For folks like me, I think this is genius.  And funny.  But that city council member isn’t laughing.  He said, “This, no matter what anybody says, is not that cute of an idea.  It’s a great concept for ex-offenders, but it’s a poor theme for a restaurant.”  (My opinion?  That City Council member needs to lighten up a bit and broaden his sense of humor.)

Here’s my thought:  God is doing this same thing with us.  He is employing us, as “sinners” and ex-offenders (and even worse, current and active offenders), in His mission.  He is taking the risk of giving us a 2^nd chance and trusting us to help carry out His purpose for the world.  This 2^nd chance is called grace.  And we all need it.

No, we’re not a restaurant named, “Felony Franks.”  We’re God’s family, and He calls us the “Church.”  We’re not the “Home of the Misdemeanor Wiener,” but we are the Body of Christ, home of “sinners saved by grace.”  God isn’t selling the world hot dogs (“food so good it’s criminal”).  In fact, He’s not “selling” anything.  Instead, He is freely offering Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Living Water.

Thank God for grace.  And a 2^nd chance.

Despite all the good things happening, though, we all know that no church is perfect.  It’s been said that pastors know more good and more bad about their church than anyone else.  Whether that’s true or not, this statement is:  in every church there are good things going on…and bad things going on. Such is life.

Here’s my little thought:  Christians ought to love the Church despite its state of brokenness and dysfunction because Christ created the Church and He loves her despite her flaws.

I was talking with a friend last month.  He used to attend a church, but, like so many, got frustrated with the politics, arguments, and dysfunction, and felt like his time would be better spent elsewhere…or at least not there.  (By the way, statistics show that roughly 40% of the folks who leave the church do so out of frustration with the pastor or church and the other 60% leave because their “life situation” changes – they got too busy, changed jobs, moved, got divorced, etc.)

Which brings me back to my little thought:  I am committed to loving the Church (and First MB) despite the sin and dysfunction.   Should we work together on dealing with the “issues?”  Of course.  But I absolutely know that Christ sees all the ugliness (and more) and still loves His Church.  So I will, too.

In the meantime, keep loving Jesus.  Read your Bible and pray.  Try not to sin.  Love everyone (no exceptions).

This past Sunday the Bible proved itself, once again, to be more than just ink on a page, but to be  alive, powerful, and able to change lives (take a look at Hebrews 4:12-13).

I’m currently preaching through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 & 7) and on Sunday we looked at Matthew 5:17-48.  It’s a passage where Jesus raises the bar of expectation in six areas of life.  For each one he presents the status-quo standard and then says, “But that’s not enough…the standard needs to be raised.”  So instead of being satisfied with the standard of “don’t murder,” Jesus raises it to, “don’t get angry.”  Instead of, “don’t commit adultery” Jesus says, “don’t lust.” He went on and said, “don’t look for reasons to get a divorce; just stay faithful.  Don’t swear oaths; just be a man/woman of your word.  Don’t always fight for justice (an eye for an eye); return good for evil.  Don’t be satisfied with just loving your friends; you must also love your enemies.”

Anyway, I did what I do every week:  try, in the power of the Spirit, to explain and apply God’s Word and challenge our church to allow that Word to convict, encourage, strengthen, and change them.

But this Sunday, at the end of my sermon, I told the church that I wanted them to come forward to confess their sin and kneel under God’s grace and forgiveness.

Our church, like so many, isn’t used to “altar calls.”  We’ve done it before, but we certainly don’t do it weekly.  So when we do ask them to come forward, it’s somewhat new and intimidating.  I imagine a lot of folks are worried about what others will think if they do come forward.  Others are saying, “I can make any decision from the comfort of this chair; I don’t need to go forward to make it real” (which may be true).

Whatever the case, I asked folks to humble themselves before their Creator, come forward, confess their sin and find grace, forgiveness and healing.

And it happened.  God’s Word proved powerful.  People came.  A lot of people.  They kneeled.  They confessed.  They cried. And God smiled and rewarded their courage and humility with forgiveness and strength and restoration.

So for what it’s worth, keep those pages of your Bible turning.  Be humble and open and let God’s Word do what God’s Word does best:  change lives.

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I read a verse this morning that has me a little stumped.  It’s 1 Kings 3:3 – Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

High places were altars built on (high) hillsides by the Canaanites for sacrifices to pagan gods.  These high places were detestable to God and He had commanded Israel to destroy them (Numbers 33:52).  However, not only did they not destroy them but they were actually using these detestable altars for sacrifices to God.

What got me thinking was the word, “except.”  This verse says that Solomon loved and obeyed the Lord except he sacrificed on the high places.

Forgive me for feeling this way, but that just doesn’t sit well with me.  It seems to open the door to some tough questions:  Is God content with some failure/sin in our life as long as we obey Him (enough) in other areas of our lives?  Can we feel good about loving/obeying God even while we intentionally disobey Him?  Does this verse give us permission to compartmentalize our life and follow Him in some areas but not in others?

Maybe, though, we should be thankful that God’s grace allows for the “except;” and that His unlimited love and forgiveness recognizes that none of us, this side of heaven, will ever live without an “except.”  There will always be areas in our lives where we hold back and are unfaithful to God.  While this verse in no way condones sin, it does remind us that by God’s grace we can love Him and He will love us, despite our “except.”

Where’s that leave me?  With a fresh desire to purge the “excepts” from my life.  And to know that in the midst of that battle, I will love God and He will love me.   No exceptions there.