Church

Ira Yates and his wife, Ann, purchased land in West Texas in the 1920’s.  For years, they struggled to make a living as ranchers and even feared foreclosure.  At one point, the family survived on government subsidies and assistance. That all changed when a representative from the Transcontinental Oil Company asked permission to explore Yates’ land for oil.  At 1,000 feet below the ground, the drill struck a rich zone, producing a “gusher.” By 1929, the Yates Oil Field was producing over one million barrels of oil a year; since then, it has produced over one billion barrels of oil. Ira Yates had owned it the entire time and never knew it.  Here was a potential millionaire living in poverty, receiving government handouts. Just like Ira Yates, many Christ-followers live in spiritual poverty and don’t even know it. The Bible teaches us that God has put “his Spirit in our…

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  -- Romans 12:3 In discussing the right manner in which to view oneself, Paul uses a word that is commonly associated with intoxication -- sober.  Robert Mounce, reflecting on this passage, coined an interesting phrase: egoholics.  An egoholic is someone who is addicted to ... themselves.  They think more highly of themselves than they ought to. This is a natural inclination.  Ever since birth, the world has revolved around self.  We see the world through our own eyes.  We process life through the lens of our own experiences.  Our way of processing things must be the way everyone processes things. "Sober judgment" is discernment that isn't colored…

Disclaimer: I am a pastor and most pastors practice the "preacher's count" on a regular basis.  That is to say, we round the worship attendance up to the nearest two hundred. That being said, gospel math is fairly simple.  It's a matter of addition and subtraction, with the possibility of multiplication thrown in, and trying your best to avoid division. When a person goes from non-believer to believer, they experience the joy of addition.  The triune God gets added to their life, purpose and joy and peace get added as well.  They get added to the Body, which is the church.  Their name gets added to the Lamb's Book of Life. Addition is a wonderful thing.  Preachers preach about the benefits that can be added to a person's life.  But gospel math also requires that we learn to practice subtraction.  God's sanctifying work in our life challenges us to replace…

Bonhoeffer talked about "cheap grace."  Cheap grace is what offers much but requires little.  If we're not careful, we may be guilty of offering a low-calorie approach to discipleship.  It may taste great, but eventually it's also less filling. In 1 Peter 3:21, the writer addresses this matter by using a very interesting word: pledge.  Here's what he writes: "... and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." When you give your life to Jesus, you are pledging a good conscience toward God.  A pledge goes beyond a good intention or even a promise.  Peter uses a word that was also used to describe what a Roman soldier did when he joined the Roman army.  He pledged to follow the orders…

I've been working on an upcoming sermon lately regarding the Holy Spirit's role in prompting repentance.  In doing so, I came across this great quote from A.W. Tozer on penitence.  For those of you who don't know, Tozer was perhaps best known for his 40+ books.  Of those, The Pursuit of God is among his best.  I have a copy on my Kindle app. In the following quote, he talks about penitence -- a word we don't use much today.  It essentially means feeling a sense of sorrow for one's sins (see this definition).  Here's the quote: "A growing Christian must have at his roots the life-giving waters of penitence. The cultivation of a penitential spirit is absolutely essential to spiritual progress. The lives of great saints teach us that self-distrust is vital to godliness. Even while the obedient soul lies prostrate before God, or goes on in reverent obedience…