Are You a Berean?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Berean Congregation

Week in and week out church members listen to sermons, sit in on Bible studies, and attend Sunday School. They receive teaching, but what do they do with that teaching afterward? I am afraid most members do nothing more than casually mention to their family over lunch that the sermon was good this week.

Scripture tells us that is an inadequate response. It calls us to do more than listen to the sermon on Sunday, even though that is a good start. What else should we do? Let’s look to the book of Acts and see what our friends the Berean’s did.

The Bereans as Our Example

After leaving Thessalonica, Paul and Silas came to Berea. Luke tells us after arriving Paul and Silas…

… went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:10-11).

The Bereans model for us what we should do on Sunday morning. What is that?

Here are the three things they did that we should be doing:  

(1) They Eagerly Received God’s Word – They came to the synagogue hungry for the preached Word. Preaching wasn’t the part of the service they endured. It was a part of the service they eagerly anticipated.

(2) They Listened Attentively – Not only did they desire to hear God’s Word taught, but they listened attentively. Limited edition Berean Moleskine’s sat in every listener’s lap being filled with notes from the sermon. Daydreaming, counting the pews for the 100th time, or catching up on their beauty sleep was far from their mind. They listened to the exposition of God’s Word attentively.

(3) They Examined the Teaching they Heard – Not only did the Bereans receive the Word with all eagerness, listening attentively, but they went home, opened their Bibles, and examined Paul and Silas’ teaching. Was it accurate? Did it coincide with the rest of Scripture? Was it applied rightly? These are the questions they probably asked and more.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you hunger to hear God’s Word proclaimed?
  2. Do you listen attentively during the preaching of God’s Word?
  3. When was the last time you went home and examined the sermons content for accuracy?
  4. Are you a Berean?

Resource

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Respectable Sins: Anger | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins3 Comments

Angry Birds

In the last post in this series, I answered the question: How are we supposed to respond when others sin against us? Today I will look at how we show our anger and how we should handle our anger in a God honoring way.

How Do We Show Our Anger?

Different people show their anger differently. Here are three different ways people show their anger:

1. Some externalize their anger with strong emotional responses and hurtful language.
2. Others externalize it by making belittling or sarcastic comments about or to a person who is the object of their anger.
3. Yet others, tend to internalize their anger in the form of resentment.

These are not all the ways people show their anger, but it is a start. With that in mind, let’s answer our second question: How do we handle our anger in a way that honors God?

How Do We Handle Our Anger in a God Honoring Way?

First, recognize and acknowledge our anger as sin.

We cannot deal with anger until we recognize our actions as anger, and recognize that anger is a sin.

Second, ask why we became angry.

Did we become angry because of our pride, selfishness, or desire to be in control? Is there an idol we are protecting?

Third, change our attitude toward the person by forgiving them.

Meditating on Scriptures may help to change your attitude toward the person. Here are a couple I recommend: Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

Fourth, if our anger was outwardly directed toward someone, we need to ask the person to forgive us. 

We cannot let our anger fester, nor can we allow our sin against another. We must deal with it quickly before it escalates. Anger and unreconciled relationships only cause disunity in the church and hinder our ability to worship God.

Finally, we need to hand over to God the occasion of our anger.

Jerry Bridges says,

“We must believe that God is absolutely sovereign in all the affairs of our lives (both the good and the bad) and that all the words and actions of other people that tempt us to anger are somehow included in His wise and good purposes to make us more like Jesus.” [1]

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you handle your anger?
  2. Do you recognize your anger as sin?
  3. Are you willing to seek out and ask others forgiveness?

Looking Forward

In the next post in this series, I will talk about why we often get angry at God.

Resources

Post adapted from Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 121-28

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 126.

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God as Our Creator | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Leaves Changing

Chances are if you started a Bible reading program this New Year, the first verse you read was Genesis 1:1. Even if you have not, it is a familiar passage to us all.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

This succinct statement is packed with application both for us individually and our worldview. In my last post in this series, I looked at how God as Our Creator applies to our worldview. You can read that post here. In this post, I will reflect on how God as Our Creator applies to us individually.

What are the individual implications of God being our Creator?

(1) If God is our Creator, we should listen to what He says to us and keep His commandments.

As our Creator God has authority over our lives. The writer of Ecclesiastes comes to this conclusion in the final chapter of his book. There the writer tells us if we want to find meaning in life, we are to fear God and keep His commandments. The reason that can be his conclusion is because God is our Creator. He is the one who made us, and He is the One we are to submit to as Lord.

(2) If God is our Creator, He is also our Sustainer.

God is the One who upholds all things. The reason the earth spins, the laws of science do not change, why we have a never ending supply of oxygen, why our crops grow, why anything happens the way it does, is because God sustains the universe. Without God holding all things together, everything would fall apart. Hebrews 1:3-4 says,

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The writer of Hebrews makes is clear God upholds the world by the word of His power. Nothing more but His Word is needed to Sustain His own creation, which He also created by the Word of His mouth.

God as Sustainer means we fully depend on Him for everything in our life. To forget that means we will try to do things our own way. When we strike out on our own, leaving behind what we know about God, we act like a fool and repay God with sin instead of worship (Deut 32:4-7).

God as Sustainer also means that all creation depends on something outside of themselves. Self-help books and religious teaching that tells us to look inside ourselves to fix the problem has it wrong. Instead of looking inside ourselves, we must look outside ourselves to God. He is the only one who can provide an answer for the problems we face.

(3) If God is our Creator, True Worship begins when we see that we are but creatures and owe our Creator thanksgiving, praise, and obedience.

Worship is not solely what we do when we gather together on Sunday Morning. Rather True Worship is given with our entire lives every minute of every day. By living with the idea that God is our Creator who has authority over our lives and who is our Sustainer we set ourselves up to worship God because this understanding will lead to thankfulness, praise, and obedience. When these things characterize our daily lives, then we are truly worshipping God.

(4) If God is our Creator, He leaves us without excuse because He places His fingerprints all over creation.

Romans 1:18-32 tell us that God made Himself plain in Creation, but man did not submit to Him as God. Instead we worshipped the creation. As a result, God gave man over to the lusts of their heart, and because of our rejection of God we deserve to die.

The main thread that runs through these verses is that God has made Himself known to His creation. He has placed His fingerprint everywhere for man to see. Intelligent Design is evident in all creation, so man has no excuse for not searching out and worshipping God.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Can you think of any other ways God as our Creator applies to us individually?
  2. If God is our Creator and King, when we sin against Him, we are doing more than just breaking the rules. What are we doing?

14 Leadership Lessons from 1 Samuel 14

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, PastoralLeave a comment

The Leader

How are leaders supposed to interact with those they lead? How should they interact with other leaders under them? How should leaders handle failure? 1 Samuel 14 offers answers to these questions and more.

Recently, I have been preaching through 1 Samuel. My last two sermons have been from chapter 14, where I found that by contrasting Saul and Jonathan, and by highlighting the effects of Saul’s decisions, the writer shows Saul is an inadequate and ineffective leader.

Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like a great introduction to 14 leadership lessons. When you realize, however, it’s the contrast and the antithesis of Saul’s actions that we are after, valuable leadership lessons emerge. What are those lessons? Here are 14 from chapter 14.

14 Leadership Lessons from 1 Samuel 14

1. Godly leaders trust in God even when the odds are stacked against them (14:1;6 cf. 14:2-3).

2. Godly leaders evidence a relationship with God, which motivates others to follow and seek God (14:7 cf. 14:26;40).

3. Godly leaders recognize the Lord is the One who is in control (14:23).

4. Godly leaders think before they speak (14:24).

5. Godly leaders effectively communicate their expectations to those they lead (14:27). 

6. Godly leaders communicate to all to those they have placed in leadership, so they may communicate to those they lead (14:28).

7. Godly leaders do not place undue burdens on their people, which hinder their abilities and morale (14:29-30).

8. Godly leaders do not set their people up to sin (14:33).

9. Godly leaders know their role (14:35 – Saul was a king not a priest).

10. Godly leaders seek spiritual guidance (14:36).

11. Godly leaders present true heart change instead of external religious change (14:35-36).

12. Godly leaders grieve and mourn the sins of their people (14:35-36).

13. Godly leaders recognize when they have made a mistake, repent, and are willing to face the consequences (14:43).

14. Godly leaders know there are limits to their leadership (14:45).

Resource

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What Faith Does | Hebrews 11

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical5 Comments

What Faith Does

Every Friday a group of men from our church meet at IHOP to discuss a chapter in God’s Word. For the last few months we have been working through Hebrews. Today, we met to discuss chapter 11, which is commonly known as the Hall of Faith.

What Faith Does

During our study, one of the men shared a list he jotted down about the things faith does. Here is the list he shared:

  • Faith is Evidence of things hoped for | God’s promises.
  • Faith gives us Understanding | Knowledge of creation.
  • Faith results in Action | Abel’s righteous sacrifice; Noah built an ark.
  • Faith is Obedient | Abraham left his home; he placed Isaac on an altar.
  • Faith gives Strength | Moses overcame his fear.
  • Faith changes our Desires | We now seek a heavenly home.
  • Faith results in Miracles | The crossing of the Red Sea; the defeat of Jericho.
  • Faith obtains Promises.
  • Faith obtains Victory.
  • Faith Raises the dead.
  • Faith allows us to both Receive and Endure torture and persecution.
  • Faith allows us to Persevere through poverty and hardship.
  • Faith is required to Please God.

As you can see, our faith does many things, which is the key. It is an active faith; a faith that works. It is not a faith that sits by idle. It changes our heart and causes us to act, which is why James tell us faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

Question for Reflection

  1. How do you see your faith working in your life?

Resource

Co-Author Mike Blankenship – Mike is a member of Sycamore Baptist Church, where he serves as a Deacon, as well as a teacher of our Adult II Sunday School Class. 

God as Our Creator | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Leaves Changing

Chances are if you started a Bible reading program this New Year, the first verse you read was Genesis 1:1. Even if you have not, it is a familiar passage to us all.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

This succinct statement is packed with application both for us individually and our worldview. Let’s start with worldview.

Worldview

The first thing that may come to your mind when you hear the word worldview is:

What is a worldview?

A worldview is a set of ideas and beliefs through which we interpret the world and interact with it.

For example, as Christians we believe life is sacred, which means we believe abortion and murder are wrong, should not be practiced, and those who commit such acts should be punished.

Our example shows us that our belief shapes the way we interpret and interact with the world. Since it is a set of beliefs that shape the way we interpret and interact with the world, every religion, philosophy, or way of thinking has worldview implications.

How do we know which one is right?

As Christians, we believe our worldview is right because our God is the Creator of the entire world. We read that in Genesis 1:1. As the Creator, He interacts with His creation through His Word, the Bible, which necessitates the Bible be correct.

How do we know Scripture is correct?

Scripture is correct because it has proven itself to be true through both internal and external evidence. I don’t have space to go into all the evidence, so let me briefly point out that part of that evidence has to do with answering questions that every worldview must answer. Those are:

(1) How did we get here?
(2) How did the world get the way it is?
(3) How is it going to be fixed?

Scripture answers these questions. It tells us that God created the World, sin is the reason the world is the way it is, and Jesus is the way everything will be set right.

If Scripture could not provide these answers, then we should not allow it to operate as our dominate worldview. Scripture, however, does answer these questions, which means we can trust the claim of Genesis 1:1 that God is our Creator. As such, we should allow Him, through His Word, to shape the way we view the world.

Looking forward

In the next post in this series, I will look at how God as our Creator applies to us individually.

Question for Reflection

  1. Can you think of a worldview that cannot answer one of the three questions above?