A Father's Way

"A Father's Way"

It has been said that "imitation is the highest form of flattery." Our children love to imitate us. Whether they are pretending to be daddies going to work or mimicking our conversation, children practice at being grown-ups by pretending they are their dads. Children naturally want to follow their fathers wherever they go, whatever they do, and whatever they say. Fathers show their children the way through life.

Part of our job is to show our children how to live so that they can follow us into happy adulthood. We speak truthfully to them and show them by our actions how much God loves them. This is a father's way -- to "imitate" God's love. A father's way is God's way. When we speak and live God's love, our children naturally want to follow us and be like us. We raise our children to be merciful, wise, and loving grown-ups.

Our Lord, prior to beginning His ministry, grew up and followed in His earthly father's profession. He became a carpenter just like Joseph. I can imagine a young Jesus hanging out with His father in his workshop. Picture Joseph working on a table or some other project and Jesus is asking him, "What is that tool your using?" Joseph would probably respond saying, "That's a hammer, son." Watching Joseph closely, Jesus would then ask, "Why do you do that for, dad?" After thirty minutes of silence, we can see Joseph look up from his project to see his son hammering a piece of board like his father. I can see the huge smile on Joseph's face as he goes over and places his hands on Jesus to help him hammer a nail properly into the wood. That is one of the greatest moments in life for a father.

I remember standing outside one day watching my dad work on his truck. He had his tools out and he would say, "Hand me a monkey wrench" or "Hand me that doflitchy." Of course, I had no clue what he wanted and he would have to point to it. But as a child, I felt good that I was helping dad. Later he would take me mowing with him. He taught me how to mow. He would always gripe when grass would be blown out into the street. Now I catch myself getting mad when I see grass out in the street. If you are one who blows the grass onto the street; I hope I don't drive by you, because I wouldn't want my blood pressure to rise.

Not only did Jesus follow His earthly father's career, He chose to be about His heavenly Father's business. He went into the salvation business. In Luke 2:49 MKJV, a twelve year old Jesus said, "Do you not know that I must about My Father's business?"

Joseph prepared the way for Jesus to follow in God's footsteps by reflecting God's love. He set the example of what a godly man is. I'm sure that Joseph prayed for Jesus every day that He would grew up and be a godly man and to fulfill God's purpose in His life.

As fathers, we must be like Joseph, setting the example for our children through our actions, words, and love. What way are we leading our children? Today, let us travel a father's way and show our children how to follow God's way.

Happy Father's Day on Sunday, June 21. Make sure to lead the way by taking your children to worship God at church.

National Day of Prayer

Thursday, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer. Every president since Abraham Lincoln has recognized the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer. America is the greatest country in the world to live. We have truly been blessed in numerous ways. America has been a blessing to the rest of the world as well. We are the only country that will help other nations in trouble even when those nations refuse to help us in times of trouble.

America was founded upon biblical principles and the pursuit of religious freedom. Early settlers came to the new world because they were trying to escape the tyranny of England, who tried to force what kind of religion you would participate in and when you would worship. The colonists first public building to be erected was a house of worship, where the first public event was a worship service. When these settlers faced adversity and hardship, they gathered together in the church building to pray and ask God for help. When the blessings of an abundant harvest filled their barns, they would again gather in the church building to offer their prayers of gratitude to God.

Early in the history of America, our most prestigious universities were established for the main purpose of preparing Christian preachers. Schools like Harvard and Yale stated that God was the ultimate source of wisdom and the foundation for all education. The United States Congress, in 1782, even supported the Holy Bible as an essential part of all schools. They stated, "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools."

While America was founded as a "Nation Under God," we have fallen away from the Christian heritage that it was built upon. Their is so much trouble, turmoil, and upheaval in our nation. We need to return to what made this nation the greatest nation on the face of the earth. On May 7th, our church is going to gather together like the early settlers and ask God to help our nation return to the religious principles, values, and morals that it once embraced. We will also pray for our troops, our government, marriages, etc. Please join us at 7:00 p.m. as we seek God's mercy on behalf of our nation.

Psalms 33:12 NIV says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord," and Psalms 33:22 NIV says, "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." May we place our trust in God and allow His never ending love and blessing be upon America!

Don't Be a Complainer!

My sermon on Sunday is entitled, "Don't be a Complainer!" Have you ever noticed how many people complain, whine, grumble and nitpick things around us? Especially now that our economy is hitting an all-time low with unemployment skyrocketing and gas prices and groceries raising right along with it. If you go to a typical church on Sunday morning, there is a good chance that you'll hear someone complain about the music being too loud or too slow, the sermon was too long, the doughnuts were too stale, etc. It seems that there are more people complaining now-a-days than there are people praising God.

As I was studying for my message, I saw similarities with the Israelites in Numbers chapters 11, 14, and 20. In the book of Numbers, Moses records the journey of the Israelites upon leaving Egypt to go to the promised land. He recorded how Israel was complaining about everything from the weather to the food provisions. People started complaining and God talked to Moses and said that He was angered at their complaints. So all those who had been counted in the census and who were 20 years old and over would die and never enter the promised land. Forty years later, the people are still complaining. This time Moses became frustrated that he lost focus of what was truly important and that was to obey God. This time, God became angry at Moses and Aaron, because instead of speaking to a rock to bring forth water for the people; Moses got angry, took credit for providing the water, and struck the rock twice with the staff. What difference did that make? Moses and Aaron were told by God that they no longer were going to lead the people into the promise land.

We can learn lessons from this. First, God always hears our complaints. Second, complaining leads people to rebel against God. Third, complaining brings God's anger and punishment. Forth, complaining can make leaders lose focus of their purpose.

Instead of complaining, let us start praising God for every little blessing as well as the big blessings, so that we can enjoy the Christian life and everything that God has in store for us.

Are You Thirsty?

Yesterday, I attended the Elders' and Church Leaders' Conference at Lincoln Christian College in Lincoln, Illinois. Dave Butts, founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries in Terre Haute, Indiana, was the main speaker. The theme was Leading Your Church to Become a Praying Church.

One of the things that personally opened my "spiritual eyes" was when Dave read Psalm 27:4 NIV:

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

When we pray, do we seek to be intimate with God? Do we desire to be in His presence daily? The Psalmist is saying that he was to have a personal relationship with God, gazing at His beauty, and be in His presence wherever He may dwell. Do we have that kind of passion in our prayer life?

Then if that wasn't challenging enough, Dave proceeds to read Psalm 63:1 NIV:

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

Is our desire, passion, and longing for God like a man in a desert who craves water to satisfy his thirst? Our we spiritually thirsty, and seek out God to satisfy our thirst with His presence?

I know my prayer life is going to be different from now on. How about you? Are you thirsty?

What I Have!

As we prepare for the 40 days of purpose series, I wanted to post this devotional to encourage us to maybe see the potential that God has given each of us to fulfill His purpose in our life. Below is a passage in the book of Acts. This is such a typical situation that many of us face in life.

"1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." (Acts 3:1-10 NIV)

Many of us would look at this crippled man and say, "I don't have anything to give you, sorry." Then we would walk away. But notice what Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." So often, we don't think that we have anything to offer in service to God. We make excuses of not being able to sing, preach, pray, teach, or encourage. However, instead of looking at what we don't have, we need to examine what we do have. After realizing what we do possess, we need to offer it to God. "Lord, use what I have to bring You pleasure and fulfill Your purpose in my life."

Think about how you can use whatever talent you have, whatever resources you have, whatever personality you have to make a difference on behalf of Christ.

Why Am I Here?

Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? I believe that a lot of us struggle with finding significance and meaning in life. Several years ago Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church wrote a wonderful book dealing with this issue of finding purpose in life. He entitled the book The Purpose Driven Life.

Being confused about your purpose in life is not necessarily a bad thing. That confusion can actually create a desire to seek the answers to the questions: "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?" Some of the greatest men in history were confused about their purpose in life, just as you are experiencing now. However, once they discovered their purpose for living, they became great and accomplished great things.

On Sunday, February 15, we are starting a new sermon series based on The Purpose Driven Life. We are embarking on a 40-day spiritual journey through weekly sermons and Bible studies to discovering our purpose in life. This series will take us up to Palm Sunday and Easter. This is a great way to prepare for the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ by discovering our purpose and then realize how we fit into Jesus' purpose for coming to Earth.

If you are unable to visit us in person, you can visit our website and watch the weekly sermon videos.

Importance of Daily Studying God's Word

"Why is it so important for me to be in God's Word on a daily basis?"
Well, besides the obvious benefit of being able to grow in one's knowledge of the things of God along with growing in our faith relationship with Christ; it keeps us from being deceived or misled by a Bible teacher or preacher.

One of the greatest preachers of all times was the Apostle Paul. In the book of Acts chapter 17, during his second missionary journey, Paul visits Berea. Paul's audience is the kind that all pastors look forward to ministering to today.

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11 NIV)

We, as pastors or preachers, need to encourage our listeners to examine the Scriptures every day to verify that what we are teaching and preaching is consistent with the Word of God. How much would our messages improve if our congregation would be in God's Word daily and be eager to receive God's message.

We also need to encourage our members to bring their Bibles with them to worship services. Many churches have experienced a tremendous decline in Sunday school or Bible study attendance. Services such as these maybe the only times when some of our members open the Bible during the week. We live in times where many things compete for our time and attention, but isn't God worth the time we spend in His Word? Have fun studying God's Word today!

Fireproofing Your Relationships

In the Fall of 2008, Sherwood Pictures released the movie, "Fireproof" to theaters across America. This is a story of a husband and wife, Caleb and Catherine, who have been married for seven years and are heading down the road toward divorce. Caleb, played by Kirk Cameron, is a heroic fire captain who values dedication and service to others above all else. But the most important partnership in his life, his marriage, is about to go up in smoke. We follow this man's desire to transform his life and marriage through the healing power of faith and fully embrace the fireman's code: Never Leave Your Partner Behind.

Starting on January 6 of this year, I preached a six-week sermon series entitled, "Fireproof Your Relationships," where we explored what God has to say about love, differences between men and women, breaking free from temptations and addictions that threaten marriages, and forgiveness. We showed video clips from the movie to help illustrate biblical principles in the sermons. We also utilized the small group Bible study curriculum on Sunday night. We had about 13 people in attendance over the six weeks.

If you are a member of Hindsboro Christian Church, please post some comments about what you thought or learned about this sermon series and Bible study. I would also like to know if this is something we should continue to do in the future (using movies to help illustrate the message).

If you haven't seen or heard these sermons, they are available at our website on video. Go to http://www.hindsborochristian.com/ and click on the sermons link and then the 2009 link.

First Blog

This is my first blog entry, so I will let you know what my blogs will be about.

Mark's Ministry Memos will be mostly daily or weekly Bible Devotions, sermon comments, topics on religion or things for our church members to discuss. I may even post some pictures and funny emails. I will even post some of my reviews from books that I have read or movies I have seen.