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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

HereCometheHorses!

Thursday, July 6th, 2023

 

Welcome back! I feel like I ought to be singing that song from “Welcome Back Kotter” by John Sebastian.  After a two month hiatus, I am back to my series on Revelation. I don’t regret the side detour though. It was something I felt God was leading me to do and over the two months I had it confirmed multiple times. But I’m back to Revelation and will be starting at Chapter 6.

I’ve titled this sermon Here Come the Horses! for an obvious reason.  Let me just state the obvious as you read this chapter: white, red, black, and pale. There are several different interpretations for the appearance of these horses and I plan to bring them out. I have my personal belief but that ruins it if I tell you ahead of time. 🙂 

We all have expectations. Every sermon I prepare I have an expectation that a life will be touched, maybe changed or rearranged. What type of expectations do you have concerning the Christian life? Is it what you expected it to be? We all wonder about the future. Truth is: none of us knows what the future holds, but there are some expectations we can count on. I plan to probe that in this sermon as we talk about the horses and what they mean.

I hope you will join me in person or via live stream.  If not, then please pray for me. Honestly, it is a struggle getting back to Revelation after the series on Anxiety and Worry and Fear and Depression. I feel like it helped some people and wonder about this series on The Lamb Wins!

 

Posted in Doctrine, Faith, Miscellaneous, Opinion, Prophecy, Revelation, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on HereCometheHorses!

#EssentialsToBelieve

Thursday, May 25th, 2023

In 1816 Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to John Adams in which he said, “There are indeed gloomy and hypochondriac minds, inhabitants of diseased bodies, disgusted with the present, and despairing of the future; always counting the worst will happen, because it may happen! To these I say how much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened!” (Quote from Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer-p.12)

I’m pretty sure Thomas Jefferson had plenty to be anxious about!! 🙂

Whenever someone is going through a “down” time or depression or simply fighting their own emotions of being down, they tell themselves lies they come to believe.  In his book, Attacking Anxiety, Pastor Shawn Johnson takes lessons from his own struggles with depression and anxiety and panic to gives three essentials a person must believe. I will talking about them this Sunday:

  1. You are not crazy
  2. You are not alone
  3. This will end.

I realize those who struggle with a chemical imbalance in their system will find some of this hard to believe. And accept. But my desire is that I can give them hope that it is not a lost cause. Primary to that is what we tell ourselves. We all need to start telling ourselves, “You are a child of God. You are a loved child of God. Like everyone else, you are a slightly broken child of God.”

Please join us this Sunday live or live stream at 9:00 and 10:45. There is hope for all of us.

 

Posted in Anxiety, Christian living, Compassion, Faith, Fear, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | 2 Responses »

FaithOverFear#1

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

This Sunday I start a new sermon series-one I have never done before. As you can see by the title to this post, the theme for the series is “Faith Over Fear.”

A little back story might help. I began a series in January on Revelation. After preaching for the first two months and covering Revelation 1-5, I decided to concentrate on the message of Easter so I diverted to a series I called “To and From the Cross.” While preparing for that series, I began to sense God was leading me to do something else besides continue Revelation when that series was over.  After praying about what I was sensing, there was little doubt in my mind that I was to do a series on Fear and Anxiety. After I announced that, I cannot even begin to tell you how many folks have said, “I can’t wait for that series!” Many of those were people whom I had no clue suffered from it.

To say I’m looking forward to preaching it would be an understatement. But I am also aware of the expectations people have and part of me says I hope I don’t disappoint. Then I realize: it is not me anyway. And it is not about me. I have to trust God will give me the words to say because, to be honest, I have never had an issue with this. I HAVE TO TRUST HIM TO GIVE ME THE WORDS TO SAY.

My sermon this Sunday is entitled “What We ALL Want.”  Stay tuned this week for more information about what it is we all want. Meanwhile, I invite you to join us at 9 and 10:45, either in person or via live stream. Go here to find out how to do that.  I welcome your feedback as well.

 

Posted in Christian living, Compassion, Faith, Fear, Freedom, Grace, hope, Opinion, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on FaithOverFear#1

#TheStingofFailure

Thursday, March 9th, 2023

Quick: Word association. Disciple of Jesus. Failure:

PETER

It is hard to disassociate Peter’s name from failure.  But the fact remains: all of them failed. All of them ran. Peter gets notoriety because his was so public. Brash. Bold. Boisterous. Braggart.

Peter is not alone though. We all have failed. We all have made promises to be faithful and to stand tall, only to see ourselves do a face plant.  History is marred with failures. So is Biblical history.

But failure is not the end. You have heard it said in some way, I’m sure: “Falling is not failure; not getting back up is.”  But the great part about Peter’s failure and what he realized is that there is forgiveness in spite of failure. 

I’m guessing that no one’s failure is more highlighted than Peter’s.  I’m preaching on The Sting of Failure this Sunday. But I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of leaving Peter flapping in the breeze. Jesus didn’t and I certainly won’t. Nope…Jesus restored him and made him the leader of the ragtag band of disciple/apostles.

Please join us at 9:00 and 10:45 either in person or online as we live stream our services. I know many will be traveling this week due to Spring Break in our school system, but I hope you will join us via the live stream.

ONE MORE THING! REMEMBER TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME.

 

 

Posted in Forgiveness, God, Grace, Opinion, Preaching, Second Chance, Sermon Series/Topic, Story, The Cross | Comments Off on #TheStingofFailure

#GodontheThrone

Thursday, February 9th, 2023

The book of Revelation has a great deal to say about tribulation, conflicts, persecution and well, just about things we face every day. Thankfully, before we get to the really gnarly “stuff” of Revelation, we are given a glimpse into something we are yet to see, but will get to see and eventually be a part of.

ETERNITY.

God’s throne.

So far Revelation has been a call to be willing to suffer for Jesus, to face loss and hardship, to push aside a casual commitment and embrace a more radical faith.  Here is an honest question: if I follow Jesus and it requires a radical faith and commitment to Him, am I willing to give that? Am I willing to sacrifice and give the pain and effort it will take to overcome the forces of evil and live a life that counts for Jesus? 

I think we could all handle things a bit better if we knew what was ahead. In chapters 4 & 5 we are taken behind the scenes of all that exists and happens. We get to peer into eternity.

Heaven is real and I don’t need some so-called visit to heaven to tell me. This fourth chapter alone is enough to convince me that God is on His throne. WHAT A SCENE WE HAVE BEFORE US! Call me “jealous.”

Join me this week as take a behind-the-scenes glimpse into heaven.  We meet in person and online at 9:00 and 10:45. I would love to have you join me/us as we continue through Revelation.

Did you know I also do a daily devotional blog? Go here for it.

 

Posted in Doctrine, Heaven/Hell, hope, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #GodontheThrone

#HearYeHearYe!!

Thursday, January 12th, 2023

Until they got their own network, I used to love watching Fixer Upper. I really don’t care what people say about the show; I enjoyed it. Critics talk about whether shows like that are real or not; it matters not to me.  Being very non-crafty, and being very “unhandy,” I loved watching the transformations which took place.  The part I loved the most was what they called “The Great Reveal.” They would stand the person or couple in front of a big display of what their house looked like before any renovations were done. They then asked the couple if they were ready to see their new house and pulled apart the display.  All you heard or saw were gasps, “O my goshes,” or even tears.

The image of pulling back the curtain to reveal what is behind it is sort of what we are being asked to do as we read the book of Revelation. God has been and is now at work in our world as He prepares us for the coming of Christ and a new world.

After an “introductory-type” sermon last week, we hit the nitty-gritty this week.  Revelation wastes no time with verse 1 telling us, “The revelation of Jesus Christ…which must soon take place.”  We are going to talk about several thoughts from 1: 1-8. 

  • It is a “revelation.” What does that mean?
  • What does verse 3 hold for us?
  • How does John describe Jesus in verse 4-5? How does that affect us?

Mining everything in Revelation is not easy. In fact, no matter what some say, I don’t think it can be done. But we can bring our tools and start! I hope you will join me Sunday either in person or on the live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.

 

Posted in Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #HearYeHearYe!!

#SayWhat?

Thursday, January 5th, 2023

And so it begins. “What am I talking about?” you may ask. This week I embark on a journey I have NEVER taken before. And perhaps when I get into the meat of it, I may still ask myself the question: “Why? Why did I say I would do this? What possessed me to preach on Revelation?”

Yep. You read that right. A sermon series on Revelation.  Now to be honest, I have preached from Revelation before. The “safe” passages like the 7 churches in chapters 2 & 3. Or a sermon on worship inspired by chapters 4 & 5.  I’ve used chapters 21 & 22 in funeral messages before.

But preaching a whole series on Revelation? Not this dude! Until sometime in the Spring of 2022 I got a wild hair to do a series of devotional posts on my Shadow blog. Then I went in for back surgery in June and, as I was awake at night, I got a wild hair to possibly do a sermon series on Revelation.  So I got my Bible and put my awake time to good use and began to do a sparse outline of Revelation.  I finally conked out at chapter 9 but the seed had already been planted.  I wanted to push it aside but God wouldn’t let me. So I began to strongly consider it and then committed myself by announcing from the pulpit one Sunday that my first sermon series in 2023 would be one on Revelation. I saw a lot of smiles and heads nod. I also saw a lot of eyes “blow up,” like seriously?

Then I began to read Revelation over and over in different translations. I was trying to saturate myself with the message of the book. There were months I read Revelation twice in different translations. I highlighted and underlined. Strangely, I did not take notes. I wanted to allow the message to soak in.

So…this Sunday starts the Theme for 2023. As you can see it is called Victory! This Sunday will also start the series which I have entitled The Lamb Wins!! The next post will tell you about Sunday’s sermon.

 

Posted in Doctrine, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #SayWhat?

#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

#GivePeaceaChance!

Friday, September 23rd, 2022

There has always been hawks and doves. The one constant through the whole of human existence has been conflict. Frankly, we have a terrible track record. The peace we hail today can collapse tomorrow. Who can forget British PM Chamberlain, after meeting with the madman (Hitler), came home to pronounce, “Peace in our time. Peace in our time.” Not too much later he found out what Hitler’s idea of peace was.

Out of curiosity, I did a little research. I typed in “years without war or conflict” and found the following statistics: There has been a total of 10,624 battles in history (2019); of the past 3400 years there have been 268 years without conflict= 8% of history (2003); of the 244 years of US history, only 15 have been peaceful (2020).  Well, as you can see we don’t have a great track record do we? But those stats are quite revealing.

They definitely show our propensity for fighting and not getting along. So how could Jesus be so bold as to say “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Was He just blowing smoke by giving us an impossible task?  My task this Sunday is to investigate this Beatitude and see how it applies to we who live in 2022. How can we be peacemakers is a contentious world?

Join us if possible in person at 9 and 10:45. If you are unable to, please join via live stream.  To echo my inner 60s child: Give Peace a Chance. 🙂

Posted in Christian living, Faith, Opinion, Peace, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #GivePeaceaChance!

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