By Gobel Brockman
While going through some old VHS tapes this past week, I found a video of one of my sermons from 1990. (My, how things have changed. I had a head full of hair, and my belly didn't look like I was 56 weeks pregnant.) But my thought in watching it was just how much things have changed over the years. (I mean, to begin with, VHS?) However, I'm thinking more about how things have changed in the church over the years.
My parents became Christians when I was about 4 years old. My Dad was a musician who played in churches all over Indiana, Kentucky, and other states as well. I've been in a LOT of different churches in my life. I've been in churches where the shouting started as soon as the Pastor said, "It's time to begin service...". I've also sat in services where you were expected to sit there like you'd been hit with hair spray. I've seen drunks walk in and disrupt service, people stand up at inappropriate times and say stupid things, and the list goes on. People who say church is boring should have sat in some of the services I have!
The thing I'm thinking about though is some of the things I see now that I wouldn't have imagined seeing in church as a child. Worship bands with drums and Marshall stacks. Coffee and donuts before service. Preachers sitting down during their sermons. And lest you think I'm criticizing these things, I'm not. I have a Marshall amp. When I visit churches that serve coffee, I over-extend my welcome in the Welcome Center. I sometimes sit down in the middle of my sermons. (I think I occasionally nod off, too.) The way I see it, if God wanted cookie-cutter churches, I think He has the power to pull that off. Changing the style doesn't bother me as long as the substance remains. What do I mean? Simple - the more things change, the more they MUST remain the same:
*We must continue to preach that we are sinners. Not that we have 'issues' or 'character flaws', but we are sinners.
*We must continue to preach that Jesus isn't an option, He is "...the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one will see the Father except through Him"
*We must continue to preach the cross of Christ.
*We must continue to teach that the Bible is indeed God's Word, and is the standard we must live by and will be judged by.
*We must continue to preach that accepting Christ is more than 'joining the church'. It's a call to surrender our life, our will, and our future to Him.
*We must continue to preach that discipleship is more than going to church on Sunday. It's a radical transformation of the way we think and the way we live.
I could go on, but the point I'm trying to make this week is simple. Whether your church is one where the music is loud and the coffee is hot, or where everyone dresses up, sits quietly, and sings 'Amazing Grace' to an organ doesn't matter to me. Times change. New ideas come and go. But the more things change, one thing MUST remain the same:
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He always has been. He always will be.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Are You In the 90 Percentile?
By Gobel Brockman
It's The Sunday before Thanksgiving, which means it's time for the prerequisite Thanksgiving message. In churches all over America, it's a pretty safe assumption what the sermon will be about. The thing is, that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how often we need to be reminded of what we have and Who gave it to us.
We Americans are masters of the "entitlement mentality". Seldom before has a group of people done so little and expected so much in return. It amazes me how we get on our laptops and iPads while sipping our lattes, then get on Facebook or Twitter and complain about how horrible our lives are. Over the years I've talked to several people who have went on short-term missions trips, and without fail one of the things they return home with is a humble gratitude for what they have to return home to. We are indeed a blessed people.
Jesus once healed 10 lepers of their disease. When they discovered they were healed, one returned to thank Jesus for his healing. Jesus asked, "Where are the other nine?" (My thought is, 'they must have been Americans.' But I digress.) I've often wondered what DID go through their minds:
*"I suffered long enough, I deserve this."
*"About time he showed up."
*"First thing I'm doing is updating my Facebook status." (I kid.)
But it does make me wonder - how often am I in that category? How often do I take for granted all the fantastic things that are in my life? I think I have a rough idea, and I'm not proud of it. God has truly been good to me, even in the times when I didn't give Him a first thought, let alone a second. I know I'm not alone in that. If you're reading this, that means you have a roof over your head - and your computer. I feel safe in assuming that everyone reading this has food in the cupboard, clothes on their back, and a car in the driveway. I do understand that many are going through difficult times right now - death or illness of someone you love, unemployment, financial issues, the list could go on. I also understand that we are facing very uncertain times right now in this country and the world. I simply want to point out this week not to take for granted how much we have, Who it came from, and how quickly it can all go away. We are blessed. Much more than we deserve. And I, for one, am grateful to God for all of it. He is truly amazing in every way.
Hmmm....feels good to be in the 10% minority :-}
It's The Sunday before Thanksgiving, which means it's time for the prerequisite Thanksgiving message. In churches all over America, it's a pretty safe assumption what the sermon will be about. The thing is, that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how often we need to be reminded of what we have and Who gave it to us.
We Americans are masters of the "entitlement mentality". Seldom before has a group of people done so little and expected so much in return. It amazes me how we get on our laptops and iPads while sipping our lattes, then get on Facebook or Twitter and complain about how horrible our lives are. Over the years I've talked to several people who have went on short-term missions trips, and without fail one of the things they return home with is a humble gratitude for what they have to return home to. We are indeed a blessed people.
Jesus once healed 10 lepers of their disease. When they discovered they were healed, one returned to thank Jesus for his healing. Jesus asked, "Where are the other nine?" (My thought is, 'they must have been Americans.' But I digress.) I've often wondered what DID go through their minds:
*"I suffered long enough, I deserve this."
*"About time he showed up."
*"First thing I'm doing is updating my Facebook status." (I kid.)
But it does make me wonder - how often am I in that category? How often do I take for granted all the fantastic things that are in my life? I think I have a rough idea, and I'm not proud of it. God has truly been good to me, even in the times when I didn't give Him a first thought, let alone a second. I know I'm not alone in that. If you're reading this, that means you have a roof over your head - and your computer. I feel safe in assuming that everyone reading this has food in the cupboard, clothes on their back, and a car in the driveway. I do understand that many are going through difficult times right now - death or illness of someone you love, unemployment, financial issues, the list could go on. I also understand that we are facing very uncertain times right now in this country and the world. I simply want to point out this week not to take for granted how much we have, Who it came from, and how quickly it can all go away. We are blessed. Much more than we deserve. And I, for one, am grateful to God for all of it. He is truly amazing in every way.
Hmmm....feels good to be in the 10% minority :-}
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Why Keep Trying?
By Gobel Brockman
This past Friday my wife and I attended a concert by a man named Dallas Holm. We have both been a fan of his music and ministry for years. The concert, as expected, was awesome. After he was done singing, he put down his guitar and spoke for a few minutes. One of the things he said really stuck with me:
"How do we as Christians live out our faith in a world that rejects our message? The answer is found in the question - we simply live out our faith."
Which leads me to what I want to talk about for this week: why do we do what we do? Why do we go to church and read the Bible? Why do we pray over our food? Why do we take some of our hard-earned money and put it in a fancy envelope and give it to a church? Why do we avoid going places that other people flock to? Because we want to live out our faith. I've said before that there's more to being a Christian than just how you spend your Sunday mornings. It's a complete transformation of the way we live our lives. It's the world's greatest 'attitude adjustment'.
One of the things though that I think we need to be reminded of is the fact that we are in the minority. Jesus said in Matthew 7 that the way to heaven was 'strait and narrow, and few there would be that find it...' We need to recognize that our view of the world will not be popular with most folks. And when people are being critical of the way we live and the choices we make, it shouldn't surprise us. In fact, in the coming days I'm expecting the world's disapproval to only grow and intensify. I personally believe that we as Christians may be in for a difficult road ahead. The Bible says that '...in the last days evil men will wax worse...' and we see it before our very eyes.
So what is our response? It's simple: regardless of what's going on in this world, regardless of the opposition we face, we simply 'live out our faith'. Not because it's popular, but because it's right. And we must remember that no one who's ever stood for God has ever stood alone.
This past Friday my wife and I attended a concert by a man named Dallas Holm. We have both been a fan of his music and ministry for years. The concert, as expected, was awesome. After he was done singing, he put down his guitar and spoke for a few minutes. One of the things he said really stuck with me:
"How do we as Christians live out our faith in a world that rejects our message? The answer is found in the question - we simply live out our faith."
Which leads me to what I want to talk about for this week: why do we do what we do? Why do we go to church and read the Bible? Why do we pray over our food? Why do we take some of our hard-earned money and put it in a fancy envelope and give it to a church? Why do we avoid going places that other people flock to? Because we want to live out our faith. I've said before that there's more to being a Christian than just how you spend your Sunday mornings. It's a complete transformation of the way we live our lives. It's the world's greatest 'attitude adjustment'.
One of the things though that I think we need to be reminded of is the fact that we are in the minority. Jesus said in Matthew 7 that the way to heaven was 'strait and narrow, and few there would be that find it...' We need to recognize that our view of the world will not be popular with most folks. And when people are being critical of the way we live and the choices we make, it shouldn't surprise us. In fact, in the coming days I'm expecting the world's disapproval to only grow and intensify. I personally believe that we as Christians may be in for a difficult road ahead. The Bible says that '...in the last days evil men will wax worse...' and we see it before our very eyes.
So what is our response? It's simple: regardless of what's going on in this world, regardless of the opposition we face, we simply 'live out our faith'. Not because it's popular, but because it's right. And we must remember that no one who's ever stood for God has ever stood alone.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
There's No Escape
By Gobel Brockman
I want to begin by asking you to use your imagination. I want you to pretend that I had a special gift: that at any time, day or night, I could tell anyone not only what you were doing at that precise moment, I could even tell them what you were thinking. Now here's my question: Would you want to hang around me very much? I seriously doubt it. (By the way, I knew you were going to say that.)
The Bible says this about God in Psalm 139: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to Heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there..." There are two points I want to make about that:
1) He sees the bad
There's a story of a man who took his young son with him into a neighbor's field to steal corn. As he climbed the fence, the man looked north, south, east, and west to see if the coast was clear. The little boy stepped up to his Dad and said, 'Daddy, you forgot to look up.' The father took his son by the hand and went home, never to steal again. We need to remember that while people on earth may never know what we do, God has a front row seat for every moment of it.
2) He sees the good
One thing I believe very strongly is that the greatest heroes of faith aren't the Pastors of the 'mega churches', but the people in the shadows who quietly fight the battle on their knees day after day. I also believe that we often face the temptation to say to God, 'Do you see what I'm doing for you? I'm trying to do the right thing and all I get for my trouble is more trouble!' I just want to remind you - and myself - that God sees, He knows, and He cares. As the Bible says in Galatians 6, "Don't be weary in well doing, for in due season you will reap, if you faint not."
Are there things in your life that shouldn't be there? Stop, repent, and change your ways. Are you busy in the work of the Lord? Keep at it, knowing that God sees all, because "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)
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