Category Archives: Preaching

Assurance, Devotions, Life, Preaching

Blessed are…

Matthew 5:3-12 The beatitudes. Blessed are….

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Nine attitudes of the Christian life. Attitudes that find their source in Jesus. Attitudes that make Christians different. Attitudes which describe expectations and acceptance. Attitudes when all tallied up make a difference in my life. Today I must circle back to one word that begins each. What is this blessing? What is this favoritism, this acknowledgment of my worth which is pointed to those who have these attitudes? How do I understand, experience, and feel this blessing? How is my being conformed to each called-out attitude a blessing?

There has always been a dichotomy, a struggle between two points of view. One side was saying they were led by the spiritual and didn’t need any other guide. The other was extolling the merits of keeping every law, precept, tradition, and cultural norm. The spiritual and the law have always been a center of argument and division. The law demands conformance, yet these gifts of grace are offered as free and abundant.

As I sit on the grassy hillside, I listen carefully to hear and understand how I shall live. I hear these nine characteristics of faith. Each is a gift is determined by my relationship to God. I do not hear commandments but blessings. Blessings, not because of what I do, but for what I am. Blessings to empower life. Blessings to overcome. Blessings to be more than a set of rules and regulations. Blessings to strengthen. Blessings to live a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and control. (Galatians 5:22,23). What a blessing! Nine reasons for nine attitudes. Gifted to become and to be.

# Just Larry

Ministry, Motivation, Prayer, Preaching, Ramblings

Attitude determins altitude

Years ago, I was a wholesale meatcutter and a butcher.  I stood along a long moving conveyer belt that would bring pieces of meat that each cutter would in turn take off the belt and cut, slice, bone, separated into specific portions.  There were twelve of us six on a side doing this beef disassembly line.  We would work continuously for two hours, fifteen minutes then another two hours and take a half hour lunch.  Time worn meat dance would be repeated in the afternoon. We would continually talk and banter about the latest news of the world and our families, all the while soft music would play in the background to keep from going out of our minds.

As we approached quitting time we would look down the line of pieces of meat and know we had to get the conveyer belt empty before cleaning up.  If we would work real hard the boss would just add more big pieces of meat. 

One of my fellow butcher workman would, at the appropriate time would say under his breath “Twenty Degrees.”  He had his pilot license and he was referring to the attitude of the plane.  If you raised the nose of his little Cessna to twenty degrees above level, the plan would ultimately stall and fall out of the sky.  It was how we paced ourselves at the meat line became empty at the exact time when the clock said it was time to go home.

As he explained it to me, “In flight the attitude determines your altitude.” 

Your attitude determines your behavior.

Your attitudes determine our actions.

Devotions, Justice, Life, Motivation, Preaching

Parable of the Rock

Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

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I cannot change the past. It is a stone that is simply too large to move. It is the immovable object trailing along behind held by ropes to my inner well-being. It constrains my self-image. It impedes whatever progress I think I am making in all my relationships. I scratch and pull and yank and sometimes I simply try to ignore the weight constantly restricting me. I get so tired of the strain, I stop and think, “my place, my current position good enough”. But the weight continually increases until the shadow of that immense rock shades everything I do. I toil in a tethered country of struggle. The stone becomes the hallmark of the dominion in which I live. But there is a solution to the darkness, to the weight that so easily restrains my progress. A solution that does not include darkness, struggle, or immobility. The solution is forgiveness and the severing of the bonds that would impede my headway. The solution which opens to me a new kingdom. Bliss and progress are now my paths.

Assurance, Culture, Devotions, Personal, Preaching, Short Quotes, Theology

I am who I am

Genesis 1:27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

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My name is Larry, I am created in God’s own image.  I came from Him and someday I will be going back to him.  My worth is not dependent upon your opinion.  My worth is not dictated by societal norms.  My life is much more than what you may see of me or even your judgment of me. Who I am is much more than the cultural group to which you think I belong. Do not segregate me because of some outside, physical attribute. I refuse to be canceled.  Just societies are built on the acknowledgment and acceptance of the truth of all human beings are bearers of God’s image. They all have equal dignity, incalculable worth with rights that cannot be taken at the whim of any other.  It was C.S. Lewis who wrote, “There are no ordinary people, you have never talked to a mere mortal.”  The essence of my dignity is not man-made. I am not an earthy person experiencing spiritual things, but a spiritual person experiencing earthly things.

Answers to questions, Devotions, Preaching

Quit Asking!

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” – Luke 1:18-20

“How am I to know I am saved?”  “How shall I know this?” That hidden and nagging doubt of forgiveness has touched us all.  We want some evidence.  Some sort of brand on our arm as a seal of becoming part of the grand Holy club. The Angel Gabriel came down and told Zachariah he should have a son, the old and shriveled man wanted a further token than the angel’s word.  “How shall I really know?: The answer, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Lord.” “I know all about that, but I need something more, a token, another sign.  Gabriel said, “You shall have a token: you shall be dumb till your son shall be given you.” I must quit asking for more evidence and be assured of God’s word.

Life, Parable, Preaching

Slay the dragon

George is living his life. He doesn’t do anything that would hurt anyone.  “Can’t we get along” is his mantra. There are times of happiness, but they are fleeting. There are occasions when George is moved to go the extra mile for someone else. In his own keep calm and carry on he has made great strides in being a good person.

 There is a foreboding presence in George.  Deep inside of George a terrible dragon dwells.  A dragon living in a dark and dank cave. A cave hidden from everyone but himself. That dragon craves for power, and reputation and self-reliance. Occasionally George is overcome by the dragon. Especially when he is really stressed. Out of the unfortunate events in his life the dragon growls.  The dragon shouts, “I can do it”.  Giving into the dragon brings guilt, pain, embarrassment. George has lost self-control and let the dragon direct his responses. Few see his dastardly dragon, but he is there.  The dragon shapes and overshadows all his beliefs, attitudes, and more than he would admit, his actions.

A day not to long ago, George heard the Gospel.

In the word of God, George hears, “I will make you mine and take possession of the cave and slay the dragon. Will you yield to my possession? It will mean a whole new way of thinking and feeling and acting.”

George replied: “But that dragon has always been with me.”  And with down cast eyes and with a whimper, “the dragon is me. Even though I am embarrassed by him, he is who I am.”

In a desperate instant George raises his eyes and shouts back at Jesus, “If you kill it I will die.”

Jesus says, “And you will rise to newness of life, I will give you a new identity, I will make my mind, my will, and my heart your own.”

In the depths of George’s hidden cave he hears the dragon roar.

George in a moment of great distress and resolve and willfully ignoring the dragon, says, “What must I do?”

He answers, “Trust me and do as I say. As long as you trust me, we cannot lose.” Overcome by the beauty and power of Christ, George bows and makes a pledge of eternal loyalty and trust.

George rises with a new resolve, “I will follow you anywhere.”

Jesus responds placing a great sword in George’s hand and says, “Follow me.” He leads George to the mouth of the cave and says, “Go slay the dragon.”

But George looks at him bewildered, “I cannot do it, I have tried to silence him.  He is invincible. He is more than anything I can or have tried.  I cannot do it without you.”

Jesus smiles. “Well said. You learn quickly. Never forget: my commands for you to do something are never commands do alone.” Shoulder to shoulder and the sword in hand, they enter the cave together.

It was a horrific battle.  But each swipe of the sword, the hand of Jesus was there guiding, enabling, strengthening. Christ’s hand became George’s hand.

At last, the dragon lies limp. George asks, “Is it dead?”

Jesus with a concerned knit brow states, “I have come to give you a new life. This new identity is what you received when you yielded to my possession and pledged faith and loyalty to me. And now with my sword and my hand you have felled the dragon of the flesh. It is a mortal wound. It will die. That is certain. But it has not yet bled to death. I will help you seal up the cave. You must hold constant vigil to make sure the spirit of flesh does not come and cause earthquakes in your life and loosen the stones. It is up to you to keep the entrance fortified and well built. I have this confidence in you.  With My sword and My hand in yours, this dragon will die, he is finished, your new life is secure.

Bible, Bible Study, Preaching

On the Move

The accounts of Jesus seem to be characterized by movement.  He would never stay tarry long in any one spot.  Move, walk, go, come, get into a boat, go to a wedding, Jerusalem, Capernaum, always moving.  

The disciples had been sent two by two on missionary journeys. The teams were now returning to report their successes and disappointments. When the disciples had returned to the Master, they were tired, hungry, and wanted to share their experiences (Mark 6:30).  These disciples had traveled far and upon arrival, they were confronted by throngs of the curious, the hangers-on, and other would-be disciples all trying to get the attention of the Master. Pushing through the crowd they were situating themselves in the little space which remained in front of Jesus.  Each taking a seat in a semi-circle to isolate Jesus from the masses. It was their place of honor; all the others would have to wait. The oral reports were made, duly given in turn.  It was difficult to hear over the crowd’s comings and goings. Additionally, the rumbling of empty stomachs was adding to the distractions.

They had completed the stories of great and small successes and a few not so great.  Jesus listened intently and said nothing in direct response. They wanted to hear how they had scored on their first missionary efforts. They expected great accolades and praise from Jesus after recounting the fantastic things they had done.

“Come with me.” “I know you need rest and a time to recoup, but let’s take a walk first.”

They were already footsore from walking for the last two weeks or so.  Reluctantly these tired, hungry, and now frustrated disciples followed Jesus for a brisk two-mile hike down to the Sea of Galilee. Just a little stretch of the legs.  Besides, it was not time to eat lunch quite yet.

They arrived at the shoreline. The Sea edge was soft with small breaking waves. The soft breezes of the lake filled their lungs.  It was a good place to stop and rest. One by one the weary disciples sat down on the sand.

“Let’s get into the boats and to over to the other shore.”

Back on their feet they all boarded one of the boats and set sail for the other side. The wind was blowing in a direction making the journey longer than expected. Unfortunately for the missionary travelers, the word got out that they were on the move, and the people arrived at their destination first. The slow boat of disciples was slower than running around the lake.

They had been recognized and the whole of the region was alerted. Five thousand had come to see and hear Jesus. Jesus had compassion on them and started to teach.  As the words of God flowed as water upon the dusty ground the crowd was in rapt attention.

It was now late in the day and the disciples had not eaten much of anything all day.  Jesus did not show any hint of a conclusion. and with rumbling stomachs and sore feet, the disciples attracted the attention of Jesus saying, “We are in a very secluded spot and it is getting late. It would be best if you would send the crowds away so they can secure their physical needs.”

“You give them something to eat.”

They looked at Judas who was carrying the cadre’s combined treasury who simply shook his head. “That would take almost a year’s wages. Are we to spend the last of our money to feed the uninvited?”

After additional ceremony and miracles, the five thousand and the disciples were fed.

Time to move again, “Get into the boat and off you go to Bethsaida, I will meet you there.”

I get the impression from this account and many like them, that Jesus is a restless spirit.

I like the sense of God moving around. I like to think that God is already ahead of me wherever I am going, preparing the way, hoping that I will notice him in that place and that time. I also like the idea of Jesus continually on the move. He went to where the people were. And once he showed up somewhere, more people thronged to see him. The presence of Jesus was compelling, and even his detractors showed up to see what all the fuss was about.

Did the foot-sore disciples ever get their well-deserved rest?  The closest I find is in the upper room, as they were reclining at table.  Yet even then Jesus was still teaching.  He goes before us and He goes with us, and sometimes he hangs back to clean up our mess.  God is always moving.

Preaching

Teacher or Preacher

Going through Matthew again to catalog the roles of Jesus.  My list is now twenty-six and therefore I thought I must combine a few.  On the list are both preaching and teaching.  So, I ask myself, “self, what is the difference to you?” Both words have been used in the church interchangeably at times. What is the difference?  Or is there a difference?  When I hear preaching am I being taught?  So off I go, on another tangent to discover answers.

I have found information about the characteristics of both.  Audience, focus, language, motivation, and even the form of speech have been raised as the difference.  I have references to preaching teachers and teachers that have been accused of preaching.  Another reference stated that “preaching is much simpler than teaching.” 

Again, what is the difference?

Putting it all together I have found several simply ridiculous ideas.

  1.  Preaching is based on the Bible and preaching is more personal. The inference here is that preaching uses more “up to date” illustrations.  If I discover a preacher not using the Bible, I am out of there.
  2. Preaching is much more emotional, and teaching is slow and very intellectual.  Preaching is all shouts and amens.  I do not think so.  I have heard some great preachers with a very calm demeanor that were simply great.
  3. Teaching has its aim at the head, while preaching is an arrow pointing toward the heart.  But if you ask me to park my mind at the door to listen to a preacher, it is not for me.  Further, if I attend a Bible study that does not bring me to an internal, life-changing experience, they equally have missed the mark.
  4. Preaching is mostly topical and teaching is more methodical and calculated.  I can’t find that distinction in the Bible.  I read the sermon on the mount, obviously preaching, there are great topical ideas but I also see a marvelous cohesiveness to it.  When Jesus is teaching his disciples with parables they all have a specific topic but follow a pattern.
  5. Teaching must be more complicated than preaching. Teaching strains at the minutia and preaching are broad strokes. It has been said, “You can’t preach the tough stuff to new Christians, they won’t get it.”  “Teach them in Sunday School.”  But again, Jesus’ teaching to the disciples was simple.
  6. Teaching is all about relaying information, whereas preaching aims at the revelation.  The preacher is the imparter of God’s prophetic wisdom and the teacher is simply a spouter of the normal and understood.
  7. Preaching is a calling of God and anyone can teach.  Let the gifted and the well learned, ordained be the preacher and leave all else to the teacher.  As if the teacher was much lower on the religious hierarchy.  I really don’t think God sees it that way.

So what is the difference if these proposed ideas are quite askew? In the original language of the Bible, there are two different words and different meanings:  didáskalos for teacher and kēryx for preacher. 

A preacher was a herald or messenger vested with public authority, who conveyed the official messages of kings, magistrates, princes, military commanders, or who gave a public summons or demand, or a proclaimer of the divine word. Preaching is proclaiming, is the provision of the Good News. It is the call to the light.

A teacher was, according to the definition, is someone who to holds discourse with others in order to instruct them, deliver didactic discourses, impart instruction, instill doctrine, to explain a thing. Teaching is the clarification of the Good news.  It is the explanation of the Gospel. It is how to live in light.

A helpful illustration of this comes from John Piper. He pictures a herald riding into town, shouting from high atop his horse, “Hear ye! Hear ye! The Emperor has declared an amnesty to all slaves!” That, Piper says, is preaching: proclaiming the Good News, announcing something that has happened, that completely changes the situation of the listeners. But he then imagines people approaching the herald with questions. What does amnesty mean? When does this announcement take effect? Does that mean I can leave my slave master now? Will compensation be paid to masters? And so on. At that point, Piper says, you must start teaching: explaining the implications of the news, helping people with concepts and ideas they don’t understand, and telling people what they need to do in response to the proclamation.

The difference is not in form or in enthusiasm.  Not shouting with “give me an amen” thrown in once and a while.  It isn’t even a revelation versus informing. The difference is between heralding and explaining.  It is about knowledge of the offering of grace and living in that grace.

My conclusion is Jesus did both. Therefore I must be very careful when I profess to either. I must set my goal for each with the intent of the calling.

Preaching, Ramblings

Fool for Christ

I worry about what is happening to this generation. It is a generation that doesn’t know books.  The ability to read and be moved by the well-written page is slowly slipping away. Today it is all about screens, smartphones, blogs, Social Media, Kindles, and iPads. Through video games, they have raced cars, built civilizations, won wars, destroyed zombies, and killed hundreds. They communicate orally far less than any previous generation, and when they do so, they typically do it with less passion.

Is there hope for this generation to continue to get excited about the church?  To be deeply moved by a sermon or a passage in the Bible.  Does this generation know what it is like to sing heartily of the blessing of God and even shed a tear when someone finds God? How will God use this generation to fill the pulpits of our churches? 

God still calls men and women to the overwhelming responsibility of standing in a church and being the mouthpiece of God. God still uses the preaching of his Word—an oral event—to edify the church, encourage the saints, and engage the lost. Even now a sermon can not seem to be preached without a PowerPoint presentation providing the salient points.  Congregants simply can’t be trusted to take their own notes so there are fill in the blank’s puzzles in the bulletin. Are all these devices to keep attention symptoms of shortening attention spans and instant gratification?  Do we just forget it all and let the internet do it all.  The preachers there seem to have enough passion to hold even a gen Xer’s attention long enough to feel good about themselves.

Preachers don’t give up.  Be willing to go the extra mile.  Try preaching without props.  Get excited about your text.  This is the Word of God, not a five-minute podcast.  Risk being a fool for Christ.

So to preach the Word, anyone called to fill the holy desk must be willing to get completely out of the comfortable cocoon he’s built in his personality and habits, and recklessly abandon himself to risk being a fool for Christ.

Answers to questions, Bible Study, Personal, Preaching, Ramblings

How do I find intimacy with God?

Sermons just don’t do it for me anymore. For that matter the music or should I say spiritual songs, don’t do it for me either.  I have served as a preacher in five churches of various lengths and sizes.  It was overwhelming experience to which I have always accounted as both a privilege and call. To translate the difficult and make it plain and relevant is a task not to be taken lightly.  I am fully aware of the time which must be expended to reach that perfect balance between deep theology and practical understanding. It is a gift from God to both the preacher and those who submit themselves each Sunday. They come to fill their spiritual bread baskets full for the week. They depend on the preacher to fill infuse them to carry on for a little while longer.

Years have come and gone.  Hundreds of messages, prayer meeting studies, Sunday School lessons and Bible studies have been completed. I continually study, build and prepare messages.  Weekly Bible study for the men in our church requires just as much time and preparation as preaching; or maybe even more.  And if the truth be known, these studies are more preaching than a shared study. A few faithful shows up each week and seem to be challenged.  Some are even studying ahead.  One even told me that the studies has caused him to dig deeper.  

As I recollect on the nearer present, I am not quite as enthused.  I don’t get much out of the messages as presented in church.  Sure, there is evidence of study and all the video clips are well placed, but they are not doing it for me. There is nothing new.  There is nothing challenging.  I am easily distracted and the slow pace of the sermon allows my mind to wander.  I guess I would rather read a well thought out argument, than to listen to one more three point, fill in the blank sermon.

I connect to God by working. My connection to God is more focused and more intimate when I am doing for Him. I find true joy in study and passing on that knowledge, that wisdom on to others.  It is not enough to just accumulate a vast amount of facts and illustrations.  There is a true joy in helping someone else to light the fire of their own intellectual pursuits.

So, I am at a quandary.  Do I just keep on going to church to be seen by my brothers and sisters?  Does the effort equal any reward?  I can well fill my own basket.  I share from my basket and it never seems to run out.  I feel an inner satisfaction with the supply by God.  I read voraciously the great preachers; I am challenged by the great hymns of the church.  I long for a church which challenges me more and coddles me less.

Where do I find intimacy with God? It is in my books, in my study, in the crafting of words to would challenge others.  I guess that is good enough.