|
 |
|
|
Typically, we think about the price of freedom around the “Patriotic” holidays, so it may seem odd to see it now. Most of the time, we think of freedom as having the ability to do anything we want anytime we want. In the name of freedom, we cast off restraint and indulge our desires. They aren’t that bad after all, are they? The truth is, that kind of freedom comes at a price, as God reminded His people in Jeremiah 2:19.
Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord God of hosts.
We see the truth of this verse all across our culture. Not to minimize people’s struggles, but if we would avoid some behaviors, we would not have some struggles. Think of the example of alcohol. In our society, there are many problems that are directly linked to its consumption.
- Binge drinking kills teenagers
- Drunk and abusive parents hurt their own children
- People driving under the influence kill other people
- How many bad decisions get made under the influence?
These are just a few examples of one social ill and how it carries its own punishment. It is far better to surrender some freedoms, obey God, and avoid some of the consequences inherent in sinful behavior—even if it is legal.
|
|
I am a Pastor and a Dad—not in that order, but those two facts provide me with perspectives that are sometimes unique. I was thinking recently of Communion and Children. I have five children, ages 8 and under, three of whom have already come to know Jesus as their Savior. The question that I have had to face, like many parents, is when are my children old enough to participate in the ordinances, especially Communion.
Most people that I have heard speak on the subject agree that a child should understand an ordinance before he or she participates in its observance. Sounds good. But then I got thinking about the night that Jesus instituted His Supper and remembered a statement He made in John 13:7.
“What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
To be fair, Jesus was specifically speaking about washing the Disciple’s feet. They didn’t understand what He was doing, He said, but they would eventually. Later in the same chapter He identifies His betrayer—the Disciples were concerned but misunderstood what Jesus said. Jesus went on to institute His Supper—but they didn’t get that either. The Disciples did not understand that Jesus had to die. They did not, could not, have understood the significance of what was happening around them.
What would have happened if Jesus had waited until the Disciples understood Communion? Odds are fair that the ordinance might not exist at all.
Which brings me back to the kids. Should we, as Parents, or as Church leaders, require children to understand Communion before we allow them to participate? Based on Jesus’ example, I would have to say no. Certainly, understanding is preferred and makes the experience more meaningful—but I think we have to stop short of making it a requirement. As Jesus said, they will understand it in time, given the opportunity.
|
|
Every year, at Christmas time, Christians all over the world begin to re-read and re-explore the Biblical passages that we associate with Christmas. Hopefully, familiarity doe not breed contempt, or carelessness. These familiar passages still have much to teach us. Take, for example the prophecy of Jesus birth found in Isaiah 7:14. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Familiar? Yes. Does it teach us about God’s sovereignty? Yes, though we don’t usually go there in our thinking.
We must first notice that the Prophet said “the virgin shall conceive;” he did not say “a virgin shall conceive.” The difference in those two statements is huge. It tells us that Mary was not one of many possible candidates to give birth to Jesus. She was the candidate. In a very real sense, God chose her, long before she was born, to be the mother of Jesus.
This specific language is carried over into the New Testament. Luke records that the angel Gabriel was sent to “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.” Just in case there was any doubt, “The virgin’s name was Mary.” How did Gabriel address Mary? “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” He did not call her “one of the highly favored ones,” she was the “highly favored one.” (Luke 1:26-28)
But then, something else important happens—Mary responds to this “calling”. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) It sounds like Mary was under the impression she had a choice in the matter. Did God really let the eternal fate of the entire human race hang in the balance of one startled little girl’s choice? How could He? Didn’t He choose her? The answer, however complex it may seem, is, yes. Yes, God did choose Mary. Yes, Mary did have a choice. And, no, those two statements do not contradict each other.
Some might see Mary’s choice as taking something away from God’s sovereignty. In truth, it adds to God’s sovereignty. God is so all-knowing, so wise, so sovereign, and so great that He knew Mary’s choice (just as He knows our choices) before she made it, and He built her choice into His plan. The alternative—that Mary had no choice and that God was going to force her compliance in His plan—has terrible implications.
Just how sovereign is God? He is so sovereign that He can extend to us the freedom to make our own choices in life. He is so sovereign that those choices will not derail His plan, in any way. He is so sovereign that resting the eternal fate of the human race in Mary’s hands was not a gamble. When we see a God who is this sovereign, it is easier to choose Him and the Salvation He offers. And it is comforting to know that He knew what our choice would be and that He has a plan for our lives accordingly.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:28-29) God knew who would choose Him and He planned for them to conform to the image of Jesus—a life-long plan and ambition, to be sure. It is comforting to know that God is that sovereign.
|
|
On September 29, 1769, five Baptist men formed the Baptist Church of Cumberland and Wrentham. During the 19th century, the Church built our current building and was named the Baptist Society of Wrentham. During the 20th century, the Church built the back third of the building, was named the Sheldonville Baptist Church, and reached its highest peak, at least in recent memory, under Pastor Grover. (Yes, we’ve had at least 3 names over the years.)
We are proud of our history as we celebrate our 240 anniversary. But, we must remember Jesus’ words in Luke 9:57-62, especially what He said in verse 62.
But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NKJV
If we were to look back, we would see a Baptist Church, started by Baptist men, for Baptist people. But we must not look back. Looking forward, we see a Christian Church with Baptist beliefs, filled with Christian people, that exists to reach those who do not yet know Jesus as Savior.
If we were to look back, we would see a church with a vision that narrowed and contracted with each generation: from Cumberland & Wrentham, to Wrentham, to Sheldonville. But we must not look back. Looking forward, we see a Church with a vision for the town of Wrentham and the surrounding towns: 125,000 people who need Jesus–100,000 of whom live within a 5-mile radius. We must see a Church that loves them, serves them, and seeks their salvation.
If we were to look back, we would see a Church that expanded its building to accommodate the people who came and who were yet to come. If we were to look around, we would see that we have more building than we can handle. But we must not look back or around. Looking forward, we see a Church that has filled and then outgrown the building because we are committed to inviting people to Church and sharing Jesus with them.
If we were to look back, and then look around, we would see a Church that reached its peak years ago and has been coasting down hill ever since. But we must not look back or look around. Looking forward, we see a Church that is climbing the next mountain, heading to the next peak.
We want to be fit for the Kingdom of God, so we are looking forward. It’s a nice view!!!
|
|
Shorter meetings aren't better. Longer meetings aren't better. Better meetings are better. (Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church via Twitter.) These words reminded me of some advice I tried to pass on to our folks about meetings in a recent message series. Here it is, one more time.
Have you ever sat through a meeting? Most of us have. If you haven’t, hang around here, and you will have ample opportunities. Truth be told, most of us can relate very well to the concept of “death by meeting”, as in, if we have to go to one more we will die. If this is all news to you, consider yourself fortunate.
Not all meetings are bad, and not all meetings are boring. Some meetings are effective at actually accomplishing tasks, and really good meetings can even be encouraging and motivating. Meetings, especially effective meetings, have a couple of distinctives, things that are common to any good meeting.
• Purpose - without a clearly defined reason for having a meeting, quite a bit of time can be wasted trying to figure out why there is a meeting. In the end, it may be discovered there was not reason at all and everyone wasted a bunch of time in attending.
• Agenda - an agenda is like a road map for a meeting. It flows from the purpose and keeps the meeting on a charted course to fulfill the purpose. Without an agenda, meetings become directed by whims, moods, and whatever someone just happened to think of–none of which is necessarily productive.
• Action Step - When a meeting is over, you should have one or more things that you need to do as a result of the meeting. If you consistently leave a meeting with nothing to do, you should consider whether or not your presence is needed at the meeting.
Regardless of how good, or how bad a meeting is, the most important detail for you is often the deadline. The deadline let’s you know how much time you have to do whatever actions steps you volunteered for or where assigned. Deadlines have direct career impact. Deadlines may not define what you do, but they do define when you do it. Deadlines help you establish priorities and motivate you to action regardless of your desire.
Well there it is. My advice on meetings, for what it's worth.
|
|
|
Have you ever asked a question that seemed like it should have an easy answer but doesn’t. It happens to me periodically. Usually, I don’t ask them out loud–no sense frustrating everyone. This week, however, I decided to pose one such question on Facebook just to see what I would get for answers.
The question was simple: "Why is sorry such a hard word to say?" The answers were interesting, so I though I would pass them along to get you thinking. The names of those answering have been removed, but most of them are members of Sheldonville.
• Very good question .... maybe cause no one really wants to admit that they were wrong ? Good luck with that answer.
• When we practice to say we're sorry, we soon learn to change our behavior so we don't have to. If we can't say we're sorry to people, how do we say we're sorry to GOD? Is the invisible easier to deal with or uncertainty of forgiveness harder to deal with?
• Because deep down you may not mean it. If you are truly sorry the words come without the feeling of it being hard. When we don't mean it, it makes it a task not an act of free will.
• I know many who say it all the time but never live it.....Talk can be extremely cheap.
Paul mentioned being sorry in 2 Corinthians 7:8-9. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. (NKJV)
According to Paul sorry is how we should feel when we are wrong. Saying "sorry" to someone is admitting that we are wrong and that we feel bad about it. Saying "sorry" to someone is an act of repentance–we have decided to stop acting wrong and have decided to start acting right. It sounds simple. But as any parent can tell you, children can be headstrong, willful, and proud. Sometimes adults can be pretty childish (not in a good, trusting Jesus way), we would rather destroy a relationship than admit we are wrong and be sorry about it. So, the question remains: why is sorry such a hard word to say?
|
|
Every church, regardless of denomination or demographic is a collection of individual people. Our individual health impacts the overall health of our church. But what makes a healthy church? Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, Texas identifies ten traits of healthy churches; traits that are equally necessary for healthy Christians.
1. A healthy church is filled with men and women who see Scripture as the final authority on all things. Ps.119, 2Ti.3:14-17, 2Pe.1:19-21
2. A healthy church is filled with men and women who are pursuing Jesus as the ultimate treasure. Lk.18:1, Ac.17:11, 1Co.9:24-27, Ep.5:1-21
3. A healthy church is filled with men and women who follow in obedience after Christ in regard to the ordinances. 1Co.11:17-34
4. A healthy church is filled with men and women who genuinely love one another and love participating with one another in biblical community. Ac.2:42-47, He.10:23-25, Ti.3:14
5. A healthy church is filled with men and women who understand that their gifts were given to them by God. They are open-handed, doing life together for the good of one another, for the glory of God, and for the furthering of the Kingdom. Mt.25:14-30, Ro.12:1-2. 2Co. 8-9
6. A healthy church is filled with men and women who take holiness seriously. 1Pe.1:13-16, 1Pe.4:1-3
7. A healthy church is filled with men and women who stay away from what the Bible calls foolish, not just what it calls outright sin. Ro.14:14-23
8. A healthy church is filled with men and women who take the responsibility of Christian freedom seriously. Christian freedom will be seen through the lense of hope for our brother. Which means that I will at times forego what I am free to do so that you might not be confused and are able to grow in maturity. 1Co.8:1-13
9. A healthy church is filled with men and women who are willing to engage one another over sin and are also willing to be engaged. Mt.18:15-20, 1Co.5:9-13, He. 12
10. A healthy church is filled with men and women who, when they fail at all of the above (and we do), are quick to confess it to God and to one another, to repent and to seek to put that sin to death. And where that doesn’t occur, you have a bunch of people pretending. Ro.8:13, Col.3:5, Ja.5:16, 1Jn.1:6-10
The questions that flow from such a description should be: "am I a healthy Christian?" and "are we a healthy church?" The difficult reality is that none of us is there yet—thus our church is not. Can we get closer? Yes. We should all strive to be healthier, and we should all strive to help each other be healthier. One day we will reach perfect health and be a part of a perfect church: Jesus will be our Pastor, Heaven will be our home, and we will teach angel choirs how to sing the song of the redeemed—but they won’t get it.
|
|
As a rule, submission is not a concept we enjoy. If we find any pleasure in it at all, it is in having other people submit to us; we are all quite opinionated. Submission, however is not really about power and its exercise or abuse. It is about leadership. Submission is an invitation to lead–when we submit, we invite, and allow, someone else to lead us. The Bible gives us several relationships where this is necessary, preferable, and God-ordained.
--We are to submit to God and allow Him to lead us, James 4:7
--We are to submit to our Government and its laws, Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13
--Wives are to submit to their own husbands, Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18, 1 Peter 3:1
--Children are to submit to their parents, 1 Timothy 3:4
--Christians are to submit to their pastors, Hebrews 13:7-17, 1 Corinthians 16:13-16
--Christians are to submit to each other, Ephesians 5:21
--Servants are to submit to their masters, 1 Peter 2:18
Aside from our human nature, which pushes us to be independent and unaccountable, much of our "problem" with submission often comes from not understanding the concept properly. The Greek word translated submit in the Bible is a Greek military term meaning "to arrange troop divisions in a miliary fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
Essentially, submission is cooperation with a designated or recognized leader for the accomplishment of a mutually desired task.
Another important fact about submission is that it is voluntary. We must each choose to submit or not to submit. Understanding submission teaches us when not to submit. If we do not recognize someone as a leader, we don’t submit. If we do not wish to accomplish a given task, we don’t submit. Paul talked about not submitting to "false brethren" in Galatians 2:1-6.
Although submission is voluntary, we must recognize that all of the passages above command us to submit in the context of specific relationships. Submission then becomes a matter of obedience to God. All other submission flows from our willingness to submit to God and the leadership relationships He established–but we don’t have to Him either.
|
|
|
Have you ever noticed that some people are really good at starting conflicts and arguments? Generally, they aren’t the ones who get in trouble—that is usually reserved for whoever ends the conflict—but everyone knows who they are and what they are up to. Have you ever wondered what motivates a person to be that way? Though they often try to portray themselves as victims, the book of Proverbs says they are not victims, they are actually:
--Hateful, Proverbs 10:12
--Proud, Proverbs 13:10 (also 28:25)
--Angry, Proverbs 15:18 (also 29:22)
--Perverse, Proverbs 16:28
--Subversive, Proverbs 16:28
--Transgressors, Proverbs 17:19
--Scoffers, Proverbs 22:10
--Talebearers, Proverbs 26:20
--Contentious, Proverbs 26:21
This is not a pretty picture. Nor is it how any of us wish to be seen. But, for the person who stirs up strife, this is a truer picture than the one they usually try to portray to others. If this is a picture of you, the good news is that you do have options.
1. You can blame the photographer (in this case, God)
2. You can deny that it is a picture of you (this is the most common choice–though no one else really believes it, they just maintain quiet, polite distances)
3. You can, by God’s grace, change the person in the picture so that it looks better (this option requires the most effort and is the path less taken, but it makes all the difference to those who take it–and those around them.)
Eventually, people get tired of strife and will distance themselves from those who stir it. This, too, is recognized in Proverbs 17:1. "Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife." (NKJV)
The only way this picture gets better is to change the person in the picture. If this is you, and you choose not to let God change you, you will eventually be the only one in the picture. You will finally, and truly, be the victim–but it will be of your own doing.
|
| |
|
