Seeking the Lost: Do we have a heart to reach the lost?

Luke 15:1-7

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

I love this story – Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

Jesus – sitting with the sinners of His day according to society – was trying to teach the religious leaders of His day the heart of God.  They didn’t get it and at times I don’t think we do either. A quick look at how we spend our resources in the church will reveal that we spend way more on the 99 in the flock (church) than the 1 lost in the world.

When we come to worship week after week – are we more concerned with what we want or how we can be used to help someone come to Christ?  Have we gone out of our way – even attending the other service if need be – to reach a neighbor, a friend, a family member and invite them – even bring them to worship with us?

When is the last time we went out looking for the lost?  When is the last time our small group invited someone to join us?  When is the last time in youth group we stepped out of our clique and helped make a new person feel welcome?  When is the last time we worried more about making someone feel welcome at our worship service or any activity?  When is the last time we went out looking for someone to invite?

Easter is fast approaching – April 4 – and it is a perfect opportunity to begin to invite the lost – who do you know that doesn’t know Jesus?  Who could you invite and tell them you will meet them here and sit with them so they know someone?  Or even offer to pick them up?

God rejoices in the new converts – the lost being found. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.

How about this Easter we all invite 5 people to worship with us?  And then make that our practice each week – seeking those who do not know Jesus and going out of our way to help them see Jesus.

If I offered the person who brought the most people to worship on Easter $100, would it be worth the effort?  Or is the possibility that a family member, friend, or neighbor, comes to know Jesus worth it?  Two Sundays ago I counted seven people who raised their hand – saying that they received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in one of our worship services.  That could have been someone you love – if you would simply invite them and not give up.

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

All Joy and Peace

Romans 15:13

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever had a tough day or week?  I mean a day or week when nothing seems to go right?  Or maybe it is a day or week where nothing is going wrong specifically – but you just seem to be having a down week. I run into these days or weeks from time to time.  Nothing really wrong – but depression or a low down feeling hits me. The circumstances of the moment are lined up to bring me down – and I begin to fold.

When these times occur, I could try to go to Panera Bread for an afternoon of coffee and fellowship – that might help.  I love people and meeting with folks helps.  I could meet with some friends – and talk about the Ravens or the Orioles – that too might help.  I could spend a quite evening with my wife – that almost always helps.  But what I know helps me the most when I feel a low down day or week is to deepen my relationship with Jesus.  Spending time in the Word, listening to a Podcast, or listening to some Christian music on my iPod.

What helps you?  Remember – happiness is circumstantially driven, while joy is spiritually derived.  In order to get control over the circumstances that bring us down, we need to deepen our relationship with Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30 - ²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

It is my relationship with Jesus that pulls me out of the circumstances that bring me down.

Something to think about today, as you go on your way.

Hearing from God

As I sit at my desk in the wee hours of Sunday morning, waiting to hear from God, I began to put some thoughts down.  Have you ever wondered how one would hear from God?  I mean, the Scriptures are filled with people hearing from God.  There’s Moses’ burning bush.

Exodus 3:1-5 – 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

What I wouldn’t give for a burning bush or two once-in-a-while.  Or how about an encounter with God like Jeremiah had when he was confused about his calling?

Jeremiah 1:4-10 – 4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew  you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Jesus speaks about His sheep knowing His voice.  He uses the image of sheep and shepherd.

John 10:14-15, 27 – 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. . . 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

We recognize God’s voice by being in constant and consistent contact with Him according to this analogy.  The more we walk with Jesus, the more we will recognize His voice.  Sheep know the shepherd’s voice because they listen to it day after day after day after day.  They rely on the shepherd’s voice for food, for shelter, for safety, for life.  It is an example used by King David as well.

Psalm 23:1-4 – 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

If you wish to hear God’s voice, the answer is simple, walk with Him, moment by moment.  In walking with Jesus, removing the noise of the world more and more, His voice will be made clear.  This reminds me of one of my favorite TV shows – NCIS.  In several episodes Abby takes what others hear as noise, and by removing layers of the noise, a message is made clear.  One episode had a little blind girl who had exceptional hearing help the team solve a case by being able to hear what they could not.

Lord, help Your church to be more myopic in seeing Your will and focused on hearing Your voice.  Help us to walk with Jesus daily.

I bet some of you just knew I would end with one of my favorite passages – didn’t you?

Romans 12:1-2 – 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual  act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Manhattan Declaration

A Call of Christian Conscience (read all at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/)

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Read this whole article at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/

Kingdom Work

The older I get, the more I want to jettison the things in my ministry that are not about kingdom work. Last week in my devotions I was listening to a podcast that reminded me to think about the difference between the things that are essential and the things that are cultural or habit. For instance, to worship God is essential. The style of our worship is cultural.

Old patterns of doing things may have worked in ages past, and some may still work today, but the way we do things is not the essential element. The older I get the more I want to focus on the essential.

A good example of this is what we have done with our children’s ministry. The essential element is that we present Jesus to our children. The cultural non-essential is whatever pattern of presenting Jesus we use or have used in the past. The old way of presenting Jesus in most United Methodist Churches is called Sunday school – placing children in a room for an hour with a teacher and a lesson plan. We decided the method was not what was essential, but rather that we find a way to present Jesus to our children that would be impactful and life changing. Our old Sunday School program, just a year and a half ago, had 6-12 children. We decided that what we were doing was not working for us so we started what we call Kingdom Kids. Kingdom Kids has their own worship team, a puppet ministry, their own place to meet, and we use a variety of methods to teach the children about Jesus (the essential).

The last three Sundays we have had over 60 children attending this new program and parents are amazed at what the children are learning and retaining about Jesus. Sunday School worked at one time and might still work in the right setting. What we found more impactful was a new method and we were not afraid to try it.

We must be more concerned with kingdom work than the survival of an old method, process, or institution. We cannot fall in love with the structure and allow it keep us from being as impactful as possible in our kingdom work. Time just does not allow it.

When we started our season of ministry together one of the first things I mentioned was I was more concerned as a pastor with us doing kingdom work than with the survival of our church setting. I would rather close this location of the church, doing kingdom work as we go, than have the location survive, at the cost of kingdom work. I tried to say that as clearly as possible. The institution can survive while doing kingdom work, but the focus needs to be on the kingdom work, not survival. Does that make sense?

This brings me to the point I wanted to write about this week and will write about again. Did you know that within five miles of Mt. Oak there are nine United Methodist Churches? That was amazing to me when I did the research online. I began to look at each church and ask the question – why so many with so little connection? We call ourselves a connectional church, yet, within five miles there are essentially nine congregations of the same denomination (I’m sure I would be floored by the total number of Christian churches within 5 miles of Mt. Oak) with very little contact or connection.

I have had conversations with some pastors about how we can connect. I have also had conversations with denominational leaders around this subject.

There is a variety of ways to connect. We can share some ministries, some resources, and staff. We can officially connect or informally connect. We can share our calendars. Just think what could be accomplished for the kingdom with over 2,000 United Methodists working together in this area verses each individual church location trying to do things alone.

What tends to be the roadblock to connectional ministries in some cases is the sense of independence at each location. Whether they have a worshiping body of 20 or 400, each location of the church has some sense of autonomy and the survival of their location becomes more important than the kingdom work that can be accomplished together.

Pray with me that we would focus more on kingdom work and ask the question – how can our location and other resources be best used for the kingdom rather than – what can we do to survive!

In future articles I will write about ways we can connect in a more concrete way. Maybe you have some ideas you could send me as fodder for future articles. God bless you!

1 Corinthians 13

I have been doing my Daily Messages (last week and this week coming) on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. Do you have any comments or thoughts?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 – 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8a Love never fails. NIV

What is your opinion about the most recent sermon series on fishing?

How about giving some feedback on the latest sermon series on fishing? You can listen to the sermons on our web page at http://www.mtoak.org/sermons.html starting October 18.

Be honest but be constructive please.

In the Body of Christ, should there be any standards or should all be acceptable?

In the Body of Christ, should there be any standards or should all be acceptable?

If you ever hold to a standard, be prepared to be called judgmental.

Sabbath

Do you take a Sabbath?

If so, what do you do on your Sabbath?

What don’t you do on your Sabbath?