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Ministry Archives - B. Thomas Free Bulletin Articles https://beethomas.com/tag/ministry/ Simple Solutions, Free Bulletin Articles and Free Website Content Wed, 17 May 2017 00:46:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 Christianity is Offensive! https://beethomas.com/christianity-is-offensive/ Sat, 13 May 2017 02:19:11 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1279 Christianity, to some, has come to be thought of as a religion of comfort. Christianity makes us feel good and should. The assurance of God’s love should overwhelm us with joy! However, Christianity is offensive. Becoming a Christian is making a change in one’s life. Being creatures of habit, change is naturally offensive. “How dare you tell me I need to change my lifestyle!” is an often heard lament.

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: Matthew 15:12-14

Christianity, to some, has come to be thought of as a religion of comfort. Christianity makes us feel good and should. The assurance of God’s love should overwhelm us with joy! However, Christianity is offensive. Becoming a Christian is making a change in one’s life. Being creatures of habit, change is naturally offensive. “How dare you tell me I need to change my lifestyle!” is an often heard lament from pre-Christian people.

A quick study of the Apostles and you’ll notice they offended lots of people. Jesus even offended the traditionalists and legalists of his day, the religious leaders. We too have traditionalists and legalists in our own time. There are folks who declare today, “How dare you tell me we need to change how we do church and evangelism!”

Many folks overlook or misinterpret the calls for unity and evangelism found throughout God’s word. God has one desire. He wants all people to be made right with Him. It is around this rallying point that the church should be united. The color of carpet, the style of songs, the delivery method of sermons, small group gatherings, and the ways in which we engage culture among other things, should not matter. Winning people to Christ is what matters!

The focus of any body of believers should be to win others to Christ. If we are not doing that, something is wrong! The Apostle Paul understood that desire to win others. In one passage, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, he mentions six times his desire to “win some” to Christ. Surrounding those words is his principle of accommodation. He stated that he became all things to all people so to win some. He didn’t do that literally, but he did become “like” all people to win them to Christ. He understood their culture and entered it. He may not have been comfortable doing so. Rarely is a person comfortable at all with change. Sometimes, we find it downright offensive.

Jesus changed the world. He offended the traditionalists of his day. When told by his disciples that he had offended those leaders, Jesus didn’t cower and say, “Ooops! I don’t want to offend anybody.” Read his words and you’ll find Jesus simply added insult upon injury. Jesus didn’t go out of his way to offend people. In our verses today, Jesus offended those that could keep people from becoming his followers. God’s desire is that all will be saved.

I wonder if I am personally holding on to some point of view or tradition that will keep others from following Christ? Are you? Have we made our opinions equal with those Holy Spirit breathed words of God we find in the Bible? Technically speaking, that is what many call legalism. We may just need to forsake our comfort for the sake of those pre-Christians or unchurched, among us. We have to put our love for those who don’t intimately know Jesus Christ ahead of our love of being comfortable. That may mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I encourage congregations everywhere to begin this discussion with their members and start winning more people to Christ!

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]]> Can’t We All Just Get Along? https://beethomas.com/cant-just-get-along/ Sat, 13 May 2017 01:29:04 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1263 There are different types of people in every collective group. These groups may consist of school students, church members, or employees. Everyone within these groups won’t think alike. How do those differences affect the objectives for each group, learning, worshiping God, or completing the mission of the employer? Such differences can cause trouble.

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: Romans 14

There are different types of people in every collective group. These groups may consist of school students, church members, or employees. Everyone within these groups won’t think alike. How do those differences affect the objectives for each group, learning, worshiping God, or completing the mission of the employer? Such differences can cause trouble. One type of people may believe themselves to be better than others; this was the case in the Roman church in the mid-first century.

There were two types of people in the Roman church, the weak and the strong. The “weak” were those Christians from a Jewish background who thought it was sinful to eat certain foods. These Jewish Christians also held some days to be more important than others. The “strong” were mostly Christians from a non-Jewish background and some of the more progressive minded Jewish Christians. These Christians thought all foods were clean and that all days were equal. The idea is that one type of Christian thought there was more freedom found through Christ and the other group thought that there was less freedom and felt bound by some traditions. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Paul spends Romans 14 talking to both these types of people. Paul specifically states in Romans 14:3 that both types of people should treat the other with respect. He goes on to say in Romans 14:7 that none of us live for ourselves but for God. Paul is saying that each Christian, whether “weak” or “strong” should put God and his desire first. The people of God should do all they can to accomplish God’s desires above their own. What is God’s desire? He wants people to come back to him. Look at Luke 15 and those wonderful stories. Look at 2 Peter 3:9 and God’s desire that everyone go to Heaven. We should do all we can to help God’s will happen. Sometimes, helping God’s will to happen in regards to unchurched people means becoming a bit uncomfortable with our methods. If I step outside my comfort zone to win some for Christ, then let God be praised. Paul said the same in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Six times in that passage he says he changed his ways in order that he may win some to Christ. That’s what it’s all about folks, winning people for Christ.

The non-technical term for insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If doing church like the 1950s doesn’t exactly have our never churched friends and relatives banging down the doors to our congregations, then maybe something has to change. Maybe we need to offer what the people want in regards to closer personal relationships through small groups. Maybe we need to worship in the heart language of the people we are trying to reach. Maybe we just need to be led by God’s desire and Paul’s desire to reach out to people who don’t intimately know our savior Jesus Christ. Maybe we just need to get back to the Bible and do God’s will.

Romans 14:13-15 has often been misinterpreted in order to keep anything from changing in our churches. In the original language, the words “stumbling block” and “obstacle” refer to something that keeps people from the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. An “obstacle” or “stumbling block” is something that trips someone up and causes them to stay away from or fall away totally from Christianity. The idea in Romans 14:15 which states that we shouldn’t cause our brother “pain, offense, or distress” is speaking to the “strong” which were looking down on the “weak” to the point of forcing them to do something against their conscience. Then later in that verse, Paul says not to do anything to “destroy” your brothers and sisters. Here again is a reinforcement of the idea that Paul’s concern is the spiritual destruction of our fellow Christians. This passage should never be taken out of its context. It should not be used to keep any change from ever taking place. This passage should be used to keep people from treating others with disrespect and with actions that can endanger one’s soul. Let us always look at the correct context of passages.

My plea is that we open our minds and hearts, maybe even just a few millimeters, in order to accomplish the will of God. The “weak” and “strong” together, can help rid our communities of hopelessness! And remember, God loves both the “strong” and the “weak.” Now excuse me as I step down from my soapbox.

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]]> The Mystery of Christ https://beethomas.com/the-mystery-of-christ/ Fri, 12 May 2017 19:29:11 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1232 Whether it be eastern religions, new age mysticism, or paganism, more than ever, people are interested in the spiritual and the mystical. People are attracted to the mysterious. Spirituality, in its very nature is mysterious. What does this mean for the church? Well...

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: Colossians 4:3

Whether it be eastern religions, new age mysticism, or paganism, more than ever, people are interested in the spiritual and the mystical. People are attracted to the mysterious. Spirituality, in its very nature is mysterious. What does this mean for the church? Well, it means we should embrace the mystery of Christ. We can use this mystery, which Paul speaks of in Colossians 4:3, as a way to reach out to those pre-Christians (unchurched) who long to fill the spiritual void in their lives.

There are a lot of ways in which to study this mystery of Christ. He was present at the beginning of the world but wasn’t fully revealed until the first century. Prophecies concerning Christ were written centuries before his birth. The book of Mark has a theme about the secrecy of Christ. The themes of the Trinity and the way in which the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us are filled with mystery. Then there is His virgin birth and His resurrection. Come on, you can’t get much more mysterious than that! And to top it all off, living a Christian life pleasing to Christ is down right mysterious at times. Having self-control and patience is a mystery to me more often that I’d like to admit.

You too may have some mysterious aspects about Christ of which you’d like to delve into a bit deeper. We should not allow eastern religions and the realm of the new age to capture the market on mystery. We should not allow seeking souls to reject Christ because we’ve made Him so bland and plain. I think the most mysterious thing in the world is how a man named Jesus would suffer a torturous death on a cross for me and for you.

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]]> Zach’s House – Church Bulletin Article https://beethomas.com/zachs-house-church-bulletin-article/ Fri, 12 May 2017 15:40:39 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1221 Zacchaeus was a wee little man. If being short is considered a problem, it was the smallest of his problems. He worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and he cheated the people. Even with these problems, he was interested in Jesus and Jesus was interested in him.

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was a wee little man. If being short is considered a problem, it was the smallest of his problems. He worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and he cheated the people. Even with these problems, he was interested in Jesus and Jesus was interested in him. But the people watching his incident in the sycamore tree and Jesus’ interaction with him were a little upset. They said “…What business does he (Jesus) have getting cozy with this crook?” (Luke 19:7 -The Message). Other Bible versions simply call Zacchaeus a sinner.

What right did Jesus have to eat at Zack’s house? All the people there would be sinners. Jesus answers this objection with the claim, “For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” It’s a good thing Jesus would eat with sinners. There weren’t any other kind of people in Jesus’ day. There were folks who thought they were perfect, but they weren’t.

It’s sort of like today. We’ve got people in this world that think Jesus isn’t interested in them because of some extremely judgmental church experience. Some think Jesus wouldn’t want them because of how the media portrays all Christians, you know, as hypocrites. I sit here today and say it’s untrue. There are plenty of Christians who love and accept people no matter their status or lack thereof. Jesus did this and I see this as a growing trend in the Christian world. More and more congregations are modeling themselves after Zach’s house than as a sanctuary for perfect people.

You’re right, this idea of loving people no matter what hasn’t always been the case, but I sense a change is coming.

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]]> Restoration (back to God’s plan) https://beethomas.com/restoration-back-gods-plan/ Fri, 12 May 2017 15:24:21 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1216 In a column on art restoration, Robert Fulford writes, “A scholar came upon a striking fact: in the year 1516, the Brancacci Chapel in Florence burned half a barrel of oil every day, just to keep its votive lamps flickering. The oil of course produced soot, which floated upwards and coated the art on the walls. Multiply that half-barrel by the days of the year, multiply again by the number of years this practice was followed (say, 400), then factor in the wax from candles lit by individual worshippers.” Believe me, that's a lot of soot covering up the artistic masterpieces in that chapel.

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: John 21:15-17

In a column on art restoration, Robert Fulford writes, “A scholar came upon a striking fact: in the year 1516, the Brancacci Chapel in Florence burned half a barrel of oil every day, just to keep its votive lamps flickering. The oil of course produced soot, which floated upwards and coated the art on the walls. Multiply that half-barrel by the days of the year, multiply again by the number of years this practice was followed (say, 400), then factor in the wax from candles lit by individual worshippers.”

Art restoration, God is also in that business. He wants to restore his greatest creation. Think about it seriously, that’s you and me. We too have a lot of burning oil and candle smoke in our lives that have clouded up our original beauty. We have a lot of other trash and muck that muddies up our original beauty. The most important aspect of our beauty is that we were all masterpieces in God’s art gallery at birth. Then life happens, and the beauty of a sinless life slowly fades away. That’s when we need to be restored, back to our original relationship with God.

Relationships are key to God’s desire for restoration. Okay, stop. Close your eyes. Say a prayer to God right now. Pray to him to help you identify two relationships that need to be restored. Think of a broken relationship with a close friend. Think of a family relationship that has been severed. God is the father of restored relationships. He wants your broken ones healed. Is your pride stopping God’s will from being accomplished? Okay, now you can close your eyes and pray that prayer.

Eyes open? Think about Jesus and how he restored people. He did so by giving life or physical healing. He also did this with relationships. He predicted that Peter would deny him. Peter said he wouldn’t. Well, Peter did and Jesus stared at him when he did so. Oooh, that’s frightening. Jesus died. How did Peter feel about himself, about his doomed relationship with Christ? When Jesus appeared after his resurrection, he restored his relationship with Peter. My Bible labels that section, “Jesus reinstates Peter.” That’s Jesus for you, the master of art restoration. Some would definitely say Peter was “a piece of art.”

Before reading further, STOP! Did you pray earlier? Have you identified a friend and a family member with whom a relationship needs restored. That’s not an easy thing to do. It’s not easy to admit that something in your life is disconnected from God’s plan. I am praying for you today. I will be praying that you will have your relationships restored soon. Don’t think about whose turn it is to talk, yours or theirs. Don’t think about how they did you wrong. Be the big person God wants you to be. Get that relationship restored. It cannot be done without you taking the first step. Remember, I’ll be down on my knees praying for your first step.

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]]> Lord, Show Me What to Do https://beethomas.com/lord-show-me-what-to-do/ Fri, 12 May 2017 13:38:44 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1206 I’ve been allowing God to guide me. He has pointed me in directions I wasn’t even considering. This happens when I cry out to him and ask, “What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? I just don’t know what to do.”

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: Psalm 143:8

I’ve been allowing God to guide me. He has pointed me in directions I wasn’t even considering. This happens when I cry out to him and ask, “What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? I just don’t know what to do.” I’m specifically talking about my personal ministry. I can notice God leading my path. There’s a whole lot more I wish he would do for me, but I can see God working. Just today he brought some people back into my life I thought were gone. They were supposed to sell their business and move back to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I asked them about that today and they’ve decided to stay right here. My wife and I are praying that our relationship strengthens. We have seen it grow and know it will grow further. I think their daughter may attend our church outreach event this weekend. Please keep Hoi and Vivian in your prayers. Please pray that God will open opportunities for us to show them His love.

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]]> Suggestion-Free Church Bulletin Articles https://beethomas.com/suggestion-free-church-bulletin-articles/ Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:43:01 +0000 http://beethomas.com/?p=1176 When I was young, one of my favorite Bible verses was John 3:16. Not until twenty-five years later did I even know what was said in the following verse. I now see that John 3:17 is probably more popular among our younger generations than John 3:16. The reason for this, is because it fits a popular worldview today.

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free Bulletin articles Bible Passage: John 3:16-17

When I was young, one of my favorite Bible verses was John 3:16. Not until twenty-five years later did I even know what was said in the following verse. I now see that John 3:17 is probably more popular among our younger generations than John 3:16. The reason for this, is because it fits a popular worldview today. This worldview is one of tolerance and political correctness. As I stated last week, there is a problem that needs to be fixed. No one wants to be told that the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus. Saying that there is only one way to get to any location (especially heaven) is now considered intolerant and shallow minded.

A generation or two ago, the words of Jesus Loves Me were sometimes enough to convince someone to become a Christian. That is no longer the case. This generation is not falling in line behind Jesus, ready to follow, because someone tells them that Jesus loves them. There are teens, young adults, even older adults now talking back to the church, yelling at God. If the congregation you attend is doing the same things as they always have, and their attendance and spiritual growth of the congregation is declining, don’t expect to get a different result. I once heard a definition of insanity as, “doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”

In doing things different, I do not mean singing different songs; although in certain locations it might be helpful to add a song from the late 20th century to the repertoire. What I am really speaking about is connecting with people, making God real for this generation, being a serving and sincere Christian to those around you. This new generation wants to see sincere Christianity, or relationship oriented Christianity.

People are tired of being judged. John 3:17 says this about our savior, “God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him (NCV).” Jesus’ job was not just to judge, but to save. There are generations itching for Jesus today, but they don’t want the condemnation that often comes with church attendance. This doesn’t mean not calling a sin a sin. But it does mean loving both types of people on the front pew, the 50 year old lady with pierced ears, and the 17 year old girl with a pierced nose, eyebrows, or tongue. Instead of judging who a person is by their piercings, we should rejoice in the savior they have in common, the savior of this world who suffered his own piercings. *

People are not the same today as they used to be. We need to take this into account or we may lose an entire generation. Small groups where people can connect, dynamic young adult classes, more life application in our sermons, and sincere long lasting friendships are a must in the church of today.

We can never change the gospel of Christ. We shall never stop preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But we must get back to the bedrock of the 1st century church. The church of the 1st century was one centered on relationships and fellowship (Ac.2:42-47); mentoring leadership (2 Tim 2:2) , and love (I Jn 3:11; Col. 3:14) . It was in the context of these aspects, that the message of Christ was spread throughout the world.

* A paraphrase of Prof. Randy Harris, Feb. 25, 2005 keynote lecture at ACU lectures.

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