For the Glory of God and the Kingdom

This January I am launching into a new sermon series entitled For the Glory of God and the Kingdom. On Sunday we will be looking at Luke 17 with the story of the ten lepers. In that story the lepers called Jesus master and begged for his mercy. Jesus tells them to present themselves to the priest and while they are on the way, the lepers are miraculously healed. However, only one of them returns to give glory to God. The Bible does not tell us why the other nine men did not return, but we must be careful not to condemn them before looking at ourselves. How often does God bless us, and we fail to thank him for his blessings? How often do we fail to thank God for the blessings we enjoy on a daily basis? As a church, our desire is to grow, so are we thanking God for what He has already given us, and are we prepared to be entrusted with others? I really don't want to put a time constraint on this message series because the lessons are too important. If we can get a hold of the importance of God's glory and God's kingdom, I believe it will change and transform our church. In January we will have churchwide evangelism training during our Sunday school hour. If we're going to ask God for greater witnessing opportunities, we need to be ready. Let us start the New Year right be preparing for what God is going to do.

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Conference Pics

Just got some new pics from the conference. If you are interested, check out the new album on FB. I will probably add some of the pics to our Marriage University site at www.marriageuniversity.net.

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Yes It Is Worth It

We just got back from Gettysburg and had a great conference with Wanted Marriage Ministries at the beautiful Eisenhower Inn. We had the opportunity to teach three sessions and God really blessed. It will be exciting to see what God does with this conference in the future. I'm not sure how you top having Harold and Bette Gillogly as keynote speakers, and music by Calling Levi. We really felt that the couples there were fully engaged and sincerely wanted to put the truths they were learning into practice. For all the Marriage University alumni who read this blog - thank you for your powerful stories and encouragement of our ministry. Whenever Crystal and I drive home from a marriage conference, we are exhausted. But when we ask whether the time and energy was worth it, the answer is always the same, "Yes, it was definitely worth it! You are definitely worth it!" Please stay in touch with us through marriageuniversity.net or look us up on facebook. Love you guys.

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Make Peace, Not War

We are going to Gettysburg to make peace - not war. Crystal and I have been asked to do three workshops at Growing Together Hand in Hand, a conference put on by Wanted Marriage Ministries. This conference was organized in response to LifeWay's Festival of Marriage pulling out of Ocean City, Maryland. The keynote speakers for this event are Harold and Bette Gillogly, and Calling Levi will be leading the worship. Whenever we teach at an event, we always ask friends and readers to pray for us. In an event this big, there are bound to be husbands and wives who see this conference as their last ditch effort to stay together. We know that we're headed into spiritual warfare because the devil would love nothing more than to destroy these couples and devastate their children. If your church does not currently have a marriage ministry, you might want to pray for God's guidance (and your pastor's blessing) in starting one. Your pastor may already have too much on his plate to lead this kind of ministry, but a successful marriage ministry might lighten his counseling load and strengthen the church overall.

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Born to Be Wild

I pulled into the church parking lot like I do most days, went into the building and started towards the stairs to put my lunch in the refrigerator, when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and was confronted by a rugged middle-aged man named Kevin who had obviously led a rough life. He wore a t-shirt with a flaming skeleton riding a motorcycle, a hat that said "Rebel" and sported tatoos on his arms. At first I was apprehensive, but that all changed when, a few moments later, Kevin broke down crying right in front of me. He told me that his brother recently died of heart failure, and that he was looking for some kind of closure for his brother's death. I began to talk to him about Jesus Christ, but he said, "I don't believe my brother was saved, but I don't believe in hell." I said, "We don't get to decide what we want to believe about God, and what God has placed in His Bible. The same Bible that tells us that there is a heaven also tells us that there is a hell - we cannot pick one and leave out the other." I asked him if he was with his brother when he died, and Kevin said no. "Then how do you know that he didn't call on the name of the Lord before he died?" Kevin did not know. In fact, he told me that his brother was afraid to die. I did not want to offer false hope, but sometimes we assume that a person died lost, when they could have called on Jesus before they died. The thief on the cross had nothing to offer God, but in the last moments of his earthly life, he called out to Christ and God saved him. I was able to share Jesus Christ with Kevin and challenge him to get into a good Bible-believing church when he gets home to Jacksonville, Florida. He told me that he was just sitting over at the bus station across the street, waiting for his ride, when he saw me pull up to the church. Kevin said, "Something told me, go across the street and talk to that man, and I sure am glad I did." I was glad too. We can plan our days and fill in our calendars, but God doesn't wait for appointments. Before Kevin left, we had prayer together. He gripped my hand tightly and I asked the Lord to give him the closure needed in his life. With tears in his eyes, this rugged traveler gave me a big hug and joined his ride leaving Fredericksburg. Afterwards, I thanked God for reminding me that He still speaks to the hearts of people. Out of the blue, God can send someone our way who desperately needs a representative for Jesus Christ. And when He does, we must be ready.

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A Proud Papa

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter came onto the platform at the end of the service and (in front of the whole congregation) whispered in my ear, "Daddy, I'm ready to be baptized." It caught me completely by surprise and made me very proud. On Sunday Lauren followed through with her commitment and I had the privilege of baptizing my own daughter. How many people get to do that? It was really cool. Another thing that was cool was how a video clip we showed in the service a few weeks ago influenced another little boy in our church to get baptized. After watching the video, he told his mother, "I want to be baptized." We are living in a visual generation, so why not use what will reach them, and challenge them to live for God? When I think about this world, it has nothing good to offer our children. We have to teach our kids to be in the world, but not of the world. We have to lead today's youth to follow Christ because serving Him is the only thing that will bring lasting satisfaction, both here and in eternity. I don't know the future, but my daughter just took a step in the right direction - and for that, I'm a proud papa.

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Where Is the God of Elijah?

I promised to blog about the end of our Elijah series since we were running short on time two weeks ago. I mentioned that God wants us to have hearts like Elisha in that he would not leave Elijah's side no matter what. We need to have some holy ambition and hold on tight to God, even when it might seem like God is the one pushing us away (Matthew 15:21-28 and Luke 11:5-10). But beyond seeing ourselves in Elisha, I believe we see Jesus in Elijah. There are many similarities with both of these powerful prophets. Elijah and Jesus performed many miracles, stood for righteousness, walked closely with God (though Jesus is God), finished their earthly ministry, were taken alive into heaven (of course Jesus was resurrected), had witnesses that watched their ascension, and both will return in the last days (John 14:1-3 and Malachi 4:5). The real question is, do you believe we are living in the last days? Do you agree with Peter's words in Acts 2 when he said, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation?" If we are living in the last days (and I believe we are) then it should cause us to have a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing our faith with others. All around us are lost people who will spend eternity somewhere, and we have the message they need to hear to be saved - saved from a perverse generation. We might live to, one day see Christ's return for His church. And on that day, all believers will be like Elijah and Jesus, called up to be with God for all eternity. What a day that will be.

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Elijah picture from Crossroads Fellowship in Raleigh, NC

An Offering God Can Respect

I'm currently reading through the Bible and came across something interesting in Genesis 4:3-5. The Bible says, "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering." Notice how God joins each person to their offering - Abel and his offering . . . Cain and his offering. I've often heard the teaching that the reason God rejected Cain's offering was because it was not an animal sacrifice. I'm not sure this is right. Pastor Robert Morris in The Blessed Life points out that Abel brought of the first of his flock, but Cain brought his offering in the process of time. God received other offerings in the Bible that were not animal (blood) sacrifices, so what's the problem? The problem was Cain's heart, not his offering. And because Cain's heart was not right, he did not revere God highly enough to put him first the way Abel did. This is evident later when Cain kills Abel and has the audacity to say to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" So God sees our offerings as linked to the condition of our hearts. And we are not just talking about financial offerings, but even our offering of praise that we bring every Sunday. If our hearts are right with God (notice I did not say perfect), then God receives our offerings as worship to Him. If our hearts are not right, then God does not care to receive our offerings because they don't mean anything. I've heard some pastors say, "God wants you to be a cheerful giver - but He'll take it from any old grump." But I say, if it makes you grumpy to give to God (time, talent, treasure) then don't - because from what I can see, He won't accept it anyway. So the next time you offer something to God, you might want to pause and ask yourself, "Is my heart right with God?" Because if it's not, sin might be crouching at the door.

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This Is Good

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and saying, "This is good!" One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this." "No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."

Last week the A/C went out in our house. The heat was stifling, but thankfully my sister had a window unit we could borrow to cool the downstairs for a few days. Today I got to see an old friend who I worked for nearly twenty years ago. He fixed my A/C and only charged me $270 vs. the over $600 that a local company wanted to charge. Just being around him took me back to a time when I was younger, stronger, and had few responsibilities. Today things are different. I am older, hopefully a little wiser - and my life abounds with responsibilities. Now I wouldn't trade my life for anything, but it felt nice to talk about simpler times. So it was good that the air conditioning went out in our house. Sure the last few days were inconvenient, but our mini-crisis created a circumstance that allowed me to reconnect with an old friend. Whenever things seem to go bad, just remember, God might be getting ready to do something good in your life.

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Illustration provided from Sermon Central

Convinced and Confident Because of God's Love

Guest Blogger - Rev. Rippert Roberts, Jr.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

You can have amazing confidence when facing life's challenges once you are convinced of God's love for you.
No matter what you may lose in this life you will never lose God’s love. No matter what you may gain in this life you will have nothing of greater value than God’s love.
You can’t run far enough or fast enough to escape God’s love for you. You will never fall so low that God’s love won’t reach you. God has passionately pursued you for the sake of His love. In fact He loved you into existence and then gave you the gift of His love-child Jesus to remove anything that could ever possibly separate you from His love. Times may be hard right now. The outcome of situations or circumstances may be uncertain. You may even be in a place where you are wondering why God has allowed certain events to come into your life. God knows and He understands. He saw this day of your life before it ever arrived. He made certain that you would not face today with out His love being available to you.
Today there is nothing that you will encounter, experience or endure that God’s love wont be present and turned toward you.
Look for it. You will find it.
God will show His love for you in a number of ways.
Some of them will be fairly easy to spot. Take those opportunities to be grateful.
Some may come in unexpected ways. Take those opportunities to be amazed!
God’s love may come in the form of discipline. That’s your opportunity to change.
God’s love will give you an overwhelming victory in any and every difficulty.
You can choose to enter this day knowing that nothing can ever separate you from God’s love.
Death can’t do it. He showed you that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ when even death and the grave came up empty in the face of His love for you. (Oh and make no mistake that was about you!)
Life can’t do it. He showed you that when Jesus died for you. (Yep, that was for you too!)
The angels can’t. (Yea, they’re real)
The demons can’t. (They’re real too)
Not even the powers of hell can separate you from the love that God has for you.
Your fears for today and worries about tomorrow may cause you to be anxious but they can’t keep God’s love away from you.
You may take some convincing.
That’s okay. God understands.
He will be patient with you until you are won over.
Then you will know the confidence that comes with being convinced of God's love for you.

Taking Time to Celebrate

This past Sunday we looked at an incredible reversal of fortune when Elijah, who had just called down fire from heaven, ran for his life after hearing Jezebel's dark promise. In 1 Kings 18, God gave Elijah a life changing victory, and the enemy blindsided him with a threat on his very life. Have you ever experienced a glorious victory, only to be bombarded with bitter disappointment? Have you ever won a battle, only to have your character questioned and integrity maligned? It is the nature of the enemy to try and steal what God has given. He doesn't want you living in victory. He doesn't want you giving God glory with your life. So there are two things we need to understand. First, when a victory comes, celebrate it. God wants us to acknowledge and celebrate the victories that He gives to us. And don't wait too long or one day you might question if it was ever a victory at all. Second, stay on guard. It is possible to celebrate and keep a watchful eye. When Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, his workers carried their weapons while finishing the construction. When you get a chance, read Nehemiah chapter 4 and look at the mindset of the people. No matter how much progress they made, there was still a determination to stay focused on the task at hand. What if Elijah had not run away? Would Jezebel have killed him? We will never know for sure, but my guess is that God would have rescued Elijah because He still had work for Elijah to do (1 Kings 19:15-18). What is God doing in your life right now? Are there any victories that you are taking for granted? Take time to celebrate those victories before the wicked one convinces you that they never existed.

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Our Best Foot Forward

Recently, the ladies of Ignite (our college and young professionals ministry) held a spa night at the church. They invited the women from a local homeless shelter to come and be pampered at our makeshift spa. Now I must confess that, as a man, I don't understand the desire that most women have to let total strangers care for their feet. For her birthday, my wife wanted a gift certificate for a pedicure at a local nail salon. When paying the bill, I looked to the back and saw a man sitting in a special chair with his pant legs rolled up, getting a pedicure - hairy legs and all. It was disgusting. I can understand if a man has medical issues (diabetes, etc.) and needs a pedicure for health reasons. Otherwise, that's just nasty. Now what was I saying? Oh yeah, caring for other people's feet. Our church has never held a foot washing service, but if we did, I imagine most members would quickly pour the water, apply the towel and feel good for having emulated Jesus. But what these young ladies did the other night took foot washing to another level. They humbled themselves, understanding, but for the grace of God, any of us could be homeless. The women of the shelter were treated like royalty. Most of us would never touch another person's feet, but our Ignite ladies washed, moisturized and painted the nails of stranger's feet. They served in other ways as well, but this one example reminded me of Jesus more than any other. I am so proud of Ignite. They really are on fire for God and it shows. Our focus should be outward and our service should impact those who don't know Jesus. Last Sunday, a lady visiting our church for the first time approached me and said, "Pastor, I am one of those ladies from the shelter who attended the spa the other night." She was served on Friday and came back on Sunday - all because a group of college students picked up the towel and basin and decided to care for others in Jesus name. Way to go Ignite.

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What's Cool About God

This week our family had the opportunity to return to a place that holds a lot of powerful memories for me - The Children's House at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Our son was born nearly three months premature and we lived at The Children's House for one month while Joshua was growing strong enough to be moved to Fredericksburg. Joshua is five now and we wanted to give back to a place that was such a blessing to us, so on Thursday (the day before Joshua's birthday), we served dinner for all the current residents. While there, we met a woman who lives in Gettysburg, PA. We told her that we had accepted an invitation to speak at a marriage conference in Gettysburg this November and the conference was being held at the Eisenhower Inn. She said that she lived so close to the Eisenhower Inn that if we stood on the back balcony, we could see her backyard. Amazing. We went to The Children's House to serve, and met someone who lives right beside the very place that we will be speaking at in just a few months. What are the chances? Maybe a better question is, "What are the chances that it's not God?" We don't always know why God allows trials in our lives, and why He causes our paths to collide with total strangers - but often those strangers need something from us, or we need something from them. In this instance, we were able to minister to this woman and her daughter (who had cancer). God used my family to serve a hot meal and encourage those residents, while demonstrating the power of His providence. When Crystal and I go to Gettysburg in November, we hope to meet up with this dear lady and daughter again. Who knows where this journey will end - but then again, that's what's so cool about God. He doesn't need us to know all the answers. He just wants us to take the journey and trust Him for the outcome.

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Controversial? Yes. Mean Spirited? No.

Beginning Easter Sunday, I will be preaching a new series entitled "Confessions Of A Former Catholic." The series will center around four specific questions that I asked my priest twenty-three years ago, soon after receiving Christ into my life. The series will deal with topics like - our access to God, baptism, assurance of salvation and the importance of spending time in God's Word. For anyone who is Catholic (or has a Catholic background) and is reading this blog, I want to let you know that this series will not be mean-spirited. I have a great appreciation for the Catholic's stand against abortion, for relief efforts, and good works done in the community. As a teenager I worked for Catholic Charities, sorting and boxing food items for needy families. My priest played Santa Claus at Christmastime and was one of the kindest men I've ever known. The Catholic church does a lot of good things, but adherence to strict Catholic doctrine means trying to have a relationship with God through sacramental works. And yet, Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that we are not saved by our works, but by God's grace. That was the greatest lesson that I learned twenty-three years ago and I hope to convey that message beginning Easter Sunday. So if you have a Catholic background and are full of questions like I was - please come. I would love to talk with you. In the end, we may have to agree to disagree, but if our conversation causes you to pursue God with a greater passion, then we both win. Hope to see you April 4th.

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A Walk of the Wild Side

I'm almost finished reading John Eldredge's book Wild at Heart. It was published in 2001, so I'm only nine years late. In the book, Eldredge talks about man's need for adventure and how that need is evidenced in boys. He chides parents who won't let their little boys play with toy guns because they will just make guns out of sticks if they have to. Big boys need adventure just like little ones. How many wives are living with men who have gone silent. The romantic charmer they fell in love with has been replaced by a quiet, unfeeling pacifist. Ladies, let me ask you, "Do you provide opportunities for your husband to have adventures?" Now I know what you are saying. "What about me? When do I get a break from my responsibilities? When do I get a break from the kids to have some time to myself?" And I agree. You are right and you deserve that. But for this blog, I would like to concentrate on the guys. Eldredge believes that if a man does not have an outlet for adventure, he will seek adventure in other places - affairs, pornography, etc. His feelings of being trapped without adventure can also lead to irritability and anger that will impact his ability to be a good husband and father. So ladies, let your man be a man. If his idea of adventure seems a little wild - so be it. If it seems a little dangerous - all the better. Don't emasculate him! Let him be what God made him to be. He will be a better husband and father for it. And guys, it wouldn't hurt for you in turn to watch the kids and give your wife a holiday. She deserves the bubble bath. She deserves the hot tea and a good book. She deserves to be able to go shopping for herself or meet a girlfriend at the local cafe for some girl talk. Maybe she would be more open to creating an opening for your adventure if you would meet her needs as well. So guys, if your domestication is making you a little edgy - it might be time to do something wild.

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Using God for Gain

Our church is currently in the middle of a series in the book of Malachi entitled "What People are Saying." Constantly throughout the book, God tells His people that He knows what they are saying - and why they are saying it. In chapter 2, God deals directly with the priests who are failing to give glory to His name. They are misrepresenting God to the people. And yet, at the solemn feasts, these same priests still take the choice parts of the animals sacrificed for their own livelihood. One of those choice parts is the maw (or stomach). It doesn't sound very appetizing to me, but then again, I pour hot sauce on everything I eat - so I'm probably not a very good judge. Apparently, before you can eat the stomach, you must clean it out thoroughly because it has refuse in it. In Malachi 2:3, God tells the priests that He will spread the refuse (from the sacrifices) on their faces. It's as if God is saying, "This is how you are causing people to think of me." The priests used their status and position to get what they wanted, and did not care how the people viewed God. It reminds me that as a pastor, I must always present God for who He really is. When Moses struck the rock (Numbers 20), instead of speaking to it as God commanded, he misrepresented God before the people and paid a terrible price. We are all called to give glory to God's name and the best way to do that is to show the unchurched who God really is. When people come to us with real problems, they need us to introduce them to a real God.

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Little Like Me

I know I blog an awful lot about my kids, but isn't it amazing how God refreshes our thinking vicariously through the experiences of our children? A few days ago, my son (excited about his Christmas toys) asked, "Daddy, do you want to play with me?" I told him I did and the next words he spoke were profound - "Daddy, you'll have to become little like me." In his mind, I couldn't truly have fun with him unless I was little like he was. What does that remind you of? Matthew 18:2-3 says, "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." True faith is childlike in its simplicity and that is what the world cannot comprehend. My brother-in-law is a gamer and asked me to get on YouTube and do a search for XBox 360 - Project Natal. I was intrigued by what I saw because in the near future, gamers will no longer need controllers to play games. The game system will be able to recognize body movements - making controllers obsolete. How is it that R&D scientists can invent technology that will allow us to move our hands and feet to control a video game, but we have a hard time believing that an omniscient intelligent designer (God) can create the universe and order everything in it? Evolutionists will not allow themselves to think like children, even though science mimics the creation process. How big is our God? The bigger He is, the littler we all must become.

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