American or Early: Which Do You Want to Be?

Please check out the link below. It will take you to an article that I think is both challenging and accurate. The article raises an important question for me: Am i going to be content to be an American Christian, or more like the followers of Jesus in the early church? The early church folks turned the world upside down. The American church is not doing well. I should probably take some time and ponder the last two sentences.

http://www.churchcentral.com/blog/Barna-and-M.-Green-on-the-American-Church

A Thought from a Verse

This morning I read through Psalm 101. I think every time I read that Psalm, verse 3 jumps out at me. It starts out like this:

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; . . .

In a culture that is too often entangled in pornography the importance of that verse can not be understated. It is an expression that should mark and inform our lives. Sadly, I have seen too many marriages devastated and destroyed by putting worthless things before a person's eyes, normally the husband's. There are a number of things that should be purged from life. I honest believe one of those things is pornography. All it does is damage people. Now some might argue it a personal or a private thing so it is not that big of a deal. Such a thought clearly does not understand the impact of looking at worthless things. Here is a link to a poem written by a a woman's whose life and marriage has been charred by the out of control wild fire of pornography. reading the poem reinforced to me the divine imperative to heed Psalm 101:3. As a father of three sons and one daughter, I know I do not want them to experience this poem, nor do I want it be a part of my marriage.

http://www.challies.com/quotes/i-looked-for-love-in-your-eyes

Christmas Party Help

Here is a link to a list of ten questions to ask at a Christmas Party. Check them out. I think that these questions might help you learn more about other people, start good conversations and be able to talk about the Lord Jesus during the Christmas season.

http://biblicalspirituality.org/xmas.html

A Challenging Thought

Here is a link to a blog that I found to be sobering and challenging. This morning, two of my sons asked me if I had an ugly sweater they could wear to school. It is ugly sweater day. Sadly, I did have sweaters that they considered ugly. At one point, those sweaters looked good, and to be honest, I think at least one of them still does. Styles come and go. I am becoming increasingly convinced that we have made too much of style in lots of areas in life, especially church. As Steve Green sand 25 years ago, people need the Lord. The link below reminds me that I need to celebrate Jesus and the good news His birth, death and resurrection create. Please click on the link and celebrate the good news of Jesus. I pray that our sons and our daughter look back when I die and say, "Dad made a big deal of Jesus for us, not a certain style of church. And for that, we are thankful he was our Dad." My sweaters might be ugly, but may I never distort things in a way that makes Jesus or His good news look ugly.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/12/09/what-you-celebrate-as-a-church-is-just-as-important-as-what-you-believe/

Not a Good Sequence: NFL Receiver Drops the Pass then Trash Talks God

Here is an interesting post concerning a NFL receiver blaming God that the receiver dropped a pass.

Not a Good Sequence: NFL Receiver Drops the Pass then Trash Talks God

What Grips Me?

A few weeks ago I read through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah and then it was reference in a journal article I read earlier today. The article got me thinking about the very beginning of the book and a question. Nehemiah begins this way:

Nehemiah 1:1-4 – The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. ³They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." ⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

The question was: What grips me? The story of Nehemiah starts out simply enough. Nehemiah is working and his brother came for a visit. During the visit Nehemiah asks about life in their home city of Jerusalem. The response he received in verse 3 was not good. But then verse 4 makes it more than a simple story. The news of the people and Jerusalem grabs Nehemiah and touches him deeply. His heart is gripped. The news drives him to pray and fast and mourn and weep.

The cause of this intense reaction is clearly his concern for the people, but there is more to it than that, there is also this concern for Jerusalem. If you continue reading Nehemiah it becomes clear that his concern for Jerusalem is connected to Nehemiah understanding that Jerusalem is in rough shape because the people have sinned against God. Nehemiah’s prayer in verses 5-11 point toward Nehemiah being passionate for God and wanting to be right with God.

Sometimes we can read a story and think that is nice or touching and then just move on. If that is our attitude toward the stories of the Bible, we are in a very dangerous place. God shared this story for our benefit. And part of that benefit I think is because the story can challenge us to ask, “What grips me?”

The story of Nehemiah is the story of God doing something significant through a person. I can’t help but wonder if a big reason why God worked through Nehemiah was because Nehemiah was passionate about God and people. Nehemiah was gripped by things that grip God. Am I? There are all kinds of things that could grip us. But am I gripped by the right things? On a cold, windy, sort of snowy night, maybe I need to take stock of what grips me. That analysis may change the trajectory of my week and more.

Central Evening of Prayer

Just in case you do see the email from church, here is some information about a special prayer event at Central on November 12.

Dear Central Family,

I am writing to invite you to be a part of an evening of prayer on Friday, November 12^th from 7 to 9 pm at Central. Since this event is something new, at least in terms of my time at Central, I thought it might be helpful if I briefly outlined what the night will include:

·         Brief teaching time on prayer

·         Prayer in small groups focusing on expressing our adoration to God for who He is

·         Individual prayer throughout the building confessing our sin

·         Prayer in one large group giving thanks to God for what He has done for us

·         Prayer in small groups bringing a variety of requests to Him

The purpose of this evening of prayer is for us to seek God’s face and grow in prayer. Prayer is something that we can see is vital from the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. But it is something that we often struggle with in our own lives. I know that I need to grow in prayer. Praying with other people has helped me grow in pray. I want to encourage you to come and be a part of this evening of prayer.

We are working on arrangements for childcare for children up to 4 years old. In the future we hope to be able to expand the children’s portion of these evenings of prayer. Given that we have not done this type of event before, it would be a great help to us if you would let us know if you will need childcare on November 12^th. We want to ensure that we minister effectively to your child. Please let us know by contacting Sandy in the church office.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Lloyd