Does God even want state-mandated prayer?

Calls for a return of required prayer in the nation's public schools are common on social media and letters written to the editors of local newspapers.  Some who I would count as valued colleagues and friends are echoing this call.  As the theory goes, this is a key to turning around the American culture and bringing back a golden age of Christendom where America's status as a Christian Nation was unchallenged {A return to a supposed past Golden Age is a common trope in history, one rarely based in reality; a different topic for another time}.  Setting aside the question of whether or not state-mandated prayer in schools would benefit the culture (An assumption made in the argument, but how would one know if it is true: crime rates?  teen pregnancy? drug use?  Would prayer be expected to lower such things by 10%? 50%  With a complex system like a nation/culture, we cannot single out one factor for much of anything because of interconnected cause/effect.), or the Church itself (Was the Church healthier during periods when the population was required {on pain of various penalties} to pay nominal homage to God?  When everyone living in the land was assumed to be a Christian by simple right of birth regardless of any evidence of the Holy Spirit?  Was that marriage of Church/State a healthier Church?), even if we assume that both the nation and the Church would benefit, that there wouldn't be any unintended negative consequences to either, there still remains a fundamental question that is not being sufficiently considered: Does God want state-mandated prayer?
How can we know the mind of God?  A pertinent question, and one that has a simple answer: we can't, unless God chooses to reveal his mind to us, primarily through his revealed Word.  What then does the Word of God say on the subject?  How has God responded in the past to the worship/prayers/sacrifices of those whose hearts are not invested in the act (in other words, unwilling or indifferent participants)?  For rest assured, if prayer was mandated in the schools, there would be millions, likely a majority, of children and teachers who are not enthusiastic supporters of the particular prayer being offered {Certainly not for Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic, or atheists, as well as those Christians who would disagree with the particular form and/or verbiage of the prayer being offered.}  A sampling of relevant texts of Scripture follows:

Proverbs 28:9 New International Version (NIV)
If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

Isaiah 1:13-18 New International Version (NIV)
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
    Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
    I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
    I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
    stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.

Amos 5:21-23 New International Version (NIV)
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
    your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Malachi 1:6-10 New International Version (NIV)
Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.
9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

Luke 18:9-14 New International Version (NIV)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

These are not all of the texts of Scripture that reference insincere or tainted prayer/worship/sacrifices, but they will suffice to show the point: God does not desire, nor accept, from even his own people (or at the least, those claiming to be his people) prayer, worship, or sacrifices that do not come from a humble obedient heart.  If then, these unacceptable efforts were not helpful to the people of Israel, nor to the Church, because they were not genuine, how would they be acceptable to God coming from people of other faiths, or no faith, when compelled by the power/authority of the state?  What about those prayers would be pleasing to God?  Is it not as likely, if not more likely, that such disingenuous rote and compulsory prayer would anger God rather than please him?  Is false prayer better than no prayer at all?  The warnings of the Jewish prophets appear to say 'no'.

Two other factors to consider: (1) Any prayer designed by the government for use in public schools would by its very nature, in keeping with the 1st Amendment, be entirely devoid of specific reference to God.  It could not be a prayer to anything other than a generic god, for generic blessings, and generic guidance/help.  It could not mention Jesus, nor reference the Gospel's call for salvation by grace through faith.  It would, by necessity, be a bland prayer.  Would such a prayer be instructive to young people (what exactly would it teach them about the nature of God?) or pleasing to the God whose name and deeds that we do in fact know?  Even if the government were to somehow avoid violating the 1st Amendment while still including reference to Jesus, it would not differentiate the Jesus of the true Apostolic Church from the Jesus spoken of by the Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons (both of whom speak highly of Jesus, but a Jesus whose nature and work is very different).  How could a prayer be constructed under the limitations that exist (Nobody is advocating for a repeal of the 1st Amendment, so we must consider this call for prayer in schools within that parameter) that would be properly honoring to God?  (2) If a conservative/evangelical inspired government (the only one likely to pursue this course and the background of those calling for a return of prayer to schools) were to impose school prayer, what is to stop a future liberal/secular inspired government from taking that same prayer and making it explicitly multi-faith (for example: replacing "God" with Allah, or Jesus with Buddha, or stating that all names/approaches to God are equally valid.  'O God, whose faces are many, though all people call equally to you...')?  What started out as a 'win' for Christendom could quickly become an exercise in blasphemy that Christian children would be required to participate in.  If then, that prospect causes anxiety, should not we, as Americans, not wish to put that same anxiety upon fellow citizens who happen to be Muslim, Hindu, Buddhists, etc?  Even though I am 100% convinced that there is only one God, and that he has made himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that does not mean I would welcome a return to the policies of past eras where people of other, or no, faith were compelled to acknowledge a God whom they do not believe in.  As a Baptist, I naturally look with trepidation upon any government compelling people in the realm of religion, our ancestors in the faith didn't enjoy being on the wrong end of that, and if we ourselves would object, we cannot advocate imposing the same thing upon others {"Do unto others..."}
The same objections to mandated prayer in school apply to mandated Bible classes in school.  As a former English teacher, I can see the value in teaching the Bible as literature (however, this viewpoint would also treat other religious texts like the Qu'ran in the same way; as literature for students to be made aware of as part of a well-rounded education), and the value in history classes of learning about the role of world religions in human history (a huge factor to be sure, to ignore it is to do a dis-service to history), but NOT the value of having public schools attempt to teach Christian theology.  The reasons are the same as above: (1) Any teaching would have to be generic, and thus liable to offend various Christian sects who vary on one point or another from the mainstream (i.e. Baptists being more/less on their own about baptism, any class on the basic of Christian theology would teach the majority viewpoint), (2) and any class set up to be acceptable to conservatives/evangelicals when they are in power could then be switched to one whose curriculum is approved by a liberal/secular government?  Once again, what started as a 'win' for Christendom could quickly turn into the means to advance what the traditional/apostolic Church considers to be heresy.  If the success of an idea depends upon 'our side' remaining in power, and would subsequently become anathema to us if 'our side' were to lose power, then perhaps that idea is best left on the shelf.

From a strategic standpoint, it seems to me that both prayer and Bible classes in the public schools are a bad idea for the Church, even if they are a 'win' for Christendom (a dubious claim at best).  Others will disagree and see these tools as a means for advancing the cause of the Gospel in the face of an increasingly secular society.  They will contend that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.  We can agree to disagree, as Americans we have that right.  The far more important question that is not being given enough consideration is this: Would God be pleased by these efforts, indifferent to them, or angered by them?  If the examples of Scripture are any indication, and since they are the revealed Word of God, and God does not change, they must indeed be instructive for us concerning the mind of God, the most likely response from God is anger, followed by indifference, leaving pleased as the least likely.  Perhaps there is a Bible-based counter-argument in favor of compulsory prayer and Bible education, given the antipathy shown in the Bible itself to fake prayer/worship/sacrifices, it would have to be extremely compelling.

Systematic expository preaching: What 7 years worth has wrought

I was raised under exceptional expository preaching.  From my earliest years until well into my adult years, Pastor James Frank preached systematically through portions of Scripture using an expository style.  Given that, I was predisposed to prefer that style when I sought to enter into the ministry.  Now, having been at First Baptist Church of Palo, MI for five years, and here at First Baptist of Franklin, PA for seven years, I can step back and see what choosing to work verse by verse through books of the Bible has accomplished.  And while I could go through my old sermons to figure out what I preached at Palo in five years (and that would take a while), I don't have to do that here at Franklin because I began keeping records when I started here.  Thus I can report that in seven years I have:

Preached the entirety of 10 books of the Bible: Ruth, Jonah, Malachi, Luke, Acts, Philippians, Titus, Philemon, Colossians, and James.

In addition, I've done substantial portions, but not yet finished with: Genesis (chapters 37-46), Joshua (chapters 1-7), 2 Chronicles (chapters 10-36),1 Corinthians (chapter 1-8), as well as individual passage here and there chosen for Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions.

That, in a nutshell, is what you get from about 350 systematic expository sermons over 7 years.  I don't expect anyone to remember what I said, after all half the people of the church we're here when I started anyway, but there is a method to my madness.

Why systematic?  So I don't/can't skip the hard or uncomfortable passages. {Acts 20:27  (NIV) For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.}  I prefer to keep the focus on one thought from the author (that's how I decide how long the text needs to be for a sermon; typically it will be one thought in length which could be half a sentence or a whole paragraph) and not allow other passages, however relevant they might be, to distract us from what this particular text is trying to say to God's people.

Why expository?  So it is more likely to be the Word of God speaking than me.  While I know there are some phenomenal topical preachers who each week decide the topic and then search for a corresponding text(s) (and some lousy expository ones; preaching style doesn't equate to quality), for my own ministry it just makes sense to take the weekly topical choice out of my hands and let the text decide.  Yes, I know that one can shape Scripture, bending and twisting it, to suit a variety of ends, that danger remains no matter what style of preaching one adheres to.

So, here I sit, at my computer, with this week's sermon ready to go, the last for the book of Acts, considering where we will turn next.  Back to one of the series that have been begun but not yet finished, or somewhere else?  Wherever we end up, it'll be one verse, one thought, at a time until we've finished.

** Update**  I've figured it out: 2 messages for Obadiah, and 3 for Haggai (minus one week for being in MI for Alumni basketball) brings us to Palm Sunday.

Sermon Video: That all the earth might know the LORD - Joshua 4

Having provided a supernatural way across the Jordan River, the LORD instructs Joshua to have the people of Israel construct a memorial using twelve stones carried from the midst of the river.  The memorial is to serve as a object lesson to facilitate the teaching of future generations regarding the wonders performed by God on behalf of his people.  In addition to the construction of the memorial itself, Joshua instructs the people that it will be the responsibility of future parents to teach their children about the LORD.
Both of the ideas in Joshua chapter 4 are easily applicable to the Church today.  We too need to celebrate what God has done for us, finding appropriate ways to memorialize them, and we too need to emphasize the need for parental responsibility regarding the instruction of the next generation regarding the LORD.  As a Church, it is our responsibility to reinforce and encourage the instruction that ought to begin in the home, which of course necessitates that those who are parents within the Church have themselves been instructed in order to make them capable of teaching their children.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Remain where you are? 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

As a Christian, should you stay where and what you are, assuming it is God's will, or should you seek to change the life you're living to go along with the spiritual change God is working out in each of us?  While acknowledging that every situation is unique, in general Christians are called to be useful to the kingdom of God, where they are now, regardless if change is coming in the future.  God called us to salvation, where and what we were, no matter our background or abilities, teaching us that God saw value in us then, ensuring that we can be useful to God's kingdom right away.  How do I know this?  It took me twelve years to get to the place that I thought God's will was leading me when I graduated from Cornerstone University, through numerous setbacks and much heartache (for my wife Nicole as well), but God had a use for me, even then, teaching alternative education and then after a long wait, being the pastor of the small rural church, the First Baptist of Palo.  In the end, God brought us to Franklin, PA, not at all what I had expected, but clearly the right place for us.

What is God's exact will for your life?  Don't ask me, other than the answer that is the same for us all, making you Christ-like, I don't know.  But I do know this, God wants you to be useful to his kingdom, to serve, here and now.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

An Opportunity to Learn.

The History of the Bible, five minutes a week.

Having taught my history of the Bible class several times now, I'm looking for ways to share this crucial information with those who have been unable to attend the whole class.  Two weeks ago I started something that I'll likely be continuing for months to come, that is working through the material of my six hour class (it gets longer each time I give it, imagine that) five minutes at a time at the end of the Sunday morning worship service.  During the first one, I talked about how the Bible's original languages were Hebrew and Greek (with a smattering of Aramaic), last week we covered the obstacle that the original autographs (those written by the hand of the authors) have not survived, leaving us with copies of their work.  This coming week we'll begin to look at the evidence we have from the copies that allow us to overcome the hurdle; and so on, and so on.  Eventually we'll get to the end of the story where our modern translated English Bibles emerge.  As a teacher, it isn't easy to open up a topic, talk about it for a few minutes, and then wait until next week because I want to keep going with the story.  It reminds me of reading the Sunday comics as a kid, there were several strips that only appeared in the Sunday edition, and to see what happened next, you have to wait till next week.  If the people are left wanting to hear more of the story each week, that isn't a bad thing.

There are crucial aspects of Church history, such as the history of the Bible, that God's people need to know about, things that are easier to cover in hour long classes, but we always miss some people when we limit this knowledge to those willing/able to come to a class.  Perhaps this is the start of something, at least it is my way of affirming that the Church is only benefited when the laity know its history.

Sermon Video: The grace of God has appeared - Titus 2:11-12

There are many ways that we learn things in life, from watching others to being taught by the spoken or written word, to the life lessons that we only learn through experience.  Knowledge of the things that we need to know about God also comes in a variety of forms.  We most often think of the Word of God as our primary teacher, whether we're reading it or having it explained to us, or perhaps the Holy Spirit as our guide, but we must also learn from the experience of being born again and transformed by our faith, by God's love for us, and as Paul explains in Titus 2:11-12, by our experience of the grace of God.
When God's grace if poured out upon us, bringing healing and forgiveness to our undeserved and unearned souls, it also acts as a powerful teacher to spur us on in our Christian faith to both say "no" to sin, and to say "yes" to living for righteousness.  The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are great and helping us see what we should and should not do as Christians, grace offers us motivation as to how we can accomplish the difficult task of living like Jesus.  Paul's combination of saying "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, while at the same time saying "yes" to self-control, upright living, and godly lives, reminds us that our faith cannot simply be defined by what Christians say "no" to, it must go one beyond that to fully embrace the life or righteousness that God intends for us here and now, as Paul says, "in this present age".

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

Sermon Video: The Church at Antioch - Acts 11:19-30

Why do some churches grow, and other churches shrink?  What does the same church grow at one point in its history, and then falter in another?  The Bible never tells us directly what we should do to help our churches be healthy and growing beyond the general prescription that we have from Paul that the church needs all the members of its body to contribute.  One thing we can do, however, is look at the examples from Acts of growing churches and successful missionary efforts and attempt to draw out from those passages principles that will stand the test of time.
The church at Antioch wasn't founded on purpose through the missionary efforts of the church at Jerusalem.  It was simply the result of committed followers of Jesus Christ taking their own initiative to share the Gospel beyond their comfort zone of their fellow Jews to the Greeks of the large city of Antioch.  The tremendous success that they met with prompted the church at Jerusalem to send Barnabas to them to investigate.  When Barnabas arrived, he saw clearly that God's grace was among these people (would that any visitor could say that about every church!), and rather than worry about the impromptu nature of this church, Barnabas felt was glad for them.  As he always did, Barnabas encouraged them through his own example and through words, but he soon realized that this church would need a capable teacher if it was to mature. 
It was at this point that Barnabas saw an opportunity to bring Saul back from Tarsus and get him involved once more after nearly ten years of "exile" following the near-riot that his last appearance in Jerusalem caused.  Paul and Barnabas then spent a full year in Antioch teaching and training these new Christians.  The end result was a church that was eager to give back to fellow Christians in need (in other words, a mature church), which they then did in the form of famine relief to Jerusalem.
What was the process of growth for the church in Antioch?  Witnessing, Encouragement, Teaching, Giving.  Is that a prescription for any church?  There will never be a one size fits all formula for a local church, this living, breathing, full of redeemed sinners, organization is far too complicated for that; but it certainly would be a good place to start.

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

Sermon Video: "failing to pray for you" - 1 Samuel 12:20-25

In part three of the four part series on the life of Samuel, the nation of Israel loses faith in their system of tribal theocracy and asks Samuel to choose a king for them.  This loss of faith was not due to a failure on God's part, rather it was the culmination of bad leadership (both Eli's and Samuel's sons were corrupt) and poor morality on the part of the people.  Ultimately, God allows Samuel to choose Saul as the first king of Israel, but not without the realization that they have chosen to no longer be the unique experiment that they were beginning with the Exodus.
In his farewell speech (several years before the end of his ministry), Samuel reminds the people of his own faithful leadership, God's past provision, and prompts them to realize that they have been unfaithful to the Covenant they have with God.
Will God abandon his people?  Will he become fed up with their lack of obedience?  Samuel assures the people that God's reputation and honor would not allow him to abandon his effort to build a Covenant people, nor would it allow God to give up on his efforts to reconcile the world through this same people.  Samuel urges the people to recommit themselves to following God with all their hearts, and in connection with the peoples' responsibility he lists his own: to pray for and teach the people.
For Samuel, not only was it unacceptable that he should fail to pray for this people, it was a sin.  He had an obligation to represent the people before God in prayer.  In addition, Samuel had the blessing and the burden of teaching the people the Word of God and how to apply it.
The lessons of Samuel speak to us today, we too must fully dedicate ourselves to God, with all our hearts, and we too must have proper leadership to pray for us and teach us.  After all, we have a New Covenant to keep, a commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ, and a world to minister to.

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