Lost at Christmas

Somehow You’ve gotten lost at Christmas

between Santa Claus and gifts.

Our celebrations become consumer-driven

and the meaning subtly shifts.

What should be a time of worship and wonder

that God has come to earth

is used as an excuse to indulge ourselves

instead of honoring your birth.

Somehow You’ve gotten lost at Christmas

despite the Christmas carols and cards,

and the light up nativity scenes

that we put out in our yards.

These things are supposed to remind us

of Your glorious birth divine.

But if we’re celebrating Your birthday

why does it feel a lot more like mine?

Somehow You’ve gotten lost at Christmas

amid the decorations and the tree.

You can see lights brightly shine everywhere

except Your light that You’ve placed within me.

Happy Holidays replaces Merry Christmas

and we quickly make a fuss.

We say, "Don’t take Christ out of Christmas."

But are they any more guilty than us?

Please don’t get lost this Christmas

May we forsake any tradition or plan

until the heart, soul, and focus of the holiday

is once more Christ and not man.

May we not be satisfied with mere tokens

of worship we offer You each year.

May we live and declare the glory of Jesus

loud enough that the whole world can hear.

Somehow You’ve gotten lost at Christmas.

But I pray it never happens again.

Until You return may we celebrate

Christmas in the name of Jesus, Amen!

Shooting Blanks

I have recently been reminded that there are those who believe traditional preaching is a tactic relegated to the past. Some say it is no longer an effective means of reaching people. Case in point. . . Some friends attended a seminar this past weekend on the topic of Bible storytelling. The presenter suggested that expository preaching needs to be abandoned in favor of simply telling stories. He even suggested turning New Testament epistles into stories so people will be more prone to listen. His thought was that traditional preaching just doesn't work anymore. He is not the first to say such things. Even some men fairly well known in preaching circles such as Fred Craddock and Eugene Lowery have said much the same thing.

How shall I respond? Well, I'll just let God speak for Himself. "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:17-18 ESV). Paul said Christ did not send him to practice religious rituals or to proclaim wonderful messages filled with human wisdom. Christ sent Him to do one thing, to preach the gospel, the message of the cross. Now watch closely. Paul said to do those other things would be to empty to cross of its power. In other words, the power of God lies in the preaching of the gospel. Preaching is indeed foolishness to many people. Paul even said so himself. The fact remains, however, that the preaching of the cross is the power of God to reach people. A few verses later Paul reemphasizes this fact. "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23-24 ESV). The preaching of the crucified Christ is both the wisdom of God and the power of God.

There is no doubt that much of what we call the "church" in America is suffering from a severe lack of power. The church is not impacting society. Society is impacting the church. The influence of the church has waned. For the first time in our nation's history polls indicate that those who feel the church has a significant impact on society are a minorty. It is said that eight out of ten teenagers who grew up in church will cease to attend church once they leave home. There is an absence of power. Yet the church has sought the power of God down many avenues. Pshychology which seeks to answer all people's questions and solve all of their problems, we've tried that. Entertaining folks with bigger and better buildings, shows, and programs, tried that too. Pursuing politics as a way to influence and change, it has all been tried before. These worldly tactics have made some churches bigger, but it hasn't made them better. It may draw a crowd, but it won't make converts. Despite the endless things the so-called "church" in Amerca has tried, it is more wordly than it has ever been. It is more biblically ignorant than it has ever been. It appears to have less power than ever.

The reason is simple. The power of God lies in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know people say it is outdated. I know the "experts" say we have to give the people something they want. I know it seems foolish, but the Bible says that it is through the foolishness of preaching that God saves sinners (1 Corinthians 1:21). So, go ahead. Abandon Bible preaching if you choose. Tell your stories. Declare your pop-psychology. Trade traditional preaching for an open dialogue. Give up the preaching of sin for the power of positive thinking. Just know this. . . All you are doing is shooting blanks.

Everything to Me

I have been confronted often lately by the cost of discipleship as taught in Scripture. I think it can all be summed up in five words. "Jesus must be your everything." Jesus is not someone you can pay homage to once in a while and then go on your way. It's not enough to sing Him a song on Sunday. When will we ever learn that it is not our religious expressions He desires? He wants our lives, heart, soul, mind, all of it! He will never be content just because you claim to belong to the religion that bears His name. Jesus must be worth more to you than anyone or anything else. The question is, Is He?

It does no good to give Jesus your songs if you won't give Him your self. It does no good to give Jesus your money if you won't make Him your Master. You can't give Jesus your love without giving Him your life. Jesus will not settle for being a part of your life. He wants to be your life.

"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be His than have riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand, than to be the king of  vast domain. Or be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today."

Jesus, please help me to love you more, more than family, more than friends, more than things, more than life itself. Please help me die to self everyday so that I may live for the glory of Your name. Help me to decrease so that you can increase. May You be my highest joy in life. May sharing Your Word and spreading Your fame be my supreme pleasure. Lord, please, grant that I may live to please You alone. All that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to be is Yours. Jesus, be my everything!

     

Preaching That Really Isn't, Part 3

Okay. Here is another example of what I call "preaching that really isn't." I heard this sermon preached last October. The text used was Isaiah 49:1-4. This is a part of the second of four Servant Songs in the book of Isaiah, all of which describe the Messiah. This particular text is part of a larger text, Isaiah 49:1-13, which describes how the Lord will restore His people and save the nations. The only part of the text that was a part of his sermon was the phrase "a polished shaft." I use the ESV and it reads, "a polished arrow." Now, in context the Servant of the Lord is being referred to as a polished arrow in the quiver of God. The point being that God will use Him to defeat the enemies of His people. The sermon, however, had absolutely nothing to do with the actual message of the text. The text itself was never explained. It was not really even referred to beyond the initial reading. The sermon was based on the phrase "a polished shaft." In the sermon the preacher likened the way Indians make an arrow to the way God calls and prepares preachers. Some of the points from the sermon were: the shaft is selected; the shaft is shaped; the shaft is smoothed; the shaft is straightened. You get the idea. For each point he described the process of working the shaft to make an arrow and likened that to what God does in the lives of His servants. It was interesting. Problem is his message had absolutely nothing to do with the Scripture he supposedly based it on. Not one of the main points from his sermon could be rightly drawn from the text he used without taking it out of context. Bottom line: he wasn't really preaching the Bible. He came up with an interesting, creative message and tried, unsuccessfully, to find a Scripture to go along with it.

There is nothing wrong with preaching that is interesting and creative. But God has called preachers to preach the Scripture and ONLY the Scripture. We must never misuse the text out of a desire to be creative. Listen preacher. Just say what the Bible says. That is preaching that God will bless. Stick to the text. You don't have to come up with a sermon. The text is the sermon. All you have to do is explain and apply it.          

Preaching That Really Isn't, Part 2

Many of you would know them if I called their names. Two preachers, both from Mississippi, both very well known. I had the occasion of hearing them both preach over the last year. I am sad to say that both sermons serve as examples of what I call preaching that really isn't. I want to take the opportunity to share these examples, without names of course, in order to highlight what true Bible preaching is, and what it isn't. For my preacher friends out there, may this serve as an example of what not to do.

The first sermon was based on Mark 3:13-19. This is the text where Jesus appoints twelve to be apostles. These are the men who would be with Him almost constantly and He would send them out to preach. The twelve men are mentioned by name in the text. The preacher pointed out that these were not high class men. They were lower class in many cases, many of them just common fishermen, uneducated men. One was even a tax collector who would have pretty much been the enemy of everyone. These are not the kind of men you would expect Jesus to entrust with such important work.  The preacher pointed out all these things and was absolutely correct in doing so. The problem was in his application of the text. His sermon was about marriage. The primary idea of his sermon seemed to be that since Jesus was so accepting of men like the twelve apostles, we should be accepting of our marriage partner even though they are imperfect. That is a not necessarily a bad suggestion. The problem is that this text of Scripture has absolutely nothing to do with marriage. Marriage was nowhere in the author's mind when he penned this text. It may make a pretty good message, but it isn't Bible preaching. Here's why. What that preacher said is not what the Bible says. It was his word, not God's Word. He would say he was preaching God's Word, but in actuality he wasn't. That, ladies and gentlemen, is preaching that really isn't.

Contrast his approach to that text with that of well known Bible preacher and teacher John MacArthur. MacArthur also pointed out all the same textual data about the disciples being just ordinary men. He called them "remarkably unremarkable." The difference is in the way MacArthur applied the text. He applied it according to the intent of the author. MacArthur's central idea was that God uses ordinary people in the work of the kingdom. That is what this text is about, not marriage. The text demonstrates that when ordinary people meet an extraordinary Savior they become useful tools for God.

Hopefully this example of a misuse of a text of Scripture will help make us better preachers and better listeners. Don't be fooled by preaching that really isn't. Example number two next time. Blessings!

Preaching That Really Isn't, Part 1

I am an expository Bible preacher. This is not just what I do. It is who I am! In my years of studying and practicing expository preaching I have discovered a sad reality. Much that passes for preaching really isn't. Many that claim to be speaking God's Word really aren't. The reasons are many and range from laziness to ignorance. It is my firm conviction that unless a preacher is exposing the author's intended meaning of a text of Scripture, he isn't really preaching at all. The purpose of this blog is simply to promote expository preaching as true Bible preaching, to define and discuss issues related to expository preaching, and to unmask preaching that really isn't. This is a critical issue. As my former seminary professor Jim Shaddix says, "Before you stand up and say thus saith the Lord, you better know what the Lord saith." Not everyone who claims to speak for God does. I want to help preachers make sure they are saying what God actually says, and help listeners recognize true preaching from that which only passes itself off as preaching.  I hope you will join me for the discussion. Blessings!