Men's Worship

Last night, our church called the men of the church together for worship, the preaching of the Word, sacrament and prayer. More than half of our men attended. It was unbelievable as we were engaged by the Living God. There was no programmatic point but to join in worship of our Redeemer.

Honestly, there were moments were I was overwhelmed in worship as I just listened to the sound of the men's voices resonating off of the walls of the church. As we sang "And Can It Be" it was almost as if men were realizing once again the reason why they call themselves a disciple of Christ. Last night is a picture of what Paul meant when he said to Timothy, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer."

I didn't know what to expect. None of us did. But God showed up on our doorstep and engaged his people. Is it any wonder that all who were there were blown away by the Gospel once again. Thank God for His Son, the one who did what we could not and cannot do. Live the life of gratitude.

I can't wait for the next time that the brothers and fathers of the church come together again to worship the Living God.

Impact: The Final Journey

Pastor Dan's sermon from 8/24/2008
Scripture Reference: Acts 21-28
Click here to listen.

In this sermon I bring to a close our year long study of Acts. The reason why I chose to preach on the final section of Acts in one sermon is because I wanted to present the situation for what it was: a whirlwind! It is my hope that as you listen you will get a feel for the climax of the book as Paul is on a mission of grace. The whole scenario plays out like a movie. It is amazing to see how God's sovereign hand accomplished his purposes to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth through his humble servant Paul and the ministry of the Apostles.

I hope you are blessed by God's Word.

IMPACT: Part 2

Tomorrow I am preaching on Acts 21-28. I was thinking a congregational reading is probably out of the picture. But I would like to suggest that each person from the congregation should read the entire story contained in these chapters. Tomorrow, we will bring to a close our year long study of Acts. Why will we end the study with such a huge chunk of Scripture?

I believe these last few accounts need to be taken together. Sure, there are plenty of individual sermons in the text, but when we take the whole last part of Acts as a whole we can begin to see the picture that Luke is painting. This is certainly the last act and the climax of the historical account of the movement of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). These chapters sound like the script to a great movie.

As I was reading the accounts I couldn't stop thinking about a recurring theme. Why was Paul on trial? What brought him into these crazy circumstances and adventure? Is Luke just telling us what happened to Paul or is there more to the inspiration of this text? The theme in these chapters is the message of the Gospel. Paul says that he is in chains because of the hope of Israel. He is in chains because of the Lord Jesus Christ--the resurrection and the life.

Luke's whole purpose is the story of the Gospel. He begins and ends with an impact--the mission of grace. Paul's mission is coming to an end in Rome as he ends his life preaching the Gospel of grace. Luke is telling us not only of the impact of Paul's ministry but more importanly the impact of the Gospel.

Are we still impacted by the Gospel? I don't mean for us to be driven to morality or more good deeds. I am asking if we are impacted by the historical events and purpose of Jesus' life, death and resurrection--that is the Gospel. When we are impacted by the Gospel we are driven to the cross. My hope and prayer is that tomorrow, as we invoke God to speak to us through his Word, that we would once again be impacted by the mission of grace.

Impact: Mission of Grace

Pastor Dan's sermon from 8/17/2008
Scripture Reference: Acts 20:13-38
Click here to listen.

Don't Grieve For Me

I have this friend that I have been close to for a long time. We have been through many things together. We have been through great times and rough times. We have even had some things that could potentially come between us. Yet we have always been able to remain close. Although we don't see each other much, when we do, it is as if we have spent every minute together for the time we were away. We just pick up where we left off. That is a rare thing to have in a friendship. So I treasure this friendship. When I spend time with this friend I am sad when the time is over.

This week, we will be back in Acts. We will pick up in Acts 20:13 as Paul says his final goodbyes to the Ephesian Elders. When I study a passage to preach I usually just read through the passage before I read anyone else's work on the subject or the passage. This helps me to steer away from imposing a meaning on the passage that may or may not be present. While reading this passage something hit me pretty hard...

As Paul finishes his farewell warnings and says his final goodbyes, the elders gather around him and we are told that they were deeply troubled. Luke tells us that the reason for their grief was that Paul told them they would never see his face again. I believe the Holy Spirit has laid this Scripture on my heart to expound upon for our congregation over the next few weeks. What causes men to grieve over the loss of another man? Why were these men so attached to Paul and so concerned for him, his ministry and his life? I believe Acts 20 will reveal the reasons why Paul had such and IMPACT on these men, on this region, and on this church.

What enables a man to have such an IMPACT upon people? I believe it is the mission of grace. A mission is a purpose...or as Paul calls it in Acts 20...it is a race that is to be run until completed. Paul labored for the Gospel and this is why these elders so grieved him--he was on a mission for grace--he made the ultimate IMPACT in their lives.

I hope you will join me over the next few weeks as we talk about the IMPACT Jesus Christ has on our lives and on those affected by this message of grace.

A Midnight Prayer

Father,

How great you are in heaven, we praise your Holy Name.
Will your kingdom come quickly? We pray that it would be so.
Even now we wonder what are daughter is doing. Is she healthy?
Does she feel loved? Father, we pray that your will would be done
In her life as you have already determined in heaven before all time.
We pray that you would sustain her daily with bread and with your power.
We pray that you would keep her safe from all that is evil. Protect her for us Father.
Father we pray for her deliverance from physical and spiritual harm. Surround her with
your loving arms and hold her firmly in your grip.
Guide us, direct us and sustain us until the day that we meet our little girl.
It is in your son's name, Jesus Christ, that we ask and pray all of these things.

Amen.