Tag Archives: Alan Dunn

The Challenges We Face in Our Culture I

Culture

Alan-Dunn-ContributorAlan Dunn

We’re going to look, first of all, at the biblical justification for considering our culture. Is this what the Bible requires of us, as pastors? Are we responsible to analyze the culture roundabout us?

One brother has said, “It’s more important that we know our people than we know our culture,” and there’s some truth to that, but we need to know that our people live in the midst of a culture and how that culture affects them and how it affects us, as well. So, we’re going to look at how culture is constructed, what are some of the foundational issues that are common to cultures, how they are structured in certain ways that are common to all cultures, and how those issues relate, especially to the kingdom of God. We’re going to look at the culture and the issue of the two kingdoms: the kingdom of man, and the kingdom of God. God willing, next time we’ll consider these things further, and looking, specifically, at one recent development in Western culture that poses a particular threat to the Gospel and to the work of the church in our generation. So, with that menu in front of us, let’s come together and ask for the Lord’s help as we would pray as we begin.
Continue reading The Challenges We Face in Our Culture I →

Persecution Part 2

Church

Alan-Dunn-ContributorAlan Dunn

There’s a storyline that you will often find used in books and movies, and the storyline goes something like this: there’s a modern person who somehow discovers that they’re caught up in a great battle, a battle that has been going on for a long time, and, lo and behold, they become a character in this battle, this story, that the whole movie or the whole book gets caught up in. For example, if you’re aware of the old movies Indiana Jones where Harrison Ford goes to look for treasure and he begins to discover that there are evil people, that they’re from the history past, and he now is caught up in all of this great story. Well, we learned that we’re part of a very ancient, ancient war, a battle that has begun since the very dawn of time.
Continue reading Persecution Part 2 →

Persecution Part 1

Church

Alan-Dunn-ContributorAlan Dunn

It is my pleasure to be with you, once again, this year, and to see many familiar faces, to see some new faces, all of them getting older every year. It’s always an encouragement when you see brothers and sisters who are continuing in the way, and they are continuing, as the years past, to follow Jesus Christ, to be faithful, and to serve Him. Serving Christ in our culture, even as Pastor Martinez prayed, is becoming more and more challenging. I hope that the message today will be used by The Holy Spirit to strengthen you, especially you young people who are with us for these meetings. I believe that the days that are before us are growing increasingly challenging for us, to become Bible-believing, Bible-obedient disciples of Jesus Christ. As Paul brings His epistle to the church in Romans to a conclusion, he tries to give them words that will encourage them, and put everything into perspective. We read in Romans chapter 16, at verse 19 and verse 20, “For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Continue reading Persecution Part 1 →

The Priority of Preaching

Preaching

Alan Dunn

It’s my delight to be with you once again this year. Last year, when we were together, I was assigned the topic of the priorities of the pastor. And this year I’m going to resume on that subject picking up where we left off. Last year, we considered the priorities of the pastor in relation to himself, the care of the pastor to himself and then we saw the priority of the pastor in relation to his family and then we invested two studies on the priority of worship.

This year we’re going to consider the priority of preaching, in this hour,
and then the priority of prayer and then the priority of shepherding and,
lastly, the priority of our witness to the world.

Continue reading The Priority of Preaching →

The Priority of Prayer

Pastors, Prayer

Alan Dunn

The Puritan Samuel Chadwick says,

“Satan dreads nothing but prayer. Activities are multiplied that prayer may be ousted and organizations are increased that prayer may have no chance. The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayer-less studies, prayer-less work, prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

We’ve looked in our last hour at the priority of preaching. In this hour I want to survey the priority of prayer considering both congregational prayer as well as pastoral intercessory prayer.

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Let’s look first then at the priority of church prayer meetings. Now it traditionally has been the practice of evangelical churches in the United States to meet on Wednesday nights for prayer. Sadly we’re seeing a day when many American churches are discontinuing this practice and no longer having a midweek meeting that is devoted solely to prayer. Now, I’m not saying that a church has to meet on a Wednesday night. I’m even willing to say that a church does not have to have a meeting specifically for prayer, although there is biblical precedent for that and good reason for that and biblical reason for that, but I am saying that the church is given the assignment of corporate prayer and the pastor, as shepherd of the flock, must guide the people of God into this assigned responsibility. We must make corporate prayer a priority of the church so that the church accomplishes her duties in relation to her Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Continue reading The Priority of Prayer →

The Priority of Shepherding God’s Flock

Pastors

Alan Dunn

We’re going to consider the priority of shepherding God’s flock.

We need to be the best preachers that we can be, and through the public ministry of the Word of God, endeavor to feed the sheep with the truth of the Word.

Indeed in Jeremiah 3:15, the Lord promises,

Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

The shepherd is one who feeds the flock of God with the food of the Scripture, but the pastor is more than a public speaker, and his ministry of the Word of God goes beyond preaching in the pulpit. He is a shepherd, and he is concerned that each individual sheep in His flock receives the nourishment of God’s Word personally and specifically.

Continue reading The Priority of Shepherding God’s Flock →

The Pastor’s Care of His Family

Pastors

Alan Dunn

Brethren, let’s begin together asking for God’s grace and help as we continue in our study of His word. Our gracious God and our Father, we pray now that you would give to us the Holy Spirit; we pray that we would be instructed from your word as to how to be men of God, men who are godly, men who are Christian men in our homes, that we might be instruments in your hand, that we might be servants in your household, that we might be ministers of the new covenant, that we might be effectual in our efforts to advance your kingdom, that we might be fruitful and bring glory and praise to Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Continue reading The Pastor’s Care of His Family →

The Pastor’s Care of Himself

Pastors

Alan Dunn

Today in our first hour we’re going to consider the pastor’s care for himself, how we are to make a priority of our own spiritual life in particular. And then in our second hour, the pastor’s care for his family as we will consider our responsibilities to our wives and to our children. And then in our other meetings that I will be ministering in, we are going to look at the whole matter of biblically regulated worship. No doubt one of our priorities in the pastoral ministry is to guide the people of God into the presence of God in biblically regulated worship. And so we’ll consider that subject as well this week. Now, each of these priorities are so important and could be opened up to such an extent, that many sermons could be preached on each one of these subjects. So we’re only going to survey them, but we’re going to survey them with the realization that we have a very serious calling, that our ministries and our lives as pastors are very serious things in light of the coming judgment of Jesus Christ.

Continue reading The Pastor’s Care of Himself →