My friend, Ron Ethridge has posted a blog about CrossPoint.  Click here to read it.

I sincerely appreciate Ron’s observations.  However, I think his opinion is skewed for two or three reasons.  One, Ron is a lifelong friend of mine, and I therefore believe he review is based more on his love for me than his serious critique of CrossPoint.  Two, Ron has only been our guest two or three times in the past five years, so his intimate knowledge of our church is lacking.  Three, I am confident there are many who would disagree with Ron, and they may have good reason for doing so.  With that said, however, I do appreciate Ron’s appraisal.  My prayer is that CrossPoint would someday embody each one of his glowing remarks.

Thank you, Ron.  You do know you are a CrossPointer at heart.  And, I trust you know how much our family of faith loves you.

St. Bernard of Clarivaux said, “Dear brothers, you should never doubt your prayer, thinking that it might have been in vain, for I tell you truly that before you have uttered the words, the prayer is already recorded in heaven.  Therefore you should confidently expect from God one of two things: either that your prayer will be granted, or, that if it is not granted, the granting of it would not be good for you.”

On Wednesday evenings after CrossPoint University, I meet with a small group of men to discuss a book pertaining to systematic theology.  We have been discussing the 1291 page tome for nearly two years.  This last Wednesday the chapter topic was worship.

Worship can be difficult term to define.  The very practice of worship can be even more difficult to understand and practice.  During the discussion, two of the men shared their personal insights into worship.

One man wondered aloud what the opposite of “consumer-driven worship” would be.  As discussion ensued, he answered his own question.  His summary response was clear.  The worshiper is either a consumer or they are consumed.

Do you get it?  You are either a consumer of worship or you are consumed by the One you are worshipping.  I suspect most worshipers are consumer worshipers.  They want to sing their favorite songs and then listen to a message tailored to their particular needs.  While a small minority, understand that worship is a command issued by God not for consumption but to consumer you.

True worship has nothing to do with our tastes, preferences or desires.  True worship is God-centered, Spirit-led and Christ-focused.

Later in the discussion another friend provided an acrostic for worship he had developed last year.  The acrostic was the result of a CrossPoint Bible Study lesson.

His description of worship included:

W… wholeness: all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
O… obedience: follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
R… repentance: ask for forgiveness of your sins.
S… salvation: know that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
H… humility: serve God for His glory, not yours
I… investment: give of your time, talent and treasure
P… prayer: communicate with God

Worship is a spiritual exercise.  When we worship we are entering into the spiritual realm.  Thus, to worship the Lord Jesus properly we must be spiritually prepared and equipped to worship.  May I suggest you take some time Saturday evening and then again Sunday morning to prepare to enter into the spiritual realm of worship this weekend?

Each day during the 40 days of Lent, I am reading one chapter of Judith Couchman’s book, The Mystery of the Cross to prepare for the Resurrection Day.  As a result, I have Jesus – His death, burial and resurrection – on my mind.  The church will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection one month from today.  May I suggest you begin dwelling on the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. More than a historical event, the resurrection has profound implications.

Lee Strobel, in the Outreach.com article “True or False: Jesus is Alive”, says this story was first told by Alfred Hitchcock, and then recounted in a recent book by David Jeremiah.  “It’s not a true story,” says Strobel, “but it is a story with a lesson.”

Strobel writes,

It’s the story of a woman who murdered her husband years ago and was sentenced to life in prison. She vowed that somehow, some way, she’d escape.

As her prison bus approached the penitentiary, she saw an old man, another prisoner, covering up a grave in a small cemetery outside the prison walls.  Right then and there, she hatched a plot.

Once inside, she befriended this prisoner. He was going blind and needed cataract surgery. “I’ll give you the money for your surgery if you’ll help me escape,” she said.  And he agreed.

Here was the plan: the next time she heard the bell toll, which indicated an inmate had died, she would sneak down to the workroom where he made the casket and slide inside with the body and pull the covering closed.  He would wheel the casket out to the cemetery, lower it into the grave and cover it with dirt.  But that night, when nobody was watching, he’d return and dig up the casket and set her free.

Late one night, the bell tolled.  The woman sneaked down to the workroom. It was dark, but she found the casket, lifted the lid, slipped inside next to the body, pulled the cover over her — and waited.

Sure enough, a few hours later she felt the casket being rolled toward the grave site.  She smiled as the casket was lowered into the hole.  She heard the clumps of dirt hitting the casket and covering her up. She had done it! She could barely contain her excitement.

Silence followed as she waited in the dark. Time began to drag.  Hours passed, then more hours.  Finally, she began to worry.  She broke out in a cold sweat.  Where was that old man?  What was keeping him?  Can you imagine the emotions that would have coursed through her?

In a moment of panic, she reached into her pocket and took out some matches. As she lit one, she glanced at the corpse beside her — and saw that it was the old man himself.

Her only hope lay buried right next to her!

The lesson for you and me is obvious.  This woman had placed her hope in another human being who she sincerely thought would be able to save her—but he went to his grave and ended up taking her with him.

Friends, listen to me: every single religious leader in history is in his grave right now: Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, all of them — except one, and that’s Jesus Christ.  His tomb is empty because He had the power of God to overcome the grave.

So let me ask the question: Who are you going to put your hope in to help you overcome the grave?

In her book, The Mystery of the Cross: Bringing Ancient Christian Images to Life, Judith Couchman quotes William Wood Seymour from his book The Cross in Tradition, History and Art:

According to tradition, (during the crucifixion) our Lord’s back was turned toward Jerusalem, which was in the east and his face toward the west.  This may have been a refinement of cruelty on the part of the executioners.  Jesus’  back was placed toward the capital nation of whom the Roman governor had written he was “King,” and his face turned to the setting sun, not only to remind him of his departing glory, as his enemies  folly deemed, but that no torture, however, petty, yet agonizing, as the blaze of the sun would be, might be spared.

May the cross of Christ never fade in its importance or our memories.

I love it when God does things like this.

Dear Ryan,

Mark and I were recently in California at my aunt and uncles house.  Tim was on a work trip, but we were fortunate enough to spend the weekend with them in Pacific Palisades and go to their church, Calvary Chapel of Pacific Palisades.  Of all things, Pastor Steve Fabion spoke about “How to Have the Perfect Family” and knowing ours isn’t there, I rightfully tuned in.  And of all the parts of the Bible, would you believe he said, “I’m going to read to you what used to be recited in the Jewish temples and what used to be quoted in their homes, He said, it’s called ‘The Shema,’ and it’s from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.”  I turned and looked at Mark and he at me and smiled.  I bet we were the only ones in the church who knew what he was about to talk about.  (Our kids can even quote most of it!).  I was touched – one because a church on the West Coast is sharing what you’ve been doing all the way in Alabama, and two we’re so grateful for you our pastor.

Sincerely,

Kim

Okay, CrossPoint let’s say it together.  It says, “Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu Adonai echad.” Now in English, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ also includes bad news.

The Good News is about HEAVEN…  and about HELL.

The Good News is about LIFE… and about DEATH.

The Good News is about SALVATION…. and about DAMNATION.

The Good News is about PEACE…  and about TURMOIL.

The Good News must include

…mercy and wrath

…love and hatred

…forgiveness and judgment

…devotion and discipline

…grace and guilt

…rest and conflict

…good and evil

…in order for it to be Good News.

Read the rest of this entry »

Back to yesterday and Monday we go.

Bill Hull’s book, Jesus Christ Disciplemaker, stirred a long-term memory of an evangelism encounter.

Hull wrote,

Witnessing (declaring the gospel to unbelievers) is a valuable and rewarding experience.  If a Christian knows this fact but does not practice it, it is no more than theory.  I can tell you that chocolate ice cream is delicious.  I can use my powers of persuasion, and even convince you of what I say.  But until you actually taste chocolate ice cream, you do not really know.  Many Christians don’t witness.  In their minds they realize the importance of witnessing, but they lack a heartfelt knowledge of its value.  Their knowledge is intellectual but not empirical (p. 91).

While reading that section of teaching the Holy Spirit jogged my memory.  He refreshed me in thinking of the reward in sharing the Gospel.

Again, I was in a restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi.  I had just introduced myself to a nationally known leader.   He was gracious enough to invite me to spend a few minutes with him and his guest at their table.  Taking advantage of the situation, I shared the Good News of Jesus Christ.  The statesman’s response was sincere.  Each time I pressed for a confession in Jesus Christ, He continued to express a belief in a “higher being”.  At least he was consistent, I thought.  Yet I cannot recall hearing him admit that Jesus Christ was the only way to heaven.

It is not for me to decide if someone is born-again.  Neither should it be your judgment.  No one should ever make the judgment of someone else’s salvation.  It is our responsibility to share the Gospel, and it is God’s job to do the saving.  Only the person hearing the Gospel knows whether or not they are truly saved.

Now back to the conversation in the local eatery in Oxford, Mississippi.

When I returned to the table where my friends were dining they inquired about the man’s identity.  I informed them that the gentleman was a United States Senator.  He was not a senator from the south, however.  This man was 1500 miles away from home.

The gentleman to whom I was witnessing was then a senator from the state of Delaware.  Today he serves as Vice-President of the United States.  His name is Joe Biden.

I am so thankful I participated in the “valuable and rewarding experience” of witnessing.  I knew him then as a national figure. There was no way for me to realize a quarter-century later that he would be Vice-President

I encourage you to share the gospel in every instance the Lord affords you.  Who knows, someday that person may become the Vice President of the United States.

Bill Hull’s book, Jesus Christ Disciplemaker, provoked an evangelism encounter in my life from twenty plus years ago.

It was sometime in the late 1980s.  I was in Oxford, Mississippi, studying a new discipleship tool with a group of ministers.  We were being trained as facilitators for MasterLife written by Dr. Avery Willis.  Part of the instruction included sharing the gospel.

One evening a few of us decided to visit a local eatery to experiment with our new means of evangelism.  After our meal I recognized a national politician sitting in a nearby booth.

Let me digress for a moment to explain how I recognized the national leader.  There was a time in my life when I tracked politics much closer than I do now.  At one time I seriously considered a degree in political science.  The interest was born when I cast my inaugural vote in the 1984 presidential election.  I sincerely enjoyed keeping up with politics.

Now back to the moment I met and conversed with a national politician.

After concluding his meal, several patrons stepped over to his table to shake his hand and greet him.  Because of my interest, I followed suit.   We engaged in a brief conversation.  He was intrigued with my purpose for being in Oxford.  When I explained I was a minister receiving training in discipleship he invited me to sit as his table for a moment or two.  There were other people present.

The official was congenial.  He was a very pleasant man.  I also found him to be encouraging.  He seemed genuinely interested in my story.

By the way, aren’t all politicians supposed to be that way?

Yet this man was different.  He went out of his way to engage in a meaningful conversation.  I was impressed.  He was thousands of miles away from his district, yet he treated me as one of his own constituents.

In response to the warm invitation, I used the moment to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  I do not recall the entire conversation, yet I do remember his response.  The elected official informed that he believed in a “higher being”.  He said he formed his belief before undergoing a major surgery earlier in his life.  When pressed, the politician gave the same response – he believed in a “higher being”.  There was no mention of Jesus and there was no confirmation of being born-again.

How important was that encounter?  Check out JUSTONEMORE tomorrow and I will explain.