Home alone

While my wife and kids are in Colorado visiting my parents, I'm at home. All alone. Things have been awfully quiet around here the past few days. Without my lovely wife, my rambunctious two-year old son, and my energetic 6 month-old daughter (who is usually either laughing or wailing), the house is strangely silent. Tonight, all I hear are the ticking of the clock, the chirping of the crickets, and the distant rattling of our swamp cooler.

With the family gone, I've been able to spend some extra time in the Word and in prayer, to tackle some projects in the garage, and do quite a bit of extra reading. Right now, I'm reading up on strategic planning and church growth as I prepare for a Prayer and Planning Retreat with our church leaders next month.

I've also watched a little more TV this week than usual: a Monk episode, an old MacGyver episode, a Danger Man episode, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Those were nice times to wind down and relax. Peace and quiet around the house has been nice for a time, but I'm definitely looking forward to having the family back home next Thursday.

Natalie asked me on the phone tonight what I thought of McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as VP. I told her I'm thrilled by the issues Palin stands for, but must admit I'm cautious about having a wife and mother serve in such a demanding position while she still has several kids at home. Her youngest, Trig, is only four-months old and has Downs Syndrome (Click here to read Al Mohler's account of this touching story). I guess I have to trust that Sarah and her husband Todd will not let the campaign and the possibility of being vice president get in the way of her even more honorable and God-given duty to her family.

At any rate, I'm sure Palin's spot on the ticket will help keep the public spotlight on abortion and the pro-life movement. The sanctity of life will no doubt continue to receive a good bit of attention in the upcoming convention and debates. And that, I believe, will be a very good thing. Issues like oil drilling, health care, immigration, and even the war on terror, as important as they all are, still pale in comparison to the tragedy of 40 million unborn children being slaughtered in our country since Roe v. Wade.

Do you love lost people?

On Monday, I asked the question, "Do you love the church?" Now, it's time to consider the flip side of the coin. Do you love lost people?

I'm not talking here about "loving the world and the things in the world." 1 John 2:15 forbids such worldliness. I'm talking about loving lost people. Do you love spending time with the lost, talking with them, getting to know them, and serving them? Does your heart burn with compassion for their souls? Or do you, like the Pharisees, turn your nose up at the "sinners" of this world and avoid them like the plague?

Are you interested enough in lost people to build a relationship and bring the gospel to them? Be warned: evangelism is a messy business.

Ed Stetzer, in his book, Comeback Churches, has this to say:

Most Christians don't like lost people. We wish it were not so, but it is. Lost people don't think like us; they often don't vote like us; they influence our kids; they don't know our inside references to Dobson, Left Behind, and Dave Ramsey. They are not "our" people. Let's face it: people outside of Christ can be messy! Most of the time there is at least one or more divorces, meaning blended families. Their credit card debt is so high that they cannot be financial givers to the church. Their kids can be unruly, putting marks on the clean walls of the church building and running around unrestrained. They do not often know the unspoken "cues" in "our church" - when to stand; how we act; what version of the Bible we read from; that when the pastor asks a question from the front, usually we are not expected to call out an answer; and so forth. Comeback churches made the hard decision that they will love the lost as much as Jesus did." (p. 62)

Now notice how Jesus ministered to the lost. He mingled with them. He treated them with dignity and compassion. And this resulted in many of them hearing and accepting the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ:

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:11-13)

May the church share in Jesus' strategy to reach the lost by loving them and serving them, in order that we might more effectively bring the gospel to them.

Photo credit: goofegal

Do you love the church?

Oh, how I love the church! Sure, it's full of sinful people (of whom I am the chief offender!). But it's also the beautiful Bride of Christ, full of people who were bought by His precious blood. There's no greater honor than serving the Lord by loving the church and shepherding His people.

Most Americans (including many professing Christians) have rejected "organized religion" in favor of a more private and personal spiritual journey. To many, the church has become optional at best, and irrelevant or even reviled at worst. Janie B. Cheaney responds by asking:

What exactly is "organized religion," except code words for Christ's own church? In the world's eyes, she's aging ungracefully: an overdressed dowager with a checkered past, who divides her time between ghastly potluck dinners and awkwardly meddling in people's private affairs.

When he first came to faith through an enchanted forest of imagination, C.S. Lewis saw the church as a "fussy, time-wasting botheration": "the bells, the crowds, the umbrellas, the notices, the bustle, the perpetual arranging and organizing." Over time, he probably saw her differently; it's certain that Christ does, as a radiant bride adorned for her husband, ordained by the One who calls things that are not as though they were.

...To those who claim to follow Jesus yet remain outside His church, one question: How can you love Christ and despise His body?

If you struggle to love the church; if you find yourself irritated with her; or if you are tempted to give up on her altogether, let me encourage you to meditate on these verses, and cultivate your affections for the church:

Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.

Hebrews 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Photo credit: KellyB

Remember the prisoners

"Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body" (Hebrews 13:3)

One brother in Christ we can remember in prayer is Pastor "Bike" Mingxuan. Pastor "Bike," known for traveling thousands of miles across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. He was the inspiration behind a unique wrist band project which encouraged people to pray for China, and has resulted in more than 800,000 bands to be circulated. To learn more about the Olympic Prayer Band, click here.

According to Voice of the Martyrs, Pastor Bike and other Chinese evangelists had been repeatedly harassed by Chinese officials leading up to his arrest. Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife. And in this Olympic year, please remember the prisoners.

A lesson from jury duty

Yesterday, I was called for jury duty and spent all day at the courthouse in the jury selection process. I was never called to go up front and answer the questions before the judge, but I still found it to be an interesting experience. I realize our governmental system has many flaws, but I'm still very thankful to live in a country that upholds the rule of law, and involves the common people in the trial process.

At the beginning of the day, about 70 potential jurors squeezed into the meeting room to watch an orientation video. I found my way to a corner in the back and remained standing. The video gave an overview of our court system, and then re-assured all of us that serving as a juror will be very gratifying. They explained that after a jury is selected, there are three basic components of the trial: the opening statements, the examination stage, and the closing arguments. This is followed by the jury deliberation and final sentencing.

The video said that whereas all the witnesses and evidence are presented during the examination stage, the closing arguments give two "points of view" of the facts: one from the prosecution side, and one from the defense side.

That comment really struck me. The closing arguments give two points of view. Come to think of it, these views are contradictory (one says the defendant is guilty; the other says he is innocent). They are mutually exclusive. It would be absurd to say both the prosecution and the defense points of view are true. And if the jury, at the end of their deliberation announces, "We find the defendant both guilty and not guilty," the judge would either cry or laugh.

Yet is this not what so many postmodernists today believe? Truth is all a matter of your perception, of your experience, of your feelings. In other words, of your personal point of view. What's true for one person may not be true at all for someone else. Your god, your religion, and your code of ethics may work great for you, but I have a different god, religion, and code of ethics. And don't you dare impose your religion upon me!

Common sense teaches us (and our court system confirms) that when two or more points of view contradict each other, only one of them can be true. Our greatest purpose in life is to seek out the truth, and to embrace that which is good, and right, and beautiful.

I believe in the God of the Bible, and that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. I believe this not because I took a blind leap of faith early in my life, but because God has revealed Himself, drawn me to Himself, and confirmed Himself to be true through all the biblical, historical, archaeological, scientific, and experiential evidence.

Salvation through Jesus Christ is not my personal "point of view." It is God's. And His is the only view that matters.

Sermon titles and outlines

I find that two of the hardest steps in my sermon preparation are the sermon title and the sermon outline.

The sermon title is difficult because it requires a lot of creativity, and must be selected early in the week to be printed in the bulletin, long before my sermon is actually finished! The outline is tricky because it needs to be clear, concise, memorable, and true to the text. Both of these elements illustrate why preaching is not only a science, but also an art.

This week, Cal Habig shares four ways to alliterate a sermon outline, which he gleanes from a brochure by John Butler:

• Same Beginning (Letter)

  • Passion of God’s love: “so”
  • Perimeter of God’s love: “the world”
  • Proof of God’s love: “He gave”
  • Price of God’s love: “gave His only begotten Son”
  • Prerequisite for God’s love: “believeth”
  • Protection by God’s love: “shall not perish”
  • Provision of God’s love: “have everlasting life”

• Same Beginning (Prefix)

  • unwanted, unable, unfaithful.

• Same Ending (Suffix)

  • Psalm 119: information, obligation, regulation, compensation, adoration.

• Same Ending (Subject)

  • Genesis 15:1
    • Word of God: “Word of the LORD came to Abraham”
    • Comfort of God: “Fear not”
    • Shield of God: “I am thy shield”
    • Reward of God: “I am…thy…great reward”

• Same Sound (Assonance-Rhyming)

Obviously, alliteration is not always necessary or even desirable. Sometimes it feels downright forced and distracting. But when it can be done in a natural way, I think it is a good mnemonic tool for both preacher and congregation, and brings a sense of poetry and symmetry that is pleasing to the human ear and mind.

Homiletics books don't usually give much guidance on sermon titles, but I did find these helpful principles in Power in the Pulpit, by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, pp. 140-42:

• Threefold purpose of the title: to get attention, to reinforce the sermon proposition, and to aid in memory.
  

• Several qualities that make for an effective sermon title: tantalizes the potential listener; brief and easy to remember; a catchy word or phrase that will stick; appropriate in both taste and integrity; deliverable and realistic in what the sermon will accomplish; relates to the proposition and falls within the scope of God's Word.
  

• Types of titles: a key word or phrase that describes the essence of the sermon proposition; an imperative statement that emphasizes an action or command the sermon will put forth; an interrogative statement that the sermon promises to answer; a declarative statement or claim which the sermon proposes to support, sometimes couched in a play-on-words.

To illustrate, here are the last ten sermon titles in a Gospel of Mark series by Steven Lawson. Lawson is pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, and is probably one of the greatest expository preachers of our day:

• Why You Must Follow Christ
  
• A Preview of Future Glory
  
• Silence Commanded and Elijah Coming I
  
• Silence Commanded and Elijah Coming II
  
• The Healing of the Epileptic Boy
  
• Jesus Foretells His Death
  
• Greatness in the Kingdom
  
• Jesus Confronts Narrow-mindedness
  
• Radical Repentance
  
• Radical Repentance II
  

Keep in mind, clever outlines and catchy titles can never replace the more fundamental elements of prayer, interpretation, exposition, and application of God's Word. Yet the homiletical outline and sermon title can serve to strengthen the lasting impact of a message.

Related Posts:

• Using Illustrations
• Preaching is an Act of Faith
  

Christian Olympians to watch

Our family loves watching the Olympics. Last night, we were transfixed by men's gymnastics, fencing, and even badminton, of all things!

Here are four Olympic athletes with unique Christian testimonies that you may want to keep an eye on:

Allyson Felix
(Track and Field - United States)

Allyson is the son of Paul Felix, a pastor who also happened to be my Greek professor at The Master's Seminary. In Athens, Allyson (aka "Chicken Legs") took silver in the 200m, which is her specialty event. This girl is fast. Very fast. She could win up to three gold medals in Beijing if she makes it on the U.S. 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Her first event is the 200m on August 19 at 11:20 am. Update on 8/21: Allyson won the 200m silver medal in a season best 21.93 seconds.


Jennifer Nichols
(Archery - United States)
Jennifer is from Cheyenne, Wyoming. She seems to have stunning accuracy, both in her archery and in her faith. On her NBC Olympic profile page, Jennifer says the Bible is her favorite book, and she openly confesses Jesus as her Savior and Lord. She has passed the Ranking Round and advanced to the Individual 1/16 Elimination Round. Her next archery match is on August 14 at 11:48 am. Update on 8/14: Jennifer lost to Nami Hayakawa from Japan in the 1/16 Elimination round. The score was 105-103. A close match!



Elvis Burrows
(Swimmer - Bahamas)
According to a school press release, Elvis is the son of an alum at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In fact, Elvis used to swim laps in the pool at the seminary. He will be competing in the Men's 50m Freestyle (Heat 8) on August 14 at 6:47 pm. Update on 8/14: Elvis swam the 50m in 23.19 seconds and took seventh place.


Ryan Hall
(Marathon - United States)
World Magazine reports that Ryan is a devout Christian who has given God all the glory for past victories: "It isn't the records, championships, or medals that make life fulfilling. It's the life of following Christ." Ryan is from Big Bear, California, and is scheduled to compete in the Olympic men's marathon on August 24.

Persecution of Christ and the church

On Sunday evening, August 3, I had the privilege of preaching at our former church, Placerita Baptist Church in Newhall, California. The topic for the night was "The Persecuted Work of Christ: The Painful Path to Glory." We looked together at Jesus' discourse in John 15 and noticed four facts about persecution:

1. The Promise of Persecution (Jn. 15:18-21)

2. The Pinnacle of Persecution (Jn. 15:18-21)

3. The Purpose of Persecution (Jn. 15:22-25)

4. The Paraclete of Persecution (Jn. 15:26-27)

Studying and preaching this passage really opened my eyes to the importance of Christ's persecution, the dark reality of persecution over twenty centuries of Christianity, and the tremendous value of the Holy Spirit in times of affliction.

You can download or listen to the sermon here.

No place like home

As you may have noticed, things have been pretty quiet around here lately. Natalie, the kids, and I just returned from a week of vacation with my in-laws in Central California. We had a wonderful time with them, and I have some special memories I plan to share later on the blog. But no matter how good a vacation is, there's just no place like home.

As we pulled into the driveway last night, I think all of us were excited to be home. Even little Heidi was grinning from ear-to-ear when I showed her the nursery and laid her down on the living room floor to play.

The joy of a comfortable home, a familiar bed, and a regular routine reminded me last night that all those who know Christ are awaiting a future day when we will arrive "home" once and for all. In this life, Christians are permanent travelers; Peter calls us "aliens and strangers" (1 Pet. 2:11). But Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (Jn. 14:3), and it is actually better to leave this body and be at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).

When Jesus calls us home to be with Him in heaven, we will experience the most joyful and satisfying homecoming ever.

July pictures

Last month was full of laughs and many new tastes...