At one point, however, the market began to be atypically flooded with large quantities of pearls. As a matter of fact, there were so many pearls available that merchants began to seriously question their authenticity. Were these new pearls merely well done imitations produced by man? The answer was, no. Upon examination the pearls were found to have actually been made by oysters.

Finally, after further investigation, the mystery was solved. As it turned out, the Japanese merchants had figured out a way to cause almost every pearl oyster to produce a pearl. The merchants knew that a pearl is formed when some kind of foreign substance (a parasite, a grain of sand, etc.) gets lodged in a certain part of the oyster. To ease the irritation caused by the substance, the oyster begins to secrete a protective fluid called nacre that covers over the substance. This process continues and the nacre eventually hardens into a glorious pearl. This takes a few years. So what the merchants were doing was harvesting oysters, purposely inserting artificial substances in them (substances such as beads or tiny bits of shell or buckshot), placing the oysters back into the ocean by means of nets, and then harvesting them again a few years later to retrieve the pearls. The larger the artificial substance, the larger the pearl.

When the market became glutted with pearls, wealthy buyers began to demand that each pearl be put to a special test to see whether or not it had been artificially created. This test involved the use of X-ray. Under X-ray, the false “hearts” created by the artificial substances could be seen. In this way, the genuine pearls could be identified and priced accordingly.

This illustration reminds me that, sadly, our churches are home to some “fake” Christians. On the outside, these people look saved. They carry Bibles, know the lingo, pray, sing the hymns, put money in the offering plates, etc. But on the inside their hearts are false. They don’t truly know Christ as Savior. They aren’t born again (John 3:3). God the Holy Spirit does not dwell inside them (Romans 8:9). They aren’t in the family of God (John 1:9-13).

I have no delusions that we will ever get it all sorted out this side of eternity. For one thing, lost people don’t always act lost. For another, saved people don’t always act saved. We can rest assured, though, that Jesus knows how to X-ray each person’s heart and there simply is no fooling Him. I can honestly say that being placed under His X-ray doesn’t frighten me one bit. Does it you? If it does, you need to ask yourself why that is.

Just this week we’ve uploaded six new sermons to the ever-growing list. They are:

1. “Eli: A Man Who Failed As A Father”
2. “God’s Temporary Rejection of Israel”
3. “Making Room For Jesus”
4. “Praying In Jesus’Name”
5. “Praying In the Holy Spirit”
6. “The Overcomer”

Now, I realize that many of you are like me in that you find it hard to find time to listen to a sermon. I understand that. But I just want you to know that the site is there to provide you with spiritual help and Biblical truth whenever you need it.

On the subject of Biblical truth, let me especially recommend that you click on the resource “A Guide for God’s Plan of Salvation.” Trust me, there’s a little more than John 3:16 there. I spent untold hours writing that guide and it is choked full of Bible verses and doctrinal facts. I start with the statement “There Is A God” and launch off from there. Really, if you used your daily devotion time to simply cover one section per day and read the verses for that section, it would be time well spent.

Another rich resource is the one entitled “What We Believe.” Again, if you used your devotion time to just cover one section per day and read the verses, you’d be blessed. The “Prophetic Events” section alone has ten different parts to it. And when you break them down into bite-size devotions, they make for great studies.

Well, I’ll hush now because I don’t want to “oversell” the product. All kidding aside, though, it’s a good website. Other sites might be snazzier and feature more graphics and such, but they’d be hard pressed to offer any more help in teaching the Bible. We’re just meat and potatoes. But what else would you expect from me? You’ve read my blog, right?

Even as Fristoe traveled to the home, he had to question why the wealthy couple would be so gracious to him. The mystery only deepened when he met them and realized that they were strangers to him. It wasn’t until all three were comfortably seated in an exquisite living room that he got his explanation.

The couple’s son, an officer in the Royal navy, was stationed on the other side of the world, but he had heard that Dr. Fristoe was to be in London. It was the young man who had sent instructions for his parents to be so hospitable to Dr. Fristoe. As the couple described their son, Dr. Fristoe did indeed remember him. The officer had been on a ship that had put into Norfolk, Virginia for repairs years earlier when Fristoe was serving as the pastor of a church there. The officer had attended Fristoe’s church and gotten to know the preacher quite well. Fristoe had invited the young man into his home for dinner on multiple occasions. There the two had enjoyed long discussions on the subject of religion, and those discussions had led the young man to believe in Christ as Savior. Dr. Fristoe had even baptized him.

After the officer’s ship had pulled out of Norfolk, he had kept in touch with Fristoe. Upon hearing that Fristoe would be preaching a revival in London, the officer had cabled his parents and instructed them to extend the invitation to the evangelist. After the explanation was all given, the couple ended it by saying, “Dr. Fristoe, you are here because of our son.”

The spiritual parallel isn’t hard to spot. Christian, when you journey to heaven and arrive at that indescribably beautiful place, God the Father could rightly look at you and say, “You are here because of My Son.” Take some time today to thank Jesus for the awesome fact that heaven awaits you when you leave this world.

Disciples Road Church is certainly no exception to this rule, and since our church is small, the summer slump looks especially bad on us. Vacations, family reunions, camps, etc., they all take their toll. Pastors try everything to keep folks coming during the summer. We’ll start a series on marriage or prophesy, two subjects which are always popular. Some pastors swap pulpits with each other for one Sunday morning. Others bring in special guest-speakers. These are all attempts to keep the flock interested in coming to church rather than going to the lake, the ocean, the campground, the ball-field, or wherever.

Mind you now that I’m not saying that all such trips are wrong or sinful. As a matter of fact, I missed a couple of Sundays myself in July as I got away and did some things with my family. But, as is so oftentimes the case, there should be moderation and balance when it comes to missing church. Yes, I missed two Sundays last month and had a preacher friend of mine fill my pulpit, but those were the first two Sundays I had taken off since we started the church four-and-a-half years ago. Do you see my point? God doesn’t mind you missing a church service every now and then if He approves of the reason, but far too many church-goers don’t ask for His approval before they make their plans, plans that cause them to miss church.

During our lunch, my pastor friend and I especially talked about how people could do their summer stuff and yet still attend church if they put just the slightest effort into it. For example, instead of leaving out on Sunday, they could do so on Monday. Or instead of checking out and driving back on Sunday, they could check out and drive back on Saturday. Rather than schedule the reunion or the family get-together on Sunday, they could schedule it on Saturday. And if they attend a church that offers Sunday night or Wednesday night services, they could attend those even if they had to miss the Sunday morning service. You see, with just a small amount of planning and effort, the amount of church services that people miss in summer could be greatly reduced.

Of course, the world and all that it has to offer gives us absolutely no help in this area. For an example, I’ll use my son Ryan’s basketball camp this summer. He is a rising high school freshman, and the high school basketball coach likes for his players to attend the Clemson Tigers basketball camp in Clemson, South Carolina. And what were the dates for that camp? They were June 17th (Friday), 18th (Saturday), and 19th (Sunday). My question is, why couldn’t those dates have been June 16th (Thursday), 17th (Friday), and 18th (Saturday)? After all, it’s summer and the kids are out of school. It would have been easy for them to have showed up on Thursday. You see, whoever set up that camp seemed to go out of his way to ensure that the kids were there on Sunday rather than in church.

This same kind of thing plays out time and time again in baseball tournaments for so-called “travel teams.” I assure you that if tournament directors scheduled their tournaments for Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday, the teams would still be there. So why do they schedule them for Saturday and Sunday? All I can figure is that the schedulers are lost people who don’t give a rip about church.

But I don’t mean to lay all the blame for the annual summer slump at the door of lost people. Let me tell you the dirty little secret that we Christians don’t want to acknowledge: The average church-goer actually likes missing church every now and then. People will bend over backwards and move mountains to get to a place where they truly want to be, right? I mean, if a destination becomes a priority, the masses will be there. As the old saying goes, “Hell or high water couldn’t keep them away.” This shows us, then, that church isn’t truly a priority with most people. Even the ones who regularly attend can be knocked out by just the slightest problem or misalignment of the stars.

On this subject, I’ll admit that church has become its own worst enemy. It is now so much a part of the fabric of our lives that we take it for granted, don’t we? It’s so easy to think, “What’s the big deal if I miss a service? There will be another one next week.” Well, I suppose there will be, if you live another week to see it. But who’s to say what blessings you will miss at church if you skip for a reason that doesn’t pass God’s test of approval? You might miss the sermon that would change your life. You might miss the song that would carry you through the rest of your week. You might miss the prayer request for which you could make a major difference. You might be the source of encouragement that helps to keep your tired, frustrated, out-of-heart pastor going. You might be the reason that some visitors decide to become a part of your church. I’m telling you, you just never know.

So, in closing, I plead with you to consider these things any time you are planning to miss church. This goes for the summer months as well as all the other months. I guess what I’m trying to do with this post is get you to think deeper and more spiritually about your church attendance. It’s certainly not a subject that you should be blase or flippant about. Remember that Hebrews 10:24-25 is still in the Bible:

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

In the realm of the church there has long been a tendency to marvel at those who have been forgiven and restored of sins that we deem uncommonly serious, even scandalous. These are the “exciting” and “interesting” Christians. All the while there has been a parallel tendency to yawn at those Christians whose lives have been marked by decade after decade of consistent holy living. It’s a shame, really, that we so take for granted these who are every bit as much “trophies” of God’s grace as those who have sinned spectacularly and been redeemed.

So I guess you can take this post as a call for you to show some highly consistent Christian just how much you appreciate them. Walk up to the person and tell them by way of a conversation. Send them a card or an email. You could even write them a letter. You can’t realize how much such a thing would mean to that person. We are so thankful for the likes of Moses, David, and Saul, murderers who found forgiveness and were mighty servants of God. But let’s also remember to be thankful for the likes of Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and John, men who served God just as mightily without the unnecessary baggage of such sin.

-If you are doing it because no one else will, it’s a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it’s a ministry.

-If you are doing it just well enough to get by, it’s a job. If you are doing it to the best of your ability, it’s a ministry.

-If you’ll do it as long as it doesn’t interfere with other activities, it’s a job. If you’re committed to staying with it, even if it means letting go of other things, it’s a ministry.

-If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it’s a job. If you do it because you know it needs to be done, it’s a ministry.

-It’s hard to get excited about a job. It is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

-People may say “well done” when you do your job. The Lord will say “well done” when you complete your ministry.

-The average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry.

McConnell ended his article by saying:

If you have a job in the church, give it up and find a ministry! God doesn’t want us feeling stuck with a job, but excited, fulfilled and faithful in a specific ministry.

About all I can say to that is, “Amen!”

The woman then launched into her story. “Dr. Roberson, you know that for twenty-two years I have sat in a certain seat in the balcony to your left.” “Yes, that’s right,” said the preacher. “Well, this morning I went to my place, and a man was sitting there. I told him that was my seat, but he just said, ‘It’s not yours today.’” After the man’s refusal to move, the woman had gotten mad, left the service, and stood outside to wait for Dr. Roberson.

And how did the venerable old pastor respond to her complaint? He said, “Ma’am, you have heard me preach again and again on dying to self. How long has it been since you died?” Then he got in his car and went on his way.

During the service that night, while the choir was singing, Dr. Roberson looked up to the balcony, but he didn’t see the woman in her usual seat. Finally, after scanning over the sanctuary, he found her sitting in a new seat in the lower section. When their eyes met, she just smiled. Roberson used to love to tell that story and end it by saying, “She died. And I haven’t had a problem with her since.”

In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Keep in mind now that a cross was an instrument of death. Nobody took up a cross and lived. And so, Christian, I’ll just ask you, how long has it been since you died? Have you died today? Have you ever died? Please understand that the only way to properly live for Christ is to attend your own funeral afresh and anew each morning.

“In my first pastorate, three of my church officials had refused for three full years to speak to one another. A committee was appointed to investigate the cause of the difficulty and either adjust it or bring in a recommendation for exclusion.

The night of the trial arrived. The three officials were in their places, silent, glum, and determined. Much prayer was had before the committee’s presentation.

The Spirit wrought! Hearts softened! At last one man arose and in penitence confessed his fault. Another followed, and yet a third man. Men who had passed in the streets with a scowl, now locked in mutual embrace.

For six months I had preached my heart out, without a convert. The next Sunday night the house was packed to the point where I was left but standing room in the pulpit. A multitude of converts were made, and for two full years (the rest of my pastorate in that place) the inpour to the church was incessant. A new house was erected; from half-time service the church went to full-time, from no gifts to large gifts; and in a lifetime of ministry I have known no delights to exceed the blessed winters and summers brought about by a reconciliation of brethren.”

And now, in the light of this excellent illustration, I’ve got two questions for you:

#1: Are you currently playing some role in causing any hard feelings or ill-will within your church?

#2: Even if you aren’t playing such a role, if such hard feelings or ill-will exist within your church, what are doing to bring the problems to a godly resolution?

While there is some debate as to when and where the first Sunday School opened, there is no doubt that Robert Raikes became the man most closely associated with the movement. He was the editor of the Gloucester Journal, and he saw Sunday Schools as a way of keeping the children of poor families from gravitating toward lives of crime. His Sunday Schools began by meeting in homes, and he promoted the work through his newpaper.

As the term implies, the schools met each week on Sunday. Why that day? It was the only day the factories didn’t work, which made it the day children got into the most trouble playing in the streets, being loud and rowdy, and just generally creating disturbances. Raikes used the Bible as a textbook to teach the children to read and write.

Within just a few short years, the Sunday School movement exploded throughout England as approximately 250,000 children were attending schools. It wasn’t long before the various religious denominations began to open their own schools, and by the 1830s attendance in Sunday Schools had grown to over one million. Not only did the schools teach the children to read and write, they also provided them with new clothes to wear on Sunday as well as basic instruction in matters of morality and cleanliness. Discipline was handed out for offenses such as cussing, lying, and other forms of inappropriate behavior. For the record, the first Sunday School in the United States was opened in the 1790s by Samuel Slater in his textile mills in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Over the century that followed, child labor laws and the beginnings of compulsary state educational systems eliminated the primary needs for which the Sunday School movement had begun. This allowed Sunday Schools to turn their focus exclusively toward religious indoctrination and become the Sunday Schools we know today. It’s interesting that arguably the greatest impact the Sunday School movement made on society was that it was successful enough to cause society to put the schools out of their original business.

George Matheson was a blind Scottish pastor in the late 1800s. While he was serving as the pastor of a church in Innellan, he preached to only a handful of worshippers one stormy winter’s Sunday. He left the service discouraged because he felt that his sermon had been especially good. But what he didn’t know was that a stranger in the congregation would never forget the sermon or the blind preacher who delivered it. Over seven years later, that man would recommend Matheson to become the pastor of St. Bernard’s Church in Edinburgh, a call which would lead to thirteen years of highly fruitful service for Matheson at the church.

In the parable of the talents, Jesus taught that the one who is faithful over a few things will be made ruler over many things (Matthew 25:14-30). While He gave this parable within the context of a teaching on prophecy and rewards in the afterlife, the basic principle can apply in this life. A proof text is His parable of the faithful steward (Luke 12:42-48), which isn’t found within the context of a prophetic teaching.

God is always on the lookout for good stewardship, and He always takes special notice of a George Matheson who will faithfully preach to the best of his ability for a bad-weather, poorly attended Sunday service. So don’t ever take lightly any opportunity that comes your way to do something in service to Christ. Remember that no job is too small for a servant big enough to do it well.