Joy To The World!

“But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.’” – Luke 2:10-11

Every year our family, like many families, put up our Christmas decorations. Each year I hold firmly to waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to put up our decorations and they must be brought down no later than New Year’s Eve. My wife loves the decorations and once the Hallmark movies start playing, she’s ready to put them up. I believe I actually gave in to putting them up before Thanksgiving one year. Needless to say, every year we put them up but I noticed something this year I have never noticed before.

This year God called us to new ministry at Union Hall Baptist Church and so this is also our first Christmas in the church’s parsonage. Our decorations worked out where the Christmas tree and the nativity scene are close together. They are almost side by side. I noticed something this year that I had never noticed before until I really saw them side by side.

What did I notice? I noticed that we pay too much attention to what might go under the tree and not enough attention to who is already in the manger. Now this isn’t a new thought and to many, this is not a grand revelation. Even for me, I may say something to this effect every year but seeing the Christmas tree and the nativity scene side by side made a huge difference for me.

Why has it made such a difference to me? I remember my grandmother telling me stories about how they received fruit as Christmas presents when they were kids and you know what? They were thankful for the fruit they received! Try giving fruit as a present to kids today. I dare you. I imagine you know what their reaction would be. If we are honest, our reaction would not be much better if any better at all. We have focused too much on the empty tree and not enough on the full manger!

Christmas is a time I have always wanted to enjoy more. There always seems to be a lot of stress at Christmas. Those Christmas movies that my wife loves are depressing to me because I can not live up to those movies. Some years I truly wonder if I will be able to buy my children anything for Christmas. Most years I just feel like I can not make anyone happy at Christmas time. I joked with someone the other day. They asked me what my favorite Christmas song was and I responded “Auld Lang Syne”. In case you don’t know, that is the song we sing for New Year’s. In other words, I was saying I would be glad when Christmas was over.

This Christmas is different. Yes, I still deal with all the emotions and stress related things that I mentioned but this Christmas I have chosen to focus on the full manger. I have chosen to rejoice in the fact that God loved us so much, even a sinner such as I, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to this Earth. He sent Him to live a sinless life and to die a death that was meant for me. He carried my sins and the sins of all humanity to the cross and paid the penalty for those sins. However, that was not the end! Three days later, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead! The Bible tells us that anyone who believes this will be saved from their sins and spend eternity in Heaven!

I have given my life to Jesus! I am saved and will spend eternity in Heaven with Him! Will you? This Christmas, quit focusing on the empty tree and focus on the cradle that was filled by the only hope in the world, Jesus Christ! Give your life to Him today!

This Christmas, more than ever, I can rejoice and say “Joy to the World! The Lord is come!”

Light In The Darkness

“You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth.” – Colossians 1:5-6

Last night I watched as a missionary in Mumbai told about the horrors of slavery that exist all around him. He told of how young women are sold as slaves and forced in to prostitution. He told of how many of these women see up to fifteen customers a day for as little as $1 to $2. I continued to listen as one young woman stated that she is so hopeless that she has thought about suicide so many times.

While many people are not in physical slavery in our world today, there are billions of people who are in slavery to sin. What is really sad though is that most of them have no clue that they are a slave. If we knew of someone personally who was being held as a slave, I presume most of us would do everything we could to break them free from the chains of slavery. Why is it then that many in the church today are unconcerned about those trapped as a slave in the chains of sin? Why is it that we will not go and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them?

For many people, we are concerned about what we can see. If all of my family and friends are at church, then we see that and we are content with that but we abandon then billions of people to the darkness of sin. We leave them to wander, destined for Hell. Christian, you have heard the gospel! You know the life changing message! You have been saved from your sins, its penalty and now have eternal life in Heaven waiting for you. But there is more!

Imagine a man who has bought his train ticket. He is so excited that he finally got his ticket that he just stands on the platform and never gets on the train. He forgot to truly begin his journey. Likewise, many today are just concerned about punching their ticket to Heaven, being saved, that they forget to get on the train, meaning to go and grow.How will a lost world ever hear the Gospel if you do not go and share the Gospel with them? How will missionaries be strengthened to share the Gospel if we do not pray for them? How will they go if you do not give?

During this week of prayer for International Missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering I want to offer you a challenge, Christian:

• Would you commit to pray for our missionaries serving all around the world? Here is a link that can help you with praying: https://www.imb.org/pray/ 
• Would you commit to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to help fund missionaries all around the world? You can give at your local church or you can donate here: https://www.imb.org/give/  
• Finally, will you commit to be a missionary yourself? Yes, you! As Christians we are all called to share the Gospel with all people all around the world. Will you pray that God will use you to share the Gospel? Remember this the next time you sing “Wherever He Leads I’ll Go.

For Such A Time As This

         Many people today are discouraged about the direction of our country. Christianity is becoming more and more unpopular in our ever-growing secular country. Many of us as Christians are disheartened at these trends in our country and may wonder if there is any hope left at all. Queen Esther faced a similar situation. She was a Jewish queen in a Persian kingdom. The king issued a decree that on the “thirteenth day of Adar” that the Persians could rise up and “annihilate” the Jewish people (Esther 3:13). The king was unaware that his bride, Queen Esther, was actually a Jew named Hadassah.  Esther’s cousin and guardian encouraged her to go and speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. She was fearful for the Jewish people because of the law that had been passed but she was also fearful to approach the king unannounced because this could result in her death. Mordecai explained to Esther that “perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). The same might be said of Christians today. We may live in a nation and a world that is increasing every day in hostility towards Christianity, but maybe we are alive today “for such a time as this.”

            There is no greater time for us to worship than now! We have a God who has been thoroughly patient with us despite all of our shortcomings. In His mercy and grace, He has provided His only Son as the Savior of humanity. Jesus Christ bore the sins of all mankind on the cross so that if we believe in Him, then we could be saved from the penalty of our sins. No matter what our world thinks of Jesus, we need to worship Him! There is no better time than now to worship our God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

            There is no better time than now to grow in our faith! While the world around us may be dying and headed towards an eternity in Hell, we are called to grow closer to the likeness of Jesus Christ every day. Lost people need to see a difference in Christians and non-Christians! We grow when we study the Word of God, pray and discuss with one another the Word. The best place that we have then to help people grow in their faith is the Sunday School class. There is no better time than now to join a class and be faithful in attendance.

            There is no better time than now to give back to God. When you think about all that God has done for us, how can we not give a portion of our time, talents and finances back to Him? When you think about all that Jesus endured on the cross, how can we not give back to Him? We can all do something to give back to God! There is no better time than now to commit to giving back to Him.

            Finally, there is no better time than now to serve God. People seem busier now than ever before. There are so many activities to keep people busy, why add one more? Serving God is the only activity that you will participate in that has eternal value. Do not wait for someone else to do it. There is no better time than now to make a commitment to serve God.

            Even though the decision was unpopular with the King’s advisers, Queen Esther made a bold move to approach the king and it resulted in the Jewish people being saved. Will you make a bold move today? Will you step out on faith and commit to worship, grow, give and serve today?

My Life Was Changed At Summer Camp

^" Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children." - 1 John 3:1

When I became a pastor, one of the things that came to my mind was that my days of going to youth events, doing fundraisers and going to youth camp were pretty much over. Some of you are chuckling because you know that has not been the case and honestly, I am fine with that because I think it is good for a pastor to work with the youth. However, I wish we had more participation from our men in youth ministry but that is a topic for a different day. My wife and I had the opportunity to take our youth to summer camp this year. I have served as a chaperone for the last few years. After going to camp for many years I have come to realize that camp is special but sometimes it can just be another task that has to be done.

That was my attitude towards camp this year; just another task that needed to be done in an extremely busy summer. The last few years our church has gone to summer camp at Tall Timbers Baptist Camp and participated in one of the Clear Camp weeks. One of the things that I have absolutely loved about this camp is that they actually care about the adults and their personal walk with Christ. The Adult Bible studies that we have had have been the highlight of camp for me. I truly appreciate their commitment to minister to the adults as well as the youth that come to their camps.

This is where I was at coming to camp this summer: It was something that had to be done but I looked forward to the Adult Bible study. I was praying for our youth to grow and truly form a youth group. I was focused on their growth and not mine. That's when God stepped in. God used those Adult Bible study times to help me wrestle with something I have been wrestling with my entire life, my self-worth. For as long as I can remember, I have defined myself by the failures in my life and God showed me this summer that no matter what my failures have been, He loves me and I am His child! One of the Bible study teachers told a story and God used it to help this truth click in my head finally. She told of a staffer counseling someone with an addiction. The staffer did not know how to counsel the person but had a friend, another staffer, that had struggle with the same addiction and overcame it. What was his answer to overcoming the addiction? The staffer just decided to not do it anymore. An easy decision that is extremely hard to carry out. God used that story to make me realize that it was time for me to stop defining myself by my failures. So, at camp this year, after counseling with someone myself, I decided that my failures were not going to define me anymore. I prayed that God would give me the strength and peace to see my identity in Him from now on. A couple of weeks later I went back to camp, this time with our children and there was a song that we sang that summed it all up for me. The song is "Hello, My Name Is" by Matthew West. I had never heard it before but it was confirmation to me from God.

I know this post is a few months late but on the other side I hope you know that it is not just camp emotionalism. God changed my life this summer by freeing me from the burden of my failures and allowing me to rest in the fact that no matter what, I am His child.

To God Be The Glory, Great Things He Hath Done!

This year I have truly felt like God has been trying to get our attention here at Emmanuel Baptist Church. In February, God led me to lead our church in a time of Solemn Assembly. The purpose of the Solemn Assembly was to call our people out of apathy and to a love of God through Jesus Christ. That was the first attempt to get our attention. God led me to preach a sermon the week after Easter entitled "Our Desperate Need for Examination" and it was very uncharacteristic of anything I have ever preached before. I truly felt that God had a special message at a special time for His people. You can listen to that sermon here: Our Desperate Need For Examination. That was the second attempt to get our attention. Then God put on my wife's heart a Lay Renewal weekend. This was the third attempt at God trying to get our attention. We just completed that Lay Renewal Weekend and I believe God got our attention this weekend.

This weekend I deliberately made a point to listen and not talk much at all. I wanted to hear from God myself and I also wanted to hear from our people. It was truly amazing to listen to the Lay Renewal Team Members share their imperfections and hurts and then in turn hear our people share their imperfections and hurts. God has gifted me with the gift of administration and I spend a lot of time just trying to "keep things running" at the church. I have to step back and remember that people are hurting. I pray that the Lord will make me more sensitive to the hurts and needs of others.  Our church has been going through the book of Job on Wednesday nights. I thought it was odd that God would lay that book on my heart to study this year but God knew what He was doing; God knows the hurts of our people.

Many of our church family have already shared how they want to continue small groups and sharing together. I want to encourage us all to truly become friends with the other people in our pews. I would love to see groups of church members get together for fellowship and prayer similar to our "coffees" that we had this weekend. We don't have to have a program to meet with others for prayer and fellowship; just do it! But let me ask you, why can't our Sunday School classes get together and pray, love on each other, minister, fellowship, etc just like our groups did this weekend? Why can't we have times where our men and women get together and pray? Your Sunday School class can be transformed just by doing the same things we did this weekend!

God moved in our church this weekend and that was evident with the testimonies given last night. We had close to twenty testimonies! We even went thirty minutes past the time service is "suppose to end" and I saw no one looking at the clock. (That's one way I knew the Holy Spirit was moving!) We heard dry bones come to life last night! Now where do we go from here? As I stated last night, we have a warning and a challenge given to us from scripture. When you look at the first twelve chapters of Nehemiah we see a great revival among the Jews! But in chapter thirteen, they went right back to their old ways. They went right back to who they were before revival. Will we do the same? Will this just be a weekend of high spirits and emotionalism or will this weekend be the beginning of  greater things in God's people and in God's church?