Midweek Moment - March 30, 2011

Midweek Moment

March 27, 2011

Contemplations of the Cross: Seed, Soil, Fruit

Pastor R. Greene

What season of Life am I in? (Eccl. 3:1-2)

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

· Seasons of life change

· When need to be planting seeds in others lives…..

What kind of soil am I? (Luke 8:4-8)

· Hard soil: hostile, mocking, unbelieving heart living in a relativistic world. A hardened heart usually takes a severe trial to soften it. Don’t lose hope for those you are praying for who’s hearts are hardened.

· Rocky soil: Shallow roots that when exposed to adversity (sun) withers the roots. Adversity is intended to strengthen and deepen roots.

· Weeds: choke out the seed: worries, material distractions fueled by desire or love of money, pleasures.

· Good soil: When God sows growth, comfort, wisdom into you, you then sow that into someone’s else’s life.

What kind of fruit am I bearing?

John 12:23-26

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

· “Glorification” refers to the Cross and the Resurrection.

· From Death comes Life: Only when the kernel of wheat dies does it produce much fruit.

The only way to get to Life is through Death. The only way to gain eternal life if for Christ to die. It was necessary for Christ to die and resurrect in order for us to live. When He died He became our sin for us. When we accept the gift of God’s work on the cross He grants us His righteousness as a covering and grants us eternal life.

The Gospel: God really loves you but you sinned and are separated from Him because He is holy and can’t be around sin. Accepting Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross gives His Holiness to you so he doesn’t see your sinful state.

· Dying is the requirement for spiritual vitality. If your life is static there is something God is asking you to die to – selfishness, hatred, unforgiveness, addictions, gluttony.

· What sin in your life is God asking you to die to?

· Being crucified in Christ means to die to sin and be raised to spiritual life, to die to the old self so that the new self can be raised anew in Christ.

Encouragement

By Lisa Catania

Have you ever received that word of encouragement at just that “perfect” moment? My wonderful Children’s Ministry mentor meets with me a few times a year for prayer, teaching, counsel, and encouragement. Below is “The Calling” which she gave to me in a frame, as a piece of encouragement. May it bless and encourage all of those who “minister” to children.

“The Calling” Author – Unknown

"I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children.

My calling is sure: my challenge is big: my vision is real: my desire is strong: my influence is eternal: my impact is critical: my values are solid: my faith is tough: my mission is urgent: my purpose is unmistakable: my direction is forward: my heart is genuine: my strength is supernatural: my reward is promised: and my God is real!

In a world of cynicism, I offer hope. In a world of confusion, I offer attention. In a world of abuse, I offer safety. In a world of ridicule, I offer affirmation. In a world of division, I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness, I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin, I offer salvation. In a world of hate, I offer God’s Love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled, discouraged, or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes, or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, too significant to be trivialized too eternal to be fleeting, and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission. I know my challenge. I also know my limitations, my weaknesses, my fears, and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do."

Midweek Moment - March 23, 2011

Wednesday, March 23 - From Sunday, March 20 Sermon by Pastor R

Contemplations of the Cross - Our new sermon series!

Can you find your Joy no matter what happens?

How bad do the circumstances of life have to be for you to turn your back on God?

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT)

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.

Entering into Christ’s Joy: (Hebrews 12:1, 2) (NIV)

Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

· Throwing off hindrances and sin

o A hindrance is anything that weighs you down and slows you down.

o Sin slows us down and distracts us from the race….

o What is the sin that “so easily entangles” YOU?

· Run with Perseverance

o He wants us to run with a commitment to finish through His power and receive the prize.

o Like Christ endured the Cross we need to endure our “cross”.

o God loves us and went to the Cross willingly for us!

o “You won’t understand the Cross until you see it against the backdrop of man’s sin.”

· Fix Your Eyes of Jesus

o Don’t look at the world, CNN, politics……lock your eyes on Him!

o Watch Him….contemplate Him……feel His amazing Love for you!

o Tune out everything else and focus on His face til the end of the Race.

Offering Moment Testimony

By Shannon Hicks

I believe that God has an invitation for his people today and I think that he would say to us what he said to Peter in John 21. The invitation is “follow me.” Peter had heard these words before, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and had responded in the best way that he knew how. But a lot had happened between then and now. Peter had messed up, big time. In Jesus’ darkest days, Peter had first followed at a distance, and then denied his Savior outright. But here is Jesus, walking along the shore, reaching out again.

This “follow me” doesn’t mean “come check out my claims, maybe you should give this faith thing a try.” Peter had already done that. And most of us have too. Instead, Jesus’ words are an invitation to intense obedience. It’s as if Jesus is saying “I know you. I’ve seen who you are when it really matters. But I am Grace. I am Redemption. I love you—deeply, passionately and I want all of you. I want your best.”

Today, I believe that Jesus is inviting us too. He wants all of us. He wants our best. Not just our good intentions. Not just our good theology. He wants us to trust him with our time, our passion, our money. I don’t know what your response to the invitation to follow Christ needs to look like. I don’t know what he is calling you to give. But I do know that if we take his invitation to intense obedience seriously, it will change our lives, and our church.

I know that one of the obstacles that I have to confront when Jesus challenges me to give more generously is fear. Somehow, even though I have experienced his provision again and again, my memory is short.

Allow me to jog our memories this morning. The God who asks for our best is the God described in the Old Testament as El Shaddai… the Almighty and All-Sufficient One.

The God who asks for our best is the God who provided a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to lead Moses and his people through the Red Sea.

The God who asks for our best is the God who provided the Ark of the Covenant to lead Joshua and his people through the Jordan River.

The God who asks for our best is the God who provided a son to Abraham, and then provided a ram in the bushes so that son could live.

The God who asks for our best is the God who provided manna from heaven, water from a rock and food for five thousand.

The God who asks for our best is the God who provided a perfect, sinless sacrifice so that you and I could walk in abundant, eternal life.

The God who asks for our best has a proven track record. He has the resources to provide for us infinitely more capably than our own frantic striving can.

And so the invitation stands. Jesus is reaching out to us. He knows us. He’s seen who we are when it really matters.

He is Grace.

He is Redemption.

He loves us—deeply, passionately and he wants all of us.

Not a casual nod of assent. Not an hour on Sunday morning. Not whatever money we can rustle up after we’ve spent what we please.

He wants our best. He calls us to intense obedience. Hear his word to us today. “Follow me.”

February Fasting

By Eric Miller

For the month of February I decided that I would fast from different things so that I could grow and be stretched in my relationship with the Lord.

Now, please understand, no one challenged me to do this ... there was no hidden agenda ... I simply wanted to see if I could do it and see how the spiritual discipline of fasting affected my spiritual walk. So after spending a few days at the end of January praying about the things I would give up, I put together a schedule that looked like this.

February 1-7 - Fast from Facebook

February 8-14 - Fast from Sugar/sweets

February 15-21 - Fast from Caffeine

February 22-28 - Fast from TV/movies

Just to give a little bit of insight, I purposely scheduled them from the things I thought would be easiest to give up to the hardest as each week passed. For me being a youth pastor, I thought Facebook could be fairly difficult as it's a huge means of communication for me, but it actually was rather easy to give up. I realized how much time I waste on there, even when I'm just getting on to do something that should only take 5 minutes. That time easily turns into 25 or 45 minutes. I also realized in that first week how much I really needed to spend that time with the Lord and so it was an easy switch to make in some senses.

The second week, giving up sweets was trickier than I had first expected. I realized that meant changing some of my habits. I also become more aware of the things that I eat and drink throughout the week. It was also a good week in the sense of prayer as I found myself talking to the Lord more and more each day and asking Him to help me see things differently.

The third and fourth weeks I was dreading. For those that know me best, you know that I LOVE my weekly and sometimes daily visits to Starbucks and in my free time I enjoy catching up on many TV shows. So giving up caffeine was a bit nerve racking, especially after hearing some of the horror stories of people who had tried to give it up. So I was expecting the worst; headaches, grumpy moods, severe drowsiness among other things. And yet, it was probably the best week of the month. I wasn't craving coffee or soda like I had expected. I felt that I truly had to depend on the joy of the Lord rather than perks of caffeine to get me through my days. More importantly, I realized that I wasn't nearly as addicted to caffeine as I had wondered.

The fourth week was probably the most challenging as half way through the week, I got sick. And one of my favorite things to do when I'm sick is lay on the couch and watch movies. So I was torn. Could I justify breaking my fast because I was sick? I decided no. I figured that I wanted to stretch myself and this was a great way to really rest in the Lord and spend even more time focusing on Him. So that's what I did for this past weekend ... I slept, prayed and read more than I think I ever have in one weekend before. And in a very unexpected and unusual way, I grew in ways I was not expecting and I can honestly say that I'm closer to God in some ways because of it.

So what are you willing to give up in order to grow in your relationship with the Lord in new ways??

What is Sabbath for a Mom?

By Lisa Catania

As a busy mom, I wonder how to really have Sabbath. With all of the cooking, cleaning, child chasing, carpooling, sports cheering, bill paying, on and on…..can I really stop? I honestly have a hard time sitting still through a tv show without putting dinner in the oven, helping kids with homework and folding clothes at the same time. I struggle with sitting still. My “to do” list is a mile long. Honestly, I have been very challenged by our sermon series on “Rest”. However, I know the God who loves me and created me says, “rest”.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When I read this passage in Matthew 11:28-30, I hear God’s voice gently speaking to me to take time to really rest. I am now spending my Sunday afternoons hiding my “to do” list from myself. I will find it tomorrow. I am now really focusing on relaxing with the kids, taking walks by the creek outside, reading by the fire, chatting with friends, and getting nothing done on my “to do” list. I have even decided that Sunday dinner is leftovers or a crock pot, so I am not burdened cooking. In fact, I finding that by resting, I am giving God my “to do” list and finding peace with Him. By Mondays, I am truly feeling refreshed and ready for my week. Hmmm….this rest called Sabbath has been a blessing for my soul and my family!