Month: September 2018

Today’s verse is from Romans 2:1 and is one of my favorites because it is so clear, so real, and so simple.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Kind of hard to argue right?  Basically, the message is that I’m a sinner so how can I judge others?  In Paul’s words, I “have no excuse” for judging.  But somehow I still find myself judging others quite frequently.

Do any of these sound familiar…..he or she is too fast, too slow, too big-picture, too detailed, too short-term oriented, too long-term oriented, too cheap, too frivolous, too flashy, too plain.  And that just scratches the surface!  It doesn’t even touch on political differences which are, at least in my lifetime, at an all-time low point.

Judgement is for God and God alone.  Our calling is, at the highest level, to Love God and Love people.  Judging others is in direct conflict with both of these essential commands.

When you judge others, you are either right or wrong about your assessment.  If you are right, then the person you are judging may have issues that they are struggling with in which case they need your love, not your judgement.  If you are wrong, then you are wrong and nothing else needs to be said about that.

The point of discussing this as Christian men is that we must strive to tame our ridiculous desire to judge others.  We must strive to be a shining light to the world and to others, especially to those who God puts in our path so that we can be a source of love and encouragement to them.  We can only truly be the hands and feet of God when we act in His spirit.

Will you choose patience, love, and respect over judgment, animosity, and criticism?

Questions:

• In your experience, what are some of the most common judgements people make about each other?
• Why do you think judgment is highlighted so prominently in the Bible as something to be avoided?
• Do you find that people tend to judge their family and close friends more or less than others? Why or why not?
• What are one or two things you can decide to do right now that will help you be more loving and less judgmental?

Many of us wonder at times why God created us or what our purpose is.  It is a very natural curiosity.  If we were competing in a sporting event, it would be good to know how to win the game.  Or if we were going to build something, it would be helpful to know what the finished product is supposed to look like.  In the same way, when we are playing the “game” of life, it is normal to check in on occasion and figure out 1) if we are on course and 2) if we’re making good progress.

As Christians, we are fortunate that Jesus gave us a great starting point for answering these questions.  In Matthew 22:37-40 He tells us the two most important things we are supposed to do:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Just that simple, right?  Love God, Love people.  Yes, sort of, but there is a more to the story which can be described with another sports metaphor.

Let’s say that you are in high school and everyone at your school is required to play a sport.  If you are very tall and coordinated, you may think about playing basketball.  If you are smaller but very fast, you might make a good running back or maybe a sprinter on the track team.

Similarly, in our effort to love our neighbor, we will be more effective if we first identify our spiritual gifts.  Here is a link to a great explanation of spiritual gifts that includes a list of all of the gifts in the Bible.  In short, these are special talents that each of us has been given by God.

As examples, if your gifts are “missions” and “administration” then you may be best suited to help coordinate various types of missions.  Or if your gifts are “teaching” and “leading” then you should focus your efforts on developing and leading teaching ministries.

There are hundreds of surveys online to help you determine your spiritual gifts.  Here is a good one created by the Methodist Church.

Once you know your gifts, you’ll be better equipped to Love God and to Love People and move closer to becoming the man God created you to be.

Questions:

• Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts survey? If so, what are your gifts?
• Whether or not you know your spiritual gifts, do you feel like you’ve been consistently attracted to certain types of service or ministries?
• Why is it important to understand our spiritual gifts?
• Is it a bad thing to volunteer or serve in ways that are not directly related to your spiritual gifts?
• Based on today’s lesson, what are some things you can do to make sure you are on track and making progress in the game of life?

Dr. Burch shared a powerful message last Sunday morning about the importance of worshiping together with other Christian believers as opposed to worshiping alone.  Related to this message, our verse today is from 1 Corinthians 26.

When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

In this verse, Paul (the author of Corinthians) is telling us that each person has something to offer everyone else and that together we are more powerful and effective than we are on our own.

Some people, though, believe they can just as effectively worship alone by watching an online sermon, reading the Bible, and praying.  Of course these are all important aspects of maturing in Christ but, in order to be at our best and help others be at their best, we also need to get together to worship.

As an example, Dr. Burch talked about coals in a fire and how when they are all together they have a powerful effect.  But if you take one of the coals out and separate it from the others, it is of little use and it will quickly lose its glow.  In the same way, God designed us to need Him and to need other people.

Why do we have business lunches instead of video conferencing while each participant eats at their own office?  Or why do people get together for Thanksgiving instead of eating at their own house?  The answer is very simple – God created us to be in community with others.  And there is no more important community than that of the church.  When we come together to worship, we are like the coals of the fire, burning together to light up our families, our community, and the world.

Questions:

• Do you agree that we are only at our best when we routinely participate in some form of group worship?
• What are some of the obstacles that keep people from participating in group worship more regularly?
• Can you give some other examples of activities that are more powerful and effective when we are together with others instead of by ourselves?
• For those who struggle to attend church or small groups regularly, what are some strategies they can incorporate to improve their attendance?
• Why do you think God wants us to be together when we worship?