Confessing Sins

James 5:16

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Different religious groups have different practices that are based upon this verse.

The Catholic Church has a confessional booth where “confessing your sins” is done before a priest and is mandatory.

Those who are affiliated with Churches of Christ typically confess their sins before the whole group. These confessions are generally very generic in nature and are voluntary.

Each practice is generally consistent with the text but neither practice is the primary intent of the verse.

First of all this instruction is not given to the church as an organization to establish some rule but is given to individual Christians. It is an individual responsibility.

Secondly, this instruction is not given to receive forgiveness of sins. Only God can forgive sins and that is freely given to any who would pray directly to him.

What then is the purpose of this verse? In my opinion the purpose of this verse is to build humility and closeness among Christians.

Pride is the greatest weapon Satan possesses. When an individual can find another individual and tearfully recount the mistakes that have been made in the past, then that builds humility and unity.

When Christians are unified and humble, each seeking the other’s good, then God’s light is shining in a dark world.

It’s not easy confessing the worst about our selves. My suggestion is to find the person you are the closest in the world to, your husband or your wife, and practice confessing your faults. See what that will do for the two of you and then take the next step.

Song Leader Tips

I sent this out before but am including it here so people can reference it better. At our last meeting someone raised the question about how many songs to lead at the various services. On Sunday mornings I figure I can lead 6-7 songs. For a traditional Sunday morning service (a la Jeff Carr) the preacher needs to be able to start preaching at 11:00 am. That gives him 30 minutes or so. If the Lord’s Supper is after the lesson then the preacher needs to be able to start preaching at 10:50 am. The Lord’s Supper and offering take about 10 minutes. On Sunday evenings the singing and Lord’s Supper need to be finished by 5:15 PM. That’s usually 3-4 songs. On Wednesday evenings the singing needs to be finished by 7:15 pm. That’s usually 3-4 songs. In addition, try not to switch between the gray songbook and the regular songbook too many times. I hear it is confusing to the older people. Sing from one then sing from the other. One of the biggest and yet easiest things we need to do is to use the mike. The older people tell me that when people are speaking from the Lord’s Supper table they cannot hear half the time. Put your mouth directly over the mike and speak into it. Thanks. Rob

Benjamin Torno

The kids were getting pretty creative.

Chris with Ukulele

He does a pretty good "Somewhere Over the Rainbow..."

Beach Fun and Singing

John Kilgore

John was here for three lessons today on "Worship"... excellent. We added a little scenery to make him look better... Victoria and Sydney.

Developing Productive Christians

In football at some point you have to play with the players you have. If you are going to win you have to develop whatever players you have.

Congregations are the same way. Elders cannot lament that the church will not be what it needs to be because of a dearth of talent. Elders must work with whatever members are in the congregation. Effective Christians are not born (per se), they are made. That takes patience.

Mike Sherman believed in playing talented freshmen even though he might have an upperclassman with more experience at the position. He believed in playing talent. He stated that talent only gets better with experience and you can only get experience by getting in the game.

Certainly that is a biblical concept. Jesus taught that you pruned productive vines so that they would produce more. Non productive wood was removed.

The perils of advancing a young player over an older player is that the older player may become jealous and get his feelings hurt. If you have a good “locker room” where players/members have bought into the concept of team first, i.e. the church comes first and whatever personal sacrifices I have to make I will make, then it should not be an issue.

Sherman said that to be successful in football you have to have talent at three positions; Quarterback, left Offensive Tackle and a pass rushing Defensive End. If you had those three you could succeed with average talent in the other positions.

Congregations have to be strong and innovative in preaching and teaching. They must also have strong leadership and a strong cadre of women.

Christians develop by having a comprehensive understanding of the whole Bible; New Testament and Old Testament. That requires teachers that are well versed in the scriptures. Leaders stimulate members to works of service and lead by example.

Women are the backbone of the congregation. They teach the children’s classes, they take care of the widows, they schedule the baby and wedding showers and push their husbands to do what needs to be done.

Successful congregations develop their members, strong Christians have a powerful impact in the community.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”