Jeff Vandersteldt on Leading People on Mission

Practical Ways To Be Pro-Life: Part One--Adopt!

Practical Ways To Be Pro-Life: Part One--Adopt!
by Dennae Pierre


This past Sunday was “Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday. Every year, churches across the country, dedicate a Sunday service to look at the issues related to abortion.  I had the opportunity yesterday to speak about practical ways to be pro-life. The following three blog posts will sum up my main ideas of how we, the church, can be involved in the pro-life movement.

    The most practical way to be pro-life is to care for those in our society who are the most oppressed and vulnerable. In my opinion, orphan care is the single most practical way to support the pro-life movement. It is unfortunate that pro-life Christians are able to passionately speak about life of the unborn, but once that unwanted child enters the world, the voice gets much quieter.

    Not too long ago, I sat across the table at a McDonalds speaking to an overwhelmed mother while our children played. She was noticeably pregnant and I knew that she had been very overwhelmed the past year after the birth of her second child. When I asked about how she was feeling about having her third baby, she confessed in tears that she was trying to raise the money necessary to go to California to have an abortion (she had already passed her time frame to be able to have a legal abortion in Arizona). I was also quite concerned about her ability to parent a third child and began to speak to her about adoption. She informed me that when she was six months pregnant with her second child, she began working with an adoption agency to try to find a loving family to place her child. Months went by, the baby came, and there was no family that was interested in adopting her baby. Once she gave birth, there was no way she would place her child in foster care, knowing that there was no guarantee her child would ever find a home or adoptive family.

   We could discuss the myriad of social, racial, and economic dynamics or the lack of prevention and education that may have led to that woman to get pregnant again, but the fact remained that she was pregnant and could not find a family to adopt her child.  Unfortunately, pro-life literature often gives the poor representation that there are thousands of couples waiting to adopt children and uses this as an answer to abortion. The truth is, there are thousands of couples waiting to adopt Caucasian children, mostly girls, and are unwilling to even look at a child if the family medical or mental health background has some red flags. Single black moms have a much harder time finding a family to adopt.

   Each of us should spend time in fervent prayer with our spouse asking God to show us how we are to participate in caring for orphans. If you read the famous “care for the orphan and widow..” (James 1:27) passage in context, you will see that caring for the orphan is very tightly connected to being a doer of God’s word.  It is not a command to those few within the church who feel “called” to adoption, but is a directive to the people of God. James says, don’t just listen to God’s word and stay unchanged. Listen! And then let God’s word transform and change you. Bridal your tongue. Care for the orphan. Care for the widow. Keep yourself from the world’s lusts. “Caring for the orphan…” applies to you just as much as “bridling your tongue.”

    What if, at Roosevelt Community Church, instead of asking God to open the door and drop a baby in our lap if we’re “meant” to adopt, we begin to beg God for the privilege to participate in the beautiful gospel re-enactment that happens in adoption? What if we ask the Lord to shut doors if we aren’t to adopt? Instead of spending the next several years of our life cowering in fear about all the potential issues that could happen if we adopt a child, let us repent of our fear! Ask God to give us a bigger understanding of his perfect love that drives out all fear.

   I say all of this out of a passionate plea for you to prayerfully consider adoption, but I also want to make sure I express that Roosevelt is not legalistic when it comes to adoption and the last thing I am trying to do is guilt trip anyone. Christians who adopt are not more righteous then Christians who don’t (and if we think we are-may we repent of our self-righteousness!!). So, regardless of your desire or ability to adopt, support orphan care. You can care for orphans in countless ways, just please be intentional about it!

Serve and care for families who adopt. Give sacrificially so someone can adopt. Find ways to at least be involved at some basic level in the life of a child who is an orphan spiritually. This could happen through involvement in grant/ harmon park, your child’s school, your neighborhood. You can volunteer to mentor a child in foster care. There are countless ways. Don’t stay static on this issue, but seek the Lord in how you are to be involved in some way, in caring for the orphan.

Practical Ways To Be Pro-Life: Part Two-- Speak! (Intelligently and Pastorally) 

Backpack Radio: Oneness Theology and the Trinity [01/16/11]

Oneness Theology and the Trinity [01/16/11]

Backpack Radio is a weekly program featuring the pastoral staff of Roosevelt Community Church. The focus of BPR is street-level apologetics for the 21st Century. We also hit on doctrinal issues, too.

Oneness Theology is sometimes called Oneness Pentecostalism. Prominent examples of Oneness Pentecostals include TD Jakes, Tommy Tenney, and even cult leader Arnold Murray. Big denominations include the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) and many of the Apostolic branches. Adherents claim that their non-trinitarian view of God is biblical and simpler - but is this the case? These are some of the issues we explore in this program, where we even interact with some clips from a Oneness Pentecostal pastor from New Mexico.

URL LINK: http://backpack.podbean.com/2011/01/17/oneness-theology-and-the-trinity-011611/

TO DOWNLOAD: http://backpack.podbean.com/mf/web/hbak92/1-16-2011-BPR.mp3

Bible Reading Plans for 2011

Best Bible Reading Plans for 2011

There are many Bible reading plans to choose from for the new year, but perhaps the best place to start for the most options is the ESV reading plan. They offer multiple reading plans and methods of subscribing, such as RSS feeds, iCal schedules, daily emails, mobile access, and printable plans. The ESV site also allows you to listen to the audio as well. The ESV Bible Podcasts are probably some of the best daily audio plans for reading through the Bible in a year.

Check out the ESV Bible reading plan here. 

There's also a selection of plans available at: http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all
Happy New Year!

NOTE: this is a re-post from my homie Brian Auten over @Apologetics315

Thoughts After the Sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan for Eternity to Come” Romans 8:18-30

Thoughts After the Sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan for Eternity to Come” Romans 8:18-30

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

Some reminders and further thoughts from last Sunday’s sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan for Eternity to Come” Romans 8:18-30:

1. All creation is looking forward to and depending on the adoption of Christian believers as sons of God. All the renewing glory that our world is meant to experience will come in the wake of God fully completing his plan to adopt us into his family.

2. The Holy Spirit will help us along the way to that final reality. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to encourage, motivate, remind, and even pray for us as we travel towards eternity. Prayer is an especially important way the Spirit helps us, since prayer helps us to address and overcome the anxieties of life we must face before we reach the end of our journey (Philippians 4:6-7).

3. God himself serves as the guarantee that we will reach the end of the journey and live forever with our Father God in a renewed cosmos. God choose us for himself since the beginning of time, intending to adopt us and make us like Jesus. This is God’s plan. He has ensured this plan and he will most certainly complete his plan.

Thoughts After the Sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan from Eternity Past” Ephesians 1:3-6

Thoughts After the Sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan from Eternity Past” Ephesians 1:3-6

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

Some reminders and further thoughts from last Sunday’s sermon, “God’s Adoption Plan from Eternity Past” (Ephesians 1:3-6):

1. God chose you to be his son. Always guard your heart against apathy or indifference about that statement. Before there was anything, before there was even time, God set his heart and mind on the believer, determining to graciously love us to the point of death and sacrifice. He was willing to risk the perfection within himself so that we might join him in his perfection.

2. God loved us in spite of ourselves. You could say that God had the file on us beforehand. He knew how naturally disobedient and destructive we were. He knew how totally opposite were from him, preferring selfishness, ugliness, greed, and lust instead of his grace, beauty, righteousness and love. God knew all of this – and still he decided to adopt us.

3. Being in Christ means that believers have a fundamentally new identity. “In Christ” is our last name now, and will be our last name forever. This identity gives meaning and purpose to every experience of life. Those who have “weak” identities in our city (like for example the poor, the immigrant, the orphan, the single parent) have an identity that will never perish or fade, an identity imbued with all the forever blessings that are possible in this universe.

4. Being adopted by God means we now act like our God and our new Father. God choose us for himself so that we might be like him, “holy and blameless.” Certainly one example of how God acts is in how he  loved us with a gracious, predestinating love. In what ways are you choosing to graciously love people, whoever they are, or even in spite of who they are?

5. From Henry Alford, “The end, God’s end, in our predestination to adoption, is, that the glory,—glorious nature, brightness and majesty, and kindliness and beauty,—of His grace might be an object of men and angels’ praise: both as it is in Him, ineffable and infinite,—and exemplified in us, its objects.”

Thoughts After the Sermon, "What Do You Really Want?" Exodus 20:17

Thoughts After the Sermon, “What Do You Really Want?” Exodus 20:17

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

Some reminders and further thoughts from last Sunday’s sermon, “What Do You Really Want?” (Exodus 20:17):

1. Desires are normal. Desires are good. The problem comes when normal good desires become obsessive desperate craving desires. These are the kind of desires that enslave us. They lead us to spending lots of time desperately trying to attain things, people, status . And the sad truth is that what we are seeking after is not really worth seeking after in the first place! We go after things that aren’t worth what we think they are worth. And even when we attain them, we soon find ourselves with new yearnings for something more and better than what we just attained.

2. God ransoms us from the slavery of our desires through Jesus Christ. And now in Christ, we are given new and better desires. Desires for things that will last forever! We stop running the race of this world, filled with cheap pathetic prizes, and instead run the race of the kingdom of heaven, where the prizes are things like an unfading crown of glory, a powerful glorious imperishable body, and a home forever with God.

3.Desiring  after God’s eternal kingdom gives the motivation to want the best for other people. We now see each relationship as potentially being an eternal relationship through Jesus Christ. So we won’t covet what our neighbor has but rather desire God’s eternal best for our neighbor.

4. Desiring after God’s kingdom serves as the constant reminder we need to be content with what we have right now. See for example 1 Timothy 6:10-12 and Hebrews 13:5-6. Grabbing hold of and cherishing the eternal life we will have and indeed already have with God through Christ is what will help us be content during the short human life we are living right now, no matter if we have a lot or a little during that life.

5. As always, it’s ultimately all about having Jesus. In a real sense, what we must do is appreciate that we have all we need already in Jesus. What we need to do is continue holding on to him and see how he meets every need, want, and desire that should come as time goes on if we keep holding on to him. The Psalmist puts it well for us, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God [i.e. our Lord Jesus] is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)

6. From D.A. Carson’s devotional book, For the Love of God:

“Christians make their evaluations in the light of eternity. ‘The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever’ (1 John 2:17). Pity the person whose self-identity and hope rest on transient things. Ten billion years into eternity, it will seem a little daft to puff yourself up over the car you now drive, the amount of money or education you have received, the number of books you owned, the number of times you had your name in the headlines. Whether or not you have won an Academy Award will then prove less important than whether or not you have been true to your spouse. Whether or not you were a basketball star will be less significant than how much of your wealth you generously gave away. The one “who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

Thoughts After the Sermon, “Respecting Human Life” (Exodus 20:13)

Thoughts After the Sermon, “Respecting Human Life” Exodus 20:13

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

Some reminders and further thoughts from last Sunday’s sermon, “Respecting Human Life” (Exodus 20:13):

1. Human beings are made in the image of God. This is the essential point to understand and embrace. If you see that we are people made to uniquely represent God – to be like a high definition photograph of God – then that will begin to significantly influence how you think about and treat other people. It will make you someone who will want to stand for and defend the sanctity of life.

2. “While were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom 5:10). That means that while you and I were busy being murderers – murdering people but through hateful or angry thoughts or words or attitudes – God moved towards us through Jesus Christ. He gave him Son to rescue us murderers from a judgment we deserved and adopted us into a family we did not deserve. Wow! Thank you God for your grace and love!

Understanding YOUR adoption shapes your child’s understanding of THEIR adoption, part 3

All Things New

Last week we talked about where you came from and who you were before your adoption in Christ.  It wasn’t a pretty picture.  Now let’s look at who you are in your new adopted family. (Please take some time to look up and read these passages in their context)

1.  Because of adoption, you were given a new life

Ezekiel 11: 19-20:  “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God”

Ephesians 2:  “And you WERE dead…BUT GOD…made us alive together in Christ…”

You were dead, but God made you alive.  He gave you a new life at great personal cost to himself. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, you are no longer a child of the enemy.  You are now a child of God.  You are no longer enslaved to death.  You are now alive. When you hear the word “adoption” your first thought should be: life.

2.      Because of adoption, you were given a new identity

Galatians 4: “…you WERE enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.” but we were redeemed “…so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts crying, “Abba! Father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

There are many other places in the NT that talk about how we are “no longer” slaves (Hebrews 2, Romans 6 & 8, Galatians 5) instead we are seen as sons and daughters of God! We were dirty, worthless, and had nothing to offer. We were not desirable.  Yet God adopted us and because of our adoption we now share in the inheritance of Christ! We are clothed in righteousness instead of sin.  We are beloved children instead of rebellious enemies. Our identity is now: Christ.  

3.      Because of adoption, you were given a new purpose

     
  Read 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21. The most quoted/known part of this passage is verse 17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation the old has passed away; behold the new has come.”  Take some time to read the context of this passage. We are told that because we are a new creation we are now given the ministry of reconciliation.  How beautiful! We are adopted into a family that has a purpose, a reason for existing. We were not just pardoned for our sin, but we were assigned the same purpose that God himself has for creation! We get to participate in his plan to redeem people to himself from every tribe, tongue, and nation.  This is only because of adoption. We could have been justified and sanctified without then being adopted by God, but because of adoption, we now share in Christ’s inheritance and purpose. Because we are sons and daughters of God we are duty bound to fulfill the ministry we have been called to.

How should our understanding of these truths influence the way we speak and think about us adopting children?

There are dozens of parallels, but a few stand out to me:

1.          You got a new name, so should they.  Despite what the world and psychologist may say, there is nothing wrong with it and name changing is a biblical concept.  You have a new name because you are now a new creation, so do not feel guilty about renaming your child.  There is something significant and meaningful about picking your child’s name. Since the beginning of time (Adam, Abraham,Isaac, Israel, etc) being assigned a name was important. You do not HAVE to give a new first name (We didn’t with Mya, but did with Marcel), but then at least assign a very meaningful middle name.  It is a powerful way to relate to your child since you both have new identities and new names, all because you were both adopted.  Marcel Vermon Pierre. Mya Hope Pierre. Judah Justice Pierre. I love to talk with Marcel and Mya (and someday Judah) about why we picked those names and how excited I am to also have a new name because of what Christ did for me!

2.       You should never fear that you are not equipped to help your child work through whatever comes up as a result of their past.  IF you understand who you were before Christ and who you are now that God has adopted you into his family THROUGH Christ, then EVERYTHING your child goes through you can personally relate to.  Every time Marcel speaks to me about his hurt or pain, his eyes light up when I share a story that mirrors his—only I speak of it through a spiritual lens. Your child was abused physically by a biological parent? You were abused spiritually by the devil. Your child was treated like dirt? You were a slave to dirt. Your child has uncommon fear?  You were owned by fear. Your child worries about being unlovable. You were unlovable. 
    My children have yet to share something with me that I could not relate to. Empathizing with their pain has been healing for my children and has knit us into a family. Our conversations always end with Marcel saying how thankful he is for having such a good God who loves him. 
 

3.         Too often I hear of women, unable to have children, desperate to be a mother, longing to begin the adoption process, yet their husbands refuse to adopt.  These men claim to be Christian, yet are unable to see a child they adopt as their own child.  Mother’s Day comes and goes each year and they allow their wives to remain barren, while God has given them a beautiful means to bear children through adoption. 
    Of course there is still great pain, loss, and heartache to work through when women cannot conceive, but that pain is different then the pain of being childless for life. That is a pain that is much deeper and greater. A pain no woman should have to go through for life against her will. It also does not compare to the pain of children being parentless. Also a pain that no child should have to face, but many do because too many Christians do not adopt.
    A husband who is struggling to joyfully pursue adoption when his wife desperately wants to be a mother should seek council from a pastor and ask the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to this gospel truth. Their minds need to be transformed and renewed by God’s word in relation to this truth.

I am convinced that Christians do not adopt because they do not understand their adoption biblically.  And to not understand the theology of adoption is to miss the heart of the gospel.  I pray that our churches would be full of men and women who come before God full of awe and wonder that he would adopt them.  I pray that the theology of adoption would so captivate our hearts that we are undone before our Lord and can’t help but look for ways to adopt children or support families who are positioned to adopt. I hope our churches are one day full of families begging for the chance to adopt a child that is in need of a family. This would so beautifully reflect what has already happened in heaven.

Thoughts After the Sermon, "A Name Above All Names" Exodus 20:7

Thoughts After the Sermon, “A Name Above All Names” Exodus 20:7

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

Some reminders and further thoughts from last Sunday’s sermon, “A Name Above All Names” (Exodus 20:7):

1. “Aseity” is the old time word that describes how God is a self-existing being (it comes from the Latin words a se which means “from himself”). It’s a word that’s worth reclaiming because it reinforces something very essential, namely that God is uniquely and solely God in the fullest sense of that word. He is dependent on nothing. He was never created; he has always simply existed as he is and will always exist as he is. It is because of who he uniquely is that we are called to honor him.

2. Taking the Lord’s name in vain isn’t just about not saying certain things. As was said during the sermon, the third commandment deals with how we represent God. If we represent God in ways other than he has revealed himself to us, than we have taken his name in vain.

3. Here are some of the ways in which we take the Lord’s name in vain:

a) We reduce his name – We make God less than he has revealed himself to be

b) We manipulate his name – God’s name becomes just a prop for us to justify
what we are doing or want to do

c) We dishonor his name – God’s name is in very casual and cheap ways in our
speech, our worship,and through the general way we live our lives.

d) We ignore his name – We don’t acknowledge God as someone we should respect
and honor.

4. A Christian is someone who’s been baptized into the name of the triune God (Matt 18:20). Specifically, this means that as believers bear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the family name for all who commit themselves to God. It is his name, “Lord Jesus Christ,” that will last forever, and our names will only matter when they are point up to his name.