1 QUOTE

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards they shape us.”

- Winston Churchill

1 NOTE

As the senior minister of Holy Faith Fellowship, one of my primary spiritual responsibilities is to feed the sheep. When Jesus restored Peter, he equated love to feeding the sheep. Our teaching ministry model focuses on discipleship and evangelism. Disciples need a healthy diet of God’s Word. Our model is all about core book calendar and three weekly experiences of the same text.  Our preaching calendar is planned one-year out (this especially serves our music ministry team). Every week our church lives in the same word at our desks (personal devotions), in living rooms (life group, youth group) and under the preached Word in the Sunday sanctuary. Knowing everyone has already had two experiences of the text inspires me to work harder on the Sunday sermon. I love to exhort our flock that the disciple who hears and obeys 40+ words from God in a year, will be a disciple who abides in the Word and bears much fruit.

On an evangelism front, non-Christians need on-ramps when invited to church. Our life groups and youth groups not only instruct but also serve as a mid-week preview for the Sundays. I love how much non-Christians love inductive Bible study. They appreciate a place to learn, share, and most importantly ask their questions.

A few weeks back our life group studied Genesis 11:1-9. Twenty people gathered in our living room. With clipboard, single-page text and pen in hand, we began our three step process of eyes (what do we observe), mind (what does the text mean) and life (applying the gospel to our lives). Deronte joined Holy Faith at the beginning of the year. He was invited by his friend AC (Aaron Carter is his government name). Deronte is already a really strong Bible student. When we came to the account of the Babylon Tower, he connected the text to what we had previously studied. Text text explains the Babylonians wanted to make their name great and were afraid they would be scattered. Deronte asked if the Babylonians were still thinking about the flood. How many in New York still think about 9/11? How many in New Orleans still think about Katrina? His theory is that the tower construction was actually based in fear and unbelief. They were afraid God would flood the earth again because they didn’t believe God’s covenant promise of the rainbow (shout out to all the homos out there). They did not take God at his word that he would never flood the earth again. So in their unbelief, they built a huge tower not only to promote their name, but to live above the waters to preserve their name from another flood.

I have read most commentaries on the Babylonian Tower. I told our group that Deronte just dropped a brilliant theory that no scholar has ever proposed. Core book study for the win!

1 QUESTION

Is there an area of you life where you struggle with fear because you struggle to believe a promise of God?

Until Next Tuesday,

John