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Plant The God Seed

August 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever been disappointed because you had a dream that died? How do we justify this with the biblical definition of faith which says, “faith is being sure of what we hope for”?

It’s just this:

If God takes away a dream, it’s because the dream was too small.
God wants us to be more focused on the Dream Giver than we are on the dream.

So sometimes God asks us to let a dream die.

Think of a watermelon seed. It’s not very big, sort of dull in color, and it’s only a single seed. To plant the seed, means you have to take your hands off it: the seed is now out of your sight and out of your control. But it is there—dead in the ground—that a miracle happens!

A single watermelon seed grows 200,000 times its own weight! A colorless seed produces the vibrant greens and pinks of a mature watermelon. And that single seed produces 100+ seeds.

Has God given you a dream? Has He asked you to give up that dream? Then plant that seed! When you do, the results will be more than you can imagine.

“Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of faith is to see what we believe.” —Augustine

These are some of my notes from part 3 of my See The Invisible series at Calvary Assembly of God. I would love to have you join me when we continue this series on September 4.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Augustine, Calvary Assembly of God, dreams, faith, God's plan, miracles, quote, sermon. Leave a Comment »

See The Invisible

August 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Noted New Atheist Richard Dawkins says,

“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence. … Faith is not allowed to justify itself by argument.”

I wholeheartedly—and even respectfully—disagree.

The Bible does define faith as “Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Just a few verses later there is an even stronger statement about faith: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

I have evaluated the evidence. I have thought long and hard about the options. I can justify all of the arguments. And my faith stands strong!

God wants all who call on Him to grow in God-pleasing faith. So I’m really excited to dive into our brand new series called SEE THE INVISIBLE this Sunday.

I hope you can join me at 10:30am this Sunday at Calvary Assembly of God.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: atheism, Calvary Assembly of God, faith, Hebrews, Richard Dawkins, sermon. 1 Comment »

How To unDo unChristian

July 18, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday at Calvary Assembly of God, we continued our series called In It Not Of It, in which we are considering how to biblically engage our culture. In alarmingly high numbers, more and more people have thoughts that are positively unChristian toward those who call themselves Christian.

How do we undo this cultural bias? I think we have to be people of overwhelming grace.

Being grace-filled people is the only way I can see for us to unDo the unChristian mindset. To see how Jesus did this, see His interaction with a particular woman in John 8:2-11.

The Apostle Paul also gave us a good example of grace-filled living. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says he is indebted to all mankind, which makes him eager to preach the Gospel (Romans 1:14-15). I love Oswald Chambers’ commentary on these verses:

“Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding EVERY unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness. …

“Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. This is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine IN REAL LIFE.”

I am committed to living a life of overwhelming grace poured out for EVERY unsaved soul. And I am SO BLESSED to be able to pastor a church that feels and acts the same way! We’re not going to be passive reactionaries to the unChristian cultural bias … we’re going to live IN REAL LIFE as proactive, grace-filled people, so that we can unDo unChristian!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: apostle Paul, Calvary Assembly of God, Christian, Gospel of John, grace, Oswald Chambers, quote, Romans, sermon, unchurched, video. 1 Comment »

Smith Wigglesworth On Faith (book review)

July 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

He may have a funny-sounding name, but—wow—can this man ever preach!

Smith Wigglesworth didn’t sit down to write a book, he just preached this book. In fact, Smith didn’t even read other books; he only read the Bible. So to read a Smith Wigglesworth book is really to “listen” to his power-packed sermons.

From 1900 to 1940, Smith traveled around the United States, speaking at various locations. His sermons are a heavy dose of Scripture, accented with frequent interpretations of a message in tongues from the Holy Spirit. So Smith Wigglesworth On Faith is a collection of faith-building sermons preached over a four decade time span.

If you want to have your faith (re)ignited, you can’t go wrong by listening (I mean: reading) these sermons. Highly, highly recommended!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, Holy Spirit, preaching, sermon, Smith Wigglesworth. 2 Comments »

Engaging Culture

June 29, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

There has been a debate in religious circles for a long, long time about how involved Christians should be in culture.

Get close to outsiders. But how close is too close?
Be friendly with your neighbors. But how friendly is too friendly?

The debate usually has two extremes: Either get immersed in your world, or don’t even touch a thing of this world. I hate either-or’s!

Instead I think there is a both-and balance that is very biblical. We need to ENGAGE our culture. Engaging culture means that we understand it and can relate to it, but we don’t give in to it nor compromise with it.

We Must Be In It But Not Of It

I’ll be addressing this topic in a new series at Calvary Assembly of God. I hope you’ll be able to join me to learn about the biblical ways we should be engaging our culture.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Both-And, Calvary Assembly of God, culture, Either-Or, sermon, testimony, witness. 2 Comments »

The Pastor And The Holy Spirit

June 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m sure I’m not the only pastor that feels occasionally (all right: frequently) overwhelmed by the heavy responsibility of sharing God’s Word with others. After all, the Apostle James said it pretty clearly: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).

“Judged more strictly”? Yikes!

But I take great consolation in knowing that if God called me, He will equip me. Just as He did with Jeremiah—The Lord reached out His hand, then He touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say” (Jeremiah 1:8)—I know He will do for me.

I also draw great confidence in knowing the Holy Spirit is helping me. Check out these words from Francois Fénelon:

“Of what efficacy would be the exterior word of pastors, or even the Scriptures themselves, if we had not within the word of the Holy Spirit giving to others all their vitality? The outward word, even of the Gospel, without the fecundating, vivifying, interior word would be but an empty sound. It is the letter that alone kills (2 Corinthians 3:6), and the Spirit alone can give us life.”

Then A.B. Simpson shares this encouraging story of the Holy Spirit’s help:

“They that possess this power will not always be popular preachers, but they will always be effectual workers. Sometimes the hearer will almost think that they are personal, and that someone has disclosed to them his secret sins. Speaking of such a sermon, one of our most honored evangelists said that he felt so indignant with the preacher under whom he was converted that he waited for some time near the door for the purpose of giving him a trashing for daring to expose him in the way he had done, thinking that someone had informed on him. Let us covet this power. It is the very stamp and seal of the Holy Spirit on a faithful minister.”

YES! I do covet this power of the Holy Spirit in my life. Without His help, I would be fearful to ever open my mouth to speak to others about the things of God.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: A.B. Simpson, Book of James, Francois Fenelon, Holy Spirit, Jeremiah, pastoring, quotes, sermon. 2 Comments »

Father’s Day

June 16, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love digging up stories in the Old Testament that are so timely for today! And I’ve got a great story to share with our men on Father’s Day.

It’s the story of a man who had the title kinsman-redeemer. Culturally, we don’t practice this anymore. But spiritually, the concepts are so on-target for today. I am really excited to share this with our men this Sunday, and then to watch our guys step up to the challenge of becoming a modern-day kinsman redeemer for the families.

If you’re in the area, I hope you will join us for a great morning.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Boaz, Calvary Assembly of God, Father's Day, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Out Of The Box

May 13, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I know firsthand the difference the Holy Spirit has made in my life. Which is why I’m so excited to kick off a brand new series this Sunday called Out Of The Box: Unleashing The Power of the Holy Spirit.

…the Holy Spirit makes the Father’s love more real

…the Holy Spirit makes the Christ-like life more livable

…the Holy Spirit makes the Bible more readable

…the Holy Spirit makes extraordinary living more attainable!

And this Out Of The Box life is for everyone. A.W. Tozer wrote:

“For the Holy Spirit is not a luxury, not something added now and again to produce a deluxe type of Christian once in a generation. No, He is for every child of God a vital necessity, and that He fill and indwell His people is more than a languid hope. It is rather an inescapable imperative.” (emphasis mine)

I hope you can join us at Calvary Assembly of God this Sunday at 10:30am.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Calvary Assembly of God, Holy Spirit, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Salt & Light

March 30, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus called His followers to be salt and light in the world. He said:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

We have been placed in this world to season it and to illuminate it. What does that mean? How do we do that in a way that glorifies your Father in heaven?

I’m really excited to kickoff our new series Salt & Light this Sunday morning. I hope you can join me at 10:30am to learn more about being seasoning and illumination.