Tis’ the Season! 

What a wonderful time of year! Who am I kidding? I can be one of the biggest scrooges this time of year. I guess I am probably a product of the environment in which I was raised. Every Christmas seemed like a perpetual battle. “Whose family are we going to see?” “On what days?” “How long will we stay at each family’s house?” “How quickly can we get to the next place without getting a ticket?” “Who all do we have to buy for?” “Which family was that for again?” “How much is this going to cost us?” “That cost HOW MUCH?!” And on and on and on it went. Does any of this sound familiar? It is this time of year that we get so wrapped up in the who, what, where and how much, that we forget what is going on around us. 

It is this time of year (and only this time of year), where you can go into most malls or department stores and hear music that you might even sing in church. It is this time of year where you can drive down the streets and see nativity scenes proudly displayed in all sorts of areas. It is this time of year where Christmas Carols proudly proclaim the coming of a Savior in a manger. It is also a good time of year to set in order family traditions. The things that you do one year with your children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and/or cousins, can become lasting, lifelong traditions that impact generations in the future of your family. 

Can I share a brief testimony? I recently got to spend some time with missionary Jonathan Johnson, where we discussed living intentionally for the gospel, family worship, and family traditions started around Christmas time. Strange assortment of topics, I’m sure. During this time we were discussing Advent Devotionals for families, (Advent simply means the coming of Jesus, no secular or ecumenical or protestant affiliations to be afraid of) and how many great free devotionals and even some very cheap ones that were great. He told me that’s what started their family worship time that is integral to their daily lives now. They started one December and did a short daily devotional each night of the month. It was great. Then came January. They sat around and looked at one another and said well now what do we do? 

They decided to continue on and do different devotionals every night not just for the month of December. You see this simple family tradition that started in this season became not just a holiday tradition but a lifelong legacy that this family started. It was through this family devotional time that their oldest daughter Mary Beth came to know Christ as her personal Savior recently,  that she shared with this church.

My family and I have picked up a free advent devotional and are hoping this is one tradition that supersedes this holiday season, and becomes a family legacy. (For the record we are not perfect we have already missed some days but no need to get discouraged, just pick it up and keep going.) 

So remember “Tis’ the Season” to start traditions and family legacies that may have an eternal impact on those around you. Keep that in mind as we near the celebration of our Savior, King, Eternal Hope, Immanuel, and Messiah who was and is and is to come! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 78:1-4, “Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

Bro. Grant

Family Offering at Faith

Family Offering

Imagery can be extremely moving and motivating. The sight of certain pictures can bring to remembrance a lost loved one, invoking tears. The picture of a sunset or sunrise can remind us of the majesty of God, bringing comfort when we need it or even a smile in times of despair. The same can be said of seeing a family worship an almighty God together. 

This weekend at Faith we took a proverbial giant leap forward by initiating another step in this process of Family Ministry at Faith. By seeing a family bring an offering to the Lord and lead His church in this phase of worship, we are continuing to strive toward a biblical model for all we do.

Let me explain. The Hebrew mindset of family could be described as drastically different than that of today. A family included all members that were living, from grandparents, to their children, to their children’s children, and so on. When God instructed His people to take the land of Israel, He started with a single family in the line of Abraham, and had created a great and mighty nation of families that sprung forth. As they were about to enter the land “that God gave them” He required something of them. Deut. 26:1-2, “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide.”

You see each family was to begin this process as a point of worship, it goes on in vv.9-10, “He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”;10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.” 

It has been said that if you don’t bring a sacrifice to worship, then you probably haven’t worshipped. Here in the Lord’s Church this weekend we saw this very image take place. It was moving to see the image of a multi-generational family bringing an offering to the altar, just like in Deut. 26 and Lev. 1. The image of a family leading a procession of worshippers to give an offering to the Lord is some of the most powerful that I have ever seen. It is our prayer that this image straight out of the Bible moves you in a powerful way.

If you and your family are interested in leading our church in worship in this way please contact; lcarney@faithnlr.org or gmurray@faithnlr.org 

I pray this image blesses you as it did me this week, and for many years to come. 

God Bless, 

Bro. Grant

Some Practical Suggestions to Exercising Faith with your family....

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil.2:12-13 ESV)

One of the things I keep hearing, reading and seeing in the youth of today is, how does my faith apply to real life? How do I live a life dedicated to Jesus and His glory that we talk about all the time? We as fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers and church members in general have a responsibility to live out our faith and not only that but to also show others how to live out their faith. We should be instructing them, investing in others, teaching them, and showing them how real life faith is worked out in the real world. 

I hope my theologians and scholars in the church don’t crucify me for this one. No deep theological discussions or scriptures this week. This week my aim is to give some simple yet impactful suggestions for exercising faith as a family. 

1.) Open the Word of God as a family, (I told you it wouldn’t be real deep remember) I know it sounds simple but don’t just find time to do a devotion, don’t just squeeze it in on the days you have time. Make time each and every day to open the Word. Show your family it is important, so important that it becomes a priority each and every day. Utilize the tools the church provides like weekly devotions and family lessons. (Dinner time is a great time, in most families it may be the only time a family is completely together, so use it!) This is not age restricted, it should be an all your life practice. Grandparents take time and open the scriptures with your grandkids and show them, tell them what they have meant for you in different stages of your life and how they have gotten you through the good times and the bad. 

2.) Make teachable moments out of everything.  One of the greatest joys a person could ever have is opening up one of life’s moments and being able to relate it to God. Remember the whole WWJD craze? It really isn’t a bad practice to be able to take real life experiences and say, “What does the Bible have to say about this?” An example is when you take your kids, grandkids, or even friends to the movies and something comes up that you weren’t expecting. Maybe crude language, or inappropriate sexual relationships, or any number of things you are likely to see in a movie today; instead of doing what we have always done and saying, “Don’t do that, or we don’t talk like that, or do those types of things” try this, well what did you think of the movie? When the topic of the questionable material comes up then go to the Word of God and say well this is what God has to say about that, but don’t let it stop there. Children, friends and family need to know more. The next step is to say, now why does God tell us not to do those things? We need to be able to provide a reason and not just a “because I said so, or because God said so” moment. Make sure you do the same for positive experiences as well, not just accentuating the negatives. Take advantage of every little thing life hands you and use it as a teachable moment for real life faith. 

3.) Serve alongside others, All good things must come in three points, right? A huge difference maker in the faith of youth today is seeing others serve and not sitting on the sidelines but serving right along with them. Everything that I keep reading and coming across continues to show that if a youth or young person has parents that serve in church and invite them to serve too, it is then that they are more likely to serve and stick in church and in the faith through all of life’s problems; college, kids, family and more. Here is the more startling statistic, the surveys also show that if a youth has at least 5 others in the church who invest in them and show them their faith, and serve alongside them they are 80% more likely to have a faith that “sticks”.  

So you may be saying, I don’t have kids, or my kids live far away, my kids are grown or even I only have my kids every other weekend, there is always a chance to invest in the lives of others, to make disciples here in our field of labor, and to be a church that lives out the great commission. My prayer is that we could do this together and learn to live out our faith as a community working together for the sake of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

As for me and my house....

“I don’t want a church that focuses on families, I want a gospel centered church that equips families for the Kingdom of God.” (Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, Family Ministry Field Guide) 

If I had to choose a slogan for family ministry here at Faith, this couldn’t sum it up any better. As I continue to read books upon books and as I continue to study God’s word it is becoming clearer and more apparent that this is God’s design for the family and even for His Church.

If you look at some of the first disciples they immediately went and told their families. (Matt. 4, John 1:43-51) If you look at the culture of Hebrews in the Old Testament they took painstaking care to instruct their children until they were of age to study for themselves. (Deut. 6) Joshua makes the highly quoted statement referenced in the very title of this article, making an all to infamous stand for God in a godless world at the time. 

However the real issue at hand here is discipleship. I have read the book of Acts several times and I have ceased to find large evangelistic campaigns, tent revivals or door knocking. That’s not to say that those things don’t and haven’t worked in times past and presently and even in the future. I’m just simply stating what I have read in the Bible. Jesus charged His Church with the responsibility of disciple making, Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV) (emphasis my own) So if there are no campaigns for winning souls to Christ and then discipling them, how did 12 men turn the world upside down with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  I’m glad you asked. 

It’s not that conventional methods, programs and ministries don’t work, but we must remember Jesus spoke to a different audience 2000 years ago than He does today. He knew in the first century that the most influential position in all the world was the home. There was no large scale gov’t. run education system, a majority of the entire world still received all their training at home. I do find in the book of Acts where a father finds and falls in love with the Good News and he and his whole house/family were saved and baptized. (Acts 16) 

I guess what this young pastor is saying, instead of trying something new and exciting because it’s different, maybe it’s time to try something old that is proven. The Bible and its method of “training up a child” and Deut. 6:7-9, “7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

As we begin making disciples in our own homes and families, I truly believe it will take an act of God Himself to stop the Gospel message from spreading. If we can truly teach the Bible and it’s life altering message to our children (and maybe even ourselves) there will be nothing that can stop us from wanting to share that to everyone else we come into contact with. So here goes nothing..... “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (ESV)(emphasis my own)

The following article I read this week from a blog I keep up with. It just so happens to be the main speaker for our Pulse Conference this upcoming year. Dr. Thom Rainer, a church consultant researched and found a few reasons why Sunday school classes and small groups should be on the same page as the Pastoral staff, here is what he found:

The Five Dangers of Unaligned Small Groups

The first time I encountered this issue was in a church consultation nearly twenty years ago. I asked the pastor to tell me what was being taught in the church’s small groups. He seemed to be nonplused in his response: “I have no idea.”  I was taken aback.

I tried a different approach. “Tell me,” I said, “how the church decides what will be taught in the small groups.” Again, I was unprepared for his response: “The church leaders have no input into what small groups teach,” he said. “We let every class decide on its own. We don’t want to be like dictators telling them what they have to do. They decide according to what’s best in their own eyes.”

So, I continued, “I guess you let anybody teach or preach anything from the pulpit on Sunday mornings?”

“Of course not,” he said with some indignation. “We are very strict about the Sunday morning preaching. If I’m not teaching, then we have someone who is closely aligned to where we are going and what we believe.”

He did not get my attempt to connect the approach of the small groups with that of the Sunday morning teaching and preaching. How can you be so concerned about one and so nonchalant about the other?

Over the years I have been surprised to find out how many church leaders have a laissez faire attitude about what is being taught in small groups and Sunday school classes. Allow me to share five dangers of this “anything goes” approach.

1. Because preaching is held to a higher standard, the perception becomes that the small group teaching is just not that important. The reality is that most small groups or Sunday school classes spend more time in their groups than the time they take to listen to a sermon.
2. The vision of the church could be distracted or derailed. When the preaching and small group teaching are not aligned, the small groups can become alternative little churches with their own vision and priorities. Unfortunately, I have seen this reality a number of times.
3. It opens the door for heretical teaching. I know of one church that gave no thought to the content of the teaching in the small groups. They would soon discover that one group was studying a book that denied the deity of Christ.
4. It takes away from the unity of the church. The preaching is headed in one direction. The small group teaching is headed in another direction, or multiple directions. There is no unity in what the church is learning or how the members are growing spiritually.
5. It does not allow for strategic teaching. Indeed, the contrary may be true. The teaching in the small groups can negate the strategic intent of the preaching plan of the pastor.

Leaders in churches need not be autocratic in their desire to get small group teaching aligned with the ministry of the church. It can and should be a mutually agreed upon goal to move people toward greater maturity in Christ with clear and known material.

Indeed many churches are now moving to a uniform curriculum across all ages in all small groups and Sunday school classes. I see this development as a healthy trend. The leaders are making a statement that what is taught in every group is vitally important for the spiritual health of the members and for the church as a whole.

I found this article to be extremely relevant to our church and to what we are trying to accomplish here at Faith. I hope you do too. 

http://thomrainer.com/2013/06/24/five-dangers-of-unaligned-small-groups/ 

Fathers, as designed by the Heavenly Father

Have you ever noticed on the back of certain products, they label proudly where they were designed. Did you catch that? Not where the product was manufactured but in whose mind it was conceived. Pretty interesting concept as we near a Father’s Day holiday here in America. 

You see the pattern in Genesis, (the book of beginnings), God created things in order, with a sense of order, not in a haphazard manner. After God created the Earth and everything in it, then created man and woman, who with their offspring became the first family. He gave us, in this simple creative act, the ultimate illustration of how we can relate to an Almighty, Amazing, Holy God. The concept of a father was designed by God.

God showed us a father that had the responsibility to not only provide through the sweat of his brow, but also the direction of his worship, to lead them spiritually. God is not a god of chance, luck or circumstance, He is the God of Intentionality. He had a purpose when He created this father figure in a family setting. It is something that we can see, experience, and for the male portion of humanity, it is something we have the potential of being. 

This responsibility was not only shown by God but also lived out, fulfilled by the Heavenly Father, when He by the sending of His Son showed us how to live, love, and pass on to the next generation how to do the same. It ultimately cost God his only son to save us. John 3:16, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT) You can’t say that our Heavenly Father doesn’t know the cost of being a parent to His children.

As for us, the Bible is overflowing with people coming to know the Lord through the Holy Spirit, through the preaching and teaching of the Word, but it is also full of Deut. 6’s and Psalm 78‘s, where it talks about the faith of a father being passed down to his children. For example in Acts 16:33-34 where it says, “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (ESV) Along with countless other examples.

Here at Faith, we want to strengthen fathers and their ability to lead in love, not oppressive force. We want to strengthen mothers and their ability to teach, lead and guide their children by loving their husbands and supporting them as spiritual leaders of the family. We want to show children how not just to obey their parents like a boss at work, but as people who have a vested interest in them, not just their career, but in their eternal welfare. We want to lift up the family structure here at Faith so those from broken homes or who have no family structure to model can see how to break the mold, get out of the cycle, and ultimately see the Heavenly Father for who He is, how He loves,  how He leads His children, and how He sets the example for His original design.

Does it matter how we run the race?

About October last year I had a chance to sign up to run a race for a good cause. There are a lot of races for a lot of good causes that I don't sign up for, but I was particularly motivated for this race which was supposed to take place in March; and as with most people I procrastinated the training portion of the actual race part until January. It was just a 10K right no big deal.
As I hit the gym in January I remembered why I wasn't a distance runner in high school. However, like most motivated people the process begins to change you. What started as a miserable sound at 4:30 telling me to get up and get to the gym, started to become a way of life. I started seeing results, I lost 30 lbs., I was lifting my body weight again in the gym and feeling better about myself.
The March race was quickly approaching and my stamina and endurance were increasing and I was starting to get a little nervous too. 3 Weeks prior to race day I grabbed a good friend who was a real runner, and I said, "Push me, don't let me quit." After 1 hour and 5.1 miles we wrapped up that day, and surprisingly I was still alive. I was tired, yes, and sore, yes, but alive. I continued training leading up to the event.

The Big Day

Here it was race day, and there was quite a crowd. People from everywhere, some I knew and some I didn't. Some I trained with and some who had obviously been training a long time for this. I was mentally prepared, physically could have been better but getting to the end wasn't my goal, fulfilling the  goals I had set before me were what was motivating me that day. As the crowds starting moving and we crossed that starting line, I knew I would finish, there was too much energy around me, too much fight within me to stop me at this point, as I surged past the walkers, and the talkers I attempted set the pace I planned and worked toward. Mile 1 check, things were going well, a little faster than I planned but that happens with the excitement and the crowds around you. Mile 2, check, brought about the pace that I had worked for. Mile 3 getting into a rhythm, controlling my breathing, and then bam something happened, something unexpected. Pain shooting through my right hip and down the side of right leg. I stopped and walked and started again and again and again. To no avail, I couldn't run it out. I had to walk the remaining 3.2 miles. 

So What!? 

After the Race I was so upset with myself, my body, and several other mistakes I made leading up to that day. However, person after person continued to say to me, "At least you finished". Those words were haunting me. Over and over they ran through me. As if all that I had done was for nothing just crossing the finish line was all that counted, not what happened from the beginning to the end. 


Sometimes, I see this thought process correlating across the board in our Christian walk and that's what prompted me to write this. At times Christianity is consumed and content with just getting across the finish line. The Bible says clearly after trusting in Jesus Christ as a personal savior you are "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" (John 3:36; John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5). Once you start the race, you will finish because it's not dependent upon you the blood, sweat and tears belong to Jesus for that....

But the Bible also tells us there is some importance in how we run. Hebrews 12:1b-2a "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith"How we run makes a difference, with endurance, having trained and prepared everyday for the struggles in life which will make us pull up and walk. Always keeping an eye at the finish line where Jesus stands as the "founder and perfecter of our faith". 
 One of my favorite visual images in all of the Bible is one given in Revelation that tells us, when all is said and done all the crowns that we earned on this earth, not in order to get there but as a result of how we ran the race, are given so that we might fall at the feet of Jesus and turned them over to Him, who is worthy of all the honor, glory and praise. 

So, Does it matter how we run the race? If you know Jesus, you are already guaranteed a spot at the finish line, but part of how I run that race determines how honored and glorified HE will be at the end. Makes a difference how we approach each day if thats true. Consider this as you approach your race each day.


God Bless, 

Grant A. Murray
Pastor of Family Ministries
Faith Baptist Church
gmurray@faithnlr.org
faithnlr.org

How do we worship together as a family?

I recently read an interesting article on Some Practical Suggestions For Worshipping Together as a Family. There are some seemingly insurmountable obstacles when one says, “We are going to sit together as a family for church this week!” In her article Noel Piper says, “We discovered that the very earliest school for worship is in the home, when we help a baby be quiet for just a moment while we ask God’s blessing on our meal; when a toddler is sitting still to listen to a Bible story book; when a child is learning to pay attention to God’s Word and to pray during family devotional times.”

The author of the article suggests starting early, and instilling in your children at even the earliest of ages, that church is not boring, it is not where you go once a week to be entertained and it is certainly not an “escape route for easy childcare”.  It is our responsibility to promote these concepts early on as parents; to instill in our children early on in life a genuine love for God, His Word, His Son, and His will for our lives and not that of our own. 

The author also suggests some simple practical things we can all do:

1.) If you know what the scripture passage will be for the coming Sunday, read it together several times during the week. A little one’s face really lights up when he/she hears familiar words from the pulpit. 

2.) Have a worship folder for each service. It helps a child feel like a participant in the service. (Include paper and writing device)

3.) Make sure and take a restroom break prior to service (leaving the service is distracting and discouraged). 

4.) Pray for the understanding of those around you, as you attempt to “train up a child”. 

One might ask the question, Why would we bring our children into the service? Here are two goals for training your children to worship together: 

1.) So that children learn early and as well as they can to worship God Heartily

2.) So that parents are able to worship.

Be sure and encourage good behavior at the completion of every service. Make sure that no good deed goes unnoticed. Conversely make sure to promptly address any and all behavioral issues. If possible discreetly during service, if not sometimes a trip to the restroom post service will suffice.  Prov. 13:24 “He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” (NKJV)

If we want our families to “Fear God and keep His Commandments” there is no better time to start than now. Begin praying about bringing your family together for worship and pray for the understanding of those around you as we try to worship with, One Heart, One Mind, and One Voice. 

God Bless, 

Grant A. Murray

Pastor of Family Ministries 

Excerpts taken from: Noel Piper, Equipping the Generations: Some Practical Suggestions for Worshipping Together as a Family. 

http://www.sbts.edu/family/blog/equipping-the-generations-some-practical-suggestions-for-worshipping-together-as-a-family/

Reconciliation, God's call on the christian lifestyle, this is evident from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.
God is calling each and everyone to something. Do you believe that? It may or may not be ministry. It may or may not be missions. However, God wants to use you. Do you remember or have you seen the poster of Uncle Sam? You know the one where he is there pointing that finger at you and saying, "Uncle Sam wants you!" Can you imagine the Creator of the Universe, of all Heaven and Earth, saying that to you?
God wants you on His team. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, "¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Have you seen the basketball team where the one teammate sits on the end of the bench, never gets in the game, never cheers on their team? You ask yourself why? They made the team, they endured the practice, they need to be happy, excited, prepared to get in the game.  Are you getting the picture? If you are "in" Christ, it's time to be happy, excited, and prepared to get in the game of life.