Pastor’s Posts
The Greatest Need in the Church Today
Last modified on 2010-03-02 09:05:05 CDT. 0 commentsMarch 1, 2010
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From The Pastor’s Desk:
"The Greatest Need in the Church Today"
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” 1John 2:20 (NIV)
The greatest need in the church today is to take to heart 1 John 2:20. That is to say that the greatest need, and one of deepest importance for the church today, is for the continual manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice I didn’t say the greatest need is for a theological theory about the Holy Spirit, or just an intellectual understanding of the Holy Spirit, but I maintain the greatest need for the church today is to embrace the power of the Holy Spirit. That has to do with experience not words.
Beginning this month and continuing into the Sunday after Easter, we will begin thinking about and studying what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit for the believer and for the church. John was writing to the church and warning them of false teachers and he reminded them that they had received “an anointing.” They had received it, not that they would be anointed by the Holy Spirit; they already had the anointing! Had they forgotten that? Had they ignored that fact? Were they succumbing to the ways and words of the false teachers because they had ignored the Holy Spirit?
Here, my friends, is a direct warning for the church today; an alarm for you and I of Cambridge Baptist Church. Is the anointing of the Holy Spirit present in our lives? Are we seeing the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit in our midst? How would we know? What are the distinguishing marks of the movement of the Spirit? Are we moving under the power of the Spirit or struggling ahead solely on our own power? If so, we are not being filled with the power that God has given to us.
And so, for the next several weeks we will be looking at the Holy Spirit; how He was promised; how He came to the church, and how we all can have a Spirit-filled life. Please pray for me as I prepare these messages, but, more importantly, pray for our church and for your own experience that we will regain the filling of this wonderful presence of God in our lives.
Pastor Jay
Even With Tears
Last modified on 2010-02-27 09:39:05 CDT. 0 commentsFebruary 1, 2010
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From The Pastor’s Desk:
“Even With Tears” Have you ever been moved to tears for the lost people you know? The apostle Paul was. Listen to Philippians 3:17-19: “17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” (NIV) Paul was very concerned that the Philippians understand the threat of false teachers. He said, "I have often told you before and now...present tense...I say again even with tears." By the way, that's the only time in the New Testament when Paul actually says he is presently crying. In Romans he talked about having sorrow and continuous heaviness of heart over the lostness of Israel. And in Acts 20, he said, “I warned you night and day with tears.” But this is the only time he says, “As I write I cry, I weep.” His heart is broken. He grieved over the lostness of people. He grieved over the encroachment of false teachers that disrupted the church and brought a reproach on the name of Christ and led people astray. And here he is literally weeping as he recognizes that they will infiltrate Philippi and they will try to wreak havoc in the church. He is heartbroken. He says, “I now tell you even weeping.” This is a passionate man. This is a tender-hearted man. This is a man with rich feelings. He loved genuinely. He ached over the lost. You say, "Why is he weeping? What's he crying about?" Well, we don't know, it doesn't really specifically say but we can certainly surmise. He could have been weeping because these enemies of the cross were lost, for he did have sorrow over lost people (see Romans 9). He could have been weeping because he could see the terrible impact that they would have on the weak in the church. In Acts 20:31, Paul writes, “and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Those were tears for the church because it could be so easily led astray by false teachers. So whether it was the damnation of the enemies or whether it was the destructive impact of their effort, it caused him to weep. He loved the church. He loved the Philippians because he loved the Christ of the church and the Christ of the Philippians. And he could see these enemies trying to seduce them and it broke his heart. After all, the Philippian church was the first church in Europe, a sort of beachhead for another world to reach. And it was so important that they stay pure and not get messed up. Beloved, I need to tell you from the bottom of my heart, that I see the church in America today on the threshold of being deceived by a myriad of the enemies of the cross. And I see a church that is no longer moved to tears for the lost. My prayer for myself and for you, the church at Cambridge, is that we all would be moved to tears for the lost and for the enemies of the cross of Christ. Destruction awaits them and we may be the only ones who care enough to warn them.
Praying for revival, Pastor Jay |
November 1, 2009 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ From The Pastor's Desk: "Making the Contributions in Life" As a young family living in Burlington, Vermont, we attended a Methodist Church which had a very clever Stewardship Committee. Like a lot of churches, we struggled with getting enough contributions by the members to cover expenses. We struggled with getting enough nursery workers and Sunday School teachers. We seemed to always have an abundance of people to come out for church social functions but only a handful would attend business meetings. One year, the Stewardship Committee came up with the clever idea of having buttons made up with only one word printed on them: TUIT. When a person made a commitment to support the church financially (we filled out pledge/commitment cards), or to teach a Sunday School class, or to serve in the nursery or on a committee, they were given a button and asked to wear it to church. When other people saw the button and asked what it stood for, the wearer would explain, It's a round tuit. When it comes to serving the Lord in the church, I'm finally getting a round tuit'. Everyone got the point, and pretty soon practically the whole church was wearing a button. We saw an increase in giving and also many of the unfilled positions on committees and tasks in the church were staffed. 1 Peter 4:10 says, Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. Too often we rely on someone else to do the job in the church we are equipped to do and should be doing. We expect someone else to sing in the holiday choir, or to serve in the nursery, or to chair a team or committee, or to support the church financially. But in doing so, we're missing out on the tremendous joy there is in worshipping and working together in the Body of Christ. Don't you think it's time to get a round tuit? Serving Christ, Pastor Jay There are three kinds of people in the world: those who don't know what's happening, those who watch what's happening, and those who make things happen. Nicholas Murray Butler, former president Columbia UniversityMaking the Contributions in Life
Last modified on 2010-02-27 09:37:40 CDT. 0 comments
October 1, 2009 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ From The Pastor's Desk: Tough Times, Tough Decisions It's been said that there are two types of financial givers in the church: those who tip and those who tithe. I'll be honest with you, before becoming a Christian I attended church but only put a tip in the offering plate on Sunday. In many cases it was more than the actual tip I would leave in a restaurant. There was no connection in my mind and heart between what I earned and the One responsible for the talent and opportunity to earn what I did. It wasn't until I had committed my life to Christ that I was taught and embraced the true concept of the tithe. There were times when it was difficult for Helen and me financially and sometimes the place we cut was the tithe. But eventually we were convinced that God was to get our tithe first, even if it meant scrimping and scraping to get by. God proved to us that if we were faithful He would be too. Unfortunately, even today, many in the church do not embrace the Biblical principle of the tithe. If more people did, I maintain we would not have the budget problem that we currently have. Projections are that receipts (offerings) for this year will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 below expenses. What this means is that unless there is a commitment by the congregation to give more, the budget for 2010 will have to be much less than the budget for 2009. Currently some areas of the budget will have to face serious cutbacks. The place to start on a solution to the problem is for everyone to tithe. Beginning October 11th, we will be starting a three Sunday emphasis called, Be An Encourager: Tithe. Each of the three sermons will be on tithing and stewardship culminating with a special emphasis on Sunday, Oct. 25th . I am calling that day, Demonstrate the Tithe Sunday. Each Sunday School class, including the children, will have a special lesson on tithing. Then, in the worship service, I am asking each of you to bring an offering equal to at least the tithe (10%) of one week's income. If we all do this, we will see the encouraging potential of giving in our church. When Christians tithe God is glorified and we bear witness to the world of the life-changing power of the Gospel. God owns it all, so let's be obedient to God in recognizing His ownership and then responding by giving the tithe to God. He will fulfill His part if we obediently do ours. Blessings, Pastor JayTough Times, Tough Decisions
Last modified on 2010-02-27 09:41:33 CDT. 0 comments
September 1, 2009 _______________________________________________________________ From The Pastor's Desk: September Resolutions Practically all of us make New Year's resolutions. Some of us also make mid-year, monthly, weekly, and daily resolutions. I want to encourage you to make some September resolutions. School is starting back up and there's opportunity to become engaged in some new studies at church and new opportunities to serve the body of Christ at Cambridge. Socrates said, The unexamined life is not worth living. Well, the examined life is not worth living either if the examination produces no resolutions. What examination and experience teach us is that the unplanned life settles into fruitless routine. ( A failure to plan is a plan for failure. ) Well, the drifting life the coasting, que-sera-sera whatever will be will be, unreflective lifetends to be a wasted life. How do we avoid a wasted life? Self-examination life-examination, routine-examination, schedule-examination, heart-examination followed by the resolve that you will make a difference. That's what I encourage you to do. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV) Paul prays that God will fulfill every resolve for good that we have. This means that God will help, or enabling us, to fulfill those resolves. It is a work of faith because we depend on Jesus to give us power to fulfill it. That's how we resolve by faith in Jesus. Then Paul says that the fulfilling of the resolve is by his power. That's what we are depending on. That's what we are looking for when we resolve. We are looking to Jesus who promised to be with us and help us. So pause sometime soon. Pause and examine your life. Examine what is missing that should be there. What is there that should be removed? What new dreams for ministry might you venture? What new habits do you want to build into your Fall schedule? Remember: God will be pleased with new resolves for good if you resolve by faith in Jesus. I am praying for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power. Seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus with you, Pastor JaySeptember Resolutions
Last modified on 2010-02-27 09:30:41 CDT. 0 comments