We are excited to announce some new features to the blogsite. As more and more readers are viewing from foreign countries we have added the translate feature to the site. Our readers can also now choose to have the blog emailed to them, and they can search the blog by keywords on various topics. We hope that this makes the site more manageable for you. God Bless.

Hear current audio messages by Pastor Scott Burr at:
http://sermon.net/dayspringchurchag

Thursday, April 12, 2012

“Resurrecting the Great Commission

(part 1)

“Later Jesus appearedto the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith andtheir stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:14-15

I think it is important to recognize that the gospel of Jesus Christ did not end with the resurrection! As we celebrate Passion Week,there is a tremendous amount of attention given to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and rightly so! However, as the holiday draws to a close and people start back to work we tend to forget Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry.

After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for 40 days and
was seen by all of His disciples and many followers. In fact, 1 Corinthians
15:6 tells us that He was seen by as many as 500 people! These sightings were
not merely to give validation to His resurrection, but rather His presence on
earth was to commission His followers to carry out His kingdom purposes.

According to Luke 19:10, Jesus’ primary purpose in coming to earth was to save the lost:

“For the Son of man came to seek and save what was lost.”

Jesus was concerned about mankind’s eternal condition. He
came to earth to save them from the penalty of sin becoming a ransom for many.
His concern for souls surfaces, once again, in one of His last directives
before ascending into heaven:

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Mark 16:15-16

This mandate has two important components to remember. First, the phrase-“Go into all the world” indicates that as a body of believers we are never to remain still! The gospel was never intended to be housed within the four walls of a church, but rather proclaimed to the four corners of the earth. As God’s Word is living and active, so must His church be! We cannot reach the lost by simply warming the pews on Sunday morning. We must be mobile! We must embrace Jesus’ imperative to “Go”!

The question then arises…Where do we go? Where do we go to find “lost” people? The answer is simple. Everywhere! Jesus directive to go into “all the world”, indicates that there are lost people everywhere we go! Everywhere could be as close as your next door neighbor or as far away as the jungles of Ecuador.Regardless of where you go, you will not find them standing still!

The second component to remember from Mark 16:15 is this-the method by which we reach them is through preaching! Romans 10:13-14 tells us:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in. And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Preaching the good news is God’s chosen method for reaching the lost! Most people assume that the word ‘preach” means to deliver a sermon. However, the word preach is best defined as “to proclaim publically.” You and I have been commissioned by Jesus
Christ to go into all the world and to publically proclaim the good news. This
requires us to understand the gospel message!

Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

“The Oil Press of Prayer”

(Part 2)

“Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba,Father,” he said, “Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then he returned to his disciples andfound them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “Are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?”
Mark 14:35-37

Jesus, hours before his crucifixion, prepared himself for the unimaginable trial that was before him by pressing into a time of earnest prayer. Nevertheless, even in the midst of His own pressing, he returned to His disciples!

The first time, He returned to them, we see that He mentioned Peter by name… “Simon, Are you asleep?” Jesus had told Peter, earlier that evening that Satan had asked to sift him like wheat. As Jesus was preparing to face the trials before Him, Peter was sleeping. Perhaps Peter felt that his passion and zeal would be adequate to face Satan’s schemes. However, he would soon discover that passion is no substitute for preparation.

Three times,Jesus would return to his disciples that night and three times he would find them sleeping. Men who had declared they would never fall away. One man, Peter,declared he would even die for Jesus! Yet they could not even muster the fortitude to pray for one hour!

Later that evening, Jesus is arrested and we catch up with Peter in Mark 14:66-72:

“While Peter was below in the courtyard,one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warminghimself, she looked closely at him. “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said. But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking
about,” he said, and went out into the entryway. When the servant girl saw him
there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”
Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter,
“Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” He began to call down
curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” Immediately
the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had
spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.”
And he broke down and wept”

Peter is being pressed! Unfortunately, he is not prepared to face the challenges and
troubles before him. Three times Peter denied Jesus, the same number of times
that Jesus tried to wake him to pray.

Jesus was prepared to face what was ahead of him because he had spent time in the
“oil press”! Peter, however, caved to the pressures because he slept when he
should have been praying.

Do not think you can rely on your passion to carry you through difficult times, it
is the time that we spend in the oil press of prayer that will ultimately carry
us through!

Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/