“Purdy” Green Hills
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Life Happens on September 22, 2011
A couple of months ago, my sister-in-law, told me about a Bluegrass Festival she recently attended with my brother. She mailed me a CD of David Evans, one of the musicians she heard at the event. I have listened to the recording dozens of times—I especially like the song called “Purdy (Pretty) Green Hills.” That’s the way Mr. Evans sings the word “pretty” in the song.
The song tells the story of a man who picks up an old hitchhiker. The driver asks the old man where he wants to go and this is his reply:
“Purdy green hills, purdy green hills”….He said, “take me into them purdy green hills.”
Now, before you even think it, I know those words would make an English teacher sweat like a UK Football season ticket holder, but hang with me. The song even talks about going into a country store and buying some “bloney” (bologna). You know you’ve got a great song when it talks about eating country bologna. Can I get an “Amen”?
Let me say that I LOVE Shelbyville. I LOVE living here. I LOVE our church. I LOVE the topography and beauty of the area. Every morning when I lace on my New Balance running shoes and trot around our community, I thank God for placing us here. BUT, as a person who grew up in the “purdy green hills” of Eastern Kentucky, I perfectly understand the old man’s words in the song. You can take a boy out of the hills, but you can’t take the hills out of the boy.
This past Saturday, as a part of KBC’s Super Saturday, I traveled back down into those “purdy green hills” to teach three conferences in Prestonsburg. Prestonsburg is in Floyd County, my home county. Saturday morning I rose early and ran a 6-mile loop through the streets of the town where I spent so much time as a boy. I recalled Saturday outings with my mom, trips to town with my grandfather—I even ran right by my great Aunt’s home before she rose for the day. We ate at the Jenny Wiley Lodge where I played many a game of ping pong as a teenager and where I attended my high school prom.
Laura and I will probably never live in Eastern Kentucky again, but every now and then, it does my heart good to visit “them purdy green hills.”
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
Are You Prejudiced?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons on August 3, 2011
In Galatians 3 the Apostle Paul mentions three common areas of prejudice that the churches of Galatia faced in his day. Prejudice was present in that day and discrimination was often the result. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul:
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29
Keep in mind that the Apostle Paul founded the churches of Galatia on his second missionary journey and revisited them on his third missionary journey. Although some Biblical scholars believe that the Book of Galatians was written earlier, most believe the letter was written around 58 A.D. Tens years earlier, the Christian leaders gathered in Jerusalem to discuss some of these same issues (Acts 15). Some Jewish believers, called Judaizers, taught that Gentile Christians had to follow certain Old Testament regulations in order to be saved. They were prejudiced towards the Gentile believers and demanded they look and act like them. Paul seems to be addressing this issue 10 years later in this letter.
The truth is, bias, prejudice, and discrimination, never completely go away. They were still present ten years after the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) where they addressed the issue and they’re still present today. Even worse, they’re still present in the church!
Let me ask a few questions. Are you prejudiced towards….
- Christians of other races?
- Christians from different income levels?
- Christians of the opposite sex?
- Christians of different ages?
- Christians who prefer a different worship style than you?
- Christians who prefer a different translation of the Bible?
- Christians who prefer a different type of music?
- Christians who dress differently than you when they come to church?
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.
