Archive for the “Pastors … on the Journey” Category

Unshakable Faith in a Shaken World | Listener’s Appreciation in Denver | October 2011

Posted by ronmoore on November 15, 2011


 
We live in a world that is shaken. A post-911 world. We live in a world of economic uncertainty. We’ve seen governments overthrown. Frustrations as we need leaders to lead.

Some have been hit hard by death – loss of spouse, friend, parent, child. Some have been hit hard by illness. Some are walking through the pain of separation or divorce. Some have been disappointed by your children. Some are facing a future with big questions about your job. Some are grieving the death of a dream.

We live in shaken world and we experience shaken lives. How can you trust when you feel like God has forgotten you? Why me? Why this? Why now?

When our world is shaken, how do we respond to God? How can we respond with Unshakable Faith?

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

The Lord your God is with you. As a follower of Jesus, wherever you are and whatever you’re going through, the omnipresent God is right with you.

Genesis 26:24
“I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Genesis 28:15
“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 1:8
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

Acts 18:9
“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.”

Matthew 28:20
“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Lord your God is with you. God’s presence holds us together; calms us, encourages us, gives us confidence.

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

He is mighty to save. He is all powerful.

Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

God will give you everything you need to do what he’s called you to do.

God will take great delight in you. He loves with an unconditional love – there is nothing I can do to make him love me more, and nothing I can do to make him love me less.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

God will quiet you with his love. To be silent, or to be speechless – when we begin to understand the great love of God, it leaves us speechless.

Romans 8:31-32
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us by Stuart Townend

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

He will rejoice over you with singing. He is celebrating the fact that you belong to him!

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

How do you have an unshakable faith in a shaken world? Because of God’s presence, he is always with you. Because of God’s power, he is able to rescue you. He delights in you; calms you; and celebrates the fact that you belong to him.

“I didn’t get what I wanted – but I desperately want what I have.” That’s the place we need to be in.

 
 

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KRKS Pastor’s Appreciation Breakfast | October 2011

Posted by ronmoore on October 27, 2011

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Follow hard after Jesus Christ, teach others, and challenge others to do the same.

Challenges and emotions of pastoring, but God has placed on our hearts a sovereign call – the greatest call.

Be encouraged – ours is the greatest calling, and the greatest message. Proclaim the timeless truths of the inerrant word of God to those who are desperate to grab onto something, to hold onto an anchor.

Jeremiah 20:9b “his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
Paul says, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5


“…knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19.

Deep compelling desire within us to preach the word in season and out of season.

Many will preach whatever the people want to hear, but with no substance.

Joshua 1:2-9
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

God has placed on Joshua’s shoulder the responsibility to lead the people into the Promised Land. Joshua is asking, “Do I have what it takes?”

God has given you a special assignment and he’s going to be with you every step of the way. He’ll never leave or forsake you, he will give you all the strength that you need.

Do you have what it takes? Yes – not because of who you are, but because of who God is.

Deuteronomy 3:26: But because of you the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.”

Moses lost it all in one unguarded moment…..and so can you. Moral failure causes you to forfeit the privilege of preaching. Build the guardrails before the fall, before you fail.

Ministry is about leading broken people to inherit the promises of God – is it worth it? Jesus has won the battle – those who proclaim the message get to follow him. One day, we will look at Christ face to face and hear the words: “welcome home, good and faithful servant.”
 
 

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Following Your Lead…

Posted by ronmoore on September 23, 2011

Each morning I run past a little pond. Recently a flock of ducks have gather by that pond and often move from the pond right in my running path. They stand in the middle of the road, often in the same “V” formation that they fly.

When I run by I always watch the duck out front. If he stays put, the rest of the ducks stay put. But if, for whatever reason, the lead duck takes off, all the other ducks fly right behind. Interestingly, the whole group keys off the lead duck. The emotions and actions of the one out front are transferred to those who follow.

So here’s the question: In a world changed by 9-11, economic uncertainty, a roller coaster stock market, unfathomable national debt, congressional disunity, governments being overthrown around the world—in a world of fear, instability, chaos, change, and uncertainty—how do pastors, the lead ducks stay calm and demonstrate confidence. How can we make sure we are transferring the right emotions and actions to those who follow?

Let me answer that question with one of my favorite verses.


The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17


The Lord your God is with you…
This verse begins with God’s ministry of presence. Wherever we are; God is. When our heart is beating fast with anxiety or heavy with grief, we can stand before our congregations knowing that the omnipresent God is with us. He will never leave nor forsake us. We never lead alone.

He is mighty to save.
God ministers to us with his power. He can handle any problem we face. Nothing is impossible with him. He will provide everything we need to do whatever he has called you to do.

He will take great delight in you…
My wife, Lori, and I, have four children and we take great delight in them. Emotion comes when I think of my children. I take great delight in them. And I am moved when I read that God takes great delight in me. He sent his son to die for me. He loves me with an everlasting love. Nothing can separate me from his love.

What a truth! God delights in me with all our imperfection, twisted thinking, with my wicked and deceitful heart. God delights in me even when my sermon wasn’t all that good, even when several people told me my sermon wasn’t all that good. The Father takes great delight in me! That truth blows me away.

He will quiet you with his love…
The Hebrew word translated “quiet” means to be silent and speechless. When we understand the great love God has for us it leaves us speechless.

I love this old hymn by Stuart Townsend. Check out these lyrics.


How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

God quiets me with his love. In fact, his deep love leaves me speechless.

He will rejoice over you with singing.
This sounds kind of backwards to me. I sing praises to God and rejoice in him with singing. But here I see that the eternal God rejoices over me with singing. I have never thought of God singing. I should have…because Jesus sang…but the thought humbles me. God sings about me! He celebrates the fact that I belong to him.

Okay, all you lead ducks. You are the ones God has chosen to be out front. Sure there are days you may not feel like being out front. But remember, your emotions and actions are transferred to those who follow. So here is a verse not to preach but to practice. Let it but penetrate your heart.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

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Community

Posted by ronmoore on August 3, 2010

Many people love to talk about the New Testament truth of “community.” It has become the new church buzz word. You will hear and read it often—“Oh, we are all about community here. We want to build into each other’s lives. We are all broken and need community.” For the record, I agree. Building and developing a community of support and encouragement is what the church should be about. That’s the church we read about in Acts 2. But community is messy. And many who love the concept of community don’t care so much for the practical application that comes with it.

Some friends go to a church that is all about “community.” But recently, when a wife in their small group had an affair and left her husband, the small group approached the leaders of the church for help. The leaders decided to not get involved. The situation and the poor guy left with three kids were ignored. The small group dissolved and the small group members were left confused and disillusioned. So much for “community.”

Granted, this is one story. I am sure many leaders would have handled the situation differently. However, I have a growing concern that the buzz about developing community is just a buzz. It is fashionable to talk and write about it and boldly proclaim, “Here we are all about community.” But developing community in a church is messy. I don’t get to pick my favorite buddies to worship with. I have to rub shoulders with people who rub me the wrong way. I have to get involved in the hurt, pain, and messiness of the lives of others when it is inconvenient for me to do so. I have to confront those who are hurting others. I cannot ignore or run from the inevitable challenges that develop when people actually “do community” together. Community is hard work, and many people would rather talk about it than do it.

What’s your experience? Let me know how community is truly being developed in your church.

Ron

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Pastors…on the Journey

Posted by ronmoore on June 21, 2010

I had lunch with a pastor last week who was hurting…I mean really hurting. Seeing this guy up front, you would never know it. He is dynamic, right on target, humorous – one of my absolute favorites. We talked about the expectation of having to be “on” every weekend (he says that Sundays come around every three days…) even when you are dying inside.

While I love to prepare for and deliver sermons, I think these are the two hardest things:

  1. The amazing regularity of the weekend services. It does feel like they come around every three days. The traveling speaker has his five sermons that he can memorize and hone and find the absolute best illustrations. The rest of us labor weekend after weekend, doing our best to be clear and fresh. While many of us have great staffs that do much of the pastoral work, we still have to make the time to prepare. Most of the time we don’t have the time to study, write, edit, practice, and re-edit a sermon like we would want. A fresh, clear, meaningful sermon week after week takes work; often I walk to my car on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. after preaching four times and wish I could have communicated an important point with more clarity, or driven the message home with an appropriate ending. But then, in three days, it’s the weekend again.
  2. Being “on” when you don’t feel like standing up. Being placed on a pedestal is unfair and unenviable. I know my heart, my wayward thoughts, my areas of temptation; and yet still I go back to the pulpit. People forget that preachers struggle with sin, doubts, fears, hurts, and disappointments just like everybody else. Add in a “two funerals and a wedding” week and the emotional tank can be nearly empty as we head up to deliver the expected passionate, impactful, powerful sermon. Some say, well, that’s your problem. You need to be vulnerable and share all your feelings. For sure, part of being real is being vulnerable and open. But let’s face it, the pulpit is not a counselor’s couch where I can sit and share all my feelings. And I don’t preach to a room full of counselors. Sitting in front of me are people going through the same stuff I’m going through. They want to be fed.

So there are my thoughts…no answers…just thoughts. I’d love to hear yours…

Ron

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