Messages from the Body

Here is a sampling of some of the messages that have made a special impact at CCiPH, and that have been transcribed or written in manuscript.

Most weeks in our equipping assembly, at least one man has been asked to prepare a message that will build up believers. Often, the message is taken from the liturgical Gospel reading of the day, or it is a life message that God has been working into the fabric of that man. It is included here to build you up.

A Charge to Ben and His Group

Message from Ken Read on May 2, 2004

What I would like to do this morning is to deliver a charge, mostly to Ben as the leader, but indirectly to the rest of the group that we are sending out today. I don’t want to take very long, but I do have eight points, so I better get going.

 1 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share his glory and his honor when he returns. As a fellow elder, this is my appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock of God entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your good example. 4 And when the head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honor.

1 Peter 5:1-5 

1. Feed the sheep. It is appropriate for Peter in particular to say this. Do you remember in John 21 how Jesus talked to Peter after the Resurrection? Peter had denied Jesus three times, and now Jesus asks Peter a question three times: “Do you love me?” If you love ME, said Jesus, then sing songs to me, or faithfully take the Lord’s Supper, or be a man of prayer. Is that what Jesus said? No. Jesus asked if Peter loved Him, loved Jesus, but the way for Peter to show that he loved his Master was for him to feed his sheep, to care for his lambs, to care for his sheep. And so I say to you, Ben, feed the sheep of Jesus. That’s what God calls you to do as an elder or a small group pastor. And not just the flock, but each of the sheep.
2. Don’t lord it over the people. I have wrestled with this one. I don’t know what that means, but it’s pretty important. And I think that there’s a temptation that you won’t even understand maybe until tomorrow. There is tremendous power in being the pastor of a group. We are, indeed, sending you out as the point man for this group. There is a subtle temptation to be a one-man pastor. While you are the leader, don’t let a dependency on you be the primary mode of operation. Share the authority with other men, in particular (Justin and Jack, for example) and with women, too. Your job is to give away power, to empower others. Your job is to serve, not to be served. I think it’s also a real temptation for us to control people. I know what’s best, and so I make sure that you know it and do it. Now, those of us who know Ben know that that kind of attitude is as far from him as anything, and yet, Ben, you may find that given the kind of awesome responsibility that you have makes you into more of a benevolent dictator than you thought you would be. Serve them, be an example to them. You know, Jesus had all authority in heaven and earth, and yet He came to be the servant of all and to give His life as a ransom for many. Not to have them serve him, but for him to wash their feet.

 1 And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus – who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and follow strange myths. 5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 

3. Preach the Word. This is a passage that we usually use for ordaining people to full-time ministry, whatever that is, but I think it is appropriate for you today. I just said that you should not lord it over those entrusted to your care, and now I am saying that you are to teach with all authority. I don’t know how to put those things together, but they are both true, nonetheless. And so I encourage you, Ben, not to be afraid to preach the word. Now, you and I could have a nice long conversation about what this means to preach the word. I don’t think it means the Bible. The Bible had not been completed yet, so I don’t think Paul would have been referring to that. I think, of course, Jesus is the Word, and so I’d say preach Jesus. And I think that it refers to truth; preach truth. In this postmodern age, truth is a difficult thing to pinpoint, but I do believe there is such a thing as truth. It may be difficult to identify it at any given moment. Sonata-Allegro form was never identified until two generations after all the composers had already written sonatas. The chart looks nice and neat, as if every sonata had been written following it. Problem is that it was some music theoretician in a later generation who identified the form. Now, here’s the kicker: any given sonata for two generations does not exactly conform to the chart! And yet, because some theoretician looked at a thousand sonatas over the course of two generations discovered the norm. So even if a sonata does not conform to the norm, there was an understanding of what the form is like. I think that may be an illustration for what truth is. I think that there are absolute truths, but it’s is difficult or nearly impossible at any given moment to identify exactly what that truth is. There is a line between the ocean and the shore. At any given moment I cannot tell you exactly where it is. If I back far enough away, I can draw a line to show where the shoreline is, even though standing on that shoreline I cannot identify exactly where the point is. There is ocean, and there is land, and there must be somewhere that one ends and the other begins. And so, what I am saying is, Ben, preach the word; preach truth. It may not be the way that a previous generation understood truth, but it is there somewhere. Don’t be afraid of it.
4. In season and out of season. Again, this may be pertinent to a postmodern age. Sometimes a concept is popular, and sometimes it it’s not. A time is coming, and is perhaps here, when people will choose not to listen. You may be rejected by your good friend because you took a stand for something that they can’t buy into. Preach it anyway.

 6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Romans 12:6-10 

5. If you lead, do it diligently. Whatever gift anyone in your group has, I guess what I’m saying is, don’t just be a receiver but use what gift God has given you to serve others.
6. Love without hypocrisy. Any of us who have been in the church any given amount of time have experienced the bad end of this. Someone has been nice to your face, but you find out that they have been saying things behind your back. Hypocrisy is a harsh word, but that’s what that kind of practice is, pretending to love someone when you really don’t. Little foxes can slip in and eat the grapes and before you know it, they have spoiled the vineyard. Those little things can start to eat at a relationship. Never say something behind someone’s back that you haven’t already said to their face, and then, only if that other person is going to be part of the solution. It’s very easy to do that, and you can’t let it happen. The other way that love can have hypocrisy is in pseudo-community. We have a disagreement, and things aren’t okay, but you pretend that things are, because you are afraid of losing a friendship. But it is really only pretending to love someone. I hate to call that hypocritical, but it’s an accurate word. You must go through the tunnel of chaos if you are going to have true community on the other side of that conflict. To go into the tunnel, you risk losing a friend, but it is the only way to come through in a healthy manner.

 1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. 5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.

John 15:1-8 

7. Stay connected to the Vine. Without Jesus, he says you can do nothing. By that, I think that what Jesus meant was, without him, you can do, well, nothing. You can be busy, you can sure SEEM like you are doing something and it can look like productive Christian work, but it is really of no value if you don’t stay connected to the source. If you don’t stay connected to the vine, you will dry up, and you won’t have anything to give. You have got to attend to the inner man, and especially with changes in work schedule, it will be more of a challenge. So keep feeding yourself. It’s about Jesus, not just about each other. If all you have in common is friendship, then you stay friends until you die and that’s it. Not everyone in your group right now very clearly identifies with Jesus, and that will be even more true in the future, people will want to be a part of your circle. But if you leave the Vine in order to meet others, you will have nothing to give. You can’t take others where you yourself don’t go, and so I encourage you to stay connected.
8. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Cor. 15:58

 If you were keeping score at home, you see that those were eight things that I encouraged you to do. Let me reiterate:

1. Feed the sheep.
2. Don’t lord it over them.
3. Preach the word.
4. Preach in season and out of season.
5. Lead diligently.
6. Love one another without hypocrisy.
7. Stay connected to the vine.
8. Don’t grow weary.