The Plowman

Ever since I began blogging about a 18 months ago I have tried to get my pastor, Rod Harris, to join me on The Plowman and write a post every once in a while. He is the one who got me started reading web logs in the first place. I know he is a voracious reader of blogs, and remembers everything he reads. I often hear things in his messages, that I have read the previous week or two on someone’s blog. He has a very keen wit, so I know he would be interesting to read. We discuss often what we read on the blogs about SBC life, so I know he is very knowledgeable of the machinery of the state and national conventions. I just can’t seem to get him to write anything for me. Listening to his Wednesday message earlier today made me realize that he does his blogging from behind the pulpit.

As some of you may know, I record, edit, and post pastor Rod’s sermons on a podcast called Bulldogs and Piggies. As I listened to this Wednesday’s message, getting it ready for publication, I realized how relevant it was to what is going on in SBC life. Simply titled The Church: Why? and What?, pastor Rod first discusses why the believer needs the Church, what is the Church, and what makes a church. It was so clear and succinct, and the application at the end was brief, but to the point. By way of application he laid out three things that the Church needs to do in a rapidly changing world:

• We need to make sure we live out the truth we profess.
• We need to work on incarnating the gospel daily, making the gospel flesh and bone as we meet people.
• We just need to be the Church, who God called us to be. Easily said, but difficult to carry out.

  I figure as long as he is going to preach like that, then I am going to comment here, and try to provide a simple outline. Maybe two things will happen: You’ll be curious enough to follow the sermon or podcast link in the right margin, so as to benefit from this sage’s vast knowledge and insight. And hopefully someday I will irritate my pastor enough to cause him to jump in there and represent himself on The Plowman, or on his own blog.

IMG_4390.JPG, originally uploaded by Wayne Hatcher.

Well fall has finally finally hit here in Oklahoma. Most of the trees are starting to turn a bit now. These Sassafras trees are really beginning to turn. My wife Suzan slipped out and took these shots while I wasn’t looking (actually, I was asleep).

IMG_4395.JPG, originally uploaded by Wayne Hatcher.

Here is a close-up of a holly she also took. It had rained in the night, and by mid-morning, drops still hung to the leaves.

Be sure to catch all of the other wonderful photos at the Friday Photo Group.

Well, pastor Rod returned from his well-deserved vacation to give an interesting message last Wednesday evening that he titled “I Did Not Know Chico Was a Baptist.” My assistant recorded this so I haven’t yet heard the entire audio, so I am just as curious as you are to know what “Chico” and “Baptist” has to do with this message, but while editing the audio for publishing, but I think it has something to do with all of us being ministers in the church and not just the pastor. If you are curious about this and the two messages delivered this Sunday, click the “Bulldogs and Piggies” link in the right margin.

In this Sunday-morning message, from Matthew 7:21-27, pastor Rod focused on the problem of false professions, of assent without faith, profession without possession, of “salvation” without lordship. Pastor concentrated on two indicators of this fatal problem:
1. Verses 21-23 clearly reveal that a mere verbal profession of faith accomplishes nothing. There are many who are confident that they are saved, but it is a false confidence. Right doctrine with out a right relationship to God in Christ is of no value. Luther, Whitfield, and Wesley were all examples of men who knew the truth, had right doctrine, long before they were saved. We also see that good deeds aren’t enough either. The issue is relationship. The issue is being rightly
2. Verses 24-27 point out that mere intellectual knowledge falls short of saving faith. The real issue is what is your life built upon? A set of facts you have agreed to? Or have you acted upon those facts by putting saving faith in Jesus Christ. See the analogy of the two houses built on different foundations. Saving faith goes one more step beyond assent to the facts, to acting on those facts.
Are you willing to live the faith you say you believe? No one but God alone can tell whether you are savingly trusting in Christ alone. Salvation is a gracious gift of God, but there is a cost in believing, namely dying to self and living for God. It’s not a perfect life, but a struggling life giving glory to God. What does the future hod for you.

This Sunday evening, pastor Rod is nearing the end our study of the book of Joshua, covering the first 28 verses of the last chapter. I suspect the last message in this series will take place next Sunday evening. This passage probably contains the most famous quotation in the whole book: “And choose this day whom you will serve, . . .But as for me and my house. we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15, ESV).
It is hard to live as light, when everything around us is geared for darkness. It is hard to be faithful, when all we ever see is unfaithfulness. In chapter 24, Joshua, at 110, on the threshold of eternity, challenges the children of Israel to a life of faithfulness to God. In this passage, when Joshua calls the children of Israel to a life of faithfulness, he is also calling us to a life of faithfulness.
1. In verses 2-13 we see that a lifestyle of genuine faithfulness demands a remembering of what God has already done in our lives. The central theme in this passage is what God had done in the past. This is something each of us need to do from time to time. We need to stop and reflect where we would be if God hadn’t stooped
2. In verse 15 is that famous line mentioned above which points out that a lifestyle of genuine faithfulness demands a persistent determined choosing. Showing your reverence to God by serving Him faithfully in sincerity. In this passage Joshua is charging the children of Israel to get off the fence and whole-hartedly choose one or the other, God or the idols. This call to choose is not a point-in-time choosing, but a continual, ongoing choosing; choosing today, tomorrow, and every day that follows. This concept goes hand in hand with this morning’s message, in that salvation involves this same concept. Salvation is not just a point-in-time decision, but an ongoing process, in one sense. It’s not just “Who did you trust in way back then?”, but “Who are you trusting in today, and every day?”
3. In verses 16-28 there is a call to vigilant watchfulness in a lifestyle of genuine faithfulness. Joshua warns the people to put away the idols that were already in their midst, and to incline their hearts toward God.
May we also be found faithful.

Everybody have a good work week. Listen to a sermon or two online this week. I do.

When I was a kid in the 60’s I can remember watching Oral Roberts’ preaching and healing services on my grandparents’ black-and-white TV set. Always under a tent, he would be strutting up and down the platform, hands a waving, sweating like a politician with his shirt sleeves rolled up, and mopping his brow with a white handkercheif. That was pretty neat stuff for a kid of eight or nine.

Oral Roberts turned to building a univrsity in 1963 and a hospital in 1981, each here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pictured above is the prayer tower, located in the center of the Oral Roberts University campus, where it is told that in 1980, while up in the tower praying, Oral Roberts had a vision of a 900-foot Jesus who told him to build a hospital.

The City of Faith hospital lasted only eight years, basically proving too costly to run. Tulsa, with a population of around 200,000 at the time, already had four major hospitals. The City of Faith is now called the Cityplex Towers, with a few floors leased out to a small specialty orthopedic surgery center. Beside some other non-medical businesses leasing space, the facility remains largely unoccupied. The common joke around here in the 80’s was “Why would a faith healer need a hospital?”

All of the buildings on the ORU campus take on the futuristic architecture similar to the prayer tower and the Cityplex towers. It is an interesting campus, although I can’t vouch the academics. Kathie Lee Gifford is an alumni, if that is any indication.

Don’t forget to see all of the wonderful photos of all of those other “churchy” bloggers around at the Friday Photo Group. Y’all have a good weekend. When you go to church on Sunday, remember, it’s not about us, it’s all about giving glory to God and to the Lamb.

Our pastor Harris was out of the pulpit this Sunday on a much needed vacation. In his absence we were treated by the “pulpit supply” of Bowden McElroy. Many of you know Brother McElroy from his web log Interregnum. The message he delivered was entitled “Love Does No Harm”, and was taken from Romans 13:8-10. Below you will find a brief outline. You can listen to the mp-3 audio here. Brother McElroy also supplied Trinity’s pulpit back in March. You can listen/download those two messages at Trinity’s audio site.

We are always sad to see pastor Rod absent from the pulpit, but brother McElroy was more than capable in providing a faithful gospel-centered message. Thank you, brother Bowden McElroy.

What makes the church? The church is a body, a group of believers, gathered together in the name of Christ who do this: Leave no debt outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another. (Romans 13:8)

1. Love is an action, a debt to be paid, not a feeling.
2. Love is ongoing. Love never quits. We can never say “enough”.
3. Love does no harm.

Challenge: Think about what a church is. It is not a building, set of rules, or grouping of tradions. God has called you here to love one another.

These two photos were taken at Our Lord’s Community Church, in Oklahoma City, where my wife and I met our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter to hear a couple of lectures by Michael Horton. Although I enjoyed both lectures that I heard, Dr Horton is at his best when he is leading a round-table discussion with his three friends, Kim Riddlebarger, Ken Jones, and Rod Rosembladt on The White Horse Inn. It was still well worth the trip.

The OKC Conference on Reformed Theology hosted Dr. Horton during their fifth annual Conference on Reformed Theology. Dr. Horton also spoke at the conference on Friday, but I couldn’t get off work to go. The audio from the conference should be available at www.reformokc.com in the very near future. At least that is what I was told.

See all of the other excellent photos from Christian bloggers at the Friday Photo Group

Here is a good post to encourage you to participate in church by saying the amen.

Jesus begins a number of statements with “Amen dico vobis. . .“, which is “Truly I say to you. . .” in Latin. When we use the word amen, we are affirming the truth of a statement made by another.

When Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . .”, He is, among other things, calling Himself The Amen. We should be careful how we handle one of our Lord’s names, but we should use it and mean it, all the same.

Just some thoughts on a post about speaking up in church. Let me know what you think about a noisy congregation. Pastors, does it distract, or encourage you?

I am going to start posting my notes of the Sunday messages at my church. My hope is that some of you will find the brief outline helpful, and maybe even prompt some of you to go to the download site, or even cause you to subscribe to the podcast and actually listen to the messages my pastor preaches. In any case I hope you will enjoy it. Drop me a comment to let me know what you think. Listen to the audio and find out how well I take notes. Please don’t correct my spelling, though; that is why I got married. The links to the podcast, download page, and auto-iTunes subscriber are in the sidebar toward the top.

Sunday Morning Message
Pastor Harris describes his first pastorate, as he introduces this message on The Demands of the Gospel, from Matthew 7:13-20.

“When we moved from Fort Worth to the metropolis of Masham, Oklahoma, it was an adjustment. We got up and watched every car come down the road. There weren’t that many of them. People would say “I went through Masham once, but I missed it. There was a truck parked in front of it.””

1. The truth of the gospel demands a clear-cut choice. Christianity begins with a choice.
This passage lists the choices as two, which are two ways to salvation, one true, one false.
There is but one way to salvation and life. It is a narrow way.
Jesus puts the difficulty at the front of the gospel. That is not the way we evangelize. We make it sound nice and simple and easy, and then make the disclaimers: “Now, the Christian walk is difficult at times.”
Jesus didn’t con anyone into the kingdom. That is the way we need to be.
The narrowness of the Gospel lies in the fact that there is only one way to God. That is greatly hated in our pluralistic society. The SBC, some years ago, put out a series of prayer guides showing Christians how to pray for the salvation of peoples of other faiths. This set off a fire storm. We were accused of hate crimes. All we were conveying in this practice was that there is only one way to God, through faith in Christ. I still love the definition of religious liberty given by Donald Gray Barnhouse: “You are absolutely free to go to hell any way you choose, or you can go to heaven God’s way.”

2. The truth of the gospel demands diligence against false teaching.
There are false prophets, on tv and behind pulpits. It doesn’t matter how often they quote the bible. We have an obligation to judge every message, and test every word we hear.
Here’s a test for false prophets: 1) There is more than one way to God. 2) There are no disturbing doctrines in their message. 3) What kind of fruit does it produce?

3. Conclusion: “All have sinned”. The road we are naturally on is that wide path. Has there ever been that time that you have gotten on that narrow way? No one just happens by that way. You have to make a choice. God, by his Holy Spirit, has to save you. The narrow road calls us to both embrace and reject.

Sunday Evening Message
Future Faithfulness, from Joshua 23

1. Future faithfulness is built on a grateful past.
To confess that God is sovereign is to say that He providentially works so that what ever goes on around me, God’s hand is in it. We should not trust our feelings, but what He has said in His word. Joshua pointed the people back to the things God had done on their behalf to preserve them and in conquering the people around them. Emotions should play a part in our faith, but they should never be the basis of our faith in God. Biblical faith is not a leap in the dark. We have reason to believe because of what God has said in His word.

2. Future faithfulness is established by personal obedience.
Because God has blessed, we are obligated to joyfully obey Him. These charges by God were not racial in nature, but rather religious. See in verse 16: “if you . . . go and serve other gods and bow down to them. . .” God was not concerned with mixed marriages, but rather the people of God marrying unbelievers.

3. Future faithfulness is reinforced by a solemn reminder.
Joshua reminds the people that God’s faithfulness is a two-edged sword. The God who is faithful to bless when you obey, is the same God who is faithful to punish when you disobey.

God has called us to faithfulness. May we be found faithful.

Well, I haven’t been posting much lately. That will probably continue for a bit. With cooler weather and the ever-increasing tidy-up projects, more of our free time has been spent outside. For the last couple of weeks I have been welding a gate together from scrap oilfield pipe, and an antique spoked wheel. We have always wanted an exit from the front yard west into the pecan orchard, so as cooler weather arrived I began the project. I made the breach in the fence over a month ago, and then had the hardest time finding the material needed to do what I wanted to do. The gate is up in the gap but I am still working on the nifty little latch. I should be finished with all but the brushing down and painting this weekend. This gate is the widest of my three yard gates because the other two were too small to allow our new mowing machine into the front yard.
This Sunday next I suspect that Pastor Rod will be discussing gates, as he has worked his way through The Sermon on the Mount to that point (Matthew 7:13, 14) where Jesus commands his hearers to “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”. I remember the first time I heard a message from this passage from Thom Smith, now pastor of Randolph Street Baptist Church, in Charleston, West Virginia. It must have been twenty-five years ago. The thing I remember him stressing most was that most people draw the wrong analogy from the two gates. The two gates do not represent belief versus non-belief, but rather the one, true belief versus all of the multitude of false beliefs.
Pastor, Sunday-school teacher, Brother, as you preach, teach, walk, what kind of gates are you building for people to walk through?
Be sure to check out all of the other bloggers photos at the Friday Photo Group on Flickr.

I have started a set on Flickr named Making Gates that I will be adding to as my gate project progresses. Check it out.

A line of thunder storms formed over eastern Oklahoma last Thursday, bringing us much needed moisture, without any of the nasty weather in the mix. The next day, the line reformed about a hundred miles east, over in western Arkansas. This time it was a bit more dicey, but still nothing really severe, just lots of rain. This first shot was taken about 3:45 p.m. from just east of the Port of Catoosa. Yes, Tulsa has a sea port.
Later, back in Tulsa, this next shot was taken about 7:20 p.m. at the corner of 51st and Mingo, while I was waiting for the light to change.

He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Have a blessed weekend. Be sure to check out all of the other excellent photos at the Friday Photo Group.