NEW ARTICLES ADDED
Four new “filler” articles have been added to the website. The link is located on the home page, in the middle about a third of the way down.
THIS WEEK’S GRAPHIC
Is based on Lamentations 3:22b-23—“His compassions never fail: they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.” Any of the graphics appearing on the website are absolutely free for use in your non-profit organization’s publications, and can be downloaded at www.timothyreport.com
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Welcome to THE TIMOTHY REPORT for August 9, 2004
“To assist, encourage, enable and equip”
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DOUBT NOT ANY LONGER
O you of little faith,
God has not failed you yet!
When all looks dark and gloomy,
You do so soon forget—
Forget that He has led you,
And gently cleared your way;
On clouds has poured His sunshine,
And turned your night to day.
And if He’s helped you to this point,
He will not fail you now;
How it must wound His loving heart
To see your anxious brow!
Oh! doubt not any longer,
To Him commit your way,
Whom in the past you trusted,
And is just the same today.
--Author Unknown
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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A SENSE OF WONDER
Deep within all of us is a longing to recapture a sense of wonder, to marvel at the mystery of God and His creation like we did as children. But through the years our capacity for wonder has been stifled by busyness and ambitions, and we have resigned ourselves to explaining away all that once made us gasp in awe.
--from the dust jacket of “Recapture the Wonder” by Ravi Zacharias (Integrity, 2003)
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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A PASSION FOR GOOD PREACHING
Brian Larson is the editor of “Preaching Today.” In “Your Church” magazine (March/April 2004, p. 8), Larson shared some of the things he loves about the preaching that he hears. Here are brief excerpts:
1. In good preaching, God is present. I feel him. I can’t explain or dissect that, but God is clearly present in a way I sense.
2. In good preaching, truth blazes like sunlight. I love truth. When Scripture is expounded, its truth brings clarity to life. Things make sense….Thoughts and wisdom come to my mind and ricochet toward other insights, making connections beyond what the preacher intends, as the Holy Spirit illumines my heart.
3. With good preaching I even become content with God’s mysteries and sit in wonder at knowledge that cannot be fully fathomed.
4. In good preaching, God’s mind becomes incarnate in the preacher, and there is something about that person standing before me, or that preacher’s voice, under the anointing of God that amplifies the Word. When a preaching appeals to me to believe or do something, it is compelling in a special way.
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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STAYING IN THE LINES
In “Today’s Christian” (May/June, 2004) T. LaMance of Prewitt, New Mexico wrote:
Admiring the sunset, I pointed out to our 4-year-old grandson, Bobby, all the colors God uses to paint the sky.
“Yes,” Bobby agreed. “And He doesn’t have to stay in the lines.”
(NOTE: when God works in our lives, He doesn’t necessarily stay in the lines. In other words, He doesn’t necessarily do things the way we think He should, or the way others think He should, or even exactly the way He did it last time. Don’t be too overwhelmed, brothers and sisters, when God works in your lives in ways you didn’t count on. It’s still His hand that is applying the paint to the canvas of your life.)
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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COMMENTARY: SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“The church has only one ultimate aim: to reconcile the world through an understanding of the life and death of the Galilean carpenter. To gain this end, it makes disciples, builds buildings, teaches children, conducts ministries. But if it loses sight of that ultimate aim, it suffers defeat …. The object of today’s church is to reach the individual who needs Christ’s message of hope. And anything that stands between the church and that object—goals, plans, calendar dates, expenditures or resources—should be reexamined.”
--C. B. Hogue, in “Love Leaves No Choice,” (Word Books, 1976, pp. 42, 44)
Think about the statements just above. Most of us would agree with these words, at least initially. But when we start applying them to our church in our situation, we might pause just a bit. Hogue mentions “goals, plans, calendar dates, expenditures or resources.” But are there other things that hinder us in our mission? Are there traditions or unspoken rules of conduct that stand in the way? Are there certain prejudices, expectations or behaviors which prevent us from being all we should be or could be as the Body of Christ? Is your church’s style of worship or even its reputation preventing you from sharing “Christ’s message of hope”?
These are definitely meddling questions. The answers might even be painful. But if we are not doing what Christ put us here to do—indeed, commanded us to do—then what is our real purpose? Have we not become little more than a social club? Should we not have a bigger agenda than “feel good worship,” syrupy sermons sprinkled with a lot of jokes, and an attitude that says I must have my own way every time about everything?
Yes, worship should strengthen our faith, but if I never walk away from that time under conviction about something that needs to change in my life, have I really spent time with God? No, sermons should not always be “hell-fire and damnation,” but let’s face it—when we have to deal with the claims God makes on our souls, sometimes even the best joke just won’t do it.
Let us reexamine our entire church’s ministry and program. Is that softball team being used to reach others for Christ and build the Body? Is that Tuesday morning fellowship of older men actually strengthening the faith of those gentlemen? How about that church staff meeting—has it degenerated into a gripe session? Or the deacons’ or elders’ meeting—is it a strategy session for how the church can accomplish its mission?
If the church dares to ask, “What is our purpose? Why are we here?” and is honest about the answers, it may realize that it has to change a lot of things. And that, brothers and sisters, may be the exact reason why we don’t have the courage to do it. Doing what Christ says almost always involves change. And we would rather do it the same way we’ve done it for generations (for even for the last month) because we don’t want to do anything which will make us uncomfortable, or upset Aunt Sally or Uncle Joe. We have sold our integrity as members of the Body of Christ because we are afraid of change and how it will upset things.
This should not be used as a lame excuse for adopting some pet project or program we’ve dreamed up. Even our favorite ideas have to fall under the scrutiny of “will this help us accomplish our goals of reaching others and building up the Body of Christ?”
You can preach on the Great Commission all you want, but if the burden is never translated into how we “do church” we will never make a bigger impact on the world.
--Rocky Henriques
Feedback or comments on this commentary? If suitable and unique, your response will be included in an upcoming Timothy Report. Write to rocky@timothyreport.com
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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WHERE MEN MEET GOD
John Claypool tells that several years ago he was driving through North Carolina and came upon a lovely little country church nestled in a cove. The sign out front read, “Mount Carmel Baptist Church, founded—1796.” And underneath were the words, “Where men meet God.”
I submit to you that this is what the church ought to be—a place where God and people meet together. This is what worship is all about—God and people getting together.
--Paul Powell, “Jesus Is For Now!” (Broadman Press, 1985, p. 66)
NOTE: Can your church put up that sign out front—and be honest? Is your church a place where people meet God?
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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DON’T BE AFRAID TO THINK
But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
--Lord Byron
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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TEMPTATIONS
I've discovered I cannot fight the demons of busyness directly. I cannot continuously say "No" to this or "No" to that, unless there is something ten times more attractive to choose. Saying "No" to my lust, my greed, my needs, and the world's powers takes an enormous amount of energy. The only hope is to find something so obviously real and attractive that I can devote all my energies to saying "Yes." In effect, I don't have time to pay any attention to the distractions.
--Henri J. M. Nouwen
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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CHRIST
Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with that hath the possession of Him to all eternity!
--John Bunyan
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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REAL WORSHIP
To believe God is to worship God.
--Martin Luther
(The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, August 9, 2004)
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