He Must Increase, I Must Decrease
Jonah is one of the more interesting saints we read about in God’s Word. His behavior and thoughts expose us to contradictions which can make us uncomfortable. The short book buried in the ‘lesser-read’ section of the Old Testament has many themes about our immutable and longsuffering Savior and Lord, the truths of which ought to bring you to worship.
Here is the audio of my Jonah 1 sermon. I will post Jonah 2 soon. Lord willing, Jonah 3 & 4 will be preached May 22 and I’ll post audio after.
The good folks at the Veritas Domain have once again allowed me to post.
Good presup is about believing what the Bible says about God and man and then acting accordingly. But I do not see any reason why that means we must get a professing atheist to admit they really know God. In fact, I think it is counter-Scriptural and, as the result, counter-productive. (All Scripture is inherently pragmatic, just not in the way sinful men want it to be, but that’s a different post).
How well do you have to know someone before you can speak truth into their life? I had a phone call today with a testimony I wanted to share with you that helps answer that question.
But first, some background information is required.
On March the 6th, 2016, I was honored to preach my first ever Sunday morning sermon at First Baptist Church of New Albany in Ohio.
To skip my comments and just listen to the sermon see below.
A few notable moments. Upon arrival I found out they were happy to allow me to lead the entire service. They had a bulletin already created which they could not get printed. As I was writing it out, I was so glad to see Heaven Came Down, How Great Thou Art and Victory in Jesus listed for singing. Then I noticed a song titled “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart” as the ‘invitation hymn.’
Not opposed to judging a song by its title, I asked if we could change it to “How Firm a Foundation” and they had no problem with that. The service flowed nicely with a skilled pianist and my friend Christopher offering prayer.
They had Scripture reading on their bulletin. I had not prepared for that. Since my sermon was about God’s Word, I thought it would be appropriate and helpful to read Proverbs 30:5-6. I then tested myself and tried to quote Psalm 1 from memory. I did it!! I thought Psalm 1 went nicely with my sermon, and it was the first time I had quoted an entire chapter of Scripture in public from memory (inside a church).
Then my daughter Bailey played perfect renditions of Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art on her flute for special music. You will notice if you listen to the sermon that I open by talking about the hymns. I then do what I am apt to do (and learned from my own pastor), and I spoke for 20 minutes off the cuff while ignoring my notes. So many things flood to my mind that I want to share.
I really enjoyed myself and was very grateful to my friends Mike Stockwell and Christopher Ledezma who attended along with my 3 oldest children. It was a time of service to God and to one of His local churches. I appreciate everyone who prayed for me and the service. As a hipster Christian might say “God showed up big time.” 😉
Feel free to listen here:
I enjoyed [Risen], generally speaking, and there were a few parts where the story on the screen and my thoughts of my own relationship with Christ brought me to tears of joy over my salvation and sadness over my sin.
Read the rest of my review here.
Here are a few other reviews I found helpful and informative:
Variety: Justin Chang, Chief Film Critic
Todd Friel wrote:
“The sum total of the movie’s message was, believe in Jesus because He is like, way nicer than anyone.”
Todd Friel’s review on Christian Post
I heartily agreed with Ann Hornaday (who I do not know to be Christian) who wrote
Viewers already well-versed in the greatest story ever told might find their interest piqued by the filmmakers’ unconventional take. It’s unlikely, however, that “Risen” will preach to anyone outside the choir.
The good folks at the Pillar of Truth interviewed me about my work evangelizing and leading evangelism events.
In 2015 I was interviewed on the Pillar of Truth podcast:
As you can imagine, I wasn’t any less wordy with them than usual, so they had to cut the interview in parts. 🙂
I do appreciate if you listen and give me feedback.