From the Pastor's Heart

               "The Foolishness of Preaching"  
                                Communion Sunday

                                           1 Corinthians 1:18-25

It takes strong faith to believe that the best days are ahead of us.  The new headlines can leave all of us depressed if we allow this to happen.  If not depressed, we can be afraid every minute of what might happen to us.  The genius of our faith is that everything around you can be falling down, but there is something within you that holds the reigns.    

It is a faith that speaks life into disconnected and dry bones.  It is a faith that returns the exiles to their home land.  It is a faith that pulls the mighty down from their seats and exalts those of low degree.  It is a faith that smiles in the face of death.  On this first Sunday, it is important to say that it is a faith that causes one to give his life on a cross for undeserving sinners and calls a dead savior out of the tomb by the resurrection power of God.  This is what is needed among us right now.  This is the faith we need, the faith that needs to be renewed in the churches and in every believer.  It is the faith that makes it possible for a sinner to die to the old self and walk in newness of life by faith in Jesus Christ.  It is the faith that releases us from the power, the penalty, and the consequences of sin.  Who can refuse a faith that offers eternal life to those deserving of death because someone died in our place.  If that be true, what type of people should we be?  How should we live in response to one who satisfied our sin debt?  This is the gospel that we should not be ashamed of because it is the power of God unto salvation.  This is why preaching has been so central in the Protestant churches.  The gospel has power of its own, and it will change lives without our slick tactics.  This conviction is behind what Paul said in Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”  (KJV)

The powerful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ must return to the pulpits of our churches grounded in the teachings of the scriptures.  I believe this will give life back to the church.  If believers will turn off their televisions and open their Bibles, they will find power for living that may be at an all time low among Christians today.

SERMON:  “The Foolishness of Preaching”  1 Corinthians 1:18-25

                     Our Ministry is Reconciliation

    Scripture: 2 Corinthians  5:18,19,20 Reconciliation

      Our ministry is reconciliation.  God was in Christ reconciliation the world unto himself, and he has given us the word of reconciliation and the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).  We must do this work because we are ambassadors of Christ (Corinthians 5:20).  We are not on our own agenda.  God loves the world, and the world needs to be reconciled to God.  The earth and the people who live on it need to be reconciled to each other or there can be no end to war. 

       We kill our enemies' leaders, and rejoice.  Our enemies kill our leaders and they rejoice.  This is the way of the world,  but God desires to see a different kind of thing.  The Psalmist asked  "Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing?"  (Ps. 2:1NKJV)  The nations have gone crazy,  crazy for power and riches. 

       I was reading Proverbs this week and I stumbled across these words:  He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame"  (Prov. 10.5 NKJV). Let us seize our harvest.

                           From Existing to Living

Scripture: Romans 6:1-6 Baptism

  The Baptists embrace the power of symbols, our two ordinances (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) are to be viewed a symbolic.  Baptism in water for us is not efficacious.  It is not the salvation experience itself wherein God's grace is dispensed.  It is not the transforming experience when the changed and new birth takes place.  Baptism is the public testimony to the inner work of generation (being born again) accomplished by the Holy Spirit.  Baptism is how we let the world know that we have allowed Christ to take his place on the throne of our hearts.  The immersion in water bespeaks our immersion in his love, his will and his purpose for our forsaking of our old gods (idols).  Thus, coming up out of the water bespeaks rising and walking in newness of life.  It bespeaks a new creature in Christ.  The Lord's supper is powerfully symbolic in that we do not believe the bread literally becomes the body of Jesus when consecrated.  Nor do we believe the fruit of the vine literally becomes Jesus' blood.  The "real presence" of our Lord at the supper is a spiritual presence based on our faith in him and the oneness we have in the Spirit. 

There is also a looking forward to that time when we will drink it new with our Lord in the Kingdom of God.  The supper prevents us from forgetting the price that was paid for our salvation by our Lord and the hope that we have as we look forward to his return.  As we observe these ordinances today, we are revisiting the very heart of our faith.

              If you do what is right, will you be accepted?

Scripture: Genesis 4:1-6   Communion

           If you do what is right, will you be accepted?  The question arises: "Will I not be accepted by whom?" Doing well or doing what is right might not win for us the acceptance of everybody.  It is God's acceptance that ultimately matters.  Could it be that we give most of our energy to winning the acceptance and approval of people instead of God?  Who will have the last word concerning our lives?  Who will determine our eternal state? 

           We have another opportunity to commune together and to witness baptism.  We are reminded again of two very important truths of our faith.  First, God loved us so much that he made the way for us to escape death by sending his Son to die in our place.  The supper reminds us of this.  Secondly, we respond to God's great act of love by faith, repentance and surrender. 

             Baptism is an act of obedient surrender to the Lord of life.  After this surrender should follow a life of surrender and acts of obedience to the Lord's commands.  The New Testament gives a

different spin question God put to Cain in Genesis 4:6 "If you do well, shall you not be accepted.? (NKJV).  In Christ, God declares that you and I have already been accepted. 

            Every human being on the earth wants to be accepted, loved and appreciated.  At times we pretend that this does not matter to us, but deep inside we worry about whether we are accepted by God and by those we love.  We are concerned that society and peers accept us.  We go to great lengths to find acceptance.  Yet God has a way of wrapping his arms around us and reassuring us of his love.  If Jesus will walk with us, we can keep going.  If we can touch the hem of his garment, we will be whole.  At the root of this is telling the truth.  The truth is that we need a savior to help us find our true selves.  If we do not speak this truth, we cheat ourselves out of salvation.  To believe is to believe it all.  How can you believe that a Savior has come and not believe that you were lost?  One assumes the other.  Thank God we are found now.

   The Threshold "When You Can’t Afford to Look Back"

                       Genesis 19:15-17,24-24; Luke 17:32                 New Year

Standing on the threshold is an experience that not many will avoid if they live long

enough.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines threshold in three ways: the sill of a door; a

point or place of beginning or entering; and a point at which a physiological or psychological

effect begins to be produced.  When we stand on the threshold of an entrance door to a house,

do we consider ourselves in the house or outside?  Thresholds are necessary places because

life involves movement.  So ask God to bless our going out and our coming in.  Every time we go

out and come in, we cross a threshold in both directions.  During our watch night service, we

stood on the threshold of the old year and the New Year.  Today we can honestly say that we

have crossed that threshold and are actually in 2006.  But are we really in 2006?  Remember, the

definition also talks about threshold in relation to a psychological effect.  Time alone may not

bring us across the threshold.  Something must happen in the mind and spirit to truly be in

another place.  I am convinced that God is calling us to be in another place.  When you build on

what God has done in the past, you go to another place.  Our ancestors bequeathed to us two

truths concerning the threshold.  Sometimes it is necessary to look back and wonder how you

got over.  Then there are times when you just cannot afford to look back because God has taken

over what is behind you and ordered you to leave it and don't look back.  This second truth is the

       basis for my sermon today.  Pray for me to deliver it.

                             Loving God with Our Minds

            Matthew 22:35-40             Philosophy of Education

One part of my pedagogy (or philosophy of education) includes the basic assumption that learning for children is at least one step removed from being loved and accepted. This basic need for inclusion and value opens a human being up to his or her possibilities and potentials. If a child wakes up every day feeling that he or she does not matter, this child may not have much motivation to study or learn? The existence of community facilitates emotional well-being and intellectual development. Failure is naturally born of the one who defines himself/herself as a failure. Likewise, achievement is the natural outgrowth of the one who views himself/herself as precious and significant. Another part of my pedagogy includes accepting responsibility, and this has to be learned and taught. The goal of learning is not automatically reached. Those who are taught must see it as their responsibility to impart knowledge and wisdom to others. Those who are the pupils must see it as their responsibility to do the work of learning. One of the reasons for this special Focus on Education this Sunday is that your Pastor. Youth Pastor and others know that we have a responsibility to education our children and to learn from them. This is not to be left to chance. The building of community is our starting place. Since we are people of faith in Christ, we must love God with our minds. The first and great commandment includes loving God with your mind (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). The word here for mind (dianoia) means thinking processes. We have the capacity to compute, to organize thoughts, understand our world, to learn and know. We must turn this capacity to loving God and to the fulfillment of his purposes. Perhaps this is what is missing in our whole understanding of education. Learning is for the purpose of participating in creating a better world for us to live in. We learn so that we can contribute. Whatever science, language, math, history, etc. can teach us, we must use it for the common good. This is another part of my pedagogy. It is a sin to let the mind go unused or misused, uncultivated or fed in an unhealthy way. Love God with your mind, and your mind will surprise you in a good way.

                         Overflowing with Gratitude

Philippians 2:3-5 Appreciation Sunday

My heart is overflowing with gratitude this day. I am grateful to God for all of His blessings toward me and my family. The joy of the Lord swells within me as I think that Christ has saved me from my sins and bequeathed to me eternal life. My family is so special to me, and I thank God for belonging to a sweet wife, two children and two grandchildren. I thank him for my son-in-law. I thank him for two parents still with me and siblings. God has been good. I am grateful for Genesis, a loving congregation that has made so many of my dreams come true. You made it possible for Doretha and I to go to Israel. You made it possible for me to go to our homeland, Africa, just recently. I am so privileged to be associated with this wonderful church family.

Today is a day for me and the church family to appreciate those of you who have given so much over the past year and years. You make the church what she is, and it is a good thing to appreciate you. I do not feel I have done the best job of saying thank you to so many who serve God in this congregation. It is a frightening thing to do because there is always the possibility of missing someone or forgetting a name. Our minds are imperfect. But it is a risk worth taking because I believe the Holy Spirit will reassure those whose names were not called that it was not with malicious intent, and we will honor them also at a later time. I hope this day will be understood to mean that the pastor and church family appreciates those who serve. I hope it will encourage all of us to labor all the more in the Lord's vineyard. It's our tune and season to make a mark for the Lord. Is this Biblical? Yes it is. "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus... " (Philippians 2:3-5 KJV)