After reading a chapter in Dr. Jerram Barrs’ book, The Heart of Evangelism, entitled “Barriers Between the World and the Church” I was impressed on how he plainly defines the idols of life.  In the book he describes these little “g” gods as “idols of the will” which are those that appear to give us direction: work, ambition, success, money; and idols of the heart that appear to answer our need for pleasure: sex, relationships, possessions, sports, the arts, etc.  As you can see, these activities are not ungodly in themselves, but when we devote ourselves to them in an effort to get our worth, peace and satisfaction from them, they become our personal gods.

There is only one solution for the “thirsts” we all have as people: the well of water flowing from the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Idolatry not only leaves you thirsty, it is actually very hard work which ironically makes you thirstier; you have to keep it up so you can feel good about yourself.  For example, if you worship people’s opinions, you will work hard at never letting them down; if you love money, you get very upset when God asks you to give more than you planned; if you are trying to raise perfect children, you become undone with the slightest amount of rebellion.  You really need to relax and let God help you; you are worshipping the wrong divinity.  In the midst of all this “warfare,” Christians are commanded to reach a world which believes in creating its own truth, not discovering absolute truth.  It is also a world that has a problem with authority especially when that authority is contained in a text that is two-thousand years old and claims to satisfy the thirsts, appetites and desires of today’s bodies and hearts.  We at Redemption Fellowship are called to reach this world with the gospel, but we will not do it until we ourselves are trusting God to satisfy us as His people.  Are we drinking from the fountain that never runs dry?  Are we yielding to the authority of the Holy Spirit?  Or are we arguing amongst ourselves over programs and events?  Are we distracted by our own gods of “me, myself, and mine?”  Have we forgotten that we are a nation of priests called to be witnesses for Him?  Brothers and Sisters, if we act and live like unbelievers, then we are cheating ourselves while simultaneously trying to convince others of the benefits of serving our God.  Believe me, I know what it is like to be cheated; I have a lot of experience in the area of idolatry.  I have personally dealt with the idols of exercise and physical appearance for years.  I believe I embraced these idols after failing an Army physical fitness test in the late seventies that left me devastated with shame.  I have been running ever since.  I have never failed an Army physical fitness test since that dreadful day and usually score the maximum–but it has never been good enough and I have never enjoyed it (signs of idolatry).  A lot of my marathon training was motivated out of the fear of dropping out of a race, and so I found myself overdoing it and only by God’s grace not seriously injuring myself.  I still work out consistently, however as a result of understanding how my heart functions, I am not controlled by physical fitness–although it is very tempting.  Idolatry is something that is always overdone and out of proportion when compared to normalcy.  I thank God for my personal history up until now and am glad that I can look back and see how He IS delivering me.  All humans are self-inflicted with their personal idols  since all humans want their needs met.  This is the human condition.  This should spur us all to preach and live according to the grace and power of Jesus like never before.  We must compel men and women to see that only in Christ will they find the satisfaction that they are desperately seeking in their personal gods.  Matthew 11:28 states, “Come unto me all you who are laboring and are heavy ladened and I will give you rest.”  Are you tired yet? Are you thirsty? Come to Jesus, and bring somebody with you.  Pastor Mike

Brothers and Sisters, first of all I pray that you all have a blessed day and second, that you are making the gospel attractive to those around you who may not be believers in Christ.

Watch your tongue and your behavior–be professional, gentle, and gracious as you yourselves have received a great grace that you did not deserve.

I am moved to let you in on how my life is going in these “post Fort McPherson days.”  I spend a lot of my time in preparation for preaching on Sundays, preparing notes to teach seminary classes and bible studies, getting ready for pastoral counseling sessions, getting out in the community, and traveling to board meetings.  I am also in a Doctor of Ministry Program that “aint no joke!”  Obviously there are also things that happen in the lives of those around me that cannot be scheduled such as illnesses, deaths of loved ones, etc, in which I offer assistance if it is wanted.  I am learning that a lot of pastoral ministry is simply “being in the right place at the right time.”   The absolute most important thing I do is bowing before the Throne of Grace in prayer so that I can continue to perform my duties in the joy of Jesus.

Do you have joy?  I mean really?  If you don’t, why not?  Let me tell you what I have experienced as one of things that can easily steal your joy–the worship of money.  This is not the only joy killer, but if money is your God and source of security, it opens you up to all types of temptations.  Understand this beloved of God, your money belongs to Him and it can be gone very quickly; scriptures say that if you even look at it the wrong way, it will fly away like a bird.  I am still in the process of learning to love and worship Jesus Christ ALONE.  I admit, I am tempted on an hourly basis to fall down and worship this very fragile god.  However, the Lord has shown me that I must look to Him as my only hope for an abundant life.  Brothers and Sisters, be generous, use your money justly to bless others, give to the church, support charities, save in accordance with good stewardship, don’t be greedy and scared that you are going to be poor–don’t let that type of mentality make you stingy.  Your money is not yours.  You have been set free from fear to do good.  Be rich in your relationship with God and people.

~ Pastor Mike

Proverbs 23:4-5
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.  Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Ecclesiastes 5:10
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is meaningless.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Psalm 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Someone once asked me, “Pastor Mike, what is the next level for Redemption Fellowship?”  Here is my answer:

1. A hunger for God’s Presence — which implies a repentance of sin and self-sufficiency.
2. A willingness to do ministry in places that we have never done ministry before.
3. A burden to pray for the lost, and then get out there into the highways and hedges.
4. A renewed vigor for our internal ministries.
5. An unwillingness to be distracted, detoured, or depressed by the Enemy’s schemes.  He will keep trying and we will try moving ahead towards the goals of our Mission and Vision statements.  This implies commitment by the members.
6. A lack of fear in the face of many challenges ahead.
7. Every home will become a “House of God,” where there is teaching, prayer, and worship.
8. The Worship Experience will be just short of heaven.

Please come and worship with us!  We need and really want to see you.

On behalf of the Redemption Fellowship family,

Mike Higgins
Senior Pastor

As a pastor, one of my duties is to preach the ancient word of God to a contemporary society.  How do I do that?  First, I have to remember that the inspired word of God, although spoken long ago, is everlasting and still relevant and authoritative to the church and world today.  Second, I must expose the text of scripture in the context in which it was spoken so that its intended meaning won’t be lost.  This is what we call expository preaching.  I have to dig down into the meaning and intentions that God had for the text–this is the “so what” of preaching.”  The “so what” is the reason that you want to hear what the preacher is saying.  If there is no “so what” you will end up with “who cares.”  The message of the text will always address a problem that the contemporary listener is sensitive to as he/she navigates through life.  In preaching, I must attempt to answer the question, “what did God say then and what is He saying now?”  If the text is exposed correctly, we will come to the same conclusion the original audience came to when they heard it.  Third, after the exposure of the text is complete, I must preach the text in a way that says, “I do believe that what I am saying is of first importance for this time–I am saying that it is imperative that we consider the meaning and implications of this text if we are to understand the mind of God.  Last, but most importantly, I must depend on the Holy Spirit to enable the hearer to believe and obey God.  No matter how well a preacher exposes and preaches a text, the reaction to it must be left to the work of the Spirit.  God bless you and be transformed.

We are not satisfied.  Our culture tells us that we need more.  We are falling for the big lie that we are not supposed to be satisfied with Christ alone.  We are wearing ourselves out trying to make things better financially and physically, but we have forsaken the spiritual.  Jesus said that he who sought to save his life himself would lose it, but we don’t really believe that anymore.  We have become god and are attempting to use our human “power” and “might” to fix things that only God can fix.  The best we can do is put a bandaid on a compound fracture.

As a pastor, my prayer for the church in the West is that she will not fall victim to the spirit of “Just do it,” and “Obey your thirst.”  Trials and temptations come to strengthen our faith in someone who is greater than ourselves.  However, the problem is not the world, it is us.  Let’s recover our sense of awe of God by meditating on his word in scripture such as Psalms 23 which tells us “that the Lord is our Shepherd, we have everything we need.”

Someone recently asked me why our church goes to New City Fellowship in Chattanooga every year for Martin Luther King’s Holiday. Simple, it is a bus ride to a joyful worship and fellowship experience and oh yeah, a lot of food. This trip answers the need for a connection with another PCA church that has a similar vision and like values. Redemption Fellowship aspires to impact the hearts and minds of people with the gospel–to transform people into effective Christians who change their culture for the sake of Christ. Click the post for more…

What have I learned from preaching through The Book of Mark these last few months?  Glad you asked.  I have learned that Jesus is in fact a friend of hurting people.  He is sensitive to their needs and acts to heal them of their diseases and graciously delivers them from their demons.  I believe He is still in the healing and deliverance business today.  I also learned that Jesus has a tendency of placing Himself just out of reach of some people just to see if they are desperate enough to make the effort to close the distance and get to him.  As examples of this desperation, we have the man whose friends tore off a roof and an unclean woman who pressed through a crowd to get to Him.

Many people today want Jesus to make it easy for them to believe; they want positive proof of His ability.  My answer to them is that we already have proof of who Jesus is and what He can do in the Word of God.  Now it is time for them to close the gap by making a faith effort to break through the barriers of doubt that separate them from their encounter with Christ.  May the Lord help them to break through.  Maybe I am talking to you.  How about it, are you desperate enough for a change?

The Process of Growth and Transformation usually happens as a result of trial and testing.  The testing for the Disciples in Mark Chapter Four followed a day of listening to great teaching, and happened as they were attempting to go across the Sea of Galilee in an effort to take our Lord to a quiet place.  This would prove to be a challenging task.  Those who have experienced walking with the Lord know that at times His presence can propel you into some pretty chaotic situations.  In the text, as the boat crosses the waters, a sudden storm arises and things start to get out of control.

The Disciples are brought to their wit’s end and realize that they don’t have what it takes to control the little boat.  Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat, exhausted from preaching.  He is so tired that He sleeps through the storm.  The Disciples, who are tired, cold, wet and frustrated, wake Jesus thinking that at least he could help control the boat.  What does Jesus do?  He doesn’t control the boat, He controls the circumstances!  He speaks peace to the winds and the sea and there is a COMPLETE CALM.

Are you tired, cold, wet, and frustrated?  Invite the Lord to take you through the storm by His wonderful power.  You will experience His presence and peace and in the process your faith will be strengthened and you will be transformed.  Mike

I need to confess up front that I took this from an article by Erik Rees entitled Seven Principles of Transformational Leadership.  Sometimes there is no need to re-invent the wheel.  I agree with Erik that there are seven things that a leader must do to be effective in today’s church.  I believe these seven principles can also be applied to your home and workplace.  Here they are:

1. Simply–clearly state the mission; answer the question, “where are we headed?”

2. Motivate–gain agreement and commitment to move in the stated direction.

3. Facilitate–equip the team with resources

4. Innnovate–initiate prayerful change when needed.

5. Mobilize–enlist and equip others to fulfill the vision.

6. Prepare–make a commitment to keep learning.

7. Be determined–finish the race.

As the O’Jays said in the song, “For the Love of Money”–Don’t let money fool you or rule you.  Money is a tool that God has given us the ability to acquire so that we can first of all give back to him a portion in a show of appreciation (usually through a church tithe and offering), give to charitable causes, pay bills, save for the future, and buy things we can afford.  Many people worship their money and get nervous when things happen that threaten their wealth.  It doesn’t make any difference how much money you have, you can still be consumed with fear when your money isn’t “right.”  Most divorces are the result of money woes so watch your tongue and your emotions when you are having money trouble.   I Timothy 6:9-10 explains why we must understand the temptations we can fall into as we pursue money as our love and god.  Listen to the words of Paul: