PUT OFF THE FLESH, PUT ON CHRIST

PUT OFF THE FLESH, PUT ON CHRIST

In Colossians 3:5–16, the Apostle Paul is instructing the believer to no longer live the life they use to live. He insists that there must be a change in character if one is truly saved and has the Holy Spirit living in them. This change is not automatic for most and Paul is saying that if we want Christ to live through us, we have to first clean out the vessel so God can use it. This portion of scripture contains three lists. Two are lists of sins and one is a list of virtues with each containing five things.

Sexual Acts of the Flesh

In verse 5, Paul begins with a call to “put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Col. 3:5 [ESV]). He lists certain sexual acts of the flesh that describe the behavior of the Colossians before coming to Christ. The use of the phrase “once walked” signifies a continuing behavior and lifestyle. Paul is instructing all believers, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to put away their former self which has been crucified with Christ. This declaration was also made to the Roman church, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:6).

The sins listed here are all addressing sexual immorality. The terms for passion and evil desire are also used together in 1 Thess. 4:5 and are translated as “passion of lust.” Covetousness typically refers to greed but since it is used in this contest of sexual sin, it could mean an indulgence of sexual pleasure without moral regard (Utley 1997, 42). These are lifestyle sins that have to be done away with. Ephesians 5 states, “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3). The regenerate believer possesses a reformed mind that must guide their actions. This is what the word “repent” means. In verse 10, Paul tells the Colossians that their mind has been “renewed in knowledge” after Christ and that is the framework for the new self (Col. 3:10). As Anders points out, “Christ changed our life; therefore, it is up to us to change our lifestyle” (Anders 1999, 328).

In our culture, we have gradually fallen into a state of relativism where the decision on whether or not something is moral lies within the individual. We are told to “follow our heart” even though the Bible tells us that our heart is deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9). Christians can fall into this trap under the guise of God wanting them to be happy and they try to rationalize sexual relationships outside of marriage. Paul clearly states that the believer is to no longer engage in this lifestyle.

Sinful Acts of the Heart

Paul shifts gears with the next list of five in that those listed are a reflection of our hearts. Jesus said that things such as those listed in these verses are a result of the person being defiled from within and that the problem is a sinful heart that causes these things to come out of man (Mark 7:20-23). Our prayer should be that of Kind David when he prayed to God asking, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).

Most would group anger, wrath and malice into one but they mean very different things. “Anger” refers to long lasting, simmering anger and “wrath” means fast burning anger or outbursts of rage with “malice” referring to vicious thoughts and the desire to hurt others (Utley 1997, 42). These obviously reflect a heart that is not yielding to the Spirit of God and is instead enslaved by the flesh.

The remaining two refer to the power of our speech. People listen to how we talk and what we say. Is the way we talk to and about others any different than those that are not saved? Will people that knew us both before and after salvation see a difference? Paul also gives a similar exhortation to the Ephesians when he said  to “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up” (Eph. 4:29). As a believer, we are to love one another and treat each other with respect. We are to set an example for others to follow with our goal being for others to see Christ in us and see Him living through us.

Virtues of Christ

After calling out specific outward sins of the flesh and inward sins of the heart, Paul lists the virtues that the believer to “put on” after having shed the previous. The first thing to note is that Paul makes an effort to point out that we are different, that we have been chosen by God and that we are made holy and beloved by Him. Peter also made this declaration when he wrote that we “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is an appeal, similar to the one made in Romans 12:1, for the believer to understand that he must live a life honoring God and do away with the past sins of his life and to no longer conform to the world but allow himself to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The virtues listed in verses 12 and 13 are in stark contrast to the sins of the heart listed in verse 8. Instead of having malice in our hearts we should have compassion. Instead of fits of wrath we should exhibit meekness and patience. These are the qualities that Christ presented in the Sermon on the Mount that should be a part of every believer’s life and a reflection of their heart.

The one in this list that I have seen destroy people is the lack of forgiveness. We tend to forgive non-believers because, for some reason, we expect them to hurt or lie to us. We may feel that our forgiveness might win them to Christ so we put away our hurt and pride and show them compassion in order to allow them to experience the grace that we experienced in Christ. This seems to fall apart when it is a Christian that has hurt us. We consider them saved so there is no need to reflect Christ and we are disappointed in their behavior because we have adopted this false image that all believers are perfect and never make a mistake.

For reconciliation to take place, the offender must recognize, apologize and repent from the offense and seek forgiveness. But this does not have to take place in order for us to offer forgiveness because forgiveness is not something that must be asked for but it is something that must be given. The basis for this is the last thing that Paul instructs us to put on and that is love. If we truly love one another, we will forgive regardless of whether or not the person has asked for it. We have to realize that man never had to ask God for forgiveness before He sent Jesus to die on the cross. When Adam and Eve sinned, we do not read of them seeking God for forgiveness. Paul concludes in verse 15 with the instruction to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts because that is what we were called into, the peace of Christ.

Our Response

In these verses we understand that Paul is instructing us to no longer live under the yoke of sin that once enslaved us. He tells us to put those things away and instead set our hearts and minds on the things of Christ. With a renewed mind comes renewed action. We have to take steps to rid ourselves from our past lifestyle. This may mean losing some friends, changing jobs, changing hobbies or even ending a relationship. Whatever the action, it must be done in order to live free from what we have already been set free from. Richard Melick puts it clear when he writes, “The first aspect of victory over sin is to know the reality of the Christian experience. Death with Christ is the foundation” (Melick 2001, 287). Our sinful nature has been put to death with Christ, but that will do us no good if we do not fully understand that sin no longer has power over us. We put off the old self by turning and walking away from our former life of sin and we put on Christ by resting in His grace and letting His Spirit guide us and live through us.

References

Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8 of The Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Melick, Richard R. 2001. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Vol. 24 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Utley, Robert James. 1997. Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, Then Later, Philippians). Vol 8 of The Study Guide Commentary Series. Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. Logos e-book.

Thoughts on Worship in the American Church

Below is an essay I wrote for school regarding worship and Hebrews 13:15

Worship in American culture has become, from my experience, synonymous with "rock concert." Now don't get me wrong, I love upbeat music and contemporary worship services, but Dr. Mitchell hit the nail on the head when he asked that when we compliment a worship service, what are we complimenting (Mitchell 2006, 2). I have heard so many people claim that a worship service was great but they were only referring to the music. We rate worship by the quality of the music. I have heard some really good worship teams as far as music is concerned, but cannot say they all were effective in leading a congregation in actual worship of the Lord.

So many people will leave a church because the "worship was bad." Really? How can recognizing God for who He is and praising His name ever be bad? What they mean is, "I don't like the music and since they do not please me, I am outta here!"

Now here is where I have to confess to my fellow students. I have been guilty of being in a worship service were the music was BAD and blaming my lack of intimacy with the Lord on the music. I would even let my heart go hard when I would walk in and see a particular person leading worship. I do believe that poor music can be a distraction and should be addressed if possible, but the bigger problem is me letting my heart be distracted. Worship is supposed to be a response to God and instead I am responding to the distraction.

Hebrews 13:15 states that worship is a sacrifice or an offering of praise. This is echoed In Psalm 107:22 and Psalm 116:17. As Mitchell points out, worship is composed of a selfless acknowledgment and humble adoration of God that is evidenced by acts of service (Mitchell 2006, 3-5). Paul states this in Romans 12-2 when he writes, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12-1 [ESV]). The word for "worship" can also be translated as "service" which also shows that worship is am act of service to God. Since Paul instructs us to offer our bodies as a "living" sacrifice and the writer of Hebrews encourages us to "continually" offer up a sacrifice of praise, worship is not just something we should be doing for the first 15 or 20 minutes of church on Sunday. Spiritual formation is affected in that if we limit ourselves to only worshipping God a few minutes a week and if that worship is only composed of singing along and clapping our hands, we are missing out on an opportunity to honor and bless God with an offering of praise. These things are key to being transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Living Sacrifice...Living Pure

A Commentary of Romans 12:1–2 and Ephesians 4:17–20

Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2 states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2 [NKJV]).

The first thing to notice is the use of the word “therefore” in first verse. In the earlier chapters, the Apostle Paul wrote about how we had been slaves to sin but set free through the death and resurrection of Christ and how Israel had broken free from the yoke of the law. In the previous chapter, he explained how the Gentiles had been grafted into the wild olive tree and brought in to the family of God. The final verse in that chapter states, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). The use of the word “therefore” signifies that in response to the mercies God has shown us and since all things are of Christ, through Christ and to Christ, we are to submit our lives back to Him as living sacrifices.

In the Old Testament, the priests were the ones that offered up the sacrifices to God. Peter writes in his epistle that believers are part of a royal priesthood and have the ability to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Pet. 2:9). Hebrews 13:15 states that God is well pleased with sacrifices of praises and thanks to His name and doing good works. F.F. Bruce commented that, “the sacrifices of the new order do not consist in taking the lives of others, like the ancient animal sacrifices, but in giving one’s own” (Bruce 1985, 213). Our lives should be a living sacrifice to God since we have Jesus Christ living inside of us.

Verse 2 states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). With words like “conformed” and “transformed” the Holy Spirit is telling us to not live our lives in the pattern of the world but to allow our nature to be changed in the image of Jesus. This change is brought about by an awakening of our Spirit that has been dead up until the point we asked Jesus to live in us.

God will transform us and make us spiritually minded by using His Word. As we spend time meditating on God’s Word, memorizing it, and making it a part of our inner person, God will gradually make our mind more spiritual (Wiersbe 1996, chap. 11, under “Right Relationships Mean Right Living”). Spiritual formation is rooted in deepening our relationship with God as become more like Christ and it has to begin with our minds. The word in verse two for “prove” is better translated as “discern” meaning that unless our minds are transformed into the mind of Christ, we will never be able to understand and reveal God’s perfect will for our life. When we are freed from the control of the world, we can discover what God has in mind for us. The renewed mind enables us to discern the will of God (Mounce 2001, chap. 6, under “How Righteousness Manifests Itself”).

The New Man

Ephesians 4:17-20 instructs us to no longer live the lifestyle of the sinful. To fully understand these verses, we need to understand the level of depravity of the Ephesians. Ephesus was the home of the pagan temple of Diana (Artemis in the Greek), which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Gentile Ephesian’s worship of Diana involved in the worst kind of immorality of pagan religion and left Ephesus a place of temple prostitution, crime, immorality, idolatry and unspeakable sin (Anders 1999, chap. 10, under “The Calling to Holiness”).

Paul is warning them to “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind” (Eph. 4:17). The word for “futility” also means “emptiness,” warning them that continuing in that lifestyle would lead to an empty life void of any fruit and lacking any rewards. Paul gives a similar warning in Romans 1:21 where he states that the sinful were futile in their thinking and their hearts had become hardened. In Ephesians 4:18, Paul says that their hardened hearts led to ignorance and a darkened understanding. The hardened heart and darkened mind result in an unholy life that is guided by sin and enslaved by the flesh. The apostle declares in the second letter to the Corinthian church that the power of sin and Satan had blinded the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from “seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4).

The believers in Ephesus had become “callous” to the sins they were committing. This word means that they had lost all sense of shame and had truly become lost in the sinful acts they were engaged in. Paul warns them that this was not the model set forth by Christ and not the way they should be living if they look to Christ as an example.

The warning is the same for us today. If we truly repent of our sins and turn to Christ, we cannot turn back to the sin that we have been set free from. This leads to another major key to spiritual formation: it is not enough to simply know about Christ, we must live as Christ. Willard penned that we can become like Christ by following Him in His overall lifestyle. He also added that we must engage in the same activities that Jesus practiced and that by doing so, we would be able to maintain a constant fellowship with the Father just as Jesus did (Willard 2009, preface).

When we think of the word “formation,” we think of order, discipline and direction. If our desire is to be more like Christ and to follow certain spiritual disciplines, we have to first be disciplined enough to no longer live like we used to and to turn and walk away from our sin. We have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ as Colossians 1:13 declares but this is only part of it. We have been saved by grace but have also been given new life and with this new life we are to live differently from the world as part of a “different world” (Willard 2009, chap. 3, under “What the Resurrection Meant to the Friends of Jesus”)

Paul continues in verses 20 through 24 to encourage all believers to put off their “old self” and be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He says that our minds will be renewed and we will no longer be slaves to deceitful desires. We can embrace the new life that has been given to us and walk in the example set by Jesus Christ.

References

Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8 of The Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Bruce, F. F. 1985. The Letter of Paul to the Romans: 213. Quoted in Robert Mounce, Romans. Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001].

Mounce, Robert H. 2001. Romans. Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. Logos e-book.

Willard, Dallas. 1988. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. San Francisco: Harper & Row. Kindle e-book.

What is Spiritual Formation?

Wow, I cannot believe it has been this long since I blogged on here. I honestly am too busy to get on here as often as I would like, but here I am and yes I am still taking seminary classes and wanted to share my latest paper on spiritual formation. The quotations are from one of my required readings by John Westerhoff called Spiritual Life:The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching

Here is goes...

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL FORMATION?
   

Having served in the United States Army for 6 years, I think of certain things when it comes to “formation” such as:  dedication, discipline and consistency. Westerhoff defines the spiritual life as “ordinary everyday life lived in an ever-deepening and loving relationship to God and therefore to one’s true or healthy self, all people, and the whole of creation” (Westerhoff 1994, 1). Using my military analogy and this definition, spiritual formation can be defined as a lifelong process in which we apply direction and discipline to our spiritual lives so we can grow more intimate with God and allow ourselves to be transformed into the image if His Son, Jesus Christ.

Direction and Discipline
   

Westerhoff suggests some keys to enhance our spiritual life: choosing a time and place for prayer, preparing to enter in to His presence, journaling, maintaining spiritual friends and the studying and praying of God’s Word (Westerhoff 1994, 67-69).

Time and Place
 

We have to pick a time and place that we are alert, focused and ready to listen to God. My quiet time is in the morning at the kitchen table after I have woken up and before I have eaten. I am usually the only one up at this time so there are no distractions. When we choose our time and place, we have to pick one that does not interfere with any other needs (Westerhoff 1994, 66).

Preparation to Enter His Presence
 

We have to first clear our hearts and minds so we can give God our full attention (Westerhoff 1994, 67). I usually do this by simply starting to pray. I thank God for another day in which I get to live and glorify Him. I ask Him to prepare my heart for what it is He may have for me and I lift up my day to Him to use for His kingdom and His will. I then take some deep breaths and listen.

Once we have prepared ourselves now we must become aware of God’s presence, focus our attention to Him, expect and desire a deep relationship with Him (Westerhoff 1994, 68). This is where the discipline starts to take shape as we get into a routine of preparation and listening.

Journaling
 

This is something that can be done differently by everyone and is an area that I need to work on. I find myself journaling about the verses I read which turns into Bible study notes. A spiritual journal can include insights and applications to scripture but should also record our experiences and conversations with God (Westerhoff 1994, 68).

Spiritual Friends
 

Having someone we can trust with spiritual issues is extremely important. We need someone that we can go to for guidance, accountability and edification. I have a couple of people that I can trust and go to in times of need. Westerhoff states that whomever we choose must be a “sensitive, caring, open, flexible person of faith and prayer who listens and maintains confidentiality” (Westerhoff 1994, 69).

Studying and Praying Scripture
 

The Bible is God’s spoken Word handed down to us from outside of time to guide and direct us into a relationship with Him. It is a love story of redemption, grace and mercy. We will never be able to fully understand God because our minds are finite and He is infinite but without studying and praying over His Word, we will never get to know Him nor have a relationship with Him.

Currently, during my alone time with God, I am studying the Apostle Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. As I read and study what Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth, I also seek guidance and application for my own life. While this letter was written to a specific group of people living in a specific period of history, people in the church and in our society haven’t changed much and God’s Word applies to us all. This is where I need to pray the scriptures more. I tend to just study scripture and experience the intellectual gains but miss out on the intuition and meditation that lead to a stronger relationship with God (Westerhoff 1994, 70).

Becoming Intimate with God
   

As mentioned earlier, finding a time and place to engage God is key to our spiritual formation. If we truly want to become intimate with God it has to be done through times of silence and solitude. Jesus gave us a model of prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” but He also served as a model of prayer for us. From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus sought to be alone with the Father. The scripture tells us: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” (Matt. 4:1-2, New King James Version).

Jesus also engaged in times of solitude and prayer when He had to make important decisions. In Luke 6:12-13 we read where Jesus prayed all night and afterwards, He chose the twelve apostles. Knowing that these were the men that ended up taking the gospel to the world (except for Judas), we can appreciate the importance of this decision and the need for Jesus to spend so much time in prayer.

We also need to spend time in prayer so we can align our will with God’s Will. In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that not His will be done but the Father’s will which was a horrible and humiliating death but for the sake of mankind. It is so easy to get into a mindset that prayer is our way of giving our wish list to God. I heard Jon Courson once say, “Prayer is not giving God orders, it is reporting for duty.” If our lives are not marked with silence and solitude, we will not be able to minister to and guide others and will find that our ministry has turned into a painful endeavor (Westerhoff 1994, 35).
 

Image of Christ
   

The final key to our spiritual formation is our transformation into the image of Christ. So many think that when we are saved that we become something different when in reality we are just being transformed into what God had always intended for us. The Bible says in Genesis, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;’” (Gn. 1:26a). We were created in the image of God from the beginning. We need to let others see that image in us.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he gives us insight on how to become like Christ in the first couple of verses of chapter 12. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). The first part is to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God. It states in Ephesians 5:2 it that Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice so we are to offer our lives up to Him in service. Once we surrender our lives to God and live according to His will and not ours, people will begin to see Christ in us because we are living as Christ.

The next thing that Paul states is that we need to be transformed by a renewed mind into the image of Christ and not conformed into the image of the world.  This is probably the most challenging part of spiritual formation. Our challenge is to not be swayed, influenced or discouraged by the world around us but to instead continue serving God and sharing His message of salvation.

In conclusion, if we are dedicated to this lifelong process in which we apply direction and discipline to our spiritual lives we will grow more intimate with God and will be transformed into the image if His Son, Jesus Christ. We will also find ourselves truly serving God and serving others and will begin to not only live for Christ, but we will begin to let Him live through us. 

I am tired of church...Are you?

I am sure you are wondering just what I am talking about. I am talking about just that, “church.” I am tired of what we call the “church.” It has become either a “place” we go or “something” we do.

For so many it is just a place that we go to once or twice week to either feel a little better about our self or to seek some form of forgiveness for something that we did the week prior. We leave with no real change having taken place in our life and go right back to our same old life and get the same old results. Now the church that we go to has some responsibility in this as well…more on that later…

Yet, to others, church has become “something” we do. We stroll in on Sundays because, for some reason, it is something we are supposed to do and we feel good about it. We actually think we have done God a favor by merely showing up!

Some get involved in a ministry or service activity because they feel that they are supposed to as a “member” of their church or that is what it means to be a Christian because they have to “produce fruit.” We have all heard the “you gotta serve” sermon right?

I have learned (and am still learning) that a relationship with Christ is not about going to a building, not about being part of some denomination, not about serving in a ministry, it is about living a life like Jesus, it is about treating others the way Jesus did and about sharing His love with those that don’t know it. This is not an exclusive list, just the high points.

If we are serving in a ministry for any other reason other than to share the love of Jesus and give God the glory, it is the wrong reason. One of my favorite quotes is a definition of ministry by Warren Wiersbe. He says, “Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.”

We are supposed to be the “loving channels” delivering the “divine resources” and giving God the glory. Does God need our help? No. Instead, He is allowing us to take part in His creation and to further His kingdom. It is a privilege and a gift to serve God and to serve others. These are lessons that I have learned (again, and still learning) in my walk. I have been guilty of wanting attention or praise for something I have done when in reality, I should have been doing it for God alone and giving Him credit. Don’t get me wrong, it is okay to be happy that you did something for God and to feel that blessing when you have helped someone…the difference is enjoying the blessing that came from serving God and not expecting something for what you did.

I have attended churches that “appeared” to be serving God and to be serving others but in reality, were just doing these things because they felt they were supposed to be done without any “real” compassion for the people or for serving God. I know that is a pretty harsh statement but it was something that I witnessed and experienced. I also attended a church were there seemed to be no service outreach or evangelism. There seemed to be no desire to reach the community.

On the other hand, I have attended churches that were always in the community doing service projects. One church skipped a Sunday service and had everyone involved in various community service projects! Another church adopted an entire under privileged neighborhood and served them throughout the year! Another has actually picked up homeless people and brought them to church and found them a place to live and given them food to eat.

Now before you think that my wife and I are “church hoppers,” understand that we have moved around a lot and I have worked all over the country so I have had the opportunity to visit and attend many churches and have learned a lot regarding ministry over the past few years. I also am blessed with some friends who are pastors and learn a lot of things on how they do ministry. Using only first names, thanks to Al, David, Bill, Steve, Mark and Dave!

I mentioned that I was tired of “church.” I guess I need to expand on that and give what I feel is an alternative to what is so common.

You don’t have to agree, my blog…my opinion ;-)

As I stated earlier, people go to church for different reasons: to learn more about God’s Word, to learn how to live like a Christian, to worship God, to fellowship with other believers in order to encourage and to be encouraged, etc. These are all good reasons but one thing that my wife and I have realized is that we have never learned how to truly reach our community and to serve others. Now that may sound weird coming from someone who is going to seminary and feels called to the ministry! But our idea of “service” was volunteering at church or having Christian friends over to our house. Those things are fine and good but who did Jesus spend time with? Of course, there were times when He was just with His disciples and times when He was just with His inner circle of Peter, James and John and sometimes just with Peter. But Jesus also spent time with those that didn’t know Him: tax collectors, prostitutes and other sinners.

I think the “American Church” is missing the boat when it comes to teaching people what it means to serve. I am not labeling ALL churches, I am speaking in a general sense (so don’t take this personally if you are a pastor reading this). You can make someone do something and you can convince someone to do something but teaching people HOW to do something and having their hearts prepared to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, now that is something!

Good deeds apart from the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit are just that…good deeds. Things that we did that provided some benefit to someone. Fine. But when a person learns to love others and whose heart is moved and inspired to help, that is a lasting change that will go with them forever and allow many lives to be touched and God to be glorified.

We need to find a church that isn’t just about “bells and whistles” or because they have this ministry or that ministry. Granted, some families need certain things and need to be ministered to in special ways. I get that. But we sometimes tend to look at a church in a way that asks the question, “What can they do for me?” instead of asking “What can I do for them?” or better yet “What can I do WITH them?”

If you are looking for a new church, a different church, or a better church, find one that first and foremost teaches God’s Word. Not one that waters it down or changes it to fit popular culture. Find one that teaches on sin and the need for salvation. Find one where the pastor and leadership live out what is being preached. What example do they set?

Is there a desire to reach the community? So many churches will claim to support missions and may have some missionaries in another country, which is great, but what are they doing in their own back yard? My wife and I know that we have a desire to share Jesus and to serve others but we asked ourselves, “How many people in our own neighborhood and even our own street have we talked to?” I won’t share our answer…as it is embarrassing. Things must change!

In the end, we all have certain things we look for in a church: youth group, men’s and women’s studies, good kids ministry, etc. Those things are fine but in the forefront should be 1) Do they teach solid biblical teachings? 2) Are they actually serving their community?

I asked a good friend of mine who is a pastor of a church that minister’s primarily to people that other churches in the area won’t let in their doors and focuses on feeding the hungry how he knew he was called to that kind of ministry. His response, “Mike, there really isn’t any other kind of ministry” He explained that both Jesus and Paul preached the Word and fed the hungry: Plain and simple.

In other words: Teach them about Jesus and love them like Jesus.

Why do we have to make it so hard?

HE IS RISEN

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!

Today is the day we remember that Christ rose from the grave claiming victory over death and proving Himself to be God. Just two days ago we remembered His horrible death on the cross at the hands of the Romans and Jewish leaders. But the one thing that escapes many is the fact that it is true that the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities and it was at their hands He was crucified...BUT it was GOD that allowed it and it was GOD that ordained it.

God sent Jesus to the cross as a final sacrifice for all sin so that we may have a relationship with Him again. Because of sin, we are separated from God and need an atonement. In the past God allowed sacrifices to cover the sins of Israel and once a year allowed the high priest to ask forgiveness for the sins of Israel. This weekend we celebrate the final atonement, the final sacrifice...the final offering.

Jesus paid the price for our sins.

Jesus suffered for our forgiveness.

Jesus died so we could live.

Honor HIM today and remember HIM always!

Which Teaching Source Do You Use?

Here is another essay I wrote addressing the four sources of a communicator's message and which one I draw from the most when preparing messages. So my essay makes sense, here is a brief description of each:

1. Tradition: Bible truths
2. Observation: Needs of the students
3. Participation: Experiences of the teacher
4. Inspiration: Direction of the Holy Spirt

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            Of the four sources given: Tradition, Observation, Participation and Inspiration, I tend to use the Observation source the most. I fully believe that any message must contain elements of all these sources but I find myself asking, for the most part, the five questions that Andy Stanley asks in his book Communicating for a Change:

1.     What do they need to know?

2.     Why do they need to know it?

3.     What do they need to do?

4.     Why do they need to do it?

5.     How can I help them remember? (Stanley 2006, 186-190)

I can’t say that have always asked them in the same manner as Stanley does but I almost always start with “What do they need to know?” and “What does God want them to know?” That leads me to the second source that I feel is equally important: Inspiration. Standing up on Sunday morning and preaching a message that we like or are comfortable with may reach and touch the lives of some but how many have we neglected by not searching for what they need and for what God has for them?

I have had the privilege to teach kids at all ages in church. The age group that I feel drawn to is the 4^th – 6^th graders because they are at that age where they are old enough to understand biblical principles and young enough to enact change with little resistance. So I ask myself, “What is it these kids need to know to help them grow?” I kill two birds with one stone here because that question is asked to God; hence, the Inspiration source is tapped from as well.

Teaching a message that challenges someone to change some part of their life is vital and giving them something tangible that they can apply, helps them achieve that goal. That is why it is important to get to know the people you are teaching especially if it is on a recurring basis. Obviously this is difficult to do with a large congregation but still possible at some levels. I have spent time preaching and teaching in adult settings such as Sunday mornings, mid-week studies and youth groups but the majority of messages I prepare are for kids in the aforementioned grades. Getting to know them personally allows me to understand their needs and recognize the areas of their life that God’s Word can help change. By showing an interest in their life also establishes credibility with them because after all, if we don’t really care about them, why are we there?

Earlier I mentioned that Observation and Inspiration were the top two sources in my list but I also have to mention how I use the other two as well. Whatever message I prepare has to be grounded in the Word of God. The Bible is our source of information and a manual for life. Every message and precept taught has to be backed up and supported by God’s Word. The final source, Participation, is important but, in my opinion, needs to be limited when teaching kids because the last thing they want to hear for 30 minutes is “When I was your age…” With adults, it is different because you are sharing a life experience that they may relate to or may be currently experiencing but in my ministry with kids, I use it sparingly. I mostly use it to point out where I failed when I was younger and to illustrate a warning for them to not imitate that behavior.

In conclusion, while each message should draw from all four sources, observing the needs of the students/audience is most important to then be followed up with inspiration from God as to what message He has for them to meet those needs. To repeat the question I asked earlier, “If we don’t really care about them, why are we there?”