Jesus' Scare Tactics

 There is one example of Jesus using guilt and fear -- scare tactics -- on His listeners. It's an audience He summoned. The scribes. Summoned like demons! The pen-men of the day. Rewriting scripture their own way. And getting it very wrong. 

Check out Mark 3:22-30

Jesus tells them they must stop labeling God's work as belonging to the Devil. That kind of blasphemy will glug up your heart so hard-and-fast you'll be completely deaf to the ever gentle voice of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable -- because you're unreachable -- sin.

Jesus loved even the religious leaders who hunted and harassed Him. He didn't want them to miss or misname God's voice. He wanted them to be drawn to Him the way Nicodemus was. Seeking. Teachable. Even if it was at night.

Jesus meets people where they are. And if they're hell-bent on leading themselves or others off a spiritual cliff… He will pull out all the stops to save them.

You Already Have the Perfect Church Growth Strategy!

A healthy and thriving Seventh-day Adventist Church has an effective Sabbath School program. Declining Adventist churches are almost always also declining in Sabbath School effectiveness. Since before we had a name, it was our backbone. Sabbath School created the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

Focused on Bible study, evangelism, and fellowship, Sabbath School is a powerful platform for church growth. When focused correctly, Sabbath School nurtures both the spiritual health of each member and the numerical growth of the congregation. Sabbath School classes, embedded with effective strategies and principles, will grow your church.

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Sabbath School Succession Planning

For healthy Sabbath School classes, having a succession plan ensures continuity of spiritual growth, effective ministry, and the empowerment of new leaders.

Succession planning is not merely a strategy for replacing leaders; it’s a means to ensure that God’s work continues to flourish. When Moses was nearing the end of his life, God instructed him to appoint Joshua as his successor (see Numbers 27:18-23). Moses laid hands on Joshua, commissioning him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Here are some key principles of succession planning.

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Sabbath School Starters - Meme Texting

As Christians, we are often told to avoid postmodern approaches to life and thinking. In truth, most of us are postmoderns. We were born here in the middle of it. We love a good proof-text (or should I say ‘meme’?) to start our day, a conversation or just for a personal pick-me-up.

A proof text is a lot like a meme. It speaks to us in our context using a simplification of something larger. Memes include pictures for context and a few pithy words for meaning. Proof-texting, likewise, uses just a few words. But, the picture is painted by the reader - and this is where things get messy. 

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Sabbath School Hijackers

We’ve all had Sabbath School hijackers! You know the situation - no matter how much you tried to guide things back on track, one individual kept steering the discussion their way, and soon the group lost its focus. These kinds of "discussion hijackers" can really disrupt the flow of your class. Here’s a great article about four types of hijackers you might encounter and how to handle them effectively.

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Sabbath School Starters - Friendship

I highly encourage you to take 24 minutes and watch this awesome discussion about friendship. Trevor Noah and Simon Sinek are two of today's most engaging thinkers on social issues. Once you've watched it, I think you will want to share and discuss it with your Sabbath School class. It's that good!

Some thoughts on friendship in Sabbath School

We are designed to be in relationships with others. Friendship is a gift from God, and Sabbath School provides a great place to build friendships! In our class groups, we encounter shared challenges, joys, and opportunities to grow in faith together.

Sabbath School friends will be there for each other when times are tough. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up" ( Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Once we are in a Sabbath School group, things we would have faced alone will be faced with faith-filled friends - the best kind of friends there are!

Sabbath School classes are discipleship groups. Jesus told His disciples, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (John 15:13). Jesus calls His followers not just servants, but friends. In your Sabbath School groups, you are following Jesus together. You are modern-day disciples!

The Early Church in Acts 2:42-47 is a powerful example of Sabbath School Groups in action. Believers devoted themselves to group worship, breaking bread, group prayer, and sharing everything. Their unity and love for one another were so profound that they changed the world around them.

The apostle Paul gives us some principles for forming healthy friendships in Sabbath School. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Philippians 2:3-4). Prioritising others is essential in maintaining a healthy, Christ-centered Sabbath School.

When tough conversations or battles of will happen in Sabbath School, Ephesians 4:2-3 provides valuable counsel: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Unity requires effort, patience, and a willingness to overlook offences. In group settings, this often means valuing the opinions and experiences of others even when they differ from our own.

True Christian friendships point us and others to Jesus. Disciples reflect Christ’s love to the world. Let us seek to be friends who love as Jesus loved.

Asking like Jesus

Luke 10:25-37 (CSB)

25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” 

27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”, 

28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.” 

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 

30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 

36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 

37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. 

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” 

Asking God Questions

Do you see what Jesus did there? He reversed the direction of the Law Expert's question.
Law Expert: "Who is my neighbour?"
Jesus: "What kind of neighbour are you?" 

Much like the Cain and Abel story, right at the beginning of the Bible. Cain asked God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" and God's answer forced Cain to face the question: "What kind of brother are you?" 

Likewise, while the Gospel says, "You are forgiven" it also poses the question: "Who will you forgive?" Paul says we are reconcilers because we have been reconciled. 

When Jesus gets in your life, you start acting like Him, forgiving like Him and answering questions like Him. 

I love it! 

Three Greats of Discipleship

Mark 4:35-41 (ESV - The ESV nails it!)

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Even today, when Jesus' disciples face "great storms" He is already in their boat awaiting their call for help. Once called, He brings a "great calm" to their troubles stilling their storms and stress. Next follows the "great fear" of the Lord which overwhelms every disciple's heart when they realise Who is truly in their boat, on their side and at their call.

Covenant and Community

"Covenant and Community" is a deep exploration of God's unwavering commitment to humanity, showing that His covenant is a promise of love, provision, and protection. It calls for humans to respond by living in love and worship, fostering healthy communities, and remembering the ultimate sacrifice made in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

This sermon explores the concept of 'covenant' as it appears in the Bible, highlighting its evolution and its implications for human relationships with God and each other. The word 'covenant' was introduced after sin entered the world as a promise from God to counteract doubt. However, the meaning of 'covenant' in the ancient Near East culture differs from our modern understanding. It was not a contract with responsibilities but a promise from God, the provider and protector, to humanity. The appropriate response to God's covenant was and still is worship.

this sermon explores the various eras of Israel's history, showing how God restated the covenant at each stage, reminding His people of His role as provider and protector, and their role to love Him and each other. These reminders took various forms such as the rainbow after the flood, the circumcision for Abraham's tribe, the Levites and the law for Moses' nation, and the promise to David's Kingdom that the Messiah would come through David's lineage.

However, despite these constant reminders, the people often forgot their covenant with God. This led, ultimately, to God's promise of a New Covenant, as prophesied by Jeremiah, where God would forgive their sins and write His law in their hearts. The New Covenant was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection provided the ultimate reminder of God's covenant in the bread and the wine of the communion meal.

The sermon concludes by emphasizing that the covenant between God and humanity has always been one-sided, with God taking on all the responsibility. God provides, protects, creates, recreates, saves, restores, builds, and rebuilds. In response, humans are called to love Him back and love all that He has made. The covenant is God's promise and our purpose: Love.

Sharing the Gospel in Chains

In my Sabbath School class this morning, I'm telling the story of Acts 16:16-34. Then leading a group reading and discussion on Philippians 1:12-20 to discuss the topic of the week:  "Standing for the Truth."

The conclusion:
With eyes fixed on Jesus,
Life is a string of God-given opportunities 
for the sharing of the Gospel.
Don't complain about what God didn't do. 
Instead, rejoice in what God is going to do!

Sabbath: The Way And The Day

Sabbath should inform the way you worship just as much as the day you worship! 

Genesis presents it as a day created for rest with God (Gen 2). Exodus reframes it as a day of rest honouring creation (Ex 20). Deuteronomy reframes it as a day of rest due to freedom (Deut 5). Jesus reframes it as a day of rest to be truly human (Mark 2). He says mankind is the master of Sabbath, not the other way around. 

Worshiping on Sabbath is a form of resting but it's not always restful! Sabbath is a day to remember the God who created us, liberated us, and empowered us to connect to our role as stewards of creation and champions of the freedom of others. 

Sabbath was truly made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It serves to remind us to bring rest to our fellow man and the broken earth. It serves to reclaim us as created in God's image. And it remains both a day and a way of being truly human.