Here's something to ponder:
If you are serving at church already..
1) How many ministries are you serving in?
2) Are you currently being asked to serve in more?
3) Have you noticed, once you said "yes", that suddenly there are more meetings you have to attend, more issues to solve, more deadlines, more expectations and more responsibilities?
4) Now, when you first started serving, did you have passion in your heart and a smile on your face?
5) Is it stil there now?
6) Do people appreciate you serving? Is there support, love and compassion for your needs as you take care of other people's needs?
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tell me where the punchline is
Have you ever noticed how so much of church life seems to be dominated by the need for everyone involved to laugh? Or to have fun? Rarely does a sermon start these days in the modern church without a few jokes from the pastor to 'warm' the congregation up. Or how the selection of a speaker for a cell group, conference or camp is determined by whether he can make the audience laugh and feel good.
I sense in this a dangerous precedent. One in which the carnal desire of gratification is satisfied through the intense need to joke and laugh about things. In other words, too much seriousness is not a good thing. Let's keep it light.
It has been described that this is now the way of the world. This is a generation that has never known any wars, hunger, poverty or great upheavals. It's a generation that has been remarkably prosperous like no other time before in history and one which has ample resources and time to spend on leisure activities, consumer goods and programs to satisfy one's own's desires. Sadly, this is reminiscent of the period in history known as the fall of the Roman empire, which occurred at a time when the empire was relatively peaceful and wealthy, which then led to the society becoming weaker over time as they forgot how they got there and concentrated more on satisfying their wants through gluttony, displays of barbarism and cruelty in the circuses and debauched acts.
All this is another word for superficiality and a slide down the slope away from the gospel. This is not to say that there is no joy in the Gospel. Far from it, the Gospel is a picture of the greatest joy possible - that of God redeeming you from eternal condemnation. If that doesn't fill your heart with joy, I don't know what will.
However, the joy that is seen these days in the current church is a far cry from that. It is a fleshly distraction from the Gospel and to satisfy the need for ears to be tickled. What happens then when you hear a sermon on sin? Or the fact that those who continue sinning and never repent are going to Hell? Is this a laughing matter?
The more we veer towards inappropriate hilarity at the wrong time and place, we steer away from talking about those issues. And the Devil will have made a gain there. There is a time and a place for humour, and it can even emanate from the pulpit; but the underlying principle is that it cannot detract one ounce of attention away from Jesus Christ and the Gospel
So the moment I become Pastor standup comedian, I forego my responsibilities as a steward of the Bride of Christ. As soon as I bow to sulky and bored faces during Bible study and inject a round of conversational topics that gets everyone laughing gayily, I have won the hearts of men (and women) to myself but not Jesus Christ and the Gospel
We decry the lack of awe and reverence during Holy Communion. There is ranting about the lack of respect and passion in the youth in their commitment to Christlike discipleship. Then we look at how we approach worship, the message, Bible study and prayer - is it any wonder why what we get is something of our own doing and not to be blamed on anyone else?
If you are not getting any yucks from the sermon - too bad. When Bible study seems boring to you, suck it up and do some study before the study. Life isn't a never ending laugh track and the church isn't here to make you happy or entertain you. Learn to live life with more discernment, soberness and judgement. And above all, bear in mind the God who gave his Son up as a perfect sacrifice to die painfully and horribly on a Cross for your sins.
See if you can laugh about that.
I sense in this a dangerous precedent. One in which the carnal desire of gratification is satisfied through the intense need to joke and laugh about things. In other words, too much seriousness is not a good thing. Let's keep it light.
It has been described that this is now the way of the world. This is a generation that has never known any wars, hunger, poverty or great upheavals. It's a generation that has been remarkably prosperous like no other time before in history and one which has ample resources and time to spend on leisure activities, consumer goods and programs to satisfy one's own's desires. Sadly, this is reminiscent of the period in history known as the fall of the Roman empire, which occurred at a time when the empire was relatively peaceful and wealthy, which then led to the society becoming weaker over time as they forgot how they got there and concentrated more on satisfying their wants through gluttony, displays of barbarism and cruelty in the circuses and debauched acts.
All this is another word for superficiality and a slide down the slope away from the gospel. This is not to say that there is no joy in the Gospel. Far from it, the Gospel is a picture of the greatest joy possible - that of God redeeming you from eternal condemnation. If that doesn't fill your heart with joy, I don't know what will.
However, the joy that is seen these days in the current church is a far cry from that. It is a fleshly distraction from the Gospel and to satisfy the need for ears to be tickled. What happens then when you hear a sermon on sin? Or the fact that those who continue sinning and never repent are going to Hell? Is this a laughing matter?
The more we veer towards inappropriate hilarity at the wrong time and place, we steer away from talking about those issues. And the Devil will have made a gain there. There is a time and a place for humour, and it can even emanate from the pulpit; but the underlying principle is that it cannot detract one ounce of attention away from Jesus Christ and the Gospel
So the moment I become Pastor standup comedian, I forego my responsibilities as a steward of the Bride of Christ. As soon as I bow to sulky and bored faces during Bible study and inject a round of conversational topics that gets everyone laughing gayily, I have won the hearts of men (and women) to myself but not Jesus Christ and the Gospel
We decry the lack of awe and reverence during Holy Communion. There is ranting about the lack of respect and passion in the youth in their commitment to Christlike discipleship. Then we look at how we approach worship, the message, Bible study and prayer - is it any wonder why what we get is something of our own doing and not to be blamed on anyone else?
If you are not getting any yucks from the sermon - too bad. When Bible study seems boring to you, suck it up and do some study before the study. Life isn't a never ending laugh track and the church isn't here to make you happy or entertain you. Learn to live life with more discernment, soberness and judgement. And above all, bear in mind the God who gave his Son up as a perfect sacrifice to die painfully and horribly on a Cross for your sins.
See if you can laugh about that.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Communion - some thoughts (2)
Just how is communion seen in Malaysia? It's a tough one to answer. I have heard how some people see the sacraments as magic infused talismans. One person told me that a parishioner wanted to take the bread back to his ill wife so she could take it and be healed. I want to laugh but at the same time, realise that behind that mistaken notion is a genuine need for people to see a manifestation of God; in whatever form, even if it is in the form of a wafer
This need is real. Even the most hardened intellectual somewhere is crying out for a display of divine presence, even if the aim is just to disprove it; a laughable notion if there ever was one. But it is real and it is because we were made in the image of something larger than ourselves.
Thus, communion can be seen as a time when the gap between us and God is closer. I have to be careful how I say this. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that brings us into God's family and confers on us an adopted status. An act performed by laity or priesthood with some food objects and utterances is not an incantational act that miraculously brings into a 'special place', so to speak. The blood of Christ that washes your sins away gives you that status
But in a sense, it does bring us closer because each time we take the sacraments, we are reminded not only of the time in the upper room where Christ shared himself with his disciples, but a hint of foreshadowing a far greater time. A time when he would die and be resurrected forevermore. And a time when he would come again once and for all to rule over the earth in his rightful place as King Jesus
Therefore, communion is not just a celebration of an event in the past, or in the present. It is both. But it is also the expected hope of things to come and both a sad and joyous occasion wrapped into one. It is best likened to the hope of an expectant mother, anxious and waiting nervously for the child to come, thinking about the pain of labour but ultimately, every tear will be worht it and wiped away when the baby come.
So it was in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. So it will be some time in the future, but it will not be a baby that comes but a sovereign, omnipotent, just and loving King.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus - and take your rightful place on your throne.
SDG
This need is real. Even the most hardened intellectual somewhere is crying out for a display of divine presence, even if the aim is just to disprove it; a laughable notion if there ever was one. But it is real and it is because we were made in the image of something larger than ourselves.
Thus, communion can be seen as a time when the gap between us and God is closer. I have to be careful how I say this. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that brings us into God's family and confers on us an adopted status. An act performed by laity or priesthood with some food objects and utterances is not an incantational act that miraculously brings into a 'special place', so to speak. The blood of Christ that washes your sins away gives you that status
But in a sense, it does bring us closer because each time we take the sacraments, we are reminded not only of the time in the upper room where Christ shared himself with his disciples, but a hint of foreshadowing a far greater time. A time when he would die and be resurrected forevermore. And a time when he would come again once and for all to rule over the earth in his rightful place as King Jesus
Therefore, communion is not just a celebration of an event in the past, or in the present. It is both. But it is also the expected hope of things to come and both a sad and joyous occasion wrapped into one. It is best likened to the hope of an expectant mother, anxious and waiting nervously for the child to come, thinking about the pain of labour but ultimately, every tear will be worht it and wiped away when the baby come.
So it was in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. So it will be some time in the future, but it will not be a baby that comes but a sovereign, omnipotent, just and loving King.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus - and take your rightful place on your throne.
SDG
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