Let me say from the very beginning, that most students wouldn’t really worship my great-grandfather. They wouldn’t really, but the point I’m making is that a vast majority of students do not worship the God of the Bible either. At first, that may appear to be an overstatement, but let me explain to you why this is actually very close to the truth.

In the past 4 weeks I have had the opportunity to speak at 3 of our local schools at FCA’s and a Bible Study. During those meetings I preached a message entitled: “The God of Elihu or Have We Missed Something?” The point I was making is that we need to evaluate our hearts and see if whom we are worshipping is the God of the Bible or not. I also wanted to make it clear that if we are consistently reading our Bible then we are being exposed to a great God who will continually reveal Himself in indescribable and uncontainable ways and we should be asking the question: “Have I missed something?” The application then was that if our God is great and the truths we hold dear are great then our lives must be lived in great ways for His greatness. Or as Jonathan Edwards eloquently wrote in A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, “The things of religion are so great, that there can be no suitableness in the exercises of our hearts, to their nature and importance, unless they be lively and powerful.” There is no room for wimpy lives when we hold to great truths, but the sad fact is that we don’t live in great ways because we don’t really know the God of the Bible. My aim was to set before them a grand vision of God and leave them asking themselves, “Have I missed something?”

One of the questions I asked at 2 of the 3 meetings was this: Let’s say I was watching the news last night and the headline story was that they have found the body of Jesus. Let’s suppose this story is true. Jesus really wasn’t raised from the dead, there was no resurrection, and the end of the story was that Jesus died on the cross. Who then would continue to worship Jesus? Come to this Bible study and go to church?

I say this with great pain, over 20 students said they would continue to worship Jesus, would continue to go to church and Bible studies even if Jesus was never raised from the dead. This means the “god” they worship is no different from Buddha, Mohammed, or my great-grandfather: these men are all dead and they are just that…men. This is a massive problem! And we don’t need to make excuses for why this was their response to the question: we need to weep and resolve to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead and why it is important! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ…And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins…If only in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all most people to be pitied.” Oh, how vastly different biblical Christianity is compared to whatever this modern day weightless, weak and wholesale Christianity (if we can call it that) is!

The students that come to these early morning Bible studies are highly involved in their churches, their youth groups, and they are consistently being encouraged to share their faith at school. But what are they sharing? Who are they worshipping? What kind of faith is this that doesn’t depend on a resurrected Lord? What does this faith depend on if anything? Is their faith more cultural and psychological than real and powerful? Could it be that a vast majority of the students in our Bible studies and in our youth groups are learning a lot about how to make their life better but in actuality have no life at all? I think this is very dangerous and very telling of the truth we confess. Oh, for a reformation!

Elihu in Job 36:26 said, “Behold, God is great and we know Him not; the number of His years is unsearchable.” When Elihu says, “God is great and we know Him not” it wasn’t because He didn’t know anything, it was because He knew the God who was great, uncontainable, unmanageable and worthy of all worship (See Job 32-37). He knew the Majestic God of the Bible! The dismal reality of what these students believe can be said in this way by gutting Elihu’s words, “Behold, we know Him not.” Oh, pray for our students in this community and in this world! Parents teach, teach, and teach! Student pastors, preach Christ crucified and risen! If this is any sign of the future of the church and evangelicalism it is dark and desperate. However, it is not hopeless. They have not found the body of Jesus two thousand years and counting, and they never will because He has risen and He is on the throne in the return position! Let us press on to know Him and proclaim Him!

There once was a slave-family that was given a small portion of land and their owner that gave them the land was extremely kind to give them anything because they didn’t deserve it all. The owner told them that this land would produce the best and most fertile crops ever known to this area and many of the owner’s closest friends would come to the slaves and tell them of how incredible their piece of land was. The slave-family didn’t see it because they never saw anything grow on this piece of land. They prayed for great and fertile crops and hoped desperately for the day that it would come.
The owner and his friends continued to visit the slave-family and told them to just wait and that the crops they would see would be beautiful and yield great fruit and that it was coming soon. The anticipation of the slave-family heightened and from what they were told they were expecting to wake up one morning and see lush and beautiful crops. But no rain came and the ground looked like it couldn’t produce anything. Then one day, a small shoot of a plant broke the ground in the far northeast corner of the land. The slave-family saw this small, normal-looking but somewhat unimpressive shoot and ignored it saying, “This poor shoot couldn’t possibly be what the owner and all his friends were talking about because there is no way that this little thing could possibly yield great fruit.”
So, they overlooked it and continued hoping and praying for the day when their land would yield the great harvest the owner and his friends were talking about. However, the owner came to the small portion of land and saw the small shoot and smiled knowing that the great crop had begun and all his friends rejoiced for the slave-family. The slave-family saw this normal looking plant grow up and when they saw it they would either ignore it or make fun of it. Many people would come from all over to see this plant and the slave-family couldn’t figure out why everyone was so excited about this plant. So while people were visiting this plant and eating of it and resting in its shade the slave-family would make fun of them saying they were foolish and that they should just wait until the great harvest comes. But the people kept coming to visit this plant and the slave-family began to get angry so one night they decided to cut down the plant. In their anger they destroyed the plant.

Then the owner’s friends came back and noticed that the plant was gone and rebuked them saying, “Didn’t you know that this plant was the beginning of the great crop we were talking about? You foolish family! This was the crop you were looking forward to and that we were talking about! You missed it! It wasn’t what you were hoping for because you did not expect it to come about in this way. Therefore, since you did not receive this plant, you will die but everyone who came to this plant and ate of its fruit and rested in its shade will live!”

[Isaiah 53:2-3] “For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

One of the things I have realized in the 3 short years I have been a student pastor, and the even shorter 1 year I have been a dad, is how priorities are passed along. There is a principle of passing priorities. As a pastor and a parent I am always passing along priorities. In how talk, act, and I live I am constantly teaching others what I prioritize and what I don’t. My daughter, Ansley, is only 13 months old and she is already mimicking and acting like others. Sometimes she acts like other kids she has seen and sometimes she acts like her mom and I. For example, Jody and I were hugging one another the other night and Ansley ran over and wanted in on the hugging session, so she put her arms around us and hugged as well. By hugging and loving my wife I am passing along the priority of outward displays of affection and love for my wife, which will in turn lead Ansley to show affection in outward displays, love for her mother, and give her the inward delight of having parents who are crazy about one another.

In student ministry I can tell a lot about a student by talking to their parents and I can tell a lot about parents by talking to their student. By the priorities I observe in a student’s life I can tell what a parent is passing along, at least most of the time. To some degree the principle is still there. Whether you, as parents, are aware or not you have an incredible influence on your children. I’m sure you were more aware of this when your children were younger, and now you may feel or think that you have no control or influence, but you do. It doesn’t just stop because your child is a teenager. They still see you more than anyone else, and you are the steady and consistent voice in their life. Don’t neglect this trust of God. I want to encourage you as parents to evaluate what priorities you are passing along to your children, even now.

Jesus is the best example for what it means to pass along priorities and how to live what is of first importance. He was constantly doing this in the lives of His disciples. He took every opportunity to teach, instruct, guide, and pass along priorities. He did this in His words and His actions. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount He is passing along priorities. He shows them the priority of seeking true happiness and what it entails: spiritual bankruptcy before God, sorrow for sin, humility before God, a hunger for God, a display of mercy, a pure heart, a peace-making mentality and an expectation of persecution and the priority of rejoicing when it comes (Matthew 5:1-12). He shows them the priority of being what they are (Matthew 5:13-15) He shows them the priority of the commands of God and how they are to relate to them and the priority of having His righteousness (Matthew 5:17-20). He shows them the priority of focusing on the heart and dealing with heart issues instead of outward conformity (Matthew 5:21-48). He shows them the priority of giving to those in need and prayer and then teaches them how to pray, and how to fast (Matthew 6:1-18). Next, He shows them the priority of laying up treasures in heaven instead of on earth (Matthew 6:19-24) and the priority of trusting in the supplying hand of God in all things (Matthew 6:25-34). He then teaches them the priority of looking at yourself before addressing others (Matthew 7:1-6) and the priority of asking from the Giver of Good (Matthew 7:7-11). He then shows them the priority of treating others better than yourself (Matthew 7:12-14) and then closes with the priority of coming through the narrow gate that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14), living a fruitful life (Matthew 7:15-20), doing the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21-23) and building your the house of your life on the Rock of God’s Word (Matthew 7:24-27).

In all of this He was ultimately teaching them the priority of the King in the Kingdom of God and how life was to be lived as a subject in His Kingdom. The life, teaching, and death of Christ has been passing along priorities forever and will continue to do so until His return. God is a God who has graciously passed along priorities ever since the first word from His mouth was spoken. You could say in some sense that the Bible is instruction for our priorities: God first and God alone, and then everything else. The principle for passing priorities is the Word of God. As parents we have also been entrusted with passing along priorities in the lives of our children through the Word of God and lives that live in accordance to it.

So what are you passing along? What are you teaching them to love and hate? Are you teaching them to love Jesus above all things? Are you passing along a priority for spiritual things, things that will pay eternal dividends or are you passing along a passion for all things temporary and fleeting? Are you passing along the priority of loving others or talking about others? Are you passing along the priority of the local church or that it is optional? Are you passing along the priority of studying God’s Word and of prayer or that meeting with God is something you can get around to later?

I was reading this morning in the book Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp and he was talking about how his father had taught him the importance of family worship (something he now practices with his own family) and he gave this example: “I remember one period of time when my older brother Tedd was working first shift at a factory. He had to be there between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. Dad got the rest of us up at 5:00 a.m. so that we could read and pray together. Then the family would go back to bed as Tedd went off to work. I don’t remember much of what we read, but I remember how the unaltering commitment to family worship impressed me. I remember thinking that it must be very important because nothing got in the way of our family time of reading and prayer! (p.190) He then went on to talk about the importance of attending the local church, and how they would go even on vacation and the only thing they ever did on Sunday morning was go to church. Clearly, his parents passed along certain priorities that he is now passing along to his children.

After I read that I spent the next part of my morning evaluating what priorities my parents had passed along to me, and how I desire to pass along those same priorities to my children. Here was the top 5:

5 Priorities My Parents Passed Along to Me

1) Everyone is Your Friend: My dad can make friends with anyone and everyone. He knows people everywhere and people always remember him and how he treated them. Whether we were in a restaurant, the grocery line, or getting a car worked on my dad was making friends. He treated everyone as if he had known them all his life. He would find out about what was going on in their life and how to pray for them and how to minister to them. He never missed an opportunity and still to this day it is the same way. This constantly challenges me to develop relationships with anyone and everyone and to always treat people with the utmost respect. He put into practice what it means to love your neighbor as yourself by putting flesh on this commandment before my eyes.

2) Evangelism: A second thing my dad passed along to me was the priority of evangelism. He is always sharing the gospel. As a child I remember the many times my dad shared the gospel with people at the store, at the house, and at the church. I remember entertaining myself often because dad was sharing the gospel, and there were several cues in conversations with others that would let me know where dad was going…he was going to the cross and he was taking others with him. Whenever we see each other we are always sharing stories about sharing the gospel and the triumph of Christ in rescuing sinners before our eyes. I always look forward to the stories of Christ’s victories when we get together. This is a priority that he has passed along to me.

3) Jesus is the Best Topic of Discussion: My mom has emphatically taught me that Jesus is by far the best topic of discussion. When I was living at home we were always traveling places. My grandparents always lived a few hours away as well as our family friends, and the majority of the time I spent riding with my mom was spent in conversations about Jesus. Even to this day when my mom comes in town or we’re together, the majority of our conversation is spent in talking about the Love of our lives: Jesus. It never gets old, it never gets boring and we’re never trying to move the conversation on to something else. Jesus is the best topic. My mother is constantly learning about Jesus and is always willing to tell me what she is learning and what He is showing her. My mom always lifts my heart to love Jesus more and to spend more time with Him. This is a priority that she has passed along to me.

4) Sing Your Heart Out for Jesus: A second thing my mom has passed along is the priority of singing your heart out for Jesus. My mom is a singer and an unashamed singer at that. When she sings she’s only aware of Christ, and it’s a bonus that it sounds really good. She sings as if she is before His throne and loving it! When I was young we listened to tapes and songs that sang Bible verses and many of those songs I listened to when I was young are still in my mind. I remember my mom teaching children’s choir and instructing us in the hymns…I love hymns and I love them for their rich content. Most of the music we listened to and sang to was rich in content. We never went for what was popular but for what was good. We listened to so much Christ-exalting music that I had no clue who New Kids on the Block were until a few years ago. I missed all the trends and didn’t care to know about them. I never missed out…my mom was passing along priorities. Even last week when she was in for Thanksgiving we were riding out to Lowe’s to pick up something and on the way back she heard “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” on my stereo and cranked it up to a level that almost hurt my ears and we both sang our hearts out for Jesus! Two grown adults acting like children before our Heavenly Father…it was beautiful! In that moment, she was still passing along priorities.

5) The Local Church: I learned to prioritize the local church from both of my parents. It would be safe to say that over half of my life has been lived inside the building of a local church and all of my life has been connected with a local body of believers. I was a PK (Preacher’s Kid) and the church was my second home. We lived and breathed the local church whether we were with the people or away. We were always thinking about them, praying for them, and living with them and I never missed anything the church was doing…ever! Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night visitation, and Wednesday night service. Attending the local church was never an option for me, and it was never discussed. I can’t remember missing any Sunday services in my life, except maybe in the few rare cases that I was really, really sick. There had to be visible signs of sickness for me to stay home and that was rare. When I was in middle school I remember having a hard time at church, all right, so I had a hard time in elementary school as well (I was actually in a few scuffles in elementary school and had to write some letters of apology, etc.) but in middle school there was a time I remember screaming at some friends how I was never coming back for how they had treated me. I vowed I would go to another church where the people were nicer, etc. I informed my parents of my decision and they reminded me of theirs. I never went anywhere. I stayed put even though my worst enemies and the people who had hurt me the worst were in my church. The funny thing is, those very people became my best friends. I wasn’t allowed to bail out, and I’m so thankful. I learned the priority of the commitment to love and forgive and ask for forgiveness even when it is hard. Loving people is always difficult, but the love is always richer the more you go through together and in the end you see the way the God’s grace and His love conquers and covers wrongs done to one another. I never would have seen that, and I never would be as committed to the local church and loving people as I am today if my parents had not passed along that priority.

May we pass along priorities to our children that they may esteem and love Christ with deep and increasing passion, and maybe we’ll find our children writing in the future about how their parents passed along priorities to them.

A lot of times I joke about writing a book entitled: Illustrations in Unbiblical Manhood which would include pictures of guys in “Girl Jeans” or with straightened hair or even the picture I have of a mannequin I found in an exceedingly feminine pose in Macy’s. One time I was almost part of my own illustration…what had happened was…I got stopped in the mall while shopping with Jody, well, she was still in one store which we had been in for more than 5 minutes, so I had already had enough and stepped outside only to get suckered in by a lady who was trying to make fingernails shiny. I’m not sure what the official name for this was but that was my interpretation. She asked if I wanted to try the product, I responded “No, thanks.” She then asked if I had a “woman” and of course I was proud to say “Yes!” And then she insisted that I at least try and see if it was something I would like to get my wife.  From previous experiences of shopping with my wife, I knew she would probably be in that store for another 12 hours so I thought, “Whatever, let’s give it a try.” So she grabbed my thumbnail and off she went scrubbing with a 4-sided block of foam that cost about $30.00. By the time she finished she said, “What do you think?” The first words out of my mouth were, “Now what in the world am I going to do with a shiny thumb?” She was literally hurt. I felt bad and tried to recover asserting the fact that I was a man and enjoyed my rough nails that held the dirt and scars of work, but she wasn’t having it. Apparently this was something men were supposed to appreciate. Shiny thumbs? Come on. That’s not something I really appreciate. But what I do appreciate are stories like this one I read online several months ago that belongs in a book entitled: Illustrations in Biblical Manhood…

“A father was stabbed and beaten to death in front of his 7-year-old son by a gang he was trying to protect the child from in almost exactly the same way his own father was killed 23 years ago, according to the Daily Mail.

David Martin, 40, a window cleaner, was trying to protect his son from a band of bullies who were picking on the boy during a football game outside his house in South London.

Martin’s own father was also beaten to death 23 years ago by a group of youths with a metal bar who were teasing Martin and turned on his dad when he intervened.”

That’s a family legacy, and that is one profound illustration of what it means to lay your life down for others, especially the weak.

I don’t know about you, but I love the end of the year for several reasons, but my favorite reason is for examining the previous year and making resolutions. I usually start this evaluation process at the beginning of November, so for a few weeks now I have been praying and scribbling down some notes. Each year I know that I have One Constant and everything else builds off of Him. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

In making resolutions there must be a Constant and we have this in Christ. Praise God! We are always changing and He remains unchangeable. This means that resolution making is reasonable and good. It is another way that we confess to God that we are unlike Him, and therefore dependent upon Him for all things, even in the making and keeping of resolutions. By the way, when I’m talking about resolutions, I’m thinking more along the Jonathan Edwards line of resolutions rather than “2009 is All About Lookin’ Fine: 10 Resolutions for a Better You.”  Any and every resolution has Christ at the center and the base. My aim is this: I want Him to be honored, I want His praise heralded, and I want to be more satisfied in Him.

So from this base and center, my evaluating and resoluting break down into a few main categories:

1) Personal//Spiritual
2) Family
3) Friends
4) Student Ministry

Now I haven’t made a full list of resolutions yet, and I probably won’t share them with anyone, but what I can share are the kinds of questions I ask myself, and I want to encourage you to ask yourself some similar questions. Another one of the things I plan on doing with my wife is to sit down with her and map out some family resolutions, some things we’ll work on together. This is a great time to look at your life and the life of your family and make some resolutions, confess sin, repent of that sin, ask forgiveness, and pray to God that He would give you strength to make Him look great. Don’t waste this season! Tis’ the season for resolutions!

Here’s a sample of the kinds of questions I run through:

Personal//Spiritual: Am I pursuing holiness in every area of my life? In what areas of my life am I “contending for supremacy” with God? Where am I being pharisaical? What few areas can I specifically focus on in the pursuit of becoming like Christ? How can I cut off the threads of independence in my life and lean wholly on Jesus?

Family: How can I devote more time to my wife? To my daughter? What do I need to do to give them “prime time” instead of leftovers? How am I doing in taking my family to Calvary? Am I praying for my wife and her struggles as I ought to be? Am I desperately seeking the Lord’s face for my daughter’s salvation? Have I been considering Jody’s needs above my own?

Friends: How can I be a better friend? Am I stoking my friends’ affections for Christ? Do I make Christ look beautiful to everyone I speak to? Am I putting their needs above my own? Do I love them in the way Scripture has called me to love? How can I be more aware of their soul, their heart, and their needs? Am I praying that the Spirit would give me timely words and truthful words whenever I’m around them? Am I praying for my friends in the way I need to?

Student Ministry: How are we matching up Biblically? Am I watching my life and doctrine closely? What was more about me and less about You, God? Is the cross the centerpiece of everything? In what ways can I be clearer about Your Truth? What needs to go away and what needs to stay? What do I need to publicly repent of? Am I pursuing excellence in all areas? What more can we do to make the Name of Jesus famous?

May the end of your year be full of pruning and gathering.

I know what you’re thinking…”Not only do they have a Christmas tree up at Wal-Mart and the mall is already set for the Christmas season, but now my Student and Families Pastor is getting in on this Christmas thing, and it’s only the beginning of November! Where has the time gone!!!”

I’m with you on this one. Time has flown by, and yes, students are already making their lists and parents are already searching and saving to make this a memorable Christmas. Every year I am asked recommendations for various books, Bibles, and CD’s and I thought it would be helpful to give you a list.

One of the things I would love to do, but simply cannot afford to do is supply each of our students with a library. I want them to leave the student ministry with a solid library of helpful books and as parents you can help by purchasing these books to ensure that this will indeed happen. We can work together on this one in assisting and equipping the students in every way possible.

The first set of books are books for each grade ranging from 6th through 12th. I believe these books are age-appropriate, and they have a building effect with foundational books first and then structural books coming later. I call these the “Fame Book Bundle.” The second set is the “Reference Bundle” which will help you and your student to get a better grasp on the Bible. The third set is the CD Bundle, which just includes artists. Every CD from these artists is solid. If you want more information on specific CD’s see Ben Carroll. He is our resident music guru. There are a few good sites where you can buy books at a fairly low rate: www.wtsbooks.com, www.christianbook.com, and www.amazon.com.

The Fame Book Bundle
6th Grade: Bite-Size Theology: An ABC of the Christian Faith by Peter Jeffery
7th Grade: I AM Not But I Know I AM by Louie Giglio
8th Grade: The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
9th Grade: Humility: True Greatness by CJ Mahaney
10th Grade: The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
11th Grade: Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris
12th Grade: Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

Reference Bundle
1) ESV Study Bible by Crossway Books
2) The Crossway Comprehensive Concordance: ESV Bible
3) Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
4) God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts

CD Bundle: Artists
1)    Shane and Shane
2)    Hillsong
3)    Chris Tomlin
4)    Charlie Hall
5)    Matt Redman
6)    Sovereign Grace Music: Na Band
7)    Starfield
8)    Watermark
9)    Bethany Dillon
10)    Casting Crowns
11)    David Crowder
12)    Passion CD’s
13)    Jeremy Camp
14)    Keith and Kristyn Getty
15)    Leeland
16)    Shawn McDonald
17)    Steve Fee
18)    Jeremy Camp

Saturday Night November 15th at 7:00-9:00pm we will have our first Saturday Night Resound. This is a test run of sorts to see what it would look like to move Resound to Saturday night instead of our normal Sunday night meeting. If this goes well, then we would make an official move to Saturday night in January. Now you might be wondering why in the world would we even consider such a move and that would be a good thing to wonder? So here’s the thinking behind it:

1) We are radically committed to doing everything we can for the spiritual health and growth of students and their families. That being the case, having Resound on Saturday night would free up families to spend an entire day together worshipping and contemplating the truths of God. It would truly be a Sabbath for our families. This would also give Dad’s more time to minister to their family and apply the messages from the weekend. Another point, one father mentioned, was that having Resound on Saturday night would give his family an opportunity to attend together. It is true; more parents would be able to attend a Saturday night Resound as opposed to a Sunday night Resound. This is the main reason for the move…we believe it would be a great benefit to the families.

2) We love this church body and what the body is doing as a whole. That being the case, having Resound on Saturday night would free up Sunday nights for small groups to take place. Small groups are immeasurably valuable to our spiritual health. We need time together in a smaller setting where we can apply truth to our lives, encourage one another, exercise spiritual gifts, and hold one another accountable. Many families and students were struggling to find time to be in small groups and Sunday night was one of the best times for most families to do this, but Resound was going on. With students free on Sunday nights, small groups could take its place and provide a much-needed multi-generational context for spiritual growth. The long term foreseen benefits of this would be amazing!

3) We believe this would serve you as students, especially during the school year. Most students wait until Sunday night to begin homework, and many students cannot make Resound. I don’t think homework is a sufficient excuse, but having Resound on Saturday night would free you up to complete your work on Sunday afternoon/night.

4) We believe this would be a great opportunity for outreach to students and families. We have many students who come to Resound whose families attend other churches. Having Resound on Saturday night would allow these families time to worship and grow together. Also, on Saturday nights, most students have absolutely nothing to do. Many are looking for something…what better “something” than to come and hear the truth of Jesus Christ proclaimed and to join a chorus of praise to our God!

5) We believe this will serve a preparatory role for Sunday mornings. For a long-time now Jody and I and some others have spent Saturday nights in seeking the face of God through prayer and the Word in order to prepare our hearts for Sunday worship. You would not believe the difference this makes! With Resound taking place on Saturday night we all would see and feel the difference of getting our hearts prepared for Sunday morning. Our minds would be elevated, our hearts would be stirred, and we would be adequately prepared for Sunday morning that we would be in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.

If you have any questions or comments about Saturday Night Resound please feel free to ask or respond. I would love to hear what you think.

For the Glory of God and Future Generations,

Brett

This week I picked up a book I had put down some time ago. For some reason, the book kept begging me to read it, but it is just so hard on my soul. You ever read one of those? The book is entitled: The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors by Thabiti Anyabwile (good luck trying to pronounce that one). The first third of the book is devoted to the life and ministry of Lemuel Haynes. He was the first African-American to be ordained to the ministry in America and he was ordained in 1780. He preached in one place for 30 years until the sin of racial prejudice got the best of his congregation blinding them to truth and sending him on his way. He called it “prevalent uncommon stupidity.” In the book, his last sermon is recorded and it is a dangerous one to passive church members and pastors alike. It contains the kinds of sections that shake your soul and wake you up during the middle of the night confessing sin and staking your life on the mercy of God. God mightily used this man and he is still using his words today. Praise God in my life! And I hope in yours.

However, the reason I’m writing this entry is because of what he has to say to his youth. The last part of his sermon is devoted and addressed to the youth of his congregation. He encourages them to come to Jesus, he exhorts them to remember the sermons that he wrote for them, and then he gives them some fierce warnings for the good of their souls. Throughout this message you can almost hear his voice breaking with love and concern for the people he so deeply cared about for 30 years. Here is what he said to his youth and may these words be a warning to all youth today:

“Let me warn you against Sabbath-breaking, against neglecting the public worship of God. Willingly and promptly contribute to the support of the gospel ministry if you would prosper in this world and meet your Judge in peace. Beware of carnal dissipation (sexual sin or lustful drunkenness or wildness), a sin that I have often warned you against. Beware of slander (gossip or degrading someone’s character) and condemnation, those banes (curses) of society, to which influence, even among us, you cannot be strangers. According to Scripture’s testimony, they have their origin in hell (James 3:6) and are marked with characters not very ornamental to human nature; nor do they stand fair candidates for the kingdom of heaven. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Suffer me to warn you against false doctrines, such as are pleasing to the carnal heart. The inventions of men are skillful in exciting prejudices against the plain truths of the gospel: hence it is that faithful ministers are accused with being too pointed and unpolite in their discourses. Beware of false teachers and of being led astray by the errors of the present day. Remember these are damnable heresies as well as damnable practices. Paul predicted this danger: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (v.29). “But beloved we are persuaded of better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though thus we speak” (Hebrews 6:9). Dear children, lambs of the flock, you have in a sense for a time been committed to my care. With the tenderest affection I would, in the arms of faith, bear you to that divine Savior who has said, “suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16). May your cheerful hosannas fill this house when your fathers and mothers shall sleep in the dust.” (p.73)

And let that be a present warning to you all this day. All of the warnings are still applicable and you are faced with all of the things you addressed, possibly to a greater degree. Avoid all sin, flee from it, put yourself in the current of God’s grace provided for you in the local church, come to Jesus, and may your cheerful hosannas fill this church when your fathers and mothers and pastors sleep in the dust.

I love you all. Thank you Mr. Haynes. Though dead you speak.

The other day I was at lunch and the topic of conversation turned towards schoolwork and grades and the relationship Christians should have with schoolwork and their grades. This is not the first time I have discussed with others this issue of grades, and I do not suspect it to be the last. There are a few ways in which this discussion usually forms.

The first is upon hearing a professing Christian speak lightly and jokingly about their poor grades, their procrastination, and their failure to complete any homework assignment. The second is upon hearing a new Christian who has come alive to Jesus Christ and His gospel, and soon everything in the world begins fading into insignificance, and one of the first things that goes is school. These two types of Christian approaches to school each have the same underlying working idea that God just does not care all that much about school.

So I see the question coming down to this: “How am I as a Christian supposed to look at or relate to school?”

To answer the two types of approaches I would argue that God does care about grades, and to answer the question of how does a Christian relate to school, would be on the relationship of God’s honor to your grades. You see, that’s what is at stake in your grades: God’s honor! It is not your college applications, not your parents’ pride, and not your own self-gratification, but God’s honor. That’s what is at stake every day, in every class, and in every homework assignment. And this is where 1 Corinthians 10:31 once again faithfully confronts another area of life that is often overlooked or devalued by Christians…school.

Let’s be reminded of what this verse says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I have often said that this is a “governing verse” in that it governs every area of our lives and sets a high standard or goal, that being the glory of God, in everything we do and in every paper, test, or project we approach. What the glory of God does is it raises the bar in how we look at school or work or sports or “the whatever you do.” The glory of God or God’s honor is not something we can trifle with or take lightly or jokingly. God definitely doesn’t! Bad grades are not to be celebrated or laughed at, but repented of. Yes, I really do believe that. Let me show you why by answering the common objection.

Now one might object and say, “What if I do my best?” I would first of all answer that this is an abused statement void of much meaning because what exactly is your best? This is a very subjective standard for achievement, knowing that our best can change on any given day in any given mood or attitude. What happens is something like this:

Mom: Honey, what did you make on your Algebra test?
Daughter: A “C”. I know it’s not an A but I did my best?
Mom: Well, all that matters is that you did your best.

Now we all know that you didn’t do your best. You probably did your best at achieving a C for only studying 30 minutes before the test and failing to complete any homework assignments. If that is what you mean by your best, then yes, you did your best. That is how it usually works isn’t it? Therefore, due to the subjective standard of “my best” I would say it is an invalid objection.

The second answer I would give to the “What if I do my best?” objection is that it is still a lower standard than what the Lord lays out for us in His Word. Our best is not what matters. Our best is not what is at stake. God’s glory is what is at stake and aiming and achieving our best is still falling short of His glory, which Scripture would say is sin. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Now you might say in light of that, “Will I ever achieve the standard of doing my schoolwork to God’s glory?” No, and you will never achieve that standard on your own. What you need is a Savior and One who has perfectly done all things for the glory of God, and we have such a One in Christ. This keeps us fleeing to Jesus in “whatever” we do, because we trust that He has never fallen short, but has done everything perfectly on our behalf, which in turn frees us to do all things for God’s honor, and births in us a new passion and a new desire to please God in everything; even schoolwork.

So now we seek for good grades not because we want good grades, but because we want God to be honored. Now we do our homework not because we want to get done with our homework, but because we want God to be honored. Now we spend more time and energy on our projects not because we want to have the best one in class, but because we want God to be honored. We want Christ to be put on display in all of our homework knowing that in our good works our light will shine and people will give glory to our Father in heaven. Seeking God’s honor in schoolwork also evidence a life changed by the grace of God. So, in Christ, our passion is for His fame and His renown and we want Him to be greatly treasured in the seeking of His honor in school.

This should revolutionize our approach to schoolwork and “whatever” else it is that we do. Therefore, I would encourage you not to simply do schoolwork to get by, do not work with the “D’s get degrees” mentality, but instead see in all things that the honor of God is at stake and that in every paper, test, or project it serves as a platform to make Jesus famous and find pleasure in pleasing Him.

Let me offer you a few warnings in light of this: First, let me warn you in the reading of this not to miss my point and say that a B or C is sin. That is not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that we need to do schoolwork for God’s honor, which I believe will most likely result in A’s and B’s. You are all brilliant students with brilliant minds that need a “governing verse” running through them that sets your standard at God’s honor and nothing less. Second, do not think that your good grades will give you a right standing with God, that would be like looking to the Law to achieve a right standing. Both fail. Your standing with God is based solely upon the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So bank everything on Him and be dependent upon Christ in your schoolwork.

And lastly, let me conclude by giving a verse that I believe will serve us all well since we seem to suffer from the procrastination plague: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” Proverbs 6:6-11

May your schoolwork be pleasing in His sight and may God be honored.

There are some verses in Scripture that I believe lay a good foundation for how we live in this world and that are important every single day for every decision we make in this vapor we call life. These 3 verses are those kind of verses that I believe we all, young and old, should brand on our hearts so that in this life Christ will be magnificently displayed and foremost in our thoughts.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 6:19c-20 “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Galatians 6:14 “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Governing
The first verse is a governing verse. It is the fundamental goal in everything and carries with it a most fundamental question: “How do I glorify God in this?” This kind of verse is a verse that will govern every activity of your life to a great height not just great goals: the very glory of God. This governing verse fixes your aim in all things to nothing shorter than the glory of God, which goes way higher than great goals. It gives direction and meaning to everything you do because you do all to display the wonder of God. This verse governs your life so that you don’t just do your best in everything but you glorify God in everything, which means you’ll do way better than your best. You do everything to make His glorious name known. So this verse is important in the way that it governs your life.

Reminding
The second verse is a reminding verse. And it is a glorious gospel reminder! Oh, how we need to remind ourselves of this often! How many things we would have avoided if we thought often about the fact that we are not our own but have been bought with a price and that price is the high infinite price of the Son of God! If this verse were ringing often in our hearts then we wouldn’t be so easily swayed by the lure of sex and other youthful passions. Think about this: The Son of God has bought us with His own blood! He didn’t give a large some of money, He didn’t promise all the billions of galaxies or provide some great trust fund that would never empty for all that would not be enough to purge even one sin, but He gave Himself! God put Jesus forward to buy us and what better Owner of our lives than the One who owns everything! Oh, it’s so glorious and it is a glorious reminder to us.

Boasting
The third verse is a boasting verse. This is a verse that we shout. This is a verse that boasts of a dead body plastered to the world. How strange of an approach to the world this is to the world? In Christ we boast of His cross and in salvation, as believer, as the blood bought children of God the world is crucified to us and us to the world! Here’s a picture that will help: you, in Christ, hang dead and fastened upon a cross over the world but then the cross loses it’s footing in the shallow ground beneath, and you, crucified and dead upon it fall face down with the cross on your back and your crucified body gives a crucified greeting the world. You kiss the ground as a dead man with no friendly exchange! You can’t embrace the world because all your hands embrace is a cross! That is your relationship to the world by the grace of God! And Paul’s saying: boast in that!