From The Pastor's Desk
It is funny for this is one of the few times I have written this column from my desk.
When I first came to Warsaw, I found most pastors did not actually believe the doctrines of their church. I should say instead that they added things hat was not compatible with their articles of faith .So what does Johnie J. Logue pastor of Grace Baptist church believe.?
Shane Wood is a Professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian College in Joplin. He releases a brief video teaching weekly. One I watched was very applicable to me. I can’t give all the details of his teaching in this short article, but the essence of it had to do with faithfulness. Using the account of the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5, Shane emphasizes the difference between “numerical success” and faithfulness.
Shane’s teaching is a comforting reminder that what God requires from each of us is not numerical success but unwavering faithfulness. We must all introspect and ask ourselves: Are we earnestly striving to be faithful to the Lord Jesus? If our hearts are set on serving Him with fidelity, that is all He asks of us. The outcomes, be they growth or decline, are in His hands.
Of course, how your church grows or declines is not the pastor’s job alone but a task we all share. Jesus told the Gadarene demoniac to return to his people and tell them what God had done for him. The Gaderene wanted to accompany Jesus personally, but Jesus said “No” to that request. As he faithfully obeyed what the Lord told him to do, many in that area came to believe in Jesus.
The pastor’s job is to preach and teach biblical truth faithfully, especially the Gospel of Jesus. Our job is to tell others what Jesus has done for us and encourage them to trust and follow Jesus. If we are faithful, God will take care of the results. Whether we are a mega-church or a small church, we want to be loyal to Jesus.
Hopewell Baptist Church
In Matthew 27:1-1 the Religious Leaders are handing Jesus over to Pilot to be dealt with. Is Judas thinking Jesus won’t be killed, did he only want the money? We don’t really know Judas’ personal motivation. Maybe Judas is tricked by Satan himself. But when Judas sees Jesus being led to the Roman’s, he recognizes he’d done the wrong thing and he feels deep shame, knowing what will happen next. Judas seeks absolution to be forgiven for what he had done, so he goes to the Temple to return the 30 pieces of silver saying I have sinned because I have betrayed innocent blood. The Temple Leaders ask what does that have to do with us? Judas leaves the money there, throwing the bag into the Temple. The Chief Priests pick up the money saying they cannot return it to the Treasury because it’s blood money. Everyone knows what’s going on, they’ve lied, they bought false testimony, so they launder the money, and buy a potter’s field to be a cemetery for foreigners. Are they trying to cover up the wrong they’ve done to their own people? God sees everything and so do the people. Judas has already condemned himself, so he hangs himself. Judas is in the depth of his hurt.
When we are at our worst – where is our hope. Judas doesn’t know to look to Jesus. All he hears is the shame, a tool Satan uses against us. Shame does not speak the truth about us, and it never will. We are who our Father sees us as. He sees our sin and still loves us. His desire is that we live in His hope alone. Jesus sees us right now. Find the redemption. All we need to see is Jesus. Judas thought he was doing it right taking his own life, but he was wrong. We are worth redemption because God made us, and He loves us, and nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus! When we are hurting, we need to look to Jesus!
School at 10 a.m. with Worship at 11 a.m., regular Bible Study Wednesdays and Sundays at 6 p.m. with our Children’s Program Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Watch our service live at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings on Hopewell Baptist Church Facebook page.
