3 reasons to be baptized

We're celebrating baptisms this weekend at Grace. I believe that baptism is a critical part of an obedient Christian life. I also feel strongly that the Bible indicates that it is believers who should be baptized. An oft repeated phrase throughout the New Testament is "repent and be baptized" - which seems to indicate that baptism is something that we must choose to do.  I felt so strongly about this that 15 years ago I was baptized as a believer even though I had been baptized as a baby early in my life. Baptism is a symbol of a person’s total identification with Christ and allegiance to him.  But more than that – it is a public declaration -a way of identifying that the person being baptized is now welcome in the community of faith. Here are 3 reasons I think baptism is so important:

1. Jesus commanded it. Baptism is an act of obedience - and for many Christians it is their very first act of obedience.  Jesus was clear about this, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  (Matthew 28:19)
2. It is a primary tradition of the church.  From the very beginning of the church, believers in Jesus have been baptized. In getting baptized, you are demonstrating to the church that you have made a commitment to follow Christ.  ”What are you waiting for?  Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16)
3. Jesus himself was baptized. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:13-17) - There was really no other reason for Jesus to be baptized other than to be an example to us... (oh yeah and for God to split the heavens open and show the world that this was His son...).

It's not too late - if you're still interested in being baptized this weekend at our 9:15 or 11:00 services in McKean - let us know here.  Do some more reading in Romans 6 if you'd like some more theology on the subject.  

  

3 Reasons I believe in online giving

We have been encouraging the people of Grace Church to explore the possibility of online giving. You can set up your online giving to Grace over here. Kim and I have used this method of giving for years and I really believe in it.  Here's why:


1. First Fruits - So many people take care of themselves first financially and then give God the leftovers...if there are any.  Many people approach the offering time at church like they are tipping God after enjoying a good meal themselves.  The bible commands the opposite approach.  God should get our first and our best. The Old Testament talks about the concept of giving God our "first fruits" (a reference that makes the most sense in an agricultural context but the principle still applies to us).  Proverbs 3:9 says Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.  Setting up an online giving account allows us to set aside our first fruits for God; to fund God's kingdom before funding our own. 


2. Intentional Worship - For many Christians, the act of giving in church is an afterthought.  They find themselves rummaging through their wallet or purse in the middle of the service trying to find a few bucks to throw in the plate.  Again - the bible commands a better way. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. There is a heartfelt intentional decision that is involved in cheerful giving.  This decision should happen in advance of the actual worship service.  Online giving allows us to decide in advance what percentage of our income we will give to God and forces us to be consistent in that giving. Some would argue that the act of dropping a check into the offering plate is the true act of worship and giving online removes this symbolic gesture.  I would argue that it's just as worshipful to intentionally decide up front to give regularly, consistently, and generously.


3. Convenience - And last but not least it is simply more convenient to give online.  It allows us to be most consistent in our giving.  We can be certain that we are giving even when we're out of town for a weekend. It removes the dreaded "I forgot our offering again" moment that plagued Kim and I for many years!  We are an online generation that rarely carries cash or checks anymore.  Most of our financial transactions happen online.  In addition to being personally convenient, it is also more convenient for the church. It is more convenient for the church to process online contributions, it simplifies the financial records the church needs to keep, and it saves time for our volunteers who count and process the offerings every week.


If you have never considered online giving I would encourage you to give it a shot. 

Scriptures to help you prepare for Good Friday

Is. 53:5-6

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

1 John 2:1-2

But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

Romans 6:3-7, 11

Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin…  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

Where does anger come from?

Christian counselors claim that some 50% of the people who they counsel are dealing with issues related to anger. Anger can shatter communication, tear apart relationships, it can ruin our health.  Some people have left a wake of wounded people in their past because of their anger.  And for some – they’re not the angry outburst type – but they have held on to anger for many years and it’s like a cancer that kills their ability to love people and worship God and it’s rotting away any opportunity that they have at healthy relationships moving forward.  


However, anger is not just damaging, it can also be good; even godly. In fact, Ephesians 4:26 - BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN.  The bible acknowledges that we will be angry and there are things that should fuel a righteous anger in us (when we see cases of injustice for example).  

As best as I can tell there are three major originators of anger (this is not scientific but simply from my experience). 

1. Unmet needs (usually unspoken) – this is prevalent especially in marriages

2.  Feelings of violation/ injustice/ humiliation

3.  Lack of control/ Fear

What are some other causes of anger?  What did I miss?

Some thoughts on envy

This past weekend I spoke on envy. Envy is an interesting sin because it's sneaky.  People are often embarrassed to admit or acknowledge it because it feels a little Jr. High-ish. An overly simplified definition of envy is 'desire mixed with resentment.' Somebody close to you has experienced an advantage or benefit in life that you desire, and you also resent that they are enjoying it and you aren't.  That's envy.  It usually expresses itself in one of the following areas: money, possessions, position, and appearance. The main text I used was James 3:13-18.  Here are a few of the main points. 


1.  Envy is the result of a fallen heart and mind (3:13-15)

• James places envy squarely in the category of "earthly wisdom" 
•  It proves to be a heart issue because it can't be solved in the external ways that people usually attempt. It isn't solved simply by getting more.  If suddenly you had more, your envy would just shift to somebody else.  There are always a bigger fish. It is also not solved by blaming or distancing ourselves from the people we are envious of.  The problem isn't them - it's us - it's a heart that hasn't been fully changed by God.
• It is also an issue of the mind.  In order to conquer envy -our minds need to be renewed and transformed (see Romans 12:1-2)
• Dr. Archibald Hart says “We cannot control our emotions directly, but we can influence how we are FEELING by changing our THOUGHTS.”

2.  With envy comes chaos (3:16)

•  Envy will never produce harmony or love because it’s proud, self-seeking, self-serving, self-indulgent.  It destroys intimacy, it destroys love, it destroys unity, it destroys fellowship, it brings discord, it brings absolute chaos.
•  It brings personal chaos - things like emotional restlessness, depression, consumerism and debt, prayerlessness. 
•  It also brings relational chaos - it causes a distancing and pulling away from others, gossip and slander, and secretly rejoicing when the other person fails.
•   Envy is actually the sin that got Jesus killed (Matthew 27:18). It causes people to do all sorts of crazy things. 

3.  The antidote to envy is Peace (3:17-18)

•  Peace with God - Really, you're not upset with the person you're envious of - you're upset with God. At its heart envy says "God owes me."  When you have the guts to get on your knees and say, “God I think you ripped me off,” is when you will begin the process of getting envy under control.  
•  Peace with others - when James uses the word 'peace' in this passage - he is not talking about 'inner tranquility' like we think of peace.  He is talking about a  socially oriented drive that sought and valued harmonious living. More than just being happy with what they have, James is calling his readers to obsess about something larger and more noble than their neighbor’s property, or status, or spouse. Then there will be no room left in our hearts for envy.

I'm looking forward to another great weekend at Grace as Pastor Al closes out our series on "FEAR"

How can you Love your Enemy?

I think one of Jesus' most difficult commands is to love your enemy. Do you have a family member, a co-worker, an acquaintance who you can't stand? They are the person who opposes you, or annoys you, or thinks they're better than you, or who has hurt you deeply. Here are a few practical suggestions to begin the work of forgiving them... it may even lead to loving them.

1. Determine what you think they owe you and then cancel the debt - Decide what it was that they took from you. What do you believe they owe you? Be honest, there is probably nothing they could do to make it right. The work of love and forgiveness is up to you. So, make a list...then cancel the debt, decide to forgive. Take list and burn it – bury it. Determine that he/she doesn't owe you anymore.
2. Speak kindly to them and about them - I heard one time that when it comes to conflicts that rage like fires, each of us carries both a bucket of gasoline and a bucket of water. We get to choose which bucket we'll use. Our words can ignite the flames of anger or they can begin resolution. David, when he spoke about Saul (who was trying to kill him), was overly gracious with his words.
3. When the opportunity presents itself to take them down ... don’t. There will come a time, in many cases, when the person who hates you most, the person who has hurt you, gossiped about you, spread lies about you... there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to take them down - to deliver the kill shot to their reputation. Don’t do it. That’s the time you must be a blessing.

This is the meaning of Christian love.

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." 1 Peter 3:9-10


Thanks to John Ortberg for his inspiration for this post. 

How To Measure Success in Ministry - Part 1

If you are not in ministry - you may not understand how difficult it is to resist the temptation to measure a ministry's success based on "nickles and noses." These two factors can't be ignored (giving and attendance) - but they have become the obsession of many a church leader. Our staff went through a time of training and study today and the topic of success and failure in ministry. We unpacked 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6ff which contains the only usage of the word "failure" in the New Testament. Paul said that his ministry to the church in Thessalonica was "not a failure." He then goes on to list some unusual evidence to support his argument. He doesn't talk about numbers of converts, or start up churches. He mentions 3 marks of "success":

1. His own character (2:3-11 - the bulk of Paul's argument is based on the purity of his motives and character.)
2. The gospel was preached (2:2)
   
3. Lives were changed (2:14-15)

Thanks to conference notes from some folks who attended Innovation 3 which became a great launching pad for our conversation.

How to Study the Bible

I find it such a privilege to preach the word of God at Grace. This past sermon was an absolute uphill struggle the whole week. At 3 AM on Saturday morning I found myself still wrestling with my manuscript and got the point of pretty much ditching it and starting from scratch. God used the preparation to point out some shortcomings in my own life and my own walk -so part of the struggle was just letting God do business in my heart.

Anyway - it was a message about the importance of the disciplines in our efforts to follow Christ. The word "discipline" comes from the word "disciple" so the two concepts are pretty intertwined. I challenged the church to practice their faith by committing themselves to become "deep of soul" when no one is looking. To commit to a training regiment so that when it comes time to live, and make decisions, and stand up for Christ, and do the right things in a relationship - that they will be prepared and free to do the right thing.

Midway through the sermon I threw out an offer (totally short notice and without even having a room reserved) to come back on Tuesday night for a 1 1/2 hour training session on how to study the Bible. 96 people came back on Tuesday! I was blown away! I offered a bunch of resources that night and talked through two study methods that really work with any passage of Scripture. One is called the inductive Bible study method and is geared more for a deeper study of the word - the other is called, well I'm not sure there is a name for it - but it is more of a devotional study method. I plan to offer the session again sometime. Shoot me a comment here if you want me to email you a packet of the stuff that I handed out that night.

People Read the Old Testament Wrong (Part 2)

You can see part 1 of this post here. The basic premise is that the Old Testament should be read as a historical narrative. The stories of real people in real time living real lives (sounds like the tag line for a cheesy contemporary church). People whom God has interacted with and used over the span of their lifetime.

The second story I want to highlight is the story of SAMUEL. You can check out his deal in the book of 1 Samuel. In his adult life, as high priest and judge, Samuel had the amazing privilege of anointing the first and second kings of Israel. After an all night prayer session, he had to deliver this message to Saul (Israel's first king), "You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!" Then he went on an incognito mission to find the next king.

Seven candidates were offered forth who completely looked the part. But God continued to whisper to him, 'that's not the one, that's not the one...' Then he finally heard from God when a somewhat unlikely candidate stood before him named David (1 Sam 16). He chose the one who would ultimately provide the bloodline through which the messiah to enter the world (no pressure). The whisperings and promptings of God are a very powerful thing. Samuel made one of the biggest decisions in the history of Israel based on a whisper from God... That's heavy stuff. How confident are you about acting on the promptings of God? Where did Samuel learn this sensitivity? Ahhh - the rest of the story - the Old Testament as narrative.

Samuel the baby was born to a woman named Hannah. The woman that we reference often when we do baby dedications because she dedicated her child, Samuel, to the Lord and gave him back to God at the Temple. There he grew up under the care of a priest named Eli. The story is in 1 Samuel 3. During the quiet hours, in the dark of night, in the overwhelming Temple chambers, little Samuel would hear a voice. He ran into Eli's bedroom thinking that Eli was calling. Finally Eli told Samuel that it was the voice of God. At a young age, Samuel learned what God's voice sounded like - that familiar timbre - the gentle inward prompting - that became familiar as he grew older. And as an old man, it was the same voice that rang in his head when the young man David stepped in front of him that said, "HE'S THE ONE!"

People Read the Old Testament Wrong (Part 1)

OK - the truth is most people don't read the Old Testament at all. But those who do often view the stories in the OT as isolated instances - stand alone stories with moral lessons almost like Aesop's fables. Therefore, many people know the story of Noah's ark, Jonah and the whale, Joseph and the coat of many colors, David and Goliath, and on and on. Don't get me wrong, there are some lessons to be learned about faith from these individual stories.

But over the last year or so as I've read through the Bible again with a group of guys, I was reminded that the far more beneficial way to read the OT is as a historical narrative. A story of people and generations that are all woven together as part of the same story of God's redemption.

Today was the last week of our SHAPE class at Grace that I had the privilege to teach with Mike Hartle. What a great class! This is the day we talk about experiences and how God often uses our past experiences in life to shape the way we do ministry. I used several scriptural examples of how God does this and I want to post a few of them as reminders of the importance of our experience and at the same time a reminder to read the OT as a historical narrative.

First is the story of SOLOMON. He's famous for answering the big question correctly! God told him he could have anything he wanted and he asked for wisdom. Have you ever wondered why he asked for wisdom? If we view this as a stand-alone story we could come up with all kinds of potential reasons. Maybe he was more spiritual than the rest of us, maybe God inspired him in the moment to respond with this model response. Or maybe we need to think about the backstory for a moment.

Remember who Solomon's mother was? Bathsheba. Yes - that Bathsheba. The one who gave in to the advances of Solomon's dad - David. Solomon was the king that succeeded David on the throne - and I wonder what his growing up years were like listening to the stories about the inappropriate relationship his dad and mom had. He had a front row seat to see how the aftermath of his father's decision affected his ability to lead and rule. Maybe Solomon asked for wisdom so that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the past. One of my great desires is to be a student of the past - both my own past and my ministry past - so that I don't repeat the same mistakes again. In the words of a young pastor Steven Furtick:

I don’t mind those I lead making mistakes. In fact, I prefer it. If they’re not making mistakes, they’re probably not playing to win. I just want you to make new mistakes. Different mistakes than you made last time. Mistakes that reveal a new level of effort, or a new frontier of endeavor.

Most leaders don’t mind mistakes. They just can’t stand to see the same mistakes over…and over…and over again. Mistakes are fine (even mandatory) as long as we’re cruising down the open highway. But they make me car sick if we’re simply circling the cul-de-sac.