Don’t Be a Hypocrite

by Marc Backes

Thanksgiving is always a good time to be around family. Most everyone will return home sometime during the four-day weekend. And one of the things I think about is how being around family always allows me to unwind, unplug, and just be me. It’s a good feeling. It’s a freeing feeling. But then I wonder why I’m not like that all the time. Do I act the same way when I’m at work? What about when I’m at church? Why is it that I’m someone different when it’s just me and the family?

As we look at the Gospel of Luke, we’ll find in chapters 11 and 12 that Jesus is dealing with this problem head on. He first addresses it in a very stern and confrontational way with the Pharisees and lawyers in Chapter 11, and then deals with it amongst his disciples in the early parts of Chapter 12. Jesus says:

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.

Jesus here issues a strong warning to his disciples to guard themselves from even the slightest hint of hypocrisy. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word (hupokrisis /hoop·ok·ree·sis/) which means to “play act” or “play a part.” He uses the leaven analogy as a way of reminding them that the tiniest bit of hypocrisy will make them complete hypocrites through and through. You can’t compartmentalize hypocrisy. It’s either not there at all. Or it permeates your whole life.

Jesus then reminds them:

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

There are really two reasons why hypocrisy is pointless. The first Jesus points out here is that you’re not fooling anyone. Sure you may fool people here on Earth, but your life, your heart, your mind, your motives, everything about you is on full display for God and always will be. You’re not fooling God. He sees it all. You will be exposed. And we see this all around us in the world today. People are being exposed every day for who they really are and Jesus said as much. The second reason Jesus gives for the pointlessness of hypocrisy is:

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

What Jesus is saying here is that it’s not man you should try to impress anyway. God is the one who matters. Not man. And oh by the way, you can’t impress God. There’s no amount of acting that will fool him. It goes back to the first reason. God knows exactly who you are, so there’s no point in acting. But there’s also no point in trying to impress man, because they are not the ultimate reality of the universe, God is. His opinion matters.

Have you ever thought of some of the ways we care more about what people think than what God thinks?

• We pour ourselves into our work to the neglect of our focus on Jesus and our families because we derive our value from our success at work rather than the progress in our hearts.
• We avoid having / adopting more children because others would think of us as unwise to have a “house full of kids” late into our forties and fifties.
• We go into a certain line of work that even though it makes us miserable and grumpy, it’s impressive to the outside world.
• We avoid deep relationships with people because we’re afraid if they get to know who we really are, they may not like us anymore.

Jesus then gives us a comforting assurance of why we can drop the act before God and simply be who we are:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We are valuable to God. We were created in his image. We are precious in his sight. He knows our faults. He knows our weaknesses. He knows our ugliness. And yet despite all of that, he still sent his Son Jesus to the cross to take the punishment that you and I deserve for our hypocrisy. Jesus died the death we should have died and he lived the hypocrisy free live we should have lived. We don’t have to DO anything. Jesus did it all already. Now because of that, we can live in freedom, love, and peace. We can live as who we truly are and as we were created to be. We don’t have to act anymore. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. We can be transformed by what Jesus has already done for us. We can stop the charade. All that is required is:

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

All that is required is that we acknowledge (confess) Jesus. And all that means is that we look to Him instead of ourselves. That we look to what he has done and not what we are doing. If we will repent (turn away) from our sin, and bank on Jesus as our only hope, then and only then, will we be at peace with God.

It’s not our pretending that gives us peace, it’s the reality of Jesus that won our righteousness before God.

So will you be who you really are today? Will you come to Jesus and admit you don’t have it all together? Will you say to Him “Jesus, I don’t have it together, but you did, and that’s my only hope”?

Or more simply, will you quit being a hypocrite?

Thank You from Pastor Lane

Christin and I thank you for your generosity and gracious words of encouragement to us. What a blessing to serve the Lord among LifePoint! Your words of encouragement, your gifts of generosity and your support of love are great blessings to us not only at this time of year, but throughout the year as well. I pray God continues to richly bless LifePoint as a gospel-centered community of faith. I pray God continues to strategically use LifePoint in his kingdom mission. I pray God continues to reveal his glory among us in power and in might as he transforms lives. May this thanksgiving season be a blessed time for you and your family. ay you know God’s richest blessings on your life.

—Pastor Lane

Thank You from Pastor Dennis

Sue and I thank you so much for your generous pastor’s appreciation gift and cards of encouragement. You are so good to us. We are extremely thankful to serve in such a loving church. We have been overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness and generosity with both the incredible baby shower you threw for us and the pastor’s appreciation gift and cards you gave us. We look forward with anticipation and excitement to what God is going to do in the years to come at LifePoint. It is an honor to be your worship pastor. We pray you have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. We love you!

—Pastor Dennis

Young Men Retreat to Steel Creek

by Donovan Dobbs

On November 2-3, seventeen young and a few old men ventured into the wilds of Northwest Arkansas. This brave group hazard the bitter cold and the roar of killer elk near the camp! In the morning, we awoke to hearty nourishment that ultimately proved to help in our survival of the grueling day of the death-defying climbing before us. Throughout the plunge from 2100 feet above sea level to 600 feet above sea level, the men stayed together and fought the mountain. When we finally reached the bottom, all were accounted for, but a few were cut and bleeding.

OK, the trip was not quite as harrowing as I just described, but it was fun. The group was a mix of young and older—not old. When we arrived at the camp on Friday night, hot food prepared by our personal outdoor chef Eugene was waiting. Dinner was hamburgers and seasoned potato halves. It was a good meal, but dessert was the bomb! It was blueberry cobbler cooked in a Dutch oven, and it melted in our mouths. This meal was the first of three fixed with expertise by Eugene. His cooking alone was worth the trip. Every man there left on Saturday full and fat or fatter.

Friday night was a real blessing. Dallas posed the question about Christian leadership and what is it. Each man participated. The discussion focused on God’s role for men, and the consensus is that a leader should be a servant. It was encouraging to hear the younger men contribute and talk about leadership in their lives and generation as it applies to God. If you had listened to the conversation, you could not help but be encouraged by the commitment to Christ from those who participated.

For those who did not go, you missed beautiful scenery and invigorating exercise. One highlight was the discussion as we walked down the mountain and through a bamboo forest. (I never knew they had a bamboo forest in Arkansas.) The discussion centered around different Christian authors and their theology or in some cases, the lack thereof. As the conversation ebbed and flowed, I thought what an interesting conversation to have in the mountains and woods that God has skillfully crafted. Talking about Christ our king in one of his magnificent kingdoms that is how to spend a day.

Those of us who went were blessed and developed or strengthened our relationships with each other. I am sure that I speak for all when I say thanks to Dallas and Sam for planning and providing the trip. I can hardly wait for the next outing!

Five Thousand Pounds of Potatoes

Editor’s Note: Victory Mission will need volunteers on Saturday, 15 December, from 8–11 AM to deliver Christmas meals to Springfield residents. Stay tuned to E.notes for more details (and be cleaning out your trunk) in the meantime!

by Heather Myer

On an otherwise uneventful Saturday morning, 17 of Life Point’s young adults gathered together in the heart of Springfield. Abandoning much-desired sleep, we shook off drowsiness and bypassed a lazy morning to serve our community. We arrived in carpools from Ozark, Nixa, and the far corners of Springfield for two purposes: to eat chocolate muffins and help with the Victory Mission’s Thanksgiving Drive. VM assists families who have come across difficult times and eases their burden by providing groceries necessary for a holiday feast. We loaded delivery vehicles with food items. FedEx joined families and friends to go on quests through side streets in order to greet families and hand deliver meals. Five hundred families and over 1,500 individuals were blessed by Victory Missions.

We quickly learned that in order to make an impact for our community, we must first serve each other. Traffic cones provided by Matt and Stephen and hand signals by Sarah, clad in a bright orange sweater, directed cars forward. Town Criers such as Amy Hill were necessary to guide Kit, Jeff, and Dallas as they carried large turkeys. Andrea shook open brown paper bags for Heather G. to fill with cartons of eggs. Colby tore open bundles of potatoes for Jon. Courtney and Lyndsey encouraged others with good cheer as they manned the grocery sack pallet. Alison and Kylie told others what was needed to complete orders as they dashed between Fords and Nissans, arms filled with turkey loaves and eggs. Our labor knew no boundaries to height. A petite Katie handed a rather tall Heather M. a low-lying bag of groceries before grabbing one of her own. A moment later, Heather helped Katie hoist her bag in the bed of a large pick-up.

Within a 3 hour time span, our toil was completed. Through a collective group effort we lifted 5,000 lbs of potatoes, carried 6,000 eggs, tossed over 5,000 lbs of turkey, and handed over 500 sacks of dry goods. Our weight-bearing exercises have brought a new meaning to “community.” Several lessons were learned by our labors:

1. Assembly lines work great for playing pass-the-turkey and re-boxing eggs.
2. It is never fun to be too late for the action. If trunk has already been filled, you don’t want to be the one returning a 50 lbs bundle of potatoes to a pallet.
3. Don’t be fooled by appearances. Some large SUVs were only able to take 3 meals. Several 2 door cars held up to 9 meals!
4. It is necessary to start a chilly morning with hot chocolate and a prayer of thanksgiving to our Lord.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. —Ephesians 6:7–8

Picture This—God

The elders have recently begun a study together and one of the issues we are considering relates to the second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, of that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations to those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. —Exodus 20.4–6; English Standard Version

The primary questions for our consideration: What visual imagery breaks this command and what imagery is acceptable in Christian worship? So often we think solely of a golden calf that was crafted by the Israelites under Aaron’s leadership while Moses was on the mountain with God. While this is surely the most obvious example, we should also consider the “practication” (a standard Laneism that means practical application) of this commandment for our modern day context as well. How are we to interpret this commandment in a God-honoring way while implementing visual creativity into our worship experiences? Or should we not use visual images at all in worship? One other great question for our debate is when do images become idols?

I offer some points and quotes from chapter four of the book we are reading, Knowing God by J.I. Packer for your consideration. First,

• “Images dishonor God, for they obscure his glory.”
• “Therefore, to devise any image of God is itself impious; because by this corruption his majesty is adulterated, and he is figured to be other than he is.”
• “The heart of the objection to pictures and images is that they inevitably conceal most, if not all, of the truth about the personal nature and character of the divine Being whom they represent.”

Second,

• “Images mislead us, for they convey false ideas about God.”
• “The positive purpose of the second commandment becomes plain. It is a summons to us to recognize that God the Creator is transcendent, mysterious and inscrutable, beyond the range of any imagining or philosophical guesswork of which we are capable—and hence a summons to us to humble ourselves, to listen and learn of him, and to let him teach us what he is like and how we should think of him.”
• “The positive force of the second commandment is that it compels us to take out thoughts of God from his own holy Word and from no other source whatsoever.”

Why is this an important issue for LifePoint, the elders, and me? First, I’m a visual person. (Ironically, I’m color-blind too.) I am attracted to that which captures my eye. Most all of my first impressions are solely visual and (as much as I hate to admit it) if the situation is right, my final impression may well be visual also.

On a side note, allow me to digress and illustrate for a moment. I mean, let’s be honest,ugly is hard to forget. Now before you think I’m being cruel and shallow, I’m not just talking about people, but anything that is ugly: clothes/outfits, landscaping, decorations, etc. The list could be endless. You’ve heard it said, “Ugly is as ugly does.” I must kindly disagree. I hold to “Ugly is as ugly looks.”

So understand, I hold in high regard the visual presentation of our church because I believe it matters not only to me, but to people.

Second, the aesthetics of our church represent our values. Close your eyes for just a moment and imagine yourself entering LifePoint. That is the image many people see when they think of LifePoint. What would you have them to see and remember?

Third, the visual impression we present to people when they come to LifePoint can help break down many barriers to the gospel that may have been built up through past experiences, preconceived ideas, and generalized perspectives of what church should look like.

Fourth, art is important to me and to LifePoint. We have a high concentration of people who are extremely gifted and talented in many different artistic disciplines and hold a strong passion to use this talent to glorify God: classical artists, graphic artists, musical artists, decorators, sculptors, and craftsmen.

I love the song that we sing entitled “The Beauty of the Lord.” I love it NOT because I have a perfect visual image of God, but rather because everything about him is beautiful: his character, his creation, and all his work. I pray that we will be quick to praise the beauty of God, careful not to diminish it through our images or activities, and in all desire to obey his command to not worship him through any image other than the One he has given to us—Jesus Christ, the Living Word. He is the image of the invisible God (Col 1.15).

I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback…

—Pastor Lane

How to Avoid Being a Grinch

by Heather Myer

Plastic pine trees hit Sears early in August. Borders promoted the new Josh Groban holiday CD in September. Wal-Mart sold ornaments and holiday lights in October. Halloween had not fully been displayed before tree toppers made their grand appearance. Can Christmas really be considered seasonal when merchandising is promoted for 1/3 of the year? Does the hustle and bustle preceding December take away from the special feelings and fond memories tied to the 25th? The early sales of wreaths and jingle bells have made Scrooges out of many of us.

End of the year shopping can be a rather unpleasant experience. Cart fights, deep sighs, and angry glares are often arise from weary shoppers even before they enter Price-Cutter. Virtues such as patience and kindness are forgotten after lengthy quests for a parking spot at the Battlefield Mall. Does avoiding tackling wish lists until the day after Thanksgiving increase your enjoyment of Target? Do long lines while listening to endless renditions of Hanson, Chipmunks, and Mariah Carey singing carols sprinkle extra magic on sprees at Toys-R-Us?

Allow yourself to slow down and rest for a moment. Consider all that you are busily preparing. Santa is irrelevant. Iridescent plastic trees that change colors are needless. For now, stockings, bows, bells, mistletoe, and holly can remain unhung. Cider, cocoa, and eggnog are best unsipped. Leave the feasts unplanned. Let the toys and clothing remain unwrapped. For this moment, do not be concerned over things, sights, sounds, smells, or tastes. These are meaningless. Sweep all of these distractions under the tree skirt. They are unimportant. Instead, focus your mind on the birth of Christ. Christmas is in remembrance of our Lord, our Promise, our Redeemer, our King. Allow your heart to be renewed and your spirit refreshed in the freedom that we have as believers. We have the promise of eternal life through our Savior. It is in remembrance of his birth that we are preparing to rejoice with family and dear friends. In celebration of God’s greatest gift, perhaps we can be a bit kinder to strangers and show love for one another. Park at the back of the lot to allow the elderly a more convenient parking spot. Make eye contact with the Salvation Army bell ringer. Smile at a stranger and let them pass you in the aisle. Allow an anxious businessman to go before you in the checkout line. Hold a door open for a mother struggling with a cart full of children and bags. While decorations and holiday cards can wait, good will to others is something that should not be confined to the 31 days of December.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace, good will toward men!” —Luke 2:13–14

For the Men

I had the great privilege of eating lunch with my dad last week. I don’t use the term “privilege” loosely. I consider my father the greatest man in my life. He has influenced me in ways I will not fully grasp this side of heaven. So in this blog I honor a great man and hopeful give insight into being Godly men who lead our homes as Christ has called us to do.

1. Man of God
My father places God above all else in his life. I grew up seeing my dad in prayer. He prayed with us and for us. He prays about the smallest details in life and the greatest decisions to come. I’ve seen him pray for the lost, skip meals to pray, and thank God for blessings during some of the most difficult times. I’ve heard him say “in Your will” more times than I can count. He studies God’s Word openly in front of his family. He speaks often about God and his love for Christ. Most importantly He lives out his relationship with Christ everyday. The Gospel of Christ made alive in his life is clear for all to see. He has always shared that Gospel with those he comes into contact.

2. Man of his marriage
I’ve never questioned the love my dad has for my mom. They have been visibly in love with each other for more than 50 years. He shows a love that is far more deep than mere emotion. It is a passion based on knowledge of my mom’s most intimate needs. He understands a Godly commitment to her for life. He understands sacrifice and selflessness in marriage.

3. Man of his children
As a pastor my father has always lived under the incredible burden of leading a church. I never felt that I was less important than his ministry, as many of my PK friends felt. Being a pastor requires a huge amount of time and emotion, but my dad kept his priorities straight – God, marriage, children, and then all the rest. Even through the most hurtful circumstances, he carried the burdens without placing it on the family. He showed me that no matter how noble or Godly the job, it means nothing if your relationship with God and family suffers.

4. Man of strength, boldness and humility
In my father I see strength and boldness to stand for what is right. I’ve witnessed this over and over in my life. He is a man of integrity wrapped in humility. He is a humble servant, but by no means a push-over. He tells it like it is not out of pride, but from a deep resolve and confidence in what is good and right.

5. Man of kindness and wisdom
My father is a truly kind and gentle man, a man of great wisdom and discernment. People enjoy being around him. He treats people with respect and gives them time and attention. He cares about their lives. His wisdom is based on the ways of God and not selfish motivation or vain conceit.

6. Man of forgiveness
My dad both gives forgiveness and seeks forgiveness. From all the things listed above you might think my view of my father is one of perfection. He is a great man not a perfect man. One of his greatest attributes is to seek forgiveness when he has been wrong. I’ve seen tears in his eyes when he has asked me to forgive him for a misstep in parenting. I’ve seen him ask forgiveness from my mom. I’ve heard him pray for forgiveness from Christ. I’ve been taken by his hand and led to ask forgiveness from someone I’ve wronged. I’ve also seen him forgive others. People who have hurt him deeply, like the drunk driver who killed his only brother or close friends who betrayed him. He didn’t allow us to harbor angry feelings toward others. I’ve learned more from watching him forgive than probably anything else.

Thanks for allowing me to honor my father with this blog. These are just a few of the ways I’ve been shaped by his life. As I look forward to my own son’s birth next month, I realize the awesome responsibility of influence as a father. As men we have been given the task of leading and molding our home. We are not just positively influencing our child. We are answering a command to lead generations to come “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Thanks, Daddy!

—Pastor Dennis

A Dusty Bible Reveals a Dirty Life

by Heather Myer

Taking the back way from Grand and Glenstone through the streets of Springfield in attempts to reach South 65 allows one to drive past five churches. These churches each have message boards that share snip-its of wisdom to the masses in the manner of a fortune cookie. They are unavoidable. Trite sayings like “A DUSTY BIBLE REVEALS A DIRTY LIFE” can both convict slackers and encourage a good house cleaning. Cautions such as “BEWARE THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING” cause confusion. Is this a challenge to be financially thrifty or to avoid a lurid life of sin? “THE FIERY FURNACE OF HELL IS VERY HOT INDEED!” can make one wonder how exactly the author would be so familiar with the finer qualities of Hades. It can also inspire a trip to the sauna on a cold day. Clever play-on words such as, “SEVEN DAYS WITHOUT CHURCH MAKES ONE WEAK” actually make drivers recall early memories of elementary school lessons on homonyms and plurality. Rarely the messages can be encouraging, “THE BIBLE THAT IS FALLING APART IS OWNED BY A CHRISTIAN THAT ISN’T.” Or perhaps the owner accidentally left it the car on a hot summer’s day and the binding melted. Hrm…(guilty pause)…yes, Mum, this is the real reason why a new Bible is on my Christmas list.

Church message boards are often filled with irritating and impolite clichés. Rather than inspire readers to dive into the word, they can be left feeling annoyed and occasionally insulted. Give us scripture! A Proverb or a Psalm to think of on our way to work. Perhaps a prayer request to lift up as we drive past. Even a community event for the public is a nice touch. At least post the service times so by-passers will know when worship occurs. If believers find these messages irksome, how much more annoyed would unbelievers find them? Would the lost really be tempted to attend a church after reading an insulting message? After all, another infamous cliché states, “IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, DON’T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.”

Read what Pastor Dennis has to say about church signs.

Daughters of Eve

by Heather Myer

The most innate and basic desire for love dates back to the very dawn of time. It is the result of original sin. Sons of Adam are cursed to toil the soil and have physical difficulty due to the unyielding earth and to return, as dust to the ground. Daughters of Eve are cursed emotionally, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Gen. 3:16). Are all Daughters of Eve are affected by this curse? Single women do not have husbands dominant over them. We do not have husbands to physically desire. And pain in childbirth? What child? At first glance, this seems to be a married woman’s curse.

Being a bride is a game little girls play at a very young age. They drape sheer white curtains over their hair, wear their mother’s high heels, and walk down an imaginary aisle. As adults, ladies flip through bridal catalogs and window shop at David’s Bridal and the Secret Garden. Single women yearn for love. Most are haunted by missed opportunities or jaded by past hurts. We long for the blessings of marriage: to be a wife, a lover, and a mother. Eve’s curse was to desire after her husband. Does this refer to only a carnal, physical desire? Or can it mean something more?

With Eve’s sample of the forbidden fruit, God cursed her with a longing for completion. Daughters of Eve are to desire Sons of Adam, despite the fact that they are fated to return to dust. Genesis 2:18 says that it is not good for man to be alone. God ensured that Eve would want to complete and accompany Adam despite the finality and hardships of his life. She possessed knowledge of his fate and the pain that an imperfect relationship could cause. Yet, God made Daughters of Eve desire Sons of Adam with full knowledge of their labor, hardships, and mortality. As single women, we are fated to long for what do not have: completion. Rather than being based in Lucifer’s lies, this basic desire of the heart originates with Lady Eve‘s first taste of the Tree of Life and results in a curse made especially for us.

Next Page »