Reflections: February 22, 2009

This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Executive Teaching Pastor

Yesterday 670 of us went out and served the community. That was a first for our church, but may it never be an end. With the key word being "flexibility," we – for the first time – cancelled two of our services and actively became the church to people who may never come through our doors.

 

I for one had a great but tiring day. I'm not a cook, but with the right kind of oversight I was able to contribute to making a hot meal for those people living in Ontario in a place we call "Tent City." The people we served were genuinely happy to see us and grateful for what they were receiving. After the meal was served I met a lady named Mary Alice. She has been living there since the first part of 2007. She had a goal of being out by May of last year, but a sickness and 10-day hospital stay set her back. Her new goal is April of this year. Hearing her story reminded me once again that these are people who God loves. I look forward to seeing her again next month when we go and serve another hot meal.

 

I know there must be more stories out there. In fact I'm sure there are 679 more. Would you take a few minutes a write them on the blog below so we might see how God was honored and glorified yesterday? Outward Bound has only just begun!

Reflections: February 15, 2009

This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Executive Teaching Pastor

As I take a few minutes to reflect on the message this week, the words "it's not about me!" keep ringing in my thoughts. This has been a wonderful journey we have been on for five weeks. Spending time with the very words of Jesus will make an impact on our lives if we will embrace them.

 

This week we changed our focus from growing in internal righteousness to expressing that development into "acts of righteousness." The key thing for us to remember is Jesus wants us to focus first on our hearts before we attempt to serve others. Let's be in prayer this week not only for the people we will serve but also for our own hearts.

 

As we serve next Sunday I will be reminding myself that it's not about me but about bringing glory to God. May God use us as a church and as individuals to represent Jesus well.

Reflections: February 8, 2009

This week's "Reflection" by Jeff Taylor, Pastor of Teaching & Worship

How's the experiment going? Have you had an opportunity to pray for someone who ticked you off yet? What did it do to your mood and attitude?

In case you were not at church this weekend and have not watched the video or listened to the podcast, one of the things we talked about was loving people who make life difficult for us. Matthew 5:44 says, "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" The experiment is to see what praying for someone who makes you angry or wrongs you does to your attitude and heart for that person. Instead of allowing it to boil inside you and generate anger or resentment that could cause us to respond in an unloving way, take it to the Lord. So try it this week: When someone offends you or makes you angry, right there in that moment pray that God will work in you and through you in the situation. Pray that hearts would be open and God would give you the opportunity to be salt and light in the life of a person who is your enemy.

Reflections: February 1, 2009

This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Executive Teaching Pastor

I was surprised that so many of you have experienced turbulence in an airplane. I would have thought that most flights are turbulent-free, but it looks like that's not the case. I wouldn't be surprised though to know that most of us have experienced turbulence in our relationships. The reality is that it is just plain hard to live with other people up close without some sort of turbulence.

 

Today I shared three important lessons from the Sermon on the Mount. First we learned that contempt is sin. The second lesson was that it is our responsibility to reconcile. Thirdly we learned that it is more important to reconcile than to be right. As you consider these three lessons, which one is the hardest for you? What has been your experience when you have tried to reconcile with other people? As we prepare to go out into the community how do you think today's message will help?

 

I'm looking forward to February 22 – I hope you will join me and sign up for a project real soon. You can even sign-up before next Sunday online.