Prayerwerks - Building a Life of Prayer Through Faith

I am currently doing a daily devotional called Daily Office, by Peter Scazzero.  He writes about "David, a man after God's own heart, and how he models the seamless integration of a full emotional life with a profound contemplative life with God.  He trusts in the LORD, pouring out his struggles, fears and anguish..."  Scazzero quotes, The Cry of the Soul, where Dan Allender and Tremper Longman summarize why awareness of our feelings is so important to our relationship with God.

Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality.  Listening to our emotions ushers us into reality.  And reality is where we meet God...Emotions are the language of the soul.  They are the cry that gives the heart a voice… However, we often turn a deaf ear – through emotional denial, distortion, or disengagement.  We strain out anything disturbing in order to gain tenuous control of our inner world.  We are frightened and ashamed of what leaks into our consciousness.  In neglecting our intense emotions, we are false to ourselves and lose a wonderful opportunity to know God.  We forget that change comes through brutal honesty and vulnerability before God.

If we are to have a powerful, life-changing prayer life, it requires total honesty with God.  Don’t hold back!  Tell God how you feel.  He can handle it and so can you with His help which is just a prayer away.  ASK!  Receiving is promised and it’s just around the corner of asking.

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

WHAT IS A GAY PERSON TO DO...

WHO SURRENDERS THEIR LIFE TO CHRIST?

(This reply is a response to that question)

The key to this dilemma boils down to the same uncomfortable questions it always does for every one of us who is considering Christianity:  Who is God?  Does He know what's best?  What is His remedy for my dilemma?  This is why I stress the absolute necessity of objective truth, based upon God’s Word alone.  God gives no place for subjective truth or alternate reality.  Once we move the bottle, as it were – we’re adrift in our own sea of man-made rules which bend and sway as often as our daily emotions.  Those emotions, left to their own devices, are unstable concoctions ready to explode at any given whim or moment.  Something has to hold those in check and we have neither the ability nor even desire to do so without a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Notice I did not say God.  Most everyone, in some form or fashion believes in God, hence the argument.  If not for some at least mitigated belief in God, there would be no conversation.  A belief in God, however, has no power to change a life.   James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder" James 2:19 (NIV).  My greatest concern, maybe moving me all the way to fear, is that we have a world of “professing Christians” who shudder at God, but refuse to believe and receive His Son in whose righteousness we are saved and by “whose stripes we are healed” Isaiah 53:5.

I know this seems long and tedious and doesn't answer the question about sex but the question is not about “sex” per say; it’s about who controls life and gives His followers, “…the desire and the power to do what pleases Him” Phil. 2:13 (NLT).  Apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ, we have neither desire nor power.  I’m going to quote a book everyone, including the LGBT community, questioning and non-questioning, should read. 

Rosaria Butterfield was a tenured Syracuse University English professor, who also held a joint teaching appointment in the Center for Women's Studies. As director of women’s studies, Butterfield promoted everything left, including her own lesbianism and pro-gay lifestyle.  The book,“The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert,” is her story of the dramatic change that led to, as she puts it, “a train wreck of contradictory feelings.”  Here is an excerpt from her testimony she gave to a group of students at Geneva College:

“One student asked: “how do you know you are healed if you are not having sex with a man?” In return, I asked him, “Why is my health as a Christian determined by having sex at all?” I went on to explain what has always seemed obvious to me, but often comes to a great shock to Christians. I explained that too often good Christians see sexual sin as merely sexual excess. To a good Christian, sex is God’s recreation for you as long as you play in God’s playground (marriage). No way, José. Not on God’s terms."

“What good Christians don’t realize is that sexual sin is not recreational sex gone overboard. Sexual sin is predatory. It won’t be “healed” by redeeming the context or the genders. Sexual sin must simply be killed. What is left of your sexuality after this annihilation is up to God. But healing, to the sexual sinner, is death: nothing more and nothing less. I told my audience that I think that too many young Christian fornicators plan that marriage will redeem their sin. Too many young Christian masturbators plan that marriage will redeem their patterns. Too many young Christian internet pornographers think that having legitimate sex will take away the desire to have illicit sex. They’re wrong. And the marriages that result from this line of thinking are dangerous places. I know, I told my audience, why over 50% of Christian marriages end in divorce: because Christians act as though marriage redeems sin. Marriage does not redeem sin. Only Jesus himself can do that.”

Butterfield goes on to say…

“When Christ gave me the strength to follow him, I didn't stop feeling like a lesbian. I've discovered that the Lord doesn’t change my feelings until I obey him. During one sermon, Ken (Butterfield's pastor at the time) pointed to John 7:17, and called this “the hermeneutics of obedience.” Jesus is speaking in this passage, and he says: “If anyone is willing to do God’s will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from myself.” Ah ha! Here it was! Obedience comes before understanding. I wanted to understand. But did I actually will to do his will? God promised to reveal this understanding to me if I “willed to do his will.” The Bible doesn’t just say do his will, but “will to do his will.” Wanting to understand is a theoretical statement; willing to do his will takes action.”

Butterfield, Rosaria (2012-09-06). The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Kindle Locations 494-500). Crown & Covenant Publications. Kindle Edition.

Just Like He Said

EASTER SUNDAY

He did it...He really did it!  The tomb is empty and He is risen from the dead, just as He said.  What love for us!  And what love for the Father Jesus portrayed as He absorbed God's wrath toward sin on our behalf.   Jesus didn't have to die, He chose to!  "...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 (ESV) 

Easter joy is God's love letter to all mankind.  It was and is the greatest picture of love in all of history.  Imagine, the Creator dying in order to pay for the sins of the creature.  What an awesome, mighty God we serve!

Our message?  BELIEVE JESUS AND OBEY HIS WORD!  Love God as Christ did, "doing the works of (His) Father."  Whatever it takes, believe!  Don't miss the power and reality of living the resurrected life which Christ makes available to all who believe in Him.  Knowing there's a hell to miss and heaven to gain, Jesus encourages us to do whatever it takes, just don't miss this resurrected Christ.  There's simply too much at stake!

"If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
John 10:37-38 (ESV) 

The Worst of Times...

Easter Saturday

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…"

While we readily recognize this quote from Dickens masterful work, The Tale of Two Cities, in it we can compare the confusion, not between London and Paris, but between hope alive and hope destroyed.

"Where's God?  His Son, or so we'd been led to believe, has just died a terrible, cruel death on a cross and has been dispatched, rather unceremoniously, in a borrowed, stone-cold tomb.  And oh, those three hours; darkness like I'd never experienced before.  It seemed as if God had turned His back on Him who claimed to be His one and only Son."

Indeed!  The age of wisdom has turned to the age of foolishness.  The very idea...the epoch of belief in Jesus, of Nazareth; the epoch of incredulity - that Cross.  There seemed to be such light in Him...but the darkness; it was so dark.  Our spring of hope, now dead, has truly become our winter of despair.

Wait?  He said to wait!  But for what?  "...we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."

Saturday's stillness seems eerily alone.

Friday - The Right Time

Easter Friday

Crushed!  Smashed!  Over and done!  "What were we thinking?!?"  Those must have been some of the thoughts racing through the disciples minds on that "Good Friday."  I'm sure it seemed anything but good to those who loved Jesus as they literally ran for their lives.  What must it have been like to witness the last three years of their investment, now being drug away in chains?

Why Jesus?  Why now?  Because He was about to do something for us that neither they nor we have the capacity to do for ourselves.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) 

So when is the right time for us to follow Christ?  The moment we realize the price of our sin, we surrender ourselves - everything we have, everything we are, to the Lordship of Christ.  It is at that point for us, that it indeed becomes, Good Friday!

New Evidence of The Old Story

Easter Thursday 

Maundy Thursday.  The name comes from the Latin word, mandatum, which means "a new commandment," which we find in John 13:34-35 when Jesus said,

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34-35 (NLT) 

God loves you.  It can sound so...hollow, so empty.  What does that mean?  How do we know?  Jesus told us that they, the world, will recognize this great love.  But how?  Proof positive: love for one another. The change of Christ is the change of life.  No longer am "I" #1; God is...and you are.  The New Commandment was the fulfillment of the old story.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..."  When we live out loud, Maundy Thursday's marching orders from the Lord Jesus, they will see through us that, "...whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life." 

Exhibit A: You and me!  As the old saying goes:  The proof's in the puddin'!  Amen & Amen!

The Rejected Savior

Easter Wednesday 
(Luke 19:41-44)

There He was, weeping.   Jesus Christ, the Son of God, weeping.  Why?  Because Jerusalem, the symbol of that which represented the people of God, had rejected Christ as their Messiah.  They wanted Him for what they could get from Him - an earthly king who would free them from Rome's tyranny.  Yet they rejected Him for who He was sent to be: their Messiah...their Savior...their Redeemer.

How many today reject Christ as Lord, wanting Him instead to be their savior, not Savior.  What's the difference?  If Jesus is only savior of our lives, then His lament over Jerusalem would apply to us as well.  If He's only savior, then we want the kingdom but not the King.  We want our problems fixed while refusing to bow to His Lordship.  It is shouting Hosanna one moment and crucify the next.

If Jesus is Savior, however, then everything changes!  And oh how wonderful those changes are when Christ becomes our personal, life-giving Savior, our Guarantor of eternal life as we submit to His Lordship over all. (See John 10:28)

"Cross" Examining Jesus

EASTER TUESDAY

The religious leaders were doing all they could to bring charges against Jesus.  In another feeble attempt to Cross Him up, they decided to trap Him with the old “what’s the most important commandment” trick.  (See Matthew22:34-40)  Loving God!  Yes!  Any religious person would agree but Jesus didn't stop there.  He gave them a second Greatest Commandment:  Love your neighbor as yourself!

Here’s the lesson:  We cannot say we love God as we ought without loving the things of God and the people Christ died for as we ought.  According to Christ, there cannot be a distinction between the two.  Loving God and loving others = Salvation through Christ.  Anything else is just half-gospel which, according to the Scripture, is no Gospel at all! (1 John 4:20-21)

Showing your love for God and others can be a simple gesture of good will.  This love, however, is the New Testament, agape love; a God-like, sacrificial love.  Therefore to love your neighbor, ultimately means that you would not want them to miss the glory of heaven and eternal life now, any more than you would want to miss it yourself.  

Who will you love enough to share the Good News of Christ with and invite them to worship with you this Easter?

HE SET HIS FACE LIKE FLINT

EASTER MONDAY

Sunday, I mentioned a prophecy concerning Christ written some 700 years before it came to pass. Isaiah 50:7 in the NLT states it this way:

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,determined to do his will.And I know that I will not be put to shame.
Isaiah 50:7 (NLT) 

What was it that Jesus set His face towards?  Jerusalem and the Cross!  Why was such dogged determination necessary? Because not only did Jesus know when and where He was going to die; He knew how He was going to die!  (See Isaiah 50:6; Luke  

18:31-33)

Did you ever think about why Jesus was so "troubled in His spirit?"  Because what He faced was HARD!  Just because it's God's plan does not mean it's easy!  What would He have you to do this week that takes real determination and follow through?  Even if you fear to the point of being "troubled" or dread the task, if you know it's the Father's will, then obey at all costs!

Why Attend TVCC This Weekend?

Attend TVCC this weekend if...

• You love God and want to know Him more intimately
• You love your Church (It's the people!)
• You are blessed to be able serve others during one of the services
• You have children and youth that you want to be saved and serving God
• You want to see those you invite be saved and know God's purpose for life

Those are five FANTASTIC reasons to be involved this weekend at TVCC.  I'm going to teach Part 4 of The Gospel and... Christ - The Warrior King.  Needless to say, I have great faith in what God is going to do here when we are faithful to invite others, serve Him, and pray passionately, as we celebrate the greatest season in the life of every believer - EASTER!  

Invite your friends, family, and co-workers (and strangers) to join you this weekend and discover, not a passive Christ but our Warrior King!

Here's the lineup for the rest of the series:

Sunday - Christ - The Warrior King

April   5 - Easter Sunday - The Life-Changing Power of The Resurrection

April 12 - The Gospel and...Homosexuality and Gay Marriage

April 19 - The Gospel and...Sexual Atheism

April 26 - The Gospel and...The Abusive and Elusive Family

May    3 - The Gospel and...Baptism

See y'all this weekend!

Pastor Steve

Is Interracial Dating & Marriage Wrong?

Do we really need to talk about this?  

Of course we do!  There have been those who said, "Well, our people are certainly open to interracial relationships."  While I agree that most are, I also know that there are still deep, racial tensions in the good ole south (and north too!).  So this week we'll dive into why those tensions and what The Gospel teaches us on the subject.

While explaining our new series, The Gospel and... to a friend who doesn't attend TVCC, the need for this series was confirmed.  As we discussed the purpose of the series and the topic for this weekend, she said she loved how we at TVCC dealt with real-life struggles people were dealing with in 2015.  While we were discussing these issues, two members who are very active volunteer leaders from TVCC joined in the conversation.  One of the men was white, the other black.  As we talked, reference was made to a racist stance that I thought was long dead, about black men being in Big Sandy after dark.  (If you're not a Henry or Benton County native, there used to be a sign at the Benton County line stating such!  No kidding! I saw it as a teenager.)

What my friend said next confirmed the need to teach this message:  "That actually happened to me...recently!"  I was floored, I was angry, I wanted to call  the fire of God down on somebody.  But the bottom line?  I was hurt; sickened for my friend.  Oh yes, racism is alive and well!  However, so is God, and He has the power and capacity to heal all.  As the song says that we learned as children:

Red and yellow
Black and white
They are precious
In His sight.
Jesus loves the little children
of the world.

We'll talk about that this weekend as we continue in our series, The Gospel and...

Pastor Steve

The Gospel & ... Mighty & Miraculous Faith

Are you Christian or Deist?

Is God alive and well?  Does He still act in our world today?  Many people are more deist than they are Christian.  A deist believes, essentially, that God exists, and though He created us, has left us to make it on our own the best we can.  He doesn't intervene in the affairs of mankind.  Why do I say many "believers" appear to be deists rather than Christian?

Simply this; we make decisions which indicate that we believe ...

• God's Word is not the final authority for all I do
• God is not intimately involved in my life on a day-by-day basis

In either of the above, I am subject to the limitations of my humanness, i.e., my flesh, and I neither revere nor seek to follow God as if His Word is the basis for all truth.  

What if we DID have faith the size of the mustard seed?  What if we DO believe God not only created us and has the power to save us, but will also empower a faith in every believer that is both MIGHTY & MIRACULOUS, i.e., life changing faith!  We would live life in a totally different manner.  I so want that for all of us.  

Join us at TVCC this Sunday, online (only if you can't attend because of illness or distance), or podcast, as we discover,

THE GOSPEL & ... MIGHTY & MIRACULOUS FAITH 

See y'all there!

Steve

The Awesome Tennessee Valley Volunteers!

Here is a summation of the current listing of active volunteers at TVCC.  As we've all seen, SAVED PEOPLE SERVE PEOPLE!

Ministry		Active Volunteers
Angel Tree		19
Baptism		4
CARE Net		32
Children Ministry		56
Communion		66
Celebrate Recovery		23
Offering Team		15
Office/Sunday Prep		16
Parking & Safety		22
Prayer		13
Small Group Leaders		26
Tech Team		24
Worship		25
Youth		8
Ushers		22
Greeters		32
Grill & Grub		10
		413

TVCC Saturday Share Jesus Training

Hey Guys! 

I’m looking forward to our time together Saturday.  We have a large enough group that we’ll meet in the front of the auditorium.  Here are the pertinent details:

• When: January 17, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Where: TVCC Worship Center
• Why: To teach an overview of Sharing Jesus because…FOUND PEOPLE FIND PEOPLE!
• Who: All ages who want to know how to tell someone about Jesus
• What you’ll need: Just you and a notepad, if you desire to take notes.  I’ll have books and Bibles that each person will receive at no charge.
• CHILDCARE WILL BE PROVIDED

I will be praying for you and our time together.  Also, as I said, I’m extending the present series by one additional week.  The final sermon on FEBRUARY 15^TH will be a clear presentation of the gospel.  It will be an uplifting message for everyone but primarily, for those who are not yet followers of Christ. I’m so encouraged by all that God continues to do through you!

See you Saturday!

Steve

WE BELIEVE

I Love My Church Week – 2

Steve Gallimore | pastorsteve@tvcc.us

October 19, 2014

7 Core Beliefs of Tennessee Valley…

1.      The Bible

What we believe determines how we behave.

You don’t even have to be a Christian to agree with that statement.  Because, belief impacts behavior.  If we really believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it must make a difference in how we live.  It was God-breathed and when read and followed, it “straightens us out and helps us do what is right.”

The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 (TLB)

What we don’t know WILL hurt us.  That’s why memorizing Scripture is so vital for every believer.  God’s Word keeps us in God’s will and out of trouble!

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11 (ESV)

Additional Study: Matthew 6:1-18 reveals three “righteous acts” that are to be done in a particular way and each has a promise that you need to know!  THIS IS WORTH YOUR TIME!

2.      God The Father
Did you notice I didn’t say, “God.”  Most everyone says they believe in “a” god but that doesn’t’ mean they believe in the One True God; God the Father!  Why?  Because “God” can mean anything, especially these days.  Jesus taught us that it’s not about religious activities and that God the Father is a personal God who is approachable in a relationship with us who love Him and call upon His name.

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

Matthew 6:9 (NLT)

A mark of a caring parent is that they are approachable and it’s okay to ask for what you need.  God is infinitely more so!  He desires deeply for His children to come to Him and ask!

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Matthew 7:11 (NLT)

3.       God The Son – Jesus Christ

Although we are all aware of others who have greatly impacted our world, no one has ever impacted our world like the Lord Jesus.  He came to reveal to us what God was like and to pay the debt we all owe because we have all sinned against a Holy & Just God.  Christ truth will set us free! (See John 8:31-32)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (ESV)

If you’ve ever wondered whether or not God loves you, all you need to do is to look at Jesus Christ.  If you’re tired of walking in darkness and misery and addiction and you want to move from a dark, just-existing-life into a life of light and meaning and purpose, then Jesus Christ is the Man for you.

The message is clear – if you want to stay out of dark, scary, messy places, walk in the light!  Might I add…we need to follow closely!

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

John 8:12 (NKJV)

4.       God The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God!  And He doesn’t cause you to lose control of yourself and do weird stuff.  He actually does takes control of you… for the edification of, the making known of the Lord Jesus, and thus bringing glory to God the Father.  The Bible is very clear here as it describes the work of the Holy Spirit.  Look at what happens in the life of every follower of Christ when you receive Christ as Lord:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

You…receive power…become witnesses…and it doesn’t stop!  And that happens as God the Holy Spirit supplies you with strength, direction, and guidance in all you do.  It is a daily, as you are going, command that we live out loud for Him!

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Romans 8:9 (ESV)

Secondly, and this is a very, very important thing the Holy Spirit does for every true believer:  He seals you in Christ (compare with the “pitch” which sealed Noah’s Ark.

When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 (HCSB)

Three things that the Holy Spirit does in a very practical way in the life of every Christ follower:

Direction – The Holy Spirit of God takes the Word of God and turns the light on for you!  He illuminates a path and directs our steps on that path.  That’s why you must read the Bible, know the Bible, learn and live what the Bible teaches.

Attention – The Holy Spirit will always direct your attention in two ways:

• On Jesus
• Serving Others

Have you ever been driving down the road and all of a sudden, you get the impression you need to pray for someone or call someone?  You haven’t even been thinking about them at all but nonetheless, the impression is strong.  Then when you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, He will confirm your faithfulness in your spirit as well.

Peace – The Holy Spirit is our promised peace (See John 14:25-27).  Jesus never said, “I’m going to keep you from the storms.  He did promise, however, that He would “never leave us or forsake us” (See John 14:16; Deut. 31:8) and would actually guide us through the storms.  That means we can face anything the world throws our way and come out standing strong. 

5.      The Crucifixion

Were any of you ever Washington Redskins fans, back in the day of Joe Theismann?  I was a huge Redskins fan at the time.  It was week 11 of the 1985 season and they were playing the NY Giants and the Giants had a blitz on.  Anyone remember who the famous lineman was who sacked Joe?  Yep, LT – Lawrence Taylor.  When he tackled him, LT came down on the mid-point of Joe’s left lower leg and it literally broke his leg half in two.  It was gruesome to say the least.  It was horrible…(click here to watch it…NO, NO, I wouldn’t do that to you.) It’s not pretty and once you’ve seen it, you don’t want to see it again.  That’s the way it was in the first few hundred years of the church.  They’d seen crucifixions and they didn’t want it in art or displayed on their walls; once was enough.

Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.  Matthew 27:26 (ESV)

But here’s the thing about the crucifixion; the church has made the crucifixion pretty.  While the crosses we wear are beautiful, their beauty must be seen as the reminder of the high price that was paid for our salvation.

6.      The Resurrection

Because we have the empty tomb we have no empty promises in Christ.  And because the tomb is empty, we have hope!  I believe in the promises of God because a man rose from the dead, proving He was God and because He kept His promise and returned from the dead, He’ll keep every other promise too!  Everything we do hinges on the resurrection!

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NLT)

The question Jesus asked of Martha, Lazarus’ sister, is the same question He asked of us today: Do you believe this?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 
John 11:25-26 (ESV)

7.      Jesus is Coming Back!

I don’t know when…

You don’t either…

For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah, return. Matthew 24:27 (TLB)

The key is simply this – BE READY!  HE IS COMING AGAIN!

People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. Matthew 24:39 (NLT)

It’s all about the GOSPEL! (See above, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

That’s why we’re passionate about taking the gospel to the world.  Jesus didn’t die on that so that we could build a monument; Christ died on that Cross so that He could start a movement.   That movement would sweep across the world and people would be totally absorbed in Him.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world through the local church and that’s why this church, not that we planted but that God planted, will ever be faithful to the gospel of Christ because Christ is the hope of the world. 

Next Steps to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ: 

1.  Memorize one of the verses from the sermon “We Believe”.  As you are faithful, according to the Scripture, God will reward your faithfulness.  (Suggestion if you want one: 2 Timothy 3:16 is a great verse to memorize.  Use your favorite version that you read each day.)

2.  Take some time today and this week to get alone with God the Father and ask Him for what you need.  Some possible areas to pray for would be:

• Yourself
• Family
• Friends
• TVCC Leadership
• Tennessee Valley Church - All ministries, leaders, and outreach
• Home and World Missions - especially our Haiti Mission Team and November trip
• Local and National Leaders

3.  How can you shine “your light” into a dark world this week?  Spend time with your children, teaching them to be a good influence in the lives of their friends as well?

4. Who do you know that needs to hear the gospel?  Begin praying now for an opportunity to invite them to TVCC or better yet, tell them your story and the difference Christ has made in your life.  Or better still…both!

Remember, next weekend is “wear your favorite team logo sportswear.”  It’s gonna be a great day!

Also, be talking to your friends who are far from God and need to connect or reconnect to Him.  You want them here in two weeks as we talk about…

THE BEST WEEKEND EVER!

Love you guys!  Let me know if this summation is helpful.  If it is, I might start a weekly Message Action Plan for those of you who would like to dig deeper in personal growth based upon that week’s message.  It would be much less info than this week’s but because of covering so much information Sunday.  If you're interested in the Action Plan and other occasional blog posts, simply sign up with your email at the top of this page and it will be sent to your inbox each time I post something.

Have a great week!

Pastor Steve 

I LOVE MY CHURCH!

In the next six weeks we will grow as one as we begin to live out the life-changing reality of a church unified in God's purpose and plan for His people.  Here is the series synopsis of where we're going TOGETHER as we discover the power behind the statement...

I LOVE MY CHURCH! 

October 12 - We'll discover the real power of the gospel as "I LOVE MY CHURCH" is seen in its true context.  When the church is working right, there is noting quite like it.  So we don't just tolerate the church-we celebrate it!

October 19 - Whether we realize it or not, what "WE BELIEVE" dictates how we behave. This week I will lay out seven core beliefs of our church and how it affects everything that we do.

October 26 - The church has more reason to celebrate than anyone else. "WHY I LOVE MY CHURCH MORE" will open our eyes as we realize that we must never stay silent when people are finding hope and healing through the Lord Jesus!

November 2 - What was your "BEST WEEKEND EVER?"  When you are in Christ, your purpose becomes clear and your life has eternal meaning.  That's why the day you become "in Christ" will be the most important day of your life.

November 9 - What has been stolen from your life? Your joy?  Peace?  Confidence?  The enemy is out to steal, kill, and destroy, but God has promised that He will repay what has been taken from us.  "WHEN GOD BUILDS A CHURCH" everything changes!

November 16 - Jesus gives us a simple invitation: "FOLLOW ME."  It's not always easy, and you may not always love the process, but you will love the results.  It's time to take your first step.

There you go!  Here's four promises that WILL happen in YOUR life when the evidence clearly says, "I LOVE MY CHURCH!" 

#1 - "The church" (impersonal), will become MY CHURCH (very personal).

#2 - Everything will forever change in your life when "the church" becomes MY CHURCH.

#3 - Your un-churched friends will not be bored!  They too will discover the power of "the church" becoming MY CHURCH.

#4 - Jesus will change lives through this series!  After all...He did say,

"I will build MY CHURCH!"

I can' wait!!!

If you can't make it to the Tennessee Valley in person, then you can join us online.  But remember, the only way you should do that is if you're sick, traveling, or you're a distance partner who enjoys TVCC, but live far away. 

Hallway of Hope

Meet John & Rhonda.  It was their first trip to the Cancer Treatment Center of America.  As we all sat in the limo at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, awaiting our departure, they were, to say the least, pensive, apprehensive, wondering and wide-eyed, grasping for hope.  After all...Rhonda has cancer.  

You don't know the impact of that word until it is about you or your spouse or someone you love.  And even then, if it's not about you, your life, your diagnoses, your life-threatening-nemisis, I doubt the full impact can be understood, felt, owned.  

When Marylin was diagnosed and we made our first trip to the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Zion, IL, I can remember those same feelings which could be best described as, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."  Indeed we were not.  And while CTCA may not be the magical land of Oz, it is for all intents and purposes, a very special place and though not magical, blessed.  There is a Hallway of Hope there with pictures of those who have thus far beaten back the monster.  This hallway leads to the cafeteria where all meals, delicious and totally organic, are provided free of charge to patient and caregiver as well.  When we first turned that corner entering this Hallway of Hope on that first day, we held each other's arm tightly and the tears began to flow.  We were here.  IT was here.  This is real.  This is now.  Marylin has cancer.

It's like all of a sudden the full force of, "You have cancer" hit us both in the gut at the  same time, knocking the wind out of us.  There were to be many such moments as we walked through those initial and ensuing stages of treatment.  But none like that first walk down a lonely hallway that was to serve as a reminder of hope but at first, appeared as a solemn reminder that cancer is real, it is life threatening, and it must be met head-on with a voraciousness for life.

Today, as God assuredly orchestrates our moments, our wanderings through this journey of life, caring about each one of His kids as only a loving Father can do, we experienced the Hallway of Hope in a different way.  This time we became the messengers of hope.

Marylin is a consummate encourager and had given such kind words to John and Rhonda as we traveled the forty-five minute trek to our guest quarters.  Rhonda expressed her gratitude as we shared success story after success story, being thankful for kind words of encouragement, just when she needed them most; or so she thought.  As we were leaving the cafeteria this particular morning, about to enter the Hallway, there they were.  John and Rhonda had made their initial voyage and coming out of the Hallway and into the cafeteria, they saw us.  I shook John's hand and Marylin was immediately latched onto by Rhonda as I took her tray so she could hug her newfound friend.  She too, burst into tears.  It was Rhonda and John's first trip and the same surreal feelings had overcome them as well.  Marylin embraced Rhonda, assuring her it would be okay.  It seemed at that moment the love of God was so strong, the bond unbreakable, the connection never to be severed, between these too gladiators, fighting for their very lives in this new arena.

"I can't believe we met you here!  You're here...right now!  I'm so glad!  It had to be God.  I am at peace," Rhonda exclaimed with a newfound courage.  Once again, my wife had proven the fact of God's never-ending comfort.  A comfort that it is not for the recipient only, but for others who need to experience His comfort as well.  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV). 

We've experienced this principle over and over again as we have suited up daily for this battle we are determined to win.

Never, never, think that what you're going through is just for you; what a waste of pain that would be.  I can see my bride come alive every time she shares her hope with those who desperately need it.  And every time comfort is given pain is divided.  Whether in the shadow - you know...the one in the Valley, or down the Hallway of Hope, tears meet tears and hope reigns because after all, "...it had to be God.  It just had to be God."  

Amen Rhonda.  It was. 

What's In YOUR Wallet?

Recently, in a seminary class in Biblical Hermeneutics, we were working on Malachi 3:6-13 and one of my classmates suggested that I should blog my work on the text so here it is!

What are the theological principles in this text?

•  To be faithful to God we must obey His Word.

• When we refuse to honor God with our money, the work of the kingdom suffers and the  worker suffers as well. 

•  A refusal to give back to God in tithes and offerings is a clear indicator of a heart that suffers from a life that is out of balance. 

• When our lives are out of  balance with God, not only do we suffer personally but we jeopardize how others see God through our lives. 

• Unfaithfulness in giving is opposition toward God.  

     These principles have been modified in the New Testament in the following ways: 

Though Jesus didn't directly command the tithe, He did commend it when He told the Pharisees, 

²³  “… For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Matthew 23:23 (NLT) (Emphasis mine). 

     1 Corinthians 16:1-2 gives instructions to each person to, 

“…put something aside and store it up as he may prosper…”  In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul talks about “grace giving…not as a command but to prove the genuineness of their love…”  

Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, spoke of the law of the harvest when he wrote, 

“…sowing bountifully…reaping bountifully.” 

As to the application to the church today, Paul was clear on this point: 

⁷  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV) 

     We are called to be cheerful givers as well!  Given the fact that Jesus was the greatest giver of all time and if we are to be like Jesus, we will be compelled to give also.  The question then is if believers under the Old Covenant gave ten percent (plus other temple taxes), how could believers under the New Covenant do less?  Therefore, ten percent should only be a starting point as a generous giver who loves the Lord Jesus Christ.  That being said, we have challenged people who are strapped financially to trust God and start with some amount, any amount, and see what God will do as they trust Him with their finances.  

“What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket!” SDG

Full Access to Abba Father

This same Spirit...

50 Days of Transformation has begun in the Tennessee Valley...church that is.  We have embarked on a journey that will do just as the title suggests - Transform us.  And I will testify that the transformation is certainly in progress in the one who writes here.  And what a great place to begin!  In the pastor's heart!

Day 2 of our 50 Days devotional (you'd think we could have at least gotten past the first week! But Nooo...day 2!) reads,

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12-13 (NIV)

Simple enough, right?  Right!  Then came what speakers know as the gotcha; you know, the clincher - it seals the deal.  And seal it did as I read, 

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" Romans 8:15 (NIV) 

Did you get it?  Maybe you had already grasp the depth of the reality of those verses.  But honestly, until I read them together I must admit, I'd missed the full impact of what God was trying to get me to see.  First, I am His son.  I knew this, right?  And if you've professed Christ as Lord & Savior of your life, you are His son or daughter too.  But then the full import of this profound truth hit me: The same Spirit...by Him, the selfsame Spirit, The Holy Spirit, is the same Spirit who gives me the right to say and live and breathe, Abba Father.  

I knew this!  And probably do you as well.  However, the power and reality of my standing with and in my Savior, providing me full access to and rights to Abba Father, will never be the same to me again.  I am truly, through and in the Spirit, at one with Christ, my elder brother.  And in Him I have full access!  It is my prayer that you do as well. 

Generational Slavery

Carlton Gerrell & I were blessed this week to be among the first Americans included in a week long leadership training at Willow Creek Community Church as we joined with International Global Leadership Summit pastors & their teams. Leaders from Albania, Brazil, the Congo, Nigeria, South Africa and many more. As always, you get nuggets of truth that are so valuable, they will live with you forever.

One such truth was about Moses and the children of Israel. "Israel lived for 25-30 generations as slaves. Though now free, they cursed Moses in the wilderness. Why? All they had known was life as slaves! Until your memory gets washed of generational slavery, a person or people will never be able to interact differently in their world."

Many of the leaders we were with were celebrating their freedom from slavery or communism and learning to walk in that freedom. Whatever you were a "slave to" whether a people or an addiction, as the speaker said, you'll never be able to experience the freedom of whatever you were or are a slave to until your memory gets washed of generational slavery.

Every person must choose to live today in what is, refusing to remain stuck in the past of yesterday's generational slavery. Paul said it well when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Amen & Amen.