How To Pray For Our Church

I was emailed this from a guy named Pastor Barry Davis and can also be found at the following link: (http://pastorsoffice.com/how-to-pray-for-your-church/). I have often wondered what God would do if we all prayed? I believe that prayer matters and if we indeed took it seriously and understood the wonderful privilege it would revolutionize our life and that of the church.

 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” — John 17:20-21

1. Pray for believers to experience true worship

•  Pray for an outpouring of God’s glory in your church as people acknowledge Him, not only with their lips but with their lives

• Ask God for a spirit of worship to manifest itself at your church.

 2. Pray that believers will know, accept, and obey the Word of God

•   Pray that God’s Word be preached continually at your church.

• Pray for spiritual discernment and understanding among the people

• Ask God to make you obedient to His Word

 3. Pray for unity in the church

•   Pray for humility among your church’s leaders and among the body of believers

• Pray that a spirit of repentance will rise up among all your members

• Ask God to break down all racial, cultural, and denominational walls.

 4. Pray for souls to be won to Christ

•  Ask God to continue impressing the vision of winning the lost to Christ among your church’s leaders and members

• Pray for workers for the harvest — believers who will consistently share their faith

 5. Pray for joy in the hearts and lives of believers

•   Ask God to reveal your church’s potential to your leaders and the members.

• Ask God to bring joy to your leaders and members

"Christian Scholarship and the Defense of the Faith"

The following is from the writings of J. Gresham Machen and thought it relevant to our Saturday morning Bible study as we are getting ready to look at unapologetic preaching.

Men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end.

Some years ago I was in a company of teachers of the Bible in the colleges and other educational institutions of America. One of the most eminent theological professors in the country made an address. In it he admitted that there are unfortunate controversies about doctrine in the Epistles of Paul; but, said he in effect, the real essence of Paul's teaching is found in the hymn to Christian love in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians; and we can avoid controversy today, if we will only devote the chief attention to that inspiring hymn. 

In reply, I am bound to say that the example was singularly ill-chosen. That hymn to Christian love is in the midst of a great polemic passage; it would never have been written if Paul has been opposed to controversy with error in the Church. It was because his soul was stirred within him by a wrong use of the spiritual gifts that he was able to write that glorious hymn. So it is always in the Church. Every really great Christian utterance, it may almost be said, is born in controversy. It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of truth. 

 J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937) was born in Baltimore and was graduated with a degree in classics from Johns Hopkins University. He studied at Princeton Theological Seminary under B. B. Warfield and R. D. Wilson.

The Great Central Truths of the Gospel

We are often overly consumed with trying to figure out all those supernatural events in the Scripture. From the parting of the Red Sea, to the manna from heaven, and how the earth even stood still in a battle. The truth is, it's supernatural and a God thing and something, that I can assure you, was an easy thing for God to do.

Instead of our focus being too often taken to trying to explain the unexplainable, I would ask you to look deep into the great central truths of the gospel. Let's focus in on the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death and resurrection of Christ, justification by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the glory of Christ's return, and the final judgment.

Now there above is a list and one to check twice. Behind all of it is Yahweh himself. It's God's design and way. His aim is simple - that all nations would worship His Son Jesus (Matthew 24:14), to whom all authority was given (Matthew 28:18).

Oh that we might know Him and the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10)! Let us look again at the gospel. Let us look again into the face of Jesus - "and the word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).

John Stott wrote in commenting on the tremendous truths of Romans 1–11 which provoked Paul’s outburst of praise. "The worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by the vision of God. Worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry. Hence the indispensable place of Scripture in both public worship and private devotion. It is the Word of God which calls forth the worship of God."

Transforming Grace

The Preface to Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.

 

As with all of Jerry Bridges books, I recommend that you read this book. It is both challenging, yet devotional in nature.

The grace of God is one of the most important subjects in all of Scripture. At the same time it is probably one of the least understood.

All Christians by definition believe in grace. Many of us frequently quote Paul’s well-known words in Ephesians 2:8–9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." And John Newton’s beloved hymn "Amazing Grace" is said to be the all-time favorite hymn in the United States. Why then do I say the grace of God is one of the least understood subjects in the Bible?

When we think of grace, we almost always think of being saved by grace. That is why Ephesians 2:8–9 is so familiar to us. Even Christian literature available on the subject of grace seems to deal almost exclusively with salvation. But the Bible teaches we are not only saved by grace, but we also live by grace every day of our lives. It is this important aspect of grace that seems to be so little understood or practiced by Christians.

My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our personal relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever "well" is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the "sweat" of our own performance.

Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to "try harder." We seem to believe success in the Christian life (however we define success) is basically up to us: our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. We give lip service to the attitude of the apostle Paul, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10), but our unspoken motto is, "God helps those who help themselves."

The realization that my daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of on my own performance is a very freeing and joyous experience. But it is not meant to be a one-time experience; the truth needs to be reaffirmed daily. That is what this book is all about.

I often study some important topic of Scripture using what I call the "Crock Pot" or slow cooker method. That is, I let it "cook" slowly over the back burner of my mind for months, even years. That has been true with the subject of God’s grace. It has been on my "back burner" for more than ten years. I’ve written three other books during that time, but my mind and heart have kept coming back to God’s grace.

As I’ve studied this subject, and more particularly in recent months as I have focused my thoughts into the material for this book, I’ve frequently felt like a child trying to dip all the water out of the ocean. The grace of God is so inexhaustible and at times overwhelming. I trust I have been able to express something of that feeling in the message of this book, and that you, too, will come to appreciate more the vast riches of God’s grace given to us through Christ.

Several people have played an important role in the writing of this book. My pastor, Rick Fite, read the complete manuscript and affirmed and encouraged me in this emphasis on grace. Another friend, Don Simpson, also read the manuscript and gave me valuable feedback and suggestions. Jon Stine, a very exacting editor, constantly challenged me to clarify my thoughts and to present a biblically balanced message. A number of friends across the country have prayed regularly for this work, but "senior saint" Grace Peterson has again been my Moses on the top of the hill while I have been fighting the "Amalekites" of concepts and thoughts, which often would just not come together. (Refer to Exodus 17:8–13 if you’re not familiar with the Bible analogy I’m using.)

Jessie Newton, my administrative assistant, has put my handwritten manuscript on a computer, ready to be typeset. This is the second book Jessie has typed for me, and she has done a superb job.

My dear wife, Jane, has been a constant encourager and never complained, either in word or attitude, about being a "writer’s widow" during the months when I devoted all my free time to writing this book.

Most of all, God Himself has poured out His mercy and grace on me. I trust my efforts will not be in vain and, through the message of this book, many will "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever more! Amen" (2 Peter 3:18).

What are You Preaching?

Good question right? The question is “What is it that you are preaching?” I'm not just talking to or about preachers here. You do realize that, yes, there is an office of pastor, who is to preach, but everyone is to preach (1 Peter 3:15).

So what is it that we are to be preaching? This is not a trick question, and the answer is just one word. Okay, I’ll tell you. It’s Christ Jesus. That’s right, it’s the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are to preach Christ, and him crucified. The apostle Paul says it pretty clear, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

Now, I think that most that will read this would agree emphatically. But have you listened to your pastor lately and what he preaches? Have you listened and examined what it is that you are preaching to your children? Now I know that you don’t want to necessarily “preach” to your children as a pastor would from a pulpit.

Let me get to the point of what I’m getting at with an example in what we “preach” to our children. Let’s say that your child gets into trouble at school and was caught stealing or cheating on an exam. When he gets home what is going to be the main point of your message that you will communicate? Is it “Little Johnny, you were a bad boy because good boys don’t steal or cheat. You have made mommy and daddy very upset and are extremely disappointed in you, and we didn’t raise you to act like this.” That, I would submit to you, is how most parents would generally address the situation. However, all that focuses on is the morality of little Johnny and not the person of Jesus Christ.

A Biblical way to address the situation with the centrality of Christ might look like this: “Little Johnny, your actions today in cheating and stealing are very serious as you have disobeyed what God clearly tells you not to do in the Bible (Ex. 20:15; Hos. 12:7; Amos 8:5; Eph. 6:2 etc.). That’s what the Bible calls sin and why God had to send His Son to die for. This is very serious and greatly disappoints Jesus.” We could go on and further explain this to Johnny, but my point is, we need to preach Christ and not morality. Jesus needs to be central in all we preach.

The same is true from the pulpit. Many pastors tend to preach a self-help message that is more focused on morality that the person and word of Jesus Christ. When we preach on marriage, it’s easy to give three points on how we are to communicate, love, and be committed to one another. Instead, let’s preach that when we communicate, love, or are not committed to one another that our relationship with Christ is first and foremost not right – it’s called sin. We need to then repent and make our relationship with Christ right and honor and glorify Him. Then we are to obey His command and remain committed to one another as He is committed to us. We will love one another as He first loved us and gave His life as a ransom. We will communicate in a loving and respectful way as our marriage is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So let’s “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

May that answer be centered on the person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Preaching and Preachers

This past weekend, my wife and I had a little away time. The weekend away was going to include being away from the pulpit and preaching. Although I don't like to be away from Sunday morning, I have found it's a necessary thing to do if you're going to complete the marathon of ministry.

This also meant, I had an opportunity to go to a church and be a recipient of a good gospel message. I wanted to go to a Southern Baptist Church as this is my denomination and I wanted to see what's going on outside my church and in other pulpits. So I went to the Southern Baptist Convention website and found a possibility of five or so churches that were in my area. To my dismay, the information on that site was not very good and many churches did not have basic information - i.e., service times. In fact, the church we ended up going to had the wrong information on the site so it was a good thing we drove by to find the church the night before and that they did have their services times clearly posted.

Sunday morning we were up and allowed plenty of time to get to the church and find good seats. It started off good as the choir was full with at least 50 people to include those playing the musical instruments. They even had a baptism that morning of a lady probably in her 50's or 60's. However from there it went down hill.

I felt from the beginning that it was a "dead" or "dying" church but I maintained a positive attitude and prayed for the preacher and the preacher. He started with "Children's time" which there are still many churches that do this. This is a time where all the kids come into the auditorium and the pastor gives them a short message and then the teachers are supposed than build on the lesson the pastor gives in their classes. The message unfortunately was about a jar of peanut butter and that the month of September was their churches month to supply the food pantry. To his credit, he did throw in a little Scripture from Matthew 25.

The moment finally came for the preaching. I had my Bible out and turned to the text, although it was already printed out in the bulletin. I was hungry for the Word and the text was a familiar one but well needed for today. The text was Ephesians 6:10-20 and so I was expecting a message on Spiritual Warfare or something in that realm. As the preacher got up and moved to the platform he positioned himself in front of the pulpit and began his introduction. I noticed he put his Bible on the pulpit and that he was one of those preachers who preach without any notes. Something that I'm still fearful of today and know myself not that good to preach without my manuscript, although, I seldom read it but it's there as a safety net just in case.

His introduction was okay, but from there it just went on a terminal nose dive. He didn't follow the text at all and there was no real thesis or point of the message. The most I got out of it was to "stand firm." What was never answered was stand firm on what? What are the resources that are given to the believer for spiritual warfare? What is this the helmet, shield, sword, etc., and how do I use it?

None of those questions were answered fully and how could he answer them as his message was a total of 17 minutes. I must say, I was glad it was only 17 minutes because he had already said all that he was going to say and began to repeat a lot of what he already had said. Some of you know what I'm talking about. It's called rambling or filling time with words that have nothing to do with what your message is all about. It happens when you  are unprepared and you don't really know what you want to say. The message takes you nowhere and leaves you there, wherever that is, bewildered.

All is good though, because we ended at 12:00 pm on the dot so we can get to our favorite restaurants and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Of course, there was no evening service so we could watch both football games from start to finish.

I hope you read in on the sarcasm in the last paragraph. I was sorely disappointed as this church is part of my denomination. What church is supposed to be about and center around is Christ and His Word. That was not the case here, as it was obvious that they spent more time in preparing the bulletin, which has a detailed order of service and plenty of inserts for all the programs that the church was sponsoring. I sense that this church was an "audience-driven" church that is prevalent in our day. Os Guiness in 1993 put it this way:

"The preacher, instead of looking out upon the world, looks upon public opinion, trying to find out what the public would like to hear. Then he tries his best to duplicate that, and bring his finished product into a marketplace in which others are trying to do the same. The public, turning to our culture to find out about the world, discovers there is nothing but its own reflection. The unexamined world, meanwhile, drifts blindly into the future."

 My admonition to that church and preacher is the same admonition Paul gave Timothy:

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim 4:1-4)

 

Some Ramblings about Sharing Christ

We just finished a week of renewal service or more commonly called a revival. Revival, I don't believe is the right word but I won't go into that now.

However, the services we had beginning on Sunday and continuing through to Wednesday were good and surely renewed my spirit. One message stood out for me personally, and that was the one on sharing our faith. We sometimes call this witnessing, or soulwinning. This is done commonly on a day of visitation, which is a time a church has to partner up and go spread the gospel. This is a good thing, no doubt, but it's also encouraged to be a witness for Christ at all times. At least, that’s what we say.

If we are honest, we would all have to admit to some degree that we fall short of this most serious command given to us by Jesus himself to share the good news. I like the quote by Leonard Ravenhill:

“Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you DAMNED?” – Leonard Ravenhill

Pretty in your face right? When was the last time you thought about eternity and where your family, friends, neighbors and associates will spend it? When was the last time you even mentioned the name of Jesus besides when you are at church or a church-related activity?

I find that you can talk to someone about anything with anybody as it relates to church and even eligion, but as soon as you mention the name “JESUS” the conversation quickly changes. There is an instant uneasiness that arises. What’s interesting is that you would think that uneasy feeling would be felt only by the person you are talking to. However, that’s not the case is it? I have found that I too have that same uneasy feeling. Ever wonder why? Is it because we are ashamed of Him? Romans 10:11 states: “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Is it because we are afraid of rejection? Or maybe it’s the fear we all have that they will ask us a question we don’t know?

All the above are more or less true; however, I believe it comes down to one thing. We are uneasy because we really don’t have an intimate relationship with Him. We ourselves our not comfortable around Jesus because we really haven’t spent much time with Him to get to even know Him as we should. So when by chance He does come to mind, and we do get up the courage to mention His name, everyone gets a bit uneasy.