Upcoming Sermon Series

Recently I read some advice given to preachers by Andy Stanley, "...if you preach from your weakness, you will never run out of material." It amazes me when I hear preachers say "I don't know what to preach," or "I've run out of preaching material," or when I see preachers frequently recycling sermons. I am convinced that if you are trying to live the Christian life, have your eyes open to life and the needs of people, and are continually reading your Bible you will never run out of material to preach.

There are so many things that need to be preached. So many things Christians, churches, and families need to hear. There are so many things I want to study (for my own benefit)--things that turn out to be topics others need as well.

There are always circumstances that come up in preaching when topics need to be changed. Having said that, here is my tentative plan of preaching topics on Sunday nights for the next few months:



1. A Biblical study of grace. Why is it so amazing? Sunday nights this summer!



2. How did we get the Bible? Do we have the right number of books? Are there inspired documents missing from our Bibles? Sunday nights this Fall!



3. Why does God allow suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people while the wicked seem to prosper? How can suffering be compatible with a loving God? Sunday nights in the winter!

Pass Your Faith On!

Recently I was reading the writings of Gus Nichols on the issue of the Holy Spirit. In his discussion of "The Unity of the Spirit" he made a great observation about how families must pass their faith down to the next generation. Here is brother Nichols' wise instruction:

"One hindrance to the unity of the Spirit is that we are living in a secular age. We see everything through the spectacles of 'dollar-marks.' We are materialistic, we think of values in terms of money, and houses, and lands, and things of that sort. We forget that one little child to be reared and trained for the Lord, can rear and train others, and they others, and they others (Ps. 78:5-6), until in a thousand years there may be thousands of souls in heaven--all because we took time to train one. Or, it may be the other way: if we fail, it may be that this one will fail, others under like influence will fail, and others still under those influences will fail--and there may be thousands of souls burning and suffering in hell forever, a billion years from now, all because we put money, and other things, ahead of the spiritual--because we failed to train a child, failed to put the kingdom first (Matt. 6:33)."

(Source: Gus Nichols Lectures on the Holy Spirit page 210. Nichols Bros. Publishing, 1967).

Becoming the Jesus Next Door

I was doing a random search on the Internet when I stumbled across this video that was produced by a church in Texas. This presentation challenges us to consider whether we are simply "church-goers" or if we live everyday lives that reflect the life of Jesus. Click on the video and check it out, and let's begin an on-line discussion about the material. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

Why is God Not Answering My Prayer?

Do you ever feel like God is not answering your prayers? I have yet to meet a Christian who thought they prayed enough. It seems that we often struggle with our daily conversations with God. I have really been challenged with week as I have considered Jesus practice and teaching on prayer for an upcoming sermon. I found this quotation from Bill Hybles about prayer that you might find helpful:

If the request is wrong, God says, "No."

If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow."

If you are wrong, God says, "Grow."

But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"

(Bill Hybels, Too Busy Not To Pray, IVP, p. 74).

God Keeps Looking

While swimming of the South Pacific island of Saipan, Jessica Spinks lost her class ring. The 2000 graduate of Alton High School thought her ring was forever lost to the ocean waters. However, on Thursday (May 3, 2007) Spinks received a phone call that her ring had been found, according to the Associated Press article. While scuba diving off the coast the northern Mariana Islands, Greg Moretti found the lost ring.

Like a scuba diver searching for lost jewelry, our God is relentless in seeking for us when we have become lost. In our journeys through life, we often become distracted and side-tracked and we venture far from the shore. We feel alone and lost in the depths of life's waves. We often don't feel that we have the strength to swim to the shore and be found, but inwardly we desperately want to be rescued from the watery abyss.

God himself dove into the waters of this life and he began searching under every rock and crevice for those who are lost. Jesus made it his life mission to "seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). If you feel lost and alone in life's depths, know that God is searching for you. He is seeking you. He looks into your lonely room, he searches your inward hiding places, he looks under the piles of worry that you carry. Our God will not rest until he finds you. When he discovers you on the bottom of life's ocean floor, he reaches out his hand and invites you to be found. But when the light of his presence illuminates the place where you are lost, it is up to you to take his hand.

Happy Mother's Day!

I have always said that I have the greatest mom in the world (I hope that you think the same thing)! I love my mom's sense of humor. We love to laugh together. Here is a video about mother's day that hopefully will make you think of your mom this weekend!

We certainly don't want dad to feel left out! Here is a more serious and heartwarming video the applies both to moms and dads (click on the link below):

To a child love is spelled T-I-M-E

Planet Earth

Have you been watching the documentary Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel? Michelle and I happened to catch a couple of the episodes the other night. Amazing! The documentary was five years in the making and covers some 204 locations on earth all filmed with high definition cameras.

Several of the creatures that they showed have never been captured on video before. There are amazing birds found deep within the jungle that will amaze you! There are blue glowing worms that illuminate the ceiling of caves deep within the earth! As we were watching the show, Michelle made a great observation: "Look at all these amazing things that God has made for his glory!" "Man usually does things to get the credit," she noted, "but God has made so many amazing and beautiful things that no one has ever seen...simply for his own glory!" That is amazing, isn't it! The entire creation glows with the glory of God's creative touch!

May all of mankind and all creation join in the song of the angelic seraphim that stand before God's throne, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3)!

Is Anyone Reading This?

For several months I have been regularly publishing articles on this blog. I know that some people read my articles, but hardly anyone leaves a comment.

Do you think that this is a worthwhile project? Should I continue to post articles, sermon outlines, and study links on this blog? Or should I dedicate my time elsewhere?

If this blog has been helpful to you, please leave me a comment. Should I continue posting articles?

Here is how you leave a comment:

1. Click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this article (or any article).
2. This will take you to a page where you can type a comment.
3. After typing your comment, you will be asked to verify you are a person by typing the squiggly letters into the "word verification" box.
4. Then, if you are not a blogger yourself, just click the "Anonymous" identity option (but please tell me who you are in the comment text).
5. Then click "publish comment" and viola!
6. The comment will be e-mailed to me and then I will post the comment on the blog.

Riding the Fence

"Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you hesitate between two opinions?'"

(1 Kings 18:21).

The cry of postmodern thinking is that we must "tolerate" everything. Every "alternative lifestyle," worldview, or personal belief must be viewed as equally valid, we are told. The cardinal sin of our age is daring to offend someone else.

The result of this type of thinking is that no one seems to be courageous enough to take a stand for anything. We attempt to placate everyone and speak out of both sides of our mouth. No one seems to be confident in their beliefs or bold enough to take a firm position.

Elijah rebuked the people of Israel because they were trying to serve both the true God and the idols of Baal and Asherah. The people were trying to "ride the fence" and recognize both religions as equally valid. Yet such a position is ridiculous. There is right and there is wrong. A thing cannot be both right and wrong simultaneously.

Although postmodern Americans tend to "hesitate between two opinions" there is some indication that people are now hungering for people who are bold enough to be "straight shooters." Whether or not you agree with these people, the popularity of Dr. Phil, Bill O'Reilly, and even Rosie O'Donnell demonstrates that we long for people to stop dancing around issues and "tell it how it is."

Christians should not be crass and tactless. We must always let our "speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person" (Colossians 4:6). This is a principle that many outspoken television hosts forget. However, while we are careful to speak with compassion we must also be bold and confident in our convictions.