The Plodding Preacher

In love with our own eloquence

2010-01-13T10:59:00.003-05:00

A lifetime ago, back in Bible College days, we would joke about finding a killer illustration. Now all we had to do was find a text to go with it. Our vigilant professors rightly used every tool at their disposal to beat this tendency out of us. Such an approach too easily leads to the mangling of the Biblical text in order to fit the illustration.

I believe this age-old danger has only intensified in the intervening years. Today "the story" has become the focus of many preachers. The ability to tell a compelling story has been highly elevated among those who fill the pulpit. There are many masters of the art of story-telling. However, the burning question must still be, Does the story rule the text or does the text rule the story? As I listen to many story-tellers, I am afraid that they are so enamoured with the eloquence of their own words that they could care less about what text they corrupt - so long as it supports their brilliance. Story can be a powerful tool when it used in service to the Scriptures and their story. Unfortunately, many of the stories being told by so-called preachers have as much validity as those that begin "Once upon a time."

New Things?

2009-11-09T11:28:00.002-05:00

Here is a good reminder from the Prince of Preachers about our fascination with new things.

"I know the proud flesh wants to serve Christ, by striking out new paths. Proud man has a desire to preach new doctrine, to set up a new Church; to be an original thinker, to judge, and consider, and do anything but obey. This is no new service to Christ. He that would serve Christ must follow him; he must be content to tread only in the old footsteps, and go only where Christ has led the way. ?It is not for you and me to be originals; we must be humble copies of Christ. There must be nothing about our religion of our own inventing; it is for us to lay thought, judgment, and opinion at the feet of Christ, and do what he bids us, simply becasue he gives the command." C.H. Spurgeon

Happiness and Reality

2009-06-25T13:44:00.005-04:00

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

I know the context of this passage is love and its relation to the gifts of the Spirit. However, it seems to me that the principle could be applied to a multitude of issues in our society. The thoughts, reasoning and expectations of children are radically different that those of adults. Children live in a protected world that shields them from the harsh realities of life. Becoming an adult involves a coming to term with those realities. Maturity faces those challenges head-on and learns how to deal with them. Growing up means leaving behind the fantasies of childhood in order to confront the realities of life.

I am distressed by the way our society encourages us to remain in the fantasy world of childhood. One example of this is happiness. Only children expect to be happy all the time. They expect a world where they should never be bored, but where they can skip merrily from one happy moment to the next. As one becomes an adult, there comes the realization that not all of life is happiness. There is genuine sadness as a result of the consequences of sin in this world. Parts of life are just plain old hard slogging. Work, play, marriage - all have their tough times.

That is why it distresses me to see the number of young men and women who are bailing out on their marriages because they are "not happy." There has been no major conflict. There has been no abuse. There has been no infidelity. They just aren't as happy as they think they ought to be. They are juveniles who believe their marriage should move from one blindingly passionate moment to the next, leaving them in a perpetual state of bliss. GROW UP!!! Only infants are immature enough to believe that life owes them perpetual happiness. It is time to become an adult and to realize that anything in this life that is going to be truly satisfying is going to involve hard work.

Down Wind

2009-04-21T16:05:00.004-04:00

I heard an expression today that really has taken my fancy. I was listening to Wretched Radio which was featuring a Christian comedian. This comedian was giving his testimony and he spoke of "getting downwind of himself." He used this expression to describe the experience of learning how truly horrible he was. Just as a person who lives downwind of the local garbage dump smells the stink, when he realized what a wretch he was, he got his nose full of the stink of his own sin.

Some of us who have been on the road for a while have forgotten our stink. We have forgotten that we were and still are those who do incredibly offensive things before our God. We stink to high heaven! Unfortunately, it has been too long since we have been downwind of ourselves. We have lost a sense of how abominable our sin is to God.

Why is this so important? Well when we get a good whiff of our stench it reminds us how gracious Christ was in dying for us. There was nothing in my stinking, rotting corpse that would attract grace. Rather, it is all of God's love that mercy was extended to me. As well, when I get downwind of myself and realize how offensive I am, it renews my desire to pursue God's holiness. I don't want to stink! I want to be a sweet smelling sacrifice to the God who saved me!

A Tough Week

2009-03-24T13:27:00.003-04:00

This has been a long week for the family. Last Friday we attended the funeral for my wife's uncle. Yesterday the phone call came from Ireland that my uncle had passed away. I praise the Lord that both of these men had trusted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. His promise to save is sure and they both are enjoying the fullness of God's joy in heaven today.

When I think about their faith and trust in Christ, I am reminded of a inscription from the tomb of the great astronomer Copernicus:

"I ask not such favour as St. Paul received
Nor yet such grace as St. Peter obtained;
But what, on the cross, to the thief Thou did'st give,
O Jesus, I fervently pray, grant to me."

Casting the First Stone

2009-02-17T11:45:00.004-05:00

In our study of Romans 1, we have just completed the first chapter. In it we discovered that the wrath of God is being poured out on mankind because of our suppression of the truth about God. The form of this wrath is striking - God gives humanity what humanity desires. Sexual immorality slides into sexual perversity and homosexuality as man spirals down into the depths of depravity.

It is tempting to shout "Amen!" The passage clearly portrays the sexual immorality and homosexuality of our society as sin and worthy of God's wrath. Unfortunately for my self-righteous tendencies, the downward spiral doesn't end there. Paul finishes by saying that humanity (including me) was given over to all kinds of depravity including things like greed, gossip, and disobedience to parents. When I get to the bottom of Paul's downward spiral I find -- myself. In fact, I find all of us. There is an equality of depravity. I am not saying that we should overlook sin. I am saying that we all are equally sinful. There is no hierarchy. We all are at rock bottom.

The point is clear. The sexual pervert needs grace and forgiveness. The homosexual needs grace and forgiveness. I need grace and forgiveness. You need grace and forgiveness.

The Power of the Gospel

2009-02-03T12:42:00.003-05:00

This week the evening sermon looked at Romans 1:8-17. At the end of that passage, Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. As I prepared to preach that passage I was forced to contemplate whether I too could say the same thing as Paul. Am I unashamed of the Gospel because I am convinced that it alone is the means God uses to transform human beings? Do I believe that the Gospel alone is sufficient by the power of God to do the work of God in building his church?

There is tremendous pressure in today's evangelical subculture to find new measures to guarantee success. Music, small groups, alternative services, etc., are all touted as the means of success. We are told that if we follow this or that program more people will trust Christ and our churches will grow. Unfortunately, many of these programs become a substitute for the Gospel. If I am reading Paul correctly, the success of any program lies only in its ability to faithfully proclaim and adhere to the Gospel. If the focus is anything but the Gospel, we have missed God's saving power.

As a pastor I am becoming more and more convinced that my job is not to grow the church or build the kingdom. God does those things. My job is not to draw a crowd or build up self-esteem. Those are false goals. My job is not to help people find their purpose in life or to improve their relationship skills. Those are false gospels. My job is to faithfully and unapologetically preach the Gospel of Christ. God has promised that when His Gospel is preached, His Spirit will take the Word of God - the Gospel - and produce faith in those who hear. That's something we need to believe in!

The Prodigal God

2008-11-19T11:49:00.003-05:00

It always amazes me how Scriptures that I have read a thousand times have truths that I have missed over and over. Recently, I was reading the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). All my life I have assumed that the term "prodigal" refers to the younger son's leaving the father's home. I had always thought that prodigals were people who wandered away. Imagine my surprise when I finally looked up the word and found that it means nothing of the sort. Prodigal is an adjective that means "excessive, extravagant, over the top." The prodigal was not prodigal because he left home but because he took his inheritance and wasted it on wine, women and song. He spent excessively and extravagantly. That is why he is described as prodigal.

That got me thinking. Who is the real prodigal in this story? Yes, the son wastefully threw away his inheritance through extravagant spending. However, I think there is an even more extravagant prodigal in the story. It is the father. Think about it. I have a twenty year-old son. Imagine how I would respond if he came to me and said this: "Dad, I'm tired of waiting for you to die. Give me my share of the inheritance so I can enjoy it now." How long do you think it would be before my foot planted itself in the seat of his pants? Yet the father in the story that Jesus tells liberally gives up the inheritance to this ungrateful son.

Later in the story, the father is even more prodigal. When his ingrate of a son returns home with nothing, smelling of the pigsty, the father spots him from afar, hikes up his robes, runs out and embraces his son. Although the son deserves nothing, the father dresses him in a clean robe, puts sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger. He then orders a feast to celebrate the return of this pathetic son. That is extravagant behaviour. This father has been abused by this child, yet he responds with over the top love. His expression of acceptance of this child is nothing less than prodigal.

Now bring those details to the true point of the story. We are the son. Ungrateful, stinky, disgusting in every part of our being. We do not deserve anything from the Father, God. We are rebels without a cause. As the son rightly confesses, we do not deserve to be part of the family. It would be amazing grace for God the Father to even allow us to be slaves on the family farm. However, the Father does not treat us that way. His grace is prodigal. It is excessive, extravagant and over the top. Rather than treat us as we deserve, he welcomes us and makes us part of the family. He forgives us, cleans us up and throws a feast in our honour. My friends - the point of this story is not the prodigal nature of the son. The point of the story is the extravagant, prodigal grace of our God!

A Sad Picture

2008-10-08T11:36:00.002-04:00

It always amazes me when a very familiar passage of Scripture - one that I've read hundreds of times - suddenly hits me between the eyes with an insight I had missed before. Our prayer meeting group has been working our way through Revelation. In that study we recently looked at the letter to the church in Laodecia. It is in that letter that we find the very familiar verse:
Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

This time as I read that verse it hit me between the eyes like two-by-four. Jesus is speaking to a so-called church - a church supposedly in the act of serving him. However, the same Jesus who said "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them," is not in the midst of the church in Laodecia. Instead, he is on the outside asking to be let in. How sad that a "church" could meet and not even know that they had shut Christ out.

Pastoral Abuse

2008-09-11T15:36:00.004-04:00

For the last two weeks I have been working my way through John 10, the passage where Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. It is a wonderful description of Christ's magnificent love for the flock as demonstrated by the giving of his life. I believe that this passage forms the foundation for understanding the pastor's role in the church as we serve as under-shepherds to the Good Shepherd.

Perhaps that is why I find myself so distressed by the trends I see in pastoral ministry today. The first of these is an increasing narcissism among ministers. The flock exists for the minister's ego and the only thing that will satisfy that ego is reknown and reward. The church has to get bigger. It has to be a trophy to the pastor's abilities and talents. The church exists to make a name for its leader. I can't help but think that this pictures the robbers and thieves that Christ describes in John 10. They break into the sheepfold for their own profit rather than for the benefit of the sheep. Rather than feeding the flock they are feasting on lamb chops. Rather than asking "What's best for the sheep?" they only ask "What's best for me?" "Who cares if a few sheep get trampled in the rush, as long as the my flock is bigger and better tomorrow." If an individual sheep has the audacity to disagree, throw it out of the flock! Somehow I have a hard time seeing the Shepherd who searches the wilderness for the lost sheep believing that any sheep is expendable in order to accomplish the plan.

The second trend that distresses me is the faith-healing movement. This is not because I don't believe God can heal. It is because of the abuse that is heaped upon the sheep. Most so-called healers today follow the same formula - having enough faith = healing. To me this involves kicking the sheep when he's down. "You are suffering. You are sick. And by the way, you don't have enough faith." How is that bringing the comfort of the Good Shepherd to the wounded sheep? It is not! In fact, it is abuse of the sheep to protect the healer's reputation. The failure never is the fault of the healer. It is always the fault of the poor sheep who "lacks faith." So not only is the sheep miserable because of the illness being suffered, but the so-called shepherd does not lighten that load, but instead heaps guilt onto the burden for the supposed lack of faith. How is this consistent with the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions (2 Cor. 1:2-3)?

Jeremiah 23:1-2 ¶ "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

2008-08-26T13:50:00.006-04:00

Over the last number of weeks, the issue of suffering has come up several times in both our study of John and Jeremiah. Specifically, the question of why Christians suffer has been at the forefront of our thoughts. Finding a comprehensive answer to this question has always troubled believers. It is too easy to latch on to one answer and then limit God's work to our theological construct. At times, we easily fall into the formula of "Do good, get blessed; Do evil: get cursed." Unfortunately, we all can immediately cite examples where those who do good aren't blessed, and those who do evil seemingly are blessed. Indeed, many of the formulaic approaches to suffering hit this snag. There are exceptions to the formula. Where do we find a comprehensive explanation for suffering?

Well, let's start with our title. It is taken from the title of a well known book from a number of years ago. It is a question that is repeatedly asked. However, it is wrong in its basic formula. Bad things don't happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. If we hold this question up to the scrutiny of Genesis 3 and the fall of man, we see that the question is all wrong. Read Romans 3:10-18 and very quickly it becomes evident that there are no good people - only bad. Suffering - all suffering - has its origin in the curse brought by original sin. even in Christ, we live in a sin-cursed world, and suffering is part of that world. As long as we are in this world, we will suffer.

So does that mean that all of our suffering is related to sins we have committed? While in the broad sense all suffering finds its source in the sin of Adam in the garden, not every case of suffering is directly traceable to a particular sin we may have committed. Some can be. Scripture clearly teaches that God does at times judge our sin with suffering. Ananias and Sapphira paid a physical price for lying to the Holy Spirit, many in Corinth were sick and some had even died for dishonouring the Lord's table (1 Cor. 11:30), and Hebrews 12 tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves. Paul encourages to examine ourselves in the Corinthian passage to see if we fall into the category of those who are subject to God's judgment because of sin. However, Scripture also clearly reveals that not all suffering is related to a sin we have committed. The most obvious illustration of this is the book of Job. Job's suffering bore no relation to any sin in his life. In fact, Job's comforters are a failure because of their belief that there must be some sin Job was hiding. In John 9, the disciples are confounded by a man blind from birth. They debate over whether the blindness was a result of the man's sin or the sin of his parents. When they ask Jesus, He clearly states that the suffering is not due to the sin of either. Jesus answers that the man was blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3).

In this answer by Jesus, I believe I have my comprehensive answer to why we suffer. We suffer so that the glory of God might be revealed. I believe in that one statement, we can find the answer to all suffering in our lives. Let me illustrate. If our suffering is caused by sin in our lives, what are the results of such suffering. There are two possibilities. First we may repent of that sin and be restored by the mercy of God. Is that not a situation that glorifies God? Second, we may not repent and continue to suffer. Is not God glorified by the justice of the punishment? Either way God is glorified. What about if the suffering is not due to sin directly? Well, in the blind man's case Jesus says such a suffering was to display the glory of God. In Paul's case, his thorn in the flesh was designed to keep him humble and to teach him that God's strength was sufficient in the face of human weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Glory to God!

I hope in all of this discussion that I have not minimized the pain of suffering. As a pastor, my heart breaks when I see my dear people broken by cancer, crippled by arthritis or crushed by depression. Suffering hurts. However, I am convinced that believing that suffering is arbitrary and random hurts more. If suffering is purposeless then it is indeed unnecessary cruelty. But suffering is not purposeless. It has a purpose - and that purpose is the grandest purpose in the cosmos. It is to give glory to God. It is my prayer that as you endure the suffering God has brought into your life that you can move beyond "Why me?" Instead, I hope that I can learn to say "God make me a good steward of this suffering you have brought into my life. Help to use it for the maximum opportunity to bring glory to your name."

Twisted Logic

2008-08-12T10:33:00.003-04:00

I have been preaching through Jeremiah on Sunday evenings. For forty years Jeremiah proclaimed God's message that Jerusalem would be destroyed because of Judah's idolatry. In our study we have now come to chapter 44 where God has fulfilled the threat and the remnant have fled to Egypt. The misery of the people is directly related to their idolatry and disobedience to God. However, now that they are in Egypt the people have once more turned to idolatry. Here is their logic. When we were worshiping idols in Jerusalem we had peace and plenty. When we stopped worshiping idols, Nebuchadnezzar attacked us. Therefore, we are going back to worshiping idols. Instead of attributing the destruction to God's judgment of idolatry, they attribute it to their last minute attempt to placate Jehovah by putting aside their idols in the final months of Nebuchadnezzar's seige.

This is like a bank robber who is in prison being asked what he will do when he is released. "Oh I'm going to rob banks again. Because when I was robbing banks before I had lots of money. Since I stopped robbing banks I've been in prison. So life was better when I was robbing banks."
There is a total disconnect between the crime and the punishment. There is a total warping of all of the natural laws of thinking and logic.

One of my former associates often made the claim "Sin makes you stupid." He was absolutely right. Sin corrupts us totally. It warps our minds in the same way that it warps every other part of us. It is not a matter of intelligence or the lack thereof. It is a corruption that permeates every part of our consciousness. For proof one only has to look at the universities of our land. There is not one wicked, evil idea that does not have some tenured academic arguing for its goodness. In North America one can find so-called academics who will stand up for every perversity imaginable. Such is the corruption that it is its nature to call evil "good" and good "evil."

The Wonder

2008-07-15T10:41:00.004-04:00

This week is our Vacation Bible School at the church. Usually during this week I teach the grade 4-6 class. However, this year I have a very special assignment - Jack. Jack is the three-month-old child of our new youth pastor and his wife, Mel. Mel has taken my spot on the teaching roster and I have taken her spot in caring for Jack during the 3 hours of VBS. In fact, as I am writing this Jack is sleeping peacefully at my side.

As I have been caring for Jack a number have thoughts have been going through my mind. On the lighter side, I am so thankful that my own children came along when I was in my twenties. I had forgotten the energy required to care to an infant and, frankly, at 45 I'm pooped after caring for Jack for three hours. It has reminded me again of how we need to support those who care for their little ones. Mothers, in particular, often have this draining task and receive little thanks for the effort they expend.

Secondly, these last few days have once again driven home to me the miracle of the life God gives. As I have cuddled Jack, changed his diaper, given him his bottle, the wonder of life is renewed in my heart. He is beautiful. His smile can melt your heart. How can anyone say that such a life is something we can snuff out mindlessly just because it is still within the mother's body. The abortion industry doesn't want us to think of Jack when they sell their message. They want us to think of a shapeless lump of tissue called a fetus. That way we can depersonalize it and rationalize our guilt away. But holding Jack you just know it isn't true. The wonder of God's miracle of life was just as amazing 3 months ago or 6 months ago or 9 months ago. It was still the miracle of Jack when a cell from his mother and one from his father came together to create life.

Lest I become too sentimental, let me also note that it has not all been cuddles and sonshine as I care for Jack. Yesterday was tough. He was miserable and cranky. Nothing satisfied him. Several times I am sure that, had he been big enough, he would have displayed his displeasure with me violently. Looking at him now in peaceful slumber it is hard to say. . . but Jack is a sinner. He has inherited his first father Adam's nature. While we can never lose our awe at the wonder of God-given life in an infant, we can also never allow that wonder to trivialize the truth that we all come into this world in rebellion against God. The answer for Jack, for me, and for you, dear reader, is that we all must have a second birth. The Spirit of God must give us new life through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in our place. Only then can we really talk about being as "innocent as a baby."

God Bless Them

2008-07-07T14:59:00.006-04:00

Today I had a good cry. I was exploring Way of the Master website and came across a youtube video entitled 99 balloons. My friends this is the pro-life message lived in real life. My prayer for this dear couple is that God blesses them for their faithfulness. If you have a tissue handy watch the video here http://youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

One Size Fits All

2008-06-24T13:18:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to fill the pulpit in a sister church. From the external perspective, this church could not have been much more different than my home church. The size was different. The demographics were different. The music was vastly different. The entire feel of the church was different. I am certain that some of the people from that church would be uncomfortable in my church and vice versa. It would be very easy from the appearances to assume that we had little in common. However, nothing could be further from the truth. While the appearances of the two congregations were vastly different, the heart was the same. The doctrines were the same. The Word of God was the same. There was diversity in the surface elements, but unanimity in the essentials.

How strange that is in our day. We live in the age of the franchise. You can go into a McDonalds in Montreal or in Vancouver and you will find a striking similarity in appearance. The same is true of churches. They now bear the trademark of their licensee. Is it a Harvest Fellowship or a Saddleback or a Willow Creek? Enter any church in the franchise and you will be struck by the external similarity. The look and feel will be the same from outlet to outlet. If your church is not part of the chain, then someone will be glad to point out how much better you would be doing if only you bought a franchise.

How sad. We serve a God who delights in revealing His power through diversity in the externals. He works through an emotion-driven Samson and also an intensely logical Paul. Jesus heals a leper by touching him, but heals a group of lepers by telling them to go see the priest. God has even made a donkey talk and a big fish swallow a man in order to accomplish His will. I am convinced that style really is the least of God's concerns.

The irony arises from the fact that churches can look and feel very different and yet be in complete agreement on the essentials of the faith. Alternately, churches can have the market cornered on style and be totally lacking in the true message of the Gospel. We are demanding agreement on music, service format and preaching style while at the same time allowing complete disagreement on the heart of Christ's message. Pew research just came out with a poll that revealed that 57% of Evangelical Christians in the USA believe that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. What good is the fact that we all are singing the same choruses if we can't even agree on such a basic truth of the Scripture?

The joy of fellowship does not come from the fact that we all look and sound the same. The joy comes from the amazing truth that we all look and sound different yet because we all have one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Father and God we have fellowship because Christ has broken down the walls between us. We are different on the outside, but the same in heart because of Christ's redemption.

What's in a name?

2008-06-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

William Carey, the father of modern missions, described his greatest strength in the following words: "I can plod. This is my only genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything." I cannot claim to have the genius or determination of a William Carey. I share his doctrine and his denomination, but fall far short of his commitment to Christ. However, I do identify with the desire to be a plodder for Jesus Christ. We live in a day where everyone seems to be chasing after their 15 minutes of fame. "Here today, gone tomorrow" appears to be the motto of our age. In contrast, I want to plod on till Jesus comes or until that day he calls me home. Having now clearly entered into the second half of my life, I want to finish well. My prayer is that I may be found a faithful servant till then.

When I chose a "life" verse as a young man, I had no idea that it would become so much more meaningful the older I grew. Yet these verses seem ever more significant to me as plod along this road of Christian faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For all those who seek to plod faithfully to the end, I invite you to join with me in the journey.