Author: ctpressADMIN

Studying the Scriptures is critical.

This Sunday I am returning to my study of 1 John, and in this week’s passage, John is helping his readers discern between truth and error. At the heart of that discernment is knowledge of the Word of God.

Studying the scriptures seems like a thing of the past. We have become such an impatient people that anything that does not immediately produce a tangible result for us is deemed unnecessary and even a waste of time. Let me state this as clearly as possible: Studying the Bible is NEVER a waste of time.

To that end, I’d like to share with you a method for simple Bible study. You’ll need a notebook, a Bible and pen.

Begin every reading of scripture with prayer, asking God for insight.

1. Start with a book of the Bible. Read the book in one or two sittings, if possible. This will give you a context.
2. After reading the book through, start with first chapter, and read small sections. These are usually divided with subheadings by the publisher.
3. Observe things like words used repeatedly, scriptures quoted from other books in the Bible.
   • Write down any insights you may have or questions about things you don’t understand.
   • Seek out a trusted Christian friend to help you with things you are having a hard time understanding.
4. Answer these questions:
   • What difference should this passage make in my life?
   • Is there something I need to change?
   • Something I need to do or to stop doing?
   • Write down the practical application point you get from the passage.

I know some of you reading this live in a very digital world, so here are some websites that might help your study of God’s Word:

Bible Study Tools
Bible Gateway
Free Daily Bible Study
Scripture Union

Blessings,

Pastor John

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I’m not kidding. I’ve seen commercials on TV, decorations in stores, and next week the Hallmark Channel starts running their sappy made-for-TV holiday movies (Hey, I like some of those!).

I get as annoyed as the next person about this seeming over-saturation of the holidays. One can only handle so many snowmen, so much holiday food, and the endless stream of holiday music (who wants to bet we start hearing it on the radio on November 1?).

More important than all of that stuff is the fact that our culture has vacated the real meaning of the season. Christmas is the central miracle of our faith. We celebrate that God saw our wretched state, and decided that the only way we could change was for him to come himself in the flesh. Through a miraculous birth, Jesus came into the world, and set in motion the events that would culminate with his death on the cross and his rising from the dead.

I know you’re thinking, “Pastor John, aren’t you contributing to the early onset of Christmas with this article?” Perhaps. I am writing this because waiting until Thanksgiving or the beginning of advent to consider paring down the busyness of the season will be too late.

Before the holidays engulf us all, I’d like to encourage a few things. First, plan for the busy. Get your calendar out now. Make sure things like anticipated travel, holiday events, and kids’ activities are on the calendar now. Then the urgent won’t push out the important by accident or at the last minute. Second, make a conscious decision to put Christ first. Find a devotional (search “Christmas devotional” on google or in your mobile carrier’s app store) to help keep your focus more clearly on Christ. Third, be sure to make time for yourself and your family. Don’t let a season that is supposed to be marked with joy rob you of that very thing.

I know, it’s early. But it will be here before you know it.

Happy Holidays,

Pastor John

A few weeks ago, I used my newsletter space to lament the presence of so much anger in the world, and a ruminated on some of the reasons why it is so prevalent.

The situation hasn’t changed; if anything it’s gotten worse.

Earlier this week I came across a video on social media. It showed footage of people protesting the shootings in our country that have deepened racial divides. Across the street from these people was a group protesting groups protesting police shootings. Someone had the idea to get leaders from both protests to meet in the middle of the street. What could have been a contentious, violent meeting ended in hugs and celebration. The groups came together.

This is how we heal.

This Sunday I am continuing my study of 1 John. In this week’s passage, we are encouraged to love one another, and simply with words. We are called to love with action.

I love words. Words and the writing thereof are central to my work as a minister. But words only go so far. They must be backed by action. If we are to offer an antidote to the hate and foment in the world, it begins with more than words. It happens when words are backed up by action.

In James 2:14-17, we read these words,

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If we really want to see this world change, then we must love in word and in deed.

Blessings,

Pastor John

The Fall Festival is my favorite fellowship event of the year.

We hold this event every October as a kind of alternative to Halloween. Whereas Halloween is focused on evil, gore and fright, the Fall Festival is focused on God’s provision, God’s people and God’s love for us.

There are two things I really enjoy about the Fall Festival. First, the variety. Of course, we eat. Like many churches, we rarely host an event without a meal. But the lunch aside, the fall festival features games, children’s activities, the cake walk and other interesting and fun things.

The other reason the Fall Festival is my favorite annual fellowship event is that it is longer than most of our other fellowship events. The Fall Festival has a very leisurely pace to it, and it allows all who are present a little more time to hang out and get to know each other more deeply.

Fellowship has been a part of the Christian experience since the very be-ginning of the church. The original Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, and it means a great deal more than people gathered together in the same place at the same time. In koinonia, we experience a great connection with one another through shared experience. People at football game have fellowship, but they probably don’t have koinonia. Koinonia is what makes Christian fellowship special. What connects us is our shared faith in Christ, and we celebrate that as we come together over a meal or another event.

The Fall Festival is also a great event to which you can easily invite people. I encourage you to do so. There are a number of ways to do so. If you at-tend the 8:30 service, head home, meet your guests and bring them to the Festival. If you attend 11:00am worship, invite them to join you or to meet you after the worship service.

The Fall Festival is a great day in the life of our church, and I don’t think we should keep this joyful experience to ourselves. Invite a friend as we share in some koinonia!

Blessings,

Pastor John

Stuff Happens

In case you haven’t heard, the music festival planned for Sunday afternoon has been cancelled. Our music director, Jason Largent, is recovering from a medical emergency. I trust that you will join me in continued prayers for him.

Obviously, none of us planned for this sudden change of events. Plenty of work went into the music festival, and it is a bit of disappointment. More important, however, is Jason’s health. We can have another music festival at a later date; there is only one Jason, and we want him to be healthy as continues in the Lord’s work.

Life is full of the unexpected moments, and they can be both good and bad a promotion at work, a gift for no reason, winning the lottery (okay, maybe not THAT one)…a car accident, an accounting snafu in your checkbook, an unexpected medical concern – all of these things are unexpected, some welcome, some not so much.

Believe it or not, all of them are known to God and do not surprise God one bit! In Proverbs 16:9 we read,

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

What this means is that we might think we have a plan, but whatever happens, even the unexpected parts, is going to be used by God to accomplish his purpose in our lives. Sometimes that’s an easy process, sometimes it is hard and grueling. Often, it is somewhere between the two.

What we dare not do is think that any part of our lives is beyond the control or will of God. Yes, even emergencies that result in reordering activities can be the will of God. At the very least, we learn that God is God of all things. And sometimes we learn much about who God is and who we are. So…

• Please keep Jason in prayer.
• Look for God to work in your life and in the lives of others.
• Trust that God has this, whatever “this” is.

Blessings,

Pastor John

When I was a kid, friends taught me how to figure out which way the wind is blowing. You lick your finger, stick it in the air, and move it around until you find the coldest spot – that’s the direction the wind is coming from. As adults we use the phrase, “which way the wind blows” metaphorically to indicate if we or someone else knows what’s going on. Today, if you lick your finger and stick it out here, you’ll feel a strong wind blowing, and it is angry. An angry wind is blowing through the world; I’m sure you’ve noticed.

There is a clear racial divide that seems to be continually growing, with violence begetting more violence in a terrible downward spiral. We are currently in the midst of the most contentious presidential contest in recent history, and we seem to have lost the ability to disagree agreeably. Our drug problems continue to worsen. Our economy is sputtering along with few people truly satisfied with how it’s going.

The end result of all of this is that people are angry, anxious, worried, and depressed, and those feelings of angst are finding their way into our homes, our churches and many of our relationships.

As Christians, we have an opportunity to respond to all of this in a dramatic way. In Philippians, the apostle Paul offers this advice: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (4:6).

I know, the go to answer of “Just pray!” But are we praying enough? At all? I wonder. So often we try and fix things with our own resources, for getting that we have been invited to the throne room of God, and he wants to hear what’s on our hearts. Do you want to see our homes, our churches and our communities change? Then begin with prayer. Lay these concerns before God. Ask him for peace in the midst of all this, because peace allows us to respond appropriately. Anger, anxiety and worry do not help us to think rationally or clearly, and there is plenty of those things in the world already.

May God use His Church at this time to bring peace and change to a world desperate for both.

Blessings,

Pastor John