Missions and my service

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Acts 1:8 expresses the call of a Christian as concisely as any verse. Being a witness means sharing something that you have experienced, (in this case the gospel) during a relationship with another person. This would be considered a Christian's "mission." Then when we participate in activities that further the gospel, we are "doing missions."
Our hearts are lifted when doing something for others, or as we say at Christmas, "It is more blessed to give than receive." Because God wired us this way, our worldly neighbors have created thousands of great causes and charities to give our time and resources. While it is fine to participate in these charities, we must also devote our resources to missions also.
Each person's call to support missions is different. There are three main arms of our missions call; prayer, taking, and sending. Prayer must be made with God since we can do nothing with the gospel without him. We must take the gospel because sinners do not seek the gospel by themselves, and how can they hear, if they don't have a 'preacher.' Then sending the gospel to other places reminds us that the world is bigger than what we can touch and see. God says there will be people of every nation and tongue to receive the gospel; and that should be our mission too.
When we do special projects, do it with a prayerful heart, and intention to see the gospel shared with others. "Give them more than soup and soap, give them soup,soap and salvation!"

Calvinism and the Southern Baptist Convention

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,  Who bring glad tidings of good things!" Romans 10:14-15

This week was the 155^th meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, this year held in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Our organization’s first black President was elected, Fred Luter of New Orleans, a man with a great vision and passion for the lost.  Discussion was made whether to change the name of the convention, and instead passed a descriptor: “Southern Baptist: Great Commission Baptists.”  Also a resolution was passed affirming the “sinner’s prayer,” supporting that it takes a humble repentance of sin to God, and also acknowledging that it is not a magical set of words that saves anyone who says them.  Many other things were discussed and presented, for more you can go to www.bpnews.net for many stories.

Leading up to, and many times during the convention, much has been discussed about the teaching of Calvinism again.  This group of ideas centers around God’s foreknowledge, or predestination, of which individuals will be saved, and which will not.  The alternative view holds to “free-will,” saying that whosoever can be saved, whenever they want.  Much discussion took place during both the “Great Commission Baptist” and the “sinner’s prayer” debates over these ideas.  I believe President, Bryant Wright, summed it up best in his Convention Sermon.  Wright said, “If we pride ourselves more on being a traditional Southern Baptist or more on being a Calvinist, more than we are thankful that we are Christ-centered and biblically based ... then it is time to repent of theological idolatry.”

Whichever view you hold, I ask that you consider the verses at the top.  Remember back to the person who shared the gospel to you, and you believed.  God calls you to do the same for those around you, and one day they will think of you, as the one who showed me how to be saved.  I cannot help but think of Mordecai Ham, the man who led Billy Graham to Christ.  Who might Christ save through you?

a link to video on Fred Luter's heart and passion http://vimeo.com/44338479

Is the Church Relevant?

It is easiest to think church = God, however sometimes we resemble the worst of the world.  The church is seen by many as judgmental, irrelevant, and secluded.  There are some times we learn things about the church, from God’s word.  Other times we learn more from what the world says about the church because it causes a reality check.

Judgmental: My definition of judgmental would be making a decision without considering the facts.  It is natural for us to judge: people, situations, and ideas because judging is how we make decisions (or judgments.)  However we typically do not gather sufficient evidence to make an informed decision, we decide on first impressions.  This is judgmental.  We want people to consider our unique situation and perspective before calling us sinners, we should do the same. 

Irrelevant & Secluded: If something is relevant, it is related to the facts; so the opposite is true for “irrelevant.”  Secluded of course, is being removed or separated from.  Though it may be easier for us to sleep, we cannot ignore the ugly aspects of the world.  First this makes it easier to ignore the ugliness (sin) within ourselves.  Next it makes people believe the Bible has nothing to say, or worse does not apply to a situation.  Some situations may not have a specific verse from the Bible, but sometimes we have to use our minds to apply Christian principles.  Christians have the God of all wisdom, there is no subject we cannot address using the Bible.  The Bible addresses any problem we may come across, because it is the ‘handbook of life.’

Two secular movies sparked most of this “rant”.  “Let it Shine” a Disney TV movie, portrayed a pastor who multiple times in the movie singled out individuals in the congregation, humiliating them in exchange for a few ‘Amen’s.’ We all have sins, and would not appreciate our dirty laundry on display.  “The Blind Side” a movie about the true story of Michael Ohr, a troubled black teen taken in by a Christian family, who eventually went on to play in the NFL.  This movie was singled out by a group of pastors to remove from Lifeway stores because of a couple of lines in the movie.  While I do not want my children repeating the lines in question, the movie expresses a good message to watchers.  The world is not spic and span, so I feel the more we try to portray the church as such, we lose credibility.  Jesus came to seek and save dirty sinners, however we tend to run and hide in our churches from them.  Let us not be described with these words.

You are Not Your Own

“Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the Lord your God." So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.” 1 Chronicles 29:20 (read entire chapter)

"Stand up and bless the Lord your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!” Nehemiah 9:5b

 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Please reread the passage from 1 Corinthians.  How often have you reflected on the thought that you are God’s?  If we fully embraced this, would it affect the places we go and the things we do?  Think about your Bible, would you use its pages to clean a baby’s bottom? How about to roll up a ‘joint’?  Surely none of you would do either of those things, thinking “No, I could never use God’s Holy Word to do something so dirty or wrong!”  What about God’s holy _(insert your name)?  Every day we have the opportunity to give glory to God in all that we do.  Where will you take and use the Lord’s instrument?

1 Chronicles 29 brings us to the transition of power from King David to his son, Solomon.  This was the pinnacle of the nation of Israel’s worldly kingdom.  The first part of the chapter speaks of the preparations David and his people had made for the temple; that David had longed to build.  David gave much of his personal riches toward the building of the temple, and the people did also.    Verses 10-19 give a beautiful prayer by David praising God for all he’s done.   Israel also was called to praise at its low points also.  Nehemiah 9 shares a prayer given while the city and temple were still in shambles, after the people had been chastised for their unfaithfulness.  The Lord is worthy of praise in all seasons of our lives, and whether we have grand supply or bare necessities. 

As the prayers mentioned above, we recognize God as the source of all blessings and resources.  Israel was never blessed to make ‘Israel’ better, it was intended to bless the world (Zec 8:13), and glorify God.  Such it is with us today.  God showers us with blessings, yet they are not for our own consumption.  He calls us to minister to others with what we get.  You have been given spiritual gifts to share with others, along with material blessings.  A grand showing of this was the efforts shown in VBS this week.  Many of you gave your time, efforts, and money to minister to the kids.  Do not slow, ministry is every day!

VBS Amazing Wonders

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” Psalms 147:5 Theme Verse

“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” Jeremiah 32:17 Day 1 - God’s Power over all!

“Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.” Daniel 2:20 Day 2 – God is in control

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Day 3 – Forgiveness of sin

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 Day 4 – Jesus’ life over death

“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” 2 Peter 1:3 Day 5 – God Equips our Lives

This week we will celebrate God’s amazing glory and power through our VBS mission of Amazing Wonders Aviation: Encountering God’s Awesome Power by Lifeway.  We hope to show lots of children, how great the power of our God is.  Lest we be blind guides, like the Pharisees, we invite you to review the verses and themes above.  Refresh your own understanding of the power and omniscience of God.  This week we will use references to the natural wonders of the world, which were all created by God, to also reflect His grand characteristics.

If you cannot make it this week to interact with the children, please join us in prayer for receptive hearts, patient teachers, and a moving of the Holy Spirit.  As is your daily assignment, take the message with you this week, even when you are not at the church.  You can use the opportunity to engage those around you with an invitation to VBS, and then share some of your favorite memories.  Maybe with some leading of the Spirit, you may get to share the gospel.  We all have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life this week.  So whether in presence or in spirit, let’s work together to plant seeds, water others, harvest those that are ready, and strengthen those that have already come to fruit.  With God’s Spirit we will have a successful VBS!