What's with all the Old Testament Stuff?

When you look at the primary texts of my sermons it looks like I preach a lot from the Old Testament.  Somebody asked me why.  The inquirer basically said  they believe that the Old Testament stuff doesn't apply anymore because Christians live in the age of grace, not of the law.

I agree that we live by grace.  But grace does not cancel out half of the whole witness of God.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross fulfilled and therefore ended the ritual requirements of OT sacrifice.  But the lessons and truths built into those sacrificial laws are the basis for Jesus' once, full, and sufficient sacrifice.  Therefore, though the sacrifices are no longer necessary, the lessons of the sacrificial system remain eternally valid.

And the prophecies, the stories, and the wisdom of the OT have never diminished or concluded.   After all, look at the promises of God that people name and claim, or as the current fashion chants, "declares and decrees."  A large portion, maybe a majority of those promises come out of the Old Testament.  You can't say that the promises of Isaiah apply and then pretend that the warnings and condemnations of the same book don't.

This OT stuff applies to you and me too, even today. 

When you can’t see yourself in the OT, it isn’t because the OT doesn’t apply to you.  It’s because you are too spiritually blind to see yourself in the OT.

How can I be so sure of that?

Because if we believe the New Testament , then we have to believe what the New Testament says about the Old Testament.

2 Corinthians 3: 14     But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

15     But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

16     Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

I don't know yet, exactly what the Holy Spirit will give me to preach from next, but I do know this:  If you neglect ANY parts of the Bible in your overall study time, then you are turning a blind eye to something important that God has to say.  

And both OT & NT agree, that that is a baaaad idea.

So, to answer the original question: Why do I preach from the Old Testament so much? I don't.  I preach from the Bible.  The whooooole thing.
 

2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. PROVERBS 31: 27. "Sacrificing Nothing"

Proverbs 31: 27     She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31: 27.  Do you remember the children’s story, “The Little Red Hen”?

There was this little red hen who came upon some grains of wheat.  She asked all of the farm animals to help her plant the wheat.  Each one said, “No.  Not I.” So she planted the wheat all by herself.

The little red hen asked for help weeding the green stalks when they came up.  She asked for help plucking the wheat, threshing the wheat.  She asked for help taking the wheat the mill.  She asked for help baking the ground wheat flour.  Each time the other farm creatures replied, “No.  Not I.”  So, she did all of the work herself.

Finally, the little red hen emerged from her kitchen with a warm, freshly baked loaf of bread.  (The picture books always showed a loaf that was bigger than the hen carrying it.)   She asked if there was anyone to help her eat the bread, and every animal on the farm stood up and shouted, “I will.” 

“No, you won’t,” replied the little red hen.  “I will eat it myself, just me and my little chicks.”  And that is exactly what they did.

The animals on the farm wanted to eat without working.  They wanted the enjoy the bread of idleness.

Sometimes people fail because they won’t sacrifice some thing:  some destructive relationship, some self-destructive habit, some token of security that keeps them from advancing . 

But other times---- most of the time--- people fail to succeed because they won’t sacrifice their nothings.  They won’t give up the time they spend doing nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend reading nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend learning nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend not practicing, not calling, not emailing, not pursuing opportunities, not exercising their gifts.

It’s possible to miss your chance because you were doing the wrong thing, but it’s more common to miss your chance because you were doing NO THING.

And there are some people, including some women, who actually expect to have everything they’ve dreamed of while holding on to their nothings.  They expect to eat the bread of idleness.

Bro, you don’t need a woman like that.   You need a woman who will plant, and weed, and pluck, and grind away while all of her friends are waiting for Prince Baller to ride through and drop a loaf of bread on their nightstands.

The little red hen you’re looking for may or may not work outside the home.  But she does work.  She sacrifices idle time to make sure that the children are taken care of.  She sacrifices do-nothing time to learn how to take better care of the house.  She gives up the many nothings she could do, and she does everything possible to make her family more and more successful.  

But them other chicks……..?  

If you run across one of those women who wants to do nothing outside the home, and do nothing from home, and do nothing in the home, but she expects you to give her everything she wants------ then you answer, “No.  Not I.”

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

PROVERBS 31: 27. "Sacrificing Nothing"

Proverbs 31: 27     She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31: 27.  Do you remember the children’s story, “The Little Red Hen”?

There was this little red hen who came upon some grains of wheat.  She asked all of the farm animals to help her plant the wheat.  Each one said, “No.  Not I.” So she planted the wheat all by herself.

The little red hen asked for help weeding the green stalks when they came up.  She asked for help plucking the wheat, threshing the wheat.  She asked for help taking the wheat the mill.  She asked for help baking the ground wheat flour.  Each time the other farm creatures replied, “No.  Not I.”  So, she did all of the work herself.

Finally, the little red hen emerged from her kitchen with a warm, freshly baked loaf of bread.  (The picture books always showed a loaf that was bigger than the hen carrying it.)   She asked if there was anyone to help her eat the bread, and every animal on the farm stood up and shouted, “I will.” 

“No, you won’t,” replied the little red hen.  “I will eat it myself, just me and my little chicks.”  And that is exactly what they did.

The animals on the farm wanted to eat without working.  They wanted the enjoy the bread of idleness.

Sometimes people fail because they won’t sacrifice some thing:  some destructive relationship, some self-destructive habit, some token of security that keeps them from advancing . 

But other times---- most of the time--- people fail to succeed because they won’t sacrifice their nothings.  They won’t give up the time they spend doing nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend reading nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend learning nothing.  They won’t give up the time they spend not practicing, not calling, not emailing, not pursuing opportunities, not exercising their gifts.

It’s possible to miss your chance because you were doing the wrong thing, but it’s more common to miss your chance because you were doing NO THING.

And there are some people, including some women, who actually expect to have everything they’ve dreamed of while holding on to their nothings.  They expect to eat the bread of idleness.

Bro, you don’t need a woman like that.   You need a woman who will plant, and weed, and pluck, and grind away while all of her friends are waiting for Prince Baller to ride through and drop a loaf of bread on their nightstands.

The little red hen you’re looking for may or may not work outside the home.  But she does work.  She sacrifices idle time to make sure that the children are taken care of.  She sacrifices do-nothing time to learn how to take better care of the house.  She gives up the many nothings she could do, and she does everything possible to make her family more and more successful.  

But them other chicks……..?  

If you run across one of those women who wants to do nothing outside the home, and do nothing from home, and do nothing in the home, but she expects you to give her everything she wants------ then you answer, “No.  Not I.”

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

SIN, MONEY, & CRAZY

Many churches and church member face serious problems.  Those problems are diverse and complex, but in the congregations I most interact with, all of the major issues boil down to 2 things:  sin and money.

The life of Gideon in the book of Judges deals with the problems of sin and money, and it shows us the solution.  But I have to warn you, the answer is a little crazy.

The title of the message is SIN, MONEY, & CRAZY.

Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a  writer, community organizer, and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church and the executive director of SAYNO (Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization) in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 31: 26. "Gracious Lady"

Proverbs 31: 26     She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

Proverbs 31: 26.  The ideal woman, the kind who’d make a great queen, knows what to say and exactly how to say it.  She is not the airhead  laughing mindlessly and loudly all the guys’ jokes while squeezing her shoulders together so they can see her cleavage.   The future queen is too wise for that.  She understands that if she presents herself like a fool that any man can have then men will treat her like a fool that any man can have.

The future queen, wherever she is, whomever she is, speaks with wisdom and kindness.   And she isn’t nice according to class, or ethnicity, or economic status, or how closely the other people match her concept of physical beauty.  She is kind according to the law of God. 

Because God said so, she loves and speaks kindly to her neighbor---- her rich neighbor, her poor neighbor, her Christian neighbor, her you-believe-what neighbor, her same-race-as-me neighbor, her not-my-same-skin-tone neighbor, her looks-like-they-got-it-all-together neighbor, her everything’s-falling-apart neighbor, etc., etc.

She’s not nice because she’s weak.  She isn’t kind because she’s “fake.”  (“Fake” is such a hellishly stupid concept.  Like somehow it’s more genuine to be a gossiping jerk than to be freakin’ polite and professional.)  The woman who will be queen is not polite because she wants something from you.  She is kind because that’s how the Bible, the law of God, teaches her to be. (Ephesians 4: 29-32;  Luke 10: 29-37)

The same speaker who described the virtuous woman also advised the reigning king: 

Open your mouth for the speechless,

In the cause of all who are appointed to die.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

And plead the cause of the poor and needy. ( Proverbs 31: 8, 9)

A Proverbs 31: 26 woman speaks kindly and wisely because that is what good kings do, and she is a match for a king. 

In the South, we have a word for a such a woman.  We call her a “gracious lady.”  It’s the way we describe the wives of governors and presidents, and the matriarchs of great families.   It’s what we expect of our queens.

Speak to people as a gracious lady.  It’s what God expects of His queens.

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.   Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (Colossians 4: 5, 6)

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

Proverbs 31: 26. "Gracious Lady"

Proverbs 31: 26     She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

Proverbs 31: 26.  The ideal woman, the kind who’d make a great queen, knows what to say and exactly how to say it.  She is not the airhead  laughing mindlessly and loudly all the guys’ jokes while squeezing her shoulders together so they can see her cleavage.   The future queen is too wise for that.  She understands that if she presents herself like a fool that any man can have then men will treat her like a fool that any man can have.

The future queen, wherever she is, whomever she is, speaks with wisdom and kindness.   And she isn’t nice according to class, or ethnicity, or economic status, or how closely the other people match her concept of physical beauty.  She is kind according to the law of God. 

Because God said so, she loves and speaks kindly to her neighbor---- her rich neighbor, her poor neighbor, her Christian neighbor, her you-believe-what neighbor, her same-race-as-me neighbor, her not-my-same-skin-tone neighbor, her looks-like-they-got-it-all-together neighbor, her everything’s-falling-apart neighbor, etc., etc.

She’s not nice because she’s weak.  She isn’t kind because she’s “fake.”  (“Fake” is such a hellishly stupid concept.  Like somehow it’s more genuine to be a gossiping jerk than to be freakin’ polite and professional.)  The woman who will be queen is not polite because she wants something from you.  She is kind because that’s how the Bible, the law of God, teaches her to be. (Ephesians 4: 29-32;  Luke 10: 29-37)

The same speaker who described the virtuous woman also advised the reigning king: 

Open your mouth for the speechless,

In the cause of all who are appointed to die.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

And plead the cause of the poor and needy. ( Proverbs 31: 8, 9)

A Proverbs 31: 26 woman speaks kindly and wisely because that is what good kings do, and she is a match for a king. 

In the South, we have a word for a such a woman.  We call her a “gracious lady.”  It’s the way we describe the wives of governors and presidents, and the matriarchs of great families.   It’s what we expect of our queens.

Speak to people as a gracious lady.  It’s what God expects of His queens.

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.   Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (Colossians 4: 5, 6)

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

LIVING WRONG IN THE NAME OF JESUS

The closing chapters of the book of Judges record events that weren’t very ------ godly.  These are not the accounts of Biblical role models.  These are the what-not-to-do stories.  Judges chapters 17 & 18 in particular shows how good, loving, family-oriented people end up setting in motion generational cycles of sin that consume them, their descendants, and their community.  The lessons of this cautionary tale can change the trajectory of your life and the lives of those you love. 

Listen well so that you don’t end up LIVING WRONG IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a  writer, community organizer, and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church and the executive director of SAYNO (Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization) in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 31: 25. "The Warrior Wife"

Proverbs 31: 25     Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.

Proverbs 31: 25.  I feel really bad for a man who, day after day, has to wake up to weak coffee and/or a weak woman.  Neither one is going to help the brother get through the day.

And, sisters, I know that there are a historical and cultural forces that encourage you to dull your intellect, atrophy your strength, and let your boobs speak for you.  Fight against those forces.

It may be easier to project a perpetually wretched attitude.  It may be easier to pretend to be stupid until it’s no longer pretending.  It may be easier to let men pass you around like an unmarked cup at a frat party.  But in the end you will have only misery.

It’s more difficult for a woman to walk in her strengths, to lead with her brains and not her body, to be honorable in relationships rather than being gossipy, messy, and cliquish.  Yeah, that is much harder. But God promises and experience proves that you will be happier in the end.

God made you to be both strong and honorable. 

Not miserable and wretched.  Not weak and silent.   Not dumb and promiscuous.  Strong and honorable.

Strength refers to the ability to perform her tasks.  Honor refers to trustworthiness and loyalty.

Strength and honor sounds like a warrior traits, don’t they? 

Of course they do.

After all , a man needs a wife who will watch his back, much like a king needs bodyguards to watch his.

A king doesn’t ask the cook to watch his back if the cook is just a cook.  A king doesn’t leave guard duty to the butler if the butler is just the butler.  A king doesn’t dispatch the janitor to cover the flank while he charges toward the enemy, not if the janitor is just a janitor. No.   Unless------ the cook, the butler, and the janitor are really warriors undercover.   

Under the cover of marital submission, a man’s wife is really his most trusted and loyal warrior.

Now, I don’t need my wife’s physical protection.  Physical protection is my job. (Yes.  It is.) 

But I do need somebody to spot (and sometimes quietly eliminate) the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual threats that I miss.   That’s the job of my warrior-queen.

When I look at the woman God gave me to watch my back I know that she will and I know that she can.   I hear it in her conversation.  I see it in the clothes she chooses (and chooses not) to wear.  I feel it in the way her body tenses and her eyes narrow when untrustworthy people step into my personal space.   It’s all over her.

She wears strength and honor like clothing.

And that looks good on a woman.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116