Gang Members Baptized

I read this article a while back about gang members who gave their lives to Christ and were baptized: https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/texas-church-gang-prison-baptized?fbclid=IwAR2FmsbjuobhhhGdqKmBSiWeZN2NLzp9OrI-VIyzDk2ON0O5lhsbj1OTxeM

In the United States, it’s not usually a risk to publicly profess Christ. It’s true that some people experience family alienation when they are baptized, but here it doesn’t usually lead to risk of actual bodily harm. Many of our brothers and sisters around the world are living in areas where this risk is very real. And this story is an example of that from behind prison walls in America.

This story could illustrate the fullness of commitment that we make when we repent and believe in Christ. It could illustrate the fact that Jesus does not just become our Savior, but our Lord (1 Corinthians 6). It would work with many of the passages on baptism, as well (Matthew 28, Romans 6, Colossians 2). This would also be an excellent illustration of reconciliation between Christians (Ephesians 2), as these gang members who were formerly mortal enemies are now brothers in Christ. It also illustrates faith (Hebrews 6), as these believers are trusting the Lord to take care of them in light of their courageous and dangerous decision.

Walk-off Homers and Heaven

This illustration idea comes from a walk-off home run in 2018 and an article that I read about it here: https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/what-is-heaven-like/

I used this illustration a few weeks ago myself in a sermon on Colossians 1:3-14, while making a point about the encouragement that our faith can be to other believers. Paul specifically mentions this in Colossians 1:4.

2018 MLB season: Bottom of the ninth, Cubs at home at Wrigley Field, down 3-0 to the Nationals, two outs, bases loaded. Pinch hitter David Bote, who had been up and down from the minors a lot that season, is up to bat with everything riding on his at-bat.

And with two strikes, Bote got a low fastball in the zone, and he CRUSHED it over the center field wall. 4-3, Cubs win (I hear Harry Caray saying that in my head), WALKOFF grandslam, game OVER. (The incredible video is here if you want to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI8uH4_pzeo.)

The article I linked to above asked, “Is This What Heaven is Really Going to be Like?” And if you use this illustration, you’ll want to be careful to not make US the hero of the story. JESUS is the One who gets ALL the praise, and spiritually speaking, none of us get one step toward Heaven, much less make it “home,” apart from his death and resurrection. As Colossians 1:14 says, “In HIM we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” But Scripture in multiple places uses athletic illustrations as metaphors for the Christian life, and finishing well.

The picture of Bote rounding third and heading home shows well the impact we have on each other – the encouragement, the celebration at the salvation of one sinner (Luke 15:7), the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 11-12, the shared rejoicing at spiritual victories and growth (Colossians 1:4), and finally, the expectant hope of arriving at Home with Jesus (Colossians 1:5 – “hope reserved for you in Heaven”).

Two Prayer Guides from Psalms

Having finished our series of prayer meetings based on prayer in the book of Acts, I am returning to the book of Psalms for our Wednesday prayer gathering.  A year or so ago, I had been doing this and reached Psalm 25.  At that time, I was not writing printed prayer guides.  But from now on, I plan on writing and including them here.  [I don’t expect to go all the way to Psalm 150 right now; unless the Lord tells me otherwise, I will probably just do another chunk of 25 Psalms before moving to something else.]

Posted below are the first two of these printed guides.  I did Psalm 26 a few weeks ago, and tonight we are walking through Psalm 27.  These would be useful for a group or an individual desiring to pray through Scripture.

Psalm 26 – Prayer Meeting 06012016

Psalm 27 – Prayer Meeting 06222016

 

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Meeting, Psalms, Praying Scripture, Faith, Patience, Trials, Vindication, Seeking God, Purity, Holiness, David

Final Prayer Guides from Acts

I’m catching up on posting some of these prayer guides from our church’s Wednesday prayer gathering.  Posted below are the last two guides that we used from the book of Acts.  I went through that book of Scripture and found every passage with an occurrence of prayer, and used those passages to guide our own prayers.  There ended up being 17 weeks of those guides.  Here are weeks 16 and 17.  I hope they are helpful to you!  They could be used in an individual or group prayer time.

Prayer in Acts, Part 16 – Prayer Meeting 05112016

Prayer in Acts, Part 17 – Prayer Meeting 05182016

 

 

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Meeting, Acts, Paul, Gospel, Evangelism, Love, Faith, Sovereignty, Miracles, Hospitality, Encouragement

Prayer in the Book of Acts, Part 14

Posted below is our fourteenth prayer guide from the book of Acts.  We have been studying every instance of prayer in the book in order to guide our own Wednesday church prayer meeting.  Tonight’s passage is from Acts 21, where Paul meets with believers from Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem.

This prayer guide could be used by an individual or group.  May the Lord bless you as you pray!

 

Prayer in Acts, Part 14 – Prayer Meeting 04272016

 

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Meeting, Acts, Acts 21, Paul, Church, Faith, Obedience

Missed a Flight on 9/11

See this online story from a few years ago about 10 famous people who avoided death on September 11, 2001: http://listverse.com/2011/12/12/10-famous-people-who-avoided-death-on-911/

This is a great illustration for Romans 8:28 and God working good out of evil.  It’s also helpful for passages that speak of God’s timing, such as Psalm 31:15, Psalm 90:4, Ecclesiastes 3, Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:3, or 2 Peter 3:8.

 

Tags: Psalm 31, Psalm 90, Ecclesiastes 3, Isaiah 40, Habakkuk 2, 2 Peter 3, Waiting, Faith, Patience

IMB Commission Stories: Harper Family

Yesterday I received a publication in my mailbox called “Commission Stories,” from the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Here is a PDF of the document.  Pages 18-20 tell the story of the Harper family (name changed), who went to a very dangerous place in Southeast Asia to share the gospel.  There are actually two amazing stories about them in the publication – the first about their gospel witness in the face of government opposition (and the local believers who partnered with them, risking and giving their lives for the gospel), and the second about Mary Harper’s return to the US in the face of a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease – which ultimately took her life.

After Mary passed, her husband John spoke Job’s words: “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.  Though He slay me, I will trust in Him” (Job 1:21, 13:15).  You should read the two short articles.  They are great examples of faith in the Lord in the face of persecution, suffering, and death.  Not only that, John is a self-professed “hillbilly,” who speaks with amazement of how the Lord used even him.

These powerful stories could be shared together or separately – depending on the nature of your biblical text, how much time you have, and the main point(s) you are making.

Some passage ideas for the first article, which focuses on their witness in a hostile place: Jeremiah 38, Daniel 3, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 24:9-14, Mark 8:31-38, Mark 13:9-13, Luke 14:25-35, Luke 21:10-19, John 15:18-25, Acts 4, Acts 5, Acts 7, Acts 9, Acts 12, Acts 14, Acts 16, Acts 19, Acts 28, Philippians 1:12-20, Philippians 1:27-29, Hebrews 12:1-13, Revelation 2, and Revelation 6:9-11.

The second article, which focuses on trusting the Lord in the midst of suffering and death: Job 1, Job 2, Job 13, Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians 12, Philippians 1:21, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and James 1:2-4.

Finally, John’s statements about the Lord using him in spite of him being a self-professed “hillbilly” could help illustrate passages that talk about God using us in spite of ourselves: Exodus 3 and Exodus 4 (the call of Moses), Judges 6 (the call of Gideon), 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, and 1 Timothy 1:12-17.