Church: Body

As I sat with our church’s youth group Wednesday evening, I was incredibly grateful to hear them (both the leaders and the students) talk about how the church is a family that builds one another up, not a building in which we gather. The church is a people, not a property. The church is a body of believers, not a building of bricks. Praise the Lord!

This truth is so important because we all need community. God created us to flourish in community, surrounded by family that will sharpen and strengthen us to be who God created us to be and to do what God created us to do. Thus, we regularly say, “Our church is our family.” We need one another, depend on one another, and grow best when we are faithfully serving one another.

On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will be preaching through Hebrews 10:19-25 on how “The Church Is a Gift and a Necessity.” The message should be available HERE by Sunday evening. In the message, though, I hope to challenge my hearers to make sure their gospel response includes a corporate mindset. Indeed, the church is a gift and a necessity, and so our proper response to God and His Word includes a desire and commitment to be faithful to His church.

The church is the body of Christ – believers who covenant together to walk with Him and help others walk with Him. Jesus is the Head of the body, and we all serve and work together under His authority, seeking to honor and worship Him. If a church does not have a building, that church does not cease to be a body, just like a family without a home does not cease to be a family.

The health of a family is not based on the house in which they dwell, but rather on the bond of love in which they live. Likewise, the health of a church is not based on the building in which they gather (or the tree under which they gather) but rather on the Lord for whom they gather. As a church, if we truly seek to honor and serve Jesus, then we will love one another, serve one another, and seek to help others experience the incredible love of the gospel.

“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He ([Jesus]) who promised is faithful. And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).

I could spend hours talking and typing about this amazing passage of Scripture, as there are so many truths to ponder and applications for our lives. Please consider your relationship with your local church, though. Do you love Jesus? If so, you love His church and will set your priorities accordingly. If you do not love and prioritize your involvement in a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-following church, please examine your heart to see if you have truly surrendered your life to Jesus. He alone will give you that growing love and commitment, and you will never regret serving Him and His church. To God be the glory!

Before you can truly be committed to a local body of believers, you must be in a right relationship with the Head of the body. Learn more by checking out The Story.

In the Same Pool

Our family has been blessed by my mom’s generosity to get a pool a couple years ago and let us swim in it whenever we want. Since we only live 10 minutes from my mom’s house, our kids regularly request trips to Grandma Jo’s this time of year. The past few weeks have been – for me – that awkward time of year when swimming is appealing, but the water temperature is not quite up to my preferable temperature. The kids do not seem to mind, but I sure do. In fact, the kids were swimming a few weeks ago when the air temperature and pool temperature were both 66 degrees. That is not my idea of fun!

When the water is a little chilly, some of my kids just jump in, while some of them prefer the slower method of adaptation. Eventually, though, everyone is swimming and having a great time. Did the enjoyment for some of them start sooner? Sure. All of them ended up in the same place, though, as long as they all got in the same pool.

Is this not how it is for us in the Christian life, too? We might have our different struggles and hesitations, but as long as we are heading in the same direction to the same place (and get there), then we are part of the same family – the family of Jesus Christ.

For this reason, I really like confessions of faith like the Apostles’ Creed. To be a follower of Jesus, there are certain things you must believe. There are certain responses necessary to the truth of God’s Word (faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from your sins). Sure, you might get there slower than some and faster than others, but what matters is that you get there. When you do, you are no less part of the body of Christ than anyone else, regardless of the journey.

The kid who slowly got used to the water is no less in the water and used to the water than the kid who jumped in quicker and got used to it quicker.

Praise God for His grace! Apart from His Spirit working in our hearts and revealing the Truth to us, we would never “get in the pool.” When we do get in, though, by surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we are in. We are in for good. He will never let us go.

On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will be preaching from 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 on the important doctrine that “God Is Triune,” taking some time, too, to consider the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Hopefully, the message will be available HERE by Sunday evening.

Are you in the pool of Christian faith? If not, I want to invite you to jump in and experience the amazing mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit. Even if you are not ready to jump in, I would love to help you as you take your time to consider your response to the Word of God. Maybe you have some questions. Maybe you are struggling and need prayer. Either way, please let us know.

Just as my kids do not regret getting in the pool once they experience the family fun, no one regrets getting in the pool of the Christian life because they experience a relationship with Jesus and fellowship with His church. Praise the Lord!

If you want to learn more about what it means to know and follow Jesus, check out The Story.

Never Enough

The cleaning never ends in our home. Likewise, the cleaning never ends in your home, right? There will always be messes to clean up, dust to wipe away, floors to mop, carpets to vacuum, dishes to wash, and disorder to organize. The work never ends.

I believe our kids are actually cleaner than most, and I would like to think that I am cleaner than the average man. Yet, it seems like Marsha is always cleaning. Of course, she is very clean and thorough (and I am grateful to God for her), but the cleaning never ends. Her efforts are never enough. She can dust the furniture on Tuesday, but new dust has appeared by Thursday. She can mop the floors on Thursday, but the kids leave their tracks on Friday.

Truly, house cleaning is merely a band-aid to cover the mess that is sure to return.

Similar, but with far greater consequences and devastation, are our attempts to clean up our lives. Our efforts will never suffice. Our sacrifices will never be enough. We can try and try (and even make things look good for a while), but the cursed stain of sin and resulting death have control over us – that is, unless they are taken away forever.

Praise God for His Son Jesus Christ – the Only One who can take away sin and death forever. He defeated sin and death when He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead for our justification. Do you believe? Have you trusted in His life, death, and resurrection for your salvation, surrendering your life to Him? Only then can the cursed stain of sin and resulting death be removed from your record for eternity.

Yes, we are all still sinners and continually in need of God’s grace, help, mercy, and forgiveness, but when you turn from your sins and trust Jesus alone to save you, your status is changed. Your eternity is secure. Your adoption as a child of God is official. Your life is made new.

On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will be preaching through Hebrews 10:1-18 on the incredibly important truth that “Jesus Died for Our Sins.” The message will hopefully be available HERE on Sunday afternoon. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is essential for our salvation, so we will explore this truth Sunday morning.

Do not trust in yourself for a clean heart and a clean life. Jesus alone makes us clean, and He alone enables us to endure to the end. Have you trusted in Him? Are you continually trusting in Him? If so, you will indeed work hard in the faith as if you needed to but not because you need to. Rather, because you have been made new. Praise be to God!

To understand and embrace the saving message of the gospel – the only message of salvation – please check out The Story and turn to Jesus.

Eight!

Micah’s eighth birthday was April 3, and in typical family fashion, we just spent the day together as a family. Micah opened some gifts, we ate lunch at McDonald’s (per his request), we “shopped” around a little at Ozarkland, we flew a kite (one of Micah’s gifts), we worked together on another one of Micah’s gifts (a puzzle), and we had a great day together. I am grateful to the Lord for my family and the blessing of days like this!

We have a man-child!

Last Friday, Noah turned 18. Whoa! Per usual, we celebrated as a family, and here are a few pictures…

Is Your Church Family?

The first church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Do you have such a devotion alongside your church? Does your church have such a devotion together?

If so, then church is family, as it should be. Here are a few questions to measure whether your church really is your family…

1. ARE YOU INVOLVED?

You have to be there to do what most of the New Testament calls us to do – to fulfill the commandments of loving God and loving one another. In order to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers, you have to show up.

Not only do you need to gather with your church family, but you also need to be actively involved. Simply showing up without any intentionality in developing relationships will not facilitate biblical fellowship.

Are you involved with your church?

2. ARE YOU BIBLICAL?

What did it mean that the early church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching? Simply put, they were committed to the Word of God. The apostles were teaching the Old Testament Scriptures and how they point to Jesus as the Messiah. They also wrote New Testament gospels and letters, testifying about their first-hand witness of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for our salvation.

The Bible is the foundation for everything else we do together as a church because the Bible tells us who God is, who we are, and how we are to follow Him.

Are you involved, and are you biblical? If you are being biblically faithful, you will be involved with your church.

3. ARE YOU DEPENDENT?

As you can see throughout the book of Acts (and really, throughout the New Testament), the early church was dependent – dependent on the Lord and dependent on one another. The most obvious way they proved this was through their unity in and devotion to prayer.

In prayer, we recognize our dependence upon the Lord. Uniting together in such prayer, we depend and lean on one another. What a great way to love God and love one another!

Are you involved, biblical, and dependent?

IS YOUR CHURCH FAMILY?

If you are a faithful follower of Jesus, then yes, your church is family. As Richland Baptist Church, we say, “Our passion is the GOSPEL. Our church is our FAMILY. Our world is our MISSION.” Few, if any, passages in all of Scripture better exemplify this truth more than Acts 2:42-47. On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will be preaching through this passage and challenging our church to prioritize what the Bible prioritizes when it comes to our life together.

Having been a follower of Jesus for more than 24 years now, I cannot fathom life without a church family. That was true from day one, though, long before I ever imagined God would call me to be a pastor. You see, I need my church family today, just as I needed my church family as a new believer. Likewise, we need Jesus no less today than we did yesterday or any other day.

You and I need Jesus, and we need His church. There are no exceptions to this, so if you are struggling to be involved and thus not being biblically faithful and dependent, ask for the Lord’s help now. Ask for others to pray for you. You need your church, and your church needs you. Real church is family.

To learn more about following Jesus and being part of His family, check out The Story.

What is God’s will?

What is God’s will for your life? How can you know? What should you do to find out?

Contrary to what people might say or how you might feel, God’s desire is not that you walk through life aimlessly and confused about His will. Rather, He has revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ and through His Word – the Bible.

The problem we have in learning God’s will is not with His plan but rather with our pursuit.

God’s plan is perfect. Our pursuit, though, is flawed. We are sinners, and when we find ourselves confused, uncertain, scared, or uncomfortable, we tend to look everywhere except to God and His Word for answers. Yet, His desire is that we pursue and trust Him.

What is His specific will in your specific situation? You will only find the answer with the proper pursuit. Above all, pursue the Lord in two of the most basic but important ways possible…

1. PRAY TO HIM

On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will continue my sermon series through Acts and preach through Acts 1:12-26 on “Prayer & Provision for Our Purpose” (available before Monday HERE). One of the most important things we can learn from the early church in the book of Acts is the importance of uniting together in prayer.

Seek the Lord by praying to Him. Pray to Him with your family. Pray to Him throughout your day. Pray to Him with your church.

Sadly, we are tempted to only resort to prayer before a big decision when we are unsure what else to do. Why not begin with prayer and continue in prayer?

Wrongly, we are tempted to think of prayer as a last resort when everything or everyone else has failed. Why not begin with prayer and continue in prayer?

Let us continually depend on the Lord in prayer, seeking and trusting Him for His provision. He is faithful, and what He said is true: “You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

Are you seeking God with all your heart? Are you surrounding yourself with others who are seeking God with all their hearts? A sincere pursuit of God in prayerful dependence on Him is worth the regular, continuous commitment.

2. LISTEN TO HIM

While sincerely pursuing God in prayer, you might hear from Him through the conviction of His Holy Spirit, an overwhelming sense of peace and direction, and/or a clear desire He places on your heart. Are you listening to Him?

Most importantly, though, how we listen to God (and can be certain we are listening to and hearing from Him) is by listening to His Word – the Bible. Are you spending regular time in God’s Word? Are you talking with others about God’s Word? Are you listening to the preaching of God’s Word? Are you studying God’s Word? Are you praying God’s Word back to Him?

We are so incredibly blessed that God has preserved His perfect word for thousands of years so that we can know Him and follow Him!

So often, the very simple answers to our questions about God’s will are found in God’s Word. Pray for His help to understand, and listen to the truth of His Word.

Far more often than not, when people come to me for pastoral counsel and advice, the answers to their questions and concerns are abundantly clear in the Bible. Of course, I am grateful for that because I know that God’s Word is perfect and true, so any advice I give by sharing God’s Word is great advice because it is not from me.

Sure, there are plenty of questions we have that the Bible does not address, but the Bible does address the most important questions (Who is God? Who are we? Why are we here? Who are we to be?). For everything else, if you are sincere in your pursuit of God, you will not regret the results.

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires” (Psalm 37:4). Are you delighting yourself in Him? Are you depending on Him in prayer? Are you listening to Him through His Word? Are you seeking the counsel of godly friends and leaders who are listening to Him through His Word?

What is God’s will? His will is that you “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Praise the Lord!

Before you can begin to know and understand God’s will for your life, you must have a right relationship with Him. To learn more, check out The Story.

Three Fall Birthdays

Well, 2023 is here, but I already have a throwback to 2022.

Levi and Zoe celebrated their 16th and 11th birthdays in October, and Silas celebrated his 12th birthday in November. If you are wondering why you never get invited to birthday parties at the Drake household, it is because our birthday parties involve sitting around the table as a family and giving each other a hard time. We do celebrate birthdays, but they are simple, low-budget family affairs in the Drake family.

Here are a few pictures from the fall birthdays (except for Marsha’s (October 3), as she is not much for being the center of attention, even on her birthday)…

Christmas Pics

I love Christmas time and am already sad that it is over. Well, almost over (we still get to sing some of the great Christmas hymns of praise in our upcoming Sunday morning service with our church – praise the Lord!). Over the past couple of weeks, though, I have loved time with family, including our amazing church family. God has been so good to us. To Him be all the glory!

Here are some picture highlights from the past couple of weeks…

Children’s Christmas Program

Gingerbread House

Christmas Story with the Kids

Christmas Candlelight Service

ELF and Caramel Corn

Worship on Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas!

3-to-13 on Christmas Night

Christmas Dance Routine

Christmas Presents

More Christmas Presents

Silas with His New Walking Stick

My Attempt at a Christmas Panorama

Joy because…

On January 24, 2018, the Minnesota Vikings traveled to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the NFC championship game. Because the game was played on a Sunday evening and we had a special event with our church, I did not watch the game, except for the first drive. In that first drive, the Vikings marched down the field and got a touchdown, taking an early 7-0 lead, and I remember thinking as I headed into our church’s fellowship hall, “My favorite team might be going to the Super Bowl!“

I was excited. You see, the Vikings were, at that time, 0-5 in NFC championship games since they had last made it to the Super Bowl in 1976. Yes, zero Super Bowl appearances in my lifetime.

Well, if you know much about the National Football League, you know the Vikings are now 0-6 in NFC championship games since last making it to the Super Bowl two years before I was born. In that aforementioned game back in 2018, the Vikings went on to get destroyed by the Eagles 38-7. Yes, that is correct – the Vikings scored on that first drive and then got outscored 38-0 the rest of the way. Ouch!

Incredibly hopeful heading to our church’s event that night, I was sorely disappointed when I later learned the Vikings were getting demolished. Such is the life of a Vikings fan. Maybe this year will be different, though! That is, after all, what I have been saying almost every single year my entire life. Maybe this is the year!

Looking back on those rare glimpses of hope – including the 1998 season that ended with the Vikings going 15-1, entering the playoffs as heavy Super Bowl favorites and then losing in overtime in the NFC championship game after the team’s previously-perfect-on-the-season kicker missed a seemingly easy game-sealing field goal in the indoor Metrodome toward the end of the fourth quarter – none of those glimpses of hope ended with joy. None.

Why did those seemingly joyous and hopeful seasons not end in joy? Because they ended in disappointment.

Truly, that is how Christmas would be if not for the cross. We would not be celebrating the birth of Jesus if not for the death and resurrection of Jesus. Without the cross, Jesus’ birth would be like the last six NFC championship game appearances for the Vikings – an exciting moment that only failed to bring joy.

Praise the Lord, though, that He did not fail to deliver. He is so much better than the best of victors in this life because His victory is certain and eternal.

On Christmas morning, Lord willing, I will be preaching from Isaiah 53 on “The Promise of Payment.” Some might think, “Wait, Isaiah 53?! Isn’t that a passage for Easter Sunday?” Yes, typically, but without our suffering Savior, we have no Christmas to celebrate.

The joy of Christmas is not really because of the Baby who was born as much as because of the sacrifice He made. Thus, we are going to fast forward to the end of the story and be challenged to celebrate Christmas by looking to the cross.

“He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds” (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Christmas is on a Sunday this year! I love it! Let us worship the King (like always), while singing some of the best songs ever written, like “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Praise God!

To truly know and experience the joy to come, you have to know and follow the Savior who won the victory. Learn more by checking out The Story today.