I read this on Mark Batterson’s blog.  It gives us some interesting history as we celebrate the July 4th Holiday.

“I love history. And I love America! Thought I’d share a little of both as we celebrate Independence Day.

Before I do, let me say a few things. First of all, this isn’t meant to be a dissertation. It’s a blog. Secondly, I’m not nominating all of our founding fathers for sainthood. Having said that let me say this: there is a lot of revisionist history that totally ignores or distorts the faith of our Founding Fathers. A lot of them were motivated by their faith in Christ.

Here’s some back story on some of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence. Most Americans know next to nothing about these fifty-six heroes who pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the cause of freedom.
John Witherspoon was an ordained minister and authored several books of sermons, as well as editing America’s first family Bible in 1791.

Charles Thomson served as Secretary of Congress and was a Biblical scholar. He helped edit the first American translation of the Greek Septuagint into English.

Charles Carroll, the last of the fifty-six signers to pass away at the age of 95 in 1832, wrote out his declaration of faith at the age of eighty-nine.
On the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for my salvation, and on His merits; not on the works I have done in obedience to His precepts.

Another Founding Father, Benjamin Rush, is considered the "Father of American Medicine." He personally trained three thousand medical students. Dr. Rush also founded "The First Day Society" which was the precursor to the Sunday School movement, as well as founding America’s first Bible society. It was Benjamin Rush who said the Constitution was "as much the work of Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament were the effects of divine power."

Francis Hopkinson was a church music director and edited one of the first hymnals printed in America in 1767. He also set 150 psalms to music.

Roger Sherman is the only Founding Father to sign all four of America’s Founding documents: the Articles of Association in 1774, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Articles of Confederation in 1778, and the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Roger Sherman was also a theologian. He wrote a personal creed that was adopted by his church:

I believe that there is one only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are a revelation from God, and a complete rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

I could share story after story, but the bottom line is this: many of our Founding Fathers were motivated by their Faith in Christ. They wrote sermons and creeds and hymns. They founded Bible Societies and Sunday Schools. They served God’s purposes in their generation. And I, for one, am grateful.

Hope that adds a spiritual dimension to your 4th of July celebration!

HT: Mark Batterson

What Do You Pray About?

Forgive me for getting so personal but let’s evaluate what our prayers consist of. Are they full of me’s and I’s? “God do this for me…God do that for me…I want you to give me…”

Our prayers are often self-centered with little concern for others. The truth is, however, that it is not all about us. God is looking for people to be concerned about kingdom things. Concerned about His agenda for the world.

Psalm 2:8, “Ask of Me, and I will give the nations to you, the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.”

This is a prayer with God’s Kingdom in mind. “Lord, Give Us The Nations!” Our prayers should also have a focus on seeing people come to Christ. For the Gospel to be brought to every nation and that we would be instrumental in reaching the world for Christ.

This doesn’t mean that we should never pray for our own needs but rather our focus should be on more than just our needs. God wants to do things for His people, but I think we could have a lot more of what He wants not just what we want. God desires to give us the nations. The reason we have to pray for it is that it shows our concern for the nations when we pray.

When is the last time you asked God to give us this city? When is the last time you asked God to give you an opportunity to share His love with someone else?

One pastor told his congregation — "Many of our prayer requests are for the sick rather than for the lost. We are more interested in keeping the saints out of heaven than we are the sinners out of hell."  What A Thought!!!

There is nothing wrong with praying for your needs, but we must balance that with praying for others as well.  We must pray for the lost, our community, our nation and world.  God works through prayer. 

As I was reading the Gospel of Matthew this morning, I noticed that Jesus was describing those who hear or receive the Word and  fall away.  In the parable of the sower Jesus gives us a glimpse of what happens when the gospel is communicated.

The enemy of our souls does not want the gospel preached and will certainly try to hinder its taking root in the lives of people.  Jesus shares four types of people who hear the Gospel and then describes three that fall away.

1.  There is the one who hears but does not understand.
2.  There is the one who hears and receives but trials come and he has no root.
3.  There is the one who hears and receives but the pleasures of this life consume him and he bears no fruit.
4.  There is the one who hears and receives.  He has understanding then goes on to bear much fruit.

As a pastor, and ultimately as a church, I/We must make sure that those who come through our doors and those who hear the Gospel, receive the Word and follow through like number four. 

We must communicate in such a way that people understand.  Our messages must be communicated in such a way that believers and non-believers alike should be able to understand and receive the Gospel.

We must ensure that those who receive the gospel are rooted in the Word and growing in their relationship with Christ.  Somehow, we must find a way to see people move from the Sunday morning service to a life of being rooted in Christ and His Word.  When the trials come, those who have no root will not be able to stand.  It is our duty to help people become rooted that they can stand against life’s storms.

As a church, we must work on helping others become fruitful.  It begins with us being fruitful.  This man in the parable received the Word but was so wrapped up in this life that he would bear no fruit for another life.  How often are we so consumed with the things of this world that we have little time to bear fruit for eternity?  We must find a way to move people into a Kingdom mind-set, balancing this life and working for the next one.

These are thoughts that God is stirring in my heart.  As a pastor, I am responsible for how we disciple others.  I am praying that God will give us a plan to make sure that people understand, take root and bear fruit.

"What is needed is something that cannot be explained in human terms. What is needed is something that is so striking and so signal that it will arrest the attention of the whole world. That is revival.

Now we of ourselves can never do anything like that. We can do a great deal, and we should do all we can. We can preach the truth, we can defend it, we can indulge in our apologetics, we can organize our campaigns, we can try to present a great front to the world. But you know, it does not impress the world. It leaves the world where it was. The need is for something which will be so overwhelming, so divine, so unusual that it will arrest the attention of the world . . . .

‘Authenticate thy word. Lord God, let it be known, let it be known beyond a doubt, that we are thy people. Shake us!’ I do not ask him to shake the building, but I ask him to shake us. I ask him to do something that is so amazing, so astounding, so divine, that the whole world shall be compelled to look on and say, ‘What is this?’ as they said on the day of Pentecost."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival, pages 183-185.
HT: Ray Ortlund

I love my day off on Monday!  For many years I have had a hard time taking days off.  I would always feel stressed, knowing I was going to be off because I felt like I had too much to do.  Then I realized how important it is to have a time of disconnect, a time of refreshing, and now I get more done because I am more rested.

Yesterday, we took a road trip.  First to Huntsville, Arkansas for lunch and to check out Withrow Springs State Park.  We found this little cafe called Granny’s and it was incredible.  They had great burgers and homemade pie.  It was heaven on earth!

We left there and drove up to Roaring River Sate Park, which has become one of my favorite places.  Roaring River is in Southern Missouri not too far from the Arkansas border.  It is a place of beauty and rest.  We enjoyed the fish hatchery again and spent some time at the park.  But the best part of the day was spent on the banks of the river.  We found a place down the bank where we could put our chairs and find solitude.

It was quiet except for the roaring of the river.  To me, there is nothing as peaceful in nature as the rolling of water.  You could sense and feel the peace of God.

Everywhere we have lived, I have always had a place of solitude.  In Jacksonville, there was a stream behind the church that I would walk down to and find solitude.  In Nederland, there was a park bench alongside the ship channel that I would frequent and watch the ships go by while I contemplated.  Now, it is this little place in Southern Missouri that I find refuge. 

In the world we live today, there is few places to disconnect.  We are always connected to the internet, or cell phones, the hustle and bustle of life.  There is a need for solitude, aloneness in the quietness of God’s presence.  Jesus found a place to pray and talk to His Father, we must do the same. 

Where is your place of solitude?  Where can you go to disconnect for a while and find refreshing?

I guess I ought to let it be known now so it will be less painful tomorrow; the youth won.  The youth challenged the adults to a softball game and they won.  We had a great time playing even though it was 98 degrees outside.  It made think of my native Texas weather.  It was hot!

We had a good game, good fellowship and good food!  It made for a wonderful day. 

I do know, that the older I get the harder it is to play sports.  I am more out of shape than I used to be, 15 years ago, and I am not nearly as sharp as I used to be.  Yes, that is my excuse for making two costly errors for my team.  (I thought about saying the sun was in my eyes, but people might think I was making excuses.)  When I get out and play with the youth, I begin to feel my age. 

All in all, it was a great time with the church family.  It is awesome that we can all get out and have a good time together.  That is how we build closer relationships and that helps make a great church.

In my years of preaching I have developed files for my different sermons.  They are labeled by topics or series and I file them accordingly.  There is, however, a special file that no one else would ever notice.  It is the sermon dud file. 

As with any public speaker, I am sure they can testify that sometimes, you can tell the crowd connects, and that you connect with the crowd.  Other times you know you are getting across to people even though their response doesn’t show it.  Then there is the dud.  The dud is when you can’t wait until the sermon is over.  If the preacher can’t wait until it is over, the congregation must be even more anxious.  This is the dud sermon.  The one that I file in the dud file.  Another name for that file is “never preach this one again”.

Through the years, the file has grown but not too rapidly.  There may be some of the congregation who would like to suggest some for the dud file:)  But as a communicator it is important to connect with the crowd.  That means preaching something that people can use and learn from.  Furthermore, there is another thing that makes the sermon able to connect.  It has to connect with the preacher first.  If the message hasn’t impacted the preacher during preparation, it won’t impact the crowd.  Sermons shouldn’t just be written, but rather birthed within the heart of the preacher.

On the same line, I read a great story today of a preacher who had a dud.  this is from Mikey’s Funnies:

“They say that a preacher’s wife is always his number one assistant.

An example of this comes one Sunday morning after the preacher had just finished his sermon. He went and sat down with his wife and she asked him how he thought the church service went.

The Preacher shrugged and said, "The worship was excellent, and I think the prayer and communion times went quite well, but," he continued, "I just don’t think the sermon ever got off the ground."

The wife looked over at him, and before she could stop herself, she said, "Well, it sure did taxi long enough!"

“A typical Goldfish is less than five inches and often three inches or less. Here is what I learned recently; A goldfish will grow to size of it’s environment. If you put it in a small bowl, it will be a small goldfish…if you put it a river it will grow and grow.

It’s the same principle in your organization…small vision and small environment equals small results. I am learning most people are content with a small everything except a small paycheck. Expand your vision and environment so that your organization can grow.

Just a few questions of examination:

1) What projects are you working on right now? How big are you planning for?
2) Does your environment allow for small goldfish or large?
3) How big is your personal aquarium?
4) What will it take to increase your personal and professional fish tank?

Don’t settle…increase your everything for growth, expansion, development, escalation and progression.”            HT: Shannon O’Dell

How are we doing as a church and in our ministries?  Are we content with the small fishbowl or are we willing to swim in the river?  We must be minded for the pursuit of a larger purpose.  Our goal is to reach more people for Christ and impact Northwest Arkansas for Jesus.  We must get outside of our fishbowl and reach those around us.