gregcorbin.com

For those who have been readers of this blog, let me apologize for not blogging more regularly. In the last two months, we have started our children into their new schools, purchased a home in the area where we serve, and moved in to that home.  Time to blog really hasn’t been there!  Now that life has moved into a somewhat “normal” phase, my intention is to begin posting each Tuesday and Friday on a regular basis that you can count on. Please subscribe to this blog so that you can receive an email each time a new post comes out.  Now, let’s talk about something really important…

Just this week I became aware of an emphasis that is taking place next week among many college students who are Christians.  Engage24.org is a great effort to encourage college students who are believers to share their faith in Christ with someone (or many someones) during a specific 24 hour period on October 14, 2014.  College students in Alabama have been participating in 24 days of concentrated prayer leading up to this day.  There are some very good and helpful resources on this website as well.  Our own Alabama Baptist State Convention has been actively promoting this effort, and I applaud it greatly.

Now, wouldn’t it be sad if our college students are sharing Christ on that day but the rest of us don’t?   Personally, I am committed to praying for and joining in this effort to engage the lost this coming Tuesday, October 14.  Just a few minutes before typing this blog post, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a man who struck up a conversation with me in a restaurant.  People are open if we approach them with a humble spirit and let them know that we truly care about them. People are open to having a conversation about faith.  Romans 1:16 is a great reminder…

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16, NKJV)

The gospel of Christ just needs to be shared.  Personally, I share it to hundreds of people every week when I preach, but I am more committed than ever to engaging people individually with the gospel as I have opportunity.  I hope you will join me specifically in sharing Christ on Tuesday, October 14.

Last Sunday at Lakeside, I began a message series on the life of Abraham called “DEVOTED.”  In the first message, we talked about how Abraham’s tent represented his relationship with the world and his altar represented his relationship with God. In case you missed last Sundays message, below is a link where you can watch it…

http://lakesidebaptist.com/media/media-player.htm?2014_09_07AM

This Sunday we will talk about how devotion to the Lord is a series of choices every single day – “Devotion is a Choice” from Genesis 13-14.   If you read those chapters you will see that Abraham’s nephew Lot made some very unwise choices while Abraham made choices that honored God.  Both of these men have much to teach us about the choices we make every day.  In fact, Lot’s unwise choices started out with a single look at a city called Sodom.  Here is an excerpt from Sundays message…

Lot looked toward Sodom and that was the beginning. Have you ever stopped to think about how much power there is one look? One look at that person who is not your spouse. One look at that money. One look at that picture. One look at that website. Lot took one look – and it changed his life because it affected his choices.

I am praying this message series challenges and blesses our Lakeside church family as well as many others who connect via the internet.  In case you are wondering, here are the upcoming messages….

“Devotion is a Choice” Genesis 13-14

“Devoted to a Mission” Genesis 12:13, 15:1-6

“Devoted through Failure”  Genesis 20

“Devoted through Blessing”  Genesis 17:18-22, Genesis 21

“Devoted through Testing”   Genesis 22

“Devoted in Marriage”   Genesis 23

“Devoted till Death”   Genesis 25:1-10

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”” (Revelation 11:15, ESV)

Revelation 11:15 is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible.  I quote it often when I preach because it has a great message of hope and comfort.  Please let me explain why.  Just last week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel made this statement: “The world is exploding all over.”  He said so in reference to the horrendous violence, bloodshed, and problems facing our world today.  The savagery of ISIS in Iraq has shocked many in recent days. The terrible violence in the Gaza Strip has also been front page news, as well as the Ebola outreak, and, closer to home for Americans, the events that have taken place in Ferguson, Missouri.  It’s easy to see why few if any would disagree with Chuck Hagel’s assessment.

For those who take a secular worldview and believe in the ability of mankind to solve its problems, these are certainly frightening, discouraging days. I can remember the 1990’s when there was even discussion of a new world age of peace and prosperity after the fall of the Iron Curtain.  The events of the last decade have put to rest those predictions!  The headlines show a world spinning out of control with the situation growing worse rather than better.

However, there is an alternative: the Christian worldview.  The Bible clearly teaches that the world is headed to an inevitable, planned,  and choreographed conclusion – the culmination of all things in Christ for all eternity.  Bible believing Christians do have some different views of the particulars.  For instance, some believe the Bible teaches a literal millenial (1000 year) reign on the earth after Christ returns, while others believe that the millenium is symbolic for a period of time. Some believe the church will be taken out of the world (the rapture) before seven years of tribulation, while others believe the church will go through the tribulation.  However, there are some “big picture” truths about the end times that all Bible believing Christians agree on:  the literal second coming of Christ, the resurrection, the final judgement, eternal heaven for the saved and eternal hell for the lost, etc.  Nothing can stop or alter these events for they are ordained by the sovereign God of the universe.  Let me repeat…

The Bible clearly teaches that the world is headed to an inevitable, planned,  and choreographed conclusion – the culmination of all things in Christ for all eternity.

When looking at the headlines of our world today, there are only two options for interpreting them:  either the world is spinning out of control or it is headed for a conclusion.  I am staunchly in the second camp because I have read the Bible and I see how it ends. Our world is headed for the culmination of all things in Christ for all eternity, therefore I have hope and I share the hope of Christ with people each week. Our world is headed for the culmination of all things in Christ for all eternity, therefore I can go to bed and go to sleep even though the headlines look bleak.  Think about it.

 

Social media has been abuzz today with the decision handed down by the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case.  Many conservative Christians (like myself) hailed this ruling as a great victory for religious liberty in our country.  Many of us in Christian leadership have prayed and followed this case very closely. Perhaps you have not “kept up” and you are wondering what all of the fuss is about.  Perhaps you are confused with why the owners of Hobby Lobby and so many others care so deeply about this case. As with most issues, the real issues run far deeper than just a particular dispute or court case.  It is only by understanding these issues that one can understand why so many of us care so deeply about the Hobby Lobby case.

(1)  The sanctity of human life. Lost in much of the reporting on this case is the fact that Hobby Lobby did not object to providing 16 out of the 20 required contraceptives in the ObamaCare law.  Why did the Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby, object to those four drugs?  Because those four drugs actually cause a drug induced abortion. They work after an embryo (human life) has already formed in the mother’s womb.  Think about that for a moment. Hobby Lobby agreed to provide contraceptives to their employees under their company health plan.  They only drew the line when the government tried to require them provide drugs which they believed to cause the taking of a human life.  The Green family’s deep and decades long Christian faith would not allow them to be part of ending human life.  Make no mistake, this case is not about any type of “war on women” but at the heart of it lies the sanctity of human life.

(2)  Our constitution guarantees “freedom of religion” not just “freedom of worship.” It’s important to weigh very carefully the words that people use. They matter.  In recent years, there has been a trend among some leaders to talk about “freedom of worship.”  The position of some in our government today is to attempt to basically draw a line at the church door and say, “Keep your beliefs in there. Don’t bring them out here.”  The government’s arguments in the Hobby Lobby case made clear that it believed the Green family’s deep religious beliefs should be set aside because they operate a for profit business.  In other words, the government said that they were free to believe whatever they wanted to believe – when they were at church.  However, when they came to the company they started and owned, then their personal religious beliefs should be set aside for what the government thought was best or what some employees might desire to have.  Our constitution guarantees every person the right to the “free exercise” of their religion.  That means far more than just the freedom to worship where we choose in the way we choose. It means the freedom to express our faith and live out our faith.  In his concurring opinion, Justice Kennedy spoke to this issue…

In our constitutional tradition, freedom means that all persons have the right to believe or strive to believe in a divine creator and a divine law. For those who choose this course, free exercise is essential in preserving their own dignity and in striving for a self-definition shaped by their religious precepts. Free exercise in this sense implicates more than just freedom of belief… It means, too, the right to express those beliefs and to establish one’s religious (or nonreligious) self-definition in the political, civic, and economic life of our larger community.

(3)  Religious liberty is for all or it is for no one.  If the government can bulldoze over the rights of the Green family and ignore their deep Christian beliefs, then it can do that to anyone.  Think about it. For instance, I am certainly not a Hindu and it would be difficult to get much farther apart on the religious spectrum than a Bible believing, Christ following Christian and a Hindu.  However, I would fight for the rights of any Hindu to be able to practice their religion and live out their faith publicly even though I agree with none of it. Why is that?  Because the day the government says that a Hindu’s convictions aren’t legitimate will be the day before it says that my convictions aren’t legitimate.

(4)  Which definition of “tolerance” are we using now?  Until recent years, America has been a country where tolerance meant I could respect you as a person and your right to your views without sharing them.  A new definition of tolerance is now running rampant in America.  It says that I must see your beliefs as equally valid and even celebrate them or I am a bigot.  At the heart of much of the arguments against Hobby Lobby is the belief that they should not be allowed to hold these convictions because they aren’t legitimate in “the modern world.”  On one of the rare occasions that I have listened to talk radio recently, I heard one commentator make the statement that the Green family “doesn’t want to join the rest of us in the 21st century.”  That is barely concealed code language for “they better get with the program because their views are illegitimate.”  Who decided they were illegitimate?   Those who cry “tolerance” the loudest in our day tend to be extremely intolerant of anyone who will not go along with their agenda. Think about it.

(5)  Elections matter and Christians should vote their convictions.  This ruling was a 5-4 decision. Think about that. We were one vote away from the government requiring a privately owned company to violate its conscience and convictions.  One vote. Elections matter because they have consequences. The justices who ruled in favor were consequences of elections in years past.  However, so were the four justices who dissented.  Some of those elections took place many years ago, but they still affect our lives today.  We are privileged to live in a country where we get to participate in choosing our leaders by exercising our right to vote. Today should remind us all of just how serious we should take voting.

(6)  Christians should pray daily for revival to come in America. Today should remind all of us of just how much our country needs revival. Our hope is not in the Supreme Court.  It is the Supreme One! While we should rightly be encouraged by the ruling today, it does nothing to change the rapid decline of our country in so many important ways. We need a great revival and we should pray for it every single day.

 

It may surprise some readers to learn that one of the great challenges of preaching is not deciding what to say – it’s deciding what to leave out or only mention in passing.  This fact may actually startle some who feel that I preach too long!  The fact is that every preacher mines more gold than he is able to adequately bring out in the pulpit.  During the month of June I have been sharing a series of messages through the Old Testament book of Jonah.  You can watch or download each message in this series here….

http://www.lakesidebaptist.com/pages/media.htm

While I have covered a lot of territory in these messages, here are some further thoughts on Jonah and how studying & preaching this book has spoken to me…

(1)  God is sovereign over circumstances, nature, and all things.  At various points in the book of Jonah, the Bible says that God sent a storm, prepared a fish to swallow Jonah, made a plant grow, and even caused a worm to chew on the plant and kill it!   Over and over again, scripture affirms God’s sovereignty and while the book of Jonah doesn’t use that word, it clearly teaches this truth.  As believers, we can take great comfort in the Biblical truth that our lives are in the hands that hold this world together. God is not up there guessing!  He is at work and engaged.

(2) When we serve God, our failures aren’t final.  Think about all of the ways that Jonah failed.  First of all, he ran from God’s will for his life – literally in the opposite direction.  He failed to be a witness to the pagan sailors on the ship and only did so after they inquired about his faith. He failed to love lost people.  Even after he got right with God and obeyed, his heart was still filled with bitterness and a lack of concern for the people of Nineveh.  He was more concerned about his own comfort than he was about a city of at least 600,000 people who were far from God.  Certainly, Jonah was an imperfect messenger, but isn’t it great that over 2700 years after the events of the book of Jonah took place that we are still challenged, encouraged, and instructed by his life? God used Jonah in spite of a myriad of ways Jonah was not everything he should have been.  This fact certainly doesn’t excuse our sin, but it does remind us that no servant of God is perfect in this life. Jonah struggled and God still used him.  If you struggle, God can still use you too.

(3) God loves those who are far from Him.  I will not write in this blog some of the barbaric atrocities that I have read were committed by the people of Nineveh. They are literally that bad. Suffice it say that the people of Nineveh were the most brutal, most godless, most pagan people in the known world of that time.  Nevertheless, God loved them and sent a prophet to give them an opportunity to repent before they were destroyed. Think about that. In the same way, God still loves those who are far from Him today.

(4) God’s people must share the message with those who are far from Him. Jonah reinforces another great principle of scripture:  God uses His people to share His message.  That is clear all through the Bible.  My friend Sammy Gilbreath likes to say, “It’s only Good News if it gets there in time.”  It got to Nineveh in time and they responded.  Today may the day that God wants to use you or me to get the gospel “just in time” to someone who really needs to hear it or hear it again. Let’s share the gospel with someone today!

 

This is graduation season.  Young men and women are graduating from high school and college. It is a great time of excitement and joy.  As a pastor, I will have the privilege of praying over the graduates from Lakeside in the services this Sunday morning.  As a friend, I have watched some young men and women grow up who are special to me and my family.  They are graduating this week too.  I am praying for these graduates, so I decided to share what I am specifically praying for them.

1.  I am praying they will love Christ and always live to honor Him. I tell my own sons this saying often:  I want you to be successful in life but I want you to love Christ if you do nothing else.  If a person loves Christ and lives their lives to honor Him, then they have been successful.  If a person does not, then no amount of money or recognition can bring true success.

2. I am praying they will marry wisely and establish Christian homes. Next to the decision to follow Christ, the most important decision that a person makes is whom they will marry.  As a pastor, I have seen the pain that comes when a person marries unwisely.

3.  I am praying they will have children and raise them to love Christ. More and more couples in America are choosing to remain childless – often replacing children with pets.  We need Christian couples to intentionally raise up the next generation of faithful believers.

4.  I am praying they will love the local church and invest their lives in it. The college years are time when many young adults disconnect from the local church.  Unfortunately, many of them have seen hypocrisy, spiritual apathy, and conflict in the churches they have attended.  I am praying that they grasp the Biblical importance of God’s church and seek out a faith community that exalts Christ, preaches the Bible, and impacts the world.  I am praying that they commit to be faithful in a local church.

5)  I am praying they will be successful in the career fields they choose and use their influence to be strong witnesses for Christ. Many times, when a young adult begins to really get serious about their faith, they begin to question if they are called to ministry.  Certainly, this is true for some.  However, the Lord is at work raising up Christian attorneys, businessmen, teachers, nurses, etc.  Christians in such strategic places of leadership can have a tremendous impact for the Kingdom of God.

Will you join me in praying for the Class of 2014?

 

Once again, I write these words after a difficult week for our state due to severe weather.  While certainly not on the scale we saw three years ago, Alabama has once again seen multiple deaths, many tornadoes, and destruction in numerous areas.  My friend Dr. Ted Traylor serves in Pensacola, Florida which was hit with an incredible two feet of rain in a 24 hour period – resulting in massive flooding, including their church facilities.  As I was praying this morning and thinking about the week, I couldn’t help but remember the famous story that Jesus told on the Sermon on the Mount…

““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”” (Matthew 7:24–27, ESV)

Probably every preacher (including yours truly) has preached from this text on the importance of building your life on Christ the rock of salvation and the perils of failing to do that.  The man who built his house on the sand and thus a person who builds his life on anything other than Christ, sees destruction.  Nothing wrong with that sermon; it is Biblical and needed.  However, I am afraid that we have failed to mention the other man – the man who built his life on Christ the solid rock of salvation.  Did you notice what happened to his house?  It stood.  It even withstood a terrible storm.  There are three key lessons that we can draw from this passage, each of which is profoundly relevant to us this week and every week…

(1)   We are not promised an easy life.  Did you notice that the same storm hit both houses?   As far as what happened TO these men, it was the same. The difference came in what happened THROUGH these men and their faith.  Scripture is clear that we will experience a range of hurts in life.  Storms will come – both literal storms and life storms.

(2)   Biblical faith doesn’t just save – it stands.  A true, Biblical saving faith stands the tests of life.  Probably all of us know of committed Christians who have endured horrendous circumstances in life, but yet came through them with a strong and ever stronger faith.  Real faith can be tested. Real faith can hurt, question, doubt, and waver.  Ultimately real faith in Christ will stand.  When I preach, I do not offer people a faith that promises a carefree life, but rather I offer a faith that is so powerful and so real and so sure that it stands the worst life can bring.

(3)  Faith stands because of who it stands on!  Did you notice why this man’s house stood?  It wasn’t because he was so smart or so committed.  The Bible says it stood because it was built on the rock.  Perhaps you are facing a situation that is so desperate you don’t believe you have enough faith to endure it.  Take heart, friend.  Your faith stands, not because of you but because of who it stands on.  Christ, the rock of salvation, will empower you to stand.

 

 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NKJV)

Wisdom. That’s a word we don’t hear very much today.  It means far, far more than just knowledge.  In fact, the great Bible teacher, Dr. John MacArthur uses this definition of wisdom…

James’ Jewish audience recognized this as the understanding and practical skill that were necessary to live life to God’s glory. It was not a wisdom of philosophical speculation, but the wisdom contained in the pure and peaceable absolutes of God’s will revealed in His Word (cf. 3:13, 17) and lived out. Only such divine wisdom enables believers to be joyous and submissive in the trials of life.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Jas 1:5). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Wisdom helps us know how to live for Christ in today’s world. Wisdom helps us make choices. Sadly, we live in the “information age” with the internet and smart phones, yet there is a dearth of wisdom in our world. In fact, each day that goes by seems to show a quickening descent into the unwise. For those of us who seek to live for the glory of God, we need to re-double our seeking of wisdom. It’s been a theme in my life and ministry this week.  I have specifically asked prayer partners to pray that I would have wisdom this week about a couple of issues.  I have also been approached this week by multiple friends who need wisdom to deal with various situations and/or decisions. It takes wisdom to be a faithful Christian.  It takes wisdom to be a spouse or a parent or a sibling. It takes wisdom to be an employee.  It takes wisdom to have a church.  We need wisdom.

So, let’s do what the scripture says. Let’s start asking God for it with all of our hearts and seeking him.  He will give us wisdom if we seek Him.

1 Corinthians 15 is one of the most famous chapters in the Bible. It is commonly referred to as the “Resurrection Chapter” not because it tells the story of Jesus’ resurrection but because it speaks of the necessity of it and how it applies to our lives today. As we approach Easter Sunday 2014, I encourage all of my readers to take some time and read through this great chapter.  I intend to do so with my own family during our family devotional times.  Let’s look at some key points of this chapter…

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:12–19, NASB95)

Here we see the absolute necessity of the resurrection to our faith. If He is not victorious then there is no victory for us. However, Christ has risen from the dead, so there is victory for us.  In fact, Paul goes on to explain that Christ’s resurrection restores spiritual life to sinful humanity who had lost their spiritual life through Adam’s fall in the garden of Eden…

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20–22, NASB95)

Because Jesus is victorious over sin, death, and the grave we can have that same victory through faith in Him!  Furthermore, Paul explains that Christ’s resurrection ensures our resurrection – comparing Christ’s resurrection as the first one of many to come…

“But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:23–28, NASB95)

I hope that’s enough to get your Bible study juices flowing and encourage you to dig into 1 Corinthians 15 this week as we count down to Easter Sunday – resurrection Sunday!  A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel for the first time to visit the Biblical sites. Of course, one of the great highlights of any trip there is a visit to the Garden Tomb…

We do not know for sure exactly where Jesus was buried.  The Garden Tomb is one of two locations that many Christians believe to be the place. The other is found just a short distance away in Jerusalem inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  The Garden Tomb has a number of characteristics that coincide with what we know from the Bible, making it the location that is preferred by most evangelical scholars today, although we cannot be certain.

This is the burial chamber inside the Garden Tomb.  If Jesus was actually buried here, this is very likely the spot.  Take a moment and think about that. Every group that enters the Garden Tomb grows silent as this awesome thought sinks in. For me, it is a spiritually moving experience to be reminded in such a concrete way that I serve a risen Savior!  You see, the most important issue is not WHERE Jesus was buried, but rather THAT Jesus has risen!  Here is what you see above you as you exit the Garden Tomb…

Yes! That is what really matters! As the old hymn says, “I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today. I know that He is living whatever men may say…”  That is the message and the hope of Easter.  In fact, Easter Sunday is not the only Sunday that the Christian church celebrates the resurrection. Have you ever wondered why we worship on Sunday?  Because Jesus rose on Sunday.  The early Christians did not gather to worship on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) but gathered to worship on Sunday because that was the day their Savior rose.  So, every single time we gather for worship on Sunday, we are celebrating the resurrection of Christ.  Yes, Easter Sunday and every Sunday is resurrection Sunday!