Recently two of my pieces of teaching have coincided interestingly. Last Sunday, I completed a sermon series on the skeletons we hide in the closet of our hearts. This series finished with a sermon about depression, but all of them focused on our life having value and worth in God’s eyes. He sees us as his precious child, no matter how we feel about our past or present.

While I was teaching this series on Sunday morning, I was teaching the teenagers on Wednesday night, a series called “The Haves and the Have Nots.” This was focused on building a self-image based on God’s view of us rather than comparing ourselves to others.

Both materials were two sides of the same issues, “How do we develop a proper view of ourselves as humans?” My sermons are available online, but the material I taught the teens is not. I thought this would be an excellent place to share my four foundational blocks of a Godly self-image.

1. You are created in the image of God. God created humanity unique above all the rest of his creation. We have intellect, emotion, and a soul. Just by being a human, you are special. Not only that, but the Psalmist says you were knit together in your mother’s womb. You are not only created in his image, but your picture is unique.
2. You are saved by Jesus. God so loved the world that he sent his son to save it. You are part of that world. God loved you so much that he sent his son to die and save you from your sins. This is true, no matter what you have done.
3. You are adopted as a child of God. When we come to Jesus, we are not treated as slaves; we are his children. As his dearly loved children, we are also heirs of the promise of Jesus. We are part of the family of God with him as our Father.
4. You have a purpose. The Apostle Paul says that are God’s handiwork. That word can also be translated as his poem or my favorite, his masterpiece. This is a description of what God does to us after we come to Jesus. There he remolds us, using our past, present, and future to do his good work in the world.

I have spent four weeks driving these points home in our teens. Many of them feel worthless, because they do have enough money, own the right things, have good grades, are not excelling at sports, and a host of other issues. They have the world telling them that they came from nothing and are going to nothing. Our teens and many of our adults are swimming in a sea of misery, worthlessness, despair, and depression because of their lack of self-worth. I tell people you have no self-worth, but you do have Godly worth. Those are things that can never be taken away.

No matter who you are today or what you have done or how you feel about yourself, these four principals are eternally true. God created you, loves you, views you as his child while having a grand design for you. May these truths comfort and guide you this day, week, and your whole life long.

My wife and I are one year away from having an empty nest. It is an exciting and challenging time as we let go of the reigns of parenting school-age children. Through the years of parenting four boys, we have learned a few things about being a parent. Today I want to share the three biggest lessons I know.

1. You are to instruct your children. You are required to teach them about faith, love, service, behavior, attitude, actions, and everything in between. You need to tell them what to do and how to do it. You are the parent, and you do not need to discuss anything with them. A parent is required to lead and not be passive in the life of their child.
2. Say “No” and mean it. I am not sure when it happened, but most of the young parents I know are afraid to say no. I think it might be motivated by the idea that we want to be loving toward them, and loving parents do not ever say no. I guess we are afraid it will hurt their delicate psyche. Hear me loud and clear; you need to say no. You need to teach them the correct behavior.
3. Discipline is a necessary part of parenting. There needs to be a reward for positive behavior and punishment for negative behavior. I know it sounds harsh and can “hurt you as much as it hurts them,” but ungodly actions require a change of action. When they were tiny, we smacked their hand, and in elementary school, we swatted butts, and in high school, we took away phones and driving privileges. We told them what to do, and when they broke the rules, there were consequences to correct their behavior.

My wife has worked with children in the Church and the community, most of her adult life. She now has a job where she works with teenagers on a full-time basis. She always notes how children will behave differently for her than for their parents or anyone else. That is because she sticks to these three rules in every situation.

We are not perfect parents, but our children have turned out to be well-behaved and Godly young men of whom I am very proud. I know some people out there are struggling every day in their role as a parent. I pray this will help instruct you and encourage you as you walk this difficult journey.

Large crowds are following Jesus. The number of people interested in his ministry is reaching an all-time high. It seems like he should be excited as he is starting to have a significant impact on the world. Jesus looks at this massive group of people and says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27 – NIV 2011)”

I am sure the crowd was immediately stunned at his words. Before they could raise their objections and get answers to their questions, he launched into two parables about commitment. First, there is a man who wants to build a tower. The first thing he does is to calculate the cost because if he cannot finish it, people will ridicule him.

The second story is similar. If a king wants to go to war, the first thing he does is calculate the number of troops under his command. He wants to know if the size of his army is able to defeat the other one, and if not, he will negotiate the terms of peace so that they will not be destroyed.

This is not a call to greater commitment; it is a statement that being a disciple of Jesus is an enormous decision. If we do not take it seriously, we will bring ridicule on ourselves and Jesus. Those who quit their faith halfway through their lives are like a guy with an unfinished tower in his field. If we do not adequately consider the cost, it will be like us being destroyed by an enemy’s army. We will end up humiliated and hurt.

Jesus is actually discouraging people from following him. He wants to make sure that everyone knows the cost of being his disciple and that not everyone can cut it. When people give up and quit the faith, it damages their own life and those connected with them.

As a preacher of the gospel, I want everyone to come to Jesus. I would like to see the entire town in which I live to come to a saving relationship with him. Nothing would please me more, but I am not sure it would make Jesus happy. He is not looking for half-hearted people to give him lip service of their devotion. He is not looking for people who are willing to split their time between being obedient to him and sacrificing for their kids. He has no desire for people who will give him any time they have left at the end of their busy day. He is looking for people who are completely sold out on his mission.

Jesus once asked his twelve closest disciples if his words were too demanding. Peter said, “To whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life.”

If these ideas seem harsh to you, then don’t follow Jesus. Sleep in and enjoy this life. Take it easy each day, and don’t trouble yourself with the demands of the Christian life. There are far easier ways to live on planet earth than being a disciple of Jesus; the only problem is that they do not lead to eternal life.

It is two sides of the same coin. When someone comes to follow Jesus, he is first their Savior. That means he rescues people from their sins. One Christian told me that the image conveyed is of a ship going down, and the people are saved from certain peril.

This image is not the end of the story. Once we have made Jesus our Savior, then he becomes our Lord. The picture here is that of a king sitting on his throne directing his kingdom. He tells people what to do and expects them to follow.

In the New Testament, the word for Savior is only used a few dozen times while the word Lord is used a few hundred times. Both ideas are equally valid for the work of Jesus, and his followers need to be familiar with both. The struggle always comes with Lordship and must be addressed repeatedly.

Everyone I know likes the idea of Jesus as their Savior. They love the idea of being free from their guilt and shame. No one rejects the good news of a God who wants to love and forgive them. Even non-Christians are easy to sell on the idea of someone removing all their stains and making them free for a new future.

Not everyone likes the idea of having a Lord. If I believe that Jesus is my Lord, then I need to do what he says. I must adjust my life and make changes to my actions. The words of Jesus will have the final authority in my life, and his ideas for my future may look different than my dreams. Making Jesus your Lord is the hard work of daily routines, changing behaviors, and adjusting my heart to look like Jesus.

Recently I received an anonymous card in the Church offering requesting that I “preach more Jesus.” Then I was told by another person that I do not preach enough about Jesus and grace. As a result of these criticisms, I have looked over my sermon list from the past year. The interesting discovery is that I did not preach that much about Jesus as our Savior. The past twelve months have been sermon after sermon about Jesus as Lord. Things like, if we follow Jesus, then it will affect our decisions, mouths, attitudes, outlook, and the way we treat others. This year I have spoken a great deal about Jesus; it is just that I taught about following him as our Lord.

We love to hear that Jesus is our Savior, but the struggle of the Christian life is also making him our Lord. You do not get to chose one without the other. Following Jesus is not about receiving a “get out of hell free” card, but about being transformed into a right relationship with God in every way. To make Jesus Savior without placing him as your Lord is to miss half of his reason for his coming. Be assured of this, the Jesus who was crucified is now both Lord and Savior (Acts 2:36).

After careful consideration, I have decided that it is time for me to resign. No, I do not mean at the Church I lead. This is bigger. I have decided that I no longer want to be in charge of the world. Last night as I lie in bed, I thought I should probably make my resignation official. I should let everyone know that God is in charge again, and I will work for him.

The Church I lead is going to have to place all their trust entirely in Jesus. I try my best to lead, but I have so many blind spots and personal issues. Many times, I make a mess when I intended to make things better. This also means that people will have to trust in Jesus to make their life make sense and not me. He will be the one to hold their marriages together, to lead their family, and to guide people in the ways of faith. I am too small and foolish for anyone to place their trust in me.

This also means I am not in charge of the decisions that other people make. I have no authority to make people act the way I desire, and I am going to stop trying to make them. While letting them have free will is a risky move, ultimately, everyone will answer to God and not me. Everyone will have to follow the leadership of God’s word and will and not mine.

I will say that my time in control has been exhausting. I worried, fretted, lost sleep, and was filled with anxiety. The weight of the world is crushing. In my soul, I want everyone to have a mature faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but the pressure of making it happen was killing me. Therefore, I need to resign and let our God reign.

Effective immediately, I am letting go of the reigns. My last official action will be to suggest you do the same. My desk will be open if you have a letter to drop off too. Finally, I will be having a meeting on Sunday morning for all those who are no longer employed and would like to meet the new boss.

Here are some of the best posts I have read over the last couple of weeks. Enjoy.

8 WAYS TO “REDEEM” YOUR CELL PHONE FOR MINISTRY USE – Written for pastors but some great thoughts for everyone.

9 Winsome Ways You Can Help Your Church Grow – Something for everyone to do to help their Church reach the lost.

The 10 Mistakes Dads Make With Their Children: Part 1 – Great stuff. Still waiting for part 2.

Want to Tend to Your Pastor’s Heart? Show up. – yep.

If you wanted me to break down the entire mission of the Church into a few simple statements, this is what I would say.

1. Find lost people. The Bible describes people who have not made Jesus their Lord and Savior as lost. These people are separated from God and his family. Like a good shepherd, we must search everywhere to find them and bring them back home safely.
2. Keep found people from getting lost again. In the classic hymn Come Thou Fount, there is a line that says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to the leave the God I love.” That line describes all of us as believers. We love God, and yet we are prone to wander off on our own. The Church is to try and connect people with one another and help change them, never to desire to wander away again.
3. Bring back the people who were found and now are lost again. Unfortunately, those who once came to know Jesus will sometimes walk away. Many times, this is the result of them getting too busy, entangled in sin, or just drifting aimlessly. I once heard a minister say that this is the hardest group to reach, but they still need great grace.

When I say these are things, “the Church” should be doing. I do not mean just the Church as an organization. I mean, these are the jobs of the people who follow Jesus. These are not only the responsibility of the staff, elders, deacons, teachers, and leaders. These represent the work of which every believer should be engaged. Perhaps you are more inclined to do one of these, and that is why we need each other. As your preacher, I cannot do it alone. All of us need to take seriously what God has called us all to do, today and every day.

Today I am feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the people who volunteer to serve Jesus through the local Church. Too many times, the preacher gets the recognition for the work done in a Church, and that needs to change. If you are not familiar, October is Pastor Appreciation month (a thing I hate by the way), and I think we should make it Church Volunteer Appreciation month.

Take today as an example to you. This morning I drove into the Church parking lot that a volunteer worked on improving over the weekend. I walked into a building cleaned by people who donate their time, and they even clean the bathrooms. This week someone stopped by and fixed the ceiling in the entryway, again they did it in the free service of Jesus. Today a lady will lead another group of ladies in Bible study, solely for the joy of the Lord. Tonight for the youth group, a couple of ladies will prepare food; several adults will lead small groups, and the guy who organizes it will all give their time for the kingdom of God without receiving a penny in return. Days like this amaze me as people serve only to further the work of the Lord in and through our community.

Sure, I do a lot every week, including many things of which no one knows. The Church leadership has blessed me with enough money to provide for my family for doing it. But when you measure my few hours against the work of a couple of hundred volunteers, there is no comparison.

What makes the Church I lead great? What makes any Christian community of Jesus great? It is the power of God working through people who willingly give their time to him.

I hope you are one of those people who know the joy of serving the Lord. If you are, for you, I am genuinely thankful. If you are not, it is never too late to start. Thanks to everyone in the name of Jesus, and may he bless you during my Church Volunteer Appreciation month.

We live in the age of the “LIKE.” If you are not familiar with what I am talking about, then you have not spent any time on social media. If you post something onto most of the current media platforms, there is a button below where people can show their recognition of that post. Facebook has moved beyond the simple like button by adding a couple of emojis you can also use. If we agree with something, we hit the button at the bottom that shows our approval, and then we move on with our lives.

I have come to believe that the like button means absolutely nothing. Watching the responses to my posts has always been amusing to me. I will share a post about commitment to Jesus above all else, and the lady who rarely attends worship because she is so busy will like it. There are posts I see others share about various aspects of the Christian life, and I will look to see who hit their like button. Almost always, people with little visible sign of faith show their approval.

This led me to write in my notebook, “Liking Jesus is not the same as following him.” Obedience is greater than approval.

We must always be cautious of thinking that smiling and saying, “I agree with that” or “I like that” are signs of a mature faith. God does not need your approval or your agreement; what he desires is your obedience.

Maybe before you hit the like button the next time, you should ask yourself, “Do I agree with this in principle or in practice?”

Your theology is flawed … and so is mine. That is the first thought that went through my head as I listened to a preacher recently. The topic and passage he was speaking about were one of those of which I was overly familiar. I have studied it in English and Greek. I have read numerous commentaries, listened to countless sermons, and gathered dozens of articles on this one piece of scripture. As the preacher was speaking, I could hear flaws in his interpretation and arguments.

I am not saying this proudly; I actually say this humbly. My second thought was, “How many times have I spoken about topics that I had not researched enough?” I wonder how many times I have misspoken about God, not from an erroneous position, but a slightly flawed one.

As I processed these thoughts, I came to a few realizations for those of us who follow Jesus.

1. Humility is a crucial issue. A believer must maintain a mindset that says, “I don’t know everything.” I fear anyone who thinks they have the Bible mastered. Everyone must be willing to admit their lack of knowledge in some areas.
2. Real followers are lifelong learners. There is so much to learn and know about God, his word, and his will. When I think I have learned everything, someone comes along and shows me something new in a book or teaching. Our humble attitude must lead us to continual study.
3. Ask, “Am I teachable?” Is your mind open enough to learn new things if they are presented to you? Are you willing to listen to the viewpoints of others? If someone showed you an area where you need to change, would you look?
4. Draw lines in pencil. You may view some issues wrongly. Maybe you are not entirely wrong, but perhaps you need to move the line an inch or two as you learn more. Do you have enough space in your beliefs to move if you see that you and God disagree on something? Pharisees draw lines with markers; disciples use a pencil.
5. Be content with incomplete information. There are areas of my life that I have decided I will never be an expert. Faith is a unique discipline in that it touches every other area of study. It raises questions of science, philosophy, psychology, literature, and a host of other topics. I want to learn them all with in-depth knowledge, but there is never enough time. Keep learning, but know there will always be some areas just beyond your grasp.

I do not write this to discourage you but rather to encourage you. There is so much to learn. So, keep learning. Read, listen, study, and open yourself up to a world of ideas. You will need to process these ideas through sound interpretation principles, clear thinking, Christian tradition, and other logical tools.

I frequently tell people; the Bible is like the ocean. It is shallow enough a child can play in it, and deep enough no diver can reach its depths. The sad result is that we always have flaws we are working through in our beliefs. The good news is that we have a lifetime to learn them.