Unity in the Church -- April 29, 2013

We live in the United States of America.  But are we as a country UNITED?  Most every issue, social and political, shows the divide that exists in our nation.

Just looking at the popular vote in the last four presidential elections shows the split:

2012 Presidential election:  Obama 51%     Romney 47%
2008 Presidential election:  Obama 52%     McCain 45%
2004 Presidential election:  Bush 51%        Kerry 48%
2000 Presidential election:  Bush 48%        Gore 48%

But the one place we are to be united is inside the walls of our church.  As Christians, we are commanded to be unified under the banner of Jesus.

Super-disciple-maker Paul of New Testament fame wrote four letters while in prison for preaching the Gospel.  We looked at passages from three of those letters.  The one theme that ran through them was unity.

We saw in Ephesians 4:1-6 that " Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

Jesus did not introduce denominations of Christianity to the world; he taught ONE WAY.  Through Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Being in a church should be like being in a rowboat.  Everyone isn't holding the same oar, but everyone should be rowing their oar in the same direction.

Moving into Philipians 2:1-4:  "If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Scott Guffin's April 22nd, 2013 blog post was entitled The "Mysterious Triangle of Strength".  In it, Scott explains Dr. Frank Minirth's idea of this "Mysterious Triangle of Strength".  It speaks of three things that together give a person of God strength in tough times.  The first is The Bible--God's Word.  The second is Prayer.  The third is the Body of Christ--The Church.

The image I have of these three--the Bible, Prayer, and the Church is this.  Let's say you want to rely on just the Bible for your journey.  It would be like riding a unicycle.  You'd get there, but it would take a lot of effort to stay upright.

If you rely on the Bible and Prayer, you now have two wheels--a bicycle.  It would be much easier to go, but you'd always have to be moving forward or else risk toppling over.

But if you use the Bible and Prayer and the Church, you are now riding with three wheels on the ground.  You are much more stable.  And in those times where your strength is sapped, you can rest in God without falling down.

Our final scripture came from the letter from Paul to Philemon.  Now Philemon had been led to Christ by Paul earlier in Paul's ministry.  Philemon was a slave owner.

One of Philemon's slaves was a man named Onesimus.  Onesimus had fled from Philemon's house and probably stole something on the way out.  Onesimus later met Paul and became a Christian.

In this letter, Paul urges Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household without punishment.  In verses 15-18, Paul writes:  "For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account."

Philemon did nothing wrong, but Paul asked him to wipe Onesimus' slate clean.  Philemon had every right to be hurt, angry, and upset with Onesimus' actions.

But Paul wanted Philemon to show the same grace to a slave that Jesus showed to him--total forgiveness of past sins.  Grace was the price of admission.

Unity isn't natural.  Unity isn't easy.  It means letting go of your selfish motives for the good of others.  But the payoff is the increase of God's Kingdom.  And that's a trade you should make every day.

To finish, we saw a video that summed up our lesson.  It was "Mark Lowry--Recovering Fundamentalist".  It is one of the best explanations of our need for Jesus that I've seen.

Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” - John Wooden

Where Is The Glue? -- April 26, 2013

"If everyone did things the way I do them, this world would run so much better."

Do you ever catch yourself thinking that?

I sometimes do.

I do things in a way that makes sense.  To me at least.  You might think what I do is nuts.  You're wrong.  But you're entitled to your opinion.  It's an incorrect opinion.  So keep it to yourself.

That kind of thinking is divisive.  And pretty selfish too.

Inside of a church, that kind of thinking is a cancer.  If left to fester, it can cause all kinds of problems.

As Christians, we are called to be united in Christ.  It's simple, but it ain't easy.

Why?  Because we are still human.  And we like getting our own way.  The problem comes when our way gets in the way of God's way.

So this week we will look at the call for unity in the church.  Keep in mind, though, that this is about unity inside the church.  Nothing in scripture tells us to be united with the world.  We'll touch on that too.

Here's the outline for our lesson about "Our Unity: United in Truth, Clothed in Grace" on Sunday at 9:50 am:

1. The foundation of unity (Ephesians 4:1-6)

2. The exercise of unity (Philipians 2:1-4)

3. The example of unity (Philemon 15-18)

I'm excited about hearing all your different opinions on unity.  Read that sentence again and think about it for a minute.

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"Every excuse I ever heard made perfect sense to the person who made it."  — Dr. Daniel T. Drubin

We Are Ambassadors for Christ -- April 19, 2013

"We are ambassadors for Christ."  2 Corinthians 5:20

It is part of our lesson this week called "Our Mission".

That verse brings back lots of memories for me.  It probably does for some of you, too.  For everyone else, I'll explain why this verse is so important.

You see, this verse is the motto for RA's (Royal Ambassadors).  I grew up in a church that had RA's for the boys and GA's (Girls In Action) for the girls on Wednesday night.

Each week, our group of guys would stand in a circle.  We'd cross our right arm over our left and join hands with the boy on either side of us.  We'd then recite together:  "We are ambassadors for Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:20".

Then we'd have a devotion and play games.  Four-Square was my favorite.

"We are ambassadors for Christ" squeezes the essence of the entire New Testament into five words.

Once you become a believer in Christ, a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, you are His ambassador.  You represent Jesus in your interactions with others.  That is an awesome opportunity and an awesome responsibility.

You know or have known people who embody the role of "Christ's ambassador".  But where do you stand?

If you have kids, you are the spiritual leader of your family.  Your job is to show Christ's love to your children.  How are you doing on that one?  Me?  I can do better.

Hebrews 13:7-8 says: "Remember your leaders who have spoken God's Word to you.  As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever".

Let no one ever doubt that you are standing for Jesus in all that you do.

As we gather this Sunday at 9:50 am, we'll look closer at being "ambassadors for Christ".

Here is our outline for our lesson:
1.  God's people are called to be on His mission (Acts 1:4-8).
2.  God's people are entrusted with His message (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
3.  God's people are called to be His messengers (2 Corinthians 5:14-21).

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends." - Japanese proverb

Can I get an AMEN, ya'll? -- April 12, 2013

Last Sunday through Tuesday, our family was at Orange Beach, Alabama for my wife to train someone in her company's Robertsdale facility.

On the way there, we stopped at Priester's Pecan candy store on I-65 just south of Montgomery.  Along with delicious candy, the store also has t-shirts with fun sayings on them.

My six-year-old daughter got a big kick out of a shirt that read "Can I get an AMEN, ya'll?". 

Fast forward to Monday night.  We're at a restaurant having dinner.  My six-year-old starts telling us a story.  She wraps up the story.  Then she says, "Can I get an AMEN, ya'll?".  We cracked up.

What does that have to do with our lesson this week?  Not much.  I just thought it was a funny story.

We'll be on Session 7 entitled "Our Identity: The Grace-Shaped Family of God".  The topic will be Faith versus Works.  We'll look at what the Bible says about what constitutes a true believer in Christ, and we'll talk about things that we sometimes add to it.

Here's our outline for Sunday at 9:50 a.m.:

1.  Works-based religion threatens the centrality of faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 15:1-5).
2.  God's people are constituted by grace alone through faith in Jesus alone (Galatians 2:15-21).
3.  God's people are marked by faith in Jesus alone that results in good works (James 2:18-26).

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.”  Dale Earnhardt

The original Earth, Wind, and Fire -- April 5, 2013

Violent wind.  Flames of fire.  Voices speaking in all languages.

New drama on TV?

No.  It's what happened at the birth of the New Testament church.

The name for it is "Pentecost".  It comes from the Greek word for "fiftieth".  It happened fifty days after Easter Sunday; ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven.

I always thought of Pentecost as a Book of Acts thing.  It stands alone in the way the Holy Spirit filled the one hundred or so that were in that room.

But the date has significance from the Old Testament also.  The Festival of Weeks (or Shavuot) celebrates Moses being given the Ten Commandments by God on Mount Sinai fifty days after the Passover.

So Pentecost occurred on the anniversary of God giving The Law to the Jewish people.

In the Old Testament, God gave The Law to the people to tell them how to act.

In the New Testament, God sent the Holy Spirit to help people witness about Jesus.

Hundreds of years apart, but on the same day of the year.  Do you think God was trying to tell us something?

Join us Sunday morning at 9:50 a.m. as we dig into the Pentecost.

Here's the outline for our lesson:
1.  The Holy Spirit indwells every believer (Acts 2:1-4).
2.  The Holy Spirit empowers the spread of the gospel (Acts 2:22-36).
3.  The Holy Spirit builds the community of faith (Acts 2:37-42).

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“Sorrow, anger, and resentment look back; worry looks around; while faith, hope, and optimism look to the future.”   Dan Miller

Celebrating the Empty Grave at Easter -- April 1, 2013

Why do you think there are so many more songs about Christmas than there are for Easter?

 

Both celebrate Jesus.

 

Want my opinion?

 

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus.  Everybody likes babies.  Babies are cute.  Babies aren't controversial.  Babies are safe.  Babies are born all the time.  Jesus' birth is a warm fuzzy feeling.

 

But Easter.  Jesus grew up.  Jesus preached things that weren't (and still aren't) popular.  Jesus was killed, but He rose on the third day.  That's not normal; that's not natural.  Jesus demands a choice.  Jesus' resurrection requires faith.

 

When I was preparing the lesson, I wanted to find songs that spoke of Jesus' resurrection from the grave.  I didn't have as many choices as I thought I would.

 

You can find lots of songs about the cross.  Old hymns and new music abound for the cross.  The resurrection, not so much.

 

In a blog interview with Adrian Warnock, Adrian said, "There seems little doubt to me that preaching in the average church today tends to stress the cross and assume the resurrection. The exact opposite is true of the preaching of the Apostles in the book of Acts--they stressed the resurrection and assumed that their hearers already knew about Jesus' death." www.edstetzer.com January 19, 2010 

 

My search for the right song took a while, but it was worth it.  I found this video for "Alive" by Natalie Grant.  

 

So what do we do about the Easter story?

 

Does it fill us with joy like it did for those who lived it?  Or do we say "ho-hum", pass the ham?

 

Does it give us hope?  Or is it just the same old story we hear every year?

 

Do we tell others about what Jesus did for us?  Or do we think we shouldn't 'rock the boat' by forcing our beliefs on other people?

 

Scott did a wonderful job in his Easter sermon on Romans 6:3-4.  But we closed our lesson with a short sermon by someone whose voice you'll recognize.

 

Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“It is better to be hated for what you are, than to be loved for what you are not.”  Andre Gide