Sunday Ups and Downs

We had a good attendance at Smith Chapel yesterday.  I got to teach about the importance of being connected to church.  Our text was 1 Corinthians 12 and I read from verse 4 to the end of the chapter.  While reading we noted that this chapter is about more than simply trying to figure out what our spiritual gifts are.  The bottom-line is that God connects us to The Church, the church, Him, and connects us (the church) with a lost world so that Jesus can connect to those who do not know Him.  That is it in a nut shell. 

During our service we able to baptize a man, which connected him to The Church, and hopefully to the our church too.  It was a good moment in our worship.  Some of his family was there with tears in their eyes.  This helped us as a Body to focus on Christ and the importance of knowing Him which led to singing praises from our hearts. 

Later, a young man shared with me that he is a universalist.  I hate to admit it, but it is refreshing to meet someone who is honest in the Bible-Belt about their view of God.  Most really do not know what they believe and why they believe.  He challenged me to dig for intelligent answers.  It has been a long time since I’ve focused on Apologetics.  It might be time for a refresher.  Nevertheless, for those who think that there really is not much of a mission out there that requires Christians to share Christ, here is your reminder. 

Finally, I capped off the day going to see someone who might be hours from slipping into eternity.  This person has not received Christ as Savior and Lord.  These are always tense moments for me as a pastor.  There are nurses and family around who do not want you to bother someone who is passing away.  I understand.  However, we must realize that receiving Christ is also how someone can pass away peacefully.  I asked the question, “Would you like to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior?”  There was no answer.  We must remember that God gives us all a choice.  I wish I had better news, but I don’t. 

Sunday started out with a sense of victory, but it ended with the reminder that there are still many who do not know who Jesus Christ is.  Further, there are many who choose not to know Jesus Christ.  Yet, God is merciful and longsuffering.  He continues to astound me by trying to save right up to the last breathe.  To Him be all glory and honor forever.

Sunday Recap

• 59 in attendance this morning.
• Several more came to our dinner after church.
• One thing that everyone comments about our church is that our ladies know how to cook. 
• It looked good seeing our sanctuary full today.  It is a reminder that we are going to have to move forward by faith to grow larger.  We really do not have enough parking or seating to seat people comfortably. 
• Our District Superintendent delivered our morning message.  Buddy Rampey taught on the Jesus’ parable of The Mustard Seed.  It was a good reminder that God can grow something large out of something small.  Matthew 13. 
• We cancelled our PM service since we had a long afternoon eating and a board meeting. 

Sunday Recap

Here’s the breakdown for our service today.

• 47 in attendance
• 30 for Sunday school
• Rainy Sunday
• Sermon Series “Encounters”
• Sermon title “Betraying Christ”
• Sermon text Matthew 26:14-25
• Subject: As a result of divided loyalties Judas finally betrayed Christ
• 3 ideas why Judas betrayed Christ while it was foretold that Jesus would be betrayed, Judas showed that Greed betrays Christ, Christ was of little worth, and he fooled himself.  Greed caused him to dip into the treasury as John pointed out.  Amazingly, Judas desired money even though he witnessed Christ teaching that you cannot serve both God and money.  This desire for money actually demonstrated the little value that Judas had for Jesus Christ.  He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver!  Mary of Bethany in contrast demonstrated how much Jesus was worth to her when anointed Him with the expensive perfume.  This helps us to see that Judas really betrayed Him for small cash.  Judas ended up fooling himself because he was one of the 12 who Jesus sent out to cast out devils, preach, and heal the sick.  In other words, he was able to perform the works that Christ does.  This means that although Judas heard Jesus teach that when Judgment comes there will be those who performed all these types of things, and yet, the Lord will say “Depart from Me, for I never knew you.”  This means that he only fooled himself into believing that he was squared away with Christ, but was not. 
• Three questions that all Christians must consider are: Are you betraying Christ through greed?  In other words, loving money more than Him.  Which one has your heart?  Are you betraying Christ by demonstrating that He is worth little to you?  This can be done by chasing whatever divides your loyalty for Him.  Oh, let’s say, . . . not showing up for church when you really can.  Choosing other things over what Jesus has called you to do.  Putting other things like money, family, friends, and the things of this world ahead of Him constantly.  Are you fooling yourself believing that you are squared away with Christ?  This means that you are a Sunday morning Christian only.  You preach Jesus but do not really live for Him.  May be you have taught His Word, but you don’t have it in your heart.  May be you have guided others to Christ but you yourself are really far from Christ.  This sounds like a large piece of the American Christian Church. 
• We had a song service during PM service since Pastor Jon and I went to a Growing Pastors Dinner. 
• The trend that I see in our church is that there is a third of our people that are missing on Sunday mornings.  One third is absent, but then the third that was missing the Sunday before returns to take their place. 
• I felt the Spirit’s Presence again this Sunday.  Praise the Lord! 

Sunday Recap

Sunday was awesome!  God moved and people responded!  So here is the recap.

• I took my part in preaching the Encounters Series.  I spoke about Caiaphas rejecting God’s Will.  The Scripture that I used was Mark 11:15-19, 27-33.  Because Caiaphas was ultimately in charge of the Temple, here are three things that he rejected; right worship; caring for others, and God’s Authority.  The problem with worship was that the Jews were not keeping God’s Temple Holy.  The priests had a scam for money going in the Temple.  They were selling pre-approved animals for sacrifice.  The priests rejected that Jesus is the Lamb of God and therefore, rejected His judgment upon the Temple.  Caiaphas was finally persuaded officials that Jesus should be put to death as the ultimate rejection. I asked three What if . . . questions.  What if Christians did not reject right worship of Christ?  What would The Church look like?  What if Christians did not take advantage of others, but really cared?  What would The Church look like?  What if Christians really accepted God’s Authority?  How would we live our lives?  What would The Church look like? 
• We had 45.  This is discouraging. 
• We had around 7 come to the altar to move closer to Christ.  This is awesome!  Praise the Lord!
• I noticed a sincerity in several to win others to Christ.  This is encouraging. 
• Giving was up. 
• I pointed out that most Christians give 10% of their income.  The problem with this is that many Christians limit God to just 10% of their income.  What I mean is that they only allow God to God of that much, and they limit His Authority to only the financial aspect of their lives.  Because we don’t want Him to have access to the other 90% of our income.  We also don’t want God to have access to our time and personal lives.  This is the danger of paying 10%.  We clear our minds of any other responsibilities.  Many think, “I’ve done my part.”  Yet, the question remains, “Have you really?”  I think that God is interested in more than money. 
• Sunday night was mediocre.  We split into men’s and women’s groups.  The men talked about Holiness.  What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? 
• As I look back at Sunday, I think it was a good time of worship.  Yet, I see that it was not good enough.  We must, as a church, begin to deliberately win Sunday back.
• I think Sunday has been lost to recreation, relaxation, and retailization.  I had to have another R.  People, let me tell you straight.  God knows if you are really His or not. 
• If you are cutting church without a legitimate reason, then you are missing the mark.  Please do not respond to this post that you can be a Christian without going to church.  I don’t think so.  Unless you are in a country that does not allow you to.  That talk just makes me tired.  I bet when we all get to Heaven people will enjoy being in a worship service with each other. 
• Finally, thank you Lord for new believers.  Amen. 

Sunday Recap

• This Sunday I finished my series called Survey Says . . . The topic was What does the Bible say about Heaven and Hell. 
• The Bible points out that Heaven and Hell are places where we will exist forever.  The Bible also says that we will choose one place or the other by how we live our lives and put our trust in.  We can only reach Heaven through a relationship with Jesus. 
• We had 38 today which was good since there was a threat of a snow storm.  Yet, we are not really risking a lot to worship Christ when you consider The Church in China.  They risk it all every time they meet.  And they still meet. 
• I cancelled the night service.  We finally got about 5 inches of snow. 
• I received prayers, cards, and support from my church since I had to go to Indiana to do my grandmother’s funeral last Sunday.  I have a good church.  I know pastors who struggle because their congregations do not step up and love them with action.  So all that Smith Chapel did for me meant a lot to me. 
• I used a picture of Jesus during my sermon.  It is from the 60’s I think.  It hangs in our foyer.    Wow!  He is in a black robe holding a sheep.  He is in the country too. 
• Peace.

Sunday Recap

We are in the middle of our series “Survey Says . . .”  As I think I have mentioned earlier, we handed out a list of topics that the church was able to vote on so that they could hear a sermon about it.  Last week was The Difference Between Wesleyans and Baptists.  That sermon was a very hard topic to preach.  I think that it should have been a topic for Sunday school; but not everyone will come to Sunday school.  So it seems that the pulpit has had to take on some of the Sunday school responsibilities of teaching.  I think that is good in some ways, but I am still a supporter of Sunday school.  So here is last Sundays recap.

• The topic was Why don’t I get along with others.  The sermon was Harmony with Others.
• The main point in the message was that our relationship with others reflects the health of our relationship with Jesus Christ. 
• Scripture was Ephesians 4:15-32; yet, all of Ephesians 4 and The Sermon on the Mount give direction on this topic. 
• The first point was change brings harmony.  In other words, we must dies to ourselves so that we can truly repent.  Repent means to be sorry enough to make a 180 degree change.  Paul said “Put off the old man.”  Change from who we were before we met Jesus Christ.  That old person was influenced by the way the world sees things.  As Christians we know that the world is against Jesus Christ.  So we cannot please God by allowing ourselves to be influence by a fallen world.  We must die to that way of life.  If we allow ourselves to be influenced by the world, then there will always be conflicts between us and others. 
• The second point was that we must sacrifice for harmony.  In the world, when there is a conflict between us and others, and if we are not able to find peace, someone will suggest that we sacrifice for the sake of peace.  Yet, when the world suggests that we sacrifice this means that we compromise.  So that type of sacrifice is out of the question.  Paul points out in Romans that we are to present our “bodies as living sacrifices to God.”  This is not a compromise that says, “Okay God, to have peace with You, I will give You this much of Me.”  Instead, sacrifice in Paul’s mind was that we give ALL OF OURSELVES to Christ.  This is “putting on the new man.”  This is how we allow Christ to change that worldly influence in us so that the Holy Spirit can dwell in us which means that He will guide us in what is right and wrong.  This is where most Christians fall short in their relationship with Christ, which reflects poor relationships with others.
• Some commentary that I gave was that there should be a time in our walk with the Lord that we know that we have died to ourselves.  After this, there should be an experience that demonstrates that we are full of the Spirit.  I don’t mean spiritual gifts, but spiritual fruit.  Before our church can, as our mission statement says, “Transform our community and world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” we must be full of the Spirit.  Everything that we do flows from this central point.  We cannot care for others until we are surrendered to Christ and transformed ourselves by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• The last point was the Paul showed the way to harmony by giving direction about what a Christian life should like after “putting off and putting on.”  After being transformed by Christ, on the inside, we will desire not to do sinful things against our neighbor.  As a matter of fact, other people can do things that would anger others, but because of the love in our hearts for others, we will not want to do wrong to them when they do us wrong. 
• We discussed Holiness, a.k.a Sanctification, in our Sunday night Wesleyan Men’s group.  I shared what my experience was as well as failures since my experience. 
• The Wesleyan Women went to a lady’s house who has recently become a shut-in, hopefully not for long, and this is what I think it means to be part of a Christian community.  I endorse this.  We don’t have to always be at our church for a Sunday night service.  We should be in each others homes. 
• We had 41 in attendance for our AM service. 
• 31 for Sunday school.
• 31 for Sunday night. 
• Could these numbers indicate our relationship with Christ as a church?  We minister to approx. 70 different people.  And these people all come on different Sundays but we never get over 55 in attendance.  And, it was 74 degrees Sunday, very suspicious looking.  I have to say, I was tempted to call in sick .

The bottom-line is that we are in tough times as a nation.  It is imperative that each Christian be sold-out completely to Jesus Christ.  This means that He is first all of the time.  Every comes after Him.  It is time to quit being luke warm.  He will spit us out of His mouth if we remain this way.

Sunday Recap

• Yesterday there were approximately 51 in attendance.  Some are sick and have various health problems.  So this is not bad. 
• Sunday school only had 31 people.  I just want to remind everyone, again, that this is the best time to learn.  Or, be in a small group.
• We started our series “Survey Says . . .”  Pastor Jon and I handed out a ballot with several different topics to choose from about what everyone would like to learn about on Sunday morning.  The winning topics are, What is the difference between Baptists and Wesleyans.  Why don’t I get along with other people.  Heaven and Hell.  And, What does it mean to be a Covenant Member of The Wesleyan Church.
• The first topic that I tackeled yesterday was the difference between Baptists and Wesleyans.  Here are 3 doctrinal differences between both. 

1) The Church.  Baptist churches are autonoumous.  They are able to govern themselves and can establish each churches core beliefs.  There is not one church over another.  These local churches are led by the church board and pastor.  The pastor cannot be a woman.  However, women are recognized as having gifts for ministries besides pastoring churches.  This information was according to the Southern Baptist Convention.  I compared other Baptist churches associated with the SBC and found that they are not all alike.  Some beliefs listed on the SBC web site were listed while others were excluded.  Wesleyans are a denomination.  In other words, we submit to governing authority.  We also believe that women can be pastors.  Both sides have their Scriptures so keep that in mind.  This includes government at the local, district, and general levels.  Each Wesleyan church has the same doctrine without variation; at least on paper.  Wesleyans also see The Church as including those who in Heaven.  I think that is awesome.  I may share thoughts about this later, but consider how special it is to take Communion with this in mind. 

2) Regeneration, also known as ”The New Birth” is a looked at differently by Baptists and Wesleyans.  Regeneration, according to the wording on the SBC web page, seems to suggest that new birth precedes faith and repentance.  There are some Scriptures that support both views.  The Baptists use John 3:3, and Wesleyans use John 1:12-13.  There more for both sides but I will not list them here. 

3) Salvation includes, for the SBC,  regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification this is in the broadest sense.  Wesleyans include justification, regeneration, adoption, and witness of the Spirit.   

4) Wesleyans have one distinctive doctrine.  We beleive in Sanctification as a second work of grace.  This is the work by which the Holy Spirit cleanses inbred sin.  In other words, God changes our desire to sin, so that we desire not to sin.  The Baptists believe that this occurs all at once, likely because of how they see the Regeneration process.  We have Scripture for this second work of grace.  I will post links at the bottom of this post. 

5) Baptists have another distinctive, and more popular I might add, doctrine.  They believe in Eternal Security.  This simply means that you can never lose your salvation.  The Wesleyans disagree with this and believe that each individual, because of choice and neglect, can fall into sin and be in danger without repentance. 

These are what I beleive the major differences between the 2 camps.  Therefore, in my opinion, I don’t see these issues as the great dividers that they many people seem to make them to be.  Elmer Towns once said that extremists on both sides are dangerous.  I agree with him.  So if you are struggling to decide between Wesleyan or Baptist, then I say find that church that is truly serving Jesus Christ by caring for others and giving.  Whether or not it is Baptist or Wesleyan is not really a big difference.  I think both sides would agree that it is important to seek salvation from Jesus Christ and truly live for Him. 

I am a Wesleyan pastor who is at ease with somebody in my family going to a Baptist church.  On the other hand, I would be uneasy if they attended a church, Baptist or Wesleyan, that continually preached doctrine instead of proper exegesis of the Holy Bible. 

The Wesleyan Church beliefs

The Southern Baptist Convention beliefs

A site that compares the 2

• We had our Saturday hot dog community dinner this week.  We had some who do not attend our church come.  But that is not why it was a success.  It was a success because our Wesleyan Men went out and invited most of the people who live close by to come and gave them a paper with our church name on it.  This paper will let them know that we are not hiding from the community.  We are here and want to establish a relationship with them.  It will take time. 
• The dinner is one way that we are turning around as a church.  Because this was a lay driven ministry.  This means that the people in our church are becoming less satisfied to just attend church.  They are desiring to be the hands and feet of Christ.  The culture within our church is changing!
• The treasurer gave me a total of the tithes that were brought in for the month of January.  We were down about $250 a week.  I preached about tithing in January twice.  Either it is an oversight by some.  Or, it people are withholding because they are upset, or because of the economy.  If you are a Christian listen for a second, God is going to test your faith in this economy period.  If you withhold because of being upset with a pastor or a church, beware.  God takes that as you disobeying Him.  Some have questioned me about where tithing is in the NT.  Well, long story short, Jesus said give “All that you have.”  So, tithing is one way that we keep Christ first in our lives. 
• The key to tithing is this; if you are giving to a church, remember it is not you that keeps the church going.  God supplies the needs of the church; and yours too.  Giving is designed to help your faith.  It is a biblical command.  So obey God.   

I think that we are on the right track as a church.  So continue to look for good things.  God bless.

Sunday Recap

• We had 48 in attendance for the AM service.  This number should be better. 
• Finished up our last installment of the Epiphany/Incarnational Living series.  Sermon title The 21st Century Church Model.  Scriptures were John 1:14, John 20:21, and John 17:14-16.  Points, influenced by Alan Hirsch and J. Michael Walters, The Church becomes the Flesh of Jesus Christ, The Church is sent to the community and world, and The Church is the Model for the community.  I closed the sermon by making the point that the American Church must quit abandoning poverty stricken communities and bloom where they are planted.  This is how we live Incarnationally to reveal Jesus Christ.
• Sunday school was down with 33 in attendance.  I know many people think it is outdated.  Yet, I still beleive that it is likely the most important part of the Sunday worship experience.  You can find accountability, challenge, fellowship, and minister to the burdens of others in this arm of church education.  Besides, most already have Sundays marked out on their calendars.  By attending Sunday school, you do not have to mark another night out for small groups.  Either way, if you are not in Sunday school or a small group, then you are not growing in the Lord as you should be.  Both groups provide accountability.
• We had a ReFocus meeting in place of the PM worship service.  ReFocus is designed to help our church to set the goal of being missional to our community and world.  We have been forced to look honestly at what we are doing to be “sent” to those who are lost.  I think there is a mixed bag of opinions about ReFocus at our church.  We will see how this pans out. 
• Things I have overheard at our church lately, “Things are getting better.”  “We need to do more to help our community.”  “We need to minister to people who are hurting.”  “We need to be on mission for Christ.”  These comments are beginning to be joined by action with the words.  As a result, we are planning a hot dog dinner with music to develop a relationship with our neighbors and an open door to them.   Hopefully, this will lead into some salvations.
• Pastor Jon did another good job with the power point presentation with my sermon.  I wish I could show you all. 
• Our nursery is still working great and contributing a great deal to our attendance increase over the past couple of months. 
• Our mid-week service was great!  Everything went smoothly.  We are now offering a small group for adults on Wednesday nights.  This seems to be going well.  It was a good night last Wednesday. 

We are getting ready to preach on topics voted on by our congregation this month so we will see how that goes.  First out of the gate is the differance between Wesleyans and Baptists.  Oh, boy!  Pray for us.

Sunday Recap

• Some might say that this was the best service that we have had this year since I was on vacation. 
• There were 40 in attendance.  This is not bad since the roads were a little icy and the pastor was out of town.  Praise the Lord! 
• Pastor Jon preached a great message titled Who Will Cry at Your Funeral?  Scriptures: James 2, Matthew 25, 1 John 3, and Acts 9.  Points: Our words are insufficient, our money is not enough, and our legacy will be the proof.  Key Scripture is Tabitha’s funeral. 
• During the PM service, Pastor Jon showed a Tony Compolo video.  In this video, Compolo shared about a time when he was in Honolulu and he overheard a prostitute, named Agnes, tell another that it was to be her birthday the next day.  The other prostitute replied by saying, “So!”  “Do you want me to throw you a party?”  Long story short, Compolo gave her a party the next night.  He reminds us that we are also supposed to help restore joy into people’s lives as well as meet their needs. 
• Our church is beginning to grab hold of the responsibility that Christ gave us to take care of others in His famous Sermon on the Mount passage.  Awesome!
• We had a good group of young adults in service too. 

     I hope to share good news with everyone, soon, that we are helping to lead the lost to new lives.  In other words, I don’t want to just say that we had salvations, which is great to say, but I want to report that those who did not know the love of Christ have found a new hope for this life instead of simply dodging The Lake of Fire.  I want to see those who were without hope and frustrated come back to life in Christ because they realize that He wants to lead them to the type of life that they long for.  I wonder if Agnes has thought about this type of life?  Do you think that knows that there is a God who does not want her to have to live that way.  He wants to care for her.  Most who are stuck in tough situations really don’t know that Christ can deliver them.  Those who are in church really don’t realize that Christ can fix those situations too.  If we Christians really understood this then we would not be so choosy about who we share the Gospel with.  What I mean is that we put people who do not know Christ into 2 categories, those that can be saved and those who are too far gone.  This is why God asked Moses if His arm was too short once.  This is a thought for later though.

Sunday Recap

• Good worship during AM service.
• 50 in attendance with many “regulars” MIA.
• Sermon series It’s time to . . .”  Title: Glorify God by Giving. Text: 2 Corinthians 9.  God is glorified when: Giving demonstrates righteousness, Giving demonstrate equality while caring for others, Giving sets an example.  Why?  When the church does not use God’s resources properly and never gives to those in need, God’s Image is at stake.
• Sunday school was full of younger people.  47 in attendance.
• PM service; Wesleyan Men and Wesleyan Women met.
• Wesleyan Men want to be on mission to serve the community and made real plans to do so.  This is what Jesus desires His church to do.  Take care of those in need so that He is glorified and those who receive His care through us are built up in faith.
• It was important Sunday to know that when we give in response to what is laid upon our hearts that God is likely answering prayer for the person needs it.  As a matter fact,  it may simply be a need being for the person who does not even know that he or she has a need.  God knows what we have need of before we even ask for it.
• Our nursery was full again Sunday morning.  Praise the Lord!  We rapidly becoming shorthanded for nursery attendants and Sunday school teachers.