Church Growth?

Do we really want church growth?  That is the question, but it may be possible that we are quite satisfied with the “status quo.”  It may be possible that we don’t want to pay the cost of growth.   The truth is that real growth will always encroach on our comfort zone.  I’m talking about the growth that comes when we really win lost and un-churched people to Christ. 

Now we could choose instead to just try to “do church” better than the other folks in town.   We could polish our program in such a way to appeal to the “church” crowd, people who know the language of the church, watch Christian TV, know the hymns by heart, and would fit so well with other Christians.  We could treat church growth like tying get a larger part of the “market share” of Christians to come to our church.  Is that what Jesus wants?

Jesus put it this way, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Mark 2:17.  The sad truth is that we often do not reach the lost and un-churched, because we are trying to reach the righteous instead.  It is quite possible that they won’t look like us, nor speak like us, nor act like us.  Let me quote a very good friend of mine who came to Christ and Christian Fellowship in recent years.  She said, “What do Christians do for fun?  How do they party?  What do they do on Friday and Saturday nights?”  She was serious.  She didn't come from a church background.

How do we reach these people?   Are we focusing our ministry around reaching them, or are we just trying to compete for the “church” business? 

Are we ready for them to come?  Will we be shocked if they come in with tattoos and body piercings?  What if they come dressed in dark gothic clothing, wearing a dog collar, with their hair died strange colors?  Are we ready for them?  I know that everyone who is lost and un-churched doesn’t look like the description above, but if God sends them, can we love them?  Can we share Christ with them, or would we just rather not have to deal with “those kind of people?”  I’m just asking.  Do we want to reach those lives that need to be transformed?  Are we really ready to pay the price?  If we reach them, will they immediately understand church language, love the old hymns, and King James English? 

Who are we trying to reach?  Can we love the unlovable?  Well that’s who we were, and I am so glad that Jesus does. 

You see, at just the right time, when we were still

powerless, Christ died for the ungodly .

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-8

 

Yes, that is the way Jesus loves us, and that’s how he wants us to love others.  This is the mission he has given to us.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

              2 Corinthians 5:18-19

 

It’s not just time; it’s past time.  In fact we have so little time to win those around us to Christ.  We must do all that we can while we can.  The time is now!  Today is the day of salvation.  We dare not wait.  Eternity is in the balance.  The souls of men, women, and children depend on us to fulfill our purpose, to reach them with the message of salvation.

 

Blessings.

The Day is Almost Here

God spoke to us so strongly this past Sunday Morning at Christian Fellowship, that we are living in the last days and need to be busy with the mission He has given us to reach our neighbors for Christ.  The Holy Spirit spoke to us through the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues, that we need to focus on evangelism reaching out to our neighbor on the right and our neighbor on the left.  That message was confirmed in the Word as God directed us to focus on our mission, from 2 Corinthians 5:18, “All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”  Then our purpose was further emphasized as we listened to Jesus’ own words in Luke 5:31-32, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Consider this. While God is leading us to focus on evangelism, reaching our neighbors and friends for Christ, He is also reminding us that we are living in the last days.  We have so little time left to reach them for Christ.  The focus of our mid-week bible study on Bible prophecy, the coming four blood moons, and the harbinger, reminds us that we are living in that generation that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:34, “I tell “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

Let us understand the times in which we live, and act now.  As Paul wrote in Romans 13:11-12,

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.”

Blessings,

Pastor Dan

Nothing's Too Hard for God

The prophet records these words in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you."  In a world full of hopelessness people need to know that whatever struggle they face today, it is not too difficult for God.  If you know the God of the Bible, who revealed himself through his Son, Jesus Christ, then you know that there is absolutely nothing too hard for him.  Today I have been meditating on his amazing grace.  We sang the old hymn in worship this morning, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."

 Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:14-16:

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

Today I want you to know that God loves you and extends his amazing grace to you.  He can and will forgive you, even though you may have trouble forgiving yourself.  There simply is "nothing too hard for God."

Blessings,
Pastor Dan

Prayer of National Repentance

          In my Sunday Morning Sermon this week I shared a prayer which was originally written by Bob Russell in 1995 who shared it at the Kentucky Governor's Prayer Breakfast.  In January of 1996, Pastor Joe Wright adapted the same prayer when he was asked to be the guest chaplain at the Kansas State House.  Later the same year its was used as an invocation in the Colorado House of Represntatives.  Eventually Paul Harvey got hold of the prayer and read it on his program.  Here is what he prayed from Bob Russell's Website www.bobrussell.org:

O God, we know that your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism and New Age spirituality.
We have committed adultery and called it an affair.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it frugality.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn children and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have failed to execute justice speedily, as your Word commands, and called it due process.
We have failed to love our neighbor who has a different color of skin and called it maintaining racial purity.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have made the Lord’s Day the biggest shopping and entertainment day of the week and called it free enterprise.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our parents and called it enlightenment.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts today. Try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us of every sin and set us free. Though our sins be as scarlet, may they become white as snow. Though they be as crimson, may they be as wool.

As appropriate as it was in 1995, it is even more today.  In a time when the Supreme Court, (or as Huckabee recently dubbed them, "The Extreme Court") reverses the will of the people of California on the Defense of Marriage Act, effectively allowing one homosexual judge to reverse the will of the majority of the people of California and in the process also declares DOMA unconstitutional.  This Act of Congress was passed by both houses and signed into law by Bill Clinton! Yes, in a time when atheists unveil a 1500 pound granite bench for the sole purpose of protesting the nearby placement of the ten commandments monument, we need national repentance more than ever.   Blessings

Oh No! Not Again!

I just couldn't believe it!  When Fox News called Ohio for Obama, I felt this horrible sinking feeling in my gut!  It just couldn't be happening!  There is no way we could endure another four years of the administration!  How could this be happening?  The "Architect," Karl Rove, had predicted Romney would win, certainly not by as big a margin as Dick Morris, who predicted Romney with 325 electoral votes!  I really wanted to believe it would be a landslide for Romney.  We need things to turn around so badly!  I even followed Dick Morris' commentary as he tweeted through the election coverage.  He tried so hard to keep encouraging the folks who were following his comments.  His last tweet was, "don't give up!"  I found myself trying to hold to the idea that just maybe they were wrong.  All the votes would be counted and the outcome would be different.  We felt like the second verse of the Christmas hymn, I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day: 

And in despair I bowed my head: 

"There is no peace on earth," I said, 

"For hate is strong and mocks the song

of peace on earth good will to men."

Numbly I listened to the commentators.  What went wrong?  Many will play the blame game.  They will blame the candidate.  He certainly wasn't my first choice, but he was who we ended up with, and even though we differed on a number of things, I still believe he was the better man for the job.  Some will blame Sandy the "Frankenstorm."  If the storm hadn't hit and caused all this devastation, it wouldn't have given Obama, this opportunity so near the election to present himself as bi-partisan, and so presidential!  I guess we might even blame God, because He could have stopped or redirected the storm. Why would He allow this man, who has been the friend of Israel's enemies, to continue to lead our country for another four years?

I guess we need to sing the third verse of this Christmas hymn: 

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, 

"God is not dead nor does he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, 

with peace on earth good will to men."

One of Romney's sound bites on the campaign trail was that "America would be restored as the Hope of the world."  The truth is that Jesus Christ is the Hope of the world!  He alone is the answer for what ails America.  We desperately need Revival.  We can't allow our spirits to be overwhelmed by disappointment!  In Psalm 42:5 the psalmist writes:

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.

I'm sure that Dick Morris didn't know what else to say after his last message, "Don't give up."  Perhps he was really right on target with those very words, echoed in the following old poem:

 Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Author Unknown

So... put your hope and trust in God, and don't give up.  Don't quit!

Blessings!

Financial Peace!

We are almost halfway through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University classes, and I only wish I could and would have taken this YEARS ago!  One of those things he reminds us of frequently is that this isn't just about money; it's about LIFE!  In one of the early classes he told us that if he could get that "man he shaves with," "the man in the mirror,"  "to behave," he could then be both rich and thin!

I find myself wishing I could "GIVE" the Financial Peace University to everyone, especially my family and friends.  There is however a problem with my thinking on this.  People usually value something more when they have some investment in it, and therefore tend to discount it, when they don't.  The opportunity that is here, especially for the young people, is priceless!  So, I am doing all I can to make these principles work in my life, so that (even though I am REALLY late at getting started) I may be a positive example, demonstrating the fact that these Biblical principles in Financial Peace really work!  Hey, you don't have to wait for a class to get started either.  You can start by just  prayerfully reading Proverbs.  Dave says you can get a degree in finance from the wisdom of the Proverbs.  For more information check out the link at www.daveramsey.com
Blessings

God's Miraculous Love!

Steve and Lady Walker

This past Sunday morning we heard an amazing testimony from a woman named Lady Walker, and I want to share with you here what I remember of this awesome account of God's miraculous love. 

Lady was suffering with rheumatoid arthritis, and things had gone from bad to worse.  Her feet were red and as she put it, "deformed."  Her doctors told her she could eventually expect to be in a wheel chair.  Meanwhile they gave her some special boots, that she called "moon boots."  They were big and ugly-looking but with them and crutches she could get around although somewhat painfully.  Understandably she didn't get out very much, and her husband Steve who is a sales representative for England Furniture asked her to go with him to the Atlanta market.  The change of scenery would be good, and she could enjoy the Hotel while he was working.  However, they arrived early that July morning, and there reservation were for that evening.  She waited at the market for a while, and then went to the Hotel to see about an early check in.  They said she could leave their baggage but couldn't get in to the room until sometime after lunch that afternoon.  So, she went to the nearby mall and waited in the parking lot, until it was too hot sit in her car any longer.  On  her Dad's recommendation she went in to the mall to look for a place to cool off and rest.  As she was riding up an escalator she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see three teenagers.  One of them spoke and said, "Mam, I see you have some trouble with your feet, and Jesus wants to heal you.  May we  pray for you?"  They found a place for her to sit down in a folding chair near the entrance to one of the shops, and asked her if she would take off her boots.  She responded, "no, please, my feet look awful."  The two young ladies knelt on either side of Lady and placing their hands over her feet they began to pray.  The young man stood in front of her and prayed.  As they prayed Lady felt heat in her ankles and in her feet!  One of the young ladies spoke, "Do you feel something?"  Lady replied, "Yes!"  Then the young lady asked, "Please, could you take off one of your boots?"  She responded by removing one of the "moon boots" to reveal a perfectly whole white foot, with no redness nor deformity!  She removed the other boot, and it was the same!  Her feet were healed!   Having no other footwear, she  put the "moon boot" on again stood up to go, but the young people were gone.   Lady believes they may have been angels sent from God to heal her.  The certainly were sent from God. 

As soon as she returned to the Hotel and went to her room, she called her husband, Steve, and told him what had happened.  He responded, "Are you sure you didn't just wake up from a very realistic dream?"  He even suggested that maybe she had had some wine!  After he returned to the Hotel, they decided to go to the restaurant across the street to eat.  She suggested they could just run across the four lanes of this busy street, and they did! 

After the market, Lady went to an appointment with her doctor, who was amazed.  She didn't tell him how it happened, and he commented that "This just couldn't be!  Your rheumatoid arthritis is genetic.  There just isn't any cure!  

The truth is God just manifested His awesome grace and love to Lady Walker, by healing her completely!  I want you to know that He loves you too!  In fact, I believe there is a miracle in the making for you!  Oh the wonders of our awesome God, and oh the depth of His miraculous love!