No Guts, No Glory

Peter the Apostle had guts. He always had guts. Sure, there were times when he would falter, but Jesus called him the rock for a reason. In Acts 3, we see the Rock in action. Here he is, about 2 months or so after Jesus had been crucified, standing before the same men who killed his Lord, proclaiming that these judges were not only murderers, but God-haters. But Peter took his accusations to another level. He defied their judgement by continuing to proclaim Jesus as Lord. He was going to obey God rather than man.

Could I have done the same thing with my life on the line? Do I have any real guts at all? Peter had guts and the glory went to Jesus Christ. We must have guts to give glory to Jesus Christ. The funny thing is that we aren't facing life and death situations in America when it comes to our faith. So how do we have guts when many people could get away with being gutless?

It takes guts to invite people to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ. It takes even more guts to not depend upon your local pastor to do the work. It takes guts to share the message of sin and grace with your family and friends. And what happens in the end? Do we receive any of the glory? Absolutely not. Our Lord receives all the glory. He is glorified no matter what the outcome of our gutsy moves.

Do we have guts for God's glory?

"The Christ Reformission: 'Unified, Magnified, Multiplied.'"

Pastor Dan's sermon from 8/19/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 2: 41-47

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There are lots of things to comment on for this sermon. What about the Kingdom Rules? What about the idols of the American Church that make us so powerless as compared to the early church work? Feel free to talk about it and post.

Unified, Magnified, Multiplied

This week, I have been studying Acts 2:41-47. Here you will find a summary of the true church. Notice that I did not say a summary of the "early church". I believe we find in these few words the marks of the true church. We also see the result of the true church.

Luke tells us four things about the true church. The church is to preach the Gospel as handed down to the apostles, it is to uphold the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), it is to have a brotherly fellowship and to be devoted to prayer. I am going to preach on these marks this Sunday so I won't get into a whole exegesis now. Suffice it to say, where these marks are present, the church grows both spiritually and numerically.

This is not an argument for nickles and noses as I have heard some pastors put it. On my staff many of us call it concern with "dimes and derriers" or "bucks and butts". Isn't it funny how many smaller churches believe they are twice as righteous because they are half the size? But I digress.

The result of the true church is that the Lord's Bride is unified, magnified and multiplied. These early brothers and sisters had unity. Their unity was found in sound doctrine, the Lord's Supper, their fellowship and devotion to prayer. As a result, people took notice. They saw something different in these Christ followers. There was a difference in the way that they treated each other and others. There was a difference because of what Jesus Christ had done. As a result, Luke says that the Lord (notice it was the Lord and not some kind of program or person) brought people to the church.

The current church needs to learn a few things. Do we have unity? Are we really all that different from the world? Why aren't we multiplying on a grand scale? How do denominations gel with unity? They seem pretty foolish to the world. Why is that programs continually fizzle out whether purpose driven, promise driven, seeker friendly or community oriented? What does the world see when the church doors are open?

Now for fear of being classified as a post-modern who just asks questions but offers no solutions, I will offer some solution. Get back to the basics...sound doctrine, the sacraments, fellowship, and devotion to prayer. Why do we have to make things so stinkin' difficult?

"The Christ Reformission: 'Who is This Jesus?.'" Part II

Pastor Dan's sermon from 8/12/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 2: 14-41

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Smiling at a Funeral

I went to a funeral today. You could call it more of a celebration. One of our Deacons and oldest members went home to be with the Lord. When the news broke that he had finally gone home, there was a celebratory relief rather than a depressing cloud. This man truly loved the Lord.

There was no need to make up nice things about this man. He was truly a nice man. He was a servant for the Lord. But you know how it is. Some funerals are just attempts to help people get through a hard time by talking about how a person was such a good person and as result is now in a "better place". You hear things about "the man upstairs", or how the dearly departed is now doing his/her favorite thing with angels. All of these jokes and antidotes are an attempt to ignore our own mortality and a flight from the weighty questions of life and death. There was no need to talk about this brother as a nice man...there was a confidence in where our brother now resides.

There was no need to put on a fake smile when we as Christians, today, have the confidence to smile at death. There is no need to comfort ourselves with nonsense and our best guess as to what happens when someone dies. We already know and are confident in what we do not see and sure of what he hope for.

Our Deacon and friend is serving at the feet of the risen Lord Jesus Christ because he had faith in Jesus Christ and was redeemed and now glorified by Jesus Christ. There were so many smiles today. People were laughing and joking. Sure we miss our brother as we will miss many others as we get older and people continue to die. But what I saw today was true joy. Joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"The Christ Reformission: 'Who is This Jesus?.'"

Pastor Dan's sermon from 8/5/2007

Scripture Reference: Acts 2: 14-41

Click here to listen.