Reject Apathy

Apathy – a lack of feeling, emotion, concern or interest.

Has apathy been setting in on you and your life? Have you lost interest in reading God’s Word? Are you no longer concerned with the sin that’s over taking your life? Have you lost all sense of emotion when you attend church on Sunday mornings? Is your heart hardened to feeling conviction?

When you read your Bible and something applies to you, do you actually apply it to your life and obey what God says; or do you just take a mental note of it and go on living how you want to live? When you attend a worship service do you focus on all the negative things or do you allow your heart, mind and soul to be fully in the presence of the living God? When you are convicted of sin in your life, do you confess it, repent and fully surrender that area of your life over to God; or do you just squelch the role of the Holy Spirit and just try not to think about it?

Do you model your life after Christ and the example that He has given to us; or do you make decisions on your own and do as you please? Do you avoid awkwardness, ambiguity and embarrassment by never talking about spiritual things, stepping out in faith or fully trusting God for a decision? Do you have doubts about your relationship with God that hold you in fear and have caused you to give up on Him; rather than seeking the truth and allowing Him to speak to you?

It’s easier to be apathetic than it is to be passionate. Where do you stand? What are you willing to give up in order to get right with Him? What are you willing to get rid of in order to get closer to Him?

Reject Apathy.

Watch this video clip and hear Francis Chan talk about not living life in the middle.

Who’s on First?

By Dr. Dan Haffey

We are all competitive by nature (some more than others). I feel this competitive urge when I’m playing basketball or trying to get that last open parking spot at Wal-Mart. There is something in us that wants to be first.


The first chapter of the book of Colossians makes it clear who is, in fact, the First…Christ. He is #1, the firstborn, the creator and sustainer of all things, He is “before all things and in Him all things hold together.” God made Christ the First and the Reconciler of men to God through his shed blood.

It strikes me that all the wars, wrangling, elbow-throwing and striving to be first is meaningless in light of the supremacy of Christ. Ultimately all knees will bow and acknowledge His Rule. He is large and in charge!

He also is the Maker of all created beings….that’s everything. Not only does did He make us He continues to provide the Power that hold us together and allows us to continue to exist. He’s the Power and the Glue!

So what should be our response to the reality of Christ’s position as Supreme Head of All Things? I think some Humility would make sense, and then some Worship would be called for and then a lot of Obedience would fit this reality. God has given Christ the Supremacy….have you?

Pickle Chips

By Erin O'Hara

So my son Isaac loves chips. His Grammy got him hooked on Pringles – Extreme Dill Pickle.  Unfortunately, it’s one of my favorites too. But that’s beside the point. If you’ve ever spent time around Isaac, you will know that chips are one of his favorite snacks…he can sniff them out in your home – beware!   The Easter Bunnies (aka  “Isaac’s grandmas”) both got him a can of pickle-chips for Easter. Each day we ration out some chips for Isaac to have (his mean mommy won’t buy them because she will eat them!) This morning, Isaac asked if he could have a chip at breakfast. I told him “No, we’ll wait and have chips at lunch.”  He wasn’t too happy with my answer, but I reinforced it with, “we can have more with our lunch than just the one right now.”

He went on to play and I cleaned up the kitchen. After some time had passed, Isaac comes bounding into the kitchen trying to divert my attention with overzealous remarks, suggestions about what I should be doing and trying to get me focused on Eva. He then left to go play at his newly built fort in the foyer. When that sequence repeated for the third time…I got suspicious. I followed him (against his will) to see what else was in his fort. Can you guess? The can of Extreme Dill Pickle Pringles…We had a talk about disobedience and the resulting consequence…no pickle-chips for the next two days.

This got me thinking about the sermon this past Sunday. Pastor R was teaching from Colossians 3, specifically pointing out the command in verse 5:  “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  These are the type of sins that I and others do “in the dark”. We need to sneak around, and we try not to get caught.  Like Isaac, we may try to redirect God’s attention or those around us to somewhere or someone else and away from our sin. And we might get away with it for awhile - like Isaac we may get to stuff in one or two chips. But unlike me, it doesn’t take God long to find out what we’re doing. And there are always consequences to our sin.  

Yet God’s plan always has so much more for us. I love my son. I want to give him good things. I wanted to share pickle-chips with him at lunchtime (more than one or two!). But he didn’t want to wait. How often do I not trust in the love the Father has for me? How often do I run ahead in these types of sins or others because I cannot wait for the full measure of goodness that He has for me?  While we might classify the chip eating much different than the sins listed in Colossians, the bottom line is we are God’s children and our lust, selfishness, impatience and independence is no different than sneaking away with little treat.  Both offenses result in ruining the greater reward God holds for us. 

In the specific area of sexual sins, God wants the very best for us – a fulfilling marriage, a relationship with our spouse that is free from regret, mistrust, guilt, or false expectations. Refuse to believe the “deceptive philosophy” (Colossians 2:8) of our time that is wrapped up in the old Pringles tagline, “Once pop you can’t stop.”    You can stop!   You can die to your sin!   Christ’s death and resurrection gives us the power!  Choose to live in freedom and fullness!

For He (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:13-14

Forgetful Man Walking

By Pastor Mike

“Living the Christian Life” from Colossians chapter 3 is the new message theme for Sundays here at Grace.  Last Sunday, April 11 Pastor R and Brenda Rota reminded us that the power for Christian living is derived from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I even preached on Easter about Jesus being the King of Glory, the King of Kings and declaring Jesus as My King.

But in the last 12 days since Easter I too often have forgotten the power and peace from the resurrected Savior and King.  Evidence of that forgetfulness is:  worrying about the birth of our granddaughter, worrying about the needs of people in our church family and being very inconsistent in my personal devotions.

Yesterday while making a pastoral visit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, I walked through the old dome building of the hospital.  There is a beautiful 30 foot statue of Jesus with nail scarred hands open wide and under his nail-scarred feet are the words inscribed in the base of the sculpture: “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”   (Matthew 11:28)

This forgetful man walking by that statue of Jesus needed that reminder!   How about you?

Midweek Moment - April 4, 2010

Did you miss last week's sermon? Want to hear it? Check it out at www.gracetoday.org.

MID WEEK MOMENT

April 4, 2010

Pastor Mike Brubaker

Read the Scriptures for the Following:

Jesus: King of Glory

· Psalm 24:8-10; Psalm 11l:1; Luke 1:33

Jesus: King of Kings

· Revelation 19:16; Matthew 28:18; I Corinthians 15:25-27

Is Jesus Your King?

· Philippians 2:9-11

Since Jesus Christ is King of Glory and King of Kings; He is all in all to every person no matter what our role in life is. The following are 26 vocations/roles and names/titles/descriptions of Jesus that shows how He ministers to all people:

· Astronomer He is the bright and morning star

· Botanist He is the Lily of the Valley

· Clothier He is the Robe of Righteousness

· Doctor He is the Great Physician

· Educator He is the Master Teacher

· Firefighter He is the Living Water

· Grave digger He is the Resurrection

· Horticulturalist He is the Rose of Sharon

· Interpreter He is the Alpha and Omega

· Judge He is the Advocate

· King He is the King of King’s

· Linguist He is the Word

· Mapmaker He is the Way

· Nuclear Scientist He is the Creator

· Officer He is the Captain of the Armies

· Philosopher He is the Truth

· Queen He is the Prince of Peace

· Realtor He is the Cornerstone

· Soldier He is the Warrior

· Therapist He is the Wonderful Counselor

· Undertaker He is the Life

· Veterinarian He is the Lion of Judah

· Winemaker He is the Vine

· Xray tech He is the Healer

· Yoga Instructor He is their Peace (the true peace only found in Jesus Christ)

· Zoologist He is the Lamb of God

Watch the "That's My King" Video that was shown in the service HERE.

Good Friday is GOOD!

By Pam Work

Easter is my favorite celebration. Easter, to me, is symbolic of new life, a fresh start. It is a celebration of hope and love for me. This day of celebration comes after a day we call “Good Friday”. My friend Matt Wheeland posts this question on his blog; “What is good about Good Friday”? I had to stop and think about this. My first thought was that I had to take the meaning of the word “good” a step further. I had to add dimension to this word. It couldn’t be a superficial meaning. It had to become deeper and personal. When you think about it, very little “good” is seen in the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus was beaten unmercifully. He was shamed and mocked. He suffered terribly for us because He is a faithful servant to His Father in Heaven. He was committed to the plan Father God set before Him. He didn’t look forward to the suffering; in fact He asked Father God to remove the suffering He was about to face. But then Jesus relinquished all His desire for the desire of the Father and said “not my will, but your will be done”.

I realized that this statement from Jesus, this plan of our Father God, this submission of Jesus is the good that took place on that day. It’s the good that will last for eternity. Can a believer look at the crucifixion and not be impacted by the brutality? I think not; however, I do think that a believer in Jesus can see the good that comes from the submission of Jesus.

Because Jesus loved us, because He is the Perfect One that carried out the Perfect Plan of Salvation, we can celebrate the good that follows His death. Without this day, Good Friday, where would we be today?

More to Easter than Meets the Eye?

By Pastor Eric

What is it about Easter that is so special to us? I don’t mean “us” as in the Christian realm or as in the body of Christ, but rather to us as a human race. For example, why is it that in our culture today, more people go to church on Easter Sunday than any other Sunday throughout the year? Do you think it’s about tradition? Is it just something that culturally is expected of people to do? Like actually throwing your trash away instead of pitching it out your car window as you drive down the highway? Or could it be that to the average person, deep down inside they know that Jesus really did walk this earth, die a horrible death and conquer the grave? These are things that I have spent far too many hours thinking about. I wonder if we (and now I’m talking about the body of Christ) even really get it. Do I? Do I fully understand that the ONLY thing on this earth that I truly DESERVE is hell? Honestly, I probably don’t. Because when it comes to every day living, it’s far easier (culturally) to give into this trap of thinking that I deserve something … anything! Culturally we think that we deserve a nicer car or a bigger house or cooler clothes or faster service or even just a break because we’ve earned all of it somehow …

Apart from Him … we’d have nothing. We deserve hell. We are all sinners in need of a savior. It is only because of Him that we have anything.

Yet we continue on about our lives. Getting caught up in culture and tradition and what we think we deserve.

I can’t stop thinking about all of this and comparing it to what God’s Word says in 1 Peter 2 about how we should live our lives.

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross
 so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” (v. 21-25. emphasis added)

Does your every day life look anything like that?? Mine doesn’t … but I’m so grateful for His example and His sacrifice because without it … I wouldn’t even stand a chance.