Yea, I know she's the cutest little girl you've ever seen, but that's not the point I want to make in sharing this video. There's a scriptural principle this episode illustrates. Our children watch us worship; they listen to us sing and pray; they see how we relate to God.
What are they seeing?
Come, O children, listen to me;I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Ps. 34:11
http://picasaweb.google.com/brad.marci/Singing#5383163409001508322
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
This Wednesday more than 3 million teenagers in 20 countries are expected to participate in the 19th annual “See You At the Pole” school prayer rally. Students in our own community will also gather at their schools Wednesday morning for a student led time of prayerAbout this annual event Baptist Press wrote: This year’s event also marks the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, when a gunman sprayed bullets across a sanctuary where students were gathered for a rally celebrating that morning’s See You At the Pole rally, held that year on Sept. 15. Four teens attending the rally were among the seven people killed by the gunman.
See You At the Pole, which originated in early 1990 among a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, “is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event” that calls on students to pray for their schools, friends teachers, government and nation, asking God to bring moral and spiritual awakening to their campuses and countries. See You At the Pole is not a demonstration, political rally, nor a stand for or against anything; See You At the Pole is all about prayer."
See You At the Pole, which originated in early 1990 among a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, “is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event” that calls on students to pray for their schools, friends teachers, government and nation, asking God to bring moral and spiritual awakening to their campuses and countries. See You At the Pole is not a demonstration, political rally, nor a stand for or against anything; See You At the Pole is all about prayer."
This year’s event is being organized under the theme “Engage: Go and pray ...,” based on 2 Kings 22:13: "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us." Young King Josiah was spiritually mature beyond his years. His heart was soft to the Word and ways of God.
Pray for our students as they gather this week. Pray that they too will have hearts that are open and attentive to God, His Word and His ways.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Wind and waves Obey Him - What About Men?
Do we correlate natural events we see with eternal scriptural truths. We should. The following post by John Piper is relevant to every church, and to every nation. Especially ours.
Forgive and Forget?
The subject of forgiveness came up this week in my accountability group. It related to this past Sunday’s sermon that included an overview of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke 11. Then, and again this morning, I thought of something Richard Foster wrote. This excerpt is from his book entitled Prayer-Finding the Heart's True Home
In the affairs of human beings there is a vicious circle of retaliation: you gore my ox, and I’ll gore your ox; you hurt me, and I’ll hurt you in return. Now the giving of forgiveness is so essential because it breaks this law of retribution. We are offended, and, instead of offending in return, we forgive. (Be assured that we are able to do this only because of the supreme act of forgiveness at Golgotha, which once and for all broke the back of the cycle of retaliation.) When we do, when we forgive, it unleashes a flood of forgiving graces from the heart and among human beings.
If forgiving is so important, we really need to ask the question: what is forgiveness? There is a great confusion on this matter today, and therefore we must first understand what forgiveness is not.
Forgiveness does not mean that we will cease to hurt. The wounds are deep, and we may hurt for a very long time. Just because we continue to experience emotional pain does not mean that we have failed to forgive.
Forgiveness does not mean that we will forget. That would do violence to our rational faculties. Helmut Thielicke, a German pastor who endured the darkest days of the Nazi Third Reich, says, “One should never mention the words ‘forgive’ and ‘forget’ in the same breath.” No, we remember, but in forgiving we no longer use the memory against others.
Forgiveness is not pretending that the offense did not really matter. It did matter, and it does matter, and there is no use pretending otherwise. The offense is real, but when we forgive, the offense no longer controls our behavior.
Forgiveness is not acting as if things are just the same as before the offense. We must face the fact that things will never be the same. By the grace of God they can be a thousand times better, but they will never again be the same.
What then is forgiveness? It is a miracle of grace whereby the offense no longer separates. If a husband ignores his wife, valuing business and all other things above her, he has sinned against her. The offense is real, and the hurt is real. A sacred trust has been broken. We speak rightly when we say that something has come between them. She will never forget this violation of respect. Even in old age she may feel and icy chill at the memory of this disregard.
But forgiveness means that this real and horrible offense shall not separate us. Forgiveness means that we will no longer use the offense to drive a wedge between us, hurting and injuring one another. Forgiveness means that the power of love that holds us together is greater than the power of the offense that separates us. That is forgiveness. In forgiveness we are releasing our offenders so that they are no longer bound to us. In a very real sense we are freeing them to receive God’s grace. We are also inviting our offenders back into the circle of fellowship.
One final word regarding the petition directly: God has bound himself to forgive when we forgive. Perhaps you have felt deeply the load of guilt at your offense against heaven. You have been uneasy and unsure of your pardon from God. You long for some assurance that will give you peace. Well, here is assurance given by the highest authority. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, guarantees your acquittal: “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matt. 6:14).
(Excerpt from Prayer – Finding the Hearts True Home, pp. 187-188)
In the affairs of human beings there is a vicious circle of retaliation: you gore my ox, and I’ll gore your ox; you hurt me, and I’ll hurt you in return. Now the giving of forgiveness is so essential because it breaks this law of retribution. We are offended, and, instead of offending in return, we forgive. (Be assured that we are able to do this only because of the supreme act of forgiveness at Golgotha, which once and for all broke the back of the cycle of retaliation.) When we do, when we forgive, it unleashes a flood of forgiving graces from the heart and among human beings.
If forgiving is so important, we really need to ask the question: what is forgiveness? There is a great confusion on this matter today, and therefore we must first understand what forgiveness is not.
Forgiveness does not mean that we will cease to hurt. The wounds are deep, and we may hurt for a very long time. Just because we continue to experience emotional pain does not mean that we have failed to forgive.
Forgiveness does not mean that we will forget. That would do violence to our rational faculties. Helmut Thielicke, a German pastor who endured the darkest days of the Nazi Third Reich, says, “One should never mention the words ‘forgive’ and ‘forget’ in the same breath.” No, we remember, but in forgiving we no longer use the memory against others.
Forgiveness is not pretending that the offense did not really matter. It did matter, and it does matter, and there is no use pretending otherwise. The offense is real, but when we forgive, the offense no longer controls our behavior.
Forgiveness is not acting as if things are just the same as before the offense. We must face the fact that things will never be the same. By the grace of God they can be a thousand times better, but they will never again be the same.
What then is forgiveness? It is a miracle of grace whereby the offense no longer separates. If a husband ignores his wife, valuing business and all other things above her, he has sinned against her. The offense is real, and the hurt is real. A sacred trust has been broken. We speak rightly when we say that something has come between them. She will never forget this violation of respect. Even in old age she may feel and icy chill at the memory of this disregard.
But forgiveness means that this real and horrible offense shall not separate us. Forgiveness means that we will no longer use the offense to drive a wedge between us, hurting and injuring one another. Forgiveness means that the power of love that holds us together is greater than the power of the offense that separates us. That is forgiveness. In forgiveness we are releasing our offenders so that they are no longer bound to us. In a very real sense we are freeing them to receive God’s grace. We are also inviting our offenders back into the circle of fellowship.
One final word regarding the petition directly: God has bound himself to forgive when we forgive. Perhaps you have felt deeply the load of guilt at your offense against heaven. You have been uneasy and unsure of your pardon from God. You long for some assurance that will give you peace. Well, here is assurance given by the highest authority. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, guarantees your acquittal: “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matt. 6:14).
(Excerpt from Prayer – Finding the Hearts True Home, pp. 187-188)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Managed Expectations??
I was listening to ESPN radio the other day. (Don’t act shocked, and but don’t believe for a minute that the only thing Pastors listen to is KLOVE!) The show’s host was talking about sport fan’s expectations for the athletes and teams they support. I don’t remember his point, but I remember his illustration. (btw- a preacher’s greatest fear)
Suppose that you have two friends. One is fun-loving, always laughing and making you laugh – a blast to be around. But this guy is completely unreliable. He may show up and he may not – you just never know. Another friend is a stick-in-the-mud kind of guy, not the comedian of the group, but rock-solid reliable. He will always be there when you need him. Now suppose you need someone to pick you up early one Saturday morning and have you at the airport in time for a 6:00am flight. The host’s point: “if you ask your unreliable, comedian friend to get you there on time, when he fails to show up and you miss your flight, the fault is yours - not his. You’re the idiot for expecting so much from someone who has proven himself to be completely unreliable. You must learn to “manage your expectations!” This may make for good talk radio – and it may apply to a sport fan’s expectations.
God forbid that “managed expectations” should become the norm in the church. Because someone has missed several Sundays in church, should we expect that from each other and accept their continued absence as the norm? Because someone has had difficulty developing and maintaining meaningful relationships, should we stop encouraging them to share their lives with others within the body? If a brother or sister stumbles in a sin and suffers because of it, should we give up on them and expect him/her to continue in this sin? I think we have seen in the parables that the Shepherd does not say “Oh well, that’s what sheep do, so I’ll just let it go.” Even though sheep are prone to wander from the flock, the shepherd still continues to pursue the one that is straying.
Instead of “managed expectations”, I want to hold for myself and others ‘Biblical expectations’, expectations based on God’s faithful promise that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence”( 2 Peter 1:3). These expectations are based on God’s covenant promises to me and how those promises apply to our covenant relationship with each other.
You can expect me and the rest of your ministry team to do our best as your Pastors. We’ll do my best to be with you in the trials and joys of life. We’ll do all we can to enable and equip this congregation to be the ministers God has saved us and called us to be.
Am I sometimes disappointed with my brothers and sisters in Christ? The answer is yes. Are they disappointed with me from time to time? Yes, many more times than I am aware of I'm sure. Does that mean we should always expect less from each other? By no means. God does not call us to expect less from each other, but more. And when we fail to meet these expectations, which we certainly will, His grace is sufficient to bring understanding, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Suppose that you have two friends. One is fun-loving, always laughing and making you laugh – a blast to be around. But this guy is completely unreliable. He may show up and he may not – you just never know. Another friend is a stick-in-the-mud kind of guy, not the comedian of the group, but rock-solid reliable. He will always be there when you need him. Now suppose you need someone to pick you up early one Saturday morning and have you at the airport in time for a 6:00am flight. The host’s point: “if you ask your unreliable, comedian friend to get you there on time, when he fails to show up and you miss your flight, the fault is yours - not his. You’re the idiot for expecting so much from someone who has proven himself to be completely unreliable. You must learn to “manage your expectations!” This may make for good talk radio – and it may apply to a sport fan’s expectations.
God forbid that “managed expectations” should become the norm in the church. Because someone has missed several Sundays in church, should we expect that from each other and accept their continued absence as the norm? Because someone has had difficulty developing and maintaining meaningful relationships, should we stop encouraging them to share their lives with others within the body? If a brother or sister stumbles in a sin and suffers because of it, should we give up on them and expect him/her to continue in this sin? I think we have seen in the parables that the Shepherd does not say “Oh well, that’s what sheep do, so I’ll just let it go.” Even though sheep are prone to wander from the flock, the shepherd still continues to pursue the one that is straying.
Instead of “managed expectations”, I want to hold for myself and others ‘Biblical expectations’, expectations based on God’s faithful promise that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence”( 2 Peter 1:3). These expectations are based on God’s covenant promises to me and how those promises apply to our covenant relationship with each other.
You can expect me and the rest of your ministry team to do our best as your Pastors. We’ll do my best to be with you in the trials and joys of life. We’ll do all we can to enable and equip this congregation to be the ministers God has saved us and called us to be.
Am I sometimes disappointed with my brothers and sisters in Christ? The answer is yes. Are they disappointed with me from time to time? Yes, many more times than I am aware of I'm sure. Does that mean we should always expect less from each other? By no means. God does not call us to expect less from each other, but more. And when we fail to meet these expectations, which we certainly will, His grace is sufficient to bring understanding, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A Reminder of our Mission Statement
Westwood seeks to be a church that worships and exalts our Lord Jesus Christ by proclaiming Him in word and deed, reaching a lost world with His gospel and baptizing them into the fellowship of the church; that each member and each family may grow to spiritual maturity and fruitful ministry, to the honor and glory of His name.
It is helpful to regularly read and be reminded of our church’s mission statement. It helps us focus on the essentials and be sure we staying on track with our all we do. It addresses the nature of our relationship with God (worship), with our church family (growth and nurture), our relationship with the lost (evangelism), and the motivation for it all (the honor and glory of His name).
Today I read a sermon preached by John Piper over 20 years ago. It is very relevant to us as a church and as individual followers of Jesus. He speaks to the centrality of worship, nurture and evangelism, and addresses the dangers of ignoring any of them:
Where worship is ignored, fellowship will become thin and man-centered and unspiritual, and evangelism will tend to call people to a social group rather than to a sovereign God.
Where nurture is ignored, the deceitfulness of sin will run unchecked in the narrow ruts of individualism and the collective testimony of a loving people will vanish, and the united heart of worship will disintegrate into isolated struggles for private religious experience.
Where evangelism is ignored, the recipients of grace become such living contradictions of the reality they profess that soon their worship feels like a sham, and their relationships are clogged by a nagging, unspoken sense of inauthenticity.
No church dare say, "We are a worshiping church. Others do evangelism." Or, "We are a caring, nurturing church. Others specialize in the vertical life of the soul." Or, "We are a band of witnesses and missionaries. Let others spend time teaching each other and singing spiritual songs." Parachurch groups may have the luxury of choosing among the priorities of worship, nurture, and evangelism, but the church of Jesus Christ does not.
Neither does the true disciple of Jesus. We are called by Christ to do these things and we must constantly call ourselves to account in all each of these: are we growing in the truth and spirit of our worship? Are we growing in the biblical depth of our teaching and application of biblical truth as disciples of Jesus? And are we growing in the courage and clarity and earnestness of our evangelism?
It is helpful to regularly read and be reminded of our church’s mission statement. It helps us focus on the essentials and be sure we staying on track with our all we do. It addresses the nature of our relationship with God (worship), with our church family (growth and nurture), our relationship with the lost (evangelism), and the motivation for it all (the honor and glory of His name).
Today I read a sermon preached by John Piper over 20 years ago. It is very relevant to us as a church and as individual followers of Jesus. He speaks to the centrality of worship, nurture and evangelism, and addresses the dangers of ignoring any of them:
Where worship is ignored, fellowship will become thin and man-centered and unspiritual, and evangelism will tend to call people to a social group rather than to a sovereign God.
Where nurture is ignored, the deceitfulness of sin will run unchecked in the narrow ruts of individualism and the collective testimony of a loving people will vanish, and the united heart of worship will disintegrate into isolated struggles for private religious experience.
Where evangelism is ignored, the recipients of grace become such living contradictions of the reality they profess that soon their worship feels like a sham, and their relationships are clogged by a nagging, unspoken sense of inauthenticity.
No church dare say, "We are a worshiping church. Others do evangelism." Or, "We are a caring, nurturing church. Others specialize in the vertical life of the soul." Or, "We are a band of witnesses and missionaries. Let others spend time teaching each other and singing spiritual songs." Parachurch groups may have the luxury of choosing among the priorities of worship, nurture, and evangelism, but the church of Jesus Christ does not.
Neither does the true disciple of Jesus. We are called by Christ to do these things and we must constantly call ourselves to account in all each of these: are we growing in the truth and spirit of our worship? Are we growing in the biblical depth of our teaching and application of biblical truth as disciples of Jesus? And are we growing in the courage and clarity and earnestness of our evangelism?
Spiritual Bait and Switch
I remember the first time I studied "bait & switch" tactics in college in an Introduction to Marketing class. I was amazed at the concept, and realized how effective it could be.
There's only one small problem: bait and switch is a fraudulent sales tactic that is punishable by US law as false advertising.
Are we in the church guilty of the same thing we see in department stores, electronics stores, car dealers, etc.?? (to name only a few) In this article Jay Lemke says its time for the church to stop spiritual bait & switch. To me It is both challenging and encouraging.
http://www.modernreformation.org/default.php?page=articledisplay&var1=ArtRead&var2=931&var3=authorbio&var4=AutRes&var5=343
There's only one small problem: bait and switch is a fraudulent sales tactic that is punishable by US law as false advertising.
Are we in the church guilty of the same thing we see in department stores, electronics stores, car dealers, etc.?? (to name only a few) In this article Jay Lemke says its time for the church to stop spiritual bait & switch. To me It is both challenging and encouraging.
http://www.modernreformation.org/default.php?page=articledisplay&var1=ArtRead&var2=931&var3=authorbio&var4=AutRes&var5=343
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