Hey Friends,

This is a question that I have been asked for years: “Can I celebrate Halloween?” I have watched many serious theological battles fought over this issue. It is amazing how we as Christ-followers can differ on this topic.

What are we doing here at FPC? We are going on the offensive. This weekend we are going to have a drama about spiritual warfare. It will be a drama somewhat like our past Sacred Storms. This one is set in a modern home with a modern-day family. It will be a depiction of how our homes are invaded by the enemy of God and his people.

It is a hard-driving and very serious look at how families fall apart in the midst of the warfare that surrounds us. I hope and pray you will make it to one of our 5 services:

Tonight  – 7:00 pm

Saturday – 4:00 pm & 6:00 pm

Sunday – 9:45 am & 11:45 am

We will follow up the drama with a four-week series on the warfare depicted in the drama. This is a very important issue that affects us all. I hope and pray you will catch one of  the services. Pray about who you should bring. To be blinded to the warfare that is all around us is to be an easy target for the enemy. Jesus believed in the devil, do you?

See ya there,

Pastor

P.S. No matter how you feel about Halloween, this is something we can all participate in with our families. The drama is not suitable for kids up through 5th grade so we have planned a huge event for them in all five services called Pirates and Princesses. They will love it!

Hey Friends,

If you are a leader at any level you know the load you carry. Most of us believe no one knows the burden or load we have. I have felt like this on so many occasions. I am sure this is not the way our Lord wants us to feel. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I wonder who said that? We all know.

I am sure that Lucifer wants us to feel the load and feel it alone. This is so contrary to the teachings of Christ. By the way, He made the rules – not the devil.  The devil is the father of lies and of deceit. Jesus said the devil was here to “kill, steal and destroy.” He is very good at his job. He wants you to feel overwhelmed and alone, inadequate and defeated. Why? Speed of the leader – speed of the pack.

If the enemy can slow you down he slows the church, or small group, or whatever you are leading. Satan can stall the saints by stalling the leaders. How are you? Are you alone? Jesus said that He ”would never leave you or forsake you.” Do we still believe His words? Of course we do! Our emotions are the easiest door for the devil to enter. Feelings are as fickle as the wind! They can not be trusted. We can trust Jesus. You are not alone and He is with you. If you will allow Him, He will bring partners into your life to walk with you and help you carry the load.

He did it for Moses through his father-in law, Jethro. He did it for me with our Executive Pastor, Josh Whitehead. He carries the load with me, as do so many other staff members at FPC.  Who is with you? Look around –  you are not alone.

Here for you,

Pastor

Hey Friends,

Do you ever wonder? I do all the time! Let me share what I was wondering this morning: Why do so few Christ-followers think about the Bema seat of judgment? We all know that we “will give an account” of our lives. In this context, the account will be what we did with what He gave us. Sins are not judged (that happened at the cross) but it will be about how we managed all we have. As I read the four Gospels this is a huge issue for Jesus. We seem to ignore or overlook this critical concept of Christ’s communication.

I wonder if Lucifer has lulled us to sleep? Has the deceiver detoured us off the track? We need to live with the end in sight. If we really believed that we will stand and give an account and all of our works will be judged, shouldn’t it affect our daily lives? I actually live in fear of this day. The Apostle Paul did also, so I’m in good company.

Do you think the church, pastors, and members would act differently if we really believed this? Do we think daily of this biblical concept? It sure seems like we ignore it! If we forget this it will be to our own peril. The words I want to hear more than any other are, “Well done good and faithful servant.” I believe the furnace that Jesus tells us our works will be judged by refers to the flaming eyes of our resurrected Lord – the same one Paul saw on the Damascus road and never forgot.

Are you living as if you will give an account? If so, how? This will help all of us leaders live.

Yours to count on,

Pastor

Hey Friends,

How did Jesus show His love for the people around Him while He was here on Earth, and for us now? Good questions, don’t you think? So, you get 2 answers and here are mine:

1. He took care of their needs. First, He fed them. Jesus was always there to care for the people at the point of their needs. After you feed a hungry person or clothe a person that is cold, they are much more open to the message of the gospel. He also healed their physical issues. We tend today to limit our ministries solely to the spiritual. That is paramount. Please don’t hear me discount it, but we must also take care of the physical part. The spiritual is more open when the physical is taken care of.

2. He died for us. If I ever wonder about God’s love for me I have only to look to the cross. John 19 portrays the love of God for us without question. His passion was us. The cross was for us.

So the question on the table is, what are we to do about it? As for me and my house we are going to spend or invest our lives serving God and people. We don’t care if they are rich or poor, black or white, educated or uneducated. We are to give our lives away by serving. As we serve the least of these, we serve Jesus.

As Christ-followers we are to emulate His life, aren’t we? So we give ourselves on the altar of caring for people. When and where is your spot? We have a place for you to serve as we try to learn to deal in social justice.

Just another thought – how do you see it?

Pastor

Hey Friends,

How in the world did compassion become a LIBERAL cause?  When I was saved out of a life of drugs and death in 1982, helping the poor was the job of the liberal churches. Conservative churches worried themselves with soul winning and forgot compassion. Can Christ be split? Are His commands to be split? I don’t think so! Do you?

The church I get to pastor has launched into the biblical command of caring for the poor. This past Saturday we gave 400 families enough food to last  a week. This is a new deal for me. I had to be hit upside the head with the Bible by a great friend in order to realize that we were missing a big part of  the Bible I said I believed. So now we are trying to get our predominately suburban congregation to think of others. Didn’t Jesus say to consider others as more important than yourself? Yep, right there in Philippians Chapter 2. Do we think he meant those like us or those with money? No! God is no respecter of persons and He meant everyone - a hard concept for American Christians.

What are you doing that is for others? How are you reaching out beyond your friends and family? Does God want you involved with compassion ministries? 400 compassion commands are found in the Bible. We are to be involved. As Christ-followers we give our lives away for others. That would show the world that Jesus is love and Lord. Where is your spot?

Just a thought – how do you see it?

Pastor

Hey Friends,

When we think of sacrifice we think of the Old Testament – that we are now living in the age of grace and sacrifice is over for us.  Not hardly! There is much for us to sacrifice. The New Testament uses the word often.  Hebrews 13:15 says,  ”Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” So in the Older Testament they brought animals to sacrifice and today we bring praise, among other things.

I wonder if we can only sacrifice praise when we are at church? What do you think? You’re right, we can do it daily and wherever we are.  The fruit of our  lips to praise Him. People should be able to tell we are Christ-followers by what comes out of our mouth. Praise for God and encouragement for others. His Word should flow freely from our lips to help others. Our lives lived in worship, praise, and thanksgiving. With it He is well pleased. After all, wasn’t that the reason for sacrifices in the Old Testament?

Are the people around you hearing your praise? I don’t mean you have to shout “Hallelujah!” all the time. Do they hear you thank God? Do they hear you whisper His name? Do they hear you share what God can do in their lives? Are you a giver of hope? What words fall from your lips? Jesus said out of your heart come the words from your mouth.

Is God pleased with the words you let fall from your lips? “Can out of the same fountain come bitter and sweet water?” NOPE!  Today let us choose the words that we say and share for God is listening and longing to use our mouths.

“Praise Him from whom all blessings fall.”

Pastor

P.S. If you are a leader then your words are even more important because they carry more weight for the people around you. You can worship or  whine. You can encourage or  discourage.

Hey Friends,

Let’s dig a little deeper on the topic of sacrifice because it has been somewhat forgotten by Christ-followers, and yet not by Christ. The Apostle Paul said his life was being poured out as a drink offering. What in the world is a drink offering? Great question! In the Old Testament people would mix liquids and bring them to the priest to be “poured out to the Lord.”

King David was in a battle and wanted a drink from the well in Bethlehem. One problem was that the well was behind enemy lines. A few of his men broke through the line and got some water from the well for him. When they returned, he said he could not drink the water. The water was precious because the men had risked their lives. So he poured it out on the ground. (If I had been one of his men who retrieved the water, I would not have been a happy camper!) Those men were not mad because David gave the water to God - a drink offering.

We are to live our lives as drink offerings – being poured out for the Lord in His service. Are you a drink offering? Are you being poured out every day for the Lord? “Well,” you think, ”you pastors are, but we have to work REAL jobs!”  We can all be poured out for the Lord. It is how you live your life not where you work! Are you living for Jesus or yourself? Are His priorities yours? Do the things that matter most to Him matter most to you?

Are you being poured out daily in service, worship, and witness for Jesus? Just a question. Remember since we don’t sacrifice animals today, we become the sacrifice. God did for us with His Son on the cross what He would never ask us to do. Love gives.

Just a thought.

Pastor

Hey Friends,

Wow! There have been some great comments this week on the topic of sacrifice. Let’s talk a little more about the biblical definition of the word.  It refers to giving something to the Lord or giving an animal to be killed for the Lord. This happened in the Old Testament where they “sacrificed” animals in the temple for the forgiveness of  sins. There are some detailed explanations in the Bible as to how to do this.

In Malachi, God was angry with the Israelites because they were sacrificing animals that were sick or lame. The sacrifice was supposed to be the best they had, but they were “giving the junk” to God. This was an offense to Him. Do you think we are doing the same thing today in the church? We give God our leftovers! People bring their old stuff to church while they buy new stuff for themselves. I’ll bet He is still not happy about that. God is priority and as such He deserves our best sacrifice, certainly not our leftovers. Leftovers are what we give to the dog.

What do you give or sacrifice for and to the Lord? Do you give Him the best hour of the day for devotion and quiet time? Do you give Him the first 10% of all you make? What about over and above? Do you sacrifice time in serving Him? Do you make Him the Lord of all your decisions and all you are?

How about giving up something you love? Eric shared Monday how he sacrificed an automobile he really liked for a ministry. I really believe our lives should be marked by sacrifice. NEVER forget that God gave His Son on the cross for us. We can never out-give or out-sacrifice the God we worship. He has led the way and we are to follow.

What was the last sacrifice you gave to the Lord? This should be an easy question.

Yours to count on,

Pastor

Hey Friends,

Just exactly what is our faith built upon? Well, we could list several things but one is for sure, and that is SACRIFICE! Yes, sacrifice, and that of our Heavenly Father. First, He sacrificed His time and attention from heaven to create the universe and our home. He then created us knowing all along we would rebel and turn from Him. After our mutiny He sacrificed His Son on the cross so that we have our sins paid for. I call that a real sacrifice! So, if we are Christ-followers and the Scripture says for us to do as He did, shouldn’t we be marked by sacrifice also? Since the Kingdom of God is built on it, we should be very familiar friends with it. Wouldn’t you agree?

So how does that look for us? Surely society should see it – but they don’t, by the way!!!!!  What can we sacrifice?

1. Time for the Lord and to serve Him.

2. Money for the Kingdom and those hurting around us.

3. Stuff we like – by using all we have for Jesus such as cars, houses…

4. Our attention and affection – given to God and the things He loves. He did it for us.

Over the years Michele and I have given time, money, boats, cars, and our hearts to Jesus and building His Kingdom. The problem is, it is hard to out-give Him. When we sacrifice, He moves because of it and the faith we have shown by blowing us away. Wow! 

We serve a great God. What is on your list of sacrificed things?

Just a thought.

Pastor

P.S. As leaders it is very important that we lead the way in sacrifice if we want those we lead to do the same.

Hey Friends,

Last week we talked about faith and it was an extremely important issue. For the next few days let’s look at another issue we all need to be clear on – sacrifice. I am a firm believer that the Kingdom of God travels on the tracks of sacrifice.

I am sure that almost every reader of this blog is a leader and is wholly committed to the Kingdom of God. I am also sure that you are all givers; probably 10% plus. Most of us have developed a lifestyle of giving. The question is, have we developed a lifestyle of sacrifice? Sacrifice is giving something or laying something down for the sake of the Lord. What was the last thing you sacrificed for Him?

As I wrote last week, I am starting a new leadership ministry for churches. The problem with starting something is the money required to get it off the ground. I have found myself needing some money. For a few days I fought an idea I had, so let me tell you about my battle. In August I bought a 1965 Corvette. I have wanted one for years. It was a great deal and a great car. I enjoy cars, like most boys I guess. So this past weekend I went to the car show in Pigeon Forge. Going there was no sacrifice, but selling my car would be.

I fought the idea for a few days until the thought of sacrifice hit me like a ton of bricks. I have not sacrificed anything for a while. I believe God is moved when we sacrifice. So, when was the last time you sacrificed anything? What was it? Did you enjoy it? Shouldn’t sacrifice be a lifestyle for us? I hope it is for you.

Think about it.

Love ya,

Pastor