I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in a 3rd grade Sunday School class with a teacher named Marshall Tress. Our memory verse for the week was Hebrews 4:12 which states, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and the spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." That verse and that lesson made an impact on me. The writer of Hebrews presented the words of God as powerful, sharp, and able to accomplish something. That verse made a 3rd grader sit up and listen.
But it causes me to wonder, if God says his Word is so sharp, then why is most preaching that I hear so dull? Why is it so mundane? Why isn't it interesting? Why is most preaching that I hear not as engaging to me at 32 years old as that lesson was when I was 9? Why is it so palatable? Why is most preaching more like B101 (Easy Listening) than MMR (The Station that Rocks)? If the Word of God is sharper than a sword then the faithful preaching of that Word should be sharp also. The faithful preaching of that Word should cut me down to my soul. It shouldn't always be easy to digest. It seems to me that faithful sermons should be quite focused and cutting. Faithful sermons should be challenging and interesting and thought provoking. If the Word of God divides down to the motives and intentions of the heart then good sermons should do that also. Good sermons will "cut to the heart" like Peter's sermon did in Acts 2. Good sermons should make believers feel massive conviction over our sin and give us massive reassurance because of the love of God through Christ.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Christ Was Singularly Focused
I can't say I have a singular focus in my life. I'm currently reading 4 books (I rarely finish any of them). When I watch TV I usually have 2 programs going. I'm supposed to be studying Greek right now and the thought popped into my head to write this blog entry. I'm easily distracted and many times, I'm all over the place.
Christ, however, had a singular focus. He was absolutely focused, like a laser, on a set of ideals.
John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish His work.”
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.”
John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day.”
Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
The way of Christ was focus on the propositional truths of God and the mission for which he was sent, imbedded in that proposition (Isaiah 53). Christ was obedient to His Father in his lifestyle and His mission. In other words, He always did what was right passively (the way he thought, especially the way he thought about God) and actively (when he preached and was crucified). Christ was fed by doing what God had commissioned Him to do. He had surrendered His will in submission to His Father. He was firmly under the authority of His Father in the greatest act of humility. Fear of man did not dominate Him but rather the will of His Father was all that He could think about and all that He could do. Obedience to His Father propelled Him.
Christ, however, had a singular focus. He was absolutely focused, like a laser, on a set of ideals.
John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish His work.”
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.”
John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day.”
Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
The way of Christ was focus on the propositional truths of God and the mission for which he was sent, imbedded in that proposition (Isaiah 53). Christ was obedient to His Father in his lifestyle and His mission. In other words, He always did what was right passively (the way he thought, especially the way he thought about God) and actively (when he preached and was crucified). Christ was fed by doing what God had commissioned Him to do. He had surrendered His will in submission to His Father. He was firmly under the authority of His Father in the greatest act of humility. Fear of man did not dominate Him but rather the will of His Father was all that He could think about and all that He could do. Obedience to His Father propelled Him.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Thinking about Choosing a Church? Part 2
Two more considerations when it comes to choosing a church.
3. Does the church practice a meaningful Church Membership? Sometimes I feel like I've heard every argument in the book concerning the archaic nature of Church Membership but in 1 Peter 5, Christian people are commanded to "be subject to the elders." I have been wracking my brain for 7 years attempting to figure out how a church of more than 20 people could oversee their people without church membership. In other words, you and I can't be subject to elders if we don't have a process to tell the elders that we are subject to them. The Apostle Paul tells the believers in Corinth to expel a man from amongst their number (1 Cor 5). A person can't go out, if they were never in. We need church membership because our hearts desire to go their own way and we are prone towards spiritual infidelity. The humility of the believer is honed under Godly authority. "Be subject to elders.... God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God."
For more on Church Membership, click on my blog from 2010 and check out a two part series entitled "Why I must be committed to my local Church in membership?"
4. Does the church practice meaningful Church Discipline? The Bible unquestionably speaks about the Elders of churches providing teaching, care, and discipline to their flock. But many churches do not know who is in their flock. A trend of more traditional churches is to maintain a membership that is not reflective of who is attending the church and a trend amongst many churches, planted in the past decades, is to practice no church membership at all. Neither is faithful to the Scriptures. The testimony of the New Testament is of a leadership and a congregation that knows, who is part of the church and who is not part of the church. Jesus speaks of a congregation that levies the final blow of discipline on an unrepentant sinner and informs the congregation to treat the offender as "a Gentile and tax collector (Matt 18:17)." Paul exhorts the Corinthian church that when it comes to unrepentant sexually immoral, who call themselves believers, to "not even eat with such a one (1 Cor 5:11)." Paul tells Timothy that if an elder persists in sin that he should be "rebuke(d) in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear (1 Tim 5:20)." James tells the church to go after those who appear to be believers and who have wandered away from the truth and that "whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20)". Our souls are on the line when we distance ourselves from Christ's church and practice lawlessness. God has enacted church discipline so that erring people might be restored to Him. God wants restoration but many times the American church wants comfort.
I hope these blogs have been helpful. If you'd like to read more about choosing a healthy church I would encourage you to read the book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever.
3. Does the church practice a meaningful Church Membership? Sometimes I feel like I've heard every argument in the book concerning the archaic nature of Church Membership but in 1 Peter 5, Christian people are commanded to "be subject to the elders." I have been wracking my brain for 7 years attempting to figure out how a church of more than 20 people could oversee their people without church membership. In other words, you and I can't be subject to elders if we don't have a process to tell the elders that we are subject to them. The Apostle Paul tells the believers in Corinth to expel a man from amongst their number (1 Cor 5). A person can't go out, if they were never in. We need church membership because our hearts desire to go their own way and we are prone towards spiritual infidelity. The humility of the believer is honed under Godly authority. "Be subject to elders.... God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God."
For more on Church Membership, click on my blog from 2010 and check out a two part series entitled "Why I must be committed to my local Church in membership?"
4. Does the church practice meaningful Church Discipline? The Bible unquestionably speaks about the Elders of churches providing teaching, care, and discipline to their flock. But many churches do not know who is in their flock. A trend of more traditional churches is to maintain a membership that is not reflective of who is attending the church and a trend amongst many churches, planted in the past decades, is to practice no church membership at all. Neither is faithful to the Scriptures. The testimony of the New Testament is of a leadership and a congregation that knows, who is part of the church and who is not part of the church. Jesus speaks of a congregation that levies the final blow of discipline on an unrepentant sinner and informs the congregation to treat the offender as "a Gentile and tax collector (Matt 18:17)." Paul exhorts the Corinthian church that when it comes to unrepentant sexually immoral, who call themselves believers, to "not even eat with such a one (1 Cor 5:11)." Paul tells Timothy that if an elder persists in sin that he should be "rebuke(d) in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear (1 Tim 5:20)." James tells the church to go after those who appear to be believers and who have wandered away from the truth and that "whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20)". Our souls are on the line when we distance ourselves from Christ's church and practice lawlessness. God has enacted church discipline so that erring people might be restored to Him. God wants restoration but many times the American church wants comfort.
I hope these blogs have been helpful. If you'd like to read more about choosing a healthy church I would encourage you to read the book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thinking about Choosing a Church?
Let's be honest, most people choose their church based on things that have almost nothing to do with God, His Truth, or the nurture of our spirits. My guess is that most people choose their church based on a few convenient, even carnal, principles. "I like their style of music." "The pastor is so great, he makes everything really practical." "They have a program for all of our kids." "This church is really friendly." "I grew up in this church (or a church like it)." "The service times really suit my schedule."
Over the years, when it's come to recommending churches to first year college students and young people who were looking for churches, I fear that I've been overly simplistic. I used to say things like "just find a church that teaches the Bible." Well, I don't want to overwhelm people with a 15 point checklist when looking for a church but I've tried to narrow it down to four categories that I sense will give you a window into the life of a church, identify a healthy church, and possibly ensure that you'll be able to worship with that church family for a long time.
1. Is the church focused on Expository Preaching and Teaching? I've stopped saying, "just find a church that teaches the Bible" and I've started to engage young people on the idea of Expository preaching and teaching. As you listen to your pastors next sermon, ask yourself, "Is the main point of this text, the main point of his sermon?" Next time you listen to a sermon you may want to ask something like "is he spending anytime talking about the real need of our soul; the need to be forgiven of sin?" He may be spending a lot of time talking about loneliness and the needs of the poor but never explain the greatest need of man. Thirdly, you may want to ask yourself, "is he exalting the Christ's death and resurrection within this sermon or is he just encouraging more moral behavior?" Without the Death and Resurrection of Christ we are left to save ourselves. All of these questions might help you determine whether or not you're being taught in a Expository and Christ focused manner.
2. Is the church Confessional? Trust me, I am not asking if your church has a document that is over 400 years old that governs the church. What we should be asking is, "does the church have any document that governs the life of the church, the church's leadership, and summarize important truths from the Bible?" Churches that have no detailed confessions that address doctrine and church order are under no real authority. You might counter that argument by saying, "Oh no, that's not true, our church is under the authority of the Bible!" People that say that they are, exclusively, under the Bible's authority are, actually, under one authority. They are under the authority of their own interpretation. Is that not true? The only authority in many churches is the authority of their pastor's interpretive whim. Confessions ensure that your church will not be led by one man but places each leader under statements greater than their own mind.
Points 3 and 4 will be coming next week.
Over the years, when it's come to recommending churches to first year college students and young people who were looking for churches, I fear that I've been overly simplistic. I used to say things like "just find a church that teaches the Bible." Well, I don't want to overwhelm people with a 15 point checklist when looking for a church but I've tried to narrow it down to four categories that I sense will give you a window into the life of a church, identify a healthy church, and possibly ensure that you'll be able to worship with that church family for a long time.
1. Is the church focused on Expository Preaching and Teaching? I've stopped saying, "just find a church that teaches the Bible" and I've started to engage young people on the idea of Expository preaching and teaching. As you listen to your pastors next sermon, ask yourself, "Is the main point of this text, the main point of his sermon?" Next time you listen to a sermon you may want to ask something like "is he spending anytime talking about the real need of our soul; the need to be forgiven of sin?" He may be spending a lot of time talking about loneliness and the needs of the poor but never explain the greatest need of man. Thirdly, you may want to ask yourself, "is he exalting the Christ's death and resurrection within this sermon or is he just encouraging more moral behavior?" Without the Death and Resurrection of Christ we are left to save ourselves. All of these questions might help you determine whether or not you're being taught in a Expository and Christ focused manner.
2. Is the church Confessional? Trust me, I am not asking if your church has a document that is over 400 years old that governs the church. What we should be asking is, "does the church have any document that governs the life of the church, the church's leadership, and summarize important truths from the Bible?" Churches that have no detailed confessions that address doctrine and church order are under no real authority. You might counter that argument by saying, "Oh no, that's not true, our church is under the authority of the Bible!" People that say that they are, exclusively, under the Bible's authority are, actually, under one authority. They are under the authority of their own interpretation. Is that not true? The only authority in many churches is the authority of their pastor's interpretive whim. Confessions ensure that your church will not be led by one man but places each leader under statements greater than their own mind.
Points 3 and 4 will be coming next week.
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