Reflections on Elections

We enjoy a great privilege where we live in a country and under a political system that allows us to be engaged in the peaceful selection of our leaders. America went to vote on Tuesday, and the people have spoken. Your selection of leaders may have been elected or perhaps they were defeated. Your referendum issues may have passed, or they may not have passed. So how should we respond? 

Some very straightforward reminders from Scripture:

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers & authorities, to be obedient...to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling... "Titus 3:1-2

"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim. 2:1-4

Notice in the 1 Timothy passage that the reason for praying for our leaders (kings in that setting) is so that we can live a "tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" so that we may be able to introduce people to our God and Savior. It is not so that we have it easy. (Have you prayed for our President today? How about our other leaders?)

Isn't it good to know, that regardless of one's political affiliation, there is coming a day when the King of kings will rule  His kingdom with justice and righteousness. He will not "run for office" or get in through popular vote. It will be the radical overthrow of all human nations. He will be a "benevolent dictator." His kingdom will have no end.

I read a great quote, which was rather convicting which said, "if you spent more time telling people who to vote for, instead of telling them about Jesus, you have your trust in the wrong person."

Let's look for Divine Appointments today to tell people about a Savior and King who died for us, so that we might be part of His kingdom, which will never end. For those of us who believe this, nothing has changed (though some interesting dynamics culturally that we must consider). Our mission remains the same.

Have a Blessed Day! 

What is the Direction of Your Life?

I have been reminded recently of the truth that our decisions take us some place. The vast majority of the time we do not arrive some place by accident. Two books which I have been reading have been driving home this point. This is something we need to be reminded about and we also need to teach our children the importance of the consequences of decisions -- that their decisions are taking them some place.

Statistics tell us that the average person makes 300 choices / decisions every day. About 10% of those choices of potential life altering outcomes. Most of us can summarize our lives around 5 or 6 defining decisions. These decisions radically changed the direction and trajectory of our lives. (Exercise: what are your most defining decisions? Good dinner table discussion).

Bob Merritt states that one decision can produce a lifetime of benefit or years of regret ("7 Simple Choices for a Better Tomorrow," p. 194). So we need to know our vulnerabilities so that we never put ourselves in a position where something bad could happen - stores, websites, images, people or places, spending, eating, former boyfriends or girlfriends, etc. Sometimes we watch individuals make a decision and we ask, "what were they thinking?" or we ask that of ourselves. We need to understand that the emotional decisions can be irrational. If we really thought through the consequences, we wouldn't make that choice.

In his book, "Spiritual Leadership", Henry Blackaby gives some concluding thoughts when it comes to decisions:

* God doesn't want people to do what they think is best: he wants them to do what he knows is best.

* Every decision is a step toward a destination. So where are you headed? Where do you want to go? What steps are you taking or going to take to get you there?

* Unfortunately, it is usually the opportunities and rarely the difficulties that vanish over time.

KY Missions Update ~

Thanks to Valley Grace for their support allowing six of us to serve those who serve - The Happy Church in Jackson, KY. We got a bit "disoriented" on the way down for awhile (not lost) and then arrived and worked around the church in maintenance and also for a church member installing flooring in her trailer. Thanks to Jeff Semler (our leader) Clint & Tyler Hebert, Dwayne Draper, and JW Eichelberger for their investment of time. Thanks to Valley Grace also for the clothes and other items taken down for the thrift store. Please continue to pray for the ministry of The Happy Church (http://www.thehappychurch.org/). 

A more complete ministry report will be shared on August 26th. 

Living in Community

Just as God has designed a system for the development, protection, support and nourishment of a child, so God has also designed a system for the development of a follower of Jesus. That system is called a church family. The Christian life is designed by God to be done in community, therefore the many "one anothers" in the Bible. The term for "fellowship" (koinonia) also points to the importance of community life. We note that the early church spent much time in community (Acts 2:42 - "continually devoting themselves....). They also took care of each other as seen in Acts 2:44-46.

In order for us to continue to grow to be a church that impacts our community, we need to develop three areas of life together:

First, there is Congregation. This is the larger group and it is where we worship together and challenge each other to live out God's Word. We participate in this in the worship experience of the church - predominately on a Sunday morning. Yet, there are many opportunities to interact with people on a more personal basis by coming early or even staying a bit later. It is always great to see people hanging around and talking together - even if this means closing up the building a bit later.

Secondly, there is the Class. This is a group that gathers for the purpose of interactive Bible study together. This is experienced through the Sunday School classes or Adult Bible Fellowships, on Sunday morning.

Thirdly, there is the Cell. This is a small group of 10-18 people who gather for the purpose to bond to each other as deeper friendships are developed. These small groups can be ministry teams or other small gatherings for prayer, accountability, encouragement, etc. It is through these groups that often the "velcro" is provided within a church to help people "stick."

At Valley Grace, we are working toward providing more intentional small group opportunities this fall. Our target is to have these small groups ready to launch in September. More information will be coming on this.

Conclusion: In order for real community to take place, it is important that we show up so that we can have community. There are many things that call for our attention, especially during the summer months. Yet, for real, consistent community, we must commit to regular participation in the church family. This will mean saying "no" to many nice things because of the higher priority of "meeting with the family." Thanks to all of you who so faithfully work toward living the Christian life in community.

Just Walk Across the Room

This past Sunday we were reminded that we have been invited by the King of the Universe to attend the wedding party of His Son (Matthew 22:1-14 - sermon here). After we receive the invitation, we have a responsibility to go out and share that invitation with the people that God places in our lives on a regular basis. That means just walking across the room, or soccer field, or lunch hall, or grocery store to the cashier, etc. Our responsibility is not to force an invitation, but to invite. We are to invite them, regardless of their lifestyle - whether the individual is considered evil or good. We also are reminded people don't often respond to the invitation that first time that it is given. 


It is also important to see the potential in people that Jesus did: a prostitute who became a God worshiper, a cheat who became a man who gave out of his resources (Zachaeus), etc. We are to invite people from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds. 


An excellent resource to help think through how to do this is Bill Hybels book, "Just Walk Across the Room" (you can find it here). Bill Hybels suggests living our lives in "3D" - that is, taking the following 3 steps in our day to day regular activities.


1. Develop Friendships - engage in the lives of people around us.
2. Discover Stories - discover other people's stories before sharing your own story of God's redemptive work.
3. Discern next steps - by following the Holy Spirit's direction, we can ascertain what the next steps should be that we should take.


We also need to be reminded of the three responses that Jesus presented in the story which he told.


1. Some people are indifferent. They are preoccupied with life and see no need to accept the invitation.
2. Some people will be hostile to the invitation and you will probably take the brunt of their hostility.
3. Some people will accept the invitation, and it will change their lives and destiny!


Let us be on mission to at least once a week, walk across the room (lunch room, etc.) to invite someone to the party being given for the King's Son!

VBS 2012 ~ Well Done!

Just wanted to thank all who participated in VBS this year. What an excellent ministry. Thanks to all who invested your time in the lives of these children. So many different responsibilities - van pickup, food prep, clean up, teaching, crafts, drama, music, games, assistants, organization, etc. Many of you volunteered your time after a full day of work elsewhere and did so with a smile with these energetic children. Please be in prayer for children who heard the gospel. More info on Sunday! (You may click on the picture to enlarge it)

Urban Hope 2012

Please be in prayer for 22 of our church family who has headed off to Urban Hope for the weekend of ministry in the Block Party today (4/20/2012). Please pray for safety, good weather, and great opportunity for ministry as they support our brothers and sisters who minister for Christ there. You may click on the above picture to enlarge as well as click HERE for a few more pictures.

Worship Thoughts in Preparation for the Lord's Day

I have been reading through a book entitled Transformational Church written by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. We recently discussed the chapter on Worship in our Team Huddle. Here are some thoughts that I found helpful to me and I trust that they will be to you as we prepare to come together as a church to worship our Savior. Please remember that worship is not limited to the music, but is to include the whole service.


* Worship is designed to actively embrace Jesus

* Worship is a manner of living and not a mode of church programming.

* We should arrive with the expectation of God's presence to be real and transformative in our worship experience.

* God is glorified when Christians gather together to worship Him

* Are we making consumers of religious goods and services or making disciples?

* When people attend worship, are they simply observing a show or being transformed by God? (Isaiah arrive depressed by left transformed because God is always able to change our circumstances)

* Real worship will transform the worshiper.

* Reducing worship to a focus on style removes God as the reason for gathering.

* When music (regardless of genre) is confused with worship, Satan wins.

* Worship can result in different expressions - David danced before the Lord, John in the book of Revelation fell down and lay still at the feet of Jesus. Two men in the presence of the same God, experienced two different forms of reverence.

* Reverence is an attitude of the heart, expressed and informed by the culture of the worshiper.

* God’s purpose in worship is not to make everybody happy. God’s desire is for people to discover and glorify Him through worship. Compromise is a dreadful word to use when we discuss worship.

* Worship should be what unifies the body of Christ.

Our challenge is to plan our worship service so that people are led in this time and place to worship the eternal God! 

Revealing the Artificial Standard

Our culture puts a great deal pressure on the external appearance as revealed through the media (magazines, websites, etc.). As a result there is a great deal of comparison taking place by young ladies as to what they ought to look like, and young men who often get caught up in comparisons. We need to understand that there is a tremendous amount of image "enhancement" which is being done. An artificial standard has been created which is impossible to achieve.

It is for us to be reminded that what we see is most often not the real thing. We used to hear that "pictures don't lie." Now they can. This is also a good opportunity to have a discussion with your daughter or son about artificial standards. The Scripture is right when it says that "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain" (Proverbs 31:30) but the quality of character which comes from a growing walk with Christ, is something that doesn't fade, but in fact, can become even more attractive as we mature in years.

HERE is a link to be able to click on "Before" and "After" to see the immediate affects of photo retouching.

HERE is a link to a youtube video which includes a professional photographer revealing that it is almost unheard of to release a photo that has not been retouched.

Urban Hope Work Weekend - Thanks for your prayers and support to make this possible. Great to hear again what God is doing in downtown Philadelphia. We are planning to return for the Street Carnival April 20-22 which is an opportunity to make connections for Christ. This is open for youth through adults. More information to come. A link to additional pictures from the Urban Hope Work Weekend is HERE.

The team repaired the ceiling and lighting in the youth center, worked on repairing leaks in the youth center basement, painting, patching walls and  electrical and plumbing repairs throughout the church, youth center, and housing facilities.

4 Message Sermon Series

We will take four weeks beginning on January 29, 2012 to study together "Marriage Matters." This will be a reminder of God's design for marriage. The topics and dates are listed in the above slide. We plan to return to our Galatians study "Grace-Filled Living" on March 4th.