Thoughts on Baptism

This coming Sunday I get to do one of my favorite things as pastor. I get to baptize some people who've recently given their lives to Christ. Days when we do baptism at LifeGate are times of fun as we celebrate a friends new life in Jesus. In addition to being a lot of fun, baptism is a critically important step in the life of a new Christian. As we get ready for baptism this Sunday I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the importance of baptism. (These are taken from a message on baptism that I preached as part of our Wild Man series in 2010).



1. Baptism is Symbolic - Baptism is an outward demonstration of what happens to you spiritually when you surrender your life to Christ. It symbolizes the death of the old you and the rebirth into a whole new way of life with Jesus. Paul says it best in Romans 6:3-4 - Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


2. Baptism is for Believers - Every instance of baptism recorded in the book of Acts (the history of the early church) is of a person who has put their faith in Jesus.


3. Baptism is the First Step of Obedience - On the day of Pentecost, Peter tells the crowd to repent and be baptized and they will be saved. People have asked me if I believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. The answer I give them is "yes and no." I say no, simply because the thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized, but Jesus promised him Paradise. However, as you look at the rest of the New Testament, it becomes very clear that the expectation of a new believer is to be baptized as soon as possible. I believe it is in many ways a test of the heart. A truly repentant heart that has been regenerated by faith in Christ will want to be baptized.

4. Baptism is Public - When possible, baptism should be done publicly. It's a way of making a bold declaration that the old you is gone and that you are now living for Jesus.

On Sunday we'll be celebrating some changed lives at LifeGate Church. If you are a follower of Jesus and have never been baptized, I want to encourage you to take the plunge and make a bold statement that you're living your life for Him.

Thoughts On Japan

First off, apologies for the length of time between blog entries. I'll be back to blogging on a more consistent basis now that we are approaching the launch of our new website for LifeGate Church. This blog will be a place for me to share in depth thoughts about where we are as a church and about my personal experience with Jesus.

I've received a couple of different requests to recap my statement at the beginning of this past Sunday's message about the earthquake/tsunami in Japan and what I feel our response should be as followers of Jesus. So here we go:

If you're a news junkie like me, or even if you're not, you've probably been riveted by the images on your computer and television that have been coming out of Japan. I woke up Friday morning with a feeling of deja vu as I watched the ocean pouring onto the shore of Japan. I thought that I would never see anything on the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami, but now, just 6 years later, we've witnessed a disaster just as devastating.

As I sat transfixed in front of CNN over the weekend several thoughts took shape in my heart as to what is the appropriate response to a disaster of this magnitude.

1. This disaster is an alarm bell that Jesus is returning. - I'm not an apocalyptic, end-times preacher. You won't find me teaching in front of a 20 foot illustrated backdrop of the timeline of the book of Revelation. However, the reality is that Jesus is returning at some point and that he specifically mentions earthquakes as a sign of the "birth pains" of his coming (Matt 24:1-8) In the last six years we've seen 5 of the top 10 strongest earthquakes in recorded history. This Friday's quake was the strongest in the history of Japan. In Western Christianity, our comfortable lives often detach us from the immediacy of Christ's return. I believe that disasters such as we are now witnessing in Japan should remind us that Jesus is coming.
   
2. This disaster is a sober reminder of eternity. - The earthquake and tsunami were centered on Miyagi Prefecture, one of the least evangelized areas of one of the least evangelized nations of the Western world. A missionary friend of mine tweeted out a stat that said there are only 9,000 practicing Christians in the entire population of 2.3 million people in Miyagi Prefecture. If that is true, then undoubtedly, thousands if not tens of thousands of people unexpectedly entered into an eternity without Christ on Friday afternoon. Too often we live detached from the reality of heaven and hell. They are real places. This tragedy should serve as a catalyst for us to reexamine our efforts in regard to the Great Commission. Am I doing everything I can to advance the message of the good news of Jesus around the world? More importantly, am I doing all that I can to share the gospel in my city, among my friends and coworkers who are separated from Jesus?
3. This disaster should prompt us to pray. - We should be on our knees and faces praying for the people of Japan. Pray for comfort for those who've lost everything, pray for protection for those who are working in terrible circumstances to rescue and save others, pray for wisdom and strength for the leaders of the nation. Most importantly, pray for the church in Japan, that this would be an opportunity for our fellow believers to demonstrate the love and hope of Jesus to their countrymen.
4. This disaster gives us an opportunity to tangibly demonstrate God's love. - Yes, Japan is a highly developed and wealthy nation, but the reality is that they need a lot of help right now. There are a number of Christian aid organizations who are already mobilizing relief efforts to bring assistance where it is most needed. Most of us are not going to get on a plane and fly to Japan. That wouldn't even be wise. But we can give financially to Christian organizations who are prepared to tangibly demonstrate the love of Jesus to the people who are in the greatest need.

This Sunday at LifeGate we're going to give you an opportunity to do just that. We'll be taking a special offering that will go to Christian relief efforts in Japan. If you're a LifeGate member, pray about what you'd like to give above and beyond your normal tithe and bring it with you on Sunday. In the meantime, remember that Jesus is coming soon, eternity is real and prayer makes a difference.

Immanuel

For the past couple of weeks I've been reflecting on the Christmas Story (not the movie with the goofy kid and the creepy leg lamp - the actual story found in the Bible). A lot of times as Christians we don't give much thought to the story of Jesus' birth until we get to this time of year. We talk a lot about the cross and the resurrection, the teachings and the miracles of Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts and lots of other very important parts of Scripture, and rightly so, as those things are key to our faith.

However, I think that sometimes causes us to lose site of the amazing miracle that is the Christmas Story. God, the same God who created the Universe, became a human being and came to live among us. When the angel appeared to Joseph he said that the people would call Jesus "Immanuel" meaning "God with us." The divine ruler of all Creation came to be with humanity, with you and with me. He came to experience what we experience - temptation and grief, loneliness and rejection, pain and anguish, love and joy, forgiveness and triumph.

The ongoing miracle of Christmas is that Jesus is still "God with us." He is not some god who is far off and distant, mocking us in our struggles and weaknesses. Instead, he sympathizes with our situation. His last words to his disciples were that he is with us always to the very end. Sometimes I go through periods when it feels like God is a million miles away. When I do I just remind myself that Jesus is still Immanuel.

How about you? How has Jesus been Immanuel to you lately?

Bethany World Prayer Center

I just returned from a couple of days at Bethany World Prayer Center, hanging out and spending some time with Joel Stockstill and Pastor Larry Stockstill. The trip was great and the two of them gave me some wonderful ideas for how to move LifeGate forward to the next level.

I got to sit in on a couple of their staff meetings. I was most impressed with their youth leadership meeting. Their youth and college ministry, 220, meets in discipleship groups all across Baton Rouge. Last week they had over 5,000 kids participate in a cell and over 700 give their lives to Christ. Their ability to think strategically for the kingdom of God is inspiring. I'm praying for some of that heavenly strategy for here in Lexington.

New York Bound

So summer's finally over, and with the end of summer comes the end of my long blogging drought. We had a good summer at LifeGate. Several of my church planting mentors and friends, guys who have built significant churches, told me that if we could survive through our first summer we could survive through anything. There were some Sunday's when our crowd was pretty spartan, but we made it through and now we're headed into what I believe is going to be a great time of growth and changing people's lives for eternity.

Our new fall series "Touchdown09" kicks off this coming Sunday. We're going to have a big tailgate party after church (weather permitting) with a Noah's Ark Bounce House for the kids and great free food. Throughout the six week series we'll be doing cool things around our football theme. If your looking for a church then you definitely need to come check us out over the next few weeks. It's going to be great.

Tonight I'm wrapping things up at the office (aka - my basement) and getting ready to head out to New York in the morning. A lot of people wonder what I do for my day job. Well, I work for a ministry called The Center for Spiritual Renewal, which doesn't tell people a lot. But we promote unity among evangelical and charismatic/Pentecostal believers, facilitate high level leadership retreats, and encourage people in the body of Christ to pray. I'm going to New York this week to do all of the above as part of our Cry Out America prayer initiative. On 9/11 we'll have prayer gatherings in over 730 counties around the nation. I'll be praying for America with other Christian leaders at Ground Zero. If you're in Lexington and want to be involved in Cry Out America, just go to the courthouse on Limestone at noon. You'll see a group of people there during the lunch hour praying for an Awakening in our nation. If you want more detail about what we're doing nationally, check it out at www.awakeningamerica.us

Reflections on a Great Sunday

We had a great mother's day at LifeGate.  I shared a message from John 4 about the woman at the well as part of our "Looking for Hope" series.  God did some great stuff at the end of the message.  People were moved to tears as God worked on putting their broken hearts back together.  It was cool.  Kudos to Alea and the worship team for being obedient and really pressing in at the end of service.  

We also had some great Mother's Day gifts for everybody.  Hand crafted jewelry for every mother in the church, made by Bethany Boggan.  It was special.  My wife loved it.

This coming Sunday we'll be wrapping up our Looking for Hope series as we talk about looking for hope when life throws you a curveball.  Because of the LCA baccalaureate service, we'll be meeting in the LCA preschool cafeteria this Sunday.  It should be cool.  The school has assured me that we'll have adult size chairs for everyone to sit it:-)

One other thing.  I had promised to post a link to an unbelievable testimony from Shaun King, a native of Lexington who just launched Courageous Church in Atlanta.  Take a minute to check out this amazing miracle here.  It'll make your day. 

When You're Down To Your Last Dime

We've gone through some tough financial times as a nation over the last few months.  Tough times are nothing new as we live in a world that sees financial ups and downs all the time.  The Bible is full of stories of God's provision in tough times.  This past Sunday we talked about the widow who was down to her last pack of Ramen noodles (ok, it was actually flour and oil, but I'm trying to be culturally relevant).  God came through in a big way for her, when others around her were being ruined.

We also looked at 7 financial principles which we can use to order our financial house that can be found in the Word of God.  Allow me to share them with you.

1. Remember that God is Our Source:  Deut 8:18 tells us that God gives us the power to obtain wealth.  God is the source of all of our talents, abilities and opportunities.  All that we have comes from him.
2. Put God First:  From the beginning of Genesis through the New Testament, God requires those who follow Him to put Him first.  This is a principle that should apply to every area of our life, including finances.  Proverbs 3:9-10 tells us that when we honor God with our wealth our storehouses will overflow.  In my life, this means that the first check that I write after getting paid is my tithe check.
3. Be a Steward:  God has entrusted you with the money that you have.  He expects you to manage it well.  When you are trustworthy over a little bit, you can be trusted with more.  Luke 16
4. Have Integrity:  Pay your bills and meet your obligations, even when it hurts.
5. Get Out and Stay Out of Debt:  Proverbs tells us that the borrower is slave to the lender.  If you've ever been buried in credit card debt, you know exactly what the Bible is talking about.  Quit working for MasterCard and Visa and get out of the slavery that is debt.
6. Save:  Proverbs 21:20 - "A foolish man devours all he has"  How many of us live from paycheck to paycheck without ever putting anything aside.  The Bible says that is a foolish way to live.  Put money aside so that when something unexpected happens you can handle it without going into debt.
7. Be Generous:  God is a giver.  He gave the best thing that he had:  His Son.  We should be generous because God has changed our hearts.  And as we bless others, we ourselves will be blessed.

Stay tuned, because sometime over the next few months we'll be tackling financial issues in greater depths at LifeGate Church.