2002

December 29, 2002

What the Blind Man Saw

You may think that in the larger scheme of the entire universe you aren’t very important. In comparison to the enormous universe, our planet is just a small rock circling a minor star. And you are just one of 6 billion human beings sharing this rock. In spite of this, you are of such importance to God, that when you call out to Him, He pauses to help you! The mighty sun burning 93 million miles away provides the gravitational pull that keeps all the planets in orbit, but that same sun will warm your face on a cold day as if it had nothing else to do at that moment. The awesome God who keeps the entire universe running will stop and answer your cry for help as if He had nothing else to do. God isn’t distracted by the millions of other voices. He always has time for you.

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December 22, 2002

The First Star Trek

A study of the Magi’s search for Jesus and the meaning of the gifts they brought.

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December 15, 2002

The Road to the Cross

At the beginning of His ministry, large multitudes crowded around Jesus because they were amazed by His miracles and wisdom. After all, when you see that a man can feed five thousand people with five biscuits and two sardines, you follow Him because He’s your fast food source. When you learn He can heal any disease, you’ve got your own walking, talking HMO. And teaching? Why go to college, when you can go out into a beautiful grassy field and listen to this Rabbi? But Jesus didn’t come to heal, teach, or to do miracles. He came to die.

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December 8, 2002

Can You Pass a Camel Through the Eye of a Needle?

To me this is one of the saddest stories in the Bible. Jesus didn’t ask everyone He met to follow Him. He said that to the original twelve disciples–and He invited the Rich Young Ruler to follow Him. Who knows what might have been? He could have become the 13th disciple. If he had only followed Jesus today, we might be studying the gospel according to Benjamin! There was only one thing he lacked, but it was a big obstacle. Would you buy a car if the salesman said, “It’s a good car, only one thing is missing–the engine.” What is the one thing in your life that may be preventing you from following Jesus? “The saddest words of tongue or pen are these four words: What might have been?”

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November 24, 2002

2002 State of the Church Address

We live in a world where thousands of people need to admit. “God…I’ve got a problem.” It may be a drug problem, a marriage problem, or a lust problem–all normal people have problems–NUTS, too. As the church we are like the workers at NASA. It’s our job to lovingly guide these people home. If we don’t, they may burn up, or their lives may careen off into nothingness. We exist as a church to love those people with problems and to guide them safely home.

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November 17, 2002

The Peril of Proud Praying

When you are preparing to come to church, are you thinking more about who will be there to see you than you are about connecting with God? Do you choose what you’re going to wear based on what other people will think about you? I know you can’t believe it, but some people actually come to church because they think it will help them in their business, or in politics, or will improve their social standing. Answer honestly: Why do you attend church?

Jesus warned about this kind of behavior in Matthew 6:5, “But when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.” Worship does involve an audience. But it’s an audience of one.

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November 3, 2002

P.U.S.H.–Pray Until Something Happens

I’ve known people who have quit praying because they didn’t seem to get an answer. If I walk into a room and flip the light switch, I expect the light to come on. If it doesn’t, I don’t curse Thomas Edison and say electricity is a lie. I start looking for the problem. Maybe the light bulb is burned out, or a breaker has been thrown, or the power is out. If it seems your prayers aren’t answered, don’t quit praying—start looking for the reason. It may be the wrong request, or you may have unconfessed sin in your life, or the timing may not be right. God always answers prayer. But He answers prayer in different ways.

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October 6, 2002

Bible Prophecy for Dummies

When Jesus returns, He won’t come as gentle Jesus meek and mild–He will come as the all-powerful King. He came the first time as the Lamb of God to bear the sin of the world. But when He comes again, He will be the mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah!

The Bible says nobody knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return. You can’t know the exact date, but it’s possible to discern the season, the general time. Jesus predicted when world conditions match those during the time of Noah and Lot; we should start paying attention, because God’s Judgement will happen soon. Two important conditions existed during the days of Noah and Lot: Extreme immorality and wickedness.

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October 6, 2002

Lessons From a Leper

Too many people today are living in denial. They don’t want to admit their need because they look around and they can usually find someone worse than themselves. Because we live in a spiritual leper colony called America, there are plenty of chances to think, “I’m not so bad. I’ve never robbed a bank, I’ve never murdered anyone. I’m not a drug pusher or a child molester. In fact, I’m better than many of those hypocrites who go to church!”

Before Jesus can help you, friend, you must quit fooling yourself and admit you have a problem, but that’s not enough, you must cry out to Jesus. All the twelve-step programs agree the first step for recovery is to admit your problem. But that’s not enough, you must seek help. Before you can have a relationship with Jesus you must say, “I am a rotten sinner! Jesus, have mercy on me! Help me Jesus!

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September 29, 2002

The Conspiracy of Kindness

There is a great deal of talk these days in America about what the true God is really like. People think all the gods of all the religions are the same. We need to SHOW them the God of the Bible is a God of love, a God of mercy, and a God of kindness. He is a God who loves people so much that He sent His one and only Son into this world to suffer and die in agony on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. That’s the kind of loving God we need to show this world.

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September 22, 2002

Basic Training for Disciples

Forgiveness is not a feeling or an emotion–it is a choice. It is your decision not to want to punish that person for what they’ve done to you. Our forgiveness should be a reflection of the forgiveness God offers us. He places our sins behind our back and remembers them no longer. If you actively choose to continue to remember what that person has done to you, you haven’t truly forgiven them.

When God forgives us, He doesn’t keep bringing up our sin–but the devil keeps trying to make us aware of our own sin and the sins others have committed against us. That’s why the Bible calls him the accuser of the brothers.

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September 15, 2002

What Happens After You Die?

The Bible teaches many religious people will be surprised on Judgement Day. These are people who go to church, give their money, and speak the right religious jargon. Some of the most staggering words to ever proceed from the lips of Jesus are found in Matthew 7: Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers.'” (Matthew 7:23)

If you stood before Jesus Christ right now, could He say, “I know you?” Do you have a personal relationship with Him, or do you just have an occasional habit of being religious?

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August 25, 2002

What in Hell Do We Need?

Life is tough by itself, and sometimes people wish they could erase their memories like they erase a video tape. That’s why so many people commit suicide: they want to erase the memories. There is no Alzheimer’s in hell. Everyone will have a crystal-clear memory. Hell will be a place of eternal remembrance and regret. Have you ever bought something on a whim and later regretted it? It’s called “buyer’s remorse.” Fortunately, you can take a lot of things back for a refund or an exchange. In hell there will be what I call “invitation remorse.” It won’t be over something you did, but it will be remorse over something you didn’t do: accept Jesus.

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August 18, 2002

How Much Can God Trust You?

The main reason God gives us worldly wealth is to test us. He wants to see how well we manage that kind of wealth. Jesus speaks of another kind of wealth. He calls it “true riches.” If you are trustworthy with a little, God knows you can be trusted with a lot. If you prove to be trustworthy with worldly wealth, God can trust you with true riches. True riches have nothing to do with money. They include spiritual blessings like peace, security, and strength that are so valuable they can’t be bought at any price.

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August 11, 2002

The Parable of the Pouting Son

Sometimes church members who have been around for a long time get jealous when a church starts paying attention to new people. That’s the “older brother” syndrome. You can recognize an older brother Christian because they are quick to grumble and complain. You want to say to them, “Come on in and join the party!” But they’d rather be miserable and stand on the outside with their arms crossed, a sour expression on their face…The funny thing is these are some of the same people who will go to a college football game and lift their hands in the air and shout “Touchdown!” Or, lift their claws, or hook ’em horns, or bend over and whoop-and they are happy when they do it! But they’re afraid things are going to get out of hand in church. Vance Havner used to say, “Some people are so afraid of getting out on a limb that they never get near the tree!”

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August 4, 2002

How to Return to God

Through the years, I’ve known hundreds of Prodigals. They are teenagers and adults who had a loving relationship with God, but they allowed restlessness and reckless living to enter their lives. They walked away from God’s blessings and they ended up a mess. Some of them are still there, others have come back home to their Father. That’s the good news: you can come back home. You don’t have to wait until you reach the pig pen either. At any time, you can decide to return to the blessing and fellowship with your Heavenly Father…If you have wandered away from God and allowed sin to take control of your life, it’s not hopeless.

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July 28, 2002

What is God Really Like?

Jesus said God runs to meet us when we decided to return to Him. Some of you have drifted out of fellowship with God. You have walked away from the presence of your heavenly Father. Whenever you choose to sin and disobey God, you are leaving His holy presence. Do you sense God is far away from you? God didn’t walk away from you; when you sinned, you walked away from him. But God is a loving heavenly Father who is longing for you to return. He is looking for you to return to Him. Wayward and backslidden child of God, He has a message for you today. With tender words of compassion He is saying to you: “When you start home, I’ll meet you more than halfway.”

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July 21, 2002

What Makes Heaven Happy?

You can lose your mind, and it’s not as tragic as a lost soul. You can lose your character, and it’s not as bad as a losing your soul. Death will heal the loss of a fortune, or a loss of health or a loss of a mind-but a lost soul is for eternity. We are all like a lost lamb at one time in our lives. Jesus can never find you until you admit you are a lost sinner. That’s the bad news, without Christ we are lost. But the good news is Jesus searches for us in order to save us.

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June 30, 2002

Five Marks of a Real Disciple

Today, the image of the cross has lost its horror. The true message of the cross is death. How many of you are either wearing a cross today, or have a cross on your Bible? How nice. But what if we began to sell little miniature models of an electric chair in our bookstore, would you wear one? Or what if someone made a syringe of poison and started offering it as jewelry to wear? Can’t you hear someone walking up to you saying, “I love your electric chair, where did you get it?” Or would you say, “Have you seen my James Avery lethal injection syringe?”

Today, the cross has become benign—a piece of harmless jewelry. In Jesus’ time, it was a horrible, agonizing tortuous mode of execution. It was the noose, the electric chair, the lethal injection of His day. In the time of Jesus when you saw someone carrying a cross it meant one and only one thing-they were as good as dead.

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June 23, 2002

Excuses: The Skin of a Reason Stuffed with a Lie

There is a difference between a reason and an excuse. There are times when we may have a legitimate reason for what we do or don’t do. An excuse is actually the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie…They are alibis that become lullabies. Our culture has refined the art of making excuses.

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June 16, 2002

Have a Slice of Humble Pie

Someone once said pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it. In the Catholic list of the seven deadly sins, pride used to be called vanity. The Dutch painter, Bosch, painted a picture of each of the seven sins and for pride and vanity, he painted the picture of a woman looking at her face in a mirror held by the devil. We can see pride and vanity in others, but we are usually blind to it in our own lives.

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June 9, 2002

Jesus: The Rejected Lover

When you are carrying the cross of Jesus, you have already died to self. You can’t scare a dead man. When you’re carrying the cross, it’s a liberating experience because you don’t have to be afraid of anybody or anything…The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” (I John 4:18) That’s why Jesus wasn’t afraid, because He possessed a perfect love for us. And we don’t have to be afraid because of His perfect love for us. Jesus laughed in the face of the fear of death. When you are carrying the cross, you can laugh at any other threat, too.

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June 2, 2002

Family T.I.M.E.

How valuable is an hour? Ask the businessman whose flight was delayed an hour and he missed an important business deal. How valuable is one minute? Ask the man who had the heart attack in the restaurant and an EMT happened to be sitting at the next table and CPR saved his life. How valuable is a second? Ask the person who hesitated for a second before swerving to avoid the oncoming car. How valuable is a fraction of a second? Ask the Olympic swimmer who missed qualifying by six-tenths of a second. Time really is valuable.

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May 26, 2002

Ten Habits of Highly Successful Families

Families in our church have experienced everything from the death of child, brain tumor in a child, physical handicaps, infertility, degenerative disease, and a variety of assorted and sundry disasters. Every family has to face and deal with adversity, tribulation, and problems. It’s how a family deals with these problems that makes them stronger.

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May 19, 2002

Do You Read Me?…Over

We should be quick to listen, but we should be very slow when speaking. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a purpose: you should listen more than you talk. Few people ever got into trouble from saying too little, but people talking too much have caused multitudes of miseries. Some people put their mouths in motion before their brains are in gear. I like the saying that goes, “Measure your words carefully. If you think by the inch and speak by the yard you’ll soon be kicked by the foot.”

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May 12, 2002

How to Build a 3-D Marriage

When you first met your future spouse, you probably went on what we call “dates.” These are times you have pre-arranged to be together to do things like go to a movie, eat dinner, or have a picnic together. The main purpose of a “date” is to spend time with each other. Do you remember how nice you were to each other to each other on dates when you were “courting?” You anticipated the date with excitement and you dressed up nice and were on your best behavior. That’s the same way you ought to be with each other after you get married! Before you were married, dating was FUN-and marriage ought to keep continue to be fun, too. The Bible says, “May you rejoice in the wife of your youth … may you ever be captivated by her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19)

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May 5, 2002

Undertaker or Risk-Taker?

Sometimes we forget the treasure we have belongs to God and we start acting like we are the owners. There is a good word in the Bible to describe what we are: STEWARDS. A steward is a man entrusted with the management of the household or estate of another. That’s what we are, we must carefully manage our money, our time, and our abilities; they aren’t ours anyway. Matthew 25:14-30.

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April 28, 2002

Jesus Loves the Little Children

There is a difference between being “childish” and “childlike.” The Bible warns us many times about the dangers of spiritual immaturity, but there are some wonderful qualities in children that are necessary for us to enter God’s Kingdom. If you don’t reflect these qualities, you’ll never see it. There are three simple qualities describing a childlike spirit: a sense of awe and wonder, simple trust and a spirit of forgiveness.

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April 14, 2002

Have You Found Heaven’s Narrow Door?

You can choose to enter heaven’s door today. Jesus said it’s a narrow door. Think about that for a minute. It’s so narrow only one person can walk through it at one time. In other words, you can’t walk through heaven’s door holding your daddy’s hand, or your mother’s hand. I thank God my parents told me about Jesus, but when it came time for me to give Him my life, I walked through that door all by myself. Some of you think because your grandfather was a preacher or your mother was a godly saint that you can walk through with them–but you can’t. The narrow door to heaven says, “One person at a time, please.”

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April 7, 2002

When You Get Bent Out of Shape

We are all like old Humpty Dumpty. Some of you know the problem: you’ve fallen and you can’t get up. We live in a world of broken people. Life is fragile; it should be handled with care, because people break easily. All the self-help programs, and the religious rules can’t fix the broken hearts, broken hopes, and broken homes of people around us. Jesus Christ was the only person who ever claimed to be able to heal broken hearts.

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March 31, 2002

Why Do Good People Suffer?

This is a message about terrorists and falling towers. Everybody still talks about that day; it was a day of tragedy and injustice. People were going about their business when they were suddenly and brutally killed. And what about the tower that fell suddenly? Towers remind us of strength and security—and when a tower falls and people are killed, we feel a little less secure. The initial reaction was shock; then we began to ask the inevitable questions: Why were those innocent people killed? Why did the tower fall? Where was God during all of that? Most of you think I’m talking about 9/11, and everything I’ve said does apply, but I’m really talking about 13:1. Luke 13:1. 2,000 years ago, Jesus talked about some innocent people who died at the hands of what could be called terrorists—and He talked about a tower that fell and killed people. In fact, the similarities between 13:1 and 9/11 are amazing. The same questions people are asking today were being asked 2,000 years ago. But more importantly, the answer Jesus gives is the same answer we need to hear.

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March 24, 2002

Tuning In to the Spiritual Weather Channel

Some people have the idea that Jesus is the great Uniter of the world’s people, and that Christianity is a wonderful ethical system that will produce one world family where everyone lives in peace and harmony with each other. Actually, the words of Jesus are so radical they divide people into two groups. He said that there are only two eternal destinies: Heaven and Hell. In Matthew 25, Jesus said at the Judgement, people would be divided into two groups: sheep and goats. The Father would welcome His Sheep into heaven, and the goats would be sent to the hell. He didn’t say there would be sheep and goats and squirrels and cows, only two groups.

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March 17, 2002

Are You Fired Up For Jesus?

Fire will only keep burning as long as it has fuel and oxygen, but when it runs out of either, it will go out. Now, God is eternal, but the power He provides us is not something we can just take for granted as always being there. We must tend the fire in order to keep it burning. There’s a great lesson we can learn from the fire on the altar of the temple. God gave these instructions in Leviticus 6:12: “The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire.”

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February 24, 2002

The Misery of Spiritual Mismanagement

Are you wasting your time on things that don’t really matter in light of eternity? In this life, there are only two things we deal with that are eternal: The Word of God, and the souls of men and women. Think about it, the best way to spend your God-given time is by investing it in the Word of God or the souls of men and women. Are you a good time manager or are you involved in so many frivolous sideshows you can’t focus on the main thing?

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February 17, 2002

Ready or Not–Here He Comes!

There have always been people who have laughed at the idea of Jesus returning. The Second Coming is rich material for Leno and Letterman. It’s nothing new. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:3, 8: Scoffers will come in the last days saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? … all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” … do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. To us, it may seem like 2,000 years since Jesus made His promise to return, but for the Lord it only seems like a couple of days. God’s sense of timing is so different than ours. That’s why we must wait patiently, actively, and expectantly. We must live each day as if He was going to return to planet earth today.

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February 10, 2002

Don’t Be Afraid!

Theoretically there are only three ways to get into heaven when you die: First, if you die before the age where you are accountable before God, before you are old enough to make the choice to sin, then we believe God takes his precious children to heaven. But if you are in this service, understanding my words, chances are you have already passed that possibility.

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February 3, 2002

Don’t Worry–Be Faithful!

The challenges in life can be divided into two broad categories: those things you can’t do anything about (like the weather); and those things you can do something about. Don’t worry about the first category, because there’s nothing you can do about those things. Don’t worry about the second category, because if you can do something—do it, don’t worry about it! Many years ago, I learned a little poem that has helped me overcome worry. It says, “For every evil under the sun, Either there is a cure, or there is none. If there be one, seek ’till you find it. If there be none, never mind it!” Jesus said, “Do not worry” because it’s a waste of time!

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January 27, 2002

How to Live Well and Prosper

If you want to learn how to live well and prosper you need to get into God’s economy. It’s going in only one direction! The very first principle in God’s economy is acknowledging that God is the source of your wealth. It’s not your job, or your investments, and some of you got your money the old fashioned way-you inherited it! But these things are not your true source of wealth, God is. Some of you disagree with me because you think you trained, and worked, and slaved and you earned everything you possess. Who do you think gave you the ability to work and earn?

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January 20, 2002

A Church on Purpose: Across the Globe

WWhen we think about the 3 billion people on our planet who don’t know Jesus Christ, we can get overwhelmed. We wonder how we can ever convert these multitudes to Christ. The job of global missions is NOT to convert people to Christ; only God can truly convert people. Our job is to communicate the good news to these people without Christ. Millions of people don’t know how much God really loves them, and they must be told.

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January 13, 2002

A Church on Purpose: Across the Street

It’s easier to steer something when it’s moving. Do you remember the old cars before power steering? Sometimes when the battery was dead, you could get somebody to push the car and then you could pop the clutch and get the engine cranked. You could hardly turn the steering wheel when the car was sitting still, but if somebody was pushing it, it was easier to steer. God can steer you in the right direction if you are already moving forward toward obeying him, but when you are an object at rest, remaining at rest, it’s difficult for you to know God’s direction. So get moving in the direction of sharing Christ.

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