A life with no regrets
Ecclesiastes
Intro…VIDEO Tiger Woods … Solomon

Women and wealth were a serious weakness for Solomon also. 2 Kings 11:1-8
He loved many foreign women that got him in trouble not only sexually, but also religiously. These foreign women with their foreign religions pulled him away from his faith in God.
God had warned him that such marriages would lead to apostasy. He had some 700 wives and 300 concubines.
He built place of worship for the false gods to satisfy his heathen wives.

As we get ready to wrap up another year, I’d like us to take some time and reflect on our lives. Watching a role models life unravel is a wakeup call for all of us. We want to be able to live a life of no regrets every day, every year, all our lives.

• It makes sense to pause and reflect on this last year and see how we are doing in God’s eyes.
Text: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Thesis: “To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand over to the one who pleases God.” Ecc. 2:26

Here are some great lessons we can learn from Solomon as we evaluate another year in our lives and get ready to start a new one.

Learn to enjoy the cycles of life. Ecc. 1: 4-10
• These are all gifts from God to help us enjoy daily life: generations, sunrise and sunset, wind, streams, the sea. There are plenty of new things “under the sun” everyday. Look for those God moments.

Seek godly wisdom. Ecc. 1: 12-13a, 16-17
• I have a friend who seemed to accumulate too many degrees. He used to go to my church and we had great talks about God etc. However, the “smarter” he got and the more degrees he got, the further away from God he got.
• Smarter equals godly.

Take on projects with a sense of a greater purpose than just building something or accomplishing something. Ecc. 2:4-11
• However God has gifted you when you undertake projects, figure out a way to bring glory to God through that project.
• Remember that you are always working for God. Make him proud of what you do.
• Ecc. 2:24-26

Remember that there is a time for everything so learn to be patient and trust God. Ecc. 3
• Video/song, “Turn, turn, turn” the Byrds
• That song is right out of the Bible.
• Life happens, events happen, good things happen and bad things happen.
• “God makes everything beautiful in its time.” Ecc. 3:11
• God allows the good times and the bad times. Ecc. 7:14


Either thank God for the good friends you have or ask him to bring you one this year. Ecc. 4:9-12
• As we all know, a good friend can help us through bad times.
• If you are married, that good friend can be your spouse.


Be rich in God. Ecc. 6-7
• We’ve seen endless examples throughout history of people who are ruined by their money.
• I friend told me recently that he asked God to never make him rich, and so far God has answered his prayers.
• Ecc. 6:1-2 God given wealth can only be enjoyed with godly perspective.

Learn to trust God through life’s ups and downs.
• Ecc. 7:14, 8:17, 11:5


Solomon’s pursuit of fulfillment through indulgence, achievements, possessions, wealth and great fame all failed to bring enduring satisfaction.
• Solomon was a great ruler, possessing every natural advantage, almost inconceivably wealthy in material splendor.
• His wisdom was greater than that of the wise men of the East and of Egypt.
• He was an expert in botany and zoology, he was a writer credited with 3000 proverbs and 1000 songs.
• He wrote Song of Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and two Psalms.
• He had widespread fame and people came from far to hear him.
• He had 1400 chariots, 12,000 horsemen, 4000 horse stalls, stables for at least 450 horses.
• He had learning and experience, yet he was a disappointment.
• He started off right, but lost focus when material things became bigger than God.

Conclusion:
When you look at life with all its seemingly endless cycles and inexplicable paradoxes, it’s easy to conclude that all is futile since sometimes it seems impossible to discern any true purpose in the ordering of events.
• However, as Christians, our hope is in God and his greater purpose for everything. Consequently, life is to be enjoyed to the fullest, realizing it is a gift from God.
• A wise person will live his life in obedience to God.
• Our everyday choices make a difference for each year as well as eternity.
• Ecc. 12:9-14

Rethinking Christmas

Here are my sermon notes from last Sunday. I did my best to remind us of the importance of Mary as well as challenge us all to rethink our consumeristic habits at this time of the year. Love to hear your feedback.


Matthew 1:18-25 True comfort at Christmas

Intro…what the media and retail stores would like us to think true comfort at Christmas is, buying tons of stuff, the onslaught of advertisements for black Friday…
• This morning, I’d like to remind us of the basic, simple message of Christmas and help us stay focused on Jesus.
• I’m going to do that as we review the story of Mary and then take a look at what we are spending our money and time on this Christmas.

Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Thesis: The only way we will be truly fulfilled and comforted during the Christmas season is to focus on Jesus.

As we take a look at Mary and her part in the Christmas story, here’s some things to remember:
V. 18 Mary was pledged to be married, following God’s plan for a man and woman in a relationship.
• V. 18 She was a teenage girl, who lived on the dusty fringe of the Roman empire, a powerless peasant from an insignificant town…yet she was chosen by God to bring Jesus into the world.
• I believe God chose Mary as part of His whole plan to bring Jesus into this world through lowly, humble means.

Mary was a young virgin.
• This is important because as Jesus entered the world, he needed to be free from the sinful nature passed on to other humans by Adam.
• Since Jesus was born of a woman, he was a human being, but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin.
• Jesus is both fully human and fully God…

Luke 2:19 tells us that Mary, “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”.
• Mary listened to God and accepted this mission, as impossible as it was
• The original TV show “Mission Impossible”. The tape always begins with "Good Morning Mr. Phelps, "Your mission, should you decide to accept it", with a brief explanation of the goal of the mission. At the end of the tape…"this tape will self-destruct in five seconds"
• Even though to Joseph and Mary this may have seemed like an impossible mission (considering her pregnancy out of wedlock), they were willing to trust God for the outcome.
• As you may know, Jesus means, “Savior”, the Hebrew Jeshua means, “the Lord is salvation”, Christ or Christos means, “the anointed one” and is the exact equivalent of the Hebrew word for “Messiah”.


V. 22-23 Mary helped fulfill prophecy. Isaiah 7:14, 8:8-10
• What is a prophecy? It is God speaking through a servant/prophet to describe a coming event long before it happens.
• There are over 400 prophecies in the Old Testament which point to the coming Messiah and to His life and death.
Yes, Mary is an important part of the Christmas story, but let’s not get too focused on Mary.
• She was one of the many key people God used to bring salvation to man.
• Joseph played in important role, as did the shepherds, and wise men.


Just as we keep the message of Mary simple, yet meaningful, we need to keep the focus of Christmas simple and meaningful.
• Advent Conspiracy video
• (As the video says) We need to deny the religion of consumerism, worship God fully with our whole lives, spend less, give more and love all people. Let’s take a look at those ideas…
• The primary threat to Christianity is consumerism. It promises transcendence. Buy “this” and you will achieve a higher state of satisfaction…until the newest model comes out.
• Consumerism actually demands that we be dissatisfied…my cell phone and the temptation to buy a new iTouch…
• Instead of getting caught up in that endless cycle, let’s refocus on our worship of God, spending less and giving more.
• Remember, the things we desire are the things we worship. (I’ve said this before, and I’m guilty of it,) but think about the placement of of certain items in our house…our TV’s…everything in the room points towards it…or it could be your car, the computer, etc.
• Instead, we need worship God fully because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus.
• As we choose to spend less it’s important to remember that we don’t love our family and friends any less. In fact, those who receive our creative, personal gifts will sense our love even more…
• SV2’s Xmas party…hand-made gifts…
• Please prayfully consider what it means for you to “spend less”. Learn to shop and buy for necessities instead of wants.
• “Do I/we/they really need this?”
• What sort of message are we giving our children or grandchildren at Christmas?
• We’ve learned that even if you were to buy a child everything on their Xmas list, the thrill will be over to soon.
• What do we really need at Christmas? Our love, presence, (as in being there), personal, well thought-out gifts.
• Give more of your presence, your hands, your words, your time, your heart.
• “If we can resist the trap of giving easy gifts, and if we can reject the assumption that giving expensive gifts or many gifts is the best way to express love, something else might happen. We will experience moments of relational giving that our friends and family will care about and remember.”
• Spend less and free your resources for things that truly matter.
• If the Christian church can remember to love and care for all, the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the sick, we’ll be able to turn our focus outward to a hurting and needing world.
• Let’s exchange our consumption for compassion.
• What if Christmas was no longer about stuff? What if, this Christmas, we could spend less, give more, worship fully and love all? What if we did that all year long?
• Then, truly our cup would be filled to overflowing with Jesus, the living water. Our lives and houses would be full, not of stuff, but of substance, of diving presence, of life.
• “Mary’s worship begins with the ultimate paradox, a young girl, unwed and without power, influence or wealth. Yet she cradles in her womb the divine savior of the world. Mary soon recognizes that through this great gift God will do a wondrous thing for all people.”


Conclusion: I do want to thank everyone who packed a shoe box for OCC. That’s a great step in the right direction to spending your money wisely at Christmas.

Words of wisdom for us pastors

I've been listening to Chuck Swindoll for over 30 years and have always enjoyed his insight. I get his weekly email and I thought this one was excellent. It reminds me of what I always tell people, "We walk hand in hand in life and ministry". When people know I'm real and can share my victories and struggles, I think we'll all grow deeper in our faith and understanding of God and his wondrous, mysterious ways.

The Secret of Ministering to People
Some churches today have adopted a professional mind-set entirely. Like the consumer culture they live in, far too many pay the pastors to do the work of the ministry for them, while they sit back, passively watch, and offer comments now and then. Where is that in the Bible?

A pastor who allows this approach to occur has fallen for what I call “The Superman Syndrome.” I’m not talking about pulling on a pair of blue tights and a red cape and putting a fancy “S” on his chest—though I heard of a pastor who did exactly that on Easter Sunday (I wish I were kidding). I’m talking about an attitude that says: “I am self-sufficient,” “I need no one else,” or “I will not show weakness or admit any inadequacy.” These words betray the presence of the Superman Syndrome—that particular peril for pastors who go it alone and become “the star of the show.” Any pastor sets himself up for letting people down when he poses as Superman.

One of the joyful privileges of my early ministry was to know a man named Jim Petersen. Through his capable leadership and sterling character, the ministry of the Navigators expanded greatly in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he and his wife, Marge, served for more than twenty years. What a servant-hearted couple! Cynthia and I first met Jim and Marge at Glen Eyrie, the Navigators’ headquarters in Colorado Springs. I was new to ministry at the time—and far too naïve—so I was looking for a formula for success in God’s service. “How do you do it, Jim?” I asked him. “Tell me the secret of ministering to people.” I expected him to say “Always set the pace” or “Be strong no matter what” or “Model the truth and stand against the gale as it attacks you.” I got none of that.

Jim just smiled in his inimitable way and answered, “Chuck, let people see the cracks in your life, and you’ll be able to minister to them.” That’s it. That’s the distilled essence of all he told me.

As we left their cabin that day, I felt somewhat like the deflated rich young ruler who had just asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life (see Mark 10:17–22). Like Jesus’s surprising answer to the ruler, Jim’s reply was not what I expected. It convicted me. It ripped the “S” off my chest and cut the tie strings to my cape. I was looking to minister from my strengths. Jim challenged me to serve in weakness. He made that statement to me over fifty years ago, and it remains one of the greatest lessons I have learned in ministry. I have never forgotten it. I never will.

As the apostle Paul asked in 2 Corinthians 2:16, “Who is adequate for these things?” Obvious answer: Nobody! By asking this question, Paul showed us the cracks in his life. He takes himself off any would-be pedestal and slips into the ranks of humanity. I thank God for the transparent apostle that he really was. His writings are permeated by vulnerability.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:7


Obviously, the appropriate attitude is to embrace this fact: pastors are not self-sufficient. We have cracks we must not hide. We need other people.


—Chuck

Yet more good thoughts on how we are living today as Christians.

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it... it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven... but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy... but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan... you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine... but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.


Your brother,

Shane Claiborne



Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209#ixzz0XjSPf3P4

God and Guiness

Guinness got it
The company’s 250-year legacy of God-inspired good provides myriad lessons for today. Among them: A benevolent corporate vision is good for business, for its employees and for the world.
By Stephen Mansfield
It is the mid-1760s, and in Dublin's grand St. Patrick's Cathedral the famed revivalist John Wesley is preaching with all of his might. He is aware that the congregation of St. Patrick's is filled with the city's more successful, comfortable, perhaps self-satisfied souls. And so he thunders against their self-centeredness, rails against their disregard for the poor. "Oh who has courage to speak plain to these rich and honorable sinners?" Wesley writes afterward in his journals.
In the congregation is a young businessman who only a few years before has begun to make his mark in the city. Born in nearby Celbridge and raised on the archbishop's estate that his father managed, this young man has gained something of a reputation for his skill at brewing beer. In fact, he has purchased a defunct brewery at St. James' Gate, along the River Liffey, and, having married well and embedded himself skillfully in Dublin's merchant class, he fully intends to rise.
Now, listening to John Wesley speak of the obligations of wealth, of a God-given duty to care for the hurting of the world, this gifted young man is reminded of values he learned on that archbishop's estate and at his father's knee. They are values that resurfaced in the Reformation of Calvin and Luther and that were set aflame and made personal in the Methodism of John Wesley. This rising entrepreneur hears and allows Wesley's words to frame a vision for his fledgling company: a vision for producing wealth through brewing excellence and then for using that wealth to serve the downtrodden and the poor.
The framework: God's values
We should be glad that he did, for that young man was Arthur Guinness, the founder of the renowned brewery whose 250th anniversary we celebrate this year. His famous dark stout would become one of the most beloved beverages in the world, the Guinness brand among the most recognizable on earth. Yet interwoven throughout these 2 and a half centuries of brewing success is a legacy of benevolence that we ought to know and that is perhaps an antidote to one of the great crises of our age.
The values Arthur Guinness envisioned for his company were first honed in a life of devotion to God. He was an earthy but pious man who frequently thundered his views despite angry opposition. He was beloved throughout Ireland for his defense of Roman Catholic rights, for example, an astonishing stand for a Protestant in his day. He criticized the material excesses of the upper class and sat on the board of a hospital for the poor. He was also the founder of the first Sunday schools in Ireland. When he died in 1803, the Dublin Evening Post declared that Arthur Guinness's life was "useful and benevolent and virtuous." It was true.
Absorbing his philosophy, his heirs often used their wealth for the glory of God and the good of mankind. Missionary endeavors were funded, the poor were tended, and there are monuments in Ireland to this day that express gratitude to the Guinnesses for their generosity during the horrifying years of the Potato Famine. Even the beloved St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Arthur first heard Wesley, was rebuilt through Guinness generosity.
It starts with people
Yet it was in the treatment of their employees as much as in their use of private wealth that the Guinnesses honored their founding principles.
As a Guinness who headed the brewery in the mid-1800s said, "You cannot make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you."
This was an exceptionally farsighted and compassionate sentiment for the industrial age, but it was just the type of pillar upon which Guinness built a lasting legacy of good.
A century and a quarter after Arthur Guinness died, a worker at the brewery in Dublin would have enjoyed round-the-clock care from doctors, dentists, nurses and home health workers. There was even a masseuse. Retirees received pensions as a gift from the company, which also paid most funeral expenses.
There were classes on nearly every enriching topic, reading rooms, savings banks, exercise facilities and educational benefits for both workers and their families. Concerned about the detrimental effects of city life upon its employees' health, the company even paid workers to take their families — or their dates — to the country periodically.
And, nearly as important to some weary laborers, the company gave every employee two pints of the lovely dark beer every day, free of charge.
All of this was true in 1928, not a particularly enlightened time for employee care. Even so, Guinness benevolence to its workers then rivals that of Google and Microsoft today.
Wanted: morals and ethics
There are many tales that could be told: Of the Guinness heir who received millions of dollars as a wedding gift but then moved his new bride into the slums to draw attention to the plight of the poor. Or of how the Guinness company promised all of its employees who fought in World War I that their jobs would be waiting for them when they returned, and then paid their families half wages until they did.
The lesson is clear: Guinness strove to improve the lives of its employees with the same intensity as it strove to sell its beer.
Yet there is another lesson for us today. We are tempted in our disgust with Wall Street greed and corporate misdealing to reject the economic engine that has made us great, to prefer the security of the state to the vicissitudes of free market exchange.
What we learn from the Guinness story is that character is king, that markets without ethical boundaries make Madoffs but that corporations driven by a benevolent vision can do vast amounts of good.
It is morals and ethics that we need, then, not a new economic system, and this, perhaps, is the most lasting legacy of the Guinness tale for us today.
Stephen Mansfield is the best-selling author of The Faith of Barack Obama, The Faith of George W. Bushand Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission. His most recent work is The Search for God and Guinness, a celebration of the Guinness legacy.

How to grow a church in this post-Christian era

These are some great thoughts on church life today. I couldn't agree more with what is said here. I'm praying that God will show me how to lead by example and be missionally involved in the lives of those who live near me.

David Fitch is the author of The Great Giveaway, a pastor of Life on the Vine and the B R Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary.

Instilling Missional Habits in a Congregation – As You Walk Among Your Community
When They Will Not Come” (WTWNC) names the social dilemma of the church in post Christendom when we can no longer assume non-Christians will come to church even when they are seeking God. This new cultural condition forces us to change the way we think about every aspect of the church. WTWNC is a series of posts that reflect on the ways the practice of being Christ’s church/church planting must change because of this new cultural dilemma.
Illustration by Ben Sternke of http://benjaminsternke.typepad.com.

How do we lead a church community to engage mission as a way of life? How do we steer a congregation out of evangelism programs into everyday missional living? How do we train a congregation out of Christendom habits and instill post Christendom virtues (character for living faithfully in post Christendom)? I think leaders walk along and among their communities. Along the way, they lead by consistently (and kindly) rejecting some old habits and directing the imagination towards other possibilities. This is the never-ending work of cultivating missional habits of imagination among a people. Here’s my list of what to reject (slowly put to death in a congregation) and what to direct (nudge people forward) a congregation’s imagination toward. I’ve learned a lot of these things from missional thinkers/practitioners but have found all these things to be surprisingly simple and possible in my own life.

1.) Kindly Reject doing Outreach Events. Instead direct imagination towards ways of connecting with people where they are. Outreach events take up much time, planning and enormous “congregational capital” (if I may put it that way). In post Christendom outreach events rarely “work.” And you simply cannot compete with the local Park District or Megachurch event planning neutral site events. Instead, with little effort or cost, direct the people’s imagination towards seeing the ways you can connect with people in their everyday situations by going to the same place at the same time every week. Stoke imagination for the way ordinary life is the stage of God’s working. Visit the same places at the same time every week (this is easy for me because I am pathetically boring and love doing the same thing everyday). This has revolutionized my missional life with not a single ounce of extra-expended energy spent on my part. I believe the same could be true for every member of our church Body. Thanks to Alan Hirsch for teaching me about this.

2.) Kindly Reject evangelism as a one time hit on a target with a preconceived outcome. Kindle imagination toward seeing mission as part of regular daily, weekly and monthly life rhythms where out or regular life God works to use your life to impact people for the gospel in unforeseen ways. There is no precision strike technique, instead we need to train our eyes to pay attention to our life rhythms and be ready to minister out of everyday life, where God is already working to bring people to Christ.

3.) Kindly reject building multiple use buildings as if by building a gymnasium on the church campus we can bring people into the orbit of the church. Instead stoke imagination for what can happen when we go inhabit the gyms already in the neighborhoods. We should build less third spaces, and inhabit more the ones already there.

4.) Kindly reject one-on-one evangelism and the techniques associated with such apologetic persuasion. Instead direct imagination for inhabiting places in two’s or three’s or more. Hospitals, PADS Centers, the school systems, the park districts and places of hurt and pain too numerous to mention are all places where there are forces at work that can take under any one isolated saint. But two or three Christians together become an undeniable force for the kingdom under the Lordship of Christ.

5.) Kindly reject the Sunday morning gathering as an evangelistic event for it cannot be that in the new post Christendom cultures. Instead fire up imagination for the formation that comes from a communal encounter with the living God in Jesus Christ. As we hover around the altar, in silence, in prayers of submission, in affirmation, in confession, in healing prayers, in the hearing of the Word, and the Table, as we sing in praise and thanksgiving at what He has done, and then as we are sent out by God in the Benedictory challenge, we are shaped for His Life in Mission. It is simple, organic, takes a lot less planning than a mega show, and alot less money. And if any non-believers do happen to come, they won’t confuse this with a Tony Robbins event.

6.) Kindly reject coercive persuasion and argument in our witness. Instead stoke the imagination of your people for seeking “one person of peace” (Luke 10) among the lost of their neighborhoods. Look for that one who, though never having heard the gospel, is dispositionally ready (been readied by God) to receive. (Thanks to Mike Breen at the EcclesiaNet conference this past week for this idea).

7.) Kindly reject presumptuous postures of power as we live our lives among those who do not know Christ yet. Instead direct the imagination towards the way Christ always enters the human situation in humility. So don’t come to your neighbors as the one with the answer, but as the one searching for the answers that always point you towards Christ. Come to your neighbors humbly and in need. Instead of offering them a meal, find ways to participate in a meal with them. If you’re in the suburbs ask them if you can borrow their lawnmower.

8.) Kindly Reject Surveying the neighborhood – Direct the imagination toward exegeting the neighborhood. Surveying looks at the neighborhood as a place to market our church, find out what they are looking for and appeal to it so that they are attracted to the idea of coming to church. Exegeting a neighborhood requires inhabiting the neighborhood, seeing the neighborhood as a place for redemption, discovering where the hurting are and the unjust structures are. See the possibilities for ministering the gospel to those who are lost and through the gospel (over time) seeing that very culture transformed.

9.) Kindly Reject problem solving – instead direct the imagination towards “appreciative inquiry.” We often approach church through problem solving. What is wrong with our programs? What needs are we not meeting? What needs to be tweaked? What are we not doing right? This is negative, mechanical and lifeless. Instead, let’s direct our community’s imagination to noticing where God is working among us and around us, to recognize it, praise God for it and participate in it through the gifts we have been given. Thanks to Mark Lau Branson for this insight.

These are just a few of the ways we can lead our congregations to make our whole way of life a participation in God’s mission. There are many more I am sure. What others do you have?

The Thanksgiving month

Psalm 145
Intro...In sports when athletes celebrate by either pointing up or kneeling down, or thanking God in the interview or acceptance speech
• Some people may wonder why everyone is thanking God…today we’ll review the reasons why we continually and publically thank God.
• This month, 30 days of Thanksgiving… Bizzarro not rushing in Santa

Text: Psalm 145: 1-4, 8-9, 18, 21

Thesis: God is to be praised for his greatness, his tender mercies, his power, his providence and his answers to our prayers. Our job is to continue to speak of God’s majesty to each generation.
• Psalm 145 is an incomparable Psalm of praise written by David.

God is praised for his unsearchable greatness, majesty and awesome acts, v. 1-3
• There really is no way to describe God and his greatness. His greatness is beyond discovery…
• Literally, “To his mightinesses there is no investigation.” All in God is unlimited and eternal.
• When you’ve seen God do miraculous things, you find yourself without words.
• Sunsets, lightning storms, births etc. others?
• What should we do when we find ourselves at a loss for word because of God’s greatness? Extol: lift up, praise highly his name.
• “Seeing that God still continues his benefits toward us, we ought never to be weary in praising him for the same.”

God is praised for his mighty acts to each generation, v. 4-7
• My kids love it when I tell them stories…it’s my job to also make sure I pass on the stories of our faith with the same excitement and passion. Kelley and I both do that…
• “God’s creating and redeeming acts are recorded in His word; but His wondrous providential dealings with mankind must be handed down by tradition, from generation to generation; for they are in continual occurrence, and consequently innumerable.”
• In telling these stories we cause others to praise God and we find that our own accomplishments become dwarfed in comparison with the mighty acts of God.

God is praised for his goodness and tender mercies to all, v. 8-9
• V.8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
• Our praise should express admiration, appreciation and thanks.
• Considering all that God does for us what could be more natural than outbursts of heartfelt praise?
• As we read through the Psalms, we notice all the praise given to God for his creation, his blessings, his forgiveness, but also for who he is: loving, kind, just, faithful and patient.
• In what ways have you recently praised God? Let’s take a moment and do that right now. Today, this week, what can you praise God for?

God is praised for his power and kingdom, v. 10-13
• I hope you have experienced God’s power recently. Pray and ask God to become very real and powerful in your life. Learn to trust him for everything.
• God rules over an everlasting kingdom. Any kingdom we can come up with in any book or movie…God rules them all.

God is praised for his kindness to the distressed, v. 14
• There is something we can all relate to, we’ve all been distressed, worried, concerned.
• The emphasis is on God’s common grace to all of humanity.
• This grace is available to all, even those who think there is no God.

God is praised for his provision, v. 15-17
• He is the source of all our daily needs.
• This relates back to my opening point, giving God the credit in everything.
• He is righteous and kind in his dealings with us (thankfully).

God is praised because He hears and answers prayer, v. 18-20
• These verses should be an encouragement to all of us to keep praying.
• He remains close to those who call on him, hears our cries and rescues us.
• The wicked await an eternity of living forever away from the presence of God in the lake of fire. Rev. 20:11-15

Conclusion:
(Bottom line, at the end of the day…)
All should praise him, v. 21

In review, God is praised, or thanked because:
• his unsearchable greatness, majesty and awesome acts
• his mighty acts to each generation
• his goodness and tender mercies to all
• his power and kingdom
• his kindness to the distressed
• his providence
• He hears and answers prayer

In encourage you to use a Psalm like this as a daily reminder throughout this month of thanksgiving.

"In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years' War, a German pastor, Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, and average of fifteen a day.

His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster. In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this table grace for his children:

'Now thank we all our God / With heart and hands and voices;/ Who wondrous things had done,/ In whom His world rejoices. /Who, from our mother's arms,/Hath led us on our way/ With countless gifts of love/ And still is ours today.'

Here was a man who knew thanksgiving comes from love of God, not from outward circumstances.

It's all relative

One of the things my four year old loves, especially on his birthday, is Cheese Puffs. As I watched him eat them I thought, "Is this really a food item? What exactly is a Cheese Puff? Is there any nutritional value at all in those things?"

And then for some reason, I made the grand connection to those large white worm/larvae things that kids eat in other parts of the world. That's when I came to the humble realization those those kids eating the raw worms are getting a more nutritious meal.

If we were to switch my son and a kid who eats large white larvae, they would be equally grossed out at the prospect of eating what the other kid deems so delicious.

God moments

A great article and something I've said for years, looking for those signs of God in everyday life.

'Holy' moments surround us
You don’t have to be religious to know that there’s something bigger
out there, often in plain sight.
By Dean Nelson

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins' character serves a
life sentence for a crime he did not commit, but he eventually escapes
through the prison's sewer system, makes it through the outfall pipe
and collapses in a river. He staggers to his feet, and in a deafening
downpour, lightning flashing around him, he stumbles through the water
from the earth and the sky, takes off his prison clothing and heads
toward freedom. When I first saw that scene, all I could think of was
one word — baptism. He had just crawled through some of the worst muck
imaginable. He had just lived through the worst life imaginable. And
now he's in the water, shedding his old self.

I know that not everyone thinks "baptism" when they see that scene.
Baptism (stating our spiritual identity) is one of seven ancient
sacraments that organized Christianity has recognized for thousands of
years. Along with Holy Orders (or what I see as vocation or our
purpose in the world — not the same as occupation), Confession
(revealing our inner lives), Confirmation (commitment to spiritual
depth), Marriage (experiencing the shared life), Extreme Unction
(recognition of moving from this stage to the next) and the Eucharist
(food that represents life, death and resurrection), the sacraments
have been celebrated as means by which we experience the presence and
grace of God. They're usually conducted during formal occasions,
dispensed by religious officials to the rest of us non-professionals.

I've been thinking about them differently, these days. Maybe it's
because my young-adult son just moved to a country experiencing
significant political unrest, and I'm looking at the world more
closely for evidence of that presence and grace. Or maybe it's because
we're in that season between official holy seasons — Yom Kippur last
month and Christmas on the way. I have decided that thinking about
these holy days and moments only in organized religious settings is a
missed opportunity.

Throughout civilization, people have looked for ways to experience the
sacred and holy. Christians go to church no matter how boring it is,
Hindus plunge into the Ganges River no matter how foul it is, Muslims
make pilgrimages to Mecca no matter how far and crowded it is. "So it
is that monks kneel and chant, that Jews eat a Passover meal, that
Polynesians dance, and Quakers sit still," writes Joseph Martos in
Doors to the Sacred. "In themselves they are just locations,
activities, things. ... In this case they are all sacraments, symbols
of something else which is mysterious and hidden, sacred and holy."

'A deeper dimension'

Haven't we all been part of conversations where they somehow take on a
deeper dimension, even though it's just two people talking? It's as if
the two (or more) people tapped into something much bigger than
themselves. It happened toward the end of the movie Away We Go, where
the couple (played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) expecting a
baby makes promises to each other. But because of the camera angle
from above, it is clear that they are making those promises to the
universe as well. It's both private and cosmic. Watching it, I thought
of the sacrament of confession. And haven't we all had meals with
friends or family where there was another level to that experience,
and we didn't want to leave the table because of that additional
Presence? I've had Eucharistic moments at picnic tables, restaurants,
kitchens and the beach.

As we become aware of that additional dimension, those moments take on
the quality of the holy. They're thin spaces where the distance
between this world and a bigger unseen world seems to briefly
disappear. You don't have to be a person of a particular faith to
sense that there is more going on in this world than just the
activities we experience with our senses. Call it God. Call it
spirituality. Call it whatever you like, but it's unmistakable.

With my faith, seeing the day's events through the prism of
confession, holy orders, baptism and other sacraments gives me lenses
to see those events for what else they are.

That bigger world

And it's not just for characters in movies. When I taught my kids how
to ride a bicycle, running alongside them holding on to the seat, then
holding on less tightly, still running, then letting go altogether, I
remember raising my fists in triumph as my son, then my daughter, rode
away without me. I cheered at their achievement but had tears running
down my cheeks. In a sense, I was grieving the fact that they were
leaving the life that we knew (where my wife and I were responsible
for their transportation), and heading into the unknown. That's the
sacrament of Last Rites, too — experiencing something Transcendent,
leaving one world for a bigger one.

Our conversations, meals, jobs, transitions point us to something
bigger than ourselves. Or at least they can. Seeing them as sacraments
helps move us from the known to the unknown world.

Whether we see the sacred and holy in everyday life is not a matter of
whether it exists. Wearing the lens of the sacraments can show us that
it has been there all along, hiding in plain sight.

Dean Nelson is the founder and director of the journalism program at
Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. His recent book is God
Hides in Plain Sight: How to See the Sacred in a Chaotic World. His
website is www.deannelson.net.

Life and death

Life is about death. Recently I conducted funerals for a 29 and 49 year old. Today I attended a funeral for a 16 year old. Then later today I watched an 82 year old take his final breath right in front of me and his grieving family. The unifying factor in the death of the 16, 29 and 82 year old was a deep faith in Jesus Christ. As sad as those deaths were, there is a real hope and peace knowing they are with God. While conducting the service for the 49 year old, I couldn't say publicly that we all knew he was "in a better place." Although I spoke of the hope we have in Jesus, there was still a vagueness hanging in the air. My question is, "Where do you stand before God today and do you have that assurance and hope in Jesus Christ?"

Interesting stuff

Not Evil, Just Wrong’What’s Really at Stake with Global Warming

By Chuck Colson

Global warming is a fact of life. Not a fact in a scientific sense. Far from it. But a fact in that it is anissue—an issue that will shape public policy, international relations, and the economies of the world for decades to come.An eye-opening documentary called Not Evil, Just Wrong: The True Cost of Global Warming Hysteria is being released this week by the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation—an outfit I endorse.I dare say the film will be controversial because it tackles head on the sacred cows of the man-made global warming crowd.The film points out that the British High Court ruled in a lawsuit that Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, “is scientifically flawed and has nine significant exaggerations and factual errors.” Among those exaggerations are the claims that sea levels could rise 20 feet by the end of the century, and that polar bears are disappearing because of global warming (in fact, they are not).Not Evil, Just Wrong also presents a number of scientists and a founding member of the radical environmental organization Greenpeace, who are unafraid to challenge the chief scientific claims behind global warming.For example, the arctic ice is not disappearing. In fact, in the last two years, it has expanded. (Bet you haven’t heard that in the media.) Another widely publicized claim is that 1998 and 2006 were the warmest years in the history of the U.S. Again, not true. 1934 was. In fact, as Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT says, “warming has not been increasing and has not even been present for 13 years.”The film also interviews the scientists who have discredited the famous “hockey stick” graph, which has been used by global warming alarmists. The “hockey stick” graph purports to show that for the last thousand years, global temperatures were flat, and then, in the 20th century, they shot up—like the blade of a hockey stick.That would be interesting and significant if the data had been analyzed and graphed properly. But, as the film shows, that is not the case.The film drives home the fact that the earth’s climate has always been in flux. That’s why 1,000 years ago, for example, during the medieval warm period, parts of Greenland were literally that—green! Vikings could settle and herd there successfully. Northern England could grow wine grapes. But there’s a reason why today you can’t find a fine Yorkshire wine. Today’s climate is too cold.So why should we care about all the global warming hubbub? If the so-called “solutions” to global warming being bandied about by the U.N. and Congress are put into effect, they could severely damage the U.S. economy and absolutely devastate the economies of the world’s poorest nations—potentially endangering the lives and livelihoods of millions. All in response to a faulty premise.Now that is a truly alarming claim. But I believe the film—half of which is devoted to the human and economic consequences of buying into global warming—makes the case persuasively.Come to BreakPoint.org, and we’ll show you how you can get a copy of this important and sure-to-be controversial film. Share it with friends and neighbors. Because the debate is far from over. And Not Evil Just Wrong shows how much is at stake.

Foundational Faith

Matthew 6:25-27 Foundational faith in times of uncertainty.

Intro..Screaming headlines
You don’t even have to be worried about the economy to be worried. You could be uncertain about your kids, family, neighbors, your future, your marriage…

Text: Matthew 6:25-27
Thesis: A solid foundational faith comes from time spent in the word, applying many Biblical principles and trusting God for your basic needs.

Matthew 5-7 gives us a picture of a godly life. Although we are focusing on 6:25-27, in reality, the topics covered in these three chapters will give us that foundational faith we are looking for.
· I’d like us to take a look at these other areas that are important in our Christian lives, before we see how we are doing with worry about uncertainties.
· I want to make this as practical as possible, so get ready to think and write.

Let’s take a look:
5:3-10, The Beatitudes, (from the sermon on the mount) present the way of righteous living…., hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers…
· How can you be more righteous, merciful and pure in heart?
· What is preventing you from having those qualities in your life?

5:22, Be kind to others, treating them nice.
· Who is it in your life that you are having a hard time with?

5:23-26 Reconcile to others
· Is there someone in your life you need to reconcile with?
· What is the first step in making that happen?

5:27-32 Stay committed in your marriage, getting rid of anything that would cause you to sin.
· What can you do this week to improve the commitment factor in your marriage?

5:33-37 Keeping your word
· When is it easy for you to “massage the truth?”

5: 38-42, Turning the other cheek
· Is there a situation in your life where you need to avoid revenge?

5: 43-48 Loving those who are not easy to love, even your enemies.
· Who is it in your life that is not easy to love?

6:1-4 Giving with a pure heart and pure motives.
· Are you giving of your time, talents and money? Y or N
· If so, are you doing that begrudgingly? Y or N

6:5-14 Proper prayer and forgiveness
· Do you have a consistent prayer life? Y or N
· Is there someone you need to forgive?

6: 16-18 Fasting
· When was the last time you fasted or withheld something important if your life so you could have a deeper time of godly reflection?
6:19-24 Having the right perspective on money and material possessions.
· What material possession are you really craving right now?
· Is it really necessary for your daily living and basic needs? Y or N

And then we get to our passage for today, (6:25-27) in relation to anxiety.
· I’d like you to take a moment and write down something that you are anxious about. Let’s make it personal.
· The reason I wanted us all to look at all these other godly characteristics listed is because sometimes these verses taken on their own almost seem too simple. Some Christians even like to use these verses flippantly.
· PIC “Don’t worry, there is more to life than food and clothes. God takes care of the birds, so he’ll take care of you.”
· “Don’t worry you’ll be fine.” Not always…often there are many tough lessons to learn in times of uncertainty.
· These verses are not promoting idleness…
· “I guess I don’t have to do anything since the Bible says God will take care of me! “
· God will take care of us when we take some action ourselves.
· I’ve already mentioned a lot of the actions we need to take in chapters 5-6 and we’ll look at some more in chap. 7.
· The key is we need to differentiate between worry and concern.
· Worry can damage our health, cause us to be unproductive, cause us to treat others wrong, and reduce our ability to trust God. Worry can immobilize us.
· Proper concern should move us to action. That action needs to be a godly, biblical response to uncertainty.
God is omniscient; nothing is a surprise to him. God allows every event to come into our lives. God has a plan to bring about his purpose in everything, no matter how random or senseless it may seem. (sprinkler story at church)
· The question we should be asking is: “What does God want to show me through this?” Instead of: “Why is this happening to me?”
· If we are overly concerned about the things of this world, then it shows where our treasure and heart is.
· Striking the balance between the need for basic necessities and trusting God for what we truly need takes time, maturity and a deep study of the Bible.
· The truth is, the “basic needs” will vary for each one of us, so let’s be careful with judging others…unless it’s obvious.
· I believe God is asking each one of us through these verses, to honestly evaluate our worries and concerns.
· If we all take an honest, biblical look at our lives, God will show us where we need to cut back and what we need to trust him for more fully.
· If we truly believe in a big God who takes care of the birds of the air and knows the number of hairs on our head, (Matt. 10:30)then we need to trust him that even in times of uncertainty, there will be something for us to learn.
· The rest of Matt. 6 helps us even more…
· Maybe these verses are too convicting for us. We don’t want to hear that in the midst of our troubles, we need to trust God to take care of us.
· It’s too tempting to shoulder the weight of our worries ourselves.

Let’s finish up with a few more practical nuggets from chapter 7: (and remember, all these qualities help give us a more rounded perspective on life and what we’re worried about)
1-5 Not judging others
· Who is it easy for you to cast judgment on?

6-8 Prudence
· The ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of (Biblical) reason.

7-11 Trusting God for what we need through prayer
· Through a consistent prayer life, are you giving all your concerns to God?


12 Doing unto others as you would have them do to you.
· The golden rule, treating others right.

7: 13-29 Proof of a godly life
· Are you choosing the narrow, godly path?

· We’ll be known by our fruits…what are you known for?

· How sincere is our Christian faith? Is it a 24/7 faith or only when convenient?

· Are we putting the words of God into practice and building that sure foundation, the house built on the rock.

Keeping faith in times of uncertainty requires a large package deal. It takes some action on our part.

Conclusion: OU QB, Sam Bradford quote: “I’m trusting God right now, I know he has a reason for this…”

Interesting people

"Do you smoke weed?"...asked the guy on his bicycle this morning. I had just got out of the water from a fun surf in sunny, glassy conditions and was changing by my 1960 VW Bus.
He liked my Bus, I told him it was practical for many reasons, one of which is hauling all my kids around. So tells me he's married to a millionaire wife, no kids, getting ready to buy a new house and then head off on Route 66 to Chicago in his RV. His reason for asking me if I smoked pot was that I was a surfer driving a old VW Bus. Ahh...sterotypes. Now you know why they call 'em Hippie Vans. He then proceeds to tell me that he loves to "get baked" before riding his bike and has no problems staying on the road. Oh, the people you meet in Encinitas by the beach.

The necessity of change

Nothing like a quote from the wise ones who have gone before us. I've been a fan of Chuck Swindoll for over 30 years. As we pray about the needed changes here at Pacific View, I thought his words were well worth the read.

Principles All Churches Should Examine and Apply-- Part Two
Last week, I shared with you the first two of three principles all churches should examine and apply. Here they are again, in summary:
Clear, biblical thinking must override secular planning and a corporate mentality. Think spiritually!
Studied, accurate decisions must originate from God’s Word, not human opinions. Stay biblical!
As promised, here’s the third principle and imperative: wise, essential changes must occur to counteract any sign of erosion. Please notice I did not use the word “easy.” Change is not easy when erosion has occurred—but it is essential. The imperative? Be flexible! Be ready and willing to make some changes—essential changes—especially if you hope to arrest the slow, silent, subtle slide of erosion. And stand alone through those changes, if necessary. The poet and artist E. E. Cummings wrote: “To be nobody-but-yourself—in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.”1
As a pastor, you may find yourself standing alone against erosion in your church. If so, I commend you. And believe me, that isn’t an easy place to be. When I realized the erosion that had already begun to occur in our church years ago . . . when I realized how far we had drifted from God’s original, simple plan, I prayed: “Almighty God, give us that original vision again. Give me the courage to lead this flock back to the essentials. Make it happen again!” And He has begun to do so. It’s been marvelous!
But it has not been easy.
Course correction requires changes. It demands a devotion to the essentials of a church as modeled by the early church. Here they are:
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
It isn’t enough simply to have the essentials in our churches. We must continually devote ourselves to them. In the original language, that phrase translates a single Greek term that means: “to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of [doing so] despite difficulty.”
Will there be difficulty? Absolutely! Open your New Testament and revisit the early church. Just look at any church! The Adversary will stop at nothing to overcome the work of Christ. You can count on it.
—Chuck

Scary stuff

As we get ready for Halloween, I know that for some Christians it can be a worrisome time. In reality, we should be concern about Satan's scheme's all year long. I did my best to addresse the reality of both Satan and God's mighty power in this sermon. As always, love to hear your feedback.


Protection for Believers Ephesians 6:10-18
Our “Un-Haunted Halloween” event here at church…it’s a tricky balance
Satan is real and needs to be understood from a Christian perspective

Text: Eph. 6: 10-12
Thesis: The root of all evil is Satan and we fight a supernatural battle. God has equipped us with armor for the battle.

We need to dress for battle. V. 11
· Think about someone dressed in armor, standing firm, ready for battle. Roman soldier, Iraq. Fighter, lacrosse player
· Our battle gear is the word of God.
· The devil is definitely a schemer. Some of his favorite tools are doubt, deception and fear.
· One thing that needs to be clear, there is a devil and he’s going to do everything he can to destroy us.
· “Sheep and goats” article , from last week, a pastor was interviewed: What happens when we die? “After I retired,” said Villanueva, “I became a hospice chaplain. I have witnessed people make the transition. I have witnessed the peace that comes, the assurance that there’s something waiting for us. I believe there is an afterlife, and I believe we all go to the same place — in that regard, I don’t believe in hell. But I have no clue what it’s like.”
· Yet, when we put on the full armor of God, the Bible tells us that we will be able to stand against the devil’s schemes.

We need to remember what we are actually fighting against. V. 12
· Although it may seem like a physical battle, it’s actually a spiritual battle.
· Who remembers the book, “This present darkness” by Frank Peretti? He writes about angels, demons, prayer, and spiritual warfare as demons and angels interact and struggle for control of the citizens of the small town of Ashton.
· In general, the book puts together some interesting thoughts on Spiritual warfare, good stuff to think about.
· Behind every wicked ruler or authority there is a dark power and that power is Satan.
· V. 12 calls it “Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
· Charles Ryrie, “The believers enemies are the demonic hosts of Satan, always assembled for mortal combat.“
· It’s also important to remember that Satan and his host don’t always appear as something evil or wicked. In fact often the temptation we face is very attractive.

So, we can acknowledge that there is evil in this world, its name is Satan and that he’s out to get us.

We also need to acknowledge that our strength comes from God and his mighty power v. 10
· We need to remember that Satan’s power has already been broken by Christ’s death and resurrection, which forever conquered the power of sin and death.
· Yet, on this earth there are constant spiritual battles.
· The power of God and the force of biblical truth are required for victory.

How do you fight a spiritual battle?
· On your knees.
· Time in the word.
· Christian fellowship.

We also fight the battle with protection, prayer and foresight.
· Eph. 6:13-17 shows us the protection that is available. It’s up to us if we chose to wear it or not. We need to daily put on the full armor of God.
· Palomar Football game yesterday, QB got hit…imagine if he had not been wearing all the protection.
· These verses remind us that we will be able to stand our ground.
· Belt of truth (the gospel, Jesus is the truth, keep it close, right next to you, centered at your core, …the belt cinched up the loosely hanging material, anything that hinders needs to be tucked away.)
· Breastplate of righteousness (having a pure heart, the seat of emotions, protecting your heart, daily righteous becomes a spiritual breastplate.)
· Feet protected with the gospel of peace (the gospel, the good news of Jesus brings peace and points the way to eternal peace. This peace brings a sure foundation to stand on, like a good pair of sandals or shoes.)
· Shield of faith (basic trust in God, our faith, our trust in God, our growth in understanding the Bible is what extinguishes Satan’s flaming arrows) PIC
· Helmet of salvation (this one is obvious, it’s why race car drivers, motorcycle riders etc. wear them. Satan will try and get inside our heads with doubt and discouragement)
· Sword of the spirit (the sword was the soldiers only weapon, God’s word is the only thing we need in the fight against Satan.)
· Pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
· Be alert and always keep praying…

I’d like you to take a moment and think about a spiritual battle you may be in right now.
· It could be a battle to initially come to Christ, or a battle to stay strong in your faith and not give into temptation.

Important verses to keep in mind:
1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Romans 8:31, 37-38 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Isaiah 8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Jer. 20:11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Conclusion: (remember the thesis was )
The root of all evil is Satan and we fight a supernatural battle. God has equipped us with armor for the battle.

We have got to take action, use the brain that God gave us and take the appropriate steps to avoid getting knocked around by Satan.
· Situation with Bill…

2 Kings 6:16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

On Sept. 6th, we finished our summer series, "Hot Topics". I spoke on God's fierce anger, doing my best to balance the OT stories of God with the NT stories. We may not like to read about God running out of patience and mercy, but it happens, especially when we continually deny him. We can never forget that God is the same God throughout history and is capable of acting in the same way at any point in history to get our attention.

Difficult Bible passages “God’s fierce anger” 2 Kings 21-23
Intro… reading comics growing up, digging superheros, I like the OT God…
Does God really get angry enough to wreak havoc on humankind?
Jerry Falwell…Katrina…God is God, same in the OT and NT

Text: 2 Kings 21:10-15

A brief background to the books of 1 & 2 Kings…
Originally they were one book. These books trace the history of the kings of Israel and Judah from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity.
These two books not only record the history of the kings, but show that the success of any king or leader (and of a nation as a whole) depends on his allegiance to God’s law. Failure to do that resulted in decline or captivity.
2 Kings traces the decline and captivity of both Israel and Judah. Israel endured a succession of evil kings during a period of 130 yrs! It’s a back and forth with the kings…however most of them did evil in the eyes of God.

In chapter 21 we read about the reign of King Manasseh, 21:1-3, 6, 8-9.
· Now we see God’s righteous anger flare up…and rightly so….21:10-15
· For 50 years Manasseh duplicated the depravity of the Canaanites. He murdered so many righteous men that there were not enough left to defend Jerusalem when the need arose (21:10-15). Worst of all, the people tolerated it!
· We know from Hebrews 11:37 that he ordered Isaiah sawed in two. All this led to the unavoidable rejection by God.
· Even with his conversion later in life, it was too late to reverse what had happened among the people of the nation as well as his own household.

His son follows right in his fathers footsteps, 21:19-22
· He was assassinated by his own people and they put his son Josiah (at 8 yrs. old) in charge to be the next King.

Mercifully God prepared Josiah to get Israel’s house back in order with God. 22:1-2
· They found the book of the Law, 22: 8, 11-13, 15-20
· Josiah reformed the nation, 23:1-4, through 24
· He ushered in one of the most intensive periods of reformation and revival known in Judah’s history.
· However, even with finding the book of the Law and now following it, this revival never really deeply penetrated and affected the culture.
· Manasseh was so evil that the effects were multi-generational.
· And then we come across our main passage for today, 23:26-27.
· Amazingly , Josiah’s reformation and revival was not sufficient to offset the evil done by Manasseh and temper God’s anger.
· Josiah was a great godly leader, but the people themselves did not turn back to God. They followed Josiah out of fear without a change of heart.
· The early chapters of Jeremiah reflect the conditions under King Josiah Jeremiah 1: 13-16, 2:4-6.
· This describes the condition of the human heart accurately.

Really the bigger picture in today’s story is: “What is the balance of God’s love and mercy with his wrath and righteousness?”
Today’s story is a sobering reminder of how at times God will no longer forgive and extend mercy. God was (rightly so) obligated to bring the judgment foretold to Manasseh in 2 Kings 21:12-15.

Yes, God is patient and long-suffering in his mercy. Yet his judgment will and must eventually come, even though someone may arrive on the scene and call people to repentance. (Josiah)

God's wrath does burn against unrepentant sinners Ps. 38:1-3, Jer.1 0:24
If God always extended his mercy, we would (and do) abuse that mercy. Romans 6:1-2

Our minds want to compartmentalize things. We tend to emphasize one side, rather than the full package Reality though is not that way.

It’s called a healthy respect for God’s total and complete character.
In understanding God’s character, we need to be able to escape our linear, compartmentalized world view. This is only possible through Jesus.

Conclusion:
There should be the same healthy balance in a good Father, right? A good Father loves his children and gives them grace when they mess up, yet he also sets the rules and disciplines his children. Kids need both!

And from today’s Bible story, (Manasseh, Amon and Josiah) what a lesson for us men today, are we living out a godly example for our children? Will they carry on the name of God?
· 2 Chron. 33:10-17

Sermon notes

Spirituality vs. Christianity Acts 17

Intro…a church in Encinitas….
Celebrating Our Divinity. Loving Our Humanity. Serving Our Community. Come join us on Sunday or Wednesday. Great music, a spirited message and a joyful, loving community are waiting for you. Childcare, children’s and teen's classes are part of the Sunday celebration too. At _____________ our philosophy is based on the Science of Mind. “There is a Power in the Universe greater than we are, and we can use it.”
We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all.
We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we understand that OUR LIFE is God.
We believe that HEAVEN is within US, and that we experience IT to the degree that we become conscious of It.

To most people, practically anything can be considered a spiritual experience.
The perfect wave, ice cream, music, art…people actually look for spirituality/God in all kinds of other ways also...
(Mountains, Ocean, Meditation, Money, Self-Help etc.)

This is nothing new, people have been searching for a deeper spiritual meaning since the beginning of time… Adam and Eve…be like God
- Kings, rulers have worshipped other gods and even required people to worship them.
- We’ve ended up with so many different religions today because of everyone’s different search for deeper meaning and purpose, “There has got to be something out there bigger than me.”

Today I hope to show that we all have a God shaped hole in all of us.

Paul dealt with the same type of mindset in his day too…Acts 17:1-4
- Background: chap 9, Paul’s conversion, 12, Xians persecuted, 13, missionary journeys, 15, The council of Jerusalem, , 2nd missionary journey, CHAP 17, Paul’s work in Thessalonica, Berea and Athens.

What can we learn from Paul’s approach when it comes to talking about spirituality with others?
v. 2 He reasoned with them from the scriptures.
The Bible is always a good base to work from, keep it handy and memorized

v. 3 He spoke the gospel truth.
Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, not just some great prophet

v. 11 He spent time with wise people. (The Bereans)

v. 13 He preached the gospel everywhere he went, even in the midst of conflict.
Take a look at what Paul was dealing with and how he handled it:
v. 16 A city full of idols.What are the idols people worship today thinking they are spiritual?

v. 17 He reasoned with them.
Kept an open dialog. Reasoned: dialegomai, to say thoroughly, discuss in argument or exhortation, dispute, hold debate.
We can reason with others, but always be ready to defend the truth.

v. 18 He dealt with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers .
Epicureans: those who followed Epicurus. They believed happiness was the chief end of life. Who are the “Epicureans” of today?

Stoics: Their founder was Zeno…got the name Stoic from Stoa Poikile (means painted porch), a lecture place in Athens where Zeno taught.
The emphasized the rational over the emotional, be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief. Calmly accept all things as a result of divine will.
They were pantheistic, a belief in and worship of all gods. Who are the Stoics of today?

In this context, we find Paul (in v. 19) taken to a meeting of the Areopagus (a council that had charge of the religious and educational matter in Athens)
This council met on the Hill of Ares, west of the Acropolis, also known as Mars Hill. They were dedicated to Ares, the god of war.
- Basically, they sat around , “doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”
- They needed some godly wisdom and council and Paul was about to do just that.

v. 22-23 “Men of Athens, (friends in San Diego, spiritual seekers of Encinitas) I see that in every way you are very religious.” (He saw their numerous objects of worship.) The even had an altar to an “unknown god.”
“What you think is unknown, I will make know to you, tell you the truth. “

Remember these basic truths that Paul taught at Mars Hill: 17:24-31
v. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth…
v. 25 God gives all men life
v. 26 God created life and determines our outcomes.
v. 27 It is our job as humans to seek God.
v. 28 In God we have all we need.
v. 29 God is not an idol made of the finest materials; he is alive, living, breathing and loving.
v. 30 God commands full repentance.
v. 31 God will judge us all with justice. He is a right and fair judge.

What were the reactions? V. 32-34
1. Some sneered
2. Others said “tell me more.”
3. Some believed, a few…even Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. That membership was a high distinction. God can soften anyone’s heart.

Conclusion …v. 34
Religion isn’t just a mystical feeling…
Christianity isn’t “PC”. It claims to be the only way to God. John 14:6

Here are my notes from this mornings sermon. I did my best to not just focus in on homosexuality, but any sin that God is displeased with in our lives. Please give me your thoughts and maybe we can get a dialog going here.

“Don’t show favoritism” James 2:1-4

· My concern this morning is more about how the Christian church treats those who struggle publically with sin, any sin.
· Our series this summer is “Hot topics” and the topic of homosexuality is certainly one of the hottest...“Jesus, save me from your followers”

Text: James 2:1-4
· This text from James applies to attitudes of favoritism this church was showing towards those who were rich vs. those who were poor.
· However, the principle applies to our topic this morning also…
· The Bible is very clear on its stance toward homosexuality. In a few minutes we’ll look at some of the key passages that show that heterosexual relationships are God’s best for us.

v. 1 Don’t show favoritism.
· Why do we tend to show favoritism? Because we like to be around people who are like us. Most of us don’t want to get stretched into an uncomfortable place.
· Often when someone comes into our lives, and especially our churches who is in the throes of a sinful life, we just don’t know what to do.
· What is if they make a scene? What if they don’t change fast enough?
· Often we like to pounce on a single issue or sin in the Christian life and make that our cause…

A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." Sermon complete, he sat down. The song leader stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

v. 2 How do we show favoritism?
· By giving preferential treatment to those who “look or act normal.”
· When someone comes into our churches who looks a bit different, the judgment radar goes off.
· The same thing was happening to the churches that James is writing this letter to.
· “Oh, you are rich, good looking and don’t smell too bad, please, come sit right up front here (so we look good as a church).
· We can do the same thing today if we’re not careful, “Oh, you seem put together with no major sin struggles, welcome to our church!”
· But when someone walks in who looks “weird” (to you) or has an obvious sin struggle, we’re not sure how to greet them and what to do with them.
· We need to let anyone come right in, sit where ever they want and feel welcome.
· At the same time, we need to keep preaching the whole Bible, the truth of God’s word and let the Holy Spirit continue to convict each one of us in the areas of sin that we struggle with.
· Some of us wear our sins on our sleeves and some of us wear our sins on our hearts.
· God is just as grieved over the “obvious” sins that everyone sees and can easily name, as he is the “secret” sins that no one knows about.
· The key is not to get too self righteous and start thinking, “At least I don’t struggle with that sin.”
· James tell us that showing favoritism is sin, v. 4 “judges with evil thoughts” and . v. 9…
· Showing favoritism and not loving those who struggle with sin shows an immaturity in your Christian life and a lack of compassion for your fellow man.

Let’s take a look at some specific verses that help to clarify the Biblical stance on homosexuality.
· Lev. 18:22, 20:13 Those are pretty simple and straight-forward.
· Romans 1:24-27

· Galatians 5:19-21 We’re all on this list somewhere…helps us not to judge others so much.
How do we turn away from our sinful nature?
· Galatians 5:22-25
Pursue the fruits of the spirit
Crucify the sinful nature
Live by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit.

· Romans 13:12b-14.
(A call to turn away and do what is right in God’s eyes.)
Put aside the deeds of darkness
Put on the armor of light
Behave decently
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ
Don’t think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
We need to dress for battle!

If we are going to avoid the trap of an addictive sinful life or habit, then it’s going to take some definite action steps on our part.
· Keeping clear of sin does not come naturally to any of us.
· If we don’t take steps like those described in Galatians and Romans, then we will be that person who is judged when we walk into church.
· People will be tempted to show favoritism and “not know how to deal with you.”


Conclusion: 1 Cor. 6:9-11
· Again, a list we all land on somewhere…today’s sermon really is for all of us!
· But the key words are: “And that is what some of you were.
· Through God’s grace, love, mercy and forgiveness, we can be washed, sanctified, justified (made right) in the name of Jesus.
· That’s called not being a victim of a sinful life, not trapped in a behavior you think you can’t get out of.
· That’s called victory in the Christian life.

Surfing Lauer boys

I'm one proud dad. Now, if only my two year old baby girl with get with the program here, :-)

Here is the latest sermon I preached. Love to hear your feedback on this very important, but hard to understand topic.

“How can a loving God send people to Hell?” Deuteronomy 30:1-20
Intro…“When bad things happen to good people.” A NY times best seller
Rabbi Kushner offers the suggestion that God is limited by what He can do by the laws of nature, by human nature, and by human freedom.
· He lets go of the notion that God is all-powerful in favor of the notion that God is good.
· He takes the position that God does not cause suffering and could not prevent it.
I bring this up because it relates to the title of my sermon, “How can a loving God send people to Hell?” (or let them suffer or allow bad things to happen).
· God is not removed from the suffering in our lives.
· God is not removed from the decision making process in our lives.
· God is sovereign and fully aware of every single event that has happened and will happen in our lives.
· God is not limited in any way by our human nature and the choices we make.
· There is a fine and important balance (which we will never fully understand as humans) between the daily choices we make and God’s foreknowledge of those choices.
· This sermon series is intended to answer questions you or others you may know may have on these “hot topics”.
· We want you to be better educated and ready to: “ give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 1 Peter 3:15
· With that introduction….

Text: Duet. 30: 1-3 (A prediction of the re-gathering of Israel from all the nations to which she was scattered.)
v. 2-3 …when you return…the Lord will restore…Mark 13:26-27
v. 5-6 …he will bring you back…so that you may love him with all your heart and soul and live.
v. 10-11 …obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments…
v. 17 …But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient…you will certainly be destroyed.
v. 19 Now choose life, so that you and your children may live…

Some choices have greater consequences than others,
paper or plastic, red shirt/green shirt, Accel through the yellow light or stop? Peach pie or apple?
….you’ve been presented with a clear gospel message…

If we couldn’t make our own choices, what would we be? puppets or robots

Some realities:
· God allows us to make choices. Ps. 119:30
· God is not micro-managing our lives….some things seem random..
· There is a God who created us, loves us and has some guidelines for our lives with definite consequences…present and eternal.
· 1 Timothy 2:3-4 Although God wants us all to be saved in reality, we know that not all men will accept Him.
· Eph. 1:4-5 Every man has a responsibility to make the right choice and believe the gospel in order to bring to pass personally God’s predestination.
· God doesn’t really send anyone to hell, we send ourselves by virtue of choice.
· For God to force anyone to go to heaven against their wishes…would not be heaven.
· “The gates of hell are locked from the inside by the free choice of men.” John-Paul Sarte

Peter’s denial of Christ. Matthew 26:69-75
· Are you denying Christ? (pre-Xian or even as a Xian)
· Will you take a stand for him in public? (small scale or large)
· Don’t let it get to the point where you “weep bitterly”.
· There are consequences either way. Prov. 1:28-33

Back to the title of this sermon, “How can a loving God send people to hell?”
· God, created humans, gave us freewill (instead of a robot), we face choices and consequences, man rejects God, the solution is Jesus Christ, the choice is ours to either accept or reject that relationship with God.
· That’s as simple as it gets, the gospel.
We always need to remember the two sides of God:
Love, grace and forgiveness…Duet. 30: 4-5
Righteousness, judgment, guidelines. Duet. 29: 19-20, 24-26
A balance of both sides is critical!

Conclusion: “The football verse” John 3:16-18
· As a father, I want the best for my children…even now they make choices which are either good or bad. I do my best to present the truth (and the consequences) and have to sometimes painfully watch, let them decide and deal with those consequences, good or bad.
· God is our heavenly father and he wants the best for us too. If we would just set aside our pride and our own agenda and take our father’s advice, we’d be just fine.
· It comes down to choices. Once we’ve been presented with the facts, it’s up to us to choose.

Kelley and I rented "Knowing" last weekend. It turned out to be better than I thought. To me, this is one of those movies that ends up with some good/interesting theology communicated. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "Christian" movie, but if you looked, you could see some Christian themes throughout the film.

I like how the main character wrestled with a random vs. planned universe. To me, it was also interesting how he was a pastors kid and considered himself a prophet, trying to save humans from destruction. Did anybody else notice when he was driving through the city towards the end of the movie, the van with "Jesus is the way, the truth and the life" written on the side?

The whole aliens deal at the end was a bit weird, but over all, the movie makes for some good discussion later.

Back to the roots

Oh....these are good memories. Last Wed. I drove up to Baldwin Park (right near West Covina and Azusa) to pick up a new motor for my Bus. While there I made a trip to Mecca (for burgers, that is) to the original In-N-Out, first built in the area October 22, 1948. The top two pictures show that original store which is no longer open and has a fence around it. Circa 1980, my college buddies and I from Azusa Pacific would frequent this In-N-Out when it was still open. We'd go there around 2am and score some free fries, always worth the trip when living on a college student's meager budget.

The bottom two pictures show the new "number 1" store about 100 yards away. Next to it is In-N-Out University where they train the employees. As I proudly pass on the heritage and yumminess of In-N-Out to my kids, it is with great pride knowing I have eaten at the original store. In-N-Out is truly a So. Cal gem, and I'm stoked for any of you outside of the area that are able to enjoy their burgers.