First Lutheran in Texarkana is going through a time of transition … but then again … what church isn’t?  Our transition is replacing a “retiring” pastor,  adding a full-time called Director of Christian Education and the building of a youth center/education wing.

RETIRING … Actually I do not like that work … since I will merely be “re-positioning” myself for future ministry endeavors.  At this time, the members of FLC have ratified a list of 5 potential candidates as their new pastor.  Interviews will take place in the next few weeks, and on June 23, a recommendation to “call” a new pastor will be made.  Please pray that God guides this process.

DCE … On July 7, it will be my privilege to install Kadie Cleveland as our full-time Director of Christian Education.  She has completed her internship and has done a wonderful job, establishing great relationships with both children, youth, and older adults.  Please pray for the future of this wonderful addition.

BUILDING … Sometime this summer we will begin the construction of a new youth/education center, thanks to the Clara Patterson legacy and the members of FLC.  This additional space will help enhance future youth / children / education / fellowship activities.  Please pray for this future step forward as well.  God-willing I may even be around (or get invited back) to dedicate this!

All in all, the Lord has blessed our 5+ years of ministry here.  In looking back at a list of challenges I laid out January 12, 2009, it is amazing at how many were accomplished … and for that all we can say is Praise the Lord!  And knowing how He works, more great things are just around the corner!

This is how we should read Matthew 28:18-20 (or even Acts 1:8).

“I have all power.”

“I’m with you wherever you go.”

“Now go and make disciples.”

We tend to focus on # 3, the going part.  But the going part is totally impossible without #1 and #2.  The real message is something like this . . .

“Go, and I will go with you.”

“Go, and I will go ahead of you.”

“Go, and I will take care of you.”

In light of how things worked out, we should probably add this:

“Go, and you will probably die for my sake, but I will be with you to the very end, and when you die, I will not leave you, not even for a second. I will be with you forever no matter what.”

We have a lot of fears about evangelism, don’t we?

What if they ask me a question I can’t answer? (They will.)

What if they get angry with me? (Bound to happen sooner or later.)

What if I forget what I’m supposed to say? (Happens to all of us eventually.)

What if I knock on the door and it turns out to be my partner at the law firm? (Well, that’s awkward, but it could happen.)

What if someone says I’m narrow-minded and judgmental? (You’ve probably faced that already.)

What if I can’t overcome my fears? (That’s the whole point of this passage.)

It’s a big world out there and it can seem very scary.  These days you might run into Muslims or Hindus or Sikhs, and you will certainly run into secular folks who don’t want any kind of religion, especially the kind that causes people to go out and share their faith with others.

You can avoid some of these embarrassing situations if you decide never to talk about your faith at all.  But if you retreat into a stained-glass sanctuary where you are surrounded by Christians and only by Christians, you will never discover the true power and presence of Jesus.

You’ll never know if Jesus has the power to help you until you really need his help.

You’ll never know if Jesus is with you until you decide to go somewhere in his name.

No worries.

Jesus says, “I’m more powerful than anything you can run into.”

No pressure.

Jesus says, “I’m going with you wherever you go.  You’re not on your own.”

So I say to all who read this: I’m excited for you.  Have a blast.

The good news for all of us comes from Jesus himself:

Not everyone will love you, but you cannot fail.

Not everyone will believe your message, but you cannot fail.

And that’s how the Christian movement started with 11 men, some of whom doubted.  Talk about a miracle.  And we get to be part of it.

“I have all power.”

“I will go with you.”

If this is true, we cannot fail.  When Jesus gets involved, amazing things happen.

“Go, and I will go with you.”

That’s the whole plan right there.  It still works after 2000 years.

India is a beautiful country that is home to over 1 billion people. Nearly half of those are under the age of 18. Christ For India champions the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in India.  Pray that even more “LIGHT” shines!

In 1905 a young man from a wealthy family entered Yale University.  His family intended that after completing his degree he would enter a suitable career in America.  But God gripped his heart with the needs of China & he volunteered to go to that country with the gospel, much to the dismay of his family & friends.  He left America but never made it to China, succumbing to a disease before reaching that distant shore.

After his death, a note was found in his Bible that summarized his life: “No reserves.  No retreats.  No regrets.”  I wonder how many of us could say the same.

• Paul said, “I haven’t arrived yet, but I’m still climbing!”

• If he were here today, he would say, “Press on!!!!”

It’s not enough to start well.  You also have to end well.  Someone has commented that the chief problem of the church today is that we have too many “amateur Christians.”  They are like the man who jumped on his horse & rode furiously in all directions.

Let me pose three questions for you to consider:

• What is the goal of your life?

• Why do you get up in the morning?

• Why are you still here?

No one can say with certainty what 2014 will bring or if we will even be here 7 months from now.  But that thought should not alarm us in any way.  To all our worries the Lord says quite simply: “Fear not.”

• Will things get worse?  Fear not.

• Will I lose my health?  Fear not.

• Will I get cancer?  Fear not.

• Will I keep my job?  Fear not.

• Will my loved ones undergo hardship?  Fear not.

• Will my investments collapse?  Fear not.

• Will I run out of money this year?  Fear not.

• Will tragedy strike in my family?  Fear not.

• Will my children disappointment me?  Fear not.

• Will others ridicule my faith?  Fear not.

• Will my cherished plans come to nothing?  Fear not.

• Will my dreams turn to ashes?  Fear not.

• Will I face death this year?  Fear not.

We of all people—as Christ-followers—as disciples of Jesus the Messiah—ought to be optimistic.  After all–we have a great future because we have a great God.

“This day I call to me:
God’s strength to direct me,
God’s power to sustain me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s vision to light me,
God’s ear to my hearing,
God’s word to my speaking,
God’s hand to uphold me,
God’s pathway before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s legions to save me:
from snares of the demons,
from evil enticements,
from failings of nature,
from one man or many
that seek to destroy me
anear or afar.”

Borrowed from my friend, Dr. Harry Wendt of Crossways!

When I began graduate studies in the US in 1967, it did not take me long to understand that, in my previous studies, I had been taught a lot about dogma but not much about the Bible’s “big story.”

Furthermore, although I had been taught something about how to preach, I had not been taught much about how to teach.  Little wonder that since 1979, I have experienced much joy in heading up the ministry of Crossways International (CI) where the focus is on knowing the Bible’s big story, teaching that big story, and using teaching graphics to help people understand, believe, live, show, and share the biblical message.

Soon after launching CI, I read something that has remained with me: “Tell me and I will forget; show me and I will remember; involve me and I will understand.”

How often do the Gospels refer to Jesus preaching?  Never!  Instead, the Gospels refer to Jesus as a teacher, as a rabbi, and teaching about 115 times.

It takes about six to eight hours to prepare a sermon and about 15 to 20 minutes to preach it. However, how can a preacher expect people to understand and remember by listening to a 15- to 20-minute sermon that took many hours to put together?

Although we read of Jesus blessing and hugging children, we never read of Him teaching them.  Parents were to do that.  If Jesus taught adults and played with children, why do the majority of churches today teach children and play with adults?  And what do they teach them?

Materials prepared for teaching children often contain edited, adapted, “dumbed down” versions of the biblical story.  The classic examples of that “editing” show up in materials that deal with the lives of David and Solomon. If we do our homework on 2 Samuel 1 through 1 Kings 11, we find that David was “a political animal” (to quote Jewish scholar, Robert Alter) and that Solomon treated many of his subjects cruelly; among other things, he enslaved them.

If anything, David serves as the foil for Jesus. David and Jesus were dead opposites in relation to lifestyle and kingdom–style.  What does it mean that David was “a man after God’s own heart”?

It means that he was the one who captured Jerusalem, named it “the city of David,” made it his capital, brought the Ark of the Covenant there, and began the practice of worshiping and offering sacrifice in one place—Jerusalem; read 2 Samuel 5:6–11; 6:1–19; ch. 24.  However, Jesus attacked the “salvation marketing system” being conducted within Jerusalem’s walls.

Yes, we need to teach children and adults that we are sinners, that Jesus died for our sins, and that we shall go to heaven.  However, the Jesus revealed in the Gospels is much greater than the majority of Christians understand.  Jesus’ definition and demonstration of God’s kingdom so angered the Jewish religious and political leaders, that they had Him crucified.

FROM THE RECENT CROSSWAYS NEWSLETTER

Pairs of graduates from the Angola prison “seminary” are sent out to become chaplains to satellite prisons. Angola is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. Naturally, the inmates are in prison for the long term.  But the Spirit of Jesus frees many of them to live meaningfully on the inside.  The Rev. Dr. Barry Kolb (First Lutheran, Texarkana, TX) and Ms. Cheryl Gieseke (Immanuel Lutheran, Belvidere, IL) regularly present CI workshops to the maximum permitted attendance: Fifty prisoners will study the Bible using The Divine Drama and another 50 will study The Parables of Jesus.  “The men at Angola are so appreciative of the materials; they are dedicated to learning and sharing, and these materials are perfect,” says Ms. Gieseke.

About 6pm Sunday evening I will be pulling up to the main prison gates of Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA. It is not unusual for the security officers to see me and hear them say, “Welcome home!”

In some ways it has been home for 11 … working on 12 … years. After a few visits with Manny Mill and a few others from Moody Broadcasting and Awana, I began to minister on my own … doing what God has blessed me to do … and that is to teach.

For the last 2-3 years I have come for two week-long times of teaching, using Crossways materials. It is a pretty grueling week … teaching 8 hours and then preaching every night. But the blessings override all of that. In fact I often wonder if it is not me who is more blessed than the men.

Being with people who truly desire to hear and learn and study God’s Word, the vibrant worship times, the Acts 2 atmosphere, and the many, many friends I have made is such a rush! And, as long as God wills, I shall return twice a year to do week-long seminars … and several times in between to just visit and encourage!

For the last few years we have been gifting each man with teaching materials and a hard-cover study Bible. Thanks to the good people of First Lutheran in Texarkana, TX and Immanuel Lutheran in Belvidere, and other individuals we have given out almost 400 Bibles!