Posted by Pastor Pat on March 27, 2009
Read Mark 1:40-45
As I work through Mark’s Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ, I have been challenged to become more aggressive in emphasizing the role of the local church in mercy ministries. It appears unfortunate but we fail to hold in tension evangelism of soul and ministries of “healing.” We must become the cup of cold water to the thirsty, we must become fathers to the fatherless, and we must become a shelter to the homeless. How do we come alongside those who are buckling under the weight of life? To have the mind of Christ without His hands or feet is restrictive and one dimensional. We must maintain the gospel, we must engage our culture, and we must build His church. None of these three items are capable of being neglected.
Our involvement in our community should be a real ministry expression of this local community. Our community is already trying to address these issues, but all attempts on their part are one dimensional. We must not deceive ourselves. It is only Christ and His church that can address the souls of these individuals. The church fails when it focuses on only one area and not both. It is never either or. It is always both the soul and the body. William Barclay notes how there are three pairs of things which Jesus never separated and we would do well to consider his observations.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Comments:
Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 5, 2009
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.” (John 21:25)
Who is Jesus Christ? The Scriptures answer this question consistently and plainly. However, space and time prohibit us from sounding it out completely. Yet John provides for us a revealing look at our Lord Jesus Christ in what is commonly entitled, “The ‘I AM’ statements of our Lord.”
The first of the seven statements is found in John 6:35, 41, 48, and 51. Jesus Christ identifies Himself as, “The Bread of Life.” His promise to those who partake of Him is that they will never hunger nor thirst again. In 6:35 John uses a double negative. One Greek grammarian correctly notes how, “With the double negative and the subjunctive Paul is “ruling out even the idea as being a possibility: [the double negative] is the most decisive way of negativing something in the future.” (Wallace, Beyond Basics, 468).
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on December 14, 2008
Do we really understand what we have in Christ? I know we are Christians, but do we really know what that means? To be sure we are not Buddhists or Muslims or Hindus, but do we know what it means to be Christian?
Unfortunately, Christianity is more noted for what we do or not do than for who He is, what He has done, and who His people now are because of it. Do we openly and regularly celebrate the nature of His cross-work and confirming resurrection?
Christians are different than non-Christians for the simple reason that we are forgiven of all our transgressions (Col. 2:13). As Christians we no longer carry the burden of guilt that daily and habitually grind the non-Christian into fine dust fragments of what it means to be made in His image. We no longer live with fear of the unknown or of God. We have a peace that passes all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). Christians are different because we live contented lives and die with hope (1 Thess. 4:13).
Christians do not live with the burden of trying to please their God and somehow in ways unknown they try to stumble into His favor and blessing (Eph. 1:3, 1 Thess. 5:23, 24). Christians do not carry grudges or judge people ruthlessly or live intolerant lives toward those who are different in culture, worship, or belief (Rom. 14). Christians love their enemies and do good to those who despitefully use them (Luke 6:27). Christians forgive even as they have been forgiven (Eph. 4:32).
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
