This week the church is having computer issues so the blog is coming to you via the Green House Router.
Hello Friends,Sunday is Pentecost. We celebrate Pentecost as the birthday of the church. In preparation for Sunday let me ask you some important questions: What is the purpose of the church? Has it changed over time from the very first Pentecost to today? Are we, at The Oaks Baptist Church, fulfilling that present purpose? Please share your comments and thoughts below. You never know what may show up in my sermon!
Speaking of sermons, I'll be opening mine this Sunday talking about the Solar Eclipse and the ring of fire. If you want to know more about it, read this article on CNN.Thanks for reading and commenting,Josh
Hello Friends,
One of the tasks I complete every week here as pastor is to come up with a sermon title. And as you know, sermons as well as sermon titles are subject to change at a moment's notice. While the text I will preach from (Acts 4:5-21) will remain the same this week, the focus and the title for this message has changed. (Celeste, who is so faithful in putting up my sermon title on the sign each week will not be happy with me). Instead of preaching on Jesus as the cornerstone of our lives, I want us to examine another aspect of the scripture; I want to consider courage, and the courageous stand that Peter and John gave to the rulers and leaders of the day.
Courage is defined as the "mental or moral strength to face fear, danger or difficulty." In our text, which follows the miraculous healing of the crippled man at the gate "Beautiful" by Peter and John, these disciples have extraordinary courage to face criticism, judgment, and punishment in response to their actions. Instead of shirking responsibility or fading away, Peter and John are bold in explaining how they were able to heal the gentleman. Peter, being full of the Holy Spirit says in verses 8-11, "'Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.'" Peter not only says they healed the man in the name of Jesus, he condemns the rulers of the Sanhedrin for their role in killing Jesus. He was not defensive, he was offensive in his response to their questions.
I point this out to ask, are we that bold with our faith? Are we willing to take a stand, perhaps even an unfavorable one, in the name of Jesus who was crucified, and resurrected? My fear is that we in the church have become so afraid of being unpopular that we refuse to be bold in our beliefs. I can tell you that many individual Christians are more concerned with being liked by their friends, family and peers, than they are about being true to their faith in Christ Jesus. I say this not to be judgmental or to be condemning, but instead, to confront a serious issue that is plaguing us as followers of Christ. It is time for us to be bold and proclaim our faith and witness to a world in desperate need of hope and love.
As you prepare for Sunday, I want you to pray that God would give you the courage to be a witness in this time just like Peter and John were in their time.
May God bless you and keep you as you serve Him faithfully,
Josh
Hello Friends,
You and I are on the roller coaster of life everyday. We ride up and down, in and out; we seemingly have no control on where we are going. Sometimes we are silent, and sometimes we scream. Sometimes we hold on tight, and at other times, we let go and are carefree. I do not know about you, but I can tell you, there are times when I simply want to get off the ride. I want smooth sailing, not all the twists and turns. I want to know what is coming next, and not to be fearful of the unknown.
In our text for Sunday, Psalm 22, we are reminded of the roller coaster of life in a poignant way. This is a personal lament psalm, and it is the one Jesus quoted from the cross with those piercing opening words, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" I shudder each time I hear those words because the feeling of abandonment is perhaps the most painful in the human experience.
The good news of the Psalm and of our existence, however is that we are not left alone, though we may feel like we are. Immediately after questioning God's presence, the psalmist is comforted in God's faithfulness throughout the generations. That up and down, back and forth is exactly the way we live today. Sometimes we feel God's presence, and at other times we feel completely alone. Sometimes we are close, and other times far away. What can we take from this?
Perhaps the most comforting claim is found in verse 24. The Psalmist exclaims, "for he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help." In other words, God hears our prayer each time, every time. But that is not all...we can be comforted by his presence even when we are not feeling it. Our feelings are a poor barometer of God's faithfulness. We are called to trust in that we do not see, and sometimes that we do not feel...that is what faith truly is.
So I challenge you to hold on tight to the ride. Sometimes up, down, left or right, but never alone, and never without hope.
May God bless you and keep you,
Josh
Hello Friends,
Glad to be with you this week. I was away last week due to a funeral service.
Our text for Sunday is found in 1 John 3:16-24. It is a text I have never preached on before and honestly, I am not sure how I missed it. It is a wonderful passage that simplifies not only whose we are in Jesus Christ, but who we are called to be because of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.
The message is this: "we know what love is because Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." In response to that incredible gift, you and I are called (compelled?) to share that love with our neighbors. If you want to know what a Christian is to look like, that is it.
I read an insightful blog that has helped me focus my sermon this week. I share it with you (Stewardship of Life) for you to read at your leisure. (By the way, if you hear anything in my sermon that sounds exactly like what is written in that blog, it is almost certainly coincidental--haha!)
With that said, I want you to know that I also saw this text in action this morning. One of our own had to have extensive heart surgery today. After spending the morning with the family at St. Joseph Hospital in Savannah, I left to come back to the office to work on my sermon. On my way out, Bruce Frost walked in; he came to share God's love and peace with the family. A few minutes after he arrived, Eugenia McDilda and Rita Ponder came in to share God's love and peace with the family as well.
The most powerful verse in this passage for me is 1 John 3:18 which says, "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." That is what those three did and that is what we are all called to do as well.
May our actions reflect the love that God has bestowed upon us all.
In His love and grace,
Josh
Sports Corner
Tonight is the NFL Draft. Teams will be selecting the top NCAA football players to help improve their respective franchises. The Falcons, due to the Julio Jones trade of 2011, do not have a first round pick this year. I am perfectly content with that because Julio is better than any player we would have selected this year at 22 anyway. The Falcons do have several needs to fill with DT, OL, and TE being the most serious. Here's to a great draft, and quite possibly, a franchise player being picked this weekend.
Have a good one!!!
Hello Friends,
Glad to be back with you this week after not blogging during Holy Week. Thanks to all who made Easter Sunday a meaningful service and a memorable experience for us all.
We follow Easter Sunday with a passage that speaks to all of us--Doubting Thomas, John 20:19-31. I guess I should say from the beginning that Thomas gets a bad rap. We know him as the disciple who doubts; that is only part of the story. Thomas was a committed follower of Christ who was a leader of the Twelve, and one who simply wanted to get to the bottom of things. When he is confronted with the incredible story that Jesus had appeared to the others in the Upper Room while he was away, he says, "I will not believe it until I touch the nail prints and put my hand in his side." You see, Thomas thought the resurrection was too good to be true and he wanted proof that it happened before he believed it.
This is where Thomas' reputation sticks to him for the rest of eternity; he was the one who doubted the resurrection of Christ. With that said, however, I ask you pointedly, would you have believed it? After watching your Savior and Lord die, and after seeing his body placed in the grave, would you have believed He would have rose again? I think we all would like to say that we would believe, but truth be known, we would be more like Thomas than we care to admit.
Furthermore, if I am completely honest, I see where Thomas comes from simply because I am a doubting disciple too. In the midst of the chaos of the world, I tell you I have doubted God's grace, and His very existence, more than once in my life. And that brings me to the essence of the sermon for Sunday...can faith and doubt coexist? Is there a place for doubt in the church, even among the "faithful?"
I believe doubt is a very real aspect of our lives and it is often a catalyst to a deeper faith. So if you find yourself wondering about what God is doing in the world or even if God exists at all, take heart...one of Jesus' on disciples did as well. The best news I have about the text is this: though Thomas doubted initially, Thomas' confession of Christ at the conclusion of our scripture stands as the litmus test for our faith today: "My Lord and My God!" May we all confess Jesus with our lips and with our works as we prepare our hearts for worship Sunday.
Thanks for reading as always,
Josh
Sports Corner
Baseball season has started and the Braves are not doing too well (2-4). I think they will be fine and I expect them to make the playoffs as a wild card team. That is, if they can hit a little better than what they are doing now.
I am sure by now you have heard the story of Bobby Petrino who was the head football coach at Arkansas. If not, just type in his name to any search engine and you will be greatly disturbed by what you find there. I do not want to pile on the man, but I hope all of us take a lesson from his misdeeds. He allowed hubris to overtake his rational mind, and he is paying the steepest price for it. May we never get so big and so bold that we have to pay a price like that.
Hello Friends,
Our text Sunday is one of the more obscure passages in the Gospel of John. Jesus is in Jerusalem after having brought Lazarus back from the dead, and after having rode in on the colt in His Triumphal Entry. While preparing to attend the Passover festival, some Greeks came to Philip, Jesus' disciple, and said, "We want to see Jesus." Philip told Andrew who in turn told Jesus. As Rev. Al Rahn pointed out to me last night, Andrew is only mentioned three times in the New Testament and each time he is bringing someone to Jesus (John 1:41, John 6:8, and John 12:22).
The Greeks wanting an audience with Jesus is significant because Jesus has become an international celebrity. No longer is He simply a Jewish leader driven to save His people... this is foreshadowing of His later ministry where all people will have an opportunity to be saved. Even later in this passage, Jesus says, "I will draw all people to myself." No longer exclusive, Jesus is the Savior for all.
My sermon Sunday will center around the comment of the Greeks, "We want to see Jesus." It is interesting to me that they did not come to speak to Jesus directly but yet went to someone who knew Him to set up a meeting. I do not know about you, but I believe there are many people in Toombs county who know a little about Jesus (much like the Greeks), but who do not "know" Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior; frankly, that realization is painful to me.
I believe this text, as well as others in the NT, points out the need for us as the people of God to bring people to Jesus. It is our responsibility as Christians to not only grow personally in our faith, but to proclaim our faith in a world of fear and doubt. I am greatly troubled that we in the church simply assume someone else will share the word of Christ with others. I am perplexed that we in the church shirk this God given command to be witnesses for Christ.
Look around...there are many people who want to see Jesus. I bet you are see them every day whether at the grocery store, at school, at your work, or at a funeral visitation. People are desperate to find the hope, joy, and peace that only God can give through Jesus Christ. And church, we must not hold back any longer; rather, we must let others see Jesus in our words and deeds. We must tell of who Jesus is and what He has done in our lives. We must let others know that Jesus is significant in our lives not just on Sunday, but every day.
May God have mercy on us all for our failures to bring others to Christ. May we repent of this sin, and live out the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission.
Thanks for reading,
Josh
Hello Friends,
One of the great joys of ministry is being able to change the sermon title at will. I do this frequently...just ask Jackie or Celeste. While I was initially focusing on the Numbers 21 passage about the snakes in the desert, I decided instead to focus on the John 3:14-21 passage.
In John's passage, we come across arguably the most famous verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." That verse is a microcosm of the Gospel.
With that said, however, I honestly believe that John 3:16 is old news (in fact, that is how we live). Perhaps we see it too often on car tags, street signs, or even at ball games; maybe it has become rote. Or tragically, maybe John 3:16 has been deemed by society, and at times even the church, to be out of touch. Maybe the story of Jesus on the cross is not relevant in today's culture...to be completely honest, there are few of us who live like John 3:16 is relevant today.
And that, church is my sermon Sunday. It is time for us to take the old news of 2,000 years ago and remember that this is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is time for us to live like God's love means something, that the cross is relevant and like the hope that we have because of it is real.
I don't want to give too much away, but I will say this: if you and I, the called out ones who profess faith in Christ, do not live this way because of who we are and whose we are, then the world really has no hope.
Think about what you can do this week to live a meaningful life...a life that shows without a shadow of a doubt that you are God's beloved child and as such, a life that shares His love with others.
In His love and grace,
Josh
Sports Corner
In case you did not know, March Madness starts today...I love the NCAA tournament. I can't wait to see the big upsets, the buzzer beaters, and the eventual champion come out on top.
I believe the Final four will include Kentucky, Ohio State, UNC and Michigan St. I think the championship game will come down to Kentucky and UNC with Kentucky winning. Be on the lookout for some upset teams...I hear good things about Belmont, Ohio, Louisville, and Florida St.
Good luck in your bracket pool. I would love to see who your final four/champion will be. Post it and we will discuss.
Hello Friends,
The Bible says, "If anyone should come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel, will save it." Mark 8:34-35.
As we walk the winding road to the cross during these forty days of Lent, these verses stand as a fork in the road; go left or go right, but it is time to make a decision.
I do not know about you, but thinking about Jesus carrying the cross is difficult. In fact, that is not the Jesus I like to think about. Let me explain...it is easy to imagine Jesus teaching on the shoreline. It is easy to consider Jesus feeding the 5,000. And wouldn't we all like to see just once, Jesus doing something like raising Lazarus from the dead? You see, that is the Jesus we like, the easy going, help us out, take care of our needs while making us feel better about life, Jesus.
But yet, there is another side, one that is not hard, mind you, but simply unwavering in His commitment to His calling. There is a side of Jesus that stood toe to toe with Satan, and said, "Away from me Satan, for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" There is a side of Jesus that turned over the tables in the temple and said, "My Father's House should be a place of prayer, but you have made it into a den of robbers." And in the text for Sunday, Mark 8:27-38, we see that side of Jesus reappear when He rebukes Peter, " 'You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'" This Jesus, the one who walked alone to the cross does not make me feel warm and fuzzy...this Jesus make me feel like a half-hearted disciple.
I am convinced that we in the church often follow Jesus when it is easy, like when the bills are paid, and when the children are behaving. But do we follow Jesus when it is hard, like when you fell your prayers bounce back at you off the ceiling, or when the employer calls you in to say, you are being let go? Ultimately, do we follow Jesus not just part of the time, but all of the time? If we are going to be called His disciples, then we must.
Dr. Bill Coates, the pastor of FBC Gainesville, GA preached a sermon some years ago that centered around one phrase that I find most appropriate for this week: "Jesus did not come to make your life easy, He came to make your life matter." Far too often we want the easy life...not the life that demands denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following; if you want to be a true follower of Christ, then this is exactly what you must do. Please, this week, make your life matter as you serve Christ by serving your neighbor.
I look forward to seeing you Friday night for the pricing event (6-9 PM), Saturday morning for the Relay for Life Yard Sale (7 AM-11:45), and Sunday morning for Sunday School and worship.
In His love and grace,
Josh
Hello Friends,
Glad to have you reading today. It is official, we have begun our Lenten journey. Thank you for participating in our Ash Wednesday Service last night. We had great attendance. You should also remember that we were just a small group who joined with millions of other Christians to participate in that service as we prepare our hearts towards Easter.
As I told you in some of my comments last night, we have "set our faces towards Jerusalem" as Jesus does in Luke 9:51. There is only one place a journey like this will lead us and that is to the cross.
Many of you have asked me about giving things up for Lent. You should know that the act of giving up is patterned after Jesus' time in the desert where He fasted and communed with God. We give up certain things to deny ourselves, and to let us experience just a small sacrifice as we draw near the cross.
Just so you know, I have given up sweet tea, and sweets this year...for many that does not seem like much, but for me, it is quite difficult. What did you give up this year? Please put your answers in the comments below...it would be good for you to make them public so that you would be even more accountable.
With that said, it is day two of the Lenten journey and I have already been tempted. After officiating Mrs. Oreta Bishop's funeral this morning, I was invited to eat with Derrell and Judy Lynn at their home. There was more food there than at our Wednesday night suppers. I was okay until I saw the sweets (pecan pie, key lime cake, and of course, Mrs. Judy's famous caramel cake.) I resisted, but the devil rode home with me because Mrs. Judy insisted that I take a piece of that cake home for Ginger. If that is not temptation, then I do not know what is.
Our text Sunday, Mark 1:9-16, tells us of the first steps Jesus takes on this road...it covers His baptism, His temptation, and then His first message. In these verses, Mark outlines for us our own journey to the cross. You should know that the road is never easy, nor is the path straight...but the calling for you and me, especially in these forty days is to keep our eyes upon Jesus, and to keep the cross central in our lives.
May you turn your attention to Christ, especially when you are tempted to look away.
In His love and grace,
Josh
Hello Friends,
Thanks for reading as always. I have been out of town for the last week and I want you to know how much I appreciate having Rev. Randy Callahan preach last Sunday, and Rev. Al Rahn to teach last Wednesday night. It is a gift to our church to have these gifted leaders in our midst. With that said, we are closing in on Sunday once again. One of my seminary professors was known for saying, "Sunday is always coming." Until I began to preach each week, I never knew how true her observation was.
The text this Sunday is one of Sunday School lore...it is Jesus healing the paralytic man (Mark 2:1-12.) I imagine all of us have drawn pictures of those four friends digging through the roof to bring their friend to Jesus. As I was studying the text this week, that image continued to run through my head when the realization struck me...those four men let nothing stand in the way of bringing their friend to Jesus.
This Sunday, I will be focusing on that truth and will be exploring the barriers that hinder us from bringing our friends to Jesus. Some fall within the church at large, and some obstacles are of our own making. Sometimes, self-righteous judgments keep people from meeting Jesus. Sometimes, cliques within churches hinder people from meeting Jesus. Sometimes, perhaps we ourselves hinder others from meeting Jesus. As a way to help me prepare for Sunday, I need you to answer these questions in the comments below: what hinders you from bringing people to Christ and what in the church at large hinders people from meeting Jesus? Only by answering these questions honestly and openly do we have the opportunity to change the way we live and worship.
As a brief reminder, we are having our second annual Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper next Tuesday, February 21 at 6 pm. We will be raising money for Relay for Life that Night. Then, on Wednesday February 22nd, we will have our annual Ash Wednesday Service as we repent, and begin the journey to the Cross through Lent. Join us for these events.
Have a great day, and may God bless you as you serve Him faithfully.
Josh
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