So tell us what you have been up to and what you have learned.

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Cultivating God’s Wholeness in a Broken World

One of the reasons we love this mission statement is that it places the emphasis on God’s redemptive work in our world. God redeems people, not churches. But we do have a vital role in this process of bringing wholeness into the world, we cultivate.

One of the ways we are going to begin cultivating in the world is through sowing seeds of love. We are going to intentionally share God’s love with those who most need it. Every month for the next year we are going to have a different Seeds of Love focus. We are going to try sowing seeds in a lot of different places, in a number of different ways, to see what grows.

We know we are called to be the hands of and feet of Christ in the world, but we aren’t quite sure exactly what that will look like here in our community. So we are going to keep trying out different acts of love until we discover the ones that grow most effectively in our community.

This month we are gathering school supplies for children in Michigan City. Our friends at Avenue Family Church are going to distribute these supplies to children that really need them. If you haven’t brought in any supplies yet there is still time, just drop them off this week.

Next month we are going to help children a little further away than Michigan City. You will hear about this exciting endeavor in the upcoming weeks. But what ideas do you have for sowing seeds of love? We are looking for a different leader each month to lead a new initiative. Are you ready to do some cultivating? Do you have some love to sow? If so we want to hear from you.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

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Well the problem is that we have allowed the world to take something that is beautiful and important and sacred and to make us feel dirty about it. God is a big fan of sex, he did after all create it. As a matter of fact our sensuality is a vital part of us. I would go so far as to say that our sexuality is closely linked to our spirituality.

If you don’t believe me spend some time reading through the Bible. One of God’s favorite metaphors for understanding his love for us, his people, is the love of a groom for his bride. God regularly compares the intense desire, yes even sexual desire, that a husband and wife have for each other, with his desire for the church.

If you really want to explore some uncomfortable territory read the Song of Songs and you may be scandalized to find erotic poetry in the Bible! You may be more scandalized when you realize a lot of it is about God and his people. Our sexuality is a beautiful part of our humanity. Unfortunately we have allowed our sin to tarnish this part of our lives.

For too long the church has talked very negatively about sex. The only attitude you really found about sex in the church is that it is bad and you shouldn’t do it. Well today we are going to talk about sex very frankly, the good the bad, the sinful and the God honoring parts. Hopefully we will even grow more comfortable with the thought that maybe church is the one place we should feel most free to talk about sex.

Blessings,

Pastor Greg

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This command has as much to say about our responsibility as parents as it does our responsibility as children. Part of the reason parents are expected to be honored by their children, is that parents bear the responsibility of giving their children an identity rooted in their faith. God expected parents to be the primary shapers of their children’s spiritual lives.

This is a very different idea of spiritual development than we have in the church. Often we think it is primarily the role of the pastor or Sunday school teacher or youth worker to shape our children’s faith. But that is not how God intended it. God expects parents to be the primary shapers of faith for our children.

So what does this mean for our parenting? Well first and foremost it means that your own spirituality with greatly affect your children’s. What they see in you will be modeled. This is true for mom and dad alike. If one parent is engaged spiritually but the other isn’t there can be far reaching consequences for your children. It also means that when you make decisions about your family life, God needs to be a priority in those decisions. If Jesus isn’t a priority in your home, he will most likely never be a priority for your children.

That is a huge responsibility to bear and that is why God says parents should be honored. Carrying that burden alone is reason enough to give honor to our parents, even if we as parents don’t always fulfill this responsibility.

Blessings,

Pastor Greg

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The last couple of Sundays we have heard some awesome stories from Bryan and Leslie about how God has used this church to help them find wholeness. This week Doug will be sharing some great stories from his own life as well.

So what about you? What are your stories? What happened when you Discovered there was more life through Christ? How did your life change when you accept an invitation to become a Disciple? Well join us this week as we find out what happens when we Develop a passion to serve.

Share your stories with others so we can all be blessed by God’s work in your life.

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That is why I am glad I took on the challenge of reading it in 60 days. I have the discipline to do in two months what I couldn’t do in a year. The entire thing was such a blessing. Do you even realize how little of the Bible most of us know or ever read? After six weeks of reading and over 1400 pages I still wasn’t on the New Testament. I only read the NT for 13 out of the 60 days.

There is so much scripture to explore and all of it reveals a piece of God to us.

As a pastor I think I would be satisfied if my people even just knew the red letters, the words of Jesus. But sadly many of us are pretty unsure about those too.

If you want to spend more time in scripture I would suggest starting with the red letters. Begin with the Gospels and read the story of Jesus multiple times. Start with Mark the shortest of the Gospels then go to Matthew and then Luke. Finally go to John and hear his voice that was looking back after decades of processing what Jesus had taught him. Live in the gospels and allow them to be a gateway to the rest of scripture.

So I am challenging you to rediscover or discover for the first time the joys of scripture. The story of God and his people is one that challenges, encourages, and transforms us as followers of Christ. Don’t live in ignorance any longer! Discover more of scripture for yourself.

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We are seeing answers to prayer that we have been waiting on for years. There are families spending time seeking God together. There are men rededicating themselves to the pursuit of God and to being better dads and husbands. There are wounds being healed. There are new leaders emerging. There are people in biker bars excitedly talking about the ministry of our church. God is at work and there is so much to be thankful for.

How has God been at work in your life? Have you heard the voice of God in any new ways? Have you experienced a fresh touch of his Spirit? If so we would love to hear your stories to celebrate with you and to rejoice in the good things God is doing.

Psalm 108 says…

My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.

Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let your glory be over all the earth.

Let God’s glory reign over your life today.

Blessings-

Pastor Greg

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I don’t think that God wants to lead us into temptation, that is after all why we pray to avoid this very situation in the Lord’s Prayer. But I do think God intentionally tests us to demonstrate his faithfulness to us and to develop our faith. As we walk through this time in the wilderness God will surely test our faith, because without testing there is no growth. The question is for all of us is will we pass the test?

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In our men’s group we have each committed to seeking God in a specific way for this season of Lent. Some have pledged more time in scripture, others have pledged family devotional time, some are giving up beloved beverages like coffee and a couple of our men are being baptized. It is really exciting!

So won’t you come into the wilderness with us and seek God in a new way these 40 days?

If you aren’t sure where to start I have written a 40 day devotional guide for Lent. You can download it here.

Be Blessed and Seek Christ-

Pastor Greg

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