I read a book about preaching as a college student that still impacts my sermons today. The book is called “Preaching the Connects” by Mark Galli, and while I do not remember much of the book, there is one section that inspired me. He wrote that one of the maxims in newspaper writing is “show, don’t tell.” And the concept was that a good writer would use word pictures, anecdotes, and illustrations to explain what they are trying to communicate. So out of that, I developed a simple question I ask myself when preaching, “What does that look like?

Reading a Biblical passage, developing a thesis, and a few points supporting it is relatively easy as a preacher. You can take a text and clearly outline what it says, but that is only half the work. The next question must always be, “But what does that look like?

What does it look like today if someone were to take this passage seriously? How would someone’s life look if they truly loved God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength? How might a person love their neighbor as themselves on social media? What actions would come from a person trying to encourage other believers? There are a thousand ways this plays out in our minds.   

This question is essential because aphorisms are easy to affirm and complicated to apply. People don’t just need more Christian teaching and advice. They need to know how to implement it into their lives. What does it look like to live that way? Show me, don’t simply tell me. 

Since most of you are not preachers, I would ask you to apply this concept in two ways. One, whenever you read your Bible and see a lesson being taught, stop and ask yourself where you have seen this idea implemented. What stories and people have embodied this truth? Use it as a bridge to application in your life. 

Second, take the question with you whenever you hear someone preach or teach. Listen closely and write down the main concepts and then ask it for yourself?

The Bible is not only for learning about God and the work of Jesus. It is for transforming our lives into the people of God. With the proper study and questions, you can become the kind of person who embodies what it means to follow Jesus. You can look like what you are learning. 

Over the last several years, Churches have been focusing on community service. The goal has been to shine the light of Jesus into the local neighborhoods that surround the Church. There is additional hope that it will open doors for people to attend Church and hear the gospel message.

There are several reasons people have gotten into this type of serving, most of which are positive. However, occasionally its popularity is produced by something negative. Some people like to serve outside of their local Church because the people are always an arm’s length away. And people at a distance are always easier to love. 

Within the Church community, there are often those few people we do not get along with, or we disapprove of their life choices. We don’t talk to them and always move in different circles. We sit on the other side of the auditorium and generally avoid conversation. Whenever the situation arises, we will fake smile and try to be nice, but we definitely would not go out of our way to serve them.

In Luke chapter 6, Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.” (Luke 6:32-33 – NIV 2011)

Being kind to people who you like is easy. I would say that serving people you do not know is easy too. Even non-Christian sinners can do that. But loving, serving, and being kind to that person in the Church who annoys or aggravates you is tough. 

One measure of our spiritual maturity is serving others. A second level is our willingness to serve that one Christian we don’t like. Believers do good to others, no matter how we feel about them. 

Whenever anyone asks me to perform a funeral, I inform them that I have no standard thing called a funeral. I have a general outline of what will happen and what I will say, but the details are what the family provides.

For the sake of discussion, let’s say you have passed away, and the family wants me to lead the funeral and provide a eulogy. 

I sit down with them, and they tell me about your life. They walk me through your likes and dislikes. Often the family will share their favorite stories. I will ask about your faith in God and participation in Church. We will usually talk for over an hour about your life and personality. 

Then I take my basic outline and plug in all the details of your life. This is a way for people to remember and say goodbye simultaneously. For those who did not know you well, it will be a pleasant walk through your life.   

I wonder, what kind of stories will they tell about you? What would you want people to say?

Maybe it is time to write some new tales about your life before that day? 

That day is coming, and my outline is ready. I just need the stories to make it complete. 

There have been several families who attended Churches I have led who were addicted to Bible studies. By that, I mean they loved to be a part of every small group or Sunday school we offered. They would come early and usually carry a large leather Bible with a notebook. No matter what we were talking about, they attended and rarely missed a session. 

These people loved sitting with a group of other believers. They enjoyed the fellowship of Christians and the possibility of learning something new about the Bible. Many of them really felt good when they were able to share some nugget of information with the group.

Please don’t misunderstand me; these were good and Godly people. They loved Jesus and wanted to grow in their faith. But sadly, something was missing. They had failed to become fully rounded, mature Christians. 

Being a follower or disciple of Jesus is more than attending Bible studies with other Christians. It includes teaching new believers and giving our time, talent, and treasure to the work of the Lord. It involves serving other Christians along with your neighbors who have needs. Worship in all its forms is central to the faith as well. Evangelism, outreach, and inviting people to Church are also essential to discipleship. 

There is always so much to learn in the Bible, and most Christians are wonderful people, so it is easy to fall in love with Bible Studies organized by the Church. However, know that being a part of every one offered may be hindering your spiritual growth.     

Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day as a nation. One of the primary topics of conversation around this day involves freedom. 

Freedom for so many means “the ability to do whatever we want.”

Unfortunately, whenever we do what we want, the side effects are often guilt, shame, remorse, and pain. We make poor choices that hurt ourselves and those around us. Our so-called freedom makes us slaves to our mistakes and failures. Doing what is right in our own eyes seems like fun until we are trapped in an empty prison of unhappiness. 

It seems contrary to modern thought, but genuine freedom is only found in following Jesus. The life he calls us to lead is filled with love and support. There are no stains left over from the choices we make. He meets us with mercy and grace even when we fall short of his desire for us. 

The story for many of us living in the United States is a sad tale of using our freedom for evil, which can send us down the hole of shame into addiction and escape. 

There is another way to live, and it sounds like you are giving up your freedoms. But the things we are leaving behind are only the things that hurt us. 

Living the Jesus way is different from what most people want, but it gives us a story with a happy ending, which is what we really desire. 

Monday is the Fourth of July, and I know numerous people have a long weekend to enjoy. Three, four, and five-day weekends are the norm, and a few people will take the whole week for vacation. This Sunday will be one of the worst attendance days of the year. 

Don’t worry; this is not a post to make you feel guilty about this. Actually, I want to encourage you to keep God on your long weekend. 

This weekend would you still take time on Sunday to do four things.

1. Read a Bible passage together
2. Pray together
3. Share communion
4. Talk about what & who you miss when you are away from Church

Our Church will have the sermon video online by 6 pm on Sunday; I am sure thousands of others will also. Of course, it would be nice for you to listen to or watch a sermon to keep you connected, but if not, I am okay with that. 

I totally understand taking advantage of a long weekend. My only encouragement is to keep Jesus in your Sunday by setting aside a time for some family worship. It will keep you connected to your faith, and you might grow closer as a family simultaneously. 

I want to see every single person come to know Jesus and be shaped into his likeness. 

As a pastor, that is my goal; as a preacher, I primarily use words to accomplish that mission. 

My question sounds simple, but it is highly complex. “What can I say that would help me accomplish my work?” 

Maybe I could learn creation science and show you all the ways modern explanations fall short?

Would it help if I learned philosophy and used the arguments for the existence of God?

How might you respond if I told you about all the ancient manuscripts that prove the reliability of the Bible or the archaeological discoveries that support its stories?

Perhaps I could articulate the elements of logic and why the story of Jesus makes sense?

Should I just teach the Bible and allow the word of God to cut people to the heart?

Please tell me what I can say to help you know Jesus and follow him completely? All the information is there to convince you. Other Christians and I have been working on this for years. We can help you know and understand faith in a way that transforms you.

The only thing I cannot do is make you want to listen. I wish I could. Other people are praying for it too. I have the right words for me to say. Listening and learning are totally up to you. 

They said, “He may not have gone to Church, but in his heart, he believed in God.”

For the next hour, they told me stories about this person’s life, and none of them sounded like someone who believed in God. But then again, the issue is really about how you understand faith.

The Church struggled with a false teaching called Gnosticism in the early years. The basic idea is that it only matters what you believe in your heart and soul, while what you do with your body has no connection. They concluded that you could do all kinds of evil and still go to heaven because you have the right things in your heart.

The New Testament has several books, especially from the Apostle John, that explain there is a connection between our heart and actions. It is not enough to see someone hungry and feel compassion; the proper response is to feed them. What exists in our hearts will be seen in how we behave.

We now live in a time when Gnosticism is on the rise. Our modern times have been called “The Information Age” since we have so much knowledge at our fingertips. We can get our questions answered with a quick internet search. The answers are easy to access and even easier to believe.

But for it to be genuine faith, it must be evidenced in our actions.

When we say things like, “I don’t go to Church, but I believe in God,” or “Faith is a private matter,” or “I know what I believe deep inside,” we are often buying into heresy.

True faith in Jesus will be seen in our actions, heard in our words, AND believed in our hearts. If any of those things are missing, your ideas about faith may be flawed.

Many people are running away from something. They have a mess in their past and are trying to get far away. It can be the pain and hurt that someone else caused. It could be a choice to sin that has left the stain of failure. Each day is an attempt to move beyond their past.

Other people are running toward something. They also have issues in their past, but they are moving toward something better. They are seeking healing, forgiveness, and mercy. Each day they attempt to start fresh and get closer to the life God desires for them.

Which direction are you running?

Every Church I have led has had a person or a group of people who continually tell me they are having trouble hearing me preach.

Without exception, every one of these people has sat in the back row during worship. They would consistently pick the farthest point from the stage. Then regularly, they would tell me how I should speak up or that our sound system needed to be turned up louder. 

Several issues might be causing this problem. First, some people need to have their hearing checked or upgrade their hearing aids. But that is cost prohibitive for many older adults. Another issue is noise coming from some other source in the auditorium. Distractions can come from people getting up and down, coughing, or a baby crying. I have no control over those areas, but I understand they impact others’ ability to hear. Finally, I know there are mornings that our sound system is set a little low for some people to hear, and we could turn up the volume. 

I try to be gracious with everyone who complains about the sound. I do understand issues occur that make hearing difficult. My response is usually, “I am sorry, and I will look into how we can make it better.”

In every case, I have found that a straightforward solution seems to miss everyone. That is for the person to sit closer to the front so you can hear better. From there, you will listen to my actual voice and not what comes through the sound system. There are always chairs available near the front, and my words are always audible.   

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the ones that allude us. We tend to blame someone or something else for our issues. We can overthink the problem and look for complex answers that don’t exist. We can miss that some effort on our part could be the answer to our problems. 

Often the best way to handle our hearing troubles is to change our behavior. That truth applies to so much more than listening to a sermon.