Noooooooo!

We were at an Elvis Presley play last night.  There were two characters that had fallen in love with one another.  The young lady asked the young man, "have you ever kissed a girl before?"  They slowly leaned in toward each other.  There was a pregnant silence in the auditorium as they grew closer and closer and Liam suddenly yelled, "NO!!!"  The auditorium suddenly filled with laughter.  I wonder if he will feel the same in about 10 years?  I love that little guy!

Fall On Your Knees!

O Holy Night-  Have we ever fallen to our knees?

This morning, we are going to do things a little different.  The worship team will keep playing.  Sometimes, I feel a need to fall to my knees, and I am wondering if there are others here who may feel the same.  If you feel a need and are physically able, I invite you to get on your knees, bow your head, and close your eyes.  There is no pressure.  If you are unable to go to your knees you may do so in your spirit.  Invite to kneel.  Bow heads and close eyes.  Father, we fall to our knees because you give us:

• Jesus you give us a new start and hope and we don’t deserve it.  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In your great mercy you have given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”‬‬ 1 Peter‬ 1:3‬
• Jesus you give us an abundant life here on earth and for eternity and we don’t deserve it. Your scripture reminds us: ‬‬ “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but you have come that we may have life, and have it to the full.”‬‬‬‬ John‬ 10:10‬
• Jesus you give us confidence and we don’t deserve it:  Your scripture encourages us to ‬approach your throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ‬‬‬ Hebrews‬ 4‬:16
• Jesus You give us forgiveness and power over evil when we don’t deserve it.  You remind us when we were dead in our sins and in the uncircumcision of our flesh, You made us alive with Christ. You forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; You have taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, You made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.‬‬ Colossians‬ 2‬:13-15‬ 13

How Much Should We Give?

How Much Should We Give?

When it comes to graduation parties, weddings, birthdays, and Christmas, one big question Amanda and I always ask each other is how much should we give?  The goal is to find the right balance between going overboard and not giving enough.  Is it possible to go overboard when it comes to giving?   Communion is a time to remember a time when God went overboard for us through His son.  He gave the ultimate gift of His son.  A gift with no limits.  He gave it all!  He gave it all, so that we can have it all!  As a result of His gift to us, we are blessed with the holy spirit, a new start, hope, confidence, unity, forgiveness, and power over evil. We receive an abundant life and eternal life.

●     The gift of Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit: John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

●     The gift of Jesus gives us a new start and hope. 1 Peter 1:3 -Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

●     The gift of Jesus gives us confidence:  Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

●     The gift of Jesus gives us unity :1 Corinthians 10:16-17 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

●     The gift of Jesus gives us forgiveness and power over evil.  Colossians 2:13-15 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

●     The gift of Jesus gives us an abundant life here on earth and for eternity. John 10:10   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

●     The gift of Jesus gives us eternal life.Colossians 3:2-4 NIV “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Let’s pray.  Father, thank you for Jesus.  Because of you, we have the Holy Spirit, a new start, we have hope, confidence, and unity.  Because of you we have forgiveness and power over evil.  Father, you give us an abundant life here on earth.  Thank you for the gift of eternal life.

Thunderstruck- More than an AC/DC song.

Memories are Powerful

(Thunderstruck played)  Hearing the beginning of this song takes me back to my Junior year in 1993.  I was an outside linebacker on the football team and there was a play we practiced all week called “Thunder”.  It was a simple and exciting play.  When called, I ran in, blitzing full bore, and annihilated the quarterback if he rolled out away from me.  We practiced.  I practiced.   Everyone was excited and wanted to be my position that week. We listened to this song every day of the week and before the game.  Sometimes we listened two or three times at once.  The time came. Thunder was called.  Pin your ears back and go.  He rolled out.  I charged and just as I dove, he rolls in a different direction.  I missed him!  It was like the music stopped.   We never ran the play again or played that song again.  

Hearing that song over the years has reminded me of a few things.  For a few years, hearing that song reminded me of failure- hard work that lead to failure.  Preparation, excitement, and good intentions that lead to failure.  As time has gone on, however, the bad memory has become a good memory.  That song also reminds me of a time where I worked and prepared and we were united as a team.  The process was right.  The outcome was just wrong. If I had it to do over, I could do better.  

Can anyone relate?  Have you ever tried, prepared, and when you try hard, and you prepare and you pray, and you sing, and you read His word, and you give of your things, and you give of your time, and you love others, and you make a difference, but when the chance comes for you to overcome that habit, you dive with all your might, and the unexpected happens, and you blow it.  

At communion time we are asked to remember.   We are also asked to examine ourselves.  We confess our failures, but we remember His resurrection that gives us life.  

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭13-15‬ NIV)

As you use this time to remember his body and his blood sacrificed for us and confess your sins, remember He died so you can live. Sure. You have blown it.  Don't stop playing.  Don’t give up on the play.   Get back in the game.  Do hard things. Do great things. If you aren't failing, you aren't trying hard enough.  God made us alive in Christ.  He died so you can live.  When you mess up, I died so you can live.  When you fail, He cancelled the charge.  When life doesn’t go the way you planned, He disarmed the powers and authorities. He died so we can live.  And live to the fullest.   

Pray.  Father thank you for forgiving us.  Strengthen us with your power.  Give us a double dose of your spirit.  Help us grasp how wide and long high and deep is your love for us.  

Victory now! Communion Thoughts for August seventh, 2016

As a YMCA coach for first and second graders I have to repeatedly remind myself that it's not about winning...it's about having fun. But I still forget.  Victory is sweet.  Just go to a first and second grade YMCA coach pitch game filled with fans who are family and friends.   Watch what they do in the bottom of the seventh with a child on third, two outs, and tied ball game.  No matter how many people have committed to the “it's not about winning” way of thinking, everyone is on the edge of their seats.  Suspense is high and most are hoping and thrilled when the final pitch is made and the ball is hit...so don't judge me!

My cousin was in Cleveland the night the cavs won game seven and she stated the streets were packed with people running and giving high fives on the streets to perfect strangers.  Victory is exciting and brings out behavior we would not normally observe.

If we get this excited in sports, can you imagine how excited we will be when our faith has been confirmed in eternity?  We celebrate Christ’s resurrection at this time during communion because He gave us victory over sin and death.   He gave us victory for eternity and victory for the present

His resurrection allows us to talk to our problems about victory we have now in the present.  (The following adapted from Mark Batterson)  http://theaterchurch.com/media/mountains-move/the-day-of-small-beginnings  

We need to preach the promises of God to our problems.

Because of His resurrection, we need to preach the goodness of God to our problems now:

Psalm 23:6   Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Because of His resurrection, we need to preach the supremacy of Christ to our problems now:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Because of His resurrection, we need to preach the preeminence of God to our problems now:

Romans 8:31 If God is for us who can be against us.  We are more than conquerors.

Because of His resurrection, we need to preach the power of God to our problems now:

Ephesians 3:20  He can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine according to His power at work within us.

Because of His resurrection, we need to preach the love of God to our problems now:

Romans 8:38-39  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

As we prepare for communion, may we focus on the Victory we have in Jesus not just in our future, but now at this moment.

Does Our "Why" Evolve?

Do you have a "why" that has changed or evolved?

Running was something I dreaded as a kid.  It was often used as punishment by my coaches.  After physical therapy school, I knew I should exercise to be healthy.  Running was a cheap and efficient option so I started running as my dreaded form of exercise.  The "why" behind my motivation was to "practice what I preach" and be as healthy as possible.  However, I didn't want to do it.  People would say things like, "if you just stick with it for three months, it will become a habit and will not be difficult."  Three months passed and it didn't get easier..  In fact, six months, 12 months, and two years passed and it never got easier. I actually dreaded it for about two and a half years!

However, over time, running became enjoyable.  About three to four years into my training, I began to experience closeness with God during my run..  I began to have meaningful time where I felt like He was truly with me.  I learned how to pray during that time, listened to spiritual podcasts, learned to listen to Him and memorize His word.  Running became something I wouldn't want to miss.  

Now, if I don't run, I get grumpy and feel like something is missing.  My "why", as it relates to running, has moved from my mind to my heart.  It has evolved from a mental conviction to a personal and heart felt part of who I am.

My running "why" evolved.  Is our spiritual "why" similar?

What Does Easter Mean To You? By: Adrianne Krauss

I am pleased to share a beautiful poem my extremely talented and phenomenal cousin, Adrianne Krauss, wrote.  She is an outstanding person and a wonderful roll model for all.  Enjoy:

 

 

What Does Easter Mean To You?

What does Easter mean to you?

is this just a thing we do?

how is it Easter came to be

the greatest day in history?

 

a cross, a cave, and three days’ time

changed the course of humankind

a man who didn’t live for fame

or to start a religion in his name

who came to heal the sick and dying

to feed the hungry and stop the fighting

 

until one day, the whole world’s loss

they hung the healer on a cross

 

what do we make of this famous story?

the biggest fraud or the greatest glory?

is it just a myth that someone wrote

to give a generation hope?

what makes us care about the death

of one poor soul from Nazareth?

he loved the ones who hated him

this gentle soul from Bethlehem

why should we follow willingly

a carpenter from Galilee?

 

across the world he’s loved and hated

his true identity debated

 

                                                                         ~

Said this man from Nazareth,

I’ll save you from your earthly death

 

he faced the worst reality

they nailed his body to a tree

and took our sins so willingly

upon himself, to set us free

a mother sees her lifeless son

he breathes no more, his work is done

then darkness filled the day and night

it seemed this man had lost the fight

see them bring his body down

and remove the bloodied, thorny crown

 

transported to a tomb at night

this figure bound in linen white

 

his body placed into a cave

a lonely, hopeless, simple grave

 

a massive stone was rolled to hide

the door that held the man inside

 

then something happened no one expected

human history redirected

 

even though we had no clue

God always knew what he would do

 

see three days’ time pass by and then

this dead man wakes and walks again

the stone was rolled, a tomb no more

Jesus alive as he was before

early dawn, third day has started

enter the women, broken-hearted

the empty grave scares them to death

where was the man from Nazareth?

 

an angel of the Lord drew near

and told the women “do not fear”

those chilling words still in their ear:

“he isn’t here.”

“he isn’t here.”

~

 

When Jesus died he took with him

our hopeless fate, our crushing sin

 

ascended up to heaven bright

to sit with the Father, to his right

to intercede for you and me

so we in him are safe and free

 

so fear no more of earthly strife

of things that rob us of this life

 

a truth that shakes us to the core

death is dead and reigns no more

I ask you now, what is your view?

what does Easter mean to you?

ask the drunkard, sober now

ask the adulterer, faithful now

ask the despairing, hopeful now

ask the addict, healing now

ask the sick who are praising him

ask the hungry, fed by him

ask the weak who are strong in him

ask the prisoner, freed by him

what Easter means to them

~

A king is reaching out to you

as any loving king would do

 

so asks this king from Galilee,

if you won’t be mine, then whose will you be?

the smallest faith will set you free

take up your cross and follow me

truth isn’t something you can kill

he loved you then, and always will

faith is what we cannot see

and faith has solved this mystery

 

the man who died upon the cross

knew no one else could rescue us

 

he conquered death to save his friends

Easter is a love story that never ends

I was blind, but now I see

he is risen, risen for you and me.

FERTILE SOIL

Spring is in the air.  You can feel new life starting.  Birds, bushes and flowers are once again making their entrance onto the scene following the long cold months.  There is a feeling of anticipation in the air as we await warm sunny days and say goodbye to the dark winter.  It is also almost time to clean out flower beds, work the soil, and plant seeds in preparation for a summer garden.

In Mark 4:1-25, we read about the parable of the sower.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is preaching to a group so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake so everyone along the water’s edge could listen to Him.  He talks about a farmer who went out to sow his seed.  As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path where birds ate it up. Some seed fell in rocky places where there was very little soil.  Those plants sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow but then withered in the sun because they had no root.  Some seed fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plants so they did not bear again. But some of the seeds fell on good soil, and the seed came up, grew, and produced a multiplied crop. 

The seed that Jesus is referring to is the Word of God.  Every time you hold your Bible and read scripture, you are holding the seeds that God wants to plant into your heart and life.  Jesus is warning us to work and prepare our soil so that when the Word is sown in our lives, we are able to produce a crop.  So my question to you and myself is, “How good is your soil?”  Is your soil hard and trampled down by worry or disappointments in this life?  Or is it rocky with pride?  Maybe your soil is shallow, and although the seeds initially take root, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word you quickly fall away.  Or maybe, you have good soil and you hear and accept the Word of God. 

My hope and prayer is that we all strive to take care of our soil.  That we would have fertile soil that has been washed and watered with the gentle healing rain of forgiveness through Christ, nutrient rich through the warmth of God’s love, and softened by His grace.  May we exemplify Mark 4:20: Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”   

In His love,

Amanda

Temptation is an opportunity

to show God you love him!

I would like to thank Andy Stanley and his Pause sermon series for most of the ideas in this blog entry.

 

What would someone, who is you, do if they were 100% confident God was with them?

When tempted- Pause and think: “what is at stake when we are tempted?”

1. Family and/or those you influence
2. Future/legacy
3. Faith
1. Faith that God is who He said He is and will do what He said He would do.
2. Faith that He is with you.
1. Faith that He won’t come through for you because of your performance with prior temptation.
3. How does temptation affect your faith?

Dealing with temptation- Three major temptations from Satan (Matthew 4:1-11):

1. Meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.   
1. “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
2. Jesus had confidence God would provide food when needed.  He knew this temptation was more about His faith that God was with Him, that God had a bigger plan, that God’s timing was perfect, and He valued a close relationship with God more than meeting the immediate need of hunger.
3. Man does not live on power alone, on sales alone, on money alone, on sex alone, on intimacy alone, on entertainment alone, on self gratification alone, on food alone, on status alone, etc.  
1. It’s not about Us.  It’s about trusting that God will meet our needs.  It’s about knowing God can be trusted with our basic needs. It’s not about having our needs met in our timing.  It’s about trusting God will come through at the right time.
4. Jesus did what anyone would have done who was 100% confident God was with Him.
5. Why is it difficult to wait on God to provide instead of taking matters into your own hands?
6. Name a temptation to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.

2. Try to use God to accomplish His own ends.
1. 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
2. Jesus didn’t need to manipulate God.  He didn’t need to presume that God would save Him.  He knew it was not God’s will for Him to throw Himself off the building so He wasn’t going to try to force God’s hand to do something He didn’t intend to do.
1. We may do the same thing with our life by saying or doing things like:
1. I am just going to step out on faith and trust that He will deliver me/us (when we have no evidence that our action is God’s will).
1. Go into debt and trust He will deliver, marry the last train leaving the station and trust God will change him/her, take a job we know we aren’t supposed to take and trust God will work it out.
2. Jesus knew the difference between manipulating God and acting out in faith.  Jesus knew the plan God had put into place for thousands of years.  This temptation was founded in trying to use God’s plan and the years of His orchestrating key elements for this moment.  Forcing Jesus' will on God would have been a form of manipulation at this point.  He knew this was not the time to prove God’s power to Satan or those who would have been watching.  
3. In the end, Jesus had confidence God would reveal His power in amazing ways at the right time.  He trusted it would happen in God’s time.
4. Jesus did what anyone else would have done who was 100% confident God was with Him.
5. Have you ever launched an idea that you knew was not God’s will and then prayed He would deliver you?
6. Do you ever try to use God to adopt your own agenda?
7. What do you miss out on when you try to manipulate God?
8. Cooperation with God matters most.  The opposite is manipulation.

3. Do the right thing at the wrong time the wrong way and take a short cut.
1. 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
2. Jesus knew God was going to give Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor in His way at the right time.  He had confidence that God would come through.  He didn’t need to give His allegiance to Satan.  To Jesus, unbroken fellowship with Christ was way more important than premature attainment of the ultimate outcome He knew God had in store.
3. What do you stand to lose when you take a shortcut?  Have you ever been faced with an opportunity to jump ahead, but it required you to temporarily abandon your values?  What was your response?  What were the results?
4. In this area, how can you remind yourself to choose what is important over what is immediate?
5. Jesus did what anyone else would have done who was 100% confident God was with them.

In summary:

Temptation is an opportunity to show God you love Him.  It is an opportunity to allow Him to meet your needs in a legitimate way.   Temptation is always a test of your faith that God is who He said He is and that He will do what He said He will do.   If you compromise, if you break, you may never know what God might have done on your behalf if you had trusted Him.  God can be trusted.  He wants to be a part of the details of your life.  Every temptation is a test of your confidence in Him not just your self control.  Don’t trade the important for the immediate.  Pause and remember what is at stake!

Offer your temptation, to feed your appetite, to God as a sacrifice of love.

Imagine if we all were able to live with 100% confidence that God was with us…without a doubt.  Imagine if everyone of us trained in a manner to allow Christ and His holy spirit to transform us.  What if we could pause when tempted?  What if we could remember what is at stake?  Imagine the impact Christ could have on those we influence, on our legacies and future, and on our faith!

 

We can't, but He can!

Communion Thoughts February 14, 2016

We can’t, but He can!

Last week, Rick explained that weakness of our human will is a problem.  He explained that the old testament way of living...where there are more rules and more trying...just fails.  He explained that our will cannot control our sinful nature.   He emphasized that we need a savior.  

As we take time to focus on our savior, we have the opportunity to explore the most significant, most amazing, most rule changing, earth shattering, most powerful act of love to ever take place.  This moment that was orchestrated by our creator on our behalf is what matters most.  It matters for all for eternity.

We can’t, but He can. We need a savior. So what are we to do?  John 15:5 "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.  He tells us to remain in Him.  How do we remain?

I am so encouraged that over 70 of us have committed to regular reading of His word and memorizing His scripture.  Our church is on mission.  But, as we train spiritually, may we remember not to put our confidence in our training.  May we remember to put our confidence in the object of our training.  May we remember we are training so that we can become better at loving others.  We are training to create fertile soil for the Holy Spirit to transform us.  We are training so that Christ and His love can change our lives which will change the world.  God does not need our training.  We need to train so that Christ can perform miracles things through us.

As we work to create new habits and strive to grow...as we fill our minds with His word and memorize His scripture so that we can focus on the things that are true, and noble, and right, and pure, and lovely...the things that are excellent and praiseworthy, as we praise Him through service, song, and offer prayers, may we not forget our reason for doing it all….not to puff ourselves up with knowledge or to make ourselves look or feel “spiritual”.   May we press on in our actions and deeds driven by our love for Him to simply know Him more.  

We pray that through His death and resurrection that He may become greater and greater and we may become less and less.  We can’t, but He Can!