Who is the slave and who is free?

After preaching John 8:31-36 this week, I returned to the classroom to teach today with that thought in mind.  Who really is the slave here and who is free?  Jesus did promise us that the Truth would set us free from the chains of our bondage to sin, but are those chains evident?  Are those who don't have a relationship with God really as lost and hopeless as the Gospel says?...I've been teaching alternative education for over seven years now and I've had some wonderful students over the years.  Sadly, though, the vast majority of my students are so totally enthralled to their own desires that they have virtually no compassion or concern for others.  On top of that, the use of drugs and excessive drinking are for many a daily habit.  Their lives are so desperate and without hope that they need to escape from them every day! 
Who is the slave and who is free?  Am I a slave because I choose to abstain from drugs and alcohol?  Am I a slave because I choose to remain commited to only my wife and no other?  Am I missing out on all of the fun?  No, I'm not.  God didn't give us his commandments in order to ruin our fun, God gave us the Law so that we might see what holiness looks like.  God wants us to be like him because his existence is perfect. 
In the end, we all must choose.  Choose to live our lives for others, to dedicate ourselves to a hope and a calling beyond our own selfish ambitions.  Or, we can choose to live only for ourselves, we can choose to waste our lives on hollow pursuits that will never satisfy.
"if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8:36

Sermon Video: James 1:9-11, "the value of being rich"

This sermon is from James 1:9-11 and deals with the temporary nature of wealth along with the hidden value of being poor.
to watch the appx. 20 minute sermon, click on the link below
Sermon video: James 1:9-11

For those of you new to my blog...

I suppose there may be some people who view my blog who don't know who I am, for that a trip to the bio. page will suffice, but there may also be some who don't know that I have bunch of documents (a few essays, a play, some sermon videos, and one book) that I've written that are available to read/download/print to anyone who wants to utilize them. I wrote them for a variety of reasons, but if they can be any help to you at all in your personal spiritual walk or answer any of your questions, I'm glad to share my thoughts...The book is entitled, "Christianity's Big Tent" and focuses on the question of who is, and who is not, a Christian. How do we know the difference? What makes a church a Christian church? What's really important about the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and what isn't crucial? These questions are addressed using the first letter of the Apostle John as the backdrop. Please feel free to direct anyone to the link who has questions about Ecumenism (the issue of churches getting along and cooperating), and don't hesitate to e-mail me with any questions at pastorpowell@hotmail.com.

Christianity's Big Tent

Christianity's Big Tent: Works Cited

The LORD giveth, and the LORD taketh away...

Ever had one of those weeks? When things go so wrong that you don't even know how to react. You could say that the last seven days have been that for my wife and I. We started off last friday with a nice evening; went out for pizza and then to a movie (saw Despicable Me, funny); we were in a good mood, looking forward to the weekend and driving home. The road about 3 miles from home was iced over because of the wind blowing snow across it (as it always is at this spot) so I slowed down to 35 mph. knowing that stopping there was next to impossible...after a couple hundred yards, lights in my rear view mirror keep getting closer, quickly. SLAM!! Our Taurus goes spinning around the road and into the ditch {long story short, the car is totaled, we don't get any money because MI is a no-fault ins. state); both Nicole and I were pretty sore, but at least not hurt badly. In an instant, I don't have a car to drive to work anymore {thankfully my parents let me borrow their 2nd car for a while}...what was a nice evening, a good time for my wife and I together, turns into a rotten night of waiting around in the cold for the cops and a tow truck. In and of itself, that would be enough. God has allowed us to be in financially rough times in the past, we've struggled to find the $ to pay our bills, but we're not as hard up as some; we can deal with this too....
Fast forward five days, I check my e-mail to discover that the Army chaplain recruiter has sent me a new one; nothing unusual here, he's been asking for additional info. for six months...when I open it I learn that the Army doctor who had previously approved my medical waiver (I have some knee pain and used to have migraines), has changed her mind and rejected it instead. The recruiter has told me that this is the end, there isn't anything else he can do {there are a couple of long-shot chances I'm yet pursuing, but they're not likely}; in one moment, my plans to go back to the Seminary to finish my MDiv and for us to have health insurance by this summer (we've been 2 yrs. without, neither of my 2 jobs have it, nor Nicole's adjunct prof. position); not to mention the long-held desire I have had to join the military; poof, gone...
Ok Lord, now what? How can I minister full-time when the hurdles in the way keep getting higher...I've been inches away from a full-time prison chaplain job only to have someone decide they weren't going to retire afterall; poof...I've been working for four years at my church, but we're barely keeping our heads above water. All the growth we would have had was negated by people moving away to find jobs. What now?
At times, it isn't easy being a servant of the Lord (I know, that's a shocker); if it wasn't for the support of family and friends, my church and my wife; I'd be hurting much worse...
to think, Job didn't have any of that, his wife told him to cuse God and die; his friends told him to confess to the sins he knew he hadn't commited; God's answer, "hey Job, I'm God, you let me worry about the future" (ok, that's a real big paraphrase)...
So, God, you're God, I'm letting you worry about the future; please help me to see what I'm supposed to do in the present...

The hero's homecoming

This past week the members of the 1st Squadron, 33 Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) returned home to Fort Campbell after completing their deployment to Afghanistan. Included in that squadron is one of my best friends, Captain (Dr.) Zach DeYoung {the man who was influential in my own decision to join the Army reserves as a chaplain}. Upon their return, the unit was greeted with the pomp and ceremony befitting the honor due those who have served their countries. They were then of course mobbed by family members. After a year apart, husbands and wives held each other once again, children were scooped up and treasured once more. Zach was reunited with his wife Karen and his daughters Isabella (3) and Sophia (1). It would be difficult to picture a more touching family reunion. The virtues of patience, duty, sacrifice, commitment, and love could easily be extolled upon by those looking to inspire others to make virtuous choices of their own. This scene has been, and will be repeated, all over the country as men and women return home from tours of duty. They deserve our thanks.
As I pondered this homecoming, I couldn’t help but imagine for a moment what the homecoming celebration must have been like when Jesus returned in triumph to his own home. He too had been away a long time on a dangerous mission, and he, like too many others, was asked to give his life in service to that mission. Unlike the sacrifices made in defense of freedom, the cause that Jesus was willing to die for was the liberation of the souls of mankind. As noble as those sacrifices are (Jesus honored them with his own words, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13), they can never match the victory over sin and death achieved by Christ at the cross and vindicated three days later at the empty tomb.
When Jesus returned home to his Father, amidst the throngs of angels and men and women whose hope had been in the Lord, the shout of triumph must have put to shame the thousands who will cheer at this year’s Super Bowl. Not only had Jesus lived a sinless life in order to make his sacrifice worthy, he had also passed the test at the moment of trial by proclaiming his allegiance to his duty, “may your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). On that day, when Jesus returned home to the embrace of his heavenly father, he stood victorious over sin and death, a hero whose example inspires us to sacrifice for each other as so many honorable soldiers already have.