Archive for January, 2010
Movie: “The Lovely Bones”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Movie Reviews on January 30, 2010
Last night I went with my family and some good friends to celebrate a birthday and to watch the movie The Lovely Bones. The movie was certainly not the kind of flick I would normally choose, but I wanted to stay with everyone else. Just humanly speaking, the movie was just plain weird. I could have left at any point during the movie and not have given a second thought to how it ended.
Speaking as a believer, the movie seemed to indicate that there is a place between Heaven and Hell where a person goes and spends time before entering eternity. Although the word purgatory was never used, that seemed to be the clear suggestion. The Bible is clear that a Christian goes directly into the presence of the Lord when they die and not to a place like purgatory.
Jesus, told the thief on the cross, “today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). We decide where we spend eternity when we decide how we will respond to the salvation Jesus offers us through the cross. Our destiny is determined during this life, not at some location between Heaven and Earth after we die.
Save your money and skip The Lovely Bones.
Annual Theme: “GO”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Evangelism, Ministry on January 23, 2010
In all the years I have served as a senior pastor, I have never adopted a church-wide annual theme. Oh, I thought about it lots of times when I saw others do it, but I just never felt impressed by the Lord to do so. A few months back, God began to speak to me about adopting a theme that focused on evangelism and missions.
I thought of catchy themes, rhyming themes, and clever themes, but the Lord seemed to say “keep it simple.” After prayer I chose a one-word, two-letter, church-wide theme for Shelbyville First Baptist Church this year. It doesn’t get much more simple than that. Our theme is “Go”!
This year I pray that we will mobilize like never before as a church and as individual Christians. Personally, I am increasing my evangelistic efforts, I am scheduled to travel to Russia this summer to teach, and I am making plans to lead a trip to the Holy Land.
Please share your “Go” ideas here.
How Much Does It Cost to Follow Christ
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship on January 19, 2010
18Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:18-22 (ESV)
Today I have been looking at this passage in depth. As a result of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and a series of miracles that followed, Jesus had an enormous following. Instead of embracing what many of us would have viewed as success, His words seemed to be aimed at weeding out some of the crowd. He seemed to know that many of them were not sincerely committed.
He then did something very unusual–He prepared his main disciples to leave the crowd behind by sailing across the Sea of Galilee. Most “preachers” would stay with the crowd, but Jesus’ desire was simply to do the will of His Heavenly Father. He did not let the crowd set His agenda.
What do you think about His statements in this passage? What do you think He is saying about the cost of following Jesus?
Haiti Relief Effort
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship, Evangelism, Ministry on January 15, 2010
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti. Please join me in praying for the people of Haiti daily and join me in asking God to show us what He would have us do to help. As expected, we have people from our church who are gearing up to travel to Haiti to help with disaster relief efforts. I will share information soon about opportunities to travel to Haiti and help if you are interested.
I encourage you to consider giving a monetary gift to help the people of Haiti. Here are a number of reputable ways you can give to the Haiti Relief Effort.
Southern Baptist International Mission Board
What Will Our Bodies Be Like In Heaven
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship on January 14, 2010
Last night at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, I led a Bible study about our future Heavenly bodies. We looked at a number of Scripture passages that shed light on this interesting subject. Here’s the main content from our study.
7 Interesting Facts about the Heavenly Body
- Our heavenly body will be recognizable. (1 Corinthians 13:12; Matthew 17:1-3)
- Our heavenly body will be like Christ’s body. (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:39)
- Our heavenly body will permit eating. (Luke 24:40-43)
- Our heavenly body will be unlimited by time, gravity, and space. (Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26)
- Our heavenly body will be an eternal body. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:42)
- Our heavenly body will be a glorified body. (Romans 8:18; 1 Corinthians 14:42-43)
- Our heavenly body will be a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44)
The Bible does not tell us everything about the Christian’s future body, but it does give us quite a bit of information. As a result of our study, lots of questions surfaced. Will there be animals in Heaven? Will we know everyone and not need introductions? Will we be married in Heaven? Will we be aware of loved ones and friends who did not make it to Heaven?
If you are reading this blog, I hope you are prepared for Heaven. Jesus loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him. He came to this earth and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, although He Himself never sinned. Through Him we can experience forgiveness and cleansing. Confess to Him that you have sinned. Invite Him to come into your heart and to forgive you of your sins. Commit to follow Him as the Lord of your life. Be sure to let me know about your decision–I would like to send you some information that will help you with your new walk with Christ.
Do you have questions about Heaven? Add your question in the comment section and I will try to address it.
