Pastor Mike's Weblog

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Commentary for September 3, 2006

Who Me? A Leader?   Joshua 1:1-15

A common way of describing one extreme of poor principles of leadership is that "there are too many chiefs and not enough indians." The converse also reflects a leadership crisis: too many indians and no chief at all. The former can lead to demagoguery and the latter to anarchy. The secret of successful leadership in any organization, including the church, must be found in a healthy balance between those who lead and those who follow.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for August 27, 2006

Maximizing God-Given Opportunities  Acts 19:1-5,8-10,23-28

Well-known author Beth Moore, in her book 'To Live is Christ: The Life and Ministry of Paul' says, "God doesn't just wait for people to come to Him. He goes to them and desires to intervene right at the point of their need. He's just looking for a few brave people, like the apostle Paul, who are willing to go rather than wait for them to come. May we be some of those people."

For those of you who have been wondering, our youngest son Aaron is doing great. We no longer feed through the tube at all and he seems to be having no problems with regular food and liquids. We go back to the surgeon in Memphis in September and hopefully, since Aaron is doing so well, he will remove the feeding valve, shown in the recent picture below. The large scar is from the esophogal wrap surgery.

If you notice the time stamp on this blog entry it is early (or late, depending on your view of day and night). I have been tossing and turning, contemplating the Sunday we just finished. We had a positive day with great worship, great preaching from a guest speaker (Todd Brady from Union University; kudos to you Todd for a job well done!), a thoughtful and prayerful staff meeting, and a Sunday night service in the dark about Jesus and clutter (a passing storm knocked out the electricity during the next to last song before I began to preach).

We have been observing what we call 'Super Summer Sundays' through the month of August. These services are to prepare us for planned revival services September 10-13. We have had a different speaker each Sunday morning (I have only preached once) sharing messages dealing with preparing for God's work of spiritual renewal and awakening. I know I have been ministered to and refreshed already, as well as challenged in my own personal life and walk with Jesus. I sense God is at work in hearts, not just my own; and of course satan is at work also.

Meeting with our ministry staff today was insightful and challenging. They are all volunteer ministers, all but one are talented and passionate lay-people, fulfilling a call to serve in a specialized area of ministry for our church. I feel close to all of them and can sense their passion and love for Jesus and for people. As they expressed views during our staff devotion/mentoring time I was blessed and challenged by their candid responses, personal insight and challenges, and the very humble spirit each displayed. I could sense that God was at work shaping them into the servants He desires them to become, and they are responding positively to His working. Thank you Lord for each of them.

Our devotion/mentoring time dealt with the subject of prayer. I provided them a brief, printed interview with a church leader about prayer, an evaluation sheet for their personal use later, and a list of questions that we discussed and responded to openly. I began by quoting a writer I remembered from a long time ago (I remember his statement but not his identity) who said, "All our failures are prayer failures". We then read different scriptures dealing with Jesus' teaching on prayer; praying with persistence, fasting and prayer, seeking the Kingdom, and so forth.

I came away from that meeting challenged to pray more, and more specifically, but also determined to listen more. Challenged to listen and when I sense a particular direction as God leads in prayer, in quiet, or through His Word, to act to obey. Before the campus revival a few years ago at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, while I was a student, Dr. Michael Spradlin, the seminary president, said something I will never forget. I recall it every time we prepare in our church for revival. He said, "I am praying for a revival of obedience." Wow. Simple, yet profound. Why should God visit me with a fresh revelation of Himself and His truth from God's Word when I am not in obedience to what He has already revealed? I would venture to say we do not need a fresh visitation, we need a renewed lifestyle of determined obedience. Appropriate the fullness of God's Spirit that is promised to those who ask for it, and by His power live a life of obedience.

This will bring about a radical change in our lifestyles. We will drive differently. We will spend differently. We will speak differently. We will work differently. We will study differently. We will pray differently. We will relate to others differently. We will parent differently. Let this concept of total obedience grasp you fully in its embrace. Ask yourself the question: Am I fully obedient to God's commands as revealed in holy scripture? Even the things I view as small? What am I overlooking or justifying?

Maybe these are the ramblings of a man who should be asleep. But maybe I am onto something here. What do you think?

The resolution passed as the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro and the subsequent commentary have brought out all manner of opinions concerning alcohol use and abuse by Christians. Dr. Bobby Welch's comments in SBC Life have stirred many to even further conversation, many feeling that he misunderstood the objections to the motion that was passed afirming total abstinence from alcohol. Following is an excerpt from Dr. Al Mohler's radio show on August 9 where he shares his view on the issue. I believe that it is as good an opinion as any and in fact, it mirrors my own opinion, so I repost it here. My thanks to the Baptist Blogger for posting it.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for August 20, 2006

Making a Difference in the World  Matthew 5:13-16; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

God wants to use believers to transform people and cultures. Sometimes we may think because we aren’t famous or rich or gifted that God can’t use us. But our lesson today reminds us that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for His glory. An artist, rather than the artist’s brush, gets credit for painting a masterpiece. In a similar way, the Lord receives praise for accomplishing things through those who make themselves available to Him to transform their culture. What can God accomplish through you?

LESSONS FROM THE BROOK

1 Kings 17:1-9

Have you ever wished that you had the faith, authority, courage, etc., to stand for God and do His work as Elijah did before the 450 prophets of Baal and King Ahab in 1 Kings 18?

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for August 6, 2006

Set Apart by God    John 17:9-23

Jesus prayed that believers would be set apart by God’s truth; believers must therefore take seriously their responsibility to carry on Christ’s work in the world. The term 'Change Agent' has become one of our culture's most popular buzz words. Simply put, a change agent is someone with the vision and leadership to motivate change within a company for the purpose of increasing profits. Our purpose as Christ-followers is to continue Christ's redemptive work by affecting change in our world. We accomplish that by allowing God to accomplish His work in us.