Great article for pastors.

“So there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1 NLT

There is no condemnation for those who are in right relationship with Jesus Christ.  Condemnation says that you are damned and under the wrath of God.  If you are in Christ this is not your reality.  A lot of people struggle with walking through failures as they follow Jesus.  I have personally walked through personal battles with condemnation as a Christian and as a pastor I have witnessed many others walk through the same struggle.  I would fail in one area or another and sometimes even go through times of depression as a result of it.  By the grace of God I can make my boast in Jesus and say that I no longer struggle with condemnation. I would like to share with you how Jesus set me free and I hope that those who might be struggling with condemnation will share my freedom in Christ as well.

One of the most important lessons that I learned by studying the scriptures and by the leading of the Holy Spirit, was to recognize the difference between condemnation and conviction.  Since I have already defined condemnation, let’s turn our attention to conviction.  Conviction is from God.  Conviction is when God reveals to us our sin.  When we miss the mark the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our lives.  When we hear a message that reveals an area in our lives that does not line up with God’s word we experience conviction as result.  Again, conviction is a work of God’s Spirit not man’s efforts.  When conviction comes the truth is revealed in order to push us toward Jesus.  Condemnation promotes hopelessness but conviction says that there is a way out.  Even when a disciple of Jesus sins they are not cast out of God’s family.  Just like a loving parent, God brings His correction to our lives in order to keep us on the path that leads to life.  

If you find yourself in a place of failure as a believer do not fall into condemnation.  Just know that God has not cast you out of His family.  There may be consequences that you have to walk through but there is also forgiveness.  Learn to embrace the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  He love you and desires the best for you.  Remember that God’s correction is proof positive that we are His children.   

Impact30.87 update from Pastor Earon

Time for a dance break…enjoy!

As a youth pastor I have noticed a disturbing trend.  In our rush to have successful youth ministries we sometimes end up teaching young people how to modify their behavior instead of living out true freedom.  With good intentions we push the Christian disciplines of bible reading, prayer, fasting, worship, purity, etc.  These disciplines are good and we should continue to encourage our young people to have healthy devotional lives.  The problem occurs when these disciplines are separated from the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  If we are not careful, these disciplines can become a system of works that takes us from grace into dead religion.  We have to stress that we are in right standing with God based on our faith in Jesus Christ.  We cannot become any more righteous that the first moment we put our faith in Jesus.  Bible reading is extremely crucial to spiritual growth and development, but bible reading cannot make us right with God.  Prayer brings us closer to the Lord as we commit ourselves to it, but prayer did not cover the multitude of our sins.  

Our salvation is in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We don’t have to work for righteousness because Jesus has already made a way.  Our messages must be rooted in who Jesus is and what He has done.  If not, we will have a bunch of young people trained to look spiritual instead of truly being spiritual.  They may be abstaining from things in public while indulging in private.  Jesus did not come to modify our behavior, he came to give us a new nature all together!  The only way to be free is to learn to live from the new nature and identity that God has brought us into.  Peter said that we have been given promises from God that enable us to share in His divine nature.  Remember, our good works should be the result of salvation not the price we pay to earn it.  I believe the first step to true freedom is faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.  He defeated sin, death, the world, and the devil.  We who trust Him get to share in that victory on a daily basis.  Our value and worth do not come from robust devotional activities, our value and worth are in found in Christ and Christ alone.  Please take some time to read Romans chapter three for more understanding.

I have a few moments to reflect on my current series as I sit here at my barber shop. I will make the most of the time as my barber finishes his sub sandwich.

Last week I began a new series of messages that are aimed at equipping us to be successful as we follow Jesus. When you take a look at the word disciple it carries the idea of being a student. Simply put, Jesus is the Teacher and we are to be His students. We have to learn His ways which means we have to unlearn all of our old ways. We fail when we attempt to follow Christ based on our own ideas and terms.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus extends to us an invitation to come and learn from Him. This is where our lives end and begin at the same time. Over the course of this year we will be exploring what it means to be a student of Jesus and living out that reality by God’s grace. In the meantime, take some time to evaluate whether or not Jesus is really your teacher.

Michael Ketterer - Solar System Dubstep Remix

Tis the season to be shopping!  I have found myself inundated with television ads and emails from various retailers who all want me to come to their stores or visit their websites so that I can spend lots of cash or pile up credit card debt in order to obtain these “must haves” for myself and my family.  The underlying message is that once I have these new items in my possession all of my issues will fade away as I wallow in wonderful materialistic bliss.  Who cares about the problems of the world when you could just pop in a Blu-Ray disc into that new player which is connected to the 50 inch LCD television and let the latest in 1080p resolution numb your aching mind to the pain and suffering we witness on a daily basis.  For the sake of complete disclosure let me confess that I do have a Blu-Ray disc player, although my LCD television is not quite 50 inches (sometimes I wish it was).  

My point is that even though these items are not inherently evil, they can become addictive idols that ensnare us while there is a real life and world to tend to.  When we stop to reflect on the wonderful gifts that God has given us through Jesus Christ, our minds are shaped to the proper perspective of God’s kingdom.  In the fifth chapter of Romans there are five gifts that I would like to highlight that we have received through Jesus.  I pray that as you read about these gifts God would cause gratitude and generosity to rise in your heart breaking any ungratefulness or materialism that may be lurking.  Here we go:

1.  Forgiveness.  Because of Jesus our sins are forgiven.  We don’t have to live in guilt and shame because Jesus bore the penalty of our rebellion.  Through Jesus we have obtained mercy which means that we don’t get what we do deserve.
2. Righteousness.  We not only get to enjoy the release from guilt and shame through forgiveness, but we also have been elevated with Jesus to a place of righteousness.  We live in a place of honor in the kingdom of God.  The bible teaches us that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.  God has written us into His will and we have an inheritance that will not fade away.  What a gift!
3. Victory.  Do you remember the agonizing experience of having to wait until Christmas morning to open your gifts?  Talk about an exercise in patience!  Here is some good news:  You and I can live in victory over sin and death right now.  We do not have to wait for heaven in order to taste of the victory that Jesus won on the cross and in His resurrection.  There is more to come but I am convinced that we do not fully partake of the wonderful blessings that Jesus has made available on this side of heaven.  We get to share in His victory everyday. Excited yet?  It gets better…
4. New Life.  There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God.  As we are all undeserving recipients of the grace of God, we all share the same favor in salvation.  No other believer can look at another and reason that they somehow merit salvation more.  Our works are useless in obtaining salvation and the old way of living is obsolete in the kingdom go God.  Our past sins are washed away, we have grace and mercy for today, and hope as we look to tomorrow.  Do you feel like singing?  I do.
5. Eternal Life.  This is something that blows my mind.  My intellect is unable to grasp the implications of eternal life.  This is due in part to the fact that I have no choice but to view everything in terms of time and space.  My understanding is so limited so terms like eternal life leave me at a loss for words.  We will be with our God face to face for ever and ever.  No more more pain, suffering, tears, or frustration only the fullness of salvation.  

Santa, I don’t know any other way to say this so I am going to just say it:  Compared to Jesus you are completely out of your league.  I hear that they are hiring at Wal-Mart…

Have you see this guy before?

2011 was a year like no other for Impact30.87 Youth Ministry!  We were able to devote this year to teaching our young people sound biblical teaching on salvation, evangelism, biblical sexuality, relational purity, and living in victory over sin, the world, and the devil.  We initiated our first summer intern program this year which was an intense time of training, serving, and fun!  We had several young young people go on missions trips this year from Central America to Africa with some going for the very first time.  We have witnessed our young people answer the call to be bold in their faith which has resulted in other young people being saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and brought into discipleship.  

The Impact30.87 Leadership Team has grown and includes some of the most faithful and dynamic leaders that my wife and I have ever had the pleasure to serve in the kingdom of God with.  The leaders have laid down their lives and to say that they have been instrumental in the success of our youth ministry this year would be a huge understatement!  

As we look forward to next year we know that God has so much more in store for us.  Our plans for 2012 include Impact C-4 Weekends, expanding our discipleship and cell group ministry, missions trips, and equipping our young people even more to fulfill the Great Commission while having some serious FUN!.  

Thank you for your prayers and support.  It is our pleasure to serve this generation and my wife and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This past Sunday night during our Sunday evening meeting at Jubilee, I began a three week series centered around obeying the Great Commission.  If you happen to be unfamiliar with the Great Commission, it is one of the last commands that Jesus gave to His followers.  Jesus gave orders to make disciples of all nations, baptize, and teach the very same things that He taught.  This is the primary mission of the Church in the earth.  

There is one huge problem though.  We do not live as though it is our primary mission and a standing order from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  We have relegated soul winning and disciple making to the “evangelist types” who are daring enough to share their faith in public.  It seems as though a lot of Christians are comfortable that they are saved and on their way to heaven while conservative estimates state that there are at least 4.5 billion (that’s billion with a “B”) people in the world who do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord.  

In my message last night and in the next couple of weeks, we will take a journey through the scriptures in order to see that Jesus just didn’t die for us to be cleansed from sin.  He lives as a shining example for us to follow having defeated all of our enemies for us.  The world?  Jesus overcame it.  Sin?  Jesus lived a sinless life, shed His sinless blood to cleanse us from the filth of sin, and took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved.  Satan?  He disarmed every demonic power and principality.

So, why is it we cannot obey Him?

You see, He not only removed our sin, guilt, and shame; He also removed all of our excuses.  There is no acceptable excuse as why we are not living to preach the wonderful message about Jesus, make disciples, and serve this world with the love of God.  This is not to condemn but to motivate and encourage.  There are so many broken people and needs around us and we have the answer:  JESUS!  

As we go into the Christmas holidays what would be a better way to show gratitude to Jesus than living as He lived, serving as He served, and loving as He loved? 

Lessons we can learn from the Penn State scandal.

We so desperately need Christ-like, biblical accountability in our lives.  Here is an entry from a devotional called “Wisdom Hunters” that really drives this point home.

Pastor Earon James at 2011 Gulf Coast Jubilee Conference