Remember When?

Someone gave me an article entitled, "Remember When?”

Do you remember when?

• the only hazard presented by insecticides was running into flypaper?
• a marriage outlasted all three wedding present toasters?
• a drug problem was trying to get a prescription filled on a Sunday?
• bicycles and chickens came fully assembled?
• paperbacks had more passion on the cover than in the contents?
• a whole family could go to the movies for what it now costs for a bag of popcorn?

Someone gave me a beautiful wall hanging which reads:

Change is all about us, and sometimes it can be frightening. Some people find change challenging; even exciting! Some find change puzzling as they wonder how they will adjust. Times change and people change with the times. Very few things remain as they once were. How many of us have returned to the places of our childhood and marveled at all the changes that have taken place? A lot of changes that have taken place over the years have been for our benefit. Think for a moment of all the changes that have taken place in the field of medicine, transportation and housing! How many of us would want to live as our ancestors did a hundred years ago?

There is a movement within society, and even within some church circles, that proclaims that God has changed. He no longer has rules - only suggestions. He is no longer a jealous God when it comes to worship - just believe in something nice. That Jesus went to the synagogue to worship as his custom was on the Sabbath is no longer an example for others to follow. Salvation is given to everyone, so forget any mention in the Bible of false prophets. Sin is a word that is intolerant of other lifestyles, so let’s drop it from our religious vocabulary. Hey, we could go on but I think you get the point!

Allow me to share with you Hebrews 13:8.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Look at 1 Peter 1:23,

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

God has not changed but for some people their perception of Him has changed. Rather than find it frustrating that there are still rules and expectations to live by, should we not celebrate that in the Lord there is stability?

Children of God, let us celebrate that the Lord of creation, the God of the prophets, the Saviour who died and rose again and the light of the early church is the very same God we worship today. God has not changed when it comes to the expectations He has for his children and neither has his love for his children changed.

Your Pastor & Friend,
John Fraser

Holiness

Within Church circles we make frequent use of the word "holy". We refer to the Bible as being a holy book. We speak of Sunday as being a holy day. It should go without saying that our God is a holy God. So, what does the word holy mean? Holy means set apart from, different from and above that which surrounds it.

The Bible is different from all other books. The Scriptures have been set aside by God for a unique purpose, and that is to convey God’s will and God’s way to God’s people. No other book written or printed was designed with this divine purpose in mind. The Bible is God’s Word breathed by the Almighty to spirit filled individuals who recorded it in printed form.

We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that; “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” It is when we treat the Bible as man’s word, man’s opinion and of man’s design that we run into all sorts of problems. In many homes and in many churches the Bible is seen only as a good book a nice book but not a holy book. The Bible needs to be returned to the top shelf.

Sunday is a holy day because Sunday is different from all other days of the week. The Sabbath commemorated God’s day of rest following creation while Sunday commemorated the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. Early Christians worshipped on both the Sabbath as well as the first day of the week (Sunday). In time, Christians felt led to set aside Sunday as their holy day and they honored that day by resting from their labors. God’s people need one day of the week that is different from all other days. We need one day specifically set aside for worship, for rest, for meditation and for fellowship. That is not to say that we cannot do these things on any other day of the week but that we need one day free from the distractions of the pace that we set for ourselves during the week.

What happens when we take the holiness out of Sunday and treat it as just another day is that we forget the intended purpose for which the day was given to us. Churches now have to compete with stores, sport gatherings and other venues because such places no longer see Sunday as holy. God’s Word declares; “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy,” (Exodus 20:8).

The world in which we live is full of gods. We place people, things, events, our jobs, our toys, and other deities as the most important thing, object or desire on which to focus our attention. When we do this we no longer see God as holy but simply as one of many objects on which we can (providing we have the time) focus our attention. We live in a culture that says it really doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you believe in something. Such an attitude has stripped God from his place of prominence and placed him on cultural shelves for people to pick and choose from. We no longer agree with the prophet of old who declared; “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory,” (Isaiah 6:3).

We need a return to the Holiness of God, the Holiness of our day of worship and the Holiness of the Bible.

Where Are the Youth?

The number one question most often asked of a minister being interviewed for a church vacancy is; “What are your gifts when it comes to youth ministry?” Congregations want to know where the youth have disappeared to and what can the new minister do to bring them back.

We would all love to have our churches full of young people and we wonder what it is going to take to get them there. Congregations will try a multiplicity of things to get youth into the church. Some churches will hire a youth director. Some will install the latest of audio tech equipment in their church hoping that it will appeal to the youth. What about a Praise Band with drums, guitars, horns, singers and the most up-to-date praise songs? What about involving young people in the life and work of the church (greeters, equipment techs, readers and Board Members)? Completely revolutionize the format of the worship service or at least have a contemporary service along with your traditional service. I am certain that you can think of a number of other options to try and you probably have, and you probably have met with limited success. I really don’t have anything against some of the above mentioned suggestions, but I don’t believe that they are the answer to the problem; “Where are the Youth?”

I believe there are two very important areas that we must look into when tackling the problem of dwindling youth. The first is that we must ask ourselves the question, “Why do we want young people in the church?” Sounds strange? You have never asked this question, correct? Churches should start asking the question, and they should ask it honestly. We don’t bring about true growth - God does. The Bible tells us that, “GOD added to the church daily.” God is not going to add numbers if the congregation’s only reason for desiring young people is to fill the spots vacated by seniors! Haven’t we all said; “if we don’t get youth into the church then this church is going to die in a few short years.” Well, maybe the church deserves to die if their only reason for wanting young people is to enable seniors to retire!! We must have a real spiritual concern for our youth that they might come to know God as the Lord and Savior of their life. When a young person knows Christ as their Lord and Savior you will not be able to keep them out of the church! Congregations must become more involved in the field of evangelism of youth.

The second important area when it comes to adding youth to the congregational roll is to target parents! You cannot get young people into the church if their parents don’t take them. You cannot get young people into the church unless they see that the church is also important to mom and dad. You cannot get young people into the church unless from day one (age of baptism) mom and dad said, “You are coming with us.”

Where are the youth? The youth are all around us waiting for someone to plant the seed of faith that will lead to conversion. Where are the youth? The youth are at home and they need more than a taxi to take them to church.

Youth need mom and dad to say; “I’m going and so are you.”