Month: May 2024

Evan. Training – June1, 2024

Mindful that I still owe two of you blog-answers to question related to something about which I spoke or wrote, I still wanted to use today’s blog to remind all of us that Jesus didn’t come to earth just to give us better lives, He came to bring salvation and we aren’t supposed to keep it a secret.  If you are Free Saturday Morning, swing by Church for some Evangelism training, encouragement, and practice (9am- noon) – we have room for a few more! ~Pastor Scott

“Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

~Charles Spurgeon

“Prayer is crucial in evangelism: Only God can change the heart of someone who is in rebellion against Him. No matter how logical our arguments or how fervent our appeals, our words will accomplish nothing unless God’s Spirit prepares the way.”

~Billy Graham

Clarification – May 24, 2024

I received a text question on Sunday after the benediction.  The texter was asking me to clear up some verbiage I used that could easily be misunderstood (or misconstrued). 

You mentioned “transfer your faith” when referring to our children.  Can you clarify what you mean?

This is a simple, yet loaded question.

Firstly, there is no way to transfer your faith that does not involve your child’s receiving it (John 1:12).  Yes, Paul seems to understand that a parent “covers” the child in the home (1 Cor 7:14), but faith otherwise is personal.

Secondly, the family prepares the soil.  Mistakes will be made, but love covers a multitude of sin and pray like mad, because ultimately it’s in His hands.

Thirdly, the word “faith” has a number of implications and I likely meant ALL of them:

  1. Theologically, saving faith is a one-time action.  The moment we believe in Jesus we have everlasting life.  We are justified.  We are forgiven. We are sealed.  We are born again.  And yes, we are babies.
  2. “Faith” in this context could be thought of as by faith day-to-day following Jesus and His Word by which we grow into mature believers.
  3. And of course the epistles often refer to the whole of Christian teaching as “the faith”.

As I recall, I had a slide up with the words from Deuteronomy 6:6-8 discussing the parents’ role of continuous teaching.  While that slide was up, I also mentioned that we need to be faithfully modeling. It is through those two means that we “transfer our faith” to our children.  Our saving faith, our living faith, and our body of knowledge (Ephesians 6:4).  

Thanks for asking,

Pastor Scott

Asking the Pastor – May 3, 2024

“If God can do everything, then can He do nothing?”  Was a forwarded text message I received on Sunday night.  I don’t know who asked the question and, while I appreciate that there is “protection” in anonymity, it also requires that I make some guesses.  So here goes.

  1. I initially read this as a paradox question: “Can God make a rock he can’t lift?” or “Can God make a square circle?”   The “everything” contrasting with the “nothing.”  Christians have been wrestling with those questions for two millennia.  The conclusions have ranged from “He’s God and can do whatever He wills” to “That question is in itself absurd and God is a God of logic and reason.”  
  2. Then I thought, perhaps he meant “is God ever inactive?”  This ties directly to Genesis 2:2-3 wherein God says that he “rested on the 7th day.”  A closer examination shows us that God specifically rested from creating.  We know that He keeps the galaxies and even very atoms in our bodies spinning (Colossians 1:17) and that He doesn’t ever sleep (Psalm 121:4).  And we have countless verses that mention His watching presence (e.g. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His – 2 Chronicles 16:9)!   And His accompanying presence (Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6, cf. Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).  So my read of the Bible is that the answer is no, YHWH is never inactive.  He rested from the work of creating after 6 days, but He is an active, engaged, Sovereign! 

It’s also possible that the text sender meant “nothing” in the sense of “in my life” or “in answer to my prayers.”   My answer there would mostly be from the various Old Testament stories that teach us that God’s timing is often measured in years, decades, or even generations, while ours is measured in hours or days.  Also God is working with a massive 4-D chess board, and sometimes it’s not about me.  In 2000, I preached through the book of Genesis.  I will never forget how I was hit by Chapter 8 verse 1:  But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided  (Genesis 8:1, emphasis added).  God hadn’t really forgotten His main character, the only humans left alive, it was the author’s way of saying that God’s attention had been elsewhere.   God had been busy bringing up the waters from  the depth and releasing the waters from the firmament.  He was destroying His first creation.  He was dealing with something OTHER than Noah and His family.  Not every crisis, nor every storm, nor every disagreement, nor every ”unsettling situation” is about me.  Sometimes, God is doing something else!  But He never removes His hand (John 10:28)!  And sometimes His answer to our prayer is simply, “No, my child.”

Hope this is a little bit helpful,

Pastor Scott