Month: January 2020

January 10, 2020 Pastor Justin Thomson - Duluth

It’s no secret that Christians are supposed to be “missional”. We read about it and talk about it and think about it. But many Christians aren’t personally convinced that they’re being it…and perhaps you are one of them. You’re not sure how to do it, or what it really means. You’d really like to be used by God, and to varying degrees you try, but you’re not sure if it’s actually happening. You wish God’s will was clearer, and you wish you had more evidence that you were truly in it. But, as it is, you’re not satisfied with your performance. You don’t feel too missional at all. And you don’t feel very radical either. And sometimes, you start wondering if you’re even being remotely biblical.

THE MOTIVE:

“A worker’s hunger drives him on” (Pr. 16:26)…

People naturally start to feel hungry when they don’t eat enough food. That’s usually how we know it’s time for supper. In the same way, Christians get famished when they lose sight of God’s will. They might stuff their lives with religious activities that look spiritually nutritious, but they’re left feeling empty anyway. The real “food” of a Christian is to “do the will of Him who sent us”, and some of you are getting hungry. In spite of the fact that you’re busy at church, and diligently reading your Bible, you feel a pang. Your appetite is growing, and becoming harder to ignore. You really, really want something to eat.

It’s no secret that Christians are supposed to be “missional”

Good intentions, however, as sincere they may be, won’t always get the job done. Countless men & women have discovered within themselves a strong desire to live an effective life in their community, yet go no further than that. People like this want the satisfaction of spiritual vitality, but they aren’t engaging their community unless it’s in a group setting, sanctioned by the church. They’d like to be an effective Christian witness, but they aren’t winning souls to Christ like other people seem to be. They want the fullness of a fruitful Christian life, but their branches are still barren.

THE MANDATE:

“Go! …I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say” (Ex.4:12)…

In most cases, the reason for spiritual malnourishment like this, is fear. A hunger-suppressing dread that helps people avoid the real meal, and still live with a relative amount of comfort. They aren’t as healthy or as happy as they could be, but they aren’t exactly dying either, and so their spiritual life remains the same: Humdrum & hollow.  

If you are apprehensive about sharing the truth with intimidating people, join the club. Moses did his best to avoid it (Ex.4:13), Jeremiah complained about it (Jer.20:7-8), and Paul asked for prayer on it (Eph.6:19). From beginning to end, the Kingdom of God has been stocked with people who are challenged by their charge. Being missional comes naturally to no one, but if you’re waiting for this to become easy, you’ll be waiting for a long time.    

THE MISSION:

“The fields are ripe…I sent you to reap” (Jn.4:38)…

In John 4 the Disciples had gone in to town for food, leaving Jesus behind at an isolated well. He’s all alone. There was little, if any opportunity whatsoever to be missional at that point. Until, of course, a spiritually destitute woman just-so-happens to show up. Jesus, not one to believe in ‘coincidence’, then commits a massive cultural faux pas, by initiating a conversation with that strange woman (a Samaritan nonetheless). Jewish norms forbade such interaction, but Jesus made the decision in that moment, to do “the will of God who sent Him” instead of abiding by man’s self-protective customs. God wanted Him to say something to that otherwise repulsive woman. So that’s what He did.

And, as you would’ve anticipated, things got painfully awkward.

The Disciples were rendered nearly speechless when they returned and saw what was going on. They did their best to reduce the inherent tension of Jesus-style evangelism by “urging Jesus to eat”. They just wanted to hurry things along so they could feel ordinary again. Jesus’ men wanted to get themselves out of the situation as fast as possible, because they couldn’t stomach the social pressure, and had no real appetite for that kind of work. They preferred to go hungry.

Sound familiar?

THE MEAL:

“Lift up your eyes and look” (Jn.4:35)…

If you’re feeling useless & unsettled about the contributions you’ve been making (or not making) to Jesus’ mission, you’ve got an important decision to make: Either ignore the conviction, or do something about it. I would encourage you to eat. Stop letting fear suppress your desire to engage the people around you in meaningful dialogue, and let yourself be fed by it. Even when there seems to be little, if any opportunity whatsoever to be missional, lift up your eyes and look. You’re not as alone as you might’ve thought, and it’s no coincidence that you are where you are.  

If there really is more work to be done in God’s Kingdom than there are workers to do it (Luke 10:2), it follows that God would gladly supply you with as much work as you have hours to fill (Matthew 20:1-7). It’s useless for us, like His Disciples, to try and get Jesus to quit forcing us into clumsy social situations. The awkwardness of Christian evangelism is the very food He’s urging us to eat.

So, how hungry are you?

“Blessed are those who are hungry…they will be filled”

Jesus has offered to share His “food” with anyone who’s willing to eat it. His style of mission & ministry might not be the most appetizing to your eyes, but there is nothing like it to so nourish your soul. If you’re feeling weak and unsatisfied in your spiritual performance, you need to dine with Him. A growling stomach won’t feed itself, but it’s usually enough to get something out of you, isn’t it?

The mission of God is, and always has been, for people like you and me to reach others with the truth. Those strange, repulsive, socially intimidating people that we’re surrounded by. You can share Jesus with anybody you want to…any time…any where…any one. Nothing will fill you up like that.

It’s time for supper. Let’s eat.

(Click here to watch an inspirational story about a Christian kid who was hungry for more, faced his fears, and was filled beyond measure for “doing the will of God who sent him”)

January 7, 2020 JFB Books and Media

365 Gospel-Centered Devotions for the Whole Year

Mornings can be tough. Sometimes, a hearty breakfast and strong cup of coffee just aren’t enough.

The most potent encouragement imaginable: the gospel

Forget “behavior modification” or feel-good aphorisms. Tripp knows that what we really need is an encounter with the living God. Then we’ll be prepared to trust in God’s goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory each and every day.

Download an excerpt

There are copies waiting now for you to pick up at the Central Desk! There is a variety of other devotionals also available.

January 4, 2020 Believers Church

What type of person are you?

Pastor Mark shares the wisdom of Proverbs in this sermon as it pertains to people and relationships. Perhaps you will discover something about yourself and others that might change the way you do life and relationships in the future.

To watch other sermons in this series, visit this page.
For the audio of this sermon, visit this page and click on audio.
For more sermons by Mark Driscoll, visit his website.

January 1, 2020 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

Ok…so I’m a bit uneasy. Perhaps knowing that fact does little to endear myself in the hearts and minds of my church brothers and sisters. I guess I feel like as the Pastor that I am supposed to be the bastion of enduring strength.

As I look out “across the river” at 2020, I wonder now where we are to go from here. Is it our destiny as a church to plod down that well-paved road of religion in America? It’s not that I am disappointed in how far we have come over the past 30 years as a church. Nor am I saddened by the lack of advancement into the territory of the enemy. It’s really not that at all. In fact, the journey has been extraordinary! Yes, bumpy for sure, but what a ride!

It’s more of a trepid feeling of the future, really. The idea that it would be very easy now to settle into a spiritually comfortable rocker on a porch somewhere and wait for Jesus to come pick us up. But I also have a real sense that there is more to do. MUCH more to do really! Maybe it’s my age and strong desire to finish well, but I don’t want to rest and I still have fight inside me. But is that how my church family feels?

Over the past year it seems on various levels and multiple platforms that God has been questioning us as to our personal and individual lifestyles. We’ve talked a lot recently as a church body about simplicity and priorities, but has His message gotten through? After all, the pull of the world is strong, and our tendency will always be that we deserve our comforts and possessions. So we indulge and we accumulate. And over time…subtly and quietly we start to look just like the world. We dress the same, drive the same cars, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies. We raise our kids the same… (failing at the same rate), our marriages are the same, our vacation time is the same, our houses look the same, our time and priorities are spent the same. Most of all, just who is our model? Because most often the ‘bar’ is set by the next guy in the pew beside us!  2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) speaks of such saying “But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!”

Somewhere along the way…if we are under the belief that we are actually still in the game, we have to stop and evaluate. And most of all, be honest with ourselves…

There are many “mirrors” that we can utilize in scripture for this task. One of which is in Luke 7…the story of Jesus’s visit to the house of the Pharisee. Jesus was “in the house” but it wasn’t the Pharisee who was receiving the kudo’s… it was a woman who had every reason to see herself us the last in line for the attention of the Son of God.  Verses 37 and 38 tell us that “she brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil… and stood at His feet behind Him weeping. She began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

I wonder how long it has been that each of us have put ourselves in her shoes? No, not philosophically, but in reality! How long has it been since you embraced such a radical manifest of love toward our redeemer? Or maybe…there is no ‘radical’ left in you? Do we remember…like that woman, the magnitude of what we were forgiven of? Have we embraced a soft “suburban-style” faith?

Recently Vice President Mike Pence’s gave the commencement address at Liberty University where he warned his audience they’d leave Liberty to live and work in a country that doesn’t particularly like them:

“My message to all of you in the Class of 2019 is — derives of the moment that we’re living in today. You know, throughout most of American history, it’s been pretty easy to call yourself Christian. It didn’t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible.

But things are different now. Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs. So as you go about your daily life, just be ready. Because you’re going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith; you’re going to be asked to endorse them. You’re going to be asked to bow down to the idols of the popular culture.” [Vice President Pence via The White House]

Sadly, Christianity as a movement has largely already “bowed down to the idols of popular culture.” We have essentially made ourselves comfortable in a world that is ok with your faith as long as you don’t open your mouth about it. Are we ok with simply “fading away?”

“Give me one hundred men who love only God with all their heart and hate only sin with all their heart and we will shake the gates of hell and bring in the kingdom of God in one generation.”

— John Wesley

Pastor TIM