GODISNOWHERE

Christians actually celebrate Easter every Sunday. In fact, the resurrection is the reason Christian worship moved from the Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday. Followers of Jesus wanted to make sure the reality of resurrection stayed front and center in our life together as the Body of Christ.

We celebrated that yesterday.
Here's the video we used to begin the service.

Sunday's Coming

I wonder what it must have felt like to not know Sunday was coming. These people had put all of their faith and hope in Jesus and he was now dead. Think about today what it must have felt like to not know that Jesus was going to come back to life the next day. 

Do you remember what it was like when you first heard about Him and the hope he brings to your life NOW? Do you remember the first time you heard about the living God, the one who suffered for you and then was raised from the dead?

Your invited to come and celebrate with us tomorrow at 10:45 at Trinity Church, as we remember and celebrate what Jesus' real message is!

A Light in the Darkness

7-7:45PM Tonight.

Join us tonight as we focus in on the night Jesus was killed and his disciples lost all hope and darkness was everywhere.

What did that feel like to have their only light in the darkness snuffed out?

It's a powerful service and a powerful way to prepare for the joy and hope of Easter.

Short.

Sweet.

Powerful.

Nursery is available through age 5. Kids age 6+ are invited to join us.

A New Way to Live--Tonight Only!

7-7:30PM tonight only! (okay, that's a cheesy sales technique but...)

join us as we focus in on the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples and the new command he gave us.

Short.

Sweet.

Challenging.

Nursery is available through age 5. Kids age 6+ are invited to join us.

Pack the kiddos, the 'rents, the spousal unit, whoever, in the car and join us.

entering his last days

We are in the middle of what most christians call "The Holy Week." Tomorrow night we will come together for a Maundy Thursday service and focus on the new mandate or command Jesus gave. On Friday, we will have a good Friday service and focus on what Jesus did on the cross. However, at theGathering tonight we are going to focus on a simple act Jesus did with his disciples during the last supper, litterally hours before suffering on the cross.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas
Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash
his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. -John 13:2-5

After he washes his disciples feet, he then tells them to wash one another's feet.

What does that look like for us roughly 2000 years later?

I believe to serve Jesus to the benefit of another, shows the deepest level of love and humility. So, how can you use your talents, resources, services and life to serve one another? Maybe it means:

mowing the yard of the single mom in your neighborhood (for free)

doing the thing in your office nobody wants to do

doing laundry for your wife

helping the family out that you know is struggling financially.

I don't believe it was an option that Jesus was giving us. I believe he mandates or commands us to Love God, Love People and to Serve One Another!

Is That Really Possible?

We've been sending out verses from the Bible each day via twitter, and they've been a real help to me.

Like when the prophet Isaiah reminded me (after visiting a family who made the gut-wrencing decision to turn the life support off for their 6 month old) that "the Lord will swallow death forever."

Like the day I needed to be reminded by Paul that my humanity wasn't a challenge to God: "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive"

Or the day I needed to be reminded that love is to be the dominant reality of the way I interact with people: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love."

I like being comforted and reminded of God's help and love through Scripture. They all seemed like (and were!) divine interventions in my day. God really does want to speak to me, to you.

But then the other day, Peter reminded me that Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness."

Hold the phone. God wants and expects me to live in way that overcomes the still broken parts of my life? That seems a bit much, right?

Do I believe that? Do you? Do you and I really believe (in biblical language, really believe means really live that way) that is true? That God can empower us to overcome our brokenness and sin?

Friday we'll celebrate the fact that Jesus came to do just that.
If we aren't living it, I would venture to say the only explanation is that we don't really believe Jesus. Ouch.

Here's how Dallas Willard says it:

"Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person's account. At best, it succeeds only sporadically."

Is your God to Small?

Yesterday, Scott gave a great challenge about How we view God.  For many people, the way they view God is not the God of the bible.  It was great to end the service with people breaking tiles with their wrong view of God written on them.  So...what is or was your view of God? What is your picture of God? Leave a comment on here and share with the community what you wrote on your tile if you were at the service on Sunday.

If you want to read more about this idea of, "your god is to small," check out one of these books:

Your God is to Small by JB Phillips 

The Deity Formerly Known as God by Jarrett Stevens

Is it about You or Him?

I love this quote from Donald Miller in Blue Like Jazz.  He says, 

I was a fundamental Christian once. It lasted a summer. I was in that same phase of trying to discipline myself to “behave” as if I loved light and not “behave” as if I loved darkness. I used to get really ticked about preachers who talked too much about grace, because they tempted me to not be disciplined. I figured what people needed was a kick in the butt, and if I failed at godliness it was because those around me weren’t trying hard enough. - Blue Like Jazz, 79

I often wonder if people are stuck in the idea that Christianity or their walk with Jesus is just something they do..."if I just try hard enough" or "if I just stay away from those people or those places".  I wonder if we have forgotten that it is all about Jesus and what he has done for us and what the Spirit does in us.  I pray that through this week of remembering His last week, we will understand that it is about Him and not You!

Join Us

In a few days we'll be entering the time of year often known as Holy Week--the week Jesus was betrayed, crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb.

Along with millions of Christians around the world, we'll be having several services this next week designed to help each of us enter into the anguish and triumph of Jesus' last days as we look forward to Easter.

Consider yourself invited. Now share the love and invite a friend.

Start at Home

We're in a bit of an economic slump (in case you hadn't heard), with lots of finger pointing going on about who is to blame.

It's so much easier to blame someone else than to "start at home" and look inside to how I've contributed to the problem. While that's particularly true with the economic situation we're in, it applies to every aspect of life. It's part of what Lent does--it keeps us honest and reveals the degree to which we've contributed to our own problem.

If we can't honestly figure out where we are, we can't take any real steps forward in our relationship with God and we end up resorting to a veneer of spirituality and religiosity.

Gordon MacDonald suggests asking these questions (about the economic downturn...but they apply to any area of life).

Have I lived beyond my personal means?
Have I incurred irresponsible debt?
Have I lived indulgently, a lifestyle directed more by culture than by the influence of Christ?
Has my life's purpose been more about acquiring stuff than living a life of generosity and compassion?

Where, O death is your sting?

I attended a funeral today and I have to say I struggle at funerals. Almost every funeral I have gone to, no matter how well I know the person that is placed before us, I have a difficult time. I have been trying to process this today and here are a few thoughts:

1. I want my life to be about something! I don't want to live and then die and have a few people stand up and talk about how I was funny or nice or whatever. I want my life to be about something. I want my life to represent Christ and his kingdom. Am I doing that?

2. I think about those people I am close to that don't have a relationship with Jesus! I am forced to think about the what ifs? What if my friend never comes to know Him before he dies. Am I playing my part is God redeeming people's lives?

3. I am forced to be reminded that life is short! We waste so much time on some things that really don't matter and miss out on some of the important things. I want to be the best husband, best dad, best person I can be today. What do I need to do to accomplish that?

I always leave thankful that Jesus came to rescue me and to make a way for me to live in eternity with him. I am not really afraid of what is next, but maybe I am afraid of what is NOW! May you and I be who God has called us to be today, not just holding on until the "man upstairs calls us home."