Jesus = Happiness!

Posted in Church Chat, Evangelism, Life Happens2 Comments

This Sunday at Shelbyville First Baptist Church I am preaching from Matthew 19:16-30 (see below).  The first portion of this passage (vv. 16-22) relays the story about the young wealthy ruler who asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life”  (v. 16).  Although He had everything his world said that a person needed to be happy, he still sensed that something was missing.  His instincts and the Holy Spirit correctly led him to Jesus, but ultimately, he was unwilling to place God’s will above his own. Tragically, the Bible says that “he went away sorrowful” (v. 22).

I have never been rich; I have never been a ruler; I have seen younger days, but I am happy; I am peaceful; and I am full of joy!  Everything is not “perfect” in my life, but “He” (Jesus) is perfect in my life.  I realize that this all sounds unusual if you are not a Christian.  Although I’m a preacher, I’m not preaching here.  I’m simply saying that my life changed when I met Jesus!  He is my intimate friend and constant companion.  He gave His life for me and I am striving to “give” my life for Him.

If you are a Christian.  Give a shoutout for Jesus and a brief testimony about your relationship with Him.  If you are not a Christian, please consider trusting Him as your personal Savior and following Him as the Lord of your life. 

      16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Matthew 19:16-22 (English Standard Version)

Book Review: “30 Minutes to Raise the Dead”

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I just reread Bill Bennett’s excellent book called Thirty Minutes to Raise the Dead:  How You Can Preach Your Best Sermon Yet — This Sunday.  It reminds me of the two preaching books written by Jerry Vines because, like his books, it was well written and practical.  It is a very easy read if you are a pastor, but extremely helpful.

In the book, Bennett discusses Faris Whitesell’s 7-part definition of expository preaching.  Here are the seven parts:

Expository preaching must….

  1. Be based on a passage in the Bible, either short or long.
  2. Focus on the primary meaning of the passage.
  3. Relate the passage’s meaning to its context.
  4. Search for the timeless truths in the text.
  5. Organize these truths around one central theme.
  6. Employ the rhetorical devices of explanation, argumentation, illustration, and application to apply the truth of the passage to the hearer.
  7. See to persuade the hearers to obey the truth presented.

If you are a pastor and have not read Bennett’s book, find one and read it.  It is a little difficult to find, but you can click on the title above and find one at Amazon.  The book will be a blessing to you.

Movie: “The Lovely Bones”

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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”

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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 in Discipleship9 Comments

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?