The Pastor's Blog - Flag Branch MBC

The Latest New Thing Fine Points

Posted on Mar 29, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “The Latest New Thing”.

The latest new thing is what the writer of Acts said the Athenians spent their time listening to and talking about. In fact, it was what they spent the majority of their time doing. Seeking to know and to tell others about the latest things is a sign a person is idolatrous.

If God is not first in a person’s love, honor and reverence then something else has to be. That something else can be a person, a place, a thing or an idea as long as it can be objectified. In order words, we can direct our feelings, time and energy toward it and it is often something we refer to as mine.

When Paul arrived in Athens, he found a city given wholly to idol worship. And while that probably included images dedicated and erected to honor who they called the gods, all of it was symptomatic of a people who didn’t know, or if they did know refused to follow, their purpose for being.

Upon seeing this, Paul made an effort to enlighten those he could wherever and whenever he could including in the synagogue and marketplace. The intellectuals of the city got wind of what Paul was teaching and wanted to know more even though they regarded him as a “babbler” or someone incoherent and jangling in thought and message.

It seemed more of the fact it was something new that they didn’t want to miss and hear than them taking or regarding anything serious from one they called a babbler. But Paul preached the gospel to them and their reaction to it was predictable. However, one of their most respected members and several other believed Paul and became disciples.

How like the Athenians people are today. We have little regard for the gospel and sometime even less for those who preach it. Yet it is through the foolish of preaching that God has chosen to save His people. And like at Athens, all who hear will not disregard it, but some will believe because they are the children of God.

People are constantly searching for new things to fill a life devoid of its true purpose. They seek to give their live meaning, purpose and fulfillment through the things they experience. Experiences come through trying new things. It can be a new scent or smell, a new taste or touch, a new feeling or new sound or something not seen before.

These things often lead people into different ways of seeing and thinking about themselves. They often leave us in a worst place than we were before we experience that new thing. But it is all vain, all academic, all irrelevant because it was all to what end? What did it get us besides a bunch of feelings that were sometime good and at other times bad?

Is and was that the purpose of our life to feel feelings? Feelings by the way we will at some point never know we had. The gospel tells us we are made for the purpose of becoming the offspring of God. If that is the case, our life should be spent fulfilling that purpose. And every and anything else we do with our life beside that is simply idolatry.

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our latest Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.

Pastor Jordan

Conclusion of Critique of the Cross Fine Points

Posted on Mar 22, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Conclusion Of Critique Of The Cross”.

For the last few weeks, I have felt led to address the growing tide of lies, falsehoods and deceptions that have begun to permeate every media and social outlet where millions of people are receiving information on just about every topic and subject including the origin of life and the place or role of religion in contemporary society.

I was and still am deeply concerned about the impact it is having on those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It appeared to me that there is and was a need to refocus on the cross of Christ. By losing sight of the meaning of the cross, followers have forgotten or missed altogether the impact the cross should have on our lives and decision making.

In this concluding sermon, I attempt to describe God’s redemptive narrative of mankind and the meaning of the cross in it. Beginning with the premise that mankind exists for the purpose of God begetting sons and daughters, the cross sets up the eternal choice for all people to decide to choose good or choose evil.

This choice is necessitated by God’s children being like Him. As a consequence of the fall, God is heard saying that “man has become like Us knowing good and evil”. We can only know good and evil through pain and suffering. Evil brings about pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering is not something that can be talked about, visualized or described to understand what it really is. For example, I can show pictures of a decayed tooth, describe the pain and talk about what it feels like. But nothing I can do or say can make someone understand and realize the pain and suffering of a toothache like experiencing one for oneself.

The experience of pain and suffering brings it to life, makes it real and not some imaginary thing or concept. It becomes something to be avoided and something we can relate to when we see it in others. God wants and needs His children to know the pain and suffering that results from evil.

On the cross, He joined us and pain and suffering became a shared experience. The death on the cross epitomizes all the pain and suffering evil brings. Because they realize now the cost and results of evil, God’s offspring will make the choice to refuse and resist evil and choose good. There are some other things going on at the cross as well involving forgiveness, but the main purpose is making every person choose between good and evil.

Everyone who hopes to be a child of God sees the sacrifice God made, the pain and suffering He was willing to endure to sanctify His children and will have no part of evil, but will reject it because they see it for what it is. It is the source of pain and suffering and it is why God’s children chose to obey and follow Him for not to do so is evil and sin.

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our latest Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.

Pastor Jordan

Critique Of The Cross Pt 2 Fine Points

Posted on Mar 15, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Critique Of The Cross – Pt. 2”.

Last week I began a careful, thoughtful and critical analysis, review and examination of the cross of Calvary in order to help bring and/or return a clarity of focus and meaning to what the cross means and why we are Christians.

If you have not listened to or viewed that message, I believe it will be helpful to do so in fully appreciating and understanding what is being said in this message.

Truth can be established when it is based upon facts. Two facts concerning Jesus are that He is no myth or work of fiction, but someone who really lived and that He was crucified by the Roman authorities.

Beginning with that established truth, we can begin to put together what it all means. After a review of this truth, in part two I take a closer look at why Jesus was crucified by looking at who had a reason to want to see His death and why.

I first looked at the Roman government. The Roman government found Jesus a threat because of the size of the crowds He was drawing, his message about a kingdom and that a kingdom necessitates a king.

Taken together, these things could pose a threat to Roman political order and system. So, nip this in the bud and put an end to it was a reasonable thinking of why the Romans would have Jesus crucified.

Another group who had a reason to kill or silence Jesus were the Jewish leaders and authorities who felt the growing influence of Jesus and His deliberate dismissal of them and their teaching to reach the people was a threat to them.

All the gospels report that Jesus took over the temple in Jerusalem and ran out those doing business in the temple. They were unable to withstand Him because of the following and support He had among the people. Therefore, they conspired with the Romans to neutralize Him and have Him silenced by any means necessary.

Together these two groups saw in Jesus a common threat that needed to be dealt with. It was their belief that if they got rid of Jesus any problem or potential problem or threat He or any of His followers had caused or would cause would simply go away. But Jesus did not go away.

If He was an inconsequential figure, a fraud or trickster, an imposter or some other fake or con artist, then He and all He stood for would have died with Him. Why? Because that is what has happened to every other person who was put to death in the manner Jesus was.

But the fact that 2000 years later we are still talking about His death as if it just took place means the Roman and Jewish reasons for Jesus ending on the cross doesn’t explain it all. There is someone else left to hear from and that is Jesus Himself.

I hope to continue this critique of the cross by hearing from Jesus as to why He was on that cross. Again, I hope you will join me.

Pastor Jordan

Critique Of The Cross Fine Points

Posted on Mar 8, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Critique Of The Cross”.

Today, maybe like no other time, there is a serious need for truth. It seems to be something many people have given up on finding or stopped looking for altogether. Mainly because people are now questioning what people have believed to be right and true for centuries and because more people with their own agendas have access to an increasing number of people and are intentionally misguiding and misinforming others for their own purposes.

People today are distorting facts, denying facts, making up what they call facts and telling and spreading lies and falsehoods and calling it truth. It is no wonder people are confused and mixed up and no longer able to tell right from wrong and distinguish truth from fiction. This is why there is a need to return to the cross and see what it can tell us in the midst of this chaos and confusion.

Christians are drifting away from the meaning of what it means to be a believer in Christ. One of the reasons why is because we have lost sight of the meaning of the cross. The cross and the death of Jesus on it is central to the meaning of Christianity. The cross, more than any other object, is identified with Christ and Christianity. But why?

I believe that is what is missing in much of our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. It is why so many who profess faith in Christ are being misled and are susceptible to the lies and misleading of those who have no faith in Christ and have their own way of thinking, living and agenda which includes exploiting others.

The truth can be found when we know and agree upon the facts. There are two undisputed facts we know that Christianity is based upon. Jesus is not a myth or fictional character made up by some crazed people. Jesus was crucified by the Roman government. Those two things are not in dispute by anyone except people who are determined to sow chaos, division and confusion by denying these facts and supplanting them with lies.

In critiquing the cross, we can begin with these two foundational facts. From here we can take a closer look at the cross and why and how Jesus ended up on one. We can look at how the cross has come to symbolize not only Christianity, but the evil, pain and suffering man is capable of inflicting on other men.

Why did God make a world capable of such pain and sorrow embodied in the cross? This is what I hope to have some thoughts on as I continue this critique of the cross. I hope you will join me.

Pastor Jordan

All We Want Out Of Life Fine Points

Posted on Mar 1, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “All We Want Out Of Life”.

This statement assumes or supposes that people want something that their experience of life can provide or give to them. So as people live and experience living, they begin to make decisions and choices about what they want from what they see.

We structure our lives in order to gain, attain and achieve those things we have decided we want. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, was like the rest of us. He had prioritized his life in order to gain and achieve those things he decided he wanted. Much of that centered or capitalized upon his Jewish heritage.

He may have been well on his way to becoming a leading figure in his religion and culture with all that brings with it. But he came to believe and say that everything he had and wanted was as garbage when compared to the superior knowledge of Jesus Christ and what that knowledge brings.

Paul said he considered all things loss to gain Christ. There were three things Paul now wanted that to him were worth the loss of everything else he had ever had or wanted. Those things were to know Jesus Christ, to know the power of His resurrection and to know the fellowship of His suffering and being like Him in His death.

By knowing these things, Paul believed he would attain the means to defeat, conquer and overcome death. The way he says it is to attain the resurrection from the dead. This is all he now wanted out of life, more life. And by being a Pharisee, he believed it was possible, but until he met Jesus Christ, he didn’t know how or the means it could be achieved.

Christianity is the name that is given to this process of defeating death. At the center of this process is a man in whose words and works we must believe. They are the code that breaks the lock that death has on the souls of men.

This is why Paul said he gladly suffers the loss of everything and counts them as garbage, something to be throw out or manure in comparative value just to gain and have access to this code. He was convinced faith in Christ is that code that unlocks death’s power of over life. And this is why all we should want in life is more life that is found in faith in the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Jordan

Taking The Time To Die Fine Points

Posted on Feb 22, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Taking The Time To Die”.

This is a somewhat obscure title for a sermon message. A person may ask “why does a person need time to die?” and “How much time would a person need?”. Why a person would need time once they received a notice of eviction and how much time they would need is a question that may make a comparison.

An eviction notice tells us we must leave our current dwelling place. Death is like an eviction notice telling us we must leave this place of life. Once we know we must leave, the wiser we are the sooner we seek somewhere else secure to go.

The length of time it will take to find a secure place depends on several factors including our financial resources, the availability of secure and affordable housing and the willingness of someone to allow us to secure a place from them.

It would seem foolish for a person not to take the time to secure another place to move to once they knew for certain they would have to leave their current dwelling if they had nowhere to go. Just imagine yourself, your family and all your possession sitting out on the street with nowhere to go.

Many people don’t have to imagine this because they have lived through it and some are living through it now. And it is not because many or most of them didn’t see it coming and ended up on the street anyway for lack of trying to find somewhere else to go before they had to leave. It was just that there were too many factors as I mentioned earlier that they were not able to overcome.

Taking or finding the time to die is a similar situation. All of us have received an eviction notice. We know we are going to have to leave this place of life. The eviction notice didn’t come with a certain date and time so we don’t know how much time we have before we must leave. Where will we go once death comes to evict us?

Taking the time to die is all about using the time will have before death arrives to see if there is a secure place we can go so we won’t end up on the street lifeless and without time.

Just like moving, there are many factors that must be resolved and overcome in securing another place to go before death comes. The reason why most people aren’t taking the time to die or seek somewhere to live in the face of death is because they have concluded it is futile or useless to try.

But Jesus said there is a way and that is why Mary sat at His feet to listen to what He had to say. I too have listened and am convinced that He could be right. I don’t know He’s right, but I believe He may be.

When I say that I’m taking the time to die, what I am doing is listening again and again to the words He said, making sure I understand them, applying them to my life the best that I can and seeking to confirm what He said with the evidence I experience in my life through the things I see, hear and observe. Another listen to the sermon from this perspective may make more sense.

Death is on the way to evict us all from life and time. How are we using our precious limited time to get ready for that day? If we don’t take time to die (move), we won’t have time to die (move) and will see our life and all time ripped from us forever to face judgement.

You can hear the entire sermon again by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our latest Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.

Pastor Jordan

Key Pieces To Life’s Puzzle Fine Points

Posted on Feb 15, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Key Pieces To Life’s Puzzle”.

I have noticed what appears to be a correlation between interest in religion and interest in the origin and meaning of life. One of the things that religions provide are answers to these profound questions concerning life.

A growing number of people are choosing to settle for explanations that don’t involve religion or belief in God. Many of them recognize the flawed logic and assumptions made it these explanations. However, they seem to give them the benefit of the doubt by assuming they will discover something to account for the holes in their theories.

They adopt the attitude that there is no real plausible answers yet to the mysteries of life questions and if science ever comes up with one, they will let them know. Most then live their lives without much hope of changing the outcome but instead focus on maximizing pleasure by seeking satisfaction in whatever and wherever it can be found.

For Christians, this is a sad state of affairs for the prospects of mankind. First of all, they have given up or forfeited any hope of preserving and extending their life and secondly, a society that is increasing void of the knowledge and belief in God will become a colder and selfish place for us and future generations in which to live.

The sense of community based upon love and helping one’s neighbor will become increasingly rare isolating many from their fellow human beings. Christianity offers key pieces to life’s mystery or puzzle in teachings unlike any other religion. It outlines the entire plan and reason for life.

Jesus is the focal point of this outline. He brings meaning, purpose and hope to all who believe. Paul calls Him the depository of all wisdom and knowledge and understanding. In Him is revealed the great mystery of life.

Lately, many people who are calling themselves Christians haven’t given others much reason to believe what they are claiming about Jesus. Increasingly their words and actions are more in line with the philosophy and attitudes of unbelievers than they are with the love for God and neighbor that Jesus taught.

Therefore, like the witness of flawed scientific theories concerning the mysteries of life people are finding the teachings of Christians flawed by their failure to live out what they profess. As a result, fewer and fewer people are seeking for and finding the key pieces to life’s puzzle that are found in Christ.

It is pass time for those of us who truly believe that Christ is the answer to life’s puzzle and the mystery of God to reflect that in our devotion to making it known to others by our sincere adherence to His teachings and concern for the souls of a lost humanity. The longer we wait, the less likely our life and that of countless others will be saved.

Pastor Jordan

What To Do With MySelf Fine Points

Posted on Feb 8, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “What To Do With MySelf”.

This is a question that only humans can ask or could have any variety of answers for. The ability to ask this question sets mankind apart for every other living thing on this planet and presents an indisputable challenge to those who promote blind evolution and Darwinism as the origin of life and the human species on this planet.

Why would humans be the only ones to develop this ability and no other living thing even come close to ever having or developing it or have a way to use it if they could? Because only mankind is made and created in the image of the Creator, the Lord and God of Israel. He gave us the ability to know we have a self that we can do things with.

But knowing we have a self and knowing what to do with it is two different things and presents quite a challenge. The possibilities of what we can do with ourselves is wide and varied. When we look over the landscape and observe what others are doing with themselves, we begin to get ideas about what we can do with ourselves.

Some of the things we observe are evil or bad and some are not evil and good. We tend to get “fretful” or anxious when we begin to feel that others are doing things with their self and we are not. Or that they seem to be doing better with their self than what we are doing. This impatience and anxiety often causes us to do something with our self that is not in our self-interest.

David in the 37 Psalm offered us a solution as to what to do with our self. His suggestion was and is to allow ourselves to “trust” in the Lord, to “delight” in the Lord and to “rest” in the Lord. By doing these things, God will give us or place within us our hearts desires and He shall bring those desires to pass.

One thing we should desire more than any other is to live with ourselves forever. This is one of the things David suggest the Lord will and can do. He will allow us to rest securely and indefinitely in “the land”.

In contrast, the wicked shall soon be cut off which is to say they shall perish. But those who delight in the Lord will not be soon or ever cut off but given the desires of their heart which is above other things to abide with the Lord forever. This is what we can and should do with ourselves.

Instead of looking for things to do and imitating what we see others doing, let us “trust”, “rest” and “delight” ourselves in the Lord and allow Him to bring “it” to pass. Bring what to pass? The desires of our hearts which He shall give us because we fret not over what others are doing nor are envious of what they seem to have.

But our trust is in the Lord, the One who made heaven and earth. The One who gave us and only us this ability to ask and answer “What To Do With MySelf?”

You can hear the entire sermon again by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our latest Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.

Pastor Jordan

Partakers Of His Consolation Fine Points

Posted on Feb 1, 2021 in Pastoral Messages |

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Partakers of His Consolation”.

To “console” has many aspects of to “comfort”. Comfort and console have many qualities in common. Both words have as an objective to make one feel good or better than they might otherwise be. And while comfort can be used more appropriately in a physical sense, console is used more appropriately in a spiritual or mental sense.

People can be hurting when there is nothing physically wrong with them or causing them any pain. The hurt is in their mind and spirit. Humans have the capacity of feel things that can’t be touched. These things are often called emotions.

Emotions range the gambit from joy, love and happiness to angry, hate and despair. While none of these emotions can be seen, hear, smelled, tasted or touched with our senses, they exist and are as real to us as anything that can be physically sensed.

They are somewhat like the wind. We can see the results of the wind and feel the wind, but we can’t see the wind because it is colorless. We can see the results of emotions and feel the results of them, but they have no shape or form or color like the wind.

Because of the things and the relationships we experience and have, we can experience and have emotions that negatively impact our lives and the lives of others. These emotions cause us to hurt and experience pain. Pain that is not derived from an outside physical force against our body, but pain that is just a real and hurts nonetheless.

We try many measures and techniques and substances to ease or take away the hurt and feelings we have. Many of them end up making the situation worst for both ourselves and others. Nor do they provide the permanent solution and eradication of the source of the pain. The feeling of loss remains, of anger remains, of despair, of disappointment, of heartache, of bitterness, of guilt, of shame, of rejection and I could go on and on.

Consolation removes these feelings by replacing them with something that neutralizes their effects. God, our Creator and Savior, gives us something to replace those emotions that hurt us and give us consternation and pain. Emotions that take away our ability to experience the fullest of the joy of life which He gave us.

God offers us something that we can’t get from anywhere else. He gives us peace and assurance that as bad as something may seen and feel He shall and will make it better by trusting Him. He says to us to let it go and give it all to Him by trusting His plan for our lives.

No matter what the loss, the pain, the suffering, the despair, the disappointment He says allow Him to console us. Allow Him to give us something in replace of what we feel and see.

This is a cruel world because people are in need of consolation for all the things we feel inside that bother us and cause us pain and suffering. But our Creator is standing by to take it all away by replacing it with the consolation only He is able to provide.

Pastor Jordan