Why am I in a church like the one I’m in?
This came from a blog “JackHammer.” This is written by Independent Baptist pastors who hold to Biblical truths, not traditional ones. – Pastor Art
First, I should get to the most basic part of the question, why am I in a church? Perhaps the first thing you thought of was those people who say that they don’t believe in organized religion. You get that out there when you’re talking to the lost. But I’m not going there first. I’m going to get into something that is even more basic than saying something good about the institution of the church itself. The reason I’m in a church is because of God.
I want to please God. I’m not in a church for myself. I’m in a church for God. That guides all the other thoughts and actions that I have about a church. I don’t attend church for myself. I go to church for God. I don’t determine whether the church is good by what it does for me. I make that decision based on what I believe is best for God. I might have a bad relationship with someone in the church, but that doesn’t stop me from being in church. Why? I’m not there for other people. I’m there for God. I’m there for other people too, but entirely without one single other person, I would still be there.
God never fails. He never changes. He’s always great. He’s always the best. He’s amazingly worth it. What it is that I like about whatever church that I’m going to be a part of starts with who God is. He loves me. I love Him. Every good and perfect gift has come from Him. I could never repay Him, but this life I’m living is going to be about Him. So I’m there for Him. I don’t care if my feelings are hurt. He didn’t hurt them. No one or no thing is going to keep me away, because it is all about God.
If you don’t have that as the reason, I feel sorry for you. If you don’t have it as the reason, I think you’ve got it wrong right off the bat. You’ll likely have problems because you don’t have that settled. I also think that not having that as the reason is at the root of most problems with churches and with people toward churches. Have church first be about God. It will be the best thing you’ve every done for church is to have it not be about you or about your family, but about God. It will be the best thing for you and for your family and for everyone else in the world if church would be about God to you.
Hymn Story – Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
This is a video illustration of the story behind the hymn “Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus.” Be careful, it may make you cry…
In 1882, Louisa Stead wrote the words to, ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus in the midst of personal tragedy. This touching video, set to the hymn sung by The Ascenders, illustrates the inspirational story of a mother and daughter depending on God in the midst of their desperate circumstances.
Complicating Evangelism
This if from a pastor’s blog that I follow. We can come up with plans and programs, but the bottom line is this: we must tell everyone!
Complicating Evangelism
I was talking to someone recently about evangelism. He said that he had talked to a pastor who had studied this out and found that door-to-door, the cold call, was the sixth best way of evangelism. The pastor had gone to some sales classes and took what he learned and developed a formula of how to locate the best contacts and then how to keep them warm until they finally are saved. The formula required a certain number of connections with the contact, including a specific number of visits. In the end, more people would be converted if the formula was followed.
As he was talking to me, my mind was wandering to scripture and the whole point of evangelism. Let me give you my formula. Preach it to everyone. Get the gospel to as many people as possible. Go to everyone to bring the gospel, so that no one is missed. That is what I see in Scripture. It is all I see in the Bible. I should love the people I’m preaching to. I should want them to be saved. I should want to live in accordance with the God about Whom I’m preaching, so that my testimony won’t hinder the meaning of the Words I’m proclaiming. I can’t talk them into it though. I can’t warm them into it. The gospel is going to do everything for the salvation to occur. I don’t have any special love for door-to-door. I see the example of it in scripture. I don’t believe there is any more effective way for people to be saved than just preaching it.
My theology is repulsed by the conversation represented by the first paragraph. I hear the words being said and I can’t wrap my brain around them. Why? Salvation is a supernatural work of God. Salvation comes from the gospel. The gospel is a message from the Bible. The salvation doesn’t come from human effort. It is not by the will of man. I believe these types of formulas just confuse that issue. They make the salvation of souls about the wisdom of men.
I don’t know who will want to hear the gospel and who will not. My responsibility is to preach it. If I preach the gospel to everyone, I have fulfilled my role in the work of salvation. When I don’t preach it, I don’t complete that responsibility.
Using Tracts Effectively
Why Tracts are Effective
- Many people never go to church or read the Bible. A tract may be the only clear
presentation of the Gospel they will ever receive. - A tract can go anywhere inexpensively. You can carry it in your pocket or purse, place it in a rack, or send it through the mail.
- A tract will reinforce your personal witness. Even if you can’t follow up, the reader can write to the publisher’s address on the back for further help.
- Some people will not listen to you, but will accept a tract. Many people have been saved through reading (and rereading) a tract in privacy.
How To Use Tracts
When you give a tract, you are representing the Lord. Here are a few suggestions on how to witness for Jesus Christ with tracts.
- Prayerfully. Ask the Lord to give you a love for Christ and a genuine concern for those whom you will meet. Pray that the Holy Spirit will, through the tracts you give, open hearts and minds to the Gospel.
- Practically. Be sensitive to the needs and interests of those around you, and be equipped to use tracts when it is appropriate.
- Pleasantly. It costs so little to smile, but a smile goes so far. If a person refuses a tract or wants to argue, be pleasant. Don’t argue.
- Plentifully. Tracts cost so little that you can afford to give them freely. Certainly some people will throw them away. People turn off the radio, yet we still broadcast the Gospel. Be persistent, and trust the Lord to bring forth fruit.
- Prospectively. Tracts open the door to further witness. But if you have an opportunity to share your faith, don’t give a tract as an excuse to not witness.
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Are you insured?
Are you insured? With all the talk of Health Insurance reform and all of the uncertainties that so many people face, it is wise to make sure your family is protected. But, how about you? This video is very thought-provoking in light of James 4:14:
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
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