A quick thought on how Jesus as prophet, priest, and king directly relate to ministry

Posted: 4th November 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Ministry
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First of all, Jesus is the reason for ministry.  If ministry occurs for the sake of ministry, then it’s not ministry; It is simply a gathering without purpose.  We have to be sure that we are doing ministry for the purpose of Jesus. He calls us to be his hands and feet to take action for Him.  If we aren’t doing that, we are way off.

Jesus is prophet, priest, and king (Christology). He is the true prophet. He is the true high priest.  And He is the one ruling king.  This clear explanation of who Jesus is shows us that we do ministry in His model.  We are to do what He did when He walked the earth.  Christology is who Jesus is and that gives us the reason for ministry.  Ministry is an acceptable response to the person and work of Jesus.

It is the role of the church to show Jesus through ministry.  If we the church is not proclaiming the name of Jesus, then no church exists.  No matter the place, circumstance, or person Jesus is always the focus.  The church has the opportunity to show people how to live out Colossians 3:23.  No matter what we do, we must do it for Jesus.  Our actions must be rooted in Jesus.  This has always been the case regardless of whether we exist in a post-Christian culture. I’m not discounting culture here, but Jesus transcends culture.  The culture does not dictate whether we live a life that shows that Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king.  The way we show it may change because of culture, but if we have Jesus on the throne of our life Jesus causes ministry to happen and ministry is done in the name of Jesus.

Colossians

Posted: 3rd October 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Ministry, SEROCKS
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So I have the fantastic opportunity to lead one of the chat groups at SEROCKS for the entire month of October. This chat group will be a full on Bible study of the book of Colossians. It’s a pretty short book at only 4 chapters and one that students can gain a lot of insight into how to live their lives based off of what Jesus did for us.

This past weekend we did an intro to Colossians and talked about the background behind the book. One of the big things that stuck out to the students was the fact that Paul wrote this letter to the church at Clossae while he was in prison in Rome.

One of the great things that I really appreciate about the students that will be attending every week want to be there. No one is forcing them to be at this chat group. They get to choose what they want to do. It is really cool to see these students invest their own time into getting to know God through His Word! (And I obviously get to do one of my favorite things in the world – teach the Bible to other people!)

I’m looking forward to the next four weekends to see these students grow in what they know about God’s Word!

What if…

Posted: 29th July 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Leadership
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Just in case you have been hiding under a rock, a new Ikea store has opened in Colorado.  The new store opened in Centennial, CO on Wednesday.  I drive by the store every day on my way to to work and i have been watching the progress since day 1.

The construction finally finished and the store had it’s grand opening this Wednesday.  On the way to work on Wednesday morning, I saw that craziness that was the grand opening.  There was an insane amount of people standing outside the store waiting to go in when it opened.  I instantly thought to myself, “these people have lost their freaking minds!!”

These people have insane devotion to a stupid furniture store!  The devotion is so committed that they were willing to get up, take time off of work, and stand outside for hours.  All for the end goal of getting a small item for free and going to a store opening.  (If you are one of my friends and you were out there, I love you dearly but your still crazy :) )

As I saw all these people standing outside, I thought of one thing:  I wish people had this type of devotion to Jesus!

I wish people would get up early, take time off of worke, stand outside for hours, and do whatever it takes to tell other people about Jesus and see Him save others.

  • What if we all had this type of devotion to Jesus?
  • What if we started conversation with others around us about Jesus and the redemption He offers?
  • What if we asked other people how we can pray for them?
  • What if we showed others the love of Jesus and met them where they are and loved them regardless of past sins?
  • What if Jesus permeated everything about the way we live?
We have to put Jesus as a first priority in our hearts and minds before our actions are done for Him.  What does this look like?  How about because of Jesus we are generous givers, we pray for the salvation of those who don’t know Jesus, we feed people who don’t have food, we help people who financially can’t afford help, we buy groceries for the single mom who can’t afford them, we help the dad who just got fired from his job, and more.

Whatever we do, we must do it for Jesus.  Do we beat people over the head with legalistic ideas and religious ideals that no one can live up too?  No.  We help people in the name of Jesus and we may earn the right and opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus.

So what about you?  What if you had devotion to Jesus that those people had to Ikea?  If we do have that devotion to Jesus, we literally become world changers in His name for the cause of the gospel.

Don’t waste your life

Posted: 5th June 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Ministry
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How many of us live to just get a good life and to ride it out until we die?  The point of life isn’t so we can work exhausting hours, buy some toys that we can’t afford, build up a good 401(k), add an extension on the house, and go to die in a cool retirement community.

Life is so much more than this!  Jesus said “that that The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus didn’t come to suffer, be beaten, hang on a tree, and rise 3 days later so we could be comfortable and just get through life.  He came so we could live a fulfilled life!  He came and endured so we could live a life devoted to Him.  This means that we aren’t so consumed with living in our little Christian bubble and to only interact with only Christians.  Jesus came to reach the lost and it got him crucified.  Jesus didn’t live a wasted life.  Jesus lived a life reaching those far from Him and we are called to do the same with our own life.  Living for Jesus is NOT living a wasted life.

What if we truly have made the tragic mistake of confusing our comfort with our happiness and fulfilment?

I know I have done this before. If we have made this tragic error, then what does gives true happiness and fulfilment?  Simple answer: JESUS.

YOU WILL NOT WASTE YOUR LIFE IF YOU LIVE IT FOR JESUS.  We should strive to live our life for Jesus.  We should work our jobs for Jesus.  We should marry our spouse for Jesus.  We should have kids for Jesus.  We should play sports for Jesus.  We should go to school for Jesus.  We should eat and drink for Jesus.  We should invest money for Jesus.  We should have relationships for Jesus.  We should live and sleep for Jesus.  We should have fun for Jesus. We should relax for Jesus.  We should be artistic and creative for Jesus (even if your like me and neither of those).  We should suffer for Jesus.  We should endure pain for Jesus.  We should love others for Jesus because of Jesus.

The words of Colossians 3:23 still ring true to this day that say “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”  Anything we do we should do it for Jesus!  Jesus is what matters most.

Want to waste your life?  Here’s how:

  • Live a life striving to get the highest position on the corporate ladder and sacrificing everything (including your family) for that position.
  • Live a life that is focused on retiring and playing golf everyday.
  • Live a life focused on obtaining the coolest, newest tech gadgets.
  • Live a life that is focused on making as much money as possible and not giving any to the cause of Christ.
  • Live a life that is focused on you being apathetic and selfish (like playing video games or shopping every waking moment).

Are possessions and personal finances bad?  Heck no!  But they do become your god and idol when you life revolves around them which is how a person can end up wasting their life.

I would rather die living a life focused on Jesus than living focused on myself.  I can devote myself to Jesus because He’s worthy of my devotion and He’s worthy of my life.  I can’t devote myself to my own selfishness.

Living for anything other than Jesus is living a wasted life.  Don’t waste your life!

 

Watch me burn

Posted: 12th March 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Personal
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If your friends house suddenly caught on fire and they were inside, what would you do?

  • Would you stand staring at the blaze stunned in amazement?
  • Would you stop, kneel and pray for them?
  • Would you go over to another neighbors house and talk with them about the fire?
  • Would you see the fire and just not care and do nothing?
  • Would you quiver in fear because of the fire?

Of course you wouldn’t do any of these!  These responses are stupid, dumb, and just don’t make sense when someone’s house is on fire and they are inside.

Hopefully you would respond completely different than this.  Maybe you would whip out your cell and call 911.  Maybe you would go get some help.  Maybe you would go try to bust down the door and get your friend out.  Maybe you would just start going absolutely crazy because you know that your friends life is on the line.

The bad thing is that is that we as Christians, do this every single day.  People are spritually dead and are dying a slow, internal death every day.  If we don’t know Christ, the Bible refers to us as being dead in our sin (see Romans 6).

Our job as Christ followers is to tell others about Jesus and what he has done in our lives.  Other people that don’t Christ need to hear it  because their life is on the line!

I guess I look at my life as one huge opportunity to tell as many people about Jesus as possible.  I want to yell “there is a fire!” = we are sinful people and we must turn from our wicked ways and repent!  I want people to know that accepting Christ is the most important thing anyone could ever do!  I know people that are completely dead inside and they are going through the motions every single day.  My job is to tell them that there is something so much more important than their job, their wife, their kids, and their car!  This is not a false alarm!  Their eternal destination is on the line!  This is no joke!

Yeah, it does get frustrating that people are so apathetic about their soul.  I’m yelling that their is a fire and they say it’s a false alarm and it doesn’t really matter.  So many believe that they have it all figured out. The only way we have anything figured out is that if we have repented of our sin, accepted Jesus, the Son of the most high God, as our Savior.

It’s Jesus that saves us.  It’s Jesus that redeems us.  It’s Jesus and only Jesus that forgives our sin.  It’s Jesus that saves us from the fire and torment that our sin deserves.  It’s Jesus that saves us from an eternity separated from God.

I pray you tell other people about the fire, because it ‘s real.  If Jesus saved you, don’t let time slip away without telling others what Jesus has done in your life and that he can change theirs too!

Good Song

Posted: 6th March 2011 by Bo in Music, Personal
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I’m pretty sure I have listened to this song about 9,347 times in the past month.  If you haven’t listened to it yet, do it now!

[Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae]

A quick thought

Posted: 16th February 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Quotable
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I don’t live to please man, I live to please God.

I’m determined

Posted: 14th February 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Personal
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It seems like a lot of business, laziness, and apathy have been getting in my way lately to do the things that God has called me to do but I’m determined to do them.

  • I’m determined to be the man God made me to be.
  • I’m determined to live a life sold out for Christ no matter the cost
  • I’m determined to preach and teach where God has called me to preach and teach
  • I’m determined to focus on Jesus more than any earthly fear I may have
  • I’m determined to love believers and non-believers regardless of their opinions of me
  • I’m determined to focus on nothing more than I focus on Christ and Him crucified.

I may be stubborn and hardheaded, but I’m determined.  Are you?

An open letter to all parents.

Posted: 11th February 2011 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Leadership, Ministry, SEROCKS
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At SEROCKS we are doing a student discipleship program/study right now.  This program is called 220 (two twenty) based from Galatians 2:20 which says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.“

Nothing like teaching high schoolers about substitutionary atonement…fun times.

I say all this not to tell you about how hard all the adults have worked on this program or even to tell you how committed the kids are to 220.  I tell you all this because I have seen so many parents that are just clueless about what is going on in their kids spiritual life and with their relationship with Christ.  One of the lead pastors in my church walks up to the 220 table the other day (whose 11th grade daughter is in the youth group) asks what in the world 220 is.  Are you kidding me?

Working with all the kids that are in SEROCKS, I get to see first hand how disconnected the parents are from their sons and daughters relationship with Jesus.  Sometimes, I just get really frustrated with it.  It makes we want to go shake a parent!  I want to tell them to give a crap about their kids relationship with Jesus because that is the most important thing in their life!!  Which brings up another good point…

All of us have such an obsession with sports.  And yes, I am including myself in that. So many parents are so busy driving their kids all over the place to this practice and that practice that they are completely consumed by it.  Don’t get me wrong.  I was completely devoted to baseball my whole life but Jesus was and is my number one priority.  So may parents are convinced that their kid is going to be the next great soccer player and I hate to break it to the parents but their kid won’t be.  And for some reason if their kid beats the odds, they should still have Jesus as their number one priority.

I joke with one of my good friends that we see so many parents that bring their kids in to church during their senior year and they tell the youth pastor to “fix my kid”.  Maybe the parent should have had them there the whole time?

To be honest, there is nothing wrong with giving sports your all.  I did for 24 years.  But one day all the practices and the games won’t mean a thing.  The only thing that will mean something from your sports playing days is the character that is developed.

Parents, I say all this not to make you feel bad but to motivate to you to invest in something that you kid will never just “loose interest” in because they are moving to a different stage in their life.

  • Take them to youth group
  • Pay that really big price so they can go on that retreat
  • Talk with them about scripture
  • Ask them how their prayer life is
  • Ask them how their thought life is
  • Ask them if they struggle with sin sometimes
  • Give them an opportunity to open up to you
  • Actually, “parent-up” and have a family devotion
  • Don’t go psycho-billy-ninja on them if they tell you about a screw up they have had
  • Ask open ended questions
  • Jesus died a brutal death on the cross so talk with your kids about it

Either the things of Jesus or the world invest in these kids every day.  Show them Jesus.

Opportunities

Posted: 3rd November 2010 by Bo in Jesus Stuff, Sermons, SEROCKS
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Tonight was great. We only had around 80 high school students tonight but Matt brought a great word on God the Father. He shared a ton which the kids identified with about their earthly fathers. God moved powerfully but I wish he would have given the students an opportunity to accept Jesus tonight if they hadn’t already. Great night nonetheless cause God was glorified!

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