This week, we will be looking at the importance of maturing in the Christian Life. A living thing is a growing thing and things that grow deepest often have the strongest roots. In other words, depth helps us grow tall and wide! In Colossians, the Holy Spirit gives us instructions as to how to grow and the intended result that He envisions for us when we are flourishing in Christ. Looking forward to Sunday. See you soon.
Last week we looked at importance of burden as important for a flourishing church. Nehemiah showed us how God puts a burden in our hearts and turns that into a vision that we minister out of. This week, we go back to first things. Above all, every flourishing church or flourishing Christian will see the importance of Worship. The Christian Life, at its core, is a relationship by which we know God and worship Him through being with Christ and being Christ to others. In our text in Jeremiah this coming Sunday, Jeremiah reminds us of the centrality of this! See you soon.
How does something strong continue to grow? How does something that is stable enjoy its stability but not devolve into decline? This is the question we will prayerfully look at in our new series entitled Flourish. For the next 7 weeks, we will look in Scripture at values that, when taken together, ensure the continued flourishing of Laurelwood Church. These values are not exhaustive, yet, they are all crucial for ensuring the spiritual health and vitality of our church.
This coming Sunday, we will be looking at another verse from the great repository of wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. We will look at what it means to walk wisely. That is, how can we enter into any situation, walk down any path, or contend with any daunting challenge with both confidence and wisdom. The answer will be found the more we own the truths found in Proverbs 3:5-6. While a favorite life verse for some, there is a difference between quoting a verse from memory and living the truths contained in the Scripture daily. If we will live and obey the truths found in Proverbs 3:5-6, we will be able to walk wisely into any situation.
Good morning Laurelwood! After many months of a pastoral search that included interviews, assessments and two visits, I am grateful to be joining you in worship this coming Sunday. This Sunday, I will be looking at a relationship that is neglected in culture today…friendship. In his essay on friendship, C.S. Lewis says this: friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art..it has no survival value; rather it is one of the things that give value to survival. Lewis points out that while we do not need friends for biological survival, it is hard to imagine a full like without great friends! The Word of God in Proverbs goes a step further….going as far as to say that wise living entails, in part, that you become good at forging and keeping good friendships. Looking forward to being together! See you soon.
We all, at least some of the time, are in circumstances we don’t like. The apostle Paul found himself in a circumstance he didn’t like 100% of the time: PRISON. Yet he thrived in those limiting circumstances. This was evidenced by the fact that he was inspired of God to write parts of the New Testament as well as lead some officers of the Roman empire into a personal relationship with Christ. How? Paul never forgot his primary identity was: in Christ. He never calls himself a prisoner of Caesar, instead he refers to himself as a prisoner of Christ. In other words he never saw circumstances beyond his control as limiting God’s will for his life. While in prison his relationship with the Lord was so dynamic, he referred to some of his experience as a revelation. Who of us would not embrace negative circumstances in order to have direct revelation from God. So the next time you have circumstances that seem to limit you, never forget God controls circumstances beyond your control. And in those circumstances we can find God‘s will. Then you won’t just survive the negative circumstances, you’ll have an opportunity to thrive in those circumstances.
Identity is so important. I once was Christ less, hopeless and godless, but at 15-years-old Christ became real to me. I understood that he had died in my place and made peace with God for me. This gave me personal access to God I had never known. When I became a Christian, God didn't jump out of heaven and shake my hand. There was not a chorus of angels singing in the background, but I did sense His peace. What Christ did for me in that moment was awesome. He created for me a destiny built on the foundation of the apostles and Christ. I was no longer a stranger in God's kingdom. I was a fellow citizen with millions of Christians. I had a new destiny: heaven. It was not something I earned, but Christ brought me near to God through His blood. I discovered who I was in Christ was the foundation for what I did for Christ. If you don't put your who before your do, then you may be guilty of moralism. Where do you put your faith? Is it what God has done through Christ in your life or is it your good works? Our standing before God is a gift received not achieved. I choose the gift plan, how about you?
I went through officer candidate basic training at Fort Lewis Washington. If you don't know, a drill sergeant has complete control over your life for 10 weeks. When you eat, when you sleep, when you shower, when you train, when you go to class, etc. I'm sure every troop in basic training feels like the drill sergeant picks on him, but after doing 20 push-ups on many occasions I felt my paranoia was justified. But everything changed after I graduated from the officers' candidate boot camp and received my Lieutenant status. Suddenly this drill sergeant was under my command. He immediately saluted me. Now any second lieutenant knows a drill sergeant knows a lot more about the military than he does and, so, the lieutenant is simply the person that negotiates the commands received from headquarters to the troops in the field. A smart second lieutenant always asks the sergeant what he thinks the best plan is for the battle ahead. But my point is that in a moment the drill sergeant who was over me suddenly became a sergeant who was accountable to me. Likewise, the moment you become a Christian, you are changed in relationship to the world, the flesh, or the devil. They had control over you up until that moment of faith. Once you're in Christ, you have been given the power over the world, the flesh and the devil. In a moment your position in life and eternity changed, before you had little choice but to obey your old sergeant, the WFD, but now that you are "in Christ" and by faith in Him and the word of God, the world, the flesh and the devil are under Christ's control. They do not have control over you but are subject to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Being "in Christ" transformed you from death living to life living "in Christ". If you abide in Him and He abides in you, ask what you will, and it shall be done. Your new position in life takes you out from under the control of the WFD, as you surrender to the control of Christ. Don't let the devil convince you he is still under his control. Since you are "in Christ" you are no longer under the devil's command to having authority over him.
The first half of Ephesians 1 is a great reminder that God has called and adopted us into His family and wants to unite all things in Him. The second half of Ephesians 1 is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, and here we see a beautiful picture of how to pray for one another. Even though this is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, it is still just as meaningful and applicable today. We too can pray like Paul and experience the greatness and power of God. This Sunday we will look at Paul’s prayer and even take time to pray for one another, so together we might experience the name that is above all names.
Our obedience crisis is really an identity crisis. So, in what ways have we failed to understand our new identity in Christ? We must remember that our relationship with Christ is not something we earned. We are changed by His grace and have been forgiven by His grace. Why then did Christ do this great work on our behalf? First and foremost, remember it's a mystery (see Ephesians 1:9). But God’s mystery is found in His grace, His mercy, His kindness, His purposes, His promises, and in the inheritance He gives us. How all these things work together for our eternal benefit is a mystery that may only be revealed in heaven. This Sunday, I hope to give us a taste of what that mystery might include. It is not a mystery that all these benefits deserve our praise and worship. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the Christian life. Let's find our new identity and our other benefits in Christ. This Sunday we will look at a full platter of God's benefits that help us to become all that God wants us to be.
As children most of us discover the harder we work, the more the benefits. So as adults we feel the need to work. And more people could benefit from a good work ethic. But as Christians we may say to ourselves "it may have been necessary to respond with the work ethic to life's challenges as a child but now I want to explore, by faith, new ways to follow Christ." So often we work for and pray for what we already have "in Christ." In the book of Ephesians, especially the first couple of chapters, we will learn that our identity "in Christ" is foundational to be a maturing Christian. By faith we're joined with Christ in his death and resurrection. When we focus on rules, we may think rules give us power. But when we focus on our identity "in Christ" we find supernatural power. I hope to show, for most of us, how our obedience crisis is an identity crisis. For example we cringe at the idea of being a "saint" yet we are saints "in Christ." Sixty-two times the scripture affirms this new relationship. So if I'm a saint, why do I have difficulty in doing right? If you focus on your ability to obey, you will have only partial success. Instead focus on Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit who works within you. The better our identity "in Christ," the more faithfully we follow Christ.
This Sunday together we will look at a church that drew no ire from Jesus Christ. A church that was praised for their faithful witness by The Lord even when the community in which they were located despised them. In looking at this church, we will be able to see the qualities needed to stand strong under fire. At a critical time in Laurelwood's history and in the culture today, I hope that we can learn from this church so that Laurelwood can continue to be a faithful witness until the end.
This Lord’s Day, I’d like to share with you a topic that the LORD has been schooling me in lately: contentment. Why is it so difficult for us to know when enough is enough? How can the people of God who have His Spirit and all the glorious promises in Christ still reach out for more, believing that something outside will satisfy them? This Sunday, I hope to glean with you the Wisdom of God revealed in the book of Proverbs so that you and I can be people who live fully satisfied, lacking nothing.
Three of the big themes in Scripture are: generosity, gratitude, and grace. All these positive qualities come from our relationship with God. We have to be careful to walk the talk when it comes to generosity. If we do, we find that God shall supply all your needs according to his riches. Notice it says according to. If Jeff Bezos (founder and Executive Chair of Amazon) gives a beggar 10 bucks, he has given out of his riches, but not according to his riches. God promises that when we give to the cause of Christ, we are stacking up not only temporal benefits but also in eternal benefits. In terms of sacrifice, I have found some people on Social Security are giving more to the cause of Christ than those who have six-figure salaries. When we give, God is pleased. Not only is that true, but God promises to meet the needs of generous givers. Needs not greeds. So in Philippians 4 we find generosity, gratitude, and grace at work in the people of God. When Pastor Erik visits I hope he sees those three characteristics which are evident in Laurelwood’s fellowship.
Philippians 4:13 is a great promise properly applied and dangerous if inaccurately applied. The number one issue is whether the person claiming this promise is basing it on a scriptural promise and not upon a whim. A person who understands his relationship with Jesus Christ based upon Romans 5-8, is in a good place to find God's will. Once we have decided something is in God‘s will and we have a biblical promise to back it we are in good shape to take the Philippians 4:13 risk. For example, God wants us to be generous people therefore we step out in faith and act generous with our finances. If we are good stewards of our money and trust God‘s promises with respect to giving we can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). With the promises of God‘s word and Philippians 4:13 we can say "I can" more often than "I can’t." Bottom line - there is a risk you must undertake for Christ's sake.