From Lost 2 Found

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” -Acts 1:11 It has been said that it is not polite to stare, yet staring seems to be a part of our human nature. Too easily we get fixated on someone or something and we are unable to move past it. How long would the disciples have stood and stared if they had not been instructed to move on? In the church today we talk about keeping our eyes on Jesus, but do we do it at the expense of our mission? We must find a balance between watching for Christ and living for Christ. Is it a fair question to ask: “Which would Jesus rather have us doing when He returns, watching for him or serving others in His name?” He is coming, but until He returns we must be about the business He has called us to – loving others in His name and making disciples of His kingdom.

I am just beginning to read this work by Henry and Melvin Blackaby. My interest in it stems from having been radically tranformed by God through Henry Blackaby's study " Experiencing God ." It truly has affected how I see the world, ministry, and myself. My hope for " A God-Centered Church " is that I will discover ways to help lead others in my congregation and in my community to experience God and be radically tranformed as well. I claim no expertise, only a honest and sincere hope in a rising, living Savior and a firm belief that He desires for us to know Him in a way that is far deeper than most modern Christians currently experience. Here are a few quotes from the introduction which help to lay the foundation for the rest of the book: "Their [Christians crying out for somthing more in their relationship with God] struggle tends to come from the fact that they never understood the nature of God's great salvation. More specifically, they never unders...

I have heard that a pastor's job is to help people prepare for death. While there may be some truth to that it not only seems a bit morbid but also a bit simplistic. Just what then is a pastor's job? Most people know that we teach and preach God's Word. For sure that is number one. To do this part of the job well one not only has to spend a considerable amount of time studying and learning God's Word, but also needs to know that make up the congergation. The more I know about the audience, the easier it will be to apply God's Word to their situations. That brings me to the number two part of the job: knowing your people. This is most easily accomlished by spending time with them. Unfortunately that is not always so easy to do. Sometimes their schedules are full and they really just don't have time for you. Other times, they have misconceptions about the role of Pastor and assume that they shouldn't spend time with you because you have more important things t...

Acts 2:14, 22b-41 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 22 "Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 "David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me th...

The Big Idea for this text seems to be that as followers of Christ we are called to stand up for our beliefs no matter what the cost. According to ReligiousTolerance.com "the proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001" (ARIS Study as cited by http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm ). How is it possible for a 2007 CNN Poll to show that 50% of Americans consider themselves Pro-life, yet abortion is still legal in the United States? How is it possible for 77% of Americans to claim to be Christian, yet: ...we have constant arguments in our cities (and court systems) regarding the appropriateness of posting the Ten Commandments. ...we can't agree on whether or not to teach "Intelligent Design" in public schools. ...we have cities removing religious decorations during "Christian" holidays like Christmas. ...we have an almost endless battle over the role of prayer in scho...

Acts 5:27-42 Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. " We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them: ...