Sermon Video: The Mystery of Christ - Ephesians 3:1-13

Paul interrupts his own thought about being a prisoner of Christ Jesus to reflect upon the journey that brought him to the place of being the Apostle to the Gentiles.  That act of God's grace was part of the revelation of the mystery of Christ: God's plan to include the Gentiles in his covenant people by calling all men equally to repent and  believe in Jesus.

Sermon Video: Adoption into the Family of God - Romans 8:14-17

Adoption is beautiful.  In our world there are always children who need to be loved, cared for, and to have someone worthy of being called mom or dad.  

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God himself wants you to call him dad.  God wants you to have a family relationship with him, to be included, welcomed and treasured.  For God, saving our souls from damnation was not enough, neither was beginning the transformation process (sanctification) to make us Christ-like.  Both of those are amazing acts of God's grace, but God is willing to go further, willing to welcome us into his family and call us his own.

Sermon Video: The Right to become Children of God - John 1:12-13

 In response to those to did not recognize or receive Jesus, John writes of the gift received by ALL who did receive him. Not only that, John emphasizes that those 'who believed in his name' will also be given the gift, reminding us that it is not our knowledge/wisdom that saves us, but the work of Jesus. What is this gift? The right to become a child of God. All of humanity are in one sense the children of God as image bearers, but in this much deeper and necessary sense, only those who receive (believe in/put their hope/trust in) Jesus will have a relationship with God and be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the greatest gift every offered to humanity, it only need be accepted by faith to be applied.

Sermon Video: "I have come to bring fire on the earth" Luke 12:49-53

Contrary to the expectations of the people that Jesus had come to bring peace, following his parables on the faithfulness needed by the servants of God, Jesus goes on to explain that his mission is actually to bring "fire" to the earth, and not peace but division.  Since we know that he is the Prince of Peace, and that he is the creator of the reconciliation between God and man that is our peace, it seems odd that Jesus would talk of such things resulting from his ministry as fire and division.
The "fire" in this context is closely related to his previous remarks about the faithfulness required of God's servants, a refining fire, that melts away impurities.  Before that process of transformation of God's people can begin, Jesus himself must undergo his own baptism, a time of trial unlike any that other.  Once Jesus' mission is accomplished, his people can begin to be made new by the fire that he will send of the Holy Spirit.  It is because of that transformation process, a process of leaving behind the old life and adopting new life in Christ, that Jesus' mission of reconciliation actually causes division within the families of those who believe.  Why?  Because all those who follow Christ walk upon a path that diverges greatly from those who remain on the path of self-destruction, even if it is their own families.  Father and son, formerly as close as can be, drift apart as one follows Christ and the other remain enslaved to sin.  This same division can occur between spouses, parents and children, siblings, and friends.  It is inevitable, to an extent, as long as one follows Jesus and the other remains apart from God's redemption.  What then do we do, knowing of the fire and division that Christ has brought?  Continue to pray for our Lost loved ones, continue to show them the compassion of Christ, continue to demonstrate to them the righteous living of his disciples, and continue to hope; hope that the same Gospel that saved you and I out of the darkness will one day bring them into the light of the Son as well.

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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: 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

Sermon Video: "Be merciful" - Luke 6:32-36

As Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount continues, Jesus further explains the command to "love your enemies" and "do to others" that proceeded this passage by raising the bar of ethical conduct far beyond a simple return of love for love and good for good.  As followers of Jesus, we must love those who do not love us, do good to those who have done no good thing for us, and give to those from whom we expect nothing in return.  Why the drastic moral upgrade beyond basic human tribal behavior?  Because our Heavenly Father has demonstrated that same level of love through his mercy to the world, us in particular.  As we take up our own cross to follow Jesus, we imitate the mercy of Christ and accept the risk that our efforts will be spurned or taken advantage of; the reward is great, to be known, here and now as a child of God.

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

A Lesson from my dog...

One of our dogs hasn't been feeling very well of late.  Not eating, stomach problems, lethargic, that sort of thing.  The problem is that we can't ask her what is wrong.  Was it something she ate, is she in pain, is she sad that she misplace her favorite bone?  Who knows.
The thought occured to me that many people act the same way.  They go through struggles, difficulties, and troubles without ever letting those who care about them know it.  Why do people hid their pain?  Usually it is some mixture of shame, fear, pride, or stubborness.  What will people say if they know what I've done?  What will people think if they know what I'm afraid of?  How will people look at me when they know how much I've let them down?  I don't care how much it hurts, I'm going to fix this myself.
Maybe you've had some of those thoughts, maybe you're saying something like that right now.  There are two very good reasons why you should let other people help you through tough times in your life.  The first is that we're not meant to fight those battles alone.  God created us to be social, to lean on each other, to offer mutal support.  We're designed this way.  When we try to do everything on our own, we make things much more difficult and miss out on the love that our friends, family, and church would offer if only we would let them.  The second reason why we should ask for help is because we deny those same friends, family members, and church members the chance to be Christ-like when we don't go to them for help.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we have an obligation to support and help those in need.  The only way that we will grow as Christians is by serving others.  If we all try to solve everything on our own, none of us will grow to be the mature Christians that God wants us to be.
The next time you face something difficult in life, rather than digging a moat around yourself so that nobody can get in, try instead to build a bridge so that someone can show you how much they love you.  As God's Word reminds us, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (I Peter 5:7)  Go to God, go to his people; we are his hands, his feet, here to serve each other, here to carries the burdens of those in need.