Wow, I can’t believe how long it has been since my last blog update. Couple reasons for that: 1) My kid’s activity schedule is totally out of control! I coach my daughter’s softball team, I am the den leader for my son’s Cub Scout den, and my other son plays T-Ball. 2) I am not taking summer classes, so I am really not reading or writing a lot of in-depth material that would require me to ponder and dispute different perspectives and notions. And 3) My responsibilities at church have changed a little (the real reason for this blog entry).
I was preaching every other week, and used my blog often as a sounding board or a place to share an advanced clip of the week’s message. I LOVE preaching, and I think part of my calling and my heart as an evangelist is in preaching and rightly dividing God’s word.
But lately, both the Sr. Pastor and I have noticed an encouraging sign at Turning Point. For even though we are very new, and still relatively small, we have a huge number of kids (primarily K-5th) coming to church. This is wonderful for the church and a responsibility that needs attended to. So, after some good discussion with the Sr. Pastor, I am going to preach a little less frequently and take over the children’s Sunday Church.
The reality is this: our children are a blessing. They are a gift from a God and as such they must looked after. Jesus reminds us in scripture to not inhibit the little children from coming to Him; He reminds us that we should believe in Him with the Faith of a child; He raised a little girl from the dead for her parents, he cured the blind son, he healed the Roman’s daughter, and on and on. It is clear that is a priority when you become a parent.
That said, I’ll be moving back to the role of leading Sunday school for the children. We need to teach them the basics of the faith. Actually, do you know the basics:
The 10 Commandments
The Golden Rule
The Beatitudes
The Great Commission
The Roman Road to Salvation
The Sacraments
And many, many more…
If you know these, odds are you have your parents or your Sunday school teacher to thank!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Want to know the Lord? Then, fear the Lord!!
I have been so busy this week between National Day of Prayer and prepping for this week's sermon, but I think the Lord really has led me to a great place. I have really enjoyed all of the activities of this week and the direction the sermon is taking, here is a sneak peak:
Psalm 25: 14 “the Lord confides in those who fear Him, He makes His covenants known to them.”
...So then I contend that as long as our greatest fear is how we will meet the bills next month or when we will be married, or if we have enough groceries for tomorrow, or if we are popular, or how we look, then those things will dictate how we live our lives. It is not until our chief fear is the Fear of the LORD that we will live our lives fully for God.
Some people think that to fear God simply means to respect Him but it is clear through scripture that this idea of respecting God undermines the true meaning and depth of what it means to fear God. Jonah 1:17, "But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights."
Do you think it was respect Jonah had for God when he was swallowed up by the great fish. Think about this story for a moment. You have heathen sailors harboring Jonah, a man who is fleeing the living God. God brings a great storm up on the waters and begins to dash this boat to pieces. Eventually the men are told by Jonah that they should throw him overboard. When they do the waters become calm and the storm dissipates. The heathen men then bow down and worship God! They even offer sacrifices to Him. This is not a result of respect but of Holy Fear! Jonah meanwhile is in the great deep in the belly of a fish. Do you think that Jonah was thinking to himself "man, I sure have a lot of respect for that God." No. I believe rather that Jonah had a Holy Fear of the Lord God.
Or consider the passage in Exodus 20:18-21- 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
The people believe that if they go near the mountain of God they will die, this is not simply respect. It is not only a respect that they hold for God but rather a Holy Fear....
For the whole thing come join us on Sunday, or check out our FB page next week. Be blessed!
Psalm 25: 14 “the Lord confides in those who fear Him, He makes His covenants known to them.”
...So then I contend that as long as our greatest fear is how we will meet the bills next month or when we will be married, or if we have enough groceries for tomorrow, or if we are popular, or how we look, then those things will dictate how we live our lives. It is not until our chief fear is the Fear of the LORD that we will live our lives fully for God.
Some people think that to fear God simply means to respect Him but it is clear through scripture that this idea of respecting God undermines the true meaning and depth of what it means to fear God. Jonah 1:17, "But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights."
Do you think it was respect Jonah had for God when he was swallowed up by the great fish. Think about this story for a moment. You have heathen sailors harboring Jonah, a man who is fleeing the living God. God brings a great storm up on the waters and begins to dash this boat to pieces. Eventually the men are told by Jonah that they should throw him overboard. When they do the waters become calm and the storm dissipates. The heathen men then bow down and worship God! They even offer sacrifices to Him. This is not a result of respect but of Holy Fear! Jonah meanwhile is in the great deep in the belly of a fish. Do you think that Jonah was thinking to himself "man, I sure have a lot of respect for that God." No. I believe rather that Jonah had a Holy Fear of the Lord God.
Or consider the passage in Exodus 20:18-21- 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
The people believe that if they go near the mountain of God they will die, this is not simply respect. It is not only a respect that they hold for God but rather a Holy Fear....
For the whole thing come join us on Sunday, or check out our FB page next week. Be blessed!
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