Jesus Discipleship = Spiritual Transformation

This is what we as the Church are about:  Jesus Discipleship and Spiritual Transformation.  As we live and move and have our being in these ways NEW LIFE is experienced by all and for the sake of all.  Consider these simple and yet deeply meaningful points below:  

GOAL:  Christlikeness (2 Cor. 3:18; Romans 8:28-29)

CONTEXT:  Authentic Community (Acts 2:42-47)

AGENT:  The Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2; Gal. 5:22-25)

MEANS:  By the Renewing of our Minds (Romans 12:1-2)

METHOD:  Real Life Application of Scripture (1 Timothy3:16)

TIME FRAME:  Lifetime Process (Philippians 3:12-15)  

We need each other in order to engage fully in the faith as the church.  Are you willing to step forward in being a Small Group Leader?  Are you willing to draw others together in going deeper and further in the faith?  Are you open to seeing how God can use your gifts in engaging others on this magnificent journey of being a disciple of Jesus?  May the Holy Spirit stir us up and get us growing as a congregation for the sake of our community and world!

Prayer Of Abandonment

I first learned of this prayer through my brothers at the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Haiti.  A dear friend, Maya Luckner Fond Rose, who I hope for you all to meet one day, prayed this prayer as he ‘grew up’ at St. Joe’s.  A former child slave found his ‘new life’ in Christ through loving relationships and passionate faith.  The lost was found.  The throw a way was restored.  God spoke into his life and into ours.  We come to find our deepest longings and very soul in God’s hands.  

Father,

I abandon myself into your hands;

Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you:

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,

And in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.  

Into your hands I commend my soul.

I offer it to you,

With all the love of my heart,

For I love you Lord,

And so need to give myself,

To surrender myself into your hands,

Without reserve,

And with boundless confidence,

For you are my Father.

Amen.  

Charles de Foucalde

Devotion To Jesus

I love you Lord because….           

I need you Lord because…..                         

I praise you lord because…..                                    

I obey you Lord because…..                                                

I thank you Lord because…..                                     

I hope in you Lord because…..                                                                                            I trust in you Lord because…..                                                                                           I find joy in you Lord because…..                                                                                         I find peace in you Lord because….  

May our Devotion to Jesus fill our cup and lead us to pour it out for the sake of the world.  Amen. 

Wrestling With Life!

Take a few moments throughout this week and reflect on how God is speaking to you through the following quotes:

“The best things in life aren’t things.”  Peggy Anderson

“Never look down on anybody, unless you’re helping them up.”  Jesse Jackson Sr.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”  Anne Frank

“You will rise by lifting others.”  Robert Ingersoll

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”  Paulo Coelho

“What God cares most about is a human being, all of creation, fully alive.”  Pastor Chad

Which ones most garnered your attention?  What message do you have to share with others?

Peace and Hope!

Pastor Chad

Raising Footwashers

Read John 13:1-17

This story of the last supper in John’s Gospel recalls a remarkable event not mentioned elsewhere:  Jesus performs the duty of a slave, washing the feet of his disciples and urging them to do the same for one another.  

Back in 2003, I led a teaching moment at GobinSadan, a World Religions Peace Village in India, where all peoples of faith could worship freely.  On the last night of our twelve-day travel immersion together, we gathered around a candle lit statue of Jesus.  I read these words from John, and then invited all to participate in the act of foot washing.  For many this was the first time that they had heard of this story.  For others it was the first time that they were actually participating in the foot washing ritual.  In my western religious experience, I assumed each would have their feet washed once.  To my surprise, as many wept openly, my feet and the feet of all those gathered, were washed twenty-seven times, as each person took turns doing this for everyone in the circle.  A people representing the religions of the world washing one another’s feet.  What would our world look like if we the church raised generations of foot washers?  

One of my very favorite short reads is a book entitled: “Tuesdays with Morrie.”  In this book Mitch Albom discusses matters of life and death with his former college professor.  In these final day conversations the two discuss forgiveness (including self-forgiveness) and love; the latter, Albom says, follows no specific formula.  “Love is when you are as concerned about someone else’s situation as you are about your own.”  When Jesus realizes that his hour has come, he speaks about foot washing love as of ultimate importance.  If you were giving your last lecture, teaching moment, word of life, what would you want to say?  With whom would you share it?  

Acts of Love, Foot washing, communities pouring themselves out for the sake of the world, this is the LIFE that God intends for.  May it be so in each of our lives.

Prayer:  Holy God, source of all love, Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as he loves us.  Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us the will to serve others as Jesus was a servant of all, Amen.