A Christ-follower with a limp

Thursday, March 1, 2018

I kissed LEGALISM good-bye

“Make no laws upon the saints where Christ hath not made any.”

Walter Craddock

A recent issue of World Magazine (02-17-18) included a feature article, “Hindsight and Hope” about Joshua Harris and his book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Harris—author, former senior pastor of Covenant Life Church is still most famous for something he did at age 21 – his best-selling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Now decades later, he’s revisiting the subject by working on a documentary called I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye. In this documentary both Harris and readers question and reflect on the impact of his book.

The motivation behind Harris’ book was well-intentioned. It was aimed at teens and twentysomethings, discouraging sexualized relationships and proposing that courtship, in which a couple moves purposefully toward marriage with their parents’ blessing and involvement, was a superior model to dating. The book rightly argued that physical intimacy before marriage was a violation of the sacredness of married sexuality and could lead to lifelong regret. It was a reaction to “free love” with a hope of returning to a biblical worldview of purity and saving intimacy for marriage. Where it failed was that it systematized and made “rules,” where Scripture never does. While Harris didn’t do this, others took the book and made the principles in it tests of godliness. One was considered unspiritual if they dated and didn’t choose courtship. That’s legalism! Thankfully it’s a trend that’s essentially died, yet not too many years ago, the rationale was that godly singles practiced courtship while ungodly ones dated.

God’s Word is clear – sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong (Hebrews 13:4). Jesus even prohibited mental sexual intimacy and self-pleasuring sexuality (Matthew 5:27-30), but Scripture never systematized or gives any commands on dating or how to find a life partner. Today more and more couples are finding their life partner via the Internet or an online dating service. The Bible never prohibits that.

But human beings like rules. It’s one reason Islam is growing at an escalating rate – it has clear rules. The Pharisees loved rules. When Jesus questioned their manmade rules, they murdered Him.

Most rules have a good intent, but they easily become anchors around our souls, drowning us in arrogance, self-righteousness and legalism when we systematize them, making them yardsticks of godliness. But that’s always been a human tendency. While Scripture has clear principles of godliness, it doesn’t though clearly outline applications of those principles. Culture changes. Spiritual maturity means walking by faith and being sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in the midst of cultural change. The application of biblical principles must continually morph.

For example, the Bible teaches that Christians are to pray together, but never sets a time or day. During the revivals of the 1800’s, prayer meetings became very popular. Eventually they were systematized into the “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting.” The Bible never commands that. Most prayer meetings devolved into another preaching time with prayer tacked on at the end. Yet, even today some Christians measure the spirituality of a church based on whether it has a weekly prayer meeting.

There are many other examples of this, from how to have devotions, to how often one prays, the percentage of a church budget for missions, to evangelism methods, to what one should wear to church, or even what a church ought to do or look like. It’s legalism to measure spirituality by man-made measures. God’s Word is often silent on specifics, but lists help us feel spiritual and feed pride – the greatest enemy of the soul.

The Christian life must be lived by faith. Where Scripture is clear, we must obey. There are countless areas where we’re to apply the principles of Scripture the best that we can and trust the leading of the Spirit. We’re also only responsible for our own walk with the Lord, not everyone else’s.

Personally, I find keeping myself spiritually sensitive and walking with the Lord is more than enough for me. Being someone else’s judge, particularly where Scripture is silent or unclear, is more than my wee mind can handle. I love these words from Augustine: “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

One Christian hero from another era, who was a seeming legalist, was Eric Liddell. You may know of him from the movie, Chariots of Fire. Liddell sacrificed an opportunity to win an Olympic gold medal because he believed it was wrong to run on Sunday, in his mind, “the Christian Sabbath.” Later, as a missionary to China, when he was imprisoned by the Japanese in a POW Camp, families and children were also interned there. Liddell tutored and was deeply loved by all the children. When the children played basketball, rounders, and hockey, he was their referee. Not surprisingly, he refused to referee on Sundays, yet in his absence, the children fought and Liddell struggled over this. He believed that he shouldn’t stop the children from playing because they needed the diversion. Finally, he decided to sacrifice his convictions to referee on Sundays.

It made a deep impression on those there. They saw an athlete, world famous for sacrificing success for principle, who was not a legalist. When it came to his own glory, Liddell surrendered it all rather than run on Sunday. Yet, when it came to what was best for others, he’d referee on Sunday. He sacrificed a gold medal for himself (though he ultimately won the gold in a different race) in the name of truth but would bend over backward for others in the name of grace.
God doesn’t want us to be people of rules, He wants a relationship. If we have a healthy relationship with Him, we’ll do the righteous thing. We want to because He loves us so much and that motivates us to love Him and want to please Him.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

"That's just your interpretation..."

“The shortest road to an understanding of the Bible is the acceptance of the fact that God is speaking in every line.” Donald Grey Barnhouse

As the global market opened in the 1990’s international marketers had some monumental cross-cultural miscommunication blunders concerning brand names and slogans. For example, Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase meant, “Bite the wax tadpole.” Then, in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan, “Finger-lickin’ good” came out as, “Eat your fingers off.” In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” came out as, “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its advertisements were supposed to say, “It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word embarazar meant embarrass. Instead the advertisement said, “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”

Clear communication is vital. And nowhere is it more vital than in the clear communication of God’s Word. At Grace Church, we prefer the term understanding in relation to studying the Bible rather than interpretation. We don’t want to be accused of “that’s your interpretation.” It’s why we’re committed to understanding what God has written and Scripture says. God’s Word is not soft clay to be molded, shaped or re-shaped according to our whims, presuppositions or culture. It’s God’s Word. We’re committed to understanding what He’s written, not imposing our own interpretation.

2 Timothy 2:15 commands us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The Bible is God’s “word of truth.” Truth is accurate, objective and knowable. If a carpenter came to your home without a level, square, tape measure or a set of plans, you’d be concerned. If you asked him about his methods and he responded, “We all have different ways of seeing things. No way is absolutely right. Who’s to say that your house has to be plumb and square?”—you’d be very concerned! You want your house built carefully and accurately according to the plans. God’s Word is not the sort of thing where one person can see it one way and another can see it another, and ultimately, it doesn’t matter because no one can really know what it means.

Every biblical text has a fixed meaning that’s true and never changes. It’s imperative that we study, seeking to discover the meaning of each text. Otherwise, we’re sloppy workmen and should be ashamed.

“Rightly handling” means “to cut a road in a straight direction, so that the traveler may go directly to his destination.” To use a farming metaphor, it means plowing a straight furrow. The idea is to focus and accurately cut through the words of Scripture, so we reach the destination of godliness.

Change doesn’t come from feeling good or liking certain ideas that we think come from Scripture. Change comes when we’re confronted with God’s truth and submit our lives to it. All of us, and especially those who teach, must be skillful and accurate so Scripture is clearly understood. How can you obey, apply and submit to God’s truth if you don’t understand it? The application of Scripture to our lives is what brings about life change.

Today we’re returning to our study of Luke’s Gospel, Finding Jesus. Because we hold a high view of Scripture, we’re committed to what’s known as “expository preaching.” Expository preaching is firmly rooted in God’s Word. It means that the text of Scripture is the starting and ending point of the message. The biblical text is the foundation for the sermon’s theme and shape. A clear understanding of the biblical text is a prerequisite. Application must be rightly related to what God intended to convey, not some pastoral hobby horse. The point of the passage must be the point of the sermon. God wants people to hear from Him, not us.

Expository preaching is not a lecture or meandering through a passage. It’s preaching that sees the goal of the sermon as conveying the truth the Holy Spirit intended in giving the Word. It’s a necessary corollary of the doctrine of the God-breathed nature (2 Timothy 3:16) of Scripture. The idea is not so much that God breathed into the Scriptures, but that the Scriptures are the product of His breathing out. Independent of what we may feel about the Bible as we read it, Scripture maintains a “breath of God” quality. The preacher must make God’s Word understandable and limit himself to Scripture without adding or subtracting to fit his own perspective. Expository preaching is the method least likely to stray from Scripture by keeping to the main thing. It also teaches the congregation how to read their Bibles and how to think through a passage to understand and apply Scripture to their own lives. It gives confidence to the preacher and authorizes the sermon. He’s not sharing his opinions. When the preacher is faithful to the text, he’s confident his message is God's message, and it forces the preacher to handle the tough truths in a text.

When Jim Elliot, the famed missionary martyr, was a student at Wheaton, he wrote in his diary, “My grades came through this week, and were, as expected, lower than last semester. However, I make no apologies, and admit I’ve let them drag a bit for study of the Bible, in which I seek the degree A.U.G., ‘approved unto God.’” May we have that same commitment of preaching, teaching and applying of God’s truth to our own lives so that we may be “approved unto God.”

Sunday, February 18, 2018

We're all in the same boat

“When God’s glory alone is at the center…His presence changes us.”

Cliff Lambert

A ship is an ancient Christian symbol. It’s a picture of the Church tossed on the sea of disbelief, worldliness, and persecution yet finally reaching safe harbor with its cargo of human souls. Part of the imagery comes from the ark saving Noah’s family during the Flood, or Jesus protecting the disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee. It was a great symbol during times when Christians needed to disguise the Cross, since the ship’s mast forms a cross in many of its depictions.

It’s not a cruise ship. It’s a work boat to take passengers safely to safety. That’s a vital distinction. Those who travel by cruise ship are passengers, a very passive role. All the important decisions and work are handled by others, trained professionals called the crew. Ancient mariners weren’t passengers; they were the crew. Raising sails. Tying knots. Pulling oars. If they didn’t know how to do such tasks, they watched and learned from others. To safely arrive at their destination, they must share the workload.

Recently, I read, The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. In it Brown recounts the history of the 1936 American Olympic rowing team, made up students from the University of Washington. To succeed at the Berlin Olympics, they had to learn how to work together to achieve a common goal—a gold medal. Prior to going to the Olympics, the Washington team had to defeat many other stateside rowing teams.

In many ways that’s us! How exciting today to celebrate our Grand Opening~Building Dedication! To arrive here, we’ve had to win several other events, purchasing and paying for our property, raising money and finally building our new building.

Rowing is one of the most collaborative sports. On an eight-oar rowing team, all eight rowers must move in near-perfect synchronization. Even a tiny mistake can throw off the delicate rhythm of the team. Because oarsmen need to move together so precisely, they must develop a close bond of friendship and respect to succeed.

The Boys in the Boat isn’t just the story of how the 1936 Olympic rowers perfected their technique and power; it’s about how the nine teammates (eight oarsmen plus a coxswain) learned to work together and became lifelong friends in the process. And isn’t that our church? During this building process, we’ve learned to draw closer to God and learned to work together. Many have become lifelong friends. It’s stretched us spiritually. We will never be the same. We’re a mix of various personalities from varied walks of life. Some on that Washington rowing team had tragic stories of hurt and heartache. What brought them together was that they were all enrolled at the University of Washington. What bring us together is something far greater – the Cross. We’ve committed our lives to Christ. We are not just teammates, we’re brothers and sisters in Christ.

They were all poor. Each man desperately needed to make the team to win a scholarship to be able to stay in school. During the Great Depression a scholarship was critical. As believers, we’re all destitute spiritually. None of us are good or moral. Our spiritual debt is unpayable. None of us is qualified to make the team or be in the boat. It’s all of grace, God’s grace. We’re in the boat only because Jesus paid our passage for us with His own life on the Cross.

We are here today because we share a common vision. We’ve been given a new tool to make an eternal difference. We’re surrounded by those who are hopeless and drowning. All of us have family and friends who are “drowning.” They’re attempting to tread the water of their own morality or religiosity, and it’s futile. Like us, they, too, need to be rescued by the Lord Jesus, even though they may not even know they’re drowning.

We must continually adapt and have the courage to change strategy. On their way to the Olympics, this 1936 team needed to win major collegiate races first. In one decisive race, coxswain Bobby Moch hangs behind rival Cal State for the bulk of the race, waiting to strike as they close in on the finish. The coach, Al Ulbrickson, didn’t tell him to do this. It definitely wasn’t part of the race plan, but Moch read the situation as it unfolded and changed strategy on the fly. The result was an updated strategy execution and a huge win that led to Washington’s Olympic berth. We’ve had to do that with our building and must continue to adapt in the future. Our world and culture are continually changing. While the map of God’s truth never changes, the waters we’re sailing through continually change.

There are no small members on the team. Each one is essential, from the lead rower to the coxswain. In a church, there are no big or little people – just an awesome God who gives us the wisdom, grace and power we need.

We have a common Enemy. Hitler used the Berlin Olympics as a massive propaganda machine. The Olympics helped buy him time to convince the world of his “peaceful” intentions, as he rebuilt Germany’s military power for his diabolical plot. We, too, have a common Enemy. We are enlisted in the conflict of the ages and are called to storm the gates of Hell. Yet, unlike that U.S.A. Olympic rowing team, we know the outcome. We win! We may come through battered and scarred, but King Jesus already won the victory 2,000 years ago!

Today is an exciting day! It though is only the first of many victories that the Lord has for us! Let’s relish and celebrate this day! Let’s anticipate even greater things that the Lord has for us as we are faithful!

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Marriage is for Servers

“Have a good and godly marriage that shows the world Christ's love through how you sacrificially love and serve one another.” John Stange

Some years ago, as I was studying that first marriage in the book of Genesis, I stumbled on something I’d never seen before. Part of God’s original plan for the first couple, (pre-sin/pre-fall), was that they were to work together. Adam’s responsibility was to “subdue” (Genesis 1:28) the new creation and Eve was created as a “helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:19).

There are innumerable compatibility tests for couples considering marriage. Let me save you some money. If a couple is unable to work together and don’t understand sacrificial serving, it’s doubtful that they should get married. Children want to be served; adults are servants. A vital test of adulthood and maturity is whether you are a servant. A healthy marriage is not just two lovers, it’s two servants.

For the past week, Jane has been visiting her parents in Texas as she has for nearly twenty winters. The first few times, Jane didn’t want to go. Our children were young, money was tight, it added more responsibility to my already very busy life. But I insisted. Why? I knew that it was important for Jane to spend time with her parents and it was a great break from the responsibilities of motherhood.

There’s nothing that I enjoy more than serving Jane Carson. Please understand, I’m not the ideal husband. (Sometimes I think I was raised by wolves 😊). Growing up without a mother and with an addict Father, I was naïve of many basic relational skills. I didn’t have a model of what a godly husband and father are, but I have this great Book and a wonderful Holy Spirit Who continually opens my eyes to my many shortcomings. Every year I read at least one good book on marriage. Usually, I don’t learn anything new. I’m just reminded of what I’ve forgotten.

As you know, I’m not real handy. I’ve been the source of humor for many over the years for my lack of knowing how to use tools. Yet, even with my long list of ineptness, there’s a lot that I can do to serve my wife. So, I use the skills I have…and I study my favorite subject – Jane – to learn what is important to her. For example, making the bed is very important to Jane. (It’s not to me.) But nearly every morning I make the bed because I know it means something to Jane. I also know that encouragement is very important to her, so I continually look for ways to encourage her.

I look for ways to give Jane a break. When our children were younger, I loved spending time with them (still do), so I’d often take them with me as I ran errands, or we’d go on a lunch date. I like to cook so I try to do it when I can. Jane’s “love language” is serving, so Jane finds serving very fulfilling. Early on we discovered that sometimes I need to serve Jane by protecting her from herself. She doesn’t have a good “No” and would nearly kill herself serving others. There are times that I’ve been the one to say, “Honey, that’s not something you should do.”

A chronic complaint of troubled marriages is selfishness. We’ve been fed a diabolical lie by a narcissistic culture that fulfillment comes from being served. That’s not what Jesus taught. He commanded us to be a Christian counter-culture: “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:26-28).

To be honest, Jane spoils me rotten and I work hard to do the same for her. That’s a key to a fulfilling marriage. This July it will be 35 years. It truly has been a continual Honeymoon. Have there been tough times? Absolutely, but God’s grace is always sufficient. And if you want to have a healthy marriage, you must take your instructions from the Designer’s original blueprint.

Recently, I read a wife posting on Facebook requesting advice for making her hubby “more than just sandwiches” for lunch every day at work. But she was mocked and berated for the simple act of making lunch for her husband. Feminism has flunked out when it’s now vile to make your husband a sandwich. The national media picked up on the story and reported that she was told she was nothing but a “slave” and a “1950s housewife.” She was “weird” for demeaning herself to make lunch for her husband. Then it got angry and hateful. Here are some of the other responses: “Your husband is a grown up and you’re not his mother” “I make my husband the same thing he makes me. Nothing!” “Stuff that, hubby is a grown man. I already do his laundry and keep his children alive.” “Our advice is to stop making his lunches.” “My role is childcare during working hours and that’s it.” “He’s lucky if I decide to make dinner some nights.” “I was married for 20 years and my favorite packed lunch for my husband was called a ‘Get it Yourself’ with a side order of ‘I’m not your mother’.” “I didn’t sign up for that at the altar.”

How heartbreaking! What miserable individuals. In this case, they were all women but sadly, I’ve seen the same and worse from too many men. What really weighs on me is that I’ve observed Christian husbands and wives with that type of attitude. It’s vile and unchristlike.

If your marriage is unhappy and unfulfilling, please look in the mirror first. And don’t say something childish like, “I’ll serve and be nice to them when they serve me and are nice to me.” What are you three!

A Christ-honoring marriage is one with two committed servants – a husband and wife who realize that they’re serving the Lord Jesus by serving each other. What kind of marriage do you have? Are you a servant?

Sunday, February 4, 2018

When the church fails like the NFL

“Starve your distractions. Feed your focus.”

Just when you thought that the Super Bowl couldn’t get worse or the NFL more foolish, even if you aren’t into football, there were always the commercials. Sometimes, particularly in a lopsided game, the commercials were the only redeeming feature. Yet, now one traditional commercial has been canned. Budweiser’s Clydesdales have been put out to pasture.

The NFL has successfully alienated the military and veterans as players kneeled during The Star-Spangled Banner. Flag waving Americans have been disgusted much of the season. More recently, the NFL turned down a pro-national anthem commercial by a veterans group for the Super Bowl.

The interest in the game is way down since it’s an east coast Super Bowl with one generally despised team, the Patriots (though Eagle fans do little to endear themselves). And now the non-offensive Clydesdales have been given a pink slip, irritating animal lovers. Sunday’s winner may be The Puppy Bowl XIII, that’s been dubbed the “alternative Super Bowl.”

Remember when football was about football? It wasn’t about commercials, halftime shows or political statements. It was about 22 men pouring their guts out to move a piece of pigskin down the field. Those days are gone. With increased anxiety of brain injuries, football may be headed to the dustbin of sport’s history. Yet, much of the demise is because professional football lost its focus. Football is no longer about football.

A church can do the same thing. They become distracted on nearly anything and everything beside their God-given purpose, being the church.

Some churches are little more than political action committees. Though evangelicals have recently been accused of this, it’s long been true of African-American churches. God never called us to be a voting bloc, to be consumed with political issues or endorse candidates. While the church must make a stand on biblical issues, like life ones, that is not political.

Some churches are consumed with social issues. While hunger, homelessness and poverty are serious, they’re not to be our primary focus. If all those issues were resolved, (which would be wonderful), the greatest hunger of our world wouldn’t be. Our great need is “soul hunger” and only the gospel can satisfy our world’s greatest need.

Some churches are consumed with non-biblical rules. God is holy and the Scripture commands believers to be holy. Yet, some churches teach that holiness is externalism and become obsessed with mundane non-biblical rules about dress, music, even whether someone attends a movie. Scripture’s emphasis is heart holiness. While the principles never change, culture does. It’s why God is more concerned with attitudes than actions. When a Christ-follower has a righteous attitude, right actions are the fruit of that attitude.

Some churches are focused on increasing numbers not disciples. Many churches buy into the American success myth: bodies, bucks & buildings. It’s not a biblical model of success. Ultimately, Jesus ended with eleven disciples, a failure from our world’s perspective. One of the fastest growing “churches” is the Mormon Church, yet it denies the Deity of Christ.

Some churches are self-absorbed. Jesus did not command us to come in, but to “go out.” A church must focus on those still outside of it. While Body Life is important, our passion must be on seeing the lost come to Christ. It can’t be just about our own children and families. Many churches focus the greater percentage of their resources internally. Fear of a corrupt culture can result in isolation, but we’re not to be isolated from the world. God’s power is greater! We’re to be an assault team on the gates of Hell.

Some churches are seeker driven. They’re focused only on evangelism. Our purpose is not to make converts, but disciples. The Christian life is not just having your ticket punched for Heaven. It’s wholistic. It must revolutionize your whole life. We’ve not fulfilled the Great Commission until every believer has come to the place of maturity where they too are sharing the gospel and discipling others. Our purpose is to reproduce ourselves. We’re to equip believers so they’re able to reach their world.

Some churches are just a big show. God did not call us to entertain or make people feel good. Scripture is compared to a sword for heart surgery (Hebrews 4:12). Sin lies deep, usually undetected in each of our hearts. God has called the church to be like a team preparing for the Super Bowl. We will not fulfill our purpose unless we do exhausting spiritual work and sweat “holy sweat.” We don’t gather to have our ears tickled, but to be challenged, have our souls dissected, go through pain until we rip down every idol in our hearts so that we become more and more like Jesus. God’s goal is our sanctification. That means pruning, the refiner’s fire. It’s not comfortable, yet it’s the only way to have God’s best.

Should the NFL players care about the needs of African-Americans? Absolutely! But that’s not its purpose. The purpose of the NFL is to play football. Most of the things that distract a church from its primary focus are good things. They’re not bad or sinful. It’s why they’re so attractive.
Satan doesn’t usually do a frontal assault. Instead he loves to just distract us. I’ve never heard of a church being tempted to become a strip club. Our Enemy knows that if he gets us to focus on good things, we’ll forget the best things. King Jesus gave us our marching orders. The mission has not changed: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Sunday, January 28, 2018

We are so blessed!

“God does not help those who help themselves. Rather, He helps those who cannot help themselves, know it, and rely on Him.”

Dean Ulrich

Over the years I’ve been at several grand openings and building dedications. I was at the grand opening of our local Walmart and both area Kwik-Trips. Typically, at those events, they recognize the owner, architect, bankers, contractors, various dignitaries and key management personnel. On Sunday, February 18^th, we will have our Grand Opening/Building Dedication and will thank and recognize many of those individuals. Today though we want to praise, thank and honor the One behind this building.

If God had not been with us, if our Heavenly Father had not blessed us and undertaken for us – we would not be here this morning. There are so many things that we need to thank Him for that I hardly know where to begin. Let me mention a few…

We are so thankful for God’s protection. Life is so fragile. It’s easy for construction workers, particularly if they have been doing the same task for years to become overconfident or hurried. Years ago, when I was in commercial roofing, I saw my share of accidents. In fact, I have a scar on my forehead that I’ve carried all my life from my first day on the job when the boss was too hurried and caught me in the face with a roofing shovel. I remember holding a friend down and urging him not to move after he fell 15’ through an uncovered skylight backwards. Blood was trickling out of his ear. Fortunately, he was not killed though he ultimately lost the hearing in that ear, but it could have been so much worse. To my knowledge there were no accidents on our project. Sadly, one of the contractors did have some equipment stolen but the God of all justice may still bring that to a fulfilling conclusion.

We are so thankful for God’s provision. This was a huge step of faith for our church family. Our original budget was $1 million. You could hear an audible gasp when the first estimates came back at $2.2 million. Yet, with lots of hard work and some very difficult decisions, we whittled it down again and again. Yet, we still came out with a beautiful building that is a viable tool that enables us to minister and accomplish our mission of reaching our world with the gospel for the glory of God! I feel both blessed and humbled to pastor such a generous church family. So many of you sacrificed, not just money, but hours upon hours.

Then, we had friends across the country who helped us and sent funds to assist us. And we made new friends who for some reason that we can only explain as a “God thing,” were burdened to help us. I am awed by it all. There are horror stories of the difficulty of working with governmental authorities, yet repeatedly we found them stepping up to assist us!

We are so thankful for God’s providence. Are you like me? I find that I’m often in a hurry. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that God is continually cultivating in me. Unfortunately, I’m a very slow learner. It seemed to take so l-o-n-g from the time the land was purchased, to paying it off, to organizing a building committee, to selecting a contractor and putting that first shovel in the ground. But I wasn’t in the driver’s seat, the Father was.

What a tragedy it could have been if we had begun building and faced the economic downturn our nation went through a few years ago. We have sought to err on the side of being fiscally conservative. If we had failed financially, it’s not just our testimony that would have been hurt, it would have hurt the cause of Christ and given skeptics cause to mock.

When we built, interest rates were very low and financial institutions were looking for worthy projects. Construction was beginning to catch on fire (which is one reason our costs increased). Yet, with Foxconn coming to our area and some major Milwaukee projects, further delay would have only increased our costs where they could have become unreachable for us and given us less options of contractors. God’s timing is always perfect!

We are so thankful for God’s pressure. We human beings love comfort and ease. This project has helped my prayer life grow. So many times, I didn’t have a clue on how we were going to put something together or finance it. And I just prayed…and over and over again, God answered our prayers. It’s truly been a very humbling experience. It’s helped Jane and I, and our whole family learn to be more generous. As opportunities came up, God would lay on our hearts to be the one to take care of it. That’s true for many of you as well. And I need that pressure. My faith and dependence on the Father needs to grow deeper. This pressure has been a blessing for me!

We are so thankful that this is only Phase #1. This project has created a buzz and excitement in our church family that I’ve never seen. It’s drawn us closer together. We’ve spent hours with each other. It’s given us a greater love and appreciation for each other. And we need the pressure of a project unfinished to keep us dependent on the Father. It reminds us that though this phase of our building is complete, the task is unfinished. Our mission is not about a building, it’s about the Great Commission!

In fact, I’m even thankful our new chairs didn’t arrive for today (though it sure would have been nice). It reminds us that we do not need all the bells and whistles to worship our Father. It reminds us that a church is people, not a building. We have each other! Your brothers and sisters are the church. This building is only a tool for us to get together in.

This building, serving, worshiping and honoring the Father is only a foretaste of what we have waiting for us in Heaven, when we join King Jesus and all our brothers and sisters through the ages – and the Church finally meets for the very first time! It won’t be a soft opening. It will be the real deal!

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Memories: God's blessings from the past give us strength for the future

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Dr. Seuss

The people of God are to have incredible memories. Scripture constantly warns believers of the danger of forgetting, exhorting them to remember God’s faithfulness. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you.” Each time we celebrate Communion, we are to remember Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

For sixty-two years this building we are meeting in this morning has been the home of Grace Church (originally Bethel Baptist). It’s hard to believe that today is our last Sunday worshiping here. God has been so good to us and used this tool for His glory! When I think about that small group of believers back in 1955 who had a vision and passion, I’m staggered by their great faith. Just a handful of believers saw a tremendous need and acted in faith to meet that need.

If you know our history, then you know that they were given these two parcels. In a short time, they built this building. There weren’t very many of them, yet with the resources that they had, what they did was nearly miraculous. They literally poured their blood, sweat and tears into this place. As the Lord has done for them, He’s done for us! I’m continually staggered by God’s hand of grace on us as we’ve moved forward with our new building.

As I’ve reflected on our moving from this facility, I’ve gotten very nostalgic. Like many of you this building holds truckloads of memories for me. I still vividly remember the fall of 1988 and opening those heavy solid red doors to walk in for the first time, the red carpet, pews and of course, the lime green walls. My current office was the nursery. The basement was essentially two large rooms. For many years our family lived next door in what was the parsonage. The parking lot was our children’s playground. (The church was too but I probably shouldn’t mention that… 😊).

There have been Christmas programs where we did what we could with our small stage. Then, the place would be packed with kids and their families during Kids’ Cooking Camp or special meetings and services. We worshiped together, sang together, praised and prayed together, wept together and rejoiced together!

Some of you trusted Christ as your Savior in this building. Many of you took steps of faith forward in your walk with the Lord here. You began to read your Bible or pray, or serve. Many of you raised your family here…if these walls could talk, this brick and mortar place overflows with powerful and wonderful memories. Yet, after the many, many worship services, what I most remember are the events: church dinners, parties, fellowships, children and teen activities.

During my thirty years here, there have been a few weddings. Because the auditorium is so small, most couples had to choose another venue. Yet, there have been a few and they were always wonderful! We crammed everyone in and then crammed them in again downstairs for the reception.

While there have been a few weddings, it seems like there have been lots of funerals…too many. One of the heartbreaks of a long pastorate is that you must bury your friends. I’ve stood before the casket of many, many friends, brothers and sisters, over the years…often in this very building.

Several funerals were packed, standing room only. Some were for dear gray headed saints who longed for Home. Some were tragic, at least from our side of heaven. The Father reached down and picked a choice flower from His garden. We weren’t ready for their Homegoing. Those losses are always a mixed blessing. They’re a blessing because you know that the believer is now Home with Jesus and there’s no more suffering. Yet, it’s hard for us. We’re close. We’re a family. We take death very personally. Most of us sit in the same spot each Sunday, but suddenly there’s an empty space. A teary-eyed spouse now comes in alone as the God of comfort begins to heal their heart. We’re careful about what we say but we know, and we hurt too. We’ve lost a friend, a brother or a sister.

Some of my favorite memories though have been the many baptisms. Some were young people. The Holy Spirit had worked in their heart and they wanted to obey Scripture in believer’s immersion. Several times I’ve been the one to introduce the person to Christ. Sometimes it was after weeks or months of opening God’s Word in a Bible study and suddenly the Spirit would open their eyes. They finally understood what the Cross was all about. They realized that they weren’t a good person and needed a Savior, that Jesus died for them – that God loved them so much that He gave His only Son – so they could be forgiven and know where they would spend eternity.

As they grew in grace, they realized that the next step was commitment – that they needed to make a public testimony of what had taken place in their heart. Some had resisted God working in their life for years…decades. But they found that could not outrun what Francis Thompson powerfully labeled “the Hound of Heaven.”

Only Heaven fully knows how God has used this place. It’s been a tool in His hand for many decades. Next week we move our church family to a new home and tool, but it has the same purpose. It’s to bring glory to God. It’s a place to worship, to fellowship. It’s a place for Christians to grow in grace. It’s a place of hope for the hopeless. It’s a place where many who have not yet met Jesus Christ as their personal Savior will be born again.

As this building has been a wonderful tool in the Master’s hand, let’s pray and determine that by God’s grace we will use the new one to be a tool for His glory as well and our feeble efforts there will please Him!