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Category: Ezekiel (Page 1 of 5)

Jesus Won’t Go There?

August 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

So many of us see the “lost” people in our lives as irretrievably so. They’re out of reach. They’ve been too far gone for far too long. Your children have so much sin in their lives. Your grandkids don’t even believe in God anymore. Your husband has left the Lord and has no desire to return. Your old college roommate is in a really dark place. Your niece is in a horrible place. You’ve tried. You’ve talked to them. You’ve studied with them. You’ve prayed. Oh, my word, you’ve prayed. You’ve tried everything. You just don’t think anybody can reach her. You don’t think anyone can get to him.

Hey. Our God can reach her. Our God can get to him.

Remember our God’s promise in Ezekiel 34: I will search. I will rescue. I will bring them in. I will gather them up. Our God goes into the darkest and most horrible places to breathe his life into death. That’s why he sent Jesus, to show us in person that this is what our God is all about.

Jesus tells those stories in Luke 15 so we clearly get the picture. As long as there is one single lost coin buried in the dirt in the corner of a dark house, I will not stop until it is found. As long as there is one single lost lamb wandering alone out there in the wilderness, I will not quit until it is found. Every single coin, every single sheep, every single lost son or lost daughter.

Where is your grandson? Where is your nephew or your friend at school?

God won’t go there to get him? Jesus won’t go there?

Jesus goes through a storm across the sea into a pagan cemetery in the Gerasenes to give life to a naked man with no name tied to a tombstone. Jesus pulls Peter out of a boatload of despair and breathes his Spirit into him. He goes to an out of the way well outside a Samaritan village to forgive a sinful woman. He grabs a hated tax collector out of a tree. Why? Because Jesus says he came to seek and save the lost!

Christ Jesus went to the darkest and most hopeless place of all. He went to his own death on the cross for your loved one. He was buried in a cold tomb for three days for your loved one. He went there to seek and to save your lost! There is no place on this earth he won’t go. The early Church would say there is no place in hell Christ Jesus won’t go–didn’t go!–to seek and save the lost! He can find your missing person!

Can these bones live? O Sovereign Lord, you alone know. And you alone are able.

Peace,

Allan

That They May Live

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

On Sunday we wrapped up our summer-long sermon series from Ezekiel with the familiar vision of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37. With Cassie and Laylan Bundy’s impressive mural behind me, we explored the bones the same way Ezekiel did. As the Lord walked his prophet around and through all those bones, I led our congregation through the scene as best I could. This is complete desolation. Total death. These are not dead bodies–these are bones. Dead, dry, bleached-out bones. There is no life here, no possibility of life, not one flicker. This death valley is filled, not with dead corpses, but with skeletal remains. This is the very essence of dead. No life. No pulse. No organs. No breath. No hope.

God’s people have been utterly destroyed because of their sin. That’s the picture here. The covenant curses have been executed. The people are cut off. No relationship with the Lord. No salvation. No possibility. Just miles and miles of dead, dry, lifeless, hopeless bones.

And God asks, “Can these bones live?”

I’ve got to believe Ezekiel’s first thought is, “No! Of course not! These bones can’t live! They’re bones!”

But then Ezekiel remembers to whom he is speaking. This is Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. So he says, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

That’s when God causes the bones to come to life. The Lord God breathes his Holy Spirit into the bones and they do come to life. The bones connect together, bone to bone, tendons and muscles, and they’re covered with skin, and they live!

Ezekiel knows that God has the power to make the dry bones come to life. Now, Ezekiel knows that God will make the dry bones come to life! Of course God can. Praise the Lord, yes, God will!

“You will come to life!”

Today, 2,600 years after Ezekiel’s vision, I see dead people. And you do, too. I feel like sometimes I’m walking right through the middle of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. There are dead men and dead women and dead teenagers everywhere. Spiritually dead. Cut off from God because of their sins. No relationship with the Lord. No salvation. No life. No hope. I see dead people, And you do, too.

Your son has left the Lord. Your daughter is no longer a member of a faith community, she hasn’t been to church in years. Your husband has never submitted to the lordship of Jesus. Your grandchild has never been baptized. Your niece is living in sin. Your nephew doesn’t even believe in God.

Can these bones live?

The Word of the Lord says, “You will come to life! I will put breath in you and you will come to life!”

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the sermon, we took time for everyone in our church to write down the name of someone they know who is spiritually dead. A close relative. A former college roommate. A friend at school or work. Someone they love. Someone who is living far away from the Lord. We wrote down the names of those people and placed them on the dry bones mural on the Worship Center stage.

I believe our God looks at the spiritually dead people that you love and he sees life. He sees it.

We all have people like these in our lives. We grieve. We agonize. Our hearts are broken every day. The biggest and most powerful and most effective thing we can do is to give these people to our God. Hand them to God in prayer and by faith in him to bring them back to life by breathing his Holy Spirit into their souls.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure, but I believe every person in the room walked down to the front and placed at least one name on that painting. Older people from the back of the sanctuary, helping each other up and down the steps. Young families with their kids. The whole youth group. It didn’t take long, because we all have those people in our lives. We know exactly who they are. We think about them and pray about them and grieve over them all the time. We all have these people and we all want so desperately to do something about their condition. You would die for this spiritually dead person in your life right now if it would do any good. So if writing their name on a sticker and placing it on a painting in the Worship Center as a symbolic act of prayer, a symbolic act of giving these people to the Lord, is what is asked… Well, everybody did it. No hesitation. Lots of tears. Lots of names. Lots of hugs around that painting.

One of our shepherds, Marc McQueen, led us in a congregational prayer and lifted every one of those names up to the Lord. He begged our God to breathe his Holy Spirit into these “bones” that they may live. More tears. More hugs.

I look at that massive mural this morning–we don’t know what we’re going to do with this thing–and I am reminded that every one of us has these people in our lives. It’s important to give voice to the pain, to publicly acknowledge the grief for loved ones who have rejected our God and are living outside of his will and his eternal Kingdom. It’s also important to tangibly, physically, do something about it. We can feel so helpless. It’s important to be reminded that we are not alone in our pain–every person in the room is carrying a similar burden.

It’s important to be reminded that God alone can make the “bones” come to life. We know this is God’s will. We know this is what he wants. He will bring our loved ones to life. And when he does, in his way and in his time, then, as he says, we will know that he is the Lord.

Peace,

Allan

Fleshing It Out

August 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

This Sunday at GCR, we’re concluding our sermon series in Ezekiel with the well-known dry bones vision in chapter 37. It’s going to be a special Sunday and I don’t want to bog it down with a bunch of lame puns. So, I’m getting them out of the way right now.

“Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and we’ll flesh it out together this Sunday.”

“Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and bone up on your knowledge of this familiar story.”

“Don’t be a bonehead; read Ezekiel 37:1-14 to get ready for this Sunday’s sermon.”

“Make no bones about it–you need to be at GCR this Sunday morning.”

The impressive mural on the stage in our Worship Center was painted by our own incredibly talented sister Cassie Bundy. It’s eight-feet tall and 20-feet long and it serves as the perfect backdrop to what’s going to be a powerful morning at our church. At times tomorrow, the mural will serve as scenery and, at other times, as the focal point of our participation in and response to the sermon. I am so thankful to God for Cassie’s eagerness to share her gifts with God’s people. And I pray that eyes and ears will be tuned in and hearts will be open for our Lord’s powerful message of forgiveness and salvation.

We’re not going to sing “Dry Bones” this Sunday, but we are going to be immersed in the Word of God to us from this significant passage. And if you have a bone to pick with me for anything I’ve written here, don’t let it get under your skin.

Peace,

Allan

You Will Come to Life

August 20, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Things don’t always seem really great. Things don’t always go the way you thought they might. In fact, sometimes, things are really rotten. Things at home. Things at church. People in your family. Situations. Issues. Sometimes it can seem hopeless. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. You don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t believe it’s possible for this or that to work out for good. There’s no way.

“Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone.” ~Ezekiel 37:11

Have you looked at the cross lately?

You know, we live by faith, not by sight. We live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. We serve a Lord who has already defeated every single thing that would ever come between us and our God-ordained potential and purpose as his children living in his eternal Kingdom. Our God looks at his Son dying—deader than dead—on that cruel tree and sees hope. He sees possibility. God looks into the darkness of the tomb and sees eternal life. He looks at Sarah’s barren womb and the 100 candles on Abraham’s birthday cake and sees an entire nation of millions of his people. And our God looks at your life, he looks at your church, he looks at the mess that is you and/or the people around you, and he sees great promise. He sees things we don’t see.

“I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.” ~Ezekiel 37:6

The things happening to you or around you—whatever they are, they are not a joke. It’s nothing to be taken lightly. I’m sure it’s all quite serious.

But the cross of Christ and that empty tomb remind us that it’s also nothing to worry about. It’s nothing to lose sleep over. It’s nothing to sweat. The power of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus takes away all doubt and fear and replaces it with holy power and confidence.

God’s power is made perfect in weakness. And you are weak. You are so pitiful. So am I. We are, together, some of the weakest, most pitiful people around.

And that, my brothers and sisters, gives me great courage and hope.

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Here are a few pictures from the second night of our own personal World Series parade in Arlington. Carly and Collin joined us Friday at the ballpark where we received free promotional giveaway championship hoodies, which are short-sleeved and weird; took pictures with the World Series banner, which looks tiny and insignificant next to that massive video board;  the World Series trophy, which was displayed inside Chuck Morgan’s P.A. booth and brought tears to my eyes; and the huge World Series championship ring that was just meant to be climbed on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peace,

Allan

What’s in a Name?

August 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Shakespeare’s Juliet asked, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” A skunk, if we called it something else, would still stink. My first name gets misspelled all the time and my last name always gets mispronounced. No big deal, right? It’s just a name–it doesn’t have anything to do with who I am.

Well, sometimes a name is much more than just what you call somebody. Sometimes a name is everything.

“This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name… I will show the holiness of my great name… Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.'” ~Ezekiel 36:22-23

God’s name is not what he’s called; it’s who he is. Throughout the Scriptures, when God announces his name to his people, he says it is compassion and grace, loyalty and patience, love and faithfulness. God says, “This is my name. This is who I am. And this is why I am saving you.”

It’s got nothing to do with your good deeds or any merits you bring to the table. You and I are saved because of the eternal nature and character of our God. Who God is. His name. We are saved because God is loving and faithful and gracious. That’s his name.

And it absolutely means everything.

Peace,

Allan

Ordained by God and His Church

June 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

By God’s grace, we just concluded a smooth, drama-free, Holy Spirit led, and healthy shepherd selection process here at the GCR Church. We have ordained four new elders — Gary Glasscock, Richard Hatchett, Michael Humphries, and Marc McQueen — to join the current group of seven, to give us a terrific team of godly men committed to shepherding this church in the name and manner of our Lord Jesus. The process culminated Sunday in an ordination service that was, by all accounts, a beautiful and inspirational moment for our whole congregation.

We wanted the service to feel like the whole church was participating in ordaining these four new shepherds and affirming and blessing the whole group of eleven. We wanted the charges and pledges to go both ways – the elders would make promises to the church and the congregation would make promises to the elders. Several shepherds and ministers and support staff made wonderful suggestions along the way and we wound up with what I would consider a model for an ordination ceremony.

First, we gathered around our elders and and prayed thanksgiving and blessing over them. We asked all eleven of our shepherds and their wives to step out into the aisles where we could get to them, and we got out of our seats, put our hands on them and our arms around them, and talked to the Lord about them. We thanked God for the dedication of these men and their wives to seeking the Lord and following Christ and serving his Church. We expressed our love for them to the Father. And we lifted each of them up – these men, their wives, their families, their ministries, their service to our congregation – to the Lord in trust and faith.

Next, we brought all eleven couples to the stage and four of our young children from the congregation presented the new elders with beautiful shepherds’ staffs as symbols of godly leadership. We want these staffs to serve as reminders that they are called to lead this church with the same priorities our God lays out in Ezekiel 34: lead us to good pastures, where there is peace and rest; keep the big sheep from running over the little sheep; keep all of us from butting heads with each other; search for the lost and bring back the strays; bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.

 

 

 

 

And then we charged our elders with the specifics. I started the charge, but we had four other members of the church stand up in the middle of the congregation to also address the shepherds with our expectations. It went like this:

Allan: On behalf of the church family here at Golf Course Road, in the presence of our God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, believing that we have not acted in haste but have prayerfully depended on our God, we charge you men to be faithful shepherds of our flock.

Then Juan Alcaraz and his family stood up from their seats on the left side of the worship center: Believing that the Spirit of God has called you to this ministry and that you are a gift of his grace to our congregation, we charge you to accept this calling with humility and compassion. We charge you to devote yourselves to prayer, to commit yourselves to the ministry of God’s Word, and to consecrate yourselves to the earnest shepherding of our church.

Elders: By God’s grace, we will.

Then our whole youth group stood up on the right side of the church as Mallory West, one of our high school freshmen, read the next lines: As you shepherd us, will you submit to the Lordship of Jesus and to his example by taking the very nature of a servant and considering the needs of others more important than your own?

Elders: By God’s grace, we will submit to the Lordship of Christ, to his church here at GCR, and to one another. We will sacrificially serve the church with humility and compassion in the name and manner of Jesus.

Then Corene Morton stood up in the middle of the church: Will you diligently seek the Lord in ways that we can follow, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ?

Elders: By God’s grace, we will train ourselves for godliness; we will pursue the way of righteousness, faithfulness, gentleness, and love.

Then Ken and Carolyn Arnold stood up from their seats: And will you guard this church as the blood-purchased possession of Christ?

Elders: By God’s grace, we will teach and admonish in humility, encourage and support in love, and faithfully lead and protect our brothers and sisters at GCR as our Lord’s most prized possession.

At this point, I asked the entire church to stand and I asked them two questions, to which they responded in unison: Do you acknowledge and publicly affirm these godly men as your shepherds and receive them as your elders as gifts of God’s Holy Spirit to this church?

Church: We acknowledge these men as elders ordained by God and we receive them as our shepherds and as gifts of God’s Holy Spirit to this church.

Allan: Will you love and pray for these men, will you work together with them in humility and unity and good cheer, will you give them all due honor and support in the leadership to which our God has called them?

Church: By God’s grace, we will obey and submit to these men, so that their work will be a joy and not a burden.

Allan: Let all in the church who agree, affirm so by saying, “Amen!”

And they did. Then Joe Coffman, one of our former long-serving elders, led us in a beautiful congregational prayer of thanksgiving and blessing over the whole thing.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t just four guys on the stage and a prayer. It was our whole church, from the youngest among us to the oldest, in the aisles, on the stage, holding microphones, asking and answering questions, making eye contact, making promises, giving and receiving hugs, saying prayers and being prayed over.

We do not “install” elders; that’s what you do with dishwashers. We ordain them. We affirm them. We charge them and bless them and use holy words to lift them up to the Father. It’s relational. It’s between a church and its spiritual leaders in the presence of God. It’s not an “installation.” It’s a sacred moment in the ongoing story of what the Lord is doing in and through his people in this place. Treating it as such will inspire your church. And it’ll bless your shepherds. And it will honor our God who brings us together in Christ Jesus.

Peace,

Allan

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