Category Archives: Preaching

Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons, Wrestling With Scripture, Youth Ministry

5 Ways to Avoid Graduating from Your Faith

June 1, 2009 mjfelker1980 1 Comment

We celebrated Senior Sunday yesterday as we honored and blessed the class of 2009. The point of my message was to challenge these teens to not graduate from their faith when they graduate from High School.

I based my message on 2 Timothy because it is probably the last letter Paul sent the young minister. Paul’s life was coming to an end and in this letter he lays out the “non-negotiable” for Timothy. Paul’s final words to his young friend highlight the things that will help Timothy grow his faith long after his mentor moves on. I think this letter has a lot to say to you and me and our young graduates.

1) Don’t Be ASHAMED of Your Faith

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self–discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,” (2Timothy 1:6-8 TNIV)

This culture- especially the culture found on many college campuses- wants you to be ashamed of your faith in Jesus Christ. You will feel the need to apologize for being different or for having a different morality than those around you. It was much the same for young Timothy. The minute you begin to apologize for what you believe or the minute you begin to be embarrassed by the gospel is the minute you begin living on your own understanding and move away from living in the power of God.

2) PURSUE Righteousness

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2Timothy 2:22-26 TNIV)

When you step foot on your college campus or when you start in the workforce you are going to see people in pursuit of many things in their lives.

People will be in pursuit of grades.
They will pursue power.
People pursue glory for themselves.
People will be pursuing what feels good.
They will pursue what’s easy or what they can get away with.

They will pursue all kinds of things but not necessarily what is Right or what honors/glorifies God.

3) ENDURE with God’s help and protection

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2Timothy 3:10-15 TNIV)

Keep on keeping on. Once you decide to not be ashamed of the gospel and set you heart/mind to pursue God’s ways with your whole being- ENDURE!

Find your pace and trust that God will carry you through.

4) Fall in Love with GOD’S WORD

“All Scripture is God–breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:16-17 TNIV)

How do you know the power of the Gospel- the truth of Jesus? How do you know what is right and how to follow it? Where can you find encouragement to endure? You find these things in God’s Word.

5) Intentionally RECOMMIT- Everyday/Every way

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people 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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2Timothy 4:1-8 TNIV)

Everyday and in every way you have to recommit in your heart to follow Jesus Christ. Living out and believing in the Gospel takes recommitment everyday.

Every one of us is just one day away from graduating from our faith. Each day brings its own troubles, challenges, & changes that jockey for 1st position in our hearts.

These graduates aren’t the only once susceptible to the world around them. Each one of us in here must pledge allegiance to the Gospel of Jesus Christ every single minute of every single hour of every single day.

Discipleship, Faith in Action, Ministry, Preaching, Theology, Worship, Wrestling With Scripture

From Theory to Practice

December 23, 2008 mjfelker1980

This is the second part of my lesson from last Sunday. Our church has been going through the book of Romans. I got to focus on Romans 12, my favorite chapter in all of Paul’s writing. Enjoy the second part of The Gift of Life.

From Theory to Practice
This brings us to Romans 12. Paul has spent the first 11 chapters telling us this good news- that life apart from God is death, that Christ brings us all – Jew and gentile, male and female, slave and free – the gift of life, and that we are now free to really live for Him. He has spent 11 chapters on the theory. In Chapter 12, Paul finally gets practical.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Therefore– There is so much theology wrapped up in this one word. Therefore, because of, in light of EVERYTHING that God has done, the history of his gifts, the grace he offers, the life he lived, the sacrifice that he made. Because of these… now this. The previous eleven chapters are summarized in this one word.

Offer your bodies as living sacrifices– God no longer requires the blood of bulls and goats to atone for sin. The innocent blood of Jesus met the requirement once and for all. Now our lives are to be lived out as an offering to God.

This is true worship– I have had my fair share of discussions with people about what worship is and what it isn’t. Unfortunately most of these conversations end with hurt feelings and cold shoulders and in reality they miss the point.

In scripture we see two words translated as worship.

proskuneo- “to kiss forward” , bow down
Anytime we see someone coming to Jesus for healing we see them in proskuneo worship. they are bowing, they are honoring.

latreuo- SERVICE IN RELIGIOUS DUTIES
The word that Paul uses here in Romans 12 is from latreuo. It means the duties or actions of one’s worship.

I believe Paul is telling us that Worship is not just an event. It is a lifestyle.

Tomorrow: We Love Our Proskuneo

Discipleship, Faith in Action, Ministry, Preaching, Resources, The Word, Theology, Worship, Wrestling With Scripture

The Gift

December 22, 2008 mjfelker1980

I had the chance to preach again yesterday. I don’t do it very often but I really enjoy sharing a message with the people of our church family whenever I get the chance.

I taught on Romans 12 and the Gift of Life, Jesus.

Since it is the week of Christmas I could let the opportunity of teaching a Christmas lesson pass me by. We’re taking off to Tennessee later this week so I want to post some of yesterday’s message with you here. These posts are from my teaching notes.

I hope that it helps you focus on the greatest gifts that we have been given- Jesus Christ and a new life lived by his Spirit. It don’t get much better than that.

The Gift of Life- Romans 12
We love giving gifts don’t we? Of course we do! I know the reason we love to give gifts- Genesis tells us that we are made in the image of God and He is a gift giver. In fact he is the ultimate gift giver. Scripture chronicles the great and mighty gifts that God has given mankind:

Creation
Life (that’s a biggie)
In the fall we deserved death but he showed his loving kindness
Saved Noah
Chose Abraham (To be blessed AND to bless the whole world)
Provided for Isaac
Renamed Jacob
Rescued the world from famine through Joseph
Repurposed the price of Egypt, Moses, and gave freedom to his people
The Law- knowledge of what is required
The promised land
Teachings from the Prophets

Finally God gave us himself through his son Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter the date because Galatians 4 says,

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.” (Galatians 4:4-7)

Do you see that? Do you hear that? God didn’t just send his Son for us. He didn’t just send us his Spirit. It wasn’t enough for God to just give us freedom. Scripture tells us that on top of all this God also adopts us as his own sons and daughters.

Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection were the ultimate gifs given to mankind.

From our human father, Adam, we received the gifts of sin, death, selfishness, murder, wrath, and spiritual poverty.

From our heavenly Father we have received life and resurrection. This gift of new birth and everlasting life is for all who wish to have it.

Tomorrow: From Theory to Practice

Discipleship, Ministry, Preaching, Wrestling With Scripture

What Bwings Us Togewah

June 23, 2008 mjfelker1980 3 Comments

I had the opportunity to preach yesterday and so I picked a pretty bold topic to speak on. I chose Marriage. I’ve spoken on Leadership and Vision. I did a series on Starbucks and the Church. I’ve even tackled dangerous emotions like jealousy and anger. But I wanted to stretch myself yesterday and felt very good about the message I was able to share with our church.

It felt a little tricky speaking on marriage because I don’t have all the answers. I’m only 28 and we’ve only been married 7 years. We don’t have kids or teens. We’ve suffered little turmoil. Despite this I felt a strong push to speak about making our marriages a priority.

What I felt I really accomplished yesterday was to get couples talking. God was definitely present yesterday and I pray that he will be glorified in the lives of our marriages from here on out.

My message was taped yesterday so hopefully I’ll get a copy of it. If you’re interested I send you a copy if they come out alright. Just let me know in the comments section. Thanks.

Ethos, Film & Theology, Leadership, Ministry, Popular Culture, Preaching, Remarkable, Sermons, Stories

What is Vision?

March 27, 2008 mjfelker1980 1 Comment

Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJVS)

I began thinking about this verse and I remembered a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies, Seven Samurai.

Kurosawa’s 1954 classic film begins with a gang of bandits tearing through the Japanese’s countryside. They come to a stop at the top of the a hill overlooking a small, poor, insignificant village. They are about to attack the defenseless hamlet when their leader reminds them that they attacked this village last season. He tells them that they should come back when the barley harvest is in so that they could really wreak some havoc. They agree and they ride off vowing to return and destroy everything. An older man from the village had been hiding on the hill and he overhears the bandits plans and he rushes down the hill to warn the people.

The very next scene show the entire village weeping and wailing and sitting in the dirt in the center of the village. Some are crying out they they wished that they could die right now. Doom and gloom is all around. Most have given up every ounce of hope.

One young man stands up and proclaims passionately that the villagers must fight the bandits. Most of the older men shout him down telling him that his idea is ludicrous. The older men agree that the course of action must be decided by the leader of the village. Every villager stands up and marches to the old mill where the oldest and wisest man living among them resides. The old man will tell them what they must do.

After much deliberation and thought the old man agrees that they must fight these bandits off. He tells them that they must hire samurai to help protect the people. Many of the men argue with the old man’s words saying that they could never afford to hire samurai. They ask him incredulously, “What Samurai would work for barley and rice?”

The old man responds to their doubt by saying, “We will look for hungry samurai.”

That’s vision.

Without his vision, the people would perish. The old man knew that his people were in trouble. He knew their fears and he knew their limitations. They needed help and they needed a different perspective. The old man exhibited vision to see beyond excuses.

Effective vision is most often the most practical. The people were focused on what prohibited them from surviving. The old man focused on what they had and what would help them survive.

Quit whining and crying about your situation and what you think is keeping you and your people from success.

Go find you some hungry samurai and protect your village.

Discipleship, Ethos, Faith in Action, Leadership, Ministry, Preaching

Sermon Prep

March 25, 2008 mjfelker1980 2 Comments

My follow-up posts on the Paradoxes of Leading from the Second Chair have been put on hold (surprise, surprise) while I prep for my sermon this week.

I am preaching on the importance of Leadership Vision. It is a topic that really gets my heart going.

Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision (khaw-ZONE), the people perish (KJV).

I love how the Message interprets this verse:

If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.

It is this message that I want to get across this week.

Leadership Vision isn’t about crazy dreams or overly creative ideas birthed by high and lofty positional leaders.

Leadership Vision is for all people who humbly and reverently seek to make sure that their vision is God’s vision.

It is the ability to see what God is doing and the desire to attend to his revelation. If you can’t or are unwilling to see what God is up too then I would suggest that you are in the way.

We will be specifically looking at Nehemiah, the cupbearer of the king. He wasn’t an important official. He wasn’t a member of the royal family. He was a humble servant. His vision was to see that God was glorified through his life and the lives of those he led. His eyes and heart were opened to God’s vision for living and he let God lead him to do great and wonderful things that brought glory, not to Nehemiah, but to God.

Leadership Vision is never about YOU. It is about bringing glory to Almighty God.

I’ll post updates about the sermon throughout the week. Until then, have a great day and keep seeking out God’s vision.

Awesomenessness, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Ministry, Podcasts, Preaching, Questions, The Word, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture

Goodstuff

March 12, 2008 mjfelker1980

I have been just living inside of a great study on the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA.

Last summer, Chan preached a 7-part series on the Holy Spirit to his congregation and I have just now been able to begin working through the podcasts. Chan is an incredible teacher and his passion and desire for God is made evident when he is expressing this gift.

The podcasts have been great but I have been able to go deeper into the study by following the small group study page Cornerstone provides their people. (they are available for every lesson on the Cornerstone website. Main>Media>Sermons)

I have never heard lessons on the Holy Spirit this revealing, tempered, and powerful. Like Chan, I too believe that our greatest sin to the people we lead is neglecting the power of the Spirit.

The last few days have been eye opening for me. I have been able to approach this (too often) delicate subject without fear and trepidation. I have just found myself meditating and marveling at some passages of scripture that I feel like I have missed over the years.

My heart is so full right now that I find it difficult to put my thoughts in blog form.

The long and short of it is this: the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, sent from the Father, is a mysterious truth that we will never fully understand. I am grateful that through these podcasts and through the Word of God I am scratching the surface of this mystery.

Discussion Question:
Why do we neglect teaching about or learning about the Holy Spirit?

Discipleship, Ethos, Leadership, Life, Ministry, Preaching

Man Time

March 7, 2008 mjfelker1980

I’m headed off on our Men’s Retreat this afternoon.

It will be a nice change of pace to be on a retreat with adults rather than teens. It will also be nice to go on a retreat that I haven’t scheduled or planned. I’m the AV guy and I do have a presentation on Teen Mentoring but it should be a relaxing 2 days.

I’m taking a few books with me. I’ll start Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God and (hopefully) I’ll knock out a good chunk of Neal Gabler’s 912 page biography of Walt Disney.

I have been trying to get to the bio of Uncle Walt for some time but other books have gotten in the way. On March 30, I’m preaching on The Vision of a Leader and I can’t think of anyone in the modern age with more vision that Walt Disney. Of course, Walt surrounded himself with other visionaries and experts. Men “on the ground” like Ub Iwerks and those men and women of the creative team known as The Imagineers have helped carry out Walt’s vision and have even managed to take his vision further than he ever imagined.

I am convinced that you, personally, can have a vision for something but ultimately vision is a team sport. I once heard that as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens the other. Sounds like whoever said that knew what they were talking about.

Have a great weekend everyone.

MichealFelker.com