They Did More Than Redefine Marriage In California

Dr. Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary, pointed out what California's Supreme Court has done in redefining marriage. They've done more than that.

The court also declared sexual orientation to be a class protected by a "strict scrutiny" test of all legislation and regulation. In so doing, the California court became the first in the nation to apply this test on the basis of sexual orientation. This move also opens the door for much broader challenges to laws and regulations across the board.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

The Baptist Press also covered the story and you can read that story here.

Our nation is entering into dangerous waters. We are headed to a position that invites God's judgment. I believe there will be serious consequences for redefining the primary institution of society. Pray, friends. Pray.

2 Chronicles 7:14 "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Inspirational Conversations

Today I had two great conversations that got me excited about what God is doing. Both meetings made me hunger to see and experience more adundantly the goodness of God.

The first meeting was with Jeff Crabtree. His is the new Director of Missions for the Warren Association. He is clearly passionate about evangelism, church cooperation, and church planting through local churches. We are blessed to have him here in our area and I anticipate with great expectation the joy of serving with him and the other 46 churches and their pastors and leaders, as Jeff leads us and mobilizes us toward fulfilling the great commission through the Church.

The second meeting was with Bobby Baldwin. He is a member at Living Hope and a former pastor. He will be speaking at Beach Bend Park on Father’s Day at the “Hot Rod Reunion” on the text of Ephesians 2:10. He will be taking a worship team from Living Hope and they will be providing a worship service at 9:00 that morning. We went over his message and it is going to be outstanding. Please pray for him and the team that will be going there to minister in Jesus’ name. There is a man named Ron who will be there who is not a believer. Please pray for Ron that God will rouse his soul and that this man will find a friend in Jesus.

He also told me some amazing stories of how he has experienced God's grace. One of my favorite stories he shared was the one about him getting left in the Green River Prison located in Central City, Ky. for over 28 hours. The authorities just forgot he was there so he stayed and shared the Gospel. He got to speak to almost every person in that prison. He had to go back the next week with a borrowed baptistery and baptized hundreds of people. In the ensuing weeks the officers indicated that daily they were finding drug paraphernalia and unused drugs in the walk ways where prisoners had given them up. Consider what one man armed with the Gospel and 28 hours was able to do that millions of dollars and years couldn’t?

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Drive 2008 Quote and Takeaway #1

This picture is of Benny (worship pastor), Bob (care elder), and Mike (worship elder) waiting for the rest of us who were stuck in traffic to show up. Robert (adult discipleship elder) was taking the picture. Soon after this picture was taken we were all physically hurting from laughing so hard at Jeff Foxworthy. He attends Northpoint Community Church, which sponsored the conference.

It has been over a week now and I am still processing the last message Andy Stanley brought at the drive conference. You can get the notes from their website by clicking here. He gave five quotes and expanded on how they are impacting him. He also offered a practical takeaway. I am going to post each of his quotes and takeaway along with other notes I took and the way I am processing this information.

Quote #1: “To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing.” Craig Groeschel

TAKEAWAY: Become preoccupied with who you haven’t reached, as opposed to those you are trying to keep.

People who do not know Christ will not call the church or show up to a meeting to complain about how the church is not reaching them with the Gospel. They will just walk away from the greatest news they’ve never heard.

Andy had a girl in China ask him, “Pastor, why doesn’t everybody in the US go the church and believe in Jesus?” Could it be because they’ve been and they didn’t see Jesus in the people? Could it be that in a culture that marginalizes Christians and where Christians marginalize themselves that they can’t see or hear the Good News? In the fog of life, it seems that all they can see is another religious institution.

My Thoughts: I must not allow those who know Christ to miss out on reaching someone because they are too busy with programs they think they want and have always had. There is no greater joy and means of spiritual growth than reaching someone for Christ. There is nothing that changes the world and has a greater eternal impact than evangelism.

Within a 20 minute drive of Living Hope there are said to be over 60,000 who will not be in church this week. How can we help those people know the love of God revealed in His Son Jesus Christ? How can we help them get to God and grow in Christ through the serving and learning that takes place in the community of believers?

We can share our hope and the journey we are on with Jesus. The church can provide programs and environments that make it easy for those far from God to get to know Him and receive Him as savior and lord. Let’s pray and work toward that end.

Apology

Hebrews 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men"

I apologize for sharing a story and statements on this blog about a church said to have a non-compete. That information ended up being false, as I communicated before. It is my heart's desire to help grow the Kingdom and cooperate, when at all possible, with churches to spread the Gospel and not create further division. Propagating false information is not helpful and not the way I want to leverage the minimal influence God has called me to steward. I hope this helps to bring healing to any who were hurt by this story and my statements and peace in the Church.

Use Your Words Wisely

I just got back from visiting people in the hospitals. It was a joy. We have a baby on the way and others are improving.

I did have a scare. I was inquiring about one of our members whose room was empty by asking the nurse at the desk, “Do you know where she is?” The nurse responded by saying, “She’s no longer with us.” I think the look of shock let her know that I had just heard something she didn’t intend to say. She immediately responded with, “I mean she has been dismissed and is doing fine.”

Life Lesson: Use your words wisely or you might say something you don’t mean. I do not always use words wisely, and so, this was a good reminder for me. I hope it is for you too.

Bag Lunch in the Hospital

I am on-call this week for my church. I love being on-call. It is one of the most enjoyable privileges of serving on staff. When you are on-call, you get to visit the hospitals and help those who are dealing with loss and challenges in life for a week. When you do this kind of work, you do deal with some of the darker realities of life. But as a child of light, there is a joy in giving the hope you have in Jesus.

It is also a week of inspiration because of the stories that are shared by those you visit with. I love to hear about how people came to know Christ, how they got connected at Living Hope, and how they’ve been cared for by the church during their time of need. Those who are connected in a small group, Adult Bible Fellowship, or service team receive the best care, but even those who are not connected as they need to be are cared for by our deacons and on-call staff through Carenet. Our deacons do an amazing job. On average every person we hear about that is in the hospital is visited daily by at least one deacon 96% of the time. They are extremely effective.

Yesterday, I visited with two ladies who were there with their mother who is in very bad health. She is an elderly lady and struggling with a number of issues. Last Thursday, these two ladies were there with their mother and they were told that she could wake up at any time and that they should not leave her side. They had been there since the night before and had not eaten since the evening before. To say they were hungry would be an understatement. They were desperate to eat or faint. Food was an imperative, but so was staying with their mother.

Just as one of the two ladies was about to go and get something to eat a volunteer from Living Hope came in with a bag lunch for each of them. Every Thursday a group of volunteers gather at the church to make bag lunches. They then go to the hospitals and give them to people in waiting rooms or to people visiting others there.

That ministry makes an amazing impact every Thursday. Please pray for their work. Pray that God will continue to use those lunches to help people know that in this dark time God has not forgotten them and is going to provide.

The church needs people to participate in this ministry. It is a practical and impactful work that is simple, but makes a difference. If you or a group of you would be willing to serve in this ministry, please contact Jeannie Daniels. You can contact her by calling 843.9462 Ext. 145 or email her at jdaniels@lhbg.org. You could be bringing light to a life in darkness with a bag lunch this Thursday.

Sermons on Nothing and Something

I read this during my devotional time and loved it and thought you would too.

Just before sunset on May 13, 1828, David Marks rode into the little town of Ancaster, Ontario, announcing he would preach in seven minutes in the park. A small crowd gathered, and he asked if anyone had a text he would like to hear preached. A man mockingly said, “Nothing!

Marks immediately began preaching on “nothing.” God created the world from “nothing,” he said. God gave us laws in which there is “nothing” unjust. But, Marks continued, we have broken God’s law and there is “nothing” in us to justify us. There will be “nothing” to comfort sinners in death or hell. But, while Christians have “nothing” of their own in which to boast, we have Christ. And in him, we have “nothing” to cause us grief, “nothing” to disturb our peace, and “nothing” to fear in eternity.

Finishing his sermon, Marks mounted his horse and traveled to the next village. But some time later he returned to Ancaster. This time a larger group assembled, and the meeting house was opened to him. David preached “something” to them. He said there is “something” above all things. There is “something” in man designed to live forever, but there is also “something” in us that makes us unhappy. There is “something” about the gospel that reverses our unhappiness, “something” that gives us hope. There is “something” that will disturb the impenitent in death, but “something” resides in Christians that the world can’t understand, and “something” in eternity to give us everlasting joy.

All that from an uneducated young circuit rider, his mind filled with Scripture and his heart full of Christ, who had “something” to say—and “nothing” to fear.

Robert J. Morgan, On This Day : 265 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997), May 13.