Tag: church

Don’t Forget the “So What”

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral, Preaching5 Comments

Bible on a Pulpit

Every Sunday 1000’s of sermons are preached and heard, and just as many Sunday School lessons and Bible Studies are prepared for and taught. Even though sermons are preached, lessons and studies are taught, many do not address the “so what” of the text. In other words, they do not tell the people how to apply the text to their life.

On Friday’s a few men at our church gather at iHop to discuss Scripture. It is a great time of Christian fellowship and an opportunity to learn from one another. Last Friday, one of the guys reminded me of the importance of the “so what.” He said:

I enjoy hearing the history, and the Greek or Hebrew behind the text. These things are necessary to understand and learn, but one thing I want to know before the sermon, Bible study, or Sunday School lesson is over is why does this text matter to my life?

In other words, he was calling preachers and teachers to provide the “so what” of the text. I agree with him. It is important and necessary that we tell our people why the text matters to their life, how it applies to their situation, and how they might implement its teaching. If we don’t, we are not fully expounding the text and we are short-changing our people.

Challenge

So this week as you prepare your Sunday School lesson, Bible study, or Sermon, make sure to provide the “so what.” Tell the people why the text matters to their life, and help them apply it.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you make the “so what” explicit?
  2. Do you help your people apply the text to their life?

Resource

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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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Gospel Witness through Community Unity

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Practical5 Comments

Church in the City

John 17 is known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. He prays that:

  1. The Father would glorify Him in His mission (1-3).
  2. The Father would return Him to glory at the end of His mission (4-8).
  3. The Father would protect His representatives in the world (9-15).
  4. His representatives would be holy in the world (16-19).
  5. His representatives would be unified as they are on mission (20-23).
  6. His disciples would join Him in glory (24).
  7. His disciples would live and act as He did when He was in the world (25-26).

Seven things he prays in His High Priestly Prayer. I want us to focus in on His fifth petition. It comes in verses 20-23.

Let’s read verse 20:

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

Throughout history the gospel has been spread, people have believed and passed that message on, and that process has continued all the way up to today, making believers along the way, including many of you reading this right now. With that in mind, the first thing this verse reveals is that Jesus prays not only for His current disciples, but also for us.

The second thing this verse reveals is that Jesus’ disciples are to be on His mission. What does that mission involve? It involves making disciples. How do we best go about calling others to be Jesus’ disciples? The remainder of His fifth petition gives us an idea.

How do we make disciples?

Disciples are made primarily through our verbal witness. The proclamation of the gospel tells others of the hope that is in us. Proclamation, however, is not all that is required. Disciples are also made through our community witness. How? Let’s look at verse 21.

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

We act as a witness to the gospel by the way we relate to one another. Why? Verse 22 and 23a hold the answer.

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one,

Two things we see here:

(1) True unity requires heart change.

Change which only occurs by the gospel piercing our hearts.

(2) True heart change through the gospel allows us to image or reflect the Trinity for the first time ever.

Imaging the Trinity means that we love one another as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. It also means that we will be unified with one another as the Father and Son are unified.

The unity we show by imaging the Trinity allows us to act as a witness to the world for the gospel. Look a the remainder of verse 23.

so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

When we are unified with one another, we not only give credence to our verbal witness, but we also act as a witness to a completely different way of life. Life that can only be lived through true heart change by the gospel.

So then, our community witness speaks just as our verbal witness does. One cannot be had without the other. If the community is not unified, then their verbal witness will not hold much weight. If a community doesn’t give a verbal witness, then those around them will not know why they are different. Both need to be present.

Unity takes work

Unity doesn’t come without work. Jesus knows that, which is why He prays His disciples would be unified. The work it requires though is worth it because it allows us to accomplish our mission in the world.

How do we become unified?

(1) We must first allow the gospel to pierce our hearts.

The gospel must change our hearts from a heart of stone to one that is gripped by the gospel.

(2) After that has taken place, we must continue to reflect on the gospel. 

The love Jesus showed us by dying for us must constantly be preached to ourselves. Reminding ourselves of His love, should spur a desire in us to love others in the same way Christ loved us, selflessly.

If everyone in the community selflessly loves one another, we will see a unity, a oneness, we, or this world, has never known before.

Challenge

So let’s love each other like we have never loved each other before, so that we may experience unity as we have never seen before, so that we may be a witness to our community for Christ. That is Jesus’ prayer, and that is my prayer as well.

Resource

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Plow and Pursue – Turning a Conversation to the Gospel | Part 2

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

In my last post, I presented R. Larry Moyer’s Plow and Pursue method found in his book: Show Me How to Share the Gospel. Moyer’s method tells us that we should plow into a conversation, enjoying it immensely. As we do, we should focus on three areas: (1) Family, (2) Job, and (3) Background. Focusing on these three areas should give us insight into the worldview of our conversation partner, as well as it should give us hooks by which we can turn the conversation from the ordinary to the spiritual.

In this post, I want to take it a step further by offering a few questions to help us get from talking about spiritual things to the gospel.

Questions to Move from Spiritual Things to the Gospel

The following questions may help move the conversation from spiritual things to the gospel:

(1) Do you enjoy reading about religious topics or subjects?

(2) Have you become involved in any church in your area?

(3) Have you ever examined some of the teachings of the Bible?

(4) With so many interests, are you interested in the Bible?

(5) Why do you think a lot of people across the world have interests in some kind of religion or another?

(6) From time to time a lot of people talk about Christ and Christians. Who, in your opinion, is Jesus Christ?

Not all of us have the gift of evangelism, most of us have to work at it. My hope and prayer is that these questions will help you evangelize the lost, and spur you on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Given this process – Personal, Spiritual, Gospel – are there conversations in the past that you may have hurried into talking about the gospel? What was the result?
  2. Would you offer a question for our other readers that you believe would help move the conversation from the spiritual to the gospel?

Resources

Everyday Evangelism

R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 21-25.

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Plow and Pursue – Turning a Conversation to the Gospel | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical2 Comments

Last night while doing my daily scanning of blogs, I came across a post from the Resurgence entitled Everyday Evangelism by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. Great post! I highly recommend reading it before reading my post.

After an insightful, challenging, and informative article they end by saying:

We need to be patient and trust God’s sovereignty while also finding ways to present the gospel at points one and two on our scale of interest in Christ and not just at points eight and nine.

If points 8 and 9 on the scale mentioned are referring to those who are ready and willing to talk about the gospel, then points one and two represent those who do not even think about the gospel, nor really care to talk about it with others. Chester and Timmis then open our eyes to today’s reality by saying that 70% of our population is made up of those who are at points one and two. If indeed most of the population is where Chester and Timmis claim, our typical methods of sharing the gospel are flawed. If this is the case, how do we evangelize the 70%? How do we get those those who never think about the gospel to honestly think about it?

I recently read a book by R. Larry Moyer entitled: Show Me How to Share the Gospel. In his book, he provides a method he calls Plow and Pursue. I believe this method can help us talk with the “one’s” and “two’s” about the gospel, or at least get a few steps closer to having that conversation.

Plow and Pursue

Moyer’s method is simple. He says that when we meet another person, wherever it may be – a party, a coffee shop, grocery store, neighborhood, etc – we should plow into the conversation, enjoying it immensely. As you talk, ask questions in three areas of life:

(1) Family
(2) Job
(3) Background

Don’t ask these questions as a matter of formality, thinking you need to get through these before asking the other person, “Why they believe God will let them into heaven.” Instead, make sure you listen. I mean really listen and enjoy the conversation.

By asking questions centered on their family, job, and background, and really listening, we show that we are interested in them as a person, as well as it allows us to get to know where the person is coming from, how they think, and what their life has been like.

As you listen to them describe their family life, job, and background, you are able to put together an understanding of their worldview, which will be immensely helpful when speaking with them about God and the gospel.

Not only does listening provide you with information to help determine their worldview, but it also gives you hooks by which you may turn the conversation from the here-and-now to the hereafter. Here are a few ideas to help turn the conversation from the ordinary to the spiritual.

8 Ideas to Turn Ordinary Conversation Into Spiritual Conversation

(1) They mention the outdoors, you mention how impressed you are with the Creator.

(2) They mention they have a terrible marriage, you mention how your marriage is going and how spiritual things have been the biggest source of help to you and your wife as you have walked out your many years of marriage.

(3) They mention unhappiness in their job, you ask: Where do people ultimately find happiness? Or why do you think there are so many problems in the world? That question may lead you to ask: Why do you suppose the problems in the world seem to be getting worse instead of better?

(4) They mention an ailing child, you mention it is times like those that really drive you to your knees to pray. You may even pray for them at that moment.

(5) They talk about looking for the perfect job, career, etc, you ask: What in your opinion is the number one thing most people are looking for in their lives?

(6) They mention being unhappy, you ask: Why do you think so many people seem unhappy with life in general?

(7) They mention the future, you ask: What do you think is in store for the future?

(8) They mentioned being worried or anxious, you ask: A lot of people seem worried? What, in your opinion, worries people the most?

What These Questions Do

All of these ideas stem from the three areas mentioned earlier – Family, Job, Background – and are ways to naturally lead into discussions about God, spiritual things, and hopefully the gospel. As well as the personal questions help to show interest in the person, and the spiritual questions help to get them thinking.

What if We Don’t Talk About the Gospel?

Even if your questions don’t provoke a deep conversation about God and the gospel, they at least get your friend thinking about spiritual matters, and that is important. Remember the scale I mentioned earlier and the statistic from Chester and Timmis, which told us 70% of people are a “one” or a “two”. If we can get those who are at a “one” or “two” to do what they normally are not doing – thinking about God – then we can count that as a success.

So, even if you are not able to get into a full on gospel conversation, your questions may cause the other person to do something they have not done in a long time, or even ever, think about God. When that occurs, it is a success, and you are not only one step closer to having a deep challenging conversation about the gospel, but your conversation partner knows that they can talk with you about spiritual things when they have a question or thought.

Looking Forward

In my next post in this series, I will provide some questions to help move the conversation even further – from the spiritual to the gospel.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What type of reception have you noticed in the past when you have taken the time to get to know a person before talking about spiritual matters?
  2. Are there other bridge topics you can think of besides the outdoors, marriage, job, and children?

Resources

Everyday Evangelism

R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 21-25.

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Reflections on Psalm 40

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals3 Comments


 Psalm 40:9-10 (ESV)

I have told the glad news of deliverance
       in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
       as you know, O LORD.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
       I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
       from the great congregation.

Reflection

This week, I read Psalm 40 as I was following my Bible reading plan (Let me stop here to encourage you, if you are not already doing so, to read through the Bible. Here is a link to several plans that will help facilitate that discipline). As I read and meditated on this psalm, these two verses stuck out to me. Here David writes that he has spread the news of God’s deliverance, faithfulness, and steadfast love to the great congregation. He has not hidden it in his heart, keeping what the Lord has done for him to himself. Rather, he has spread that message for all who are in the great congregation to hear.

Application

We too, need to spread the message of God’s deliverance, faithfulness, and steadfast love, as we see it evidenced in our lives to our church family. Telling others how God is working in our lives serves to motivate and encourage fellow congregates to continue to fight the good fight. Not only does it encourage others, but our speaking of God’s work in our life brings glory to God.

Challenge

So, may we seek to tell others in our church how God is working in our lives. Not keeping it a secret, but using it as an opportunity to encourage and motivate our fellow church members, as well as a way to glorify our Father in heaven.