And one more thing: “Don’t forget to worship!”

Posted on by
3

IN TIMES OF GREAT STRESS–AND THE PRESENT  WORLDWIDE  PANDEMIC IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF STRESS–WORSHIP IS THE ONE ESSENTIAL.

This week, with the assistance of a few hundred Facebook friends, I made a poster “10 things not to do in times of worldwide crises.”  You can find the poster on my Facebook page, but here it what it said…

WHAT NOT TO DO IN A WORLDWIDE CRISIS–

  1. Do not believe everything you read on social media.
  2. Do not hoard.  Love thy neighbor.  Share with others.
  3. Do not watch the news 24/7.  That’s a sure-fire recipe for stress and anxiety.
  4. Do not fall for scams and gimmicks.  Con men come out of the woodwork during these times.
  5. Do not look for someone to blame–God, government, China.  Conspiracy theorists abound.
  6. Do not ignore guidelines meant to stop the spread and save lives.
  7. Do not interpret this as the judgment of God.  It might be, but you do not know.
  8. Do not interpret this as a sign of the end of the world.  It may be, but chances are it isn’t.
  9. Do not stop doing the things that keep you healthy, sane, happy, interested, productive.
  10. Don’t forget to worship.  Your soul needs this.

Originally, after the first nine, I was left with too many candidates for the tenth slot and left it blank for a time.  On Facebook I posted a photo of the incomplete poster and asked, “What’s number ten?”  A hundred answers came in. However, on the back deck with my morning coffee talking with the Lord, I felt Him giving me the tenth.  Don’t forget to worship.  Those four words came with such force and clarity, I knew this was from Him.  Not only that, but…

Continue reading →

Some of our heroes never fired a shot at the enemy

Posted on by
1

These are days when heroes abound.  Doctors and nurses and support staff wage war against an invisible enemy taking the lives of thousands worldwide.  Equally heroic are the men and women who run the risks of infection in order to drive the trucks and stock the stores, serve the public, and keep us safe. Each is a hero.

“As his share who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage: they shall share alike” (I Samuel 30:24).

When Roland Q. Leavell returned home from the “Great War” in Europe–-i.e.,  the First World War–he had a problem.  People wanted to hear stories of the war, of battles, of heroism. He had none.

Roland Q. Leavell was in his 20s, single, and with a bachelor’s degree from seminary.  He had pastored small churches and had been sent to “the front” as a representative of the YMCA.  In those days, there was no USO to take care of American troops overseas, and fledgling organizations and ministries were still trying to figure these things out.

According to Dottie L. Hudson’s book “He Still Stands Tall: The Life of Roland Q. Leavell,” based on her father’s diaries, Roland did a hundred small things in that war:  He led Bible studies, he counseled soldiers, he ran a canteen, he taught French to a few soldiers, and he drove an ambulance.  At one point, he inhaled poisonous gas the Germans sprayed into the air. The one time he shot a gun was as a joke, pointed into the air across no-man’s-land.  “I guess I didn’t kill over 50,” he remarked in his diary.

And when he got home, people wanted to hear his stories.

Continue reading →

Should the pastor confess his doubts?

Posted on by
3

“If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children” (Psalm 73:15).

Some questions need to be handled in private and not made public.

A friend who had not been to church in a while ventured back recently only to be slapped in the face by the sermon.

The guest preacher chose the Noah story from Genesis 6-8 for his sermon.  My friend said, “He informed the church that he does not believe that story.  He said it was impossible for Noah to have carried food on the ark for all those animals for a period of 90 days. And imagine the waste those animals would have produced!”

“He said the story was made up by old men to teach people that God punishes those who do not obey Him.”

One wonders what conditions prompted the leadership of that church to invite the enemy to fill the pulpit.  That is precisely what they did and it’s who he was.  Anyone undermining the faith of the Lord’s people in the Holy Scriptures is no friend.

Continue reading →

Why I could never be an atheist

Posted on by
6

“In the beginning, God….” (Genesis 1:1)

Nowhere does the Bible try to prove the existence of God.  He is. Period.

Deal with it, earthlings.

Humanistic evangelists and atheistic peddlers are sure that we mindless theists have never considered the superior evidence for the positions they hold. Surely, if we did, they think, we would renounce the church and join them.

Once again, believers are lumped together by those who  “just don’t get it” as the terminally naive, the hopelessly hopeful, the unthinking uneducated and the irrationally illiterate.

Most of the solid believers I know have considered atheism at one time or other. I did, while in college.  This is not to say I joined the humanist society of Birmingham or majored in skepticism at Birmingham-Southern. But I read some of the stuff, talked to a few of the people, thought about the ramifications of it all, and made my choice to take my stand with believers.

I’ve never regretted it.

Here’s why.

Continue reading →

Why we make so much of Jesus

Posted on by
Reply

Jesus Christ was the First. The Most. The Best. The Last. The Everything.

Scripture ransacks the human language in search of superlatives enough to give mankind some kind of idea who this Person was who was born of a virgin, lived without sin, taught us of Heaven, and died in our place. His resurrection and ascension forever secured His place in the history and thought and conversation of this small planet.

Earth has never seen another like Him. He is unique.

Christianity and the Christian life are all about Jesus.

Regardless of what they tell you, the Christian faith is not about love.

It’s not about morals and doing good.

Continue reading →

They’ve asked you to speak in church. Here’s what you need to know.

Posted on by
5

This is about what laypeople need to know about speaking in “big church.”  You’ll understand that by big church, I mean you’re addressing a large group in the sanctuary.  And laypeople means non-preachers.

Many non-clergy are outstanding (pun intended) on their feet in front of large groups. Schoolteachers and other educators come to mind.  But the typical church member, even one who teaches a Sunday School class, is out of his,her element when suddenly thrust in front of the whole church.

They walk onto the platform (let’s not call it  a “stage”) and stand at the pulpit, then look around.  Wow.  Things sure look different up here, they think. They open their mouth and begin to speak.

Anything can happen.

Continue reading →

Homefront #9: What to do while sheltering in place

Posted on by
Reply

We’re reading books nonstop.  I’ve opened another 1,000 pc jigsaw puzzle.  Storms are arriving this Sunday afternoon.  This morning we “went” to church at three different places and heard three sermons.  I’ve decided that if enough pastors do this–that is, watch a lot of preachers they would not ordinarily–it’s going to change forever the way many of us preach.  There are few things better at getting us out of our ruts than being exposed to those who do well.

Sunday morning, Bertha made us a peanut butter pie.  It took all morning, in addition to the other things she was doing.  But it’s to die for.

Continue reading →

Why we make so much of the cross

Posted on by
Reply

“No one is taking my life from me; I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18)

“Now is the judgement of this world; now is the ruler of this world cast out.” (John 12:31)

It was the moment Jesus had come for.

He was headed to the cross.

For Jesus, going to the cross was not Plan B.

God did not shake His head in disgust at mankind’s messing up His pretty plans and decide He would have to take drastic action. “This is not how I had planned it, but those pesky humans leave me no other choice!”

Didn’t happen.

God was not blindsided by mankind’s sin nor thwarted by our human frailties. “Okay, heavenly host—engage backup plan. Everyone–Plan B!”

Did not happen.

The Lord knew from the beginning what He had and who He was dealing with.

Continue reading →

Why I turned off that radio preacher

Posted on by
3

On the highway I was flipping through the radio dial and came across a Seventh Day Adventist preacher in the middle of his sermon. Within five minutes, he had made two errors that revealed either his biblical incompetence or his intentional deceit.

So I turned him off.

In the first instance, in trying to make the case for Christians today keeping the Sabbath, he equated the Ten Commandments with all our Lord’s statements in the Gospels about “keeping my commands” and “breaking these commandments.” In John chapters 14 and 15, for instance, several times our Lord says things like, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (14:15,21,23 and 15:10,14). That preacher said Jesus was referring to the Ten Commandments.

Not even close.

Continue reading →

Quoting preachers and naming scoundrels

Posted on by
Reply

“Lord, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us” (Mark 9:38).

Robert Schuller founded the Crystal Cathedral in California and hosted television’s “Hour of Power” broadcast, making him the “media pastor” to countless millions who would never have entered my church. He wrote books, did a lot of good, did much that was questionable, and drove us traditionalists out of our collective minds.

My favorite Robert Schuller story: When he was a kid, his mother taught him piano. Once, in the middle of a recital, his mind went blank and he forgot the rest of the piece he was playing. There was nothing to do but walk off the stage in humiliation. Later, his mother gave him some great advice. “Any time you mess up in the middle of a piece, end with a flourish and no one will ever remember what you did in the middle.” Schuller would look at his congregation and say, “Some of you have messed up in the middle of your life. But my friend, you can still end with a flourish if you start now.”

It’s a great story and makes a fine sermon illustration.

However….

Continue reading →