Jun 30, 2011 
A link to a great video performance of “People Get Ready” with Jeff Beck and Sting – thanks to Ray Ortlund for posting it on his site.
worshipping God, building up His church, reaching the world
Browsing the blog archives for June, 2011
No Comments I am preaching through Proverbs this summer, more of a topical series than chapter-and-verse. We start on June 26 with Wisdom – the source, satisfaction, safety, summons and Savior.
It may seem like these verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 are the ramblings on of Paul, but I see in them some connections centered on the theme, “how to live in church community” -
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
respect the pastor, respect the elders, love them, let peace reign among you for their sakes
14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
discipline, correction, encouragement, help, patience, forgiveness, and doing good are all necessary parts of “loving one another” in the body
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.
important role of the Spirit’s work in rejoicing, praying, giving thanks as a church
20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
important roles of preaching and personal reading and studying, this is similar to what John wrote in his letters
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
the work of God in the body, to sanctify and bring peace and make holy – the return of the Lord is our hope and what the bride of Christ prays for and lives for
25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
importance of prayer for the church and fellowship with them
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
the public reading and preaching of the Word “feeds the sheep”
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Sola Gratia!
Matt Perman has an excellent post about Google and Amazon taking the long-term view in their business structure and planning and implementation. I found this helpful as I consider ministry and the church and the city we live in. Short-term pressures will come and go and require us to navigate through them, but having the “long-term” view will keep us persevering and enduring. You could say that Jesus had this view as He headed to the cross and what He would accomplish there and what He intended the disciples to do afterwards (think, “I will build my church” and “go out into all the world” and “I will be with you always”) – God Himself had this view even as sin entered the world, from the time He created, “to trample on the serpent’s neck”. This is very encouraging.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
The elders and I read through these verses and prayed for our church this past week. These are positive and exciting and thankful verses to read and pray through for the church body! We have salvation through Jesus and we will live with Him for eternity (which started “the hour I first believed”). We can then take this good news and encourage and build up one another throughout the week as we pray and read and meet and fellowship. What a wonderful picture of our lives in Christ as individuals and as a community!
I hope you are encouraged and built up today as you think about and apply all who Jesus is and what He has done in your life, as a believer. If you are not a believer and follower, I pray you would consider the truth of His claims and receive Him as Lord and Savior.
2 helpful articles that have spoken to me this week are by Ligon Duncan and Mark Dever. These articles are helpful to me in thinking about what it means to be a pastor, what does a healthy church look like, and how to do ministry in this day-and-age. I encourage you to read through these articles and ask questions or make comments that you feel are relevant.
Acts 20:28 – ”
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
I am thankful for Ligon Duncan’s message on the above text that he gave at Integrity 2011. His five points came straight from the text and are worthy reminders of my job as pastor:
- Pay attention to my own spiritual health.
- Pay attention to the flock’s spiritual health.
- This job came from God, through the Holy Spirit who made me an overseer.
- Take care of His church (it’s not MY church).
- The importance of the local church, “obtained with His own blood.”
These are valuable lessons for anyone serving in ministry in the local church today.
“Big Daddy” Ron Williams will be our guest speaker this Sunday, June 19, at 10:45 am. You can learn more about Big Daddy and his ministry at this site.
This is the last sermon in our series based on the gospel tract, “Two Ways to Live.” It comes from John 3:36 and speaks to the choice each person must make concerning eternal life or God’s judgment and wrath. I preached this message on June 12, 2011.
If you are born again, you have a living hope in Christ and His glorious return! This is my sermon I preached on June 5, 2011, from 1 Peter 1:3-5
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