4 Minute Devotions: Star Struck

Taking out the garbage on cold winter night can be an amazing experience.

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Psalm 89:6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?

I love winter nights. Last evening, as I was wheeling the garbage bin to the front yard, I looked up at the sky and was immediately overawed. Thousands of stars were dazzling like beautiful diamonds and even although it was very cold, I just stood there like a schoolboy, gaping and gazing at the glittering constellations. No matter how often I see them, I am totally amazed. I guess that the right phrase is ‘star struck,’ but it has nothing to do with the movies.

My neighbors must think I’m crazy. They probably hear me trundle out the bin to the street and then watch me from behind their blinds. “There’s that loony Scotsman, standing in the street again, looking up at the sky. Has he never seen the stars?” If I could answer them, I would say, “No, I haven’t.”

You see star gazing is a bit like sea watching – the sky is always different and constantly changing. I see a new sky each night when I stop to look upwards. What happens at that moment will never ever occur again. To the casual observer, everything looks the same, but to a star gazer like me, there’s always something that is different.

One thing remains constant though, my thankfulness to God as I am overawed by the whole experience. If the winter sky looks so expansive, wonderful, and astounding, what must God be like? That’s why a verse like today’s has great meaning for me; each time I look at the stars I think: what can compare to God in the skies above? What is most like God across the stellar heavens?

I feel full of wonder, and that’s what makes God wonderful to me. He can take a weekly routine chore and turn it into something totally amazing.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for creating the universe and for filling it with stars. Thank You for the wonder and awe that they inspire. Continue to touch our hearts and souls with Your Creative powers. In Christ’s Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Salvationists

The season of Advent is a special time for salvation…

Luke 3:6 And all mankind will see God's salvation.

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When I was a teenager in Scotland, I worshipped with the Salvation Army. My best friend at the time, George, had joined the Salvationists and was a great trumpet player. He always seemed to have a good attitude, was very dependable as a friend, and worked hard at school. I wanted to be like that, so I went to the Army Hall for a number of Sunday morning meetings.

I liked seeing the worshippers in their uniforms and the worship was amazing. The participants sang enthusiastically and the brass band played along. It was a wonderful experience and I wanted to be part of their community, but to do so I needed to sign the pledge and I just wasn’t prepared to do that at the time.

I guess I wanted to have my cake and eat it, or to put it another way, I wanted to have my beer and drink it. Eventually, I stopped going to services because I knew I was being a hypocrite. It never affected George’s friendship with me. If he was disappointed, I never knew it. He was a true Christian and years later, when I fiercely battled against alcohol and struggled with my faith, George’s example kept me going at times. I could see God’s salvation in him when I was a teenager and it helped me seek Christ later in life.

Advent is a time when we can rediscover Christ. We often think about Him as the holy child in the precious manger, but for those of us who have struggled in life, He is much more than a Christmas card baby. Christ is the Savior of our souls. He is the Chosen One in whom God’s salvation can be seen by the entire world.

If you’re presently struggling with issues in your life and you’re feeling insecure, then please come to Jesus and receive His total reassurance. He has promised us that He will help to carry our burdens and restore us to God’s merciful love. It’s a wonderful blessing and a remarkable opportunity for salvation.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the true Christians in our lives, whose characters and conduct attract us to God’s salvation. Bless them for their understanding and support. Bring us closer to You through God’s amazing love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: Sonrise

Autumn sunrises are beautiful to behold. They remind me of the power of God and the healing that Christ brought into the world.

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Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.

I love this time of year, especially at sunrise. The sun peeks over the horizon dressed in scarlet. The sky glows with a mixture of crimson reds and yellows, bathing the whole earth with a soft rosy hue. It makes me feel glad to be alive and as I watch the sun arc across the morning sky, I feel renewed and refreshed at the same time.

I guess the prophet Malachi must have experienced the same when he talks about the sun rising with healing in its wings. That’s a wonderful description of being re-energized by God’s power. In these uncertain times when everything is changing, it’s good to know that God’s presence is never taken from us. Even as I write this today, I feel His presence as if He’s watching me over my shoulder.

Generations ago, Native Americans used to get up before dawn and face east. As the sun rose, they felt the power of the Great Creator Spirit enter their bodies and souls. It was a good start to a new day. It was a powerful connection to God that even the Hebrew prophets like Malachi would have understood.

Perhaps sometime this week, we should all make time to get up before dawn and await the presence of the Lord. As Christians, the rising sun reminds us of the Rising Son, who overcame the desolation we call death, to open up an eternal opportunity to always be with God. To me, and to many other Christians, Christ is the Son of Righteousness, who rises to bring healing to a broken and sinful world. He arcs across the sky of our days so that when we come to the last horizon, He will be there to heal and restore us at last to the Great Creator.

Prayer: Almighty God, the skies declare the glory of Your works, and the sun reveals Your holy power. We are fortunate to see and experience these wonderful things. Refresh and renew us today. Heal us of all our weariness, anxiety, and pain. In Christ’s Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

4 Minute Devotions: One Church

I have ministered to churches in Scotland and the United States. What would happen if we all became one congregation?

2 Corinthians 7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

I have been fortunate to serve three great congregations. I know of other pastors who have not enjoyed even serving one church successfully. I sometimes wish that I could merge all three – Maybole West, Fisherton, and Erin into one large congregation – a mixture of Scottish ingenuity and American innovation. It would be a wonderful witness to the world and a great encourager of faith to the Scots-American community.

Both time and tide separate all three of us from doing this, so the faithful individuals in each Presbyterian community – Maybole, Dunure, and Knoxville – have to carry on the work of the Lord alone. Then I start to read some of Paul’s letters to faraway churches that he had served, and I suddenly realize that the bridges of faith remain connected despite the distance and time difference.

Through these devotionals, I get the opportunity to minister with people of many congregations. I take great pride in the faithfulness of those who read these messages and pass them on to relatives, friends, and other church members. Our joy together, through the internet, knows no bounds or geographical limits. Even my youngest daughter in Tabora, Tanzania is part of our cyberspace fellowship!

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: we are all serving the Lord in His Church and that together we fulfill what’s called the communion of saints in the Apostles’ Creed. I have every confidence that the work we are doing for Him – in Scotland, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Tanzania or wherever – both glorifies and pleases Christ. One day, we will all be together in heaven; at the moment, we are scattered because the Lord needs us to faithfully witness to our own communities. It’s His special way of getting His holy work done.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we live in different communities and yet we belong to One Church. We face different situations, but we share One Faith. Toda,y we pray for one another and ask that You will bless the congregations that we each serve. They are full of good and faithful people; they have the potential to fulfill wonderful and great things for You. Bless us all as one Family of Faith, serving One Lord forevermore. In Your Holy Name, we joyfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today's message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

4 Minute Devotions: Stoning Jesus

Should we as Christians give up some of our sacred beliefs about Christ in order to accommodate other peoples' beliefs?

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Last week, our General Assembly in its own way, tried to begin the peace process between Christians, Jews, and Muslims by discussing a statement that calls upon all of us to worship together in order to live together. The writers of the statement put forward the belief that we all serve the same God, so we should be able to find a common thread in our faiths.

Peace is a worthy cause, but not at the cost of spiritual appeasement. We don’t worship the same God. We believe different things about God and because of that, Christians need to be aware of the forces of cultural universalism that are creeping into our faith.

John 10:36 What about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?

Take this incident from the Gospel of John. Jesus is about to be stoned by the Jews because He claims to be God’s Son. Even to this day, the Jewish people do not believe it and the Muslims get very upset about this claim. Both of those faiths believe that Jesus is a great teacher or prophet, but nothing more than that. And when we ascribe divine status to Jesus as being equal to God in the Holy Trinity, both groups still call that blasphemy. If Jesus was alive and walking about the streets of Jerusalem and Mecca making these claims, he would either be assassinated or stoned to death.

Now some people think that this is not such a big deal, after all, isn’t world peace worth giving up some of our sacred beliefs in order to live together in harmony? But the trouble is this: if we settle for saying that we all believe in the same God, then we are cutting Jesus out of the whole deal. We are no longer Trinitarian Christians; we have just become deists. Jesus is no longer the Christ, the Son of God, or part of the trinity. He is just another Good Teacher; He is just another prophet.

I don’t know about you, but I owe everything to Jesus and I will not undermine His authority in order to worship with my neighbors. He is everything to me and I cannot allow myself to theologically stone Him to death in order to accommodate other people’s beliefs. That is apostasy to me and we should all be wary of it. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Lord of the Universe. Anything else just won’t do, no matter how we try to rationalize it. As Christians, either Christ is First and Last, or He is nothing at all.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, the world wants us to get along in order to keep the peace in the world. We call You the Prince of Peace, but we forget that title means the creating of peace between us unholy sinners and the perfect holiness of God. As the Son of God, You are able to intercede on our behalf. As the Christ of Calvary, You shed Your blood to cleanse our souls. If we are to remain true to You, we cannot give up Who You are and what You have accomplished. Grant us the courage to remain faithful to You, especially when we are pressured to give up Your exclusive Titles and Divine Rights. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Hottest New Presbyterian Game: Jesus Says!

All week long, I watched the 218th General Assembly. It astounded me how many times people stated that Jesus would do this or say that to bolster their arguments. What a load of baloney! None of us were around with Jesus in New Testament times. We have no earthly idea about what He would do or say with regard to our cultural dilemmas and ecclesiastical issues. We question the authenticity of the Gospels and the authority of the scriptures. We transfer our own cultural preferences and see our own societal prejudices in the texts that were written by the people who truly knew Him.

We are a bunch of narcissistic hypocrites looking to justify our politically correct ways and cultural orientations. We cast aside our allegiance to Christ because we don’t want to submit to Him. We change what the Bible says because we want everybody to like us. And then we get up to the microphones and tell other people what Jesus would do as if He’s our best buddy, turning Him into a theological ventriloquist’s dummy by putting words into His mouth and thoughts into His head.

Bovine manure! We are the biggest bunch of failed followers in the history of Christianity and we have so diluted the Gospel that we have deluded ourselves into shaping Jesus like play dough and making Him a bobblehead character to sit beside our PCs. Our modern Presbyterianism is a theological tacky, mood manufactured, and cheapened grace of a faith. Even the word faith is false when applied to us – we have spiritual trends, and that’s about all.

Perhaps we still have time left. Perhaps we can return to what we once were. Perhaps the Church will go through a revival, instead of cultural capitulation and doctrinal denial. Philippians 2:9-11 can be our starting point.

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Vision: Catching the Spirit

This took place at the Living Waters Retreat center in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. I went there for a couple of quiet days to be with God and ask Him for a vision of our church.

As I looked out of my window, I saw four tall elm trees. Everything was quiet and still. It was a prayerful moment of peace and tranquility, and yet I felt there was something mysterious in the air.

As I looked at the trees, I marveled at how the slender trunks had taken years to branch out into smaller limbs, twigs, and leaves. I thought about Christ’s Church being the largest tree and all the denominations becoming strong branches on the new limbs.

Where was Erin on this great tree? In 2000 years of Christianity and throughout the numerous denominations, and even amongst billions of Christians, what part did we represent of the great tree?

As I contemplated our size and history, I realized that we were just a mere leaf toward the top of the tree. Amongst myriads of leaves, we were just like any other – a tiny leaf, on a small twig, connected to a big branch, attached to a large limb, growing out of a giant trunk. We were the smallest of the small – insignificant, unimportant, and ineffectual.

In the stillness of the moment, I felt stung in realizing that we had only made such a tiny contribution to the Great tree of Faith. It was humiliating and hurtful, shocking and surprising. I came to the retreat center looking for an almighty vision, and all that I was given was a divine reality check.

And then God showed me something totally unexpected. Everything was quiet and somber. As I looked at the little leaf that I had chosen as Erin, it slowly began to flutter. Nothing else was happening to the whole tree. Somehow that little, unimportant and insignificant leaf was catching the wind. It seemed as though it was dancing.

Soon other little leaves around it began to flutter and dance. They were also catching the wind and, for a while, they all fluttered alone as a group. And then, all over the tree, other tiny leaves began to catch the wind, and they also fluttered and danced.

The twig that was Erin began to sway ever so slightly, and then it began to swing to the music of the wind. Very soon other twigs were swaying and then the bigger branches joined the dance. The wind was beginning to pick up and the tree was full of its energy. Leaves were fluttering swiftly, twigs and branches were swinging, boughs and limbs were swaying rhythmically in the breeze.

As the dance continued, the sound of the wind picked up and it choreographed the whole tree. I then wondered when the great trunk of the tree would move. I didn’t see it, but I heard it. Throughout this great orchestration of the wind and leaves, I suddenly heard the deep moaning sounds of the trunk creaking in the wind. The whole tree was alive to the movement of the air. I was watching a great symphony that began with the fluttering solo of a little leaf called Erin.

That’s when God struck me with the vision. Erin is just a little church, the tiniest of leaves on this great tree of the Christian faith. Our role is not to be great or grandiose, important or significant. Our purpose is simply to await the coming of the Holy Spirit, to catch its wind, to flutter and dance as the Spirit moves us, so that other little leaves around us may be encouraged and influenced to do the same.

We are here at Erin to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit. The earth may never know who we are or that we exist, but God knows and our role is to delightfully dance before Him. If we wait upon the Lord and catch the Spirit, then we will have fulfilled our purpose. When the Spirit comes, those little leaves that are ready will dance joyfully and flutter faithfully, pleasing God and delightfully serving Christ.

Erin, God is preparing us to catch the Wind? Are we ready to begin the dance?

Erin Presbyterian Church is situated in the Bearden area of Knoxville on Lockett Rd, diagonally across from where Papermill Drive meets Kingston Pike. Services are at 11.00AM on Sunday mornings.

4 Minute Devotions: Clay People

My mother’s name was McClay, and I used to think that the name “McClay” meant “son of the earth.” It made me feel as though I came from some very common stock, of pitcher people from long ago, who made jars of clay for my Scottish ancestors. Because my father’s family were all Stuarts, who were once Scottish kings and queens, I tended to be a wee bit snooty regarding my heritage when I was much younger. I would rather have royal blue blood running through my veins than to be taken from old grey clay, any day.

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But when I researched the name McClay I discovered it had nothing to do with clay pots or working with mud. You see McClay is an anglicized form of the old Gaelic name “Mac An Leigh,” which means “son of the Healer.” My mother’s heritage didn’t come from clay workers; they were instead the ancient shamans, medicine men, and pagan healers of the old Gaelic tribes. Perhaps instead of royal blood in my veins, I’ve got pastoral blood from my mother’s side.

Job 33:6 I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.

No matter what my heritage may actually be, or how fanciful I think it is, I am humbled by this one thought: that we are all created equal by God and, as far as the Bible is concerned, we are all made from dust and clay. In God’s eyes, it matters not how noble or powerful, wealthy or esteemed, famous or infamous that we are in the world; as far as He is concerned, we are all His creatures, whose purpose is to praise God and enjoy Him forever.

We are all sons and daughters of clay, yet we are also destined to become sons and daughters of God through the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s Holy Son. By placing our faith in Christ, we are not left to sink into the miry clay of darkness and oblivion; instead we are given the sacred opportunity of rising out of the mud, of being cleansed by Christ’s blood, and being led into the everlasting, holy, and joyful presence of God. Then, in my opinion, we all become the equivalent of immortal McClays – sons and daughters of the Healer of the world. My mother would just love that.

Prayer: Lord God, we all have different heritages and ancestry, backgrounds and cultures. And yet we have the same source of life, which comes from You alone. Thank You for allowing us to share this wonderful creation that is all around us. And we praise You for the glorious opportunity of experiencing this forever, through the noble sacrifice and royal blood of Your Son and our King, Jesus Christ. In His Name, we pray. Amen.

Church Growth Ideas: What God Wants, He Gets

Using Hebrews 13:20-21 as a key text for developing a church mission statement. Helping the congregation to depend upon God to equip them with everything good for accomplishing His will.

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Hebrews 13:20,21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.


Our wee church is trying to work out a mission statement for the coming years. Our elders, who are the spiritual leaders in our congregation, are wrestling with decisions that will affect the long term mission and effectiveness of Erin church in the community. It’s not an easy task and a lot of prayer, preparation and pondering will have to be experienced before we can present an overall plan to the congregation.

Like most churches of our age, we are committing a lot of our resources to the upkeep and renovating of the building. The present sanctuary will be 55 years old in 2010 and whilst that is not old in European terms, the extremities of the American weather mean that the church ages a lot faster. I’d like us to be able to completely modernize the whole building in one stage, but I know that just isn’t possible. Unless we have a hidden multi-millionaire in the congregation, it’s going to take us several years to complete the job.

In the meantime, we’ve ministries and missions to undertake, support, and accomplish. That’s where we rely upon God as a congregation, just as the Hebrew Christians did in Paul’s time. As long as we are willing to continue doing the work that is pleasing to God, then He will equip us with everything good for accomplishing His will.

I guess that’s how we’ll eventually come up with a strong mission statement that will reflect what God wants. Currently, we‘re talking about being a church that equips its members to make an impact for Christ in the community. If this is God’s will and we are faithful to this mission, then He will ensure that we have everything we will need to complete that task. And that’s what makes this phase of the church’s life exciting to me – we’re becoming a church that utterly depends upon God’s favor, and not upon our own strength, power, or esteem.

Perhaps you’re in a church that is facing financial difficulties or wrestling with its identity. Maybe you’re hesitant about what lies ahead and don’t know where to begin turning things around. I’d start with the promises of God that are found in these two verses from Hebrews and lay the foundation of future ministries and missions at your church upon these words: “May the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want to be effective witnesses and productive churches for You, so that Your Kingdom may expand in our community. We worry about stuff like money and staff, bills and salaries. Help us to rely upon Your Father to grant us every good thing to accomplish His work. Engage our people in yielding to the Spirit and seeking God’s will. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Ineffective & Unproductive - Why we need to close small churches

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2 Peter 1:8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two things that most pastors fear for the churches that they serve: that the congregations become ineffective and unproductive. Over the last thirteen years, I’ve watched small unproductive and ineffective churches drain the pooled resources of our Presbytery and denomination year after year without any change to their status. And when Presbytery threatens to pull its resources from them, they become church tyrants monstrously opposed to any interference to their non-existent mission to their local communities.

Most of the time, these small churches are manipulated by one or two strong families who believe it is their divine right to keep the congregation the way it is. They firmly possess all the power, property, and prestige that the church has, sucking its life away by their refusal to let go.

Take, for example, a church in our town that has a beautiful sanctuary, which can seat at least three hundred people, but only has about twelve people worshipping each Sunday. An approach was made to the Session by the local Korean Presbyterian church to combine their congregations in order to redevelop the building and bring life back into the church. At first things seemed to be going well, and then when an agreement was almost made, the twelve member church refused to finalize the process. Rather than bring in hundreds of new Korean church members with their families, they backed out and decided to remain small. Eventually, the church will fall into major disrepair, become dilapidated and die. The congregation is both ineffective and unproductive. God will surely not bless such an out-of-touch-with-reality community.

It’s about time we held our smaller congregations accountable for their lack of mission and purpose, ministry and vision. There’s no good reason to sustain them if they are not willing to make the necessary changes. Let’s not let nostalgia and rooting for the under dog get in the way of Christian practicality and Presbyterian polity. If they will not grow, they need to go.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You hold us all to be accountable for what we say and do on behalf of Your Kingdom. You call upon us to go out into the world, making disciples of all the nations and baptizing people in Your Name. Bless our churches with a great desire to increase Your Kingdom in the communities where we reside. Close those churches who impair Your work by just wanting to coast along and do nothing effective or productive. In Your Holy Name, we sadly pray. Amen.

Erin Church Devotions: Real faith

Audio version here

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote to you about Pastor Daniel, an evangelist from Indonesia. He, along with 40 other Christian leaders, has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment, just because he prayed for the Muslim community to be open to Christ’s Gospel. I informed you that I was handwriting a letter to him in phonetic Indonesian, so that his family and friends could hold on to their hope in Christ.

Two weeks have passed and Daniel has received over 1400 letters from pastors and people around the world. The authorities are beginning to sit up and take notice. Daniel’s family are heartily encouraged by the amount of international support that he is being given. It truly is a wonderful way of sharing and expressing the Gospel to people in other lands. I hope and pray that Daniel and the others are released soon.

Daniel is a God-fearing Christian, who takes Christ’s message to heart and is unwilling to compromise its integrity. A week on Tuesday, I am going to our local Presbytery meeting and already I am feeling torn by it. Two new pastors will be presented at the meeting for approval. I’ve read their statements of faith online and once again, I am bewildered. I’ll have to ask one of them what is meant by salvation and is Christ the Only Savior of the World. The other one does not mention God as Father, nor of Christ as being His true Son.

It may just be a slip of the pen or keyboard, and to other people this will not seem important, but when I think of Pastor Daniel languishing and suffering in an Indonesian prison for not compromising his faith, I feel really ill at ease with those pastors amongst who all too readily set aside traditional beliefs and replace them with what they’ve learned from seminary professors, instead of holding fast to the words and teachings of Christ and His apostles.

I’ll probably endure some criticism again for asking these questions and voicing my concerns, but it will be nothing compared to what Daniel is experiencing. I hope and pray that my passion will not overload my reason; and that my heart will not overwhelm my head.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God and He is Your Almighty Father. We are adopted as daughters and sons of God through our allegiance to You and by Your sacrificial death. Help us to value our salvation and keep us revering Who You really are. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Verse for the Day:
Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Erin Church Sunday Sermon: Where Do we Grow from here?

Where Do We Grow from Here?

Ephesians 6:24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

We have come to the end of a five month journey that we began way back in June. At that time, I told you that we were on a mission to find a new path, a new direction for our church. In my heart, I felt that God was beginning to move us as a church to start thinking about how we could make an impact for Christ in our community.

When I was pondering over what our church should do, I felt led by the Spirit to take us through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians because they were also a church that knew the Lord, but needed to be pointed in the right direction. Today we complete our journey and I hope and pray that this has been something that has drawn all of us closer to Christ and ready for whatever he is asking us to do as a Presbyterian church in this part of Knoxville.

As Paul finishes his letter, he reminds the good folks at Ephesus that he is a prisoner for Christ. He is held captive, whilst the Ephesians are free. He is under house arrest or perhaps in jail. The Ephesians Christians still walk about in their own community, free to serve the Lord, free to worship together, free to do their own thing.

So apostle signs off with these beautiful words of faith: ‘Grace to all who love our lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.’ Paul is doing two things here: he’s finishing his letter with words of encouragement, prayer, and peace. He wants the Ephesian congregation to feel good about their faith, and to be strengthened by his positive words. But Paul is also doing something which is very important: when he gives the blessing to those who love Jesus with an undying love, he’s actually passing the torch of faith to the next generation.

We did something similar this morning when we recognized our young worship graduates. We showed them how pleased we were with their work and asked God to bless them as they graduate into worshipping with us throughout the service. As well thanking them for the work that they and their teachers have done, we were also setting them off on anew voyage of discovery where faith is more than Sunday School classes and Enrichment times – it’s a lifestyle choice of worshipping God and praising Christ. So, in effect were saying to these our precious young people – Grace to you who love the Lord with an undying love. In other words, become the torchbearers of faith for your generation.

Throughout the summer, I’ve talked about what previous generations of Erinites have done for God and Christ’s Kingdom and how their perseverance, sense of duty, and loyalty to Jesus has given us this church that we worship in today. It’s now our turn to continue that 130 year journey of faith and lead our church into its 14th decade. It’s our privilege to be a crossroads generation where the decisions we take and the sacrifices we make are going to enhance, expand, and increase Christ’s work in this community. The love that Erin Church has for Christ is an undying love, and one that we should all be rightly proud of undertaking, achieving, and accomplishing.


Revelation 2:4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

The story of the church at Ephesus does not end with Paul’s letter. It continues for many centuries producing some of the greatest teachers and leaders that the church has known. Paul’s protégé Timothy, to whom Paul writes two very personal letters becomes the bishop of Ephesus. And John the Apostle, the youngest of Christ’s disciples, lives in Ephesus with Christ’s mother, Mary, where both of them die and were buried.

But there comes a time in the church’s life when their faith began to cool and their passionate allegiance to the Gospel started to dissipate. When John writes the Book of Revelation, he lists the church of Ephesus as one of the seven stars held in Christ’s hand. The church is applauded for its perseverance, but it has one fatal flaw: the congregation has forgotten its first love.

Remember, Paul talked about Ephesus having a undying love for Christ, and yet about 25 years later, in John the Apostle’s vision, Christ accuses it of having lost that love. Churches go through cycles of being passionate for Christ and then they become comfortable and cozy, institutionalized and indifferent. Congregations can rest on the laurels of the past and individual Christians can coast along with their faith until they lose that love of Jesus, which meant so much to them.

Many years ago, when I first became a Christian, I had two friends who were also named John. One of them was an ambitious civil servant, whose zeal for the Lord was wonderful. The other was an electrician who was part of a youth group that used to visit the Gospel Club that both Evelyn and I attended. I was the third member of thee group – a recovering alcoholic who was trying to straighten out his life and make a real commitment to Christ. All three of us gave our hearts to Jesus. Each one of us was zealous for the work of the Lord.

John the civil servant wanted to learn administration skills so that he could one day be the CEO of a religious charity organization. He wanted to serve the Lord in that capacity and make important decisions that would save the lives of thousands of people. John the electrician wanted to have his own business, be happily married, and serve the Lord by using his business to help people who couldn’t afford to pay for his services. As for me, I just wanted to remain sober and to tell others about Jesus.

But as the years sped by, we all lost our love of the Lord. I went to university to become a minister, but found it difficult to keep my simple faith when the theological professors and biblical lecturers tried to tear it apart. They wanted me to believe in their research and study, their conclusions and opinions, their words and ways. There were times when I wanted to give everything up and I felt as though I was in a spiritual wilderness. And then one of the saints in the Divinity faculty, my Old Testament professor, who knew I was struggling told me this: John, it’s not our grasp of God that is important; it is God’s grasp of us that is all important. You don’t need to hold on to God – you just need to let Him hold on to you.”

At the same time, civil servant John was given some great promotions, which eventually led him to becoming a chief advisor to the Prime Minister in Britain. But it cost him his faith. As he climbed the ladder of success, he used his talents to better his life and build up his esteem and renown in the British Civil service. He eventually stopped going to church, believing that he could get along with organized religion and look after his own spirituality in his own way. In other words, he lost his love of Jesus and replaced it with love of self.

And what about John the electrician? I hadn’t seen him for a while and met him at a disco party for someone’s birthday. Yes, I said disco – that shows you how long ago this all took place! I had managed to stop drinking entirely and he was quite agitated by this. In the middle of the celebration, he came up and asked me as strange question: He asked: “And how is your soul? Are you still looking after it?” I didn’t know what to say, because John was drunk. There was a sad expression on his face and emptiness in his eyes.

He worked hard as an electrician, but he married the wrong person. His wife was immature and highly strung. She reminded me of a character in David Copperfield. John couldn’t handle the strain and one dark night he went absolutely crazy, smashed all the windows of his apartment, and jumped off from the ledge of the fourteenth storey to his death. I was in total shock when I heard the news.

Losing our love of Jesus can take us down paths that lead to dead ends and empty lives. John the Apostle was warning the Ephesus Church that they were in danger of losing the reason they were established: to love Christ first and to serve Him faithfully. They were on a ledge of losing everything that Paul had established and of letting go of the Holy Spirit who founded the church. They were at a crossroads of faith. Depending on how they responded to John’s vision of Christ, they would either go onward and upward, or fall backward and downward into death.

Revelation 2:7b To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Thankfully, the Ephesian Church chose the upward path. They corrected their course and rediscovered their first love. They went through a time of revival and three hundred and fifty years later, an important Council of all the churches in Christendom gathered at Ephesus in 451AD to make a decision that Christ was both human and divine, that He was Lord of heaven and earth, and that He was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. They overcame and were given that beautiful blessing of life which God promises to those churches that are faithful to Him and His precious Son.

So, where do we grow from here? Are we ready to rediscover that love of Christ which brought us to church in the first place? Are we prepared to express our undying love to Him and let the community around us see that love through our deeds? Are we set in place to commence a journey of faith and revival that will honor the Erinites of the past and prepare the way for the undying lovers of Christ in the generations to come?

I believe that we are and I know that we can do this. Where do we grow from here…to all the places and people that Christ is leading us. To Him be the glory and power. Amen!

Erin Church devotional : Speak the Faith

Audio version here

2 Corinthians 4:13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. (NIV)

It was Billy Hunter who believed in Christ and spoke words of faith to me. I know that God speaks to our hearts in order to receive Christ, but He also uses people as vessels to convey that faith as something that is alive, relevant, and real. Billy Hunter was the first Sunday School teacher that I can remember, and his faith connected with my heart.

At the time, our family lived in Saracen, Glasgow, Scotland. We didn’t know it then, but it was a deprived area where families from the slum housing in the city were supposed to make a new start. The city fathers thought that by putting people in newer tenements/ apartments, Glasgow would flourish and everyone would take advantage of the new opportunities.

But the traps of poverty – alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and gang warfare, loan sharks and protection rackets followed the people. We came out of the frying pan and into the fire. Deprivation and disillusionment set in. Within a couple of years, depression – both economic and psychological – overshadowed the new community. Hopes and dreams were shattered, and Glasgow floundered instead of flourishing.

And yet there were still people like Billy Hunter who chose to teach Christianity and speak words of faith to the children in the community. He had the heart of an evangelist, but was as gentle as a shepherd. He made Christ real to me and taught me that there was something more to life. He showed me the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness and squalor of poverty. He put hope in my soul and faith in my heart. I owe all that I know and have today to Jesus, but Billy Hunter was the faithful servant Christ used to get me here.

Christianity is not a personal lifestyle choice or a private religion. It has to be spoken in order to be shared; it has to be heard in order to be received. Every one of us will be given opportunities this day to believe in Christ’s work and to speak faith to others. Let’s prepare our hearts and minds even now as we read and hear this message, to be ready to share Christ’s Gospel today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we believe in You – Your words, Your ways, Your works. Help us this day to make the most of the opportunities that You give us, to share our beliefs and speak faith to those who need to hear about Your life and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Re-emerging

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (NIV)

It’s a hard time to be a Presbyterian right now, because our mainline denominations are failing. It’s as if we've reached the end of the line and that after 400 years of Reformed Faith, people no longer want to hear the doctrines of predestination, total depravity, or the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Instead, people want to make up their own brand of faith, something that will suit their life-style choices, which will not interfere with their decisions or make any judgments about the way they live their lives. What people want out of religion is something that will guarantee immortality at the end of their earthly lives, without any catches, conditions, or commandments to disbar them. It’s a bit like being in someone’s garden and wanting to steal apples from their tree without there being any consequences. It’s the same old sin of Adam and Eve – wanting to be immortal like God and trying to steal it from Him.

I'm not perfect, even although I'm a pastor. I've sinned many times against God and let Christ down time and time again. Each day I always say or do something that I'll regret later on, or I forget to do something and break a promise. Time just seems to consume me and I'm left wondering if I'm making any difference in the world that I know.

My role is to counter the culture that is choking the Christian faith. My call as a pastor is to help the people I know get past the sickness that is killing our society. My place is to be a prophet who preaches against the ways of the world that are leading people astray from Christ. At times, I feel like I'm chosen to be the Shepherd’s collie dog, snapping at the feet of the sheep in order to keep them in the fold and out of danger.

And then I read Paul’s letter to Timothy and I realize that the church has seen times like these before. When Timothy became a bishop to his people, he had to deal with the world; he had to preach against secularism; he had to keep people on the right track in order to get them home to Jesus. The people in Timothy’s time were itching to hear what they wanted to hear…and people are still the same today. Things may look different, but people are still the same – they want short cuts to salvation; they want the express lane to immortality; they want to cut in ahead of everybody else to get Christ’s blessings.

It’s hard being a Presbyterian these days, but it’s not harder than what Timothy’s people had to endure. It’s not harder than what pastors in China are suffering; it’s not harder than what Christian families in Nigeria are enduring; it’s not harder than what millions of Christians around the world have to overcome for the faith each day. And because of that, I've got to start drawing a line in the sand and say this day, we retreat no further. We will not quietly acquiesce to the world’s demands. We will not fade away into faithlessness. We will not continue to compromise our Reformed beliefs, our Calvinistic codes, our Presbyterian traditions.

It’s time to re-emerge. It’s time to revive. It’s time to reform. The itching has gone on long enough. It’s time to stop scratching and start fighting the good fight.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Presbyterian church is in a mess and people like me have caused it to be so. Instead of waiting and watching for Your return, I've been wallowing in sin and at ease in Zion. Forgive me, Lord, for all of those wasted years and sinful moments. Restore me, Lord, to the love and zeal that I once had for You alone. Help me, Lord, to climb out of this religious rut and back on to the highway to Heaven. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.

No Turning Back

Hebrews 3: 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. (NIV)

I couldn’t believe what happened at our Presbytery meeting yesterday. A candidate for the ministry made, what I believe to be, two apostate statements and still had her call upheld! In front of everyone, she stated that she wouldn’t be bound by the scriptures, and that Christ was not the only redeemer of humankind. I asked her directly if she believed Jesus to be the sole redeemer of the world, to which she answered, “I would hesitate to say that. That would be putting God in too small a box for me.”

So, it’s okay to put Jesus in a small box? It’s all right to diminish His Lordship and ministry of salvation? When did we start to become Deists and Universalists in the Presbyterian Church? What are they teaching our candidates for ministry at seminary? Why is it that no one sees the link between accepting universalist pastors into our pulpits and the decline of church membership?

The first Christians were surrounded by thousands of pagan gods and idols. Do we honestly think that if Jesus was just a localized, personalized redeemer that His earliest of followers would have allowed themselves to become martyrs? Do we really believe that first century Christians refused to say “Caesar is Lord” before Roman authorities and be led to savage deaths in the Coliseum if they thought that salvation could be found outside of the Christianity? They knew that to be in and of the house of Christ that they had to hold on to their courage in the face of cruelty and terrifying persecution.

We have become so biblically illiterate, so theologically ignorant, and so arrogantly apostate that we don’t see ourselves becoming blatantly heretical through wanting to be culturally sophisticated and religiously tolerant. Our need to be liked and courteous is leading us down a narcissistic path that takes us outside of God’s Kingdom and Christ’s household. Unless we put the brakes on this apostasy now, unless we draw lines of belief in the sand, the Presbyterian Church is going to continue to die. God will not bless or honor that which does not honor His Son.

We need to seriously start reading the Bible again and stop using it as a pathetic panacea to ease our consciences. We need to understand that Christianity is not a leisure pursuit that we shape to fit our lives. We need to recognize that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, the only Truth, Way, and Life, and that our work in the world, according the first stated end of the Church in our current Book of Order, is to preach the Gospel in order to save humankind.

I am fed up to the core with faithless statements and false ideas. I am a sinner saved by Christ alone, whose work of salvation saves the world alone. There is no other name given to humanity under heaven that can save the earth. There is no other Savior than Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please stop the Church from wounding itself by giving up age-old beliefs about You. Grant us the courage to stand up to those who would diminish Your ministry and devalue Your Gospel. We are all sinners in need of saving; we are all imperfect in need of redemption. Help to do what is right and not what we think to be right. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

A Crossful of Promises

Photograph taken this evening at Parkway Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee...



Lead kindly light amidst the gloom...

Or....I trace the rainbow through the rain...

Quo Vadis?

Where, O where is our denomination going, Lord?

Coming Soon

Revelation 22:7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

There’s a lot of disruption occurring in the Presbyterian Church, which is dividing our ability to witness effectively in the world. Different pastors and elders hold diverse views about what’s right and wrong for the church, and the people in the pews are being led like sheep to the slaughter on the altars of adversity and discontent. Congregations are leaving the denomination across the country, which is weakening our influence throughout many communities. Instead of being washed in the blood of Jesus, we’re hemorrhaging. Instead of bringing the good news of the Gospel to the world, we’ve actually become bad news.

I worry about what’s happening. I try to understand why people want to polarize their faith. Is it because we hate one another so much that we have no room for love? Is it because we’ve too much pride that we have forgotten to be humble? Are we so focused on currently making things right for ourselves that we’ve jettisoned the future of the Church? Are we so sure that we’re on the Lord’s side and not servants of Lucifer?

Christ is coming soon. If I live till I’m eighty, then for me He’s coming in the next thirty years. Time is running out for all of us, and He will judge us according to what we have done. Can we honestly say that He is more interested in the divisions we’ve created, or in the people we’ve attracted to Christ? Will Jesus commend us more for doctrinal purity or compassionate conversions?

In the end, Presbyterianism is just another thin branch of the whole Christian Church. Even if it breaks, the tree will survive.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are Your Church and we are Your people. None of us are perfect; not one of us is pure. Grant us wisdom and discernment, compassion and love. Keep us from dividing the body and diminishing our witness. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.