ministry

Another Spurgeon Prayer for this Sunday

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“We have no merit, no claim, no righteousness of our own. Dear savior, we look up to you. Oh, that some might look for the first time, and those of us that have long looked would fix our happy gaze again upon that blessed substitutionary sacrifice wherein is all our hope. Dear savior, we do take you to be everything to us, our sin-bearer and our sin-destroyer. We do not have a shadow of a shade of hope anywhere but in you, your life, your death, your resurrection, your ascension, your glory, your reign, your second advent; these are the only stars in our sky. Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

That’s my prayer every Sunday — that many people will hear the gospel and believe. That many people will become disciples who make disciples and not just seat warmers. That God would call out missionaries and ministers to take His gospel to the ends of the earth. That we would fall more in love with the gospel and the Jesus of the gospel every single day until Jesus comes back to take us home to stay.

Room in the Inn

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Tonight was the appreciation dinner/information gathering/unofficial kickoff to the next season of Room in the Inn. It’s a homeless ministry where local churches provide a place to sleep and a warm meal during the colder months. Many of those churches, including Brentwood Baptist Church, also minister to their spiritual needs by providing a Bible study where we share the hope of the gospel with these men.

Room in the Inn is one of my favorite ways to serve. I’ve been a part of this amazing outreach for something like 15 years. I’ve seen a lot of men come and go through the ministry. I keep thinking that I’ll be the one doing the blessing, but so often I’m the one who ends up being blessed.

So many of these homeless men have a faith that puts mine to shame. They see their current status not as a hardship, but they see so many blessings and are so thankful even in the midst of not having a physical roof over their heads while I complain about my iPhone being slow.

I love being able to teach in our Bible studies, but I really love sitting down and listening to the stories. My whole outlook on homelessness has radically changed since I started serving in Room in the Inn all those years ago. Most of them are a lot like me. Many are where they are because of unfortunate financial hardships or because of making some bad decisions when they were younger. I keep reminding myself there but by the grace of God go I.

I can’t wait to see their faces and hear their stories. I hope to be more intentional about getting to know some of them and letting them minister to me as much as I hope to minister to them. So many have a kind of wisdom that you only learn the hard way through years of hardship and suffering.

Lord, bless these men and even now begin preparing their hearts to encounter you through the volunteers at Brentwood Baptist Church every Monday night. As much as I’d love to see them find permanent housing, I pray they find their true home in You and know You as a shelter and a safe place no matter what they face. Amen.

Sneaking Up

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As usual, Labor Day weekend snuck up on me. I never remember that it’s an actual holiday until the Friday before. The same goes for Memorial Day. Not in anyway to diminish either of these holidays, but I can be a little thick sometimes.

I am thankful for Labor Day (or should it really be called Labor-Free Day?) and for the extra day off. Even if it’s 145 degrees outside in the shade. And no, I’m not counting down the days until fall starts (15).

Today, the sermon at church was on Luke 10:1-2 where Jesus says that the fields are ready for harvest but the laborers are few. According to multiple studies, 20% of church people do 80% of the work. Most people are content to occupy a space on the pew or the chair and spectate rather than participate.

But God created all of us with unique gifts and passions that bless those within and without the walls of a church gathering. Plus, there’s joy in finding your place of serving and ministry in God’s kingdom. Not all of us are called to preach from a pulpit or lead worship, but we can all worship in our own way, no matter how small it seems to us or to others.

I love my church. I love that I get to sleep in tomorrow, even though it’s a Monday. I love that every day God wakes me up is a gift and I find that I take it for granted less and less as I get older. Too many people I know who are my age or younger have passed away for me ever to think that I’m guaranteed 80 years in this world.

So happy Labor Day! May you enjoy a restful day — and if you’re one of those who don’t get a day off, may you find joy in your labors, knowing that you’re not really working for a human boss or a human organization ultimately, but for God and God alone.

Missing Kairos

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Sometimes, I’ll drop by Brentwood Baptist Church on a Tuesday. I’ll slip into Hudson Hall and look around for a moment or two. Usually, the lights are out, so I’ll turn on my phone’s flashlight and wave it back and forth in front of me. Typically, there will be chairs set up similar to when Kairos was still a thing.

I miss Kairos. For those who weren’t a part of the magic, Kairos was a young(ish) adult event that happened every Tuesday from 2004 to 2024. Since then, it has transitioned into something called Rally, which is more of a college ministry centered around small groups and monthly gatherings.

I’m thankful for Rally, but I do miss Kairos. I realize that as Ecclesiastes says, there is a season for everything. Perhaps, Kairos had a season and now it’s over. Maybe it served its purpose for what God intended to do through that particular ministry. I know it was very influential in my own life, as well as the lives of many, many others.

I was blessed to be a part of it for over 18 years, most of which I served as a greeter and prayer counselor. I saw some very talented people come and go through the years. We had some incredible speakers, singers, musicians, and tech people. We had people who were gifted in areas of hospitality and serving. But most of all, God showed up.

Was it a perfect ministry? No. Did we get a few things wrong over the years? Probably. But we tried to be obedient to the calling God has placed on us for such a time as this. The years to come will tell how successful we were. But then again, God never called us to be successful but simply faithful and obedient.

I may be the only one who’ll say this, but I miss Kairos. But there’s not a day that goes by where I’m not thankful that God allowed me to be a small part of it for all those years. I’m blessed.

A Prayer for Sunday Services

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“May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers” (1 Thes. 3:11-13, The Message).

Lord, I pray for all Your children who will be worshipping You around the world in various places and ways. I pray for all those who will come into Your presence with joy, and also for those come to You with deep grief. I know You meet each and every one of us where we are and at the deepest point of our need.

Help us to seek not what we can get out of the services or come to worship to be spectators seeking to be entertained but how we can outgive and outserve one another as we seek to please and glorify an audience of One.

Lord, I pray that in any case of division or strife within Your body, we will choose instead to leave our offering and go and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters wherever possible first before entering into true worship. I pray You will move to heal broken families and restore broken marriages. I pray You will deliver people from all sorts of addictions and bondages.

Above all, call out people in Your midst to the mission field and to the ministry. Call out those who don’t yet know You in faith to trust You for salvation by calling on Your Son Jesus Christ. May the worship we bring not cease at 11:00 or 12:15 or whatever time the service ends but carry on throughout our day and into the next week. May our worship not just be songs and music but lives surrendered and hearts laid down at Your altar.

Bless and multiply Your Church. Redeem and restore us. Rebuke us wherever necessary. Be mindful of our frailty and fallenness and come among us to make us more like You. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Worry vs. Prayer

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Ann Voskamp said to be a prayer warrior and not a panicked worrier. I think about that a bit lately. One does absolutely no good but only keeps you up at night and keeps you from focusing on what matters. One is the way to the throne of grace where we find help in time of need.

Worry changes nothing. Prayer changes everything.

Worry makes you sick. Literally. Over time, your body will start to manifest symptoms of sickness if you let worry consume you constantly. Prayer on the other hand transforms you. It changes the way you see everything, including your problems.

Worry is a way of looking at the world without God in it. It’s funny how all your anxiety-laden possible outcomes end up with it being completely up to you to fix everything. Prayer shows that not only is God in the picture, but He has already made a way through. He has already overcome. The victory is not only possible but certain.

Worry comes natural. It’s a default setting for every single person born after the Fall. We’re hard-wired to worry and fret and to be anxious over every little thing. But prayer is a discipline that requires work. To get better at praying, you have to pray. You have to learn from others who are older and wiser and who have spent a lifetime learning how to pray. You have to be immersed in the Word of God to know the will of God to pray in the name of Jesus.

But the good news is that you don’t have to be good at praying to pray. You can choose today to pray instead of worrying. Today can be the day that you say to Jesus, “Teach me to pray as you taught the disciples.” And He will do it.

In the words of the great theologian M. C, Hammer, “You got to pray just to make it today.”

Good words.

Continuing to Trust

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I ran across something recently that floored me. It’s one of those Paul Harvey-type of stories that always end with something along the lines of “and now you know the rest of the story.”

The gist is that you can trust God when life doesn’t play out like you thought it would or even how you planned for it to go. You can script your plans down to the nth degree, but still life happens and plans change and you end up in a place you never thought you’d be. What then?

Stay the course and trust God. Or better yet, trust God more than you trust in your plans. God is the only one who never changes. He’s the only one who sits outside of history and knows all of it. He sees the big picture, including how it’s all going to play out. Trust Him.

“A young Dutch apprentice named Wilhelm wanted to become a preacher. In 1879, his zeal brought him to the coal fields of southern Belgium as a missionary. Miners and their families were captivated by the young man’s selflessness. As often happened, there was a mining disaster, and scores were injured. No one fought harder to save the miners than Wilhelm. Afterward, villagers flocked to hear his sermons. When a church official visited the village, they found Wilhelm living in a tiny hut, dressed in tattered clothes. When questioned about what he had done with his salary, Wilhelm said he had given it to the miners and their families. The church official determined Wilhelm had misused the funds and dismissed him from his position. He felt dejected—perhaps even abandoned by God.

Late one afternoon, Wilhelm watched an old miner bending beneath the enormous weight of a full sack of coal. He pulled an old tattered envelope from his pocket and began sketching the figure of the man. Every day, he used his pencil and paper to sketch more of the villagers, whom he had come to love. Through the majesty of his art, he was able to share God with the villagers. Much later, his sketches and other artworks found a wider audience. The young man who wanted to be a minister was Vincent Wilhelm Van Gogh.

Through the circumstances of his life, Van Gogh came to know the sovereignty of God in a very personal way. The Lord’s plan for the young Dutchman was different from what he had anticipated, and it was revealed to him little by little as the minister-turned-artist continued to live out his faith in the Lord. He had not been abandoned, and neither have you. God is near, always loving, always ready to offer His mercy and compassion in your need. Just as He had a plan for Wilhelm, He has a plan for you and for this nation. Continue to trust Him.”

The Perfect Church Service

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Jim Cymbala in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire said something that floored me. If you walk away from any church service praising the sermon or the music, then that church has failed. If you’re focusing on the human elements of any worship gathering, the church has not done its job.

Ideally, the response to any worship service isn’t how great we are as a congregation or how great our ministry staff is, but how great is our God. As I read recently, our Sunday meetings can easily slip into Christiak karaoke followed by Ted talks with tithes if we’re not careful.

The key is to allow room for the Holy Spirit to move. Too many churches have programmed their services down to the last second leaving no space for the Holy Spirit to speak to people’s hearts and minds. I for once am not advocating for two hour services, but I do think that sometimes we could be just as attentive to the gentle whisper of the Spirit as we are to the worship schedule.

I also think that we (especialy me) need a shift in our mentality about worship. If our goal is to meet with God, then it shouldn’t matter if the songs were hundred year old hymns or the latest CCLI worship songs. It shouldn’t matter that the pastor made all his points start with the same letter or not.

Our goal is not a great sermon or a deeper worship experience through carefully cultivated worship playlists but to encounter the living and holy God. He’s the true audience of any worship service, not us. Otherwise, it’s just another concert or music event with no more benefit than if we’d stayed home and listened to a Christian Spotify playlist or watched a televised sermon from some famous preacher.

Lord, as we prepare to meet You tomorrow in our places of worship, move in our hearts to yearn for You and You only. Give us eyes to see You and ears to hear from You that You might speak a word to us tomorrow and we could walk away from the gathering different than when we arrived. Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening. Amen.

The Quiet Miracle

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Today, I was listening to a podcast from Sally Lloyd-Jones, author of the Jesus Storybook Bible. She was conversing with Sir David Suchet, best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, about several topics of faith.

One topic of interest to me was when they talked about the miracle at Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine. David noted that one particular thing struck him about the miracle in that Jesus appeared to say or do nothing to bring it about. He didn’t offer a blessing. He didn’t wave His arms or lift up a prayer. He told the servants to fill up the large pitchers with water and when the taster got to them, the water had become wine.

It was a quiet miracle. Michael Card calls it the unmiraculous miracle. It’s notable that presumably no one at the wedding ever found out about the miracle except for the servants who poured the water. Not the wedding hosts or the guests. Not the bride or groom. Only the servants.

Jesus was quietly inaugurating His kingdom and only a few servants were in on it. I’m reminded of how the first people to witness the Incarnation were shepherds who had been out in the fields tending their flocks. The first witnesses of the resurrection were the same women whose testimony would not have counted in a court of law back in that day.

Again and again, Jesus chose the nobodies of the world to be the first to hear His good news. The gospel wasn’t given to the famous or the rich or the powerful at first, but to those discounted and outcast and disregarded by everyone else. But they were the ones Jesus chose.

Isn’t that how it works even now. To those who feel forgotten or left out, Jesus sees you. To those that nobody counts as worth anything, Jesus thought you were worth dying for. To those who sometimes feel like they’re taking up space in the world, Jesus has invited you to be a part of His Great Commission and to be His disciples. Even now, the gospel of Jesus is for you. Even you. Even me.

On the Night Before Palm Sunday

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It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which means a week from tomorrow is Easter Sunday. That will be when people who would normally not go to church will show up feeling uncomfortable and not knowing when to sit, stand, or kneel. Many of them will know very little about why we’re celebrating Easter again this year because mostly what they know is rabbits and candy and hunting for plastic eggs.

Although Christmas is my favorite, Easter is not far behind. It represents why Christmas has meaning. If Jesus died on the cross and remained buried in that tomb, then His birth has no meaning and His life has no value. Anything He said or did would in turn be worthless.

But because there is an empty tomb and a risen Lord, we celebrate. We come together to remember that Jesus laid down His life for us to make our salvation possible. He then rose again to make that salvation secure. We can trust that nothing can separate us from the love of a Savior whom the grave could not hold and death could not defeat.

I do love everything about Easter. I love how people still get dressed up in their best Sunday outfits. I love that little kids still get excited about Easter baskets filled with candy and other goodness as well as hunting for those plastic eggs filled with more candy and sometimes money. I love seeing the world explode in pastel colors as the earth comes back to life after having lain dormant for so long during the winter months.

Palm Sunday represents the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem when the people lauded Him with hosannas. Most of them were thinking He was about to instigate an overthrow of Roman rule and a return of kingship to Israel. They wanted a king just like all the other nations, just like another Saul who looked good and said all the right things.

But a few knew that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world. They knew that His kingdom wasn’t just for Jews. His kingdom was for anyone who would put their faith in this Messiah. This road that led to a kingdom wasn’t covered with palm branches and hosannas laid down by the multitudes but instead lead to a hill with Him carrying a cross while multitudes jeered at Him and called for His execution. This road would lead to suffering and death, but we know that soon that crown of thorns He bore on the cross would soon be exchanged for a throne that He would never relinquish.

Easter Sunday is a reminder that the worst part isn’t the end. As one writer puts it, your story never ends with ashes. The resurrection means that no one is ever too far gone or too lost to save. It’s never too late to be who God made you to be or to live out His purposes for you.

May our hosannas ring out just as loudly as they did 2000 years ago, but may we also look to the cross and the tomb where Jesus lay for three days and remember that it was for us that He lived and died. But may we never lose sight of that Sunday when He rose again. May our song from now on always be an Easter song because we are an Easter people with a risen Lord!