Mom the Evangelist

Monica, mother of Augustine, prayed for years that her brilliant but undisciplined son would be saved. When she sought the counsel of her priest, he listened as she poured out her heart of love and her intercession for this prodigal. At the conclusion, the priest said, "Go on! Leave me alone. Live as you are living. It is not possible that the son of such tears should be lost."


You know the Augustine story. Monica prayed that he would not go to Rome which was then such a wicked place. But he slipped away and went anyway. Monica never forgot ceased praying for her son. And Augustine came to Christ there.

Mothers are more than care givers, they are evangelists! The home is a little church within the larger church. Every father here is the shepherd of his home. Every mother is an evangelist of her children. Some might say a mother’s work is insignificant. That could not be farther from the truth. A mother has the most important work in the world. She is the child’s greatest evangelist. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

Many people have been radically transformed by what they learned at their mother’s knee. Consider John and Charles Wesley. Their names would probably never have lighted the pages of history if it hadn’t been for their godly mother who taught them that the law of love and Christian witness was to be their daily guide.

Susannah Wesley, who gave birth to 19 children, spent one hour each day praying for them. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters with him or her. No wonder John and Charles were used of God to bring blessing around the world.

Fathers, we need to make sure our wives, the mothers of our children, are growing in Christ. We need to help them in their job. They are tools to transform the lives of Christ’s youngest disciples.

Call to Worship: Clay Pots

The following is our call to worship for Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Paul said, “I am what I am by the grace of God” (1 Cor 15:10). The Bible says that we are all clay pots that hold a very precious substance. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). What is special about us is not us. We are just clay pots—earthen vessels. We are special because we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

It has been said that the Roman Empire ran on olive oil. It was used in cooking, bathing, medicine, ceremonies, lamps, and cosmetics. For decades, olive oil from southern Spain was shipped to Rome in large clay jugs. Those jugs, not worth sending back, were discarded in a growing heap of broken shards known as Monte Testaccio. The fragments of an estimated 25 million clay pots created that man-made hill, which stands today on the bank of the Tiber River in Rome. In the ancient world, the value of those pots was not their beauty but their contents.

Because of this, the first-century followers of Christ would have clearly understood Paul’s illustration of the life of Jesus in every believer. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7).

Our bodies, like those clay pots, are temporary, fragile, and expendable. In our modern world that highly values outward beauty; we would be wise to remember that our greatest treasure is the life of Jesus within us. By God’s grace and power, may we live so that others can see Christ in us.

We are just the clay pots. Jesus is the true treasure within us.[1]

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[1] Portions of this devotional are from David C. McCasland

Call to Worship: Robes of Righteousness

The following is our call to worship on Sunday, April 11, 2010. Sometimes we put a lot of emphasis on what we wear to church. But more important than your physical clothes are your spiritual clothes. We gather to worship Christ in our Robes of Righteousness.

We read in Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

If you are saved, you are the Bride of Christ. You are robed in His righteousness! God says to all those who come to Christ in faith, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet” (Luke 15:22). Paul says that we are to “put…on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14).

Let us worship together with our white robes saints of God. There’s coming a day John says when all saints will all be gathered together in heaven. He says, “I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes” (Revelation 7:9).

We are clean today because of Jesus blood. We have His righteousness. We are holy because He is holy. Let us worship and adore Him who has cleansed our hearts and souls today.

Call to Worship: A Mirror to Magnify Jesus

The following is our call to worship for Sunday, March 21, 2010.

The apostle Paul had one driving ambition. He spelled it out in his letter to the Philippians: “…Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21)

No matter what impossible situations Paul was subject to, he was determined that his life would be a mirror to magnify Jesus. He wanted to introduce the world to the risen Christ who lived in Him. We are gathered together today as mirrors to reflect the grace of Jesus.

You might not be able to see how Jesus could be magnified in your body.

o Our hands can magnify the Lord as we write letters of encouragement.

o Our feet can magnify Him as we go on simple errands of helpfulness.

o Our voices can magnify Him as we give our testimony and sing His praises.

o Our hearts can magnify Him as we express in prayer our love for the redeeming Christ.

o Our ears can magnify Him as we gratefully listen to sermons exalting His grace.

Let us magnify the Lord today with our whole heart, mind, soul, body, and all our strength.

"Things Done in Secret"

Our choir will be singing one of my favorite songs:

"Things Done in Secret"



1. He will not soon forget your work of faith;
And labor of love that’s done for His sake.
A cold cup of water that’s giv’n in his name,
One day from the house-tops the Lord will proclaim.

Chorus:
Things done in secret shall be made known.
When with the saints we will bow at His throne.
The books shall be opened, Your name He will call.
And things done in secret shall be made known to all.

2. Many slothful shall stand ashamed that day
When all of their talents are taken away.
But, oh, what rejoicing the righteous shall know,
When Christ shall return their rewards to bestow.

Chorus:
Things done in secret shall be made known.
When with the saints we will bow at His throne.
The books shall be opened, Your name He will call.
And things done in secret shall be made known to all.

3. Tho’ you serve in the shadows, Be faithful still,
Your steadfast devotion to follow His will
Shall not be forgotten, It’s all written down;
And one day your cross He’ll replace with a crown.

Chorus:
Things done in secret shall be made known.
When with the saints we will bow at His throne.
The books shall be opened, Your name He will call.
And things done in secret shall be made known to all.