There has been a lot of philosophical discussion regarding the concept of “collective salvation.” The premise being that no one will achieve salvation on his/her own. But that it will be achieved all together with someone who will be able to lead us to that fulfillment. The assumption is that it will be achieved, that man with his own ingenuity and effort will be able to accomplish it all together, and that man doesn’t need God.
If man is so capable and so intelligent to accomplish this then why, for 6000 years has he not been able to do so. In fact, the world is getting worse regarding conflict and wickedness, not better. We see wars all around us and violence within us. God gave us some insight from His Word that the world cannot see.
“In the last days there will be difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents and ungrateful… They will be cruel and hate what is good, they will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than God.” Does that sound like we can achieve salvation and solve all of our problems?
The fact is that we need someone beyond ourselves to take us out of the mess we created. The fact is that someone has already done this for us. He was sent by our creator just for that purpose. His name is Jesus! He did what man could not do, to change our very nature and give us hope and peace that all people are longing for. The only salvation that will transform culture is “personal salvation.” Only God can change the human heart. Jesus said, “I am not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance.”
I’ve been thinking about my years at The Chapel and what I’ve appreciated about the people and the ministry here. Looking back, I can clearly see why God led us here. Gina and I needed a place to teach us what a healthy, Biblical ministry looks like. Here is a list of random thoughts of what I love about The Chapel and why I think it reflects a Biblical church:
1. The Bible: This church has always preached, taught, and studied from the Bible. The world may laugh at our belief in its power, but you can’t argue with the lives that have been changed by it. “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” Isaiah 40:8.
2. Outreach: This past Spring I read through the annual reports from all the ministry teams and one particular theme impressed me; nearly every ministry reported on at least one evangelistic initiative they had led in the past year! I thought to myself, “This really is an externally focused church!” I love that! Thinking of our church’s ministry just this summer, here are some evangelistic outreaches I can list from memory: the Riverside VBS, The Chapel’s VBS, two RAK events, the basketball camp and two 5 Day Clubs in Benton Harbor. Literally, thousands of people have been touched by the gospel in just three months! I haven’t even mentioned the individuals in our church who are sharing the gospel in community ministries, with friends, or with co-workers! And I also haven’t mentioned our benevolent ministry to the community. Wonderful!
3. Missions: Do you realize that The Chapel has focused on missions now for 30 years! Don’t even get me started on how many short term and career missionaries The Chapel has supported over the years. And…don’t get me started on the millions of dollars in that time frame that has been given to missions! Enough said.
4. Unity: The Chapel has an incredible unity about it. Don’t be mistaken as to its source, this is a gift of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6). The Chapel has consistently majored on the majors, and let the minors slide. I remember going to a business meeting a few years ago where we had to go a different direction with our building plans. That could have been a messy meeting. But it wasn’t! I drove home after that meeting with my faith strengthened as a Christian, because the people of this church sought God’s will and not their own.
5. Love: There are countless unheard stories of how people have been loved by their brothers and sisters in Christ here. ABFs, Small Groups, Sunday School classes, Youth Groups, Choir, Tech Team, Worship Team, Men’s and Women’s ministries, Stephen Ministries, Grace Groups, and personal friendships. All of these relationship groups have brought people together in Christ and His love has been extended in jaw dropping ways. By the way, the next time you are here after a service, stop and observe how people just stand around and talk to one another. That is a great sign of God’s work here!
6. Grace: It’s no secret that in general, the congregation of The Chapel reflects a middle-class and up, Caucasian, social class in our town. But I have watched countless times as people of lower income or a different race have walked in here, and you have cheerfully and sincerely greeted them and embraced them with God’s grace. Thank you for that. That speaks more loudly than you realize.
7. Men: This might seem like an odd observation, but I believe one of the reasons The Chapel is such a healthy church is because the men have stepped up to lead. This is not a slight against the women who faithfully and wonderfully serve. But it is a fact that God has instilled leadership in a man and given us that role. While in many local churches the men are absent, at The Chapel you see men in the nursery, in children’s Sunday school, in ABFs, leading Small Groups, and in every area of the church. When men lead, God blesses.
8. Prayer: Although we do not have a visible prayer ministry (as in a Wednesday night prayer meeting), the people of The Chapel pray. Prayer happens through individuals, ABFs, Small Groups, Sunday Schools, the Sunday morning prayer ministry, the prayer chain, the prayer inserts, the monthly prayer guide, and in our ministry planning meetings. I believe that one of the biggest reasons for the ‘success’ of The Chapel’s ministry is because people have pleaded with God for His work to be done in us and through us in this town.
As a young Pastor stepping in to my first Sr. Pastor position, thank you, thank you, thank you for the healthy target I have to shoot for. God knew what He was doing when He brought my family here, and I hope to be a faithful minister who is used to lead a healthy church. We feel like one of the family whom you are sending out to multiply God’s work. We love you and appreciate you.
Having just begun our new series in Philippians, my first message was from Acts 16, looking at the circumstances Paul faced when he, Silas, Luke and Timothy planted this wonderful church in the Greek city of Philippi. What we saw by way of introduction was that we all, if we understand what salvation means to us, need to be committed to evangelism. That’s how a church not only is established, but grows; it’s all through evangelism and discipleship!
In our study of Acts 16 we saw how Lydia and her household, the jailor and his family and very likely the demon possessed slave girl all came to faith in Jesus – all through evangelism.
As we get into Paul’s letter to the Philippians we will see his emphasis on evangelism in the opening chapter.
When I challenged our church family to learn a method of evangelism and then to step up our sharing of the Gospel, many came forward to make that commitment. As I shared that Sunday morning, I know that I too need to step up my commitment to evangelism. I need to be looking for more opportunities to share my faith. In talking with Pastor Paul Thompson earlier this week, being in the ministry most of our friends and associate know Christ as their Savior. That means I need to be looking all the harder for those opportunities.
As a result of my message and challenge, I have begun to journal each day about the opportunities God puts before me to share my faith and then record whether or not I was able to take that opportunity. I certainly am praying more through the day, “Lord, help me see the opportunity You place before me and help me to speak out the Gospel for You.”
As I personally take that challenge, along with some 30 + others from our church, will you join us?
Here is another confirmation of the authenticity of the Bible from the book of Daniel. In the eighth chapter God used him to predict what was going to happen 400 years in the future and, following history, every part of it came true. The vision was that of a ram and a goat, the ram referring to the Medo Persian Empire and the goat referring to the Grecian Empire. The goat stiffly smashed the ram and became very powerful. Alexander the Great conquered the known world at that time within three years.
The prophecy went on to state that the goat’s large horn was then broken off and in its place grew four horns pointing in the four directions of the earth. History has proven this to be true. Alexander’s kingdom was divided into four parts and ruled by four kings.
The Bible went on further to state that “From one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power became very great.” From one of the four rulers who was Seleucus came a man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes who emerged as a world leader and conquered Seleucus’s territory including Epypt. When he came back into Israel he forced the Jews to worship his god called Zeus and built an alter on top of the Hebrew’s alter where a pig was offered to this god.
That happened exactly as Daniel prophesied when he referred to ending the daily sacrifice and truth was overthrown. This was known as the rebellion that causes desecration. How long would that be? The answer was 2300 evenings and mornings. It was exactly that period of time when Judas Maccabeus finally overthrew the Greek rule in Israel and cleansed the temple.
It is just another detail proving the prophesies of the Bible to be true and confirmed from history.
While on the beach talking to Rich, my husband, he mentioned a great idea for a blog. It sounded insightful and challenging and much better than the VBS rabbit trail I was making, so with the help of my better half this is what he observed.
Last week, on one of Rich’s many journeys to the beach, he observed a dad playing with his about 12 yr. old son. This son had Down’s Syndrome. The two were laughing and having a wonderful time together. His first thought was, “what a struggle for that family.” After scanning the beach he also noticed other dads with their sons. Many of those dads were deeply focused reading their book or magazine or in their own thoughts, vaguely aware of what their child was doing. They were self-focused and didn’t look so happy.
In contrast, one dad was given an unexpected gift, Down's syndrome, and the rest of the dads were given an expected gift, a child without handicaps. But why was there such a huge difference in the two situations? If you take the gifts God has given all of us and make the most of what you can with that gift, you will have times of laughter and true happiness.
To look how this could be applied in another way, listen to this true life example: There was an older gentleman who visits his wife in a nursing home every day. Not so strange you may say ,except for the fact that she has Alzheimer's and no longer knows his name or who he is. He considers himself very blessed compared to other men because many have had to bury their wives and he still has her here on earth.
Here’s our challenge: make the most of the gifts God has given us, expected gifts or not expected gifts. Seize each day with anticipation and make the most with the gifts he’s given us.
I have a jar of candy sitting on my desk. It’s not very big but it seems to be the biggest reason people visit my office. Recently I noticed that my candy jar was getting low. The reason this struck me is because I just filled it up a week or two ago. Normally the candy lasts a few months.
It’s obvious to anybody who would ever stop to think about something so trivial. If you put a kind of candy in the candy jar that people like it will get eaten. If you put candy in the jar that people don’t care about it will be overlooked.
If your life were a candy jar what kind of candy would you say you are offering? I know it’s a silly question, but I think it’s worth pausing and considering. The life we live will offer something to people around us, but what is it you and I are offering?
God’s word says in Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT), “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” If the candy jar is filled with love, we are both imitating God as well as offering something to the world that is irresistible. Just like no one can resist a really good candy, I believe no one can resist someone who will genuinely live a life of love. I’m convinced that as we get better at living a life of love, people will understand God better and will flock to the Church. I’m convinced that love is what our world is missing and it’s what everyone greatly craves.
This is why God is so great. Love is what He has to offer us. God’s love is everlasting. 1 John 4:7-12 breaks this whole thing down. God showed His love to us by paying a debt that we would never be able to pay. He offers us the opportunity to accept His offer to pay that debt. When we accept that offer He asks in return that we continue to pay it forward by showing love to other people. He even goes as far as saying that this is how we prove that we belong to God…by doing what He does…loving others even when they don’t deserve it (2 Cor. 6:6).
Fill your candy jar with love. I dare you to do this even for one week and watch to see what God does in you and through you. I think you will find it to be fun, joyful, and impactful. It may even be more fun than giving away free candy.
My beautiful bride, Gina, and I will be married for 10 years on July 1st. We met on December 6, 1996, at Butler University in Indianapolis, began dating on March 1, 1997, and now here we are!
Before we were married I always thought that I wanted a wife who had as big of dreams and aspirations as I had. I thought about how great it would be if both of us could go out and conquer the world! But, God in His wisdom knew what He was doing when He gave Gina to me. Thankfully Gina’s personality is to be a very steady, supportive, and loyal woman. She is not interested in going out to conquer the world; she’d rather stay close to home! Although I did not know it ten years ago, I can see how much I needed this from her. She supports me and keeps things steady at home while I work in the ministry.
From even before our marriage began, we intentionally set healthy spiritual patterns that would help us for our future together. I remember thinking early on in our relationship that Psalm 127:1 was a great verse on which to build our marriage. It says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Through God’s kindness, we have tried to look to Him for help in decision making and direction for our lives, marriage, and parenting.
A few years ago we came up with a ‘Hayward Family Mission Statement,’ that has reminded us of what we want our marriage to stand for. Here is the brief version: “We the Hayward’s seek to glorify God in our daily lives, testify to the name of Jesus, and multiply a godly legacy through our children.” We realize that our marriage exists for more than just keeping each other happy. Ultimately, we exist as a couple to make God happy.
I’m a very blessed man to have a loyal friend and life companion in Gina and I look forward to making more memories with her for many years to come.
This coming Sunday, Father’s Day, we will be looking at the second half of the book of Ruth, seeing how Boaz rescued Ruth and thus Naomi. He did it because he was their “kinsman-redeemer.”
In preparing for this message, I got to thinking about being rescued. As a pastor, much of what I do is to shepherd, care for, help, and nurture those under my care. So while I have helped a lot of people, it’s hard to say, “I rescued this person.” It is far easier for me to say who has rescued me. How about you, is that true for you?
Here are a few of my rescuers:
This was my biggest rescuing. Back in my former church in Pennsylvania, we were going through our second building project, doubling our sanctuary space, adding classrooms and expanding our foyer. Our building committee was not functioning as it should have been and I seemed to be the answer man for the project. I was overwhelmed because ministry was still going on as usual, but we were working in an “invaded” building. When the builders began the expansion of the foyer just outside my office, I was not handling it very well. It came to a head for me one Sunday morning when everything seemed in disarray and I had no where to go for a time of prayer, so I felt like walking away. I sure didn't feel like preaching … but I did. Well, before long Todd Miller, one of our deacons, a good friend, and also the sub-contractor for the electrical and heating, said to me, “Phil, I will answer all questions that come to you. You don't need to do that. Send them to me.” And Todd really did rescue me. On the one hand, what's the big deal? This shouldn’t have been so overwhelming, but it was. I was at an emotional breaking point and no one seemed to be helping me. But Todd came to my rescue. And I have thanked him for what he did a number of times.
My second rescue came from three pastors and a nurse. All are nameless to me. A month after being diagnosed with my Hairy Cell Leukemia, Lisa and I attended a pastors’ and wives’ conference in Indiana, PA. While in the first session, I began to feel chest pains. I thought I was having a heart attack. After calling our oncologist, we went to the emergency room of the hospital in town. They would not give me pain medicine until they figured the cause, and it was my spleen which had tripled in size. They were going to take me to Allegany General Hospital in Pittsburgh to have it removed. The spleen was a key piece to my battle with leukemia, and if they removed it, they would be taking years off my life. So I was very saddened by this news. Rachel was just 3 years old and Dan was 8. While in the hospital, I could hardly breathe and the pain continued. During that time, I just could not pray. I couldn’t pray because of my physical, but more so, my emotional pain. I had never experienced this before. However, three pastors who were strangers to me came from the conference to pray over and for me. Indeed they rescued me! I was then taken by ambulance to Allegany General Hospital, just over an hour away. While there, they ran many tests and while waiting for one test, lying on a gurney, I was very sick to my stomach. This was when I met my next rescuer, a brunette nurse who was so kind, caring, and helpful. I cannot remember her face, but she truly was a rescuer for me. The rest of the story … I was scheduled to go to surgery and when they came to do a final check on me, my spleen had returned to normal. Great answer to prayer!
My third rescuer is Art Miller, who was an elder here at The Chapel and one of our Building Committee Chairmen (before they moved to Ohio) for our new worship center. At one meeting, we were discussing the type and size of the foyer. We all agreed that it needed to be large. I was convinced that it needed to be a large rectangle, not a wraparound, as we do have. But I think I was the minority voice in that meeting, because it was expressed that all of the worship center doors needed to exit into the foyer. Well, I was pretty silent by the end of that meeting, and everyone left but me. After maybe 10 minutes or so, Art came back because he was concerned about me. I needed to see the space in actual feet, not on paper. So in his kindness, we measured off the area in the west wing hallway for length and width and …the rest is history. Art indeed rescued me from my emotional conflict over that issue.
My encouragement for you is to think back through your life. Who has been a rescuer for you? Think about them and then share your story with them. If possible, try to thank them for how they “rescued you.” I have. Will you?
You never know how much you need something until it’s no longer there. After playing piano for nearly 40 years (30 years professionally), I have developed a nasty case of tendonitis in my right index finger. Not only does that affect my playing, but since I’m right-handed it affects EVERYTHING I do. To give it some rest, I’ve had to learn to use my left hand, which has been quite challenging and really funny as well. For instance, after brushing my teeth left-handed for the first time, I felt like I had to clean the toothpaste out of my nose and ears! Although my left hand has been severely coordination challenged in the past, I’m slowly learning to use it for everyday tasks. With a lot of rest, a splint, and some strengthening exercises, I should be able to resume normal use of the hand several weeks/months down the road.
I’m so thankful that in our walk with God he’s always there to guide us, pick us up and dust us off when we fall, and set us back on our feet to continue following in His footsteps. Hebrews 13:5-6 says “…and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me and that he’ll never leave me nor forsake me gives me hope and motivates me to share His love with others. When I think about the pain and suffering that Christ went through on my behalf, dealing with my affliction and cleaning a little toothpaste out of my ear becomes a minor inconvenience in comparison.
I have been praying about two major situations in my life in the last year. In one situation, I have seen God bring the details together week by week; and felt His presence often as I see how the situation will come to an end.
In the other, we have seen silence for many months.
In which one have I learned more?
In the silence! Finally the last two months have seen aresolution to the situation. But a national event last week caused me to hit my head and say, "So that's what God was doing!" And to be even more grateful to Him for the answer. Waiting made it more precious.
God's timing is a very important concept in my daily life. I never doubt that God is orchestrating in His own time. But deep down, in my own weakness, maybe I was questioning. When an answer to my prayers came, I realized this was a major entry in my faith journey diary. I can look back, point to this time and know that God is listening. I can look at the familiar verse in Romans 8:28 and note this part: "In all things, God works!"
