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. 

Behind every "no" from God is a greater "yes" to follow. That statement from Sonksen is right, however, you have to learn that perspective by applying the appropriate scripture. It is not automatic. Even the apostle Paul had to learn that the "no" to any more missionary journeys would eventually be a "yes" to the lasting influence of his four prison epistles and probably Philemon and 2 Timothy. Billy Graham said, "You can’t know the future but you know who holds the future." Paul was such a critical figure in the founding of the New Testament churches, we forget that his ministry was spread out over many years. He spent several years on missionary journeys and several years of writing what now makes up much of the New Testament. Both were critical for the health of the church. Paul learned in or out of different circumstances did not mean one was better than the other or one was more satisfying than the other. Too often I, and maybe you, set up certain expectations and when those expectations are not met, we are dissatisfied. This Sunday we will investigate how changing circumstances did not disrupt the apostle Paul’s contentment and hope in Christ.

So what do you think? This is a common question that we ask each other. But when we think and we think about our answer, do we take into account the guidelines God may give us? When Paul said "Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ" (2Corinthians10:5) we may think that is unattainable. Although it is impossible to do it perfectly 100% of the time, scripture (Philippians4:8-9) give us some very practical guidelines. These guidelines are very important when it comes to the social/political landscape. I’m going to take a specific example Sunday morning, no I’m not going to reveal it right now, and apply Paul’s thinking guidelines. The great thing about Paul is that not only did he teach how to live the Christian life, he also was an example of Christian living. We have so many external influences upon our thinking, but we must count on the fact that no thought can remain as a focus of your brain without your conscious permission. So what should we think? How do we think? What should be the visible result of our thinking in our life style? This Sunday will answer those and other questions implicit in Paul’s teaching. See you Sunday.

Much like a roller coaster, our journey of life has ups and downs and twists and turns. It can be exhilarating at times, but also sometimes scary with the anxiousness that accompanies the fear of the unknown. In life, just like when riding a roller coaster, we need peace. We need to find peace to know that it’s going to be okay and we will arrive victorious at the end. The Apostle Paul gives us some very clear direction in Philippians 4 of how to find peace. And it is so much more than just praying. While prayer is certainly one component of finding peace, there is a surprising level of action and responsibility on our part for those who truly want peace. Join us this Sunday as we explore how to biblically find true peace in our lives.

You are already perfect “in Christ “and yet you are maturing in this life. You can’t be perfect in this life, but you can be transforming into the image of Christ. How do we succeed at that transformation? In Philippians 3:15-21, Paul gives us some guidelines to be transformed. We need a good attitude. We need a standard. We need an example. We need to understand who the real enemy is. We need to act like citizens of heaven even while living on earth. The subjects of King Jesus should display the manners of his court while here on earth. Also Remember the enemies of the cross are people for which we should weep. Also this Sunday we will deal with the meaning of the word “perfect “in Philippians 3:15.

When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. But when you focus on Christ you gain more than you have. Ironically if you focus on past positive or Christian achievements instead of what you need from Christ, you also lose what you have. But when you focus on Christ, you gain more than you ever had. So let’s focus on Christ this Sunday. His power. His suffering. His resurrection. Such a focus will release us from previous hurts or previous successes so that we might become more and more like Christ. This progress comes from his spirit and growing our relationship with Christ. A backward focus hurts us. A current focus on Christ and what he is leading us to do in the future results in more maturity. Maturity is not focusing upon Christ's power and miracles, but focusing upon our relationship with him. That I may know him will proceed knowing the power of his resurrection. If we put his power before our relationship with Christ, we hinder in our growth in Christ. 

This Sunday’s message is about joy. If you get your joy from Christ alone then the devil can never steal your joy. As you pursue your relationship with God, you discount false righteousness and depend upon the righteousness of Christ alone. You should not trust in religious actions. Eventually you will find that many of the religious perks you once thought worthwhile are merely superficial benefits. You throw them away so you can put your full trust and hope in Christ alone. Without Christ you are not good enough for heaven, but Jesus can get you there. You are not good until Jesus makes you good. Properly understood this will bring you joy in worship. Religious activity may bring false confidence and unproductive religious zeal, but when you learn to value Christ alone you find Christ always and in all things. Let’s learn how to value Christ above everything and thus find great joy in doing so.