Whats In a Name?

Ive been preparing for a new sermon series...a series that will deal with the Gospel. My desire in this is to see lost people saved and saved people set a fire.

I thought that a good place to start is with our understanding of God...and the best place to start is with God's name. My studies led me to a passage in Psalm 9:10 which says, "And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee..."

Do we lack trust and understanding because we don't know God's name? This knowing means that we understand God's character and nature. I can't wait to see where this sermon series will go and what will happen. Pray for me and my church. There is much underneath the surface. We just need revival and awakening.

The importance of obedient kids

A wonderful revelation has come to me in recent weeks about children. Ask yourself...why is important for children to be obedient? Some would say obedient kids are not an embarrassment to their parents. Otherwise might say they they want their kids to be obedient for their safety. While these are valid these answers to the question are no different that the answers that pagan parents would give.

It is in Ephesians 6:1-3 that much is revealed about the spiritual implications of obedience. In order to understand the context of this passage the reader would have to back up to chapter 5:15 and then read. Paul teaches us that God wants us to be wise, understanding, spirit-filled people. Those who fit this description will follow proper authority in their life. For children this is their parents. Therefore the reason I want to raise my children to be obedient is much more important that their safety and my embarrassment. I want to teach them how to live a spirit-filled, wise life by submitting to authority.

If only we could get our churches to embrace this truth. Maybe just maybe there would be more who were obedient to Christ!!!!

Ministry of The Wife

The bible is clear that there is nothing new under the sun. However, I firmly believe that we need to be reminded of some things from time-to-time. Now if I would have published this blog in the days of Spurgeon, Luther, or Whitfield they would have said, "well duh." But in today's culture the things I am about to write seem foolish.

I believe the bulk of the problems and sin in the modern-day church are the result of people being unbiblical in their homes. You see I am preaching through Ephesians 5:22- 6:4 and some things have occurred to me.

I just finished preaching on submission of wives to their husbands. You could see the lack of comfort on the faces of many of my people but I preached anyway. Most of us are blinded by feminism and we lack a proper understanding of this role and ministry of the wife. The thought that a woman should be subject to her husband is repulsive in our culture; a culture that is making men and women equal in all things. But we can't get away from the scripture! As I began to sink my teeth into the truth of God's Word something hit me......the lack of submission to God by the church is the result of the lack of submission in the homes. No wonder we have generations of people who think they can ride co-pilot with Christ; its because of a generation of men and woman who are trying to wear the paints together in their marriages. No wonder our children don't listen to and respect authority; they don't see their parents practicing biblical headship and submission at home.

I know this seems like mindless ranting but think about it! Pastor's and teachers can't undue what is being done at home. One or two sermons a week isn't a drop in the bucket compared to all the unbiblical actions or in actions taking place in the home. So I beg you wives out there to be biblical in your role and submit to a husband who shows biblical headship. It effects much more than your marriage...it effects the church.

Amazing....The Power of the Gospel!!!

This week I began some pre-marital counseling with a couple that has asked me to perform their wedding service. In session one I simple gave them some books to read (of course Family Driven Faith was one of them) and I hit the highlights of what we would be discussing. However, in session one I revealed to them that not one thing we would discuss in future meetings would matter at all unless they were both "born again."

I told them that I was not a "marring Sam"; just looking to marry anyone who asked me to perform a service. You could tell the brutal honesty was a little uncomfortable for them but they listened. I then proceeded to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When I was covering the part where Christ was crushed for our sins the young man of this engaged couple became almost pail and quiet. He was no longer nodding his head and saying "yes sir" but he was listening to every word coming out of my mouth...not missing a single point.

Before I could call for repentance he stopped me and simply said, "To be honest I don't believe I am saved." This was huge because he knew that I would not do their service if they were "unevenly yoked". But he wasn't thinking about marriage to his fiancey but marriage to the Bride Groom, Jesus Christ.

If you are reading this please pray. I left this guy with the Gospel and his conscience that night. We will meet again in a few weeks and I pray he will have gottened saved.

Spurgeon's The Man!!

I want to be more like Spurgeon. If only the church would have listened to this. Things would be much different today. Take 6 minutes and let this hit you where you are.

All About Jesus

In recent weeks a revelation has hit me. All of Scripture is about Christ. Now before you say "amen" take a moment and think. What is the first thing you look for or ask when reading scripture? For most the answer is self. We look for the application or the meaning for us. What it teaches about God is usually a distant 2nd. Not only do we look for how the scripture is for us but we look specifically for the positive application not he negative.

As a minister I can definitely say much repenting has been taking place in my life. For years the first thing I looked for in sermon prep was the application for me and my audience; always looking to make me and the congregation "feel" better about our plight. What a load of garbage!!!

Scripture...from Genesis to Revelation...is all about Jesus Christ! It is all about His glory, nature and character. It is not about me and my preaching, praying and teaching should reflect that.

Now don't misunderstand me. I believe there is much to be applied from scripture but I thinkt he application will change when we start looking at it from the standpoint that its all about Jesus.

Just a thought for today.

The Bible and Parenting

I am preparing to speak at a church this Friday night to the men's ministry group and their wives. I wasn't given a topic so that means I am going to hit them with the truth that men and women in our churches are not living up to the expectations that the Bible places upon them. I will discuss multi-generational faithfulness. I will hit them with the idea that it is the parents job; not the youth pastors or Sunday school teachers; to disciple their children.

Basically I will speak about all the stuff that has caused some people and pastors to look at me funny or even label me as a man "on the other side of the spectrum."

But today I was looking at the most recent copy of the Christian Index. On page 18 there is an interesting article about the role of faith in parenting. What gets revealed is that men and women who claim to be Christian have no idea what the bible says about the role of the parent. When the 1200 people where asked what mattered most; being godly or having faith was only mentioned by 9% of the people. However, 77% of those interviewed identify themselves as Christians.

Why oh why are we so focused on the world? Revival and awakening will never happen in our churches until it first happens in our homes!!! Until we understand that the fall-away rate of our youth and the abscense of the 20-somethings is directly related to the lack of good biblical parenting things will never change.