Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
One resolution for 2011
After the 365 days of 2010, here are the seven things that make it a "good" year: #1 I love Jesus more #2 I love my beautiful bride more #3 I love my four kids more. #4 I love my friends, and especially my "brothers" more. #5 I love my church more. #6 I love my life more. #7 I love the world less. And I have one resolution for 2011, to glorify God and [...]
IN or just AT church?
All of us are guilty of talking a lot about what we don’t like about the church, but we don’t often talk about what the church actually is. A common definition in the dictionary describes the church as “a building for Christian worship”. It's a wonder how anyone might come to this conclusion reading the New Testament description of churches who seem to be without buildings for the most part. It goes without saying that [...]
Idle about Idols
We are all addicts. We are all addicted to various idols that captivate us, allure us, and lie to us. Instead of holding to the promises of God and/or heeding His warnings, we believe the promises of sin. Their lies patterned after the first lie, telling us we will be happier apart from God's Word. Idols never sleep. As a recovering-moralist, for years I wrongly believed that if I just avoided idols (and their sinful [...]
Jesus is a Prince…but He’s not “Princey”
Our church is going through the Advent this year for the first time. Different traditions organize and preach this series differently, but they all celebrate the Hope, Love, Peace, and Joy that first arrived with Jesus first coming as we look forward to His Second. In Isaiah 9.6-7, a prophecy about the coming Redeemer, this young child (Jesus) is described as the "Prince of Peace." I don' t know about you, but when I hear [...]
Jesus and Christmas “Green”
I recently read that Holiday shoppers will spend an average of $1,044 on gifts this year, up nearly 92% from 2009. As a nation, that translates into several billion dollars. There is no denying that Americans spend a lot of money during the Christmas Season. So how am I supposed to respond to this as a Christian or a pastor? I appreciate what Doug Wilson recently wrote about a right orientation toward Christmas and gifts. [...]
Joshua, Jingle Bells, and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Last week I preached a sermon on the second half of Joshua 8. Like all of my sermons, the point of it can be summed up by saying, confess your sin, go to church, read your Bible, and enjoy God. The text of Joshua 8 describes Israel renewing their commitment to God. Joshua leads what amounts to a worship service by copying the entire law on rocks and reading every word of God's Law aloud [...]
CP#28: Confronting Sin
Lesson #28: Confronting Sin One of the most difficult things a leader has to do is confront sin. This past week I preached on Joshua 7 where the sin of one man, Achan, brings "trouble" upon the entire community. In most sermons like this, mine being no exception, the main focus often rests with Achan--the man who hides his sin and destroys his family. What many who read this passage often ignore, the one thing [...]
Joshua Six and Six Different Sermons
Last week I preached on Joshua 6, The Battle of Jericho. The more I study and preach God's Word, the more I learn how deep you can drill it for truth. With every sermon I preach, I am forced to emphasize one part of the text, one verse, or one them at the expense of another. Deciding what to emphasize is difficult as it means certain death (-cide) to whatever you choose not to emphasize. [...]
Four years old & Pregnant
I love Damascus Road. I look forward to being with them, enjoy laughing with them, serving them, caring for them, and being loved by them. Damascus Road Church turned four years old this week, on November 4th. We've seen this newborn baby church grow into a potty trained toddler. And now, this four-year old is about to do it all over again and launch a new plant in Mt. Vernon. Amazing. Humbling. Crazy. As such, [...]
CPL#27: Failing the Great Commission
LESSON #27: Failing the Great Commission (DON'T DO IT) Currently, we are taking about 20 guys through what we call a discipleship boot camp. It is a return to what are called “First Principles”, the basics, Christianity 101, the foundation of our faith. Some might consider our material too simplistic, focusing on “milk” rather than meat. In the short time that I have been a pastor, I have learned that the basics are where most [...]
CP#26: Faith is like Playing Basketball
LESSON #26: How Faith is like Playing Basketball I suck at Basketball. Growing up I played Soccer, all year, all the time. And I was good. I enjoyed playing Soccer from age 5 to age 25, even coached for several years. After 20+ years of Soccer, I grew sick of it. As I got older, and my body didn't quite respond as I wanted it to, the sport that once excited every part of my [...]
CP#25: When people stay (or should)
People land and stay at various churches for a myriad of reasons. Again, some these reasons are very good and others are very bad. No one can truly judge the motivation of the heart but Judge Jesus, so we'll leave determining the genuine validity of reasons for coming or going with him. I am suggesting that you can stay at a church for the wrong reasons. This blog is not about convincing people to leave [...]
CP#24: Re-Preaching Rivers
CHURCH PLANTING LESSON #24: You'll always want to Re-preach your last sermon(s). I always want a another chance. Nearly without fail, I want to re-preach every sermon that I preach, right after I preach it. At times, this desire overwhelms me seconds after I'm done. Other times, it results days, or even weeks later, usually after I've read a Scripture, a book, or come across some other idea that would have been "perfect" or at [...]
CP Lesson #23: When People Leave
LESSON #23: When People Leave I never get used to people leaving our church. In this consumeristic, serve me, feed me, meet my needs society, it is not uncommon to see people come and go in a church. Connecting with a church for many is like dating without an intention to commit--just looking for a good time. They're trying to find the perfect ideal mate that looks right, sounds right, and makes me feel good [...]
Joshua week 3: When to follow, when to flee
For whatever reason, whenever I hit a passage in the Bible that has something to do with leadership, my sermon goes long. I am beginning to believe that people's biggest passions are often born out of their biggest mistakes--or at least it drives their insatiable drive to not repeat the same mistakes. The second half of Joshua chapter one is one of those passages that most would read through without a second thought. At first [...]
Joshua Week 2: God’s Men are Strong
God's men (and women) are commanded to be strong and courageous. If they are, they are guaranteed success and prosperity--not necessarily wherever we go--wherever God sends us. Such promises of God should not make us arrogant, but they should make us incredibly confident regardless of what we see, think, or feel. The phrase “be strong and courageous” is used three different times in this first chapter. In our culture, that phrase could easily be misunderstood [...]
Joshua Week 1: 5 Excuses People Use to NOT go on Mission
The book of Joshua begins right after the death of Moses. Moses' death signals the last of a generation God had patiently endured while he waited for them to die. Numbers 13 and 14 record the story of when Moses sent 12 spies into the land and they returned with conflicting reports. All of the spies agreed the land was amazing, but 10 of them believed its inhabitants were too strong to defeat. Though Caleb [...]
Church Planting Lesson #24 1/2: Stop being the victim.
Church Planting Lesson #24: Stop being the victim. Below is a post that a friend of a friend put somewhere in cyberspace. I wanted to write a blog about the same thing, but she said it much better than I ever could: Have you been wronged? Have you been abused? Mistreated? Unloved? Have you been cheated? Lied to? Deceived? Have you been the victim of injustice? Unjust laws? Unjust authority? Was your mother cruel? Your [...]
CP Lesson #23: Everyone has their own fighting style
Church Planting Lesson #23: Everyone has their own fighting style In the final letter before his death, Paul wrote to young pastor Timothy. These words represent some of his most important thoughts as his impending death causes him to reflect on the last 30+ years of suffering for Jesus. In 2Timothy 2.3-7 he writes: Share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No solider gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is [...]
Church Planting Lesson #22
LESSON #22: Preaching Bad Sermons I preached a bad sermon this past Sunday. It wasn’t the first, it won’t be the last. No, I didn’t preach heresy or accidentally let an f-bomb slip; I simply didn’t say what I wanted to say and realized it the moment I finished. When we first planted the church, I regularly experienced a Sunday afternoon depression. Immediately following the sermon, my mind would be filled with all of the [...]
Church Planting Lesson #21: Feeling Territorial & Threatened
LESSON #21: You will want to feel discontent and threatened...so don't. I have always liked the passage in John 3. Up until this point, John the Baptist has been the only good preacher in town. And though he is fully aware of his role as the "voice in the wilderness", his disciples have other ideas. When Jesus eventually shows up and begins his ministry, John's disciples are a bit confused--even threatened--because the crowds seem to [...]
10 questions you need to ask your bride
Below are ten questions (five twice-over) I dare any man to ask his bride. Unfortunately, I know most men won't because you already know the answer--and it will be difficult to hear. You'll notice, they are not YES or NO questions, meaning, you will actually have to discuss the answer. And know that, as Jesus is THE HUSBAND, when we fail to love and lead like Jesus does, we preach false sermons about Jesus. In [...]
3 Ways to Neglect Your Gifts
I recently preached 1Timothy 4.14 , where Paul charges a young pastor named Timothy to ".. not neglect the gift you have, which was given you vby prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you" I began to wonder how many people neglect their gifts. Neglect is an interesting term, one that denotes a range of meaning from indifference to full on intentional abandonment. According to Scripture, gifts are given by God, given to glorify [...]
The Gospel in 25 Words +/-
What is the gospel? The facts of the gospel are clear. Paul explains it in all of his letters, most explicitly in 1Corinthians 15.3-8. The gospel begins with the basic facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. But the gospel is also the interpretation and application of these facts. The gospel informs, guides, and judges all that we do including our doctrine, our behavior, our relationships, our leadership, our marriages, even our finances. Before we [...]
Church Planting Lesson #20: Doctrinal Mercenaries
Our church has been going through Paul's first letter to Timothy. As Paul had warned when he first left the church at Ephesus (Acts 20), "fierce wolves" have risen up from among the leadership and are causing all kinds of problems--leading sheep astray. The letter is a direct charge to Timothy, to draw lines, take stands, and shoot false-teaching wolves. He charges Timothy to protect SOUND DOCTRINE which accords with the gospel. The last book [...]