Category: Preaching

Love is FIRST!

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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

Recently I’ve been preaching a sermon series on the fruit of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5. When I addressed the fruit of love, one of my points was that “love is first on the list.” After a casual reading of the text, you might be tempted to say “duh.” “Brother Steve, that’s so obvious! You went to seminary for that? And don’t you have a doctorate?” Look, I know it’s listed first, but it’s not just listed first, it IS first.

“It’s not just listed first, it IS first!”

In the New American Commentary, Timothy George wrote, “It is significant that love heads the list of these nine graces of the Christian life. Paul might well have placed a period after love and moved on into the conclusion of his letter, for love is not merely ‘first among equals’ in this listing but rather the source and fountain from which all of the other graces flow.’”

3 Key Conclusions about LOVE:

God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 teaches this marvelous truth. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8   

The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is mentioned by name is the second verse of the Bible and referenced in the first verse because He is part of the Trinity. He fully participated in the creation of the world. “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 love. Since God is love and since the Holy Spirit is God, the Holy Spirit is love. He wants to produce the fruit of love in our lives above everything else. He wants to produce a love for God, a love for fellow believers, and a love for those who are lost without Christ.

Love is FIRST on God’s list. Is love first on our list and first in our lives? When we’re full of the Holy Spirit, the answer to both those questions will be YES!

    Preaching is Important

    Posted in Church Chat, Preaching2 Comments

    A few years ago I hosted my friend Dr. Gary L. McIntosh for a conference that discussed assimilation principles taken from his book, Beyond the First Visit. Fortunately, while he was with us, Dr. McIntosh unveiled the findings of a recent national survey he conducted.

    …I was somewhat surprised by the overwhelming importance of the pastor’s preaching.

    I knew that the pastor played an important role in reaching and keeping people in a local church, but I was somewhat surprised by the overwhelming importance of the pastor’s preaching. Consider these findings from the study:

    • 90% of respondents said that the pastor’s preaching influenced their decision to attend a particular church.
    • When asked to rank the order of reasons why they chose to attend their church, the preaching of the pastor ranked #1.

    To examine the specifics of the pastor’s role, the survey asked, “What factors of the pastor’s ministry influenced your choice of this church?”  Below are their responses listed in the order of their ranking.

    Top 4 Factors In Church Selection:

    1. Preaching that teaches and applies to my life.
    2. Authenticity of the pastor.
    3. Pastor’s convictions.
    4. Pastor’s leadership skills.

    This study confirmed what most of us already suspected–the pastor must play a pivotal role if a local church is to experience genuine growth and/or revitalization. Somewhat surprising was the overwhelming importance of preaching.

    6 Truths about the Holy Spirit

    Posted in Church Chat, Church Revitalization, Deacon, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Preaching, WorshipLeave a comment

    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, let’s consider six foundational truths about the Holy Spirit:

    6 Foundational Truths about the Holy Spirit

    1. The Holy Spirit is 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).
    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.”
    3. The Holy Spirit plays a key role in salvation. (John 16:8-11)
    4. 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).
    5. 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).
    6. 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 genuine Christians who are in fellowship with God, then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

    3 Keys to a Success in 2024

    Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Ministry, Preaching, Running, WorshipLeave a comment

    Success

    “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14, ESV

    In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi, he gives us insight into his personal walk with the Lord. You could call it a “formula for success” or as I prefer, “keys to success in our walk with the Lord.”

    THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS IN 2024

    1.  Release the past. The Apostle Paul said, “….But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind….” (Vs. 13). He is not saying that he actually lost memory of the past, he is saying that he put the past in the proper place–behind him! He knew that the past could cause us to lose focus on the present and block our vision of the future. He knew that the past could sometimes riddle us with guilt, lure us, haunt us, taunt us, rob us of intensity and passion, and even cause us to rest on our laurels. Regardless of what we faced in 2023, let’s learn, let go, and move forward.

    2.  Reach for the future. Paul seems to say, “don’t look back, but BE SURE to look forward.” He describes it as “…..straining toward what is ahead.” I can remember running my first 10K race when I was 30-yrs.-old. Because of my excitement, I started the race at a pace that was too fast for my fitness level. As a result, my side began to hurt at mile 3 and I desperately wanted to stop and walk. At that point, I saw my wife standing on the side of the road, so I didn’t want to quit in front of her. Somehow, I kept plodding along and shortly after I passed the 5-mile marker, I saw the finish line about a mile away. Something about seeing the finish line lifted my spirits and injected bounce in my step. I finished fairly strongly even though I had almost stopped to walk just a few miles earlier. Paul seems to say that he keeps the finish line in view and it encourages him to do his best. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let’s set some goals for 2024–spiritual goals, financial goals, vocational goals, fitness goals, nutritional goals. Let’s “reach” for those goals day-by-day throughout this new year.

    3.  Run for the prize. What is Paul talking about when he talks about “the prize”? We know he is not saying that we can live in such a way that we earn salvation because he just said in Vs. 9 that righteousness is “through faith in Christ.” I believe Paul is saying that he is running for the goal of pleasing Jesus with his life and running for the satisfaction of knowing that he gave his best. He is saying what he later says in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” If God tarries His coming and if He allows us to live to see 2024, I pray that we will be able to say the same about the way we served the Lord in 2023.

    PRAYER:  “Lord, please help us remember the lessons you taught us in 2023, but Lord, help us to release last year and not relive it. Help us to see Your plan and goals for 2024 and strain towards them in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help us to cherish your divine approval as our highest prize!  Be glorified in our lives! Amen.”

    5 Things I Hated Doing as a Pastor

    Posted in Church Chat, Church Consulting, Church Revitalization, Discipleship, Funny, Life Happens, Ministry, Preaching, UncategorizedLeave a comment

    In similar posts I wrote about 6 Things I Hated Hearing as a Pastor followed by 7 Things I Loved Hearing as a Pastor. In today’s post I want to explore 5 Things I Hated DOING as a Pastor. Keep in mind that I loved being a pastor and I loved most the tasks that came along with the position, but I didn’t love everything.

    5 Things I Hated Doing as a Pastor

    1. Preaching on difficult topics. I preached on marriage, divorce, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, abortion, tithing, racism, prejudice, laziness, gossip, and numerous other difficult subjects, but I didn’t love doing it. As a pastor, I preferred to preach about Jesus and the encouraging passages that abound, but I knew that I was accountable to God to preach the whole Bible even when the topics were not popular or culturally acceptable.

    …even when the topics were not popular or culturally acceptable.”

    2. Visiting new parents in the hospital. I didn’t really hate visiting new parents, but it always felt a little awkward. I felt better visiting when the mother and the father were both present or when my wife could join me. As their pastor, I wanted to let them know that we celebrated with them on the birth of their child, but at the same time, I wanted to respect their need for privacy. As a man, I was certain that I didn’t understand everything that the new mother was going through physically and emotionally, so I wanted to give her space for rest and healing.

    3. Addressing church conflict. When I faced conflict during my early years of ministry I simply prayed and hoped that it would go away. As the pastor, I began to realize that I had to lean into conflict and work towards reconciliation, but it was something that I always dreaded.

    …I began to realize that I had to lean into conflict…”

    4. Asking for help. In the perfect church world, all the church members would jump in and volunteer when needed. Since that rarely happened, I often had to personally ask people for help.

    5. Administering church discipline. The Bible clearly teaches that there are times when church discipline is required. The purpose of discipline is to help the offender discover his sin and his need for repentance. Even when church discipline was appropriate and best, it was always very difficult.

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