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#Crushed#Persecuted#NotDead

Thursday, August 10th, 2023

Richard Bewes, in his book The Lamb Wins, tells of an incident in his life that happened when preaching in the heart of Africa.  Before the start of meeting #27 (they were holding 30+ meetings), he and others with him were approached by two soldiers armed to the teeth with machine guns. They approached Richard and said, “Please, can we talk with you?” They answered, “Yes, how can we help?”

Now…I’m not sure what you are thinking but I do know what I was thinking.

They looked at Richard and said, “We want to follow Jesus.” Richard said it was a moving experience to talk, and then to pray with the two men under the trees, in the middle of one of Africa’s scarred, pot-holed cities.

In a land which has been staggered from crisis to crisis (and still is), the church still rises. It’s easy to think the church is doomed. We look around at the wokeness which has entered our culture and then see it has infiltrated the church as well. It is easy to allow despair to creep in and make us feel like we aren’t making any headway.  But we must continue believing that “the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”

Sunday’s sermon is entitled Crushed and Persecuted but NOT DEAD! I hope you will join us at 9:00 or 10:45 in person or via live stream.

 

Posted in Christian living, Church, Opinion, Persecution, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #Crushed#Persecuted#NotDead

#HereComesTrouble!

Thursday, July 13th, 2023

Persecution is nothing new. Jesus promised it and that promise has never failed to come true. (Despite what the health/wealth hucksters say, trouble is to be expected. We were never promised a soft bed. We might say we were promised a bed of roses because every rose has its thorns). Life is certainly not like a box of chocolates. 🙂

Question: In the 16th and 17th centuries what was the most popular and widely read book among Christians in the English-speaking world, besides the Bible? The answer is a book called Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. It contained the stories of Christians who had been killed for their testimony throughout the centuries of Christian history.  John Foxe was born before Martin Luther nailed his #95 Theses” to the Wittenburg Church door. Foxe studied in Oxford, fled England when Queen Mary took the throne, and, while abroad, began his great study which has become known as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.  It was a massive book and immediate success. It went through 4 editions in his lifetime, and its impact continued for generations.

That may not make any sense to you and what it has to do with Sunday’s sermon. But given that this week’s sermon is dealing with persecution, it has a ton of relevancy. My Scripture for this Sunday is Revelation 6:9-17 and deals with the persecution talked about in those verses. It is a follow-up to the previous week’s sermon on 6:1-8. I hope you will join me in person or via live stream.

 

Posted in Christian living, Church, Persecution, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #HereComesTrouble!

#Don’tForgettoRemember!

Thursday, March 2nd, 2023

Communion has been part of the church’s experience since shortly after Jesus’ meal with the disciples in the Upper Room. Down through the years there have been different ways to celebrate it:

  • There have been arguments and debates over its frequency (weekly, monthly, quarterly, twice a year).
  • There have been arguments over who can partake.
  • There have been arguments over the elements themselves (wine or grape juice for example). During the pandemic I had one person tell me they had crackers and pop as a substitute.
  • There have been different names give to it (Lord’s Supper,  Last Supper, Holy Communion, or Eucharist).

If you are looking for a doctrinal treatise from me on those arguments you have come to the wrong place. My focus in this Sunday’s sermon is on the meal itself and why we have been told, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Long story short: me must not forget to remember.

This Sunday starts a two-month series on To and From the Cross. I’m taking this break from my series on Revelation to focus on the season of the Cross and the Resurrection.  I plan to resume the Revelation series the first Sunday of May. Please join us in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.

 

Posted in Church, Doctrine, Preaching, Salvation, Sermon Series/Topic, The Cross | 2 Responses »

#HeKnows#2

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023

There are 4 perfections of God’s character that we must know and believe:

He is Immutable- He never changes.

He is Omnipotent- He is All-Powerful.

He is Omnipresent- He is All-Present (Everywhere present)

He is Omniscient- He is All-Knowing.

It was the latter attribute that I focused on last week and will continue that this week-He is Omniscient. I took us through the first 4 churches which are covered in Revelation 2. This week I am going to look at the last 3 churches, which are found in Revelation 3.

Letter #1- Ephesus- He knows what and who we love.

Letter #2- Smyrna- He knows what we are willing to suffer for.

Letter #3- Pergamum- He knows what we really believe.

Letter #4- Thyatira- He knows what we are willing to tolerate.

Letter #5- Sardis- He knows our spiritual condition.

Letter #6- Philadelphia- He knows the state of our commitment.

Letter #7- Laodicea- He knows who we are depending on.

I hope you will join me in our worship this Sunday-in person or online. We start at 9 and 10:45. 

 

Posted in Church, Faith, Revelation, Truth | 4 Responses »

#HeKnows

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023

There are certain characteristics (attributes) of God that are non-negotiable.  There are three which always come to the forefront:

His Omnipotence- He is all-powerful.

His Omnipresence- He is all-present (everywhere present)

His Omniscience- He is all-knowing.

To know those characteristics of God AND TO BELIEVE THEM is absolutely essential.  As I continue my series on Revelation, I hit this week what is probably the most familiar 2 chapters in all the book- the 7 churches.  I plan to take chapter 2 this week and follow up next week with chapter 3.  I plan to focus on what God knows, especially on what He knows about the churches (and by proxy…us).

What does it mean He knows? He knows absolutely everything that can be known. He has no need to learn anything. He does not a computer (don’t you wish?) He doesn’t need Google (again…I wish). And He certainly doesn’t need any of us telling him what He must and must not do, or should or should not do!

I’ll be summing up the first four churches this week like this:

  • Ephesus- He knows what and who we really love.
  • Smyrna- He knows what we are willing to suffer for.
  • Pergamum- He know what we really believe.
  • Thyatira- He knows what we are willing to tolerate.

Join us won’t you? We meet in person and live stream at both 9:00 and 10:45.

 

Posted in Church, Doctrine, Preaching, Revelation, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #HeKnows

#UnexpectedNews

Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

Talk about unexpected news! How about good unexpected news!

The weather event that was supposed to come starting last night (Wednesday) and affect us through the whole week is not materializing (at this point). The cold temps (single digits)? Yes. The blanket (more like a heavy comforter) of snow? No. I’m okay with that!!

We will be offering both a Christmas Eve and a Christmas morning worship to our folks. The CE service is from 6-7:00 and the Christmas morning service is from 10-11. Both will have common elements. The only difference will be the songs which will be sung and how they will happen.  And if you are unable to attend or would simply like to join in, the Sunday morning service ONLY will be live streamed.

My topic will continue the 4-week series I’m preaching with this being the 3rd one: The Unexpected News. The Gospel is for all people-rich, poor, clean, unclean, whole, blind, deaf, prostitutes, immoral- you name it.  I will be looking at the very familiar Scripture (to most) in Luke 2: 1-17 where the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, then he is joined by a whole chorus.

It is hard to believe next Sunday brings us to the end of 2022. My last sermon in this current series will on January 1. Then I start a series on Revelation. Now that ought to be interesting……Hmmmmm.

Join us this weekend if you are able to. If not, join us on line Sunday morning. You can go to the church’s website for information on directly connecting to the live stream.

Posted in Christmas, Church, Jesus, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic, Story | Comments Off on #UnexpectedNews

#18!

Thursday, October 27th, 2022

No, that is not my age. And to be honest, I would not want to go back there. I wouldn’t mind the health and vigor I had back then as a freshman in college, but I wouldn’t want to be that age for anything. Not with the way things look in today’s world.

18

That is how old the church I pastor, Owen Valley Christian Fellowship, is this month.  No one is really sure what date since it was over a short period of time when OVCF was birthed, but they do know it was in the month of October! 🙂 So the date we celebrate has sort of jumped all over the month. But what matters is not when, but what now.

This Sunday Pastor Ryan and I will be tag-teaming it for the message. Over the past 6 months or so, the leadership has been tweaking the Mission and Vision of OVCF. We plan to share that with the folks on Sunday. I will share it here next week in a series of posts.

If you happen to be reading this, I would like to invite you to join us at 9 and 10:45. We also live stream both services. And while you are here, please join us for a pitch-in following the second service. We would love to have you.  During the meal we plan to share some information on the proposed building.expansion project and also honor our volunteers.

Please be praying for OVCF, for the leadership and for us to know and fulfill God’s design for us here in Owen County and elsewhere.

Posted in Church, Miscellaneous, Sermon Series/Topic, Story | 2 Responses »

#Contagious

Friday, October 21st, 2022

No, I don’t have COVID.  But I do know some people “freak” whenever the word contagious is used.  It used to be about polio or the flu or Bubonic plague or some other sickness. Now we are drawn to that pandemic no one wants to talk about. (Fine by me).

But you know it can be a positive thing as well? Every church has distinctives which set it apart from various other churches. I’m not talking the name on the building. But marks which identify the church as unique and the place to find what a person is looking for.  On October 30th, OVCF will celebrate her 18th anniversary as a church body. I personally believe it is a great time to step back and evaluate where we stand. We certainly are not a perfect church, and can always do better.  It is my prayer that this will serve as a challenge for us to make a more concerted effort to be contagious (in a good way).

“You can’t always tell a book by its cover” so the saying goes.  The saying also is true about the church. You can also not tell a church by its buildings. All sorts of decisions are made by people simply by looking at a building…many of them wrong. What really matters is what happens inside that building and then what happens when the church that meets there goes out into their sphere of influence. 

I’m going to challenge OVCF on three characteristics:

  1. A contagious church is a place of Grace.
  2. A contagious church is a place of mentoring.
  3. A contagious church is a place of fellowship.

I hope you will join me Sunday at 9 and 10:45, either in person or live stream.

Posted in Church, Health, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #Contagious

#SleepyHead#StandingStrong

Friday, October 14th, 2022

I started a new and short series last week called Wake Up Sleepy Head! It is on the church and the need for a revival-locally and globally.

This week my sermon is called Standing Strong. There is no question, no doubt, that the church is under attack.  Without sounding political, Tulsi Gabbard just left the Democrat Party. One of the things she talked about was how Christians are under attack. I do not know what her religious affiliation is to be honest, and it really doesn’t matter to me. She spoke truth in that one statement.  The church and Christians are under attack. If we say anything, do anything, propose anything that goes against the “woke” agenda, we get cancelled or persecuted and called all kinds of names.

I believe it is just the start of it all.  More is to come. So it behooves Christ-followers and the church to stand strong.  We can expect it; prepare for it; and stand firm. Or we can take the road out of town. The early church had to stand strong.  It wasn’t easy for them; it isn’t and won’t be for us.  There are some things which cause a church to lose its edge.  But there are also some ingredients we need to stand our ground. 

I plan to cover both of those this Sunday. I also plan to boil it down to one very important issue. I plan to blog about that here and on my other blog this coming week.  Until then, I hope you will join us Sunday at 9 and 10:45.

Posted in Church, Faith, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic, Story, Truth | Comments Off on #SleepyHead#StandingStrong

#ChurchAlive#StartingPoint

Friday, October 7th, 2022

Many of you may remember several years a car company (Oldmobile) had the tag line “This is not grandfather’s Oldsmobile.” The insinuation was that Olds had changed from the stodgy, grandfatherly car company to a more exciting car company.  (For the record: it didn’t work. Olds no longer exists either due to downsizing or lost money). This week I start a very short series on the church entitled “Wake up Sleepy Head!”

Truth is: it is hard to change. Someone has said, “Change in inevitable: misery is optional.”  The church, without a doubt, has changed. I guarantee my grandparents would not recognize the church in 2022, especially since it has been well over 25 years since their death.  Back then hymns, pews, choirs and piano/organs were the fare. There were no drums, guitars, or keyboards. There were flannelgraph boards used to teach lessons, not computers, white boards and all the other gizmos. There were no youth pastors as paid staff. There was no such thing as small groups which met in homes. There were Sunday night services, Wednesday study, and Friday night prayer meetings (I know I used to attend with him), and the King James Bible. 

As Bob Dylan said, “The times, they are a-changin'” Some change has been good. I, for one, am glad for the changes in worship and more contemporary and accurate translations of the Bible. But sadly, the church is entrenched in tradition, even if it says it isn’t.  This short series of sermons will culminate in OVCF’s 18th anniversary celebration on October 30th. So I plan to challenge us to “do church” differently. This week is all about finding the starting point. Matthew 16: 13-20 and Acts 2: 42-47 will my Scripture.

I look forward to having you join us either in person or via live stream.

Posted in Church, Opinion, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #ChurchAlive#StartingPoint

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