Category: Legacy Church Family (Page 22 of 37)

The King Is Coming

March 24, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

In 2 Samuel 19, the king is coming back to Jerusalem to re-establish his sovereign rule over God’s people. He had voluntarily left his throne in order to save his people. He had been mocked and ridiculed, cursed and humiliated on his way out of town. But now he’s coming back. And he’s coming back to set things right.

And Ziba and Shemei are scared.

They’ve spent their lives cursing the king, using the king’s blessings to fatten their own purses, taking advantage of the king’s kindness, deceiving the king. Coming to the king and the king’s people with false motives, impure hearts, seeking personal gain at the expense of the kingdom. Hypocrites. Shemei openly curses the king. Ziba claims allegiance to the king, but lies to him. That’s even worse. The apostle John says we do the exact same thing when we say we love God but we don’t love our brother. When we confess Christ as Lord but live lives that deny him. Those sins are deserving of death. Eternal death.

But look at the mercy of the king. Be amazed at the grace and the love and the compassion of the king. Shemei and Ziba bow down to the ground, they confess their sins before the king — sins that deserve under the law to be punished by death — and the king forgives them. He promises on oath they will not die. And he stops his men from even discussing the possibility.

Is it any wonder that the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth calls David a man after his own heart?

You know the King is coming. And if you have sin in your life, you should be greatly concerned. But if you bow down to the King, if you confess to the King, if you submit fully to the King…the King forgives. And when the King returns, you meet him with joy and gladness, not fear.

The great news for us is that the King WANTS to forgive. He wants full reconciliation. He’s not willing that any should die. He wants desperately to welcome every man and woman he’s ever created into his eternal Kingdom. God sent his Son to “reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Through Jesus, God is “reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”

God wants you. And he’ll go to whatever lengths necessary to get you.

He died to save you.

And he’s coming back.

He promises us in John 14 he’s coming back. The angels told the apostles in Acts 1 he’s coming back. The closing words of our holy Scriptures assure us the King’s coming: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Are you ready?

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March Madness — The Legacy basketball team (“Team Dyniewski” or, my favorite, “TohuBohu”) made its debut last night in the North Richland Hills recreation center with an impressive 52-49 win over a bunch of guys with real uniforms. Josh Dyniewski and Aaron Green provided the muscle, combining to score at least 40 of our points inside the paint, while the rest of us just tried to stay out of the way.

Several keys to the impressive victory:

1) the decision to play a 2-3 zone defense. The decision was made as the teams were facing off on the court for the opening tip. Nice. Nevermind the fact we had never played anything but a man-to-man defense in our twice-weekly pickup games here at Legacy. Nevermind the fact that we had never even discussed the possibility of playing a zone before. It worked. Mostly.

2) Josh’s six-straight made free throws in the final 90-seconds. Sealed the deal. Clutch.

3) Aaron’s sending two of our opponents to the hospital with leg injuries. OK, I’m exaggerating a bit. But Green was a monster down there.

4) Trey Thornton using all five of his fouls. Coker will be proud.

5) Going with the Carolina blue Champion dri-soft jerseys. Did I mention they were numberless? That’s a problem in this league. So we had to don the city’s junior-high pinis over our shirts. Elastic down. Not flattering. They actually serve to accentuate middle-age girth. I wanted to wear mine upside down. They wouldn’t let me. We looked like a bunch of rejects who’d been bussed in from somewhere far, far away. But apparently they worked like a charm. We didn’t turn in Josh’s pini after the game. We’re going to have it framed and hung up on the wall at the Rufe Snow Chick-Fil-A. Nobody can ever wear #9 again.

1-0, baby! We might have to discuss the construction of a huge Legacy trophy case at Thursday’s elders meeting.

Peace,

Allan

Sacrificial Giving

March 4, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

We talked last Sunday about sacrificial giving, Christ-like giving, when it comes to Legacy Missions Sunday on March 29. We also encouraged our church to give above and beyond what they’ve already planned and purposed in their hearts to give to the Lord every Sunday. Please don’t split up your regular weekly offering and put a portion of that towards missions. A lot of people did that last year and, frankly, it’s gotten us in a little bit of trouble. What we’re asking is that we add to what we’re already giving. Don’t split up the pie. Bake a brand new pie. Be sacrificial. Be creative. Give something up.

I told the church about my family’s plans to do what we did last year: give up going out to eat for the entire month of March and give all that money to missions on the 29th. No eating out. None. Not as a family, not individually. The whole month of March. You won’t see us at Dickie’s on Sunday afternoons, we won’t be at Rosa’s on Tuesday nights, we won’t find us at Pizza Garden on Saturdays. And I won’t go to Whataburger for lunches on Mondays and Thursdays. And every dime we would normally spend on eating out this month goes to Missions Sunday.

Last year we were shocked at how it all added up. We wound up putting aside and giving almost twice what we anticipated.

Of course, it killed the kids. They thought it was torture. “Why are we doing this?” “Why can’t we go out?”

What a great teaching opportunity. What great learning experiences, around the dinner table, together as a family, participating together in some family sacrifice (especially if I’m cooking) for a cause much bigger and greater than us.

What are you giving up? One lady told me immediately after the service Sunday she’s going to paint her own toenails this month and give the money to missions. What are you giving up? How are you going to sacrifice to give to missions? I’d love to share a few of these from the pulpit Sunday. Why don’t you hit the comments link at the top and tell us what you’re doing, individually or as a family, to contribute to Legacy’s missions efforts. Your plans may strike a creative spark in someone else who’s reading this. Your idea may inspire someone else to participate in a similar way. Let me know what you’re doing in the comments.

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Sunday night I read a short passage from an old Charles Spurgeon sermon to illustrate some points about God’s sufficient grace. (Quoting Spurgeon makes any sermon a whole lot better.) A couple of you have asked that I re-print it here. So here it is. This is from a Spurgeon sermon on 2 Corinthians 12:9 he delivered on April 2, 1876. The title of the sermon is Strengthening Words from the Savior’s Lips.

“God’s sufficiency is declared without any limiting words, and therefore I understand the passage to mean that the grace of our Lord Jesus is sufficient to uphold thee, sufficient to strengthen thee, sufficient to comfort thee, sufficient to make thy trouble useful to thee, sufficient to enable thee to triumph over it, sufficient to bring thee out of it, sufficient to bring thee out of ten thousand like it, sufficient to bring thee home to heaven. Whatever would be good for thee, Christ’s grace is sufficient to bestow; whatever would harm thee, his grace is sufficient to avert; whatever thou desirest, his grace is sufficient to give thee if it be good for thee; whatever thou wouldst avoid, his grace can shield thee from it if so his wisdom shall dictate…Now let me press upon you the pleasing duty of taking home the promise personally at this moment, for no believer in this house need be under any fear, since for him also, at this very instant, the grace of our Lord Jesus is sufficient.”

Peace,

Allan

Legacy Morning Prayers

February 25, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

“What’s happening in your church or in your ministry that’s really, really good?”

I get that asked that question quite frequently. Other preachers from other churches, distant relatives, people I don’t see that often and some people I visit with all the time are increasingly asking me this question.

“What’s something good, something positive and encouraging, that’s happening in your church?”

Two things. I always lead off with these two things: Small Groups and Legacy Morning Prayers.

Legacy Morning Prayers began in December as an effort to be more available as elders and ministers to pray with and for the people of our church family and our community. Every weekday morning, on a rotating schedule, our shepherds and ministers are here in our worship center, lifting up to God the prayer requests of our congregation and those that come in over our church website. The folder is thick. The requests are many. The hour is almost not long enough.

We want everyone in our congregation to participate. The worship center’s open every weekday morning. There’s a shepherd and/or a minister in there to pray with you and for you every weekday morning. We want people from the community — those driving by our flashing sign on Mid-Cities Boulevard, those reading about Morning Prayers on our website —to join us so we can pray for them and with them.

We want this to be an aid to strengthening our bonds in Christ. Increased unity and fellowship. A way to facilitate the love and mercy of God in Christ to a hurting church and a hurting community.

There’s no better way to get to know your brother or sister in Christ than to spend an hour with them in prayer. Listening to each other’s hearts, listening to each other’s thanksgiving, participating in each other’s suffering and pain. I’m always overwhelmed by the lists of requests. Real people. Real families. Real diseases and death. Real divorces and unemployment. Real moms and dads. Real grandparents. Real kids. Real relationships. Real reaching out to God for his comfort and peace, his healing and forgiveness.

I’m encouraged every time my turn comes up. I love praying with my church family. Quincy’s teaching me how to talk to God like a true best friend. Rick is showing me what it looks like to give God full and unabashed praise and thanksgiving. Jesse is modeling for me humility and awe in the presence of our Holy Father. Paul confesses his sins. Bob prays like a shepherd. Keith calls on God to be accountable to his promises.

I love Legacy Morning Prayers. And you would, too.

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Allright, I’ll finish Tell It Slant before I go to bed tonight. I want to give you one more quick passage from Eugene Peterson’s latest book, this on prayer. It fits.

Prayer is not begging God to do something for us that he doesn’t know about, or begging God to do something for us that he is reluctant to do, or begging God to do something that he doesn’t have time for. In prayer we persistently, faithfully, trustingly come before God, submitting ourselves to his sovereignty, confident that he is acting, right now, on our behalf. We are his “chosen ones,” and don’t ever forget it. God is, right now — the word is “quickly” (Luke 18:8) — working his will in your life and circumstances. So keep praying. Don’t quit.

Peace,

Allan

Spurring On The Cloud

February 9, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

We combined the great exhortation in Hebrews 10 to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” with the “great cloud of witnesses” imagery in Hebrews 12 in a warm display of affection and encouragement at the beginning of last night’s assembly. What a night it turned out to be!

We asked everyone in our church family who was baptized 50 years ago or longer to wait out in the foyer. We wouldn’t let them come into the worship center. While the rest of us gathered inside, our older brothers and sisters were outfitted with makeshift “runners tags,” big numbers to wear on their chests declaring how many years they’ve each been running the race. Meanwhile, I prepped those of us waiting on the inside for what would come next.

We had just preached through Hebrews 11, the Faith Hall of Fame, earlier that morning. My observation is that we are surrounded by our own cloud of witnesses right here at Legacy. There are faithful disciples right here in our church family who have endured, persevered, fought the good fight, and run the race marked out for us. We have wonderful examples of faith and courage and sacrifice and service right here in the building. And as they run the race before us, as they show us the way, as they wrap up their races by finishing strong and handing the baton to those of us who are coming behind, let’s really cheer them on. They deserve our encouragement. They deserve our affection. They deserve our love and respect. And they deserve to know how much we appreciate them.

At that point, Norman Williams opened up the back doors and here they came! Right down the long, long center aisle. 60 year Christians. 70 year disciples. A couple of 80+ year followers of Christ. And we let them have it! A standing ovation. Clapping. Cheering. Whistling. Stomping. High fives. Hugs. Pats on the back. Salutes. Yelling. Hollering. Smiling. Laughing. Nearly 70 of our dearest, sweetest brothers and sisters entering our place of worship to such a roaring welcome. 300 more of us cheering them on.

It took a little longer than I thought it might. But if it had lasted three hours, I’m convinced we would have kept clapping and whistling. And everybody in the room would have kept smiling.

As a Christian community, we’re called to lives of mutual encouragement. Christians have a high calling to care for one another spiritually and morally. Our attention should be riveted to always looking out for ways to encourage others within the community of faith.

I’m always strengthened when I consider those who’ve been faithfully running this marathon twice as long as me. And so much better. With more grace. And courage.

I pray we were able to return some of that strength and encouragement last night.

Peace,

Allan

The Call

January 30, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Ever seen a burning bush?

If you ever did, how would you respond?

How about the clear, unambiguous call of God to his Church — to us! — to apply the holy words of Scripture to our lives, to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ, to connect with each other and to minister to one another and to serve each other like family, and to take the good news of God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness into our neighborhoods and communities?

That’s a huge burning bush! That’s an Aggie bonfire towering in front of us, crackling with possibilities and blazing with the fire of God’s call!

The spiritual leaders of the Legacy church body, the elders and ministers, are all firmly convinced that the proper response to this eternal inferno of God’s commission is best made in weekly Small Groups Church.

Last year’s first cycle of SGC began with 692 men, women, and children and ended last month with 778. And we certainly anticipate bigger things in this next cycle that starts in April. With an average of 21 people in each of our 37 groups, there’s no room to grow. We need every former Co-Leader and at least 30 others to sign up this Sunday. If you already have your co-leading partner, please sign up. If you want to Co-Lead but you’ve not yet secured a partner, sign up anyway. There’s time to find your buddy. We need 100 total Co-Leaders to lead 50 groups when we start up again in April.

That’s the challenge. That’s the call. To you.

Now, what’s your objection?

“Nobody will follow me.” Abraham’s servant said that, and the Lord’s angel told him, God will make it happen (Genesis 24:6-7).

“I’ve tried it before and failed.” Moses said that, and the Lord said, it’s not about you, it’s about God (Exodus 3:12-4:17).

“It’s too hard for me.” Isaiah threw that excuse out there and he was promptly told, God sees and controls the big picture (Isaiah 6:11-13).

Jeremiah said, “But I’m not a good leader.” The Lord told Jeremiah, God is with you and will provide for you (Jeremiah 1:8).

Ezekiel was brutally honest and said, “I don’t want to go.” The answer came back over and over again, with God, there’s nothing to fear (Ezekiel 2:6).

“I’m too old.” That was Zechariah. The angel replied, God will give you signs and proof of his presence (Luke 1:19-20).

Mary said, “I’ve never done this before.” She was told, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Paul said, “I’ve got a rotten past.” Christ told him, God is empowering you for his mission (Acts 22:21).

Ananias offered, “It’s too risky, it’s too dangerous for me,” only to be told, God is taking care of the details (Acts 9:15).

See, the deal is that we usually view God’s call and God’s will and God’s plan for me as all about me. This task is too big for me. It’s beneath me. I might make someone mad. I’m too busy. I’m not gifted. I’m not qualified. I don’t know how. I’ve never done that before.

And God says, you’re right. But it has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with whether or not you think you can handle it. God says, “I AM.” I am qualified. I am powerful. I am the God who’s doing this, not you. I just want you to jump into it. I just need you to trust me. Believe in me. Allow me to do this with you and through you for my purposes and my Kingdom.

The call is right in front of you. How do you respond? With every reason and excuse as to why you can’t or shouldn’t act? With reasons and excuses as to why you can’t go to Egypt? Or by throwing yourself completely into his mission, wholeheartedly, in total faith and trust, no reservations, brakes off, full steam ahead, no looking back? By hurling yourself into the project, confident in our Lord who promises to deliver?

Small Groups Church is messy. You put a thousand people in each other’s homes and in each other’s lives, it’s messy. It’s difficult. It’s a real challenge. It’s full of suprises. It’s full of hospital visits and funerals, soccer games and car pools, different dynamics and diverse discussions, some extra dusting and vacuuming.

And lots and lots of wonderful stories.

I beg you to jump into the middle of it — or at the front of it — as a Co-Leader at Legacy. Jump head first, all the way. And allow our Father to do amazing things with you and through you for his people within this church family.

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We just got home a little while ago from Scottish Rite in Dallas. They took Whitney’s cast off. (Shew-wee!) Dr. Herring grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled the four-inch pin out of her heel. (Yech!) And then he pronounced her perfectly well and the reconstructive surgery a smashing success. She’ll be weaning herself off the walker as she regains strength and flexibility over the next couple of weeks. Praise God for her healing! Thank you so much for your prayers, your cards, your calls, your visits, all the wonderful ways you’ve encouraged and blessed our oldest daughter over the past two months. God has showered us with his love through you, our dear friends.

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Last thing: I’ll never forget — ever — a telephone conversation I had with my sister, Rhonda, back on Super Bowl Sunday 1994. It was about 2:00. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but in the middle of the conversation, I told her I was skipping church to go to a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house.

She was genuinely surprised. “You’re skipping church to watch the Super Bowl?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You’re kidding.”

I said, “Rhonda, come on! You know me!”

And she said, “I thought I did.”

That was the last time I ever skipped church to watch a TV show. I urge you to make the same switch in your lifestyle and in the message you send your kids and your friends starting this weekend. Please don’t skip church this Sunday night to watch a TV show.

Peace,

Allan

Only God

January 26, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.” ~1 Corinthians 3:7

I had prayed the prayer of Terry Rush all week long.

“God, just please do that thing you do.”

Every day this past week as we geared up for our first bi-lingual Sunday assembly here at Legacy I asked God to overcome our (my) inefficiencies and our (my) shortcomings and our (my) mistakes to make something really spectacular happen to his people here. I was confident he was going to do something. He always does. But I really wanted God to do something big this Sunday. Something huge. Something powerful. Something so unmistakably beyond our (my) capacity that we would be left with no choice but to give him all the credit.

“God, just please do that thing you do.”

I knew he would. So we planned and planned and planned. A dual welcome and call to worship with Manuel and me. Seek Ye First in Spanish. Both languages on the screens for Scripture readings. A completely bi-lingual communion time with Spanish and English readings and prayers. A double-barreled sermon, me setting up Manuel to knock ’em dead! And, finally, we’d bring the house down with my all-time favorite song, It Is Well. Estoy Bien!

It was all lining up perfectly during the week. There was going to be a baptism, maybe two! A baby blessing! Maybe two! This was going to be a watershed assembly for us, maybe for all of NorthEast Tarrant County! What a great day for God’s Kingdom!

And then the service began. Six minutes late. I froze while trying to welcome the crowd with a Spanish rendition of 1 John 3:1 I had practiced all week. I actually had to pull out my cheat sheet and read it. How embarrassing.

There were other miscues and mistakes. But overall everything was great. The singing was great. The prayers were great. The Bible passages were great. Manuel was great. Gordon was great. I was great. The babies weren’t crying. The teenagers weren’t texting. Nobody looked at his watch. It was perfect!

And then God said, “OK, Stanglin, you finished now?”

“Check this out.”

And Antonia Moscada came down the aisle. Back in November she had read on our guady flashing sign out on Mid-Cities Boulevard that we offered Spanish language services. She’d been worshiping and studying with our church family for three months. And she wanted to put on our Savior in baptism.

Then Ana Loneli came down the aisle. Back in October she had shown up at Legacy for Give Away Day. Homeless. Sleeping in her car. Manuel and Yvina and Mike and Judy St.Clair had prayed with her that day. They helped her. They got her an apartment and a job. She’s been worshiping and studying with us for four months now. And she wanted to put on Christ in baptism.

Antonia was driving down the road and saw our sign and now her sins are being forgiven by the Creator of the Universe! Ana came for free clothes and groceries and now she’s being given eternal life by Almighty God! Are you kidding me? The sign? Give Away Day?

Tracy, a visitor, comes down the aisle. A baptized believer. A child of God. A subject in the Kingdom. Tears streaming down her face. She wants to start over. She wants to confess her sins and ask God for forgiveness and for a fresh start.

Nobody could have planned this. It was too wonderful. Only God.

Our God is still so very powerful. Our God is still so very, very active in this world. He still saves people. He still reaches out and rescues people. He still forgives. He still loves. He still moves. He still creates. He still changes people.

Our God uses flashing signs on the road and benevolence programs and mediocre preaching (mine, Manuel, not yours). But let us always remember, it is our God who does it. Nobody and nothing else. Our God has been working on Antonia and Ana and Tracy for a long, long time. We are only privileged to be able to witness it up close and jump into his work as his partners by his grace.

Hallelujah. God saves.

Allan

Category: Legacy Church Family (Page 22 of 37)

The King Is Coming

Sacrificial Giving

Legacy Morning Prayers

Spurring On The Cloud

The Call

Only God

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