Teacher devotions: Simple Church - 2 Thessalonians 1

2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.


I had a coffee this morning with an old friend who belongs to another church. We talked about missions and ministries in the post-modern world, and what it means to be disciples in our local communities. My friend talked about deliberately growing smaller churches where members could concentrate on strengthening their faith and sharing the Gospel. He envisioned a simpler church where Christians would only be committed to short term projects instead of long term programs. Congregations would rediscover what the First Christians used to call “The Way,” – a much less complicated faith which brought people closer to Christ.

As he talked enthusiastically about this new “old style” church, I could only nod in agreement. Doing church has replaced being church. Pro-active membership has displaced prayerful commitment. Instead of giving our lives to God through Christ’s work, we want Christ to work at making our lives better. Rather than adding to our knowledge of God, we invent another program to add to our church schedules and bury our spirituality with busy-ness. Our congregations are smothered in satisfying our needs, instead of silently sitting at the feet of Jesus. In short, we have forgotten the Way and wearied our spirits.

It seems to me that God has called us to be congregations and churches to simply glorify Christ and share His Good News. Everything else is just fluff and merely burns out our exhausted souls. I think it’s about time we rediscovered the Way.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to climb out of the morass of church activity that we have painfully created for ourselves. Enable us to focus on a few faithful things that will simplify our commitment and lead to a better understanding of what You want us to fulfill. Keep us from over-extending our time and help us to find our way back to You through prayer, study, and worshipping. 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 or ask a question, please contact him, by email at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest drawings. It’s called “Jonquils for Julia” and depicts the first bloom of daffodils heralding that Spring is near. If you would like to view a larger version of the image, please click on the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/5427279505_5ed72e7ac5_b.jpg

Teacher Devotions: 1848 Repeated - Psalm 145

Psalm 145:19              He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 

Any serious history student would know that all of the current civil unrest in the world, the riots in Arabian countries, and the protests in Wisconsin are very similar to what happened in 1848 across the world. In the history books, the revolutions of that year are called the “Springtime of Nations” because both Germany and Italy were formed after those revolutions. Before 1848, those countries did not exist and were made up of different kingdoms and small states.

Most of the 1848 revolutions across Europe and the rest of the world failed. Reactionary governments quickly suppressed the riots and maintained their authority over the people. Most of the revolutions were actually food riots, the likes of which we are seeing in Egypt and Yemen. A lot of people think this is a democratic global revolution, engendered by the freedom of internet information. If the truth be told, it’s more about sky high food prices and young people who can’t find work.

If history repeats itself, especially when we never learn from our past mistakes, we’ll soon see the cracking down of these revolutionary forces. Bahrain and Jordan, Yemen and Saudia Arabia are already doing this. Egypt is beginning to look like post-revolutionary Iran and we’re likely going to see a theocratic government take the place of the military authorities. I’m not prophesying these things; I’m just recognizing that historic events sometimes follow pre-existing patterns.

My concern is for the minority Christian communities in these revolutionary areas. When a revolution starts to dissipate, a minority group is often targeted as the enemy by both revolutionaries and reactionaries. These Christian communities have suffered for years. My hope and prayer is that the Lord will hear their cries and protect them.

So in the midst of our prayers for the world, let’s remember the Christian communities who are struggling for existence in these areas.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, once again the world is suffering from political and religious turbulence which is destabilizing peace throughout the world. We pray that Your Spirit of peace will prevail, especially in those revolutionary places where the Christian church is harassed and persecuted. Listen to their cries and save them. Hear their prayers and protect. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s 2011 Holy Week drawings. It’s called Passover and depicts the moment when Christ on the Cross passes over into death. You can view a larger print of this image at the following link:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5394517049_ef741c1bdf_b.jpg

Teacher devotions: Nearer to God - 1 Thessalonians 4

1 Thessalonians 4:16             For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Probably most of us go through each day from one event, experience, or hour until the next without giving any thought to Christ’s Return. We are so far removed from the time of Paul that we go about thinking something like: ‘well, if Jesus has waited almost 2000 years to return, He probably won’t get here in my lifetime.’ We forget, though, that unlike Paul, we are now 2000 years nearer to that incredible day when Jesus arrives to finally judge the Earth.

This is why changing our present lifestyles is so crucial: honestly ask yourself this: if Jesus arrives today, will I be ready? Will I be taken or forsaken? Will I go to heaven or hell?

Some people turn off when preachers talk like that. They stick their heads in the sand and go into denial about what’s going to happen. They think that if they shut it out from their minds, it won’t ever occur. All they want to listen to is Pollyanna preaching and read happy-go-lucky theology. They don’t want to accept that their time, civilization, culture and society will be no more when Christ returns.

So for those people, let me reiterate: Understand this: Jesus is coming back at a time that we least expect. Will we be ready?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, free us from fooling ourselves and for filling our lives with trivial pursuits. Remind us that we each have everlasting souls and that the destiny of those precious souls depends upon the faith choices that we make on Earth. Keep us from making the colossal mistake of setting aside Biblical truths and replacing them with cultural philosophies. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Today’s image is one of John’s latest “Scotland in Winter” prints called “Bonnie Dunkeld.” It depicts the beautiful town of Dunkeld covered in snow. You can view a larger image of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5393592425_c5a7d357f7_b.jpg