Category: Disciple (Page 7 of 18)

More Than Just The Bible

August 13, 2021 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

I always thought knowing your bible was enough. I thought if we had bible verses up our sleeve for a variety of matters we’d be good to go. You know a bible verse to remind us that Jesus loves us. One that he’s always with us. One that he knows our needs and provides. One about repentance and forgiveness. One about living rightly. All the issues we face, I thought we needed a bible verse to address those and whammo we’d be perfectly fine.

But the more I think about it and the more I read the Bible, the more I think I very well might be wrong. I’m starting to think that reading our bible and memorizing verses is good and all but that’s not what we’re told to do or how we’re told to live life. I’m reminded of the Bible verse from James 2:19 that says even the demons believe God and they are afraid. I really think that many people who call themselves Christians have a good working understanding of the Bible and what it says, but they have zero clue what it means for their day to day life.

The bible is far more than a series of one liners to shoot at people, and ourselves, in good and bad times in life. It’s more than a wishing well or a fortune cookie. It’s not enough to just be biblically literate. We must approach life with the ability to correctly apply the gospel message to our day to day lives. I call this being fluent in the gospel.

Now the gospel, for those of you who aren’t aware, simply means the good news. Many of us know the good news, but we’re not all that fluent in its application. Think of it like learning a new language. We can learn the alphabet and even some key words and how sentences are structured but none of those things make us fluent. We become fluent when we are immersed in the language and the culture it represents. As a matter of fact the longer you are immersed into a given culture, the more likely you are to begin picking up the dialect of a given language. It’s like staying down south long enough and you’ll pick up a little southern twang.

The longer we’re immersed in the language and culture of the gospel, the more fluent we become in it. But how do we become fluent in the gospel? How do we immerse ourselves in the language and culture of the good news of Jesus? This will be the focus of our message on Sunday at Living Word Galena and the topic of a couple of posts next week. But for now look at John 3:16 and the surrounding bible verses and Ephesians 2. These are good primers for having a base line understanding of the gospel message. Don’t assume you know the message. Read it again. Slowly. Word by word. Consider what this means for you tomorrow when you’re enjoying the nice weather or Monday when you’re having a bad day at work. Just soak up the gospel like you do the sun when you’re lounging at the beach.

A Lost Voice

May 7, 2021 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

When We've Lost Our Voice | The Prodigal Thought

Lion’s are one my favorite animals, aside from Koala bears but that’s a post for a different time. They are one of only four different species of cat who can actually roar. And roar they do! A lion’s roar can be heard for up to five miles in the right conditions. It’s pretty spectacular to say the least. A lion will roar for 3 basic purposes. And each of those reasons can teach us something about our own lives and how we should use our own voice.

Direction

A lion will roar to indicate where the pride is and where they should be headed. A lion will sound its roar to alert everyone around where it is. It’s their way of saying stay away this is my territory. They don’t merely roar to alert any potential threats to their presence. It’s often used to tell the pride where to go for safe passage or lush grounds or where food can be found. The roar of a lion can be used as a mapping system of sorts.

I personally think that we as humans, and I’m going to speak directly to men because I am one but this likely applies to women as well, we have lost our roar. We have failed to roar for the safety and provision and direction of our families. We’ve stopped speaking up for our wives and children. We’ve let culture and politics and education systems remove our voice. We’ve grown passively quiet and in the process let our children, wives and families wander aimlessly without direction or protection.

Roaring doesn’t mean yelling. It means using your God-given voice to alert your family to danger, which means you have to be present. It means to use your voice to call out direction to those around you. Not as a dictator but as someone who’s looking out for those around you. When we start to use our voice again, we’ll speak life into our family and provide direction to those around us.

Power

They roar to demonstrate their power and ability. The roar of a lion is so powerful that it echoes through the jungle. You can hear it for miles in every direction. They do this to demonstrate that they are in charge. No pride of lions is led by a quiet lion. No lion will ever abdicate his position in the pride to someone else because he doesn’t like using his voice.

Again I focus on men but this is equal for all, we’ve let our voices grow eerily silent. Maybe it’s because we’re tired but I fear it’s because too many men, and women, don’t think their voice matters or have been belittled too many times to let their voices be heard. Men I know that it’s not easy some days. I know that we don’t know whether we should hold the door for the woman entering behind us at a store because we don’t know how they’re going to react. I know that it’s hard to compliment someone because we’re not sure how they’ll take it. But you have a voice. It’s time to use it.

Your voice isn’t just the vocal box in your body that allows you to speak words others can hear. Your voice is your actions and lifestyle. Using your voice isn’t about yelling to demonstrate dictatorial power. It’s about letting people know who you are what you stand for. Using your voice is about standing in the gaps in society to speak up for those whose voice isn’t being heard. You voice is about lifting others up not putting others down.

The church collectively has grown just as silent as the individuals in it. We need to roar. Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. When he roared from the cross, the graves split open. What would happen if we would roar with His power and His truth? Could we split the death markers in our own culture?

Protection

The lion is the king of the jungle. A good king not only has power but it also is in charge of protecting those in his care. The Disney movie, Lion King, is a great image of what happens when a king goes off the rails and stops using his power for the benefit of the people. If you’re not familiar with the movie, a bad lion – Scar – sides with the less than desirable hyenas and they convert the lush pride land to the barren dead land in very short time. He doesn’t try to protect the rest of the animals, rather he looks out for himself.

I think we can learn a lot from the way Scar leads the lions and how he treats the rest of the jungle. He doesn’t take his position seriously. He uses the other lions for his personal benefit. He abandons the weaker. He expects the world to bow down to him even though he hasn’t earned it. He abandons his voice for a moment of self pleasure.

We run the risk of doing the very same thing. When we don’t flex our voice boxes and let our roar come out, we end up leaning into our selfish ambitions and personal pride moments. It’s time for men and women to stand up and speak. We need to speak for what we believe to be true, not putting someone down to make ourselves feel better but honestly, rightly, boldly, unapologetically speaking for what is right. We need to confidently and clearly speak to defend the things we love. We need to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. We need to speak for our future while accounting for our past and present. All in all we need to roar and make those roars heard far and wide. It’s time to protect our pride land or Scar will soon cripple what we value most.

The Table Is Set

April 1, 2021 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Today marks a pretty special day in the life of the church. It’s actually a pretty cool thing that happens on this day and we’ll talk more about it tonight in our worship service but here are a few things I thought would be helpful as you consider what this day is all about.

Maundy

Ok so for starters this is just a weird sounding word. We don’t use it any other time but so often we throw it around as if it’s normal or something. The word actually derives from the Anglo-French and means commandment. I know that’s not the normal focus of our Midweek Maundy Thursday worship but that’s where the word came from.

There actually was a command that was part of what we normally celebrate as the Maundy Thursday account. The command is to love one another as Jesus has loved them. The command isn’t about doing anything or performing some weird ritual. It’s about loving and serving one another and putting others before yourself. That’s the Jesus way!

Why did they all sit on one side of the table?

I know you’re probably not wondering this but I always find it odd that in every picture they’re all sitting behind the table as if for a photo op or something. But none of them are looking in the direction the camera would be! So obviously none of these pictures are real and they really in all likelihood sat around a table like most normal people do.

Why this night?

So there’s a lot of history and tradition and ritual in the timing of all of this. Jesus doing this on this particular night fits right in with the rest of the week. We talked about Palm Sunday and all of the cool hidden details in a previous post that you can read here. The idea is simple really. Jesus had to celebrate this meal with his disciples on this very night to fulfill everything the Old Testament points toward. There was a celebration in the Jewish calendar known as Passover which commemorated the plagues on Egypt and how God delivered his people by letting the angel of death pass-over the faithful. The way the angel would know whose house to pass-over was made clear by the sacrifice of a lamb in that house and the blood being on the door posts. This signified the people relying on God to deliver them.

Fast forward to this night and we see Jesus celebrating the Passover while he’s preparing to be the newer, better, fuller, forever-er sacrifice for all people not just the Israelite ones from the Old Testament.

Where’d he get the bread and wine?

Another cool thing that we might miss if we’re not paying attention is that while Jesus eats the Passover meal, he takes some of that meal as the elements for the new meal that he starts. So he takes the bread that was made for the Passover meal and consecrates it, sets it apart for what we call communion. He does the same thing with the wine. He takes a cup of wine, of which there were several in this meal to mark different attributes and actions of God. Then he blesses it and sets it apart as His very blood of a new covenant.

So when the Old Testament followers of God celebrated the Passover they had to kill a lamb to atone, bible word for pay for, their sins and their lack of faith. Now in the new Passover event, we don’t see the killing of many lambs but the self sacrifice of one lamb known as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

How often should we do this whole bread and wine thing?

The simple answer is…yes. I know that’s not an answer to the question but really you should take it as often as it is offered. So if it’s offered once a year, then take it! If it’s once a month, then take it! If it’s every other week, take it! If it’s weekly, yep you got it – take it!

There is no set rule for how often a church should offer it. That’s left up to the context of each congregation. And no you will not lessen its meaning if you offer it weekly. No you won’t find it less special if you take it every week versus once a month. That’s ludicrous.

Who should take it?

Now this one is where the bus comes to a bit of a screeching halt for many. The church body to which I ascribe my doctrinal beliefs has a pretty solid teaching on this. The way we do this in the church I serve is I explain what communion is, and if you agree completely with the explanation I give and have had some teaching and instruction on it before that moment with a pastor (either me or someone else) then come on. If, however, you don’t think the same way, don’t believe it the same way, are confused by it, or don’t even think it’s important – then by all means don’t do it! This is a huge deal so don’t go at it willy-nilly. You have to understand what it’s about or you make a mockery of it and it will actually not benefit you at all.

So there you have it. A few little tidbits of info on what Maundy Thursday is all about, why we do it, and why you should too! If you have a church home then please set some time aside to go and worship tonight and this whole weekend (heck go every Sunday!) If you don’t have a church home, then we’d love to welcome you as our guests at Living Word Galena. And if you’re just not sure but want a little more, you’re welcome to check us out online first to listen along to see if what we teach and believe lines up with what you understand and believe.

Happy Holy Week!

Have We Been Doing It Wrong?

February 23, 2021 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Have you ever had one of those moments when you realized you were using a tool the wrong way? Or maybe you had a board upside down when you were building a bookcase? Starting a project or a program only to realize you’ve been doing it the wrong way is beyond aggravating.

When we become comfortable with using something, even when it’s not the most efficient or effective way to use it, it’s really hard to change our approach and relearn how to use it properly. Today I want to think through a common process that we may be doing all wrong. Admittedly this realization comes from my role as a pastor but is very much transferrable on many processes.

In the church world, we focus on something we call discipleship. This is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others. The idea is what can we do at the macro (church wide) level that will have an impact on the members as a whole thereby leading them into a deeper relationship with Jesus. The approach we take is very much a silver bullet approach.

So many churches and pastors don’t really know what to do, so attempting a church-wide program is appealing. The programs are often well thought out and very much worthwhile but the results are lackluster at best. It’s like pouring a ton of effort into something and what comes out is more like a slow trickle. What gives! Why does this program not seem to be working the way we wanted it to work?

Think of this approach like a funnel. You pour lots in the top of the funnel but the bottom is narrower and less comes out? We pour so much effort into the process. We spread ourselves thin in an effort to reach every single person and be available all the time.

But what comes out of it is not the return we had predicted! For all that is fed into the top end of this funnel it’s easy to have the effort overflow and not make it completely through the funnel.

I mean have you ever used a funnel and not paid close enough attention? It can be messy to say the least and destructive at worst. The problem is, along the way the effort meets resistance. As the funnel narrows less and less of what goes in can actually make it through.

The programs we establish and programs we start are wide necked and get a lot of traction at first. Everyone wants to be part of the easy part represented by the wide open top. But fewer and fewer people want to be squeezed through the small opening at the bottom so they fall out the top.

So if that’s not the best way then what is? What happens when we flip the system on its head? Simply turn the funnel over.

In this new approach, you will invest heavily in a smaller group. But these people get a lot of your time and attention. You will spend considerable time with them. You will meet with them regularly. You will invest heavily into these key people. They’re not better than anyone else. They’re not stronger or even favorites. They’re just people who are willing to grow and learn and be changed through the process.

As a pastor it’s best to look to the example of Jesus when talking about discipleship because well he did it and told us to do it as well. Jesus called twelve guys to come and follow him. Then of the twelve, he called 3 to be part of an inner circle. He invested a great deal in these three men. The cool part about investing in these men was that they turned around and invested the same with in other followers. So when Jesus reached three people very intentionally, he was able to use their extended reach to connect with even more people.

Think about it. If you put water in the little end of a funnel, when it comes out the wider end it will fall everywhere hitting much more area. The same is true in our discipleship approaches. If we would follow Jesus’ lead and invest intentionally in a few people, we might end up getting a little different kind of result.

So who are your three? Who are the people you can drop everything to go serve? Who are the ones with whom you can walk and help grow through this process of discipleship?

Invitation & Challenge

February 10, 2021 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

I’m currently cramming through a book to join a group that’s been together for a few months already and need to get caught up. And this dichotomy shows up in the first couple of chapters. It’s the dichotomy of invitation and challenge. Now that doesn’t mean a lot at face value but if you give me about 4 mins of your time and read this there’s stuff here that can apply to just about everyone’s life.

So the idea of invitation and challenge was brought up in the context of breaking a horse. I’m really not a big fan of here terminology of breaking something but I hope you know what that means. Simply put, it’s making a wild horse a little less wild. Some would do this by beating the horse and breaking their spirit. Some would do this by attempting to ride them in a body of water making it harder for the horse to kick and buck the off. But the book uses a different analogy and that’s how a horse is welcomed into a herd in the wild.

It’s something that the author calls invitation and challenge. The idea behind invitation and challenge is pretty simple, and it is super helpful in how we raise up leaders and even teach our children how to grow and mature. In what follows I will unpack the two sides of invitation and challenge and apply them to basic relationship and leadership settings.

There is a back and forth that needs to happen in every relationship. It is all about welcoming and getting to know the other person on their terms. And then offering up a challenge of sorts to show there are expectation and who ultimately has authority.

Invitation is welcoming someone in and drawing them close. In the illustration of the horses used above, the outsider horse is greeted by a female horse from the herd. The mare would turn sideways and in a show of vulnerability would bare her side. This is the weakest part of the horse if you didn’t know. By turning she was indicating that she came with no ill intention and is willing to let the outsider horse come closer. As the outsider draws in a little, the mare turns forward facing and enters into a stare down of sorts.

This is the challenge. This is a show of power and strength. While the outsider may be larger or stronger or faster, the mare carries with her the authority of the entire herd. She is not easily moved and if so she has the rest of the group behind her.

This goes back and forth between invitation and challenge as the outsider draws ever closer yet is kept in check by the mare’s direct stare from time to time. Eventually the outsider is “broken” into the herd and all is good.

Now as we translate that into our relationships with our children, coworkers, employees, neighbors, etc. The principles remain the same. We need to be gentle and open and welcoming. We need to be vulnerable and willing to let our guard down a little bit. We need to be more intentional about our sense of invitation when it comes to these and frankly all relationships.

But at the same time we need space to challenge one another. We need to set rules for our children to obey. We need to keep employees on task and coworkers need held accountable.

So as we go through life there needs to be a more intentional trade off between invitation and challenge. As Christians this is a great model for discipleship and growing in our faith development. We need to invite into a relationship with others. Jesus did this with the twelve disciples. But he didn’t let them get too comfy because soon he woudl send them out to do the stuff he was talking about. He told them that they would have to change. The old needs to go away and the new needs to be born into us.

This is the amazing and fantastic dichotomy of saint and sinner. We’re invited in through grace which is the good news of God. And because of that invitation our lives look different. It’s what James talked about in the bible. A faith without works is dead. There must be a life change that happens when we follow up on God’s invitation.

There’s a lot here so we’ll end at that. Invitation and challenge find a balance and strengthen relationships. Super simple just not always easy.

Technology Free Hour

December 10, 2020 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Over the years technology has pretty much exploded. We’ve moved from personal computers being in every household to laptops being in every briefcase to smart phones and smart watches being attached to nearly every human in our culture. The convenience of these technological advancements however needs to be weighed against their always on function.

It seems we can’t ever get away. While driving our watches buzz with incoming text messages. Trying to read or study or work and our email bings us continuously. We go on vacation and since we carry our office phone in our pocket, we’re on call nearly all the time.

Today’s daily habit that we want to try out is the habit of finding time to go tech free. Now stop twitching and relax. I’m only talking an hour. And if that still gives you the jitters then you probably do have a serious problem! But in all seriousness it’s important to step away from your devices for a decent amount of time.

One really easy way to do this is no tech during meals. We do this in our house. Our phones either stay in our rooms or on the counter while we eat supper. No ringers are on. Watches are not checked. It’s just a way to not let the distractions of the tech world invade our supper time solace. Our normal practice is not even to have the television on during meals.

The issue with technology isn’t that tech is all evil. The problem is that tech so easily distracts us. It’s like the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Technology draws us away from God.

One of the main issues with surrounding ourselves with so much technology during every waking hour is that we try to become present everywhere. But we can’t be present everywhere. The more we strive to be present everywhere the more we truly are present nowhere.

Practical Ideas

Use do not disturb mode. In this mode your phone will not alert you at all except those you mark as important or if someone calls you twice. This is a great way to not be awakened at night with alerts.
Tech basket at supper time. Get a basket and have everyone put their devices in it before sitting down at the table. Then put the basket away from the table so it’s not distracting.
No devices for 30 minutes before bed and after waking up. The rapidly moving pixels on our phones stimulate the mind. Scrolling social media while laying in bed could be the reason you’re having a hard time falling asleep. And jumping on your phone right away in the morning could be the reason you feel less than rested when you wake up.

There are many ways to go tech free. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what works for you. Hit me up or simply share your tips below.

Power Of Habits – Supper For 2

December 9, 2020 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Yesterday we started talking about how small habits done over time can change things in a big way in our lives. We’re going to look at daily and weekly habits over an eight day time span here. These habits come from a book that I’m reading titled The Common Rule by Justin Earley.

The premise of the book is that our habits are the waters in which we swim. The more intentional we are about choosing our habits, the more we can direct the flow and pattern of our lives. The first habit we looked at was setting your Daily Frame. You can go here to read what was all about. Today we look at a habit that is best done on a daily basis.

Supper For Two

Some of the greatest rhythms in life happen when we’re with other people. And some of the most powerful moments of conversation and friendship develop over food. This habit is pretty simple. It’s the combination of people and a good meal.

Simply put find time to eat at least one meal a day with other people. From the lunch table at school or work to the supper table at home to the coffee shop or local pub we can always find a way to be with other people.

Practical Ideas

no phones at the table
If you’re at a bar and around other people you don’t know, don’t bury your head in your device so you can have the opportunity to talk with those around you.
Let one person share something going on in their life as you eat together.
Do highs and lows around the table.
Share your good, bad and funny stories of the day.
Read a devotion together.
Pray for one another.

The possibilities are pretty much endless. The point however is very simple. Life was meant to be shared in rhythm with other people. Let people into the daily parts of your life even if only once a week. This will establish the rhythm of community into your life.

Thankful?

November 25, 2020 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

I’ll be honest, there was a point in this mess of 2020 that I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to find anything to be thankful for when Thanksgiving rolled around. I don’t have to remind you what all has happened this year. It’s been really close to awful at times. From illness to financial struggles, from relational issues to political divides this year seems to have brought everything all at once and thrown it at us!

But what happens when we flip the script on the year a bit? I mean think about it. I’m one of those people who believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything from not getting the closest parking spot to losing your job all happen for a reason. Having our normal routines totally thrown out of whack, while completely ridiculous and challenging, likely had a reason too. Our job as we approach Thanksgiving is to try to figure out what that reason might be.

I know that some of you are celebrating Thanksgiving away from family and it really doesn’t feel much like the holiday that you’re used to. But what can you do to keep that spirit of the season alive? Here are a few ideas that you can try to keep that thankful heart beating.

Send personal letters to loved ones instead of those preprinted cards.
Take more pictures of the times you do get to spend with friends and family.
Use social media to be social instead of bashing those who think different.
Use FaceTime to stay in touch with people you can’t see this year.
Launch a Zoom Thanksgiving feast and showcase your favorite Thanksgiving food.
Do a Drive-by visit to family you can’t see this year.
Be intentional about saying thank you for just about everything.
Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. Make a significant impact in someone’s life that will change their world.

Thanksgiving is about attitude and heart not about life circumstances. When our heart and our attitude are in the right place, even the most challenging of 2020’s dealings won’t derail us too far.

From my family to yours have a wonderful, happy and blessed Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for each and every one of you.

Is This Significant?

November 11, 2020 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Pisces: misunderstood genius! | Neon signs, Neon words, Neon quotes

What a year 2020 has become! I don’t know if anyone could have predicted the dumpster fire that this year has turned out to be. It sure doesn’t seem like anything is as it should be right now. But is any of this significant?

Over the past few days I’ve been looking back on what all has occurred throughout this monumental and earth shifting year. One thing that seems to keep coming back over and over again in my mind is one of the restrictions that many of our cities and states have implemented. Heck even the CDC has said this.

If you remember back to April and May of this year perhaps you’ll recall that we were all told to limit our gatherings to no more than 10 people. I think the reasoning was to limit the potential for spread of Covid and to make it easier to track back who all you’ve been with recently. At least that’s what I have understood from it all, and I didn’t think twice about it.

But recently I’ve heard a few different references to the number 10 and how it applies to the church and it’s got me thinking…is this significant? Is there a misunderstood genius behind all of this?

Now I’m not going to go all numerology on you or anything like that but let’s look at the history of the number 10 and why it might be significant here. In the Bible and in ancient Jewish tradition, the people were to come together to establish a synagogue or gathering of worshippers in a localized place. Well, enter what might be the significant part…

You had to have a minimum of, yep you guessed it, 10 people to constitute a synagogue. So what in the world might this mean?

Some might say that this is some demonic force trying to prevent God’s people from gathering in a mass numbers. While this could be? I’m not really sure that I buy that one. I don’t buy it because we’re still able to meet, albeit virtually but we’re still able to gather in many informal settings and the word is still able to be preached. Could the Devil be up to something? Of course he is! When isn’t he? But I think there might be another, and potentially more transforming thing happening here.

The ten mandate is still the case for some people. Much of the country has excluded places of worship from this mandate, but it does still apply in various locations to this day. But the number limitation holds for gatherings of people for many other purposes too. Enter the conspiracy theory portion of this post – don’t worry this is a positive conspiracy theory if that’s such a thing?

What if God was in control all along? Yeah I know he is but stick with me here. What if God was taking this whole pandemic craziness thing and using it as a way to allow some of our churches to stay within the guidelines while still doing, being and even growing the church?

Think about it – you can’t come to the church either because it’s not allowed based on this rule or because you’re just not comfortable in groups that large. But are you able and willing to be in a smaller group with a more controlled atmosphere? Could you gather and form your own grouping of say 10 people?

Ten doesn’t seem like that many, but God even said that for the sake of 10 faithful he would have delivered all of Sodom and Gomorrah. Whoa there’s that number again!

Could God be up to something? Are you unable to get back in your in-person worship space due to restrictions or comfort level? Are you willing to be one of 10? I think this is massively significant and something we need to be taking full advantage of in this weird and wild ride we call 2020. Want to be a group of 10…hit me up and we’ll see how we can resource you.

Who would have thought that something as simple as the number 10 could actually help?

Ok friends those are today’s random ramblings.

Yes. I Meant What I Said

November 11, 2020 / Derrick Hurst / 0 Comments

Something I said on Sunday has caused a few eyebrows to raise. Surely, you didn’t mean what you said – was one reply. I have a feeling more than just a few people were a bit caught off guard by something I said in a recent message, but yes I was very serious. So let me explain.

Assume I’m not getting it right.

This was the gist of one of my points on Sunday in my message titled What the world needs now. The context of that quote was that in my preaching and teaching on the Bible, please don’t just assume that I’m teaching right. Don’t think that just because I’ve been a pastor for 18 years, just because I know Greek and Hebrew, just because I put many, many hours into each week’s message preparation – don’t assume that I have it right.

I don’t say that so that you’ll look at me like a bad person or not believe what I am teaching. Quite the contrary. I want you to believe what I’m teaching. I want you to be able to trust the things in the lessons I teach and messages I preach. But I don’t want you to believe me just because you like me or because I’m a pastor or because I’ve been here for 7 years.

I want you to believe the messages because you’ve studied them and found them to be accurate. I want you to do the hard work of digging through the Bible the way I have to see what the Scripture has to teach us.

You see the point is all too often it’s easy to be Netflix Christians on Sunday morning. Think about it for a minute. When’s the last time you researched to see if that show you’ve been binge watching was based in any form of accuracy.

Is that how you treat the messages on Sunday? Or do you take the bible verses we talk about and trace them through the Bible? Do you look them up? Follow cross references? Do you challenge the points being made in the message to see if they fit the overall Biblical message?

This is what I meant when I encouraged you to not believe me or to assume I wasn’t getting it right. This isn’t true just for the Bible either. It’s kind of what critical thinking is all about. Don’t believe what the world is feeding you. Test it to see if it really is accurate.

Category: Disciple (Page 7 of 18)

More Than Just The Bible

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