Longsuffering

Contrary to popular belief, the life that you live will not always peaceful.  As long as you dwell on this earth, there will be trials and tribulations that you must contend with.  Unfortunately, many people are not prepared to handle the daily struggles that continue to tempt them.  The Bible speaks of having longsuffering, which is patient endurance and steadfastness during times of provocation, ill will, and retaliation (Hindson).  To be victorious in life, it will be necessary to learn the art of handling life’s problems without losing control.  We must grow to understand that some problems in life will not be resolved quickly; instead, some may linger for long periods of time.  As a believer in Christ, troubles and stumbling blocks should not cause a departure from the faith or its principles.  Instead, growth in Christ, will yield the ability to handle stressful situations and unruly people.  Regardless of how long you have had to endure a problem or suffer through a situation, God has given you the ability to count it all joy.  Hold on, call on your longsuffering, and watch God bring you through.

Keep pressing forward in Christ!

Pastor Sean

One Minute to Newness!

It's All About Love!

The best example of love can be seen in the relationship that God has with humanity.  John 3:16 explains that God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son.  This example removes any doubt about what true love is and how it should be displayed by the church.  While the gift of the Son is the foundation of Christianity, the key words in the passage is that he gave.  The love that God had for humanity was seen in his giving of something that was extremely important.  Love has been described as the perfection of divine nature by which God communicates himself (Towns).  Based on this description, we should communicate our love through actions and not just words.  It is not enough to declare salvation in the lord and your heart is still empty towards your brother.  God requires that we show our belief in him through our treatment of others.  This type of expression will stand out among believers and non-believer alike.

 Because many people struggle with love because of past hurts, showing love can be difficult to do.   Some have even suppressed their feeling of love in an effort to deal with tragedy.   Even after salvation, some may still struggle with allowing their emotions to be seen by others.  However, once the believer begins to grow in Christ, the love that Christ gave begins to come forth in the heart of those that believe. Once this occurs in the heart, it becomes easy to love family, friends, and people as a whole.  One way to communicate love is by sharing the Gospel with those who are lost.  This shows that the heart and mind has been transformed to care about the things that God cares about.  When love is seen in a person’s life, it stands as a clear indicator that they have matured pass the sin and selfishness that held them captive.

In the love of Christ!

Pastor Sean

The Need for Church Planters

It is my opinion that the call to church planting is very important to the growth and welfare of the body of Christ.  Throughout the history of the church, church planters can be seen placing churches in areas that God desired.  As the gospel of Jesus spread throughout the land, the need for places of worship increased.  Paul, who is known as a wise master builder of the faith, instructed Titus to ordain elders in every city as he appointed him (Titus 1:5).  This is a clear indication of men being sent into different cities to start churches.  Over the centuries, churches have been started all over the world.  Some of them were started to escape religious persecution and others for reasons that may not line up completely with the great commission.  Regardless of the climate of society, the world is in desperate need of church planters who desire to see God glorified through the expansion of his church.

Keep pressing forward in Christ!

Pastor Sean

A Disciple of Christ

A Disciple of Christ

In John chapter 15, Jesus explains that the disciple will pray, bear fruit, and glorify God.  While all of the requirements are important, it is clear that the final destination of a disciple is that their life will glorify Christ.  This can only be done through committing to prayer with the Father.  This allows the disciple to hear the purpose of God for their life.  Without this step, there will be no clear direction concerning the specific will of God for life.  While the universal will of God is for all believers to follow, the specific will helps define individual ministry and goals.  Once the will of God is established for a person, they should begin to bear fruit associated with their ministry and purpose.  When a person commits their life to being a disciple of Christ, sacrifice, love, commitment, and prayer will bring glory to the Father above.

Pastor Sean

Repost: To Leave A Church

After reading a blog by Tim Stevens (http://www.leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2010/01/how-to-leave-your-church.html) on the proper way to leave a church, I was inspired to write this blog. In his blog, he states that 19% of people leave a church in a loud boisterous manner, and 79% just slip away and you never hear from them again. It is with sadness that I agree with the comments made by this pastor. In my 11 years as a senior pastor, I have found that people leave churches exactly as he said. The question that should arise in the mind of the pastor is why. How could someone who smiled with us, dined with us, and even used the resources of the church just walk away. I have been told by most that they left because someone said this, that, or the other. Others have also said that they left a church because they felt that some things were not right.

Whatever the reason, we are charged by God to do all things in decency and order. When leaving a church, communicate to the leadership your problems. Let them know that your life has been changed in some way at the church. Most importantly, do not badmouth the church in anyway. This is the proper way for a believer to leave a church and keep everything on one accord.

In reality, there will always be those that gossip, lie, and steal. There will always be people that run your pressure through the roof, but how much stronger could we be if we stood together to defeat the enemy on every level. You would not just walk off your job to never return. For those that have done this, they usually face difficulties with obtaining a good report from that employer. Many may not be concerned with the report that the local church will give about them, but we all should be concerned about what the Lord thinks about us. We must all give an account concerning the good and bad that we have done (1 Corinthians 5:10). It is not good to leave cursing everyone and their parents, it is not appropiate to just slip away, the right way to leave any organization is through positive communication.

Just my thoughts on the subject,
Pastor Sean