Having been a Lay-Speaker in the Methodist Church I have had the privilege on occasion to speak at different churches in my district. Today’s blog is an excerpt from one of those times. The news is full of the persecution of Christians and the destruction of our churches with the goal of destroying the faith. Here then is an excerpt from the message “Defending the Faith”.

FAITH HAS BOTH AN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SENSE IN THE BIBLE. THE FIRST RELATING TO ONE’S LOYALTY TO A PERSON OR COMMITMENT TO A PROMISE; THE OTHER BEING CONFIDENCE IN THE WORD OR ASSURANCE OF ANOTHER. FAITH IS NOT MERELY WHAT A PERSON BELIEVES, AS EXAMPLE, AN ACCURATE DOCTRINE OR CREED, BUT ALSO AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THAT THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH IS VALID. THAT EMPTY TOMB VALIDATES OUR FAITH.
I BELIEVE IT TO BE A REASONABLE STATEMENT THAT WE ARE GOVERNED BY OUR THOUGHTS; WE ULTIMATELY BECOME WHAT WE DWELL MOST UPON IN OUR MINDS. THE APOSTLE PAUL GAVE THIS INSTRUCTION TO THE ROMANS: Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PASSAGES: Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

WHAT IS VALUE OF FAITH? WE FIND SECURITY IN OUR FAITH. 2CHRONICALS: 20-20……… As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
WE ARE ESTABLISHED AS A PEOPLE THROUGH OUR FAITH. ISAIAH 7-9 …………“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

OUR FAITH IS A GIFT OF GOD LUKE 17: 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
ROMANS 12: 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
HERE IS A PASSAGE WE ALL KNOW WELL……8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit ………….

THE PURPOSE OF OUR FAITH IS TO GAIN UNDERSTANDING AND TRUTH. John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
FAITH HELPS US TO GROW IN GOD’S GRACE Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

WE ARE ABLE TO REJOICE THROUGH OUR FAITH. PHILIPPIANS 2: 17-18 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

WE CAN USE OUR FAITH TO STRENGTHEN OURSELVES. ROMANS 6:13-14 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

THROUGH FAITH WE BECOME TRANSFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST, A PEOPLE STRONG IN THE FAITH. EPHESIANS 3: 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
WE NEED………
-THE BOLD FAITH OF OUR LORD THAT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO DO NO LESS THAN THE FATHER’S WILL, EVEN IF IT MEANT HIS DEATH.
-THE BOLD FAITH OF PAUL HAVING BEEN STONED AND LEFT FOR DEAD, HE GOT UP, WENT BACK AND CONTINUED TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS.
-THE BOLD FAITH OF PETER RISING TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF PAUL AND BARNABAS’ MINISTRY TO THE GENTILES.
-THE BOLD FAITH OF JAMES WHO CHALLENGED THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM, KNOWING THAT THERE WERE THOSE WHO OPPOSED THE GENTILE.
WE NEED A BOLDNESS IN OUR FAITH THAT SAYS ….COME AS YOU ARE. THE FAITH BELONGS TO ALL WHO SEEK JESUS CHRIST.
THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS BOLDNESS. WE MUST PUT ASIDE THE DISTRACTIONS OF THIS WORLD AND COME TOGETHER IN DEFENSE OF THE FAITH.
TO DEFEND THE FAITH IS TO DEFEND JESUS CHRIST…..”I AM THE WAY”

*References from William Barclay, Daily Bible study are included in this blog.

Ah, back in the day….Now when someone opens a conversation or begins a blog with these words, the chances are they’re a bit long in the tooth. So let me open by writing. Back in the day when I was working we used to have these motivational meetings that were designed to help us all be of one mind, you know a team thing. To help you understand this team thing I will share this with you. There were five kids a dog and a parakeet and mom and dad. My dad was career military, Air Force. There is a lot of team work that goes into being a military family. My mother’s take on team work was simple. When we gathered at the table to eat, we ate what was in the can, no substitutions. We were a team at least at the table. Now about that work thing and the meeting I have always remembered.
Authority, Accountability and Responsibility three words that I supposed were important to us as individuals and as a team. Here are the secular definitions for each.

Authority
: the power to give orders or make decisions: the power or right to direct or control someone or something
: the confident quality of someone who knows a lot about something or who is respected or obeyed by other people
: a quality that makes something seem true or real

Accountability
: the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions

Responsibility
the state of being the person who caused something to happen
: a duty or task that you are required or expected to do
: something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.

I have always remembered these words because of what the instructor told us about them. Authority is given or granted, Accountability is imposed and Responsibility is inherent and must be accepted by each individual.

Now comes the fun part.
The title of this blog is “From the Pew, A Layman’s View of The Gospel.” The nice thing about sitting in the pew is you can say most anything, good or bad and other than those close by, no one hears you. You can always say “gee I wish they would…” and not do a thing, because every church has a bunch of “they” that will do it. Using the NRSV, Bible Gateway counted 133 times that Authority could be found in the bible, Accountability 5 times and Responsibility 9 times all in the OT. Take the time to look them up, you may find more in other translations. It is amazing to read the Christian perspective as written in the Gospel. Take the time to look. I may have miss-counted. I will be waiting here in the pew for you.

It has been written that Jesus put a face on God. Our Sunday school class begins with prayer requests and devotion before the lesson itself. Some of the names we are able to put a face to but many are people and situations we are not familiar with. The current series we are studying is about Prayer. The lessons were written by Randy Cross and have opened our collective eyes and minds to the power of prayer as a means of establishing and strengthening our relationship with God. Much has been written and said about prayer as a part of the Christian life or the lack of it. This blog is about us, the people in the pews, “a laymen’s view of the gospel” so to speak. I have no formal education in theology therefore I will not attempt to share with you some new and astonishing stuff about prayer. Instead I will share with you a moment of revelation shared with our class by a very special lady.

It has been almost a year that our class has been praying for a lady who was diagnosed as having stage four colon cancer. This has been a powerful series for our class, taught by a wonderful and spirit led lady who brought us a gift so few see. Today we met the lady we have been praying for, some of us for the first time. She is still fighting the battle, but she is not at war. This is not a feel good story, and the end has not been written. The lady has “given over” her life to God’s will. The cancer is still there but has diminished in mass and now there is the possibility of other procedures that were never thought to be possible. She walks this road every day knowing that God walks with her and her needs will be met. It’s not about healing, it is about strengthening the bond of faith between her and her God….so that his will might be done. We added an extra week to the study and this morning Renee put a face on prayer as she joined us to share her journey so far. The road she walks is subject to the events of this life, but her destination lies with the creator of all life in who our resurrection and life everlasting is assured through the death and resurrection of his Son. She spoke openly of her fears, her hopes and most importantly about the reality of prayer in situations that overwhelm and intimidate. Renee put a face on our prayers and we were able to see the power of prayer in her face. She gave us a gift I would like to share with you.

Prayer of Relinquishment
Today, O Lord, I yield myself to You.
May Your will be my delight today.
May You have perfect sway in me.
May your love be the pattern of my living.
I surrender to You my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions.
Do with them what You will, when You will, as You will.
I place into Your loving care my family, my friends, my future.
Care for them with a care that I can never give.
I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity.
Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish Your Kingdom on earth.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.`

Prayer is about giving yourself over to God knowing he will provide for your needs, mind, body and soul. That’s my view from the pew.

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