Take a look at this to see what some really organized sheep can do.

If you're a Me-Monster .... REPENT.  Grab some Philippians 2 style Humility: True Greatness , and zip your lip.

If you love a Me-Monster ... don't be a doormat.  Its not godly to let someone be puffed up with pride and brag their way to Hell. 

If my confidence is on anything but Jesus, His Word, His Spirit and His love... I'm toast.

But He is in charge, and He will draw all men to himself.  That's my confidence and joy today.

(but don't worry, we'll get the place clean SOMEHOW by 9am!)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5

How can I tell if my trust in the Lord is wholehearted?  One way is this.  Do I let the Bible overrule my own thinking?  It says, “Do not lean on your own understanding.”  So, do I agree with the Bible, or do I obey the Bible?  My dog sometimes agrees with me, but she never obeys me.  If I merely agree with the Bible, then my positive response to it is not obedience but coincidence.  The Bible just happens to line up with the prejudices I’ve soaked up from my culture.  But what do I do when the Bible contradicts what I want to be true?  If I’m looking in the Bible for excuses for what I want anyway, my heart has already drifted from the Lord.  But if I trust him wholeheartedly, I will let the Bible challenge my most cherished thoughts and feelings.

The wonderful thing is, the Lord loves to be consulted.  He cares about my questions and problems, and yours.  He wants to speak into our lives in ways that really help.  Okay.

From Ray Ortlund's Blog

When I was young, I visited a farm that had an old-fashioned water pump. It was centered on a cement slab and would drip long after you stopped pumping. Over the years the dripping water had cut a trough to the edge of the slab. The trough was nearly two inches deep.

So it is with pornography in a man's brain. Because of the way the male brain is wired, it is prone to pick up on sexually relevant cues. These cues trigger arousal and a series of neurological, hormonal, and neurochemical events are set into motion. Memories about how to respond to these cues are set off. As the pattern of arousal and response continues, it deepens the neurological pathway, making it a trough. Each time an unhealthy sexual pattern is repeated, neurological, emotional, and spiritual erosion carves out a channel that will eventually develop into a canyon from which there is no escape.

But if this corrupted pathway can be avoided, a new pathway can be formed. We can establish a healthy sexual pattern where the flow is redirected toward holiness …. That is part of the process of sanctification. (From Preaching Today)

For more information to help people overcome pornography addiction check out www.xxxchurch.com.

One resource I've used to help people overcome porn addiction is XXXChurch.  They have a filtering software that will send a list of any flagged sites to an accountability partner.  (This program is on my laptop [shannon is my accountability partner], Rob's laptop and ...as of today ...on the Sanctuary computer.

This is free, and does a lot to help people take a step in the right direction.

An upgraded version combines X3 with Safeeyes, restricting sites that can be used ... ideal for families with teenagers who might "stumple" on the wrong site.

If you don't have some sort of accountability built into your browsing ... do it today!

---

As followers of Jesus, its our job to redeem culture, not just talk about it.  Here's the real story on pornography addiction, when you buy into the pornographic industry you don't just hurt yourself.  You are contributing to a culture that degrades and destroys young people.

Today young men and women are being bought and sold into slavery.  Human Trafficing is a real problem in Seattle, as is teen prostitution.  Every time a bored, lonely, confused guy clicks into a porn site, he isn't just hurting himself ... he is agressively supporting the culture that would destroy these young lives for profit.

Most guys I know don't hate their sin of lust.  Yeah, they feel guilty and try to change ... but HATE?

I don't always hate lust.  I ALWAYS hate human trafficking.

I ALWAYS hate the thought of young girls (like my daughter) being bought and sold to give pleasure to lazy slobs who are too afraid too alone or too neurotic for real satisfying relationships.

I ALWAYS hate the thought of giving one penny, one click, one hint of revenue to people who would make money by destroying others.

If its all about me, then pornography is a will power thing.

If its about redeeming a culture, then pornography isn't even an option.  It now takes will power to keep myself from pulling a "Boondock Saints" style justice and stopping the industry myself.

John 8:32 Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.“

Know the truth about Jesus.

Know the truth about pornography.

And as a church ... lets help people overcome porn addiction @ www.xxxchurch.com.

To eat, to breathe

to beget

Is this all there is

Chance configuration of atom against atom

of god against god

I cannot believe it.

Come, Christian Triune God who lives,

Here am I

Shake the world again.

Francis Schaeffer, Christianity Today, 20 June 1960, page 6.

ht Ray Ortlund

Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those suffering from natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, and elsewhere, and the people from those countries and from around the world who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to render aid.  Let us pray for the families of the West Virginia miners, and the people of Poland who so recently and unexpectedly lost many of their beloved leaders.  Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place. As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day.  Let us remember the unsung heroes who struggle to build their communities, raise their families, and help their neighbors, for they are the wellspring of our greatness.  Finally, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere who join us in the aspiration for a world that is just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2010, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon the citizens of our Nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us."

Today, I encourage you to find time alone and with your family to pray for the concerns our President mention.  Also pray for Mr. Obama and the rest of our national leadership.

May I also ask you to pray for our church and our community?  There are many great and terrible events happening in peoples lives.  Some are sober for the first time, others are struggling worse than they ever have. 

I believe God has CGS at a crossroads.  If we seek Him in prayer, there is no telling what blessings He will pour into our lives as the Gospel transforms the city.

Tonight at REFUGE, we will take time to pray, honoring our Lord Jesus on this National Day of Prayer.

God Bless,
Pastor Tim

I got bad news from Russia. looks like Ministry of Justice are going to set new LAW about forbidden evangelization in russia at all. 

Forbidden for everyone except pastors. This law prepares now in Senate. This means  nobody will be allowed open mouth about Christ.

May I ask you to spread out this news to  pastors of reformed churches? I hope everyone can hear about this and support them with a pray.

This is a news article she sent me.  (Translated with Google Translate, so I apologize if I got any of it wrong.) 

erckazan
Missionary activity in juvenile Russians in the near future will be limited, the ministry of Justice.

Developed and prepared for introduction to RF Government draft federal law (Federal Law) "On Amending the Federal Law" On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations and the RF Code on Administrative Violations (Code of Administrative Offenses). "It is stated in a press release agencies issued today on the final board of the Justice Ministry, Interfax reported.

The press release noted that the bill aims "to the legislative definition of missionary activity, as well as to consolidate the restrictions on the religious associations of missionary activity in the juvenile."

In addition, the Project is the restriction of missionary activity, accompanied by a proposal material, social and other benefits to citizen involvement in religious communities, and in the territories religious sites belonging to other religious communities.

Changes in legislation relating to the missionary activity of religious organizations, were prepared by RF Ministry of Justice on behalf of the President of Russia.

As noted earlier, a document whose main objective is the settlement of the missionary activities in Russia, has caused protests from the representatives of religious organizations.

The bill provides a definition for the first time in Russia as a missionary activity "among non-members, participants, followers of a religious association, in order to involve these persons in religious communities and religious associations or carried out their authorized persons directly and publicly, with the help of the media or other lawful means. This right is given only to preach the heads of religious organizations or persons with special authorization from the leadership of his Church. The rest of promoting religious ideas will be prohibited, whereas today this is no permit is required.

The document provides a number of other restrictions on missionary activity. Thus, for example, forbidden to preach "for persons convicted of inciting ethnic and religious hatred, or other crimes of extremist nature. Can not missionary work near the "religious sites belonging to other religious communities, without the written consent of its governing body, as well as in the buildings of state power, hospitals, orphanages, boarding schools without the consent of the administration. Another innovation is the ban on "the involvement of minors in activities of a religious association against his will and without the consent of his parents: Children and adolescents can not invite to the church to theological discussion, to give to familiarize the print and audio-visual materials. Violation of restrictive rules for the first time provides for penalties: fines from 2 thousand to 5 thousand rubles. for individuals and from 5 thousand to 7 thousand rubles. for legal persons.

Please pray that the Gospel will go forward in Russia and that there will be freedom for every believe to engage in the mission of Christ.

• With God in the Beginning (John 1:1-4; 17:5) – There was no point at which Christ suddenly came into being or began a relationship with God. Jesus is eternal.
• Word made Flesh (John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16) – Christ did not “appear” as a man, but humanity was added to His deity when He became “flesh.”
• Image of the Invisible God (Colossians 1:15-17; John 1:17) – Christ is the perfect manifestation of God—the very substance and embodiment of the Creator.
• Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6) – There is only one way to approach God—through the Son of Man who gave Himself as a ransom for mankind.
• Head over All Things (Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:27-28) – Christ’s name is not simply a title. It refers to His position of highest dignity and honor at the Father’s right hand.

Biblical Description of Jesus - His Self Examination
A biblical description of Jesus based on His own self-examination reflects practical, everyday concepts found in customs, nature, and life itself.

• Light of the World (John 1:4-5; 9:5) – From the beginning, God desired to have a personal relationship with man, bringing him out of the darkness of evil, sin, and ignorance. Christ is the only true Light.
• Anointed One (Luke 4:18-19; John 3:34) – Jesus confirmed that He was the Messiah who would bring the long promised Kingdom of God.
• The Good Shepherd (John 10:14) – Jesus has an intimacy and personal interest in protecting His “sheep” from all harm.
• Bread of Life (John 6:35, 51) – Jesus is an essential staple for our lives, providing an everlasting satisfaction.
• Healer and Forgiver (Luke 5:22-25; Mark 2:5-11) – Forgiveness is always associated with God. Jesus has authority to heal broken lives—spiritually as well as physically.
• The Way, the Truth, the Life (John 10:9, 14:6) – Access to God the Father, can come only from the One who is from the Father.
• The Resurrection and Life (John 11:25-26) – Jesus, the Lord of Life, offers eternal life. With authority, He holds the keys of death (Revelation 1:17-18).

Biblical Description of Jesus - Life Altering
When He is personally experienced, the biblical description of Jesus is life-altering.

• Son of David (Mark 10:47) – Blind Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as David’s descendant. The crowds proclaimed Jesus the designated Messiah-King (Matthew 21:8-9).
• Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 8:16-17) – Our sins and weaknesses were not Jesus’, but ours. He bore them for us.
• Sinless/Holy (Hebrews 7:26) – Jesus needed no sacrifice for Himself, rather offering Himself as a sacrificial Lamb for our impurities (Acts 8:32).
• Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) – The prophet speaks of the Messiah who will bring to pass the time of millennial peace. Christ’s legacy was “peace with God” and the “peace of God” (John 14:27).
• The Power and Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:2-3) – Paul understood that through Christ, knowledge is the acquisition of Truth and wisdom is Truth applied to life (John 10:9; 14:6).

-

Martin Luther, quoted in Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (New York, 1950), page 362.

(from Ray Ortland)

Just up the street from CGS is a 7-Eleven.  In the past I've avoided that store like the plague because its filled with my weaknesses ... Reeses, donuts, ice cream and other temptations.  I'm better off pretending it isn't there.

A month or so ago, an odd shaped red box appeared outside the store.  This contraption is a mini-movie store.  In that redbox sit approximately 630 DVDs with 70-200 titles.  With a quick log-in you can rent a movie for $1/night, letting you head home with a copy of "I Can Do Bad All By Myself"  (or whatever I was going on about) so that you can actually understand my sermons.

This concept started six years ago and now has more locations than Blockbuster.  They are changing the way people rent movies, and, judging by the "Going Out Of Business" signs at the Mill Creek Hollywood Video, the rest of the industry is going to have to adapt in order to keep up.

While I can't find their official mission statement, the main goal of the company is to help people get their hands on new movies.  With more than 22,400 kiosks nation-wide, that mission is being fulfilled.

Interestingly (at least to me) Redbox isn't just stealing customers from other stores.  A recent study found that 20% of their rentals t customers who were not renting DVDs before the introduction of Redbox, but have come back to the industry because its cheaper and easier.

Entertainment wanderers are becoming Redbox users.

Also, more Redbox users end up buying movies.  For the movie studios, that's where the big-bucks come in.  The people who make "Clash of the Titans" will make a little bit of money when you rent a movie, but make alot more when you go and buy it.  The hope is that after you rent a movie, you will convert that rental into a purchase.
Redbox is killing it in the "conversion" area.  Redbox users are 10% more likely to convert a rental into a purchase than any other user-group.  You try it first (for only $1) and if you like it, you end up buying it.

DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg recently echoed this fact, reporting that Redbox displays a "sharply higher conversion rate from rental to purchase" than other rental companies.

Okay ... I know you're thinking it already.  Why do you care?
Who cares about movie rentals.  Most of it is junk, and the church is supposed to be in the world, not of it.
I honestly don't care about Redbox ... but I do care about getting the gospel of Jesus out there.  In that line, there is alot we can learn from Redbox.
They broke all the movie-rental rules and got creative.
Though they didn't change the mission (getting people to rent movies) they did strip away all the un-essentials.  There are no on-site employees.  Redbox kiosks don't sell candy or popcorn.  You probably won't find old favorites or workout videos.  You'll just find new movies.

By knowing their goals, they were able to get rid of all the other expensive and distracting stuff ... and then grow like wild-fire.

They know their mission and they stick to it.

This is a re-statement of what I said in the paragraph above, but it deserves its own bullet point.  Upselling people on candy and popcorn might work for Blockbuster, but its not in Redbox's model.  They don't do anything but rent movies.

The don't let opposition stop them.

Its not easy being Redbox.  Most of the big movie studios hate them.  Fox, Warner Brothers and a few others won't let Redbox have their movies until 28 days after Blockbuster and the "real stores" get them.  By sabotaging Redbox this way, the studios are shooting themselves in the foot.  (Remember, the big bucks is in buying DVD's, not renting them.)

As we go through LeaderSHIFT, my hope is that CGS will become a little bit more like Redbox.
I want us to be more focused on our mission.
I pray for us to grow in passion and creativity.
As we do this, there will be opposition.  I trust that we will stay together, pray together, and work together through it.
Renting movies is just about money and entertainment...but the local church is the hope of the world.

If Redbox can grow from just 12 kiosks in 2002 to more than 15,000 locations nationwide, renting out more than 500 million DVDs and seeing thousands of new customers daily ... imagine what the Holy Spirit can do with 150 people in this church.

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

This reminded me of a testmony one person who just became a follower of Jesus wrote.  She said,

As followers of Jesus we have more than mere happiness ... we find joy, meaning, hope and eternity.  Makes life worth it.

After you take this test (either online or in your small group) make sure you talk to a close friend about the results.  The benefit of being in community is that we can have other people tell us the hard truths we need to hear.  You might have a gift that you're afraid to admit.  (Yes, you might be a leader even though you're worried about the responsibilities that go with it.)  Or you might think you have a gift where you done.  (For example, I think that I have the gift of singing, even though I lack the gift of finding the right notes!)

REMEMBER - There is a LeaderSHIFT class at 9am on Sunday.  Feel free to check your kids in, grab a cup of coffee and join us.

“De verboden Lectuur” by Karel Ooms (1876) portrays a Belgian man studying the Bible with his daughter in a time of persecution. They are breaking the law, and they know it. They have just heard a knock on the door.

This painting hung along a stairway in the Belgian Gospel Mission when my family visited there in 1959. Even as a boy, I sensed how solemn and beautiful it was. Somehow the family got hold of a print, and somehow the print ended up in my possession. It hangs in our study here at home. It is beside me now.

May I be a man of the Bible. May I be a faithful father. May I be a loyal Christian, whoever knocks on the door.

“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”  Ephesians 5:33

God made Adam first and put him in the Garden with a job to do, a mission to fulfill.  In the heart of every fallen man is the self-doubt that wonders, “Am I man enough to climb this mountain God has called me to?  Can I fulfill my destiny?”  A wise wife will understand that question at the center of her husband’s heart.  And she will spend her life answering it, communicating to him in various ways, “Honey, I believe in your call.  I know you can do this, by God’s power.  Go for it.”  In this way, she will breathe life into her man.

God made Eve from Adam, for Adam, to help him follow the call.  In the heart of every fallen woman is the self-doubt that wonders, “Do I please you?  Am I what you wanted?”  A wise husband will understand that question at the center of his wife’s heart.  And he will spend his life answering it, communicating to her in various ways, “Darling, you are the one I need.  I cherish you.  Let me hold you close.”  In this way, he will breathe life into his wife.

Thanks to KEVIN DEYOUNG for posting this ...

Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen was born in 1691 in West Friesland and died in New Jersey in 1747. He received ordination in the Dutch Reformed Church at the age of twenty-six and served for two years in his native land. At twenty-eight he was approached by Classis Amsterdam to see if he was willing to take a church in Rarethans (Raritan). Frelinghuysen accepted, assuming Rarethans was in the Netherlands, but the Classis meant the Raritan Valley in New Jersey. Convicted by Psalm 15:4–“God honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not”–Frelinghuysen took the charge, misunderstanding and all, and moved to the New World.

From the beginning of his ministry in the Mid-Atlantics to his death, Frelinghuysen was controversial. He preached emotional sermons, prayed free prayers, practiced church discipline, and aimed squarely at the conversion of sinners. His messages were experiential, fruitful, and popular. He could also be an irascible fellow.

Three centuries later, he is remembered (if he is remembered at all) as the forerunner to the revivals that swept through America in the middle decades of the 18th century.

During the heyday of the Awakening, George Whitefield, the most celebrated preacher of his century, met Frelinghuysen and later wrote about the encounter in his Journals:

Among those who came to hear the Word were several ministers whom the Lord has been pleased to honour in making them instruments of bringing many sons to glory. One was a Dutch Calvinistic minister, named Freeling Housen, pastor of a congregation about four miles from New Brunswick. He is a worthy old soldier of Jesus Christ, and was the beginner of the great work which I trust the Lord is carrying on in these parts. He has been strongly opposed by his carnal brethren, but God has always appeared for him in a surprising manner, and made him more than conqueror, through his love. He has long since learnt to fear him only who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

Frelinghuysen’s influence was not confined to Whitefield. The Dutch preacher was instrumental in the ministry of Gilbert Tennent and highly respected by Jonathan Edwards as one who laid the evangelical groundwork for God’s blessing. Frelinghuysen was truly the “beginning of the great work.”

I’m no expert on Frelinghuysen, not even an amateur. But I’ve read just enough of his life and his sermons to spot several valuable lessons.

1. Dead orthodoxy is deadly. It can be hard for those who bemoan the atheological nature of today’s church (as I do) to admit it, but it’s true: orthodoxy can be dead, and when it dies it is deadly. Frelinghuysen encountered Reformed churches filled with self righteousness and empty formalism. They had the appearance of godliness, but knew not its power. His emphases on conversion and piety were not always welcome, but they were necessary. Let us not be so afraid of emtionalism and subjectivism that we mistake lifeless orthodoxy for faithfulness.

2. Tradition is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. Frelinghuysen followed the Three Forms of Unity. He often preached from and referenced the Heidelberg Catechism. He was, gladly, a confessional Calvinist. He believed in harnessing the power of tradition.

But he was not a slave to traditionalism. In objecting to Frelinghuysen’s insistence on using free prayers and his collaborating with other evangelicals, Classis Amsterdam hurrumphed, “We must be careful to do things in a Dutch way in our churches.” The Dutch leaders did not like his deviation from the liturgy, nor did they appreciate his enthusiasm and the subjective nature of his preaching. They wanted a Dutch preacher who stuck with the Dutch ways.

Frelinghuysen did not reject his Dutch Calvinism, but he wanted to do more than carry on a tradition. He wanted to preach the new birth. As such, he was willing to partner with those who shared his theological convictions and ministry goals, regardless of denominational attachment, ethnic or linguistic background, or social distinctions.

3. God blesses preaching that is scriptural, personal, and evangelical. Some sermons don’t translate well to the printed page, but Frelinghuysen’s still burst with life. When they are not catechetical, his sermons invariably work from a single text and pulse with numerous biblical allusions and references. He knew his Bible, trusted it implicitly, and preached from it explicitly.

Besides being scriptural, Frelinghuysen’s sermons are evangelical in the best sense of the word. Nearly every sermon I read dealt with the sinfulness of man, the holiness of God, the reality of heaven and hell, and the necessity of receiving the gospel and experiencing the new birth. This is preaching God can use. And did. More than 300 were converted under Frelinghuysen’s ministry.

His sermons were also intensely personal. I don’t mean Frelinghuysen used personal illustrations or got “authentic.” He did something better. He spoke directly to his hearers.  He wasn’t afraid to warn, plead, and cajole. For example:

Oh, that you could be aroused! Seek the Lord, I pray you, while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. For you cannot be assured of your life for a moment. Avail yourself, then, of the present moment. The Lord may be found right now, but you do not know how long that will last. Right now He invites you to come so that He may offer you His favor and grace. He stands with open arms and waits. Do not let this season of grace–the time in which He may be found–pass you by.

Does the preaching in your church (my church!) sound like this? Are we preaching the gospel to our people or merely explaining what the gospel is about? No amount of structural tinkering or missional activity can replace the personal, passionate, pleading of robust gospel preaching.

4. Do not neglect the third mark of the church. To the chagrin of nearly everyone, Frelinghuysen reintroduced the practice of church discipline. He set high standards for the Lord’s Table. The Supper was not a converting ordinance, but a meal for the truly regenerate. Following 1 Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18, Domine Frelinghuysen put unrepentant sinners out of the church, a practice that encouraged holiness and outraged many of his people.

5. Fear God, not people. Many of his contemporaries deeply despised Frelinghuysen. “I am the man everyone talks about,” he wrote about himself, “beloved by many, hated by many more.” Despite the onslaught of criticism and opposition, he pressed on with courage. His motto: “I seek not praise. I fear not blame.”

6. Doctrinal fidelity and evangelistic fervor do not have to be at odds. Frelinghuysen did not accept that head and heart had to pull in opposite directions. He embraced traditional Calvinist theology, utilized zealous frontier-style preaching, accepted confessional standards, and labored earnestly for conversions. He held together diverse inclinations that don’t have to be apart.

7. Passion and courage are no excuses for a harsh spirit. Like all heroes (save one), Frelinghuysen had his weaknesses. In fact, he probably had more than most. He was a hothead and seldom irenic. He was harsh toward his opponents and judgmental at times toward his congregation. His demand for a heart-experience kept from the Table some Christians who made a solid profession and were not living in immorality, but could not live up to Frelinghuysen’s subjective standards. Later in life, he became more aware of his character flaws and realized that some of the “persecution” was owing to his own prophetic bullheadedness. Likewise, he was sorry he had labeled so many of his colleagues “unconverted.”

Frelinghuysen, with his gifts and guffaws, has something to teach all of us, the conservative formalist, the liberal traditionalist, the passionless preacher, and the professional pugilist. Most of all, we ought to give thanks for this man used by God to light a spark that the Spirit fanned into the flames of the Great Awakening. As a pastor in the same denomination as Frelinghuysen, I am especially grateful for his commitment to Calvinist doctrine and evangelical proclamation. I encourage all Christians, especially those in the Dutch Reformed tradition, to listen to the forgotten voice of this neglected forerunner.

John Wesley was changed from a very religious man to one transformed by the gospel of grace.  The following is from his journal ... talking about both the death he encountered in "Christian works" and the life he found in grace.

In 1730 I began visiting the prisons, assisting the poor and sick in town, and doing what other good I could, by my presence or my little fortune, to the bodies and souls of all men. To this end I abridged myself of all superfluities, and many that are called necessaries of life. …The next spring I began observing the Wednesday and Friday fasts, commonly observed in the ancient church, tasting no food till three in the afternoon. And now I knew not how to go any farther. I diligently strove against all sin. I omitted no sort of self-denial which I thought lawful; I carefully used, both in public and in private, all the means of grace at all opportunities. I omitted no occasion of doing good: I for that reason suffered evil. And all this I knew to be nothing, unless as it was directed toward inward holiness. Accordingly this, the image of God, was what I aimed at in all, by doing his will, not my own. Yet when, after continuing some years in this course, I apprehended myself to be near death, I could not find that all this gave me any comfort, or any assurance of acceptance with God.

The change happened after he returned from Savvanah on a preaching mission.  He describes it below:

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.  (from http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=5951&loc_id=639,624)

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

Read the full article.

(HT Joshua Harris)

One scope, used on the M16 and M4 rifles, has "JN8:12" engraved in small print next to the seriel number. Even though the raised lettering is too small to be easily seen, this is creating quite a stir.

In case you don't know... JN8:12 is a common way of referring to John 8:12 where Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

This passage is on a scope marketed as follows:

“How many times have you lost your target because it was too dark? Or misidentified a friend for a foe? Never again, thanks to Trijicon. The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight™ (ACOG®), one of several models now standard issue for all Special Forces units, provides “instinctive” target acquisition and increased hit potential in all lighting conditions. In a close-quarter combat situation, or a firefight across a field, our revolutionary self-luminous reticle is clearly visible against your fast-moving target — in even the lowest light… The combination of fiber-optic and tritium illumination provides the ultimate in fast, transitional aiming — regardless of the lighting condition.” - Trijicon website

Other scopes have similar engravings.  One other passage I heard about being engraved is 2Cor4:6: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:6

All this is based on Trijicon's mission statement and values.  On of their values reads:

“We believe that America is great when its people are good. This goodness has been based on biblical standards throughout our history and we will strive to follow those morals.”
- Trijicon’s Values, Trijicon website

According to Captain Thomas, this is creating quite a stir.  He writes:

It is amazing that a little verse can make such a controversy.  The maker of one of the sights on the M 4/ M16 rifles has next to the serial number in a very  inconspicuous place JN8:12.  It is so slight that it has been there for years and no one has ever said anything.  Now as we resupplying Afghan Soldiers with weapons, the concept of something no one ever noticed is being made into a controversy.  Some are saying how awful that scripture be put on something that is designed to take some one’s life, others feel that people who do not believe in Jesus are forced to have a reference to Jesus  on their equipment.  No one is mentioning that it is hard to even see with the naked eye, and  that it was placed there by a privately owned  maker of a superior product. 

From my end, here is what I found was happening.  Soldiers were asking religious questions.  Does God condemn killing?  What does John 8:12 say?  And some were specifically asking me how could a God of love condone war. 

      There are definitely things going on more important right now than this issue, but I have enjoyed new  opportunities to express how much God cares for others.  Jesus is the light, and any questions that help people to search for this light are welcomed by me.

 Let God dwell in you and shine out to all.

CH Steven E. Thomas

First, let me thank God for people like Steve who are faithfully and wisely using every opportunity to talk about Jesus.

Next ... let me ask, "What do you think?"

- Is it okay for the US Military to use products with subtle biblical references?

- How can we, as followers of Jesus, use this to help people see who God really is ... in all His glory, with all His love and all His passion for justice?

(Translation from Spanish The Good Shepherd)

CGS is partnering with Fito Molina and Los Mejor del Trigo to plant a church!

Beginning February 7th, a Latino (Spanish Speaking) congregation will begin to meet here at CGS.  Under the leadership of Fito Molina, this group hopes to reach out to the Lynnwood & Everett areas, bringing the Good News of Jesus to the Spanish speaking population.  Angelita, the parish worker, already has a radio ministry on AM1680 and has many people asking about this new ministry.  With God's help, this church could grow quickly, bringing in a mighty harvest of souls.

They will also have prayer services on Thursday nights.

My prayer is that this will be a truly shared ministry; that we would see ourselves as partners for the Gospel with this group.  We are dreaming of shared activities like VBS, language classes, Youth Group and more.  My hunch is that as we get to know this group, we'll learn as much from them as they can learn from us. (more in fact!)

When you see buildings reduced to a pile of rubble, pray to the Lord to send Jesus as the Master Carpenter and Chief Cornerstone … and pray that Jesus’ followers will act as carpenters in rebuilding and support for the grieving.

When you see pictures of those who have been injured or killed, remember that you’re not just seeing a “body”.  You are looking at a soul-bearing person who is created in the image of God.   That isn’t a nameless Haitian … that is your neighbor.   The “Golden Rule” that Jesus taught so long ago is simple, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  If that was you, your child, your mother, the love of your life … what help would you want to be offered?  (… you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30–31)

When you hear about relief workers, remember to pray for their safety.  It sounds like an adventure to be at Ground Zero, pitching in with all your might (and it is an adventure!)…but remember that these brave men and women are putting their lives firmly in the Lord’s hands.  I heard of one local pastor who flew to Haiti on Monday.  Within a few hours he posted online that he had “just bought ice cream for about a hundred kids.  Heard a gunshot and turned to see an older kid shot in the head.  He died immediately.”  Today he writes, “It’s a war zone here in Haiti.  There are no supplies, roads are all closed, etc.  Haitians are literally walking around stunned, not crying and just shell shocked.”  That’s the reality of this crisis as it brings out the best and worst in fallen people.  Pray for the safety of all the relief workers, and that the Christian relief workers would serve as light in that dark, depressing place.

…and when you’ve seen so many pictures, heard so many stories that you feel numb … you can pray too.  Pray for God to renew your heart with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus sits in heaven and could easily become numb to our sin, our problems and our conflicts, yet he “ever lives to make intercession for us.”  Today, pray that you more deeply understand the gift Jesus gave you.  Remember the wreckage of your life.  Remember the fact that you didn’t deserve His help.  Remember the little and big ways you’ve pushed Him away, and then remember that all this time He’s never given up on you.  While you were still His enemy, He died for you. (Romans 5)  Today if you find that your heart isn’t what you’d like it to be, pray for a renewed connection to the source of grace.  Drink deeply from Jesus, and you’ll find that your heart begins to respond the way His does.

Other Ways to Pray:

• Pray for the ongoing generosity of people around the world sending in support and supplies.
• Pray for the complicated task of getting supplies to needy people when roads are not passable, and only a quarter of the country’s roads were paved before the earthquake.
• Pray for the hearts, minds, and souls of the people, who are reportedly 80 percent Catholic and 16 percent Protestant, while roughly 50 percent also practice voodoo.
• Pray for the rebuilding of the city of Port-au-Prince as prior to the earthquake it was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with 80 percent of people under the poverty line and 54 percent in abject poverty with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of only $1,300 with two-thirds of the labor force not even having a formal job.
• Pray for protection for disease, as the spread of hepatitis A and E, typhoid, malaria, leptospirosis, and dengue fever is a reality as conditions worsen.
• Pray against civil unrest that would further promote chaos.
• Pray for the government, which has lost many of its buildings and leaders.
• Pray for the safety of the people, since some of the jails and prisons are now emptied and dangerous criminals are running the streets without police patrol to contain them.
• Pray for the children as roughly half of Haiti’s population is reportedly children.
• Pray that Christians will help bolster the remaining churches in Haiti and support the planting of many more Jesus-centered churches so that the people of Haiti can see the gospel rise out of the devastation.

If you would like to continue to support the rebuilding of churches and resourcing of pastors in Haiti, contact the Church Office.  You can find more information on the local pastor who is on the ground in Haiti at www.churcheshelpingchurches.org.

This is from "Daily Bread" in considering John 15:7-14

Five-year-old Randy wanted a toy stagecoach for Christmas. While shopping with Mom, he found just the one he wanted. It was about 6" long and had cool wheels and dark brown plastic horses pulling it. “Mommy, I want this one. Pleeeease!” he begged. As young children sometimes do, he threw a tantrum, insisting that he get that stagecoach for Christmas. Mom said, “We’ll see,” and took him home.

Randy was sure he’d get what he asked for. Christmas morning came, and he opened the package confidently. Sure enough, it was the stagecoach he had begged for. He was so pleased. But then his older brother said, “You really did a dumb thing to insist on getting that coach. Mom bought you a much bigger one, but when you begged for that little one, she exchanged it!” Suddenly the small stagecoach didn’t seem so appealing.

Sometimes we’re like that with God. We pray about a specific need and tell Him how He ought to answer. We beg and plead—and God may even give us exactly what we ask for. But He may have had something better in mind.

Phillips Brooks once said, “Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger.”  — Anne Cetas

Do not presume to know what’s best
When you begin to pray;
But say to God, “Your will be done,”
Then trust His perfect way. —Sper

Large asking results in large receiving.

We used this video Sunday morning to introduce our series on "Generosity."  This video shows that the money we put in the plate has far-reaching effects, from the next generation to the city and around the world.

May God reveal His generosity to us so that we would become generous.

In the book, Keller cites an article by David Powlinson called Idols of the Heart and “Vanity Fair”.  I highly recommend it.

The following gem is from a footnote:

It is obvious that if idolatry is the problem of the “co-dependent,” then repentant faith in Christ is the solution. This stands in marked contrast to the solutions proffered in the co-dependency literature, whether secular or glossed with Christian phrases. That literature often perceptively describes the patterns of dysfunctional idols—addictions and dependencies— which curse and enslave people. The idols which enslave the rescuer or the compulsive drinker do not work very well for them.

The literature may even use “idolatry” as a metaphor, without meaning “idolatry against God, therefore repentance.” The solution, without exception, is to offer different and
presumably more workable idols, rather than repentance unto the Bible’s Christ! Secularistic therapies teach people eufunctional idols, idols which do “work” for people and
“bless” them with temporarily happy lives (Psalm 73).

So, for example, self-esteem is nurtured as the replacement for trying to please unpleasable others, rather than esteem for the Lamb who was slain for me, a sinner. Acceptance and love from new significant others, starting with the therapist, create
successful versions of the fear of man and trust in man rather than teaching essential trust in God. Self-trust and self-confidence are boosted as I am taught to set expectations for myself to which I can attain. The fruit looks good but is fundamentally counterfeit.

Believers in false gospels are sometimes allowed to flourish temporarily. Therapy systems without repentance at their core leave the idol system intact. They simply rehabilitate and rebuild fundamental godlessness to function more successfully. The Bible’s idolatry motif diagnoses the ultimately selfdestructive basis on which happy, healthy, and confident
people build their lives (eufunctional idols), just as perceptively as it diagnoses unhappy people, who are more obviously and immediately self-destructive (dysfunctional idols).

• Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
  • http://www.amazon.com/Ordering-Private-World-Gordon-MacDonald/dp/0785288643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232691&sr=1-1
  • Audio Format: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_TNWD_000014&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

• Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker
  • http://www.amazon.com/Every-Mans-Battle-Winning-Temptation/dp/0307457974/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232567&sr=8-1
  • Audio Format: http://www.amazon.com/Every-Battle-Audio-Stephen-Arterburn/dp/1578567149/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232661&sr=1-1

• Biography (To Be Determined)

• Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee
  • http://www.amazon.com/Search-Significance-Seeing-Worth-Through/dp/0849944244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232770&sr=1-1

• Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney
  • http://www.amazon.com/Humility-Greatness-C-J-Mahaney/dp/1590523261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232852&sr=1-1

• When Sinners Say “I Do” by Dave Harvey
  • http://www.amazon.com/When-Sinners-Say-Do-Discovering/dp/0976758261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232920&sr=1-1

• Revolution of Character by Dallas Willard
  • http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Character-Discovering-Spiritual-Transformation/dp/1576838579/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251232971&sr=1-1
  • Audio Format of a similar book (which is a more through treatment of the subject):  http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HOVE_000087&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

• Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll
  • http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Jesus-Timeless-Questions-Theology/dp/1581349750/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
  • Audio Format http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HOVE_000240&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Each mentoree will be responsible for covering the cost of the books.  We will provide discounted books whenever possible.  For the year, book costs will e approximately $100-$150.

Audio formats, where available, are a helpful compliment to reading the books, but should not replace actually reading the book, taking notes in the margins, and meditating over important phrases and ideas.  Please do not replace reading with listening, as you will cheat yourself from important content and diminish your ability to participate in group discussion.

… [we] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost. – AW Tozer

On this day, and only this day, the priest would be able to enter the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies).  This was the symbolic seat of God.  Everyone knew that God was not limited to the Holy Place, but in some way He was present there in a rich, special and powerful way.

If anyone tried to approach this holy place any other day of the year, they would die.  (Leviticus 16:2).  Even on this day, major preparation was required before the priest was allowed inside.  (See Lev 16:3-4) These preparations included blood sacrifice, ceremonial washings and special clothes - all external symbols of our need for internal cleansing.  Despite all this work, the priest still entered with fear and trembling.  Some sources say that they would actually tie a rope around the priest's ankle, so that if God struck him dead they could drag the corpse out of the Holy Place.

All this might sound odd to us today, probably because we're too comfortable with the small "Buddy Jesus" we've invented.  We like the idea that God is our Father, Jesus is our Big Brother and that we have open access to Him.  In all this, maybe we've forgotten that God is actually Holy.

"The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates." (Psalm 11:4-5)

There is a healthy fear of God.  It is the beginning of wisdom and is a proper attitude for followers of Jesus.

However, the fear of God shouldn't drive us away.  That's why we need the Day of Atonement.  God doesn't want us to be like an Irish Catholic police man in Chicago who would walk past the church every day on the way to work, bow and cross himself. Someone walked passed every day and saw the same ritual daily. One day he stopped the cop and asked, “Have you ever been inside?” And the cop, with tears in his eyes, answered, “No, I am a simple sinner and have done some things in life I’m not proud of at all. This is as close as God will let me come.”

If there was no Day of Atonement, if Jesus wasn't our High Priest and sacrifice, that would be the right attitude. 

The Day of Atonement has two main animals that help us see how God treats our sin.

The first goat was a sin offering. The high priest slaughtered this goat, shedding its blood instead of ours.  The goat acted as a substitute for people who deserved a violently bloody death for their own sins.

Next the high priest, acting as the go-between (mediator), would take the second goat and lay his hands on the animal while confessing the sins of the people. This goat, called the scapegoat, would then be sent away to die in the wilderness away from the sinners, symbolically removing the sins of the people by taking them away.

The sacrifices of the Day were designed to pay for both sin’s penalty and sin’s presence in Israel. The shedding of blood and the sending off of the scapegoat were meant to appease God's wrath against sin and to cleanse the nation, the priesthood, and even the sanctuary itself from the taint of sin (Lev 16:30).

Now, I mentioned Jesus earlier.  You might be wondering what Jesus has to do with all this.

According the Leviticus, you had to celebrate Yom Kippur every year.  Sins kept accumulating and people needed an annual cycle of repentance and sacrifice to restore their connection to God.  The truth is, the blood of bulls and goats could never actually pay for anyone’s sins.  Our sin is too big for a goat to pay for.

Our sin is infinite, so we need an infinite sacrifice to pay for it.

Our sin is human, so we need a human sacrifice to pay for it.

In short, only a sacrifice that was fully God and fully human could pay the debt of our sins.  That God-Man is Jesus.

Hebrews 10 spells out the ways that Jesus is perfect fulfillment of Yom Kippur.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

This is the essential truth of our faith.

The bad news is that you are far worse than you could ever imagine.  God really is Holy and we do well to tremble before Him.

The good news (aka Gospel) is that Jesus is far better than you could ever believe.  God's holy wrath was poured out on Jesus and Jesus' goodness was given to you.  As the Bible says somewhere else, "For our sake God made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Take some time to thank God that you can now boldly approach Him only because of Jesus.  Its all because of Jesus.  Without Him, we have nothing.  With Him, we have all we need.

For more information check out The Resurgence Blog

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  On this day in history we remember the Jewish celebration of repentance, sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins.  (You can read about it in Leviticus 16)

On this day, and only this day, the priest would be able to enter the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies).  This was the symbolic seat of God.  Everyone knew that God was not limited to the Holy Place, but in some way He was present there in a rich, special and powerful way.

If anyone tried to approach this holy place any other day of the year, they would die.  (Leviticus 16:2).  Even on this day, major preparation was required before the priest was allowed inside.  (See Lev 16:3-4) These preparations included blood sacrifice, ceremonial washings and special clothes - all external symbols of our need for internal cleansing.  Despite all this work, the priest still entered with fear and trembling.  Some sources say that they would actually tie a rope around the priest's ankle, so that if God struck him dead they could drag the corpse out of the Holy Place.

All this might sound odd to us today, probably because we're too comfortable with the small "Buddy Jesus" we've invented.  We like the idea that God is our Father, Jesus is our Big Brother and that we have open access to Him.  In all this, maybe we've forgotten that God is actually Holy.

"The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates." (Psalm 11:4-5)

There is a healthy fear of God.  It is the beginning of wisdom and is a proper attitude for followers of Jesus.

However, the fear of God shouldn't drive us away.  That's why we need the Day of Atonement.  God doesn't want us to be like an Irish Catholic police man in Chicago who would walk past the church every day on the way to work, bow and cross himself. Someone walked passed every day and saw the same ritual daily. One day he stopped the cop and asked, "Have you ever been inside?" And the cop, with tears in his eyes, answered, "No, I am a simple sinner and have done some things in life I'm not proud of at all. This is as close as God will let me come."

If there was no Day of Atonement, if Jesus wasn't our High Priest and sacrifice, that would be the right attitude. 

The Day of Atonement has two main animals that help us see how God treats our sin.

The first goat was a sin offering. The high priest slaughtered this goat, shedding its blood instead of ours.  The goat acted as a substitute for people who deserved a violently bloody death for their own sins.

Next the high priest, acting as the go-between (mediator), would take the second goat and lay his hands on the animal while confessing the sins of the people. This goat, called the scapegoat, would then be sent away to die in the wilderness away from the sinners, symbolically removing the sins of the people by taking them away.

The sacrifices of the Day were designed to pay for both sin's penalty and sin's presence in Israel. The shedding of blood and the sending off of the scapegoat were meant to appease God's wrath against sin and to cleanse the nation, the priesthood, and even the sanctuary itself from the taint of sin (Lev 16:30).

Now, I mentioned Jesus earlier.  You might be wondering what Jesus has to do with all this.

According the Leviticus, you had to celebrate Yom Kippur every year.  Sins kept accumulating and people needed an annual cycle of repentance and sacrifice to restore their connection to God.  The truth is, the blood of bulls and goats could never actually pay for anyone's sins.  Our sin is too big for a goat to pay for.

Our sin is infinite, so we need an infinite sacrifice to pay for it.

Our sin is human, so we need a human sacrifice to pay for it.

In short, only a sacrifice that was fully God and fully human could pay the debt of our sins.  That God-Man is Jesus.

Hebrews 10 spells out the ways that Jesus is perfect fulfillment of Yom Kippur.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

This is the essential truth of our faith.

The bad news is that you are far worse than you could ever imagine.  God really is Holy and we do well to tremble before Him.

The good news (aka Gospel) is that Jesus is far better than you could ever believe.  God's holy wrath was poured out on Jesus and Jesus' goodness was given to you.  As the Bible says somewhere else, "For our sake God made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Take some time to thank God that you can now boldly approach Him only because of Jesus.  Its all because of Jesus.  Without Him, we have nothing.  With Him, we have all we need.

For more information check out The Resurgence Blog

Sometimes my alarm goes off, after I disarm it, I lie there thinking of all the reasons I don't really have to get up.  The workout can wait. The meeting will probably be canceled anyways.  Lying in bed, my to-do lists feel very far away and a return to sleep is very tempting.  Its one of the best / worst feeling in the world.

Sometimes, I wonder if my (our?) spiritual lives are in a similar place.  Do you ever feel warm and content inside but know that outside of your warm pile of blankets there are blaring alarms and real needs?

I do.

The other day Shannon was skimming through Craig’s List and came across the “Housing Needed” section.  She read about a young couple, expecting a baby, and living in their car.  There was an older gentleman on the brink of homelessness looking to pay a few hundred for a room and to barter his handyman skills.  Those two needs, among the dozen others, stuck in my gut.  What could I do?  I don’t have an extra room nor would I feel good about a few strangers being home alone with my wife and daughters.

My response, for right or for wrong, was to offer a brief prayer on their behalf, make a few general statements about the need for more transitionary housing in our area, and to move one.  In effect I pulled the blankets back up and went back to sleep.

It’s questionable whether I could have done anything to meet those two specific needs, but that feeling of going back to rolling back over and going to sleep is far too common in our community and it is unquestionably wrong.

Often we focus on “sins of commission”.  Those are the wrong things we actually get around to doing.  Sins of commission cover the lies, the lusts, the anger and the drunken binges.  We commit those sins and need grace to be changed by the gospel.

Are we as repentant about our “sins of omission”?  These are the good things we neglect to do.  Jesus’ brother, James, tells us “… whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)  When we see a need, but pull the covers back over our heads and ignore them, we’ve not done good things we know we should do, and even that is a sin that needs to be repented of and an area of our lives that needs to be transformed by the gospel.

In our community I think there are lots of these little sins of omission that are running around.  Little issues where we’ve pulled the blankets over our heads and decided not to take action.  Individually, they were probably all well intentioned times where it felt like “discretion was the better part of valor” but as corporate sleepiness takes over, these little decisions pile up.

How often have we heard someone badmouth a friend and decided to do nothing?  How often do we see a character issue or theological problem, and gloss over it?  How often are we called to prayer and turn away?

Sleepiness can kill a church.  Hitting the spiritual snooze button is a slow-but-sure way to stop any chance of revival and of leaving a legacy of powerless faith.

Everyday God is prompting us, giving us (sometimes subtle/sometimes obvious) opportunities to step into His mission.  My hope and prayer is that as a church we’ll wake up and sound the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button.

Earlier this week, I actually listened.  For some strange reason all day on Monday I had an odd feeling that Tuesday morning I should wake up, skip my workout and go right to the coffee shop.  I was a bit baffled by this since I’d just gotten over a pulled muscle and was chomping at the bit to be back in the gym.  All day I tried to ignore it or rationalize it, but that odd feeling kept coming back.  So I woke up and instead of doing my normal routine (packing my gym back, letting out the chickens and leaving) I took a shower, lingered a bit in the house, and wasn’t ready to leave until about twenty to six. 

As I was finished getting ready, I looked out the window and saw a large family of raccoons trundling across our yard.  There were at least five hungry raccoons sniffing for food and going from yard to yard.  Seeing this, I decided to let the chickens sleep in a little bit, leaving them safe behind their walls of wood and wire.

I know this is small in the scheme of things, but what do you think would have happened to our chickens if I had let them out at 5:15?  My guess is that they’d be raccoon food and that my girls would have woken up to a bloody mess.

Today I want to ask you what promptings of the Spirit you might be ignoring.  I’m not writing this to give you guilt.  My goal is to open up opportunities for you. 

Is there a friend you are not comforting?

Is there a sin you are not repenting of?

Is there a relationship you are not mending?

Is there a Savior you are not worshipping?

Chances are that before you go to bed tonight, you’ll have an opportunity to either roll-over or take action.  Will you listen, return and be filled with the Spirit?

The following is a passage from the prophet Joel, chapter two.  Let it serve as a reminder why a spiritual wake-up  call with worth it!

Blow a trumpet in Zion;

sound an alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

          a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness!

          Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

a great and powerful people;

          their like has never been before,

nor will be again after them

through the years of all generations.

          “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

          with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

          and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

          Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

          slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster.

          Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,

and leave a blessing behind him,

          a grain offering and a drink offering

for the Lord your God?

          Blow the trumpet in Zion;

consecrate a fast;

          call a solemn assembly;

          gather the people.

          Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the elders;

          gather the children,

even nursing infants.

          Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

- Tim

Along side any thoughts triggered by that interview; I’ve had more than one person ask me about our theology of worship at our church.  They are, so these new Christians notice, often “me” centered instead of focusing on – at best “God” or, at worst, “us.”  They want to know if we look for songs based on how they sound, or if the theology matters.  In essence they want to know if they are actually “loving Jesus through song”, or if they are just singing.

Romantic language, words like “beautiful,” often mark our praise songs but we rarely find talk like that in the Bible.  The only veiled reference to Jesus being “beautiful” is in Isaiah 4:2 when Isaiah looks to the future branch of the Lord which will be beautiful.  This may refer to Jesus or to the coming post-exile harvests of the Promised Land, either way it is a rare and at best poetic reference to beauty.

We don’t see the disciples, Paul or other Biblical writers gushing when they talk to, or about, Jesus.  There is great passion, but the language is more theological than emotional.  Look at Ephesians 1:3-14 or Colossians 1:15-20.  Jesus is clearly the object of our desire and affection, but instead of dwelling on the emotional overflow we experience in relationship to Him, Paul lifts up the theological foundation from which those emotions flow.  He isn’t afraid of showing emotion, its just not the first card he plays.

What about the fact that we are the Bride of Christ?  Shouldn’t that trigger more emotional, even romantic, language from us in worship?  Ephesians 5, Hosea 11 and other passages refer to God as a loving husband and His people as His bride.  Husbands and wives should use romantic language.  My wife is beautiful to me, and I desire more of her moment by moment.  Romantic language is a natural and necessary part of our relationship.

But every analogy has limits, and can be pushed too far.  We have to keep in mind how the Bible uses this image.

It’s interesting that in the two “bride” passages I reference, the focus is not on the emotion of the bride towards the husband.  The hero is the husband who loves and redeems his unworthy bride.  Hosea marries Gomer to showcase God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel – despite that nation’s idolatry and wickedness.  Ephesians 5 doesn’t talk about the bride’s passion for her groom; Paul uses that image to showcase the grace we receive in Christ and how powerful His work on the Cross really is.  Even in the parables of the virgins waiting for the bridegroom, the emphasis is on faithfulness and preparation (i.e. having enough oil for their lamps) and not on the emotional attachment that the waiting virgins have for their beloved groom.  (See Matthew 25)

What, though, of love?  One pastor refers to much of our praise music as “prom songs to Jesus,” and the fact is that you can change a few words in either James Blunt’s “Your Beautiful” or the Newsboys’ “Presence” and make the song about either Jesus or a pre-teen crush.

Even a simple skim through the Bible shows that love is a valid emotion for the Lord and we are encouraged to express our devotion and adoration of Him.  There are 745 references to love in 642 verses.  It’s simply everywhere.  Biblical love, however, is not portrayed as an emotion.  In most places it is grounded in the character of God, in the cross of Christ, and results in changed lives.

To see this, we have to look more at the word “love” and look at the context of how that word is used.

Love is a central theme of the Bible … but it is far more difficult to grasp than a quick skim would reveal.  D.A. Carson, in his book “The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God” points out:

I do not think that what the Bible says about the love of God can long survive at the forefront of our thinking if it is abstracted from the sovereignty of God, the holiness of God, the wrath of God, the providence of God, or the personhood of God—to mention only a few nonnegotiable elements of basic Christianity.

The result, of course, is that the love of God in our culture has been purged of anything the culture finds uncomfortable. The love of God has been sanitized, democratized, and above all sentimentalized. This process has been going on for some time. My generation was taught to sing, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love,” in which we robustly instruct the Almighty that we do not need another mountain (we have enough of them), but we could do with some more love. The hubris is staggering. 

… Today most people seem to have little difficulty believing in the love of God; they have far more difficulty believing in the justice of God, the wrath of God, and the non-contradictory truthfulness of an omniscient God. But is the biblical teaching on the love of God maintaining its shape when the meaning of “God” dissolves in mist?

Is the biblical teaching on the love of God maintaining its shape when the meaning of “God” dissolves in mist?  That’s a great question … one that makes me rethink lots of what I sing as I try to lead my soul, and the souls of others, into worship.

Carson points out five primary ways the Bible talks about the love of God:

(1)   The peculiar love of the Father for the Son, and of the Son for the Father.

(2)   God’s providential love over all that he has made

(3)   God’s salvific stance toward his fallen world.

(4)   God’s particular, effective, selecting love toward his elect.

(5)   Finally, God’s love is sometimes said to be directed toward his own people in a provisional or conditional way—conditioned, that is, on obedience. 

These aren’t rigid categories, but they do help us shape our thinking (and perhaps our singing) as we focus on this theme.

So how do we know the love of God?  To understand this, we have to look beyond proof-texts and into the ways we are challenged to love God.

Jude 21 tells us to “…keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”  The context is not one of emotional adoration, but of rebuking false teachers and holding to right doctrine.  Love here seems to be the result of right thinking and results in mercy towards those with poor theology.

Romans 5:8 speaks of God’s love in a powerful way; “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Here, as in many other places, we see that God showed this love was in the death of Jesus and His payment for our sins.  Love is not a simple emotion extended from God towards us.  Love is made visible and meaningful in the cross of Christ.

Romans 8:31ff continues to lift up God’s love for us, again rooted in the cross.  Verse 32 points out, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him, graciously give us all things?”  This section of Scripture speaks of God’s steadfastness.  His love will never be separated from us.  It’s comforting to see that this love is not based on experience, emotion or devotion.  It is based in the Cross.

Without the Cross, we minimize God and maximize subjective affection.  True love from God and for God is best seen in the Cross, and we hamstring our worship when love is pursued without a cross-centered mind-set or song-set..  (see http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Why-So-Many-Cross-Centered-Songs.aspx)

I believe that songs of corporate worship must do more than point people towards God, asking them to respond in love towards Him.  This is a great but impossible goal – outside of the cross.  To actually lead people in worship, we have to lift up the Cross and help people be changed by the Gospel of Christ.  Once we’ve done this, we can love God, be loved by Him and extend that love to others.

This theology of God’s justice, Christ’s cross and our redemption must be the background to our thinking, singing and discussing God’s love.  I know that we can’t give a full theological statement every time we open our mouths to speak or to sing … but that doesn’t let us off the hook from being intentional in the way we craft our worship.  The Cross must not fade too far into the background.

My reason for looking into all this is to help us exercise spiritual leadership as we lead others to love Jesus through song.  We have to do more than attempt to trigger emotion.  My study of Scripture reminds me that we have to build a careful, cross-centered foundation from which adoration and love can spring.

John Piper defines spiritual leadership as: … knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God's methods to get them there in reliance on God's power. The answer to where God wants people to be is in a spiritual condition and lifestyle that display his glory and honor his name. Therefore, the goal of spiritual leadership is that people come to know God and to glorify him in all that they do. Spiritual leadership is aimed not so much at directing people as it is at changing people.”

If we point towards love, we’ve established the right direction.  If we build a foundation that will help people experience the love of God in Christ Jesus, we’ve exercised spiritual leadership. 

So is there a time to tell Jesus that He is lovely and beautiful and that we long for intimacy with Him?  Yeah, I guess.  I’m not too macho to sing that.  But if that’s all we do, it’s not my machismo that balks, it’s my theology.

Do you want to love God?  Develop a theology of the cross.

Do you want to be loved by God?  Meditate on the cross.

Express your love…but more so express your need for Jesus, your gratitude to the One who died on the cross, and your daily reliance on the grace that flows from the finished work of the cross.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,

Lovingkindness as the flood,

When the Prince of life, our ransom,

Shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember?

Who can cease to sing His praise?

He can never be forgotten

Throughout heaven’s eternal days.

On the Mount of Crucifixion

Fountains opened deep and wide;

Through the floodgates of God’s mercy

Flowed a vast and gracious tide

.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,

Poured incessant from above,

And heaven’s peace and perfect justice

Kissed a guilty world in love.

Notice again the simple, but deeply profound, words of Jesus found in Mark 1:14b-15. “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the  kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Repentance and faith have been called the two dynamics of a “spiritual combustion cycle” that God means to be at work in our hearts at all times, changing us into the image of his Son. In order for us to experience the transforming power of the gospel in our lives, we must continually be repenting and believing in the gospel.

When this “spiritual combustion cycle” of ongoing repentance and faith is at work in the heart, there will be change. The reverse is also true. When there is no true change in the heart and life, it is certain that this cycle of ongoing repentance and faith is not taking place. Since these two dynamics of repentance and faith are so misunderstood, yet so critical for spiritual  transformation, we will now take a closer look at each one in more detail.

There is a lot of confusion today about repentance. Many people see repentance as morbid self-flagellation, leading the repenter into despair. Repentance is seen as a kind of evangelical penance reserved only for those special times when you’ve been really bad and need to humble yourself before God.

This view of repentance reflects how so few Christians today seem to have grasped the first thesis of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, which he nailed to the door of the Wittenberg church, giving birth to the Protestant Reformation. In the first thesis, Luther writes, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ [Matt. 4:17], he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance” (1957:25).

This understanding of repentance as an ongoing, way-of-life experience for the believer seems to be almost unknown today. What we must rediscover is that true repentance does not lead us to despair but to joy. The more we learn to see the depth of our sin, the more we’ll see the depth of God’s grace. The cross of Christ is only deeply precious, it is only “electric,” to daily repenters who see the depth of their sin.

When Jesus calls us to repent, he is not calling us to beat up on ourselves or merely to clean up our lives. Instead, he is calling us to a radical change of heart. According to Scripture our root problem is not an external, behavioral problem--it’s a problem of the heart. This is why all the counterfeit remedies inevitably leave us unchanged and in either denial or despair, because they all bypass the heart. The reason our hearts are not more transformed is because we have allowed what the Puritans call “the affections of our hearts” to be captured by idols that steal our heart affection away from God. The apostle John makes this point in the very last verse of 1 John. Here the apostle purposefully concludes his masterful 105-verse letter on how to live in vital fellowship with Christ with these words, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 Jn 5:21).

Here we learn that repenting of our idolatry actually sums up what true spirituality really is. Because God has created man to be a worshipper, we are always worshipping something, whether we realize it or not. This is why we should always see the essential character of our sin as heart idolatry. The first and second commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex 20:3) and “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Ex 20:4a), are meant to remind us of the very dangerous and natural tendency we all have to worship idols.

The modern idols that capture our hearts’ affection today are not the graven images of the ancient world. An idol is something from which we get our identity. An idol is making something or someone other than Jesus Christ our true source of happiness or fulfillment.

It has been said that Rocky Balboa revealed one of the idols of his heart in the best line of the famous “Rocky” movie, when he said, “If I can just go the distance, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.” The truth is everyone has something or someone we can easily put in that place. “If I can only have- -you fill in the blank--then I’ll know I’m somebody.”

We all have to live for something. We all have a “personal center,” an ultimate value through which we see all of life (Keller 1998:46).  For some of us it is approval, reputation, or success. For others it is comfort or control, pleasure or power. For some it is possessions or sex or money or a relationship. Idols can be good causes such as making an impact, having a happy home or a good marriage or obedient children. Whatever it is, without this bottom line we believe our lives are meaningless.

Whatever we live for has great power over us. If someone blocks our idol from us, we can be enraged with anger. If our idols are threatened, we can be paralyzed with fear. If we lose our idol, we can be driven into utter despair. That is because the idols we worship give us our sense of worth or righteousness.

When we allow the affections of our hearts to be captured by such idols, the outcome is always the same--a lack of God’s transforming power and presence in our lives. So repentance hould not be seen as merely changing our external behavior but primarily as a willingness to pull our heart affections and our heart trust away from our idols. The great English theologian, Owen, teaches that one of the reasons we don’t experience more of God’s power and presence in our lives is because we have not sufficiently studied the idolatries of our own hearts. This is why we should learn to ask ourselves hard questions such as: “What is my greatest fear in life?” and “What other than Christ has taken title to my heart’s functional trust?”

For years I confessed to God my recurring sin of anxiety that was destroying me physically. But I saw very little change until I began to see and repent of the internal sin of idolatry that was the root of the external sin of worry. To my surprise, I discovered that my core problem was not primarily the external sin of worry but the internal, idolatrous sin of seeking the approval of others as the source of my righteousness or worth.

The great evangelist, George Whitefield, taught that to know God’s power, we must learn not only what it means to repent of our sins but also to repent of our righteousness (1993).

The late John Gerstner is reported to have said, “It is not so much our sins that keep us from God as our damnable good works.”

Once we have identified a heart idol, repentance involves not only confessing it, but also taking radical action against it, sapping the life dominating power it has over us. In Romans 13:14 Paul writes, “[M]ake no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” All that is idolatrous to us must have its vivid appeal drained away. The Puritans call this mortification, a concept seldom heard today.

Repentance is only half of our responsibility in transformation. It’s the negative, defensive side of the equation. We turn now to the positive, offensive strategy--faith in the gospel.

Faith: Turning Heart Affections to Jesus Christ

The reason Jesus commands us in this text to “repent and believe the  gospel” is because he knew that faith in the gospel is the mysterious means God ordains through which the power of his victory as our king is meant to flow in and through our lives and our churches. The good news of the kingdom is that our king has won a marvelous victory for us.

Through his sinless life, sacrificial death as our substitute, resurrection, and ascension, he has not only conquered death for us, removing its penalty, but he has also conquered sin’s power over us. As our warrior-king, he has entered into battle against all the enemy forces (the world, the flesh, and the devil) that wage war against our souls, and he has conquered their reigning power over us forever.

Now, through repentance and faith, God means for us to tap into the powerful victory of our king, so that we might be transformed into true worshippers of God and more authentic lovers of people. The reason God calls us to pull our affections off our heart idols through repentance is so that we can place those same affections on Jesus Christ through faith. The apostle Paul has this positive side of the change equation in mind when he writes in Colossians 3:1-2, “[S]et your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

In Paul’s thought the process of gospel transformation always involves this ongoing, two-fold dynamic of repentance and faith. Through repentance we are always to be pulling our affections off of our idols. Through faith we are always to be placing our affections on Christ.

The Puritans describe this concept of setting our affections on Christ as developing spiritual-mindedness.

They teach that we must be even more radical about setting our affections on Christ than we are about removing our affections from our idols. As we think of the proper

priority of our focus, Robert Murray McCheyne puts it well when he says, “Do not take up your time so much with studying your own heart as with studying Christ’s heart. ‘For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ’” (1947:93).

In Galatians 6:14, Paul gives us a fascinating glimpse into how his faith in the gospel transformed him when he writes, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.”

John Stott writes, “Paul’s whole world was in orbit around the cross. It filled his vision, illumined his life, warmed his spirit. He “gloried” in it. It meant more to him than anything else. . . . This Greek word translated here as “boast” has no exact equivalent in English. It means to glory in, trust in, rejoice in, revel in, live for. In a word, our glory is our obsession” (1986:349).

Some of us are obsessed with gaining approval or recognition. Others are obsessed with experiencing comfort or pleasure or happiness. Some are obsessed with gaining control or power or possessions or building a reputation or gaining success as the world defines it. The apostle Paul was also obsessed. But his obsession was with Christ and the cross. In his obsession with the cross, Paul experienced the transforming power of the gospel to crucify the dominating power of his sinful nature and the idolatrous lure of the world.

Only when we learn how to glory in the cross and not in our idols will we ever experience the true liberating power of the gospel. Only when Jesus Christ becomes more attractive to us than the pleasures of sin will our hearts ever be set free. The enslaving power of sin will never dissipate until a greater affection of the heart replaces it.

This is why we must learn to pray like the old hymn writer William Cowper: “The dearest idol I have known / Whate’er that idol be / Help me to tear it from Thy throne / And worship only Thee” (1990:534).

Obedience: Nurturing Faith by the Means of Grace

There is a strong link between our obedience to God’s will and our personal experience of God’s ministry power. Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23). He also says, “If anyone wishes to come take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mk 8:34-35).

God means for our radical obedience to his will and his purposes in the world to be a vital part of our experience of truly knowing him and experiencing his power in and through our lives. God loves to pour out his Spirit with power on those individuals and churches who will dare to align themselves radically and joyfully with his will for their lives and for his world.

God’s primary plan by which he means for us to nurture our union with Christ is through the devoted use of the means of grace he provides. The book of Acts shows us that the early Christians devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42b).

Paul establishes the primacy of the church in leading Christians to spiritual maturity when he writes, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:11–13).

The Holy Spirit ordinarily does his work in our lives as we learn to fix our hearts and minds on the Lord Jesus Christ through the corporate means of grace. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.” (WSC 88).

Conclusion

To draw near to God in repentance and faith demands that we first humble ourselves. The Scriptures tell us that “God is opposed to the proud but he gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). The paradox of grace is that the way up is the way down. God’s grace and power, like water, always flow down to the lowest place--the foot of the cross.

The cross has been called the sinner’s place. It is at the cross that we cast away all our pride and self-sufficiency and admit to God what idolaters we really are. It is at the cross that we stop covering up our lack of spiritual reality. It is at the cross that we humbly admit to God that our hearts are spiritually cold and hard. It is at the cross that we find rest for our souls. I am not presenting just one more plan or program for spiritual self-development. Instead, I am presenting a person, Jesus Christ, who says not only “repent and believe the gospel” (Mk 1:14b-15), but also ‘“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28-30).

The good news is that in Jesus Christ we finally find what our hearts truly long for and thirst after, that which our idols can promise only in vain. It is the good news that we do not have to live in fear of God’s condemnation anymore. No matter how great our sins may be, God promises we can now be completely forgiven through Christ’s shed blood in our place.

It is the good news that we do not  need to be crippled by the fear of rejection anymore, always building and defending our reputation, for we can know the riches of God’s eternal acceptance through Christ’s perfect righteousness, counted to be ours through faith. It is the good news that we don’t need to go on living and feeling like unloved spiritual orphans anymore, for we can now know the comfort of Jesus Christ as our compassionate older brother, the one “who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin” (Heb 4:15).

It is the good news that, although we can grieve and displease God because of our sin, there is nothing we can do to cause our Heavenly Father to love us any less, and there is nothing we can do to cause him to love us any more. God’s love for us in Christ is the same eternal love he has always had for his one and only Son. Because we are his children, God promises to use all the trials of our lives not for our punishment but for our good, to help us grow and mature to be all he designed us to be (Heb 12:10).

It is the good news that no matter how alone we may find ourselves in this life, no matter how many people may leave us, we can always know the intimate communion of God’s Holy Spirit who promises never to leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5).

His love for us is eternal; he chose us to be in Christ before the creation of the world, and he promises that the work he began in us, he will bring to completion on that final day in heaven (Phil 1:6). In the meantime, he promises to come alongside us to comfort, encourage and transform us through all our trials. He promises always to be near to the brokenhearted (Ps 34:18).

It is the good news that no matter how intense or enslaving our present struggle with sin may be, we no  longer need to be in bondage to sin’s dominion over our lives. Although sin’s influence will always be with us, sin’s dominion over our lives has been broken through the cross (Rom 6). It is the good news that we can now finally be free from that sin which has held us in bondage for so long. It is the good news that one day all of our struggles will be over and God will bring us home to heaven.

We are now pilgrims passing through a land that is not our own, on our way to our home, the Celestial City (Bunyan 1872a)—a place where God promises he will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

He promises that he will make all things new. We will be made new in both soul and body. All creation will be made new. He promises that in the new heavens and the new earth there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away (Rev 21:4).

As we begin to focus on these gospel promises from God, we must allow them to lead us to the person of Jesus Christ in worship. These rich gospel promises must now go from our minds to our hearts, until our hearts catch on fire with a renewed love and delight for God.

How does that happen?

All God requires is that we draw near to him in repentance and faith through the cross of Jesus Christ.

For it’s here, at this low sinner’s place, that God has chosen to lift us up and change us into the likeness of Christ. And so it is to the sinner’s place I invite you to come.

One day, Jesus met a very thirsty woman at a well in Samaria. He knew that her thirst had driven her into the arms of many men over the years, yet she was still very thirsty. Jesus knew her thirst was far more than physical. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will become…a spring of water welling up to everlasting life” (Jn 4:13-14).

Later, at a great Jewish feast,  Jesus calls out to the crowd with a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (Jn 7:37-38). By this, John tells us, Jesus meant the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ name, I now call you who are thirsty to turn away from your idols, from all your broken cisterns (Jer 2:13) and begin to drink deeply from the well that is Christ.

This well never runs dry. Here are the springs of personal, church, and cultural transformation, reformation, and revival.

I promise you, on the authority of Jesus’ words, that if you will keep coming to Christ in humble repentance and faith, you will not only have your deep thirst quenched, but streams of living water will flow mightily through you, not merely for your sake, but for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom.

As you respond, prayerfully meditate on the words of the nineteenth century hymn writer, Horatius Bonar, “I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give the living water. Thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live”  (1990:304).

For the full article go to: 

http://www.gca.cc/other_files/True%20Spirituality%20by%20Childers.pdf

The question on the table now is what to do with other denominations that allow gay pastors and who endorse same-sex unions.  At our denominational blog, Kevin DeYoung has been suggesting that we cancel something called "The Formula of Agreement."  This document gives pastors of the RCA, ELCA, UCC, and PCUSA open access to each other's pulpits.  It, in essence, says that if one of those denominations thinks you're okay, we'll approve you also.  So it works like the new state licenses that gives you unrestricted access to Candada.  They (hopefully) do more work on the front end to make it easier to move around in your day-to-day life.

Here's the problem.  The ELCA and the UCC allow gay pastors.  This should change our relationship from one of open trust to one of hopeful but firm disagrement.

Some of the discussion can be seen here:

http://heraldblog.squarespace.com/kevin-deyoung/2009/8/28/the-formula-of-agreement-has-to-go.html

http://heraldblog.squarespace.com/kevin-deyoung/2009/9/8/formula-of-agreement-ii-responding-to-the-rca.html

Stick with me on the drivers license analogy...

A good friend of mine no longer has his license. He drove drunk one too many times and state officials arrested him, corrected him and took away that privilege. He, more than likely, will drive again - this time in a sober way. It would be neglegent for anyone to let him behind the wheel before he establishes a track record of sobriety and of better choices. Once he drives again he'll still make mistakes behind the wheel, but I believe that if he stays sober he'll have won a major battle in his life.

I think of the Formula of Agreement a little like that drivers license. It is a document that grants a priviledge.  Canceling it does not end the interpersonal relationships we've developed with pastors of other churches. Those personal relationships with ELCA and UCC pastors should continue. Its the "legal" part of that agreement that grants open access that needs to change.

Homosexuality is one of many sins that is afflicting the church today. Pride, adultery, alcoholism and pornography are just as bad and equally deserve discipline and correction ... they just aren't the issue right now. No denomination will be perfect, but any group that endorses clear sin should be held accountable.

Just as the State would be irresponsible to let a drunk driver retain his or her license, the RCA would be irresponsible if they maintain the Formula of Agreement.

This doesn't END our dialog on the topic, it doesn't make us judgmental and it doesn't communicate that Christians are angry, in-fighting jerks. 

It protects those we have a divine charge to lead as under-shepherds, and it could be a step of healing for those we love.

My friend might never have gotten sober if it wasn't for the frustration, fines, and bus-rides that followed his final DUI.  He's a better man now, still broken but on the mend.

Lets pray that our ELCA and UCC friends grow wiser and closer to the God of grace by revoking their license and by ending the Formula of Agreement.

• Knowing Who God Is

• How to Pick Godly Leaders

• Right Doctrine (Ideas Worth Fighting For)

• Sin: Its Not What You Do, Its Who You Are

• Gospel Community

• Gospel Growth

• Discipleship in the Kingdom of God

• Church: Exhorting & Rebuking with Authority

• Atonement

• The Holy Spirit

• Passing the Good News to the Next Generation

• and more

Starting this Sunday (9/13) we'll begin Formed & reFormed: A Study of the Book of Titus  See you then.

• Money is a huge marital problem
• Sex can be powerful, for good and bad, in your marriage
• Pornography is destroying people every day
• Listening is an act of love that we can all develop more

• Reflect on the wonder of the Cross of Christ
• Begin your day by acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God
• Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God
• Practice the Spiritual Disciplines (prayer, worship, God's Word)
• Seize your commute time to memorize & meditate on Scripture
• Cast Your Cares upon Him

• Review day and carefully assign all the glory to God
• Receive the gift of sleep from God and acknowledge His purpose for sleep

In a recent interview, Powlinson elaborates on his concerns.

That's exactly it!  Good advice is helpful.  That's why the book of Proverbs is in the Bible!  We need godly advice, but good advice will only take us so far.

If you read James 3-4, you'll see a direct connection between interpersonal conficts and our relationship with our heavenly Father.  When our vertical relationship with God breaks down, all of our horizontal relationships with the people around us begin to wear thin.

You can memorize all the great advice in the world, go to counseling every day and tune in to Dr. Phil, Oprah and Dr. Laura ... and it won't help a bit if your heart is not reconciled to God.

A Christian marriage has to begin with the Good News of Jesus.
After that, good advice is welcome, but never a substitute.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Remember back in 3rd grade Science class when you got to play with prisms?  Those were the neat glass triangles that turned plain old everyday light into a rainbow.  You just had to hold the prism up to the window and a rainbow would shine on the wall.  The prism doesn't add these colors to the light - it just helps us see what is there already.

This passage does the same sort of thing to love.  It doesn't add anything new to love, it just helps us see what is already there.  It gets under the surface and shows us the ingredients of true love.

Lets focus on two of the last four descriptions of love, "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

These two words are the "down and dirty" displays in love that every married couple will deal with as they struggle towards a life marked by "for better or for worse."

Love "Always PROTECTS"

When you protect something precious, you wrap yourself around it so that the fragile parts don't get hurt. 

Imagine carrying priceless piece of fine china through a crowded room...or better yet...a newborn child.  If you saw something coming towards that precious package in your arms, you would place yourself in harms way.  You would take the hit, absorb the fall and endure the pain so that the fragile thing in your care would be protected.

In marriage, husbands and wives know each other vary well.  You know each others strengths and weaknesses.  You have the potential to use that knowledge to to hurt each other very badly, or to protect.

What this passage is telling you to do is to cover up your spouses' weak points so that nobody but you two have to know about them.  If you know they are weak somewhere, then you have to protect them, hold them and take the fall for them.

Love"Always PERSEVERES"

A person who perseveres is the person who stays behind when everyone else has gone away.  Everyone else could have given up, but the one who perseveres is the one who remains.

This insight is essential to marriage today!  When things get tough so many just give up and run away.  What this passage is saying to you is that TRUE LOVE NEVER QUITS!  You know that there might be days or weeks when it is tough.  Money might get tough, you may have a small fight or two, (or a couple dozen huge ones) but no matter what, never give up.  

Think about your spouse and your wedding day.  On that great day you both just took some beautiful vows, but you can boil them down to this one point - you two were looking into each other's eyes, giving your hearts to one another and saying, "I will never quit on you."  If everything else in life goes wrong, I won't quit on you.  If everyone else turns their back, I won't quit on you.  All your life you can count on me, because I will never quit.

This is what the Bible shows us about your love when we hold it up like we hold a prism to the light.  Despite everything else, you two will always protect each other and will never give up.

---

On Really Listening...

There is a great story in "When Sinners Say I Do" that I wanted to share with you.

A man asked his wife what shed like for her birthday.  She replied wistfully, "I would really love to be ten again."  On the morning of her birthday, he woke her up early with a bowl of her favorite cereal from when she was a kid.  He then whisked her away to a popular theme park for an indescribably day.  Cotton candy, hot dogs, roller coasters, the Death Slide - everything there was.  She staggered from the theme park, head pounding and stomach nauseous.  Straight away he drove her to McDonald's for a Happy Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake.  Next it was off the the cinema to see the latest blockbuster movie, and of course, M&M's, popcorn and the works.  At the end of the day, he wife wobbled home and collapsed exhausted on the bed.  As he stood in the doorway with a big dopey grin, he said, "Well darling, what was it like to be ten again?"

The only words mumbled by his wife?

"I meant my dress size."  (p.166)

In my book, this guy gets points for being creative.  That took a ton of love, energy and passion.

On the down side ... even though he heard her, I don't think he was REALLY LISTENING to his wife.

For men and women equally, listening is an act of love, and like every action we can perform, it only improves with deliberate practice.

Some people seem to be incredibly gifted listeners.  While there may be one or two listening savants out there, my hunch is that most "natural listeners" got that way through years of hard work and practice.

If a person is good at anything, whether it is golf, martial arts, cold calling or listening, there are certain disciplines required to make it "look natural."  Tiger Woods has invested an incredible work ethic and years of hard work for his world-famous long drive to be "natural."  Michael Jordon was cut from the basketball team twice before he became, through years of work and countless hours of practice, a "natural" player.

In the same way, if you want to be a good listener, it takes work, determination, trial & error, and practice.

Current: Clear
Wind: SE at 7 mph
Humidity: 27%

I never thought I’d see the above weather reports about Bothell, WA.  (Maybe take the “Bot” off and that might be the weather there … but that’s a different e-mail!)

This heat wave gives me a few thoughts:

First – John Owen often said a man shouldn’t preach on heaven until he was filled with sublime joy … and that he shouldn’t preach on Hell until he could feel the flames of Hades.  If that’s the case, I’m ready for a sermon full of fire and brimstone!

Secondly – I realize how blessed we are.  In two or three months we’ll be complaining that its always raining and that we never see the sun anymore.  For many, weather conditions like this are a daily struggle.  The unreached people group of the day are the Bederia of  Sudan.  (You can check this daily at http://www.cgschurch.com/blogs/prayer-blog/).  Average temperatures during the summer there are from 79-106 degrees … with little shade, no air conditioned malls to visit, no ice cream, no swimming pools.  For many people around the world, day-to-day life is a fight against extreme temperatures, insects, disease, and lack of food and water.  A week of sweat is difficult for us.  A lifetime of toil is what many face.  This heat wave makes me rethink the comforts we take for granted and leads me to prayerfully consider our servant evangelism efforts around the world.

Finally – I wonder how many people in our communities are in danger from this heat.  When I first moved here I would joke that the weather in Chicago would kill you … the weather in Seattle just makes you want to kill yourself.  This heat wave reminds me of the times I’d watch the news in the Midwest and after heat wave there would be stories of senior citizens who were hospitalized from dehydration, some of whom passed away.  This week, the weather in Seattle has taken an aggressive stance.  As servants to the poor, needy and shut-in I wonder if we can do something to help.

• If you need a place that is cooler, let us know.  We can find a way to make you safe.
• If you have A/C or a cool basement, consider inviting someone over for the evening to cool off.
• Call your older friends, family and neighbors and make sure they are taken care of.

This heat is a minor inconvenience, but like everything in life it can give us an opportunity to understand and share the Gospel on a deep level.  This week as the temperatures hit triple digits pray that you can give a glass of cold water to someone in Jesus’ name knowing that it is God who helps you serve and God who receives your service as worship.

Warmly;

-Pastor Tim

PS – Don’t miss this Sunday’s sermon as we look at the issue of FEAR through the lens of Joshua 1:1-9

Calvin was, first and foremost, a man in love with the Lord.  He helped re-discover the fact that we are saved by grace alone…not by the good things we do.  He is called “the Theologian of the Holy Spirit” and was a man who preached and taught faithfully from the Bible.

In this quote, written as the preface to the translation of the New Testament into French, Calvin shows how the GOSPEL is the main message of the Bible.

Enjoy!

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was

sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;

he was

made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;

he died for our life; so that by him

fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.

In short,

mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are

comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

1 : to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : desecrate

2 : to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use

As many of you know, this coming Friday night (7/24) @ 7pm CGS is hosting a movie night featuring Clint Eastwood’s latest film “Gran Torino.”  (Since this is rated “R” we’ll be showing “The Tale of Despereaux” in the fellowship hall as well.)

Since we announced this, I’ve heard two different sorts of reactions.

Some people are very excited.  “This is a great movie.”  “That film shows the Gospel and redemption.”  “Good pick!  Great connection to the story of our faith.”

Others are very worried.  Let’s be honest, this film does not have the sort of language we as a church would promote.  In fact, there are over 100 profanities in the film.  As one blogger writes: Gran Torino is rated R for violence, smoking, and naughty language, which includes swear words, uncivilized terms for human body parts, and a cornucopia of racial epithets.  (…and I’m actually glad people have asked.  It shows that while we’re not legalists, we aren’t afraid to ask tough questions and it gives us a chance to talk.)

This isn’t a movie I’d recommend a family to watch together, but I do think its worth engaging in.  I won’t get into the plot and story here, but let me deal with the issues surrounding followers of Jesus and the use of profanity.  Hopefully I can give you a few insights that will help you not only engage films like Gran Torino, but ones that might help you as a missionary to spiritually wandering friends and family members.

First, let me be clear, profane language does not fit the character of a Christian.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. - Ephesians 4:29

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. - Ephesians 5:4

I think people who constantly swear are just mentally lazy conformists who don’t have the courage and/or brain-power to choose better words.  It’s not cool, desirable or worth imitating, and I have little patience for it in myself, my friends or anyone else I have influence over.

There is a classic story of Will Smith whose first attempts at rap music were filled with profanity.  His grandma listened patiently and told him, “Dear Willard, intelligent people do not use these words to express themselves.”  That comment has stayed with Will Smith for his career, and if you see his films (like Men in Black, Independence Day and The Pursuit of Happiness) or listen to his music, you’ll notice that he keeps himself from foul language.  Some artists need to swear to sell CD’s, the best ones don’t.  It takes courage to go against the flow and make a difference, and I’m thankful for those who do.

(For a great interchange on the issue of Christians and swearing, read this blog post that discusses a time when John Piper used an unorthodox word and how he repented and found further clarity through solid biblical study.)

Secondly, we live in a fallen world where most people we interact with choose to use profanity.

I hear profanity on a near-daily basis…and not just from spiritual wanderers.  The language you’ll hear in a movie like Gran Torino might sound over-the-top, but for many Americans this is reality. 

This is part of our calling to be “in the world but not of the world.”  As Jesus prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:15-16).

I know some people who will leave the room when people are swearing.  That might be the best choice for you, but it’s not a choice I make.  One of the callings on my life is to be a missionary here in Seattle.  A good missionary doesn’t leave the mission field when the pagans act pagan.  They see those “pagan actions” as a way to look into the hearts of a people-group they love, and an opportunity to share the Gospel.

Recently I was asked to begin praying for a friend who is a spiritual wanderer.  This guy was hooked by the book “Wild at Heart” but won’t step foot in church and swears worse than a sailor.  As a missionary, I have to look at his choice of words as a window into his heart.   In Matthew 12:3 4Jesus said that  “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  If the mouth speaks profanity, it means this person’s heart is profane and that my friend desperately needs Jesus.  Leaving the room when he swears won’t make me a missionary…it tells his heart that I’ve rejected him and that God probably has as well.

When the Lord gives me a chance to talk to this heavy-hearted sinner, I have to be careful not to pick up his language.  I also have to be careful that my own words, actions and body-language communicate grace.  If he can receive unmerited favor from me (that’s the definition of “grace”), then maybe his heart can receive the grace of the Gospel.

Finally, when a follower of Jesus hears someone swear, we have a chance to share the Gospel.

What is the Gospel?  In the simplest terms the good news (gospel) of Jesus is that GOD SAVES SINNERS.  He doesn’t save sinners who are on the mend.  He doesn’t save sinners who have stopped swearing.  God saves sinners … even sinners with potty-mouths.

I know of many well intentioned people who see profanity as an opportunity to teach the rule “Don’t Swear!”  One good friend from college was an RA in the dorms.  When someone would say “Jesus Christ” around him, he would look around and say “Where!?!  Where!?!”  As far as I could tell, people didn’t learn to honor God with their language, but they did learn to avoid swearing around my friend.

Our mission is to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus…not to help spiritual wanderers conform to the laws and behaviors that befit a follower of Jesus.  Some people might get saved and still swear.  The Holy Spirit will work on that, sometimes using positive peer pressure and the advice of friends.  But if we make the Gospel “Jesus PLUS not swearing” then we’ve abandoned the gospel (see Galatians 3).

So … why are we showing Gran Torino?

It’s a movie about grace, redemption and change.  If you feel that the language will offend you, then it is valid for you to opt-out of seeing the movie.  If you feel that this is an opportunity to invite a spiritually wandering friend to a place where they can meet Jesus, then invite your friends.  There is grace for those who see the film and for those who don’t. 

My hope – beyond the impact of a single movie night – is that CGS will create a culture of grace.  In that culture sinners will find salvation, the profane will find the Holy God of the universe, and we all will be changed.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I did want to point out one dynamic that has run through the course of all six films…the development of Harry into a leader.  Now, I’ve preached before about how Harry Potter isn’t a great role model for kids.  He usually lies, rarely asks for help and next-to-never follows the rules.  As he’s grown though, he’s learned from mistakes, he’s had a few brushes with death, and he’s turned into a leader.

He isn’t the most confident leader (I’m guessing I should finish that line with “yet” but I haven’t read the final book), but by taking the mantel of leadership on his shoulders he is bringing hope and change to the dark world that he finds himself in.

I point this out not because Harry Potter is especially interesting.  I mention it because leadership is vital, especially in the dark world we find ourselves in.

A few months ago I ran across this analysis of the church in America:

North America is the only continent in the world where the church is not growing. In North America, the church is in decline. Some even claim it is dying. Most denominations -- including evangelical denominations -- are shrinking.

If we are to witness a genuine move of the Spirit, we cannot spend our time pining for the past and for methods that no longer work. Neither should we spend our time frantically looking for ways to innovate and keep up with the times. Some evangelical leaders are in panic mode as they search for new methods to fix the problem. Solutions abound -- whether it is the emerging church; the missional-incarnational movement; a renewal of polity or biblical preaching; or groups that reemphasize certain gifts, actions, or ministries. Everyone seems to have an answer.

…. evangelicals have lost confidence in the gospel. Since society has marginalized the church, it seems people are saying: "Maybe this gospel is not all we thought it would be." Since the church cannot be trusted, they think, maybe the gospel cannot be trusted either.

To make a difference in this world, we don’t need to resurrect old methods or to develop new ideas.  We need leaders who are committed to the Gospel and who will do whatever it takes to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus.  As Bill Hybels often says, “If you can change a leader, you can change a church…and the world around it.”

As Albert Einstein said: "The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

As you read those lines, I’d ask you to consider a few commitments:

• Commit to praying for the spiritual leaders in your life.  Pray for me, Pastor Don, Shaun, your small group leader, and anyone else who helps shepherd your heart.  I cannot stress to you enough how much my ministry, and the ministry of this church, is dependant upon the prayers of its saints.
• Commit to developing your own leadership around the gospel.  You are a leader, maybe on a small scale or maybe on a much larger one.  You have influence…more than you know.  I know that my older brother would be shocked to know how much his words, even small side-conversations for years ago, matter to me.  In the same way your words matter to someone.  Make sure that influence is built upon, empowered by and pointing to the Gospel.  It might take some study and prayer to develop this.  Develop it nonetheless!
• Commit to either attending, or praying for, the leadership training we will have at CGS tonight.  I don’t know exactly what the Spirit will lead Bruce Bugbee to share, but I know that his words and methods have helped many, many churches increase their gospel influence.

Remember … "The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."  Will you commit to being on that does something?

I pray that as we follow Jesus, you will see the world changed around us!

Standing with you;

-Pastor Tim

I hate that line.  I like to know what’s coming and when it’s coming.  I’d rather live out the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” instead of floating through life playing defense.

This month, unfortunately, is filled with things where my expectations are shattered.

First was General Synod.  When I get time I’ll try to write about a few of the specific events, but the only way I can summarize the meetings is that they were nothing like what I expected. 

• I didn’t expect to have stage-fright when addressing topics from the floor.  (I can now relate to everyone with stage fright.  Most days I can get up in front of CGS and feel at home, but for some reason speaking to the 300 people at Synod put butterflies in my stomach.  I might have been because I was talking to emotionally charged issues, but I was shocked at the cold sweat!)
• I didn’t expect to have someone dress up like John Calvin…. and I didn’t expect the Calvin impersonator to recommend we all reduce our carbon footprints and buy a Prius. 
• I didn’t expect to have the president of the denomination sing show-tunes. 
• And I certainly didn’t expect to meet so many biblically-solid, mission-minded people who are seeing God’s kingdom.  If some of the speeches and political ramblings made me scratch my head and ask why I’m in the RCA, the people I met over coffee reminded me.  These are people who love Jesus, they reach out and take tremendous risks to bring about change.  They are why I’m proud to be in the RCA.

Next I didn’t expect to hear that Jimmy was joining the Navy.  I am happy for him as this has been a goal of his for a long time, but I’ll miss him as will the kids.  I don’t have a lot to say about this right now, but if when you think of Jimmy, please pray for our kids and the future of our youth ministry.  There are many great volunteers in place who have worked with Kimberlee and Jimmy and who know the kids better than anyone.  The next few months will go on without a hitch in their capable hands.  I would love the church to spend a few weeks in prayer before we begin to talk about next steps and to seek God’s will for this crucial ministry.  The opportunities are limitless!  We just have to listen and be “doers of the word.”

Finally, I have no clue what to expect from the coming two weeks.  As many of you know, Shannon and I leave in the morning for a two week pastoral leadership retreat and intensive.  I have no idea how a “retreat” can be “intense.”  All I really know is that many leaders who I trust highly recommend the people we are working with, and that I am looking forward for the next season of growth that our Father might give me.  In fact, one of my mentors was so impressed with this ministry that he is working to replicate and expand upon their ministry model in the Midwest.

I can’t expect the unexpected … but in all this (and in everything you might be going through) we do have someone who is never caught with his guard down.  Times, changes and events might be unexpected to us, but they never catch our Heavenly Father by surprise.

John Calvin (the real one…not the impersonator) once commented on this fact.  In the Institutes I, xvii, I., 179, Calvin makes the following remarks:

"Hence we maintain that by his providence, not heaven and earth and inanimate creatures only, but also the counsels and wills of men are so governed as to move exactly in the course which he has destined. What, then, you will say, does nothing happen fortuitously, nothing contingently? I answer, it was a true saying of Basil the Great, that fortune and chance are heathen terms; the meaning of which ought not to occupy pious minds. For if all success is blessing from God, and calamity and adversity are his curse, there is no place left in human affairs for fortune and chance." (HT – John Currid)

For the next two weeks…please pray for me.  Pray that this time of “intensive retreat” will bear the fruit that God intends.  Pray for protection as we travel and for comfort to Tahlia who has to spend most of June without her earthly Papa. 

Pray also for our youth, that they will be comforted and not feel like “sheep without a shepherd.”  I hope that they can look around CGS and realize that even though Jimmy is leaving, they actually have 100+ “youth pastors” who they can talk to, learn from and follow as they grow in Christ.

This coming Sunday (May 31st) is Pentecost.  Pentecost is celebrated 7 weeks after Easter.  Originally, it was a Jewish feast celebrated 50 days after the Passover.  Christians adopted this celebration because on the Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection the Holy Spirit fell with power on the twelve disciples.  (See Acts 2 for the full story.)

Throughout church history, Pentecost has been both a celebration and a reminder for followers of Jesus.  It is a celebration that Jesus was true to His word and sent another comforter to be with us as we follow Him in mission.  It is also a reminder that no matter how much we know about Jesus, we’ll never be effective without His empowering presence.

In my own life, I’ve needed that reminder.  I love to learn.  My life is filled with books, audio lectures and discussions.  Recently, just for fun, I listened to a 35 series of lectures on how to preach Christ in a postmodern world.  For my upcoming trip to Michigan I’ve loaded my iPod with lectures on Mormonism, leadership, personal productivity and a biography of David Brainerd.  On top of that I have books, articles … you get the point.  I love to learn.

I don’t want to minimize the importance of study, but I’m learning that mere book-smarts are not enough.  Every break-through moment of my life has been a mixture of learning and empowerment (or as Calvin would say “WORD & SPIRIT”).  Study is a foundation…the Spirit is the power. 

In this, I find myself in good company.  The day before Pentecost, the disciples knew more about Jesus than I ever will.  They sat at Jesus’ feet for three years.  They spent time after the resurrection listening to Jesus go through the Old Testament and show how every story and prophecy was fulfilled in Him.  They had learned about Jesus…yet that wasn’t enough.  It sounds blasphemous, but spending three years with Jesus wasn’t enough to launch the mission of the church.  They needed to do more than memorize the Sermon on the Mount.  They needed more than to tell people about their first-hand witness of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  They were commanded to wait for the promise, for the power, for the Spirit.

Word and Spirit.

That’s why we celebrate Pentecost…that’s why we need to remember Pentecost.

This Sunday, we’ll take time to remember this great event.

• In our last 9am Prayer Training, we’ll spend a little bit of time in discussion, and then have a prayer walk around our campus and through the Sanctuary, inviting the Spirit to fill our lives, ministries and efforts.
• Then, in our 10am worship gathering, we will focus on the act of confession.  In every revival I’ve studied, a brokenness over sin and a need for confession has been instrumental.  In the service we’ll focus on 1 John 1:5-2:6 and how we are promised healing, growth and life-change if we dare confess our sins.

As you get ready for Sunday, take time to prepare your heart.  Perhaps think about areas you’d like the Spirit to change.  Maybe take some time to ask yourself if you’ve learned more than you’re using, and how it would look if the Spirit took all your head-knowledge and turned it into power.

Only the Spirit can dictate what will happen.  All we can do is prepare, preach the Word and seek His empowering presence.

I look forward to walking in this adventure with you.

- Pastor Tim

There is a difference between religion and relationship.  At CGS we’re trying not to “do church” … we are striving to be in relationship with Jesus based on the Gospel.  To know Him.  To love Him.  To delight in Him.  To follow Him in a personal, authentic way.

For me, there is no place where that difference comes through more clearly than in prayer.  I find that it is too easy for me to talk to God like we have a very limited relationship. 

• At times I pull up to prayer the way I’d pull up to a fast food restaurant; give my order, thank the cashier, and be on my way with a bag full of “goodies.” 
• At times I talk to God the way I’d talk to a disgruntled boss who knows I blew a big assignment.  I’m full of apologies and promises…but I’m really just hoping to keep my job.
• At times I talk to him the way I would a celebrity who I happened to be sitting next to on an airplane.  I’m nervous and afraid to say something silly, but never really connect.
• And despite all these struggles, the worst times and the worst days are the days I don’t talk to Him at all.

And yet … if Jesus was who He said He was, and if Jesus did what He said it would, then we are now sons and daughters of the Lord.  Distraction, nerves, fear and accusation have no place in our relationship.  That’s the Gospel.  That’s a relationship, not religion.  That’s the only thing that keeps me going.

Some advice I received years ago still rings in my ears, Talk to God like you actually know Him! 

It’s not humble to act like an over-formal stranger in prayer; it’s a denial of the relationship.  It’s not spiritual to use big words and long phrases that keep God safely at arms length; it’s religious.  It’s not safer to dabble in God’s presence; it’s all or nothing!  You are either a son or daughter who can jump right up in His lap, or you are a stranger.  There are no step-children.  There is no middle ground.

Our prayer training classes (now at 9am!) have reinforced this for me.  Last weekend the class was taught by Brandon Beebe, a church planter in Olympia.  As he prayed with us and coached us in our prayers, the biggest thing I felt was an easy, well worn relationship between him and his Lord.  The path of prayer seemed to be well traveled, and his confidence before the King increased our own.

As you finish this week, don’t ask yourself if you’re having a daily quiet time.  Instead, ask yourself if you are merely praying, or if you are talking to God like you actually know Him.

Standing With You;

-Pastor Tim

NEWS & REMINDERS

• Prayer Training happens at 9am for the next three weeks.  (5/17, 5/24 & 5/31)
• This Sunday after church is the CONGREGATIONAL SUMMIT.  Stay for coffee and hear about our finances, the roof, our summer movies and block parties and more!!!!
• Our first Summer Movie Night is FRIDAY JUNE 19th.
• On Sunday June 21st Pastor James Harleman from Mars Hill Church, Seattle will kick off our summer Movie Series.

On the side of my Venti no-room drip, was "The Way I See It #299".  This thought was from Hala Moddelmog, the President and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  This is a great organization that sponsors the Breast Cancer 3-Day and many other activities to raise awareness of breast cancer and funds to find a cure. (They have already raised more than $1 billion toward this goal).  She writes:

There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise.  A mission is something you strive to accomplish - a promise is something you are compelled to keep.  One is individual, the other is shared.  When a mission and a promise are one and the same that's when mountains are moved and races are won.

That quote fascinated me.  We talk a lot about "vision" and "mission.  CGS's mission statement is to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus.  This mission is rooted in the Great Commission (to make disciples of all people) and the Great Commandment (to love God and our neighbors).  We've seen that happen here at CGS and I'm thrilled...but have we seen mountains moved?

As I finished my coffee, I spent some time looking at the word "promise".  Surprisingly Jesus never said "I promise".  He didn't need to ... he simply let His "yes be yes" and his "no be no."  Everything He said is a promise.

There is only one time the word "promise" rolls off Jesus' lips.  It's at the end of Luke, just after Easter and right before He ascended to heaven.  In Luke 24:46-49 Jesus said,

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." - Luke 24:46-49

So, what's "the promise of the Father"?  If you follow Luke's writing into the book of Acts, you see the promise fulfilled in Acts chapter 2.  This is Pentecost Sunday.  Tongues of fire hover over the disciples' heads.  The disciples are miraculously speaking in other languages.  Peter finally gets up and preaches the first sermon about the risen Jesus.  As he is reaching his conclusion, Peter says:

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ... Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." - Acts 2:32-36

The mission is to help everyone have faith in Jesus Christ.  The goal of this mission is to turn every person into a worshipper so that Jesus gets all the praise and glory of the universe. 

The promise is the Holy Spirit.  The goal of the Spirit is to point to Jesus, to empower people for Jesus' mission, to remind people of Jesus' words and to give new life to dead souls so that there can be faith in Jesus.

In other words, in Spirit-empowered ministry the Mission and the Promise meet ... and as my Starbucks cup reminded me (and the Bible was onto this far before Starbucks was) ... this is when mountains get moved.

This coming weekend, during the Northwest Prayer and Healing Conference, my hope is to see the Promise infuse our Mission.  The result won't only be a stronger church; my hope is that mountains will be moved in our lives and our community as well.  Mountains of disease, of debt and of dysfunction.

UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with Pastor Dan Beyer, whose church just participated in a conference Tim Vink facilitated.  As he reflects on the enduring results of the conference, he didn't talk a lot about signs and wonders.  Instead he talked about how badly his community has been shaken by the current economy, and how the conference has given him and his church increased confidence that the Gospel can meet the real needs of real people.  They did see healing and power in prayer...but the church's hope is not in the miracles.  Their hope is in the Gospel, and the real purpose of an event like that is to increase of faith in Christ.

As you spend this week, maybe wondering if you should go to the conference, maybe trying prepare yourself for it, ask yourself what mountains could be moved with the Mission and the Promise intersect. 

- Pastor Tim

www.cgschurch.com

PS - If you can only attend one or two of the sessions, don't hold back!  Feel free to drop in on the sessions you can attend ... you won't regret it.

Agenda for the Weekend

Friday:

6 PM-9 Prayer and Worship

            (Child Care Provided)

Saturday

9AM - Noon Session #2

            A Clash of the Kingdom

Noon - 1:30PM Lunch Break

1:30PM - 3:30 Session #3

6:30 - 8 PM Evening Session

            (This session is open to all and is best suited for people who are outsiders to the faith. 

            Child care will be provided )

Sunday:

10 AM- 11:30 Tim Vink @ CGS

Today I ran across a wonderful summary of the Gospel as laid out by my old professor Roger Nicole.  May his words feed your souls as they fed mine years ago in seminary and again this morning as I again considered the wonders of God's grace.

Moved by His incomprehensible love for mankind, the Triune God was pleased not to abandon our rebellious and corrupt race to the misery and hell that it justly deserved, but to undertake to save a great multitude of human beings who had absolutely no claim on His mercy.

In order to bring this plan into execution, the second Person of the Godhead, the Son, took unto himself a full human nature, becoming in all things like his brethren and sisters, sin excepted. Thus he became the Second Adam, the head of a new covenant, and he lived a life of perfect obedience to the Divine Law.

Identifying with his own, he bore the penalty of human sin on the cross of Calvary, suffering in the place of the sinner, the just for the unjust, the holy Son of God for the guilty and corrupt children of man.

By his death and resurrection he has provided the basis

• for the reconciliation of God to humans and of humans to God;

• for the propitiation of a righteous Trinity, justly angry at our sins;

• for the redemption of a multitude of captives of sin whose liberty was secured at the great price of His own blood.

He offered himself as an expiatory sacrifice sufficient to blot out the sins of the whole world and secured the utmost triumph over the enemies of our soul: sin, death, and Satan.

Those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ are thus to be absolved from the guilt of all their sins and are adorned with the perfect righteousness of Christ himself. In gratitude to him they are to live lives of obedience and service to their Savior and are increasingly renewed into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This good news of salvation by grace through faith is to be proclaimed indiscriminately to mankind, that is to every man, woman, and child whom we can possibly reach.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

St. Patrick is everyone's favorite Irishman, except for the fact that he wasn't Irish.  Patrick was born in the late 4th Century A.D. to a family with Christian roots but not much Christian practice.  Grandpa was a priest; Patrick was a hell-raiser.  When he was roughly 16 years of age he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland on a ship where he was sold into slavery. He spent the next six years isolated from his sophisticated Roman-influenced world and surrounded by "barbarians".

During those years of slavery two important things happened. 

First, he became a follower of Jesus.  Days and nights of solitude gave him time to reflect on the Bible stories he grew up with and he found them taking root deep inside his heart.  He began to pray, as he writes, up to one hundred times a day and an equal amount at night.  To me, this means his devotional practice was not isolated to a morning quiet time.  Instead he found himself being drawn to the presence of God throughout his day.  Like a caffeine-addict who carries a cup of coffee everywhere, Patrick was a Jesus-addict who took the presence of God into every situation.

Secondly, Patrick learned to love the Irish.  He learned their language, customs and mannerisms in a way only an "insider" could.  He did buy the Celtic "Rosetta Stone" computer program.  He was completely immersed in their language and culture and learned to appreciate its subtle nuances.

Years later, after his miraculous escape and return to Briton, he used these insights to return as a powerful missionary.

Patrick's missionary genius flowed naturally from his love for Jesus and his understanding of the Irish.  Up to that time, missionaries had two tasks.  First, they would "civilize" a new group, and then they would "Christian-ize" them.  No one thought people who lived in thatch huts and spoke anything but Latin could become real followers of Jesus.  Missionaries had to teach them to build with stone and marble.  The church had to teach them Latin, hygiene and sanitation.  Once those elements were in place, then you could help these former barbarians work through the Latin mass.

Patrick, the first missionary bishop in history, ditched the goal of bringing Roman civilization.  Instead, he brought Jesus.  He brought Jesus in Celtic language.  He brought Jesus using Celtic stories and metaphors (like using the three-leafed clover to explain the Trinity).  He brought Jesus in a way the Celts could understand, filled with mystery, paradox, heroism and struggle.  The results changed Ireland (and perhaps the world) forever.

Here's what a missionary expedition would look like.  Patrick would approach a village and ask to speak to the chief.  His hope was for the immediate conversion of that leader, but if that didn't happen he still asked for permission to build a small settlement on the outskirts of the village.  In this area of the village people could receive prayer for healing, fair trade for goods and an open place to sing, laugh and share life.  Many people were converted immediately and found resources to strengthen their faith.  Others did not yet believe, but found that they had a place to belong.  Belonging often lead to belief and these slower conversions proved deep and enduring.

Patrick would pray for the sick, cast out demons, preach the Bible, and use both musical and visual arts to compel people to put their faith in Jesus. Once these groups were self-sustaining he would build a simple church that did not resemble ornate Roman architecture, baptize the converts, and hand over the church to a convert he had trained to be the pastor so that he could move on to repeat the process with another clan.

They never officially made Patrick a saint...but his legacy endures.

At CGS, we are trying to follow a similar style of ministry.

Many of us are cultural insiders here in Seattle.  We know the language, the movies, the jokes and the jargon.  Often churches try to get people to convert to a "church culture" (often language and dress from the 1950's with music to match).  Once people know the Benediction and Doxology, then they are ready to really follow Jesus.  At CGS our goal is to ask people to only make one conversion ...not a conversion to our culture but to our Lord.  We want to bring Jesus, and as cultural insiders we have a unique opportunity to use language, metaphor and stories people already know.  That's why I use movie references and pop-cultural analogies when I preach. 

We have also created a few intentional ways people can belong before they believe.  Every Thursday afternoon a group of young people have an Airsoft war on the church campus.  This is their group, they belong ... but many don't believe.  Every Airsoft event is like a Celtic missionary adventure.  In early April Gung-Fu is hosting a Spring Break Bible Camp.  This is another place where people can belong and soon believe.  I've barely had time to do gung-fu myself lately, but when I do its always great.  Not just because of the work out.  It's great because followers of Jesus are together with spiritual wanderers laughing, sweating and learning.  They come back every week and I am confident that seeds are being planted in a slow but enduring way.

Today is St. Paddy's day.  This year celebrate by more than eating Corned Beef and wearing green.  Instead ask yourself how you can learn from Patrick and reach the barbarians in our schools, on our blocks, in our families and in our coffee shops.

For Reflection:

• Patrick used the three-leaf clover.  What "three-leaf clover" type connections do you have with people around you?  Common interests like scrap-booking, motorcycle riding, martial arts or a favorite TV show?  How can you use that as a format to communicate the Gospel of Jesus?
• Do you know any spiritual wanderers?  Do you love them?  Do you love them enough to learn their language, their culture and their ways?
• Can you think of people in your life who don't yet believe, but still need to belong?  Is there a venue where they can belong before they believe?  (Maybe a movie night, Airsoft, a small group, the Garden, Gung-Fu or a block party.)

May Jesus Shelter You;

- Tim

Further Study:

• At www.ccel.org there is a free copy available of Patrick's book Confessions.
• Steve Rabey's book In the House of Memory is a good introduction to Patrick and Celtic Christianity.
• Thomas Cahill's book How the Irish Saved Civilization is a fascinating historical look at Patrick and the implications of Celtic Christianity on western history.
• www.ChristianityToday.com/history is the site for Christian History and Biography magazine, which is a wonderful resource that includes an entire issue on Patrick and Celtic Christianity.

Today many of our friends are celebrating Ash Wednesday.  You may see them at work with a small smudge of black on their foreheads.  They do this as a visible reminder that we are 40 days away from Easter and entering a season called "Lent."  (Actually, its 46 days, but you don't count the Sundays.)

During the season of Lent, churches have traditionally asked people to enter a period of self-examination so that Easter will have an opportunity to impact their souls.  During these forty days we parallel Jesus' forty days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness.

You may know people giving up chocolate, pizza or TV for Lent.  While these "fasts" can be helpful, they aren't the main goal.  The goal isn't to get through Lent without having an M&M.  The goal is to move though Lent realizing your sinfulness and your need for the Gospel of Jesus.  The fact that small pleasures like TV and chocolate are such temptations simply shows us that our souls are out-of-whack and in need of redemption.

If you ever go to an Ash Wednesday service, the pastor will say "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" as he puts the ashes on your forehead.  This is a quote from Genesis 3:19.  Adam and Eve had just eaten the forbidden fruit and God was speaking to them, with grace and justice, about the curse that would rest upon creation and humanity.

It would have been justice for God to destroy Adam and Eve right then and start over.  He did tell Adam that "on the day you eat of it, you will surely die."  (Genesis 2:17)  Today was that day.  Today Adam had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Today Adam had wanted to be like God.  Today Adam had shown that he had not sufficiently honored Eve by standing between her and the serpent.  Today Adam was silent while the serpent tempted.  Today was the day Adam deserved to die.

Justice could have destroyed Adam without uttering a word.

Yet even justice is buffered and instead of immediate destruction, God allows Adam, and the rest of us, to live longer than we deserve.   (By the way, don't be too hard on ol' Adam.  If it had been me, I'd have blown it too.)

This is justice:  we are dust and to dust we will all return.

There is also grace.  In the aftermath of this first sin, God could have taken the opportunity to showcase his power.  Instead he chose to show off His grace.  Just before the Ash Wednesday verse, when God is speaking to the serpent, we get a glimpse of the Cross.  God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15)  In what some call the protoevangelion (proto meaning first, evangelion meaning good news), we see that God would make things right.

The fulfillment of that promise, made long ago in the Garden, was that Jesus would come.

The fulfillment of Ash Wednesday and the sacrifices of Lent is that Jesus still comes, through the Holy Spirit, to regenerate the hearts of His people.

At CGS, we don't do ashes and no one that I know of is giving up anything for Lent.  Is there still a way to make the most out of the next 40 (or 46) days as we move into Easter?

What if, instead of giving up something for Lent, we all decided to put something on?  Instead of giving up chocolate, Facebook or Reese Peanut Butter Cups, what if we put on a habit of prayer?

Most studies show that if you dedicate 21 days to a new activity, you'll turn it into a habit.  Here we have 40 (and most of us need the extra 19 because prayer can be so counter-intuitive).  Join me in praying through Lent.

If you need help spending time in prayer, start with the Book of Psalms or maybe the Gospel of John.  As you read, pray for understanding an application. 

Psalm 1 tells us, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."  (Psalm 1:1-3) 

What if you prayed, "Lord, when am I a scoffer?  Am I sarcastic and given to off-color jokes?  Do my friends help me follow you, or are they leading me away...in other words ... am I walking in the counsel of the wicked?"  See how that works?

I recently ran across a helpful posting on the Lord's Prayer given as answers to the Lord's questions.  So instead of just plowing through a prayer you've memorized, slow down.  In this form the author (J.I. Packer) encourages us to consider:

What do you take me for, and what am I to you?

Our Father in heaven.

That being so, what is it that you really want most?

The hallowing of your name; the coming of your kingdom; to see your will known and done.

So what are you asking for right now, as a means to that end?

Provision, pardon, protection.

How can you be so bold and confident in asking for these things?

Because we know you can do it, and when you do it, it will bring you glory!

There are Forty Days until Easter.

What if we made them into Forty Days of Prayer?  (Especially with our prayer conference coming up!) 

Just imagine the effect this Easter could have on you.  Instead of looking forward to the eggs, ham and new clothes if we set the tone in prayer and looked for the redemption of our city.  It can happen...but first we must pick up the habit of prayer.

Praying With You;

- Tim

www.cgschurch.com

As I've been reflecting on our church, our desire for Passionate Spirituality, and the upcoming Northwest Prayer & Healing Conference, I stumbled across a story and a quote that reminded me of the importance of the hard work of prayer. 

The story was in the book Post-Captain by Patrick O'Brian.  This series of books inspired the movie Master and Commander starring Russell Crow.  They are set during the Napoleonic Wars and feature a raw crew of sailors on an English tall-ship.  As the story progresses the enormous work-load becomes a burden on her raw, short-handed crew.  Severe discipline combined with unglamorous assignments culminates in a seditious atmosphere.  A good friend approaches the captain in confidence and tells him that the crew is planning mutiny.

The captain's initial reaction was sorrow.  He locks himself away to grieve privately, but soon strides out of his cabin with purpose and energy.  He calls the crew together, tells them that he knows their plans and tells them that they are just about to enter hostile water.

There isn't time to mutiny; a real fight is on its way.

You'll have to read the book to hear what happens next, but the short version is that the little boat was out gunned, and surrounded ... yet succeeded in winning a huge victory, even capturing a few other ships along the way.

Have you seen that happen in your life?  Sometimes there are little frustrations that seem so devastatingly important.  Your kids don't pick up their shoes.  Your spouse forgets to pick up cream for your coffee.  Your boss never replies to your e-mails when you need her to.  We get so frustrated with little things, and then a real fight happens.  When your child is sick, you don't care about the mess.  When your spouse gets a diagnosis that scares you both, the coffee and cream become little things.  When the economy collapses around you, e-mail protocol is suddenly less important.

When you need all your energy for the battle, there isn't any left for complaints.

If this is true on a ship or in a family, it is even more true with our faith.

That's the story...now the quote.  It is in Chapter 4 of Francis Schaeffer's No Little People is entitled "The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way."

The thesis is that "The Lord's work in the Lord's way is the Lord's work in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the power of the flesh." Schaeffer argues that "the central problem of our age" is that "the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord's work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them" (p. 66).

Let us not think that waiting on the Lord will mean getting less done. The truth is that by doing the Lord's work in the Lord's way we will accomplish more, not less. You need not fear that if you wait for God's Spirit you will not get as much done as if you charge ahead in the flesh. After all, who can do the most, you or the God of Heaven and earth?

Nor should we think that our role will be passive. The moving of the Holy Spirit should not be contrasted with either proper self-fulfillment or tiredness. To the contrary, both the Scriptures and the history of the church teach that if the Holy Spirit is working, the whole man will be involved and there will be much cost to the Christian. The more the Holy Spirit works, the more Christians will be used in battle, and the more they are used, the more there will be personal cost and tiredness. It is quite the opposite of what we might first think. People often cry out for the work of the Holy Spirit and yet forget that when the Holy Spirit works, there is always tremendous cost to the people of God--weariness and tears and battles. (p. 73). (HT Justin Taylor)

My hope is that the upcoming season of prayer, especially April's Prayer Seminar, will lead to revival in our church and our region.  We can't plan it.  That would be our flesh.  We can't program for it.  All we can do is lay a foundation of discipline and holiness and wait in expectant prayer.

When revival happens it will be a lot of work.  Expect the hard work, but don't be afraid of it.  We may be called to serve, to sacrifice, to say and do things we never thought we would.  As Schaefer says, "The more the Holy Spirit works, the more Christians will be used in battle, and the more they are used, the more there will be personal cost and tiredness"...but the results, with God's help, will be incredible! 

Like a mutinous crew on a tattered vessel, once we survive the cannon blasts we'll have found that we have accomplished more than we ever dreamed, we have won victories that we've looked forward to for years, and maybe that we've captured a few hearts along the way.  Once the smoke clears, the little frustrations won't matter.  All that will matter is that God has won the victory and we were used in His hands.

Standing With You;

-Pastor Tim

www.cgschurch.com

I grew up in Illinois with “Land of Lincoln” stamped on license plates everywhere. I’ve been called a penny-head.  I’ve even made the pilgrimage to Springfield to see one of the log cabins where this great man anchored his roots.

As many of you know, Lincoln had to overcome many defeats on his way to the White House.  It’s almost clique now, but let me remind you of some of the hurdles he overcame on the road to the Presidency.

• He had to work to support his family after they were forced out of their home.
• His mother died.
• He failed in business.
• Was defeated for legislature.
• Lost his job and couldn't get into law school.
• Declared bankruptcy, and spent the next 17 years of his life paying off the money he borrowed from friends to start his business.
• Was defeated for legislature again.
• Was engaged to be married, but his sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
• Had a nervous breakdown and spent the next six months in bed.
• Was defeated in becoming the speaker of the state legislature.
• Was defeated in becoming elector.
• Was defeated for Congress
• Was defeated for Congress.
• Was defeated for Congress again.
• Was rejected for the job of Land Officer in his home state.
• Was defeated for Senate.
• Was defeated for Vice-President -- got less than 100 votes.
• Was defeated for Senate for the third time.
• Finally, twenty nine years after his first business failed in 1821, he was elected President of the United States.

When we face failure and frustration, do we have the same tenacity?

Lincoln was a great man, but he was still a man.  As John Piper points out in his blog today even “The Great Emancipator” still held many unjust convictions.  He saw whites superior to other races.  He fought for justice…but brokenly.   He tried to follow his Lord, his conscious and his nation’s Constitution and even when he failed, he failed forward.

As I reflect on Lincoln’s greatness and brokenness, his success and failure, I am reminded of my own hopes and frustrations and our nation’s success and failure.

We are a nation that is, by God’s grace, overcoming many racial boundaries.  As President Obama stands before the nation, we see something even Lincoln could never have imagined.  Lincoln was not in favor of “making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry.” He said there is a “physical difference between the two” that would “probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality.*”   In Obama we see these claims disproven.  He holds office and is the biological offspring of people that come from different races.  Hopefully even if we disagree with his ideas, we are engaging in civil discourse and not discarding them simply because of the color of his skin.

As wonderful as this may be, we are a nation that still is sharply divided.  Today’s division is not over race, at least not as much as it has been in the past.  Today the clash is between ideologies and worldviews and is as real as the racism of the past. 

This fact was spelled out visibly outside the Westminster Kennel Club’s Dog Show earlier this week.  Protestors from PETA dressed up in the garb of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) and claimed that the dog show was on a moral common ground with the KKK’s lynchings of the past.  People lined up on both sides of the street, insults were hurled, and no ones mind was changed.   This is just one, vivid example that shows us that even in our increasingly color-blind country we are a long way from unity of heart.

If I’m honest with myself, I realize that it’s not just our nation that is broken and divided, having both hope and failure.  I am also. 

One of my favorite lines from the Bible talks about how Paul, a person who I admire more than Lincoln, was divided and torn…even amid the best of intentions.  In Romans 7 he says:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. - Romans 7:15

If Lincoln were alive today, he might hate the deep roots of racism that his statements (liberal and loving for his time) still contain.  He might have been embarrassed and ashamed.  Chances are, however, he would have been powerless to change them.  He might not have understood his own actions.  He might have hated what he did.  But chances are, the roots of racism would have lived on in his soul.

How do I know this?  It’s not because I’m a penny-head.  It’s because I’m a sinner too.  I know what it is to struggle with thoughts, ideas and attitudes.  I know that my anxieties, depressions, daydreams and fears hold no water.  I know that my pride is loathsome, my gluttony sinful, my sloth unbiblical and my envy is just plain wrong.  Knowing doesn’t lead to stopping.  That’s where we need both grace and help.

That’s why Paul didn’t end his letter with the self-condemnation of Romans 7.  He moves on to the grace of Romans 8.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. - Romans 8:1-5   

Once that grace captures your heart, it begins to pull out the deep roots of racism, sin, pride (whatever plagues your soul) and replace it with love. 

If you want to see this in action, I encourage you to watch the following video.

In it, Elwin Wilson, a white man who spent most of his life deeply racist, reconciles with John Lewis an African-American man he had beaten up, thrown eggs at and purposefully persecuted years ago.  Elwin lived most of his life as a deeply angry, racist individual. Forty-eight years ago Wilson waged a personal war against civil rights activist like John Lewis.

Chances are he had moments when he questioned his actions and attitudes but like all of us he found himself unable to stop.  It wasn’t until he encountered Jesus that he found the power to replace the hate with grace.  It all happened when a friend asked him, “If you were to die today, do you know where you’d go?”  Elwin reflected on his history of hatred and was honest enough to answer, “To Hell.”

As Elwin received grace, something shifted in him.  He is now able to offer grace and redemption…maybe because he had finally experienced grace and redemption first hand, freely offered from Jesus.

Today, as you remember Abe Lincoln…remember the cross of Christ.  Remember the one who gave us the ministry of reconciliation, not just so that black and white can stand together in peace, but so that we can have peace with God.  That is the greatest emancipation the world has ever known.

God Bless You Today;

-Pastor Tim

PS – Don’t miss our FACEBOOK training this Sunday at 9am.  If you’re curious about how this tool can help our church develop into a better community of Christ-followers, then you don’t want to sleep in and miss it!  (In the mean time you can check out Al Mohler’s thoughts on Facebook here http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3248.)

1)       John Piper is a theological monster and we will all benefit from his teaching

2)       The materials are extremely practical for our consumer-driven society

3)       We are in an economic down-turn and Dr. Piper has made all the books, research guides and supplementary videos available for free at http://www.dontwasteyourlife.com/ (stewardship in action!)

Piper begins his book telling the story of an older man who came to faith in Jesus near the end of his life.  As he accepted God's amazing grace, this broken man fell on his face crying, "I WASTED IT!  I WASTED IT!"  Those shattered cries spoke of his life, wasted in pursuit of lesser goods and evils when he could have been pursuing Jesus.

Piper's point ... as much as a life spent chasing little evils (money, sex, power) is wasted, even more so a life spent chasing little goods (family, health, success) is wasted if Jesus isn't at the center of it.  As Paul says, "... I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."  (Philippians 3:8)  This thought shakes me out of my complacency and forces me to take a new look at my life.  I have to look at my hobbies, my reading, my time spent with my family, all of life an d asks if I am wasting it or seeking true joy. 

For the last few weeks Shannon and I have been watching a few DVD's of the show LOST.  We never watched it when it was on prime time but since it was highly recommended and someone loaned us the first seasons, we spent a few evenings following the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 as they struggled to survive on a hostile and mysterious island.  .  Some of the survivors work hard at lighting signal fires, hunting and finding clean water.  Others play football and mill around aimlessly.

Lying awake one night after watching a few episodes I played through my mind what I would be doing if I was in the situation.  I figured that I'd definitely be building a secure place to live and training my body and mind so that I could survive any situation the island could throw at me.  My imagination developed the plans at length until sleep finally took over.

Here's the irony ... if I was "LOST" on an island, I would train my body, secure my family and do my best to follow my mission (namely survival).  But, if I was a stranger and alien in a culture filled with lost people where countless decisions are made every day that break the heart of God ... if I lived in that hostile and mysterious culture called "America" ... then I would sit on my couch and watch LOST.

Can you see why DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE! is such an important book right now?

This is a big, complicated topic.  Not all entertainment is wasted time.  Not all church-stuff is time well spent.  We are all going to need discernment, wisdom and a Spirit-ignited passion for Jesus to guide us to joy.  With HIM as the blazing center, we will begin to train our minds, bodies and families so that we can accomplish a mission greater than mere survival!

A few pioneers have already started the book and found it difficult.  To help, my lovely wife Shannon has started a blog.  If you go to: http://www.cgschurch.com/dwyl/life-wasted/  you will be able to work through the book with her, ask questions, and interact with other lost souls around this important topic so that none of us approach the end of life with the nagging sense that we wasted it.

Living Life to the Fullest With You;

-Pastor Tim

www.cgschurch.com

P PLEASE CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING THIS E-MAIL. 

PS - Don't forget this FRIDAY NIGHT at 6PM is CGS's PRAYER NIGHT.  From 6-7 we will be worshipping through song and prayer.  From 7-8 we will worship the Lord by opening His Word and hearing His heart for what the church can be.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

That line changed the life of one young man, and as a result the lives of thousands...including mine.

Fifty three years ago today (Jan 8) Jim Elliot and four other missionaries were killed in Ecuador seeking to meet and evangelize the Waodani people.  

As a young man growing up in church, "Jesus-stuff" was something we did every Sunday and Wednesday.  It didn't matter much beyond that.  But I remember hearing the story of Jim Elliot who actually died because of Jesus.  Even in my early teens I remember being shocked by the fact that Jesus was worth dying for ... and if He was worth dying for, maybe He was worth living for.

That insight didn't change my life nearly as much as it should have, but it did change the trajectory of my life and ultimately lead to my becoming a student and preacher of God's Good News.

One blog posts some of his  favorite Jim Elliot quotes:

• "God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus."

• "Father, let me be weak that I might loose my clutch on everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose the tension of the grasping hand."

• "I covenanted with the Father that He would do either of two things: either glorify Himself to the utmost in me or slay me. By His grace I shall not have His second best."

• "O Christ, let me know Thee--let me catch glimpses of Thyself, seated and expectant in glory, let me rest there despite all wrong surging round me. Lead me in the right path, I pray."

• "Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for that world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar."

• "God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame for you."

• "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Today, let's remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses ... witnesses like Jim Elliot.  (The book of Hebrews says that the world is not worthy of people like this!)  As we think of those who went before us, lets consider our own lives and ask whether we are being fools by settling for the status quo...or if we are begging guys to light our idle sticks into a consuming fire!

-Tim

PS - For more on the "foolishness of Christ" make sure you either come to church Sunday or download next week's podcast.  I'll be sharing a great quote from Bear Grylls book (yeah, the guy from Man Vs. Wild) about how wisdom can be over-rated!

On the first Christmas the angels sang to the shepherds:

 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" - Luke 2:14

"Peace" is a big concept and one that feels out of reach.  This Christmas there are wars around the world.  The US is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Hindis kill Christians in Orissa, India, while India and Pakistan face off with a potential large-scale conflict brewing.  Myanmar is in turmoil, Tibet is not free ... and those are just off the top of my head.

But despite all evidence that seems to be to the contrary, the Birth of Jesus does bring peace.

Earlier this week I received and e-mail from Wes Grandberg-Michelson, the Executive Director of our denomination, that shares and amazing Christmas Story about the peace of Christmas ...

A few days ago I heard a story on National Public Radio.  I shared this story at a worship gathering I led on the retreat, and now I'd like to share it with you.

NPR has reported extensively on the drug-related violence in Juarez, Mexico, directly across the U.S.-Mexico border from El Paso, Texas.  Because of the drug wars in Juarez, the murder rate has increased from 300 in 2007 to 1,500 this past year. The stories are terrible.

One woman told how a gunman killed her uncle at his hotel and returned days later, killing her daughter and cousin. Gunmen attacked again at her cousin's funeral procession, killing more family members. All this happened because her uncle refused to pay a Juarez drug cartel for "protection."  

These horrible stories have multiplied, driven by money from the drug trade that is fueled by drug consumption in the U.S.   The depressing radio report ended with this story:  

"Amid all the killings, a pair of lost camels wandered into downtown Juarez at the beginning of December. Men were building life-sized nativity scenes in several city parks, and the two camels, looking like lost members of the Wise Men's entourage, wandered in out of the desert."  

"They'd escaped from an amusement park."  

"For several days, the fuzzy pack animals displaced the decapitated bodies and gunshot victims from the front pages of the newspapers. Even when a federal prosecutor was gunned down at a stoplight, the camels led the local TV news-in part because this city is exhausted by the relentless violence."  

Maybe that's a metaphor of what Advent is all  about-looking for those unexpected signs that the birth of  God's son is seeking to break into the broken realities of the  world, heralding the message that God's love seeks to create new  life and a new future.  

Sometimes it takes a lost camel to break peace into our world.  Often, it just takes a moment to be silent.

Today, let me encourage you.  Take half an hour or so, turn off the TV, computer and music, excuse yourself from the family, and reflect on the meaning of Christmas.  Maybe read John 1 or Luke 2.  Clear your mind of clutter and let the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

God Bless, and Have a Safe and Warm Christmas!

- Pastor Tim

www.cgschurch.com

WWW.praynorthwest.com

Friends;

The weather man is saying that tonight and tomorrow could be filled with high winds, lots of snow and loss of power.

First, let me address our worship gathering for tomorrow.  Above all, be safe.  If you are worried about driving, stay home.  If your roads are icy, take proper precautions.  There is no shame in missing one worship service.

That said, if it is at all possible, we will gather to worship our King.  I can drive or hike, our worship team is committed and many people will be looking for a safe, warm place close to home to worship the Reason for this Season.

As we go through this, remember… God is no stranger to storms.  There was a time when David was going through a storm of confusion and doubt.  He was hiding in a cave and wondering what would happen – if Saul would kill him, if he would ever be king, if any of his hopes and dreams would be realized.  In that cave he wrote Psalm 57 and started it like this:

Be merciful to me, O God,

be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame him who tramples on me.

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! (Psalm 57:1-3)

These next few days, only God knows what will come.  The loss of transportation, power or even our homes could happen.  Whatever happens, remember who is able to hold you in the middle of the storm.  Remember the one who was born and was able to stop the storm in its tracks.  (See Psalm 107:29 and Matthew 8:23-27)

Be safe, and have a great weekend.

- Tim

www.cgschurch.com

P PLEASE CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING THIS E-MAIL. 

WARNING......WARNING: ADVENT VIRUS

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
• A loss of interest in judging other people.
• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
• A loss of interest in conflict.
• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• Frequent attacks of smiling.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus can and has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.

Odd e-mail, I know!  Partly odd because as a joke, it wasn't all that funny...and as a reality it wasn't all that startling.  For some reason, Advent should awaken those emotions in us.  It should increase our love, decrease our judgmental-ism and redirect our hopes.  Unfortunately, it doesn't.  As I re-read this "advent virus" e-mail, I asked myself "Why doesn't advent always spread this much hope?"  I came up with two answers, and though there are probably and better answers, maybe this will get us all started.

First - maybe we lack knowledge.  We don't know what Advent really is.

Advent means "Coming" or "Arrival."  It is a time of waiting for the arrival of Jesus.  During these four weeks we play an emotional game of pretend.  Let's pretend we lived before Christ.  Let's pretend that we didn't have Him as a mediator, as a sacrifice, or as a Messiah.  How hopeless would we be?  How much longing would be in our soul for the promised King?

"Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent's intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope. ... It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope."

- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Seek That Which Is Above,1986

Secondly, We Are Far To Busy Celebrating "Christmas" to Take Time To Reflect on Advent.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas.  Lights, snow, trees, angels and songs.  I love giving presents and receiving them.  I love the cookies.  I love time with my family.  I love the candle light services.  I love Christmas.  But many of us are so busy shopping, gift wrapping and party-planning that we forget to pause, to wait, and to remember how great a gift Jesus really is.

"Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ's birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.

"An old abbot was fond of saying, ‘The devil is always the most active on the highest feast days.'

"The supreme trick of Old Scratch (Old Scratch is an old nickname for the Devil) is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practicing music and cleaning in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we actually miss the coming of Christ. Hurt feelings, anger, impatience, injured egos-the list of clouds that busyness creates to blind us to the birth can be long, but it is familiar to us all."

                                    - Edward Hays, A Pilgrim's Almanac, p. 196

This year, will you celebrate both Advent and Christmas with me?

If you need time where you can force yourself to be quiet, to reflect, to worship and to pray, then join us this Wednesday (12/10) from 6:30-7:30pm for a time of prayer.  But whether you can attend that event or not, you can carve out some time for reflection, worship and meditation.  Maybe take a promise or verse from the Christmas story and roll it around in your head all day.  "Meditation" is like taking a marble and putting it in your mouth.  You don't eat it, but you tend to move it around, conscious of it all day.  Take a thought, maybe the words of the angel "...they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)." (Matthew 1:23)  Consider what it means for God to be with us, to be with me, to be with me at my desk, with me at Starbucks, with me with my wife (or with you with your boyfriend, girlfriend) with me looking at my computer screen, with me when I'm so stressed out I don't know what to do ... with us in a global, real way.
As you make an effort to bring Christmas home, you'll find your love for Jesus increasing and your appreciation of this season even more precious.
God Bless You!
-Pastor Tim

Friends

This Christmas our church is trying to change lives with the Gospel of Christ ... not just with our words, but also with out actions.  To that end we asked our community, "What Can CGS Give You For Christmas?"  In answer, Volunteers of America suggested ten families who are having a difficult time this year and who could use a boost during the holidays.  We are going to help them by providing food baskets, as well as with other tokens of generosity as the Spirit leads.

Sometimes it is difficult to serve the faceless mass of people, so allow me to turn these ten food basket recipients into real people.  Here are small pieces of their stories: 

• "I am a single grandmother raising 4 grandkids and without the help of a basket there is no possible way for the children to have a holiday.  I struggle to make daily living as comfortable as possible and they already are thinking about the holidays. I'm scared I won't be able to fulfill even one dream."

• A Couple with one child - "Our family is trying to get back on our feet.  With our medical conditions and paying out of pocket for meds makes it really hard."
  

• One Single Senior Citizen hopes share this food basket with her neighbors and have enough for all.

• A Single parent with one child wrote - "It's just my son and I and it gets hard because between his birthday in December and Christmas our money just runs out.  Assistance this holiday would be very appreciated."
  

• A Single parent with one child wrote - "We were homeless and Volunteers of America helped us out.  We do not have a lot (they receive just over $500/month to live on).  We make us feel better and maybe I can get a job."

• A young in college and just barely getting by, but somehow hoping to provide a great Holiday for their two children.
  

• One young woman is 6 months pregnant and has a 3 year old little girl.  She works part-time and her fiancé works full time but only minimum wage.  This could be the first time they understand the reason for the season.

• A family with one child is trying to get back on their feet but face constant bills because of long-term medical conditions.  They are paying out-of-pocket for meds and some help this Christmas would be an incredible boost to them.

• One person was diagnosed with short term memory loss.  She's married, but her husband is in the military and has been deployed since the bombings on September 11th.  Their marriage hasn't faired well and she doesn't know where else to turn.

We aren't serving faceless people.  We are extending the grace of Christ to real people with real problems in our real community.  This is faith in action; changed hearts that grow so that they can serve.  I think this is the sort of thing James, Jesus' brother, had in mind when he wrote:

James 1:27 - Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

 James 2:14-16 - What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

This Christmas our church is reaching out to 10 families.  There are millions more around the world.  Take some time today and ask yourself:

• Do I really need to spend so much on myself and my family?
• Will my kids even remember what I spent so much money on?
• What other causes could benefit from a few of my dollars or a few of my hours of volunteer work?
• Who can I serve this Christmas?

This Sunday (12/7), make sure you step in to help supply a Christmas Food Basket for these ten families.

The following Sunday (12/14) we will take the whole worship gathering to consider the idea the idea of SERVICE.

Remember - Jesus came not to be served but to serve.  As a follower of His, how will you improve your serve

-Pastor Tim

You can get their whole history here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook) but let me talk to you about what God is doing through Facebook here at CGS.

A month ago we had a Congregational Summit and brainstormed about ways we can connect with each other as we follow Christ's mission to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus.  Many ideas came up and many successes were shared.  As God gives us successes in our mission, we have new issues to overcome.  For example, we've reached people for Christ ... now how do we learn their names?  We have new ideas and activities popping up around the church ... how do we get the word out when no one seems to read the bulletin?  We are becoming a networking church ... how do we connect our personal networks to the network of believers at CGS?

Those are good problems to have!  Facebook is a potential solution.  It was suggested at that summit a month ago and is already bringing people together in our congregation.

Before I dive in, let me give you a major disclaimer.  Technology can be used for powerful good and powerful evil.  It is a tool, nothing more.  Whether that tool is a website like Facebook, a gun or a wheel, the tool is only helpful if it is used in good ways.  Because of wheels, we can transport people to the hospital more quickly.  We also have drive by shootings.  The shootings can't be blamed on the wheels, guns and bullets.  Technology is generally neutral.  It's the people that make choices.  That said; Facebook can be helpful, but we need to approach this technology with soft hearts, good discernment and a commitment to Peacemaking.

When this idea was first introduced, I was a Facebook outsider.  I have too much going on to "waste time" on social networking and saw Facebook, MySpace and similar sites as simple time sinks. 

Since it was strongly suggested by people I trust, I took time and created an account. It was really simple - taking less than 10 minutes to begin.  When I put in my high school and college information into the system, the software began to suggest "friends."  These are people I haven't talked to since 1988 and it's been great to reconnect with some old friends.  As I've added friends, the system has suggested other people who I might know, extending the reach of my network considerably.  A month later my "Friends Lists" has people from CGS, friends from WorldCom, old classmates and many other people I've lost touch with.

One thing I'm impressed with is Facebook's security.  No one can see my information unless I want them to.  I'm also not required to put any information in that I don't feel comfortable sharing.  There is a place for a phone number.  Feel free to leave that blank.  You can upload pictures, but you can also control who sees those pictures.  It puts the user in the drivers seat.

Here are five ways Facebook can help us as a church and as individuals as we seek to follow Jesus in His mission (inspired by  http://www.buzzardblog.com/buzzard_blog/2008/11/thinking-biblic.html)

1.       We can get back in touch with old, far-away friends in an easy way, showing them how you've been changed by Jesus

This past weekend was my 20th Reunion from High School.  I wasn't able to attend but many of my friends did.  As they were preparing, I had a chance to "virtually reconnect" with them through this online tool.  Back in those days, no one would have picked me to be a pastor.  Now I have an opportunity to share my story and how God has worked in my life.

2.       We can use Facebook as an extension of face-to-face relationships.  This can be used to enhance time spent with people.

You get 10 minutes on a Sunday to get to meet a new friend.  Afterwards we often find ourselves stretching to remember names, occupations, home towns, ect.  Through Facebook you could have an opportunity to get to know more about people.  You can look at what books they are reading, what problems they are having, and what grace they are experiencing.  Through this technology I am learning to better love and care for people when I'm with them because through Facebook I know more about who they are and what's going on in their lives.

3.       We can use Facebook to think about ourselves less and others more.

Between Sundays it is easy to sink into a trap when we think mostly about ourselves, our problems, our jobs, our "to-do" lists, and our personal lives.  On Facebook you can receive an alert when one of your friends status changes.  I use these alerts as a wake-up call and reminder to pray.  I've been able to pray for one friend whose mother passed away, another who was wrestling with some social issues, and many others through the ups and downs of their lives.  I'm now being jarred from self to others and then to the Throne of grace many times a day!

4.       We can use Facebook to quickly announce events and to make great things happen.

It would be a huge mistake if we spent time on Facebook instead of face-to-face with others.  We have to be careful to avoid this trap.  But, if used wisely, we can use this tool to facilitate more face-to-face time.

For small groups and our church-wide endeavors, instead of taking 45 minutes to call 10 people to come over for a spontaneous evening of fun and fellowship, it is possible use Facebook to communicate these events, saving more time for other activities ... hopefully for face-to-face time. 

5.       We Can use Facebook to influence other people for Jesus. Create a new culture with your status updates.

There is an application on this site that lets you set your status, usually with your name followed by "is" and then a description..  It could be anything, a few I'm seeing now include: ________ is content.  _________ says good news (and goes on to describe an injury that isn't as bad as anticipated).  _______ is celebrating (her son's) 17th Birthday today!! ______ is at the Pizza Hut all you can eat buffet.

What if we used these as a way to encourage, to teach, to instruct, to be transparent and to show what it looks like to live a 24/7 commitment to Christ. 

My hope, and the hope of our Consistory, is that Facebook can become a free on-line photo directory for our church.  We can use this to reduce the cost of mailings and printing, connect to new and old friends, and further follow Jesus on the road to the Great Commission.

If you have questions or are worried, feel free to ask.  There are already a ton of people from CGS on Facebook and many would be happy to sit down with you, answer your questions, and even help you create an account.

God Bless You!

- Pastor Tim

www.cgschurch.com

It's amazing how our circumstances can impact our faith ... when exactly the opposite should be true.  Our faith could give us understanding as we encounter all sorts of circumstances.  In Helping People Change, (Steve Aaby's class) one of the key points is that the #1 way we can be of service to people is to help them look at their circumstances from the right point of view.  Remember, the Devil brought sin into the world just by shifting the way Adam and Eve viewed the world.  He didn't introduce new circumstances, he simply reinterpreted their reality, and we still pay the price.

Tonight at CGS, from 6:30-7:30pm, is our church-wide time of prayer.  For me, prayer is the best way I connect with Jesus and allow Him to reinterpret my circumstances.  So let me encourage you, if last night's election results have you pleased-as-punch, come and pray.  If last night's election has left you worried, come and pray.  If last night's election doesn't matter because the other circumstances in your life are so difficult that the election isn't even on your radar, come and pray.

As I pray about the election, let me share a few thoughts God has given me.

I was born in 1970, after the Civil Rights Movement turned our nation upside down.  I remember a young African-American family with two boys my age moving into the area and I hung out with them.  My Dad once pulled me aside and told me that he was proud of me for doing this, but I didn't understand why.  To me they were just boys.  Because of the hard work of people in my father's generation, I had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a world where skin color was an increasingly unimportant trait.  Last night's election is a big step in this direction.  We're not all the way there, but we are becoming and increasingly color blind society and for that I thank God.

It is difficult to loose, especially after such a long and heated election season.  Even though President Elect Obama won a significant majority of the Electoral College, the last numbers I saw showed that the popular vote was split 52 to 48 percent.  That puts nearly half our nation in a position to feel like they've lost and to sink into bitterness ... or to feel like they've won and to drift into arrogance. 

Whether in defeat or victory, it is important to show grace.  I remember the election eight years ago, the last time the party changed in the White House.  That election was also heated and little grace was shown by the winners and losers.  As the White House prepared to transition to new leadership frustrated staffers ripped "W's" off keyboards made sure that the transition would be expensive and difficult.

This time I hope that all the "O's" aren't ripped off the keyboards. 

This time I hope that the conservative press doesn't start with potshots and hate-speak.  I hope we don't start hearing "I hate Obama" as often as we've heard "I had George Bush." 

This time I hope we can disagree with grace and remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, as mentioned last night, "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory will swell when again touched as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature."

The one issue that leaves me heaviest of heart is the sanctity of life.  One of Obama's election promises was that his first action in the White House will be to sign the federal Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).  This would take the abortion issue away from the state government and give it to the federal legislature.  This includes late term abortion.  I believe that we need to "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Proverbs 31:8-9).

I know that there is some debate as to when life begins.  In this video John Piper tells the story of a man charged with negligent manslaughter after a hunting accident.  The message from that case; "When in doubt, don't shoot!  It might be a man!  If you're on a hunting party and you make a bad judgment call, you're guilty!  Life is that important."

This is an issue I don't fixate upon week-after-week, but its also not an issue we can forget about.  We might feel small and powerless, but be encouraged!  We don't need laws to protect the lives of the unborn.   The most direct and personal ways we can help unborn children and their mothers are still fully available to us. See Fifty Ways to Help Unborn Children and Their Mothers.  Also see the small book "Why Prolife?" is online in PDF form for FREE..

While there is debate when life begins, there is little debate as to when life ends.  Yesterday, however, legislation was passed that we will now have to live with until it is repealed, I-1000, the "Death with Dignity Act."  Soon, people with less than six months left to live will have the option to take a lethal dose of medication.  To be consistently pro-life (or anti-death) means that a follower of Jesus must oppose this sort of procedure.  Now that this is legal, burdens may be placed on families to help people continue to live when hospitalization and treatment have been cut off.  Again, our hope is not in the legal system.  Our hope is in building a community where we can offer hope, resources, prayer and healing.  I know of many people who have been given "less than six months to live" and who have persisted for years.  I hope we can pray that this imitative is repealed and that in the mean time we can help people choose life.

In a divided country with issues of life, hope and economics on the line, the biggest thing we can do is to help change hearts and minds one at a time through the power of Jesus Christ.  That's why we exist.  We are here to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus.  It is time to put lesser issues aside and to take our mission seriously.  Maybe we've fought over the wrong things.  Maybe we've fought the right battles in the wrong ways.  Maybe we've defended a political party more than we've defended moral issues.  Maybe we've fought each other.  Maybe we've been complacent.  Today it doesn't matter.  Today is the beginning of a new season.  Today is when we can show what grace, dignity and life look like.

My hope is that we will move forward with grace, that we will embrace the positive changes that are on their way, and that we will continue to fight for issues of life and faith.

Standing With You;

- Tim

Today is a big day for our nation ... right in the midst of a big week for our church.

Before you finish reading this, VOTE.  Actually, before you vote, PRAY then vote, then finish reading this e-mail.

Back?

Good!

Now, to business.  This past Sunday was an incredible day in the life of our congregation.  We had a packed worship service, and incredible time of worship, and our first potluck in a long time.  If you missed it, the Small Group Get Together had incredible food and over 60 people all talking, laughing and making new friends.  We learned a few lessons to make the next one better, but by and large the night was a success as we saw first hand all the new life God is bringing to our church and to our lives.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 11/5) from 6:30-7:30pm is our night of corporate prayer.  This time of prayer is essential for the future of our church.  If you remember, we are in a season of prayer, brainstorming and seeking God's will.  We are a church with a big vision, lots of opportunities and a real budget crisis.  Over the next months we have to pray and discern God's direction.  So far 120 ideas have come in.  These range from the essential (PRAY!) to the obvious (park out front during the week), from the insightful (more intergenerational mentoring) to the incongruous (mud-wrestling).

Tomorrow night we'll take some of these ideas and lay them out before the Lord in prayer.  Then, as God leads, we will present them to the church for action and implementation.  Not every idea can be implemented.  We'd end up going crazy with busy-ness.  That's where prayer comes in.  In Romans 12 God promises us that we can actually know His will.  It's not easy.  It takes work, silence, Bible study and prayer ... but it's possible.

Romans 12:1-2 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we pray, let's be bold and ask God for both a God-Sized vision and God-Sized Provision.  God has promised boldness, the Holy Spirit, revival, growth, conversion, faith for our children, transformation for our culture and joy in the midst of suffering.  Ask him for it!  Hold Him to His Word.  If God tells us to pray for the harvest, then pray for the harvest!  God desires all men to be saved, lets pray that as many as we can come to faith!  Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, commenting on Exodus 33, wrote:

"I commend to you the reading of biographies of men who have been used by God in the church throughout the centuries, especially in revival. And you will find this same holy boldness, this argumentation, this reasoning, this putting the case to God, pleading his own promises.  Oh, that is the whole secret of prayer, I sometimes thing.  Thomas Goodwin uses a wonderful term.  He says, "Sue him for it, sue him for it."  Do not leave him alone.  Pester him, as it were, with his own promises.  Quote Scripture to him.  And, you know, God delights to hear us doing it, as a father likes to see this element in his won child who has obviously been listening to what his father has been saying."

Today, pray and vote.

Tomorrow, pray and pray (and maybe fast and pray).

Sunday, be ready to walk through the open doors God is revealing to us.
Standing With You;

Pastor Tim

PS- Get ready for Don't Waste Your Life (http://www.dontwasteyourlife.com).  Details this Sunday.

He writes:
1. It's based on the English Standard Version, which is one of the finest and most faithful translations available today. While it's always good to consult various translations for study, the ESV does a great job recognizing variants in translation in the footnotes.
2. The introductory notes to each book are informative and helpful, and don't overwhelm you with interesting but non-essential background information.
3. The notes are extensive and answer questions I actually have about the text, without avoiding difficult passages.
4. The notes cover material that is not only helpful, but pastoral, aimed at helping me understand God's Word better and loving God more.
5. The notes are well laid out. Larger section, shorter, then vs. by vs. I've found them easy to follow along with the text.
6. The treatment of the first few chapters of Genesis is very even-handed and well-researched. The notes aim to give us an appreciation for the interplay of science and the Bible without giving ground on the ultimate authority of Scripture.
7. The focus is always Gospel-centered. The notes seek to answer the question, "Where does this section of the Bible fit into the larger story of God sending Jesus to redeem a people for his glory?"
8. The articles in the back of the Bible are almost a book in themselves (I'd love to see Crossway will publish these separately), and address many significant issues clearly, briefly, and effectively. They include Biblical Doctrine, Biblical Ethics, Reading the Bible, The Reliability of Bible Manuscripts, The Bible and World Religions, and the History of Salvation in the Old Testament.
9. The maps and illustrations actually contain the cities, areas, and details I want to know about, and are placed close to the passages they refer to.
10. The notes don't go beyond what the text says. They affirm what is clear, and plainly present different views when a word, phrase, or passage is unclear.

More information here

(HT: Z)

I ran across a fantastic article by Ed Stetzer last week and finally had time this morning to give it more attention.

Dr. Stetzer has been in conversation with Eric Geiger, co-author of Simple Church (a book that we've been recommending to new leaders at CGS).  Ed Stetzer is the guru of being missional in North America.  Simple Church is a look at how to maximize a church's efforts by making things more simple (think iPod instead of a sound board).

In this article, they combine the two trains of thoughts and give some advice on how to be SIMPLY MISSIONAL. 

Their thoughts are very relevant given our church's current season of prayer and discussion as we fine-tune our programing and goals for 2009.

Here are a few highlights as they compare the church to Dell's just in time distribution methods.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/10/simpy-missional-in-neue.html

Most churches build big warehouses and shelve a bunch of Christians (those rows look suspiciously like shelves). They design attractive programs to "retain" people in the sacred warehouse, keep precise records of how much inventory (people) is on the shelves, and brag about their warehouses being constantly open. And warehouse managers love to show other warehouse managers their newest warehouses while dreaming together of bigger and better warehouses.

God is calling churches to shatter the warehouse myth, to change their warehouses into strategic distribution centers, where people are distributed as salt and light to the world--sending them out on mission. Some churches are strategically challenging their people to be out there, and these churches have a strategic and simple process that moves people from the warehouse to the street. These churches are simple and missional.

They are simply missional.

...We have heard the cries from pastors for years, "Our people just do not seem to know lost people."

Hmmmm.

Perhaps our church people do not know lost people because our churches have kept people in the warehouse, losing opportunities to deeply engage in relationships with lost people. Church leaders often "guilt" people into coming to the church, removing them from the world that Jesus came to save.

All too often we have discovered that church programming dominates the schedules of members to the point that there is just no time nor energy left in members lives to do the very thing they were created for--live as redemptive agents of the Kingdom of God. This results in both a de-energized body and a gathering of individuals who do not feel fulfilled in their own lives because they are not using their natural, God-given gifts to work in the fields in which the Lord has placed them.

Churches with minimal programming help their people live among the world as missionaries by not asking them to live at the church, but to live as the church.

Churches with minimal programming encourage their members to know their neighbors, coach their kids' little league teams, attend the PTA meetings, and play in the city recreational leagues. And as Christ stepped into our culture, these church members are living incarnationally in the everyday environments life offers us. As Christ is Immanuel (God with us), these church members live God with us lives within the context of their communities.

... instead of utilizing people and resources to keep church programs functioning, missional leaders view their programs and resources as tools for people to encounter the grace of God. The goal is people, not program. They view their resources as tools for people's lives to be transformed, and they train their members to think this way.

Justin, drinking deeply from John Piper's book Hunger For God, writes:

I would like to encourage readers of this blog to consider taking a fast with regard to abortion.

The best thing I have read on this is the chapter, "Fasting for the Little Ones: Abortion and the Sovereignty of God over False Worldviews," from John Piper's Hunger for God (the link takes you to a free PDF of the whole book).

Piper looks at Francis Schaeffer's legacy of worldview engagement, and then writes:

So what can you pray? Here's one way:

Piper also writes:

I join Piper in commending this practice to you--utterly foolish to the world, but pleasing to God.

In this season of life, with an election, an economic crisis and hard times in the life of the church, it is very easy to let our prayers center on us.  As we fast, we deny our easy-to-indulge urge to fill our stomach and instead induldge our less-pressing-but-more-important need to satisfy our souls with Jesus.

As you fast and pray, when temptation comes, let your mantra be "I'd rather have you!"  More than a cheeseburger, more than Reeses Pieces, more than homemade pie, Jesus I'd rather have you.

If health concerns, your lifestyle or anythign else would keep you from fasting from food, consider a media fast.  Turn off the TV, don't listen to the radio, even put your e-mail away and when tempted to grab the remote or X-Box controler let your soul cry out "I'd rather have you Jesus."

Change the oil, filters, and such while the moms get their haircut and kids get to play and have treats or something while the cars are being tended to???? and car washed (by the youth group...) Everyone is involved from our church...

What do you think?? Needed: Mass mailing to the area, donations of $ and car stuff (oil, filters, etc.), treats for kids, someone to donate their time to cut hair and so forth...is this doable next spring or some time????

Let me know what you think ... log in and post comments.

Four years ago, this past week, our family arrived in Lynnwood and started praying with you all.  For the past four years God has blessed us with new friends, lots of rain, and opportunities to see His grace.  We were homesick at first (remember me complaining about Seattle pizza one or two times????) but have come to love the people here.

During my four years here, and my hunch is that this would fit the other 36 years of the church’s history, prayer has been a place of comfort and of power.  During the best times, I’ve found people who have joined with me to give thanks and praise to God.  During the worst times, I’ve found people who have stood with me and sought God’s face for wisdom, healing and grace. 

Without prayer, I wouldn’t have made it.  Without prayer, none of us can make it.

In John 4:14 Jesus says, “…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In my devotions yesterday I read Charles Spurgeon’s comments on this verse.  Spurgeon writes:

“He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. …There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. … Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

If you believe that, if you want to feel that, how do we drink of Him?  The answer is that we drink through faith as exercised in prayer.  We don’t drink deeply of Jesus by intending to drink of Him some day.  We don’t drink deeply of Jesus by working hard for Him.  We don’t drink deeply by putting off bad habits.  When we worship, when we pray, when we immerse ourselves in the Word – when our faith is exercised, that’s when we drink and are satisfied.

Tomorrow night is our monthly prayer event.  I would commend this to you – not as a religious hoop to jump through, but as a chance for you to drink deeply on Jesus and be satisfied.  Honestly, things are church are both wonderful and fear-inspiring.  New people are coming, new ministries are beginning and new energy is palatable in our meetings … but there are financial challenges, physical problems and some open spiritual warfare that’s been pestering members of our church.  There are no easy paths forward, but with grace and God’s power we will move forward nonetheless.  To not pray in light of the nation’s economic crisis would be irresponsible.  To not pray in light of the church’s tightening budget and burgeoning growth would be to miss out on vast resources of power.

There is one other tool I want to commend to you as we all seek to increase our lives of prayer, and that is the church Prayer Blog.  Every week Pam Swank adds concerns that are submitted on Sunday so that we can pray for upcoming surgeries, crises and praise God for His many deliverances.  Just today I added a new tool that will help us focus on unreached people groups. This will update daily and provide information on people who are far from having hope and who desperately need Jesus.  You can find more at http://www.cgschurch.com/blogs/prayer-blog/

It’s been four years here for me.  For you it might be four weeks or forty years.  We all have one thing in common.  If we are to see our hopes and dreams realized for our lives, our church and our mission, we need to pray.

See you tomorrow (10/8) at 6:30pm.

-Pastor Tim

This morning as I arrived home with my bags of groceries just retreived from Safeway and getting them put away where they go I had the thought; I don't really have much passion for this business, it's a job I have to do.

Then it dawned on me the difference between doing that kind of thing and the process of breathing. I have a passion to breathe. Clear proof of that necessity would come by putting a platic bag over one's head and then see how quick it comes a primary objective to get it back off to get some air. Passion is not something we cause to happen. We can diminish or remove passion effect with a decision but we don't bring it up with a decision. Passionate spirituality won't happen without the Spirit that is passionate. Webster uses words like powerful, ardent adoring, boundless enthusiasm, deep, overwhelming, highly intense, forceful devotion. Then passionate arises from and is the expression of passion. The first Adam was of the earth and became a living soul when God breathed into him the breath of life. The "last Adam", as Christ is called, became a life giving spirit. It feels to me that there needs to be an understanding come to the people by some means that it isn't us who have passionate spirituality, it is the very spirit of Christ himself, or the Holy Spirit as we know him better, to fill and have the compelling desire for the reading of the  Word, to pray, to worship God and above all things seek after the relationship with the Father as His children.

All of that really means what I would say in one line. We can't decide passion of spirituality, passion of spirituality we must let have us.

So that's my human passion and longing for the body. 

-Keith

In light of tonight's concert of prayer I thought I'd share a few thoughts that have been stirring in my own soul about this topic.

A short definition of passionate spirituality that has been very helpful to me is "individual hearts reflecting God's glory."  Our own KC Harding coined that phrase, and it hits the bull's-eye for me.  God is like the sun, constantly giving off love, light and life.  We are moody, inconsistent and fallen.  We go through season of night where we've turned out backs on God (either intentionally through sin or unintentionally through distraction), and season of rain where the clouds of depression, illness and fatigue put a barrier between us and God's presence.  The goal of passionate spirituality is to craft a life that is more like Hawaii than Seattle.  More exposure to the sun, less distance by the oppression of the world, more heat, more life, more light.

The first step towards this sort of life is VISION.  We have to ask ourselves "what would my life look like if it were passionately spiritual?"  If my soul was more like Hawaii and less like Alaska, how would I react to stress?  If my heart was being renewed by the warm sunshine of spring, how would I interact with my co-workers?  with my children or grandchildren?  with my neighbors?  We'll never live that sort of a life if we don't take time to imagine it.  For me, it's very helpful to read good Christian biographies.  Seeing how others have lived lives of passionate spirituality helps me imagine my life lived in the presence of God.

The next step towards this life is INTENTION.  We can exercise our imaginations all we want, but there comes a time to exercise our will.  If we could wave a magic wand or say a super prayer and immediately become the sort of person we imagine in step one, most of us would.  We want that life.  We want to live in the eternal sunshine of God's presence.  Now we have to intend to actually shape our lives, habits and souls in such a way that results in a life lived reflecting God's glory.

Intention means asking hard questions of our every-day practices.  For a pastor's retreat I was asked to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book "Life Together."  He goes to great lengths to describe the sort of intentionality a life of passionate spirituality would require.  He asks about how we wake up, how we sing, how we meditate at the close of the day.  Intentionality means claiming the dozens of little opportunities presented to us throughout the day, and turning them into ways to transform our souls.

Once we see where we're going (vision) and decide to get there (intention) we need to apply ourselves to helpful MEANS of Grace.  "Means of Grace" is a fancy word for helpful habits that shape your life.  Reading the Bible.  Prayer.  Church Attendance.  Reading helpful books and biographies.  Fasting.  Silence.  Giving.  Service.  There are dozens of these.  Many of these we are already doing, but maybe not doing in a helpful way.  If your goal is to read a chapter of the Bible, then we'll plow through the chapter.  If our goal is to take half an hour with the Bible to clear the clouds that separate us from God, then maybe you'll read the chapter, or maybe you'll get hung up on one phrase and spend the rest of the day turning it over and over in your mind.

There's more, but as I've been considering my own heart these three things have been very helpful.  (The insight of Vision/Intention/Means or VIM comes from Dallas Willard's book the Renovation of the Heart)

Tonight there is a Means of Grace available to us all.  From 6:30-7:30pm there will be a concert of prayer.  During that time we will be seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit, begging God for revival, and for healing.  Afterwards we will be able to join the Youth Group for worship and some skits.

So whether you can make it tonight or not, spend time today in prayer for the youth group.  We have over 20 teens connected to Kimberlee and our Youth Ministry.  99% of these kids do not attend church.  Many of them have friends and families who are spiritual wanderers.  Our church exists to help spiritual wanderers become authentic followers of Jesus.  Tonight we can pray for that, work towards that, and join God in what He is already doing.

Standing With You!

- Tim

 Justin Taylor recently posted a lengthy quote of his that really hit me.  Enjoy!

Which do we really need-to give love or to receive it? We resist the question because we want to say both.

Yet Scripture seems to favor the imbalance. Not that we aspire to have our friend or spouse love us less, but that "in humility [we] consider others better than [our]selves" (Phil. 3:4). When the kingdom of God is ruling our hearts, we aspire more to serve than to be served, honor more than to be honored, and love more than be loved. This doesn't mean that we don't care about being loved; it simply means that we always want to outdo others in love.

Do we run the risk of a lopsided relationship? Absolutely. That is the relationship we have with God-he always loves first and most. . . . Throughout Scripture God is the one who loves more than he is loved. He always makes the first move. He advertises his extravagant affection for us even when we are indifferent or opposed to him.

When Jesus Christ, God incarnate, walked the earth, the pattern continued. Through his life Jesus was rejected by his people and misunderstood by his disciples. At the most difficult point of his life, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned. But through it all his love was unwavering. In this, he established the pattern for true humanness. This is the way we were intended to be.

This is life in the kingdom. It wants love, but it wants even more to love others deeply. Its treasure is to grow in the fruits of the Spirit, foremost of which is to love others.

From Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest (pp. 184-185)

At the present day, I am afraid that nine people out of ten do not believe in the God Who is revealed to us in the Bible. I can point you to newspapers, to periodicals, and also to pulpits by the score in which there is a new god set up to be worshipped-not the God of the Old Testament; He is said to be too strict, too severe, too stern for our modern teachers.

They shudder at the very mention of the God of the Puritans. If Jonathan Edwards were to rise from the dead, they would not listen to him for a minute; they would say that they had quite a new god since his day. But, brethren, I believe in the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob; this is my God-aye, the God Who drowned Pharoah and his host at the Red Sea and moved His people to sing, "Hallelujah!" as He did it; the God Who caused the earth to open and swallow up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and all their company.

A terrible God is the God Whom I adore-He is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, full of mercy, compassion, and grace, tender and gentle, yet just and dreadful in His holiness and terrible out of His holy places. This is the God Whom we worship, and He Who comes to Him will take Him to be his Instructor, and so shall he learn aright all that he needs to know. (At the Master's Feet, July 18)

Quote #2 from "On Christian Leadership."

The laws of success operate also in the higher filed of the soul-spiritual greatness has its price. Eminence in the things of the Spirit demands a devotion to these things more complete than most of us are willing to give. But the law cannot be escaped. If we would be holy we know the way; the law of holy living is before us. The prophets of the Old Testament, the apostles of the New and, more than all, the sublime teachings of Christ are there to tell us how to succeed...

The amount of loafing practiced by the average Christian in spiritual things would ruin a concert pianist if he allowed himself to do the same thing in the field of music. The idle puttering around we see in church circles would end the career of a big league pitcher in one week. No scientist could solve his exacting problem if he took as little interest in it as the rank and file of Christians take in the art of being holy. The nation whose soldiers were as soft and undisciplined as the soldiers of the churches would be conquered by the first enemy that attacked it. Triumphs are not won by men in easy chairs. Success is costly.

Think on this...

Mentoring has received a lot of talk at CGS over the years, especially lately.  The Tuesday night class is doing well and people seem interested, but my sincere hope is that we do more than talk about mentoring and actually reach out to the next generation.

CGS has so many people with wisdom and experience.  I long to see that energy unleashed as it gets passed to the next generation.

To help cast this vision into reality, I've attached an article by a young pastor on the power of mentors in his life.  As you read it, ask yourself who God has put in your life that you can reach out to to mentor...or maybe to receive some coaching yourself.

- Tim

Generation to Generation
by Joshua Harris

When I turned twenty-one, my dad gave me this simple advice: "Find men that you want to be like and then sit at their feet." As I launched into manhood, he was reminding me that the lessons I needed most wouldn't be found in a textbook - they'd be written in the heart and life of a godly man. I needed to get close enough to this man that I could observe his character and be shaped by his example. I needed a mentor. 

I didn't realize at the time how important and prescient my dad's counsel was. But less than a year later, God brought me across the path of C.J. Mahaney, the man who would mentor me, train me in pastoral ministry, and eventually install me as his replacement in the church he founded and led for nearly thirty years. 

Looking back, I've become even more aware of what a rare gift God gave me in my relationship with C.J. Sadly, my experience is unique. There are many young adults who desire to sit at the feet of mature Christians. But how many older Christians are willing to let them sit there?

C.J. let me into his life even though it involved personal inconvenience. He literally invited me into his home (I lived in his basement for a year); he guided my study, exposed me to great theology, and both encouraged and constructively critiqued my fledgling attempts at leadership and preaching. 

So for me the power of a mentor is no abstract concept. I know the difference that personal example, friendship, and on-the-job discipleship makes. Every part of my life - as a follower of Christ, as a husband and father, and now as a pastor - has been shaped by the investment my friend made, and continues to make, in my life.

One of the reasons I love to tell my story is because I hope it will inspire older Christians to take the time to mentor the up-and-coming generation of believers. 

Most of us know that mentoring the next generation is a good idea. And of course it's unarguably biblical. Proverbs 13:20 calls the young to be companions of the wise - the implication being that some wise person will be willing to let the less-wise be their companion. The Psalms speak of one generation commending the mighty acts of God to the next (Ps. 145:4). And of course, the New Testament example of Paul teaching and training Timothy models the importance of mentoring in the spread of the Gospel and the building of the church. 

So we can agree that mentoring is good. But do we do it? And if we don't, is the problem that we're too busy? Or could it be that we don't mentor because we lack real conviction? And could our lack of conviction be the result of failing to apply the truth of the Gospel to our view of the next generation? 

How does the Gospel relate to this topic? First, it's the essential motive for Christian mentoring. As Christians, we have a message - one composed of true facts about real events - that is bigger and more important than any one of us. The good news of Jesus and His death and resurrection for sinners is the world's only hope. It's the only way of salvation for mankind. The obvious implication is that passing this saving message on to people who will be here after we're gone is the most important thing we can do during our lifetime. Our legacy, our reputation, our heritage is really unimportant. A building or company or denomination with our name on it will do the world little good. But if we can teach, train, and disciple men and women to trust in, love, and proclaim the message of Christ and him crucified, then we've accomplished something worthwhile. 

This kind of Gospel-centered view of life leads to proactive mentoring. And this is exactly what is needed today. Members of the older generation need to take it upon themselves to pursue younger Christians to mentor and disciple them in the faith. Let's be honest. They might not be beating down the door to sit at your feet. They might not look to you with adoring eyes, amazed by your knowledge. You might not be a "cool" old person. Don't let that stop you. If you're motivated by the Gospel, it shouldn't stop you. Remember, it's not about you. It's about the Savior. It's about what He has done. Whether or not you have the added fuel of feeling wanted, needed, and in demand, you can go out and seek to serve. 

But what if you can't relate to the younger generation? Again, this is where the Gospel comes into play. The Gospel strips away the façade of "generation gaps" and reminds us that, regardless of our age, we all have something in common - we're all sinners in need of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Gospel smoothes out the bumps of cross-generational friendships. It reminds us that, regardless of our age, we have a lot in common.

It was God's grace that led me to realize as a young man that I needed a mentor to advise and train me in ministry. And it was God's grace that prepared a godly older man to be that mentor. Two decades earlier, in the early days of his ministry, C.J. had made a promise to God. He had always longed for but never truly found a godly, older mentor for himself. And so he told God that if he ever had the chance to be that mentor to a younger man, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity. He wouldn't be too busy. 

When I came along he didn't see me as a nuisance. He didn't see me as a threat. His first concern wasn't preserving his position. He saw me as a young man in whom he could invest in so that the most important truth - the truth of the Gospel - could be passed on. What a refreshing perspective. Our job isn't to fend off the next generation. Our calling as lovers of the Gospel is to equip the next generation to surpass us in faithfulness and effectiveness. 

Somewhere there's a young man or woman praying for a mentor. Get ready. You could be God's answer to that prayer.

*****

Rev. Joshua Harris is senior minister of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is author of Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is).

From Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. ©2008 Tabletalk Magazine.

If you haven't read Lovelace's book, the following might not mean much...but once you understand his concepts you realize how brilliant and true this is. His main point is that the Gospel has to be the foundation for all hope of revival and renewal. We have to understand

1) That the Gospel is Good News and Bad News - The good news is that Jesus is mighty to save, the bad news is that we are sinners in need of saving.

2) The Gospel Changes Everything - from legal justification to real life growth in holiness (sanctification) to supernatural power in spiritual warefare - everything we are, everything we do and everything we hope for is changed by Jesus' work on the cross.

3) The Gospel is the Root of Life - once we embrace the ways that the Gospel has changed us, we find ourselves natrually growing in mission, prayer, community and theological insight. We can preach on any of these, program around these and try to equip people to perform them, but will always fail unless they grow from a foundation of the Gospel. Lovelace compares them to secondary colors - they only exist when the primary colors are blended together. In same way we can only have a good prayer life when we blend out justification, sanctification and spiritual authority.

i. His Justice

ii. His Love

i. In your own life

ii. In your community

a. Justification: You Are Accepted in Christ

b. Sanctification: You are free from bondage to sin in Christ

c. The Indwelling of the Spirit: You are not alone

d. Authority in Spiritual Conflict: In Christ you have authority

A. Mission: Following Christ into the world & presenting His gospel

i. In proclamation

ii. In social demonstration

B. Dependant Prayer: Expressing dependence on the power of his Spirit

i. Individually

ii. Corporately

C. Community: Being in union with his body

i. In micro-communities (Small Groups)

ii. In macro-communities (whole church)

i. Destructive

ii. Protective

E. Theological Integration: Having the mind of Christ

i. Toward revealed truth

ii. Toward your culture

In the midst of what could have been an overwhelming experience, Steve found time to share the gospel with the firemen, and give a God-honoring testimony to the media. KSAT quotes Steve:

"Everything we have can be taken away in a second. It doesn't really belong to us; it all belongs to God," said Steve McNary...."The good thing is my wife is safe, my daughter's safe and it's just stuff and stuff can be replaced."

What a great perspective!

Today I find myself humbled. Sometimes we get so inward focused that every conflict and personality issue feels like the end of the world. People in our circle aren't happy so it feels like the end of the world. Outside our circle, there is a world that is hurting and fighting real battles. Fires in San Diego, friends loosing homes...all the while young people are leaving the church in record numbers. I have to ask myself when we'll life our heads and focus more on their needs than on our own hurts.

Cick here for the full news story.

Praise God!

Thanks to all of you; especially June & Nancy Jo for your time volunteering at the event and Charles for arranging our table.

- Pastor Tim

As I think about how hard it is for my heart to settle into these contemplative times, two thoughts struck me.

First, I am wound too tight and need to relax! As I write this I have 11 reminders in my Outlook that need attention, a phone call in ten minutes, and a few other projects to tackle. Prayer is one of those important but not urgent tasks (quadrant one for you Covey fans out there) and I need to focus on it. There is the old Luther saying that his days were so busy he could not start the day with less than four hours of prayer. I need to keep that in mind.

Secondly, and more to the point I want to make, is that I think I've made a false idol out of contemplative spirituality. When I imaging prayer, I think of Henri Nouwen, the Stations of the Cross, Richard Foster, and lots of time spent alone with a journal. That's my picture, and maybe my idol. I'm learning that my image of spirituality might be a barrier towards real, passionate spirituality.

Yesterday I spent 10 hours with good Christian friends, putting about 300 miles on our motorcycles and tooling around the Cascade Mountains. I prayed (and not just prayers that I wouldn't die this time!), sang songs of worship loudly and badly to an audience of One, considered challenging issues our church is facing, prayed for dozens of people in our congregation by name, and in general spent the whole day in close communion to God. All day, however, I had a nagging guilt that I was playing hooky. If I did the same activities sitting on a concrete bench in a monetary would I have been more spiritual?

It's surprising to me, but the saddle is as holy as the monastery. Theologically, I've known this. Brother Lawrence washed dishes, Francis of Assisi planted trees and helped the poor with a "preach the Gospel all the time, use words if you must" attitude. I know this. But until yesterday my mental picture of spirituality was not well informed by this theology.

Let me know what your image of "spirituality" is, and times that you've actually had days spent in God's manifest presence.

After yesterday, my tail bone is a little sore, my motorcycle needs to be washed, and my spirit feels clean and refreshed. Who would have thought I could experience all that following two Harleys and a Honda!

The following is from Francis Schaeffer, theological uber-stud.  I know its a long quote, especially for one of my first blog-posts, but it is well worth the time spent reading it...

Through the centuries, people have displayed many different symbols intended to show that they are Christians.

They have worn marks in the lapels of their coats,
hung chains about their necks,
and even had special haircuts.

But there is a much better sign - a universal mark that is to last through all the ages of the church till Jesus comes back.

What is this mark?
At the close of his ministry, Jesus made clear what was to be the distinguishing mark of the Christian until His return:

A new commandment I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
(John 13:33-35)

Notice that what He says here is not a statement or a fact.
It is a command which includes a condition:

By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.

An if is involved. If you obey, you will wear the badge that Christ gave. But since this is a command, it can be violated.

The point: while it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark; if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark.

Speaking to the church some years later, the same John who wrote the account above says:

This is the message you heard from the beginning:
We should love one another.
(1 John 3:11)

John in effect says:

Don't forget this... don't forget this!
This command was given to us by Christ while He was still on earth.
This is to be your mark.

The command at this point is to love our fellow Christians. But there is another side of Jesus' teaching:

We are to love our fellow human beings,
as human beings.

We are to love all people, in fact, as neighbors.

All people bear the image of God. They have inherent value,

not simply because they are the objects
of Christ's saving work, but because they
are God's creation, in God's image.

All people are our neighbors, and we are to love them as ourselves. We are to do this on the basis of creation, even if they are not redeemed, for all people have value because they are made in the image of God. Therefore, they are to be loved even at great cost.

This is, of course, the whole point of Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  "Teacher, he asked, what must I do
to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law?"

He replied. How do you read it?

He answered: Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind;
and, Love your neighbor as yourself.

You have answered correctly, Jesus replied.
Do this and you will live.

But he wanted to justify himself,
so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

In reply Jesus said:

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he fell into the hands of robbers.
They stripped him of his clothes,
beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road,
and when he saw the man,
he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place
and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled,
came where the man was;
and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man on his own donkey,
took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper.
Look after him, he said, and when I return,
I will reimburse you for any
extra expense you may have.

Which of these three do you think
was a neighbor to the man
who fell into the hands of robbers?

The expert in the law replied,
The one who had mercy on him.

Jesus told him, Go and do likewise.

(the gospel according to Luke; chapter 10, verses 25-37)

If Jesus had commanded so strongly that we love all people as our neighbors, then how important it is especially to love our fellow Christians.

If we are told to love all people as our neighbors then surely we can understand how overwhelmingly important it is that all men and women be able to see an observable love for those with whom we have these special ties.

The apostle Paul makes the double obligation clear in Galatians 6:10:

Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong
to the family of believers.

He does not negate the command to do good to all people.
But it is still not meaningless to add,

especially to those who belong
to the family of believers.

This dual goal should be our Christian mentality, the set of our minds; we should be consciously thinking about it and what it means in our one-moment-at-a-time lives. It should be the attitude that governs our outward observable actions.

Very often the true Bible-believing Christian,
in emphasizing two humanities -

one lost, one saved,
one still standing in rebellion against God,
the other having returned to God through Christ -has given a picture of exclusiveness which is ugly.

There are two humanities. That is true.

Some men and women made in the image of God still stand in rebellion against him; some, by the grace of God, have cast themselves upon God's solution.

Nonetheless, there is in another very important sense only one humanity.

All men and women derive from one origin.
By creation, all bear the image of God.
In this sense, all people are of one flesh, one blood.

Hence, the exclusiveness of the two humanities is undergirded by the unity of all men and women. And Christians are not to love their believing brothers and sisters to the exclusion of their nonbelieving fellows. That is ugly. We are to have the example of the good Samaritan consciously in mind at all times.

The first commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The second commandment bears the universal command to love people. Notice that the second commandment is not just to love Christians. It is far wider than this. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

First Thessalonians 3:12 carries the same double emphasis:

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

Here the order is reversed. First of all, we are to have love one toward another and then toward everyone else, but that does not change the double emphasis. Rather, it points up the delicate balance - a balance that is not in practice automatically maintained.

If we look again at the command in John 13, we will notice some important things.

First of all, this is a command to have a special love to all true Christians, all born-again Christians.

From the scriptural viewpoint, not all who call themselves Christians are Christians, and that is especially true in our generation.

The meaning of the word Christian has been reduced to practically nothing. Surely, there is no word that has been so devalued unless it is the Word of God itself. Central to semantics is the idea that a word as a symbol has no meaning until content is put into it. This is quite correct. Because the word Christian as a symbol has been made to mean so little, it has come to mean everything and nothing.

Jesus, however, is talking about loving all true Christians. And this is a command that has two cutting edges, for it means that we must both distinguish true Christians from all pretenders and be sure that we leave no true Christians outside of our consideration.

But we must be careful of the opposite error.

We must include everyone who stands in the historic-biblical faith whether or not he or she is a member of our own party or our own group.

But even if a person is not among the true Christians, we still have the responsibility to love that one as our neighbor. So we cannot say,

"Now here's somebody that, as far as I can tell,
does not stand among the group of true Christians,
and therefore I don't have to think of him any more;
I can just slough him off."

Not at all. That one is covered by the second commandment.

The second thing to notice in these verses in John 13 is the quality of the love that is to be our standard. We are to love all Christians

As I have loved you. [Jesus says]

The love he exhibited is to be our standard.
We are to love all true Christians as Christ has loved us.

When we consider this, either of two things can happen:

We can just say, "I see! I see!" and we can make a little banner and write on it, "We Love All Christians!" and show it off when anyone looks at us.

How ugly.

Or we can find something exceedingly more profound - something that will take a great deal of time to cultivate; a great deal of thinking and praying about it.

The church is to be a loving church in a dying culture. How, then, is the dying culture going to consider us? Jesus says

by this shall all people know
that you are my disciples,
if you have love one to another.

In the midst of the world, in the midst of our present culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians, on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians.

That's pretty frightening. Jesus turns to the world and says, "I've something to say to you. On the basis of my authority, I give you a right: you may judge whether or not an individual is a Christian on the basis of the love they show to all true Christians."

In other words, if people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must understand that they are only exercising a prerogative which Jesus gave them.

And must, must not get angry.

If people say, "You don't love other Christians," we must go home, get down on our knees, and ask God whether or not what they say is true. And if it is, then they have a right to have said it.

We must be very careful at this point, however.

We may be true Christians, really born-again Christians, and yet fail in our love toward other Christians. As a matter of fact, to be completely realistic, it is stronger than this.

There will be times
(and let us say it with tears),
when we will fail in our love
toward each other as Christians.

In a fallen world,
where there is no such thing as perfection
( until Jesus comes),
we know this will be the case.

And, of course, when we fail,
we must ask God's forgiveness.

But, Jesus is not here saying that our failure to love all Christians proves that we are not Christians. What Jesus is saying, however, is that, if I do not have the love I should have toward all other Christians, the world has the right to make the judgment that I am not a Christian.

This distinction is a vital one. If we fail in our love toward all Christians, we must not tear our heart out as though it were proof that we are lost. No one except Christ Himself has ever lived and not failed. If success in love toward our brothers in Christ were to be the standard of whether or not a man is a Christian, then there would be no Christians, because all men have failed. But Jesus gives the world a piece of litmus paper, a reasonable thermometer.

There is a mark which,
if the world does not see,
allows them to conclude,
"This person is not a Christian."

Of course, the world may be making a wrong judgment because if the man is truly a Christian, as far as the reality goes, they made a mistake.

But there is something even more sober. And to understand it we must look at John 17:21, a verse out of the midst of Christ's high priestly prayer. Jesus prays,

That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

In this, his high priestly prayer, Jesus is praying for the oneness of the church, the oneness that should be found specifically among true Christians. Jesus is not praying for a humanistic, romantic oneness among people in general. Verse 9 makes this clear:

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

Jesus here makes a very careful distinction between those who have cast themselves upon him in faith and those who still stand in rebellion. Hence, in the twenty-first verse, when he prays for oneness, the "they" he is referring to are the true Christians.

Notice, however, that verse 21 says, That all of them may be one...
The emphasis, interestingly enough, is exactly the same as in John 13

not for a part of true Christians,
but for all Christians

not that those in certain parties
in the church should be one,
but that all born-again Christians should be one.

Now comes the sobering part:
Jesus goes on in this twenty-first verse to say something that always causes me to cringe. If, as Christians, we do not cringe, it seems to me we are not very sensitive or very honest, because Jesus here gives us the final apologetic.

What is the final apologetic?

That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

This is the final apologetic. [our ultimate defense]

In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he or she is not a Christian. Here Jesus is stating something else that is much more cutting, much more profound:

We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.

Now that is frightening.
Should we not feel some emotion at this point?

How well have we consciously practiced this? How often, in the power of the Holy Spirit, have we gone to Christians in our own group and said, "I'm sorry"? How much time have we spent reestablishing contact with those in other groups, saying to them, "I'm sorry for what I've done, what I've said, or what I've written"? How frequently has one group gone to another group with whom it differed and has said, "We're sorry"? It is so important that it is, for all practical purposes, a part of the preaching of the gospel itself. The observable practice of truth and the observable practice of love go hand in hand with the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.

I have observed one thing among true Christians in their differences in many countries: What divides and severs true Christian groups and Christians-what leaves a bitterness that can last for 20, 30, or 40 years (or for 50 or 60 years in a son's or daughter's memory)-is not the issue of doctrine or belief that caused the differences in the first place. Invariably, it is a lack of love--and the bitter things that are said by true Christians in the midst of differences. These stick in the mind like glue. And after time passes and the differences between the Christians or the groups appear less than they did, there are still those bitter, bitter things we said in the midst of what we thought was a good and sufficient objective discussion. It is these things - these unloving attitudes and words--that cause the stench that the world can smell in the church of Jesus Christ among those who are really true Christians.

If, when we feel we must disagree as true Christians, we could simply guard our tongues and speak in love, in five or ten years the bitterness could be gone. Instead of that, we leave scars - a curse for generations. Not just a curse in the church, but a curse in the world. Newspaper headlines bear it in our Christian press, and it boils over into the secular press at times--Christians saying such bitter things about other Christians. The world looks, shrugs its shoulders, and turns away. It has not seen even the beginning of a living church in the midst of a dying culture. It has not seen the beginning of what Jesus indicates is the final apologetic--observable oneness among true Christians who are truly brothers and sisters in Christ. Our sharp tongues, the lack of love between us--not the necessary statements of differences that may exist between true Christians--these are what properly trouble the world. How different this is from the straightforward and direct command of Jesus Christ--to show an observable oneness that may be seen by a watching world!

But there is more to observable prayer than saying we are sorry. There must also be open forgiveness. And though it's hard to say, "I'm sorry," it's even harder to forgive. The Bible, however, makes plain that the world must observe a forgiving spirit in the midst of God's people.

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus himself teaches us to pray,

Forgive our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Now this prayer, we must say quickly, is not for salvation. It has nothing to do with being born again, for we are born again on the basis of the finished work of Christ plus nothing. But it does have to do with a Christian's existential, moment-by-moment forgiveness for our sins on the basis of Christ's work in order to be in open fellowship with God. What the Lord has taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer should make a Christian very sober every day of his or her life: We are asking the Lord to open to us the experiential realities of fellowship with himself as we forgive others.

Some Christians say that the Lord's Prayer is not for this present era, but most of us would say it is. And yet, at the same time, we hardly think once in a year about our lack of a forgiving heart in relationship to God's forgiving us. Many Christians rarely or never seem to connect their own lack of reality of fellowship with God with their lack of forgiveness to others, even though they may say the Lord's Prayer in a formal way over and over in their weekly Sunday worship services.

We must all continually acknowledge that we do not practice the forgiving heart as we should. And yet the prayer is Forgive us our debts, our trespasses, as we forgive our debtors. We are to have a forgiving spirit even before the other person expresses regret for wrong. The Lord's Prayer does not suggest that when the other person is sorry, then we are to show a oneness by having a forgiving spirit. Rather, we are called upon to have a forgiving spirit without the other person having made the first step. We may still say that this individual is wrong, but in the midst of saying that person is wrong, we must be forgiving.

We are to have this forgiving spirit not only toward Christians but toward all people. But surely, if it is toward all people, it is important toward Christians.

Such a forgiving spirit registers an attitude of love toward others. But, even though one can call this an attitude, true forgiveness is observable. Believe me, you can look on a person's face and know where that one is as far as forgiveness is concerned. And the world is called on to look upon us and see whether we have love across the groups, love across party lines. Do they observe that we say, "I'm sorry," and do they observe a forgiving heart? Let me repeat: Our love will not be perfect, but it must be substantial enough for the world to be able to observe or it does not fit into the structure of the verses in John 13 and 17. And if the world does not observe this among true Christians, the world has a right to make the two awful judgments that these verses indicate: That we are not Christians, and that Christ was not sent by the Father.

Of course, as Christians we must not minimize the need to give honest answers to honest questions. We should have an intellectual apologetic. The Bible commands it, and Christ and Paul exemplify it. In the synagogue, in the marketplace, in homes, and in almost every conceivable kind of situation, Jesus and Paul discussed Christianity. It is likewise the Christian's task to be able to give an honest answer to an honest question and then to give it.

Yet, unless true Christians show observable love to each other, Christ says the world cannot be expected to listen, even when we give proper answers. Let us be careful, indeed, to spend a lifetime studying to give honest answers. For years the orthodox, evangelical church has done this very poorly. So it is well to spend time learning to answer the questions of those who are about us. But after we have done our best to communicate to a lost world, still we must never forget that the final apologetic which Jesus gives is the observable love of true Christians for true Christians.

While it is not the central consideration that I am dealing with at this time, yet the observable love and oneness among true Christians exhibited before the world must certainly cross all the lines which divide men. The New Testament says, Neither Greek nor barbarian, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither male nor female (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11).

In the church at Antioch, the Christians included Jews and Gentiles and reached all the way from Herod's foster brother to the slaves; and the naturally proud Greek Christian Gentiles of Macedonia showed a practical concern for the material needs of the Christian Jews in Jerusalem. The observable and practical love among true Christians that the world has a right to be able to observe in our day certainly should cut without reservation across such lines as language, nationalities, national frontiers, younger and older, colors of skin, levels of education and economics, accent, line of birth, the class system in any particular locality, dress, short or long hair among whites and African and non-African hairdos among blacks, cultural differentiations, and the more traditional and less traditional forms of worship.

If the world does not see this down-to-earth practical love, it will not believe that Christ was sent by the Father. People will not believe only on the basis of the proper answers. The two should not be placed in antithesis. The world must have the proper answers to their honest questions, but at the same time there must be a oneness in love between all true Christians. This is what is needed if men are to know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that Christianity is true.

What happens, then, when we must differ with our brothers in Christ because of the need also to show forth God's holiness either in doctrine or in life? In the matter of life, Paul clearly shows us the balance in 1 and 2 Corinthians. The same thing applies in doctrine as well.

First, in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 he scolds the Corinthian church for allowing a man who is an active fornicator to stay in the church without discipline. Because of the holiness of God, because of the need to exhibit this holiness to a watching world, and because such judgment on the basis of God's revealed law is right in God's sight, Paul scolds the church for not disciplining the man.

After they have disciplined him, Paul writes again to them in 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 and scolds them because they are not showing love toward him. These two things must stand together.

I am thankful that we have the record of Paul writing this way, in his first letter and his second, for here you see a passage of time. The Corinthians have taken his advice, they have disciplined the Christian, and now Paul writes to them, "You're disciplining him, but why don't you show your love toward him?" He could have gone on and quoted Jesus in saying, "Don't you realize that the surrounding pagans of Corinth have a right to say that Jesus was not sent by the Father because you are not showing love to this man that you properly disciplined?"

A very important question arises at this point: how can we exhibit the oneness Christ commands without sharing in the other people's mistakes? I would suggest a few ways by which we can practice and show this oneness even across the lines where we must differ.

First, we should never come to such difference with true Christians without regret and without tears. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Believe me, evangelicals often have not shown it. We rush in, being very, very pleased, it would seem at times, to find other people's mistakes. We build ourselves up by tearing other people down. This can never show a real oneness among Christians.

There is only one kind of person who can fight the Lord's battles in anywhere near a proper way, and that is the person who by nature is unbelligerent. A belligerent man tends to do it because he is belligerent; at least it looks that way. The world must observe that when we must differ with each other as true Christians, we do it not because we love the smell of blood, the smell of the arena, the smell of the bullfight, but because we must for God's sake. If there are tears when we must speak, then something beautiful can be observed.

Second, in proportion to the gravity of what is wrong between true Christians, it is important consciously to exhibit an observable love to the world. Not all differences among Christians are equally serious. There are some that are very minor. Others are overwhelmingly important.

The more serious the wrongness is, the more important it is to exhibit the holiness of God, to speak out concerning what is wrong. At the same time, the more serious the differences become, the more important it becomes that we look to the Holy Spirit to enable us to show love to the true Christians with whom we must differ.

If it is only a minor difference, showing love does not take much conscious consideration. But where the difference becomes really important, it becomes proportionately more important to speak for God's holiness. And it becomes increasingly important in that place to show the world that we still love each other.

Humanly we function in exactly the opposite direction: in the less important differences we show more love toward true Christians; but as the difference gets into more important areas, we tend to show less love. The reverse must be the case: as the differences among true Christians get greater, we must consciously love and show a love which has some manifestation the world may see.

So let us consider this: is my difference with my brother in Christ crucially important? If so, it is doubly important that I spend time upon my knees asking the Holy Spirit, asking Christ, to do His work through me and my group, that I and we might show love even in this larger difference that we have come to with a brother in Christ or with another group of true Christians.

Third, we must show a practical demonstration of love in the midst of the dilemma, even when it is costly. The word love should not be just a banner. In other words, we must do whatever must be done, at whatever cost, to show this love. We must not say "I love you," and then - bang, bang, bang!

So often people think that Christianity is only something soft, only a kind of gooey love that loves evil equally with good. This is not the biblical position. The holiness of God is to be exhibited simultaneously with love. We must be careful, therefore, not to say that what is wrong is right, whether it is in the area of doctrine or of life, in our own group or another. What is wrong is wrong anywhere, and we have a responsibility in that situation to say that what is wrong is wrong. But the observable love must be there regardless of the cost.

The Bible does not make these things escapable.
First Corinthians 6:1-7 reads:

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another - and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

What does this mean? The church is not to let pass what is wrong; but the Christian should suffer practical, monetary loss to show the oneness true Christians should have rather than to go to court against other true Christians; that would destroy such an observable oneness before the watching world. This is costly love, but it is just such practicing love that can be seen.

Paul is talking about something which is observable, something that is very real: the Christian is to show such love in the midst of an unavoidable difference with his brother that he is willing to suffer loss - not just monetary loss (though most Christians seem to forget all love and oneness when money gets involved), but whatever loss is involved.

Whatever the specifics are, there is to be a practical demonstration of love appropriate to a particular place. The Bible is a strong and down-to-earth book.

A fourth way we can show and exhibit love without sharing in our brother's mistake is to approach the problem with a desire to solve it, rather than with a desire to win.

We all love to win. In fact, there is nobody who loves to win more than the theologian. The history of theology is all too often a long exhibition of a desire to win.

But we should understand that what we are working for in the midst of our difference is a solution - a solution that will give God the glory, that will be true to the Bible, but will exhibit the love of God simultaneously with His holiness. What is our attitude as we sit down to talk to our brother or as group meets with group to discuss differences? A desire to come out on top? To play one-upmanship? If there is any desire for love whatsoever, every time we discuss a difference we will desire a solution and not just that we can be proven right.

A fifth way in which we can show a practicing, observable love to the world without sharing in our brother's mistake is to realize, to keep consciously before us and to help each other to be aware, that it is easy to compromise and to call what is wrong right, but that it is equally easy to forget to exhibit our oneness in Christ. This attitude must be constantly and consciously developed - talked about and written about in and among our groups and among ourselves as individuals.

In fact, this must be talked about and written about before differences arise between true Christians. We have conferences about everything else. Who has ever heard of a conference to consider how true Christians can exhibit in practice a fidelity to the holiness of God and yet simultaneously exhibit in practice a fidelity to the love of God before the watching world? Have you heard of sermons or writings which carefully present the simultaneous practice of two principles which at first seem to work against each other: (1) the principle of the practice of the purity of the visible church in regard to doctrine and life; and (2) the principle of the practice of an observable love and oneness among all true Christians?

If there is no careful preaching and writing about these things, are we so foolish as to think that there will be anything beautiful in practice when differences between true Christians must honestly be faced?

Before a watching world, an observable love in the midst of difference will show a difference between Christians' differences and other people's differences. The world may not understand what the Christians are disagreeing about, but they will very quickly understand the difference of our differences from the world's differences if they see us having our differences in an open and observable love on a practical level.

That is different. Can you see why Jesus said this was the thing that would arrest the attention of the world? You cannot expect the world to understand doctrinal differences, especially in our day when the existence of truth and absolutes are considered unthinkable even as concepts.

We cannot expect the world to understand that on the basis of the holiness of God we are having a different kind of difference, because we are dealing with God's absolutes. But when they see differences among true Christians who also show an observable unity, this will open the way for them to consider the truth of Christianity and Christ's claim that the Father did send the Son.

As a matter of fact, we have a greater possibility of showing what Jesus is speaking about here, in the midst of our differences, than we do if we are not differing. Obviously we ought not to go out looking for differences among Christians; there are enough without looking for more. But even so, it is in the midst of a difference that we have our golden opportunity. When everything is going well and we are all standing around in a nice little circle, there is not much to be seen by the world. But when we come to the place where there is a real difference, and we exhibit uncompromised principles but at the same time observable love, then there is something that the world can see, something they can use to judge that these really are Christians, and that Jesus has indeed been sent by the Father.

Let me give two beautiful examples of such observable love. One happened among the Brethren groups in Germany immediately after World War II.

In order to control the church, Hitler commanded the union of all religious groups in Germany, drawing them together by law. The Brethren divided over this issue. Half accepted Hitler's dictum and half refused. The ones who submitted, of course, had a much easier time, but gradually in this organizational oneness with the liberal groups their own doctrinal sharpness and spiritual life suffered. On the other hand, the group that stayed out remained spiritually virile, but there was hardly a family in which someone did not die in a German concentration camp.

Now can you imagine the emotional tension? The war is over, and these Christian brothers face each other again. They had the same doctrine, and they had previously worked together for more than a generation. Now what is going to happen? One man remembers that his father died in a concentration camp and knows that these people in the other group remained safe. But those on the other side have deep personal feelings as well.

Then gradually these brothers came to know that this situation just would not do. A time was appointed when the elders of the two groups could meet together in a certain quiet place. I asked the man who told me this, "What did you do?" He said, "Well, I'll tell you what we did. We came together, and we set aside several days in which each man would search his own heart." Here was a real difference; the emotions were deeply, deeply involved. "My father has gone to the concentration camp, my mother was dragged away." These things are not just little pebbles on the beach; they reach into the deep wellsprings of human emotions. But these people understood the command of Christ about this, and for several days every man did nothing except search his own heart concerning his own failures and the commands of Christ. Then they met together.

I asked the man, "What happened then?"

And he said, "We just were one."

To my mind, this is exactly what Jesus speaks about. The Father has sent the Son!

The principle we are talking about is universal, applicable in all times and places. Let me, then, give you a second illustration - a different practice of the same principle.

I have been waiting for years for a time when two groups of born-again Christians who for good reasons find it impossible to work together separate without saying bitter things against each other. I have longed for two groups who would continue to show a love to the watching world when they came to the place where organizational unity seems no longer possible between them.

Theoretically, of course, every local church ought to be able to minister to the whole spectrum of society. But in practice we must acknowledge that in certain places it becomes very difficult. The needs of different segments of society are different.

A problem of this nature arose in a church in a large city in the United States. A number of people attuned to the modern age were going to a certain church, but the pastor gradually concluded that he was not able to preach and minister to the two groups together. Some men can, but he personally did not find it possible to minister to the whole spectrum of his congregation - the counterculture people and the far-out ones they brought, and at the same time the people of the surrounding neighborhood.

The example of observable love I am going to present now must not be taken as an "of course" situation in our day. In our generation the lack of love can easily cut both ways. A middle-class people can all too easily be snobbish and unloving against the counterculture Christians, and the counterculture Christians can be equally snobbish and unloving against the middle-class Christians.

After trying for a long time to work together, the elders met and decided that they would make two churches. They made it very plain that they were not dividing because their doctrine was different; they were dividing as a matter of practicability. One member of the old session went to the new group. They worked under the whole session to make an orderly transition. Gradually they had two churches, and they were consciously practicing love toward each other.

Here is a lack of organizational unity that is a true love and unity which the world may observe. The Father has sent the Son!

I want to say with all my heart that as we struggle with the proper preaching of the gospel in the midst of the twentieth century, the importance of observable love must come into our message. We must not forget the final apologetic. The world has a right to look upon us as we, as true Christians, come to practical differences, and it should be able to observe that we do love each other. Our love must have a form that the world may observe; it must be visible.

Let us look again at the biblical texts which so clearly indicate the mark of the Christian:

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:33-35)

That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21)

What then shall we conclude but that as the Samaritan loved the wounded man, we as Christians are called upon to love all people as neighbors, loving them as ourselves. Second, that we are to love all true Christians in a way that the world may observe. This means showing love to our fellow Christians in the midst of our differences-great or small-loving them when it costs us something, loving them even under times of tremendous emotional tension, loving them in a way the world can see.

In short, we are to practice and exhibit the holiness of God and the love of God, for without this we grieve the Holy Spirit.

Love-and the unity it attests to-is the mark Christ gave Christian's to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father.

As "followers of Jesus" I think we need to approach life like that. We can look at the list of everything a good Christian should be doing and get overwhelmed. Prayer, serving the poor, coming to church, attending a small group, reconciling relationships, sharing the Gospel, visiting the sick and shut-in, collecting food, working to help the homeless, reading the Bible ... it can be a bit much.

Add to that the problems in the world.

• 800 Million people are starving
• 1 Billion lack clean drinking water
• 2 Billion lack sanitation
• 2 Million dying from AIDS each year
• 1.75 Million international migrants
• 940 Million illiterate adults

In the face of all this....what's a follower of Jesus to do? Maybe the answer is the same as Andre Carnegie received - don't focus on all the problems and "TO-DO's" at once. Instead, just do the next right thing.

Through His prophet Micah, our Lord told us what the next right thing will look like:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 (ESV)

I like the way its put in The Message translation:

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously - take God seriously. (Micah 6:8)

You might not be able to fix every broken relationship in your life right now, but you can do the next right thing.

(maybe put down a grudge, pick up the phone, write that note only to the person you need to talk to...)

You might not be able to share the Gospel with the whole world today, but you can do the next right thing.

(maybe hand out fliers in your neighborhood about your new small group, invite a coworker to church, buy a Bible for your niece...)

You might not be able to solve the problem of homelessness, but you can do the next right thing.

(maybe get involved with Vision House by donating your time, talents and treasure to them...)

The question isn't how you can fix the world. That's not your job. Your job is simply to do the next right thing.

I'm writing this to you all mostly because today is the sort of day that I need to remember this as well. I almost forgot but yesterday marked three years of Glenn and Toni Stokke being members of the church. I remember that Sunday well ... it was my first one here! The three years between that first worship service and today have been marked by many things...but one thing stands out. If I know nothing else about CGS I know that it is a church marked by doing "the next right thing" for Jesus.

What does doing the next right thing look like?

First: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor. When I think about these words, I can't help but think of the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18. The "fair" or "just" thing to do is to show forgiveness and grace. In the Cross of Christ, we receive more grace than we can ever imagine. If we received nothing else from God, the Cross of Christ would be enough to merit an eternity of praise. Along with the Cross, we get family, money, houses, cars, friends, a church, health and more! We have received so much...how can we hold back from forgiving and loving the people around us? How can we hold back from sharing the Good News of this grace with the world?

Good Shepherd was started as a drive in, because the "next right thing" was to reach out to people who didn't feel comfortable sitting in pews. CGS started Wild West Days because "the next right thing" was to help children in our neighborhood have a safe, fun week where they could make friends with Jesus. In a community that is growing like wild-fire and filled with young families who are alienated from Jesus, you can count on CGS to do the "next right thing" and take the Good News to them.

Secondly: Be compassionate and loyal in your love. Tahlia's children's Bible talks about "God's always-and-forever-never-ending-kind-of-love." That's the sort of love we must have for each other. The sort of love that doesn't stop loving when feelings have been hurt. The sort of love that can overlook an offense. The sort of love that sees past the mistakes (and God knows we al make plenty of those!) and sees the potential.

Good Shepherd is a rare church in this area. Newcomers are greeted warmly and sincerely. People of every color and background, with all sorts of baggage and styles, are accepted as people who need the Lord. Some of them haven't been easy to love and some of them have taken and left without saying "thank you" but you guys keep loving, compassionately and loyally. When the chips are down and people are broken, you can count on CGS to do the "next right thing" and extend the love of Christ.

Finally, don't take yourself too seriously! G.K. Chesterton once wrote that angles are able to fly because they take themselves so lightly. While I'm not sure about that, I do know that humility is vital to having a good relationship with the Lord and with others. 1 Peter 5:5 says that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." I know I have a long way to go, but for the past year I've been studying a great book on humility by C.J. Mahaney. In the best times, as well as the worst, by focusing on humility I've been able to see less of me and more of Jesus. Like I said, I have a long way to go, but this journey has been completely worthwhile.

Good Shepherd is great at this one too. We are a church that loves to laugh. We know how to take ourselves lightly and our Lord seriously. Whether its letting the kids dance in the aisles, or singing as loud as you can, Good Shepherd can be counted on to do the "next right thing" by focusing less on itself and more and the Lord.

The last three years have been years of joy, growth and adventure for me, and hopefully for you too. My prayer is that Jesus will give us grace as we continue to do the next right thing as a church and as individuals. Grace to share the Gospel, grace to love with loyalty and grace to pursue humility.

Still Standing With You after Three Years;

- Pastor Tim