Take 5: Introduction
It has been my distinct privilege to have taught the scriptures for about forty years at Reston Bible Church. Though I think there is still some tread left on the tire, I would like to pass on to both young and old some of the lessons I have learned regarding this great calling that we lovingly refer to as preaching. Take 5 is an online video series for pastors and teachers of God’s Word where I will share some of the teaching tips I have learned through the years.
Starting September 22, we will publish Take 5 on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays here on the RBC blog, and will keep a running archive on RBC’s Vimeo channel.
To suggest a topic for Pastor Mike to cover, send an email to questions@restonbible.org.
When I Am Loved, This Is How I Feel
Last weekend as part of his Revolutionary Love series, Pastor Mike shared a reading based on 1 Corinthians 13. Since many asked for a copy of it, here it is below.
Thank you for being patient with me and all my shortcomings. Your kindness has worked its way into my heart. The way you genuinely rejoice when others are blessed instead of being envious has taught me to follow your example. Your lack of boasting and pride make me feel safe to be around you. Your gentle spirit erases the painful rudeness of life. I am drawn to you because you are never self-seeking and desire to bless me above yourself. You never seem angry when I fail you, which has been a model for me to do the same. Thank you for not rehearsing my wrongs as your love has covered a multitude of my sins. You draw daily from the tree of life and shun evil which so refreshes my very being. I love the way you rejoice in the truth because knowing the truth sets me free. You so desire to protect my reputation and character which allows me to focus on the Lord. Your consistent trust in me has made me feel very special and the fact that your hope in my success always perseveres. Your love simply never fails. You make me feel like I am the greatest because the greatest of these is love.
Questions in Tragedy
The nation again has had its soul pierced with yet another massacre. This did not take place in on the battlefield of Afghanistan nor was it the result of a back-alley drug deal gone bad. It took place in an obscure town in Connecticut, where a gunman opened fire in an elementary school. Two questions always surface in the aftermath of such blatant evil.
“Why does this keep happening in the most sophisticated nation on earth?”
“Why does God allow such things to happen?”
The answer to the first question is easy. The answer to the second is not easy.
Why does this keep happening in the most sophisticated nation on earth? People do such evil deeds because the Scriptures tell us the “The heart is incurably wicked…..” (Jer.17:9). Simply put, it is impossible for man to police his own behavior. God has established human government to be a deterrent to evil, but it will never be perfectly effective in this task. When human beings in any society vote to have total moral freedom, that society will see an increase in violent behavior. There is a subtle irony in that unrestricted freedom eventually leads to bondage. True freedom is only found when we stay within the bounds of God’s moral will.
When a nation heads down this path of unrestricted freedom, it tends to turn a blind eye to the real issue. It will point to having more security or better-educated people or more legislation regarding gun control to the table. But if anyone brings up abortion, pornography, violence in movies, lyrics, and video games, or the absence of absolute truth (all of which contribute to devaluing human life) then prepare yourself for battle. These will be seen as a threat to one’s moral freedom.
To be sure, the church is in no position to point its self-righteous moral finger at the world. Perhaps the finger needs to be pointed more at the church than at society since we are called to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). There is enough blame for everyone to have a sizable piece of the pie. Are we living a life that is void of hypocrisy?
So why does God allow such things to happen? This is a much bigger question and far more difficult to answer. In fact, the writers of Scripture often asked the same question. We know God is all-powerful and hates evil. Yet it is clear He allows it to have a foothold in every nation. God gives hints to an answer, but never fully reveals His feelings on this matter of lingering evil. Here are a few Scriptures to meditate on:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever….” (Deut. 29:29)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 55:8)
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, face to face…” (1Cor. 13:12)
I think perhaps the most revealing response is found in John’s gospel, where Jesus and Pilot are in dialogue. Jesus answers Pilot with these words “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I would not be delivered to the Jews…”
His point seems to be that as long as His Kingdom has not fully come, then by default, Satan’s kingdom reigns to the degree that God allows it. This does not answer all the questions surrounding the subject of evil, but in the end, we must trust Him to have reasons far beyond our present comprehension. And to be sure, our lack of understanding does not negate our duty or privilege to pray for those dear people who lost their children in this most recent tragedy.
~ Pastor Mike
Marriage Struggling?
MARRIAGE STRUGGLING? HERE’S WHY.
1. When you were dating you thought to yourself, “When we get married, I will change him/her.” That introvert personality will come out of their shell. Those strange irritating habits will fall by the wayside. This is equivalent to believing a dog can teach a cat to bark. It won’t happen. One’s personality is not a sin. Sin lies in character, morals, ethics, and behavior but not in personality.
2. Heading down the aisle, you were quite sure the two of you were of one mind in thought and purpose – but time has proven otherwise. There was more of a distance between the two of you when you said “I do” than you could have ever imagined. That unknown distance is the unexplored territory that marriage reveals. All marriages are programmed to fail if this territory is not navigated with humility and wisdom. To neglect this piece of real estate is to run from responsibility.
3. Recognize that all your expectations before you got married were performance based. “If I can get him/her to change, then I will have a happy marriage.” When such expectations are not realized, the lingering weight of disappointment only exacerbates the situation.
4. Love is not based on what your spouse can do for you but what you can do for your spouse.
5. Proverbs 18:17 says, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” If this verse could be measured in speed, it would be lighting fast. If measured in power, it would be 500-horse power. If measured in bytes, it would be a million gigs. Tattoo this verse on the back of your eyelids and let it be the guide for your tongue all the days of your life. What you say to your spouse does not reveal their heart, but yours (Matt.12:34).
6. When the changes you were counting on didn’t happen, angry words are exchanged. Attacks and counter attacks become the norm. Both sides begin to retreat into their own private world of work, TV, video games, and endless hours of entertainment to deaden the pain. Emotional or legal divorce is soon to follow.
7. We can control what we eat, but we cannot control what we hear. We can remove what goes into our mouth but not what goes into the ear, which is the gateway to the soul. Once it is said, it cannot be retracted.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
1. It is never too late to get things back on track. It will take courage, time, energy, wise counsel, and most of all humility.
2. Take a hard look at your contribution to the demise of the marriage. Do not focus on your spouse’s failures. That is their responsibility, not yours
3. Once the two of you have taken careful inventory of your failure, you will need to seek forgiveness from the other. This is not just saying I’m sorry but looking your spouse in the eye and stating what you have done to damage the relationship and saying “Will you forgive me for…..?”
4. You will then need to plan out a strategy for how you will deal with conflict in the future. There will need to be ongoing maintenance to keep the marriage on a biblical track. Marriage requires work and lots of it. Even the best of marriages require time and energy. The cruise control on your car works well on the highway but cruise control in marriage will result in a wreck.
5. Follow God’s blueprint, and leave the results to Him.
TAKE TWO: Terminology
Is church something we go to, or something we are? Choose your words wisely, because terminology matters.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Delight in God
Does “delighting yourself in the Lord” mean He gives you whatever you want?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
The Organic Gospel
I think one of the most discouraging things for the average Christian to face is trying to figure out which theological system is right or which theologian is right. We are often bewildered as to how such great scholars can come up with so many different interpretations.
This at times can be almost paralyzing as we watch these titans of the faith do battle over the meaning of words and doctrines while the rest of us stand on the sidelines waiting for the dust to settle, which it never does. Then we observe people who have little or no theological training who love the Lord supremely, obey Him consistently, draw deeply from His word, sacrifice joyfully, witness boldly, pray fervently and worship passionately. How can this be? I recently returned from a trip to the Amazon where I had the great privilege to meet with a tribe that had just been reached with the gospel. There we were, standing in the midst of the great Brazilian jungle witnessing what I like to call THE ORGANIC GOSPEL, with no doctrinal preservatives added.
These people had known the Lord for just four months. They had no bibles, no theological system they were following, no knowledge of doctrine, yet seemed to have a great grasp of the basic fundamentals of the Christian life. I was a bit skeptical until I heard some of their testimonies. This was a very small tribe, but their hope in the Lord dwarfed what I see in our western culture. One woman stepped forward and said she used to be angry and hard to get along with but now that she has been forgiven of her sins by Jesus, her anger no longer has a grip on her. Another stepped up and said, “I used to curse my children but now I bless them.” While yet another said she knew in her heart that something was not right when she heard that Jesus had come to set her free from her sin. She is now at peace, even though life is very hard.
So here are five things I learned from this tribe that I never knew about the gospel.
- The simple gospel taught them how to pray. Since God is a personal God then praying to Him seems only normal now that they are believers. They prayed for us before we left. It was beautiful and full of hope.
- The simple gospel taught them how to walk by faith. They were trusting God for their daily provisions, and if you could see the conditions these people live in, you would understand how faith was essential to their daily walk.
- The simple gospel taught them how to worship. They asked if we would teach them some songs so they could praise God in greater ways. We sang together under the shade of heavy vines draped over the limbs of giant trees drawing up water from a nearby swamp.
- The simple gospel taught them how to witness. They had a desire to reach other tribes with this message.
- The simple gospel taught them to seek forgiveness from one another. This was the clincher for me. One woman said, “Since Jesus forgave us we have decided as a tribe that if we ever offend one another in word or deed, we will go to that person and ask forgiveness.” I taught on this for years. Most of us in the west tell those we have offended, “I’m sorry,” or “I apologize,” but few will look the offended party in the eye and say, “Will you forgive me for what I have done?” That is what these people practice.
Some of you might be saying to yourself, “I have always known that the gospel alone could do this.” Let me challenge you on that thought. Why is it that the western church has to have endless books on how to worship, how to witness, how to pray, how to walk by faith, or how to forgive? Why do we have countless seminars on these subjects? But let’s ask an even harder question. Are we living these out with all of our theological knowledge? Perhaps this is getting a little uncomfortable. As I looked at these people I couldn’t help but think, “This is not a tribe, but a church – and a pretty mature one at that.” Do you know of a church in the U.S. that practices these disciplines? These people had no pastor, no creeds, no statement of faith, no theological system, no eschatological date for our Lord’s return, no worship center, and no prayer room. All they had was the ORGANIC GOSPEL.
Now before you write me off as one of those pastors that says, “Let’s get rid of doctrine and just love Jesus,” hear me out. I love good doctrine and have taught it for many years. After all, I pastor a Bible church. The purpose of good doctrine is to protect the gospel from cults, new age philosophies, and health & wealth theology (which, in fact, is no theology). Doctrine is highlighted when the gospel is attacked. Great theologians rise up as they should. Creeds and confessions are written. Books on systematic theology spring up. All this can be good, but it can also bury the ORGANIC GOSPEL. When theology is worshiped in place of the One it directs us to, then we are in serious trouble. The résumé of a person is not the person. It simply describes the person, albeit in a very limited way. No matter how much doctrine we compile, God will never be adequately explained by any group of people or any system of theology. So let’s remove our pride and learn from the tribe.
You can watch or listen to Pastor Mike’s account of this trip to the Amazon here.
TAKE TWO: Under the Sun
Life disconnected from God is senseless.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Fear of Man
Who are you pleasing? God? Or man?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Fairness & Justice
God is not fair. But He is just.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.