The Event - Day 16

Well, it's day 16 of The Event and to start things off I have to say that God is amazing! Yesterday we had at least one person accept Christ at church, which is the best possible way to start off another week of the Christmas season. I am so thankful that there is another soul that will be exist eternally with God in heaven and those of us who are believers. 


On the other side, I am reminded of how many people that I know and love who don't know Christ as savior. I am compelled to pray more again today for the lost and to beg God for His powerful hand of mercy to work in our community. 


As we continue through this week I have posted the Spiritual Focus section of our card below. Thanks again to Pastor Jim for keeping our hearts and minds headed in the right direction. 


Spiritual Focus: “Immanuel-God with us.” To go along with the Spiritual Challenge for this week, we want to encourage you to go deeper into Scripture and help you apply the things we talk about on Sunday mornings.  Pray that God would reveal Himself through His Word and then answer the following questions:

1.   Read Matthew 1:17-25 again.  What is the one thing you learned from rereading the Scriptures or from the Sunday sermon that you didn’t know before?


2.   With your family, look up the following verses that make it clear that while Jesus was fully God, He was also was fully human. Which of Jesus’ human characteristics helps you relate to Him best?

a.   Philippians 2:7-8

b.   Isaiah 53:3

c.    Luke 19:41

d.   Mark 4:38

e.   John 4:6

f.     Luke 22:44

g.   Hebrews 2:14

3.   What is the definition of incarnation/Incarnation? How does it differ from reincarnation?


4.   Look up 1 Timothy 1:15.  Why is the Incarnation so important to our faith? In other words, what was the purpose of the Incarnation?  


5.   What do the following verses say about God being with us today?

a.   Matthew 28:18-20 ______________________________________

b.   John 14:15-17        ______________________________________

c.    John 16:7-8, 13      ______________________________________
d.   Hebrews 13:5-6     ______________________________________ 

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The Event - Day 13

Well, yesterday was Thanksgiving and like many of you I sat down for a while to search through hundreds of pages of retail adds in hopes of finding a great deal on something to buy. What amazed me more than the sales was the time the stores actually opened. Midnight, 3AM, 5AM! What in the world are we doing getting up, or staying up all night, to shop for things that could be bought at the normal time of day? I can't answer that question definitively, but it sure has triggered a few questions: If the church scheduled a prayer vigil at Midnight or 3AM would I show up, let alone stand in line to get in the door? If I had the chance to buy food, water, or medical supplies for starving, hungry, or sick people at 30% or 50% off the regular price would I think it was as great of deal as the big screen T.V.? Would I stand in line in the cold freezing weather for anything Jesus asked me to do? Would I willing lose sleep for the Lord? Would I spend my money frenetically for God?

I wish the answer was an overwhelming yes, but the reality of my life is that my actions sometimes don't line up with my best intentions. Unfortunately, that means there is a serious gap between what I say I believe and what I would actually do. Which makes this 40-day journey all the more important for me. If I don't focus on Jesus, there are is plenty in this world to keep my attention in other places.

What about you?

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The Event - Day 11

It's almost Thanksgiving and as Christ followers we've got so much to thank the Lord for this season. I hope that you have a great celebration with all of your family and friends. 


As we continue on with "The Event" series I've got another great post for you to read from Luke 1:26-35.  This one comes from a lady in our congregation named Marlene Graham. Happy reading...


For nothing is impossible with God (v 37):  Isn’t it amazing we need reminding of this, at least I do.  I am in a season of my life once again that is presenting life’s challenges.  Our home has been under attack for a while now—in our marriage, with our kids, our finances, and even our health.  It is almost you get one situation under control and another pops up.  I am easily overcome by the list of circumstances.  God has been teaching me many lessons in the challenges but then this hit me once again.  I struggle with doubt and my thoughts turn to “will it be okay?” , “how can I do this?”, “how will it work out”,  and “why now, why me”   I can almost start to hyperventilate if I focus on the questions, uncertainties and challenges, but God just spoke to me in this passage and the words for nothing is impossible with God leapt off the page once again.  I say once again because apparently the very same words had spoken to me in a prior season as well as it is underlined in my Bible.  Too often I look at the circumstance and not my God.

God is omnipotent---ALL powerful.  I am reminded of Psalm 115:3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”  Or Isaiah 43:13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.  No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it? . God has the power to deliver (Daniel 3:17); to fulfill promises (Ro 4:21); to make grace abound (2 Corinthians 9:8); to do immeasurably more then we ask (Ephesians 3:20); to subdue all things (Philippians 3:21); to save completely (Hebrews 7:25) and keep me from falling (Jude 24).   In times of my personal struggles and attack or if I turn on the news and look at the state of the world (not much different then the times being experienced in Mary’s day—wars, suffering, turmoil) God is there to remind me that nothing is impossible with God. 

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The Event - Day 10

Well, it's day 10 of our 40-day journey into the birth of Christ. On Sunday we studied Luke's (Luke 1:26-35) account of Mary's encounter with the Angel Gabriel and this week we'll be posting some stuff to keep you thinking about that part of the story. Today's blog was written by a lady in our church named Melissa Smith...very cool stuff...thanks Melissa. 


In this passage, Mary only asked one question, “How?”  I wonder if what she meant was, “I know how this whole baby thing works, God.  Isn’t there something you need ME to do to bring this about?”  I don’t think that would have been my first question!  I would have had a lot of other questions come to mind!  They’d be more like the “What if . . . ” and “Are you sure . . .” types of questions.  You know - What if my parents disown me? What if I’m left all alone to raise a baby? What if people talk about me behind my back? What if people snicker as I walk by? Are you sure you want me to do this? Are you sure your timing is right on this whole thing? Are you sure there isn’t some easier way? Are you sure there isn’t someone better qualified for this task?  The list could go on!

What strikes me about Mary’s response is that she didn’t spend time trying to negotiate obedience with God. Something I, unfortunately, do all too often.  She didn’t feel the need to remind God of the consequences of submitting to His will because He already knew them and she trusted Him.  She didn’t feel the need to offer a “better” plan because she knew there wasn’t one.  She lived under the conviction that God knew the plans He had for her and they were for a prosperous hope and future. (ref. Jeremiah 29:11)

When God chooses to use me and reveals His will for me, I hope that I will respond more like Mary and less like my self-protective and somewhat prideful self.  I pray that I won’t question the “correctness” of his plan, and that I won’t try to negotiate with Him to make things easier on myself.  I pray that I will trust God enough and be humble enough to simply say, “How?” or “Is there anything you need ME to do to bring this about?”           

Because the truth of the matter is that God does have a calling for my life – for each of our lives.  What determines my course, is my own willingness to submit to that will and allow myself to be part of His plan. I pray that, like Mary, we will all be convinced that there is no better plan to follow than that of our Heavenly Father.

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The Event - Day 5 - Are you interruptible?

So the other day I was sitting in my office working on one of the messages for "The Event" series when our Administrative Assistant buzzed me on the phone. She explained that someone had stopped by to see me and asked if I was available to meet with them. Like some of you, I'm a task driven person and since I was smack dabb in the middle of trying to get a very important thought down on paper I was hesitant to break my train of thought. On top of that, this person didn't have an appointment and this could really throw off my carefully planned schedule. I of course had all sorts of great excuses in my mind, but the bottom line was that I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't want to stop. In other words, I didn't want to be interrupted. 


Thankfully, I stopped what I was doing and took the time to meet with a very dear person who was in need of some comfort and care due to a difficult situation. It was a blessing to meet with this person and my hope is that they were encouraged and strengthened by the time we spent together.

If I'm honest, I'm embarrassed to share this story because it makes me look like a total jerk. But my personal humiliation is worth it so that I might share this one thing with you: As Christ followers, we must be ready to be interrupted. We must be ready to have our plans changed, our directions rewritten, and our courses redirected both in our daily schedules and our life plans. We must be ready to serve another person despite the personal cost of time or loss of productivity. We must be ready at any moment to share Jesus with another person, pray for a neighbor, or care for a fellow Christian. Being a disciple means being "interruptible."

As we continue on this 40-day journey, I would encourage you not to get so focused on the tasks that you would miss the power and importance of a "divine interruption."

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The Event - Day 3

Well, we are on Day 3 of "The Event," and I was reminded this morning how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of life and forget to focus on God. Like many of you I quickly jumped on my task list at work without really focusing on the fact that I am a witness for Christ before His second coming. Thankfully, we had our daily staff prayer time at 9:30 and I was able to pray the prayer I shared with you yesterday.


"God, I know that you are calling people to salvation. If there is anyone that you desire for me to share Christ with today, please know that I am ready. Help me to have the right words to say if you want me to speak; help me to have hands and feet that are ready to serve people in your name; and help me to have a heart that is anticipating your work in the lives of people around me."


As you continue to focus on Christ today we thought it would be a good time to post the Spiritual Focus Scriptures and Questions we sent home on Sunday. 


Spiritual Focus: The Event (Part 1)

Read Luke 1:18-25, then answer the following questions:

1. Was Zechariah’s question, “How can I be sure of this?” more like Mary’s (Luke 1:34) or Sarah’s (Genesis 18:12)?  Why?

2. How did the angel respond to Zechariah’s fear (Luke 1:11-13) and to his lack of faith (Luke 1:19-20)?  What was the difference?

3. We see in Zechariah a disbelief that stemmed from the heart, not from reason. He didn’t stop to think it through and come to a conclusion that the angel’s words were improbable, he simply expressed his gut reaction. He more than doubted, he did not have the faith to accept that the angel’s words could come true.

Zechariah’s story reminds us that it is often our faithlessness, not necessarily our fear, which will act as a barrier to God’s work in us and through us. 

In what area of your life might faithlessness be holding you back from growing spiritually and hindering your witness for Christ? 

What does Galatians 2:20 say about faith in our lives today?

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The Event - Day 2

Yesterday was an incredible kick-off to our new series called "The Event." I was so excited to get this thing underway that I couldn't to get to the church fast enough--and man did God show up in a big way! We had 7 people who were baptized--which is always and incredible experience--and we had almost 200 of our Christmas stockings picked-up as we launched our first spiritual challenge. If you missed out on yesterday's message you can download the sermon at the church website or subscribe to the podcast on I-tunes.

As I shared yesterday, one of the main things we are challenging everyone to do throughout this 40-day period is to humbly share Christ with anyone that God might bring into your life. As Christians we sometimes forget that the church exists to reach those who don't yet know Christ as their savior. Too often we focus only on our own cares and desires "inside" the church and end up forgetting that we are supposed to be "out there" in the world sharing the love, grace, and forgiveness that come through Jesus.

At Epic we don't want to be a church that forgets! Rather, we want to be a church that is anticipating how God might use our lives to reach someone who is far from Him. 

As we go through the next 40-days I am committing myself to praying the following prayer each day: "God, I know that you are calling people to salvation. If there is anyone that you desire for me to share Christ with today, please know that I am ready. Help me to have the right words to say if you want me to speak; help me to have hands and feet that are ready to serve people in your name; and help me to have a heart that is anticipating your work in the lives of people around me." 

My hope is that you will join me in a similar prayer each day so that we might see God bring many people to salvation.

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"The Event" is coming

A few weeks ago I saw a Christmas display in Home Depot—and it’s only October! Which got me to thinking… What if this year, instead of putting shopping, baking, parties, and all of the other Christmas festivities in the top place on the priority list, we put Christ in the number one spot? What would happen if we centered our hearts and minds on what really happened that night when Christ was born? What might be different for us spiritually as individuals, and as a church, if the event of Jesus’ birth became the central thing that we focused on during this coming holiday season?

I don’t have the answers, just a suspicion. I have a suspicion that if we were to really focus on the meaning, the story, the purpose, and the history of Jesus’ birth that this would be the most meaningful Christmas many of us have ever had. I have a hunch that if we will make God the center of our celebration that He will have the opportunity to teach us things that could profoundly change our lives.

That said, I want to invite you to join me, along with the rest of the Epic family, for a 40-day journey we are calling “The Event.”  This journey will begin Sunday, November 14^th, and will go until Christmas Eve when we come together to celebrate the birth of Christ. Each week of the journey will begin with an in-depth study on a different aspect of the circumstances surrounding the supernatural event that changed the course of human history. These Sunday services will be followed up by a week of different spiritual challenges that you can engage in as an individual or as a family. Each challenge will be designed to help you keep in focus the truest meaning of the Christmas season by helping you to engage with others in a way that reflects Christ’s heart of service for humanity. In addition to these challenges we will be giving you additional materials to study and reflect on during the week so that your spiritual focus can be sharpened to all that Jesus did for us when we entered into human history.

My hope and prayer is that this will be one of the most important, exciting, and powerful Christmas celebrations you have ever experienced—not because of what you get, or eat, or even give—but because you encountered Christ in a new and transforming way.

Peace to you,

Jeff

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