Been too busy to post much with preaching responsibilities on top of everything else. That is definitely not a complaint - getting to preach on the cross and resurrection the last four weeks has been awesome. I get a lot out of the study and proclamation of what Jesus did for me - weekly I am reminded of areas I need to work on, change, grow in, etc.
So, for what it's worth, here's one quick application that has stuck with me the past month. The Sunday before last (March 21 - message is on the web at www.gsfcb.org) I was preaching on the crucifixion, the actual hours Jesus was on the cross (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.). It was a powerful day with the time in the Word and our experience in Worship. Many people responded that next week with how much the message meant to them. Several times I responded to a text or e-mail with the comment "I love to preach on the cross." Each time I said that, I thought about how sad it would be to be moving past Easter and my time in the pulpit and the opportunity to proclaim what Jesus did on the cross. As clearly as if He had spoken it audibly, God said to me, "You can preach the cross EVERY DAY."
You know, that's exactly what I should be doing. If I really love telling the story of the cross, I can tell it every day. Every day is Easter, every day the cross can be preached, every day there are people who need to hear about the cross. If the story is so meaningful to me and evidently to so many others, let's go tell it and let's keep telling it! Easter is not just a day or a season - it is a message that is timeless and unbounded.
God help me preach to one as enthusiastically as I preach to a crowd.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Desperate to Preach
Following is an update written by my son Jordan, regarding a mission trip to China in December and January. I needed to be reminded of these truths and I thought his explanation was profound (not just because he's my boy!).
(Jordan) "Every time I come back from a trip overseas I find myself desiring more and more to give away whatever money the Lord blesses me with to help the poor. I know that his heart is soft for the orphans and widows, the poor and the down and out. However, in China it was a bit different. It wasn't just the physical need that moved my heart to want to give more of my money and material possessions away, I was so broken over the spiritual need. Many mornings I stood behind the big glass windows on the 6th floor of our hotel, staring down at the busy intersection below, my heart staggered at the thought that the majority of these people will never hear the name Jesus. That scene still lives in my head. It drives me to desire to give whatever I can that the Gospel might be preached. There are people who are desperate to hear his name and that greatly surpasses all my temporary wants. This is something that I need to continually be reminded of. But not only does that view drive me toward giving more, it also presses upon my heart the need of people to go. If for a month, or a week or a day, if across the world, or across town, or across the street, we must never ignore our calling to go to all the nations. First for the sake of the Gospel and second for the sake of ourselves. It's when we really get out of our comfort zone that the Lord can teach us. I pray God breaks all of our hearts to go."
"God also showed me a lot about the Gospel and how we should chase it here at home. Because of the language barrier there obviously weren't abundant opportunities to talk to anyone we wanted. This caused us to recognize the value of those opportunities that we had. So throughout every conversation the constant thought in the front of our minds was how do I turn this conversation back toward Christ? We could even be talking about chicken and the thought would be, ok, now how do I get from chicken to Christ? And this thought wasn't resting in the back of our minds waiting for something to trigger it, it was an active thought because we knew that our time was short and our opportunities would be numbered. But here's where the Lord really stopped me in my tracks: nothing is different here at home. People are desperate. Our time is short. Our opportunities are few. And if that's the case then the obvious conclusion is that we should be acting the same way here. Every conversation we enter should be entered with the thought of how might I turn this conversation back to Christ, because if He really is important and I realize how lost we are without Him then context doesn't matter, all that matters is that the name of Christ be preached."
(Dave) God, help me be as desperate to share the Name as people are to hear it.
(Jordan) "Every time I come back from a trip overseas I find myself desiring more and more to give away whatever money the Lord blesses me with to help the poor. I know that his heart is soft for the orphans and widows, the poor and the down and out. However, in China it was a bit different. It wasn't just the physical need that moved my heart to want to give more of my money and material possessions away, I was so broken over the spiritual need. Many mornings I stood behind the big glass windows on the 6th floor of our hotel, staring down at the busy intersection below, my heart staggered at the thought that the majority of these people will never hear the name Jesus. That scene still lives in my head. It drives me to desire to give whatever I can that the Gospel might be preached. There are people who are desperate to hear his name and that greatly surpasses all my temporary wants. This is something that I need to continually be reminded of. But not only does that view drive me toward giving more, it also presses upon my heart the need of people to go. If for a month, or a week or a day, if across the world, or across town, or across the street, we must never ignore our calling to go to all the nations. First for the sake of the Gospel and second for the sake of ourselves. It's when we really get out of our comfort zone that the Lord can teach us. I pray God breaks all of our hearts to go."
"God also showed me a lot about the Gospel and how we should chase it here at home. Because of the language barrier there obviously weren't abundant opportunities to talk to anyone we wanted. This caused us to recognize the value of those opportunities that we had. So throughout every conversation the constant thought in the front of our minds was how do I turn this conversation back toward Christ? We could even be talking about chicken and the thought would be, ok, now how do I get from chicken to Christ? And this thought wasn't resting in the back of our minds waiting for something to trigger it, it was an active thought because we knew that our time was short and our opportunities would be numbered. But here's where the Lord really stopped me in my tracks: nothing is different here at home. People are desperate. Our time is short. Our opportunities are few. And if that's the case then the obvious conclusion is that we should be acting the same way here. Every conversation we enter should be entered with the thought of how might I turn this conversation back to Christ, because if He really is important and I realize how lost we are without Him then context doesn't matter, all that matters is that the name of Christ be preached."
(Dave) God, help me be as desperate to share the Name as people are to hear it.
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