Kerusso Kingdom

2006-08-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have moved my blog to WordPress. Please visit the blog I have started there: seanpease.wordpress.com.

2006-07-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading John Piper’s book “A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer.” It is a great book. Here are some points I wanted to encourage us all to think about.

Read Isaiah 58

Seven Categories of Prescriptions for Fasting:
1) God prescribes that we set people free (v. 6, 9)
2) God prescribes that we feed the hungry (v. 7a)
3) God prescribes that we house the homeless (v. 7b)
4) God prescribes that we clothe the naked (v. 7c)
5) God prescribes that we be sympathetic (v. 7d)
6) God prescribes that we put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people (v. 9)
7) God prescribes that we not just give food, but that we give ourselves (v. 10)

Seven Categories of Promises for Fasting:
1) God promises that darkness in your life will become light (v. 8, 10)
2) God promises that He will give you physical strength (v. 8, 11)
3) God promises that He will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory (v. 8, 9)
4) God promises to guide us continually (v. 11)
5) God promises that He will satisfy your soul (v. 11)
6) God promises that He will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail (v. 11)
7) God promises that He will restore the ruins of His city (v. 12)

2006-07-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am sitting at a desk on the ninth level of an apartment block in Bucharest, Romania. The hustle and noise of a very large city emanates from out the windows. As I look out the window I see a nice size park where the youth are playing in the bright morning sun. The old sit in park benches and watch life advance. There are miles and miles (I guess kilometers and kilometers here) of apartment blocks. This is like Central Park and this city is like the NYC of Romania.

I have been reading Dr. David McKinley's new book The Search for Satisfaction. As I read through chapter eight I had to stop my reading and begin my writing. This entire book is about Solomon's journal of Ecclesiastes. In chapter eight McKinley reflects on chapters 5-8 of Ecclesiastes. His words concerning religion instantly transported my thoughts back to the last two weeks that I have been blessed to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in the villages of the Moldovan region of Romania.

McKinley says, "For many, says Solomon, religion is an accessory in an overcrowded life." How clearly I saw this lived out. He continued, "What they practice they do by pretense. They go through time-honored routines of attendance, service, and verbal sacrifice. Yet in the end, more is said than done."

more so than ever I found myself telling people that I did not come preaching a message of religion. I had no calling to share the story of the church. I did not even want them to trust in my words or my person. I came to share faith and trust in God's Word.

Almost every question I asked concerning God's love, our sin, Jesus Christ's life and death was answered with belief. When I asked about an eternal assurance in person salvation, the answer was that nobody could be sure of such a thing. Their hope was in religion and I proclaimed hope in Jesus Christ. Hope in faith, not in works.

I cannot imagine a loving God who looks down upon a world of human beings wandering around aimlessly without hope. Should we consume ourselves with doing good? Or, should we love God with all our heart, soul, and spirit and our neighbors as ourselves with faith that Christ's atoning work through the cross is complete. He paid the price in full and when we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth - we will be saved.

2006-06-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Okay. Sunday evening here. I preached three services today. Romanian services last abot three hours. I am tired but very honored and blessed to be able to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to so many. The first service was in a small vilage where I have been before. There were maybe 25 people for the morning service. Lunch at Pastor Ciocoi's house and then back to the church for a special baptism service. It was beautiful to watch three public profess Christ and get baptized. This church has a brand new baptismal. The church was built in 1997 but they just added extra area including the baptistry over the last two years.

Tonight I preached at the main service for Maranatha Baptist Church. It was a wonderful attendance of a couple hundred people. God blessed the worship time and the following fellowship of our evangelism team.

The Cancer Care Ministry at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX is going on as I type this (as I prepare for bed here). I am praying for you all.

I still haven't found a way to download pictures from the camera yet. SO you must trust me the things are beautiful here. I have also grown 5" taller and my hair has gotten thick :)

Multi Pace (much peace) for now. Chow

-Sean

2006-06-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Suceava, Romania. The flight from Dallas to Chicago was smooth. Then we left Chicago an hour late. Big problem as we only had 55 mins. in Munich to make connection to Bucharest. The pilot made up the hour in flight - good job! I didn't sleep at all on the flight over the pond. Watched both movies (Failure to Launch & Dick and Jane).

My time is out at the internet cafe so I will try to update more later. God bless everyone and thanks for praying.

-Sean

2006-05-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well - can you tell that this semester was busy for me? No posts between the end of January and the beginning of May. It was a blessing though and God taught me a lot.

The Cancer Care ministry that I have been praying about for several years has begun to form. We meet as a support group monthly at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX (last Sunday of the month, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM). What a needed ministry.

I love reading the blogs by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. However, as my reading load increases I often can't stay current with his posts. Recently he posted a three-part commentary entitled "The Foolishness of the Cross". I had to print those out and save for after finals. I was able to read them today. WOW! (http://www.almohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-24; http://www.almohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-26; http://www.almohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-28) .

Here are my comments about Dr. Mohler's commentary "The Foolishness of the Cross":

Part I
* I agree that we have become too familiar Paul's words not only in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 but also throughout his writing. In my notes I wrote - "desnsitized."
* Martin Hengel says that a better translation for the word "foolishness" might be "madness" or "insanity." To those who are perishing it is insane to believe the things of the cross. Afterall, who really cares about you anyway? You have to take care of yourself first. It is all about you. Jesus said something much different in the greatest commandment.
* Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14. Why does mankind always associate wisedom only with the things we can understand?
* In discussing v. 21 Mohler says, "We came becasue of God's power." It is nothing that we do. We do not add even a mere spark to the power of God. His working in and through us is in His complete power. Thank God for that!

Part II
* Mohler talks about how the cross make sno sense to the sophisticated philosophy of life. Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato concerned themselves with the pursuit of the greatest good and with happiness. Yet, they sought out God's will. Socrates discovered that the answer to the Delphi Oracle riddle was that he was wise becasue he understood that he was a fool. Christ and His cross clearly points to good = God. Jesus said (Mark 10:18), "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."
* Mohler asks, "Have you ever considered the fact that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a witness to the power of the gospel?" I think even creation itself points so strongly to God's power. However, man looks for his own understanding. You talk about foolish. Pyne's book "Humanity and Sin" provides statistics on what would need to occur for each stage of evolution. Divine creation is much easier to understand than this and yet man calls creation foolish - "I want my way; I want the power; I want control!"
* Effectual call - "We didn't bring ourselves here." SOAP BOX: You will never lead anyone to Christ. God does all the leading. He may choose to work through you. You are a tool that He loves and uses to glorify Himself.
* "There is no social status in heaven." Amen! I often hear poeple say that this person will have a greater recognition in heaven. I don't see that. I heard a minister this last Sunday say that Constantine was not only a Christian but would have a much higher placement in heaven than he himself would occupy. John Piper writes ("The Supremacy of God in Preaching"), “God will hide from you much of your fruit. You will see enough to be assured of His blessing, but not so much as to think you could live without it.”
* Humility. Joseph was the choosen brother. Jacob and Esau. David was the young, rudy boy, Israel itself. Gideon's army!
* Martin Luther often talked about the Theologian of the cross. He said that we should never try to look beyond the cross of Christ. It is all we can handle to look upon it.

2006-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

WOW! The end of the year and the beginning of the next has come with a flurry of activity in my life. Christmas, followed by preparations for an I-Term class at the Seminary, the actual class, and then a couple of trips that took me out of town. I have read books by Plato (2), Aristotle, Immanuel Kant , Friedrich Nietzsche, and J.S. Mill since my last post. I am a terrible reader - slow, fall asleep, lose concentration. This much reading took a lot for me.

I have also been busy in preparing for the first meeting of the Cancer Care Ministry at Prestonwood Baptist Church. I have scheduled meetings for the last Sunday of the month. First Baptist Church - McKinney, TX has an incredible cancer support ministry and I have spent time talking with this group and attending their meetings. What a blessing that has been.

Several of our church family have been diagnosed recently with cancer. I have been blessed talking with them and hearing their desire to serve others and share the love they have found in Jesus Christ.

Now I must return to writing a paper on the ethics of stem cell therapy. More later.

2005-12-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

E-mail From pastor Nicu Gavril in Campulung, Romania:

We're having a pretty normal winter so far - cold and with pretty much snow. But everything is well, and we thank God for that.

I wanted to tell you some of the plans we have for this last month of December. In Romania, and I think everywhere, people are more opened to a lot of things during Christmas and the New Year. And we hope they'll be more opened to the Gospel too, so we're trying to take advantage of that. We've planned for a biblical contest that will include all the kids that go to school from 1 st grade to the 8th grade. Basically, what we're planning to do is to speak to all the school directors in the town, and with their approval to organize this contest with questions from the Bible (especially about Jesus' birth). We're planning to get everyone involved, from every class in every school.

The first stage of the competition will be held in every classroom. Then, the best 5-10 children in every class will go further to a next stage. Eventually we will have a number of children from every school that we're going to bring to the House of Culture, where the final stage will be held. Here we're planning to award prizes to the kids that will get this far. Also, we'll have a small concert with carols and a specific message.

I think this is a pretty good opportunity to reach kids but also their parents. They will be invited too at the House of Culture and maybe, seeing their own kids on the stage, and seeing them happy and involved in a Christian activity, they'll have some second thoughts about the Gospel. We really want you to pray for this, because it is a pretty complex and difficult project. We will have to get the approval of a lot of people, and we want God to work in their hearts, so that they won't be an obstacle for us. And we want it to be successful, by bringing as much people to God as possible. Also, we want you to pray for us for the financial part of this project. We are planning to give some prizes, but because of our current state with the church building, we will need a lot of God's blessings. So, please keep on praying for us!

Also, as we do every year, the youth are going to go caroling. But this time, we're planning to go in a near-by village where we have some both Christian and non Christian friends. And they're planning to carol as much people as possible, maybe the mayor and the orthodox priest too. Hope this will have a positive effect on them.

I'll finish here, and I'm praying that God will be with you, your family, and your church.

God bless, Nicu

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My response:

My dearest brother and friend Nicu,

It is with a heart longing to see you that I write this letter. You and the work in your country have been heavy on my heart these last several days. I know it is because God is at work there in a powerful way. I also pray that it will be in His will that I might return there this summer.

Our family is doing well. We all are sad that my mother is not with us during the Christmas season. But this is a jealousy for she is experiencing Christmas daily now. We long for those who are so dear a part of our lives and separated while at the same time rejoicing in their kingdom eternity. It is still hard as things like the first Christmas without mother remind us of the finality of a precious earthly life.

The cancer support ministry at Prestonwood Baptist church has begun. Praise be to God! I have already made several contacts and many people are excited to be a part of sharing God’s love with those facing this battle we call cancer. I am reading a couple of great books that deal with cancer from a Christian perspective. This is such a ripe time to speak with people about not only the hope they have in treatment but the greater hope they have in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

I am excited to here of the work you are doing in Campulung. You have become quite the evangelist my friend and I rejoice with you in hearing of the support you receive from the church and especially the community. Remember that God’s Word will never return void and it is but your duty to proclaim it. It blesses my soul to hear how you know have others supporting this ministry in your church and community. I shall pray that the Holy Spirit prepares you all for the harvest.

It is not much at all but I have sent a small gift to support your ministry you via Western Union. ******

Please express to your family my love and desire to see them all soon. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and pray that God will use you all not to point people towards the birth of His Son, but instead to the life of His Son.

- Sean

2005-12-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have learned how to blog using my mobile phone. I am sure t-mobile will appreciate this new knwoledge of mine.

2005-12-16T01:09:00.000-08:00

I have a good friend in the hospital. She just called to request our prayer. They have begun a blood transfusion. She was scared.

I told her that she had already experienced a blood transfusion when she accepted Christ. I began to pray. I beseeched God to heal this woman.

In the midst of my prayer I was overcome by the fact that I haven’t' been on my knees more for my friends, for my family, for the lost. I began to pray for myself - that God would help me to serve Him completely. I felt like I had neglected those that He has called me to serve.

God’s Word clearly communicates His desire for me as a shepherd to tend to His sheep. He sent His Son as an example for me. Yet I feel the pull of the world. It has another example for me and a different standard to live by. The world's standard is easier and seems to bring such personal pleasure. Who am I becoming?

When the message we preach (from the pulpit and from the streets) elevates the will of man to an equal status with God’s will, we try to remove Him from the throne and take Him off the cross. We tell ourselves that our will is in line with God’s will, and at times it surely might be. However, our sin nature leads us to choose our own desires when the two wills are not aligned. God’s grip on His elect is what keeps us on track.

Jesus Christ said “I will build My church.” This is the promise that provides an incredible hope to the lives of all who believe. While man continues to “play” church and build a religious kingdom, God continues to build His Kingdom through His Son. As those called by God to equip the saints for the service of ministry we must recognize that nothing is more powerful than God’s Word. We must recognize that nothing even compares to God’s Word. We must preach God’s Word in it’s entirety. There is no “Gospel Light.”

True worship places God as the priority and Christ on the throne. The words of a popular hymn say: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” Jesus said that He is the Light and whoever follows Him should never walk in darkness. Let us always examine what it means to follow Him. In our worship are we following Him? In our sermons are we following Him? In our lives are we following Him? Are we ashamed of His Gospel? If we can say no then we must prove this by preaching it fully (and some times use words).

2005-12-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

I still don't understand the blog thing, but here I am. My Greek professor began a blog and I followed suite kinda unintentionally - I thought I was just logging in to post something to his site. Blog by mistake!

I figure that I will try this a see how it works. I spend as much time as I can with my family. I am also in seminary so a lot of time is spent reading, writing, and studying. I will post thoughts along the way and see how this goes.

God bless and Merry Christmas.