Freedom

...now browsing by category

 

Obedience: Encouraged or Demanded?

Thursday, February 8th, 2024

There are some things I know for sure. 1) It is always tough to be a Christ-follower.  2) It is tougher to be a Christ-follower when rigid rules and regulations are in place. Obedience to Christ should be expected, but obedience should never be demanded or forced upon someone. Unfortunately, there will always be those religious teachers and religious systems that will take a “hard case” approach and make demands of their followers the Scripture never intended to take place.

The Scripture for Sunday, Colossians 2:16-3:4 takes a hard stand against demanding obedience or as I will say during the message: the “lord it over” approach. The question I plan to answer is this: “Is obedience demanded or encouraged?” Please see there is a difference. It is my personal belief that those religious leaders or religious systems who use the “lord it over” approach are afraid. They are afraid of people thinking for themselves. They are afraid of losing control of their flock. They are afraid that a lack of control will lead to rebellion. (Maybe it should). 

Do we obey God from our hearts or do we do it because we are being threatened or forced to? For my answer, please feel free to join us in person or online this Sunday at 9:00 and 10:45. I would love to see you or even to hear your thoughts when it is all said and done.

Starting and stopping

Monday, January 29th, 2024

From an ancient scribe and wise man:

When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.

Just sayin’. Something to think about.

The quote is from King Solomon in Proverbs 28:2.

#DarkHorse

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

I’m not a runner. Never have been; never will be.  The only running I have done is while playing baseball or basketball; running to the bathroom; or running after my girls when they wanted to play. I tried running once. ONCE. I didn’t have the right shoes to start with. I didn’t have the right technique.  I didn’t have the right clothes. And I had balky calf muscles that didn’t like running outside on uneven surfaces or on hard surfaces. So that lasted all of about one week. 🙂 But call me for supper, pizza, or ice cream and I was all there! In fact, I was there as quick as you can say, “Roadrunner.”

My theme for 2024, as you can see, is Run with the Horses. I “borrowed” it from a book by that title authored by Eugene Peterson. A book I have not read to be honest. It is a play on Jeremiah 12:5. The whole idea was that if Jeremiah was tired from daily life, how can he expect to run with the horses when the going gets tough?  Truthfully, I believe life in 2024 is only going to get tougher for those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ. My desire this year is to prepare us as well as I can to life with all its muck and mire, so that we won’t get bogged down and be unable to run with the horses.

Please join me/us each week as we pursue this goal.  We have two services every Sunday (unless it is changed for a reason). One at 9:00 and the other at 10:45. Both are live streamed. If you desire to and are able to join us in person, we would love to have you visit.

BeFree!

Thursday, June 29th, 2023

There is always a sense of satisfaction when a project is completed. Well…at least there is supposed to be. I think the key word is “completed.” What do you feel when you come to the end of a project (or sermon series) and you know there is more to say so that completed feeling is vague?

That is how I feel. This week is my final sermon in the series Faith Over Fear.  I know there is more to say. I also know there are people who are hurting and what I have said is just “touching the hem of the garment” for them and their healing.  I actually extended the series one week in order to try to answer the question: What now?  I gave it the title of Be Free! because of the 4th of July weekend. But, in all honesty, I am praying for freedom for some folks from anxiety, worry, fear, and yes, even depression.  But how do I conclude this series? That was my question and I decided to highlight the main thought from each Sunday and then conclude with some possible answers to “What Now?”  Here is what I have come up with:

Highlight #1: Mark 4:35-42 shows us that Jesus is always on the job…even when He appears to be asleep.

Highlight #2: Jesus spoke to worry and anxiety in Matthew 6.

Highlight #3: There are three essentials you must believe- You are not crazy. You are not alone. This will end.

Highlight #4: Slaying the giant of worry requires we do two things: 1) Pray and 2) Change your perspective.

Highlight #5: Understand the battle ground is not flesh and blood, but according to Paul in Ephesians 6, the battle is where we cannot see.

SO…WHAT NOW?

From Anxiety-Knowing God’s Peace a 31 day devotional by Paul Tautges comes the answer:

#1: Remember the Certainty of God’s Promises

#2: Remember the Grace of Salvation

#3: Remember the Care of Your Heavenly Father

#4: Remember your Dependency on Prayer

I’ll spend more time on those this Sunday (obviously). 🙂 I hope you will join me in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45. Go here to find out how to connect.

 

#GiantSlain!

Thursday, June 1st, 2023

“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” Arthur Somers Roche (Quoted in Winning the War on Worry by Louie Giglio)

If there is one common denominator among people-believer and unbeliever alike-it is the fact that worry is so prevalent. Worry is like a barnacle that attaches itself to a boat. A barnacle is a crustacean that attaches itself to another surface (the most familiar is one that attaches itself to a boat). They need to be removed because as they build they cause a drag. Some will actually attach themselves to the inside of sea life and grow, changing its “personality,” if you will. Anxiety is like that. It attaches itself to a host (us) and causes a drag on our forward motion. As it stays, it grows, and get harder and harder to get rid of.

Worry is a giant we need to slay. That is my desire for Sunday’s message I have entitled “Bringing the Giant to its Knees.” There is no doubt we live in an “anxiety-ridden” society. Life seems to assault us from all angles. What can we do? My prayer is to answer that question this week. I look forward to seeing you in person or via live stream at 9:00 and 10:45.

 

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.

 

#Cancer#Hidden

Friday, August 5th, 2022

Of all the cancers which we have covered (6 so far), this last one is what I am calling the “Hidden” one. Why? Because most often it can be hidden from other eyes. Given the internet and given the plethora of other avenues, this cancer is considered “private.”

The cancer? L.U.S.T.

Someone has said, “Unbridled lust: A cannibal committing suicide by nibbling on himself.”

Another anonymous person said, “Lust, I read somewhere, is the craving for salt by a man (or woman) who is dying of thirst.”

I don’t need to go into detail of what happens when lust takes hold. A lust for money often leads to gambling. A lust for pleasure often leads to a life of unbridled lack of control. A lust for ease often leads to a life spent looking for short cuts. And a life of lust often leads to a body count left behind with destruction in its wake.  But like all the other cancers, it will eat away at us until it reveals itself in some way.

Lust is not a losing cause.  It is a disordered and idolatrous sexual desire that is both enslaving and destructive, but it is not an adventure in futility. This week I hope to disclose lust for what it is, but also to offer hope to those who struggle with it.  Please join us at 9 and 10:45 in person or via live stream. If you are unable to, please commit to praying for me-for us- as we study. Thanks.

#Cancer#GottaHaveIt

Friday, July 22nd, 2022

Perhaps you have heard the saying, “God has promised to fill all our needs, not all of our greeds.” (Yeah…I know…that is not a word. Spell check tells me that). 🙂

Here are two sayings that I thought were pretty interesting:

“Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected…Hoarding is idolatry.”

 

“Just as a circle can never fill a triangle so the heart of greed is never satisfied. Its hunger is never filled; its thirst is never quenched. No wonder we are so often warned against it.”

When we think of greed our minds often go to misers like Ebenezer Scrooge; or corrupt bankers or some tycoon on Wall Street; or a wicked pirate like Captain Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean. SURELY NOT US!!

The problem with greed is that it is usually masked and isn’t that obvious. We see someone working hard and perhaps getting wealthy and we think “a man is worthy of his hire.” Little do we know that down inside that man or woman might be a heart of greed. I’m not just talking about someone in the “worldly” vein either. We get that same picture of many in the church. We think we want to be like that person, but come to find out there is a heart of greed beating down inside.

Cancer #5 is the Deadly Sin of Greed. I’m calling it the “gotta have it” syndrome.  What does the Bible say about greed? Actually a lot. That is my topic for this Sunday’s message. I hope you will join me as we delve into this volatile subject that so many of us want to deny we have but…

Please join us at 9 and 10:45 either in person or via live stream. I would love to have you or see you. If not, you can always pray for us, for me. I will never turn that away!! 🙂

And by the way: Pastor Ryan has taken about 12 people to Hickory, KY for some help with tornado clean-up. Your prayers for their travel and service would be greatly appreciated.

#Forgiveness

Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

OOPS! I messed up. I allowed time to get away from me. In my last post, which was a preview of this past Sunday’s sermon, I said I would share some thoughts from Sunday’s sermon on Philemon and the power of forgiveness. As I said, I allowed time to get away from me since I had planned on posting this Monday, the 2nd.  Well…better late than never I guess. 🙂

Here are four observations I made at the end of my message this past Sunday. I know it isn’t much but perhaps it might help with some perspective.

Failure to forgive imprisons  believers in their past. Unforgiveness keeps the sore open and never allows it to heal.  Hurt done to you and not dealt with is like having an open sore that always oozes pus.  You can put a band-aid over it but the sore never heals.  Ditto failing to forgive.

Failure to forgive produces bitterness. The longer you hold onto an offense committed against you, the more bitter you will get. Bitterness distorts your whole outlook on life.

Failure to forgive gives an open door to the enemy. He loves little cracks in the doorway. Ephesians 4 tells us not to give him a foothold.

Failure to forgive hinders fellowship with God. A barrier devel0ps as a result of bitterness.  Having a horizontal barrier is bad; having a vertical one is even worse. A thousand time worse. A person who is not forgiving of others cannot be right with God.

One last thing: I say this over and over to the church. If you fail to forgive someone, they own you. You are their slave. Sad part is this: your failure to forgive does not hurt them. They don’t care. It does, however, hurt you.

In my mind there is only one thing to do.

#SoberCycle#Review

Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

I can count on one hand the good things I think that have come out of the pandemic of the past close to 2 years.  One was the church implementing a live stream. That was most definitely good because it was very much needed. The other is podcasts, as in, I started listening to them. I have always said that I have trouble listening and driving. So I listened to music almost exclusively.  After I started listening to podcasts I had to change my tune. I figured out the reason why I could listen to them: they were not sermons.  Sermons are by nature one-sided so my mind wandered. Not so with most podcasts.  Honestly, I no longer listen to some of the podcasts I started with.  Some got too complicated. Some too business-oriented. Some too large-church oriented (I’m a pastor of a church in a small town so no relevancy there).

But one I have continued and consistently listened to is Bleeding Daylight hosted by Australian Rodney Olsen. I first “met” Rodney when we crossed paths while blogging.  We also had something in common: he was  a cyclist. Anyway, Rodney’s podcast is his interviews with various people who have overcome challenges and “kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.”  Like all interviews, some kept my rapt attention and some I lost interest in. One of the most recent featured a woman by the name of Sherry Hoppen from Hudsonville, MI.  Sherry’s story is one of addiction to alcohol.  It kept my attention from start to finish, not because I have an issue with it (I have never had a drink), but because I have some I know who do.  It was for them I listened; it was for them I was blessed.

Sherry has written a book chronicling her journey in a much more in-depth way than the podcast could do.

Sober Cycle: Pedaling Through Recovery One Day at a Time

I confess that I am hesitant to review or even suggest a “self-help” book.  Most of them are of the “your best life now” genre. I loathe that approach. Life is a challenge; life is tough, and no amount of self-talk will get you out off that treadmill. But Sherry’s book is much more than self-help. It is a memoir of sorts.  It is a revealing book. It is a brutally honest book.  Since I have never had an issue with alcohol, I do not totally understand its grasp on people. Sherry enlightened me as to the struggle addicts face. I wanted to simply say to her, “Well, then walk away. Don’t drink” but it wasn’t that easy.  And to my friends here, I now have a better idea of what they are going through.

I gave my copy to my friend. I now have another. I know another friend who has one waiting for him when he comes out of rehab.  I have to admit that I was impressed by Sherry’s battle, but I was totally impressed by her husband, Craig, who stood by her through it all. I know many husbands (and wives) who would have walked out and away at the first sign of addiction, let alone stay with her for years as she struggled.  Kudos to Craig!

I must also tell you that Sherry’s hobby is cycling.  Her first real effort at getting free from her addiction was a bike ride from Michigan to Maryland.  But her addiction was so bad she even started the ride with a hangover. I’m telling you folks, you need to read this book. For yourself. For your friends. For your alcoholic friend or relative.  And then pass it along.

Oh, one more thing. Sherry’s ministry is called She Surrenders because that is what it took for her to finally get free. Surrendering daily to the lordship of Jesus.  I can’t speak highly enough of Sherry’s book.  You can order from her website (https://www.shesurrenders.com/ or if you prefer, Amazon.