I need to ask forgiveness...for a small vision. As a leader for NorthPointe it is my responsibility to have a big vision. Let me explain. Last week as I was preparing for a sermon on serving it occurred to me that by just asking people at NorthPointe to give money we may be missing an opportunity for spiritual growth. I felt that we needed to go ahead and ask people to collect food and other supplies to send down to Haiti. Sure, it's much more difficult than just sending money. It involves more energy, it's a logistical nightmare, and it's expensive...but the real question is one of value. Is it worth it? I say yes!
Here is where the forgiveness part comes in. My goal was just to have our own people make the collection and bring it in on Sundays and during the week by dropping donations by the office. It's a good thing the rest of our staff thinks outside the walls. At the end of last week our host, CinemaWorld, expressed interested in co-sponsoring this project with us. The project was nameless at that time. By late Monday Starbucks in Lincoln, enthusiastically jumped on board as a local drop off point. By the end of the day today, Stop and Shop, a large grocery store in the Lincoln Mall, and two local fire departments, Albion and Manville, have joined us as drop off points in our community.
The big question was still out there. How would we deliver these supplies to Haiti? I decided that if we began collecting that God would figure that one out and reveal it to me when He thought I needed to know. Thankfully, the piece of the puzzle was provided today in the form of Lifeline Christian Mission. There are still some details to work out, but it looks like we will be able to connect with their ongoing efforts to establish churches as regional drop off points. Now more chruches throughout New England have increased accessibility to this project.
By the way, our project is called Help Haiti. You can check it out on our website.
We talked about this project tonight in our community group. Our text was Matthew 14.13-33. Too quickly the disciples were willing to send the crowd back to the villages to find food, when Jesus calls them to feed the crowd. He takes five loaves and two fish from his 12 disciples and feeds over 5000 people. We can't lose sight that this is a outrageously disproportionate number. There is no way the disciples could have relied on their own ingenuity or creativity to pull of this miracle.
Helping Haiti is way out of our league. Will we pass this responsibility off to someone else because the job is just too big? What can we do? I am not sure what God will do with a three month old church in the smallest state. I do know that we have a choice to make. Will we serve the cause of Christ and trust him to multiply the bread by multiplying us?
A great scene is the 12 guys holding baskets full of leftover bread and looking at Jesus differently. I wonder if in a few weeks from now we, just like the disciples, are knee deep in supplies asking ourselves, "what just happened here?"
Jerry
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Embracing the Future
Maybe you have a custom that you do every year for Christmas. We are beginning some new traditions this year. Julie is doing a 12 days of Christmas event with the kids. Each morning there is something new in the stocking over the fireplace (see pic on the sidebar). It's fun. As you probably have experienced, what we do during the Christmas season changes somewhat as the kids grow older. Now there are band concerts where they sing "holiday" songs. A sign of the times I guess.
Just being away from family and friends this year for the first time offers us the opportunity to welcome new traditions, like having new friends over on Christmas Day. We are all looking forward to sharing the day with some of our new friends from NorthPointe.
A tradition we will likely continue on that day no matter where we are, or who is there, is to read the Christmas story. Typically that comes from Luke chapter 2. But this time I may broaden the story a little to include the first chapter of Luke as well. Our Christmas message series, The Night That Changed Everything, has been a journey of discovery for me personally. Luke, of the four Gospel writers, more than anyone else enjoys putting the story of Jesus' birth in the context of the real world, with real people, places and historical events. He's very much a detail freak...to our benefit. Luke is also the one who gave us the story of the lost son in Luke 15.
In the first chapter we have the story of a man, Zechariah, who had lived a righteous life up to that point as a priest. His life was predicable, if not a little disappointing. Both he and his wife were in their older years, and had prayed to no avail for a child. Time was running out. One day, quite unexpectedly, God chose to show up in his life. Zechariah is told he will be the father of the one who would prepare the way for God's Son. A little disbelief leaves him speechless. In fact, nine months of not being able to use his mouth allows him to be silent enough to prepare to accept the newness that God would bring into his life.
What does it look like to accept God's activity in our lives...to sense that he desires to use us and then embrace the future he has in mind for us. The difference God made in Elizabeth's life would show outwardly as her clothes began to fit more tightly every week, while Zechariah's change was inward as he was transformed and became pregnant with the purpose of God.
After he came to grips with what God was going to do, Zechariah explodes in praise and gives voice to what it looks like in the life of a person who will embrace a life that centers on Jesus Christ. He concludes his song with the phrase, "path of peace." This is significant to the story, and something we should take to heart. Going along with God's plan is the most difficult, but most rewarding part of discipleship. In fact, that is discipleship in a nutshell (chestnut???). We can go for years and not hear anything from God, and get rather used to that kind of life set on cruise control. Suddenly he shows up in his timing and asks us to embrace his plan, on his terms.
So...I wonder if the state of being righteous before God has little to do with actually living right, but more to do with being right where God wants us to be...on a transformational journey of trust that results in knowing his peace. I like to think of Proverbs 3.5-6 as a picture of what this looks like. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight."
God didn't send his Son for us to open his Gift and say, "that's great but I am good right where I am." This Christmas, my prayer for us is that the season is more than a day, even more than a season, but it becomes a spiritual milestone where we can welcome the presence of God into our lives by deciding to trust him on the path of peace. His kingdom is seen in the transformed lives of those who embrace the future by trusting God right now.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Jerry
Just being away from family and friends this year for the first time offers us the opportunity to welcome new traditions, like having new friends over on Christmas Day. We are all looking forward to sharing the day with some of our new friends from NorthPointe.
A tradition we will likely continue on that day no matter where we are, or who is there, is to read the Christmas story. Typically that comes from Luke chapter 2. But this time I may broaden the story a little to include the first chapter of Luke as well. Our Christmas message series, The Night That Changed Everything, has been a journey of discovery for me personally. Luke, of the four Gospel writers, more than anyone else enjoys putting the story of Jesus' birth in the context of the real world, with real people, places and historical events. He's very much a detail freak...to our benefit. Luke is also the one who gave us the story of the lost son in Luke 15.
In the first chapter we have the story of a man, Zechariah, who had lived a righteous life up to that point as a priest. His life was predicable, if not a little disappointing. Both he and his wife were in their older years, and had prayed to no avail for a child. Time was running out. One day, quite unexpectedly, God chose to show up in his life. Zechariah is told he will be the father of the one who would prepare the way for God's Son. A little disbelief leaves him speechless. In fact, nine months of not being able to use his mouth allows him to be silent enough to prepare to accept the newness that God would bring into his life.
What does it look like to accept God's activity in our lives...to sense that he desires to use us and then embrace the future he has in mind for us. The difference God made in Elizabeth's life would show outwardly as her clothes began to fit more tightly every week, while Zechariah's change was inward as he was transformed and became pregnant with the purpose of God.
After he came to grips with what God was going to do, Zechariah explodes in praise and gives voice to what it looks like in the life of a person who will embrace a life that centers on Jesus Christ. He concludes his song with the phrase, "path of peace." This is significant to the story, and something we should take to heart. Going along with God's plan is the most difficult, but most rewarding part of discipleship. In fact, that is discipleship in a nutshell (chestnut???). We can go for years and not hear anything from God, and get rather used to that kind of life set on cruise control. Suddenly he shows up in his timing and asks us to embrace his plan, on his terms.
So...I wonder if the state of being righteous before God has little to do with actually living right, but more to do with being right where God wants us to be...on a transformational journey of trust that results in knowing his peace. I like to think of Proverbs 3.5-6 as a picture of what this looks like. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight."
God didn't send his Son for us to open his Gift and say, "that's great but I am good right where I am." This Christmas, my prayer for us is that the season is more than a day, even more than a season, but it becomes a spiritual milestone where we can welcome the presence of God into our lives by deciding to trust him on the path of peace. His kingdom is seen in the transformed lives of those who embrace the future by trusting God right now.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Jerry
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Night That Changed Everything
We began the new series this morning. This is only the second message series in the life of NorthPointe Christian Church. It's called The Night That Changed Everything. Our staff decided together that we would loosely play off of the popular Christmas Carol story. You are likely familiar, but if not, it's the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, a frugal miser of a man who is visited by three angels on one night. One night changed everything for him as he was able to see his life through the lens of his past, present and future.
We believe that Christmas is all about One Man who came and changed everything for everyone. And because Jesus came, He can transform our past, present and future as a part of his story. This morning we focused on reliving our past. The family of Jesus, going all the way back to Abraham, is full of unlikely characters and events leading to the glorious announcement by the angels that Christ the Lord was born in Bethlehem. Christmas is truly about the birth of Jesus. But the question we must ask is to whom did He come? Who did God have in mind when he sent Jesus to earth. Judging by the lineage of Christ, it wasn't for the prepared, the qualified, or those who believe they have it all together. Jesus came for unlikely people like you and me. His family is full of unlikely people. And if we choose to follow Christ, his lineage becomes our family. His lineage is our past. Matthew chapter 1 is a masterpiece of misfits. And God is waiting to take our past, including all of the failures and flaws, and transform our past as a part of his story.
When we wonder if God will accept us with our flaws and mistakes, His answer to us is Merry CHRISTmas!
We are also looking forward to this Saturday. We are hosting an event called Deck the Mall. We are partnering with CinemaWorld to collect toys for the Lincoln Holiday Basket Program. I can't say enough great compliments for the staff at CinemaWorld at the Lincoln Mall for allowing us to co-sponsor this event with them. We will have games and refreshments for children and families, as well as FREE gift wrapping. I also want to thank our local Starbucks for supplying the great coffee we can offer our guests. God's hands are all over this event. This will be the first community touch completely staffed with new NorthPointe volunteers who have stepped up to be involved in just a few short weeks. We pray more people will know more about NorthPointe Christian Church, and Who we represent, by coming to the mall that day with their family and friends from 3-6 pm.
We believe that Christmas is all about One Man who came and changed everything for everyone. And because Jesus came, He can transform our past, present and future as a part of his story. This morning we focused on reliving our past. The family of Jesus, going all the way back to Abraham, is full of unlikely characters and events leading to the glorious announcement by the angels that Christ the Lord was born in Bethlehem. Christmas is truly about the birth of Jesus. But the question we must ask is to whom did He come? Who did God have in mind when he sent Jesus to earth. Judging by the lineage of Christ, it wasn't for the prepared, the qualified, or those who believe they have it all together. Jesus came for unlikely people like you and me. His family is full of unlikely people. And if we choose to follow Christ, his lineage becomes our family. His lineage is our past. Matthew chapter 1 is a masterpiece of misfits. And God is waiting to take our past, including all of the failures and flaws, and transform our past as a part of his story.
When we wonder if God will accept us with our flaws and mistakes, His answer to us is Merry CHRISTmas!
We are also looking forward to this Saturday. We are hosting an event called Deck the Mall. We are partnering with CinemaWorld to collect toys for the Lincoln Holiday Basket Program. I can't say enough great compliments for the staff at CinemaWorld at the Lincoln Mall for allowing us to co-sponsor this event with them. We will have games and refreshments for children and families, as well as FREE gift wrapping. I also want to thank our local Starbucks for supplying the great coffee we can offer our guests. God's hands are all over this event. This will be the first community touch completely staffed with new NorthPointe volunteers who have stepped up to be involved in just a few short weeks. We pray more people will know more about NorthPointe Christian Church, and Who we represent, by coming to the mall that day with their family and friends from 3-6 pm.
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