walked apart from Him. We have chosen to do things by our own feeble power. We have disgraced and shamed ourselves. In the process We Have Forgotten God and we have forgotten our first love. We walked way from God, but God Has Not Forgotten Us. As much as we may try to forget our sins, time will come when we have to Remember Our Situation. For you and me, today, right here, now in fact, we can instead commit ourselves to Christ and walk not only in freedom from our sin, but in full fellowship with God.
.

Pants Gymnastics

Who was it that said we all put our pants on one leg at a time just like the next guy was never next to these guys. Enjoy!

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1814867http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1814867

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Jott.com

Jott.com. Hey guys, I'm now using Jott (but you can use it with Twitter), not Twitter. Just phoning in for myself for my thoughts. 30 seconds, so you got to be quick. Talk to you later. Bye. listen

Powered by Jott

Man on the Run – Psalms 3

This text lends itself to the adaptation of a movie, but in fact it is a song. This is a song that was sung in worship just like psalms are commanded by Scripture to be sung in worship today. But honestly I can see this particular Psalm turned into a movie since it is a story that resonates in the hearts of everyone due. Like any good movie it is based on a real story, had a villain, a victim and a hero. But this song need not be related to a stuff theater as it is good fro the Friday Night Gridiron, the Monday morning meeting, the mall during a tax free weekend, the modern battle field, a hospital waiting room, the family reunion, or the rough and tumble playground.

Join me as we read Psalm 3 with the topic of a Man on the Run

Advancing Attack: 1-2
Psalms 3:1-2 A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah
• Painted before us is a picture of a man on the lamb. He is running for his life. David is not on a battlefield like with think of with modern warfare. No, David’s battle is a fight for his very life. The king is being pursued and tracked down like an escaped criminal. His pursuers are relentless. Every where he turns he is being chases down. He his footsteps have to be guarded because he can afford to be seen by anyone. David does his best to cover his tracks because every little thing is intelligence for Absalom to gather in his quest to eradicate David. Poor King David has gone from the man on the throne, the King of Israel, to being treated like a common dog being hunted by the men who formerly served him. What betrayal. What treachery. Am man of God’s Heart now is running for his life as his son, Absalom hunts him life game.
• You may remember Absalom from your private studies as David’s son. He is described as being the most handsome mad in Israel, kind of like a Clark Gable, a Brad Pitt or McDreamy. He was the prefect specimen of a man, flawless to the point of perfection. The Bible tells us that he was physically prefect and loved by everyone.
• Absalom used this to his advantage as He would stand at the gates of the city and greeted everyone who entered in, giving the instruction of what to do, and where to go, acting like he had an official position and power. In doing so Absalom gained the loyalty of everyone who passed by and became the face of the Kingdom. He was adored and everyone began to forget about his father David, the real king. David’s own flesh and blood was stealing the Kingdom from under his Crown.
• David’ Enemy was Familia, or family. His offspring, His own son - who else can be a closer enemy that family. Talk about an uncomfortable situation to be in. The son you loved and raised is now raising a nation against you. Being hunted down by your heir, being forced into this new and difficult situation as you are now Enemy No. 1 in your own kingdom. All trust was gone, no secrets we held as Absalom knew David like no one else. These first two verses are the desperate cries of a man deposed of the throne as he senses the Advancing Attack.
Surety of Security: 3-4
Psalms 3:3-4 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
• Notice the change in David’s tone as he recounts his Surety of Security. As Death Squads close in, His thoughts are not of “Where can I run now?” He is not trying to fashion sort of make shift MacGyver style weapon for a last stand. He is not worried that his son wants his head on a platter. No, instead his thoughts are not on what he can do, but “Who is God? and “What can our benevolent God do?”
• He calls God his Shield. The One who goes before him and buffets the attacks that come. Jehovah is his Instrument of Safety. David calls Him, Jehovah-Magen - Lord my Shield - Deut. 33:29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs."
• God is the one who stands before us; He is the one who takes each blow. He stops the advancement of evil for overcoming us. He is the shield that we hid behind and cling to when the adversaries of our soul assault us. It is God who blocks the attacks of the enemy who seeks to destroy both David and us.
• We must understand that God not only shields us from the fiery arrows that come from a distance, but also from closer attacks. Remember that Absalom was his son. He was family and is there anything closer than family?
• Let me make this clear before we go any further. With God as our shield we are not guaranteed to be free from attack but we are guaranteed that it will be futile. Our Great and Mighty Shield and Savior covers us from all around. Our enemies may continue to shoot their arrows, but we will victoriously continue in the Surety of Security of God’s unending love.
• In turn we must continue to trust God to carry us though even in times of great stress and difficulty. We must allow God to buffet the attacks. Trust God and allow Him to shield you and protect you and you will see your faith grow exponentially.
Confidence in Our Creator: 5-8
Psalms 3:5-8 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah


• Let us look at the last four verses of Ps. 3 as David displays Confidence in Our Creator.
• He shows us that in the midst of the fight for his life we is able to trust God and calmly sleep. The anxiety of what to do next to have his person has slipped away as he awakes refreshed in the Lord who has kept him through the night.
• With insurmountable odds, 10,000 readied warriors chasing after him and circling in, he begins to praise God instead of fretting and call upon his Lord to deliver him.
• Look at verse 7. What strong and powerful words as he calls upon Yahweh to deal his enemies a blow like he has in the past. He cries for him to strike them again in the face. But not to just bloody their nose or blacken their eye, but to hit their Chin. David is calling for God to break the glass jaw of the invading army.
• His cry is not just to punch his enemy to stun them or to fight back. Not at all. David is asking God to strike them in such a might way as to knock their teeth out of their mouth. To destroy their ability to attack him. David heart is that God will disenable them. To take his adversaries out of commission.
Don’t just stop them from hurting me but stop them from being able to hurt me or anyone else again. That is what he is taking about in this verse. David has Confidence in Our Creator and his ability to over power all who oppose Him or His people


What is your Advancing Attack?
Do you have the Surety of Security?
Today you can have Confidence in Our Creator…
And no longer be a Man on the Run.

Click to Play!

What Does a Campus Pastor Do?

Borrowed with Love from Tim Stevens of leadingsmart.com. I thought this would be helpful to see for those many friends that I know that are Church Planting or thinking about Multi-site.


What Does a Campus Pastor Do?
I'm pretty excited that we have hired our first Campus Pastor. I'll introduce you to him after our church has a chance to meet him in a couple weeks.
But have you wondered what the job of a Campus Pastor looks like? Here is a glimpse of what we believe is the ROLE of a Campus Pastor...
Catalytic Leader: Able to rally people to a cause.
Team Builder: Can build teams and identify high capacity leaders to build more teams.
Relational Leader: Friendly and approachable.
Talent Scout: Always on the lookout for new leaders and volunteers.
Total Quality Manager: Looking for ways to improve; sensitive to misses; committed to excellence.
Communicator: The primary host, greeter and vision-caster of this congregation.
Cheerleader: Encouraging volunteers and staff constantly.
Carrier of the DNA: When you cut them, they bleed the mission, vision and values of GCC.
Solution Specialist: Able to identify problems and find solutions.
Staff Champion: Cares for the spiritual, emotional, and familial health of campus staff.
Pastor: Has a heart to identify leaders and build systems to care for the congregation.
Reproducer: With the entire staff, reproduces leaders, followers of Christ, and campuses.
Download the entire job summary for free: Download campus_pastor_job_summary_short.pdf

i like'm big baby

10 Things God Can't Do

God can't get tired.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.
—Isaiah 40:28


God can't take on a job he can't handle.
Ah, Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.
—Jeremiah 32:17


God can't be unholy.
And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
—Isaiah 6:3


God can't be prejudiced.
In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him.
—Acts 10:34-35


God can't break a promise.
My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.
—Psalm 89:34


God can't remember sins he's chosen to forget.
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
—Isaiah 43:25


God can't make a loser.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.
—2 Corinthians 2:14


God can't abandon you.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
—Deuteronomy 31:6


God can't stop thinking about you.
How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.
—Psalm 139:17-18


God can't stop loving you.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
—Jeremiah 31:3


Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Campus Life.
June/July 2002, Vol. 61, No. 3, Page 24

ESV STUDY BIBLE NOW AVAILIBLE

http://www.esvstudybible.org/

and i want one... maybe two

expelled from academia

easter video from fellowship- gr8 song

True Love from FC Post on Vimeo.

On February 25-27, 2008 Resurgence hosted it's National Conference titled Text & Context at Mars Hill Church's Ballard Campus. In this sixth session from the Conference, listen as John Piper explains how his preaching is informed by his shepherd, counseling and individual care.
Listen Now - Download Audio Track


this is an amazing sermon if not awesome.

Last Sunday's Brunch

Romans1:16-17 The Thesis of Romans Salvation to Everyone

In 1965 a very popular show graced the television sets of many American homes. Branded with Chuck Connors. Many years later I would grow up watching this same show that was shaping the morays of America in the mid to late seventies. The shows story was about:

Captain Jason McCord played by ChuckConnors, a West Point graduate who is the sole survivor of a massacre at Bitter Creek. He is judged to have been a coward in the battle and is dismissed in disgrace. In the introduction, we see McCord's commanding officer rip the rank designations and decorations from hisuniform. He breaks McCord’s sabre in half, tossing the bottom half out of the fort gate. Now McCordmust wander the West in the 1880's hoping to establish his innocence as he is only guilty do being the last man
standing.

This is much like the picture of Paul that we have before us. Heis bold, proud and unashamed as he has done nothing wrong. But for Paul, thestory he livesto tell is not one to set him free, but to bring freedom to all whobelieve innot a massacre, but a deliberate sacrifice to pay for your soul.

Rom 1:16-17- ForI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God forsalvation toeveryone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

• First let us deal with what Paul is not saying that he isnot. He says he is not ashamed.
• Onedefinition of shame is that it is a painfulsensation excited by a consciousness of guilt or impropriety, or ofhaving done something which injures reputation, or of the exposure ofthat which nature or modesty prompts us to conceal.
• Paulhas done nothing to earn a sense of Guilt.
• Hismissionary endeavors on the behalf of Christ were not rooted inimpropriety or inappropriate behavior.
• Heproclaiming and heralding of the Messiah was nothing to injureone’s reputation.
• Infact, Paul was not guilty of anything that would that was immodest orprompted the need to conceal what he had done.
• Thetruth is Paul is asserting the exact opposite.
• Paulis telling us that he has no shame.He is not afraid. He has no fear as the beloved hymn says. Paul issaying in the vernacular of the day, “I’ve got notshame in my game.”
• Paulis aware that it is the Gospel of Jesus that causes apainful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt in one.
• Itis the knowledge of the Purity of Jesus as the sacrifice that announcesour impropriety, our indecency, uncouthnessand bad behavior.
• Itis this that injures reputation, as we have aself built reputation of being good.
• Remembergood means not weakor defective; havingstrength adequate to its support;
• Thatis at the other end of the spiritual spectrum as we are weak to sin,defective with a sin nature that is inherited from the first man, Adam.And we will never have the strength to support the sins that wecontinue to pile not only on our conscious, but upon the Cross ofChrist.
• Finally,it is the Grace filled Gospel that do to a lack of modesty,prompts us to conceal. Our lack of reverence and deep pietytoward the King of the Universe, God and His Word that caused us toturn from God and hid like Adam and his wife did in the garden whenthey were confronted with their sin.
• Sowhat is this Good News that gives Paul such gumption? What exact is itabout the Gospel that helps Paul shed all fear and removes any hint ofshame from him person?
• WhyI am glad that you are so intelligent and intuitive!
• The Greek word behind theEnglish “Gospel”means simply ‘Good News’.
• In Ancient Greece, when abattle was won, a messenger was sent to the city and, coming nearer, hewould exclaim this one word ‘evangelion’:Good News – the battle is won! Man did not seek God! But theGood News is that God seeks man
• Paul is running to you and mein this text with the Good News that God has won the battle for oursoul over Satan. His Good News is that you do not have to spendeternity in Hell or be captive here on Earth because of our sins. The GoodNews is that Jesus set free all that believe and trust in Him!
• Thatis what Paul is excited about to the point that he loses his self andbecome a marathon runner bring us the Good News, the Best News ever,that the spilled blood of Jesusbuys your soul, pays off your sins and purchases your eternity.That all you have to do is make Him your Lord.Make Him the Master of your life and forever with Him you will reignand bypass an eternity of torment in Hell for yoursins.
• Readwhat Paul said about this Gospel that he has zero amount of shame about.
• For it is the power of God for salvation toeveryone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
• TheGospel is the distinct vehicle for Grace in which God providedfaultless and flawless hecatomb or sacrifice to pay for our sinfullives riddled with faults and flaws.
• It is through this vehiclethat salvation is delivered wholesale to the those who are willing toreceive His sovereignty. It matters not if you are of the remnant of Israelor are Gnostic Greek. Christ is for those who are in the loop and thoseon the outside looking in.
• The power of God for salvation is for youan available you right here right now. We have to make the decision to man up or to wimpout. Declare Christ with out shame or suffer for the shamefulthings that we have committed.

Why do I have to make such a decision you might ask? Or maybe you are as saying, “Who are you totell me what I have to do?” Or better you are saying in your mind. “I’m okay –my good will out weigh my bad.”

Well,let me address these rebuttals, excuses and defense mechanisms with not my views but the writing of Paul that not onlycarry withthem apostolic authority, but are the very Holy Spirit inspired Word ofGod inverse 17.

17For init the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it iswritten,"The righteous shall live by faith."

• I speak to you notbecause I am perfect but because of therighteousness of God
• The clause for in refers us to the Gospel. It is inthe Good News that we see the righteousness of God. This is the pictureand manifestation of His holiness and Glory.
• In His redemptionof His creation for His Glory, to Display His majesty in accordance toHis Word that prophesied and predicted His Son would die to atone forHis people to have faith in His as His plan as been.
• The question youreally need to be asking is “Am I part of his plan? IsGod’s plan for me to have faith, which means trustHim?” If you do not have the complete security that you arepart of God’s Plan you need to ask Him to make you part of itright now.
• You need to askhim to save you, to place you in heaven because you feel pain, sorrowor regret what you have done by sinning against Him and not ValuingGod. You need to need to tell him that you believe, trust and havefaith that His son Jesus, was pure ad n prefect a He lived and died foryou and the you know that he rose from the Grave to pay your personaldebt to God for your sin. You need to ask him to be your personal Lordand Master because you know he is coming back for you.

Toolbar for Scholars and Biblefreaks like me

You really need this for serious study and to beable to moe quickly with out opening up several programs

Tyndale Toolbar

calvinism, baptist, wesley and Jesus

I some times wonder what has happened to the churches that we are members and servants of. Better yet, I wonder how have become the way we are. When did certain things come in to existence and when did doctrines change. This is an amateurish recollection with many overreaching characterizations and personnel biases but then again it is my blog. I expect to hear rebuttals, corrections, and rebukes, but I lovingly and gladly welcome them. It will be wonderful to dialogue about this and a chance for us all to become wiser.

From my reading it seems that there were always two groups of Baptists. Freewill and Predestined. You might have seen them written about as General and Particular. As I remember reading (and will now have to go and read more about) the General Baptist were Arminian in nature. Over time these Baptist were intertwined and with various other faith groups and dissolved into their ranks or we infected by their doctrines. The short of it, they disappeared. This left the Strict Baptist, Calvinist Baptist, Reformed Baptist, Particular Baptists or how ever you want to define them, appear to be the only Baptist group as they migrated to the Americas. Now we know that some of those pesky Free Willer’s got past the border patrol but for the most part it seems that Those that came over were establishing Churches that would have that we were Strict Baptist.

Over time this would change. For many years Churches in America were quarter time or halftime, meaning they would meet once a month or twice a month. Pulpits in churches were filled by Baptist half the time and Methodist the other. This led to a congregation having many different theologies presented to them. Additionally this influx also led to Arminian theology being injected into the church by Wesley’s circuit riders. In some case membership in these dual congregation churches was determined on who baptized you.

There are still some churches that operate this way. I heard of one in the 90’s that passed two offering plates one for each denomination.. One hilarious story of a bi-congregation tells of a Baptist Preacher that had many decisions made after he preached an in the days following. A loyal Methodist wired a message for the quarter time Methodist preacher so he could baptize them before the Baptist pastor could return. Apparently a sprinkle a day would keep the Baptist away and place them on the roll of the Anglican off spin. In some cases these churches were filled with people that were honest attending both as they sought the Lord. In short, they attended church and it just happened to be Methodist that Sunday which was better than no church. At other times, they were just going to the only entertainment venue in the area. Unfortunately the Calvinist Methodist like George Whitefield and Charles Simeon did not spread as far as the Wesleyan-Arminian version.

Revivals during this time were also spinning changes in doctrine. As people with out discipleship and poor education tired to discern the Bible, devolution or Biblical regression took place. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit some found pay dirt. Others did not. In some cases even unregenerate men preached and spread heterodox doctrine. The addition of new doctrines like Dispensational Theology also sprang up as the winds shifted.

Welcome to Rome

Welcome to Rome – introduction to the Book of Romans[1]- 1:1-7
· Tony Campolo mailman Illustration

In the passage that we will address today, Paul seems to have found his calling, not as a letter carrier, but as a letter writer.

1 The messenger of the gospel - 1:1
Rom 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

a. his captivity - v. 1a - Paul relates to us in his writing that he is a slave to Christ, that his will is bonded to Christ. Dr. Thomas Constable of DTS says that Paul should not be called a slave here, but an alternative translation is a better fit. He states that Paul should be called a servant. He states some translators have rendered this word "slave," but Paul was a willing servant of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:7). This term is the equivalent of the Old Testament "servant of the Lord" (e.g., Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Nehemiah, and especially David). Paul shared this status with his readers. This would seemingly give Paul a historic role and establish him in along line of Spiritual Heroes, but from his writing we can see that being inducted into the Believer’s Hall of Fame is far from his goal.
b. his calling - v. 1b Paul moves quickly from his captivity to his calling which he says is directly from Christ. He is an ambassador of Jesus, a Gospel Messenger and Representative of the Messiah. In revealing this, the Jew, Saul, uses his Roman name, Paul, because he is specifically to the Gentiles as he addresses the Roman Churches. He was so well known that one had only had to mention his first name among believers and they knew of whom he was like when we mention: Elvis, Cher, and Britney. Yet Paul’s status is not just simply that of a messenger, he is much more. The title "apostle" gives Paul's gift and office in the church. He was Jesus Christ's special appointee. This status gave him the right not only to preach the gospel but to found, to supervise, and even to discipline churches if necessary.
c. his consecration - v. 1c The columniation of his captivity and his call is found in his concretion. Paul’s slavery to Christ and his call to Him means that he is set a part fro the use of Christ. His life’s sole purpose is the gratification of God and the Glory of Christ. The human author of Romans states to his readership that he is designated and set apart by an action of God to some special sphere and manner of being and of consequent activity One last comment must be made about Paul and his status in the kingdom, and that is that Paul never thought of himself as a man who had aspired to an honor; he thought of himself as a man who had been given a task. He saw himself as a lowly servant of the Most High King Jesus.
2. The message of the gospel - 1:2-4
Romans 1:2-4 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

a. its source, or, where did the gospel come from? (the OT promise) - v. 2. Paul begins to exalt the gospel that God had called him to proclaim. It was a message that God had promised, not just prophesied, in the Old Testament Scriptures. The words "his" and "holy" stress the unique origin of the gospel. God had inspired the Old Testament by speaking through men as He gave His revelation. Paul did not preach an unanticipated gospel but one that God had promised through His prophets. This is the reason Paul appealed to the Old Testament so fully in this and other of his epistles. Specifically Paul's gospel was not a human invention that tried to make the best of Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ. He calls their minds and ours to the hope we have which was established many years go. Paul reminds us of the words of the Prophet Isaiah in the 53 Chapter. He calls our attention to Moses and his treatises. He speaks of the Psalms and echoes Genesis. For Paul and for us the Gospel begins in the Old Testament
b. its substance, or, whom does the gospel concern? (the NT person) - vv. 3-4 This is what Paul articulate in the next two verses. He moves from the Promise of the Old Testament to the Person who fulfilled it in the New Testament. He fleshed out the Good News that all of the Law and the Prophets spoke of as he reveals again that Salvation is found in Jesus

1) the gospel of God concerns "His (God's) Son" - 3-4a
a) his humiliation & humanity - v. 3
b) his exaltation & deity - v. 4a

2) the gospel of God concerns "Jesus Christ our Lord"- v. 4b
a) his deity
b) his dominion

3. The motivation of the gospel - 1:5-7
Romans 1:5-7 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints :Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

a .the power - v. 5a the power is from Christ, Paul is not the source of the power, but Jesus. His apostleship comes from Christ. So we must answer one Question before we can go further.

Who were permitted to serve as apostles?
(1) Only those whom Jesus chose for this office were ever, in any real sense, apostles, this being a necessary deduction from Acts 1:24, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen." In that remarkable event, the apostles themselves had been able to narrow the choice for Judas' successor to the two men alone who fulfilled the other qualifications for the apostleship;
(2) They had to have been companions of the Master from the time of John's baptism until Christ's ascension - Acts 1:22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."
(3) An additionally requirement was to have been a witness of the resurrection of Christ, that is, having seen him alive after his death and burial .Paul's apostleship was different only in this, that he had not been a personal companion of Jesus during the Lord's ministry, as were the others; but, by special appearances to Paul, the Lord commissioned him as a true "witness" of the resurrection - Acts 26:15-16 So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
(4) that commission as an apostle being by Christ himself and not by men - Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)

Romans 1:5-7 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints :Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
b. the purpose - vv. 5b-6 - obedience
c. the people - v. 7 brings us to why Paul is what all about, reaching his fellow man to Glorify Christ.

Verse 7 really continues the thought of verse 1, verses 2-6 being somewhat parenthetical. "Grace" and "peace" were common salutations in Greek and Jewish letters respectively in Paul's day. God's grace is both His unmerited favor and His divine enablement. It is the basis for any true human peace. The Hebrew concept of peace (Heb. shalom) did not just mean freedom from stress, anxiety, and irritation. It included the fullness of God's blessing. Paul desired a continually deeper and richer experience of spiritual blessing for his readers.
[1] Outline from Dr. Sam Storms, http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/outline-of-romans-detailed-version

worse than a paper cut

This is a reprint so to speak. But I think Elrod, Lead Pastor of Compass Point Church, tackles a subject that not many are wanting to even say exists or ever has to take place. So I have presented it here for your edification.



Breaking Fellowship
By Chris Elrod on Leadership

This week I had to do something I rarely do…something that always causes me great pain…something that is a necessary evil of church leadership. I had to cut someone out of my life. The fantasy world of their mind was a stark contrast to the reality of their actions. After three years of being blamed for all their failures and everything that had gone wrong in their life…enough was enough…it was time break fellowship.

I can count on one hand the times I have broken fellowship with someone. It is never an easy thing to do and it always causes you to take a hard look at your own life. However, the reality of leadership is that breaking fellowship has to happen on occasion. There will be those that get mad…get offended…wear their heart on their sleeve…look for the negatives in life…or just can’t face the fact they are to blame for their misfortune. Instead of handling things in a Scripturally mature manner or moving on…they stay and make problems. Negative correspondence, a constant barrage of verbal attacks, a desire to cause division, endless unproductive “meetings”, public displays of anger and other things that can just completely drain your energy. It can come in the form of church members, others pastors, friends, family or staff members. Whatever the case it will cause sleepless nights, great frustration, abuse of your calling and many wasted hours that could have been better spent actually making a difference for cause of Christ. Go the “extra mile”…but don’t hesitate to break fellowship when the distraction from evangelistic ministry becomes too great.

Over the last 20 years of ministry I have discovered several things about the need and process of breaking fellowship:

1. Some people can’t be reasoned with. No matter how talented a pastor, leader or counselor your are…there are some people that can’t be reasoned with. Some have too much baggage, live to be offended, are only content when they are angry at someone and some are simply not emotionally unstable. Try your best to reason with them…but know when to walk away.

2 . Cancer always destroys. You can do two things with cancer…cure it…or cut it out. Cancer grows and destroys with an alarming rate. Some people are just cancer…spreading negativity and destruction throughout your church, ministry or life with lightening quick results. Try to cure it…but if that fails…move quickly to cut it out!!!

3. Always run to the conflict. It is too easy to hide from areas of trouble…especially with people…and think that it will go away naturally. Like the warning light on a car…it will not go away until the problem is fixed. Yes, there is prayer…yes, there is love…but there is also you…the leader that God put into place to protect the flock. You never want to hurt the sheep…but never hesitate to confront the wolves.

4. Strive for restoration. Some people just need a swift kick in the butt when it comes to their attitude and behavior. Don’t break fellowship until you have confronted…and offered a structured plan for restoration. Forgiveness and restoration are two separate things. Forgiveness is immediate…but the trust that comes with restoration takes time…many years…much submission…and incredible oversight.

5. Make the break clean. As harsh as this sounds…if the time comes to break fellowship…make the break clean. Leave no bridge in place for the person to return. There will be other churches, pastors or leaders that God will use in their life…but your time is done. Forgiveness is a Biblical mandate…but it does not mean that the person needs to be allowed back into the fellowship to cause problems again. If restoration and submission is refused…make the break quick…clean…and complete.

6. Don’t let it become baggage. If you don’t want to be attacked…don’t lead. However, when the attacks become too much to bear…and breaking fellowship becomes a necessity…don’t let it become baggage for you. Not every case is the same…don’t judge someone today over something someone else did in the past. Yes, you will hurt. Yes, you will have moments of regret. Yes, you will not feel total resolve in the matter. However, move on…know that tomorrow is a new day…and follow God without fear or reservation.

a must see

http://saidatsouthern.com/video-wayne-grudem-go-grease-lightning-spoof/

feel free to sing along

Abraham Kuyper famously said, "Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

sunday leftovers

Membership Matters: A Bride with a Spot February 20, 2008

Acts 20:25-31 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

I address this passage because Paul makes the pastor, aware that the world is not safe and we need to take care and protect the Bride of Christ.

We live in a day when in a day of non-commitment. Marriage is noncommittal now as we have more divorces in the church than we do out side the church. We have no-fault divorces. If you are found with child, you can abort the young one. If you begin to feel bad about having sex outside of marriage and think you might be pregnant you can take the morning after pill. If you do have baby and decide it would just be too hard to raise or that raising one would cramp your style then you can drop it off at the firehouse – no questions asked. If you commit a crime, it is no longer your fault as you can blame society, your parents, poverty, genetics, chemicals, and a myriad of other things and the court of law will not hold you accountable.

• This is evident is our churches. We have lackadaisical Christians who find the Church not worthy of time, tithe, energy or attendance because such little emphasis is placed on membership.
• Membership is a one time commitment in the standard, modern, Baptist Church. Simply raise your hand, walk down the aisle, or worse yet, just fill out a card and you will be counted on the roll. It would seem that numbers are all about. May be this is why a church will a membership of 1,200 will fill blessed to have an attendance of 300. While this is appalling, many pastors are proud as peacocks to tell you of their membership numbers but know the shame of an unredeemed and apathetic membership.

While there are numerous problems with this, it seems to stem for two common sources: 1) Consumerism and 2) Biblical Ignorance.

1. The first of these, Consumerism, has eaten away at the American Church and now infects Churches around the world. Consumerism was turned churches in the wrong direction as their focus has been more about their commercial success and customer satisfaction than their Relationship of Christ and their responsibility with His Church. This influence has further caused a rash of easily believe-ism, once heretical thoughts are okay, backslidden Christians just need a hug, unregenerate membership ruling the voting of the Church as well as the self-serving Christian. Furthermore, Pastors have been transformed from Elders, Bishops, and Shepherds to Managers, CEO’s and Life Coaches. The sweetness of Consumerism is rotting the teeth of Church and now the Church as no bite in the community.
2. The other source of our blight is the Biblical ignorance of the day. This has only compounded as people are moved by emotion and personal devotions as they fail to consider Holy Scripture and enter into prayer. With out attention to the Word feelings have ruled the day and Churches have gained the attendance of the World. The overwhelming ideas that have perpetrated the Church are well intended even if misguided. The have been done for Aunt Sally and to widen the gate to open the Church to as many people as possible. Yet this is not what Christ said, Mat 7:13-4 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Jesus says the road is narrow and hard. Yet for most Churches, to it is easy to enter membership.
   But Christ warns us that there are problems with allowing wide open entrance to the Church.

• The next verse of Scripture reads, Mat 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
• Jesus warns us that Jesus’ own brother, Jude even wrote to us about this.
• Jude 1:3-4 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
• The King James puts it better, crept in unawares, while the NIV read that they, have secretly slipped in, and The Message put it this way, some people have infiltrated our ranks.

Sneak thieves and unsaved hornswagglers fill the membership of most Churches. As spiritual dead people the vote and make decision on spiritual matters, vote for teachers, remove pastors, and adopt doctrines for the Church

These are powerful word left by Christ and his follower/brother. Words that needed to be heeded like those written in Eph 5:24-27, Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Christ Died for His Church! And the Church is to submit to Him! Yet in Churches just like this and in those not at all like this, they have a horrendous habit of submitting Christ to their ideas, their preferences and even their whims. But Christ purchased the Church with His blood. He washed her in the Crimson that flowed from His wounds. And when he returns he expects a splendorous Church. One that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Not a Church that makes excuse for what it has: approved, allowed, overlooked and purposely done. Woe to us if we are not more watchful in our care of His Church for what Groom awaits a Bride pilfered over and tattered by inappropriate relationships.
While this is a high calling, we are responsible for achieving this and held accountable for doing so.

The double headed snake of Consumerism and Biblical Ignorance is manifested in members who do not know what they are getting into. The either do not have a Biblical background or do not have a proper Church History. Furthermore they lack knowledge of the Purposes of the Church. They don’t see the value of membership nor understand its requirements and responsibilities.

• In truth, your satellite provider requires more of a commitment than the local church. They require a minimum commitment of service while the church does not. They require you to financially support them on a predetermined amount that you are notified about upfront. The church hopes you will and celebrates with dancing when you do!
• Many clubs and fraternal groups hold to a greater expectation of devotion. They require you to actually attend their meetings and work special projects. And if you miss more that two or three scheduled meetings you are dropped from their roll. They church will beg you for your support and keep you on the roll like this would save you. They will keep your name in their membership even if you they can’t find your pulse or find an address for you.
  To go to work for a new employer they will run background check and you will sign a contract, the church will take you simply at your word and not investigate your testimony and it is modernly considered inappropriate for to have you sign a Church Covenant that you are expected to uphold.
• To enter into a purchase of a new car the future owner would take the car out for a drive, check the gas mileage, read consumer reports, have their credit checked and sign on the doted line before they took the keys. The only thing typically required of to enter into membership is … well you know how little.
• It is odd how the word requires more from us than we require of ourselves as the church. If we hold such a low view with such a minimum entrance then it is easy for us to see why others do not see it as worthy of their time, energy or attention.

Lowering the standards of the Church does not make us more evangelistic or loving. Just less holy. The standard for Church membership is ever lessening to the point one must thing of the Caribbean Limbo as you hear the would temp us with cries of “how low can you go” The world temps us to reject the high calling of Christ. Yet the very word that we use to describe ourselves, Church, comes from the German word Kirk which is from a corruption of the Greek word, Ekklesia. That word means to be called out from. As a church we need to be a truly born again membership that is called out from the rest of the world. Yet our membership requirement many times is less than the local bar. They require you to have a card.

Oprah-Ization of American Christianity

Commenting on recent findings, LifeWay Research’s Ed Stetzer said, “We found a real openness to hearing about matters of faith, but the study also clearly documents what I call the Oprah-ization of American Christianity. It’s very much a generic ‘big guy in the sky’ view of God and a ‘you believe what you believe, I believe what I believe’ viewpoint on theology. People say, ‘Who am I to judge?’” BP News 1/9/08

My Dad died today

My dad, Lee, died to day. He had a stroke and that caused a massive cerebral hemorrhage that was compounded by the blood thinner that a dr. had prescribed him. He was lifeflighted from Crockett, TX to Tyler, TX where he stayed on a respirator until the Drs.’ could ascertain that that He was brain dead and that there was nothing they could do.

Good news is that he was a Christian. He had make Christ the Lord of his life when i was in the 8th or 9th grade. He later was baptized and tried to live the faith the best that he could.


Dad is better, but mom is not, yet at least. Please prayer for her.


In Christ,

Chris <><

…a Baptist pastor established the first form of governance in America that provided complete religious freedom for all
ROGER WILLIAMS

…the first Baptist missionaries from America were not Baptists when they set sail for the mission field but became Baptists on the way to the mission field
ADONIRAM AND ANN HASSELTINE JUDSON

…the first Baptist pastor on English soil was imprisoned by King James I (of King James Bible fame) for insisting that all persons should have freedom to worship
THOMAS HELWYS

…the first elected president of the Republic of Texas became an outstanding Texas Baptist layman
SAM HOUSTON

…some of the earliest Baptists practiced baptism by pouring and not by immersion but soon determined that the Bible taught immersion is the correct way to baptize
EARLY GENERAL BAPTISTS

…some early Baptists in America were publicly whipped for including singing in a worship service because such singing was viewed as unspiritual and unbiblical.
BAPTISTS IN COLONIAL AMERICA

…the first Baptist missionary from the United States to another country was an African-American who had been a slave
GEORGE LEILE

…a Baptist pastor from Texas preached a sermon from the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington D. C. on religious liberty
GEORGE W. TRUETT

…A Baptist pastor in Virginia met with James Madison to encourage an amendment to the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing freedom of religion
JOHN LELAND

…the best known evangelist in the world is a Baptist whose church membership is in Texas
BILLY GRAHAM

…that the first person baptized in the Gulf of Mexico as a Baptist when Texas was still an independent nation founded a major milk company
GAIL BORDEN JR.

...that a former President of the United States of America and a Nobel Prize recipient is a Baptist layman Sunday School teacherJ
IMMY CARTER

…that a generous Baptist businessman was the first to develop an effective process for pasteurizing cheese.
JAMES L. KRAFT

…that the author of the widely used devotional book My Utmost for His Highest was a Baptist from a devout Baptist family, his father and brother being Baptist pastors
OSWALD CHAMBERS

Cowboy Roundup pt1

Before I can post a Sunday wrap up I need to give a Sunday Wrap up from the SBTC Cowboy Church Planters Conference. In truth, can’t post all that I experienced in one post. Overall it was the most encouraging and equipping conference to training I think I have ever been to. Jim Gatliff, SBTC shared ministry strategist, Bro. Curtis and his Church, Branded by Christ Cowboy Church, 5592 Highway 110 North, in Rusk (yes, that is a plug for them) were great hosts and really put on a great conference. And this is not just to brag about their swinging bank of the great BBQ (It came from Lufkin BBQ which is just down the road from Diboll, Praise the Lord!)

Better planters and pastors from the cowboy church movement could not have been chosen

When was the last time you saw a pastor in the pulpit with at knife strapped to his side that was easily a foot from end to end

These men did not have an alphabet soup of seminary degrees but they taught with equal authority and passion to any professor that I have had. And I had I have had some of the Best.

Every pastor/planter there is a great mentor which is something that is lacking in ministry. I wished one of these men was close by to be a mentor to me!

I would safely put these men up against some of the nation’s conference speakers. Hands down they are the real deal.

Almost every planter/pastor volunteered themselves and their church of help you with the ministry God was starting. They we willing to come and put on play days and rodeo for you to show you how and model them for your church. This goes way beyond the typical work book discipleship and equipping that happens in the traditional church.

Not only did I get cowboy church training, I got great resources, an idea for a Christmas sermon for something a planter said (Born in a Barn), had the epiphany for two church plant names (Christ Providence Church and Vaquero Baptist Church)

More to come – I was greatly inspired and encouraged by this conference. I took a great deal of note and wrote down even more of my own unique thoughts.

round 'm up

Tomorrow I am traveling to Rusk, TX to attend a Cowboy Church planting conference. I had planned to take one of the young men from my Sunday School class with me but he is vomiting. I know what you are thinking, "Chris, what are you doing going to a Cowboy Church planting conference?" My thoughts are the same. Yet, still i trek of to see, to learn, to understand and to come back and be a better pastor to the flock that i have the privilege of shepherding.

To counter balance this, i will be going to the Acts 29 Spiritual Formations conference At the Village in Highland Park on Tuesday. From one extreme to the other.

But Most Importantly

In Christianity Today, Barack Obama is quotes as saying

I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and esurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful.

So is he saying that feeding the poor and healing is more important that the Redemption provided by the rich red blood of Jesus. in referring to this he just said that salvific act of grace bestowed upon a devious and spiritually derelict mankind is great, But Most importantly, are these other social actions of compassion and ministry.

Big Ideas

We don't have the impact God has planned for us when we're pursuing impact;
we have it when we're pursuing God.

Phil Vischer, Creater of Veggietales and Big Idea Media

English Pt 2 (by Phil Baker)

Phil is killing me with his subtle yet hilarious observation of the language we speak.

English Pt 2 (by Phil Baker)

We take English for granted.But if we explore its paradoxes,We find that quicksand can work slowly,Boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig.And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends,But not one amend?If you have a bunch of odds and ends And get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?If teachers taught,Why didn't preachers praught?If a vegetarian eats vegetables,What does a humanitarian eat?

Tzedakah Ministries

A handful of year a ago the SBC waged war against the Satan and vowed to rescue the perishing souls of Jews from the clutches of Satan. they have since abandoned this as have failed to honor their alleged call to do so. So what happens to all these pre-Christians??? Well this is where Tzedakah Ministries comes into play and their new blog, Mystery Solved with Messiah Jesus. Tzedakah Ministries picks up where others have dropped the dreidel. Their work is high quality and sacrificial. Amy Downey of Tzedakah Ministries has Ministered at Pine Grove Baptist Church of Diboll, TX several times and we gladly endorse this ministry. Actually it is more like we are honored to be able to support this ministry. This ministry is targeting a huge population that is over looked by many and unfortunately disregarded by to many. It seems in a day when we see less people coming to Christ, a lack of Biblical knowledge in those we are trying to win make it difficult to converse, the onslaught of radical atheism and militant Islam that to win our Jewish neighbors to Christ would be a God idea.

Here are seven good reason although there are countless more.

1. It fulfills Scripture - aways a good idea
2. It honors Christ - another novel concept eh?
3. They know the Old Testament - so the concepts and lingo are there to work from
4. They add great culture to the Church - it will be no longer boring and generic
5. They need Jesus because they are sinners too. - just like you and me, they need the Savior
6. They are here and around the world - you fulfill Acts 1:8
7. God promised - you don't want to make a liar out of Him do you?

In the future i plan to post a tract that Tzedakah Ministries has produced to share the Good News of the Messiah Jesus with Israel. With Permission of course

English by Phil Baker

On English Pt 1. (by Phil Baker)

Well begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldnt the plural of pan be called pen?If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldnt the plural of booth be called beeth?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,But imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.Via

Has it come down to this?

May be it has. In some areas this might be a good idea? In others it is a target on your back -think Islamic areas. I guess this makes it easier for the visiting pastor to keep from being confused for a mormon missionary and a Jehovah's Witnesss

or is it the honor of Greyskull?

1 Chronicles 7:24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah.

By the Power of Greyskull???

1 Chronicles 6:33 Here are the men who served, together with their sons: From the Kohathites: Heman, the musician, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

truth hurts

Can u maintain'a wat u've obtain'a

Steven Furtick is the pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He posted a power post (or atleast to me) entitled Can you maintain what you’ve obtained? on January 8th, 2008.

One of my mentors taught me this valuable lesson. I’d like to pass it on to you: The key to experiencing the blessing of God all the days of your life is learning to maintain what you’ve obtained.

That’s good stuff right there. And it will do us good to unpack it with
a couple of examples.

Example #1: A young man who thinks he is called to preach gets called on by his senior pastor to fill in for him one Wednesday night in March. He has 3 months to prepare, so by the time his big moment comes, he knocks it out of the park! All the senior adults tell him he’ll be the next Billy Graham, and a small group of single adults swear that his preaching is better than the Preacher Bob’s. Don’t stick your chest out yet, big boy. Who cares if you hit a home run one time? What’s your batting average going to looklike over the course of your ministry? Can you bring the goods and serve up a fresh Word from God 40 or more Sundays a year?You obtained success with one sermon … Can you maintain a ministry of impact for a lifetime?

Example #2: A couple spends $35,000 and 7 months of intensive (and for the guy, grueling) planning to have the perfect wedding. The bridesmaids’ dresses were stunning. And the filet mignon at the reception was killer. Good for them. So you obtained the perfect wedding…Can you maintain a healthy marriage? After she’s many sizes beyond ever fitting into that $2000 wedding dress again, can he love her for what’s inside? If his career trajectory takes a turn for the worse with the economy, are her hopes and dreams still on solid ground?

You get the point.I close with a quote that summarizes the principle. I heard an older pastor say it to a younger pastor after he’d really rocked the house at a youth crusade: Ability will put a microphone in your hand. Integrity will keep it there. hat will you do to maintain what you’ve obtained?

Preach! Bro. Preach. Those are true life lessons for all you TLC watches.

Disturbing

Francis Drake prayed…


"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little. When we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord."

That's just how we roll

This weekend we are taking a few of our youth out bowling. we are trying to kick off a youth ministry at our Church (well really it is Christ's) with this. Afterwards we will take them to get some pizza at a local buffett. Sort of a Bowl and Binge. Our young people are undisciplined in spiritual matters as they have never really had anything. So this weekend, thier pastror, turns into thier youth pastor too. Really, it is just being thier pastor in general. For our started Bible study I think we are going with this.

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

After all this how we are supposed to roles a Christ Followers. I will work into it a bowling bowl illustation with gutterballs and pins being disractions and sins. Pray for the youth and for me. I really want this to take off and I desperately want to see these yound people grow in Christ. I am in hopes of taking a couple of pre-Christians with us.

GODMEN PRAYER

Father of the heavens and the night; stretch forth Your almighty arms to strengthen and protect us. Even as You gave Saint Michael, Your Angelic warrior, power to do spiritual battle in the heavens, so give us power to command the darkened skies.

Guide and direct us in the advancement of the Gospel. Give us the courage to face all obstacles that might keep us from finishing our race. Send Your holy Angels to protect the men around this country; those called to fight this spiritual battle. Sustain us in the hour of danger with knowledge of Your mercy.

Watch over our families when we cannot. May Your presence give them comfort, and Your love lend them the courage to face each day, confident in the knowledge that You will never leave them or forsake them. Protect them with Your unfailing mercy and grace.

Grant that wherever we serve, we may be loyal to Christ. Make us to choose the harder right over the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won. May we ever embody the principles upon which the GODMEN are founded and serve proudly with the memory of those who have gone before. Give us the courage to fight, to win and the faith to die rather than quit,

AND ALL THE GODMEN SAID
AMEN!

A Church on Every Corner

Back in Sept of '07 Step Child of Missions Misunderstood wrote this about the current church planting status as when should understand it. Great words that need to be headed. Even the comments left on his site are worth reading.

I recently read an interesting thing about Wal-Mart. It seems that in cities across the country, Wal-Mart stores are up-sizing from their regular old large retail centers to shiny new extra-large "Super Centers." In many cases, these new stores are right next door or across the street from the old stores.

The problem is that the distinctively Wal-Martian building design and layout (you know, gray and blue big-box warehouse with two main entrances and a chain-link fenced-in "garden center" on one side) makes it difficult for any other retailer to use the old buildings. So the old stores are sitting empty.

Some communities are now requiring that new Wal-Mart stores be built with future use in mind, with store designs that are more easily subdivided for varied uses should the current Super Center ever vacate to build, I don't know, what's bigger than a Super Center?

For some reason, this reminds me of church buildings.

Western Europe is home to thousands of church buildings. Cathedrals, basilicas, chapels, and temples that were once full of devout religious people now sit empty in every part of the continent. In the U.K., Some have been converted to pubs. In Italy, many are used a museums. At least European church buildings are pretty to look at.

In one hundred years, what will have become of your church building?

Whenever I try to encourage Americans to be church planters, they almost invariably say something like, "There's already a church on every corner." The problem, of course, is that these people are mistaking "church building" for "body of believers."

We certainly don't need more church buildings.

I guess this is me?

Gap Planting Vs. Roseanne Planting

If you keep up with church planting you might have noticed there is a trend to plant young hip Churches where the iPhones and the Starbucks reign supreme. After returning from Glorieta my family caught an old episode of The Cosby Show. My 8 year old daughter loves it! At the conclusion of the episode I figured that another episode would come on as this channel normally runs two show blocks. Instead Roseanne came on. As I watched this dysfunction unroll before me, I began to wonder about the Churches that I watch and those that people flock to the conferences of. Just exactly who is there target audience? The people that they show and that they seem to be reaching are the Pretty Gap people. Those with trendy haircuts and fashionable duds and sporty cars. This lead me to ask, “Who is reaching the Roseanna Conner Families? Who if finding the dysfunctional demographic that is low class and low brow? Why is not God calling someone to reach the ugly and the obese?” I know that God must be calling people to plant these churches and reach these people. Right? Unfortunately they don’t make the cover page and are not used in the ads. Yet God loves them too.

Glorietta - Part 1

The day after Christmas, when others were returning gifts or trying to find batteries for their electronics. we were getting in our vehicles to make the trip to Glorietta, NM for skiing, snow and the Sword of truth (had to have another "S"). Our first leg was from Diboll to New Harmony Baptist just outside of Lindale. Our friend Melody from Crockett, TX had come up the might before to spend the night to make the trek with us.

We got to Lindale and the rest of my crew - Melody, Denise (my wife), and Remington (my daughter) left me with Grady McDonald the youth pastor at New Harmony. They went on to Amarillo where they would spend the night in a nice comfy bed at a motel. This was great because we discussed theology, church growth, vented our frustrations, traded great ideas, got to tell corny joke, ragged on each other and discussed hot topic Scriptures. We probably did some important things, but i can't remember them! oh yeah, bought a key changer as the worship pastor had to decline, got the spin360 tracks and PowerPoint's ready, packed some gear, picked and fueled vans for the 55 person trip.

Some time around midnight we got the whole crew on the road and found every gas station and restroom starting in Lindale, TX and ending in Glorietta, NM. This was a wild ride. lots of unique things happened on our way to the summit!

Can I really call some one my brother if they teach another salvation? If they find salvation in the cup are they my Christian twin. If they believe the bread is salvific is there a true spiritual kinship then is thier salvation the same as mine. Is it not grace alone, Christ alone, faith alone?

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of
Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some
who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we,
or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have
preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again
now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he
is to be accursed! - Gal 1:6-9

The Condition of My Heart

Jeremiah 17:9 Esv

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

Let this be our pray too.


Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.



Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.



Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

just watch

Its beginning to look a lot like Easter

Okay, I know what you are thinking. I also realize that Christmas and New Year's are still around the corner, but I have Easter on the brain.

I don't want to let the cat to far out of the bag (because she have sharp claws), but an airplane is involved.

And now that i think about it maybe a drag strip.

Hmmm...... I wonder.

Stay tuned.

the gospel in motion

Tonight I was reminded again of how great my church family is. I love them and would never trade them.

Sunday morning was off the hook as we covered Luke 1:1-25. We talked about leting God remove the disgrace from our lives. Powerful.

the evening was as nothing to slouch at. Grady McDonald, Student pastor at New Harmony Baptist in Tyler, Tx. His youth ministry, Quest Ministries, did a wonderful portrail of the Gospel and the Power of Christ to a Lifehouse song. I posted a video of this drama done by someone else a while back if you don't have a clue what I am writing about.

After a amazing drama, Grady broke open the Bread of Life like it was a loaf of bread fresh the oven and then he put a healthy heap of butter on it. I love how he worked the text like Randy Coulture does his opponent on the ground.

the goal is ...

“Relevance is not our goal. It is just a tool. Our goal is not to be relevant to culture. We want to be distinct from culture.”

Gary Long, pastor of Willow Meadows Baptist Church in Houston, TX

on being a man

A man can make a differencein others when Jesus is making a difference in him.

~Roy Lessin~

a sign of the times

Wow what a sign!!!!

five of a kind is afull house

5 Types of Christians were found byt Christianity Today. I won't reproduce the whole article, but I thought the stats were thought provoking! Active Christians 19% Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ Committed churchgoers Bible readers Accept leadership positions Invest in personal faith development through the church Feel obligated to share faith; 79% do so. Professing Christians 20% Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ Focus on personal relationship with God and Jesus Similar beliefs to Active Christians, different actions Less involved in church, both attending and serving Less commitment to Bible reading or sharing faith Liturgical Christians 16% Predominantly Catholic and Lutheran Regular churchgoers High level of spiritual activity, mostly expressed by serving in church and/or community Recognize authority of the church Private Christians 24% Largest and youngest segment Believe in God and doing good things Own a Bible, but don't read it Spiritual interest, but not within church context Only about a third attend church at all Almost none are church leaders Cultural Christians 21% Little outward religious behavior or attitudes God aware, but little personal involvement with God Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation Affirm many ways to God Favor universality theology

Eye doll uh tree

A god who let us prove his existence would be an idol



- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Wrapped Crap - watch the vid to get it

A couple of weeks ago a young lady named Jill visited our Church to share her previous mission trip and about her upcoming one. My heart had been both burdened and bothered about Christianity in Africa and Ethiopia. The commonly refer to the theology of Africa as being a mile wide in believers but only a inch deep in teaching, other places the Africa faith is described Spiritually as mile wide and an inch deep. Prosperity is growing leaps and bound, but I am afraid that when the teaching can hold, that Christ followers will turn to Islam as the becoem and gry and feel that Christ has failed them. I am really bothered by this. I have spent some time reading on the net and it only get worse the more I dig. Listen to John Piper as he calls it like he sees it and it is.

Theo-rap

Voice makes Theological History by being the first to ever rap at John Piper's church.

Not only cat he spit, but this cat is flowing some serious doctrine. Forget gangster rap, Doctrinally sound, Theological rap is on the scene. I can't wait to have a big trunk Lincoln roll up on me at the street light bumping and thumping about Justification, Kenosis or propitiation

Nice ...

Temperature Rising


from Jumaine Jones at Limeade…quenching the leadership thirst

I’m in the middle of preparing for Sunday’s message. We will be looking at Ephesians 5:21-33. I was truly awestruck as I read of how Christ sanctifies and cleanses her bride by the Word. As husbands, we owe it to our wives to wash them with God’s Word. We can’t prepare a great meal on Sundays, and leave our homes famished. As the head, the husband establishes the spiritual temperature in the home. Where lives are hurt, the water is too hot. Where there’s distance and lack of intiamcy, the water is too cold. Where there’s unconditional love and true devotion, the water is warm. There’s nothing like having a warm, loving atmosphere!

great quote of the day

William Jay: “They are bad interpreters of the Scripture, who give it meanings which it never had; and by their supposed ingenuity, render its readers uncertain whether it has any proper and determinate sense.”

trust no one and search for yourself

13 Bible Stories You Must Teach Every Child

Tony Krummer of Gospel Driven Children's Ministry writes "The average children’s Bible has about 100 stories. The real Bible has many more. Every story matters. But what are the basic stories kids need to understand to have a full grasp on the Bible? What stories are so basic to the Gospel that omitting them would leave a big whole in their worldview? Here’s what I came up with."

13 Bible Stories You Must Teach Every Child

1. God created the world and everything in contains (including people) for his glory. (Genesis 1-2)
2. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, rejected God’s rule and fell into a state of sin and misery. (Genesis 3-4)
3. God calls Abraham and establishes a covenant with him. (Genesis 12-23, Galatians 3:6-9)
4. God delivers his people from slavery in Egypt and keeps his promises to Abraham. (Exodus, Deuteronomy 26:8-9)
5. God makes David the King of his people and promises a forever kingdom. (1 Samuel 16, 2 Samuel 7)
6. God’s people suffer exile for their sin, but God promises a forever kingdom (2 Kings 17:18-20; 35-41, Romans 11:1-6, Jeremiah 29:10-14)
7. Jesus is born the Son of God, heir of Abraham and David (Matthew 1, Luke 2:11)
8. Jesus dies on the cross to remove the sins of God’s people. (Matthew 27, Romans 5:6-8)
9. God raises Jesus from death. (Matthew 28, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 1 Peter 1:21)
10. Jesus takes his throne in heaven (Acts 1:1-11)
11. The Holy Spirit gives power to the disciples (Acts 2, Galatians 5:22-25)
12. The Return of Jesus (John 14:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
13. The Kingdom of God on Earth – New Creation (Revelation 21, 1 Corinthians 15:22-23)

I think he is on to somethign here. Maybe you could do one a month and in just over a year you would have covered these.

He is looking for some feedback so let him know as well as giving me your two cents.

the bumbers

a must see

two things befeor you proceed

1. Warning: this video is honest, abrupt and real. it depicts the violence that thrashes you soul. beaware that you migh cry.
2. Affirmation: this is beautiful, it will encourage you, enlighten you and make you thank God and value the freedom found in Jesus.
   
   
   
   

life as i know it

• worship is becoming steady at 50 or better
• visitors are also becomming a regular thing
• preached on lust, porn, and bad sex this Sunday and found out it causes arguments and coversation at the lunch table.
• i am slowly moving from tri-vocational to bi-vocational
• one of my youth kids went to jail - i felt guilty, yet they are old enough to be responsible for their actions and knew better
• my wife and i are closer than ever
• currently i am enjoying the new david crowder and chris rice cd's
• i think about going back to school often
• i have been subsitute teaching pretty often
• had a new couple join the the church and they are like fresh, hot cinnimon rolls
• getting ready for our great fall outreach, aka the old time fair and hoping to make contact with 200 to 250 people

a little heritical fun

biblefight



finally Eve gets a chance to redeem herself and whip up on Satan.

Missionary Jumaine Jones who is planting The Bridge knows the guy in this video. Pure smoothness and a funny video too. the guy is very talented and has a great sense of humor to boot!