Archive for category Church Chat
Project 1189
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Ministry, Prayer, Preaching, Worship on February 26, 2012
Several months ago, while I was on a morning run through Clear Creek Park, the Lord distinctly laid something on my heart. He emphasized that I was to lead our church to read straight through the entire Bible from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22—all 1,189 chapters. He also stressed that we should read from behind our pulpit in our sanctuary.
In obedience to His instructions, we are going to read through the entire Word of God beginning Sunday, March 11 and ending Sunday, March 25. Every person who wishes to participate in reading a portion of the Scripture, will be asked to sign-up for a time slot on the sheet posted in the Sanctuary. The weekday schedule will look like this:
Week of March 12-16 & March 19-23 / 10am-6pm
Pray about how the Lord wants you and your family to participate. Maybe He will lead you to read or just drop in and listen while others read—just obey Him as He leads.
Here are three important things I believe the Lord wants us to accomplish through PROJECT 1189:
- Renew our dedication as a church to hearing and obeying the Word of God
- Renew our commitment in our families to the Word of God
- Renew our passion as individuals to the Word of God
New Member’s Class Video
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Ministry on December 13, 2011
Dr. Mike James, Director of Discipleship for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, asked me to join him in a video discussion about the logistics of a New Member’s class. Click on the picture below for that video:
The Holy Spirit
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Sermons, Worship on September 15, 2011
After serving as a pastor in Southern Baptist churches over the last quarter of a century, I find that the average Southern Baptist is largely unfamiliar with the person and work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, I am preaching a sermon series this fall simply called “Fruit of the Spirit.”
The first sermon in the series examined the following six foundational truths about the Holy Spirit:
- The Holy Spirit God. The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning. He was part of the Trinity as everything was created. Genesis says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
- The Holy Spirit is a person. Throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “He or Him.” In John 14:16-17, Jesus said, ”….I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
- The Holy Spirit plays a key role in salvation. (John 16:8-11)
- The Holy Spirit dwells in each believer. Jesus said, “….the Spirit of truth….he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). Paul asked, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
- The Holy Spirit is given to us as a deposit. What a glorious truth! The Holy Spirit is God’s down payment indicating that He is good for the rest! Hallelujah! “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 5:5).
- The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the believer. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
I personally believe that the greatest evidence that we are truly believers is the fruit of Spirit. If we have the Spirit as a deposit then we are, without a doubt, a true Christian. If we are a genuine Christians who are in fellowship with God, then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
Big God: God’s Presence
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat on September 14, 2011
Big God: God’s Power
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat on September 14, 2011
Willing to Risk?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship on August 2, 2011
“So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul– men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 15:25-26
What do these three men have in common: the auto racer who set the world speed record at Daytona in 1914, the pilot who recorded the highest number of victories in aerial combat against the Germans in World War II, and the secretary of war’s special adviser who survived a plane crash and twenty-two days on a raft in the Pacific during World War II? They all lived through dangerous circumstances. They all displayed courage and steely nerves under duress. And they all happen to be the same person – Eddie Rickenbacker.
Rickenbacker’s prowess in the air caused the press to dub him the “American Ace of Aces.” When asked about his courage in combat, he admitted that he had been afraid. “Courage,” he said, “is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” When Rickenbacker died his son, William, wrote, “If he had a motto, it must have been the phrase I’ve heard a thousand times: ‘I’ll fight like a wildcat!’”
When we look at the life of someone like Eddie Rickenbacker, you can see great courage. It’s easy to see in war heroes, but it must be present in every great leader in business, government, and the church.
Larry Osborne offers this observation: “The most striking thing about highly effective leaders is how little they have in common. What one swears by, another warns against. But one trait stands out: the willingness to risk.” As a pastor, I sense that churches will never see what God can do until they are more willing to take biblical risks! We must all remember that we serve an awesome God who requires and honors faith.
As followers of Jesus, we CANNOT simply keep doing what we have always done. Not only will we not maintain our current level of effectiveness, we will decline and die on the vine! We MUST venture out and try new things. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is.
Question: What are you willing to risk for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Is It a Sin to Be Rich?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching on July 24, 2011
This week’s HOT TOPIC dealt with money. I attempted to answer the question, “Is it a sin to be rich?” Although many us do not consider ourselves “rich”–the truth is, we are rich in every sense of the word. Americans who are poverty-level are rich compared to most of the world. One-fifth of the world’s population lives on less than $1 a day. Yes, we’re rich! So that leads to the question, is it a sin to be rich? I dealt with that question from 1 Timothy 6:6-10.
6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:6-10
In this passage, Paul gives us several reminders about money….
Money Reminders
- God owns everything. The reason we bring nothing into the world and take nothing out of the world is because it all belongs to God in the first place. We’re not owners; we’re managers. We manage what God gives us to manage.
- It’s our attitude that counts. When it comes to money, attitude is everything. In this passage, Paul reminds us that godliness should be the thing we most want to accomplish. If we are godly, we will be content. We cannot be godly if we do not have an attitude of contentment that is based on our knowledge that God owns everything and He will meet our needs.
- We can’t take it with us. Paul tells us that we take nothing out of this world. Although we can’t take it with us, Jesus taught that we can send “treasures” on ahead (Matthew 6:19-24).
- Money can cause us to fall away. We must always be on guard against the dangers of money. In 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Paul says we can be lured by the temptation of wanting to be rich. He calls it a trap, and describes it as foolish and harmful. He says that it leads to ruin and destruction.
Lessons from the Ark
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Funny, Life Happens, Preaching on July 19, 2011
Someone recently sent me an email about Noah’s Ark. As a preacher, it caused me to think of several sermon ideas I missed over the years. Read over the following “Lessons from the Ark” for yourself and see if you find them as helpful as I do.
Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah’s Ark . . .
- Don’t miss the boat.
- Remember that we are all in the same boat.
- Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.
- Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
- Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
- Build your future on high ground.
- For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.
- Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
- When you’re stressed, float a while.
- Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
- No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.
I want to thank my email friend for the sermon ideas and the “kernels” of wisdom. I hope they help you as they have me.
Can A Christian Be Divorced?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Life Happens, Preaching, Sermons, Worship on June 22, 2011
I am currently preaching a Summer Sermon Series called Hot Topics. This week’s sermon is entitled, Can A Christian Be Divorced? Several of my pastor friends believe that this week’s “divorce sermon” will be the most difficult message to deliver in the entire series. I suppose they’re correct, but all that I know to do is to explore what the Bible says on the subject.
During this series, I have been reminded over and over that most people want to hear the truth. They want a preacher to stand with a heart full of love and share straight from God’s Word. Even if the topic is difficult, they want to know what God has to say! Well, this summer, I’m desperately trying to share what God has to say on each of these hot topics.
If you would like to hear any or all of the sermons from this series, you can listen to them on our website at www.shelbyvillebaptist.com.
Record Attendance on Easter 2011
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Sermons, Worship on April 26, 2011
We had a BIG Day on Easter 2011 as we kicked off our new sermon series called The Life You’ve Always Wanted. Since 2007, we have been carefully tracking worship attendance and last Sunday’s attendance was a record for that time period. Thank you for all your hard work toward making Easter at Shelbyville Baptist a huge success.
This Sunday we will continue our sermon series with a message entitled Life with Meaning. We will study King Solomon and his quest to find true meaning and purpose in life.
Luke Wisely, our new contemporary worship leader, will be leading our 8:30 am service and Gene Wright, our worship pastor, will be leading our 11:00 am service. See you there!
