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What it Means to Be A Man | 5. Glory-Bearer

April 13, 2023 Filed Under: Stuff I Wanna Say - Podcast for Men

A Godly Man is a Lord of the Earth, Husbandman, Savior, Sage, and the Glory of God.

What Does It Mean To Be A Man?

 

Introduction.
I ran across a list of what it means to be a
man while reading on the dock at Camp Barakel a few years ago and they have
been a great help to me. I have permission from Bill Mouser to use these five
things this morning. There is something for everyone here. An encouragement to men. A prayer list for wives. A
training curriculum for Mothers and Fathers, Grandmothers and Grandfathers. A
list of goals for young men and if you are a young woman, you might want to look
at this a little like a shopping list.

 

1.  Lord of the Earth.  Exercise dominion in his jurisdiction.  (Genesis 1:26-28; Matthew 28:19-20; Psalm 8) Man is created in the image God to rule and subdue
the earth for God. (ill) Young people can’t subdue Kingdoms until they lean to
pick up their socks.

2.  Husbandman (Genesis 2:15)  Make life flourish within your dominion. 

 

            Life—Eternal Life—Abundant Life

 

Grow
things! Man is created to cultivate the persons and things within his realm, so
they fulfill their potential within God's creation. (ill) Voluntary Watermelon
is very rare, you have to have a plan and cultivate it. (ill)  When a wealthy farmer was asked why he made
his sons work the fields when he did not have to he replied, ‘I’m not raising
corn, I am raising boys.”(ill) The Cut Away Principle

 

3.  Savior 
(Gen. 3:14-15)  Oppose evil and be
a spiritual protector in our dominion.   

 

·      
Satan wants to kill, steal, and
destroy. 

·      
He especially loves to snuff out
life in its youth

·      
To do so he must “bind the strong
man” first

·      
(Job 1:5)  A strong man must ask himself every day:
“What lies is Satan using today to kill my wife, sons, daughter, me?”

 

Man
is created to war sacrificially against evil and injustice until they are
vanquished.  15 Dangers that should
activate a Father’s protection…  
(ill)  Woody… we wouldn’t think of
going out there alone.  Is there a man in
your house?   (ill)  Men of the Character Inn came armed and ready
for confrontation.

 

4.  Sage 
(Prov. 1-9)   Man
is created to be trained by mature men, to gain skill and insight, to take his
place among wise men, doing work which counts forever.  Wisdom. Discernment. Ability to motivate
learning in others. (ill) “You will notice they walked everywhere they went.”

5.  Glory of God  (1 Cor. 11:7, 3; Eph 5:23-24) Walk with God until you have the glory of God on you
that others can see, especially your wife and children. Man is created to
display something of God's glory in his bearing, roles, and activities.
(ill)  Pastor Chen… a place for daily
communion with Christ… 

 

The
essential thing is your own fellowship with God.  Are you in continual fellowship with
God?  Do you have holy affections?  Is your faith deeper than a creed or code of
conduct?

 

 

Where do I begin? If you want to know how to be a Lord of the Earth,
Husbandman, Savior, Sage, and Glory-Bearer, go at it backwards. First spend
time in the presence of God until his glory is on you, only then will you be
wise. Then you will be able to be a savior—a danger to the enemy—a spiritual protector.
These are the only men who will be able to make life flourish and they will
have a jurisdiction that mirrors the Kingdom of Christ and of God in a small
way. That is what it means to be a man.

 

Lead on O King
Eternal

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont
What it Means to Be A Man | 5. Glory-Bearer
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Schedule Regular Celebration | Bittersweet Farm Journal | April 10, 2023

April 11, 2023 Filed Under: Bethel Church-Jackson, Bittersweet Farm, Current Thoughts

Three of Chuk and CC’s dressed for Easter
Wes and Dylan’s Girls (Texas)
Dan and Kate and Crew (Texas)

 

Saturday night I picked out my clothing for Resurrection Sunday morning. Blue suit. A bright white shirt with crisp collar and cuffs. Freshly-shined boots. A bright hand-tied bow tie, the reversible one with lime-green and purple, blue and pink stripes. (I know it sounds like a clown costume but it really is pretty sharp and fairly shouts “celebration”).

I always tell my friends, “If I am wearing a bow tie, ask me what I am celebrating.”

Reasons To Get Out of Bed in the Morning

One of the keys to happiness in life is to always have something to look forward to. I call it “Reasons to Get Out of Bed in the Morning.” I keep a list of things running in my mind of things I am looking forward to, celebrations I am planning. Life is full of hard things, you don’t have to schedule them, they just keep coming at you. You can get so busy wrestling your duties to the ground and scrambling out from under your pile of obligations and deadlines, that forget to party. That is not good for your soul.

Every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, but for a follower of Jesus and especially for a Gospel-preaching pastor, Easter—Resurrection Sunday is an annual parent, fest day, holy day, and grand celebration.

At Bethel Sunday we started with a full breakfast (I had a biscuit and gravy). The sky was clear, the sun was bright, and the temperatures were warm for Michigan in April. The service was well-attended. Ken Wyatt opened up our wonderful organ, David Parsons lead a brass ensemble, Jerry Glazer lead a large men’s group in singing a song he wrote about the resurrection. Our worship leaders spread across the platform to lead us. We had folks on drums, guitars, a piano and keyboard and a full congregation up to the balcony of uplifted voices to sing songs old and new exalting the risen Christ.

Leaking Hope and Losing Faith

Then I stood to tell the story. I told the chapter of the Resurrection story where two disciples are trudging the road home to Emmaus with their heads down and their hearts confusing, leaking hope and losing faith. Suddenly there was a stranger alongside. They did recognize it was Jesus himself, raised from the dead. He corrected their misunderstandings, restored their faith and set their hearts afire again. They invited him home. He acted as the host and took the bread. Maybe that reminded them of the other times he broke the bread, maybe they saw the nail scars in his hands, but God opened their eyes. They realized who he was—that he was alive and said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while we walked on the road and he taught us.” That very hour they returned to Jerusalem to meet with the eleven and celebrate that Jesus was alive.

Sometimes we trudge the road to Emmaus losing faith and leaking hope. We walk away from Jesus when we should be running to him, but he is merciful and follows us down the road and answers our questions and explains the Scriptures and draws us into fellowship, and we see him clearly again in the breaking of the bread.

I know life is hard. Sometimes things go wrong in threes. I know we live in a world that is broken. I know disappointments can be crushing sometimes. I know it can be hard to hold on to faith and hope can leak away, but keep your bow tie handy, Jesus died and rose again and someday he is coming back to right every wrong and spread his love and benevolent rule over all the earth. Those who believe will be swept, by his grace into his Kingdom forever.

Someday, maybe soon. Keep a bow-tie handy or lay out your favorite Easter dress. Don’t put away your dessert recipes. Keep your guitars and horns all tuned up. We serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today.

Bittersweet Farm
April 10, 2023

Click here to watch a video of the message.

A Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

April 10, 2023 Filed Under: Current Thoughts

My Resurrection Sunday morning message..

What It Means to Be A Man | 4. Sage

April 6, 2023 Filed Under: Stuff I Wanna Say - Podcast for Men

A man is a Lord of the Earth (Genesis 1), A Husbandman (Genesis 2), A Savior (Genesis 3) and a Sage–A Wise Man (Proverbs)…

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont
What It Means to Be A Man | 4. Sage



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What It Means to Be A Man | 3. Savior

March 30, 2023 Filed Under: Stuff I Wanna Say - Podcast for Men

In this talk I explain the third aspect of Biblical masculinity–Savior from Genesis 3 and I talk about one of the most important things a man can do to resist evil in his life and in his jurisdiction.

Ken Pierpont
Ken Pierpont
What It Means to Be A Man | 3. Savior



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Marmalade Preserves

March 27, 2023 Filed Under: Current Thoughts

The Mitford Cookbook

Today I stopped at the market to get some apples. A small lady said to me, “Excuse me sir, when you are done there can you help me. I can’t reach the marmalade preserves.”

“No trouble,” I said, happy to be of some use and to make a new friend. I reached for the preserves thinking, “But for the grace of God I could be a short people…”

“That is wonderful stuff,” she said,

“Have you read the Jan Karon novels?”

“Every last one of them.” she said.

I had a hunch. “Are you a church-goer.”

“I am.”

We explored our common experiences and went our ways. She with her Marmalade Preserves in her cart and me walking just a little taller and a little warmer in my heart.

I got to tell her the story of recommending the books to Bea, and then about the time Bea surprised me on my birthday with Esther’s Marmalade Cake from Jan Karon’s books…

Always puts a smile on my face

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