Lenexa Baptist Church

For those who truly desire to live for Christ, these final two chapters of Romans are incredibly significant. Paul has absolute clarity and vision when it comes to his purpose and mission. When you know your purpose and mission, it clarifies almost everything else in your life. Paul knew the specific work God had set before him in Christ Jesus. Do you know what your mission is in Christ? Do you have a burden for missions and evangelism? Have you ever prayed, “Lord, where do I take the gospel next?”

We have spent a lot of time in Romans over this past year looking into the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But let us not forget Paul’s purpose in expounding this gospel. His purpose was not so that we would simply sit back and soak in the glorious gospel of Christ, but so that we embrace the gospel mission and get caught up in the same missionary zeal that we would find demonstrated in the heart of Paul.

Many have asked me recently, “What are we going to do when we finish Romans?” The most immediate response should be “missions and evangelism.” If the answer is not missions and evangelism, we have missed the reason Paul wrote Romans.

I pray that you will join us this weekend as we continue this study in Romans. It is going to be a special weekend as we also announce a new mission partnership and work right here in our local community. You won’t want to miss this weekend!

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

Back when I was in high school, I had a pastor who was also the FCA leader for a few schools in the Tulsa area. This pastor began to meet with me and several of my buddies. He would gather us occasionally at Pizza Hut or Mazzio’s. He bought us pizza and poured into us, and then he challenged us to invite some of our friends who didn’t know Christ. He would share the gospel and then he would have us share the gospel. It was discipleship. I didn’t know what discipleship was, but that is what we were doing.

In those meetings and in sharing the gospel and pouring into friends, I discovered an incredible joy. I knew the joy of knowing Christ personally, but I did not know that I got to participate in sharing Christ with others. Sure, I had heard sermons about evangelism, but I had never experienced it for myself. The great joy of being a Christian is not only in receiving Christ but also in helping others come to know Him. It is what we call the priesthood of the believer, and Paul talks about this in the latter portion of Romans 15. Paul’s master passion was not just found in knowing Christ but in sharing Christ. Paul never got over this. He never lost a sense of awe and wonder at the grace of God that saved him and invited him into a mission and a purpose that was bigger than he was.

I pray that you will join us as we gather to worship this weekend. I pray that you would come with an open heart to receive from Christ’s Word and a heart to give and serve others. We all need Christ, and we all need each other. I hope to see you this weekend.

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

This weekend is Back to Church Sunday. What a great opportunity to invite a friend, co-worker or neighbor to church. God is at work in our country. Now is the time. Today is the day. Let’s not be fearful. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity but of sound mind and good judgment.” Let’s be bold for Christ. Step out in faith and invite someone. Step out in faith and tell someone about the difference that Christ has made in your life. God can do more than we ever thought possible. God can do more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime. Let’s take our lives, lay them down into His hands and ask Him to use us for His glory.

I look forward to seeing all of you this weekend. Make the decision today. Remember, weekend worship is a Friday decision.

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

Back in 1918, a boy named Howard Loomis was abandoned by his mother at Father Flanagan’s Home for Boys, which had opened just a year earlier. Howard had polio and wore heavy leg braces. Walking was difficult for him, especially when he had to go up and down steps. Soon, several of the Home’s older boys were carrying Howard up and down the stairs. One day, Father Flanagan asked Rueben Granger, one of those older boys, if carrying Howard was hard. Rueben replied, “He ain’t heavy, Father…he’s my brother.”

In Romans 15, Paul continues to encourage the Roman church to “bear the weakness of those without strength.” He puts the burden on the strong to welcome, show grace and even carry their brothers and sisters in Christ who are continuing to grow in their faith. That’s not the world’s way. In the world might makes right. The mighty and strong bully people into their position. But not in the church. We bear one another’s burdens. We don’t just put up with our brother; if needed we carry him. We willingly lay down our rights and responsibilities to serve the body. And the burdens we carry and the sacrifices we make are always light as we remember, “He’s not heavy, he is my brother.”

I look forward to seeing you this weekend as we continue and near the end of our study in Romans. This weekend we will also participate in the ordinance of communion and remember the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray you will make the decision today to join us for one of our many weekend worship opportunities.

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

If you ask most couples how they fell in love, you will often find that the two of them moved at different speeds when it came to being convinced on the matter of marriage. One of them might indicate that they knew almost immediately that they would get married. The other might indicate that it took a lot more time and convincing.

The Christian life can be similar. We don’t all grasp the whole gospel instantaneously. For one person, it might take them years into their walk with Christ to become fully convinced of and believe in a particular area of doctrine or practice. But then having grasped the Bible’s teaching in this area, they will often turn around and expect another brother or sister in Christ to grasp it almost immediately. As we each grow and mature in our walk, and the gospel practically works it’s way into our lives, we must be willing to lay down our rights and privileges for the good of those who are continuing to grow. We are free in Christ. We have many rights in Christ. However, our personal rights and freedoms don’t govern our lives. Our love for God and our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ governs our lives.

I pray that you will join us this weekend as we walk through Romans 14.13-23. These are very practical verses that are critical to our unity in the body and our witness to the world. I hope to see you at one of our many worship opportunities.

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

Romans 14 appears to be a bit out of place. Paul has been addressing how the fountain of the gospel flows outwardly into all the areas of our lives. At the end of chapter 13, he addresses how the gospel impacts our relationship to our neighbors. In chapter 15, Paul will talk about taking the gospel to Spain. He addresses local missions and then international missions.

In between local missions and international missions, Paul confronts an apparent conflict related to eating certain foods and observing certain days. What does this issue have to do with missions? Paul knows that a church in conflict loses credibility in sharing a message of reconciliation with the world. We cannot peddle unapplied truth. If we are going to preach reconciliation to the world, we need to demonstrate it in the church. And while we may not have disagreements over certain foods and observing certain days, the church today has its own issues that can quickly create conflict and nullify our witness. How should we deal with these issues? Not issues of doctrine or morality but areas of personal conviction that are not clearly revealed in Scripture. This is a critical, relevant and practical text.

I pray that you will make plans to join us as we gather around the Word of God and adjust our lives to His truth that we might glorify Him and love our neighbor.

In Christ,

Pastor Chad McDonald

Could you name at least five people in your life right now who don’t know Christ? People you bump into at work, at Walmart, at school, in your neighborhood or at the coffee shop? If we could each name five people, then our church touches over 15,000 people every week. That is a huge opportunity to make an impact for Christ. But how do we relate to them? How do we engage the lost world around us? Church history has been filled with tension over this very issue. Some would argue that we should separate from the world and hole up in caves. Others would have us capitulate to the moral issues of our day to fit in and get along with the world around us. Some might want us to go back to Old Testament law and live completely by rules so that we would become irrelevant to culture. How should we relate to the non-believing world around us?

As Paul has discussed how our relationship with Christ flows outward into our relationship with God, fellow members of the body of Christ and our enemies, he now gives us practical direction on how we relate to our neighbor. Make plans to join us for one of our many weekend worship opportunities today. Weekend worship is a Friday decision. Make the decision today to worship with the body of Christ. We all need Christ, and we all need each other.

— Pastor Chad McDonald

Beginning in Romans 12, Paul describes the fountain of blessing that flows from the life of a person who is in Christ. The gospel changes us. It renews our minds and changes our thinking. It changes how we think about God, ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ. The gospel teaches us that no one and no thing in the fellowship of the body is beneath us. Christ left the glory of heaven to die for me. He did not consider me beneath Him. When that truth impacts my mind, it ultimately changes my disposition towards others. The gospel creates a divinely beautiful fellowship in the church that cannot be duplicated in the world. But Paul doesn’t stop there. When this kind of transformation takes place in the church, it will eventually burst the doors of the church and get carried out into the world. Our attitude towards Christ and each other in the body sets the agenda for how we respond to evil and those who persecute us. The Christian brings blessing and harmony in the body but also overcomes evil in the world.

These verses have never been more practical for the believer’s life. I pray that you will make plans to day to join us for worship this weekend. This is an exciting time to be a part of LBC. Get plugged in and find a place ot fellowship and service as we continue to bring the message of hope to the heartland.

— Pastor Chad McDonald

From Belief to Baptism | Matthew 18:18-20

This weekend we will take another one week break from Romans to focus on the ordinance of baptism. There is a vast array of thoughts and opinions pertaining to this ordinance. Who should get baptized? When should baptism occur? Is it appropriate to sprinkle or immerse? What about infant baptism?

This weekend we will look to God’s Word to find clarity on this issue. I pray you will join us for one of our many weekend worship opportunities. Every year we set aside some time to examine God’s Word pertaining to this ordinance and to open the door for anyone to trust Christ and be baptized. It has become one of the most special services of the year. Please pray in advance for these services and plan to attend. May Christ be glorified and men and women drawn to Him.

— Pastor Chad McDonald

Living a Life Transformed | Romans 12:3-8

In the opening two verses of Romans 12, Paul has commanded us not to follow the spirit of the age but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In Christ, we have been brought into a new humanity that God is remaking into the likeness of His Son. God’s great passion and purposes are to mold us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then Paul gets very practical. What does this look like in practice? How does this affect all the different spheres of our lives? As we continue in our study of Romans this week, Paul will pick up this theme revealing to us how belonging to a new humanity in Christ changes everything. I pray you will plan to join us this weekend as we study God’s Word and seek to live a transformed life that glorifies Christ.

— Pastor Chad McDonald