Category: Pastoral

On Sermon Preparation

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Preaching, Quotes1 Comment

So it comes to this. The preparation of sermons involves sweat and labour. It can be extremely difficult at times to get all this matter that you have found in the Scriptures into this particular form.

It is like a potter fashioning something out of the clay, or like a blacksmith making shoes for a horse; you have to keep on putting the material into the fire and on to the anvil and hit it again and again with the hammer.

Each time it is a bit better, but not quite right; so you put it back again and again until you are satisfied with it or can do no better. This is the most grueling part of the preparation of a sermon; but at the same time it is a most fascinating and a most glorious occupation.

It can be at times most difficult, most exhausting, most trying. But at the same time I can assure you that when you have finally succeeded you will experience one of the most glorious feeling that ever comes to a man on the face of this earth.

To borrow the title of a book by Arthur Koestler, you will be conscious of having performed an ‘Act of Creation’, and you will have some dim understanding of what the Scripture means which tells us that when God looked at the world He had created He saw that ‘it was good’.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you feel about your own sermon preparation?

Resources

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, 90.

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On The Common Beliefs of Teenage Americans

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Practical, Quotes2 Comments

Christian Smith, professor of sociology and director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, oversees a continuing studying of the religious beliefs of teenagers called the National Study of Youth and Religion. After interviewing hundreds of teens about religion, God, faith, prayer, and other spiritual practices, Smith and his colleagues have identified the common beliefs that the average teenager holds:

The Common Beliefs of the Average Teenager

  1. A God exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
  2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
  3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
  4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
  5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Smith has termed this system of beliefs “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” (MTD). He clarifies that MTD is not an official religion but that it is simply a colonizing of many established religious traditions and congregations in the United States. The implication of all this is that the philosophies of MTD are dominating our churches, pulpits, books, and counseling and coaching sessions.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you agree with Smith’s list?

Resources

Scott Thomas and Tom Wood, Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God, 40-41.

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Spread the Gospel Indiscriminately

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Pastoral, PracticalLeave a comment

Prison

God calls all people’s to come and follow Him. I believe we are the instruments God uses to extend that call. As we call others to follow Jesus, we shouldn’t discriminate. It shouldn’t matter if we think someone is good or bad, or if we believe they deserve salvation or not. Our job is to spread the gospel.

The Gospel Changes People

I once knew a guy who was selfish. He only did things that pleased himself. He disrespected authority, rebelling against the system. He hated others and did things to make people’s lives miserable. He was a racist, a liar, and cheater. He was someone who objectified woman.

But you know what? Someone shared the gospel with him. Through that person’s witness, Jesus saved him and changed his heart, so that he now follows Jesus. He now desires to live according to God’s Word and spread His gospel.

You know who that person is? That person is me. I am that horrible, terrible person God saved.

You Are No Different

My story is no different than yours. Each of us were at one time horrible, terrible people who only lived for ourselves. So we shouldn’t think God only saves those who are good because if that were the case, none of us would have experienced salvation.

You see, none of us are good. None of us are savable. But thankfully God doesn’t save those society deems good or savable. God saves all kinds and each of us are a testament to that.

We Shouldn’t Discriminate

So we shouldn’t discriminate as to who we share the gospel with. We should share the gospel with all people’s.

As we spread the gospel, people will respond. Many will enter the kingdom through our witness. Many will follow Jesus. The key though is that we are to spread the gospel indiscriminately, calling anyone and everyone to follow Jesus.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you think some are too far gone to be save? If so, why?

Resource

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Learning to Teach from the Master Himself

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Leadership, Pastoral, PreachingLeave a comment

Jesus Stain Glass

If there is one person who can teach us to teach others, it’s Jesus. He is a master teacher. A teacher whose teaching impacted and connected with the 1000’s who followed Him.

His teaching connected because He knew how to relate to His listeners. His parables weren’t chosen at random. Rather, they were purposefully selected for their teaching and relatability.

We Should Relate to Others with Our Teaching

Likewise, we should use scenarios that relate well to those we are teaching. While that statement is easy for me to write, it’s not easy to do. More and more I find, in our mobile society, many of us come from different background, grow up in different parts of the country, and are influenced by differing world views. All of which make it difficult to relate to others.

Even though that is true, we shouldn’t give up. Instead, we must ratchet up our efforts in getting to know those we are teaching. We must work to understand their background, their cultural customs, and their worldview.

Parents and Grandparents are Teachers Too

While we primarily think of Pastors, Sunday School Teachers, and Bible Study Leaders as teachers, as those who need to heed this advice, I also have another group in mind – Parents and Grandparents. You guys are teachers too. You teach your kids and grandkids on a daily basis.

As you all know and have experienced, even though you live in the same house, it’s not easy to relate to one another. That, however, doesn’t mean we give up in frustration. God has commanded us to teach our children and grandchildren. So instead of giving up, we have to work to relate to them.

The best way to get to know others is to hangout with them, ask questions, and listen. If you do that, you’ll be in a better position to not only understand their struggles and temptations, but you will know how you might relate biblical truth in a way that will impact them.

Question for Reflection

  1. Other than the ones I listed above, what are ways for parents to learn how to relate to their children.

Resources

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Sermon adapted from my sermon Those who Embrace Jesus Produce Fruit

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

Unashamed

I spent last week in Louisville, Kentucky visiting friends and attending Together for the Gospel. The time with friends and the conference was a blessing.

This years conference was subtitled Unashamed. It’s focus was evangelism. While it is a common tactic to make evangelicals feel guilty for not evangelizing the lost, I appreciated that that was not their tactic. Instead of focusing on guilt, they focused on the power of the gospel to make men alive in Christ.

Some motivations that stuck out to me where the ones Thabiti Anyabwile gave. He specifically provided five of which I have highlighted below.

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

(1) Repentance is for the joy of heaven, the church and Christ.

(2) Repentance is calling someone to see worth in God’s sight.

(3) Repentance is a call to gain heaven’s greatest pleasures.

(4) Repentance isn’t emphasis on do’s and don’t’s, but on seeing God as He really is.

(5) Repentance is a call to what God calls beautiful.

Question for Reflection

  1. What other gospel-centered motivations would you add to the list above?

Resource

If you would like to hear Thabiti flesh these points out, you can watch his message here.

It’s Necessary to Confront Others Who Are in Sin

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Pastoral4 Comments

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It is necessary to confront others in sin. Most people wouldn’t agree with my statement. Approaching others in sin is messy, difficult, and unpopular. Even so, it’s necessary for us to do it.

Jesus as Our Example

In Matthew 21, Jesus approaches the Chief Priests and Elders about their sin after He escaped their trap. Jesus could have let the Chief Priests and Elders walk away, but He doesn’t. Instead, He immediately goes on the offensive to point out their sin.

Now, Jesus doesn’t do that because He is mean or for some reason wants to inflate His own pride. No, Jesus does it in hope that they would see the error of their ways and repent. As well as He does it so the watching crowd would be protected from the lies and bad example of the Chief Priests and Elders.

Why We Should Point Out Others Sin

We should point out others’ sin for the same reason Jesus did.

(1) So they would repent and begin to actually follow Jesus.

As well as we should point out others sin:

(2) To protect the church.

You see, if we allow people to continue in sin without addressing it, those in the church might believe that lifestyle is acceptable. After all, so and so has: A live in girlfriend, is involved in an adulterous affair, abuses their spouse, does’t lead their family to attend church, is a crooked business man, is addicted to pornography, or whatever they might be involved in, and the church hasn’t addressed it, so it must be okay for me to live that way.

You see, if we don’t confront sin, if we don’t call people to repent, we not only hinder our witness to the community, but we also hinder the spiritual growth in our own church. So we must follow Jesus’ example. We must confront others in their sin.

Confront in Love With Great Care and Wisdom

Of course, we have to do this in love, with great care and wisdom, but we must do it. It is not only good for them and their spiritual growth, but it also protects the church.

Not Popular

I know confronting others in their sin is not popular. We live in a culture that likes to sweep things under the rug. We live in a culture that doesn’t like to deal with others’ sins. We live in a culture where if we start pointing out things in others’ lives, we are now meddling in their business.

Here, however, is the thing, while we all have a personal relationship with Jesus – meaning that we are saved individually – our relationship with Jesus is not a private one. When we become believers, we are born into a community. A community we refer to as the church.

The reason Christians are born into a community is so that we can help one another grow in Christ. Part of the way we help others grow is by lovingly exposing their sin. We can’t stop there though. After we expose another’s sin, we must also help them work through the process of repentance and growth.

Wrap Up

So while it’s not popular for us to confront others about their sin, it is necessary and something we are called to do.

Question for Reflection

  1. What are your thoughts about confronting others in sin?

Resources

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Post adapted from my sermon: Talk is Cheap, Walk the Walk