"The Christ Reformission 'The Sound Heard Around the Earth'"

Pastor Dan's sermon from 7/29/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 2: 1-13

Click here to listen.

A few comments on chapter 1 of Acts.

The disciples had received their instructions from Jesus Christ. "Go to Jerusalem and wait." And wait they did. But they didn't just sit on their hands and wait. They labored before the Lord in prayer. They had big decisions to make. Who would replace Judas? What would they do after they picked Matthias? What was next? How would they get the message out?

Acts 1 is sort of like the first official church staff meeting in history. They had a mission to do, the mission of Jesus Christ, and they needed to make some decisions. But what strikes me the most is that they didn't come up with a bunch of programs and committees. They didn't even have a Book of Church Order yet. Heck, they didn't even have the New Testament. They were completely dependant upon the promises of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. So what did they do? They prayed. Luke says it was an ongoing and constant prayer.

Do we approach life in this way any longer? It seems as if every decision we make is from logical conclusions in the absence of prayer. Disciples need to labor in prayer. We need to get past the whole idea of, "Yeah, I will pray about it," and leaving things to our own wisdom. We need to seek God's wisdom. These men (and women) trusted the Lord with all of their heart.

Matthias. We hear his name one minute and the next minute he is gone forever. Tradition has it that Matthias eventually gave his life for Jesus Christ in Jerusalem not long after he had become the 12th disciple. Who is this guy? Does Acts 1 allow for playing chance games? Was Matthias a credible choice since we don't hear anything about him ever again?

The casting lots was an ancient Jewish practice which Ecclesiastes speaks about. The poet says that God even controls the lots that are cast. These men were simply following Scripture. Matthias was chosen by using traditional methods of choosing between options. We may not hear about Matthias ever again, but we don't hear about several of the disciples ever again. Luke is simply giving us information as he continues to tell Theophilus the story of Jesus Christ.

Like Minds

As a pastor, I get the opportunity to read a lot. I also receive a lot of recommendations about books, sermons, tapes and CD's and MP3's (depending on the age of the recommending person). I am not in the habit of recommending any books and in that vein, I will recommend a few books.

The reason I am recommending them is because I believe they are mostly sound and because they will help you understand somewhat of where I am coming from. Basically, by reading these books I believe you will be edified and encouraged and also brought into a like-spirit and like-mind.

Check out Mark Driscoll's "Radical Reformission" and "Confessions of a Reformissional Reverend". Just go to Amazon.com and look up "Radical Reformission". I read both of these books in two days. Much of what was said has affected me and I hope they will do the same for you.

In now way do these recommendations supplant the Word of God. In fact, I believe that these books sometimes disagree with God's Word. But these kinds of books can encourage you and make you think. Feel free to post about what you are reading.

In the mean time, God bless.

Teaching Your Kids About the Lord's Supper

As I was "fencing" the table this past Sunday I really thought about the children in our church. It is my belief that as parents we should be excited about teaching our kids about the Lord's Supper. If you are like me, than you probablly don't think about teaching your kids about the Lord's Supper during the week. You may not even remember to talk to your kids about it in between the times that we celebrate the sacrament. Before you know it, they are 12 years old and you still haven't talked with your children about the Lord's Supper. I want to encourage all parents to teach their children quickly so that they might participate with the rest of the body in the Lord's Supper. To that end, I want to give you a few points about the Lord's Supper that might teach you so that you can teach your children.

Start off by looking at the Westminster Shorter Catechism. You may want to read the Larger Catechism for yourself and the Confession of Faith chapter on the Lord's Supper and the one on the Sacraments. But for these purposes, read and study the Shorter Catechism questions and answers for questions 91, 92, 96, and 97. You can click on the "Shorter Catechism" link on the right side of this page for easy reference.

After your own study and reflection, focus on question 96 and 97. Let's break it down for you and for your children.

Question 96. What is the Lord's Supper?
First it is a sacrament. Teach your children what that means (refer to question 92). Simply put, sacraments are commands of Christ. We observe "communion" because Jesus has told us to do so.

Second, we eat a little piece of bread and drink some grape juice (should be wine!) because these little signs were given to us by Jesus on the night he was betrayed to represent how his body would be hurt and punished in our place. He would be put on a bloody cross and the cup and bread represent how Jesus took our punishment for sin on the cross. He was punished for us.

Third, Jesus told us to remember him by this sacrament. So when we take part in the Lord's Supper, we remember what he did for us. We celebrate with joy that fact that we are forgiven. We also look to his coming again with anticipation

Fourth, by taking the bread and wine we are strengthened in our faith and we grow in grace. Just like our bodies need food to get bigger and stronger, our faith is fed by doing what Jesus told us to do.

Now take a look at question 97. Simply put, how do I prepare for the Lord's Supper?

First, you must be a Christian. Explain to your children what it means to be a believer. We must have repentance for our sins, posess faith in Jesus Christ as our atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, and follow after him by faith. Parenthetically, raise your children as if they are always believers. You must assume that they are unless they demonstrate otherwise. They may never have that moment where they "ask" Jesus into their heart. That is more for us than it is for them. Raise them to know, love and fear God rather than to "pray the sinners prayer".

Second, when we partake of the Lord's Supper we must ask if we are repentant of sin in our lives and committed to love God and love others. We don't come to the Table as perfect people but as broken and joyful people. Maybe tell your kids the story of the publican and the pharisee that Jesus tells to demonstrate this point.

Use illustrations when talking with your kids. But your goal, once you know that your children believe should be to have your children interviewed by and elder-- hopefully one that they feel comfortable with. You can sit in with them to discuss the Lord's Supper with an elder of the church.

When should you begin talking with your kids about the Lord's Supper? As soon as possible. Why would we want them to miss out on another observance?

For children, I believe that an understanding of the Lord's Supper can be as simple as, "The Lord's Supper reminds me that Jesus died for me on the cross for my sins. Taking the Lord's Supper helps me to grow in my faith as I remember that Jesus died, resurrected and is coming again."

Feel free to post or ask questions. But make it a point before we celebrate communion again!

"The Christ Reformission: 'The Final Four.'"

Pastor Dan's sermon from 7/22/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 1: 8-11

Click here to listen.

What a wonderful time of worship we had yesterday on the Lord's Day. The Holy Spirit was present among us. It was good to sing, worship, pray, read God's Word and take part in the Lord's Supper with the body of Christ.

It was a busy day for sure. Our S4 children's ministry kicked-off with 160 students! At one point as the children were moving from station to station there was a line of kids from the office building area, through the old fellowship hall, all the way to the Family Life Center! What a blessing to be part of such a great body of believers and to see their children learning to know, love and revere the Lord.

I arrived at church around 6:45am to make some final preparations for worship, preaching and S4. Worship team practice began at 7:45am. We were learning a new song which we all sang yesterday "Here is Our King." At 8:25 I had to make my way over to the S4 staff. I really believed that we would cut Here is Our King from the worship order. It didn't sound so good.

I prayed with the S4 staff from 8:30am to about 8:50am. Met with the elders at 9am to go over our details for the Lord's Supper. Preached, talked with many of you, preached, talked with many of you and went to Maryland to enjoy some recreational paintball with some students and members of the church.

I came home by 7:30pm and was completely beat. I am resting with my family today. Even in the midst of all the business, yesterday was a true blessing for me. To start the day off by worshipping amd singing, to preach God's Word and take the Lord's Supper with the Church and to end the day with fellowship with like-minded believers was such an exciting time.

I thank the Lord every day for the position he has given to me. I will pray for you this week as a body that the Lord would give each of you opportunities to be reformissional. We have a mission in the midst of all of our business. We are sent as Christ was sent, too all peoples without preferences, to bring the message of repentance and forgiveness as the witnesses to the ministry and work of Jesus Christ. May God's blessing be on you this week as you labor for the kingdom of God.

Being Reformissional

Now you are starting to hear all kinds of new terms. You might wonder what they mean in real life. The pastor is talking about something called "reformission" or being "missional". If you were to type these words into your word processing program it would result in a squiggly red line that indicates a spelling error. These words aren't even in the dictionary. What are these new words?

Being reformissional is preaching the Gospel in the context of your culture. We are missionaries on a mission that Jesus gave us in his earthly ministry. I mean that we are to be like Christ was in his humiliation while having the confidence of the exalted Christ as we boldly proclaim truth. What truth? The truth. I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Redeemer. I have freedom in Christ from sin and death and so can all of those who place their lives in the Redeemer's hands.

Being reformissional means taking the truth to the people in a way that they can understand--not in a way that they necessarily might agree with, but in a way that is clear cut Gospel. This involves being relational with people so that we can actually communicate and conversate (ha, I think I made up another word--but you get the point). People relate to people they know and trust. That means in order for us to be reformissional we have to know others outside of the church so that they can get to know and trust us.

Being reformissional is not about getting people to church so that pastor can do what he is paid to do. Rather we are to be the messengers. Church serves as the community of believers that can have a real hand in sharing the Gospel. But once a person is in the pew, the job is only beginning.

Being reformissional is not about safety and a fortified church. Reformissional Christians put their comfort on the line to achieve eternal purposes. We must think with eternal things in mind (where have I heard that before?). When we think with eternal things in mind we become like that cute little boy, who is no longer that cute, from the movie "The Sixth Sense". You don't see anonymous people walking around, you see opportunities to share life with those who are dead.

Are we reformissional? This is just the beginning.

"The Christ Reformission: 'Houston, We Have A Problem.'"

Pastor Dan's sermon from 7/15/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 1:1-11

Click here to listen.

A Few Statistics For Us

As I begin a new series this week that will carry on for a long period of time as we study the work of Acts, I wanted to introduce a few statistics. By the way, each week I will be fleshing out some of my sermon points on this blog. Feel free to ask questions and get involved.

Houston, Do We Have A Problem?

I remember sitting through Apollo 13 when going to the movies was still relatively cheap and fun for that matter. I had never heard of the story and was hooked from lift-off onward. I remember holding back tears of joy when the boys finally returned home. What an incredible story of danger, heroism, and joy.

One of the scenes that has always stuck out in my mind was when the families of the pilots came to NASA to sit down and watch their husbands on closed-circuit TV. The astronauts believed that they were on LIVE national TV as they sped toward the moon. Much to the wives surprise, NASA officials informed them that none of the networks were carrying the broadcast and that they would be lucky to make the evening news. In a word, NASA had become irrelevant. The race to the moon was over, the USA had won that battle years ago when Neil Armstrong took those first steps and uttered those famous words. America, and the world for that matter, had moved on. Going to the moon was as common as the new millenium's reality TV. The world would not tune in until the men's lives were in danger and NASA admitted those now infamous words, "Houston, we have a problem."

I wonder if the AMERICAN Church is in the same position as NASA. As we take our trips to the moon every week through Sunday Worship, the sacraments, the programs, the youth ministry, the house churches and so on, I wonder if the American really cares about our mission. Is there a problem in the American Church? What are we doing on Sunday mornings? What are we doing throughout the week? What is our purpose? Has the American Church become "one and done" on the Lord's Day? Do we have oxygen spewing out of our life support tank while we thrust towards a goal that no one cares about?

Let me demonstrate my point with an every day example. Take a minute one day and just step out and ask your neighbors, friend, family member, or random person what they think about "church". Then ask them what they think about God. What about Jesus? Chances are, in America, they believe that there is a God, believe that Jesus has something to do with this God and that Church has nothing to do with either one of those "beings". What the church does on Sunday morning and throughout the week is like NASA taking another trip to the moon to collect a bunch of rocks that have already been examined.

Maybe the American Church needs to take a look at itself and wonder, "what are we doing here and why doesn't anybody outside of the club care about what is that we are doing?" These questions are being asked in the seminaries around the country. What usually starts in the seminaries will eventually reach the members of the church. Is something broken in the American Church? Do we have a problem?