Views from the Dugout

Father's, Mother's, and Kids! The whole Truth.

2011-11-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

Well the weather is getting colder... and I think we finally might be headed towards Winter. Although I hate to see Autumn go because that is my favorite time of year.

Today I wanted to talk to you a little bit about our Sermon Series we have been in for the last few weeks. "Family Matters" has been one of the most widely received series that I have ever preached. That just goes to show me that families are hurting and they need help.

Over the last few weeks we have heard about "Why Marriages Fail"; "What Wives Want Their Husbands to Know"; "What Husbands Want Their Wives to Know"; and this week we will be looking at kids and parenting. The Bible speaks so vividly to all of these subjects and I am thrilled that God has allowed me to be able to preach on these things.

If you haven't been able to be at all of the services... you can pick up a CD of each message.... I encourage you to do so.

A few weeks ago I went and saw "Courageous." If you haven't seen it yet you need to make plans to go.... it is a "must see" movie. After the first of the year we will be talking more about the movie and the message of the movie... but let me say this.... MEN, God wants you to stand up and take on the role that He has given us as Spiritual Leaders of the Home. We must not be afraid of this Role.

I really believe that God is trying to challenge Dad's and Mom's to be the parents He has called us to be. In a world where Kids are raising themselves... and have little or NO respect for parents... it is time for something to change. It has to begin with Parents!!!

I really want to see families changed... Divorce should not be even an option for Christians.... Mom's and Dad's must be involved in their Children's lives and take an interest in them... Kids need to learn to obey their parents and respect authority...and so on.

That is why I believe that the next few months at Eagle are going to be really important for all of us. I want you to be as excited as I am about what God is trying to do here. My prayer is that you will get on board with me as we speak the truth about God's view of what the Family should be. I believe if you get excited, and bring your friends to hear the messages, lives can, and will, be changed forever!

So, are you with me? Are you ready for what is going to happen? Don't miss what God is going to do! Make plans to be a part of every week at Eagle... and make a commitment today that you will invite those who are hurting and need Jesus.

Thanks for listening...

Jeff

Is Mormonism a Cult?

2011-10-26T13:57:00.005-04:00

This is an article written by a friend of mine Dr. Lanny Faulkner. He is Pastor-Teacher and Chairman of Elders of First Baptist Church, Atwood, Illinois! Upon permission from Dr. Faulkner, I have re-posted his blog from October 8, 2011. I also will include a link to his blog following this article.

With the Presidential election right around the corner, I believe it is important to understand where we as Christians should give our support and be well educated in the process.

Is Mormonism a Cult?
Dr. Robert Jeffress, who is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has stirred up a whirlwind of controversy by saying that Mitt Romney’s religious group, the Church of Jesus Church of Latter Day Saints, is a cult. Of course Mr. Romney and Mr. Perry and lots of other leaders are falling over themselves to say this is not true.

Well, is it true or not? To answer this question we have to know what is a “cult”?
While one will find lots of varying definitions of a cult, I think there are clearly three tests that can be used to identify a cult.

1) Do they claim to be “Christians?”
2) Do they follow additional sources of authority other than the Christian Bible?
3) Do they claim that they are the only true Christians?

It is clear that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) falls into this category. They certainly claim to be Christians; they recognize sources of authority other than the Bible; and they believe they are the only true Christians. They are a cult, plain and simple. This does not mean they are not good citizens. They are often honest and moral people who love their family and their Country. Under our Constitution, they must be accorded all of the rights and privileges of citizenship. (Be sure of this… when this Country begins to outlaw religious groups it will not be the cults; it will be Bible believing Christians)

I realize that we live in a world where almost no one defines terms biblically, but what the Bible says is absolute truth and here is what the Bible says:

Isaiah 8:20 (NKJV) 20 “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

2nd Corinthians 11:4 (ESV) 4 “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”

It is our calling from God to live for Jesus in a post-Christian and anti-Christian America. Biblical Christianity is nearly extinct in Western Europe and North America! Beloved, Mormons and other cult members do not speak according to God’s Word; they worship “another Jesus” and trust in “another gospel”. According to the clear teaching of the Christian Bible, they are not Christians. Let us pray that God will open their minds to the truth of His Word, and bring them to a saving knowledge of the biblical Jesus!

A special thank you again to Dr. Faulkner for him allowing me to re-post his blog and for his insight to Mormonism.
http://aplacetothrive.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/hello-world/

Who do You See When You Look into a Mirror?

2011-08-29T18:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever really looked at yourself in a mirror? Of course you have! But what I mean is this; Have you ever just stood and stared and said, "Who am I?
You know, most of us look into a mirror everyday.... we get ready for work and we comb our hair.... brush our teeth... shave..... put on makeup..... etc. But all of this is just superficial. Stuff that doesn't last.... we have to continue to do it everyday.... and everyday we keep looking into that mirror. And for a lot of people they don't like what they see when they look into a mirror.

Did you know that plastic surgery is big business these days? So many people want to change the way they look..... "I want to get my nose fixed"...... "I want my cheek bones done."......you know the story.... so on, and so on it goes. But I want to ask you something; Why don't we like what we see? Or, why DO we like what we see?

Last Sunday I preached from Philippians chapter 2..... and it says this;
¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Verse 5 says we are to have the same mindset, or attitude as Jesus.... what kind of attitude did He have? Paul tells us.... He was an encourager; He was a comforter; He was tender and compassionate; Jesus put others above Himself; He was interested in what was going on in the life of other people and was willing to even go to a cross for us. Now that is an example of what we should look like!!!

So I want to challenge you with this thought.

When you look into a mirror from now on.... don't just look at the physical.
Start asking yourself every morning.....

"Do I have the same mindset as Christ?"

"Am I putting others ahead of my needs?"

"Am I an encourager, or do I bring people down?"

"Do I show compassion and tenderness to others, or am I mean and disrespectful?"

Next Sunday (September 4th,) I will be preaching part 2 of the message I started last week. We're going to see more of what Jesus did from the rest of the verses in Philippians 2. You won't want to miss the "Rest of the Story."

I would really like to see us pack the church... God says He wants His house to be full.... would you be willing to ask someone to come to Church with you this week??? Please do.... Let's get 300 people in attendance.

Have a great week.... and thank you for all your prayers over the past several months.... God has answered them... and I am finally on the upswing and feeling pretty good. It was really good to be back in the pulpit Sunday. God is Good! All the Time!

In Christ's Love

Jeff

What the Manager Sees

2011-08-12T15:30:00.004-04:00

Good Morning from the Dugout.

It's about 3:30 am and as I write this I am in the hospital at IOH in Indianapolis for the third time with complications with my foot. I should get to go home in the morning.... or at least some time on Thursday... but we'll see.

It seems like I've been spending most of my summer either in the hospital, or sitting at home, just waiting for this foot thing to get better. I must say it has given me the opportunity for a lot of soul searching and reflection upon my life and ministry.

I hate nothing worse than being on the sidelines... but I have learned so much... and I have so much more to learn. Waiting on God is a biggy... and patience has never been my strong suit. I just keep remembering the verse that says; those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strentgh. Well, that's exactly what I'm doing, waiting, and renewing!

I want to say first of all.... thank you to those of you who have risen up and come out of your comfort zones to fill some void we have had in our church. God has done a tremendous work through you. If for no other reason to be sidelined it has been worth it just to see what God has done in your lives. As a manager watching his players from the dugout... it has been so great to see players develop into great athletics for God.

In the last few months God has been showing me some things about Eagle Harvest. I believe He has something great in store for His Church. I cannot wait to see what it is.... that is why I am waiting and renewing. So far I have been waiting.... wondering WHY? Now I understand the Why... and I'm in the process of letting God do the re-newing.

So, with all of that said, get ready.... It's about time!!! God is ready to do something tremendous and He wants to use ME and YOU!!! Are you ready???

Jeff

Church is a Team Sport

2011-07-06T11:47:00.000-04:00

I’ve been reading a book called, “Church is a Team Sport” by Jim Putman. I cannot get past the fact that this title is so true. So many times Christians just want to sit on the sidelines and take in the game but never get involved.

I don’t know about you, but when I was playing sports, whether it was baseball, basketball, volleyball, or football, I wanted to play. I wanted to be out there on the field. I absolutely hated sitting on the bench waiting for the coach to call my name… and sometimes my name never got called.

Well, I want you to know today, that our Coach, the Lord Jesus Christ, wants to put all of us into the game. He doesn’t want any of His players to be on the sidelines. As a matter of fact, the day Jesus died on a cross for our sins, He made it possible for everyone to play on His team and be a star player.

One might ask, “How do I get on the team?” It’s easy, just acknowledge that Christ died for you, ask Him to forgive you of your past, and then let Him begin to change you. It’s that simple! Once you do that, you are on His team which is the greatest team you will ever play for.

Now, once you are on the team…. Jesus said; I want you to get involved. I want you to be the best player you can be. He never said you have to be the best player; He just wants you to give Him your best. There is a difference. And the only way you’re going to know what position He wants you to play is by practice. I call this “discipleship.”

Once you have decided to be on the best team ever, you need to be discipled. This means, get into a bible believing church. One that preaches that Heaven is real… and that Hell is real. It also means, get into a small group, have someone become an accountability partner to you, and open up your bible and begin a daily bible reading plan. Talk to the coaches, (pastors, and leaders). Have them help you with things you don’t understand. And the most important thing for you to do is tell others about what Jesus has done for you. Tell them that you have joined a team that is so cool and that you want them on your team.

Again, too many people want to just come to church and never get involved. They sit in a pew for an hour; listen to a few songs; listen to a preacher speak for 30 minutes; and then head back home to enter into a new week with the same old problems; same old thoughts about life; same old issues; never realizing that if they would just get off the bench and into the game, life would have so much more meaning. So many people say to me, “Pastor, I just don’t get anything out of church.” My response is this; “You only get out of it what you put into it.” If you’re not practicing and giving your best, you won’t get anything out of it. But if you give your all… you will never be the same ever again.

Are you on the sidelines? Are you sitting on the bench? Are you on the team at all? You can change all of that today. All it takes is you realizing where you are at in this journey. And then making a decision to change… and then let God start grooming you to be one of the best players He has on His team.

1 Corinthians 12 tells us that we are all different, and that we all have different gifts and talents that we can use for the Lord. The weird thing is this… if you’re not part of the team…. Then the Lord’s team is not complete and able to accomplish all the things it needs to accomplish. My challenge for you today is to get on the team. Do it right now! Start playing today.

In Christ

Pastor Jeff

Hope for the Hurting

2011-06-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

Good Afternoon.

My hope for all of you this afternoon is that you are finding joy in your life. Some of you may say, “joy!” what is he thinking? My life has never been more miserable than it is right now… or, “doesn’t he know what I’m going through. How could anyone expect me to be joyful?”

Well, let me start off by saying this… I know how you feel. Even as a Pastor there are times when I don’t feel much joy in my life. Over the past 3 months there have been more days of misery than there have been of joy. (Just being honest) And to make it worse, we as Christians know what the Bible says about joy…In James 1:2, James says to consider it pure joy when we encounter trials of various kinds… knowing that the testing of our faith will produce endurance. And then Paul comes along and told the Philippians and the Thessalonians to “Rejoice always.”

Let’s be honest, sometimes life just gets us down. So what do we do? How do we get out of the funk we get in? How do we defeat depression and feeling low? It’s not easy! Satan likes to get us in that kind of a state of mind. When he gets us thinking those kinds of thoughts he has us right where he wants us, ineffective for God. Yep, that’s right, ineffective. When he has us in this kind of state of mind he knows that we can’t, and won’t, do anything for God…. Why? Because we have our eyes on our own circumstance and we have taken our eyes off of God.

In Hebrews 12:1-4 the Bible tells us; 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

The Bible is pretty clear… Verse 2 says “fix our eyes on Jesus.” When we are in our funk… our depression… we’ve lost site of why we are here. Jesus paid a price for you and me… the Bible says we need to remember what Jesus did for us so we will not grow weary and lose heart. It even goes on to say that we have not even begun to experience what Jesus did. WOW!!! That paints a different picture doesn’t it?

When it really comes down to it… we are a very blessed people. There is always someone who is worse off than us… someone who needs an encouraging word from you. This scripture says that we have people around us who are waiting to see how we react when circumstances come our way… and to run with perseverance.

So my question to you is this… Are you still in the race? Are you looking at yourself, or Jesus? Are you going to finish what you started? Get off the couch or out of bed… open your Bible to the book of John… and let God begin to speak to you and heal you. After all, the Bible says for us to submit to God and resist the Devil and he will flee from us.

My prayer for you today is that you will begin living instead of just existing; That Joy will return to your heart; That a smile will be upon your face as you go through each day.

In Christ,

Pastor Jeff