Pastor Mike's Weblog

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for July 30, 2006

I Will Obey God's Commandments    Exodus 19:4-6; 20:3-17

You are, no doubt, familiar with the Ten Commandments. God chose the Israelites to enter into a special relationship with Him. Their part in that relationship was to do what God instructed them to do. In the commandments He outlined what their attitude and their behavior should be in their relationships both with Him and with other people. It would dramatically improve our relationships as well if we heeded God's Commandments.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for July 23, 2006

I Will Remain Loyal to God   Exodus 15:22-26; 16:2-4,31-35

Why does God test those who belong to Him? That life question from this week's lesson is a piercing one because it echoes the question many of us have asked in the past: Why am I going through this, Lord?

IMB Missionary David Rogers, son of the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, has an interesting post on his blog from July 4 detailing some sad affirmations from a meeting between the Vatican and the World Council of Churches. You can read the original article here. In the article both religious entities agree that "religious liberty is a non-negotiable human right, but warned of the ‘need to overcome the obsession with converting others.’ The report recommends working to overcome this ‘obsession’, as in the area of seeking conversions, all religions have made mistakes, according to the report."

The article goes on: "A code of ‘anti-conversion’ conduct is being considered. As a result of such soul-searching, one proposal was to reject “unethical means”, and avoid targeting “vulnerable people” such as children or handicapped people. The participants got the idea of a code of conduct to do with conversion attempts, and the Vatican Committee for Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (WCC) suggested that inter-religious dialogue on this issue should continue at various levels."

The article began with this powerful question: "Can we finally come clean and recognise that the Vatican and the World Council of Churches represent a different religion from that of biblical Christianity?"

As the author of the article so wisely points out, what about Jesus' commission to go into all the world and make disciples? And what of His drawing of the narrow line for Kingdom entrance in John 14:6? Satan continues to use organized 'religion' to guide millions of people away from the Truth and eternal life with the God of the Bible by political correctness and a movement to 'tolerate everyone'.

As Southern Baptists, a notably evangelistic group of believers, we should be leading the way in 'conversions'; indeed, being obsessed with conversions is the desire of Jesus Himself. Did He not say that He came to seek and save the lost? I believe the 'Everyone Can' evangelism effort launched by former SBC President Dr. Bobby Welch was a needed re-direction for many in our Convention, and it is one that our new president, Dr. Frank Page, has promised to continue. (See the last line on his intro page here).

Incidentally, I must include this important fact. Since I am a strong proponent of VBS in the local church and am also neck-deep in VBS work I think it is important to relate this: Almost 1/3 of all baptisms recorded in our Convention are a direct result of VBS! According to statistics released by Lifeway in 2005, 28% of all baptisms that year were directly related to VBS. So if we are going to be 'obsessed with conversions' as Jesus was and is, lets do VBS!!

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for July 16, 2006

I Will Follow God's Leading   Exodus 13:17-15:21

Have you ever experienced being detoured onto a circuitous route that you never thought would end? You were, as the saying goes 'lost as a golf ball in high weeds'. You strained your vision and your neck looking for orange detour signs to guide you back onto the familiar route that would deliver you to your destination. Sometimes the route was brief and the main road remained in sight. At other times the route was long and meandering and you wondered if you would ever get to your goal. Isn't that so much like life?

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for July 9, 2006

I Will Trust in God's Purpose and Power     Exodus 3:1-4:31

How can I know God is willing and able to help me in an overwhelming situation? Why is it so difficult for us to trust the all-wise, all-powerful Creator of the universe? If human parents prove to be reliable in most cases, cannot the sovereign God do even better?