How to Faithful to God as a Christian - 2 Kings 15:1-7; 2 Chronicles 26

Many Christians start their spiritual journey well but not all end it well. Why is this? Why do some live their entire Christian lives being faithful to God, but others live in spiritual infidelity? Do we have a different faith? The Bible says that our faith is the same as that of the apostles (2 Peter 1:1). However, the way we live that faith varies with the person. The goal of every Christian should be to be faithful to God all his life. How can we achieve this? This is what we want to talk about today. 

We will learn of a king named Azariah ("Jehovah has helped") or Uzziah ("Jehovah is my helper") who "did what was right in the sight of Jehovah," but who made a serious mistake that cost him his faithfulness to God. From him we will learn how to be a faithful Christian to God.

 

God of a Place and Any Place - Acts 28

It seems that Paul was always on the move, but he was not. This morning's passage shows us how Paul lived for Christ and did His will in "any place" and in "a place." This teaches us that, like Paul, all of us must also live out God's call to be his witnesses in "any place" and in "a place" as God leads us.

  Also, one thing Paul had was that he was attentive to every event, every circumstance, every guidance that God gave him to follow the way of His will. On this path things happened where God used Paul.   The challenge this morning as we conclude the book of Acts is that, if you are one who likes "a particular place" and doesn't want to move, you must open your heart to God's movement especially as we consider our current situation in this building.   Perhaps you are very comfortable thinking that it is here in this place that you will fulfill or finish your American dream. You must be open to what God commands you to do. In America, to do what is comfortable is a very easy to do. I think most of us in the church are in this category.

The Value of Fathers

 The Value of Fathers

Just recently I read a book called “Families and Faith: How Religion is Passed Down Across Generations” that carried out a longitudal study following generations from different religious background since 1970 until 2005. This study is one of its kind[1] offering important findings as it relates to passing on our faith (religion). The study was conducted starting in 1970 and ended in 2005. It involved a multidecade study of four-generation families involving data from more than 3,500 grandparents, parents, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. They asked was: “Which types of parenting and styles of religious socialization—for example, religiously firm parenting or religiously open parenting—were most effective in raising children who would follow their parents in faith? Which parenting styles were least successful?”

Here is what they found out:

“But what is really interesting is that, for religious transmission, having a close bond with one’s father matters even more than a close relationship with the mother. Clearly the quality of the child’s relationship with his or her father is important for the internalization of the parent’s religious tradition, beliefs, and practices. Emotional closeness with mothers remains important for religious inheritance but not to the same degree as it is for fathers.”

This was not so surprising to me, but it resonated in my own parenting. I realized some of my own short comings in raising my own children. Three of the four are out of the home, and though I took my role as a father seriously in all aspects I can see how I failed to have a close bond with some of them. With two of my children there were unique circumstances but nevertheless I had ample time and opportunities to create this bond and I believed I failed. I realize that, at least in one of them, this had an effect in her faith. My second oldest has a strong faith. I have one more at home and I have been intentional in developing a close bond with her.

I realize that my shortcomings were due to my own lack of having a father. I have admitted that I am not a good parent, at least not how I should be.

In another post I elaborated on how I needed a father as I was growing up. Here is part of what I wrote then:

Today my father died. Even though he abandoned us when we were children, he is the man God chose to bring me to life. I have never written about it anywhere, but I have always thought about the role of fathers and dads in their children. I have also done a bit of reading about the role of fathers in children’s lives. The conclusion is indisputable (see this here and here). Fathers are important in the lives of their children. I guess that given the choice of a not so good father and no father, I would have chosen to have one. It was not granted to me. I do not hold any anger or resentment, nor do I judge the man who God chose to grant me life. He is certainly giving account to God now (Hebrews 9:27). I am thankful I live, and that God has blessed me with the gift of knowing Him. It has always been very puzzling and disturbing though, how men can walk away from children they willingly conceive and never turn back. I have yet to understand this.

Regardless of my lack of having a father, I take full responsibility in all my shortcomings as a father. I have thought about it many times and wish I could go back and make it better. So, I am striving continue fostering a close relationship with my sixteen-year-old daughter. I believe I am on the right path.

This study also found some things related to the group of Christians I belong:

“Among Evangelicals it is the father–child relationship that is clearly more related to transmission: A 25-point difference separates those who feel close to those who feel distant from their father, while only 1point separates those who feel close to or distant from their mother.”

They also elaborated how Evangelicals focused on their failures (about 40% of children were not following the faith) more than on what they were doing right (about 60% of children kept the faith). This is a very unfortunate perspective.

It is also interesting that grandparents play a significant role in passing on the faith to children:

“Thus, it is not surprising that a majority of grandchildren report being emotionally close to their grandparents, as well as sharing similar views and values with grandparents.”

As grandparents we have an opportunity to influence our grandchildren.

This study also mentioned people who were non-religious and I found this to be interesting:

“In fact, many nonreligious parents were more coherent and passionate about their ethical principles than some of the “religious” parents in our study.”

This book far from being a downer it offers encouragement to parents, grandparents and clergy in how to help families pass on their faith to their generations.

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[1] There is another study where 215 families were interviewed in-depth regarding passing on the faith to children. I haven’t had the opportunity to read in the book but hoping to do in the future. The book is called “Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation” by Christian Smith & Amy Adamczyk.

A Living Hope Through the Resurrection - 1 Peter 1:3

 What difference does Easter make in our lives? What difference does the resurrection of Jesus from the dead make in our lives as Christians?

Serving God in the World in a Time of Crisis - Acts 27

This morning we will learn that God is sovereign over our lives and circumstances. that He will fulfill His will for our lives and that in the process we must trust His sovereignty, be wise in our decisions trusting that He will use us to help in the crises of other Christian pilgrims and to testify of God's power to those who do not know the gospel.   This was the case with Paul in Acts 27. God had promised Paul that He would witness in Rome (Acts 23:11) and He sets out on His journey. But it wouldn't be an easy journey. It was an extremely dangerous journey. However, God uses his servant Paul to bear witness to his faith in Christ, and to serve people who do not know him in times of crisis.

 

Pedro, Judas, Pilato, la multitud y el Juicio del Señor Jesús - Mateo 26:69 al 27:31

Este pasaje nos muestra tres personajes y la multitud en conexión con lo que creían acerca del Señor. Todas sus reacciones y decisiones giran alrededor de los que creían acerca del Señor. La mayoría de ellos negaron que Jesús es era el Salvador que vino para morir por nosotros los pecadores y darnos la vida eterna en Él. Todos tuvieron oportunidades para creer la verdad de Dios, pero aun con todo esto la rechazaron. Nos muestra como el corazón humano es duro y pecaminoso, ciego y rebelde a la verdad de Dios.

Obedient to God's Call - Acts 26

 In today's passage we look at how Paul bears witness to King Agrippa of how the Lord called him to salvation and how he gave him the call to serve Him (for which he is imprisoned). In all of this, Paul says that he was obedient to this call.

  God has called us too. If you are a Christian, have believed in Christ as your Lord and Savior, He has called you. If you haven't given your life to Christ, God is calling you today. Open your heart to what Paul shares with Agrippa. It's for you too.

Free Prisoners - Acts 25

 There are prisoners. Some are in jail, but others are out. There are guilty prisoners. There are prisoners at large. The prisons of some are made of iron and walls, the prisons of others are mental, habitual controlling their will. This morning we look more at the free prisoner in Christ and the prisoners of his sin who want to kill him. Paul has already been imprisoned for 2 years.

It is easy to feel sorry for Paul. "Poor man," we say, "What an injustice!" Yes, it is. Yes, it was. But this was God's plan for their lives. These men were free in Christ and used their freedom not to pity themselves but to share the gospel of Christ.

Three Profiles - Acts 24:1-27

 The episode that the book of Acts shows us in chapter 24 shows us three people that we can find outside and inside the church.

  As we talk about them, think which one would you identify with and make the necessary changes.

My Experience visiting the Metropolitan Tabernacle England

 I had the privilege for the first time to visit The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London this week. This is an evangelical church in London where Charles Spurgeon was pastor for thirty-eight years. A summary about him follows below. But just a few words about the building and about our experience in one of the Bible studies on Wednesday of last week. The building was finished (the church goes back to 1650) in 1861. It burned in 1898 of which only the portico and the basement remained. It was rebuilt but it was burned again in 1941 during the bombardment of WWII. It was rebuilt in 1957 but except for the façade but did not resemble the original in the inside.
As far as our experience in the Wednesday Bible study, the service resembled more like it was in the time of Spurgeon’s pastorate than current times. At the outset what attracted me was a section where translation for Deaf was offered. It was live with people alternating and the words where projected and/or written onto a small computer screen on a table. The sermon was typed by someone with a wireless keyboard as the pastor preached. Apparently, this has been happening for several years now.

Hymns are sung using a hymnbook which follows the one created by Spurgeon led by an organ while the pastor stands in the front. There is reading of several passages from the Bible after hymns, briefs announcements and then the sermon which is about 45 minutes long. The pastor that spoke was an associate pastor. He was theologically very strong and made good applications from the text. The Senior pastor Peter Masters has been at the Metropolitan Tabernacle for over 50 years. That was impressive. According to people we spoke, when he arrived there were only a handful of ladies. I am told that the church now has about 1000 people. After the service another hymn is sung and prayer. People are invited to stay for refreshments after the service. We were really impressed with how diverse the congregation was and with their friendliness. We struck conversation with several people including Spanish speakers that we met in the book shop.

Now a bit about Spurgeon. He is popularly known as CH Spurgeon (1834-1892), called the “Prince of Preachers”. He was widely popular in his times and has continued to be influential among Christians to this day. He pastored several churches including the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London at the age of 20 and served for 38 years until his death in 1892 at the age of 57. A long feature biography of Spurgeon can be viewed here.

The Metropolitan Tabernacle opened in 1861, seated around 6,000 people, and it was full weekly for both the morning and evening services. Spurgeon was a gifted speaker, preached about 13 times per week and with just the use of his voice was able to captivate people during his sermons. Many of these sermons were transcribed, about 25,000 were sold a week and translated into more than 40 languages. Just his sermons add up to 63 volumes. I have many of his volumes in ebook format. He wrote over 140 books translated into many languages. One of my favorites is Lectures to my Students which are directed to those who aspire to be pastors. His own 6,000 books personal library was acquired by Midwestern Theological Seminarywhich they host and a number of other of Spurgeon’s realia in what they callThe Spurgeon Center.

“The Treasury of David” a seven-volume commentary of the book of Psalms, is considered by some His Magnus Opus. More than 120,000 copies have been sold. They can be found in digital format here. I have read the abbreviated one-volume version and found it helpful for studying the Psalms.

The plethora of his works continue to fill both the digital world and the book world; thus Spurgeon’s influence will continue for generations to come. I am glad as able to visit the Metropolitan Tabernacle and experience what is left from his time.