Tag: christianity

On Christian Community

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

How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?

To the Congregation

If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

To Pastor’s and Zealous Members

This applies in a special way to the complaints often heard from pastors and zealous members about their congregations. A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.

When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his wish dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament.

But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God. Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him do what he is committed to do, and thank God.

A Gift of God

Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.

In Christ Alone

Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you think of your own congregation (Christian Community)?
  2. Are you guilty of wishing your congregation (Christian Community) was different?
  3. Do you recognize God’s sovereign placement of you in your particular congregation (Christian Community)?
  4. Do you believe Christian Community is a Gift of God that can only be experienced through and in Jesus?

Resources

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 29-31. (Note: Text is Bonhoeffer’s, headings are mine.)

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Don’t Waste Your Life

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments


 

Reading James Hamilton’s commentary on Revelation, I came across these lyrics by Lecrae from Don’t Waste Your Life. You can watch the full video above. What Lecrae has to say is powerful. It is something we should all consider. 

Don’t Waste Your Life

Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
That’s why it’s Christ in my rhymes
That’s why it’s Christ all the time
See my whole world is built around him
He’s the life in my lines I refuse to waste my life
He’s too true to chase that ice
Here’s my gifts and time
Cause I’m constantly trying
To be used to praise the Christ

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you wasting your life?
  2. Do you see a life not lived for Christ as a wasted life?

Resource

Lecrae, “Don’t Waste Your Life,” from the album Rebel, Central South District, 2008.

On Church Discipline

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Leadership, Pastoral, Practical, QuotesLeave a comment

Discipline is not the “final straw” where judgment is pronounced.

Biblical church discipline is a culture of accountability, growth, forgiveness, and grace that should permeate our churches.

Each member of the church has a responsibility to help others as they struggle with sin – not through judgment and criticism, but rather with gentleness and an eye toward restoration, knowing that he too is subject to temptation (Gal. 6:1).

Matthew 18 does not describe some kind of alternative to litigation; it is a primer on how we lovingly engage one another, patiently exhausting lesser steps (for example, going in person) before moving to greater ones (for example, taking it to the church).

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you think of Church Discipline? Does it have a negative connotation to you?
  2. Do you have a culture of accountability, growth, forgiveness, and grace in your church?

Resources

Table Talk Magazine, August 2013, pg 25.

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Training Our Children in the Lord | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, PracticalLeave a comment

Dominic

Today we had the joy of dedicating several babies and families at Sycamore Baptist Church, my family included. Here is what I shared with them regarding the “How To” of training your child in the Lord (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

(5) Be there for them

Moses’ commandments in Deuteronomy 7 assumes parents are there for their children. You can’t teach, train, counsel, or guide your children if you are gone all the time. We have to carve out time in our schedules for our kids. If we don’t, we will not accomplish God’s desire for our family. That’s because training our children involves time.

The money that you make, the fun you have, or the freedom you experience while away from your children is not more important than training your children in the Lord.

So we have to be there for our children in order to teach them. God’s desire that for your life and their life. God desire is not for you to be rich, for you to be successful, for you to get the corner office. God’s desire is for you to teach your children His word, which takes time.

(6) We have to pray and trust Jesus

I have only been at this for 5 months, but two of the most important things I have learned so far is that (1) I need to pray and (2) I need to trust Jesus.

As Camden gets older and your kids get older, I would only think that will become more and more important. So if we want to accomplish the task before us, we have to pray and trust Jesus to help us.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you set aside time during the week for your kids?
  2. Do you pray and trust Jesus to help you in the training process?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Training Our Children in the Lord 

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Training Our Children in the Lord | Part 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, PracticalLeave a comment

Dominic

Today we had the joy of dedicating several babies and families at Sycamore Baptist Church, my family included. Here is what I shared with them regarding the “How To” of training your child in the Lord (Part 1, Part 2).

(3) Keep God’s Word before our family

In Deuteronomy 6:8-9 Moses writes,

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Moses doesn’t mean we are to literally bind God’s Word to our hands or head, or write them on our doors. Instead, he desires we continually keep God’s Word before ourselves and our family.

God’s Word can’t be some dusty old book in the corner we never pick up.

We can practically keep God’s Word before our families by reading it together, talking about it throughout the day, and making decisions based on God’s Word.

It is necessary we make the effort. In order to combat the cultural noise and win the battle for our kids hearts, we must constantly keep God’s Word before them.

(4) Teach them all our provisions come from God

Again Moses writes,

And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 

Moses tells them not to forget God when they go into the land, to remember everything they have is from the hand of God.

We need to remember and teach our kids that God is our Provider as well. They shouldn’t grow up with the idea that everything they have is by their hands because it’s not. Everything we have is given by the hand of God. We must use every opportunity to teach our children this truth.

Think about how often we would talk about God with our kids if we thanked Him for the things we have. Conversations could be sparked at dinner, when it rains, when we pay our bills, go to work, go fishing, lie down in our beds. It’s important we take those opportunities, so that we don’t forget why we have what we have.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How do you keep God’s Word before your family?
  2. How do you remind yourself and your family everything you have is from God?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Training Our Children in the Lord 

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Training Our Children in the Lord | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Practical2 Comments

Dominic

Today we had the joy of dedicating several babies and families at Sycamore Baptist Church, my family included. Here is what I shared with them regarding the “How To” of training your child in the Lord (Part 1).

(1) We have to be diligent and deliberate

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Moses writes,

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The image behind the word teach is that of an engraver carving an image in stone, which is a great image when it comes to parenting.

Masterpieces aren’t produced willy nilly. They start with a plan. An understanding of the final product. The positioning of the image on the stone. The tools and resources needed to complete the work. These things need to be in place first before the engraving process can begin.

Once started, the engraver must deliberately follow their plan and be diligent about their work. Engraving an image in stone doesn’t happen over night, it takes weeks, months, or even years.

Parents must do the same. They must have a plan. Know the endgame. Gather the necessary resources, and be deliberate and diligent in teaching their children.

Parents must take great care in working their plan out over the years.

(2) We have to see everything we do as an opportunity to teach our children

Parents must see everything they do as a teaching opportunity. Sitting down with our children a couple days a week to read through God’s Word is important and necessary, but that can’t be all we do.

Think about the engraver. What if he took a whack or two at the stone every couple of days? Do you think he would finish his project? It’s unlikely he would finish. What does he have to do to finish? He has to be at it all day.

Parents must do the same.

If they want to engrave God’s word on their children’s hearts, they must look for and take every opportunity to teach their children God’s Word.

In order to be at it all day, teaching times can’t always be planned. They must take place on the fly. As they are sitting around the house, walking by the way, lying down and rising up, parents must be ready to teach their children.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you have a plan to train your children?
  2. What resources are you using?
  3. Have you stuck to your plan over the years?
  4. What fruit have you seen from being deliberate and diligent?
  5. How do you take advantage of day to day activities to teach your children?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Training Our Children in the Lord 

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