I am not one of those guys that studies biblical prophecy while pointing to current events in the newspaper going “See, this is what God said would happen.” That can set a dangerous precedent and sometimes you end up looking foolish. I remember listening to a preacher back in the 80’s, and I remember his name but won’t use it here, that said that if Michel Gorbachev was not the antichrist then he was certainly paving the way for him. He had a poster made up of the birthmark on his head in the form of a dragon and the smaller marks in the shape of three 6’s. This was before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev later taught an economics course for the University of Georgia and made a tv commercial for Pizza Hut. He is still alive but at 88 has yet to reveal himself as the antichrist, the Beast or any other figure in Revelation. Continue reading
Category Archives: Christianity
The Changing Nature of Blogging
I was introduced to blogging by the original Internet Monk Michael Spencer. He was smarter than the average bear but lived in a rural community in southeastern Kentucky. Beginning just after the 2000 election he took advantage of the World Wide Web and as an early adopter of the new blogging platform quickly grew an online community of followers around the world. I had certainly never heard of a blog in 2000, back when I was accessing the internet via AOL and used their free hosting to create my own webpage. It wasn’t until after Michael started podcasting that I felt strongly enough that I had some things to say and joined WordPress in 2008. Hindsight being 20/20 blogging peaked somewhere between 2006 and 2008 so I came on board just in time to see blogging begin its decline across the board.
Back in 2012
Welcome Jimmy to the Table
I know I haven’t been posting daily like I was for a while there. The goal used to be two or three posts per week. Life comes at you fast and sometimes (for weeks at a time) Happy Monday was all that got published. He is still blogging but Paul Wilkinson has not posted a Wednesday Connect in a while either. This is a busy week and I know it but I don’t want to completely fall off the wagon.
Enter Jimmy Humphrey. He doesn’t know it yet but I’m about to introduce my audience to his website and podcast. Start here: Why The Church Should NOT Focus On The Family. The title may sound more sensational than the actual post. Read the intro, listen to the podcast, we can discuss. Check out other articles and podcast episodes, find Jimmy’s Table on Facebook etc. while I help my mother move this week and get into the new school year routine. I have updated the blogroll to remove some that no longer exist or have not been updated in a while. It’s time for a fresh face. Let’s all welcome Jimmy to the table.
It’s What’s Inside that Counts
I may not be a great man of God but I am a man of a great God.
Paul says in 2nd Corinthians that we possess a great treasure in jars of clay. I’ve seen a lot of proposal videos where the guy gets down on one knee or choreographs a big event to pop the question. The woman is always interested in the ring. I have never seen one check out the box it came in. That is not what matters. We as believers are the temple of God. That is where his Spirit chooses to dwell. So you may not think that I’m much to look at. That doesn’t matter because 1) my wife thinks I’m adorable, and more importantly 2) every believer is the dwelling place of God. We that are baptized in Christ have put on Christ. John the Baptist said “He must increase, but I must decrease.” When we are conformed to the image of Jesus, when we let our light shine, it really should be Jesus that the world sees. We must make more of him and less of ourselves.
References:
2 Corinthians 4:7
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Galatians 3:27
John 3:30
Romans 8:29
Today is Sunday
It’s Sunday morning. I don’t normally post on Sundays because there are so many other things going on. But just a short reminder. Today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread is titled Plodding for God. There is a link in the left-hand side bar. The scripture is taken from Hebrews 6 and it shares the story of William Carey, British missionary to India. Continue reading
Broken Pieces
God uses things that are small, weak and broken. I’ve said that many times so you may have heard it in a sermon, lesson or read it here. Every person in the Bible that does anything for God was flawed in some way, perhaps fatally so. Abraham believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness; but he still lied, twice, about Sara not being his wife. David was a man after God’s own heart but committed not only adultery but murder in an attempt to cover up the previous violation. Noah got drunk and naked, Lot was comfortable surrounded by sin, Samson was a pompous jerk and so forth. Continue reading
Saturday Doubletake
On the weekend we like to review the past week, make sure we didn’t miss anything, tie up some loose ends. We haven’t settled on a title but my wife has suggested deja vu, which literally translates to “already seen.” That makes sense but it’s just so French. The floor is still open for nominations.
- Happy Monday was filled with coffee memes, verses of scripture, inspiring quotes and funny cartoons, per the usual. In honor of law enforcement everywhere who put in long hours and did not take any vacation days this week we are pleased to share this story again:
More Together, Part II
This is the second half of a two parter. Click here if you have not read Part I.
The Gordon County Christian Ministerial Alliance (formerly the Gordon County Ministers Association) is a collaborative effort of a few local church pastors. Some will automatically be offended by anything that suggests ecumenical but what I wrote yesterday applies; we can do more working together than against each other. Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian pastors feel the same pressures and isolation. While we may be able to function as individuals we can thrive as members of a society, an organization. Is your church not enough? It’s not about that. The church is something a pastor pours into. Being part of a collaborative effort allows ministry leaders the same connections and opportunities as church members have in the body. I don’t want to use a cliche like synergy but it conveys what I mean in this case. There are members on paper we don’t see very often but the core of the group is one Baptist pastor, two Methodist pastors, one Methodist minister of music, one Presbyterian pastor, one Seventh Day Adventist pastor, one hospital chaplain and currently two ladies that represent another Methodist church and the local Episcopal church. We differ in our theology in ways there are secondary to our main goal which is bringing the Gospel into our community. When we make more of Christ and less of ourselves we can work together in spite of our differences. Continue reading
More Together, Part I
“We are stronger together than we are alone.” -Walter Payton
There’s a whole other story about researching that quote; maybe another post, maybe we can catch it on Saturday. We are stronger together than we are alone. There are multiple case studies that show people work better as part of a team (this article lists seven). I am blessed to take part in a couple of different groups outside of my church that directly relate to what we do as pastors and ministers. I often write in terms that are very general so that as many people can relate but in this case I will be oddly specific and share some personal details. The larger point, though, will still be made: We need to work together and be invested in others, for our benefit as well as theirs. Continue reading
On Sermon Writing
I know from my interactions with readers that most visitors to The Master’s Table are Christians. Many write blogs of their own, author or review Christian books, or are otherwise involved in church culture. Not surprising since many of my posts are devotional in nature; my writing explores what it means to serve God, worship, share the Gospel and so forth. I’ve blogged on meeting Christian writers, musicians, speakers and pastors; working at summer VBS; serving on the stateside mission field; publishing a book about who God is and how we relate to him. On occasion I have not only published sermons but written on the act of preaching.
While the vast majority of the readership here is Christian I have no way of knowing how many actually preach the Gospel. We all know a good sermon when we hear one or at least know what we like. But how familiar with the process is anyone that has never prepared a sermon? While there may be those that joke their pastor only works one hour each week surely no one that has put any thought into it actually believes that. Surely. I’m not going to write a step-by-step guide on how to DIY your own sermon. But I would like to share some insight into what goes on in the mind of the preacher before the sermon is being delivered. Continue reading
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