Eldership and Preachers

From time to time for various reasons Elders are going to need to find a Preacher to serve the congregation. Elders should not be caught by surprise by this and have to scramble around at the last minute to trying to find someone. Elders should develop a list of Preacher prospects and develop a relationship with those Preachers.

I had a Preacher tell me that he got plenty of offers but invariably declined because he was not familiar with a particular congregation. So its not just developing a wish list of Preachers its also about investing in a relationship.

Since I have been at Parkway we have had six men preach for the congregation. The longest one was here for thirty years.

Many years ago when I was a Deacon and the Elders were looking for a man an Elder told me… “Rob, we don’t want to look for a guy that is looking for a position… we want to find a guy that is doing a good job somewhere and make a run at him”.

Also an Elder told me years ago that you don’t want a guy that stays with a congregation for a few years and then moves on. The same Elder told me that we should take a look at all the congregations where the man has formerly preached to see how they were doing. Were the congregations growing or declining?

At Parkway we have in the past brought in younger Preachers to preach three lessons on a Sunday. They didn’t know it but they were interviewing for a future job. In fact anytime we have a Gospel Meeting its like a secret job interview. That’s one way to develop a prospective list of Preacher candidates.

FYI, there are no perfect Elders and there are no perfect Preachers either. There is such a thing in baseball as a “Five Tool Player”… hitting for average, hitting for power, base running speed, throwing arm strength and fielding ability.

Generally a “Five Tool Preacher’ is good in the pulpit, good in classroom settings, is hospitable and is good at personal work. Those guys are as rare as hen’s teeth. If you have one hold onto him.

A Preacher told me once that a lot of times a Preacher will move to another congregation because that’s the only way a Preacher can get a raise. So often times, if Elders are not taking care of their talent the talent will move on. The Elders helped create the problem through neglect.

I also had a Preacher tell me that most Preachers he knew were on some kind of psychological medication… like maybe they couldn’t live up to the congregations expectations and were continually criticized with little positive reinforcement and it had an effect.

When the congregation selects Elders they by commandment have to look at the behavior of the Elder candidate’s family… do they respect his headship, etc. Makes sense to apply that rule when considering a Preacher as well.

Elders most important work is the local congregation and the Preacher position is vitally important to the health of a congregation. Let’s not take that lightly and lets not shoot ourselves in the foot by neglecting out current Preachers and lets also be prepared and not get caught short when it comes time to find a new preacher.

Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ

All my life I have been taught that as Christians we don’t celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because… no one knows the exact date when Jesus was born and there is no authority in the Holy scriptures to celebrate Jesus’ birthday… we celebrate his death (Lord’s Supper) not his birth.

These arguments began to fall apart for me especially when one of my employees who visited services asked about why we didn’t celebrate Christmas and I trotted out my well rehearsed answer… well know one really knows when Jesus was born so we can’t celebrate it. She responded… I don’t know when my dog was born but we still have a birthday celebration for him.

Then I got to considering just what happened when Jesus was born… an Angel of the Lord appeared to Shepherds and told them about the birth of Jesus and they went to go see the newborn Christ. Their experience caused them to glorify and praise God at the sight of the new born baby boy. On that same occasion (along with the Angel) a “multitude of the heavenly host” praised God.

God led the wise men from the east with a star to go see the newborn King. At the sight of baby Jesus they fell down on their knees and worshipped him and gave gifts… gold, frankincense and myrrh.

So it does seem to me that their is authority to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. God (after all) orchestrated it. The celebrants of the birth of Jesus were the Angel, the Heavenly Host, Shepherds and wise men. Their celebration included words and acts of praise and gifts.

So in my opinion there is general authority to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We are at liberty however in regards to the specifics of how that celebration plays out.

In Corpus Christi, beginning in November, 93.9 am radio plays nothing but Christmas music until after Christmas. When I hear “Silent Night”, “Oh Holy Night” and the “First Noel” my emotions are stirred thinking about the birth of my Lord and Savior and I usually join in with the singing. What a wonderful thing.

I wonder if Jesus would be offended if in Heaven one day I knelt before his throne and sang “Oh Holy Night” to Him?

Jesus: Son and Big Brother

Mary and Joseph had at least seven children together; Jesus (the oldest), James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and sisters (Matthew 13:55). More children if Jesus had more than two sisters.

Imagine the dilemma of Mary and Joseph… do you have a conversation with Jesus’ brothers and sisters about Mary’s impregnation and the events that took place at Jesus’ birth or do you leave that topic alone?

Apparently they chose not to tell Jesus’ siblings because there is no evidence that the siblings believed in Jesus until after his resurrection. The real question is did Joseph and Mary have those conversations with Jesus?

My guess is that Mary and Joseph (especially in Jesus’ formative years) never had that conversation with Jesus.

Would it be intimidating having a son who you knew to be the future Messiah? Would you be worried about showing favoritism? How could you suppress those feelings so you don’t do a parental disservice to your other children?

Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in body and wisdom, i.e. he didn’t have instantaneous knowledge and wisdom. It grew in him as he grew.

Philippians 2 states that Jesus “emptied himself" (of his deity). Just how much did he empty himself? All of his deity or some of his deity? Could Jesus have performed miracles before his Baptism and his reception of the Holy Spirit? My guess is that he could not and even if he could it wasn’t the right time to do so.

Consider that Joseph must have died at some point. He might have gotten sick and died or he might have just died abruptly making Mary a widow. Joseph was the only earthly father Jesus had ever known. That event must have been very traumatic. Certainly Jesus would have cried and shared tears with his mother, brothers and sisters. Nothing binds a family together like the loss of the patriarch of the family.

Here’s the question… if Jesus had the power to heal or restore life prior to his baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit then why didn’t he do so for Joseph? Why like at the wedding feast didn’t Mary say… do it… save him?

My guess is Jesus had to lead a perfectly normal human life (including the loss of a parent) to be “tempted in every way that we are yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15) and that must mean Jesus emptied himself of his deity (Philippians 2) and his power to work miracles.

Jesus had at least six brothers and sisters. I suspect he never played the deity card with any of them or with his earthly parents. His true nature was ultimately revealed when he was resurrected and seated in glory at the right side of God the Father. Then Jesus’ brothers and sisters could clearly see the deity of their brother and like Mary become believers.

When did Satan Know?

I was wondering the other day just when Satan figured out that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God. The case can be made that Satan didn’t know until Jesus was Baptized, received the Holy Spirit and was announced by God that He was his beloved Son.

Certainly in the revealed narrative of Jesus’ early life Satan is not mentioned even once... not once. One might think that if Satan knew Jesus was the Messiah that his attempts at temptation might have occurred sooner than when Jesus was thirty years old.

So either Satan didn’t know who Jesus really was or God was protecting Jesus from Satan.

What we do know for sure about Satan was that he really didn’t understand God’s plan or the nature of Jesus’ Messiahship. If Satan had known he would never have been complicit in manipulating people like Judas to effect the death of Jesus Christ.

Satan had great delight seeing Jesus tortured and dying on the cross. It was a really good day for him but when God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right side (in great triumph and victory) and poured his Holy Spirit upon all believers Satan’s day went from “good” to disastrous. Sad Satan.

Jesus’ first thirty or so years of life were normal and uncomplicated by Satan but his last three years (or so) of life had Satan actively campaigning against him… campaigning in a war of futility. Satan can never win against God and he can’t win against us either if we have God’s Holy Spirit protecting us.

Jesus vs. Darkness and the Law of Moses

John 1 introduces several themes that are expanded upon throughout the rest of John’s Gospel.

Things like… Jesus (the Light) came into a world enveloped in darkness. He brought “life” into that world and the “life” was the “light” of all men. To those who accepted it and believed they acquired the right to become sons of God. To those who rejected that light (including Jesus’ own people… the Jews) they lost that right. Keep in mind those in darkness included followers of the Law of Moses.

John 1 is personified in John 9.

Consider the man born blind. He was literally in darkness because he was blind. Jesus gave him vision and for the first time he saw light and believed in Jesus the light and the giver of light. According to John 1 he became a son of God.

But there is another character (or characters) in John 9… the Pharisees because they too were exposed to the “Light”. But the Pharisees were different than the blind man. They couldn’t swallow that miracle. They chewed and chewed on the idea that Jesus actually performed a “sign” and ended up rejecting Jesus the Light because it didn’t square with their view of the Law of Moses. You see… Jesus worked that “sign” on a Sabbath Day.

So they rejected the Light and instead of becoming Sons of God became Sons of Hell.

The Gospels are full of the Light of Jesus Christ… read them, study them and accept the Light so you too may be Sons (and daughters) of God.

Choose Honor

When considering the death of early disciples who were murdered viciously we think about people like John the baptist (Imprisoned and beheaded), Stephen (stoned to death) James the Apostle (beheaded), etc.

Here’s the thing… everyone is going to die… everyone. But very few of us get to choose how we die… it’s always some level of surprise.

Jesus’ disciples knew they that they would all die violent deaths (because of their faith in Jesus Christ). They chose to die that way.

They weren’t going to die in bed of organ failure or some infectious disease. They wouldn’t die accidentally in a chariot crash. They wouldn’t die of cancer or of Alzheimer’s disease…. they would die through the hands of violent men.

What honor is there in dying due to natural causes after all? Almost none. But living a life for Jesus Christ and giving up that life in a way that mimics Jesus’ death would be a very honorable death.

If you ask most people how they would like to die many would say they would like to live to a ripe old age and die in their sleep with no pain.

I would like to live to a ripe old age as well but if I could choose how I would die I wish I could go back in a time machine and be nailed to a cross right next to Jesus and at his death and mine enter into Paradise with my Lord and Savior holding my hand.

Dying with Jesus would be a death of the highest honor. There is none higher.

The disciples manner of death was chosen for them and they accepted it with gladness. We can’t choose how we will die but we can choose how we will live and how we choose to live also brings great honor no matter how we die.

Choose honor.

What Did Nicodemus Know?

In John 3 we read of a Pharisee named Nicodemus coming to Jesus and making the statement… “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God because no one can do the signs that you do”

Before we go any further with this lets go back and see what Nicodemus knew that might have prompted this visit and statement. Undoubtedly Nicodemus knew of the teachings of John the Baptist who was preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the Kingdom.

In addition, in the preceding verses we have record of Jesus being in Jerusalem at the Passover. Nicodemus may have himself witnessed Jesus “cleansing” the Temple. Nicodemus must have heard of Jesus prophesying the destruction of the Temple and Nicodemus knew of the “signs” or miracles that Jesus performed at the Passover.

So when Nicodemus states to Jesus…

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God because no one can do the signs that you do” He is really asking… Jesus are you the Messiah and are you about to establish your Kingdom?

(Keep in mind Nicodemus has a faulty premise of what the Kingdom would look like)

Nicodemus’ inferred question dovetails exactly with Jesus’ answer. Because in Jesus’ answer he gives details about the coming of the Kingdom and it’s nature and Jesus’ Messiah-ship.

Namely…

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus the Messiah) that whosoever believeth on him (condition of entry) should not perish but have eternal life (nature of Kingdom). John 3:16

Sometimes like Nicodemus we may not be smart enough to ask exactly the right question (and Jesus understands that) but Jesus is patient and his answers are always simple and understandable.

Pray for understanding and let not your hearts be troubled.

Just How Soon is Jesus Coming and What Should We Do?

The verbiage in the New Testament concerning the coming of Jesus was that it was to be soon. From our perspective in the year 2023 the coming of the Lord was not “soon” in fact we’re still waiting on it and it seems rather “long” in coming.

Consider how you might act if the Lord sent a message and said specifically that in exactly one month he would come to pass judgment on the world. Maybe he validated those prophetic words with a sign… maybe as a sign God cured all the sick and suspended death of all believers.

So it’s the real deal. What would your life look like in those last thirty days? How would the 5, 2 or 1 talent Christian behave those last thirty days?

- probably might start attending services better… even Bible classes

- might request of the Elders that we assemble every single day

- we might quit our jobs and spend more time with loved ones

- we might spend some time convincing non-believers that Jesus is real and worthy

- we might decide to empty our bank accounts and give to the poor and needy or lay it at the feet of the Elders

- we might go look up anyone whom we have had an issue with and either forgive them or apologize to them

- I personally would start eating ice cream every day. Lol

So after thinking about what we might do let’s take a closer look at what the New Testament Christians did when they heard that Jesus was coming back “soon”.

- They started selling their lands and laying the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles.

- They were with each other continually.

- When the Greek Christians heard that the Judean Christians didn’t have enough food they emptied their bank accounts and sent financial relief to them.

- They changed their manner of living.

- Some of them quit working

- They walked into Roman Coliseums and gave up their lives to wild beasts rather than recant their faith in Jesus Christ.

If we thought Jesus was coming soon... say in a month or two it would certainly cause us to change our behavior just like New Testament Christians changed their behavior at the prospect of Jesus coming "soon".

I don’t know how “soon” its going to be before Jesus comes again to judge the world but I do know that it’s sooner than it was over 2000 years ago. Think about that and act accordingly.

The Samaritan Woman and Getting to Know Jesus

The Samaritan woman had not had an easy life. By this point in her life she had already had five husbands. Maybe she was widowed from all five but probably her husbands had given her a bill of divorcement. Either way she had hard times… losing or being rejected by loved ones.

The good news was that at least for a while she had been shiny enough to attract a mate but by this point in her life that shine had faded and she was living with a man and seemingly neither one of them were interested in being married.

Plus she had to walk from the town every day and perhaps several times a day to draw water out of a well and carry it back to her home and cook and care for that man she was living with.

And then as she walked to the well (about noon-time) to get more water her day just got a little worse… a Jew was sitting at the well. Of course she knew the arrogance and condescension of a Jewish man. She prepared herself not to even be acknowledged… not a howdy, not a smile, not even a look of acknowledgment.

And then the Jew spoke… “Give me a drink”. My mother would have said… “what’s the magic word?” Of course not what she expected at all and she asked basically… I thought Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans especially Samaritan women?

Then the Jew said… if you knew who i was you could ask and I would give you “living” water. The Samaritan woman was a little like Nicodemus who took Jesus literally when he was informed that he would need to be born again. She thought he was talking about literal living water. But that’s Jesus… always talking with a little mystery.

Ultimately the woman says… okay (Jew) I’ll take some living water.

Then the Jew told her to go get her husband and revealed to her that he knew she had had 5 husbands and was living now with a man who she was not even married to.

The stunned woman rightfully concluded that (at least minimally) the Jew was a prophet and wanting quickly to be removed from the subject of her marriages changed the subject to the key religious difference between Samaritans and Jews… who was right on the correct place to worship… Samaritans or Jews?

She had to be surprised at the Jew’s answer. She expected him to say “Jerusalem” perhaps in a condescending manner but instead he said neither and introduced the concept of worshipping in spirit and truth.

The woman dismissed Jesus by saying… I guess we’ll know one day when the Messiah comes (end of discussion) and then Jesus said… “I am the Messiah”

Here’s what the woman’s problem was… she didn’t know who Jesus was. She saw a Jew and looked at him through Samaritan colored glasses and Samaritan colored prejudices.

But as she came to know Jesus her foregone conclusions and prejudices were shattered.

Many people today are just like that Samaritan woman because they don’t know Jesus. They may be satisfied with the spiritual pablum they are being spoon fed and neglect to do the study necessary to get to know Jesus.

Don’t be married to foregone conclusions like the Samaritan woman was. Investigate Jesus in the scriptures to understand just who he is and then maybe you'll be ready to drink "living water"

Steve Hamlyn's Funeral

I got news of the death of an old client that I considered to be a friend even though I hadn’t see him in awhile or even very often. The news has troubled me ever since and even after the funeral I still think of him. I think about him a lot. I guess you could say that I’m a little surprised about those feelings.

Steve Hamlyn typified a lot of what I like about South Texas. He worked in the oil field all his life and on the side he had a place where he raised Santa Gertrudis cattle and that’s how I got to know Steve… helping him “work” his cattle from time to time. I had forgotten that I had taken my son with me to help but Steve would routinely ask me how Walker was doing.

Anytime you saw Steve he would be wearing his cowboy hat and cowboy boots and wearing a khaki long sleeved field shirt with a skoal can in the pocket and taking a dip from time to time. Steve talked kind of slow and was quick to laugh at a joke. He also wrote poetry… he was a cowboy poet.

Once we quit doing large animal work I didn’t see Steve that much. Most of the time when we ran into each other it was at one of the local BBQ joints. I was always glad to see Steve and it seemed like he was always glad to see me.

Steve and I both liked Texas history. His great great grandfather was a Texas Ranger and my great great grandfather served under a famous Texas Ranger during the Civil War. We could talk Texas history.

When I attended the funeral at one of the local Baptist churches it was about what I had expected… a parking lot full of pickup trucks and attendees wearing hats, boots and blue jeans. There were also four Veterinarians in the audience of about 300. Dennis Denman, Pancho Hubert, Tobin Pennington and myself.

I had known Steve for a long time but always wished I had known him a little better and after the funeral I thought I did. His daughter got up to speak and she reminded me of my daughter… she was articulate and spoke well and was at ease with the audience and put the audience at ease and just did a fine all around job of describing her daddy. It made me wish that I knew her a little better too.

I don’t know what God’s judgment day is going to look like but if God asked me to sit next to him (maybe on his left side) and when Steve Hamlyn’s turn came up that maybe Jehovah God would turn to me and ask… Rob what do you think about Steve Hamlyn? I guess I would respond… Lord God Almighty… if we can’t let Steve in who can we let in?

Jesus Casts Out a Widow

A while back I had an elderly widow inform me that she had sinned and had prayed for forgiveness but wanted my opinion on if she needed to make a public confession of sin to the whole congregation?

I asked her… what was the sin? She said she had been making cookies and other items and was selling them to the members to supplement her income. The church building was where the goods were being exchanged.

I then asked her… why do you think that is a sin? She said because Jesus threw out the money changers, etc. out of the Jewish Temple and charged those involved with making the Temple a den of robbers.

I told her I didn’t think the Jewish Temple was parallel to the church. That God didn’t dwell in a man made Temple anymore but dwelt in his people.

So just what did Jesus have in mind when he cast out those providers of sacrifices and money changers from the Jewish Temple?

Let me suggest that those activities in and of themselves were legitimate activities that facilitated Temple worship.

Apparently they had taken it too far and were taking monetary advantage of the worshippers.

My guess is that if there was an impoverished widow on the Temple grounds begging for money or selling a few small items to earn money that the dead last thing Jesus would do would be to call her a robber and thrown her out on her ear.

Note with me this verse 1 Timothy 5:9-10.

“Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man. Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.”

This verse is a verse that obligates the church to care for a “widow in deed” and gives qualifications for a woman being a “widow in deed”

This particular widow who I am referring to would definitely meet those qualifications.

So… if the church is required to assist her for her financial needs… cannot the church also help a widow in that same regard by allowing her to to sell (or deliver) a few homemade cookies even in the church building? Isn’t that love for her and by extension love for God? I told her I didn’t think she had sinned.

Take Away Our Temple and Nation

“If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.” John 11:48

This passage illustrates the mind set of the jewish leaders. If they let Jesus live and continue teaching the Romans would come and take over the nation and the priesthood… they were convinced of that. It’s not our purpose to investigate what led them to come to that conclusion but it is our purpose to ask what were the consequences of their reasoning.

Of course they killed Jesus and might have fooled themselves into believing that through that act they had preserved their position and nation.

However the hand writing on the wall was that they were doomed for that very act of killing Jesus.

You see kind reader God punishes the wicked and there was no greater act of wickedness than killing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God punished the Jews in AD 70 with the very thing that they feared the most… the Romans taking away their place and nation.

But not only did the Romans take away the Temple… they razed it to the ground.

Not only did the Romans take the Jewish nation but they eliminated the High Priesthood so that it was forever gone.

Not only did the Romans take away the Jewish nation but they virtually exterminated the Jewish people and took the survivors into captivity and made them slaves.

In John 11:48 they were afraid that if they didn’t take Jesus down that the Romans would take over. Instead they killed Jesus and lost… everything. Far worse than what they had imagined.

What will you do with Jesus and just what are the consequences of rejecting him? Be careful… be very careful.

Camels and Early Inheritances

I was talking to an old friend the other day who I hadn’t seen in a while and as we were catching up on each others lives he mentioned that he had lost someone who he was very close to. His friend was about the same age as him and seemed to be in good shape but he got a call that his close friend had died suddenly and without warning.

As my friend was relating this to me he teared up a little bit and continued that it made him take a long look at his own life. He hadn’t started out with very much but at this point he had some wealth just sitting around in the bank not doing anything at all.

He told me that he decided to give his three kids an early inheritance. They were going to inherit all he had anyway so he figured he would help them out early.

He said all three were hard workers and respectful and good people and had given him nine grandkids but like a lot of folks they had accumulated a lot of debt. So he went to the bank and had three checks made out in their names that enabled them to pay all their debts off.

My friend told me as he was signing the checks he thought his heart stopped three times and maybe he should call EMS but he made it through okay.

He told me it was a far, far better thing than anything else he had ever, ever done. His kids were shocked and hugged his neck and cried and he said he cried too.

As I thought about all this I thought… what a powerful lesson and as I looked at my friend I thought I saw a dromedary camel just walk through the eye of a needle without either of his sides touching.

The Samaritan Woman, Jesus and Living Water

The Samaritan woman had not had an easy life. By this point in her life she had already had five husbands. Maybe she was widowed from all five but probably her husbands had given her a bill of divorcement. Either way she had hard times… losing or being rejected by loved ones.

The good news was that at least for a while she had been shiny enough to attract a mate but by this point in her life that shine had faded and she was living with a man and seemingly neither one of them were interested in being married to each other.

Plus she had to walk from the city every day and perhaps several times a day to draw water out of a well and carry it back to her home and cook and care for that man she was living with.

And then as she walked to the well (about noon-time) to get more water her day just got a little worse… a Jew was sitting at the well. Of course she knew the arrogance and condescension of a Jewish man. She prepared herself not to even be acknowledged… not a howdy, not a smile, not even a look of acknowledgment.

And then the Jew spoke… “Give me a drink”. My mother would have said… “what’s the magic word?” Of course not what she expected at all and she asked basically… I thought Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans especially Samaritan women?

Then the Jew said… if you knew who I was you could ask and I would give you “living” water. The Samaritan woman was a little like Nicodemus who took Jesus literally when he was informed that he would need to be born again. She thought he was talking about literal living water. But that’s Jesus always talking with a little mystery.

Ultimately the woman says… okay (Jew) I’ll take some living water.

Then the Jew told her to go get her husband and revealed to her that he knew that she had had 5 husbands and was living now with a man who she was not even married to.

The woman rightfully concluded that (at least minimally) he was a prophet and wanting quickly to be removed from the subject of her marriages changed the subject to the key religious difference between Samaritans and Jews and asked… who is right on the correct place to worship… Samaritans or Jews?

Of course Jesus correctly said the Jews are right and she said I guess we’ll know one day when the Messiah comes (end of discussion) and Jesus said… “I am the Messiah”

Here’s what the woman’s problem was… she didn’t know who Jesus was. She saw a Jew and looked at him through Samaritan colored glasses and Samaritan prejudices. But as she slowly and steadily came to know who she was talking to she could finally see the Jew as Jesus the Messiah.

We have the same problem today. Many think they know who Jesus is because they may have heard a few things about him and yet… never truly experienced him.

I was talking to someone the other day who was brought up in a religious household and has pretty strong opinions about Jesus and Christianity but admitted to me that they had never read the Bible.

Let me suggest this if you haven’t read and understood the Bible than you can’t know Jesus… you’re just like that Samaritan woman who could barely see past the end of her nose (spiritually).

The first step to receiving living water is understanding our unworthiness. The second step is having faith in Jesus.

Small Investments in Time

Julie and I just got back from attending our 50th High School reunion.

When I was a junior I noticed a guy sitting in the back of class who didn’t seem to have any friends and I guess we’ve probably all been in that circumstance before so after class I introduced myself to him and started sitting next to him in class.

I soon found out why Albert didn’t have many friends… he kind of had a negative outlook on life in general but I ignored that and Albert and I became friends. Not the kind of friends who hung out or did things after school because by that time I was dating Julie… just school friends.

After we graduated from High School Julie and I got married and went to Texas A&M and Albert went to Texas A&M as well and joined the Corps of Cadets. I would see Albert on campus every once in a while but it seemed to me that he didn’t really care to have me as a friend anymore. After all he was in the Corps now and making new friends. I understood that but still it kind of bothered me and I never forgot that.

Fast forward 50 years and Julie and I celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. I happened to look in the Wedding book Julie compiled and looked at the gift section and there was Albert’s name… he had given us a $10 gift certificate to a local department store. I had forgotten that. Keep in mind… Julie and I eloped and we didn’t get as many gifts as some. We didn’t start out with much (I'm not complaining) but it was enough

h.

As our 50th class reunion approached and people were sharing emails and such I got an email from Albert asking if we would be there. Last night at the gathering I saw Albert and his wife come in and Julie and I met her and we started visiting. Albert’s wife said kind of a curious thing to me… “Albert talks about you all the time”. I didn’t think much of it and thought it was just kind of a polite thing that people say.

We sat at the same table together and Albert and I exchanged cell phone numbers and had our picture made together and as we were saying our good byes Albert’s wife looked at me and said again… “I mean it… Albert talks about you all the time”.

I don’t really know what to think about that except that some 51 years ago i saw a guy that didn’t seem to fit in with everyone else and decided to do something about it.

What a small thing that seemed to be at the time but how huge that small investment turned out to be for both Albert and myself.

I don’t know about you but I don’t think it takes glasses to see that God’s hand was in that.

How great is his Kingdom!

Easy Worship

During that short spell when we weren’t assembling because of COVID I found out I could get a lot done and getting things done is my love language. I didn’t have to prep for an assembly. I could be outside doing what I do then come in for about an hour and watch services on line, take our Lord’s supper and then go on doing the things that I do.

I could even watch on line services at any time of the day. How convenient and how easy and how much more productive I was doing my Rob-things.

I could still do that because we still have on line services.

In our Veterinary business I’ll see a client who is really attached to a pet and ask them if someone offered them $10,000 for their pet would they take it? Of course they wouldn’t and neither would I.

And you couldn’t pay me $10,000 to stay at home and watch church services on line either.

You see I missed my fellow members,the smiling happy faces, the kids playing in the courtyard, lifting up of our voices in song, the prayers… all the things we do TOGETHER!

Imagine if you were in Heaven living in one of the many mansions and you were flipping channels on your heavenly TV trying to find the channel with Jehovah on his throne instead of being with Jehovah?

Here’s the facts I wouldn’t take a million dollars for one of our pets or take a million dollars (from Satan) to miss services. There… I said it.

The Handicapped

What would happen if you saw a handicapped person hobbling around and you criticized them for being too slow or getting in your way and you talked bad about them yelled at them? That wouldn’t seem right would it?

What about folks who have behaviors that are annoying like those with quick tempers or who have the habit of blaming others for their own mistakes or laziness or complainers, etc.?

I tend to think of folks with behavior issues as also being handicapped.

Maybe life has handicapped them emotionally and they are a product of their experiences. Maybe they can’t help themselves for their behaviors and it won’t do a bit of good if we call them names (morons, idiots, etc.) or even think of them in terms like that.

Here’s the thing… we may not be able to heal the physically handicapped but God’s word can do wonders for the emotionally crippled of the world. That healing process begins with his doctor/soldiers having the right attitude.

Even if the emotionally handicapped can’t be healed... can we blame them and treat them poorly for a handicap?

Restoration: Gentle and Not So Gentle

Galatians 6:1, “Brothers. If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness…”

So the question is what is meant by a “spirit of gentleness”?

A spirit of gentleness might describe Priscilla and Aquilla’s action of correcting the teaching of Apollos (Acts 18:26). They took Apollos to the side and explained.

One example closer to the context of Galatians was by the writer himself.

Paul upon seeing the Apostle Peter’s sinful conduct didn’t waste any time and “opposed him to his face”… not just explained as in the case of Apollos. Paul addressed his fellow Apostle in a public fashion before all... not in a private fashion as was done with Apollos. (Galatians 2:11-14)

So this thing about “restoring in a spirit of gentleness” is a truism and generally what we should do. However circumstances might modify our action of restoration.

For instance was this the first occurrence of a sin or the one hundredth?

In such cases gentleness would be the aroma for the first effort but somewhere along the way sterner stuff is going to be required or our efforts are going to have the stench of futility.

Church News Reach and Top Articles

Old Clothes, Old Wine Skins and Old Moses

No one patches old clothes with a piece of fabric from new clothes because it destroys the new clothes and doesn’t look good on the old clothes.

No one puts new unfermented wine in an old wine container because as the wine ferments and expands it will destroy the old container and the wine will be spilled and lost.

New unfermented wine must be put into new containers that are designed to expand when the wine ferments and expands.

The old clothes are the Mosaic Law. You don’t tear up the Law of Jesus Christ (the Law of Love) and use it to try to patch and fix the Mosaic Law. You ruin both that way. Get rid of the old garment and wear the new garment.

The new unfermented wine is the Law of Jesus Christ. It can’t ferment and taste good if it is stored within the container of the Law Of Moses because the Law of Moses is too small to contain the Law of Jesus Christ.

The container of the Law of Moses was the nation of Israel

The container of the Law of Jesus Christ is the whole world. And thats’s a wine that tastes far superior to the wine of the Law of Moses.

So don’t try as some tried to make the Law of Jesus Christ a patch on the Law of Moses and don’t try to hem Jesus in with the Law of Moses because he’ll just naturally break out.

Let Jesus be unique like he is and let him stand on his own.

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Put on the dandiest garment there is and taste the drink that tastes like no other.

What Day did Jonah...

I was talking to my son-in-law the other day and he said on the way home from church he was quizzing the kids about the Bible. Finally my six year old grandson said “let me ask you one” and asked… “what day of the week did the whale spit Jonah out?”

When I heard that I was amazed that a six year old would ask the kind of question that I had never even thought of before. And especially amazed since that information (day of the week) was not included in the Bible record.

But then I remembered that Jesus said this…

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet” (For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth). “The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12:39–41)

Perhaps as Jesus was in the grave three days and then was raised on the first day of the week that perhaps Jonah also three days in the belly of the whale was delivered out on a Sunday.

Levi and Simon

The first recorded meal for Jesus and his disciples was recorded in Luke chapter 5. Jesus had just called Levi ( publican) to be his disciple. Levi in his great joy prepared a great feast for Jesus and invited all his Publican friends to eat with them.

Of course Publicans were despised by the Pharisees who would have nothing at all to do with them and probably accounted for Levi’s great joy in being noticed by the great Prophet Jesus of Nazareth. My guess is that Publicans loved collecting taxes from Pharisees and might even have over taxed them in their glee.

Of course when the Pharisees saw the great Jesus of Nazareth eating with the Publicans they judged and criticized him (according to their standards) implying that a great Prophet would not associate with sinful and traitorous Publicans (who probably loved to spend Pharisee gold.)

The second recorded meal in the Gospel of Luke recorded is in chapter 7 when Jesus was invited into the home of a Pharisee named Simon. A Pharisee was quite the opposite of a Publican. Among other surprising things that happened was a woman who was a great sinner invited herself into Simon’s home and attended to Jesus. Now Simon is associated with a sinner in his own home.

Perhaps she recognized that Simon wasn’t much of a host and didn’t afford Jesus with even a minimal level of hospitality… Simon didn’t greet Jesus with the traditional kiss nor even supplied the basics necessities associated with cleaning his feet before a meal.

Simon despised the woman and it would have never crossed his mind to invite her into his home. He didn’t see anything in her… not even any potential for future righteousness. He was not moved by her tears or her or by any of her emotions. He couldn’t see past her sin.

So why was Jesus’ first meal with a Publican (Levi) and his second meal with a Pharisee (Simon)?

Certainly Jesus demonstrated non-biased hospitality by accepting the invitations of Levi and Simon… no matter their occupations or pseudo religiosity.

Certainly Levi was the better host. Undoubtably he greeted Jesus with the customary kiss and afforded him with the necessities of foot washing (if not washing Jesus’ feet himself.)

Levi did not camp outside of Simon’s house to look for an opportunity to critique Jesus… like why would Jesus associate with those who prayed on street corners, etc. he was too humble for that and he had faith that Jesus could rise to any occasion.

Simon however was not humble and maybe felt himself to be superior to Jesus. He may have even been one of the Pharisees who stood outside Levi’s home criticizing Jesus.

I suppose one of the lessons of these two suppers was to illustrate what true hospitality looks like and the honor that a hospitable person offers his guest… even a guest of the most humblest station.

What would happen if we invited the preacher into our home and he brought a nasty homeless person with him? Would we shun the homeless guy or wash his feet?

I think Jesus ate in the homes of a tax collector and a Pharisee to illustrate that he cared for all people as so should we all.

Amazed and Afraid

In Luke 5 we find that Simon Peter is amazed and afraid when Jesus performs a miracle. Keep in mind that Peter had already seen Jesus cast out demons, heal the sick (including his mother-in-law) and cure all kinds of illness.

And then after Peter had spent all night fishing and was exhausted and frustrated (at catching no fish). Jesus asked Peter to take him out in his boat so he could continue teaching the multitudes. Of course the tired Peter obliged.

When Jesus had finished his teaching and Peter was ready to go home. Jesus instructed Peter to take his boat out and throw out his freshly cleaned nets back in the water. You know the story… Peter caught so many fish that his nets were breaking and both boats began to sink.

Peter drops to his knees in front of Jesus and uttered these immortal words… “depart from me Jesus because I am a sinful man”. The scripture records two emotions of Peter… he was “amazed” and “afraid”.

Of course Peter had seen some miracles performed by Jesus but they didn’t affect him personally and the text does not record that he was amazed by them or afraid or dropped to his knees in front of Jesus.

I guess the fear came from Peter seeing so many fish that his gratitude at that blessing turned to fear when he was so blessed that he suffered from the shock of Jesus’ power and was awed and afraid in the presence of one who could destroy with blessings.

He was also afraid because he felt he didn’t belong in the presence of a Man of God.

Imagine how Peter must have felt when he went fishing with God’s word and 3000 jumped into water to be baptized… no amazement recorded… no fear… no dropping to his knees. Peter was thoroughly prepared by Jesus.

Don’t ever get tired in well doing… always be ready to heed the words of Jesus and “cast your nets on the other side”

Jesus' Two Births

Jesus when he died was just as pure on day he died as he was on the day he was born. How pure was that? Imagine Jesus on the day he was born, brand new to the world… when he uttered his first cry and opened his physical eyes to see the world for the first time.

Born to parents of humble station in a place that was fit only for animals… a manger. Born to a young woman who was barely removed from girlhood herself. Shepherds and wise men traveling to see what? A new born baby born to a teenager who even if he couldn’t care for himself still possessed the great hope that one day he would care for the whole world.

Just what did the shepherds and the wise men know? Probably not many details but just enough to know that God had sent someone very special into the world.

Look through the eyes of Mary. Here was the child that she was promised…born like no other… without the assistance of sexual union with a man. She, like the shepherds and wise men, had few details but just enough information to know that God was blessing Israel but certainly not enough to understand that God was blessing not only Israel but the whole world.

Mary got to view everything about Jesus his childhood, his growth to manhood and his three year ministry and his death.

Undoubtedly when she heard the Jews had finally captured Jesus she waited in agony and anticipation outside of where they held her son. Undoubtedly she viewed him stripped and torn carrying his cross to Golgotha, saw the nails hammered into him and saw the cross lifted up and jolted into the ground.

And she saw that in his last moments on earth that he thought not of himself but of her and was concerned about her when he asked John, the beloved disciple, to care for his mother.

There weren’t any shepherds and wise men present at his death like there were at his birth. Just shocked and stunned disciples and the ruffians and the bullies and the profane. Not rejoicing that God had blessed the world with a savior but rejoicing with Satan in their villainy and hatred.

Mary saw everything. She saw Jesus take his first breath and his last. She heard his first cry as a baby and she heard his last spoken words before he died. She saw all those who were his greatest friends and who rejoiced in his company disappear into the crowd and pretend they didn’t even know hims. And she saw hatred. She saw it all.

And when she saw her first born son fade into the throes of death she saw that he was just as innocent as the day he was born. But the world was far from innocent because the world lost its innocence when it killed God’s gift to them.

Several years ago I was riding my bike going down hill on the side walk. I failed to see a three inch lift in the concrete and when my front tire hit it the bike stopped and I was catapulted off the front end and face planted into the concrete. Even though I was wearing a helmet my face was messed up pretty bad. As I laid there in agony and cars drove by not stopping to help, I got my phone and called Julie to come get me and I snapped a photo of my face. Sometime later I showed that photo to my mother. After she looked at it she quickly turned her head and wouldn’t look at it again. She said it hurt her to see me hurt.

I imagine it hurt Mary to look at Jesus in his agony and suffering too… but she did because I have all ideas that she knew it wouldn’t be the last she would see of him.

She had witnessed with the pain of child birth her son being born and she witnessed with a far greater pain his birth into eternity and on both days Jesus was just as pure as he could be and as we are when we are baptized.

Radishes and Green Beans

Last year I planted a row of radishes and next to it I planted a row of green beans. Radish seeds are really small and some of them landed in my row of green beans.

I keet my garden pretty weed free and got a nice early crop of radishes but I noticed that that the radishes that came up among my green beans were twice as big as the other radishes. Here’s why… green beans are legumes and harvest Nitrogen out of the atmosphere and convert it to fertilizer and enrich the soil. The radishes with better nutrition outperformed the radishes planted only by themselves.

Christians are green beans. They are blessed by God because of their belief in Jesus Christ and are not only hearers but also doers. They enrich the “soil” all around them so others can benefit and grow.

Those stray radishes that leave all their other radish friends and congregate and live among the green beans are changed for the better and when they happen to visit with their old radish friends they are almost unrecognizable to them and the friends wonder… what happened? And think… I can be a better radish if I can find some green beans to associate with.

What kind of green bean are you? Do you make others better in your association with them or are they made worse. Be the right kind of green bean.

The Trouble with Electronic Bibles

Julie and I were gone last week celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary on a train ride in Canada. I always take my New Testament with me when we go on trips and was studying out of it on the plane when the stewardess came by and commented… that’s a well-used Bible. You see I make a lot of notes in my Bible… I mean like a lot of notes and I guess that’s what she saw. Julie puts Parkway Church of Christ business cards in my wallet because I’m always talking to people and asking her for a card. So I got one of those cards that she gave me and wrote down my website information… “Uncle Rob’s Blog” and told the stewardess that I write religious articles. She seemed very appreciative.

Let me make a case for having a Bible book instead of the Bible on an electronic device. If I had been using an electronic device she probably would not have recognized it as a Bible and certainly would have not recognized that it was “well used” because it would not have any notes in it and I therefore would not have had the opportunity to share “Christ” with her.

Also when I’m in a Bible study with someone I want them to see a Bible and see that not only can I navigate through it effortlessly but also see from my notes that I have put time into study and am not wasting their time. I hope they can see that I’m just a “regular Joe” just like them with a regular profession who chose to be a dedicated Bible student.

I just got through teaching the High School/Young Adult class. Most of those kids don’t bring Bibles to class. They have their cell phones in their hands presumably reading the Bible from it. Here’s the thing… most of them aren’t. They are texting and giggling and showing each other things. The next time I teach that class (with the parents approval) I’m going to insist that they have a Bible in their hands and if they don’t have one I’ll buy them one.

Recipe for Discipline in Matthew 18

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector". Matthew 18:15-17.

This passage has been used to prescribe the steps taken when a Christian is found to be in sin and refuses to repent. Let’s consider that this may not be the primary application of this passage at all. Certainly the word “church” is used and the direct implication would be the Christian church but remember “ekklesia” can and is sometimes translated simply as an assembly.

I find it interesting that Jesus said the unrepentant person should be treated as a “pagan or a tax collector”. Certainly Jews were to have no company with pagans or tax collectors but that is hardly true of Christians. Christians were and are obligated to treat everyone in a loving way… even our enemies. So it doesn’t make sense to be telling Christians to treat a brother as a “Pagan or Tax collector” when Christians were supposed to be treating “Pagans and Tax collectors” with love.

So let me suggest that Matthew 18:15-17 is an instruction placed under the realm of the Mosaic Law to teach Jews how to be better Jews and the “assembly” mentioned is the assembly that assembles in the synagogue.

If Matthew 18:15-17 were to be an exact recipe for dealing with the un-repentant brother in Christ I find it interesting that the recipe is never repeated anywhere in the New Testament.

For instance what an opportunity for Paul to validate this procedure in 1 Corinthians 5 when dealing with the church member sinning in a sexual way. He could have told the congregation… go talk to him… several go talk to him then if he doesn’t repent inform the church and let him be treated as a “pagan or tax collector” but Paul doesn’t do that. He simply said… cast him out of the church and have no company with him. Similar but not the same.

So as students of the Bible what does this mean to us? Does it mean we completely disregard Matthew 18 when dealing with a brother we see in the death grip of sin? I don’t think so.

Obviously the Old Law was a tutor to bring us to Christ and in Matthew 18 we are being tutored a principle about correcting sinful behavior in fellow Christians with whom we are associated with in a congregation in future times. It is just not an exact recipe and was not intended to be an exact recipe.

The Importance of a Song Service

This Wednesday night Marc is going to talk about the importance of song selection and it reminded me of something David Smitherman told me. I’ve forgotten his exact words but it was something like the song service could make or break his sermon. I’m guessing that he meant if the song leader and the song service struggled then it either impacted him or the congregation in a negative way (maybe both). Contrast that with the concept that if songs are thought provoking and easy to sing and led in a way that lift the spirits of the congregation how that could impact the lesson in a positive way.

I know that for me I like to lead a song just prior to the lesson that is not doleful or sad. Those kinds of songs have their place but not right before the lesson. I like to get the congregation on their feet and lead a song that builds a little energy and blows out the spiritual cobwebs. Sometimes after a song like that I’ll make the comment to Marc… “they’re ready and they’re all yours”

Non-Ordinary Wisdom

James 1:5, “If any f you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives liberally… and it shall be given to him”

Pretty nice promise right?

Of course there are several ways of acquiring ordinary wisdom. We get ordinary wisdom by learning from our mistakes. We also can get ordinary wisdom from watching others and learning from them.

We can get ordinary wisdom from reading the Bible. In fact you don’t even have to believe in Jesus Christ to get wisdom from the scriptures.

But the wisdom promised in James chapter 1 is not ordinary wisdom at all, far from it… it is special wisdom special because it is a gift from God and the only thing we have to do is be in a relationship with him through belief in Jesus Christ and just ask for that special non-ordinary wisdom.

We should not only ask for God’s wisdom for ourselves but also on behalf of others who are ruining their lives with stupidity and ignorance.

What a great gift… don’t ignore it. Believe in what God says.

Hearing and the Parable of the Sower and the Seed

Most of us are familiar with the account of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed in Luke chapter 8.

The seed is the word of God and it’s planted in different kinds of hearts… the “wayside” where Satan snatches the word out of their hearts before it can even grow a root. The “rocky soil” where the word takes root but before faith can grow they are tempted and fall away. The “thorny soil” where the word is choked out by things that compete for our time and the good “rich soil” where the word develops a deep root and is very productive.

The primary application of this parable is not to the planter of God’s word… it is to the hearer of God’s word.

Note that Jesus’ explanation transitions from the agricultural side to a description of a lamp and light and the need to let it shine. The words “hear and heard” occurs six times in the parable and the explanation of the parable and then culminates with the light/lamp explanation and the words “Take heed therefore how you hear…”

You can be a “wayside” hearer, a “rocky soil” hearer, a “weed choked” hearer or a “good soil” hearer. You are in control of how you hear God’s Word… Jesus said so.

And then at the close of this explanation Jesus’ mom and brothers come looking for him and Jesus addressing the crowd said to them those who “hear the word of God and do it” are my mother and brothers.

Those who hear and do are those who believe and shine. If you do that you will be productive.

Thoughts About Membership

In our congregation if I see someone in regular attendance I broach the topic of placing membership with the congregation. I did that recently and the person asked me what the reasons were for placing membership. Excellent question.

First of all when you place membership with a congregation you place yourself under the oversight of the Elders of a congregation who function to help you grow into spiritual maturity. They do that by helping you come to a complete knowledge of the scriptures, by encouraging you to identify and utilize your spiritual gifts and to strengthen you so that you won’t be tempted to sin.

In addition, when you place membership in a congregation you are recognizing that the members can also help you in the exact same way as the Elders do. We are mutually responsible to each other.

So are there any attendance requirements when you become a member? We certainly recommend that you attend all the services but for many that is unrealistic. We have elderly members who are home bound, we have members who cannot drive at night and we have members who have to drive long distances.

We have some in regular attendance who are not members but who attend better than many of our members. They just don’t want to place membership. The reality is that functionally they are members. They look like members, they act like members and the congregation for the most part thinks of them as members. I call them “common-law” members.

We have members on our rolls who we may not see but a handful of times per year who are in fact able to attend more but they don’t. Are they really members? Not really… not functionally. Few people know them and the reality is they are members in name only… they don’t contribute anything to the other members.

What about members who could come but prefer to watch livestream services? Are they members? Not really because they don’t function as members… they don’t participate at all… its like a one-way street.

Homebound elderly members are members because if they could attend they would attend and participate. They’ve demonstrated that throughout their lives and now serve as opportunities for our younger members to serve them.

When you place membership with a congregation you are telling them that you have confidence in them to help you on your spiritual journey. You’re telling them that you’re planning to get involved in all the responsibilities and activities that are associated with the congregation.

I had a client bring in a stray dog the other day that they “rescued”. She said… we don’t really need another dog but it needs a home. I told her that if someone offered her $10,000 for that dog today that she would take it in a heartbeat but give it 4-5 years and if someone offered her $20,000 for that same dog she would laugh in their face.

That’s kind of like placing membership in a congregation on day one you might not appreciate it that much but somewhere along the line it can be one of the most precious relationships you have. Get off the bench and get in the game.

The Fish Were Jumping in the Boat!

Jesus in the early part of his ministry was teaching alongside the lake and the vast crowds were pushing trying to get closer to him. crowding him to the water’s edge. So Jesus sees two boats (one of which belonged to Simon Peter) and Jesus asked if he could teach from the boat. Makes sense.

The real purpose of this Gospel episode was not to teach the crowd but to call Peter to be an Apostle and to get him ready for his new job.

After Jesus finished teaching he asked Peter to take the boat out into deeper water and to let down his nets to catch some fish. Of course Peter had been fishing all night long and was tired and just wanted to go back home and a carpenter is giving him advice on how to catch fish. hHe explained that to Jesus but followed Jesus’ advice anyway.

You know the story they caught so many fish that the nets were tearing apart and the boats sinking… they were about to lose everything. And then Peter in his amazement did a very unusual thing… he got on his knees before Jesus and said that he was a sinful man and asked Jesus to leave. The truth is that Peter was afraid to be in the presence of Jesus because Jesus told Peter…

“do not be afraid from now on you will catch men”

Those prophetic words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost after Peter cast the nets by preaching the Gospel and invited the fish to “repent and be baptized…” and three thousand of them were at that moment and on that day. Imagine the great lines of people lining up and the disciples immersing each and every one of them.

Peter transformed from being a simple fisherman who was afraid of Jesus, some days catching fish and some days not, to one of the preeminent disciples whose teaching caused the fish to jump in the boat.

We shouldn’t be afraid either.

Bridegrooms, Seamstresses and Wine Makers

Jesus used three figures to the Pharisees and Scribes to defend his habit of eating with spiritually bankrupt people and their charge that his disciples shouldn’t be feasting but should be like their own disciples who fasted and prayed.

First he likened himself to a bridegroom and how the bridegrooms friends are going to party and celebrate until the marriage takes place… then they could fast and pray.

Of course it was party time when Jesus walked the earth… great teachings, great healings and great miracles. When he was hanging on the cross all the partying stopped.

Second he compared patching an old garment with a piece of fabric donated from a new garment. Who does that? Nobody. And the Gospel of Christ was not going to be just a patch on the Mosaic law. That old garment was going to be thrown away and the new garment would be wholly separate and distinct from the old garment.

Third he asked the question who puts new (unfermented) wine in an old wineskin? No one in the winemaking business reused old wineskins because as the liquid fermented and expanded the old wineskin would have lost it’s elasticity and would burst and the new wine lost and wasted. New wine goes in new wineskins that are elastic enough to contain the expanding fluid.

Jesus was the bridegroom, his Gospel and New Covenant was the new garment and his message was the new wine which the Old Covenant couldn’t begin to hold.

The Pharisees could not understand these figures and probably not the disciples at this early stage of the Gospel either but they would come to understand and obviously with hind sight so can we. And that’s why we are not some kind of hybrid Jew.

Eating With the Worst

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:29-32

In this text Jesus is dining with some of the worst outcasts of Jewish society and when questioned he describes himself as a doctor who is healing the sick.

Just to follow up on that… what kind of medicine was Dr. Jesus using?

The text does not indicate he was doing any teaching or identification of sin with accompanying admonition. No Jesus was socializing with these spiritually sick people. Undoubtably he was going to follow up with some of those tactics but he started by sharing a meal and getting to know them.

What kind of social outcasts might we share a meal with today? Drunks and drug abusers? Prostitutes? Homosexuals?

I recall several years ago a young man came to the building asking for money to buy a meal at Whataburger. I asked him why he wasn’t working. Somewhere along the way I found out that he had been living with his girlfriend in her parents home and the father had kicked him out. I told him the father should never have allowed him in the house in the first place and he deserved to be kicked out. I was pretty proud of that answer.

In retrospect and especially when considering these verses I wish I had taken him to Whataburger and shared a meal with him. I’m guessing that’s what Jesus would have done and who knows what might have happened. O’ to be like him.

Paperless Hymnal and Congregational Singing

At our services when I am in the audience I don’t sing from the Paperless Hymnal. I sing from my book. The reason I do that is because I believe I have a richer spiritual experience when I sing from my song book. Here’s why…

I like being able to view the whole song rather than being spoon fed short clips of a song.

When I can see the whole song I can go back during the song (usually during the chorus) and re-read the verses. Especially if the song leader doesn’t lead all the verses.

I can look at who wrote the song and when it was written. I can look at the notes I have made about a song. I can preview what I am about to sing and be prepared for it

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Even though scriptures are posted on Power Point I like for the kids to pick up their Bibles, find the scripture and follow along reading for themselves. Besides finding scriptures in the Bible I think it’s also beneficial for kids to pick up a song book and find the song. I also think that’s good for adults.

I also think it’s good for everyone to have their own personalized songbook. It’s a richer spiritual experience for me when we sing a song and I see that it was sung at a beloved member’s funeral and was his/her favorite song.

I’ve heard from a former member that moved to a larger congregation that Parkway’s singing was better than the larger congregations. I asked about that and she said it wasn’t the volume it was that Parkway had stronger parts people (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Base). She said that at the larger congregation everything was on Paperless Hymnal and folks tended to just sing Soprano (Lead).

I see how that can be true. When I am learning a part I need to have my book in front of me and have my finger on the notes. There’s a song that is led at Parkway in Paperless Hymnal that is not in our books. I have tried and tried to learn the base on that song and finally have given up. It’s a complicated base part and the song has a fast tempo. Too fast for my slow brain. Now when they put that song up I just sing the Soprano part.

In addition on Paperless Hymnal the time signature is not on each clip of the song and I have found myself not being able to figure out which note gets a full beat.

I’ve also noticed that when people are asked to stand for a song that the short kids and the elderly who remain seated can’t see the words on Paperless Hymnal.

I want everyone to have a deep spiritual experience (even the short people) during our song service. Thanks for thinking with me.

Adding Jesus

My daughter sent me this photo of something my five year old grandson did. When you "add" Jesus... it fixes a lot of things.

Song Leading and Paperless Hymnal

I have had a few questions about why as a song leader I don’t use Paperless Hymnal.

First of all I take my responsibilities as a song leader very seriously (not that others don’t). I’m going to pick out songs that I think will encourage and uplift the congregation. I am not going to lead songs that I have difficulty leading or songs that I don’t think the congregation know very well.

Since I am responsible for uplifting the congregation I want total control over the song service and with Paperless Hymnal I don’t have that. If I make a mistake during the song service then that’s on me… but if the mistake is on anyone else then I’m not happy.

Paperless Hymnal doesn’t give me the flexibility I need as a song leader. I may have picked a song with a strong Alto/Base lead for instance and then come to services and find out my strong Altos/Bases are not in attendance. When I pick songs I have back-ups picked for just that sort of occasion.

The other day before services I noticed that a member who had been out for six months or more while she was receiving chemotherapy was in attendance. I happened to know her favorite songs so I had the flexibility (without Paperless Hymnal) to change it up at the last minute and did change it.

Sometimes when I’m inspired during a sermon I think of a much better invitation song than the one I have selected. It’s not uncommon for me to change the invitation song at the last minute to better stir the hearts of those listening.

Sometimes we might have a long prayer or long comments at the Lord’s Table. As a song leader I am also trying to manage the song service so I can get the Preacher up there when he needs to be up there. I like to get Marc up to preach at 11:00 am but have seen times when he didn’t get up there until 11:10 am and the Paperless Hymnal song leader is locked in to singing every verse of every song.

I take leading songs very seriously and think I can do a better job of inspiring and uplifting the congregation without Paperless Hymnal and that’s why I don’t use it.

My next article will be why I use my book and not Paperless Hymnal when others are in charge of the song service.

Unintended Influences

An old friend stopped by our clinic the other day and he mentioned he had read my book (Uncle Rob’s Blog) and checked out my website. Then he said… you know I just finished my third tour of the Bible and I said… that’s good Monte… really good. Then he said… do you know how I started reading my Bible? And I said… no I don’t Monte.

He said… years ago when we were working together I was so impressed with your Bible knowledge that I decided I needed to start reading my Bible. I said… I didn’t know that Monte, thanks for sharing that with me.

I didn’t know that I had that kind of influence on Monte but there’s something to be learned by that… study your Bibles every day and become Bible experts. The other thing to learn is don’t be afraid to bring the Bible into discussions wherever you are and whenever you can.

You don’t know who might be listening or watching and maybe some thirty years down the line someone will tell you how much they appreciate you.

It's a Sad Old World

This world is really a sad old place. Oh… it has it’s merits and a lot of good things but really its pretty sad. And the sadness has to do with losing the ones you love the most in this world.

It usually starts with your grandparents who you were always so glad to see because they loved you so much and meant so much to you.

It gets worse though when you start losing your parents especially when they are relatively young and its unexpected. It’s like a sucker punch to the belly and you can’t breathe for a while.

Then you start losing uncles and aunts and then brothers and sisters. When my brother died recently all my kids and their cousins (12 of them) huddled up and called each other. My kids and my surviving brother’s kids said to each other… that could have been us and our dads… and they cried and felt so sorry for the six cousins who had lost their dad.

I guess the worst pain has got to be losing a mate I guess its because its like losing yourself or someone you like better than yourself. After all you are one flesh with her. I dread that day.

I guess it’s kind of like a big beautiful Live Oak tree and every once in a while you take a chainsaw and remove a branch and after a while it doesn’t look much like a tree anymore. Finally when there are no more branches you look at yourself and think its time for you to go too because you’re tired of living in such a sad old place without the ones who have meant the most to you in this world.

But for those with faith there’s a great hope that there’s a great forest of beautiful trees in Heaven and in Heaven there are no chainsaws to separate you from your loved ones. Until then we must endure the woes of this sad old world.

Birds and Their Songs

We have an owl that lives on our place and every evening and through out the night we hear his soft hoo… hoo…hoo. Julie made the comment that she was surprised that he didn’t get tired of saying the same thing over and over again all the time.

We used to have a mocking bird sit in the tree outside our bedroom and I guess during mating season that bird made the awfullest song/noise during the middle of the night. It was so annoying that I jumped out of bed one night and emptied my shotgun into the tree where he was. I’m sure I didn’t hit him and he just went and found another tree somewhere.

I love to listen to Randy Travis sing “I come to the Garden Alone” and will join in and sing with him. Sometimes the girls at work will have google play rap music and it makes me want to empty my shotgun into google.

The scriptures speak about how God’s people should talk… speech seasoned with grace and kind words and a loving spirit and the like and it’s kind of like that owl hoo…hoo…hoot-ing at night... so pleasant.

You might think hearing the same old thing gets a little tiresome but it never does for me because I would rather listen to that than a mocking bird in mating season or an old grackle and I’m not just talking about birds.

Unexpected Things

Some unexpected things have been happening to me… well after my brothers death people are coming up and telling me how sorry they are. Of course I wrote some thoughts down about my brothers unexpected death and shared them on Facebook and sent them out on my email list.

On Facebook several shared various emojis and made comments. On our volleyball night a handful of people offered their condolences but one young man caught me outside of the gym and said he didn’t want to say anything on Facebook but wanted to say something privately and in person. I appreciate that from Matt. BTW... I have a few at Volleyball who tell me they love me. That's also unexpected.

I have several of our clients who are friends with me on Facebook and as they have been coming in for me to look after their pets at the conclusion of the visit just as I’m about to exit the exam room they say… by the way I’m sorry about the loss of your brother.

Last night we were visiting at supper with a preacher friend from out of town and during the conversation he said… I’m very sorry about your brother. I had forgotten that he is on one of my email lists,

We have gotten several cards at the house but it’s unexpected and nice that so many have not forgotten and care enough to say something because I certainly haven’t forgotten and live with sorrow.

Strive (Work) for Salvation

Luke 13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them; strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able”

Jesus told his listeners that the way to salvation was through a very narrow door and you had to strive or work hard to get through it. Of course when you say the words “work hard for salvation” folks will say something like this… we don’t work for salvation were saved by God’s grace and that’s a free gift!

Of course when talking about salvation God has a part... grace and man has a part... faith. When Jesus said "strive (or work) to enter in through the narrow gate" I believe he was talking about what we do with the seed that is planted in our hearts. Will we reject it, will it grow into just nominal belief or will it turn into phenomenal faith? That's on us... not God.

You definitely can’t earn salvation but the free gift is on the other side of a door and God is not going to drag you through that door… you have to do something… and something more than “seeking to enter in”. Jesus called it striving or working (for a reason) and unashamedly so do I.

The Authority of Love

There’s a concept among the Christians that I associate with that for any religious practice that we engage in we must have biblical authority and I whole heartedly agree with that even though I have reservations sometimes on how authority is established.

Regarding the use of church monies for instance. We through biblical authority conclude that church monies are only to be used for accomplishing the work of the church which we determine is… edification, benevolence and evangelism. In other words, the church is not a world wide relief fund for the needs of those outside of the church. Church monies are to only be used for the edification of christians, the benevolence of christians and to evangelize the world.

Sometimes our biblical conclusions are proved or disproved through examples. Here’s one.

The congregation where we attend has an elementary school next door and in light of all the recent school shootings the school was wisely making provisions in case something similar might happen to them (God forbid). They contacted the Elders of our congregation and asked that if a school shooting occurred could they use our parking lot for a staging point. We said… yes and that if such a thing happened not only our parking lot but also our air conditioned building, restrooms, furniture, etc.

So did we violate biblical authority by using our facilities for those who were not christians? Were there Muslim, Hindu or atheist families in that school? Did we risk sinning against God and possibly having our candlestick removed from Heaven for potentially letting these folks use our building and facilities?

No we didn’t. We had authority… the authority of love… to love our neighbors as ourselves which by the way is not just an obligation for individual christians but also for the collectivity of christians… the church. Certainly judgment has to be used and biblical principals respected but for me in light of this example our process for establishing authority was deeply flawed.

Can you imagine the impact if we had told that school that according to the Bible our church couldn’t help kids and teachers who were shot up by a gunman?

Go Mom Go

I talk to my mom every week and mom is 85 years old and very forgetful but she hasn’t forgot how to be a Christian. She has a health care worker who comes in to her home and sits with her. Mom can’t remember the health worker’s name but says she is trying to convert her.

Also mom used to sit with my brother Greg (Elder at Bulverde COC) at the front of the building. She told me she moved her seat towards the back so she could greet visitors. Mom may not have the ability or memory that she had when she was younger but she’s still doing the best she can do. As we all should be doing.

My Brother's Funeral

Well I’ve missed two Sundays in a row at Parkway. Last Saturday night my brother died unexpectedly and we drove up to Bulverde to break the news to my mother. Yesterday we had the funeral for my brother. I don’t like to miss our services.

The funeral was well attended. It was standing room only and the attendance was estimated at about 230 or so. We had relatives come in from California, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oregon and from all over the state of Texas.

We had Christian friends from Houston that we had grown up with make the drive over. We had some of our Parkway family there and some former members like Linda Yanta and Doug and Paula Mokry. My old college friend Ben Lucas was there. A lot of these folks I hadn’t seen since my dad’s funeral in 1998. One of Scott’s dentist friends made the trip from El Paso. He said Scott was so proud of his family and talked about us all the time and that he wanted to come meet us all. He also said Scott taught him a lot of dental techniques and one time he was having trouble with a patient and called Scott and Scott dropped everything to come and help him.

My emotions were in pretty good control until someone walked in that I didn’t expect or someone walked in who I hadn’t seen in a long time. The Perkins family is pretty close and one of my friends said they were a little jealous of that. Here’s how close we are. Lauren had major surgery on Wednesday and still made it to the funeral on Saturday. She wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

I made some opening remarks and had the closing prayer. My cousin Mark led us in “Amazing Grace”, “I’ll Fly Away” and “I Surrender All”. Walker talked and all six of Scott’s kids had something to say. I learned some things. My brother Greg did the eulogy. I begged off of doing anything because I knew I would break down emotionally but I was assigned opening remarks and guess I did okay.

There were a lot of Church of Christ people there and the singing was awesome. A friend of my brother’s widow was there and said she came to comfort Mary Jane but found herself being comforted instead and was amazed at the singing.

My friend John Gambino who has preached a lot of funerals said this… “The service today was the "BEST" memorial I have ever attended. The candor, honesty, love expressed by so many was such a blessing. The understanding of and expressions of REDEMPTION struck a deep cord with me”

I’ll tell just one story about Scott. He spent a week in jail one time and he flourished in whatever environment he was in. When he was bailed out all the other inmates stood up and gave him a standing ovation. That was my brother.

Our dad died in 1998 after a yearlong battle with cancer and we had a year’s time to shed tears and say good bye. Four days before my brother died I called him and sang happy birthday to him (66th birthday). The day he died he was active in our Texas Perkins text message group. I wish that somehow I could have talked to him just one more time and told him how much I loved him.

I Wish I Could Look into God's Heart

I was working in my garden today by myself thinking about my brother Scott and his untimely death. I found myself thinking… I wish I knew a little more Bible and I also wish I knew a little less Bible.

I am well familiar with passages like… “it’s easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle…” and “strive to enter through the narrow door…”

But I’m also familiar with what Jesus did for the family of Lazarus and how because of his great love for them he made Lazarus alive again.

Now I know that making Lazarus alive again is not the same thing as living in eternity… I know that.

What I don’t know is what my brother’s eternal destination is. I worry that he didn’t work hard enough to enter through the “narrow gate” but I also know that Jesus has great love.

I asked my mother that if we knew Scott wasn’t going to Heaven would she offer to trade places with him? She didn’t hesitate for half a second and said… of course I would. And thinking about it I guess I would too.

But if we were able to make that offer to Jehovah God my guess is that God in his smartness would respond… lets see what Scott has to say about that. And knowing my brother he would reject that offer in a quarter of a second.

I wish I knew more Bible and wish I could look into God’s heart but if anything could get God to change his mind my guess is it would be love… ours and his.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see but I believe in love.

Understanding the Church

Christians are added to the church when they have believed, been baptized and have received the “gift of the Holy Spirit”. As Christians come out of the waters of Baptism they are added to the church by God. All baptized believers world-wide are in God’s church.

Note in Acts 8:3… “but Saul laid waste the church entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison”.

We are the church when we are awake and when we are asleep, when we’re working and when we’re on vacation, when we’re at home and when we’re traveling… we are the church 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all of our lives.

Note in Acts 14:27… “And when they were come, and had gathered the church together”.

This verse does not say they gathered the “Christians” together it says the gathered the “church” together.

The church (Christians) scattered all over the world gather together in assemblies to fulfill spiritual obligations to each other and to God. When they leave those assemblies they don’t stop being the church.

This is important because much has been said to differentiate between the work of the individual Christian and the work of the church (for various reasons). There is no difference between the work of the individual Christian and the work of the church because they are both the same... they are both the church. What is the work of one is also the work of the other.

When the Perfect Comes...

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10)

All my life I’ve been taught that the “Perfect” is the completed word of God… the Bible and that when the Bible comes, the “Part”(spiritual gifts) would be done away with. I believed that and taught that but somewhere along the way I became troubled with that interpretation. I guess because for me it didn’t seem to fit the context.

First of all the purpose of the spiritual gifts (especially the gift of Prophecy) was to edify or build the congregation (1 Cor. 14:4). And the church needed to be built up. Keep in mind the church was in its infancy and in fact Paul referred to the Corinthian church as being “Babies” and in need of growth and maturing (1 Corinthians 3:1).

They were spiritual babies in part because they were not united in love with each other… they were bickering and fighting and they needed to be built up utilizing spiritual gifts until they became mature or perfect in their love for each other.

1 Corinthians 13 clearly illustrates that “love” is superior to “spiritual gifts” and while all Christians might not possess the same spiritual gifts they could all… no matter their spiritual station… be rich in love

So “spiritual gifts” in the early church were like training wheels on a bicycle and there comes a point when the training wheels come off and we can ride that bike on our own.

The promised “perfect” then in 1 Corinthians 13:10 is the point when Christians interact with each other in love and in so doing testify that Jesus is the Son of God (John 17) and God is glorified (Ephesians 3:10)

That’s when the training wheels come off and spiritual gifts are no longer needed (in my opinion).

Thanks

Memories and Old Chairs

In the picture you’ll see an old chair sitting in my shop. That chair was part of a dining set that my parents got as a wedding gift in 1954. After mom moved out of her home and had to get rid of a lot of her stuff I took all six of those chairs and put them in my attic (except this one) because no one wanted them.

Along the way as my kids were getting married and starting their families I got those chairs out of the attic to let them use until they could afford something nicer. My daughter would call me from time to time because the glue would start failing on those old chairs and I would have to repair them.

I keep that chair in my shop because I like to sit in it from time to time and just think (like right now). You see that old chair has seen a lot of events in our family… all the happy times and all the sad times. The births… the deaths. When me and my brothers left home for college and when we would come back home with our families. When my dad died and when after 48 years my mom moved out of her home.

You might look at that old chair and think it’s just an old and wore out piece of wood that no one really wants anymore. But I like sitting in it and thinking and remembering and I guess if someone offered me $10,000 for it I guess I just would have to turn it down… partly because I’m not sure it would get cared for like I would care for it and partly because it would be like selling part of me.

Thanks for the memories old chair.