Phil Munsey

Devotional Plan for: Week of May 24 - May 30

This past Sunday at TLCC we celebrated Pentecost Sunday, the Jewish festival that was occurring when the Holy Spirit came and filled the followers of Jesus. Our devotions this week focus on Luke's account of this day in the first 2 chapters in Acts.

Monday - Read Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4 NIV: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

This week, we prepare for, and celebrate, the crucial and exhilarating day of Pentecost. When you think about the "Christian calendar", you mostly think of Christmas, Easter, maybe Good Friday. But when those are those are the only days of Christian history that we focus on, we miss other key moments in Christian history that shape our lives today.

The day of Pentecost, without a doubt, was one of the most essential events in all of history, particularly in the lives of those who believe in Jesus as the Christ. Often, when we think of what Jesus came to do, we think he came to this world and died and so we're all saved from our sins. This is true, but it's only part of the truth. The more full truth is that Jesus came, defeated the evil powers and sin and death through his crucifixion and resurrection, and he ascended into heaven and now sends his Spirit to us so that we can have the same power he had. Pentecost is the telling of the end of that story: Jesus has given us his Spirit, and the Scripture we read today is the first experience of people receiving his Spirit in this new, post-resurrection world.

Let's address some major questions about this, though. First, what does it mean to receive the Spirit of God? Though this can't all be explained fully in that we have limitations in our knowledge, somehow as spiritual beings we're able to be indwelt by that very Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. In the same way God was present spacio-temporally in the Temple in the Old Testament, so too, God is uniquely and fully present in us. But it appears there are also different ways in which this happens. A lot of people believe we receive the Spirit first when we accept Christ as Savior, but there are also special "fillings" of the Spirit subsequent to the initial indwelling of the Spirit within us. Sometimes, when we first receive the Spirit of God or when he uniquely moves within us after we've already received him, crazy spiritual things happen. In our text today, they spoke in a foreign tongue that they did not know. Sometimes, special miracles of healing, prediction of the future, or special knowledge can happen. God is doing something special that only his Holy Spirit can do.

Again, this all may sound pretty weird. But, if we believe there's more than just this physical material world, and that a God exists, then it makes sense that some weird-seeming things could occur in our world. Sometimes, we're just too afraid to ask for it or confront it. But what if God wanted to give you a special experience with the Holy Spirit? What if he just wants you to ask him for this special experience? If you believe in Christ as Savior, you already have his Spirit. Now maybe ask him to do something unique in your life.

Reflection Question(s):

Have you ever asked for the Holy Spirit to unusually work through you?

- Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries

Tuesday - Read Acts 2:5-13

Acts 2:5-13 NIV: "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Devotional Plan for: Week of May 17 - May 23

This past Sunday at TLCC we celebrated Ascension Sunday, which celebrates when Jesus ascended to heaven. Traditionally, it is celebrated as a feast and it is one of the ecumenical feasts of Christian churches, along with the celebrations of the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost. Our devotions this week focus on the passages in Luke and Acts that account for the time between Jesus's resurrection and his ascension.

Monday - Read Acts 1:1-3

Acts 1:1-3 NIV: "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."

As we study the story of the first century church our goal is not simply to learn about our ancestors in the faith. Our goal is to find the power and simplicity of the gospel. We want to find what they had.

The book of Acts was written by Luke. Acts is actually the shortened name of the book. It is actually called the Acts of the Apostles, or the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Some have suggested the book could have been titled "The Continuing Acts of Jesus Christ". Luke was a physician by trade and was known as a careful historian. The details he records in this book have been verified by history and archaeology. He was a companion of the apostle Paul on a couple of his missionary journeys.

What does the Book of Acts proclaim?

1. Acts tells us how the Christian movement came into beginning. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. It is the historical link that joins the life of Christ with the growth of the Christian church. As such it answers the question many first-century observers would have asked: "Where did this new movement come from?" Luke doesn't tell us everything we might like to know, but he includes every essential detail from the earliest days of the Christian movement. This is apologetics at its best showing the readers the Christian faith is firmly rooted in the facts of history.

2. Acts shows us how the church is to respond when living in a predominately pagan culture. First, with a bold witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, we are speak up and not be silent. Second, with visible love for each other. It was said of the early Christians, "Behold, how they love one another." These two things—bold witness and visible love—have been the hallmark of the church in every age of persecution and hostility. They still hold true today.

3.. Acts teaches us about the worldwide mission of the Christian church. What started in Jerusalem will one day reach to the farthest corners of the globe. That was Jesus' plan from the beginning. He always intended that his followers would take his message and go in every direction with the good news.

Finally in Acts 1:3 Luke says that Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God. As his followers we are to do the same. Our primary goal is not to change the moral focus of our country. Our primary goal is not to build great organizations or to eliminate the pain and suffering in the world. Our primary goal is not to build a greater America. Our primary goal is to tell the world about Jesus. Our job is to tell the world about God's love, forgiveness, and the new life that can be ours through Christ. This message crosses national, political, ethnic, racial, economic, and gender boundaries.

Reflection Question(s):

How can you be a better witness for Jesus at work, school, or in the community?

- Ryan Moore – Pastor of Care

Tuesday - Read Acts 1:4-8

Acts 1:4-8 NIV: "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gif

Sharon Smith, Maria Bellamy, Brittany Nicholson, Allison Quillin, Amanda Smith

Devotional Plan for: Week of May 10 - May 16

The Gospel of John and Frederick Dale Bruner's The Gospel of John: A Commentary, were the primary resources used by our Pastoral Team this week.

Monday - Read John 20:1 – 20:18

John 20:1 – 20:18 FDB: "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, while it was still dark outside, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb and sees the stone taken away from (the front of) the tomb. So she runs and comes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and she says to them, 'They've taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him!' So Peter and the other disciple set out and were making their way to the tomb. The two of them were running together, and the other disciple outran Peter, running faster, and got to the tomb first. And stooping down and looking in, he sees the grave wrappings resting there, but he did not go in. Then Peter arrives too (following the other disciple), and went right inside the tomb; he sees the linen wrappings resting there and, in addition, the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not resting with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. So then the other disciple (who had gotten to the tomb first) went in; and he looked — and he believed. You see, they were not yet acquainted with the Scripture that said he had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their places again.

But Mary stayed right there, just outside the tomb, crying and crying. Then as she was crying, she stooped down and looked inside the tomb herself, and she sees two angelic figures sitting there, dressed in white, at the head and at the foot of the space where Jesus' body had been placed. And they say to her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' She says to them, 'They've taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they've put him.' "When she said this, she turned around again, and now she is looking right at Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it is Jesus. Jesus says to her, 'Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?' She, thinking he is the gardener, says to him, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, please tell me where you have put him so that I can come and get him.' Jesus says to her, 'Mariam!' She turned around and says to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbouni!' (which means 'My Teacher!'). Jesus says to her, 'Please do not keep holding on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But do this: Go tell my brothers, "I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God!"' Mary Magdalene comes, and announces to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord!' and that he had told her these things."

How long do you hold onto faith in dark times? Christians are often spurned as "unreasonable" people, blindly believing that which they have no evidence for. Oftentimes, Christians come by this reputation deservingly; we act as if we believe in Jesus despite the fact that there is no evidence.

Mary Magdalene, in this passage, displays unbelievable Christian faith, but it wasn't unreasonable. She had come to believe Jesus of Nazareth was a special man, tasked by God to be the Messiah, savior of the world. She not only heard compelling teachings and unfathomable wisdom, but also saw his authority over the world through healing many people or having insight into someone's life without having met them before. Mary saw evidence that Jesus was Messiah, and so she put her trust, or faith, in him.

But, he dies. Men had come before Jesus and claimed to be Messiah, so perhaps he was one of them. Mary, though, had seen too much. She saw the undeniable God-given power of Jesus, and so she hangs on to some sort of hope. Notice that Jesus is absolutely and definitively dead, buried in a tomb, yet she arrives at the tomb early in the morning three days after his death. What must have been going through her head? Sh

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Devotional Plan for: Week of May 3 - May 9

The Gospel of John and Frederick Dale Bruner's The Gospel of John: A Commentary, were the primary resources used by our Pastoral Team this week.

Monday - Read John 19:16b – 19:22

John 19:16b – 19:22 FDB: "So they took Jesus on, and carrying the Cross by himself he went out to the space called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha, where they crucified him, and two others with him — one here, one there, and Jesus in the middle. "Then Pilate had a sign written and placed over the Cross; this is what stands written there: 'Jesus the Nazorean, The King of the Jews.' Many of the Jewish people read this sign because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And the sign was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. The Senior Pastors of the Jewish people were urging Pilate, 'Please don't write "The King of the Jews" but write "This character said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'" 'Pilate replied, 'What I have written, I have written.'"

Jesus, the King of the Jews.

We aren't quite sure why Pilate decided to write this above the head of the crucified Jesus. Essentially, he writes his name, his address, and his profession. But was "King of the Jews" an implicit admission of Jesus' rulership? Did Jesus convince Pilate there was something more happening than a simple crucifixion of a normal man? Or, the more likely option, was Pilate mocking the Jewish people who he was frustrated with saying, in a sarcastic tone, "Here, take your King"? The joke was, sadly enough, on Pilate and the Jewish surveyors. Whereas they thought they were giving up a rowdy dissident,  they were actually giving up the true man of the sign – the King.

The joke, sometimes, is actually on us. We, whether we know it or not, can sometimes "mock" Jesus and his power. When we stand before God and doubt his power and authority, we're functionally writing a sign above his and sarcastically saying, "God of healing", "God of miracles", "God of life", "God of freedom". When we turn away from the promises God has given us in Scripture, we're believing God doesn't actually hold his title of all powerful and loving creator. But, in fact, when you're looking for life but don't believe God can give it to you, you're diminishing who he truly is.

God is unchanging and eternal. Whether we think we see him working in the ways that he has promised us, we must know he always is. God is going into the "Skull Place", our personal Golgotha, and just like he made the place of death the exact place of cosmic renewal, so he is going into your own Skull Place and wanting to renew it.

Jesus is King, and he sits on the throne with the Father, sending the Holy Spirit so that you can have the power of God within you. Whatever the sign that you put above God says, know that he is unchanging and eternal in his character, and sometimes proves us wrong.

Reflection Question(s):

What are characteristics of God that you doubt? What would it look like for you to trust that God is who he says he is?

- Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries

Tuesday - Read John 19:23 – 19:27

John 19:23 – 19:27 FDB: "So when Jesus had been crucified, the soldiers took Jesus' clothes and divided them four ways, one item for each soldier — and then there was just the tunic left over. Now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top through the whole. So they said to each other, "Let's not tear this thing; let's throw dice for it to see who gets it." So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my one piece of clothing they cast lots". So the soldiers did exactly that. Meanwhile, standing there beside the Cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he says to his mother, "Woman, look, your son!" The

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Christian Smith

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Pastor Terry A. Smith

Pastor Terry A. Smith