Roman Road, ABC and your testimony

Wednesday nights at Christ Fellowship are always special. (Can something be "always special"? I think so.) Wednesday nights at 7 we look at what the Bible says about a certain topic. We all think we know what it says but it's fascinating to actually read what God 's Word says about things like homosexuality, marriage, holiness, divorce, animals, Heaven, Hell and even hair. Often taught by different people, this has been an eye-opening study for all of us involved and it has proven to be very popular. Last Wednesday we looked at what the Bible says about witnessing. And I'll tell you that, in a nutshell, it is for it. In fact, it's a command of God. But how many of us do it? How many of us even speak the name of Jesus outside the walls of the church building? We all struggle with it at times so we are going to work on that some more on Wednesdays. Don't worry. We won't go door to door making you speak to strangers. We're are just going to polish up what we know and some ways to do it. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. We learned last Wednesday about the Roman Road to salvation. If you can quote or even just refer to Romans 3:23, 6:23 and 10:13, that's enough. You can remember ABC. Admit, Believe, Confess. But something I stressed the other night was to have your personal testimony handy. Be ready to tell someone your salvation experience and be able to do it in 90 seconds or less. Be able to tell someone what your life was like before Christ, how you came to know Him and what your life has been like since. We will talk more about this in the weeks to come because it is a commandment and it is the way that the local church is the hope of the world. So, say the name "Jesus" to someone today and be ready to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

Next time I'll call a plumber.

All I wanted to do was replace a leaky, rusted faucet on my bathroom sink. No big deal. The instructions said it would take 12 minutes. Twelve minutes! Well, it took more than 12 minutes just to configure my body under the sink to turn the water off. But then when I turned the water off I realized those valves needed to be replaced too, as did the water lines going to the faucet. Back to the hardware store I go. Come home, get under the sink. Wrong parts. Back to the store. See a pattern? Yea. Long story short, it took many multiple trips back to the store, more money every time, then back home, under the sink, hit my head, hurt my back, all while 3 four-legged "helpers" are vying to see who can get in my lap and "help" the most. Not only that, but the rust has covered the bolts on the old faucet so now I have to replace the sink. Well, they don't make that size sink anymore so now I need to replace the cabinet. And if I'm gonna replace the cabinet, I'm gonna have to paint the whole bathroom. ...It was just a faucet. ...Twelve minutes... In 1 Kings chapter 10, it says that Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. (I bet he had really nice faucets!) It says the whole world sought audience with him. God had blessed him with everything he could ever need or want. But then Solomon made one little bad choice. Chapter 11 of 1 Kings starts out, "However..." And the end of Solomon's story is tragic. One little bad choice led to one more little bad choice which led to another, and on and on and on. Every tragedy starts with one bad choice. Nobody EVER sees it coming. Not me with my faucet. Not Solomon with his wives. Not the crack addict or the alcoholic or the Christian who allows one little bad choice to go unconfessed. It just snowballs until tragedy. 1 John 1:9 says God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, don't let it snowball. Whatever little bad choices you have made, ask for forgiveness now before it's a tragedy. Oh, and just break down and call a plumber if you need one. It'll be cheaper.

Prop me up behind the pulpit when I die. (Not a country song...yet)

You know...I like it. At first I thought it was outrageous but the more I think about it the more I think it might be a good idea. Evidently a young man in Puerto Rico was shot and killed on the streets of San Juan where he lived. His family knew his greatest love was boxing and that's how they wanted to remember him so they just propped his dead body up in the corner of the ring and had their last pictures made with him. See it here. Now, for me, I think I can make this work. Even after I die, I can still work (as opposed to the boxer, who with a record of 5-15 was probably going to die in the ring anyway). All you have to do is prop me up in the pulpit and play a recording of one of my sermons. Nobody ever comes down the aisle at the invitation anyway so I don't have to move. And most folks won't know the difference. In fact, when it's over just move my corpse to the front door with my hand sticking out and let people walk by and shake it and tell me nice things as they go home. I can see my tombstone now: Todd Blair 1967 - 2014 Pastor of Christ Fellowship 2012 - 2019