Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Why does God ask us to Pray?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on August 24, 2008|

Prayer is something we have all done. And the Scriptures call us to pray in many different places. Paul says in Romans 12:12, “Be constant in prayer. And Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer.”

But the question today is “Why does God ask us to pray?” Or more specifically,

Why do we need to ask?

After all God knows our needs – Matthew 10:30 says, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” God knows about the details of our lives. And as Jesus also says, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). (more…)

Read Full Post »

“How to Receive New Life by the Spirit”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on August 3, 2008|

There’s good reason to talk about this because life without God is miserable. The Scriptures describe our life apart from God in bleak terms. To put it simply . . .

We are Spiritually Dead

Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in (your) trespasses and sins.” To spell this out a bit more, this means: (more…)

Read Full Post »

Love as Jesus Loved

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on July 26, 2008|

We are gathered here to celebrate! To celebrate with Josh and Bethany and to celebrate God’s gift of marriage.

The scriptures have much to say about marriage. In Mark 10:6-8, Jesus said, “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.”

This tells us that marriage comes from God, and speaks of the essence of marriage – two becoming one.

But I would like for us to focus on a second text, one that speaks to the love that is necessary for – two to truly become one. I would like to share some thoughts with you under the title – “Love as Jesus Loved.”

This comes to us from John 13:34, where Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

There is much that is shallow, fleeting and self-absorbed that passes for love today. We see this in the world around us.

But for the Christian – it is Jesus who defines for us the meaning of love, through his teaching and his example. So we look at how Jesus loved us, and then we know how to love one another.

And Bethany and Josh – this includes how you are to love one another in your shared life together.

First of all, Jesus shows us that love is about caring for one another’s needs

He demonstrated compassion, which moved him to help, for instance:

  • two blind men – whom he healed (Matthew 20:34)
  • a crowd – whom he fed (Matthew 15:32)
  • a leper – whom he cleansed (Mark 1:41)
  • and a widow whose son had just died – he raised him from the dead (Luke 7:13)

And Jesus was gentle and kind in how he treated us. Matthew 12:20 speaks of him as one who would not break a bruised reed, or quench a smoldering wick.

Jesus cared for our needs and concerns, and he calls you to do the same in your new life together. Be compassionate, kind and gentle with one another. Care for each others needs, just as Jesus has cared for you

Second, Jesus shows us that love is about sacrificial giving

The story of Jesus is a story of self-sacrifice:

  • Jesus himself said, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
  • John talks about how Jesus “laid down his life for us.” (I John 3:16)
    • Jesus gave of himself to us – sacrificially – by humbling himself, coming to us and serving us.
    • And Jesus gave of himself to us – sacrificially – by dying for us.

The apostle Paul picks up on this in Ephesians 5:25 and applies it to marriage, when he says, “Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” And the same can be said to the wife –

And so I say to you both – sacrifice for each other, lay down your lives for each other, just as Jesus gave of himself and sacrificed for you.

Finally, Jesus shows us that love is about deep commitment

For many, love is an emotion. It is based on how we feel about another person. And these feelings change according to the circumstances we are in; and over the course of time.

But Jesus shows us that love has to do with commitment. An unending commitment to the well being of the other person – even when it gets tough.

In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus struggled. He asked God, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). And when there wasn’t another way to help us, he stayed true to his love for us and died on the cross.

Jesus’ commitment to us was unyielding. His love for us was steadfast. In the same way I say to you – love each other with steadfast love and deep commitment, just as Jesus loved you with an unending love.

My prayer for you is that you will not only receive this model of love that Jesus demonstrates for us, but that you will receive from God’s Spirit the power to put this into practice in your lives together. May God bless you in this.

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

How to Find Forgiveness

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 29, 2008|

Someone once said that the Christian teaching on sin is the one Christian teaching that can be empirically verified . . . you can just look around with your own eyes and see its true. You don’t need faith to see all the wrongdoing, evil and the lack of love in this world. You just need to turn on the daily news – or just look in the mirror. And I say this last part because . . .

Sin is something we have all done

All of us have acted rebelliously against God, doing what is right in our own eyes instead of listening to our Maker. And all of us have injured others through our actions and our words – or perhaps by not doing or saying what we should have. It is just as Paul says in Romans 3:23 – “all have sinned.”

And we must recognize that sin has disastrous consequences:

Sin destroys our relationship with God. In Isaiah 59:2 the prophet tells us, “. . . your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you . . ..” We can’t have a relationship with God when we are knowingly choosing to do wrong and sinful things.

Sin also destroys us. Although at the time (right?) we think – “hey, this isn’t so bad” or “this will get me out of a difficult spot.” But we really do end up paying a price.

  • We experience guilt & shame (unless our heart).
  • We are given over to the power of sin. This is God’s judgment. God says, “I don’t want this for you, but if that’s what you want, I will let you have it . . . But its gonna take over your life.” Sin works like a drug addiction. It seems pleasing at first and then it takes over our lives.
  • We experience the misery of sin, as the “other shoe” drops and we start reaping the results of our actions.
  • We are overwhelmed by death. James 1:15 says, “Sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.” Sin destroys us.

So if this is where you find yourself today – alienated from God and suffering under the misery of sin,  whether you call yourself a Christian or not, I want to tell you . . .

How to find forgiveness

 . . . how to be set free from this downward spiral; how to be released from the power and the penalty of sin. Let’s look at this:

Step #1: Look to God – God has provided the way for us to be forgiven and there is no other way:

  • we can’t work our way out of the problem, trying to earn our own forgiveness
  • we can’t compensate for it by being really good in some other area of our life
  • we can’t pay the psychiatrist enough or go to enough therapy to get rid of the root problem of our sin
  • no pharmaceutical prescription will give us forgiveness
  • no self-help program or the latest self-help book
  • and no false religion can do it.

God has provided the way, and that way is Jesus.

Jesus, looking ahead to his death on the cross said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” – Matthew 26:28. Without getting into all that he is saying here, the key for us is that his death brings us “the forgiveness of sins.”

Look to God, for Jesus is the way to find forgiveness.

Step #2: Confess your sins to God. Psalm 32:3-5 talks about how when the writer kept silent about his sins he was miserable. And then v. 5 says, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” 

You can see the connection between confession and forgiveness. There was no release, only misery, until there was confession.

Like in the Psalm, the natural human response is to hide our sins, to find excuses, or to focus on others’ faults. We want to live in denial. But if we want to be free, we have to be completely honest with God. Look, God already knows everything you’ve done – Why try to hide it? You have to come clean with God.

As Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Now a part of confession is that you take responsibility for your sins; you own them. They are yours. It is what you have chosen; it what you have done. We don’t like it, but that’s a part of what confession means. 

David’s prayer to God in Psalm 51:3-4 is a model for us. After he had committed horrible sins he prayed, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you . . . have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.” He’s saying, I did it and the consequences are my fault.

Step #3: Express your sorrow. If we see things rightly, we come to understand that our actions – our sins – have caused God and others pain. And this should cause us to feel badly for what we have done against God and others.

  • Paul talks about “godly sorrow” in  2 Corinthians 7:8-10.
  • David spoke of his “broken and contrite heart” after his sin in Psalm 51:17.
  • James says to those who have sinned, “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” – James 4:9. James is saying, “Feel it!”

There is an emotional component to this that can be healing both to us and for those we have wounded through our actions as they see our sorrow.

Express your sorrow for the wrongs you have done.

Step #4: Turn from your sin. Turn away from it and commit to do God’s will from now on.

  • Proverbs 28:13 says, “he who . . . forsakes his transgressions will obtain mercy.”
  • Ezekiel 18:30-32 says, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. . . Turn then, and live.”

A part of this turning is that you commit to make things right with others – as best you can.

  • If you have sinned against others, seek peace with them, as Jesus talks about in Matthew 5:23-24.
  • If you have harmed them in a way that can be restored, make amends to them, just as Zacchaeus said in Luke 19:8, “if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” He tried to make it right.

Step #5: Ask God to forgive your sins. Ask for God’s mercy. Just as the tax collector in the story of Luke 18:13 – prayed, pray “God be merciful to me, a sinner!”

The prayer of David in Psalm 51:1-2 is a good pattern for us – “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

Forgiveness is a gift of God to us and you need to ask for it. Just as Jesus says in Matthew 7:7 about all of God’s good gifts to us – “Ask, and it will be given to you.” 

Step #6: Claim God’s promise by faith. We know that God always keeps his promises, so we can claim his promise to forgive us and know that God will do just as he says he will do.

Here is a promise to hold on to – “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – I John 1:9.

Claim this and stand on it! God is faithful and just and he will do it.

Finally let me just say that if you take these six steps . . .

You can have joy

 . . . from knowing that:

Your sins are covered – Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
God doesn’t count your sin against you anymore – Psalm 32:2 says, “Blessed is the person against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.”
God doesn’t remember your sin against you anymore – Jeremiah 31:34 says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
God casts your sins away – Micah 7:19 says, “God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
God removes your sins far away – Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
God erases your sin – Isaiah 43:25 says, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.”

All of these are just different ways of saying the same thing – our sins are gone!  Think of it – your sins will no longer separate you from God and your sins will no longer destroy you. As Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you want to be free of the misery of sin? Do you want to have a relationship with God? Do you want to know the joy that forgiveness and new life brings? Well, you have to act! You have to do something. God has already acted in Jesus, and he is waiting on you. Follow the six steps. Act to find forgiveness and new life. William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Righteous Speech: Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on June 1, 2008|

We are bringing our series on righteous speech to a close today. We’ve been looking at this topic because . . .

Our words get us into trouble

James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect person . . ..”  James teaches us that in terms of righteousness, the hardest of all things is our speech. It’s a struggle for all of us.

It’s not that we always say the wrong thing. We usually say what is right. But we still mess up. So we are saying good things some times, but also bad things some times; we are doing both.

It’s like what James 3:9-10 says, – “With our tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” Right? During the church service we praise God and then on the way home when someone cuts us off, we curse them.  James goes on, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My sisters and brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

A pointed example of this struggle comes from the life of Peter:

In Matthew 16:16-17, when Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’” Peter used his mouth to speak out words that came from God. 

In Matthew 16:22-23, just a few moments later, when Jesus spoke of the cross it says, “Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” Peter used his mouth to speak out words that came from Satan.

In just a few moments he went from allowing God to speak through him and being commended by Jesus to having Satan speak through him and being rebuked by Jesus.

We often are the same way. We say good things but also unrighteous things. God speaks through us, but also we allow Satan to speak through us. When we do the latter we have to recognize that . . .

We sin through our speech

This is not a trifling thing. We dishonor God with our words and we hurt and wound others with our words.

And as Jesus says in Matthew 12:36-37 – “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” If even our careless words will be judged, then all of our words will be judged. As one of you commented when looked at these verses before – “We are all in trouble!” 

So in this series, we’ve been looking at . . .

What should we do?

I’ve given you three guidelines, so far:
1) Don’t talk a lot. Proverbs 10:19 says, “when words are many transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech.”
2) Be slow to speak. James 1:19 says, “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak.” Think carefully before you speak; be thoughtful.
3) We need to learn what righteous speech is and then guard our mouths to make sure that when we do speak, we speak words of righteousness. Proverbs 13:3 says, “Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives.”

So to this end, we have looked at different aspects of righteous speech:

  • Honoring God’s name
  • Speaking the truth
  • Not swearing promises but simply keeping our word
  • Not boasting
  • Using words that build others up rather than words that tear down

And we could add many more. For instance:

  • How we should be a people filled with thanksgiving instead of complaining – Philippians 2:14; 4:4.
  • How we should cease sexually immoral language – Ephesians 5:3.

And on and on . . . And we learn about these so that we can guard our mouths and learn to speak righteously.

Today we look at a fourth guideline and the most important one. Yes, you need to know what righteous speech is. But that is useless if you don’t get to the root of the problem of your unrighteous speech . . .

You have to deal with your heart

This brings us to Matthew 12:34-35 – “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

Jesus gives us this principle: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So then, evil words come from an evil treasure; an evil heart. But also, good words come from an good treasure; good heart.

There is this unbreakable connection between what is within you, in your heart, and what comes out of your mouth.

So, for instance, do you have:
– boastful words? Look for pride in your heart.
– critical speech? Most likely you have bitterness or discontentment.
– abusive speech? Perhaps you have anger or woundedness in your heart.

And so again – if we want to have righteous speech we have to deal with our hearts – our unrighteous, evil hearts. It like mowing weeds and thinking this will kill them, when the roots are still there and so they keep growing. We can try to guard our mouths all we want to but without this we will fail. We have to go to the root.

There are two ways we can act to change our hearts:

1. Ask God to renew your heart: Ask the Spirit to come into your life and give you a new heart, with new desires and attitudes.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 talks about this. The Lord says – “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

God can change your heart, just as when you were born again and given a new heart, so God can continue to come into your heart and transform you and make you new in righteousness. This is the work of the Spirit of God, who works in our hearts to bear good fruit. As Paul says in Galatians 5:22 – “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

Do you have pride, bitterness or anger in your heart? God can deal with these, or whatever it is – if we let him. And for sure it often means we have work to do, for instance with bitterness choosing to forgive. But the point here is that God can transform your heart if you will let him.

God can bring healing and help, which will then show up in our words. As Jesus said, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good” – Matthew 12:35. Ask God to help you and he will do a work in your heart.

2. Nurture your heart in righteousness: Be careful what you receive into yourself through your eyes and ears, from the world and it influences. And then be careful what you focus on, meditate on and give attention to in your heart. You are what you ruminate on. This becomes a part of you and shapes your heart.

What you put in is what comes out and if you put garbage in, you will get garbage out!

So receive into your heart the things of God, that will support and work with God as he seeks to renew your heart. As Paul says in Philippians 4:8 – “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Ruminate on these things.

And as we cultivate and focus on these good things of God, this will affect the treasure that is in our hearts. And this will show up in our good words that flow out of the abundance of our hearts.

So here are our four guidelines for righteous speech:
1. Don’t talk a lot
2. Be slow to speak
3. Guard your mouth
4. Deal with your heart

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Let us speak the truth to one another

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 29, 2008|

This is a topic that is relevant to all of us, because it is so easy not to speak the truth to one another, but to allow a little dishonesty now and then. Even if we’re not into telling big lies, we can get caught up into telling so-called white lies or exaggeration, thinking it won’t hurt anyone. And this is not considered a big deal by most people. 

There are several words in the Bible that help us flesh-out different aspects of dishonesty:

  • False witness – often used in a legal context, its where you give false information
  • Lying – don’t tell the truth
  • Deception – mislead, trick, not telling the whole truth
  • Slander – where you spread false information about someone – to damage their reputation

We need to watch out for all of these, so lets remind ourselves

Why dishonesty is evil

 The answer is straightforward, dishonesty destroys relationships, indeed, it can destroy whole communities.

1) Lying destroys trust, which is the glue that holds us together in relationships. Trust is what makes our relationships possible.

When you lie to someone you are stealing their trust, as it were, and then using that trust to take advantage of them, or otherwise to get your way in the situation.

When they find out (and usually lies are found out) it destroys the trust they had in you. Trust is a precious gift of great value; and lying damages or even destroys it.

I’m sure you have experienced this. You know how it feels to be lied to; to be deceived. You know the sense of betrayal of trust and the damage it causes.

2) Even if you are never caught, to maintain the lie you have to continue to be false with the person. You can’t be in a genuine relationship with them. You have to wear a mask, so there is always this barrier between the two of you that hinders the relationship.

So the relationship is damaged or even destroyed either way: if you are found out the trust is broken; if you are not you have to put on a mask.

This is, in large part, why Scripture teaches us not to lie. For instance: Ephesians 4:25 – “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Notice the last phrase here, which emphasizes our relationship with each other.

We are in relationship with each other in the body of Christ. And if we are dishonest with each other then it tears the community apart; the relationships that make up that community.

So lying is evil, but let me now impress upon you that it is not something that God winks at –

Lying is as evil as evil gets

1. Proverbs 6:16-19 – Lying covers two of the seven things that God hates. “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eye, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” Lying shows up twice! God hates lying; it is an abomination to him.

2. 1 Timothy 1:10 – Lying is classed with sins such as homosexual practice, killing your parents and more generally, murder. Are these other items “really sinful” in your mind? Well the point is – so is lying!

3. Psalm 101:5 – This verse tells us that God himself will destroy a secret slanderer – someone who goes around whispering falsehoods about others to tear them down. God will tear them down.

4. Acts 5 – Ananias and Sapphira are killed by God for lying about their contribution to the church

5. Revelation 21:27; 21:8

  • The first verse tells us that liars are not permitted into the eternal city of God in the age to come.
  • Revelation 21:8 says of liars, “their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

So, it should be clear –

We have to make a choice!

Will we be honest or will we allow dishonesty a place in our life? Perhaps you think it might make your life a little easier at points to allow some dishonesty.

So lets be clear – if we take the path of lying we are choosing Satan to be our father. Jesus says to the Pharisees – John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. . . . When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” When you lie, you imitate Satan – like father like son.

But if we take the path of honesty, we choose God as our Father – for

  • God “never lies” – Titus 1:2
  • Indeed God “cannot lie” – Hebrews 6:18

So, we have to make a choice.  Finally, let me tell you that –

We will be blessed if we speak the truth

And we need to know this and remember it, because it can be hard to be honest at times.

  • Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” When we are honest we please the Lord.
  • Revelation 14:5 states that those who speak the truth are the ones who will be with Jesus forever in the kingdom of God. They will follow – the Lamb- wherever he goes, for, it says, there was “not a lie found in their mouths.”

So, let us speak the truth to one another. For the sake of love for each other, and our relationships and for the sake of our relationship with God. And if we have not spoken the truth, if you have not I encourage you to make it right before God and before your sister or brother. Amen?

Lets stand together and close by reading Ephesians 4:25 – “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” William Higgins

Read Full Post »

Scripture Collection: “You will have to give an account for every careless word you utter”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on April 22, 2008|

Our speech reveals who we really are. It shows what is in our heart:

Matthew 12:33-35 – “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.”

For this reason, we will be judged based upon our words:

Matthew 12:36-37 – “I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

You can be as religious as you want, but if you don’t control your tongue it is worthless:

James 1:26 – “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues, but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.”

Where there is much talking, there is sin:

Proverbs 10:19 – “When words are many transgression is not lacking; but the prudent are restrained in speech.”

Proverbs 13:3 – “Those who guard their mouth preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin.”

James 3:2/8 – “Anyone who makes no mistakes is speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. . .. No one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Those who speak one thing is secret and another in public will be exposed by God:

Luke 12:2-3 – “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.”

Psalm 101:5 – David said, “One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy.”

Those who use words to tear down others will be judged:

Matthew 5:22 – “If you are angry with a brother, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool!’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

We should rather use our words to build up others:

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”

We must not misuse God’s name. Rather we pray that it be hallowed:

Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.”

Matthew 6:9 – “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, your name be hallowed.”

We are not to swear promises to others, but simply say yes or no when we make commitments:

Matthew 5:34-37 – “Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be, ‘Yes, yes’ or No, no;’ anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

James 5:12 – “Above all my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

We are not to boast or have arrogant speech:

James 4:13-16 – “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring . . .. Indeed you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

We are to have pure speech with thanksgiving:

Ephesians 5:3-4 – “But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead let there be thanksgiving.”

We are to speak the truth:

Ephesians 4:25 – “So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors.”

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

The Importance of Good Deacons

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on February 3, 2008|

(edited) We want to look at why the Deacon ministry is so important, but first, lets back up a moment. There are actually two necessary offices in the church connected to two kinds of ministry –

  • Deacons who perform “table service”
  • Elders/Overseers who perform “the service of the word”

There can be other positions created as there is need – e.g.  trustees when you have property, buildings, or a church council for administration of programs, finances. But the two that you must have scripturally, and I think to be healthy as a congregation – are the offices of Deacon and Overseer.

Why are they necessary?

I think we understand the necessity and importance of the Elder office. Elders oversee the congregation to make sure we are faithful to God in what we believe and in what we practice.

But what about the office of Deacon? Is it necessary? Is it important? Lets look at this –

1. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is at the very heart of God

Psalm 145:14 says, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 107:41 says, “he raises up the needy out of affliction.” This is simply who God is.

We are all to be involved in helping those in need, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that as a community we act in accord with our heavenly Father.

2. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is a pleasing act of worship to God

Isaiah 58 talks about untrue worship – specifically fasting. This is where you go without food, but still treat others mercilessly.

Then we are told what true fasting or worship is – “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? . . . Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am’” – Isaiah 58:7-9.

The point is that those who offer this kind of worship – providing bread, clothing and housing – reach the throne of God and are blessed. God hears their voice.

We are all to be doing these kinds of things, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that our worship is pleasing to God

3. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need was at the top of Jesus’ priority list.

He spoke about it constantly. Here is one example – Luke 12:33 – “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” Take of your abundance; your excess and give to those who don’t have their basic needs met.

We are all as individuals to be involved in this kind of ministry, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, so that our community does what is right.

4. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is what Jesus did

Jesus says in Luke 22:27 – “For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

Jesus is the one who serves, or  “deacons.” Its the same word. And we know all that he did ministering to the sick, the poor, and the hungry.

We are all to be involved in this kind of ministry, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, to make sure that we do what our Lord did.

5. Caring for the poor, the weak and those in need is a true test of our faithfulness to God

1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

We are all to do this, but we appoint Deacons to give leadership in this area, so that as a community we pass the test of caring for those in need among us.

In all of this it is plain that Deacons do what is most pleasing to God and they lead us as a community to do the same. No wonder that Paul says – “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 3:13).

How could they not be greatly blessed in such a service? And what a blessing to have good Deacons who will lead us in this ministry, so that we as a community will also be blessed.

William Higgins

Read Full Post »

What we learn about God from Christmas

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on December 16, 2007| Leave a Comment »

The Christmas story is very familiar to us. So I want us to look at it today from a bit of a different angle. I want us to see what we learn about God from the story of Jesus’ birth.

1. God’s forethought on our behalf

God has had a plan for us from the beginning of time and has worked meticulously to see it through to completion. It wasn’t just thought up as he went along.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Prayer Book 07

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on December 6, 2007| Leave a Comment »

This is my latest Prayer Book. If this is helpful in any way please use it! William

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »