Life Matters

The Vow of Partnership

2/5/2012 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Vow of Pursuit

This is the second message in the series, "The Vow". Last week we discussed the vow of priority. God must be my first priority; my spouse must be my second priority. This message is about the need to continually pursue a closer relationship with your spouse. What are some ways you and your spouse try to keep "the honey in the honeymoon"?

1/29/2012 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Mission Possible (The Mission, Core Values, and Vision of Fort Caroline Baptist Church)

1/8/2012 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Characteristics of Christian Contributions

11/20/2011 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Should Our Church Offer An Altar-Call Each Sunday?

I have been using a different method lately for the “Altar Call” on Sunday mornings. Instead of asking people who need to make a decision to come forward while everyone is standing (and looking at them) I have been experimenting with using a “Communication Card” in conjunction with having the “Decision Coaches” available at the end of the service to aid people who want to speak to someone about their decision. Let me share with you a few thoughts about this approach:

1. We have not killed the invitation or the “altar call”.

I have heard from a few concerned members that we start having an invitation and altar call again. Here is good news for you: We have not stopped offering an invitation! Every week I invite people to respond to the message and to the Gospel. Using the communication card is an effective way to have people indicate their decision so we can adequately follow up with them as needed. Having Decision Coaches available at the end of the service enables people to speak to someone if they have questions or need prayer. This is especially important for people who may be under conviction about their need for Christ. So we still offer a “walk the aisle” invitation. It is simply at the end of the service. (Just a note here…we really cannot have an “altar” call anyway because we don’t have an altar. The last altar that mattered was the cross upon which Christ died. Praise God, we don’t need an altar any more!)

2. This approach helps alleviate the #1 fear of most people: standing up and being singled out in public.

The fear of public speaking is a reality for many people. I try to assure people that if they come forward we will not make them say anything to the church. But I regularly hear that people are afraid to come forward. You might say that they are ashamed of Christ. But I do not believe that is necessarily the case. A fear of public speaking and being ashamed of Christ are two different things. We all know deacons who are scared to death to even pray out loud in church. Are we going to question their salvation? I think not. Why then will we excuse a deacon who has known the Lord for years and not excuse a person who may be on the verge of salvation or has accepted Christ moments earlier just because they are nervous about everyone looking at them or at the possibility of having to speak publically to hundreds of strangers?

3. There is no biblical mandate that sinners are asked to walk the aisle of a church.

The altar call as we know it has been around for only 200 years. There was a time in the 19^th Century that many Baptist churches refused to use an altar call because they believed it was manipulative. People like Charles Finney made the altar call popular. For nearly nineteen centuries prior, Christ saved people without an altar call in a church building. Simply put, people are not saved by walking an aisle. They are saved by grace through faith in Christ. There is not a Sunday that goes by that I do not tell people to turn to Christ in repentance and place their trust in Him. One of the dangers of an altar call is that it gives people the false sense of salvation because they “walked an aisle” once. The biblical public profession of faith is baptism followed by Christian living. Think of how many people “walked an aisle” and have never darkened the doors of the church since.

4. I do not believe that “altar calls” are necessarily wrong if used properly.

I have seen God work in mighty ways in services where a public invitation was given. I was saved as at the age of 12 during a Sunday night altar-call. I simply don’t want people to have the idea that walking an aisle saves. I want them to know that we are saved only by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). In fact, my entire sermon is an invitation to trust Christ. You do not have to wait until the end to believe on Christ.

We will use a variety of methods at Fort Caroline Baptist Church to help people place their trust in Christ. We will probably have times where we ask people to come forward in the service. But I want to be open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in how He wants me to conduct the services. If the Bible commanded me to tell people to walk an aisle then I would do so without hesitation. But nowhere in Scripture are people commanded to physically move from one place to another in order to be saved. But sinners are commanded to place their faith in Christ. Sinners don’t need to come to me or to you or to the front of a building to be saved. They need to come to Christ in faith. I will always offer that invitation.

I recently read a wonderful article by Fred G. Zaspel titled “The Altar Call.” Fred does a masterful job of discussing this issue. Click on the tile and read it for yourself.

Please pray for me that I will always follow the Lord’s leading as the pastor of this dear church.

Three Qualities We Need To Reach This City

7/24/2011 from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Deal or No Deal, Part 2

In yesterday’s post we looked at how the Devil tempts us to compromise the purity of our worship through worldliness. This is the first of four areas of your life where the Devil wants you to compromise your commitment to God. This temptation was illustrated by how Pharaoh tried to entice the Hebrew people to compromise their worship. Well, with this first compromise rejected by God’s people, Pharaoh tried a second one.  You can read about it in Exodus 8:28, "So Pharaoh said, 'I will let you go that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away.  Pray for me.'" Isn't it funny that Pharaoh wants Moses to pray for him, not because he believes in God, but because he's just wants out of his trouble?  That is just like some people in our world today.

Perhaps your thinking, “Well, that's more like it.  Pharaoh is ready to let them go in the wilderness to worship God.”  But wait.  Did you notice what Pharaoh said; "just don't go too far."  You know what Pharaoh is saying.  It is really one of the Devil's most subtle compromises.  “Okay, be a Christian, if you have to be; but, my word, don't get carried away with this stuff.  Don't let it take over your life.  Don't become a fanatic for God.  Don't go too far.” This is the second area of your Christian life that the Devil targets. First, he tempts you to compromise the purity of your worship. But he does not stop there.

Deal or No Deal? Will You Compromise With The Devil?

The television show “Deal or No Deal” became a hit in America. The basic format of Deal or No Deal consists of a number of cases (usually 26, but varies in some countries) each containing a different amount of money. Not knowing the sum of money in each case, the contestant picks one case which potentially contains the contestant's prize. They then open the remaining cases, one by one, revealing the money they contain. At predetermined intervals the contestant receives an offer from the bank (run by "The Banker") to purchase the originally chosen case from the contestant, the offer being based on the potential value of the contestant's case. The contestant must then decide whether to take the deal from the bank, or to continue opening cases. The Banker wants to send you away with as little money as possible. Deal, or no deal?

The Devil also wants to engage you in making a deal. Satan comes to every believer, every child of God with the dastardly temptation to compromise in your commitment to God. He tempts you to walk away from having all that God wants you to have. The Devil does not want you to sell out to God. He wants you to sell out to him. The Devil targets you in four primary areas of your life. I want to discuss these fours areas of your life this week. Today we will look at the first area Satan wants you to compromise. And when he gives you the chance to compromise your standards you have a decision to make. Will you deal with the Devil? Will you sell yourself short? Or will you refuse to compromise, choosing instead to live by faith and go with God? Deal, or no deal?

What Can The Church Learn From The U.S. Military?

 

Many church members do not have a clear understanding of the church’s mission in the world. Some treat the church as a Christian country club. In their opinion, the church exists solely for the benefit of its members. They want the church to cater to their every whim and preference. These members do not want to serve. They want to be served. Other churches have long since forgotten their mission. They are just going through the ecclesiastical motions week after week. Their mission seems to be to protect the status quo. They do not see the need to change anything to reach the surrounding culture. It is a shame when so many churches have lost sight of our mission in the world.

It is here that the church can learn something from the U.S. Military. Our armed forces are absolutely clear about their mission. They know why they exist. Each branch of the Armed Services has a clearly defined mission. They make sure that everyone, no matter their rank, understands that mission. Take a look at their mission statements.

The Family's Responsibility For Raising Godly Children

This is the Father's Day sermon I preached from Deuteronomy 6:1-9.

6/19/2011 1030am from Fort Caroline Baptist Church on Vimeo.