When I was around 11 or 12 years old I remember waking up one morning with pain in my chest and most of my joints and immediately assumed something was wrong. I was kind of nervous to tell my parents but once I did I remember them assuring me it was just growing pains. The next time I was at the doctor I was assured by my doctor that I was, in fact, experiencing "growing pains." Growing pains happen when you are healthy and growing, but they are painful nonetheless.
Our church has been in a season similar to this over the last year or more. There are many areas in our ministries that are experiencing it and it's difficult to identify because we simply just see the difficulty or experience "the pain." At times over the last couple of years we've navigated COVID, but beyond that we've been experiencing growing pains. We've begun running out of space in the church building for the different ministries, we've had meetings about rearranging rooms/offices to accommodate for the increase in people, and had some difficult conversations about what to do with lot's of ministry but not having lots of money. Even through all of this I am thankful our church has continued with the same motivations "Love God. Share the Gospel. Make Disciples." What I love about the growth we're seeing is that it's not what we've set out to do. Sure, we invite people to church, sure we do events to bless our community. But, at the end of the day we haven't had any discussions about how to get more people in the door. Our conversations have been about how to minister to the people we do have and in that we have found ourselves shepherding more people towards a reconciled and closer relationship with Christ.
In your prayers, please pray that our church would continue in our mission and that we would not get distracted. Pray that we would keep the main thing the main thing and that in all of this our God would be glorified!

As we have been going through Titus on Sunday Mornings I have been challenged by what Paul is communicating to Titus about the church. Namely about how the church should be ordered.

First, Paul is immediately concerned about the leadership in the church. In fact Paul says it is the reason that he left Titus in Crete, to "put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town." The reason for the importance of the elders in the church is because there are people who are attempting to lead the church astray with false doctrine. All Christians are to exclusively believe the Gospel of Jesus and to devote themselves to scripture, in Crete there are people  who are trying to subvert the church with other doctrines that oppose the Gospel so Paul wants there to be "head of household" type leaders to teach the church good doctrine!

Second, the church ought to be full of people whose lives are impacted by their belief in the "God, who never lies" who is the God of the Bible. The Cretans were known for their lifestyles of seduction, dishonestly, and playing politics to get what they wanted. I find this to be a downstream effect of the Cretans beliefs in their pantheon of gods, namely their belief in the mythological god Zeus who was known for his seduction methods to gain his prominence. Think about how often stories in a culture influence what is valuable the society. We tell stories about Paul Revere's midnight ride or of Nathan Hale's famous last words for being hung as an American spy "“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." When you think about the stories of Zeus, he took on many different forms to seduce women to give him children, that kind of prominence wains on the culture of a people. Turns out, Zeus was a liar! So, of course the people of Crete found the dishonest lifestyle of Zeus. This is all in line with the difficult reality that our core beliefs dictate our lives.

Third, The church is supposed to be full of people whose lives demonstrate the beliefs that they hold, as they are members of the household of God. When you are a member of a family it can be clear what is most important to the head of the family by looking at the lives of the other members of the family. For instance, I am a broncos fan, it's not my fault I was born this way. Naturally there is Broncos memorabilia all around my house and in my office and my children have hand-me-down jerseys they wear, etc. My commitment to the 8 time AFC champion and 3 time super bowl champion Denver Broncos is evident in our "camp." My daughter has become a fan of the 2 time AFC champion and 2 time super bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, because of her classmates and because she is a native of NW Missouri. But, the culture she is being raised under (her father is a fan of the 15 time AFC West champion Denver Broncos) is represented every time she wears one of her Denver Bronco jerseys to school even though she is a fan of the 14 time AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Our households represent where our greatest faith is and where our worship lies, just like my little girl can't help but wear Broncos gear because her daddy is a Broncos fan, Christians shouldn't be able to help it that we are people who draw people together in unity, that we love the poor, that sinners are told to be reconciled to God. Who are team is, is evident without needing to try hard.

I hope these three things help you understand what Titus is all about and who we are supposed to be as Christians. I know that I am convicted and challenged by what I am learning through our sermon series!

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5

When you're reading this I will already have preached my sermon on this scripture during our Advent series. As I've studied for our Advent sermons I've come away noticing a theme about light that has stuck with me. This was before I got a new book for my little girls that unbeknownst to me had the same theme of light that I had been noticing in the scriptures.

The book is about a little boy who is afraid of the dark and questions why he is afraid of the dark. He asks his grandfather about why the dark is scary to him. His grandfather gives a most accurate response that has helpful theological implications. I'll summarize the answer for you but I highly recommend that you to buy the book and read with your kids, grandkids, or some kids you know, the book is called "The Lightlings" by R.C. Sproul. The boy's grandfather goes on to explain that God did not create us for the darkness, thus, we desire the light. The reason there is darkness in the world is because sin separated us from the source of light, God himself. In the garden of Eden God himself was the source of light and without him there is darkness, thus the dark nature of the history in the Old Testament. But, when Jesus came he brought the light in a new way because "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world." (John 1:9)

The Lightlings goes on to explain why some people are even afraid of the light. They have become so accustomed to the darkness that when the light (Jesus) came from heaven to earth, it scared the people who loved the darkness. As we read in John 3:19 "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."

At the end of the book I was reminded of our future in heaven where there will be no source of light except the Glory of God. As we read in Revelation 21:23 "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

I hope this encourages you to seek out the true light. Jesus, the light of the world, is the only source of light that continually fights away the darkness and the Gospel is the good news that the light has come and made himself available.

Advent: A Season of Preparation

"The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Each year we hear different phrases in our traditional Christmas songs that might be somewhat confusing (this is not to say that songs like "Santa Baby" aren't confusing, they make no sense to me). This Sunday our church will kick off our advent season and sing the song "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus," we will sing the phrase

"Israel's strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth Thou art;

Dear desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart."

Given the culture surrounding our modern Christmas celebration, terms like this may not seem very "Christmassy," but within the context of the origin of advent these lyrics make perfect sense.

Advent originally was a season remembering the difficulty living in a fallen world where we experience the absence of God's blessing and are reminded regularly of the curse. The word Advent comes from the Latin word "adventus" with means "the coming" and was originally a season in churches when they prepared for baptisms in the church and they did this during this time to remember and celebrate the coming of the messiah and Jesus' preparation for ministry at his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist. When Jesus came he brought with him the kingdom that would reconcile this fallen world and return creation to its rightful state.

So as a church we celebrate the advent season maintaining the tradition of Advent's origins as a time of remembering the preparation and expectation of Israel as they anticipated the messiah that was promised by God. Just as we too await the second "adventus" of Christ as he returns for his bride. The Church.

When we talk about mission trips, generally what comes to mind is a group of 10-20 people traveling to South America for a week to work with kids, which is a very good thing. Last week our church did a very different mission trip but it was a mission trip non-the-less. We went to North East Kansas City to work with Central Baptist Church on a community area at the T.B. Watkins apartment complex.
Central Baptist Church exists to "magnify the Lord through maturing as believers and multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ." They do this in several different ways, specifically they work in different neighborhoods of North East Kansas City to share the Gospel.
Our "mission" was to help the church complete several renovations to some community areas at T.B. Watkins Apartments. In doing so we were able to help Central Baptist live out their mission statements and we also were able to live out ours.
As a church, FBC Gower exists to Love God, Share the Gospel, and Make Disciples. In working with Central Baptist we were able to accomplish those three things in tangible ways that showed the people in the community that we do love God and that God loves them.
You can visit our Facebook page to see pictures of the work we did and the people who participated.

Genesis 22 is one of the hardest scriptures to understand in the whole bible. It seems full of contradictions on God's behalf and the commands in this chapter have been utilized by atheists to make the point that the God of the Bible is a moral monster. I could easily make this article too long by trying to explain this "Bible story," instead I am going to try to give you a brief understanding of what I'm going to call a "3D prophecy."

In this chapter God commands something very strange of Abraham, so strange in fact that it seems out of character for God. So, why is God commanding Abraham to do things that are seemingly outside of God's character? If you ever find yourself caught in an argument with an atheist, there is a chance you'll be asked something along the lines of "if God told you to kill your son, would you do it?" The question isn't designed to uncovered how obedient you are to God, instead their goal is to make God out to be a moral monster. But, in the context and purpose of this "3D prophecy" in Genesis 22, their question does not accomplish their purpose. We'll see why as we unpack God's purpose in this story.

God had promised Abraham offspring that outnumbered the stars. For this to happen Abraham and his wife Sarai (both advanced in age) would need to have a son. After some foolishness on the part of Abraham and Sarai God provides them a son. Then in Genesis 22 we read "After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Woah?! God told him to do what? Now, at first this seems ridiculous, but I contend that this is God prophesying his salvation plan in a 3 dimensional way. So, that when Jesus came, the Jews could see what God was doing through Jesus.

So, we're going to look at a few similarities in the stories that are uncanny!

1. Sacrificing an only son

“Take your son, your only son Isaac,"

God speaks clearly about the son who is going to be "sacrificed" in that he is the only son. Our parallel is simple here, Jesus us the only Son of God asked to be sacrificed for the cleansing of sin. Sacrifice was the means by which God's people demonstrated their repentance from sin. Lambs would have only covered the sins of people, Jesus however has cleansed people of their sin.

1. Location of the sacrifice

"go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Mount Moriah is not just any ol location. Mount Moriah is the mountain of Jerusalem. The same hill where Jesus died for our sins. To this day there is a site that is recognized by Jews as the place where Abraham bound his son Issac to sacrifice him and many Christians believe it is the same spot where Jesus was crucified (whether of not it is the spot is unimportant, but wouldn't that be poetic?).

1. After 3 days they went up

They spent three days at the base of the mountain before rising to up the hill. Some may call this a mere coincidence, but I find no coincidence in this chapter of scripture. Three days is a significant amount of time in scripture. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, Jesus said he would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days (he was obviously talking about his own death and resurrection).

1. God will provide the lamb

In the story narrative, Isaac sees that there is something missing from their usual trip to worship God and Isaac questions his father and his father's response seems hopeful, but in the end his father was wrong. Abraham says to his son “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” When we read the rest of the story we find that God does not provide a lamb, instead he provides a ram. What's the mix up? Well, God very much intended to provide a lamb, just not yet. God provides the lamb in John 1:29 when John the Baptist says “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

1. The Father puts the wood for the sacrifice on his son

In the account of Abraham and Isaac, Abraham outs the wood for the burnt offering on the shoulders of his son. In the passion narrative Jesus is made to carry his wooden cross to the place where he would be killed on it. Of course in Jesus' case he is unable to carry the cross at one point and a man named Simon from Sirene is made to carry Jesus' cross. But, the picture is the same. The one who is to be sacrificed is made to carry the wood for his alter.

1. The father deals the killing blow

In a crucifixion death comes from suffocation. At Jesus' crucifixion the two men he was crucified with had their legs broken to assure their death. But, for Jesus there was no need to break his legs as he already seemed dead. So, In-lieu of breaking Jesus' legs they drove a spear into Jesus heart and water and blood flowed out. This indicates that Jesus was already dead and that the spear to his heart was not needed. His Father had taken his life.

So, what does all this mean?

Israel would have had this story ringing in it's ears for generations. The story of a Father placing wood for a sacrifice on his son to carry up mount Moriah where God would provide a lamb, should have been eerily familiar to all the jews who watched Jesus make his way up Mount Moriah where His Father didn't spare the death blow.

I hope you see the power of this story now. It's more than an out of place testing of faith because God meant to display his rescue plan for his creation!

We've all been through some kind of “training” in our lives. At times, it's something we have to endure at work, like sexual harassment training, because one of the higher-ups at work has been caught in a scandal. Other times, it's preparation training like in the military.

When it's a reactionary training like my first example it can be helpful in correcting inappropriate or wrong thinking, but training that is preventative is generally the most helpful. Like the Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." When training is done in the military, the hope is, that the soldiers receiving the training will resort back to their training when things go wrong. This is often referred to as contingency training. 

As a church we have to both to equip the saints for the work of ministry! So, June 20th our church is starting a series called "Back to the Basics." Here is our goal, to train the church with the truth of Christ. Here's why, we live in a culture that has been infiltrated by post-modern thought. Even though modern philosophy has moved past the incoherent pseudo logic of post-modernism, our society doesn't seem to have gotten the memo. It has become more prominent than you would assume, with such phrases as "Live your own truth" being popularized by social influencers like Oprah Winfrey. It has become a popular worldview amongst our young adults and even our children. As the ideology is lived out on social media apps like snap chat, Instagram, and TikTok our young people are being trained to believe this way by our culture. Our goal in this series is to equip the church for the current contingency of post-modern thought influencing our culture and society.

We will literally be going "back to the basics" of Christianity, looking at topics like why we believe the Bible, who is God, and how can we know God. For some in our church this may be the first time they will be hearing these “basics," for others this will help them with "contingencies" related to the common held views in our culture.

Again, the heart of this series is this, to train the church with the truth of Christ! We will lean on John 14:6 as we navigate these topics "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If you are not able to worship with us on Sunday Morning to hear these messages you can hear these messages on YouTube during the week following our Sunday service. Just search FBC Gower on YouTube to view our full sermon archive.

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”
John 2:23-25

In the social media age, we have an opportunity now more than ever to hide who we are in public. We post what we want people to see, portray ourselves in public a certain way, but God sees through all of it and this promises us two things.

The First promise is this, God sees through our façade and He knows the reality of our hearts. He knows the truth about us and is not fooled by our attempts to put on a good show. For example, when Jonah thought he could hide from God in the belly of the ship, we think we can hide from God in the approval of culture. If the people around us approve of us, we tend not to care about if God will approve. However, God’s standard is not created by man. The good news is that God knows all about us and He loves us anyway. He is pursuing us even though we try to hide.

The second promise is that God sees all our efforts to honor Him even when no one else does. There are so many times when no one will see what we do to honor God. It is good for us to honor God for the sake of honoring God, whether we get caught doing it or not. Too often I see people being celebrated for the good they are doing for God’s kingdom and I wonder “why not me?” But, God sees all. The bad and the good! I find so much hope and joy in knowing that all that I do for God’s honor is remembered by the Lord!!

We see in scripture that God does not need someone to “bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” He needs no witness about you because he knows what is in your heart. Do not desire to be caught doing good by people, but desire to be found faithful to God in secret. The rewards will be eternal.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11

We recently began a sermon series going through the book of Philippians and I thought it good to give a brief summary of why I chose this book of the bible for our church to study through.

First, the church in Philippi was surrounded by pegan worship that was not unlike the secular worldview that is growing in our culture. It may not appear that way to some but every year the percentage of people who poll as Christians shrinks. The social trends that consume the attention of our children are almost always based in vanity and self worship. The church in Philippi dealt with this kind of self idolatry everyday in the roman culture of leisure and pleasure at the cost of morality.

Second, the church in Philippi remained faithful in the Roman culture to the ministry of the Gospel and did not curtail even in the midst of persecution by the state and Philippians citizens. Standing firm in the faith in the midst of persecution while continuing to do ministry is an example set by Christ that we ought to model as believers.

Finally, the church in Philippi was a Christ centered Gospel preaching church that FBC Gower can learn from. The whole series focuses on how the church and Paul applied chapter 2 verses 5-11 in their lives. This section of scripture is a hymn or poem designed as a catechism or creed for the church to memorize. Which is why I have challenged our church to memorize it. It's important for us to connect with the history of our faith and just as we do so by singing the old hymns of the Christian faith such as "Amazing Grace" or "A mighty fortress is our God" we can also commit to memory the creeds and confessions that throughout history the church has used to memorize and teach the message of the Gospel.

So, even if you are not a member of FBC Gower I want to challenge you to memorize this section of scripture as well!

God Bless, you can do it!

 2020 is winding down and a lot of people, including myself, are glad to see it go away. All the things we dealt with in 2020 would be enough to make a year stand out in history but here are having had a pandemic, intense political upheaval, a borderline civil war between political groups, and protesting about the power of the government.

Promises of a better way of life have been made with such offerings as a vaccine for covid19 and a new president. But, here is the problem with these promises of peace, they cannot fix the human heart. The vaccine may be able to prevent someone from contracting a deadly case of COVID19 but it cannot stir your affections for Christ. A new president may provide a balance of political power but he cannot help us know God’s will for our lives any better. So, how can we know peace? Where can we get peace? Peace (shalom) means completeness, and a vaccine or new president cannot provide completeness. Only the spirit of God in our lives can provide completeness. Look at 1st Corinthians 2:9-10

“But, as it is written, “’ What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

Remember the words of the hymn Amazing Grace “The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.”

Only the Lord can promise and provide good for us. Only the Lord can promise and provide a shield and the portion we need. As you enter a new year seek peace (Shalom) from the only one who can fulfill you, His name is Jesus.

I've never seen a more politically charged social climate and I've never seen dedication to politicians like I've seen recently. I've seen people flying flags on their cars, building roadside monuments for political candidates, and of course I see signs in people's front yards campaigning for their candidate. We've been told that we essentially have two options, that there are two candidates that will save America from the other candidate. It appears, if your candidate does not win it will be the end of your freedoms, your guns, the future of our children; taxes will increase, national debt will get worse, no one will be allowed to enter our country, the list goes on. Then you have the candidates, arrogance is on full display and personally it makes me sick.

So, what are Christians supposed to do in an election like this? There are three things I want you to consider doing as we approach an election.

1. Have more faith in Jesus than you do your country. This one can get tricky because we have a tendency to slide into idolatry. I have seen the hastags #ridenwithbiden and #MAGA shared by people and it makes me wonder where their faith lies. Should we support our nation, by all means! But, America will be a footnote in heaven. God’s kingdom is where our faith and devotion ought to lie.

2. Align your political views with the teaching of Jesus. Being a Christians means following Christ. Too often we fall into the trap of towing a political party line. Jesus is our God, devote yourself to his teachings, his promises, and his solutions. That is where restoration and peace will come from.

3. Question the heart behind your views and how you express them. King David writes "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me." God is the one who tests the hearts of men and we all need our hearts to be tested!

We are being tempted right now with putting our faith in humans. Hoping in the promise of political candidates and political parties is setting yourself up for emotional failure. You see, we can’t trust humans because humans are sinners. So, what are we to do? Go vote. Consider your citizenship to the United States of America as a gift from God and treat it as an act of stewardship. God has blessed us with this nation, we need to honor God in the way we treat our country. But, we cannot forget that our true citizenship belongs to God’s kingdom, as we read in Hebrews 13:14 "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

It feels like we have been in the middle of this pandemic for over a year, but it's only been 6 months. Time has felt to be going so slow in these last months and it seems that there has been nothing but a consistent flow of bad news and what is the most divisive season of politics I've seen in my short life. Our nation is being rocked by accusations of racism, protesters burning down cities, conservatives blaming liberals, liberals blaming conservatives, wearing a mask in response to the pandemic has become a political statement, people are wondering if their children are going to get to finish the school year, Netflix releases an extremely controversial documentary that shows nude 11 year old girls, Australia nearly burnt up, the stock market crashed, and now the entire west coast is on fire due to natural igniters as well as people intentionally starting fires. The year 2020 has been a year of headlines that give pause to Americans with once in a decade events happening what seems to be weekly. It feels as though we cannot plan tomorrow for fear of there not being a tomorrow or not being able to maintain our plans due to the COVID outbreak and the nation wide effects of it, even my family had intended on going to Florida this summer and were not able to. Right now we are not in control of our decisions it's as if we have no free will. The reality is, this is the case every day of our lives. Biblically speaking there has never been a day in your life that you were in control of. What we are dealing with currently is God showing us explicitly that we are not in control of our lives.

Jesus' baby brother writes in James chapter 4

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and
such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do
this or that.”
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

There is a certain base line of arrogance that we operate with in believing that we hold our lives in our own hands. As Christians we use the phrase "we make our plans and God guides our steps" but in reality we out to quote the NLT translation of this verse from Proverbs which reads "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." The hardest part about this translation of the verse is that it steps on and eliminates our usual operating level of arrogance. We like to be in control of our lives, but the reality is we do not even have control of tomorrow.
So, why continue with the futile exercise of acting like our future is in our hands? Why not surrender to the one who has true and total control of our lives? Let us trust in the sovereign grace of Jesus Christ! Looking to our shepherd who will lead us beside still waters!

This last Sunday our church voted on a new budget for 2020-2021. Included in that budget is a salary for a full time associate pastor.
Our brother Robbie who has been leading worship and youth ministry for the last year and a half or so has moved on to a full time job at Thermo Fisher in Lenexa, KS. Our church leadership has seen a need in our church for an associate pastor who can bring leadership to different ministries in our church. Working to equip the people in our church to minister to each other as well as help myself in the work of pastoral care. It's an exciting time at FBC because the same Sunday that our deacons presented the recommendation that we pursue a full time associate pastor the stewardship committee announced that we would have another year of budget surplus. In this day and age, churches don't usually have a budget surplus. But, God has been good to our church and the members of our church have been faithful in participating in worship giving (to you members who do this, just wait to see what God is going to do!). Here is why I am letting you know, we need your prayer! This is a major step of faith for our church. We know the needs of our church community, and we believe we are seeking what our church needs. So, pray for this individual, whoever they may be. Pray that God would begin preparing them for a call to not just our church but to our community. Our church needs someone who is as committed to Gower as it is to their ministry. We want a long tenured person who wants to see people in Gower "Love God, Share the Gospel, and Make Disciples." We want to see God build His kingdom through us and we believe this is a step in that direction!

In July our church did something extraordinary. During normal years it would not be considered such, but during COVID what we did seemed extraordinary! We had VBS! It was such a blessing to be able to provide a time of biblical learning, praise songs, and learning to listen to each other.

Our verse for the week was from Philippians 1:6 “I’m sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” As we worked on memorizing this verse we talked about foundations. Each night there was a different foundation that was emphasized but I want to highlight the foundation from our list VBS night together, “the foundation for life.”

You see we all build our lives on the foundation of our world views. These world views determine the way we live. Our actions stem from our worldview as we act out what we believe. Much of this process is completed almost entirely subconsciously. We may be able to recognize some of the reasons behind our actions (I.e. “this is the way I was raised.”) but for the most part our actions are determined by the beliefs that undergird them. These beliefs are, again, the foundations of our lives.

We believe that we hold a specific worldview, but when things get tough is often when we find out that the worldview we claim to hold to is the worldview that produces the fruit of our lives.

Here’s an analogy, Apple trees can only produce apples. You can call an apple tree a cherry tree, you can attach cherries to an apple tree, you can even surround an apple tree with a bunch of cherry trees. But, that the end of the day the biological make up of the Apple tree produces apples. It’s in their DNA, it’s foundational. As the our Lord Jesus said in Luke 6:44 ”for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.”

Here’s the point, the beliefs that we hold that make up the foundations of our lives, will produce the fruit of our lives, that is our actions.

As we watch the division and unrest unfold in the world around us, we can be sure of two things. 1. The actions of the people in the world around us are because of their foundational beliefs. Therefore, broken ways of living stem from a broken worldview. 2. The way we respond to the way the world is around us ought to be consistent with the worldview we claim to hold, that is the Christian worldview.

It was important for the kids in our church and community come to a knowledge of the truth that our God is who Philipians 1:6, that is, a God who does not give up on the things he starts. Our God does not bail on his projects. As I said it was important for the kids to learn this truth it is also vital for us to recognize this truth and believe it. Our world is broken, but God is not a quitter nor does he hate this world, neither should we. We ought to be seeking the redemption and reconciliation of this world, because that is foundational to who our God is. Therefore it is foundational to the Christian worldview to recognize brokenness but to seek redemption and reconciliation!

This weekend our church held funeral services for Evelyn Grace
(1929-2020). Evelyn had been a long time member of FBC serving in
numerous capacities and on many committees in our church. From
building committees to teaching Sunday school for over 60 years, Ms.
Evelyn did it all!

As a pastor she was a treasure in our church. Even when it came time
for her to bring an issue to me she did so in a gracious way. I loved
the times I got to serve with her in Sunday School teachers meetings,
prayer meetings, at the convalescence center, and in bible study.

One of the last times Ms. Evelyn worshiped in our sanctuary she came
up to me after the service and told me, as she did every Sunday, “what
a powerful sermon.” Then she had a look on her face like something was
wrong, I stood there waiting for her to continue. She looked at me and
said “I just have so much growing to do, Seth.” A 91 year old lady was
telling her 32 year old pastor that she had not yet finished growing
as a Christian even though she had been serving the Lord for most of
her life.
Paul writes to the Philippian church about this in chapter 3 verses 12-14.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I
press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one
thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what
lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus.

Paul, an apostle a man that Jesus made a special appearance to redeem
writes to the Philippian believers that he was not perfect as an
individual, this man was full of the Holy Spirit, wrote most of the
epistles in the New Testament tells these brothers and sisters he has
not arrived yet. I would say that most people don’t think that they
have become perfect people, but two things can be true of us that
ought not be.

1.       We make older believers out to be people who have “arrived.”
No one will arrive in this life. No matter how long you have been
serving the Lord you will still be a sinful person in this life
needing to be further reconciled with the Lord Jesus Christ. Ms.
Evelyn knew this of herself and she knew this of every person. Whether
its Billy Graham, Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. John Piper, or Martin Luther
no one is perfected in this life, we are all, like Paul, “straining
forward to what lies ahead.”

2.       In our arrogance we act as though we don’t need God daily.
How many times have you gone to the television before the word of God?
How many time have you looked to Instagram or facebook before the word
of God? How many times have you picked up a book by a theologian or
listened to a sermon rather than going to the word of God?

Brothers and sisters, as Ms. Evelyn said, we “have so much growing to
do” and we aren’t going to get there apart from the word of God. These
extra biblical resources are valuable and so very helpful, but they do
not take the place of the word of God in our lives. I will leave you
with this quote from Charles Spurgeon. “Visit many good books, but
live in the Bible.”

Romans 8:18

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

 Last Sunday I preached a message with the same title as this article. As many of the people who get our church's newsletter do not attend our church I thought it would be helpful to encourage you with some of the highlights from this message, if you would like to hear the message itself you can do so on our church's website or our YouTube channel.

Paul is writing to Roman believers were being persecuted for their
faith. While we have not been under fire for our faith like the Roman church was, we are encountering "suffering" as a society and this scripture could be extremely helpful for us. Paul encourages the Roman believers about their eternal inheritance through Christ in chapter 7. Paul writes in verses 16-17 "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." All throughout our lives as Christians our focus ought to be on eternal things. In the midst of suffering it is incredibly important that we remember that this earth is, as hip-hop artist Tripp Lee puts it, just the "waiting room." As we walk through a valley where there is a shadow of death around us, remember that we are being guided by our shepherd. He is guiding us toward an inheritance that is not affected by a pandemic or as the scripture says "where moth or rust
can destroy or where thieves can break in and steal."
So, what is God doing? Well he is doing exactly what the most famous verse from this scripture says he will do.

Verse 28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work
together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Often this scripture is interpreted to mean "if you love God, you will get good things" but this is not true. The scripture says "for those who love God all things work together for good" so it's important for us to give thought to the word "good." As I said, generally people have had the assumption that this means that what our definition of good is, is what comes to believers in Jesus, but what is true is that God's definition of good is what will come to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. What is good to God is much better than what the human definition of good is. God's definition of good is eternal relationship with the one who promises eternal pleasure to those who have been reconciled. He also has promised us verse 29 "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

You see God is working to conform us to the image of His Son. He's not trying to make us wealthy, good looking, or even happy. He is working to make us righteous. Like His Son, so we can spend eternity in relationship with God through the work of His Son on the cross. The Lord is using the COVID pandemic to bring about revival, not just in our nation but throughout the entire world. For many, this pandemic is the wake up call to the reality that you are not God and that you need God.

So, join Paul in recognizing that "the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
These sufferings have much more purpose than we give them credit for.

It is very easy for us to focus on how things affect our lives and
forget that God is using things that affect us to reconcile all people
to himself.

We are beginning a new sermon series at our church going through the book of 1st Corinthians. The series is titled "Dear Church" because the letter, as it was written to the church in Corinth, applies to the struggles and needs of our churches in modern days. Addressing things such as sexual morality, divisions in the church, and where the power
of the Gospel message comes from are all things that our churches struggle with and are always needing to be reminded of the solution. Paul's solution for correcting the Corinthians was to remind them of the Gospel because it is what we believe, preach, and through it the power to live. Through the Holy Spirit revealing the Gospel to us we begin to have our beliefs corrected and find our lives changed. When Paul is talking to the church about the divisions that have been plaguing them he asks them a very simple question that proves a very important point. In chapter 1 verse 13 Paul asks "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" You see the church was struggling because they were dividing into cliques over which of the church leaders was the best. An issue which was not new for disciples is still an issue today.

An old Problem
In Luke 9:46-48 Jesus' disciples began arguing about who was the greatest. "An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.
For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” While the disciples were getting caught up on who was the greatest (had the most earthly/human power), Jesus reminded them that He is the one who has the power. Therefore, the least among us can be the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven because what matters is in whose name you receive power.

A current problem Today, there are several religions that look to a specific leader who
has all the power, not just authority but power. In the Catholic church, the people look to the pope. In the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS/Mormons) they look to the president of their religion. In both of these cases they believe the pope and the president of the LDS church have power to speak new revelation from God, that is they can write new scripture. These men are considered the greatest on earth in both of these religions. So, the question needs to be asked! "Is Christ divided? Was the pope crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of the president of the LDS church?"

An us problem
It's easy to sit back and cast judgment on other religions for dividing over who the greatest on earth is. But, in our own lives we like to put things on pedestals and become divided over them. These are just human things, they aren't even God's Kingdom things. We get divided over politics, kids sports, which Christian denomination is the right one, or whether or not the mountains or the beach is a better vacation. Some things are trivial and some things become idols. The question we need to ask ourselves is what Gospel are we believing? Because in the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is no division, there is only one who died for us and there is only one in whose name we were baptized. It's the only name given among men in whom we might be
saved.

The Gospel is the solution This was the solution Paul gave to the church in Corinth, the Gospel.
In their issues of sexual morality, church division, spiritual gifts, and how to love the solution is always the Gospel. The good news that Jesus has done to work to reconcile all of His creation to Himself. It's the solution for our problems too, it's just hard to turn knowledge of the truth into belief of the truth. Only then will the Gospel change our lives, when it moves beyond knowledge into a belief.

Growth

Often in my news letter articles I try to provide encouragement on a personal level to those reading. This month I want to talk about how First Baptist Gower has grown. I'm not talking about growth in that we have hundreds of people in attendance, or are beginning a new building project, what I mean is that I have seen FBC build on it's foundation of Gospel ministry. Sure, we have grown numerically and financially but that kind of growth is merely a symptom of true growth. So, here are the ways our church has grown.

Deacons
I've been blessed to work alongside these deacons and watch them step up when needed. These brothers serve the people in our church in ways that sometimes only God may know. For these brothers the position of deacon is about God's kingdom, not about their personal validations. They are such a blessing to me!

Staff
Our church has a terrific staff! Our Secretary Valeri Mumford and our Associate Pastor Robbie Kaufman make pastoring this church possible. Valeri is always behind the scenes seeing to details that make our ministries and worship services a blessing to many people. Part of Valeri's ministry role is helping people with the food pantry that is housed at our church. Seeing her take time to talk to and listen to the people that visit the food pantry reminds me how simple ministry can be, yet effective. Robbie joined the staff part time a little less than a year ago as Associate Pastor of Worship and Youth. Robbie does much more than just those two jobs at our church but man am I thankful to have him seeing to these important ministries. See the youth ministry grow under his leadership is an encouragement to me!

Ladies Bible Study
One of the ministries of our church that flies under the radar but has been bursting at the seems is the Ladies bible study. It's such a
blessing to see so many ladies flood into our church on Sunday evenings for bible study. They've had to change spaces a couple of times because so many ladies attend. Some of the ladies are from our church and others are just in need of encouragement in their faith. Erica Brown and Jana McDonald lead this ministry and it is a blessing as a pastor to see ministry happen where I am not involved!
Now, there is so much more that could be said about how our church has grown because there are a lot of symptoms of growth. But, the real growth of our church has been demonstrated in this, 6 baptisms. We can talk finance, building updates, attendance, and go on and on. But, for me 6 baptisms is the true sign of a growing church. For that I am thankful! Looking forward to 2020 with great expectations!

The Desire to Change

For many people the New Year comes with a new desire for change in their life. People buy gym memberships, mail order diets, nicotine gum or patches. But, the hard reality is that the new date does not change the motivations behind your actions. The motivation behind your actions is your heart and unless it changes your actions won’t change. The source of your actions must be changed for the better if your life is going to change for the better. This truth is illustrated very well by an old story my dad used to tell about a spring.

“Once upon a time, a town grew up at the foot of a mountain. High up in the hills, a strange and quiet man took it upon himself to be the Keeper of the Springs. He patrolled the hills and wherever he found a spring, he cleaned its brown pool and took away from the spring all foreign matter, so that the water which bubbled up through the sand ran down clean and cold and pure. It was a river of life to the busy town below. Millwheels whirled by its rush. Gardens were refreshed by its waters. Fountains threw it like diamonds into the air. Swans sailed on its limpid surface, and children laughed as they played on its banks in the sunshine. But the City Council was a group of hard-boiled businessmen. They scanned budget and found in it the salary of a Keeper of the Springs. the Keeper of the Purse said “Why should we pay this romance ranger?” We never see him; he is not necessary to our town’s work life. If we build a reservoir just above the town, we can dispense with his services and save his salary. Therefore, the City Council voted to dispense with the unnecessary cost of a Keeper of the Springs. So the Keeper of the Springs no longer visited the brown pools but watched from the heights while they built the reservoir. When it was finished, it soon filled up with water, to be sure, but the water did not seem to be the same. It did not seem to be as clean, and a green scum soon befouled its stagnant surface. There were constant troubles with the delicate machinery of the mills, for it was often clogged with slime, and the swans found another home above the town. At last, an epidemic raged, and the clammy, yellow fingers of sickness reached into every home in every street and lane. Without the keeper of the springs maintaining the source of the spring pure the water becomes toxic.” Just like your life, without the Keeper of the Springs (Jesus Christ) the overflow of your life will become toxic, the blessings you once had will find a new home, and you will wonder why your life became the way that it is. You need a keeper of the springs, then the new you will be someone who blesses other people and enjoys the fruit of the spirit.

The Season of Advent

We are beginning the Advent Season at First Baptist and I wanted to remind you all the focus of the Advent candles.

Week 1: Hope Candle
The first candle of Advent represents the Hope offered in the birth of Jesus Christ. Hope for a dark world to receive light. Hope for a long awaited promise to be fulfilled to Israel. Israel Hope for the
messiah, and Israel received the Messiah!

Week 2: Preparation/Prophecy Candle
There was a reason to expect Jesus. In the Old Testament there were prophecies specific to the messiah who was to come. Everything from where he’d born, who he’d be related to, and even how he’d die. The nation of Israel and all of creation waited eagerly for the messiah to come because of God’s promises.

Week 3: Joy Candle
Remembering Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13 which says that a man after
finding a great treasure in a field he “Then in his joy he goes and
sells everything he has and buys that field.” The Maggi similarly
considered the Lord Jesus to be a valuable treasure. After realizing
that it was his star in the sky, they went and bought costly gifts to
bring to the newborn king. Because they knew that he ushered in an
eternal kingdom.

Week 4: Love Candle
God so loved the world that we came down. Just like in the parable of
the prodigal son, the Father ran to his son, God came to us. And just
like we have sinned against God, the prodigal son disrespected his
father. But God not only acted, he bridged the gap with His love for
us. Let us remember God’s great work of love as we light the advent
candle of Love.

Christmas Eve: Christ Candle
We know that Jesus is the Christ because of the promises he fulfilled
in his life.Christ means the anointed or chosen one.
He was chosen by God to bring more than seasonal worship.
He is the lamb that has come to take away the sins of the world.
And we have been given a promise of what he will bring in the future.

I encourage you to celebrate advent with your family and read these
aloud as you go through the holiday season.

Visible Vs. Non-Visible

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Hebrews 11:3

In this scripture we see that there was a time in which there was
nothing. By faith we understand that the universe was made out of
things that are not visible, meaning invisible things. Now we know
this is true from modern scientists studying chemistry and biology and now we can see what these "not visible things" are. DNA, Cells,
proteins, molecules, genes are all things that are invisible to us but
they are what makes up everything in the universe. Praise the Lord for this truth. That thousands of years ago the scripture spoke of things that modern science is just now catching up with.
We serve a sovereign God!

Philemon

Last week we wrapped up a sermon series on the book of Philemon. I had
never preached through Philemon before and honestly I'm not sure I've
ever heard a sermon from Philemon. But, it is a book that is rich with
theological truth and the Gospel being lived out in practical ways.
Here is an overview of the sermon series.

Philemon is a unique Epistle of the Apostle Paul. It was intended to
be read in front of the entire church yet it is such a personal
letter.
Paul is writing to Philemon, a wealthy church leader, on behalf of
Onesimus. Onesimus is a run away slave running away from Philemon and
had possibly stolen from Philemon. Onesimus doesn't just skip town, he
leaves Colossae and walks nearly 1,500 miles to Rome. While living on
the lamb, Philemon is converted to Christianity by the Apostle Paul
who is on house arrest in Rome. We don't know the circumstances that
led to the truth of Onesimus' situation coming to light, but, Paul
sent Onesimus back to Philemon with a letter from himself on behalf of
Onesimus.

 Paul trusts the work of the Holy Spirit in Philemon enough that he
does not command Philemon to do anything, instead he "appeals" to
Philemon on behalf of Onesimus trusting that Philemon will do what is
right. Paul writes in verses 8 & 9 "Accordingly, though I am bold
enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's
sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner
also for Christ Jesus." When a person of authority sets it  aside
they're demonstrating real humility, not faux humility.
In this act we see Paul trusting God's work over his own authority.

Then, Paul makes an offer to Philemon that is quite counter cultural!
Paul offers to purchase Onesimus' freedom. For Paul this is an extreme
offer, because he has essentially cosigned for a debt that if he is
unable to pay his own freedom will be compromised.
During this time slavery was a way to repay a debt, especially within
the Hebrew culture. In God's law you did not own a slave, rather you
owned their labor efforts for an agreed amount of time. So, when Paul
offers to pay Onesimus' debt, he has offered his own freedom as
collateral.
He writes in 17-19
"So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive
me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to
my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to
say nothing of your owing me even your own self."
Paul believes that this run away slave has a God given purpose that is
worth potentially sacrificing his own freedom. He does it in writing
and expresses details that would concede any rights to back out of the
agreement.

I hope that we will be as faithful to the Gospel as Paul who was
willing to surrender his life for the call of the Gospel!

We don't know how Philemon responded to the Apostle Paul's appeal.
But, that is not as important as what we can know from the text. That
the call of the Lord is worth sacrificing all things! For God's glory,
let us live!!

Unity

As we wrapped up our Good News Gathering last night, I think back on the last three nights and how "in tune" I felt with those around me who are very different from me in a lot of ways. We had Methodists, Disciples of Christ, Non-denominational, and even some Catholics gather together. We would have had plenty to disagree about if we wanted to, but the focus of the Good News Gathering was our God.

As the week progressed I heard time and time again how refreshing it was for everyone in attendance to worship with other believers and to hear God's word preached. It has become apparent that the Good News Gathering met a spiritual need not just in our church and in our community but in people's souls.

Today as I sit down at my desk I read about things causing division in our nation; Whether politics or moral issues there is so much disunity, and I'm beginning to recognize how important unity is, not just as an idea or feeling but as a practice.
As divisiveness grows, as people find more and more to disagree about, I can't help but think if the Church of Jesus Christ seeks unity within itself, the Gospel will be fresh air to our world!

For years the Gospel has seemingly been optional to people in our nation. They've thought that the Gospel or church is for people who think they are better than other people. What they will find out as Christians worship together and love each other is that the good God we serve is a god of unity.

But, for this to happen we will at times have to swallow our pride, and as one brother prayed this week "dismantle our preferences," in order to live out the desire of our Lord Jesus Christ for His church!
Our goal is unity, when we strive towards this we are giving people a picture of the trinity. The diverse God that exists in perfect unity! Let this be our desire, that our unity proclaims the truth of God to the world around us!

Sacrifices, Altars, and Idols

Recently, in our Tuesday morning bible study meetings we had a discussion about Idolatry. We were looking at God calling Abraham in Genesis Chapter 12. God speaks to Abraham in verse one and promises him that he will bless Abraham’s family and his future. But, before this interaction Abraham already had a God. In Joshua 24:2 we read

"And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods."

In Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham was born and raised they worshiped Nanna, the moon god. The people believed that the moon controlled all life cycles on earth including humans and their fertility as well as agriculture. Prayers and offerings were offered to the moon to invoke it's blessing on their crops and their family. I imagine it was hard for Abraham to give up worshiping the god of his youth that promised fertility to instead worship a God that commanded him to move almost 1000 miles away only to then endure a famine in that land. 

When Abraham is in the Promised Land he leaves and goes down to Egypt because of a famine. But, when he gets to Egypt he demonstrates an act of idolatry. In order to keep from being mistreated because of his wife's beauty, he convinces her to pretend that she is his sister and we get a clue about his true motives in verse 13 "that it may go well with me because of you." So, in this scenario we see a sacrifice, an altar, and an idol.

The sacrifice is his wife Sarai, the altar is success in Egypt, and the idol is Abraham. He sacrifices his wife on the altar of success in Egypt in honor of Abraham's false God which is himself. Imagine the way his wife must have felt when he suggests that they pretend they aren't married, I know my wife wouldn't go for that (Hopefully because she isn't used to being sacrificed on the altar of Seth's desires.) 

How often though, do we sacrifice the wrong things on the wrong altars in order to serve our idols. Sometimes we may not realize what our idols are until we see what is getting sacrificed. For instance, Abraham doesn't realize he's sacrificing his wife on the altar of success and neither do the parents who ignore their children in favor of giving attention to the entertainment on their smart phone. How often do we sacrifice the affection of our children on the altar of a t.v. or smart phone in honor of the God entertainment?
Thankfully God takes care of Abraham by plaguing the Egyptians to the point where they realize whats going on and send Abraham away with his wife back to the promised land. I pray that it doesn't take plagues for us to realize our idols. 

Lord, reveal our idols to us so that we will give our sacrifices to you and you alone! Let it be that "I shall behold your face in righteousness;

    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness."

The Good News

As I write this we are three days away from it being Summer according to the calendar. But, we are in full blown summer ministry mode at the church. We've got VBS coming up, Gower days festival, a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and in August the Good News Gathering. 

The Good News Gathering is something very different than I have ever worked on before. It's really just what a lot of Southern Baptist would call a revival. But, our hope is that true and genuine revival would be birthed out of the relationships built because of the Good News Gathering. The theme of GNG is "Building Bridges Between Churches" and our goal is to have the same heart that Jesus had during his high priestly prayer in John 17.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 

21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus is praying in John 17 for the church. We get a glimpse of his love for the church and his desire for the church. Verses 20 and 21 have been especially challenging to me because I believe it's an area we as Christians have a lot of room to grow in. Jesus first qualifies who he is praying for by saying "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word." His prayer is for the 12 disciples as well as all who would believe in Jesus because of the teaching of the disciples. Therefore, Jesus' prayer is for all Christians, that is to say all people who put their faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is Jesus' desire, that all Christians would be one (unified) just as the Father and the Son are one (unified). This is a hefty desire because the Father and the Son never disagree on anything because of their united will and desire for the Gospel, that is, the Good News of Jesus Christ reconciling work on the cross. Thus we are having a "Good News Gathering." We are having a Gospel gathering. For all those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ atoning work on the cross to begin to have a common will and desire, just like Jesus and his Father. The desire for all of creation to be reconciled to it's creator.

Which leads to the last part of verse 21, "so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Jesus seems to believe that if His people have a common love for each other and a common goal of the Gospel that the people of the world may believe that the Father sent the Son. If Jesus believed this to be true, we ought to take steps toward this.

Let us become unified in our desire for all people to be reconciled to God through the atoning work of Jesus and actually love other churches! You see they are not the competition, they are the family that we will spend eternity with. Let us learn what it is to love these churches and pray for them to be successful! That's what Jesus did, why wouldn't we?

Looking at the Fruits of the Spirit

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 

20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 

21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 Our church is in the middle of a sermon series “Looking at the Fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23. One of the things I have been repeating in my sermons is that the fruit of the spirit is not a list of legalisms or a spiritual to-do list. Rather, it is a list of the symptoms of following Jesus. We do not look to the fruits of the spirit as we do the 10 Commandments. Instead, the fruits of the spirit are just that, fruit.

 When you go to the apple orchard you don't wander out into the orchard thinking to yourself, "I wonder what kind of fruit is going to be on this apple tree?" You can know in advance that the apple trees are going to produce apples. One of the clues that you are approaching an apple tree is what is laying on the ground surrounding the apple tree, Apples. If you step on one and twist your ankle you don't have to look to see if it was a pear you stepped on.

Thus, with followers of Jesus the symptoms of our devotion to Christ should be laying on the ground all around us. Our produce should be obvious. When people walk up to us it should be evident what kind of tree we are.

Paul writes in verses 16 and 17

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

 Notice the inner conflict Paul addresses in verse 17 "for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the good things you want to do." Paul brings this conflict up in Romans 7 in verse 15 Paul writes "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." There is a struggle to do the things that are righteous. This desire for sin dwells in us all of our life.  It is in our nature. However,  when a person surrenders to the will of God to be reconciled the Helper comes and they begin to desire other fruit to fall from their branches. Thus, the fruit of the spirit.

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord the produce of our hearts changes. When once we produced sin, now, because of the Helper, we now produce Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, etc. 

So, how do we get the fruits? We seek God. Simple answer and really difficult application. 

Solution? Prayer! Plead with God. Seek the heart of God in the scriptures. Decide how much your soul is worth to you and act on that value. Let me tell you, the value of your soul is eternal. It's immense! The eternal God created you, your value is based on that. Live in the light of having an eternal God giving you value!

On Easter morning as we gathered in our churches to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, a tragedy occurred 9,000 miles away. Churches we’re filled with worshipers, children were getting restless sitting on mom’s lap while the pastor was preaching the Gospel and then BOOM, literally, boom. Suicide bombers attacked 8 locations on Easter morning at 4 hotels, 3 churches, and an airport. The Islamic state (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks that left 321 people dead.

 What is our response? How should we respond? Initially my feelings were anger and hatred toward people who would kill innocent people trying to worship Jesus. But, this is strictly a human response, for the desire of the death of the attackers would be to join them in their godless obedience to the flesh. Justice should be served, but retaliation is not justice and God’s desire is that none should perish, not even the terrorist. Jesus promised that these types of things would happen in following him. John 16:18 and 20 Jesus says “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” We can be sure that if we are living out the Christian life we will experience persecution.

 But, I am reminded that terrorism against the church is nothing new. There was once a terrorist who sought the death of anyone who followed Jesus who later became a believer in Jesus Christ. His name was Saul. He was present at the stoning of the first Christian martyr. Acts 7:58 “Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” More than that Saul sought the persecution of the church at his own hand Acts 8:3 “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

 But then, God changed his heart. On the road to Damascus Jesus presents himself to Saul in order to change Saul’s heart and show Saul that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. This terrorist who was seeking to ravage the church comes face to face with Jesus for two reasons, 1. Jesus loves his church and 2. Jesus loves Saul. He wants the heart of Saul to change so that Saul can be reconciled to God. Saul becomes Paul and sees to the advancement of the Gospel and he also writes 13-14 books of the New Testament.

 Here’s why all this is important, it helps us to pray. We ought to pray not only for the brothers and sisters whose time of celebration became a time of horrific tragedy, but also for the men who carried out these grizzly attacks on behalf of their god. God desires to redeem any of his children and use them to bring people to peace that you would not suspect. Just as a parent would willingly receive a wayward son or daughter after a season of reveillon. 

So, pray with me! Pray for

1.      The families who lost their little girl, little boy, niece, grandpa, cousin, deacon, etc.

2.      The pastors whose job it is to minister to these congregations after such a traumatic event.

3.      That justice would be served and the organizers would be brought to justice.

4.      That the organizers would know the forgiveness of God and repent of their sinful pursuit of Glory.

“We don't have an angle, we just want to bless you" He said. I was blown away by his words and I knew he was telling the truth.

 Unfortunately, when you grow up the kid of a pastor you get a front row seat to a lot of fake people; fortunately my pastor-dad was not one. I watched people try really hard to get in good with the pastor and his family. Their angle? They viewed the church like they view a political party or a social club and pastor was the top dog to them. Part of the reason I became so good at spotting it is because I started practicing this because of an incorrect view of the church. Thanks be to God, He took away my ability to be fake with people (just ask my wife and siblings). 

 After seeing so much fakeness in my life, I am always on the hunt for people who don't have an angle. What a counter cultural way to live! In a world where it seems you have to watch out for the next "direct sales" e-mail from someone you haven't seen in years wanting you to buy a product and become a "business owner," it's almost shocking when you see genuine people who demonstrate God's love because that's just who they are in Christ.

 That's the context of the conversation I began with. I was speaking with the CEO of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) about the pastor’s conference my wife and I had attended put on by the CMA.

  "Thank you so much for all you've done for my wife and I, it has been such a blessing! All this and you've asked for nothing in return!" I said. He responded with "We don't have an angle; we just want to bless you." These words have been ringing in my ears ever since I spoke with him. You see, this pastor’s conference is hosted for pastors and their families for free. My wife and I didn't pay a penny for the food, hotel, or all the books we went home with and thanks to a local CMA chapter we didn't even pay for gas to get to the conference. When this should have easily cost my wife and me as much as $1000 for lodging and all we paid $0. At the beginning of the week I was waiting for a hard press to join the CMA or some kind of "here's how you can pay us back,” conversation. But, they really "just wanted to bless us." As a pastor it was such an encouraging time!

 This reminds me of what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:3-4 "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." 

 Let's do this, let's leave the angles to the people who are receiving their reward in this life and look forward to our eternal reward in Heaven!

God Knows A Man’s Heart

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” John 2:23-25

In the social media age we have an opportunity now more than ever to hide who we really are in public. We post what we want people to see, portray ourselves in public a certain way, but God sees through all of it and this promises us two things.

The First promise is this, God sees through our façade and He knows the reality of our hearts. He knows the truth about us and is not fooled by our attempts to put on a good show. For example, when Jonah thought he could hide from God in the belly of the ship, we think we can hide from God in the approval of culture. If the people around us approve of us, we tend not to care about if God will approve. However, God’s standard is not created by man. The good news is that God knows all about us and He loves us anyway. He is pursuing us even though we try to hide.

The Second promise is that God sees all our efforts to honor Him even when no one else does. There are so many times when no one will see what we do to honor God. It is good for us to honor God for the sake of honoring God, whether we get caught doing it or not. Too often I see people being celebrated for the good they are doing for God’s kingdom and I wonder “why not me?” But, God sees all. The bad and the good! I find so much hope and joy in knowing that all that I do for God’s honor is remembered by the Lord!!

We see in scripture that God does not need someone to “bear witness about man, for He himself knew what was in man.” He needs no witness about you because he knows what is in your heart. Do not desire to be caught doing good by people, but desire to be found faithful to God in secret. The rewards will be eternal.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Walking Away From God

One of the hardest experiences of my life has been the mass exodus of friends and my generation from faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible as God's word. The more stories I hear about people separating themselves from faith in God the more painful it becomes for me.

However, here are a few things I have noticed that may be of help to someone.

1. Every time someone walks away from the faith, it can be traced back to human failure.

(For instance miss handling of scripture, spiritual immaturity, and lack of discipleship, persistent sin, isolation, or Christians who were abusive of the faith.)

So, what has that individual actually walked away from? If it was the desire or distaste of people that caused them to walk away, I’d say they walked away from people and blamed God.

So, here’s my question, is it really something a person should walk away from if the source of your unbelief is not actually doubt but pain? Have they really become an unbeliever or have they distanced themselves from Christians like you would an abusive parent? They have walked away from faith because sinners acted sinful. The free will you have been extended by God has also been extended to them. So, judge not, right?

2. Those who have left the faith seem to have an extremely poor understanding of what faith in Jesus is/was.

I have yet to have an unbelieving/de-converted person correctly articulate Christianity before trying to dismantle it. Generally what is attacked is a caricature of Christianity or a straw-man. Again, they have walked away from something that no one believed in, not even them.

3. Rarely do those who know the individual best buy what they are selling.

I’ve recognized a common trend with people walking away from faith, they are unable to convert those closest to them to their new unbelief.

Here's how this is helpful. Generally one person’s displeasure or dislike is not felt by the other people. Thus, the true meaning of a person’s departure is understood by those closest to not be facts based but the departed's feelings towards God or God's people.

4. People have trusted their own feelings/desires above the facts.

A Messiah was promised through the people of Israel, a man named Jesus claimed to be that Messiah, he worked miraculously in many lives, he said there is only one God and that he was God, he discipled 12 men, he was a Jew, he was killed by religious leaders through the Romans, and rose again after three days (as he said he would), leading his followers, who had abandoned him, to faith so deep that they would surrender all for the sake of his kingdom and the Joy of all people.

Again, these are the facts, not an opinion! This is worth putting up with sinners acting sinful.

Maybe this will help you or someone you know. But, be sure of this Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. In Him are we able to be reconciled to our creator.

Having a promise broken is a painful and aggravating experience. Whether it's a legal contract with a business partner or a spouse that hasn't kept their vows, a broken promise hurts.

Which is why it is important for us to watch out for things or people that are unable to keep their promises. For instance, my daughter has promised if I got her a pony she would take care of it. She's 4. She can't keep that promise. She wouldn't even be able to carry the bag of feed, let alone buy the bag of feed. So, it would be foolish for me to buy her a pony based on the promise she made to take care of a pony.

 The holidays are a prime example of something that is unable to keep it's promises. When the holidays come around, a lot of us feel a sense of hope for the future. Being together with family on Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, the New Year, and the promise of spring give us a feeling of hope! But, there is a reason mental health professionals have an influx of patients during the holidays and after the holidays. In fact, I recently spoke with an Armed Forces chaplain about this and he said they are busiest during and after the holidays. Members of the Armed Forces are more likely to commit suicide during or after the holidays. So, why do people get so depressed during and after the holidays?

 There are several reasons for this, a recent loss of a loved one or a traumatic experience during the holidays at a younger age. One might even try to blame winter, but the statistics re-guarding depression include places like Southern California and Florida. So, why do we experience such a drop off in emotion?

 I believe we have asked the holidays to promise us something they cannot fulfill. We have asked the holidays to comfort us and encourage us. We've asked the holidays to give us purpose and meaning, but they can't.

The very first holidays were created by God for his people to remember his faithfulness. What a realistic expectation for the holidays, good job God! So, let us return to celebrating holidays the biblical way, as reminders of God's faithfulness! Let's celebrate Christmas by remembering the incarnation of Jesus Christ for the purpose of our salvation! Let's celebrate the New Year by remembering the Holy Spirit's power to change us for God's glory! Let's celebrate Easter by remembering that Jesus wasn't just born, but died and then rose again! There is no better reason to celebrate the holidays than to remember the faithfulness of God!

 So, lest you think I'm being a hum bug, I am not! Celebrate, by all means celebrate!!! Put up your tree! String your lights! Shop for the presents! But, remember 1 Corinthians 10:31 " So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God."

Prayer:

God, remind me, through your word, of your faithfulness. Remind me of your faithfulness in my own life.

Use these coming holidays to remind me that you are sovereign and in control. That you are worthy of being the source of celebration! Amen!