My Dad Is the Best

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This is a message given on Father's Day and it is based on Proverbs 17:6b.

Written Excerpts:

Proverbs 17:6 (KJV) Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Proverbs 17:6 (HCSB) Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers.

Psalm 112:1 (KJV) Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Introduction:

Three boys were talking together about what their father's did for a living, and tried to outdo each other about how much money their fathers make.

The first boy began by saying that his Dad wrote a few words on a piece of paper, sent them away and received $50 for them and they called it a poem.

The second boy, not to be outdone, said that his Dad wrote a few pages of words, sent them away and received $200 and they called it a story.

The last boy was full of himself and said that his Dad wrote several pages of words, read them out loud on Sunday morning, called it a sermon and it took 6 people to go round and collect all the money. 

Three boys were heading home from school one day when one started the time-honored game of paternal one-upmanship. He said, "My dad's way faster than any of yours, he can throw a 90-mph fast ball from the pitcher's mound and run and catch it just after it crosses the plate!"

 One of the other boys said, "Oh yeah? Well, my dad can shoot an arrow from his bow and run to the target and hold it up to make sure the arrow hits the bulls eye!"

 The last boy said, "Your dads don't even come close to being faster than mine. My dad works for the government, and even though he works every day until 4:00 he gets home at 3:30!"

These are stories that show the typical competition kids can get into sometimes in trying to prove that their father is better, stronger, or greater than all the others. The passage of scripture that I want to focus on for a few moments today gives me the same impression.

Prov. 17:6b “… the pride of sons is their fathers.”

As I meditated on this phrase, I asked myself the question, “What are the qualities necessary in a father to cause his son (daughter) to be proud?”

Certainly there are a number of worldly and temporal qualities that many children and youth admire in their fathers. There are many awards and rewards that men can receive that truly make their children proud of them.

However, I came to the conclusion that the qualities that really matter are those qualities that God desires in a man; those qualities that God says that He will honor and praise; the qualities that God will reward, whether the world does or not.

I started looking for scriptures that speak about men who receive honor or praise from God. I found a few interesting passages that I believe provide some excellent insight and instruction for all fathers who desire to be the pride and glory of their children.

1. Children can be proud of the dad that honors God.

1 Samuel 2:30 (NKJV) Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

Context: A prophet came to Eli the priest and told him that God was rejecting his family from being priests because of the terrible sins of his sons.

Honor = value, obey (in context here), etc. The same word used in the 5^th Commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.”

That literally means, to make heavy, i.e. to increase their influence.

There are so many other things that clamor for the attention and devotion of all people, including fathers. It is so important for a father to have the purpose to honor God in all that he does. If so, the scripture says that God will also honor him, and a man that God honors is certainly a man whose children will be proud of.

2. Children can be proud of the dad that maintains an intimate relationship with God.

Psalm 91:15 (KJV) He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

Who is this person that God promises to answer, accompany, deliver and honor? It is the one who “dwells in the secret place of the Most High.”

The man who lives in an intimate relationship with God will experience the blessings of God. It doesn’t mean that everything will be “smooth sailing” and that life will be easy, but it does mean God will protect him and deliver him. But it also says God will “honor him.” A man that God chooses to honor is a man whose children can be proud of.

3. Children can be proud of the dad who serves God.

John 12:26 (NKJV) If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Context: Jesus has announced that it is time for the Son of Man to be glorified. He has talked about self-sacrifice and “losing one’s life to save it; need for a grain of wheat to fall into the ground and die…”

We are living in a culture that has become so accustomed to the consumer mentality that many people are only interested in God or the church if they can be guaranteed that their wants and desires will be satisfied.

We are programmed by our culture to only invest in those activities and efforts that will bring a good return back to us. “What’s in it for me?”

A life of self-sacrifice and committed service to God is the kind of life that God will honor. It is also the kind of life that will cause children to be proud when they witness it in their fathers.

4. Children can be proud of the dad whose inward spirit and character matches his outward lifestyle.

Romans 2:29 (NKJV) but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

(William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary) Those who combine the outward sign and the inward grace receive God's praise, if not man's… A real Jew is one whose character is such as to receive praise from God.

Far too many people present one kind of attitude while they are in church, but a totally different attitude when they’re at home or on the job. They can be very pious and spiritual in church, but not so much at home or at work.

Paul was talking about people whose outward conformity was not matched by an inner spirit of compliance and humility toward God.

People who manage to put on a good show of spirituality will receive the praise (and admiration) of men, but only the man that has a heart of humility and a heart of love for God will receive the praise from God.

This kind of man is one that a child will be proud to call, “Dad.”

Conclusion:

I want to challenge all of the men and especially the fathers here today to purpose in our hearts to be the kind of men that God will honor and praise.

As long as God is pleased with us and offers His praise, it doesn’t matter who else does.

Let’s close the service today by singing the chorus: “The Family of God”

The Precious Blood of Christ

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This is a message based on 1 Peter 1:19 and it was the sermon used for a communion service.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

In just a little while we will be commemorating the sacrifice of our Lord for our salvation by sharing the elements of communion.

So, with the Lord’s help, I would like to draw your attention to the phrase found in verse 19 – “the precious blood of Christ.”

(Wuest's Word Studies – Volume 2) The Greek word "precious" has a two-fold meaning, "costly" in the sense of value [such as precious ointment Mary used for Jesus], and "highly esteemed or held in honor."

I have come up with five reasons that the blood of Christ is so precious.

1. It is divine. (Acts 20:28; Heb. 9:14)

Acts 20:28 (NKJV) Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Hebrews 9:14 (NKJV) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

(Wuest) The blood of Christ is costly, essentially and intrinsically precious because it is God's blood, for Deity became incarnate in humanity. For that reason it is highly honored by God the Father. The order of the words in the Greek text is beautiful.

In the Greek NT, the word Christ is found at the end of the verse, which is unusual, so it is probably meant to place emphasis on who’s blood we’re talking about here.

What a contrast to the pagan deities that were so familiar to the people of that day and culture. Deities who were so unpredictable and vindictive, that people lived in fear all the time that the gods would pour out retribution and judgment upon them.

But here, the God of creation, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is offering Himself as a sacrifice for humanity rather than sacrificing humanity for Himself.

2. It is pure. (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 22:20; James 1:27)

The comparison being made here by Peter is with the Passover and sacrificial lambs that were used in the OT. No lamb could be offered up to God if it had any noticeable or observable defects.

In fact, in the case of the Passover, the lambs had to be chosen days before the actual slaughter so they had time to observe it to see if there were any defects.

We’ve already mentioned that the blood is precious because it was divine (i.e. God’s own blood). The reason why it needed to be His blood, was because the Law required a sacrifice that was pure.

There was no human being on the planet that was good enough or pure enough to be a fit offering for the sins of humanity.

I want to also point out the reference in James 1:27. James tells his readers that pure religion is to care for the fatherless and widows and to keep one’s self unspotted from the world. That means, untainted, or unpolluted.

If we apply this to Christ, He is the perfect example of one who was in the world, but He never became tainted and polluted by the world.

3. It is permanent.

Money (silver and gold) is “corruptible,” i.e. it is related to the ideas of decay; that which is perishable.

Peter’s words here seem to highlight the fact that, as a general rule, people tend to place less importance and value on things that are prone to perish and decay.

The more permanent things are, the more value we place on them. And, the blood of Jesus is more valuable than even the two things we humans tend to esteem with the most value.

It is interesting that he chooses to compare silver and gold, which most of us would consider to be the most enduring precious metals we know of in this world.

Yet, he reminds us that those are still earthly, material, and therefore temporary. See verse 7 earlier in this 1^st chapter.

1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Even gold that has been tested (purified) by fire, is less precious than faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Why? It must surely be due to the fact that faith and salvation are eternal and permanent. Gold is only temporary.

4. It is effective. (Heb. 10:4)

Hebrews 10:4 (NKJV) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

One of the main points of the book of Hebrews is to show us that all of the sacrifices required in the OT system were merely symbolic of the only truly effective sacrifice – the blood of Christ.

The temporary system served its purpose, but we are told that they really had no ability to take away sins.

The context in chapter 10 emphasizes the fact that rather than take away the sins, the sacrifices served as a frequent reminder of their sins. It is only the blood of Jesus that can take away sins.

“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

5. It is voluntary. (Heb. 9:14)

If we look back again to Heb. 9:14 again for just a moment, I want to point out the obvious point that Jesus offered His own blood. There are other references in Hebrews that emphasize the same point.

This is not a story about some criminal that was bound and executed against his own will and without his consent.

No, we are speaking about the loving, merciful and gracious Son of God; the Savior of the world, willingly and knowingly laying down His life so sinners like you and me could be redeemed and saved from the wrath of God.

Conclusion:

Today we are sharing the elements of the Lord’s Supper to be reminded once again of how precious His sacrifice really is for us.

Let’s take our hymnals and sing the first two verses of # 330, “Are You Washed in the Blood?”

A Glorious Church

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This is a message that was given on the Sunday in which we conducted our annual membership meeting and it was intended to serve as a sort of state of the church address.

Written Excerpts:

Eph. 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Introduction:

I want to begin today by very briefly commenting on the verse of scripture upon which the title of this message is based.

The context for v. 27 is vv. 25-26   Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word

Christ loved the church so He gave Himself for the church.

Christ gave Himself for the church so He could sanctify and cleanse the church.

Christ sanctifies and cleanses the church so He could present to Himself a glorious church.

What is a glorious church? One that reflects the glory of God. It reflects all the magnificent and spectacular qualities of perfection found in the Triune God.

Is it completely spotless and without blemish now? No. Is it a finished product now? No. But it will be one of these days, and no, He isn’t waiting until we all get through this life to do all that He wants to do with the church. He is currently doing significant things with His church today. The cleansing may not be finished, but it is already happening.

As we have announced at the beginning of today’s service, we will be dismissing earlier than usual in order to allow time for our annual membership meeting.

Therefore, I wanted to use the sermon time this morning to do a type of “State of the Church” message, which will accomplish a couple of purposes.

1. It will shorten our Annual Mtg. a little, since this will replace a portion of my “Pastor’s Report” that I normally give.

2. It will allow me to share things with the whole church that usually only gets presented to a dozen or two people.

Going to pretty much read my message to conserve time.

First of all, let me reemphasize a foundational concept that we’ve talked about before, but probably needs to be repeatedly reviewed.

Church is not a building, and it is not programs, whether those programs be worship services, dinners, Sunday schools, youth meetings, etc., etc.

Church is not denominations or associations or organizations.

Church is not something we do on Sunday mornings for an hour and a half, so we can feel like we’ve done our duty to God, and now we can get on with the really important things and fun things in life that we really care about.

The Church is all people who have been saved from the wrath of God; washed in the blood of Jesus; forgiven for their self-willed transgressions against God; and filled with the Spirit to live out His purposes in all aspects of everyday life.

That is about the quickest way I know to define the word “church.”

In a previous mini series of messages a few years ago, I presented a three-fold mission of the church that I believe is taught in the Bible. What I want to do for a little while today is review those three aspects of our mission as a church and try to evaluate how I think we’re doing.

I. The Upward Mission – Glorify God

Ephesians 1:12 (NKJV) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV) Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

One of the ways that we try to bring glory to God is through our worship services.

Earlier I said that worship services do not = church, but worship is one of the things that the church does. I don’t know what you think, but I believe that we have a strong sense of worshiping God

most of the time when we gather on Sunday mornings (although there are obviously some exceptions, to the extent that any of us allow our minds to be distracted from our focus on God and we become focused on lesser things).

But this is only a part of our worship – i.e. corporate worship, which is vital, it is necessary and it is the norm for Christians in the NT. It is us realizing that He is the focus not us.

However, personal worship is also taught in scripture and is equally important. Since it is personal, there is no way I can accurately assess it, but I fear that there are those in our congregation who have fallen victim to the philosophy I expressed earlier, i.e., church (or worship) is what we do for 1 ½ hours on Sunday morning, so we can say we’ve fulfilled that obligation and now we can go about our own business the rest of the week.

You have to ask yourself the question, “How much do I worship God in my personal, daily life?”

One thing I know for sure is this: the more that people worship Him on a daily basis in their personal lives, the more vitality we will experience in our corporate worship.

I heard this thought expressed many times: “It’s wonderful that so many people take the time to come to a worship service to get their spiritual tanks refilled each week, but how much more wonderful it would be if those same people came to the worship service with their spiritual tanks already full with the presence of God, so that it just spills out all over when we all get together!”

I know that sometimes it’s normal and necessary for people to come to church hoping and expecting the service, or the pastor to give me something today that will lift me up and help get me through another week, and that’s okay, for we all experience those seasons.

But how glorious it would be if people came to the church worship service bubbling over with the joy of the Lord because of His nearness to them all week, and they’re not seeking for an uplift, they’re just seeking for a suitable way to vent their joy and gratitude for all God has done during this week.

What about our church life, personally and corporately, are we truly bringing glory to God, or are we exalting ourselves?

II. The Inward Mission – Building up One Another

This aspect of the church’s mission focuses on our responsibilities to each other in the body of Christ.

This includes:

·        Demonstrating love and tender compassion

·        Mutual support for all of life’s adversities

·        Prayer for one another and encouraging one another

·        Teaching, instruction and disciple-making

·        Getting together in groups or one-on-one to study, to pray, to bond in fellowship, etc.

How are we doing?

By my observations, I’d say we do a fairly good job of encouraging one another, supporting one another and praying for one another.

Many people have expressed their appreciation to me for how the church body has responded to them with cards, phone calls and prayers in their times of need.

I’m happy to say that this is normally the case even among the newer members of the congregation as well as those who’ve been a part of this body for years.

I have been especially pleased to know that there are a handful of individuals and couples who take the time to even visit those who are sick and in need (they obviously don’t think that the Pastor is the only one who can/should do it). However, I might add, most of these folks are in the retirement age bracket. I hope some of the younger folks will catch the vision for this kind of ministry as well.

There’s always room for improvement, but I think we make a great effort in mutually supporting and encouraging one another.

One area that I think we could use some improvement is in the area of teaching, instruction and disciple-making.

We have a great foundation and we are making some progress, but I think we’ve only scratched the surface.

Bob Corner, Dick Thompson and Marilyn Hollabaugh study hard and prepare SS lessons that dig into the Word of God. I hear frequent compliments of the adult class.

Kris and Heather are doing a splendid job with the junior church and they are teaching Bible knowledge to these kids that most of them aren’t getting anywhere else. Many of the children are not getting very much spiritual teaching at home.

I want to commend Becky Sterner for her passion for working with youth. She’s had help from time-to-time from Sara Giesler and from Chris Cochoff. Becky is doing a good job, and I hope that teaching ministry will blossom and develop.

We have recently seen the development of a ladies Bible study being held weekly, which seems to be generating some significant interest and enthusiasm among those who are attending. This is exciting and I hope it will continue.

In spite of all these things that are happening, I think there are a couple areas of need: (1) Men’s discipleship training; (2) Prayer meetings.

I am hoping that God will lay it on the heart of one or two men to start up a study/prayer/ accountability group for men and that it will catch fire among the men of our church. Men, God has given us the responsibility of spiritual leadership in our families, and it is absolutely impossible for us to give them something that we don’t have ourselves.

Prayer: Just about every year in our annual meeting I stress the fact that I’m disappointed with the low attendance in our weekly prayer meetings.

Maybe Wednesday evenings are not good for your schedule. If that’s true, then by all means get together with a small group some other time during the week to pray.

God’s Word tells us that our two strongest weapons in the spiritual warfare against Satan and the evil of the world are: His Word and prayer.

Prayer is not asking God to bless us and make things work out all nice and rosy for us, so that our life is easier. Prayer is doing spiritual battle with the enemy of our souls and the enemy of our Lord and the destroyer of our culture, and its seeking the power of heaven to overcome the power of this world. Prayer is the act of imploring God to let His Kingdom come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; for His Kingdom of light to overrule the kingdom of darkness. 

III. The Outward Mission – Pre-evangelism; evangelism

This aspect of the church’s mission involves anything that is done for the purpose of reaching out to those who are outside the church, i.e. do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and are not attempting to order their lives according to His purposes.

This involves both local and international outreach. Once again I remind us this morning that being a disciple of Jesus and being a part of His church is not about us, but it’s all about Him and His agenda. And the Bible is very clear that God’s agenda is to save the lost, wherever they are. To the extent we lose that focus, is the extent that we have forsaken the plan and agenda of Jesus Christ.

One aspect of outreach I have referred to as pre-evangelism, because there are times when we must demonstrate compassion and concern for people before we can ever hope to interest them in a God they do not know and consequently do not trust. Sometimes we need to gain their trust before they will trust our God, whom they’ve never truly known.

Pre-evangelism takes different forms, but includes things like giving assistance with physical needs, responding to disasters, or any number of ways of showing compassion.

Evangelism, on the other hand, actually involves leading people to the point of surrender to Christ and giving Him the control over their lives after confessing and repenting of their sins, and seeking His forgiveness.

We do a fair job, I think, in trying to show people that we care about them by helping out in times of need and disaster. Yes, we could do better, but it’s always a challenge to know the difference between giving someone a hand up, versus perpetuating a situation that is self-defeating.

We need lots of help in the area of evangelizing the lost. I feel condemnation a lot myself for not leading more people to Christ.

I certainly want to do better, and I want to help you lead people to Christ, as well.

We are recently making an effort in one area, i.e. cooperation in Celebrate Recovery ministry, although I’ve been disappointed about the lack of response from our congregation to help out in this effort. I hope we will catch the vision.

We are also planning for some additional efforts to reach out to the youth, but the plans are still in “infancy” stage.

Conclusion:

In spite of the difficulties in accurately measuring spiritual life, I would like to say that I find reasons to be encouraged with our congregation. There seems to be a number of people within the church who show signs of seeking after more of God’s presence in their lives and who appear to be striving to obey the Lord in their conduct and attitudes.

However, as the pastor and the one who is charged with the responsibility of leading our church into a deeper understanding of biblical faith and practical godliness, I am always hoping and praying for even greater commitment to God and His priorities in our church and in our families. It will always be the devil’s purpose, and consequently a serious danger, for all of us to cool off spiritually and become complacent about the practice of righteousness and godliness in everyday life. Therefore, we must always seek to have God revive a fervent passion within us to be all He wants us to be.