Monthly Archives: May 2025

Sermons

Summer of Community part 2

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While I was studying Missiology in 2013, the Lord called me to be a pastor. Initially I had no desire or vision for the pastorate, but as the Lord began to impress on me the desire to see a missional church in Grace Point, I submitted to His leading.

Every church is called my God to be missional. Today, billions of people are heading for an eternity separated from God in hell. I believe there is no greater need today than to preach the Gospel to those that do not know the name of Jesus (see Matthew 28:19-20).

Healthy missional churches are growing churches. However, we are not responsible for the growth of the church, that role belongs to Jesus. We are called to be obedient to his instructions and leading and the Holy Spirit will bring about the multiplication (see Matthew 16:18). Jesus promised to build his church.

For 2000 years, the church has always known the mission and the vision of the church. The preacher would proclaim the Word of God and the church went out and did the work of the ministry (see Ephesians 4:11-12), transforming communities by the power of the Gospel message.

The Vision Movement

In 1974 Peter Drucker published his book on Management theory and since the 1980’s almost every business in the world began using mission and vision statements. This became universally accepted and was embraced by the church. Church leaders felt the pressure to come up with unique, catchy vision statements.

We have ours at Grace Point:

Our Purpose Statement

The purpose of this church shall be to exalt God through Jesus Christ through worship, witnessing, ministry, missions and fellowship.

Our Vision

Love God – Love Others – Change the World

To be a loving church family, worshipping God and transforming our community with the message of the Gospel.

They are both good statements, but what is our priority, the Great commission or the church vision? I would argue that many churches love their mission and vision statements, because they are easier and more marketable than the Great commission.

The Vision Verse

For the last few decades church leaders have used a verse to promote the need for a vision statement in the church, Proverbs 29:18. This verse has become so well known because many Christian leaders have used it to inspire, to motivate the church.

Rick Warren writes: “MY IMAGINATION INFLUENCES MY ASPIRATION. In other words, your dreams determine your destiny. To accomplish anything, you must first have a mission, a goal, a hope, a vision. “Without a vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18.1                           

The phrase, “the people perish” is interpreted to mean that a church without a 21st century vision statement, will eventually close its doors.

But is that what God’s word says?

Interestingly, Warren and many others use the King James version of this verse which reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he”, Proverbs 29:18 KJV.

I find it interesting that leaders who use this verse would never use the King James Version from the pulpit. And they would probably discourage using it as a devotional Bible. So, why would these motivational leaders use an older translation?

Looking at some of the newer translations, we see a different understanding of the verse:

NIV – “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint…”
NLT – “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild…”
CEV – “Without guidance from God, law and order disappear…”
HCSB – “Without revelation people run wild…”
ESV – “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint…”

Looking at the word translated as “vision” in the Hebrew, we see that it means, “revelation, a communication from God to be communicated to others, with a focus on the visual aspects of the communication.”

Simply put, this is a divine word of God, to be communicated to others. I think this is far more significant and valuable than sitting around the table and coming up with a cool slogan for the church.

Additionally, the phrase, “my people perish” in the King James Version, does not mean to die, it is better translated as, “casting off restraint”, or “casting off the law of God”. God’s word restrains us from walking in sin. It is a guide to our path, for our good.

Based on the Hebrew dictionary I prefer the English Standard Version translation, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint…”

Furthermore, the rest of the verse backs up this interpretation, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 ESV.

The incorrect translation of this one verse has birthed the sale of millions of books, conferences around the world.

The Vision of Jesus

Having a vision statement is not a bad thing, but sadly some have used catch phrases and motivational conferences to build the church without Jesus as the head of the church.

When Jesus was asked for a vision statement, what did he say?

In Matthew 22; a lawyer tried to test him and asked him which was the greatest commandment? Towhich Jesus responded, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

These are the restraints, the law for the church.

In our 21st century worldview, Jesus would have been a terrible visionary leader (see some of his vision statements, Luke 14:27, Luke 9:23, John 6:53, Matthew 20:26, John 16:33b).

I would suggest that sometimes we want a mission and vision statement because the ones Jesus gave don’t look great on a billboard.

A vision statement is not wrong, but vision must come out of prayer and meditation on God’s word, rather than from a church growth handbook or seminar.

Let’s ask the Lord for his vision statement for Grace Point.

1 https://www.walkingwithgiants.net/bible/prov-2918-where-there-is-no-vision-the-people-perish/

Sermons

Summer of Community part 1

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During the spring and summer of 2020, we all experienced the effects of the COVID pandemic. Life was severely disrupted and many people lost loved ones.

It was during that same period that our church family underwent a significant change. We added many new members from our local community. People came out of seclusion and were hungry for community, desperate for meaningful connections, face to face.

But it seems that as COVID has receded into the review mirror of our lives, we have slipped into relational complacency. The smart phone and the streaming devices seem to have replaced the desire for healthy community.

Eternal Family

But what is a church community? Is it just a gathering of people who share a common belief?

Jesus made a rather shocking statement in Matthew 12, when his family tried to come and speak to him; “While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothersstood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:47-50.

Jesus seems so focused on the task at hand that he dishonors his own mother. But that would be in contravention of the 5th commandment from Exodus 20:12,

Jesus isn’t dishonoring his family; he is rather making a statement of reality. Jesus states that his family is whoever does the will of his Father in heaven. The invitation into the family is open to all who trust in Jesus for salvation (see Romans 10:13).

Jesus had a perfect eternal perspective. Family is important, but family is temporary. Marriage, the foundation of family, is only for this life. Jesus is pointing out that our church family is our eternal family.

Eternal Promise

Matthew 12, ties closely together with an encounter that Peter has with Jesus in Luke 18; “And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:28-30.

Jesus is not encouraging husbands to leave their wives for ministry, rather he is talking about sacrificing being with family for a short time for the sake of the kingdom. An example of this would be a short-term mission trip.

However, sometimes God calls families to leave their place of birth and go to another state or country, leaving behind family. But the promise is that there will be family wherever you go. There are believers who will become your family in this life as a blessing from the Lord. Debbie and I have certainly experienced this reality in our lives.

Broken Family

Despite the clear biblical call to community, many individuals today feel that merely watching an online service is sufficient for their spiritual needs.

I believe that there are two primary reasons for this way of thinking:

1. Without the Holy Spirit drawing us together in community, it will always require more effort than we have. If you are not saved, you don’t have the Holy Spirit’s presence living inside of you. As a result, you will have only limited affinity with believers.

2.  In our Christian community, there is a general apathy and feeling of exhaustion which is a significant trait of our modern culture.

Sometimes exhaustion is legitimate because of travel, babies, sickness, working long hours or two or more jobs.  

Saturated Minds

But more often our minds are exhausted. We are living in an age unlike any previous age, the information age. We have been inundated and numbed by entertainment, sport and social media to the point of practical physical paralysis.

Studies have shown that we are living in an exhausted and stressed age. People have no capacity for community, because they are emotionally drained.

When we spend time watching endless news feeds, social media and the like, we experience rapid emotional changes, and it has a residual and physical effect on our bodies.

The 24-hour cycle of conflicting information and the garbage of social media that you are subjected to daily will pollute your mind and slowly erode your love for the Lord and your love for His church. The Apostle Paul warned us about this in Romans 8:5–6.

The common buzzword today is “burnout”. People feeling exhausted, needing a break, and yes some people do. We do live in exhausting times. But I would propose that not everyone is exhausted because we are doing too much, rather it is a physical manifestation of overstimulated minds.

Healthy Habits

What are you feeding on?

Begin every day by asking the Spirit to take control of your mind and life. Read the Bible and let the Holy Spirit speak to you through the pages of God’s word.

Take a fast from your screens. Try looking up and around when waiting in line or at the doctor’s office. See people and engage with people. Pray for divine appointments and look for ways to serve others.

I challenge you to take an extended media break and use that time to read God’s word, a good book or simply waiting on the Lord.

Research has shown that one of the best ways to restore a tired mind is to get into nature.  

Healthy Church

As the leadership team, we wanted to spend this summer encouraging growth and healthy community in our church family. In addition, we would love to see growth in our engagement with our local mission field in South Kansas City.

The challenge is for all of us, what is our calling as a church family and individually?

Step into community and join us this summer.

Sermons

A Mother that never gave up

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Have you ever needed a miracle of provision or healing that seemed impossible? Maybe you are in that position now, trusting God for what seems impossible. This is faith, faith to believe that God will provide, faith to believe that God will move on your behalf. The truth is that God is pleased with our faith; God rewards faith.

In Matthew 15 we read of a woman who set an example and a standard for what it takes to please God. Do you want to please God?

A Desperate Woman

This Canaanite woman came to Jesus with a problem; her daughter was demon possessed and suffering terribly. She had probably heard that Jesus was coming to town, and she trusted that Jesus could heal her daughter. She had probably tried every other avenue to have her daughter set free. This was her last hope; she was desperate. She cried out saying, “Lord, Son of David”, referring to Jesus as a Jew would even though she was a Gentile.

When you first read the story, it appears that Jesus and his disciples rejected her.  We read in verse 23 that Jesus said nothing to her. He completely ignored her and seemed almost callous to her cry for help. The disciples were probably annoyed by her persistent crying, and they urged Jesus to send her away.

A Tested Faith

The woman’s situation was desperate; why was Jesus not responding to her need? Did Jesus simply not care? Sometimes when we face desperate situations, and God is silent, we wonder, has He forgotten us? Does He not see our situation?

Jesus finally responded to her crying and pleading, saying “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v24). Did Jesus just reject her completely, proverbially shutting the door in her face? Jesus’ apparent rejection only seemed to grow her courage and faith. She knelt in worship before Jesus. This time she called him Lord, crying, “Lord, help me!”.  

Jesus was not rejecting her; he was testing her, giving her faith the opportunity to prove itself like yeast that it was living and active. 

A Mature Faith

We expect Jesus to relent; surely upon seeing her persistence he would grant her request, right? She passed the test; didn’t she?

Instead, Jesus took his rejection a step further. He insulted her, calling her Gentile people dogs! He said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (v26).

Has Jesus lost his mind? What more did he want from her?

We would be unsurprised if the woman walked away, dejected, frustrated, and confused. But she didn’t; she quickly responded, perceptively saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Her faith was maturing. As Jesus tested her, she grew bolder. She had nothing to lose, and she knew only Jesus could help her.

Her faith was small but maturing. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move a mountain. It is not the size or quantity of the faith that Jesus was referring to; rather it is the maturity of that faith.

A Rewarded Faith

As Jesus heard her faith and humility, he responded immediately by commending her faith and healing her daughter. Her faith was rewarded, and her daughter was healed. 

It is interesting to note that Matthew records two occasions in his Gospel of people who Jesus referred to as having great faith: this Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion in Matthew 8. Both were Gentiles, and on both occasions, Jesus healed from a distance.

The reality was that the Gentiles were spiritually distanced from the Jews and the ministry of Jesus. But that is why Jesus came to die on the cross, to reconcile all nations and people groups to himself. It is simply a matter of faith. Jesus still rewards faith today.

A Persistent Faith

Sometimes it seems like Jesus is saying no. Sometimes it seems like he is blessing others while ignoring us. But this isn’t him ignoring us, rejecting us, or lacking care for us; this is him testing our faith and giving it a chance to mature. Today God is looking for people who walk by faith, not by sight. The rewards of a lifestyle of faith are great. God does not allow us to go through trials for no apparent reason; rather it is to develop our faith in Him.

Individually and corporately as a church we are tested in our faith. James 1:2-4 gives us a prescriptive progression relating to faith. Trials test our faith, which produces endurance, which completes us, and then we will lack nothing. We will lack no good thing (see Psalm 37:25).

What is the desperate need of your heart today? Don’t give up; be persistent. Come to the Lord daily, hourly. Keep believing that what His Word says is true and that He is able to give you what you need. Note, this isn’t all our wants; rather all our needs. God knows your needs, and He will provide for you in His perfect timing. You will be able to look back with stronger faith.

A Pleasing Faith

Not only will you have a stronger faith, but you will have a faith that is pleasing to God. Your life will be a testimony to others about the goodness of God.

Faith is pleasing to God. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

To have faith we must believe that God exists; this is the root of faith.

If we struggle with faith, it may be because we struggle to believe that God exists.

God is the all-powerful creator of the universe, and He is your Heavenly Father. If we truly understand the depths of God’s love for us, we will have no problem with faith.

The final part of Hebrews 11:6 is the promise of God; “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Trust in God; He will never let you down. The rewards may not be what we expect or thought we needed, but they will come in time.

Sermons

Shrewd Stewardship

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Whenever a pastor preaches on stewardship, people tend to get nervous. But Jesus frequently taught about using our resources for the Kingdom of Heaven, and like with Jesus’s teachings on other topics, his instructions are not meant to be chains that induce nerves but invitations that bring joy.

As Jesus taught, he was surrounded by mostly poor people, people who probably thought that getting more money would solve their problems. Nothing has changed in the twenty-first century; we still tend to think more money is the answer to many of life’s problems.

But Jesus taught about sacrificial generosity and when we read Acts 2, we see that the early church got it.

A Confusing Story

In Luke 16, Jesus taught the confusing parable of the Shrewd Manager. It is a hard parable to understand, but it has eternal lessons for us.

In this parable, Jesus seems to be encouraging theft and deceptive business practices. But looking at the context can clarify our understanding of the parable.

In Luke 15, Jesus had been addressing tax collectors, the financiers of the day. Jesus tells them three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All three are about possessions, losing them or squandering them.  

Then in chapter 16, Jesus takes his disciples aside and begins to teach them about money. But the parable is strange; the central character is a crook, a thief.

In this parable, a rich man has a manager over his estate who has been stealing from him. The rich man understandably decides to fire him.

However, the manager decides to get ahead of his fate by making crooked deals with his master’s debtors so that he will have a roof over his head when he is fired. He doesn’t even use his own money; he uses the money of his master to buy favors and temporary security. The debtors quickly agree to this dishonest scheme to benefit themselves.

But there is a twist in the tale; the rich man is so impressed with the shrewdness of his manager that he re-hires him.

Is Jesus teaching that it is commendable to be devious? The words of Jesus in verse 9 add to the confusion, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

A Kingdom Wealth Management Strategy

So, what are we to make of this parable?

Jesus is not commending criminal behavior; that would be contrary to the teaching of the rest of the Scriptures. Rather Jesus is pointing to the shrewdness and characteristics of a criminal and saying that as children of the light, we should be as driven to do the will of God our Father as the manager was to secure his future. Only instead of leveraging shrewdness for self-preservation, we should look for opportunities to gain eternal wealth.

Jesus encourages us to use the resources of this world to invest in eternity. We can take the unrighteous riches of this world and use them for eternal purposes.

We will leave 100% of our possessions behind when we die. But I don’t think we fully grasp the truth that how we steward our earthly resources affects our eternal rewards.  

Jesus continues to teach his disciples with cutting clarity in Luke 16:10-13, shedding light on this parable. Jesus makes it clear that true riches will be entrusted to those who faithfully serve the eternal kingdom of heaven and not the temporal kingdom of this world.

A Holistic View of Riches

God has entrusted each of us with a number of resources to steward. True riches are more than our bank account; there are other resources we are called to steward.

Finances

We tend to view stewardship as an optional extra in Christian disciplines.Some people assume it; others aren’t aware of it. Traditionally it has been taught that we are to give 10% of our income to the Lord’s work, beginning with the local church and then giving above and beyond that to local and international missional causes.

But I believe that these percentages are the training wheels of greater spiritual discipline. Jesus always raised the bar when it comes to the moral teachings of the Mosaic law.

I believe that the foundation for our stewardship is found in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Dead people have no possessions. When we commit our lives to Jesus, he becomes Lord over all our resources. When it comes to the question of tithing, 10% is a good starting point, but that doesn’t mean the other 90% remains for us to use selfishly. I believe God is looking at how we are stewarding that 90% for His glory.

Time 

Time is a constant; you cannot make time, but you can waste time. We are called to make the most of every minute that we have been given. We can be challenged in this respect when we have an unexpected interruption in our day, when someone comes to us in need. Are we willing to shuffle our priorities to be used by the Lord?

There are a multitude of ways we can steward our time for God’s glory. It is an eternal investment.

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Gifts are not given for our benefit or enrichment; they are given for the work of the ministry and building up of the Body of Christ.

The Gospel

Believers who have believed in the Gospel are entrusted to steward that message and share it with others (see 1 Thessalonians 2:4).

An Invitation to Stewardship

Everything that we have been blessed with should be stewarded to further the Kingdom of God. We are God’s stewards, managing His resources. Just like the wicked and shrewd manager, we need to be discerning in how we use the Master’s resources, only Jesus invites us to use them for eternal purposes.

How are you doing as an investment manager for the King of Kings?