Preaching

Preaching Christ in a Multi-Denominational World

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments 
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 
1 Timothy 1:5 NKJV

This past Wednesday, I had what the medical profession refers to as “minor” surgery”. Of course, in my experience, the “minor” part has mostly to do with who is receiving it. Thankfully all went “Nominally” for the hernia repair but suffice it to say that most of this week has passed like a blur. Besides the obvious discomfort and subsequent difficulty readjusting to performing minor activities, (Like walking), the biggest issue was rescheduling all the various nursing home meeting for the week. I am very thankful for other volunteers who have stepped in and carried two of the meetings and the third I was able to reschedule for the following week. In 1 Timothy, Paul was facing on a far grander scale some of the same issues as he asks Timothy to deal with at Ephesus in order to correct the doctrinal drift of the church. When Paul first preached in Ephesus, a great revival had broken out and he had remained there about 1 1/2 years. However, just as he had feared, in his absence false teachers had slipped into the church along with some local leaders who had turned back to their traditional Judaism, and both were bringing in confusion about the entire point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, my circumstances are quite different than Paul’s, but some of his same challenges face all of us who do nursing home ministry.

Each week there sits in front of us a mixture of Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans and Catholics, along with Pentecostals and many garden variety, non-churchgoers. How are we to preach Jesus? What is the point of our ministry? As I came across today’s verse in a devotional plan that I am following with a friend, I thought, “This is it!” When we are sharing the good news of salvation through the cross and the love of God, there is no great goal than seeing people respond with a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Does this mean dancing around biblical doctrines, excusing sin or altering the foundation of salvation through Jesus? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we have no time to quibble about different backgrounds, various traditions or minor differences. There is precious little time left in the lives of our members and every moment that God gives us with them counts. The thing I missed most this past week was the butterfly release at Life Care. I was told that each person was given a tiny box with a living butterfly and in memory of those who have passed away this past year, everyone opened their container and released their butterfly. I thought how much that act was like sharing Christ at the nursing homes has been over these last thirty-five years. I have to the best of my ability given to them the love of Christ in both message as well as in friendship. I am also reminded that just like those butterflies, we all will soon fly off to Heaven or Hell. But in the meantime, I know that God, for His own reasons has entrusted me and many, many others with the responsibility of preaching Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen in places most of the world has forgotten and to pray that as their own box opens, that they have learned to love God with pure hearts, forgive and ask forgiveness from others with a clean conscience and trust in Jesus with all their hearts.

Photo by Matthias Zomer on Pexels.com

“We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

The Great Commission Has Not expired!

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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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The pastor has tattoos and preaches in flipflops, the music is too loud, and the crowd is too big. are just a few of the items on the laundry list of reasons people today give to turn down an invitation to church. Ironically, the list we heard thirty years ago was, all they sing is old hymns, you have to wear a shirt and tie, the pastor is boring, and only a few old people go there. The church has faced pushback, ridicule, and even outright persecution, in every generation. It may feel discouraging, pointless, or old-fashioned to continue presenting the claims of Christ and asking people to make a decision to follow Him. But the presence of opposition in no way invalidates the necessity of continuing to do the job that Jesus gave us to do.

The Great Commission has no expiration date, and even in this age of an AI Jesus and slick marketing, a simple, person to person, gospel message is still the most effective way to lead a person to Jesus Christ. It isn’t hopeless, someone else’s job, or a forgone conclusion that the church will fail. God’s word, honestly and fearlessly spoken, still has power. But we don’t need to start knocking on doors or even begin preaching on street corners to reach lost souls. God will put individuals in our path or will arrange for us to be in theirs. Our only job is to tell people about God and share what He has done in our life. Keep inviting anyone who will listen to come to Jesus and keep believing that what the Holy Spirit has done for 2,000 years, He will continue to do till Jesus returns!

The Gift of Altar Call

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Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. Romans 12:1 Amplified Bible

John Brown* stood about 5’5” in his stocking feet but he was a spiritual giant in our lives while he, was our pastor. Though he had been through all the same training as other pastors in our denomination, his sermons always had the earthiness of the potato farm he had grown up on in Maine. I still remember his messages about the work of harvest and the barns filled with potatoes drying on the shelves. But of all the talents that Pastor Brown brought to the table, his gift of altar call outshone them all!

The root of why he delivered an impassioned altar call each week was rooted in his experience while he served overseas in the military as a young man. To outward appearances all was well. He had a good home a bright future and his whole life lay ahead of him. But despite what others thought, during that time, he felt lost and lonely, wondering what was the purpose of it all. He told us that his loneliness turned to despondency and depression till finally one evening he sat with a revolver in his hands wondering if it would be better to simply end things there. When he was at his lowest point, Jesus spoke to his heart, and gave him hope. Right there, John dedicated his heart and life to the Lord and to his service and made a promise that whenever he had opportunity to preach that he would always give people the opportunity to come to the Lord in prayer.

Though I myself responded a number of times to those altar calls for various struggles in my own life, I simply took his gift for granted, till, one Sunday when a visiting evangelist was preaching. I have no idea what the guest speaker preached on that day, but at the end, he gave an altar call, just as our pastor normally did but no one came forward. Now at that time our church had close to a thousand in attendance on any average Sunday morning. The organist continued playing softly for a while, and the choir sat quietly in their places, yet the altar still remained empty. A bit embarrassed, the evangelist turned and asked Pastor Brown if he could dismiss us in prayer. I had already begun wondering what was for lunch and was gathering our bibles when our diminutive pastor stepped up to the microphone, cleared his throat and began, “Now I don’t think some of you people were listening much to the sermon this morning.” Pastor Brown began. He went on to impress upon us our need for responding to the message, and before you could bat an eye there were twenty folks at the front asking for prayer. Now that’s the gift of altar call, and I am so glad that our pastor had it in spades!  He taught us that no one can tell from the outside what is hidden inside our hearts. How about you? Are you ready and willing to open your heart to the Lord today? God is listening and able to help you and I right now – but He will never drag us to the altar. He is leaving the choice to us!

* The name has been changed to preserve the privacy of his family.