For Others in Our Neighborhood

Let’s open our Bible together to Mark chapter 6, and we’ll be in verses 7-12. Today is the first day of the next three weeks that were learning our third part of our vision statement, For Others. Holiness, and discipleship will always lead a Christian to be on mission For Others. For everyone who is a follower of Jesus, this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. When you chose to follow Jesus, you signed up—not just to support others for mission trips, but to live a missional life.

And so, for the next three weeks counting today, I want to invite you to consider what it means for your life, to Carry the presences of Jesus, together ,with others. Let’s dive into our Scripture this morning. Mark 6, verses 7-13, 7 And called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.

10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Jesus sent out his disciples out. Now, we don’t know exactly how long they were gone but we do know it was for a brief time because they returned to him. If we would keep on reading , we would actually see that after word reaches Jesus of John the Baptist’s death, and then, right before the feeding of the 5,000 in verse 30, we wittiness them returning. Just a side note, when they return in verse 30, I do want you to noice the importance of rest.

Just a promo, here in the new year I'm working on a series of messaged about Sabbath and Simplicity. But right now, I want to focus on verse 7, it says, 7 And called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. There’s so much we can unpack here together, but lets just think about what we’re seeing here. First, think about who Jesus sent, The twelve.

Ordinary men. If you recall a couple weeks ago we said that Jesus doesn’t necessarily call the mature as much as he calls those who’s willing to make themselves available. But lets just think about this for a moment… this wasn’t Jesus’s all star team. Up to this point, this wasn’t a Moses, or an Abraham, or a king David. No.. just a bunch of outcasts like a, tax collector, a zealot, a doubter, a betrayer, and blue color fishermen who all had personal issues.

If you need even more proof, just flip over two chapters and if you recall, Jesus told the parable of the soils and these guys were clueless. In chapter five you find these men frustrated. Now, here’s the part in verse 7 that I want to focus on, look with me. It says, he sent them out. You can circle that if you want. But then, go further in verse seven and also circle gave them authority.

To be sent out, the greek work here is apostello, which is where we get the word apostle. It means to be sent out but also to be sent out with another persons authority. That is the picture of what’s happening here. Jesus is authorizing this group of disciples to go out in His name with His authority to do His work in His power. And so, here’s a point… If your walk with Jesus is always about your comforts, you’ll never call yourself out of your own comfort zone to seek the lost.

Never. People will never see the importance of missions when it’s about personal comfort, and our own authority. These kinds of people will always see “the mission” as someone else’s job, or someone else’s call…. Or someone else’s problem…. But Not thier own. Because This is so important to grasp. Listen, These guys weren’t going out to start their own work; they were extending Jesus’ work. They were not going out on their own; they were going out in Jesus’ name, as Jesus’ representatives, with Jesus’ message, Jesus’ power and Jesus’ authority to do Jesus’ work.

The whole point is that they would be going out in Jesus’ name, under his authority, and under his leadership. The same is true for us. I am around people every week. I think about our demographic in our area, our county a lot. Lycoming county is roughly 45% Christian. That’s what the statistics say… If that is true, that means 55% of the people we’re around everyday do no know Jesus.

If that is true, 55% of our neighbors, and 55% of our co workers, and 55% of our friends and family. There are 62,000+ people by statistics alone, eternally lost. And I’m not confident that 45% of the people who claim christianity are saved either. All kinds of people call themselves Christians and go to church who are not followers of Jesus. But imagine, though, if those numbers were true, if those 55% of people living around us were to die right now, they would go to everlasting, never-ending judgment and suffering.

I’m thinking about our church family, right here, right now in this city, and the opportunity we have to make disciples and multiply churches. I’m thinking about the opportunity we have as we sign a 50 year partnership with Montoursville little league. I think of all the parents and grandparent and more importantly the children who we can touch with the gospel. Just Friday of this week a little girl at Loyalsock valley elementary took my hand and said, I know you.

And I looked at her and said, oh… how is that? And she goes, you’re Abbagail’s father, and I was at your baseball field. This was a little girl… I have no clue what Abby and I did to make her and I such an impressible person to that little girl remembered us from 4 months ago, but she remembered our ball field. We’ve got to decide in our life right now, who’s calling us out into this mission field.

The second word of encouragement I have for you is this.. look with me in verses 8-9… 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. He charged them to go, but to go and take nothing. When I pack, I put the suitcase on the bed, and I begin to place all the clothes I need, the charging cords, the books, the shoes and don’t forget the toiletry bag just filled to the zipper with stuff.

Can you imagine going into your bedroom and laying everything out for a mission trip on your bed, and Jesus walks in and says put on one set of clothes and grab your toothbrush and let’s get out of here. The picture we see is this, Mission people are people trusting in Jesus’s provisions. This faith in Jesus wasn’t just a one nighter of kindness, but a journey of faith. Remember a month or two ago I asked this question, is faith really faith if we never step out into the unknown?

Where in the Bible does it say that the more comfortable we are, the more faith we receive? Where I the Bible does it say, your faith will offer you a country club experience? I’ve been saturating in hebrews for a few weeks. One day I was reading chapter 11 and in my CSB Bible I began to get focused on this phrase, by faith… over 23 times there is these phrases, by faith.

Chapter 11 says, that although he did not know where he was going, speaking of Abraham, he still went by faith. Listen church… This is so important. Don’t miss this. You don’t need faith, you don’t need to trust in God, to live out a quiet, casual, comfortable Christianity over the next three weeks. You can do nothing. You don't need faith to come to church. You don’t need the power of God to live out cultural Christianity, where you’re silent with the gospel.

Millions upon millions of professing Christians are doing that on their own every week. But Jesus is calling us to something greater, something higher. He’s calling us to step out in faith, putting our lives and reputations on the line. For the next three weeks, I’m going to challenge you in this. I’m gonna challenge us to say, “God, I don’t want to sit back and settle for self-centered, self-saturated, casual, comfortable cultural Christianity.

That’s not what I was made for. I was made for so much more. Listen, you’re heart was changed from death to life to do more than find comfort. You’re heart wasn’t designed to hoard the grace and the gospel of God for yourself. Because I believe… if you desire joy… right.. the joy of the Lord. Joy is found in pleasing the father. Joy is created through being satisfied in Christ alone, who cries out, Abba Father, and Jesus says, his mission was to seek the lost.

God is waiting for His people to step out and trust Him to do what only He can do through us. Our faith, His provision. Say that with me.. Our faith, His provision. The third encouragement we learn in this Scripture is where the rubber meets the road.. and it’s the one thing that I think is the greatest deterrent for many to step away from missions. Look with me in verse 12, would someone read that for us?

12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. The primary thing we do with being on mission is calling people to repent. Lets dig into this deeper… What are you going to do, as you’re out there with nothing but your outfit and toothbrush? Well, pastor, I’m going to go to work, or to my neighbors house, or out in public and I’m gonna smile all the time and be happy, and I’m gonna be nice to others.

Okay, that’s good, but really? Don’t you think…. aren’t we called to be more than just nice to others? I mean, yes we’re to be good to others, but isn’t our faith meant for more? How can one, by faith, through grace have the authority of Christ, and Christ in them, and forming them, and changing them, to only hope that our kindness will proclaim to a person to repent? Let me just say, it’s scary to ask another person to repent.

It’s got to be the right time. We can’t just walk up to total strangers and go, repent, you evil sinful person. We might get clocked in the nose. Right? The beauty of leaning on Jesus and His provision, and God’s timing… and sensing the Spirits moving in our hearts, and seeing God’s hand move through the lives of those around us. I remember at the fair where I volunteered to share the gospel with hundreds of people.

From 10am, to 9pm I preached the gospel, and with my paper, drew out the gospel of God’s love and then every person I interacted with all said they were almost saved. Every single person. I’m here.. pointing to the point right before going to Jesus. And I would ask them.. what’s stopping you form reaching Jesus into your heart right now? What’s stopping you from saying, Jesus I have sinned.

I’ve turned aside from God and His ways to myself and my own ways, so my sin has separated me from God. And although I deserve eternal separation, GOd sent his son, Jesus Who has paid the price for our sin by dying on a cross. And Jesus raised from the dead in three days, and so In victory over death, so that anyone, anywhere who repents—turns from their sin, their selves and every attempt to save themselves, who believes and trusts in the good news of God’s love for us in Jesus—will be forgiven of all their sin and restored to a right a good relationship with God for all of eternity.

Thats not my message. That’s gods message and I am inviting you today, to believe in it. This is why you hear, repent and believe in the gospel. But the truth is, not everyone will listen. Even that day when I was open evangelizing. Not every person I gave the gospel to received Jesus. And I cried. And cried, and I kept praying.. honestly, I didn’t witness one person from my conversation come to Christ till the evening.

But what do we do when they reject it? That’s what verse 11 shows us, This picture of shaking the dust off our feet if people don’t listen to you is basically a symbolic gesture to indicate that somebody, or a group of people, or even a town, had rejected Jesus’ call to repent. Listen, it is not our responsibility to force repentance. If people rejected the gospel, Jesus said, “You’ve done your responsibility.

How they respond is their responsibility.” We learn this in Ezekiel chapter 33. God says, imagine you’re on the watch tower and your looking for enemies. You’re looking for danger, as long as you sound the horn and the people inside the walls hear it, they will have a choice to respond. If they don’t respond and they’re harmed or killed, you warned them, so their blood is on their hands.” But if you’re the watchman on the tower, and you see danger, but yet you do not blow the horn, you don’t sound the warning, and the people are hurt, then God says, “The blood of those people is on your hands.” So I want us to see this picture.

There are 112,000 people in this county. And many of them we will interact with at work, or school, or at the grocery store, for whom eternal danger is coming at any moment. So think of this… we can’t control how people will respond to the gospel, but do you know what we can control? Whether or not people hear this gospel. So the question is: will they hear this good news or warning from us, or are we going to be silent over the next two weeks, with everlasting danger heading their way, but we’re saying nothing?

I didn’t always have a heart for the lost. If I’m honest with you, I didn’t have a heart for the lost until December of 2019. I’ve been evangelizing the amazing people of Timberend for almost a year by then and I got a message that this woman, and she was in the hospital and many in the Timberend group chat was asking for prayer for this lady. So, I made a cold call to her hospital room on that Wednesday.

She didn’t know me, I didn’t know her, but I went to her room, and immediately was kept at the door because staff was in her room cleaning, and she was getting her food, and the nurses were giving medication and caring for her. She was alert and sober in mind, she saw me. I was young, and inexperienced. I felt that I was more of a bother for her with all the other things going on, so I introduced myself, and I said, Nancy it seems its a bit busy..

can I come back in a couple days and visit you? And she nodded and responded back to me, yes… Two days later her son writes on our group chat that his mother had passed. God sent me to preach the gospel to her and I was turned away by not wanting to inconveniencing her more. Because I know I could have waited, but I didn’t. So do you know what God did…

he made sure I never forgot that moment and that woman. Her son called me over the weekend after she had passed and said, you were the last person to see my mom… would you consider to officiate her funeral. My first funeral as a senior pastor was for a woman that I was led by the Spirit to preach the gospel to in the hospital, and she died before I got to ask her if she knew Jesus.

God help us not to be silent in this church when so many people out there are going to eternal judgment. God help us to stop sitting here a building playing roulette with the lives of those we claim to love. My testimony is a reminder of this… and it’s our final word of encouragement… look with me in verses 12 and 13: 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. We can take days talking about casting out demons and such.. but what I want to show you is this… Jesus was clearly calling His followers to go to people in need and care for them. He wanted his disciples to know that compassion is a part of the mission. We can’t come up with some sort of open door policy and go, come if you want, the doors are unlocked and opened.

And if you dont come, that’s you’re fault. No, that’s not Christ like.. Jesus says, you go to them, and you proclaim the gospel, call for repentance and anoint them. Do you know why anointing is important? In James 5 the oil was a symbol of the presence and grace of God. It is a beautiful picture. Jesus is saying, “Go to people in need and care for them in such a way that they see My presence is with them and My grace is for them.” What a picture!

What an amazing picture that is given to us today. What if, we became a church that actually looked below the surface of everyday life and everyday lives, and into the deeper lives of the people around us and we had compassion for them? Let’s intentionally ask, “Who is hurting around me? How can I help them in such a way that they see in me that God is with them and God is for them?” Wouldn’t that be amazing?

To be on mission, to rely on his provision, to share His message, and to show his love. This is a calling for all of us. And right now, you and I get to choose whether we’ll be watchmen to sound the alarm, or not. You and I get to choose whether or not we’ll show compassion or not. My prayer is that we will be men and woman who seek the lost at all cost.

And we have some amazing opportunities already, Jesus says, the harvest is ready, but the workers are few. I want to end our time together with communion. As we share communion I want to say something. We are a body. You and I, we are a family in a way…in a way that supersedes blood ties. We have such a hard time grasping that, but this is the beauty of the New Testament church.

Today, is a special day because we’ve been taking communion every single Sunday for a couple months now, of course, minus last Sunday. My desire for us today is this… why not renew our commitment to Christ and to each other and our commitment to His mission. Would you be willing to do that? 1 Corinthians 11:26 says, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The lords supper is a proclamation.

It’s not just eating and drinking, it’s proclaiming. When we take the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim we are a body, who comes from every tribe and nation and tongue, united together by the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. Secondly, communion is a moment of rejoicing. why do we rejoice in the Lord’s Supper? Because He has set us free. We’re not enslaved to sin, the things of this world, or to ourselves, we are sons and daughters of God.

And because of this relationship… we rejoice. My Brothers and sisters, when we take this bread together, and we eat of it together, we are looking back and remembering the body of Christ, but we are also anticipating the day when we are before the eternal glory of God, with new bodies. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

My Brothers and sisters, when we take this cup together, and we drink this cup together, we are looking back and remembering the blood of Christ, but we are also anticipating the day when we will share the cup with our risen Savior. The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

Let’s sing one last time as our benediction, verse 4 of power in the blood. *

Generosity

If you have Bible—and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with—let me invite you to open with me to Mark Chapter 12. It’s good to be together again around God’s Word. This is how I would like to begin. I want to begin with a challenge. I know that I’m competitive. So, challenges are things that help me take the next step many times, especially in my faith.

What I want to challenge us to do, and of course in the days ahead, is to give God a blank check with our church. To say to God, “God, if you want us to sell the building, although we do not want to do that, but if you ever call us to do it, we’ll do it. God, if you want us to eliminate every single program we have, we’ll do it.

God, if you want us to totally reorganize our community of faith, we’ll do it. Here’s a blank check; no strings attached.” Those are challenges where we take our lives and we say, I’m a blank check… Lord, cash me in anyway way you see fit. I want to be, absolutely surrendered to you and your will. And why not.. Last week we learned that Jesus has full authority over our lives, and over the world, even when we do not acknowledge it.

And even when we do acknowledge it, but yet still do not bend the knee to his will. It doesn’t matter hai you are, Jesus is King. He is king whether or not anyone bends the knee now or not, He is king. Whether anyone acknowledge it or not, he’s still king. And he calls us into being a part of the kingdom. Right? He is the the king. I am the dumb…

when you put us together we have the kingdom. Can I ask you, in thinking of competitions and challenges and and being a blank check. Did you know that Jesus cheers for you? I want to explore that today as we look at generosity. Let’s look into Marks gospel, chapter 12 and find with me verses 41-44.. let’s read the word of the Lord together. 41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money.

Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” If you would just go back into the previous verses of this chapter, you would have seen some pretty tough moments for Jesus.

For instance, they asked Jesus should we pay taxes or shouldn’t we? Then the Sadducees came who didn’t believe in the resurrection and began asking him questions about marriage. If this guy dies, and leaves this wife, who does she remarry, because of this or that. Then, if that isn’t hard enough to deal with, scribes come along and hear all of Jesus’s wisdom and asks, well which is the greatest commandment?

The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus with some trick questions. So you can imagine Jesus just constantly teaching and there has to be a significant amount of weariness and discouragement in his soul. He’s got to be tired. I know I would have been. So, what’s interesting is I believe after this whole ordeal with the trick questions and the constant teaching, Jesus needed to be encouraged. And so, he goes into the place where the offerings are being taken, and he sits down on the 50 yard line of the giving box.

And he waits, and watches. Mark tells us that Jesus watches many rich people come into the temple and put in large amounts of money Then, In verse 42 we see this transition word “Then.” Whenever we see this this word “then” what it denotes is that there is a transition and it clues in the reader that something important is about to happen. Look with me in verse 42… 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. So Mark tells us that this widow came and and she dropped two small coins. It is interesting that Mark makes sure that we know that it is 2 small coins. How does he know? I dunno. I’ve read this account in commentaries and it usually says, that you could hear the rich peoples money clanging on the sides of the collection jar as they would dumped their massive mounts of money.

These collection jars were like metal, brass trumpet looking horns. So when you dropped the money in, it would ring. I guess this was like the early day Long Johns Silvers bell. Right? If you enjoyed your food, you would ring the bell as you would leave to let everyone know you had a jolly roger of a time. But we see in the NLT, Mark says two small coins, which are called mites.

But here is what really caught my attention. Regardless of of the difference between the rich and the poor… This unnamed widow chooses to show overwhelming generosity and as she gives…...Jesus is watching her. And Jesus is cheering her on. Jesus is making her an example something that needs to be celebrated. He’s cheering for her. She doesn’t even know it… but Jesus is watching and cheering her on. Now watch this..

why does Jesus cheer her on? As the widow woman approaches the offering box with all she has, she is embodying the very posture of Jesus himself. The Goodness of God is reflected in the life of this poor widow woman. How’s that? Well let’s see, look with me in verse 43.. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” In this moment, Jesus takes the time to call the disciples over and to celebrate her act because it was an act that directly reflected the posture of Christ. Will the rich be blessed for giving… of course. Let me just say this… our western culture culture tells us that there is always this good and bad to everything.

This yin and yang to daily life and stories we live and tell. If the widow is the focal point of Jesus’s teaching, then our culture sometimes automatically makes us think that the rich people are the bad guys. I don’t believe this is the case. This isn’t Jesus saying, the rich are bad, and the poor are good. This is simply Jesus looking at everyday moments in life, and seeing the goodness of God shine through.

However, Jesus wanted the disciples to see her because her act was the preview of what He was about to do. And that was to go to the cross. I mean, think about this… just two chapters before this Jesus says, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10: 41-45 This moment with the widow was a teaching moment for his disciples as Jesus cheered her on.

And the tremendous truth to be gleaned from the text is this: Jesus wasn’t interested in what was in her hand but rather what was in her heart. You see, this tremendous sacrifice, of giving everting she had in the temple was a was a demonstration and byproduct of a heart of generosity and surrender. This heart of generosity and surrender was the very heart of Jesus. Think of this… before the Holy Spirit and pentecost Jesus is seeing himself in this woman.

He sees, sacrifice. Her heart was one of surrender and sacrifice. Think about it… The woman was a widow.. so that meant that to be a woman during these times, and a widow, You were always at the mercy of others to care for you. You’re not rich.. this isn’t some cougar out there in the temple looking for a rich man. This is a woman, giving, and sacrificing and surrendering everything she had.

And that meant that if she had to live at the mercy of others, she was also living at the mercy of God. When I think of widows and sacrificing and surrendering to the mercy of others, I think of my mom. My father passed when we moved here and my mother had nothing to pay for anything. The house had to be paid, the utilities, the car, and on top of that she had to come up with over 3,000 dollars to bury her husband.

And all I can say is this… she was at the mercy of others, and God has stepped in and made sure my mother was cared for. She owns the house and land now, she has a car, she’s daily cared for by God. What we can begin to take away from this is this truth: SACRIFICE TURNS OUR HEARTS TOWARDS GENEROSITY. When we’re willing to sacrifice things because of the goodness of God, We’re able to experience the provisions of God.

Think of David when he writes, “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8 That’s not only an invitation for us to come and taste, but its also a promise that reminds us that we can trust in God.

And the provision…. Did you see what it was? It was joy. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him… that’s joy. You’re provision is joy… Think about this… you’re leading someone to Christ and they go, what’s the perks of being a Christian? And you answer joy! When you are persecuted you will have abundant joy! When you are ridiculed for being a Christian, you will have joy!

Could you live your life knowing that you may not be rich, or famous, or well known… but in every circumstance you can have peace and joy that surpasses all knowledge? You see, when we have the provision of joy in our life, that’s from God… that means we have trust, and True trust in the Lord always brings transformation and a change in trajectory in our lives. What I mean by that is this…

transformation of our hearts, and trust in God will always change how generous I am. Let me explain that… The psalmists proclaims in Psalm 119:36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way (NKJV). SO, the beginning of this joy we speak of comes when? When I turn my eyes from looking at worthless things in my life and I look to God's ways to be my ways.

And so David wanting GOd’s ways, begins like this… incline my heart. This is a heart that desires God more than anything else. David longs that his life be one of generosity not one of covetousness, or selfishness. And so when we see this word inclines, what we see is David is putting his heart in a posture. Think of it like this, When I think about incline, I also think of the word inclination.

Inclination is the persons natural tendency to feel a certain way. To be a certain way. I want my natural tendency and response to be that of Jesus Christ. I want my inclination to be the testimony of Jesus and His unbelievable generosity toward me. I realize that for the human heart many of our inclination isn’t to be inclined to God and to generosity. Let’s be honest, most times we see hearts willing to decline or recline.

But sacrifice and surrender is a heart condition. Think of David in Psalm 51:16-17, Where he write, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. I’ve learned in my life and walk with Jesus, that if I offer God sacrifice without being totally surrendered to Him, I will always give him less than my all to him.

Every time….. No matter what I sacrifice… Time. Money. Comfort. Every time I sacrifice anything without being totally surrendered, I always find a way to give God less than my all. And most times its because there’s a war in my heart of all the things I find competing against God. Jesus isn’t king of my heart, he’s just a compartment. That should fight for the right to be upfront of all that I sacrifice and due.

How is that absolute surrender? How’s that a meaningful sacrifice? It’s like how the saying goes, “You can give without loving but you can’t love without giving.” I can give to someone homeless, but yet not love them. I can give my time to help someone, but be not really care or have compassion for them. Have you ever noticed in your life that you can be in the same room with someone in your family but have little to do with them because you’re engaged in other things?

I mean, think of this… now days we have cell phones and it’s nothing today to go to someones home, even our home, and even to the restaurant and see people total engaged in their phone more than the person. Try it sometime, because I’m guilty of this as well. Go somewhere and watch people. Here’s one… how many times have we watched a tv show and as soon as a commercial comes on, we find ourselves immediately looking at our phones.

And listen, don’t hear what I am not saying. It can be ok to be in the same room as someone and not engage them. It’s okay to be able to sit in silence with the people that we care about, but if you want to know that person and be known by them, there are just certain things that you’re going to need to do or want to do to engage with them, and that’s really what the invitation that we in Davids life when he reminds us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

But it is easy to give and to sacrifice and yet not love. And, Lord help us if we live our lives like that because we are no where near being Christ like if we do not love. I can come here every Sunday, and give, and sacrifice, and sacrifice and give, and be the greatest and most generous giver, while even sacrificing working overtime or doing something else with my life, and yet, still miss the point that I only give out of my surplus like the rich, but not out of my total and utter surrender to be like the widow.

It was her heart that Jesus saw… The woman's heart was inclined and focused on God. And because it was focused on God, her sacrifice was not a waste, but, get this… her sacrifice became a heart felt act of worship…. When our moment by moment sacrifices become acts worship, our everyday life begins to overflow with generosity. That’s true because we know our source. We no longer live out of our surplus, but by faith and trust in the Lords goodness.

I want to close us with 7 lifestyles of being generous… Practice generosity with your time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. Each day there are so.many moments we use our time for meaningless things. The older I get, the more I realize how much of my life I’ve wasted on stupid things.

Hours of playing video games, hours of living life for myself. Each day, God gives us a new day, with new mercies to use wisely. Maybe I can find ways to use it to bless others? Be Generous with your words. Proverbs 16:24 says, Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Words are powerful, not because we can speak things into existence (which we can’t), but because of how much they can affect others.

Just the other day, I was getting short with Abby because she didn’t know how to put a tent up, and I was tired, and aggravated. We need to be reminded about how our words can lift or tear down. And remember this.. Kind words cost you nothing but may mean everything to someone. Share your gifts, talents and skills Our sign is being built by someone who has gifts, talents and skills in woodworking.

I Peter 4:10, says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. You can also be generous with your talents and skills by using them outside of your job, and for free. Someone once asked me how much do I charge for wedding and funerals. I said nothing. They gasped. Well, how else you supposed to make a living? I believe God blesses those who are generous, and Im called into ministry not for money, but to serve.

Be generous with your possessions. Im working on it, and it’s hard… but I’m working on being a minimalist. And I’ve many times given away many of my things, like electronics and such. Be generous with your things and lay up treasures in heaven. You know it was coming.. Practice generosity with your money. Give as you can afford to give, and as much as you want. Don’t give out of obligation or necessity.

God cares more about what’s in your heart than what’s in your hand. Here is one we forget often.. be generous in extending mercy and forgiveness. Jesus teaches us in Luke 6: 36,37 that we can be more merciful to others and more forgiving. Wherever you are in forgiving someone else, just know this.. you can always forgive them more. I believe that. Not holding on to grudges, giving the benefit of the doubt, not jumping to conclusions, not being quick to judge others.

And lastly, Practice generosity with intentional acts of kindness. No one knows who said it, but there is a saying that goes, “Always give without remembering, and always receive without forgetting” I think what it means is this… give with humility, receive with gratefulness. I hope these help you become generous.. lets; pray. *

Who Is Jesus?

Two weeks ago we began a new teaching series called, Elements, “The building blocks of our faith.” Our goal as a church is to learn the ground level beliefs of our faith and how all of these blocks fit together to have a better understanding of who God is and our relationship with him. Today I want to ask this question… “who is Jesus?” If someone asks you, “Who is Jesus?” How would you answer?

Would you describe to them the characteristics Jesus’s? He’s compassionate. He’s a servant. He’s loving, kind and forgiving. What about using biblical quotes to answer the question who is Jesus? Well Saul, known as Paul was blinded on the road and Jesus referred to himself as Jesus the Nazarene that he pursues to persecute. How about Ponius Pilate? He asked Jesus, are you the king of the jews? If someone was to ask, Who is Alicia Waggoner.

I don’t say.. she’s the daughter of Doug French and Jeanie Kanagy. She was born on January 4th, 1984. And went to school in Huntingdon, PA No… How would I answer the question, Who is Alicia? I would say, She’s my wife and I am her husband. She’s my life’s partner. She’s my best friend. I would even say, Alicia is my biggest supporter. When the hardships of life and ministry begin to weigh upon me, she’s there to encourage and to care for and bandage the wounds of ministry.

What we learn is that when the question is asked, who is Alicia…. I don’t answer with characteristics or her qualities,……. I answer that question relationally. And the reality is, Only when we truly know someone deeply, can we answer who they are through relationship. I want to read a Scripture from the gospel of Mark and in chapter 8, if you would like, turn with me to Mark 8. And let’s look at the question, with a relational intent, who is Jesus?

Beginning in verse 27… Im going to read it with a little bit of commentary. 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. Jesus has been ministering in Galilee and a lot has happened. His own town rejected him, his beloved cousin, John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus sent the disciples out to call for repentance. We find in chapter 8 that Jesus feeds the 4,000 and the pharisees demand a sign from Jesus to prove his authority.

And so, we find Jesus and the disciples making their way up from Galilee to Caesarea Philippi. The place where Jesus will eventually say to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. And so, Jesus asked his disciples… “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” It’s really a question to test the faith of the disciples.

Right? I mean, how many times have you been around someone that has said something negative about someone else, knowing that they have had very little, to no relationship with that person. Think about it…? How many times have we judged or Assassinated someones character based off of what someone else has said about them? And not only that, but how many times have we based our judgment on someone without really having any relationship to them.

Right? As humans it is easy for us to judge a persons character based off of the lens of someone else’s perception. And most times the hardest part is hearing the negativity of what has been said and being open ourselves to the fact that most perceptions of those who is assassinating someone’s else’s character, They’re subjective. Meaning that the truth they speak of, might be true to them, but is mainly truth based off of personal feelings and experiences without deep relationship with the one they are gossiping against.

But Jesus isn’t looking for the disciples to get this wrong, he’s looking to gauge their faithful relationship to him, not to what others would say about him. So he turns to his disciples and in a wya goes, ok well Im not interested in who they think I am.. let me ask the 12 of you…. 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” That’s relationship.

Jesus’s main concerned isn’t about what others think he is… most of them I would bet aren’t even following him. You see, he’s drawing his disciples in and away from other peoples subjectives truths to focus on the objective truth of who he is… this objective truth is built off of this… Deep personal Relationship. And so, how did Peter answer… Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Messiah was a huge term to use. It’s translated as Christo’s. Meaning, the anointed one. Christ. You’ll be surprised that Christ isn’t Jesus last name… Christo’s, is the word for Messiah. Messiah means, anointed one. And we find in Scripture three offices where one would be anointed. There were three elected and established offices where they gathered… poured oil over your head and declared you the anointed one to fulfill this place.

And it was Prophet, priest and king. So the first is Prophet…. Jesus as the anointed prophet. A prophet was one who would speak for God. And they usually would say something like this….. “thus saith the Lord.” But Jesus wasn’t just any prophet, but “the” greatest prophet. And he didn’t say, thus saith the Lord, he would say I say unto you… He didn’t speak for God, he spoke as God.

And he speaks to us with a prophetic message. Let me ask…What was usually the message a prophet would bring? A prophet would bring to the people the message of repentance. All Throughout Israel’s history, God sent prophets to his people to speak on his behalf, to call them away from the unfaithfulness of idolatry and back to him. It was a tough anointing and position because no one wants to hear the message of a prophet.

No one wants to hear, repent you sinful people and bring your hearts back in line with God’s word. So, What was Jesus’s message? His message was: Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. I think we always miss that sometimes… and no I’m not trying to downplay the cross… that’s a good part. The best part is His resurrection because there would be no reason for us to be here today if we didn’t believe by faith in the resurrection of Jesus…

But how many times have we glazed over scriptures like Matthew 4:17 when Jesus comes out of the wilderness and the Bible says, “ from then on, Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. As greatest Prophet, he calls us to repent and to return. His message is the ultimate message of the kingdom. It’s greater than any of the messages to ever be given.

It’s greater than Moses’s message and greater than Elijah’s. At Jesus’s transfiguration in Matthew 17:5, when the Father announces that Jesus is his beloved Son, he adds the command, “Listen to him” It points back into the old Testament word in Deuteronomy 18:15: 15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers (He’s speaking of Jesus prophetically)—it is to him you shall listen— And when Jesus transfigures?

Who shows up? Moses and Elijah. The message is clear: Jesus is the greater prophet — the greatest prophet — the actual living Word of God. He spoke not on God’s behalf, but as God. He spoke not just the words of God, but as the word of God. That’s what Johns gospel introduces to us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus spoke not with the authority of God, but with all the authority of being God!

His word is his word.. and it’s final. Because he’s anointed and appointed by God. Jesus is also the highest of priest. Priest are the mediators between God and man. When I was in middle school I became a peer mediator. My role was when two people would argue, fight or have a disagreement, I was trained to Interject between the two parties and bring them into a solid understanding towards peace.

And what was the base issue in most arguments and misunderstandings? Poor communication. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,…” So, we have no one but Jesus to mediate between us and God. Sadly many of us are missing out on relationship with Jesus because we have poor communication with him. If you really want to see how Jesus mediates between us and God, I would challenge you to read the book of John, chapters 14-17.

That is known as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. If I was given only a few chapters for the rest of my life, I would choose John chapters 14-17… Jesus prays for you and me. He interceded for you and me before the cross. He begins in chapter 14 with the truth by saying, I am the way, truth and life. No one comes near the fathers except through Him.

He sets himself up as the mediator, the hight priest of God’s people. Then in chapter 15 he promises the holy Spirit. Who will lead his people into all truth… so where does the Spirit lead??… to Jesus who is the word, who is the truth, who is the high priest. Who intercedes for us between God and man. Chapter 15 talks about being children of God and being attached to the true vine.

Jesus said, I am the vine and you are the branches. And all through these four chapters, one main truth is evident. Those who belong to Jesus are called, to bare fruit. And not just any kind of fruit but eternal fruit. He warns everyone, the world will hate you, but I have put my spirit within you. This is why Paul says in Romans, 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Jesus is the greatest mediator. He doesn’t have a term. It doesn’t run out. It was bought by his very blood. So God the Father expects that what we do, we do not do on our own, but we do through Jesus.

We face our loneliness through Jesus. We face our hurt and rejection of others, through Jesus. Jesus becomes our real help in times of trouble and trials. Jesus is our permeant and forever mediator…. Because He’s anointed and appointed by God almighty. He’s also the king of kings. Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” What government is he talking about? I believe one of the greatest misconceptions that we believe… is that we are a christian nation…. I’m sorry but we are not a Christian nation. A christian nation would be a nation that pursues holiness and oneness with Christ. I don’t see that in America. We have great intentions on being a good Christian Nation…

but we’re not and I’m not sure if we will ever be. A christian nation would seek the souls of the lost. I don’t see that being on any political ticket or agenda this voting season. When was the last time someone running for office had on their ticket, “Seeking the lost?” A christian nation would seek truth. All I see from Washington, the seat of America is that they are making us so lost in truth that we don't know what’s up or down anymore.

Billy Graham sermon in 1971… listen to what he says, “Some people say that Jesus Christ is the one upon which Western culture has been built and that America is really Jesus organization on earth. Well I want to tell you if his organization depends on the bureaucracy we built up in Washington, we’re finished. There’s not much hope for the world. Jesus Christ…he is not the establishment Christ. He’s building another kingdom.

He’s building an eternal kingdom.” Jesus reminds us in John 18:36, that My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” The kingdom we are heirs to as born again Christians is one of peace and unity. Isaiah a few chapters later would write: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” The unity the church proclaims and the kingdom we are adopted into comes from the child that is born, King of Kings.

And wherever the king is, His kingdom is there as well. Jesus is prophet who speaks for God, he is the priest that mediates between us and God and Jesus comes into our life and he asks, am I your king? Sometimes God speaks to us in inconvenient ways. And this is what he laid on my heart to share with you today… “In a world where the generation is confused about identity, Jesus asks you, who am I to you?” He is asking you a question that will either be answered by what you know about Jesus, or by your relationship with Him.

How can he be? How can Jesus relationally be our prophet, priest and king? One answer… “Galatians 2:20… I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I have been crucified. Your wants, Your desires, Your comforts, Your way of living, Your perception of how things should be….

Has All of who I am, been given over to, Jesus, the anointed one. For me, I guess the biggest question I had to ask myself was this… has what I ever wanted led me to walk closer to Christ and has my preferences ever driven me to seek the lost? Or have they been comforts to keep me comfortable where I am… I dunno about you, but relying on my preferences and comforts sounds to me a whole lot like bondage.

Everything and everyone else’s demands of me or how they think I should remain the same.. must be rendered under, The anointed words of the prophet The anointed mediation of the priest And the anointed command of my king. It’s to be answered relationally. Not just what you know about Jesus… not just what you’ve heard about Jesus… what who do you say he is? Only when we truly do not know someone do we answer with characteristics and qualities.

So hear the words of the Lord… asking you this morning….Who do you say I am? *

Doubt

Have you ever doubted something? I think we all have had doubt. Maybe even today doubt crept in. Doubt can be a lonely road when we are left wondering how to handle any situation. Or, if we’ve made the right decision or choice in our current situation. What I’ve learned in my 40 years of life was that doubt is always going to be there. It’s always going to be a part of my life.

But the hardest thing I’ve learned was that I’m not the only person in the world that doubts. Barna did a study a couple years ago, right before covid hit and they discovered that out of those who self identify as Christian. Just over one-quarter, or 26% of them said they experience spiritual doubt. Those who have been through College and encountered an array of ideas, philosophies and worldviews were twice as likely to experience doubt as those who have a high school education or less (37% vs.

19%). The study would go on and reveal how people would respond to their doubt. When faced with Spiritual doubt… The highest response was 45% responded by leaving the church. 3 out the 10 adults stopped reading the Bible and praying. While another quarter (25%) quit talking with friends or family about spirituality, God or religion. So when faced with doubt, instead of coming to church and talking about it among trusted friends and family, reading their bibles and praying, they dealt with doubt by leaving the church and figuring out their doubts either alone or perhaps not even at all.

When I think of faith and growing faith in Christ, I remember that faith grows. It’s alive. It’s active. It’s living. But also, Faith isn’t a light switch that is either on or off. It is more like a muscle; it gets stronger the more you use it. All of us are somewhere between complete faith and complete doubt. Like the father in Mark 9:24, we cry out “I do believe; help my unbelief.” And so, I realized this week.

Doubt isn’t bad because I face it, doubt is only bad if I run from it, or I don’t take care of it when it arises in my mind and my heart. Asaph in Pslam 73 is dealing with doubts. He’s not just some average guy. We’re talking about a major leader in the temple of God. And so, we find in this Psalm a leader and a teacher who faces real life tests and battles that we all face.

And he shows us how to deal with doubt in our faith. Because this Psalm isn’t just about doubt… it’s about how we deal and face doubt when it’s before us with faith. The first things we learn is to face our frustration….. Asaph I would say is lamenting. He’s writing out what’s bothering him. He begins in verse 3 and goes all the way to verse 14. Theses evil people..

They’re prospering in their wickedness. v.3 Their bodies are not bothered by arthritis and callouses and back and knee issues. They’re healthy and strong. v.4 Their not plagued with trouble or problems like everyone else. v.5 I love what the NLT says in verse 7.. these fat cats have everything their hearts could wish for. Honestly, he’s saying these people are living their best life now and it’s not fair because those who are living by righteousness, they don’t seem to have a reward.

v13 What’s the point to live righteous lives when those living wickedly reap all the benefits and the righteous are “stricken all day long and chastened every morning.” V.14 It’s a real question and it’s a real doubt by Asaph. So what does he do… he lays out a buffet of doubt onto the lap of God. He get’s it all out… I was sitting at the dinner table this week and of course in the course of my study for today, I came across a really amazing fact that I shared with our family while we were eating dinner.

I looked down at Alicia’s Zucchini that she had fried up for dinner … and I said, Hunny. Guess what I learned today… I learned that sea cucumbers throw up their guts and let the predator who’s attacking them eat their guts until their full and swim away. Now you can imagine the look on our families face as I lay out this amazing graphic scene to my wife and kids as we eat Dennies Zucchini.

But I found it fascinating… And here is what’s even cooler… they do this, knowing that once they get it out there, they can suck it all back in and regrow their guts incase another predator comes along. Now that’s a weird fact, but it’s true and an amazing fact when we consider that sometimes in our doubt we just need to get it out there. We need to share it and since we have a god that’s relational, he wants us to bring it to him, and trust in him, that he will take care of what needs to be taken care of.

I wanna believe Aspaph learned this from his king, which was David. David in Pslam 62:8 says, “Trust in the Lord at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him.” It’s hard to deal with a problem or a doubt if we’re not willing to put it all out on the table. I love how Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:7, when he says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for us” He’s talking about Jesus btw…

but Some translations say, “cast your cares.” Others say, “cast your worries.” I’m sure we can add just one more to that… why not trust in the Lord at all times and cast your doubts on Him as well? Because Jesus cares for us. The second step Asaph takes is that he asks questions and he reasons with his doubt. Verse 16 says, “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight.” What he is doing is taking his doubt and now he’s mentally beginning to wrestle with it and ask some hard questions.

And guess what… his doubt was causing him grief. Children are amazing are they not. When piper’s over I love just watching her play and seeing little hints of her attitude here and there. I love watching her curiosity. Do you want to know one reason why I think children and grandchildren are a blessing from God…Just one out of the many… but one reason. I believe in all of God’s wisdom and all of God’s love for us.

He gives us opportunities to be around children for them to teach us the truth that asking questions is ok. It’s ok… it’s ok to doubt. It’s ok to reason through our doubt… It’s ok to Ask questions. Jesus said, “… unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, ESV). When we are around kids I believe God blesses us with their presence because they’re to remind us that we’re never too old to ask questions.

We need them just as much as they need us. Just like we as the church body, need each other to grow and sharpen one another in our faith. That’s the value we find in discipleship. That’s why we gather to pray and to read, and to encourage and to ask questions like, how can I better serve you. How can I pray for you… it’s awful hard to let our doubts get in the way of asking questions when we’re busy enjoying the adventure to learn with one another.

And so what we find out is that there is this joy in adventuring to find something we value. What if… and I’m Just asking.. but what if what we value having the company of Jesus and each other’s company on this adventure we call faith and life? What if, When Doubt begins to rear it’s head in our life, instead of not sharing it, perhaps like the statistics show and running away, what if, God had some weird plan to have brothers and sisters in Christ share their doubt with each other, knowing that Jesus makes a way for forgiveness, and grace, and mercy and love and understanding.

We remind ourselves of having a child like faith with the wiliness to ask the tough questions? What if… it’s really not about getting the right answer, as much as it is walking life together in Christ and with each other? Well what do you mean by that pastor… what I mean is this… what if worship and relationship was the answer to our doubts? Obviously Asaph was troubled by his doubt…

I don’t think he’s trouble by his doubt because he doesn’t know the answer. I believe He’s troubled by his doubt because he’s taken his eyes off the one who holds the answer. Right… He says, I’ve tried to understand my doubt but I couldn’t… so what did he do? Well verse 17 says he went to the sanctuary. Do you know what the sanctuary is here in this text… you guessed it…

he went to be in God’s presence. Verse 17….”Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.” Asaph was having trouble understanding his doubt because he wasn’t laying it out before God, he was trying to lay it out before himself. He was trying to understand and reason a worldly problem with a worldly mindset. And no matter what he thought, or what he said, or what he did…

it all came up with the same outcome. He was still stuck in his doubt… and it was troublesome to him. So he went to the sanctuary to be in God’s presence and that is where transformation happened. Because once he begins to align his heart and mind through worship. All the things he was troubled over began to find their proper place in relationship to who God is. That’s because, Worship reframes the way we see God, the way we see ourselves, and how we see others.

What kind of benefit do we gain when we are near God? Well, first Asaph tells us that despite our jealously and bitterness, God is still present with us. Verse 23 says, “Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.” I love the fact that we have Jesus praying in the garden in our foyer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked over here to be alone in the sanctuary and I come into the church and I take a moment to look intently at our painting.

I stare at that painting more intimately now because God opened my heart to the truth and the power of the word yet. Jesus was about to be betrayed. Matthew tells of Jesus praying in chapter 26, verse 39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; Jesus was about to go to the cross.

He was staring at the cup of sin. He was thinking of the agony of the cross and in a split moment he asked the father if there was any other way…. But what stood in the enemies way to derail the savior onto the cross was one word… Jesus said, yet not as I will, but as You will.” Asaph said I might not understand, I might be doubting, but yet I still belong to you Lord and you hold my hand and lead me…

He’s a debtor just like Paul said he was a debtor to Christ. I’ve found in my walk that sometimes I need to learn to turn from being a doubter and focus more on being a debtor. Doubting can lead me to be self focused, while being a debtor leads me to be God and others focused. He also finds in verse 24 that God guides him when he worships. You guide me with your counsel.

He’s being guided. This is the language of letting God lead him. You hold my right hand, and you lead me. Like a parent and a child. Like a Shepard leading his flock to the cool waters and green pastures. His focus isn’t on the destination, he’s focused on who’s leading him. How do we know this… Look in verse 28.. The best conclusion to be drawn from the psalm is found in v28 28: He writes, But for me, it is good to be near God; and I have made God my refuge.

When presence matters most we find the most joy in our relationship to God. I’ve found that sometimes as we seek God, He can seem difficult to find at times. Sometimes in our doubt we try seeking God but we don’t sense his presence. We don’t sense him coming along side of us and holding our hands and leading us through the crossroads of our doubt. And in the pursuit of our seeking, it can be easy to doubt that He’s there at all.

But what I have learned is that sometimes it’s not about God making himself known to us, as much as it’s about the joy and the delight of the Journey to find Him. I want to end our time together with something I thought was very interesting about the statistic I first shared about doubt. When those people who were polled faced doubt, they were asked a very simple question… Where did you go to find help and answers.

What do you think the highest answer was this… 40% of the people polled said that they went to Friends and family to help deal with their doubt. What if… the journey to find God was never meant for us to journey it alone? What if the journey was meant for us to gather together in a sanctuary, just like Asaph had done, to worship, to yearn, to seek Jesus…. together with others?

When Mary and Martha called Jesus to come because the one he loved, Lazarus had passed away. What did Jesus do… he stayed where he was for a little longer instead of going at the request of Mary and Martha… You see, when Jesus arrived in their mourning people had gathered. What if instead of us walking this crossroads of faith alone, we instead gathered together as a body, worshipped together…

and God took us all by the hand and led our hearts into the intimate relationship with Him? You see… this is how I see the church. This is what I pray for every day for us at Twin Hills. That we would yearn to be here, that we would yearn to pray for one another, and that we would yearn do this faith walk together, while finding the joy of HIs presence.

Everyone of us has exierenend a time when we Thought God was unfair, or being righteous is pointless, or your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. These times become harder if we think we are alone and are the only ones to ever ask these questions or walk these paths. When we gather in the sancusary were not jut worhispping God, but were also Sharing our stories and asking questions. It’s a place where we can have the confidence to ask some tough questions.

And when we do life together, It also gives us opportinuesi for us to share with others the paths we took to find answers. Because This psalm, Psalm 73… is a testimony of the importance of sharing our story for the purpose of helping others. Because 53% of those polled said that when they went their friends, when they asked questions, when they went to the church and the Bible… 53% said their faith grew stronger.

I dont know what kind of doubts you’re dealing with today.. but I can assure you… you’re not alone. Perhaps what you need alone with all of us here… is to worship. *