In or Out?

Message recorded: 4/26/08 from the Can U Hear Me Now? series.

Speaker: David Hively
Scripture reference: Acts 10:1-22

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An Honest Message, an Honest Life

Message recorded: 4/19/08 from the Can U Hear Me Now? series.

Speaker: David Hively
Scripture reference: Mark 5:1-20

more info @ plchurch.org

week 3 devotions - can U hear me now?

An Honest Message, an Honest Life

Day 1: This week we are challenged to come before Christ and one another honestly and openly. What in the world does this look like you might ask yourself. A first step could be to pray to God and honestly tell Him who and what you really are. Tell God how sorry you are for all the times you turned your back on Him and thought you were in total control. This is an act of honesty before God is called repentance.

Several weeks ago we heard Pastor John tell us that the Holy Spirit had called him to personal repentance. But clearly it was to take place here, openly at Peace, so that others could have the opportunity to join the journey of coming before God honestly and openly as well. Wednesday evenings at 6:30 – 7:00pm is now the time of gathering honestly before God and before one another. Have you made this a priority item on your "to do" list?

Read Psalm 8: 1-9. Make a list of anything that you have done or said in the last few days that grieved God and receive His forgiveness.

Day 2: Practicing being real in front of God will help us to be honest in front of others. When people see us trading superiority for respect and certainty for acceptance and power for kindness they feel safe to approach us. This can lead to open and honest discussions about the struggles we've faced, the brokenness we’ve experienced and ultimately the trials we've come through. In sharing our vulnerability we will have a real impact.

Read Romans 15:7 & Philippians 2:4. Ask God to help you build bridges of relationships to those around you who need to know Him. Ask God today to help you become more caring, unselfish, and generous in your loving support of others and of their personal stories today.

Day 3: Why do we pretend? Why do we try to create an impression that we have it all together? Is it that we are afraid that when people learn who and what we really are that they will not accept us, not like us? Some of Jesus’ strongest words are for those who made a show of themselves, those who placed a lot of worth on power and position. Those who were more concerned with their own outer appearances and their own perceived superiority.

“When you stop being an imposter, only then can you become the person God created you to be.” Real Followers by Michael Slaughter.

Read Matthew 23: 23-28. After reading this passage turn to God in prayer. Dear Lord, remove my selfish desires. Remove hypocrisy and judgment from me. Fill me with understanding and compassion and show me how to see others as you see them.

Day 4: Sharing our failures with others just isn't natural. Or is it? How often have you caught a glimpse of yourself in other people's stories? Have you ever caught yourself thinking "well, so I’m not the only one that has suffered or been downtrodden"?

Consider that God has called us to live in community for a purpose. A portion of what we have experienced is for a reason that transcends our present affliction. Sometimes that reason is revealed much later through the interpersonal relationships with others who are in the midst of the thing we have already passed through. At that time God calls us (whether we recognize it or not) to share their journey by relaying a bit of our past brokenness, openly and transparently. As we are honest and real we invite others to do the same. We can be ourselves and allow others to do the same. This does not require us to share every detail of our past but to honestly admit that we are not perfect, that we are seeking to re-direct our lives to reflect God's word and his purpose for us.

Day 5: Another week is almost over. If you haven't had a chance to slow down and be still and know that he is God do so now. Take a deep breath and in that simple act of breathing thank God for who he is. The God of love and light.

God calls us to love in two directions – to love Him and to love others. How are you doing at each? What obvious, practical thing can you do to share God's love with people? What is right within your reach? You can't get around it: Love is part of your life as a Christian. Sometimes you might be blind to clear opportunities to show love. Ask God to open your eyes. Invite God to increase both love for God and love for people. Ask God for courage to obey Him and to love others unconditionally.

week 2 devotions - can U hear me now?

Good News or Bad News?

Day 1: Last week we considered God’s call to get the Gospel message out, in particular to the next generation. We touched on how we do church together, and how that is perceived by others outside the church. We talked about an old message for a new generation.

Read Acts 2:42-47 to examine how the first followers of Christ, the early church, engaged in fellowship together. Make a list of the ministry activities they did. Note how and where and when they did them. How does your experience of Christian community compare to this description? Do you see the life of the early church reflected in the life of Peace as a community of believers?

Day 2: The early church sets an example of how new believers are joined into a community growing in Christ through fellowship, prayer, and teaching. How does the church collectively speak to a challenging and skeptical world needful of God’s unconditional love? What picture do we paint through our attitudes and actions?

Read Galatians 5:22-26. Paul speaks to the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of Christ in us. The result of this fruit is to fulfill the intended purpose of the law – to love God and our neighbors. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to create in you?

Day 3: As Christians, we accept Christ as our Savior and our Redeemer. We are in the world, yet called to be different. Does that make us better than others?

Read Matthew 5:13-16. Jesus has left the crowds behind to focus his attention on teaching his closest disciples. He has just shard with them the Good News of what are called the Beatitudes, best known for their poetic form beginning "Blessed are…" -- the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted. Then Jesus teaches about Salt and Light. How might the Spirit act through you, to bring out the best in others? As a Christ-follower, how do we shine before others? Are you quiet, when you should speak? Do you go along with the crowd? Do you ignore the needs of others, tending to your own? When others see you, do they see the light? If they ask, do you reveal the source?

Day 4: We hear the undertone of judgment often associated with organized religion and look to guidance on how to avoid this trap. The 'J'-word most associated with Christianity would seem to be Judgment, not justice, not joy. Jesus speaks quite clearly to his followers about judging others.

Read Matthew 7:1-5 carefully. How does Jesus' admonition about judging resonate with you? Do you think that Jesus is teaching his disciples to abandon all critical thinking and discernment? Is there a more subtle message which we can apply to our lives?

Day 5: Reflect on the selected readings for this week. In what ways has reading this scripture changed how you view church? What might you do differently? We hear criticism that as a body, we sometimes come across to the unchurched and people seeking God's love as being both judgmental and hypocritical. The lyrics of a popular song, "If We Are The Body", by Casting Crowns, read: "A traveler is far away from home. He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row. The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances are better out on the road." How do you see opportunities at Peace to be salt, and light? The song concludes: "Jesus paid too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come. We are the body of Christ." Pray that through your attitudes and actions that you reflect the light of God’s unconditional love. Ask God for discernment, rather than judgment, that you bring out the best in yourself and others.

Good News or Bad News?

Message recorded: 4/12/08 from the Can U Hear Me Now? series.

Speaker: John Herman
Scripture reference: Matthew 5:13-16

more info @ plchurch.org

week 1 devotions - can U hear me now?

An Old Message for a New Generation

Day 1
We just heard the Easter message of Christ's resurrection and we are filled with gratitude for God’s extravagant love for us. As we read in the scriptures, the last words Jesus spoke on earth were to his disciples, and they reflected the very heart of his mission. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations….teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28: 19-20) Today, as followers of Christ, we are called to pass on the good news of life in Christ to others as well.

Reflect on Matthew 28: 16-20, Luke 24: 36-53 and Acts 1: 3-9
Jesus' charge to go and make disciples is called the Great Commission, and it was directed to each of his followers. Prayerfully consider how you are fulfilling the Great Commission within your family, at work, or in your neighborhood.

Day 2
In worship this weekend we heard that "It's up to the current generation (older generation) to figure out how to pass on the faith to the next (younger) generation. It’s up to the insiders to learn how best to pass on the faith to the outsiders. To commit to do whatever needs to be done to help the next generation come to know God." And we also heard that we are living in a culture that is increasingly open to Jesus, yet people are increasingly suspicious and untrusting of Christians and the church. One of the ways we can change this trend is to ask ourselves if we are obeying Jesus' prayer to be in the world or whether we are living isolated lives in the Christian subculture. (Dan Kimball)

Read Matthew 9:36–38. What was Jesus’ response when he saw the crowds of people?
Read Luke 19:10. What does Jesus come to do?

Jesus described himself as coming to seek and save the lost, and he was confident that he had passed this passion on to his followers. The definition of seek demonstrates that this is an active word…to "look for" to "go toward" to "endeavor".

Who are you currently seeking?

Day 3
As missional people, we are not supposed to keep this abundance of life to ourselves. Like Jesus, we are to seek the lost. But this is so big. So, how do we do this?

1. With protection. Read John 17:15 What did Jesus pray for us?
2. With the power of the Holy Spirit. Read Luke 12: 8-11.
3. With reverence and respect. Read 1 Peter 3:13-16.

Day 4
We have read that we are to be missional people – to be "ambassadors" of Jesus in our communities, to serve, to build relationships in our culture. But what about our church, which is supposed to be the expression of Jesus and his body. What can we do here? What if we teach our church to be salt and light?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-20 and Colossians 4:5-6 and consider how our attitudes impact others, and how we could begin within these walls.

Day 5
We are called to go out, to pass on the story, to bridge the gap of generations, culture and communication. Pray this week that God will give you a heart for the Great Commission, and an open mind to walk in someone else’s shoes, to begin having these conversations. This week we learned that the Holy Spirit empowers us to tell others about Jesus and bring glory to God. We do this with our words and with our lives. Go back and read Acts 1:4-14 and John 17:1-11 and consider that in John 17, we have Jesus' prayer on the night before his crucifixion, and in Acts 1, we find Jesus’ followers in prayer before the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. Pray for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit on your life.

Dear Church Letters

Dear Church,
"How the heck are you? Learned anything lately? Surviving all your international projects? On the brink of any crazy ideas? I hope, of course, that you and yours are well. Me? Well, I'm not exactly basking in the spiritual high life. I am not always fine these days. And unfortunately, it's not just me, Church. Many of my peers seem to be calling in sick as well." - Sarah Cunningham from Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation

In our next worship series, Can U Hear Me Now?, we'll explore how different generations are choosing to interact with the church and why. One of the resources we'll be using is Sarah Cunningham's book, Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation. She speaks from the twentysomething perspective and expresses her disillusionment with church stemming from things she's experienced at church like hypocrisy, exclusivity and lack of authenticity. She also admits that part of her disillusionment comes from her own preconceived ideas about what church should be and how that hasn't matched up with the reality that churches are communities of flawed individuals.

We invite you to share your Dear Church letter. What's your experience with church and how has that affected your relationship to the church? Do you have ideas about how the church can better communicate with and equip the next generation to live the faith? How can the church communicate more effectively across generations? What barriers does the church need to overcome? What's the church doing right?

We'll certainly use your letters as we plan this worship series and we may use excerpts in worship, adult education and/or devotional material. You can write your letter anonymously here by submitting a comment or you can e-mail your letter to kimxtom@yahoo.com or drop your letter off at the church office. Do you have friends or family disillusioned with church? Please ask them if they'd like to write a Dear Church letter.