The Fruit of the Spirit is . . . Faithfulness

Everyone admires faithfulness; but many are not willing to pay the price to actually be faithful. As I reflect on the sermon this morning it occurs to me that everything we do in the Sunday morning assembly has something to do with faithfulness.

• We began this morning with a baptism wherein our new sister in Christ joined Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. Jesus was faithful to his mission to "give his life as a ransom for many" which allows us to be saved from sin.
• We then sang praises to our great God in heaven who has proven himself to be faithful to his covenant promises.
• The sermon was based on passages we find in the Bible which is a record of God's faithfulness toward us.
• The Lord's Supper is our weekly sharing in the body of blood of our faithful High Priest and the sacrifice of himself which was given for us.
• The contribution became the first opportunity we had as a congregation to respond to our faithful God by showing ourselves to be faithful in support of His church.
• Our family prayer time was made possible because of the faithfulness of Jesus who allows us to boldly approach God's throne of grace.
• We ended our service recognizing a new member who desires to become a part of our family. We are indeed a family because God was faithful to keep his promises.

Now we get to live all week long remembering that God is faithful and looking for ways the Spirit of God is developing faithfulness in our lives. When you see evidence of his work in your life encourage it, fan it into flame so that you will become a living example of the faithfulness of God!

Great Rejoicing!

I feel I need to explain something to my faithful blog readers. Several weeks ago I announced that today, Sunday, November 22; would be a day of Great Rejoicing. I further proclaimed that it would be a baptism Sunday. I wasn't sure if this was my idea or God's idea until I ran it by my elders. They assured me that they felt the idea was indeed God's.

It happened like this: I am a part of two weekly prayer groups at church that faithfully pray for those who have not yet responded to the Lord in baptism. I keep a list in my office that I update regularly with the names of adults who are in some way connected to the Clear Lake Church of Christ but, for a variety of reasons, have not received baptism.

Some on the list have done extensive Bible study and are very involved in our church life. Others, I have never personally met, but their spouse is a member. The majority are people I know but they do not in any way claim to follow Jesus as Lord.

While on my last prayer retreat an idea came to me to have a Great Rejoicing Sunday. Many of those on the list have put baptism off for so long I wondered what would happen if we set a date and asked them to be one of the ones who would be baptized that day. Knowing that there is a difference between a "Good idea" and a "God idea" I presented my thoughts to the Shepherds.

The results of moving on this idea are not completely in yet, but what has happened has certainly showed that God is moving. Since that announcement there have been 5 baptisms with 4 more to follow this week. Two people on the list that I had not planned to talk with showed up unexpectedly at church. I spoke to each and began a Bible study with one and had a good conversation with the other.

I decided to write this on the blog to encourage you readers to be open to ideas that God is giving you -- especially when you are in a season of prayer. Be willing to test the ideas to determine which are from God and which are not. Then be faithful to follow God's leading. God is working all around us and often invites us to join him to do some small task that he will use for his glory.

On another note, I just realized that this blog has now passed 10,000 hits. What better way to celebrate than with a note about Great Rejoicing!

What's the Big Deal About Baptism?

To close the sermon this morning I gave a number of images that baptism might be associated with. Which one was most significant to you when you were baptized? Is there a more meaningful one you associate with your baptism today? The images were:

• A Wedding Ceremony - where life long vows are made and a forever intimate relationship is initiated.

• The Birth of a Child - where new life begins full of hopes, dreams, and possibilities.

• A Bath - where sins are washed away and a person is made clean and fresh.

• A Burial - where the old life is forever laid to rest and a new life is begun.

• A Family Reunion - where one is recognized as belonging to the larger family of God.

Vocal Union

Since Vocal Union did a concert during Sunday School AND presented a sermon in song during the worship service, I got a rare Sunday off from teaching and preaching. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert but got distracted during the worship. Everything was going great until the second half of my Communion meditation when I forgot to turn on my microphone. Then I handed off my lapel mic to the sound people forgetting that I would need it for the contribution prayer. Thinking fast on my feet I borrowed a hand held microphone from one of the Soprano singers in the praise team. For some reason (I don't even want to know now) the people in the back couldn't adjust fast enough so all we got was feedback.

As soon as the sermon in song began I noticed some people standing in the baptistery. I knew there was going to be a baptism at the end of the service and left to go inform them that there was a good 30 minutes to go before they needed to be in the water. I came back in the sanctuary and sat in the wings where I had a good shot of the BACK of the singers! I missed the middle of the sermon in song and was therefore lost as to the overall point of the presentation.

Oh well, I learned something a long time ago and get have the opportunity to relearn it regularly: "It's not about me, it's ALL about Him!". In spite of my confusion the Lord was praised today, His people were encouraged, and we have a new sister in Christ. Hallelujah!

The Fruit of the Spirit is . . . Goodness

As I was contemplating the meaning of the word good out loud on facebook (my favorite new way to begin sermon preparation), my friend Glenn Drysdale raised an interesting point. He said something to the effect, "what if we focused more of our attention on being good rather than being right?" There is certainly nothing virtuous about being wrong; but it seems to me that we Christians may have followed the misguided notion that being right is somehow more important than being good. What if we put goodness before rightness? What would that do to our attitudes and opinions of each other? What would happen if we devoted ourselves to being good? In our pursuit of rightness we cannot forgot to follow these instructions:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal. 6:9).

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good" (Titus 2:7).

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good" (Titus 3:1)

"Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good" (Titus 3:14).

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12).

"For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." (1 Peter 2:15).