Vertigo Live, January 23rd!!!

The plane is in the air! November 25th marked the final Gathering service. Click here to check out our brand new young adults ministry that will take this community into the future, and figure out how to get involved and stay connected while we take a break through December.

Our future really is bright! We've got some awesome things in store.

God bless you guys!!!

In Him,
-Tim

Give up your seat

You're sitting on an airplane and suddenly you hear the "ding." It's a different ding than normal because you know what's coming. You look down the plane and see all the people trying cram into such a small tube, and the flight attendant comes on the speakers and says, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a full flight today. If any of you are willing to give up your seat we will put you on the next flight out and give you a voucher to fly for free to anywhere in the continental United States."

You think to yourself..."Should I give up my seat? I've worked hard for this seat. I paid a lot of money for this seat. I've got places to go and people to see. I just crammed through all the people, endured the airport, got seated in my seat and just now got comfortable and got to know the people sitting next to me, and you're asking me to give up my seat?"

I know that some of you are ready for change. You are really excited about the fresh new future I've been talking about for our community. But others of you might be uncertain about how you feel about the transition.

The bottom line is, if I wasn't excited about this transition, and if I didn't think it was going to be awesome, bless you, glorify God, and propel our community into the future, then I WOULDN'T DO IT!!!! And I certainly wouldn't ask you to be a part of it.

But I do believe it is going to be awesome. I think you are going to love it and be blessed by it, and I believe it is going to glorify God. But to get there, it is going to take humility. It is going to require us to "give up our seats" so to speak. It is going to require us to say, "Okay Lord, I'm ready for you to do a new thing. I trust you, and so I give my life to you, I give these feelings to you, I give this church to you, and I give our future as a community to you."

And when we do that, Jesus says, "Okay, now we're talking! Now I can use you. Now i can bless you. Now I can make you a blessing to others. Things might not look like you expect them to, or turn out how you planned, but trust me! I have a plan. I have good things for you, but you've got to be willing to let go, and trust me. And I know that's hard, but it's time to put your faith to the test and see what I can do if you let me."

Next week is our "Take off" date. The plane is departing and it's time to get on board. January 23rd we will be landing. So be sure to come next Sunday because we will give you some "in flight" goodies, and show you how you can keep in touch with each other while we are on break. We will also talk about what we are going to be doing as a community during the break that you can be a part of to keep you plugged in until we land on January 23rd.

It was great to worship with you all!

I look forward to hanging out next Sunday night at the Gathering!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

In Him,
-Tim

The Big News!!!

So, Sunday night you all got hear directly from Bobby and me about the future of our ministry together as a community. We've been discussing change for quite some time now, but yeah! Clarity!!!

Did you miss the Gathering on Sunday night? Well, be sure to show up to the Gathering this Sunday night because I will recap what we talked about, give a little more information, and take some more questions.

Our future is bright! We get to be a part of this new thing together, and we are going to make a difference in peoples lives and in the world. You are not going to want to miss out on this awesome new thing!

Please feel free to send me questions or comments. I love and appreciate all of you, and am so excited to move into this future together.

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday (on Thursday)

Sermon for Sunday November 18th
How to Miss Your Flight:
Part 6: Give up your seat

The passage I'm working from is Luke 14:1-11, and here's the premise:

Sometimes on a plane the flight attendant will announce that if you are willing to give up your seat you will be put on the next flight out and given a voucher to fly for free anywhere in the country. The act of giving up your seat reaps blessings and rewards in the long run. Sometimes it can be difficult to think about giving up your seat. You may feel entitled to that seat, you worked hard for it, you paid a lot of money for it, but if you can let it go you will still catch a flight to the same destination, and, you will receive a free ticket for another flight.

Jesus turns a lot of things upside-down in the Kingdom of God. The last will be first, blessed are the poor, and Jesus says in Luke 14 that when you are invited to a feast, don't sit in the place of honor. Instead, sit down at the lowest place.

A lot of times we feel entitled to having things a certain way. Change can be difficult, giving up feelings of entitlement can be difficult, but if we can give up our seat, be humble and willing to let God come in and do what he wants, we will be blessed by what God pours out in our lives. Change is always inevitable. If we don't embrace it, we will be crushed by it. So if we can give up our seat, let go of feeling that things absolutely have to be a certain way in our lives or in our church and we are somehow entitled to having those things, then God will come in and bless us beyond what we could ever have received by not being humble, staying in our seats and trying to retain control.

You can miss your flight by giving up your seat, but this is a good thing because you're really not missing your flight, you will reach your destination with more blessings!

Does that make sense? I'd love your thoughts so be sure to leave a comment!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

How to Miss Your Flight: Part 4 - Carry on too much liquid

As we mature in our faith the Bible talks about moving from spiritual milk to solid food, just as a newborn baby thrives on milk and then moves to solid food. Right now we have the opportunity to try some solid food.

When Jesus called Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water, Peter couldn't worry about how big the sail was, what color the boat was painted, what the boat was named, how long they'd been sailing, how many people were in the boat, or even the storm going on around him. When Jesus called Peter, Peter had to step out in faith and keep his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.

I don't know if you understand this or not, but you are all leaders. You are followers of Christ, and leaders of others to Christ. And if we are people who are ready for solid food, then we will step up to the plate and accept this challenge to be leaders together in this new thing that God has for our community, where we are united, encouraging, kind, and focused on our walk with God so that we can lead each other in theirs.

We are getting ready to move into God's future for us. The plane is about to take off. It is an awesome, healthy, vibrant and exciting future ahead of us. I believe it is going to be something you are going to want to be a part of, but it is going to take maturity to get there.

So here's my challenge to you. Next week Bobby and I are going to be revealing a little more of the specifics of where we are going as a community and what our future is going to look like together. There are two ways to respond; a worldly way, and a spiritual way. The worldly way is to let deceit and jealousy and quarreling and division rule. The spiritual way is to crave pure spiritual milk, seek God, and then begin to operate in kindness, in maturity, and step up as a leader and say, "How can God use me in this?"

We are moving into a brand new, fresh, exciting, vibrant, amazing future where we will grow stronger together, stronger with God, and reach out into the world to be agents of change for God's kingdom.

I am excited to do ministry with you all in this new season!
See you next week!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday

Ahh yeah!

Well, I'm not writing a sermon for November 11th. Why? Because I don't feel like it.

Just kidding.

Actually, I will be talking on November 11th, and so will Bobby (he spoke a couple weeks ago about dealing with criticism. If you missed it be sure to pick up the CD during service because it was awesome). So Bobby is the one actually preparing a message. I just get to join in on the fun without having to do all the work. So give your brains a rest this Wednesday. Besides, it's Halloween! And, I'll see you this weekend, and on the 11th when you can come and hear what Bobby and I have brewing up for you all (no pun intended...if you catch the pun).

Much grace and peace y'all!

-Tim

Too Much Luggage

We all know what it's like to haul too much luggage through the airport. We hope and pray that we won't get charged for a suitcase that weighs too much. Sometimes luggage can be such a hassle and almost get in the way of making a flight.

The same is true for our lives personally and as a community. We all have luggage that we haul around with us, whether good or bad. Sometimes people carry negative luggage of past hurts or sins. Sometimes people carry positive luggage of past successes. Sometimes churches can carry negative luggage from the past, and sometimes churches carry positive luggage from successes.

We know that negative luggage can hold us down and keep us from experiencing God's best for our future. Jesus died to set us free from that luggage. But often as churches grow older, the luggage of their past successes can hold them down too. We want to cling to the great things of the past, and find it more and more difficult to trust God for the future.

When Jesus sent out his followers two-by-two, he told them to leave their luggage behind. No money, no extra clothes, and no shoes. They had to leave what was comfortable and familiar behind, and trust God to fill them with new blessings and provision for the future.

I believe that God is sending us out into a new future together, and it is going to require us to pack light and pack smart. I believe that God wants to pour out new and fresh blessings on our community for a new day, but that is going to require us to let go of what we are comfortable with, let go of what we are familiar with, and then let God pour out new gifts for a new day, and create a new history and new memories together.

Be sure to come and stay connected over the next several weeks as we continue to reveal what our future together will look like.

I am so excited about what lies in store! I look forward to changing lives with you all!

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday October 24th

Sermon series: How to Miss Your Flight
Sermon date: 11-4-07
Sermon title: Uncertain, but at this point I'm running with "Too Much Liquid"

Here's the premise...
Part of what drives us into the future is our own spiritual growth. We don't want to be stagnant individually or as a community. So, we must grow in our faith. With maturity comes the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

So when we begin to grow in our faith, we seek what the Bible calls "Spiritual Milk," the basic teachings and initial things we learn as we begin to grow. Then as we grow, we need solid food. But, sometimes people get stuck in the "Spiritual Milk" phase, never grow and mature in their faith, and thus miss out on what God has for them.

So the analogy is, when we try to bring too much liquid on a plane, security will stop us and we will miss our flight.

In the same way, if we never mature in our faith individually and as a community, and have too much "spiritual milk", and never grow the fruit of the Spirit, then we will miss out on what God wants to do for the future.

See 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 As we mature together, we will unite for the purposes of God.

I know, the analogy between milk and bringing liquid on a plane doesn't work very well. So, if you have a better one, let me know. And, be sure to post your comments and add your thoughts to this! I'd love your input.

Much grace and peace,
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday!

Alright y'all!
It's Word-up Wednesday (evening).

On October 28th I'm going to be continuing in the series "How to Miss Your Flight." This one in particular will be, "Pack Too Much Luggage."

When we fly, we are only allowed a certain amount of bags to check and to carry on the plane. If we insist on taking too much luggage, we will miss our flight. My question for you all is... what baggage, either individually or as a community, keeps us from moving forward into the future that God has for us?

And, metaphorically speaking, what are the right things to pack to bring with us for a successful future together(such as, spiritual gifts, the fruit of the Spirit, etc.)?

So ponder that, and leave a comment!

Much grace and peace!

-Tim

How to Miss Your Flight...

I'm interrupting our current preaching series, called "Grow" in order to present some important information about how to catch the plane to our future together.

God is taking us on a journey together and the plane to our future is taking off. We all want to know what God's will is, and how to get on board with what God is doing. So over the next 6 weeks I am going to share 6 more ways to miss out on what God has in store for us so that we can avoid those things and get on board with what God wants to do.

When Jesus declared that he would establish his church, he said that the gates of death will not prevail against it. The gates of Hell can never defeat the church! But the thing about this is, gates don't move, so if we want to see victory, then we must move forward as a community.

What this means is that we run the greatest risk of being defeated if we do nothing to make progress as a community for God's purposes. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and I believe that one of the reasons is because a house divided isn't going anywhere!

But a house united together in Christ for the purposes of God is bomb-rushing the gates of Hell, moving into enemy territory to save the lost and change the world, and in storming the Gates of Hell we will find victory!

But we must have our I.D. in Christ and God's calling on us alone. Then when God calls us forward and things change because of it, we will unite together for God's purposes, and allow Him to take us where he wants us to go.

So be sure to attend the next 6 weeks, because I will be revealing what our future together as a community will look like. It is an exciting future. I believe it is a God-ordained and Spirit-led future, and the plane is about to take off.

It was great to worship with you on Sunday!

God bless you!
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday

Alright...here's what I want to do for this installment of Word-up Wednesday...

Tell me what you've been reading in Scripture. How has it impacted you? What have you learned, felt, thought, questioned, been confused about, etc.? Be sure to post a comment!

PEACE!!!

-Tim

Word-up Wednesday!

That's right, it's that time of the week again!
Okay, I am working on 2 sermons right now, but I will just post some ideas for one of them. I am running with the idea of how our identity is wrapped up in our faith community.
Peace!
-Tim

Passage: Matthew 16:16-18
Read over this passage and reflect on it, and let me know how it makes you feel, what you think about it, how this is possible, etc.

A question...or two...or three: In the context of the Gathering, where do you find your identity? What role does the Gathering play in your identity? What role does the church as a whole (worldwide) play in your identity?

Reflect on these quotes, and ask yourself what they mean to you:

Letty Russel says “The church is what it was because it has a story that is rooted in God’s action in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (Found in Platcher, ed. Essentials of Christian Thoelogy).

Wayne Cordeiro says “Methods are many, principles are few; methods always change, principles never do.” (Found in Mallory,S. The Equipping Church).

Well...those aren't many notes, but hopefully it will provoke some thoughts. I look forward to your comments!

Blessings,
-Tim

Growing Like Jesus

Wow!!! What a service we had last night!
Lord Jesus, thank you for being present with us!


Well...if you were able to come down from the awesome worship, you heard me talk about growing like Jesus. Luke 2:52 talks about how Jesus increased in wisdom, in years, and in divine and human favor. The growth that Jesus models is holistic, encompassing the mental, physical, spiritual and social aspects of life.

We want growth in our lives, but it can be challenging. And, I imagine that it was a challenge for Jesus too! He faced temptation, hunger, rejection, and other aspects of life that we all have to face. In fact, when the Bible says that Jesus "increased" in these areas, the word it uses goes back to nautical terminology talking about a boat making headway despite the blows it takes.

So, we are going to face blows in our lives and in our walk with God. But we grow like Jesus, and in the words of the Apostle Paul we, "...press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:14).

So keep pressing on, and...GET TO KNOW JESUS! He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is our hope and our salvation.

It was great to worship with you all.
God bless you and I'll see you next week!
-Tim

Word-up Wednesday

"Word-up Wednesday" is a new feature of this blog. Every Wednesday I will post some notes from my sermon preparation, and you can all add comments to give your feedback and insights. Maybe some of your thoughts will make it into my sermons! So, here we go for the first installment of Word-up Wednesday.

Sermon Date: 10-7-07

Passage: Mark 12:13-17

The working title of my sermon at this point is "The Branding of the Soul."

A theologian named Millard Erickson says this:

“What are the things that are God’s? Presumably, whatever bears the image of God. Jesus then was saying, ‘Give your money to Caesar; it has his image on it, and thus it belongs to him. But give yourselves to God. You bear his image, and you belong to him.’ Commitment, devotion, love, loyalty, service to God—all of these are proper response for those who bear the image of God.” (Erickson, M. Christian Theology. Baker; Grand Rapids. 1993 p 515)

Some thoughts and questions I am asking myself as I work out this sermon:

The “branding” of the soul (Play on words). What brand is your soul? Is it genuine or generic?

What brand am I?

What is our identity? Who am I? Jesus shares his identity with us.

What is your narrative? Who are you in the story? As the plot of your life develops, what is your identity?

Some passages that popped up:

2 Corinthians 3:18

1 Peter 2:9-12

Matthew 6:26
Psalm 139

“Every man becomes the image of the God he adores. He whose worship is directed to a dead thing becomes a dead thing.” –(Merton, T. No Man is an Island. Harcourt Brace: San Diego 1983 pg. 239)

So...these are some of the thoughts and notes I have jotted down, not all of them, but some. Now it's your turn. Read the passage, read my notes, and give me some feedback.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Blessings,

-Tim

Grow: worldview

Romans 12:1-2 is so familiar that its significance often gets overlooked. But when I was studying these verses to prepare for my message last Sunday, I was struck by how much depth there really is here.

The NIV says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

The first thing we should note about this passage is that it begins with the word "therefore." Whenever we see "therefore" in the Bible, we should ask ourselves, "What is the 'therefore' there for?" It really doesn't make sense to start reading a passage that begins with "Therefore" and not back up to see what was said beforehand. It would be like if I came up to you and suddenly said, "Therefore, I need to go down to the store."

But, if we back up and read a few verses before Romans 12:1-2, then we see this amazing doxology that Paul writes describing how wonderful God is. Therefore (that is, because God is so wonderful) we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices.

Now there's another important word in this passage, and that is the word "through." This single word gets translated as "in view of" in the NIV. But if we wanted to be literal, we would say, "I urge you, brothers, through God's mercy." What I mean is, the only way we can come to God at all is through his mercy, that is, through his Son and the merciful sacrifice of the cross. So, first of all, we need to recognize that our ability to come to God and offer ourselves to him depends, not on our effort or ability, but on the mercy of God.

Also, this passage says that offering ourselves to God is our spiritual act of worship. Some translations might say that it is our reasonable or rational act of worship. The Greek word behind the English here is where we get our word "logical" from. So, offering ourselves to God is not only spiritual, it is also reasonable and rational. Why? Because Romans 11:33-36 declares how glorious God is. Therefore it is only reasonable, in light of God's greatness, that we offer ourselves to him.

As we do this, and we transform our lives through the renewal of our minds by reading Scripture and spending time in prayer, getting a Biblical worldview, we will then be able to discern what God's will is.

It was great to worship with you this weekend!

Have a blessed week, and God willing, I'll see you next week at the Gathering.

-Tim

Rain!

It rained on Sunday!

For some of you, that might not be a big deal, but if you were at the Gathering it was a pretty exciting moment! At least...it was for me anyway.

No sooner had I asked for you all to pray for rain (because I was whining about how hot it was) did it actually start raining!!! It was so heavy we could hear it through the roof! Then as quickly as it came, it was gone.

I bring this up because I really feel like this was a simple gift from God to me for that day. I had one of those days like we all seem to have on Sundays. I felt like I just couldn't keep up with time and there were too many things to do in a day. Plus, it was hot...and I was tired of being hot. I've been watching the clouds lately hoping for rain, but none seems to come where I live.

Then on Sunday God smiled in his heart and took joy in a simple gift given, a brief period of rain at the moment I asked you all to pray for it. It was a moment of fun at the hands of the playful heart of the Father, and it makes me think, how many simple little gifts does God give us each day, but our busy lives or distracted minds completely miss them?

Keep an eye out today. A smile from a stranger, a beautiful sunset, a call from a friend, can all be simple gifts from God given to you at the perfect time, right when you need it.

It was great to worship with you on Sunday!

God bless you and I'll see you next weekend.

In Him,
-Tim

Same Time, Same Place

The Gathering will be meeting at it's normal time and place this weekend...6 pm in the Family Life Center.

We look forward to seeing you all there!!!!

The Miracle of Community

On Sunday we looked at the story of Eutychus falling out of the window in Acts 20. I focused on the verse that says that the family went away comforted when Eutychus was raised from the dead. Why were they comforted? Because the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, was at work to raise Eutychus from the dead when he fell! And what is awesome is that it wasn't like Pentecost, where people's hair was catching fire (or whatever that looked like) and they were all speaking in tongues. When Eutychus fell out of the window, they were all probably bored, tired and hungry. Yet the Holy Spirit was there in power even still.

What does that mean? It means that God is with you! In the extraordinary and the mundane. We don't have to try to manufacture some sort of experience. The Spirit is with us already! We just need to open our eyes in every situation and invite the Holy Spirit to be active in all things.

What is more, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, indwells us so that we can comfort others. That, to me, is the miracle of this story. There is great diversity in community, but the same Spirit unites us and is active in and through us, even in our diversity, to work with power in our world. In Acts 20 the people were comforted because Paul allowed himself to be used by the Spirit.

So my prayer is that we would humble ourselves and open ourselves up to be used by the Spirit. That in our diversity we would have unity and community because the Spirit unites us as one body for the benefit of each other, and in the midst of that we would all bless each other because of the blessings we have uniquely received by the Spirit of God.


We had an awesome service on Sunday! God's presence was with us for sure.
I look forward to worshipping with you all next week!

In Him,
-Tim

Embrace, Unite, Serve.

The early church is often romanticised and looked at as a perfect community that we all need to live up to. We look around at our church, or other local churches, and we see people we don't agree with, or we don't get along with, or who look different or have different ministry ideas or whatever, and then we have a tendency to criticize, to complain, and to leave in search of something better, something more like the early church.

But often what people don't realize is that that dysfunctional, messed-up, church-splitting type of church was the early church. And when we read the story of the early church, we see that they had a lot of things right, but it was made up of people, and people cause problems, and the early church was full of all kinds of messy problems of its own.

On Sunday we saw how in Acts 6 the church began to become more culturally diverse, and this caused problems. But the church resolved to unite and deal with the issue so that ministry wouldn't be hindered. What we see is that where there is criticism and complaint, ministry is hindered.

But within our diversity, when we resolve to be united in Christ, and let that unity govern us and engage in working together for the Kingdom, then ministry can flow and people's lives are changed!

So my prayer for our community is that we would be united in Christ over and above whatever diversity we see, whether it is diversity in ideas, diversity in culture, economics, or whatever. I pray that our diversity would drive us to praise God all the more because of the picture that diversity gives us of the nature of God (not everyone is a hand). God shines his light into our community, and it is refracted in a variety of colors.

So when you are here, look around at the people you see. They are gifts to you, and you are gifts to them. And collectively we are a picture of the nature and character of God. I also want to encourage you to get involved. God made you uniquely you, and when you unite with us, you give us a great gift, and ministry is able to happen all the more.

Much grace and peace to you all!

See you next Sunday at the Gathering!!!

In Him,
-Tim

We're Back!

Last Sunday night The Gathering didn't meet so that we could join the church for a church-wide baptism service. There were roughly 150 people who signed up to get baptized! And, at least 4 people from the Gathering got baptized during the service!!! We also had 25 people come with us to our Gathering community event at Game Works.

God is doing great things!

This Sunday, (Sept. 2nd) we will be meeting at our usual time and place (6pm in the Family Life Center). Come and grab a cup of coffee and worship with us. Worship will be acoustic this weekend, and my message will be more like a Bible-study, just digging into the Word.

I look forward to seeing you all this weekend!

Live, Grow, Reach...
-Tim

Kiwanis Park

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!!

This Sunday night (August 26th) the Gathering will be meeting at Kiwanis Park for a church-wide mass baptism celebration.

If you are interested in being baptized, contact Tim at timm at wordofgrace dot org.

If you are not getting baptized, join us to support and celebrate the baptisms of those in our community. The service will consist of worship, a brief message from Gary, and baptisms. Chris will be involved in leading worship, and Tim and Chris, along with Gary and other Word of Grace ministers, will be baptizing as well.

We will begin at 5:30pm at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, 6111 S. All American Way.

Can't wait to see you then!

The Gathering will resume our regular schedule the following Sunday, September 2nd at 6:00pm in the Family Life Center (our regular meeting place).

Much grace and peace!

-Tim

The Calling

Sometime in the 90s A.D. (not the 1990s, just the 90s) a guy named Clement wrote a letter on behalf of the church of Rome to the church in the city of Corinth. He wrote the letter because there was a division among the church that was, in the words of Clement, "...stoked by a few reckless and headstrong persons to such a pitch of madness that your venerable and renowned reputation, worthy of everyone's love, has been greatly slandered." (Taken from Bart Ehrman's book The Lost Scriptures. pg. 168).

There were a few people speaking negatively and slandering the reputation of a church that really was worthy of love. Clement wrote this letter to address this situation and said, "Why are there conflicts, fits of anger, dissensions, factions and war among you? Do we not have one God, and one Christ, and one gracious Spirit that has been poured out upon us, and one calling in Christ? Why do we mangle and mutilate the members of Christ and create factions in our own body? Why do we come to such a pitch of madness as to forget that we are members of one another?"(Erhman, 168).

I said last week that if we are going to forge our future in ministry, it must be done together. There are so many ways to "do church." There are so many ways that things could look or feel or sound, and they could all be effective at reaching different types of people. But the fact is, while there are many ways to do things, there is only one God, one Christ, one Spirit, and one calling."


Paul says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We have a calling! Regardless of what things look like and what things sound like, we have a calling! And that calling is what unites us and drive us to move forward together, committed to each other, committed to this church, and committed to the purposes of God.

In life and in church there can be all kinds of sufferings. But "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." You and I have been called by God to a purpose. It is a purpose that involves an abundant life and abundant worship. It is sharing life together, growing in our faith, and reaching out. These three things make up a healthy spiritual and church life. Live...Grow...Reach.

There will always be corporations that can spend millions on marketing and looks. There will always be million dollar productions put on by our favorite bands. There will always be a church somewhere that has a cooler pastor, a cooler worship team, a better building, or website or whatever. But that is not what we are about! We are about pressing in to God to grow in faith, and pressing into each other to share life, and pressing in to the world to reach out.

This is what we see happening in the early church. We read about the church in Acts 2 having all things in common so that no one had need, and devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, prayer, breaking bread, worship and all that. And the Bible said that the Lord added to their number daily!

So together we united under the calling of God, to share life, grow in faith, and reach out. Live, grow, reach. And as we do these things together, the more we will experience breakthrough in our lives and in our community.

Praise God!

It was great worshipping with you on Sunday.

See you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim

Live...

God is on the throne!

As Word of Grace moves forward, we move forward with it. I am convinced that we need to be unified as a church body, and move forward together with the same vision and direction. As Word of Grace is "A community of grace transforming our world," we too are a community of grace transforming our world.

Word of Grace as a whole is moving into the future, engaging purposefully in what it is we are about. What it comes down to is simplicity. We, as the Gathering, are moving forward in unity with what the church is about. For us that means, Live, Grow and Reach. As we move into the future, everything about what we do will center around one or more of these three areas. True and holistic worship takes place when we are sharing life together in community, growing in our faith, and reaching out into our community and the world. This is our future together!

And that is the key word, "TOGETHER." I can talk about it, mobilize people for it, facilitate events and times for it, but if we want authentic community, where we are growing in our faith and reaching out to others, it is going to take us all together committing to make this a reality.

So will you join with us? God is calling us to an exciting future. It is a future together. So sign up for community events, lead and join life-groups, engage in our worship times and be about what we are about. And as you partner with us in this, God will continue to do great things in our lives and in our community.

Much grace and peace!

See you next week at the Gathering!

In Him,
-Tim

Suffering and the Divine Secret

If God is all-powerful, and if God is all-loving, then why doesn't God stop suffering, evil, and pain in our lives? Many people wrestle with this question. It is really a question of God's character. What is God like?

To answer that, the best place we can look is to Jesus Christ. When Lazarus died, Jesus didn't go to the tomb with a smile on his face because he knew the purpose for Lazarus' death. Instead, Jesus wept. Whether there is a purpose to our suffering or if it is just part of life and free will, we can be confident that God hurts with us in the midst of it.

Jesus' response to evil, pain and suffering wasn't to create more, but rather, to rid the world of it. And if Jesus is the fullness of God in bodily form, then we know that God is also at work, not to create evil and suffering, but to rid the world of it.

Many people wonder why God would even create the possibility for sin. Why did God put the forbidden tree in the Garden in the first place? The answer must be found in God's love.

Love requires a choice. For us to experience God's love fully, we must choose God. Forced love is not love at all, it is rape. Therefore God's love required there to be a choice to either love him back or not. True love requires free will. Free will runs the risk of choosing against God, and the choice to disobey God has brought about a fallen world where we experience pain, suffering and evil.

Now God is at work restoring all things. We see that in Jesus. But to intervene in every situation all the time and take away all pain and suffering and evil would be a violation of God's love because it would violate free will.

So perhaps the appropriate question in the midst of suffering isn't "Why is God doing this to me? or Why is God allowing me to experience this?" But rather, "What does God's love mean for me in the midst of this situation?"

God wants us to be united to his perfect love. And one day when we are in the presence of God, and there is no more pain, suffering or evil, his love for us will lead us to a secret. It is a divine secret between you and God. No one else will know it, only you and God. Out of his intimate and personal love for you, God will give you a new name that only you will know. As a father and mother name their child, so God will give you a name that nobody else will know, a name chosen just for you.

So I encourage you this day...live in God's love.

"To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been
hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the
stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who
receives it." (Revelation 2:17 NRSV)

Look forward to the divine secret.

God bless you all!

See you next week at the Gathering!

-Tim

Many paths. One truth.

Pluralism. It's a word that is becoming more popular in our culture. It basically means that there are many different viable religious options available for you.

Syncritism. It's a word that is a little less commonly known, but frequently practiced. It basically means that all religions are good and you can take bits and pieces from each religion and blend them with your own.

Religious pluralism (that is, religions co-existing together) isn't necessarily dangerous in an of itself, as long as the religions can live peacefully with each other. Syncritism, on the other hand, is a spiritually dangerous condition.

It's becoming more and more popular to assert that all religions are good and they all ultimately discuss the same thing and lead to the same thing in the end. On Sunday I discussed the fallacy of this argument, particularly through a discussion on Buddhism. There are many similarities between how Buddhists are prescribed to behave and how Christians are, particularly in acting and speaking with honesty and integrity, doing good to others, etc. But the motivation for doing good, and the foundational beliefs of each, couldn't be more opposite from each other.

Ultimately Buddhism does not worship a god. Christianity claims to worship the one and only true God. Ultimately the destination of an enlightened Buddhist is parinirvana, which is an escape from all desire, and essentially nothingness. The destination that Christians proclaim is a conscious fulfilling reality with God forever. The "lay" Buddhist, or non-monk, really has no hope of Nirvana. The best that an ordinary Buddhist can hope for is to follow the Four Noble Truths and the eight steps well enough to build enough good Karma to be reincarnated as a monk, who can then, if the steps are performed well enough, enter Nirvana. Protestant Christians, on the other hand, believe in the priesthood of all believers. The one who believes is saved by grace through faith, not works.

To me it seems clear that these are two different paths to two very different destinations. Buddhism and Christianity don't even try to answer the same questions. Buddhism tackles the question of suffering. Christianity talks about suffering, but only within the context of sin and death, and separation from God. Buddhists want to escape suffering. Christians embrace it, and have even been saved through it (the suffering of Christ). If Christ would have tried to escape suffering, there would be no salvation for us.

So I say this all not to bash Buddhists, but to show the logical fallibility of claiming that all religions essentially teach the same thing and lead to the same ultimate destination. If those destinations are the exact opposite of each other, I don't see how that can be true.

It was great to worship with you this weekend!

God bless you as you seek Him, and I will see you next week at the Gathering.

In Him,
-Tim

Doubt

Doubt is a word we never like to talk about. Everyone has questions, but no one asks. We don't ask questions or express our doubts because we're afraid of a number of things. We're afraid of what people will think about us and our faith, we're afraid that if we question God he might get angry, or not listen to us, or even worse, take away our salvation.

I think sometimes we are also afraid that if non-Christians hear about our doubts, then that somehow in their minds proves that Christianity is false. But I must say, as the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun. Any doubts we have are doubts that Christians and non-Christians have had from the beginning. The ability to contemplate God comes along with the ability to contemplate no God. And any arguments against Christianity are arguments that have been around for centuries. The test of a belief system is whether or not it withstands the test of time while continuing to adequately handle anomalies, and stand up to various criticisms launched against it. Christianity stands.

But that doesn't mean we won't have our questions from time to time. So, as I asked on Sunday night, where do our questions, our doubts come from? And, what do we do about our doubts?

First, I think that doubts can be planted by Satan, just as he played a role in Adam and Even questioning God in the beginning, and Just as he temped Jesus saying, "If you really are the Son of God..." Therefore, doubt can be spiritual warfare, so be praying about your doubts, and have others pray for you. Spend time in the Word and talking to believers who might be able to help answer your questions.

Second, I think doubts can come from social or cultural settings. Some people grew up in homes that taught them to question everything, while others grew up in homes that believed. Various situations in life can work towards training people to doubt. If you have a natural tendency to doubt, embrace that as the way God designed you and use it to go deeper in your walk with God.

Third, doubts can come from misunderstandings. Sometimes we understand that God is one way, and then we experience something that seems to show that God is another way. Sometimes we understand that the Bible says one thing, and then later find out it says another. This is why community and church is so important, so that we can read the Bible together and be encouraged in the truth as we spur one another on in our understanding of, and relationship with, God.

Fourth, I believe that doubts, for many people, if not most, come from insecurity. We feel like we don't know enough about the Bible or about other religions, so we question things. People ask difficult questions, and we don't know how to answer them, so we begin to question the same things. But just because you question something, or can't explain something, doesn't mean you give up the entire belief system. Instead, you seek out answers, ask people who might be able to answer your questions, seek out what the Bible says and what Jesus teaches. These are things that will help us gain an understanding of our faith so that we can be prepared to give answers (or simply listen, depending on the situation) to those who ask.

Finally, sometimes doubt can come from pride. Sometimes we can question certain things about the Bible, not because we truly have doubts, but because we don't want to conform our lives to them, so we use doubt as an excuse.

If anything, for all of these, a very important thing to do is to embrace the way God made you. God designed you to experience him in ways that might be different than others. Some people experience God through studies, others through nature, while others through music. So try not to compare your faith to other people, and wish that you could pray as well as that other person, or knew as much, or whatever. God made you, you. So seek God out the way he designed you to experience him, and let him take you as deep, or deeper, on your walk with him, than anyone you see around.

And don't worry about your doubts. God will still hear your prayers, still forgive you, and still walk beside you.

God bless you all!

It was great to worship with you this weekend. See you next week at the Gathering!

-Tim

The Jesus Sessions: Worry

We live in a world of worry.

So what do we do? Naturally we try to control. The more we try to control, the more we realize things are out of our control, and the more we worry. It's a vicious cycle. Worry leads to control, control leads to worry, and worry negatively impacts our lives and our spiritual condition.

Because of this, we have a desire to compartmentalize our lives so that things are neat and orderly and we have control over them so that we don't have to worry about them. The unhealthy aspect of this is that our spiritual lives get compartmentalized as just another aspect of our lives.

In his book, The Life You've Always Wanted, pastor and author John Ortberg says, "God is not interested in your 'spiritual life.' God is just interested in your life." Our desire to control leads us to compartmentalize our lives, which leads us to try to compartmentalize our spiritual lives. But our spiritual lives cannot be compartmentalized. Every aspect of your life is your spiritual life. We are spiritual beings, but we are limited beings. God is the only one wise enough and powerful enough to be in control. He is also the only one loving enough to trust to have absolute control. This is where things get tough for us.

Worry leads to control, control leads to an attempt to take life into our own hands so that we won't have to worry. But we aren't able to be in control of all things, so we end up worrying even more, or being disappointed in ourselves or others when things that we thought we had under control don't work out.

It is not necessarily easy, but we have to learn how to let God be the one in control, trust him to be at work in our lives, and to provide us with what we need when we need it.

Jesus said, "...your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. See the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:32-34 NLT)

A line in a famous church hymn goes like this:

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking, life and rest and joy and peace.

I pray that as we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would allow him to have control, and find our life and rest and joy and peace in him alone.

Many blessings,

In Him,

-Tim

The Jesus Sessions: The Haves and The Have Nots

Is poverty spiritual?

I believe that there is a correlation between money and spirituality. The correlation exists in that our view of money is fundamentally shaped by our relationship with God. How we use our money can be an indication of where our allegiances lie, what we believe is important, and where our sense of security and well being lies.

In his book The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard writes, "...being poor is one of the poorest ways to help the poor." Yet Jesus speaks so much about money. He told the rich young ruler to sell all he has and give it to the poor, he praised the poor widow, he said that the Kingdom of God belongs to the poor, etc. etc.

So back to my original question. Is poverty spiritual? Is Jesus right, and we should give all we have to the poor and become poor, or is Dallas Willard right and being poor is a poor way to help the poor?

Yes.

I do not think that Willard and Jesus conflict each other. Being poor, in and of itself, does not make you more spiritual than being rich. I believe that the poor and the rich can be equally consumed by money, either by the desire to get it, or the desire to keep it.

I think the real issue (and this is why I say that there is a correlation between money and spirituality) has to do with this question: Who/what is your god? For many, money is a god, and life and spending reflects that. For many, God is God, and life and spending reflects that.

That is why I believe that tithing is not about money. It is spiritual warfare. It is a statement about who our God is, where our security lies, and what the shape of our worldview is.

I pray that you would join me on the journey to developing a biblical worldview that impacts the way we use the resources God has given us.

Much grace and peace,

-Tim

Marriage and Divorce

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says this, "[Churches] all regard divorce as
something like cutting up a living body, as a kind of surgical operation. Some
of them think the operation so violent that it cannot be done at all; others
admit it as a desperate remedy in extreme cases. They are all agreed that it is
more like having both your legs cut off than it is like dissolving a business
partnership or even deserting a regiment."

With the financial, emotional, spiritual and psychological impact that flippant divorce in our culture is leaving, I believe it is time for some practical advice from someone who has our best interest in mind, namely, Jesus.

When we look at what Jesus has to say about marriage and divorce, we notice that Jesus didn't use laws to defend his position, he went all the way back to God's purpose for marriage. He quoted from Genesis. When God created the man and the woman, the two were to become one flesh. Jesus then added his statement, "What God has joined together, let man not separate."

In Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5, divorce leads to adultery. Why? Most likely because those who are divorced are likely to be remarried, but God joined to two together as one, and "What God has joined together, let man not separate." So logically speaking, another relationship would be adultery.

I believe this is what is behind Paul's account of the Lord's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 where he says, "A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife." This is where we see Jesus' transforming initiative to free people from the vicious cycle of adultery through divorce. That transforming initiative is, "be reconciled." However, I believe that in cases of violence and abuse, the victim(s) need to flee the relationship and seek safety and council immediately.

Where reconciliation is not possible, the question then becomes, what about those who divorce? Can they get remarried or must they remain unmarried?

My personal belief is that remarriage is possible. Divorce is not unforgivable. Jesus does say that where there has been marital unfaithfulness, the person is free to re-marry, and Paul says that if a believer is left by an unbeliever, then the believer is not bound (Romans 7:15). Because of this, it seems like there are times when God will break that union. Therefore, I do believe that where there has been repentance, forgiveness, and a right relationship with God, re-marriage is possible, and there is hope for those who have been divorced to enter into a healthy marriage relationship.

I enjoyed worshipping with you on Sunday! I hope you had an encounter with Jesus.

See you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim

The Jesus Sessions: Physical Intimacy

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says;

"The monstrosity of [physical intimacy] outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union. The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything wrong about sexual pleasure, any more than about the pleasure of eating. It means that you must not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try to get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, by chewing things and spitting them out again." (pg. 96)

When Jesus speaks of lust in Matthew 5:27-30, we see that Jesus gives practical advice on how to get out of the vicious cycles of adultery through lust, namely by removing the thing that is causing the problem (Jesus spoke figuratively and extremely about gouging out your eye in order to get his point across). I believe there are three major sources of dysfunction in our lives and in our culture regarding physical intimacy, namely, a distorted view of self, a distorted view of others, and a distorted view of God.

If we go all the way back to Genesis, we see that God created man and woman (Ish and Ishah), and they had an appropriate view of themselves (they were naked and felt no shame), an appropriate view of each other (the man said of the woman, "this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh" and the two were to be united in one flesh), and an appropriate view of God (they took their instruction from him and had fellowship with him). However, those views quickly became distorted through sin, and they no longer had an appropriate view of themselves (they were naked and felt shame), each other (they passed blame for sin) and God (they hid from him).

I believe that a major pathway to appropriate physical intimacy is to understand it within the context of the holistic union of a man and a woman, where there is an appropriate view of self, each other, and God. God is to be the center, where we behave towards each other and respond to each other as Christ does to us. God desires for us to live our best life, and experience the best relationships.

There is always forgiveness and healing for those who want it, and we can begin to move in a direction where we view ourselves, each other, and God appropriately, and let that guide our relationships in every area. God bless you all.

It was great to worship with you on Sunday. And...I will see you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim

Don't Kill People

Practical does not always mean quick and easy, but that is often what we mean or expect. Jesus is practical. That doesn't mean that his way is always quick or easy, but it is always very practical.

When Jesus teaches on murder in Matthew 5, he tells people that those who murder are subject to judgment. The interesting thing is that Jesus takes that even further and says that anyone who is angry is subject to judgment. Many people, then, think that Jesus is being impossible here, telling people to not even get angry. But if we look closely, we see that Jesus isn't telling people to not be angry. He's just saying that those who are angry are subject to judgement just as those who murder.

I believe Jesus is describing a cycle that we can get into where anger builds up and ferments in our hearts. That anger will reap undesired consequences in our lives. Maybe you have experienced those consequences yourself.

However, like I said, Jesus is always practical. In this passage Jesus gives practical steps we can take to free us from the cycle of anger. Jesus says that if you are offering your gift to God and you remember that someone has something against you, leave your gift, go, and be reconciled to that person.

It's not necessarily easy advice. It's not necessarily quick. But it is practical, and it can be transformational.

It was great to worship with you all this week! God bless you and I will see you next week at the Gathering.

-Tim

The Jesus Sessions

Last night we began a new series that will take us through the next several weeks.
I believe that what Jesus has to say is very practical for us today. The problem is, we often think that practical means quick and easy, so we go with the quick and easy advise that the world gives not realizing that the outcomes can be destructive.
I believe that Jesus is always practical, but not always quick and easy. But what Jesus has to say is the way to abundant life.
Glen Stassen is an ethics professor at Fuller Seminary, and he proposes that many of Jesus' teachings are in a three-fold format, that is, they begin with some sort of traditional saying of righteousness, then they explain some sort of vicious cycle, and then Jesus gives a transforming initiative or an action we can take to transform our lives and lead us out of the vicious cycle we are in.
Last night we looked at Matthew 7:6-11, and you can see this format in this passage. Jesus starts by telling the people not to give what is holy to the dogs, or throw pearls to swine (that is the traditional saying of righteousness that people would have understood). Then Jesus says that they will trample your pearls and turn and maul you too (this is the vicious cycle, when we give ourselves, our gifts, our talents, our lives to the pigs and dogs, then what we have gets trampled and we get mauled in the process. Maybe some of you feel like you have been mauled by this world). Finally, Jesus gives his transforming initiative when he tells us to turn to God by saying, "Ask...seek...knock."
Jesus gives practical advice that is for our best interest. So over the next several weeks we are going to look at what Jesus has to say, see if we can identify this pattern and the vicious cycles, and learn what Jesus teaches in order to lead us out of those unhealthy patterns into abundant life.

It was great to worship with you this weekend!
God bless you and I will see you next week!
-Tim

Jim Cantelon and Theresa Malila

We had two very special guests last night at the Gathering. Theresa Malila is one of our ministry partners in Malawi working with HIV/AIDS, and she shared a bit with us about her experience with orphaned children.

Jim Cantelon came to share the message last night and spoke of justice. Jim is the president and founder of Visionledd (yes, 2 d's). He founded a church in Jerusalem in 1981, has written books, and hosted an award-winning TV show.

Jim shared about righteousness and justice. They are the same word in Hebrew, but when speaking of our relationship with God, the word is translated as righteousness. When speaking about our relationship with others, the word is translated as justice. Jim's message was challenging and convicting, calling the church to "grow up" and begin to do something about the massive problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa and in the world.

We know that God desires justice in the land. I believe that justice can never be legislated. I believe, based on Micah 6:8, that true justice requires loving-kindness and a humble walk with God. People need an authentic encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ. The church, as the body of Christ, stands in a unique position to bring true justice into the world, but it must start with us.

If we can't figure out justice within the walls of the church, we will never be able to figure out justice in the world. Therefore, we have opportunities to practice justice within. In the cafe during every service we have the barrel where you can post needs or things you have to offer. Be sure to check the barrel if you have a need, someone might just post something that can fulfill that need.

We also have an amazing outreach department here. Check the links to the side to find outreach at Word of Grace. We partner with a number of different missionaries and organizations to bring true justice into the world and into our community.

I love the heart of this community. You guys are awesome to worship with week in and week out. Many blessings as you continue to seek God passionately for your lives.

See you all next week!

In Him,

-Tim

I Am When You Are: Part 2

On Sunday we continued the idea that I stated last week, namely, "I am when you are."

I believe that this idea comes out of the nature of God himself. Each member of the Trinity loves to exist for the other. The Father glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, the Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son. Within God himself we can see how this saying would be true for the members of the Trinity, "I am when you are."

God also loves to exist for our sake. Jesus was God working for our best. God loves to bless us and be there for us, so we can see how this saying would be true for God directing it at us, "I Am when you are."

Because we were created in the image of God, this should work itself out in our lives towards other people, where we say to others, "I am when you are."

We also need to understand who God is in relationship to everything else that is, so we say to God, "I am when You are."

Practically this works itself out in Micah 6:8, where we do justice and love kindness and walk humbly with God as an extension and expression of what we believe. I believe that we don't do things just to do things or because they sound good. Rather, I believe that what we do in our lives and as a church should be an expression of what we believe. Faith is an action word that expresses itself in works that are consistent with what we believe about the very nature of God. Not "works" in the sense that we work for our justification (our salvation and right standing before God), but "works" in the sense that we train our bodies and actions to look like what has already taken place inside by the grace of God when we put our faith in Christ.

Therefore, because we have a God who is concerned about others, we too ought to concern ourselves with the well-being of others. Justice is a huge theme in the Bible, but we often don't feel like we can do much for the huge needs in the world. The thing about this is, however, that true justice will never happen in the world unless it begins with the church. True justice can only be found by loving kindness and walking humbly with God. Loving kindness can only be found where there is justice and a humble walk with God. And a humble walk with God requires doing justice and loving kindness. The three aspects work together as one.

For this reason, we now have the barrel in our lobby. One side is for people to post skill, abilities or possessions that they can give to others. The other side is for people to post things that they need. This barrel is to help us begin to practice justice and kindness in our community as we walk humbly with God.

God bless you guys. You have wonderful hearts and you all bless our community wonderfully. It was great worshipping with you this weekend.
See you next week at the Gathering!

Blessings,
-Tim

I Am When You Are

How far are you willing to press your mind into the experiences of other people to see how they see Jesus in them? Particularly those who are outcast, oppressed, and downtrodden in the world for whatever reason? We know that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We know that Jesus spent his time with sinners. We know that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We know that, and we proclaim that for ourselves, but when it comes to proclaiming that for others, we often fall short.

We talked on Sunday about this idea that I am when you are. I am at my best when I am working for your best. We find abundant life in a life lived for Christ and for others. Yet in our culture it can be so difficult to escape ourselves, so when we hear that God loves all people, what we really hear is that God loves us and only those like us. But what are the implications of the fact that Jesus came to set the captives free? What are the implications of the fact that Jesus came to liberate the oppressed, whether it be social, economic, political, or spiritual? And what are we doing, what are the more than two billion Christians in this world doing for the cause of the oppressed and the hated?

James Cone, an African American professor at a Seminary in New York talks about a black theology which states that Jesus is black. Jesus is black in the sense that he identifies with the oppressed blacks in America in order to liberate them. The question I pose is, how far can we take this?

Can we understand that Jesus identifies with the suffering of those who are homeless and say, "Jesus is homeless"? Can we understand that Jesus identifies with the suffering of those who have aids and say, "Jesus has aids"? How far can we take this. Can we say that Jesus identifies with those who are hated and killed and outcast in society? And if so, can we say, "Jesus is gay"?

HEAR ME CLEARLY...obviously I am not speaking literally here. I do not believe that Jesus is gay. But if the Bible says that God so loved the world, then tell me who in the world God does not love. I believe that we can take a biblical stance against certain issues, but that should not change the way we love people and allow them to explore what it means to follow Jesus, as we do with every single person who enters into the doors of our churches each weekend who wrestle with all kinds of issues and sins, be it sexual or racial or whatever.

If we base love and acceptance on whether people are sinners or not, then we can't love or accept anybody, because everybody is a sinner. But if we see people as precious humans created in the image of God, we can love them without necessarily approving of what they do, whether it's drug addiction, pornography, alcoholism or anything else. And in that love, we can welcome them in to have an encounter with Jesus, and allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever work needs to be done in people's lives.

Jesus gave us the task of carrying on his ministry on earth. We find our best life when we are working for others to find their best life in Christ. I am when you are. We are when they are. I pray that we would be a community that is concerned with the hatred that exists in the world, whether it is due to factors that people can control or not. Social or economic issues, sin issues, race issues, whatever it may be, we have the responsibility to love people and lead people to Jesus Christ, who is the one with the power and authority to change people's lives for eternity.

God bless you all! It was a blessing to worship with you this weekend.

See you next week at the Gathering!

-Tim

Your Best Life is Not For You

Your best life is not for you. What I mean is, your best life is not a life that is self-centered, but rather, Christ-centered. If we live life for ourselves alone, we will live life for ourselves...alone.

But God did not create us for isolation, he created us to be in relationship with him and with other people, and that naturally requires us to take our eyes off of ourselves.

Taking our eyes off of ourselves also means not placing our identity in ourselves. That sounds absurd, but left to our own understanding and perceptions, we do not value ourselves as much as God does. So we place our identity in Christ, who always speaks the truth about how valuable and loved we are.

It is a life lived in Christ and for Christ where we find our best life. Anything else is a lesser version of what we could be, but this requires us to realize that the universe does not revolve around us. When we begin to take our eyes off of ourselves, and place them on Christ and living for his kingdom, we will begin to experience the most fulfilling type of life we could imagine.

It was great to be with you all on Sunday night.

God bless you and I will see you next week at the Gathering!

-Tim

Momentum

What's up everybody!
First of all I must say that we had an awesome Easter together at the Gathering! I hope you enjoyed the service, but most importantly, I hope you know that God enjoyed the service and your participation in it. It was great to see everyone connecting in worship together in celebration of our Lord who is risen! Yeah, we are broken, but we cannot remain there, we cannot focus there. He is risen! We must place our eyes on Jesus, and in doing so, our brokenness becomes our reason for rejoicing, joy, and celebration, for His power is made perfect in weakness.

After exciting weekends we carry a sort of spiritual momentum. Don't let it fade. Hold on to it and protect it with all you have. It is easy to get complacent, and then wonder where our spiritual fire went. I pray that we would continue to grow in our commitment to the Lord, and grow together as a community as we continue to move into the future together.

God bless you guys as you continue to seek His will for your life.

See you next week at the Gathering!!!

Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

We look out in the world, or around at others, and we wonder what it is that gives them the boldness and courage to live life with such passion. Some people seem to pursue life with clarity, knowing exactly what they want, giving their lives for it. The question we ask is, "What insider information do they know that gives them the confidence to do what they do?" I think of people like Martin Luther King Jr.

So many people are trying to sell us insider information. Just send in your payment or buy this book and your life will be utterly transformed by the insider secrets that nobody else in the history of the universe has ever known about before.

But it's not about insider information. It's not about knowing what is going to happen, it's about knowing who is going to be there when it does.

What gave Joseph of Arimathea the boldness to go to the very man who sentenced Jesus do die and ask for Jesus' body, and I believe what gave Martin Luther King Jr the boldness and the courage to fight so hard for civil rights, wasn't that they had some sort of insider information. They had no guarantees how life on earth would turn out. It's not about what is going to happen, it is about who is going to be there when it does.

In life we are given no guarantees. Life comes at us hard and fast sometimes. In the maze of life, turn down the path that leads to Jesus, because we know that Jesus will be with us when life happens, no matter what our struggles are, our sins are, our issues are. We don't need to know what is going to happen in the future of our lives, we just need to know that Jesus will be with us when it does. That is what gives us the strength and courage to live boldly and courageously in this life.

God bless you all,

See you next week at the Gathering.

-Tim

Retreat!!!

Our retreat less than a week away!
Here is a letter to the Gathering from our guest speaker:

Dear Friends of the Gathering,

Though we have not met, you each continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Just thinking of you fills me with joy. I am excited for the upcoming retreat, but regardless of whether or not you are able to come, I pray you can be encouraged, empowered, challenged, and reminded daily how much you are loved.

I realize that the question running through all of your minds is who am I? I do not come with a name everyone has heard of, I do not have a reputation of great acclaim, so who then am I? I am many things. I am a friend, a brother, and a son. I am a student and a teacher. I am a retail associate and a youth minister. I am a speaker and a listener. I am a dwarf of physical stature and a giant of heart. I am Eric. But the focus of this retreat is not me. We come to this retreat each of us along a journey of faith. Some are just beginning, others have labored the road for years. But as we come may we come as family to fellowship, worship, and grow.Yours in Christ,

Eric

Jesus is Stripped and Nailed to the Cross

Over the last two Sundays we have seen Jesus stripped and nailed to the cross. Although Jesus was stripped of his clothes physically, we also see that Jesus emptied himself voluntarily, not considering his divine status as something to use to his own advantage. And so...Jesus was nailed to the cross.

We look at the cross and we can see one of two things. We can either see a man who was a liar and a failure, or we can see the Son of God who spoke truth and accomplished his purpose. And what was that purpose? Freedom! But the freedom Jesus came to bring about went beyond the scope of overthrowing the Roman empire, like the other Jewish freedom fighters that had come before and after him. Jesus had an eternal perspective, a spiritual perspective. Jesus was a freedom fighter, but unlike the others, he was fighting a spiritual battle.

The people taunted Jesus while he was on the cross. They told him to save himself and come down from the cross if he was who he said he was. But if Jesus would have come down from the cross, then Satan would have won. If Jesus came down from the cross, he wouldn't have been any different than the other freedom fighters before him. So Jesus stayed on the cross, knowing that he was not fighting for freedom from the Roman Empire, but for the freedom of your soul and mine.

On the cross Jesus took our sins and our death, the two things that Satan had over us. But staying on the cross meant victory over sin and victory over death, and ultimately victory over Satan. So it is when we come to the cross, die to ourselves, and let Jesus in to be Lord, then we find breakthrough and healing and forgiveness in our lives. When we come to Jesus we are saved, and as we commit with all we are to following Jesus, daily dying to ourselves and walking with him, then we begin to have victory. In all this we can be confident that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion.

Those nails might have been the weapons people used to stop who they thought was another political and social nuisance, but when we get an eternal perspective, a spiritual perspective, we see that those nails were the weapons Jesus used to defeat Satan and set us free to experience forgiveness, peace, love, joy, breakthrough and healing in our lives.

Praise God!

See you all next week at the Gathering.

Blessings,

-Tim

Knowing Christ

As we continue on our journey to the cross with Christ, we encountered a scene where Jesus is weak, and Simon is commissioned to carry the cross. At first glance one might assume that Simon loves Jesus, is a follower of Jesus that has come to his aid. But most likely Simon is simply a Jew in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, not a close acquaintance to Jesus. Probably unknowingly Simon was carrying out Jesus' teaching. Jesus taught that if a soldier asks you to carry his gear for a mile, then carry it two. It is ironic that Jesus is now the beneficiary of such teaching.

I see in this a danger that can be a reality for every Christian. The danger is that we substitute doing the things that Jesus taught for actually knowing Jesus. We can take our relationship with Christ for granted and get caught up in creating a long list of good deeds to the neglect of our relationship with Jesus. It is one thing to do what Jesus says, but an entirely different thing to know the Jesus who says it.

We know that Jesus should be at the center of all we do, so we hold onto him as we reach out with the other hand to do his work in the world. But soon there is so much to do, so much life responsibility, so many deadlines, etc, that we have to use both hands to all the work. The problem is, using both hands means letting go of Jesus. And if Jesus is at the center, then to use both hands we have to turn our backs on Jesus.

I pray that we would never take our relationship with Christ for granted, and that we would never do anything in this world without first and foremost getting connected to Jesus, the source out of which true and holy work will flow. There is no point to anything unless Christ is in it. May we, individually and as a community, seek to put Christ at the center of it all every day, and continue that habit on into eternity.

Blessings in Christ.

See you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim

Jesus Carries His Cross

Martin Luther said, "Living, or rather dying and being damned make a theologian, not understanding, reading or speculating." God can't be found in the ascent of our intellect to places of speculation through reason. God can't be found in taking our minds to higher levels or arguing the logic of forms behind reality. Our minds might be able to conceive of a universe that exists because of the work of some ultimate creator, but ultimately God is found where we find divinity emptying itself and dying on a cross.

One truly begins to know God, not in reading or studying books and making proposals about the nature of God, but rather in suffering, because the kingdom of God has come for the suffering, the dying, the poor, and those who mourn. And who doesn't understand what it means to lose someone, or suffer, or be poor or hunger for justice?

Last night we talked about Jesus carrying his cross. Jesus said that if we want to follow him, we must take up our cross. Taking up our cross means being willing to suffer and even die for Christ, but perhaps there is another aspect. Perhaps taking up our cross also means allowing Jesus into our situations, into our suffering, to walk with us in it, and lead us out of it.

Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."

Sometimes in our suffering we feel no more valuable than the rocks on the ground. Sometimes the world makes us feel like rocks that get trampled upon. But if people were kept from praising the Lord, even the rocks would cry out. And when Jesus was carrying his cross, the rocks were the willing vessels to catch his precious blood as it fell to the ground.

I would rather be a rock covered in the blood of Jesus than a diamond on the hand of a queen. (Both are rocks anyway, one just knows it). So as we jouney to the cross during this season, let us be like the rocks, covered in the blood of Jesus and bursting forth with praise.

God bless you all this week!
See you next week at the Gathering.
-Tim

Ash Wednesday

From dust you came, and to dust you shall return...until... Maranatha, Lord Jesus come quickly.

Last night we had the opportunity to express sorrow and repentance before God. We were reminded of our condition, our fallen nature under the judgment of God to return to the dust from which we came. Until.

Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of our journey to the cross together, a journey from despair to hope. Though we confess our sin on Ash Wednesday, we celebrate forgiveness and new life on Easter. Though the journey begins with sorrow, we travel ever closer to joy.

We invite you to consider this journey, and join us in the weeks to come as we make our way to the cross and the empty tomb.

The Lord be with you,

-Tim

Let God Love You

Use this space to sit in silence and...







Let...God...love...you
















.

Love Gone Wrong

We must understand that though our experiences of love on a daily basis prove love gone wrong, God's love never went wrong. With our sin and rebellion against God the paradise of the Garden of Eden has faded away, and with it went love. But not on God's part! God's love never went wrong, and God perseveres through the most difficult versions of love that we can muster up.

We see it in the story of Adam and Eve, and we see it in the story of our lives every day, where pride, shame, guilt, deception, and blame (to mention a few) work their way into human love, and human love is now love gone wrong.

However...even though true life and true love faded with the Garden of Eden and have become a distant memory for us, they are not gone. God's love never went wrong, and though the Tree of Life for Adam and Eve faded away, for us the Tree of Life is becoming ever clearer...it is the cross of Christ.

This world is looking for a love potion. We are looking for some sort of fix for the perverted versions of love we see and experience every day, but there is only one way to experience true love. True love can never be legislated, it can never be programmed, and it can never be forced...it must be experienced.

Though true life and true love faded in the Garden, they are not gone. Quiet...be still...and look at the cross of Christ. That is true love expressed to you, yesterday, today, and forever. We tap into that love through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is that love that has the power to transform us and transform the world.

Jesus said, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" (John 14:9-11 NLT)

Remain in his love, and our Joy will overflow.
Blessings on you all.
See you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim

Construction

If "liturgy" is the work of the people, and God is enthroned on the praises of his people (psalm 22:3), then when we show up to worship we literally show up to work, and our job is to construct a throne of praise for God. We are carpenters and construction workers!

The amazing thing about worship is that we don't do it out of duty or obligation. We worship God because of his love that endures forever. We worship God because he has made peace with us. He...has made peace with us! We are the ones who have offended God, who have caused tension and disconnection from God. Yet it is God who through Christ made peace with us. Therefore, worship is not about trying to make peace with God. That is already done! Worship is not about trying to get into heaven, for we are saved by grace through faith. Worship is our grateful response, our offering of a throne that is worthy of our King, a throne upon which our King is pleased to dwell.

For this reason, we experience the benefits and blessings of God's presence among us. That is why worship is beneficial for us. For although we humble ourselves in worship, and work to build God a throne of praise, God's presence spills over into our lives, and becomes the driving force behind all that we do.

We had a wonderful night of extended worship last night. I know God was blessed by the throne we built for him.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will see you next week at the construction site we call the Gathering.

In Him,
-Tim

Freedom, Power, and Works

Hello everybody!
Sunday night marked the last of our "Open Door" series. I talked about the freedom and power in Christ that characterizes life when we step forward in faith to what God has for us. We can easily get caught up in this mentality that we have to do good things in order for God to love us, or in order to get into heaven. The truth is, the work was done by Christ on the Cross. The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are free from works.

However, there is another side to it. We are free from works according to salvation, so we don't have to beat ourselves up or agonize over our sin. We are forgiven in Christ, and God loves us. In that sense, we are free from works. On the other hand, we are not free from works. We pursue works, according to Luther, in order to make the outer life conform to what has taken place inside of us because of Christ. Works help us make progress in our spiritual lives. This fits with what James says when he writes, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).

I want to post the things that Martin Luther wrote about this so that you might have time to reflect on what he said. These quotes come from his work entitled "The Freedom of a Christian Man." I took the quotes from Hillerbrand, H. ed. The Protestant Reformation. Harper Torchbooks; New York, 1968. The page numbers are listed after each quote.

"A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all" (p. 4).

"Insofar as he is free he does no works, but insofar as he is a servant he does all kinds of works..." (p. 16)

"...a man is abundantly and sufficiently justified by faith inwardly...[yet] in this life he must control his own body and have dealings with men. Here the works begin; here a man cannot enjoy leisure; here he must indeed take care to discipline his body...and to subject it to the Spirit so that it will obey and conform to the inner man and faith and not revolt against faith and hinder the inner man, as it is the nature of the body to do if it is not held in check..." (p. 16).

Awesome stuff! This is great! And this writing is nearly 500 years old! It's a bit of a dense read, but what Luther is saying is that works help us make spiritual progress, and help our outer lives conform to what has taken place inside when we came to Christ.

I hope this is encouraging, and inspires us to conform our lives to the image of Christ so that our outer lives reflect what God has done inside, and we experience the power of God as we make progress in our faith and seek to transform the world.

God bless you all!
See you next week at the Gathering.
-Tim

Moving Foward

After the Israelites wondered through the wilderness for 40 years, they were presented with a new challenge to entering into to the Promised Land, namely, the Jordan River. And it was at flood stage! A whole new generation got to experience the power of God for themselves as their parents did when God parted the water for them. So they stepped up in faith and experienced God for themselves. The river was in the way, it was flooding its banks, yet they moved forward trusting God and God revealed his power.

I pray that we become people that move forward in faith. I believe that God wants to show his power to us, that we might see it with our own eyes and experience him in our own lives. Sometimes the waters of life are raging. God can and will part a way. We move forward, and God provides. We see God's power, and we humbly bow in adoration.

There is a river that we stand before now. It is a river that changes lives, a river that brings us into the kingdom of God, by which we have access to God and his Spirit comes to dwell with power in us. The river runs from the cross of Christ...the blood of the man Jesus who was God dying for us.

I pray that we walk through it with confidence, dedication, and commitment. I pray that 2007 is a year that we go deeper with God, we grow in our relationship with Christ, we become more committed disciples of Jesus, more passionate worshippers of God, and the fruit of the Spirit is produced in us and through us.

What an awesome service Sunday night! God was with us and I was so excited to share that time with you all. We are pressing forward into the future that God has for us. As I said on Sunday, we are standing at the door. God goes before us, and we step forward in faith.

There are a lot of exciting things coming up in 2007. Some of us will be going to other parts of the world, sharing our faith with others, reaching out to our community, joining small groups, serving with set-up needs, trusting God with our money, our relationship, our careers, or doing other things that God presents us with. I hope that as we continue to move throughout the year, we grow deeper in our faith and in our love for God, each other, and the world. God wants to show us his power in our lives. He has gone before us. Will we trust him and follow?

God bless you all.
See you next week at the Gathering!
-Tim