According to Lilies

The Blog of Joshua Hughes, Worship Minister at Four Oaks Community Church.

October 21, 2008

The Power of God in the Gospel

This weekend, I had the privilege of meeting a man who has profoundly impacted my life and my ministry from afar via the blessings of the internet, Bob Kauflin.  We had a great conversation, and I got to be a part of a meeting for which he led worship.  Bob was kind enough to give me several books, one of which is A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent, which I have been working through in my devotional time over the last couple of days.  I was stirred up by what I read this morning and have been meditating on it all day.

“Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel.  This must be so, for the Bible twice describes the gospel as ‘the power of God.’  Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the person of Jesus Christ.  Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work.

Indeed, God’s power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour.  Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled ‘the power of God.’  How powerful then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title!  And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!”

How great indeed.  Thank you, Mr. Vincent, for stirring up my affections for the gospel today.  Thank you, Bob, for all you have taught me and for your generous gift.  And thank you, Father, for Your free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus my Lord!

Tags: Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

posted by Joshua Hughes

October 13, 2008

The Dougs and Jeff

This morning I met with my dear friend, Doug Smidley, who is going to lead us in our time of singing this Sunday while I am out of town.  As I left our meeting, I gave thanks to God for sending faithful men like Doug, Doug Jernigan and Jeff Van Syckle who serve me and our church by offering their gifts to lead the body of Christ so that I can take the occasional Sunday off for vacation and other ministry responsibilities.  All three of these men are excellent musicians, but they are truly exceptional in the humility with which they approach the task of serving our church.  Each if them is involved in Fellowship Group leadership.  Doug Smidley and Doug Jernigan are faithful leaders in our Sunday morning setup and breakdown teams, and Jeff has led worship in children’s ministry for a couple of years now.  They all go out of their way to encourage and support me in any way possible as I lead our team.  These brothers are examples to me of what it means to “serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100).”  So if you see any of them this week, please thank them for their service and for being a constant source of encouragement to their pastor.

Tags: Pastors and Preaching

posted by Joshua Hughes