Don’t Blow Your Trumpet When You Give

mission, stewardship

Some clear teaching here from Jesus about the way we should act when we give to others and do good deeds. We should not do these things to seek recognition from others.

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4 NLT)

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Watch for the FRUIT People Produce

focus, Jesus

These are signpost verses from Jesus, directing us to pay attention to the FRUIT people produce through their words and actions. What does the heart produce?

You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (Matthew 12:34-37 NLT)

Also:

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:43-45 NLT)

Dear God: Form my family and I into bountiful fruit trees which serve you, your Son, and your Holy Spirit in all we do.
Amen.

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Narrated Sermon Art

Jesus, technology

Both Rachel (my 9 year old) and I created some visual notes yesterday during the sermon shared by Pastor Mateen Elass at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, Oklahoma. Today we recorded some audio to accompany our drawings, using the free mobile app and website AudioBoo, to create these “narrated art” examples.

Click the play button (play arrow) to listen to each AudioBoo below. As one is playing, you can “mouse over” the embedded image thumbnail to view a larger version of each drawing.

listen to ‘Followers of Jesus’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Wholly & Holy Together’ on Audioboo

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Generational Sin Punishments & Works Righteousness

God, questions

These verses from the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel establish the important idea of individual and personal accountability for sin. This was a big CHANGE in how the Israelites understood sin & families. It also reinforced works righteousness, however. Jesus would later affirm the former understanding (don’t kill the children for the sins of the parents) but overturn the latter from a salvation / justification standpoint.

It is important to understand that God still calls us to live lives defined by acts of righteousness. We are called to abandon sinful ways: To confess our sins (which by our nature we continue to commit) and ask for forgiveness. We are saved through our confession of sin and profession of faith in Christ. Our righteous acts which follow these events are expected, required and natural, but they are NOT the cause or source of our salvation from God’s condemnation which our past sins deserve.

Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.

(Ezekiel 18:1-4 NLT)

Also:

“‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.

(Ezekiel 18:19-22 NLT)

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Lessons from David Dancing Before The Lord

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These are my sermon notes from Mateen Elass‘s message on August 26, 2012’ based on these verses in 2 Samuel 6:12-23 NIV:

Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

and 2 Samuel 7:1-3 NIV:

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

It’s easy for us as Christians to try and live on “reflected glory,” we stop seeking God’s will for our lives because we want to seek our own will. We seek God’s blessing and sanctification of our own plans.

God’s presence should not be treated lightly
– Philistines learned this when they took the ark as documented in 2 Samuel

Love gives itself fully to what it cherishes

Sometimes when we look at others, we are not too please with how we see them worshipping. Our disdain about how others worship may reveal a problem within our own hearts toward God.
– it is hard for us to grapple with this as Presbyterians sometimes… Need to focus, however, on WHO we are trying to please
– God is the one who should be our focus in worship
– let’s not show disdain for others as they seek to open their hearts fully to God

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Powerful Annointing

gifts, God

Powerful words here from Isaiah.

Isaiah 61:1, 2 NLT

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Isa61.1.NLT

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Notes from Tony Evans’ Sermon Today in Dallas

discipleship, evangelism, God

These are some of the verses shared by Dr Tony Evans in his sermon today at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in south Dallas, Texas.

http://www.ocbfchurch.org

The church has an education and technology summer program that looks interesting:

http://www.turnaroundagenda.org

If you ever have a chance to hear Tony preach, don’t miss him!

Luke 4:14-20 NLT
“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Luke4.14.NLT

2 Chronicles 15:5, 6 NLT
““During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem.”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/2Chr15.5.NLT

James 4:12 NLT
“God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Jas4.12.NLT

Psalm 89:14 NLT
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Ps89.14.NLT

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 NLT
““When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Deut17.18.NLT

Leviticus 19:15 NLT
““Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Lev19.15.NLT

Leviticus 24:22 NLT
““This same standard applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.””

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Lev24.22.NLT

Deuteronomy 4:5-8 NLT
““Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Deut4.5.NLT

James 2:1-7 NLT
“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Jas2.1.NLT

Galatians 2:14 NLT
“When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?”

See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/Gal2.14.NLT

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Tony Evans on Racial Unity Through Service

mission

I heard Tony Evans preach at a Promisekeepers event years ago and was very moved by his inspired message. I agree with his points in the video below that we need to find unity between our churches through collaborative service. He says it well: “We may have come over in different boats, but we are in the same boat now.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRo_AZ4L38Y

Learn more on http://www.tonyevans.org

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Leveraging YouTube to Tell The Story of Your Church Mission Outreach

digitalstorytelling, evangelism, mission, technology

YouTube and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter offer incredible opportunities for Christian mission outreach ministries to “tell their story” and share with communities both local and international about the work God is doing through their volunteers. For several years I’ve felt God is calling me to use my knowledge and skills with digital media technologies to further the gospel and support the ends of His church on earth… and tonight I had another long awaited opportunity to answer that call in a small way.

Upendo Kids International is a mission outreach non-profit based in Edmond, Oklahoma, which sends teams each summer to Kenya to show God’s love and kindness through a variety of activities. This evening, I had an opportunity to show the nineteen members of the June 2012 Upendo Kids mission team how to use the iPad application “Explain Everything” to briefly narrate five photos from their trip. All together, mission team members brought home thousands of digital photos. Until this evening, however, I don’t think any of them had recorded their voices alongside selected photos and published them as videos on YouTube. Here are the two narrated slideshows we created at the end of their meeting tonight.

Kids Touched by God in Kenya by Kelly Ewing (2.5 min)

Selfless Faith in Kenya by Carly Murray (3 min, 48 sec)

I challenged each of the mission team members present at the meeting tonight, who are mostly high school students, to create a narrated slideshow like these before school starts for them on August 19th. I told them “the devil would do a happy dance” if they stop talking about their mission trip experiences and the ways they saw God at work in Kenya after school starts in August. I dearly hope each one of them will accept my challenge and create a short narrated slideshow about their experiences in Kenya this summer, and publish it on YouTube. Some of the students and parents reported they were providing their trip sponsors / supporters with CDs including hundreds of photos from their trip. I really think a two or three minute narrated slideshow with five key photos from the mission trip would be worth MUCH more to a person or family who donated to make their trip possible.

People say “pictures are worth a thousand words,” but I agree with Margaret Nan Harkey who created the video for Celebrate Oklahoma Voices, “What’s Your Story? The Importance of Telling the Stories of Your Photos.” Photographs can become MUCH more meaningful and powerful when we put our words with them.

Find more videos like this on Celebrate Oklahoma Voices!

I applaud both Kelly and Carly for their courage in sharing part of their stories and experiences in Kenya this year. To check out more Kenya Mission Trip stories from June 2012 and Upendo Kids International, subscribe to UpendoKids on YouTube.

If you’re interested in leveraging the power of YouTube and digital storytelling to “tell the story” of your non-profit, I encourage you to attend an upcoming “iPad Media Camp” workshop on creating narrated slideshows. I’ll be offering this workshop again in Oklahoma City on August 31, 2012, and again on December 18th. Please check the registration page on iPadMediaCamp.com for other dates and registration links.

Also, be sure to check out the YouTube Nonprofit Program and also read the PDF, “Playbook Guide: YouTube for Good.” The price is right: YouTube video hosting is FREE. To create videos like Kelly and Carly’s, you’ll just need an iPad with the app “Explain Everything” along with photos and your voice!

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Make God Holy in Your Life

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When you read a passage in the Bible and the author refers to God as, “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies,” you know you are in the Old Testament. This passage from Isaiah reminds us to make God holy in our lives.

 

Of course God is holy by His nature and our actions don’t change that. However, we can and should do things regularly in our lives which reflect our understanding of God as holy or “set apart.”

 

How are you making God holy in your life this week?

Isaiah 8:13 NLT

“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Isa8.13.NLT

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