Destinations Part 2 and 3 now available

Check out the last 2 weeks of sermons at the church site.

T or F?: You can be Anything you want to be

Popular culture often tells kids, “You can be ANYthing you want to be.”  But that is cruel to say to a 5′4 18 year old boy who yearns to be an NFL linebacker.  As Timothy Keller puts it, “If you had been born in a yurt in Outer Mongolia, instead of where you were, it wouldn’t have mattered how hard you worked or used your talents–you would have ended up poor and powerless.”

Just think of the power your family background has on where you are today.  I said I would never be like my parents.  Guess what?  I’m not JUST like them, but in many ways I am.  And now that I think about it, in my case, that’s not so bad.  Your family has shaped you more than you realize.  Regardless, it’s just not fair to promise kids that they can be ANYTHING they set their mind to.  I wouldn’t tell them they CAN’T do certain things but let’s not build false confidence and create more broken dreams.

Am I a cynic for posting this?

Free Book

OK I’m not offering a free book to anyone, I’m reviewing the book “Free Book” by Brian Tome, pastor of Crossroads in Cincinnati, Ohio.  It’s titled that because Tome writes an accessible book for anyone about the true FREEDOM we can find in Christ.  No seminary degree needed to read, understand, and apply it.  The author is transparent about his walk with Christ and his struggles which really hit home for me as I pastor a church as well.  At times he seems to write for shock value but I can see why this book would appeal to the new younger Christian because of it.  I found myself thoroughly enjoying it the more I read.  It certainly made me think.  Many times I wanted to disagree but really couldn’t come up with much of a counter-argument to what he was saying.  Many chapters just didn’t seem to fit in to the point of the book and I found myself skipping paragraphs to get to the next chapter.  Fortunately, most often, the next chapter had a nugget of wisdom that I hope to borrow for either a topic of a blog post or a sermon of my own.  I hope Tome writes more books.  They are easy, quick reads.  But don’t mistake easy and quick for fluffly or inconsequential.

This review is a part of Book Sneeze a online promotion site for bloggers to review books.  We get the books free…so I actually got “Free Book” for free.  But I have not been pressured to give a positive review.

Sunday Setlist #38

Here’s today’s set list of music at the Awakening Service at FCC.  This will be linked to The Worship Community.com blog where other worship bloggers post their setlists.  

Here’s what we did:

Song of Hope

You Never Let Go

Mighty To Save

Message- Destinations: Lean Not (week 3 of a series based on Andy Stanley’s excellent book “The Principle of the Path”)

Go Your Own Way (Yes, the Fleetwood Mac song.  We changed a few lines in the verses and I explained how recently I heard this song and it seemed as if God were speaking to me, “You can Go Your Own Way.”  So this was a reflective time as they interacted with God and His call to ultimately “Go His way.”)

I Will Rise

You Lifted Me Out

Are All Sins Equal to God?

Are all sins equal to God?

Is all sin “the same” to God?  Yes or no.

 

Check out Matthew 5:21-28

Are lust and adultery equal? 

How about hate and murder?

 

Let’s be clear: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom. 6:23)  It appears that all sin leads to the same result spiritually.  It leads to death, to hell.  So yes, all sin is equal.  “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”  (James 2:10)

 

But surely God can’t look at the murderer the same way he looks at the kid who cheats on his test?

 

Yes and no.  First of all, God loves us, even when we transgress.  We don’t “behave” in order to earn God’s love.  So God still loves the murderer and the cheat.  But God is also grieved by sin.  And sin deserves punishment.  The penalty for sin is death.  And we are locked into that consequence.

 

The good news is that Jesus took that punishment for us so that we might be reconciled to God AND live forever…and the new life starts NOW!.  2 Cor. 5:21, Jesus took that sin on him so that we might be the righteousness of God.  1 John 2:2, Jesus died to pay the penalty of all of our sins.  Of course, we have to accept that free gift of grace through faith.

 

So for those who don’t…all have sinned…doesn’t matter what their sins are…they have the same spiritual result.

 

BUT THAT DOESN’T SEEM FAIR?

            Hold on, I’m not done yet.  Obviously, the earthly “everyday” consequences of sin is not equal.  Lusting in my heart has a different consequence than being sexually promiscuous.  Can’t get an STD from lusting.  It’s still wrong and can lead to the next but in itself not every sin has the same consequence in this life. 

            Also, God really looks at particular sin and finds it “more reprehensible.”  Jesus clearly finds hypocritical religious people to be disgusting (read Matthew 23!).  And those who lead others into sin receive a special rebuke (Matthew 18:6). 

 

So in short, all sin is rebellion against God and needs punishment.  Jesus took that punishment for us, if we accept it in faith.  Even so, the consequences of sin is clearly different.  And of course, different kinds of sin may put into question whether we should be a pastor or in leadership of a church…but that topic will have to wait for another time.

 

Life is too short…

Fill in the blank.  Life is too short…__________.  What’s it too short for.

Today, this is why I think life is too short:

Life is too short to expend excessive time and energy on apathetic people.   There are lots of people receptive to the Gospel.  Let’s focus first on them.  Those that are callous now may be receptive after God prepares their hearts and circumstances change.  So be steadfast in prayer for all non-Christians.

3 Keys to Prayer

In Jesus’ example and teaching, 3 words mark the tone of our conversation with God: persistence, confidence, and reverence.

1. Persistence: This is not about nagging God.  Persistence is an indicator of your desire and your dependence on God.  Pray until God changes the situation or God changes you.  Often, both happen at once.
2. Confidence (in prayer): “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7.  Pray with expectation that something will happen–or why bother to pray at all?
3. Reverence: We should certainly be in awe knowing that we’re talking with the Creator of the universe and the Lover of our soul.  But true awe is not found in considering God as distant and untouchable.

Why You Should Be Responsible with Your Words

Kindness is Easier than Honesty

We cave in to dishonesty because we’d rather not give the conversation or relationship the time and energy it would take to be honest. 

Because Jesus wasn’t constrained by others’ opinions of him and because his love wasn’t stained by selfishness, Jesus is refreshingly, strikingly, wonderfully honest.  His words at times seemed harsh.  He certainly didn’t appear overly concerned about protecting others’ feelings. 

Kindness is easier than honesty.  Honesty is a lot more work.  But if we want our relationships to grow, honesty is nonnegotiable.  When we are honest, we will always be “speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).”

How to park a 57 inch wide car in a 61 inch wide garage and still get out