Tag: Church

Hope Is Dawning

On By BrianIn Book of Luke1 Comment

For 400 years the people of Israel had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah.  The prophets had foretold his coming, and the people waited, longing for his coming.  Would he come in their lifetime?  In their children’s?  Grandchildren’s?  How long?

Finally, the fist glimmers of light appear.  Their hope dawns as an angel appears to Zechariah.  Zechariah and his wife will have a son in their old age.  Their son will prepare the way for the Messiah.

The Messiah came, lived, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven.  Now we wait for the Messiah to come again as foretold by the prophets, and the apostles, and the Messiah himself.  Are we longing for his coming?  Might he come in our lifetime?  In our children’s?  Grandchildren’s?

And as we wait for our hope to dawn, are we as his church preparing the way for his coming?  Are we a proclaiming the good news of Jesus, preparing people for his return?

(From Luke 1)

Sick Church

On By BrianIn Revival1 Comment

In Revelation 3:14-22, Jesus addresses a sick church.  The Creator of the world gives a certain and true diagnosis, and faithful counsel for needed healing.  His words were originally directed at the church of Laodicea.  Might his words describe our churches?  Might his words describe us?

The church is sick because they are lukewarm.  A nearby city was known for its cold water, another for its hot springs.  Laodicea was known for its lukewarm water.  Unwary visitors were known to take a drink only to spit it back out.  Their water was a picture of their spiritual condition.  They had not coldly rejected Christ.  Nor were they fervently serving Christ.  They were lukewarm, indifferent, apathetic, comfortable.  And Christ wants to spew them out.  How well does that describe our churches?  How well does it describe us?

The church is sick because they have a faulty perception of themselves.  Laodicea was a wealthy city and relatively self-sufficient.  The church thought they were rich and needed nothing – but they were deluded.  Christ says they are wretched and pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  Do we see ourselves as rich, or as sinners saved by grace?  Do we think we can manage the Christian life on our own, or do we recognize our need of help?

Christ’s counsel first addresses the second problem.  He calls them to look to him.  They need to acknowledge their spiritual poverty and give up their spiritual self-sufficiency.  Laodicea was a wealthy city, but the church needed to look to Christ for true spiritual wealth – for all the spiritual blessings that flow from Christ. Laodicea had a textile industry specializing in black wool, but the church needed to look to Christ that they might be clothed in white garments – good deeds flowing from God’s grace. Laodicea was known as a medical center with a focus on the eyes, but the church needed to look to Christ that they might see themselves as God sees them.  Are we looking to Christ?

Christ’s counsel continues – moving to the first problem.  They must repent of their lukewarmness.  Though Jesus gags on their lukewarm condition, he still loves them.  He will not allow them to continue living in sin; he will lovingly discipline them.  They must repent – turn from their apathy and be zealous for him.  How?  They cannot do it on their own, they must again look to Christ.  He is knocking at the door of their hearts.  He wants to come in and fellowship with them.  In that fellowship, their hearts will be warmed that they might be zealous for Christ.  Do we need to repent?  Has our relationship with Christ grown distant?  Do we need to open the door again and draw near that we might again be zealous for Christ?

To those who overcome, he promises that we will reign with him.  May we hear what the Spirit says to us in these verses.

Why I Love The Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized3 Comments

At the conference I attended last week (see last post), Ted Kluck gave several reasons why he loved the church.  Since I insisted in the last post that we must love the church, I thought I might make my own list of why I love the church.  Granted the church has its share of problems (it is made up of people like us!), but there are many reasons to love the church:

  1. Preaching of the Word – There is something wonderful about gathering together on a regular basis to focus on the Word of God.  And there is great value in having another person speak the Word to us.  Presumably this person has studied the passage and can bring out things we would have completely missed – both in interpretation and application.  In a sermon we hear the  Word proclaimed with the clear expectation of a response.  One thing I miss about being a pastor is not hearing the Word preached regularly every Sunday by someone else.
  2. Corporate Worship – There is something wonderful about gathering with the same people every week to worship God.  This is not something you can duplicate on your own, with a praise CD, or by hopping from church to church.
  3. Corporate Prayer – There is nothing like knowing you have a church family praying for you in difficult times.  Better yet is to have someone pray for you while you are gathered with your church family in prayer.
  4. Relationships – People who are often very different gather together in the name of Jesus.  Sure, this can create untold conflicts, but it can also enrich our lives in many ways.  And how much I have learned from older more experienced saints!
  5. Accountability – If I start to stray in life or doctrine, I know at least one person in my church will confront me.  I need this!
  6. Humility – The church reminds me that it is not about me.  How often things don’t happen as I may want them to happen, but that is okay, because it is not about me.  I may not always like this, but I do need this!
  7. Gospel – In the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and the singing of many hymns, I am regularly confronted with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Most of all, I need this!

These are just a few things I love about the church.  I’m sure we could add to this list.  What would you add?

Loving Christ and his Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I had the opportunity today to attend a pastors conference entitled “Don’t Stop Loving The Church” with Kevin DeYoung, Ted Kluck, and Mike Wittmer.  A few take home points:

DeYoung: Some folks want Jesus without the church, but if the church is built on Christ’s foundation, then without the church we have a basement without a house.  If the church is the body of Christ, then without the church we have a head without a body.  If the church is the bride of Christ, then without the church we have a wedding without the bride.

Of course all of these things are absurd (or disgusting), and in the same way so is trying to claim Christ without his church.  If we love Christ, we must love his church.

Wittmer: Some folks want to be part of the universal church but not a local church.  That’s like being married but never living together.  (Think about it.)

Also Wittmer: It is not enough to be Christ-centered.  We need to ask: who is the Christ we are centered on?

Indeed, a good question.  Is it the Jesus revealed in the Bible or a Jesus made up from our own imagination?  This question may have many applications, but on this topic consider that the Jesus of the Bible is passionate about his church (he loved her so much, he died for her – Ephesians 5).  If that is not our view of Jesus, then our view of Jesus is simply wrong.  Or if we hold that view of Jesus but still refuse to love his church, then to that extent we fail to love Jesus.  I will never believe you if you claim to love me but reject my wife.  It is no different if we claim to love Christ but reject his church.

Someone might say that church is full of problems (add your list here).  Granted, but Jesus still loved her and died for her, and he calls us to love with the same love he has.

Let’s drop the nonsense about embracing Jesus but rejecting his church.  If we really love Jesus, we will love his church too.

Treasure Hunt

On By BrianIn Heart, Idolatry

Life is like a treasure hunt.  The big difference is that while a typical treasure hunt has clues that lead to a single treasure, life has many clues that lead to numerous treasures.  We have to decide which clues to follow, which treasures to seek.

Jesus used the picture of a treasure in Matthew 6.  He reminds us not to lay up treasure on earth, but rather to lay up treasure in heaven.  Verse 21 reads: “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

So what is your treasure?  There are lots of clues leading to lots of treasures.  What is your treasure?

The Psalms give us clues to what our treasure should be.  Psalm 63 tells us that God’s love is better than life; that God satisfies.  Psalm 27 tells us to seek God’s face.  In Psalm 73, the writer tells us that he desires nothing in heaven or earth but God.  In Psalm 16, David says that God is his chosen portion.  Out of all the possible treasures life offers, David has chosen God.  These psalms and many more are clues that point to God as the true treasure we should seek.

Is God our treasure?  The quick “Christian” answer of course is God, but is he really?  Do our lives prove that God is our treasure?  Or do our lives point to other competing treasures, other gods that we bow down to and serve?  Is God our treasure, or is it God and ________ (you fill in the blank)?

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  So where is your heart?  Whatever your heart is set on is your treasure.  So consider your heart:

What do you love more than anything else?

What to seek, desire, long for more than anything else?

What to you praise and talk about all of the time?

What do you trust in for security and satisfaction and meaning?

What do you serve no matter the cost?

What determines your words and actions and relationships with people?

Are the answers to these questions – God, or some other things, or maybe God and other things?  Where is your heart?  That is your treasure.

Life is a treasure hunt.  What is your treasure?

Serving Other Gods

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Quotes1 Comment

John Frame in his forward for the new book, You Are The Treasure That I Seek: *But there’s a lot of cool stuff out there, Lord by Greg Dutcher writes these words:

“So when we find ourselves going against God’s Word, it is helpful to ask the question: “What idol am I worshipping?”  That is a powerful question, because it exposes the heart.  It asks us to inspect our motives.  When I am unkind to my wife, for example, it’s not a mere slip.  It shows that my heart is not right with God, that I love myself more than my wife….  My own convenience, my own preferences, my own comfort have become my idol.”

Behind every sin is an idol.  Too often behind every good act there is an idol too.  I might serve in ministry for my reputation or another’s praise rather than for Christ.  I might work hard at my job longing for a raise or promotion rather than in service to Christ.  Again and again the Scriptures call us to serve God with all of our hearts (I Samuel 12:24, etc.) , but our hearts are too often divided.  Our hearts are bent on serving other things – other gods.  Here are a few thoughts to begin fighting idols.

1. Prayerfully examine your heart. Ask God to search your heart (Psalm 139:23-24).  Evaluate why you do what you do.  Is it for Christ or is there an idol in your life?  Begin to identify your gods.

2. Confess your sin of idolatry to God.  As you identify your gods, confess these idols to God.  The first commandment tells us to not have any gods before the one true God.  We are all guilty of breaking this command – confess your sins.

3. Celebrate the gospel.  John Frame again writes: “Thinking about idolatry helps us measure ourselves accurately, to see how far we fall below God’s standards.”  We could easily get depressed by how sinful we are.  But we come to cross.  We claim his forgiveness.  We celebrate the glorious truth that Jesus died FOR EVERY TIME we sin.  In Christ, we are clean and pure in God’s sight.

4. Seek to serve God with all your heart.  The truth of the gospel – what Christ did for us, should motivate us to press forward to serve God alone.  Turn away from the gods you identified.  Ask God for help to serve him alone.

May God help us overcome our idols and serve him alone!

More thoughts on idols and fighting them in future posts….

Build up the Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

David desired to build a temple for the Lord, and God was pleased (2 Chronicles 6:7-8).  Today the the temple of the Lord is his church (the people, not the buildings).  Do we desire to build up his church?  Not just attend services.  Not just come to be fed.  But do we desire to build up Christ’s church?

Jesus loved the church so much he gave his life for her (Ephesians 5:25).  He clearly cares about the church.  Do we?  Enough to do our part to build it up?  The Old Testament temple was built of stone and mortar.  How do we build up the church today?  We find the answer in Ephesians 4.

First, we strive for unity.  That is the first six verses.  Nothing can tear a church down faster than division and strife.  And nothing builds it up like peace, unity, oneness.  Indeed in Christ we are one – so we must strive to live out this oneness.  Humility (v2) is key.  We need humility to agree to disagree on minor doctrinal or interpretation issues.  We need humility to agree to disagree on matters of opinion and preference.  No, not everything will happen in our churches like we think it should.  And we will never find a church that will do things exactly like we want.  So we stay.  We practice some humility, and support our churches anyway.  We need humility and patience to bear with one another in love (also v2).  Put any two people together for a length of time and they will offend one another.  Can we bear with each other’s offenses, forgiving when needed.  Being offended is not a reason to leave; it is an opportunity to practice humility, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  God calls us to peace.  Strive for unity to build up the church.

Second, serve in ministry.  The pastor’s job is to equip the people to do ministry so that together the body might build itself up (v11-16).  God has given each person gifts of ministry (see Romans 12:6-8) to use to build up the church.  I once heard Warren Wiersbe say there are two types of Christians – the caterpillars who walk in before the service and out after the service, and the pillars who serve in the church.  Don’t be a caterpillar – be a pillar.  Serve in ministry to build up the church.

Jesus cares about his church.  Do we?  If so let us strive for unity and serve in ministry that his church might be built up.

Desire for the Temple

On By BrianIn Heart

Psalm 84 records the Psalmist’s desire to be at the temple.  He wants to be where God dwells.  He wants to sing for joy and praise the Lord.  He gets excited at the thought of traveling there.  He would rather be there than anywhere else.  Do we share this desire?

The church is God’s temple today.  Do we desire to be where God dwells – among his people?  Do we desire to gather together to sing for joy and praise our Lord?  Do we get excited at the thought of going to meet with God?  Is there nowhere we would rather be?  Does this desire show on Sunday morning?  During the rest of the week?

Heart for the Church

On By BrianIn Heart1 Comment

After Jesus’ trial, he was scourged with a many-lashed whip containing imbedded pieces of bone and metal.  He was mocked, spit, and struck.  He has a crown of thorns placed on his head.  And then he had spikes driven into his hands and feet, and he hung on a cross.  Why?  Why did he endure all of that?  For me.  For you.  To save people from their sins.  But there is more:

“…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….” – Ephesians 5:25

He endured the cross because he loved the church.  If he loved the church like that, shouldn’t his followers love his church too?

Some people claim they want to follow Christ but want nothing to do with his church.  How can you follow Christ while rejecting that which he loves?  Some have been hurt by the church; the church isn’t perfect.  Sadly true.  But Jesus loved it anyway and gave his life for it.  If we follow him, we must love the church too and give of ourselves for his church.

Some people are part of a local church, but just go through the motions.  They attend services, but do they ever show love for the church?  Do they love the people – building relationships with them and ministering to them? Do they support the ministries of the church with their time and money and spiritual gifts?  Do they give of themselves for Christ’s church as Jesus did?

Jesus loved his church.  Shouldn’t we?

Human Heart Helpers

On By BrianIn Heart1 Comment

Guard your life lest you fall away from the living God!  That is how I ended my last post.  But Hebrews 3:12-13 makes clear we ought not try to do this alone:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

How can we guard our lives and keep from falling away?  It comes in Christian community.  We need to encourage and be encouraged in the faith daily.  Sunday services are important as we go to be encouraged in our faith by the preaching and teaching and singing and praying.  But we need DAILY encouragement from God’s people.

Iron sharpens iron.  Could it be that we are too often dull because of a lack of sharpening during the week?  Too often we are like lukewarm coals that come together on Sunday, grow warmer together, and then lose whatever heat we may have gained as we scatter for the week.

Alone there is the danger of developing hard unbelieving hearts that fall astray.  We need each other humans to help our hearts.  How can we make this happen?

In part this daily encouragement can happen in our families (if you have a Christian family) by daily studying the Word together, praying together, and exhorting one another.  Is this characteristic of your family?

In part this daily encouragement can happen through media – Christian music, books, magazines, preaching on the radio, internet, blogs like this one, etc.  What media are you daily ingesting to encourage you in your faith?

But the ultimate answer is that God created the local church for this purpose.  We are to encourage and be encouraged by others in our churches on a daily basis.  Many of us are too busy for this (maybe this is why we are weak?).  We need to visit one another, call, and send notes.  New technology like  e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter give us new opportunities to encourage others in our local church and be encouraged by them during the week.

So what steps can you take this week to encourage others in their faith?  What steps can you take to be encouraged in your faith?  Think family, media, and local church.  Don’t ignore this.  Don’t pass over it.  God may use our encouragement to keep someone from drifting away.  And we need daily encouragement for ourselves to keep from drifting away.

And as we encourage one another, perhaps instead of drifting away, we might have hearts that beat stronger every day for God.  May it be so!