From Mourning to Dancing

Mourning

Recently at a local High School that is represented in our Student Ministry a Senior Girl died in a car wreck.  The school was absolutely shaken by the news.  In the midst of the tragedy – the school did a great job of bringing in grief counselors and holding a meeting and giving the students time to grieve.  My wife and I went up to the school that day and you could feel the heaviness and the brokenness…but you could also sense something else:  God working.

Grief is the deep sorrow that comes from a tragedy or a loss.

Mourning is wrestling through the deep sorrow and learning to adjust to life without the person or thing that you have lost.

Both grief and mourning are very difficult things, because they involve DEEP SORROW.  Webster’s dictionary and psychologist all over the world realize that it’s not enough to just describe it by ‘sorrow’ – but ‘DEEP sorrow’.  And people around the world mourn in different ways, but we ALL mourn (or we should).

The theme of mourning or the words to mourn or mourning is mentioned over 100 times in the Holy Bible.  People in the Bible mourned in all kinds of ways – tearing their clothes, weeping, screaming, fasting, wailing, etc.  We see that God mourned and experienced deep sorrow surround thing events of the flood in Genesis.  The Holy Spirit can grieve (Ephesians 4:30).  Even Jesus Wept (John 11:35).  Mourning is healthy ok and good.  Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for everything, even that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.“

But how?

How do you express deep sorrow?  What’s acceptable and what’s not?  What do you do with all the emotions and the shock and the lack of understanding?

What you have to realize is that everyone will mourn differently.  We just have to know and keep in mind a few things:

1. God is with you and near to you

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.  He saves those who are crushed in Spirit.” Psalm 34:18

2. God is still in control and completely sovereign

As Job was mourning tragic loss – “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ’Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’” Job 1:20-21

3. That God hears you and the Spirit groans for you

“the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” Romans 8:26

4.  That you WILL experience comfort

“Blessed are those who mourn; for they WILL be comforted” – Matthew 5:4

 

Dancing

The God of the Universe experienced mourning in the fullest extent as He had to turn His back on His Son, Jesus while He bore the sins of the World (past, present, and future) on the cross.  And certainly from that, Jesus Himself is more than capable to understand pain and deep sorrow.  Which brings us to the point…  As we mourn and experience deep sorrow and we are comforted – we get to experience the gospel in it’s earthly form.  In those moments where God takes us form mourning into dancing – from sadness to joy – from brokenness to fullness – we experience is redemption on earth.  We get a little glimpse of WHY God did what He did.

So, I thank God for mourning, because I know out of it comes healing, comfort, dancing, refuge, redemption, and rescue.  Which brings us to the ultimate hope – the reason we can sing, dance, and worship, and say “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

REVELATION 21:3-5

 

Don’t Waste Your Summer

How great is summer?  As a student pastor – I know that I can just feel a buzz and excitement in the air as students are getting out of school for the summer today and tomorrow!  I mean, they should have been out last week – but stinking record snow ruined that.  But, students are PUMPED about not having class, hanging out with friends, family vacations, and of course mission trips.  :)

Mine and Brooke’s summer is pretty slammed – because why most programs around the Church shut down – student ministry ramps up in the summer as we have time to hang out with students and they have the time to participate.  I love summer a lot, because a lot of the times whether it be through a Church Camp or a Mission Trip – I see students making awesome decisions for Christ and growing in their faith.  On the flip side, I see some students with TOO much time on their hands – and sometimes that leads to bad decisions, poor judgement, or even spiritual atrophy.

 

SPIRITUAL ATROPHY defined -  gradual decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect in the spiritual sense….

 

So, I challenged the students last week with one very simple task…

Why not go into this Summer with a different focus?  Why not have a plan and set goals for your faith.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9 says it like this…

“ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;  but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

Paul lived his whole life with this purpose and focus.  He disciplined his faith according to the calling set upon him (the same calling set before all of us).

Here are a good five places to start if you don’t know where to begin on setting goals for this summer: 

1. Pray for the entire World (or at least your friends & family)

There are some great resources out there.  You can set your homepage to OPERATION WORLD and they will give you a new country to pray for before you get online to check facebook or twitter.  Or you can download the Mobile App for VOICE OF THE MARTYRS  that will give you a prayer calendar on persecution happening around the World.

OR – this would be a crazy concept – but actually ASK and keep up with prayers from your friends and family then make it a point to pray for them this Summer in your spare time or at a specific point in the day.

2. Read the Bible

This will never get old and will never become ineffective or irrelevant.  Jesus Christ Himself left us with the challenge:

“If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Pick out a book in the Bible and dwell on it this summer, abide in it and God will abide in you! Focus your attention to being disciplined about getting in the Word of God – it is living and active…and will transform you!

3. Give Your Money to a Specific Purpose

A lot of students have a summer job or summer chores that their parents might actually pay them for.  How about using some of that to give sacrificially.  Whether it be to a friend going on a mission trip, using it to pay for your own mission trip, tithing at your local church, or adopting a child from Compassion International for $38 a month…be a good steward of your Money and allow the Lord to teach you the valuable truth that it is HIS money and we should faithfully use His gifts to bring glory to Him.

4. Spend Time in Another Context

Here is the reason why Grace Point Students is doing three Global Adventures/Mission Trips this summer.  We are going to Missouri for 5 Days, Peru for 8 days, and serving around NWA for 3 days!  God can use this to draw us into HIS mission and His purposes.  Beautiful thing to get outside of our own worlds and develop new and biblical world-views.

5. Commit to a Multiplying Community

GPS is here and ready to be an Authentic and Challenging community for any students (and adults).  Being a part of the Church Body is absolutely, 100% key in Growing in your faith.  The key word here is COMMIT  - If you do not commit to something as in be consistent, give of yourself (not just take from), and believe in it enough to put value into it….then Church will become just another chore or task that you do and will leave you empty inside.

So all that being said…

DON’T WASTE YOUR SUMMER

 

5 Challenges Adapted from David Platt’s, RADICAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace Point Students Summer Newsletter/Schedule

GPS SUMMER  PARENT NEWSLETTER

GRACE POINT CHURCH has an amazing new website – go check it out (especially the Student Ministries page)           WANNA SERVE IN STUDENT MINISTRY?   OPPURTUNITIES TO SERVE   Shepherd Team          This is a team of adult volunteers who serve as small group leaders who consistently invest in the students’ lives through teaching, modeling, and encouraging.   Hospitality Team We have a student snack shop on Wednesday Nights that Adults can work at. It helps us promote fellowship and community to our students by speaking to their hearts (more like stomachs). All proceeds from this snack shop go to provide Scholarships for Students to go on Missions.   Check-In Clerks             These volunteers allow us as a student ministry team to stay connected with the students, guests and members alike, on a weekly basis by being the keepers of attendees and making first impressions.  Great smile required.    General Wednesday Night Volunteer Come and hang out on Wednesday Nights to help us keep our students safe. While you throw around a frisbee or football, you can help us be a presence in the parking lot to keep students safe.   Sound/Video Techs          These “techies” will devote their time and talents in the areas of lights, sound, and video on Wednesday Nights and other special events.   EMAIL WADE WITH ANY INQUIRIES!    Student Ministry Links Twitter  YouTube  E-Mail Wade    PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS NEWSLETTER CAREFULLY!!!  Greetings!   I hope this newsletter finds you doing amazing.  I realize that Summer is one of the craziest times of the year for you and your family with vacations, baseball, soccer, softball, etc., figuring out childcare, working, etc.  The craziness is no less for Student Ministry – but we are going to have some great times of fellowship, service, and worship this summer!  Please read this Newsletter carefully so you know our Summer Calendar!   Below you will find a general Schedule for Summer – then below that will be some Event Highlights!      Sincerely, Wade Bryant Grace Point Church     SUMMER 2011 Schedule **Please note that Wednesday Night Large Group will go on as planned unless communicated by Wade **There will be NO Sunday Night Small Groups during the Summer.   JUNE **Wed, 8th – CRUD WARS (6:15-7:45 p.m.) **12th-16th – 9th/10th Mission Trip to Missouri NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT YOUTH on June 15th!!!  **22nd – Game Night/Kickball/Volleyball **28th  – B.L.T.   JULY **5th – B.L.T.  **6th-14th – 11th/12th Mission Trip to Lima, Peru **18th-22nd – PRAISE WORKS (contact Jerad for details) **18th – B.L.T. **25th-27th – DULOS Tour for 6th-8th grades   AUGUST **2nd – B.L.T. **7th-10th – RUSH WEEK WEDNESDAY NIGHT POOL PARTY @ BUSCHLEN’S  **12th (Tentative) – BACK-to-SCHOOL Lock-In    CRUD WARS – Wednesday, June 8th! June 8th will be our 2nd Annual CRUD WARS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW *Wear clothes you don’t mind throwing away after this night! *Bring a towel or change of clothes *Wear bandannas/hats/toboggan/something to cover your hair (this stuff will get everywhere) *Wear earplugs/goggles/sports glasses (no seriously – EVERYWHERE!!!) ***PARENTS – we will have water hoses there to clean everyone off – but you will need to protect your car – bring towel’s for your kids to sit on!!! *Only wear swimsuits with clothes over! *NO ONE will be allowed in the Church BEFORE or AFTER CRUD WARS – Meet outside by the GPC Field @ 6:00-6:15.  Should be done by 7:30 this night!!! CALL OR E-MAIL WADE BRYANT WITH QUESTIONS/CONCERNS wade@gracepointchurch.net  -  Cell:  479-426-7322    9TH/10TH GRADE MISSION TRIP TO MISSOURI!!!   WHO: Current Freshman and Sophomores (2010-2011 School Year) WHAT: Global Adventure to Moberly Missouri to work with  World Changers as well as doing some inner city/Urban Work in Down Town St. Louis. WHEN: June 12th – June 16th WHERE: Moberly & St. Louis, MO HOW MUCH?: Total Cost – $370 – After Scholarship – But you get a support raising packet to help you with some of the cost!!!!  $50 DEPOSIT DUE ASAP!!   STILL TIME TO SIGN UP!!! PLEASE EMAIL WADE FOR DETAILS!!!   B.L.T. (Bible Study, Lunch, Then Disc Golf)    4 Tuesdays This Summer we will get a group together in the morning around 10 a.m. and dig into God’s Word for about an hour.  Then we will grab some lunch and then go play some disc golf in Bella Vista, AR.  Students will need some lunch money & appropriate clothes to where to be active in!  6th-12th Grade Welcome!   WHO: 6th-12th Graders WHEN: July 18-22 WHAT: “Preparing Tomorrow’s Worship Leaders Today!” is the motto of Praise Works.  We will take those interested down to OBU so they can choose 2 tracks to work through during the week – tracks include Sound, Deeper in God’s Word, Drama, Interpretive Movement, Stomp, Sign Language, Song Writing, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keys, Piano, Drums, Vocal, Graphic Design, Photography, Video Production, Tech, Sound & Lighting! WHERE: Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR HOW MUCH?: $185 by June 20th (Space is limited) CONTACT: jerad@gracepointchurch.net or wade@gracepointchurch.net DULOS TOUR 2011    WHO: Current 6th, 7th, & 8th Graders (2010-2011 School Year) WHAT: Global Adventure doing Local Missions/Service Projects around Northwest Arkansas! WHEN: July 25th-27th (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.) WHERE: Northwest Arkansas HOW MUCH?: Absolutely Free!  All Students need to bring Sacked Lunches!!!     WHO: Current 5th Graders – Coming into 6th Grade!! WHAT: This is our Promotion Week for the current 5th Graders that will be coming into the Student Ministry.  We will share with them about what the Ministry is about, introduce them to their leaders, answer any questions, and have some fun!!! WHEN: August 7th-10th! WHERE: Grace Point Church     WHO: 2011-2012 School Year 6th-12th Graders!!! WHAT: Our Amazing, Fun, Tiring, Random, Crazy, and completely SAFE Back To School Lock-in!  Part of our time will be at GPC and the other part will be spent at FAST LANES playing lazer tag, bowling, playing games, etc.!! WHEN: Friday, August 12th @ 7 p.m. – Saturday, Aug. 13th @ 7 a.m. WHERE: Grace Point Church Bentonville HOW MUCH?: $15 per Student!

Profile of a Disciple: [Insert Name Here], Come OUT!

Background

John, Chapters 11 & 12 tell the story of a family of believers and followers of Christ named Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  Jesus was really close to this family and cared and loved them very deeply.

Read John 11:1-44 & John 12:1-8 to see what I’m talking about.  You don’t have to read it aloud, but it might be beneficial to read some of the key verses.  This will help you set the stage!

The events of these couple of chapters and the implications of what they mean for us is amazing.  As you read these couple of chapters, you will be told of the story of your life in who you were and who you are now!

You really have to look at this story with a couple of different sets of lenses to see where we are going with this lesson, however, we will just be scratching the surface of what we could draw out.

We are going to take a look at how Jesus has rescued us from Death and brought us to life – then how He is worthy of us giving that life and everything we have right back to Him.

Body

Romans 6:23 tells us “The wages of sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”  - Ephesians 2:1-2 tells us “As for you, you were DEAD in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live in the ways of the world.”  But goes on to say that we are now “made ALIVE in Christ”.

These are pretty shocking accusations from Paul in regards to our lives.  I mean, before I was a believer, I was still breathing and could run, jump, wake up from sleep, play sports, etc.  I thought I was very much alive when I was younger without a care in the World.  However, when my scope of the world broadened and I was exposed to the junk of this world that quite frankly made me feel like junk inside – I started decaying, dying even and I wasn’t sure why.  I know now that it was because of the “ways of the world” I was following and the “sin” that was surely killing me inside.  Yet, when Christ called me out I experienced life to the fullest (John 10:10) and I was made ALIVE in Christ Jesus!

This is why Lazarus being literally, physically being called out of the grave by the words “LAZAURUS, COME OUT!” should be so very impactful for you and I.

This is exactly what Christ did for us and does for believers all around the world.  Because of His blood, His Lordship, and His power… He says “WADE, COME OUT!” or “[Insert Name here], COME OUT!”.  Come out of your bondage, the bandages of your sin that represent your un-healed wounds left by the sin in your life.  Come out of your decaying life and body and receive me and my gift of eternal life for you.  Come out of a life that is dependent solely on you and your pleasure and come live for me, because I will give you life abundantly.

If you truly open up your senses, specifically your sense of smell and read this story – you can almost imagine the two distinct smells.  The first smell you would catch a whiff of would be Lazarus’ dead, decaying body that has now been dead for 4 days.  Imagine you seeing the bandages/wraps being taken off of Lazarus body, each one representing another barrier from Him and true life.  We can really see ourselves in this, as Jesus very carefully unravels the mess that is our own lives to free us up to live for Him.  Will you answer Him as He is calling out to you?  He’s screaming, standing outside of your own walking tomb, [Insert Name Here], COME OUT!.

The second smell and part of the story is much more appealing, but twice as hard.  I’m mean, in the first part, yes you have to deal with nastiness, mess, sin, and death.  But the part about accepting life and getting rid of death seems pretty appealing to me.

Mary had accepted that life in Jesus’ name.  She adored Him.  I believe she loved Him even more for loving her brother enough to save his life.  Her expression of that love and adoration led her to giving sacrificially of herself and her possessions to Jesus.  We can use her as an example of what our response to Christ should truly be.  As she poured out the Pint of expensive perfume, equaling a years salary, on Jesus’ feet…she wasn’t concerned with the cost to her.  She wasn’t even concerned with what the culture (even the people in the room) thought about what she was doing.  She unashamedly and uninhibitedly poured out her love and expression through her gift on Christ.  In that moment she said to Christ that He was worthy of her life and her most prized possession.

WOW.  It brings a certain sense of shame to me as I read that story.  Because, I hold on to the things of this world, my own possessions, and especially my own life so tightly and dearly.  Christ calls us to pick up our cross and follow Him, to die to ourselves, to lose our life so that we might find it in Him.  He calls us to all of those things, because He is Worthy of it all.

How will we respond?  Can we realize that Jesus calls us out of death and into His life SO THAT we can give that life received right back to Him to be used for His glory and in His Kingdom.  We are bought with a price, we are not our own.  But when we submit our lives to Him, He allows us to experience it more abundantly and to be more fulfilled by it.

What are you holding on to?  DO you believe and know that He is Worthy of your life?  Do you need to “Come Out!” and be resurrected in Him?

Profile of a Disciple: Sanctifying Truth

John 17 is Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer!” and It is an amazing prayer of Christ as He is praying to His Father in Heaven.  It is broken up into 3 different parts:

Verses 1-8 – Jesus Prays for Himself

Verses 9-19 – Jesus Prays for Disciples

Verses 20-26 – Jesus Prays for All Believers (present and future)

 

…this is Jesus’ prayer for us as believers…He is interceding for us even now.  In vs. 9-19, Jesus prays personally for the disciples.  Which if we are all called to be His disciples (that is the point) then He is praying for us.

You see a lot of the same prayers going up to His Father on behalf of disciples that He prays for ALL believers – Being “ONE” (vs 11) is still a main theme.  However, Jesus prays something here that I believe should challenge us to a discipline that a lot of America does not practice.  In verse 17, Jesus prays…

 

“SANCTIFY THEM IN THE TRUTH; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH”

 

This is so powerful and challenging for us to hear.  Jesus knows that Sanctification – which is the process of becoming Holy/Set-apart or more like Jesus Himself – will be made possible by the Word of God… a.k.a the Holy Bible.

Charles Ryrie, distinguished former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and Author put it this way in His helpful book Basic Theology:

“It was to the Father that our Lord prayed that He would sanctify us through the truth (John 17:17).  Thus the BIBLE becomes anindispensable foundation for our sanctification.  How else could we know for sure what pleases a Holy God except through His Word.”

He poses a great questions which was in line with what Christ Himself was praying.  How are we made Holy or How can we live more like Christ and less like our old self if we don’t have any scope of what that means?  How can we do the things Christ did without reading what He did?  How can we know what pleases and displeases God unless we read it in His Scriptures?

I know you could say – “well, by the Spirit of course”…and I don’t doubt that – but how often do you listen to the Spirit of God inside of you?  What if it was Satan Himself “leading” you to do something?  We must be grounded in truth.

Another way Jesus puts this is in John 8:31-32:

 

“If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and if you will know the truth,
the truth will set you free.”

 

You don’t have to guess if you know truth.  There is power in the blood and freedom in knowing the Word of God.

 

A “Truth-less” Generation

We live in a culture where Biblical Illiteracy is running rampant.  Whether it be the fact that there are so many other things that are competing for our attention, or churches stopped doing “Bible Drills” because they were “uncool”; the bottom line is – we have a HUGE PROBLEM on our hands as a generation if we fail to pass on the importance and the foundation of Scripture.

However, we as church leaders and shepherds can not force feed it down their throats.  We have to allow them to mature in their desire and discipline of God’s Word.  To give them a little taste, to remind them of the importance, to share stories about what God’s Word does for us and their peers.  THEN they will start to “like newborn babies, LONG for the pure milk of the word, SO THAT by it [they] may grow in respect of righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:2.

To long for the Word of God, then to follow it… that is the aim.  But we are not there.

The writer of Hebrews might as well have been writing to us when He says:

“Since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you should all be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the Words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil…therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity.”

Hebrews 5:11-6:1

Our culture has stifled the growth and maturity of our students.  We need to bring back to the forefront the magnificent wonder of the Word of God.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Prof. Howard Hendrick’s (who every year, goes through the entire Bible and makes a new set of notes and reads it with fresh eyes, an open heart, and a teachable Spirit):

“What is the Aim of the Bible? The text tells us: in order that you may grow.  Please note – it is not only that you may know.  Certainly you can’t grow without knowing.  But you can know and not grow.  The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Savior.  Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts but to transform your life.”

-Dr. Howard Hendricks in Living by the Book

 

Profile of a Disciple: UNITY & LOVE

How great is it to know that Jesus Christ Himself prays for us?  We read in Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus is He who died, rather He who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also INTERCEDES and PRAYS for us!” and again in Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Yet this is a mark of what Christ is doing right now for us, as He sits on the right hand of God, on His throne.  But, before Christ left this earth, He also prayed a very specific prayer in JOHN 17.

John 17 is Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer!” and It is an amazing prayer of Christ as He is praying to His Father in Heaven.  It is broken up into 3 different parts:

Verses 1-8 – Jesus Prays for Himself

Verses 9-19 – Jesus Prays for Disciples

Verses 20-26 – Jesus Prays for All Believers (present and future)

 

Say What?!?

It is absolutely amazing to me that God’s master plan is for us.  For me and you and the church as a whole to reconcile the world back to God.  To be His ambassadors.  To be His hands and feet.  The very children and heirs of God.  Here, God reminds us all of another task set before us.  THAT WE BE UNIFIED – SO THAT – the world may believe and know that God sent Him, He lived, and He died and rose again!  Basically, by the way we act and who we are as a church will play into the world around us believing in the Way, the Truth, and the Life and be able to receive salvation!

SAY WHAT?!?!?

That’s your master plan Jesus?  To leave us in charge?  What if we screw up, ok scratch that, what about WHEN we screw up?  Ok, scratch that too, what now that we’ve already screwed up?

Well, this is the reason why Jesus thought it pertinent to pray for all of us before He left.  He new we needed help.  But if there is one thing that we see from Christ and His call on our life, is that He holds us to a higher standard.  And even though the world is segregated, angry, broken, fighting…as for the people who are followers of Jesus…He wants them to be UNITED and marked with the LOVE of Christ.

Why?  Can you imagine a unified Body of believers not fighting, enjoying each other and living for not themselves but for God and each other?  Can you imagine how the outside world would want to know how this is possible and further more how do they get this?  Christ new exactly what He was doing praying this.  He knew that this would be so different and revolutionary that the WORLD would come to know HIM through this.  There would be no more calling the Church HYPOCRITES, but instead we would be seen as people who are walking the talk…and who were forever changed by the Word of GOD!  Him living in us would be EVIDENT by the way we live… together!

For more on Unity…read Colossians 3:12-17 and Ephesians 4.   For more on LOVE read John 13:34-35 and Hebrews 10:23-25.

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UNITY in the EARLY CHURCH:

Here is what UNITY looked like in the Early Church in Acts 2:42-26:

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,”

 

Can you see this playing itself out in our local church?  It would be awesome!

So how do we promote this?  Let’s Rise Up Church!  May we allow the World to see that Christ is real…He did come, He did serve, He did die, He did rise again, He did ascend into heaven where He is preparing a place for us…and HE WILL COME AGAIN!

Profile of a Disciple: Thermostat vs. Thermometer

One thing that you see as you study at what it means to be a Disciple of Christ is that it is pretty much guaranteed that you are going to be moving against the grain of Culture.  Whether it be Jesus telling you go through the Narrow Gate or the Road less traveled OR to be ready to be persecuted, we see that this is something that should be expected.  For us to be different.  To go from darkness into marvelous light, from old self to new, from the old creation to something revitalized.  We need to embrace the fact that we are NOT OF THIS WORLD.

So, why do we still talk and act the same way as we did before Christ?  Or, even worst…why can’t people tell the difference between us and our non-believing friends?

We are missing something.  Because when we are following closely with Christ and walking in His Spirit and Truth…our lives start shining brightly for Him.  Then our lives start OVERFLOWING with the things of Him…

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Colossians 2:6-7

and…

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

But this Only comes when we have “received Him”, “Live our lives in Him,” “are rooted and built up in him,” “Strengthened in the faith,” “when He is our hope,” “filled with joy & peace,” “have trust in him,” “live in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

If we aren’t truly walking with Christ, reading & applying His word – then the sad truth is we just look like everyone else – a person of the “flesh” or the WORLD.

 

The difference is being

a THERMOSTAT vs. a THERMOMETER

 

 

This concept is adapted from Dr. Tim Elmore’s book Habitudes: Images that form leadership habits and attitudes

 

People are either THERMOMETERS or THERMOSTATS. They will merely reflect the climate around them, or they will set the climate.  Disciples will look at Christ’s example and teaching and live by them to set the tone for those around them.

Most people are like thermometers.  They tend to reflect the culture around them.  They buy things that others buy, say things that others say, wear things that others wear, and watch or listen to what’s “popular.”  Therefore, MOST people don’t set the “climate” for the world around them or amongst their friends, they just mirror the climate around them.

 

DISCIPLES though are people who decide to take their lives to the next level.  They become thermostats, and set the climate or lead by example in WHATEVER setting they are in.  Their lives and character are not influenced or subject to world around them.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Luke 6:46-49 NIV

This passage comes at the tail end of an amazing Chapter in Luke.  The whole chapter is filled with Christ explaining to his followers & disciples of how they should act and live.  Here are some of the commands:

-love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (vs. 27-28)

-if someone hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also (v 29)

-Give to everyone who asks of you, and if they take it, don’t take it back (v 30)

-“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (v 31) – **NOTICE that this doesn’t say treat them in return of how they treated you…

-do good, love your enemies, lend to people expecting nothing in return (35)

-Don’t judge, do not condemn, pardon people (37).

***and the list goes on, but you get the idea.

And at the end of all these things – Jesus says, those who hear this AND put it into practice are a wise man who’s foundation will not be shaken or effected by the outside forces, temperature, weather, craziness, destruction…

They will be Thermostats – setting the tone for those around them.  Yet it’s all dependent on digging deep and laying a firm foundation on the Rock – aka Jesus Christ – and putting all of the things He taught us into practice.

Notice that all of the other commands in this chapter has us, as DISCIPLES, doing something opposite of what the world around us is doing.  We are setting the temperature and climate, not mirroring the one around us in our circles of friends.

We are called to ACT not to  REACT

 

 

CLOSING Questions:

1)   Would you say that right now you are a Thermostat or a Thermometer?

2)   Would you say that you tend to ACT or REACT to situations around you?

3)   What are ways you can change and be a consistent tone-setter in your circle of friends?

4)   What do you think any of this has to do with being a disciple of Christ?

Profile of a Disciple: Ashes, Ashes, We all fall down…

LENT

I had never truly studied or dove into LENT or Ash Wednesday in my Christian life and walk.  Until last week that is.  My eyes were opened to a potentially blessed and holy season of Addition, Subtraction, focus, repentance, reliance, and humbleness.  I read and studied from a book called…..

THE LITURGICAL YEAR by Joan Chittister

The author is actually a born again Catholic Nun who found Christ and moved over to a evangelical belief system.  She comes at the Liturgical Calendar Year and explains it in easy to understand terms and vernacular.   How the “Holy Days” and different times of the calendar can be viewed and practiced by Evangelical Christians.  Growing up in Ireland where EVERYONE is catholic and being a nun in an American-Catholic church gave her both positive and negative knowledge about LENT and ASH WEDNESDAY.

Here is a quote from her book about LENT:  “Lent calls each of us to renew our ongoing commitment to the implications of the Resurrection in our lives, here and now…Lent is a call to renew a commitment grown dull, perhaps by a life more marked by ROUTINE and less about REFLECTION….Lent requires me, as a Christian, to stop for a while, to reflect again on what is going on in me and what God wants to do in me…Lent is not a ritual, it is a time given to think seriously about who Jesus is for us, to renew our faith from the INSIDE OUT.”

I mean who among us does not need this?  How many of us have made our faith a “ROUTINE” or a CHECKLIST?  How many of us have stopped going to the Lord in prayer, going to Sunday or Wednesday Church, or opening up the God-breathed and always profitable Scriptures out of some obligation and man-made idea that we NEED to so we can check it off our being a good christian list?

WE NEED RENEWAL, REFLECTION, REVITALIZATION in our Life and Faith!  And that is what Lent is…  A call to come back to being totally dependent and absolutely captivated by the TRINITY Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!  Because somewhere along the way we have become apathetic, numb, or captivated by the world.  To spend 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness of our own soles and learning to live not only on bread alone, but from every word that comes from God’s mouth (and scripture).  READ Matthew 4:1-11

So what about Ash Wednesday?

I mean we’ve all seen the people with Black Smudged on their foreheads and thought to ourself weird and curious thoughts.  I mean I went as far as trying to tell someone who had this smudge that they had a smudge and they didn’t tell me that the smudge was significant until I pointed it out for the 5th time in our conversation and finally they had pitty/mercy on me to tell me that it was a holy smudge.

But, wow…Ash Wednesday is where it all starts and it is and it SHOULD be a powerful experience for those who observe it.  In the old testament, when people would make “burnt offerings” to atone for their sins…their act of repentance didn’t just stop with the burnt offering and sacrifice.  After they were done Atoning for their sins they would DUMP THE ASHES over their head.  And for the rest of the day they would wear their sin, shame, and forgiveness.  How humbling is that?  To wear the ashes of your own sin on your head and clothes.

I equate it to the Scarlet Letter that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote that shares a story of a Hester who committed adultery and her family made her wear a Scarlet Letter “A” on her clothes to proclaim to everyone of the Adultery that she had committed!   How shameful and humbling.

Yet, here are God’s chosen people wear their shame and sin on their heads.

Ash Wednesday is a time of looking at your life and faith, seeing the depravity and misalignment of your own walk with God and REPENTING of those things in your life to start afresh with God.  So you can spend the next 40 days of Lent rekindling and refreshing your heart to the heart of our Creator, Savior, and God!

The Smudge is merely a symbol of your own humbleness and repentance. It’s us saying Ashes, Ashes, We all fall down….at the feet of Christ, confessing that I am self-centered and NEED YOU!

Subtraction and Addition

LENT should not be marked only with “giving something up” i.e. subtraction.  But there is an ADDITION that needs to happen as well.  As we give something up that seems to consume us or that we put in the place of God…we need to ADD to that void with something that draws us into the presence of God and more intimate knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of Him.  As we get ready to CELEBRATE the day in which our Savior died on the cross for us and then the day in which He rose again as a promise of our own resurrection and redemption…we must purge and prepare our hearts by Subtraction and Addition.

THE VOICE OF LENT IS NOT A SOUR ONE.  IT IS A CALL TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM AND WHY (I.E. CHRIST’S DEATH, RESURRECTION, PROMISE TO RETURN).  THE VOICE OF LENT IS THE CRY TO BECOME NEW AGAIN, TO LIVE FOR CHRIST NO MATTER WHAT OUR LIFE HAS BEEN LIKE UNTIL NOW AND TO LIVE FULLY!

Profile of a Disciple: “Dust”

How would Christ Himself feel if He were to walk into our worship gatherings or meetings when we are supposedly praising Him or reading His Word?  Would He cry? Become angry?  Shake His head in disbelief or disappointment?  I mean honestly, what would be OUR reaction if Christ Himself were to show up and stand before us in our gatherings?  Would our attitudes change?  Would we fall to our face?  Would He have our undivided attention?

You know what’s funny about these thought-provoking questions?

HE IS THERE…

“Where two or more gather in My Name, there am I with them” Matt. 18:20

This past Wednesday night at Youth, Grace Point Students for the most part stood unmoved and unaffected by worship and a powerful teaching from Rob Bell.  SO what did I do?  What, I think Christ Himself would have done…  I came in and interrupted Worship (or lack there of) and said…

“IF YOU TRULY WANT TO BE A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST, then FOLLOW ME…”

From there we went outside to a hillside outside of our Church and I spoke from the Hillside, direct from God’s Word, as the Students shook from the cold…

and it, was, beautiful.

If you haven’t watched Rob Bell’s NOOMA Video: DUST, please go Check it out by CLICKING HERE – I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding him right now, but his explanation of what it was to be a Disciple of Christ was thought provoking, encouraging, and challenging.

This Video, called DUST gave us all a new perspective on what it was/is to be a Disciple of Christ.  In the Jewish Culture, every child around the age of 5 or 6 would go to school to learn the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah.  They would literally read and memorize each of the five books over five years of their lives and by the time they were 10, they would have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy MEMORIZED.  From there, the teachers would choose the Best of the Best of those students and those students would go further in their training.  EVERYONE else that “didn’t make the cut” would go and learn their family trade.  The Best of the Best would go on and study and memorize the REST OF THE OLD TESTAMENT…Genesis through Malachi.  From there, the teachers would pick the Best of the Best of the Best to go on to the next step.  Everyone else would go and learn their family trade.  So what is the next step?

It was to become a disciple of a Rabbi… to walk with and learn from them and literally take on their “yoke” to live like them.  The students would go up to find a RABBI and would beg that Rabbi that they could become their disciple.  The Rabbi would decide their fate and after the 10 years of training they would either become a disciple of that Rabbi or go back and learn their family trade.

So why is this interesting?  Why is this a new perspective?

Because in the calling of the 12 Disciples, all of those 15-20 year old young men were practicing their family trade.  They did not come up to Christ and beg Him to be their Rabbi…Christ sought them out.  Which reminds us/them of two things:

1) Christ chooses us and has faith in us

2) We are not the “best of the best” but can still become a disciple of Christ

 

From the time that Christ chose the Disciples – they literally devoted their lives to Him.  Learning more about Him, studying His teaching, applying His commands, and walking so closely with Him that they could take on His Yoke.  An old saying during this time was “were you covered in the dust of your Rabbi today?”  This was pointing to how closely the disciples would follow their Rabbi’s, hanging on to every action, emotion, word, truth, look, glance…

Why don’t we hang this tightly to Jesus and His teaching today?  He chose us to be His disciples and He believes and has faith in us.  He has called us to be His disciples that we might take on His ministry, be His hands and feet, minister to His flock, and be His church.

We need to devote ourselves to things of Christ.  This was the plan of Christ for our life.  Not to be a “christian” or a “convert”, but to be a DISCIPLE!
I wonder if I would have interrupted worship with the words.. “If you ARE a disciple of Christ, come follow me….”  how many people would have followed me outside?

Take time to evaluate your life and everyday ask yourself…

Have I been covered int he dust from my Rabbi, Jesus, today?

Ask, Seek, Knock…

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

ASK

How often do we truly sit down, kneel, get into a posture of prayer and really ASK God to move?  How often do you find yourself in the quiet of your own thoughts connecting with our Father?  Is the only time you ASK God questions when you feel like He has wronged you in some way?  It seems is the question that I ASK God the most is “WHY?!?!?”    God wants us to fervently Pray to Him and get to a place that is personal with just us and Him….

In the Previous Chapter, Jesus gives us this command… “when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”

This is a great reminder to get on our Hands and Knees and ASK God to move in our lives….after all…God promises for those who ASK – they surely will receive.  When is the last time you challenged God to prove that promise in scripture?  What aren’t we ASKing God to grow us, teach us, help us, mold us, love us, shape us…..

SEEK

Now Seeking, this is a little bit more loose in interpretation.  How does one seek out something?  They can do that passively or  intensely… They can do it with all of their heart or just kind of flippantly do it.

However, this is not what God had in mind.  Just imagine you were in the woods late at night in pitch black – there was an overcast and you couldn’t see in front of you but 2 feet.  You would be desperately seeking any kind of help or rescue.  You need a light.  Just imagine how frantically you would be searching and seeking…possibly on your hands and knees with a urgency.  Well, that is how God desires for us to seek Him…with EVERYTHING we have…not flippantly…not blocking off 15 minutes to “read your bible”, not to truly seek him out in everything and with everything that you have!

Then we will surely find him…when we seek him!

 

 

 

KNOCK

This is the one that often baffles me.  I feel if we were truly serious about Connecting with our Father God then we would KNOCK with passion, persistence, and perseverance.  I love the analogy that Jesus uses here…Knock and the door will be opened to you….

Let’s just say that you were creepin’ on your next door neighbor who you love to hang out with… you watch out your window as they pull into their driveway, get out of their car, and walk inside…shutting the door behind them.  You think to yourself – SWEET…time to go hang out!  So you walk over to their house and KNOCK on the door…..  no one answers….  Would you A) Knock harder (I mean you really want to hang out and you KNOW that they are there!)  B) Walk away and not think anything of it?  OF COURSE you would knock harder – you would Knock until they answered – I mean come on – they just walked in two minutes ago…

God’s Word tells us that He knows His sheep’s voice…When we call on Him… He listens.  If we truly want to spend time with God and for the things of God to be opened to us… Let’s KNOCK with passion, persistence, and perseverance.  If you don’t feel like God is connecting with you…KNOCK harder….KNOCK Longer…KNOCK with Passion, Persistence, and Perseverance…

 

HOW SWEET IS IT THAT GOD HEARS US…GOD WANTS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH US….  LET’S ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK AFTER HIM….