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Apr 28 2012
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And…

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

2 Corinthians 3:18

I read this verse the other morning as part of my quiet time and it got me thinking…

So many of us who have had the veil removed and can see the glory of God stop there. We fully accept the gift that is seeing God in His glory in our lives but we fail to reflect Him. We fail to show the world His goodness, His love or His Son, Jesus. I recognize that I am one of these people. I often fully accept the gift of God’s glory but fail to reflect Him.

BUT…

It is the second part of the verse that provides the solution for my particular type of lazy faith…

“…And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

The more we lean into Him and allow Him to work in our lives, His Spirit will change us into that same glorious image that has been revealed to us.

That is an awesome gift that I need to recognize and accept on a daily basis!

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Apr 10 2012
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Go big or go home

The bi-annuals. That’s what my brother calls them. You know them, you’ve seen them in your church. They are the the folks who show up twice a year, on Christmas and Easter.

So as a pastor, how do you approach this opportunity to preach to a group of people that you only see these two times?

I am going to break this down list style. Yeah, bullet points…

1. If you are directing a message toward a group of people that you only see twice a year, you are missing it.

Jesus’ entire ministry was on the road. He didn’t really have a home base or a “church home”. He went to the people and he taught his followers how to do the same. If our strategy is only attractional and isn’t intentionally missional, we miss Jesus’ point in Matthew 28. He said, “Go,” he didn’t say, “Hang a shingle and hope they show up.” Get out in your community and build REAL relationships with REAL people and impact them for Christ. Don’t just sit back and wait on them.

2. Always bring it, at all times, every week.

Of course I know that you won’t always “have it” 52 straight weeks, every year. However, don’t ever be ashamed to preach the Gospel as Christ leads. Even though we want to break down the Gospel into bite size pieces that those unfamiliar with Jesus can understand and chew on, we NEVER WATER DOWN THE GOSPEL. Always. Bring. The Heat. Always. By heat, I don’t mean “fire and brimstone” sermons that scare people to Jesus. What I mean is, tell people the TRUTH about sin, the truth about death, the truth about life, the truth about hope. Tell them the truth about Jesus Christ. It is the best gift you can give them. Why are we so worried about being rejected? We do not carry the burden of their rejection. That burden is carried by God. It is His grace and merciful heart that is being rejected. Let Him carry that, you carry the message. As a Bible College professor once told me, “If you don’t preach the message of Christ, it is not a Christian message.” We get caught up in self-help crap when we have the life-giving message of Jesus. BRING IT! Don’t back down. Find new ways to creatively communicate TRUTH, yes, but don’t back down.

What are your thoughts?

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