Climate Change: Real or Not Real?

As I reflect on today's topic I remember a scene in the Hunger Games movie "Mockingjay" where Peeta asks Katniss "Real or not real?" to help him sort out the truth.  We live in a world today where arriving at the truth seems almost impossible especially when looking at Climate Change, which leads me to raise the question: For Christians does it matter if it is real or not real?  Many in the evangelical world (my tribe) tend to side with the "not real" camp.  This I propose is a blunder on our part.  The real question that we should be asking is: Are we being wise stewards of this resource we call planet earth?  Do our practices work with God's designs or against it?  Do our practices fulfill the curse (Genesis 3:17-19) or limit its impact?  Too often, or should I say for the most part, we fight against the earth rather than working within the design of creation.  I cannot remember the exact setting, but when I was an undergraduate student studying forestry at UW - Stevens Point, one of my professors, Dr. Robert Miller, made a comment that the earth was very resilient and given enough time it could heal itself.  He went on to say the question for us as humans was if we would be around to see that happen.  The challenge that he was really putting out was if we would change our lifestyle to see that happen.  Again will we work with or against creation?

During my high school years, in central Wisconsin, I remember sitting in Agriculture class talking about soil loss to wind and water erosion.  I do not remember the exact number, but rather than the amount jolting us to ask if our farming practices were good or not we chose to rest in the fact that in Wisconsin we had a deep enough subsoil to grow crops on should all of the top soil disappear.  We did talk about things like no till farming, but driving from my southern Wisconsin home to Colorado earlier this month I think it is safe to say not much has changed since my high school days except maybe the size of the monocrop fields.  Rather than practices that build topsoil we continue to farm in ways that lead to erosion and soil degradation.  It does not matter if climate change is real or not what we are doing is not sustainable.

For Christians we should not be getting caught up or lost in the real or not real battle of climate change, but rather educating ourselves on how God designed earth to be regenerative.  Then we should ask are there ways to work with rather than against that design and then how can my lifestyle support that?

For those of us who grew up in a rural setting we tend to smile and laugh when we hear stories of kids from inner cities say that their food comes from the store not the farm, but my challenge to all of us is do we really know where the food we ate today came from?  Do we know how it was raised?  Do we know how many tons of chemicals had to be used to produce it?

The Harder family is on a journey to get most if not all of our food from sustainable/regenerative practices.  We have been on this journey for a while now and are starting to ramp up our efforts.  We have a long way to go and understand that it is not easy, but if we are going to live out our faith it is something that we must do.  I would encourage all of my fellow Christians to join us on this journey and avoid the trap of "real or not real."  Future generations need us to be better stewards.

The Desire for "Fair"

Text: Revelation 2:8-11

Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0Rc-0lIPs&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=0s


Intro:  As I prepared for this message I had to wrestle with the fact that I do not like this text....I do not like this letter to the church of Smyrna.  I did not have a problem with the letter to the church in Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7) b/c it was calling them out.  They were being warned of judgment that they deserved....they had lost their first love and they were being called back. The church in Ephesus was going to face trial and tribulation designed to bring them back to their first love.  But the church in Smyrna is one of two churches out of the seven that "did nothing wrong" and yet they are going to face trial and tribulation....I sat back and had to admit that I did not like the unfairness of this...and then I wondered if that isn't how some of us have felt in light of COVID?

Going on the words "the first and last" in the text are there to remind us that God is in control...and yet they are going to be thrown into tribulation even though God is in control.  Again, the question of fairness comes up...life isn't always the way we want it...the question of fairness seems to rise to the surface more often than not in our hearts. But the problem is that this is only true in the short term... not the long term.  In the long term we trust that God is able to and will set everything right.

Other questions that this message wrestles with are:

- Do we long for power?  I mean if Christians were in control.we would set things right....right?

- Do we long for riches?  If we had more money we would....tribulation, slander, poverty are called strengths in this text and yet we see them as tragedy?

- Suffering is bad right?

- Are we running to win or will we pull up short in the face of trials?

- Who was the first recorded Christian Martyr in Smyrna?   Polycarp.  Here is a short article on it.  https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/polycarp.html and the longer version https://onlinechristianlibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/The-Martyrdom-of-Polycarp.pdf

Why not take a listen to the message today and wrestle with how fair we want life to be?  Make sure you listen all the way to the end for the answer to that question.

Blessings,
PT

Familiarity breeds...

Text: Revelation 2:1 - 7

Link to message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51ViPOkS8PA&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=5s


Intro: While I was preparing for this message I had a phrase keep running through my mind.  I launched off with a finish the sentence:  Familiarity breeds ______________________

Some said "Familiarity breeds complacency"  I was thinking "Familiarity breeds contempt."  Either are applicable and I wonder if that is what was going on in the church at Ephesus.  They knew Jesus....they loved Jesus and yet at the time of the writing of Revelation they had fallen into a legalistic pursuit of knowledge or right doctrine and were falling short.  Their love had grown cold.

My wife and I celebrated our 23rd Wedding Anniversary the day I preached this message...if I brought home flowers for her and she said "Thanks they are beautiful" and I said it was my duty or it is what I am supposed to do...how do you think she would respond?  The church in Ephesus knew the right thing(s) to do, but the question becomes did they practice the right things.  If they did them simply because they were the right things to do their love would grow cold.

When you look at this passage you should note again where Jesus is in reference to the lamp stands and where the stars are.  We (the church) are the lamp stands...Jesus is in our midst.  There are times in the midst of trials, including this season of COVID, where it seems like God is far off and yet here we have a picture and an image of Jesus in the midst or middle of it.  Jesus is not far removed from our trials...the question and the challenge for us is "Do we believe this?" We would not pray if we did not believe that God was intimately concerned with our lives, but we also have to wrestle with are we living like Jesus is right here in our midst?  If Jesus were standing right here next to you in this moment would your actions be different? 

Revelation is a both a book or warning and a book of comfort.  Jesus is in our midst that should bring comfort and encouragement, but we also need to pay attention because he is in our midst and knows our actions.  He is both watching over us and watching us.  The text does not say "I heard of your works" but rather "I know your works."  Again, Jesus is so intimately involved in your life that he knows your works as well.  Which begs the question "What robbed them of their love for Christ and what robs you of yours?"  They knew the 2 Great Commands....we know them as well.  The question becomes "Is familiarity breeding contempt or complacency?" Do we presume upon the grace of God? We know that grace is not something we earn...it is not given to us based on our actions and yet because of the grace poured out into our lives he calls us to a higher path...to right behavior.  Does knowledge of all the right answers equal right faith?  Take a look at Matthew 25:31 - 46 and Luke 18:9 - 14.  It is easy to be a "fat head" and miss the mark.

Going with a marriage illustration think of a couple where one spouse professes to be always right and lives like it.  Will that marriage be healthy?  If Christ is truly at the center how would life be different?  Which leads us to verse 4 and the call to action or to Remember, Repent, Act.  Every marriage at some point hits low points and in those moments one must remember the love they had at first and move beyond to an even greater love.  Familiarity does not have to breed contempt or complacency but rather can breed intimacy if we allow it.  Familiarity and the intimacy that it can bring over time can lead to such a richer relationship than it was in the beginning...if we allow it.  Somehow the church in Ephesus got sideways and we can do the same thing in our relationship with Jesus.  This is where we need to remember, repent and act.

Another way to look at this is an illustration by Jeff Vanderstelt when he talks about Fruit to Root and leveraging the gospel to expose the roots that are producing bad fruit in your life so that you can repent and get back to a restored relationship with Jesus.  The church in Ephesus knew the right answers and yet the fruit that they were producing was not in line with a right relationship with God.

Jeff's 4 Questions:

1. What I do? (fruit) flows out of the answer to 2. Who Am I? which in turn flows out of 3. What Jesus/God has done? which flows out of 4.  Who God is? (root).  The actions or fruit in my life flows out of who I believe God to be or the god I am worshiping.  If I am producing bad fruit then I am worshiping an idol and need to remember, repent and act.

Is it more important to share the gospel or demonstrate love?  Or maybe it would be better to ask Can you separate the two?  In this COVID season maybe we should look under the hood of the church in the USA and analyze the response to things like Safe at Home orders.  Hearing stories of church members who think that the church should sue the government seems out of line with scripture to me.  In the same vain I would have a hard time lining up living in fear of COVID with scripture as well.  I think the biblical response is what I have called "compassionate reasonableness."  Take precautions out of respect for those around you who may be in living in fear....challenge those around you who want to sue the government as well. 

Another issue that we need to think through is "How does society define love?" verses "How does the church define love?"  Sadly many times there is not a difference even though there should be.  The church's response ought to look sacrificial or humble...it ought to look like Christ would have responded...yet for many of us our response looks more like how we would expect society to respond.  If right knowledge does not lead to right action it is a waste of time.

Jesus is calling the church at Ephesus (and us) to hear, obey, conquer and endure...as they do this they are demonstrating their belief.  Over and over hear and then obey is God's call to us...in the end live out your faith...a life of faith must be lived out...we are all works in progress...the point of the letter is not that if we stumble and fall or walk around like we know it all that we get thrown out, but rather God allows trials in our lives as opportunities to do fruit exploration...an opportunity to remember, repent and do a course correction.  When Heidi and I get sideways in our marriage it is an opportunity to say "What is going on here?" to stop and remember how far our marriage has come....how far God has carried us through and course correct and move forward. 

Even in a season of uncertainty when it seems that God is far off he is still in our midst. He is still bringing about what he wants to bring about if we let him. The letter to the church in Ephesus speaks volumes to today...written so many years ago and yet it still speaks volumes.

Additional scripture to look at: John 13:34, John 15:12 - 17, 1 John 2:9-10, 1 John 4:16 - 21, 1 Thess 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22-23.  That all point to the idea that faith is more than right knowledge but also right actions.  Lean on God and he will bring about the right fruit.  Jesus is present among us both watching over and watching us.  Let us celebrate this.  Let us also celebrate all the things we need to be thankful for...namely all the fruit that God has produced in an through each one of us.  It is easy when we walk through scripture to always keep pushing for that one more thing...let us not get lost in the busyness of life, but rather celebrate Christ at work among us.

Revelation 1:9 - 20

Text: Revelation 1:9 - 20

Sermon Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEY1w6a9LYY&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=1   (note: intro was missed)

Service with full message: https://www.facebook.com/faithbaptist.church.12/videos/1830827000387714

Discussion Question:  List 5 words that you would use to describe Jesus.

Verses 10 - 16 is a description of who Jesus is.

Long robe/Golden Sash   Daniel 10:5

White head and hair    Leviticus 19:32, Proverbs 20:29, Daniel 7:9  (Jesus possesses eternal wisdom and is the Ancient of Days

Blazing Eyes   Daniel 10:6   Jesus has divine insight and therefore has the ability to reward the faithful and punish the disobedient

Bronze Feet   Daniel 10:6, Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 60:19  represents Jesus Glory and the Glory of God.  Additionally it points to the strength of Jesus

Powerful voice  Ezekiel 1:24, Ezekiel 43:2  Re-enforces Jesus power and strength

Sword from his mouth  Isaiah 11:4, Isaiah 49:2  This equals words of truth and words of judgment

In light of John's vision of Jesus verse 17 provides his response  (worship) and Jesus comfort (Fear not).  There is no need to fear God if you are serving him.

Note the location of Jesus in the midst of the 7 lamp stands and the location of the 7 stars.  Lamp stands = the church, but we need to remember that is us not a building.  With that in mind we all are Jesus lamp stands, under his control, placed where he wants us.  The question is will we shine or compromise?  Will we suffer in community with Jesus?

Application: Have you ever felt abandoned by God?

How are diamonds made?  If I take a chunk of coal can I make a diamond?  Well if I can add enough pressure yes...how does God make diamonds out of us?  By allowing pressure in our lives.  But for diamonds to truly shine they need to reflect the light.

When Heidi and I went shopping for an engagement ring did they pull out a piece of white paper and lay the diamonds on that and say look at these beautiful diamonds?  No they laid them out on black velvet and shined a light on them.  When they did that those diamonds were dazzling.  It is the same with our lives....when God allows trials in our lives we have an opportunity to really shine his glory back to Him. 

In addition to that we have to wrestle with are we learning what God want us to learn in this season?  With the overturn of the safe at home order in WI I have been frustrated.  I have been frustrated b/c I do not want to rush through this season without learning and applying the lessons that I need to learn.  The slow down has been good for me and I do not want to rush back to a busy lifestyle again.  Take the time to sit down and say I believe this is who Jesus is and this is what he wants me to learn in this season.  Or take the time to say "This is what I am thankful for and list them out."

When my dad died a week before my 21st birthday it rocked my faith to its core.  I took the next 6 - 12 months to analyze what I really believed...may you leverage this season to understand and know who Jesus is, understand who you are and let his light and glory shine through you.

Learning the Lessons of Revelation in Season of COVID

Text: Revelation 1:1 - 8

Sermon Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBEfO0tlCGw&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=3&t=7s

Intro Question: What do you know or understand about the book of Revelation?

Warning: I do not take a read the newspaper headlines approach to interpreting the book of Revelation.  We need to understand when it was written, to whom it was written to keep it in context, garner the meaning and bring that meaning forward to today and apply.

What are ways that you are asked to compromise your faith?

Where does pressure to conform come in for you?

Where do we give in to society, family, sin?  How does fear come into play?

Setting the Stage:

Author:  The apostle John (same author as the Gospel of John)

Written around 90 AD

Emperor: Domitian

Not outright persecution, but pressure from the Imperial Cult and cultural pressure from places like Trade Guilds.  Think through all of the economic stimulus that comes from having an Imperial Cult and from the trade guilds.

Genre:  The book is both prophetic (book of warning) and apocalyptic (book of comfort/the Triune God is in control/you will rule with him)

Application:

Do you fear things of this world or God?

Do you take the short term or long term view?

Who is in Control?

Jesus or kings of the earth?  (Verses 5, 6, 8)

What do you do when it seems like God isn't in control?  (Blame, wait, trust, pray, complain)

Have we lost the plot? (Verse 6: Christians are part of God's Kingdom/Royalty...Priests on a Mission we are to be on mission with no compromise.  Courage at the crossroads or compromise?

As I shared earlier the book contains both warning and comfort.  Warning that we should be hearing and doing...Comfort that God's in control.

What if...?

In the midst of this pandemic, Noah and I, like many of you have been binge watching shows on Amazon.  One of our favorites is a show called Stinky and Dirty.  They solve problems by re-purposing garbage and asking "What if?" In last Sunday's sermon I asked several "What if" questions and wrestled with "How than shall we live?"  Here are the quick notes:

1.  What if this is the new normal?

Many of us have been trying to look back and get back to "normal," but as a recent NY Times article points out that looking to the S. Korean experience church services will not be returning to their past forms any time soon.  An example would be no singing of worship songs. 

How than shall we live?  We only need to look to John 13:34-35 for the answer.  Love.  If that is the case then we need to exhibit what I am calling "Compassionate, reasonable understanding."

Illustrations:

There are individuals living among us that are living in fear.  What is the loving thing to do?
Hint: Do not belittle them.

While our churches (FBC and Iglesia Fe) have not had any regular attenders be diagnosed with COVID.  Some have had extended family members (myself included) have pretty severe cases of COVID, but fortunately not die.  There are those living among us, however that have lost loved ones, including both parents within days of each other.  Again we need to ask "How should we then live?"
Hint: The loving thing and walk beside them.

2.  What if I am not learning what God wants me to out of this trial?

Hebrews 3 & 4 speaks to this.

The slow down has been good for me b/c I am resting more and not running at the pace I have been for years.  But last week I found myself reverting to old habits.  I do not want to fail to apply lessons that God is teaching me.

3.  What if this is the last days?

I do not believe the we are in the last days or the tribulation of the book of Revelation.  But this question is an important one and challenges us to think through the what if.

We should always live in Spiritual Preparedness.  With that in mind:

Ask yourself "Am I ready?"  Everyone needs to realize that what they do is not good enough we need a personal relationship with Jesus.

Make sure that your response to these times is Christian.  Ask yourself: "Am I trusting in my circumstances or God?  Leverage this time to search out idols in your life.

See Hebrews 13 for some insight into a Christian response.

Here is the link to the message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5vQYxL8iuk&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=2&t=737s

Blessings,
PT

April 19 Sermon Notes Letting God Be Just Enough

Title: Letting God Be Just Enough
Text: John 10:1 - 10
Message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVWIReZCnmE&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn&index=3&t=365s

(note we played a song up front so skip to 6:53 for start of message)

In this season it is easy to ask questions like:

- Why is God allowing this?
- If God is so loving why is there disease?

To answer those questions let me start by throwing one more out there:

- Why did or does God lead his people into the desert?

For the past several weeks we at Faith have been looking at what we can glean from the desert situations that God places us in.  This series is based on a series I preached through back in 2018 after returning from a deployment to the desert and on a series by Ray Vander Laan (RVL) titled Walking With God in the Desert.

In previous weeks we learned that God molds and shapes us in our desert moments and in those moments we learn to trust and depend on him as we see his protection and provision.  As RVL says "deserts are a place of danger and peril, but also protection and provision."  But that is if we have eyes to see.

In the shepherding world:

Pasture = Provision and Sheepfold = Protection....but how do shepherds lead their sheep?

Take a moment to read John 10:1 - 10

Main Point: God leads his people into desert moments to train us to hear and listen to him.

In essence to listen and respond to his word.

Here the message walks through and looks at John 10 and briefly Psalm 23

If you were to look at shepherding in Israel you would understand that the place that happens is not in pasture like we in the States are used to, but rather out in the wilderness where the pastures look like places where there isn't even and grass.  But the shepherd leads them along paths where they find just enough grass to live on.  They move from mouthful of grass to mouthful of grass as the shepherd talks to them and leads them.

Lesson Point: God's promises are for those who walk down paths of righteousness following the Shepherd.  You leave the path you leave the shepherd and his protection/provision.

Decision Point:

Follow God and depend on him or play the victim and blame God?

Challenge:  Control what you can control namely your reaction to the trial.

To do this ask yourself:  Do I have enough for right now?

RVL shares a story and a lesson he learned when a rabbi asked him:  Can you handle what is coming in 10 minutes?  How about tomorrow?

We do not know what is coming in tomorrow much less in 10 minutes. But we do know that God provides for and protects those who follow him.  However sometimes that is just enough for the moment.  The rabbi went on to share that"worry is dealing with tomorrows problems on today's pastures."  You see the shepherd provides just enough for right now and will provide just enough in 10 minutes and tomorrow as well.  Another example of this is how God provided just enough manna for today...those who gathered and tried to hoard for the next day woke up to find that it had spoiled.

Lesson Point:  God doesn't change so we know that he will be there providing around the next corner.  God is just enough if we will listen for, hear his voice and follow.

Decision Point:

In the beginning of John we see that Jesus is God's Word.  Is Jesus enough?

Challenge:  In the midst of this desert can you slow down enough to hear the voice of Jesus and will you follow?

Conclusion:  We have a golden opportunity in this season to slow down, listen and follow Jesus.  My prayer is that you and I do not squander this season with fear and worry, but rather embrace it and the lessons that it holds to draw us closer to God.

Blessings,
PT

Why am I feeling the way I do in the midst of the COVID Pandemic?

From time to time I sit back and observe people.  Under a Safe at Home order here in my state my closest subjects to watch or observe are my own family (although I have been in so many Zoom mtgs of late that I get to watch others as well).  It is interesting how people are responding to and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.  My family is no different.  Our seven year old son has moved his bed into Heidi's and my bedroom and declared "I am staying here until this is over."  Our sixteen year old son has launched out on an adventure and built a "home" in one of our maple trees out of pallets and blue tarps.  He moved his mattress and an electric heater out there and has been sleeping there for the last two weeks.  A simple scroll through Facebook and you will quickly discover all of the comfort food that many are turning to.  Others are lashing out in anger and we hear more and more about domestic violence, child and alcohol abuse.  The question that I want to take a look at today is "what is the root of this behavior?"  Would it surprise you if I said "Grief and Loss?"

In the midst of COVID-19 everyone is experiencing loss. Grief is the normal and natural reaction to loss and results in a variety of feelings.  We become sad, angry, and scared to name a few.  Sadly we have, over time, transitioned to a belief that we need to be happy all the time and try to suppress or bury these feelings.  This is unhealthy and in the midst of this season we need to allow ourselves to grieve. Unfortunately, we have been ill equipped to do this through six myths.  Take a look at these and see if have heard these or are buying into them:

Myth 1.  Don't feel bad.    (It would be easy to hear someone saying: "Don't feel bad you do not have it" or "Don't feel bad at least you have a job that you can work from home")

Myth 2.  Replace the loss.  ("Well at least you can find another job" or "Once this is over you can get more hugs from everyone")

Myth 3.  Grieve alone.  ("I can't be sad around my family so I have to go and hide in my room for a while")

Myth 4.  Be strong.  ("I am not going to live in fear so I do not have to wash my hands" or "I am not going to let this have control so I am going to....")

Myth 5.  Keep busy.  ("I will do all of these jobs around the house so I do not have to think about COVID")

Myth 6.  It just takes time.  ("Once this is over I can return back to normal")

When these myths do not work we turn to what the Grief Recovery Institute calls Short Term Energy Releasing Behaviors (STERBs) or coping mechanisms to deal with it.  The problem arises in that they are only effective in the short term and not a long term solution.  At worst these can become addictions in the long run or extra pounds.  A better approach is to realize what is going on and address it by releasing the emotions and talking about it with family and friends.  

To learn more:

- here is a link to my YouTube video on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQPhTclcj_w&list=PLYSdk4DAv_anFhxfY0u-bVYvh0vcgJIqn

- get the book The Grief Recovery Handbook by John James.

- visit the Grief Recovery Method's blog page: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/blog

As always feel free to message me with questions.

Blessings,

PT

Dec 13, 15 Sermon Links

Just a quick note to provide the links to last Sunday's sermon:

Title: Shaking Things Up?

Text: Mark 10:1-31

Links:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/334011-mark-10-1-31-dec-13-2015


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYcaF6E03AU

Blessings,
PT

Flashback Sermon

Hello Everyone,

Due to technical difficulties it is flashback sermon this week at FBC...we are rewinding to April, 2014 and my message overview of the book of Nehemiah...you can listen at:

http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/324132-lessons-from-nehemiah-apr-16-2014

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH6MmITbWjA

My you live by His Grace and for His Glory,
PT

Sermon title:  A Question of Faith

Text: Mark 8:10 - 26

Sermon links:

http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/317306-oct-18-2015-mark-8-10-26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk3AnFIaIzE

Quotes from The Pillar NT Commentary: The Gospel According to Mark by James Edwards

Discussion Questions:

- What is the leaven of the Pharisees?

OT Parallel:  The antagonism of Israelites to Moses in the wilderness (Ex. 33:5, Psalm 95:10-11, Deut. 32:18 - 21)

"The word asked = attempt to gain control of."  The Pharisees were in essence attempting to gain control of Jesus.

"The word test = obstacle/stumbling block."  The Pharisees were in essence not only attempting to control Jesus, but also trying to place a stumbling block in front of Him.  The use of this word also occurs in Mark with Satan's temptation of Jesus...

"Faith that depends on proof is not faith but veiled doubt...Faith, like love itself, cannot be proven; it can only be demonstrated by active trust and commitment."

- What mistake were the disciples making?

Their failure to comprehend can produce a hard heart.  They were in essence seeing, but not understanding, which predisposed their hearts to being hardened.

- Is Jesus _____________?  How do you fill in that blank?  I would encourage you to ask yourself if Jesus is enough.  "The disciples who have witnessed baskets full of bread doubt Jesus' sufficiency in the boat."

- Why did Jesus have to touch the blind man twice?

Basically I believe that God did this miracle this way so Mark could place it in his gospel here to foreshadow that the disciples faith would be healed.  They see and over time their understanding will become clearer.

Application Question:

- Where are your eyes of faith failing you?

There you have the rough outline please go and take a listen.

Blessings,
PT

Control? (Mark 5:21 - 43)

Text: Mark 5:21-43

Links:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/285634-mark-5-21-43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CGsYm5hksY

Main Point: Christians are to live by faith.

Intro Questions:
- T or F     Faith is a one time event?

Everyone quickly answers this "false" but we make our salvation a one time event and by default that makes faith a one time event...if we just express faith this one time and pray this prayer one time you won't have anything to worry about anymore and you can go back to doing whatever you want...over and over I challenge that line of thinking but it creeps into the church.  Faith is not a one time event.  The expression of faith should lead to action, transformation, new birth...should lead to an ever growing and expanding faith.  And yet I wonder if we allow the cares of this world to slip in and instead of ever growing and expanding it slowly becomes an ever diminishing/shrinking thing...which ties us back to the Parable of the Sower...faith needs to be an ever expanding vibrant part of our lives...faith is something that ought to control our lives...renewing us and refreshing us...

- What do you fear? Or what drives you emotions?  While it should be faith, the challenge is that for most of us if we are honest it doesn't.

The stories in today's text are here to challenge us to evaluate our lives and make certain that our faith is in Jesus and him alone...we are to live by faith in Jesus and him alone.  So often we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus in on our circumstances forgetting that Jesus is standing right there.  Our emotions rise and fall on our circumstances when our emotions should rise and fall on Jesus and our acceptance by him, his grace and mercy in our lives....we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus in on this world as if it is the be all end all...like this is the best we are going to have it...no my friends this is the worst we are going to have it..."Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relived...."

Give a listen to the sermon and then ask yourself:  "Where in my life does my circumstances control me?"

Blessings,
PT

Mark 2:1-12

Link: Mark 2:1-12

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyDqJTJ_9pI

As we look at New Testament letters the opening verses give you the themes that will be unpacked throughout the rest of the letter. Many weeks ago in my intro sermon to Mark I laid out 3 major themes that will be unpacked in the Gospel of Mark:

- Insiders vrs outsiders
- Jesus' Authority or Who is Jesus and where does His authority come from?
- Faith, not in what you know, but in Jesus

Last week four words that I used to sum up Mark 1 were: repent...believe....follow....serve. As a model for us to live out.  As we walk through the Gospel of Mark, if I am correct on those 3 themes and 4 words, what follows will support and re-enforce that. The first 12 verses of chapter 2 do just that.  In essence Mark is saying remember those themes that I spelled out over here I am now going to unpack them for you in this story.

As I dive into this message I asked two questions:

- How do you respond when things don't go  your way?
- How do you respond when Jesus doesn't act or respond the way you want Him to?

For many of us we respond in the same way to those two scenarios and if we are honest it's not real pretty.  In today's story I have to imagine that when Jesus first says, "Your sins are forgiven" the friends had to be going "What????"  As I walk through this message we'll look at how the themes play out in this story and what our response should be as we mature...

Take a listen.

Blessings,
PT

Mark 1:29-48

Text:  Mark 1:29-48

Link: Mark 1:29-48

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIJkODFeMXA

This message was one last walk through Mark chapter one.  I had a seminary professor who told the story of how Dr. Howard Hendricks had his class take a segment of Scripture and list out 50 observations from that passage.  They discussed it and then Dr. Hendricks gave them the same assignment again.  To a certain degree that is what we have done with Mark chapter one as well.  I gave an intro, then Pastor John came in and preached for me and then I came back and did one more walk by with this sermon as well.

So with that back drop take another look at Mark chapter one and ask yourself: "How would you some it up in 2-3 sentences or maybe 3-4 words.

The four words that I would use are: Repent....Believe....Follow....Serve.

Take a listen to the message and see how these four words provide not only an overview of Mark chapter one, but the whole book as well.

Blessings,
PT

Intro to the Gospel of Mark

Title: Intro to the Gospel of Mark

Text: 1:1-7

Link to message: Introduction to the Gospel of Mark

Link to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPeiKCw_njk

We live in a world that tries very hard to compress everything into short, little sound bites.  As we have moved from writing letters to emails to tweets, Facebooking and texts we have forgotten the art of letter writing.  The Gospel of Mark is in the end a letter and as such there are major themes that Mark is going to go over and re-enforce.  This message was designed to be a 10,000 to 20,000 foot flyby of Mark or a big picture view of the book, so we can lay out some of the major themes that will be unpacked as we walk through it.

Intro Questions:

- Who is Jesus and what did He do?
- What is a disciple and what do they do?

How do you answer that first question?  So often our answers drill back to "Jesus died on the cross and rose again" while that is key and extremely important if we drill in an focus on just that we miss an important message from the Gospel of Mark.  One of the major themes that Mark focuses in on is Jesus humanity and His modeling for us what it means to be human.  Jesus said "Follow me" in saying that he is inviting us to become what we were created to be...

How do you answer the second question?  The interesting thing is to walk through Mark and note the answer to those questions...As you walk through Mark ask yourself: who is "getting it" and who isn't? Who is on the inside and who is on the outside?

Give a listen to this message and the overview of Mark as we get ready to walk through this Gospel in the upcoming weeks and months.

The message contains multiple quotes from Pillar's The Gospel According to Mark by James R. Edwards.

Blessings,
PT

Keeping It Fresh

Title: Keeping It Fresh

Text: Psalm 98

Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/263444-keeping-it-fresh

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaGMssuMt-c

We recently celebrated the most important event in history...Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but what did you do the Monday following Easter?  For most of us we went back to work and slipped right back into the routine of the daily grind....What happened the next day? Over time every day kind of looks the same doesn't it?  In fact, I would bet that most if not all of us several weeks past Easter are going through the motions and haven't given Easter much thought.

What did the disciples do after seeing Jesus face to face?   At the end of the Gospel of John we see them doing what?  Fishing...they did what was familiar...they were waiting and in the midst of waiting they slipped back into the routine of the familiar...

Psalm 98 challenges us that our worship of God and our relationship with Him should remain fresh.  Our relationship with the living God is dynamic...what happened with the disciples when the Spirit was poured into them?  They couldn't keep quite...all who believe in Jesus have the Spirit poured into them and yet we remain silent...

Read through Psalm 98 and take a listen to this message on keeping our relationship with Jesus fresh...

Blessings,
PT

Hosanna: The Word, The Message

Title: Hosanna: The Word, The Message

Palm Sunday Message delivered by Guest Pastor John Mancusi

Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/259228-hosanna-the-word-the-message

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzPULy0Ab8L87dtGXZM6Mvg

As I shared yesterday I was out for several weeks and during that time FBC was blessed to have several guest preachers fill in for me.  On Palm Sunday, a friend of mine, Pastor John Mancusi, spoke on the story we know as the Palm Sunday narrative.  A huge "Thanks John" for expounding on Hosanna and challenging us to truly wait upon the Lord and His timing...

I love what John says about the Palm Sunday crowds: "They did what they could to make what they expected to happen, happen..."  Great line and so true of us today as well.  How often do we pray, seek God or expect God to respond in certain ways and then instead of waiting upon Him start doing whatever we can to make happen what we want to happen?  I don't know about you but that line of thinking has gotten me into trouble in the past and I try to avoid it now.

Give a listen to John as he shares about waiting upon the Lord.

Blessings,
PT

A Doubter's Diary

Title: A Doubter's Diary

Guest Preacher: Dr. Phil Sell, TEDS, Deerfield, IL

Text: Psalm 73

Link:

http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/257236-a-doubter-s-diary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE3gm505HwQ

Recently I spent several weeks away from FBC ministering in El Paso, TX and one of my seminary professors came up and delivered a message titled "A Doubter's Diary."  I want to say a huge "Thank You" to Dr. Sell for opening up the word and teaching on a topic that many Christians wrestle with (doubt), but hide or feel like they can't express.  Take a listen as Dr. Sell has great wisdom in dealing with doubt.

Blessings,
PT

The Eternal Essence of a Deep Relationship - Love

Text: 1 Corinthians 13

Link: The Eternal Essence of a Relationship - Love

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzPULy0Ab8L87dtGXZM6Mvg

Main Challenge: Love needs to be central to everything we do

Originally I was going to title this message: 50+ Shades of Love, because I believe that books/movies like 50 Shades of Grey demonstrate that world has a warped understanding of love and we in the church have allowed that warped understanding to creep into our understanding as well. Which leads me to my intro questions:

- Do we really understand love?
- How do you define it?

A good portion of my message is taken from the book Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, Jr.  In the book he sheds light on how fiction (myth) skews and impacts our understanding of love.  What follows is an outline from the book...I would encourage you to listen to the message and take your own notes.

The Cupid Myths

Myth 1: Love is a random force

Myth 2: Love is an overwhelming force

Myth 3: Love is an uncontrollable force

Myth 4: Love is a sensual force

The result of this understanding: Love does not translate

A Biblical understanding of Love:  "Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object."

The Biblical Model of Love is volitional

The Biblical Model of Love is transferable

The Biblical Model of Love is secure

The Biblical Model of Love satisfies

Application or So What?

"If you want to know whether or not someone truly loves God, watch what he or she does."

When individuals encounter Christians they should feel love, because we understand the Biblical Model of Love.  When we have a Biblical understanding of Love the so what will be easy...love should be the driving essence of everything we do...read 1 Corinthians 13...

Blessings,
PT

The Communication of a Deep Relationship w/God-- Prayer

Text: John 15:1-17

Link: Going Deep Through Prayer

Main Challenge: Effective Prayer arises out of a plugged in life.

Rate the following on a scale from 1 to 10

- How you relationship with God is?    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10
- How your prayer life is?                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

Effective prayer is in-line with or connected to God

- How do you define the following words?

   -  Know?

"Probably the best word for intimacy is the word 'know.' But this knowing goes much deeper than knowledge.  The Bible first uses this word to describe a relationship in Genesis 4:1. The Hebrew word here for "knew" is Yada. But some translations translate the word a little differently, because it puts it in the context of what's happening.  So your Bible probably says in Genesis 4:1: Adam lay with his wife Eve...You get the picture?  That is our context for Yada.  Now don't just giggle and brush past this.  This is not a 'yada, yada, yada' moment, okay?  This is a YADA moment between husband and wife.  It's this intimate connection on every level.  To know and to be known completely.  It's a beautiful picture that helps us get to know what it really means to know Christ.  There are other Hebrew words that could have been used to describe the sexual intimacy that is taking place.  These words for sex are used later in Scripture and refer to the physical act or even procreation.  But the word in Genesis 4 is Yada, the Hebrew word for 'know.'  Clearly when the Bible uses this word for 'know' it means much more that knowledge.  It describes the most intimate of connections.  One Hebrew scholar defines the word this way: 'A mingling of the souls.' That's more than knowledge, that's intimacy."
                                                                        From  Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

When we say that we "know" Christ it is not that we just know facts and figures about Christ, but that we know Him and are known by Him.  And the challenge for us is to cultivate our lives in such a way that we are getting to know Him better and more fully...He already knows everything about us, so its not about Him getting to know us, but rather us getting to know Him...when you understand "know"  in this way it takes on a whole knew meaning...its not that I just have 50 verses, 500 verses or all of Scripture memorized, but rather as I read it I hear Him speaking to me...he is comforting and guiding me...and He's taking me to that intimate place with Him...Why? So that I can abide in Him.

   - Abide?

Think through some of the synonyms that come to mind when you hear the word abide...

When you combine know and abide together there is the idea of an intimate connection that calls us to a deeper place in/with God and John 15 is painting a picture of what that looks like and the outcome of that is effective prayer.

Does John 15:7 say "Ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you?"  No, it says; "If you abide in me and my words abide in you then ask..."  Effective prayer is in-line with God's heart and that arises out of a relationship that knows God intimately and abides in Him.  Stop and think about the Lord's prayer...to many of us have changed it to be "Thy Kingdom come, my will be done..." We pull back at that thought, but how many of our prayers are just that?  If we know God deeply our prayer life will be asking for His Kingdom to come and be advanced here/now and for life here to look like it does in Heaven...not that I get that bright, new shiny object...

Effective prayer is constant and a two-way street.

If you are abiding in Christ there is a constant on going inter-change...that involves both speaking and listening.  If we are in a deep relationship with God we will be guided and carried along by the Spirit.  Too often we throw up our prayer requests and then we are off and running, but we need to be waiting and listening.  I confess that there have been times in my life where I have prayed for something for years and then when it looks like the answer has arrived I go with it...instead if I am abiding I should be praying and listening to verify that it is of God...all good communication is two-way.

Effective prayer utilizes Scripture

Effective prayer utilizes Scripture both in the listening and talking piece.  If what you are hearing does not line up with Scripture run the other way...if it does then go down that path...this is where "test the spirits" comes into play.  That is part of listening, but we also should be praying Scripture back to God as well.  That keeps your prayers in-line with God.  How often do your prayer line up with Scripture or does it line up with the desires of your flesh?

An effective use of John 15 would be to pray that you and others would abide in Christ and to know Him more fully...praying that we are speaking and demonstrating the love of Christ to those around us...pray in such a way that says God help me to love others as You love them...

Application

- Spend an extra ________ minutes reading the Bible and praying this week.