I love Sundays! There’s just something about getting together with a group of like-minded people (well, I guess not totally like-minded; after all, we’re not all privileged to be Red Sox fans…). Even with two Sunday morning services, our building is doing all she can to accommodate the people; and I’m afraid that Miss Parking Lot has been overwhelmed for too long.

The music was wonderful! One of our teenagers, Josh Messenger, provided the solo on Sunday morning. God certainly has given that boy some talent. The Cardamone men traveled from Washington State and California to surprise Mom and Dad for their 30th wedding anniversary. Any time we get the five men together, we make them sing. And sing they did! Their two songs Sunday night were incredible and I’m convinced that there’s nothing quite like family harmony. The choir treated us (as usual–best choir in the world!) with two great songs including one of my favorites, “I’m Amazed!”

The highlight of the day for me was the evening service in which Mark and Cassie Bachman, along with their 13 (not a misprint) children joined us. The picture above is somewhat outdated–the Bachmans only had 10 kids then. Bro. Bachman preached an incredible message on the topic, “Why would anyone avoid the presence of the Lord?” Using the Biblical accounts of Adam/Eve, Cain, Jonah, and especially Mary (John 11:20), Bro Bachman highlighted the fact that we tend to ignore the Lord for four reasons: (1) when we suffer from embarrassment; (2) when we incorrectly assess our punishment,; (3) when we disagree with our God-given assignment; and (4) when we believe the Lord has let us down and thereby suffer from disappointment.

I would encourage everyone to listen to the message. It should be uploaded to our site (www.harvestbaptist.info) in a couple of days. You can download it for free then. Hope your day was great too!

admin Sunday Review Harvest Baptist Church, Missionary, Sunday Review, Sunday Services

For those of you who have not had a chance to read Tedd Tripp’s excellent book on child rearing, I would encourage you to put this one at the top of your list. Child rearing books tend to lean unnecessarily to one side or the other. They sound either like a warmed-over psychology tome on sensitivity, or like a “Bless God! Just spank the kid till the fire alarm goes off” kind of book.

Tripp emphasizes the aim of child training as that of the heart.  After all, the heart is the soil from which actions grow. Sometimes in our well-meaning zeal to implement high standards of conduct for our children (a noble and right goal), we make the sad mistake of being satisfied with mere adherence to the standard without regard for the heart of the child in obedience.

For example, we can force our children to share their toys or suffer the consequences. Consequently, children may learn to share because they fear the retribution of not sharing. But have they learned how to deal with the below-the-surface selfishness and resentment that often attach themselves to such outward obedience?

A provocative statement Tripp made in the book was this: The genius of Phariseeism is the setting of an achieveable standard. God gives His children impossible goals to achieve in order that they might run to Him for the power necessary to complete them. Children that have not been consistently brought to face their sinfulness and the life-transforming power of the Cross are doomed to the slow spiritual death of self-sufficiency.

With a refreshing emphasis on training and a balanced defence of corporal punishment, Tripp provides parents with an excellent workbook for the greatest job on earth: parenting! You will be refreshed by his  thematic approach to embracing and applying Biblical methods in dealing with children of any age.

admin Book Reviews book, Book Review, child rearing, Parenting, shepherding a child's heart

So I officially launched this quite primitive blog on Saturday, telling very few people that it even existed (for fear that some might actually read it!). One of the few people I did tell was my son, Nathaniel, a freshman at West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, CA. He liked the blog but offered the one glaring criticism that his picture was not on the page. (He inherited his humility from his mother.) Anyway, it was  my first official comment and it was semi-complimentary, so I decided to honor him by including his picture. Please feel free to throw darts. Oh, by the way, he’s the tall one right next to the dashingly good-looking guy to his left and your right.

admin Uncategorized Family, personal, random

Randy Alcorn’s little 93-page book is a must read and re-read for every man. In a world fraught with sexual temptations and pitfalls at seemingly every corner, Alcorn provides some Biblical, practical strategies for living pure in an impure world. So strongly do I feel about the information in this book that I have a case of them in the office from which I regularly distribute copies to any man that will read it–and every man should!

The book itself covers all of the bases.  Trust me, Alcorn knows how to get your attention in chapter 1! Christians wage a constant spiritual battlefield on the ground of the mind. The enemy has targeted all of us and, without a strategy for victory, will inevitably do much damage.

In our church I have a special burden for our singles. It seems that many Bible-believing churches have failed in providing resourcing for the incredibly vulnerable 18-24 year old range. Without the adequate accountability that many thriving youth groups provide, singles often fall easy prey to a world system enamored with sex. Alcorn does a great job offering practical accountability principles for singles.

A short book, The Purity Principle can be read in one sitting, and should be re-read on a yearly basis in my opinion.

admin Book Reviews alcorn, book, Book Review, Men, Purity

From time to time I would like to offer some simple thoughts about books that I have read.  I love reading! Obviously some books are better than others, but I always seem to glean something from the books I read. Typically I read books that have been recommended by others and always seem to have 7 or 8 books in waiting… Anyway, if I can pique your interest about a book or two, great! If I can save you some time on reading a book that turned out to be a dud, better still!

Last Friday while traveling to preach a stewardship banquet in Tulsa, OK for my good friend Troy Dorrell (www.pastordorrell.com), I read the book, The Church of Irresistible Influence. By many standards, Robert Lewis was a successful pastor of a large, growing church in Little Rock, Ark. Yet he realized that people–good, grounded, discipled people–were growing stale in the ministry. Although they were involved as workers, teachers, ushers, etc., they were missing out on something. Add to this the fact that, although the church had grown to a substantial size, the city reamained relatively ignorant of the church’s presence among them. Coupling these concerns and seeking the Lord’s help for solutions, Pastor Lewis decided that his church was simply not the model of the dynamic chuches of the first century. It was not effectively influential as salt and light upon his community.

Lewis coined the abbreviation i2 (the “2″ is actually supposed to look like i squared, but I can’t figure out how to do that on my keyboard!) Anyway, he radically reconsidered the way by which his church was structured and assured that his people would be ultimately steered toward what he calls “common cause”–or, the using of one’s gifts to invlove oneself in and thereby be an influence upon the community around him. The process included discipleship and a more intensive approach to gift discovery and utilization. As a result, the church is making a real difference in the lives of its people on many fronts including mentoring programs, community projects, volunteer tutoring in the public school system, and many other similar projects.

At first glance it appeared to be a warmed-over approach to a social gospel–this is wasn’t–and you’ll have to read the book to see the distinction. Although I did not agree with some of the ways by which he encourages members to be involved in the community (I thought them to be a bit too ecumenical), I certainly came away with a renewed awareness as to the need for our church to be more actively, purposefully, and visibly involved in our community in ways that perceptibly(the community’s perception) benefit them. After all, didn’t the Lord often address physical and relational needs as a bridge to segue into spiritual needs?

admin Book Reviews book, Book Review, Church, Irresistable Influence, lewis