Note to Self…and Others – Page 2

Only Pain will Tell

2017-03-28T06:02:00+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others|

In my pursuit of joy during 2013, I have been spending the better part of January in the book of Philippians. Ironically, though Paul is writing from within Roman imprisonment, this letter is full of expressions of joy. It is a convicting read.This morning I am reading Philippians 1.12-18. Throughout these verses, Paul expresses his joy over the fact that Christ is proclaimed. This is his greatest motivation for his own life and greatest hope for the lives of others. As I sit here, I am forced to consider whether this is truly my greatest motivation. If Paul is any example, it seems as if PAIN, not time, will tell.Paul is imprisoned, Paul is suffering, and even it is not “hard”, it is probably not what anyone would envision as the path to gospel advancement. But, surprisingly, Paul tells his recipients that his imprisonment has resulted in just that--it has [...]

The Uncomfortable Call

2017-03-28T06:10:32+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others|

This past week at the men's retreat, we learned a lot about call and being "on mission." We learned that every Christian has a calling, a gift, and a place to begin "going", whether that be in our home, our church, or our "work" (everything else). I was reminded yesterday, listening to an excellent sermon by Tim Keller, that going on a "radical" mission with God is safer than being comfortable without him. But a call to be "RADICAL" will look different for all of us. The one consistent theme amongst all of our missions, however, is that they will always include a call to LEAVE whatever makes us SECURE and to GO without understanding how everything will work out. It is a call to walk a path where our only confidence is that Jesus has said, "follow me.". I would encourage everyone to listen to Keller's sermon. It is [...]

Weeping to the Glory of God

2017-03-28T06:09:55+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others|

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, [...]

Am I a Christian? A simple “self”-test from 1John.

2017-03-28T06:09:46+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others|

1JOHN 1 TEST v. 6 – 7 Do you walk in the light or the darkness? If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. V.8 -9 Do you believe you are a sinner? if we say we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1JOHN 2 TEST V.3 -5 Do you keep his commandments? And by this we know that WE (not YOU) [...]

For Freedom Christ set us free…for free

2017-03-28T06:13:03+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others|

So, there are a lot of things that Christianity has become defined as...and as I have talked to different people, I have learned one thing that it IS NOT understood as, one thing that all of those TV shows, individuals and churches have in common, is that for some reason, people do not see that the gospel of Jesus Christ is FREEING. They see religion. They see control. They see oppression. The concept of being set free is, in many ways, the last thing that comes to mind for non-believers—and perhaps even a lot of believers. Regardless of the truth, regardless of what the Bible teaches, regardless of what Jesus’ himself taught, for some reason, Christianity is viewed as something designed to restrain their happiness; and the church as the great moralistic prison that people actually choose to enroll in. And yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Though the Bible has much to [...]

There is no such thing as a FAITH-CATION

2017-03-28T06:14:20+00:00By Sam Ford|Note to Self...and Others|

As the 3-day memorial day weekend looms, the mind of a pastor can often wander into places that are not healthy. The unending flow of twitter updates and Facebook posts praising various vacation destinations, Instagram photos of amusement park rides they're about to go on, and an inbox full of forgetful folks requesting "subs" to fill spots on Sunday serve only to further deepen the anxiety. This is certainly not a healthy place for a pastor to live--but it is a realistic one for those leading the family of families called the church. Imagine the preacher, the band, the teachers, the coffee makers, as "hosts" of a grand dinner. With great anticipation, they do all the prep work show up early, only to realize that his guests decided to order pizza and stay home or get fast food on the way out-of-town. The hosts would find themselves staring out the [...]

Isolation is not just distance from God’s people

2021-07-04T17:59:08+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others|

It continues to sadden, but not surprise me, when people deny, reject, or otherwise abandon that which the Bible says they need. I am talking about biblical, gospel-centered, community. There have been many times that shepherds, like myself, have "left the 99" to chase after the one sheep who has wandered. Sometimes this proves fruitful. Most of the time, it is disappointing and draining. Then if, after much time and energy spent, the exasperated shepherd decides to stop actively chasing (even though his hope for return remains), things go from bad to worse. With no shepherd around, the lying wolves come out from hiding in the woods. And if the wandering sheep stops running long enough to look around, they become frightened. They look back to see that the once "chasing" shepherd has returned to his flock--and the now lonely sheep begins to listen to the lies of the prowling [...]

From The Pursuit of God

2012-02-20T07:30:54+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts|

The doctrine of justification by faith—a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort—has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be "received" without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is "saved," but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little. The modern scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His Word. We have almost [...]

Searching for Community not Fellowship

2021-07-04T17:59:41+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others, Theology 101|

http://vimeo.com/30891621

I enjoy listening to Francis Chan's heart. His words challenge me to be more concerned about moving on mission and less concerned about standing in community. I appreciate how he, and men like David Platt, approach the Word of God with simplicity. They just want to do what it actually says and not complicate it with what we (or others) think it says.

You’re No Superman

2021-07-04T18:00:41+00:00By Sam Ford|Church Plant Lessons 101, Note to Self...and Others, Random Thoughts|

Sin is sinister. Our trials come in many different shapes, sizes, colors and shades. But when the trial overwhelms us, when the temptation overcomes us, it seems that we are led in one of two directions--pride or despair. Both pride and despair comes from a rejection of the savior. Both pride and despair is rooted in the conviction (however momentary) that Jesus is not quite enough. Sometimes we despair. That means we start to believe that Jesus is not powerful (or loving) enough to remove my guilt, heal my brokenness, or to free me from some plaguing sin. Sometimes we become prideful. That means we that, though we may say we believe all those things about Jesus, secretly we slip on the messiah-cape do our own work to fix the problem, restore "it" to health, or otherwise save the world from sin (including ourselves). It is difficult to remain Christ-centered when you believe [...]