The texts for this weeks worship gathering will be:
Texts for 7.9.11
July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Texts for 7.2.11
July 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mark Your Calendars!
May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As a community, we want to be involved in making a difference to the people we live, move, and exist around. To do that, we sometimes need to get outside of not only our meeting space, but ourselves and our normal routines as well. With this in mind, we have put some events on the calendar to help us see the needs of those outside our worshiping community as well providing some new and needed experiences for those inside of it. Hope you can be a part of all of them!
Cookout @ Elizabethtown City Pool – June 26
Once again this year we will be heading over to the Elizabethtown City Pool to grill, socialize and treat the first session of swimmers to free lunch and free swimming. It takes a lot of hands to pull this off, but the folks that show up are so blessed because of it! Hope you can make it!
Women’s Retreat – July
We don’t have a firm date just yet, but be on the lookout for this event. We’ll get all the ladies together and have some meaningful bonding time!
Cookout @ Colvin Community Center – August 21
Similar to the cookout on June 26, this will be the same event and same idea, just a different venue! It will be a great day in Radcliff, for sure!
Things Change
May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Life changes up on us all the time, doesn’t it? I’ve found in my 31.5 years of life that there is one thing you can always be sure of…change always comes.
Sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes it’s harsh. Sometimes it’s welcomed. A surprise sometimes and highly anticipated others.
But rest assured. It will happen.
There are some changes happening in my life right now. Some I’ve honestly seen coming for a little while and some that have hit me upside the head. All of them are good, but some are sudden. A surprise.
And, to be honest, I’m a bit troubled by them. Not in a crazy-depressed sort of way. Not in a my-world-is-crashing-down kind of way. Just troubled. Bothered.
If I’m honest, I’m not really fond of change. Even when it’s right, even when I know it brings life, I find myself wanting to stay where things are…provided that place is safe and warm, that is. I would imagine you feel the same tension in life. Changes, whether welcome or not, usually have to happen for things to progress the way they are meant to. The narrative that we all find ourselves in cannot move forward without change. The greatest things in life almost always involve change, and yet we seem to fight it anyway.
We get troubled. Restless. Distressed.
In the Bible, John’s account of Jesus’ life says that Jesus was troubled on a few occasions. On one occasion, it was in reference to the brutal torture and crucifixion he would endure for us. That seems pretty understandable. God or not, He was fully man. I can’t exactly wrap my head around that, but it is what scripture surely tells us. As a man, I can fully understand asking if the job could be handled differently! I understand Jesus hoping there was another way.
Yet, in another account, right before Judas betrays Him, we find Jesus once again troubled. Distressed. Why?
Betrayal.
We’ve all been there. Stabbed in the back, hung out to dry and betrayed by a friend. It hurts and is cause for anger, sadness, and unforgiveness. Nobody enjoys being betrayed. And here, we have the Son of God, God Himself in fact, who finds it hurtful to be betrayed. He knew it was coming, though. He knew what must happen so the whole of humanity could be saved. Things were changing for the better and He was the primary reason for it.
And He was troubled.
In reading through this passage of scripture, I was comforted. How amazing is it that God, robed in flesh, was troubled? I don’t know about you, but I fall into the trap of christian perfectionism. This veiled belief pushes me to believe that, no matter what the circumstance, I should put a smile on. I forces me to feel that if I have enough faith, no problem or mess can bother me. I should loftily stand above it all, confident in God to keep me.
But Jesus was all those things! He was supremely confident in the mission. He was supremely confident of His place and purpose. He was supremely confident of the outcome.
And He was troubled.
If the one who created everything and gives life to everything can find Himself troubled about betrayal, what does that say for us? For me, it means the end of feeling guilty for having a rough day. It means the removal of that sense of failure when things don’t pan out the way I’d hoped.
It means its OK to be troubled sometimes. And that, strangely enough, is quite a relief.
Choosing Difficulty
April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last Saturday, we discussed part of the finale to the Sermon on the Mount. In theory, we were going to discuss the entire finale, but the discussion was so rich we didn’t have time to complete it all. And while there are many great discussion questions in the midst of all we didn’t get to, there is one question that seemingly never goes away for me that Jesus addresses but doesn’t linger on.
And it’s a question I routinely ask myself.
First, let’s look at the scripture:
13“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)
In this short passage, Jesus is basically making the claim that this gate He speaks of is narrow and the path that follows is difficult and that we are expected to choose it. He also throws out there that the other gate is wide and easy and that most of us enter that gate. It, however, leads to destruction.
Not spending too long on the theology of gates and paths, let’s just say the narrow gate is referring to Jesus as the singular way to God and the difficult road is choosing day-in and day-out to follow after Him. That will probably mean the pruning of things we like and enjoy, the removal of things that cause destruction in our lives. Those choices and disciplines are never easy and they take days, weeks, months, or years to finally take hold in our lives. But they lead us towards life.
The question I was alluding to earlier, though, is this: Why do we do it? Why do we follow this man who tells us following Him will be difficult? Is it out of sheer obedience? Fear? A desire to please Him?
Or is it something more?
Notice that Jesus clearly tells us what His way leads to…life. No promise of wealth, prosperity, notoriety, fame or fortune. Life. This is what He offers us. The opposite of life is death. Ruin. Destruction. No one would choose this, would they? Who wouldn’t choose life?
Amazingly, lots of people. You and I make decisions every day that announce to the world, “I choose death and destruction!” We lie, hate, withhold forgiveness, covet, withhold love, slander, gossip, and on and on and on every single day. And quite a few of us claim Jesus as our Savior. Why do we do this? Why do I ever choose anything other than Him? Why do you?
I’ve yet to answer this in a way that can satisfy me. I am so thankful that God’s grace is great enough to cover me in the midst of my humanity, but I’m absolutely dissatisfied with staying there. I don’t know about you, but I want to start choosing life more. I want to be centered on the mission. I want to show the fruit that comes from choosing life.
Don’t we all?
Missionaries in E-town
March 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
This past Saturday, we welcomed a missionary to Argentina into our weekly gathering. She shared a bit about her experience, a bit about the country she’s been in for the past 10 years, and a bit about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in another country on mission to spread the Gospel.
It was informative. It was fun. It was eye-opening…for me, at least.
Here’s why. In my little brain, I see the mission field as “over there.” Wherever “there” is, it is far from “here.” I’m not sure why, but this is the image. The missionary, then, is someone who goes “there” to teach people what we’ve learned “here,” as if we folks “here” have figured out something that the folks “there” have not. ”There” is always a foreign land, always out of the borders of the USA, and always people who speak another language.
Again, this is my little brain. And my little brain was widened this weekend.
When sharing her experiences, our guest unveiled something that really put a dent in my thinking. Sure, she had spent the last 10 years in a country that was far, far away. The people there spoke many other languages. She went to share the Gospel. All my “missionary boxes” were checked. But as she began to explain her daily activities there, I was shocked.
And greatly encouraged.
What she shared was this: the daily grind of being a missionary was not wrapped up in crusades or tent revivals…it was surrounded completely by relationships. Building them, nourishing them, and purposefully entering into them on a daily basis. Her work consisted of creating places for this to happen and seeing to it that it was happening in her life.
Relationships. With people. Talking, sharing life, sharing faith, seeing change.
I suppose those of us who spend most of our days contained to a small town in the states lose focus. The “here vs. there” mentalities invade and paralyze us. Without thinking too much about it, we allow ourselves to wait on mission. Maybe one day in the future we’ll go on a mission trip. Maybe one day we’ll go “there” and fulfill Jesus’ very clear instructions. Until then, we just focus on ourselves, using Christianity as a crutch to become “better people,” all the while not seeing the very real mission field just outside our front door. We settle for allowing a few paid staff members at the local church to carry out the mission of making disciples of those around us while simultaneously rooting for and encouraging those who go to other countries to spread the Gospel. It’s as if we don’t see a need around us. It’s as if this process of building relationships and speaking the truth of the Gospel into people’s lives would all be easier if it were anywhere but here.
But it isn’t any different.
I can spend entire days here in the smallness of Elizabethtown and never see anyone I know. I may not see anyone I’ve even seen before, much less talked to. Can I assume they all know Jesus? Can I assume God is not calling me to be intentional at all times to see need all around me? Can I be let off the hook because I’m not a “missionary?”
Can you?
I think the clear answer here is an emphatic “NO!” We can’t. We can no longer sit back and use the idea of mission to stay just that…an idea. Mission has absolutely nothing to do with location. Whether I travel 1000 feet or 1000 miles, people are people. God is God. And there is absolute necessity for the good news we carry.
We need to be intentional. We need to have eyes that are open and hearts that are turned towards God. We need our minds un-dulled to the idea that there are people all around us, everywhere, every day that need Jesus. We don’t get days off. We don’t take vacations from following Jesus. We are always, constantly, unashamedly on mission with Him.
And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
RP: Discipleship Reflections: Truth
March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“There is no truth towards Jesus without truth towards man. Untruthfulness destroys fellowship, but truth cuts false fellowship to pieces and establishes genuine brotherhood. We cannot follow Christ unless we live in revealed truth before God and man.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Being in community can be a very tough thing. There are many times when it would be so much easier to allow broken relationships to stay that way, or hurt feelings to remain suppressed, or words that need to be spoken left unsaid. It’s ironic that when we attempt to “sweep under the rug” the issues within the church, they tend to stay under the rug for a short time. You know what I mean, right? When a spouse says something that hurts your feelings, or you get the cold shoulder from a once close friend because you have new friends, or the pastor says something that ticks you off, maybe it’s a sharp word from someone you love–whatever the case these issues can become destructive if not dealt with out from underneath the rug within community. Under the guise of pride by “turning the other cheek” it’s easy to sweep the hurt away, because that’s what God wants us to do, right? It is in this mentality that we are lead to what Bonhoeffer describes as “false fellowship.” Pretending on the surface, with a fake it ’til you make it attitude, that everything is fine–but being empty and broken, or bitter and destructive, on the inside. God has something better for us…a brotherhood that is built on honesty and truthfulness. A community where issues are looked at as opportunities instead of headaches, differences are viewed as a way to grow closer instead of parting ways, and broken relationships challenge us to build bridges instead of burning them…a genuine brotherhood.
This is a challenge for me as I think of the times that I have “turned the other cheek” for the sake of peace. But inside I felt no peace, only turmoil…I see the cynical voice & skeptical eye through which I see people whom I have “forgiven.” I realize that I have settled in my life, far too often, for “false fellowship” rather than dealing with the issues at hand. Does it ring true for you too? If so, I have a feeling we aren’t alone…but there are many like us who need prayer for God to give them the strength to allow these issues to surface and deal with them. When we do…maybe we have a taste of a genuine community of faith.
Mark Your Calendars
February 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As a community, we want to be involved in making a difference to the people we live, move, and exist around. To do that, we sometimes need to get outside of not only our meeting space, but ourselves and our normal routines as well. With this in mind, we have put some events on the calendar to help us see the needs of those outside our worshiping community as well providing some new and needed experiences for those inside of it. Hope you can be a part of all of them!
Springhaven Yard Sale -Friday, March 18th
We will be hosting a yard sale to raise money for Springhaven. If you have any items that are “yard sale” material please begin bringing them this week to Open House. This is a great way to Spring clean and help a great ministry.
Child dedication -Saturday, April 9th
We are going to have a special gathering time for parents & children to be affirmed and prayed for within the community. This is a great way that our community can commit to help care both physically and spiritually for the children. If you are interested in participating let us know.
Tenebrae Service -Friday, April 22nd (in the evening)
If you have never been to a Tenebrae service you will want to mark your calendars! This will happen on Good Friday and will be a time for us to reflect on the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very somber and contemplative time, and one that is very forming in our walks with Christ.
Easter Worship with the Bridge – Sunday April 24th
We will not meet on Saturday the 23nd. Come prepared for a joyous celebration of our resurrected Lord on Sunday morning with the Bridge Community.
Got Milk?
February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In doing some very surface-level reading for our Saturday night gathering this week, I was perusing a bit of scripture in the book of 1 Corinthians. In it, Paul is talking to the Corinthian church about their stubborn dependence on what he refers to as milk. Check it out:
1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? (emphasis added)
I was a bit perplexed at this. I suppose my views tend to be a bit too black and white sometimes. So many times I am so quick to label someone (including myself) as not trusting Christ for change in their lives simply because some serious worldly behavior still haunting them. Bitterness. Envy. Anger. Unforgiveness. The list continues at great length, and I’ve allowed these behaviors to give me reason to question the faith of fellow believers. Of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
For that I repent.
So often, I forget the milk I was so apt to stay attached to while still an infant in Christ. My transformation is still continuing, still in process, still forming and shaping my ability to give my life more and more to Jesus. The problem, I guess, is finding the proper response to this oh-so-human behavior. In some ways, we breathe a great sigh of relief at the thought that there is a milk option; that there is a position of acceptance regardless of our worldly-ness. On the other hand, we have the need to measure fruit in others’ lives. We want to know that Jesus is effecting change. We want to make sure those carrying the name of Jesus are “being good.” As a leader in a community of faith, I confess this is supremely difficult. Finding the oft-blurry line that separates spiritual development from spiritual deafness is incredibly frustrating. I want to take a 6-month inventory and see changes vs. similarities. I want to see concrete change.
And that’s not my place, really.
All we can really do is speak truth, confess Jesus, do our best to glorify God, and point others to the sometimes-hard words of the Bible. If I’m doing all I know to point to Jesus, I have to trust the Holy Spirit to effect change in the people around me. My difficulty is honestly with time. I tend to think that God will do what He’s going to do in a human-oriented time-frame. That’s just not OK. And I’ll be honest, I’m asking God to make me better at dealing with this.
I don’t want to be Mr. Fix-it.
I don’t want to be the spiritual inspector.
I don’t want to be the final authority.
But I do, with everything in me, want to help others find their calling in Christ. I want people to know that ridding themselves of worldly behavior is life-giving. I want to teach those ready and willing how to follow Jesus more closely. Can I do that without judging them? Can we do this as community without measuring sticks? If Paul would refer to “worldly” people as brothers and sisters – as infants in Christ – doesn’t that mean I need to do the same?
I suppose so. And I suppose I must admit that I’m not sure how to.
Why would we want to stay as infants? Why would we choose to be so limited? I love my 16-week-old daughter with every fiber in me, yet I don’t want to be limited like her at all! Helpless, needy, weak, and fraught with frailty, I can’t imagine being so incapable. And we would never sit by and expect that she not mature. We would be curious, frightened, and worried if after a few years she was still unable to walk, talk, and eat real food. We would wonder what was wrong. As a matter of fact, I’m quite sure she would be removed from our house and our care.
Can we hold ourselves any less accountable? Sure, we aren’t our brother and sister’s parent, but we are their brother or sister! We need to help them. We need to guide and recommend. We need to look out for them. We need to encourage and challenge them while we pray and wait for their Father to help them mature. That’s God’s part, not ours. His Spirit will change hearts. His Spirit will push maturation. His Spirit will work. Our part is to be ready to do whatever He asks of us and then get out of the way.
I don’t want to live on milk. I don’t want my brother or sister to live on milk.
Let’s all desire the better portion together.
