Wow...

Check out this video that someone sent to me this morning. Take 12 minutes and watch this.

It Never Fails!!!

Sometimes when we sit down as a family to eat the phone will ring and my wife will say, "It never fails!" This is a quote from her grandmother. It seems like the telemarketers just know when your about to eat and they show up right on time.

I am convinced that Satan is the same way. For the better part of three months every sermon I have preached as been about Jesus Christ; His Divinity, His humanity, His Substitutionary Atonement, His Imputed Righteousness, and the Justification issued by God. With God's blessing people have been moved. Conviction has been brought on. People are asking the tough and real questions about their salvation. And I know the Devil just hates it!!!

There has been opportunity to exercise true Church Discipline. God is giving me opportunity to confront heretical theology in some of my members.

God is moving and working and bringing glory to His name and Satan can't stand it! That is why he has shown up and is doing some things of his own. I have members fighting mind battles of fear and doubt. I have others struggling with emotional issues like depression. Some are even fighting the battle with their flesh trying to not to get angry and take things personally.

I have never been more mentally and spiritually fatigued. But I am also excited that for reasons I can't explain we have become worthy of such satanic opposition.

Please pray for my church and for me and above all else pray that God would be mighty and that He would be glorified!!!

The Marvelous Magnet

My personal Bible study and sermon time has solely revolved around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Not fluffy...make you feel good junk but doctrinal study. But I must admit that all of the wonderful doctrines surrounding Christ invoke within me more worship and awe than any pragmatic sermon or book.

Let me give you an example. The Crucifixion of Christ is so wonderful that if we only had the scriptures that deal with the death of Christ that would be enough to warrant our fear and worship of God forever.

Spurgeon called His crucifixion the "Marvelous Magnet." He said, "Preach Jesus Christ. That is the recipe for catching men's ears and laying hold upon men's hearts."

What a wonderful truth...The Son of Man lays His life done willing; to be crushed; to be cursed; to be cussed; so that sinful men might be saved!!! Who needs these modern day "ear tickling" messages and books? What could possible be better than the thing that Luther referred to as "The Great Exchange?" Christ was crushed for our sin and we received His righteousness? The imagination of man could never cook up something better than that.

Eggs, Toast, and Revelation

Monday morning I had breakfast with a good friend of mine at The Huddle House....man I love the Huddle House. We talked about many things; mostly college football. However in the middle of bashing Georgia's offensive play calling, my friend began sharing something that is still blowing me away on Wednesday.

The Church is trying to be more than it was intended to be. You see the most important thing in my life is my personal relationship with Christ; being right with the Thrice Holy God of creation. With this primary relationship comes responsibilities. For example its my job, given unto me by Christ, to evangelize and then make disciples. This according to the Great Commission, which is a call for every individual disciple. The next relationship in the created order of things is my marriage. I am called to be a husband. This marital relationship led to children which is third in the order of things. I am a father!!

What has happened throughout the ages is the church which comes after personal relationship with Christ and family has taken it upon herself to try to relieve me of my duties in the other relationships. As a result people are forsaking their God-given responsibilities because we have this idea that when the collective is doing okay we are all okay.

For example; I wonder how many people never share their faith because their church has a visitation team or FAITH team or something similar? How many people never serve in missions because they sprinkled their conscience clean by giving money to Lottie Moon? How many parents never open the Bible at home and disciple their children because they think the Youth Worker or Children's leader is teaching them all they need to know?

Are the previously mentioned programs bad things? I don't think so but they don't take the place of what I am called to do and be personally. The church exists to be a support for a person's individual faith and for the family. She doesn't exist to take the place of those things. As a pastor my conviction is to be a leader that places responsibility where it belongs and to preach and teach and pray in a way that would empower people to be what God created them to be; not to take away from those things.

Man...its amazing where God will show up and reveal things!!!

Best Baptism Service

Last night I got the chance to see the best baptism service of my life. Thad a man from my church got to baptize his oldest son, Nate. It was so intimate and sweet. Words can't really do the whole thing justice. After the service I told Thad that his pastor was jealous. I can't wait to lead my children to Christ and Baptize them.

And We Wonder Why People Don't Know Christ

After my son's pediatricians appointment I went by Lifeway to look for some material for men's bible study at my church. Man I hit the jack pot too....I found some Charles Spurgeon sermons on men in the Bible. But just a few shelves over was some of the most horrible garbage I have ever seen being passed off as a bible study. Yes that's right you can learn how to be a follower of Christ with the Beverly Hillbillies bible study. There was also one for I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Gilligan's Island and Bonanza.

I didn't know if I should laugh or set the store on fire. I thought is was a joke at first but it wasn't. Is this what the church has come to? To be honest I don't even know what to say except heaven help us!

Sovereign in Stupidity

In our world of pragmatism and humanism many people are under the delusion that God can only do great and amazing things if and when we do enough to "help Him out." In our culture we have elevated man to place of superiority and importance that he doesn't belong. We assume that we have a pretty good grip on things when in reality we are not even hanging by a thread.

God has been constantly showing me two things; His sovereignty and my complete lack of control. Just yesterday our Lord revealed to me through Scripture that even in stupidity; those moments where we act in compulsion or haste; He is in complete control and is working His will out for His glory.

Let me explain. Judges 11:29-40 is a passage that shows Jephthah making a ridiculous vow to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house if God would grant unto him victory. At the end of this story, after God gives the victory, it is Jephthah's one and only child that comes from his house. Every sermon I viewed and commentary I read said this guys was an idiot for not only making this vow but also for carrying it out. While this is certainly the case in the flesh in the spiritual realm this was the only way that the nation could be forgiven once again by God.

You see in Chapter 10:13 God made a vow; a promise. He told the nation that we was done delivering or saving them. God was tired of their idolatry and playing the harlot with other gods. The only way a vow could be broken was for one of the parties to die. God being God isn't going to die so that only leaves the nation. So in the act of, what appeared to be a random act of stupidity on the part of Jephthah God was working out a way that His grace and mercy could be shown once again to the nation.

What a beautiful image of Jesus Christ. It seems ridiculous that the only begotten Son of God would die. The Apostle Peter understood this which is why he tried to talk Jesus out of it until Christ rebuked him. Jesus died so that God could forgive my sin. Without that death, something that in the flesh seemed crazy, I would be lost and helpless.

Praise God for His Sovereign grace and mercy!!!