Anchor 1: A well broken-in Bible

Anchor 2: Calloused Knees

Anchor 3: Well worn Shoes

Anchor 4: – WORN OUT CHURCH CLOTHES – Make sure you are at church.  Hebrews 10:25 says, “Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together.”  In other words, don’t miss church without a real reason.  Church is not an option for the serious believer but a reunion with the body of Christ.  What percentage of time are you at church on Sunday? When you’re not there, what are you doing?  What does that say about your sense of connection to our great Lord?

Anchor 5: A Christ-Centered Datebook/Checkbook

             A few months ago when I felt led to preach the four sermons for Christmas, I was bothered because I wasn’t going to read the Christmas story and the sermons were coming from the Gospel of John, which doesn’t recount any of the birth narratives.  Yet I felt strongly led to do it.  The sermon I felt the most strongly led to preach was the one from this past week titled, “The Gift of Eternal Life.”  However, I felt it was a little out of place at Christmas.  Every time I thought about changing it, the Spirit of God said, “Don’t do it.”

             At the 10:00 service, I felt good about the message and how it went, but at the 11:30 service when the invitation was given and a lot of young people who were here for the Chick-Fil-A Classic Basketball Tournament came forward, I thought, “That was God’s purpose in putting this on my heart.”

             The experience this past Sunday was very different from many of the other times we’ve hosted these young people from around the country.  We had about 20 or 25 people come forward at the end of the worship service making different kinds of decisions but all moved by the Spirit of God.

             I’m grateful to the Lord that He led me to do that and gave our church the opportunity to see that kind of response to His message and the work of the Holy Spirit.  Keep praying that the Lord would work in my heart, in the hearts of each staff member, and in the hearts of the lay leadership in our church.  God is good.  He is at work in this world of ours to will and to do for His good pleasure and for His glory.  It is a joy to be a part of that.  I hope it is for you too.

We’ve invited our church to get in the game with pledging this year.  It has been such an odd year financially for the nation and for the Columbia area that I wasn’t sure what to expect.  At the end of Sunday, we had pledged $150,000 more than we had pledged at the same time last year, and last year we had a great pledge campaign.

             This can only happen when God’s people dig down deep and get into the faith dimension before they ever start thinking about what they’re going to pledge in the financial dimension.  I’m grateful for the dollars you will give.  Make no mistake, we can’t run this church on air.  However, if it only becomes a matter of affordability or financial wisdom, then we lose touch with the great lessons stewardship has to offer us – that primary lesson being faith. 

             I see a lot of faith in what all of you did.  It demonstrates you love the Lord.  It demonstrates you have a commitment to reaching out to the world in season and out.  I look forward to us finishing the year strong, our giving being great, and our bringing honor to God in demonstrating to the world that we love God more than we love ourselves.  Thank you for being a great church and thank you for sharing the rewards of faith with each other and with the world.

  I once had the opportunity to interview a staff member in Jacksonville, FL (actually Jacksonville Beach).  I arranged the interview so I could be at First Baptist in downtown Jacksonville to attend their weekly worker’s meeting followed by their Wednesday evening midweek service.  The teacher’s meeting was amazing.  Imagine me still remembering a Sunday school worker’s meeting this many years later.  Guynelle Freeman gave a five-minute talk about reaching the lost that still makes me want to go out and reach out. 

             As soon as this worker’s meeting was over, I walked to the sanctuary so I could get a good seat.  I hadn’t been there two minutes when a gentleman came, sat down beside me, introduced himself, and said, “You know, I love my church.”  I said, “I can see why.  It’s a tremendous church.”  He said, “But I never knew what it meant to love my church until I repented of my sins and received Jesus as my Savior.  Has that ever happened to you?” 

             “Oh, yes,” I said.  “Could I tell you about it?”  I did, and he asked, “What do you do?”  When I told him he got embarrassed.  I said, “Thank you for giving me the chance to be sure.  Your love for the Lord inspires me.”  Ten minutes later another gentleman did the same thing with the same results.  That (not the sermon, the music, the budget, or the buildings) is what does make a church great.  By that standard, how great are you making our church?  It’s a good question for all of us to ask week by week as we are called to go into the highways, hedges, pews, and hallways to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ.

             Years ago as I was leaving Singapore I stopped a Singapore Airlines flight attendant to ask if my seat was a bulkhead aisle seat so I could change it if it was not.  She said, “Yes, exactly.”  Two hours later I boarded the plane.  Standing by my seat was this attendant who said, “53-B Mr. Lincoln.  Have a nice flight.”  Again, I was deeply impressed.  I don’t expect anyone to know my name in this big, impersonal world, and I’m not the least bit bothered by being just a face in the crowd when I travel.  But when somebody does know my name it really impresses me. 

 True or not our church feels big and is assumed to be impersonal by a lot of people who visit us.  If it turns out to be so because no one reaches out to them when they come, they may be a little disappointed but they are not surprised.  What an opportunity that gives us.  What if, for the next year, nobody could get into our out of our church building without being welcomed warmly, introduced to at least one other church member, and thanked for coming.  Let’s be the most surprisingly friendly church in Columbia starting today.

It’s fun to change, and to change you usually need to find out that you need to (not as much fun).  The sermons I preach on Sunday morning are a big part of what I do, and a lot of people grant me a lot of ear time for which I am grateful, so – got any ideas on how I could do it better?  I know that you may be thinking, “he doesn’t really want my opinion.” Oh yes, I do!  Please take a minute and respond.

When you respond, please tell me which service you attend.  You don’t have to sign your suggestion.  Thanx.

Fly tying jumped on me from a Field and Stream article.  Before long I had learned to wrap fur, feathers, and other materials around a hook and could catch fish with the result.  My dad could work on a piece of furniture for months.  He loved the precision.  I preferred jobs I could finish in moments.  It’s been a personality trait of mine for life. I don’t know whether I can do anything about it or not. I don’t think it really matters whether I prefer five-minute or five-week projects.  Here’s a little thing I like to do when I come to church.  Sunday mornings I pull up to my office outside the door, drop Patty and our stuff off, then drive down to the back of the parking lot.  I want guests and seniors to be able to park closer to the building.  Brandon Petersen and I park at about the same spot and most Sundays walk in together.  Like I said, it’s a small thing but satisfying, and maybe it’s helpful to someone who needs a closer parking space.

I saw communion served the way we have been serving it at the 11:30 service a couple of years ago and liked it (instead of passing the juice and bread down each aisle, we place them on tables and ask the congregation to come, take a wafer and dip it into to the commonal juice).  Do you?  There are other ways to do it.  I’ve heard some concern expressed over germs being transferred from fingers that touch the juice.  I’ve also heard some say that coming to the front in a group doesn’t feel as special to them.  I’ve heard others say they really like coming to the front with a group of people.  What do you think?  Let me hear from you.