S.H.A.P.E.d - To Grow as a Follower of Jesus

Psalm 139:1-4, 13-14, Ephesians 2:1-5, 10

 For the last 6 weeks I've been preaching about the importance of becoming the very best follower of Jesus you could possibly become and about helping build the very best church we could possibly build.

There are really only two things that we Christians here on earth are responsible for. Jesus tells us in Matthew 28 to "Go and make disciples". That's part of the Great Commission. The only way you will ever get out of the pews or off your couch to do that is to meet the challenge to become the very best follower of Jesus that you can be.

Then Jesus says “baptize others in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them everything that I have taught you”. That's part of the Great Commission also. There is only one really good way for that to get done in our culture right now and that is to help build the very best church we could possibly build.

That's all that Jesus asks of you - are you willing to give him that?

Russ Blowers is a minister and active in the Indianapolis Rotary Club. Each week at the club meetings a different member gives a brief statement about his job -what he does for a living. When it was his turn, Russ didn't talk about his church, about Sunday School classes, or sermons, or pot luck dinners. He said:

"I'm with the largest global enterprise in the entire world. We have branches in every country. We have our representatives in nearly every wing of the government and boardroom on earth. We're into motivational and behavioral alteration. We do more to improve the individual lives of millions of people than any other organization.

"We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. . Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.)

"We are in the eternal life insurance and fire insurance business. We perform spiritual heart transplants. My boss owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations.

"My CEO was born in a small, backwoods, hill country town, worked as a common laborer for much of his life, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, and hated by enemies. Yet he walked on water, brought hope to the broken hearted, and brought the dead back to life. He was condemned to death as a criminal, and yet rose from the grave. And while he's over two thousand years old, I talk with him every day. I am a minister for Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and His church is the most amazing organization in the world!

Do you feel that same way? Do you consider the organization of God to be that amazing? If you are a dedicated follower of the man I just described then you are a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's why it's important for you to become the very best follower of Jesus you can be and why you need to help make his church the very best church it could be. And that's why you need to give him your time, talents, and treasures- and do it in a big way.

Now, I would be remiss if I spent 6 weeks challenging you to do that and not give you some "how to's" to help you along the way. That would be the same as if I placed before you a big gorgeous meal only to tell you that you can just smell it, not eat it.

There's this story about Rex. Rex is the prized hunting dog of a man named Vernon Bayliss. Vernon's favorite story is about the time he loaded Rex in the back of the pick-up truck to go hunting. At a stop, miles up the road, Vernon noticed that Rex was gone. He spent the rest of the day driving up and down the back roads, calling for Rex. He beat the bushes and wandered into ditches looking for his beloved hunting dog.

That night, Vernon returned home heartbroken. But as he pulled into the driveway, who came out to greet him? That's right, it was Rex. Now Vernon brags to everyone about his dog who found its way home from eighteen miles away.

Here's the rest of the story. Vernon's wife, Rose, doesn't have the heart to tell Vernon that Rex never left the farm. Rex, the faithful hunting dog, hopped out of the pick-up truck that morning before Vernon ever drove off.

So often I feel just like that. Here we come each Sunday to hear the good word from the Bible, to learn how to become better Christians, or more faithful followers, only to drive out of the church parking lot and leave our favorite hunting dog behind. We leave this place and leave the teaching behind.

So today, let me see if I can give you some straight forward information that will help you become the best follower of Jesus and the best church builder you can be.

For the past 4 months the Wednesday evening Bible Study group has been studying a process for becoming better Christians called SHAPE. You might remember this because I've preached on it also. SHAPE stands for Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. I had the class evaluate the teachings Wednesday night and they agreed that it is one of the most dynamic Christian concepts they have ever learned.

If we can apply SHAPE to our lives we will become more dynamic Christians. So briefly here is what the teaching is all about.

The first letter is S - Spiritual Gifts - the Bible tells us: 1 Cor. 12:1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.

1 Peter 4:10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

There are some 18 - 24 spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible. Do you know what yours are?  One of the least understood biblical teaching is that we have a treasure trove of resources available to us in something called the spiritual gifts. Most of us don't even realize we have one or more.

A few years ago archaeologists at a dig in the biblical city of Eshtemoa, south of Jerusalem, dug up 62 pounds of 15th century jewelry. The gems and silver, taken separately, are worth about $7000. But the jewelry, the combination of the silver and the gems, has an estimated worth of over five million dollars!

Do you know where the jewelry was found? It was buried about 18 inches beneath the dirt floor of a cottage that has been continuously inhabited for 500 years. People had been living within reach of a treasure, but for centuries they did not know that it was there.

The same is true of the treasure God calls our spiritual gifts. It's there for you. You just don't know it! If you want to learn more go to umc.org and type in the search box "spiritual gifts".

Second letter in SHAPE is H = the word Heart. I call it passion. What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy doing the most in your life? What makes your heart jump and your pulse race? That’s your passion.

One of the most passionate athletes the world has known was Muhammad Ali. If you were alive when he was in his prime you know what I'm talking about. He tells how he got involved in boxing. He says that when he was a child his parents gave him a brand-new bicycle. A few days later someone stole it. A policeman asked him what he was going to do if he ever caught the boy who stole it. Ali said that he didn't know what to do. So the policeman took him to the gym and began teaching him how to box. Ali said, "To this day I never found my bike, but every time I got in the ring, I'd look across at my opponent and say to myself, that's the guy who stole my bike!"

Passion can help focus your life. Let me show you how this works. Let's say you have the spiritual gift of teaching and you have a passion for working with youth. You might just be a candidate for being a youth counselor or their Sunday School teacher.

A in the word SHAPE stands for Abilities. Each of us are born with natural abilities. Did you ever think that those were given to you by God so that you could use them in the work of his kingdom? It's true. Perhaps you have the natural ability to organize, or conversation comes easy to you, or being a good athlete comes simply. Use that , in combination with your passions and spiritual gifts, and give yourself over to God more completely.

SO, are you beginning to see how this concept called SHAPE can help you become the best Christ follower that you could be?

Add to the formula the part of your personality that is God given and your past experiences, and you end up with a complete tool kit that can be used by you to be a better worker in the Kingdom of God. These tools will also make you a better person all around. How can you give God your best? Realize that he made you very special for a purpose.

In today's scripture we read two awesome biblical truths: Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. “

God planned for us to do "good things". These are things for his Kingdom. AND, he built us in a fearfully and wonderful way. That means he has created us to be ABLE to do these "good things".

The story goes that a tourist walked down a pier and watched a fisherman pull in a large fish, measure it, and throw it back. He caught a second fish, smaller this time, he measured it, and put it in his bucket.

Oddly, all the large fish that he caught that measured 12 inches or more he discarded. All fish smaller than 12 inches he kept. Puzzled, the curious onlooker questioned, "Pardon me, but why do you keep the little ones and throw the big ones away?" The old fellow looked up and without blinking an eye said, "Why, because I have only a 12 inch frying pan!"

Sometimes I think we live and work through the church the same way. We do just enough to get by because we don't picture ourselves as large in the plan of God. How wrong that is. If you only knew how much God counts on you to complete your big role in his work on earth you might be really impressed.

 So, let me add another challenge to your life. Teach yourself the concept of SHAPE. Use your Spiritual Gift, Heart (passion), Abilities, Personality, and Experiences to become the very best follower of Jesus and the very best church builder you can possibly be. And leave the rest to God. You just might impress the world.

S.H.A.P.E. for a Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren

If you've ever doubted your calling to ministry, consider this: God has been molding and shaping you for ministry since before you were born!

"Instead of trying to reshape ourselves to be like someone else, we should celebrate the shape God has given to each of us." "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe." Psalm 139:13-16 (LB)

This passage indicates that–

1. God shaped you for a purpose,
2. You are unique, and
3. You are wonderfully complex.

You are a composite of many different factors, and I summarize what I believe are the five most important factors by using the acrostic, S.H.A.P.E.

Spiritual Gifts

Heart

Abilities

Personality

Experience

 

Spiritual gifts

The Bible teaches that God gives every believer certain spiritual gifts to be used in ministry
(1 Cor. 12, Rom. 8, Eph. 4). However, I believe spiritual gifts are only one part of the picture. In my opinion, spiritual gifts are often overemphasized to the neglect of other equally important factors. Natural abilities that you were born with also came from God. So do your experiences and inborn personality traits.

Your Creator planned these factors as well. I also believe most churches get the process backwards. They say, "Discover your spiritual gifts and then you'll know what ministry you're supposed to have." I believe the exact opposite of this: Start experimenting with different ministries and then you'll discover your gifts! Until you actually get involved in serving, you're not going to know what you're good at.

Heart

The Bible uses the term "heart" to represent the center of your motivation, desires, interests, and inclinations. Your heart determines why you say the things you do (Matt. 12:34), why you feel the way you do (Ps. 34:7), and why you act the way you do (Pr. 4:23).

Physiologically, each of us has a unique heartbeat. Each person has a slightly different pattern. Likewise, God has given each of us a unique emotional "heartbeat" that races when we encounter activities, subjects, or circumstances that interest us.

Another word for heart is passion. There are certain subjects that you feel passionate about and others that you couldn't care less about. God had a purpose in giving you your inborn interests. Your emotional heartbeat reveals a very important key to understanding His intentions for your life. Don't ignore your natural interests. People rarely excel at tasks they don't enjoy doing. High achievers enjoy what they do.

Abilities

These are the natural talents that you were born with. Some people have a natural ability with words. They came out of the womb talking! Others are naturally good with numbers. They think mathematically and they can't understand why you don't understand calculus.

Exodus 31:3 gives an example of how God gives people "skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts ...." in order to accomplish His purposes. In this case, it was artistic ability to be used in building the Tabernacle. It's interesting to me that musical talent is not listed as a "spiritual gift," but it certainly is a natural ability that God uses in worship.

One of the most common excuses people give for not getting involved in ministry is "I just don't have any abilities to offer."Nothing could be further from the truth. Many national studies have proven that the average person possesses from five hundred to seven hundred skills!

The real problem is two-fold

First, people need some process of skill identification. Second, they need a process to help them match their abilities with the right ministry.

There are people in your church with all kinds of abilities that are not being put to use: recruiting, researching, writing, landscaping, interviewing, promoting, decorating, planning, entertaining, repairing, drawing, and even feeding. These abilities should not be wasted. "There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord." (1 Cor. 12:5)

Personality

It's obvious that God has not used a cookie cutter to create people. He made introverts and extroverts. He made people who love routine and those who love variety. Some people work best when given an individual assignment while others work better with a team.

There is no "right" or "wrong" temperament for ministry. We need all kinds of personalities to balance the church and give it flavor. The world would be a very boring place if we were all plain vanilla. Fortunately, ministry comes in more than 31 flavors.

Your personality will affect how and where you use your spiritual gifts and abilities. For instance, two people may have the same gift of evangelism, but - if one is introverted and the other is extroverted - that gift will be expressed in different ways.

When you minister in a manner that is consistent with the personality God gave you, you experience fulfillment, satisfaction, and fruitfulness. It feels good when you do exactly what God made you to do.

Experiences

God never wastes an experience. Romans 8:28 reminds us, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

At Saddleback, we help people consider five areas of experience that will influence the kind of ministry they are best shaped for:

• Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?
• Vocational experiences: What jobs have you enjoyed and achieved results while doing?
• Spiritual experiences: What have been the meaningful or decisive times with God in your life?
• Ministry experiences: How have you served God in the past?
• Painful experiences: What are the problems, hurts, and trials that you've learned from?

God sovereignty determined your shape for His purpose, so you shouldn't resent it or reject it. "What right have you - a human being - to cross examine God? The pot has no right to say to the potter: ‘Why did you make me this shape?' Surely a potter can do what he likes with the clay!" Rom. 9:20 21 (JB)

Instead of trying to reshape ourselves to be like someone else, we should celebrate the shape
God has given to each of us. Wise stewardship of your life begins by understanding your shape.

You will be the most effective and fulfilled in ministry when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart's desire and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences.

What God made you u to BE determines what God intends for you to DO.

A Spiritual Gifts Snapshot

By Erik Rees

God creates every person with a unique set of gifts. But how do you know which gifts he gave you? One place to start is by understanding each gift mentioned in the Bible, and what it looks like when applied. Check out this handy primer from Erik Rees' Only You Can be You.

Administration:

This God-given ability serves and strengthens the body of Christ by effectively organizing both people and resources in order to reach ministry goals. If this is your gift, you might be:
• an effective organizer.
• known for being an efficient planner who reaches your goals.
• a natural delegator.
• someone who looks for opportunities to make decisions.
• a person who sees what needs to be done in order for dreams to become reality.
 

Apostleship:

A person with this gift is good at launching and leading new ministry endeavors for the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom. The original Greek word for apostle means “sent one.” If this is your gift, you might be:
• driven to start new endeavors, most often churches, for God.
• open to risky new challenges.
• someone who enjoys making a difference in the lives of both believers and nonbelievers.
• eager to be known as one of Christ’s ambassadors to the world.
• a person who enjoys working hard to help churches reach their full potential for God.
 

Discernment:

God gives us this ability to help us recognize truth or error within a message, person, or event. If this is your gift, you might be:
• someone who easily “reads” people and who is usually right.
• able to recognize whether a message is from God, Satan, or man.
• able to recognize inconsistencies in others.
• someone who easily identifies another’s true motives or agenda.
• able to perceive when the truth is communicated with error or is being twisted.

Encouragement:

Some people are naturally able to inspire and encourage others. They often serve as counselors or people who empower others to achieve their God-given dreams. If this is your gift, you might be:
• one who inspires and impacts others to live for Christ.
• able to easily rejoice with those who have overcome difficult life situations through Christ’s help.
• someone who seeks out opportunities to help others reach their full potential in Christ.
• a natural encourager, whether through your words or your actions.
• one who readily rejoices at others’ success.
 

Evangelism:

People who share the love of Christ with others in a way that draws them to accept Christ’s gift of eternal life display the gift of evangelism. If this is your gift, you might be:
• a person who looks for ways to build relational bridges with nonbelievers.
• able to sense when a person might be open to hear and receive the gospel.
• someone who’s seen many people come to faith in Christ.
• able to triumph over logical arguments, winning others to Christ simply by loving them.
• someone who is deeply burdened for people who don’t yet know Jesus.

Photo: courtesy of Erik Rees

Faith:

People with this gift are able to trust God to handle any and all obstacles along the way to accomplishing his purposes. If this is your gift, you might be:
• a person who welcomes the opportunity to take risks for God.
• energized by volatile situations.
• challenged by ideas and situations most people see as impossible.
• often seen by others as having a passionate prayer life.
• someone able to embark on ventures with great God-confidence.
 

Giving:

This gift is characterized by the ability to joyfully support and fund initiatives for building God’s kingdom through support that goes above and beyond the regular tithe. If this is your gift, you might be:
• able and willing to intentionally give more than the 10 percent tithe in order to advance efforts you see as growing God’s kingdom.
• someone who prefers your donations to remain anonymous whenever possible.
• a person who seeks out ways to increase your resources in order to give more for God’s use.
• someone who sees your resources as tools given by God for his use.

Healing:

People with this gift are able to heal and restore physical health to others by means other than the traditional or natural. If this is your gift, you might be:
• a person who firmly believes people can be supernaturally healed.
• someone who prays to be used by God for the purpose of healing others.
• able to realize without question that healing occurs only by God’s divine permission.
• someone who views traditional medicine as one way God may choose for healing.
• able to embrace this gift as from the hand of God and to see it specifically as a way to bring him glory.
 

Helping:

People with this gift enjoy assisting others in reaching goals that glorify God and strengthen the body of Christ. It is sometimes called the gift of helps or service. If this is your gift, you might be:
• a person who enjoys and looks for ways to help out behind the scenes.
• someone who rejoices in the success of others.
• detail-oriented.
• often in search of ways to assist others.
• not interested in recognition for what you do.
 

Hospitality:

A person with this gift enjoys providing others with a warm and welcoming environment for fellowship. If this is your gift, you might be:
• known for making others feel valued and cared for.
• always on the lookout for people who may go unnoticed in a crowd.
• someone who wants others to feel loved and welcomed.
• able to see your home as God’s property for the express purpose of making others feel welcome.
• someone who promotes fellowship among others.

Interpretation:

People with this gift are able to understand a message from God delivered by another using a special language (see Tongues) unknown to others in attendance. If this is your gift, you might be:
• able to perceive a clear idea of what God is saying through another person, even though the language the speaker is using is unknown to him or her.
• able to translate words and messages of God in a way that edifies, comforts, and exhorts believers.
• able to communicate so as to be understood the sounds, words, and utterances made by others that glorify God.
 

Knowledge:

This is a gift to communicate God’s truth to others in a way that promotes justice, honesty, and understanding. If this is your gift, you might be:
• someone who devotes much of your time to reading Scripture.
• a person who loves to share biblical insight.
• one who enjoys helping others understand God’s Word.
• one who finds time spent studying and researching Scripture beneficial.
• someone who delights in answering difficult questions about God’s Word.

Leadership:

This is the gift to cast vision, stimulate spiritual growth, apply strategies, and achieve success where God’s purposes are concerned. If this is your gift, you might be:
• given to huge visions for God and able to inspire others to work toward accomplishing those goals.
• naturally drawn into leadership roles.
• a motivator who encourages both people and teams to work together in achieving God’s purposes.
• naturally able to grasp the big picture.
• able to delegate responsibility to others who are qualified in order to get things done for God.
 

Mercy:

This gift involves ministering to those who suffer physically, emotionally, spiritually, or relationally. Its actions are characterized by love, care, compassion, and kindness toward others. If this is your gift, you might be:
• drawn to opportunities that allow you to meet the needs of others in practical ways.
• able to devote significant prayer time on behalf of the needs of others.
• someone who puts the needs of others ahead of your own.
• a person who grieves at the grief of others.
• one who is most fulfilled by visiting people in need, whether in hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, prisons, on the mission field, or wherever God leads.
 

Miracles:

A person with this gift recognizes God’s supernatural power to act in the natural world. If you have this gift, you might be:
• able to view prayer as a supernatural vehicle through which God acts in the lives of people on earth.
• someone who gives credit to God alone for supernatural works.
• able to grasp fully that miracles only occur by God’s will.
• someone who sees yourself as an instrument for God’s use.
• someone who prays and expects supernatural results in “impossible” situations.

Pastoring:

A person gifted in pastoring takes spiritual responsibility for equipping a group of believers to live Christ-centered lives. Shepherding is another word used for this particular gift. If this is your gift, you might be:
• driven to help others reach their full potential in Christ.
• someone who enjoys serving others and who looks for opportunities to serve.
• good at developing personal, trust-based relationships with others, particularly a small number of people.
• someone with a propensity for meeting the needs of others, willingly giving your time to help them with spiritual issues.
• someone who believes that people take precedence over projects.
 

 Prophecy:

People with this gift are known for offering messages from God that comfort, encourage, guide, warn, or reveal sin in a way that leads to repentance and spiritual growth. The original Greek meaning of the word prophecy is “to speak forth the truth.” The gift includes both forth-telling (preaching), and foretelling (revelation). If you have this gift, you might be:
• known for publicly communicating God’s Word, using a variety of means.
• someone who loves to share your strong biblical convictions with others.
• a person who views yourself as God’s tool, ready to be used by the Holy Spirit in changing lives.
• someone who finds it easy to confront others’ motives when they are not up to God’s standards.
• a person who frequently receives and shares messages directly from God for comforting, challenging, and confronting his people.
 

Teacher:

This gift enables you to teach sound doctrine in relevant ways, empowering people to gain a sound and mature spiritual education. If you have this gift, you might be:
• given to hours in the study of Scripture in order to best apply its principles and truth.
• someone who enjoys making the Bible clear and understandable to others.
• a person who seeks out opportunities to speak biblical insight into daily situations.
• good at helping others learn to study the Bible.
• able to recognize a variety of ways to effectively communicate the Word of God, including speaking.
 

Tongues:

This gift enables a person to communicate God’s message in a special language unknown to the speaker. If you have this gift, you might be:
• one who believes God is prompting you to communicate his message, often through prayer, in a specific language unknown to you.
• someone who intercedes for others in prayer using unknown words, sounds, and utterances.
• one who desires and seeks out opportunities to pray, using these unknown languages for God’s glory.
• ready to share with others the words and/or messages of God given to you using unknown languages.
• able to comfort or exhort others using unknown languages inspired by God.

Wisdom:

This gift is characterized by the ability to make wise decisions and to counsel others with sound advice, all in accordance with God’s will. If this is your gift, you might be:
• one who enjoys speaking biblical insights into life situations.
• sought after by others for advice/wisdom.
• one who takes pleasure in counseling others.
• known for making correct decisions and judgments.
• able to recognize God as the primary source of wisdom and direction.

Erik Rees is Pastor of Life Mission at Saddleback Church. Learn more about Erik, S.H.A.P.E., and Only You Can Be You at his website.

This article is excerpted from his book, Only You Can Be You.

Check Out Natural Spiritual Development from Pastor Earl's Sermons!

A Natural Growth Pattern for Christians – Part 1

Mark 4:26-34

It’s been a while since I’ve bragged up about my grandchildren. I love to watch them grow. We only get to see them every couple of weeks, either through pictures or skype on the computer. What we are able to notice by not seeing them every day are the changes that take place in them. One week Trina is trying to stand up by grabbing hold of the couch. The next week she is toddling around the room. A month later she is running after her big brother playing a game of tag.

Most of the early growth in children is natural. It’s true that we need to feed and clothe and provide shelter for our children but much of their development is going to happen on its own. We surely can’t stop it even if we tried. It’s simply the way of life. It is very much the plan of God.

Now, the same is true for teens and adults. We are going to grow taller, or more mature, or older even without working at it. Growth just happens. We continue to grow and change until the day we die. It’s natural.

Natural growth occurs all around us. In today’s Bible story Jesus even tells a parable about that. In Mark 4 he says this: “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain.”

As Jesus said, the plants grow naturally. How? Only God knows. However, with a little nurturing they produce a great harvest. One of the great gifts of humanity is that we can learn how to nurture the life around us.

Growth is going to happen whether we are involved in it or not. At the same time, if we do help the natural process of growth along then growth will happen in a more quality way. For example, Trina was up and running with confidence early because her parents nourished that in her.

We humans grow naturally in several areas. We are living beings with body, psyche, intelligence, and spirit. All of these different parts of us will grow whether we help them along or not. That’s natural human development. But they will grow better if we nurture them well. Our bodies grow stronger and stay healthy when we exercise. Our mind learns and expands when we teach it something. Our psychological makeup improves as we work at developing a healthy ego

The same is true for the fourth part of our personhood – our spiritual side. Over the next few weeks I want to introduce you to something called Natural Spiritual Development. The concept is simple. Our spiritual side seeks to develop naturally just like our body, mind, and psyche. But, we can help it along through nurture. As most things grow naturally, they also grow better when nurtured.

In today’s Bible passage Jesus doesn’t say that the grain in the farmer’s field just got there naturally and naturally grew fresh and full every year without help. Notice the entire story: “He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The farmer each year cultivated the ground and later harvested it. We can also assume that in between he does some more cultivating, and weed pulling. The plants sprout and grow naturally, by the grace of God, but the farmer is able to nurture it along the way – for a greater harvest.

Natural Spiritual Development says that our spiritual side wants to grow into the things of God because after all we are really more spirit than we are body, mind, or emotions. Only one part of us survives after death and that is our spiritual side.

Natural Spiritual Development says that if we nurture our life in 8 specific areas then our spirit will naturally develop. I think it’s great to be able to identify several ways to help become more spiritual people, because when that happens we are also more naturally drawn to Jesus.

The information I’m going to share in the next few weeks comes from a book entitled “Color Your World with Natural Church Development. It is written with the intent of helping churches develop naturally. The concepts shared with a church about Natural Church Development become Natural Spiritual Development when lived out in an individual’s life. This can be pretty amazing stuff and can personally transform your life.

Just as it is amazing for me to see my grandkids naturally grow up, so your life can become amazing as you put some of these principles to work for you.

This week we’re going to look at 4 of the 8 principles:

1. Empowering Leadership – Do you let Jesus be the leader of your life? Do you give him the power to guide you? Here’s an Example – Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO of Apple Computer. His leadership has been instrumental to the success of that company. Many wonder if Apple can keep its cutting edge in the industry. Now there are many good people working for Apple but Jobs seemed to embody the spirit of it all.

That’s how Jesus can be in your life. Are you letting him be leader?

2. Gift-based Ministry – Everyone one of us is gifted in something. Are you using that gift in ministry? For example: are you gifted as a good listener? Do you us that to help other people? Are you a good teacher? Have you set yourself up to help others learn about Jesus? Have you got the skills of a handyman?  Do you use those skills to help people who can no longer do those kinds of things for themselves?

Psychological research shows that when we give ourselves away in some type of service or ministry to others we receive wonderful blessings in return. That process helps us mature as Christians and as people of faith.

Julio Santana the director of the Bread of Life Mission has a great gift for working with Hispanic children – to help them assimilate into American society and grow closer to Jesus. He loves life because he gives himself away in ministry. It comes back to bless him. How are you using your gift for Jesus Christ?

3. Passionate Spirituality – What do you do that gets you really excited about our faith walk with Jesus. Are you a fan of Jesus? I live in a town of Gator and Seminole fans. People are passionate about their sports teams and they do things like glue stickers to their cars or travel hundreds of miles to a game just to keep that passion alive. What do you do on a regular basis to keep your passion for Jesus alive?

The last church I served was in Punta Gorda. During that time a woman came up to me and shared a frustration. She was a part of my small group so we knew each other well. She confided in me that her faith life had become dry and routine. She suspected it was because her prayer life was terrible. She seldom prayed and when she did she felt no connectedness to God.

I gave her a simple tool that I have shared with you several times before. I invited her to start writing a letter to God or Jesus each day. Start by reading the Bible until something interesting jumped off the page and then write to God. Two weeks later she came busting into my office so excited because she had gotten her spiritual mojo back. The simple act of writing a prayer to God made a big difference. What are you doing to keep spiritual passion alive!

4. Effective Structures – What structures have you built around your life to help feed your passionate spirituality? We need habits, traditions, discipline, and structure in our lives if it is to amount to anything good. Do you structure you life so that you let Jesus in on a regular basis? That might include a regular time of prayer each day, or buying a Christian book of some sort. Do you structure into your life enough worship? Are you a part of a small group or Sunday School class?

Effective structure is simple a way of saying, what do you do to intentionally build the foundation of your life?

Now here’s the beauty of Natural Spiritual Development. If you begin to improve in just one of those areas your whole spiritual life will improve. Your relationship with Jesus will change for the better. You will walk more confidently in the faith. You will begin to feel better about yourself and others will notice.

So, here’s the how to. Look at those 4 principles for natural spiritual development. Pick one that you would like to work on – to develop more – to nurture. Which one would you life to improve in quality?

Choose one of those 4. Spend the next four weeks intentionally nurturing that area. I guarantee - your spiritual life will improve and your whole outlook on life will be better too as you improve the quality of that one area. How do I know? Because as Jesus says in the Bible passage: God will make it happen!

A Natural Growth Pattern for Christians- Part 2

Ephesians 4:11-16

Last week I shared with you some pictures of our grandchildren and discussed how amazing it is to watch them grow. They grow and change so quickly. We were talking about how natural it is for little ones to NATURALLY grow. It’s a part of nature. We can’t stop it. It’s a part of God’s creative plan.

Well I didn’t tell you that I have three grandchildren. All you have ever seen are pictures of the two we have in Ohio. Well, we have one in Alaska also. She’s not quite here yet. Jenny, my daughter-in-law is about 5 months along in her pregnancy.

The baby inside of her is growing about as naturally as anything possibly can. Talk about rapid natural development. Within 18 days a baby’s heart is beating. Within a month she has the physical shape of a human being. Within 3 months you can easily count her fingers and toes.

All of this occurs naturally. Now Jenny does what she can to nurture the baby growing inside of her. She eats right, exercises, takes her vitamins, but for the most part it is a completely NATURAL process.

Remember that concept – NATURAL, because that is also the way we were meant to grow as Christians. Being a Christian is a choice we make. We choose to say yes to Jesus. We confirm that he is indeed our Lord and Savior. We decide to become a Christian.

If you haven’t done that yet let me invite you to do it right now. Quietly, in your heart you can say YES Jesus; I want to build a relationship with you. I want you to lead my life for the rest of my life.

After you have done that, Christian growth is to come NATURALLY. It’s not meant to be hard or complicated. We often make it hard or complicated because we over think it. All we need to do is nurture it a little bit and it will mature within us.

Here’s what I mean about something growing naturally AND well with just a little nurturing from us: My father was a great gardener. He just loved to get outside and work among his vegetables and flowers. He had a vegetable garden every year and each year it got better and better.  He could feed us fresh or canned vegetables all winter long from his garden. That garden wasn’t much bigger than a double car garage but it produced a great harvest. What was his secret? He helped nurture the natural growth of those plants.

For example, my dad raised so many tomatoes that my mother canned dozens of jars worth, and they still gave away dozens more. My dad didn’t plant hundreds of tomato plants hoping to get a few hundred tomatoes. He usually only planted maybe 20 plants, but because he nurtured those he got hundreds of tomatoes.

Usually, when we nurture something it grows into a wonderful thing. That can be a plant, a person, an occupation, or a relationship. That can also be your Christian faith.

Today’s Bible lesson discusses this concept: “¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

Verse 11 lists people who have a special talent or gift for helping nurture others in the faith. Apostles are today’s church leaders. Prophets are your wisdom people in a congregation. Evangelists are those who easily share the Good News of Jesus to get others excited about him. Pastors are any of you who love to reach out in care for your fellow human being. Teachers are all the rest of us who can explain things easily. Really, just about every one of us fits into one of those categories.

And what are we to do with that gift or skill? Verse 12 says – “equip God’s people” to help strengthen the church. To me that is the same as telling us that our job in the church is to NURTURE each other. There’s that word again – NURTURE. And verse 13 tells us why we should do that – “so that we will be mature in the Lord”.

Years ago, after a celebrated international career on the stage, the world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz became a professor of music at UCLA. When someone asked him why he had left the glamour of performing to become a teacher, Heifetz answered, "Violin-playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on; otherwise it is lost."

The same is true of Christianity. We must pass on its teachings, its wisdom, its passion, its good news or else it will be lost. As we teach – or as we nurture others, we become more mature and better Christians ourselves.

Last sermon I shared with you that I’ve come across some information that I want to present during the next few weeks. It comes from a book entitled “Color Your World with Natural Church Development. The concepts shared about the church in Natural Church Development becomes something we can call Natural Spiritual Development when lived out in an individual’s life. This can be pretty amazing stuff and can personally transform your life.

My father’s garden was pretty amazing to watch as it grew over the summer months. Your life can become something pretty amazing to watch as you try out some of these Natural Spiritual Development principles.

Last week I mentioned that there were 8. I shared a review of the first 4. They were empowered leadership, gift-based ministry, effective structures, and passionate spirituality. Today, let’s look at the last 4.

5. Inspiring Worship Services – Do you attend worship on a regular basis? Do you come to worship anticipating it to be inspiring? Do you help to make it inspiring? How you approach each week’s worship service will determine your growth as a Christian.

In the first church I served as a minister – 1979 – we had a church member who came to worship every week – even though he was almost completely deaf. This was before many of the neat hearing technology breakthroughs of the past 30 years. He could hear practically nothing. I asked him once why he came when he couldn’t hear a thing. He said for 2 reasons – so that he could continue to get inspired by the event alone, and so that he could be an inspiration to those around him. Do you let worship do the same thing for you?

6. Holistic small group or support group – Do you have a support group that helps you grow in your Christian faith? Many people don’t. It doesn’t have to be through the church but it could be. Face to face interaction with friends to discuss Christian lifestyle issues help us become informed Christians.

When you get together with your golfing buddies you discuss golfing, right? When you go out to lunch with “the gals” you discuss family and other friends, right? If you belong to the Plant City Garden Club or to the Chamber of Commerce, when you get together with other members you discuss gardening or commerce, right?

You intentionally schedule those things into your life, right? Do you also intentionally schedule time to be with other Christians to discuss Christ? That’s the value of a small group. With those discussions you nurture each other and grow in the faith.

7. Need-oriented evangelism – When I was a pastor in Punta Gorda I met a couple who had been unchurched for years. She was ill and in the last stages of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I was invited to their house by church members who were close friends. Within a few days after my first visit the wife died. I did her funeral service and then some of us continued to visit the husband. He had lots of life and faith questions. He eventually became a part of a small group at the church and he eventually recommitted his life to Jesus.

Out of a need (the disease), came an opportunity for evangelism. That is need-oriented evangelism. And guess what? None of us ever asked the husband if he want to be saved. We just nurtured him into the decision. I believe these types of opportunities are all around us. Can you find a need, meet it, and let the evangelism do its thing in the process?

8. Loving Relationships – From my read on things there is a lot of anger out there in the world. Too much anger. I was at a store checkout the other day and overheard an argument at the service desk. The customer was way over the top – mad about a consumer item of all things. I was walking down the center of town a couple of weeks ago and passed a woman who was screaming over her cell phone. She didn’t care who was listening. She let the whole world know she was mad at someone. My office sits at the corner of Baker and Wheeler. I often hear brief moments of road rage as horns honk and voices yell. We need less of that and more expressions of love in the world.

We need even greater loving relationships. That takes time to nurture and we must choose to do it. I don’t think love is a natural response in life. It requires work. But, it is the greatest emotion to a healthy mindset and outlook on life. It’s part of the great commandment of Jesus – “Love your neighbor as yourself.” When you work at this, your life blossoms!

The church can help build relationship skills in your life. That’s the thrill of Christian nurture.

Now here’s the beauty of Natural Spiritual Development. If you begin to improve in just one of those areas your whole spiritual life will improve. Your relationship with Jesus will change for the better. You will walk more confidently in the faith. You will begin to feel better about yourself and others will notice.

So, now you have all of this knowledge. What are you going to do with it? Look at all 8. Choose one (only one) to work on during the next month. Become serious in making it better in your life. Nurture it. That’s the key. Nurture it and then watch how it helps you more NATURALLY become the Christian you had hoped to be. Improve the quality in one area of your life and you will improve the whole of your faith life. Give it a try. It works!

Looking for Signs in Some of the Right Places

There is a God in the universe. We Christians acknowledge that! But sometimes we have a hard time finding him, or seeing him at work in our lives. It might be because we haven't developed our skills in this area. We develop skills in many other areas such as driving a car, playing golf, or reading at an adult level. All good things require some kind of skill development. A happy marriage doesn't just happen. You work at it. Competency in your career choice grows over time as you intentionally develop the abilities.

The same is true in your ability to see God in the everyday activities of living. The same is true as you seek out the spiritual guidence of Jesus. Here are some simply ways to get that skill development happening.

1.) Look to the heavens. When was the last time to stared up into the night sky and reflected upon the creator of it all. We live in a huge universe and science teaches us about its complexities but God was the original mover and shaker of it. Take time to think of God as you observe a sunset, or the Milky Way, or the next thunderstorm. Reflection is good for the soul! It also teaches you how to "be still and know that God is God"!

2.) "The Daily Bible". I came across a Bible recently that is quite interesting. It is a chronological reading of the Bible. It also says you can read through the entire thing in 365 easy sittings. It's pretty cool. I began it just last week. It's produced by Guideposts and includes devotional insights throughout its pages. I find it to be a good read. If you want to get to know how God operates it might be a good thing to read the owners manual! Google "Guideposts" and order up the book. OR begin getting to know all about Jesus quickly by reading the Gospel of John and then the book of Acts.

You read the newspaper right, or the internet and your emails! Read the good news found in the Bible also!

3.) Take a walk in the woods. Take a walk around your yard. Watch the next butterfly that floats by. Watch the ants as they scurry by. Watch the blossom on the flowering bush back by the fence. Do you begin to see God in the details and intricacies of beauty? He is the creator of all things beautiful, but if we don't take time to look, we won't see.

4.) Call up a friend and tell them you were thinking about them and that you prayed for them today (Be sure to pray first!). That might get a brief conversation going about the things of faith - and God will be in that conversation. Try to listen for him there.

Well, that's enough suggestions for now. I'll plan to post a few more every so often. In the mean time, if you have a suggestion that you can share with the rest of us please pass it on to me through the website contact email address you'll find on this sight. Where have you found signs of Christ in your daily living? How have those help you in your faith walk! Let's share our ideas with each other.

Pastor Earl

On Your Faith Journey, Check the Signs

Here is the sermon I preached on May 15. I had shared with the congregation that I would post the sermon and then offer suggestions on how to connect more readily with God on a daily basis as we sought to discover his signs in the world around us. Please read through the sermon and then come back in a couple of days for the suggestions! God bless!

Scripture – John 20:1-10

Today’s Bible story is one of the Easter resurrection stories of Jesus. It’s the story of how two of the disciples responded to the women’s information that they found the tomb open and the body of Jesus gone. As we study this story I want to stress two lessons – First, the importance of looking for God-given signs around us, and second, the necessity of being smart enough to recognize them when they show up.

To illustrate that let me return to some lessons I learned while hiking the Grand Canyon a couple of weeks ago. Just a reminder, Peggy and I, Paula and Joe Sedita hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon – to the Colorado River – to Phantom Ranch - and then back out. The first trail – down - was 7 ½ miles long and took us 7 ½ hours to complete. The second trail – out – was about 9 miles long and took us 11 hours to complete.

Here are two lessons we learned as we prepared for and participated in the trip:

1. Look for the signs along the way that help you navigate the trail safely.

2. Be smart enough to know what the signs mean.

Here’s what I mean. Peggy and Paula did a lot of investigation about the trails before we ever began. They did their homework. A part of that was to be sure we knew what signs to expect along the way. For example there were the warning signs. Over 430 rescues happen there each year mostly because people ignore the warning signs.

Then there are the preparedness signs that describe just how difficult a trail will be and what you should do and take to be well prepared. I’m an old Boy Scout – an Eagle Scout. Our Motto is “Be prepared”.

Then there are the less obvious signs that you learn mean a great deal. For example, a human built rock edging tells you to stay back.  Or a switchback in the trail is there to advise you NOT to seek another way up and out of the canyon.

Then there are some signs that you come upon that put the fear of God in you – like this one. Why is this area called Skeleton Point? I’ve researched it and could not find out. But it does make you stop and think that you better be more careful then you have been up to this point!

Anyway trail signs are meant to help you navigate the path more efficiently and safely. The signs along the journey of life are meant to do the same thing. Those signs are many and abound in our lives.

We have obvious signs like stop signs that help us best navigate the roads. Then there are the signs that come from every day interactions with others. A pat on the back is the sign of encouragement.

A mother holding tightly to a child’s hand as they cross the street is a sign to the child that safety is important here. A piece of parchment in the hands of a high school senior is the sign that they have successfully completed their youth school years and are now moving forward into adulthood and a career or college.

There are signs all along the path of life. Some of the most important are those we discover along the journey of faith. I hope you take time regularly to look for the signs of God in your everyday travels through faith. They are all around us.

For example walking the Grand Canyon: One of the reasons it took us so long to walk down and back was because we kept stopping to see God in the cracks, and crevasse, and rocks of that beautiful place. I don’t know how people can look out upon something as massive as that and NOT think that there is a creator God who started the whole thing in motion.

The evidence of God is everywhere. You just have to decide to go looking for it. Our Bible story is a wonderful example of that. Peter and John receive word from the women who went to the tomb early that the stone door had been rolled away and the body of Jesus was missing. These two men go to see for themselves. The scripture tells us that they went, investigated, and walked away believing.

They went looking for signs of Jesus and they found them in some most unexpected ways. Here are two that have changed the face of the world. First, they went looking for a body but only found the funeral shroud. That was a sign that the body of Jesus had not been stolen. You see no one would have removed the body from the shroud if they were stealing it. In those days, you would never to touch a dead body directly or you would have been considered “Unclean”. EXPLAIN.

So, a sign of the resurrection was that Jesus didn’t need the death cloths anymore! And then there is the wonderful part of the story about the napkin – the cloth that had covered Jesus head. Notice that it wasn’t just casually discarded like the rest of the shroud. It was neatly folded and placed off to the side, away for the rest of the stuff.

Tradition tells us the story that any good servant coming out of a “master” led home would understand the significance of the folded linen napkin or cloth:

(In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.......... The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!’)

Did the folded napkin in the tomb mean the same thing? The resurrected Lord was coming back!

I love that story! Now, if this story is accurate or not it’s hard to tell. There is no concrete evidence that this was indeed a Jewish custom. BUT for some reason or another it was a sign to Peter. Why it was folded and set off to the side, only Jesus and the disciples know. But there were enough signs in the tomb that day to make it evident that Jesus had risen from the dead.

There would have been no need to even write about the napkin if it weren’t significant to the Gospel writer John. And that’s good enough for me.

Look what John writes a few paragraphs later: In verse 30 – “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

NOW, Going back to the beginning of my sermon I said that there are two lessons here. The first is LOOK for the signs. The second is KNOW what they mean. The disciples went looking for signs of Jesus and they found them. Not only that, they understood the signs because they had learned from Jesus how to interpret them.

Now these 2,000 years later the lessons are the same. We must continue to look for the signs of God at work in our lives, and we must be smart enough to understand them well. How do we do this?

Two ways - Look and study! First, look for the signs of God all around you. I’ve said it in the past – Most of us have forgotten how to look for the signs of God and Christ in our everyday lives. We spend way too much time looking at our calendars and our clocks instead.

We spend too little time looking for God as he journeys right beside us along the way.

The Bible says:  Psalm 19:1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
      The skies display his craftsmanship.
 2 Day after day they continue to speak;
      night after night they make him known.

Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
   where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 8:1 O Lord, our Lord,
      your greatness is seen in all the world!
   Your praise reaches up to the heavens;
 3 When I look at the sky, which you have made,
      at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places,
 4 what are human beings, that you think of them;
      mere mortals, that you care for them?

 5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself;
      you crowned them with glory and honor.
 9 O Lord, our Lord,
      your greatness is seen in all the world!

 Do you ever see God there? Do you ever take much time to look for him?

Look, that’s lesson #1-  but then also study (lesson #2). God and I have an awesome connectedness at the waters edge. There is a wonderful sense of companionship for us when he and I get off together overlooking the Gulf of Mexico for example. I experienced that same connectedness hiking through the Grand Canyon.

Why? Because I have spent much time studying him in the midst of his creation. I find him there because I expect to see him in the glory of his created world. If you don’t open the Bible, or a good Christian book that teaches you about the glory of God you won’t know what to look for. You will miss out on God.

And so many of you miss out on God. You know, I can only stand up here in the pulpit and give you advice. That’s my job. I can only hope that you take some of it – and this is some of the simplest I could give:

1.) Go looking for the signs of God in the everyday activities of your life.

2.) Study the things of God so that the signs will be easier to recognize.

This next week I’m going to post this sermon on our website WITH some suggestions on how to do 1 and 2. I hope you will check it out and practice seeking God more fully in this thing we call “the journey of life”!

Remembering the God of Our Nation

Here is the sermon I preached on Independence Day. Several of the illustrations were left out due to time constraints but the full message is printed here.

Remembering the God of Our Nation

2 Chronicles 7:11-15

The United States of America is 234 years old today. That's a long time for a nation to remain free. But, when you look at our history in the context of world history America is just a CHILD among the nations. Egypt, China, Japan, Rome, Greece all make America's history seem so short. 

Consider what a brief time we've really been here as a nation: When Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17. When Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a boy of 8. By the time he died Ronald Reagan was a boy of 12. Reagan died only 4 years ago. 

There you have it. The lives of four men can take you all the way back to the beginning of our country, 234 years ago. We are so young. 

And yet we stand tall among all nations because of the principles on which we were established: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights that among these are Life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

Thus begins the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate today. Don’t let anyone fool you. Freedom ought to be and needs to be celebrated. 

While the scripture from 2 Chronicles is about God blessing and dwelling in the OT temple that King Solomon built – it can also teach us about God dwelling and residing in America –and having blessed it. And with that blessing comes also a strong word of caution – even judgment if the people fail to keep God as God.

Let’s look at the scripture: 12 “Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices.”

Note something – God can choose any place he wants to exhibit his presence and power. For years the Jews believed that God lived in the Templ, for his presence was powerfully visible there – They recognized also that he had been with them in the parting of the Red Sea, and the manna each day out in the wilderness, to mention just a few. 

We Christians realize that God can be and is everywhere – and that there are times when he exhibits his presence and power, and blesses an event or people. We have seen it in history time after time. For Solomon it was at the Temple in Jerusalem. For our founding fathers it was in the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia. 

As we look at the founding of our nation it is easy to recognize God’s hand in it – directing the thoughts and actions of many in the 18^th century to proceed with courage in developing the “Great Experiment” they called the Republic of the United States of America. 

Take a look at this: In January of 2009 President Barak Obama was sworn into office. He chose to use Abraham Lincoln’s Bible from his first inauguration. An interesting thing – Lincoln had borrowed that Bible also. (All presidents have been sworn in using the Christian Bible.)

Before that -- Congress, declared 1983 to be the “Year of the Bible” — stating that the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the US as a distinctive and blessed nation....Biblical teaching inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the US (Public Law 97-280, Stat. 1211). 

Before that -- Former Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1954, said, the history of our country and its documents/charter exhibit the same objective: “A Christian land governed by Christian principles...”

Before that -- Abraham Lincoln, April 30, 1863, appointed a National Fast Day and declared, “It is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God… to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”.

Before that -- George Washington Oct 3, 1789, “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly implore his protection and favor.”

Before that -- Mayflower Compact 1620 was a covenant written “in the presence of God,” “In the name of God,...by the Grace of God... undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith.”

But long before that Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” We were blessed as a nation early on because we chose the Lord to be our God.

In the days of King Solomon, God came down to bless that nation. And in our history, some 234 plus years ago he came down to direct and bless ours. Let us never forget that. But we must also acknowledge that with such a blessing comes the responsibility to live faithfully as the people of that blessing. 

French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said: "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!" 

Faithfulness to God as the Almighty is the only foundation that can keep this nation from failure. When the Statue of Liberty was remodeled in 1984, it was discovered that the entire inside support system had to be replaced. The outside copper skin of the statue was okay; it only had to be cleaned. Rust and corrosion had ruined the inner iron supports. If repairs had not been made, the statue by now would have fallen over. The iron supports were replaced with stainless steel. Now it can withstand 125 mph winds and will last for hundreds of years. There’s a moral here. A nation without the inner supports of faithfulness to God and moral integrity is doomed to collapse also. 

Note the warning God offers to Solomon: 13 “At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you.” God warns that he will punish the nation that fails to honor his blessing. Later in the text he speaks even more clearly.  19 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, ²⁰ then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them.” 

It would be very hard for anyone to deny that the moral structure of America hasn’t deteriorated over the past 30 years. We might debate the effect that will have on our future as a nation, but many will agree that it has deteriorated, as has our faithfulness to God. 

General Omar Bradley was one of our most esteemed commanding generals – in WWII and Korea. He was also the advisor to presidents in the Vietnam War. He is quoted as having said, "America today is running on the momentum of a godly ancestry, and when that momentum runs down, God help America." 

Bradley also said, "We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants." 

I have a book sitting on my desk – written in 1986 – titled “The Rebirth of America”. It calls America today, a nation adrift. It gives evidence that the great American dream is turning into a nightmare. Its 257 pages are a prophetic outlook on a nation in decay. That was written 24 years ago. The cry is still the same today, only louder.

While that may be the case, it need not be our destiny. God’s conversation with Solomon continues with an incredible thread of hope. “14 But if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”  

God is saying to Solomon, AND to every generation – including ours – that he is a God of forgiveness and restoration. All we need to do is humble ourselves, seek him, pray for forgiveness, and turn from our wicked ways. It is an incredible formula for awesome success! It’s time we try it - again! 

Try this experiment when you get home today. Take a trash can lid and lay it on a healthy portion of your lawn. Leave it there for a week. Afterward, lift the lid and look under it. See the pale, sickly grass? See the roaches and worms nesting in the dark decay of the withered grass. That's what sin does to us- individually and as a nation!

Put the lid back down on the grass. Does the grass have the power to remove the lid all by itself? No. That's impossible. Let me suggest that we are like that grass. On our own we cannot lift the weight of a nation’s sin off of us. But with God, all things are possible.

Finish the experiment. Take the lid away. The bugs flee. The grass begins to receive sunshine and moisture. Its health is revived, restored. It is literally forgiven, let loose from bondage and decay. Forgiveness is just like that. What we can't fix, God fixes. God lets us loose from the folly of sin and frees us to new life! And that can lead to a revitalized nation. 

I remember a story about a little boy who was out helping dad with the yard work. Dad asked him to pick up the rocks in a certain area of the yard. Dad looked over and saw him struggling to pull up a huge rock buried in the dirt. The little boy struggled and struggled while Dad watched. Finally, the boy gave up and said, "I can't do it." Dad asked, "Did you use all of your strength?" The little boy looked hurt and said, "Yes, sir. I used every ounce of strength I have."

The father smiled and said, "No you didn't son. You didn't use me to help." The father walked over and then the two of them pulled that big rock out of the dirt.

One of the great Biblical truths is that God invites us to partner with him in all our great adventures. America is one of the best adventures ever set in motion. But as with the little boy, we can’t make it move forward without the help of our heavenly Father. 

So, on this Fourth of July – don’t just celebrate our freedoms of the day. Pray for our dependence upon our sovereign God for America’s tomorrow.  

(I want to thank the folks at Esermons.com and SermonCentral.com for their illustrations used in today’s lesson.)

Of Cracks in History

Matthew 17:22-23, 18:1-4

22 After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. 23 He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

 Matt 18:1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

 2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Last week, traveling around Puget Sound in Washington State, I started to notice Tsunami Evacuation Route signs. I’m familiar with Hurricane Evacuation Signs but not tsunami ones. I asked what that was all about and was reminded that Seattle and all the little port villages of Puget Sound are on an earthquake fault. If the ground quakes, all those low lying towns and cities could be hit by a tsunami. 

Did you notice in the news this week that there was a 5.0 magnitude earthquake in Toronto, Canada? Quakes can happen in the most unexpected places!

Earthquakes are formed by cracks (faults) deep under the earth’s surface where the tectonic plates crack and crash against each other. When that happens, the ground quakes. Scary! 

Did you know that there are other seismic cracks that happen, even in areas where earthquakes never happen? As a matter of fact there was a seismic crack the other day. Did you notice it? It wasn’t the earth, it was history, and each day the crack is getting bigger and bigger. 

Let me explain what I mean. Sociologists have observed that we are living in a “crack in history”. On one side of the crack is the past with its old paradigms (explain paradigm) that are no longer valid, On the other side of the crack will be brand new paradigms that aren’t even formed yet.

The crack opened up sometime in the 1970’s and will probably close again in the 2020’s. During this time span radical changes will affect just about everything we considered normal and sacred just 30 years ago. 

We are living in a “crack in history” when old ways of doing things are collapsing and new ones are forming at a rapid rate. Here are some of the cultural shifts that are taking place:

1. We’re moving from a churched to an unchurched culture.

2. The definition of “truth” is changing. There seems to be no ultimate truth anymore.

3. Moral standards are in a constant state of change.

4. The illusion of wealth is disappearing.

5. Information is taking quantum leaps in development. How many of us had “I” phones or IPADS 5 years ago.

6. The definition of family is changing – leading to fragmentation in the home.

7. By 2020 one half of all Americans will be non-white and speaking a second language.

8. The male dominated world of the last 2000 years has disappeared. 

What does all this mean? It means that many of the things we held as sacred in the past are disappearing. New and strange things are taking their place and reshaping the face of the human race. It is of earthquake proportions! 

There have been other cracks in history that have radically changed life:

1. The industrial revolution – brought about mass produced products and modern medical science.

2. The printing press. The Gutenberg Bible placed the Bible into the hands of the common person. Reading became a world-wide thing.

3. The Exodus of the Hebrews out of slavery from Egypt – gave us the foundation of the Judeo-Christian laws and ethics.

4. The introduction of Christianity through Jesus and people like the disciples - Introduced to the world the concept of grace, forgiveness, and salvation that changed the whole complexion of God’s relationship with us. 

This new crack in history does offer significant challenges. Will we take the high road or the low road? The crack also opens up a window of opportunity for new forms of ministry. If the church is to survive well into the 21^st century then it must understand the new paradigm shifts and build new ministries to meet new human needs. 

A question I want to ask us today is, “Who will emerge as church leaders in this new day? Who will come forward in the church to address these new cultural shifts taking place now?”    

               How about you?

In today’s scripture Jesus responds using a new paradigm when asked about who will be the greatest in his coming Kingdom. The old way of thinking had said that it would always be the most powerful, the most connected, the ones with the greatest education, etc. 

But Jesus takes a little child and places him in front of the disciples and says, unless you become like this little child you won’t enter the Kingdom. Unless you become as humble as a child you won’t have greatness. Jesus takes one of the simplest and least powerful of all the people on earth (a child) and introduces him as the new image of greatness in the Kingdom of God. 

One of the new paradigms that will emerge, we are told, is that the value of the laity in the church will increase and the value or importance of the clergy will decrease. The laity will reclaim the primary role of ministry that had been theirs in the first and second centuries – the role that should have always been theirs.

That means that you, the laity, will have an important part to play in the future of the church. Two weeks ago we held the Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church here in Florida. Last week, Peggy and I attended portions of the Annual Conference of the Pacific Northwest Conference in Tacoma, Washington. In both, the power of the laity to move the church forward was lifted up again and again.

If mission work is to grow larger, the laity in the field will need to lead it. If neighbors are to come to meet Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord then it will probably happen in hospitality groups or fellowship activities in the church led by the laity. If young people are to receive the transforming message of Jesus, those seeds of faith will need to be planted mostly by the laity.

The leaders of the new ministries being created for tomorrow are the people reading this blog today. How about that! The role of the pastor will be to equip the people in the pews to build ministries that lift Jesus high! You and I have the opportunity to build these new church member led programs.

But wait. Do you feel equipped? I often hear subtle statements that ring of, “Wait a minute Earl. I’m not sure I’m capable of leadership. I haven’t been to seminary. I don’t’ understand all the Bible. I don’t know church administration. How could I possible lead new ministries?”

My answer is simply this – You would do it just the same way that the disciples did, or Moses did, or the Apostle Paul did it many years ago. God took ordinary people and used them to build up an extraordinary church. Let me show you what I mean. 

Look at Peter, one of the disciples, for example. He was a common laborer the day Jesus met him. He was a fisherman. He wasn’t a community leader. He had no education beyond what we’d call 6^th grade. He was not charismatic. He was not a world traveler. He had probably never been outside the territory of Galilee much. He wasn’t well read. Many times he came across as a bit dimwitted and not fully connected to the program of Jesus. And yet God used him in a mighty way.

Church leaders don’t need to be well versed in the ways of God. They certainly don’t need to be saints or seminary graduates. Peter not only felt inadequate at times but he was inadequate – Yet he led the early Christian church through some of their most difficult days.

How did it happen? Certainly not through the wisdom, strength, or ingenuity of Peter himself. It was only through the power of God at work in him that could enable him to bring about radical change in the world like he did.

Guess what? He was just an ordinary human being like you and me. He was no greater in stature or skill then that little child that Jesus held up in front of the disciples a few years earlier. As a matter of fact Peter’s spirit was about as humble at times as that little child’s. And that was a good thing.

The one thing he did have going for him was that he had just a little more faith than fear. And that makes all the difference in the world.

Here’s another exciting story out of the early church. There is a little studied scripture from Acts 8 that can encourage us greatly today. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

Who were the scattered? The laity. People just like you. Who remained stuck in Jerusalem where their influence was limited? The Apostles, the clergy of the church. How did the Gospel of Jesus spread? By people just like you. Do you get my point?

These were ordinary people – not even a part of the designated disciples - who began to change the world in a big way. The one thing they did have going for them was that they had just a little more faith than fear. And that makes all the difference in the world – no matter what generation you are born in. 

Another story - Eight years ago I met a young college student who went to the same college as my son. She was cute, with long red hair, and maybe a little naive for her age. She was just a nice average young student who was trying to educate herself far from the home of her parents. Well, as it worked out, she and my son fell in love and five years ago she become my daughter-in-law! She is a delightful Christian who wants to make an impact for Jesus in the world. Really all she has going for her is that she has just a little more faith than fear – and therefore Jesus is using her in really cool ways. 

Another story - Last Saturday, Peggy and I sat in an auditorium with 400 other people and listened to a mature young woman give one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard. God had taken her at about the age of 14 and planted a seed of faith in her. That encounter encouraged her to become a leader in her local church and then to become a leader to young people through the United Methodist Church.

For 31 minutes this woman had the rapped attention of everyone in that room. She spoke about planting seeds in today’s children, youth, and young adults so that they could become Jesus lovers just like her. When she was finished she received a standing ovation.

That young woman was the same young college student I had met 8 years ago and who is now my daughter-in-law.  All she’s ever really needed was a little more faith than fear. And God is using her in mighty ways.

And now, what’s your story? Do you have a little more faith than fear? It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. You can have an incredible impact on the world around you. This world of ours is quaking from this “crack in history”. Many are running scared and don’t know where to turn for help. Are you ready to rub your hands together, roll up your sleeves, and resolve to become a part of the solution?

During the next few days I will put on the church website ways that you can become involved – not in administration but in real ministry. Turn to “firstchurchplantcity.com” for an exciting look at our future as a church. Until then – pray!!!

Revealing the Heart of Jesus

Matthew 11:27-30 and 12:15-21

We’re studying through the Gospel of Matthew. There are two scriptures close to each other – in chapter 11 and 12 – that speak about the heart of Jesus – OR perhaps more directly, the heart of God.

They are wonderful scriptures to help us think about why God sent his Son to earth to die of our sins – and what all that really means. We have entered into the Lenten season. In 4 weeks we will celebrate Easter. Before that we need to spend some time reflecting upon the crucifixion – the terrible way Jesus died on the cross – and why.

So lets’ get started.

Illustration - Back in 1990 Malcolm Forbes died of a sudden heart attack. He was one of the richest men in America. A magazine mogul and real estate magnet. He is the father of Steve Forbes. Steve is still the owner of Forbes Magazine like his father. He is often a news expert on the TV networks and has run for political office – a popular individual. Anyway, Malcolm was quite the flamboyant personality throwing his money around to impress people. For his 70 birthday he threw a 2.5 million dollar party for himself and 800 friends.

Well, he did something quite generous for his employees and others when he died. It made headline news back in 1990. Upon his death, his will provided for all of his employees to receive an extra weeks pay - sort of his way to thank them. Then, he also forgave everybody who owed him anything. He forgave them their debt.

 I don’t know much about Malcolm Forbes but many people know more about him than they know about Jesus. AND YET Jesus forgave the greatest debt for all humankind – Jesus forgives us of our sins. He forgives the rebellion of our hearts.

I want to talk about the love of God that is so big that he willingly forgives us of our misdeeds to him, our hurts to each other, and our past rebellion towards his Son. Why does God do that? When we find that answer we discover the reason for the Lenten Season.

 Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet once wrote “The Christian faith does not consist in the belief that we are saved, but in the belief that we are loved."  Jesus says it this way in today’s scripture: “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The prophecy in Matthew 12 also reveals something of God’s heart towards us. God says, “Look at my servant, he is my Beloved. And I will pour out my Spirit upon him and he will proclaim peace and justice to the nations. His name will be the hope of all the world.”

The Apostle John in his Gospel writes: “God so loved the world that he gave us his Son.” The whole reason Jesus came to earth was to demonstrate God’s love for us. I love what someone once wrote. “God does a whole lot more in trying to get us into heaven than he would ever try doing to keep us out.” In reality – God never tries to keep us out. That’s his heart for us. For some strange reason however, we tend to forget that quite easily.

The reason Jesus journeyed to the cross was not because

            a.) he had no choice.

            b.) he was doing God’s will.

            c.) It was the only way to save us.

He journeyed to the cross because he loved us. And before he ever did that – God loved us. God is not just the Great Almighty; he is the Loving Father doing everything he can to rescue us for all eternity.

Illustration – The story is told of the Great Potato Famine 1845 – 52) in Ireland - that a family considered selling one of their 4 sons into slavery so that the rest could survive.

            Not the eldest though – he was their future livelihood.

            Not the second born – he was too much like his father.

            Not the third born – he was too much like his mother.

            Not the fourth born – he was the baby of the family.

They chose to suffer together rather than sacrifice any one of their sons. I would hope we would feel the same way and do the same thing as parents.

Now imagine God’s dilemma when he chose to give away his only begotten Son to die on the cross, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

God offered his Son because he loved us that much. And he still does!

Illustration – Of a woman dying in the nursing home of heart disease. She was so afraid of dying. She spoke of it often. I asked her about this once and she told me a bit about her life – AND how she felt like she had NOT been good enough to really be saved by God.

Here’s an important lesson – Salvation is not based on our deeds but on God’s love.

Salvation is not even based on our faith as much as it’s based on God’s love for us.

 In one Gospel story a rich man comes to Jesus and asks him, “What must I do to receive eternal life?”

I have been asked that question in a dozen different ways a hundred times in my career as a pastor.

The answer is this – Believe in the love of God. I don’t know why that kind of belief (or faith) is such a difficult thing to accomplish for many people but it is.

Most everybody knows the Bible verse – John 3:16 “For God so loved the world..” But not everybody knows the next verse. “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” Why – because he loves us that much.

Love is the only thing that can forgive our rebellion, our sinful nature, and the guilt that follows that. The cross, and Jesus’ journey to that cross was God’s act of forgiveness towards us. The reason for LENT is God’s love.

We’ve lost sight of that in recent years. Love of self has become a dominant theme in much of our popular psychology and how we live out our lives. The assortment of self-help books on the shelves in the bookstores witness to that fact. I’ve even found many popular preachers telling us that we should be pursuing that. Life’s happiness can be found as you seek to love yourself, they say. One popular mega-church preacher once preached a series of sermons on Lent. LENT = Let’s Eliminate Negative Thinking.

Some of this may be all well and good but self love won’t come to the forefront until we know that someone greater than ourselves loves us even more. “For God so loved us…”

So, what is faith? Faith is the belief that God loves you. Belief is simply the process of building trust. You build trust over time. You build belief over time too.

The problem with most of us when we struggle with the things of life and don’t know where to turn is that we haven’t taken the time to build faith – a belief that we are so very loved by God. Do you want that?

I hope so. If so then try this during the next month as we move closer and closer to Easter:

1.) Read the Word of God until you accept it as wonderful. Find the logic and wisdom in it. Discover that within the words of the Bible you will find a God who loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his Son’s life to forgive yours. Let the Bible speak to you.

2.) Then pray – really pray, including some quiet time to listen for God’s voice. Pray like you are building a relationship with the Father.

Pray to the Son who invites you to come to him so that he can remove your heavy burdens and find rest in him. Lent is called the journey of faith. Let me invite you to take that journey and discover the Christ of the cross.

Of Aunts, Jesus and Hospitality

My aunt died last summer. I was remembering her last week because I found her phone number still in my contact list in my cell phone. Well, about two months after her death I received a packing box in the mail. It contained my aunt’s cookie jar. A little note was attached from my cousin. “Mom would want you to have this. She knew how special it was to you.”

Here’s the story. Every time we traveled the three hours to visit my cousins, my aunt would make my favorite cookies - chocolate oatmeal no-bakes! It was her wonderful way of telling us that we were very welcomed in her home, that she loved us and that we were special. It was a marvelous act of hospitality!

The cookie jar represented the best of “hospitality” for a little kid. Many of you are like that also. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing your hospitality!

In the Gospel - Matthew chapter 9, Jesus goes out of his way to be hospitable to others. 1.) He invites Matthew to leave his tax collecting booth and become a disciple. He basically invited Matthew to become a part of his faith family.

2.) He gladly sits down at dinner with Matthew even though Matthew invites his friends whom most call “scum”. I’ll bet Jesus really enjoyed that evening!

3.) The scripture ends with Jesus traveling around proclaiming the Good News, teaching, and healing – and having compassion upon the people he met.

Of the many images we have of God in the Bible – the creator, the all-powerful manipulator of the environment, as judge and jury, the inspirational Father, the compassionate Jesus, the medical missionary, the sacrificial Savior – perhaps none expresses his everyday love for us like that of the man of hospitality.

Jesus loved to gather people around him so that he might teach them the ways of God. “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them for to such belongs the Kingdom of God”, he said. One time Jesus was teaching in a house full of people. His mother and brothers showed up and the word was sent into the house. Jesus looked out upon those seated at his feet and compassionately asked, “Who are my mother and brothers? All of those who hear and believe in the word of God”.  Jesus so easily invited others to become a part of his faith family.

One of Jesus’ most heartwarming parables is of the King who prepared a great feast for his friends but when they made excuses not to attend, he sent out word for all of the street urchins and outcasts to come instead. God is the King who invites all into his heavenly feast!

People loved Jesus because he loved them first and he showed it in significant ways. It’s called hospitality! For example: 1.) Jesus reached out to touch the leper – the untouchables of his day.

2.) He’d stop doing “busy stuff” because a simple woman reached out to touch the hem of his garment. She believed that a single inconspicuous touch would heal her. Not only did it, but Jesus reached out to include her in!

3.) He often took time to eat with others in their homes – Matthew, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. The Savior of the World took time to break bread with everyday people!

And then Jesus did an even more remarkable thing. He created the church. He invited many people to become a part of it. He lifted them up and cared for them and taught them and edified them – then instructed them to “go and do likewise.”

I think one of the primary reasons Jesus created the church was to keep his ministry of hospitality going. To me there are two reasons the church continues to be of value in the world today:

1.) It is awfully hard to BE a Christian in a vacuum. Christians need other Christians – for encouragement, inspiration, learning, to share joy and excitement, and to hold each other accountable. Those are the things that grow strong in community. BUT, they are often lost when you try to go it alone. Jesus once said, “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there also.” Now he wasn’t saying that he’s not there if it’s you and you alone. He was just saying that there is something special when two or more gather. It’s called community!

2.) It is almost impossible to BECOME a Christian in a vacuum. The Apostle Paul wrote, “How can people know about Christ if no one tells them about him?” You might be able to play solitaire on your own but it’s awfully hard to appreciate Jesus on your own.

Our scripture passage comes from Matthew 9. In the very next chapter Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs to share the Good News and to do ministry. AND in the two thousand years since that time he continues to rely upon us to keep that going.

I would love to know how many people around that dinner table in Matthew’s house became believers in Jesus that night. MORE importantly, I’d love to know how many people around our town might become believers because of our outreach to them!

This year I want our church to be about building ministries that will attract others to this church – that will in turn attract them to Jesus! I’ve coined it “Hospitality Evangelism”. It’s a simple concept. Have the church do everything it can to be hospitable to a hurting world and people we check us our more fully. When they do than we have a greater opportunity to show them Christ. (That’s evangelism!)

In this scripture we are told that Jesus traveled all through the towns and villages dong three things. All of them were hospitality based. 1.) He proclaimed the Good news of the Kingdom – inviting them to join up! He was getting the word out, making it exciting, and motivating people to hear the Good News. Wouldn’t it be great to hear some good news for a change? Most of what we hear these days is bad news. In Jesus there is good news!

2.) He taught in the synagogues. Teaching is simply helping people come to know Jesus better, to grow in understanding him, and to become better Christians. We call it Christian education, and when done well it makes big changes in people’s lives.

3.) He healed every kind of disease and illness. Now, most of us don’t have the spiritual gift of healing, BUT people hurt in many other ways – emotionally, financially, through dysfunctional families. Many are alone and lonely. Jesus was simply providing a ministry of helps. We can do the same thing right here in Plant City.

Here are some ways we can plan to do that:

1.) As we expand the Wesley Center we will be building ministries of outreach to children and their parents, and to youth and young adults. We’re talking about outreach ministries here not just the same old children or youth stuff.

2.) It would be great once we free up some space in the traditional building to develop an adult outreach center here. That might include everything from adult day care, to a food or clothing pantry, to feeding the hungry once a week. We are beginning to coordinate that effort with other churches nearby.

It’s all called hospitality ministries.

Let me tell you a true story about a man named Tim (not his real name). Tim became a friend of mine but before that he was a client of the church. He had come to the church because he was homeless and without work. Over time the church embraced Tim fully, helping him in many ways. The bigger problem was that Tim was an alcoholic – and the church did much to include him into the faith family. We helped him find work, invited him to worship, Sunday School class, the prayer group, the young adult group. Whenever Tim would fall we’d help pick him back up. He became a vital member of that faith community and while he continued to struggle with alcohol, Jesus and the church had a strong hold on him. The church simply reached out in hospitality!

Similar stories have been lived out in every church where believers reach beyond the doors to the lost, lonely, and loved. You see they are loved because while they may be lost and lonely, they are loved by God. And he asks us to be in ministry to them.

Let us join together this year in building ministries of hospitality that reach out to draw others in! Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 8. We will have a significant workshop on campus to begin looking at innovative adult ministries that will reach beyond what we are doing now. Please be in prayer about this and keep looking at this blog site for inspirational stories about hospitality ministries elsewhere.