Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Spiritual Formation: Walking in harmony with the Spirit
A book that is helping me work through the importance and process of spiritual formation in churches is called Renovation of the Church, by Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken. Today's insight and challenge. . .
"The Holy Spirit will never usurp our will. If we don't want Christ formed in us, then not even the Spirit will make it happen. Our passivity in our spiritual growth is a hangover from the Reformation. We are afraid of turning grace into works. So instead, we turn grace into a divine magic that does everything for us. But to experience spiritual formation in Christ, we have to want Christ formed in us. This has nothing to do with earning God's favor; it has to do with how we respond to the undeserved grace of God."
Amen!
"The Holy Spirit will never usurp our will. If we don't want Christ formed in us, then not even the Spirit will make it happen. Our passivity in our spiritual growth is a hangover from the Reformation. We are afraid of turning grace into works. So instead, we turn grace into a divine magic that does everything for us. But to experience spiritual formation in Christ, we have to want Christ formed in us. This has nothing to do with earning God's favor; it has to do with how we respond to the undeserved grace of God."
Amen!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Easter: Satan's Epic Fail
Epic Fail Part 11 Satan - Biggest Loser from Gordon Dabbs on Vimeo.
My Easter sermon was the final part in the 11 message series "Epic Fail."
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Judas and Peter, Failure or Forgiveness
I'm preaching on the "Epic Fail" of Judas Iscariot this Sunday. It seems to me that this apostle was SO CLOSE to experiencing the kind of redemption and turn-around that the apostle Peter did, but Judas somehow managed to wrestle defeat from the jaws of victory.
The words from Linkin Park's "What I've Done" speak to the difference between Peter (able to accept forgiveness and start over) and Judas (condemned himself and finalized his defeat by ending his life).
"What I've Done"
Linkin Park
In this farewell
There’s no blood
There’s no alibi
‘Cause I’ve drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies
So let mercy come
And wash away
What I’ve done
I'll face myself
To cross out what i’ve become
Erase myself
And let go of what i’ve done
Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty
For what I’ve done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I’m forgiving what I’ve done!!!
The words from Linkin Park's "What I've Done" speak to the difference between Peter (able to accept forgiveness and start over) and Judas (condemned himself and finalized his defeat by ending his life).
"What I've Done"
Linkin Park
In this farewell
There’s no blood
There’s no alibi
‘Cause I’ve drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies
So let mercy come
And wash away
What I’ve done
I'll face myself
To cross out what i’ve become
Erase myself
And let go of what i’ve done
Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty
For what I’ve done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I’m forgiving what I’ve done!!!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Older Brother Epic Fail Part 9
Epic Fail Part 9 The Older Brother - Walking Dead from Gordon Dabbs on Vimeo.
A lot of us who grew up in Church struggle to show/share the graciousness of God which we have received and enjoy. In Luke 15, Jesus shares a parable about an older brother who isn't welcoming when his prodigal younger brother returns home.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Getting to the heart/soul of the problem
Yesterday at Prestoncrest, I preached from Jesus' parable about a rich fool in Luke 12. It's the story of a tight-fisted man who stored up wealth for himself and ended up dying before he was able to retire and reap the rewards of his hard work.
I think there's a lesson in his parable for all of us who are addicted to money/possessions.
Remember the housing bubble and the financial collapse that happened a few years back? Some blame poor government regulation, others the big greedy banks, but really what it comes back to is folks like you and I who bought houses that we couldn’t afford. Sure the banks approved all of these mortgages, but what were we doing buying houses with mortgage payments that stretched us beyond our ability to pay?
A money addiction or a possessions addiction causes regular folks to spend beyond their means. They max out their credit cards. They get into a house that’s more than they need and more than they can afford. When enough people are addicted to money and stuff, you have a perfect
storm for a nationwide epidemic of foreclosures and ultimately, a collapse of financial institutions.
Were the banks greedy? Sure. Could better government oversight have helped? Maybe. But banks merely fed off of the hunger people had for a bigger and better home.
"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and
harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6.9)" Look, I’m no economist, but these words of Paul seem like they could have appeared in the editorial section of the Wall Street Journal after in late 2008.
I think there's a lesson in his parable for all of us who are addicted to money/possessions.
Remember the housing bubble and the financial collapse that happened a few years back? Some blame poor government regulation, others the big greedy banks, but really what it comes back to is folks like you and I who bought houses that we couldn’t afford. Sure the banks approved all of these mortgages, but what were we doing buying houses with mortgage payments that stretched us beyond our ability to pay?
A money addiction or a possessions addiction causes regular folks to spend beyond their means. They max out their credit cards. They get into a house that’s more than they need and more than they can afford. When enough people are addicted to money and stuff, you have a perfect
storm for a nationwide epidemic of foreclosures and ultimately, a collapse of financial institutions.
Were the banks greedy? Sure. Could better government oversight have helped? Maybe. But banks merely fed off of the hunger people had for a bigger and better home.
"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and
harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6.9)" Look, I’m no economist, but these words of Paul seem like they could have appeared in the editorial section of the Wall Street Journal after in late 2008.
Living beyond our means leads us to financial ruin. This is no stunning revelation. But why do we live beyond our means? That, in my opinion, gets to the heart/soul of our problem. Greed. Selfishness. Envy. Pride . . . The issue is fundamentally a spiritual one. Instead of thinking of how everyone else needs to change, the humble response is to look myself in the mirror and recognize the spiritual sickness that causes ME to want to live beyond my means and that causes me to be less than generous with the needs of those around me.
God, transform me into a wise and generous manager of the resources you've given me. May I be a channel of blessing so that your love and kindness flow out of my life and into the needs of other people.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Answered Prayers for Radio Man in Rio
Paulo Nobre with his wife Neuzete at the Victory Church in Rio.In Acts 8, Simon the Sorcerer believed on the name of Jesus and was baptized. He faced the temptation of using Jesus to advance his career rather than giving his 100% to the Lord. My friend Paulo Nobre in Brazil faced a similar Dilemma.
Here's Paulo's story. . .
Paulo’s wife and four children are all active members of the church that my wife and I planted in Rio. One of his sons is worship leader of the Victory Church. Like Simon, Paulo was a bit of a local celebrity. He was a career radio man who hosted a daily program on an AM station. He was responsible for the content of his program. That meant that he was responsible for securing advertisers and sponsors for the program. His livelihood depended on making sure that the program made money. Six years ago, I rejoiced along with his family when Paulo expressed his faith in Jesus. Like Simon the Sorcerer, Paulo believed on the name of Jesus and was baptized.
Paulo soon found himself in a post-conversion dilemma. You see, the main sponsor of his music and variety show was a woman named Dona Fernanda. She owned and operated a Spiritist Center. In America, she would be something like a fortune teller or a palm reader. People seek her out and pay her to put a curse on an enemy. Others give her money in exchange for a love spell over a man or woman they want to fall in love with them. Her followers believe that she can work in the spirit world to help them get rich, find love, deal with enemies, or experience healing from disease. Her clients are convinced that her power to manipulate the spirit world is real. By the way, Dona Fernanda’s business is booming.
During Paulo’s radio show, he advertised her services. Sometimes he interviewed her, or people who claim that her magic solved their problems. Paulo would then recommend her to his listening audience. As a sponsor of the program, Dona Fernanda paid Paulo for promoting her business.
Once Paulo came to faith in Jesus, he had a big decision to make. As a Christ follower, could he continue to promote Dona Fernanda’s business? Would he encourage his listeners to find solutions to their life problems from Dona Fernanda’s dark magic? To break ties with her would mean letting go of his biggest income stream and potentially doom the whole radio program.
Several years passed since the moment he believed on the name of Jesus, yet Paulo still hadn’t broken ties with Dona Fernanda. I encouraged him to break ties. His wife and children have urged him to end his commercial relationship with Dona Fernanda. You just can’t base your career on marketing voo doo and dark magic while claiming to be a disciple of Jesus. But, for several years, he just couldn’t bring himself to risk his program and his career. He knew that for Jesus to have Lordship in his life, repentance was required. He understood that repentance would be costly. In his heart, there was sadness. Paulo was caught between his career and his confession.
A couple of years back, I shared the story of Paulo Nobre with the Prestoncrest Church on a Sunday evening. After sharing his dilemma with the folks at Prestoncrest, we stopped and prayed for Paulo right in the middle of the sermon. This week, our prayers were answered. Paulo’s son, the worship leader, wrote me a message this week that caused my heart to leap for joy. Bruno *(Paulo's son) shared that some time back, Paulo cut ties with Dona Fernanda. Unable to make up for the money that he lost, the program went off the air. But Paulo’s faith and his family were immediately blessed by his decision to unite his life fully to Jesus. After looking for a new way to support his family, he has just been offered an opportunity with Radio Globo, the most listened to station in all of Brazil.
I praise God for Paulo's decision to get serious about his discipleship. I thank all who prayed with me on that Sunday night a couple of years back.
Here's Paulo's story. . .
Paulo’s wife and four children are all active members of the church that my wife and I planted in Rio. One of his sons is worship leader of the Victory Church. Like Simon, Paulo was a bit of a local celebrity. He was a career radio man who hosted a daily program on an AM station. He was responsible for the content of his program. That meant that he was responsible for securing advertisers and sponsors for the program. His livelihood depended on making sure that the program made money. Six years ago, I rejoiced along with his family when Paulo expressed his faith in Jesus. Like Simon the Sorcerer, Paulo believed on the name of Jesus and was baptized.
Paulo soon found himself in a post-conversion dilemma. You see, the main sponsor of his music and variety show was a woman named Dona Fernanda. She owned and operated a Spiritist Center. In America, she would be something like a fortune teller or a palm reader. People seek her out and pay her to put a curse on an enemy. Others give her money in exchange for a love spell over a man or woman they want to fall in love with them. Her followers believe that she can work in the spirit world to help them get rich, find love, deal with enemies, or experience healing from disease. Her clients are convinced that her power to manipulate the spirit world is real. By the way, Dona Fernanda’s business is booming.
During Paulo’s radio show, he advertised her services. Sometimes he interviewed her, or people who claim that her magic solved their problems. Paulo would then recommend her to his listening audience. As a sponsor of the program, Dona Fernanda paid Paulo for promoting her business.
Once Paulo came to faith in Jesus, he had a big decision to make. As a Christ follower, could he continue to promote Dona Fernanda’s business? Would he encourage his listeners to find solutions to their life problems from Dona Fernanda’s dark magic? To break ties with her would mean letting go of his biggest income stream and potentially doom the whole radio program.
Several years passed since the moment he believed on the name of Jesus, yet Paulo still hadn’t broken ties with Dona Fernanda. I encouraged him to break ties. His wife and children have urged him to end his commercial relationship with Dona Fernanda. You just can’t base your career on marketing voo doo and dark magic while claiming to be a disciple of Jesus. But, for several years, he just couldn’t bring himself to risk his program and his career. He knew that for Jesus to have Lordship in his life, repentance was required. He understood that repentance would be costly. In his heart, there was sadness. Paulo was caught between his career and his confession.
A couple of years back, I shared the story of Paulo Nobre with the Prestoncrest Church on a Sunday evening. After sharing his dilemma with the folks at Prestoncrest, we stopped and prayed for Paulo right in the middle of the sermon. This week, our prayers were answered. Paulo’s son, the worship leader, wrote me a message this week that caused my heart to leap for joy. Bruno *(Paulo's son) shared that some time back, Paulo cut ties with Dona Fernanda. Unable to make up for the money that he lost, the program went off the air. But Paulo’s faith and his family were immediately blessed by his decision to unite his life fully to Jesus. After looking for a new way to support his family, he has just been offered an opportunity with Radio Globo, the most listened to station in all of Brazil.
I praise God for Paulo's decision to get serious about his discipleship. I thank all who prayed with me on that Sunday night a couple of years back.
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