Archive for July 2007

The Simple Things

July 31, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Sometimes we try to make life so complicated. My wife has taken the kids to spend two days in Chattanooga. Some would not see this as a great vacation. But for this year so far this is it, and I did not even go. Well there was church camp, but I missed that too. But earlier I got a call from my wife, and my daughter Victoria got on the phone. With all the excitement of an 8 year old, she began to tell me about the penguins and the shark that almost ate a fish at the aquarium. Apparently the fish was faster than the shark. She looked out the window and saw a beaver in the river. She went into grand detail of the horse she road on the carousel, and my 16 year old riding on the tiger. Matt found a horse that worked for him. Matt has a good time no matter what. At dinner Chris, who is still recovering from his gall bladder surgery, enjoyed a steak. And they wound up on some live video taping by one of the news channels.  When I spoke with my wife, I could here the joy in her voice.

Because you see, I prayed this morning that they would have a great day. I asked God to bless my family. He did bless them, and because of that I am blessed.  

As I prayed tonight, I heard God speak about the team for Redeemer’s Way. He said the team is ready. In just a few weeks the team will come together, and I will look back and wonder why I was so worried.  Sure there is a lot of hard work ahead, but I am working for God’s vision and His call. God will always find ways to bless us. We serve a faithful God.

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What did Jesus do Part II

July 29, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

He Made Disciples

Matt: 9:9-10 9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  

Prayed for Laborers

Matt 9:37-38 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Transferred Power to his Disciples

Matt 10:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

Sent out His Disciples

Matt 10: 5- 8 5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Brought a Sword, not Peace

Matt 10:33- 42 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ’set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. 40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Taught using culturally relative Parables

Matt 13:1-9 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Gave Disciples deeper teaching

Matt 13:36-43 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Spent time alone in Prayer

Matt 14:22-23 22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Confronted False Leaders

Matt 23:13-17 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

Was Arrested

Matt 26:47-50 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.” 47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

Was Falsely Accused

Matt 26:59-61 59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”

Was Mocked

Matt 27:27-31 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Died for Us

Matt 27:45-50 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Rose from the Dead

Matt 28:1-7 1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. 5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Commissioned His Disciples

Matt 28:16-20 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

This is by no means a complete listing. It is simply a great foundation of how to live as a Disciple of Christ. With this knowledge hopefully all those that follow can easily answer What Would Jesus Do?

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What did Jesus do Part I

July 26, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

For a while it was fashionable to where bracelets or t-shirts with WWJD “What Would Jesus Do” This is definitely a great mind set to bring accountability to our actions.But to know what would Jesus Do we must have a good knowledge of what He did do while on the earth. So here is part one of a list from the book of Matthew.

He spoke with Authority

Matt 7:29 for He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes

Matt 8:5-13 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

He came to fulfill the Law

Matt 5:17-20 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

He Preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and Healed all Kinds of Sickness and Diseases

Matt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

He Fasted

Matt 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

He Faced Temptation

Matt 1-11 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

He Was Baptized

Matt 3:13-17 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

He Cast out Demons

Matt 8:16, 28-32 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
       

Matt 8:16, 28-32 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
   

He Forgave sin
Matt 9:2 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”           

He Prayed

Matt 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

To be Continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gall Stones and the Church in Action

July 22, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Well it has been a while since I have bloged. I am trying to get better about keeping this updated. Two weeks ago I found out my oldest son had gall stones. His surgery was scheduled for a week later; however, that Thursday he took an ambulance ride back to the hospital. Five days later he finally had his gall bladder removed. During this time, through Living Way, I really saw how a church should work. My friend Jerry showed up at the emergency room on Thursday night, and Pastor Cameron came by Friday morning  (Cameron actually visited Chris three times), and Pastor Scott was there on Saturday. Everyday Chris had a visitor from the church. There were also the countless phone calls and e-mails. Shelia picked up Victoria and let her spend the night Friday, and she made sure that Victoria and Matt did not miss VBS. I was both overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring support for our family. Living Way came through in a big way. The ministry of Jesus was lived out in the flesh.

Chris came home this past Wednesday. He is still sore but he is doing great. It is great to know that Redeemer’s Way will have the support of Living Way a strong and healthy church.

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Not my “will”

July 5, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Two days ago Janice spoke with one of the couples we had asked to come be part of our team. They said they feel God wants them to stay where they are. They are actually the second couple to tell us they are being lead in other directions. Needless to say, I was not in a real good mood on Tuesday night. (No, I am not perfect). I actually had to battle all the normal emotions, anger, doubt, depression. I am not upset with them. I was upset with God. (Hey, I said I am not perfect) I really want our team to come together so we can continue to move forward. Even though we had four families at our team meeting last Saturday, only one family is fully committed.  

As you can see from this entry, my problem is that I use “I” a lot. I tend to want things my way. God placed this dream and vision in my heart. There is only so much I can do. The rest is up to Him and His timing. It is Christ that builds the church. I must learn to let go. Matt 16:18.

God is in control.

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Don’t Cry to God

July 2, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Several months ago while simply going through my daily Bible reading, a simple verse seemed to jump off the page.   

And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” Exodus 14:15-16 NKJV

If you look at the verses preceding this you will find the children of Israel complaining already and full of fear. Moses then told them to stand still and not to be afraid. I see verse 15 as a rebuke of Moses. Here is a mighty man of God that has had close encounters of God, and seen God’s hand at work through him time after time. But here he chose to stand still and wait for God to move. But God responds with “Why do you cry to Me?” I have given you the power and authority, don’t just stand there but keep moving forward. Just because there way was blocked by the Red Sea, they were to show their faith in God by continuing to move forward.

God wants to work on the earth through man. In Genesis 1:26 he gave man authority to have dominion on the earth. Action is also a key indicator or fruit of God. If you look at the majority of the miracles that Jesus performed, they most all required some sort of action on the part of the other person. Sometimes we so want to hear from God before we make a move (Seeking God’s council is always a good thing) that we sit around and do nothing. Sometimes (I even think most times) that we need to move forward, and then God will move on His part. We must exercise the authority God has given us.

We have so many unanswered questions about the church plant. Who will we reach out too? Who will be part of our team? But we have had to determine to keep making plans with what we do know trusting God to bring the answers when the time is needed. God gives us visions and dreams, and he then gives us the authority to make it happen.

We can not be afraid to make the wrong choice. If I spend time in the word and in prayer on a daily basis He will guide us. Even if I make a wrong choice out of what I thought I heard God say, He can make it right.

Activate your authority. Move forward. If you need to be healed or delivered, exercise your faith and live as though it has already happened. The key is to keep moving forward in your walk. Take a step forward and God will meet you, and you will be surprised by what will happen. Do not cry when you need to take action and move forward.

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1st Team Meeting

July 1, 2007 by Pastor Jon.

Last night was our first team meeting. We had a great turn out. Counting the Stallings family we had 5 families with 9 adults, three youth and four kids. Since several of the families are still praying about coming to RWC, I spent the night sharing our vision.

I shared that a key in our vision statement is developing people that are passionate about their relationship with Christ. Out of this relationship they will develop a passion to share the redeeming love of Christ to all who live in our city, nation and our world.

I then shared from John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Our relationship with Christ must be our primary focus. That is were we invest our time and energy. Out of this relationship will be our ability to bear much fruit.

We then closed with prayer requests, and we shared communion together. Afterwards we had a time of food and fellowship. Everyone hung around for another hour and half of fellowship. All in all this was a great night. Hopefully in July we will have a cookout with our team.

This morning at Living Way we met a lady who lives in Locust Grove, and I spoke to a LWC member who just moved about 15 minutes south of Locust Grove. It is true that Christ will build His Church. Janice and I just need to be obedient, and make ourselves available.

I am still overwhelmed and humbled by all that God is doing. Janice and I are looking forward to what God has in store for our future.

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