Foundations - Justice

The Bible tells us that God is a just God. But what does that mean? What does justice look like? Where can I find it?

Many people, prophets, and kings have tried to define justice on their own terms. God gives us a picture of justice in His word. There we find a paring of "justice" with "righteousness" as a way of describing not only the moral character of an individual or adherence to ritual acts of worship, but also how that individual relates to everyone around them.

We see a positive picture of doing justice in Job and we see Isaiah calling out the injustices in the nation of Israel. How do we apply these warnings and examples to our lives today so we can be not only a people of love, compassion, and seeking God but also a people of justice.

I hope you can join us this morning as we continue try to understand our God better and better understand justice and righteousness!

Psalm 33:4-9

Psalm 34:1

Romans 5:8

God shows us what perfect love looks like. His love for us is so powerful and so complete, sometimes I just have to sit back and marvel at the blessings He's given us just in this material world. But there is so much more He's given us in His Son -- salvation, love, unity, and promise!

Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay grateful, and be blessed this week!

Compassion

I'm a fixer. If there's a problem, I don't like to just wait for someone else to fix it or try to put up with it. I wan to do something about it! The problem is, sometimes the solutions we are able to provide just won't fit well with the problems we have. The question is then: are we thinking about the problem the right way?

We see all around people that are down on their luck, hurting, or in poverty. Sometimes, we would rather blame them for their situation than help. Sometimes we feel like the help we can offer won't make a difference. Sometimes we let these discouraging thoughts stop us from fulfilling our purpose.

Perhaps, we can change the question. What if we begin to see people in poverty as a real people in need of compassion? What if recognize that in poverty, we have an ongoing opportunity to bless and to be blessed through showing compassion.

Yes, we want badly to help pull people out of poverty. Yes, we want people to be paid fairly and treated fairly. But if the solution to poverty is simply hard work and dedication then it becomes a moral judgement we pass on those in poverty that they are not good enough, not worthy, not loved.

What if instead we realize we have people right in front of us that need love and compassion. They need Jesus and the Kingdom. We fool ourselves if we think we can help one person or a few over our lifetime and the problem of poverty will go away. No, Jesus says: "The poor will always be with you, so what does that mean but that the work of the church continues!

The work of compassion will never end. The mission is fulfilled in doing the work. When we focus on the task at hand, rather than blaming people for their mistakes, we can finally fulfill our purpose and calling as a people of love and compassion.

James 1:22

Romans 6:17

Faith in Action

One of the ways Satan attacks us is through our thoughts. In our video on joy, we looked at the life of Abraham and the amazing faith that he had to go on a life-changing journey trusting only on God to get him to his destination.

If we are not careful, we can be discouraged by such a story instead of being inspired by it. We need to remember God's love for you and care for your soul doesn't need these huge, earth-shattering acts of faith.

The still, quiet lives we aim to lead as Christians are more powerful and effective than we can know! I hope you can be encouraged this week, and God bless you on your journey!

Romans 4 & 5 -- Peace

Paul tells us in Romans 4 & 5 that if we have a belief that leads action, just as Abraham's faith led him to follow God, we can have finally be free of the guilty feelings that hold back the joy of salvation we have in Jesus Christ.

Foundations - Building Intentionally

In this "Foundations" lesson, we will take a moment to examine the importance of being intentional in how we choose to build up from our foundational understandings of God. Each of us already have a picture of God in our minds. He is a loving, caring, and just Creator God who redeems us through His Son. But could it be that I have a picture of God that isn't revealed in the Word and instead come from someone else's distorted view of God? I won't claim that my view of God is complete or perfect or finished, but what I want to do to today is open the door to questioning humbly what else I have left to learn about God. Our Bible is full of examples of people that have acted in a way that is contrary to the revealed Word of God. Their build a god for themselves that allows them to exalt themselves above everyone else and allows them to live a life of disobedience. God being loving, caring, and forgiving doesn't mean that we ignore what He requires of us. It means that we respond in kind, with loving submission that leads us closer to Jesus. I hope you can join us for worship this morning and I pray that as you go out into the world bearing the image of God, that the image you bear is one that truly reflects the character we are called to have!

To Know God, and To Be Known By Him

How we view God matters. Our perspective of Him, our impressions, our understanding, it guides our actions, our choices, even how we interpret the Holy Scriptures. It's important that we try to get the best picture of God we can so that we don't carry these distorted, cloudy images with us. The God we show to other people needs to be one of "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23.

Do we have in our mind a God that only cares about rules and doesn't care about you? Some people thought that the rules were more important than the people the rules applied to. But Jesus illustrates the point perfectly in Matthew 12:11-12.

Jesus describes a situation where there are two competing goals. Often in life we can face a similar conundrum. We want to be meeting together, worshiping together, singing and speaking to one another but at the same time the more we are around one another the more risk we are asking others to accept. We want to be a loving and caring people that place others' needs before our own. We want to follow God's will and His commands and the teaching of the Bible. But somehow, these two goals seem to clash with one another.

Jesus tell us in Matthew 12:11-12 that if we are faced with a choice of letting only a mere sheep lose its life in favor of us keeping a commandment, he would rather the sheep live. He goes on to ask, "How much more valuable is a person than a sheep?" A lot!

Therefore, if we have a God in our mind that has a greater desire for us to comply with the rule-keeping of meeting together even in the face of the potential loss of life -- I would ask is that really the God as He has revealed Himself to us in His word and His Son?

Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many  sparrows.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

God knows you, chose you, loves you, restores you, sustains you, helps you, rescues you, and shields you from the evil one. Jesus tells the people of his day plainly, "it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12). Remember, this was at a time when everyone in the audience would have let a sheep die to avoid breaking the Sabbath law.

Jesus challenges them and challenges us: is the image of God we bear in our hearts and to others, true?

Stay the Course

Just because golf is only showing reruns doesn't mean we can't talk about staying the course. Paul's letter to Timothy called his end of life "staying the course" (2 Timothy 4:7).

But it's not only Paul or Tiger Woods on the course, we have a course we need to stay on too. The book of Hebrews tells us we need to stay on course as we finish out our Christian journey. 

Hebrews 2:1 – The term here translated to “drift” is one used to describe a ship losing its course. It doesn’t do this deliberately, but rather is slowly carried away from its proper destination unbeknownst to the sailors.

This is the first of five “warning” passages in Hebrews. Just as Christ’s message is greater than that of the angels (the Mosaic covenant, cf. Heb 1, Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19), so too then must the consequences for the failure to remain faithful be greater. 

Those who have heard the good news of the New Covenant preached to them must pay even more careful attention to it than was necessary among the audience of the establishment of the Mosaic covenant.

Surely, this is a warning that can get our attention 

and hold it. We have a greater hope, a greater promise, a greater future in Jesus but not if we don't follow Him. Not if we don't stay on course. 

Is Jesus leading you?

Jesus preceded us in creation (Col 1:15), in life (Gal 4:4), in death (Mark 15:37), in resurrection (1 Cor 15:20), and in ascending to be with the Father (Acts 1:9-11).

Jesus's disciples were afraid, they felt alone or abandoned (Matthew 28:10). 

But Jesus reassures them and us: "Jesus is not leaving us, he is leading us!" 

Peacefulness

Having the mind of Christ means we can better understand God’s purposes to bring glory to Himself, restore creation, and offer salvation.

It means we strive to be like Jesus in His humility and obedience (Philippians 2:5-8), compassion (Matthew 9:36), and prayerful dependence on God (Luke 5:16).

We need to be careful who we listen to. If you find yourself feeling rushed, confused, frightened, or discouraged take a moment to pray and seek that still quiet voice of the Lord (1 Kings 19:11-12).

Foundations - Love

In this, the second in our series on foundations, we look at a familiar and frankly, terrifying passage. Jesus tells us that on the day of judgement, there will be people who will have been working, serving, and doing marvelous things in Jesus's name that will hear, "Depart from me, I never knew you."

How sad it would be on that day, when we desire to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant"(Matthew 25:23) and instead we receive   condemnation. Can we know that we are saved? Can we know that we are loved?

I believe the Bible tells us we are loved and we can know we are saved. There is "more to the story" going on in the exchange Jesus uses to warns us about judgement.

I hope you can join us in worship this morning as we take a look at the love of God as our Spiritual Foundation.

Patience

I don't know about you, but I feel like week has been a long month. Yes, I had to think about that before I typed it. Change is hard. Change is stressful. Change is uncomfortable. But do you know another word for change? Growth. When God uses me, when I pray and study and serve, I grow. I get the blessings of growing in my faith, closer to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and close to the people we get to serve. When God uses me, I find that my wants and desires changes.  How I choose to spend my time or express myself changes. Growing means life changes. Change isn't always bad, like not changing can sometimes be. As we go through life, life will change us. We have a chance to decide how. Praying for you all!

A Sure Foundation - Matthew 7

Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount and reminds us all of the choice we face. One house, built on a sure foundation can withstand the attacks coming from the wind, the waves, and the rain. The other house fails. Jesus says the difference between them is the foundation. One has a foundation that is sure, solid, and secure. This foundation comes from hearing the word, believing the word, and acting on it. Our foundational understanding of the nature and character of God the Father, as revealed in the word and God the Son through God the Spirit, will give us either a secure foundation or one that is flawed. Today we begin a new series that will help give us that foundational understand of God as He has revealed Himself to us through His word. We will begin at the beginning, in Genesis 1, and look for clues in the text that show us how our God is different. I hope you can join us for worship this morning!

Focus

Choosing what to think about, controlling thoughts, directing focus, being intentional about our attitude -- these things are hard to do but disciplines worth our investment. The Bible encourages us to direct our attention on what is lovely, noble, true, and right. How do I build my day around living out these principles? What could it drive me to do, for myself or for someone else, that I might not do otherwise? Does the light of the Kingdom shine through my choices, attitude, and speech? Love you all!