Same Sex Marriage Now in DC

An article was just published by CNN a little while ago today about the first same-sex couples getting legally married in the District of Columbia.  Apparently today (March 9) is the first day this is legal there.

It got me thinking again about how sin is creeping into our society, and worse yet– it seems that its becoming the norm.  Homosexuality is a long standing issue that causes arguments and heightens tension when discussed, and this probably won’t change anytime soon.  I thought I would share my view of homosexual marriage (and relationships) in this post.

I did an interview for a college student in Marion a few months ago on the topic of religion and some specifics about my church and the denomination we affiliate with.  This girl asked me- “would you let homosexual people into your church?“  My response was a quick (more…)

The Most Important Words for Church Leaders

I was struck by Paul’s words in Acts 20 to the elders of the church in Ephesus that I thought it could be helpful to write about here.  In verse 25, it is revealed that Paul knew he would never see them again. In light of this, he calls them together to tell them what he felt would be the most important thing he could tell them.

They were already saved by the grace of Jesus and their faith in Him.  Paul didn’t need to share the gospel of Jesus with them, which had always been his priority.  But now, he shared the most important thing with them-  commands on leading the church well.

Next to the gospel itself, Paul regards the church as being extremely important.

I’ve been thinking through the application of these words in my life and ministry, and I hope they would encourage the same reflection for others.  This is my summary of what Paul tells them:

1. Pay attention to yourself and to the flock (those under our leadership) (v. 28).  We are to take care of ourselves and God’s people.  It’s amazing how many pastors neglect themselves spiritually and physically when putting the needs of others above their own.  But in caring for others, it was never intended that we not care for ourselves.  Paul makes it clear here.  We must balance our time to make sure we are staying in shape spiritually and physically (and perhaps other ways too).
2. It’s Jesus church- not yours (v.28).  Paul calls it the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.  We didn’t die to build the church.  Jesus did.  Our leadership of a church is completely God’s gift and calling- not something we deserve.  This is why it’s such a high calling and responsibility.  The temptation today is to build our own kingdoms, forgetting the reason why we do what we do at all.  It’s completely sinful to see good things happen through the church and take credit for it ourselves when the church and all of its work was obtained by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Don’t steal God’s glory.
3. Beware of wolves and those from within who twist truth to develop followers (v.29-31).  Any shepherd would eagerly rid his flock of wolves and protect them from wolves in the first place.  And any pastor who regards Jesus’ church as important should do the same.  But this is another area where leadership is lacking.  People come in from the outside and somehow end up controlling the church.  Or someone rises up from within the church for nothing more than selfish motivation.  Either way, it slows down the work of God and causes division in the church.  Paul says to admonish people with tears, not just sit back and cry, hoping the wolves will go away.
4. God and His grace will build you up (v.32).  There is no better “growth plan” than to proclaim God’s grace, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).
5. Don’t covet, and bless others with what you do have (v.33-35).  Ministry certainly isn’t a wealthy field, and when we try to make it one, our focus is not on the work of God through His church.  Paul commands us to help the weak, reminding us that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Though we might not have much money or accumulate worldly treasures, we are not exempt from this command.  Let’s constantly be looking for ways we can help the weak.

Thoughts on Acts

I just wrote a post on the Central Bible Reading Plan website with some thoughts on the book of Acts, the reading plan that we are finishing up tomorrow.  Information can be found on the site for the new reading plan starting this Wednesday on the Gospel and letters of John.  Read my post and find more info on this Scripture reading initiative by clicking here.

Monday Morning Rewind: What Is Truth? (John 18:33-38)

What are Monday Morning Rewinds?  Click here to see my original post explaining them.

Yesterday I started my new sermon series that coincides with the Truth Project material that our church’s community groups will be working through.  This first sermon answered the question what is truth? The main text was John 18:33-38.  You can listen to the sermon and download PP materials at our church’s online audio page.

I started by outlining 5 sources of authority that usually dictate what we choose to do:

1. Reason- I do what I do because I think it is right.
2. Experience- I do what I do because I feel it is right.
3. Tradition- I do what I do because it is the way it has always been done.
4. Peer Pressure- I do what I do because others are doing it.
5. Revelation- I do what I do, think the way I think, and live the way I live, because God says so in His revealed Word.

Our society is undecided in what truth is.  Some churches are undecided on what truth is.  Some claim there is no absolute truth.  But the denial of truth never extinguishes truth. (more…)

Recommended Resource & New Sermon Series

This Sunday, I’ll be starting a 12 week sermon series that coincides with the Truth Project material that our Community Groups will be using.  Our Truth Project Community Groups will be starting this coming week or the next week (depending on the groups).  Find information about our Community Groups here.

This series of messages works off of the big idea from the weekly lessons of the Truth Project, but does not entirely repeat the same content.  The Truth Project helps people develop a Biblical worldview, where we understand and form opinions of the events around us by seeing it through the lens of Scripture and allowing God’s Word to determine our opinions and thinking.

The toughest part of this sermon series (and maybe the material) is answering the question, “what is truth?”  As I’ll preach on Sunday, this word has a variety of meanings to different people, and people have developed different views of thinking in order to make sense of what happens around them.  My hope this Sunday is answer that question and show how Jesus is at the center of it all.

I hope that all who read this post will either be present with us during our 11:00am worship services for this series, or might consider following along online through our church’s online audio page. I also hope that 100% of our church members/attenders will participate in one of the Community Groups meeting throughout the week.  The teachings in our groups and in Sunday sermons will be immensely valuable to our daily living.

To be helpful, I thought I’d share a resource that I have enjoyed on this topic.  Dr. John MacArthur wrote “The Truth War” and does an excellent job explaining many details behind the quest for truth and what the Bible says.  I’m sure you can order it online, but if you’re near Marion, consider calling The Shepherd’s Nook, our Christian bookstore, and ordering it through them.  They usually get books in in about 3-4 days and there’s no shipping charge.  Just pick it up at the store and support them.  It’s a great read and has a cool cover…

I hope you’ll keep up with the Truth Project series and Community Groups.

Why I Plan Sermons In Advance

Because of some recent scheduling changes, I had to adjust my preaching calendar for this year.  It made me think about why I plan sermons in advance.  Right now, I have the 2010 calendar full of Sunday morning sermon titles and texts for our church’s worship times, and I plan to do this every year.

Some will object that planning sermon series in advance leaves out the guidance of the Holy Spirit week to week and in each message.  But I disagree, because planning a year of sermons takes much time in prayer and seeking through Scripture and the Spirit’s guidance for His church.

So I thought it would be helpful to list out why I plan in advance (and I plan a calendar year in advance because that’s how I view a church year):

• There’s no “Monday Morning Crunch.” Without advance planning, pastors can find themselves on Monday morning wondering what they will preach on next Sunday.  That can be stressful.
• It facilitates vision. If I’m seeking direction from God for preaching, then I’m going to carry that same mentality in planning other ministry activities.
• It allows me to weed out ministry activities that do not fit into the plan. With vision for the year, I can shut down ideas that do not fit into the plan (as good as they might be), but would instead just overburden our people and end up producing less effective ministry.
• It keeps my eyes open for good resources. Whether books, lectures, or articles, I will keep my eyes open for resources that will help me prepare for upcoming sermons.  If I know I’m preaching on the fruit of the Spirit later in the year, I will save articles or make notes of quotes I find, or purchase books on that topic.
• It aids our worship planners in their work. By everyone knowing in advance what is happening, music leaders and others who help plan worship activities will be able to plan in advance, accordingly.  By knowing themes and topics in advance, they will also be able to collect ideas and resources to help them prepare.
• It helps me focus more on the theology and content of the message. Simply because I don’t have to think about which text to preach on, I am free to spend more time in careful study.
• It helps me from becoming boring or going back to the same texts frequently. Well, by boring, I mean there’s at least something new…

This is why I plan sermons in advance.  I think I covered them all, but did I miss anything?

“Carried” Book Tour Recap

There is no Monday Morning Rewind today because we hosted the carried Book Tour yesterday at Central, and were greatly blessed! I hope the same opinion is shared by most in the church that it was such a blessing to see authentic lives following after Jesus, using their gifts to serve Him, and lead us in worship.  You can see that the Holy Spirit is working through the live of Justin Hanneken, Jeremy Willet, and the band, Willet, as music and a great message was shared.  The message is available on our online audio page, but the music can not be distributed because of copyright issues.

I was really excited to see the response of the people at Central toward our guests and to their message.  The response to the message was shown with 10 children being sponsored (through Food for the Hungry, the organization Willet is endorsed by)!!  What a great response for our people to help in changing the lives of 10 different children around the world by giving about a dollar a day!  In addition to that, 33 books were sold, a book that encourages readers to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus.  AMEN!

What a great opportunity it was to host the tour.  More information on the tour and band Willet and their mission (including info on Food for the Hungry where children can be sponsored), can be found here.

Excited About the “carried. book tour” This Sunday!

This Sunday will be such a blessing for our church and any others who might be in attendance to the book tour for carried., a book written by Jeremy Willet and Justin Hanneken.  Sunday’s worship service (11:00am) will be a time of hearing what God is doing through the band Willet, and through the authors as they minister in their respective areas.  I shared initially about their coming here.

What has turned out to be an extra blessing is how we just found out that Jeremy’s wife, Kathleen, will be with us at Central on Sunday.  I shared before about Kathleen’s calling to be an orphanage mother in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and how she survived the devastating earthquake recently.  She is in America now for a couple weeks before going back, and it will be an extreme privilege to spent time with her this weekend.

This article ran in the Carroll County Times about Kathleen and Jeremy and the band.  It will give you a better idea of who they are and what they do.  But the best way to get to know them is to meet them this Sunday at Central Baptist Church at 11:00am at the carried. book tour.

No Monday Morning Rewind

There will be no Monday Morning Rewind today because Rev. Chas Carlisle preached yesterday.  Pastor Chas is the founding pastor of Living Stone Community Church in Shelby, OH, and is the leader behind the Jericho Journey, a vision to start 10 church in the next five years throughout communities near Shelby.  Coming to Central as part of our Live Intentionally focus, his challenge to us came from Jonah: we choose every day to go to Ninevah or Tarshish.  Meaning, we decide every day if we are going to make God known or flee from doing that, as Jonah tried to do.

It was a great message that was timely for our church, and you can listen to it on our online audio page.

Super Bowl in the Snow!

Well, it probably won’t snow tomorrow in Miami for the game, but Central’s Community Super Bowl Party will be accompanied by snow!  We’ve got somewhere around 8 or so inches of snow in Marion, which hopefully should be cleaned up enough for people to get out to worship services and the party tomorrow.  We hope that many in the community will come out to enjoy the game and a great time being with others.  Here’s what we’ve got planned:

• Tons of food (chili, soups, chips, sandwiches, wings, and an assortment of brownies and cookies)
• Great prizes to give away each quarter (one for a man, one for a woman, one for a girl, and one for a boy each quarter)
• Game largely projected
• Half-time DVD featuring NFL quarterbacks Chad Pennington (Dolphins) and Carson Palmer (Bengals)
• Activities for children who don’t want to watch the game

I’m looking forward to this event tomorrow night.  I’ve invited many people, and I know some have been calling the church office this week for information and seeing our flyers in Panera, Starbucks, Whirpool, and OSUM, or reading the press release in the Marion Star, or hearing it on the local radio station.  We’ve tried putting the word out because we want to be part of the community and serve the people in it. Oh, and everything is free!

So if you’re in the Marion area tomorrow night, starting at 6:00 (kick-off is 6:25) anytime to the end of the game, you’re invited to our first Community Super Bowl Party!