Sermon Rewind . . .

This summer we are going through a sermon series that I have titled, Jesus Said: What Jesus Said about You and the Important Matters of Life. This past Sunday's topic was, What Jesus Said about Money. Certainly we would all agree that money is an important matter of life. After all, most of us spend forty (or more) hours each week working for it ... and then much of the rest of our week spending it! And given the fundamental connection between what we think about and how we handle money AND our spiritual lives (check out the exchange between John the Baptist and the crowd to whom he was preaching in Luke 3 .... and the conversion experience of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 for evidence of this connection), we had BETTER know (and then obey) what Jesus had to say about money and possessions! I was challenged through my study of Jesus' teaching and I pray our church family was as well.

Below is a powerful quote (which I used on Sunday) from Randy Alcorn's book, The Treasure Principle. Please read it carefully and then evaluate your use of God's money (I say "God's money" because every penny you have is actually God's! He has simply loaned it to you!):

"The act of giving is a vivid reminder that it's all about God, not about us. It's saying I am not the point, HE is the point. HE does not exist for me. I exist for Him. God's money has a higher purpose than my affluence. Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and a greater agenda. Giving affirms Christ's lordship. It dethrones me and exalts Him. It breaks the chains of money that would enslave me."

Those are powerful words!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Are You Truly Treasuring Jesus Christ?

Please take a few moments (OK, 3 minutes and 14 seconds to be exact) and watch the following powerful video from John Piper's ministry, Desiring God Ministries. It is a powerful reminder of our need to treasure Jesus Christ above ALL!



Thanks for stopping by ...

pj

An Idiom or an Idiot?

An idiom is a figure of speech that adds color to language. Some examples of American idioms would be shape up or ship out, to kick the bucket, a Monday morning quarterback, :) and my dogs are barking (I tend to use this one a lot in talking with my wife - because at the end of a busy day my feet are awfully tired!).

Another idiom we tend to use when referring to something that is very easy to do is the idiom, "it's like taking candy from a baby." This idiom came to mind when I read the morning paper the other day. Allegedly, a 23 year old man by the name of Walter Brown (now get ready for this one) stole a purse from a three year old! It all took place in a store in Wilmington, Delaware when the victim was standing in line with her aunt. Walter spotted the toddler with the purse and thought she would be "easy pickings." So he grabbed her purse and ran. Police eventually arrested him after someone identified him from a surveillance video. He has been charged with second degree robbery. Hmm. Certainly stealing a purse from a three year old is going to be easy -- but come on now, how many three year olds do you know that are carrying a wad of cash in their little purses? (I believe Walter got about $2 and change from his theft ... Oh, not to mention a possible prison sentence!).

Now as I thought of this incident, I thought - aren't we all a lot like Walter. We look for the easy way to get by in life. And as a result, the results aren't quite what we were looking for. My friends, if we truly want to experience all that God has in store for us, then we must work hard (or as Paul put it to Timothy, "discipline yourself for godliness" - 1 Timothy 4:7-8, see also 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Don't seek the easy way! Remember, spiritual growth is not easy ... it is not like "taking candy from a baby." So ... determine today and everyday to do what it takes to become more like Jesus!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Africa Trip Update

In just 14 days, my son-in-law and I will be departing from Philadelphia for the Central African Republic. When I think about going to the C.A.R., I shake my head in amazement at how God has opened this door. This opportunity to minister was not something for which I was looking. All I was doing (all?) was praying and asking God if He had something for me to do overseas this year! Voila - God replied back in February through the invitation of Augustin Hibaile (you can read more about this in my blog postings from the week of March 9, 2009). The more I have gotten to know this man, the more amazed I have grown. He has opportunities to minister at the highest levels in his country (for example, every Monday he meets with the Prime Minister of the country to pray with him!).

Augustin has set up a very busy schedule for us. Of the 14 days we will be in the C.A.R., we will be involved in teaching, training, preaching on 12 of these days. We will be training pastors, chaplains and members of Augustin's CIDEL staff (CIDEL is a French acronym which stands for the International Center for the Development of Ethical Leadership). I will also have the opportunity to preach in two churches and at a Bible Institute.

Please pray for Ryan and me as we put the "finishing touches" on our materials. Our desire is to be instruments of God's blessing. The people in the C.A.R. have so little when it comes to earthly riches. Our prayer is that we will be used by God to add to their spiritual riches!

Thanks for stopping by ... and thanks for your prayers which we so desperately need!

pj

When Confrontation Is Wrong

Confrontation. Most of us don't like it - whether we are the "confronter" or the "cronfrontee." But it is often necessary. Why? Because we are a broken and fallen people. And so, misunderstandings between us do occur and occur far too often. In addition, since we still have our fallen nature within us, we do, from time to time sin against one another. Sometimes this is done intentionally and sometimes we do so without giving much thought to our words or actions. But whatever the case, we do need to confront from time to time - not to "get even" as we "give someone a piece of our mind" - but to seek to bring about the reconciliation and restoration of our fractured relationship (see Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 18:15).

Now there is a time when confrontation is wrong. It is when we confront out of a spirit of bitterness and anger. So the very first thing we must do in this process of confrontation is to take a long look into our hearts. We need to ask ourselves why we plan to confront. Our motive must be the edification of the other person (see Ephesians 4:29). And anytime we confront another person without this motivation in our heart - that confrontation is wrong! Sometimes if the pain of our hurt is deep, it may take some time to get to this place. But through prayer and dependence upon God, He will give us the grace we need to proceed in a way that will honor Him!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Monday Morning Quarterback!

With the NFL season fast approaching (YEA!!!!), Monday morning quarterbacks will be getting ready to do their thing. And just what is their thing? If their team loses, they will spend the day picking apart all the poor play calls that caused their team to lose the game. Of course, "Monday morning quarterbacking" is not merely confined to football. We are always "second guessing" decisions made by others ... whether it be our boss, our teachers, our parents, our friends ... and even once-in- awhile, ourselves.

So since today is Monday ... I thought I would do some "Monday morning quarterbacking" on yesterday's sermon. My topic was "What Jesus said about life priorities." As I explained to our church family, I prepared for the message by going through my red-letter New Testament (words of Jesus are printed in red) and read everything Jesus said. As I did, I looked for different things that he seemed to emphasize -- things that we need to make priorities in our lives. I came up with two lists. The first I labeled "Obvious Priorities." The other I labeled "Easily Overlooked Priorities." Here are the two lists:

Obvious Priorities: Love God, Love others, Impact world, Prayer, God's Word, Faith, and Humility.

Easily Overlooked Priorities: The Poor and Needy, Children, Personal Holiness, and Watching for the Return of Christ.

I challenged those present (and I challenge you who were not present) to take a hard look at the four easily overlooked priorities and ask the Spirit of God to reveal which of these four each of us needed to do some work on. My wife this morning asked me which one I thought I needed to work on ... I mentioned the second one - children. Given that so much of my ministry is focused on adults, I would like to reach out more than I am to kids. So that is something I need to pray about. How about YOU? Which of these priorities that Jesus taught are somewhat lacking in your life?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Are YOU a Servant?

Dictionaries can be frustrating at times. I checked out an online dictionary's definition of the word servant. It listed the definition as "one who serves." So I looked up the word serve and it gave as the meaning of the word, "to be a servant!" OK. Really doesn't help much, does it??!!

So here is my definition. A servant is one who does something (word or deed) for the benefit of another, expecting NOTHING in return.

Now it is of utmost importance that we not only understand the meaning of the word servant, but that we live it out in our day-to-day lives! In Galatians 5:13 we are told, "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love SERVE one another." So as you go about your day today, be intentionally on the lookout for someone you can serve. Then just do it!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj