“Let Us Die”

May 24, 2012 |

I can’t imagine there are any other words that could be more heart breaking to Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, than “Let us die.”

Especially when it’s coming from a church!

Yup, you read that right. Members of a church actually said, “Let us die!”

The question becomes, how did this happen? I am totally disheartened by this attitude coming from churches. While others may not have said it outright, there are certainly a good number of them living this way.

Yes, we do have too many churches. But some of these churches which wish to be left to die are actually churches in areas where there is a huge opportunity to share the Gospel message. One church in particular is in a residential neighbourhood, absolutely full of small families and they are the only protestant church in the area. And they are more than satisfied with continuing with nothing more than Sunday morning services presided over by a part-time aging retired minister.

Heart… breaking…

No wonder people don’t want to have any kind of connection to the church if this is the public message we are giving.

When did we lose our passion? Why? How? What took it away?

I can’t believe I serve in a denomination where churches wish to die when so many people in our communities are looking for hope, joy, love, peace… the things that our great and wonderful Father, our God in heaven, is just waiting to pour out for all who come to know him.

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do…”

Let’s bring it back!

Let’s bring Christ back into our churches and have the Spirit move us to serve faithfully, sacrificially, with our whole being so the world may once again know how great is our God!

 

Followers of the Way: Barnabas

May 21, 2012 |

“Followers of The Way: Barnabas”
Acts 11:19-26

This will be our final Sunday of looking at individual leaders in the early church… that is until the Sunday school comes down in two weeks to tell us about another first hero of the church.

So to recap, we talked about Peter. The first disciple called by Jesus, and the first preacher who spoke in the streets, birthing the church following Jesus’ ascension to heaven. After he gave the first sermon, three thousand people joined the church.

Then we talked about Stephen. A deacon in the community in charge of the distribution of food and goods to those who came to the church. He too was passionate about Jesus Christ and spoke often about what it means to live a life of faith, and wasn’t afraid to speak out against how the world was forgetting the goodness of God and his commandments. This boldness cost him his life as he was stoned to death by those he spoke out against, namely the Jewish temple leaders.

Then we heard about Philip, another deacon appointed with Stephen who came to be known as Philip the evangelist. A man who, after Stephen was stoned to death, scattered as did the other leaders in the church to various cities and regions. In his travels, he met an Ethiopian who was traveling through Gaza and Philip spent some time with him and ended up baptizing him and sending a new believer back to Africa to launch the church there.

Which brings us to the man we’re looking at this morning. His name is Joseph Barnabas, a Jew from Cyprus who sold a large portion of land to support the church. read more…

Empty Promises – Review

May 17, 2012 |

I’m a fan of Pete Wilson. He’s comes across as a pretty down to earth guy in his preaching (you can catch him online at Cross Point Church) and on his blog and Twitter.

So when I had the chance to review his second book Empty Promises, it was quite easy to say “Yes!”

As with the rest of my experience with Pete, Empty Promises is a down to earth approach with something we all struggle with. We all struggle with idols. Whether it’s our self-image, power, acceptance, or another of the personal marks of success the world attempts to push on us, Pete deals with each of them in a real way, offering alternatives and support for those who struggle.

As I was reading through this book, many faces of people I know passed through my mind who might benefit from reading such a book. A book that offers hope that even in our struggles we are still God’s. We are still loved by something far greater than we can ever truly realize.

Do you find yourself chasing empty promises? Chasing things that don’t…. can’t… ever fulfill your needs in life? Then pick up Pete’s book. Let him help you realize there is something much greater offered to you.

“Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Thomas Nelson”.