Faith over Fear

 We are individually equal because we are individually unique. You can actually be different from every other person by letting the power of God flow thru your experiences, background, and borders. God set these things up so that you might look around for Him. (Acts 17) and having found Him realize He was never far away at all. 

 

 

Courage and wisdom are the two sharp edges of a mighty sword that will carve a swath through the enemies of justice and mercy in this day. Flowery I know, but the bottom line is: God's people are supposed to be courageous and wise. Fear Not. Do what you have to do but set the standard as what God says you have to do, not what someone-anyone else says.   

 

Whether it is New Heights Fellowship Baptists Church of East Toledo or not, you are meant to function as part of a local body of believers. One of our Personal Trainers may be able to help you sort out which body, what is a body and what isn't, or you may just want to listen to the voice of God and let Him point you in the right direction. We are willing. He is patient. But it's time.  

 Worshipping with other believers is just one of many things that we simply miust do and the fact is that wearing a mask all the time, praciticing social distancing, and other COVID enforced activities has caused a side effect of people becoming more distant and less friendly. We MUST not go down that road. 

We must be the embodiment of our father's love and we must be actively learning better how to do so every day. He will bless us as we pour ourselves out for kingdom causes. We must brook no excues and instead choose to live with complete adn unwavering loyalty to our Go adn one another. Love! HUgs must happen, be careful if you must, but hug. Gifts must happen, be cautious but give. Service must happen Be cautious if you want but never, ever quit Denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following daily after Jesus!

 

Please accept the truth about Jesus Christ and begin anew today to live your life for Him. Then be wise and Courageous in Christ with response to Covid-19 and every other threat that comes along.

Hope to See ya Sunday,

Pastor Daniel R. Stevenson

Daily sermon prep

Preaching I think one of the reasons a preacher might be forced to spend long hours in preperation to preach is their lack of a daily devotional time. I know that in most daily devotional times we don't memorize a lot of scripture. However, if you go over the same trails in the word enough times you become familiar with them. Devotions I think that almost any devotional can lead to a sermon. The problem is that when people are spending a lot of time writing sermons they mix their own devotional times with their sermon preparation and then before long their is no devotional. The question has been posed how do you know when what you are getting out of the word is for you and when it is for sharing with others. Sermons Well, it depends on the question asked I supose. I think if it is good sound Biblical teaching then it is for all of us. If you are a pastor then when you pastor the people God has given you to pastor then you should be drawing out of the sum total of the knowledge and wisdom that God has given you. Knowledge and Wisdom What's the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Well, knowledge is what you know and wisdom is sort of how you use what you know. That's a good enough understanding to realize that when you study the word for knowledge or you get only knowledge out of a session it's like charging the battery. Then when you need to preach the battery is charged and the draw is hopefully not more than the battery. This is why the battery must be constantly charged. So that the charge will be there. Its part our task to be ready to preach in season and out of season. Preparing It's also commanded not to worry too much about what we will say when we are called to answer before our persecutors. Basically, you shouldn't have to prepare an answer for them. Still, it pays to prepare for your next sermon. I guess what I'm saying is that you are always preparing for you next sermon and isn't it true that your life itself should be semron of a sort? I think so and accordingly I think that spending time in the word every day simply studying and "becoming an expert" is absolutely necessary. There was a time when I didn't feel that way. I learned better. Be in the word so often that when you think to speak, the first thing that comes to mind to answer with is, yep you guessed it, Biblical. Thinking like God This writing, the Bible reveals much about the way that God thinks and we should train ourselves to match that course to the best of our ability and with His help get the job done. Don't spend so much time studying that you can't do the work, but study so that when you do the work you do it out of the abundance of the Biblical wisdom you have gained by being in His word.

Marching Band, Extracurriculars, and Learning to Live

Marching Band

My daughter is a flautist (I just love that word-It sounds like your beating someone up with something like a garden hose.) It actually means you play the flute.



Anyway, my daughter is a flautist in the local high school band. The band has gone through some changes in the past couple of years. They have an ambitious leader and some policies have been changed. For example, pretty much every student that is part of the band is now required to be in the marching band.



I'm not sure about requiring it but I think it's generally a good idea.

Service in extracurriculars

Anyway, I have a few thoughts about band and extra-curriculars in general (I could almost hear my daughter groan when I wrote that...) If only I had a blog or something to share my thoughts...Well, would you look at that. Well, hear goes.

I think that extra-curriculars are about service. I know. Our nation has trended toward the worldly thought that leadership is not about humility. If our society remembered that leadership is about service then it would see extracurriculars as training for leadership. A person is a better person because he serves others. He is a better person because he wants to serve others.



Service forgotten

However, our current social condition as a country seems to forget the service aspect. This is probably because schools have now become a baby-sitting service for over-employed parents or otherwise occupied anyway. Academics as well as extracurriculars which should be geared toward making a productive member of society (and in our school system as far as I can see they are.) But, this is not the entire battle. People need to be trained for charitable service. True charitable service is grueling. When you are through, you fall on your bed exhausted.



Students mostly need not practice their extracurricular on their own. They should but they don't because to them it is not about being the best you can be or serving others with a true servants heart. Factually, even Christian students who should be doing their work as if they were doing it for God rarely go the extra mile. This is probably because things in their life vie for their time and actively pursuing skill in representing your school in service in a certain area does not outweigh the cultural barrage.



Was there a day when students were encouraged by their parents and teachers to serve their fellow students with untiring effort? Did students regularly practice their instruments, their cheers, and whatever other extra-curricular abilities? Not sure actually...

However, I know that if it existed under a public school system like the one we have now it was somewhere between the need for twelve year olds to drop out and get employed and the need for eighteen year olds to stay in and grow up.

If we encouraged our children to make their extracurriculars about serving others would we look freakishly odd? Maybe the student body doesn't want to be served. Maybe in today's world it is assumed that persons who participate are doing it because they like to do it-because they were wired to do it. How does being uniquely equipped to do something disqualify you from using your gift for others' benefit?

The world has been turned upside down from what the King (God) would want. I suppose that's why people have to be BORN AGAIN (Fresh Start in Christ) because they have been raised in a world of different values from the Kingdom values. I suppose that's why parents of Christian families always have to wonder whether their children would be better off in a private school.

Here's my cry to educators. Stop and examine why you do what you do. Tomorrow is at stake.

Bible removed from Schools
When today was at stake we outlawed teaching the original text book (The Bible.) We lost sight of unique values that genuinely make a world better even when the person is not sold out for Christ. Most self help books are somehow based in things one could learn from the Bible. The strength to aggressively follow what the Bible says comes from the Holy Spirit but every person could get value out of a life style of service and doing unto others what they would have done to them.

So, cut the sovereignty of God and the fear of judgment if you must. Cut the TRUTH but at least lets get back the self-improvement texts can't we?

Oh, I guess it's even worse than that. In the pursuit of knowledge (Which puffs up by the way) we have even written off most of the old sayings. I remember my teachers teaching me 'a stitch in time saves nine' and 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' and so on. What happened to that?

Is it possible that somewhere along the way education became about knowledge and not wisdom? Did someone figure out that wisdom can not be taught?

If so, I disagree!

Our younger generation is dying in many senses. In a society that uses their kids as an excuse but watches TV instead of spending time with their kids, parents who have forgotten more wisdom than their children will ever be taught in school depend heartily on a governmental education system to keep their kids out of their hair and to produce mature, effective citizens.

Parents in Education
It's not gonna work. It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children and the more that we stray away from that the more the next generation is doomed to suffer the same fate only multiplied.

So, what's the solution?

1-It's time extracurriculars became about service again.

2-Someone needs to tell kids and parents that a full school education will not by itself equip them to be successful in life. It's admitting weakness on the part of the administration but it should be maybe the first lesson and repeated over and over more than- say- how to spell your name.

3-Return wisdom to the curriculum. Teach the truths of the Bible. Even if the TRUTH (Jesus) is not taught then teach the wisdom of the Bible and let children, teens, and eventually young adults ask the questions how can this be and what do I do now? Education can not only minister to the mind and if that's all it does then why does the school day last so long?

4-Teach students and parents that education is about the next question not about the last answer. Runners running at high speed lean forward. Students learning at high speed should be leaning forward in their mental posture. [Don't get me started on the whole grades thing.] Teaching minds to reach is challenging but not teaching them to reach is the same as locking them in a cage.

My disclaimer. I am not a teacher. I do not lead a marching band (no rhythm.) I am not a superintendent of schools. My degree is not in education although it is an education degree. I dropped out of college twice before I was a Christian and didn't learn much (including motivation) about being a good student until I was near to finishing my undergraduate degree.

Still, even in a school system as good as my home town's we've got real problems. I'm not saying I see them clearly. the list above is not all-inclusive. But our education system needs to be born again (a fresh start) in certain areas if we are going to survive and prosper for as much time as we have left.

Pastor Dan Stevenson
www.newheightsfellowshipchurch.org