Sunday evening.

Princeton Baptist has not had an evening service for some time. So the question of what do to with oneself on a Sunday evening has to be addressed.

We have decided that we would use the time to have the church people over for supper. We have one or two families over, depending upon the size of the families, and my wife tries to invite an older and a younger couple for the same evening if possible. This is giving us opportunities to become better acquainted, and perhaps, make this possible for our guests.

At this point we are just getting acquainted, discussing the backgrounds of each of us, local history, jobs and family. With some spiritual conversation seems to flow much easier than with others, and sometimes not along lines that we might expect.

We consider this as part of the our Christian walk. While hospitality is much larger than having people over for dinner, having dinner guests is at least a part of this concept. The elder is to be a person demonstrating this service: ESV 1Ti 3:2 “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” However, I must give a great deal of credit and thanks to my wife, for without her help I could not do this.

However, this trait is not to be reserved for the 'clergy'. Read the following verses: Acts 28:7; Rom. 12:13; 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9.

May we also be an example of hospitality, for the glory of God.

One last closing point. Hospitality, in the sense of ministering, it not to be limited to our friends. Have someone over for an evening whom you do not know well. Make plans to minister the grace and love of our Lord.

The memory verses for our church: why are they so difficult this time or what goes through a pastor's mind – if anything?

In June, as a church, we started learning some Bible verses. Our first set was 1 Cor. 1:28-31. There was a good response both regarding how many learned the verses plus comments and discussions keep cropping up regarding application of these truths. Our set for July and August is Heb. 10:22-25. Members have been a little slower this time, at least in their public response. Why?

While acknowledging that I may have overlooked keys factors, here is a list of several factors that I have considered. (This is the part where you wonder what is going through the pastor's mind, if he has one!) I have not polled anyone in an attempt to verify any of these.

Maybe people are busier, with vacations and company. This might not only contribute to busyness but also to a break in one's daily routine. For some of us, a break from the regularity of our daily schedule is not healthy for a memorization plan.

A second factor might be the lack of novelty. The first set was The First Set. Now that that experience has passed and we have enjoyed it, we are not so excited about the second and third repetition.

And, a third factor might be this issue of self discipline. We might jump on the memory-verse-bandwagon for the thrill of trying something new, and maybe because we do have some conviction that this is something that we ought to do. Yet the discipline of incorporating some new habit into our life is not easy. Work is require, and sometimes, even for a good cause, we will not put out effort nor will we 'force' ourselves to adhere to a new schedule.

A forth issue might be the difference in the emphasis of the passages. The Corinthians passage was a delightful theological passage emphasizing the work of God in our salvation. The Hebrews passage is one that places a strong emphasis upon our responsibility to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling'. This passage contains three 'Let us' statements.

The third of these 'let us' statements direct our attention not to the relationship between ourselves and God but towards our fellow believers. 'Consider how to stimulate one another'. This concept may be uncomfortable, and might grow more so as the implications of this statement imposes itself upon us. Even in our small church there are a lot of people with whom we are not close. Are we to consider how to stimulate these people as well? Even to think about this might move us out of our comfort zone.

A fifth factor might be the things I have not thought to mention. (You probably by now see a realistic glimpse into a pastor's mind. We do, or at least, I do, have some inclination to think of what might be going wrong, is it pessimism or a desire for excellence – for perfection?)

Since I have begun writing this - I usually spend a couple of days off and on polishing it up; however, this one has taken longer as I changed its theme a couple of times - I have heard a couple of comments.

One person said: “I like these verses better than the 1 Corinthian ones.”

Another said: “I just don't want to get up in public and say them.” “And,” she added, “I'm really thinking about how to put them into practice in my life!”

The benefits and blessings of knowing and practicing God's word are great, so we will continue, whether I hear a lot of positive feed back or not. We are doing this for the glory of God and not for the pastor's satisfaction. (And maybe the pastor needs to relax, to not think of all of the reasons why not, to be faithful in the Word and to allow God to bring forth fruit in its season.)

“I know a brother is praying”, or, what is true spirituality?

I was talking with a 'brother' the other day. It is said of this brother that he can tell, that is, he knows, when a 'brother' is praying for him. The details of how this is known were not disclosed.

This is not, of course, the complete conversation. However, as I have pondered our talk I have had an increasing concern regarding the soundness of this brother. There is a mystical aspect to his claim to spirituality which has little or nothing to do with what is revealed in God's Word.

I remember, as a much younger man, thinking that I was spiritual because God had answered a couple of specific prayer requests. God graciously answered prayer, however, I was not mature in the Lord

There are two aspects of this issue. First, what convinces me (or the whole church) that another is spiritual? Is it working miracles? Casting out demons? Special gifts? Or is it a steadfast life of faithfulness to God and his Word? The second is the issue of what one would present to others regarding one's own spiritual status. Jesus spoke these words. (^ESV Joh 10:37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; ³⁸ but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.")

Perhaps we would do well to follow Christ's instruction: ^ESV Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Dropping hints regarding how spiritual we are might back-fire, and may tip people off that we don't know what we are talking about.