Salvation

I’ve got a friend who recently started the blogging thing at http://lastrogue.blogspot.com/. His latest installment on Jesus asked a very poignant question: "what is salvation?" He went on to say “We tend to see it as just nothing more than redemption won for us at the cross, but is it something more?” The answer is a resounding YES! He’s got some great observations, check it out.

Thanksgiving

I’m preparing to give the annual thanksgiving sermon this Sunday. This year the text is from Psalm 30, a text picked after reading some profound thoughts from a fellow blogger, Jeff McCrory http://www.jeffmccrory.typepad.com/. What I appreciated was his demonstration that thankfulness is more than an “attitude of gratitude”. Stemming from the word “thanks” found in Psalm 30, he wrote that thanks should be something we do “with our hands.” “Literally when the psalmist says “I thank” we ought to think “I present something with my hands”.

How do you see thanks? Is it an attitude of gratitude, or something more as is taught in Psalm 30?

In another post, Tod Bolinger http://bolsinger.blogs.com/ writes “Do you Trust Me?” He's in the midst of a series on the Sermon on the Mount. His statements on November 17 and his opening illustration are a great reminder of our need to "let go" and trust the Lord. I especially liked the quote he had from Dallas Willard,

“Believers are those who act as if the gospel is true.”

Why Blog 5? Development of sermons

I used to think that the pastor had to get alone with God, pray, struggle, study and come up with what God wanted to say to the congregation, and anything other than that meant I was not a good pastor/preacher; I was letting down my congregation. I have found that not to be the case, though. The more I interact with others, taking what I believe the Lord is leading me to do, the text, my understanding of it, and sharing it, the better the sermon becomes. This will never take the place of the study I need to do, but it can (and already has) enhance how the material is presented and how it will be received and applied. I learned this first from Traci, my wife. As I shared with her what I believed I was to preach, we would talk, she would ask questions, give ideas, and I’d incorporate that into the sermon so that I was better able to communicate what God was saying to the congregation. I have done that with others this fall, talking about the text, the sermon, and getting feedback from them. And because of that interaction, the conveying of the Scriptures and how to apply it has become even more clear.

What's next, Jerry?

I have a friend, named Jerry, who has cancer. He was diagnosed with it about four weeks ago, clearly a shock to him as well as all those who know him. He had been walking every day about 2-3 miles, was in good shape, and had no sign of any kind of sickness, especially something as severe as cancer (in the kidney and in the lung, and no, he was not a smoker). His first and only hint that there was something wrong came on a Friday night. He went in to the emergency room that night because he was spitting up blood. He was diagnosed with cancer and had his left kidney removed by the following Wednesday. All through this I’ve gotten to pray and talk with him. What I am watching is a man of faith in action.

Jerry is a recent convert to the cause of Christ. I can remember the early conversations with him as he explored what it meant to be a follower of Christ. He came to church as a curious bystander, and when he said yes to Jesus, he said yes to involvement in the community of faith, choosing to live out his new step of faith. He’s been involved in several ministries at CrossRoad, especially with our summer outreach ministry, and heading the team working on the web site.

Jerry’s first week back to worship with the church family was this past Sunday. I was thrilled to see him, as were all who knew him. He received a rousing cheer when I announced that he was in worship. After the applause subsided I said to him, “What’s next, Jerry?” In his own carefree, laid back style he declared, “Tomorrow.” When the laughter receded we found out that he is going for a consultation on November 21 that would tell him how and what would happen with his chemotherapy treatments.

As I thought about his statement later, I realized the profoundness of his statement. The Bible says no man is promised tomorrow, yet it takes a crisis like this to realize how true that is. His statement blessed me. What is next? Tomorrow. Matthew 6:27 Jesus said, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Sometimes we get so anxious about the future, we forget to live in the present, to enjoy life today. Every day is a gift; I’ll never get this again. Thank you, Lord, for today. And thank you, Jerry, for reminding me what is most important, and for showing again, what a man of faith is like. You’re a blessing.

Why Blog 4? Engaging the culture

The internet is the tool of the day, not just for communication, but for this generation. And through blogging, people that would not approach me, or engage in a conversation, would do so over the internet. Blogging can open avenues to reach out to those who would never darken the doors of a church, but would “talk” through the internet. I look forward to the day when those who do not yet know Jesus Christ would read and interact with my blog. I want to make disciples of Christ and blogging is just one more way that can happen in today’s society. The message of Jesus Christ never changes, how we communicate that message needs to develop as society changes. The use of the internet, and specifically blogging ( and I would include other sites, like “My Space” in that, too. I am fascinated by how much can be and is communicated through these kind of sites) is the means to connect and get the message of the good news of Christ out to a world in desperate need of Him. Through this medium, people from across the street to across the ocean can communicate and become friends. What an exciting time to be alive!

Why Blog? 3

Why do I Blog? 3

The third reason for blogging is something I just recently realized, the value of interaction on the web. Jollyblogger http://jollyblogger.typepad.com/jollyblogger/ recently sited this piece, then wrote: (forgive me for not writing down the date)

“Taking this a step further, George Barna says that more and more people are looking to the internet for their spiritual life and sustenance:
New ways of experiencing and expressing faith, such as through house churches, marketplace ministries, and cyberchurches, are becoming the norm for millions of people.”

Reading the blogs of others gives me the opportunity to reflect, grow, learn, be challenged, and at times even interact with pastors and others in the community of faith, as we grow together in our faith in Jesus Christ, and what it means to be truly Christian. I value the opinions of these brothers and sisters in Christ, whether we always agree or not.

This is the future, ministering on and through the internet, and having a presence here gives me the ability to interact with others throughout the world, Christian or not. I don't want to miss out on what God is doing and will do through this medium. (No, this will never take the place of face to face meetings and times of worship, but we would be foolish for leaving out this ministry because it does not fit our paradigm)

What I would like to do is have this become a forum to interact with my own congregation as well as other bloggers. I have been encouraging the CrossRoad family to read this blog, and hopefully begin to interact with what I’ve written.