Before we go any further, let me go ahead and put “everything on the table” as far as this book goes. I believe Pastor Dever presents an air tight case for what the church should be. While we will handle each section as we go through this book together, I don’t believe anyone can claim to love the Word of God and state that they just don’t agree with the view of the book. Now I understand that is a pretty strong statement but briefly follow with me for a just a moment…which of these could you biblically disagree with? Notice these “Nine Marks”:
• Expositional Preaching
• Biblical Theology
• Biblical Understanding of the Gospel and getting right when presenting it
• Biblical Understanding Of Conversion
• Biblical Understanding Of Evangelism
• Biblical Understanding Of Discipline
• Biblical Understanding Of Discipleship and Growth
• Biblical Leadership
How can someone say: “Well I just don’t subscribe to those view points”? If one would read them or just look at the title of each section, the first word is…well “BIBLICAL” I know we live a culture today that is more pragmatic than anything else, that would rather give statistics and numbers than gain truth, but my dear friends TRUTH is what we are called to! 1st Timothy 3:15 “…I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.” This “Biblical Understanding” is how we are defined. If we miss truth, we miss everything! Which leads right into our discussion today, if a church fails here it fails completely. We MUST have a Biblical Understanding of the Good News.
I love what Dever says in the opening paragraph of this chapter: “The gospel is the heart of Christianity, and so it should be at the heart of our churches.” The gospel is not something that I encounter at salvation and I grow from there, it is something that I must encounter each moment, as the old hymn says I need to ask Jesus to “keep me near the cross.” We need to understand that what we are presenting people with is not an addendum to their life, not something that will make a good life better - not a prayer, not a “do you want to go to Heaven?” issue. Can I remind you, most everyone in the world would answer with an emphatic “Yes!” to this question. We must remember the key elements of the Gospel that Dever gives: (1) A biblical view of God: He is sovereign and holy. (2) A biblical view of man: We are created in God’s image, but fallen and wretched and we are under His wrath and completely separate from Him. (3) A biblical view of Christ: He is the God-man and uniquely and exclusively stands in between God and man as our substitute and conqueror of death. (4) Have I shared all of this and emphasized the necessity of repentance of sin and faith toward our LORD Jesus Christ, and need to respond. If we get the gospel wrong, we can hardly call ourselves a church – much less healthy, or even Christians. The gospel is what we are all about, it is what defines us; it must be the catalyst for our missions, our message and our entire ministry. This is the one thing we can’t afford to get wrong!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
What is a Healthy Church? - Mark #2 - Theology
In our last post we looked at the first mark and that was: Expository Preaching. Most believers would not argue that the preacher must say something, but when we deal with this type of preaching, the point is going to be to find out what the Word of God tells us on a particular matter. The passion in a service should not be “what does the preacher think” - for my opinions are of no more value than yours - our desire should be to find out what God thinks on a particular passage. Funny enough, this next “mark” is one that brings up many emotions. It is one that in Paul’s day was obvious, in Martin Luther’s day was obvious, and in John Calvin’s day was obvious - but somehow, in our day not so much. We live in a day that frowns on theology. Any teaching on doctrine causes people to run and hide or believe that it will divide. Let me encourage you in this, doctrine does not divide - it simply unites. Example? The fact that we are the United States excludes us from calling ourselves Swedish. So by making a declaration that unites us with some, it obviously excludes us from something else. But rather than just looking at the exclusions, we rejoice in the inclusions! To believe ignorantly that we can hold to absolutely nothing and therefore not “exclude” anyone is to accept utter chaos…there is no way that we can have a church where “every man does what is right in their own eyes” and yet we all accept each other’s opinions as equally valuable as our own – it will lead to division nonetheless. In a previous church I had preached a series on “Doctrinal Words” (words that every believer should know but few could discuss in our average Baptist church): words like Regeneration, Sanctification, Justification, Propitiation and many other wonderful doctrinal words. I found out some time later, after I was several hundred miles away, that a staff member declared in short, “You can’t grow a church with studies like that.” Now to be perfectly honest, after I took a baby aspirin and relaxed, I was reminded of two primary issues: (1) This man had never been a pastor and had no “clue” and (2) He knew very little about what the Word of God said about the importance of doctrine. Now to be biblical, because of his ignorance of doctrine, we should all rejoice #1 is also true! I share this story, not to attack or incriminate this man, but to display the dominant thought in so many churches today and to show you that unfortunately, it infiltrates the staff and leadership of many churches as well. Most people don’t believe doctrine is important - they just don’t think about it. They are not sure what to believe but they just want everyone “to love Jesus and tell people about Him.” Now I desire to see people saved and love to share Christ, but I would submit to you that without sound doctrine we have no idea if we are speaking of the Jesus of the Bible or the Jesus of the Jehovah’s False Witnesses!
If one would study Paul’s letters as he speaks to each of the churches that God used him to plant, you would find that he found it pretty important to ground them in doctrine first! Before any real application took place in Ephesians he deals with doctrine - first. The reason for this? The focal point of our walk with God is not simply in the “doing things” or checking off a list of what to do and what not to do. Obedience begins in the heart of the believer, and flows from a love for God. I witness not because I’m afraid God will zap me (if that is my motivation I will be a legalist), I witness not simply because people are going to hell (if that is my motivation I will quit out of discouragement when people don’t come to Christ), I witness because I love my Father, and I long to glorify Him! I share Christ for the same reason I talk about my family! I love them. I can speak of my family in detail because I know them - I know what they love, what they dislike, what makes them happy and what grieves their heart. By knowing doctrine I know the same things about God.
At Trinity, we must not be a church that falls into the trap that we can come and be entertained. We must be thinking Christians - Christians who do not fear looking at difficult doctrines, even if as we finish our study and leave, we are still grasping and thinking over the particular doctrine. When we face those things we are reminded “His ways are higher than our ways.” Jesus was pretty fond of teaching doctrine even if people didn’t grasp it all. Look at Matt. 7:28, Matt. 22:33, Mark 1;27. The early church was pretty fond of doctrine also - Acts 2:42. Paul, the greatest missionary I know of, thought doctrine was pretty important and made sure new churches were “cutting their teeth” on things that many of our churches will refuse to look at: Rm. 6:17. In 1st Corinth. 14:26 Paul is pointing out that the lack of consistent doctrine is causing conflict in the church. Eph. 4;14 and 1st Tim. 1:10 point out that to know what sound doctrine is, they must also recognize false or unsound doctrine. In 1st Tim. 5:17 it appears that Paul felt those who refuse to see the importance of doctrine were not really laborers at all and in 2nd Tim. 3:10 Paul used his doctrinal teaching to enhance his testimony.
But I end with the day we are in - the saddest day of all: in 2nd Tim. 4:3 we are reminded that there will come a day that sound doctrine will not be tolerated. Could it be that “not tolerated” doesn’t mean out- right hated, but just simply thought of as unimportant? Overestimated? Controversial? Useless? Pointless? Harmful? Problematic? So should we just leave it? Can you really grow a church with doctrine or will it simply divide and harm? I would tell you based on the authority of the Word of God you can grow a CHURCH no other way! Social clubs, support groups, organizations and rallies – yes, can be grown without doctrine – but a CHURCH? – is it really a church if it is not based on those beliefs that He calls us to live out? After all it was Christ who said: “I will build my Church” - so it is my job to make sure our Church has depth and He will take care of the breadth. You can’t build a crowd with doctrine, you can’t build the next mega-whatever with doctrine - but beloved, we can and we must function as a true church – one built on doctrine!
If one would study Paul’s letters as he speaks to each of the churches that God used him to plant, you would find that he found it pretty important to ground them in doctrine first! Before any real application took place in Ephesians he deals with doctrine - first. The reason for this? The focal point of our walk with God is not simply in the “doing things” or checking off a list of what to do and what not to do. Obedience begins in the heart of the believer, and flows from a love for God. I witness not because I’m afraid God will zap me (if that is my motivation I will be a legalist), I witness not simply because people are going to hell (if that is my motivation I will quit out of discouragement when people don’t come to Christ), I witness because I love my Father, and I long to glorify Him! I share Christ for the same reason I talk about my family! I love them. I can speak of my family in detail because I know them - I know what they love, what they dislike, what makes them happy and what grieves their heart. By knowing doctrine I know the same things about God.
At Trinity, we must not be a church that falls into the trap that we can come and be entertained. We must be thinking Christians - Christians who do not fear looking at difficult doctrines, even if as we finish our study and leave, we are still grasping and thinking over the particular doctrine. When we face those things we are reminded “His ways are higher than our ways.” Jesus was pretty fond of teaching doctrine even if people didn’t grasp it all. Look at Matt. 7:28, Matt. 22:33, Mark 1;27. The early church was pretty fond of doctrine also - Acts 2:42. Paul, the greatest missionary I know of, thought doctrine was pretty important and made sure new churches were “cutting their teeth” on things that many of our churches will refuse to look at: Rm. 6:17. In 1st Corinth. 14:26 Paul is pointing out that the lack of consistent doctrine is causing conflict in the church. Eph. 4;14 and 1st Tim. 1:10 point out that to know what sound doctrine is, they must also recognize false or unsound doctrine. In 1st Tim. 5:17 it appears that Paul felt those who refuse to see the importance of doctrine were not really laborers at all and in 2nd Tim. 3:10 Paul used his doctrinal teaching to enhance his testimony.
But I end with the day we are in - the saddest day of all: in 2nd Tim. 4:3 we are reminded that there will come a day that sound doctrine will not be tolerated. Could it be that “not tolerated” doesn’t mean out- right hated, but just simply thought of as unimportant? Overestimated? Controversial? Useless? Pointless? Harmful? Problematic? So should we just leave it? Can you really grow a church with doctrine or will it simply divide and harm? I would tell you based on the authority of the Word of God you can grow a CHURCH no other way! Social clubs, support groups, organizations and rallies – yes, can be grown without doctrine – but a CHURCH? – is it really a church if it is not based on those beliefs that He calls us to live out? After all it was Christ who said: “I will build my Church” - so it is my job to make sure our Church has depth and He will take care of the breadth. You can’t build a crowd with doctrine, you can’t build the next mega-whatever with doctrine - but beloved, we can and we must function as a true church – one built on doctrine!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What is a Healthy Church - The First Test...
As I continue to review this wonderful book “What Is A Healthy Church?” I want to thank all of you for taking the time to follow this blog. The response has been outstanding and I pray that it enhances your walk with God and understanding of truth. Just to inform you, I have only 2 copies of this book left and, if you would like one, let me know (we have given these away on the first come first serve basis). Several of you have shared with me that you have already completed this little book: if you want to see this in more detail, let me encourage you to get Mark Dever’s book “Nine Marks Of A Healthy Church” as it covers the same major points but gives much more detailed information. The deeper interest we have in this, the stronger church we will become. I know this thought flies in the face of the “consumer approach” most people have towards church today. We have been duped into believing that what church is really about is…us! We want a church that fits our schedule, our likes/dislikes and it should really be for us! The attitude is that “if you can’t entertain me enough or offer me enough, I will head down the road and find another store…I mean church”. From what I see in the Word of God, when we are part of the Church family we are not shopping, we are entering a covenant with one another. If I am going to enter a covenant to be part of a family - I would certainly have some expectations. So what should we look for? Well, Dever handles this especially well in our book. So let’s discuss the first mark.
Expositional Preaching: This is one of the areas that many preachers may claim to be, but very few preachers really are. This is preaching that exposes the Word of God - it puts it at front and center. We should be a people that when we come to Worship, we understand that we are to worship around the Word of God. It is not just inerrant, it is sufficient. It is sufficient to show us how to worship, how to live, how to conduct our worship, how to hold one another accountable. When the focus is on the Word of God what we are in fact stating is that God’s Word is the only authority in our lives- it is what we live and die by - it is what we expect to hear when we worship and what we long to live by when we go home. Dever explains Expository Preaching this way: “There are many types of preaching. Topical preaching, for example, gathers up one or more Scriptures on a particular topic, such as the topic of prayer or the topic of giving, Biographical preaching takes the life of someone in the Bible and portrays the individual’s life as a display of God’s grace and as an example of hope and faithfulness. And these other types may be employed helpfully on occasion. But the regular diet of the church should consist of the explanation and application of particular portions of God’s Word.” Even when we do a topical study it should be our passion to still go to Scripture and dig in the Word of God. I love the statement that this type of preaching “is not so much about how a preacher says what he says, but about how a preacher decides what to say.” In short, society can’t dictate to me what to preach, a frustration can’t dictate to me what to preach, but we get our subject matter, and even our thoughts about the subject matter, from the Word of God.
We are at a place in our culture that “preaching” is such a negative term. How many times have you heard someone say: “Don’t preach to me!”? So we have pastors who will change the term: they will have a “relevant talk” or they will have a “short discussion,” but can I remind you that the Word of God has called the Pastor to “Preach the Word.” In 2nd Tim. 4:2 Paul exhorts Timothy to “Preach” and in Titus 1:3 Paul says the Word was “manifested through preaching….” In 1st Corithians 1:18 Paul speaks that the world sees the “Preaching” of the cross as foolishness. Yet this is the way God has ordained for His Church to grow. It is no accident that as the idea of preaching has faltered in our churches, biblical ignorance has flourished. We have become a people more intent on finding a “style” we like rather than expecting the man of God to preach the Word of God. Trinity, let me thank you for being people who want preaching and expect preaching. May God deepen our love for this - that we may grow into a deeper knowledge of Him.
Expositional Preaching: This is one of the areas that many preachers may claim to be, but very few preachers really are. This is preaching that exposes the Word of God - it puts it at front and center. We should be a people that when we come to Worship, we understand that we are to worship around the Word of God. It is not just inerrant, it is sufficient. It is sufficient to show us how to worship, how to live, how to conduct our worship, how to hold one another accountable. When the focus is on the Word of God what we are in fact stating is that God’s Word is the only authority in our lives- it is what we live and die by - it is what we expect to hear when we worship and what we long to live by when we go home. Dever explains Expository Preaching this way: “There are many types of preaching. Topical preaching, for example, gathers up one or more Scriptures on a particular topic, such as the topic of prayer or the topic of giving, Biographical preaching takes the life of someone in the Bible and portrays the individual’s life as a display of God’s grace and as an example of hope and faithfulness. And these other types may be employed helpfully on occasion. But the regular diet of the church should consist of the explanation and application of particular portions of God’s Word.” Even when we do a topical study it should be our passion to still go to Scripture and dig in the Word of God. I love the statement that this type of preaching “is not so much about how a preacher says what he says, but about how a preacher decides what to say.” In short, society can’t dictate to me what to preach, a frustration can’t dictate to me what to preach, but we get our subject matter, and even our thoughts about the subject matter, from the Word of God.
We are at a place in our culture that “preaching” is such a negative term. How many times have you heard someone say: “Don’t preach to me!”? So we have pastors who will change the term: they will have a “relevant talk” or they will have a “short discussion,” but can I remind you that the Word of God has called the Pastor to “Preach the Word.” In 2nd Tim. 4:2 Paul exhorts Timothy to “Preach” and in Titus 1:3 Paul says the Word was “manifested through preaching….” In 1st Corithians 1:18 Paul speaks that the world sees the “Preaching” of the cross as foolishness. Yet this is the way God has ordained for His Church to grow. It is no accident that as the idea of preaching has faltered in our churches, biblical ignorance has flourished. We have become a people more intent on finding a “style” we like rather than expecting the man of God to preach the Word of God. Trinity, let me thank you for being people who want preaching and expect preaching. May God deepen our love for this - that we may grow into a deeper knowledge of Him.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Loving What is Local
I had an interesting conversation with my boys the other day. They have settled into our new church, home and community rather nicely so I felt now was an opportunity to discuss some blessings about our move. Interestingly enough, the overarching theme of this conversation consisted of how close things were to us. Although, we lived in Florida just under 5 years, to a 10 year old and 9 year old that is most of their lives. Whenever we had to go anywhere it meant going to Gainesville - so every where Mom took them seemed to take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. In short, they love the fact that in our new community, everything is local. Even our Church, Trinity Baptist Church, is just a few moments away - our local body!
When I thought about that conversation, I began to think about a book our staff and our deacons are reading. It is entitled “What Is A Healthy Church”. I have shared this before, but I know of no book outside of Scripture that covers what a biblical church should be better than this book. Mark Dever is an incredible Pastor and a wonderful writer, who seems to understand the biblical concept of what a church really is! Through the next few posts I am going to discuss these points. I would highly recommend you order a copy of this book as it is a wonderful outline of what a solid church should be. You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/What-Healthy-Church-Mark-Dever/dp/1581349378 It is a book you could finish in a couple of hours, but it would be well worth your time, and I would love to read your thoughts or questions concerning it. In fact, a little secret to those faithful blog readers - I have about 4 or 5 copies left over from the Deacon’s Retreat you can have if you let me know you want one! (be the first to email, comment on the blogs or call me!)
Let me just mention a few statements about the first section and we will pick up the rest later. Dever states: “A healthy church is a congregation that increasingly reflects God’s character as His character has been revealed in His Word.” In other words, a church that is healthy is a church is undergoing consistent sanctification. I have shared several times with you already, but sanctification is the act in which I am growing in my walk with God in such a way that by His grace and His Word, I am becoming more like Him. It goes along with the song we learned as children “He’s Still Working On Me” - do you remember this song? Well, the good news is by His grace he is still working on all of us as believers. Jn. 17:17 “Sanctify them by your truth, Your word is truth”. The only thing that will sanctify us, the only thing that will allow you to reflect God’s character, is the Word of God. The only thing that will enable us to be the congregation God wants us to be is by anchoring ourselves to the Word - basing our lives, our homes, our hearts on His Word, and knowing that through this, along with His amazing grace He will continue His work of sanctification. I end with one more quote from this great little book of Dever's: “The primary challenge churches face today is not figuring out how to be ‘relevant’ or ‘strategic’ or ‘sensitive’ or even ‘deliverate.’ It’s figuring out how to be faithful—how to listen, how to trust and obey." Trinity this means we don’t have to be the smartest, we don’t have to be the most creative or innovative, but we must strive to be the most obedient. If we do that we will have a church God blesses!
When I thought about that conversation, I began to think about a book our staff and our deacons are reading. It is entitled “What Is A Healthy Church”. I have shared this before, but I know of no book outside of Scripture that covers what a biblical church should be better than this book. Mark Dever is an incredible Pastor and a wonderful writer, who seems to understand the biblical concept of what a church really is! Through the next few posts I am going to discuss these points. I would highly recommend you order a copy of this book as it is a wonderful outline of what a solid church should be. You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/What-Healthy-Church-Mark-Dever/dp/1581349378 It is a book you could finish in a couple of hours, but it would be well worth your time, and I would love to read your thoughts or questions concerning it. In fact, a little secret to those faithful blog readers - I have about 4 or 5 copies left over from the Deacon’s Retreat you can have if you let me know you want one! (be the first to email, comment on the blogs or call me!)
Let me just mention a few statements about the first section and we will pick up the rest later. Dever states: “A healthy church is a congregation that increasingly reflects God’s character as His character has been revealed in His Word.” In other words, a church that is healthy is a church is undergoing consistent sanctification. I have shared several times with you already, but sanctification is the act in which I am growing in my walk with God in such a way that by His grace and His Word, I am becoming more like Him. It goes along with the song we learned as children “He’s Still Working On Me” - do you remember this song? Well, the good news is by His grace he is still working on all of us as believers. Jn. 17:17 “Sanctify them by your truth, Your word is truth”. The only thing that will sanctify us, the only thing that will allow you to reflect God’s character, is the Word of God. The only thing that will enable us to be the congregation God wants us to be is by anchoring ourselves to the Word - basing our lives, our homes, our hearts on His Word, and knowing that through this, along with His amazing grace He will continue His work of sanctification. I end with one more quote from this great little book of Dever's: “The primary challenge churches face today is not figuring out how to be ‘relevant’ or ‘strategic’ or ‘sensitive’ or even ‘deliverate.’ It’s figuring out how to be faithful—how to listen, how to trust and obey." Trinity this means we don’t have to be the smartest, we don’t have to be the most creative or innovative, but we must strive to be the most obedient. If we do that we will have a church God blesses!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Help for the Leaders....
Last week I had the joy of preaching to our congregation at Trinity on the God given responsibility of husbands. As I told our sweet fellowship, I am preaching on this not because I have mastered this, but because I need the Lord to speak to me and convict me as I preach His Word. I just pray that our people show back up this Sunday night after a very long service from their long winded Pastor this past Sunday! As I am preaching through this series, I want to take some time in my blog to give you some resources that will aid your walk (and your family’s walk) with the Lord. I know when I was growing up the resources for family worship were few and far between. The result was frustration for many men who genuinely wanted to lead their family in worship at home, but didn’t really know where to start. If you look at my blog from last week you will find several ideas I gave for teaching your children doctrine and introducing them to “dead people.” You can certainly use some of those books in leading your family in worship and discussing doctrine - in fact right now one of the things we are doing as a family is reading a short, beautifully illustrated book on Martin Luther. However, in addition to those resources from last week, you will find some great options below (many of which are wonderful whether you have children in the home or not). If you are using something right now that is a great benefit, please post a comment so I can add to these resources! Let’s share ideas….
http://www.heritagebuilders.com/store.htm For my family this is the site that started it all. If you will look at the bottom of the linked site you will find that Heritage Builders is about to team up with Amazon.com and will offer a wide variety of new resources. They now have some material for adolescents, but much of their material is for children 12 and under. These books will give “hands on” fun for your children as they learn the truths of Christ. These books have everything from simple crafts, family games, to building a small model of the Tabernacle. Once you set up a specific night for “family night” your children will have a celebration every time you announce that it is family time. Look especially at the books “family night tool chest.”
http://www.christianfocus.com/brand/show/3/- This page simply gives some books that you can read to your children before bed. The book “My First Book of Questions and Answers” (about half way down the page and under “Top Sellers”) is an excellent source to use for younger children as you give them basic biblical answers to eternal truths.
http://www.therebelution.com/ This site is one that you need to put before your teenagers and keep it in front of them. Let them post, let them meet other students that have a passion for God. But above all, buy copies of this book for everyone in your family and lead in a discussion about this book! After you read it, help them come up with a way to “Do Hard Things.” I look back and think how great my teen years could have been if I would have had this book as a resource (along with parents who would have rewarded me greatly to read it, of course!)
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|191
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|189
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|204
The three links above are things that every Dad should read. The first is written by John Bunyan, then Arthur Pink, and the final one is written by George Whitfield. They deal with the responsibility we have as men to lead our families in worship. They are great articles and very convicting.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875523927?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0875523927&adid=1ZP5KXM05735Z1TXAYWG& I may have mentioned this book earlier, but this is outstanding material for a nightly worship time with your family. It is built around the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and it outlines what you should focus upon for each day of the week. For younger children especially, you will want to read and be ready to explain/discuss it with them for them to have a good understanding of the concepts.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0961860855?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0961860855&adid=18XCW7ZV61SZ8HPNKMWS& This book is good for a topical study. It organizes the Proverbs into topics like “anger”, “selfishness”, etc. This is a very good resource to help you teach properly as you are “walking and sitting”. You will be able to go to the Word of God when correcting behavior and will get to the heart of the matter.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1888692073?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1888692073&adid=0ZN4ZR1HKZYC5PVA6ACY& A simple way to gather your children around the Word (this covers a variety of ages). It is set up to help you read and walk right through your worship time as a family.
http://www.peacemaker.net/site/c.aqKFLTOBIpH/b.958199/k.AFBE/Young_Peacemaker.htm If you will look on this site there are multiple resources for “Peacemaking for Families.” We have just ordered the Young Peacemaker for our boys and plan on using the book to discuss the subject matter, and the activity pages as a supplement. I have already ordered the church version of this material for Trinity to go through down the road – I can’t think of any single subject that is more needed in our churches and families today! It teaches how Matthew 18 is dealt with in every part of life. In a day when cowards can slander people on the internet and fighting over petty differences are splitting churches, we as Christians are called to be different. This is how to live out Scripture when we have disagreements, whether at Church or in our home.
I believe if you would use these links, along with my previous posts about “Catechizing Our Children” and “Introducing Them to Dead People”, you will find incredible ways for you to lead your family through the truths of the Gospel and everyone will have a blast!
http://www.heritagebuilders.com/store.htm For my family this is the site that started it all. If you will look at the bottom of the linked site you will find that Heritage Builders is about to team up with Amazon.com and will offer a wide variety of new resources. They now have some material for adolescents, but much of their material is for children 12 and under. These books will give “hands on” fun for your children as they learn the truths of Christ. These books have everything from simple crafts, family games, to building a small model of the Tabernacle. Once you set up a specific night for “family night” your children will have a celebration every time you announce that it is family time. Look especially at the books “family night tool chest.”
http://www.christianfocus.com/brand/show/3/- This page simply gives some books that you can read to your children before bed. The book “My First Book of Questions and Answers” (about half way down the page and under “Top Sellers”) is an excellent source to use for younger children as you give them basic biblical answers to eternal truths.
http://www.therebelution.com/ This site is one that you need to put before your teenagers and keep it in front of them. Let them post, let them meet other students that have a passion for God. But above all, buy copies of this book for everyone in your family and lead in a discussion about this book! After you read it, help them come up with a way to “Do Hard Things.” I look back and think how great my teen years could have been if I would have had this book as a resource (along with parents who would have rewarded me greatly to read it, of course!)
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|191
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|189
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=49|57|204
The three links above are things that every Dad should read. The first is written by John Bunyan, then Arthur Pink, and the final one is written by George Whitfield. They deal with the responsibility we have as men to lead our families in worship. They are great articles and very convicting.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875523927?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0875523927&adid=1ZP5KXM05735Z1TXAYWG& I may have mentioned this book earlier, but this is outstanding material for a nightly worship time with your family. It is built around the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and it outlines what you should focus upon for each day of the week. For younger children especially, you will want to read and be ready to explain/discuss it with them for them to have a good understanding of the concepts.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0961860855?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0961860855&adid=18XCW7ZV61SZ8HPNKMWS& This book is good for a topical study. It organizes the Proverbs into topics like “anger”, “selfishness”, etc. This is a very good resource to help you teach properly as you are “walking and sitting”. You will be able to go to the Word of God when correcting behavior and will get to the heart of the matter.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1888692073?tag=evegoopat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1888692073&adid=0ZN4ZR1HKZYC5PVA6ACY& A simple way to gather your children around the Word (this covers a variety of ages). It is set up to help you read and walk right through your worship time as a family.
http://www.peacemaker.net/site/c.aqKFLTOBIpH/b.958199/k.AFBE/Young_Peacemaker.htm If you will look on this site there are multiple resources for “Peacemaking for Families.” We have just ordered the Young Peacemaker for our boys and plan on using the book to discuss the subject matter, and the activity pages as a supplement. I have already ordered the church version of this material for Trinity to go through down the road – I can’t think of any single subject that is more needed in our churches and families today! It teaches how Matthew 18 is dealt with in every part of life. In a day when cowards can slander people on the internet and fighting over petty differences are splitting churches, we as Christians are called to be different. This is how to live out Scripture when we have disagreements, whether at Church or in our home.
I believe if you would use these links, along with my previous posts about “Catechizing Our Children” and “Introducing Them to Dead People”, you will find incredible ways for you to lead your family through the truths of the Gospel and everyone will have a blast!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Pastor Chad Everson....a Mississippian?
I am going to make a statement I never thought I would say in my lifetime(sorry but remember, I grew up in Georiga!): I love Mississippi! We love the town, we love our new church, we love the restaurants, we love the change of seasons (even the cold). So in short you could say that Pastor Chad Everson is quickly becoming a Mississippian (is that right?) Now saying that, I was also impressed and alarmed at two statistics I saw on our State, the first is found on this link http://www.gallup.com/poll/114022/State-States-Importance-Religion.aspx
That’s right Mississippi is number one in the Nation in saying that “Religion is an important part of their life.” In fact 85% of people asked responded positively to this question. Just in case you didn’t study the poll, Vermont was at the bottom with 42% of people answering affirmatively. Now, what does all this mean to us as believers? Well, notice how the question is asked, “is religion important?” If you, like me, have been raised in the South, then you know that you rarely run into anyone that doesn’t have some religious affiliation. In fact, as I took a look at this poll I had to wonder what State would have the most true believers. It burdens me as I write this that most, if not all, who are reading this blog will be dead in 100 years or less - and the saddest part is that the majority of those who answered in an affirmative way to the Gallup Poll will be in Hell. What hurts me more is that in all probability, many who are presently members of Trinity Baptist Church will be in Hell. I want to challenge you to read Matthew 7, as we are told that there will be many who genuinely thought they were saved who are not. Now unless you think I’m exaggerating a point, one would be hard pressed to explain how we can be the number 1 religious state, and also be number one in teen pregnancy. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_he_me/med_teen_births This poll gives quite another picture of Mississippi. How is it that “religion” can be so major, and yet immorality be so high? The only conclusion one would be able to draw is that religion may be a part of people’s life, but in reality it makes very little impact on people’s lives. It may give us moral codes but in truth, it can not and will not change the heart of man. We are at our core wicked, sinful, depraved.
In conclusion the only thing that will ultimately help Mississippi, Vermont, Alaska and the World is not saying a prayer, or going to Church but a life changing encounter with the one true God. One that must involve faith and repentance - this is what is missing in every state and in many churches. When Christ takes over a life, it is evident by total change - this can’t be measured by statistical data. Salvation is measured by a Holy God and a changed life, and that test will ultimately be all that matters. So, are you religious or are you changed?
Bro. Chad
By the way, I would welcome comments! If you want to make comments or ask questions about any of my blogs, simply click on the title of the blog and a new screen with the blog will open. Scroll down, and at the bottom of the screen a “post comment” box will allow you to write me. I will review all comments before they post to the website, but I will also respond…thanks again for taking the time to be a part of this endeavor!
That’s right Mississippi is number one in the Nation in saying that “Religion is an important part of their life.” In fact 85% of people asked responded positively to this question. Just in case you didn’t study the poll, Vermont was at the bottom with 42% of people answering affirmatively. Now, what does all this mean to us as believers? Well, notice how the question is asked, “is religion important?” If you, like me, have been raised in the South, then you know that you rarely run into anyone that doesn’t have some religious affiliation. In fact, as I took a look at this poll I had to wonder what State would have the most true believers. It burdens me as I write this that most, if not all, who are reading this blog will be dead in 100 years or less - and the saddest part is that the majority of those who answered in an affirmative way to the Gallup Poll will be in Hell. What hurts me more is that in all probability, many who are presently members of Trinity Baptist Church will be in Hell. I want to challenge you to read Matthew 7, as we are told that there will be many who genuinely thought they were saved who are not. Now unless you think I’m exaggerating a point, one would be hard pressed to explain how we can be the number 1 religious state, and also be number one in teen pregnancy. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_he_me/med_teen_births This poll gives quite another picture of Mississippi. How is it that “religion” can be so major, and yet immorality be so high? The only conclusion one would be able to draw is that religion may be a part of people’s life, but in reality it makes very little impact on people’s lives. It may give us moral codes but in truth, it can not and will not change the heart of man. We are at our core wicked, sinful, depraved.
In conclusion the only thing that will ultimately help Mississippi, Vermont, Alaska and the World is not saying a prayer, or going to Church but a life changing encounter with the one true God. One that must involve faith and repentance - this is what is missing in every state and in many churches. When Christ takes over a life, it is evident by total change - this can’t be measured by statistical data. Salvation is measured by a Holy God and a changed life, and that test will ultimately be all that matters. So, are you religious or are you changed?
Bro. Chad
By the way, I would welcome comments! If you want to make comments or ask questions about any of my blogs, simply click on the title of the blog and a new screen with the blog will open. Scroll down, and at the bottom of the screen a “post comment” box will allow you to write me. I will review all comments before they post to the website, but I will also respond…thanks again for taking the time to be a part of this endeavor!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Strange Advice - Introducing our kids to dead people!
Last time I had the joy of sharing with you how we are catechizing our children. It is wonderful to see them learn doctrine. I must confess, with home schooling my boys, their Mom does an amazing job at this. I just come along at times and underscore or expand on these truths. Outside of teaching them these great doctrinal truths, the other thing we must do for our children is to introduce them to dead people. As believers we certainly have no séances, or channeling going on in the Everson household. But we do encourage reading! In fact my boys know that many of their chores they must do because they live in this house and we all contribute. However, they also know that Dad and Mom pay BIG BUCKS for reading books. If they want the new Wii game, all they have to do is read some books and they will have the money to buy it (amount we pay depends on level of difficulty and subject matter). This is invaluable for them! Reading is a discipline in my life, I was never pushed to read, and I suppose if I were growing up in today’s time I would be labeled as ADD. Needless to say, my parents gave me a spanking rather than medication and, while it required more energy from them, I would say it paid off greatly (but that is another post for another day). In short, I want to raise readers, boys who think as they read and grow from the things that they read. Recently as we prepared to move to Southaven, MS I was able to discuss with our oldest how even though God was leading us somewhere else, it was not as difficult as what God told Jim Elliot to do. I don’t have space to go into Jim Elliot’s story but you can find a synopsis here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Elliot . If you notice Jim Elliot was martyred in 1956. How does that mean anything to a 10 year old in the year 2009? Well, Caleb had read his biography, but not only his, he has read about Hudson Taylor, William Booth, Gladys Aylward, and several others. In fact, Joshua our 9 year old learned how to run faster by reading about Eric Liddell (how many people can say that Eric Liddell taught them how to run?) I would rather our boys read and idolize “dead people” that have finished the race faithful, than to look at the world’s heroes who have left their family, got on steroids, or stole some money. Tonight we are beginning a new book on Martin Luther; I am in awe at the resources out there for us that are seldom taken advantage of by Christian families. So below you will find some biographies for your children, if they can’t read them on their own (some of the biographies are difficult reading) then read it to them after supper. It may take some effort and you won’t be able to do it every night, but if you make a commitment to do it, maybe one day you can have a conversation about a great dead man who you both know!
http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/biographies/youth.asp
A good biography to start with is George Muller. This site has some great things for boys and girls of all ages and men and women of all ages.
http://www.ywampublishing.com/c-64-biography.aspx
All of these books are written by Janet and Geoff Benge and are really good for children 9-15. Parents may have to help the younger ones get through some of these books but the effort is worth it!
.http://www.wholesomewords.org/children/biocc.html
The Children Of Bible Biographies and the Biographies of the Missionaries are recommended. The two sites above are the books we have more of in our home.
http://www.monergismbooks.com/Bible-Study-Resources-p-1-c-408.html
This site has catechism books, biographies and so much more.
Well there you have it, it may not be an exhaustive list but buying these resources and teaching them may be exhausting! However, the results will pay off with greater results that you have ever imagined. If you have some other sites, or advice I’d love to hear it
http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/biographies/youth.asp
A good biography to start with is George Muller. This site has some great things for boys and girls of all ages and men and women of all ages.
http://www.ywampublishing.com/c-64-biography.aspx
All of these books are written by Janet and Geoff Benge and are really good for children 9-15. Parents may have to help the younger ones get through some of these books but the effort is worth it!
.http://www.wholesomewords.org/children/biocc.html
The Children Of Bible Biographies and the Biographies of the Missionaries are recommended. The two sites above are the books we have more of in our home.
http://www.monergismbooks.com/Bible-Study-Resources-p-1-c-408.html
This site has catechism books, biographies and so much more.
Well there you have it, it may not be an exhaustive list but buying these resources and teaching them may be exhausting! However, the results will pay off with greater results that you have ever imagined. If you have some other sites, or advice I’d love to hear it
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)