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Stand for Something – 1/25/12 Bible Study

Published on January 27th, 2012 by in Church, Theology

Video from Worship Service. Notes follow below…

http://shilohchurch.sermon.net/dv/119809613/play
Ideological views

Watch this with me (Regarding video played on screen at beginning of Bible Study…)
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Sounds like a mountain-top experience?
Guess what? This is the testimony of a mormon. This is the testimony of something completely false, yet warm feeling.

I want to share with you something very important. Theological beliefs are critical!

You have to stand on something firm and solid. Alot of people your age think that it is ok to wander from church to church and not worry. There is alot of people who think that denominationalism is awful and corrupts the church, but alot of non-denominational churches have not theological guideposts.

Doctrinal purity is CRITICAL!

You could be easily roped in by what Glenn Beck says. I see it. I love the story. Too bad it is wrong!

There is a song that says: You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything.

One thing that baptists have long stood on is the sovreinty of God’s word and making sure that it is always in front of everything. This is why baptists come together for multiple worship services each week. Sunday morning Bible Study, Sunday Night discipleship, and then alot of times other small group studies.

The baptist church is not built upon moving services, spiritual highs, and all this other stuff. It is built upon doctrinal purity. Some would say, “I wish it was more exciting.” Guess what, you can make some glitzy and exciting, and it will last a few minutes and then it is over. What will last? The words of God implanted deep in my life sustain me through the times when the glitz and excitement are gone.

Psalm 116
113 I hate double-minded people,
   but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
   I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
   that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
   do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
   I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
   for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
   therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;
   I stand in awe of your laws.

So many people are on this search for something significant and are so easily roped in to feel good services. These services deliver moving testimonies, moving music and drama, impassioned messages, and mountain top experiences. What happens when all the frill falls away and it is you, your problems, and a valley experience? At that time, only the word will lift you out of the valley.

Being grounded is so important! Deut 11:16 says “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”

What happens to those left in mountain top churches? You are made to feel like a lost person. How do I know this? I have experienced it.

My first couple of years, I was in the valley. Saved, but in the valley. I went to a church in Decatur with a friend for a revival service. The church shall remain nameless. It was an exciting worship service with awesome music, thrilling testimony, an exciting message! The service was hopping, but I was not. I was not feeling the same level of excitement because where my life was at. I was approached in worship and was basically told I was lost and going to hell. Why? Because I was not in the same place as the rest of the folks.

Churches with solid foundations built not upon worship service style, but the word of God realize that people are going to rise and fall in their walk, but their salvation sustains them, not flighty happy worship music and moving messages. The word of God is an unshakable rock!

2 Cor 4:5
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

People often gripe about Denominations and Baptists, but do you know what we believe?

Biblical Authority
1 Peter 1:23-25
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,  25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  And this is the word that was preached to you.
Priesthood of the believer
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Individual soul liberty
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Salvation by grace through faith
Eph 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Perseverance of Salvation
John 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
Autonomy of the Local Church
Revelation 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[a] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

 
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Be Your Child’s Guidance and Correction, not Friend

Published on January 25th, 2012 by in Family

I see it so much now.  Parents who want to be their child’s best friend.  I see it with parents of kids from toddlers to teenagers.  They want their kids to think they are cool, trendy, and awesome.  This is not the way God intended it!  Kids need guidance, reproof, wisdom, not parents who are friends.  If you kids want a friend, they can get one from their peers at school. You kids need your discipline.  You see kids today who can stay out all hours, stay up all hours, go wherever they want to go, do whatever they want to do, and their parents say “it’s cool.”    NO!  NO NO NO!!!!  God does not want this.  He expects parents to discipline.  ”The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” Proverbs 29:15

He wants parents to offer spiritual guidance.  You even see this in church.  Parents will say, at least they are going.  Well, question?  Do you know what your child is being taught?  Is it accurate?  Is it biblical?  Is it deep enough?  Does it conflict?  You can’t answer this if your kids are going somewhere else than you.  Even if I was not a minister, my kids would be in the same church as me (not vice versa).  Why?  Kids and teens need this structure, this spiritual discipline.  They need to see me worship and I need to see them worship with me.  It suddenly makes clear the view of the church as a family and the family of the home.  It is all connected!

Parenthood is hard, but becomes much easier when you realize that God did not put your here to be your child’s best friend.  That will come later after we are done guiding and disciplining our children.  So ends my rant for today.

That’s my 2 cents for today…

 
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Bloom Where You Are Planted

Published on January 23rd, 2012 by in Church, Life, Youth

This morning I posted the following on Facebook…

“Far too often as believers we become consumed with finding greener pastures or trying to convince other believers to change pastures. Instead we need to be consumed with reaching those with NO pasture with the gospel message and bloom where we are planted. Remember, on this side of heaven you will not find any pasture that does not have a few brown spots.”

Now allow me to expound…   This message is going to be hard to take and even hit me in the gut as God liad it on my heart, but it needs to be said.  I see this scenario far too often, in particular in my work with youth over the years.  Youth have a tendency to be mob movers from one place to another.  Such and such church has a really cool service with lots of moving music, heart wrenching messages, and lots of people crying and praising.  Suddenly it is the hot spot and a student goes and checks it out and plugs in.  Then they go to another student (who is actively plugged in to his church) and says, “you need to go to such and such church with me. ”  The problem is that he was plugged in to his church.  So, why go take him from the pasture where he is grazing to take him to another when the student in the next desk or on the same road is starving because he has no pasture?   What happens to him if he disconnects from his original pasture and suddenly feels without a home in the new pasture?  Will he emotionally be able to go back?

We need to be really careful with fishing in other ponds when there is an ocean of fish with no pond.  God called us to be fishers of men, not going after those who have already been caught.  The great commission to to go and make disciples, not go and dig up the disciples who have already been made.  Did you know that only 4% of america’s high school students are churched?  Why then are we fighting over capturing the hearts of the 4% instead of anxiously trying to reach the 96%?  You can tell that I feel very passionate about this, because I have been a youth minister for 16 years now and seen too much fishing in other people’s ponds. I have even been party to this in the past.  No more!  I want to see the 96% in someone’s church, no more trading sheep, trading fish, etc!

Believers, can you join me?  Let’s stop trying to convince people who go somewhere else!  Let’s stop running to a new pasture which will have it’s own shortfalls.  Let’s instead work on building up the body of Christ.  Let’s start blooming where we are planted.  You see a need in your church… Don’t run form the need, try to fill the need!  You see someone dying (spiritually), pour into that person.

Look at John 10:10… It says “I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”  2 things to learn from this verse.  Christ came for the lost and for his church.  It is Him that gives life, not His church.  He came to bring life to the lost and dying.  He also came to bring spiritual abundance to our lives.  All of this comes from Him and Him alone.  I think far to often the saying is spoken, “I just am not being fed.”  God and his word on the bread of life, not the church (John 6:35 says, “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”)  The church is where believers come together to reach a lost and dying world and to cooperate together to build each other up (1 Thes 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”)  God causes spiritually dead people to come back to life and those who have life to bloom!

So what am I saying? 1) Reach the lost and invite them to your church.  2)Bloom in your church and cause life to return to dead churches by being fed by God and blooming in abundance.  3)Encourage other believers, but don’t encourage them to abandon their church (unless their church is teaching false teachings).

 

My 2 cents for today…

 
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-22

Published on January 22nd, 2012 by in Uncategorized

  • Need another good reason not support Romney? Huntsman is now supporting him! #
  • Huntsman supporters are self-described liberals or moderates. Now huntsman supports Romney. Do the math! #
  • Ignite young adult worship #shiloh #hillcitylights #worship #somerville #ignite http://t.co/SJ21QTmM #
  • Off to the first meeting of first priority at Sparkman! #
  • 13 student showed up today at Sparkman for the very 1st first priority meeting #
  • I need some help moving some furniture in The Loft. Any volunteers? #
  • I just contacted my representatives/senators to oppose #SOPA #PIPA – Join me! http://t.co/jtWZUIHG #wikipediablackout #
  • Shiloh students… Get on the phone, text, tweet, and Facebook to invite friends to church tonight! #growyouryouthgroup #
  • #shiloh #studentworship #theloft #music #band #wednesday http://t.co/MEh3jSe2 #
  • Commissioned my entire youth group as missionaries tonight! #lifebook #reachtheunchurched96percent #
  • And newt hits a home run! #
  • Two days in a row of dressing up. Can't let this turn into habit http://t.co/K0HwWtWh #
  • Tomorrow morning we really start diving in to revelation in worship! #excited #Shiloh http://www.shilohchurch.info #
  • #britthume & #foxnews are in love with #mittromney apparently. #SouthCarolina has spoken & #newt is the #GOP candidate America wants! #
  • I think we may be watching a momentous and historic turn in events tonight as #newt wins in South Carolina! #

 
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