Archive for the ‘Church Stuff...’ Category
David Glenn: Cancelled
March 16th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff..., Upcoming Events
What a bummer! We received news late last night that David Glenn’s visit to St. Joseph has been cancelled. After several weeks of excitement about the event, it turns out that all the planning will simply be for our normal Sunday morning worship service.
Of course, that’s FAR from a bad thing… our worship team is AWESOME. If you had planned a special visit to our church this Sunday to see David… come anyway! I promise you’ll be just as blessed by their music as you would be by David’s.
David Glenn at MVBC
February 7th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff..., Upcoming Events
Cool news from my church (Missouri Valley Baptist) today… David Glenn will be joining us to lead us in worship on March 18th!
David is an up and comer in the Christian music scene, and is particularly known for his contributions to modern worship music. We’re definitely blessed to have him join us.
Be sure to spread the word, and be there if you can!
New Website for My Church!
September 29th, 2006 | 3 Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff...
Check it out… Micah and I have put together a new website for our church.
I think it looks great, but of course I’m biased… 
Beautiful Feet?
September 25th, 2006 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Church Stuff..., Devotions / Bible Studies
Are your feet beautiful?
That’s an odd question, without a doubt, but it was the question of the day in Sunday School yesterday. You see, we were completing our study of Romans 10, and our focal passage was Romans 10:14-15:
Romans 10:14-15
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
As believers, we’re expected to proclaim the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not just a job for evangelists, pastors, youth ministers, and missionaries… it’s everyone’s job. Each of us has someone we’re uniquely qualified to reach… people “professional” ministers can’t. We understand our friends and family members… we have a much better understanding about the things that hold them back from faith in Christ… we have their trust.
So why don’t most Christians have beautiful feet?
Quite honestly, I think it’s because we often embody another phrase from Romans 10… that we’re often a disobedient and obstinate people.
Romans 10:21
21But concerning Israel he says,
“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
Yes, this portion of Romans 10 is talking about Israel… that they, although given every advantage and opportunity to know God and experience righteousness, continued in disobedience and missed out on the blessing of a right relationship with God. But is it not also applicable to us?
We’re called to preach the gospel, yet most of us continually come up with excuses not to do so. We’re “not gifted that way”… we “just don’t know what to say”… we’re worried about “what they might think”. In reality, it’s none of those things… we’re just disobedient and obstinate.
Beautiful feet? Most of us shouldn’t let ours see the light of day.
Now, I don’t mean to be so negative, but we’ve got to be real with ourselves… most of us just don’t measure up when it comes to being Christ’s messengers. Most of us need to recapture the fire and love we felt for Jesus when we first came to know Him. Most of us need to develop a deeper appreciation for the gift of salvation we’ve been given. Most of us simply need to repent of our disobedience, ask God to use us, and keep our eyes open for those God-given opportunities to make a difference.
There’s joy in having beautiful feet. Let’s look for it… and experience it.
Just Trust Jesus…
September 18th, 2006 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Church Stuff..., Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
If you’re familiar with Romans at all, you know that one of Paul’s main points was that the Law, as given to the Israelites, was a message of righteousness through works. As you know, such righteousness was inattainable by man… even the best of the Law followers (the Pharisees) failed miserably. If you’ve read Romans, you’ll also know that Paul preached the truth… that righteousness comes solely by the grace of God, and is granted as a gift to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
With this background in mind, we continued our study of Romans this weekend in Sunday School, diving into chapter 10. In our study guide, we came across a question that, at face value, seemed pretty straightforward:
Why should it be easier to trust Jesus than to keep the Law?
Now the point of this question is obvious… the Law, with its hundreds (if not thousands) of rules and regulations, would certainly seem more difficult than trusting Jesus. How can one even know every jot and tittle of the Law… let alone keep it? It’s difficult to comprehend. Trusting Jesus for grace-gifted righteousness is surely easy in comparison. I thought so, at least… and as a Sunday School teacher, surely I was right (sarcasm, in case it wasn’t obvious!).
Not so. Several in my class didn’t like the question… they didn’t think it was easier to trust Jesus. Nor do I, now that I think about it.
What’s easier, following a command to do or not do something, or trusting someone to help you fulfill such an obligation? Pick the sin you struggle with most and insert that. What’s easier… not doing that particular sin, or trusting someone to help you avoid that sin?
The point? One’s impersonal… the other is HIGHLY personal.
The simple fact is that trusting other people is not always easy. Most of us, even with those closest to us, have limits with our trust. We have things we can’t share with them… we have situations we just can’t allow them to help us with. We’re terrified… scared that we’ll be hurt by them… worried they’ll reject us… concerned they won’t keep our struggles in confidence. We have thousands of reasons… and that’s with people we’ve lived with… people we’ve known personally our entire lives.
So trusting Jesus should be easy? Hardly… it can be one of the most difficult things in this world to do.
Think about your situation prior to salvation. None of us living today had seen Jesus. None of us had spoken with Him one on one. What we knew of Him, we had primarily learned either through writings nearly 2,000 years old, or through things others have told us about Him. And get this… we’re supposed to stop trying to do what’s right, but simply have faith in Him and trust Him to provide righteousness?
Not an easy proposition. As a matter of fact, it sounds preposterous… ludicrous… insane. Even the Bible seems to note this:
1 Corinthians 1:18
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Yeah… it sounds nuts, but that’s the message of the gospel. Trust Jesus and be saved. Not an easy thing to do… especially to take that first step of faith.
Obviously, certain steps of faith in trusting Jesus get easier after that… but not all. We learn experientially that Christ won’t let us down… that, as Romans 10:11 says, we “who trust in Him will never be put to shame.” But there will ALWAYS be decisions of faith… opportunities to trust Jesus. Many of these won’t be easy.
What do you do when Christ lays missions on your heart, and you know you’re supposed to pick up and go? What do you do when He prompts you to go next door to witness to your neighbor? What do you do when He asks you whether you love Him or (blank) more, and asks you to give (blank) up? What do you do if you’re faced with the ultimate test of your trust, as the persecuted church faces… deny Him to live, or claim Him and die?
No. Trusting Jesus with these decisions is most certainly NOT easy.
It’s just worth it.
God… Too Big for Our Box
September 5th, 2006 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Church Stuff..., Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
The past two weeks in Sunday School, we’ve been studying Romans 9… yes, that Romans 9… the chapter on God’s sovereign choice, which speaks to the doctrine of election. If it gives you any idea how much meat is there and how much discussion it’s drawn, we’ll be on our third week of discussion this Sunday.
So… what’s the big deal? Let’s let the Bible speak for itself.
Romans 9:18
18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Romans 9:22-24
22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath — prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory — 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
You see, these passages are pretty tough to swallow. They don’t provide very pleasant thoughts to most of us (especially if we’re not completely sold on reformed theology)… this idea that God is in complete control of our salvation. It just doesn’t seem to mesh well with other parts of Scripture, and especially many of our long-treasured beliefs about God:
John 3:16-18
16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The idea of election, and especially the idea of God creating certain individuals for destruction, is really quite disturbing to believers who have been taught over and over that God is love, and especially in light of what that teaching generally leads us to think about God.
Now, I’m not going with this where you think I am… I really could care less about the debate over the doctrine of election. This simply provides a good example for my main point:
God doesn’t fit in our box.
He’s too big for us to define. He’s far more complex than we’re generally comfortable with. He’s given us Scriptures which can be quite confusing at times. He’s full of qualities that can seem to be in opposition. He allows things in our lives we just don’t get. Even His plan of salvation seems downright crazy when you look at it objectively.
God just doesn’t fit in our box.
I wonder if that’s the root problem of so much of our the turmoil in Christianity today… not just amongst Baptists, but Christians of all denominations.
Have we forgotten who God is (or simply been afraid to look and find out)? Are we too comfortable placing walls around God to make Him easy for us to swallow? Do we shun certain Biblical concepts because we just don’t like the way they taste? Are we so full of pride that we think we can keep God in our box? Do we fear the discomfort that the idea of a God we don’t fully understand forces us to try to keep Him there?
Is our God box what enables us to fight and argue with such self-righteousness?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I think they’re worth asking.
You see… when I’m forced to face tough Scripture passages like Romans 9… I always find that my ability to define Him and understand Him can’t create a big enough box. In a way, that’s quite discomforting, but in another… it’s all the comfort in the world.
God is bigger than anything you and I can imagine. He’s smarter than us, more loving than us, more just than us, more righteous than us, has wiser plans than us, is more determined than us… you name it.
God is God.
In light of that simple yet profound truth, I can only be humbled, fall to my face in worship… and toss aside my worthless box.
You Pray… God Answers!
June 27th, 2006 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Church Stuff..., Prayer Requests
Hey, quick update on VBS at Missouri Valley (remember, I asked you all to pray about it?)…
We had a young girl accept Christ tonight!
That’s right… you prayed, and God answered!
So… please don’t stop praying! We’ve got three more nights to go, and I know God’s not done yet!
Vacation Bible School…
June 26th, 2006 | No Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff..., My Life, Prayer Requests
If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted anything profound the past few days (okay, I know… do I ever post anything profound?), it’s because I’ve been a bit busy preparing for Vacation Bible School at my church, Missouri Valley Baptist. I’m serving as the missions leader, so I get the privilege of sharing 10-15 minutes each night telling a bunch of impressionable kids about what God is doing throughout the world through people He has called.
Pray for our VBS, will you? I don’t know what this week will hold, but I know that God can do amazing things through VBS. So…
– Pray that God will prepare these kids’ hearts for what they’re going to learn, and that at least one of them will come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
– Pray that God will grant the teachers (such as my wife Nancy) the ability to guide these children to a deeper understanding of what faith in Jesus means.
– Pray that God will grant me wisdom and strength to share about His power in the lives of our missionaries, and that learning about that will encourage them in their own faith.
Thanks!
What to Do About Re-Baptism
March 28th, 2006 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Church Stuff...
My church, Missouri Valley Baptist, has recently had to deal with the “re-baptism” issue arising from the IMB’s new baptismal requirements policy for missionaries. My pastor, Micah Fries, has posted a great summary of how we handled the issue.
Worth reading if you’re a Baptist… the issue may just come up in your church!
The “Emertional” Church
February 3rd, 2006 | No Comments | Posted in » Church Stuff...
Rick Thompson has written a very interesting article on what he calls “the emertional church”.
Check it out… quite thought provoking stuff about how we should “do church”.
