Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Mt. Rainier Visit
Good morning SLCC!
I mentioned in church last Sunday that we were finally able to visit Mt. Rainier National Park last week and that we had a wonderful, spiritually-refreshing time while we were there. I wanted to share our reflections with you, so please follow the link below if you would like to see some pictures and a description of our trip on our personal blog.
http://www.thejapierces.blogspot.com/
I am praying for you all and I look forward to seeing you next Sunday!
I mentioned in church last Sunday that we were finally able to visit Mt. Rainier National Park last week and that we had a wonderful, spiritually-refreshing time while we were there. I wanted to share our reflections with you, so please follow the link below if you would like to see some pictures and a description of our trip on our personal blog.
http://www.thejapierces.blogspot.com/
I am praying for you all and I look forward to seeing you next Sunday!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sermons Available Online
Good morning SLCC,
I trust you are all rejoicing in the Savior today. Well, we've got some big news for you: We're now able to post sermons on the blog! We'll be uploading them this way for the time being until our website is up. So, if you would like to hear them again, or if you weren't able to be with us on a Sunday, you can now listen via the blog! Check out last week's sermon below. See you soon!
True Worship: What it isn't; What it is!
I trust you are all rejoicing in the Savior today. Well, we've got some big news for you: We're now able to post sermons on the blog! We'll be uploading them this way for the time being until our website is up. So, if you would like to hear them again, or if you weren't able to be with us on a Sunday, you can now listen via the blog! Check out last week's sermon below. See you soon!
True Worship: What it isn't; What it is!
Monday, September 15, 2008
True Worship
Greetings SLCC!
I hope you're all doing well today. I've been reflecting on yesterday's message and by God's grace I'm seeking to be a true worshipper of Him as I go about my business today. I trust the Lord is helping you to do the same!
Here is a snippet of yesterdays sermon in case your spiritual batteries are in need of a little recharge today:
John 4:23-24 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."We hear a lot of talk these days about politicians who want to “shake things up” in Washington, don't we? Well, Jesus came on the scene a few thousand years ago shake things up in a major way in the religious world! When He arrived, He ushered in an era of profound change. Among other things, His teaching revolutionized people’s understanding of the proper way to worship God the Father.
People in Jesus’ day tended to get all caught up in externals, the location of worship and the rituals of worship. And on a large scale religious people are still guilty of this today, aren’t they? They consider their mere attendance and observance of the rituals of their local churches, mosques, and temples as acts of worship.
If we are not careful, we can fall into the same trap of externalism even at our relatively informal, non-ritualistic services at SLCC. We can begin thinking of our worship as merely an external thing, believing that going to church on Sunday, sitting in a pew, singing a few songs, praying a few prayers, and listening to a sermon are somehow by themselves tokens of worship that satisfy God.
Well, while those things can be sincere expressions of worship, they are not by themselves the essence of worship. True worship is not an external thing; it is an internal thing. God is seeking for worshippers who understand this and who worship Him from the heart!
God the Father is spirit. He is not physical. He doesn't have a body, arms, hands, legs or feet. He is not an old man with white hair and a long beard as many artists have sought to portray Him. He is a spiritual being, not a physical being. And what is most important about Him is not what He looks like, but what He is like. Therefore, what is most important for us in our relationship to Him is not to know and admire His outward, physical form—that is not the issue—but rather to know and admire His inward character and attributes—that is the issue! That is preeminent!
Likewise what is most important about us in our relationship to God is not our physicality or the outward things of our lives. It is not about what we wear, or where we go, or how often we go, or the rituals we engage in externally. It is about who we are and what we think on the inside. It is about our heart! The question is, do we worship Him from the depths of our being; do we worship Him in “spirit”?
And also, do we worship Him in “truth.” If what is important about God is His character, what He is like, what pleases Him and what displeases Him, then what is important for His people is that they know what He is like, what pleases Him and what displeases Him, right?
Where do we learn these things? Where do we go for these truths? We learn the truths of God from the Word of God. In Psalm 119:60 we are told, “The sum of Your word is truth.” And, in His prayer to His Father recorded in John 17:17 Jesus proclaimed, “Your word is truth.” So, the Bible is the storehouse of divine truth!
Therefore, it is in our study of His Word that we grow in our understanding of truth and our capacity to worship God in truth. It is in our study of the Word that our eyes are opened to the “wonderful,” awe-inspiring attributes of God (Ps. 119:18). It is in our study of the Word that we are confronted with the glories of God’s nature and character. And it is our understanding of these truths that grounds our worship of God; it is what drives it and fuels it and guards it from error and perversion! So, we must worship God in truth as well as in spirit, with our minds as well as our hearts. That is the kind of worshipper that God desires.
So in light of all this, where is the right place for worship and when is the right time? Everywhere is the right place and all the time is the right time. Worship should be a 24-7 reality for us. It takes place constantly as we reflect on who our God is and all that He has done for us in Christ.
Well, I trust you are renewed in your zeal to worship God in spirit and in truth today and the rest of this week. It's as easy as turning our minds away from self and the distractions of this world and fixing them on biblical truths--the truths that reveal to us the beauties of our God! I look forward to seeing you next week when we meet again to allow our individual worship to flow out into corporate worship at SLCC. See you then!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Greetings!
I trust that you are all well in the Lord today! This is a very exciting moment as I wade into the waters of the blogosphere for the very first time. Now that we have this resource, I can’t resist the urge to post my afterthoughts from Sunday’s sermon. I think it has always been the preacher’s dream to go back and re-preach the sermon inserting all the things I “shoulda,” “coulda,” “woulda” said. Now, that dream is a reality (Don't worry, I won't re-preach the whole thing!) So, please check out my sermon afterthoughts below. I’ll try to give a brief recap early each week for the benefit of those who weren’t able to be with us on Sunday and for the further meditation of those who were.
Blessings!
Blessings!
"Are You Still Thirsty?"
John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
Last Sunday we concluded that God has created us as spiritual beings with souls that thirst for spiritual refreshment! That refreshment cannot be found in any created thing in this world. It is not found in any of the pleasures of this life that our flesh longs for apart from Christ. Those waters can never satisfy. You might enjoy the taste going down for a few moments, but the satisfaction is only temporary and in the end you’ll end up just as thirsty as you were before you drank—if not more!
That was certainly the experience of the Samaritan woman. She too had been created by God to enjoy a relationship with Him, but like the rest of us she wrongly aimed her affections toward fleshly pleasures in this world rather than toward spiritual pleasures in Christ. In her case, the fruitless pursuit was through sexual relationships. And, did those experiences satisfy her? No! Having had 5 husbands in the past and working on her 6th revealed that she had still not yet found the contentment and fulfillment she was seeking.
So, Jesus graciously confronted her with the reality that she would never find ultimate refreshment in those fleshly waters. There was only one place it could be found. What she needed was living water! She needed to drink the water of eternal life; she needed to experience the delights of fellowship and harmony with the living God. Those are the spiritual waters of which a person drinks and finds his soul’s thirst forever quenched!
My brothers and sisters, please reflect on this truth today and throughout the week. Remember that nothing in the creation can quench your soul’s thirst for the Creator. All the things we desire in this life apart from and more than Christ are part of a fleeting and fallen world. They are consumable; they are perishable; they are temporary; and they can never satisfy the longings of your soul. They always keep you coming back for more, and you’ll never get enough. In the words of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, they are “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
No amount of money, no material things, no experiences, no relationships, not even religion can quench the thirst of your soul. Only Jesus can with His living water! So, please set your heart on Him and long for the water He freely offers you. Cultivate in your heart the same yearning as the psalmist who said,
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
As you seek to be satisfied in Him, and as you drink of His living waters, you will find your heart’s thirst fully quenched and even overflowing with the blessings of eternal life!
Last Sunday we concluded that God has created us as spiritual beings with souls that thirst for spiritual refreshment! That refreshment cannot be found in any created thing in this world. It is not found in any of the pleasures of this life that our flesh longs for apart from Christ. Those waters can never satisfy. You might enjoy the taste going down for a few moments, but the satisfaction is only temporary and in the end you’ll end up just as thirsty as you were before you drank—if not more!
That was certainly the experience of the Samaritan woman. She too had been created by God to enjoy a relationship with Him, but like the rest of us she wrongly aimed her affections toward fleshly pleasures in this world rather than toward spiritual pleasures in Christ. In her case, the fruitless pursuit was through sexual relationships. And, did those experiences satisfy her? No! Having had 5 husbands in the past and working on her 6th revealed that she had still not yet found the contentment and fulfillment she was seeking.
So, Jesus graciously confronted her with the reality that she would never find ultimate refreshment in those fleshly waters. There was only one place it could be found. What she needed was living water! She needed to drink the water of eternal life; she needed to experience the delights of fellowship and harmony with the living God. Those are the spiritual waters of which a person drinks and finds his soul’s thirst forever quenched!
My brothers and sisters, please reflect on this truth today and throughout the week. Remember that nothing in the creation can quench your soul’s thirst for the Creator. All the things we desire in this life apart from and more than Christ are part of a fleeting and fallen world. They are consumable; they are perishable; they are temporary; and they can never satisfy the longings of your soul. They always keep you coming back for more, and you’ll never get enough. In the words of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, they are “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
No amount of money, no material things, no experiences, no relationships, not even religion can quench the thirst of your soul. Only Jesus can with His living water! So, please set your heart on Him and long for the water He freely offers you. Cultivate in your heart the same yearning as the psalmist who said,
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
As you seek to be satisfied in Him, and as you drink of His living waters, you will find your heart’s thirst fully quenched and even overflowing with the blessings of eternal life!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Rejoice in the Lord!
Hello Everyone!
I hope all of you have been rejoicing over the course of the last week. Rejoicing over the fact that God has poured out His amazing Grace upon us through Jesus Christ. Remember, Joy is a state of being glad--it is having a happy heart. A happy heart that is the result of understanding that we deserve the eternal wrath of God but instead we are given grace and mercy because of His great love. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes from understanding what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-7:
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Last week our family had the privilege of experiencing joyful and gracious fun with family and friends in Eastern Washington. Everytime we are able to get out and enjoy God's beautiful creation I am again reminded of God's incredible grace. In Omak Washington we stayed in a little cabin located on 170 acres of land bearing the fruit of thousands of apple and pear trees. Seeing the fruit of God's physical blessing on mere trees pales in comparison to what He has given to us spiritually. As if salvation from His wrath was not enough, God promises to show us the surpassing riches of His grace for the rest of eternity. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)
God continues to bless Summit Lake Community Church. On August 24th, the vote to extend Jeff's stay as co-pastor was unanimously approved! God has provided for our church in a miraculous way so that both Jeff and I can minister as co-pastors together. I will be working on a temporary basis with the Washington Army National Guard as a chaplain ministering to soldiers and families of soldiers who have deployed in support of the global war on terrorism. Please pray that we would be stewards of the Grace that God has given us as a church as we look for ways to minister to those in our community who need to experience the love of God through His people. There are hundreds of people in our community alone who are ready to hear the Gospel through both words and deed.
One more friendly reminder: we will be having our annual "work" day at the church this Saturday, September 6th, starting at 9 am. Lunch will be provided and we will work until Leonard Hays gets tired! We will be doing various odd jobs around the church to include weeding, cleaning and tearing up some decking. Childcare will be available for those of you who have very young children. I hope to see you there. Have a great rest of your week.
In the service of the King,
Pastor Don
I hope all of you have been rejoicing over the course of the last week. Rejoicing over the fact that God has poured out His amazing Grace upon us through Jesus Christ. Remember, Joy is a state of being glad--it is having a happy heart. A happy heart that is the result of understanding that we deserve the eternal wrath of God but instead we are given grace and mercy because of His great love. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes from understanding what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-7:
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Last week our family had the privilege of experiencing joyful and gracious fun with family and friends in Eastern Washington. Everytime we are able to get out and enjoy God's beautiful creation I am again reminded of God's incredible grace. In Omak Washington we stayed in a little cabin located on 170 acres of land bearing the fruit of thousands of apple and pear trees. Seeing the fruit of God's physical blessing on mere trees pales in comparison to what He has given to us spiritually. As if salvation from His wrath was not enough, God promises to show us the surpassing riches of His grace for the rest of eternity. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)
God continues to bless Summit Lake Community Church. On August 24th, the vote to extend Jeff's stay as co-pastor was unanimously approved! God has provided for our church in a miraculous way so that both Jeff and I can minister as co-pastors together. I will be working on a temporary basis with the Washington Army National Guard as a chaplain ministering to soldiers and families of soldiers who have deployed in support of the global war on terrorism. Please pray that we would be stewards of the Grace that God has given us as a church as we look for ways to minister to those in our community who need to experience the love of God through His people. There are hundreds of people in our community alone who are ready to hear the Gospel through both words and deed.
One more friendly reminder: we will be having our annual "work" day at the church this Saturday, September 6th, starting at 9 am. Lunch will be provided and we will work until Leonard Hays gets tired! We will be doing various odd jobs around the church to include weeding, cleaning and tearing up some decking. Childcare will be available for those of you who have very young children. I hope to see you there. Have a great rest of your week.
In the service of the King,
Pastor Don
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