The Faith of a Child

Jennifer Sweeney was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and come to know the Lord at the age of 12. This relationship with the Lord has been a continuing influence throughout her high school and college years, and has remained a critical part of her life since coming to Living Hope nearly 10 years ago. In those years at Living Hope she has been involved in ABF, preschool ministry and small group leadership, and has been blessed by the growth and fellowship experienced by her involvement in those ministries here at Living Hope.


Each Sunday I am struck and often entertained by our preschoolers in their matter-of-fact outlook. To each of them the stories that they learn on Sunday are just that . . . a matter of fact. The aspects and attributes that we teach them about God are . . . a matter of fact. And the forgiveness that God offers to them is . . . a matter of fact.

I recall on several occasions overhearing our preschoolers discussing the details of what they learned that day, and these discussions always bring a smile to my face. Just a few weeks ago it was a discussion about Joseph. Of course in December, with the Christmas season, we were learning of Jesus’ birth. On the surface it seems easy enough, but the complexity arises when there is a Heavenly father and an earthly father, enter Joseph. As the boys were discussing about Gabriel talking to Mary and then later to Joseph, one of the boys made the comment that it was good that the angel let Jesus’ dad know what was going on. This of course sparked the other preschooler to make sure we were aware that Joseph was Jesus’ earthly father because God was Jesus’ “real dad”. It made me smile to hear their “fresh” outlook on this story from God’s word, but it’s not to be overlooked the spirit in which they discussed it. To each of these little boys there was no question. To them every aspect was truth.

Through our preschoolers I am always refreshed by their matter-of-fact belief. Some call it “childlike faith” but it all boils down to them believing these truths as fact without question. To them the stories of the Bible are fact. They believe Jonah was in the belly of the whale, that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in the fiery furnace, and that Jesus was born in a stable with farm animals surrounding him and Mary and Joseph. These are not up for discussion; they are black and white with no gray.

Somehow along the way as we become adults gray sometimes enters our minds and our views. We all get busy and life becomes much more complex than it was as a child, and somehow the stories of the Bible can often lose their marvel in our hearts and minds. How recently have you sat and thought about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fact that those three men stepped into an unbearably hot fiery furnace and survived? Can you imagine yourself there? When was the last time you thought about Jonah being thrown off of a boat and ending up inside a whale? Not one person in history has endured the belly of a whale since, but that doesn’t mean God ceases to do amazing works and that the story of Jonah didn’t really happen.

Our preschoolers in all their vibrant energy know for certain that God is real and that He did the amazing work in the stories we teach them. Several times in scripture God calls us to be child-like, and Jason touched on this today in his sermon. God calls us to emulate children in our faith and our humility. He encourages us to approach Him and “receive the kingdom” as a child would. As simplistic and uncomplicated as the life of a child is, to take on that spirit of a child in relation to God and our relationship with Him is a very tall order. To soak up all that God has to offer in our relationship with Him and with others and to do it in the manner that a child would is not easy, but God does provide and equip us. May we allow God to work in our lives to make us more child-like. May we believe “matter-of-factly that Jesus was God’s Son, that He came as a baby, living a sinless life so He could die in our place . . . but even more may we share such a “matter of fact” with others so they may come to know Him too.

Evangelism in the Church of Ephesus

Thomas Weakley and His wife Laurie have been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for 27 years. He has been the director of the ministry at WKU since 1985. The Weakley’s have been members of LHBC for over 20 years serving in numerous capacities. Besides his responsibilities with Campus Crusade, he currently teaches an ABF class and is an adjunct professor at WKU and the Southern Baptist Theological seminary.

As I was listening to Jason’s sermon this morning on the Church at Ephesus, I wondered how Ephesus’s loss of first love impacted its evangelistic zeal. (By the way if you missed the message I would really encourage you to get a copy. It was excellent.) Did the church at Ephesus stay evangelistic with the gospel or did its evangelistic focus change to something else? I believe that every church and every person is evangelistic about something. Churches can be evangelistic about their new program, or their new facility or maybe a new ABF class or possibly even a new staff member. But is the church evangelistic about the Gospel, “for it is the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes” Don’t misunderstand me, programs, facilities, ABFs and staff members are all great. But they are not the Gospel. They may help lead one to hear about the gospel but in themselves they are not.

Individuals can be evangelistic about a lot of things as well. Some may be evangelistic about a new diet program, others about a new parenting approach or the new top selling book or maybe even a basketball or football team (sorry Titan fans). The things may not be bad but they simply are not the Gospel. Nearly twenty years ago I went to my first NASCAR race at the Daytona International Speedway. Yes, I am a gear head NASCAR fan. In the stands all around me were fans of specific drivers. And yes they were very evangelistic! For nearly four hours I sat next to a man I did not know but you would have thought we were best friends because we supported the same driver. For the entire race we talked about the driver, the pit stops, etc, etc, etc. But strangely I never talked with him about the Gospel. Yes, it is very loud at a NASCAR race but the point still exists. I could have said, you know that Bobby Labonte, he is a Christian or that Kyle Petty he is a believer in Jesus Christ. But in reality I missed my chance!

Even though I have had the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with thousands of people, I still need to keep my focus on the Gospel, the Good news of Jesus Christ. If not I can become evangelistic about many other things. One of the things that have been extremely helpful and has enabled me to be more evangelistic is a definition of successful witnessing. When I was a sophomore in college at WKU, I heard Dr. Bill Bright give this definition: “Successful witnessing is taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God!” For thirty years, this has been so freeing for me. I used to believe that I had to know every thing about the Gospel and talk a person into salvation, but I do not. I simply need to be available to be used by the Lord. I do need to open my mouth and initiate but success is in God’s hands not mine.

Many of you have seen and even used different tools evangelistically. The one I have used the most is called the Four Spiritual laws or Knowing God Personally. The church office has a number of different tools you can use but the most important tool is your own life. As you live life among coworkers, fellow students, other parents etc, be available to the Lord. An invitation to church, an offer to pray, an encouraging word will do more than you can imagine. You may not be able to share the entire gospel with some one the first time but that is fine. Over time God will continue to open doors for you if you are looking for opportunities to be evangelistic about the Gospel of Christ. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

By the way, what are you evangelistic about?

Upcoming Bloggers

In the next few weeks you'll get to hear from these leaders in our church.

Thomas Weakley and His wife Laurie have been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for 27 years. He has been the director of the ministry at WKU since 1985. The Weakley’s have been members of LHBC for over 20 years serving in numerous capacities. Besides his responsibilities with Campus Crusade, he currently teaches an ABF class and is an adjunct professor at WKU and the Southern Baptist Theological seminary.


Jennifer Sweeney was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and come to know the Lord at the age of 12. This relationship with the Lord has been a continuing influence throughout her high school and college years, and has remained a critical part of her life since coming to Living Hope nearly 10 years ago. In those years at Living Hope she has been involved in ABF, preschool ministry and small group leadership, and has been blessed by the growth and fellowship experienced by her involvement in those ministries here at Living Hope.


Emily Cassetty has been calling Living Hope home for about twelve years. She came to know Christ as a teenager in the youth group at Living Hope and was baptized at Living Hope as well. She met her husband Matt at Living HOpe and they both dearly love raising their children within this church family. Emily has served everywhere from the church nursery to preschool to Financial Peace University in the past and currently serve in the high school ministry, with the women's ministry leadership team, and she leads a women's Bible study on Thursday evenings. Emily and Matt also adore their small group that we have been apart of for three years now. They both rejoice at how the Living Hope Body of Christ has loved them so well, given them so much, and walked alongside them through the happiest and most devastating times of their life and they are just grateful to be able to give back in any way we can!

Worship

Jennie Webb and her husband Chad







Jennie started going to Living Hope during college. She got involved in the Young Careers ministry and the choir. Through Young Careers ABF Class, she met her husband Chad. They were married in May last year. They are now in the Young Couples ABF and small group. Jennie serves in the worship choir and also on the vocal team to lead our congregation during times of praise.


One day I was on vocal team about to sing the song Your Grace is Enough. I was not looking forward to it because, well, for one it is not my favorite song, and secondly, the chorus can get pretty high. My throat was sore and I worried that I wouldn't be able to hit the note and I would fail at leading the congregation in worship. Then as I began to sing, the Lord spoke to me through the song. The second line in the song says, "You use the weak to lead the strong." I immediately thought, that's me! I'm weak, doubting that Jesus can help me sing the song, and yet God is using me to lead a congregation of pastors and life-long believers. I felt as though the Lord was telling me to stop worrying about whether you like the song or not; stop fretting about how you will sound. Just worship me. I think back on that moment sometimes when I am beginning worship. No matter what the song or how my voice is, I can experience a true time of worship with my Savior.

Some of you might disagree with me. You might be thinking, Your Grace is Enough is the most awesome song ever sung. You could chime in about what songs you like and don't like, but that's not why I'm writing this blog post. We all have different preferences, but the truth is, it doesn't really matter...not what you or I think anyway.

We looked at the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:1 on Sunday, which said "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." I think of worship in a similar way. You can have a voice greater than anyone in the world, you can close your eyes and look as though you are singing with great passion, but if you are not truly expressing love for the Father through these actions, then it is only a "resounding gong" to the Lord. It might sound beautiful to those in the sanctuary, but as the bulletin insert says, we are singing to "an audience of one." He only requires that we "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." (Psalm 100:1). The worship ministry's purpose is to express love for the Lord and help lead others to do the same. If it sounds nice to the congregation, that is an added bonus.

Something unique about this part of the church body is that church attenders see worship ministry members each week during the services. After a while, they'll start to remember faces. They may know your name or they may just remember you as "the lady that dances" or "the big tall goofy guy." Regardless, they see you as a Living Hoper, a Christian. I think this gives choir members accountability. We should always act in a way that is Christlike, but let's face it, if we knew a church member was watching, we'd be more mindful of how we behaved. I sometimes think about that when I am tempted to respond in a way that is less than holy. I might not know the person who is watching, but it might very well be someone who remembers me from being in the choir. Without even knowing it, my actions could turn someone away from church, even away from Christianity.

We all have a responsibility to live lives that draw others to Jesus. People may know we are believers because we are in the choir, because they see us in another ministry at church, because we tell them, or because we just live our lives in a way that says there is something different. Regardless of how they come to know we are Christians, let our actions continually prove the love we have for the Lord. As Jason says, let them say of Living Hope, that we are a church of love.

Jennie Webb

A Titanic Opportunity – How can we offer hope….

Dennis Strom is an Adult Bible Fellowship teacher, chair of the construction building team, and has served on mission trips to Costa Rica with Living Hope.








As I sat in one of the pews upstairs and waited for the church service to begin, I marveled at the ministry going on within the sanctuary. The musicians were ensuring that their instruments were ready to play great music for us, the ushers were making sure that people had a church bulletin and a place to sit, several deacons were shaking hands and welcoming people and the ministry staff was down front talking to people who had been at the prior service. Living Hope is a place where ministry happens but a place that could provide so much more to our community.

As the service started I was touched by the baptisms of people willing to follow Christ, encouraged to learn that Living Hope is impacting people all over the world (people being baptized from Russia, China and Romania) and motivated to hear the “Titanic Opportunity” we have here at Living Hope. I want to weigh in on that “opportunity” for a few minutes… As Jason developed the illustration of people in lifeboats from the Titanic who are safe but unwilling to leave that safety to help someone else; the message for the morning was clear to me. Personally, I have been in many different countries all over the world doing short term mission projects. I enjoy them and find great fulfillment in serving in this way. As I thought about Jason’s point, I found myself being convicted about my short-sightedness. I have been walking by people everyday with the same needs as those in other countries, I have been prepared to serve on a foreign field but maybe not so inclined to share my faith or help those I know here in Bowling Green. I am very comfortable with my faith and I am not one who shuns conversations about Jesus but maybe I have not been focused on initiating those conversations. Maybe I need to share my faith differently and more purposefully? What about you ?

As the Church, Christ has called us to love God, to love each other, and to love lost people. Doing these things is what being the Church is all about. So what have we all done lately to love God? What have we done lately to love each other ? And what about those lost people? We all know someone who needs to know Christ, so what are we doing about it?

Maybe the next time you shake a hand you can envision it as an opportunity to pull someone into your lifeboat, maybe the next time you hug someone you can use it as an opportunity to introduce them to your faith and the saving grace of Christ and lastly, maybe the next time you say hello to someone in passing you can make yourself stop and spend a few minutes fellowshipping with them. Who knows what opportunity that encounter might offer you.

I agree with Jason that it is time for believers to stand up for “all” the things we believe in. That includes loving people who are lost, helping people who are in need and building those relationships that allow true Christian fellowship. You remember our call to arms here at Living Hope….. “Get to God, Grow in Christ, Give to others”.

As the church we have been sent by the Savior to carry His message……….we are to do so in our words, in our convictions and in our lives. The benefit will be ours if we impact our community for Christ’s sake. It will add to that “Abundant Life” Tim Brown spoke of this morning.

As I close I must comment on the altar call that deeply touched my heart. Does anything like people coming to the altar to pray move you to tears? It surely does for me. Seeing the call to prayer from our Pastor and the heartfelt response of our church family warmed my heart and motivated me to serve more faithfully. Going to that altar is like taking that special picture that you treasure for a lifetime. It is a memory you will never forget as you spend those few minutes with your Savior. Come on Hopers, we need to be about the work of the Church !



Dennis Strom