The Kingdom Price

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46

Song: There Is A Habitation

The parables of the buried treasure and the costly pearl illustrate the two ways in which a man may find the kingdom, or perhaps the ways in which the kingdom finds him. One man stubs his toe—he wasn’t looking for it. Didn’t know it was there. He just happened upon it. Another wanders looking for something and finds in one place everything he needs. The marvel of providence is that the kingdom is discoverable for all men.

What is commendable about these two men is not their discovery. It is the reaction to the discovery that has merit. The parables teach that the kingdom belongs only to those willing to pay the price.

Many a European emigrant sailed the Atlantic in hopes of securing a home in the New World. They sold their houses, lands, and possessions. They uprooted their families and launched out for uncertain shores. Some found new homes and new freedoms. Some staked claim only to graves in the deep or to perils greater than those they’d left. Whether they lived or died, they all paid a price.

The kingdom is for all. It is a New World with “houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms along with persecutions, but in the age to come, eternal life.” It will cost you something. In fact, it will cost you everything or nothing at all. It’ll cost you something today. If not, you might want to check and see what you paid for.

Jason Moore

The Sloth Colony

Scripture: Proverbs 6:6-11

Song: We’ll Work Till Jesus Comes

Sloth is sin. You may have a lazy streak. If so, you need to change your stripe. Sloth is sin. Even the ant knows better. Our colony could learn from his for we have more than one variety of sloth:

Procrastinator—He always has a first class blueprint but never breaks ground. He’s often a busy man, just busy with the wrong things so that his good intentions go unattended.

Materialist—He works hard to acquire things and quality things. But he’s slothful when it comes to spiritual investments. He’s always building bigger barns while his soul is up on blocks.

Hobbyist—The respectable sluggard. The product of a wealthy society where there’s ample resources for trivial pursuits. The hobbyist finds time and money for fishing and hunting, golfing and little league. But ask him to work in the kingdom and he’ll tell you how he’d like to, but… .

Rationalizer—He has a doctor’s excuse for why he wasn’t at work. Something urgent always comes up. The only thing you can plan on with the rationalizer is that your plans will fall through.
But he’ll have a good excuse.

At the Judgment, I wonder if the little ant won’t take the witness stand after the people of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba and condemn the idleness of our generation. God has given you today. Will you prove yourself worthy of His gift?

Jason Moore

God's Attention-Getters

Scripture: Psalm 97

Song: Lord, I Believe God’s

The average man has 2.21 phobias. The average woman has 3.55. By the way, men are all afraid of being thought cowards, so the averages balance. Several phenomena mentioned in Psalm 97 constitute humanity’s most common phobias.

A ceraunophobiac is afraid of thunder. Astraphobia is the dread of lightning. Nyctophobia is the fear of darkness. To have pyrophobia is to be morbidly scared of fire.

Isn’t it interesting that we have no clinical name to describe a pathological fear of God? Yet He is the maker of lightning, thunder, darkness and fire. Men are impressed with these expressions of His power—even to the point of morbid dread. But the fear of the Lord is far too scarce.

The thunderclap is God’s way of clearing His throat and telling you that He’s in the room. The lightning bolt is His way of giving you a buzz and a reminder that He’s in charge. Clouds and darkness veil God’s throne and caution against approaching His Highness too casually. Fire is His instrument of judgment and should kindle in your mind reflections of Hell and designs for its avoidance.

All of these exhibitions are signs that the Lord reigns. They’re for your good. To arrest you. To cause you to consider God. Listen. Look. Learn. God’s trying to get your attention. Don’t ignore Him. A healthy fear of Him quiets all other fears.

Jason Moore

The Tempter's Attire

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-7

Song: Yield Not to Temptation

The devil dons more disguises than Inspector Clouseau. And he seldom wears the same one twice. Only once, that I’m aware, did he dress as a serpent. But I’ve seen him in lots of other attire.

There’s the true blue friend outfit where he shows up when you’re all alone with handkerchief in hand. He says he understands your frustration and that you deserve better. He tells you a plan to get the others back and make them pay.

There’s the shades and trench coat costume where he lurks in the shadows. He tells you that all is clear. “You’re home free now. No one’s watchin’ and you’ll never get another chance like this.”

Occasionally he shows up with a pillow and a tranquilizer. “You’ve done your part,” he says. “Relax for awhile.” “Let someone else do it.” “Don’t let them take advantage of you like that.”

Other times he sits in the recliner with the remote control, the Cable guide, and Blockbuster card. “I hate all this trash they put in the movies now,” he says. “But what can we do about it and what else is there to do tonight anyway?”

The all-time classic is when he shows up with a calendar and a pencil. “Look you’ve got plenty of time to straighten it out,” he says. “Just do it once more. No more after this. You can fix it next week.”

Yes sir, watch out for the devil. He’s sneaky. I just wonder what he’ll be wearing today.

Jason Moore

Elements of Togetherness

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Song: Blest Be the Tie

Unity in the local church consists of at least three elements according to Paul. The absence of any one of them is a deterrent to unity. They are common sense actually. But they are uncommon common sense because they find too few adherents among religious peoples.

1. Common Speech—“speaking the same thing.” Where there is communication there is community. When communication breaks down community is unglued. It comes apart at the seams.

2. Common Mind—“joined in the same mind.” A community is comprised of those who identify or think of themselves together. They are single-minded folk. A community (com, “together,” + unis, “one”) understands that together they are one. Conversely, when they are apart they are less than one, incomplete and thus vulnerable.

3. Common Judgment—“joined in the same judgment.” Community implies concurrence—its participants running in the same direction toward a common aim. They are animated by the Musketeer loyalty of “all for one and one for all.” There exists a “one another” mentality that judges and pursues one’s neighbor’s interests as higher than one’s own.

All three of these elements work together and to gather. From them derive three obvious means of protecting the togetherness of the local church: Speak to gather. Think to gather. Work to gather.

Jason Moore

Sunday Morning Starters

1. Smile a little wider.

2. Reflect a little deeper.

3. Give a little extra.

4. Listen a little harder.

5. Stay a little longer.

6. Hope a little harder.

7. Grow a little stronger.

Have a Perfect Lord’s Day!

Jason Moore

Law of Proportionate Increase

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Song: A Beautiful Life

Plant a single grain and with proper care you’ll grow a stalk of two or three ears each studded with several hundred kernels. Sow several rows and you’ll harvest food for the table and seed for next year’s planting. It’s a natural law, the law of sowing and reaping, ordained by God. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow bountifully, reap an abundance.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping is a principle of Agriculture. But it applies equally to Economics. Small investments yield small profits. Large investments produce great fortunes. It applies to Success. Feeble efforts result in little progress. Prodigious efforts bring like achievements.

However the Law of Sowing and Reaping as it applies to mundane affairs is only a general rule. We live in a world where crops fail, stock markets crash, and strong men are broken. “The Law of Sowing and Reaping,” you say, “works in storybook Utopias but doesn’t always apply in the real world.”

Actually it does. We forget that we dwell in the land of fiction, a place of shadow and imperfection. In the Real world, the Law of Sowing and Reaping is absolute. In the Real world the hairs of your head are numbered and not a sparrow falls unobserved.

The good that you sow today in the form of time or talent, word or deed, wealth or wisdom will not be wasted. It’s not imperiled by any risk. In fact, it’s the only investment you’ll make with any certain profit.

Jason Moore