Life Center

Do you want to be happier? Jesus offers a different way to greatness.

November 11-12, 2017

The Big Idea: Jesus offers a different way to greatness.

Introduction and offering:

This is Veteran’s Day weekend, and we want to thank our vets for their service. Would all veterans of our military service and all current military stand so we can thank you? There is another group we should thank: the families of those who have served or are serving. These families send their service members off for extended periods of time, and some have not come back. Would all you family members of our military stand so we can thank you?

Today we kick off a new series! JOY—the Outward Focused Life. One day this spring, I was on a walk, praying—I love to pray outdoors. My mind wandered to something stupid and selfish, and when I realized where my mind had gone, I thought, “Really? After all these years, I’m still so selfish.” Anyone else afflicted with selfishness? I need company! What popped into my mind next was a simple acrostic that I learned as a new Christian. JOY: Jesus, Others, You. The way to joy is to put Jesus first, then others before yourself. Corny, but true. The way to joy is an outward focused life, just the opposite of selfishness. So I started writing JOY on the top of my daily schedule—I’m still doing it months later. It’s not because I’m unhappy—I’m a very happy person. Check out my socks! I write JOY at the top of my schedule because it’s a reminder to live Jesus, Others, You. The way to true joy is an outward focused life.

We’re going to spend the next six weeks looking at what the Bible says about this kind of joyful outward focused life.

Offering here.

Mark 10:35–45

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with t

Jesus tells a story about a rich man and the poor beggar at his gate that forces us to think about our money with an eternal perspective. Five minutes after you die…

November 4-5, 2017

Introduction and offering:

Today in the last part of “Jesus on Money,” we’re going to read a story Jesus told about a rich man and the poor beggar who lay at his gates. When both of them die, some amazing things happen. What happens when you die? And what does that have to do with our money? That’s what we’re talking about today. I want to give credit to Pastor Gene Appel who gave a talk on this text; I borrowed liberally from him. Here’s the story from Luke 16.

Luke 16:19-31

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29

“The master commended the dishonest manager.” What?!? What is Jesus teaching in this unusual story?

October 28-29, 2017

Introduction and offering:

ILL: One of my friends recently told me that he bought a scooter that wasn’t running for $100, spent $100 to get it running, and sold it for $1300—he turned an $1100 profit! This guy has a gift for spotting deals and turning a dollar. Another friend spotted a designer purse at a second hand store; she bought it for $40, and sold it a couple hours later online for $700. She too has a knack for spotting deals and making a profit. Call them smart, call them savvy, call them astute—they are financially shrewd. How many of you wish you were like that? Me too—I want to be shrewd.

But shrewd is also a word with negative connotations. Positively, it means wise, sagacious and clever. Negatively, it means wily or artful—like “a shrewd operator.” You better keep an eye on them. Today, I’m using it in the positive sense. Jesus wants us to be shrewd money managers—smart and wise.

This is part 3 of “Jesus on Money.” I’ve told you that money is one of those subjects that I return to every few years because it’s of universal interest and because it’s so important. Jesus said that money is a heart issue—and Jesus wants your heart. Jesus will mess with you on this subject—but it’s a good mess! Jesus wants something for you not from you!

We’re looking at what Jesus said about money in the gospel of Luke, and today we are looking at one of the most difficult and unusual of Jesus’ stories. It’s a story that makes you say, “What?” Here is the story, and then we’ll unpack it.

Luke 16:1–15

1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me in

Jesus teaches about money—and at the heart is God’s faithfulness.

October 21-22, 2017
Pastor Joe Wittwer
Jesus on Money
#2—Trust Your Father
Luke 12:22-34

Introduction and offering:

We’re talking about money; we should start with prayer. Here’s a good one: Dear Lord, my prayer for this year is for a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don’t mix these up like You did last year. Amen.

Anybody here ever worry about money? I do. If our offerings don’t meet budget for several weeks in a row, I can feel a little nervous in the service!

Anybody here ever afraid that you won’t have enough? You run out of money before you run out of month, and you feel your cheeks tighten when the bills come in.

Money stirs up all kinds of emotions in us, and worry and fear are two of the most common.

Speaking of emotions—does anybody here get nervous when you come to church and discover we’re talking about money? Why is that? Because when churches talk about money it’s usually because they want yours! Relax. I want something for you, not from you. I said last week that I’m far more concerned about getting Jesus in your heart than getting the church in your pocket! So relax—I’m not going to pound you for an offering.

But don’t get too relaxed! Because Jesus goes straight for the heart—He’s going to talk to us about our priorities, our values, our attachments and our treasure. He’s going to challenge our ideas of ownership, of what makes life rich and full. Jesus is going to mess with you!

Today is part two of our series, “Jesus on Money.” We are looking at what Jesus said about money in the gospel of Luke. Last week we read in Luke 12 where Jesus gave a warning about greed, and told a story about a rich fool who saved up for himself without thinking of anyone else, including God. He was rich financially, but was poor toward God, and died a rich fool. Today, we pick up where we left off in Luke 12.

Luke 12:22–34

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, t

Your heart goes where your treasure is. And above all else, God wants your heart. He knows there’s a battle going on for your heart.

October 14-15, 2017

Pastor Joe Wittwer

Jesus on Money

Rich toward God

Luke 12:13-21

Introduction and offering

We just finished a 3 week series on work, and I said that there are subjects that I circle back to regularly because they are so important to everyone: sex, relationships, marriage and family, forgiveness, work, and…money.  Money is important to everyone.  How many of you need money?  I rest my case.  We all need money. 

Everyone needs money, and almost everyone would like more of it.  How many of you would like more of it?  I’d like more money!  If your hand is not up, the offering is coming soon and you can afford to be generous!

I want you to know that money is not only important to you; it’s important to God.  This may surprise you: Jesus talked more about money than he did about faith or prayer—a lot more!  Jesus knew how important money is.  He knew that money is a heart issue.

Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and st

I am a deeply loved, completely accepted, and fully forgiven child of God.

The Bible says that work is a gift from God; we were designed by God to work, created in His image to be His co-workers in the world. If work is so good, why is it so hard?

September 30-October 1, 2017

Introduction and offering:

ILL: Do you want to know the quickest way to get me to swear? Plumbing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tackled what seems like an easy plumbing project, only to have something go haywire. Do it, undo it, redo it—multiple trips to the hardware store—and still…it leaks. Now every time I grab my tools, my wife begs me to call a plumber. “Please,” she says, “I want you to stay saved.” I do have to say that our shower was leaking last week, and I fixed it. Sort of…

Work can be frustrating. Things break, go wrong, don’t work as planned. We’ve all experienced some version of Murphy’s Law: whatever can go wrong, will. (picture of car smashed in garage). Think about your work and how hard it is and what frustrates you—it’s not hard to imagine, is it? What about your work makes you say, “Really?” Work can be frustrating.

Even in my job, as a pastor, you might think that it’s nothing but joy—no problems, just doing God’s work with God’s people every day! Happy, happy, happy! But it can be incredibly frustrating. I work like crazy to give a talk that will move people to take a step toward Jesus—and some do, but for many, it seems like it goes in one ear and out the other. I do my best to love people and invest in people—and they leave, and sometimes they leave for the silliest reasons. “Really?” I do my best to lead, but often I’m frustrated by my own incompetence, or weakness or stupidity—I’m constantly backing up and taking another run at it.

Why is work so hard? Last weekend I said that work is a gift from God, that we were designed by God to work, created in His image to be His co-workers in the world. If work is so good, why is it so hard? If God’s plan for work is good, why are there so many problems with work? That’s the question I want to address today.

For this 3-week series, “God and Your Work,” I’m borrowing heavily from Pastor Tim Keller’s excellent book, Every Good Endeavor. I’m able to cover some of the highlights, but there is so much more in here—if this is a subject you care about, I encourage you to get the book and read it. We have copies available at our cost in the Commons.

Offering here.

So if work is God’s design for us, if work is so good, why is it so hard? Here’s the Bible’s answer.

Genesis 1-2, the story of creation, explains the design and dignity of work. We were created in God’s image; God works, so we work; we were given work to do in Paradise, to cultivate and care for God’s world as His co-workers. All this is in the first two chapters of the Bible. It’s God’s plan for work.

And then we get to Genesis 3—and what happens? The f

You are deeply loved, completely accepted, and fully forgiven by God. We don’t work to earn God’s love. We happily give our best because we are so deeply loved. So the gospel transforms the way we work and think about our work.

September 23-24, 2017

Pastor Joe Wittwer

God and Your Work

#1—God’s Plan for Your Work

Introduction and offering:

ILL: Many years ago, I was getting after our teenage son, Jeff, for not completing a chore. He got upset and yelled, “You don’t get it, Dad. I don’t like to work.” Oh… that’s good to know.

Let’s be honest—how many of you ever feel that way? There are some things I’d rather not do. But the reality is that we were made to work, and without work, we fail to become the people God intended us to be. God has a plan for your work.

There are subjects that I return to regularly because they are of such universal importance: sex, relationships, marriage, sex, money, forgiveness, sex…and work. The gospel—God’s good news of abundant life in Jesus—the gospel is good news for all of life. It is good news for our relationships, for our marriages, for how we live as sexual creatures, and what we do with money. And it is good news for how and why we work. Most of us will spend the majority of our adult waking hours working. What good news does God have for us about our work?

Because this is universally important, every few years I do a series of talks on what God has to say about our work. For this series, I’m borrowing heavily from Tim Keller’s brilliant book, Every Good Endeavor. Tim is the recently retired pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan, New York. Some of you will recognize his name because we used his book, The Meaning of Marriage a few years ago for a marriage series. The guy is scary smart! Every Good Endeavor is one of the best books I’ve ever read on a Christian view of work. Every chapter is worth an entire sermon or more—and we’ll be covering four chapters per sermon. So if you want to go deeper, get the book and read it. You won’t regret it.

I’m praying that you will gain a Christian perspective on work in general and your work in particular, and that you will throw yourself into your work with a fresh sense of calling and purpose and joy.

Offering here.

In the beginning…there was work. Let’s read the Scripture.

Genesis 1:1 In the b

Who is helping you find and follow Jesus? Who are you investing in regularly?

Bite 2 Go

September 16-17, 2017

Introduction and offering:

Last weekend, I gave a Think 3 talk about Paul and Timothy. Think 3 means that we think 3 generations into the future, and one on either side of us. I want our church to be great for the generations coming up behind me: my kids, and grandkids and great grandkids—and yours too. Isn’t that what you want? That’s Think 3—think 3 generations into the future. And think one on either side of you. The question I posed last week was:

Who is your Paul? Who is investing in you spiritually?

Who is your Timothy? In whom are you investing?

So here’s the story. Paul first met Timothy when Paul was on his second missionary journey. He was traveling through what is modern Turkey, revisiting churches he had planted on his first missionary journey. While in Lystra, he met Timothy, who was probably 18 or 19, and was highly regarded by the believers in that region. Let me say that again: he was a teenager and was highly regarded by the believers in that region. That is not a typo! Teenagers can set an example that their elders admire and follow.

Paul was so impressed that he invited Timothy to join him in his missionary travels. Timothy quickly became one of Paul’s right hand men. Even though he was young, Paul entrusted Timothy with major responsibility: he represented Paul at churches when Paul couldn’t be there; he was asked to pastor some large and influential churches even in his 20’s.

Paul was a spiritual father and mentor to Timothy; he called Timothy “his dear son in the faith.” This relationship lasted to the end of Paul’s life; in fact, the last letter we have from Paul was written to Timothy near the end of Paul’s life (2 Timothy), and is very personal and affectionate.

Last weekend, we looked at four lessons from Paul and Timothy:

This weekend, I’ve got three more for you.

Who is helping you find and follow Jesus? Who are you investing in regularly?

September 9-10, 2017

Introduction and offering:

ILL: I became a youth pastor at the tender age of 19. I inherited a group of about 25 high school and middle school students and a Thursday night meeting misnamed “The Hour of Power.” It was anything but that—I was basically a glorified baby sitter. It took 3 weeks of this and I’d had enough. At the end of week 3, I sat the students down and said, “Next week, I’m going to teach you how to pray. If you want to learn how to pray and follow Jesus, come back. If you just want to fart around, do me and yourself a favor and stay home.” One of our adult advisors rushed up afterwards and said, “You’ve just killed our youth group. No one will come back.” But the next week, we didn’t have 25 students; we had 40. And six weeks later, we had 100. They were just waiting for someone to challenge them, to raise the bar and treat them like young adults. They were learning and growing and loving it, and bringing their friends.

As a new youth pastor, one of my guiding assumptions was that middle school and high school students are capable of a fairly sophisticated response to Jesus. I know some of you think I’m delusional—I knew they were young teens and still suffering spasms of maturity! But we often underestimate what young people are capable of, and I didn’t want to do that. I told them that they weren’t the church of tomorrow; they were the church right now, called and gifted by God and capable of doing great things. And they did.

I still have that assumption about young people—and I hope you have it too. There is a relationship in the Bible that illustrates this kind of confidence in young people—it’s the relationship between Paul and Timothy. This weekend and next, I want to tell you their story, explore their friendship, and see what we can learn about Think 3 from older Paul and younger Timothy.

Our big deal this year has been Think 3. We want everyone to think 3 generations ahead and one on either side. A healthy church is a multi-generational church, where young and old and everyone in between works together for Jesus. The temptation for all of us is to think only in terms of our generation. But I want us to be a church that not only I (and my cronies) love, but that my kids love, and my grandkids love, and one day, my great-grandkids love. Did I just mention my grandkids—because on Tuesday,