What Does Jesus Christ Say ABout Same Sex Marriage?

By Pastor Bruce Oyen And Pastor David Brumbelow
Email Bruce Oyen at bk_oyen@hotmail.com

   Unfortunately, homosexuality is gaining more acceptance every day. This is true even among those who claim to be Christians. Now President Obama accepts homosexual marriage.
   Pastor David Brumbelow wrote a short, but excellent, posting for his own blog spot. Here is a link to it:
http://gulfcoastpastor.blogspot.com/2012/05/jesus-christ-on-same-sex-marriage.html

Fact Or Fable? Noah And The Ark; Jonah And The Fish

By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen

Email: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

          

 Two well-known Bible stories.

     The Bible has many interesting stories. Two of the most well-known ones are about Noah and the ark and Jonah and the fish. Are these stories fact or fable? Were there really such persons as Noah and Jonah, and the others found in the stories? Did the events spoken of in connection with these persons really happen?

The Bible-believer's view of these stories.

     Those of us who believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God believe that these persons and events are presented in such a manner by the Biblical writers that they are to be understood as facts, not fables. We believe those persons really did exist, and we believe those events really did happen. One of the main reasons we hold this view is because our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, held this view. It is unmistakably clear from the New Testament's Gospels that the Lord himself affirmed the historicity of these persons and events. He did not think they were fables, from which we can learn important lessons. Rather, he looked at them as facts, from which we can learn important lessons. To learn what the Lord said about Noah and the ark, read Matthew 24:37 - 39. To learn what he said about Jonah and the fish, read Matthew 12:38 - 41.

      It is quite significant that the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed his belief in everything in the Bible the theological liberals question or deny. But who are we to question or deny what the Lord himself affirmed affirmed as fact, not fable?

C. S. Lewis said the stories of Noah and the ark and of Jonah and the fish are fables.

      Lewis wrote many interesting books, several of which I have read. But he did not hold a good view of the Bible. That is, he did not hold the view of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he was wrong about Noah and the ark and about Jonah and the fish.

     The view of Lewis is found in his book called "God In The Dock." In chapter 4, Lewis answered other persons' questions on Christianity. Here (in red) is question 10: "The Bible was written thousands of years ago for people in a lower state of mental development than today. Many portions seem preposterous in the light of modern knowledge. In view of this, should not the Bible be re-written with the object of discarding the fabulous and re-interpreting the remainder?"

     Here (in red) is part of Lewis's reply to this question: "The Old Testament contains fabulous elements. The New Testament consists mostly of teaching, not of narrative at all: but where it is narrative, it is, in my opinion, historical. As to the fabulous elements in the Old Testament, I very much doubt if you would be wise to chuck it out." 

     Then later in his reply to the question, Lewis said this: "Jonah and the Whale, Noah and his ark, are fabulous; but the Court history of King David is probably as reliable as the Court history of Louis XIV. Then, in the New Testament the thing really happens. The dying god really appears --- as a historical Person, living in a definite place and time. If we could sort out all the fabulous elements in the earlier stages and separate them from the historical ones, I think we might lose an essential part of the whole process. That is my own idea."

Jesus Christ was right, and C. S. Lewis was wrong.

    Are the stories of Noah and the ark and of Jonah and the fish fact or fable? The answer to that question is simple: Jesus Christ was right, and C. S. Lewis was wrong: the stories are FACT!

   

Jonah's Re-Commission, Obedience, And Success

By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen

Email: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

This is a posting of my third sermon outline on the Book Of Jonah.

     Each one of these sermon outlines covers a complete chapter in this interesting and challenging Old Testament book about Jonah's experience in his walk with God. Like the previous sermon outline postings on Jonah, you will find a skeleton of a sermon on which to put some thoughts of your own.

Some thoughts about preaching.

    Some of my thoughts about preaching can be found in my previous postings on Jonah. The main thing I want to re-state is that it is best to learn to preach from a full heart and memory, and to not read a sermon manuscript. If you bring a sermon manuscript to the pulpit with you, have it clearly outlined so that you can follow it without reading much of it. To do so will require learning the content of a sermon manuscript well enough to not be dependent on it. To learn to do this is to give oneself freedom in the pulpit to use one's facial expressions and other body language during the sermon. To not be dependent on a manuscript allows the preacher to look at his listeners, to talk to them, to connect with them in a way that is not possible if the preacher is mostly looking at sheets of paper.

Jonah's Re-commission, Obedience, And Success.

Jonah 3:1 - 10. Read entire chapter to congregation. Then, go back and preach through the outline. While doing so, make application to Christians and non-Christians.

1. First, consider Jonah's re-commission, verses 1 and 2.

     A. Its content: 1:1,2; 3:4

       1. God would judge Nineveh, unless the people repented.

       2. The meaning of repentance.

       3. Repentance still to be preached. E. g. Luke 24:47; Acts 17:30.

     B. Its foundation:

       1. God's grace.

       2. Jonah's repentance.

       3. Nineveh's need.

    C. Its main lesson: God gives repentant rebels another opportunity to serve him.

2. Second, consider Jonah's obedience, verses 3 and 4.

    A. It was an inconvenience to his comfort.

         He had to travel 550 miles the old-fashioned way.

    B. It was a challenge to his prejudice against and his hatred for the Ninevites.

        He had to put these things behind him.

    C. It was a test of his faithfulness to God.

        1. He had to speak of God's coming judgment of them for their sins.

        2. He had to speak of God's love for the Ninevites.

    D. It put his life in danger.

        The Ninevites had a reputation for killing their enemies.

3. Third, consider Jonah's success, verses 5 - 10.

    A. This was not his first success.

        2 Kings 14:25. A previous prediction had come to pass.

    B. Some reasons for his success.

        1. God wanted him to be successful.

        2. He faithfully delivered God's message.

        3. Perhaps previous famines and an eclipse of the sun had made the Ninevites think their gods were angry at them.

        4. The Ninevites accepted Jonah's message and repented.

    C. Some characteristics of his success.

        1. It started with the general public, verse 5.

        2. It spread to Nineveh's king, verses 6 - 9.

        3. In other words, it started at the bottom, so to speak, and worked its way up.

    D. Proof of his success.

        1. The people and the king believed God.

        2. They gave symbolic demonstration of their repentance.

        3. They made significant changes in their behavior.

            1. They turned from their evil way.

            2. They turned from their violence.

        4. Because they had repented, God did not judge them for sins.

Have prayer about this subject.

Closing song:

    A fitting song to sing at the end of such a sermon is the well-known one called:

 "Trust and Obey (For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.)"

Count Converts And Baptisms, But Use Caution

By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen

Email: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

 

      Should preachers and churches count converts to Jesus Christ, and baptisms?  Should we be, as some call it, "numbers-conscious"? Or, should we quit counting converts and baptisms? And, should we quit being "numbers-conscious"?

     If we have read the Bible carefully, we have learned from the Book Of Acts that the first-century Christians did count converts. The Book Of Acts gives several examples of how many became Christians and of how many  got baptized. And sometimes, a general statement is made of these things. For example, Acts 18 tells us that Paul and his missionary companions went to Corinth and preached the Gospel to whoever would listen. Acts 18:8 says this: "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized." (New King James Version) So, from one verse we learn that counting was done. How did they know that "many of the Corinthians" had done those things, if they had not somehow learned about it? And how did they learn about it? Perhaps by counting how many persons got baptized as a profession of their faith in Jesus Christ. This was done in Acts 2, so it could easily have been done in Acts 18.

     Counting converts and being numbers-conscious is not a problem, if the matter is kept in perspective. It is not a problem, if we do it for the right reason, which is to see if we are making any outward progress in our efforts to win others to Christ. It is not a problem, if we are keeping track of baptisms to determine if our converts are obeying Christ by getting baptized.

     Counting converts and being numbers-conscious is a problem, if we do it because we are competing with someone else or with some other church. It is a problem, if we do it to get our churches listed as the fastest growing churches in our town, county, state, region, or what-have-you. To be thus motivated is not pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ, to put it plain and simple. This kind of motivation needs to be acknowledged as wrong, confessed to the Lord, and turned from at once.

      C. H. Spurgeon, the well-known English Baptist preacher from the 1800's, had something to say about this subject. Here (in red) is a quote from chapter one of his book called "The Soulwinner."

    "The fact is, you can reckon very correctly if the figures are honest, and if all circumstances are taken into consideration if there is no increase, you may calculate with considerable accuracy that there is not much being done; and if there is a clear decrease among a growing population, you may reckon that the prayers of the people and the preaching of the minister are not of the most powerful kind.
     But, still, all hurry to get members into the church is most mischievous, both to the church and to the supposed converts. I remember very well several young men, who were of good moral character, and religiously hopeful; but instead of searching their hearts, and aiming at their real conversion, the pastor never gave them any rest till he had persuaded them to make a profession. He thought that they would be under more bonds to holy things if they professed religion, and he felt quite safe in pressing them, for "they were so hopeful." He imagined that to discourage them by vigilant examination might drive them away, and so, to secure them, he made them hypocrites. These young men are, at the present time, much further off from the Church of God than they would have been if they had been affronted by being kept in their proper places, and warned that they were not converted to God. It is a serious injury to a person to receive him into the number of the faithful unless there is good reason to believe that he is really regenerate. I am sure it is so, for I speak after careful observation. Some of the most glaring sinners known to me were once members of a church; and were, as I believe, led to make a profession by undue pressure, well-meant but ill-judged. Do not, therefore, consider that soul-winning is or can be secured by the multiplication of baptisms, and the swelling of the size of your church. What mean these despatches from the battle-field? "Last night, fourteen souls were under conviction, fifteen were justified, and eight received full sanctification." I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay aside such numberings of the people, such idle pretence of certifying in half a minute that which will need the testing of a lifetime. Hope for the best, but in your highest excitements be reasonable. Enquiry-rooms are all very well; but if they lead to idle boastings, they will grieve the Holy Spirit, and work abounding evil."

   I have Spurgeon's book, and have read it carefully. But the quote was obtained from this website: http://www.spurgeon.org/spwrtngs.htm

What Charles Spurgeon Said About The Size Of A Congregation

By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen

Email: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

    C. H. Spurgeon died in 1892. But that remarkable English Baptist preacher continues to influence the world for good through his writings, many of which were first preached as sermons, and some of which were written as books.

    While I reject his Calvinism (he was a 5-pointer), I always enjoy his statements on other subjects. Here are two quotes from his book called "An All Round Ministry." They are taken from the chapter called "Individuality, And Its Opposite." The quotes tell us what he thought of the size of a congregation. He had 5,000 attend his church services every week for many years. 

    Spurgeon said this: "Remember, dear brother, if you give your whole soul to the charge committed to you, it does not matter much about its appearing to be a somewhat small and insignificant affair, for as much skill may be displayed in the manufacture of a very tiny watch as in the construction of the town clock; in fact, a minute article may become the object of greater wonder than another of larger dimensions. Quality is a far more precious thing than quantity."     Spurgeon also said this: "If our individual responsibility be rightly felt, we shall refrain from judging others. We are all too ready to ascend the judgment-seat. One man judges his fellow, and condemns him because he has had so few additions to his church. I should myself be sorry if I saw few conversions, and I should severely censure myself; but I should be very, very wrong if I were to utter an indiscriminate censure upon others. Our brother's congregation may be smaller than ours; the people's hearts may have been long steeled by a cold, dead, stereotyped ministry, and it may be that there is a good deal of work to be done before they will become interested in the gospel, much less affected by it. Possibly it may happen that the preacher, who has one convert, might say as the lioness did about her one cub, when the fox boasted that she had so many, "One, but that one is a lion!" The minister, whose whole year's work ended with one convert, and that one was Robert Moffat, did not reap a scanty harvest."

Showing Friendship To Church Visitors

By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen

Email: bk_oyen@hotmail.com

   On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, I had breakfast with a man named Bill at Rochester, WA's Hi-Way Diner. He is a man who has been attending Grace Baptist Church for a few weeks. Bill is a likeable Christian man who is easy to visit with. This is our second time having breakfast together at the Hi-Way Diner. One reason I like to go there is to meet other locals who need the Lord.

   I  have asked him to meet for breakfast because it is very important that newcomers to church have opportunities to build friendships with others from the church. Friendships often are the tie that binds people to a church.

   And that really is the point of this posting. If we all attempt to show friendship to newcomers, it can really help keep them coming. I know that this comes easier for some than for others. And I know that many of you do show friendship to new church attendees. To which I say a hearty, "Praise the Lord! Keep it up!"

  

Let me give some tips on how to show friendship to visitors to the church:

• Greet them with a smile and a handshake.
• Visit with them before or after a church service or home fellowship.
• Ladies, look for any new ladies who might be alone and ask to sit with them, or ask them to sit with you. 
• Men, do the same with new men.
• Couples can do this with visiting couples.
• Invite them to a ladies function, or to a men's function. The ladies' Bible study and men's breakfast are examples.
• Invite them to the home fellowships.
• Invite them to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or to have refreshments. This can be done at your residence, or at McDonald's or elsewhere. 

   Now, consider some other points related to this subject:

• When at a church service, be sure to look around for any new attendees you need to greet.
• When you have met them, be sure to include them in your circle of friends.
• Avoid controversial subjects.
• If you meet them somewhere to visit, or if you go to their house, don't stay too long.  They don't want to feel stuck. This is especially important when it comes to visiting at their residence.
• Learn the art of conversation. Listen more than you talk. Ask appropriate questions about their families, hobbies, jobs, travel, and etc.
• Don't dwell on your health problems or other problems. Keep those subjects for close friends.
• Keep your conversation on positive topics.