When NOT Preaching

A question I get when I am out of the pulpit is:  "What do you do when you are not preaching?"

So here are a few of the activities that I do when out of the pulpit:

     1.  Rest, Relax, & Recover

Preaching and Sermon Preparation are both mentally and physically draining.  In order to present well, breaks are needed to refresh and refill the soul.  This break includes a week at the beach.  A Burgess family favorite!

     2.  Read & Plan

I often use the time to read and plan for future sermon series.

     3.  Meetings

I maximize meetings with people that I can't otherwise do during preaching runs.

     4.  Write

Well...good intentions, right?

     5.  Study

Along with reading and planning, I study theology and books of the Bible.

     6.  Play with and spend time with my family.

This includes movies, backyard baseball, cornhole, etc...

Losing the Gospel

The Gospel is a gift that must be protected and proclaimed.  It must be faithfully passed on to the next generation.  Failure to clearly express the Gospel can have devastating long term consequences.  In his book, Marks of the Messenger, Mack Stiles points out the the Gospel is not lost suddenly in the blink of an eye.  He argues that it is lost gradually over four generations.  He states it as such:

1. The gospel is accepted.
2. The gospel is assumed.
3. The gospel is confused.
4. The gospel is lost.

Stiles writes:  "For any generation to lose the Gospel is tragic.  But, as Philip Jensen says, the generation that assumes the Gospel is the generation that is most responsible for the loss of the gospel."  

Are you faithfully protecting and proclaiming the gospel?  Are you taking the Gospel for granted and assuming that it will be passed on, or are you seeking opportunities to share your faith?

Do you have a clear understanding of the Gospel yourself?  If not, take steps today to insure that you do and then pray for opportunities to tell others what Jesus Christ has done for you!

I recommend Stiles' book as a source for knowing, living, and speaking the gospel.

Another great resource is Greg Gilbert's book:  What is the Gospel?

Stott on Books & Reading

Here is a great quote from the postscript of John Stott's latest book:  The Radical Disciple.

"Looking ahead, none of us of course knows what the future of printing and publishing may be.  But I myself am confident that the future of books is assured and that, though they will be complemented, they will never be altogether replaced.  For there is something unique about books.  Our favorite books become very precious to us and we even develop with them an almost living and affectionate relationship.  Is it an altogether fanciful fact that we handle, stroke and even smell them as tokens of our esteem and affection?  I am not referring only to an author's feeling for what he has written, but to all readers and their library.  I have made it a rule not to quote from any book unless I have first handled it.  So let me urge you to keep reading, and encourage your relatives and friends to do the same.  For this is a much neglected means of grace."

Observations from Mark 5:1-20

Here are the observations that I made at the end of Sunday's sermon from Mark 5:1-20.

1. Demons recognize Jesus.
2. Demons yield to the authority and power of Jesus.
3. Demons cannot do anything without God's permission.
4. People are drawn to the supernatural. 
5. People are afraid (often) of what they cannot explain.
6. Our desires often (or can) differ from God's plan.
7. When God commands--we must obey.
8. Our story should not be about what we have done...but about what God has done for us.
9. Our God-story will impact others like nothing else.
10. The only chance we have of reaching our potential is if God changes our life.

And the Big Idea was:  "JESUS HAS THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND GIVE YOU HOPE AND A NEW MISSION.

Series reminders:

1. Get a life (Belief in Christ results in life).
2. Get directed (Oriented around Christ--John 14:6).
3. Get help (Not meant to do life alone.  Traction is in community).
4. Give everything away!
5. Don't quit!