priorities

Indulging in Entertainment

September 21, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

In the last post, “The Relevance of the Church”, we discussed how entertainment has crept into our churches and dramatically changed what a service looks like. While most churches start with the goal of submitting to the Lordship of Christ and being a living demonstration of His life, over time, it is common for churches to become the sum of the people attending. They begin to reflect the whims and preferences of those who come through the doors rather than maintaining a rigorous adherence to Biblical teaching and structure.

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This means if we want to have more Christ-like churches, each of us must become more Christ-like in our lives. Don’t wish your church was better. Focus on becoming more Christ-like yourself. Our churches are obsessed with entertaining the masses because of our penchant for indulging in entertainment in our personal lives. If enough of us would take the call of Christ seriously by consuming our thoughts with Him instead of earthly pleasures and desires, our churches would once again be the light and refuge that our world needs.

The Relevance of the Church

September 18, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

Have we let entertainment cripple our lives and, by extension, the relevance of the Church? Speaking on this topic, A. W. Tozer said, “For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was—a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability… She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers”.

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When I was younger, I would have scoffed at such a statement, chalking it up to being old-fashioned, legalistic, and out of step with the times. I know I’m not alone in this because I believe it is precisely because of such attitudes we find ourselves with the Church we have today: weak, lacking in courage, and saturated with the ways and teachings of the world.

A Foundation of Truth

August 21, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

These days may not be the most evil the world has ever seen, but they certainly must rank as some of the most wicked in history. As the prophet Isaiah wrote centuries ago, the world is calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). The truth is under assault, and without a foundation of truth, we have no anchor. We will drift aimlessly and hopelessly into eternity.

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For years, the church would stand in the gap of evil and false teaching, but no longer. In some revolting instances, the church has become complicit in many of the lies being told by our culture. Just as disturbing is the apathy of professing Christians to what is happening around them.

Read Slowly

August 14, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

The more I study the Bible, the more I recognize when it comes to God’s Word, we should read slowly. Scripture is replete with admonitions to meditate on the words of God. Meditating and delighting on God’s instruction is a regular theme throughout the book of Psalms (Psalm 1:1-2, Psalm 19:7-14, Psalm 77:12, Psalm 119:15, Psalm 119:23, Psalm 119:27, Psalm 119:48, Psalm 119:78, Psalm 119:97, Psalm 119:99, Psalm 119:148, Psalm 143:5)

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and many other places throughout scripture (Joshua 1:8, Jeremiah 15:16, Nehemiah 8:1-3, Matthew 7:24-25, James 1:22-25, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:16). The Bible is not a book meant to be read like other books. We don’t read God’s Word to get through it, but to let it marinade our souls. When we read too quickly, we often miss the details and subtle nuances. There is no part of scripture we can afford to miss or gloss over (2 Timothy 3:16).

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Is Jesus Lord of All?

July 20, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus is the One you reach out to when you are in need, and perhaps the One to whom you give thanks when things are going well. But is He also the one you serve in between those times? It seems to me this is a true test of our faith. It’s not whether we are grateful to Him in good times and seek Him in the bad, but the test is if we will serve Him in the boring and mundane middle.

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As I’ve repeated many times in my writing, if Jesus isn’t Lord of all, then He isn’t Lord at all. If changing circumstances change how you think about Christ, then He isn’t Lord of everything. Is Jesus Lord of all in your life?