Tag: Scripture

Scripture Memory Challenge – Week 8

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

How did you do with memorizing Scripture last week? If you did not do so well, or you did not know what Scripture to start memorizing, I invite you to take up the Scripture Memory Challenge with me. You can read more about it, and get started with week one’s memory verses, by clicking here.

Memory Verses

This last week, I memorized Psalm 103:17-19. I challenge you to do the same.

Psalm 103:17-19

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.  

Resource

Fighter Verses Set 2 Week 10

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Is it Important to Publicly Read Scripture and Pray in Our Congregations?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Leadership, Pastoral1 Comment

Today, we have a guest blogger: Pastor Bob Dimmitt. He has written on the necessity of the Public Reading of Scripture and Prayer, as well as he has offered us a few tips. Here is what he has for us:

I believe it is important in the development of our churches that more men become involved in our Sunday Morning and Sunday Evening Worship through the public reading of Scripture and prayer.

The Public Reading of God’s Word

The public reading of God’s Word is an important part of our churches corporate worship. Even so, many churches have neglected this discipline, even though Scripture itself commands it. 1 Timothy 4:13 says, “Until I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

In commenting on this verse a noted Pastor once said,

“Of course we of this generation cannot know by firsthand experience how the Word of God was read in other times. But it would be hard to conceive of our fathers having done a poorer job than we do when it comes to the public reading of the Scriptures. Many have read the Scriptures so badly that a good performance draws attention by its rarity.

It could be argued that since everyone these days owns his own copy of the Scriptures, the need for the public reading of the Word is not as great as before. If that is true, then let us not bother to read the Scriptures at all in our churches. But if we are going to read the Word publicly, then it is incumbent upon us to read it well. A mumbled, badly articulated and unintelligent reading of the Sacred Scriptures will do more than we think to give the listeners the idea that the Word is not important….”

In this pastor’s opinion, not only do churches fail to obey Paul’s command to Timothy to read Scripture, when they do attempt it, they do a poor job, giving the congregation the idea that the Word is just not that important. If this is the case, how can we show the congregation Scripture is important?

Tips for the Public Reading of Scripture

1. Assign or acquire your text ahead of time.

If you are a pastor, assign ahead of time a specific date and Scripture to be read. If you have been asked to read Scripture in a service and you have not been assigned a specific text, then ask the pastor, or worship leader to provide you with the text you will read at least one week before it is your turn.

2. Read from a designated version.

If your congregation has invested in pew Bibles, then read from the version offered. It is also a good idea to read from the version the pastor uses, since most people will bring that version to church with them.

3. Practice in advance.

Several days, if not a full week before your turn to read the passage in the service, practice reading the passage to yourself aloud. If the passage is short enough, then work on committing it to memory. Memorizing the passage and reading it aloud several times will help in learning the flow of the passage, allowing you to read it smoothly in the service.

4. Read with emotion and meaning.

When reading the passage, read with emotion and meaning without being dramatic. Know the emotion and emphasis you bring to the reading will be felt and seen by the congregation. If you are fumbling through the passage, or reading it in a monotone voice, you are sending the signal that the passage is not important to you.

Public Prayer

Following the public reading of Scripture should be a public prayer. The one reading the Scripture should be the one to lead the congregation in this prayer. As you do, don’t think that your prayer has to be long. John Newton once said,

“The chief fault of some good prayers is, that they are too long; not that I think we should pray by the clock, and limit ourselves precisely to a certain number of minutes; but it is better of the two, that the hearers should wish the prayer had been longer, than spend half the time in wishing it was over.”

With Newton’s advice in mind, let’s look at some tips for praying in public.

Tips for Public Praying

1. In private we offer our own prayers and confessions to God, but in public our prayers are different.

In private we will use language such as: I, my, me, mine, but in public the language is different, we should use language such as: us, we, our, ours. Private prayer can also be silent, and groaning. Public prayer cannot be silent nor can it be groaning. It must be audible, in a language understood by all, at a speed accessible to everyone, with phrases that do not jar, and at a length everyone can sustain.

2. Public prayer is didactic.

We are teaching our people something when we pray. If we fill them with sickly repetitions, they will think that that is OK. If we do not pray in the Holy Spirit then they will not learn. If we pray in public for certain themes, then they will pray the same.

In addition, when they see and hear you emotionally engaged in prayer, that will teach them much about Christian experience. When we pray in this way, our prayers are deep and whole. The result is that the congregates theology will be challenged by your whole praying, so that praying is a kind of discipleship.

3. Public prayer is pastoral.

It is one of the means we lead the people into holiness and comfort. We must think of the various needs of the members of the congregation, as well as the congregates themselves.

In addition, we should know that prayer does things: It brings down blessings on people. It makes people more loving and understanding. It restores the backslider. It takes up all the needs of the congregation.

  1. Public prayer must be fresh, but prepared.

We can prepare our prayers without preparing them. We can consciously include every main element of biblical prayers – adoration, confession and thanksgiving – as well as we can incorporate the passage that we read into our prayer.

Example if the passage dealt with the resurrection then that can be a theme; you thank God for the resurrection, the reality of the resurrection, and what the resurrection means to us. If the passage deals with spiritual growth, make that the main theme of your prayer asking God to do for us what Paul asked God to do for those he loved.

Conclusion

The reading of Scripture and Prayer in our congregations publicly is an important act. One that not only fulfills the Scriptures command, but serves as a means to teach and care for those in the congregation. It is my prayer that we all take this duty more seriously.

Bob Dimmitt is the Senior Pastor of Ferguson Avenue Baptist Church (FABC) in Savannah, GA. He has served there for the last 12 years. Prior to serving as the pastor of FABC he was a jail chaplain in Hawaii, Virginia, and Savannah. You can learn more about Bob and FABC through their website: www.fabchurch.com 

The Necessity of God’s Word

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

In my last two posts, I argued for the relevance of Scripture. You can check those out here: The Relevance of Scripture (Part 1) and The Relevance of Scripture (Part 2). In this post, I would like to argue for the necessity of God’s Word. God’s Word is necessary because it alone tells us about our Creator, Savior, and Lord. Creation alone can only take us so far. Without God’s written Word, we would not know who God is and what He has done for mankind.

John Calvin on Scripture

John Calvin, one of the greatest theologians of all times, writes in his institutes concerning Scripture. Here is what he says,

Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. This, therefore, is a special gift, where God, to instruct the church, not merely uses mute teachers but also opens his own most hallowed lips. Not only does he teach the elect to look upon a god, but also shows himself as the God upon whom they are to look. He has from the beginning maintained this plan for his church…put[ting] forth his Word, which is a more direct and more certain mark whereby he is to be recognized [1].

From this, one should gather that God’s Word is a special gift. Scripture is a special gift because it instructs man as to who God is and how they are to live as a result. Without Scripture, man would not know God, nor would man know who he is, namely, a sinner in need of a Savior.

Creation Declares There is a God, But It is Not Enough

The Psalmist tells us creation declares there is a God, but creation itself is not enough, man needs Scripture to tell them who God, the Creator of the universe is. Read what David writes in Psalm 19:1-3:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

Paul agrees with the Psalmist, but also tells us that man, even though he knows there is a God, does not worship Him as God. Here is what Paul has to say,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Rom. 1:18-21)

From this, we should see that man understands there is a God because creation evidences His handiwork, but because of man’s fallen nature he creates idols to worship. Instead of seeking the Creator of the world and worshipping Him, man fashions a god of his own making.

Even Though Man Knows God Exists, He Needs God’s Word

Paul’s visit to the Areopagus, where he found “an altar to the unknown god” is evidence man knows God exists (Acts 17:23). However, even though man knows God exists, he does not “know” Him because nature can only tell us there is a God, it cannot tell us anything personal about God, which is why the Psalmist continues in Psalm 19:7-11 saying,

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Without God’s Word, we would not understand His law, testimony, precepts, or commandments. In short, we would not know who God is, nor would we know we are sinners who are in need of a Savior (Rom. 3:21-23; see also Luke 24:27).

By Faith and By God’s Word We Know God

Before I conclude, I want to return once again to Calvin. Commenting on Hebrews 11:3, Calvin makes it evident man can only see God if he is illumined by God through faith. He says,

For this reason, the apostle, in that very passage where he calls the world the images of things invisible, adds that through faith we understand that they have been fashioned by God’s word [Heb. 11:3]. He means by this that the invisible divinity is made manifest in such spectacles, but that we have not the eyes to see this unless they are illumined by the inner revelation of God through faith [2].

So then, unless God illumines our eyes to see Him, we will not. And unless God provides us with His Word, then we are not able to truly “know” Him as our Creator, Lord, and Savior because it is His Word that tells us who God is and who we are. Calvin continues,

Nevertheless, all things will tend to this end, that God, the Artificer of the universe, is made manifest to us in Scripture, and that what we ought to think of him is set forth there, lest we seek some uncertain deity by devious paths [3].

Conclusion

So then, we see that unless we have God’s Word, we cannot know God as Creator, Savior, or Lord. We can only know there is a God, but the details about Him and about us are unknown. The only way we can come to know God is through His written, innerant, and inspired Word, known as the Bible. Therefore, the Word of God is not only relevant, it is necessary, for without it we are without knowledge of God and ourselves.

Resources

[1] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. Mcneil, Book 1, Ch VI,I, pg 70
[2] Ibid., Book 1, Ch V, 14, pg 68.
[3] Ibid., Book 1, Ch V, 15, pg 69.

The Relevance of Scripture | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Practical, Preaching1 Comment

In part 1 of this series, which you can read by clicking here, I gave my argument for why Scripture is relevant for us today. I concluded:

Scripture is relevant to us today because we deal with the same things those in biblical times dealt with.

Adam’s sin in the garden affected all mankind leaving us with a sinful nature (Gen. 3). Since we have a sinful nature, we not only sin, but are deficient, not understanding the way God would have us to live. The biblical writer understands man’s condition, and in his writings deals with man’s sins and deficiencies, the same sins and deficiencies we deal with today. Thus, understanding the sins, or deficiencies, a biblical writer is dealing with, and the commands, or counsel he offers, will provide us with the author’s purpose for writing the text, as well as it makes the text relevant for us today.

Where We are Headed Today

In what follows, I want to provide you with a few practical questions to ask in order to determine the author’s purpose. If we can find the author’s purpose, then we can determine what sins, or deficiencies, he was writing towards. This will help us to determine the FCF (Fallen Condition Focus), which is

The mutual human condition that contemporary believers share with those to or about whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage for God’s people to glorify and enjoy him [1].

Once we determine the FCF, we are on our way to understanding how the passage relates to both biblical and modern times.

How do I Determine the Author’s Purpose?

In order to determine the author’s purpose you should ask these questions:

  • Why are these concerns addressed?
  • What causes this account, these facts, or the recording of these ideas?
  • What was the intent of the author?
  • For what purpose did the Holy Spirit include these words in Scripture? [2]

Example: Justification by Faith

For example, if the biblical writer brings up a particular doctrine, such as justification by faith, then you need to immediately ask why? Why did he brings this into the letter? It is not to provide his readers with a systematic theology lesson alone, he has a purpose.

The purpose could be that those whom he is writing were trying to earn their salvation through their works, were doubting the sufficiency of God’s grace, or they could have been afraid of God’s rejection because of a particular sin [3].

As you can see, there could be a number of reasons for writing about justification by faith, but you need to determine the particular reason for your text. Once you do so, you are on your way to determining the author’s purpose and the FCF he was writing toward.

An FCF Does Not Always = Sin

It is important you understand the FCF does not have to be a sin. We have deficiencies because of our sinful nature (fallen condition), which hinders us from living the way God would have us live. Bryan Chapell is helpful here when he says,

An FCF need not be something for which we are guilty or culpable. It simply needs to be an aspect or problem of the human condition that requires the instruction, admonition, and/or comfort of Scripture. Thus, an FCF is always phrased in negative terms. It is something wrong (though not necessarily a moral evil) that needs correction or encouragement from Scripture [4].

What are things other than sin that need to be addressed? Some examples could be:

  • Parenting from a biblical standpoint (Eph. 6:4)
  • Marriage (Eph. 5)
  • Sex (1 Cor. 7)
  • Grief (1 Pet. 1:6; 1 Thess. 4:13)
  • Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 12)
  • Prayer (1 Jn. 5:14)

These are not sins, but they are things we, as fallen man, need biblical instruction, admonition, and/or comfort concerning.

Application

After you have determined the author’s purpose for writing the text by determining the FCF of those to whom he is writing, you need to explore what he says about the FCF. How does he instruct his readers to handle their particular sin or deficiency? In other words, how does he apply the doctrine, instruction, command, or admonition to the FCF? Once we understand how the biblical writer applies the text to the lives of his readers, we can do the same to ours.

Specificity

When applying the text to your own life, or another you are close with, be specific. For example:

Instead of saying, “Prayer is so powerful it can save an individual from hell,” be specific by personalizing the truth. Say, “My prayer for my rebellious son is so powerful it can save my son from experiencing a life of sin, heartache, and eternal damnation” [5].

Specificity is a powerful tool because it drives the truth into the heart and causes one to act.

Conclusion

Understanding the author has a purpose for writing his text, and that purpose is to deal with man’s sins or deficiencies (FCF), the same sins and deficiencies we deal with today, helps us to see how a 4,000+ plus old text is still relevant for us today. Once you understand the FCF the author is writing toward, you can then take and apply his words to your own life. Your specific situation may look a little different than the situation in the biblical text, or it may not, but you can still take and apply that truth to your life.

This week, as you read through the text, I challenge you to start looking for the author’s purpose, the FCF he is writing towards, and how he is applying God’s truth to his readers lives. After which, you should apply that same truth to your own life. Doing so will help you to see how relevant the Bible really is, and will cause your passion and desire for Scripture to increase exponentially.

Resources

[1] Chapell, Bryan, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, 50.
[2]Ibid, 48-49.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid, 51-52 .
[5] Ibid, 51.

Image: Adrian van Leen for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain

Leadership Through Daily Scripture Reading

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Leadership, Pastoral, PracticalLeave a comment

Have you ever wondered why reading through the Bible every year is important? Have you ever wondered why leaders in churches consistently talk about reading your Bible everyday? Have you ever thought about how your Bible comes to bear on the leadership of your family, small group, or even church?

Leadership Through Personal Scripture Reading

Bible reading plans are a dime a dozen, with each one offering you a different way to read through the Bible. However, before we throw our latest plan off to the side, I want us to think through the importance of our daily Bible reading for our leadership. I am not just talking about leadership at a vocational pastor level, but at all levels because we are all called to be leaders/shepherds, whether that be in our homes, our small groups, or over a local congregation.

Personal Confession

I often find myself reading Scripture in order to gain knowledge. I want to know who the kings were at the time of Isaiah’s prophesy, how many times Jesus told His disciples He was going to die without them understanding what He was telling them, or what churches Paul started on his 1st missionary journey. In doing so, I often fail to see how the text comes to bear on my life in particular.

Reading Scripture for Personal Growth, not Just Knowledge

In saying that, I am not saying we should not understand the facts and broad movements of Scripture. Those things are necessary and very important if we are to understand what God is communicating to us, but we must not stop there. We must dig deeper into each text we are reading in order to understand how the text comes to bear on our lives. In other words, our reading of the text is not complete if we just have the facts, we need to understand what the particular text is teaching us about God (His character or what He has done for us) and about mankind.

Once we understand what the text is saying about God and about mankind, we need to probe our own lives to see if we are dealing with the same sins mentioned in the text. As we make that a daily practice, we will begin to understand what Scriptures speak to different issues we are dealing with, as well as we will begin to root sin out of our lives. When we understand what Scriptures speak to particular issues/sins in our lives, we can then determine what others around us are struggling with. But not only will we know what they are struggling with, we will know what Scriptures will help them in their struggles because we have personally sought to apply them to our own lives during our daily Scripture reading.

Importance of a Daily Reading Plan

Notice, I said, “as we make that a daily practice.” Here is where the daily Scripture reading plans come in. They serve several functions:

(1) To keep us on track
(2) To provide us with accountability
(3) To expose us to a wide range of Scripture, which then causes us to probe our lives in different ways.

So, before you throw your daily reading plan aside, think about its function and what it is helping you to achieve.

Conclusion: Tying It To Leadership

If we want to lead/shepherd others, and we all are called to lead/shepherd others, then we must first understand how the Scripture comes to bear on our own lives. As we understand how the Scripture comes to bear on our lives through the daily reading of it, we are then better positioned to understand how Scripture comes to bear on others lives, as well as we are able to provide them with places to go in God’s Word when discussing with them the particular issues/sins they are dealing with.

So if we want to be a good leader/shepherd, we must first shepherd ourselves with God’s Word by reading it daily and reading it widely, as well as by asking ourselves more about the text than simple who did what and where did they do it. We must ask ourselves: What is God telling us about Himself and about mankind? After which we have to be willing to probe our own lives to see if we view God the way the text presents Him or if we are dealing with the sins the text presents.

I hope that you now see the importance the daily reading of Scripture plays in our lives. It is not for the sheer facts or to check another box off of a list as we go through the day. It is so we can, first, personally grow to be more like Christ through understanding and subsequently rooting sins in our own lives out, and, second, so we can help others deal with sins in their lives in a biblical manner.

Some Additional Things to Keep in Mind

As we read the text, we should also seek to understand how we can use it to counsel others through difficult seasons in their lives. In other words, we should not solely ask, what attitude toward God does this address or what sin is illumined in my life, we have to also ask how could/would I use this Scripture to counsel others who are hurting.

Most importantly, we have to understand that when we discover a particular sin we are dealing with through our daily reading of Scripture, we do not root that sin out solely in our own power. It is by preaching the gospel to ourselves that we deal with sin in our lives, as well as by taking certain measures to remove the temptation for that particular sin. This means that we have not truly dealt with a sin if we do not deal with it at the root level.

May I recommend several resources to help you with this. First, I recently wrote about preaching the gospel to ourselves. You can read it by clicking here. I would also recommend two other posts I wrote: Understanding Your Idols and The Functional Centrality of the Gospel. Second, I would recommend you pick up: Counterfeit God’s by Timothy Keller, as well as How People Change by Lane and Tripp.

If you are interested in different reading plan, my friend Dustin Bruce highlighted some in a recent post on his blog Gospel Spirituality. You can check it out by clicking here.

Are You Using Your Talents?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

There are many in the church today, who are not using their gifts. There are many who sit on the sidelines week after week instead of getting in the game. For many, the reason they sit watching idle, as the pastor and other staff members feed the flock, is because they do not understand we are all to be doing the work of ministry (Eph 4).

However, there are others who are sitting by watching idly because they are fearful, not knowing the love, mercy, and grace God has extended to those who are His people. Since they are ignorant of God’s love, mercy, and grace, they see Him as one who deals out wrath on those who do not perform up to His standard. So then, instead of trying to exercise their gifts, they freeze, like a deer in the headlights, not realizing what God has given them is theirs to be used for the furtherance of the kingdom. In not realizing what God has given them is theirs to use, they prove they do not understand their masters actions.

The Parable

We meet a man like this in the parable of the talents. It is found Matthew 25:14-30 and reads accordingly:

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (ESV)

Explanation

The point Jesus makes here in this parable is that those who are Christs must work diligently with the gifts entrusted to them. Everyone of Jesus’ followers have been endowed with a gift to be used in service to the body, those gifts differ according to ability, but, nevertheless, they must be put into service. In the kingdom of God, there is no room for benchwarmers.

Those who take what they have been given, such as the men in the parable, and put it to use, prove they believe their master is loving, merciful, and gracious because there is a chance they will fail and lose his money, but they take the risk nonetheless. They also recognize that what God has given them is theirs to use.

However, the man who does not put his gifts to use, proves he does not truly know God. For if he did, he would understand that God expects much from His people, while at the same time He is also loving, merciful, and gracious when they fail. He would also understand that what God has given him is his to use.

So then, as God’s people, we must put our gifts to use in His church and world. If we do not, we may prove to be like the last man in the parable, an unbeliever.

Questions

So then, I ask: How are you putting the gifts God has entrusted to you to work? How are you participating in the ministry of the church? If you are not participating, are you disregarding what God has called you to do out of ignorance, or are you not participating because you are afraid of God, not recognizing He is a loving, gracious, and merciful God?

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