Why we make so much of the cross

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“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.

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Why I turned off that radio preacher

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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.

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Quoting preachers and naming scoundrels

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“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….

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The first 23 of 500 reasons why I believe

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“If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:46-47).

I believe in God because I believe in butterflies.

I believe in God because I’ve seen a baby and held one and watched it grow into adulthood. And I have seen him hold babies of his own in his arms.

I believe in God because I watched the sunrise this morning.

I believe in God because of a lack of turbulence. As the earth spins around its axis, as the earth speeds around its orbit, as our solar system zooms through the galaxy, and as the galaxy tears across the heavens at enormous speeds, you and I don’t feel a thing. We can lay a ball on the ground today and it’s still there tomorrow morning, unmoved. I find that truly amazing.

I believe in God because of Jesus.

I believe in God because of the character of Jesus. He told Nicodemus, “No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from there,” pointing to Himself (John 3:13).

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Something Churchill did we recommend pastors do

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Winston Churchill was the ultimate dinner guest.

He was, that is, unless you wanted to get a word in edgewise.

Churchill  monopolized the conversation, we are told.  He did this particularly if the setting was his home in Chartwell and you were the guest.  Even one guest was an audience and the man most assuredly did love an audience.

I suspect most preachers have that in common with him.

Now,  if we have to sit there and listen to someone go on for an hour or more, most of us would prefer the speaker be a Winston Churchill.  Or Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin.

But Churchill did something which made his conversation so unforgettable and his speeches so noteworthy:  He planned in advance his little set speeches.  Which is to say, he prepared his spontaneous remarks.

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When a leader should submit. And when to insist.

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“Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).

We were sitting in the second pew to the far left.  I leaned over to my teenage grandson and whispered, “I remember when Brother Ken brought the drum set into the church. Some almost died. Now look.”

On the platform was the usual dozen or so musicians–pianist, keyboard, several guitars, two or three drummers, one violin, a couple of horns, and this time, for a special emphasis, a mandolin and banjo.  The music was amazing.

I found myself wondering,  “What if we had given in to the critics? What if Dr. Ken Gabrielse and I had feared the criticism and buckled?”

There are times when church leaders need to pay attention to the criticism, and times to ignore it.

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Homefront #8: Embracing the moment

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Sitting on my back deck Sunday morning with my coffee, I was watching the birds flying in to enjoy the seeds and suet cake at my feeders a few feet away.  Cardinals, doves, sparrows, and a chickadee.  And it hit me that we’re almost out of seeds.  The storage bin on the deck has no more supplies for our feathered friends.  And then….

My wife Bertha walked out and said, “Amy (our next door neighbor) called. She’s at Kroger’s.  Do we need anything.”

“See if they have any birdseed.”  Kroger’s seems to have some of everything.  Maybe they’ll have this too.

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Why preachers are the way they are. Thank goodness.

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(Do not miss the personal testimony of a pastor friend at the end.)

Someone asked, “Why do pastors not weep at funerals?  My pastor didn’t even weep at his own mother’s services.”

Interesting question.  I think we know the answer.

In my case, by the time we laid my wonderful mama to rest, I was in my early 70s and she was nearly 96. She was so ready to go. If it’s possible to prepare to give one’s beloved mother back to Jesus, I think we were that. And yes, we still miss her every day, and it’s been almost eight years.

But there’s another reason for the lack of tears.  Starting early–my mid-20s–I began doing heart-breaking funerals, one after another, the kind that will tear your heart out and stomp it and leave it writhing on the pavement. Do enough of these, and eventually you run out of tears.

It’s not that you do not care, do not love, or cannot feel. It’s just that you care and love and feel without tears.

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Entering the ministry? Bring with you a good sense of humor!

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Thou has put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine increased.  (Psalm 4:7) 

My favorite art store often brings in master teachers for classes on various kinds of art.  Once I noticed they had a gifted water color artist doing a conference lasting several days and costing $500.  On the website the artist listed materials registrants would be needing.  It will not surprise you to learn the materials were specific, numerous, and somewhat expensive.  The last item students would be needing was: A good sense of humor.

That’s a dead giveaway that the artist will be fun and the class enjoyable.

But it started me thinking….

Bring humor

What if churches added that little note  as a scroll across the bottom of their websites.  “Coming to worship with us?  Great. Bring a good sense of humor.”

Doing so would send a message about that church, wouldn’t it?

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Homefront #7: Thursday

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A neighbor who had been out of town for a week or two with her elderly mother has returned. She brought to us a huge package of toilet tissue and several rolls of paper towels. Do we have a nice neighbor or what?

A friend who goes to Alcoholics Anonymous tells me that in his large city there are now 40  chapters meeting online each evening.  (Do they call them chapters?)  He added, “A lot of people are learning technology who never thought they would.”

I’m one of them.  Now, I have done this website for nearly 20 years, so I know a couple of things.  On Facebook I can post cartoons and photos and such. But there is so much that is foreign to me.

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