"Soul" vs. "Spirit": Are They One in the Same?

My dear friend Bennie Durham wrapped up preaching revival at the church I pastor last week.  He did a tremendous job, and God definitely used him.  He preached a series of messages out of Hebrews 4.  One night talking about Hebrews 4:12-13, he made the comment about the "soul" and "spirit" being essentially the same thing.  Let me try to clarify this for you.

The words for "soul" and "spirit" are two entirely different words in the Greek language, which is what the New Testament was written in.  The Greek word for "soul" is psuchē, while the Greek for "spirit" is pneúma.  To make the comparison easier, I would reference you to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, where Paul prays for the Thessalonians for God to, "sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Let us try to differentiate between "soul" and "spirit."  The "spirit" is the part that enables us to perceive the divine.  Through this component we can know and communicate with God.This higher element, though damaged through the fall of Adam, is sufficently intact to provide each individual a consciousness of God.

The "soul" is the sphere of our will and emotions, the true center of personality, which gives us a self-consciouness that relates to the physical world through the body and to God through the spirit.

The "body" is the physical side of the human person.  This analysis of humankind had been Paul's training in the Old Testament, though much unresolved mystery remains regarding the interrelationships between the different parts, including the body.  How one affects the other is fully understood only by the Creator. 

I hope this clears the muddying of the waters somewhat.  Please feel free to respond with questions.

Blessings,

Bryan

Worship Wars

Contemporary or Traditional?  That is one of the hot button issues in many of today's churches.  Quite a few have attempted to bridge the gap by having "blended" worship services.  I preached the first part of a two-part message entitled, "Symbols & Cymbals of Worship" based on 2 Samuel 6.  At the risk of being misunderstood and misinterpreted, let me clarify a few things for you:

1. "Contemporary" is a subjective word.  What is contemporary to you might be considered outdated by another and vice-versa.

2. I am not against certain "secular" music.  I like certain songs from a variety of genres of music.  For instance, I have a George Strait greatest hist CD that I enjoy listening to from time to time.

3. What makes a song God-honoring or satanic is the lyrics, not necessarily the music.  Songs that promote alcohol, drugs, promiscuous sex, and other behaviors that are expressly forbidden in the Bible are satanic in origin and a believer has no businesses listening to them.

4. I am not against "praise bands" and "praise teams" in a worship service.  I actually enjoy them.  I think having a variety of things in a worship service adds excitement, energy, and creativity.  

5. I am not against traditional choirs.  In fact, I believe they add a great deal to the worship service.  You can do things with a choir that you cannot do with a praise band or praise team. 

6. I am against playing secular music in a worship service.  Why, you might ask?  The main reason is you cannot hope to achieve spiritual results (salvation of souls, conviction of sin, transformation of the heart) by using worldly methods.  Oil and water do not mix.

2 Cor. 6:14-18 (ESV):
 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

Although Paul is dealing with the marriage of a believer to an unbeliever, the broader scriptural application is clear:  believers should be different from the world.   That includes their talk, attitudes, behaviors, and choices.  God is not honored when we bring secular music into our worship experience.  In fact, we do people a disservice.  

So in closing, let me be clear:  I believe a church should use a variety of methods for worship including a traditional choir, praise band, and praise teams.  I believe the music should be uptempo, energetic, and cause people to lift their voices in praise.  However, no matter what method you use, the music should always exalt Christ, honor the Father, and enable the Holy Spirit to supernaturally work in the hearts and minds of the people.  What that is done, souls will be saved and lives changed for the glory of God.

Blessings,

Bryan

Was Jesus Really Married?

I first read the book, The DaVinci Code, back in 2003.  A friend I worked with let me borrow so I could see for myself what all the fuss was about.  I read it-and then promptly dismissed it.  There were so many holes and fabrications in Dan Brown's work that it was laughable.  That is, until the general public started believing it to be serious academic work instead of what it really was-entertainment fiction.  The sad thing about it was Brown started believing he was a serious scholar and attributing factual claims to his book that did not stand up.  Several years later came the movie starring Tom Hanks-I really liked him up to that point.  Just when I thought we had put all these unfounded claims to rest, here it rears back it's ugly head.

Karen King, a Harvard divinity professor, has been given a small fragment of a papyrus written in Coptic from around the 4th century.  It is presumed the fragment is Egyptian in origin, and is translated, "Jesus said to them, my wife.."  Dr. King is now saying this fragment is part of a larger papyrus scroll still yet to be found.  She has dubbed this fragment, "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife."  Well, I am just a simple country preacher.  I don't teach at Harvard.  However, I do have a little common sense.  At least that is what my wife tells me occasionally.  So, let us look at the facts of this "gospel."

• The fragment is the size of a business card.  
• The fragment is from the middle of a larger papyrus scroll-which means you lose the context in which it was written all together.
• The papyrus is dated to the 4th century.  That is more than 400 years after Jesus' death and resurrection.
• The texts we have in the Bible were written much earlier.  Epistles like 1 Corinthians were written around 55-56 A.D.-just a mere 22-25 years after Jesus' passion.  The last gospel written, John, was composed around 90 A.D.
• Karen King has an agenda.  Read this article:
•  http://www.examiner.com/article/karen-king-needs-jesus-to-have-a-wife-so-her-career-can-have-a-future.

The bottom line is:  if you are a Christian, the Bible you have is the most tried, tested, and authenticated source of Jesus' life on the planet.  Don't lose sleep over this.  Have confidence.  Just my take on this whole deal.

Blessings,
Bryan

Overcoming the Dark Side

One of the books I'm reading right now is titled, "The Dark Side of Leadership." It is a very thought provoking book. Basically, it works on the premise that all of us have a dark side to us. Past experiences, our childhood, the way we were raised by our parents, and our inherit personality all contribute to this darker side of our personality. After reading several chapters I thought to myself, "I'm one messed up individual." It's enough to send someone straight to therapy!

After coming in off the ledge (just kidding), I realized how true it is. All of us do have a darker side. Now, I don't mean we are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type people. However, if we are honest with ourselves, we have a side to us we don't want most people to see. It's the side of us perhaps only our kids and spouse see. The side we would be embarrassed and ashamed of if people caught a glimpse of it.

The good news is our dark sides can be redeemed. The way we do this is by bringing those dark components of our personality into the light of Jesus so they can be healed, restored, and redeemed. This leads to a healthy, whole individually instead of a fragmented one.

Jesus Himself said essentially the same thing in John 3:19-21:

"This, then is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God."

So, bring yourself into the light of Christ and allow Him to expose those things in your heart and mind that need to be healed and redeemed. Don't allow yourself to be divided anymore. Let Christ make you whole.

Expecting Great Things,
Bryan

Pain Versus Discomfort

Yesterday was a great day at New Hope. We had one person come over from death to life and recieve Jesus Christ as thier Savior! That never gets old.

I said last night that what happened Sunday morning should be the norm in the church and not the exception!

If we really believe Jesus is coming back for His Church then we should be telling everybody we can about Jesus!

Sometimes we can fall into the trap of not expecting anything to happen in our services. We can get lulled into a sense of "normalcy" and complancecy. We live with the pain of not seeing God move for so long we get numb to it.

Let me illustrate this. I had been having neck pain for quite some time. I had learned to live with that pain and the limitations that it placed on me. It wasn't until I got tired of living with the pain that I decided to take the step and see a doctor. After a series of examinations, the doctor saw the problem-my neck was jacked up! He said, "Bryan, if we don't get this fixed, you won't have funcitonal movement in your neck in a few years." Talk about scaring me straight!

Well, I have been going to the doctor three times a week for the past few weeks getting adjustments and phyiscal therpay on my neck and back. I'm not going to lie-the first few times it hurt! I thought, "If this is what its going to be, forget this!" But, the doctor told me something that has stuck with me. He said, "Bryan, your neck has been messed up for so long that when I put the bones back where they should be it is going to cause discomfort. Discomfort is part of the healing process."

When the prospect of pain is greater than the discomfort of healing transformation takes place.

God wants more for us and the church than we can ever imagine! Read Acts chapter 2. God wants to use His church to expand the kingdom. Let's be a part of it!

Expecting Great Things,
Pastor Bryan

I love to eat. There, I have confessed it. That's why I love to workout so much-it gives me an excuse to eat. One of my favorite places to eat is Chic-Fil-A. The food is awesome. Whether it is chicken nuggets and waffle fries, or a chicken salad sandwich with carrot & raisin salad, I'm all in when it comes to the cow. However, something else that stands out about Chic-Fil-A is there attitude towards service. Although it is a fast food restaurant, they give service like a fine dining establishment. I rarely have to get refills on my drink-someone almost always comes by and says, "Can I get you a refill?" They always have a smile on their face. Sub-consciously, it makes me want to come back. The more I think about it, the church should have that same kind of attitude towards people. We should create an atmosphere where people are overwhelmed by the kindness and joy over seeing them in our churches. It should make them hunger to come back next week. So let me ask you: What can you do to make your church a more welcoming place to outsiders? You don't have to serve chicken and waffle fries. Just give them the bread of life. I promise you they will want to come back again. I suddenly have a craving for some chicken. Expecting Great Things, Bryan

Coming Home

You have heard the old adage, "There's no place like home." I always knew intellectually that statement was true. However, you have to experience being away from home to know what it truly means.

I spent 8 days in Ecuador doing pre-planning for a mission trip in June. It was a wonderful experience. God moved in amazing ways. I went none stop all week. Needless to say, I got little sleep. In the midst of it all, God revealed to me how precious certain things are that I take for granted. Like drinkable water, air conditioning, ESPN (just thought I would throw that in for fun) and most of all-my family.

Now, don't think that I didn't appreciate my family before I left. Anybody who knows me can tell you my family is priority number one. However, God gave me a new sense of appreciation for my wife and kids. Being away from them increased my love, affection, and appreciation for them. It did the same thing for them.

What I want to say to you is this: don't wait to go to a different continent to tell your family how much they mean to you. Tell them today. Send a text. Make a phone call. One day you won't have the chance. Make the most of your opportunities. Then you can look back on your life with no regrets.

Expecting Great Things,
Bryan