Sharing God's message

 Over the past 46 years of preaching and teaching I can count on one hand the number of times God has flipped the script on what I was going to preach at the very last minute. This past Sunday was one of those times, I was invited to speak for a pastor friend who was recovering from surgery in a small town. My family had attended this small church for a year or so about 15 years ago, and we still have a unique relationship with the pastor and members. 

The previous Sunday I had spoke at Only Believe Urbana where we currently attend while the pastor was on vacation. The message that Sunday was entitled “Walking through the darkest valley with God's grace.” The text was from Psalms 23, and I incorporated both mine and Lee’s testimony of walking through my hospitalization, diagnosis with Epstein Barr and the heart attack and into Lee's diagnosis with cancer and all the surgeries and the final words “You’re cancer free”.

As I stepped onto the platform and opened my Bible and IPad, God said clearly you're NOT going there. Understand I had spent several hours studying and preparing this amazing message (At least in my mind) all of sudden God flipped the script. Can I be honest there was no panic, fear, or even debate, simply listening and obeying. I opened my Bible to Psalms 23, left my IPad on the pulpit, stepped down onto the main floor and simply walked through this amazing passage of scripture. 

Reminding them that this passage was not written for the dead (even though it is used at most funerals and hospital visits) it was written for the living as we walk the darkest valleys, the shepherd is always there taking care of us defending off the devil with his rod, and moving us in the right direction with his staff.

As I closed, I felt that I had accomplished the task at hand. However, I'm really not sure what it was. 

Then, the next morning I got a text from the pastor. 

“Hey! I thought you would like to know that your sermon was appropriate for Sunday, a family left Church and found out that their son had taken his own life and they appreciated the message. They felt like it was meant just for them.” 

Can I help preachers today?

You never know what God’s going to do when you share the word He gives you, so prepare and then let God use you for His purpose. 

Amazing book to read!

 

This blog post was originally published at a previous blog site in 2013. However, it continues to reflect my thinking today.

Those that know me personally know that I love teaching and studying Pastoral Theology; simply looking at how and why we do the ministry we do. This includes everything from pastoral counseling, Ethics, Homiletics/Teaching, Church Leadership, and the Church Ordinance. I’m always reading and looking for good books or articles on the subject, and ironically, I came across a book on Amazon that is free to download to my Kindle entitled, “The Preacher and His Model, the Yale Lectures on Preaching, 1891.”

This awesome nine-part lecture was presented at “Divinity School of Yale University, New Haven, Conn, April 25, 1891, by Rev. James Stalker D.D. of Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Stalker was a minister, lecturer, and preacher for the Free Church of Scotland (United Free Church). From 1902-1924 he was Professor of Church History at the United Free Church College in Aberdeen, where he also added the Chair of Christian Ethics in 1905. He maintained these until his retirement in 1924.

Dr. Stalker has joined the other great British authors that I have enjoyed over the years including but not limited to C. S. Lewis and Thomas Torrance, both of whom have had a profound impact on my thinking as a Christian and minister.  Dr. Stalker has the ability through his teaching to help you develop a unique understanding of what God has called you to as a minister of the Gospel, and a preacher of the word. A great quote in the book is “Preaching is not merely the speaking of a man. If it is, then it is certainly not worth coming to church for. Preaching, if it is of the right kind, is the voice of God.”  He takes time through the short lecture series to take each student/preacher on a walk to understand the calling, ministry, purpose, and requirement.

My prayer as you read this short blog post is that you would take time to read this awesome book by a mighty man of God. Allow his thoughts to challenge you as you become the man of God and preacher/teacher he has called you to be.

 

 

 Gentlemen, it is hard to believe that this coming Sunday is Father’s Day. The past several weeks has seemed to not stop. With our oldest granddaughter graduating, open houses, birthday parties and do not forget just running around doing life.

It has also been a time of reflection, I have sat back and watched my son (who is now 32) be a father to four, (a two-year-old, twelve, fourteen, and eighteen years old). I had forgotten about the struggles of raising teenagers, and a toddler. I just had the two (Ethan and Meghan). It is amazing watching him navigate life with all the different personalities.

Now in my sixties I reflect on what I attempted to show my son about parenting, and what I now attempt to help him show my grandchildren. I would like to share with you regardless of how you became a dad or grandfather    (biological children, stepchildren, adopted, foster, or an uncle that is the main male influence in children’s lives). It is imperative we begin training our sons to be great fathers by:

1)    Teaching them who Christ is and understanding the importance of a relationship with Him. Both through our example, and discussions, and prayers with them.

2)      Show them how to respect their mother, so that they will know how to treat their wives.

3)      Show them how to respect their grandparents, so that they will understand how to respect you in the older years.

 

I pray that you have an amazing Father’s Day 

Men and their character flaws:

            I recently taught a series on “The Men of the Old Testament, and their issues like mine.”

            It is amazing to me how many people read the Old Testament and gloss over the men and women and only seek the spiritual ramifications within the stories. There are so many things, we can learn from men, like King David, Naaman the General with Leprosy, Noah, Lot, Daniel, Elisha, Elijah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and so many more.

            As I read the stories, I realized that I am no different from every man in scripture. As men, we have issues with anger, lying, cheating, blame-shifting, problems with authority, struggle to navigate fatherhood, relationships with women, and yes, even issues with God, and many more.

It appears that men today have come to view the “10 Commandments, as the 10 Suggestions.” Ironically, when we stand before God on judgment day, we will find God declaring that these are HIS personal expectations for us. And boy, have we messed up!

A pastor friend used to tell me all the time, “There are only two types of people in the world, those that need Jesus, and those that need more of Jesus.”  Which one are you?

            Three traits in the men throughout the Old Testament that I see active within the men of most churches today.

1)      I believe what God says, but I am not sure I am willing to do it His [God’s] way.

 

2)      I will call/cry [PRAY] out to God during the Crisis, but any other time God needs to stay in his lane and leave me alone.

 

3)      I will worship and learn in the temple [church] when it is convenient for me. Other than that, I have a life of my own to live.

As men, how can we change these thoughts? It is going to require us to step out of our comfort zone, and the four walls of the church building. I find it interesting in the Old Testament that God did not perform miracles, or prophets didn’t do their greatest teaching in the Temple. Men of God had their greatest impact on their family and community when they were engaging men in prayer, warfare, and study.

It was always about:

1)      Encountering men where they are, not where you want them to be.

 

2)      Engage them in a conversation about these men in the Old Testament. If they are like me, they can relate to King David’s messed-up family dynamics, Job’s grief, Daniel, being asked to eat things that are bad for him, or maybe they can relate to Elijah being outnumbered at work by people who don’t believe in his God.

 

3)      Encourage them to seek the real answers in the New Testament, introduce them to the Anointed One/Messiah talked about throughout the Old Testament, in the flesh dying for them on the Cross, and conquering death for them personally.