Thursday 26th November 2009

Annual Bible Reading Plan: Dan 2:24 – 3:30, 1 Pet 4:7 – 5:14, Psalm 119:81-96, Prov 28:5-16

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. “But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.” “But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. “Sir,” the woman cried, “It would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” “Well, then,” the emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.

The world needs to experience a demonstration the kindness and mercy of God through believers and through the Church. Dead religion strikes out at those who do not conform, with the rod of legalism and declarations of judgments. It seeks to separate the “faithful” from sinful society lest they become tainted or infected. This was not the way of Jesus. Jesus said “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”. Luke 19:10. The religious of His day accused Him of being, “a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Matthew 11:19 Jesus was not infected or tainted by sin; rather those who He touched and befriended were restored and healed. The religious are afraid of sin because they have no experience of power. The true Christian has been changed by the power of God and filled with the Holy Spirit, fear has no place in their heart, they are free to be around those who sin, yet remain unaffected. They experience the Truth; “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

It is the responsibility of each individual believer and the Church as the Body of Christ to refuse natural minded legalism and to embrace the heart of God. Jesus said, Be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. Luke 6:36 Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel and the Gospel cannot be preached without declaring the mercy of God. There is not one man, one woman alive who “deserves” mercy. God has chosen to be merciful, He has chosen to be kind, to love those who hate Him and despise His Law.

When mercy looks out, it looks beyond the sin to the sinner. It loves the sinner, despite their sin, that it might gain an opportunity to bring forgiveness and healing. There is no requirement in mercy for mercy goes beyond justice in order to loose the chains of sin so that the affected one can walk in forgiveness and experience the kindness of God. Obedience follows forgiveness for in order to remain free one must put away the past. So it was with the woman caught in adultery. Legalism cried out for and demanded justice, Jesus offered kindness and mercy. Mercy was not deserved, justice was, but Jesus expressed God’s kindness in order to bring the woman into forgiveness and freedom. Obedience to the Word was the very last thing that Jesus demanded of the woman.

If we would reach those without Christ, we must first learn to love those without Christ. This means putting away legalistic judgments. When we judge the lost, when we declare them, their behavior or their manner of life to be “evil” and preach at them, we alienate ourselves and set a barrier between them and us. What we say might be correct, but we are expressing judgment and not mercy. Our job is not to police the world, it is to preach the Gospel and declare the mercy of God. The world is changed by the Gospel not by law.

Individuals sin because they are sinners by nature. The man or woman who lives an uncontrolled, selfish, or immoral life does so because it is the most natural thing for them to do.    This is the reason that Jesus came – because our natures were ruined by sin. The Gospel offers restoration and healing through the mercy of God.

We should remember that every individual has a story and many caught in alternative ungodly  lifestyles have a history of pain and alienation. Prostitutes are prostitutes. 2,000 years does not change who they are, how they live and what they feel. Mary Magdalene was delivered, healed and restored because perhaps for the first time in her life a man befriended her and loved her for who she was without demanding something physical from her. Jesus found her, listened to her and led her to the truth. He did not condemn her, He expressed mercy and forgiveness. He broke the controlling powers over her life and set her free so that she could embrace the forgiveness of God. Many people need that kind of ministry. Many need to be set free before they can live a different way. If we walk in justice and not in mercy we can derail that process and fail the person. Friendship is the most potent evangelistic tool we possess.

Each day that I live, I understand how precious the mercy of God is. I do not want to live under judgment but under mercy. To live under mercy, I must be merciful and let Jesus live His life through me.

Ya tenemos las nuevas fotos de TERRI, renacida como TERRA, desde su nueva casa en Ourense.

Nuestra preciosa pastorcita nos presenta a sus nuevos amigos peludos Cinsa, Otto y Peque.

« Os envío unas fotos de Terra y de sus nuevs amigos. Como veis le hemos cambiado un poco el nombre porque el de Terry no nos gustaba mucho a ninguno, espero que a vosotros también os guste más.

Otto es el más viejo de todos. Tiene 14 años y está bastante pachuchito, cataratas, prostatitis y alguna cosita más.

Cinsa tiene 4 añitos pero sigue siendo muy juguetona y además es la más cariñosa de todos.

Peque es la nueva adquisición. Lo encontramos en Ferrol abandonado y como mi madre siempre había querido tener uno pequeñito pequeñito pues lo ha adoptado. Tiene unos 5 meses y es muy simpático y mimoso.

En cuanto a Terra deciros que la operaron el lunes pasado. Como veis está muy guapa aunque en esas fotos no tiene buena cara porque fueron hechas este fin de semana y aún estaba algo fastidiada de la operación.

Un abrazo y un ladrido y un lameton de parte de Terra.»

TERRA ahora es afortunada y vivirá feliz y cuidada con sus amigos gracias a PILAR y a JESÚS.

Terra, día de su adopción

Y saberlo nos hace más felices a nosotros también.

Entrada Anterior:

27.09.09: TERRI, PASTORA ALEMANA DE 1 AÑO, BUSCA NUEVO HOGAR, URGENTE!!!

It’s here, one of America’s favorite, if not the favorite, holidays.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

First and foremost, we have a God who loves us; loves us so much that he sent his Son to live and die for us.

In the US, we have the freedom to worship God how we want, when we want, where we want. Be thankful for that. We have thousands of young men and women willing to volunteer for our armed forces and protect us. Imagine the sacrifice some of them make for you and for me.

Personally, I am so thankful for my family. I am truly blessed with an incredible wife, a beautiful daughter and a son who brings a smile to my face just by being in the room.

Now I’m throwing this out to you. What are you thankful for? Speak up and SHOUT IT OUT! Let me hear from you and enjoy this holiday.

God bless you!

Each and every Saturday of the year the volunteers with the Ministry of Hope at Cross and Crown Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, serve a feast for the homeless and low-income of the area. Approximately 50 to 70 people enjoy the hot breakfast and lunch each week. Many partake in the opportunity to attend a worship service.

The volunteers and pastors of Cross and Crown are a gift from God to the homeless. They live from their hearts, offering smiles, joy, friendship, hope and support to all who need. They serve delicious meals, give clothing, bikes, and more. They give transportation to and from the church in a church member’s van. The Ministry of Hope is NOT even part of the church budget–all costs come out of their own pockets!

The Ministry of Hope volunteers are absolutely amazing! I honestly don’t know how such a small church can do so much for so many! Some may remember that it was this same church that was vandalized around Christmastime. There was an outpouring of support from communities all around, including an awesome new Christmas tree to replace the one that was damaged by the vandalism.

I felt glad that this church was able to celebrate Christmas and feel the warmth of the community help that we homeless feel when we go to the Ministry of Hope on Saturdays. I hope to return the love and kindness someday by finding a way to help them myself, perhaps by finding them a new or used van of their own to give us rides in to and from the church. It would even grant the church the ability to give us rides to the church on Sundays so that we may attend the regular worship service–something many of us wish to do but can’t get to the church on our own.

View a pdf file about the Ministry of Hope.

In light of Thanksgiving, I decided to make a list of 30 things/people/whatever I am thankful for – one for every day of the month of November (in random order).  Some are serious; some are…not so serious.

I am thankful for…

• Matthew – my best friend and incredible boyfriend – for always being there for me, for always laughing at my jokes (no matter how lame they are)and being silly with me, for always getting excited about the things I find exciting (even the seemingly unexciting things), and for countless other reasons.
• Sweet, selfless prayers from a 9-year-old.
• New friends and opportunities for fellowship.
• Good health.
• Central Baptist Church Hillsboro – for being such an integral part of my spiritual formation throughout jr. high, high school, and college.
• Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection – because of him I am saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).
• Naps.
• My dog, Tex – because he is the best dog in the world.
• April 19, 1993 – the day my sweet Jesus saved me from myself.
• Pastor Jamie – for tending to his little flock at FBCPO and for not being afraid to step on some toes, including mine.
• Sheila & Steve Cochran – my “adopted WA parents,” who love me and take care of me here in WA.
• Music - especially The Beatles, Coldplay, and Hanson.
• Hannah – my roommate and friend – for “blessing” me (please excuse the inside joke).
• 22 years and 9 months of life. (Geez, I’m getting old!)
• My car (as old and clunky as it is) – for getting me all the way to WA from TX with no problems.
• My family – for loving and supporting me every step of the way, even when I move 2000 miles away from them.
• ETBU – for my education and the life lessons it taught me throughout (and even after) the four years I was there.
• God’s mercy and grace – that they are renewed daily.
• Ice cream.
  
• Youth Missions International – for giving me the opportunity to follow my calling and serve in the Northwest.
• The library – for providing me with hours upon hours of free entertainment.
• Weekends.
• The Jarretts and The Cooks – Hannah’s family – for being awesome and for being great friends to me these last couple of years.
• God’s faithful and unending provision.
• First Baptist Church Port Orchard – for lovingly taking me in and making me a part of their family.
• Kasie, Kenneth, and Kristen – for being the coolest siblings of all time.  OF ALL TIME.
• Mentors.
• Babies – for their sweet innocence and fresh life.
• The Venturas – Matthew’s family – for being my second family.
• The Greening Family – for being my Texas buddies here in the Northwest.

I hope all of you have just as many reasons (and more) to be thankful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

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First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. Romans 1.8

Giving thanks is universal. But having Thanksgiving is a uniquely American. Here is what I mean:

Thanksgiving is an annual event in the life of these people in history called Americans, which touches the sometimes distant but never completely detached Puritan strain that runs through them. The famous British author, Paul Johnson, was struck by this undeniable DNA in our nation, and wrote about it in his wonderful History of the American People. This strain, which sometimes lays imperceptibly dormant in good times, can spring forth anew in hard times. There were few evidences of any devout covenant-keeping Puritanism in America in times of uprising over British monarchial tyranny, or in the heated and violent abolitionist debate over a Free Kansas, or in the times of “free-of-worry,” lusty “Roaring-Twenties,” or in the desperate days of Dust Bowls and dire Depression, or in an era of “The-Times-They-Are-A-Changing” campus riots while brave soldiers fought in far-away, politically-perplexing-ever-green jungles of a “someplace over there” called Vietnam, or during the new sensuality, “anything goes” days of the post Feminist 1970s, or in the soaring economic high-times of the 1980s and 90s. But the ancient “City on a Hill” covenant seems to come to life at other times. During times when a bruised and battered American Army retreated to a now-mythological place called Valley Forge, and transformed a broken, frozen and starving American army into a unified fighting force that would ultimately defeat the mightiest power on the earth, we began to sense that covenant arising. During the times when daguerreotype images from Matthew Brady recorded a bloody brother-against-brother battle like no other in our history, we heard the voice of the sickly-thin, battle-burdened, log-cabin president who reminded us of our “better angels.” I think we saw our latent covenant come alive when our hearts broke as we watched an aging Billy Graham speak to us, a national pastor, from the National Cathedral, in the confusing days after 9/11. In such indescribably difficult times we seemed to hear the voices of our Pilgrim mothers and fathers speaking to our souls to “remember.” I think that times like these, time of economic and political upheaval, pricking our consciences, calls us to hear, or at least to listen.  And Thanksgiving is that annual time when we as Americans seek out each other, and if we don’t know why, that is why. Our American instincts, whether we are Scotch or Dutch Reformed, or English Anglicans, or Irish Catholics, East European Jews, or a new wave of Hispanic Pentecostalists or Asian Presbyterians, or self-described unbelievers, call us each and all and  we hear a voice inscribed in our collective American soul:

“There is a covenant here. You are a special people. You have a special destiny. And if you remember it you will be blessed. And in hard times if you will turn to Me I will save you. I will use You. I will send you to be that City on the Hill to a world in darkness. I have always had a plan for you. I still do. Look to me and be saved. Look to me, like those who came here and prayed for you. Look to me for your fathers and your mothers have dedicated you to Me and to My cause in the world. This is your identity. This is My destiny for you.”

Let me pause. I remember being on duty in the military and I was in another country. It was Thanksgiving. And on Thanksgiving Day, wherever you are in the world, because of everything I have now written about, you intuitively seek out other Americans. It is as if we all instinctively knew, “We must find each other and pause and give thanks. This is our day. This is who we are.” It is the voice calling us. And I have never experienced anything like it. It is when that happens that we know that Thanksgiving is much more than the beginning of the Christmas sales or sleeping through the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys football game. It is the continuation of an age old covenant made by a hardscrabble gathering of intrepid men and women who looked to a Winthrop’s “city on a hill,” when in fact there was only a savage wilderness. It is the realization that they were also looking to us. For the covenant these people made with God for themselves and for their posterity is with us today. It is real. And that covenant seems to bear down upon even the souls of those who ordinarily don’t even go into a house of worship except for funerals. Thanksgiving is different. We intuitively know it. Others, who watched, watched with wonder. “The Americans seem like they have to gather, they have to find each other, they have to eat that Turkey, and they give thanks.” I always wanted to say,

“I can’t explain it. It’s an ‘American’ thing.’”

But I think we can explain it. It is an “American thing” because this is who we are. In good times, but especially in hard times, and in times precisely like our times, this Thanksgiving, when unemployment is soaring, the economy is tentative, and when many of us are divided about what to do about it, when our troops are held up in caves in mountains of Afghanistan, and patrolling in seas off of North Korea, and when, it seems, all of know of people who are hurting because of these things, we need this Thanksgiving together now more than ever. In hard times we need to praise God at soup kitchens in Detroit, at chow halls in Kandahar, and mess halls in submarines under the Indian Ocean, and at suburban homes in foreclose in Cleveland and in mortgaged farms in Iowa. We need to thank God because to look to Him again, even in this way, a way that some might see as contrived and institutional rather than organic, is a new beginning again. It is our annual right of recognizing the unique blessing and responsibility of being an American. That was part of the deal. That was part of the covenant made at Plymouth, at Jamestown, renewed at Valley Forge, placed upon the mantle of every president ever since, and lifted up at every American dining table all over the world.

“Thank you Lord for our country. Thank you Lord for our freedom, our families, our friends, our churches, and our communities. Help us Lord to help others. Bless our troops who defend us. Bless our leaders. Help us to serve You. Help us to remember who we are and what we have been given. We have been blessed to be a blessing. Thank you Lord. Thank you.”

Our destiny is thus a destiny of thanksgiving. It is who we are. Others know it. They see it even if they cannot understand it. It is an “American thing.”

As our community of vocational formation and spiritual formation, a community of learning together and living together, called Reformed Theological Seminary, pauses, with our nation, to celebrate this Thanksgiving, I wanted to give thanks to our God as I write you. For your faith has gone far and wide. Your faith is demonstrated as I stroll across the campus of Charlotte and see you, prayerfully gathered to commit yourselves to Christ as you prepare for a test. I have seen our students at Orlando telling me about how the Lord led them to that beautiful campus because they felt the presence of the Lord there. I have heard how our professors have opened up the Scriptures to them and shown them Christ in new ways, ways that inspire some to leave all and go give their lives away to a people in another land. I have watched how families have had to struggle to make ends meat, just so they could fulfill a sacred calling that is leading them to a new city, a new place, a new way of life. I have seen the work of the Lord here in our staff. I have seen the power of the Gospel moving us in chapel, in the classroom, and in our relationships with each other. I am thankful. I am thankful to serve you. And I wanted you to know.

As Mae and John Michael and I gather with family and with a host of family from RTS Charlotte at our home, I wanted you to know that we will do our “American thing,” and seek to renew the covenant our forefathers made on the windswept shores of a New World. And we will, in these uncertain days, remember that God has called us to share His Son, Jesus Christ, with the world. And we will remember you, your faith, and how your faith” is being reported all over the world.”

“You are like a building that was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building and that whole building is joined together in Christ.  He makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in Christ you, too, are being built together with the Jews into a place where God lives through the Spirit.”  ~ Ephesians 2:20-22

Valley of Dry Bones

Daily I read God’s Word and daily I am grieved all the more at what has become of the Church.  Let me propose a question: What has become of the Church Christ built?  I have great joy in knowing that the Church He established is stronger than ever, but it’s not what the natural eye would perceive to be.  Jesus said the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church that He establishes.  He said that upon the confession of who He is would His Church be built (Matt. 16:18).   

So what do I mean by the Church not being perceived with the natural eye?  The Church that Christ has established is not an assembling of a couple of hundred people or the large building you see as you zip by on the street.  It’s not that televangelist channel you faithful watch, nor is it that revival or popular crusade you attend that is the Church Christ established and is building.  No, the Church is much more.  Jesus said He would be the one to build His Church (Matt. 16:18).  The New Testament Church is the spiritually transformed body of believers, body meaning the total sum.  Jesus spent 40 days continuing to give instructions and commands after His resurrection.  His last command was to MAKE DISCIPLES – not just evangelize (Matthew 28:16-30).  

My minor grief comes from the fact that most “churches” today are lopsided in their mission.  Fewer and fewer are devoted to fulfilling the Great Commission.  They spend more time talking about the manifesting gifts of the Holy Spirit, being volunteer-oriented,  seeking prosperity or doing mission trips (short & long term).  But the greater problem is being overlooked.  There are very few who are dedicated to obeying Christ in His Word.  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:14-16).  It can not all be put on the elders of the churches for the lack of obedience, as the true Word of God is available to all.  There however is a greater standard for those who would desire to lead (James 3:1-12).  Unfortunately, there is a plaguing trend amongst the churches to teach opinions and traditions rather than biblical doctrine – Sound Doctrine. 

As churches seek to increase their numbers with programs and flashy services, they lean more and more to a Seeker-friendly establishment rather than being a part of the Church Jesus is building.  There is a failure to trust the Lord to take care of what He started.  It is as if to say that God can not handle growing what He began.  Do not act shocked at that last saying.  Pastors and church leaders are doing it all over the place, teaching their opinions with smooth words that entice and comfort the flesh of man (1 Thess. 2).  As a result, congregations, by the truck loads, hang on to LONG TRADITIONS, never seeking for themselves biblical SOUND DOCTRINE (Matthew 6:19-21).  If you listen to people talk about what they do know of the Scriptures, you hear of beliefs long held because they were taught by their pastors, youth leaders, and their parents, but there rarely is ever any SOUND DOCTRINE involved.  Do you know why you believe what you believe?  Do you see yourself as God sees you or are you still claiming to be a part of the world by your words and actions? 

Traditions can be a valuable part of our lives.  They do have their place.  But they are only “lasting” to God when they are rooted and controlled by SOUND DOCTRINE.  Is what you believe in God’s written Word?  Are your traditions from a biblical heritage or are you on auto-pilot?  When will we receive all that comes in the free gift giving by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection?  When will we let go of our family traditions and take the opportunity to go to our heavenly Father for guidance in His traditions.  This day choose who you will serve – The way of LONG-HELD TRADTIONS or God’s SOUND DOCTRINE.  

Speak in faith, walk in faith, know the Word of God and be transformed in your life by the renewing of your mind – that only comes from knowing Jesus, God the Son, personally – not from afar with man-made traditions.  Be blessed this thanksgiving and set your mind on things above.  Today, if you are in Christ, you are a new creature…the old has gone away, the new has come.

We Give Thanks!!

1Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ, who hath enabled me, in that he accounted me faithful, having put me into the ministry.

My latest blessing was to return 3 yr old David Larty to his family in Ghana.

David had been in the USA for surgery to repair bilateral hip displacement suffered at his breech birth. He also needed a bone to be shortened in his left leg. After all these donated procedures being completed it was time for his foster family to part with this sweet courageous boy. David not being able to walk, crawl, sit or scoot since birth; now after 12 months in the USA he was able to run to his family who met us at the airport in Ghana. God is so Good!

October was a month of blessing for another boy we have in the USA for medical attention. 10 yr old, Wisdom received a heart catheterization to correct a birth defect. The large patent ductus arteriosus; a vessel failed to close after birth causing abnormal blood circulation between heart and lungs was corrected at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He also received hearing aid devices that allow him to hear at 100%. After a few months of speech therapy he will be returning to his family in Gomoa Fetteh. I know Wisdom’s foster parents will miss him dearly but are excited that he will be re united with his mother and live a productive life in West Africa.

The National Missionary Convention was held just last week and we met with friends from all over the world. African Hope is continually asked to speak through out the USA and has also been petitioned to visit several additional African nations. Invitations to share include the 4 corners of the USA any many cities in between;

Seattle Washington Portland Maine

Longbeach, California Naples, Florida

The previous 5 months have been invested in speaking and sharing in the USA. African Hope will continue fund raising as time allows for traveling in the USA. Please contact us through our website www.africanhope.com to request speaking dates. Plans being made for African Hope in 2010 include traveling to multiple African nations; Malawi, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana. Invites to Kenya, Ivory Coast and Nigeria are also being considered. It will be a year of invitation and multiplication as we visit to share and expand African Hope through;

Evangelical crusades and revivals

Youth Rally

Participating in Pastor Conferences

Development of rural schools and orphanages

Development of rural libraries

Assisting children with extreme medical needs

As we look forward we are truly excited what God gas done through this ministry in 2009. Many rural churches have been planted, hundreds of baptisms, several pastors in Ghana are now matured and training others in Kingdom Building. On July 1, Youth Rally 2009 saw over 10,000 attending and over 1,000 first time decisions. The church in Ghana is growing! Praise God!

Thanksgiving is a daily practice for this ministry; we pray you will begin daily prayers of thanks for the miracle of living this life. We also thank you for your continued prayerful support of this ministry. Please consider a year end tax deductible donation to this ministry of Hope.

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

Did you hear about the Reveal Survey?  This was conducted by one of the largest (and best in my opinion) church in the US – Willow Creek. I remember keenly waiting for the results when Willow Creek launched it because I knew something was wrong about the way we did church because it consumed people and all but neutralized their effectiveness as believers. Willow wanted to know if people were actually growing as a result of their church involvement. The results shocked them, and I’m so glad they’ve been honest about it and are looking for new and better ways of being the church.

in Willow Creek Repents? Executive pastor, Greg Hawkins says, “Participation is a big deal. We believe the more people participating in these sets of activities, with higher levels of frequency, it will produce disciples of Christ.”

This has been Willow’s philosophy of ministry in a nutshell. The church creates programs/activities. People participate in these activities. The outcome is spiritual maturity.

But in a moment of stinging honesty Hawkins says, “I know it might sound crazy but that’s how we do it in churches. We measure levels of participation.”

Having put so many of their eggs into the program-driven church basket, you can understand their shock when the research revealed that “Increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT correlate to someone becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT correlate to whether they love God more or they love people more.”

Speaking at the Leadership Summit, Senior Pastor Bill Hybels summarized the findings this way:

“Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back, it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.”

Having spent thirty years creating and promoting a multi-million dollar organization driven by programs and measuring participation, and convincing other church leaders to do the same, you can see why Hybels called this research “the wake-up call” of his adult life.

Hybels confesses:

“We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ’self feeders.’ “

In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage.

Does this mark the end of Willow’s thirty years of influence over the American church? Not according to Hawkins:

“Our dream is that we fundamentally change the way we do church. That we take out a clean sheet of paper and we rethink all of our old assumptions. Replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted in Scripture. Our dream is really to discover what God is doing and how he’s asking us to transform this planet.”

And I say what a dream!

While Dave Mallinak approaches the third rail of fundamentalist politics, I will seek my own source of theological voltage, what has been called the “qualifications of the pastor,” as found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  I’m going to focus on only one little phrase in the Titus 1 listing as found in verse six—”having faithful children.”  If we are going to guard the truth of God’s Word and our churches, then we better have an understanding of what are these characteristics of pastors and whether they are required in order for a man to have, fulfill, and then continue in this office.  I’m afraid that often men approach the traits outlined in the pastoral epistles with too many personal situations or hypotheticals in view.  Instead, we should understand these qualities and then conform our practice to them, rather than adapting them to something that will preserve our own job or someone else’s.   The two chapters are bigger than any one man or group of men.

Qualification or Disqualification or Both?

Before we think about what “having faithful children” means, I want to consider some points about these pastoral character traits in general.  In conversations I have had with others, I have heard this type of statement about these two lists:  “They are qualifications, not disqualifications.”  In other words, we might agree that men should fulfill these traits in order to be appointed to the office of the pastor, but once a man is into the office, he can’t be removed based upon a characteristic violation of one or more of these attributes.  I’ve never seen them that way, but maybe you agree.

1 Timothy 3:2 reads—”A bishop then must be. . . .”—after which are the characteristics listed.  Titus 1:6 begins, “If any be. . . .”  In both cases, we have present tense forms of the being verb, communicating continuous action.  The verbs do not refer to a point in time, but an ongoing activity.  Someone in that office must continue to live according to these descriptions.  Even before “faithful children” in v. 6, we see “having,” which is a present active participle, again expressing continuous action.  These traits must remain the lifestyle of the man in the office.

Someone might argue that both passages are talking about the commencement of a man in the office.  1 Timothy 3 describes him as desiring the office and Titus 1 as being ordained and appointed to the office.  In other words, some might say that these are attributes that need only be fulfilled when a man first starts as a pastor.  The present tense verbs do not lend themselves toward that view, that these are only qualifications, but not disqualifications.  A few more items, I believe, work against this idea to reveal it to be false.

The works of the man of God are produced by the gospel.  Gospel produced works (Eph 2:8-10) will not stop being performed.  Whatever is happening in the life of a believer will persevere, but it is God who conforms the believer into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29).  God will continue to cause the characteristic works of a Christian until his day of redemption (Philip 1:6).

We also know that a pastor can disqualify himself by his actions.  Paul certainly wasn’t speaking about losing his salvation in 1 Corinthians 9:27, when he talked about being a “castaway.”   In the various usages of the Greek word translated “castaway” (adokimos), we see it to say “disqualified.”  He was motivated to keep his body under subjection by the threat of disqualification from some type of Christian ministry.   I believe that 1 Timothy 5:19-20 lays out the procedure that should be followed in bringing disqualifying types of accusations against a pastor.

Besides two Scriptural arguments, I believe some God-given common sense comes in play here.   We understand by reading the qualifications that they were for the purpose of keeping the testimony of God and His church, to set apart the church as a unique institution on earth, unlike merely natural organizations.  “Blameless” as a characteristic relates to reputation.  It isn’t saying, “sinless.”  That’s not possible.  It is “blameless,” because when there is enough violation to ruin the reputation of the pastor, he can’t be one and should be disqualified using the ordained process in 1 Timothy 5.  After he is removed, then no man should lay hands upon him suddenly (1 Tim 5:22).  He could prove himself again to fulfill the qualifications if he has not permanently disqualified himself.  Some of the traits in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 seem to be permanent.

Who Are Faithful Children?

The word “faithful” (pistos) always refers to believers, saved people, in the New Testament.  It is never an unconverted person.   It couldn’t be referring to some kind of well-behaved, disciplined unbelieving child.  Certainly it can be used of someone who is loyal or trustworthy as a saved person, but it is always a believer and always someone who is faithful with the truth.  The word is actually a simple one that in its essence means “believing,” the opposite of which is “unbelieving.”

How “faithful” is used in Titus 1:6 is how it is used in Ephesians 1:1,  “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus,” and Colossians 1:2, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse.”   The faithful servant of Matthew 24 and Luke 12, the good and faithful servant of Matthew 25 and Luke 19, the faithful person of Luke 16, the faithful mother of Timothy (Acts 16:1), the faithful stewards of 1 Corinthians 4, faithful Timothy (1 Cor 4:17), the faithful ministers of Colossians 1:7 and 4:7, faithful Onesimus (Col 4:9),  faithful Moses (Heb 3:5), faithful Silvanus (1 Pet 5:12), and faithful Antipas (Rev 2) were all believers.  To take “faithful” out of the believing context, isolate it as if it only meant submissive to the father’s leadership without believing what the father taught, would be to distort the word.

The Greek word for “children” (tekna) refers to offspring, not necessarily young.  BDAG says that it is “an offspring of human parents” or “descendants.”  The word doesn’t mean children in the home.  There are words that do mean that, and they could have been used by Paul in Titus, but they weren’t.  If Paul  wanted to talk about little children he could have used teknion.  If he wanted to talk about babies he could have used brephos, that means infants.  It’s not an issue of the age of his children, but that his children believe without dissipation or rebellion, whatever age they are in life.

1 Timothy 3:4 requires that children of a pastor be in submission and that looks like it refers to kids that are still at home. A pastor’s children must operate under the direction of their parents.  They can’t function in rebellion against their pastor parent.  Children of a pastor as a lifestyle must be obedient to him.  Titus 1:6 brings more information to the parenting of the pastor by including that his children must show that they have been obedient by showing their faithfulness to his preaching of the gospel.

The Problems Some Have

Some do not like the idea of having the qualifications of the pastor sort of dependent on other people.  In other words, another person, the pastor’s child, could put him out of his office.  Some of this relates to belief about salvation itself.  Calvinists, for instance, would see a pastor as not having any ability to ensure that his child will receive Christ.  A child’s salvation in many Calvinists’ view is up to the foreordination and predetermination of God regardless of what a pastor does in the way of parenting.  It seems to give trouble to the Calvinist outlook, giving too much to the influence of the leadership of the pastor on his children.  They seem to see a pastor as helpless as to whether his children will be converted or not.  He must wait to see if his children were elect before the foundations of the world.

However, this idea that the conversion of one’s children is so much out of one’s control clashes with so many scriptural texts that relate to human influence on the salvation of sinners.  Matthew 5:16 teaches that you can live a kind of life that results in people glorifying God.  As a consequence of the lifestyle of the first church in Jerusalem, according to Acts 2:41-47, the Lord added to the number that were being saved.  In Romans 11:14, Paul writes that his desire in preaching to the Gentiles was somehow to move to jealousy his fellow countrymen to be saved, so that what he did would have a direct impact on the salvation of others.  In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul said he would become as weak to save the weak, a clear implication that the way he dealt with people would directly relate with whether men would be saved.   Then at the end of chapter 10, he didn’t want to give an offense to a Jew or Grecian, so that his life would lead people to salvation.  In Philippians 2:15 Paul speaks of being above reproach as a light in a wicked world so that in the day of Christ he could find out that he got some salvation impact out of his life.  He says in 1 Timothy 4:12-16 that Timothy’s conduct would ensure salvation to some of those that heard him.  Peter says the same kind of thing in 1 Peter 2:11, when he says that good behavior among unbelieving pagans would result in their glorifying God in the day of judgment.  He instructs women with unsaved husbands in 1 Peter 3:1-2 that their husbands could be won by their own chaste conduct.

We also have texts such as these that apply directly to the parent-child relationship and salvation. In 1 Corinthians 7:12-14, Paul says that one Christian parent could sanctify a home to the degree that the children would become no longer unclean but holy.   Paul intimates that a woman doing proper child training could offset the harmful stigma of the curse on women (1 Tim 2:15).  This is exactly what we see was done by Lois and Eunice with Timothy (2 Tim 1:5) with the holy scriptures they taught him as a child (2 Tim 3:15).

Scripture does not teach a fatalistic approach to child rearing without proper consideration of the impact of a godly life or the responsibility for evangelism.  Salvation comes to people through the faithful witness and godly example of other believers.  All through Scripture we are continually taught that a godly life leads people to salvation.  Election is the issue with God and the issue by which we give Him glory but it is not some explanation to embrace as an explanation for why a pastor’s child didn’t receive Christ.

I don’t apologize for viewing Proverbs 22:6 as a promise to parents:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

If he departs from it, what is our conclusion?  The parents didn’t train up the child in the way he should go.  I’m not saying that every son will be a pastor or missionary.  The qualification is “faithful.”  A pastor must have children who are saved.  I would expect his children to show the behavior fitting of conversion.  If they don’t, he should not be in that office.

What About When They’re Young?

“Are you saying if your children aren’t old enough to be saved you can’t pastor?”  No.  When they’re young, they’re under control and they are being taught to be faithful to the Word of God.  They are guided by a faithful pastor to be faithful themselves to what he is faithful to.  And some day that blooms into saving faith. The church ought to be able to look at that man’s life and see that process taking place, see those little children affirming, believing as much as their simple hearts can believe, progressing toward a saving faith.  When it comes to the point that they’re old enough to believe, they are to be faithful to the truth they have been taught.

In many ways, this becomes an inane game played by those who want to discredit the qualification.  I believe this is why the word “faithful” is used, however.  The children (primaries, juniors, even young teens) don’t have to be converted.  They must be faithful to the truth until they end where everyone does who is faithful to God’s Word—conversion.

So What If a Pastor’s Child Doesn’t Receive Christ?

If the pastor must have faithful children in order to be a pastor, then his children must receive Christ.  They must give evidence they are headed that direction until they actually do believe in Jesus for salvation.  A pastor who has a child who rebels against that teaching should not continue in the office.  He has been disqualified because he has not ruled his house well.  His children did not submit to what he taught.  If they had, then they would have received Christ.

In our nation, our movement (the largest pentecostal movement in our country) we’ve noticed a decline in the frequency of attendance even though our databases remain the same. Only a few of our really big churches are growing, but as usual most is transfer growth.

A survey was released in March 09 profiling the Christian Church of our 2nd largest city. It has a population increase of 90,000 every year yet there is a decline of Christian worshipers to the tune of 4,500 per year.

Across the denominations the Church averages two converts per annum per Church. In traditions that tend to baptise their converts like the Baptists, 93% of the Baptist Churches average 1.4 baptisms per year.

The senior pastor of the second largest church in that city wrote:

“Somewhere along the way a new generation of pioneering leaders must rise up who are more concerned with making disciples than anything else….

A more critical evaluation of our methodology needs to take place….

There is a serious need to move away from what the weekend service feels like or even the thought that the worship service is Church….

The mission of God needs to move with the people of God into their work-place and social life….”

All good food for thought.

This post continues the series of Tuesday Night Reviews.

The Skilled Pastor is a book written by Charles W. Taylor that is a practical training book that outlines specific skills necessary for effective and thorough pastoral care. Taylor integrates proper theological reflection with practice, while also including religious resources with counseling technique.

With the integration of the practical and theological, Taylor provides aspects of pastoral counseling that emphasize the importance of a pastor’s being present and engaged in the intervention process with his parishioners.

Taylor articulates his theory about counseling as the practice of theology through the model he calls the Metanoia Model. Metanoia in Greek means to “change one’s mind or attitude” (page 8). The model suggests that the best way for parishioners to deal with their problems is to help them recognize the necessary changes that need to be made that result in reduced feelings of distress and wrong behaviors. The model employs the pastoral skills of helping, theological assessment, and religious resources.

The helping skills encompass a three stage model of exploring, understanding and acting. Theological assessment enables the identification of underlying issues that cause the problem behaviors and beliefs. The religious resources include pastors, Scripture, tradition, contemporary theology and ethics, covenant communities prayer, and rites of particular church denominations (page 137).

Taylor’s model can be used in many different pastoral care settings from hallway conversations to more extended counseling sessions. The main difference in the way the model is used depends on the length of time and depth necessary to meet the needs of the parishioner. The stages are adjusted to be longer or shorter depending upon the type of conversations needed and sessions needed. The majority of pastoral counseling ranges from the short discussion to up to six weekly sessions (page 11).

The intention of the book is to share Taylor’s model. However, he is also clear that the model is a tool for pastors to have for meeting their parishioner’s needs. It is not a method to be followed in and of itself. Knowing techniques and methods alone won’t address alone the deeps needs people have. Rather, Taylor states that the pastor needs to have a proper understanding of the good news—the life-changing knowledge of Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection. The pastor’s toolbox needs to include the likes of these tools that Taylor shares along with the Manual of Life and the restoration power of the Holy Spirit to provide parishioners with access to the full range of options that quench the thirst of those truly seeking the higher things of life.

Taylor has provided a book that is rich in content and practical application for pastoral ministry. His model and the process of integrating it with theological application make for a good tool for pastors to utilize in their ministry.

I want to apologize in advance for any lapse in cohesive/fluid thought in the following ‘piece’ of my mind…i am just speaking (writing) as the thoughts come…

I am a church musician, have played for various choirs and groups over the course of the last almost 20 years…and a common ‘thread’ in the church/gospel music community is the homosexual musician/artist/choir director/worship leader.  Now I am warning you…WARNING: I AM GOING TO SPEAK MY MIND ON THIS…AND IT WILL BE CONTROVERSIAL…but I can do that because it is my blog!!

If I take a survey of the gospel artists/music that I/you listen to…the music that encourages us, makes us shed a tear, ‘ushers’ in the ‘presence’ of God, yea even represents christianity…If I take a survey, i don’t think that I would be exaggerating if I said that 85% or more of the artists are gay, or have gay tendencies (which is a stupid term imo).  The gay man has become God’s spokesperson, the person who has been ‘called’  to ‘minister’.   That is the biggest example of hipocrazy (i meant to spell it that way) in the church today.  Preachers stand up in pulpits all over the country and ‘denounce’ homosexuality, they talk about it being an abomination, demon possession and the like, but then for the altar call of that same sermon the choir or praise team leader gets up and sings a song written by the very ‘demon possesed’ character that the preacher was talking about…furthermore the person singing the song and the person accompaning might be gay themselves.

Now unless you were wondering where my stand is on homosexuality…I believe that it is wrong!  I know that I will step on alot of toes with that statement (even of some family members) but I believe what i believe…(I still love you though!!!) I am not gonna get into a biblical debate on the subject…even the homosexual themselves know deep down in their heart that there is something  ’un-natural’ about what they are doing (ironically the same term used to describe it in the Bible)…but in this day and age we want to justify all of the garbage that we do by saying ‘Who I am to judge what someone else does…”

I spoke recently with a pastor who stood up in his church (after a gospel concert) and said that the spirit of God was not there and that were 5 other spirits present…one of which he stated was homosexuality.  That statement brought heavy backlash from his own congregation! Are you telling me that it is to the point where we have accepted this behavior as normal and it can no longer be ‘rebuked’…ARE YOU SERIOUS……!!!!!!!

Ok…let me fall back for a minute…we all have our hangups…I have just as many as the next guy, so let me make it very clear….I AM NOT CONDEMNING THE HOMOSEXUAL…only God can judge…however, I am saying that we have accepted the homosexual as God’s spokesperson…the person through whom God ‘moves’ us…all the while never addressing the fact that their behaviour is in direct contradiction to the very Person they claim to have speaking through them…one blogger (http://gcmwatch.wordpress.com) called them ‘talented, but ungodly’…and I would have to agree.

We have mistakenly made the term talented synonymous with annointed and therby have allowed ourselves to be swept away into a spirit (not sure which one sometimes) by some gay dude claiming to be speaking what God told him.  Tonex even had the audacity to say that you were’nt thinking about him being gay when he was ushering people into the presence of God…that’s a slap in the face to Christianity…It’s so accepted that Leo W. McDermott II can do an album and entitle it ‘God and You’ (G.A.Y.)…ARE YOU KIDDING ME…!!!  Check out this review of an artist featured on http://christiangays.com/links/christian_music.shtml  With her sexy shaved head and velvety vocals, gender-bending diva Androgyny will surely become a dyke favorite in no time. The Nigerian-born singer-songwriter blends gospel, jazz and soulful pop into a sound so smooth we’d fall for her even if she were a straight chick – which, thankfully, she’s not.   WWWWWWTTTTTTTTFFFFFFFF! (sorry…but serious…this is blasphemy!)

Now once again…let me fall back…i listen to as much, or maybe even more gospel music than the average person…I listen to the same artists that  everyone else does…In the back of my mind however, the message is always tainted by the messenger… I am reminded of something that Bill Cosby said when talking about Denise’s marriage  on an episode of the Cosby show…he described this scrumptuos dinner in detail and then asked would you like it to be presented on a garbage can lid…That is how I feel about the music…sure, the words are uplifting, and the serve a purpose in the encouragement, and sustainance of our daily walk…but the fact that it is presented by mostly gay individuals is absolutely disheartening…and the fact that we seem to have accepted this as ok is down-right ridiculous! It also shuts off opportunities for true, God-called, annointed artist to be heard on a large scale because we only support and ‘bigup’ the gay folk…

Well now you know what I think…tell me what you think…(take some time to research what artists have to say about the GWMA and the workshops that Bobby Jones puts on…also check out the statements from Cleveland’s ’son’ http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/culture/black/articles/gospel.html)

-From the Mind of Me…

Ariel preaching.

Ariel Martinez was a guy you wouldn’t want to know–before Christ entered the picture. He was the head of two gangs here in Santiago. He was a drug abuser and nearly an alcoholic. He was completely drunk several years ago when he heard the Gospel message. Even in his drunken condition, the Lord gripped his heart and Ariel surrendered his life to God.

Fast forward 4 years. Now Ariel is in training to take over the church we planted a year ago as lead pastor. A few short years ago, no one in his neighborhood wanted to talk to him. This past week, he was told that he had been voted in as the head of the neighborhood association where he lives! He didn’t even know he was running! However, his neighbors, most of them older than he, have seen what the power of Jesus can do in a life, and want him to direct their neighborhood affairs. This is the power of God in a life!

29 November 2009     First Sunday of Advent        Today’s Gospel Story (Luke 21:25-28,34-36) reflects the early Christian communities’ belief than the end of the world and Jesus’ Second Coming were going to happen. Even to this day there are numerable attempts to determine just when they will happen. It is easier to focus attention on the possibility of the world ending in our time than to let the words of the Story speak to us in the setting of our own journey with Christ in our everyday life. Since the Scriptures are about truth, there is not just one way to understand them all the time for everybody.

The Story might be inviting us to look at our journey with Christ, to try to be aware that we are on a journey, and we are not making it alone. We may have our own dark and threatening times when everything we have become used to is thrown into confusion and all we have left is our faith, our believing in Jesus without laying any conditions on him. These can be dark and threatening times, and as we become aware of what is going on in an around us, we notice that the descriptions in the Story are not too far from how we feel.

In our own military culture the Story might also speak powerfully to our own who are experiencing Post Traumatic Stress, a very stormy, confusing, and even violent time which in its terror and confusion can be known only by those who have experienced it. The stark feeling of fright, loneliness, confusion, and anger, even violence, defy description, as in our life the “powers of heaven are shaken”. The terrible sense that no one understands or cares is devastating, and so we set about protecting ourselves, which only makes our own situation worse. The Story might remind those of us with these experiences that faith is what gets us through it. Not faith in the sense of believing the right things about Jesus, but the faith that is our choosing to believe in Jesus with us regardless of the “evidence” that would tell us otherwise. In the words of the Opening Prayer might say it better then we could since we are too close to our own situation: “Our hearts desire the warmth of your love, and our minds are searching for the light of your word”. In retrospect, these words might be right on target, although we don’t know this at the time. Eventually we encounter “the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory”. We are changed somehow, and we might spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out how and why. Nobody else really has to understand.

The big thing is we have come to know we are not alone, that life, our life, has a meaning, and this meaning is good. We know ourselves that nothing is hopeless anymore, and we no longer need any explanations, proofs, or justifications. We find ourselves “standing before the Son of Man” not being judged, but being welcomed, love, accepted. The memories might remain, but they are losing their power, and being replaced by our experience of grace. There is always hope.

Rather than being threatening, the Story is encouraging. In whatever is going on in our life the Son of Man is encouraging and supporting us, inviting us ever forward, ever deeper into our relationship with him. It offers perspective and context for the difficult times in our life, offering us the courage to face and accept our weakness and failures, coming to know them as gifts leading us more deeply into Jesus guiding us to the people in our lives. Life is good.

Descobri como acabar com o probema da saúde pública!

Dia desses estava vendo tevê e me deparei com um programa evangélico pra lá de sensacional. Tratava-se de uma “sessão de cura” conduzida por um pastor, em meio a centenas e mais centenas de fiés.

As pessoas subiam ao palco, diziam sua doença e… TCHARAM! Saíam curadas! Nos dez minutos de filmagem foram curados um soropositivo, um paralítico, um portador de câncer e muitos outros enfermos.

Bem, considerando esse poder de cura fantástico, além do fato de o pastor já se vestir de branco, pensei em algo para aperfeiçoar o nosso sistema de saúde.

Que tal colocarmos um pastor desses na porta de cada hospital público e posto de saúde do Brasil?

"Pontas duplas? A gente resolve isso agora!"

Seria genial, não?

Chegava o coitadinho reclamando de dor de cabeça e… TCHARAM! Adeus cefaléia! Outro dava entrada com traumatismo craniano e… TCHARAM! Novinho em folha!

Em casos de epidemias a gente podia fazer uma fila indina e, num método quase que fordiano, curar milhares de doentes numa tacada só! Já pensaram?

PASTORES NO SUS JÁ! E NADA DE COOPERATIVA!

Eles (pastores) teriam de fazer concurso público? Boa pergunta. E se fosse preciso, como seriam as questões? Que tal essa?

1) Se um fiel possui uma renda mensal de R$ 5.000,00 (cinco mil reais), qual deve ser o valor de seu dízimo?
(a) R$ 5,00
(b) R$ 0,50
(c) R$ 50,00
(d) R$ 500,00
(e) Depende se for dia de fogueira santa.

Esse meu país…

Tuesday 24th November 2009

Annual Bible Reading Plan: Ezek 47:1 – 48:35, 1 Pet 2:11 – 3:7, Psalm 119:49-64, Prov 28:12-13

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

In many people’s minds meekness equals weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Meekness does not mean being week, passive or complacent. Meekness does not describe the mentality of someone who avoids confrontation with the advances of evil. Meekness does not describe the actions of one who hides and refuses to act.

Meekness equals strength, for the one who is meek has exchanged their earthly weakness for His Divine strength, having become one with Him in every respect. The idea contained in Isaiah 40:31 “But But those who wait (lit – who entwine themselves around the Lord) for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change (lit – exchange) and renew their strength and power” fully describes the meek. Like the ivy plant that entwines itself around the great oak, they have become as one and have taken on the strength of the greater.

One who is meek has given up personal control and has become God controlled. Meekness is the life of total surrender. The one who is meek is the richest of all for in their surrender they have resolved to believe God and fully live the life of faith. They are unmoved by change or circumstance, being fully convinced that the Promises of God’s Word will furnish them with everything they need both spiritual and physical. “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature,” 2 Peter 1:3-4

The original deception of the enemy in the Garden was to suggest to Adam & Eve that they could live life independently from God, that in becoming masters of their own destinies they would become truly free. Of course we know that Satan’s strategy was to draw them into rebellion and separate them from God so that he might gain control over their minds and bodies through the instrumentality of sin. In responding to his advances humanity was plunged into spiritual, physical and mental suffering and pain. Ever since mankind has struggled to raise itself from the dirt and live a higher, more noble life, to victoriously achieve the goal of true independence and declare  – “see, I am, I can be free, I can be master of my destiny, I can be . . . .  god” – only to find hopes and dreams cruelly crushed by wicked powers whose only desire is to “steal, kill and destroy”.  John 10:10 God invites us to surrender to bring us into freedom, for one can only be truly free who is completely surrendered. Surrender reverses the effects of the fall, it breaks the chains of selfishness and pride that root us to the natural realm and severs the enemy’s hold.

Total surrender brings us into complete harmony with God, it is the tuning of the strings of our life to the Heavenly key. God as the master musician has sounded the keynote in Christ Jesus and invites those who would join Him in the Symphony of the Kingdom to tune their instruments and prepare to play what He has written. To be “in tune” is the priority for any member of the orchestra. Were the members of the orchestra not to “surrender” to the lead musician and adjust the tuning of their instruments to his, there could be no harmony. Instead of a glorious symphony there would be an inglorious noise. This initial “surrender” lays a foundation for what is to come, for it is a continuing meekness amongst the orchestra members that results in the release of glorious music. Meekness enables them, with others to achieve musical heights that could never be attained alone. The greatest musicians in the world understand the value of meekness, for they know that meekness does not  render them weak, it makes them stronger. It enables them to play what could never be performed alone, meekness releases them into fullness. They embrace meekness in order to fulfill their musical destinies.

If that is true in the natural, how much more is it true in the Spiritual. There is a sound that is rising. It is rising from meek people who have surrendered their abilities, their strength, their independence to achieve something greater, something purer, something more glorious. They have learned that the pathway of surrender is the pathway to destiny. This is the Church. A Church that has discarded the spots and wrinkles of independence, selfishness and pride and who has totally surrendered to the will of the Father.  This is the Church that will be anointed with power and usher in the return of the King.

When you make meekness your way of life, when you fully surrender, then you will achieve the great things God has planned for you and experience true prosperity.

It can be a little awkward running into your pastor in the wild, especially if you attend a big church where you don’t regularly interact with the guy. As a minister, it can be a little awkward to be run into. For the next time it happens, check out Jon Acuff’s list of fun games to play. My favourite:

2. Ask “is this what you do all week?”

Regardless of the “this,” that question is going to be a little awkward. Whether they’re playing golf or renewing their driver’s license, what you are essentially saying is, “Oh, see here I thought you spent all week praying. But it appears that you’re kind of like me. I suppose you need to eat too and go to movies but, I was kind of hoping when you weren’t preaching you were locked in a hermetically sealed prayer closet. Hmmm.” From Seeing your pastor in the wild | Stuff Christians Like

We are all thinking about cooking this week. Some of us will cook and others just consume! But we also need to think about the ingredients we will use to cook up Thanksgiving. And that is what the Bible will teach us in this sermon.

The following message was delivered at my beloved First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga. I loved Thanksgiving services there. And this message was given in the context of one of those enchanted Thanksgiving mornings. I shall never forget those sweet days or those dear saints of God. I pray that this message may now be used to stir some preacher to prepare for that day and to also enjoy the time that God is giving you with the sheep of His flock.

Our reading for this Thanksgiving Day service is a Psalm that is entitled  in the King James, “A Psalm of praise.” But the Hebrew word for Praise here, is the same word that is later translated “Thanksgiving.” It is the Hebrew word “Toda.” In many ways it is hard to beat the good old Authorized Version, but for pure language sake, I think the ESV, the NIV, and NASB and many other versions do better. This is a Psalm of Thanksgiving.

Let us hear the inerrant and infallible Word of the living God.

A PSALM FOR GIVING THANKS. Psalms 100.0

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the LORD, he is God!   It is he who made us, and we are his;   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving,   and his courts with praise!   Give thanks to him; bless his name!  For the LORD is good;   his steadfast love endures forever,   and his faithfulness to all generations.

Thinking about Thanksgiving in Psalm 100

A teacher from the city was sent to a small rural area of the hills to help a little community that didn’t have a teacher. She began teaching phonics in helping 1^st grade children to read. After a while, she gave her little students the words, “Thank you” in print for them to try and read. She went to this one little girl, hoping the student would use some of her newly learned reading strategies, The teacher gave the girl plenty of time to work out the words herself. After a few moments, though, the teacher decided to tell her the word: “thank.” When the child didn’t respond, her teacher said more emphatically, “Thank.” The little girl responded in her native dialect, “I AM thanking. I AM thanking!”

Well today let us think about Thanksgiving as we turn out attention to God’s Word.

I want to make just two main propositions about this majestic Psalm 100:

Worship is the will of God for the whole earth and Thanksgiving is the essential ingredient to True Worship.

True Worship is the will of God for the whole earth

First, in verses 1 and 2 we are admonished to worship, to serve him, to come into His presence with singing.

Thought this was written for the people of God, to call them to worship, we must note that God calls for His worship by all the peoples of the earth. It is God’s will for men to worship Him and Him alone. Moreover, we see that we are to worship Him in a certain way: with joy and with gladness.

But like all of God’s law, these admonitions are fulfilled out of the overflow of what God has done for us. I mean you can’t make a joyful noise without joy. You can’t serve God with gladness unless you are glad. It is like trying to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich and be depressed. You can’t do it! It is like the cook yelling, “OK! Come to the table!” That is a command that is easily obeyed for we are all looking forward to that dressing or cranberry sauce or sweet potato pie or string bean casserole. You don’t have to call twice. We’re ready! And true worship is beautiful because of what God has done for us.

So for the whole earth, much less Israel, to truly worship this God, something must happen in their lives for them to have this joy and gladness that leads to such worship. I believe that Martin Luther was right when he wrote of this passage:

“This Psalm is a prophecy concerning Christ. It calls upon all to rejoice, to triumph and to give  thanks; to enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts and sanctuary with praise: because, by the gospel and the preaching of he remission of sins, that Kingdom of Christ is established and strengthened, which shall remain and stand forever.”[1]

A.W. Tozer also wrote:

“We are saved to worship God. All that Christ has done for us in the past and all that He is doing now leads to this one end.”[2]

So worship is what we were made to do. And worship should be spontaneous. Worship happens, we could say. And it happens because of something.

The great Puritan, John Owen, wrote:

“Unless men see a beauty and delight in the worship of God. They will not do it willingly.”[3]

And that getting at something is the second and main point of this message.

The essential ingredient of true worship is thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving to God is what empowers worship. Thanksgiving is the heart’s response to what God has done. Verses 4 and 5 now unfold the power that creates worship that is made in beauty by the peoples of the earth.

We are shown where it happens, first. Then, we are shown to whom this thanksgiving is given. And at last we see, why we give Him thanks.

First, where are we to give thanks?

We are told to come into his gates, and into his courts. There are some who see Psalms 96-99 as the Royal Psalms ascribing covenantal kingship to the One True God of Israel. And thus Psalm 100 is the crowning Psalm, the conclusion of this set. And thus, David writes of God’s presence as a place where there are gates and a court for this great King.

All of this could be put, spiritually, in two ways. We are to come into His gates and into His courts privately, through prayer in the name of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. For thus we are told:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4.16

So worship happens privately, in your devotions, at your family gatherings, as you come into the Royal Throne room of God through Jesus Christ. When Jesus was crucified, the veil that separated the people from the Holy of holies was rent in twain, for Christ our sacrifice and our High Priest had entered for us. Now, we may keep this Psalm personally through our Savior Jesus Christ.

But the main thrust of this passage, my beloved, is public worship. We are to come and give thanks to God publicly.

I thank God that we have this national holiday. For it is a living testimony to the fact that this nation is a nation, at least in her history, that acknowledged God and acknowledged the necessity of going before God in public thanksgiving. Our pilgrim forefathers called for days of thanksgiving to worship God. In 1623, during a severe drought, the pilgrims gathered to ask God for rain. The next day God gave them a long, steady rain. So Governor Bradford, who was also a ruling elder, called for a Day of Thanksgiving worship. I thank God that he invited Indian friends, and so do we invite those who know not Christ to our services. We long to tell the story of His love to others, even as we acknowledge Him. My beloved Thanksgiving is an act of evangelism. For when you declare that you are dry of soul without him, no hope of life without God’s help, and then go to Him to thank Him for Jesus, and invite unbelievers, that is evangelism. May God always make this hallowed place a place of evangelism in worship. In December, 1777, the 13 colonies together declared a Day of Thanksgiving after the victory over the British at Saratoga. And the father of our country, after the birth of our nation, called for public worship and thanksgiving in 1789. And finally, Abraham Lincoln declared a day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month in 1863 and every president since then has done so.

So, it is right, that today, we come into the house of the Lord, to worship and give thanks for His blessings.

And this leads us to another question:

Second, To Whom do We Give Thanks?

We are told:

Give thanks to him; bless his name!  Psalms 100.4

His Name is the Covenant Name, the Holy name that the Hebrew scribes would not even read out loud, the name pronounced Yahweh. In every instance of the word LORD in this Psalm, it is the holy covenant name of the Lord, which is used. The Hebrews met to bless the name of the One True God who led them out of slavery and into freedom, who made promises to their fathers that from them would come blessing to the whole earth.

John wrote the purpose of His Gospel:

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  John 20.31 NIV

And Paul proclaimed:

for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10.13 NIV

And Peter joins with Paul to tell us about that name:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4.12 NIV

Let us make no mistake about it: the pilgrims did not give thanks to the Indians, but gave thanks to the name of Jesus. The colonist made their thanks in the name of Jesus. The Father of our Country called Jesus His Lord and gave his thanksgiving to Him. Abraham Lincoln, likewise, called on our Heavenly Father and signed his name, as did Washington, with “in the year of our Lord.”

The essential ingredient of worship is thanksgiving and the thanks is to be directed to our great God who covenanted with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and fulfilled His promises through the Mediator of that Covenant, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, then, we have seen that true worship in beauty is the will of God for all men.

We have seen that Thanksgiving is the essential ingredient, and we have found how to give thanks, where to give thanks, and to whom we must give thanks.

But what is the reason for Thanksgiving?

We all know we give thanks for blessings. But what blessings? The things themselves? Our families, our homes, our health, our country? No we thank God for Himself, for from God flow these blessings. It is clearly and majestically revealed in the last verse:

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.  Psalms 100.5

The goodness of the Lord is that attribute of God that allows sinners to have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and be saved. His goodness is what sent the rain to our forefathers, and brought this nation into being though we were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. His goodness is what preserved a nation in civil war, and His goodness is what preserves us today, though we have sinned against the Lord. His goodness is what gives you food and water. His goodness can be seen in the eyes of a child. His goodness is seen in the beauty of a field ready for harvest. His goodness is the ingredient in everything you eat today. That you get to relax and fall asleep is due to the chemical, L-tryptophan. L-tryptophan is used in the body to produce the B-vitamin, niacin. Niacin, in turn, is used to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that exerts a calming effect and regulates sleep. And you just thought it was the Detroit Lions that made you fall asleep! Beloved, the goodness of God is the common blessings that we all have. There is no creature on earth who is exempt from the goodness of God and that is why we should all worship Him with Thanksgiving.

And then there is His steadfast love. Those of you who have sat through any amount of sermons here know that this is my favorite Hebrew word, “He-sed.” This is the special love of God that is expressed through His covenant promises. And we are driven to gratitude in worship because of the promises of God.

This week, I prayed with a dear member of our church who lost her sister. And we prayed the promises of Scripture. This week, I counseled someone about God’s will for their lives. And we clung to the promises of God. Yesterday, I heard the testimonies of a beautiful couple led to join our church. They told me of how God’s covenant promises came true to their parents in their own salvation. This Sunday I will baptize a baby and we will claim God’s covenant promises for this child. My beloved, we worship because we are thankful. We work and seek to do good works because we are humbled and thankful. We worship because we are thankful for the “he-sed” love of our Savior. Oh praise His name.

And finally, we are told that His faithfulness continues through all generations. There are some churches who have this little liturgical saying: the minister says, “God is good.” And the congregation says, “All the time.” Then the minister says, “All the time.” And the people respond again, “God is good.” I love that. He is good. All the time. Through all time.

And that brings us to today. But I wonder if it has to really just be one day a year?

In Donald Davis’ book, Ride the Butterflies, the storyteller tells about a kindergarten teacher named Mrs. Rosemary who believed in celebrating holidays more than once a year. She liked a good celebration, and saw no reason to wait until a holiday came along before celebrating it. In fact, every Monday morning Mrs. Rosemary’s class celebrated a different holiday. In an average school year, the children might celebrate Memorial Day, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter two or three times each. Every child in Mrs. Rosemary’s class also had his or her birthday celebrated at least three times each year. Mrs. Rosemary’s spirit of celebration made that year magical for her students.[4]

Let’s make this year magical in our lives. Let’s make this year the year that Thanksgiving comes every day. For

“God is good…

(All the time…)

All the time…

(God is good.”)

References

Davis, Donald. Ride the Butterflies : Back to School with Donald Davis. Little Rock, Ark.: August House, 2000.

The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations, Compiled by Mark Water. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.

Plumer, William S. Studies in the Book of the Psalms. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust. Reprint, 1978.

Footnotes

[1] William S. Plumer, Studies in the Book of the Psalms (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust; reprint, 1978).

[2]The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations, Compiled by Mark Water, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Donald Davis, Ride the Butterflies : Back to School with Donald Davis (Little Rock, Ark.: August House, 2000).