Does Your Fruit Last?

Sunday night we took the time to look at 1 Corinthians 3:5-17. We were trying to glean from Paul’s words some insight into what it means to be a strong church. So many these days tell us so many different things about what the church should be. Sadly, we often listen to them. Even to those who have no idea about what the church is.

I remember several years ago sitting in a Doctoral Seminar at Midwestern Seminary, and one of my classmates, Victor Clay, made this profound observation: "People come into the church not knowing what the church is, but we let them define what it ought to be." (I haven’t seen Victor since then, so I hope he doesn’t mind my using his words!)

What he was pointing out is the sad reality that much of our church “work” is done based on fads and fashions, polls and popularity contests. We want folks to come, we want them to come back, and so we go to some strange lengths some times to accommodate them. And, truthfully, sometimes it works. Or does it?

Paul speaks in that passage to the Corinthians about building on the foundation of Christ alone. Hopefully we know that. Hopefully I don’t have to chase that one down. Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that’s our message, right? But how do we build on that? And how do we know if it’s a good building?

The answer is simple: does your fruit last? As I pointed out Sunday night: “Unfortunately, we often put a lot of time and a lot of effort into functions that may not produce lasting fruit. We spend all kinds of effort and money and energy into some whiz bang event, and we draw big crowds and every one has a great time. We may even get folks to respond in some way, say that they’ve made commitments to Christ, or whatever.

“But what happens in the next few months, the next few years. Are the people who say they were affected by that event walking with the Lord, growing in their faith, maturing as followers of Christ? Or has their life shown little change at all. And if there is no change, have we really built on the foundation of Christ with lasting things?”

I’ve been doing some evaluating on my own here. I’ve been reflecting back on the last 20 or so years of preaching, thinking about the events we held, the sermons I preached, the things I taught. And I’ve thought about the lives that were impacted, or at least I hope were impacted. All those folks who claimed to follow Christ, who were baptized, who said they were impacted in one way or another by those ministries. Where are they all today? Are they still living for Christ? Are they growing and maturing in their faith? Has the fruit lasted?

And my reflections yield a mixed bag. Some folks I know are still actively and effectively serving Christ. Some, to be honest, I just don’t know; we’ve lost touch, etc. And sadly, some; well, some seem to have walked away and are just nowhere to be found in the church.

Now, I realize that it’s not always the fault of the preacher/church/ministry when folks fall away. Jesus Himself came to a point in His earthly ministry where He had gathered quite a large following, but because of the hard teachings of His gospel, “ many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66; I’ve always found that a particularly appropriate reference number!).

As Albert Barnes pointed out regarding those who turned back: "From this we may learn…not to wonder at the apostasy of many who profess to be followers of Christ. Many are induced to become his professed followers by the prospect of some temporal benefit, or under some public excitement, as these were; and when that temporal benefit is not obtained, or that excitement is over, they fall away.”

It’s the hearts of the individuals that cause them to turn away. It’s not “our fault” in one sense. It certainly wasn’t Jesus’ “fault,” He surely didn’t use the wrong ministry methods.

And yet something about Barnes’ comment strikes me as significant. He said, “Many are induced to become his professed followers by the prospect of some temporal benefit, or under some public excitement… and when that temporal benefit is not obtained, or that excitement is over, they fall away.”

I can’t help but think that if we are the ones causing that “public excitement” just to draw a crowd, and the results may be quick and large; but they don’t last; does that not constitute building with “hay, wood and straw” as Paul says? If we are implying some temporal benefit in our teaching that Scripture never promises, and folks respond only to turn away when it doesn’t manifest itself, aren’t we to blame? Shouldn’t we examine our methods and ministries to be sure that we are producing fruit that lasts, not just big crowds and lots of “decisions?”

I’ve been involved with events which have great turnouts, and lots of folks raise their hands or mark a card or whatever. But I often wonder, where are those folks now? Are they truly living for Christ? Has there been a genuine change? And if not, are our efforts in that kind of event/ministry/teaching really worth it; are they lasting fruit kinds of things.

I guess, ultimately it’s a decision each church, each minister has to make on their own. You have to do your own evaluations. But I think that’s the real problem. We’re not doing much real evaluation. We only look at the immediate results, and if it looks good, we say it worked. I don’t think we’re doing the long term evaluation that we need to do to see if what we’re doing as a church is really building with gold, silver and precious stones. Some times it may take years to see if the fruit is real, and then we may still wonder if it will last.

Yet there will come a day when the answer to that will be seen. The fire will test our work. And my prayer is that we would spend more time listening to God and to His Word, building on the right foundation; and less time focusing on polls and pragmatism; so that in that day the One True Judge will say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

What To Do With “Boring” Preachers

If you were to call my preaching boring, I doubt I would much argue with you. There are links on the side bar of this blog to Faith Southern Baptist Sermons, and you can hear for yourself if you’re that brave. Personally, I think the CD copies we provide at church should come with a warning label: “Do Not Use While Driving; May Cause Drowsiness.”

So maybe I’m being a bit defensive with this post. I recently read a couple blog posts by Carl Trueman over at Reformation 21 in which he begins by simply saying that boring preachers should be fired. (You can read the original and the follow-up here and here.)

He actually makes some good points about the need for the presentation of God’s Word to incite worship, and than when doxology doesn’t result from the doctrine, it’s not good. He’s also careful to point out that engaging talks may be just that, with no real doctrine, so that can be even more harmful.

But here’s my beef. My undergraduate degree was a double major in Communication and Religion. As a communication major it was drilled into us that messages are not sent unless both speaker and listener are putting in equal effort; therefore listening is just as crucial as speaking. So then, if the sermon is boring, is it because the speaker is really that pathetic, or is it because the listener isn’t putting in any effort at all? Or is there some sort of middle ground?

Christopher Ash has a wonderful little book called “Listen Up! A practical guide to listening to sermons.” I think it should be required reading in every church. He reminds us that Jesus Himself tells us in Luke 8:18 “Take care then how you hear,” or “Consider carefully how you listen.” Ash points out that listening is an active thing, something that should be approached with purpose.

When we come to hear God’s Word, we should expect just that: God’s Word. We should go in expecting God to speak, go in prepared to apply what we hear, looking for truth that God intends for us to live out in our own lives. When we have an active approach to listening, you’d be surprised at how much less boring something might be.

Now, that’s not to say there aren’t bad sermons, and quite frankly bad preachers. Ash’s book even has some advice on how to handle those. If it’s bad in the sense that it’s unbiblical or even biblically inadequate, those are different stories. Yet those guys aren’t the target of Trueman’s “Kick ‘Em Out” campaign.

Here’s some of what Ash says: “Let us suppose, however, that this dull sermon is biblically faithful and accurate, and delivered by a preacher who believes the truth, has prepared as best he knows how, and that the sermon is surrounded both by his prayers and yours. If this is so, we ought to do all we can to listen with the aim of profiting by it. We may be able to encourage the preacher to get help with presentational skills. Certainly we should pray for our preachers, and encourage them whenever they show signs of improvement…

“But above all, we must search our own hearts and come to the sermon praying for God’s help to listen as attentively as our bodies will let us (caffeine may help). My advice is…to ask God that some part of it may stick and be turned in us to repentance and faith. Try taking notes,…try going with a friend and agreeing together not to spend lunch lamenting the preacher’s inadequacies, but rather, sharing positive Bible truths that you have learned or been reminded of, and praying together for God’s help in putting them into practice.”

Wow, that’s a lot different than “fire all boring preachers and teachers” isn’t it? Pray for them. Encourage them. Put effort into it yourself. The truth is, sometimes sermons are boring because they fall on dead ears, and only God can change that. Can these bones live? Only if God makes them live. So pray for life, both in the preacher and in the pew.

Again, I’m not saying this as an excuse for shoddy preaching. I still am responsible before God to put in the time, effort, prayer and study required to faithfully proclaim His precious Word. I’m still accountable for the accuracy of the messages I give. Not because I’m concerned about boring people vs. entertaining them, but because I’ll have to give an account to God for it!

But the gift of preaching ought to be seen in the same light as any other gift in the church. We don’t kick folks out for not using them to the best of their abilities. We encourage, pray for, nurture that gift in any way we can. If a person truly doesn’t have the gift they think they have, then maybe we gently urge them to seek some other service. That’s much different than Trueman’s admonition that “elders should make sure they fire consistently boring teachers and preachers.”

Again, maybe I’m just defensive because I might be one of those. I’d like to think I’m just trying to be more gracious in my approach, as well as helping folks to see that the sermon is a two way street: you have to put in the effort as well. So get yourself all prayed and studied up and get ready to go hear a good sermon this Sunday.


Addendum: In interest of equal time, here is an excellent and brief article on how to have Better Teaching By This Sunday.

Add Some SALT to Your Diet

Our family had the wonderful privilege of spending time this weekend with Jim and Cindy McDermott and their amazing family. The McDermott’s are the force behind SALT Magazine which is a publication dedicated to, what else, being salt in the world; especially how that relates to the family and family issues, especially homeschooling families.

Awhile back, Jim had read some things here on this blog that led him to believe I might be someone to speak at a family conference they were planning. I know what you’re thinking. Someone else actually reads this stuff?? And he actually found something worthwhile??

Well, to be honest, the one article that caught his eye at first was the post I wrote for my son’s birthday a couple months back, and actually it was mostly just quotes from J. C. Ryle. So when Jim first contacted me, I tried to point that out. I said, “you realize that this stuff was written by someone else, you really don’t want me, you want J. C. Ryle to speak!” And he said, “Yeah, we know, but he’s dead so you’ll have to do.”

No, no, that’s not true. I’m just teasing a bit. Jim is way to classy a guy to say something like that even if he was thinking it. Still, I did tell him I didn’t really feel qualified to speak at the event, but would be honored to do so if he really wanted.

So, he did, and I did, and we had a great time. The weather was against us. The afternoon session was scheduled for outdoors, and it ended up being about 200 degrees (ok, only about 102, but still). I think that affected attendance a bit. I don’t think people stayed away just because I was speaking at that afternoon session. But anyway…

Jim spoke on some issues, their pastor Zech Schiebout spoke for one session and then I did my thing. The rest of the time was spent just visiting and getting to know some other families with similar interests. I especially enjoyed the discussion on courtship since our oldest daughter may be entering that area very shortly (sorry, Sunshine, is that gossip to publish that here?).

Anyway, all this is simply to say that you ought to pay these folks an online visit. Check out their website, browse through the articles there, read the blog, stop in at the store, and consider subscribing to the periodical. It’s some pretty good stuff. I know that the handful of people who will actually take the time to read this are not all homeschoolers, or maybe not where we are on family issues; but I think most can still find something there that will cause you to be blessed by this ministry. So consider adding a bit of SALT to your diet.

Who's "Preachy" Now?

For years the world has told Christians to stop being so preachy. We’re supposed to tone down our evangelism, stop being “in your face” by wearing crosses or carrying Bibles. Christian movies, books and even music are criticized for their “overly Christian” aspects. Of course, it was long ago that the school systems decided to rid themselves of that “preachy” Christianity stuff.

So, the question is, has the secular world rid itself of preachiness, or has it just traded in for another religion? As I stated in my last post, we just spent the week viewing some material on the creation vs. evolution debate, one of the areas where this fight over the “preachiness” of Christianity first erupted. Folks don’t want the biblical theory of origins to “confuse” students when the schools are trying so hard to ram down the even less plausible theory of evolution.

What’s remarkable here is that some evolutionists will actually admit that they are not relying strictly on the evidence, but are committed to their “beliefs” and “presuppositions.” My favorite line is from Professor Richard Lewontin, a geneticist (and self-proclaimed Marxist): “We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism.

“It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door:’ (Richard Lewontin, “Billions and Billions of Demons;’ New York Review, January 9, 1997, p. 31)

Any honest observer would admit that the religion of secular humanism and materialism, which are dependent on “faith” more than fact, have simply replaced Christianity as the model being “preached” in schools.

But it’s not just there. While the “arts” folks tell us how cheesy it is for Christians to preach in their books and films, the humanists and others continue to “preach” at us in their movies and books and so on. Hollywood has for years been working to make homosexuality seem normal. They say they are merely reflecting the “diversity” of culture even though less than 2% of the population is homosexual. You wouldn’t get that percentage from watching mainstream media, would you? You would assume we’re approaching a third to a half of the population it’s so prominent in most entertainment venues.

And now, we’re even going to start preaching it in our comic books. We all know that X-Men, one of the more popular franchises, is heavily laden with the evolutionary “gospel.” But now it seems that Spider Man, perhaps the most popular hero of all time, may be pushing the homosexual agenda in the near future.

Marvel Comics, in one of their “alternate universe” possibility series, has killed off the original Spider Man, and replaced him with a more ethnically diverse character. (read about it here). On the face of it, that’s not so bad. But the artist who is drawing this new character has stated that in the future, he could be gay as well in an effort to make a “gay hero” normal. So we kill off the character and replace him with a gay character so gays can be normal. No, nothing wrong here!

This is, of course, just the latest in a long line of well thought out, well planned efforts on the part of the secular humanists to “preach” their gospel and gain “converts.”

The saddest part of all is that so many Christians seem oblivious to this, and have simply laid down and played dead when the world tells them to stop being “preachy.” Folks, the truth is there is no such thing as neutrality. Either you have a biblical worldview which informs all your thoughts, actions, arts, etc. Or you have replaced it with another worldview that likewise informs you thoughts, actions, arts, etc. And every worldview is based, somewhere down the line, on faith “assumptions” regarding things like creation, redemption and so on.

So, which “Gospel” are we truly committed to? Which one will we stand for? Will we continue to let the world tell us to stop being “preachy” while they are left to freely preach their gospel of materialism and humanism? Or will we stand for the truth of God’s Word, which in the end is the only truth anyway? The answer is up to you.

By the way, here's just a short video for you edification (cause I can be preachy if I want!).

Creation vs. Evolution: Does it Matter?

Our church is hosting Vacation Bible School this week and we chose to use material from Answers in Genesis, called Gold Rush. We also have chosen to offer a course for older youth and adults, also from Answers in Genesis. It's a series of lectures by Ken Ham called Answers Academy.

What's the point? Actually, that question is the point. So many in the church today do not see that what we think about the creation vs. evolution debate is absolutely crucial to everything else we believe about God, the Bible, Sin and Salvation, etc. The book of Genesis is foundational to all that we believe, and if we throw out the first 11 chapters, we lose everything!

One's worldview answers three questions: Where did we come from? What went wrong? How can we fix it? The Bible answers these with: Creation, Fall, Redemption. If you don't star with Creation, you don't rightly see the Fall and Redemption. It's that simple. This is crucial, foundational stuff.

If you're interested, here is part one of a series from AiG on the issue "Why Does it Matter?" I tried to copy the "code" and embed the video here, but after several attempts with error messages, I gave up, so I'll just encourage you to follow the link. Enjoy. (The link for some reason will say part four, but it is part one; don't ask me why)

Why Does it Matter?

Praying or Playing: a NASCAR Nightmare

For years now I’ve bemoaned the demise of holiness and reverence in the church. I’ve railed against the consumer mindset and the entertainment emphasis in our churches. This past weekend I think I finally saw the culmination of this attitude.

One of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed watching a NASCAR race, other than the obvious nature of the sport itself, is the fact that this was the one place in the modern media world where you could still hear prayer and the name of Jesus mentioned without apology. Every race begins with a prayer. And they actually show it on national TV. Often the prayers are more geared toward patriotism than piety, and it’s obvious that at times the pray-ers are trying to be ecumenical. But they are usually at least reverent.

This one was just a joke. Listen for yourself.



Now, from the comments I’ve heard and read, I guess he was making some reference to a NASCAR themed movie. Having not seen the movie, I guess I don’t get the joke. But the question is, is this the place for a joke of any kind? Many are saying this is great because people laughed and enjoyed it. Is prayer about laughing and joking, though? Isn’t it supposed to be about humbly coming before God, seeking His guidance and help, asking for His blessings? I mean even some "secular" NASCAR folks are questioning the appropriateness of this.

Maybe I’m asking too much. It is after all a NASCAR race. I shouldn’t expect Spurgeon-worthy theology. But still. This man is introduced as a Baptist pastor. He has the spotlight. Not only this crowd but thousands of others are at home listening. He has the opportunity to call upon the name of Christ on a national stage. I don’t expect him to preach a whole sermon, or even a short one. But does he have to make a mockery of Christ, His church, and the privilege of prayer altogether?

And yet, is this not simply the logical result of the consumer driven, entertainment oriented attitude the church has promoted for so long. After all, the crowd cheered, the race winner wants him to preach his funeral, so it must all be good, right? He’ll probably be asked to speak at Saddleback or the Crystal Cathedral, so he must have done the right thing.

What’s sad about this from my perspective is that it makes me embarrassed as both a Christian and a NASCAR fan. That’s sad indeed.

Jesus: The Finisher

I’m so far behind in my reading that I’m not sure I’ll ever finish before the Lord returns! I’ve admitted here before that I am a bibliophile, as Henry Ward Beecher says: “A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.” I love books. I can’t resist going into the bookstore, and if there are any good bargains they end up on my shelf as if by magic.

Unfortunately, the down side is that I have stacks and stacks of books that I couldn’t live without that I haven’t had a chance to start reading yet. And some of these are really good books; book I really want to read. Right now on my desk I have Ian Murray’s biography of John MacArthur, Brian Hedges’ “Christ Formed in You” (which he graciously sent me for free! Thanks, Brian), a book on Puritan prayer called “Taking Hold of God,” Tim Keller’s “King’s Cross,” Sinclair Ferguson’s “By Grace Alone;” and these are just the some of the more recent additions. My piles date back at least a year or more.

The electronic age has made this worse. I have a Kindle reader because I can adjust the font size, and for this blind man it makes reading so much more enjoyable. The problem here is that there is so much available either free or at a very low cost. My Kindle has well over 300 titles on it, of which I’ve only read about 2 dozen books.

Worse yet, I have to admit that I’m a good starter, but not a good closer. I’m guilty of picking up a book, reading about half, and even if I’m really enjoying it, I get sidetracked by the next big purchase and start in on another one. Meanwhile, that first book just sits there, half-read and neglected.

I’m so glad that my God is not like that. I read a couple of verses this week that I’ve read dozens of times before, have been part of my “memory verse” list on more than one occasion. I know them. I’ve heard them. I’ve preached them. But for some reason the two of them came together for me this week and really hit me. Here they are (or at least in part):

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 12:2 “…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”

Some translations say Jesus is the “finisher” of our faith. The word simply means to complete, to consummate. Again, I’ve read that hundreds of times, I know what it means, but for some reason it just really struck me regarding the incredible hope that these two verses represent.

Jesus is the finisher. He will complete what He started. He’s not going to begin a work and then get sidetracked and walk away and leave us half-done and neglected.

To be honest, it was in leafing through the opening of Brian Hedges’ book that got me to thinking about this. He is writing about the Gospel doing its work in our lives, the work of sanctification, as the subtitle says, “The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change.” The point is, if Jesus starts a work of change in our lives, He will complete it.

Even though there are times when we don’t see the growth we would hope for. Even though there may be times when we are doubtful about seeing any change at all. If there is truly a work of God going on, it will be finished. He will complete what He started. He will finish and perfect it.

I don’t know if this hits anyone else the way it did me. You may be fully comfortable with where you are, with your growth as a disciple, with the direction your life is going. Hopefully we all have times of greater satisfaction in those things. And it’s not as if I’m in some deep, dark hole myself right now. It’s just good to know that Jesus is the ultimate closer. He’ll get the job done. He won’t give up on us. What a great word of hope. I pray that this simple truth might be an encouragement to someone else to day. So keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Having Something to Say

I once read that a company called Bell Data ran an ad in the Financial Times of Canada that said: "This is a full-blown, state-of-the-art, fully integrated, user-friendly, multifunctional, omni-lingual, multi-tasking word and data processing system with advanced graphic generation capabilities." Any idea what they were describing? Pencils. Why didn't they just say, "We sell pencils."

We do indeed waste a lot of words, don't we? We speak with our mouths, but our words are empty. Either it’s access verbiage, or just meaningless babble. We live in a cliche culture. Hi. How are you? Fine. Looks like rain. How about those Cardinals?

I think part of the problem with both cliche conversation and excess verbiage is that we live in a society where we feel like we have to say something. Silence scares us for some reason. Henry Nouwen wrote that for most people "silence creates itchiness and nervousness. As soon as a minister says during a worship service, Let us be silent for a few moments, people tend to become restless and preoccupied with only one thought: When will this be over?"

That fear of silence will get us into trouble, too. So often we feel we have to say something when we might be better off keeping quiet; and then we end up saying something that we wish we hadn't said. Admit it; it's happened to all of us. We need to remember this sage little piece of advice I once heard one man say, "I seldom feel sorry for the things I did not say."

As a pastor, I think I feel this need to say something very acutely. Any of you who have tried to help in ministry situations involving loss or grief or sickness or whatever may have felt that overwhelming feeling that we should say something. Many times we ought to just listen, but because of our fear of silence we just have to say something.

Also, in ministry there is the crisis of the never ending Sunday. Sunday just keeps following Sunday, and I have to have a sermon prepared for each one. Then there are Sunday nights and Wednesday nights and funerals and weddings. There is this real struggle in my life between having something to say, and having to say something. At least three times a week I have to say something; that doesn't mean I always have something to say, as readers of this blog may be well aware.

Oswald J. Smith wrote that "the world does not need sermons; it needs a message. You can go to seminary and learn how to preach sermons, but you will have to go to God to get messages." I really identify with that. Occasionally I give into the pressure of having to say something three times a week and I come up with sermons. Sometimes they come off OK, other times they don't. What I need to remember is that having to say something is not enough; sermons are not enough. I need to have a message; I need to actually have something to say.

And I think the average Christian goes through that as well. If you’ve been in church long enough I’m sure you’ve heard hundreds of times how important it is for each and every Christian to share our faith in Christ with others. Peter reminds us that we should “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (I Peter 3:15). We know it’s something we should do. But I think a lot of folks suffer from the same thing I do. When it comes to telling others about Christ, we know we should say something, but we don't always feel like we have something to say. I just want to offer you this simple reminder inspired by the words of Jeremiah 20:9

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is a fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”

Jeremiah reminds us of two very simple things: we do have something to say, and we have to say it. A few verses later Jeremiah speaks of praising God for “he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of the wicked.” It’s that simple. The main thrust of the Gospel message, what we have to say to a lost world is simply this: God rescues the life of the needy from the hand of the wicked. God rescues needy sinners from the hand of sin. Through Christ Jesus there is salvation and hope and victory. And folks, that's what our world needs to hear more than anything else.

Scripture says that Satan is the god of this world. You and I may never understand it, but God in His wisdom, for His purposes, has allowed the adversary to have nearly free reign. As a result, sin dominates, people are lost and confused, and the world seems to be going to hell in a hand-basket. There are people out there with real hurts and real needs; things that cliches just won't solve.

But guess what? We have the solution, don't we? The solution is Jesus Christ. In His grace and mercy He gives us a new heart, a new life, a new hope, and a new future. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Our friends and neighbors need to hear that; and we are the ones who have been called to tell them. God has set us aside for that purpose. Don't worry about just having to say something, because we definitely have something to say. Jesus Saves!

And if you are truly a disciple of Christ; if you have unquestionably been born again; if God's Spirit has genuinely taken up residence in you life, then I can guarantee you this one thing. There will come a time when you just can't hold it in any longer. We have to speak it.

It doesn't matter how frightened you are, how shy you are, how inarticulate you may be, eventually God's Spirit is just going to come bursting through your life out the words are going to come out of your mouth. God can't be contained. If He's in your heart, sooner or later you're not going to be able to hold Him in, and He's going to show through. Like Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, we’ll say, "we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20)

The world is literally dying to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. They are dying to hear some words of hope. They don't need cliches, they don't need excess verbiage, they just need to hear the truth that God loves them and Jesus died for them. And we are the ones who have been commanded to tell them. We do have something to say. We can say it boldly because God is there to guide and support us. And we should be so full of the Spirit that we just can't help ourselves.

So get out there and share some good news with someone today.

Who's Your Hero?

So I’m looking through my blogger dashboard, and no, I’m not talking about the dash of some newfangled foreign import. For those who don’t know, it’s just the “home base” at my blog’s website where I can check on all my blog info as well as look through a run down of all the other blogs I follow. So, as I was saying…

I’m looking through my blogger dashboard, checking the updates and I notice a real theme in the latest posts of several blogs I follow. Here are the pictures accompanying these entries. There is a decided "superhero" theme.

First there was the latest incarnation on the web from my friend Dr. Paul Hambrick.

Then there was this entry over at the Cripplegate blog.

And then this on the Pyromaniac site.
(OK, so Spurgeon isn’t “technically” a superhero, although he is to me and many thousands of others).

So I thought maybe I should get in on the theme and do a superhero post myself. I tried for some time to come up with something about the superhero I’d most like to be.

Around our house, we’ve seen a lot of Bibleman. If you haven’t seen it, it’s really cheesy, with some shallow theology, and the newer stuff if worse than the older in both regards (in my humble opinion). But the older ones seemed to take themselves less seriously, with one liner gags often being the best part. And to be honest, the basic idea of having so much Scripture in the mind and on the tongue to face any and all battles is not a horrible concept. Besides, he had a really cool purple and yellow suit!

Then of course, there is Duckman. Not any old Disney reference. When our youngest was born, my sister-in-law had made him a bath towel that was yellow and had a hood sown onto it with a duck bill, eyes, etc. He loves that towel, and regularly wears it around the house as a super hero costume for, of course, Duckman. He’s even drawn and written some Duckman comics, in all the glory only a six-year-old (now seven) can come up with. (He looks oddly a lot like Bibleman with a duck bill!)

As a younger child, I was a comic collector. I loved X-Men, Avengers, Thor, SpiderMan and Captain America; all those characters that are now being made into movies. I guess I happen to share a childhood with today’s money makers in Hollywood. In fact, I still have a couple of crates full of the old mags, saved to make me rich at a collectors convention some day, right?

But instead of talking about my favorite “hero” comic I thought I’d ask the simple question: what is it that draws us to superheroes in the first place. Is it the escape from reality? Is it the desire to be something more? Is it a genuine passion for justice, good triumphing over evil? Is it the love of things going “boom?” Is it the fascination with spandex?

To be honest, I’m not sure. I’m not really that much of a philosopher; I don’t have any real insight into the mindset and heart of mankind. Except for this: I think at our core we know there is something wrong with humanity, and we know there is something more “out there.” Call it a “God shaped hole”, or simply image of God which is a part of all men, I don’t know. I think we just know it’s there.

And I think we all know that the solution to our problem is something that is beyond us. We know we can’t overcome it on our own. We know we need someone greater, someone more powerful, to rescue us. Maybe I’m over analyzing, I don’t know.

I do know that I’m glad God saw fit to provide that rescue for us. I don’t want to trivialize Christ by relegating Him to the “superhero” category. In fact, I think some of the cheesy Christian attempts at art imitation with Jesus as Superman or something is just that: cheesy. Maybe even irreverent.

But the truth is, God sent His Son to come and provide us with a supernatural rescue. He overcame the greatest “villain” of all; no, not Satan, though He took care of him, too. I’m talking about our own sin. Our sin is the super villain that threatens to destroy us and wants to “take over the world.” Praise be to God, Jesus’ death and resurrection has overcome that and rescued us from the clutches of our own sinful hearts.

A hero can be defined as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” I’d say Jesus certainly qualifies, although it’s a major understatement. He is so much more than that. He is God, after all. Still, when it comes to being rescued, I can’t think of a better place to look.

So, who’s your hero?

Perspective on Prosperity - A 4th of July Sermon Summary

“We have rebelled against God. We have lost the true spirit of Christianity, though we retain the outward profession and form of it….By many, the Gospel is corrupted into a superficial system of moral philosophy, little better than ancient Platonism….My brethren, let us repent and implore the divine mercy. Let us amend our ways and our doings, reform everything that has been provoking the Most High, and thus endeavor to obtain the gracious interpositions of providence for our deliverance….

“If God be for us, who can be against us? The enemy has reproached us for calling on (God’s) name and professing our trust in Him. They have made a mock of our solemn fasts and every appearance of serious Christianity in the land…May our land be purged from all its sins! Then the Lord will be our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble, and we will have no reason to be afraid, though thousands of enemies se themselves against us round about. May the Lord hear us in this day of trouble….We will rejoice in His salvation, and in the name of our God, we will set up our banner!”

Quite the rousing speech, don’t you think? Most of you would probably be a bit surprised by the who, when and where of those words. Most probably think that sounds like something some radical right wing fanatic would be preaching in his radical right wing church in the last year or two crying out against the evils of our day. But that’s not the case. This is actually part of an address that was given on May 31, 1775. It was given in the halls of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. In fact, the man giving the address was there at the invitation of that Congress. And he wasn’t some radical preacher. He was actually the sitting president of Harvard College, Samuel Langdon.

Imagine that. A college president, speaking to a state legislature, speaking about turning back to a true faith in Jesus Christ and seeking God’s blessings and providential care. Amazing, isn’t it? And what’s truly amazing is that this was not an anomaly in the early days of our nation’s history. In fact, this was much more the norm than any exception, both in the political realm and the educational world.

Consider this. Read some of the original words of a couple of state constitutions. The Delaware State constitution reads: “Every person, who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust…shall…make and subscribe to the following declaration, to wit: ‘I do profess faith in God the father, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forever more, and I do acknowledge the Holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.’”

My goodness. There are some churches today who wouldn’t make that requirement for membership, let alone a state legislature. Or how about another one? Here is part of the original Pennsylvania State Constitution:

“And each member [of the legislature], before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration…: ‘I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.’”

Or how about this, from the State Constitution of North Carolina: “No person, who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the [Christian] religion, or the divine authority either of the Old or New Testaments, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and safety of this State, shall be capable of holding any office, or place of trust or profit in the civil department, within this State.”

If North Carolina held to that, or any state, I wonder how many of their current state leaders would be still allowed to serve. And again, that wasn’t just the dominant ideology in the political spectrum, it was the same in our educational institutions. For example:

The original mottoes of Harvard were: “For Christ and the Church,” and “For the Glory of Christ.” Part of Harvard’s original rules stated: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”

Likewise, Yale was founded in order “to plant, and under the Divine blessing, to propagate in this wilderness the blessed reformed Protestant religion.” When classes began there, Yale required: “the Scriptures…morning and evening [are] to be read by the students at the times of prayer in the school.” Now, we can’t pray or read the Bible in schools.

Truly amazing, isn’t it? And yet, how many of us knew about that? How many have heard those things. Today we’re told that the truly Christian founders of our nation were a small minority, that most were deists or mere religionists. We’re told that Christianity was never the dominate worldview of our nation or its government. In fact, we’re told today by our own president that this is in fact not a Christian nation; and he repeatedly leaves out the words “under God” when referring to or saying our nation’s pledge.

Actually, Samuel Langdon’s words would be appropriate today, wouldn’t they? Today (Sunday) I began the morning message with these same words. We then picked up in our study of Luke 12 to consider the parable of the rich fool in verses 13ff. You may wonder what the two have to do with each other. Simply this: The parable there warns us of the dangers of covetousness, and we are reminded that prosperity in general ought to be kept in its proper perspective. And I think this is the key issue for our nation.

If you turn on the news, or pick up a paper, we are told time and again that the biggest problem facing our nation is an economic one. And I’ll admit that we may be facing some real economic challenges. But the truth is, our nation is still one of the most prosperous in the world, and in fact it’s because of our ill handling of that prosperity that we are in the condition we are today.

The real issue for our nation isn’t our economics, it’ our very soul. Look no further than the continued removal of all things God from the public arena; look no further than the ongoing slaughter of innocent children through abortion; look no further than the recent decision in New York to declare same sex couples living together in sinful sodomy to be a marriage. Our nation’s soul is in jeopardy.

We were talking about this at home, and my son made a profound statement. As I mentioned that our problem was not the economy but our nation’s soul, he said, “if our nation’s soul was right, we wouldn’t be in this debt problem to begin with.” Pretty profound. If we were living right before God, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in. And this parable speaks to that very issue.

I’m not the world’s greatest preacher, or even the best in our town probably. But this message is dear to my heart and I’d like to share it with you. If you want to hear the rest of this sermon, click the link below. I’m not promising world class stuff, but the message itself is important I believe, and so here it is (if you’ve read this far, you already know the opening, so you can fast forward a bit if you want)

Perspective on Prosperity

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE

May God continue to bless America!