Do you have your coffee? (smile) Here we go! Let’s begin by reading ..... Acts 17: 16- 23 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD’. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you!” I think it was brilliant the way Paul began his speech! He found common ground with his audience. That’s what we do! The first mistake some churches make is to be political. People don’t come to church to hear politics. They come to hear about Jesus! If a particular church is known to lean a certain way politically, they are right away forfeiting one half of their potential. That’s right! You see, half the people in America are Democrats. The other half are Republicans. When you declare a particular bias, you are in essence telling half the people in the community that they aren’t welcome! Another barrier is denominational affiliation! When Jan and I go home, we attend “Resurrection Life” Church in Grand Rapids. The pastor’s background is Christian Reformed. But, if he put that out on the sign, it would hurt church growth. He told me that when you declare a particular denomination, people think you are saying only those people are welcome! Pastor VanderKlok said that when they got the denominational affiliation off the sign and simply called themselves “Resurrection Life” they started to grow by leaps and bounds! They now run over 5,000 in two services! Think about it! Wouldn’t you hate to think that there may be something we are doing that might be keeping people from finding Jesus? I want to know! And if we identify something, I want to change it! I know, I’m just like others – I hate change! I really do. I want things the way they’ve always been. But sometimes, in order to remain the same, we have to change. A mall bought property all around a little house. This family had lived there for years. They enjoyed the woods and the privacy. But, now things were changing! They now found themselves living in the center of a concrete parking lot. The investment firm offered to move the little house down the road. This family could once again have what they had; peace and seclusion. But in order to have this, they needed to allow their house to be moved. In other words; In order to remain the same, they had to change! I grew up believing the Bible to be the Word of God and Jesus to be the Son of God. I grew up in the Dutch Reformed Church (a close cousin of the German Reformed Church). But, my denomination no longer proclaims what I believe. So in order to remain the same, I had to change! I want to be inclusive. If I’m talking to a Lutheran, I want to tell them that they are welcome at The Immanuel Church. If I am talking with a Baptist, I want to tell them that we love Baptists! And, if I am talking with someone with no religious affiliation, I want to tell them that they will be loved at The Immanuel Church! Amen? AMEN! Blessings, Dr Steven James Hale Your Web Church Pastor
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 23:32:47 +0000
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