When and where do we pray?

Sorry to miss last week, was in class all day Thursday and Friday. Matthew 6 is a fun passage of scripture to read. I’m curious as to how you interpret Jesus’ words in verses 5 and 6 in regards to prayer? So, here are a few questions to get you thinking.

- Is He saying we should never pray in public?
- What about praying publicly when the church is gathered?
- Does this mean Christians should stop praying for their meals while out to eat?
- Is Jesus saying God only hears our prayers when we pray in secret?

What do you think?

Big fish, small picture

In case you were wondering if I caught any fish last week (it's not my proudest moment!).

Caught few little largemouths. Using pumpkinseed Triple Ripple from Bass Pro Shops. Salt Creek was a really neat place to fish. I would have loved to have had a canoe and a whole day to explore and fish it.

Ministers & Mates Retreat

Down in beautiful Nashville Indiana for our District’s Ministers & Mates Retreat this week. the leaves, the hills, the perfect weather. Wow! Our first session was Tuesday at 5:30 at Salt Creek (just a stone’s throw from where we are staying, pictured above). What was the lesson? How to fish for bass in Salt Creek. Here’s some pics from that adventure.

We are having a great time. The kids are with grandma and grandpa. We started missing them as soon as we left.



In case you are wondering we did go to the sessions. They were good and focused a lot on building up your marriage. It's been fun!

Mary & Martha (part 2)

This story also teaches us about social boundaries in the kingdom of God. We may unintentionally decide who is “in” and who is “out” when it comes to the kingdom of God. We may think a particular person, because of their social status, probably won’t make a good follower of Jesus. Jesus challenges that type of thinking here when He allows Mary to sit at His feet and learn. In Jesus’ world of the first century it was men who would sit at their teacher’s feet and learn like disciples. Women were to keep busy in the kitchen or with raising the children. It was somewhat shocking for a woman to sit at a man’s feet. In the first century men were at the top of society and ranked higher than women. Here, Mary is acting like a man and it upsets Martha because it goes against the grain of society. Society tells Martha that her sister shouldn’t be doing this.

Jesus’ response to Martha indicates that there is something different between the social boundaries in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. Jesus doesn’t mind a woman sitting at His feet learning. He doesn’t mind a woman being His disciple. As a matter of fact, when you read through the Gospel of Luke you see that Jesus extends the invitation to follow Him to anyone willing to count the cost and follow Him. There are no social boundaries in the kingdom of God. Everyone is invited in.

As leaders we need to be looking at people with Jesus’ eyes and always be extending the invitation to enter God’s kingdom. Society may tell us there is a difference socially and in status between a garbage man and a doctor, but we need to remember that Jesus allows both to be His disciples and learn from Him. Will we play the popularity game and only allow people like us to be Christians or will we open the doors as Jesus did for all to come? Will our church be open to bankers and lawyers as well as alcoholics and drug addicts? As one commentator said in regards to Mary and Martha, “this story is about the boundary-breaking call of Jesus.” We cannot let social status keep us from sharing the Gospel and our lives with others. Jesus has commissioned us to make disciples out of all kinds of people regardless of where they rank in society. Being a disciple of Jesus is more important than anything else and the invitation is (or at least should be) open to all.

Mary & Martha (What can we learn?)

Paul writes in Philippians 3:10a, "I want to know Christ."

How do you get to know Jesus?

The story of Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) gives us great advice on this and a great first step to take.

Step 1 – We listen to His Word. We read and hear the scriptures. Even if we don’t feel like it we still do it. Even if it is a passage we have read a million times we humble ourselves and listen. How often are we doing that? What is the ratio of hearing TV to hearing God’s Word in our lives? What is the ratio of hearing our children/spouse/others to hearing God’s Word? How often are we hearing from Him? Do we even sense that it is important?

Are we like Martha who is so concerned with the things needing to be done in this world that we neglect to spend time with the One who made this world? He said to Martha, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it.” (NLT) Ouch! That had to sting a little for Mary.

As leaders we need to know and be familiar with God’s Word. We need to be able to answer our people who have questions. We need to be able to answer our people who are misinformed about what God’s Word really says. We need to be able to answer our critics. We need to be able to answer our family. My advice is to shut the TV off, step away from the computer/internet, go to a place of silence, and open your Bible and start reading. Hopefully, we will discover, along with Martha, that it really is important to listen and spend time with God.

Part 2 to Mary and Martha coming next week.

The Wesley Study Bible (Review)

Here is an item worth your time and money.

The *New* Wesley Study Bible. This is an awesome tool to add to your repertoire of good Christian resources. The Wesley Study Bible has been out about a year and is well worth buying and reading. Top Old Testament and New Testament scholars (e.g. Ben Witherinton III) have contributed to the study notes. This Bible also systemizes Wesleyan theology through a series of Core Terms boxes that are scattered throughout the Bible and indexed in the back. So, here are some of my thoughts on this Bible. We will start with the negative and move to the positive.

Cons
- Would have been nice to have some cross-references. There are hardly any (occasionally one is thrown into the study notes).
- Would have been nice to have some kind of concordance in the back to use for looking up words.
- Kind of big and bulky. Could it be offered in a smaller size?
- Book and chapter headings are in the middle of the page so it makes it a little more difficult to find things quickly.
- Promotion for this Bible has been very minimal (at least in my denomination). Is there a fear that it won’t be accepted or that we aren’t sure of it? What's going on? When I was at General Assembly this past summer in Orlando the Nazarene bookstore in the convention center had several copies of the Wesley Study Bible out and they were drawing quite a crowd. When I came back the next day they were gone! These things sold like hotcakes at General Assembly!

Pros
- Content is awesome. The book introductions, study notes, and Wesleyan Core Term boxes are top quality. This Bible helps you understand Wesleyan theology and thinking and how it is exegeted from scripture and applied to life.
- The amount of scholars that contributed to this Bible is amazing! You can find a full list on the site. Here are the actual names.
- NRSV translation is a pretty trustworthy translation. It has been a lot easier to read then I initially thought it would be. At first I wasn’t too impressed with it, but it has grown on me. I have started to like it a bit more the more I dig in and read/study it. It uses “brothers and sisters” when writers use the word “brothers,” or “brethren”. It is not quite as user-friendly as the NLT, but it works.
- The references throughout the Bible to Wesley’s notes and various works are helpful.
- Easy to read font size and style.

It is great to have a study Bible from our heritage. I just saw the other day that Cokesbury will be offering this in a genuine leather special edition which is now available (I think it’s priced at $67). This would make for a great gift for a discipleship and senior adult pastor (hint hint :) ).

If God is Good book

This will be short and sweet because I’m in class this week and limited on time.

If God is sovereign and good we have nothing to worry about it, right? Randy Alcorn’s latest book If God is Good examines suffering from a Reformed Christian perspective. There are a lot of good things about this book and it may help many of you who struggle with the question of evil and suffering in this world.

I was reading Paul last night in 2 Corinthians 1:5 and he confirms the fact that suffering will be in our lives. How will you respond?

Malachi profile

Working on a profile for Malachi. First set of slides (revamped this a little):

Prophets had an interesting role. It seems the prophets (e.g, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi) of the OT had a unique and distinct role.

Do we have prophets like that today?

Type-A Personalities

I'm re-discovering the joy of getting up early. My oldest daughter has been assisting me with that in that she usually wakes up first (6:30am) and then comes and wakes up daddy to help get the Care Bears DVD started. She watches the same DVD every morning over and over! I figured this morning since I was already up, I would stay up and come in and work out in the morning instead of the evening. Early morning workouts are brutal!

Anyways, I've been studying the Minor Prophets. I started with Jonah a few months ago and have now jumped to the last of the Minor Prophets, Malachi (that's a pic 14th Century pic of him to the right). What a relevant message for us today. Here is what I have discovered so far about the author of this last book of our OT.

The Author
- Malachi means “my messenger” and some have presumed this a cover for the letter being anonymous. The majority of scholars believe the letter is from an actual man by the name of Malachi and the meaning of his name is his function. He is the Lord’s messenger and he has come to bring the Israelites a message (NRSV “an oracle”) from the LORD.

- The person Malachi seems to be a Type-A personality. To me, Malachi is the type of guy you would want on your side in a debate, but when the debate ends you would want him to go directly home because he would probably annoy you if he hung around. He’s confrontational and in your face and his character really gives the book Malachi some distinction and uniqueness from the other Minor Prophets (will discuss this more in a later post).

- Malachi was the right man at the right time because his audience was a group of people who can be described as: disillusioned (1:3), contemptuous (1:7, 2:2), callous (2:16), unfair (3:5), unconcerned (3:14-15), doubters and skeptics (3:16-18), and really immoral (4:1). It takes a Type-A personality to break through to such a group. Malachi’s in-your-face-combative-style caused ears to perk up and listen.

Any thoughts?

NIV Revisions & a hateful pastor

This is actually 2 news stories (neither are related).

Story 1
Just got word that the popular NIV translation is going to be getting a facelift. A newly revised NIV will make an appearance in 2011. Will you be ready? Here is the info straight from Zondervan's site.

NIV Revisions

To me, it just sounds like the revised version of the NIV is going to be the TNIV in disguise. What do you think? I hope so, because I really like the TNIV and think it is one of the best translations available today.

Story 2

There is an Arizona pastor that looks and even sounds like Jack Shepherd (sp?) from Lost that is preaching and praying that Barack Obama will die and go to hell. Here is the story:

Pastor hopes Obama dies

I remember seeing a youtube video of this guy several years ago preaching a sermon about how real men pee standing up. I kid you not this was a whole sermon!

So, what are your thought about this all?

Jonah (Intro stuff)

For the past several months I have been studying the book of Jonah. It has been an eye-opening and heart-warming (to use some Wesleyan terminology) experience. There is the Jonah I remember learning about in Sunday School and now the Jonah I'm re-learning. For the most part what I remember of the story of Jonah still stands true, but what I've discovered about the person Jonah is a whole new story. He is quite a character. I always thought Jonah was running away from the LORD because he didn't want to accept his call to preach, turns out he didn't like the people God called him to go and preach to.

Anyways, I've created a profile for the book to help me remember its context. Here it is:

Basic info
- The book of Jonah falls into the category of the Minor Prophets. There are 12 of them. 8 of the prophets prophesied before Israel went into captivity, 1 while they were in captivity, and 3 when they returned to their land under the Persian king Cyrus.
- The book of Jonah falls in with the 8 that were before Israel was captured and taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

Background
- When God called Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh, things were going very well politically for the northern kingdom of Israel. There was a lot of political zeal in the land. Their leader, Jeroboam II helped restore the land to what it was under King Solomon. So, many of the Israelites at this time were a happy group of people. They were proud to be Israelites. Who knows? They may have even had a great health care plan that everyone was happy about. It was good!

- However, things were not going well spiritually for them. Underneath all the patriotism the poor were being oppressed and betrayed by their own government. 2 Kings 14:24 says Jeroboam II did “evil in the sight of the LORD”. It also says he didn’t repent of the sins of their former leader (Jeroboam I), which was idolatry and abandoning God. Jeroboam II oppressed the poor and hoarded wealth for himself. His government was corrupt. So, it was not a good situation for every Israelite living in the northern kingdom of Israel during this time. It was a really dark time in Israel’s history. That usually happens in a country when you have no one seeking God and people worshiping idols.

- And it just so happens that during all of this the Israelites enemies, the Assyrians (which is who the Ninevites are), were loosing some of their power and beginning to fall apart and unravel. This was a big encouragement to the Israelites. It was all very good and wonderful to them that their enemies were losing ground and falling apart. It’s during this low point in the Assyrian Empire, and also the low point spiritually in the northern kingdom, that God calls Jonah to go and preach repentance to Nineveh (this key city in the Assyrian Empire), which is right smack dab in the middle of the Assyrian Empire.

Book Outline
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jonah here is the story of Jonah in a nutshell. If you are familiar consider this a refresher.

Chapter 1 – God’s call to Jonah to go and preach repentance to Nineveh and Jonah’s response. His response was to run away from the LORD and not go to Nineveh because he didn’t like them. These are Assyrians and the Israelites don’t like Assyrians. He tries running away from God by boarding a ship bound for Tarshish and ends up being tossed overboard and swallowed up by a great fish.

Chapter 2 – Jonah is inside the great fish and we find him praying to God Chapter 2 is his prayer to God and ends with the fish vomiting Jonah onto dry ground.

Chapter 3 – God’s call to Jonah to go and preach repentance to Nineveh and Jonah’s response. This time he listens and goes to the great Assyrian city of Nineveh and they listen to his message and repent. As a result, God relents from destroying them.

Chapter 4 –Jonah becomes angry because God had compassion on them. God rebukes Jonah for being angry with Him for sparing the Ninevites.

Any additional thoughts or comments about this introduction stuff is welcome!

Back at it!

I'm trying to get back in the saddle after a week of vacation. I really don't have anything to report or share this week.

We had a blast up in Michigan. I really enjoyed taking Claire swimming in Lake Michigan. It was a great time.

We went to Mars Hill (Rob Bell's church) on Sunday. That was a quite an experience. I'll have to share more later.

I'm going to be preaching again this Sunday. I'm actually preaching twice, once out at our State Park for a service and then in our regular AM worship service. I'm still studying the book of Jonah and will be preaching from chapters 1 and 3 on hearing God. Some really good stuff in the book of Jonah when you really dive into it.

Vacation time!

I'm on vacation this week. Taking the family up to Lake Michigan to do a little swimming. I'll be back next week with a message from Jonah 3:10-4:4.

Prayer & Times of Trouble

Here's part 2 of what Jonah learned about prayer while in the belly of the fish.

What do we do when we find ourselves in troubling situations? How do we respond? Do we pray? Why is it that in times of trouble we find it easy to pray?

Read Jonah 2:1-7.

This leads to the second thing Jonah discovered about prayer:

Times of troube are great times to pray

In his time of trouble Jonah called (or prayed) to the LORD (v.1). I think he learned that times of trouble present us with great opportunities to draw near to God.

I was thinking about our situation in America right now with so many people being out of a job and/or laid-off of work. These are times of trouble. We are in a belly of the fish moment. Could it be that God has allowed this to happen (He hasn’t caused it) because He wants us to seek Him out in prayer? He knows that if we are in times of trouble, or in the belly of a fish, we will hit our knees in prayer. We have become so busy (with our work and activities) that we just haven’t had time to seek first the kingdom of God, so He has allowed us to be swallowed by a great fish. Like Jonah, He is allowing and giving us time (Jonah had 3 days of solitude in the belly of the fish) to spend seeking Him through prayer. The question is will we take advantage of it? Will we let these times of trouble drive us to our knees or drive us further away from God? I hope we will respond like Jonah and seek God in prayer.

Sometimes I think we feel guilty because we only pray in times of trouble. We use God like a band-aid. We only turn to Him when in trouble. I’m not saying we should continue to live like that because we miss out on so much, but I think God lets us use Him in that way to draw us near to Him and help us see that He can be trusted. That He is a good God. He has our best interests in mind.

Times of trouble are great times to pray. I hope and pray that during those times you can discover what the psalmist of Psalm 139 discovered.

Read Psalm 139:7-12.

Re-cap of what Jonah learned about prayer from his time in the belly of the great fish.

1. No matter where we are God hears our prayers.

2. Times of trouble are great times to pray.

The Belly of the Fish as a House of Prayer

I'm preaching today at a local nursing home on Jonah chapter 2 (I also preached this message last Sunday night at my local church). Here's part one of this message, I hope to post part 2 next week.

What Jonah Learned About Prayer in the Belly of the Fish

Opening: I want to focus in on what Jonah learned about prayer when he was tossed overboard into the sea and swallowed by the great fish that the Lord provided. Read Jonah 2:1-10. The first thing Jonah learned about prayer was that…

1. No matter where we are God hears our prayers.

Read Jonah 2:2. The Lord heard Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the great fish under the sea. Jonah thought he was getting away from the Lord. (cf. 1:3). Imagine his surprise to find out God could hear him from inside the fish?

A monk (Cassiodorus) from the 5th Century said this about Jonah’s predicament (being in the belly of a great fish). “The great fish was a house of prayer for the prophet, a harbor fro him when shipwrecked, a home amid the waves, a happy resource at a desperate time. He was not swallowed for sustenance but to gain rest.”

I wonder how many times we end up in the belly of a fish, a bad place, but a place that has potential to become a house of prayer if we let it but we don’t realize it? Our house of prayer could be a hospital bed. A wheel chair. An empty room. A waiting room. A long car ride alone. Jonah’s situation, being in the fish’s belly, teaches us that all of these places can become a house of prayer if we let them. Are we willing to let them? The secret is that no matter where we are, our prayers reach God’s ears.

I’m reminded of the children of Israel and their captivity in slavery to the Egyptians. In Exodus 2:23-25 it talks about them praying and God hearing their prayers. The next chapter in Exodus is about God calling Moses from the burning bush. God hears our prayers. There are Christians right now, around the world, which are in dungeons, holes in the ground, and prisons, whose prayers are being heard by God.

A Roman senator (Paulinus of Nola) and Christian poet who lived during the 4th Century wrote this about Jonah’s time in the fish, “His body was constrained by the great body of the fish, but the bonds of earth did not constrain the flight of his mind. Though enclosed in that belly, he broke out of his prison by prayer and reached God’s ears.”

Some places (like my church’s prayer room) can be better suited for prayer, but the truth of the matter is God can hear us anywhere.

The Early Christians (Acts 2:42d) understood you could be heard by God anywhere. They were no doubt familiar with the story of Israel in captivity and how God heard His people's prayers and the story of Jonah's prayer from inside the fish. I love the story in Acts 16. Re-cap some of the events leading up to this story. Paul and Silas are thrown into the inner cell of prison and what do we find them doing in verse 25? Praying. We know God heard their prayers because there was an earthquake and a jailbreak.

God hears us anywhere we are. Do not forget that. If you do, go and read Jonah 2:1-10.

Holy Roller

A summary of a new book by Water Brook:

Julie Lyons was working as a crime reporter when she followed a hunch into the South Dallas ghetto. She wasn’t hunting drug dealers, but drug addicts who had been supernaturally healed of their addictions. Was there a church in the most violent part of the city that prayed for addicts and got results?



At The Body of Christ Assembly, a rundown church on an out-of-the-way street, Lyons found the story she was looking for. The minister welcomed criminals, prostitutes, and street people–anyone who needed God. He prayed for the sick, the addicted, and the demon-possessed, and people were supernaturally healed.



Lyons’s story landed on the front page of the Dallas Times Herald. But she got much more than just a great story, she found an unlikely spiritual home. Though the parishioners at The Body of Christ Assembly are black and Pentecostal, and Lyons is white and from a traditional church background, she embraced their spirituality–that of “the Holy Ghost and fire.”



It’s all here in Holy Roller–the stories of people desperate for God’s help. And the actions of a God who doesn’t forget the people who need His power.

So, check this book out!

Luke 10 Ministry

This summer we have been doing a Luke 10 Ministry. This ministry is a visitation ministry. We are seeking to visit shut-ins, the sick, and visitors to our church. The ministry is based off of Luke 10:1. Behind what we do is the idea that we are being sent out like the 72 disciples to places and people Jesus will soon visit. Here’s some more of my thinking on this passage of scripture.

Context
It occurs immediately after Jesus’ teachings on discipleship (9:57-62) and right before the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:25-37).

What’s going on in this passage?
I’m just looking at the first verse, but the story is that of Jesus sending out the 72 (some versions may read 70) to preach the kingdom of God. This first verse is interesting because it reveals the real purpose (their purpose was to preach the kingdom of God, but Jesus had something more in mind) as to why Jesus is sending them out. The end of verse 1 reads, “to every town and place where he (Jesus) was about to go.” Jesus is sending these 72 disciples out to not just preach the kingdom of God, but to prepare those they visit for Him. Why would they need prepared?

Jesus reveals a radical picture of God. The Jews of His day were looking for a messiah that would free them from the Romans and restore Israel to what it was under King David. They wanted a warrior-king and a mighty kingdom to go along with it. Jesus’ kingdom differs from that. Jesus’ kingdom is like hidden treasure. It surprises you and causes you to want to sell everything you have to obtain it. The 72 sent ones are building anticipation and expectancy among those who will take time to listen to their message.

Can you imagine how excited the 72 were to be sent out by Jesus with the message of the kingdom? What’s even better is that they knew Jesus would soon be visiting the exact same places they were just preaching at. Those who scoffed at them and doubted their message about this would-be king would no doubt be doing a double-take as Jesus strolled into their towns with crowds of people following Him.

The 72 disciples had Jesus’ assurance that He would be visiting the places they were visiting. Maybe this caused them to take their task of preaching His kingdom a little more seriously. Do we ever look at the places we go as possible places where Jesus will soon visit? Do we ever think of ourselves as sent out like the 72 to people Jesus will soon visit? There is a heavy load on these disciples (see 10:16), but it is a load Jesus believes they can bear. Jesus is still in the sending out business. The Great Commission of Matthew beckons us to “go.”

The Challenge of Jesus (N.T. Wright)

Wanting to go deeper in studying the New Testament has led me to a lot of the writings of New Testament scholar N.T. (Tom) Wright. There’s no doubt he is one of the brightest and best! I doubt I’ll ever be able to read everything he has written (just look at the list of his books on amazon.com), but that doesn’t mean I won’t try. The books I’ve read of his are excellent. When he is arguing something or trying to make a point he really covers all his bases well (he covers the arguments of his critics and even his critics’ critics down to the fourth generation, ha! This can make his writings a little dry at times). So if you are going to set out to read something by Wright be prepared for some serious discussion.

I’ve been working my way through The Challenge of Jesus and have discovered that Tom is very helpful in getting me to see Jesus in his Jewish context. He does an incredible job of revealing what life was like for a Jew in the First Century. The Jews were who Jesus came to first minister the kingdom of God to. Because of this, Wright asserts that many of Jesus parables (e.g., parable of the prodigal son, the parable of the talents) are in some way or another referring to Israel.

For example, we read the parable of the Prodigal Son and assume it is about God’s forgiveness and love for the lost. We assume the prodigal represents a lost sinner. Put on your Tom Wright glasses and you see that this parable is about God the Father waiting for Israel, the rebel son, who has run off and mingled with pagans (remember the son eating and working with pigs?) to return to Him. Now this parable is just as much about Israel (the real prodigal son) as it is about God and His forgiveness and love for the lost sinner. It becomes now about a group of people and not just an individual. The parables of the lost coin and sheep become about lost Israel and God’s intention and desire to see them found again too.

So, why does this matter? Why is it important to place Jesus in His Jewish context? Well, for one it helps us see that Jesus was on a mission to seek and save lost Israel. Not saying He did not come to reveal the kingdom to us (Gentiles), but His first priority was to reveal Himself to Israel and be their King. Israel was really important to God. Israel really was His firstborn son. What God was attempting to do with Israel (Israel was to be a blessing to the other nations, see Gen 12:2-3) was important and mattered to God. He wasn’t about to throw them to the curb.

Second, maybe we need to re-examine some of Jesus’ parables in light of all this. If most of Jesus’ parables were originally understood to be about Israel, we might need to revamp some of the application we draw from such parables (i.e. is the parable of talents/ten minas really about the judgment we will face if we do not use our gifts for God?). I’ve still got a lot more to learn and this post is just the beginning. Honestly, I'm still working on how much difference this understanding of certain parables of Jesus will make. We'll see.

So, if you want to really get a good grip of the background to the New Testament and the context of Jesus I recommend reading N.T. Wright.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 14.0 (GS recaps and videos)

Stan Toler was elected GS yesterday.

Some of you have asked for videos showing the elections of our GSs. I could only find one for Eugenio Duarte on YouTube. Here is the link (just click on the name and it will take you to video):

Eugenio Duarte

General Assembly, Orlando FL 13.0 (Change of plans)

Breaking News

Woke up this morning and found out that Dr. John Bowling (he was elected GS a couple days ago) rescinded. He woke up about 3am this morning and felt no peace about his decision. So, now the General Assembly is in the process again of electing a new GS. I told you this was a historic GA.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 12.0 (Headed Home!)

General Assembly is over for me and I’m headed home (with my dad). When all is said and done we will have traveled over 2,000 miles in a Chevy Impala.

It was neat to be a part of the global NYI Convention and watch and observe the General Assembly. The COTN values people and you can tell that by the way we govern and do business.

Here are some other notable moments from General Assembly:
- Being in Global NYI Convention and having 9 other countries present via Skype. Delegates from these other countries could vote, ask questions, wave at us, talk to us, it was awesome! That was a job well done by the NYI tech crew.
- The worship services were full of energy and encouraging.
- Praying with other Nazarenes from around the world in small groups.
- Seeing and hanging out with old friends (good to see ya again Jon!).
- The service Friday night with Dr. Porter reinforcing the importance of discipleship and mentoring and that it must first start at home.
- Taking communion with 22,000 Christians from all around the world.
- Seeing how missional the Church of the Nazarene is and will continue to be.

On a completely unrelated note, we ate at a little joint called Zaxby’s tonight after a quick run into the Bass Pro Shops. Zaxby’s is a chicken place. It was awesome! I gotta find one of these when I get back to Indiana. They have some finger-lickin sweet-and-spicy chicken wings.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 11.0 (3rd GS elected!)

Just elected our third GS. Dr. David Graves. Here's a pic of him. The GS elections are now over. This GA was a historic moment for us in many ways. Exciting times!

General Assembly, Orlando FL 10.0 (New GS #2)

We have elected another new General Superintendent. It took a little while longer for this individual to accept, but he did. Who is it? ONU President John Bowling. Here's a pic.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 9.0 (New GS!)

We have a new General Superintendent!!! He is from Africa. What a great time to be a member of the Church of the Nazarene. Here's a pic of Eugenio Duarte:

General Assembly, Orlando FL 8.0 (live from the floor)

I’m sitting in a General Assembly plenary session right now as an observer. Four individuals from the NEI District were nominated for General Superintendent (wow!).

Saturday I had a chance to go fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing is a favorite hobby of mine. I don’t think I’ve ever blogged on it. We were fishing at the Cocoa Beach Pier. It was a great deal if you have your own pole (otherwise you have to rent). Five dollars to fish from the pier for the whole day too. The good about fishing this way is that you don’t have to worry about getting any type of out-of-state fishing license or anything like that (they can be pretty salty too! J).

So, how did the fishing go? Well, it’s the ocean. You never know what you will get. I caught a stingray, two sheepshead, and a saltwater catfish (that’s right, a catfish!). It was a blast! While we were fishing NASA launched a rocket with a satellite on it. I think we were five miles away. It took several seconds for the sound to hit us, but when it did it was awesome! Here are some fishing pics for you. The black and white fish is the sheepshead. Sorry, no pic of the stingray.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 7.0 (Last worship service)

It’s such an honor to be a part of a denomination that ordains women as ministers. During tonight’s service (this was the last worship service) we listened to G.S. Nina Gunter. She can preach! We closed the service with the march of the flags. All the nations where the Nazarene Church is, even the ones we can’t mention because of persecution (they were termed “Creative Access Areas”) were represented by their countrie's flag. People really liked it when the republic of Iraq was mentioned.

We were all given a small manila envelope at the beginning of the service and told to wait until we were told to open it. What was it? A rock with the scripture reference Joshua 3:5 on it. This passage reads,

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

From here we were challenged to go forward with our rocks if we would consecrate ourselves to the Lord and the official mission of the Church of the Nazarene (Mission = Go and make Christlike disciples of all the nations).

General Assembly, Orlando FL 6.0 (Sunday Morning Service)

A good Sunday morning service. I think there were over 25,000 people in attendance (I thought there were more). It was pretty full! The Orlando Convention Center is interesting because the place where we have our services is flat. Thankfully they have giant screens up to help you see. The 11 big screens help make all the seats pretty good seats. There was quite a bit of echo where I was sitting.

Paul Cunningham, retiring G.S., gave the sermon which was followed by communion. I think this was the largest crowd I have ever taken communion with. It's a special thing to take communion with such a large body of Christians. A little later I'll post some pics of our fishing trip we took last night to the Atlantic Ocean. It was a blast, literally! I'll explain more later.

Here's a pic I forgot to put in last time. Me and my good buddy John Wesley.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 5.0 (Great Friday service!)

(This post has been updated. See below.)

Last night at the worship service I listened to our G.S. Dr. Jerry Porter share his heart about discipleship. I like him the best out of our 6 GSs. Some say he is liberal, but I have not heard or read anything by him that suggests that. I think he's just aggressive and open to new and creative ways to reach and disciple people for Christ.

He is a big advocate of each person discipling someone and being discipled by someone. The best part of his message was the ending. He had several local pastors come up and asked if they were discipling someone. They said they were, so he had their disciples stand and come up with them. This was so we could see the difference one person can make when they disciple someone. There were at least a hundred people who came up with them. It was neat to see. We also broke into small groups and prayed for one another. I was prayed for and prayed with a couple of guys from the Caribbean Region. It was an awesome service!

As I reflect on the service last night one thing sticks in my mind. Dr. Porter asserted that discipling starts at home with the family. That will be something I will be thinking more and more about as a proud dad of two daughters. I'm not sure of how good of a job I'm doing at discipling my family. My wife does an incredible job at discipling our children. She knows how to communicate and teach truths to children in a way that is exciting for them. This is something she is really passionate about (Actually, right now at my home church she has a Childrens Ministries workshop going on that deals with how to disciple your children at home). What do I do? I read our girls Bible stories using various picture books and pray before meals and bedtime. I wonder if there is more I can do?

*Updated: On a strange sidenote: We had someone drown in our pool this morning between 5-6am. Our pool is right outside our room. The person was a 21 yr old male that worked at the hotel.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 4.0 (More from NYI Convention)

Here is your new Global NYI President (Mark Holcomb) in action.

Here's the view from where I was sitting at this Global Celebration service that followed our business session this morning.

They have 11 huge screens so you feel like you are sitting in the front row no matter where you sit. The picture is in HD too!

General Assembly, Orlando FL 3.0 (New location for NYC 2011)

Can you guess what city this is?

Hint: This is where the next NYC is?

Starts with an "L" and ends with a "ouisville".

General Assembly, Orlando FL 2.0 (New NYI President)

NYI just elected a new global NYI president this morning, Mark Holcomb.

General Assembly, Orlando FL 1.0

Been in meetings down here at Orlando, FL. The Church of the Nazarene is having General Assembly down here (it actually starts next week) and I'm a NYI delegate to the NYI Convention (started Wednesday). It's been fun and a learning experience for me. I've been to General Assembly before, but not as a delegate and not to NYI Convention.

Our NYI meetings are quite unique in that we have several different countries (e.g., India, Germany) present with us during these meeting via Skype. Every once in a while we cut to a shot of them using the big screens and we all wave hello to each other. It's pretty neat technonology but I think there are some things they need to work out, and I'm sure they will, for next Assembly.

I'll update more tomorrow with pics.

Sr Adult Road Trip

This morning I'm off to Wick's Pies restaurant with our sr adults. After filling ourselves with good food and pie we will be stopping at Silvertowne to look around. Should be another great trip! Everyone is excited to bring back some pies for their family. Usually for our trips we gather a half hour before our official leaving time to hear God's Word together and pray together in the sanctuary. This morning we will be hearing from the prophet Nahum.

Nahum 1:7 reads, The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.

After this we will reflect on how God is a refuge and how He allows us to run to Him when we need help. Following this we will spend time praying together for needs, each other, and the rest of the church. It should be a wonderful time! I think it's going to rain today, so this is a perfect time to go and be indoors.

Jonah

Wasn't able to post last week due to District Assembly, sorry. I'm back this week.

I had a chance today to preach at one of our area nursing homes. We had a great crowd present and a wonderful sing-a-long. That's right, a sing-a-long. We played the good old stuff! I preached a short message on the book of Jonah. Here's a shortened version of my message:

We discussed two big problems Jonah had. The first was that…

1. God’s plan of salvation was too big.

Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah ran from God because He knew God would allow the Ninevites (which are Assyrians) to live if they listened to His message and repented. Jonah couldn’t understand why God would want to save them and include them in His plan of salvation. Israel was God’s treasured possession and the Assyrians were always knuckle to knuckle with God’s treasured possession.

As a matter of fact, the Assyrians in just a few short years after Jonah sweep down into Israel and completely wipe out the Northern Kingdom of Israel (which is where Jonah is from).
However, you have to keep in mind (and this just amazes me!) that God wanted to reach other nations through Israel (Genesis 12:3). This was God’s message to Abraham a few years back. Jonah had a hard time understanding God wants to bless others through Israel. Jonah struggled with that and how big God’s saving arm stretched. Even up until the end (Jonah 4:5) Jonah was hoping God would destroy the Ninevites.

It’s like God telling us he is going to completely destroy Iran/North Korea unless one of us goes and preaches to them. So, we think that if we don’t go, if they don’t hear God's message, God will wipe them off the face of the earth (and of course that would be good in our minds!).

That was what Jonah was thinking when he headed for Tarshish. He was thinking that if he didn’t go to Nineveh God would just go ahead and destroy them. To Jonah that was great! The Assyrians were enemies to the Israelites and this would be one less threat to them.

The second problem Jonah had was that...

2. God's love was too different.
What do I mean by too different?
Jonah 3:10
Jonah couldn’t understand how God could love and show mercy to the Assyrians and decide not to destroy them. This is just what Jonah feared would happen if he came and preached at Nineveh.

The Assyrians were a pretty ruthless people. They were heartless and liked to fight. They were known to impale their foes alive on large wooden stakes. So, you can see why Jonah was so confused as to how God could look at them and love them? Because from a human point of view, it just wasn’t possible. Jonah discovered in all of this that God’s love is different than mere human love. There is a difference between Godly love and human love. Apparently God can love His enemies. God can love those who intend Him harm. How does He do that?

To see God's love we can look at Jesus. In Luke chapter 5 Jesus calls a tax collector to come and follow him. These individuals were not liked very well, especially by their own people. They were the bottom of the barrel. Jesus takes one of these individuals and makes him one of His 12 disciples. After He calls him He is found partying and eating with Levi at his house. The Pharisees couldn’t understand why Jesus would associate with people like this. It’s because He really loves them!

Another story is found in Luke 7. Jesus enters another tax collector’s home and is sharing a meal with him and his guests and a sinful woman comes and anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Instead of rebuking her and kicking her away, He lets her worship Him. Why? Because He loves her. He even goes so far as to tell this woman that her sins are forgiven. Why? Because He loves her.

Jonah learned a little about God’s love during his journey to Nineveh. It was not an easy lesson for him either.
Jonah 4:2 (Exodus 34:6-7), 11
God is full of compassion/or love and that was a tough lesson for Jonah to learn.
Has that been a tough lesson for you to learn? I encourage you to continue on in God’s love. We are never too old to show someone God’s love. I am so thankful we have Jesus Christ as an example. The ultimate expression of His love was His willingness to die for us on a cross. Aren’t you thankful for that?

Book Review: Community that is Christian

Community That Is Christian by Julie Gorman is a thorn in the flesh of American culture and American evangelicalism. Julie Gorman presents a picture of community that purposely attacks and tears down our preconceived notions of community as just small groups getting together only to rebuild it to its proper state in God’s eyes. The book is clear and concise in how it defines Christian community, its purpose from a Biblical and theological perspective, and how to create and nourish it through the use of small groups. Here is a synopsis from the book of the Biblical and theological rationale for the use of small groups in our churches today.

The biblical & Theological rationale for small groups: A proper perspective
Small groups should be viewed as a means to an end. The goal of every small group should be to foster and build genuine Christian community amongst believers. Despite the potential to foster Christian community, small groups can also hinder and/or destroy community if a proper perspective is not kept. To keep the destruction of Christian community from happening within small groups we must see and understand Christian community from a Biblical perspective.

Small groups according to Jesus
What does Christian community look like within a small group? Our best starting point for understanding this is with God’s Son, Jesus, the full revelation of Himself to us. Jesus depicts Christian community as:
o Reciprocal. “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son.” (John 3:16). The Son in turn reveals the Father to us (John 17:6).
o Sharers of everything. “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” (John 17:10).
o Totally dependent upon one another. Jesus can only do what He sees the Father doing (John 5:18). Everything He does is a direct result of what the Father has done.
o Bringing glory and honor to one another. “I have come down from heaven, not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38)
o Seeking the others best interests. Jesus’ mission was to do the will of the Father (John 8:28). The Father’s mission was to send us His Son (John 3:16). The Spirit’s mission is to be our counselor and guide (John 16:7).
o Obedient to one another. There is a desire to obey the Father displayed in Jesus Christ. “I have come down from heaven, not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38)

Jesus displays Christian community as something that is others-oriented. Should our small groups be any different? Christian community is really a fulfillment of the commandments to love God with all our heart, strength, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). The growth and development (spiritual formation) occurring in our individual lives within small groups is a by-product of our love for God and others. In summary, small groups are a means to creating Christian community among believers. However, there is a problem.

Trouble in paradise
The first small group consisted of Adam, Eve, Jesus, the Father, and Spirit living in perfect fellowship with one another in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1 – 2). This is a good picture of community as it was intended to be. After making Adam, God declared him incomplete and lacking something. He was lacking another of his own kind. So God created Eve; this gave them the opportunity to build their own community through the family…the true apex of God’s creation. Hence, God’s picture of community was complete. In the next chapter (Genesis 3), Satan shows up and tempts Eve to become independent and reliant upon herself rather than her husband and God. Both Adam and Eve gave into the temptation and a separation between the perfect community (God and mankind) emerges.

From then on, we see God actively pursuing restoration of the relationships and community broken by sin. In the Old Testament, God chose Israel by making a covenant with them. They were to be His community, His people. He then gave them the Ten Commandments. The Commandments were to teach them how to relate to God and each other. There was some progress towards the community God hoped for but the failures outweighed them. Israel failed to keep the commands of God and authentic community was marred and blemished. It was only a shadow of what it used to be.

Because of this, we must realize we can never create Christian community on our own. It must come from an outside source stronger than us. This is why God took on human flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). Because of this (the Father sending Jesus to earth to die and atone for our sins, and then resurrected, and then sending the Spirit to live in us), He has repaired community between Himself, us and each other. This is the Gospel preached by Jesus Christ. This is the kingdom of God. When the Spirit arrives in the second chapter of the book of Acts we have the birth of the restored community of God. We see in the church the quality of community we saw in Jesus when He took on flesh (Acts 2:42-46, 4:32-35) and Adam and Eve before the Fall.

When small groups work
Small groups assist individuals in finding and growing their life in Christ by connecting them to others and God through togetherness. Our togetherness reflects God. How? God is three Persons (persons are capable of having relationships) living harmoniously together in perfect love as one God. Community originates with God and is, therefore, distinctly Christian. Living out Christian community is the heart of Christianity. The quote from Robert Banks (p. 38) said it best, “Union in the Spirit involved union with one another.” We cannot underestimate the role the Spirit plays in establishing and using small groups to form the type of community God desires we have with one another. Our job is to receive the Spirit and obey His leading to love God and neighbor. Then we have the opportunity to participate in the fellowship of the Trinity and experience Christian community. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

New Book!

A new book is out that follows in the line of Every Man's Battle. It's called Hero (click to see). Here's a summary:

You already know it’s not easy being a single man in this culture today. But it is easy to be overwhelmed, to feel helpless and hopeless about living by God’s high standards for singles. It’s easy to cave in to the pressures of this sex-soaked world and accept defeat—blaming the media, the culture, even girlfriends who don’t know how tough it can be.

But many men have read books like Every Young Man’s Battle and Tactics and have committed themselves to stand strong and pure in the power of God, and to go on the offensive against the onslaught of negative stereotypes. Some have suffered. Some have fallen. But many have experienced victory—and you can be among them.

What makes those committed men so desirable to women? Be Her Hero is their motto. From best-selling author Fred Stoeker, along with his son Jasen, come the straightforward insight and real-life examples you’re looking for to help you take personal purity to its logical conclusion. Here’s straight truth with irrefutable evidence of what makes an ultimate hero to women who long for men of faith—men who stand by their convictions and make their world a safer and better place.

Are you ready to accept the challenge? If so, this book is for you.

Spiritual Growth & Development

Season finale of Lost last night (it was crazy!). I'm a big follower. Anyways, here's some thinking on human and spiritual development.

Human & spiritual development
What is the link between human development and spiritual development? Is there a link? Are they connected? Is it possible for a person to develop humanly and not spiritually? How much do these two have in common?

Where God starts in human and spiritual development
In the Old Testament the Israelites demanded a human king to govern and rule them. Saul was their chosen king but God had regrets in giving him that position and even rejected him as king (1 Sam 15:35, 16:1). So, God sent Samuel out to instate a new God-chosen king. Samuel met several fine-looking and well-qualified candidates (e.g., older, strong, wise, good looking, intelligent, men of high stature). Samuel himself was even enthralled by these potential kings. But, God says to Samuel, “You’re making a mistake in judgment. Forsake outer beauty and stature, because I don’t look at that. I look at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, my paraphrase) This advice led Samuel to choose a young shepherd boy by the name of David to become king of Israel.

God reveals to us in this passage of scripture that His greatest area of concern in human beings is their heart. Why is that? Jesus revealed and continues to reveal to us that we live from the heart. His teachings throughout the Gospels (especially the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7) reveal this truth to us. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NASB, emphasis mine) Christ is the only Being capable of reaching to where we truly live from, the heart. Without Jesus Christ we assuredly will continue to develop (spiritually, mentally, and physically), but it will be as a child not given proper nourishment to grow. Our growth will be stunted, our bodies weak, and we will be lacking something that has the ability to make us complete.

So, what is the heart? The heart, biblically speaking, is the place our daily choices stem from. Heart seems to be used synonymously with will and spirit. All the different aspects of our lives are decisions made from our heart. How we work, how we play, how we interact with each other, how we spend our free time, how we think, and how we feel come from the heart and are a matter of choice. There are outside factors that we cannot control and they can have an influence over us (e.g., our background, where we are born, where our parents choose to live when raising us, who our parents are, how our parents raise us, how and what our parents teach us, etc.), but the choice of who we become is a choice we get to make from the heart. Of course this is a choice that is given to us by God through His gracious gift of free-will. So, you begin to see the intertwining of human development and spiritual development.

Growth & Development
Scripture reveals the link between human and spiritual growth. Luke 2:40 describes the child Jesus as growing strong and increasing in wisdom.
- Growing “strong” requires proper nourishment and activity.
- “Increasing in wisdom” requires proper mental nourishment and activity.

The key word in Luke 2:40 is the word “grow”. This is the Greek word auxano and it means to increase or add to something. Growth we know takes time. Jesus had a tight grasp on this and it is why He spent several years with His disciples teaching them about the Kingdom of God. It rubbed off, because Peter later wrote that we are to crave the spiritual milk of the Word, that by it we may grow (auxano) in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:2, my par). He wrote in 2 Peter 3:18 that we should grow (auxanoi) in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (NASB). Paul reminded Timothy to be nourished on the words of the faith (1 Tim 4:6, NASB). Paul also points out in Philippians 1:6 that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

As humans, our minds and bodies take time to grow. Should our spiritual side be any different? Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:15 that as your faith grows (auxano), we shall be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you. What is constant throughout the Bible is the growth and development spiritually of individuals (bad and good examples are given of this: Contrast Saul with David or Judas with Peter).

After Jesus’ resurrection He sent Another to live in His disciples. Who is this “Another”? It would be the Holy Spirit who continues the role of the master Teacher Jesus in that He continues to teach and guide God’s children (John 16:13, Acts 2) in all Truth. The Holy Spirit ministers to the place where human and spiritual developments take place, the heart. This is why and how God can look at the heart of man and woman.

Why Christian human development and spiritual formation is important
Romans 1:18-32 is a key passage to why an understanding and implementing of Christian human development and spiritual formation is necessary and relevant. As fallen creatures we tend to look to ourselves for the solution and answer to our problem. We end up acting like a broken toy that tries to fix itself, an impossible task. Because of this we have become fools (Rom 1:22). Jesus’ challenge for those around Him and us today is to look to Him for the answer. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He tells us. He is the maker of the toy. He knows how it works and how to put it back together. Paul points out in Romans the danger to follow for those who try and do it on their own and constantly reject God; an unclear and distorted picture of reality. But for those who receive God’s Son reality is tasted and freedom from the chains of sin follows (Romans 8:1-2). One then experiences and grows in the type of life Jesus came to offer to those who would surrender to Him. Using big churchy words we call this “sanctification,” a God-driven process that leads to a better quality of life and allows us to experience life in the Kingdom of God.

How to prepare a sermon in 5 hours

(This does not include time given to finding a passage to preach. I start assuming you have already found a verse, passage, or book to preach.)

My college preaching class was appalled to find out that pastors were only averaging 3-5 hours in sermon preparation. How could they? The ideal picture was 15-20 hours of time spent in sermon preparation. However, the more time I serve in ministry the less I hold to the idea of spending 15-20 hours in sermon preparation. It would be nice, but is it really feasible? So, instead of becoming bitter and griping about it I put the ol’thinkin cap on and tried to come up with a way ministers can prepare a sermon in 5 hours. This is something I have put into practice (the few times I’ve preached) and it worked. I’m open to suggestions and criticisms of this too. So please comment and help me develop this. So, here we go.

Hour 1 – Letting the Scripture speak. In this first hour you do nothing but read, re-read, pray over, meditate upon, read again, think about, and ask God to reveal to you the Scripture you are planning to preach (I’m assuming you already have your passage selected). God wants us to know Him and He wants others to know Him too, because of this, He helps us understand His Word. His Spirit really can be our ultimate Teacher. Shut the door and lock it, get away to a quiet place where you won’t be bothered, a place where you can be alone with God and His Word for this step. Put up a sign on your office door telling others you are “In prayer” or “Spending time with God”. This isn’t a lie, you are actually doing this. What’s wrong with letting others know and protecting this time?

Hour 2 – Observations. In this second hour you will begin making initial observations about the particular verse or passage you are going to preach. This is where basic questions are asked as you observe the passage. Here’s a list of questions that will help lead you to understand any passage better:
- What’s going on in the story?
- What are some key words in the story or verse?
- What is the context to this particular verse or passage?
- Who’s the author?
- When was it written?
- Who is the audience?
- Why was it written?
- What is the overall theme of the book this passage comes from?
- What are other verses that connect to this?
- How does this particular verse or story break down in you were to make an outline of it?

Hour 3 – Finding answers. Hour 2 leads right into hour 3 because here you begin looking up answers to the questions you are asking of the text. Study Bibles are priceless here. They can eliminate the need for Bible dictionaries, handbooks, lexicons, and commentaries. In other words, they can save you time. If used properly you can find basic context questions to a particular passage or verse in just seconds! A good study Bible will have introductions to a book that will tell you who authored it, when they wrote it, why they wrote it, who they wrote it to, an outline of the book, etc.

Before study Bibles, pastors would have to look through several other books to find this basic information. Now you can have it right there with God’s Word (you can even have it on your computer too). There’s no excuse to not have a study Bible, they are an invaluable resource in sermon preparation. What are some good ones? I love the NLT Study Bible (personal fav!). The NIV Study Bible is another good one. I would avoid study Bibles that are from a certain theological persuasion (e.g., ESV Study Bible, MacArthur Study Bible, Scoffield Study Bible).

Of course I’m not saying you can’t use other resources. By all means do! Some of your questions may not be easily answered, so you may have to wrestle with them for a while and do some extra reading.

Hour 4 – Applying it. You’ve done the basic research and now it’s time to start thinking about how this passage applies. What does God want you to apply to your life from this passage? Pray plays a key role here. Ask God to help you apply this and His Spirit to teach you is essential. I recommend starting with you. How do you apply this to your life? What are some examples from your life of how this applies or how this should have been applied (these can later become illustrations). After you finish the introspection you can begin to think about others and how they would apply such a truth.

Hour 5 – Sharing the truth. Imagine you are sitting at the table eating a meal with some of your closest friends. You want to share with them what you’ve just done. How would you do that? Would you start by reading them the passage of Scripture? Maybe you want to retell the Bible story in your own words. Once the story is read, you would want to share some of the context to the particular passage so they could understand it better. From there you would talk about what God revealed to you through this passage and how it applies to your life. As you are doing this try and imagine what kind of questions your friends would ask. Would something be confusing to them? Would they connect your application of the Scripture to the Scripture? Make an outline or type up a manuscript in this last hour of all your thoughts (this will become your sermon).

Now if you take Mondays off and do this exercise on a Tuesday morning, say from 8am to 1pm, you can have the rest of the week to think about, review, and develop this sermon. Hopefully you can come up with extra illustrations and stories to explain it polish the message off as you have time to think about it. Just carry a notepad with you so when you’re out calling and visiting you can write down your ideas and any changes you would make.