Jesus is the light of the world

   My Christmas offering this year is a Christmas and Easter message.  On many cards I have received over the years with a picture of the baby Jesus, light is radiating from the baby lying on hay in that trough.  But there is nothing in the Bible about light shining from the baby.  Yet there could have been some supernatural light radiating from Jesus, who was Immanuel, which means God with us.  For example, Luke states: “An angel of the Lord appeared to [the shepherds], and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” (Luke 2:9).  Yet following the humble birth, that barn may have been quite dark.

   Once as a student at Virginia Tech, I went spelunking (exploring a cave) with friends one Saturday in early spring.  We wore helmets with headlamps, which we rented for five dollars each at an outdoors store in downtown Blacksburg.  It was quite the adventure traveling deep into the long cave near the New River.  Full of stalactites, stalagmites, and crevices, one cave passage was so low we had to crawl on our stomach on the hard, wet, and muddy ground.

   Finally reaching the back cavern, we were excited about our accomplishment.  Then I asked my friends to turn off their headlamps.  It was dark!  Then I asked everyone to put his hand in front of his face.  You could not see your hand in front of your face!  Once our headlamps were turned back on, I picked up a journal someone had placed in that back room of the cave.  I wrote an entry, saying something about seeking a “light in the darkness.”  I think deep down, I was hoping for such in my heart in those college years.

   When the body of Jesus was lying dead in the tomb, it would have been pitch dark.  Once Jesus was resurrected, I consider that maybe the tomb was filled with His light, just as light shone from Jesus during the “transfiguration” recorded in Matthew 17:1-8 and Mark 9:2-8.  (And see Revelation 21:23.)  If not, think of the joy Jesus must have experienced as light hit His eyes from the glowing angel who rolled away the stone, and from rays of sunlight there in the first daylight hour of that glorious dawn.

   Now Jesus left the tomb before the five or more women arrived, since both Mark 16:4 and Luke 24:2 tell about the arrival of the women.  (I put brackets around Matthew 28:2-4 in my Bible, since those three verses shift location to the tomb while the women were still on their way, and then Matthew 28:5 shifts back to focusing on the story of the women’s experience however many minutes later.)  Once the women did see Jesus, He apparently looked like His usual self.  Yet His formerly dead body had been transformed, really being re-formed back to who He is, God the Son!  As John Stott proposed in his book Basic Christianity: “[The body] would have passed through the grave clothes, as it was later to pass through closed doors…” (53).

   The glorious offer by Jesus to us today: You can have the light of life in your heart if you receive Him.  The apostle John stated: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).  Spiritual darkness is a result of being separated from God, which always results in getting engrossed in sin.  The end of spiritual darkness is spiritual death.  Yet being united with God happens if a person believes in Jesus, the spiritual light, because she or he receives forgiveness from Jesus, who was the sacrificial atonement for sins.  He was the substitute for the consequence of sins!

   If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you can right now.  Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  His atonement was unlimited.  Now the decision is yours.  If you follow Jesus, you will still suffer in this world full of spiritual darkness.  Yet you will have eternal life with Jesus!

   In John 8:12, Jesus states: “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I hope you have a great Christmas!

Hunter Irvine

More than a prophet

Matthew 11:9-10   Then what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you” (NIV).

   God chose John the Baptist to be the prophet who would prepare people for the ministry of the Messiah.  God had the plan for him even before he was born, as was stated by Gabriel the angel, recorded in Luke 1:17.

   Yet why did God choose a man who would become an eccentric Levite to be the one to prepare people for the ministry of Jesus?  John the Baptist was in the lineage of Aaron, yet at age 30, plus or minus a few months, he was not serving in the temple like an Israelite priest should.

   God’s plan for the Messiah was a plan which few, if anyone, expected.  The plan had been foretold by the prophets Isaiah and Zechariah.  God’s plan was for Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for sins on a cross.  For such an unexpected ministry, God needed a unique and faithful servant.

   John was definitely unique.  Ministering out in the wilderness was totally unique, yet appropriate since the atoning sacrifice the Messiah was going to make would not be in the temple, rather it would be made outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

   And John was faithful to his calling.  Having the courage to tell people to repent was definitely rare, though fitting for a prophet.  John did.  And though John the Baptist had some doubts in prison, he remained faithful to God.  John had spoken against the sexual sin of Herod, who was committing adultery with his brother’s wife, along with other sins as Luke records in Luke 3:19-20.  John apparently stuck with his conviction, since the woman, Herodias, ended up getting Herod to murder John.

   John the Baptist’s unique ministry is a reminder to me of how each individual should approach ministry: Be yourself!  What matters is that you are showing and telling people the Gospel!  We all have different personalities.  We all have different gifts.  Mode does not matter, though it is wise to always have nice manners.  Sincerity is what matters.  In being a witness for Jesus, be yourself, and speak from your heart.

Hunter Irvine

Jesus is for real

Matthew 11: 2-6

   As a person who has recently struggled with much discouragement as a result of past hurts in churches, and unemployment, I am thankful Scripture records the discouragement of John the Baptist.  This was a lesson I needed to hear this week.

   We learn the Jesus freak hero who was the one who proclaimed Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (see John 1:29), started having doubts that Jesus is the Messiah.  His faith struggle seems natural to me considering John the Baptist went from the freedom of being in the great outdoors to being confined in a hot, dark, dingy, and stinky prison.  And he was probably hungry.  Even though Jesus was physically in the world, John’s circumstances were awful.  Experiencing despair, John questioned whether Jesus is the Messiah.

   I admire John the Baptist’s willingness to admit he may have made a mistake.  John had stated: “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34).  But then at a tragic time, in his heart he was unsure.  Yet he was smart to deal with his despair by following-up with Jesus to confirm the truth.

   And Jesus answered.

   My own personal story here in the period of over one and a half years of this worldwide pandemic: I have been unemployed and church homeless.  The synopsis: Worshiping God on many Sunday mornings in such an intimate One on one manner in my room has been awesome.  And after 30 years of “going to church,” such a long period of rest has been a blessing.  On the flip side, I have missed carrying out my ministry call on Sundays.  There have been times of terrible discouragement for me, including when visiting some churches.

   Yet God continues to heal me from past church hurts, and God keeps preparing me for my next ministry adventure!

   I offer two practical practices which are keys to anyone persevering in walking by faith in Christ:

   First, read Scripture daily.  Even if it is only one sentence.

   Our lives in this world are full of challenging and hurtful experiences.  Yet in Scripture, we learn the truth that Jesus was in the flesh here in the world, fully God and fully human.  We can listen to His teachings.  We can see His actions.  We can be encouraged by the truth that Jesus is for real, and that He loves us.

   For example, Jesus carried out miraculous healings for people who had diseases, as stated in Matthew 9:35, and as is shown by the witnesses of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  But with so many people sick with COVID for over one year and a half, Jesus has not been here physically to heal.  Yet I know in my heart that Jesus cares, and that He is offering spiritual healing to anyone right now at this time of worldwide trouble.

   And first and foremost, we learn that Jesus’ ministry in Israel for about three years was leading to His ultimate sacrifice on a cross to make salvation and eternal life available to all people.  Jesus died as the substitute for the consequence of sins, which is physical and spiritual death.  Because of the love of Jesus, physical death in this world is not the end for anyone who gives her or his heart to Him.

   Also, we need to stay rooted in Scripture to keep gaining guidance and encouragement from God to live the life Jesus is calling us to live.  Loving God and loving people is what we were meant to do.  For example, since Jesus cared when people were sick, we should also!  Years before the pandemic, it was my conviction some church leaders did a poor job of promoting good health in churches.  I have known ministers who served on a Sunday, including serving Communion, when sick.  Often this was due to a failure to recognize church work as team work.  We should repent of our past mistakes.  We Christians should lead the way when it comes to repentance.

   Relying on Scripture for an entire lifetime in this world, we can continue to read with our own eyes or hear with our own ears, the teachings and the actions of Jesus our Savior and Lord.

   Second, pray daily.  Again, being physically separated from Jesus who has ascended to heaven, we can still talk with Him in spirit through the Spirit of Christ.  You can talk to God anytime you want.  How incredible!

   May we be encouraged by this Scripture which reveals even the great John the Baptist doubted the identity of Jesus when suffering in a prison cell.  Yet Jesus gave him reason to persevere in faith!

Hunter Irvine

Locusts and wild honey

   Embedded in a passage I examined last January, there is the well-known statement about John the Baptist: “…His food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4).  This has negatively impacted his reputation for many years.  Yet this man, who was in the lineage of Aaron, the first Levite priest and the brother of Moses, is a neglected biblical hero.  His asceticism, which means making extreme sacrifices in day to day living to be closer with God, has long seemed to make some people uncomfortable.  I have been a Christian for over 31 years, and in all of the church services I have ever attended, John the Baptist has rarely even been mentioned.  The greatest attention focused on John the Baptist during my Christian journey came from one of the most popular rock songs of my generation, “Jesus Freak,” by the music trio dcTalk back in the mid-1990’s.  Spotlighting this biblical martyr added to the radical attraction to the long neglected messages which were offered on that pioneer album.

   Talking with a friend last Sunday evening, he started talking about eating bugs.  My friend has a Ph.D. from Cornell University, he is a computer expert, and he has an interest in the sciences.  Recently he was watching a science program which was discussing the advantages of people eating bugs for a more sustainable planet and for better health.  Following up with some research of my own, I learned much.  First, insects add nutrition to the diet for many people on our planet in certain regions of the world.  Second, I learned locusts are basically grasshoppers who swarm.  Locusts eat leaves and certain vegetation, thus a swarm of them can destroy certain crops.  I add that cicadas are not from the same insect “order,” and they eat tree sap and do not swarm.  For John the Baptist’s diet, the more appropriate translation may be “grasshoppers” if he was eating them year after year.  The bottom line is John the Baptist may have been ahead of his time.  You may be interested in reading this short article from 2013 in the Smithsonian Magazine: “People in Israel Really Are Eating Swarming Locusts.”

   Once I briefly considered eating a grasshopper, saturated in honey, in front of a youth group, thinking my feat might help attract some newcomers to youth group.  But that moment is gone.  Yet what we are going to find out early on in Matthew 11 is the fact that John the Baptist, Jesus freak hero, was also human.

Hunter Irvine

The mission of Jesus

Matthew 11:1 states: “After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee” (NIV).

   Matthew states the early aspect of the mission of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

   Matthew repeated this mission, as recorded in Matthew 9:35: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”

   Then as recorded in Matthew 10:7-8, Matthew tells how Jesus sent His twelve apostles to carry out the same mission.  They were called and enabled to do what Jesus had been doing, which was teaching, preaching, and healing.

   Now the instructions Jesus gave the apostles made it clear they were embarking on an adventure which would be filled with trouble.  Jesus even said they would be hated (Matthew 10:22).  Jesus even states their lives would be in danger!  Yet He still encouraged them to carry out the mission: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:27-28).

   Then after Jesus sends them on an epic adventure, what does He do?  Jesus continues on with His mission, as is stated in Matthew 11:1.  Jesus led by example.

   Teaching and preaching about Jesus may not seem the wisest priority in this world, yet it is, being the most loving priority in this world, because people without Jesus are headed for the destruction which is the result of sin.  Sin always has bad consequences, and the ultimate bad consequence is spiritual death.  Yet Jesus, who is good, offers eternal life.  The ultimate mission of Jesus: Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the atoning sacrifice for the consequence of sins.  Then He was resurrected.

   Jesus said: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).  For those who receive Jesus, and thus are transformed, we gain the desire to acknowledge Jesus before people.  We are grateful we have been forgiven of our sins and united with our loving God.  And we want other people to receive the gift Jesus is offering to them so they will be saved and be headed to heaven like us.  Heaven is offered by Jesus, the One who made the sacrifice on the cross.  You can receive His gift today.

Hunter Irvine

The Unseen Revealed

2 Corinthians 4:18     So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (NIV).

   This statement seems illogical.  If you cannot see something, how can you trust whether it even exists, let alone whether it is good or whether it will last forever?  And even if you can create a dim vision of something you have not seen or experienced, it could be merely a fantasy.

   Now what we people see is under what many would call “natural law.”  The Bible reveals God is superior to “natural law,” rather than being confined by it.  God can overcome “natural law.”  When this is done, we often term it “supernatural” or “miracles.”  And miracles bring our focus on the unseen.

   God, who is unseen to us, has revealed Himself to people ever since the separation between God and people.  Before the time of Christ, God interacted with humanity, including doing miracles.  For example, the Hebrew people were miraculously given bread by God for forty years in a desert region!  This bread from God was unique, which is why the Israelites named it manna, which means, “What is it?”  The description: “It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).  This was only one of many miracles God did for the Israelites!

   Yet miracles seen and experienced by the Hebrew people were exceptional.  And all of us humans are physical beings in this world of matter, and focusing our minds on the “unseen” can seem ridiculous.

   Yet then the Messiah came!  “Immanuel,” which means God with us, entered the world on our level.  Jesus, being fully God and fully human, could be seen, heard, and touched.  And when Jesus started His ministry, He did miracles which were seen, heard, and felt.  For those who experienced the miracles, they were known!  John 1:18 states: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”  And revealing Himself with miracles was simply a part of His ultimate mission to become the sacrificial atonement on the cross.

   A revelation from Jesus: “God is spirit…” (John 4:24), thus He is of a different substance than what the human eye can detect.  Yet since we people were made in the image of God, as is revealed in Genesis, we can realize we have a core of ourselves which is unseen.  Thanks to the reconciliation which God made possible since Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins, we can now know the love of God in our “hearts.”  We can know in our minds and “hearts” the reality of the invisible God, because Jesus has revealed God to us!

   Suffering so much unemployment during this pandemic, I wondered if God was going to call me to something other than my passion of vocational ministry.  Since ministry work, title or no title, has been a way of life for me for so long, it seemed odd when I considered it would be easier to do a job where you could frequently see the results of your work.  It would be easier to deal with what is under “natural law.”  But easier does not mean better.  When I do ministry work, I know in my heart I am doing work which is making an eternal difference.  And if you are a follower of Jesus, as you witness Jesus by your life and in your life, you are making an eternal difference.

Hunter Irvine

I love Jesus

   Regarding being all out romantically in love, I was in love once.  She married someone else.  It still hurts.  Yet I pray for her sometimes, since to truly love people is to want the best for her or him.  Now if I am ever blessed to romantically fall in love again and get married, I know I will tell everyone I know: “I am in love!”  I will probably tell some people I do not know.  And I am quite certain she will dominate my screen saver.

   Regarding my true love which I have had for over 31 years, I now consider the fact that in my heart this entire time I have wanted to tell the world I am in love with Jesus.  Usually there has been a purpose in telling others about Jesus: I want others to likewise receive the true love of Jesus, which is offered to everyone, and gain the eternal life and goodness which results from receiving His love.  Yet even in addition to wanting others to be in a true loving relationship with the Lord God Almighty, sometimes I express to someone that I love Jesus simply because I am in love.  I think expressing your heart is a natural need.

   Here in 2021, I have engaged in an unusual expression of my heart.  Though I had a mask in 2020 which really fit and which was very protective, I remained on a long search for a mask which genuinely expressed me, and which I thought was classy.  To me, covering up my face is personal, since your face is what first identifies you to most people.  After a long search, last winter I bought a mask online which states: Jesus loves you, with “love” expressed by the symbol of a heart.  It became my go-to mask.

   Now I was not expecting mask compliments, yet I have had many.  Students at school sporting events, two cashiers, a security guard, a fellow customer in a store, and two stocking clerks.  Comprising of a variety of ethnic groups, the one cashier was a woman from India.  I was encouraged by each and every compliment!  But even if weird looks is all I ever got, I would wear the mask because being in love with Jesus is my life.  We human beings, who are made in the image of God, need true love for life.  And I live by the love of Jesus!

   Being in love with Jesus, there are still numerous hardships.  In this world where there was a separation between God and people, there are countless wrongdoings and hurts.  Even we Christians still sin.  We need to be grateful that we have the forgiveness of our sins, which would have otherwise resulted in spiritual death.  And we can be thankful God keeps improving us.  Yet the journey is still full of many hardships.  In following Jesus for over 31 years, I have had consistent rough times.  Yet what has remained has been His true love.

   If you love Jesus you do not need to go out and get a mask like mine, or a t-shirt, or a bumper sticker.  Rather express your love for Jesus in a manner fitting for you, which includes actions.  Yet saying “I love You” is always a good thing.  May I encourage you this very day, when you have a moment of time all alone, to tell Jesus, “I love You.”

   And know that Jesus loves you.

Hunter Irvine

Preach Heaven

Matthew 10:7-10 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep” (NIV).

   Jesus made it totally clear the apostles were to be completely dependent on God as they embarked on their ministry mission to the Israelites.  They were to do what Jesus had been doing, thus they needed to completely rely on Him.

   Jesus said, “…Freely you have received, freely give” (10:8).  They themselves had received the message of Jesus.  They themselves had received His love.  They were sent out to do for others what He had done for them.  In fact, the word apostle means “sent out.”

   Verses 9 and 10 sure do show their need to be completely dependent on Him.  This was not a permanent standard for disciples of Christ for all ages.  This was a unique apostolic “short term” mission adventure, which truly required the apostles to trust Him.

   I think this order applied for the Twelve only for this one occasion.  I do not know for sure.  I have studied the ministry of the apostles extensively, and I think they had provisions years later as they embarked on ministry work to people of the world, a number of whom were not even anticipating the Messiah.

   All Twelve, counting the replacement for Judas, did ministry work until physical death.  Most traveled into foreign countries and territories.  For many, they went to multiple countries at first, and then settled into a foreign country for the long haul.  Some of the apostles had families.  For example, Eusebius quotes Clement of Alexandria regarding Philip being married and having daughters.  Eusebius goes on to quote Polycrates: “Philip, one of the twelve apostles who sleeps in Hierapolis, and his two aged virgin daughters.  Another of his daughters, who lived in the Holy Spirit, rests at Ephesus.” [1]  (Note that Polycrates contradicts Clement of Alexandria, since Clement said all of Philip’s daughters were married.  Yet the agreement is on the fact Philip was married with daughters.)

   However, considering the phenomenal accomplishments by the apostles, there is no question they traveled light!  We are not talking large camel caravans here.  And there is still a lesson in this unique command to the apostles for us today.  The lesson: the less stuff the better.

   One of many blessings of a job I had years ago as a student assistant at the Colorado Christian University Library was I got to talk a bit with the great students of CCU.  Once when checking out books for a student, we started talking about dorm living, and in the midst of the conversation she said, “We all have stuff.”  The manner in which she stated the obvious was a fresh reminder that “stuff” needs to be accepted.  Yet “stuff” also needs to be controlled.

   One of my three favorite quotes from Chuck Swindoll when listening to him on the radio years ago: “There is nothing wrong with owning possessions, so long as they are not possessing you.”  How true.

   I conclude by giving the illustration of what has happened to me ever since I entered my vocational ministry calling.  Since packing up my possessions into a moving truck in the spring of 1997 to drive over two thousand miles to begin a position as a youth pastor, I have given away, recycled, or thrown away much stuff of which I personally had no previous intention of parting with.  I have had to move many times in my ministry calling, and each move created a need to give away more stuff.  My last ministry move involved fitting everything I own, literally, into one car.  I now have a fraction of the stuff I had twenty-four years ago.

   Often, I did not want to part with certain possessions.  However, after doing so I was often glad, and even grateful, I no longer had a number of those possessions I gave away.  Regarding some of the other possessions, it was painful to give them away!  However, it was a life-long lesson to me of the fact that possessions in this world are temporary.

   Preparation is key to succeeding at anything, and preparation to do ministry work requires having certain physical provisions.  However, preparation for ministry work usually also involves being more mobile, thus getting rid of more stuff than you originally considered.  When a Scout, the Friday before a backpacking trip, we would have what we Scouts called a “shake down.”  If you follow Jesus, get prepared for a “shake down,” even if your mission involves staying right where you are.

   The lesson I think Jesus was teaching His apostles, and a lesson He wants us to get from their incredible mission adventure: Be dependent on Him, not your temporary possessions.

   Remain focused on Jesus in heaven.  Always remember what Jesus had His apostles preach during His three years of ministry work here on earth: “The kingdom of heaven is near” (7).

Hunter Irvine

[1] Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, 

trans. C.F. Cruse 

(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1998), 95-96.

Christ has a mission for us

Matthew 10:1-6

   In the previous passage which I wrote about last week, Matthew repeats a statement he made near the conclusion of chapter four.  I think he repeats himself in order to emphasize the mission of Jesus in order that we may be absolutely convicted and encouraged regarding our mission as disciples of Jesus.

   Learning of this mission of Christ, and starting to learn about a short-term missions adventure of the apostles, we still need to distinguish between the progression of Christ’s mission, the apostle’s mission before the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the apostle’s mission after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the mission of all followers of Jesus in every generation since.

   First note that Jesus made it clear His mission during His three year period in this world was specifically to the Israelites.  The Messiah’s immediate mission did not extended beyond Israelites until He suffered on the cross.  Though Jesus had strict parameters for teaching, preaching, and healing, He was leading to His plan of being the sacrificial atonement on the cross offered to all people of all time.

   And as we learn in this passage, the Israelites were the mission field for the apostle’s mission at this time before the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

   After the resurrection and just before the ascension of Jesus, the apostle’s mission would be radically expanded by Jesus to the entire world.  Their mission expansion by Jesus is recorded in Acts 1:8.  The apostles were a group of Hebrews who would not normally even dine together.  For starters, the group included a Zion Zealot and a tax collector for Rome from the tribe of Levi, and fellowship between two such Israelites was probably unheard of.  Yet the Twelve, with a replacement for Judas, ended up becoming evangelists for Christ to countries in every direction.  If you are interested in learning about the missions of the apostles, see my blog entries from February to April of 2015, which were the result of countless hours of research: The Twelve Apostles

   Now what is the mission for you and me?  All people of every nation remain the mission field for Christians as it has been for all following generations since the apostolic age.  The command by Jesus in Acts 1:8 continues for all disciples of Christ until Jesus returns.

   Do note one difference between the nature of the ministry between the apostles and the rest of us Christians ever since.  Apostles were given the ability and authority by Jesus to physically heal people.  Yet I reiterate what I said in my last piece: I advocate the calling and ability the apostles were given to physically heal people from diseases, and to even physically raise people from the dead, was specific to the apostolic age.  Yet the Holy Spirit can still assist with physical healing in unique ways and unique circumstances.  This is aside from a spiritual gift of a person, and aside from diligent church attendance.

   I once rented a room in a townhouse from a person who is blind, a man who is a brother-in-Christ.  No minister ever restored his sight, and he was not expecting such.  Yet Jesus still does miracles in this world rooted in a spiritual nature, including healing for the heart.  And in order for us to do work as a part of our mission calling, we must rely completely on Him to be enabled to carry out the spiritual work of God, who is Spirit (as revealed in John 4:24).

Hunter Irvine

Be a minister

Matthew 9:35-38     Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (NIV).

   Jesus has called all of His disciples to be ministers.  Since Jesus is our example and our strength, we need to see what He did.

   First, Jesus taught.  One example of His teaching is found in what is now termed “The Sermon on the Mount.”

   And Jesus commands us to continue teaching about Him, which He clearly stated in what we now term the Great Commission, which was given after He was resurrected.  Now some have the gift for public teaching, as Timothy did.  Those of us with that gift should be encouraged as Timothy was encouraged in I Timothy 4:13-14.  I love teaching.

   Now some do not have a gift for public or formal teaching.  Yet most people “teach” a person or people in some manner.  Parents teach their children.  Even if parents do not methodically teach children lessons for life, just by their own behavior they are teaching.  Children learn much from the actions of their parents.

   Christians teach their co-workers by their behavior.  After I became a Christian, I slowly learned that co-workers were noticing my actions, and how I lived a different life than others.  I realized I had an added responsibility in my daily life.  Most of us have opportunities to teach people about Jesus by our daily behavior, as is detailed in I Timothy 4:12.

   Second, Jesus preached “the good news of the kingdom.”

   And disciples with the gift of preaching should preach.  Jesus instructed His disciples to go and preach, as recorded in Matthew 10:7 and Mark 3:14.  Timothy was likewise encouraged to preach as recorded in I Timothy 4:13-14.  Now a large number of churches restrict preaching to a tiny group of academic elites.  This is not biblical in my view.  Now ministry preparation is needed.  For example, my preaching class at CCU was one of my best classes among many great classes at CCU.  Yet successful preaching is a result of a lifetime commitment to learning from Jesus!  If you are called to preach, you must work hard just to get the opportunity to preach in America, and then you will need to engage in the hard work of preparing and presenting sermons.  Yet fruit will result.

   Third, Jesus physically healed people, as is stated in this passage and is shown throughout the first four books of the New Testament.

   Physical healing was also an apostolic calling, which is recorded in Matthew 10:1 and 10:8.  Yet I advocate the call from Jesus for the apostles to physically heal people of diseases and to even raise people from the dead was specific to the apostolic age.  Yet the Holy Spirit can still assist with physical healing in unique ways and within unique circumstances.  This is aside from a spiritual gift of a person, and aside from diligent church attendance.

   In this day and age, healing for the soul is a daily work of the Holy Spirit.  In the summer of 1998, I attended my third Promise Keepers event at the basketball stadium in Denver.  Near the conclusion of a full day of preachers on Saturday, Coach Bill McCartney preached.  Then he called people who needed healing to come down to the “floor” of the arena.  Then he called pastors to come down to pray with the people who needed healing.  One sentence of Coach McCartney stuck with me.  He said, “God can heal a broken heart.”  That is the work of the Lord God Almighty right here and now.  Jesus is the One who did miracles to physically heal people when He ministered here on earth.  And Jesus is the One who can do miracles to bring spiritual healing to all those who have faith in Him since His resurrection.  We disciples of Jesus need to keep encouraging people to turn to the Healer of our hearts.

   Having set the standard, Jesus makes a statement to His disciples: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few….”  This applies today!  I have long found ministry positions to be few and far between.  I consider ministry work to be one of the most challenging careers to enter.  Yet Jesus is not referring to open positions in Christian institutions at any given time.  Jesus is referring to the field of the human race.  For example, how many people in your neighborhood have received Jesus as his or her Savior and Lord?

   God’s plan of salvation was the sacrificial atonement of Jesus on the cross.  All of us people have sinned, thus all of us people deserved the resulting punishment of spiritual death.  Yet Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross, and suffered the resulting punishment of those sins, dying physically and spiritually.  Now God’s plan continues as He calls disciples of Jesus to tell the good news of Christ’s atonement. We Christians are called to proclaim the good news now!  The role of each Christian will vary according to her or his gift.  Yet God is calling all of His disciples to be ministers!

   Scripture makes it clear there is a special calling and office of church ministers, as is described in places such as I Timothy 3:1-13.  Yet all followers of Jesus are members of the royal priesthood stated in I Peter 2:9, and all followers of Jesus are called to contribute to carrying out the “Great Commission” in a manner fitting for each individual.

   Loving ministers for Jesus are needed.  I will refrain from telling some stories from some experiences I had this summer which illustrate the moral disaster taking place in our society.  You may have your own stories from this summer.

   Amidst this moral disaster, Jesus has compassion.  Called by the Father to minister to the Israelites for three years in this world, Jesus had compassion for them.  His compassion continues for everyone.  Jesus wants you to love people.  Jesus wants you to use your gifts to proclaim the good news of His atoning death on the cross.  Jesus wants you to be a minister for Him.

Hunter Irvine

Celebration in Christ

Matthew 9:14-17

   In this passage, Jesus gives a unique metaphorical teaching to illustrate He is offering something new which involves celebration, since where there is a groom, there is a wedding, and where there is a wedding, there is celebration.

   Interpreting this passage in the context of other Scriptures helps me to know the fact that the celebration came at a cost of the ultimate suffering.  There is a need to remember Christ’s sacrifice.  Second, we can celebrate our eternal life in Christ.

   Notice the suggestion of both realities when Jesus performed the first miracle revealed in Scripture.  In turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana, Jesus instructed the workers to use containers which were normally used for “ceremonial washing,” as stated in John 2:6.  I think Jesus did that on purpose to gently foreshadow the cleansing which would be available by His blood shed on the cross.  And even though the party looked like it was going to come to a halt, the miraculous wine opened the door for a new celebration, another gentle foreshadowing.

   Jesus would later directly assign wine as a symbol of His blood.  During the supper the night before He was crucified, Jesus used the familiar objects of bread and wine to symbolize His body and blood shortly before He was sacrificed.  Jesus specifically said His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins, and He said His blood was of the New Covenant (see Matthew 26:28).

   Regarding the forgiveness of sins, 1 Peter 1:18-19 states redemption was made possible by “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Jesus was the Lamb of God who shed His blood as the atonement for the sins of people.  Cleansing comes from the death of Jesus, the One who died in our place, taking the punishment we deserved.

   Regarding the New Covenant, the shed blood as the sacrificial atonement also was used by Jesus to establish the New Covenant, since the shedding of blood was a necessary action in the Ancient Near East for sealing a covenant.  Jewish people were under the Mosaic Covenant, as they had been for over 1400 years.  The Messiah rocked the Israelite world, and the rest of the world, by establishing a New Covenant which was available to anyone, and which results in an eternal celebration for anyone who believes in Jesus as his or her Savior and Lord.  Such a believer can experience the ultimate celebration in his or her heart, as he or she has been saved from spiritual death forever.

   Thus when Jesus speaks of new wine, I think He is speaking of the blood He shed on the cross.  And when He speaks of new wineskins, I think He is speaking of the New Covenant.  Both involved suffering.  Both brought about a possibility for an eternal celebration.

   Considering this passage is often avoided in sermons, I address one issue which I think presents a challenge: the passage involves alcohol.  Personally, I do not drink alcohol, and I do not advocate drinking alcohol in the least.  What I learned in Biology class in college about alcohol is just a starting point of the negative points I could go on and on about.  Yet what does the Bible say?  The Bible does not prohibit alcohol, however, New Testament Scripture does prohibit getting drunk (see Ephesians 5:18).  And New Testament Scripture does set strict standards regarding alcohol consumption for Christian leaders (see I Timothy 3:8).

   Wine was a staple in the Middle East in ancient times due to the fact people in ancient times did not have refrigeration there in a region where temperatures are scorching hot.  Thus wine was a common beverage, which I read in a Bible encyclopedia in 2015.

   Yet I do not think Jesus was promoting alcohol here.  Jesus further upgraded wine as a drink to be used for remembering His death on the cross.  I also noticed when pondering this passage throughout the week that when Jesus was establishing the Lord’s Supper, He referred to the drink as “the cup.”  For example: “Then [Jesus] took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).  He never said wine.  Considering this fact and considering the context of wine being used frequently in that culture, I advocate grape juice can be used for the Lord’s Supper.  There are various convictions on this subject.

   Yet what we should be focused on when partaking of the Lord’s Supper brings us back to the lesson of this passage.  When partaking of Communion, we need to remember the sacrifice Christ made, and we are blessed beyond description to celebrate the forgiveness of our sins and celebrate our new life within the New Covenant.

   The suffering of Jesus is finished, as Jesus proclaimed on the cross as recorded in John 19:30.  Then in due time afterwards, Jesus ascended into heaven.  Though Jesus remains in the heart of a believer by the Holy Spirit, He is not with us in full, and we followers of Jesus suffer in this fallen and hurtful world in manners we would not if we were not Christians.  Thus there are times when even a follower of Jesus is going to feel lonely, or frustrated, or hurt, or rejected, or abandoned.  We Christians sometimes still sin, and we Christians are surrounded by people who sometimes sin and hurt us.  Sometimes giving up something I do regularly helps me focus on God.  There will likely be occasions when a Christian feels compelled to fast, if not from food then from something else.  However such fasting should always be done as a personal choice.

   And in spite of the continued challenges for Christians in this world, we followers of Jesus can still celebrate in our hearts, and hopefully in other ways, our new life in Christ.  The Holy Spirit is with us now, and one day we will be with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in full for all eternity.  Indeed all genuine believers in Jesus will never suffer again as we feast at the wedding supper of the Lamb, as was foretold in Revelation 19:7-9!

Hunter Irvine

We all need Jesus

Matthew 9:9-13

   Jesus said, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Before I gave my heart to Jesus in 1990, I was a sinner, yet Jesus kept reaching out to me.  Now in the 6th grade, I was Captain of the safety patrols at my school, and at the end of the year I was recognized as the number two safety patrol in my county.  In junior high school and in high school, when we would do yearbook signings near the end of the year, a vast majority of women would write I was a “nice guy.”  My primary activity in my youth was Scouting, and I earned the rank of Eagle!  At Virginia Tech, I was a dedicated student and a successful Resident Advisor.

   But I was a sinner not doing God’s will.  I did not have true love in my heart, and I was spiritually dying.  I needed the forgiveness of my sins.  Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone since He loves us.  Jesus was the substitutional atonement.  I gave my heart to Jesus in 1990, receiving His offer of forgiveness.  I am ever thankful He forgave me.

   And I live daily with His true love.  Jesus remains with me through the Holy Spirit, still working even 31 years later, to keep healing me and to keep making me a better person.  I am such a different person than I was 31 years ago in my heart.  In the midst of the countless challenges in my life, it is a blessing to remember that this Jesus lover, student of the Bible, ancient virgin, and passionate witness, was a sinner saved from spiritual death thanks to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.  And even though after all this time this Jesus lover, student of the Bible, ancient virgin, and passionate witness sometimes really messes up, I am able to keep relying on God for mercy and for help to be a better man.

   Please know today that Jesus loves you!

Hunter

Forgiven

Matthew 9:1-8

   For Matthew 9:1-8, which records an event also witnessed in Luke 5:17-26, I dive right into the main message.  The message: Jesus forgave the sins of the man.  The personal message: Jesus offers the forgiveness of sins to anyone.

   Though not a comfortable topic, the issue of sin is central to both the need of people and the mission of Jesus, because sin is what caused the separation of people from God, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus is what will bring the redemption of a person so that he or she can be forgiven and united with God.

   I do add that Jesus forgave this man of his sins prior to when He died as the atonement for sins on the cross.  Whether it was simply temporary forgiveness, or eternal forgiveness by the atonement on the cross in advance, I do not know.  Yet Jesus had authority to forgive sins, just as He said.  The bottom line is Scripture reveals the atonement made by Jesus on the cross is permanent for any person who receives Christ.  The atonement made by Jesus on the cross was not confined by time or space.  All people before the time of Christ could be saved (see 1 Peter 3:18-20).  All people at that moment could be saved.  And all people until judgment day have an opportunity to be saved (see Acts 16:31).  To be saved, a person must believe in Jesus.

Hunter

   Please join me in considering one sin you have done recently.  After thinking of one, you can ask God for forgiveness for that wrong doing.

   And if you would like, close this time by saying the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father

who art in heaven

hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

and the power

and the glory

forever and ever.

Amen.

Humbly ask for help

Matthew 8:23-27   Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (NIV)

Why would Jesus lecture His disciples who were pleading for help?

I think what they were doing was smart.

   The problem was not the fact they were asking for help, though granted they seemed to be demanding help.  But such emotions are natural when there is a crisis.  The problem Jesus identified was their mode of fear and despair.  Reacting to desperate circumstances in a mode of despair only makes things worse.  But if things look hopeless, fear and despair are natural.  Why not fear?  Because God is willing to help.

   Honestly, for years the response of Jesus seemed to me to be a bit harsh.  I did not understand why He was being so critical of His disciples in such a life or death situation.  Yet I think Jesus wanted them to be certain, and for us to be certain, of a critical fact: He is God.  He was sleeping in the boat, being fully human.  Yet Jesus stopped the wind and the waves, the One who is fully God, One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

   The disciples asked the right question: “What kind of man is this?”  The answer is He was Immanuel, which means God with us (see Matthew 1:23).  And we can turn to Him.  When desperate, if we humbly come to Jesus and ask for help, there can be goodness, even if it is nothing more than His peace.  Why can we rely on Jesus?  Because He is the One who has overcome the world (see John 16:33).

   All encounter trouble in this world, and desperate circumstances sometime happen.  They have for me.  For some crises, you need to act quickly.  For other crises, ones which are a swelling crisis with potential for terrible long term consequences, you need to invest time pondering the situation in order to make a careful decision.  A person with a heart humbled by God will be able to make a wiser decision.  I will speak for myself and say I sometimes still make mistakes when the pressure is on.  Yet rather than getting upset with Jesus, goodness results when we ask Him for help.

   You will be more prepared for future crises, which often come when we least expect them, if you keep soaking in two truths of Jesus.  First, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, your soul has been saved from spiritual death, and you have eternal life.  Jesus is God the Son, and Jesus saves.  Second, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, Jesus is spiritually with you!  Jesus wants to guide and encourage you daily, and Jesus is available to help you!  We can humbly, and even quickly, ask God for help.

   To celebrate my vaccination I went to a great water park in the Denver metro area.  Though unemployed, and though all by myself, I made it happen.  After a year of social distancing, there I was with numerous unmasked people outside at a neat place on a sunny Colorado day ready to have fun.

   Being excited, I waded into the giant wave pool.  When the wave machine was turned off, which they do every so many minutes to give people a rest, I went out to the deep end, where few people were, to swim around and tread water.  To give an example of my swimming history, during a period of my life in the past decade, I swam strong for about one mile every week at a recreation center.  Yet being older now, I do not have the stamina I had even a few years ago.  And I had not been to a pool since the pandemic was declared.  Treading water there in the calm wave pool, I could tell my stamina was lower.

   Then the buzzer sounded and the wave maker was turned back on.  Tired after treading water, all of the sudden I was dealing with waves which were too much for me to handle.  I had not even considered the waves would be so much more challenging in the deep end.  I had even thought they would be easier to deal with compared to back where they “broke,” as was the case at the beach I went to in my childhood.  Yet a wave pool is different.  Those powerful swelling waves required intense treading, and much stamina, which I did not have.

   Suddenly I realized I was not going to be able to handle those waves much longer.  It was a moment of realistic panic.  Fortunately, in that moment of crisis I made a humble decision: Head to the emergency steps, those steps at the side of the pool there in the deep end.  I had never seen anyone use those steps the time I was at that water park years before.  Yet I realized I needed help, and those steps were help.  In retrospect I praise God, because thanks to the vast work He has done in my heart over many years, I am someone who is incredibly more humble than I was years ago.

   Slowly swimming towards the steps while working to rise over the waves, I got one gulp of water from a wave I did not completely clear.  Fortunately I drank the water rather than inhaling.  It was scary, because I was weak enough where I could have gone under had I inhaled water.  They have top-notch lifeguards, but I would not have even been capable of yelling up the large wall to her while coughing and weak.  Yet I was soon at the steps, safe.  I made a terrible mistake, yet a humble response resulted in a happy ending.

   Sometimes even Christians make mistakes where there is no safe way out and which lead to tragic consequences.  However, for those who believe in Jesus, He has promised He will be with us always (see Matthew 28:20).

Hunter Irvine

The song “Be Still My Soul” is a grand illustration of this passage.  Over six years ago I added a link to this live version by Selah, and I do so again.  It is a classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUnil3wo-js

Prepare for life

Matthew 8:21-22   Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (NIV).

   Father’s Day was one week ago, and this sure seems like the opposite of a caring Father’s Day message or a caring any other day message.  However, carefully examining this passage we can learn the message of Jesus is a life giving and caring message.  One important context point here: I read years ago from a scholar or minister that the expression “bury my father” probably meant the man’s father was elderly, thus the request was to go and be with his father for a number of months or years in preparation for the man’s death.

   So the message of Jesus: Death is not to be our focus.  Life is to be our focus.

   Thus, Jesus needs to be our core devotion!

   Death is not to be what we are preparing for in this world!  Waiting for the inevitable, physical death, is not to be the mode of a Christian.  I personally committed to ministering to my Grandma in her last five years in this world.  Quite the unique “ministry” for a single man in my thirties, yet it was simply the “ministry” I accepted and gave my all to.  Grandma was not very mobile, yet for us, those years were not a time of waiting or preparing for death.  Instead we lived.  Since she did not drive, and since she could not walk far, I would take her out to eat at her favorite restaurant and a huge variety of other restaurants.  I would take her on drives, and she would be able to see places she had not seen in many years.  I would watch sports with her, frankly over doing it on that activity.  And for a period of time when I was not working as a youth pastor, I took her to church.  We had the privilege of learning from my favorite preacher of all time, Dr. David Beckman.  They were years of living!

   Had I been married and thus unable to make that huge commitment for so many years, I could have still expressed love to her, such as taking her out to eat and for a drive on special occasions.  Your expression of love to family and friends, including any assistance, is between you and God.  Yet we can always care, and we can always be witnessing Christ in our own personal way.

   I add Jesus was not instructing the man to skip his dad’s memorial service.  The man’s dad was probably not going to die any second, or the man would not have even been there in the first place.  When family and friends pass away, God wants us to mourn.  In fact, that is the only healthy response.

   Yet key to this passage is the statement by Jesus: “Follow me.”  Why?  Because we can only engage in life in this world full of frustrations and hurts by relying on Jesus.  Jesus is the One who has given believers in Him eternal life.  In following Jesus day by day, we will continue to be a light for Christ to those who are spiritually lost and perishing.  And only Jesus enables us to have genuine joy and peace.  It is imperative that Jesus is your core devotion in order for you to engage in healthy ministry work.  A person whose heart is completely devoted to Jesus can encourage elderly people to flourish in a relationship with Christ.

   I could not have helped grandma as I did without help from Jesus.  Honestly there were times when circumstances seemed hopeless, yet Jesus carried me through.  And when things were going smooth, Jesus enabled me to have fun with grandma, someone who had little fun over many previous years.  We followers of Jesus can engage in life now, and look forward to heaven to come.

Hunter Irvine

The home of Jesus

Matthew 8:19-20   Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (NIV).

Jesus was not at home in this world!  Being holy and being one with the Father, He was not at home.

The kingdom of heaven is the home of Jesus!

Jesus went home when He ascended into heaven.

And when Jesus comes to reign on earth, and then renews both heaven and earth, both heaven and earth will be His home, and the home of all of His children.

And the Lord God Almighty; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will reign forever!

Hunter Irvine

Decision for Jesus

   God has offered all people an opportunity for eternal life in Christ, and each person is allowed to make his or her own decision.  In Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 8:26-39, we learn of the event where Jesus entered the region of the Gadarenes (or Gerasenes).  In that region, there were two men who were possessed by demons.  Luke focuses specifically on the one man who was possessed by numerous demons.  These men lived in tombs and were violent.  The result of the encounter with these two men possessed by demons was that Jesus ordered the demons to leave the men and go into a herd of pigs.  The possessed pigs then ran down a steep bank into the lake and they all died.

   This event seems rather bizarre, yet this event exposes the sins of the people in that region.  First, the region of Gadarenes was in the territory of what use to be Israel.  A combination of people who were Jewish and people who were not Jewish probably lived there.  Yet one thing is for sure: Jewish people were not supposed to be eating bacon, ham, or pork chops.  The law given by God through Moses prohibited eating pig meat as is stated in Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8.  Those pig herders were probably not raising pigs for pets.  They were going to sell the meat.  I am convinced this is why Jesus allowed the demons to go into the pigs.

   The end result was the two men were rescued from the demons.  Luke details how the one demon possessed man was healed.  “…When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind…” (Luke 8:35).  But the people were not grateful.  Instead, the end of that verse reveals their response: “…they were afraid” (Luke 8:35).  Their response resulted in them asking Jesus to leave.  “Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region” (Matthew 8:34).  And from Luke: “Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear… (Luke 8:37).

   What did Jesus do?  “…So he got into the boat and left” (Luke 8:37).  Tragically, those people put their cash crop or other sins over being with Jesus.  And Jesus honored their decision to reject Him.

   We people have a choice today still.  Jesus does not force Himself upon anyone in a spiritual manner just as He did not force Himself upon the people in the region of the Gerasenes.  You can be with Jesus or you can reject Him.  Receiving Jesus through faith results in eternal life, and rejection of Jesus results in spiritual death.  Why?  Because we all need God our creator for everlasting life.  And Jesus is God the Son who came into the world to save people.

   Rejection of Jesus in this world continued to the extent of Jesus being murdered on a cross.  Yet it fulfilled the mission of Jesus who died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Jesus was the sacrificial atonement for the consequence of sins which is spiritual death.  Then Jesus was resurrected.  If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will have eternal life in Christ.  Thanks to Jesus, you have the opportunity to be saved from your sins.  What you need to do to be saved is believe in Jesus.

Hunter Irvine

+ Thank You Jesus for giving us all the opportunity to believe in You and thus be saved from our sins, and thus be with You forever.  Personally, may I be grateful daily that I have been saved.

It is through Your loving name Jesus I pray.  Amen.

Reasons to improve sermons

   Why should sermons be retained as a part of a worship service?

   First, Jesus instructed: “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10).  Preaching is needed!  Peter preached; one example is recorded in Acts 2:14-40.  Paul preached; one example is recorded in Acts 13:16-41.  Carried out by many Christians for nearly two thousand years, preaching has even crossed denominational borders, though with countless styles.

   Second, preaching is a spiritual gift.  Paul stated to Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.  Do not neglect your gift…” (I Timothy 4:13-14).

   I do sympathize with people who are discouraged by the preaching in their church.  For example, I am an interactive learner.  A college professor who talked on and on usually did not engage me personally.  Still I would take notes in class, and then carefully study the notes before the test so I would get a good grade.  However, I was not learning much for the long haul.  Whereas when learning from a professor who asked questions, often termed the Socratic method, I would be more actively engaged since I could participate in discussion.  Thus I was far more likely to remember the material.  I need engagement!

   Regarding the improvement of preaching during worship, I offer two suggestions.

   First, make sermons shorter!  It is easy to say, but hard to do.  This is my personal goal as a preacher.  When I prepare a sermon, I immerse myself in that passage for one week.  Thus I become capable of giving a long sermon.  But the listeners have not been pondering the passage all week.  And if too much information is given, they may retain little.  Thus the best I can give listeners is a single message.  And the more I prepare, the more capable I become for giving a smoother and shorter sermon.

   Second, provide other opportunities for interaction.  In my next position, I want to implement a short time during the worship where people get into discussion groups of three or so, and give some insight between one another regarding the Scripture passage.  This is a radical idea, which I have never seen carried out in a worship service.  But I read this suggestion from a woman in a short article on the Internet, and I want to try it.  I think it has the potential of making worship more interesting or fun for many people.

   Even though I advocate shorter sermons and more interaction during a service, the bottom line is preaching is needed!  If you preach, give it your all!

Hunter Irvine

Be yourself when doing ministry work!

    I learned a critical lesson about church in my first youth minister position: Be yourself!

After I resigned that position, I wrote that statement on a sheet of paper, and here over twenty years later I still have that sheet of paper.

   You are a person created by God who is unique from any other person ever created, physically and spiritually.  God wants you to be the person He created you to be!  God abhors sin, since sin only interferes with you being the person He created you to be.  And God does not want church leaders or people in the congregation stifling your unique personality, your God given gifts, or your calling from God.

   I love preaching!  When I preach, it is totally personal, because I am conveying messages from God from Scripture, and those messages are coming from my heart.  Thus in pouring out my heart, I must be “me.”

   Once I tried to be someone different.  My first day of high school, I was a new kid in school since I had gone to a different junior high school in the district where my family use to live.  Taking the suggestion of a friend in junior high, I decided to try and create a new image.  I was going to be cool.  I did not have a plan ahead of time for being cool, but that is what I was aiming for.  Coming up with a last minute plan which I probably could not even have articulated, I started trying to be the strong silent type, since that was my perception of cool, from TV probably.  I was miserable.  Slowly, I went back to being “me,” which is to be joyful and loud.  Trying to be someone different, not only was I miserable, but my attempted image did not help me in a single relationship.  My relationships with other students only were good when I was “myself.”  Great relationships are genuine.

   Likewise, a preacher needs to be totally himself or herself with listeners, so they may know who you really are in order to accept the sincerity of your message.  Be yourself when you preach, and people will have the opportunity to recognize the sincerity of your preaching from your heart.

   God works so we may keep personally improving, and as with any spiritual gift, God works to improve our preaching.  Yet in being yourself, you will be a genuine preacher.

Hunter

The Heart of a Sermon

   For you preachers out there, along with you sermon enthusiasts: A sermon is a delicate arrangement as an art and a science.  With “art” being one key component, any given sermon will appeal to some but not others, just as certain types of music appeal to some but not others.  All people are unique, and all people have different tastes.  And each preacher has a unique personality and unique interests, presenting information and giving illustrations in a personal way.

   “Personal” is key here.  Why?  Jesus was personal.  Jesus, being fully God, became fully human in order to minister to us people on our level.  When you, as a man or woman saved by Jesus and gifted to preach, carry out the craft of creating a sermon to be presented to willing listeners, be personable as Christ was personable.  As a human saved by Jesus, you are a new creation in Christ, but you were once in the darkness as many are now.  Remember that point in humility, and you will get the attention of folks who are not Christians.  We are saved because Christ bore our sins because He loves everyone!  That is a message a person may only hear from you.  Regarding your fellow followers of Jesus who listen to your preaching, your faith in Jesus in the midst of the countless challenges and struggles in this fallen messed up world will shine through.

   The “science” is the fact a sermon needs to give a message from the Bible.  Jesus preached personally, yet He also preached with authority as the Messiah.  A person giving a hermeneutical message of the Bible is a person is giving a message from God.  Failure to do so results in a person giving his or her own message, which is done every day in countless venues outside of Christian preaching.  Jesus said, “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10).  That gospel comes from the revelations of God given in the inspired Scripture.

   You are a creative herald, and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit to be personable, and relying on the authority of Scripture to offer God’s messages, you will bear fruit as a person who is talking to people as one of them.

   And what is at the root of both the art and the science of preaching: the heart.  As a successful preacher, D. Stuart Brisco wrote: “Thankfully, I learned a big lesson early.  A preacher’s motives matter more than a preacher’s methods.” (1)

   I encourage you fellow preachers to allow God to keep improving your heart for great preaching.  And my next piece will address another point for successful preaching, so your loving heart will be heard.

Hunter Irvine

(1)  D. Stuart Briscoe, Fresh Air in the Pulpit

(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), 72.

Why does God allow so much suffering?

   As a student at Virginia Tech in the 1980’s, I served as a Resident Advisor.  At the end of my junior year after students had vacated their dorm rooms, I had to do room inspection to make sure each room was in good order.  In one room, a former resident had left a small wooden plaque on the wall.  Pictured was a small country church nestled in a low rolling mountain valley.  The church was bright, whereas the landscape was dark, and the sky was filled with dark clouds.  A rainbow, obviously imposed, arched from the sky right down on the church.  And a statement was written to the side, speaking of the light in the darkness.

   As someone who was not a Christian, yet who in a gentle way was seeking God, I was touched by the plaque.  I felt it was God speaking to me in some soft way.

   About a year after graduating from Virginia Tech, I gave my heart to Jesus.  And jumping ahead all these years, every year on this day there is some pain in my spiritual heart.  Today is the 14th memorial of when 32 students were murdered at Virginia Tech.  I prayed for the families this morning before I even got out of bed.  Fourteen years later, families and friends surely still have some pain in their hearts.

   So my question, “Why does God allow so much suffering?”  I do not know.  What I do know is the Bible reveals why there is suffering, which is because of the separation between God and people, a separation which is due to the disobedience of the first two people.  And not only did it result in suffering, but it resulted in eventual physical and spiritual death for all people.

   Yet the Bible also reveals there can be a uniting with God which results in everlasting life.  That is because Jesus, God the Son, came into this world to be the atoning sacrifice for the penalty of sins.  The consequence of sins is physical and spiritual death.  Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute.  And then Jesus was resurrected.  If any person believes in Jesus as her or his Savior and Lord, she or he has eternal life.

   Having followed Jesus for 31 years, I recognize more and more the “darkness” which results from going against the will of God.  I also have learned the hard way a random church is not a light in the darkness.  The light in the darkness is Jesus.  “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  And people who are genuine followers of Jesus, though we still have our flaws, are enabled to be little lights in this world with the joy and peace which we have gained from Jesus.

   If you are not a follower of Jesus, I invite you to believe in Jesus.  Believing is how you receive His love and are united with Him.  You will still suffer in this world.  Yet you will have eternal life with Jesus!

   Jesus loves you!

Hunter Irvine

God does good!

   Today when grocery shopping I saw a man wearing an orange bandana exactly like the one I bought a bit less than a year ago to have a face covering as the country, and world, was shutting in.  I purchased it for one dollar at a Christian bookstore.  Masks would follow.  That orange bandana was a fitting sight for me since today is the one year mark for when this worldwide pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization.

   The year has been challenging for many of us!  As you know, many people have been sick or died.  And there have been countless other problems for people due to fallout from the pandemic.  And there were tragic social and political problems during this past year in the United States.  I was extremely sad to see so much division at a time of crisis when people needed to be taking extra effort to work together.

   The 2020-2021 pandemic has been a tragedy.  Today on the one year mark, I am comforted by the teaching in Scripture from the book of Romans: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV).  This does not teach tragedies are good.  Tragedies are horrible.  In this fallen world, we have natural disasters.  Moreso, there is much which is done by us people which is unloving and thus against the will of God.  The result of what is called sin is hurt and ultimately death, which is not God’s desire for us.  Yet our awesome God works to bring goodness for those who love Him, with eternal blessings, and even with some blessings in the midst of bad times.

   If you are a follower of Jesus, you have received the love of Jesus, and you can live by that love this very day!  And if you are not a follower of Jesus, you can choose to be.  Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the consequence of sins which is spiritual death.  And then Jesus was resurrected.  I invite you to believe in Jesus.  If you do, you will have eternal life.

+ I thank You Holy God that the vaccines are so effective - protecting people already, and making our country and the world safer already.  At this time where many of us have yet to receive the vaccine, I pray for continued health for all.  And I thank You for the joy and peace You have given Your followers even in the midst of this pandemic catastrophe.  It has been a rough year.  Thank You for being good to us.

It is through the loving name of Jesus I pray,

Hunter