Jesus, In His Own Words - Robert Mounce (B & H Publishers)
"An account of the life and ministry of Jesus that combines all four gospels into a single narrative and allows Jesus himself to tell us the story,"
God Is the Gospel - John Piper (Crossway Books)
All aspects of the Gospel should draw us closer to God.
The Inner Circle - Brad Meltzer (Hachette Books)
A great thriller that is quite captivating.
Undisputed - Chris Jericho
An autobiography of "The Lion Heart", WWE Superstar and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho. I'm a sucker for autobiographies.
The Reformed Pastor - Richard Baxter
A very convicting and encouraging book on what it means to be a pastor.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Prayer, Professional Football and Planting
Every month I travel about 40 miles to spend some time with fellow pastors for prayer and fellowship. This is the one part of the month I soooooo look forward to. Being a pastor can be a lonely and trying job at times (especially in a small church and town) so it is very refreshing to spend time with fellow pastors and pray for one another. I was especially blessed this month as one of the pastors invited a former Minnesota Vikings defensive back to come and observe our time together. I wasn't bless because there was a great football player in our midst who played in Super Bowl 4 but because this man has a heart to pray for pastors. What a joy and privilege it is to know that there are men and women in this area praying daily for us. What I really noted about this gentleman was his humble spirit. As we were sharing our struggles and requests I asked the man, "Is there anything we can pray for you about?" He asked that we pray for his wife to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He has been praying for her for 30 years! That's right 30 years! Would you join me in praying for this man's wife? It doesn't matter who he is, I just ask you pray for her and for Jesus to reveal himself to her and lead her into a saving relationship with Him.
Another blessing of our time together is (after a hearty meal) we re-convene for our Northstar Church Multiplication Hub meeting. In our denomination we are really pushing forward with church planting. In the Upper Midwest we are praying God would establish new churches for his glory. I encourage you to go check out our web page here and read about what we are all about. The Northstar Center would appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God in making decisions and assessing men and women for future ministry.
Lastly, I ask you to keep myself and our church leadership in your prayers. Would you pray that God would raise leaders in our midst so we may be the church God is calling us to be? I am also praying for God to send five (spiritually healthy) families or individuals to our church so we can continue to go out and minister to the community for the cause of Jesus Christ.
Another blessing of our time together is (after a hearty meal) we re-convene for our Northstar Church Multiplication Hub meeting. In our denomination we are really pushing forward with church planting. In the Upper Midwest we are praying God would establish new churches for his glory. I encourage you to go check out our web page here and read about what we are all about. The Northstar Center would appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God in making decisions and assessing men and women for future ministry.
Lastly, I ask you to keep myself and our church leadership in your prayers. Would you pray that God would raise leaders in our midst so we may be the church God is calling us to be? I am also praying for God to send five (spiritually healthy) families or individuals to our church so we can continue to go out and minister to the community for the cause of Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Rule Follower Explained
In my post yesterday I think I may have failed to clarify that I am not implying that the "law" is bad and we should never keep the rules. This was not my intent. I came across a quote this morning in my devotional time and wanted to share it. I believe it says somewhat of what I was implying or at least it expands on it.
John Piper writes in his devotional A GODWARD LIFE, "Tragically most of us have been taught that duty, not delight, is the way to glorify God. We have not been taught that delight in God is our duty! Being satisfied with God is not an optional add-on to the real stuff of Christian duty. It is the most basic demand of all. 'Delight yourself in the LORD' (Psalm 37:4) is not a suggestion, but a command. So are: 'Serve the LORD with gladness' (Psalm 100:2) and, 'Rejoice in the Lord always' (Philippians 4:4)"(p. 23)
Following rules and christian duty are not bad things. However when we let them be our perceived righteousness then the law, morals and duty become a bondage. I think it's a sad testimony to the state of modern Christianity that we even have to clarify that works duties, and obligation will not make you right with God. Unfortunately the Church in the West is becoming more performance driven and man-centered that we are pushing grace, justification and salvation through Christ alone to the backburner. I think people fail to realize that when we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ and allow Him to be Lord of our lives then rule following and duty will come naturally as a form of worship and not as our righteousness.
John Piper writes in his devotional A GODWARD LIFE, "Tragically most of us have been taught that duty, not delight, is the way to glorify God. We have not been taught that delight in God is our duty! Being satisfied with God is not an optional add-on to the real stuff of Christian duty. It is the most basic demand of all. 'Delight yourself in the LORD' (Psalm 37:4) is not a suggestion, but a command. So are: 'Serve the LORD with gladness' (Psalm 100:2) and, 'Rejoice in the Lord always' (Philippians 4:4)"(p. 23)
Following rules and christian duty are not bad things. However when we let them be our perceived righteousness then the law, morals and duty become a bondage. I think it's a sad testimony to the state of modern Christianity that we even have to clarify that works duties, and obligation will not make you right with God. Unfortunately the Church in the West is becoming more performance driven and man-centered that we are pushing grace, justification and salvation through Christ alone to the backburner. I think people fail to realize that when we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ and allow Him to be Lord of our lives then rule following and duty will come naturally as a form of worship and not as our righteousness.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Heart Changer or Rule Follower?
Here is an excerpt from my sermon yesterday. I wanted to re-post this on my blog because I feel it is something God showed to me in regards to Christianity verses religion...
John the Baptist’s whole ministry (and life for that matter) was devoted to pointing people to Jesus. He was a heart changer. He knew his place in life. He had a humble (and strong) spirit to him. He was not about self promotion, he was about Jesus promotion. He had no agenda of his own. He had God’s agenda. He was more concerned with people being right with God by preaching a message of baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Than he was about telling people how they should act or interpret the law. His purpose and goal was to show people a new way of life... a relationship with God through the Messiah (Jesus Christ).
The Jews (or religious leaders) were all about the rules, conformity and power. Their whole lives and ministry were about keeping the law and being pious. Their “religion” was more about doing than being. They were very much into self promotion and power simply by imposing rules and regulations on people based on their interpretations and beliefs. The clothes they wore were lavish and their attitudes were conceited. They had no concern for God’s agenda; they were more about God changing his agenda to fit their plans. There was no talk of repentance and forgiveness and submitting to God. It was all about the rules. Their righteousness was based on outwardly keeping the rules.
When I look at these two groups of people I am reminded of how these attitudes are still among us today. Thankfully there are heart changers in this world today. There are believers today who are caught up in Christ promotion and preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. They understand that their spirituality or faith is not a result of keeping rules and pointing out the sins of others in a self righteous way. They are who they are because they are submitted to the one (Jesus) who has shown us the way to the Kingdom. A heart changer receives a new heart when Jesus becomes their Lord and Savior. They don’t just become better versions of themselves, they become new creations in Christ. The old has passed away and the new has come.
Unfortunately there are still people and attitudes among us today of the rule followers. These are individuals who depend on “doing” more than “being”. In their minds their fulfillment of duties and “being a good person” are all they need in order to be a Christian. They attend church on a semi regularly basis, they try to be moral (but like all of us fail every so often). They may put some (in some cases a lot of) money in the plate when it comes around. There is little to no change in heart; they are the same person they have always been. Maybe they have carved out a little compartment in their life for God (on Sundays or when they are in a difficult situation.) You get the picture.
The question I want to leave with you today is this… Are you a heart changer or are you a rule follower in your relationship with Jesus? Are you putting all your chips on the belief that you are a good person and follow the rules and treat others kidly as insurance for life? Or have you repented of your sins, sought forgiveness and given your heart completely over to Jesus to completely transform your life?
John the Baptist’s whole ministry (and life for that matter) was devoted to pointing people to Jesus. He was a heart changer. He knew his place in life. He had a humble (and strong) spirit to him. He was not about self promotion, he was about Jesus promotion. He had no agenda of his own. He had God’s agenda. He was more concerned with people being right with God by preaching a message of baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Than he was about telling people how they should act or interpret the law. His purpose and goal was to show people a new way of life... a relationship with God through the Messiah (Jesus Christ).
The Jews (or religious leaders) were all about the rules, conformity and power. Their whole lives and ministry were about keeping the law and being pious. Their “religion” was more about doing than being. They were very much into self promotion and power simply by imposing rules and regulations on people based on their interpretations and beliefs. The clothes they wore were lavish and their attitudes were conceited. They had no concern for God’s agenda; they were more about God changing his agenda to fit their plans. There was no talk of repentance and forgiveness and submitting to God. It was all about the rules. Their righteousness was based on outwardly keeping the rules.
When I look at these two groups of people I am reminded of how these attitudes are still among us today. Thankfully there are heart changers in this world today. There are believers today who are caught up in Christ promotion and preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. They understand that their spirituality or faith is not a result of keeping rules and pointing out the sins of others in a self righteous way. They are who they are because they are submitted to the one (Jesus) who has shown us the way to the Kingdom. A heart changer receives a new heart when Jesus becomes their Lord and Savior. They don’t just become better versions of themselves, they become new creations in Christ. The old has passed away and the new has come.
Unfortunately there are still people and attitudes among us today of the rule followers. These are individuals who depend on “doing” more than “being”. In their minds their fulfillment of duties and “being a good person” are all they need in order to be a Christian. They attend church on a semi regularly basis, they try to be moral (but like all of us fail every so often). They may put some (in some cases a lot of) money in the plate when it comes around. There is little to no change in heart; they are the same person they have always been. Maybe they have carved out a little compartment in their life for God (on Sundays or when they are in a difficult situation.) You get the picture.
The question I want to leave with you today is this… Are you a heart changer or are you a rule follower in your relationship with Jesus? Are you putting all your chips on the belief that you are a good person and follow the rules and treat others kidly as insurance for life? Or have you repented of your sins, sought forgiveness and given your heart completely over to Jesus to completely transform your life?
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