A New Multi-Ethnic Ministry Blog

My hubby started a wonderful multi-ethnic blog today!  He will be uploading his sermons from the last seven years, along with several sermons from other multi-ethnic pastors.  Some upcoming sermons will be bi-lingual with Spanish interpreting. It's worth a look and a listen.

He also plans to write and feature articles concerning all aspects of multi-ethnic ministry. Multi-ethnic ministry is unique, exciting and fast-moving.  It takes dedicated people of all ethnic backgrounds to make it succeed.

Be sure to check out Multi-Ethnic Ministry Today, and learn.

~Tricia

Together Again!

Today, we had the very honorable privilege of participating in the first service of our new Hispanic church plant here in Austin, MN. We were so pleased to find a packed house in their new location. The building seemed to vibrate with energy and love.

Pastor Moises Rodriguez led the service, interpreted by Abril. What a great team!

Pastor Ephraim, here from Sedela, MO for the kick-off with his wife, Gisele, provided special music by playing and singing one of his favorite songs.  What a treat!

Pastor David Johnson opened God's Word, preaching from II Timothy 4.

 

Abril did a great job interpreting, as usual!

Five pastors, working together to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From left: Pastor Bob Ray, Pastor Ephraim, Pastor Jeremy McMillan, Pastor Moises Rodriguez and Pastor David Johnson.

Five pastors and their wives and families planting churches - 3 so far!

We will remain faithful.

~Tricia

A Shameless Plug

My husband is an excellent preacher.  He preaches exclusively expository messages, bringing forth the Word of God as It ought to be preached.  He focuses solely on God's Word when he preaches, avoiding his own opinion and/or possible filters.

You might be thinking it's ridiculous for me to make such a claim as I can't possibly be objective enough to weigh in on this topic.  That may be true, but think about this: Even when I'm mad at him for something at home, I still gain from his message.  His preaching is so focused on God's Word that even I am able to "overlook" the man while he's preaching.

He just finished a series in the Book of Philippians yesterday and we are making plans to publish his outlines in a book as a study guide for Philippians.  There are 20 messages in the series, walking through the entire Book of Philippians from start to finish.  All sermons are available for your listening ear on our church website. Well worth the time to listen, too.

Until next time,
~Tricia

Just a Little Twist

All it takes to change the Word of God and how It is presented is a little twist.  Most little twists are not even noticeable, but they carry huge ramifications.  Here's a recent example to show you what I mean.  I recently heard a sermon from a pastor in my area; the pastor of a regular Baptist church. The sermon was on The Prodigal Son, a familiar passage of Scripture to most of us.  There are a few twists in this sermon, but the one I'm going to concentrate on here is the fact that this pastor states "All things work together for God's glory, but not all things work together for good....in our own life."  This statement is around the 17 minute mark here in this online sermon.  If you listen to the whole thing, you will note that this pastor had previously quoted Romans 8:28 and clarified that things don't necessarily work together for good for those who are not called and who do not love God.  That's not how the Bible states it, but that's how this preacher presents it here. I won't argue this point,  but when he states this at minute 17, it is not qualified by those who don't love Him.  As a matter of fact, he says, "in our own life..." indicating he's talking to his believing listeners (members of his church).

This is just a little twist.  God states in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."  At minute 17, this preacher disagrees with God on this issue.

One might argue that this is a small point, not that big of a deal. But, it IS a big deal and I'll tell you why. If this preacher disagrees with God on this point, what other points does he disagree with God on?  When God makes a statement, we don't get to disagree with Him.  If God says that all things work together for good, then all things work together for good whether we see the good or not.  This is faith in Who God is. This is faith that God is Who He says He is.  

Disagreeing with God from the pulpit is the perfect way to plant doubt in the minds of the people listening.  One little doubt has huge consequences. The serpent fed Eve a little doubt....just a little statement, "You shall not surely die....."  as though the idea is totally ludicrous. And Eve took the seed of doubt.

You might think I'm being hard on this preacher.  I don't think so.  The handling of the Word of God is not to be taken lightly.  God manifests His Word through preaching. Preachers have the responsibility of presenting God's entire Word as faithful and true.  This preacher is a doubter and has fed his doubt to his people.

I have issues with a number of other things in this sermon, like his portrayal of God's foreknowledge and predestination and his thoughts on man's perceived free will.  But, I wanted to focus on this one little twist today and draw attention to it.  

Really listen to preachers.  Weigh what they teach and preach. Compare their words to Scripture and make sure they measure up.  Make 2012 your year to be like the Berean people of whom, in Acts 17:11, it is recorded that they not only listened with eagerness to the messages, they also searched the Scriptures daily to make sure what Paul taught was the truth.  This is a responsibility we all have the opportunity to practice. You might be surprised at how much doubt is being planted once you start practicing this.

They searched the Scriptures DAILY. That's how committed they were to the purity of the preaching.  

~Tricia