Clarifying the Win (Salvation)

I think seeing the lost come to know Christ is a great goal for every believer and ministry to set. When I say, "One of the purposes of the Program is to win others to the Lord" all of us would put that as the #1 priority. Here is the question, "How many people came to know Christ in 2009 as a result of the ministry of the Program?" I know we pass out tracts with water bottles and things like that, but with what individuals did I take an opportunity to share the Gospel? It is my #1 priority but it's really not, and that needs to change!

The time for talk is over, and it is time to step out of our comfort zones and start making a difference in the lives of individuals. Who will you begin praying for so that they will come to know Christ. What can we do as a group to see more souls saved? Jesus said the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. I'm ready to get to work, how about you?

A Special Speaker

Last night Paul Laso preached in the Program and gave us some thoughts from Luke 8. He was giving us some things to think about as we speak to our relatives this holiday season. The main point discussed was "Who is Jesus." Here is the basic outline with my apologies to Paul if it is not exactly what he preached, but here is what I took away from the sermon.

Who Jesus Is
Luke 8:22-56

v. 25 - "What manner of man is this!

1. Jesus is omnipotent v. 22-25 (His Sovereignty over His Creation)

2. Jesus is deity v. 26-33 (The demons recognized Him as the Son of the Most High God)

3. Jesus has power over demons v. 26-33

4. Jesus has power over sickness and death v. 41-56 (He does what no other person could do) [With God all things are possible]

There it is just in case you missed it!

Praying for the Mendez family

I just wanted to let those of you praying for Mrs. Mendez that she passed away this morning around 8:00. I believe there will be a service on Saturday to honor the life that she lived. She was certainly a fighter and I know her family will miss her dearly. As you go through the weekend don't forget to say a prayer for the family.

A Fresh Start!

I know it's been a long time since I've done anything to this blog (Sometime in August), but I am ready to get it going again. My plan is to share some of the philosophy of ministry ideas that have been going through my brain over the last year. I would love to get your input and hear what you think. This may not be of any interest to you, but it will do me some good to write it all out. Any ideas that you have to add will be appreciated.

The other thing I want to do with this blog is to record our year together. There will be outlines of the series that we are covering on Sundays and Wednesdays just in case you miss one. The plan is also to keep track of all of our activities together (Pictures and Review). This will be a challenge for the year because I am a tad technologically challenged. Once again, any input you might feel led to give will be appreciated. I'm going to try to update the blog at least three times a week. Feel free to check the blog daily and make any "appropriate" comments you'd like.

Let me start with the foundation for all of the philosophy of ministry discussion. As a pastoral staff we read a book by Andy Stanley that started my thinking about why we do what we do. The name of the book escapes me right now, but I will try to get the title of the book for a later blog. The idea of the book is that we need to "Clarify the win." Everyone in the ministry needs to know what a win is and what a win is not.

So I am going to clarify for you what a win is for the Program. The three things that I classify as a win are: 1. People getting saved 2. People being sanctified 3. People beginning to serve

This is a good start and I will explain and give more detail on the next post. I am out of time because I'm heading out to pick Jordan up from the airport. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts on the clarification of the win.

Calendar of events until December

August – December 2009

August

14 Late Night Handball 9 PM
22 Prayer Breakfast 9 AM
28 Men’s Steakout 6 PM
September

5 Water Bottles at the park 10 AM
6 Fast Food Fellowship
11 Night of Worship 7 PM
18 Women’s Conference/Men’s Driving Range
26 Prayer Breakfast 9 AM
October

3 Work Day at the Ranch 10 AM
4 Fast Food Fellowship
9 Late Night Volleyball 9 PM
16 Spaghetti Supper
24 Prayer Breakfast 9 AM
31 Taste of Miami 7 PM
November

6 FBC Camp Out
8 Fast Food Fellowship
13 Night of Worship 7 PM
20 Late Night Hockey 9 PM
26 Serving at the Mission
28 Prayer Breakfast 9 AM
December

5 Ladies Tea/Guys Serve
6 Fast Food Fellowship
11 Christmas Party 9 PM
(Taste of the Program)
17 Gifts to the Children’s Home 7 PM

Discretion Delivers

Pr 2:10 ¶ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

The Evil Man is described here for us so that we can avoid his company and also avoid becoming this man. This passage shows us the progression of the evil man. Let these characteristics be a warning sign to you.

v. 12 - His Words are froward or perverse. A persons speech can tell us a lot about him.
v. 13 - His Walk has departed from the right path and is directed toward darkness.
v. 14 - His WooHoo - He delights in his sin and he draws others to sin with him.

I do not want to be considered an evil man and I want to have enough wisdom to realize who will help me to grow closer to God and who will get me off the right track.

Learning from others mistakes

I wanted to put my outline into print in case you were not able to be at all three Sunday School sessions. I hope this will be a help to you. Please feel free to add any comments you might have.

Learning From Other’s Mistakes
Hosea 8

Intro. This is the best way to learn. What have you learned by another person’s mistake?

1. Don’t cast off the good v. 3
2. Don’t be a do it yourselfer v. 4 (Consult God in your decisions)
3. Don’t play Mr. Innocent v. 5 (Just be honest)
4. Don’t sow what you don’t want to reap v. 7 (Decisions of young adults)
5. Don’t let sin swallow you up v. 8 (God found no pleasure in them)
6. Don’t wander away from God v. 9 (Who or what do we go to for help?)
7. Don’t forget that God wants to restore you v. 10 (His unconditional love for you)
8. Don’t make ways for yourself to sin v. 11 (Not just wandering into sin or stumbling – Devising ways)
9. Don’t let God’s Word be a strange thing to you v. 12 (Get familiar with it)
10. Don’t offer unworthy sacrifices to God v. 13 (What sacrifices do we offer to God?)
11. Don’t forget about God when developing your future plans v. 14 (Devoured by fire)

Conclusion: Here is the list…will you avoid the same mistakes?

It's been a long time

It has been quite a while since I entered anything on this blog. I am sorry about the absence but I am making it a point to update this a few times a week. You can find thoughts from our Wednesday night Bible studies as well as our Sunday morning studies. I'll also try to post pictures from time to time of our activities.

My quote as I begin the school year is, "Discipline starts today!" This quote is one that I need to recite over and over to myself. I am the great excuse maker and I'm not too bad at procrastination either. This is a deadly combination to deal with. Discipline applies to every area of my life; my Bible study time, my eating, my exercising, my entertainment, and any other area you would like to place in there.

The verse shared on Sunday by Dr. Gibbs has been a real help to me this week in the area of the discipline of holiness. 1Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; In every area of my life God demands holiness. I have quoted this verse many times already this week in an effort to keep this idea always before me. I'd encourage you to take a look at the verse and seek to apply it to your life as well.

Just sitting here being greatful...

What a beautiful day! I can't help but look back on the weekend and thank God for His goodness. This past weekend I was able to:
1. See three members from Central's youth ministry all happily married and going on a cruise.
2. Get the yard work done that I have put off for weeks.
3. Win a late night hockey championship.
4. Spend some time with my favorite people...My family.
5. End the weekend with my second favorite people...The Program watching the Superbowl.
I just wanted to share the thoughts of a man that has not been given what He deserves. I hope you all can reflect back on God's goodness to you.

Fallen Truth

Isaiah 59 is a description of how it was then, but upon reading it sure does sound like our society today as well. I don't think I need to tell you all of the statistics of how far we have fallen away from obedience to God, because I'm sure you've heard all about the problems as I have. Verse 14 talks about how the truth has fallen. We discussed what we could do to stand truth back on its' feet. Here are some ideas...
1. We must decide that we will do right no matter what the cost...in our homes, at our places of employment, and each place we find ourselves.
2. We must make sure that we are doing what is right and encouraging others to do what is right.
3. We need to follow the instructions that God has given to us in His Word.
Please feel free to share any other thoughts you might have on getting the truth back on its' feet.

What are my options?

I don't know about you, but I like to know what my options are. I have on too many occasions been disappointed because I didn't know that I had other options. We looked at three options presented for us in Deuteronomy 29 and I just wanted to focus on one of them.

De 29:18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; 19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

This is the guy that says, "I'll take my chances." This is not a wise option, but this person has been fooled into thinking that he will just do it his way and everything will be O.K. God's Word is given to us so we can live a life of joy, but some look at it as having to spend time in jail. God has said he would bring a curse, but this man says he will bless himself and have peace as I do what I want. That phrase, "Adding drunkenness to thirst" refers to fulfilling the utmost indulgence in all sensual gratification.

Of course verse 20 explains how God feels about this man's lifestyle, and what He is going to do about it. I look at this man and I think about how proud he is, but then when I get a glimpse of myself I can see that man in me. Living for the pleasure of myself is one option that I do have, but the wise option is to live your life in obedience to God and His Word. May God bless each of you as you seek to walk in His will.

The Gospel Truth

One of the things missing as we share the Gospel is the awfulness of sin. The Gospel makes perfect sense when we see the awfulness of our sin, and recognize our need for Christ. People do not see themselves as sinners in today's society so we must use terms that they can understand and relate to. The fact is that we are sinners and sin has consequences. The beautiful part of the Gospel is that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to take our punishment. People must recognize the bad news before they can truly appreciate the good news.

How does this apply to us today?

1. We need to quit talking about sharing the Gospel and just start sharing.

2. We need to stop trying to sugar cote the Truth and just proclaim the Truth as it is

Thinking about small group Bible studies

I have had several people say that they would be interested in getting together in small groups for Bible study. This has brought several questions to my mind, and I'd like some input on the best way to go about it. I want the Bible studies to be beneficial and enjoyable for all that attend. Here are a few of my questions...

1. What type of groups do we want?
- Divide men and women?
- Combined men and women?
- Offer both?
2. Who will lead the groups?
3. Where will the groups meet?
4. When should the groups meet?
5. How many groups should we have?
6. How many people should be in each group?
7. What topics should we study?

These are just some things that are going around in my brain these days. I'd love to hear what you think or how you have seen it done before. Of course, I have a few ideas of my own, but I am looking forward to seeing what God does in each of our lives through these small groups.

How Can I Keep All of the Commands

I have really enjoyed our Wednesday night studies in the book of Deuteronomy! I never realized how many spiritual gems are found there. Last night we were discussing whether or not having a desire is enough to get something done. Once again the New Year is here and along with that come our resolutions for the year. Every year at the top of my list you will find exercise. I really do have a desire to be in shape, but desire is not enough, as you can probably tell by looking at me. Let me just remind you of some of the Truth's we talked about from Deuteronomy 27 and 28. We asked the question, "How can I keep all of God's commands?" Here are three things found in this passage of Scripture that can help.

1. We need reminders Verses 1-8

- Make monuments for special places in which God has worked in your life

- Mark it down so you don't forget how God is working in your life

2. We need to be real v. 15-26

- These verses are very straightforward. There is no beating around the bush it gets right to the point

- These verses are very specific. They need no room for questions.

- We need to be straightforward and specific about the sins that we are dealing with and ask God for the help that we need

3. We need to be responsible Chapter 28:1,14

- It is our responsibility to obey v. 1

- It is our responsibility not to stray v. 14

These three things will help us keep the commands of God. I know you have the desire, but now you have some help from God's Word.

Abiding in the Vine in 2009

This is what God has been dealing with me as we begin a new year. John chapter 15 speaks of abiding in the vine. That sounds so good, but what and how can we do this? Here are some practical tips that I trust will help you Abide in the Vine in 2009.

1. Saturate everything in prayer v. 7

2. Sole goal (not soul glow) to glorify God v.8

3. Sensitivity to obedience v. 10

4. Step out of your comfort zone