Author Archives: pastorbill

Faith of Our Mothers

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The Bible tells us that the parents are the key influencers in a child’s life. Deuteronomy 6:6-7  says:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise 

mothers_dayParents need to teach their children about God with their words, but also as an example in their everyday routine. We often look to a family with both parents intentionally teaching their children about Jesus and that is the ideal scenario; however, throughout the years, that is not always the case and in today’s American culture it seems that both natural parents raising a child together is becoming scarce. For whatever reason, there are several single parents, or parents where one follows Jesus and the other does not.

As we celebrate Mothers’ Day in the United States, I want to take a moment and look at a mother who raised their son to know God.

Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

While we don’t know that much about Lois and Eunice, we do know that they were Jewish and Timothy’s father was a Greek.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.  Acts 16:1 (ESV)

It was the faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother that laid the foundation for Timothy coming to follow Jesus. They followed the principle, the command, in Deuteronomy 6 to teach their child the things of God. It apparently wasn’t just taking him to temple, but a lifestyle that reflected their faith in God in the home. Their actions mirroring what their words were saying.

Let us be thankful for the mothers who are doing their best to raise their children to know Jesus, especially the ones who are doing it on their own without the support of the child’s father. And for those women who may not have children of their own for whatever reason…. let us thank and remember them for the way they pour into the lives of others to help lead them to Jesus.

 

 

The Bitstrip Sermon Series

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If you’ve been on Facebook for the last year, then you’ve probably seen the self-made comics called “Bitstrips” where you make an character of yourself and it is placed in different comic strip panes where you can edit the text. It is designed to be for fun.

There was a time when I saw someone post about how to use Bitstrips for ministry. I seem to remember that it was more about making announcements of events and things of that nature.

My First "Preaching" Bitstrip
My First “Preaching” Bitstrip

One Sunday morning, I made a Bitstrip of me standing behind a podium as if I was preaching. Since that first “preaching” comic, I have continued to post a Bitstrip message on Sunday mornings, sharing a short passage of Scripture and then a small thought (there are only so many characters you can use). There is also an occasional throughout the week. Continue reading →

The Pareto Principle Trap – Misinterpretated

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The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule…) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  – Reference, Wikipedia. This one in a series of posts discussing the Pareto Principle “Trap” and why churches fall into it.

The Pareto Principle states that generally 20% of the effort equals about 80% of the result. church-splitThere are many illustrations in the business world, but I believe that it is often misapplied and misunderstood in the church, because of the “Mary – Martha” scenario I posted yesterday. When we focus on “we who do” and those who don’t”, we build a natural divide between the two groups, like Martha tried to do. We tend to look at where we are involved and see the “lack of volunteers” in our area. When we do this, we are being short-sighted. We focus on our small portion of the entire work being done for the Kingdom of God. Let’s look at the “church” scenario: Continue reading →

The Pareto Principle Trap – Modern Day Pharisees

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The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule…) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  – Reference, Wikipedia. This is the beginning of a series discussing the Pareto Principle “Trap” and why those in churches fall into it.

 

80_20_pareto_principleI’m sure you’ve heard it stated that 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work. It has been repeated over and over again within the church as members burn-out or seek to guilt others into serving. As I hear this principle slung around, it seems to me that the people shouting the loudest are those who believe that they are part of the 20% doing 80% of the work. When I hear this, I can’t help but think of the account of Mary and Martha when they entertained Jesus in their home. Continue reading →

Foot Washing – A Picture of Forgiveness

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jesus-foot-washingThe account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the last supper (John 20:1-20) is one that is told often about the humility and servant heart of Jesus. The message that is shared is that we should be humble and serve others as Jesus served the disciples by washing their feet. In fact, Jesus commands us to do just that, to wash one another’s feet:

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (John 20:14)

I grew up in a denomination Continue reading →