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MonMondayFebFebruary1st2010
Unloading Condemnation
When we live our lives resting in the hope of the cross of Jesus Christ, we will not live under the weight of condemnation.
What is condemnation exactly? Here’s how CJ Mahaney puts it in his book The Cross Centered Life: Living with, “a sustained sense of guilt and shame over sins for which you have repented to God and to any appropriate individuals.” p 38
Living under condemnation works greatly against our spiritual growth in Christ! If we don’t learn to “unload” our condemnation onto Jesus and what He’s done for us on the cross, we will – Despair or Deny:
- Despair over our sin and quit seeking holiness (the pain of our guilt is too great to keep trying)
- Deny our sin and quit seeking holiness (the pain of our guilt is too great to acknowledge our sin)
Connected to denying - we’re more likely to focus on other people’s sins since this can temporarily distract us from the pain of our own guilt and shame
As Christians, our Father doesn’t intend for us to live with a sustained sense of guilt and shame when we’ve repented. The Lord doesn’t want us to despair over our sin or deny our sin. He wants us to humbly acknowledge it, turn from it, and rest in what Christ has already accomplished for us on the cross. Repent and Rest. R&R. As we repent and rest in the cross, our joy and gratitude toward God will increase since we’ll see how kind He is to be completely committed to us is in spite of our daily battles with sin.
MonMondayJanJanuary25th2010
Our Prayer Pillar
At Harvest Bible Chapel we have Four Pillars that guide all of our ministry.
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Proclaiming the authority of God’s Word without apology - 2 Timothy 4:2
- Lifting high the name of Jesus through worship - John 4:24
- Believing firmly in the power of prayer - Colossians 4:2
- Sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness - Ephesians 6:19-20
I’d like to take a moment to talk about our Pillar on prayer. Why do we have prayer listed as an essential Pillar that upholds our church? Let me give you some reasons:
- It’s commanded in Scripture
- It’s modeled in Scripture
- It reminds us how much we need God
- It reminds others how much they need God
- It’s a major way that God works out His plans on earth
- It increases our awareness of God
- It increases our love for God
- It increases our love for others
- It increases our faith for good things to come
- The youngest to the oldest can participate
- Those young in their faith can be used mightily!
- The uneducated can be used disproportionately to their education
- It unites families, friends, churches, and communities
…It glorifies God by showing our weakness and His power
Prayer uniquely shows our weakness and God’s power. It’s possible to know the Bible from cover to cover and yet to be minimally aware of our need for God. Sad but true… For sinful people like us, knowledge can puff us up big time! We can forget that we’re not even in control of our next heartbeat or breath… Prayer tends to remind us – again, and again, and again (I need the reminders all day!) of how much we need God. Don’t get me wrong – keep reading your Bible, keep learning, keep memorizing, keep mediating – for sure!
But… don’t do that without growing more and more as a person of prayer. When you think of the Bible, think of prayer. When you think of prayer, think of the Bible. These two blessings from God are meant to go together!
Prayer is one of the 4 Pillars of Harvest Bible Chapel Joliet. “Lord, may we be a church that prays and prays and prays! For Your glory and our joy – in Jesus name, amen!”
Prayer is a privilege. The more you pray, the more you pray…
MonMondayJanJanuary18th2010
A Church "of" Small Groups
I love Small Groups and I want you to as well!
It’s hard to overstate the benefits that can be had from a strong Small Group. HBC Joliet will not be a church with “some” Small Groups; rather, it will be a church “of” Small Groups. Our Sunday worship service is the most important event of the week. However, Small Groups wonderfully compliment it by accomplishing things that it cannot.
What is a Small Group?
A Small Group is a regular gathering where Christians (5-12 typically) seek to grow more in loving the Lord and each other. Small Groups happen outside of the church facility, typically in someone’s home. Small Groups are a practical way for Christians to live the Christian life “together" - the very thing Jesus intends for us to do!
Three Things Central in Small Groups
- The Bible
- Prayer
- Relationships
Small Groups are effective because they offer a setting where we can...
- Learn what’s going on in each others lives
- Develop life long Christ-centered friendships
- Ask biblical questions
- Discuss biblical topics
- Pray for others
- Be prayed for
- Learn from others who have gone before us
- Be comforted by others
- Comfort others
- Be challenged to grow spiritually by others
- Lovingly challenge others to grow
- Enjoy relating to people who are different than us
- Gain perspective from people who are different than us
- Laugh and have fun together - thank God for humor!
Small Groups have the potential to offer Christians a little taste of Heaven on earth. HBC Joliet will be a church “of” Small Groups. I'm looking forward to being in one!
MonMondayJanJanuary11th2010
The 3 W's
At Harvest Bible Chapel, we try to keep things simple. When things are simple, they’re more easily understood, and therefore, more easily remembered, and therefore more easily applied. Simplification encourages -- application, which brings about -- transformation. Make sense?
At HBC Joliet, we will have 3 W’s that will be kept central in our church life. I believe that each “W” is critical in the life of a believer. Here they are:
Here’s a simplified definition of each “W.”
Worship – be engaged in our worship service on Sundays
Walk – be engaged in a small group
Work – regularly serve the Lord in HBC Joliet
Pretty simply right? I think so! Worship, Walk, Work. When we start HBC Joliet, one of my focuses will be to help every believer live out the 3 W’s. I think many understand why the “Worship” “W” is important, but some may not understand why “Walk” and “Work” are.
Walk – attending a small group at HBC Joliet will be critical for believers because small groups enable us to live out the biblical model of love in a way that attending a Sunday worship service doesn’t. Our small groups will typically meet 3 times per month in someone’s home with a group of 5-12 people. In a small group you’ll have a chance to be known and know others – both are important in any godly relationship. Your small group will give you an opportunity to learn God’s truth from others, to teach God’s truth to others, to be encouraged, and to encourage. Your small group will also help you to fight the ongoing battle with sin that we all face in our mutual ministry time. It’s far too easy to be filled with a sermon on Sunday morning and to leak it all out Sunday afternoon. God tells us in His word to be “doers of the word.” Small groups are wonderful structures that help us to “do” just that. (John 13:34-35; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25; James 1:22)
Work – regularly serving the Lord at HBC Joliet will also be critical for spiritual growth. When I say “serve”, I’m referring to Christians regularly working to glorify God through our local church. Depending on our spiritual gifts and the present needs we may find before us, this work will vary greatly. Here are some “initial” areas of service that we’ll have at HBC Joliet: children’s ministry, worship ministry, prayer team, technical ministry, greeters, ushers, small group leaders etc… Those types of service are primarily what is meant when we say "Work". However, other service at HBC Joliet will certainly be things like: a word of encouragement, wise advice, patient listening, various displays of compassion, making a meal, evangelism, counseling someone, praying on the spot for someone etc… When we all serve the Lord together we strengthen our local church so that the individuals will be strong as well. This is the basis for a God honoring church that we can bring others into. We get strong on the inside so that we can help others get strong from the outside. (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 4:12; 1 Peter 4:10)
It’s important for everyone who is a part of HBC Joliet to realize that our service to God is not to be something that we do grudgingly. That does not honor God. That is serving God in our strength, not in His strength (1 Peter 4:11). When we serve God in His strength it will have a number of effects:
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Realization that we are ultimately serving “God” as we do this
- Excitement and joy about the role God has given us
- Freedom from complaining or bragging about our service
- Ever increasing excellence in our area of service
- The blessing of others
I’m fond of saying: “My service TO God is my gift FROM God.” It's a privilege to serve the Lord because He empowers us with joy as we serve Him. God is not honored by miserable servants. If everybody at a company is miserable – what does that tend to say about the president of that company? It communicates the same thing about God.
God is honored by joyful servants! Our joy in our service to God shouts out how wonderful He is. That is glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Harvest Bible Chapel Joliet, a place where believers:
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Worship - Christ
- Walk – with Christ
- Work – for Christ
You will be blessed as you live out the 3 W’s!
Summary of Training Center last week:
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Leadership discussions
- leading by example
- being empathetic
- decision making
- using authority wel
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Bob Hogart from HBC Granger - discussions of preparing for Launch Sunday
- organization
- attention to detail
- various leadership roles needed to launch church
- discussions of church scenarios
MonMondayDecDecember28th2009
Expository Preaching
I hope you had a Merry Christmas --
Preaching is absolutely critical in the local church! Once Harvest Bible Chapel Joliet launches I will be preaching expository sermons on a weekly basis. Some may be familiar with this term and others may not be. Let me help to clarify.
What is an expository sermon?
Here is the definition that Haddon Robinson gives in his well known book Biblical Preaching:
“Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers.” p. 21
When I preach at HBC Joliet, I will have studied a passage of Scripture and understood it’s historical (how did the original hearers understand the passage?), grammatical (what do the various words and phrases mean in the passage?), and literary (is the passage a poem, a story, an epistle/letter etc…? And how should this knowledge impact my interpretation?) context. It is critical that I understand the proper context of the passage so that I give the proper interpretation.
Also, as I study the passage and prepare to preach it, my first focus is for the Lord to change me through the text. I count this as one of my greatest privileges of being a pastor. God’s word is powerful – I look forward to the transformation that He will bring in my life over the years! Then, out of my studies and personal transformation I will seek to proclaim the truths that the Lord has shown me to the congregation of HBC Joliet. I count this as an immense privilege as well! Being a part of supernatural transformation in the lives of people is one of the most exciting things to me in life!
I will typically preach through one book of the Bible at a time - 1 passage at a time.
Why preach expository sermons?
Preaching expository sermons helps to guide the preacher in his preparation to make sure he’s getting and giving the most accurate interpretation. If a preacher isn’t committed to doing the extensive study that an expository sermon requires, he is likely to misinterpret God’s holy word and therefore teach things that God doesn’t want taught. Accurate teaching is crucial to God’s church. God wants His children to know certain things. My job is to make sure that those certain things are being communicated.
Expository preaching protects preachers (including me!) from:
- Preaching Bible verses out of context
- Avoiding difficult (and there are many) subjects in the Bible
- Only emphasizing things that are to his liking
- Giving into to cultural ideologies that are not taught in the Bible
- Reading to simply get head knowledge
- Explaining the Bible without applying it to those listening
I trust that there will be much transformation occurring in the city of Joliet and beyond as a result of God's word intersecting with our lives in the years to come!
Below is a brief summary from my training in the Training Center last week.
Summary
-Discussions on Leadership
- top down management
- servant leadership
-Ministry Leadership Team meeting
- discussions about future church-planting strategies
- discussions on leadership and urgency
- discussions on principles and definitions of leadership
- recommended books for leadership
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