"The Power of And." It's the simple reminder that while life often seems to present us with two opposing choices, we often have the ability to pursue both if we will give the requisite thought to doing it well. In manufacturing, companies think that they must choose whether to produce a quality product or to produce it quickly. In fitness, we are sometimes told that we have to choose whether to develop endurance or strength. In life and family, we think we have to choose whether to excel at work or excel as parents & spouses. But in all of those cases, there is a way to embrace both good things, as long as we use godly wisdom in trying to do them both well. It's the power of and; not the tyranny of or.

This simple principle should be applied to how we think about church. I find that many elders and preachers are more naturally inclined to thinking about the church in terms of its group behavior or in terms of the individual members who make it up. And while there's nothing wrong with those natural inclinations, we need to be aware of them so that we can deliberately open our eyes both aspects of church life. Because every congregation is individuals and a group.

This means that our group activities matter, and so they should be overseen by the leaders and engaged by the members. Worship assemblies, Bible classes, home devos, VBS and other special events, singing, worship leader training, and preaching... Church leaders should be eminently aware of how these things are going and how we are using them 1) to best glorify God, and 2) to maximize the spiritual benefit to the congregation.

AND...

It means that the individuals in a church matter. There is simply not enough religious activity to make up for a deficit of visiting orphans and widows. The extroverts need church fellowship, and the extroverts need church fellowship. Senior saints need to be visited and encouraged, and young folks need to be mentored and encouraged. Parents need someone to check on their parenting and their marriages. New Christians need well-guided Bible study. Engaged couples need Christian marital counseling. People with doubts need someone to shine the light on Scripture to answer those doubts. The socially awkward people in a congregation need friends, and the cool people in the congregation need friends. The rich and the poor both need reminders that Christ is our true treasure. And church leaders should be eminently aware of how all of those people's spiritual needs are being met.

Whether you are a leader in one of God's churches by position or simply by influence, don't pigeonhole your thinking into an emphasis on one or the other of these ideas. We should pay attention to the individuals in our church and to our group efforts. We serve God with both, and so we should serve him well with both.

- Dan Lankford, minister

A panorama is one of my favorite pictures to take with my smartphone. They admittedly present challenges (it's tough to move your hands steadily while taking it, they don't go easily on Instagram, etc.), but I like them because they can give a more complete sense of the reality that I was seeing in the moment. A mountainous coastline, a wide-open plain, a tall building, a big group of people; they can all be seen more completely, which makes them all the more impressive, when the picture takes in a wider view.

As Christians, we ought to do our best to develop a panoramic view of God's will as revealed in the Bible. In Acts 20:27, the apostle Paul told a group of elders that when he had been with them and their church, he "did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." Does that mean that he covered every single phrase of the Old Testament and all the things that the New Covenant teachings that the Spirit was revealing through him? Not likely. He was only with them for about 2 years. However, he covered such a breadth of God's will that by the time he left them, he could confidently say he had given them everything that they truly needed to know.

Christians, in the broadest sense of the term, have a habit of pigeonholing ourselves into particular parts of the Bible to the neglect of others. We follow our natural inclinations either toward the New Testament or the Old, the harsh truths or the happy promises, the narratives or the teachings. What we need is a balanced diet of all of it. What we need is a panoramic view of God's will that takes it all in and sees individual elements in the context of the whole.

A preacher whom I really like is wont to say, "It takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian," and I think he's right about that. Can a person be a Christian without an under-standing of Paul's deep theology in Romans? Yes. Can a person be a Christian if he struggles with moral questions in Judges or if she comes up short in her memory of some of the Torah's laws? Yes. I believe that the Philippian prison warden was truly saved on the night of his baptism, despite the fact that he likely knew very little about the Bible (see Acts 16:25-34). But is that where we should stop? Should Christians who know very little about God's will be satisfied to stop learning? By no means! If we want to become whole as Christians, then we must continually work on understanding the whole counsel of God.

No matter where you are in your knowledge of the things of God, keep growing. Keep reading and meditating on his word, ask questions to those who know, and pray for under-standing. May God give us open eyes to panorama of his word. May he draw us in more and more to comprehend the greatness of his love. May he help us to see the whole picture.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Acts 20:17-38, the Apostle Paul spoke with the elders of the church in Ephesus. In what they knew would be their last conversation, he advised them about their future as church leaders, and he reminded them of how they started. Books could be written about the inspired guidance given in that short text, but for today, just consider Paul's approach of addressing both the past and the future at a crucial turning point. There's obviously a lot of wisdom in that approach, as evidenced by the many other Bible leaders did the same thing (Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David). They understood the wisdom of humbly thanking God for his past & present blessings and entrusting themselves to his goodness with a positive outlook on the future.

As a church family, we're at a turning point. God has shown his goodness to this congregation for the past two and a half decades, and we would do well to be immensely grateful. From the time that Northside was founded, we have grown, changed, seen members and leaders come and go, moved to new worship venues, reached new people with the Good News, faced and overcome challenges, and maintained faithfulness to God through prayer and the ministry of the word. And who is to be commended for all of that? Our long-timers, those who came before us, our preacher and our elders, parents & grandparents who teach the faith to their young ones, and above all the Spirit of God who has taught and guided and blessed. All glory belongs to God.

And as we look forward from this crucial turning point, I truly believe that God will continue to be with us if we continue our work of service to him. If we pray, if we "hold up the book," if we care about each other, and if we teach the lost about Jesus; he will continue to give us renewed spiritual life and growth in numbers. And when that happens, all glory will still belong to God.

So I encourage you to make time for sincere prayer in these coming weeks. The Hagans have just three weeks left here. Let's tell God how genuinely thankful we are for their influence, teaching, and loyalty these many years. And I would ask you to pray earnestly for me and my family for the next several weeks, that I will faithfully fulfill the ministry that God has given to teachers of his people.

We're looking back and reaching forward; all for God's glory.

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you." (2 Thess. 3:1)

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Moreover, he said to me, 'Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD," whether they hear or refuse to hear.'” (Ezek. 3:10-11)

Ezekiel is told to do three things with the words that God speaks to him. Think about each one of them for a few moments. They serve as instructions for us too, giving guidance for all who teach God's word.

• "Receive in your heart and hear with your ears." Ezekiel, while he is called to be the preacher, is first called to be the listener. He, like all saints, was to have a mind that was clearly open to receive God's word. Those who teach others but do not absorb the word into their hearts or put it work in their lives are hypocrites. Teachers of God's ways are not meant to be merely professionals with a skillset; they should be, first and foremost, disciples. Receive the word with your own ears and in your own heart; don't let its power pass you by on the way to your hearers.
• "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord.'" God did not intend for Ezekiel to go to the people and tell them his own perspective or plans regarding their exile in Babylon. He was called to tell them what God had said. And so it must be with preachers today: We must do our best to honestly represent God's teachings on every subject matter specifically because they are God's teachings. Our job is tell both saints and sinners, "This is what God says."
• "Whether they hear or refuse to hear." This is perhaps the toughest part of Ezekiel's commission. In his time, most of his people's hearts were callous to what God had to say, so he was rejected often. And the fact remains that there will always be those who refuse to hear when truth is preached. And yet, our job is to faithfully teach it anyway. Because we believe that the effectiveness of salvation comes from the power of God—that his way always works, even if all the world rejects it. And so it is like Paul told Timothy: "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season" (2 Tim. 4:2).

The task of teaching the word of God is a serious one. Pray for Jared and for me that we are up to the task. And pray for all of God's people, that we will have more people who follow God's instructions for Ezekiel and who faithfully fulfill their teaching ministry.

- Dan Lankford, minister

For many in this congregation and many who visit here, the Bible is a constant life companion. We know the order of its books by heart, we readily follow its numbering system, and we have at least a general sense of its chronology and the various styles of writing found within it.

But what if you didn't know any of that? How would one start getting to know this wonderful collection of writings? Once it becomes a second nature, it's easy for us to underestimate the difficulty of developing a working knowledge of the Bible and God's plan that is revealed in it.

Part of evangelism is teaching the Bible to absolute beginners. Many of the people whom we will talk to as we try to make disciples are going to be unfamiliar with the Bible, and it's our job to be longsuffering as we instruct them in God's ways and God's word. That won't always be the case, but we should still always be ready for it.

So where do we begin? How would you present the Bible to someone who is an absolute beginner? What does a person need to know first?

Consider this general set of first ideas. They should not be considered authoritative, but simply this author's ideas of a good springboard into deeper study.

• The Bible is telling one unified story that points to Jesus—the man through whom God will reconcile all sinful people back to himself. It contains writings in several styles, by many different authors, and from various times and places; but it all points to Jesus, the Christ.
• God selected of one family—the family of Abraham—as the channel through which he would bring the blessings of Jesus to all people. The history of that family is told in the 
Old Testament.
• The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—contain historical records of Jesus' lifetime on Earth. The book of Acts tells how Jesus continued his work by the Holy Spirit and through his people. All of this took place after he was resurrected and ascended into Heaven.
• The events that are of first importance to know and believe are these: 1) Jesus died, 2) Jesus was buried, 3) Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, 4) Jesus was seen by many people after he rose from the dead (see 1 Cor. 15:3-8).
• The rest of the Bible elaborates extensively on what it means to have a relationship with God. Some of the key things are simple teachings about repentance, faith, resurrection, baptism, and eternal judgment (see Heb. 6:1-2).

As you look over that list, maybe you can think of someone who needs to hear these fundamental things. First, pray for that person, and then start planning the time and place where you can teach them. The Gospel is for all. Let's be ready to help everyone—especially the beginners.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Temptation is a challenge that is endemic to all people. Though it comes in different forms and at varying strengths for individual people, it is an ever-present force in the human experience. The Bible tells us that this is both because of wrongful desires within us and because of dark spiritual forces outside us inciting us to follow those desires. Temptation comes from within and from outside ourselves.

But even if the desire to sin is always present with us, God speaks clearly that we are to resist those desires in favor of more noble and more righteous ones. Like God said to Cain, "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it" (Gen. 4:7). And the Lord told Peter, "Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Lk. 22:31-32). And to the disciples who were sleeping on the night of his crucifixion, the Lord said, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." (Lk. 22:40)

This is one of most basic requirements of Jesus' disciples. But if we're honest with ourselves, many of us know how deceptive, how powerful, and how enticing our own temptations are. And so we wonder, "How do I do it? Does God really expect me to resist this all the time? I'm not sure I have the strength to overcome it, especially forever."

But here's a bit of good news that is familiar to many Bible believers and reassuring to all:

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, 

and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it."
(1 Cor. 10:13)

Sometimes, Bible believers, including this author, have paraphrased this promise a little too much. We have said, "You see? God won't give you more than you can handle." The problem is that this lacks the specificity of the Holy Spirit's point, and it thereby takes away the power of his words. Notice the actual promise that God makes: There will always be a way of escape from temptation.

And this is the confidence that we need on our side. It is a targeted promise: You will have the ability to resist temptation, and the power that you will have is God's gift to you. So the question that we have to ask is not so much, "Am I strong enough to be faithful all the time?" The answer to that is, "Yes." God has promised that it will be so. And so the question that we have to answer is, "Do I believe in him? Do I truly believe that he will keep this promise and strengthen me to overcome all temptation?" If I do, then I must believe that it's possible to repent from sin, to turn toward God, and to fight off temptation through the whole of life. My confidence is not in myself, but in him who strengthens me.

- Dan Lankford, minister

"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." (Rom 12:17)

My question when I look at that verse is this: Why are there so many rules in the Law of Moses that require the death penalty in punishment for a particular sin? Is it one of those cases where we see a different nature of God from the Old Testament to the New? ("The God of the Old Testament would repay evil for evil, but the God of the New Testament says that we should not do that.") As far as I know, that's never a valid distinction. So then how do we explain the severe payback given to so many crimes when the same God would say, "Repay no one evil for evil"?

The answer is actually fairly simple: God's law through Moses didn't repay evil or evil. It repaid justice for evil.

And that's a distinction that's important for us to know too. Because there are plenty times when it is right to repay something painful for wickedness. It’s right to punish children for their disobedience. And it is plenty right for governments to wield their power to punish evildoers (cf. Rom. 13:1-6). But these things are intending to accomplish what is objectively right. If done correctly, we are not just in pursuit of what feels right or of accomplishing personal vengeance of some kind. We are striving to uphold real, objective justice.

The warning that Paul gave to the Roman Christians is not about vengeance or "personal” justice. We, as the people of God, ought to be in pursuit of the same kind of objective truth, righteousness, and justice that defines God's good nature. At the very least, we must give some thought to it, even if our efforts toward it are imperfect. That effort to the good is what will prove to be “honorable in the sight of all” in the long run.

- Dan Lankford, minister

You can't cheat consistency. Whether it's in developing a new skill, learning a language, getting stronger and fitter, or building a long-term meaningful relationship with someone; there are is not substitute for consistent training & routine practice.

The same is true of discipleship. You can't create spiritual strength, learn to skillfully handle the word of God, or develop a rich long-term relationship with him without some consistent habits. And there are two habits that rise to the top for their usefulness: Prayer and Bible reading.

I know that preachers seem to harp on these two spiritual disciplines a lot, and many believers become frustrated with the repetition of these simple admonitions. But there's a reason for the repeated encouragement: these habits work. And it is this author's belief that the reason why many believers become frustrated with it is because they are looking for a cheat—some way to circumvent the consistency that is required for these habits to really achieve their greatest effect. The complaint almost never comes from saints who already have consistent habits of prayer and Bible reading. In fact, they are typically all the more enthusiastic in encouraging others to take up these same routines, because their lives and their faith are a testament to the effectiveness of consistent reading and prayer.

So don't discount the power of these simple activities. Make a point of practicing them daily; consistently. And let God's Spirit do his work in you. God may use additional channels to give increase to your faith as well, but if you want to purposefully cultivate spiritual growth in yourself, remember: You can't cheat consistency.

- Dan Lankford, minister

"As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple... When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD." (2 Chron. 7:1, 3)

It was the grand opening of the Temple—a place for God's people to approach his presence for forgiveness and worship. What a day! There were big crowds, the excitement of new things, festivities and feasts, great speeches and important teachings... and then God's presence was actually seen among them! It must have been an intense moment of spiritual excitement for them; one that they went home from with rich feelings of devotion and passion for their God.

I have had moments like those in my life, and many other Christians have too. As believers, we love the times when our spirits are reinvigorated and we feel a renewed sense of urgency about serving God. They are times when our passion for faithfulness swells to new levels, and we ought to thank him for those times. They are a joy and a privilege; a blessing given by God, often just at the moment when we need it most. Those moments are a gift for which we should be grateful!

Right on the heels of all of that, it's wise for us to think and answer this question: When the high-intensity feelings are gone, how will we continue to walk with God in the more mundane elements of daily life? This question deserves an answer because newness wears off of everything, crowds eventually go home, and normal life eventually has to resume its daily course. So when all of that happens and spiritual life is back to being normal life, will we still exhibit the same faithfulness to God?

High points and daily routines both have their rightful place in Christian life, as long as handle them faithfully. The spiritual highs remind us of the scale and splendor of God's power and they draw us toward him. And daily, 'normal' devotion gives us the ability to enjoy those high points without depending on them. It's the ability to balance both of these elements of Christian life that helps us live the fullest Christian experience.

So, if you're in a season of life where you're experiencing awe and excitement in Christ, enjoy it. Maybe you're learning the truth for the first time, maybe you're building brand new relationships, or maybe you're getting great spiritual experiences like Bible college or camp that rejuvenate your spirit. If so, enjoy them and thank God for them! And if you're in a season of life where you're putting in the daily work of discipleship, keep at it. Keep seeking him, keep growing, and keep following Jesus ever more closely.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Here's an article that I wrote several years ago (it first appeared here). I'm sharing it again as a message that's perpetually helpful and serves as a follow-up to Sunday's message here at our church.

In the 1920’s, a British publishing group called “The Thinker’s Library” produced a number of essays and magazines supporting two ideas. Firstly, they entirely backed Charles Darwin’s theories of macro evolution. Simultaneously, many of the same writers spoke of the racial supremacy of Western Culture and Westerners because we were supposed to be “more evolved” than other cultures. Those ideas of racial superiority fed the Holocaust mentality, even though there was no real science to back them up. The views were bogus and harmful to humanity in the long run, even though they were held by the prevailing intellectuals of the day.

One modern writer recently pointed out that those atheistic philosophies aimed to show that the secular West is the model for a universal civilization, and atheism is doing something similar today. They are simply using different vehicles. Where the ideas of evolutionary secularism used to give cause for extolling the sins of racial prejudice and mass murder, the same ideas are used today to extoll the sins of homosexual behavior and many other perversions of the God-ordained family order.

What does it mean for Christians? Among many other things, it means that Christianity is not dying! It means that God is alive, and so is the faith! While the philosophies of the world come and go, Christianity continues to stand on the same principles upon which it was founded. Where other religions—Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam—morph over time because they must necessarily adjust their core values to the needs of their people, Christianity continues to change people because we must necessarily conform to the core values of holiness.

It is important that Christians realize this. As the world’s voices grow louder and more adamant that secular, human-focused thought is the only right way to live, Christians may stand with a quiet confidence in the grace of Jesus Christ.

Gamaliel, a Jewish rabbi in the time of Paul, once spoke up for the apostles. Their lives were being threatened for teaching about Jesus. And while he might have been on the wrong side of understanding the situation, he wisely gave this prophecy about Christianity: “…if this plan is the undertaking of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrown them. You might even be found to be opposing God!” (Acts 5:38-39, ESV).

Have no fear, brothers and sisters! Our God cannot be overthrown by mankind! No worldly philosophies, no Supreme Court rulings, and no level of immorality on TV can stop the power of the risen Savior! People may leave the Lord, but the Lord will not leave his people. Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against his plan. Let us view the world’s attacks with the confidence that for all the changes of life, God is alive! And so is the faith!

- Dan Lankford, minister