Freedom

 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

 

 

 

You can find a poem inspired by these words inside the Statue of Liberty in New York City near the shores of Ellis Island.  It’s a reminder to all those who came to Ellis Island that the United States was a land of opportunity, a land of misfits, a melting pot of people from all over the world. These words by Emma Lazarus served to give hope and inspiration to people who previously may have had none.

 

 

 

Jesus gave this call thousands of years before, as He taught about what it means to have a relationship with God.  These are not words suggesting life in Jesus is easy.  Just ask the families who recently saw tornadoes destroy their homes and neighborhoods for the second time this year.  Instead Jesus is offering freedom from something else, the Law.  Not laws that your local government lays out to keep order, but freedom from the Law, big L that represented the set of rules to govern life enforced by the religious leaders.

 

 

 

People believed that they needed to earn goodness, earn good standing in the eyes of God, and earn their way to heaven.  They legalistically monitored hundreds of dos and don’ts that gave you a kind of goodness quotient.  The higher the score the more holy you were.  Your goal: don’t fail.  Jesus instead says I am here to free you from that game.  I am not interested in a holy score card, I already know you are a broken, sinful person and there is nothing you can do that would be impressive or good enough to wow God and get you into heaven.  I am interested in a relationship.  Come to me, and find forgiveness, grace, and love.  Come to me and be freed from the game.  Come to me and find a relationship that will transform your life.  Give up the holiness game, stop trying to keep score, and start building a relationship.  “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light…”

 

 

 

 

 

Pastor Bill

Following the Leader

So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:67-69

 

Jesus says these words to his disciples after an especially heated argument with the religious leaders.  Jesus gives them this easy out, almost saying, I know this is getting rough guys, I would understand if you bail out now.  This might not be what you signed up for.  Look at Peter’s response, this is powerful. Jesus where would we go, you have everything we need.  Even if it’s hard, following you is worth it.  But is it?  Do you really believe that following Jesus is worth the challenge?  Sometimes it’s much easier to be a fair-weather Christian.

 

A person who calls themselves a Christian will do something that seems, frankly “unchristian” and Jesus will ask do you want to go away as well?  You find out there is downsizing at work, and Jesus will ask, do you want to go away as well?  God pushes you to do something new and Jesus will ask do you want to go away as well?  God tells you to change direction, spend your money differently, change your schedule, and Jesus will ask do you want to go away as well?

 

Following Jesus is not an easy task; Jesus reminds us that “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)  Life is tough following Jesus because we are following Him.  We are not following money, popularity, social acceptance, power, or anything else.

 

My prayer for you is that in the thick and thin you, like Peter say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions

1. What is one challenge you have had to face recently?
2. How have challenges and trials affected your faith?

Eye on the Prize

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers…They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them.”(Judges 2:11-13, ESV)

 

This pattern is repeated all throughout the book of Judges and the Old Testament.  God’s people grow close to him in a time of struggle and change, but after things settle down they quickly get sidetracked from God’s will by money, power, politics, and other issues that have little to do with God and His will.

 

The devil would love nothing more than for you to take two steps backwards for each step forward that you make.  You try to bring greater balance to your work and family time, and suddenly find you are fighting with your kids more, even though you are spending more time with them.  You start saving money for a rainy day, and something in your house breaks, and you have to spend most of what you set aside.

 

A church who was doing powerful ministry of outreach comes off the tracks because of infighting about what ministries should be listed first in the bulletin each week; or a church who began a campaign to build a new building to do a ministry to the community, instead becomes so focused on the beautiful new building that no outreach to the community ministry happens. They instead form lots of committees to talk about how pretty the building is, and how to keep it pretty.

Church guru Thom Rainer says it this way, “So-called success often creates a sense of self-sufficiency.”Look what we’ve done,” some may say or think. “We have truly become great.” But self-sufficiency is the opposite of God-dependency. When church members and leaders lean on their own strength and understanding, they are heading down a dangerous path.  Hubris (pride) often manifests itself in the idolatry of ministries, programs, or preferred styles of worship. Those ministries that were once a means to the end of glorifying God become ends in themselves. When any leader attempts to change or discard those ministries, programs, or worship styles, the church will inevitably experience conflict.”

With each stride you take forward you need to continue to pray fervently that God would help keep your eyes on the prize.  That you don’t find yourself distracted from what really matters in your life.  So that churches don’t divide over issues and topics that have little to do with the salvation of God’s people.  Because at the end of the day our call is to live for the glory of God each day, and to share his Good News to a dark and hurting world in our homes, our neighborhoods, and everywhere God leads us.

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions

1. What helps you keep your focus on God each day?
2. What distractions do you have?
3. Who might best support you as you seek to grow and learn?

New

Mark 2:21-22

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

 

Jesus says these words in response to religious leaders who were questioning him because Jesus’ disciples were not fasting like other people were.  They wondered why not, why are you different, why this new way of doing things?  Why can’t you just be like everyone else?

 

But Jesus and his followers understood something others did not. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)  To follow Jesus meant all was new.  Most people struggle with new, we are much more willing to compromise, to take a little new with a lot of the old.  We like to add some new things, but keep all the old stuff too.  But Jesus anticipates this, and makes it clear, you don’t combine the two.  New life in Jesus is new life.  It does not mean you add a few new things like a patch or another layer to your life, but that all things are made new in Jesus.

 

2012 is a new year.  It will be unlike 2011, and different than any other year you have lived before.  We can handle this new reality in one of two ways.  We can dig in our heels, and try to go back to the way it was, to complain about all that was, which is not very constructive, or we can explore the new reality of today.  We can try to live in the past, or we can live in the present God has placed us in.  We can think about what was, or we can live into all that God has blessed us with new. 

 

Second Corinthians reminds you that the moment you say yes to God, you say yes to new.  Yes to transformation, yes to change, yes to things not being like they always have been, and yes to life to the fullest in Jesus.  Yes to new opportunities, new friendships, and new growth.

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions:

 

1. What new has God placed in your life as we begin 2012?
2. How might God be stretching you in a new way?
3. What makes new most challenging for you?

Last Minute Gift Ideas

On coming to the house, they (the magi) saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11-12

 

It is a familiar story; these three wise guys arrive from somewhere far away and give Jesus and his family three gifts of overwhelming value.  You may have heard it so many times you don’t blink at the fact that a baby born to such humble means is given gifts that are typically reserved only for those of great influence and power.

 

As you read this you may be rushing to get your last Christmas gift for Grandma, or your Secret Santa at work.  I have an uncle and cousins who have a tradition of doing all of their shopping for their family bright and early Christmas Eve!!!  Maybe you are reading this as you run around scrambling to get ready for Christmas.  Each Christmas most of us share gifts with some number of people all around us.  You struggle to get just the right thing, that they will love.  You are always looking for that really thoughtful gift, something that is unique.

 

I love the Christmas carol, “Little Drummer Boy.”  The little boy in the song meets Jesus, and seeing all the valuable gifts being presented wonders what he could ever give to Jesus.  Then it dawns on him, I can play my drum for him, as best I can.  The song ends with Jesus smiling at the little boy playing his drums as best as he can.  I love the song because I often feel like the little drummer boy, wondering what could I ever give to God of any value? 

 

God, our Heavenly Father, has a simple wish list: time and a relationship with you.  God would love nothing more than to share a relationship with you, to talk with you, for you to read the Bible, serve others for Him, and for you to encourage others by using your gifts.  God wants to see your life transformed by His grace and love.  God wants to see your life look different today because you know Him.  It’s a simple gift, if you are still looking for gift ideas.  You can even take a few minutes right now to talk to God, say a prayer, and reconnect.

 

I pray that this is a wonderful and meaningful Christmas for you and your loved ones!!!  Merry Christmas!!

 

Pastor Bill

Rumbles from The Past

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6-7   One night in a small town in modern day Israel thousands of babies were born.  One of them transformed the world.  If you look you can still see the ripples today from that night.   Grace is a mother of five wondering how to provide Christmas for her family with the means that she has.  Grace not only wonders about Christmas gifts, but even getting basic food supplies to support her family.  One Sunday Grace is informed that another family felt led to adopt her family for Christmas.  Grace can only cry as she looks at the food and gifts, and feels the ripples of a little child, who transforms lives today as he did thousands of years ago.   The news rocks Sandra’s world, her infant may have a heart problem.  She visits a new church that week and asks for a group of people she just met to pray for her son.  One of those people goes home and prays fervently for her son.  A few days later Sandra meets the person who prayed for her son, and shares the praise that all his tests were negative.  Sandra sees in her prayer partner something different, something bigger than both of them.   Ryan doesn’t get around as well as he used to because of shooting pain in his back and legs, forcing him to walk with a cane.  The other day that cane was stolen.  For a reason he doesn’t quite understand he pushes himself out of bed and into church Sunday morning.  After the service someone he barely knows donate a cane to him, and Ryan feels the ripples coming from a manger 2,000 years ago.   Tyson finds himself at some Christmas event at some church he’s never been to that his friends from school invited him to.  As he races from station to station someone stops him and asks, would you like to hear the Christmas story?  Tyson stops, he has not heard anything about Jesus and Christmas before.  In that room, the birth of a child 2,000 years ago comes to life and changes a life like it did that silent night years ago.   2,000 years ago a little child was born and history has never been the same since.  If you take time to listen in this Christmas Season, you too will see and feel it.  Jesus work that began so many years ago is not complete, it is just beginning.   Pastor Bill   Discussion Questions How have you seen God at work this Christmas season? How might you encourage others? Take time to share your stories with someone else.  Sometimes the sharing of these stories can be just as impactful for the person hearing them as the person who experienced them.

One Big Dysfunctional Family

^“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought…One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

 

This is a passion plea written from a pastor to his people at a local church.  We hear there is division in the group caused by some who align their faith with a specific person.  Not everyone agrees with each other and some in the church even engaged those conversations in a way that had led to division.  People are drawing battle lines and choosing their loyalty, to some person vs. another.

 

The plea here is to not lose focus on what the church is the body of Christ.  The church should be a group of people following after Jesus with all of their hearts, minds and souls.  You notice there is no suggestion of following a person or thing outside of Jesus as a central purpose of the church.  This argument had reached a fever pitch and word got out about it through the grapevine to the broader community.

 

Paul’s (the author) reminder is that the church is based on Jesus alone.  There is no one or no thing that should ever be mentioned in the same sentence as Jesus when talking about the purpose of the church.  Not another person or leader, not a program, not a method, not anything.  You may sit next to someone who votes for another party, lives in a different neighborhood, shares different hobbies and passions in life.  You may serve alongside someone who thinks your hobby is silly, who is quirky and annoying, or who wears perfume you are allergic to.  What holds it all together is not any of those things, but only Jesus.

 

The church in Corinth thought they were on different teams, some for Cephas, some for Paul, others for Apollos, but Paul reminds them, you are all on Jesus’ team.  We hear this in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”  We are one big, dysfunctional, broken, caring, loving, and wonderful family.

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions

1. What are some modern issues that can divide Christians?
2. How can you help keep Christ at the center of all things?
3. How would you handle someone who says, “I am for Paul or Cephas?”

Plan J

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, God with Us. Isaiah 7:14

 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14

 

From early in Scripture there are calls for God to intervene in our broken world, calls of Hosanna, “God Save Us.”  Calls for God to get involved and to make things right.  But how?  How would God step in or what would God do to intervene into His fallen world?  Some people thought military might, a mighty prophet, or a political ruler.  Everyone had their own theory about how God should answer these prayers, but the prayer remained the same, Hosanna, “God Save Us.”

God’s plan was simple.  God did not have Plan A, B, and C.  There was just plan J.  The Jesus plan.  All in.  No holds bar.  God would send Jesus to become flesh and blood and dwell among us, as we hear from John.  Jesus came and pitched his tent by us.  To save God sent His son in flesh and blood to walk with us, to teach us, to feel our pain, and our hurt.  To experience growing up, banging his knee, and making friends.  God did not hold anything back, but sent his only son to become a person like you and I, so that He could save us and forgive us, so that we may experience grace, because of what He did for us on the cross.

 

The miracle of this Christmas season is that God sent His son to be born to a poor young couple of no stature or power.  God sent His son to a town of people who could never understand who He really was.  God sent His son here for you and me.  God sent His son to take on our sins, and our brokenness, so we might have a relationship with God forever.  We celebrate that miracle in this Holiday season.

 

Pastor Bill

Celebrate, Pray, Thank

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

As you sit down to enjoy your turkey dinner and all the fixings and watch the football this week, we are actually celebrating Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving was created to help us celebrate and give thanks for what we have in our lives each year.  Often at Thanksgiving we might ask questions like, whom or what are you thankful for?  We are reminded in Thessalonians, that God’s call for us everyday is to take time to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. 

 

Give that a try this Thanksgiving.  Take some time to rejoice for all the blessings God has placed around you.  If we don’t take time to stop and look around we can miss or forget many of the blessings we each have.  As you eat your Thanksgiving meal, talk with those around you about the reasons you have to rejoice.  Rejoice for the new family members, friends, places to live, and the opportunities you have experienced in the last year.

 

Have your rejoicing lead you into prayer.  When you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, remember that some people have few family they share the holiday season with.  If you have a chance to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast, don’t forget those who struggle to put food on their table, let alone the enjoyment of a Thanksgiving meal.  Take a moment to pray to God for all that he has given to you, and remember those who may be struggling.  Pray that God may make his presence known in a powerful way to family and friends who may be feeling far from God.

 

Live up to what this day is named for – Thanksgiving.  Ask those you share the holiday with, what they are truly thankful for this year.  One side effect of a struggling economy and job market is that we are regularly reminded not to take anything for granted.  We give thanks if we have work of any kind, because so many who are seeking work may not have found it.  We give thanks for the places to live, because some families have lost their homes or been forced to downsize.  We give thanks for family, because although our world is more and more connected technologically, more people feel lonely and distant from family and friends.

 

God’s will for our lives is to rejoice always because God has given us so many blessings that we might miss if we don’t take the time to stop and look around. While things make look different than what we may have grown accustom to there are those who are left with even less.  We are called to pray regularly to grow our relationship with God and lift up the needs around us.  We give thanks because each day, each moment is a gift we have been given to live for God. 

 

Have a great Thanksgiving, and don’t forget rejoice, pray, give thanks, God’s will for us.

 

Pastor Bill

 

Discussion Questions

1. What can you rejoice in this Thanksgiving, answerer prayer, a new opportunity, or something else?
2. What might God be prompting you to pray for in this season?  Set aside some time to lift up those prayers regularly.
3. How might you encourage those you share thanksgiving with to think about what they are thankful for in this season? 

Ambush

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:7-9

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11

These are some hard words to read from Scripture.  Always be ready, because you never know when the devil might try to sneak out from around the corner.  Hard to read, but you already know what that is like.  You get home from work and get in a fight with your spouse about something silly for the third day in a row, even though you are really not angry with them.  You come home late from another meeting to crying kids, and lots of work around the house; and you feel defeated before you even take off you coat.  Before you sit down to the balance the checkbook you cross you fingers, wondering how you are going to pay all the bills since your hours were cut at work.  You just feel beat up, tired, worn out, and frustrated.  There are not enough hours in the day, money in the bank account or time to “catch up” on sleep.  You wonder when it is this going to get better.

Scripture writes to encourage us, that we are not alone in this.  Others experience similar circumstances, other people know what we are feeling, and other people have been there and done that.  We each have hard days, discouragements, and spiritual challenges.  Peter says that you need to cast our anxiety on God, because he cares for you and looks out for you.  We are reminded in Ephesians to be strong in God and His power, not our own.  We can stand in God’s power, His strength, and His provision.  We can encourage each other regularly, we can pray always, thank God often, and have hope that He will carry is through whatever we are in the middle of right now.

 

Pastor Bill

Discussion Questions

1.      What anxiety are you carrying right now? 

2.      Who do you know who is hurting right now that could you encourage or pray for?