Give Thanks through Resurrection Sunday

On March 14, 2012 By MarkIn church, GRACE, ThanksLeave a comment

Ps 107:1-3,8

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble

3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!

A few weeks ago I spoke on the passage in Luke where Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to say thanks. In yet another creative fashion to teach his onlooking disciples he asked about the other nine. I’m pretty sure He wanted us to know that He noticed. The text doesn’t tell us much more about the other nine, so no need to speculate.

One of the principles I gained from that account was that Jesus notices our praise. Psalm 103 and 107 give us great examples of ‘blessing the Lord’ for Who He is and all that He has done.

In that light, I challenged our church to come back and give God praise for all He is doing and for Who He is! How often do we pray and ask for something, only to forget to come back and acknowledge that the answer in fact came from God? Or how many things could you think of in the next 30 seconds that you are very grateful for, but haven’t mentioned it in a long time.

On April 8th we’ll celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus like we do each and every week. With it being such a significant day in the life of our church, I asked our church to intentionally come back and give God thanks each and everyday up through Resurrection Sunday. Or, Thanks To (until) Resurrection Sunday, thus #T2RS

So, go ahead. Start now. Use facebook, twitter, your email, IM, or write it on a note, in a letter, but tell someone about what God is doing and for what you are giving Him thanks.

Feel free to use the comment section here.

For me: #T2RS I’m thankful to God for the people that helped lay the foundation of what is today Grace Community Church. It was such a joy to meet up with some dear friends this past Sunday who faithfully served and loved in the early days of Grace. Our hearts were full.

Be a Doer aka Part 2

On February 29, 2012March 1, 2012 By MarkIn church, PreachingLeave a comment

This is the short version of part two from this past weeks sermon:

Building your life in obedience to Jesus. James 1:19-25

This is about sanctification, how we live the Christian life. We have been saved and now we hear the word (look into the mirror) and we respond. As followers of Jesus, we are secure in our salvation and His grace.

Be an active ‘doer’ not a forgetful ‘hearer’:

I appreciate what Warren Wiersbe adds: “It is not sufficient, however, to receive the Word; one must respond to it in active obedience. One must “become,” or “keep on becoming” a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. The growing numbers of sermon-sippers who flit from one doctrinal dessert to another like helpless hummingbirds are deceiving themselves. “Deceiving” is from a verb used only here and in Col 2:4, means “to cheat or deceive by false reasoning.” The deception comes from thinking they have done all that is necessary when actually listening to the Word is only the beginning.”

The word for “looks into” means “to stoop down” in order to have a good close look.

The “Law that gives freedom” seems like a paradox. Law seems to imply restraint and therefore a lack of freedom. Not so with God’s Law. His perfect Law provides true freedom. “Hold to My teaching,” Christ said, “then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

This life he brings us is an ‘abundant life’. We’re free to take His word and make application and thus be doers, bringing Him glory!

So what is it God’s calling you to “do”?

Of preaching and pie

On February 27, 2012 By MarkIn Baptism, Pie!, Preaching, Salvation1 Comment

Yesterday I began my sermon with four things I really like. We had just baptized three individuals with beautiful stories of grace written all over them. So I said, “there are four things I really like: baptisms (whether I’m the one dunking or not), seeing people saved (whether I’m leading or not), preaching, and pie.” Not always in that order!

Before the day was over I experienced all four!
I preached one of those unusual sermons that pastors love to preach. You can read more about it tomorrow. Or you can hear it here and see the notes.

Before the service was over we saw 3 people stand and confess Jesus as Savior and Lord! It was awesome. Our church exploded in applause. As did heaven’s angels.

And because God is awesome and actually created us to laugh and enjoy pie, later that afternoon Laurie and I joined up with one of our fabulous Grace Groups and they offered PIE! There you go. Day complete. I can go home now.

Of course I love Jesus.

On February 23, 2012 By MarkIn GRACE, Jesus!Leave a comment

This past Sunday in our series “Q&A with Jesus” we looked at the passage where Jesus asks Peter if he loved him. You can find the audio and sermon notes here.

Who wouldn’t answer that question right, especially right to Jesus’ face? Yes, I love you. Sure do. “Then”, Jesus says, “here’s what I want you to do.”

For most that are familiar with the passage, we have taken a safe kind of liberty in our interpretations to read into the passage that Jesus may in fact be affirming his forgiveness towards Peter for the gaff on the eve of his crucifixion. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, just as Jesus warned. And here in John 21, Jesus asks Peter of his love followed by a ‘here’s what you do then’ three times. Whether this is an affirmation of forgiveness or a sense of “let’s deal with this and get on with it” either way, Jesus is saying to Peter, it’s time and I do in fact have something I need you to be a part of.

One of the applications that comes from this study is this: Is there something in your past that’s keeping you from accepting the forgiveness of Christ and moving forward with a life that centers on Him?

Jesus knows that Peter is forgiven. He’s never been about holding a grudge, he’s always about the present tense relationship. Consider even His name, “I AM”. Not, “I will be, as soon as you make up for your mess or prove to me that you’ll not drop the ball again”, but “I AM”.

Relationships take time. They take understanding and even effort. But mostly, they take grace. Jesus knew he’d have an amazing relationship with Peter, through the Holy Spirit, but Peter probably didn’t know that!

I wonder what Peter’s ministry in Acts would have looked like had Jesus not had this chat with him. I wonder how many of us need to have a similar chat with the Lord. He loves you, has completely forgiven you, and He needs you to accept His forgiveness, get over your past and move forward in the relationship that He came to establish.

Winter Vacation

On January 2, 2012 By MarkIn Family, Flagstaff, GRACE, LaurieLeave a comment

Not sure I’ve done this before, but I’m writing from my iPad to see if I can blog my way through some vacation highlights. We’re in Long Beach anticipating our week on a big boat with a few hundred people, ok, probably a few thousand. Looking forward to some extended time with Laurie, some good food and great sights. It’ll be great to spend the week with the Johnson family as they break us into this lifestyle of life on the sea.

Yesterday was an amazing day @Grace. I devoted some extended time to cast the vision for our church family for this new year. It was a great way to start 2012! I’m pretty sure the recorded sermon and brief notes are available on our website allaboutgrace.com

This may be the last post for the week, or I may find time to stay updated. Either way, Happy New Year and have a great first week!

Observations of a false teacher…

On December 6, 2011 By MarkIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

From our study in 2 Peter, I put a challenge out to our Grace Groups to make simple ‘observations’ from the first few verses on the false teacher. Here’s what I came up with.

What’s said of the false teachers? V1-3

Similar to false prophets of OT
They WILL be among the church; sneak in
They will operate secretly; deceiving
They will bring in destructive heresies; this isn’t light stuff.
They will deny Jesus (Christological confusion at best)
They will bring destruction

Upon themselves
Swiftly

They will be sensual; sexuality is exploited and perverted
Others will follow their sensuality
The truth will be blasphemed; truth takes a back seat to subjectivity, or experience
They are greedy; never enough
They will exploit the church
They will lie; like Satan, the father of lies, the propagator
Condemnation awaits them
Destruction is in front of them

Go here to listen to the sermon and follow along with the Grace Group notes.

A Time to be Thankful and a Time to Grow

On November 23, 2011November 23, 2011 By MarkIn Salvation, ThanksLeave a comment

At Grace we’re studying 2 Peter. A couple of weeks ago we saw where Peter instructed us to ‘supplement’ or ‘add to’ our faith. Clearly that’s a sanctifying faith. We’re not saved by doing these things. Rather, these things are a healthy reflection that we are saved and pursuing Christ-likeness.

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV)

This past Sunday we considered what Psalm 107 teaches us about giving God thanks. Though it’s good and healthy to list the things we’re thankful for (a usual custom during Thanksgiving week!), it’s even better to give Him thanks because we are redeemed.

“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble”
(Psalm 107:1-2 ESV)

His steadfast love [lovingkindness, mercy] is why we thank Him. He has redeemed us and called us His own and now we are to SAY SO!

Use this Thanksgiving week to demonstrate your sanctifying salvation by adding to your faith, things such as brotherly love and even a little self-control! Wow, what a list for a family get-together.

However you spend your holiday be sure to give thanks to God for His Son, Jesus, who has redeemed us by giving himself in our place as the final payment for all-time for all sin! We’ve been redeemed, so let’s say so.

Knowing God

On November 9, 2011 By MarkIn God's Glory, Jesus!Leave a comment

One of the key themes in 2 Peter is going to be the knowledge of God. In the few weeks we’ll be studying this passage we’ll see how the knowledge of God is more than head-knowledge. Though our knowledge starts with the data of God, who he is, how we can know he is real, and what he has revealed to us about himself, the real knowledge of God comes when we go from knowing ‘about’ God to actually knowing Him. To know him means to be in a relationship with him that is based on him and what he has done for us, through Jesus! Peter’s use of the word knowledge is not just the data of God. It’s knowing God intimately. Before you think this is just a ‘touchy-feely’ kind of sentiment, listen to the hard words that Paul gives us in Philippians 3:8-10

“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death”

What does this passage say about how to know God? There is nothing easy about this. What this means is that Paul would know Christ as he shared in the sufferings of Jesus. You and I will suffer. Life involves brokenness and hurt, unfair treatment, disasters of nature and sin-induced trauma. It can and will get difficult. But it’s through this difficult times that a follower of Jesus gets to know God in a whole new way. A way that brings glory to God!

If you or someone you know is going through a difficult time of suffering right now, pray that God would make himself ‘known’ during this hard time. In his grace, God reaches out to us in our sufferings and we know his peace and presence in a whole new intimate way.

God’s work continues.

On November 3, 2011November 3, 2011 By MarkIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This past Sunday we finished our 5 week series on Elijah. Standing Alone with God. We finished with the idea of Passing it On. God led Elijah to Elisha so the ministry could carry on. Today, I want to give this space to a blog I recently read for an added perspective.
Thanks to one of our Gracers for passing this on from Chuck Swindoll’s blog.

Mantle of Power
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read 2 Kings 2:12–15

Elijah’s no-death contract suddenly went into effect. Elijah, prophet of power—gone. Elisha, prophet of double power—here, ready, and about to be used greatly by his God.

When a man or woman of God dies, nothing of God dies. We tend to forget that. We get so caught up in the lives of certain individuals that we begin to think we cannot do without them. What limited thinking! When even a mighty servant is gone, God has seven thousand who have never bowed the knee to Baal. He has them ready, waiting in the wings. Classic case in point: Elisha. God always has a back-up plan.

Think about it. Through the ages He has had His men and women in every era to carry on His work. Never once has God been frustrated, wondering, What will My people do now that he’s gone? Now that she’s no longer with them? Our Creator-God is omnipotent. He is never caught shorthanded.

Elisha may have been momentarily surprised and stunned, but that didn’t last long. Remembering Elijah’s words, he reached down and picked up the prophet’s cloak. Claiming the power that now was his, he crossed back over the Jordan and began his own prophetic ministry. God’s plan never missed a beat. Exit Elijah. Enter Elisha.

We can’t help but wonder if, in the years to come, Elisha didn’t stop and study that old mantle, calling to mind those great days of the past when his mentor and friend stood alone, representing God’s presence and proclaiming God’s message. The memory of the older Elijah—a man of heroism and humility—served to strengthen the younger Elisha, whom God destined to serve in even greater ways.

There are times, to this day, when I call to mind my granddaddy, L. O. Lundy. His wise words of counsel still linger. His life of quiet, deep character sometimes seems so close to me I can almost feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. Yes, to this day I miss him, but the mantle of his memory spurs me on to greater heights and deeper devotion.

The good news is this: I will one day see him. And we, together, will worship the same Lord face to face, ” . . . and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Whose mantle have you received? And what will you do with its inherited influence?

Before the mountains…

On October 20, 2011 By MarkIn God's GloryLeave a comment

Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting
you are God.
Ps 90:2

I love that this is the only recorded Psalm from Moses. Not that I wouldn’t have liked to see more, but that the one that he did pen, begins with creation.

Who wrote Genesis? Moses.
Moses wasn’t there, but somehow the Holy Spirit gave him the words. He is the one who tells the story time before the mountains were brought forth, or the earth even formed.

From everlasting…
…To everlasting
YOU ARE GOD

How comforting that is. Our God who we trust for eternal salvation and a place with Him for eternity…
He was there, He will be there. So, He is here now.

PMark's Blog World

Author: Mark