Merry Christmas

This Christmas may your family and friends see the real focus that Christians have on Christmas!  The Gift!  The Gift of life and salvation made possible through the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ.

This Christmas may you see His Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection all as the Gift for you!

Merry Christmas!

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Live 2 Give…Hope

Living in Michigan, when I travel to a certain hospital, there always is one person on the off-ramp of the freeway.  He is homeless, he is cold, and he is unkempt.  He truly is suffering.  As a child growing up, I am certain he didn’t say I want to suffer, he didn’t say I want to be homeless when I grow up.  So what is the point of his suffering, is it self-imposed, is it consequences from poor decisions?   Maybe, but we are reminded that in all our sufferings (some greater than others), that we then can minister to others. 

It is in the midst of suffering, that God steps in and then prepares our hearts, minds, and hands and feet to minister to someone else in a way that no one else could. We are able in our sufferings to then come and say I’ve been there, I’ve seen others help, I know what it is to go through what you are going through.  No one can minister to another mother who looses a child like one who has, no one can minister to someone who has been out of work for ages like one who has.  2 Corinthians 1:6-7

There is always hope with Christ, and through Him working through others.  In our sufferings God will gather us around Himself and strengthen and encourage us through the hands and feet of others.  May we be open to ministering to others, may we be ready to share His love with Hope, reminded that God is using us in unique and purposeful ways to Live 2 Give and give Hope, Hope in the reality of His love, today, tomorrow, and forever.

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Live 2 Give Worship

Romans 12:1  urges us in the view of God’s mercy to offer our bodies as a living Sacrifice.  There is so much that can be said about this passage as we look and see that we are not being reminded, suggested, or encouraged, rather we are being URGED!  to do offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.  Why would we do this, because of God’s Mercy, that He sacrificed everything for us and views us with grace, truth and love. 

Often times when we think of sacrifice, we think of death, but Paul here reminds us that this is not death rather this is living life!  We live as our sacrifice to God, offering ourselves completely to Him because of what He has done, and in this we then are at Spiritual Worship, of Him.  How great it is to know that because of God’s mercy we then can worship Him wholly, and frequently as we live for Him.  This is so different than the world would live.

Romans 12:2 affirms that the worldly patters are so different.  We see it clearly, we see that the world doesn’t live for anyone but itself.  It is about money, power, prestige, sex, or selfishness of our own time.  Paul calls us not to conform, but to transform.  What is the difference between transformation and conversion!  Transformation is ongoing, we continually are transformed to live more and more for Christ each day.

This Christmas season, as  you see neighborhoods transforming into winter wonderlands, think and pray about the transformation of your hearts and minds and of your neighbors hearts and minds s they continually become more and more Christ focused giving Him our entire acts of worship.

Live 2 Give Charity

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 reminds us that we are to Live to Give, with Love.  When we give charity to others but have not love, then it is worthless.  What is Love, love is Christ, it is clear through the Scripture passage that this is all about Love.  Christ is kind, He is patient, He does not rejoice in wrongs.  And Love (Christ), will never fail, nor fade away.  How true it is that when we Live 2 Give, we live 2 Love! 

This Christmas as you pass the Salvation Army bell ringers, as  You look at giving at the cash register, be sure to share not only with Charity, but share Love, share Christ, with a gentle proclamation of Love.

The Church Moving Forward

In this day and age for Christian Churches it is difficult to move forward.  The decline of active Christianity has been plaguing all denominations for the past thirty years, and with the current recession the decline continues to worsen.  Here in Michigan we see the flight of workers leaving, and the prognosis looks even more bleak as we continue to see college graduates not staying in the state that they were educated in, rather leaving to states with employment numbers that are normal!  So, what is the church to do? 

Philippians 3:13-14 not only gives insight to the individual Christian, but also gives insight to the community of Christians.  We cannot look back at the ‘glory’ years of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, we cannot rest on the laurals of larger churches and hold them up as our small bright light and glimmer of hope.  We cannot continue to seek out dysfunctional denomination that are self-distructing in the midst of accepting sin in some way or another.  Instead, we need to as Paul writes forget the past (not lose memory of the successes, nor the failures, but to learn and grow from them), and keep our eyes focused on the future. 

The future is the prize which we see across the finish line.  It is a prize that ensures the certainty that the Church will be gathered, restored, and renewed around the Lamb of God.  It is the prize of Revelation that reminds us of the victory, that not only will we be a Christian nation, but we will live and be citizens of the Christian Nation as the citizens of the Kingdom of God!

Let us move forward with the urgency not to look around us, but to continue to see the goal of God in our midst, being a church (a people), who proclaim the truth in all its purity and love, a people who share the Word of God faithfully and competently, and a people who have an eye on the prize, bringing many more people into the race with  us.  The victory is ours, we just need to finish the race.  For in reality it is not about where we’ve been, or what we’ve been through, it is about where we are going, and what we are know we are going to do!  God gives us the strength to finish the race.

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Vision and Gift for the Lord’s House

Isn’t it amazing some of the homes that are build for ourselves?  We read in 1 Chronicles 29:1-5 about the house of the Lord that David builds.  Actually, in today’s dollars David donates from his personal fortune a little under 18billion dollars (around 17 billion, 280 million dollars).  Why did he give so much, because it was not a house for man, but a house for the Lord.

Think about what you are doing for the ministry of God in the community in which you serve.  Are you giving more for man made items, or are you like David giving for the greater kingdom good in the world. 

David is recorded as giving his own personal fortune which is above and beyond, this was the monies and safety that kings would normally put aside incase they lost their kingdom…by David donating this he is giving up his personal security, and completely trusting in the Lord’s continue provision.  Why, because this is for the Lord’s Work in his community.

May we all recognize the Lords Work in our lives, and may each of us continue to give for eternal matters not just temporal. 

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Grace in giving

What do we give to the Lord?  We give Him love, we give Him trust, we give Him praise.  We serve Him with our everything.  This week I encourage each of us to lift our voice to the Lord in all we have and do.  2 Corinthians 8 reminds us that Paul is thankful for a group of people who served the Lord with all they had, actually they served more than they had.  The gave trusting completely in the provision of God.  The rested in His grace.  They were poorer than us today, they were in greater need than us today, and yet they gave abundantly. 

When I read this I am reminded how great God’s love is and what a transformation it brings to each of us.  His love changes us.  Do you remember the first letter written to the Corinthians?  It is the letter which blasts them for thier selfishness and lack of kingdom love and thinking.  Now, Paul writes commending their selflessness and kingdom grace and thinking. 

What would Paul write to you in a letter, would he see your response to God’s love?  Would he commend you or rebuke you?  We trust the Lord with our eternal well-being, can’t we too trust Him with our physical well-being as well.

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Whom do you serve

In the book of Joshua chapter 24, God’s people are reminded whom God is and whom they are to serve. God was the great God who protected them, lead them, and guided them as He freed them from slavery in Egypt. Some had fallen to worshiping false gods, and serving anything and anyone other than the one true God. This is the chapter where we hear triumphantly “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord our God!” (Joshua 24:15)
In this day and age of pluarality whom does your family serve, and do they know it? Maybe you know God, but are you ensuring your children and your childrens children will know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
As you serve the Lord, tell your family, your friends, you loved ones about whom you serve and why. Their salvation may depend on your lips as the Spirit works through you.
Serving Christ Together,
Pastor Greg

More than needed

In John 6:1-15 we see that Jesus has a large crowd that is following Him and He sees that they will have a need.  The need for food!  He asks, where they will get enough to feed them all, and Philip responds, there is no way!

What is the need in our world today, what do the ‘masses’ need?  Peace, Prosperity, Health Care?  Where will the need be met?  The world will fail, and the answer is there is no way through the world.

Christ answers Philip saying, take the loaves of bread (2), and the fish (5 anchovies) and bring them to Him.  Not only was the crowd fed, but there were left overs, twelve baskets full (remember the baskets were huge)!  They were filled!

Where will peace come from, Christ has brought us everlasting peace with God, where will prosperity and provision come from, Christ has provided all our needs through the Love of the Father, and we know we will inherit life in heaven, where the streets are paved with gold!  Where will health care come from?  Christ has provided the greatest health care ever, that we will never die, but always live.

Truly, each of our needs are met, and beyond!

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg

Community

President Regan called on the Soviet Union to tear down the wall that divided East and West Germany.  It was a speech that called on the Russians to embrace freedom, peace, and prosperity.  It was epic and historic in the 20th century.

Our Father send His Son to bring about the destruction of the dividing wall between God and man.  His life, death, and resurrection was epic and historic for all man kind.  Today, know that we have community not only with one another, but most importantly with God almighty.  Ephesians 3:14

Serving Christ Together,

Pastor Greg