Homosexuality, Repentance, and Hypocrisy

This past Sunday I made a reference to how people like to do “gymnastics” with the Word of God. In other words, some people take God’s Word and twist it and bend it to make it fit with their own worldview.

In my effort to illustrate this truth, I chose homosexuality as an example of biblical “gymnastics”. Homosexuality is explicitly called a sin several times in scripture, yet many today want to challenge its sinfulness (Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13 , Rom. 1:27). Christians are right to challenge this attitude , but they make themselves out to be hypocrites when they quote scripture to condemn the sins of others, while ignoring passages that condemn themselves.

Examples?

How about Ephesians 5:22 which says, “Wives, submit to your husbands…” Most women find this verse to be offensive and will try to redefine the word “submit”. Surely Paul must have been injecting his own opinion and not writing under the inspiration of God!

Or how about Matthew 5:43? “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” This verse sounds very pious until you realize that God specifically wants YOU to show love to the guy who stabbed you in the back at work and took your promotion.

And don’t forget Matthew 5:28: “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. I mean, God doesn’t REALLY mind if I check out the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue! C’mon!!

Surely these verses don’t really mean what they actually say! DO THEY?!

What is your attitude when reading God’s Word? Are you submissive to the WHOLE counsel of God, or only in PART?

When you read the Word of God, do you want a RETRACTION, or do you experience REPENTANCE?

When we judge others sins with the Word of God, we must be ready to judge our own sins by the same standard.

 

Experience Easter

Gearing up for Easter Sunday at LifeJourney and we are excited about some things that will be happening this week and the whole month of April!

• KidJourney will be worshipping in their new environment  in the redesigned Fellowship Hall this Sunday! Our Children’s Pastor, Dee Powell, has been working feverishly with her team to make this an exciting, appealing, and comfortable setting for our kids. I can’t wait for our children and their parents to experience this new worship center!
• KidJourney will also be launching our new ministry, Backyard Bible Club, at the East Carolina Apartments in Williamston at the end of the month. Remember that if you are volunteering, you will have to attend one of our two training opportunities: April 15th or April 22nd from 12-2PM.
• By the way, Backyard Bible Club WILL be happening every Saturday from 2-4PM. However, as a volunteer you WILL NOT be expected to serve EVERY Saturday. Depending on the number of volunteers, you will only have to serve every few weeks.
• Tailgate Baptism Sunday is coming up on April 29th! This is always a Sunday of celebration for our church. If you would like to be baptized, please contact the church office. Remember to bring your lawn chairs and canopies that day if you have them. Praying for good weather!
• New discipleship classes will be starting in May. This is an opportunity for you to grow deeper in your faith. Details will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.
• Remember to invite somebody to our Experience Easter worship service this Sunday at 10:30 AM. We have a very powerful service planned and  are expecting God to show up in a big way! We serve a risen Christ!

That’s all for now. We are so blessed to be a part of God’s movement here in Pelzer. I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do this Sunday!

Reflections on the Real Marriage Conference

This past weekend Noralee and I attended the Real Marriage Conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I have had the pleasure of hearing Mark Driscoll speak on several occasions and I would have to say that he was at his best at this event. You could sense the anointing of the Holy Spirit as he and his wife Grace shared thier insights on 20 years of marriage.

Noralee and I have been married for 21 years, and were able to take away a lot of value from the teaching. It was refreshing to see couples are age as well as newlyweds, young marrieds, engaged couples, and even singles. I wish there were an event like this when Noralee and I were thinking preparing to start our life together.

 I feel that this past weekend was the first page of a new chapter in Noralee and I’s marriage. The best chapter.

Here are some of the quotes that spoke to me the deepest from this past weekend. (I tried to write these down as I was taking notes, so they may not be exact quotes.)

“The basis of a strong marriage is first of all friendship. If you are friends, you will figure the rest out.”

“More fun, less work.”

“Joy keeps you from sin, not fear.”

“Husbands and wives who want their marriages to be enduring and endearing must be friends.”

“Don’t make a list of what you want in a spouse. Make a list of what God wants you to be for your spouse.”

“You can either get bitter, or get better.”

“Time doesn’t heal wounds, Jesus does.”

“Differentiate between mistakes and sin. Calling your failures “sin” is bringing God into it.”

“Couples don’t fall out of love, they fall our of repentance.”

“Good Christians make good spouses.”

“There are only two options: forgiveness or bitterness.”

“Your standard of beauty is your spouse.” AMEN!!

“Pleasure comes from God.”

“Little things naw away at the vine.”

“Whenever we encourage we make deposits in the marriage. When we criticize we make withdrawals.”

“Pride is a mother pregnant with all other sins.”

“We must willfully, earnestly, and continually humble ourselves.”

 

 

Top Five Worship Songs #1

I always come back to this one. This is probably the most upbeat song on my list. Catchy hook, awesome lyrics, and Kim Walker…Ha Ha! This one speaks for itself.

Here it is, my favorite worship song…Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture

Nothing can separate Even if I ran away Your love never fails
I know I still make mistakes But You have new mercies for me everyday Your love never fails
Chorus: You stay the same through the ages Your love never changes There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jesus_culture/your_love_never_fails.html ] And when the oceans rage I don’t have to be afraid Because I know that You love me Your love never fails
Verse 2: The wind is strong and the water’s deep But I’m not alone here in these open seas Cause Your love never fails
The chasm is far too wide I never thought I’d reach the other side But Your love never fails
Bridge: You make all things work together for my good

 

Top Five Worship Songs #2

I had one of those “God” moments recently while listening to this song. You know, the times when the presence of the Holy Spirit is just so sweet and He’s all over you? This song is just charged with emotion. My favorite line is, “I never want to go back to my old life.”

Amen!

We haven’t done this one at LifeJourney yet, but get ready church. It might happen this Sunday!

Here is #2: I Need You More by Bethel Live.

I need You more, more than yesterday I need You Lord, more than words can say I need You more, than ever before I need You Lord I need You Lord
(Repeat)
(Verse:) More than the air I breathe More than the song I sing More than the next heartbeat More than anything And Lord, as time goes by, I will be by your side Cause I never want to go back to my old life.
Chorus Verse Chorus
Right here in Your presence is where I belong This old broken heart has finally found a home And I’ll never be alone…Chorus… I need you more…’cause I never want to go back

Top Five Worship Songs #3

I actually heard this song the first time over a year ago, but had forgotten about it until this past Christmas. I was traveling by myself up to Richmond, VA to visit my parents when I pulled out the Passion CD with this song on it. The Holy Spirit just flooded the cab of that vehicle! I think I played it  six times in a row!

Here it is, a heart felt song from one of the best worship leaders in the country…Lord, I Need You by Chris Tomlin.

Verse 1: Lord I come, I confess Bowing here I find my rest Without You I fall apart You’re the one that guides my heart
Chorus: Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You
Verse 2: Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me Yes where You are Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me
Bridge: So teach my song to rise to You When temptation comes my way And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You Jesus You’re my hope and stay And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You Jesus You’re my hope and stay

Top Five Worship Songs: #4

The first time I heard this song was at the NewSpring Leadership Conference this past September. Our worship team quickly learned it and has led our congregation into many a faith building moment. My favorite line is, “My faith may fail, but my God you never will”!

Here it is, “Give Me Faith” by Elevation Worship.

verse: I need you to soften my heart

to break me apart

I need you to open my eyes

to see that you’re shaping my life

 All I am I surrender

 Give me faith to trust what you say

that you’re good and your love is great

I’m broken inside, I give you my life

 I need you to soften my heart to break me apart

 I need you to pierce through the dark and cleanse every part of me

 I may be weak but Your spirit’s strong in me

            My flesh may fail My God you never will

Top Five Worship Songs: #5

Music has always been a very important part of my life. I come from a musical family with my mom playing piano and singing with a traveling Gospel group in her college years. I grew up singing in church and school choir, participated in musicals, and lead worship for the first ten years of my ministry. I would say that music is the main avenue through which I connect with God.

With that being said, I thought it would be fun and inspiring to take the next few days to post my five favorite worship songs RIGHT NOW. I emphasize “right now”, because as new music is written, my list will change! One of the most important things we can understand is that the best music is YET to be written! That’s because God is always doing a NEW thing!

These are the five songs that are most meaningful to me in my current walk with God. Four out of the five are songs that our worship team currently leads our congregation in, which will explain a lot of my attachment. Music a lot of times is a reflection of our walk with God. So without any further ado, here is #5:

ALWAYS by Kristian Stanfill

My foes are many, they rise against me

But I will hold my ground I will not fear the war,

 I will not fear the storm

My help is on the way,

 my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay

My refuge and strength always I will not fear,

His promise is true My God will come through always, always

Troubles surround me, chaos abounding My soul will rest in You

 I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm

My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay My refuge and strength always

I will not fear, His promise is true My God will come through always, always

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord

 I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord I lift my eyes up,

my help comes from the Lord From You Lord, from You Lord

Oh, my God, He will not delay

 My refuge and strength always

 I will not fear, His promise is true My God will come through always, always

Oh, my God, He will not delay My refuge and strength always, always

Pressed But Not Crushed

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…” 2 Corinthians 4:8

As many of you already know, this past Sunday evening I was outside playing with my son and broke both the tibia and fibula of my right ankle. Lesson learned: 43 year old men should not be riding scooters. From now on bonding moments will be restricted to video games.

I am so appreciative of all the phone calls, cards, and visitors over the last week. LifeJourney is truly showing me what it means to be “The Body”. I will be having surgery next Tuesday and I look forward to getting on with the recovery process.

In the meantime LifeJourney will press forward. It is such a blessing and privilege to serve the Kingdom alongside a passionate and capable team of pastors. We will continue with our present course of teaching through the Gospel of John with Quinn preaching this coming Sunday and Dr. McKenzie the following week. Barring any complications from surgery I hope to be back in the pulpit on Feb. 19th.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well-wishes and I hope to see you all soon!

Looking Back, Looking Forward

I am a couple of days late with the Monday Sunday Recap, but here it is along with a look at what’s coming up this Sunday @ LifeJourney.

Looking back…

This past week’s teaching was from John 2:13-23, where Jesus cleansed the temple. Here is what we learned…

• We began by asking the questions, “Why are you here and What did you bring?” Worship is always about motivation. 
• We are here for two reasons: To see God, and to help others see God. As a church, we have to remove distractions and barriers that keep people from clearly seeing God.
• We can become so distracted by things that don’t matter. A good example is building projects. When Jesus told them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”, the teachers of  the law missed it. They were focused on the building, but Jesus wanted them to focus on God. How many church buildings exist in the world that are ornately beautiful but are devoid of the presence of God? Herod had spent 46 years remodeling Jerusalem’s temple, but the presence of God had left centuries before. Buildings are great, but they are only a tool.
• It is our mission to help those who are farthest from God draw nearer to God. If you look at a diagram of the temple, you will see that the Court of Gentiles was farthest from the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was supposed to dwell. This is where the market was set up. Instead of helping people to draw nearer to God, they were actually keeping them away.
• So what are we supposed to bring?
• First, we bring our sin. The purpose of the temple was to atone for sin. Jesus laid down His life as the ultimate sacrifice. We come together to confess, repent, and restore.
• Second, we bring our fears and weakness. Psalm 32:7-8 speaks of God as the one who will protect us and bring us deliverance. Our habit so many times is to run from God instead of to God. Jesus is the one who lovingly protects and directs us.
• Third, bring your money. Why do churches close? Because the people fail to obey God in their finances. When a church ceases to practice walking by the Spirit, it begins to practice business. If God’s people obey God with their money, the church will never have to do another fund-raiser. We will be looking for places to invest God’s money for Kingdom building.
• Fourth, bring your praise and your prayer. In another Gospel Jesus said, “My house shall be a house of prayer.” It is not a house of music, a house of preaching, or a house of fellowship dinners. God expects His people to pray and to seek Him together. Come ready to connect with God and commune with Him.
• Finally, bring your friends. Is your church a place where you are excited to invite your friends to? Will they clearly see God? Will they sense His presence? Will they be distracted?

Looking forward…

• This coming Sunday we will be looking at John 3:1-21 which contains probably the most famous passage of scripture in the Bible. This is it!! The Gospel as explained in Jesus’ own words. This is a tremendous opportunity to bring someone who needs to meet Jesus. Don’t let the opportunity slip away!!
• If you haven’t yet signed up for a LifeGroup it is NOT too late! We had a good start this past Sunday and it is a great way to go deeper and build relationships.
• I’ve got a couple of ideas for blog posts that I want to do just for fun. Be on the lookout and see you Sunday!!