religion

Teaching Obedience

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Funny Faces

Every job has certain occupational hazards. One of the hazards of being a preacher is getting funny looks or outbursts from the people you are preaching to.

I’ve been preaching and teaching for about a decade. I’ve seen some interesting things in that time. I know I missed a good amount in the years I preached without my glasses. I couldn’t really see anyone clearly past the third or fourth row. Now, I see it all.

By far the most hostile and aggressive hearers I’ve encountered are those who have heard me preach outside of the church building. When proclaiming God’s Word in the open-air you should expect a little more… colorful responses. Preaching in the safety of your own church building tends to minimize the negativity and hostility.

But not always.

Once when preaching on everybody’s favorite subject – obedience – a young woman emphatically crossed her arms, made eye contact with me, then stuck her tongue out. Her body language perfectly communicated her distaste for the topic at hand. She wanted to make her dissatisfaction with my topic clear to me.

Message received.

I get it. Teaching obedience isn’t popular. It can be labeled as being legalistic. But it’s part of the Great Commission whether we like it or not.

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The Power of Belief

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Belief

When I was a kid I gave my mom a lot of grief. I was angry, argumentative, and full of energy. Every parent’s dream.

I remember one particularly difficult day. I was acting out. My mom was exasperated. But it was all about to change. Peace was right around the corner.

My mom grabbed the phone off the wall. (Back then it was attached to the wall with a long, curly cord.) She shook the receiver at me and angrily asked me point-blank: “Do you want me to call Santa Claus and tell him how you’re acting?”

Let’s all settle down for a minute. Let’s not do anything rash. Let’s not do anything we’ll regret or that can’t be undone.

No. Clearly I do not want you to call Santa Claus.

I’ll be good. I swear. Put. The. Phone. Down.

I believed she had the ability to fulfill her threat in that moment. I didn’t even think to call her bluff. I never asked if she really had his number. It seemed to me at the time like the kind of thing adults could do. I believed. And I changed. At least, temporarily.

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Christianity Isn’t Moralism

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Rules rubber stamp

Do this. Don’t do that.

Shop here. Don’t shop there.

This is acceptable. That is an abomination.

Is this really what following Jesus is all about?

Don’t get me wrong. Christianity does have a moral code. That’s undeniable.

And that moral code is not popular. Not by a long shot. The Bible is clear that the moral code is contrary to the flesh. By definition it goes against the grain of fallen human nature.

But Christianity isn’t moralism. Continue reading →

Resurrection Monday

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Jesus is alive

Another Easter Sunday come and gone. Next Sunday almost everything will be back to normal. Attendance will shrink back. Extra services will be stored away until Mother’s Day and/or Christmas.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Maybe it won’t always be.

We can’t change our culture in an instant. We also can’t make other people’s choices for them. That’s a fool’s errand.

What we can do is examine our own choices, attitudes, and actions. We can – by the grace of God – be changed. With that in mind I want to invite you to celebrate Resurrection Monday.

No, it’s not a new holiday I invented. I won’t try to sell you candy, gifts, cards, decorations for your home, or any other such thing. Continue reading →

You’re Invited To…

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You're Invited!

I don’t invite people to attend our church.

Does that seem strange to you?

It’s not because I don’t want people to come. I do. We don’t turn people away. We feel incredibly blessed whenever someone chooses to gather with us.

It’s also not because we want to keep our congregation as small as possible. I look forward to the day when people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people gather to worship our God together in unity. Worshiping among the multitude that no one can number is going to be awesome. Truly.

But inviting people to church is putting the cart before the horse. It has deep implications on our gatherings. I believe it’s harmful.

So, I don’t invite people to come to our church. I invite people to come to Christ.

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The Struggle is Real

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Some Trails Are Hard to Follow

I had the privilege last weekend to share the gospel together with Christians from four different local churches. I love the unity of believers who worship the same God but in a different building than I do.

Over the years of walking with Jesus I have had countless conversations with non-believers about the gospel. Last weekend I had a conversation with a young man that I feel like I’ve had a thousand times all by itself.

This particular young man was kind, candid, gracious, and polite. As is the case with many non-believers, he had never personally read the whole Bible for himself. His understanding of Christianity was based primarily on his experience living in America.

Hearing Christian cliches. Reading bumper stickers. Talking with people who identify themselves as Christians. Seeing stereotypical Christians portrayed in the media.

During our conversation this young man said to me something along these lines (I’m paraphrasing): “I just find it hard, personally, to believe in a god that doesn’t care about all the suffering in the world. A god who is supposedly all good and loving and powerful, yet who seems to maybe even enjoy allowing so much bad stuff to happen. If some people want to believe in god because it gives them hope, I get that. But I don’t.” Continue reading →

The Aim of Religion

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Wrong aim

Religion. Relationship.

Depending on the circles you run in these words carry different meaning. Some think one is a bad word. Some think both are.

The Bible consistently warns people against two extremes. We are warned against legalism. We are warned against licentiousness. The first is religion without relationship. The second is relationship without religion. Both are common. Both are deadly.

Many people are deceived into believing that certain deeds are inherently good. Other deeds are inherently bad. Some (perhaps most) are neutral. This is the error of Moralism. This type of thinking can make the drift into religious activity devoid of relationship with the living God easy to miss. Continue reading →