Pastor's Blog https://www.stonebridgesa.com Pastor Kevin's Blog Tue, 19 Mar 2024 05:01:55 -0500 http://churchplantmedia.com/ 2024: A Time to Refocus https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/new-year https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/new-year#comments Mon, 08 Jan 2024 18:00:00 -0600 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/new-year A new year has begun, and with the coming of that new year, we have opportunity to slow down, reflect and reorient our lives around the things God says are priority. We have an opportunity to refocus. We have this opportunity as individuals, as married couples, as families, as a church family. 

It's very easy for us to lose sight of the things God says are to be our greatest priorities. It's easy for us to minimize the importance of those priorities and to delude ourselves into thinking we are 'just fine, thank you.' 

The reality is that the life God calls us to is radically counter cultural. The life He calls us to demands that we step away from ourselves as the center of the universe, deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. To those who do not know Jesus, this may sound morbid, or at least certainly not 'fun,' however, the life He calls us to is where the abundant and meaningful life is that He promised all who follow Him (John 10:10). 

I am preaching through a four part sermon series on those things that are priority. Last weekend was the first sermon: Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, which Jesus said is the most important commandment. We saw that God demands and deserves our highest expression of love, is to be our greatest love and greatest treasure, and that we are to love Him with every fiber of our being. 

He did not say to simply 'love Him,' or to love Him with 'some of your heart,' or even 'most of your heart,' but with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the life we are called to.

In the weeks ahead, we'll also look at waht it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. It's a lot more radical than we want to admit, but again, it is in doing this that we discover life as God intends, and, in this we are useful to Him for His redemptive purposes. 

We'll also look at the major assigment we all have as Christians, and, the implications of that assignment. We are to definitely be a focused people living on this side of eternity.

And, we will also look at our motivation for all that we do. God has expectations there as well. 

I hope to see you in worship this weekend and in the weeks ahead. After this mini-new year sermon series, we will return to our verse by verse study of Romans. 

I pray we all run the race well that is set before us.

Grace and Peace to You,

Pastor

 

 

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A new year has begun, and with the coming of that new year, we have opportunity to slow down, reflect and reorient our lives around the things God says are priority. We have an opportunity to refocus. We have this opportunity as individuals, as married couples, as families, as a church family. 

It's very easy for us to lose sight of the things God says are to be our greatest priorities. It's easy for us to minimize the importance of those priorities and to delude ourselves into thinking we are 'just fine, thank you.' 

The reality is that the life God calls us to is radically counter cultural. The life He calls us to demands that we step away from ourselves as the center of the universe, deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. To those who do not know Jesus, this may sound morbid, or at least certainly not 'fun,' however, the life He calls us to is where the abundant and meaningful life is that He promised all who follow Him (John 10:10). 

I am preaching through a four part sermon series on those things that are priority. Last weekend was the first sermon: Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, which Jesus said is the most important commandment. We saw that God demands and deserves our highest expression of love, is to be our greatest love and greatest treasure, and that we are to love Him with every fiber of our being. 

He did not say to simply 'love Him,' or to love Him with 'some of your heart,' or even 'most of your heart,' but with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the life we are called to.

In the weeks ahead, we'll also look at waht it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. It's a lot more radical than we want to admit, but again, it is in doing this that we discover life as God intends, and, in this we are useful to Him for His redemptive purposes. 

We'll also look at the major assigment we all have as Christians, and, the implications of that assignment. We are to definitely be a focused people living on this side of eternity.

And, we will also look at our motivation for all that we do. God has expectations there as well. 

I hope to see you in worship this weekend and in the weeks ahead. After this mini-new year sermon series, we will return to our verse by verse study of Romans. 

I pray we all run the race well that is set before us.

Grace and Peace to You,

Pastor

 

 

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A Time for Quiet https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/shhh https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/shhh#comments Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:00:00 -0600 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/shhh The other day I was driving down the 1604 access road in the right hand lane, and then 'it' happened. Again. A sports car rolled up on me quickly, tailgating me, and then, after figuring out I was not going to speed up, whipped around me and then cut immediately in front of me and began riding the tailgate of the car in front of me. The speedster was almost boxed in by the person in front of him and the vehicle in the left lane, but, not to be deterred, he quickly shot the gap into the left hand lane, causing the car in the left lane to hit his breaks. The car continued to speed and zig and zag until he was out of sight. 

I shook my head, and thanked God for keeping us all safe. Then, God convicted me, so I said a prayer for the young man that he would come to his senses, slow down and not get hurt or continue to endanger others. 

As I was thinking, another thing hit me: this is how most people are living their lives, and, I can fall into that trap as well. What do I mean? Simply this: We often live our lives going a million miles and hour, checking off things on our 'to-do' list, taking care of our work, running our errands, doing our chores, paying our bills and so on, without really stopping to truly be still before God and to worship Him and to let Him be the One who orders our hearts and minds and schedules. 

Yes, we may slow down a little for Wednesday Bible studies, or for Saturday or Sunday worship and Bible studies, but it is so easy for us, as soon as we leave, to get back on the track, going as fast as we can to check off the next set of items on our list. God did not intend for us to live this way.

When we observe Jesus in Scriptures, we never see Him frantically rushing from one point to another. It was not uncommon for people to say, upon His arrival on the scene "where have you been?' or 'why didn't you come sooner?' 

Remember Mary and Martha's heartache when their brother Lazarus died and their response to Jesus when He arrived on the scene after Lazarus had already died?

When we observe Jesus, we see Him often going to a secluded place to pray, to be alone with the Father. I humbly submit that if God the Son needed that unrushed time with the Father, we need it as well. 

Yes, our culture is different than Jesus' was during His earthly ministry. There was no internet or cell phones or cars or time management experts. That said, we often do see people in Scripture rushing around here and there and missing God in the process. Just like we do today.

This is tragic.

Christmas is a wonderful time for us to slow down, to reorient our lives around the Lord Jesus, and to focus on those matters that are truly important from God's perspective. When we become Christians, we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in Him and Him alone, and, in that, we also are to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. Jesus doesn't want (or deserve) our hurried leftovers. He deserves our lives. We are to present ourselves to Him as holy, living sacrifices, which is our reasonable act of worship considering all that He has done for us.

As someone once said: 'there is more to life than increasing its speed.' 

As Christians, we affirm key truths: The Scriptures are the authoritative Word of God. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. All that we do, we are to do for the glory of God. We are to make every thought captive to obedience to Christ. We are to pray and thank God continually.

We nod our heads when we hear these truths on a Wednesday, a Saturday, a Sunday, but what do we do with these truths the remainder of the day? The remainder of the week? 

Following Jesus is to be our life, not just a part of our life. Following Jesus requires faith and obedience and trust, and...the spiritual discipline to quiet ourselves before God to orient our lives around Him and His Word. 

Christmas is a great time to slow down and do just that, not just for 'this time of year,' but instead, to use 'this time of year' as a time to readjust our priorities. Yes the culture is busy and noisy and the Christmas season seems to come and go faster than it ever has and in all of this, Jesus gets lost in the season that bears His Name. How very sad.

My encouragement to us all this Christmas is to stop. Be still. Worship the Lord. Pray. Study the Word, and in that, listen to God, and, in that, ask the Holy Spirit to grant you grace to obey the Father. That takes intentionlity and yes, time. However, if we will do these things, we can look at our check lists and to do lists through clearer eyes. 

Spoiler alert: the 'to do' lists never get completed in life. You will always have things to tend to and things to do. Those things are not going anywhere. That said, we can all choose to be still before our God and to let Him shape and order our hearts, minds, priorities and our days. 

I pray that we do just that this Christmas.

I hope to see you in one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight and Lord's Supper Services this Christmas Eve. For information on that, please see the church website (and register)!

Grace to You,

Pastor

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The other day I was driving down the 1604 access road in the right hand lane, and then 'it' happened. Again. A sports car rolled up on me quickly, tailgating me, and then, after figuring out I was not going to speed up, whipped around me and then cut immediately in front of me and began riding the tailgate of the car in front of me. The speedster was almost boxed in by the person in front of him and the vehicle in the left lane, but, not to be deterred, he quickly shot the gap into the left hand lane, causing the car in the left lane to hit his breaks. The car continued to speed and zig and zag until he was out of sight. 

I shook my head, and thanked God for keeping us all safe. Then, God convicted me, so I said a prayer for the young man that he would come to his senses, slow down and not get hurt or continue to endanger others. 

As I was thinking, another thing hit me: this is how most people are living their lives, and, I can fall into that trap as well. What do I mean? Simply this: We often live our lives going a million miles and hour, checking off things on our 'to-do' list, taking care of our work, running our errands, doing our chores, paying our bills and so on, without really stopping to truly be still before God and to worship Him and to let Him be the One who orders our hearts and minds and schedules. 

Yes, we may slow down a little for Wednesday Bible studies, or for Saturday or Sunday worship and Bible studies, but it is so easy for us, as soon as we leave, to get back on the track, going as fast as we can to check off the next set of items on our list. God did not intend for us to live this way.

When we observe Jesus in Scriptures, we never see Him frantically rushing from one point to another. It was not uncommon for people to say, upon His arrival on the scene "where have you been?' or 'why didn't you come sooner?' 

Remember Mary and Martha's heartache when their brother Lazarus died and their response to Jesus when He arrived on the scene after Lazarus had already died?

When we observe Jesus, we see Him often going to a secluded place to pray, to be alone with the Father. I humbly submit that if God the Son needed that unrushed time with the Father, we need it as well. 

Yes, our culture is different than Jesus' was during His earthly ministry. There was no internet or cell phones or cars or time management experts. That said, we often do see people in Scripture rushing around here and there and missing God in the process. Just like we do today.

This is tragic.

Christmas is a wonderful time for us to slow down, to reorient our lives around the Lord Jesus, and to focus on those matters that are truly important from God's perspective. When we become Christians, we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in Him and Him alone, and, in that, we also are to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. Jesus doesn't want (or deserve) our hurried leftovers. He deserves our lives. We are to present ourselves to Him as holy, living sacrifices, which is our reasonable act of worship considering all that He has done for us.

As someone once said: 'there is more to life than increasing its speed.' 

As Christians, we affirm key truths: The Scriptures are the authoritative Word of God. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. All that we do, we are to do for the glory of God. We are to make every thought captive to obedience to Christ. We are to pray and thank God continually.

We nod our heads when we hear these truths on a Wednesday, a Saturday, a Sunday, but what do we do with these truths the remainder of the day? The remainder of the week? 

Following Jesus is to be our life, not just a part of our life. Following Jesus requires faith and obedience and trust, and...the spiritual discipline to quiet ourselves before God to orient our lives around Him and His Word. 

Christmas is a great time to slow down and do just that, not just for 'this time of year,' but instead, to use 'this time of year' as a time to readjust our priorities. Yes the culture is busy and noisy and the Christmas season seems to come and go faster than it ever has and in all of this, Jesus gets lost in the season that bears His Name. How very sad.

My encouragement to us all this Christmas is to stop. Be still. Worship the Lord. Pray. Study the Word, and in that, listen to God, and, in that, ask the Holy Spirit to grant you grace to obey the Father. That takes intentionlity and yes, time. However, if we will do these things, we can look at our check lists and to do lists through clearer eyes. 

Spoiler alert: the 'to do' lists never get completed in life. You will always have things to tend to and things to do. Those things are not going anywhere. That said, we can all choose to be still before our God and to let Him shape and order our hearts, minds, priorities and our days. 

I pray that we do just that this Christmas.

I hope to see you in one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight and Lord's Supper Services this Christmas Eve. For information on that, please see the church website (and register)!

Grace to You,

Pastor

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Joy to the World? https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/joy-to-the-world https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/joy-to-the-world#comments Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:00:00 -0600 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/joy-to-the-world There is a lot going on in the world right now. As Christians, we see events unfolding and our hearts are heavy. We see war, terrorist attacks, a horrific rise in Anti-Semitism globally, and, here, and we see a world that has grown rather angry, bitter, cynical, with so many people being isolated from each other and fearful of the future.

And yet, this is the Christmas Season. Christmas is almost here. Christmas is that glorious time in which we Christians praise and thank God for the incredible gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is that babe in the manger, born of a virgin, who came to redeem those under the law (us) so that we could be reconciled to our Father. Jesus came to die for our sins so we could be forgiven. Jesus is 'Immanuel...God with us!' God with us. Think on that.

And, as you think on that, consider that God the Son left the glories of heaven and took on flesh, fully God, fully human, to willingly lay down His life as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners like you and me. Apart from God's gracious gift, we would have no hope. 

God's Word also tells us that Jesus came to overthrow the works of Satan. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection disarmed the powers and principalities. Satan is defeated. Yes he still rages, but his days are numbered, and he knows it. The day is coming when Christ will come again, and this time as The Conquering King, as Judge, and evil, and Satan and his demons will be ultimately and eternally judged. Evil does not win.

The challenge for Christians, not only during Christmas (though our senses should be especially sharp now), but throughout our lives, is to celebrate all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ, rejoicing in the salvation and reconciliation we have in Him, rejoicing in the heavenly inheritance we have because of Him. These are things we should focus our attention on, not on the dark things of the world. No, I am not saying we ignore those things. The things happening in our world should move us to pray, to shine the light of Jesus Christ into this dark world, and to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ! 'Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!' 

It should lead us to invite all people to 'Receive Their King.' 

Christmas is a time of great joy and Hope and we must not lose sight of that in changing and challenging times. Rejoice, Christians! The King has come! The Light of the World has entered into our darkness to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Only Way to the Father! The darkness cannot and does not overcome the Light!

I pray this day that each of us would quiet our busy and noisy minds and souls and praise and thank God for the remarkable gift of Jesus Christ! Joy to the World!

Grace to You,

Pastor 

 

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There is a lot going on in the world right now. As Christians, we see events unfolding and our hearts are heavy. We see war, terrorist attacks, a horrific rise in Anti-Semitism globally, and, here, and we see a world that has grown rather angry, bitter, cynical, with so many people being isolated from each other and fearful of the future.

And yet, this is the Christmas Season. Christmas is almost here. Christmas is that glorious time in which we Christians praise and thank God for the incredible gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is that babe in the manger, born of a virgin, who came to redeem those under the law (us) so that we could be reconciled to our Father. Jesus came to die for our sins so we could be forgiven. Jesus is 'Immanuel...God with us!' God with us. Think on that.

And, as you think on that, consider that God the Son left the glories of heaven and took on flesh, fully God, fully human, to willingly lay down His life as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners like you and me. Apart from God's gracious gift, we would have no hope. 

God's Word also tells us that Jesus came to overthrow the works of Satan. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection disarmed the powers and principalities. Satan is defeated. Yes he still rages, but his days are numbered, and he knows it. The day is coming when Christ will come again, and this time as The Conquering King, as Judge, and evil, and Satan and his demons will be ultimately and eternally judged. Evil does not win.

The challenge for Christians, not only during Christmas (though our senses should be especially sharp now), but throughout our lives, is to celebrate all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ, rejoicing in the salvation and reconciliation we have in Him, rejoicing in the heavenly inheritance we have because of Him. These are things we should focus our attention on, not on the dark things of the world. No, I am not saying we ignore those things. The things happening in our world should move us to pray, to shine the light of Jesus Christ into this dark world, and to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ! 'Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!' 

It should lead us to invite all people to 'Receive Their King.' 

Christmas is a time of great joy and Hope and we must not lose sight of that in changing and challenging times. Rejoice, Christians! The King has come! The Light of the World has entered into our darkness to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Only Way to the Father! The darkness cannot and does not overcome the Light!

I pray this day that each of us would quiet our busy and noisy minds and souls and praise and thank God for the remarkable gift of Jesus Christ! Joy to the World!

Grace to You,

Pastor 

 

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Where is God? https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/where-is-god https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/where-is-god#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/where-is-god The images were horrific. No doubt you have seen the images from the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Innocent civililans were executed in their homes. Women were raped. The elderly and children were slaughtered. Men, women and children were taken hostage, some were paraded around Gaza in cages, others were stripped naked and beaten and spat upon by the crowds. 

It was Israel's 9/11, but on a scale per capita much larger than ours. Israel is a country of 9.5 million people. The death toll of 1,400 (and counting) would be the equivalent, in the U.S. of between 25,000-30,000 Americans dying in a single day. The entire country of Israel has understandably been traumatized (and there will likely be long-term trauma from all of this), and has resolved to once and for all deal with Hamas and those who would seek to commit genocide on the Jewish people. Israel declared war on Hamas. 

Please note: Israel did not declare war on Palestine. They have declared war on Hamas. As the military buildup in Israel has grown to some 350,000 soldiers, to the north, Hezbollah (as well as Iran) are making threats. Israel is truly surrounded, but the people are resolved to do what they must do to protect their people and bring stability to the region. 

The United States has dispatched warships to the area as well as aircraft and other 'personnel.' News today stated that British Special Forces may join in to help try to rescue hostages. 

Last night, a rocket hit a hospital in Gaza. Hamas said that it was a strike by Israel. Israel says it was an errant rocket fired from within Gaza that accidentally hit a hospital. Video and surveillance cameras seem to back up this claim by Israel. Israel has repeatedly stated it is unacceptable to target civilians. The challenge in all of this is that Hamas has historically (and the intelligence community backs this up) stored rockets and ammunition in schools and hospitals because of the 'CNN Effect,' knowing that if Israel strikes a target where a rocket was fired and it turned out to be not only a military operations base, but also a hospital or school, the public will be appalled by the images on television and demand that Israel stop fighting back. 

It is a terrible mess. 

No one wants to see civilians suffer, neither in Israel or Palestine. However, on this current trajectory in which evil must be confronted, there will be more civilian casualties on both sides, and, the possibility of this war spilling over into the region. 

Christians must be in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, the peace of Israel and for peace for the region, but we must also pray that such evil will be dealt with. God puts governements in place to wield the sword so that a society can experience peace and justice (Romans 13:3-5). Christians must also pray above all that the gospel would advance in that region. When hearts and minds are transformed by the Risen Christ, such darkness is shattered. We must fervently pray for the Christians in Israel and Palestine, that they would be courageous, bold and faithful witnesses in this time. We must pray that people will come to saving faith in Christ.

These 'musts' are easier for Christians to understand than the question of evil, particularly the kind of dark, evil brutality we have witnessed, and the Christian belief that God is both Good and Sovereign. Namely, the question is this: if God is both Soveign and Good, then why would He allow such evil?

The options (would appear) to be:

1) God is Good, but not Sovereign. Meaning, He does not approve and is angered by evil, but does not have the power to deal with it.

2) God is Sovereign, but He is not Good. Meaning, God is in control but is indifferent to human suffering. 

3) There is no God. (I'll address this argument in a later post).

Scripture is clear that God is Sovereign (Isaiah 45:7-9, Daniel 2:21, Proverbs 16:33, Job 42:2, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11 for starters).

Scripture is equally clear that God is Good (Psalm 25:8,9, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 145:17, Nahum 1:7, John 3:16, 1 John 1:5, again, for starters). 

So, what are we to make of the presence of evil in this world in light of God, who is both Sovereign and Good? I want to encourage you to consider the following realities:

One: The Scriptures clearly explain the world and why things are the way they are and why we are the way we are. Humanity has been living east of Eden since our first parents rebelled, and sin had negatively impacted everything from creation to every person alive. We all have a sinful nature. It is naive an unbiblical to believe that we can experience some kind of utopia here on earth while it is populated with sinners who...sin. 

Two: God does not make anyone commit evil acts, rather in His permissive will, He does allow them to happen. No, we do not always get answers (ask Job). However, God has a way of taking what someone means for evil and turning it around for His ultimate glory and the ultimate good of others (see Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28 for starters).

There are times in our lives when darkness is so great, we want God to give us an answer. We see this in the Psalms rather often: 'How long, O Lord?' or 'My soul is in anguish O, Lord!' 

We see the prophet Habbakkuk asking questions of God as he learns that the despised and wicked Babylonians will indeed conquer his people. 

The challenge for us is that we see dimly, in part. We are finite, God is infinite. Our 'wisdom' is fallen, and God's wisdom is eternal and perfect. God makes it clear that His ways are not our ways nor are His thoughts our thoughts...He is God. We are not (Isaiah 55:8,9). We may think God owes us an explanation for why things happen, but He does not. The hidden things belong to Him. And in this, He is still absolutely Good and absolutely Sovereign. It is okay to cry out to God and to ask 'why, Lord?' In this act of faith as we pursue God in prayer and in the Word, His Word and Spirit will, in His own time, comfort us and give us insight we normally would not have otherwise. It is okay to take your pain and your questions to God. That said, we must always remember: we are seeing but a speck of the entire picture. God is doing billions of things we cannot see in answer to our prayers and He is actually orchestratinga all history to a climactic point. This leads to the next point.

Three: God's Word is very clear that He is moving history to that point where there are redeemed people from every nation, tribe and tongue, and then the end will come. Jesus spoke clearly about trials and tribulation, and, a Great Tribulation. The day is coming when God will ultimately and with complete finality, judge all evil. There will be no more war, sickness, death, pain, trauma....those who belong to Christ will reign with Him forever and ever. 

In the meantime, we should expect trouble and trials, and God's Word does not exclude Christians from trouble or trials (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 for example). 

Four:(and we need to get to Good News): Our God personally intervened into our situation to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, and it cost Him everything. God the Son left the splendor and glories of heaven, took on flesh, was born of a virgin, fully God, fully human, and in his brief 33 years of living, was very acquainted with sorrow and grief. He was despised and rejected by His people, by His own creation. Read Isaiah 53, a prophesy of Christ written 725 years before the Incarnation. 

God personally came to deal with the problems of Satan, sin and death--with evil. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. The spotless lamb of God, willingly laid down His life for you and me, enduring the most horrific death imaginable (research the procedure for crucifixion as well as what happens medically to the crucified person). Not only did He suffer immeasurably in the physical and emotional realms, but spiritually He suffered in ways we cannot imagine: Our sin (your sin and mine) were applied to His account, even though He had never sin, and God the Father poured out His Holy, Righteous Wrath against sin (our sin) on Jesus Christ. So, when Jesus cries out 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' not only is this the only time He refers to His Father as 'my God,' it is above all, a cry of anguish: from eternity past, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (one God in three persons) existed in perfect love and unity and harmony. At this time, however, fellowship was broken as the Father turned from the Son. Jesus became a curse for us. He endured the wrath of God for us. 

Why is this important? By virtue of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, He is making all things new as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Sovereign and Good over this broken and fallen world that is racing toward that day when God says 'Enough!' and Christ returns. 

It is also important because in Jesus Christ, we have a sympathetic High Priest who understands our human condition and what it means to be tempted (but not give into it), and what it means to suffer and to wonder 'My God, My God....why have you forsaken Me?' 

We can come to Jesus in our confusion and pain because He gets it much more than we ever will. 

In this mean time, God is not being passive, He is actually giving His wayward creation time to repent and to turn to Him. Read 2 Peter 3:9. God is giving people time to repent and to come to faith in Him. He is being patient, showing incredible grace and mercy to humanity because He would be perfectly just in judging humanity in full right now. 

There is so much more I could add, but this is already the longest Blog entrty I have made to date. My challenge to us is to go the God in prayer, to go to His Word, to call on Him, to be the ambassadors He has called us to be, and to shine the light of Christ in a world that is plunging further into darkness. 

God is Good. He is Soveriegn. He is over all things. He is near. He is sympathetic. He calls out to all to turn to Him. 

May the God of all Peace comfort our souls as we walk through the days ahead, confident, not in ourselves, but in our Redeemer!

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The images were horrific. No doubt you have seen the images from the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Innocent civililans were executed in their homes. Women were raped. The elderly and children were slaughtered. Men, women and children were taken hostage, some were paraded around Gaza in cages, others were stripped naked and beaten and spat upon by the crowds. 

It was Israel's 9/11, but on a scale per capita much larger than ours. Israel is a country of 9.5 million people. The death toll of 1,400 (and counting) would be the equivalent, in the U.S. of between 25,000-30,000 Americans dying in a single day. The entire country of Israel has understandably been traumatized (and there will likely be long-term trauma from all of this), and has resolved to once and for all deal with Hamas and those who would seek to commit genocide on the Jewish people. Israel declared war on Hamas. 

Please note: Israel did not declare war on Palestine. They have declared war on Hamas. As the military buildup in Israel has grown to some 350,000 soldiers, to the north, Hezbollah (as well as Iran) are making threats. Israel is truly surrounded, but the people are resolved to do what they must do to protect their people and bring stability to the region. 

The United States has dispatched warships to the area as well as aircraft and other 'personnel.' News today stated that British Special Forces may join in to help try to rescue hostages. 

Last night, a rocket hit a hospital in Gaza. Hamas said that it was a strike by Israel. Israel says it was an errant rocket fired from within Gaza that accidentally hit a hospital. Video and surveillance cameras seem to back up this claim by Israel. Israel has repeatedly stated it is unacceptable to target civilians. The challenge in all of this is that Hamas has historically (and the intelligence community backs this up) stored rockets and ammunition in schools and hospitals because of the 'CNN Effect,' knowing that if Israel strikes a target where a rocket was fired and it turned out to be not only a military operations base, but also a hospital or school, the public will be appalled by the images on television and demand that Israel stop fighting back. 

It is a terrible mess. 

No one wants to see civilians suffer, neither in Israel or Palestine. However, on this current trajectory in which evil must be confronted, there will be more civilian casualties on both sides, and, the possibility of this war spilling over into the region. 

Christians must be in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, the peace of Israel and for peace for the region, but we must also pray that such evil will be dealt with. God puts governements in place to wield the sword so that a society can experience peace and justice (Romans 13:3-5). Christians must also pray above all that the gospel would advance in that region. When hearts and minds are transformed by the Risen Christ, such darkness is shattered. We must fervently pray for the Christians in Israel and Palestine, that they would be courageous, bold and faithful witnesses in this time. We must pray that people will come to saving faith in Christ.

These 'musts' are easier for Christians to understand than the question of evil, particularly the kind of dark, evil brutality we have witnessed, and the Christian belief that God is both Good and Sovereign. Namely, the question is this: if God is both Soveign and Good, then why would He allow such evil?

The options (would appear) to be:

1) God is Good, but not Sovereign. Meaning, He does not approve and is angered by evil, but does not have the power to deal with it.

2) God is Sovereign, but He is not Good. Meaning, God is in control but is indifferent to human suffering. 

3) There is no God. (I'll address this argument in a later post).

Scripture is clear that God is Sovereign (Isaiah 45:7-9, Daniel 2:21, Proverbs 16:33, Job 42:2, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11 for starters).

Scripture is equally clear that God is Good (Psalm 25:8,9, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 145:17, Nahum 1:7, John 3:16, 1 John 1:5, again, for starters). 

So, what are we to make of the presence of evil in this world in light of God, who is both Sovereign and Good? I want to encourage you to consider the following realities:

One: The Scriptures clearly explain the world and why things are the way they are and why we are the way we are. Humanity has been living east of Eden since our first parents rebelled, and sin had negatively impacted everything from creation to every person alive. We all have a sinful nature. It is naive an unbiblical to believe that we can experience some kind of utopia here on earth while it is populated with sinners who...sin. 

Two: God does not make anyone commit evil acts, rather in His permissive will, He does allow them to happen. No, we do not always get answers (ask Job). However, God has a way of taking what someone means for evil and turning it around for His ultimate glory and the ultimate good of others (see Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28 for starters).

There are times in our lives when darkness is so great, we want God to give us an answer. We see this in the Psalms rather often: 'How long, O Lord?' or 'My soul is in anguish O, Lord!' 

We see the prophet Habbakkuk asking questions of God as he learns that the despised and wicked Babylonians will indeed conquer his people. 

The challenge for us is that we see dimly, in part. We are finite, God is infinite. Our 'wisdom' is fallen, and God's wisdom is eternal and perfect. God makes it clear that His ways are not our ways nor are His thoughts our thoughts...He is God. We are not (Isaiah 55:8,9). We may think God owes us an explanation for why things happen, but He does not. The hidden things belong to Him. And in this, He is still absolutely Good and absolutely Sovereign. It is okay to cry out to God and to ask 'why, Lord?' In this act of faith as we pursue God in prayer and in the Word, His Word and Spirit will, in His own time, comfort us and give us insight we normally would not have otherwise. It is okay to take your pain and your questions to God. That said, we must always remember: we are seeing but a speck of the entire picture. God is doing billions of things we cannot see in answer to our prayers and He is actually orchestratinga all history to a climactic point. This leads to the next point.

Three: God's Word is very clear that He is moving history to that point where there are redeemed people from every nation, tribe and tongue, and then the end will come. Jesus spoke clearly about trials and tribulation, and, a Great Tribulation. The day is coming when God will ultimately and with complete finality, judge all evil. There will be no more war, sickness, death, pain, trauma....those who belong to Christ will reign with Him forever and ever. 

In the meantime, we should expect trouble and trials, and God's Word does not exclude Christians from trouble or trials (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 for example). 

Four:(and we need to get to Good News): Our God personally intervened into our situation to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, and it cost Him everything. God the Son left the splendor and glories of heaven, took on flesh, was born of a virgin, fully God, fully human, and in his brief 33 years of living, was very acquainted with sorrow and grief. He was despised and rejected by His people, by His own creation. Read Isaiah 53, a prophesy of Christ written 725 years before the Incarnation. 

God personally came to deal with the problems of Satan, sin and death--with evil. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. The spotless lamb of God, willingly laid down His life for you and me, enduring the most horrific death imaginable (research the procedure for crucifixion as well as what happens medically to the crucified person). Not only did He suffer immeasurably in the physical and emotional realms, but spiritually He suffered in ways we cannot imagine: Our sin (your sin and mine) were applied to His account, even though He had never sin, and God the Father poured out His Holy, Righteous Wrath against sin (our sin) on Jesus Christ. So, when Jesus cries out 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' not only is this the only time He refers to His Father as 'my God,' it is above all, a cry of anguish: from eternity past, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (one God in three persons) existed in perfect love and unity and harmony. At this time, however, fellowship was broken as the Father turned from the Son. Jesus became a curse for us. He endured the wrath of God for us. 

Why is this important? By virtue of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, He is making all things new as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Sovereign and Good over this broken and fallen world that is racing toward that day when God says 'Enough!' and Christ returns. 

It is also important because in Jesus Christ, we have a sympathetic High Priest who understands our human condition and what it means to be tempted (but not give into it), and what it means to suffer and to wonder 'My God, My God....why have you forsaken Me?' 

We can come to Jesus in our confusion and pain because He gets it much more than we ever will. 

In this mean time, God is not being passive, He is actually giving His wayward creation time to repent and to turn to Him. Read 2 Peter 3:9. God is giving people time to repent and to come to faith in Him. He is being patient, showing incredible grace and mercy to humanity because He would be perfectly just in judging humanity in full right now. 

There is so much more I could add, but this is already the longest Blog entrty I have made to date. My challenge to us is to go the God in prayer, to go to His Word, to call on Him, to be the ambassadors He has called us to be, and to shine the light of Christ in a world that is plunging further into darkness. 

God is Good. He is Soveriegn. He is over all things. He is near. He is sympathetic. He calls out to all to turn to Him. 

May the God of all Peace comfort our souls as we walk through the days ahead, confident, not in ourselves, but in our Redeemer!

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Processing the Events in Israel and Praying for Israel https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/processing-the-events-in-israel-and-praying-for-israel https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/processing-the-events-in-israel-and-praying-for-israel#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2023 19:00:00 -0500 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/processing-the-events-in-israel-and-praying-for-israel The events in Israel are heartbreaking. Even as I write this Blog entry, it is difficult to keep up with all that is unfolding as more and more news and information is released from Israel. What we are seeing is horrific. It is evil. More Jewish people were killed in this attack, simply for being Jewish, than any other time since the Holocaust. We heard the stories of women and the elderly and children being deliberately slaughtered, and many stories of women and children and the elderly being kidnapped and being held as hostages. As of this writing, Hamas has threatened to publicly execute a hostage (and post these executions online) for every building the IDF attacks. Israel is in a state of war, and there is something particularly dark happening as we hear of coordination between Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and possibly Syria. 

As Christians, how do we process all of this? I realize I cannot address the question of 'why is there suffering and evil if God is both Good and Sovereign?' in a short Blog post, but we can think through some big picture issues.

As Christians, how should we pray? 

I humbly offer the following for your consideration:

First, Scripture is very clear on why the world is the way it is and why we are the way we are and on the very real presence of evil in this world. We live in a fallen world and we are, ourselves, sinful. We are sinners by nature, and only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change our nature, giving us new life-but even then, we still wrestle with sin. We also have a very real enemy in the unseen realm, Satan, who along with his demonic army, seeks to kill, steal and destroy. God's Word is very clear on this matter as well. 

Second, God's Word is very clear on this: there will be evil and suffering and tribulation in this world until Christ returns, until there is a new heaven and a new earth. All of history is moving toward that time when God the Son returns with a shout and judges humanity. He will separate the sheep from the goats. Our only Hope is Jesus Christ because we cannot stand before the Holy God above all Creation in our own inherent 'goodness,' which is to God, 'as filthy rags.' If we want to hear 'enter my paradise' on the day we stand before the King, we must repent and turn to Him in faith now. Today is the day of salvation.

God judges evil and sin now, but there is a day coming when it will be finally and ultimately judged and dealt with. Satan himself will be thrown into the lake of fire. 

But between now and then...all creation groans. It groans under the weight of sin. It groans because of the Fall. It groans and waits for the Redeemer to return. 

What we are seeing in Israel (and what we have seen through human history in terms of man's inhumanity to man) is nothing new. It is the story of humanity, of all people living east of Eden. This does not mean we are not horrified, angered or that we don't grieve with those who are hurting. It is to say that once more, we are reminded that we live in a broken world and that we are, ourselves, also broken. We desperately need Jesus. 

Make no mistake: God is both Sovereign (and thus over all of this situation) and He is Good, and there will be ultimate justice. 

There is also goodness we see in all of this dark story: Texas Baptist Men are mobilizing to go right into the hot spots of Israel to minister to, feed and care for the broken and hurting on both sides of this conflict. They are taking the gospel with them, and, it is certainly possible that some men will indeed suffer. Other Christian agencies are also doing what they can to bring relief and comfort to the traumatized and hurting.

There are stories of people in Israel risking their lives to take care of neighbors, of strangers who are displaced. There are stories of heroism and sacrifice, virtues that are to be admired.

That to say: in the midst of great darkness, the Light is shining. 

Another thing we must consider is Biblically, God has entrusted governments with 'the sword' to bring about justice when people or people's act in an evil way that harms the citizenry (Romans 13:4).  A just government wields the sword to protect its people, and, to punish evil. An unjust government wields the sword to protect its own power. The Israeli government has a right and responsibility to protect its citizens and to wage a just war so that such evil acts will not continue. If you want to take a deep dive into this theological topic, research Augustine's 'Just War' theory. It is rooted in Scripture. 

These are some helpful ways to process what we see and read and hear, but obviously much more could be said to help us as Christians process these horrific events.

How then should we pray? I would suggest in the following ways:

1) We pray for the peace of Israel (Psalm 122). 

2) Pray for peace in the region. God is able to do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. 

3) Pray that God would be glorified and make His glory known to the nations in this situation. That may sound strange, but we must always pray that God would glorify Himself so that all people's will know Jesus Christ is Lord. Pray that through the dark days, Jews and Muslims and professing Christians would encounter the Risen Christ, the glory of God, and that God would receive glory in this situation.

4) Pray for the gospel to advance in the region. For some time now, Muslims in restricted countries are having visions of Jesus appearing to them, declaring He is God the Son, the Messiah. Pray that the Holy Spirit would come in power in that area and speak to Jews and Muslims alike. Pray that the small Christian communities in the area will be bold and faithful witnesses. If the gospel advances, hearts and minds are transformed and changed. This is the great need and great Hope for all. 

These are challenging times. God has placed us here for such a time as this, however. My challenge to us as Christians: pray and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with friends, family, neighbors, people at work, school, to be about the King's business.  Once more, we are reminded, this world needs Jesus. 

Grace to You,

Pastor

]]>
The events in Israel are heartbreaking. Even as I write this Blog entry, it is difficult to keep up with all that is unfolding as more and more news and information is released from Israel. What we are seeing is horrific. It is evil. More Jewish people were killed in this attack, simply for being Jewish, than any other time since the Holocaust. We heard the stories of women and the elderly and children being deliberately slaughtered, and many stories of women and children and the elderly being kidnapped and being held as hostages. As of this writing, Hamas has threatened to publicly execute a hostage (and post these executions online) for every building the IDF attacks. Israel is in a state of war, and there is something particularly dark happening as we hear of coordination between Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and possibly Syria. 

As Christians, how do we process all of this? I realize I cannot address the question of 'why is there suffering and evil if God is both Good and Sovereign?' in a short Blog post, but we can think through some big picture issues.

As Christians, how should we pray? 

I humbly offer the following for your consideration:

First, Scripture is very clear on why the world is the way it is and why we are the way we are and on the very real presence of evil in this world. We live in a fallen world and we are, ourselves, sinful. We are sinners by nature, and only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change our nature, giving us new life-but even then, we still wrestle with sin. We also have a very real enemy in the unseen realm, Satan, who along with his demonic army, seeks to kill, steal and destroy. God's Word is very clear on this matter as well. 

Second, God's Word is very clear on this: there will be evil and suffering and tribulation in this world until Christ returns, until there is a new heaven and a new earth. All of history is moving toward that time when God the Son returns with a shout and judges humanity. He will separate the sheep from the goats. Our only Hope is Jesus Christ because we cannot stand before the Holy God above all Creation in our own inherent 'goodness,' which is to God, 'as filthy rags.' If we want to hear 'enter my paradise' on the day we stand before the King, we must repent and turn to Him in faith now. Today is the day of salvation.

God judges evil and sin now, but there is a day coming when it will be finally and ultimately judged and dealt with. Satan himself will be thrown into the lake of fire. 

But between now and then...all creation groans. It groans under the weight of sin. It groans because of the Fall. It groans and waits for the Redeemer to return. 

What we are seeing in Israel (and what we have seen through human history in terms of man's inhumanity to man) is nothing new. It is the story of humanity, of all people living east of Eden. This does not mean we are not horrified, angered or that we don't grieve with those who are hurting. It is to say that once more, we are reminded that we live in a broken world and that we are, ourselves, also broken. We desperately need Jesus. 

Make no mistake: God is both Sovereign (and thus over all of this situation) and He is Good, and there will be ultimate justice. 

There is also goodness we see in all of this dark story: Texas Baptist Men are mobilizing to go right into the hot spots of Israel to minister to, feed and care for the broken and hurting on both sides of this conflict. They are taking the gospel with them, and, it is certainly possible that some men will indeed suffer. Other Christian agencies are also doing what they can to bring relief and comfort to the traumatized and hurting.

There are stories of people in Israel risking their lives to take care of neighbors, of strangers who are displaced. There are stories of heroism and sacrifice, virtues that are to be admired.

That to say: in the midst of great darkness, the Light is shining. 

Another thing we must consider is Biblically, God has entrusted governments with 'the sword' to bring about justice when people or people's act in an evil way that harms the citizenry (Romans 13:4).  A just government wields the sword to protect its people, and, to punish evil. An unjust government wields the sword to protect its own power. The Israeli government has a right and responsibility to protect its citizens and to wage a just war so that such evil acts will not continue. If you want to take a deep dive into this theological topic, research Augustine's 'Just War' theory. It is rooted in Scripture. 

These are some helpful ways to process what we see and read and hear, but obviously much more could be said to help us as Christians process these horrific events.

How then should we pray? I would suggest in the following ways:

1) We pray for the peace of Israel (Psalm 122). 

2) Pray for peace in the region. God is able to do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. 

3) Pray that God would be glorified and make His glory known to the nations in this situation. That may sound strange, but we must always pray that God would glorify Himself so that all people's will know Jesus Christ is Lord. Pray that through the dark days, Jews and Muslims and professing Christians would encounter the Risen Christ, the glory of God, and that God would receive glory in this situation.

4) Pray for the gospel to advance in the region. For some time now, Muslims in restricted countries are having visions of Jesus appearing to them, declaring He is God the Son, the Messiah. Pray that the Holy Spirit would come in power in that area and speak to Jews and Muslims alike. Pray that the small Christian communities in the area will be bold and faithful witnesses. If the gospel advances, hearts and minds are transformed and changed. This is the great need and great Hope for all. 

These are challenging times. God has placed us here for such a time as this, however. My challenge to us as Christians: pray and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with friends, family, neighbors, people at work, school, to be about the King's business.  Once more, we are reminded, this world needs Jesus. 

Grace to You,

Pastor

]]>
Community Fest and the Power of the Gospel https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/the-power-of-the-gospel https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/the-power-of-the-gospel#comments Mon, 09 Oct 2023 18:00:00 -0500 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/the-power-of-the-gospel I've lost track of the number of times the past year and a half or so that I've been at a church gathering or study or worship service and just sat back and smiled, thanking God for all He is doing. Truly we are in a holy and precious season. We must not lose our focus. We must stay rooted in Scripture, committed to the authority of God's Word and we must stay in prayer and we must continue to guard the bonds of peace as we move forward toward facility expansion and new buildings, and, more importantly, engaging our communities with the gospel. Everything we do must be for the glory of God. Everything. 

As we approach our Community Fest on October 21, 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., we must stay in prayer and ask the Lord to use us to bless our neighbors and communities. We have a tremendous opportunity to show our ethnically diverse community the transformative power of the gospel!

One of the things the Lord has been doing in our church is building His church to look a lot like the communities around us. What a blessing it is to be a multi-generational, multi-ethnic congregation of believers! The gospel changes everything. The gospel does away with the distinctions lost humanity makes (Jew, Greek, Gentile, Barbarian...white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and so on), because in Christ, we are all one. We share the same Lord, the same baptism and the same Holy Spirit. 

We get to see this fleshed out weekly and throughout the week in the church. Praise God for that!  

Other things that bless me that the Lord has been doing: this church has a profound love for, hunger for and justifiably high view of Scripture. People are coming here hungry and eager to be in a place where they will hear the Word taught, preached and explained unapologetically (but graciously of course)! People are coming here hungry to pray, to be on mission, to impact the communities and the world for the glory of God! There is a gospel humility that is so beautiful to see. I praise God for this church!

No church is perfect, but we certainly can thank God for the amazing things He has been doing and is doing and ask Him to use us for His Kingdom purposes and glory.

Think with me: Does our culture need to see and experience what we do as a church? Absolutely. We see a culture that is spiritually and morally adrift, unsure of truth, looking for answers (and often in all the wrong places), broken, isolated, hurting, lonely, and, at the same time, we see great polarization, factions and, if we are honest, we also see a lot of anger and hatred. Our culture is lost, is desperately soul-sick. Our culture needs Jesus.

Here is what I am asking us to do. I am asking us to pray now that God would use us to show the culture a much more excellent way! Let us be about the business of sharing the gospel because Christ is humanity's only Hope. When Jesus saves, He changes hearts and minds. His saving work adopts us into the family of God. We become brothers and sisters, no longer aliens and strangers, no longer alienated from God and one another...how amazing is that? How beautiful is that?

Our culture needs to hear the gospel and see the gospel in action. Community Fest is just one of many opportunities we have to do just that. If you have not yet found your place to serve, please let us know and we will plug you in. Let us all be in prayer for this time, so that we might be used by God for His glory and Kingdom purposes on that day!

If you are reading this and you are in our communities, we invite you to come! We invite you to come and see the power of the gospel to create brotherhood and sisterhood that goes far beyond anything this culture can offer.  We invite you to ask questions about the Good News of Jesus Christ. We invite you to come and have an enjoyable time with your family playing games and enjoying food and music. We invite you to get to know your neighbors. You are always welcome here!

God is Good, and He is at work! Let's thank and praise Him as He is worthy, and let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ, the Author and Perfector of our faith, so that we might run the race well that is set before us!

For the King and His Kingdom!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

]]>
I've lost track of the number of times the past year and a half or so that I've been at a church gathering or study or worship service and just sat back and smiled, thanking God for all He is doing. Truly we are in a holy and precious season. We must not lose our focus. We must stay rooted in Scripture, committed to the authority of God's Word and we must stay in prayer and we must continue to guard the bonds of peace as we move forward toward facility expansion and new buildings, and, more importantly, engaging our communities with the gospel. Everything we do must be for the glory of God. Everything. 

As we approach our Community Fest on October 21, 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., we must stay in prayer and ask the Lord to use us to bless our neighbors and communities. We have a tremendous opportunity to show our ethnically diverse community the transformative power of the gospel!

One of the things the Lord has been doing in our church is building His church to look a lot like the communities around us. What a blessing it is to be a multi-generational, multi-ethnic congregation of believers! The gospel changes everything. The gospel does away with the distinctions lost humanity makes (Jew, Greek, Gentile, Barbarian...white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and so on), because in Christ, we are all one. We share the same Lord, the same baptism and the same Holy Spirit. 

We get to see this fleshed out weekly and throughout the week in the church. Praise God for that!  

Other things that bless me that the Lord has been doing: this church has a profound love for, hunger for and justifiably high view of Scripture. People are coming here hungry and eager to be in a place where they will hear the Word taught, preached and explained unapologetically (but graciously of course)! People are coming here hungry to pray, to be on mission, to impact the communities and the world for the glory of God! There is a gospel humility that is so beautiful to see. I praise God for this church!

No church is perfect, but we certainly can thank God for the amazing things He has been doing and is doing and ask Him to use us for His Kingdom purposes and glory.

Think with me: Does our culture need to see and experience what we do as a church? Absolutely. We see a culture that is spiritually and morally adrift, unsure of truth, looking for answers (and often in all the wrong places), broken, isolated, hurting, lonely, and, at the same time, we see great polarization, factions and, if we are honest, we also see a lot of anger and hatred. Our culture is lost, is desperately soul-sick. Our culture needs Jesus.

Here is what I am asking us to do. I am asking us to pray now that God would use us to show the culture a much more excellent way! Let us be about the business of sharing the gospel because Christ is humanity's only Hope. When Jesus saves, He changes hearts and minds. His saving work adopts us into the family of God. We become brothers and sisters, no longer aliens and strangers, no longer alienated from God and one another...how amazing is that? How beautiful is that?

Our culture needs to hear the gospel and see the gospel in action. Community Fest is just one of many opportunities we have to do just that. If you have not yet found your place to serve, please let us know and we will plug you in. Let us all be in prayer for this time, so that we might be used by God for His glory and Kingdom purposes on that day!

If you are reading this and you are in our communities, we invite you to come! We invite you to come and see the power of the gospel to create brotherhood and sisterhood that goes far beyond anything this culture can offer.  We invite you to ask questions about the Good News of Jesus Christ. We invite you to come and have an enjoyable time with your family playing games and enjoying food and music. We invite you to get to know your neighbors. You are always welcome here!

God is Good, and He is at work! Let's thank and praise Him as He is worthy, and let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ, the Author and Perfector of our faith, so that we might run the race well that is set before us!

For the King and His Kingdom!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

]]>
Family Week, 2023: Don't Miss the Blessing! https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/family-week https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/family-week#comments Sat, 15 Jul 2023 14:00:00 -0500 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/family-week Last year, the Lord put the idea of 'Family Week' on our leadership's heart for two specific reasons: one was a question, the other was a conviction.

 

The question was 'How can we best minister to families? Has Vacation Bible School produced the kind of long-term fruit we hope to see in the lives of families and children?' As we prayed through that question, the answer was, 'not really.' We sensed the Lord leading us to do something that impacted the entire family, from children to youth to young adults,and senior adults, married couples with children and without children, and single parent families. 

The conviction was simply this: 'We needed to minister to the whole family and encourage the whole family to be centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, to have Christ at the center of family life.' 

Family Week was born out of that time of prayer and asking questions and acting on one of our convictions. We had no idea what to expect, or, how it would be received, and, none of us had a framework for putting on a 'Family Week' becuase we were not aware of any churches that were doing something like what God put on our hearts. 

The church moved forward in faith not knowing if many people would respond at all. God, however, certainly had put it on our hearts for a reason: Family Week 2022 was amazing, powerful, transformative, and, a significant turning point in the life of our church. We saw incredible fruit from that week, and, we have people who are members of our church now because of their involvement in Family Week last year. As for participation, we had a full house nightly. It was amazing!

We are now approaching Family Week 2023! Family Week begins July 30 and runs through August 2, 6:00-8:00 p.m. nightly. What can you expect at Family Week?

First, you'll enjoy dinner and fellowship with others. You'll have opportunity to not only develop relationships with people, you'll also have fun doing it.

Second, after dinner, children third grade and younger will have a breakout time while everyone else stays together and enjoys an incredible time of teaching from Paul and Dawn Cox, from Family Life Ministries. You will be blessed as they walk us through very practical and essential issues every family must address.

Last, there will be a fun time of quick 'minute to win it ' games. 

Each night you'll have topics to talk about as a family on your way home. The intent is to make sure that every family has opportunity to continue the important conversations after each night.

Family Week will be a blessing! You don't want to miss out. I encourage you to register now! You can do so on our church's Facebook Page, or, on our church website. Simply go to this page and click on the link for registration: https://www.stonebridgesa.com/events/event/78/family-week-connection-community-conversation/2023-07-30

You can also register whenever you are on campus. 

Family Week is NOT just for members and visitors of Stonebridge Baptist Church. Family Week is for our communities as well. You do not need to be a member of the church to participate! If you do not yet have a church home, or, if you are looking for one, we welcome you. 

We look forward to seeing YOU and YOUR family this year at Family Week!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

 

 

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Last year, the Lord put the idea of 'Family Week' on our leadership's heart for two specific reasons: one was a question, the other was a conviction.

 

The question was 'How can we best minister to families? Has Vacation Bible School produced the kind of long-term fruit we hope to see in the lives of families and children?' As we prayed through that question, the answer was, 'not really.' We sensed the Lord leading us to do something that impacted the entire family, from children to youth to young adults,and senior adults, married couples with children and without children, and single parent families. 

The conviction was simply this: 'We needed to minister to the whole family and encourage the whole family to be centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and, to have Christ at the center of family life.' 

Family Week was born out of that time of prayer and asking questions and acting on one of our convictions. We had no idea what to expect, or, how it would be received, and, none of us had a framework for putting on a 'Family Week' becuase we were not aware of any churches that were doing something like what God put on our hearts. 

The church moved forward in faith not knowing if many people would respond at all. God, however, certainly had put it on our hearts for a reason: Family Week 2022 was amazing, powerful, transformative, and, a significant turning point in the life of our church. We saw incredible fruit from that week, and, we have people who are members of our church now because of their involvement in Family Week last year. As for participation, we had a full house nightly. It was amazing!

We are now approaching Family Week 2023! Family Week begins July 30 and runs through August 2, 6:00-8:00 p.m. nightly. What can you expect at Family Week?

First, you'll enjoy dinner and fellowship with others. You'll have opportunity to not only develop relationships with people, you'll also have fun doing it.

Second, after dinner, children third grade and younger will have a breakout time while everyone else stays together and enjoys an incredible time of teaching from Paul and Dawn Cox, from Family Life Ministries. You will be blessed as they walk us through very practical and essential issues every family must address.

Last, there will be a fun time of quick 'minute to win it ' games. 

Each night you'll have topics to talk about as a family on your way home. The intent is to make sure that every family has opportunity to continue the important conversations after each night.

Family Week will be a blessing! You don't want to miss out. I encourage you to register now! You can do so on our church's Facebook Page, or, on our church website. Simply go to this page and click on the link for registration: https://www.stonebridgesa.com/events/event/78/family-week-connection-community-conversation/2023-07-30

You can also register whenever you are on campus. 

Family Week is NOT just for members and visitors of Stonebridge Baptist Church. Family Week is for our communities as well. You do not need to be a member of the church to participate! If you do not yet have a church home, or, if you are looking for one, we welcome you. 

We look forward to seeing YOU and YOUR family this year at Family Week!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

 

 

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Moving Forward: Praising God For All He Has and Is Doing! https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/praising-god-for-all-he-has-and-is-doing https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/praising-god-for-all-he-has-and-is-doing#comments Mon, 22 May 2023 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/praising-god-for-all-he-has-and-is-doing The Lord has been moving mightily the past year in the life of His church here at Stonebridge! We have seen the Lord save the lost, grow the saved, transform lives, produce a growing love and unity that glorifies Him, open doors to minister to people groups in our communities, and we have seen the Lord draw seekers and people hungry for the Word of God to our campus. 

We are seeing families and children and youth and young adults and different people groups all connect with our church, and, we are seeing people growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is nothing short of beautiful and stunning to see!

All of this is very humbling because all of this is God's Gracious Hand on us. We cannot take credit for anything He is doing. It is all Him, and that is the way it should be. I am thankful for all that God has done and is doing. I am thankful for this church family, brothers and sisters who are learning to love well, who are committed to the authority of God's Word, to the timeless Truth of Scripture, and, to being on mission for Him in the communities, and the world. 

This past Sunday, we unanimously voted to move forward with an architect from the state convention who will develop a long-term facility usage plan for the church. We have had good 'problems' on Sundays, namely, there is no space. We are making some temporary adjustments that will help alleviate that situation, but we realize that we are at the point now where we must expand and look at our options so we can best equip the people God has brought to us, and, best minister to our growing community. 

As we move forward in faith, the trustees and church leadership will continue to keep the congregation informed and involved in the process. We are a body of believers, and this process will involve all of us. We must stay in prayer, and, we must stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, and, stay rooted in His Word as we continue to move forward. 

It is important to reiterate a few things you've heard several times as we do move forward. We have no desire to become a 'mega church.' We are not concerned with creating a 'brand,' or any such thing. Our commitment is to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, to the authority of His Word, the primacy of prayer, being on mission in our communities and the world and equipping the saints. These are non-negotiables. We will not compromise to 'draw more people.' 

We believe that the maximum size we are to grow is around 500. That will allow us to do certain things in ministry to minister to more people, but, it is difficult to effectively shepherd more than 500 people, so, we will be committed long-term, at that point ,to starting more churches and possible satellite campuses. We are not here to be a church that 'attracts spiritual consumerism,' rather, we want to be a church that glorifies God and grows mature followers of Jesus Christ. 

We have much ahead. We have much to look forward to, and, there will be times of testing and trials. Our confidence is not in ourselves or our abilities, but in Christ and Christ alone. 

Let us stay in prayer and in the grace He provides, run the race well that is set before us! What an amazing Lord we serve!

I am thankful to be your pastor and your brother in Christ!

Grace to you,

Pastor Kevin

 

 

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The Lord has been moving mightily the past year in the life of His church here at Stonebridge! We have seen the Lord save the lost, grow the saved, transform lives, produce a growing love and unity that glorifies Him, open doors to minister to people groups in our communities, and we have seen the Lord draw seekers and people hungry for the Word of God to our campus. 

We are seeing families and children and youth and young adults and different people groups all connect with our church, and, we are seeing people growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is nothing short of beautiful and stunning to see!

All of this is very humbling because all of this is God's Gracious Hand on us. We cannot take credit for anything He is doing. It is all Him, and that is the way it should be. I am thankful for all that God has done and is doing. I am thankful for this church family, brothers and sisters who are learning to love well, who are committed to the authority of God's Word, to the timeless Truth of Scripture, and, to being on mission for Him in the communities, and the world. 

This past Sunday, we unanimously voted to move forward with an architect from the state convention who will develop a long-term facility usage plan for the church. We have had good 'problems' on Sundays, namely, there is no space. We are making some temporary adjustments that will help alleviate that situation, but we realize that we are at the point now where we must expand and look at our options so we can best equip the people God has brought to us, and, best minister to our growing community. 

As we move forward in faith, the trustees and church leadership will continue to keep the congregation informed and involved in the process. We are a body of believers, and this process will involve all of us. We must stay in prayer, and, we must stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, and, stay rooted in His Word as we continue to move forward. 

It is important to reiterate a few things you've heard several times as we do move forward. We have no desire to become a 'mega church.' We are not concerned with creating a 'brand,' or any such thing. Our commitment is to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, to the authority of His Word, the primacy of prayer, being on mission in our communities and the world and equipping the saints. These are non-negotiables. We will not compromise to 'draw more people.' 

We believe that the maximum size we are to grow is around 500. That will allow us to do certain things in ministry to minister to more people, but, it is difficult to effectively shepherd more than 500 people, so, we will be committed long-term, at that point ,to starting more churches and possible satellite campuses. We are not here to be a church that 'attracts spiritual consumerism,' rather, we want to be a church that glorifies God and grows mature followers of Jesus Christ. 

We have much ahead. We have much to look forward to, and, there will be times of testing and trials. Our confidence is not in ourselves or our abilities, but in Christ and Christ alone. 

Let us stay in prayer and in the grace He provides, run the race well that is set before us! What an amazing Lord we serve!

I am thankful to be your pastor and your brother in Christ!

Grace to you,

Pastor Kevin

 

 

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Revival, Reformation and Awakening: Our Great Need https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/revival-reformation-and-awakening-our-great-need https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/revival-reformation-and-awakening-our-great-need#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0600 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/revival-reformation-and-awakening-our-great-need We live in rapidly changing times, and this is not news to you. Every day it seems we are bombarded by the latest in cultural changes in this great slide into immorality and the rejection of all things related to God. This moral and spiritual revolution is spiritually dangerous and subversive, and it is accelerating at break neck pace. The damage being done to children, to individuals and families is nothing short of heartbreaking. 

What are Christians to do? 

Our 'go to move' should not be to condemn the culture. That may sound counterintuitive, but the culture is actually experiencing the consequences of an anemic and compromised and diluted church that has, for all practical purposes, either abandoned the once and for all historic faith in the name of 'relevancy,' or, is cozying up to the world system to be 'liked' by the culture, and in doing so, has diluted the Truth to the point it is no longer powerful and potent to save. 

We, the church, have hidden our light for too long. For too long we have enabled people to be cultural Christians, with one foot in the church and the other foot firmly planted in the world system. Churchianity has been around for far too long and it is a sad and impotent substitute for Biblical Christianity. 

In addition to hiding our light and enabling cultural Christianity in our churches, producing consumers rather than disciples of Jesus Christ, we also see a great falling awaya from Truth in many of our churches. Whether it is prominent 'pastors' of mega churches selling the prosperity gospel or declaring their 'apostleship' and offering up strange fire to the Living God (see the New Apostolic Reformation as exhibit 'A'), or prominent pastors departing from the historical faitht, caling everything in to question from the authority of Scripture to the exclusivity of Jesus. 

We are also seeing a great 'falling away' ofprofessing believers, from pastors to church members. These are serious times indeed.

I would agree with the late Leonard Ravenhill who famously said, 'the church is not suffering from the sins of the nation, the nation is suffering from the sins of the church.' Our culture lacks a vibrant witness because far too many who profess the Name of Christ have abandoned Him, if not in full, at least in part.

These are serious times.

We desperately need revival and reformation and awakening. 

What do those words mean?

'Revival' is the Sovereign act of God who chooses to pour out His Spirit on His people to make us more like Him, to rekindle our love for Him and to ignite us once more. We cannot force revival nor manufacture it, but we can humble ourselves before God and cry out for mercy. When revival comes, at first it is uncomfortable as the Spirit of God comes in power and convicts of sin and lukewarmness, and for this reason, many fear praying for revival. We get comfortable in our sin. But being broken and then forgiven is the beginning of revival. When the Holy Spirit comes in power, ultimately the lost in the church are saved, the lukewarm are made white hot, and those who are growing in Christ are consumed with an even greater passion for His glory. Relationships are transformed and God is glorified in revival. Churches are transformed and become mighty instruments in the Hands of God in revival.

Reformation flows out of authentic revival. Some make the mistake of thinking revival is all about pursuing experiences. Not at all. Revival is about pursuing God and when God comes in power His people desire to further align themselves with Him and His Word-this is where reformation comes in. Revival is not about experiencing ecstatic experiences, rather it is about becoming more like Christ and being aligned to His Word, Spirit and purposes. Our churches desperately need reformation! When reformation comes, churches value God's Word over the traditions of man, and lives and congregations are changed.

Awakening is when God pours out His Spirit on the land and the lost are drawn to Him and saved en masse. We have been blessed to have two Great Awakenings in our nation's history, both at pivotal times. The darkness was turned back and individuals and families and communities and cities were transformed. Our nation was transformed in these two great awakenings.

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

Oh, how we need the Lord Jesus! 

So, where do we start? We simply start be getting on our knees and admitting we need Christ. It's easy to look at the darkness in our culture and wag our fingers and consider ourselves 'the good guys,' but it all begins with us. 

Will you join me in praying and seeking God's Face and asking Him for mercy? Would you admit with me that we desperately need Jesus Christ? 

Stay tuned. There will be more coming in the weeks ahead as we start talking and praying about and for an authentic revival and reformation and awakening. Jesus is our only Hope! 

May God be glorified in each of us. May He be pleased to once more pour out His Spirit on us, and on this land.

 

]]>
We live in rapidly changing times, and this is not news to you. Every day it seems we are bombarded by the latest in cultural changes in this great slide into immorality and the rejection of all things related to God. This moral and spiritual revolution is spiritually dangerous and subversive, and it is accelerating at break neck pace. The damage being done to children, to individuals and families is nothing short of heartbreaking. 

What are Christians to do? 

Our 'go to move' should not be to condemn the culture. That may sound counterintuitive, but the culture is actually experiencing the consequences of an anemic and compromised and diluted church that has, for all practical purposes, either abandoned the once and for all historic faith in the name of 'relevancy,' or, is cozying up to the world system to be 'liked' by the culture, and in doing so, has diluted the Truth to the point it is no longer powerful and potent to save. 

We, the church, have hidden our light for too long. For too long we have enabled people to be cultural Christians, with one foot in the church and the other foot firmly planted in the world system. Churchianity has been around for far too long and it is a sad and impotent substitute for Biblical Christianity. 

In addition to hiding our light and enabling cultural Christianity in our churches, producing consumers rather than disciples of Jesus Christ, we also see a great falling awaya from Truth in many of our churches. Whether it is prominent 'pastors' of mega churches selling the prosperity gospel or declaring their 'apostleship' and offering up strange fire to the Living God (see the New Apostolic Reformation as exhibit 'A'), or prominent pastors departing from the historical faitht, caling everything in to question from the authority of Scripture to the exclusivity of Jesus. 

We are also seeing a great 'falling away' ofprofessing believers, from pastors to church members. These are serious times indeed.

I would agree with the late Leonard Ravenhill who famously said, 'the church is not suffering from the sins of the nation, the nation is suffering from the sins of the church.' Our culture lacks a vibrant witness because far too many who profess the Name of Christ have abandoned Him, if not in full, at least in part.

These are serious times.

We desperately need revival and reformation and awakening. 

What do those words mean?

'Revival' is the Sovereign act of God who chooses to pour out His Spirit on His people to make us more like Him, to rekindle our love for Him and to ignite us once more. We cannot force revival nor manufacture it, but we can humble ourselves before God and cry out for mercy. When revival comes, at first it is uncomfortable as the Spirit of God comes in power and convicts of sin and lukewarmness, and for this reason, many fear praying for revival. We get comfortable in our sin. But being broken and then forgiven is the beginning of revival. When the Holy Spirit comes in power, ultimately the lost in the church are saved, the lukewarm are made white hot, and those who are growing in Christ are consumed with an even greater passion for His glory. Relationships are transformed and God is glorified in revival. Churches are transformed and become mighty instruments in the Hands of God in revival.

Reformation flows out of authentic revival. Some make the mistake of thinking revival is all about pursuing experiences. Not at all. Revival is about pursuing God and when God comes in power His people desire to further align themselves with Him and His Word-this is where reformation comes in. Revival is not about experiencing ecstatic experiences, rather it is about becoming more like Christ and being aligned to His Word, Spirit and purposes. Our churches desperately need reformation! When reformation comes, churches value God's Word over the traditions of man, and lives and congregations are changed.

Awakening is when God pours out His Spirit on the land and the lost are drawn to Him and saved en masse. We have been blessed to have two Great Awakenings in our nation's history, both at pivotal times. The darkness was turned back and individuals and families and communities and cities were transformed. Our nation was transformed in these two great awakenings.

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

Oh, how we need the Lord Jesus! 

So, where do we start? We simply start be getting on our knees and admitting we need Christ. It's easy to look at the darkness in our culture and wag our fingers and consider ourselves 'the good guys,' but it all begins with us. 

Will you join me in praying and seeking God's Face and asking Him for mercy? Would you admit with me that we desperately need Jesus Christ? 

Stay tuned. There will be more coming in the weeks ahead as we start talking and praying about and for an authentic revival and reformation and awakening. Jesus is our only Hope! 

May God be glorified in each of us. May He be pleased to once more pour out His Spirit on us, and on this land.

 

]]>
2023: Growing and Standing Strong in a Brave New World https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/growing-and-standing-strong-in-a-brave-new-world https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/growing-and-standing-strong-in-a-brave-new-world#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2022 18:00:00 -0600 https://www.stonebridgesa.com/pastors-blog/post/growing-and-standing-strong-in-a-brave-new-world I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I write: the culture around is is rapidly changing. You already know this to be true. You see it all around you, in subtle and not so subtle ways. We are seeing a sort of 'Brave New World' emerge (and rapidly, I must add) in our culture, and this world is not merely apathetic to historic, Biblical Christianity, it is increasingly hostile toward it. As evangelicals who hold to historic, Biblical Christianity, the message we hear from those who shape culture is rather clear: conform, or else. 

How then are we to live? This is the question that many professing Christians and many churches (some rooted in Scripture, some not so much), are asking. The temptation to lay low or to go along to get along (to conform) is great because these are the paths of least resistance, and, no one is in danger of losing their social standing, or worse (their job) if they go along to get along, or simply 'lay low.' 

However, we must ask: Does God even give us that option? Does God want us to focus on self-preservation, or, does He have something far greater for us? 

I believe if you belong to this church or if you regularly attend, you know the answer: He expects us to shine and to not conform, rather to be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1,2) and to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice to Him, that is our reasonable act of worship in light of all that He has done for us.

Jesus never gives us the option to choose self-preservation and laying low if we are His disciples (see Matthew 16:25 among other texts). Instead, He calls us to take up our cross and to deny ourselves and to follow Him, to trust in Him, to abide in Him that we might bear much fruit for the glory of God (John 15:1-5). He calls us to be counter-cultural people who preserve and illuminate a world that is decaying and living in darkness (see Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus can call us to do these things, command us to do and to be these things because He is our Savior and LORD. If He is our Lord, then we will want to live for His approval over anyone elses (Acts 5:29, Galatians 1:10 for starters). 

And, Jesus never gives us the option of simply 'playing church,' or being a half-hearted disciple. He never gives us the option of being a full-time Christian or a part-time Christian. We are either following Him and growing in our walk with Him or we are doing our own thing all the while professing His Name. We are either growing in our love for Him toward a wholehearted love for Him, or we are lukewarm...at best. We are either growing in our love for one another, for our neighbor, or we are simply tolerating others...at best. We are either committed to the Truth of His Word, or we are not. 

If we are to stand firm and if we are to grow in this Brave New World, a culture where 'good' is increasingly called 'evil,' and 'evil' is increasingly called 'good,' we must choose whom we are going to serve, both individually, and, as a church. If we are to be useful to Him in an age that increasingly mocks Him, we must make certain decisions, now, and resolve certain things in our hearts and minds, now. 

As we enter into 2023, beginning a new year, I want to challenge you to start the year off right by connecting with us either Saturday at 5:00 p.m. or Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. as we gather to worship. We are kicking off the new year with a mini-sermon series entitled 'Growing and Standing Firm in a Brave New World.' This study will be three weeks long and will address both our individual walks with Christ as well as our congregational walk with Him. After this mini-series, we will return to our study of the Book of Romans, verse-by-verse. 

God has blessed our church tremendously in 2022 and as we enter a new year, He has positioned us to use us mightily for His glory. Let us be about that, about His business, individually and corporately, as we start the new year!

I look forward to seeing you in worship in 2023!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

 

]]>
I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I write: the culture around is is rapidly changing. You already know this to be true. You see it all around you, in subtle and not so subtle ways. We are seeing a sort of 'Brave New World' emerge (and rapidly, I must add) in our culture, and this world is not merely apathetic to historic, Biblical Christianity, it is increasingly hostile toward it. As evangelicals who hold to historic, Biblical Christianity, the message we hear from those who shape culture is rather clear: conform, or else. 

How then are we to live? This is the question that many professing Christians and many churches (some rooted in Scripture, some not so much), are asking. The temptation to lay low or to go along to get along (to conform) is great because these are the paths of least resistance, and, no one is in danger of losing their social standing, or worse (their job) if they go along to get along, or simply 'lay low.' 

However, we must ask: Does God even give us that option? Does God want us to focus on self-preservation, or, does He have something far greater for us? 

I believe if you belong to this church or if you regularly attend, you know the answer: He expects us to shine and to not conform, rather to be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1,2) and to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice to Him, that is our reasonable act of worship in light of all that He has done for us.

Jesus never gives us the option to choose self-preservation and laying low if we are His disciples (see Matthew 16:25 among other texts). Instead, He calls us to take up our cross and to deny ourselves and to follow Him, to trust in Him, to abide in Him that we might bear much fruit for the glory of God (John 15:1-5). He calls us to be counter-cultural people who preserve and illuminate a world that is decaying and living in darkness (see Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus can call us to do these things, command us to do and to be these things because He is our Savior and LORD. If He is our Lord, then we will want to live for His approval over anyone elses (Acts 5:29, Galatians 1:10 for starters). 

And, Jesus never gives us the option of simply 'playing church,' or being a half-hearted disciple. He never gives us the option of being a full-time Christian or a part-time Christian. We are either following Him and growing in our walk with Him or we are doing our own thing all the while professing His Name. We are either growing in our love for Him toward a wholehearted love for Him, or we are lukewarm...at best. We are either growing in our love for one another, for our neighbor, or we are simply tolerating others...at best. We are either committed to the Truth of His Word, or we are not. 

If we are to stand firm and if we are to grow in this Brave New World, a culture where 'good' is increasingly called 'evil,' and 'evil' is increasingly called 'good,' we must choose whom we are going to serve, both individually, and, as a church. If we are to be useful to Him in an age that increasingly mocks Him, we must make certain decisions, now, and resolve certain things in our hearts and minds, now. 

As we enter into 2023, beginning a new year, I want to challenge you to start the year off right by connecting with us either Saturday at 5:00 p.m. or Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. as we gather to worship. We are kicking off the new year with a mini-sermon series entitled 'Growing and Standing Firm in a Brave New World.' This study will be three weeks long and will address both our individual walks with Christ as well as our congregational walk with Him. After this mini-series, we will return to our study of the Book of Romans, verse-by-verse. 

God has blessed our church tremendously in 2022 and as we enter a new year, He has positioned us to use us mightily for His glory. Let us be about that, about His business, individually and corporately, as we start the new year!

I look forward to seeing you in worship in 2023!

Grace to You,

Pastor Kevin

 

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