Midweek Memo Column

Here's the column from our Midweek Memo.  It introduces the challenge we're taking on as a church this fall:  the New Testament in 75 Days.  I'll have a lot more to say about it in the days to come.

Dear Purchased People of God,

One of the amazing gifts that God has left with us on the earth is His Word. We prize it highly here at Heritage Park. We teach it regularly and systematically. We offer counsel from it. It guides our prayers and songs. In it we find the great and magnificent promises of God, we see the surpassing worth of knowing Him, and we understand His best way for us to relate to Him and others. The Bible is a treasure.

And as I mentioned on Sunday, we’re going to read the NT together this fall. It’s a 75-day journey through the 27 books of the NT which I believe is going to deepen us and mature us as a church. We’ll start September 13th and be reading about 4 chapters per day. There are reading guides already out in the Welcome Center and we’ll be publishing them on the website too. For those with iPhones, we’ll have an app that will remind you and provide you the assigned reading for the day. We’ll also have time to discuss it in Sunday School and small groups and I’ll blog about things I’m seeing. I can’t wait to see how God shapes us.

Don’t worry about your ability to do this. You’re capable. And we’re not going to do guilt either. That’s the Enemy’s way of discouraging you if you happen to miss a day. Prepare yourself and let’s press on to know Him.

Kingdom... 

Trent

Haiti Update

Just a quick update on the Haiti Mission project.  We have achieved our first goal, raising $3000 for the house we're going to build.  We've committed to a duplex, which is $6000, and are believing God for the remainder.  If you'd like to participate financially, you can send a check to Heritage Park marked Haiti Missions.

Also, we met as a team for the first time yesterday (all those who could).  It's an exciting group of men who are full of questions and readiness.  Please pray for all of us and the families we'll leave behind during that week.

I read this thought in Leslie Newbiggin's book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society.  Some people focus on the evangelistic mission of the church and making sure people understand the message that God has sent to us in His Son.  Some people focus on the liberation mission of the church, making sure that societies, structures, powers and authorities do not win the day and people are set free in Jesus' name.  He made a good point:  words without deeds ring hollow, deeds without words are purposeless.  The words explain the deeds and the deeds authenticate the words.

You want to know why we're going to Haiti and dropping some serious coin on that effort?  That's why.

Sermon Notes from Sunday 8.29.10

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 8.29.  We looked at the passage where Jesus heals the deaf and mute man.  The part I couldn't get over in the text is God the Son sighing.  I wonder what that sounded like.  You can find sermon audio and these notes in PDF format at sermons.heritagepark.org.  May we live with the courage like this world "ain't what it oughta be."  Amen.

God Sighs (Pt. 1)

Mark 7.31-37

Merit

• Nothing about this man deserved Jesus’ ministry.
• There is nothing he offers Jesus that deserved His attention.

Personal

• He deals with us personally and we must deal with Him the same way.
• Dealing personally does not mean dealing privately.

Presence

• We are never alone in our life.
• His presence brings comfort.
• His presence brings help.
• His presence brings a sense of “ought.”

Ripple

• Jesus told them not to tell because He didn’t want people to get the wrong idea of Messiah.
• It is the normal response to God’s work in our lives to speak of it to others.

Post #150 - God's Questions and God's Commands

Questions are powerful parts of language.  You can change the course of conversation, start a conversation, or terminate a conversation with a question.  They carry influence and often prove a little scary.

Consider these two:  Who will go for us?  Who do you say that I am?

One asked by God to Isaiah the prophet (Isa. 6).  One asked by God to His followers (Mark 8).

It's been my experience in relationship with God as well as student of the Scriptures that He asks questions when He wants me to think about something, to search my heart, to reveal something about Himself to me or about me to me.  His searchlight gets turned onto my life or circumstance and I get to see what He sees or see something how He sees it.

I compare that to the times when I've heard God's command.  I hear them often through the Scriptures and have a heard something direct and personal a few times.  But none of those have ever sounded like questions.  They sound like commands, orders, mandates.

His questions are invitations.  His commands are directives.

His questions can be direction-oriented, but seem to always be revelation.  His commands are most often direction-oriented, and demand my submission.

What's true about both:  they are equal parts of my relationship to the God of the Universe.  What an incredible God that I am brought into relationship with Him that He never finds boring and in which He's never too busy to talk about life.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

And a big post-script:  thanks for reading.  150 posts has required a lot of time and thought, so I wanted to say I'm grateful for anyone who honors me by reading.

Bearing Burdens, Sharing Burdens

I talked to a friend of mine on the phone yesterday who's in the midst of trial and tribulation, frustration and fire.  I heard it in his voice and in his words.  He was honest and grateful for the call.  One of the things he said that stuck with me:  "I just tend to stuff things.  I know it's not right, but I do."

And that got me to thinking.  Why don't we take our burdens to God?  What is it about us, our burden, or God that we don't respond to God's command to cast all our anxiety on Him?  There may be 1000 reasons, but here are a couple.  We don't take it to God because...

We don't actually think God cares for our life.  We may think God cares about the economy, terrorism, heaven, or gay marriage, but He doesn't care about the average, everyday of life on Main Street.  But the Scripture is clear:  God does care for you, for you as you are, for your life as it happens on Tuesdays at 3:38pm.

We're prideful in that we think we can carry this on our own, managing the stressors and situations of life.  Pride is an isolating force, convincing us we don't need others.  Even when others seek to help or intervene, we answer their inquiries with the teenage-inspired attitude of "I got this."  Pride gets particularly insidious when we actually share about our burden or issue but don't share it.  This is the guy or gal who constantly talks about their burden but doesn't actually do anything about it nor let others do anything about it.

We're guilty and this is my way to atone for my sin.  Because I did sin A, this burden C or D or E is in my life.  Surely if I carry the burden, sin A won't haunt me and I can make it right.  But there is only one way that sin is atoned for and made right.  That is through the cross of Jesus Christ where the Son of God bore the wrath of God for those who have faith in God.

We're scared because this burden has become so much a part of me that I'll feel lost without it.  Like some jacked-up Stockholm Syndrome, I question:  if I release this, what will my identity be?

Instead, cast all your cares/anxieties/worries on Him because He cares for you.

Haiti...wanna go? Wanna help?

For those 4 of you who have been wondering, we're officially on for our trip to Haiti.  We're going in October with YWAM and will be building a duplex for two families.  There are scores of implications for families who live in solid, concrete, non-dirt floor homes.  The incidence of intestinal issues drop by 40% just by getting them off dirt.  Having a debt-free home also helps break generational cycles of poverty.  I could go on.

Instead, I'll issue an invitation.

Yes, that's right, an invitation.  You're invited to participate with me and the others who are going to bless these families, give a cup of cold water both literally and figuratively to them in Jesus' name, and hopefully get to tell them of His care for them (through a translator, unless one of you is fluent in Creole).  So here is the invitation...

First, please pray with us.  Pray for us.  Pray for the families whose house we're building.  Pray for our families we'll leave behind.  Pray for safety.  Pray for evangelistic opportunities.

Second, if you want to participate financially, you can send a check to Heritage Park with Haiti Missions in the subject line.  We have to raise $6000 to build the duplex.  Every dime of what you give will go toward the house.  Somewhere along the way, I used to be skittish about asking for money on stuff like this.  Obviously I'm not any more.  Pray about giving and then do what God tells you to do.  We're about 1/3 of the way as of today and any amount helps.

Third, there are still a few spots open.  Cost runs around $1100 plus incidentals (shots, etc.).  Should be a fun team, with people from 3 states participating.  If you want to go, just comment here and I'll touch base with you.

Why are some parts of the Bible hard to understand?

I preached yesterday from Mark 7.14-30.  In the midst of the sermon, I heard myself confess to the congregation that I didn't like part of that text, in particular the part about the Syrophonecian woman.  It's kind of an off-putting story on first reading.  And I read it, and read it and read it and read it and read it and read it.  I did Greek.  I did English.  I did different translations.

Why are such stories and difficult texts in the Bible?

First, there is the human factor.  We're living in 2010, not 45 AD.  My culture is western, not middle eastern.  There is a lot of distance between me and the text.  Not every story or paragraph in the Bible is hard to understand, but some are - and the difficulty is contributed to by the distance between me and the author.  It's rarely insurmountable, but it is distant.

Second, the humility factor.  I think God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to put hard things in the Bible because it keeps us dependent on and humble before Him.  Should we have it all figured out, we'd probably live in the pride He opposes.

Third, the relational factor.  Were we to have every iota and minutiae figured out, our hearts would be inclined to relate to the text instead of the God who inspired the text.  God didn't give us the Bible so we could love the Bible.  He gave it to us so we could love Him.

Lastly, when you combine humility, relationship, and the pursuit of understanding, you find transformation.  Working hard on what the Bible means, how an argument works in the text, how a Gentile woman is called a dog but still bold enough to keep asking for Jesus' help - these are processes that God uses for transformation in our lives.

So keep studying.  Keep reading.  Even when you don't understand it, the Bible still has authority over you and me.  Stay humble.  Be a learner, or, when you can't figure it out, at least a ponderer of these things.

Sermon Notes from Sunday 8.22.10

Here are the sermon notes from today's sermon from Mark 7.14-30.  We talked about how Christ aims for our hearts and not our actions and the demonstration of that with the Syrophonecian woman.  The sermon audio should be up on the web early in the week as well as the PDF version of these notes, findable at sermons.heritagepark.org.  May God grant us the grace to live out what we hear.

The Target of Jesus

Mark 7.14-30

What is Jesus saying?

• It is not our external purity that is God’s priority but our internal purity.
• External purity will flow from internal purity.
• Even external commands or disciplines are designed to shape the heart.

What is this heart that Jesus targets?

• The biblical heart is not emotion, compassion, or affection.
• The biblical heart is the center of the self – what makes you who you are.

Why does he target the heart?

• He knows that all impurity flows from the idols of the heart.
• He knows that you can fix actions but leave the heart untouched.
• He pursues His glory in your joy.
• When our purpose and passion unite, God receives greatest glory.

What about this woman?

• She’s the consummate outsider.
• She is humble and bold. 

Just because this is awesome

For all the space nerds out there and for those who enjoy amazing video that you just can't fabricate, I present to you the launch of STS-124 Discovery as seen from a tiny camera attached to one of the solid rocket boosters.  A couple of things to know about the video:

When it starts, you're looking at the side of the external fuel tank.

The fireworks get started about 1:40 or so.  Fast forward to there.

There's a blacked out part for about 30 seconds at about the 5:00 mark.

Enjoy!

Single or Married and the Kingdom

CNN.com leads this morning with a story about singleness.  46% of households in the US are maintained by single people.  Bad news for you ladies:  for every 100 single gals, there are only 88 single men.  Of course of those 88, maybe only a few are worth pursuing a relationship with.

Some guiding thoughts from the Bible on all of this...

Singleness isn't a curse.  For those who are single by choice or circumstance, the Kingdom of God is still available.  We partied last night at a single mom's house who is a widow raising three kids.  She's great and going a fabulous job at life.

Singleness can free you up to pursue Kingdom things.  Obviously if you have kids, it's more constrained, but if you're 40 and have a great job and are single, you're free to go to Haiti or Burma or Pakistan on mission without much notice.  You have the opportunity to stay out late with lost friends or spend a Saturday driving a homebound widow to the store, the cleaners and the store again for all the things you forgot.  Married folks have their own ministry to the family, but they also have less freedom in the above scenarios.  It's a trade-off in many ways.

Singleness requires the same life of holiness as anyone else.  There are no excuses, no outs, no permissions, no different standards.  It is holiness that God requires - holiness of body, heart, mind, soul.

Lastly, just because a person is single now doesn't mean single forever.  Even later than you hoped or thought, God can bring Eve to Adam.  While you are single, take great advantage of the opportunities God provides.  Those opportunities often shape you into who you'll be in marriage.

But that's me thinking thoughts...