Gathered Worship: Make It a Top Priority

It is God's will that every believer belong to a local church (1 Pet. 4:10-11).  By "belong" we mean faithful attendance (Heb. 10:24), service (1 Peter 4:10-11), and giving (Prov. 3:9).  This is so, in part, because the church is central in the purpose/plan of God for this present age (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28).  Despite the church's many spots, blemishes, and wrinkles- Jesus loves the Church dearly- and so must we!

By God's design the ministries of a Word-centered assembly help believers grow and mature in the faith (Col. 1:28-29; Eph. 4:11-16).  In this regard the local church is like a spiritual umbilical cord.  

It is sinful for a professing believer to forsake the regular assembly of the gathered church (Heb. 10:24).  The Holy Spirit would never led a Spirit-filled saint to act in a manner contrary to the Word He inspired.  Family bible study or a home care group is no substitute for full fledged involvement in the life of the local church.  Anyone who suggests otherwise is reading a different New Testament.

"Preparing for corporate worship means making time and making choices. Worship, especially corporate worship, takes time. It takes commitment. We must set aside time to come. We need to guard our schedules and consider times of corporate worship a priority.

Listen to what the Word of God tells us about gathering together:  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24–25).

Here the writer of Hebrews highlights the importance of regularly meeting together with the church. He also acknowledges that “neglecting to meet together” was a problem in the early church, and had even become a habit of some. The word used here in the Greek for meeting is episunagogen. We are not to neglect the “coming together,” “assembly” or “gathering” [synagogue].

Though we should daily encourage and pray for one another as we have opportunity to invest in each other’s lives, there is a measure of encouragement, participation and life in the church that cannot be attained or replicated apart from the regular assembly of God’s people in corporate worship. We need to hear God’s Word read and proclaimed together. We need to pray and sing God’s praise together. Listening to sermon recordings or broadcasts can’t replicate it. Singing worship songs along with your iPod can’t match it. We need to see and hear and know and feel the testimony of lives changed by the power of the Gospel, covenanted, unified and gathered together all in one place, in the same room, for His glory.

Viewing the Nations from God’s Perspective: Creation

CREATION

It is critical that any theologically informed worldview begin with the account of creation. Genesis 1:1 states clearly that there is only one Creator. Roger Hedlund explains, “Creation by God means that there is but one human race . . . and that Yahweh is no tribal deity but God and Father of all.”[1] Every man, woman, and child owe their very existence to this true God. The “fatherhood” of God in a physical sense is inclusive by definition and biblical declaration (Mal 2:10). “Ethnic and cultural diversity is part of the creative design of God . . . Racism is a perversion of creation.”[2]

There was no pantheon of gods involved in creation. The universe was not created by committee. In the obvious vacuum of multiple creators, any other false deity’s claim to creation rights is invalid. Any attempt by a false religion to ascribe authority or worship to a god other than YAHWEH, is an attempt to rob God of the glory that He alone deserves.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles . . . they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:21-23,25)

Rejecting the Creator results in elevating the creation. Whether it be the idolatry of paganism or the self-deification of humanism, the result is the same. Unregenerate man will always attempt to draw glory away from the Creator and attribute it to something which falls in the “creation” category. Only the one, true Creator God deserves all worship!

All Cultures are Not Equal

"There is a growing belief today that every culture is equal. In other words, no culture can claim moral superiority over another. Although this is a common idea, it has met resistance by some who have demonstrated that, on a pragmatic level, productivity and the standard of living are better in some cultures than others. However, as Christians I think it is important to be in the habit of using Scripture to inform any kind of comparison—including culture. Speaking from a biblical standpoint, there are cultures that are better than others. The cultures which are superior are the cultures which are more closely aligned with God’s standard for living, and thereby thrive and flourish.

Superior Cultures Value Life

Hell is For Real (Revelation 20:10-15)

 Revelation 20:11-15

Hell is For Real (and is Forever)

Some time ago the subject of heaven came up during a speech before the National Press Club.  Ted Turner’s cavalier attitude is a microcosm of how many today view eternity future.  Mr. Turner said… “Heaven is going to be a mighty slender place. And most of the people I know in life aren’t going to be there. There are a few notable exceptions and I’ll miss them. [Laughter]

Remember, heaven is going to be perfect. And I don’t really want to be there... Those of us that go to hell, which will be most of us in this room, most journalists are certainly going to hell. [Laughter]

But, when we get there we’ll have a chance to make things better because hell is supposed to be a mess. And heaven is perfect…

Who wants to go to a place that’s perfect? Boring. Boring.” [Laughter]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, when dealing with a doctrine as important as this it’s imperative that we know our Bibles inside and out…. in hopes that God might use us to clarify common misconceptions and defend the orthodox faith (Jude 3) as we lead souls to Christ!  If believers won't share the complete gospel message with the lost world, who will?

Thus far we have considered four key statements related to the Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 20:11-15:

1) The ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of this Great and Final Judgement

(Revelation 20:7-15; John 3:19-20)

2) The PERFECT CHARACTER of this Great and Final Judgement

(Revelation 20:11; Rev. 4; Hab. 1:13)

To Live is Christ and To Die is Gain: Our Future Hope

The following is what Matt Waymeyer preached at the memorial service of a dear friend and brother, Jeff Dolan....

Beloved, death is difficult for a number of reasons. Death is final. Death comes suddenly. Death means saying goodbye to someone we love, someone we care about, someone we will dearly miss. And yet in the midst of the intensity of our grief and the suddenness of our loss, there is the underlying comfort of knowing that even though this is a time of great sorrow for us, it is a time of exceedingly great joy for our dear friend and brother, Jeff Dolan. And for this reason, as Charles Spurgeon once said: “Our tears are [plentiful], but they glisten in the light of faith and hope.”

In Philippians 1, the apostle Paul said that for the child of God dying means departing to be with Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul said to be absent from the body—that is, to die and have your soul depart from your physical body—is “to be at home with the Lord.” And in Luke 23, Jesus said to the man on the cross next to Him: “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Beloved, even now as we gather to mourn the loss of Jeff, we do so with the joy of knowing that he has departed to be with Christ, that he is now at home with the Lord Jesus in a place called Paradise. That’s why Psalm 116:15 says: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Today is precious in the sight of God because Jeff has been taken to glory, and therefore we do not grieve as those without hope.

3 UNCONVENTIONAL (AND FREE) WAYS TO APPRECIATE YOUR PASTOR

"It’s "pastor appreciation month," and while baked goods, encouragement notes, and gift cards are usually welcomed (though never expected!) your pastor may be blessed by something a bit out of the box this year.  These (free)

gifts are often more appreciated than silver and gold.  God's Word says, "We request of you, Christian brothers and sisters, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another (1 Thess. 5:12-13)."  It's God's will that the sheep love and care for their shepherds and that pastors love and care for their flock (1 Peter 5:1-4).  We are after all the family of God and the body of Christ.

"My husband, Chris, is a senior pastor and I have seen the best and worst sides of church people. We have been blessed beyond measure (a trip to Paris!) and wounded more deeply than I knew was possible, both through the actions and inactions of people in the pews. Although there can be difficult, unstable, and/or power-hungry people within the walls of the church, most of the heart-level hits a pastor receives are from the “everyday” church member: Words spoken or not spoken. Actions taken or not taken. Groups forming or splitting. All in the name of what they think is best for the church.

Chris and I have loads of pastor friends and I reached out to some pastor’s wives this week to help me with this post. Because as wives, we see what no one else sees. We know what church ministry does to our husbands. How it continues to forever change them and shape them—for good and for ill. As I submit this post, the comments from my pastor’s wife friends are still pouring in. With over 30 wives contributing, the thoughts below are a collaborative effort. Just like any wife would, we long to stand up for our husband, but because he is the pastor we often feel we can’t. It just seems self-serving. We each want to help our husband and support him in a public way but, selfishly, we usually lay low out of fear of putting our own conduct in the cross-hairs, if it is not already.

If you love your pastor and want to bless him this month (and beyond), we urge you to prayerfully consider these three deliberate choices:  1. PUT YOURSELF IN HIS SHOES. HE IS MORE LIKE YOU THAN YOU REALIZE.

He cannot do everything. He does not know all. He cannot read your mind. He does not have complete knowledge of the past (how things “have always been”). He cannot see the future.

He works really, really hard. He’s been trained to do his job (investing 4-8 years in seminary education alone).  He doesn’t like people telling him how to do his job (though most of our husbands have never specifically verbalized this, we assume he must feel it.). He needs to hear words of admiration, affirmation and encouragement more than he does criticism. He has personal preferences and there are things about his church that he doesn’t like. “Your pastor’s best will never be enough, but the good news is that he doesn’t need to be Superman.”  The Church already has a Savior!

The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It's Our Problem

"False doctrine flourishes the most in the soil of biblical illiteracy... And while America's evangelical Christians are rightly concerned about the secular worldview's rejection of biblical Christianity, we ought to give some urgent attention to a problem much closer to home--biblical illiteracy in the church. This scandalous problem is our own, and it's up to us to fix it.

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it's worse than most could imagine.

Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. "No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don't know what they are," said George Barna, president of the firm. The bottom line? "Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate." [see Barna Group's web site]

Multiple surveys reveal the problem in stark terms. According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family.

Some of the statistics are enough to perplex even those aware of the problem. A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are in big trouble.

7 Reasons Your Church Should Take Eschatology Seriously

Photo Credit: TGC

It is concerning that some churches today don’t take eschatology seriously. The very fact that God has revealed so many details about events to come in both testaments tells us that it is important. At the center of biblical eschatology is the blessed hope of the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Not only should we be interested in prophetic events to come, we are also looking for our Savior, with whom we will spend eternity.

Why do some churches neglect serious study of eschatology? One issue is complexity. There are many eschatological details in the Bible to work through and harmonize. So there is hard work to do in this area. Also, when we see godly men disagreeing on prophetic issues, it can be disheartening. Another reason might be that some don’t want to be linked with those who have abused eschatology. There are those who have become obsessed with the end times by offering a date for Jesus’ return, or treating many current events as fulfillments of Bible prophecy. So some people have swung away from the abuse of eschatology to no interest at all.

But these are not good reasons to avoid the study of eschatology. Below are 7 reasons churches should take eschatology seriously:

1. ESCHATOLOGY IS A MAJOR PART OF THE CHRISTIAN STORYLINE

Eschatology is a major part of the Bible’s story. By “story,” I’m not talking about fiction. I’m talking about the narrative of the Christian worldview. Since Christianity is rooted in history and real historical events, God’s story includes past, present, and future events. All should be taught. We simply should not ignore prophetic events that are future from our standpoint—events such as the rapture, the Day of the Lord, the Second Coming, the Millennium, and the Eternal State. We must also talk about heaven and hell, and the coming New Earth. To avoid discussion of eschatology is to avoid an important part of the Christian worldview.

2. WE ARE CALLED TO PREACH AND HEED THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD

There are large sections of Scripture devoted to prophecy, many of which still need to be fulfilled from our current standpoint. For example the events of Ezekiel 36–48 still need to occur. In the New Testament passages like Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; much of Luke 21; 1 Thess. 4-5; 2 Thess 1-2; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 6-22 describe events that still need to happen. We cannot ignore these passages. Paul says in Acts 20:27, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” If your church does not teach what the Bible says about the future, the whole counsel of God is not being taught.

Disciple and Counsel with Biblical Confidence

1.        "The gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of biblical change (2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 5:1; 6:16-18; 8:13). The gospel brings spiritual new birth, and it orients, guides, empowers, and dominates all of the Christian life following regeneration (Col. 2:6).

2.       Change is always possible for believers in Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6; Rom. 6:17-18). No Christian is so entrenched in sin, so dominated by his past or anything else, that he cannot be changed by the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit.

3.       The Word of God applied by the Spirit of God is the primary tool for change (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Ps. 119:1, 24, 133). Living and active, inerrant, God-revealed, Christ-commended, Spirit-empowered—when it comes to changing people, there is nothing like the Bible.

4.       The heart is the place where real, long-lasting change takes place (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 10:5; Prov. 4:23; Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 12:34). The heart is where a person thinks, considers, analyzes, evaluates, feels, decides, and chooses—the mission control center of life, the real person on the inside, the inner man. Counseling is about changing a person’s heart or moment-by-moment thinking.

5.       God’s plan for practical daily change is: put off / be renewed / put on (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:8-14). That plan includes the following components: put off, be renewed in your mind, put on true thoughts and righteous acts.