First Works

"No one who knows today’s church will want to complain that the church doesn’t do anything. No, the church does immeasurably much, and also with much sacrifice and seriousness; but we all do precisely too many second, third, and fourth works, and not the first works. "And exactly because of this, the church is not doing what is crucial.

We celebrate, we represent, we strive for influence, we start a Protestant movement, we do Protestant youth work, we perform charitable service and care, we make propaganda against godlessness -– but do we do the first works which are the basis of absolutely everything?

"Do we love God and our brother with that first, passionate, burning love that risks everything -– except God? "Do we really allow God to be God? Do we leave ourselves and our church to Him completely?

If that were the case, things would have to look different, there would surely be a breakthrough."

[Bonhoeffer’s sermon preached on Reformation Day, November 6, 1932 as quoted in Georg Huntemann’s Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Evangelical Reassessment (Baker), p. 285].

I'm going to be preaching this idea on Sunday a week at Gum Springs Baptist Church. My text will be from Revelation 2:2-7 and John 6:26-29.

I meet with a group of Baptist preachers/pastors every Monday morning at 9am. They have received me quite warmly and my message of grace/righteousness. At least Brother Winfred has as he asked me to preach a Sunday nite at his church.

Partnership

In the 19th century William Carey felt a call to travel to India as a worker in the harvest field of the Lord. Pastors around him scoffed at his idea: “young man, if God had wanted to save the heathen in India, he could certainly do it without the likes of you or us.”

They missed the point of partnership. God does very little here on earth without the likes of you and us.

2 Corinthians 5:19,20 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” NLT

Advent 2007

Advent letter 2007

It’s hard to believe that we are so quickly approaching another Christmas.

I know that we will be busy getting things together and ready for the holy day, “too much shopping and not enough rest time” we’ll complain.

I hope we won’t forget the reason which we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord.
God came in the likeness of sinful flesh (me and you) to deal with sin in that flesh.
The Babe of the Manger is the Man of the Cross. The purpose of His coming was the Cross. He came to reconcile us to the Father by His atoning death on the Cross.

He came to conquer death and the grave by His resurrection.

Let us try to keep that the focus of our celebration of Christmas this year!

Try not to go in debt this year--leave your credit cards at home--if we are honest with ourselves we know we already have more than we need.

Remember the poor.

Advent is a time of expectation—“Behold I stand at the door and knock” said Jesus. Be ready for His appearing.

Love, Pastor Jim