ANDY STANLEY ON THE NEW COMMANDMENT

As we begin a new year, I would like to share with you a little teaching from Andy Stanley. He is a person who has blessed many, many of us. – Steve

Catalyst West 2010: Andy Stanley from Catalyst on Vimeo.

THE MINISTRY OF HEALING

Tuesday night the Elders and Pastors of our church met with LuAnn Baker and her husband, Steve. The purpose was to anoint LuAnn with oil and to pray for her healing.  LuAnn is facing surgery Thursday at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for a hiatal hernia that has troubled her for several years.  This is a common practice for our elders, as they seek to provide prayer support for the doctors as all work with God to bring healing to someone.

Their authority for this is found in James 5:

The Prayer of Faith

 ¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

 ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

 ¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Do you know someone who could use this prayer support?  Contact any one of the elders or our pastors.

AS WE BEGIN A NEW SEASON OF MINISTRY

This video from h2O church is a great reminder of what we believe the Church of God of Landsville is being shaped by God into being.

GIVING TO GOD – HOW MUCH OF THE PIE

This video from Central Christian Church is always worth our thought.

RED FLAGS OF BROKENNESS

March 6 we begin a new series of messages called “Relationship Matters.”  This excellent article by Blake Coffee helps set the stage.

Broken relationships are like infections, they only get worse with time, and the consequences can be devastating.

They almost always start the same way.  There are hurt feelings which go unaddressed.  Maybe there was bad behavior involved, or maybe there was just an oversight.  Maybe there was no wrong doing at all.  But feelings got hurt and were left that way with no meaningful attempt to deal with them.  The injured person tries to ignore the pain or tries to hurt the other person in return, but the pain itself is left to fester, much like leaving an infection unattended.  Very soon after that, the relationship is broken.

WARNING! 

But like the infection, the damage then is only beginning.  There are actual stages of brokenness in the relationship.  They can be identified, even measured to some extent.  There is a common progression, a typical stage-by-stage process which every broken relationship goes through.  The stages represent some clear “red flags” which I can use to check myself.  When I see these things happening in me, I can know I have crossed a line and need to do something about it.  Depending on the person and the circumstances, some may go through the stages quickly, and others more slowly.  But when my relationship with you breaks,the progression is fairly predictable:

Stage 1: “Otherization” – You determine that I am no longer “one of you”.  I am suddenly different.  I have a different character, a different essence.  This represents a distinct change in “us”.  You “otherize” me when you suddenly choose to focus on what is different and you choose to ignore all our history which may show otherwise.  Maybe this distancing is just a defense mechanism, or maybe it is a conscious choice.  Either way, it is taking a step away from our relationship and examining it as if to determine whether or not you will choose to keep it.  This is the earliest stage of brokenness.  This is your first red flag that something is very wrong and is in need of attention.

Stage 2: Speculation – You are now very much focused on me and everything I do or say.  That is because you still care about our relationship and you are trying to figure out what or how I am thinking.  You begin to speculate about my motives, questioning in your own mind why I said that or why I didn’t say this or what I meant when I did that, etc.  In actuality, you will never really know my motives, because we cannot know each other’s heart.  But you will begin to think you do know my motives, and you will be confident that they are not pure.  Time spent questioning motives is a red flag that trouble is in the air.  It is also a clear sign that communication (the only thing that can heal broken relationships) is not happening.

Stage 3: Demonization – You are no longer questioning my motives.  You now are certain they are wrong.  In fact, you are beginning to see things in me which you fear the most.  As it turns out, I am a monster, and evil demon-possessed, insane sociopath with no rational thought at all.  If you once thought I might be a Christian, you are now convinced that I have no relationship at all with God.  In actuality, none of these things are true, but you “see” them anyway…at least that is what your pain is telling you. But the good news is, you are still bothered by all of this, which is a sign that this relationship still matters to you.  It is a sign quickly fading, but a sign nonetheless.

Stage 4: Indifference – This stage represents the death of the relationship.  It usually comes years down the line, but it can eventually come.  You now are completely indifferent to me and to the relationship.  You have said for some time now that you just don’t care anymore (saying that out loud seemed to help you cope, even though it wasn’t true), but now, for the first time, you really have stopped feeling anything at all where our relationship is concerned.  You don’t think about it anymore.  You have grieved its loss and, for all practical purposes, you are now indifferent to it.  The early sign of this stage is when you catch yourself saying (and believing) “he will never change”.  If you say it enough and for long enough, you will eventually believe it, whether it is true or not.  And once you truly believe it, the relationship is dead.  You have killed it.

Of course, you can avoid all of this by just learning to communicate when your feelings get hurt.  Learn to say “ouch”.  Learn to express your pain in a way I would be willing to pick it up and deal with it.  It may be a little tough at first, but isn’t it better than killing a relationship altogether?

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

GRACE ENTERED THE WORLD THROUGH A MANGER

Grace entered the world through a manger and a seismic shift occurred spiritually. Sin’s power was broken and grace empowered us to new life.

ALL WE NEED FOR CHRISTMAS

It’s not yet Christmas. That is yet 28 days from now. Tomorrow is the First Sunday in Advent. Culturally (and this is where the culture has shaped the church), we see everything as Christmas. We forget that the first Advent will be followed by a second one–when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation. That Advent has not yet arrived.

Historically Advent has been celebrated in the church as a season of preparation. Preparing for the celebration of the Nativity, God coming in the flesh as an infant child. Preparing hearts for being ready for the Returning – the second coming of Christ. It was a time to remind people to draw near to the God who had already come near to us.

This Advent many of us are focusing on being like Jesus–letting the Incarnation be the definition of our living.  This is the best way to draw near to God.

During Advent we will be looking at what it means when God arrives in our lives.  Based  on Isaiah 9:6, the sermon series is called:

“All We Need for Christmas”

November 28 – All We Need for Christmas is Trustworthy Guidance”

He will be called Wonderful Counselor

December 5 – All We Need for Christmas is Overcoming Power

He will be called Mighty God

December 12 – All We Need for Christmas is Eternal Relationship

He will be called Everlasting Father

December 19 – All We Need for Chrismas is Enduring Peace

He will be called Prince of Peace

Join as we meet the Jesus who came in the flesh

and learn how to live like Jesus

LOST PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD

“Lost people matter to God.”

I still remember Bill Hybels utter that phrase back in the 1980′s, as I watched him on tape providing the scriptural and motivational foundation for doing the work of evangelism. Famously building upon the three parables found in Luke 15, Hybels reminded us that we should never consider anything more important than helping reconcile people to God. In the ensuing two decades I have heard many a pastor, from prominent podiums to small, almost unnoticed pulpits; echo Hybels’ words.

The natural inference from that statement is that “Lost people ought to matter to God’s people.” In 39 years of ministry, I have no doubt that lost people matter to God; but I deeply question whether lost people matter to God’s people. Oh, on an intellectual level when we are trying to be theologically correct, we will all say that lost people matter to us. Our actions and our attitudes put the lie to such assertions.

1. Do we really believe that people are lost without Christ? Christian Smith has coined the phrase “moralistic, therapeutic deism” to describe what passes for the gospel in many churches today. The moralistic dimension affirms that people really can be right with God (and spend eternity with Him) if we are simply good enough. Goodness has been substituted for holiness and so we seem to believe most people who try hard enough will earn a passing score. Or we operate from some deep conviction that a loving God would never make us live with the consequences of choosing sin over His love. The Cross may make great jewelry but it is optional in terms of salvation.

2. We act as if the already persuaded are more important than the yet to be persuaded. Too many Christians and too many churches take care of themselves first, giving it the bulk of their time, their passion, their attention, their resources. Evangelism gets what’s left over. And Heaven forbid we step out of our ministry or worship comfort zones to make the Gospel accessible to those who do not yet know Jesus.

3. We celebrate birthdays but barely speak of New Birth. Maybe that’s because we have more birthdays than New Births. We make elaborate provisions to celebrate one more year on this planet but rarely make any provision for a person experiencing the first year of their eternal life on this planet. In fact, we grieve when someone forgets to give us a gift for another year of being “absent from the Lord”, but seem unperturbed when the gift of eternal life goes unclaimed.

Do you have a plan for building redemptive relationships with people so you might help them become reconciled to God? Or are you too busy with work, church programs, and personal trivial pursuits to give the lost a real priority? Does your church have a strategy for going and sharing the Good News with those who do not yet know Jesus? Or are you too busy with bake sales, class parties, prayer meetings, making the church’s trains run on time?

Lost people matter to God.

Lost people should matter to God’s people.

Would your priorities and actions reflect that?

ROB BELL ON THE RESURRECTION

Many of us have enjoyed the creative teaching of Rob Bell. Here’s an exciting video on the Resurrection,