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When We All Get To Heaven

July 24, 2008 / / 1 Comment

ComeToTheFeast!“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and finest of wines.” ~Isaiah 25:6

I was asked by College Hill to preach on my favorite hymn or song. “It Is Well With My Soul” is, hands down, my all time favorite. How does anybody sing that second verse straight through without breaking up, or at least getting a huge lump in the throat? Even the author couldn’t make it through the first three words without losing it. “My sin…” And then he has to stop down and comment on what he’s about to say before he even says it. “…oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!” It’s an amazing song.

But I went with my second favorite last night at College Hill, “When We All Get To Heaven.” As a kid growing up in the Grove, this was the song we always sang as the very last song at our 5th Sunday Singings at the Pleasant Grove Church. It’s how we closed out all these special singings. So I knew that when we sang that song, the homemade ice-cream was next. I loved that song.

Now I’ve come to appreciate that when we sing that song we’re proclaiming our belief in Heaven, we’re declaring that we know we’re all going to Heaven, and we’re affirming our strong desire to get there. For those reasons, I think it’s wonderful when the Christian family sings this song together.

But it’s not altogether wrong to allow this song to still remind me of ice-cream.

Because every one of the Scriptural references to Heaven, all the biblical portraits we’re given of Heaven, are painted in the context of a meal. Heaven in the Bible is a massive banquet. It’s a gigantic family feast!

Isaiah 25 sounds exactly like the descriptions of heaven in Revelation 7 and 21, at the wedding feast of the Lamb. In Matthew 22 Jesus says Heaven is like a wedding feast. The ox and cows are butchered. All things are ready. Come to the feast! In Luke 13 Jesus is talking about Heaven when he says Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets will be there. People will come from North, South, East, and West to take their places with them at the feast. The ten virgins in Matthew 25. The parables in Luke 12 and 14. Heaven is a huge dinner party!

And our meals together here on earth should all anticipate Heaven. God’s Holy Word says that’s what Heaven is like. When we eat together, we ought to be thinking about Heaven, when we’re ALL going to be together, when all of God’s children will be gathered around the Father’s table at the great eternal feast.

Allow your family meals to point you to Heaven. Allow our communion meal together this Sunday to anticipate Heaven.

And contemplate together that timeless question, the question that the greatest theological minds of our age have wrestled TheAnswerIsYeswith for decades: Will there be Blue Bell in Heaven?

Peace,

Allan

Sacred Assembly

July 23, 2008 / / 0 Comments

ReadyToMoveIn“I will declare your name to my brothers;
  in the presence of the congregation I
  will sing your praises.”
  ~Hebrews 2:12

We’re almost there. On August 17, in just 3-1/2 more weeks, the Legacy Church of Christ will begin meeting as one congregation of God’s people instead of two. For the first time in over 18 years we’ll be together on the Lord’s Day, celebrating his resurrection, communing with the entire family, witnessing baptisms, blessing babies, sending off mission teams, welcoming new members, praising and praying and confessing and encouraging all of each other all at the same time. Together.

Our new worship center is almost complete. The carpet and tile are all installed. The pews are all stacked in the concourse waiting to be placed. It all seems to be just details now.

Here’s the front. As always, click on the pic to get the full size.

FrontLeft FrontCenter FrontRight

Here’s the back.

BackLeft BackCenter BackRight

There’s a full slate of events and activities planned for that weekend of August 17. We’re doing our best to coordinate the installation of the massive stainless steel cross on the outside of the stumple with the beginning of our church’s reading of the Bible. The plan is for our entire church family—all of us, individually, as families, as Small Groups, men, women, and children—to sign up for 15 and 30 minutes shifts as we read the Bible from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. The reading will be done from the pulpit, over the microphone, and carried on our speaker system throughout the new worship center and every nook and cranny of this entire campus. It’ll take about 75 hours. It’ll begin at about 7:00 am Thursday August 14, hopefully following a cross ceremony outside, and conclude right at 10:00 Sunday morning as we gather to assemble for the first time in our new building.

FrontCloseUpA huge church-wide fellowship dinner will follow that initial assembly. Then we’re inviting all the Churches of Christ in Tarrant County to join us at 2:00 for a singing and time of worship together. We feel very strongly that our assembly manifests the unity of the Body of Christ as a community of faith dedicated to the glory of God and his Kingdom. And what better way to communicate that than to come together with all our brothers and sisters to lift our voices and our hearts to our God and to encourage each other that afternoon? Finally, we’ll host an open house at 3:00 so folks can tour the new parts of our campus, including the worship center, the youth and benevolence center, and the new classrooms upstairs.

Our Christian assemblies, in many ways, represent the visible presence of Jesus to our world. Our gatherings declare his presence and proclaim his purpose. And our assemblies serve to equip his disciples for the mission of our God.

Beginning August 17, the Legacy Church of Christ will share the sacred assembly together. And I can’t wait.

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I’m honored to be speaking tonight to our brothers and sisters at the College Hill Church of Christ, just a couple of miles west of here. My grandparents are charter members of that congregation which was established in the early ’60s, my grandfather a charter elder there. It’s where my mom worshiped as a teenager. Growing up, it’s where we worshiped as a family when we came to Fort Worth to visit my mom’s side. My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there. My great-grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday there. The funerals of my granddad, two great-grandmothers, and my Uncle Asa were held there. As little kids, my sisters and I ran circles around the auditorium there while our grandmother did her work for Thursday School. College Hill holds a lot of fond memories for me. And it’ll be very special to be with them this evening.

Peace,

Allan

The Church's First Prayer

July 21, 2008 / / 0 Comments

“Enable your servants to speak your Word with great boldness.” ~Acts 4:29

 In Acts 4 we find the very first ever prayer recorded in Scripture after the establishment of God’s Church on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 4:24-30 is the Church’s first prayer. It was worded by an assembly of God’s people, all raising their voices together in united and passionate petition to the “Sovereign Lord” of the universe in the midst of government oppression against the teaching and preaching of Christ Jesus.

The prayer occurs in the immediate aftermath of Peter and John being arrested and jailed and questioned by the authorities and commanded to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. It’s important to note that this group of baptized disciples didn’t ask God for relief from the oppression or for judgment on the oppressors. They request only two things.

1) They ask for strength to obey during the oppression, to have the nerve and the guts and the faith to continue to speak boldly about the Christ even though it had been outlawed.

2) They ask for God to act in his mighty power to do what he needs to do to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and bring glory to Jesus.

In the face of tremendous opposition, when the persecution and government resistance to Christianity was escalating and getting worse, the Church didn’t pray for wisdom or protection or for favor with the authorities. They didn’t pray that the next election would go their way so their situation would change. And I’m not saying those are inappropriate things for which to pray. But this prayer during this crisis was for the ability to be obedient to Christ’s command to continue to teach the Gospel. The concern here is not for safety or deliverance from persecution. It’s for the Word to go forth and for Christ to be glorified.

What an amazing response! What a counter-cultural, Christ-like response! This prayer as a response to the problem is so totally opposite of what was happening in their world. This prayer goes so against the prevailing thought. And John used to be caught up in that culture. When Jesus and the apostles faced opposition in a Samaritan village, it was John and his brother James who said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” Scripture says Jesus turned and rebuked them. Peter used to be caught up in the culture. He had actually pulled out a sword in the garden the night his Lord was betrayed. He tried to chop a guy’s head off! But Jesus rebuked him and actually healed the man who’d been injured.

By Acts 4, as evidenced by this beautiful prayer, we see how Peter and John have grown. We see how they’ve changed. We see how the Holy Spirit inside them was transforming them into the image of Jesus. In the face of opposition and persecution, they lash out in unified prayer together with all the saints and they ask for boldness to obey and to continue to speak about their risen Lord and they ask that God be glorified.

If resistance to the Kingdom and opposition to the Kingdom gets worse in our land—or I should say WHEN it gets worse—may we find our comfort and strength with each other, may we be bold to continue speaking about Jesus, and may our Father act in powerful ways to bring glory to his holy servant Jesus.

 Peace,

Allan

All Of It: Holy, Holy, Holy

July 17, 2008 / / 1 Comment

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
                                                     ~Isaiah 6:3

HolyHolyHolyWe think and talk in terms of “secular” and “spiritual.” Our conversations and our decision-making are tainted by distorted views of “real world” and “church world.” For some reason(s) we see a big difference between things that are “secular” and things that are “holy.” We talk about something so-and-so does at his “secular job” as opposed to the things he does in his “church job.” Or, worse, we talk about how life is in the “real world” as opposed to how life is “at church.”

The secular has become more or less what we’re in charge of: our jobs, our time, our money, our opinions, our government, our entertainment, our house, our family. The holy is what God’s in charge of: worship and the Bible, prayers and songs, Heaven and Hell.

Scripture will have none of that. Scripture holds that everything, absolutely everything, takes place on holy ground. God has something to say about every aspect of our lives: the way we feel, the way we act, the way we make our money and the way we spend it, the politics we embrace, the wars we fight, the tragedies we endure, the people we know. Nothing is hidden from the sight of our God. Nothing is exempt from his rule. The ground is holy. The people are holy. The words are holy.

As God’s people today we are not to be defined by the times in which we live. Our government does not have control over how we live our lives. Technology does not define our existence. Postmodernism does not define how we think. News and entertainment do not account for who we are. Just like Isaiah in the temple we are plunged head-first into “holy.” We are given a holy vision, we are given a holy glimpse of what’s really real: the Lord ruling in holiness, the songs of the holy angels filling the holy air with holy sounds.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
  the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Hurst is full of his glory! Bedford is full of his glory! Richland High School is full of his glory! The Southlake Wal-Mart is full of his glory! The North Richland Hills Post Office is full of his glory! The Northeast Mall is full of his glory! The intersection of Precinct Line and 183 is full of his glory! The whole earth!

And, yes, our government does this horrible thing and our schools do these awful things and our friends say this and our neighbor says that. And, yes, poverty and disease and violence and sex and greed and lust. Yes.

But the whole earth is full of his glory!

We’ve been given the vision. We see the way things really are. Not just in our church buildings, but everywhere we walk is holy ground. Everywhere you go is a sacred space. Everybody you meet is a holy opportunity. Everything you do is a sacred activity. All of it is governed and ruled by our sovereign God who consecrates it and makes it holy for his purposes.

Peace,

Allan

God's Worldwide Reach

July 16, 2008 / / 5 Comments

MichaelYoungWins08AllStarGameOnce again a Texas Ranger drives in the winning run in the All-Star Game. Michael Young’s game-winning RBI on a one-out sac fly in the bottom of the 15th at 12:37 this morning won it for the American League. And I’m paying for it this morning. Great game. Excellent pitching early and tons of drama late as both benches and bullpens emptied and both teams put runners in scoring position time after time but couldn’t bring any of them around. Last night’s mid-summer classic set all-time All Star Game records for longest game (290 minutes; 4 hours, 50 minutes), most runners left on base (28), most players in the box score (63), most pitchers used (23), and most strikeouts (34). I just wish once, just once, the Texas Rangers would figure as prominently on the national stage in October as they seem to in the middle of July. (Kinsler was safe at second in the bottom of the 11th. Bad call.)

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About three weeks ago I received a call here at the church building from a woman who lives in another city in another state, over 660 miles away from North Richland Hills and Legacy. This stranger introduced herself to me over the phone and proceeded to tell me all the details of several tragic things that had happened in her life over the past few months including, but not limited to, a teenage daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock, an unauthorized abortion, and an unwanted divorce. This woman was in tears—she was trembling, I could hear it—as she told me of the dark valley she was walking through. And the whole time I’m listening to her I’m trying to understand why she had called me. Why was she telling me these things? Who is she? What’s the connection?

And then she says, “Allan, your three sermons on Habakkuk are the only things that have gotten me through the past couple of months.”

My jaw hit the desk and chills ran up my arms and my back as she told me how she was just searching church websites, looking for some encouragment and comfort, when she came across Legacy’s site and the audio of our Sunday morning sermons. Accidentally. She can’t even remember what she googled to get there. But she appreciated the sermons. They provided her strength and comfort. They gave her hope. And she just wanted to call me and thank me and ask me to pray for her.

Wow.

Of all the amazing things that have happened to me over the past three years, I believe that was the absolute most unbelievable. I preach my guts out to a thousand people here at Legacy and those three sermons meant more and did more for a lady I’ve never met who lives three states away than they did for the people I’m actually preaching to.

Some weeks it’s kind of a hassle to get those sermons up on the website. I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using that resource, if it’s worth the trouble. Suzanne and Bonny have to track everything down and load it and check it and all kinds of stuff. And this lady hits me between the eyes with a sledgehammer to remind me that, yes, our God is using those sermons!

Sometimes I wonder about this blog. Some days it’s kind of a hassle to get something written here. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful, sometimes, in that I want what’s written here to be meaningful and important and helpful. And I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using it, if it’s really worth the trouble.

And then I read all the comments on my post regarding Jade Lewis’ death last month. That simple request to pray for Hank and Janet has turned into an internet meeting place where all of Hank and Janet’s friends scattered from Texas to Florida are posting prayers and sympathies and well wishes for that precious family. The Lewises have been so encouraged by the response. Everyone who’s read Hank’s comment have been encouraged. And as I read and re-read all those comments, I’m blown away by the fact that our God is using this blog!

I’m appealing to our God today to use this blog to his glory again. And I’m asking you—personal friends and family of mine and Carrie-Anne’s, Christ’s Church here at Legacy, our brothers and sisters in Marble Falls and Mesquite, all you sweet people in Florida, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell’s church families in Arkansas and California—please pray for Debbie and Dan Miller.

As I mentioned yesterday, Dan is one of my nearest and dearest friends. He’s one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s Word today. He means more to me than I can put into words. And I’ve tried over the past couple of days.

They just found out Thursday that Debbie has cancer. She underwent some emergency surgery at Medical City in Dallas Saturday. She’s still there, undergoing all kinds of tests, probably for the rest of this week. They still don’t know everything they’re going to know in the next couple of days. I spent a couple of hours with them both yesterday. Debbie is strong, of course. She’s prepared for the fight. She’s ready. She’s determined. Her faith and her trust is in our God. For the first time since I’ve known him, Dan seems shaken. Completely understandable. His faith is strong. But he’s asking tons of questions. And he seems rattled. And tired. And I love them so much.

Pray for them today. In the powerful name of Jesus, please ask our Father today to heal Debbie and to comfort her and Dan and their three precious children.

And, Lord, please use this blog to work an amazing thing in their lives. And may you, Father, receive all the power and all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.

And all God’s people reading this today say “Amen!”

Peace,

Allan

On Hamilton & Homers & Honor to God

July 15, 2008 / / 3 Comments

JoshHamiltonIf you watched Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton in last night’s Home Run Derby at Yankees Stadium, you already know. If you didn’t see it, there’s no way I can explain it to you. Words are inadequate. Pictures don’t do it justice. It was simply the most amazing single display of power and grace I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. It was inspiring.

You can read ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s account by clicking here. SI’s Joe Sheehan’s story on Hamilton’s amazing night can be found by clicking here.

HamiltonSwingsForFencesIt wasn’t just that he obliterated the record by smashing 28 long balls in the first round. It wasn’t just that he hit homeruns on 13 consecutive swings at one point. Or that he hit 16 homers in 17 swings. 20 of 22. 22 of 25. It’s that they were long, tall, towering, majestic, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, oh-my-word-did-you-see-that rocket launches. Three of them went past the 500 foot mark. Nobody’s ever hit a ball outside the confines of the stadium. Nobody. Ever. Josh nearly did it three times, coming BradleyCoolsOffRed-HotHamiltoncloser to doing it than anyone in history. He was bouncing dingers off billboards, off the top row of the black seats in center field, off the back wall in right. The exhibition stunned everybody inside the stadium—fans, announcers, All-Star baseball players, concession workers, ball boys, Madonna. They were chanting his name. They were chanting “M-V-P!” Other players were sending their kids over with balls and bats for Hamilton to autograph in between swings. Rangers teammate Milton Bradley interrupted twice to towel him off. It was incredible.

And the reclamation project who’d been suspended from baseball; who’d been to rehab eight different times as he battled drug and alcohol addiction; who’s now given his life completely over to our Father thru Christ Jesus; this prodigal son in more ways than one has come all the way back.

He gives all the credit for his salvation, publicly and privately, to our God through Jesus. He gives all the glory for his physical success and for his spiritual redemption to God. His teammates and his coaches say he’s the team evangelist. Hamilton’s apparantly talking about his new relationship with his Savior to everybody in that Rangers clubhouse.

Terry Rush is always praying that God will use the media to show people his power, to show people doing good things in the name of the Christ, to use the news to highlight God’s people doing and saying wonderful things that will inspire others to seek him and his Kingdom. I think about that prayer when the wife of one of the murdered Christian musicians in Garland openly forgives her husband’s killers and prays publicly that God will change their lives and forgive them and save them. And I think about that prayer when Josh Hamilton tears down the house that Ruth built on a national stage, when he captures the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans all over the country, when he becomes the lead story and the water cooler talk all over the nation, and continually and openly and publicly gives full honor and all the credit to our Father in Heaven.

If you know anything at all about his past and his story, you’ve probably fallen in love with Josh Hamilton this season. Knowing Hamilton’s story and watching Hamilton live as a “new creature” in Christ is also causing others to fall in love with our gracious God who believes in reclamation projects.

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FourHorsemenPlease say a prayer today — say several prayers today — for Debbie & Dan Miller. As many of you know, Dan is one of my dearest and best friends. In fact, I don’t have a better friend than Dan Miller. He’s one of the Four Horsemen, one of the greatest influences in my life, one of my greatest encouragers, a man of tremendous faith, one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s gospel today. I just found out late last night that Dan’s wife, Debbie, has been diagnosed over the weekend with cancer. And it’s rocked them. Of course. I’ll see both of them at Medical City in Dallas this afternoon. And I’m going to write much, much more about this tomorrow. But please lift them up to our Father today.

Peace,

Allan

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