Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.–Ecc. 9:10 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.–Col.3:23-24   For many years I have stood before grieving families at funerals and said,”We should be living like we’re leaving”. We need to think about that, because we’re all leaving (Heb. 9:27) and it might be sooner than we think!   Country singer, Tim McGraw had this in mind when he sang,”Live Like You Were Dying”. The chorus says: “I went skydiving  I went rocky mountain climbing.  I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Ma Shu.  And I loved deeper,  And I spoke sweeter,  And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’  And he said some day I hope you get the chance  To live like you were dyin'”.   You might not want to go “skydiving” or “rocky mountain climbing”, but you need to think about the theme of that song. We are dying–it’s just a matter of time! So then, how should we live? Peter addresses this subject in 2 Peter 3:11. He speaks of a bitter day and a better day, and he asked this question-“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness—?” That’s a question we need to consider. To live like we are leaving, sinners must be reconcilied to God and saints need to be ready. To live like we’re leaving we must be– -sure of our salvation -seperated in our living -sincere in our loving -stedfast in our serving -serious in our witnessing -silent in our complaining We all have more than we deserve and, if we are truly living like we are leaving, the best is yet to come. The shortness of life and the seriousness of our accountability to God should motivate us to do our best at doing what is best. In other words, we should do what is right and do it right. And we should do it right now–while we can.   The old invitation hymn,”Softly and Tenderly” says: “Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, Passing from you and from me; Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, Coming for you and for me.”   We need to think about that. We get just one chance to do what we should–we better do it right! Sooner than you think, your moment under the sun will be over. In light of that fact, Moses said,”So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”(Psalm 90:12). THINK ABOUT IT!

I recently heard a Christian radio broadcast that used the tag line, “Where the learning is for the living.” I don’t remember tha name of the broadcast or anything else about it, but those words stuck in my mind–that thought has long been in my heart. That’s the way it should be. We are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only”(James 1:22). If we aren’t living what we’re learning what’s the sense in knowing?   Every week millions of people go off to church to be taught God’s Word. Every week teachers stand before their classes dispensing information from the Bible, but very little of the learning ever translates into living. I guess you could call that academics without action or discipleship without duty. To be brutally honest you could call it sin. The bottom line is that too many students never become servants.   One of the main reasons for this is that most teachers don’t put any emphasis on it. They are content with just dispensing the information. If they can get a few kids to memorize a few verses they feel they’ve done an outstanding job. Really?   It seems strange that churches have all kinds of activities for kids and teens and yet never teach them to serve. Then they wonder why they don’t get involved when they are older. Fun and games are fine to an extent, but our young people need to be taught to serve–to put their lesson into shoe leather–to take what they’ve learned and do something of practical value with it. There’s a ton of things young people could do that would be of great help if only they were guided in the right direction. Our nursing homes are filled with people who would be delighted to have someone visit them. They especially enjoy young folks.   But this problem goes way beyond children and teens, it’s a problem with all age groups. Many adults never see the need to do something that is needed. At least they don’t see the need of them doing it! They come, sit, listen,and leave without ever getting involved. Why is it that classes meet every week for the sake of doing nothing more than learning? Why is it that they are given no opportunity or challenge to get involved? Why doesn’t every class have some sort of ministry or project? Why are teachers content with their people being content? Why do we spend so much time and money on social activities and none on service related things?   It’s a sad thing to see a class of church members sitting in church week after week with a Bible in their hand and a head full of knowledge, and no desire to minister to others. It’s all the more sickening to hear them say,”I can’t wait until I retire so I can do the things I enjoy”, without any intent of ever serving God. It all gets back to where we started–“learning is for living”. Why in the world do we need to know any more than we know if we don’t put it to use in Christian service? Sometimes I think we would be better off to cancel the class and take to the streets, passing out tracts, visiting the sick in the hospitals and the elderly in the nursing homes, etc. What’s the learning for if it’s not for the living? THINK ABOUT IT!

I moved to Houston twenty-two years ago and I love being in the place where God wants me to be, but I could not be more ashamed of our city. I just read an article about the fact that the largest abortion clinic in our nation is being opened here (you can read the article by clicking on this link: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/59334. It refers to the clinic as an “Abortion Super Center”. It says,” Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgicial wing equipped to provide late-term abortions.” What a shame!   Houston should be called the new sin city. Just last month Houston elected the first lesbian (Annise Parker) to hold the office of mayor in a major U.S. city. Before that, Elena Marsh, the chairwoman for Planned Parenthood of America, held the position of Health and Environmental Policy for the mayor’s office. Houston, we have a problem!   Add to this the fact that the most popular false teacher in America is located in Houston and I would say we have a big problem! Joel Osteen prayed at the inauguration of Parker and he actually thanked God for putting her in that postion and for giving her “supernatural wisdom”. That’s as crazy as it gets. Of course this is the same man who refuses to use the word sin in reference to homosexuality. To think that anyone calling themself a Christian would call this man their pastor amazes me. Houston, we have a problem!    As Christians we need to pray for our city, do all we can to win folks to Christ, and vote for godly leaders. That is the only solution to our problem.

I suspect I’m doing what a lot of folks are doing about now–reflecting on the past year. 2009 has been a remarkable year in our neck of the woods. Many things have happened over the last twelve months–some bad and some good, but all working for good. Isn’t it great to serve a God who is able to make that possible!

Durning this last year we celebrated our 40th anniversary as a church, went through a merger, sold our building, relocated to a new facility, and changed our name. We ended the year by odserving the Lord’s Supper last night and it was a very special service–as it should always be.

Now we face a new year and the many challenges that it brings. We have great blessings behind us, great opportunities before us, much hard work to do, and a great God who is for us! Although we have no way of knowing what the future holds, we are encouraged because we know who holds the future. We are confident that God will direct our steps, and supply our needs. Even as our beloved nation totters on the brink of destruction (I know that sounds like an over-statement to some, but I’m expressing my viewpoint) we believe God will do great things for us and through us. He who brought us thus far will not desert us now. While we hope for America, our hope isn’t in America–we trust in God!

It’s my prayer that each of you will enter this new year with that attitude and that you will be faithful to serve God day-by-day, with thanksgiving in your heart and a song on your lips. I have never been weaker in the flesh, stronger in the spirit, nor more excited about the future. I pray that God will richly bless you and your family. Happy New Year!

Well, now the un-scriptural practice of starting “satellite churches” has led to a new breed of multi-site churches. At first it was just a matter of location, now it is a matter of location and doctrine! Although they are in different locations and of different denominations they consider themselves to be “one church”.

 

According to an article by Lillian Kwon (12/22/09) on christianpost.com, “New Hope South Bay and Newsong (churches in southern California) merged—under the umbrella of Newsong to become one of Newsong’s multi-site campues—-“New Hope lead pastor Charles Lee said,” wanted New Hope to be a part of the formation of what multi-sites may look like in the future.”

 

More than twenty-five years ago I wrote about why I believe “satellite churches” are unscriptural. My article was a response to what Landmark Baptist Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio was doing. That resulted in John Rawlings attacking me from the pulpit, as he shook the paper in the air, saying,” That’s the little dogs barking at us big dogs.”

 

Since I heard no one else voicing any objection, I decided it was futile to say any more, so I kept quite and hoped it would be a passing fad that would soon go away. But it hasn’t. According to Lillian Kwon, “The number of multi-sites-one church in multiple locations-has jumped from 300 to some 3,000 over the past decade.” But the problem is getting worse in more ways than one. Now one church can have two campuses of two entirely different denominations! I guess the idea is-if you don’t like what we believe at one location you can attend our service at another location. It just keeps getting crazier all the time. And, still I hear no objections being raised. That amazes me.

 

It seems strange to me that the same people who used to disagree with the Catholics regarding their form of church government, etc. are now following in their footsteps. I guess the next thing will be a Baptist Pope, etc. I feel sure they could find several candidates who would gladly accept the position, since it would increase their attendance and line their pockets. That seems to be the only thing that matters to people like that. We already have “churches” with locations in different states and now it seems that the new trend will be to include different denominations. Think about it-the news paper ad will say,” Visit us at our Baptist-site in Calif. or our Pentecostal- site in Fla.” That’s crazy!

 

As smaller churches are increasingly being swallowed up by “Mega-churches”, it’s time that pastors warned their people before they become a casualty in this mad dash for recognition and the desire to become one of the biggest or fastest growing churches. Don’t wait until the doors are closed before you speak out. Pastor’s you can do what you want to do, but I’m going to make sure that our people understand that the whole concept of a “satellite church” is contrary to the scriptures. Instead of starting services or taking over churches in other areas, churches should be starting missions that are organized into self-governing churches. THINK ABOUT IT!