Archive for category Church Chat
EASTER SERIES: “The Life You’ve Always Wanted”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Sermons on April 18, 2011
One of my favorite authors is John Ortberg and one of my favorite books that he has written is “The Life You’ve Always Wanted.” In the book, Ortberg talks about spiritual disciplines for ordinary people.
This Easter, I’m borrowing his title for my new sermon series. The series is not about spiritual disciplines; it focuses on helping people find purpose and meaning in life. It will talk about living a full, satisfied life that brings glory to the Lord.
Here are the sermon titles:
- April, 24 Easter – “Life without Fear”
- May 1 – “Life with Meaning”
- May 8 – “Life with Love”
- May 15 – “Life with Margin”
- May 22 – “Life with the End in Mind”
- May 29 – “Life without Guilt”
The Kind of Person God Uses
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Preaching, Sermons on March 27, 2011
Have you ever wondered why God uses a particular person or a certain church? Have you ever looked at them and wondered what they had that you did not have? I believe there are at least four observations we can make about people or churches that God uses….
- God uses the person who is following His mission. As Dr. Henry Blackaby said in Experiencing God, most of us pray “Lord, bless what I’m doing” when we should be praying “Lord, help me to do what you are blessing!” God will bless those who are focusing on HIS mission instead of focusing on THEIR mission.
- God uses the person who is willing to risk failure. Following Jesus is not for the faint at heart. Acts 15:26 reminds us that Paul and Barnabus “risked their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Erwin McManus says that we have become domesticated Christians, unwilling to risk anything for the cause of Christ. The truth is, that lifestyle is far-removed from the Book of Acts. I’m not saying we should simply take foolish risks for no reason, but we should be willing to go anywhere God leads and attempt anything God says we should attempt, even if there’s no guarantee of success.
- God uses the person who expects to be used. Jesus told the two blind men, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29). Rick Warren says that there is one consistent ingredient he sees in every church where God is working — people who are willing to believe God. In other words, the faith factor.
- God uses the person who never gives up. Paul reminds us to “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Most people miss the harvest simply because they quit too soon. The harvest takes time, but God’s timing is always perfect. We should NEVER give up. Sometimes the game is won on a last-second shot….on a two-out blast….on a hail-Mary heave.
This past week my mom’s youngest brother went home to be with the Lord. As I sat and heard his children, my first cousins, talk about what a wonderful father he was and what a Godly example he was, I was reminded that we should serve God passionately. We should serve Him daily. We should serve Him to the very end of our life. We should finish the course and keep the faith. THAT is the kind of person God uses.
Change Is Good
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat on March 20, 2011
If something is not changing then it is DEAD! I have served of senior pastor of Shelbyville First Baptist Church for 2 1/2 years now and we’ve seen a lot of changes. I’m especially excited about changes that are happening now and changes that are just around the corner. This is an exciting time to be at Shelbyville FBC.
Our student ministry is EXPLODING under the Godly leadership of Pastor Andy McDonald. God is blessing as students are coming to faith in Christ and growing to be more like Jesus. Our children’s ministry is also growing by leaps and bounds. Pastor Dave Menser is doing a marvelous job leading the children’s ministry with a fresh, creative approach.
Without going into detail, expect to see changes in both morning Worship Services over the next few weeks. Now, repeat after me, “change is good…..change is good…..change is good!” I would add, “change is of the Lord!”
Created to be Like Jesus
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons on December 3, 2010
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
As believers, our ultimate goal is to become like Christ. He is the bullseye. He is the mark. He is the goal! Here are the basic points from a sermon I preached once entitled, Created to Become Like Christ.
WE BEGIN TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST WHEN WE . . . .
1. Turn over the steering wheel. God doesn’t want to be co-pilot; He wants to be pilot. The Apostle Paul said, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord….” (Vs. 6). When I ride with someone else, I find myself wanting to grab the wheel, hit the brake, or stomp the accelerator. Similarly, I sometimes do that in my Christian walk, but Jesus deserves to be Lord in my life as well as yours. I must continually turn the wheel of my life over to Him.
2. Dig in with Christ. There were a number of false teachers in Colossae, so Paul emphasized the need to be “rooted and built up in Him” (Vs. 7). One way to be rooted is to dig into God’s Word. Common sense tells us that we can’t watch television 5 hours a day, then read the Bible 5 minutes a day, and expect to grow spiritually!
3. Build our lives in Jesus. Paul said that we are “built up in Him” (Vs. 7). Construction takes time. Some building projects take longer than others. The same is true in our Christlikeness. Discipleship is a lifelong, exciting journey.
4. Pump up with teaching. Several years ago two famous Saturday Night Live characters regularly said, “we are here to pump you up!” Paul told the Colossian believers they were “strengthened in the faith as [they] were taught” (Vs. 7). Paul connects teaching of the Word of God with spiritual strength. We should “pump up” regularly with good Biblical teaching.
5. Spill thankfulness everywhere you go. Paul concludes verse 7 by reminding us that we should be “overflowing with thankfulness.” I remember a couple of times a waitress accidently filled my glass so full that it overflowed. As mature believers, we should intentionally be so full of thankfulness that we overflow for others to see. I believe that genuine thankfulness is a mark of spiritual maturity.
The Lord Jesus is our model and we often fall short. But, always remember that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NIV).
Honoring Our Military – “Father & Son”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens on November 12, 2010
In honor of our military, I am going to post some blog entries that I wrote when I worked at the Kentucky Baptist Convention as Director of Discipleship and Assimilation. This first post was written while my oldest son, Matthew was in basic training. He is currently stationed in South Korea.
Father and Son (Written 10.23.08)
Please forgive me for being a little more personal than usual tonight. Three weeks ago my son left for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. As expected, I did not hear from him at all during the last three weeks. At times, the desire to hear his voice has been overwhelming. I can only imagine what some of my co-workers and some of you face with family members serving in areas of conflict or living as missionaries for long periods of time.
Today, we received a letter and a brief call from our son. As many of you know from experience, basic training is difficult and I can tell he is struggling. Every father fiber in me wants to jump on the next plane and go fix the situation. Tonight, my heart aches for my son. When he hurts, I hurt. All I know to do is to wait and to pray! Again I’ve prayed, “Father, take care of my boy. Strengthen Him through your Holy Spirit. Support Him. Sustain Him. Hold Him. Let Him know You are there!”
Can you imagine the pain our Heavenly Father felt while His Son was suffering on the cross? Can we even begin to understand how God the Father’s heart ached when Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Surely every Father fiber in Him wanted to come down here and rescue His Son! But, His love for us, kept Him from bailing out. His love compelled Him to hold back. His love saw past the cross to our forgiveness.
Tonight, I am reminded of similar moments of pain on my journey of following Jesus. As I’ve walked with Christ, I’ve discovered two things that I cling to tonight: God is faithful and God is love. In no way, does that mean that things will be easy or that things will work out the way I desire, but He is always faithful and He always loves.
Before I turn in tonight, I think I’ll be encouraged by listening to Mac Powell from Third Day as he sets the following verses to music:
“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:5-7 (NIV)
Discover Prayer
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching, Sermons on October 25, 2010
Yesterday at Shelbyville First Baptist Church I kicked off a new series I’m calling Discover. Each week we will take an in-depth look at one of the key elements of the Christian life. The first sermon in the series I called Discover Prayer.
In the first sermon, I answered the following four key questions concerning prayer:
- What is prayer?
- Who can pray?
- How do we pray?
- What can prayer do?
The text was taken from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. The main memory verse from the sermon was Matthew 6:6.
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
Mammoth Cave and Mighty Mouse
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Funny, Life Happens on October 1, 2010
Recently, Jacob and Beth Walters took their children and spent some time together at Mammoth Cave National Park. Their trip reminded me of a few years ago when our family went there as well. On our visit, we took a tour through the cave led by a young, female guide. She made many observations throughout our descent and pointed out nuances the untrained eye would have surely missed.
She asked us to be seated on some wooden benches when we reached the lowest point of the cave. She instructed us to secure our children and then suddenly, she flipped the switch on the lights. At that point, she proceeded to describe to us what people experience when they are lost in a cave.
Here’s what I didn’t do next! I didn’t say, “now little missy! You’ve obviously gotten us lost several hundred feet below the surface of the ground, so step aside and I’ll take over.” I didn’t recite the Mighty Mouse cry of: “Here I come to save the day! I thumbed through a couple of books in the gift shop before the tour began, so I’m now an expert on the cave system!”
Nothing could have been more ridiculous than this type of reaction on my part! I have learned the hard way that the same is true in my Christian walk through this dark world. I should not try to “find my way” on my own while my all-knowing God desires to skillfully guide me. Our daily prayer should echo the words of the Dorothy A. Thrupp hymn: “Savior, like a shepherd lead us.”
People Pleaser or Leader?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching, Sermons on September 21, 2010
I love to please people! All my life, I have wanted people to like me, affirm me, and generally think that I’m wonderful. As I have matured as a leader and as a pastor, I’ve discovered that I have to sometimes set those desires aside and do the right thing regardless of what other’s think. My goal MUST NOT be to simply “please people” — my goal must be to help people. Sometimes I have to set boundaries and tell people “no” in order to help them. Other times I have to model a new approach and lead people to walk in a more effective, efficient manner.
Everyone seems to have their idea of what I should do as a pastor and how I should use my time. Hardly a week goes by, that someone does not pull me aside and share with me their personal assignment for my life. Most of the time, the assignment is fair and reasonable, but it almost always matches their personal preferences and desires. As the senior pastor I MUST consider the big picture and keep the entire church body in mind as I lead. If I simply jump from personal assignment to personal assignment, I will not lead with vision and God-given direction.
Here are the 5 promises I made to the church during my first sermon as senior pastor on November 2, 2008:
- I promise to love God. In order to fulfill this promise, I must be disciplined in my private time with the Lord. The man who never spends time with God in private is no good in public.
- I promise to love my family. I love to work hard and I love being a pastor (most the time). Because of this, I have to guard against neglecting my family. I have asked other staff members to tell me if they see this in my life and I have pledged to tell them if I see it in their lives.
- I promise to love you. I love Shelbyville First Baptist Church and all our people. I look forward to serving our Lord together for many years to come. Keep in mind that all our pastors love God and love our people.
- I promise to love the unchurched. I want to see people come to Christ. I need to spend more time around lost people. I need to get out of the office more and into the community.
- I promise to preach the Bible. I have tried my best to focus on God’s Word in my sermons and in my teaching. It takes time to prepare true, Biblical sermons, but it is worth all the hard work and extra effort. Currently, I set aside Tuesday and Wednesday as my main study days. Occasionally, I will schedule an appointment or meeting on those days, but I try to devote those days to preparation for preaching and teaching the Bible.
As we move forward, I pledge to always be open to suggestions and ideas. My default of wanting to please people will always be there, I’m sure. But, I promise when I’m faced with the choice of “simply pleasing someone” or “providing Godly leadership,” I will strive to choose providing Godly leadership every time.
John & Dave
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat on August 23, 2010
Today, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to John Raizor for the outstanding job he did as our part-time Minister of Recreation. John built our program from scratch and worked well with the Recreation Committee. John went about his work with great integrity and did things in a way that honored the Lord. John did not cut corners and did not compromise when it came to his work. The three things I respect most about John is that he knows what he believes, he knows why he believes what he believes, and he stands up for what he believes. We need more Christians who display those traits in our churches today. If you know John, be sure to express your personal thanks to him and to the Recreation Committee for the great work they did to get us to this point!
In addition, I want to welcome Pastor Dave Menser as our full-time Pastor of Children & Family Life. Dave was unanimously approved at our August Business Meeting. Dave is uniquely gifted and equipped to excel in both areas of children’s ministry and recreation ministry.
Dave began his work today, August 23, with big shoes to fill, but he will do an awesome job. John and Dave have met to discuss the FBC recreation ministry—this, along with the work that John has been doing over the last few months, will help Pastor Dave to get off to a fast start in the area of recreation. In addition to expressing your personal thanks to John, be sure to give Pastor Dave a BIG First Baptist welcome when you see him!
Bring on the Rain
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Running on July 20, 2010
If you saw me head out the door of my comfortable, dry house this morning during a torrential downpour, you probably thought I was BONKERS, CRAZY, CUCKOO, DERANGED, FRUITY, NUTS, SCREWY, UNGLUED…..or just plain WACKY. But actually one of the things I look forward to most as a runner is running in the rain.
Think about it for a minute. When you were young, your parents rarely allowed you to venture outside during a storm and even more rarely allowed you to splash through deep puddles in your good tennis shoes. But now that I’m an adult (I realize that’s still being debated in some circles), I can do whatever I want. My two or three top running memories all involve the rain, so BRING ON THE RAIN!
One of my favorite Christian recording groups, Casting Crowns, has a song called Praise You in the Storm. I couldn’t help but think of the following powerful lyrics as I was having an awesome, soggy moment early this morning:
I’ll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands. For You are who You are no matter where I am. And every tear I’ve cried, You hold in your hand. You never left my side and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm!
BE ENCOURAGED my friend. The God of the sunshine is also God during the storms of life. Praise Him in all things for He alone is worthy!
