Plugging into Jesus: Part 1

I am the vine;

you are the branches.

If you remain in me 

and I in you,

you will bear much fruit;

apart from me 
you can do nothing.

John 15:5

The prophet Isaiah wrote “The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel (Isaiah 5:7)” but when Israel fell out of favor with God, the prophet Hosea declared, “Israel is an empty vine (Hosea 10:1).”

A vine with no fruit is not of any value. Israel was disqualified and spiritually powerless.

Jesus declared that He was the true vine (John 15:1). In the same way that the vine brings water and life to the branches, Jesus brings LIVING WATER and spiritual power to us. He alone is the source of salvation and reconciliation to God. To be filled with the Spirit, we need to drink daily of His living water.

We can plug in to Jesus daily through a Quiet Time.

A quiet time (or devotions) is a regular appointment that we keep with God that allows us to block out other distractions and focus on our connection with Jesus through practices like prayer and Bible reading. A quiet time establishes a rhythm in our life that keeps us more mindful of God’s presence and builds spiritual strength.

For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8

How to have a successful quiet time.

1. Have a consistent schedule (morning, evening, lunch)
2. Include Bible reading' even if its just a passage. This is the clearest way God speaks to us.
3. Pray. Focus more on listening for God's voice than on asking for things.
4. Keep a journal. Write the Bible verses you read and what God is telling you. Write your prayer requests and God's answers.

How do you plug into Jesus?

View a video of “Plugging into Jesus."

This is part of the sermon series “How To Be Spiritually Successful.” It is based on the Masterlife study “The Disciple's Cross.”

Baptist Temple Expands Care Through Stephen Ministry

Eighteen members of Baptist Temple Church, San Antonio were commissioned as Stephen Ministers this Sunday, January 19. A Stephen Minister provides one-on-one distinctively Christian care to hurting people in and around the congregation. While they are not therapists nor lay counselors, they do receive 50 hours of initial training followed by peer supervision and continuing education.

Stephen Ministry will strengthen our church by providing direct care to people going through a difficult time. I have heard too many stories of hurting people who felt abandoned by their church.

A Stephen Minister would meet with this hurting person for an hour a week; providing a listening ear and shoulder to cry on for as long as it takes.

Furthermore, our church is strengthened by training and deploying church members to apply their spiritual gifts in service to our Lord. Both the care giver and the care receiver grow in faith as a result.

Stephen Minister Rosalinda Acosta said, “The Stephen Ministry training was so incredibly intense while, at the same time moving. The presence of God was so strong at times. I could feel the Lord impressing into my spirit that the main element, the main purpose of a Stephen Minister is to show the love of God to those in a dark and lonely place, a place of despair, confusion and perhaps helplessness.”

A phrase often heard in Stephen Ministry is, “We are the care givers, God is the cure giver.”

Stephen Ministers do not “fix” people. They listen without judgment and maintain strict confidentiality. Even the fact that someone has a Stephen Minister is confidential. Their training includes listening, feelings and confidentiality. Through reading, lectures, case studies and role playing, Stephen Ministers learn how to help people in specific situations. These include divorce, terminal illness, grief, and childbirth.

Newly commissioned Stephen Ministers (L to R) Tracy Zayasbazan, Lin Leeth, Ernest Cruz, Ernest Alvarez, Charlotte Cruz, Bertha Alvarez, Dan Cruz, Steve Grinnell, Clinton Blumberg, Melissa Baxter, Linda Grinnell, Muriel Persky, Vernon Liverette, Rosalinda Acosta, Richard Good, Karen Newman, Armando Acosta and Robert Newman.

Stephen Ministers are found in over 13,000 churches representing 183 denominations. Texas, at 1042, is the state with the largest number of Stephen Ministry churches.

Baptist Temple is part of a family of seven churches and twelve service organizations sharing a campus to meet the physical and spiritual needs of our community.

Make Disciples!

Make disciples are the two most important words in the Great Commission. Make Disciples will be our spiritual battle cry, our focus, our hashtag. We will make decisions at Baptist Temple by asking, “How will this help us make disciples?”

We have been successful at creating a model that made our facilities sustainable and relevant to our community. We have been successful in building a hub of services to meet the physical and spiritual needs of hundreds of people each day. We now have to sharpen our focus to Make Disciples.

The spiritual formation of our members is the place to start. We will strengthen Sunday School through evaluating our current program, making adjustments, recruiting new teachers and providing training. We will provide discipleship and leadership training at all levels.

 Our 18 newly commissioned Stephen Ministers will Make Disciples by helping both members and people outside the church who are going through difficult times. Helping them to draw on spiritual resources to gain strength.

Our goal is to double our worship attendance in the next two years. We will sharply focus our resources to this end.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)