"Each one should use whatever gift he's received to serve others."
1 Pet. 4:10 (NIV)
True heroism is remarkably sober, very under-dramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost.-- Arthur Ashe
"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"It is not my aching back that prevents me from helping my neighbor any more than my choleric temperament. It's my don't-wanna-do-it attitude that does it."-- Emily Carder
What a church! What a family! What great love we have for others. I love pastoring a church that loves others and cares about it's community too. We are looking and thinking and planning and praying outside out walls. YES, this is the call of the church. I am still being moved by how our church serves and gives. With the passing (graduation to heaven) of a long time church member - Richard Flores, we saw so many of our church step up and serve. It is not the easiest thing to pull off three AM services and then turn around and two hours later turn around and set up for a memorial service. Our worship team, tech team, sound team, and so many of you volunteered to set up tents and tables and chairs, to make and bring food of all kinds and to then lovingly serve those who came. I heard from several of the family members how touched they were by the tribute to Richard's life an the assurance they had that he was in the presence of God. That is the hope and blessing of the Christian faith. When this life is done, we are not done living. What makes our lives HIGH DEFINITION LIVES is that we have made room for God to work in us and given our hearts over to Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to move in us. As I watched people serve this past Sunday at all three services and then the memorial I was seeing a living illustration of the teaching I was bringing. I was so proud of our church and our willingness to touch the hearts of newcomers, long time members and our community. A first time guest to our church (this past Sunday) commented; "how warm and friendly everyone is here and their truly was no pressure." Someone else told me that their children, "have never enjoyed going to church - it was always difficult to get them to leave us and go to another room, but as we have come here now for two Sundays we are amazed at how much they are learning and desirous to come again - they love it here." I could go on and on bragging about our team but the key is this, God made us to be servants - we were created for mission - serving others. This last Sunday we learned that: Significance is not possible unless what we do contributes to the welfare of others.
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
John 10:10, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness, more and better life than you ever dreamed of.” (The Message) That is HIGH DEFINITION LIFE and the fullness Jesus brings is a life of service and significance. This past Sunday we began to learn a new verse for the week: Ephesians 2:10. “God has made us what we are in Christ Jesus. God made us to do good works which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” From another translation we have:
Ephesians 2:10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are. (CEV) God is stirring in us: Placing his Good Works inside of us. He opens doors, causes opportunities to take place – He prompts us, because on our own, we don’t desire to serve and lay down our lives. On our own we are not prone to do good things, but in HIGH DEFINITION living, God is moving us into a place of doing good works. He moves us to be a servant like Jesus was and is. God has given all of us the capacity to know Him, to be connected to Him and to do good works because of Him. I Corinthians 12:7 ” Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! (The Message)In the next few weeks we have opportunities to serve our community and our congregation (you can contact the church office for more information as space does not permit me to list it all) I can tell you that we will need 70 volunteers for the Special Olympics Car Show, on September 3rd. We will need people with trucks to help load and bring things to Ryon Park, those who can help us run the silent auction, food concessions, greet people, pick up trash, tear down and clean up. Last year we assisted the PD in raising $ 22,000 dollars for Special Olympics. This is truly the church reaching out and touching the community.
There are many teams at LFC that need additional team members, from children's teams to creative teams and greeting teams and our set-up teams for Sunday. The key is allowing God to make you a servant. To give you the courage he Lord? Are you serving others at work this week, or in your home this week or in your neighborhood this week.
You can and should give your life away - that is HIGH DEFINITION LIVING.
I really like John Wesley's motto: Do all the good you can by all the means you can by all the ways you can in all the places you can and at all the times you can to all the people you can as long as you ever can. You know, that is greatness. And that's what it means to live the HIGH DEFINITION LIFE and give ourselves away for Jesus sake.Prayerfully consider how you can make a difference in the lives of others and bring people one step closer to Jesus.
I am your fellow servant, and honored to serve our Lord.
1 Pet. 4:10 (NIV)
True heroism is remarkably sober, very under-dramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost.-- Arthur Ashe
"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"It is not my aching back that prevents me from helping my neighbor any more than my choleric temperament. It's my don't-wanna-do-it attitude that does it."-- Emily Carder
What a church! What a family! What great love we have for others. I love pastoring a church that loves others and cares about it's community too. We are looking and thinking and planning and praying outside out walls. YES, this is the call of the church. I am still being moved by how our church serves and gives. With the passing (graduation to heaven) of a long time church member - Richard Flores, we saw so many of our church step up and serve. It is not the easiest thing to pull off three AM services and then turn around and two hours later turn around and set up for a memorial service. Our worship team, tech team, sound team, and so many of you volunteered to set up tents and tables and chairs, to make and bring food of all kinds and to then lovingly serve those who came. I heard from several of the family members how touched they were by the tribute to Richard's life an the assurance they had that he was in the presence of God. That is the hope and blessing of the Christian faith. When this life is done, we are not done living. What makes our lives HIGH DEFINITION LIVES is that we have made room for God to work in us and given our hearts over to Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to move in us. As I watched people serve this past Sunday at all three services and then the memorial I was seeing a living illustration of the teaching I was bringing. I was so proud of our church and our willingness to touch the hearts of newcomers, long time members and our community. A first time guest to our church (this past Sunday) commented; "how warm and friendly everyone is here and their truly was no pressure." Someone else told me that their children, "have never enjoyed going to church - it was always difficult to get them to leave us and go to another room, but as we have come here now for two Sundays we are amazed at how much they are learning and desirous to come again - they love it here." I could go on and on bragging about our team but the key is this, God made us to be servants - we were created for mission - serving others. This last Sunday we learned that: Significance is not possible unless what we do contributes to the welfare of others.
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
John 10:10, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness, more and better life than you ever dreamed of.” (The Message) That is HIGH DEFINITION LIFE and the fullness Jesus brings is a life of service and significance. This past Sunday we began to learn a new verse for the week: Ephesians 2:10. “God has made us what we are in Christ Jesus. God made us to do good works which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” From another translation we have:
Ephesians 2:10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are. (CEV) God is stirring in us: Placing his Good Works inside of us. He opens doors, causes opportunities to take place – He prompts us, because on our own, we don’t desire to serve and lay down our lives. On our own we are not prone to do good things, but in HIGH DEFINITION living, God is moving us into a place of doing good works. He moves us to be a servant like Jesus was and is. God has given all of us the capacity to know Him, to be connected to Him and to do good works because of Him. I Corinthians 12:7 ” Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! (The Message)In the next few weeks we have opportunities to serve our community and our congregation (you can contact the church office for more information as space does not permit me to list it all) I can tell you that we will need 70 volunteers for the Special Olympics Car Show, on September 3rd. We will need people with trucks to help load and bring things to Ryon Park, those who can help us run the silent auction, food concessions, greet people, pick up trash, tear down and clean up. Last year we assisted the PD in raising $ 22,000 dollars for Special Olympics. This is truly the church reaching out and touching the community.
There are many teams at LFC that need additional team members, from children's teams to creative teams and greeting teams and our set-up teams for Sunday. The key is allowing God to make you a servant. To give you the courage he Lord? Are you serving others at work this week, or in your home this week or in your neighborhood this week.
You can and should give your life away - that is HIGH DEFINITION LIVING.
I really like John Wesley's motto: Do all the good you can by all the means you can by all the ways you can in all the places you can and at all the times you can to all the people you can as long as you ever can. You know, that is greatness. And that's what it means to live the HIGH DEFINITION LIFE and give ourselves away for Jesus sake.Prayerfully consider how you can make a difference in the lives of others and bring people one step closer to Jesus.
I am your fellow servant, and honored to serve our Lord.
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