For the past couple of weeks, I have used this article space to explain “The Five Solas” and why they are important.  The first two are Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide, meaning Scripture Alone and Faith Alone, respectively.  If you missed those articles, you may find them on Lakewood’s website under “Pastor’s Page”.

Next up in this series is “Sola Gratia,” meaning grace alone.  For Baptists, this sounds easy enough on the surface that you may think that it doesn’t require much explanation.  Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  What could be clearer, right?  But I encourage you to slow down – way down.  In fact, stop for a moment and really read that verse.  I mean really read it.  What does it truly say?  This-is-not-your-own-doing.  You did nothing to cause the salvation which God has freely given you.  Nothing means, well, nothing.  At all.

This means that contrary to what some may teach, God did not look into the future and see that you were going to be a “good” person, and therefore decide to save you.  He didn’t even base His salvation on any future knowledge of you whatsoever.  Such (false) teaching cannot be found anywhere in the totality of God’s word.  Through the first few chapters in our Genesis sermon series, we have seen that God’s use of the word “good” means perfect, flawless, righteous, holy.  Yet Scriptures such as Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Romans 3:10-12, and many others teach us that there are no good humans.  We are all sinners.  Nothing we can say, do, or think can ever cause God to save us.  Additionally, Scripture repeatedly tells us that salvation belongs to our Lord (Psalm 3:8, Psalm 62:1, Revelation 7:10).

Grace is a gift of God.  You’ve done nothing to deserve it, which is why it is called grace!

So why did God save you?  The specific answer to that question is bound up in His sovereignty.  His will, His decisions, and His choices may fall into one of two categories – revealed and hidden.  God reveals some parts of His will to us, in the form of His written word, the Bible.  Other parts of His will remain hidden from us.  But the big picture answer to “why did God save you” is for the purpose of bringing glory to Himself.  By saving you apart from any good in you at all, God receives 100% of the glory.

Although this may be a bit perplexing, it should bring great confidence and assurance to God’s people.  If there is nothing you have done to bring about your own salvation, then there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation.  And this is exactly what we find in God’s word!  John 10:28-29 says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

If God has saved you, you have received His unmerited grace.  And for that all glory, honor, and worship are due to Him!

Blessings,

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

I already know what you’re thinking… “Oh no, not another language lesson from our pastor!”  Haha.  Yep!  But this one is a bit different.  It’s not Hebrew.  It’s not Greek.  It’s not even Aramaic.  This language does not even appear in the Bible*.  The phrase “sola scriptura” is Latin, and it makes up one of the “Five Solas.”  Over the next few weeks, I will use this space to explain what the Five Solas are and why they are still important for us today.

Have you ever seen that yellow flag that was popularized during the American Revolution, which has a coiled-up snake along with the warning, “Don’t Treat On Me” printed on the bottom?  That flag served as a rallying cry for those fighting against political oppression from the king of England.  Similarly (in a non-violent way), the Five Solas serve as a motto of theological faithfulness, although there is no official flag for the saying.  The Five Solas are:

Sola Scriptura – by Scripture alone

Sola Fide – by faith alone

Sola gratia – by grace alone

  Solus Christus – though Christ alone

Soli Deo gloria – glory to God alone

The idea of the Five Solas was originally developed during the Protestant Reformation, as a objection to the faulty teachings of the Roman Catholic church.  If you examine each of the sayings, you will see that the Catholic church, over the centuries, had added to the things which God requires of His people, as described in His word.  In short, Roman Catholicism theology leads to the ideas that authority comes by Scripture plus the words of the pope; that justification comes by faith plus obedience; that salvation comes by grace plus merit; that mediation comes through Christ plus Mary; that glory then goes to God plus man.  Hopefully you can already see the problems that arise which such false teachings.

Sola Scriptura means that the Bible is the only, or sole, infallible source for matters of Christian faith and practice.  This doesn’t mean that we can’t read and use other books for help.  But it does mean that God’s word will forever stand in authority above any work of man.  Therefore, if you read something that I write, or any other human writes (including the pope and his counsels), which is not in accordance with the Bible, then the Bible wins.  No word of man can ever stand in authority over God’s word.  The things that I say or write are only authoritative for faith and life if they are faithful to the Bible.  Sounds easy enough for you and me, but saying this out loud has gotten many people killed in church history.  Next week I will investigate Sola Fide.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce   

bruce.cullom@gmail.com   

  *Latin does actually appear one time in the Bible.  Come tell me if you know where.

Please notice the announcement on the other side of this bulletin that on January 29th, Lakewood members will have an opportunity to nominate new deacons to serve.  Those who are ultimately called to serve will be added to our current deacon body.

As you consider who you may nominate, I would like to ask you to do several things.  Primarily, you must pray about your nominations.  Please ask the Lord to bring to your mind those whom He would have to serve.  Additionally, you need to study 1 Timothy 3:8-13, reading it multiple times for better understanding.  Compare the names which you are considering with the qualifications listed in this passage.  Finally, it is good to do these things privately, not speaking about specific names with others, until the process has been completed.  Of course, you should indeed discuss the Scripture reference from above, sharing with and gaining insight from other Lakewood members.

The office of deacon is just that – an office, prescribed by the New Testament (as previously noted).  The word deacon simply means servant, and that is exactly what those who fill this office are called to do – serve the church.  Deacons are not required to teach or preach (though it is permissible for them to do so).  The position of deacon is first mentioned in Acts 6 to give those were teaching and preaching more time to prepare their studies (it would be good to read that passage as well).

A biblically faithful deacon body is not one that rules the church and oversees all decisions.  That might surprise you because many churches today get this wrong.  The Bible does not teach that deacons are to rule in authority over others – but make no mistake, faithful deacons are indeed strong leaders in the church.  However, they lead by serving.  I have mentioned this in the past, but in the lead up to the Lord calling me to pastor a church, I was concerned about serving at a church where the deacons were a “board of directors” so-to-speak.  Upon coming to Lakewood I was greatly relieved to see that the deacons were not a ruling board, but a biblically faithful servant body.

Please pray for our deacons, please pray for potential new candidates, and please pray for our congregation as a whole as we continue to seek the Lord in all things.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Several in our church family have experienced recent heartbreak due to the loss of loved ones.  Leanne and I have been praying for a local Hermitage family who recently lost their teenage daughter in a car wreck – after she was leaving youth group on a Wednesday night to go look at Christmas lights.  The grief that these types of situations cause is immeasurable, and we often say things like, “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

When we find ourselves in life’s most difficult circumstances, our initial reaction might be to doubt God’s goodness.  “How could a good God allow such a tragic thing to happen, especially to a family who loves Him?”  We need the hope and reassurance that God’s word is true, and trustworthy.  

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

To be sure, there is more context to this verse than simply allowing it to stand alone (you should read with all of Romans 8 in mind, and all of Romans in mind, and of course all the New Testament and Old Testament in mind).  But just taking this verse on face value, we must understand that God sovereignly works out the details of human existence for the purpose of His glory – glory through salvation.  What does this mean?  It means several things.  

First of all, it means that all things which we experience (good and bad) are pointing to something bigger than us.  Additionally, since humans are not all-knowing and omni-present, we cannot always be aware of the good which God is working.  In the case of an untimely passing of a loved one, it might very well be that God allowed things to happen for the purpose of placing the faith of your family on display.  Maybe a medical worker who is not yet saved heard the testimony of Christ’s glory while your loved one was under his or her care; and maybe that testimony becomes a vital component for that medical worker to come to faith in Christ at a later point in life.  Or, maybe someone’s life is prolonged by the donation of organs from the passing of a loved one; and that prolonged life then provided the time they need to properly hear the gospel and place faith in Christ.

As Christians, we are living for the glory of God.  This is exhilarating in the “good times” such as the blessings of church growth and seeing people saved and baptized.  Conversely, there are times when living for His glory requires great strength and stamina, as we run the race which He has prepared for us.  The main thing is that we never lose trust, we never lose hope in the goodness of God.  The reward for His faithful will be worth it.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

When people are asked what an ideal church looks like, often there are two types of answers.  If they are happy with their current church, their response to the question will consist of everything they like about their church.  If they are unhappy with their current church, their answer may consist of a couple of good things about it, but soon they will begin to speak about all of the things which they feel are lacking.  The most often cited areas (positive or negative) usually have to do with musical style of worship, age of the membership makeup, and the personality of the pastor.

Missing from these types of conversations is often the concept of biblical faithfulness.  Is the church actually being faithful to the standards and commands of Scripture?  Many people do not even pause to consider this, not even for a moment.  What many of us do, rather than speak about how our church lines up with biblical standards, is report about how the church lines up with our own personal preferences.  There is a big difference.  A church can be extremely biblically faithful in an area such as worship through music, yet not satisfy someone’s personal preference.  The danger comes when a personal preference is mistaken as a measure of biblical faithfulness.

Of course, there is no perfect church because there are no perfect people.  But the ideal church will be one which is most faithful to all that God commands in His word.  This is why it is vital that Lakewood members read and study the Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our understanding of it.  There is nothing wrong with having a personal preference, but we must understand how and when to set aside our personal preferences for the good of the church, so that we can better serve one the Lord and one another, and better preserve the unity which He provides to His church.

Are your opinions of Lakewood (positive or negative) founded in Scripture, or in opinion?  Search God’s word diligently.  What does He have to say about orderly worship and corporate ministry efforts?  Certainly, there are areas where Lakewood needs to improve.  What might they those areas be?  Let’s root our worship and ministry in God’s word alone so that we may be found faithful in His sight.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

In order to effectively share the gospel, there is a skill that you need to learn, develop, and even master.  This skill I’m speaking of does not require the memorization of Scripture (although doing so is strongly recommended).  

It does not require you to take a course or even read a book (although doing so may be very beneficial).  It doesn’t even require you to knock on doors in the neighborhood (although we need to do that).

No, the skill I’m speaking of is the ability to listen, or observe.

If you were casually walking down the street and noticed that a neighbor’s bedroom was on fire, and you could see that the living room curtains were open, with the family watching TV, you would instinctively yell to them, “YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!  GET OUT!”  Then you would begin running toward their door – with your eyes fixed on the family in the living room.  You are observing them – looking to see if they hear you – looking for a response, and indication that they are taking you seriously.  If they immediately get up and run out, then great!  But if they didn’t, you would ramp up the intensity in your warning, yelling louder and knocking on the front door.  Eventually, if the people inside the burning house refused to respond to your warnings, you would bang on the door with all of your might and yell at the top of your lungs.  My point is, you watched and listened, and as your warnings were increasingly ignored, rather than becoming disappointed and walking away, you ramped up the intensity of your efforts.

In our gospel conversations with lost people, we must learn to listen.  They will tell us where they are on this scale.  If you listen closely and observe, their comments and demeanor will signal if they are sitting comfortably sitting on the couch, ignoring the warnings, or if they have heard the message and are considering its truthfulness, or are they ready to escape their burning house at all costs.  You don’t want to shout at someone who is already running for safety, and you don’t want to be gentle with someone who is ignoring the gospel message.  There is a proper balance in all of these situations.

So how do you develop this skill?  Like everything else – through practice.  You must purposely bring up gospel conversations with others.  You need to be talking about the things of Christ so regularly that it just becomes natural to you.  And people talk about what they’re doing in life – so if you want to be able to easily start gospel conversations, you need to be reading your Bible all-the-time.  When you’re doing that, the things of God will become a natural part of your conversations, even with strangers.

Blessings!

Pastor Bruce

Bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Simply based on my observation, reading for personal benefit is mostly a lost asset in our culture these days.  Whether its reading “the classics” like To Kill a Mockingbird, or reading non-fiction to increase knowledge, it seems that most people just don’t read much anymore. These days we seem to have replaced reading with watching.

But even among people who have read To Kill a Mockingbird, you’re not going to find anyone who has read it more than once or twice, and you’re certainly not going to find anyone who reads it continually, even daily.  Why wouldn’t someone read To Kill a Mockingbird over and over, every day?  Because the additional benefit gained from reading that book begins to diminish greatly after the first reading. You’re not going to learn anything life-changing the 3rd or 4th or 25th time you read it.

But this is not the case with the Bible. The Apostle Peter said to Jesus at the end of John 6, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”  In John 17:17, Jesus prayed to God the Father saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Connecting these dots (and many others), simply stated, the Bible is what Francis Schaeffer called, “true truth” – the most fundamental truth there is – the truth of God.  Such information is bigger than the capacity of the human brain. It is without error of any kind. Therefore, the more a person studies God’s word, the more truth that person will learn. And this process cannot be finished or exhausted.  You can read the Bible 50 times in a row, and still you will learn something new on your 51st reading.  This process increases our faith in God.

And there is an amazing relationship between faith and anxiety. They exist in inverse proportion to one another.  In other words, as faith increases, anxiety decreases.  Do any of you have anxiety?  Let him feast on the word of God!

“Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 15:16

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

I recently heard a well-known SBC pastor, speaking to a large group of seminary students, make the following comment, “No one will remember what you preach.  What they will remember is, were you there when they needed you.”  What a discouraging thing to say to young men who are preparing themselves for a lifetime of ministry.  A pastor’s ministry is not limited to preaching of course, but a pastor’s ministry will never become more than what he does behind God’s pulpit.  No amount of Monday through Saturday ministry can replace the importance 

of the Sunday sermon.  That being said, I do understand that you will not remember everything that 

I preach.  I don’t expect you to remember everything.  What I do hope for is that you are intently listening to sermons with “biblical ears”.  What does that mean?  Here are my thoughts.

Pray  Include the Sunday sermon in your prayers each day during the week.

Read  You should read the Scripture for the Sunday sermon at least a few days in advance.  I’m 

    planning to begin preaching through Genesis in January, so you should know from one week to 

    the next where we are in the Bible.  If you’re not sure – please ask me.

Come Expecting  Come to church on Sunday morning with an expectation that the sermon will be  

    beneficial for you to hear.

Take Notes  This doesn’t mean that you outline the sermon with grammatical precision.  It means 

   that you have pen and paper and simply write down anything that sounds particularly important or 

   impactful to you.  Writing it down will help you remember it and you’ll have it with you to think 

   about later.  (Taking notes also helps you stay awake.  Ahem.)

That One Thing  Listen for that one thing from the sermon that is fresh and exciting about God’s 

   word – something new to you, difficult, or even confusing.  Write it down.  And of course, there

   can be more than one thing.

Unpack It  Call or text someone within a couple of days of the sermon and spend some time talking  

   about what ‘that one thing’ was for you.

Pray Again  Create a bookend of prayer around each of our worship services.  Ask God to sear ‘that 

   one thing’ into your memory so that His truths soak in and become part of you.

Fundamentally, biblically faithful preaching is not a word about God, it is a word from God.  It is certainly not a new word from God, but it is the proclamation, explanation, and application of God’s eternal truth, as revealed in His word.  And there is nothing more important in your life than understanding and applying God’s word.  Additionally, please never hesitate to ask me to better explain something which I said from the pulpit.  I would like nothing more than another swing if I missed the ball the first time around.  Call, text, or stop by the church office for a visit any time.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce bruce.cullom@gmail.com

These are simple words from the apostle Paul to the church at Philippi, which had given him a gift in support of his on-going ministry.  The word translated into English as “kind” could also mean noble, honorable, or right.  In giving thanks for his brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul set an example for us to follow.  If you read the context surrounding this verse, Paul is saying that he always trusts the Lord to take care of his needs, and he’s thankful for the faithfulness of this particular congregation.

On Sunday, November 13th, Lakewood Baptist Church demonstrated this same type of faithfulness to the Lord, and blessed Leanne and me with assistance in some unexpected yet mandatory home repairs.  I can hear the hammers and saws as I type this from our living room.  For most Americans, our home is the biggest investment that we will ever make, and when damage occurs, it is often felt more as an emotional hit than a physical hit.  Anxiety follows close behind, as you examine your finances in light of the repair costs.

But God used Lakewood to help soothe those anxieties for us.  What you all did for us was noble, honorable, and right.  You all saw our need and responded in love, and for that we will forever be grateful.  There are not enough “thank you” in the world to express our gratitude and appreciation for the special gift to us, at the exact right time.  In this season of thanksgiving, it is noble, honorable, and right for all of us to consider ways to give unto others, and ways to express gratitude for those who have given to us.  As I have said many times, it is the great thrill of my life to serve as the pastor of Lakewood, and our continued prayer is that the Lord allow us to continue in this ministry for many years to come.  We love you all dearly.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce 

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Do you find it difficult to share the gospel effectively?  That probably describes most of us.  We don’t find it difficult to be kind, or to love our neighbor, or even to serve the underserved among us.  Those are natural overflows of the Holy Spirit living in a believer.  However, when it comes to actually broaching the subjects of sin and judgment, and repentance and forgiveness (you know, the gospel), we often find ourselves hesitant to broach the subject with lost people.  

Why is that?

Most Christians report that they have a fear of being rejected or ridiculed for their beliefs, or that someone with ask them a question about God or the Bible which they cannot answer.  Let me give you some assurance for both of those fears.  If you’re sharing the gospel of Christ regularly, both of those fears will be realized – that is, they will come true.  You will be ridiculed and rejected, and you will be asked questions which you cannot answer.  Christ promised as much (read John 15:18-26).

Nevertheless, we are commanded to share the gospel (read Matthew 28:18-20).  To neglect this assignment from Christ is to be disobedient to Him.  This means that we must, through the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome these fears and share the Good News anyway.  This is the hard work of creating a culture of evangelism at Lakewood.  

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to the Lord, “Not my will, but yours.”  You and I must pray this same prayer.  Despite the fearful thing which Christ was facing, He obeyed the Lord’s will.  Despite the things we fear about evangelism, we must obey the Lord’s will.  

I am confident that you will be blessed to read this small book by J. Mack Stiles titled, Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus.  It is approximately 100 pages of large print, easy reading, on a middle school level.  It would probably be only one or two chapters of your average sized book.

When we overcome our fear, we unleash the power of the Holy Spirit to those things which we could never accomplish on our own.  The eternal destination of our friends, family, and neighbors are at stake.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Do you find it difficult to share the gospel effectively?  That probably describes most of us.  We don’t find it difficult to be kind, or to love our neighbor, or even to serve the underserved among us.  Those are natural overflows of the Holy Spirit living in a believer.  However, when it comes to actually broaching the subjects of sin and judgment, and repentance and forgiveness (you know, the gospel), we often find ourselves hesitant to broach the subject with lost people. 

Why is that?

Most Christians report that they have a fear of being rejected or ridiculed for their beliefs, or that someone with ask them a question about God or the Bible which they cannot answer.  Let me give you some assurance for both of those fears.  If you’re sharing the gospel of Christ regularly, both of those fears will be realized – that is, they will come true.  You will be ridiculed and rejected, and you will be asked questions which you cannot answer.  Christ promised as much (read John 15:18-26).

Nevertheless, we are commanded to share the gospel (read Matthew 28:18-20).  To neglect this assignment from Christ is to be disobedient to Him.  This means that we must, through the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome these fears and share the Good News anyway.  This is the hard work of creating a culture of evangelism at Lakewood. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to the Lord, “Not my will, but yours.”  You and I must pray this same prayer.  Despite the fearful thing which Christ was facing, He obeyed the Lord’s will.  Despite the things we fear about evangelism, we must obey the Lord’s will. 

I am confident that you will be blessed to read this small book by J. Mack Stiles titled, Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus.  It is approximately 100 pages of large print, easy reading, on a middle school level.  It would probably be only one or two chapters of your average sized book.

When we overcome our fear, we unleash the power of the Holy Spirit to those things which we could never accomplish on our own.  The eternal destination of our friends, family, and neighbors are at stake.

Blessings,

GOD CAN USE YOU

d e s p i t e   y o u r   f a i l u r e s

The final chapters of each of the four Gospels contain the struggle and fall of Peter, arguably the leader among Jesus’ disciples.  Scripture paints Peter as probably a physically bigger man (in John 21:11, Peter dragged in a net of 153 large fish, which seems to have taken several disciples to drag just a few verses prior).  Peter was usually the first to speak after Jesus taught the disciples.  Peter was the one who drew his sword in the garden, to defend Jesus against the guards and soldiers, cutting off a servant’s ear in the process.  But then his boldness vanished.  As Jesus was being falsely accused and tried in a sham court, Peter famously denied knowing Christ three times in very short succession.  It probably seemed to Peter that he had forfeited any future ministry value to the Lord whatsoever.  We even see in that final chapter of John’s Gospel that Peter made an attempt to return to his prior vocation – fishing.  Imagine the emotional low point that Peter must have found himself.  Just… defeated.

But then something amazing happened.  Jesus restored Peter.  First the Savior called Peter to give up his fishing, which was symbolic of giving up on the promises which Jesus had made to him.  Peter submitted and obeyed.  Then Jesus gave Peter an encouraging directive – “Feed my sheep,” or in other words, take my message – and everything that you’ve learned and heard from me – and nourish others with it.  With just a few weeks Peter then preaches the first gospel sermon, recorded in Acts 2, and about three thousand people were saved because of it.  Peter then goes on to be the specially sent Apostle to the Jews (Galatians 2:8).  We don’t see a life lived in complete perfection from that point on, but we do see a life marked by a strong desire for faithfulness.

I believe that the Holy Spirit saw fit to have the failures of Peter included in the New Testament for the benefit of those among us today who have similar experiences.  You may look back on your life and feel that you have disqualified yourself from being used by the Lord.  You may feel discouraged or even defeated.  You try to trust the Lord but sometimes wonder if He trusts you.  The answer is yes – there is no one outside the reach of God’s hand, when you humble yourself to the Holy Spirit and submit to God’s commands as found in His word.  If you are not born again, this means that you must believe into Christ as the Son of God and that He is risen from the dead.  For all of us – we submit ourselves to God’s commands by reading His word daily and praying for wisdom in proper application.  God can use you – in your family, in your workplace, in your group of friends, in your neighborhood – despite your past failures.

Think back for a moment to a time when you had to make a big decision.  As the situation begins to unfold, you probably begin to experience an increasing amount of stress.  You consider your options.  You pray and ask the Lord for wisdom.  You seek the counsel of Godly people.  Wanting to be certain that you don’t make a hasty decision, you wait for the Lord’s timing.  Then when you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to go in a specific direction you move ahead confidently, asking the Lord to watch over you.

Then WHAM!  The exact opposite of everything you had anticipated occurs!  You shake your head back and forth and throw your hands up in desperation.  It can be extremely frustrating, and even difficult to maintain a positive attitude.

But guess what?  God is always at work in the life of His people, and 1 Corinthians 14:33 assures us that “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”  So how do we reconcile a situation like this which may appear to be confusing?  How do we see God through our frustration?

Let me encourage you to read the account of God confirming Abraham’s faith, in Genesis 22:1-19.  What we sometimes fail to consider is that God does not always reveal His entire plan to us all at once.  If he did, how would He build our faith in Him?  I don’t think that many of us would even be able to accept God’s full plan for us if He did reveal it all at once.  

In Abraham’s case, God gave simple and clear instructions for him to follow.  Abraham obeyed the Lord and moved ahead, following the Lord’s instructions without objection.  I can imagine the stress which Abraham felt.  What initially appeared to Abraham to be God’s plan was actually not God’s full plan at all.  However, in retrospect we can see God’s hand at work the entire time.  God’s plan was to demonstrate His power, and in doing so, strengthen Abraham’s faith.

What about your life?  Have you ever become frustrated with God, only to look back years later and see that yes indeed, His ways were perfect after all?  Our Lord is always at work in the lives of His people.  Obey God.  Trust Him and He will increase your faith, even when you don’t understand.  Especially when you don’t understand.

Blessings,

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

I don’t remember the exact first time that I met Isaac, but he was probably about 15 years old.  He began attending our student group at Grace Baptist Church after befriending several of the other guys in the group.  As 15 year old boys turned into 18 year old young men, Isaac demonstrated himself to be a leader in our group – not just in maturity, but in spiritual matters as well.  During that time, I saw Isaac and many of his peers in our group began to grow stronger in their knowledge and understanding of biblical matters.  Even during that time, they were concerned with helping the younger students grow in their faith.

One of the marks of someone growing in their Christian faith is a desire to disciple others.  Isaac finished up his college degree at Tennessee Tech and felt a call from the Lord to continue his pursuit of ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, KY.  “Southern” is at the pinnacle of conservative evangelical education at this point in history.  Simply stated, it is currently the best seminary in the world.  For these reasons, I have complete trust in Isaac standing behind the pulpit at Lakewood Baptist Church, and you should too.  He is a man of God, receiving top-notch theological education, with a strong desire to explain God’s word to others.  So take notes today!

Please be in prayer for Isaac as he prepares to bring God’s word to Lakewood.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

On September 8th, 2022, the world was given the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms had passed away at the age of 96.  She reigned on the throne for 70 years, providing those under her rule a moral and social example that is to be commended.  A friend of mine texted me a few days later with this message, “Are you watching this?”  Since I wasn’t watching anything at all (I was reading), I replied “No”.  Turns out he was watching the state funeral procession for the queen, and he was enthralled with the associated pageantry of it all.  But if you’re like me the news of her death did not land hard upon your soul and did not change your thought patterns or plans for the rest of the day.  At the risk of sounding unrefined – neither her life nor her death had any effect on me.  I don’t hesitate to say that because I would guess that most everyone reading this would probably feel the same way.  I’m thankful that she was a confessing Christian, but I have never understood the “royals” and some people’s fascination with them.  Admittedly, I don’t really know a lot about it.

But here’s something that I do know – King Jesus is still alive.  He existed in eternity past as the second Person of the Trinity, God the Son.  He came to earth, was born of a virgin, and lived among us.  He lived a perfect life without sin yet was crucified at the hands of men.  He died and was buried for three days.  On the morning of the third day, He rose again to life and is still alive today and forever.

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”

– Daniel 2:44

As the song says, “kings and kingdoms will all pass away” and Queen Elizabeth II would have completely agreed with that.  Certainly, there is a time for mourning, but if your faith in is the eternal King, let your sorrow turn to joy for He is alive and He reigns forever and ever.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com 

Over the past couple of years, you may have heard me talk about my style or technique of expository preaching at Lakewood.  Expository preaching means that the preacher does the work to learn and accurately expose the biblical writer’s original meaning and then properly applies it to the listeners in the congregation.  Sounds basic, doesn’t it?  That’s what every preacher should be doing, right?  Unfortunately, expository preaching is not the goal of many preachers, and congregations often do not recognize the biblical faithfulness (or lack thereof) of their pastor’s time in the pulpit each week.

However, the goal of expository preaching does not end with the conclusion of the pastor’s sermon.  The congregation is tasked with the responsibility of expository listening!  James 1:22-25 says, 

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

To apply this Scripture to you who are reading this right now, each week when I preach, I am holding up a mirror to you.  My job during the week is to clean and polish the mirror to a fine shine, with no smudges or marks that might obscure your view.  Then on Sunday morning at 10:45, I hold that mirror up to you and allow you to see yourself in light of God’s perfect, eternal word.  This passage in James says that your responsibility is to then go do what you heard – put it into action.  And upon doing so, you will be blessed by the Lord!

This cannot begin individually.  It was not meant to be initially implemented in a personal vacuum.  The beginning of the process of doing should be a corporate activity – discussions among those in the congregation about the sermon, its meaning, and how to do it.  We counsel one another with God’s word, we pray for one another, and we check in with one another during the week to see how the sermon is landing and being done.

If you find yourself late in the week, and you haven’t yet considered anything about the previous Sunday’s sermon, then I suggest that you begin taking notes and reviewing them at strategic points – in your car, in the parking lot, before you enter work – before you make that important phone call to a friend or family member who is struggling – when you receive negative news that causes an emotional slump.  Any time you hear God’s word, you must allow it to change you, mold you more into His image.  This is your spiritual act of worship – your sanctification.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

New Wednesday Night Class!

Starting on Wednesday night, September 7th, we will be going through the articles of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, one by one.  I don’t have a specific end-date in mind, so this may very well carry us into the new year.  Considering our year of prayer regarding our continued association with the SBC, it is vital that we study and understand what

In Mark 7:5 the Pharisees questioned Jesus as to why His disciples did not properly wash their hands before eating.  To be sure, the hand washing in question had nothing to do with the removal germs from one’s hands, but rather, it was about traditional Jewish ceremonial customs.  The Pharisees considered themselves to be morally defiled if they had touched anything Gentile or otherwise been around non-Jewish people.  In other words, they believed that their act of handwashing was for the removal of sin!  They followed these traditions in a failed attempt to present themselves as righteous before God.  How ridiculous is that?!

Yet…

I once observed a life-long deacon in a Baptist church approach a family of first-time visitors just prior to the start of the worship service, and rather than warmly welcoming them to the service, he instructed the young boys in the family to remove their ball caps.  The deacon then smiled and nodded and continued to make his way up the aisle of pews, shaking hands with others in the crowd.

Just a few days ago I came across a card I had received many years ago during pastoral appreciation month.  The card was nice, and was personally signed by a member of the church, along with a hand-written postscript which stated, “It would be nice if you would start tucking your shirt in.”  Unfortunately, this was not part of an inside joke.  The sender was entirely serious.

Jesus offered a specific response to the Pharisees who made the comments in Mark 7.  He quoted Isaiah 29:13 and applied it directly to them, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”  In other words, “You’re just going through the motions, but you’re not actually concerned with what God commands – you’re just concerned with making yourselves feel good.”

We must be very careful as we approach the Lord in worship.  Yes, obedience is important – mandatory even – but we must understand that since none of us can live in perfect obedience, proper worship requires personal humility and charity toward others.  We must examine our hearts continually and assume the most of others in our congregation, that they are doing the same.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Did you know that there is no verse or passage in the New Testament that teaches churches to focus their ministry efforts on bringing more people into the congregation?  That’s right – not one time are churches commanded to work for the purpose of growing in numbers.  This may seem odd to you, given the fact that almost every ministry and program at almost every church in America for the past 100+ years have been designed for the purpose of getting more people to attend.  Increasing church attendance is even the formally stated goal for many churches and denominational associations.  We have this thing in our minds which tells us that churches with 500 people in attendance each Sunday are doing something better than churches with “only” 100 in attendance.  And that churches with 1000 are doing something even better than that!

This type of thinking is biblically false.  It is a man-centered ministry approach which ultimately serves only to support the ego and esteem of those who subscribe to it (consciously or unconsciously).  If you are skeptical, consider the idea that we all feel better about Lakewood in general on Sunday mornings when more people are in attendance (I’m including myself in this group).

Am I suggesting that nothing good comes from a less-than-perfect ministry philosophy?  Of course not.  

If God required all of our gospel efforts to be perfect before He would bring blessing, then all churches and ministries would always fail, because nothing we can do is ever perfect.  The beauty of the gospel is that God works through the brokenness of man; but this doesn’t let us off the hook.  When we discover areas which need correction, our responsibility is to repent and correct.  So what does God’s word say about growing His church?  Ephesians offers us many answers to questions about the church, and Ephesians chapter 4 speaks to this issue of growth.  As you read v14-16, understand that the word “body” refers to the church body.

“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

What does Paul tell us is the method of growing a church?  Each person properly speaking the truth in love…makes the body grow.  You’ll remember from John 17 that Christ prayed to the Father saying in part, “Your word is truth.”  To put it all together, the formula for church growth is not developing the right program – it is correctly speaking the truths of God’s word to one another.  You want to see Lakewood grow?  The method for this is clear – we must individually (this means you) learn the fullness of God’s word (the Bible) and correctly teach it to one another (disciple) in all that we do.  Church growth is not 

the responsibility of any one person – it is the responsibility of every single person.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

Imagine that you have been given the task of sharing the gospel with a large group of people who will be gathered in an auditorium.  Actually, you’re not going to be speaking to them all at once, but you will do the best you can to share the gospel with them one at a time, just working your way through the crowd.  You have been properly trained.  You feel a little scared, but you’re as ready as you’ll ever be.  You show up outside the auditorium and you can hear the chatter of a few hundred people who are inside.  You walk up to the door and as you open it, you are confronted with a sea of crimson red football jerseys!  Your task is to share the gospel at a pep rally for the University of Alabama football team!  But guess what?  You’re wearing a Tennessee orange football jersey!  The crowd then begins to “boo” you before you even say a word.

What has just happened?  Without even saying a word about Christ, sin, eternity, or anything religious at all, your gospel opportunity has been crushed by something which has nothing to do with the gospel.

Is this a silly example?  Yes, probably.  But this is what many Christians do inadvertently with our opinions and conversations, especially as it relates to politics on social media.  We unintentionally elevate our views on politics above the level of the gospel, and we don’t even recognize it.  Then, when we do try to have that all-important conversation about Christ with a friend or loved one, they refuse to listen, because they see us as an opponent or even the enemy, based on things which have nothing to do with the gospel.

I am not suggesting that we should not have political opinions.  I am not suggesting that those topics are unimportant or should be off limits for conversations.  What I am saying is that if you are more passionate about who you voted for than the redeeming work of Christ, then you have your priorities confused.  I recently saw the Twitter feed of a pastor of a Baptist church which claims to have over 4000 members.  This pastor is very active on Twitter, vigorously promoting and defending his chosen political party, and denigrating those who may hold to differing political opinions.  As I scrolled through his recent activity, I noticed that he also promoted events at the church where he pastors, inviting visitors to attend.  He has made it clear (although unintentional) that if you disagree with his political positions, you are not welcome in his congregational family.  And that’s a problem.  There is nothing of greater importance above the importance than the gospel.

“Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.  But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.”                                              2 Timothy 2:14-17                  

Blessings,

Pastor Bruce   

bruce.cullom@gmail.com

There’s an old novelty song written by Mac Davis in the early 1980s with the title, “It’s Hard to Be Humble.”  The chorus goes like this:

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble 

When you're perfect in every wayI can't wait to look in the mirror

Cause I get better looking each day

Davis explains that although the song was intended to be humorous, it was berthed out of a real experience of headlining a concert and being treated like a star, with all of the amenities that go along with such an event.  But he knew better – Mac Davis had spent years as a songwriter, having his songs recorded by the likes of Nancy Sinatra and Elvis Presley.  Even as he was becoming famous in his own right, he knew that there was always more to learn.

When it comes to the Christian life, being a disciple of Christ, there is always more to learn, and there is always room for spiritual growth in your life.  None of us “have it all figured out” but we learn from one another and from those who have gone down the path before us, and left breadcrumbs along the way for us to find.  But to see these breadcrumbs, and to be teachable by the Holy Spirit, requires humility – and that is indeed hard at times.  

If I asked the question, “Do you have it all figured out?” of course you would answer, “no.”  But as you examine yourself, are you straining forward?  Paul says in Philippians 3:12-15,

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

In essence, Paul is saying, “I haven’t arrived.  I’m not there yet.  I still have a lot to learn.”  This is the sign of a maturing Christian – humbly admitting that there is more to learn, and more to do.  Are you humble?  Are you teachable?  The older we get the more difficult it is to be humble and teachable.  But all things are possible through the strength of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Spend time in prayer asking God to show you areas of your understanding and of your life which still need work, and allow Him to refine you in these ways.  Humility is one of the great qualities of God’s people.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com