PASTOR'S PENS:

SERMON SERIES:
Kingdom PrinciplesFollowing Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2008

August 30th “The Bible is a window in this prison world, through which we may look into eternity.”                                                                                                                          Timothy Dwight                 When Dr. Joseph Parker was pastor of the famous City Temple in London, a lady waited for him in the church’s foyer after a service to thank him for the help she received from his sermons. "You do throw such wonderful light on the Bible, Doctor," she said. "Do you know that until this morning, I had always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were man and wife?"                  So how’s your Bible knowledge? What do you know a lot about? What are you an expert in? Do you know a lot about sports? Cars? Cooking? Hollywood? Music? Your job? But does the knowledge that you have really make any difference?                 When I was a child, I memorized all of the Presidents. That info might help me if I ever went on Jeopardy but for this life and more importantly, for eternity, it doesn’t make any difference. Knowing how the stock market did last week won’t help you be a better spouse or parent. It won’t help you walk closer to the Lord. Even knowing the weather won’t help you much more than knowing whether to take a coat or a sweater or perhaps an umbrella when you head out to work, but the information has no real long lasting significance. We’re living in the Information Age but most of the data we have rolling around between our ears is of little lasting value.                 Pollster George Gallup Jr. has dubbed us as a “nation of biblical illiterates.” One survey conducted by Barna reveals widespread ignorance of common Christian terms. Researchers asked a sample group of 1,210 adults to define Great Commission, evangelical, John 3:16, and gospel. In each case just a small minority gave accurate answers. Even born-again Christians had trouble answering. Only 9% of the respondents accurately defined the Great Commission. About 75% of born-again Christians could not offer a definition. 18% of the respondents correctly defined evangelical, with 57% of born-again Christians unable to give a definition. 25% of the respondents gave accurate or partially accurate descriptions of John 3:16. Tragically, half of the born-again Christians could not offer a definition. 37% of the respondents correctly defined the gospel and 16% of born-again Christians could not offer a definition. George Barna made this insightful observation about the survey: “The fact that so few of the insiders understand the meaning of these terms also suggests that the Christian church in this country would be wise to invest in training people about the basic principles and concepts of the Christian faith.”                 We do that each week at Grace. Every Sunday morning at 9:30 am we provide Sunday School for children and teens, and Adult Bible Fellowships for adults. But they will only help you grow in your spiritual walk, they will only help you grow closer to Jesus Christ, they will only help you serve the Lord more faithfully...if you come!                                 Because of the ignorance and apathy in the Church in America, America has become the kind of society that civilized countries used to send missionaries to. It’s not the lost. It’s not pagans...it’s us. It’s you and me. Too often we’re so busy pursuing the American Dream of the good life that we’ve neglected to nurture the faith for which Christ gave His life...and we’re missing out on the great life!                 A vital step in spiritual renewal and growth is involvement in a small group. Jesus Himself had one of the first small groups. The twelve disciples were basically a small group. And Jesus poured His life into those twelve men.  It’s not enough to just attend a worship service. A small group enables us to better know one another’s needs, know what to pray about, and how to be an encouragement to one another. It gives others an opportunity to share our hopes and dreams as well as our hurts and pains. Involvement in a small group is also one of the ways you can help keep yourself from burning out as a believer. Certainly, large group meetings, like when the church comes together for corporate worship, are needed too. But large gatherings can’t do everything that small gatherings can do. Small groups create an even greater sense of caring and belonging.                 Did you know that one of the primary reasons that Alcoholics Anonymous has been so successful in helping people is because it utilizes the small group approach? Bill Wilson, one of the founders of AA, and his friends found out that when they met regularly to talk about their weaknesses, downfalls, and near-downfalls, it gave them a sense of strength to overcome their temptation to drink. So where did Wilson get the original idea? From a pastor named Sam Shoemaker. Where did Shoemaker get the idea? You guessed it, from the Bible!                 We have three new studies starting up next week. Make sure that you fill out the bulletin insert and choose one. Make sure that your children are in Sunday School. Then, determine to be there on time each week, Bible and pen in hand, asking the Lord to help you grow in your walk with Him.