Back when I was in The Salvation Army, the old-timers would refer to prayer meetings as "knee drills". There was an understanding that success in the kingdom of God was not due to high attendance or big budgets, but the simple act of humbling ourselves in prayer.
As we look back on this past Sunday's sermon, and as we reflect on the things Pastor Benji shared, it seems that the knee drill is the key for being able to live out the exhortations given by the apostle Paul in Second Corinthians 5 and 6.
To end this week, here are a few paraphrases from Pastor Benji's sermon:
-From now on, we should not regard anyone from a worldly point of view;
-If we are to be God's people, we must see people through Jesus's eyes;
-There is a difference between "sketching the portrait of Jesus" and experiencing His power;
-God has made the first move in our road to reconciliation;
-There has to be a relationship in place for us to call God "Abba".
LORD, help us to diligently seek You in prayer, so that You might empower us to do the things that please You. Please give us Your love and compassion, so that people who see us will see You. Amen.
Showing posts with label Second Corinthians 5 and 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Second Corinthians 5 and 6. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Peace Meal.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God loved, God gave,
We believe, we live.
In this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Benji noted that Jesus became the peace offering for us, and part of the nature of an offering is that it must be consumed. To quote Pastor Benji, "God has made the first move in our road to reconciliation". It is He who made provision for us, long before we realized our need of it.
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that He made provision for us, then gave us the option to accept or refuse the offer. In love He does not force us to accept Him, but He desires that we make the choice to come to Him.
If you have not made the decision to say "yes" to God's great offer, why not do it now?
LORD God, I thank You for loving me and for demonstrating Your love by offering me eternal life through Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I admit that I have sinned. I am sorry for the wrongs I have done, and I repent. With Your help I renounce all the evil I used to do, and now I cling to You. I believe that You are the only One who can save me. I thank You for coming to the world to save me, and I ask You to come into my heart now. Please live inside me. Please help me to do the things that please You. Please help me to show Your love to everyone I meet. I thank You Lord, and I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
God loved, God gave,
We believe, we live.
In this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Benji noted that Jesus became the peace offering for us, and part of the nature of an offering is that it must be consumed. To quote Pastor Benji, "God has made the first move in our road to reconciliation". It is He who made provision for us, long before we realized our need of it.
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that He made provision for us, then gave us the option to accept or refuse the offer. In love He does not force us to accept Him, but He desires that we make the choice to come to Him.
If you have not made the decision to say "yes" to God's great offer, why not do it now?
LORD God, I thank You for loving me and for demonstrating Your love by offering me eternal life through Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I admit that I have sinned. I am sorry for the wrongs I have done, and I repent. With Your help I renounce all the evil I used to do, and now I cling to You. I believe that You are the only One who can save me. I thank You for coming to the world to save me, and I ask You to come into my heart now. Please live inside me. Please help me to do the things that please You. Please help me to show Your love to everyone I meet. I thank You Lord, and I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Missing The Son.
In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Benji made a reference to the time when Jesus was not accepted by the men and women of His community. These were those who had watched Him grow up, who knew His earthly family, and who could not reconcile their image of Him with the reality of His true status as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Anointed One.
How often do we do the same thing? How many of us identify the members of the pastoral staff as "Pastor" except for Pastor Richard Griffiths, who grew up at Bronx Bethany and who most people refer to as "Richie" with virtually no mention of his title? Or worse, how many of us identify Jesus as merely a good teacher and miracle worker, without granting Him His proper title? Is He our King? Is He our Ruler? Or is He just our spiritual convenience store, at our service 24 hours a day in case we get the urge to access His storehouse?
"Coming to His hometown, Jesus began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. 'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?' they asked. 'Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?' And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.' And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matthew 13:54-58)
It's an interesting thing to consider: when we miss the Son, we miss His benefits, even if we acknowledge His power. The question asked by Jesus's community was "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?": so they knew He was wise, and they knew He worked miracles, but they did not put their faith in Him- for them, seeing was not the same as believing, and they lost a wonderful opportunity to experience God in a profound and life-changing way.
LORD, help us to not just see Your works, but to believe!
How often do we do the same thing? How many of us identify the members of the pastoral staff as "Pastor" except for Pastor Richard Griffiths, who grew up at Bronx Bethany and who most people refer to as "Richie" with virtually no mention of his title? Or worse, how many of us identify Jesus as merely a good teacher and miracle worker, without granting Him His proper title? Is He our King? Is He our Ruler? Or is He just our spiritual convenience store, at our service 24 hours a day in case we get the urge to access His storehouse?
"Coming to His hometown, Jesus began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. 'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?' they asked. 'Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?' And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.' And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matthew 13:54-58)
It's an interesting thing to consider: when we miss the Son, we miss His benefits, even if we acknowledge His power. The question asked by Jesus's community was "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?": so they knew He was wise, and they knew He worked miracles, but they did not put their faith in Him- for them, seeing was not the same as believing, and they lost a wonderful opportunity to experience God in a profound and life-changing way.
LORD, help us to not just see Your works, but to believe!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Kissing The Son.
Hello Friends,
For the next few days we'll reflect on this past Sunday's sermon. Pastor Benji spoke on Second Corinthians 5:11 through 6:2. During the sermon he asked a question: How do we become intimate with Jesus?
Paul's letter to the Philippians gives us some clues as to how we can grow ever closer to the Lord Jesus: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death" (Philippians 3:10).
Are we interested in reading the word of God, praying, and worshipping Him?
Are we open to the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Are we ready and willing to suffer just as Christ has suffered for us?
You know, this is sort of like a marathon. The first component, knowing Christ, seems painless enough. The second, experiencing the power of His resurrection, might cause some people to shy away from getting to know Him better. And the third component, sharing in His sufferings, is the thing that many people will refuse to do.
What about you?
For the next few days we'll reflect on this past Sunday's sermon. Pastor Benji spoke on Second Corinthians 5:11 through 6:2. During the sermon he asked a question: How do we become intimate with Jesus?
Paul's letter to the Philippians gives us some clues as to how we can grow ever closer to the Lord Jesus: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death" (Philippians 3:10).
Are we interested in reading the word of God, praying, and worshipping Him?
Are we open to the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Are we ready and willing to suffer just as Christ has suffered for us?
You know, this is sort of like a marathon. The first component, knowing Christ, seems painless enough. The second, experiencing the power of His resurrection, might cause some people to shy away from getting to know Him better. And the third component, sharing in His sufferings, is the thing that many people will refuse to do.
What about you?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Excellence in Exposition
Some years ago in an article written by the great expository preacher Stephen Olford, he said that the challenge of preaching is not what to say, but what to leave out. There is so much in the word of God, and I believe that somewhere in the world there is still a church that enjoys three- and four-hour sermons. It reminds me of Paul's preaching in Troas, where Paul preached all night long and into the next morning (taking a break to resurrect Eutychus and to share a communion meal).
Expository preaching is often enhanced by the use of alliteration. This past Sunday's sermon incorporated a number of alliterations, as well as metaphors: to help us understand what was revealed in the scriptures, and to remind us that we are given opportunity to repent and live for God- particularly in light of the fact that each one of us will give an account before Him.
Pastor Sam asked some questions at the end of the sermon. There is much to consider, so I'll only mention the alliterative questions for today and we'll use tomorrow's blog to pick up on some of the metaphoric questions.
Are you really in Christ? "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (Second Corinthians 5:17). Being in Christ means that we no longer live for ourselves (5:15) and we no longer regard people from a wordly point of view (5:16).
Are you a representative of Christ? If I am representing someone, I am speaking on their behalf and of necessity will not promote my own agenda. Second Corinthians 6 encourages us not to be a stumbling block and not to discredit the ministry (6:3).
Are you a reflection of Christ? "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (First John 1:5). If we are reflecting Christ, then we cannot simultaneously be "mixed up" in things that are common to the dominion of darkness (Second Corinthians 6:14-17).
I hope that this is not merely an intellectual pleasantry for you, but that each of you will really pause to consider your standing in Christ. Time is short.
Expository preaching is often enhanced by the use of alliteration. This past Sunday's sermon incorporated a number of alliterations, as well as metaphors: to help us understand what was revealed in the scriptures, and to remind us that we are given opportunity to repent and live for God- particularly in light of the fact that each one of us will give an account before Him.
Pastor Sam asked some questions at the end of the sermon. There is much to consider, so I'll only mention the alliterative questions for today and we'll use tomorrow's blog to pick up on some of the metaphoric questions.
Are you really in Christ? "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (Second Corinthians 5:17). Being in Christ means that we no longer live for ourselves (5:15) and we no longer regard people from a wordly point of view (5:16).
Are you a representative of Christ? If I am representing someone, I am speaking on their behalf and of necessity will not promote my own agenda. Second Corinthians 6 encourages us not to be a stumbling block and not to discredit the ministry (6:3).
Are you a reflection of Christ? "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (First John 1:5). If we are reflecting Christ, then we cannot simultaneously be "mixed up" in things that are common to the dominion of darkness (Second Corinthians 6:14-17).
I hope that this is not merely an intellectual pleasantry for you, but that each of you will really pause to consider your standing in Christ. Time is short.