An Officer and a Gentleman

Acts 10:1-8

(outline - Wed. Jan. 27)

Introduction:
1. Acts is about the formational experience of following Jesus, the fresh wind of the Spirit, and the emerging network of believers that was later called “church.”

2. Our missional focus in 2010 is to help people connect with God and others through Jesus Christ.

3. Cornelius was a Roman Centurion. Centurions were non-commissioned officers, roughly equivalent to Sergeant-Majors. They were in charge of Centuries--companies of approximately 100 men. They were vital to the daily routine and battles of the soldiers.

4. Questions:

· What is the best way to reach out to those in other nations and other church traditions?

· When exactly did Cornelius become a believer?

· How many different ways are there to express your faith in God and your commitment to following Jesus?

Outline:

1. Even good people need good news.

2. Some people are respectful and reverent toward God, even before they know who Jesus is.

3. There is more than one way to describe your salvation experience.

4. Your receptivity to God’s Spirit makes a huge difference in the lives of others.

5. We must always sort out which traditions empower our faith and which traditions render our faith ineffective or irrelevant.

Summary: The still small voice you obey today may allow you make a difference in the life of another person for eternity.

Notes and Quotes

Here are a few notes and quotes from our series based on the book of Acts, When Church Comes to Life:

Our missional focus in 2010 is to help people connect with God and others through Jesus Christ.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. – Acts 2:39 NIV

When the church comes to life, good things begin to happen... people come to Christ, they grow in faith and friendship, and they use their gifts and resources for ministry. –Barry Howard

I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin;
I wouldn't ask my dear Saviour in.
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night;
Praise the Lord, I saw the light! - Hank Williams

There's light at the end of the darkness, So look up when you are down and try to believe. Sometimes we have to be knocked down to make us look upward. I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.

-Larry Gatlin

A Christian without a small group is an orphan. –Rick Warren

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47 NIV

This Sunday we are in Acts 10. Our Bible study focus is on prayer and our sermon is focused on “Heaven’s Tablecloth.”

I am honored to serve alongside you as your pastor and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we dig deeper into the book of Acts.

Baptism and Baby Dedication This Week

This week I am writing these words from my Metro Minister’s Conference which is meeting this year in Central Florida. Metro is a group of pastors from similar size churches around the country who meet annually to dialogue, share ideas and resources, and pray for one another. Thank you for providing me this opportunity to learn and glean insights from my colleagues.

As we continue our studies in the book of Acts, this week we are focused on the conversion of Saul, as he was “Blinded by the Light” in Acts 9:1-19. On Sunday evening, we will meet in Pleitz Chapel at five o’clock and take a deeper look at Acts 9:10-31 as we think about “The Schooling of Saul: The Disciplining of a New Convert.”

During the Midmorning Worship Service we will celebrate the baptism of four or more new Christians. Also on this Sunday morning we will share in moments of Parent/Child Dedication with four of our couples who have newborns.

Our First Baptist Family has a compassionate spirit, especially in times of international tragedy. I invite you to join me in giving a Relief Gift for Haiti. Every gift and donation given through First Baptist Church will be channeled promptly and directly through our existing mission partners. Pray for the people of Haiti and all relief workers, including Ed Tate from FBCP who is on the ground in Haiti. And let’s give generously!

I am honored to serve alongside you as your pastor and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we dig deeper into the book of Acts.

Confessions of a Middle-aged Minister

Today I turned 50. When I was growing up I thought 50 was old, but now I am discovering that’s not so much so. I feel young and youthful on most days though my hair is becoming salted with more and more gray.

By most accounts 50 is middle-aged. Since my AARP card arrived earlier this week, I am sorting out what being middle-aged means. I sat down to begin a column entitled, “Confessions of a Middle-aged Minister” and it is not yet complete. But at the beginning is a list of things that I perceive I probably need to say out loud:

· I have been tremendously blessed. The experiences of my first 50 years have exceeded all my childhood dreams and expectations. I am grateful for opportunities to get a good education, develop friendships and to serve wonderful churches.

· I have been given health sufficient to live out my calling and passion. In my first 50 years I‘ve had chicken pox, a half dozen viruses, one knee surgery and only recently developed a little evaluated blood pressure. Not bad for half a century. I am determined to take the necessary steps to maintain good health for as long as possible.

· I married well. This year Amanda and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary (when I turn 100 we will celebrate our 75^th anniversary, I am already making plans, since I am closer to 100 than she is, as she constantly reminds me.) Amanda has not only been my best friend and soul mate she has been a patient and appreciated pastor’s wife. She has supported my calling while living out her own. That is a blessing!

· I still love my calling. I sensed God calling me into ministry at the age of 16 and my pastor provided me with opportunities for an early start. My mistakes have been many but the majority of people around me have always been forgiving and encouraging. I am indebted to many mentors, especially the veteran pastors who shared with me wisdom gleaned from the teaching of scripture and the School of Hard Knocks.

· I have been blessed to serve servant-oriented congregations. Here is the secret to my success: the churches I have served have only been as effective as the individual Christians within the congregation. The effectiveness of a church is determined more by the faithfulness of its members than by the leadership of its pastor. To me that’s the key to Acts 6:1-7. Just as God has called me to be a pastor to equip and encourage, God has called the majority of us to be servants who daily do the real work of ministry. As I turn 50 I am more aware than ever that I play a small role in the kingdom, but it is a role that I treasure and embrace.

People have different ideas of what it means to be a pastor. For some the pastor is….

• The guy who holds the church together.
• The boss of the church.
• The holiest man in the church.
• The ultimate spiritual authority
• A religious expert

I reject all of the above. A pastor is an ordinary Christian who is called to use his gifts for encouraging and equipping the saints for ministry. He is not the caretaker of your spiritual life. You are. He is not your ultimate spiritual authority. Jesus is. He is not your primary motivator. The Holy Spirit is.

Like a good traffic cop, your pastor points you in the direction you should be going. Like a good doctor, your pastor advises you on your spiritual health. Like a good coach, your pastor calls the plays that will best utilize talent and giftedness of the congregation as a whole. But you can choose to go a different direction. You can choose to neglect your spiritual health. And you can choose to run a different play than the one that is called, to sit on the sidelines, or to second guess the coach. But in an effective church, faithful workers take the responsibility for the ministry.

Eugene Peterson, in his book Under the Unpredictable Plant, says a pastor is primarily called to be a “soul friend,” who points others toward God and what God wants to do in their life. Then, it’s up to them to sort out God’s will and to follow God’s direction.

As we seize the opportunities and confront the challenges that come our way at First Baptist Church, I want to be that “soul friend” that cheers us on.

I count it a privilege to serve as your pastor and I look forward to seeing you when we gather for Bible study and worship this Sunday.

Acts: When Church Comes to Life

Acts 1-2

(outline - Wed. Jan. 6)

Tonight I want to cover three areas:

First, I want to share some general introductory material that may help us put Acts in the proper historical context.

Second, I want to give you a brief outline on the first two chapters of Acts.

Third, I want to share a brief devotional challenge from Acts 1:14 that propels us forward toward the kind of commitment required for us to be an effective church.

Part I General introductory remarks:

1. Acts provides a great kickoff to our theme of new connections in 2010.

2. John Stott says Acts gives us a glimpse into the honeymoon period of the early church.

3. Luke 1:1-4 introduces us to Luke who is historian, diplomat, and theologian/evangelist.

4. Most believe the book was written between 60-70 AD. Others more specifically make a case for 63-64 AD.

5. The book of Acts seems to be organized around Acts 1:6-8 commission: Acts 1-8:5, centers around Jerusalem, 8:5 – 13:1 chronicles work in Judea and Samaria, and 13:1-28:31 involves the uttermost part of the earth.

6. Acts is a history book that contains 14 major sermons.

7. Acts 13 and following details 4 missionary journeys of Paul and teammates.

8. Acts includes accounts of spiritual intervention, unlikely conversions, ethical dilemmas, emerging leadership models, missional paradigms, personal transformation, intense persecution, and unexpected deliverance.

9. There are 4 major theological strands in Acts, each proposing a doctrinal framework and each debunking or subverting historical and contemporary myths.

a. soteriology- the doctrine of salvation in Acts is one of diverse encounters but a common experience.

b. pneumatology- the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in which a variety of phenomenon are experienced with common spirit but not common phenomena.

c. ecclesiology- the doctrine of the church as a movement, a network of believers who always stands at risk of legalism and institutionalism.

d. missiology – the doctrine of missional ministry which looks after the enrichment and expansion of the kingdom, a type of serving in Jesus’ name where nothing is expected in return.

Part 2 Outline

Acts 1-2:

1. Acts 1:1-11 Ascension and Commission

2. Acts 1:12-26 Replacing Judas

3. Acts 2:1-13 Notably grand entrance of the Holy Spirit

4. Acts 2: 14-41 Peter’s Passionate Gospel Sermon

5. Acts 2: 42-47 The New Testament church is born.

Part 3 Devotional: In This for Good

Acts 1:14 TM “They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus' mother, Mary, and his brothers.”

I Corinthians 15:1 TM “Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I'm assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy,that you're in this for good and holding fast.)

Keywords:

1. seriousness: Affirming they were in this for good, indicated the seriousness of their commitment.

2. sacrifice- Acknowledging they were in this for good implies that the believers were beginning to understand the sacrifices that would be required as they would “take up their cross” to follow the way of Jesus.

3. service- Assuring they were in this for good, prepared them to serve with consistency and accountability.

To make us more effective, God is leading us away from wavering commitments, and calling us to live in a way that others know we are “in this for good.”

The Church—Alive and Growing!

As I am preparing for our series in Acts I am reading the book of Acts in multiple translations and I am re-reading and researching numerous books that provide greater insight and understanding about this strategic book of the Bible. Those books include The Spirit, the Church, and the World by John Stott, The Book of Acts by Frank Stagg, the Acts of the Apostles by Charles Ryrie, and The Church—Alive and Growing by J. Terry Young.

The latter book, The Church---Alive and Growing, was written in 1987 by one of my seminary professors at New Orleans, Dr. J. Terry Young. Dr. Young begins his book with this assessment:

There are churches of all kinds, mediocre churches, indifferent churches, “average churches,” big churches, little churches. And then there are effective churches. Nearly any church can be an effective church if it will do three things:

• Maintain a vital, faithful relationship to its head, Jesus Christ.
• Have a proper self-understanding of what the church is, and what it is to do.
• Follow sound principles of conducting its ministry.

In describing what he means by effectiveness, Young contends that “size alone is a poor measure of effectiveness.” Rather, he says, Effectiveness is…

• Doing an excellent work of ministering in the community where the church exists.
• Adequately meeting the needs the church sees within its membership and its community.
• Doing well what that church ought to be doing. (For example, using our unique strengths and our gifts.)
• Producing a steady stream of converts who are guided into maturity and led into productive service in the work of the church.
• Make a telling impact on the community surrounding the church so that it is a better place because of the presence of the church.

I am excited about life and ministry at FBC Pensacola during 2010, not because we are doing all of the above to perfection, but because one by one our members are connecting with opportunities for effective ministry through Samaritan Hands, our Allie Yniestra Partnership, Bridges Out of Poverty, Angel Food Ministries, Health and Hope Clinic, and many others. Of course, to be truly effective, our most important connection must be to Jesus Christ. This year…once we are connected…our aim is to help people connect with God and others through Jesus Christ.

The book of Acts gives us a glimpse into the birth of the early church, a church that is alive and growing. This Sunday we are focused on When Church Comes to Life from Acts 2:1-4, 42-47.

As we continue our study of the book of Acts, I challenge each of us to do three things:

• Read the book of Acts in two or more translations.
• Bring your Bible and notepad to Bible study and worship.
• Be a faithful participant throughout our 13 week series.

First Baptist Church is a good church, a friendly church, a caring church, and welcoming church. Join me in praying that God will grow us into a more effective church in 2010.

(Check out www.fbcpnotes.blogspot.com for the notes and outlines from the Acts series.)

Connections That Are Central

(Jan. 3 – Sermon outline)

Acts 1:1-11

Introduction:

1. If you’ve purchased or received any electronics recently, …such as a tv, a dvr, a blueray disc player, or even a game boy… one of the most challenging tasks is figuring out the best way to connect the wires and cables. Most have more cable connections than Baskin Robbins has flavors. Our new TV has 9 inputs, and we only need one or two. So the question is, which ones are necessary for our usage?

2. It occurs to me that over the years, church has become like some of our electronics….we have multiple inputs and the challenge is to discover where you need to plug in.

3. Today we are starting a series on the book of Acts. Acts gives us historical examples of the good things that happen When Church Comes to Life.

4. During these 13 weeks, I want to ask you to read the book of Acts in at least two translations, to bring a Bible with you to worship and Bible study, and to aim for 100% participation during this series.

5. Highlights of this study include the birth of the church, the introduction of the Holy Spirit, the conversion of Saul, the launching of the first missionary movement, the conveyance of the gospel to non-Jewish people, and the emerging of the first church leadership model.

6. The book of Acts sets the stage for our theme for 2010….to help people connect with God and others through Jesus Christ.

7. Let’s begin in Acts 1: When the disciples asked Jesus, When are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?,

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:7-8 NIV

Outline: Remember and reflect on these three key words…

1. Vocation

a. Our primary vocation is to be a witness…a living example of God’s grace, a consistent conduit of God’s love.

b. Our secondary vocation is the career path you choose which enables you to best be a witness.

c. God is calling and has called some of us to be pastors, chaplains, and missionaries and some of us to be attorneys, medical professionals, business professionals, educators, and support personnel, just to name a few. Our primary vocation is lived out through our secondary vocation.

2. Location

a. Our primary location for being a witness is where we live, work, and serve.

b. Our secondary location is wherever we travel or invest ourselves recreationally, financially, and recreationally around the globe.

c. Wherever you are, you can be an authentic witness reflecting the love and grace of God.

d. As a church, we are to be engaged in missions and ministry in Jerusalem…our hometown, Judea and Samaria…our region or state, and around the globe.

3. Motivation

a. Our primary motivation for being an authentic witness is Jesus. No other motivational source is sufficiently consistent and dependable.

b. Our secondary motivation is the joy of serving in the body of Christ.

c. No one person…no mentor, no trainer, no coach, no counselor, no minister… is responsible for motivating you. Significant persons may inspire you, encourage you, and equip you, but Jesus is the ultimate motif of Christian living.

Conclusion:

As we begin a new year and a new decade, take the whole complicated maze of cables that represent the priorities of your life and start making your central connections. Start simple. Start by affirming your connection to Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. And then develop stronger, more faithful connections to your vocation, your current location, and your ultimate motivation.