Preaching Christ: The Gospel as Hermeneutical Key
The first important factor in reaching the modern American culture is to make Christ the central focus of every sermon. No matter what text the pastor is preaching from in the Bible, whether it is from the Old Testament or the New, the preacher must show how the text relates to the person or work of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the hermeneutical key. Dennis Johnson said it like this, “By referring to the Gospel as the hermeneutical key I mean that proper interpretation of any part of the Bible requires us to relate it to the person and work of Jesus. ” Everything in the Old Testaments shows the need for a Savior and points forward to the coming of Christ. Everything in the New Testament is looking at the life of Christ or looking back at it. Unbelievers need to be shown their need for the Gospel and how the Gospel answers that need while Christians need to continually be shown how to live life in light of the Gospel. Sidney Greidanus echos this idea in his book, “what both the unbeliever and the believer need to hear in preaching is the Gospel, with its implications for a life lived in confident gratitude in response to amazing grace. ” The unbeliever needs to hear of the mercy and grace of God even though they deserve wrath for sin. They deserve an eternity separated from a holy God because they are sinners but God motivated by His love but mainly for His glory gave us grace in sending His Son who died for our sins and rose from the grave on the third day. Unbelievers need to hear about God's love but do not give them only one side of the coin because you are cheating them out of the relationship with God that is filled with wonder, amazement, and gratitude towards God.
Christians need to be reminded that God calls them to be holy like Him and even though they stumble and fail along the way we should press into God and remember our position in Christ because of the Gospel. I love the illustration that Matt Chandler uses for Christians and sanctification. He says it is like a baby learning to walk and nobody tells the baby that just because it only took two steps and fail down that it failed in learning how to walk. No, we cheer and take pictures and tell all our friends that the baby walked. So why can't we celebrate that like babies learning how to walk, we as Christians are continually learning how to be like Christ in all things.
The Old Testament is full of God's law that pertain from dietary laws to how the ancient Israelites would have a relationship to Him. We find wonderful stories about how God made the world and everything in it. In the Old Testament, we see how sin entered the world and it destroys man's relationship to God. The New Testament is how God answers man's sin problem and still gets the glory due His name. “Nevertheless just as the chief teaching of the New Testament is really the proclamation of grace and peace through the forgiveness of sins in Christ, so the chief teaching of the Old Testament is really the teaching of laws, the showing up of sin, and the demanding of good. ” This is what people need to hear be proclaimed from the pulpits in America, not sermons on how to be healthy, wealthy and happy.
Another thing I believe preachers have failed to do is show people that the Bible and more specifically the Gospel, always require a response. Unbelievers and Christians should be playing tug-a-war in their minds with the sermon the entire service. The prophets in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament always required response from whoever they were engaging. I think about the rich young ruler as an example. He comes to Jesus with a question and Jesus answers him with what is required. The man faces a decision, a crossroads in his life. Is he willing to do what Jesus requires from him? Ultimately as we find out, he was not but Jesus still required a response one way or another from him.“A sermon may initially appeal to the intellect by giving statistics, then move to the deeper level of emotion by telling a story, and aim its conclusion at the spirit or will by direct appeal, pleading for a response to the Gospel. ” So the Gospel is the hermeneutical key to every text that a pastor preaches. The question that every pastor should be answering when examine any text in the Bible is how does this text relate to the person and work of Jesus Christ in either the redemption or sanctification of humanity for God's glory.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Preaching Theology pt. 1
Churches in America have been declining and plateauing for the past couple of decades. What is the problem? We still worship the same loving, all-powerful God and still preach from the same Bible. We had the Conservative Resurgence where recovered our seminaries and pulpits. We still have good preachers and pastors who genuinely love both God and the people they are trying so hard to serve. I do not think the problem is with people, churches, or even denominations. The problem lays in how we are teaching theology because that changes everything. People have to live life differently when they become followers of Christ. They have to look at things differently than they did before and the problem is that both believers and non-Christians are struggling with the theology behind Christianity. The problem is lost people do not want to hear about Christ because modern American culture is pluralistic and relativism. Christianity radically clashes with the worldviews that people have developed living in the United States. Millard Erickson notes some of these characteristics, “Characteristics of culture according to Erickson are egocentricity/anthropocentricity, the desire for immediate satisfaction, egotism/egoism, the idea of mastery of others, and materialism. ” The Bible contradicts these concepts with ideas like focusing on the eternal, humility, and taking care of the less fortunate.
Another problem is Christians do not want to hear about theology or doctrine because they think it is boring or does not apply to them. We have classes for parenting, finances, etc. but how many churches offer theology classes in their education programs on Wednesday nights or Sunday nights? We have made shallow Christians who are ill-equipped to deal with life when it gets hard or answer the tough questions from unbelievers so they shrink back from sharing their faith. I like the way Erickson compares how Christians are choosing which church to attend in modern America versus how they did it in the past. “The point is doctrinal beliefs were considered important in earlier generations. One did not make the choice of church primarily based on the basis of geographical proximity, beauty of building, or quality of program or preaching. ” Churches and pastors need to be teaching doctrine every time the church opens its doors, from the largest group to the 1 on 1 settings. Christians need to see that theology is not boring and that it changes everything.
So we must preach and teach the doctrines of the faith in order to reach the lost and to better equip the saints. Expository preachers get their messages from the Bible and talk about God, teaching people who Christ is and what He is like. Al Mohler says it like this, “preaching is therefore an inescapably theological act. ” If you are preaching verse by verse through the Bible and exegeting the text then you will have to explain the doctrines and the theology that is in the verses and passages as you preach. There is an unwavering faith that all ministers hold “the belief that God has spoken. ” If God has spoken then we must listen to what He has said about Himself and about our lives. If God has spoken then we must stand up in the pulpits week in and week out telling people not what they necessarily want to hear but what they need to hear to understand the Gospel and what it means for their lives, we need to get back to “thus saith the Lord.”
So this series of posts is about how to do just that. How to get back to preaching the Bible from beginning to end as God's grand redemptive story. A biblical theology of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. How to preach the Gospel from every passage in the Bible and how to preach doctrine expositionally. It is the only way to answer the problem that is facing our churches. It is how to help unbelievers come to see their need for Christ and how to show believer that doctrine is not boring but rather will change their entire lives.
Another problem is Christians do not want to hear about theology or doctrine because they think it is boring or does not apply to them. We have classes for parenting, finances, etc. but how many churches offer theology classes in their education programs on Wednesday nights or Sunday nights? We have made shallow Christians who are ill-equipped to deal with life when it gets hard or answer the tough questions from unbelievers so they shrink back from sharing their faith. I like the way Erickson compares how Christians are choosing which church to attend in modern America versus how they did it in the past. “The point is doctrinal beliefs were considered important in earlier generations. One did not make the choice of church primarily based on the basis of geographical proximity, beauty of building, or quality of program or preaching. ” Churches and pastors need to be teaching doctrine every time the church opens its doors, from the largest group to the 1 on 1 settings. Christians need to see that theology is not boring and that it changes everything.
So we must preach and teach the doctrines of the faith in order to reach the lost and to better equip the saints. Expository preachers get their messages from the Bible and talk about God, teaching people who Christ is and what He is like. Al Mohler says it like this, “preaching is therefore an inescapably theological act. ” If you are preaching verse by verse through the Bible and exegeting the text then you will have to explain the doctrines and the theology that is in the verses and passages as you preach. There is an unwavering faith that all ministers hold “the belief that God has spoken. ” If God has spoken then we must listen to what He has said about Himself and about our lives. If God has spoken then we must stand up in the pulpits week in and week out telling people not what they necessarily want to hear but what they need to hear to understand the Gospel and what it means for their lives, we need to get back to “thus saith the Lord.”
So this series of posts is about how to do just that. How to get back to preaching the Bible from beginning to end as God's grand redemptive story. A biblical theology of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. How to preach the Gospel from every passage in the Bible and how to preach doctrine expositionally. It is the only way to answer the problem that is facing our churches. It is how to help unbelievers come to see their need for Christ and how to show believer that doctrine is not boring but rather will change their entire lives.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Let's Be A Generation
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to change the world. I wanted to change how people looked at the world and related to one another. I wanted people to understand what real unconditional love looks like lived out on a day to day basis. I want to change the trajectory of people's lives based on what I say or teach or how I live.
So today I wanted to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks they might be willing to take it on...Let's Be A Generation that lives out God's high calling for our lives.
How can we do that, well there are several ways. First, let's be a generation that is known for loving God and loving others. You hear it over and over again from people who do not go to church and want nothing to with Christianity because the people who call themselves "Christians" are the biggest hypocrites and judgmental people that they have ever met. So I want to challenge you to show the world that real Christians are known for how much they love God and because we believe what John 3:16 says then we really love other people, NO MATTER WHAT! I want to be known as someone who loves people because I truly believe God loves people unconditionally. I know this is hard because of sin but remember God's grace and patience towards you when you mess up and how He pursues you even when you feel like you are beyond His reach. Let's Be a Generation that is remember for how we lived our lives in such a way that it was evident to anyone who looked at our lives that we loved God and we loved others.
Second, Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God in our marriages and how we do family. I do not believe in divorce and here is why. I believe I am suppose to represent God and His character in every way to my spouse. This means showing her grace, unconditional love, faithfulness, etc. So how can I trying to be like Christ ever walk away from her...the answer is I can't because God never walks away from us. So I believe this generation needs to live out the high calling of God for marriage. One thing that will be crucial to this is raising up a generation of men that are just that, men. Men that have character and work hard, who show up on time and stay late if need be. Men who make commitments and keep them. We need men pouring into younger men so that they will know how to be a husband and a father when their time comes. Finally, there is a new movement among evangelicals that I am super-excited about and that is adoption. We are hardly ever more like Christ than when we are giving a hope to the hopeless and being a father to the fatherless. I would like to see a generation that show the world God's love by loving children who have no one else to love them. David Platt's church in Birmingham, Alabama recently signed up to provide all the foster homes that the entire social services system needs in that town. Others are adopting kids from all over the world at a rapid pace and those who aren't adopting are still giving financially to the cause. I really hope in the next couple of years to adopt one or two children from around the world. Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God in the way we do marriage and family.
Finally, Let's Be a Generation that spends our money, our time, and our talent to change this world. My grandpa would always give money to people when they asked, it was weird like someone you just knew was not going to use the money for food or whatever they said they wanted money for but he gave it to them anyways. And when we asked him why he did it, he always had two answers. One was "well, it won't be on my conscience" and the other was "you can't take it with you when you go." It is the second answer that has changed my perspective of money the most. You can't take it with you when you go so why in the world are you trying to get as much of it as you can and keep it in a bank account for yourself? I am not against saving money for an emergency or having a cushion for unforeseen circumstances but there comes a point when enough is enough and you are just hoarding what God has given to you so that you could bless others. Use your money to make a difference in someone else's life because you can't take it with you when you go. The same goes with other things in your life. God gave you talents and time and other things in order that you could bless others with what God has given to you. How selfish would it be if I just keep my knowledge of the Scriptures, my theological education, and the ability to teach (well, lack of fear of public speaking) to myself. It wouldn't do me or anybody else any good to never use those things which God has given to me. Let's Be a Generation that changes this world however we can because God has given each of us unique resources and the opportunities to use those resources to bless others that only we have.
Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God because we live out what He has called us to do. Love God and love others, do marriage and family the right way, and to use our individual abilities and resources to change the lives of others. Let's Be that Generation.
So today I wanted to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks they might be willing to take it on...Let's Be A Generation that lives out God's high calling for our lives.
How can we do that, well there are several ways. First, let's be a generation that is known for loving God and loving others. You hear it over and over again from people who do not go to church and want nothing to with Christianity because the people who call themselves "Christians" are the biggest hypocrites and judgmental people that they have ever met. So I want to challenge you to show the world that real Christians are known for how much they love God and because we believe what John 3:16 says then we really love other people, NO MATTER WHAT! I want to be known as someone who loves people because I truly believe God loves people unconditionally. I know this is hard because of sin but remember God's grace and patience towards you when you mess up and how He pursues you even when you feel like you are beyond His reach. Let's Be a Generation that is remember for how we lived our lives in such a way that it was evident to anyone who looked at our lives that we loved God and we loved others.
Second, Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God in our marriages and how we do family. I do not believe in divorce and here is why. I believe I am suppose to represent God and His character in every way to my spouse. This means showing her grace, unconditional love, faithfulness, etc. So how can I trying to be like Christ ever walk away from her...the answer is I can't because God never walks away from us. So I believe this generation needs to live out the high calling of God for marriage. One thing that will be crucial to this is raising up a generation of men that are just that, men. Men that have character and work hard, who show up on time and stay late if need be. Men who make commitments and keep them. We need men pouring into younger men so that they will know how to be a husband and a father when their time comes. Finally, there is a new movement among evangelicals that I am super-excited about and that is adoption. We are hardly ever more like Christ than when we are giving a hope to the hopeless and being a father to the fatherless. I would like to see a generation that show the world God's love by loving children who have no one else to love them. David Platt's church in Birmingham, Alabama recently signed up to provide all the foster homes that the entire social services system needs in that town. Others are adopting kids from all over the world at a rapid pace and those who aren't adopting are still giving financially to the cause. I really hope in the next couple of years to adopt one or two children from around the world. Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God in the way we do marriage and family.
Finally, Let's Be a Generation that spends our money, our time, and our talent to change this world. My grandpa would always give money to people when they asked, it was weird like someone you just knew was not going to use the money for food or whatever they said they wanted money for but he gave it to them anyways. And when we asked him why he did it, he always had two answers. One was "well, it won't be on my conscience" and the other was "you can't take it with you when you go." It is the second answer that has changed my perspective of money the most. You can't take it with you when you go so why in the world are you trying to get as much of it as you can and keep it in a bank account for yourself? I am not against saving money for an emergency or having a cushion for unforeseen circumstances but there comes a point when enough is enough and you are just hoarding what God has given to you so that you could bless others. Use your money to make a difference in someone else's life because you can't take it with you when you go. The same goes with other things in your life. God gave you talents and time and other things in order that you could bless others with what God has given to you. How selfish would it be if I just keep my knowledge of the Scriptures, my theological education, and the ability to teach (well, lack of fear of public speaking) to myself. It wouldn't do me or anybody else any good to never use those things which God has given to me. Let's Be a Generation that changes this world however we can because God has given each of us unique resources and the opportunities to use those resources to bless others that only we have.
Let's Be a Generation that brings glory to God because we live out what He has called us to do. Love God and love others, do marriage and family the right way, and to use our individual abilities and resources to change the lives of others. Let's Be that Generation.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Dream Big or Stay Home
I once heard that if your dreams make people laugh only then are your dreams big enough for God. Your dreams ought to make a logical, rationale person laugh when you tell them because you should dream so big that only the hand of blessing and the sovereign work of God could possibly make your dream a reality. When you look through the Bible, this is what you see. God told Abraham when he was already an old man that he would become a father of a great nation. Abraham simple response was guess what…..A LAUGH!!! Abraham laughed but God gave that old man and his wife a son. Then Abraham followed God obediently and eventually through the generations, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. You see we serve a God who is sovereign and a God who is all-powerful. God does what He wants when He wants and not even unbelief or disobedience can stop Him. There are examples of this in Scripture too…..see Moses, Jonah, and Gideon but that is another topic for another day.
Another big dream was Nehemiah who is probably my favorite character in the Bible….other than Jesus of course!!! Nehemiah was the cup-bearer to the King Artaxerxes. God gave Nehemiah the dream or vision (I like this term better) to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem had been destroyed by the previous king so why would the current king let his trusted cup-bearer go and rebuild the walls of something they had just destroyed. Nehemiah prayed about his vision and God brought it to pass. The king allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and even gave him the supplies he would need to do the job. Can you make any argument against that being an example of the sovereignty of God? Most people would have laughed at the vision of Nehemiah but instead of laughing, Nehemiah prayed and planned so he was ready when God brought it to pass. Nehemiah stood strong in the face of all kinds of problems and enemies when he got to Jerusalem. The vision that God gave Nehemiah influenced every decision he made. If it furthered the dream then Nehemiah said yes, but if it hindered or side-tracked the dream then Nehemiah said no! Nehemiah had a dream and then he trusted God to make his dream a reality.
So what does all this have to do with me? Well…the answer is I don’t know. The reason I don’t know is because God has given each and every one their own hopes and dreams. My vision from God for my life and ministry is very different from yours. J.D. Greear who pastors The Summit Church has the vision to plant 1000 churches in the next 40 years. That’s right I said ONE THOUSAND churches planted. That means brand new, didn’t previously exist churches across the United States and throughout the world. Where are they going to get the money and people to do it? Well, I don’t know but I tell you what if there are a 1000 churches 40 years from now with some kind of association to The Summit Church in Durham, NC then nobody will accuse them of having little faith. They have a dream so big only an act of God could make it a reality. Maybe today your dreams are for the salvation of family members or your marriage to become what God has called it to be. Maybe your dreams include your job and your finances, starting a new business or getting out of debt. Ask God to give a dream for your life and to make it so big that you have to trust in Him because there is no way that you can do it by yourself. Maybe today, God can’t give you a dream because there is no relationship between the two of you. Christ died to restore that relationship if you would turn from your sins and place your trust for salvation and eternal life in Him. God loves you, He has a plan for you and He wants to use you to accomplish something great for His kingdom and His glory. Would you practice more faith in God today? Would you practice trusting Him alittle more? Dream so big it makes people laugh and if you do, I don’t think you will end up disappointed.
Another big dream was Nehemiah who is probably my favorite character in the Bible….other than Jesus of course!!! Nehemiah was the cup-bearer to the King Artaxerxes. God gave Nehemiah the dream or vision (I like this term better) to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem had been destroyed by the previous king so why would the current king let his trusted cup-bearer go and rebuild the walls of something they had just destroyed. Nehemiah prayed about his vision and God brought it to pass. The king allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and even gave him the supplies he would need to do the job. Can you make any argument against that being an example of the sovereignty of God? Most people would have laughed at the vision of Nehemiah but instead of laughing, Nehemiah prayed and planned so he was ready when God brought it to pass. Nehemiah stood strong in the face of all kinds of problems and enemies when he got to Jerusalem. The vision that God gave Nehemiah influenced every decision he made. If it furthered the dream then Nehemiah said yes, but if it hindered or side-tracked the dream then Nehemiah said no! Nehemiah had a dream and then he trusted God to make his dream a reality.
So what does all this have to do with me? Well…the answer is I don’t know. The reason I don’t know is because God has given each and every one their own hopes and dreams. My vision from God for my life and ministry is very different from yours. J.D. Greear who pastors The Summit Church has the vision to plant 1000 churches in the next 40 years. That’s right I said ONE THOUSAND churches planted. That means brand new, didn’t previously exist churches across the United States and throughout the world. Where are they going to get the money and people to do it? Well, I don’t know but I tell you what if there are a 1000 churches 40 years from now with some kind of association to The Summit Church in Durham, NC then nobody will accuse them of having little faith. They have a dream so big only an act of God could make it a reality. Maybe today your dreams are for the salvation of family members or your marriage to become what God has called it to be. Maybe your dreams include your job and your finances, starting a new business or getting out of debt. Ask God to give a dream for your life and to make it so big that you have to trust in Him because there is no way that you can do it by yourself. Maybe today, God can’t give you a dream because there is no relationship between the two of you. Christ died to restore that relationship if you would turn from your sins and place your trust for salvation and eternal life in Him. God loves you, He has a plan for you and He wants to use you to accomplish something great for His kingdom and His glory. Would you practice more faith in God today? Would you practice trusting Him alittle more? Dream so big it makes people laugh and if you do, I don’t think you will end up disappointed.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
My Testimony
I wanted to put my testimony out there online because I never have. My story is not radical or extremely cool but I think that it is probably more in line with what most people who actually come to faith in Christ. I grew up in the Catholic Church going each Sunday with my mom and grandma. I always knew there was a God but when I came to Bethesda Baptist Church for the first time with my friend Brandon Overcash, I learned that God loved me and wanted to have a personal relationship with me. The problem with having a relationship with God is that we can not because of sin. Sin by its definition is making something (either ourselves and something in our lives) other than God ultimate in our lives. Jesus Christ saves us from sin and restores our relationship with God because He died as our substitute on the cross so that if we repent from our sins and ask God for forgiveness then by God's grace through faith we will be saved.
I was saved when I was in middle school at Snowbird Camp with the youth under Jonge Tate. I knew that I needed Jesus Christ to save me from my sins and to be my Lord and Savior. At Bethesda in high school, Steve Brown began teaching me theology. When I began to understand who God was and what that meant for this life then I began to really be on fire and live for God. I went to college with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I continued going to church, serving the youth and starting a college Sunday School class at Gorman Baptist Church and spending time learning God’s word. I also became involved with Campus Crusade on Thursday nights at NC State and going to a guy’s bible study on Monday nights. One day, I felt like God had answered that question by placing a calling to ministry on my life.
He called me specifically to use my time, gifts, talents, and training to reach the next generation. Teaching and preaching God’s word impacts people and brings change in their lives so that is what I plan to spend the rest of my life doing. I have been doing ministry in some capacity at a local church or para-church organization to prepare for full-time ministry ever since that day halfway through freshman year of college. I currently teach or preach anywhere I am given the opportunity and prepare by going to school at Southeastern studying under some great men of God. The question I want to ask you today is has there ever been a time in your life where you realized your inadequacies, your short-comings, that you do tell lies and think bad thoughts, and have come to understand that when you stand before God at the end of your life that you won't measure up on your own? Has there ever been a moment when you confessed that you really need Jesus to be your Savior and Lord? If you have not, then I hope you will. That's my testimony, what's yours?
I was saved when I was in middle school at Snowbird Camp with the youth under Jonge Tate. I knew that I needed Jesus Christ to save me from my sins and to be my Lord and Savior. At Bethesda in high school, Steve Brown began teaching me theology. When I began to understand who God was and what that meant for this life then I began to really be on fire and live for God. I went to college with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I continued going to church, serving the youth and starting a college Sunday School class at Gorman Baptist Church and spending time learning God’s word. I also became involved with Campus Crusade on Thursday nights at NC State and going to a guy’s bible study on Monday nights. One day, I felt like God had answered that question by placing a calling to ministry on my life.
He called me specifically to use my time, gifts, talents, and training to reach the next generation. Teaching and preaching God’s word impacts people and brings change in their lives so that is what I plan to spend the rest of my life doing. I have been doing ministry in some capacity at a local church or para-church organization to prepare for full-time ministry ever since that day halfway through freshman year of college. I currently teach or preach anywhere I am given the opportunity and prepare by going to school at Southeastern studying under some great men of God. The question I want to ask you today is has there ever been a time in your life where you realized your inadequacies, your short-comings, that you do tell lies and think bad thoughts, and have come to understand that when you stand before God at the end of your life that you won't measure up on your own? Has there ever been a moment when you confessed that you really need Jesus to be your Savior and Lord? If you have not, then I hope you will. That's my testimony, what's yours?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Choose Wisely
The topic of today's post is youth curriculum. I think two things are important when it comes to this topic. The first is choosing what to teach the kids, choosing the actual curriculum but perhaps more importantly is what I like to call the curriculum map. With kids learning subjects in school ranging from calculus and geometry to chemistry and computer science. I believe it is well past time to adjust our student ministries curriculum to challenge our students on what they believe and why they believe it. They are longing for the truth that can be applied to their lives and they are being pushed in school to achieve great things academically so why not challenge them at church by teaching things like theology and apologetics. When it comes to choosing curriculum there are lots of good ones to choose from. The Fuel Series by Lifeway would take a couple years to complete. Also there is LXVI and Explore the Bible by Lifeway. InQuest ministries also provides a number of studies. Then there is Student Life which offers six awesome studies for students and the Reverb series in particular has been recommended to me more than once. NavPress would be the other resource that I would look at to disciple students.
Choosing what students will study week in and week out is important but the best way to do it, I would argue is to develop a curriculum map that shows what your students will be studying from the time they enter student ministry in 6th grade until they graduate from high school. The concept was shown to me by Matt Lawson at FBC Woodstock and you can find his curriculum map at:
http://revolutionspeaks.wordpress.com/resources/
The curriculum map covers books of the Bible and topics like Spiritual Disciplines or World Religions. The map should also be evaluated and changed to best fit the needs of your students but the age old proverb says, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail." Know what your going to study and why, then develop a plan and get to work. God Bless!
Choosing what students will study week in and week out is important but the best way to do it, I would argue is to develop a curriculum map that shows what your students will be studying from the time they enter student ministry in 6th grade until they graduate from high school. The concept was shown to me by Matt Lawson at FBC Woodstock and you can find his curriculum map at:
http://revolutionspeaks.wordpress.com/resources/
The curriculum map covers books of the Bible and topics like Spiritual Disciplines or World Religions. The map should also be evaluated and changed to best fit the needs of your students but the age old proverb says, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail." Know what your going to study and why, then develop a plan and get to work. God Bless!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Less is More (Youth Mission Trips and D-Nows)
In youth ministry, less is more. That is a concept that is foreign to most youth pastors and others in student ministry. They argue that we need events, lock-ins, games, etc to attract students and then give them the Gospel while they are there. I want to remind you today that the Gospel is enough and there is a generation of young people hungry for the truth. Students today are finding things to be passionate about and they are excelling in the things they are passionate about, so imagine an entire generation that is passionate about the Gospel. Thus, less is more. Less games, less gimmicks, less giveaways, and for heaven's sake less pizza. The young people in our churches can handle the deep truths about God and about themselves. So let's give them the truth of God's word, line by line and paragraph by paragraph, then turn them loose to change the world. I want to propose this idea to you today. Stop having events for your youth at your church so they have to go out and be apart of the world for the purpose of changing it for God's glory. Stop filling up your students' social calendars so that they can hide from the world and make them go be with lost people. How does all this pertain to the topic of mission trips and Dnows?
There should be 3 big event on your youth calendar every year. A week-long summer camp, a mission trip, and a retreat/Dnow type event. Any other event on your youth calendar should be designed for the purpose of outreach and not to simply fill up the students' social lives. You should make it a goal in youth ministry that every student goes on a mission trip. The older ones (juniors and seniors) should go on an international mission trip before they graduate from high school and the young ones (7th-10th graders) should be going on mission trips in the United States. You want to change a student's perspective on life and God then take them to the mission field and let them see and experience God in a different context than their local church. It will change their lives and probably change your church. Secondly is Dnow events. I want to challenge you to push your students to dive into and chew on more of God's word during your weekend events. Then instead of playing games or whatever during the free time push them with service projects or even street evangelism. Stop expecting so little from your students and stop expecting God to only change their lives one, little bit at a time. Be bold in your teaching and praying, ask God for the impossible for your students. Push them, challenge them, love them and then unleash them on the world. You will be shocked with the results and God will get all the glory.
There should be 3 big event on your youth calendar every year. A week-long summer camp, a mission trip, and a retreat/Dnow type event. Any other event on your youth calendar should be designed for the purpose of outreach and not to simply fill up the students' social lives. You should make it a goal in youth ministry that every student goes on a mission trip. The older ones (juniors and seniors) should go on an international mission trip before they graduate from high school and the young ones (7th-10th graders) should be going on mission trips in the United States. You want to change a student's perspective on life and God then take them to the mission field and let them see and experience God in a different context than their local church. It will change their lives and probably change your church. Secondly is Dnow events. I want to challenge you to push your students to dive into and chew on more of God's word during your weekend events. Then instead of playing games or whatever during the free time push them with service projects or even street evangelism. Stop expecting so little from your students and stop expecting God to only change their lives one, little bit at a time. Be bold in your teaching and praying, ask God for the impossible for your students. Push them, challenge them, love them and then unleash them on the world. You will be shocked with the results and God will get all the glory.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Other things I have written and What's to come
Check out some of the other blogs I have written on Facebook...here is the link
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=11808785
AND here is a couple topics on what is to come....feel free to comment or post an idea about something to write
1) using mission trips and Dnows, etc
2) curriculum planning in youth ministry
3) young men in Christian culture
4) theology of halloween and santa claus
PS....i am currently working on putting up my preaching videos on the Vimeo website and we'll add a link as soon as those are available
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=11808785
AND here is a couple topics on what is to come....feel free to comment or post an idea about something to write
1) using mission trips and Dnows, etc
2) curriculum planning in youth ministry
3) young men in Christian culture
4) theology of halloween and santa claus
PS....i am currently working on putting up my preaching videos on the Vimeo website and we'll add a link as soon as those are available
Friday, August 13, 2010
What I'm reading
I believe reading is invaluable to growth, both personally and spiritually. Obviously we should start with the Bible because it is God's revelation of Himself to us. In order to get to know Him better, we should be spending quality time with Him on a regular basis. We should read good books and then apply them to our lives. So I simply wanted to share with you what I am reading currently and maybe offer some other great books in specific areas.
I am currently reading....
1. Valley of Vision
- This is a great daily devotional that is made up of Puritan prayers of all kinds. I simply read a page or two a day and work my way through the book over a period of time. It offers valuable nuggets of truth about God and our relationship to Him. I really recommend this book to anyone looking for a book to supplement their quiet times.
2. Christian Atheist
- A book written by pastor Craig Groeschel for those who are Christians but are struggling with certain areas of their lives. Each chapter covers a different topic. For example, "When you believe in God, but are ashamed of your past." or "When you believe in God, but not in prayer." This is a super-practical book, one of the most applicable to the life of any Christian that I have read in a long time. THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE A SERMON SERIES IN THE FUTURE!
3. Leaders Who Last
- As a young leader, I am always looking for ways to become a better leader by studying great leaders and reading leadership books. I believe a church or ministry can only be as good as its leadership. So far in this book, I have learned that great leaders need to have a God-given purpose, they need to pursue that purpose with passion, they need to set priorities in order to accomplish their purpose, and they need to set a pace so they avoid both extremes of burn-out and laziness. If you are a pastor, business owner, Sunday school teacher, etc then you need to read this book on leadership.
4. Radical
- As personally challenging as any book I have ever read. Pastor David Platt challenges readers to live radically for the Gospel. He presents a five-fold "Radical Experiment" 1) Read through the entire Word, 2) Pray for the entire World, 3) Give sacrificially to something, 4) spend 2% of your time in the next year in a context different from your own, and 5) make disciples. This is going to be a difficult challenge but by sticking to it day by day one that I believe anyone who is willing to take on the "Radical Experience" can do. Read this book and challenge yourself.
5. Adopted For Life
- I have always thought adoption was cool but maybe not for me. Then over the past year or so, God has really been working on my heart calling me to adopt in the future so I decided to read Dr. Moore's book on adoption and his own story of adopting boys. This book confirmed God's call to adopt and gave valuable insight to both the process of adoption and the emotions. Adoption is not for everyone but have you at least prayed about how God could use you to change the lives of orphans.
6. Words From the Fire
- I decided I wanted to read a book about the Ten Commandments and I am so glad I did because the Ten Commandments are so much more than just rules from God. I think many Christians have such a misguided view of the Ten Commandments and why God gave us them. This book was so helpful in providing clarity in this area for me and I foresee it being a sermon series also.
So there it is, a list of just a few of the books that I am reading or have just finished in the past month. I encourage you to pick one of the books off this list or if you find another book that would be beneficial to your walk with God then by all means read that one. I will do another post on one or two books that are helpful in specific topics or areas. Be blessed and serve God.
I am currently reading....
1. Valley of Vision
- This is a great daily devotional that is made up of Puritan prayers of all kinds. I simply read a page or two a day and work my way through the book over a period of time. It offers valuable nuggets of truth about God and our relationship to Him. I really recommend this book to anyone looking for a book to supplement their quiet times.
2. Christian Atheist
- A book written by pastor Craig Groeschel for those who are Christians but are struggling with certain areas of their lives. Each chapter covers a different topic. For example, "When you believe in God, but are ashamed of your past." or "When you believe in God, but not in prayer." This is a super-practical book, one of the most applicable to the life of any Christian that I have read in a long time. THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE A SERMON SERIES IN THE FUTURE!
3. Leaders Who Last
- As a young leader, I am always looking for ways to become a better leader by studying great leaders and reading leadership books. I believe a church or ministry can only be as good as its leadership. So far in this book, I have learned that great leaders need to have a God-given purpose, they need to pursue that purpose with passion, they need to set priorities in order to accomplish their purpose, and they need to set a pace so they avoid both extremes of burn-out and laziness. If you are a pastor, business owner, Sunday school teacher, etc then you need to read this book on leadership.
4. Radical
- As personally challenging as any book I have ever read. Pastor David Platt challenges readers to live radically for the Gospel. He presents a five-fold "Radical Experiment" 1) Read through the entire Word, 2) Pray for the entire World, 3) Give sacrificially to something, 4) spend 2% of your time in the next year in a context different from your own, and 5) make disciples. This is going to be a difficult challenge but by sticking to it day by day one that I believe anyone who is willing to take on the "Radical Experience" can do. Read this book and challenge yourself.
5. Adopted For Life
- I have always thought adoption was cool but maybe not for me. Then over the past year or so, God has really been working on my heart calling me to adopt in the future so I decided to read Dr. Moore's book on adoption and his own story of adopting boys. This book confirmed God's call to adopt and gave valuable insight to both the process of adoption and the emotions. Adoption is not for everyone but have you at least prayed about how God could use you to change the lives of orphans.
6. Words From the Fire
- I decided I wanted to read a book about the Ten Commandments and I am so glad I did because the Ten Commandments are so much more than just rules from God. I think many Christians have such a misguided view of the Ten Commandments and why God gave us them. This book was so helpful in providing clarity in this area for me and I foresee it being a sermon series also.
So there it is, a list of just a few of the books that I am reading or have just finished in the past month. I encourage you to pick one of the books off this list or if you find another book that would be beneficial to your walk with God then by all means read that one. I will do another post on one or two books that are helpful in specific topics or areas. Be blessed and serve God.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Change is Coming to America
During his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama ran under the theme of "change." He said he was going to change the way things were done in the White House and in Washington D.C. but I want to tell you today that your hope for change shouldn't be in the government or anything else. If your waiting on something to change your life then your going to be waiting a while and probably disappointed. Your hope for real change is Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away and all things have become new." So if you are in Christ you are changed, you are different now than you were in the past. Old things in our life are gone, who you were and what you did are gone. You're a new creation in Christ and trying to live your life to bring glory to Him and point others to Him. So now people who look on your life, your marriage, etc see change because of Christ. Jesus brings real change to people who come to a saving faith in Him. So we should do what Matthew 5 says and be salt and light to the world. Left here by God to influence the world, bring change to it, "flavor" it so to speak, and we should push back the darkness in people's lives by living like Christ. Quit placing your hope for change in making more money or a bigger house or nicer stuff. Quit placing your hope for change in a better job, the latest diet trend, or by changing your circumstances. Change is coming to America, change is coming to your life and its not coming from a new president, or a government or anywhere else. It comes when people have their hearts changed by God and then they start being the Godly change that they want to see in the world.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Be Imitators of me just as I also am of Christ
this is a repost of a note that I wrote on Facebook almost a year ago but it fits in with the theme of Being the Change.....
I often wonder and pray that God will help me to better show Christ to others through the way I live and I know on many occasions I have messed up both in word and in deed but when the apostle Paul told the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to "imitate me just as I also am of Christ" Paul is not saying "hey, you need to be me more like me because I am perfect." No, he is saying you need to be like Christ and live your life in such a way that others see the Gospel of Christ in you. When others look at you do they see an arrogant, unforgiving, angry, judgmental religious person who just happens to go to church and call themselves a Christian or do they see someone who is a reflection of the humility, grace, and love that is the person of Jesus Christ. I want people who see my ministry, who see my marriage, who see my parenting, and even those who just happen to have an encounter with me around town know that I am a Christian and are never turned off to God or the church because of something I say or do. Too often Christians are the very reason that lost people want nothing to do with God or the church because of the way we call out groups of people who are unlike us or because we act like God loves us more because we happen to be obedient to Him SOME OF THE TIME.
Steven Furtick, one of my favorite preachers to listen, made a good point the other day about judgment and grace in the church. I think we have it backwards because we tend to judge people outside the church and condemn them for their sin but we turn around and offer grace to Christians who should know better when they sin. Furtick used the example that homosexuals are one of the favorite targets of the church to condemn but we give grace to the "Christians" at church who are sleeping with each other and in reality we should call both sin and call for repentance but offer grace to the lost homosexuals and judge the Christian who is claiming to be a follower of Christ but acting contrary to what he says he believes. We should offer grace to the lost instead of judgment since they are just acting like what they are...LOST but instead we let the "Christian" guy slip by because he comes to church and claims the name of Christ and continue ranting and raving about how all homosexuals are going to hell. Show the love of Christ to a lost and dying world or tell of how God offers mercy and grace because of what Christ has done. Live your life today in such a way that you lead others to the foot of the cross and do not claim the name of Christ if you are not going to be like Him.
Remember one thing, all of us have messed up sometime in the past and will probably mess up in the future but God's love covers a multitude of sins and never let a past failure hinder your relationship with God because Christ died for all sins past, present, and future. The goal of life on Earth is to become the most like Christ that we possibly can. I pray that God keeps me close to Him and keeps me clean from anything that can harm my life or ministry and I pray that at the end of me life I can repeat the words of the apostle Paul, "be imitators of me just as I also am of Christ.
I often wonder and pray that God will help me to better show Christ to others through the way I live and I know on many occasions I have messed up both in word and in deed but when the apostle Paul told the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to "imitate me just as I also am of Christ" Paul is not saying "hey, you need to be me more like me because I am perfect." No, he is saying you need to be like Christ and live your life in such a way that others see the Gospel of Christ in you. When others look at you do they see an arrogant, unforgiving, angry, judgmental religious person who just happens to go to church and call themselves a Christian or do they see someone who is a reflection of the humility, grace, and love that is the person of Jesus Christ. I want people who see my ministry, who see my marriage, who see my parenting, and even those who just happen to have an encounter with me around town know that I am a Christian and are never turned off to God or the church because of something I say or do. Too often Christians are the very reason that lost people want nothing to do with God or the church because of the way we call out groups of people who are unlike us or because we act like God loves us more because we happen to be obedient to Him SOME OF THE TIME.
Steven Furtick, one of my favorite preachers to listen, made a good point the other day about judgment and grace in the church. I think we have it backwards because we tend to judge people outside the church and condemn them for their sin but we turn around and offer grace to Christians who should know better when they sin. Furtick used the example that homosexuals are one of the favorite targets of the church to condemn but we give grace to the "Christians" at church who are sleeping with each other and in reality we should call both sin and call for repentance but offer grace to the lost homosexuals and judge the Christian who is claiming to be a follower of Christ but acting contrary to what he says he believes. We should offer grace to the lost instead of judgment since they are just acting like what they are...LOST but instead we let the "Christian" guy slip by because he comes to church and claims the name of Christ and continue ranting and raving about how all homosexuals are going to hell. Show the love of Christ to a lost and dying world or tell of how God offers mercy and grace because of what Christ has done. Live your life today in such a way that you lead others to the foot of the cross and do not claim the name of Christ if you are not going to be like Him.
Remember one thing, all of us have messed up sometime in the past and will probably mess up in the future but God's love covers a multitude of sins and never let a past failure hinder your relationship with God because Christ died for all sins past, present, and future. The goal of life on Earth is to become the most like Christ that we possibly can. I pray that God keeps me close to Him and keeps me clean from anything that can harm my life or ministry and I pray that at the end of me life I can repeat the words of the apostle Paul, "be imitators of me just as I also am of Christ.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
My Life's Purpose
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
My desire is to see the world be changed by coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To accomplish this I plan to spend my life trying to be like Christ in everything I think, say or do. There are a couple of things that I want to share with you that I want to spend my life doing so that I can make a lasting difference in this world. I am passionate about preaching the Gospel, adoption, and giving to under-privileged people. Let me tell you a little bit about each one and how I became passionate about it.
First is the Gospel. I grew up going to Catholic Church with my mom and grandma so I have always known that God was real. The thing I did not know is that the God who created everything wants a personal relationship with me. There is one problem though, I am a sinner and my sin offends a holy and perfect God. Everybody has thought, said, or done something that is contrary to God, we are rebels. Everybody has also made something other than God ultimate in their life be it themselves, a relationship, money, a job, etc. This is the definition of sin and it is that sin that separates us from God. The Gospel aka "Good News" is that God has taken care of the problem. Jesus Christ who is fully God wrapped in flesh lived a sinless life and died a substitutionary death in our place on the cross to make atonement for all sins (past, present, or future). That means Jesus Christ took on death for us in our place so that the payment for sin could be made and if we repent from our sins and place our faith in Christ as our only hope then we will get to spend all eternity with Him in heaven. That's the Gospel and I plan to spend my life and make my living preaching the Gospel to anyone who will listen. The Gospel has changed my entire life, it changed how I look at the world and the people in it. My passion for the Gospel has influence the next thing I am passionate about which is adoption.
Adoption is a big sacrifice and it is not for everybody, but here is what I know that there are millions of children in the United States and across the world who could use some love, a good meal, an education, a roof over their head, and a shot at a decent life. I always thought adoption was cool but never did think it was for me but let me tell you two things that changed my opinion. The first is a book, Adopted for Life by Russell Moore. The book talks about his personal experience adopting and how God has adopted us into His family because of Jesus Christ. It is a great, great book (easily in the top 5 I have ever read) and it just changed how I looked at adoption. The second thing that confirmed my passion for adoption is two kids that I like to refer to as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Kurt and Makaila Cassamajor are beautiful people considering every thing they have been thorough in their short lives. They are energetic, smart, athletic, and love both life and Jesus. I love Kurt and Makaila like they are my own and it just confirmed in my heart that I want more kids to love who are not necessarily mine biologically. I plan on adopting two kids as soon as I can afford to financially and raise them as if they were my own. I am thankful for those considering adoption and for organization that help further adoption.
The last thing I am passionate about it giving to and serving underprivileged people across the world. Millions and perhaps billions of people in the world live on less money per day than I spend on fries at lunch. Yes, living off less money per day than one cup of Starbucks. Millions are dying from starvation, communicable disease, and lack of clean water. I read a book titled Radical by one of my favorite pastors, David Platt. He talked about these people and compared them to Americans who live in luxury with our 2,000 sq. ft houses, cars, and numerous other things that are certainly not necessities in life. I want to live a life where I sacrificially spend my time and money to help these people. There are all kinds of organizations that drill wells for water, have free medical clinics or build schools for the underprivileged in under-developed countries. I want to live my life in such a way that I bring glory to God and find joy in helping people who are not as fortunate as I am.
I am passionate about the Gospel, adoption and sacrificially serving the underprivileged. I hope anyone who looks at my life will see these passions. I want to "Be The Change" that I want to see in this world. I want hope Be The Change Ministries will be an overflow of my heart and help others become passionate about things that bring glory to God.
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