Preaching Dialogue March 1 and 2

Charlie McMahan and I will do another dynamic, funny, interesting, riveting dialogue sermon the first weekend of March at Southbrook Christian Church in Miamisburg, Ohio. Charlie is the straight man. Our topic is Sex and The End of the World!

I love the attitude and approach of Southbrook. It has a lot going for it with dynamic music that is very contemporary and extremely worshipful. They also do some very interesting things to get the attention of the people so they good news can be preached with power and grace.

For example, at the Super Bowl weekend that had many interesting events but I liked the way they got so many members involved by asking them to make Super Bowl Ads and gave a prize for the best. Go to this link to see the one chosen as best.  

We have a tradition of doing dialogue talks with Q & A as well as short teachings so people can follow easily some of the points we are making about growth, healing, change and joyful living.

You can see two or three videos of Charlie and me on our web link here at Vimeo.

Forgiveness

Is there anything more important than forgiveness? Being forgiven then through the grace of God forgiving others who sins against us has to be as important to Christians as anything in the Bible.  Without God's forgiveness there is no beginning to the Christian walk.

Without accepting God's forgiveness daily there is no peace, no joy, no freedom in the Christian's walk.

Without forgiveness of others there is no long term health and wellness for us as Christians.

Take a look at this dialogue between Charlie McMahan and me about forgiveness.

Then read my book about inner healing that teaches the details of forgiveness. It is called Breaking Free.

Feeling Blue, Low, Sad or Depressed?

The Infographic below lays out several ways Depression impacts us. It is not perfect but summarizes well the major issues many of us face on a regular basis. However, if you are suffering from ongoing sadness, blues and lack of energy, take heart because help is possible.

In my opinion, the best remedies are simple and within reach of most of us. Hang around this blog and you can see many of them require some action by you and support from others.

My book, Power Christian Thinking has proved to be a life changing for thousands around the world.

Help the People in Pain 1.

I have been training Counselors and Pastors how to effectively care for hurting people for decades. I love to do it. I get to meet wonderful people whose compassion and concern for others is like that of Mother Teresa but on a smaller scale. Imagine that several million ordinary people are doing kind and helpful things for others every day.

Rarely do these kind people know the ones they assist nor will they get anything other than satisfaction back for their labors. They simply have a heart of mercy that is pained when they hear about or see others in pain.

My Mom and her Mom were like that. In our little village Mom Taylor, my Maternal Grand Mother,  had a small grocery store that saw a lot of poor people come through the door. None left without food and basic needs whether they could pay or not. When Mom retired there was a big box filled with the records of unpaid bills.  

My wife and I were taught to carry on these activities because her heritage was similar to mine.  We have traveled around the globe and visited with thousands of like minded people so our cup overflows. Perhaps it is the nature of our work that we have been able to see people from every walk of life and every economic and social level live with mercy, grace and kindness.

Rarely have we met narcissistic, selfish and arrogant people that insist on serving self alone. We are blessed. See the book God's Thread on our web bookstore to read about a retired teacher and professor who traveled the nation in a camper to help people in need. It is inspiring.

Poetry that Saved a Famous Ship

A good poem can bring out the emotions and lead the masses to change the minds of politicians. Here is the emotional poetry of Oliver Wendell Holmes that was designed to stop the government from deep sixing the famous Naval ship, Old Ironsides. His first popular poem was Old Ironsides,
which he wrote in 1830 as a patriotic protest against the decision of the Secretary of Navy to destroy the fighting ship The USS Constitution (popularly known as Old Ironsides).

I was required to memorize this poem and other patriotic writings in elementary school.Maybe that is why my heart stirs when I sing America the Beautiful and the Star Spangled Banner. So, as an elementary school teacher I had my students also memorize the same songs and poems.

Old Ironsides

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;

Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar; —
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee; —

The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;

Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!

What poetry did you learn in school?

With Jesus We Can Do it All

There is no such thing as a secular job for a Christian. I have had several jobs as an adult and every one was a spiritual task. In some of them I was able to openly proclaim my theology and ideas and in others it was forbidden to be open.

No matter because I was aglow in the Spirit in every job. My model was Jesus. In fact, for three years I taught Muslims and I never spoke openly about the need for Christ. Every person knew I was a Christian and spoke with me as if I were a Christian. In fact, one leader asked why I was different from other Christians. I asked what she meant and she said, "You listen to us.Most Christians only preach at us and do not respect us."

Who was my model? Jesus gave us the way to do it. And it is the only way that can possibly succeed.  He told the disciples that he would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to be our Counselor.  Now I am a counselor. I have a Masters and a Doctorate in counseling and have taken many postdoctoral seminars, workshops and training programs. However, many, many situations are way over my head and too much for me to understand let alone solve.

While at Ground Zero counseling first responders and workers, I was overwhelmed by their stories and concerns.  Here I was, standing next to the scene of a great tragedy where thousands of people had died, and we desperately needed Jesus in the flesh.  If only He had been there to offer His touch and love, healing would have been more complete and miracles would have been numerous.

But He was not there in any flesh except mine and several hundred more believers who came running because Jesus had redeemed them and called them to show His love to others. Had not the Master Teacher, the Great Physician and the wisest man who ever lived said it was better for Him to go away I would not have believed it? Still I wonder if we don’t really need Jesus because I know we are so weak.  

Jesus promised that when the Spirit came "You (we) will do far greater things than I have done."  I am often faced with people who are terminally ill, chronically sick with mental disorders or overcome with the loss of a young father. I have a problem: I cannot raise them from the bondage of sin or the bondage of disease. What did He mean? It certainly cannot mean that Gary Sweeten could do more than Jesus as an individual. I certainly do not and can not perform more miracles, evidence more wisdom and carry out more world evangelism. No, He meant something far more profound.

His truth lies in the power of a worldwide communion of the saints and a local, caring community. Only in a community of believers can we raise the level of functioning to something that is greater than that of the Man-God Jesus. Only then are we able to do greater things than Jesus. When we meet together in His Name, the Trinity is with us and that makes the whole greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Jesus gave us the secret ingredient when He said, “You will have the Holy Spirit with you and in you.” This was radical. In the Old Testament a few particular people had the Spirit WITH them but no one had the Holy Spirit IN them. With the Creator of the universe both within and with us we can grow deep in God as a community. Our collective Intelligence Quotient, Emotional IQ, Practical IQ as well as our Spiritual IQ will soar and the world will know God’s love, truth and power. 

 With the Holy Spirit with us and in us we can retire from our striving and hard labor. Listen, give space for God to work. Stay out of His way. Laugh with those who laugh and weep with those that weep. Pray for the sick and see God work. 

One day I was invited along with my friend Jon to attend a big Muslim celebration. We sat in a place set aside for visitors and were quietly wondered what to do in such a strange place. Suddenly, one of the women who had been in my class came up to us and shouted, "Dr. Gary, have you been praying for my family and me? I know you have. I can feel your prayers."

I mumbled a quiet "yes" hoping not to be noticed but it was too late. Everyone was looking at us. But my anxiety was wasted because everyone there wanted to know what happened. My new friend told them all loudly she would fill them in later. 

Was her joy and relief due to my power and wisdom or to the presence of the Holy Spirit? Am I in charge of convicting unbelievers about sin, judgement and Jesus?  Do I save people? To all I can say a huge "NO!" But my interactions were anything bur secular.

If you want to learn more get some of my books from the online bookstore. They are all PDF that can be downloaded and read.

Reducing Poverty and Violence

Let your light shine before others!

Anyone with a heart is concerned with the stories of people destroyed by illnesses, poverty and violence.  Here is a letter I recently sent to my team. It shows how my heart and soul ache for the people trapped in a never ending cycle of pain.

I rarely decry the moral and spiritual chaos in the world because it is futile. I try to focus on my own family and the places God has placed me to minister. It is there I attempt to help people pick up the pieces of their lives. However, the sexual license and moral breakdown in our world as promoted by many state and federal agencies is currently overwhelming the systems we have set up to care for people.

Out of wedlock births causes kids with severe disabilities

The high rate of single parenting exacerbates the disabilities of the kids

Single parents are overwhelmed

Multiple births of needy kids make life a misery

Incomes of poor families are very low and one income is totally inadequate

The social service agencies are overwhelmed with extreme needs

The agencies attempt to cope but the flood of dysfunction makes help difficult for me, an experienced Counselor, let alone these overworked younger people.

The social workers try hard but are under trained, overwhelmed, and exhausted

Schools are overwhelmed by the huge numbers of kids with ADHD and other disabilities

Few parents are  interested in their academic achievements

Parents do not support teachers and schools but attack them

School officials and government officials demand teachers do the impossible with the unmotivated kids

Veteran teachers are burned out and leaving the field

The medical system is in crisis       

Obamacare is making the situation worse and we have seen only 10% of the new changes it requires

Veteran docs are leaving medicine

Churches are almost totally ignorant of the crises

Pastors have not been trained in relational care

Churches can be of enormous support but are in denial and trying to escape from facing the truth

Christians divorce and fall apart as much as anyone but few churches do anything to help marriages

I get calls weekly from pastors in crisis! We must get ourselves together.

We need to spread the good news about healthy relationships far and wide and help the members grow in healthy living

The job is huge but God is great. At Sweeten Life we offer some basic skills but it is hard work to be in the healing business. Love your own family. Hug your kids. Pray for the neighbors. Grow in knowledge of God.