Book of The Week

One of my best friends and former college roommate is an awesome guy by the name of Travis Agnew. He is worship pastor at Northside Baptist Church in Greenwood. He also maintains an awesome blog and I pretty got my idea for this blog from him. So, I am going to further rip him off and start a book of the week section of my blog as well.

So, I read Stop Dating The Church by Josh Harris. The book is short (140 small pages, good sized font) and you can read it a few hours, which is a plus. But, Harris makes the point that people today have a fear of fully committing themselves to a church. Instead they want to "date" the church and take whatever they can from the church, all the while having their eyes on the look out for something better to come along. He admits that when you commit to a church, you open yourself to be hurt by the church and how many people are hurt deeply by churches. He also acknowledges the many problems the church can posses. But, he makes the point that we have to learn to see church as God sees the church and that is as a beautiful bride.

As I read that part of the book I remembered seeing Rebecca on our wedding day come through the doors of the church. She was amazing! I had a sense joyful anticipation of our life together. I had overcoming sense of pure love, and I would have done anything in the world for her. There was a hope that she and I would do amazing things for God . I could only wonder at the mom and the wife that she was going to be and she has never let me down yet! These feelings sum up the reason why God’s most powerful metaphor for the church is as his bride.

You see God sees our imperfections but God is exited at all that we stand to accomplish (Phil 1:6). You see God loves us (the church) with a true and real deep love. God sees us made in His image and He see us as beautiful. I believe that God in this relationship, like a good marriage can become frustrated, but he will never leave us or divorce himself from us. This is the reason Harris argues that we should love be fully committed to the church, because God is.

He also includes what kind of church to look for, when to leave a church, how to participate in church, and a great section on how to listen to a sermon and get the most of it. I loved to book and it is valuable for committed church goers, church daters, and those who are wondering if church is for them.

Happy For All The Committed Christians At Antioch Baptist Church!! Pastor Phillip

Martin Luther Quote 3

Here is the third Martin Luther quote. “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.”I am not good at prayer. I read my Bible and study a ton, but I find it hard to stop and be meditative, and speak my thoughts to God for a protracted period of time. I know people who pray all the time and they make it sound so easy. So, I like this quote by Luther and I also found it fully supported in Scripture.

The Psalms are the personal, private, and public prayers and thoughts of the people of God. They are mostly short, honest,and to the point. Like Psalm 12:7 "O LORD, you will keep us safe"and Psalms 120:2 Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and deceitful tongues. Then Psa 69:29 But as for me--poor and in pain--let Your salvation protect me, God. You get the point, honest speech to God.

Then Jesus was asked by his followers how to pray (Luke 11:1) and He gave them Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) . I just prayed that prayer it and took 25 seconds. Now, yes stopping and thinking on each part would take longer, but my point is that prayer does not have to long, eloquent, and complicated, just communication of all our various emotions to our creator and sustainer. Remeber Paul told us to in 1 The 5:17 "Pray Constantly"

Make it a goal to try that today, be mindful of God in everything that you do.

Pastor Phillip

It Is A Sad Day...

The Anglican Church is also known as the church of England. They are the same as Episcopalians in the US. I have much respect for their tradition, their history, their role in protestant reformation, and many of their Biblical Scholars, but I have no respect for this. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of their church for your information.

LONDON - In newly disclosed letters, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams wrote that the Bible doesn't forbid same-sex relationships when there is a commitment similar to traditional marriages, a British newspaper reported Thursday.

The report by the Times of London was the latest development in the controversial issue of how the Anglican Church should view homosexuality. Williams has come under intense scrutiny as differing views over whether to accept changes in traditional biblical understanding of same-sex relationships have threatened to split the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. The archbishop's office declined to comment on the issue on Thursday.

The newspaper reported that Williams outlined his views on the controversial subject in letters written between 2000 and 2001 to Deborah Pitt, a psychiatrist and evangelical Christian who asked for his opinion. "I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness," the newspaper quoted Williams as writing.

The Anglican uproar over homosexuality erupted in 2003, when the Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, consecrated the first openly homosexaul bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

All I Can Say Is Come Lord Jesus Come, Pastor Phillip

What Do You Do?

I found this story to other day and was wondering what would do if you were pastor of this church?

ORANGE PARK, FL -- After Robert Powell hit the Florida Lottery jackpot last month and took home more than $6 million, he thought of his church.

And he offered to drop his tithe, around $600,000, in the collection plate of First Baptist Orange Park.

But the church and Pastor David Tarkington politely declined and told Powell they will not accept the lottery winnings.

Many churches do not approve of the lottery and gambling but on the other hand Pastor Dr. Lorenzo Hall of the El-Beth-El Divine Holiness Church says $600,000 can do a lot of good.

"I'm against the lottery, but if one of my members won the lottery, I wish and I hope he would give 10% to the church, we could do a lot of things with that money," says Hall.

As a Holiness minister, Dr. Hall says he does not ask where members get the money they decide to donate.

He said he would welcome Powell's donation to his inner city church anytime.

"We are in the process now of building a youth center, and you would be surprised at the people that can be helped with $600,000," says Hall.

Bethel Baptist Church member Lottie Walker says if she won, the first thing she would do is give lottery money to her church.

"Anything extra is bonus so that would be an extra blessing of offering after that, so if I did win lotto, sweepstakes I would tithe to my church," says Walker.

First Baptist Orange Park Pastor David Tarkington would not say exactly why the church refused the money, saying only he didn't want to talk about members' gifts.

Let me know your thoughts first and then I will give mine in a few days!

Pastor Phillip

Have A Laugh!

I just found a bunch of good comics at Baptist Press. This is a great website for news and current events from a Christian perspective. Be sure to check it out! Remember Martin Luther said "If I can't laugh in heaven I shall not go!" I would not go that far, but enjoy! Pastor Phillip