Partners in preaching

When I logged on to sermoncentral.com this morning to post yesterday's sermon, I noticed that I had reached a milestone of sorts. Since I first started posting the text of my messages to that site in late 2005, I have posted a total of 178 sermons and this week the number of times that those sermons have been viewed by visitors to the website passed 10,000. That's really hard for me to believe, but it just goes to illustrate how, with today's technology, the ministry of our church reaches all over the world.

I'm grateful to a church that allows me to do something that I love to do so much - teach the Word of God. All of you are partners in that process. At a minimum, you give to our church so that I can actually get paid to do something that I enjoy so much. But many of you play a much greater role in my preaching and teaching. The men who come at 6:30 a.m. each Tuesday morning help provide insight into the Scripture passage each week and help me to focus my teaching in those areas where people might have questions. Our "Connections" Bible study teachers often interact with me and share thoughts and ask questions. And then you take the passage and help our people to apply it in their lives each week. And most of all I'm indebted to Pastor Dana and the chance I have to bounce my ideas off of him and discuss the Bible each week and work together as a team to make sure that our teaching is accurate and relevant. Although he is often not as visible as I am, his input is invaluable to me each week.

So thanks to all of you who share in the impact of having 10,000 views of those messages!

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God at work in our midst!

If you were at our Night of Worship last night, you had a great chance to see how God is at work right in the midst of our body. Each person who shared a testimony allowed us to get a glimpse of the many different ways that God is at work in our midst. For some, it is the way God is revealing Himself through His Word. For others, it is God being right there with them as they deal with the day-to-day struggles of life. And for others, it is God bringing them success as they serve as missionaries wherever God has place them.

What an awesome God we serve!

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The Bible and Our Mobile Phones

Normally, I'm not real apt to pass on emails that people send to me. In fact, I'll let you in on a secret - I don't even read most of the emails that people forward on to me. But one that I received today really caused me to stop and think for a moment. so I thought I'd pass it on to you.

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we travelled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?Oh, and one more thing.Unlike our mobile phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Just some food for thought!

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Sobering, but not without hope

I know that a lot of the passage that we've been looking at lately deal with judgment and in particular judgment that is directed at God's people. Certainly, that is a sobering thought and one that we need to heed. Just because we are God's children, that does not make us immune to His judgment. I think that's an important message to communicate, especially since the church has often been guilty of peddling "easy grace" that says "Just come to Jesus and all your problems will go away." We would do well to heed the words of Jesus:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33)

But even in the midst of judgment, there is always hope. As we've seen in the Old Testament prophets, God always preserves a remnant. And Jesus also made it clear that even though there is tribulation in the world, He has overcome the world. Jesus doesn't promise to take away all our problems - but He does promise that those who trust in Him can have hope because we are overcomers in Him.

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Amos 1 and 2 - Is there a pattern?

Next week, we'll begin looking at the Book of Amos for a few weeks. Try to read through the entire book at least once before then. Pay particular attention to the first two chapters and see if you can discern some patterns there. How might those patterns be applicable to us in our day-to-day lives?

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Joel - 3 Chapters or 4?

Just thought I'd throw this question out to see if anyone is paying attention: Why is it that in some Bible versions Joel has 3 chapters and in other versions it has 4? And what significance is there to us?

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Joel 2 - A locust invasion or human army?

An interesting question has come up in my study of Joel 2. Is Joel describing here 1) the same locust invasion described in Chapter 1, 2) a future locust invasion, or 3) an invasion by a human army? I have my own thoughts, but I'd love to hear yours. There are a lot of clues in the text itself without needing to consult commentaries or other outside sources.

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A New Post - About Time!

As you can obviously see, I haven't posted anything for quite some time. But now that we've begun our study of the Book of Revelation, I want to use this space to get your feedback and to share some of the exciting things going on behind the scenes each week.

I'd especially appreciate any of your feedback on the messages each week. I'd love to hear your thoughts or to answer any questions that you might have. This is also a good place to connect with others in the body.

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