Thirty years ago I would all the time encourage non-churchgoers to attend church....people who needed to hear the gospel. I would name specific churches and give them directions and times and all. I hardly do it anymore....because I know that the likelihood of them actually hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ....or of the cross of Christ....is slim....and that they most likely would either walk out of church saying to themselves....Is that all there is....biblical advice on how to live (and these may be people who may be at the end of their rope and finally made the decision to go to a church).....or stick around and join because it's a good time with great music. What I more often do today is recommend books or radio or Internet ministries....such as ligonier.org or gty.org or whitehorseinn.org., and what I'm most excited about is directing them to Google a Charles Spurgeon audio sermon....where they can hear preaching as it once was. (Update: You might want to Google...Spurgeon, Immeasurable Love....an audio sermon I listened to this morning while on the treadmill.
The following was first posted on a Lord's Day this past September. Surely the Lord will have mercy upon us one of these Lord's Days....that is our prayer and hope anyway. Tomorrow kicks off the new NASCAR season. The President will be there....shoring up that segment of his base....he's been reminding us of this all day through his tweeting....(update: he did take a lap in The Beast.) It has recently been one Lord's Day feast after another....the Grammys....the Super Bowl....the Academy Awards....Daytona....in this...."one glorious nation under God".....and yet we wonder.....as did those in Malachi's warnings to a very similar people...."How have we wearied Him?"
It may come in this way....the last great movement of God in America....the preacher....any preacher....many preachers across America....arrive at church disheveled....as if they hadn't had any sleep the night before....for they hadn't....in fact they have been tossing and turning all weekend trying to prepare a sermon that they believe God may have put on their heart. The congregations detect something as the uptempo music ends....and the preacher's shoulders appear to be sagging. Is something wrong they wonder....has the sale for more land for the addition fallen through? The pastor begins by saying that the holiness of God is an awesome thing to be confronted with. He's not looking at the congregation while talking as he usually does but his eyes are lifted to heaven. Maybe this is the setup to a humorous but informative anecdote....he's done that kind of thing before....but his wife is sitting in the front pew....and her lips are moving in prayer. This is no humorous but informative anecdote coming! The pastor reads the Parable Of The Ten Virgins....while his eyes lower to meet those in front of him....and he begins his sermon...."Beloved....how much oil do you have available to trim your lamp.....for you may need it soon....and even if our Lord tarries in His return....we must have oil for our lamps at all times!"
It may not happen this way....but each Monday I search for reports on how this preacher or that preacher was extremely solemn in the pulpit....and the congregation responded to his message with equal solemnity.
The following was first posted on a Lord's Day this past September. Surely the Lord will have mercy upon us one of these Lord's Days....that is our prayer and hope anyway. Tomorrow kicks off the new NASCAR season. The President will be there....shoring up that segment of his base....he's been reminding us of this all day through his tweeting....(update: he did take a lap in The Beast.) It has recently been one Lord's Day feast after another....the Grammys....the Super Bowl....the Academy Awards....Daytona....in this...."one glorious nation under God".....and yet we wonder.....as did those in Malachi's warnings to a very similar people...."How have we wearied Him?"
It may come in this way....the last great movement of God in America....the preacher....any preacher....many preachers across America....arrive at church disheveled....as if they hadn't had any sleep the night before....for they hadn't....in fact they have been tossing and turning all weekend trying to prepare a sermon that they believe God may have put on their heart. The congregations detect something as the uptempo music ends....and the preacher's shoulders appear to be sagging. Is something wrong they wonder....has the sale for more land for the addition fallen through? The pastor begins by saying that the holiness of God is an awesome thing to be confronted with. He's not looking at the congregation while talking as he usually does but his eyes are lifted to heaven. Maybe this is the setup to a humorous but informative anecdote....he's done that kind of thing before....but his wife is sitting in the front pew....and her lips are moving in prayer. This is no humorous but informative anecdote coming! The pastor reads the Parable Of The Ten Virgins....while his eyes lower to meet those in front of him....and he begins his sermon...."Beloved....how much oil do you have available to trim your lamp.....for you may need it soon....and even if our Lord tarries in His return....we must have oil for our lamps at all times!"
It may not happen this way....but each Monday I search for reports on how this preacher or that preacher was extremely solemn in the pulpit....and the congregation responded to his message with equal solemnity.
