Weekly Update | September 1st

By -

 A close up of a sign Description automatically generated


Starting and maintaining a thriving men’s ministry is a difficult task. Men (myself included) are not always eager to get together with others at the end of a long workday, after kids’ sports practices/games, amidst duties at home, and whatever else requires their attention. We tend to believe that we don’t really need relationships with other guys and a ministry designed specifically for our spiritual growth. We are wrong. Let me tell you why.



Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.” God designed us to be in fellowship with others (Gen 2:18). Christian men have a special connection through the indwelling Holy Spirit and their specific roles as men in the church. It is good for them to study the Word together because this activity helps them grow in the Lord in unique ways unavailable in other ministries.



We could all use some encouragement these days! While writing this article, I opened the website of a national news agency. The featured articles/videos section contained 13 articles and videos. All 13 of them presented negative news! I don’t think this statistic is specific to this particular news outlet. This is a microcosm of our culture. Our culture seems to be fascinated with bad news. This is contrary to the way God designed us to live. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” It’s important for our men to be a part of the men’s ministry because they will receive encouragement from men walking on a similar journey as them.



Did you have that one friend growing up who you could count on in a pinch? The one who would have given you the shirt off his back if you asked for it? Too many men walk through life without other Christian men on whom they can depend when the going gets tough. Christian men are in a serious, daily spiritual battle and we shouldn’t engage in that battle alone (Eph 6:12). Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” Men, who will lift you up if you fall? Who will hold you accountable as a Christian man, husband, and father? That kind of biblical accountability is naturally fulfilled by other Christian men.


I encourage you to sign up for our Men’s Bible study. Why? Because men help men grow in the Lord, men’s ministry is encouraging, and men need Christian male friends.


Check out this video clip describing our study and sign up now!





In His Service,


Pastor Josh

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Casting Lots and Determining God's Will

By -
What is the deal with casting lots in the OT and why is it used in the NT? Was this a valid way to determine the will of God? Can we cast lots today to determine God’s will for ourselves? When I first became a Christian and began to read through the Bible, This subject led to some very challenging questions that I could not find answers to. Recently, our pastor, David, has been taking the church through the book of Acts on Sunday nights and last Sunday we read about how the disciples used lots to decide who the replacement disciple would be for Judas Iscariot. This reminded me of my own question that I had before and how many others may also be questioning this as well. Why would believers use what would appear to be a system of chance in order to distinguish the will of God? To answer this question, let’s look at 3 things. First, we will need to understand just what “lots” is and what it was used for. Second, we will look at an OT passage in which it was used. Finally, we wil...
Read more

Inclusionist, Exclusionist, Pluralist...What do they all mean?

By -
While I was preparing this week to be on a panel for the discussion of theological issues I came across a very difficult question that pushed me to spend some time solidifying my own doctrine on a certain issue. The question came from a student in our youth group: "How can a person who has never been exposed to the gospel (through no fault of his own) be expected to come to a saving knowledge of Christ?" This simple question has been discussed for centuries and divided denominations since the first denomination was formed. Dr. Ken Keathley, now a professor at a Southern Baptist seminary wrote an interesting work on this very question. His paper delineates the differences between the three schools of thought on the issue presented. The excerpt presented below is from his paper titled, "None Dare Call it Treason: Is an Inclusivist a Paul Revere or a Benedict Arnold?" appearing in the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry, Vol. 1 No. 2. "Exclusivism holds that...
Read more

The Trinity and The Triple Point

By -
In our monthly theological discussion group, a group of men and I recently discussed the Trinity . We now understand the Trinity to be: The unity of God subsisting in three distinct persons. We reviewed the different views of the Trinity, how the concept is defined in the Bible, and how it has come to be accepted as the orthodox view currently. At the close of our discussion , we began to discuss the different analogies of the Trinity. Here are a few that we discussed through the direction of Millard Erickson's book "Christian Theology." First, we talked about the egg. The egg has the yoke, the surrounding liquid, and the shell. All of these make up the egg. The egg is like the Trinity in that it has three parts unified into one egg. This is obviously an incomplete analogy since each of the parts of the egg are not really completely separated and yet totally unified. Each part of the egg has a different nature. So the egg analogy fails. What about the human/humanity ana...
Read more