Category: Church Life

Why Aren’t Christians Growing?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, Practical4 Comments

Why aren’t Christians growing? More specifically, why do Christians become stagnant in Christ-like growth?

What Occurs in Salvation?

If we think about some of what occurs in salvation, this question becomes even more urgent. When we come to Christ, we are:

  • Delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ, releasing us from bondage to sin and Satan (Col. 1:13; Rom. 6:5-7).
  • Redeemed from God’s wrath and forgiven our sin, restoring our relationship with God (Col. 1:14).
  • Given the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 8:9-11).
  • Made a new Creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
  • Given a new desire for the things of God (Rom. 7:22).

If these things, and more, occur in salvation, how can we be stagnant in Christ-like growth?

How is it Possible to be Stagnant in Christ-like Growth?

Paul addresses this issue with the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3, when he says starting in verse 1,

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh (1 Cor. 3:1-3a).

The reason they had not grown. The reason Paul wasn’t able to feed them solid food, even after some time, was due to their source of wisdom.

Prior to penning the opening verses of chapter 3, Paul spends the better part of two chapters expounding the difference between the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. Paul ends chapter 2, by telling us the natural person is not able to understand the wisdom of God; therefore, they believe it is foolish. On the other hand, Paul tells us, the wisdom of God is understandable to the Christian, and it is prized instead of rejected.

Why are Christians able to understand God’s wisdom, when the world can’t? Christians are able to understand and prize the wisdom of God because they have the mind of Christ. They possess His mindset, which leads them to see God not as a foolish old man in the sky, but as a wise Father who is to be worshipped, sought, led and governed by.

The Ability Isn’t Used

But while the Corinthians have the ability to understand the wisdom of God, they are not seeking it, nor are they living by it. That is the reason they aren’t growing. They aren’t looking to God for wisdom, even though they are able; they are, instead, looking at the world, allowing its wisdom to direct and guide them.

We Do the Same

The Corinthians aren’t the only ones guilty of leaving their God-given ability on the table. We do the same. I believe that is because we often forget the pervasive nature of the world’s wisdom. We forget that the world’s wisdom is there confronting and influencing us every time we turn on the radio, television, and computer. It is there when we open the newspaper and magazine. It is there wherever we go. Since the world’s wisdom is all around us, influencing us in ways we may not readily be aware, we naively believe that that’s just how things are supposed to be done.

We Must Fight With a Christian Worldview

We, however, must fight the tendency to go along with the status quo of society, thinking that is the way we must do things. We must instead turn to God’s Word, to His wisdom, as often as we can, in order to develop a distinctly Christian worldview. One that allows us to judge the world’s advice, thoughts, and judgments with Scripture. One that causes us to look to God’s Word for advice, instead of the latest New York Times best seller. One that causes us to seek Christian counsel, instead of asking our non-Christian co-worker what therapist, pill, or self-help guru pulled them through their latest crisis. If we do that – if we turn to God’s Word and use our God-given ability to discern and understand His wisdom, we would see more Christ-like growth in our lives.

So why do Christians remain stagnant in their growth in Christ-likeness, in their ability to understand the deep things of God’s Word? Because we consistently seek and live by the world’s wisdom, rather than God’s wisdom.

Question for Reflection

  1. Whose wisdom do you often turn to in times of need?

Resource

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10 Reason We Should Regularly Gather with the Church

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Pastoral5 Comments

Yesterday was the Lord’s Day, the day we gather as a church in worship. As a pastor, I always look forward to Sundays. Not only do I get to preach, but I also have the opportunity to praise God alongside others, and watch how the Lord will use our fellowship for His glory.

As Christians, we should all desire to gather together with one another as often as possible. To motivate you to regularly gather, here are 10 reasons gathering with the church is important.

10 Reason We Should Regularly Gather with the Church

(1) To be obedient to God’s command (Heb. 10:23-25).

(2) To be equipped for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-14).

(3) To have our minds renewed through the preaching of the Word (Rom. 12:1-2).

(4) To employ our spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church (1 Cor. 12).

(5) To evangelize the watching world through our love for one another (John 13:35).

(6) To be held accountable by other mature brothers and sisters in the Lord (Acts 18:24-26).

(7) To be discipled by older, godly men and women (Titus 2:2-6),

(8) To ease the mind of your shepherd, so he is not worrying about your soul (Heb. 13:17).

(9) To grow in our faith of the Lord Jesus Christ as we are taught His Word (1 Pet. 2:2).

(10) To be encouraged to persevere in the faith by other believers (Heb. 3:12-14).

Question for Reflection

  1. Can you think of other reasons we should regularly gather as a church?

Resources

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For more information see A Sample Statement on Regular Church Attendance from 9 Marks

3 Practices to Help Deacons Fulfill Their Role

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, PracticalLeave a comment

This past Sunday, my church ordained three additional men to the office of Deacon. The service, and time afterward, was filled with an air of celebration for what the Lord is doing in our church. The sanctuary was packed and fellowship hall was full of home cooked meals and dessert (we’re Baptist).

While last Sunday was significant, the work of the church doesn’t stop after the ordination service. There are still things the church should do to make sure their Deacons are successful in fulfilling their role.

3 Practices to Help Deacons Fulfill Their Role

(1) Pray for Them

I know you have heard the phrase: “prayer changes things”. While that is an extra-biblical slogan, it is true. Prayer does change things. We have witnessed this time and time again in the life of our church, especially on Wednesday nights. Every Wednesday, we hold a prayer meeting and Bible study. When we start our prayer time, we begin by praising God for the work He has done in our lives, the church, and community, as well as we praise Him for the prayers He has answered. Through this practice, we have come to see that prayer does change things, and it is powerful.

Since prayer is powerful, we should consistently pray for the Deacon’s serving in our churches. We should pray for them to increase in wisdom, guidance, patience, compassion, and love. As well as we should pray for their strength and endurance, as they serve the church and the mission of God.

Might I make a suggestion on how to pray? Divide your Deacons up so that you are praying for one, or several, depending on how many you have, each day of the week. So for instance, at my church, we now have five Deacons, which means the church should pray for one Deacon on Monday, another on Tuesday, another on Wednesday, and so on and so forth.

I am convinced if you commit to regularly praying for your Deacons, God will do a mighty work in your church.

(2) Encourage Them

Speaking from experience, one word of encouragement can really spur someone to keep pressing on, to keep fighting the good fight, to keep battling in the trenches of ministry.

If you want your Deacons to be all they can be, to serve your church, and Christ’s mission well, you should not only pray for them, but you should also encourage them in the work they are doing. Tell them how they are making a difference in your life, the life of your church, and the life of your community.

I am not saying you need to toot their horn, or even make a big announcement, just a simple thanks every now and again, or a quick testimony about how their ministry has impacted your life, or even the life of someone you know. Doing that is all it takes to refuel them for the difficult task at hand, which is something they will need often because ministry and serving others is hard work.

(3) Serve Alongside Them

Yes, Deacons are called to serve, but they aren’t call to serve alone. Think about the first Deacons in the Jerusalem church. There were seven, but there were also over five thousand members. There is no way seven men served all five thousand members of that first church. They certainly had others helping and serving alongside them.

Now, I understand most churches don’t have a membership base of five thousand. Nevertheless, the principle still applies – we are to serve alongside those who have been set apart for service in God’s church. We aren’t to call, and then leave them to do everything for us. Doing so not only means we are neglecting the use of our own spiritual gifts, but it is also the surest way to burn them out.

Conclusion

Those are several ways the church can help their Deacons fulfill their role. I encourage and challenge you to do each and every one of them. To pray for, encourage, and serve alongside your Deacons. If you do those three things, I know they will have a successful ministry in your church, and your church will have a successful ministry to your people and the community.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you serve alongside your Deacons?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon A Charge for Our Deacons and the Church, which you can listen to here.

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Why Church Membership is Important

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, PastoralLeave a comment

How and Why Should We Prepare to Take the Lord’s Supper?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, PracticalLeave a comment

The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances of the church. It is something we do regularly, but how and why should we prepare to take the Supper?

How Should We Prepare to Take the Lord’s Supper?

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that before we take the Supper we must examine and judge ourselves.

“Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Cor. 11:28)

Skipping down to verse 31 Paul says,

“But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged” (1 Cor. 11:31)

Then in verse 33 Paul says,

“So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another — if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home — so that when you come together it will not be for judgment.” (1 Cor. 11:33-34)

So before we come to the table we must examine ourselves to:

  • (1) Make sure that we are a believer, that we believe Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, that we have committed to following Him.

Going even further, we not only need to make sure we are believers, but we also need to:

  • (2) Make sure there is no known unrepentant sin in our lives.

After examining ourselves, if we find sin in our hearts we have been unwilling to repent of, we must repent before partaking of the Supper.

Lastly, we must:

  • (3) Make sure we are united with others.

Recently, I was watching a show, and in it one of the main characters reluctantly goes home for a Christmas meal. While around the table with her family, they break out into a huge argument. The scene ends with her telling her father she regrets coming, then storming out.

Now, I think it is safe to say unity didn’t exist before that meal began — that is why she was reluctant to go home in the first place. Since there was no unity, when they all sat around the table together it ended in a fight.

That, however, should not be so in the church. We are supposed to come to the table together united with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We can’t do that if we are at odds with another in the body. So we must examine and repair our relationships before we take the Supper.

What Happens if We Don’t Examine Ourselves and Take the Supper Anyways?

We could be eating and drinking judgment on ourselves. In verse 27 Paul says,

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 11:27)

When Paul tells us that we are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, he means that we are liable and will face the same punishment as those who crucified Jesus. In other words, we are treated as unbelievers because we show we don’t understand the point of the Supper.

We show we don’t believe what the Supper proclaims — that Jesus died in our place for our sins so that we might have a relationship with the Father and experience eternal life. For if we did, we would show reverence and honor for the Supper being observed.

Also, starting in verse 28, Paul says,

“Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drink judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judge ourselves truly, we would not be judged.” (1 Cor. 11:28-31)

Apparently, there were some in the Corinthian church who were weak, ill, and some who have even died. Paul tells the Corinthians this happened and is happening because they do not observe the Supper rightly.

The same will happen today. If we take the Supper in an unworthy manner. If we misuse it and treat others poorly at it, we too will face the same fate. We too will be treated as an unbelievers. We too will grow weak, ill, and some of us may even die.

So if we don’t examine ourselves and take the Supper anyways, we could be eating and drinking judgment on ourselves.

Conclusion

So before we take the Supper we need to examine ourselves: make sure we are believers, repent of the sins we are holding onto, and repair any relationship that needs to be repaired. If we do those things, we will not only avoid the Lord’s judgment, but the Supper will be what Jesus designed it to be:

A time for Jesus’ family to come together in unity to celebrate and proclaim to each other and the world what He has done and will do for us.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you prepare for the taking of the Lord’s Supper?

Resources

Post developed from the sermon: The Lord’s Supper: A Family Meal of Unity, Celebration, and Proclamation which you can listen to in its entirety by clicking here.

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The Lord’s Supper: A Family Meal of Remembrance, Proclamation, and Unity

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, PracticalLeave a comment

The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances of the church. It is something we do regularly, but what does it represent? Is it just a time for us to sit quietly and receive a pez size unleavened wafer along with a shot of grape juice or wine? Or is there something more to it?

What Does the Lord’s Supper Represent?

(1) The Lord’s Supper is a Meal of Remembrance

It is a time for us to remember what Jesus has done for us and will do for us. Because of that it is a time of celebration, a time of joy.

What do the elements of the supper tell us that Jesus did for us?

About the bread, Paul quotes Jesus as saying,

“This is my body which is for you.” (1 Cor 11:24)

By this, we know that Jesus physically died in our place. His body was broken for our sins, as He took the punishment on Himself that we deserve.

Then about the cup, Paul quotes Jesus as saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor. 11:25)

By this, we know that Jesus’ blood was spilt for us. It was spilt to cover our sins. Just like the blood in the Old Testament sacrifices, although imperfect, covered the sins of the Israelites, making them holy, Jesus’ blood covers us, making us holy and righteous, which allows us a relationship with the Father.

As Jesus suffered the pain of the cross and the weight of the Father’s wrath, He did so gladly, knowing that His sacrifice provides us with a way of escape and the ability to once again experience a relationship with the Father.

What do the elements of the supper tell us that Jesus will do for us?

They remind us a time is coming when we will once again sit around the table with Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 11:26 Paul writes,

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)

In Savannah, there are a lot really good restaurants. For our birthdays’, my Dad would take my sister and I to the restaurant of our choice. One year, my sister decided she wanted to go Elizabeth’s on 37th street, which is a five star restaurant. Definitely, not a place we went often, but a place that lived up to the hype.

While the meal was small — I had to go to McDonald’s afterwards to get full — it was amazing. It was so good I still remember it 15 years later.

As good as our meal was that night, it doesn’t hold a candle to the meal we will have with Jesus one day in the recreated garden as we celebrate His second coming, His defeat of our enemies, and the ushering in of the New Heavens and New Earth, which is exactly what the Lord’s Supper points toward. The time after Jesus’ return when we will sit around the table with Him once again in the New Heavens and New Earth.

(2) The Lord’s Supper is a Meal of Proclamation

Have you ever noticed when watching the Olympics after a runner wins the race he takes it upon himself to do one more lap with his countries flag in hand? We call what he does a victory lap.

In some sense that is what we are doing as Christians when we take the Lord’s Supper. We are taking a victory lap to proclaim our Savior’s victory.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:26 says,

“…as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)

By partaking of the Lord’s Supper, Christians proclaim Jesus’ victory.

  • We proclaim that we believe Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to pay the price for our sins and bring about a New Covenant with God.
  • We proclaim that Jesus will return and defeat our enemy Satan, rid sin from the world, and bring in a New Heavens and New Earth.

Every time we take the Lord’s Supper we not only proclaim these truths to each other, but we also proclaim them to the watching world. We take a victory lap for our Savior.

(3) The Lord’s Supper is a Meal of Unity

On the idea of meal time as unity, one commentator says,

“Mealtimes [in the 1st century] were far more than occasions for individuals to consume nourishment. Being welcomed at a table for the purpose of eating food with another person had become a ceremony richly symbolic of friendship, intimacy, and unity.” [1]

As Jesus gathered around the table with His disciples, they were unified. They were a family. They were brothers and sisters in Christ.

Likewise, when we take the Supper, we are to be unified, because we too are all brothers and sisters in the Lord united with one another through one head — Jesus Christ (Col. 1:18).

When we come to the table, there shouldn’t be any bad blood, disputes, or conflict between us. We all should be in one accord, united with one another. We should be one happy family.

Question for Reflection

  1. Is this how you think of the Lord’s Supper?

Resources

[1]  A Meal with Jesus, 19

Post developed from the sermon: The Lord’s Supper: A Family Meal of Unity, Celebration, and Proclamation which you can listen to in its entirety by clicking here.

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