Acts 29 and 9Marks...What do You Think of?

When you hear the phrase "ACTS 29," what comes to your mind? When you hear the phrase "9Marks," what comes to your mind? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about this. I was talking on Peter Lumpkins blog, and I told a blogger that the first thing that came to my mind when I heard "Acts 29" was booze; cussing and vulgar speech in the pulpit; and young, obsessed, 5 point Calvinists. I dont necessarily want this to be what comes into my mind, but it does. Again, when I hear the phrase "9Marks," I think of young, five point Calvinists. That's about all I think of, when I hear "9Marks."

What comes to your mind when you hear these two "networks" mentioned?

Getting Big Crowds

So, I heard this morning that a Church in Chicago, I believe, is drawing huge crowds, packing the Church out, by giving away....are you ready for this? ...money. That's right. They have a box hanging from the ceiling that contains money. And, some lucky person wins the money in the box every Sunday. One person won $500 one Sunday! It's like winning the lottery, Church style. And, the Pastor said that the people have just been pouring in. Attendance has never been so high! Well, I guess not. But, do we need to ask about the motives of those people, who are attending so regularly? When the money runs out, do yall think that people will still pack the pews, or seats, or whatever they have in this Church? Is this not the most base thing, playing on people's greed, to get them to come to Church?

I remember a story that was told to me about E.V. Hill and his Church in the Watts area of Los Angeles. I was told that EV Hill said that he walked out to the pulpit on a Wednesday one time, and the place was packed. E.V. Hill began to wonder what was going on? Was there some attempt to get rid of him, and he didn't know about it? Why in the world were so many people at Church on a Wednesday night? at prayer meeting? He had never seen such a crowd on a Wednesday night before.

Well, he said that after the service, he had(and I wont use the word that he used) black folks in alligator boots coming up to him, asking him, "Where's the cheese?" He said that he had "black folks," who were driving Cadillacs, coming up to him, asking, "Where's the cheese?" Brother Hill said that he didn't know what in the world was going on, until he researched the problem, and found out that the government commodity hand out of cheese advertisement was placed just above his Churches advertisement in the newspaper. And, the people thought that the cheese was going to be handed out at his Church on Wednesday night. The Church was encouraging people to come on Wednesday nights for some special teaching that E.V. Hill was doing. lol. EV Hill sarcastically, laughingly said, "If I'd known that giving cheese away would fill this Church, why, I would've started giving away cheese a long time ago." lol

Well, I'm thinking about having a contest at my Church, and the winner gets a brand new Corvette. You know, you get so many points for attending. More points for bringing your Bible. More points if you bring someone with you. More points if you sing a special, etc. At the end of what? three months? six months? I mean, I don't want it to be too long, because people just cant stay committed for a long time. Alright, 2 months...after 2 months, the "lucky," hard worker will get the Corvette, and hopefully, some of those people, who were coming to just win the Corvette, will continue to come. They might even get saved!!!! You think?

Folks, I'm afraid that the Church is going to be seen as a joke before too long. We have clowns in the pulpits, and we have casino style Churches going up, with the dazzling lights, and the slick entertainment. We attract the crowds with gimmicks and tricks. We have so much going on in the Churches today that rubs up against ridiculous that it's concerning. And, I'm not talking about dealing with children, here. I'm talking about dealing with adults.

How can the world look upon as having something serious to say; as having a life changing message; as having something of the utmost importance; whenever we're playing Church and promoting gadgets and fads? We don't have to sell Jesus, folks! We don't have to talk anyone into believing! We need to preach the bloody cross! We need to preach the Gospel! We need to preach Jesus, and trust the Lord to grow His Church. Amen? or, oh me?

Video of Me Preaching Thru 1 Corinthians on Sunday Morning

Some of you have never heard me preach, so I thought I would put a video of me preaching on a Sunday morning a few Sunday's ago. I am preaching thru 1 Corinthians at the moment. This sermon is from 1 Corinthians 1. I pray that this is a blessing to you.

Devotional Gleanings

If you have not read Romans 12 in a while, let me encourage you to read this chapter again. I know that most people, and preachers, dwell on the first two verses of this passage; but I want you to especially pay attention from verse 3 on. I especially want you to read and meditate on verses 9-21. I was reading Romans 12 during my devotion time on the morning that I was writing this post, and the Lord really spoke to me from this passage. There are some incredible exhortations from the Apostle Paul in these verses. For example, verse 11, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Think about this verse as you think about your job. Christians are supposed to work hard at their place of business, and not be lazy. Christians are supposed to work fervently at their job, according to this verse. We are supposed to work as unto the Lord. As unto the Lord!!!! Do you work at your place of business “as unto the Lord?” Wow! Just think about the witness you would be at the office, or at the factory, or out in the fields and highways; if every Christian would take this verse to heart?

Also, verse 14 is one of those verses that should be practiced more and more and more by the people of God. It says, “Bless them who persecute you; bless and curse not.” How many times in a day do you have to deal with people who treat you bad? Who act ugly to you? Who say mean things to you, or about you? And, our first reaction is to cuss them out, or hit them in the mouth. Our first inclination may be to give those people the evil eye, or to store away the hurtful event, and treat those people coldly, or even meanly, in the future. But, what does the Bible teach us? In spite of our feelings, we should bless those people. We should bless those who treat us bad. Wow!

There is more in this passage of Scripture that I really want yall to read and think on. The Lord really spoke to my heart this morning from this passage, and I wanted to pass this blessing on to all of you.