God answers the prayer of children too

On April 19th my wife was almost two weeks past her due date and not enjoying the "extra" time at the end of her pregnancy.  I asked her to come over to the church at 6 while I was teaching the AWANA lesson to our group of 20+ k-6th graders.  When Nicole arrived, I finished up the lesson and then asked her to sit in front of the kids.  Most of these kids know Nicole already, about half of them are from the church, and they were aware of her pregnancy and had been asking if the baby had arrived yet.  I asked the kids to come around Nicole, place their hands on her to pray with me for a speedy and healthy delivery.  We always prayed to end our lesson, and had often prayed for various family members or others in need that the kids had asked me to pray for, so this felt like a teachable moment to me as well as an opportunity to add a few more prayers to those already going up here and back home in Michigan on Nicole's behalf.
It was twelve hours later that Nicole went into labor, nine hours after that Clara Marie had entered the world safe and sound.  God is good, God answers prayer.  This confirms my theory that God hears the prayers of little ol' ladies first, kids second, and the rest of us are in line after that (I'm kidding, of course, but then again I'll gladly take a 70 year old grandma praying for me any day of the week).
The following week in AWANA, I had pictures of Clara, Nicole, and myself for the kids to look at on the PowerPoint, but I also wanted to thank the kids for their participation in the previous week's prayer and encourage them that prayers do get answered, so I asked all of the kids who had been in attendance the previous week (most of those present) to raise their hands, told them the baby had come 12 hours after they had prayed for just that, and gave them all a high five in turn.  God answers the prayers of children too.

Clara Marie Powell, born 4/20/15

Nicole, Clara, and myself at the hospital

The dedication of Clara Marie

On Sunday I was had the honor of dedicating my six day old daughter, Clara Marie.  Infant dedication is a formal acknowledgement of the role of the parents in teaching a child about the love of God, and the role of the local church in demonstrating and reinforcing our collective faith.  It was an emotional ceremony for me to perform, and a bit humorous one as well because I was making statements for the father of the child as the pastor of the church that I myself in turn had to respond to.  Trying to adjust the pronouns from "you" to "we, us" was a hoot as well.  My thanks to the people of First Baptist of Franklin, I know that they will be the extended family that Clara needs, and I trust that the mercy and grace of God will take the seeds of faith planted within her heart and cause them to grow as they have in my life and the life of my wife Nicole as well.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Dedication ceremony for Clara Marie

Sermon Video: Reflections on her birth - various texts

This week's events necessitated a one week hiatus from our study of Titus because it marked the arrival of my daughter, Clara Marie.  My wife Nicole and I give thanks to God for her safe delivery and Nicole's health through the birthing process as well.  There were people praying from Pennsylvania to Michigan, all of whom have our gratitude.
This message focuses on three passages of Scripture that spoke to me as I pondered the experiences of the past week: Luke 13:34, which speaks of God's willingness to help people, but mankind's reluctance to accept it.  I thought of this verse as Nicole went through labor, for I could do nothing to take that pain away, nor nothing to help ease it beyond emotional support.  I wanted to help, and Nicole would have been glad to accept it, but I was powerless to do so.  God has the power to transform the life of each and every person on the planet, it is mankind's stubborn rebellion that holds the grace of God at bay.  The second passage, Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Jesus' ability to look beyond the agony of the cross to the glory that lay in his victory at the resurrection.  In a similar way, mothers going through the labor of childbirth take comfort in knowing that their trial and tribulation will result in new life, joy exists on the other side of pain.  The last passage, Ecclesiastes 11:5, speaks of the mystery of the wonder of human life, of God's amazing hand of creation that forms a distinct human being within the mother's womb.  Witnessing my daughter's birth, I felt the awe of God's creative power, of his ability to turn a biological process in a wondrous gift.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "resting on the hope of eternal life" - Titus 1:1-4

In this introductory message for an ongoing series that will cover the Apostle Paul's letter to his protege Titus, the background information concerning this book of the Bible is briefly explored prior to focusing on the greeting of Paul to Titus which speaks of Paul's role as a servant of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith, knowledge, truth, and godliness of God's elect which is predicated upon the hope of eternal life.  The certainty that Christian's can have, regarding life after death, is not based upon experience or logic, but rather rest wholly, and yet completely soundly, upon the character of God.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ proved the power of God to overcome death, but it is the faithfulness of God which gives us hope that his promises to us will certainly come true.  Christ walked the road from death to new life, we can trust his word that if we place our hope in him, we will follow in due time.  The implications of this truth are profound and varied for Christians, offering us perspective for life now and taking away the universal and ancient fear of death and replacing it with hope in the word of God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "Train a child" - Proverbs 22:6

In light of the impending birth of our first child, I decided to utilize the text of Proverbs 22:6 to talk about parenting as it relates to Christian families and the Church.  The Bible does not contain extensive discussion of parenting techniques or theories, instead focusing on the need for children to obey their parents and allowing the narratives of those whose lives play out in the Bible to teach us.  This proverb, like all proverbs, is not a promise or guarantee, but rather a pearl of wisdom that shows us the proper way to live.  Children need training, that much is obvious, in an ideal situation it will be done by both mom and dad, working together in harmony with the help of grandparents, other relatives, neighbors, teachers, and the church.  That this is the ideal situation is beyond doubt, but many families are working with far less than the ideal.  The task, however, remains, children need to be taught.  The Church can be a tremendous asset to broken families, and even intact ones, to reinforce and support their efforts to raise moral children of character who honor and love God.  This is one of the fundamental tasks of the Church, and a sacred duty of its people.
The phrase, "in the way he should go" could be translated literally from the Hebrew as, "according to his way", it reminds us that children are unique creations of God, each one with talents and interests that ought to be encouraged.  Educators have realized that children learn in a variety of ways and have adjusted their techniques accordingly, parents could use this same advice, especially when dealing with multiple children who need to be treated fairly, not equally, because they are not the same.  Thus parents need to be flexible when training their children, but that isn't the same thing as leaving the decision making up to them.  Children live in the moment, parents must look toward the future.
Beyond efforts to teach children, whether it be skills, academics, or morality, is the important truth that the most effective thing we can do to teach the next generation to love God is to show them that we do.  When we model our faith, with sincerity and devoid of hypocrisy, it has a far greater impact than mere words, when we live out our faith every day, our children will see its value in us and be far more likely to embrace faith for themselves.  This is a task for parents, and one that the church can also help with by providing positive role models of adults living by faith.  The more relationships a child has with an adult that exemplifies faith, hope, and love, the better.
Lastly, the proverb ends with a word of hope for worried parents.  We know that some kids will wander away from their upbringing in the Church.  We know that some will not embrace faith as we do, but the best possible thing for every parent and every child is to instill the love of God within them while they are young.  No matter what happens later in life, if we have done our duty for them in the beginning, we can have hope that its impact upon them will remain.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "Let us rejoice and be glad" - Revelation 19:6-9

This text was chosen for our Easter worship service because the event that it talks about, the future "wedding of the Lamb" is actually the long-awaited victory party for the triumph of Jesus' resurrection.  The Apostle John's vision of the Last Days includes a vast multitude which gathers to rejoice and praise God because the reunion of God with his people is finally to come about.  The symbolic wedding of Christ with his bride, the Church, demonstrates the complete removal of the barrier of sin that once stood between humanity and God, as such it is a time of joy that is has no parallel in our world, a world where all victories are only temporary or partial.  It was the resurrection of Jesus, following his willing sacrifice on the Cross, that sealed this victory and guaranteed that all those who put their trust in him will one day not only be at the wedding, but be among the great multitude that collectively constitute the bride of Christ.  The question then for us all is simple: will we be invited to this wedding to take our place in the family of God, or not?  The means of securing an invitation are equally simple: put your trust and hope in Jesus; he died to pay for your sins, he was resurrected open the way for us to new life after death.  Let us rejoice and be glad.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video

Sermon Video: The Passover before the Passion - Luke 22:15

In this abbreviated Maundy Thursday message, the words of Jesus before he institutes Communion with his disciples remind us that Jesus was relying upon outside support as he prepared himself to endure the passion that would begin in only a few hours.  The Passover meal itself was a reminder to Jesus of the faithfulness and power of his Heavenly Father, something Jesus would need as he placed his walked toward Calvary to willingly sacrifice his life.  Jesus chose to eat that last meal, with all of its symbolic reassurances for him, with his friends.  These eleven men had traveled the dusty roads with Jesus, had learned from his teaching and aided his ministry, but more than that they were his friends.  Trusting in God, and leaning on your friends, a wise choice from Jesus as his time of trial began, and a wise reminder to us about the value of the family of God in our own lives.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Abortion and Gay Rights, Colorado and Indiana

I don't spend much time talking or writing about the issue of gay rights, or gay marriage, largely because this issue is mired in irrational discussions, and also because I don't think that what the government decides to do about their definition of marriage has anything to do with what the Church is doing on this issue; they seem to be linked in the minds of most people, but in reality they are not.  The fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution of the United States should be for everyone, that this has not always been the case, for various minorities and for women, is a blotch on our history as a people.  Things have changed, they're better than they were to be sure, but where more work is needed, to change the law or the culture, that work should be supported by the Church.
The recent furor over the new law in Indiana seems to be a far cry from the battles over "separate but equal" that were the focus during the Civil Rights movement in areas of education, housing, jobs, and other areas concerned very clearly with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  If the focus of this law is truly about cakes and photography for weddings, and not about housing, jobs, etc. it seems that we've lost focus on what truly matters in society: life.
In Indiana people are protesting in the streets about the right to buy services and goods, in Colorado, a woman who was brutally assaulted and had her child cut from her womb and then subsequently left in a bathtub where she died, has to live with the fact that her child's killer will never be charged with a crime toward the child because "it" is not considered to be a person until "it" breathes outside of the womb.  Life is not a primary concern for the law in America.  Life can be taken from the unborn, legally, in all fifty states.  The government supports this "right", the Supreme Court supports this "right", and most of the people who are up in arms about potential denials of the right to buy cake support the "right" of any mother to kill her unborn child, usually until the moment it leaves the birth canal, with no questions asked and no restrictions or limitations (And oh, by the way, the father has no right to protect his child, only the mother to kill him/her).
We live in a society where right and wrong are muddled.  I have a hard time getting upset about the demand that every business you want must participate in a gay marriage when the abortion clinic down the street goes about its gruesome business day after day.  The Supreme Court will soon weigh in on the host of gay marriage laws overturned by judges thus far, and perhaps that will lend some clarity to this highly charged issue, but don't kid yourself into thinking that expanding LGBT rights will make America a just society.  Everyone deserves basic human rights, why aren't the unborn included?

Much of this was inspired by reading an article by Matt Walsh, to view his longer and more impassioned post, click on the link below:
It’s Legal to Kill Babies, But Let’s Worry About a Gay Person’s Right to Cake

* I don't know anything else about Matt's opinions beyond this article, just saw it and thought it thought provoking enough to link to it.*