John 10:14-16, 27-28

Jesus tells us in John that He is the Good Shepherd and that His sheep know His voice. The power of voices are significant in our lives, God created us to be relational beings and voice recognition is a big part of our interaction with others. The Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost wants to have a relationship with us, that's a pretty astounding thought isn't it? It's true though. Sunday we'll look at ways that we can position ourselves to hear from God, and we'll discuss the myriad of ways that He can choose to speak to us. I hope you can either join us in person or via Facebook Live.

(THE MAIN BUSINESS OF THE CHURCH)

Acts 1:1-11

Ascension of the Lord

Here, my friends, is the main business of the church—to witness to the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ.  We, the church, do not exist for own pleasure or fellowship. Neither are we simply a social service institution. We are the body of Jesus Christ reaching out with loving arms to the world. It is so easy to forget who we are and what we are about. We want to be a church that defines our culture. We don’t want to be defined by what’s out there. We want to be defined by what’s in the Word of God! We love all sinners, but we do not love sin. The church is called to help the sinner please God not the other way around. We love you just away you are, but we don’t want you stay that way. The goal is complete transformation (Romans 12). We want you to experience the transformation and the power that comes from the Holy Spirit.

Our primary goal is for everyone to accept Jesus Christ. To know him as their Savior. Trade the pursuit of more for a life worth pursuing. I don’t expect you to be like me, Doug, or to be like the folks in this faith community. We want you to be like Jesus. Our goal is to help you get there! Our mission is to love God, love people, and make disciples. Culture encourages those who don’t like the truth or don’t know the truth to make up their own truth. If you don’t like it make up your own. We must draw near to Christ with boldness. God is saying to us draw near. Yes, it might be a little difficult at first, but you will be healed and restored. To draw near to God in boldness you must embrace the whole gospel. You can’t separate or piecemeal the gospel.

After ministering to teens and young adults for 30 years, here is the overarching message of what is being taught and believed in our culture today. If it feels good and doesn’t hurt anybody go ahead and do it. Let’s refuse to cheapen God’s grace. Let’s never sell out the word of God for the sake of public opinion and to make everyone feel good. Instead, lets tell the true, authentic story of Jesus and how he set us free to be who He created us to be. 

Here are Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. His final words. His last chance to instruct them and what does he say? “You shall be my witnesses . . .”

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

John 15: 9-17

This Sunday we honor Mothers.  I would like to thank all of you who shape our lives and build our families and serve as our safe place as we go out into the world. Mothers have a unique power to influence their children no matter how old those children get. It is not easy being a mom. But most of us have learned to appreciate the many sacrifices our moms have made on our behalf. As a pastor, I am reminded not to get too sentimental about motherhood because:

(a) For some, motherhood is an accident, and not always a welcome one.

(b) For some, biological motherhood is not possible. 

(c) For some, mothers were not all that nice.

(d) For some, motherhood under the best of circumstances is still less than a bed of roses and for some who have lost their mothers, this can be a sad day. For some mothers, even when their children disappoint, their love does not cease. 

Jesus told his followers, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”  Jesus’ words are the model for us all: mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers, as well as children and siblings and friends.  Because God loves us, we love one another. Because He forgives us, we forgive one another.  At the center of the Gospel is the self-giving love of God.  Notice from our text the link between love and happiness. Jesus says to his disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be complete.”  Notice that love is essential to joy.

Grace and Peace,

Where do you find your identity? Because your identity—who or what you identify with—shapes your life. It impacts your values and choices and relationships. If your identity is rooted in being an athlete, you’re not going to sit on the couch and binge-watch Netflix. You’re going to spend your spare time building your physical and mental endurance. If your identity is rooted in being a father, you’re not going to ignore your children, or spend all your paycheck on your own needs. You’re going to pay close attention to your children’s needs, and budget wisely to provide for them. 

What do you hunger for? What do you want? What should you want? What you praise is what you pursue. You become what you praise. You become what you worship. We are intended to be children of God. That’s the story of the Bible over and over again (idols). Everyone of us worships something and we become conformed to it. What are you known for? What do people think of when they think of you (he’s a great golfer, she’s a terrific accountant, she a supermom, etc.) How about she’s a Christian accountant? She’s a Christian mom, he’s a Christian golfer, etc. If Jesus is your main thing, make Him your main thing. Do you hunger and thirst for Righteousness or are you faking it?

         In our lesson for Sunday, Jesus gives us our identity. Jesus reveals the source of our identity, and it is out of this identity that we find hope and strength and the foundation for our lives. “I am the vine,” said Jesus, “and you are the branches.” Have you ever thought about how much hope is packed into that little sentence? 

In Sunday’s lesson, Jesus gives us the ultimate gift. He says, “You are connected to me. And you are not just connected to me—you are now a part of my substance. You are not alone. Your life is not random or meaningless. The divine nature, the wisdom, the life, the joy that flows through me now flows through you.” If you stay connected to Christ, you have meaning and purpose for your life.                         

Stephen

The Spirit of God was with us two years ago as we first gathered in the Menefee’s living room for Home Church.  The Spirit is with us now in this sacred space, where hundreds of lives have been saved since it was dedicated over 100 years ago. After standing empty, void of worshippers for the last few years, God had a plan to fill this beautiful chapel with His worshippers again and here we are.  While we celebrate the past 2 years of being MCCC, it is exhilarating to think to the future about what God has in store for us next. As a body of believers, we have made a commitment to be led completely by the Holy Spirit of God and we continue to ask the Spirit to give us God’s vision for the future of Misty Creek Community Church. We are thrilled that you are here today to celebrate our two-year anniversary, to witness the mighty power of God through worship, and to be a part of the continued growth of His church.

In Christ,

Stephen and Doug

Luke 24:36b-48

I read a story recently about a man named Fred Karger who has earned the unofficial title of the “World’s Greatest Party Crasher.” Over the years, Karger has crashed hundreds of high-profile parties and celebrity events. He even ended up several years ago on the stage at the Academy Awards and at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for President Obama. He had crashed these as well. Karger claims there is no high-profile party or wedding or funeral or political event he can’t crash. He says the key to being a successful party crasher is to look confident, as if you belong there, and no one will question you. 

            Our Bible verses this Sunday make me think of Fred Karger and the “art” of party-crashing. This time, though, the party crasher was Jesus. The interesting thing is that it wasn’t a party until Jesus showed up there. Before he got there, in fact, things were kind of gloomy.  Jesus wasn’t exactly an uninvited guest in this story, but he certainly was unexpected. After his crucifixion, his disciples were trying to sort out the meaning of the reports they had been receiving about appearances of the risen Christ. It was most confusing to them. Was it a hoax? Perhaps it was some kind of ghost?

Last week we talked about Doubting Thomas. But it’s important for us to see that at first it was difficult for all his followers to deal with Christ’s resurrection. Then suddenly it happened. The disciples were gathered together in one place and the crucified Christ himself stood among them. The disciples were startled and frightened. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself . . 

The response of the disciples is a sermon in itself. Luke tells us that they “disbelieved for joy . . .” It was simply too wonderful to be true. He was alive and he was with them—right there . . . in their presence! He had been raised from the dead. Talk about bringing life to a party! No wonder they had difficulty believing. Some persons still have that problem today. Many desperately want to believe but something holds them back. “See my hands and my feet . . .” 

The risen Jesus showed the disciples his scars because he was going to send them out to do the work the Father had sent him to do—to save wounded people. And they couldn’t save wounded people unless they could see and touch and make friends with Jesus’ wounds. Only then could they proclaim with confidence the limitless love of God. Many people desperately want to believe, but something holds them back. Maybe if they could see his scars, it would make a difference. Why? Several reasons. For one thing, some people have difficulty believing that God really cares about hurting people that much—that he would give His life for them. A Savior with scars in his hands and feet and side? Some of us are more comfortable with an impersonal God who is the First Cause, the Ground of Being, a Source of life and power but not of personality. The idea of God with nail prints in his hands and feet and side because of His great love for us is an idea we are not ready for. 

Jesus’ resurrected body shows his disciples that the triumph of life over death is “not a victory without cost.” God’s love for us required that He humble Himself, give up His power and authority, take on human form, and suffer humiliation and injustice and persecution and torture and death to save us. Victory didn’t erase the scars. He continued to carry on his very skin the evidence of a life lived in radical commitment to God’s love and justice.

Serving with joy,

Stephen

John 20: 19-31

Research tells us that no one is easier to fool than a really smart person. Do you think that’s why Thomas refused to believe the other disciples when they told him that they had seen the risen Christ? Was he afraid of appearing gullible? Afraid to trust something that was too good to be true? Is that why we have trouble believing in Jesus’ resurrection too, some of us?

Our Scripture lesson this Sunday from John’s Gospel is about the world’s most famous doubter. The news of Jesus’ resurrection spread quickly among his disciples. You can imagine the quickened pulse and the rapid, excited speech of those who had encountered the risen Christ as they shared their experience with others. You can also imagine the difficulty that those who heard their story had in believing them. 

The first recipients of the good news of Easter considered it the idle nonsense of distraught and hysterical women and did not believe it. As more and more of the disciples and followers of Jesus encountered the risen Christ, however, the stories gained credibility. The most famous holdout of the group was a disciple named Thomas, called the Twin. “Unless I see the print of the nails in his hands,” said Thomas, “and place my fingers in the print of the nails, and unless I can put my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  

Thomas was a doubter. He had to see for himself. Jesus did not condemn him for that. However, Jesus did say that “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Doubt is an obstacle that, when overcome, can cause us to have a deeper, richer, more meaningful faith. In the struggle for meaning the wise person learns to move beyond his doubts. The way to prove faith is to surrender yourself to the Lordship of Christ, walk in his way and experience his love for yourself.  

Serving with Joy,

Stephen

Easter Sunday

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single act in history that separates Christianity from every other religion, every other philosophy, and every belief system. Jesus is on the loose. He is alive, he is risen, heaven's gates are open wide! We find like those at the tomb, that what looks like an ending is a beginning. Life is about endings and beginnings. Life is a succession of losses. Do you think God does not know that? Do you feel like God cannot relate? Look at Jesus as he ate at the table with those who would betray and abandon him—ending; facing death, a redemptive death but an unjust death—ending; feeling the strength and life and breath leave his body at the place of the skull, Golgotha--ending.

In our lives there are many Good Fridays. You could probably make a list of the Good Fridays in your own life right now during this crisis: days when you have felt forsaken; days when strength and life and breath seem to be leaving your body. Days when you were betrayed, and you wrestled with forgiveness. And yet, Easter reminds us what looks like an ending is a beginning.

God brings resurrection because of who God is. The reality of the empty tomb reminds us God is at work in the world doing what only God can do. In all humility, without much fanfare, and certainly not dependent on the response of people, God goes about God’s business; our lives and the life of the world will never be the same again. Mary came looking for the Jesus who had died. Peter and John came looking in response to news of a possible grave robbing of Jesus’ body. Why attend church on Easter? Why are you watching online? Is it because you’ve been set free from sin and death?

Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven coming near (Matthew 4:17).  This Sunday, we celebrate that the Kingdom is here. Thanks be to resurrection we have been set free from sin and death.

He is Risen!

Stephen