From One Degree to Another

Phil Auxier's Blog

Connect

I Wish My Pastor Were More Like…

by

Like me, you’ve probably been to a conference or heard someone preach on radio or on the internet and wished you could sit under the ministry of that person consistently. I was really edified, then, when I read this post from Steve Burchett on When Your Preacher is NOT John Piper. This encouraged me in two ways…1) It encourages and exhorts me to be a better pastor, specifically in the ministry of the Word. 2) It encourages and exhorts me to listen better to preaching. Here’s the five tips Burchett gives:

1) Rejoice that your pastor preaches the Gospel.
2) Recognize that certain men are uniquely gifted by the Lord to have an international ministry and appeal, but this is not the norm.
3) If your pastor is (honestly) dull, but he preaches the truth faithfully, a little statement I once heard might be helpful for you to remember: “The mature worshipper is easily edified.”
4) Listen “outwardly” to the preaching.
5) Verbally encourage the preacher(s) in your church.

Read the full post for the expansion of these ideas and, better yet, put these things into practice this coming Lord’s Day.

Sermon/Recap – 8/23

by

Yes, the sermon from today, 8/23, is online. It is entitled “Compassionate Father and Lost Sons (1)“. I thought we had a great Lord’s Day morning. Full fellowship and lots of people serving one another and working to make the morning be pulled off in a way that brought glory to God. So I praise God for that, first of all.

I thought the sermon on Luke 15:11-16 was especially good is exposing what lost people see. I have a hard time remembering what it was like to be lost, since I am so entrenched in church culture. This sermon was really eye-opening in that regard to me.

And, it had been some time since we came to the Lord’s table together. That was an especially deep time of fellowship. So, I’m full. What a wonderful work God has done today. And we still have small group tonight.

Senior Pastor Model Questioned…

by

Challies pointed to this discussion on the failures of the Senior Pastor model. Now, as a senior pastor, why would I allude to such a thing? I think many pastors, even those how have elder-led church governance, deep down act as if they are the center of the universe. God wants us to be servant leaders, though. Too many pastors feel as if God’s given them a leadership team so that they don’t have to do ministry they don’t feel like doing (often couched in terms of giftedness). But God has called pastors (read: elders) to be shepherds and overseers of the entire work of the church. This means that we are called to do more than just sit as a board and make decisions and that there is more involved than just being relational with people. Pastoring means oversight and shepherding. It means doing things we don’t FEEL like doing and laying down all of our selfish proclivities for the glory of Christ and the good of His bride, the Church. This is the kind of ministry that characterized Christ and the early apostles and this the ministry that should characterize us. Not some SENIORPASTOR-centered limitation that stifles the plurality of leadership that God has ordained in a local body.

More on prep for Lord’s Supper…

by

I thought Kevin DeYoung’s post on Tears and the Table is another helpful consideration in our preparation to come together at the Lord’s table this coming Lord’s Day. Here’s the quote from the Heidelberg Catechism that is so helpful…

Question 75 asks, “How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?” Here’s the answer:

In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken break and to drink this cup. With this command he gave this promise: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

Weekend Prep (Part 2)

by

I just finished the sermon for this coming Lord’s Day from Luke 15:11-16. It is part 1 of 3 sermons on “The Compassionate Father and Lost Sons”. In this sermon, I hope to engage hearts as God’s Word shows us what it looks like to be lost. Honestly, I think one reason so many of us don’t love the lost like we should is that we have forgotten what it was like to be lost. God’s Word is up to the challenge of engaging us on this idea. Plan to join us this weekend.

Lord’s Supper This Sunday AM

by

Yes, this Sunday AM we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. If you get a chance, work through the following links to get a good, Cross-centered focus working as we come to the table together.

Prayer for Lord’s Supper from Valley of Vision

From Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer: Prayers For the Lord’s Supper (In Preparation for the Lord’s Supper, In the Celebrating of the Lord’s Supper, and After Celebrating the Lord’s Supper)