Borrowing Brains: “Messiah” Outreach Idea

The Lord is doing some tremendous things at TCBC at present, especially as members are giving out the gospel and inviting guests to join us for services. Our “bread and butter” for outreach isn’t events or programs, but equipping and motivating our entire body for “Every Member Evangelism.” The BODY is our best outreach ministry. And the Lord is using them! Please pray for us as much seed is being planted and many professions have been made in recent weeks. It’s been delightful!

Still, we’re wanting to supplement individual outreach with corporate outreach more effectively than we have in the past. One idea I hope we can apply this year is a “Community Messiah Sing.” My intention is to schedule a time early in December in which we invite people from our community to gather at our church building (a) to sing popular portions of Handel’s Messiah together, unrehearsed and with no thought of a performance, (b) to have some refreshments, and (c) to hear a brief discussion of the history and theology of the great work, which will include a clear gospel presentation.

We need to work on the details and viability of it. Have you ever done something like this? Do you have suggestions that would help make it more effective? Or do you have other ideas for outreach via this sort of community event?

Please chime in!

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Related: Our most effective corporate outreach ministry thus far is the publication of The Gospel CD, which our members consistently distribute to friends and family members. I commend the idea to you!

The New Passover

“The disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.” Matthew 26:19-20

Our goal in this study is not to give an exhaustive description of the Lord’s Table, but simply to consider how Matthew connects this ordinance with the Passover. (Notice how he mentions it four times in 26:17-19.)

Exodus 12:21-28 records the time in history when the Lord instituted the Passover. By the time of Christ, Israel had observed this feast more than 1400 times. Thus, on the evening mentioned in Matthew 26:20, the Lord Jesus was observing the traditional Old Testament Passover feast with His disciples. While doing so, Jesus associated Himself with the Passover Lamb in four ways. First, Jesus connected Himself with the Passover lamb by the timing of His death (Matthew 26:2, compare with Luke 22:15). He would be crucified on the same night that the Passover lambs were slaughtered. Secondly, like the Old Testament Passover lamb, Jesus was sacrificed in Jerusalem. This was the city in which the Passover festival was celebrated, and the gospels make much of Jesus’ relentless march to that place and the death that awaited Him there. Thirdly, Jesus was just like the Passover lamb in that His people were to “partake” of Him. Just as the Israelites were to eat the Passover lamb, Jesus commanded the disciples to spiritually feed on Him (i.e., to trust in His substitutionary death; compare Matthew 26:26-28 with John 6:35-38). Fourthly, the wrath-bearing nature of Jesus’ death also associates Him with the Passover. God’s wrath was poured out on the sacrificial lamb so that it wouldn’t touch the people (see Hebrews 11:28). In the same way, Jesus suffered and entirely absorbed God’s wrath so that none of it would be left for us. God the Father crushed Him, punished Him, afflicted Him, and forsook Him so that He could pass over us. Jesus Christ is the perfect Passover Lamb: sacrificed at the Passover time, dying in the Passover city, nourishing us in the Passover way, and bearing God’s wrath like the Passover lamb.

Though these connections are clear enough in the gospels, Paul explicitly connects the Lord Jesus Christ with Passover lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Although this passage is primarily about church purity rather than the Passover, Paul clearly recognized Christ as the Christian Passover Lamb.

Jesus Christ fulfilled and replaced the Passover lamb.  In the Old Testament, the Passover lamb was slain to deliver the firstborn and to redeem God’s nation out of Egypt. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb, slain in place of everyone who will believe to redeem us out of sin and death and the world. Yet, there are wonderful differences. Whereas thousands of Passover lambs were slain—lambs which could, in fact, never take away sin—Jesus was slain once, perfectly, and now we are redeemed.

And, just as He Himself had fulfilled and replaced the Passover lamb, when Christ instituted the Lord’s Table He fulfilled and replaced the Passover feast. Thus, just as the Israelites were to remember the one-time Passover event by perpetual Passover observances, so we are called to perpetually remember the one-time redeeming sacrifice of Christ for sins by eating reminders of His broken body and shed blood. The point is not to go through a transcendent ritual, but simply to remember Jesus.

“In remembrance of me” were His words as He established this new feast. Is it shocking to you that Christ would have to give us such a reminder? How could we forget that perfect God became perfect Man to bear my sin on the cross? But we do. Thus, we consistently observe the New Testament Passover feast in order to remember Jesus Christ, our perfect Passover Lamb. And as we do, we remind ourselves that when God sees Jesus’ blood spiritually applied to our lives, He passes over us. Hallelujah!

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This article is a summary of “The New Passover,” a sermon  preached on Sunday morning, April 22, 2007. It was transcribed with edits by Joe Tyrpak.

Are We in “Maintenance Mode”?

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne provide a necessary and convicting challenge regarding Christian ministry in their new book The Trellis and the Vine. One thing against which they rightly warn is what several friends and I refer to as “Maintenance Mode,” something which can be a particular danger to fundamental churches and institutions (as well as to others, obviously). Hear this:

“The concentration on trellis work [structure and programs vs. "vine work"---people-building ministry] that is so common in many churches derives from an institutional view of Christian ministry. It is very possible for churches, Christian organizations and whole denominations to be given over totally to maintaining their institution.” (p. 10)

They go on to criticize the program and methodology obsession of the church growth movement (lulling most “Amen”-shouting readers into a false security) before turning their sights back on the sorts of ministries of which most of us are a part:

“Even among those godly, faithful pastors who avoid the trendsetting fads of Christian marketing, there is confusion—most especially between what Christian ministry is in the Bible, and what Christian ministry has become in the particular tradition or denomination of which they are part. We are all captive to our traditions and influenced by them more than we realize. And the effect of tradition and long practice is not always that some terrible error becomes entrenched; more often it is that our focus shifts away from our main task and agenda, which is disciple-making. We become so used to doing things one way (often for good reason at first) that important elements are neglected and forgotten, to our cost. We become imbalanced, and then wonder why we go in circles.” (p. 15)

Ouch. Is it possible the many fundamental churches and institutions (a) are more concerned with self-preservation than their God-given mission of disciple making, and (b) are distracted by maintaining traditions so that weightier matters are neglected and forgotten? I think it is. And both errors are deadening.

A fresh look at “why we do what we do” is in order, and from what I can tell thus far, The Trellis and the Vine could be a helpful part of that process. I commend it to you.

Questions? Comments? Discuss.

Priest’s Supporters Aim at Sainthood

Cleveland Catholics are making the case for a 1950’s televangelist priest, Fulton J. Sheen, to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint. Part of their argument for his canonization is that he answered a prayer addressed to him by healing a dying infant, which could be one of two miracles necessary for him to be eligible for sainthood.

A video and story from Cleveland’s WKYC News Channel 3 can be found here.

Frankly, it feels a lot like the endeavors Coloradoans made to get Randy Gradishar and Goose Gossage elected into pro sports Hall of Fames when I was growing up—even to the point of debating over necessary “stats.” Strange.

Thankfully, the Bible teaches that our “sainthood” or holy standing with God rests in the finished work of Jesus Christ, not in our own performances (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Bible offers holiness as a gift to sinners, regardless of what they’ve done (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). And the only one we need to make our case is Christ:

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

That’s the Gospel, and it’s further explained in this mp3. I commend it to you.

Sound Words: A Mess May Mean Success!

The world in which we live is a mess. Lives are dominated by sinful habits. People live with little if any restraint, and it shows in their behavior, their dress, and their language. Sinners are messy. Indeed, even when sinners come to Christ, they bring their messy baggage with them. Thus, ministry that engages sinners is messy. What do I mean?

First, our churches must aim to reach the lost where they are.
I’ve been prone in the past to judge the effectiveness of a church by the condition of its attendees. If the people seemed to “have it all together” (e.g. they dressed up, had high standards, knew the Scriptures, etc.), I assumed the church was strong and effective. On the other hand, if the people had “issues” (e.g. they dressed immodestly or informally, were biblically illiterate, smelled of smoke, etc.), I assumed that the church was weak and ineffective.

The truth is, my means of measuring a church’s effectiveness was simplistic, and perhaps downright backwards! If, for example, a church is filled only with people who “fit in” and have no problems (wink, wink), it may mean that they haven’t seen any conversions for many years! And if a church has down-and-outers, it may mean that they’re reaching their community for Christ—and they’re reaching lost people, not just families looking for strong churches! So a “mess” may mean “success”!

Think of it this way: a house that is perfectly clean is probably a house in which no babies reside. And a house strewn with toys and smelling of soiled diapers—as uncomfortable as it may be—is probably a house where there is new life! And that’s great! To put it the way Proverbs 14:4 does, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” Cleanliness and productivity are often incompatible. Ministry is messy!

Second, our churches must aim at regeneration, not mere reformation.
Because people’s “issues” make us uncomfortable, it may be tempting to press newcomers about issues like proper attire, hair length, smoking, and the like. Yet, we need to be careful when addressing these kinds of issues. We may needlessly offend them, whether saved or lost. Worse, we may communicate to them that Christianity is about “looking the part,” not changing from the inside out by the grace of God extended through the cross of Christ. John Owen addresses the danger of mere reformation in chapter 8 of his classic book The Mortification of Sin. I commend it to you. In short, he warns that if we succeed at getting outward change we may soothe a smarting conscience illegitimately and create a whitewashed sepulcher! Or, on the other hand, if the person tries and fails to change outside of Christ’s saving power, we may create hopelessness and cause them to doubt the gospel’s power.

Finally, we must get accustomed to the mess of ministry rather than turning up our nose at it.
We mustn’t be more “righteous” than Christ (I speak as a fool). Jesus came not to call the (apparently) righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). So He ate with publicans. So He ministered to prostitutes and adulteresses. So He—to His eternal praise and our eternal salvation!—“received sinners” (Luke 15:2). Mere improvement of morals is worse than useless; it’s harmful!

Bottom line: Don’t help damn people through your efforts to improve them! They don’t need to be more respectable in their sinful condition—though such respectability may keep Christians from feeling squeamish. They need the gospel. They need to be born again. They need heart change that results in habit change, as do those of us who have been saved for decades.

Ministry is messy, at least if it’s productive. May our churches be hospitals for the spiritually sick, and may they be messy for the glory of God!

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“Sound Words” is a monthly column in the OBF Visitor, the publication of The Ohio Bible Fellowship. This article was first printed in September 2009. It is cross-posted from the OBF Visitor blog, where many other articles are posted and may be searched by author, category and keyword. Information on subscribing to the Visitor is available here.

My Jesus, Fair Octavo and Orchestration Available

By God’s grace, Greg Habegger’s choral arrangement of My Jesus, Fair has been very well received. Almost 1000 copies have been sold since it was released 3 weeks ago. We’re thrilled to be able help church and school choirs point their hearers Christ-ward, whether for Good Friday, Easter, or other services. The song’s focus on Christ’s atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and promised return is glorious, especially when the congregation joins on the last verse. We have nothing better to sing of than Christ!

We appreciate this kind endorsement of the song by Pastor Dave Doran. Thank you!

The orchestration by Nikki Eoute and Brian Buda is now available along with the octavo at the CWM Store. (You can view a pdf sample of the orchestration here.) The entire piece (including choir, orchestra, and congregation) can be heard in this video, a recording of its debut during a live service at Bob Jones University in November 2009.

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Note: ChurchWorksMedia.com relies largely on word of mouth to get the word out about our resources. Please share a link to this post with friends (especially music pastors or teachers) via email, twitter, blogs, or Facebook. Your help is tremendously appreciated.

Micah Potter: NFL Pass, Punt & Kick Champion!

How cool is this?! Micah Potter, the 10-year-old son of my good friend, Pastor Tim Potter, beat 500,000 other kids to become the National Champion of the NFL’s PP&K competition.

• The story about his qualifying for the finals can be read or viewed here. (Tim and Caleb Potter make cameo appearances in the video.)
• The video of his being crowned as champ on national television during halftime of last week’s Jets/Chargers game can be viewed here.

Nice job, Micah! I feared that your representing the Browns would guarantee some kind of heartbreaking loss, but you overcame even that. Maybe the Cleveland Curse has been lifted. ;) Congratulations!

Abortion Perspective

Sobering numbers:

• Population of Haiti: 10,000,000
• Hurricane Katrina death toll: 1836
• 9/11 death toll: 2974
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki death toll: 200,000
• Military death toll of U. S. Civil War: 620,000
• Military death toll of World War II: 25,000,000
• U.S. abortion death toll since Roe v. Wade was passed on this day in 1973: 52,000,000

Shocking. Scandalous. Evil.

Pastor Bob Bixby Going to Haiti Tonight. Pray. Help.

I just got off the phone with Bob Bixby, Pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church and one of the hearts behind Global Grace Missions. Bob has spoken frequently about the need for believers to extend compassion and assistance in times of particular need, and the Lord has given Him an unprecedented opportunity to do so.

I spoke with Bob yesterday about Global Grace’s collection of medical supplies for a medical team flying to Haiti very early tomorrow morning. In a 24-hour span, Morning Star and the surrounding community collected $250,000 in medical supplies and prepared to ship them to New York for the trip. As Bob was making final arrangements with the team, one of the doctors mused, “I wish we had a French-speaking chaplain.” Half reluctantly, Bob told the man that he speaks fluent French, having grown up as a missionary kid in France. And just as importantly, he knows the Gospel exceedingly well. Bob and his family prayed about the opportunity, and he leaves for Haiti at 2AM Friday morning on an appointment that seems to be no less God-ordained than Philip’s going to win the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert. (Except that Bob anticipates flying home on a plane.)

Pray for Bob’s safety. Pray for his courage. Pray for opportunities to share Christ and for lasting fruit—that some Haitians will join our song around the Throne as a result of this trip! And pray for his family (Jennie, Patience, and Corban) as they await his return around February 8th.

Per my conversation with Bob moments ago, he has around $1500 in travel expenses that are not yet covered. I told him not to think about it again. If you’d like to help, you can make a donation via the “Donate” button on the right side of the Global Grace blog. (Sorry I don’t have a direct link.) Your gift will go to cover Pastor Bixby’s expenses, followed by other gospel-saturated Haitian ministry, as possible.

What an amazing opportunity for a uniquely equipped servant of the Lord. Pray.

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I just got off the phone with Bob Bixby, Pastor of Morningstar Baptist Church and the heart behind Global Grace Mission. Bob has spoken frequently about the need for believers to extend compassion and assistance in times of particular need, and the Lord has given Him an unprecedented opportunity to do so.

I spoke with Bob yesterday about the opportunity Gospel Grace had to collect medical supplies for a medical team flying to Haiti very early tomorrow morning. In a 24-hour span, Morningstar and the surrounding community collected $250,000 in medical supplies and prepared to ship them to New York for the trip. As Bob was making final arrangements with the team, one of the doctors mused, “I wish we had a French-speaking chaplain.” Half reluctantly, Bob told the man that he speaks fluent French. He grew up as a missionary kid in France. And just as importantly, he knows the Gospel exceedingly well. Bob and his family prayed about the opportunity, and he leaves for Haiti at 2am Friday morning on an appointment that seems to be no less God-ordained than Phillip’s going to win the Ethiopian eunuch. (Except Bob anticipates flying home on a plane.)

Pray for Bob’s safety. Pray for courage. Pray for opportunities to share Christ and for lasting fruit. And pray for his family as they await his return on February 8^th.

Per my conversation with Bob moments ago, he has around $1500 in travel expenses that are not yet covered. I told him not to think about it again. If you’d like to help, you can make a donation to help with these expenses via the ChurchWorksMedia.com site.

Follow-Up to “Zero Tolerance”

I’ve been shocked by the number of hits my recent article on serious-minded preaching received. Mercy. The discussion has sprawled—here, on FaceBook, and in private notes. Some of it has been profitable. Some of it has probably been sinful. I think a follow-up is in order, so I’m re-posting a comment I made on that thread here:

I’m hoping this discussion is winding down. The post certainly touched a nerve, which isn’t a bad thing, I suppose. There’s a longing for Christ-centered, biblically-sound preaching. Who knew? :)

A few quick reflections:

* I don’t think it helped that it immediately turned personal. I’ve been frustrated by several messages in recent weeks (from more than one pulpit), but it’s a much bigger issue than a particular institution or individual or message. This post was in the works for 20 years. I hope that larger point isn’t lost in the midst of “Yeah, ____’s messages were really bad.”

* I’ve recently spoken with two of my friends who often face this sort of decision-making. I spoke with them before writing anything here, and the results of both conversations were profitable. I urge those who have these sorts of concerns I share here to graciously communicate them with the appropriate people. Talk to them, not about them. I’ve found them very appreciative of kind suggestions and critiques.