Goodness

After welcoming us, Brad shared the theme that was discussed in Sunday School today, which served as preface for today's message. There's always going be a time when we sense God calling us to do something that demands a sacrifice from us. These are the moments that reveal where we stand with regard to our faith.

Announcements
Semi-annual meeting next week after the service.

Chuck Vanderscheuren began our transition to worship by telling how he had an opportunity to share his testimony in the courthouse this past week.  The worship team then sang several heart-warming songs as sunlight shimmered off the leaves outside. 'What a day, glorious day that will be."

While the tithes and offerings were taken Natalie Brewer shared one her gifts with us, as a dancer, followed by a boisterous applause.

Brooke shared a Mission Moment, essentially outlining a number of outreach actvities our church is involved with, both locally and abroad through Covenant World Relief, which you can follow on Facebook.

This was followed by a time of prayer, and then the message.

Goodness

Brad opened by having a volunteer read Luke 18:18-30, the story of the rich young ruler.

What is the opposite of Good? In Timothy there is an interesting passage that seems to contrast "loving what is good" with "lovers of self." The opposite of good is not necessarily the word bad, but when it comes to making a really good choice, self-interest may hinder us, even if it isn't a "bad" thing we are doing. Sometimes doing something that is good really can be "bad" if it keeps us from something essential.

The story in Luke begins with a conflict in views of the meaning of the word "good."

Jesus then outlines a list of the commandments, and this fellow actually says he kept them all, which may not be surprising in light of our natural tendency to see ourselves as better than we really are.

In Mark's version of the story, Jesus "looked at him and He loved him."

Goodness starts when God gets hold of the heart He is meeting with. Jesus knew exactly what this guy was missing. The young ruler kept the rules, but did God have his heart? His possessions possessed him. He had a self-serving bias that got in the way of what real goodness looks like.

This guy asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Brad said it was the wrong question because an inheritance is a gift. It is not something you do or earn.

Once you receive His goodness, how do you grow it? You want to be part of a community that builds your soul. This is why Jesus Himself went to synagogue each week. You have to put yourself in an environment where God's goodness can be poured into you, whether small group or devotional community.

This kind of life may inconvenience you and Brad listed examples of ways that following Christ might result in our being inconvenienced. He noted that the end results may surprise us.

As it is written in Acts 20:35  "There is more happiness in giving than receiving."

And in Galatians 6:9  "Let us not become weary in doing good."

Brad closed with this familiar passage from Matthew 25

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The kid who made fun of you at school? That's Jesus. The unwashed homeless person who smells like a mixture of urine and whisky, that's Jesus. The person dying alone in a nursing home. That's Jesus. That neighbor woman who lost the love of her life. That's Jesus. The person who walks in here asking questions, wondering if there's a God. That's Jesus. The dying, the crippled, the unwanted...

When we see the world as He sees, there is plenty of opportunity to do good, and be with Jesus.

And Can It Be That I Should Gain

Today we kicked off our new schedule with Sunday School at 9:00 and the worship service at 10:15. Pastor Brad welcomed us warmly, then quickly summarized the main points of today's message before running through the announcements, which were as follows:
1. The Truth Project will begin next Sunday. If interested, see Brad to sign up. Cresman's will host two groups at their home. One will be held on Sunday afternoons and the other Monday evenings. Contact Brad or Walt & Gwen for more information.
2. Adventure Club is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 7 for children from age four to sixth grade. AC will meet Wednesday evenings from 5:30 - 7:00. If interested in helping, contact Brooke.
3. An Old Fashioned Hymn Sing and Potluck will be held at the Newmans on October 4 at 4 p.m. Meat will be provided... bring your favorite sides or desserts.
4. Anyone interested in making Christmas ornaments can join us on Thursday mornings now through Christmas. See Gail Brown for details.

After a period of worship and prayer, the Scripture reading was from Colossians 1:9-14.

And Can It Be That I Should Gain

Brad opened his message by re-reading the passage from Colossians chapter one.

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The first verses, 9-11, were the focus for today's message. Paul here is telling the Colossians what he is praying for as he thinks of their community of believers. The four things are (1) that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will, (2) that they would live worthy lives, (3) bear fruit, and (4) have an enduring faith.

The context of Paul's letter to the Christians in Colossae was that were a number of false teachings creeping in to the church. It wasn't a single "great white shark" tearing them up, but a mix of smaller issues which needed to be addressed. One was that Jesus was not involved in the Creation, based on a false concept of the Trinity. A second was that certain people had special knowledge that was not available to the rest of the church. Lifestyle questions also were part of the mix. There was also a bit of angel worship as well as the notion that there were demons behind every bush.

As often happens with young churches with a lot of new believers, their lack of Bible training can cause them to take in ideas that seem religious or right but are not Biblical. Similarly, the Colossians needed help getting clarification in a variety of areas.

Brad then went into detail regarding the four prayers in this section.

1) Knowledge of God's will

The is a difference between knowledge of God and the knowledge of His will. We can know a lot of facts about God, but still miss what He expects of us. God's will matters. Do you know what God's will is for this world? You should be filled with is. God's will for the world is peace, that violence would end. That is all throughout Scripture. It is also that those who have more would feed those with less. God's will is that there would be a common community established in our world. Also, He has a will for lost people, that they be found.

And God's will for His church is that it would prevail everywhere. His will for the poor and oppressed is that they would be fed and set free.

Our prayer should be, "God, show us Your will."

2) Live a worth life

This piece of Paul's prayer deals with all the lifestyle debates which were occurring there. One group focused on very strict regulations and another group was saying it didn't matter how you lived. Paul's prayer was that they would live a life worthy of the calling on their lives. Ultimately, we're to walk as Christ walked. What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD)

3) Bear fruit

Brad noted that as we bear fruit we will grow in our knowledge of God. The goal of our Christian lives is not merely salvation. We're God's handiwork, a masterpiece... but also a work in process. That is why we need to persevere in our Christian walk.

4) Be strong, persevere by God's glorious might

"There is an enemy power out to thwart you," Brad said. Life has many hardships. That is why Paul continually encouraged the saints to persevere. In his letter to Timothy he stated, "I have fought the good fight, I've finished the race."

It never pays to drift. It's better to pay the price of endurance that to go through the pain of error and sin.

In summary, God has qualified you... that is, made you qualified to be in the Kingdom, not because you were good, but because of His mercy.

Brad then shared this illustration. "If you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you know it's because someone put him there." It's a cute picture of grace. I'm heaven bound not because I can climb there on my own, but because Someone put me there.

Christ, Paul says, has transferred up from a bad place to a better place. He's paid the price to redeem us. There's always a price.

Another illustration of grace... In Sudan there's a civil war taking place. Women and children have been put into slavery and are victims of despicable deeds. European Christians aware of the situation risked their lives to meet with the warring factions to determine a price for the slaves so they could raise money to buy their freedom. For $33 each they redeemed as many as they were able.

Can you imagine what these women and children felt was they were relieved from their suffering by people they didn't even know? So it is with ourselves. We were bought with a price, and that price was a lot more than 33 bucks. It cost God the spilt blood and pierced body of His son, the second person of the Trinity.

You have been qualified, transferred and redeemed. And now you are safe and secure and relocated and forgiven forever through Jesus Christ. That's the message that we get to proclaim to our broken, messed up world.

Down, But Not Out

The new schedule began this morning, Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. and our worship service at 10:15. Despite a dreary weekend, the pews were full and a warm energy filled the sanctuary as the service began. Pastor Shannon welcomed us and reminded us that we are here to honor Jesus Christ.

Announcements

1. A rummage sale will be held jointly at Gethsemane as a fund raiser for the CHIC trip out youth are planning. If you wish to contribute goods from your fall cleaning, contact Cheryl Borndal.

2. Paula shared that there will be a Circle of Life women's get together on September 20 here at the church from 10 - 2.

3. Building committee is meeting Wednesday evening at Winships, 7 p.m.

Pastor Shannon reversed the order of the service today. Immediately following the opening introit, he commenced with his sermon about the Lord's second letter to the seven churches, this one to Smyrna.

8"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Down, But Not Out

Pastor Shannon opened with a series of questions. How many of you like music? How many of you like jazz? How many of you like rock? How many of you like classical? How many of you like country?

The questions were designed to set up the observation that music is a universal language, a truth that is fairly indisputable.

Another universal language, he then pointed out, is suffering. As noted in the book of Job, "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7)

John Shelton observed that pleasure is the intermission of pain. In other words, life has more pain and struggle than pleasure. Life is hard.

Jesus Himself noted that in this life you will have trouble.

And so it is, the letter to the church at Smyrna is written to Christians who are well acquainted with sorrows and poverty.

8"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."

Of the seven cities to which the letters in Revelation 2 & 3 were written, Smyrna is the only one that is with us to this day. Now Ishmir of Turkey, the city was located approximately forty miles north of Ephesus.

Smyrna was a crown jewel of Rome, an intellectual city noted for both its size and beauty. The polytheistic Smyrna was exceptional in its loyalty to Rome. Its temple was a centerpiece of emperor worship, and their loyalty to Caesar and to the Empire made it challenging for the Christians there. After Nero, it even became deadly to be a follower of Christ, for Smyrna became intolerant of everything the emperor was intolerant of.

The letter to the church at Smyrna is filled with compassion. "I know your afflictions," Jesus says. "I know life is hard for you because you love Me. I know what you are going through."

Yes, Jesus knows first hand what pain is like. In addition, He knows what your pain is like and He cares. "I know it's hard that many of you are without jobs, that many of you are impoverished. Yet... you are rich."

Pastor Shannon reminded us that Scripture nowhere promises a pain free life. Nor does Scripture promise wealth. In point of fact, many of the most blessed Christians are serving in destitute circumstances in appalling Third World conditions.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:10-12, said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Here in this letter to the church of Smyrna, we read that there is still more suffering to come, but Jesus promises that it will be finite in duration... ten days, which is a short time compared to eternity with Him.

Many passages speak of the brevity of our suffering when compared to eternal life. Paul, to the Corinthians, wrote, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (II Cor 4:16-18)

Peter elaborated on this theme in his letter to the early church.

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy... (I Peter 1:3-8)

Remember the goal: salvation of your soul. This present suffering is just for a little while. In James 1:12 we read that our reward for remaining faithful is a crown of life.

The persecution of Christians continues down to this very day with torture, martyrdom and other mayhem. In fact, more Christians have been killed for their faith in the past one hundred years than in the previous nineteen centuries combined. In the book of Hebrews we read not only of the heroes of faith, but of the many forgotten as well.

"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground." (Hebrews 11:35-38)

Fox's Book of Martyrs tells the story of Polycarp, an early bishop of Smyrna who at age 86 was told to renounce Christ or be burned. He declared that "eighty and six years I have served Him" and that the Lord had always been faithful. How can I now be unfaithful. He accepted the flames rather than turn his back on Jesus.

In this letter, it is as if Jesus is saying, "I know you're suffering. I know what you're going through. I love you. Remember, the end is not the end, because I am the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, and you have a seat there with Me in Heaven."