Off the Edge

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:22

One of the ways God secured the welfare of the people was to command the farmers to stay away from the edges of the field. Live off of the center. Allow the needy to reap the edge.

We are living on the edge. Every penny is spent. We have no time. Life is demanding and at the end of the day, there is nothing left. Leviticus 23:22 is a call to pull back, to live off of the center. Determine what you need. Determine what is truly important. Leave the rest alone. Allow the needy to reap the edge.

When life becomes hectic we grow self absorbed. We use every ounce of energy, every penny, and every moment to serve self. There is no time to serve others. There is nothing left to give. When there are no edges left on our field those in need become inconveniences, interruptions to an already spent day.

Someone needs your time. Determine what is truly important. Live off the center. Allow someone else to reap the edge. Leave enough time in the day to serve, to visit, to listen, to talk.

Someone could use a meal. Fix a meal for your family with an edge, an extra portion to give a neighbor. If we were honest, most of us fix more food than we eat. We trash the edges. Don’t trash the edges, fix another plate. Give it away.

Budget your money to meet your needs. Use the edges to create opportunities to bless others. Save $2.73 per day, you will have $1,000 in a year. Go on a mission trip. Donate it to a cause. Help a hurting family.

Mission Poverty (Sermon Audio, Sunday A.M.)

852 million people are living in poverty. Secular humanists, naturalists, and environmentalists say one cause of poverty is an overcrowded planet. The solution is birth limits, the redistribution of wealth, and socialism. This will be the course of action if the church does not reenter the conversation about poverty. The impoverished were Jesus’ primary audience. The church, to a large degree, has changed the channel. The gospel is good news to the poor. If the church shares the mission of Jesus it will have a strategy to engage the problem of poverty.

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Mission Life (Sermon Audio, Sunday A.M.)

Everyone is tribal. We all have our clusters of people with whom we share common interest. They are our people groups. Life is a mission. As we are living we should also be working to spread to the glory of God within our people groups. On a global scale we should be working to spread the gospel to all people groups. Whether at home, the ball field, or overseas life is a mission for the glory of God.

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Christian School

Since the beginning of ’09 the Next Steps Team has been meeting, reading, and working toward discerning God’s will for the next five years in the life of RBC. In our meeting Monday night I asked the Next Steps Team to make a recommendation to the Nominating Committee for the formation of a group of three to do a feasibility study. The feasibility study is regarding the possibility of Ridgecrest Baptist Church beginning a Christian School. The recommendation reads as follows:

We recommend that that nominating committee appoint a 3 person team to conduct a feasibility study concerning the establishment of a Christian school as a part of the future vision of Ridgecrest Baptist Church. We recommend this study be conducted over a three month term with a report to be given in April of 2010.

In either the November or December business meeting the nominating committee will bring those nominated to the floor for a vote by the membership. The group will begin working in January and make a formal report in April.

During the feasibility study we will be trying to answer questions about the impact of a Christian School on our community, building codes, funding, and the opportunity for Christian education in the eastern area. We will be seeking wisdom from other leaders and churches who have previously walked this path. At this point there are a lot of questions and very few concrete answers.

I am really excited about this endeavor. God laid it on my heart to be involved in education shortly after he called me to serve Him in the ministry. I feel it is time for us to explore this opportunity together. With the demands on family life and the challenges of a decadent culture, we must take seriously the call to diligently teach our children to love God and obey His Word (Deut. 6:4-9). Somehow we must equip those who have decided to raise their children with a Christian worldview to effectively accomplish their parental goals (Ephesians 4).

I am posting this information simply to have a better opportunity to communicate it clearly. Many people in our congregation serve in other capacities on Wednesday nights and their service prevents them from attending our regular business meetings. Our students are now worshipping at Paine Elementary on Wed. nights and are also unable to attend these meetings. I understand that following last night’s announcement, word will travel quickly in our congregation and community. Though it may travel quickly, it may not travel clearly. I hope this posting helps the communication process.

May God give us wisdom, and may we effectively minister His gospel here in Trussville, in the eastern area of Jefferson County, to our state, our nation, and to the world.

BB
Gal. 2:20

Legacy

Is God doing something in you that will give life to others long after you are gone? A dead man touched Elisha’s bones and he came to life! If we return to wholly following the Word of God we can have victory. We must learn not to only seek to live for God in a few ways, but to live for Him in every way. This sermon is the final in the Elisha, Man of God series.

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Life Doesn't Have to be This Way (Sermon Audio: Sunday A.M.)

What if you knew what was about to happen next? Looking back we can identify moments when our choices set off a seemingly unstoppable chain of events. We live with the consequences of our actions. Elisha is about to set off a cataclysmic chain of events. He will name Hazael the king of Syria. Hazael will reek havoc on the Hebrew people. Yet just before this happens the author of 2 Kings shares 7 verses that outline a more hopeful consequence. For those who are faithful to God, He is faithful to them. This story is an open invitation to the Hebrew people who stand on the precipice of judgment that life doesn’t have to be this way. If you are suffering the consequences of your actions you can begin a hopeful journey toward restoration. So when you look at the next several years of your life what do you see, consequence or restoration?

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Dr. Afman

“We ought to be a people of The Book”, he would say. He would pray, “Since you are the author of The Book, you are the best teacher of The Book”, and he would ask God for divine guidance as he gave his lecture. There is another quote I will never forget. “Everywhere the Christian goes is sacred.” It was a short statement on the privilege and responsibility the born again share as the indwelt temples of the Holy Spirit of God.

Dr. Fred Afman went home to be with the Lord today. He was certainly one of my heroes and one of the greatest professors I have had during my prolonged academic life. I treasured his teaching. My grandmother and Dr. Afman contributed to my love for the Old Testament. He was a godly man. He was a great teacher of the Word of God which he often referred to as “The Book.” When he taught you could tell he was a man immersed in the Word. His wisdom and application were captivating to me. It didn’t hurt that he also had a great Bible voice. It was like listening to Moses or a great prophet. I imagine that most of the great Bible characters had an Afman"esque" voice.

Surely we all have heroes. We should all have holy heroes. As they pass from the scene the issue becomes one of succession. Who is next? What is next? Having spent so much time lately in 2 Kings, I see the importance of leaving a legacy of godliness. The slow erosion of society into sin inevitably leads to a generation that will become conquered by and captive to sin. The consequences are severe. I pray that God would use me in the lives of others like he used Dr. Affman in mine.