CHURCH-GOING 101 - SUNDAY SCHOOL

After much contemplation on what to write about in the new year (new decade), I decided that we could all use a refresher course on church-going. So whether you’re fairly new to church, or if you wrote the book on pew-sittin’, this one’s for you! So…for our first class…

SUNDAY SCHOOL

I like to think of Sunday School as the most casual part of the formal Sunday services. It’s like the meet-and-greet with hors d’oeuvres before the feast begins. Originally, Sunday School was designed to teach lay people how to read and write. Though I’m sure the Bible was used, the main point wasn’t to teach spiritual truth, but to bribe people into coming to church. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Sunday School is now the premier place where we are obedient to the Scriptural command to teach the Word.

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also…”

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”

- II Timothy 2:2 & 3:16

While the Bible places the responsibility of training up and teaching the next generation solely on the parents, Sunday School is a great place for people of all ages to sit down with others and be taught the Bible. Sunday School is also a great place for lost people to be introduced to the church, and to the Bible, and to Jesus!

In order to be good Sunday School pupils/classmates, follow these simple rules:

1. If you don’t have anything nice to say, then…find something nice to say!

A good Sunday School class requires good discussion. Awkward silences are okay sometimes…but seriously…speak up! And men…step up and read (I know it’s scary the first time) when the teacher asks for someone to read a passage of Scripture…don’t let the women have all the fun!

2. Listen to your teacher!

Sunday School is a class setting with teachers and pupil after all. As good students of anyone who is teaching the Bible, we should always strive to be good listeners. And, on top of that, we are to be studious as well. When you hear biblical truth…you should always make sure that it is biblical…and truth!

“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 17:11

3. Respect one another; Play nice; Don’t eat the glue.

But seriously…Sunday School is one of the best places to get plugged into your church body and minister to one another. Don’t waste time with your fellow church members…make full use of your time and your gifts. Let’s have a heart to serve one another.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

- Ephesians 4:32 & I Corinthians 12:4-6

Put me in coach!

PRAGMATIC THEOLOGY: MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE

Athanasius was a Patristic (early church father) of the fourth century who was a theological giant. We learn much about Christian history from his writings and teachings. But before he began his ministry in his local church by becoming a deacon, there were some stringent requirements. These are the books of the Bible that he was required to have committed to memory before becoming a deacon: the entire Psalter (all 150 Psalms), one major prophet (Daniel did not count because it was too short), one Gospel, and all the New Testament epistles.

Our culture is so separated from this oral memory culture that this seems unthinkable to us.

Today, our schools do not teach how to do math in your head…they teach how to use a calculator. Our universities do not teach doctors how to diagnose and treat diseases…they teach how to look up symptoms in a book or computer to find the right treatment. Our churches do not teach us how to “hide God’s word in our heart,” but they teach us how to use biblegateway.com.

Using your resources is one of the greatest skills I acquired growing up in scouting, but I do not believe that a greater availability of resources (internet, books, etc…) gives us the excuse to ignore the command in Scripture to memorize. Here are three reasons we MUST discipline ourselves to memorize the Word of God:

1. Jesus did it! Re-reading the Temptations of Christ (Matthew 4:1-11) will give us a practical example of how Jesus Himself used His Scripture memory verses to combat the tempter’s wiles.

2. The Sword of the Spirit is our main weapon! Putting on the whole Armor of God is so “that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-20). This military metaphor is primary talking about arming yourself with the Word of God: The Belt of Truth, the shoes are the “readiness given by the gospel of peace,” the Shield of Faith that extinguishes all the flaming darts of the evil one, and of course the Sword of the Spirit, “which is the Word of God.”

3. No excuses! Besides the fact that this spiritual discipline is not a suggestion, it is a command, we are all more than capable of memorization. Depending on your age, you can more than likely finish at least one of these phrases exactly:

• “Praise God from whom all blessing flow…”

• “Green acres is the place to be…”

• “West Philadelphia borned and raised…”

• “If you like to talk to tomatoes…”

Repetition…repetition…repetition! Members of the early church would recite psalms congregationally on a weekly basis. What can you do on a regular basis to obey this verse:

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

- Psalm 119:11

Or this one:

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

- Psalm 119:9

PRAGMATIC THEOLOGY – IS PRAYER A CONVERSATION?

There is a popular teaching going around that prayer is a conversation between you and God. Is this correct? Is prayer a conversation between God and man? Is it two-directional? What does the Bible say? Anyone who goes against this teaching sounds unspiritual. It sounds really good to say that we should both speak AND listen. But is this what Jesus did? Is this what he taught his disciples to do?

I think that, while it may sound spiritual to both speak to and listen to God in prayer, this is not biblical and is actually damaging to our understanding of how we relate to God. Let me make myself clear before you call for my excommunication! I do believe that prayer is communication with God. However, I believe that it is only one-way communication. The Bible teaches us that God has spoken to us in many ways:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…

- Hebrews 1:1

Despite the diversity of ways God has spoken, you will not find prayer among them. God has always been very specific about how He is to be approached and about how He speaks to people. It is not wise for us to get this wrong.

What does God say about prayer? On this side of the Cross, Jesus preached on this very topic and even gives us an example prayer in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:5-14. If prayer, then, is one-way, how do we hear from God? How do we find God’s will? As Hebrews 1:1 says above, God has spoken to us already, through the prophets of old and more recently through His Son.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- John 1:1

This Word is Jesus Christ and He has spoken very clearly. Jesus is God’s revelation! Romans 5:8 says that God has demonstrated His love for us in that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If we want to hear from God, then we need to listen to what He has already said. We need to trust that the Word of God is sufficient to speak to us even today.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

- Hebrews 4:12

All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

- II Timothy 3:16

Do we really believe that the Bible is sufficient to speak into our lives? Let us not only be hearers, do doers of the Word!

ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU’RE OBEYING THE GREAT COMMISSION?

As Southern Baptists, we pride ourselves on having a solid biblical theology and obeying the Great Commission. However, so many times when I ask our own church members what the Great Commission is, I hear “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” While this is part of our Command, it is not the whole of the Great Commission. Here is the Great Commission:

And Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

- Matthew 28:18-20

While you no doubt have heard this passage preached hundreds of time, it is the Great Imperative for those who claim to be “disciples,” or followers of Jesus, and therefore we would do well to pay great attention to it! In light of this, let’s look a little closer at this passage:

First of all, it is important to understand the grammar of verse nineteen. There are four verbs of importance here: “go,” “make disciples,” “baptizing,” & “teaching.” Because of popular marketing schemes and the structure of the verse in English, most people believe that the main verb here is “go.” This common mistake is detrimental to our understanding of the Great Commission. Let me explain why. The verbs “go,””baptizing,” and “teaching” are all participles of the main verb in this passage: “make disciples.”

If you hear the staff here at First Southern talking a lot about discipleship and making disciples, please know that there is a very good reason why we do. If you get tired of hearing it, don’t get mad at us, take it up with Jesus. He left this command as both His last words on this earth and as our job as his followers until He returns. I’m proud to be a part of a staff that is not concerned with tickling ears (II Timothy 4:3-4) and is concerned with obeying the command of Christ our Lord!

So why is it so important that we keep “make disciples” the main verb of the passage? Because the result is that we evangelize to make converts, but we don’t truly make disciples of the Lord.

Notice that the Great Commission is intrinsically self-replicating: The Command was given to disciples who were to make more disciples by “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This is an exponential system! God’s design is the best possible.

My brother’s church has a great one-on-one discipleship ministry, and their philosophy is that you have not truly made a disciple (obeyed the Great Commission) until after your disciple has made a disciple! I believe it is time that we up the ante at First Southern and start asking ourselves tough questions and examining ourselves (II Corinthians 13:5) to see whether we are truly making disciples, whether we are obeying the Great Commission, and whether we are even disciples ourselves. Paul tells us that it is good and right to examine yourself often. Let it begin with us.

Pragmatic Theology -- Personal Holiness

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Hebrews 12:3-4

Our pastor recently mentioned in his sermon that “God cares more about your holiness than He does your happiness.” This may come as a shock to some of us. Many people believe that a loving Creator would want His creatures to be happy. Well, He does. God does desire each man, woman, boy, and girl to have real joy. What’s the problem, then?

True, lasting joy is not the same as temporary happiness.

Our idea of happiness is “in-the-moment” and finite. God’s idea of happiness is eternal. True, lasting joy comes from doing exactly what God created us to do: worship. God, being our Creator, made us this way. and He knows that that is best for us. The only way for us to fulfill this purpose in our lives is to be holy, as God is holy (Leviticus 19:2). We find this holiness through the joy of knowing Jesus.

God clearly states that He “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). This means that God wants you to know the joy of a relationship with Him by repenting of sin and trusting in Christ. Obviously, not everyone will come to know this joy, but for those who know Christ, joy and holiness go hand-in-hand.

We know that God cares so much about your personal holiness that He sent Christ to the cross for you. Jesus went to the point of death, even death on the cross because He wants you to be holy, as He is holy. This is how much Christ cares about your holiness. How much do you care about your own personal holiness? Is it to the point of “shedding your blood,” as the above passage mentions? Let us consider our own holiness, and be a penitent people before a holy God.

Pragmatic Theology -- Is Biblical Truth Being Taught in Your Church & Home?

This next article in this series of simply practical articles addresses biblical teaching.

It is absolutely crucial that we guard our hearts and minds from false truth and the vain philosophies of our generation (Colossians 2:8). If we do not “guard the deposit entrusted” to us, we will lose the next generation to “irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (I Timothy 6:20). Satan is on the prowl as a roaring lion (I Peter 5:8), and we had better not let any sheep stray or they will be picked off. Postmodernism, biblical liberalism, and legalism are some of the threats to a solid biblical theology and worldview that we face today. The truest and best method of fighting these false truths on the home-front is solid biblical teaching. There are two major battlefields on home soil if you will: our church and our homes.

Biblical teaching in the church:

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored…

- II Thessalonians 3:1

A traveling evangelist recently showed up to our church on a Sunday morning and asked to speak in the morning worship service. Our pastor denied the gentleman this privilege. This may seem harsh to some, but standing in the pulpit and proclaiming a message to our congregation is not a light matter. We should always guard our pulpit with the utmost diligence. We are greatly blessed with a pastor who is very careful to preach biblical truth and only biblical truth from our pulpit. Just as much care must be taken when we place people in teaching positions in our flock. Sunday School and Bible Study teachers have a huge influence on each of us, and we cannot allow wolves in sheep clothing to be teaching our sheep. Perhaps we should put less effort and energy into pushing John to sing the songs we like and more effort into ensuring that the gospel is clearly preached and proclaimed through the songs, prayers, readings, and preaching each week!

If you teach, preach, or pray publicly, remember what an honor and privilege it is and stand in fear, as we will be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1).

Biblical teaching in the home:

My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you;

keep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;

bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

- Proverbs 7:1-3

If you are a follower of Christ, you probably already know the Great Commission: to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20), but you may not apply this command to every aspect of your life. As a qualifier, Christ followed up this command with Acts 1:8: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Yes, we are to make disciples of our friends, neighbors, countrymen, and even to the ends of the earth…but many times we miss the closest people to home…those who live in our homes! Our first and greatest task as mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, etc… is to ensure that the gospel is proclaimed in our homes and that solid biblical theology is taught in our homes.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

- Joshua 24:15

Pragmatic Theology -- The Quiet Time

Around the office, we joke about what to write in our newsletter articles. Some of us plan out our articles in series that we believe will be helpful to you, our church family. Some of us wait until the deadline, and then write about recent events or things that have been on our heart. I would like to finish out this year’s articles by writing on very practical issues in the Christian’s life. I will begin with the importance of a quiet time. Anyone who has been in Southern Baptist churches for any amount of time has heard a lot about how they should have a quiet time. Although this can be redundant and sometimes naggy…we are blessed to be in a denomination that emphasizes the importance of having a personal relationship with God.

Christianity is set apart from all the other world religions because it is centered on having a RELATIONSHIP with the Holy God! All other religions fall tremendously short because they do not solve the problem of sin and separation with God: they simply give a list of guidelines by which you earn your way to heaven.

Because Christianity is based on a relationship with God…we know how to “practice” our religion. We practice Christianity just like we develop any relationship…by communication. Since the beginning of time, God’s plan for His people is to have a relationship with them. From the garden where they walked with God in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8), to the wilderness where God dwelt among His people in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35), to the last days in which we live where the curtain has been torn in two (Matthew 27:51) and WE ARE the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (I Corinthians 6:19-20), God desires a relationship with His Beloved.

And so, for us today, as always, there are two forms of communication with God: incoming and outgoing. With the nation of Israel, incoming communication from God was handled through prophets who delivered God’s messages, and outgoing communication to God was handled by priests who approached God on behalf of the nation. Today, God speaks to us (incoming) through His Word, and we speak to God (outgoing) through prayer. Both forms are approved and commanded by God for us today. This is why it is so important to have a time that you set aside each day to spend working on your relationship with God…i.e. a Quiet Time. All relationships take time and effort invested into communication and conversation…including our all-important relationship with God.

Some might say that having a specific block of time each day is too constraining and even legalistic. I would ask these people to read the accounts of great men and women of faith in the Bible and in our own, rich, Baptist history.

Developing your relationship with God MUST include both of these elements: Scripture intake (reading, studying, memorizing, & meditating) and Prayer. And what is more important when it comes to a conversation with God: talking or listening (of course…true study of God’s Word necessarily drives the redeemed to prayer)??

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

- Psalm 119:9

Stockholm Syndrome

I found the fourth Lexington artifact!! Two free tickets for me! Question is...who will I take? If you have no idea what this means, sorry, I can't tell you: instruction number seven prohibits it.