Archive for Church Needs
I think that over the last three months everyone has been educated in economics! All of us have been touched by the economic hard times that face our nation. Most of know people who have lost jobs and know that things are pretty serious. In fact I would say America is in a panic right now.
Think about it. President Obama says he inherited this wrapped wiht a bow. The democrats are adding pork like crazy to what is supposed to be a stimulus bill to create new jobs…I am wondering how polar ice cap exploration is going to create jobs for the people I know? I see business begging for money or they will go under and tank the economy. I see us printing and spending money we do not have. I see all kinds of blame and not responsibility. I see know one saying…we knew this was comgin and I see no one saying we need to consider what we do today for the future, all we care about is now. We need to stop this recession now. We need to stimulate our economy now. We need…now, now, now, now! We sound like a little baby.
What I have not heard is what is God trying to say to us? Are we ever going to learn that the economy belongs to God? Will we ever realize that we have overspent ourselves? Will we ever realize that we can only go so far into debt? Will we ever realize that we need to stop and focus and truly pray about our future?
I am not an economist. I have bee hit by the economic pinch…we all have. I could be out of a job as easily as the next guy…I realize this. But I cannot go out a write a Chris McCombs stimulus check to stimulate the McCombs fourtune 500. That is absurd. I have to work hard. Make srue I pay my bills. Make sure that I have more money left over at the end of the month than what I pay out. I have to be responsible.
God tells us to be good stewards…we are reaping what we have sown right now. Sadly some people are being hurt…I believe more will experience the pain. I don’t think the Government is our answer…but God’s ways. Our government through this panic may end up putting a bandaid on a huge bleeding wound. But only God can heal our economy by each of us changing the culture of materialism, debt, and greed that we all live by as American’s.
We are so blessed…never forget that. No matter what happens may we never forget to remain calm as believers knowing that God provides and that it is the economy of God that I am banking on.
I hope you enjoy my rambling…but I really needed to get that off my chest.
For a good book on this pick up the “Economic Earthquake” by Larry Burkett.
Hey church family and friends…I just wanted to share a special note with all of you about Josh Metzger. From a human perspective it is sad that Josh only had 8 years on this earth. His journey here was short and many of us may question a little boy dying of brain stem cancer. I agree with that assessment for anyone who does not know the Lord or understand the consequences of sin or the brokenness of God’s creation or the hope that we have in Christ as our redeemer and so forth. The big picture is this…we are not promised another day, not even another breath. Death will call upon us all. The consequence of sin is that bad things do happen. Life is not perfect. But the Good News is that God has made away for us to live life now with Him and to know that our eternal home with Him will be without tears, pain, or death.
We speak of coming Home for Christmas…Joshua truly experienced a homecoming like no other this Christmas. I know it will be a difficult Christmas for Joshua’s family – the loss it great. I hope that this Christmas we can mourn with the Metzger family with the hope we have in Christ. We can cry with hope. We can mourn and be comforted.
Below is an email that Dave Baughman wrote about Josh…be blessed.
Over the past few weeks, Josh has had the opportunity to meet a lot of very unique and famous people. From Labron James, the Cleveland Browns, many Kent State Football players, Mickey & Minnie Mouse and my favorite, Tinker Bell. But Sunday morning Josh met who I believe is his biggest hero of all. Josh Said that He came and spoke to him and said that he will have to suffer a little, but then it will all be ok.
My Friends, Josh is ok now. God called him home Sunday morning.
His departure was peaceful. He flight home was first class and the reception when he got their was like non other I am sure. The cost of the ticket on that flight was very costly, but that is ok. It was paid in full by someone that Josh knows very well.
Life is but a whisper in time. We all have travel arrangements to make. If you would like to know who paid the price for Josh’s ticket home, you need only look for that star. Wise men still seek him. He will be wrapped in swaddling clothes this December 25th, for all to see. I hope you all except that gift.
May the life of Joshua Metzger remind us of the importance of the babe of Bethlehem. He came to show us the way…will you seek Him?
Merry Christmas to all.
Greetings Family of God.
May we remember to be thankful this Thanksgiving. We need to have an attitude of gratitude at all times. I realize it is not always easy and at times there are some legitimate issues to bring us down. But for the most part we need to rejoice and be filled with joy…but we need to always be THANKFUL.
Here is my top 10 things to be Thankful about this Thanksgiving:
1. My wife – I am so blessed. I don’t deserve someone like Shawnetta. She is the love of my life…I cannot imagine life without her.
2. My Children – I love my three red heads. They bring me fulfillment and joy. They are great kids…I guess this time the apple fell far from the tree 
3. My Church – Broadman you guys are the best. I love you and have been blessed by you…THANK YOU!!!!
4. My family – my parents, sisters, and immediate family have always been a part of my life. I have many fond memories of family events that I will treasure forever.
5. My health – something that can be gone in a moment, we must treasure it while we have it…I am grateful.
6. My freedom – Freedom isn’t free and I will never forget Christ who gave me freedom and all those who have fought for Freedom’s cause.
7. My Education – to have the ability to learn and gain knowledge is something many never have the opportunity to receive. I am grateful to have been given many opportunities to better myself.
8. My Home – having shelter and a warm house is such a blessing.
9. My Nation – being an American still brings me great honor. This is the greatest nation on God’s earth. I am glad I was able to serve for 14 years in the Armed Forces.
10. My God – The last shall be first…GOD IS #1. He is the best. God is good all the time and I will never forget to praise Him. THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING YOU!!!
May all of you have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING….we have much to be thankful about!!!
Greetings family of God,
Let me first say that yesterday was a true movement of God’s Holy Spirit in worship service. I hope all were blessed.
As your pastor I speak about life and life application. The political process of our land impacts, influences and affects every one of us. This is not an area that your pastor should be silent or that the church should not address. We must all realize that there are consequences that come with elections. So let me give some spiritual life guidance and you can do with it what you want. In the end I will known I have done all I can to inform my people about the spiritual aspects of the political process of our nation. (I write this mindful that I cannot promote a candidate or party (which I have not in this email and never have in any other format)…however, I must speak of issues and positions that we as believers should espouse (I emphasize that the issues below are issues that I believe all believers should be in one accord over…these are God issue) After you read them it is up to you to vote your conscience and to cast what I hope will be a Godly vote. That is all I can ask of any of you.
Issues of grave concern in the election:
Judicial – people often ask what can the President really do that will impact moral law? Well this president will appoint Judicial nominees at all Federal levels. He will also appoint possibly several Supreme Court Justices in the next four years. Why does this matter? Because the Judicial branch of Government appears to be the decider of moral law in our land. Abortion, Marriage, Free Speech (Fairness Doctrine), Education, Social Injustices etc. Judicial appointees are perhaps the greatest issue of this election and most don’t even realize it because they are so caught up in the here and now of the economy, that moral issues are on the back burner. This point alone will impact America’s future for decades perhaps even setting our path of secular, pluralistic, immoral law for generations if not for the future.
LIFE- What can be more important than life. “How precious it is to hold a new born babe” the great hymn says. We are so foolish to get caught up in all of this deceptive talk of choice. My brothers and sisters Roe vs. Wade was a decision that was an abomination to God. It is a sin that has stained the soil of America with 50.5 million…more blood than all of America’s wars combined….yes you read that right. We need to understand our responsibility to promote and protect life. An unborn child is innocent and has no voice but our voice. There are situations in which Life has ethical dimensions, in which decisions must be made…but for the most part abortion are abortions on demand. Some abortions are even done with federal tax dollars paying for them…which means my tax dollars supported this act…that was my money which I don’t want going to such evil. The moral good of preserving life and protecting life are important…as a result we must protect the life of the elderly, defend the right of life even through war at times, defeat partial birth abortion and the terminating of the life of an aborted baby that resulted in a living fetus (baby) and so forth. God is the creator, author, sustainer, and taker of life…we need to make Life a value that guides our lives and how we vote, think, believe and live.For the first time since Roe vs. Wade there is the possibility of some abortion reversals in the law of our Land or its cause could be furthered without an end…our vote does matter on this issue. Life is a biblical position we must stand united on.
Marriage and Family: Pro family and pro marriage are huge issues facing our culture and future of how America views marriage and family. Make no mistake about it. Anyone who promotes what is called “Same-sex” marriage is not pro- marriage or pro-family from a biblical perspective. This is a battle of values in America…it is being fought in the political, judicial, and ecclesiological (Church) aspects of life. Once again the President will establish Judicial appointees who will rule and say what the law is on these matters. God defined marriage and family and we should honor His ways to guide the law and governing of our Land. Stand up for marriage and family or they may never be defined and viewed in a God-honoring way in our land again…yes it is that serious.
Free Speech: Would you want me to go to jail for preaching the truth of God’s Word? Nor would I! However, if the Fairness Doctrine is promoted and passed that may happen. Free speech in America would be changed forever. Please look into the Fairness Doctrine and you will find it is not fair. Know who is promoting the fairness doctrine and know the consequences. The Fairness Doctrine is anything but fair.
Our Responsibility: Christians are responsible to vote and to cast their vote in a God-honoring way. Read Romans 13…God gave us government for our good…the good of all people….but that goodness only comes when those who govern follow God’s ways or submit to His authority. We have to discern who will lead us this way…sometimes we have to say who will best lead us this way…at least we still have an opportunity to see Romans 13 be a reality. Do you duty for the Lord and vote for a government that is more aligned with the intent of God….a government for the good of people that stands for moral law, life, family, marriage, wholesome speech,and much more.
May we pray before we vote seeking God’s direction and may we vote and then pray that the American people join God and May God Bless America!!!
Knowing who and what a politician stands for is extremely important. To me the character of the person we elect to govern us is the most crucial issue. What do they stand for? Who are they? Who do they associate with? What policies have they promoted? What are their positions on the issues?
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has put out a voters guide that lays out the positions of both presidential candidates and parties, based on their own responses. There is no commentary, simply the direct response of each candidate and party. Please take the time to look over what the candidates and parties stand for so that you know who they are and can make a conscientious, educated, God-honoring vote. Just click on the link below for the booklet.
ERLC
Neither the ERLC, Broadman Baptist Church or myself as a pastor promote a particular party or candidate…rather we promote the ideas, views, and positions that best affiliate and represent the views of God in accordance with the Scriptures.
God Bless
Family of God and other readers…
Our Nation is so focused on the economy that we loose focus on things that truly matter. We fail to remember that living a good honest life, spending time with family, be involved in our community and church and so forth are things that truly matter. We are so caught up in the economy and so afraid that it will fail that we have made some really irresponsible decisions in our Nation. Of course what is new. Our Government is not only responsible, but so are many AMericans who live in debt. So who is to blame? Who is the cause? Who really can fix it? Please don’t answer that with manly wisdom!
Let me say I am no expert about this…but I love my country and care about its future…but I also know that my country is not my answer to all of lives problems. I must be responsible for my economic success and failures. I am responsible for being a hard worker and making a living for my family. We as a nation are responsible to help the economy recover. It is a team and country effort that will bail us out…not an economic bail out plan by Uncle Sam. The bail out plan in my opinion was wrong and irresponsible as a whole. My Senator and Congress Woman failed me (Republicans and Democrats). If our economy fails or succeeds it will not be because of this plan. It will first be part of God’s soveriegn plan and becasue we the people rised up to secured our future. If we do not turn to God or change the way we approach economics this will happen again.
By the way I believe the bail out plan just made that more difficult for us to truly become responsible and we will pass this on to future generations. I am sure there are some good points to the bail out plan…however, they didn’t bail out anybody I know…so who exactly are we bailing out? Just think about it. I know some of you will have an answer to the question. But we shouldn’t be bailing out corporation adn the like that have failed because of mismangement and irresponsiblitly. I think we should have faced the consequences of our mistakes and pulled together…we shoudl hold people accountable and companies accountable. We just spent money we don’t have to do this bail out. When is the last time you were able to do that with your home budget? Last time I looked at my budget…if the money wasn’t there it wasn’t there. I cannot tell 5/3 bank…well I overdrafted my checking account because I needed extra money. They are not goign to go for that…nor will they bail me out…Why is the government any different? Why did we allow this? I believe it is becuase we live in a cerdit drivien society where that we will accept debt and think nothing about it and we panicked not knowing what to do. The biggest mistake we continue to make as a nation is that we love politics and money more than God…think about that one for a while.
Here is what I say…stay the course with your investments. Be responsible with your money…don’t panic. If you loose it all – we are all in the same boat because that means the ship is going down. Also remember this - what goes up must come down. I have always said this…we cannot continue to go up and up and up…eventually it has to cap or come down. In this case it is coming down hard. It will balance out and we will recover as a nation. Trust God…lay up tressures in Heaven. Focus on God, Church, Family, Friends, being a good neighbor, and a hard worker etc. Do things that matter. Yes, money is important…but our Nation is demonstrating that MONEY IS OUR GOD…and the love (Worship) of money is the root of all evil. My love is for GOd. I don’t like my retirement fading away. But my allegiance must be to God before my portfolio. I want to be remained focused on being responsible as a steward of all that GOd has entrusted to me.
Again…I am not an expert on the market…but I am on my home budget and I do pretty good. When it gets tight we cut back. As a result I can truly say I am blessed. So cut back and lets pull together so we can remain the most blessed nation on earth. I lack nothing have very few worries and life is good…even in this economic crisis. Imagine we call this an economic crisis and we have food on the table and shelter. Guess what most of us…no all of us even have many luxeries and comforts in life. We need to stop panicing…we need realize how spoiled we are and call it what it is…a blessed life. We are blessed and we need to stop worshipping money and worship God. Turn the economy over to HIm and let’s start applying God’s principles to our econoimics.
I hope some of this made since!
PC
