Johnny Parker has been attending Calvary Baptist Church since he was an infant and his wife, Tammy, since she was 16 years old. When the Parkers aren’t organizing the annual Calvary Car Show, Johnny serves as department leader for the school-age Sunday school classes as well ushering and deacon committee. Tammy has spent over 20 years serving in the nursery department and continues to serve in other areas of Kid City. In their spare time, Johnny & Tammy prioritize family time with their children and grandchildren for family Sunday dinners and games.
The Annual Calvary Car Show
When I was on the trustee board, the topic of Kids Camp came up. One of the issues was a lack of fund raising being done for the little kids to help those who could not afford to go to camp. Some kids wanted to go but could not do so because of a lack of funds. This information was very troubling to me because I was saved at Minnetonka Youth Camp and the thought of a young boy or girl possibly missing out on something that was as dear to my heart and important as camp because of money was a problem. I asked the Lord to use us to help, if it was the Lords will.
Tammy and I asked the Lord to lead us and show us what our part would be "if any" in making sure that any child who wanted to go to camp would be able to do so without it being a burden on their family finances. The ball started rolling fast and I knew whatever the Lord had in store needed to be a big one time event and not the usual cookie, cake, twenty dollar bag of fundraiser popcorn type effort. There were no car shows in town except the city "cruise in" which was only drawing 20-30 cars, it wasn’t really a car show. We figured if the church put on a car show and did it professionally, it would attract lots of spectators as well as classic car enthusiasts. Especially if 98% of them would otherwise never step foot on our church campus.
The thought was to raise money to send every kid to camp who wanted to go as well as attracting lots of folks who would come to the car show. Folks would come only expecting the car show but find more than that through the love of Christ manifested by our members who would one after the other introduce themselves and love on these folks. Letting them know that they go to church here and invite them to visit us sometime.
My prayer is that when one goes to the Calvary Car Show they are swallowed up by the love of our Savior and when they leave they say to themselves “Wow I'm not sure what this feeling is that I'm feeling but those were the most loving, nicest, and warmest folks I've ever been around" We as born again Christians would know that the feeling they experienced was not from our kindness or even our love, but the love of the Savior of the world Jesus Christ himself. He was tugging at their heart and placing in their heart that they HAVE TO get back to that place, the place where they thought they were going to a CAR SHOW but as it turns out it was not about classic cars at ALL! It was about the joy in those people at that church, it was about the pressing down upon our very existence that there is something bigger than ME, and whatever it is, it is calling ME, and I MUST answer that call.
Weston and Barbara Winter began attending Calvary Baptist Church in 2004 and have been faithful attendees the Prime Timers Sunday school class ever since. In November 2016, Wes and Barb’s son, Jace, was suddenly called home to be with Jesus at only 42 years old. When the news came their Sunday school class was quick to respond.
Church Family by Wes Winter
It is amazing to me how fast members of the Primetime class were at our house. It meant so much to Barb and I that they would drop everything to be there, support us in prayer, and comfort us. The "world famous" Primetime class came through with meals until we eventually had to ask them to stop bringing them; it was more food than we could eat. That was such a blessing.
The cards and prayers are still coming! My dear, sweet wife is trying to answer those cards but she is overcome with grief every time she starts doing them. Please continue to pray for her. Pray for me as well. I try to restrain my emotions the best I can but we have our ups and downs. I know am not alone in this. Friends like David & Sharon and Gary & Sheryl, who have gone through this kind of loss, the loss of a son, have been so helpful to us. Please continue to pray for us.
If you are not in a small group or a Sunday school class, please join one. The love, the fellowship, the bond that you have in that class is immeasurable. I don’t know how anybody functions through life, with all of its ups and downs, without a church family. You are closer than blood. All of you are close to us. We can call on you any time and you’re there. It is a great support and a great feeling to know that you have a family, a church family that is that close.
The Primetime class will always be family and all the rest of you that aren’t in Primetime, I’ll just call you cousins OK?
Will Maxwell has been attending Calvary Baptist Church since 2012 and resides in Grand Prairie, TX with his wife and children. Will assists Calvary's Communications Team during the week in the sound booth as well as ushering and helping with the Judgement House production. When he's not working or pursuing his Electrical Engineering degree with UNT, Will enjoys playing video games, carpentry, and keeping his marksmanship skills honed.
God Didn't Give Up
Although
I wouldn’t know until years later, my journey to Christ started while I was in
the military. I enlisted in the Marine Corps
out of high school and served for nine years.
I was active duty during 9/11 and spent significant time deployed to the
Middle East. I was close to other Marines, men I considered brothers. Some of them were devout Christians and
whenever a situation would go awry they would look to me and say, “God was
watching over us today.” Being the hardened heart I was, I would brush it off
and crack a joke. Truth be told, I often
could not explain why certain things happened the way they did. I lost too many
brothers along the way. We didn’t grow
up together, but I would have traded my life for theirs without hesitation. I
carried a huge amount of guilt, not for what we were called to do, but the fact
that friends, my brothers, did not survive. I felt left behind. I wanted to be
with them cracking jokes and hanging out.
When
I left the Marine Corps life behind in 2008, I had a hard time dealing with
being in the “real world”. People seemed
rude and as if they truly did not care about anyone but themselves. I found it
difficult relating to anyone who had not been military and deployed. This was very dark period for me; I was fighting
an uphill battle every day. I leaned heavily on my wife of 14 years (and
counting) and a former Army brother I met after joining the civilian
world. We developed a bond quickly
because Daniel understood what it meant to have a rough night (because of my
nightmares) or that I felt off (because of my anxiety) or the pain was bad
today (from my back injury). He could look at me and know something was off and that
I needed him to just be there. Half the time we didn’t talk, and when we did,
we were cracking jokes.
Daniel
invited us to his church many times in the first years I was out of the
military. Eventually, my wife started
attending on a regular basis while I stayed home or “had something to take care
of”. Soon, my wife recommitted herself to Christ and invited a Life Group into
our home. I was absolutely against that,
but I love her, so I let it ride. As the weeks passed, I found myself getting involved
with the group. I also realized these people did not judge me in any way. They
knew about my military service, deployments to the Middle East, and they did
not care. They showed me unconditional love even with all of my faults (to
include anger, rage, and the occasional outburst).
Over
time, I started attending the church on a regular basis and enjoyed helping out
around the church (especially preparations for the Judgement House
production). I developed a friendship
with the Pastor, Brian Loveless, and Outreach Pastor, Ron Adams. I would meet
with these men regularly. They would always tell me that Christ will accept me,
faults and all, but I did not believe I was worth saving. I did not believe that Christ would want me
in His church, but God didn’t give up on me. Since I wasn’t listening to God’s
pull on my heart, He found a more forceful way to get my attention. In the span of a single week we had our car
repossessed, could no longer pay our bills, and everything else that could have
gone wrong did!
When
things fell apart, I had a meeting with Brian. I laid everything out and again
he pointed out, “Christ is after you and is calling you”. In that moment, I
understood that I could not do life my way. I needed Christ in my life. I
needed Christ to lead me and lead my family. That was when I finally accepted
Christ in the pastors office, crying and broken. The feeling that I had someone in my corner
was instant.
I
would be lying if I said my walk with Christ since that moment has been easy. There
have been trials and times where I fall flat on my face. The difference is
instead of trying to do it my way, I allow Christ to direct me through prayer
and open myself up to His “nudge” in the right direction. I still have flaws,
but they are being worked out through our trials. God puts me in situations
that are difficult, and once the initial shock is over, instead of getting
vengeful I start looking for the thing that I am supposed to learn from this.
In
2013, my wife and I had two miscarriages relatively close together. The losses tore me up inside, but instead of
letting it destroy me; my wife and I lead tour groups through the Judgement House
production. We explained what we were
going through to each and every person in our group and how we believed that
God would see us through. Our church family rallied around us too; giving
support, listening, and encouraging us.
A
few years later, God gave us two more sons.
One was born in January 2015. And
a year later, God put an 18-year-old man in my path, leading me to bring this
young man into the family. Now all four of our living children are thriving
and our family is complete.
I
have a saying, “family does not have to share our blood but must be willing to
shed blood for each other.” It’s an idea
carried over from my time in the military. You must be willing to help each
other, be there when a family member has needs, fill in the gap when one
appears. You must be willing to follow through with action, not be the type of
person who attends church each week just to check off a box. I have a large
church family now, and when we have rough patches, they’ve come running to
help. There are multiple women I call “mom”
who pray over us, brothers and sisters in Christ willing to help. Being a follower of Christ is more than
getting baptized and making a proclamation of faith. Those things are important, but there is much
more. You need to read the truth (the bible), you need to surround yourself
with friends who will speak the truth into you, and you need to be an active
member of your church (both through work and through tithing) and the most
important task of all - pray on a regular basis.
Pray
for your family, pray for others when they are in the middle of a trial, pray
for your pastor, pray for your church. One on one time with God through prayer
will open you up to direction and guidance.
You will be amazed how he uses you! Being a follower of Christ is not
easy. You will face trials on a regular basis. You will have more questions
than answers most of the time. However, eternal salvation and being in a
relationship with Christ is worth it. I wake up every day with all the faults I
went to bed with, but I now lay it all at the cross every day knowing He will
see me through. My sincere hope is that my
story will speak to someone who needs to hear it; someone struggling to
understand that Christ is there for you. His gift is free and all you have to
do is accept it. And if you have questions, come to our service at Calvary
Baptist Church on Sunday, we will help you answer them.
Take your bibles, turn to Matthew 11. Give [our praise team] a big hand, one more time, that sounded amazing. So good to be back with you. I know a number of you had been praying for my family last week. My brother came in from West Texas and we had a chance to go to Houston and spend a little time with my aunts and cousins. Many of you know that my brother lost his wife about six months ago very, very suddenly; she was 45 years old and lost her to an aneurysm. With the recovery process and that, it was such a good weekend just to spend time with my flesh and blood brother and get to go down there. So thank you for your prayers. I know James did a great job while I was gone, but I missed ya! It's good to be back here today. How many of you are glad you're in church today? Say Amen.
I can tell that school is cranking back up because Monday and Tuesday, when I went to my gym, it was completely full. Every single machine, every rack, somebody in it. I've learned you can literally set your calendar by certain seasons where that gym fills up. In January, beginning of a brand new year, new years resolutions like "this year I'm gonna doing it, I'm gonna drop that weight, I'm going to get in shape, I'm going to stick with it" and that gym will be packed in January. In September, we're getting back in the roll of things. We're getting the kids back in school. Going to get that budget working finally. That gym will be full. Here's the good news though (it's probably not very nice), I know that in about a month, it'll be back to normal again. I was thinking what a microcosm, what a smaller picture of life that is. How very often, our attempts to make positive change in our life, a change for the better, wind up being painfully temporary, incredibly frustration. Next Sunday, God willing, I'm starting a brand new series and we have something special tonight as well. Tonight Dr. Brady Blevins from the Watchmen Fellowship in Arlington is going to be here. We're moving all our services to the auditorium and he's going to be speaking on understanding Islam. With all that we have in the news about radical Islam, what they believe, and what the Quran teaches, and all of that. There will be handouts, it's going to be incredibly informative to understand what this religion teaches and more than that, to understand if you have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, how you can be a positive light in their life and how you can share the beauty of Jesus with them. So tonight we'll all be [in the auditorium]. Next Sunday, we'll be starting a new series entitled Change your Life For Good. If you've ever been on that hamster wheel of "this time it'll be better, I'm gonna work harder, I'm gonna do it, I know we gotta get the money straight. I know we need to spend more quality time with the kids and I know take your bibles, turn to Matthew 11. Give [our praise team] a big hand, one more
time, that sounded amazing. So good to
be back with you. I know a number of you
had been praying for my family last week.
My brother came in from West Texas and we had a chance to go to Houston
and spend a little time with my aunts and cousins. Many of you know that my brother lost his
wife about six months ago very, very suddenly; she was 45 years old and lost
her to an aneurysm. With the recovery
process and that, it was such a good weekend just to spend time with my flesh
and blood brother and get to go down there.
So thank you for your prayers. I
know James did a great job while I was gone, but I missed ya! It's good to be back here today. How many of you are glad you're in church
today? Say Amen.
I can tell that school
is cranking back up because Monday and Tuesday, when I went to my gym, it was
completely full. Every single machine,
every rack, somebody in it. I've learned
you can literally set your calendar by certain seasons where that gym fills
up. In January, beginning of a brand new
year, New Year’s resolutions like "this year I'm going to doing it, I'm
going to drop that weight, I'm going to get in shape, and I’m going to stick
with it" and that gym will be packed in January. In September, we're getting back in the roll
of things. We're getting the kids back
in school. Going to get that budget
working finally. That gym will be full.
Here's the good news though (it's probably not very nice); I know that
in about a month, it'll be back to normal again. I was thinking what a microcosm, what a
smaller picture of life that is. How
very often, our attempts to make positive change in our life, a change for the
better, wind up being painfully temporary, incredibly frustration. Next Sunday, God willing, I'm starting a
brand new series and we have something special tonight as well. Tonight Dr. Brady Blevins from the Watchmen
Fellowship in Arlington is going to be here.
We're moving all our services to the auditorium and he's going to be
speaking on understanding Islam. With
all that we have in the news about radical Islam, what they believe, and what
the Quran teaches, and all of that.
There will be handouts; it's going to be incredibly informative to
understand what this religion teaches and more than that, to understand if you
have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, how you can be a positive
light in their life and how you can share the beauty of Jesus with them. So tonight we'll all be [in the
auditorium]. Next Sunday, we'll be
starting a new series entitled Change
your Life for Good. If you've ever
been on that hamster wheel of "this time it'll be better. I'm going to
work harder. I'm going to do it. I know we have got to get the money straight.
I've got to get this habit under control.” But it never lasts and that's not my
topic today.
Today, I just want to
ask you a question, and I don't want you to answer it out loud, I just want to
ask you the question “how are you?” Honestly, I’m finding out increasingly the
value of this. I wish that I could sit down, one-on-one with
every single person in this auditorium, and just take a minute and look you
right in the eye and say “tell me how you're doing”. We ask that question
casually to each other, right? “How are you?” “I’m good.” But when somebody
really asks us that, I can't tell you how many times that I’ve been in that
scenario. Where I look somebody in the eye and said “tell me how you're doing”
or frankly a close friend or somebody I love reached over to me and said “Brian
tell me how you're doing”. I can't tell you how often the individual being
asked that question immediately breaks down in tears. Some of you right as I’m
speaking feel moved by that question. “How are you?” In the text were about to
read, Jesus Christ is standing in front of this Incredibly diverse crowd, much
like I am this morning - all different ages, all different backgrounds, all
different life settings. There were dedicated followers of His. There were
religious leaders that were frankly skeptical if not outright hostile. There
were curious spectators, people who just weren't sure who He was or what he was
doing, but wanted to find out. And there were just plain miracle seekers. They
were just there because they thought “Maybe He's going to do something spectacular.
Maybe we'll get a meal out of it. Maybe we'll get a miracle out of it.”
But here's the thing, Jesus
who doesn't see people in photographs, didn't see like we see in exterior He
sees in x-rays. He sees right down to your heart, right down to your motives, right
down to what you really feel, and what you really believe. Listen Jesus is standing in front of that
crowd, sees and knows exactly how they're doing, body and soul. And the One who
sees and the One who knows says this in our text,
Matthew 11:28 [I’ve
preached and taught this text a lot of times I’m still not over it] 28 Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Father, we come before
you this morning knowing that we’re always before you. You're here. You see. You
know. And yet seeing and knowing everything, You invite. You tell us to come to
You. And today Lord I felt so strongly as I’m studying for this other series (and
that's on my mind) and all the possibilities of how we human beings really
change, and yet God today this was the message, and the songs Brandon picked,
and all of it syncs up. Lord I just know today this is what you have. So Spirit
fill it, use it for Your glory and our good.
It’s in Christ's name I pray, Amen.
Two things in this text
that jump immediately off the page: Jesus... who sees, Jesus... who knows
exactly where they are, exactly where you are, first of all describes their
true condition and secondly He makes them an offer. He says, I know this is
where you really are. Not what you tell
people, not the appearance you try to put on to make yourself more palatable for
public distribution, but the real you. I
know exactly your true condition and I’ve got something for you, right in the
middle of where you really are.
First of all their
condition described...
There are a few terms that I would use to describe their condition that may be
yours today The first one is a powerful word RESTLESS. Restless - that lonely,
unsettled feeling that there's something missing, something undone, something
incomplete. I'm telling you, for most of my life, this has been a tremendous
struggle that I didn't even understand. It’s in quiet times, times where I
wasn't out doing something, I wasn't occupied with some pursuit, times when I’m
on the couch, times with the family, times where the TV is off. I get this feeling, this “hair-shirted”
discomfort, this restlessness like something's off, something is not done. I’ve told you I'm a believer in counseling; in
this last year, going through all that stuff, the depression, then ultimately an
eating disorder and all that stuff. Finding
out from this counselor, he said “let’s examine those. Let’s find out what is
that thing when you feel that restlessness.” And in talking about it, what he
came down to is this: that is based in performance. You feel like, “I got to do
something more to be okay with me. I got to do something more to be acceptable
to people.” Jesus described this as a restlessness of soul. You want your soul
is? It's the real you beyond the merely physical. Your mind, will, and emotions. Your personality - that thing that makes you,
you. Jesus said, the Creator of life said, that [thing] can be incredibly
restless something’s off and I don't know what it is. Somebody listen, that's
why when you get in the car, and it's quiet, you're by yourself, you will immediately
reach for that radio knob. That's why
some of you are always, always, always on twitter, always on Facebook, always
on social media. If there's a moment's
pause in the action, that discomfort, the restlessness starts bubbling to the
surface and it's so miserable you’ll do almost anything to head that off at the
pass. They were restless.
Here's the second thing...
They had bought into the
saving power of more. They bought into the saving power of more. Man alive, is this not 2016? If you're
restless, if everything's not right in your life, if something's missing here's
what you need. You need to have more money. You need to have more status. You
need to have more possessions; you need to have a better body. You need to have
more sex appeal. You need to have more education. You need to have more status.
Maybe you need to do more. Maybe you need to do more hobbies. Do more vacations, do more drugs, drink more
alcohol, have more partners. You need to be more, you need to be more educated,
be more athletic, be more qualified, be more loving, be more moral, be more
religious, be more spiritual. Whatever it is, if I could just be, have, do that
I wouldn't feel like this. That's exactly where they were 2,000 years ago y'all.
I know sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking like, “man if only I lived
2,000 years ago, things would have been so much easier.” Really? I don't know
about you, but I love having running water and like a toilet. That’s a really
good thing to me, right? I love that we're not living like in Roman occupation.
There are a lot of good things about living in America in 2016. And here's the
deal, humans have always been humans. We've always wrestled with this same
garbage. They were wrestling with it then; we're wrestling with it now. They
were restless and they, like us, had bought into the saving power of more.
Here's the third way Jesus
described them. They were restless,
chasing after something more, and the pursuit had left them unbearably burdened;
BURDENED. Kathe Koja wrote this:
Everyone is cored by that existential void, the deep hole in the heart that
cries for radiance; our entire consumer culture is [built] on the belief that,
if you stuff enough things down that hole, you can finally satisfy it into
silence. [But] that has never been the case. [Paraphrased] Creativity won't do
it, sex won't do it, art won't do it, and even love can't fill that hole.
So here's what happens,
at the end of all that “more”, they find they are not only now still restless,
still lonely, still “hair-shirted discomfort”; now they are weighed down by a
thousand and one obligations, addictions, expectations. Now I got my kids
plugged into 75 things a week and I’ve got to take them to all of them. I’m
running myself ragged to the point of exhaustion but I can't stop. Now I’m
working so many hours I’m flat exhausted. I’m still in debt but now I’m stressed
as well. Whatever the burden might be, it's on your heart, it's on your
shoulder, that’s on your life. I want to
ask you this morning... Man, I know this is personal. Oh, this is personal.
It’s personal for me too. Some of you as I’m talking (and don't you dare think
it's the words) the Spirit of God is moving your heart you’re like, “that's
exactly where I’m at! That's exactly where I’m at, and preacher I know you're going
to have like some solution that's all hyper-spiritual and I ain’t that
spiritual. I wish I was. I don't know how to get off that hamster wheel. I
don't know how to climb off that treadmill and but that's so much a part of the
fiber of my life. Wearing the right thing, and saying the right thing, and
impressing people... I don't know how to stop. So please don't give me
something so high that I can't reach it. That I can't do it. That I can't go
there.”
Are you restless this
morning? If you are, I want to ask you this question. Nobody needs to answer out
loud: What's your functional Jesus? What's your functional savior? I'm not
asking you who your savior is because nine-tenths of you would say Jesus Christ
is my savior. I'm asking who or what you turn to when you're restless. That's
your functional savior. Is it food? Has been for me for a lot of years, man. You
know what? A lot of us use that like other people use cocaine or alcohol to
numb away the pain. Is it work? Is it
sex? Pornography? Trying to wear the
right thing, to do the right thing, attain the right thing? Who are you turning
to, to fill that hole in the middle of your soul? And can I ask you that old Dr.
Phil question (though I’m not a huge Dr. Phil fan): How's that working for you?
Because I got to tell you for me, hadn't worked very well at all.
Thank God, thank Jesus He
knows exactly where they are. He knows exactly where you are. The title of this
sermon, listen to me, is Jesus Knows. Jesus knows. And instead of crossing His arms, and instead
of clenching His fists, He opens up his Hand and here's what He says, (gets me
every time)
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What is He saying when He
says “come to me..”? You know what He's saying first of all? Listen to me. He's
saying come as you are. Come as you are. Some of your like, “Man I wish I could
be this, but I can't.” He's saying forget about trying to be that. Come as you are!
He didn't say come to Me when you're better. He didn't say come to Me when you're
more. He said come to Me when you're less, come to Me when you're less than you
ever thought you were. When you're restless, when you're busted up, when you
fail for the hundred and fifteenth time, come to Me when you're hurt, come to Me
when you're drowning in obligations. Don't try to clean it up, don't let your
pride banish you, and don't let your shame keep you away! Come to Me. I've got
rest and I can give it to you!
Listen, you know what
the real problem is y’all? It's not that
Jesus won't take us, it's that we banish ourselves through either pride “I'm
not going to do it; I’m going to try my way, that's boring, that's hard, that's
legalistic, that's puritanical. I don't believe really in my heart that Jesus
is all that good so I’m just going to keep doing this. It ain’t really working
and it's not really great, but it's better than that. Pride or shame, “you
don't know what I’ve done, Preacher. You don't know how far I’ve gone. Jesus
couldn't possibly use this. I’m not good enough. I’m not right enough. I’m not smart
enough.” Either one will banish you when
all the while the Son of God is saying, Come on, I’ll take you like you are.
Come on.
It means come as you are.
You know what else it means? Come to a
person, not a system. Man alive, if you're still in here with me say Amen. Come
to a person not a system. A whole lot of us, when we hear “come to me” here's
what we think: Well I really do need to read my bible more. Well I really do
need to pray more. I do need to be in church more often. There’s this whole
list of additional obligations, and frankly that doesn’t give you any hope
because you're like “I’ve already got obligations that are drowning me. Adding
five more, it's going to sink me!”
Friend, I want to tell
you something, listen to me: your salvation is not found in religion. Your
salvation is not found in a system. Your salvation isn’t found in a list of
do's and don'ts. Your salvation is found in a person, Jesus Christ the Son of God
and the bible is a means of chasing Him. Coming together with believers, all of
whom are just as banged up as you (and if you're in here and you think you're
not banged up you may be more banged up than the rest of us). Let me say that
again... *speaks deeply into the microphone* If you're here and you think
you're not banged up you may be more banged up than the rest of us. *laughter* I can't do that with my lapel mics,
I’m going to utilize this for all it's worth.
The truth is, all of those things that if we're not careful
we make ends in and of themselves: scripture, prayer, worship, community,
church. Those are pathways to a living Savior. I want to know Him, I want to chase Him, and
I’m going to feel Him. I want to walk
with Him. Listen don't make any of that
stuff an end in and of itself; that's exhausting. Make it a means of getting to
Jesus. I was talking with somebody recently
and somebody had shared this with me and it blessed my heart...
If I am digging for
buried treasure, I'm going to need some implements. I’m going to need a pick, I’m
going to need a shovel to get down to the treasure, but you know what? It would
be foolhardy of me to make a treasure out of the shovel. It would be stupid of
me to make the goal of my life the pickaxe. But I tell you what; I’m never
going to get to the treasure without that stuff. The word, prayer, community, are our ways to
get down to the treasure that is Jesus Christ.
An offer extended, “come
to me” and He says take my yoke upon you and learn of me” Now, we have a vague understanding when we
hear “yoke”. That's that wooden
instrument placed around the neck of two oxen to pull a plow, to pull load of
some sort, and I think I’ve heard preachers and commentators talk about, Ok Jesus
is saying I’m the one pulling, its My energy, it's My work, just link up with Me
and let Me do the pulling. I don't think
that's bad, but I think we do need to understand that in Jesus’ day and culture,
the most impressive calling that a person could have was to be a Rabbi; to be a
teacher of the Hebrew scriptures. I mean in that culture, that was the tops. And
interestingly enough a Rabbis thinking, his philosophy, his particular interpretation
of scripture, guess what it was referred to as: His yoke. So whenever a Rabbi chooses
an apprentice they call them their “Talmudine”, a disciple. It was a tremendous
honor.
He would ask this young pupil “come take my yoke, my teaching, my
thinking, my way upon you, become my disciple. This is an honor, I'm choosing
you, come walk with me, take my yoke on you.” The boy would then leave
everything. He’d leave his home, leave
his mom, leave his dad, leave the synagogue, he’d leave the community, he would
devote his entire life to being with, and like, that Rabbi. He followed his teacher so closely that one
of the Jewish sages was quoted as saying this “may you be covered in the dust
of your Rabbi. “ You're walking so close with them that the dust of their feet
is covering you. Jesus said I want you
to be My disciple. I want you to take My way, My learning, My teaching on you.
I want you to leave behind thinking that your job is your identity. You're not
a lawyer, you're not a teacher, you're not an athlete, you're not student, you
are mine. Those things are secondary. I'm calling you with the highest calling
there is; not to do, but to be. Come be with Me. Come walk so close with Me
that My dust gets all over you. Can you imagine? Listen that was the highest of
callings. That's what we think, “Well yeah, for that gifted one, for that
beautiful one, for that holy one; God would call them to that.” No, listen,
what Jesus said a couple of verses earlier in
Matthew 11:25-26
25 At that
time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it
seemed good in thy sight.
Listen to me, He wants you. He's calling you. That restlessness
you feel, and do almost anything to get away from, is the greatest gift God
could ever give you. It will save your life if you let it; because He's calling
you finally to come on. You're not going to do it perfectly. You're going to
mess it up all along the way, that's alright. He knows. Jesus knows. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I
am meek [approachable, gentle, calm, unspeakably powerful but that power is
controlled] and lowly in heart [I’m not too good to be around you]: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
One author paraphrased
these verses and I want to close this: Come to me and I will give you rest, all
of you who works so hard beneath a heavy load. Come wear my yoke, it fits
perfectly.
"Jesus Knows" Brian Loveless Sermon on August 21, 2016 at Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas.
I’m excited to start sharing some articles and other
resources that have impacted me these past few years of ministry. This article
in particular is a timely reminder of the importance of singing in worship.
Keith Getty, a popular modern hymn writer and worship leader, gives the reader
five specific reasons why we should sing in corporate worship. I hope this
article encourages and challenges you like it has done me. In Christ, Brandon H.
Each week, upwards of 100 million people in America attend church, listen responsively to the sermons, and pray sincerely. But when it comes time to sing the hymns, the level of engagement drops dramatically.
There are many proposed reasons for this fall off, all of which hold validity. It could be the wider culture’s waning interest in community singing, the diminishing levels of music education in the West, the role of choirs in schools, the unstable and increasingly narcissistic elements in church music, or even the spiritual state of our nation as a whole.
For millennia, music has been an integral part of corporate worship. The first hymns are as old as the early books of the Bible. The disciples and early church leaders sang those songs and added some of their own.
Notable thinkers throughout history (and into the current era) — everyone from Luther to Bach to John Newton — have so believed in the importance of corporate worship that they, too, contributed to the grand canon of hymns we know today.
As a contemporary hymn writer who travels to cities worldwide, I love to meet pastors and worship leaders and encourage them to lead their congregations in deeper, more passionate singing. Here are just five of the many reasons we should all sing passionately in church this Sunday:
1. We are commanded to sing.
We are called to sing — indeed, the Scriptures command us more than 250 times to sing. It’s hardly one of those “controversial” issues that is hard to ascertain precisely what scripture is saying. It’s not a choice. It’s not dependent on “feeling like it.” It’s not our prerogative.
Throughout biblical history, in every place and circumstance — in victory and defeat, in celebrations and festivals, in death and mourning — singing was second nature for people of faith. Indeed, the largest book of the Bible — Psalms — is itself a songbook that explores the range of human experience and interaction with God through singing.
In the New Testament, Paul tells the early churches to get together and sing. In Ephesians 5, he reiterates the call of old to engage with each other in the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making music from the heart.
2. Singing together completes our joy.
Celebrating with each other is as natural as breathing. At our kid’s soccer game or when we watch football or March Madness, it’s not enough for our team to win. We want to revel in the moment and share it with others. Marking a birthday, winning a prize, or getting a raise are all incomplete until we get to share them with those we love.
Similarly, for the faithful, the joy of living, of praying, of studying Scripture cannot be complete until shared. Singing together reminds us — not just intellectually, but experientially — that we are not slaves to the rugged individualism promoted by society. We’re actually responsible to one another.
Christian apologist CS Lewis believed that singing completes our faith. In his Reflections on the Psalms, he writes, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is appointed consumption.”
3. Singing is an expression of brotherhood and unites generations.
Singing together is a picture here on earth of the hope of heaven where every tribe, tongue, and nation will sing to God. Throughout history, God’s people have both discovered and affirmed their solidarity in times of celebration and in times of tragedy through singing.
Consider again those first churches Paul was leading. They often had little in common — they were culturally different, citizens of national enemies, sometimes with different religious traditions or no tradition at all, and sometimes even lacking common language or dialect. His admonition in Ephesians is not a simplistic instruction; it was a hard thing. But, all the more is the importance of their (and our) singing together as it was an undeniable expression of their brotherhood and unity.
It is a curious thing that stats may show the subject of congregational singing (or sadly, perhaps, the larger topic of church music) may have caused more splits within Christian communities than any movement since the Reformation.
The depth of brotherhood that could have been achieved by something as simple as singing together shines a harsh light on the insensitivity of church members and leadership who have broken congregations over so-called “worship wars.”
4. We are what we sing.
Singing affects how we pray, think, and feel. It influences our memory banks and even the deepest parts of our subconscious.
My wife, Kristyn, and I have noticed when we sing children’s hymns in the car with our girls they actually behave better than if, say, they were watching television.
At the other end of the scale, my grandfather arrived at church early on Sundays — very early. He sat in the pew, opened a hymnal, and rehearsed the songs to himself over and over. And though I was glad when we visited him, quiet reflection early on a Sunday morning was not my forte.
But, many years later, when he was in his nineties and unable to remember my name or how to accomplish even the most basic tasks of daily life, he still could recite or respond to the words of those hymns. They were songs he carried for life, and they brought him considerable peace, even at one of the most difficult stages of life, because they were so deeply engrained to his being.
In Deuteronomy 31, we read the instruction of the Lord to Moses to write down the words of the song he was given and to teach it to his children so that when many evils and trouble befell them, the song would be a reminder to them lest they turn away.
If the songs we sing to ourselves and to each other are just of the moment, detached from Scripture and lacking in history or perspective, we’ve little to keep us moored to Truth. But when we are intentional about singing and the songs we sing, we build up a testimony that will travel with us through life.
5. Singing bears testimony to our faith.
How we sing, if we sing, how passionately we sing — our singing itself — is a witness to those looking on. There is no choice in the matter. In the level of our engagement with the songs and participation in the singing, we testify to the joy of an excited believer or betray the chill of a disinterested spectator.
In the New Testament, we read of Christians gathered together who so passionately expressed their faith together in song that the people looking on thought them to be drunk because that was the only explanation for their uniformed experience.
Ultimately, those who may feel they are on the outside looking in will, from the deepest part of themselves, respond to authentic and passionate singing to discover the truth held in the God songs we sing.
* * *
As we head to church on Sunday — as overworked dads, stressed out mums, grandparents struggling with health, and young people looking for wealth — we can, with integrity and relief, go with repentance and thanksgiving to the One who has created us, forgiven us and who lives within us. How can we not sing?
It was King David who, in the aftermath of the debacle of his adultery with Bathsheba, turned to God and said, “ . . . my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise” (Psalm 51).
