BJ Not BK

1 John 2:12-17 12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Have you ever been embarrassed over an email you sent out by mistake? Maybe you sent it to the wrong "Terry"...

The following post is the gist of the sermon I preached on Sunday, July 20th. WARNING - this post contains words and lots of them.

In Chapter 1:1-4 John quickly dives into the meat of the book, does away with the chit chat and the talky talky, and as we discussed last week, gives his testimony, "I heard about Jesus, what He was doing, I heard Jesus teach and preach, and I personally heard Jesus as He spoke to me, calling me to follow Him. Not only did I hear Him but I saw the incredible things that Jesus did, the miracles, the crucifixion, and the glorious resurrection....and I personally ate with the physical, resurrected Jesus!" John's letter forgoes any salutation and it leads me to believe that he did this because his message was urgent, purposeful, and he wanted us to pay attention. I asked this question in class...."anyone remember the tag line from the E.F. Hutton commercials?" I think I seriously dated myself as the class looked at me like I had a large tumor on my face and the crickets chirped. So, for all you young whipper snappers here is a short clip, (the video quality is horrible...

What makes you happy? What gives you joy? Me? I love my wife, I love seeing my children, playing with them watching them grow. That gives me joy. I enjoy music, almost any kind, except the "new country". Don't get me wrong, I was country when country wasn't cool with the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Don Williams but it's just all this hokey, fast paced....I'd walk a mile through a field of wildflowers just to check you for ticks...lyrics I can't stand. I like technology, gadgets, gear, electronics. Food is not too bad either when I come to think of it. A fountain of chocolate fondue with a plate of fresh strawberries and a cup of rich, dark coffee...sound nice? Some get great joy with their social status, their career, their accomplishments, and their achievements while others find it quite nice to sit and do nothing. Still others immerse themselves into hobbies, clubs, sports, and such. And as each of these are different in that they appeal to...

Today we are begin our new, 12 week study on the letter of 1John. This morning I want to: 1. Give some background on John. Who was he and what did he do? 2. Go into some detail on 1John. Why was it written? What was the purpose of the letter and is it still applicable to us today? 3. Wrap up the lesson with a sneak peek of the upcoming lessons. Point #1. John…the artist formerly known as John, son of Zebedee. Matthew 4:18-22 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus, the King of...

Are you busy? Is your schedule full? Is your life hectic? Do you find yourself jumping from one appointment to the next? How does your calendar look? Do you have every evening booked solid for weeks out? Do you ever find yourself gasping for air under the load? Do you ever ask the following questions? Where has the time gone? Do I really have time for that? Contest.....who has the busiest schedule? What about your church schedule? Do you find yourself wrapped up in programs, committees and events? Do you see a time when you could possibly slow down in the near future? Question...in the Christian life, what is the single most important thing you and I must do? What is the one thing necessary we must do? Witness to others? Read through our Bibles? Know the 5 points of Calvinism? Memorize the Heidelberg Catechism? Let's look at the words of Jesus and see for ourselves. Luke 10:38-42 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her...

Titus 2:1 “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” (Take this verse for a minute and put it on the back burner...I promise we will come back to it momentarily.) What is the worst commercial you have ever seen? A Levis commercial with two guys checking each other out. What commercials do you hate the most? I hate just about every Hardees commercial ever made. What is the worst movie you have ever seen? I really hated Natural Born Killers. What is the worst sermon you have ever heard? Probably the one on estate planning. Who was the worst preacher you have ever heard? Creflo Dollar? Joel Osteen? See below. We see in the Bible that God places a great emphasis on preaching. During creation God speaks the world into existence. 8 times the scripture states "And God said...." 3 And God said, "Let there be light," 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 9 And God said, "Let...

Who are the people directly in your life right now, this moment, this second, just now, who really really really get on your nerves? I am not talking about the way they comb their hair, wear their pants hiked up real high just below their arm pits or even all that back hair fluffing out from the back of their shirt collar. No, I am speaking of those you work with, those friends you have, those you call on occasionally, those you work with who always make stupid and avoidable mistakes....moment of silence for you to continue counting them all up......need more time? Ok.....done yet? No? Sorry, you get the point. Don't you get so mad at these people who continually spend their lives jumping from one bad situation to another, doing one stupid thing after another, making one horrible choice after another? It's bad enough that you have to be witness to all of this freak show but then the good part comes, they ask you for advice and then do the exact opposite of what you told them to...

Saw this article today floating around and thought I would share it with you, my friendly, faithful, and good looking readers. The Evangelical Manifesto [ link ] Are labels useful? Do they help? Was this manifesto necessary?

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but t what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves...

Breaking news just out of Rome this morning... Vatican Adds Seven New Deadly Sins Including Abortion, Contraception and Drug-Dealing [ link ] Just 14 deadly sins? And here I was foolishly thinking that scripture states all sin is deadly and that the penalty for all sin is death. Boy am I glad this has been cleared up!

Weak view of the scripture = weak preaching which = a diminished view of Jesus which = weak Christianity and unchanged, unrepentant lives. More to follow....

You often hear Christians talk about their "quiet time" which is really funny to those who have children because these are two words that just don't exist anymore. There is never any time and seldom is it quiet. Yet even in a house full of children or not it is important that we as believers set aside some time each day/week apart from corporate worship within our churches, apart from Sunday School, discipleship class, or small group environments, apart from praying with our spouse to be completely alone with God, reading His word, hearing from Him. Paul tells us that all scripture is God breathed and is useful for instruction, and correction. Jesus used scripture to combat satan, and David sung of hiding God's word in his heart so as not to sin against God. Over the years I have started many of these "quite times" employing varying methods including different times and places. Since it is hard for me to get up in the mornings I tried scheduling some time at...

Think of all the people you know, you love, you interact with at work, the people in your family, your neighbors. I'm not talking about casual acquaintances, I am asking you to bring to mind mental images of those you hold dearest to you. Now, which ones are without Jesus? Do you know? Which ones are you desperate to see saved, to know Jesus as Lord, to have the experiences you have had, to read their Bibles and to get excited like you have, to see their lives change for the better like Jesus has changed yours. Who are they? Who is beyond hope on your list? Which ones have you given up on? Why? Mark 5:1-20 "1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough...

Consider the following quotes by some well known men against Christians and Christianity. If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian. Mark Twain The only good argument against Christianity is Christians. G K Chesterton The greatest evil in the world today is the Christian religion. H .G. Wells Christians are losers. Ted Turner I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Gandhi If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today. Gandhi As children of God we are each called to be a witness of Jesus Christ, to "testify" before an unbelieving world of who Jesus is in our lives, what He has done for us in the past, what He is doing for us today, how He has changed us, how He has saved us. Yet for some reason the world fails to see Jesus in our lives. Why is that? Consider the following research on the shift in American values...