I am a chaplain for the Ozaukee Jail and I must admit after being in this for fourteen years I have been able to talk with over seventy men about their lives, crime and sins. Occasionally I am called to stand before a judge and make a statement on behalf of a person who is about to be sentenced. I was in court recently for such an occasion and I listened as the judge rendered a verdict. The young man who was sentenced was obviously guilty. He was guilty and admitted that to the judge. The judge sentenced him to several years in prison. I sat there and watched his family weep and struggle to hold it together as the bailiff handcuffed him and led him off to jail and eventually prison.

I went home to my nice quite house with a loving family and all night the haunting words of that sentence replayed in my head. A young man will now spend several years in prison for a crime he committed. The man was young and foolish. He listened to the wrong people and did the wrong thing. And now he is separated from his family for several years of his life. His time is gone and he will not get it back. All because he thought he was unstoppable, immune, and had plenty of time. Today he sits in prison while his family grieves.

I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that people today are going through life saying I’ve got time, I’m invincible nothing is going to happen to me. But God says it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: you have one life and then judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) You only have so long and then time is up! There are no do overs. We are all vulnerable to attack to disease to sinfulness. We need to wake up and realize that each move we make will have repercussions. This young man participated in crime with others and they thought it was all good. But now punishment has come. We are doing things and we think it is all good but the day is coming when we shall all be judged. Don’t be like the young man I have told you about. Wake up draw night to God and he will draw nigh to you.

posted by Pastor Leach - Faith Baptist Church, Port Washington WI  # 3:53 PM

It is 2012. Welcome to the New Year. What will this year hold? The truth is none of us know for sure. We have a presidential election, trouble and strife in the Middle East, our troops coming home and all the local news too. We truly do not know what the New Year will bring. But we can plan and that is our subject of discussion.

With this New Year, first and foremost we want to consider repenting of our sins. How about we start off the New Year by admitting to God that we have fallen into some habits some problems that we need to confess and get right before Him. Let’s make sure we are in a good relationship with God as we take the challenge of new goals. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Second after we have confessed our faults why don’t we give ourselves over to God to be used by Him? Why not let God work in us as we abide in Him to do the work of the ministry. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Aide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Jesus said to abide in Him and He will abide in us because without Him we are not capable of doing anything. So before we take on our goals why not let Christ take the wheel. Let God take over and guide you every stretch of the way.

But wait before we consider our goals we have to ask are the goals we are setting forth God’s goals. Did you ever think in those terms? What are your goals for the New Year and do they agree with what God would want for your life?

Our goal as a church is to refocus our evening service. We want to make our evening service a time of reflection on the morning message. We want to ask questions like how did this message convict you? If you were convicted what will you do now? How will you flesh out what you have learned? How will this change the way you pray? How can we pray right now? Sunday nights we want to bring our message into our day to day living.

Another goal is to go back to making prayer a priority. We have a Prayer Team in place. But we want to see if more people would be willing to come and pray before Sunday School or the Morning Worship service. We want people to come on Wednesday and do some serious praying at the beginning of each Wednesday night prayer meeting.

We want to challenge everyone in our church to read through their bible at least once this year. As a Pastor I’m looking for some Bible reading partners to read through the Bible in four months. I believe these are all goals that God would agree with and that is what we need to consider. What is God’s plan for me this year? And it all starts with confession and possession.

posted by Pastor Leach - Faith Baptist Church, Port Washington WI  # 1:22 AM

Do you want to be a leader? I had better change that statement. You need to be a leader. Especially men we need you to be leaders. Men need to start leading in churches, in their homes and on the job. But how are you going to lead? You’re going to have lead from the front. Men have to step up and lead at the front of the pack.

Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. The husband is the head the leader in the home. He is to direct his family not by being a dictator but being a loving husband. In Genesis the man Adam was created first and his job was to lead. Eve was created to be his help meet and he was to lead her. But because he failed to lead when they were tempted he was cursed. He was to lead Eve to nourish his wife and protect her. But you can’t protect and nourish by being at the back. Adam was there at the temptation but instead of stepping up he took of the fruit just like Eve. We are still doing that today. Men are failing to step up and lead.

Noah led from the front. He was told to build and ark and he did. Noah did not stand around debating the issue. God said do it and he did. He was there building right alongside his sons. And as he built he preached God’s message to a lost and soon to be dying world around him. 2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; After the flood he led in sacrifice. He was not sitting in the background he was out front leading.

Take a moment to look at David the great king of Israel he was a leader. Even as a young man he led Israel by taking on Goliath. He led his men in the wilderness when Saul chased after him. He was the leader who snuck into Saul’s camp and took Saul’s water container. He led his men in battle many times. When the civil war between David and Absalom was going on David wanted to lead. His men told him to stay behind. …And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us: neither if half of us die, will they care for us. 2 Samuel 8:2-3 True leaders lead from the front.

How about modern leaders? Stonewall Jackson led the Confederate army from the front. So did Robert E. Lee. Both men were such frontline leaders that their men had to restrain them from too much frontline activity. Stonewall Jackson suffered fatal wounds because he was up front. A good leader is not afraid to go to the battle.

But today we don’t want to lead up front. Instead we want to set in an office and tell people to go and do and make sacrifice while we hold down the fort. We tell people to get dirty and suffer hardship and yet we won’t do it ourselves. We also forsake responsibility. We don’t want to be in charge we want to let someone else do it whether that is our wives or someone else just don’t ask me to lead.

Men it is time to take the lead. Be the leader you were meant to be. Take the front and get the job done.

posted by Pastor Leach - Faith Baptist Church, Port Washington WI  # 9:55 PM