Prayer, Evangelism and Worship

I'm often asked what's a good church?  Who is the true church?  How can I find a good church?  The Bible speaks of the importance of you being involved in a church and here are some questions you can ask to find the right one:   1.  Is this church Bible-Teaching church?    You would normally know from day 1 if it is because they bring their bibles, they open their bible, they read the bible.   2.  Is this church a Bible-Practicing church?  As one has said, it is easier "caught" than "taught".  So stay for a few to see if they are really practicing what they are preaching.  3.  Do they prioritize their worship to Jesus?   You would know immediately who is the focus of the church and unfortunately, sometimes the Pastor, the building, money, and saints become the focus.    Here is a list of churches that I know are immediately you can visit if you are within their area:  First Baptist Church...

Congratulations!   You have made a commitment to be a follower of Jesus.  So don't forget the day and the incident when this happened.   I want you to know that your journey has just begun.   Now it's time to grow in God and here are some immediate steps you can take.   Connect.  Continue to connect with the person who brought you to Jesus.  Communicate to him or her once a week and share what's going on in your life and an update of your spiritual journey.    Bible.  Start reading the Bible and flip it open to the book of John.   May I encourage you to read one chapter at a time.  The book of John is the simplest and easy to understand book regarding the life of Jesus.   Prayer.   God wants to hear from you and pick a time and a place that you would meet with God regularly to pray.   Speak to Him.  He is very eager to hear from you.  Church.    You need to find ...

Practice develops confidence.   An element missing to an evangelistic zeal beyond the Holy Spirit is to train to share the gospel.  In the "Make Disciples" Class, I have developed a script to help share the gospel.   This script will not make sense to you if you have not attended the class. I hope to elaborate on this in the next few blogs.   A few highlights of this gospel presentation: It has five major sections that help facilitate gospel sharing It uses three chairs illustration as a visual aid It is theological and emphasizes man's problem of sin towards a holy God Presentation Outline □ Courtesy □ Two kinds of Contacts; Two kinds of responses □ Casual. Hi ________.   I have not seen you since _______. How has it been with you? (listen for and look for clues). □ Pos. It’s so good to hear that you ________________.   I had some good thing that happened in my life too. □ Neg I am sorry about what happened.   Life is not perfec...

For small group discussion review but go immediately to the ASSESSEMENT area.     In our study, we have identified two kinds of people who needed Jesus.  A Saul-like individual and a Cornelius -like individual.  Shocking as it may seem, both need Jesus in their hearts.  They belong to section 1.      What do Saul and Cornelius - like people need to move from section 1 to section 2?    Rehearse this gospel presentation in your own words.   ASSESSMENT QUESTION:  This assessment will determine your "make-disciples" quotient.  Answer the questions randomly, but do not take the result lightly.   1.  Write five names of people that you know fit these categories (Saul - like and Cornelius - like)?    2.  Determine a number beside the name of how likely this week you are to have a conversation with this person.   1 - not likely;  5 - very likely. 3.  Put a check among the...

  What's Your Name?   I am not a people person.  In fact, my natural default is to find a space within a crowd.  But when somebody reaches out to me, I like the feeling.  Don't you?   Too many people are in the kingdom crowd but never a part of God's family.  They are waiting for me and for you to reach out to them.  DISCUSSION:  Recall a moment when you were thankful somebody engaged with you with a spiritual conversation?  How was it like?  And why were you thankful and glad?  Identify your fear on making disciples?  What do you think should you do to overcome that fear?  What help are you willing to receive from LFBC to help you overcome your fear?  KNOW SOMEONE'S NAME In a book, Discipleship Uncomplicated, Dr. Haynes emphasized the importance of knowing a person's name.   God wants us to know people's names.  Cornelius heard from God that he needed to look for Peter.   When ...

God is always true to His promises.  He keeps His covenant to His people.   From Abrahams time until the Kingdom, they are a reflection of God's unfailing commitment to fulfilling His plan.    The exile is a momentary pause, and today, we examine the return of God's people back to the promised land.  In Ezra 1:2, it shared that King Cyrus allowed God's children to return to Jerusalem.   Finally, God's people's prayers are answered and the Jews experience a second chance as they return back to Jerusalem.  What would be your first bidding if you were in their shoes?  Unfortunately, it is easy to prioritize God and reciprocate.   Let's examine three responses of God's people.   I.  They renewed their Worship to Yahweh God's children return with Zerubabbel and reminding them that they need to ret return urn to God as they return to Jerusalem.  In your own reading, what was  II.  They restored their Wor...

God allows 'life pauses' where moments that we are stopped dead on our tracks while he accomplishes His will.  It's not a comfortable place, but yet necessary.    There are many examples of this in the Bible, but it is one that we do not enjoy.  One key reason for this moment is God's expression of "tough love" (Prov. 3:11-12, Hebrews 12:4-11).    The Divided Kingdom of Israel and Judah sinned against God and they went to the place of no return (Isaiah 28-33; 2 Kings 17:16-20).  As a result, the Divided Kingdoms were shattered.   The Northern Kingdom Israel was dispersed by the Assyrian in 722 B.C. and the Southern Kingdom Judah was exiled by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.    In the midst of Israel's and Judah's life pause, God encourages three things:    Come back to God and renew your relationships with him.   Endure and thrive in the time of your exile. Look forward to the hope that is in Jesus.   DIDISCUSSI...