Teacher Devotions: 2010 - A New Year, a New Journey

Psalm 147:5    Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

I like to think about each New Year as a journey of faith, where my understanding about God and my beliefs in Jesus will grow deeper and stronger. I’ve tried to be a Christian for almost 33 years and throughout each year, I’ve learned more about God’s words and Christ’s ways. It doesn’t make me anymore holy or saintly, but rather as each year passes I am in awe of God’s patience, love, and grace.

Perhaps you are also wondering about this New Year and new decade that we’re about to enter. Maybe you have hopes and dreams for your life, or perhaps there are fears and worries on the horizon. Whatever is ahead, know this: God is still mighty and powerful, and His understanding of our lives and circumstances are limitless.

We all tend to make resolutions at this time of year, but perhaps this is the perfect time to ask God what He would wish to resolve in us. If we will let Christ guide us throughout this new journey of 2010, then I think that there will be all sorts of new opportunities and possibilities about growing in faith, getting nearer to God, and finding our purpose.

So may 2010 be a Happy and Prosperous New Year for all of us, but also a more meaningful and faithful journey in Christ.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, as we stand on the threshold of another new year, we pray that You will come to meet us and lead us onward in this amazing journey that we call life. Take us to where You would have us effectively do Your work, and empower us to minister to those who travel with us. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@presbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Blue Christmas Candle & Poem

Christmas can be a painful and lonely time for some people. At our candlelight service, we light a Blue Christmas candle for those who are grieving, hurting, or ill during the festive season. This prayer poem is recited as the blue candle is lit. It's a very meaningful and emotional time for some members in the congregation.

Blue Christmas Prayer

There’s no room at Christmas for sadness,
There’s no place for hearts that are blue.
All the world wants to hear
Is a word full of cheer,
Not a sigh, not a tear, not from you.

There’s no room at Christmas for loneliness,
There’s no place for your emptiness and grief.
All the world wants is peace,
Mistletoe and Christmas trees,
Not a heartache that mars its beliefs.

There’s no room at Christmas for sickness,
There’s no place or time to be ill.
All the world wants is health,
Prosperity and wealth,
Not a pain that can spoil its goodwill.

There’s no room at Christmas for Jesus,
There’s no place for His family, too,
All the world would not share,
No one seems to really care,
A stable will just have to do.

Silence……..

Yes, there’s room at Christmas for sadness,
There’s a place in God’s heart for you.
For He knows pain and loss,
Which He felt on the Cross,
So this candle is lit here for you…
*For Christ knows what it’s like to be blue.

* light a blue candle

Teacher Devotions: Christian Contenders - Philippians 1 v 27,28

Philippians 1:27b-28a                       I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

Like most kids, I was bullied at school by several people who loved to intimidate me on a daily basis. They would bump into me on the soccer field and trip me up deliberately, or they would gang up on me in a quiet corner and seek to terrify me.

It got so bad that I didn’t want to go to school. My grades plummeted and instead of being in the top ten group in my class, I sank almost to the bottom. My mom wanted to go and face my daily oppressors, but that would have shamed me even more. She wasn’t mentally fit anyway, so I didn’t think that she could make any difference.

And then one morning during recess, just as the bullies were coming to get their usual sadistic pleasure out of intimating me, my mom appeared out of the blue. She verbally tore into them and publicly humiliated them. As I watched their faces get redder with embarrassment I realized that they were just children like me. My mom gave them a dressing down and the other kids in the school playground cheered her on. I guess that some of the other kids had been bullied by them too.

After that incident, things got better. I wasn’t afraid any more and got back into the top ten students in my class. The bullies’ reign of terror was ended and my mom became the heroine of my heart. Sadly, insanity and schizophrenia would expunge the incident from her mind, but even although it has been more than forty years since the event occurred, I still admire her what she did for me that day.

These days, Christians are contending for the Gospel in the face of persecution and harassment, imprisonment and even death in many lands. Their undaunted faith is a living testimony to the truth of the Gospel and work of Jesus Christ in the world. Society sometimes seeks to diminish Christianity and make it irrelevant. But the more that we are philosophically and socially opposed, the more true Christians appear to contend for the faith of the Gospel and stand up for Christ’s holy words. We will not be bullied, berated, or beaten down.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, faith is a precious gift and one that world desperately needs. All over the earth, Your Church and Your people are being made to feel insignificant and irrelevant. We are told that we are intolerant by intolerant people. We are viewed as being reactionary by those who violently react to Your teaching. We are humiliated and harassed all over the world by brazen bullies and godless governments. Help and empower us to contend for the Gospel, just as our brothers and sisters in our faith did so long ago. In Your Sacred and Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Hopes and Fears - Advent 3 - Job 23 v 16

Job 23: 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.

I feel sorry for Job. He was living at a time when people believed that personal pain and suffering occurred because God was angry with them. This meant that any tragedy was clouded with a terrifying fear that God was punishing the people. Any illness or sickness, any setback or obstacle was seen a sign of God’s wrath. Only repentance and sacrifice would suffice to appease God. Only humility and contrition would placate the Almighty.

Thank God then that we are New Testament people! We are no longer bound by those primeval fears. Christ has come into the world to tell us not to be afraid. Christ has given the ultimate sacrifice for all of our mistakes and sins. The threat of divine punishment is no longer to be dreaded. Instead of being terrified of God, we are attracted to Him through the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Out of the 6.5 billion people on this planet, about 5 billion live under the religious fear of God’s wrath. They are terrified of plagues and famines, wars and earthquakes, floods and disasters. They are anxious about offending God and worry over the smallest of mistakes. They constantly spend their resources on appeasing false gods and try to buy divine blessings. Christianity, however, has a real message of hope for all of these people who are plagued by superstition: Do not be afraid and be of good cheer.

In this pre-season of Christmas that we call Advent, we should constantly pray for the world to be open to Christ’s message of goodwill, forgiveness, and peace. It has the potential to save the entire world from its fears and to lovingly restore everyone to God’s favor and blessings. If only Job knew way back then what we know now, he would never have been driven to despair through his fear of God. He could have been comforted, embraced, and encouraged by God through the presence of Jesus Christ in his life.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we all carry hopes and fears in our hearts and minds. We pray that You will diminish our anxieties by graciously responding to our concerns. Guard us and guide us. Embrace us and bless us. In Your Holy Name, we confidently pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. He enjoys reading your reflections.

Buying a Kindle: Top Ten reasons for Buying a Kindle this Christmas!

10:       You can carry many books at once without hurting your arm or bursting a bag.

9:         You can subscribe to your favorite magazine, newspaper, or blogger.

8:         You don’t have to make any more room in your house for used books.

7:         You don’t need a garage sale to get rid of your used books.

6:         You can send important pdf documents to your Kindle and impress your boss.

5:         Everybody at the local coffee house now thinks that you’re cool.

4:         You can turn pages at the flick of a button.

3:         You can highlight and store favorite quotations.

2:         You get best sellers downloaded immediately at unbeatable prices.

1:         You don’t have to wait in line at the bookstore anymore!

Go on, you know you want one!

Teachers Devotions: Arguing Against God - Job 23 v 4

Job 23:4          I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

I feel sorry for the whole Christian Church right now. We seem to be stumbling over our own feet and are constantly struggling with issues of homosexuality, poverty, and abortion. There doesn’t seem to be any clear consensus about what we should believe, and no matter what biblical verses or principles are used to prop up one side of a theological debate, the other side trumps it with a different interpretation. We are so tainted with this urge to state and enforce our views upon the Church that we have lost the capacity to convince the world that what we believe in is the truth. In our desperate need to make everyone feel accepted and for us to be liked, we’ve thrown out Christ with the waters of baptism and allowed the waters of chaos to overwhelm us.

I personally feel as though I’ve taken the wrong path and allowed myself to justify my beliefs. I’ve confused and fused my culture with my Christianity. I’ve stuck my head in the sand instead of drawing a line in the sand. Instead of letting the scriptures be my guide, I’ve relied upon my conscience. Instead of following the words of Christ, I’ve followed the maddening crowd. I’ve permitted modernism to mangle my relationship with Christ and have let post-modernists diminish my preaching. I feel like a prodigal pastor and a theological prostitute. I need to repent, refocus, and return to the Kingly Christ of the Scriptures and not the jolly Jesus that society has created.

In the Old Testament, Job fiercely expressed his right to contend with God and be acquitted through the power of his arguments. In the New Testament, Christ freely sacrificed Himself because we cannot contend with God and be acquitted. We may be able to defend our thoughts and justify our beliefs to other people, but we cannot do the same with God. Only Christ can advocate on our behalf. And only He can do this for us if we repent of our pride, our arrogant mistakes, and false misconceptions.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we foolishly believe that our society has it all right and that Your words are outdated, outmoded, and outflanked. You clearly laid out the godly ways to live our lives, but we sinfully pick and choose whatever is convenient for us. Pardon our arrogance and stupidity for believing that our generation is right and that all previous Christian generations were totally wrong. Redirect our paths and reclaim our churches as Your own. In Your Heavenly Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: Christmas Singalong - Hosea 6 v 3

Hosea 6:3        “Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

At this time of year, I usually tune my car radio to a station that plays Christmas music all day long for the month of December. I like the old familiar songs that I grew up with. Most mornings, you’ll find me crooning to Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Andy Williams as I drive to church. The songs get me in a great frame of mind and even when interstate traffic is slow, I just enjoy more time to sing along with my favorite performers.

Christmas is all around me on my journey. I see festive signs, Christmas trees, and seasonal sales everywhere. I laugh at some of the billboards and smile at church notices. I watch people hurry and scurry over at the mall. I even have a child’s delight when I see bright colored Christmas lights and lawn decorations when I head back home in the evening.

I love this time of year, but I also remember that Christmas has not come, and that this is actually the sacred time of Advent, when Christians everywhere are supposed to be focused on the Second Coming of Christ. I ponder quietly and wonder if I am prepared for that amazing event. I switch off the Christmas music and turn on my heart to pray.

Will Christ come again this year?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, I think You also enjoy the bright lights, joviality, and festivity of Christmas. People everywhere appear to love this time of year for different reasons. I hope and pray that they will also quietly stop and think about You, Your Teaching, Your Life, and especially Your Return. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send John an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. He loves to receive your feedback.

Teacher Devotions: Being Saved - Acts 16 v 30

Acts 16: 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

I am both humbled and proud of the fact that I believe I was saved in June of 1977. Some Christians are uncomfortable with that term and others look down upon anyone who claims to be saved. I get the impression that they feel as though it’s beneath them to be saved and that anyone who claims this is really spiritually immature and dumb.

I feel sorry for them because they don’t understand what being saved really means, nor have they experienced the spiritual strength that comes with this wonderful event. For me, it occurred when I was struggling with the meaning of my personal life and felt really isolated from the world. For the Philippian jailer, it was both a salvation from death and a spiritual liberation for his whole family.

I believe that being saved by Jesus means being freed from our doubts and fears through becoming reconnected to God’s everlasting love and infinite grace. It also means that I understand that I cannot do anything to earn God’s mercy or pardon for all of my mistakes. I am saved from the eternal consequences of my sins by Jesus, who has died for me and taken my place. Death may come one day, but it will not swallow me up forever. Because I am saved, I belong to Christ for all of eternity.

One of the important membership questions that people are asked before they join our church is this: Do You accept Jesus Christ as Your Savior and Lord? In other words, they are recognizing Christ’s ministry of saving them too. After all, we wouldn’t call Christ ‘Savior’ in our Presbyterian vows if we didn’t acknowledge that we needed Him to save us, now would we?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are our Savior and we are all in need of being saved by You. Without Your sacrifice, we would not receive God’s mercy. Without Your Salvation, we would have no everlasting hope. Thank You for saving us and restoring us to the eternal love and grace of God. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: Godly Grace - Matthew 5 v 45

Matthew 5:45b  He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God’s grace will always remain a mystery to me. I want life to be fair, for the wicked to be punished and the good to be rewarded. I want righteousness to be blessed and brazenness to be condemned. I want the arrogant to be humiliated and the humble to be exalted. I want the pious to become powerful and for the unholy to be diminished. In other words, I want God to do what I want to do, instead of applying His grace to those who least deserve it.

When I stand up on my self-righteous pedestal and reproach others for being sinful, I seriously forget that I need God’s grace more than anyone else. When I feel smug about my faith in Jesus, I go down a road that ends up in pride and perdition. Instead of recognizing my sins and bowing before God, I shamefully roar and berate others for their godlessness. I am a hypocrite, in need of help and healing, humility and holiness, godliness and grace.

Each day, God causes the sun to rise on the evil and good. He does not separate them. He allows His grace to shine on all. Each year, He brings rain to the righteous and unrighteous. He does not distinguish between them, but rather God refreshes all. It’s both a mystery and a miracle to me. It’s a wonderful way of applying grace to an undeserving world full of undeserving people like me.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You died for this whole world in order to redeem it from sin and restore it to God. Sometimes we want to limit Your grace and define Your love. Forgive us for failing to truly recognize that grace is both completely unmerited and totally undeserved. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Christ's Fan Club - Dancing with the Stars

Luke 17:25     But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Apparently, Donny Osmond won “Dancing with the Stars” last night on television. I never watch the show but millions of other people do, so I’m guessing that many of those who voted were lifelong fans of Donny.

I can remember his first single disc “Puppy Love” and how teenage girls all over the world screamed and swooned at the concerts where he was performing. After Elvis and the Beatles, Donny and his brothers were the biggest act in the music world during the 1970’s. His only rival was a young black kid called Michael Jackson. It’s funny how life turned out for both of them.

I admire Donny’s comeback and maybe his win on the show will rekindle his showbiz career. He’s not done a lot of international performing for the past two decades, because most of his fans outgrew his music and rejected his ‘soppy’ love songs. Perhaps a new wave of nostalgia among his original fans will help rebuild his career.

People are fickle, especially those who are obsessed with celebrities. As the years come and go, so does their enthusiasm for performers, artistes, and stars. Even leaders in both the political and religious worlds can be negatively affected by this group mentality. One day the people want to crown you as their king; the next day the mob wants to crucify you to a Cross.

When Jesus was talking to His disciples, He warned them several times about the suffering to come. Most of them were caught up in Christ’s popularity and enjoyed being connected to Him. Jesus frequently reminded them about the fickleness of the crowds. He knew that He was destined to suffer. He fully understood that the people would one day reject Him.

Several generations ago, Christianity was a popular faith. The Church had helped lead our people through two World Wars and the Great Depression. Faith was a key component that enabled our people to endure the worst and hope for better days to come. But then, decades later, the same communities who had embraced and increased the Church began to reject Christ’s teachings.

Sadly, we now live in a time where agnostics and atheists are using their belief system to undermine, diminish, and marginalize our faith in the public arena. However, the Church has faced this before in different places and times. At some point, revival occurs and the Church emerges in a stronger way. We only have to look at the flourishing churches in the former Soviet bloc countries to see that this actually occurs. The world may delightfully tell us that the Christian Church is dying, but it forgets that death only means resurrection for us.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You have stood the test of time and Your Church has endured persecution, devastation, and destruction throughout the centuries. Your Spirit never fails to inspire people every day to come to You. Thank You for the gift of the Church in the world and for the promises of hope and resurrection in the years to come. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Everlasting Words Acts 6v10

Acts 6: 10        But they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

Some people believe that we are living in a post-Christian world where Christ’s ways and words are losing their effectiveness in society and throughout the globe. In places like Britain and all over Europe, secularism is increasing and churches are emptying. People believe more in themselves and get what they want out of life, rather than taking guidance from God or experiencing Christ’s grace.

One thing that I have noticed is that when people become more secular they also become more selfish. The law of the jungle and survival of the fittest take the place of God’s laws and faith in Christ. Greed overrides need; vanity replaces charity; and the love of money overtakes love of God.

Some churches cave in and surrender to secularism and become community centers with small chapels. Some Christians give up on God and follow the maddening crowd. Others become spiritually paralyzed and don’t know what to believe in or do.

Those churches and Christians who remain are the ones who seek God’s wisdom and look to the Holy Spirit to inspire and lead them. They do not stand still nor do they stop growing faithfully and spiritually. They know that Christ’s words are everlasting and no matter how hard the secularists try to kill off Christ, they will not succeed. Christ’s mission and ministries have faced this all before, and once again the Church will reform, revive and be resurrected. The world, society, and the devil may attempt to inflict wounds upon the Church, but they cannot prevail against God’s wisdom, Christ’s ways, or the works of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, the world may try to ignore You, but it cannot eradicate Your Presence. Society may seek to diminish Your disciples, but it cannot halt Your mission. The devil may even try to cause havoc throughout the Church, but Your ministry will always prevail. Thank You for Your power and we give glory to Your Everlasting Name. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: A Great Christian - Acts 11 v 26

Acts 11:26b     So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Barnabas is one of my favorite people in the Bible. He always seemed to do the right thing at the right time. When his Christian community needed money to survive, he sold his property and helped to sustain them. When no one else would trust Saul, Barnabas befriended him and taught with him. Barnabas was a great encourager, so it’s no surprise to me that he happened to be teaching in the very place where followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time. Barnabas was and still is a great example of what it means to be a Christian.

Encouragement is something that we call can use each day, but it’s also a gift that we in the church could do better at sharing. As a pastor, I have seen people come and go to church as they please and I wish for their sake they could be more regular worshippers. I guess they are just waiting for the right word of invitation and encouragement, acceptance and love.

Perhaps today our mission is to be a Barnabas amongst our families and friends. An encouraging word goes a long way, even amongst Christians.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, help us to reach out to those who find it difficult to be in church on Sunday mornings. Enable us to encourage and embrace them, and not treat them as outsiders or backsliders. Let us see and accept them as God’s children and Your followers. Remind us also that we are far from being perfect ourselves. In Your Holy Name, we sincerely pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: We Will Remember Them

Psalm 39:4      Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.

2 Corinthians 8:5       And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

November 11^th has always been a very special and solemn day for me as far back as I can remember. As a child I watched Remembrance Day parades and wondered why all of the pipers, soldiers, and people were marching in the street. Later on in life, I would attend solemn church services and school programs where everyone kept a minute’s silence at the 11^th hour. The silence had a profound affect upon me and I have annually tried to keep it sacred.

A lot of people think about the older men and women at today’s Veterans’ Day marches, parades, and services. I don’t see them as old, frail, and grey haired. In my mind’s eye I picture them all as young twenty-something people whose hopes and dreams were set aside by two terrifying World Wars.

When I hear or read the names of those who died, I see them as young people who should have been at college, but who were called up for service of their country. Their lives were fleeting because they gave absolutely everything.

I feel sad and deeply humbled by their holy sacrifice. I hope that I have lived my life in ways that would not belittle their giving. I may never go to war or serve my country on a foreign battleground, but I will remember, respect, and honor those who have done that in the past, and who are still doing it today.

In Britain and across the many nations of what was once the British Commonwealth, the following beautiful statement is expressed after the sacred time of silence:

“They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. We will remember them.”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we are thankful for Your sacrifice that has guaranteed us salvation. Today we also remember those young people who have given of their lives to secure the freedoms, liberties, and rights of our people. Help us to honor their sacrifice by living our lives freely and faithfully. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: One of Us - Habakkuk 2 v 13

Habakkuk 2:13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?

Our Monday night study group at the church is looking at J B Phillips wonderful book, “Your God is Too Small.” It was written just more than half a century ago, but it is still relevant for Christians today. Phillips discusses the various conceptions that people have about God and how those conceptions are inadequate for modern people. Our group is enjoying the study because we all get to share our individual ideas about God and see how these relate to Phillips’ book.

At one point in the book, Phillips suggests that sometimes people conceive God as a Supreme Distant Being, with no opportunity of establishing a worshipful, prayerful, and personal relationship. Such deists end up feeling spiritually empty, and so they intensely devote themselves to do good deeds and make the world a better place. In the end, their purpose is futile and their mission does not last beyond their years on Earth. In other words, they exhaust themselves for nothing in trying to please the world and a Supreme Being, who is remotely not interested in anything they accomplish.

As Christians, we are thankful for the nearness of God and His intense interest in each of our lives. Jesus came down to be with us, to fully experience human life, to know of its pains and joys, and to recognize our weaknesses and strengths. We live for the Lord and the good that we do is not to bolster ourselves or better the world. We do it to glorify Christ and to continue His mission on Earth, even until the end of time.

Our God in Christ is not too small or remote at all. And our lives are His forever.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we thank You for becoming one of us and connecting our lives to God’s Kingdom. We praise for truly experiencing the human condition and for granting us the glorious opportunity of restoring us to God forever. Thank You for being one of us and for being with us. In Your Holy Name, we gratefully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. He enjoys reading your comments.

Teachers devotions: Prolonging Our Lives

Proverbs 3:1-2                   My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

A lot of my time lately has been taken up with our church’s Capital Campaign. Every day I am dealing with a new item on what I call the Campaign Trail. It’s a fascinating process, but it also can get very burdensome at times.

The purpose of the Campaign is to prolong the life of the church. We are renewing ourselves for the missions and ministries that are yet to come. Our church has constantly grown because we try to apply God’s teaching to our community. Every week, people come to church to hear more about God’s Word, to seek guidance for their lives, and to be challenged by Christ in ways that will make our world a better place.

We grow because God gives us this blessing. We increase because Christ inspires us. We add to our numbers because the Holy Spirit activates our faith.

When the Campaign is over, the true work will begin. I look forward to what lies ahead for our church because we will have more opportunities to glorify God, praise Jesus Christ, and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:                 Lord Jesus, we thank You for the privilege and blessing of serving You. You take imperfect and unholy people and shape them into a church. You work in our midst and inspire us through Your wonderful words and glorious ways. Thank You for such gracious blessings. In Your Holy Name, we praise and pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: In God We Trust

Luke 16:31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Over the years, I’ve been fascinated with the story of the Turin Shroud. It’s the famous medieval cloth that purportedly is meant to be the cloth that Christ’s Body was wrapped up in when He was placed in the tomb. The image found on the cloth is centuries old and it looks like the outline of a crucified man, especially after photographs of the Shroud were looked at in their negative prints.

I’ve never been convinced that this is the true shroud. To me, it’s a discarded canvas that Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or their artistic associates worked on and never finished. The local church in Turin capitalized on their community’s fascination with venerated objects. I guess if the shroud had been recently discovered in someone’s attic, it would end up being sold on Ebay, along with slices of toast that have Christ’s face on them.

Some people need tangible proof of Christ’s Resurrection before they will begin to believe that it actually happened. They want factual evidence, not faith. They want someone to prove that it occurred before they will place all of their lives, hearts, and souls into Christ’s keeping.

But that’s always been the important issue with God: are we willing to trust Him simply on His Word? Are we willing to trust the truth of the Gospels without question, or will we wait until the end of Time to discover it, when all will be revealed? To coin an old Southern preacher: if we wait, it will be too late.

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, faith is a hard burden to carry, especially when we try to pin it down and rationalize it. God has set us this test in order to see if we really trust Him. If we fail, we let go of any eternal hope. If we have faith, we win everlasting life. Keep us from complicating this simple challenge. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you have any comment s about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Bride of Christ

Ephesians 5:32           This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church.

It seems so old fashioned now, but I can remember a time when the title “Mother Church” was constantly used. It referred to the place where we were spiritually nurtured, either as a child or as a new Christian. In my lifetime, there are two places that I would call my “Mother Church.”

The first was a mission hall situated at the heart of one of Glasgow’s toughest and most deprived areas. As I picture it now, I can still see the barbed wire at the top of its steel fence and some of the graffiti that was constantly spray painted on the outside walls. Inside the hall were a couple of classrooms and a sanctuary that could seat about sixty people. The pews were stained with a dark lacquer which would stick to your clothes on a wet day. As churches go, it was as run down as the surrounding area, but it was in that hall that I first really came to hear and know about Jesus as a child.

My second nurturing church couldn’t have been anymore different. It was a huge Gothic church in the center of town. It was about three hundred years old and could seat at least a thousand people. Sadly, when I went there, the congregation numbered about sixty on Sunday mornings.

The sanctuary was magnificent and the stained glass windows were absolutely beautiful. Each time I went there, I was mesmerized. The church organ was one of the finest musical instruments in the city and the organist was a professor of music from Glasgow University.

The Ramshorn Church, as it was called, was surrounded by a cemetery that went back to the seventeenth century. It also had a downstairs Fellowship Hall with a crypt beside it where famous Cotton Merchants and Tobacco Lords were buried. And it was there in that fellowship hall, one Wednesday night in June 1977, that I gave my heart to Jesus. I was reborn and my spirit was nurtured in that church for over five years.

Perhaps today, we might all take time to think about our ‘Mother Churches,’ and give thanks to God for their importance in our lives. Some people think that churches are outdated, old fashioned, and archaic, but Christ has used them successfully as His vehicle for bringing people closer to God for almost two thousand years. The Church is the Bride of Christ, so do we honestly believe that He is going to abandon her after all these centuries? So long as Time remains, so will Christ’s Bride.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for the churches that have nurtured our spirits and brought us closer to You. Thank You for the congregations that have mothered us and shown us the way to God’s Kingdom. Continue to bless our present churches and help them to nurture young people and new Christians. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: God's Timeline

2 Peter 3: 4     They will say, "Where is this 'coming' He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

Podcast version here

Every now and then, I have to remind myself that Christ can return at any minute. I often take it for granted that the world will continue indefinitely and that the seasons will come and go, just as they usually do each year. But then I remember that I am a Christian first and a citizen of this world second. The Earth will not last forever and when Christ appears, human history will be over.

I get so caught up in my own routine and my own wee world that I forget about God’s intentions and Christ’s promises. The ultimate reality is the eternal reality and my ways, my words, and my works are just mere blips on God’s timeline. He is center of the Universe; He is the real thing.

It sounds cliché to some, but perhaps today is the Day when Christ will come back. Am I ready for such a cataclysmic event? Or will I just put it to the back of my mind and trivialize it, so that I can focus upon what’s in front of me and what’s happening now?

Within me, a quiet voice is saying: “Time marches on, John, but not forever.”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, forgive us when we unintentionally set aside the thought of Your Return. Pardon us when we are so selfishly focused upon ourselves, that we forget about Your words, Your ways, and Your works that are still to come. Help us to remember that we serve You and await Your arrival on Earth. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions : Better Things

Hebrews 6: 9   Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation.

For the first time in its history, our church at Erin is undergoing a $1 million Capital Campaign. It’s a high bar to reach and has shaken us up from the cozy culture that we have embraced over the years. We want to be more effective and influential for God’s Kingdom in our community. We want to reach out to more people and families in our surrounding neighborhood. We want to update our facilities and offer our members, worshippers, and visitors an attractive building and a welcoming experience. These are the better things that the writer of Hebrews expresses in his letter – the better things that accompany salvation.

These changes are not easy to accomplish. We all have grown used to our church and treat it like a comfy spiritual sofa. We tend not to see the building’s wear and tear. We tend to put up with an old sound system. We tend to ignore the state of our classrooms because we only use them once per week. But what if the state of the building actually reflects the neglect of our spirits? Don’t we just tend to put up with things spiritually and rely on God to ‘understand’?

The more that I get involved with this campaign, the more that I understand that it’s not about the money. It’s about who we are as Christians and how we practice our faith. It’s both a cultural revolution and a spiritual rebirth, which makes us honestly review our personal commitment to God and how we seek to serve Him. The better things that accompany salvation means that the old way of thinking “that will do” just will not do, and that “that’s enough” just isn’t enough.

This campaign will change our church for the better. It’s also changed me. My prayer is that our whole congregation will embrace those changes too.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, keep us alive and in tune to Your Spirit moving among us. Remind us that we belong to You and that our purpose is to faithfully serve God’s Kingdom. Help us to work for the better things that accompany salvation, so that we may attract and welcome others to Your Church. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Anxious Living

I was reading the other day that film director and actor Woody Allen cannot sleep at night because he suffers from an anxiety about death. He’s an atheist and he can’t come to terms with the fact that his death means the end of all his accomplishments. When asked about death, he says: “The trains all go to the same destination. They all go to the dump.”

I pity him because he’s such a talented and creative person, and you would think that such creativity would help him to see beyond himself. But he has chosen not to believe in God, so he walks around his apartment at night time fretting about death.

For me, faith is real wisdom because it gives us an understanding that we are not the center of everything and that there is a structure, order, and a plan for the universe. God’s creativity is all around me, so I can look at the Smokey Mountains and see His grandeur; I can listen to birdsong in the morning and hear God being praised; I can be in the company of good friends and Christian people and experience God’s presence. Life is good. Death may come, but life goes on eternally.

Proverbs 15: 24 The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.  

The writer of Proverbs knew what he was expressing when he wrote today’s verse. Those who are faithfully wise go onward and upward in life; those who are foolishly miserable end up digging graves for themselves, or just get on board trains that are heading to the dump.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of eternal life and the hope of things to come. Thank You for sacrificing Yourself, so that we may live forever in the embracing love of God. Help us to help others discover this divine happiness. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teacher Devotions: Return to Love

Hosea 14:4      I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

The prophet Hosea lived a tragic life. He fell in love and married a woman called Gomer. She was a prostitute and throughout his married life, Hosea had to buy back Gomer from her life on the streets and in the slave market. She broke his heart again and again, but because Hosea was a faithful servant of God, he forgave her time after time, lover after lover, and sin after sin.

Hosea must have questioned his own loyalty to Gomer and to God. He must have been deeply saddened and shamed by her actions. His soul would have been in anguish and his mind must have been constantly unsettled, but he still plodded on faithfully, serving God by looking after his uncontrollable wife. Hosea had the grounds for a religious divorce, but he didn’t want to leave Gomer destitute and cast aside.

The prophet knew that the day would come when Gomer’s reckless living would destroy her beauty, her strength, and her attractiveness. One by one, her lovers abandoned her and she was left lonely and bitter, isolated and vulnerable. When all seemed lost and hopeless to the wretched woman, Hosea found Gomer and brought her back into his home. He forgave all of the hurts, insults, wounds, and shame that she had caused him. He looked after her for the rest of her life. Hosea remained faithful because he knew that God did the same for His people.

Over the years, I have seen some marriages wrecked because of the selfishness of a wayward partner. His or her self-centered ways have permanently ruined what was once a loving relationship. But I have also seen the forgiveness of faithful partners save a marriage and even strengthen the covenant between them. It reminds me that hopelessness can be overcome by faithfulness and that even the most serious covenantal breach can be healed.

This is how God’s works amongst us. He remains faithful to the last and will not leave us without an opportunity to be reconciled to Him through Jesus. We may wander and drift far away from God, but Christ’s Cross can lead us back again to God’s grace and love. We only have to turn, reach out, and take His nail pierced hand.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, sometimes we let ourselves grow distant from You. We serve our own needs and fulfill our own desires. We wander from the truth and even wonder if You are real. Help us today to turn back to You and let us re-experience Your love and grace. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: The Lost Ring

Psalm 36: 7     How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

My wife Evelyn lost her engagement ring the other day. She had put some hand cream on her fingers and the ring must have slipped off. She left a message on my cell phone to let me know. It saddened both of us to think that something so significant could be lost.

We bought the engagement ring with my last tax rebate before I went to college to study to become a minister. That was thirty years ago. I can remember shopping for it in Glasgow’s Argyle Arcade where most couples in the city bought their rings. It was an exciting time for us and eventually we found the one clustered diamond ring that Evelyn liked after wandering from store to store. It cost us every penny that we owned at the time, and through the years it has become priceless.

Thankfully, Evelyn found the ring on the carpet next to her exercise bike. That was both a moment of relief and jubilation. This weekend, we’ll be taking it to a jeweler to have a clip put on it. We both don’t want the ring to be lost ever again.

When the writer of Psalm 36 talks about God’s unfailing love, he calls it ‘priceless.’ He cannot buy God’s love nor can he compare it to anything else in the whole universe. Believers in Christ know and understand this to be true, for how can we put a price on complete and everlasting salvation? How can we estimate the cost of Christ’s atonement for our sins?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are priceless to each and every one of Your followers. We can never repay the debt that we owe to You for redeeming our souls and restoring us to God. Thank You for such wonderful, amazing, and priceless love. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Teachers Devotions: Battling Bitterness

Malachi 3: 15             “But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.”

Podcast version click here 

The greatest foe against faith is not unbelief; it is actually bitterness. Bitter people find it hard to truly believe in God because it seems as though He has not lived up to His side of the bargain we call life. Resentment and bitterness fragment faith and can eventually destroy it altogether. It is the fiercest foe that the Church has to face. It is the most damaging opponent that Christians have to conquer.

A tragedy, such as the loss of a loved one, can overshadow someone so much that, in the midst of their grief, they bitterly cry out against God’s goodness and grace. A major disappointment, from a Christian leader, family member, or friend, can also lead to an unresolved bitterness against God’s people. And even unfulfilled dreams can be a bitter experience to faithful people, especially when they see evildoers prosper. It’s like a spiritual slap in the face, which leaves the believer unappreciated, unnoticed, and unhappy.

Faith is not enough to face down bitterness. Hope and love are also required to reclaim bitter hearts and diminish resentment. The hope that we have in God’s everlasting justice and mercy reminds us that evil will not triumph eternally. The love that we experience from God through Jesus and His followers comforts and reassures us during the toughest and bleakest of times.

I think that St. Francis of Assisi best described this process of beating bitterness through his own wonderful prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.