The sixth day, the ministry “project” is over, but ministry was not. I was tired and rushed and wondered if it really mattered that the boys and I attend this funeral. Four of the boys from the Palmetto Square area had an uncle that passed away and I thought it would be good to attend the funeral Saturday afternoon. But after a week of non stop ministry in the city I was tired and rethinking the idea. But with a word of encouragement from my wife the boys and I made it in time for the 2:00 pm funeral at the church whose name was so long I cannot remember it. We were the only white people present in the church building. After the funeral was over we left the building and waited outside to see the boys and their mothers. As the boys came out one of them came over to me with tears streaming down his face and I took him in my arms. He is a 15 year old young man who I have been building a relationship with around the gospel for a year. He allowed me to hold him while he wept for well over two minutes. And as I looked around I realized that this scene was a rare one on Stonewall Street in downtown Brunswick. I with my boys were the only white people in sight and yet there was the evidence of God’s grace in our relationship. He was broken and he let me comfort him in his brokenness as I wept with him and encouraged him from the truth of God’s Word.
Ministry projects, weeks and trips come to an end, but the ministry of the gospel never ends. I went to bed tired Saturday night and woke early Sunday morning to ready myself to preach. One of the boys who participated in our sports camp and arts academy showed up at church this morning. We took him home for dinner after church and he stayed the day and came back with us for evening church along with four other young men including the one I wept with yesterday. Everyday is a day for the display of the glory of God shinning brightly in his grace through the Son. And the lives of his children who are alive in the Son are his to be conduits of that grace.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Serving Our City Day 5
Ronnie Spicer rides his bike everywhere he goes. He does odd jobs for businesses and homeowners downtown making enough cash to get by on. He has worked on a yard across the street from our church building and so he and I have built a relationship over the last several years. I invite him to church but he has never taken me up on the offer, but he has let me take him to lunch or sit with him and talk about the Scriptures and pray with him. Yesterday as I was the last vehicle leaving Palmetto Square loaded up with all our picnic supplies Ronnie came riding up on his bicycle. We talked for a few moments and though I had not seen him all week he had been watching us ministering in his neighborhood. He thanked me for what we were doing there and we talked about why we were doing what we were, giving me an opportunity to share the reason for the hope that we have in Christ and how it compels us in love toward our neighbors. But not all in the neighborhood are so thankful.
The day before as I was standing in the park with my children talking with some kids who were there from the neighborhood a car drove by with two men, the car slowed and they yelled several expletives directed at me along with some hand gestures displaying their disapproval of our being in their neighborhood. That evening as I was driving down the streets looking for some of the students for the Arts Academy I ventured to one of those dark houses where one of the boys stays. I got out of the truck and inquired of the whereabouts of the young man, and I was not even acknowledged. It was as if I was speaking in a foreign tongue they did not understand or as if I was invisible to them. Their rejection of me was quite obvious. I continued to inquire, but the best I got was he was not there. Some have been thankful for this work we have done and some are hostile to this work. There is nothing new under the sun.
Friday’s ministry started later giving everyone a little more rest before we began. We gathered our supplies at the church for the cookout in the park. We looked together at God’s word how he came near to us to take on our brokenness in the brokenness of his Son in his death, and how he calls his followers to follow him toward their neighbors in that same way by taking up their crosses and coming after him. We then prayed together and set off for the park. Some of us cooked hamburgers and hotdogs while others served them. Others helped children get their plates and eat and some lead the children in games or playing at the playground. This was our opportunity to set the table for our neighbors and invite them him to eat with us. This was the final event of our week of ministry to our neighbors in the city. It afforded great opportunities to share the love of God in Christ with our friends young and old. It was a joy to watch an intergenerational ministry taking place.
While our week of ministry has come to a close, our serving our neighbors in the city will continue throughout the year. New relationships have been built through the week that need to be followed up with prayer, Bible study and the sharing of our lives. Previous relationships have been strengthened, and new opportunities for ministry have to be developed and carried out. We will be praying to the Lord of the harvest to raise up workers for the harvest field, workers that work from worship to work. We will be gathering for prayer and planning to ask the Lord to lead us in our next steps of ministry in the city as our Director of Mercy and Evangelism, Ryan West, moves on to Louisville Kentucky to pursue further education. And we will give thanks for the work he is doning in our lives to enable us by his grace to extend a passion for knowing and delighting in the glory of God in the place he has planted us.
The day before as I was standing in the park with my children talking with some kids who were there from the neighborhood a car drove by with two men, the car slowed and they yelled several expletives directed at me along with some hand gestures displaying their disapproval of our being in their neighborhood. That evening as I was driving down the streets looking for some of the students for the Arts Academy I ventured to one of those dark houses where one of the boys stays. I got out of the truck and inquired of the whereabouts of the young man, and I was not even acknowledged. It was as if I was speaking in a foreign tongue they did not understand or as if I was invisible to them. Their rejection of me was quite obvious. I continued to inquire, but the best I got was he was not there. Some have been thankful for this work we have done and some are hostile to this work. There is nothing new under the sun.
Friday’s ministry started later giving everyone a little more rest before we began. We gathered our supplies at the church for the cookout in the park. We looked together at God’s word how he came near to us to take on our brokenness in the brokenness of his Son in his death, and how he calls his followers to follow him toward their neighbors in that same way by taking up their crosses and coming after him. We then prayed together and set off for the park. Some of us cooked hamburgers and hotdogs while others served them. Others helped children get their plates and eat and some lead the children in games or playing at the playground. This was our opportunity to set the table for our neighbors and invite them him to eat with us. This was the final event of our week of ministry to our neighbors in the city. It afforded great opportunities to share the love of God in Christ with our friends young and old. It was a joy to watch an intergenerational ministry taking place.
While our week of ministry has come to a close, our serving our neighbors in the city will continue throughout the year. New relationships have been built through the week that need to be followed up with prayer, Bible study and the sharing of our lives. Previous relationships have been strengthened, and new opportunities for ministry have to be developed and carried out. We will be praying to the Lord of the harvest to raise up workers for the harvest field, workers that work from worship to work. We will be gathering for prayer and planning to ask the Lord to lead us in our next steps of ministry in the city as our Director of Mercy and Evangelism, Ryan West, moves on to Louisville Kentucky to pursue further education. And we will give thanks for the work he is doning in our lives to enable us by his grace to extend a passion for knowing and delighting in the glory of God in the place he has planted us.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Serving Our City Day 4
Ms. Gamble’s house got the second coat of paint on the interior walls on Thursday. She wanted to come home to something bright and cheery after her long hours at the nursing home in Darien, so she got green and yellow. We cut it in at the corners and the ceiling and rolled the final coats onto the walls while others did the final cleaning in the yard. Nick Chilton takes the cultural mandate to heart. God has commanded us to subdue the earth for his own glory (Gen.1:28). He is longing for beauty in the community he lives and he seeks that beauty by being involved in the city of Brunswick. This week he with the help of others in our team and some of the children on Ms. Gambles block of Union St. cleaned up bags and bags of trash. This is part of the word and deed ministry Nick is focused on toward our neighbors as it afforded him and those who were helping him opportunities to not only serve his neighbors by helping them clean up their neighborhood, but also gave them the opportunity to share their lives and the relationship they have with God in Christ with those around him. One of the mothers of a little girl who was helping them pick up trash came out thanking one of our workers for serving the black community. He responded by saying it is our desire to serve all our neighbors in the city with the love of God in Christ.
The Bible club workers spread out down the blocks to gather children at 2:45 and many came back to the park with children in hand and on shoulders. The parents, aunts, uncles and grandmothers are glad to see them go and we are glad to have the thirty plus children gathered upon the big tarps laid out under the shade of the oaks in Palmetto Square. They come to sing songs, learn from the Scriptures, make crafts and have a snack. Today was KC’s day. He had not been all week, but today he was in the neighborhood and was able to come. He sat with Jessica Deloach on the tarp and his 4 year old face never lost his smile beaming bright dimples and all. However, in a moment of emergency, Scottie Deloach had him up, rushing him back to his house for the bathroom. But soon he was back on the tarps working on his craft and hearing about the love of God for him in Christ. During Bible clubs we have been working with 25 to 30 children each day and as the children gather the workers take up their places on the tarp with two or three children each. Adults and young people alike are singing the songs and doing the crafts with the children all for the opportunity to build their young neighbors up to Christ.
While the Bible club is going on the older kids in the neighborhood are participating in sports activities. Brian Brewer was leading them in a game of handball on the tennis court and under the blazing hot sun there was good competition. In the beginning of the game I ran to the ball and rolled my ankle against the fence. I soon found myself sitting on the bench with my foot in the water cooler surrounded by caring young men. Coby insisted I go to the hospital and he was not satisfied with my sitting there until I called Dr. Lisa Ruschack to confirm that I had probably torn tendons on the outside of my ankle. After a year of building a relationship with Coby I am thankful to see his care and concern for me. The sports camp came to a close with Peter Wilkerson sharing with them from the Scriptures how Christ came to die for us so that we would have no fear of death. When he asked them how many were afraid of dying everyone of their hands went up. What a stark reminder that these young men and women are living in a very real culture of death. One of these young men’s poems this week reflected that in their understanding that the sin he sees around his neighborhood leads to death. I am praying that God will give us a house on the Palmetto Square that we can use for Bible studies, counseling and ministry to the children and their families in order that we can bring the life of Christ to bear upon this culture of death.
The Fine Arts Academy met for it’s final evening on Thursday. The students came at 6:00 to practice their music and the reading of their poetry, and to see their art displayed in the “gallery”. And by 7:00 the church was filled with families from our church and some of the families of the students to hear and see their work. The art work displayed in the gallery got the attention of all who came as they observed the gifts and talents of the students in their varied drawings. These students used form, order and color to see beauty reflected. How important this shaping of their worldview is when they are living in a culture colored by the hues of sin, brokenness and disorder. Several of the students read their poems while others had them read for them. It is very difficult for most of these young people to stand before others and not be embarrassed. But in most of the poems we were able to hear the influence of the truth about God and ourselves and the truth about the gospel coming forth. Finally they all stood around the tables of hand chimes taking their particular spots and played “God All Nature Sings Thy Glory”, “Go Tell It On the Mountain”, and “Amazing Grace” while those gathered sang along. Between each song Peter Wilkerson unfolded the glory of God in the gospel by reading. At the close I was able to stand and address those present briefly concerning why we were doing what we were doing. I shared with them the gospel and how the gospel changes our lives so that we are willing and able in Christ to love and serve our neighbors. The time that followed was a good exchange between church members and their neighbors who had gathered at the church, along with the usual clashes and difficulties between some of the students.
We will gather today at Palmetto Square today for a cookout at 11:00. Pray for the workers and our neighbors whom we seek to minister the gospel to in word and deed.
The Bible club workers spread out down the blocks to gather children at 2:45 and many came back to the park with children in hand and on shoulders. The parents, aunts, uncles and grandmothers are glad to see them go and we are glad to have the thirty plus children gathered upon the big tarps laid out under the shade of the oaks in Palmetto Square. They come to sing songs, learn from the Scriptures, make crafts and have a snack. Today was KC’s day. He had not been all week, but today he was in the neighborhood and was able to come. He sat with Jessica Deloach on the tarp and his 4 year old face never lost his smile beaming bright dimples and all. However, in a moment of emergency, Scottie Deloach had him up, rushing him back to his house for the bathroom. But soon he was back on the tarps working on his craft and hearing about the love of God for him in Christ. During Bible clubs we have been working with 25 to 30 children each day and as the children gather the workers take up their places on the tarp with two or three children each. Adults and young people alike are singing the songs and doing the crafts with the children all for the opportunity to build their young neighbors up to Christ.
While the Bible club is going on the older kids in the neighborhood are participating in sports activities. Brian Brewer was leading them in a game of handball on the tennis court and under the blazing hot sun there was good competition. In the beginning of the game I ran to the ball and rolled my ankle against the fence. I soon found myself sitting on the bench with my foot in the water cooler surrounded by caring young men. Coby insisted I go to the hospital and he was not satisfied with my sitting there until I called Dr. Lisa Ruschack to confirm that I had probably torn tendons on the outside of my ankle. After a year of building a relationship with Coby I am thankful to see his care and concern for me. The sports camp came to a close with Peter Wilkerson sharing with them from the Scriptures how Christ came to die for us so that we would have no fear of death. When he asked them how many were afraid of dying everyone of their hands went up. What a stark reminder that these young men and women are living in a very real culture of death. One of these young men’s poems this week reflected that in their understanding that the sin he sees around his neighborhood leads to death. I am praying that God will give us a house on the Palmetto Square that we can use for Bible studies, counseling and ministry to the children and their families in order that we can bring the life of Christ to bear upon this culture of death.
The Fine Arts Academy met for it’s final evening on Thursday. The students came at 6:00 to practice their music and the reading of their poetry, and to see their art displayed in the “gallery”. And by 7:00 the church was filled with families from our church and some of the families of the students to hear and see their work. The art work displayed in the gallery got the attention of all who came as they observed the gifts and talents of the students in their varied drawings. These students used form, order and color to see beauty reflected. How important this shaping of their worldview is when they are living in a culture colored by the hues of sin, brokenness and disorder. Several of the students read their poems while others had them read for them. It is very difficult for most of these young people to stand before others and not be embarrassed. But in most of the poems we were able to hear the influence of the truth about God and ourselves and the truth about the gospel coming forth. Finally they all stood around the tables of hand chimes taking their particular spots and played “God All Nature Sings Thy Glory”, “Go Tell It On the Mountain”, and “Amazing Grace” while those gathered sang along. Between each song Peter Wilkerson unfolded the glory of God in the gospel by reading. At the close I was able to stand and address those present briefly concerning why we were doing what we were doing. I shared with them the gospel and how the gospel changes our lives so that we are willing and able in Christ to love and serve our neighbors. The time that followed was a good exchange between church members and their neighbors who had gathered at the church, along with the usual clashes and difficulties between some of the students.
We will gather today at Palmetto Square today for a cookout at 11:00. Pray for the workers and our neighbors whom we seek to minister the gospel to in word and deed.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Serving Our City Day 3
Tricia Koles has been writing poetry from a heart transformed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ for several years now, but her poetry has not lost sight of the reality of living with the hurt and brokenness of living in a fallen world. And now she is taking the opportunity to teach young people from our neighborhood to write poetry using their gifts to reflect upon God’s beauty, goodness and truth reflected to us in creation and redemption. Here is a sample of the poetry from one of her students this week at our Fine Arts Academy,
Church
This place is a place full of joy,
It accepts everybody in,
This place is not a toy,
This place is full of sin.
The scene at Palmetto Square on Wednesday was ominous. The thunder was rumbling in the background and there was no one in the park. But by 3:00 PM the workers were walking in the streets with children in tow and soon the park was filled with “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” as Betsy Estrada lead those children and the workers sitting among them in song under the shade of the oaks and without fear of being run off by the weather. Jeanne Hannon came in from work tired from a near full day of work and struggling with a bronchial infection to teach the children the Bible lesson, while Tammy Deloach got the craft together. Joan Brewer was making name tags while trying to keep an eye on her own children. The Bible clubs take a team effort from tired and hurting workers who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. They are living in their redemption in Christ and out of that redemption toward their neighbors for their good and his glory. Please pray for them as they deal with sickness and being tired, their own brokenness as we seek to minister to our neighbors in their brokenness.
Ms. Gamble lived in a termite infested home on Union just south of Palmetto Square. The beauty of the oaks stand along the road and in the back but living with the fallenness of this world she saw the demise of her home. However, thanks to the Habitat for Humanity organization she and her three daughters are seeing a new home put upon her lot at Union Street. She will be paying $375 per month to live in this newly built home. We have been painting the walls and cleaning the yard and on Wednesday had the privilege of being introduced to Ms. Gamble. She is believing in Christ for salvation and was very encouraged to see the larger body of Christ coming around to help her in her needs. I had the opportunity to pray with her before she left lifting her up to Christ as with thanksgiving returning back to God, and praying for her pain and injury she is suffering in her back. She left encouraged and I remain rejoicing in the opportunity to see more and more of the grace of God in redemption through Christ.
Pray for those who continue to minister in the name of Christ to our neighbors this week: Betsy and David Estrada, Dawn, Mary Anna and Kate Faulk, The Deloachs, Page and Tyler Parks, The Wilkersons, Nina and Pacome Nathaniel, Nick and Diane Chilton, Tricia Koles, Glenda Truett, The Brewers, Ron and Jeanne Hannon, Toni Middleton, Mia Nichols, The West Family, Christine Philips, Richard Lindsey, Scott Ruschack and Natalea Gulyas. Pray for our presentation tonight at the Fine Arts Academy at 7:00 PM and please come and join us for this event at RPC.
Church
This place is a place full of joy,
It accepts everybody in,
This place is not a toy,
This place is full of sin.
The scene at Palmetto Square on Wednesday was ominous. The thunder was rumbling in the background and there was no one in the park. But by 3:00 PM the workers were walking in the streets with children in tow and soon the park was filled with “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” as Betsy Estrada lead those children and the workers sitting among them in song under the shade of the oaks and without fear of being run off by the weather. Jeanne Hannon came in from work tired from a near full day of work and struggling with a bronchial infection to teach the children the Bible lesson, while Tammy Deloach got the craft together. Joan Brewer was making name tags while trying to keep an eye on her own children. The Bible clubs take a team effort from tired and hurting workers who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. They are living in their redemption in Christ and out of that redemption toward their neighbors for their good and his glory. Please pray for them as they deal with sickness and being tired, their own brokenness as we seek to minister to our neighbors in their brokenness.
Ms. Gamble lived in a termite infested home on Union just south of Palmetto Square. The beauty of the oaks stand along the road and in the back but living with the fallenness of this world she saw the demise of her home. However, thanks to the Habitat for Humanity organization she and her three daughters are seeing a new home put upon her lot at Union Street. She will be paying $375 per month to live in this newly built home. We have been painting the walls and cleaning the yard and on Wednesday had the privilege of being introduced to Ms. Gamble. She is believing in Christ for salvation and was very encouraged to see the larger body of Christ coming around to help her in her needs. I had the opportunity to pray with her before she left lifting her up to Christ as with thanksgiving returning back to God, and praying for her pain and injury she is suffering in her back. She left encouraged and I remain rejoicing in the opportunity to see more and more of the grace of God in redemption through Christ.
Pray for those who continue to minister in the name of Christ to our neighbors this week: Betsy and David Estrada, Dawn, Mary Anna and Kate Faulk, The Deloachs, Page and Tyler Parks, The Wilkersons, Nina and Pacome Nathaniel, Nick and Diane Chilton, Tricia Koles, Glenda Truett, The Brewers, Ron and Jeanne Hannon, Toni Middleton, Mia Nichols, The West Family, Christine Philips, Richard Lindsey, Scott Ruschack and Natalea Gulyas. Pray for our presentation tonight at the Fine Arts Academy at 7:00 PM and please come and join us for this event at RPC.
Serving Our City Day 2
We are told that men came willingly to Jesus bringing their paralyzed friend into the presence of Jesus. They opened a whole in the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus that he might be healed by him and Jesus seeing his faith made him well. Today David Estrada told this story from the Scriptures to 20 teens gathered together at Palmetto Square urging them to put their faith in Jesus Christ. But the story of the faith of the paralyzed man and the men who brought him was quite different from the willingness of the teens whom David spoke to. They came to hear because we drew them to a cooler of cold water after we had been playing a game in the park. And as the time drew near for David to speak from the Scriptures they were restless and on the verge of being out of control. As I sat observing what was taking place I quietly prayed to the Prince of Peace to bring peace and the ability of those present to sit quiet and listen. I did not need to stand and command these young people to do what they did not want to do. But I sat by amazed as they came together quietly and sat peacefully to listen to the reading and explanation of the story. After David was finished they returned to their games together. God is powerful to bring His creatures into the hearing of His Word, and He who can settle the waves and the wind of His creation can calm the tumultuous souls of young people so that they may hear of the glory of the Son.
The apostle Paul says, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” (2Cor.9:10-12). Today we cleared vines from the fence, trimmed the bushes and put the first coat of paint on Ms.Gambles home on Union Street. All this service from the hands of Rebecca Deloach to Ron Hannon was given to someone they have never met. But this service is given unto God from the stores of time and talent that he has given to us in the church so that Ms.Gamble may receive from the grace of God and return to him thanksgiving for his great grace. May he give us grace and strength to serve that he may get all the glory and our neighbors receive his abundant goodness.
Christine Phillips has been teaching young people how to know and enjoy God through music for many years. She stands over a table each night this week teaching the young people who have gathered how to play hymns from the tone chimes. Three different groups cycle through her class each night and all respond to their learning with joy as they hear their different parts come together for the beauty of a piece of music composed hundreds of years before these young people were ever born. I hope you will come on Thursday Night at 7:00 PM to hear these young people perform this music that is for God’s glory.
Please continue to pray for the adults and young people who are serving this week in the Brunswick Project and pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up more workers for his harvest field while we seek to sow, weed and water in the field of God in the city of Brunswick. Remember the older students will be presenting their works of Art on Thursday June 26th at 7:00 PM at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
The apostle Paul says, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” (2Cor.9:10-12). Today we cleared vines from the fence, trimmed the bushes and put the first coat of paint on Ms.Gambles home on Union Street. All this service from the hands of Rebecca Deloach to Ron Hannon was given to someone they have never met. But this service is given unto God from the stores of time and talent that he has given to us in the church so that Ms.Gamble may receive from the grace of God and return to him thanksgiving for his great grace. May he give us grace and strength to serve that he may get all the glory and our neighbors receive his abundant goodness.
Christine Phillips has been teaching young people how to know and enjoy God through music for many years. She stands over a table each night this week teaching the young people who have gathered how to play hymns from the tone chimes. Three different groups cycle through her class each night and all respond to their learning with joy as they hear their different parts come together for the beauty of a piece of music composed hundreds of years before these young people were ever born. I hope you will come on Thursday Night at 7:00 PM to hear these young people perform this music that is for God’s glory.
Please continue to pray for the adults and young people who are serving this week in the Brunswick Project and pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up more workers for his harvest field while we seek to sow, weed and water in the field of God in the city of Brunswick. Remember the older students will be presenting their works of Art on Thursday June 26th at 7:00 PM at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
Serving Our City Day 1
I found my face buried in my hands at 6:00 PM confessing our weaknesses and longing for God to do a great work in our lives and the lives of those our neighbors at Redeemer. By 6:15 there were 12 young black students sitting on the floor of the church building listening to Richard Lindsey share with them God's Word and a challenge to use their gifts for God's glory in being creative with music, drawing and poetry. Minutes later Christine Phillips was teaching musical notes and teaching these mostly young men to play their part in making music to the glory of God; Danielle West had sketch pads filled with birds taking on color from kids who were saying to her when she first handed them the pad, "I can't draw, I suck at art"; And Tricia Koles while teaching poetry allowed a young men to pen words about God's redemptive grace in Jesus Christ.
Ryan West and I crowded into Ben and Peter's truck with eight of these young men to take them back to their homes in the pouring down rain, thunder and lightening with the hope of returning tomorrow night. I am weary this evening but not weary of well doing. I long for another day with God's people pouring out their lives in ministry to their neighbors.
We began the day painting a neighbors inside walls and cleaning up around the outside of her house. It began like most ministry trips testing our faith as the pieces did not come together as planned and we had to wait and wonder was this going to be a failed attempt at ministry. But God gave us joy in Him and grace for patience and the morning was well spent.
The afternoon of controlled chaos at Palmetto Square began with car loads of white people arriving in their green shirts spreading out over three blocks down six different streets searching for their neighbors. The throngs arrived and the Bible club tarp was filled with children learning from the Scriptures, singing songs and making crafts all to encourage them to trust Christ Jesus for salvation. The older kids were playing soccer and tennis where relationships were being built and the gospel was being shared.
There are many in the church who are participating in many different ways and Ryan West is doing a great job pulling us all together and helping us put the pieces together. Please continue in prayer for this work that God will be glorified as we seek to love God and our neighbors in the city of Brunswick.
Ryan West and I crowded into Ben and Peter's truck with eight of these young men to take them back to their homes in the pouring down rain, thunder and lightening with the hope of returning tomorrow night. I am weary this evening but not weary of well doing. I long for another day with God's people pouring out their lives in ministry to their neighbors.
We began the day painting a neighbors inside walls and cleaning up around the outside of her house. It began like most ministry trips testing our faith as the pieces did not come together as planned and we had to wait and wonder was this going to be a failed attempt at ministry. But God gave us joy in Him and grace for patience and the morning was well spent.
The afternoon of controlled chaos at Palmetto Square began with car loads of white people arriving in their green shirts spreading out over three blocks down six different streets searching for their neighbors. The throngs arrived and the Bible club tarp was filled with children learning from the Scriptures, singing songs and making crafts all to encourage them to trust Christ Jesus for salvation. The older kids were playing soccer and tennis where relationships were being built and the gospel was being shared.
There are many in the church who are participating in many different ways and Ryan West is doing a great job pulling us all together and helping us put the pieces together. Please continue in prayer for this work that God will be glorified as we seek to love God and our neighbors in the city of Brunswick.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
More Precious Than Life
What is more precious than life? Phil Ryken in his sermon on Wednesday night at General Assembly said from Acts 20:24 that to testify to the grace of God is more precious than life. Is speaking about the grace of God in Christ to others more precious than life to you?
Dr. Ryken gave three reasons why proclaiming the grace of God in Christ is more precious than life. First, he said proclaiming the gospel is precious because God is. The gospel of grace is the of God gospel that brings us into a relationship with himself, the living God. The gospel tells us that it is his own blood that has bought us and brought us. His investment in our lives for his glory and our good is of infinite value. Second, he said it is proclaiming the gospel of grace is more precious than life because it is the gospel of grace. Grace is precious. God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We are dead he makes us alive. We are unholy and he justifies, sanctifies and glorifies us in his grace. His grace is precious because when we pray, “Have mercy on me a sinner.”, he says to us the same words he said to his own Son, “You are my beloved son with you I am well pleased.”. Third, proclaiming the gospel of grace is more precious than life because Jesus has called us to proclaim it. Paul received the calling to proclaim it from Jesus himself and so the church has received the same very precious privilege of being the ambassadors of our King. It is a mystery that he has entrusted to his church this precious God entranced gospel of grace, but it is precious call because it comes from the one in whom is hid our life forevermore.
Is proclaiming the gospel of grace in your words and deeds more precious than life? May God send forth his Spirit into our lives and churches that we will glory in the grace of God in Jesus Christ so that we may be able to speak of that which is most precious to us.
Dr. Ryken gave three reasons why proclaiming the grace of God in Christ is more precious than life. First, he said proclaiming the gospel is precious because God is. The gospel of grace is the of God gospel that brings us into a relationship with himself, the living God. The gospel tells us that it is his own blood that has bought us and brought us. His investment in our lives for his glory and our good is of infinite value. Second, he said it is proclaiming the gospel of grace is more precious than life because it is the gospel of grace. Grace is precious. God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We are dead he makes us alive. We are unholy and he justifies, sanctifies and glorifies us in his grace. His grace is precious because when we pray, “Have mercy on me a sinner.”, he says to us the same words he said to his own Son, “You are my beloved son with you I am well pleased.”. Third, proclaiming the gospel of grace is more precious than life because Jesus has called us to proclaim it. Paul received the calling to proclaim it from Jesus himself and so the church has received the same very precious privilege of being the ambassadors of our King. It is a mystery that he has entrusted to his church this precious God entranced gospel of grace, but it is precious call because it comes from the one in whom is hid our life forevermore.
Is proclaiming the gospel of grace in your words and deeds more precious than life? May God send forth his Spirit into our lives and churches that we will glory in the grace of God in Jesus Christ so that we may be able to speak of that which is most precious to us.
Nobodies from Nowhere
Do you pray for and expect an extraordinary work of God in his church? The church in America has not seen an extraordinary work of God since the early part of the 19th century. Some who look at the mega church say this must be an extraordinary work of God. They see a lot of people in one place seemingly singing with great joy or seeming to do great works in the earth and conclude that this is an extraordinary work of God. But is it?
In America today 17% of the population attends religious services on Sundays. Of this 17% only 7% claim to be evangelicals and of this 7%, 15% of these say God is the top priority of their lives next to all other things that compete for their attention. We are observing a godless nation and a godless church in America today. People are swapping churches, not coming to Christ in conversion.. Churches are glorying in themselves, not the knowledge and enjoyment of the all glorious God. And people in churches are growing after their own interests not the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through repentance and faith.
In the midst of this bleak picture Al Baker says, “Ministers are discouraged, disillusioned, and disenchanted.” How will this bleak picture be met? I was very encouraged as I sat together with approximately 30 men from our denomination in a seminar Al Baker lead at our General Assembly entitled, “Nobodies from Nowhere”. In this seminar Al Baker lead us in a study of Ephesians 4:30 a small group discussion and time of prayer. In the time of study we learned how we may “grieve the Holy Spirit” or cause the Holy Spirit great sorrow, driving him away, rather than seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and churches through an inward reality of his presence that heightens our knowledge of God in Christ overwhelming us with a sense of his majesty, grace and mercy and causing us to continually look forward to that day of redemption.. He said we grieve the Holy Spirit when we do anything unholy, forget his presence, ignore his promptings, forget his redemption and trust ourselves. When the Holy Spirit is grieved by us it does not mean we lose our salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean we lose a sense of his power, presence, joy, peace and love, opening ourselves to an onslaught of the enemy. So what are we to do? We must believe in the Holy Spirit and his promised work to glorify Christ in the earth. We must repent and keep on repenting each day and throughout the day seeking to live in Christ in his holiness. We must pray for revival in our hearts and churches, pray for the lost around us, pray for the nations of the earth, and pray for church planting efforts. Last we must be found waiting for the Holy Spirit in prayer expecting God to finish the work he has begun.
We must seek not to grieve the Holy Spirit but we must long for His work in our hearts, our churches, our communities and our world, repenting of our self driven thoughts and efforts. May he rend the heavens and come down bringing us to repentance and faith.
In America today 17% of the population attends religious services on Sundays. Of this 17% only 7% claim to be evangelicals and of this 7%, 15% of these say God is the top priority of their lives next to all other things that compete for their attention. We are observing a godless nation and a godless church in America today. People are swapping churches, not coming to Christ in conversion.. Churches are glorying in themselves, not the knowledge and enjoyment of the all glorious God. And people in churches are growing after their own interests not the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through repentance and faith.
In the midst of this bleak picture Al Baker says, “Ministers are discouraged, disillusioned, and disenchanted.” How will this bleak picture be met? I was very encouraged as I sat together with approximately 30 men from our denomination in a seminar Al Baker lead at our General Assembly entitled, “Nobodies from Nowhere”. In this seminar Al Baker lead us in a study of Ephesians 4:30 a small group discussion and time of prayer. In the time of study we learned how we may “grieve the Holy Spirit” or cause the Holy Spirit great sorrow, driving him away, rather than seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and churches through an inward reality of his presence that heightens our knowledge of God in Christ overwhelming us with a sense of his majesty, grace and mercy and causing us to continually look forward to that day of redemption.. He said we grieve the Holy Spirit when we do anything unholy, forget his presence, ignore his promptings, forget his redemption and trust ourselves. When the Holy Spirit is grieved by us it does not mean we lose our salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean we lose a sense of his power, presence, joy, peace and love, opening ourselves to an onslaught of the enemy. So what are we to do? We must believe in the Holy Spirit and his promised work to glorify Christ in the earth. We must repent and keep on repenting each day and throughout the day seeking to live in Christ in his holiness. We must pray for revival in our hearts and churches, pray for the lost around us, pray for the nations of the earth, and pray for church planting efforts. Last we must be found waiting for the Holy Spirit in prayer expecting God to finish the work he has begun.
We must seek not to grieve the Holy Spirit but we must long for His work in our hearts, our churches, our communities and our world, repenting of our self driven thoughts and efforts. May he rend the heavens and come down bringing us to repentance and faith.
The Church Needs Leaders
These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also (Acts 17:6).
Harry Reeder, in a seminar I attended on leadership in the church, says that these men are the apostles and their disciples who were sent out empowered by the Holy Spirit preaching the gospel. Therefore it was the Holy Spirit who was turning the world upside down by glorifying Christ in the preaching and living of the gospel of grace. These men were connected to the culture without accommodating to it they were in the world but not of it.
The church is often a place for consumers. People come into churches the way they go into a store expecting to get a product in exchange for sliding their card. But the church in Scripture is a building that is being built through a diverse unity, a family that needs fathers and mothers, and an army that is in the midst of warfare headed to a certain victory. Therefore those who come into the church must be equipped for leadership. These leaders in the church must be growing and being equipped in personal formation or character, theological formation or content, and skill formation or competencies. Are you putting yourself in the way of God’s grace and relationships to be formed and shaped into spiritual leaders in his kingdom?
We need to be thinking about how God is moving us toward leadership in his church that we may be used of him in turning the world upside down for his own glory to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Harry Reeder, in a seminar I attended on leadership in the church, says that these men are the apostles and their disciples who were sent out empowered by the Holy Spirit preaching the gospel. Therefore it was the Holy Spirit who was turning the world upside down by glorifying Christ in the preaching and living of the gospel of grace. These men were connected to the culture without accommodating to it they were in the world but not of it.
The church is often a place for consumers. People come into churches the way they go into a store expecting to get a product in exchange for sliding their card. But the church in Scripture is a building that is being built through a diverse unity, a family that needs fathers and mothers, and an army that is in the midst of warfare headed to a certain victory. Therefore those who come into the church must be equipped for leadership. These leaders in the church must be growing and being equipped in personal formation or character, theological formation or content, and skill formation or competencies. Are you putting yourself in the way of God’s grace and relationships to be formed and shaped into spiritual leaders in his kingdom?
We need to be thinking about how God is moving us toward leadership in his church that we may be used of him in turning the world upside down for his own glory to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
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