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This is the series that we are continuing this Sunday at MBC. You don’t want to miss it! We will look at a question that many people have: ‘Where is God when I need Him?’

The headline read, “Killed by Friendly Fire.”  Pat Tillman was killed in 2004 in the mountains of Afghanistan not by the enemy, but accidentally by his own army.  This was a tragic event that received nationwide attention.  His death was mourned by thousands.

Unfortunately this happens within the Body of Christ each and every week.  Doctrinally sound pastors and Christian leaders are shot, so-to-speak, by those in their own army — by other pastors and other Christian leaders.  And while this is taking place, the real enemy sits back and laughs, free from any opposition.  In many cases we have lost sight of who the real enemy is.  We get ready…..shoot……and then aim.  We are duped into ‘sowing discord’, gossiping, and attacking others.  The whole time this is taking place, we incorrectly believe that we are fighting for the sake of Christ.  In reality, we have become a hindrance to the work of Christ.

There are several things we need to realize.

1- Satan is the real enemy, not each other.

2- Doctrinally sound pastors and churches are to be unified in fighting the enemy.  This is done by focusing on the Gospel.  Completely separating over styles of music, Bible versions, and other preferences is unnecessary and detrimental to the advancement of the Gospel.

3- As has often been said, “If you can’t say something nice (edifying) about someone, don’t say anything at all.”  This needs to be practiced.  Sure there are times when doctrinal error needs to be pointed out, but here we are talking about non-doctrinal issues.

4- Understand that we each have a responsibility to pray for each other.  Over the course of the next year our church will highlight a different church in our area each week.  We will pray that God will meet their needs, that the pastor will be strengthened and protected, that the gospel will be proclaimed, and that souls will be saved.

Let’s keep the crosshairs on the real enemy.  Get Ready…..AIM…..THEN Shoot!

You have probably heard the saying “Don’t just stand there– do something!”  But, sometimes the exact opposite of that is what is needed.  We need to realize that activity does not always equal effectiveness and busyness does not always mean ministry is taking place.  There are times when we need to just be still. 

Impossible, you say?  Perhaps it is impossible if you must always be in control and if you refuse to trust God.  There are times when the solution to the problem you are facing is to actively choose to do nothing to fix the problem.  There are times when patience and self-restraint are your biggest asset.  But understand that patience is not inactivity.  Patience is actively and aggressively pursuing the face of God about a situation while, at the same time, remaining active and faithful in the things you know God wants you to do. 

We instinctively want to do the opposite of that.  We want to stop everything we know God wants us to be doing and put all of our effort and resources into fixing whatever problem or situation we are facing.  Psalm 46:10 is a passage the deals with this very thing.  It says:

Be still, and know that I am God.

Contrary to popular belief this verse has nothing to do with being still and doing your devotions.  It is a command to not panic in the face of danger, difficulties, or problems.  It is a command to not take matters into your own hands, but to be still and trust God.  No matter what problem comes into your life or ministry there are times when we need to be still and trust the sovereignty of God.  In other words, don’t just do something–stand there!

Perhaps you have never considered celebrating Advent.  Maybe you have always viewed it as only a Catholic observance.  Maybe you are not even sure what Advent is.  Whatever your situation, there are several reasons families should consider this.

1- It is a time to remember the first coming of Christ as well as a time to pray for His second coming.

2- It is a time for cleaning out distractions in your life that have taken your focus off of God.

3- It is a time to read Scripture together as a family (if you don’t already).  You can find a list of readings HERE.

4- It makes the birth of Christ more than a one day observance.

5- It is something in which the entire family can participate together.

I believe that celebrating the four weeks of Advent will go a long way in keeping Christ at the center of Christmas and teaching your children about the importance of Scripture.  As Focus on the Family states, “More than any other activity, Advent can restore Jesus to the center of the Christmas celebration, because on each Advent day the birth of Jesus is read, sung and talked about. The whole family can participate and find the observance meaningful. The props are simple and inexpensive. The memories and training will last a lifetime. Although the common tenets of observing Advent are shared by many churches, each family can add its own flavor.”

I must be honest and say that I have never celebrated Advent.  But after studying it, I believe it is a very worthwhile observance.  It is probably a little late to start the observance this year, but I would encourage you to join me and plan to celebrate Advent with your family in 2012.

You can learn more about Advent by reading the full Focus on the Family article HERE.

It is always good to take some time and think about God’s blessings.  I have been thinking about the previous year of ministry at MBC and I am amazed at how much God has done.  If there was one word to describe our ministry it would probably be “Healthy.” People are excited about focusing on the gospel and pointing people to Christ.  When that is the unified focus, the result is health.

Here are a few things that stick out to me about the previous year.

• People have been saved.
• More than ever before, the focus of our ministry is on the preaching/teaching of God’s Word.
• God has brought 9 new families/individuals to our church in the past 11 months (that number may go up in the next two weeks).
• God allowed 10 members from our church to go on a missions trip.
• God has allowed us to double our giving to missions in the last 12 months.
• We completed a $20,000 remodeling project of our Sunday School facilities; all from designation offerings.
• We began work on our missions apartment.
• God allowed us to build our first inroad into the area apartment complexes.
• In the past year our children’s ministry has doubled in size.
• Our focus is steadily shifting from inward to outward.
• There has been a constant commitment to unity.
• God has given us a clear vision for our church.  I am convinced of what God wants us to be, and the foundation for that is being laid.

I could go on and on, but God is at work.  And it is exciting.  We have a long way to go to be where we need to be.  BUT…

…God is leading!

…God is guiding!

…We are following!

An interesting perspective.

Why Pastors Should Bless Interracial Marriage from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Are you feeling the Christmas stress yet?  Are you in that holiday frenzy or are you spreading the joy of this time of year?  I have been thinking about ways we can help make this Christmas season a time of joy for our families.  It is so easy to be swallowed up in the Christmas frenzy that there is no time for families to focus on and enjoy Christmas joy.   As Christians, we must actively protect this joyous time of year for our families.

Here are some things that you can do to help bring back the joy to your family this Christmas.

• Do things as a family.  End the ‘everyone-going-their-own-way’ routine as much as possible.
• Limit the amount of media in your home.  Media can easily take your attention off of each other.
• Plan some Christmas activities such as driving around and looking at Christmas lights.
• Let your children plan a family night out.
• Find a way for your children to serve others.  Make Christmas crafts or Christmas cookies and let them take them to shut-ins in your church or to a nursing home.
• Don’t just encourage you children to serve others.  Parents, you serve others as well.
• Have fun together!

Whatever you do and however you do it, intentionally bring the joy of Christ and of Christmas to your family this year.

I have been studying this week in preparation for our Thanksgiving service on Sunday.  I have read about a dozen Psalms that are commonly considered to be Psalms of Thanksgiving.  You may want to considering reading them over the next several days. A few of these Psalms are Psalm 92, 95, and 100.

What is interesting is that the majority of the Thanksgiving Psalms present the act of giving thanks not as an independent action, but as an expression of worship.  They teach us that true worship requires giving thanks to God.  There is also something else that is interesting.  The act of giving thanks, when connected to worship, is centered more on who God is rather than on what God has done for us.  Psalm 95:2-3 is a perfect example of this.  These verses say:

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalm.  For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

This understanding should motivate us to focus more on who God is this Thanksgiving.  Are we thankful for what God has done?  Absolutely!  But what God has done cannot and should not be separated from who He is. 

Let’s also remember that giving thanks to God is an expression of worship.

I was recently asked why I (primarily) preach verse-by-verse sermons (expositional) instead of topical sermons.  This is a crucial question that needs to be addressed.  Below is some of what I presented to the church this past Sunday evening.

When you boil it all down there are really only two approaches to studying God’s Word.  Whether it is in preparation to preach a message or teach a Sunday School class, there are only two options.

The first option is called exegesis.  The term exegesis means to lead out of.  The second option is called eisegesis.  This means to lead into.  What is the difference?  Exegesis allows us to agree with the Bible; eisegesis seeks to force the Bible to agree with us.  We are told in 2 Timothy 2:15 to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who rightly divides the word of truth.  The only way to do that on a consistent basis is by following the principles of exegesis.  

Now, these two principles of Bible study lead directly to varying approaches to preaching.  Eisegesis leads primarily to topical preaching, and exegesis leads primarily to expository preaching or verse-by-verse preaching.   

It is important that you have an accurate understanding of what expository preaching is.  Here are a few short definitions and explanations. 

• Expository preaching is making the point of the passage the point of the message. 
• In expository preaching the passage shapes the message, in topical preaching the message shapes the passage.
• In topical preaching, Scripture is nothing more than support material for the topic upon which the speaker has decided to preach.  In expository preaching, Scripture is the topic.

If pastors never preach expositionally, they will never preach more than they already know, because rarely is new study conducted (Dever).  They simply try to find verses that appear to support their pre-conceived view.  Please understand that pastors are called to be mailmen not letter writers.  It is the pastor’s job to communicate the truth of God’s Word explaining it accurately, not coming up with their own message and trying to find verses that, at first glance, seem to support what they want to say.

Unfortunately, many churches (Independent Baptist churches) have pastors who blindly hold to a style of topical preaching where they preach their own message, many times misusing God’s Word to do so.  And, in my opinion, it is for this reason that the Independent Baptist movement is slowly rotting away to nothing.  Many of these churches are filled with people who very rarely hear God’s word preached in a way that is true to Scripture.  Pastors stand up and preach their opinions on issues and they misused God’s Word to do so. 

I was recently reading an article by Steven Lawson entitled “Preach the Word.” Here is a quote from this article.

The pastor must not parade his personal opinions in the pulpit.  Nor may he expound worldly philosophies.  The preacher is limited to one task – preach the Word.

If the Independent Baptist movement is to survive, it will be because there is a return to expository preaching.  This is the greatest need.  You may wonder why?  If the people of God are to live a life based on the Word of God, the Word of God must be preached in a way that is consistent with the intended message, not the pastor’s personal, insignificant preferences.

Lawson goes on to say:

Every season of reformation and every hour of spiritual awakening has been ushered in by a recovery of biblical preaching.

Such was the case in the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th century.  Martin Luther, John Calvin and other reformers were raised up by God to lead this era.  At the forefront, it was their recovery of expository preaching the helped launch this movement…

The same was true in the golden era of the puritans in the 17^th century.  A recovery of biblical preaching spread like wildfire through the dry regions of Scotland & England.  A resurgence of authentic Christianity came as an army of biblical expositors.

 The 18^th century witnessed exactly same through the Bible-saturated preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

Philip Schaff writes

Every true progress in church history is conditioned by a new and deeper study of Scripture.

 Lawson summarizes his article by stating the following:

 Every great revival is the church has been ushered in by a return to expository preaching.

Again, the job of the preacher is to accurately communicate the message of God.  The only way to that, consistently is through expository preaching. 

So to answer the question: “Why do I preach verse-by-verse (expositionally) instead of topically?”  My answer is this:  It is the only way to consistently and accurately communicate the Truth of Scripture to the people of God.  I never want to reduce the powerful Word of God down to nothing more than support material for my thoughts.

Sometimes people ask me “what should I look for in a church.”  One of the things I say to them is this.  “I would not attend or join a church that did not have a commitment to expository preaching.”

If all a church does is emotionally driven, topical preaching…stay away!”

Working hard in order to retire comfortably sounds innocent enough.  Looking forward to the days of not having the responsibilities of a job so that you and your spouse can play golf multiple times a week, travel the world, or simply relax and do nothing sounds like a great plan.  In two words this is ‘American retirement’; and it is the goal of millions of Americans.  It is the culmination of the American Dream.  But is it Christian?  Is it biblical?  Up front we must acknowledge that retirement is not a biblical concept nor is it an ancient ideal.  It seems that retirement is a more modern, western construct.  It is part of the famous American Dream.

There is certainly nothing at all wrong with retiring from the workforce after a career in a certain industry.  There is nothing wrong with having a nice retirement package that enables you to live comfortably.  The real question centers on what we do after we retire.  The Bible is clear that we are to finish strong.  It tells us that we are to endure until the end.  We are to run with endurance that race that is set before us.  As Christians, we are to push hard until the end.  We are to live our entire lives for Christ, not just the first 2/3 of our lives.

Many people serve God, work in the church, and live their life for God until they retire, and then they somehow think that they have no more Christian responsibilities.  They act as though they deserve a break from serving in the church.  In their mind there is no longer any responsibility for them to live for eternity and point people to Christ.  Those with this mindset end up doing nothing (or far too little) for God’s Kingdom during that last 10-20 years of their lives.

They act as though God is going to be impressed with all their golf score-cards, or with the pictures from their world travels, or with, as Piper has stated, their seashell collection.  How do any of those things benefit God’s Kingdom?  Please understand that there is nothing wrong with playing golf, traveling the world, or collecting seashells, but these things should not be our sole focus.

While there may be nothing wrong with retiring from a career, it is definitely wrong to retire from serving God.  We should never retire from being involved in our churches.  We should always strive to be active for the Kingdom of God.  In fact, while those in retirement may not have as much energy as they use to have, they usually have more time and more wisdom.  They should strive to accomplish as much for God in the final years of their life as possible.

View retirement as an opportunity to accomplish great things for God.   Finish Strong!