Rappin’ With Rick

On August 29th, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood released a statement that was signed by 150 leaders in the evangelical community. When I read it, I thought I would share it with you as part of my sermon when we got into the second chapter of II Peter, where Peter speaks of the condemnation of Sodom and Gomorrah and the coming judgment on those who indulge the flesh in corrupt desires. Now that I’ve concluded that the best way to cover what Peter is saying is to present the entire chapter in one sermon, I realize there is no way I can do justice to Peter’s message and the Nashville Statement in one setting. I have therefore decided to simply encourage you to read the statement yourself. Printed copies will be in the new hall rack this Sunday.

The preamble to the statement begins with these important words:

“Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God.”

The statement itself then consists of fourteen affirmations and denials that clearly lay out a biblical response to the sexual misinformation that is being actively promoted in our society today. I strongly encourage everyone to read the statement and have it available when their children come home with questions.

God Bless, Rick

 

As we anticipate our Columbus Day weekend exodus to Turkey Run, I thought it timely to share some thoughts I found in a recent editorial in Touchstone entitled “Editing Vice & Virtue.” The editorial dealt with the current obsession to remove any reference to historical persons who don’t pass the litmus test of political correctness. And, of course, Christopher Columbus is one of them.

“Currently there is a movement in our country to apply principles of social justice to purge the land of the names of those who do not adequately represent modern values… Of course, there is much silliness associated with dissociating oneself from the past. Students at the University of Pennsylvania removed a large portrait of William Shakespeare from the halls of their English Department and replaced it with a photograph of the black feminist poet Audre Lorde… In the South, anything associated with the Civil War seems to be the target for culture warriors on the left. City parks and statues memorializing the war heroes are being renamed and removed at a rapid pace.

“As Christians, we generally take a somewhat different view of virtue and vice than do those engaged in the renaming movement. We know that all are sinners. Yet we admire those who performed great deeds, in spite of their sins. We see that this is the way God treats his saints.

“Rahab was a prostitute, yet she is honored in the Bible. Moses was a murderer, yet God chose him to lead his people to freedom. King David was an adulterer and murderer, yet he holds highest honors as the poet laureate of the Church… Among the early Christian saints there were many people who acted badly: Peter denied Christ, and Paul persecuted the first Christians (instigated lynchings?)… It is not very often that Christians are named saints and then ‘dethroned’ for their sins, having their statues removed and their names sandblasted off buildings.”

If we don’t repent of our sins and failures, our names may be blotted out of the book of life (Psalm 69:28), but God doesn’t resign us to the dustbin of history if our behavior isn’t perfect. Thankfully His grace covers our sins, our vice is overshadowed by our Savior’s virtue, and He doesn’t deny that we are His beloved sons and daughters.

God Bless, Rick

 

There was a very interesting article about the Amish in a recent issue of Leben, a journal that focuses on Christian history. In the editor’s preview of the cover story he wrote, “Most separatist sects die out after the first or second generation, but one group of Pietists have not only survived, but prospered. Known as the “Amish”, these folks have grown rapidly in recent years, expanding across the country and, in the course of their stated objective to do good, have done very well.”

The article itself notes, “the Old order Amish in America not only survive, but thrive. With high birth rates, and a healthy lifestyle, they have managed to grow numerically at a far higher rate than the general population and now are approaching 300,000 adherents. Not only have the high birth rates contributed to their growth, but approximately 90% of those raised in the Amish community remain Amish. Proselytizing is rare, which shows how strong the internal growth dynamics are to this community.”

A side-bar to the article is entitled “One of America’s Most Successful ‘Church Growth’ Plans.” It begins, “There are numerous books, conferences, and websites devoted to church growth. One of the underlying themes of many of these sites is the presumption that churches need to change in order to grow. We’re all for a few less of those lime JELL-O and shredded carrot salads at potlucks, but before we assume everything ought to change, consider the Amish. In 1920, there were only about 10,000 of them.”

When an announcement is made in church that someone is expecting, my typical response is, “That’s my favorite kind of church growth!” Admittedly that’s more emotional than intellectual, but apparently it’s not too far off base.

Obviously we need to reach out to those who don’t know Christ, and those who have fallen away from active participation in a body of Christ. But there really is something extra special about children being born into our family, and our being given the privilege of helping them grow into men and women who love and serve the Lord.

Now I’m not suggesting that we need to join the “full quiver” movement, but I am always looking forward to another arrow being added to our quiver. If you don’t know what I mean, read Psalm 127.

God Bless, Rick

 

I think I said something Sunday morning that bears repeating. Actually, I hope the whole sermon bears repeating, but there was one part that I believe needs to be clearly heard as the church considers the appropriate response to the devastation caused by the recent hurricanes.

While addressing the need to put love into practice, I pointed out that we are the channel through whom Christ’s love is to flow into a world that desperately needs it. However, I also noted that we must not allow the world to pressure us into showing love as it thinks we should.

Jesus was often moved to compassion when faced with a specific need, and He did meet some physical needs. But He didn’t let the physical needs of the society in which He lived side-track Him from the real reason He came to earth. Likewise, the church must never forget the primary commission it has been given. It must not get so caught up in doing good that it forgets the unique role it has been commissioned to play in the world. There are a lot of needs in the world, and many of those needs can be met by individuals, or organizations, or governmental agencies. But only the church can meet eternal needs.

Now James does warn us not to tell a brother or sister without clothing or in need of daily food, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled”, and not give them what is necessary for their body. But sharing God’s love with others must go far beyond providing physical help.

The church is the primary channel through which God’s ultimate expression of love is to flow into the world today. And, as Peter made clear, if we fail to do what we have been called and commissioned to do, we prove ourselves to be useless and unfruitful in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May each of us carefully and prayerfully consider how to best respond to the overwhelming needs that exist in the world. And may we never be critical of a brother or sister who feels led to do something we don’t feel led to do, or who doesn’t feel the need to do what we do.

God Bless, Rick

In the aftermath of Harvey, and while anticipating the arrival of Irma, Fox News had a couple of “faith” articles I found insightful. Max Lucado asked the question, “Where is God?”, and Joshua Rogers, an attorney, asked, “What did Jesus say about natural disasters?”

Max took us to Luke 21, where Jesus made it clear that there would always be earthquakes and plagues and famines on earth, and that while natural disasters may surprise us, they do not surprise God. He also noted that Jesus compared the frequency of natural calamites to the birth pangs of pregnancy—indications of an impending delivery. He said when these things take place, we should stand up and lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near.

I believe Max was telling us to let these things remind us that someday all will be made right. That God has allowed dysfunction in our lives, and in nature itself, to remind us that things aren’t the way God originally intended, but that they will be made right when Jesus returns.

Joshua directed us to Luke 13, where, when asked if the eighteen people who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them were the worst sinners in Jerusalem, Jesus said, “No, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Joshua went on to write, “When it comes to the question of ‘why’ with disasters, (Jesus) gets to the heart of the issue and focuses on the potential disaster that threatens everyone who ever lived: the day they meet God face to face.” He went on to note, “In God’s efforts to keep us from eternally perishing, he will use everything he can to get our attention— even things he might not have caused, like the devastation that comes with a natural disaster.”

He then quoted C.S. Lewis; “God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

May we have the faith to hear both the promise and the warning that comes to us through disasters. And may we keep our eyes on Jesus if the waves are lapping at our feet.

God Bless, Rick