First Five for 5/31/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 5/24/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 5/17/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 5/10/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 5/5/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of May 4th - How to Discipline

Key Thought:
Discipline means correction. Self-discipline means correcting our own behavior. We have all learned this is better than having to be corrected by criminal justice system or by our boss or our spouse. Yet, by whatever means we all from time to time need to correct the course of our life or repent of a poor decision we’ve made. This is the process toward perfection otherwise known in the Bible as maturity.

Because children (and immature people) aren’t self-disciplined God has ordained that parents are to provide the discipline and correction for their kids. Sometimes we feel awkward in this role because we know that we’re not perfect people and sometimes we see our kids making mistakes that we made as children and we think, “I’m a hypocrite if I correct them.” That thinking is wrong – God has given you a job to be a disciplinarian precisely because as an adult and as a parent you are able to more clearly see the right and wrong paths that your kids can choose.

If we do not fulfill our duty to parent as God’s representatives to our children not only do we cause them to grow into adulthood with significant disabilities, but we also communicate a lack of love to our kids. Although they do everything they can to convince us otherwise, rules and boundaries and enforcement of such, create feelings of security and love for our kids. So, love them, expect obedience and respect, don’t discipline in anger, and always create reconciliation after the pain has been administered.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Proverbs 3:11
Tuesday – Proverbs 12:1
Wednesday – Proverbs 13:1
Thursday – Proverbs 13:18
Friday – Proverbs 19:18, 20

Questions to Ponder During the Week:
People without children at home should identify an area of life where they are striving to be an influence for Christ and answer the parenting questions from that point of view.

1. In the sermon, Steve talked about some mistakes parents make: 1) Rescuer parents who enable and intervene so that their kids never experience failure or pain 2) Inconsistent discipline that is more about the parent’s needs to control the kids on one extreme or to neglect discipline during times its inconvenient. 3) Divided parents who can’t agree on the rules and the enforcement. Which of these is your weakness?
2. Why are we so bad at getting our kids to obey the first time? Why do you think this is important to God that our kids are obedient and respectful?
3. Steve talked about the problem of going back and forth between activators and bad behaviors by the child and never getting around to the consequences. How have you been guilty of doing this? Can you see how this principle would be helpful for bosses and teachers as well?
4. When is spanking OK? When is it inappropriate? What is the potential harm of a parent who disciplines in anger?
5. How good are you at bringing discipline to a point of instruction and reconciliation?

First Five for 4/26/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of April 26th - Job Description of a Parent

Key Thought:
It sounds so simple and besides we’ve heard it before a hundred times. Our kids need appropriate touch, quality time, and positive talk from us. So if we know it and we’ve heard it all before, why do we still fall short of being the kind of parents God wants us to be? In fact, we don’t even live up to our own standards of what we expect of ourselves most of the time.

First of all our motivation to do this comes straight from scripture. Jesus himself modeled good parenting (although he was never an actual parent). Jesus created life and relationships and knows how it is all ideally is supposed to work. That’s why when some soccer moms showed up in their mini vans and were pressing hard to get their kids to Jesus, and Jesus’ disciples were playing some tough defense, Jesus called time out. He said, I definitely have time for these kids and I want to touch them and encourage them, so let them come.

This is a daily commitment we make that will deeply impact our own children as well as anyone we hope to influence, mentor, or lead. Intentional touching, time and talking are what build up and nurture others and it’s what builds rapport between us and our kids. Providing stuff and paying the bills and meeting our kids’ basic needs doesn’t count when we aren’t any good at following Jesus’ example of touch, time, and talk.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Mark 10:13-16
Tuesday – Luke 6:28
Wednesday – James 3:8-12
Thursday – Matthew 9:29
Friday – Luke 7:14

Questions to Ponder During the Week:
People without children at home should identify an area of life where they are striving to be an influence for Christ and answer the parenting questions from that point of view.

1. How were you raised? Did your parents excel in spending time with you, loving touch, or encouraging talk?
2. Think about your relationships. If you are a parent, define where you can improve. Time? Talk? Touch? If you do not have children, answer the previous question regarding other important relationships.
3. Which of these three qualities of a good relationship is the most important? Which is the easiest/hardest for you?
4. In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus “blessed the kids,” the Greek word indicating positive speech. What are the short-term and long-term implications of a home that has primarily positive speech vs. negative and critical speech?
5. Share a specific way that you do one of these parenting jobs with your kids. How have you seen it bear fruit in your relationship?

Week of April 19th – Foundation For Parenting

Key Thought:
We can spend a lot of time and money in an effort to learn how to be good parents. We can hire counselors and take our kids to church and enroll them in the best schools. We can provide them with what they need in life and provide them opportunities to experience things that other kids don’t get to experience. But, in the end, if we don’t love God and lead our kids we will fail to accomplish everything we should have as parents.

Loving God means that our kids will know that God is the first priority of our lives. They will see us spending time with Him, seeking His will in all our decisions, worshiping Him, talking about Him, and spending time with His people. They will see that everything else in life takes a back seat to God and they will be impacted by this fact. It will be our kid’s tendency to love what we love, so we must always evaluate if anything or anyone has become more important in our life than God is.

Leading our kids means that we refuse to allow them to be led by their peers, by their teachers, by popular media, or by anyone else. Sure they will be influenced by other people, but we must embrace the parenting responsibility of being their “leader.” That means we identify spiritual and life objectives which we are purposely guiding them toward. Church and church programs and people at church can help you guide them toward these goals, but they are not the primary leader of your kids…you must be!

Bible Reading:
Monday – Proverbs 22:6
Tuesday – Proverbs 22:7
Wednesday – Jeremiah 1:11-19
Thursday – Deuteronomy 5:1-10
Friday – 2 Timothy 3:16

Questions to Ponder During the Week:
People without children at home should identify an area of life where they are striving to be an influence for Christ and answer the parenting questions from that point of view.

1. Do you believe that your parent(s) had a passion for God above anything else, when they were raising you? Why or why not…what specific behaviors demonstrated to you your parent’s devotion or lack of devotion to God?
2. What things do you do that you hope reflect to your own kids your passion for God? What needs to change?
3. What influences do you see that are battling against you for the right to lead your kids? (Please no pat Christianese answers - be specific).
4. Share one thing you have done recently in order to lead your kids toward a specific life goal or biblical objective.
5. What do you need to do that would make you a better leader of your children?

First Five for 4/12/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of April 12th - Assurance of Heaven

Key Thought:
Two criminals being crucified next to Jesus had undoubtedly lived selfish lives that hurt others in order to accomplish their own goals. The culmination of their lives was to be found in a shameful and painful capital punishment execution at the hands of the notoriously ruthless Romans. Their past was full of regrets and guilt and their short futures were full of overwhelming hopelessness. What can be done to correct a lifetime of sin when you have only hours to live and you’re stuck on a cross barely able to breath or speak?

Even if Jesus were the prophesied Messiah, what audacity it would be to ask him at a time like this for his help. He must know how unworthy they were of forgiveness and a future in Paradise. Yet, one of the criminals asked anyway. This was the only hope left to someone who could not do anything to right his wrongs or visit a religious meeting or turn over a new leaf. In desperation he asked by faith (obviously believing in Jesus’ power to be resurrected) if Jesus would also resurrect him too. This simple ask out of a humble heart and sincere belief bought this criminal some more time. He gained an eternity!

How could he and how can we be certain that eternal life was actually granted? The certainty comes from Jesus’ words. Anything that Jesus says can be counted on. During the short time that the repentant criminal hung on the cross after this spiritual conversation, he had peace knowing his life was ending but his soul was safe, because Jesus said so. Today we don’t hear Jesus’ words from his lips but, just as good is that we can read them in the Bible. If you ever have doubts about your eternal destiny in heaven, take some time to read some of the promises of scripture. If you believe those words as you’re reading them, your faith connecting with God’s truth will produce peace inside of you.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Luke 23:39-43
Tuesday – John 3:16-18
Wednesday – 1 John 5:11-13
Thursday – 1 Timothy 1:15, 16
Friday – John 5:24

Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. There’s a commercial running on TV lately (I don’t remember what it’s for), where a nerdy guy in his office asks out a good looking associate, but he is certain she will reject him. To his surprise she says “yes” and everyone is shocked. There are some things that we don’t feel worthy of that we ask for anyway – have you ever done this?
2. Do you remember a time in your life when you were acutely aware of your unworthiness to receive God’s forgiveness and it felt difficult to even ask it of him?
3. Do you ever have doubts that God really could have forgiven you of everything?
4. How does the story of the criminal on the cross who was forgiven give you hope?
5. What would be your advice to someone who keeps doubting God’s ability to forgive them?

First Five for 4/5/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 3/29/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 3/22/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 3/15/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of March 22nd - Forgiveness

Key Thought:
To embrace forgiveness as a lifestyle decision is one of the most difficult decisions we face. Many people reject absolute forgiveness outright while others turn to it as the final option only after years of anger, bitterness and unhappiness. Most people are fine with the idea of needing to forgive some or maybe most of the offenses they incur, but it is difficult to buy into the idea of being a totally forgiving person.

We believe that we need to reserve forgiveness as leverage or a way to protect ourselves. However, Jesus gave us the perfect example of perfect love. A primary demonstration of love is the choice to forgive. Jesus’ forgiveness wasn’t just a gift for those who were his friends and family, but he even forgave the evil and unjust people who crucified him. In fact, forgiving words were some of the last words on his lips before he died.

Learning to forgive others regardless of their worthiness isn’t something that can happen to a person over night. Becoming a gracious and forgiving person requires a disciplined thought life that doesn’t ponder the hurt inflicted by others. Being able to forgive others also requires an active prayer life, regularly praying to God about your hurts and for the person who has harmed you. With God’s help you can begin to mimic Jesus’ life of absolute forgiveness.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Psalm 86:5
Tuesday – Luke 23:33-39
Wednesday – Matthew 26:28
Thursday – Luke 6:28
Friday – Romans 12:17, 18

Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What is an example of an offense where you are able to quickly forgive?
2. Do you believe that revenge or forgiveness is more a cultural value of Americans?
3. Share about a time when you worked through a difficult forgiveness issue, how did you do it? How did it impact the person you forgave?
4. Is there any offense as great as the offense that God has forgiven us of?
5. What do you do if you’re willing to forgive, but the other person isn’t sorry for their offense?

Week of March 15th - Studying and Applying God’s Word

Key Thought:
Imagine what it would be like if you were only allowed to eat one meal per week. How long could you survive? Our bodies technically can go seven days without food, but eventually the cycle of gorging for one meal and starving the rest of the week would kill you. Christians who are only fed by God’s Word one meal per week on Sunday mornings are in jeopardy of eventually starving spiritually. Fortunately for all of us there are many Bible study resources along with radio and online sermons that can challenge and help grow us spiritually. Unfortunately, some of us aren’t taking advantage of these resources, and aren’t reading the Bible we have sitting on the shelf at home. The spiritual malnutrition is evident and the joy of knowing Jesus is evaporating quickly.

Now, imagine if you started stuffing yourself with your favorite foods and desserts 5 times a day and never did anything active or athletic. Hopefully you’re having to imagine this scenario. This is a word picture of a Christian who likes to read and study the Bible. A person who takes advantage of the plethora of books, sermons, and Bible studies available, but who never seriously applies what they’ve learned to their life. This person is the exact opposite as the underfed Christian, but just as unhealthy.

Wisdom is applying the words of God to real life. It’s skillfully living a Godly life as you encounter the difficulties, the confusing dilemmas, and the big life decisions that are replete with uncertain outcomes. The Bible says that knowledge “puffs up” meaning it makes a person arrogant. I have met my share of arrogant Christians who possess much biblical knowledge and very little Godly wisdom and compassion. The formula to keep in mind when approaching the Scriptures is, 1) Study to understand and interpret what it meant back then 2) Find the timeless truth/principle contained in the interpretation 3) Apply that principle to your life immediately

Bible Reading:
Monday – James 1:21-25
Tuesday – Ezra 7:10
Wednesday – Matthew 24:35
Thursday – Psalm 119:11
Friday – Matthew 23:27

Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Who do you more relate to, the Christian who is malnourished or the one who is well fed but under-active? Which type of person is more prevalent in your experience?
2. Why is it so easy to go through the motions of being a religious person while neglecting to personally study and apply God’s word on a consistent basis?
3. Do you believe the Devil is active in trying to prevent you from taking the principles of study and application seriously? In what ways is he active?
4. In what ways do malnourished and under-active Christians damage the church? Their testimony to unbelievers?
5. What has been your study plan…or what is going to be your study plan after today?

First Five for 3/8/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 3/1/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of February 22nd - Saving Without Investing Is Hording

Key Thought:
It would be too easy for this discussion on finances to turn into a capitalistic, building security, take care of myself mentality. Investing is the purpose behind the saving and spending. We don’t save just so that we can be free from the lender and just so that we can escape the stress of living month to month. We save in order to spend, but to spend with a purpose.

When we spend what we’ve saved in order to accomplish spiritual goals then we have finally reached financial peace. To stop short of this final step would be to become people who are short-sighted and not truly happy. It’s one thing to ease financial stress and it’s a whole other thing to be truly happy. The perfect metaphor is the Dead Sea. Located in Palestine it is the final destination of the Jordan River. Water flows in but no water flows out and the result is a gross, salty, sea with no life in it. Too many people lack the spiritual life and general vitality that accompanies a life of responsible living coupled with generosity.

For those who are followers of Christ, generosity begins with their own family and their local church. As the ancient Jews were instructed to bring in a portion of their income to the temple to support the poor and the work of the temple, similarly today believers do the same for their churches. One tenth was the amount instructed for the Jews and it seems like a lot to most of us. However, when we consider that it all belongs to God then the better perspective is to remember that He is allowing us to keep 90% of what he’s given us. Yet, we don’t really keep the 90%, we’re to be stewards or caretakers of it, using it and investing it in ways we believe would please God.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 25:14-30
Tuesday – Mark 14:1-9
Wednesday – Matthew 5:19-21
Thursday – Matthew 19:21
Friday – Luke 12:16-31

Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What would be the first thing you’d do if you were completely debt free?
2. Have you ever been surprised and blessed by someone else’s generosity toward you?
3. Do you think it is harder to tithe (10% of income) for people who are poor or people who make a lot of money?
4. Do you think Pastor Steve was serious when he said on Sunday that God and the church don’t need your money?
5. If the church and God don’t need your money then what is the point of inviting people to tithe?
6. Have you recently tested God’s ability to meet your needs by giving him more than you thought you could afford? What happened?

First Five for 02/22/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, Steve talks about a conference he recently attended.

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First Five for 02/15/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, we license Miguel as pastor to Comunidad Nueva Vida.

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Week of February 8th – Work Hard and Live Smart!

Key Thought:
The Bible is clear that Christians are expected to be hard workers. In fact based on your Christ-like ethics, your servant’s attitude and your work ethic you should be one of the most valued employees of your organization. Is that true of you? In this week’s sermon I focused on the importance of being a hard worker. Laziness and choosing not to take care of your family are not options for us and we should expect to be called out by our friends if we ever lapse into irresponsible living.

Yet, the reason that most people in America struggle with financial problems isn’t because they’re not hard workers, it’s because they don’t live smart. How much money have you grossed since 2000? It wouldn’t be unusual for you to answer somewhere between $400,000 and $1 Million. We all understand that living in the U.S. is expensive, but I don’t think that any of us can feel comfortable saying that God hasn’t already provided more than what we need. So, if you’re struggling to pay bills, maybe the answer isn’t that God needs to provide more, but that you need to live on less.

Tammy and I have made cuts in order to live by our budget. Some friends of mine told me that they have cut out cable TV and other luxuries as they seek to balance their budget. The church made cuts over the past year to get the budget balanced and so have many of the businesses and municipalities all around us. Living smart means that we live within our means. This is God’s will for your life.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Proverbs 10:4
Tuesday – 1 Timothy 5:8
Wednesday – Ephesians 4:28
Thursday – Luke 14:28-30
Friday – Proverbs 6:6-11

Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What kind of work ethic did you learn as a child/youth? Who taught you what it meant to work?
2. How much tolerance do you have for people who appear to be lazy? Is it OK to be angry with people who seem to be perpetually dependent on others for their needs?
3. What kind of work ethic did Jesus have? As a hard worker why doesn’t Jesus ever seem to be rich?
4. Is wealth a sign of hard work? Should Christians aspire for wealth?
5. What might be the good and bad excuses for a Christian in the U.S. who is struggling to pay their bills?

First Five for 02/08/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, Andrew Kelly makes a transition into children's ministries.

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First Five for 02/01/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, the importance of home groups.

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First Five for 1/18/09

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, we talk about diversity at MVCC.

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First Five for 12/28/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 12/21/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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First Five for 12/14/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Christmas Music Videos

I heard that some folks were wondering about the Christmas music we run before service starts on Sundays. It's Third Day's Christmas Offerings DVD.

Here's a preview:

First Five for 12/7/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values.

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Week of November 30th - Sharing Your Testimony

Key Thought:
A mistake I’ve seen many pastors make is to assume that the people in their church are not sharing their faith because of some spiritual or attitudinal problem. In fact, I have discovered that those who have come to know God through Jesus Christ and have experienced a changed life as a result, are attentive to this responsibility, but lack the confidence to serve as an evangelist. They feel like they don’t have the training to clearly share important points of doctrine and to be able to answer difficult questions and objections that might be raised by the person who is listening.

The Bible tells us that some are gifted in such a way that their primary contribution to God’s work in this world is through evangelism. However, every believer is called to participate in the work of evangelism. This work is represented through both direct and indirect involvement in the spread of the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Indirect involvement in spreading the Gospel can take the form of financial contributions to the church or to specific evangelistic programs or events. It can also be a person who is playing a supportive role in a strategic effort to get the word out. Direct involvement in sharing the Gospel means that we are consciously speaking the words that lead people to know of Jesus’ gracious offer of reconciliation.

This idea of speaking the words of the Gospel is what oftentimes makes people feel nervous and in some cases petrified. However, the task of speaking the Good News can and should begin with simply sharing what Jesus has done in your personal life. This is called a testimony of faith. People can argue with and about God, but they can’t argue with your personal testimony (unless you’re known as a person who lies and likes to make up stories). A man or woman of God who is respected by friends, family, neighbors and co-workers will be given a lot of credibility when they simply state, “this is what God has done in my life,” or “this is what I’ve learned to be true about Jesus.”

So, if the challenge is to begin simply sharing what you know to be true about Jesus from your own experience, then ask God for the courage and the opportunities to remember and then verbalize your faith in a simple and genuine way.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Romans 1:15, 16
Tuesday – John 4:39-42
Wednesday – Acts 14:5-17
Thursday – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Friday – Romans 10:9-17

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. If you have prayed a prayer of faith trusting in Jesus for salvation, who was it that shared the words that led you to Christ? Have you ever had the opportunity to “pay forward” that same blessing by leading someone else to pray a prayer of faith in Jesus?
2. Why are personal testimonies so effective as evangelistic tools?
3. In what ways can a testimony fall short in helping lead someone to faith in Christ?
4. What is your advice to someone who believes that their personal testimony wouldn’t be something that God could use to reach someone else with the Gospel?

Week of November 23rd – Joy in Contentment

Key Thought:
A major source of unhappiness for millions of people is their discontentedness. Their lives are always filled with the pursuit of something that seems to be just beyond their reach. They are convinced this "something" is exactly what they need to make their life whole. When the goal of this pursuit is anything other than the God of the Bible, discontent ignites self-destructive decisions. Consequently, these misguided people make substantial compromises, and even sacrifices in their quest for the object of their desire.

Consciously or unconsciously discontented people believe that happiness is found in possessing things (a new car, a nicer house, the latest tech gadget); people (a best friend, a baby, a spouse); status (title, promotion, cool clothes or jewelry); security (big pay check, retirement, lots of insurance). Oftentimes people who are driven to acquire something they believe will make them happy actually acquire their goal only to find they did not acquire contentedness or joy.

The Christian understands that he/she has the ability to approach God with his/her needs, wants and desires. In choosing to ask God for what we want we are also giving him permission to refuse us, because we have confidence in God’s wisdom. It’s confidence in God and trusting him with our lives that allows us to have a deep contentment and joy. If he refuses us, we can know it was for a good reason. However, if he gives us our request we know it came from him and that it didn’t come to us because we chose to sacrifice our soul.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 5:12
Tuesday – Luke 19:37
Wednesday – Philippians 4:1-9
Thursday – Philippians 4:10-13
Friday – Acts 8:25-39

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Have you recently been reminded that things of this world don’t bring joy?
2. What is something that you are tempted to believe will give you joy if you could snap your fingers and possess it immediately?
3. What types of sacrifices have you made in the past just because you were discontent?
4. Share about a time in your life when God helped you be content even without what your heart desired.

Week of November 16th - Joy in Knowing God

Key Thought:
Many people are willing to trade a real relationship with God for an artificial one that is marked with rituals, rules, and religious practices. Often times prayers are full of words and expressions that we never use at any other time other than when we’re praying. We conduct ceremonies that are impressive in their precision, but don’t seem to reflect any particular teaching from the Bible. Do we really believe that God is impressed by our religion?

The Bible is clear that we are not to add to God’s Word. He has instructed us in the proper way to relate to Him and to one another and we must be very careful that our interpretations don’t turn into additions to the Bible. The Jews, over time added hundreds of rules in addition to what God had given them in the Torah. It was these rules that caused them to miss who Jesus really was. It was also these rules that became a stumbling block for many who were considering following Jesus.

Instead of rules, spiritual growth happens as we embrace a way of life that brings us into personal communication and relationship with Christ. This begins with the choice to believe in Him as our Savior and grows as we choose to live by certain disciplines or values. My suggestion for building your relationship with God is to practice the following acrostic:
H – Hang time with God: Take quiet time often to talk to God and listen for his leading.
A – Admit your sins to God: Confession of sin should be a regular part of our life.
B – Bible meditation: Filling your mind with God’s word will help you stay close to Him.
I – Involvement in church: Commit to a Bible focused church to help one another grow.
T – Tithing: Giving an offering to God is appropriate and leads our heart toward Him.
S – Studying the Bible: Understanding the principles that the author intended.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Psalm 1
Tuesday – Philippians 3:1-11
Wednesday – Philippians 3:12-21
Thursday – Hebrews 7:18-27
Friday – Hebrews 10:1

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What religious rules did you learn as a child that you later learned were not in the Bible?
2. Why are we so easily drawn into a religion of rules as opposed to a faith that is entirely relational?
3. Which of the Habits are you consistent in? Which one do you need to prioritize most?
4. Is there value in practicing spiritual disciplines even when you don’t feel like doing them?
5. Can practicing spiritual disciplines become legalistic Christian living?

Week of November 9th - Joy By Serving Others

Key Thought:
Often times we realize that we are frustrated, anxious, stressed and sad because our own desires or expectations haven’t been fulfilled. In these cases, we can expend all kinds of effort and money to reverse our situation and make our lives more enjoyable. Or, we have the option to turn our attention away from our disappointment and to focus on helping someone else who is also disappointed.

As people who belong to Jesus, we have been given the ability to look outside of ourselves in order to serve others during times of our own distress, like…

1. The person who, in the middle of grieving the loss of a spouse or parent, also chooses to comfort other friends and family who are grieving as well
   
2. The person lying in a hospital bed, suffering from a serious injury or illness, yet trying to encourage and share his faith with the other patients and medical workers
3. The person struggling to pay her bills each month who chooses to share with someone even worse off than herself
   

In Philippians, chapter two, we are reminded that Jesus was never motivated by pride or selfishness. His very appearance on this earth was enough to prove his commitment to be a man who considered the needs of others ahead of his own. When we serve the needs of others, not only are we imitating our Lord, we also receive joy. We discover that the joy came when we stopped pursuing our own agenda and began to pursue God’s.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Philippians 2:1-4
Tuesday – Philippians 2: 5-18
Wednesday – Mark 10:45
Thursday – Galatians 5:13
Friday – Mark 8:1-6

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Are you someone who is easily distracted by the images of status? What status symbols do you feel drawn to?
2. When people make it their mission to accomplish various image goals, what potential regrets will they some day face?
3. What status symbols were within reach for Jesus on this earth (remember what the devil offered him during his 40 days of temptation in Luke 4)?
4. What impresses you about Jesus’ choice to repudiate all the status symbols? What was at stake in his decision to forgo status?
5. How do we have this same mindset? How does servanthood play into this mindset?
6. Who is someone God wants you to serve, but you have a hard time considering important (maybe they bug you, or they have a repulsive habit)?

Week of November 2nd – Joy By Seeing Circumstances Through God’s Eyes

Key Thought:
People are looking for ways to enjoy their lives. For some, this means trying to squeeze some thrills out of their short weekend before having to go back to the grind. For others, joy is wrapped up in accomplishing a series of calculated life goals that guide their every decision. Whatever the path taken, it seems that most people’s attempt to find joy ends up inextricably tied to the circumstances of their life. Working to manipulate circumstances in their favor is their answer to finding joy.

Unfortunately, life can’t always be planned and choreographed in such a way as to ensure that circumstances will consistently work out in our favor. Unexpected troubles can hit us like an earthquake – without warning. Additionally, the areas of life that we expected to bring us happiness, don’t always pay out like we had imagined. The only way to ensure true happiness and joy in this life is to wrap up our hope for happiness in Jesus Christ. If we build our relationship with him and keep our focus on him, he will give us joy that transcends our circumstances.

If you want to begin to experience God’s joy that is unaffected by life’s circumstances, find out the answer to these two questions every time a troubling event invades your life:

1. How will this circumstance glorify God?
2. How can I take advantage of bad circumstances?

Bible Reading:
Monday – Philippians 1:1-11
Tuesday – Philippians 1:12-18
Wednesday – Philippians 1:19-30
Thursday – Psalm 4:7
Friday – Psalm 13:5

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What types of things bring you temporary happiness?
2. Think about a time when something you had hoped would bring you great joy instead ended up leaving you feeling empty. What were the circumstances that caused this?
   
3. How did you handle the last time that a difficult circumstance hit your life like an earthquake?
4. Can you honestly relate to the idea that contentment and happiness are possible in the middle of a troubling circumstance?
5. Why do many Christians not seem to live lives that are full of joy?
6. How is genuine joy in a Christian’s life something that glorifies God?

Week of October 26th – Working and Resting Together

Key Thought:
When a family works together to accomplish a goal it brings them together. Lately my family has been working together just to be sure that we are paying all of our bills. This means coordinating and communicating more carefully what our necessary expenses are and working together to find savings and additional revenue. In the past, when we have faced a tight family budget, one cost cutting measure we adopted was to operate with one car. We’ve done this twice and in both cases it required more communication and more together time as we carpooled to work and everywhere else. This working together toward goals is also what we are called to do with our Christian brothers and sisters.

However, we are also called to rest together. For the Jews this meant the Sabbath rest and the national festivals. These were times to recognize that God is the true provider and not themselves. They were also times for corporate worship and celebration. As we come together to worship God and express our common trust in Him, we are bonded together as a spiritual family. This is why it is so important to take time to just enjoy being together with other Christians and why it is important to join together for corporate worship at church.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Numbers 9:15-17
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 15:58
Wednesday – Deuteronomy 16:15, 16
Thursday – Isaiah 1:13-17
Friday – Isaiah 58:13

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Remember a project that your family worked on together that bonded you together. Then, remember a family vacation that also had a unifying effect.
2. Does your attendance at church help you feel more unified with your spiritual family?
3. If you do not feel united with your Christian family what needs to change?
4. Do you ever feel guilty taking time just to have fun or to relax? Why do people feel guilt for something God has commanded?
5. When was the last time that you initiated a relational time where you could just enjoy being together with other Christians?

Week of October 19th - Sticking Together as a Family

Key Thought:
There are many forces that constantly threaten the institutions that God has ordained in this world. These institutions such as the nation of Israel, societal/civil order, marriage, and the family have endured, and at times succumbed to, these splintering influences. The church family is another ordained institution of God.

Some prefer to view the church as an organism not an organization primarily because the Bible describes the church as the “Body of Christ.” When we operate in unity, we become an effective force for the Kingdom of God. However, when external or internal forces rip apart this spiritual family, a vital institution of God’s suddenly becomes ineffective and irrelevant to a dark world. Additionally, those within the family sense the loss of peace and fellowship that accompanies this disintegration.

We must continue to encourage unity and fellowship so we have wholeness in our spiritual lives, and so that we can be the vehicle of God’s power, bringing truth and healing to a lost and hurting world. To build this unity our biblical imperative is to practice the “one another’s” of the Bible as well as the spiritual gifts that each believer has received at the time of spiritual regeneration. There are many “one another’s” listed throughout the New Testament. For a partial list of the spiritual gifts present in the church read Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Romans 12
Tuesday –Galatians 5
Wednesday – Ephesians 4
Thursday – Hebrews 10:24
Friday – John 13:34, 35

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Why do you believe that there are so many things that seem to work against God’s ordained institutions like the family and the church family?
2. What is the potential of a unified church body? What harm can happen if the unity is gone?
3. Have you discovered that there is some unexplainable ability or gift that you possess that serves the Christian body?
4. Have you benefited recently from the peculiar giftedness of another Christ follower?
5. Why do you think that in 1 Cor. 13:13, love is described as the greatest of all the gifts?

Week of October 12th - Creating a Church Family

Key Thought:
The Greek word Oikos means house, household or family. As a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, we are all made members of a spiritual Oikos, also called the church. The church is not a building. When you drive by a structure where a church meets together, resist the habit of saying, “That is the 'such and such' church.” Instead, practice saying, “That is where 'such and such' church meets.” This correctly identifies the church as the congregation and not the building.

Fortunately for Mountain Vista Community Church this is already true since we do not have a building in which we meet for corporate worship. Our goal was, within three years, to establish a church in Buckeye that has a passion for God and a compassion for others. By his grace such a church exists today. We meet in a school gym and often in each other's houses. We’ve done baptisms in a public pool and, before this past Sunday, the last time we held a communion service it was at the various home groups. As a spiritual Oikos we simply recognize that we all share the same spiritual progenitor (Jesus). Additionally, we choose to gather together regularly anywhere and are committed to care for each other’s needs like a family is supposed to do.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Acts 2:42- 47
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 16:19
Wednesday – Proverbs 31:27
Thursday – Matthew 18:21-35
Friday – John 1:12

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. In what ways did your family of origin act or not act like a family?
2. If a biological family is together and intact, why might they still not feel like a family?
3. What role does the structure and rules of a family play in creating the feeling of family?
4. Do the children view the family from a different perspective than the adults? Whose responsibility is it to create the reality and the feeling of family?
5. In a church are there people who have a child’s perspective and others with an adult’s perspective when it comes to the spiritual Oikos?
6. What have been the things that helped you embrace MVCC as your spiritual family?
7. What is one thing you are doing or will begin doing to help create Oikos at MVCC?

Week of October 5th - Doing Something Great

Key Thought:
If you want to do something great in your life, you can summon up all the resources, skills, knowledge, ability, and willpower that you have and then go after a goal. In the end you may judge your accomplishment as great, and maybe even others will judge your accomplishment similarly. However, there is a chance that you won’t be satisfied with the outcome and more importantly, there is certainty a chance that you won’t have actually accomplished anything greater than what your potential is.

When we trust God and listen to him we are given opportunities to be used by him to do something that is far beyond the sum total of all of our potential. He uses human tools to accomplish inhuman feats. That is because God’s purpose and will typically involve activities that are on grand scales by our standards. For some reason he often looks for a humble person to do this work, rather than simply choosing to do it without a representative or choosing to commission an angel to do the work.

The key is that we are attentive to what God is doing in the world and are careful and responsive listeners to his voice. When we perceive a call from God, we then must act regardless of the potential cost or the odds against us. For if the odds aren’t against us, then we can be sure that the cause is merely human.


Bible Reading:
Monday – Judges 6:1-16
Tuesday – Judges 6:17-31
Wednesday – Judges 6:32-40
Thursday – Judges 7:1-25
Friday – Judges 8:1-27

Key Questions to ponder during the week:

1. Have you ever witnessed an act of bravery? What was the inspiration for this act?
2. Have you ever sensed God asking you to do something that required you to be brave?
3. Can a person do something great for God without being called to be the leader of some great cause?
4. How do we know if God is telling us to go against the odds or whether we’re simply considering doing something dumb?
5. How do you feel about the multiple tests and confirmations between Gideon and God? Is it appropriate for us to do this with God?

First Five for 09/28/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, changes at Mountain Vista.

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Week of September 28th -The Grace of God’s Presence

Key Thought:
While the authors of the synoptic Gospels work to lay out a detailed description of the life and ministry of Jesus (as an adult) so that the reader can inductively understand the writer’s view of the Messiah, John gets right to the point. Starting in verse one, he presents his theological conclusion of the Messiah’s ultimate identity. He is God in the flesh!

When we are feeling needy it is always nice to have a provision suddenly appear: a family member lends us the money we need, the appliance or tool we need goes on sale, and we can suddenly afford it, or we are looking for a better job, and the perfect opportunity comes our way. It is also a blessing when someone simply gives us a gift that meets a need or a want in our life simply out of love.

Yet, by far the greatest thing that someone can do for us during times of real need, even more than giving us presents, is to give us their presence. Whether we are throwing a big party or we are laid up in the hospital or we have recently experienced a significant loss, the most significant grace someone can typically offer is the grace of their presence.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Philippians 2:5-11
Tuesday – Colossians 1:15-20
Wednesday – Hebrews 1:1-3
Thursday – 1 John 1:1-3
Friday – John 1:14-18

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Have you ever thrown a party or had a celebration where you didn’t care about people bringing gifts or food, but were more interested in simply having your loved ones near?
2. Share about an event in your life when you were most content just to have friends or loved ones with you.
3. When was a time that you gave the gift of your presence to someone who really needed you?
4. How do you think that those who knew Jesus while he walked the earth felt to simply have him near to them?
5. As you realize that Jesus was actually God’s presence here on earth, how does this fact impact your life?
6. Have you experienced the presence of the risen Jesus in your life during a time of need?

Week of September 21st - God’s Grace For Those In Pain

Key Thought:
Luke, the only gentile author in the Bible contributed more words to the New Testament than any other writer (Luke and Acts). Luke was a physician by trade and made a point to show how Jesus truly cared for suffering people. I have found that many of the health care providers I have met in life seem to have a genuine and heartfelt desire to help people who are in pain. Luke has this heart as well.

We see in Luke’s Gospel many mentions of Jesus’ care for and healing of people who were dealing with sickness and pain. In fact, we see more mentions of healing in Luke than any of the Gospels. On many occasions people were coming to him in huge numbers to be healed, and we read that at times Jesus healed them all.

However, Jesus didn't heal everyone, and today he still doesn’t heal everyone. So, is it fair when people accuse Him of not caring about the pain, suffering, and injustice in the world? Many people who can’t comprehend the terrible things that happen in our world immediately jump to the conclusion that God must not care. Luke sets out to convince his Roman audience that the life and practices of Jesus prove this conclusion false.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Luke 14:1-6
Tuesday – Luke 6:17-19
Wednesday – Luke 9:1-6
Thursday – Luke 7:18-22
Friday – Luke 9:11-17

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Do you remember someone caring for you through a time of emotional or physical pain in your life? What did they do that convinced you they cared?
2. Have you had someone care for you through a difficult trial who had experienced the same pain in their own life? Why does it matter to us when people can relate to our pain?
3. Have you ever wondered if God truly cared about a particular loss or an injustice you had to face?
4. Is there any pain or injustice you’ve experienced that Jesus can’t personally relate to?

Week of September 14th – God’s Grace for the Hopeless

Key Thought:
The longer we live our lives the more we realize that hope and possibility are intertwined. As long as I can conceive of a possibility, I have hope. As soon as we don’t see any possibility, we lose hope. That’s when people move on, or they file for bankruptcy, or they commit suicide, or they stop trying anymore.

In the Greek Bible the idea of "possible" is the same word as “able” and “power.” When the angel tells Mary in Luke, chapter one, that all things are possible with God, he is telling her that all things are possible to the One who is all-powerful. Or, our English Bibles could say, to the One who is “all-possible” all things are “possible;” to the One who is “all-able,” He is “able to do anything.”

The more powerful someone is, the more they are able to do. If you can get a lot done in life, you are a powerful person. A person who is popular, rich, and talented has a lot of power – they potentially could do a lot. With power/ability comes possibilities which brings hope. However, every person at some point faces a situation where they feel utterly helpless no matter how powerful they are. The good part of coming to the end of our ability is that it leads us to God who is entirely able. That process renews our hope!

δύναμαι [dunamai /doo·nam·ahee/] v.; GK 1538; 210 occurrences; AV translates as “can (could)” 100 times, “cannot + 3756” 45 times, “be able” 37 times, “may (might)” 18 times, “able” three times, and translated miscellaneously seven times.

1. to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favorable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
2. to be able to do something.
3. to be capable, strong and powerful.

Bible Reading:
Monday – Luke 1:26-38
Tuesday – Acts 1:8
Wednesday – Romans 15:13
Thursday – John 10:29
Friday – Romans 8:39

Key Questions/Comments to Ponder During the Week:

1. Share an experience where you came to the end of your own power and felt helpless.
2. Has God ever used a hopeless situation to bring you closer to him?
3. What lessons about hope do you learn from the friends of the paralytic in Mark chapter 2?
4. Have you ever been able to introduce someone who was in a hopeless situation to Jesus?
5. What is our perspective as believers when we take a hopeless situation to God and He doesn’t choose to bring a solution or healing? Is there still reason to hope in this situation?

First Five for 08/31/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, the substance of our witness of the love of Christ.

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Week of September 7th - God’s grace seen in the call

Key Thought:
When was the last time you heard someone say they felt called to do something? We hear this phrase not just in a religious context, but also by people who sense that a task or an occupation offers them an opportunity to make some sort of difference in the world. (Interestingly, to be called implies a caller…Hmmmm.) For those who believe God has called them to do something for Him, their sense of call intimates a belief that they are somehow worthy of their calling since God would never call someone who is unworthy. Similarly, I wouldn’t call a babysitter for my kids who was unworthy, or hire a mechanic or a doctor who was unworthy to do these types of work.

But how could God call Levi (Matthew), a tax collector, to follow him? Truly, he was unworthy to be called to be a disciple of Jesus. In the times and culture of Jesus, the tax collector was today’s equivalent of a Middle East terrorist. He was utterly detested and rejected from Jewish society. He was a Jew who was ceremonially unclean due to his constant contact with Gentiles, he was socially unclean due to his willingness to collaborate with the hated Roman occupiers, and he was morally unclean due to his corrupt use of power to take more taxes than he was authorized to take.

In the discussion of God’s grace, we must all live with a constant awareness that we also are unworthy to be called by God, to know and follow him. When we stop comparing our lives to others who we believe to be “sinners” but instead compare our lives to Jesus Christ, we are confronted with how unworthy we are. What makes us worthy to know and follow Christ is the simple fact that Jesus wiped the slate clean, he erased my sins and I suddenly and miraculously realize that I am His worthy follower. That’s what he did for Matthew as well, and Matthew ended up being a spiritual leader, the author of an extremely popular biography of Jesus’ life.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon The Call of Grace (September 7th).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 9:9-13
Tuesday – Luke 19:1-10
Wednesday – Matthew 11:19
Thursday – Luke 15:1, 2
Friday – Matthew 21:31

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Why was Jesus so determined to hang out with “sinners” and “tax collectors?”
2. When Jesus was called “a friend of sinners,” do you think he took that as a compliment? Without speaking a word what did this part of his reputation teach his disciples?
3. Should our church be known as a “friend of sinners?” Is there a danger with this?
4. Who are the tax collectors and “sinners” in Buckeye?
5. In the story of Levi, are you more apt to feel like a tax gatherer who can’t believe God could accept you or to act like the religious leaders who were quick to judge others?

First Five for 08/10/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, a review of some of the offerings at MtVistaOnline.org.

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First Five for 7/28/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, a recap of our Power Lab day camp.

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First Five for 7/20/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, caring for the poor.

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First Five for 7/13/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, caring for orphans.

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First Five for 7/6/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, an update on the home makeover.

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First Five for 6/29/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, community in the church.

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First Five for 6/22/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, the centrality of scripture.

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First Five for 6/15/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, we take time to appreciate our fathers.

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First Five for 06/08/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, we look at the sacrifice of giving, fasting, and praying.

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First Five for 6/01/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, a word on becoming a part of the body through volunteering.

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Managing Expectations

Every once in a while I hear about someone who isn’t coming to MVCC anymore because of some disappointment they are feeling. If you know someone like this, please be sure to reassure them that they are valued by God and that it is important for them to continue their involvement at our church or another Bible teaching church that shares the Gospel.

I have found the people at the church whom God is using and who sense spiritual growth and faith development happening through our church can really struggle to understand why their excitement for the church isn’t shared by everyone. I’ll share some of my insights with you on this topic and I pray that you will continue to find MVCC as a place where you are being challenged and supported to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have found that oftentimes, people’s disappointment is that they don’t feel close to the pastor. They may not even be able to express this as the reason for their discontent. Others are frustrated because they feel like they aren’t close to certain people in the church whom they wish could be their friend. As the Pastor of a growing church, the reality is that more and more of my time ends up focused on leading the leaders of the church. Additionally, in a growing church, not everyone can be friends with everyone else anymore. Recently, even Tammy and I have found it difficult to keep up with remembering everyone’s name at the church.

One option that some growing churches choose who have over 200 people coming is to stop being an inviting church. They begin to be exclusive – I pray this is never Mountain Vista! This does solve the problem of everyone being able to know the Pastor and everyone else. However, it creates some worse problems. My strategy is to pour myself into ministry leaders as well as the lives of men who ask for mentorship and accountability. My hope is that these leaders will in turn pour themselves into the lives of our church’s newcomers and those who attend but are hesitant to fully enter into the community life at this time. This is Jesus’ discipleship multiplication concept!

So, I need you to encourage people who are new or who are on the fringe to enter in to different aspects of our community so that they can become known and can know us. I have found that as a whole our congregation is very open and welcoming to people who are also open and willing to enter in to the opportunities we offer. We also offer a lot of inclusive programs and events. Please help them understand that, the ones who have been giving financially; participating in service projects and ministry volunteerism; the ones who have attended a home group or a men’s or women’s group; the ones who attend the communion services and baptisms and all-church events – these people feel very connected to each other and God is working in their lives.

On the other hand, the people who come primarily on Sunday mornings, but don’t involve themselves in the church family activities will observe but never feel the bond and special relationships that are forming between our members. That level of connection with others and the pastor becomes reality when we can convince people to let go of their notion of individual worship of God and to fully embrace biblical fellowship. If someone you know is struggling with getting connected, please kindly and gently remind them that our church can only create opportunities and then extend invitations and then the ball is in their court. We will not get in their face and we will not assume that they want us to badger them.

If someone on the fringe feels discontent with our church in spite of all we are willing to provide them, then we can only politely wish them God’s best and pray that at their next church they will choose to enter into the life of the church as a committed participant and as a contributor. Although we feel sympathy for them please understand that people who are needy and then don’t appreciate what we’re offering to them, will not ultimately be satisfied if we try to offer them even more. Discontent people actually need God to meet their needs but they haven’t realized it yet. We can pray that since God didn’t meet their needs through MVCC, that he will at their next church.

Do what you can, pray, and then leave it in God’s hands – these are his children and he loves them more than we can.

First Five for 05/25/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, info on our upcoming creative contests.

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First Five for 05/18/08

Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week, Kenn and Angela Gibson talk about generosity.

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First Five 05/11/08

This is a new feature for our blog. Here, you can experience the first few minutes of our service time, just as our attendees do, as we use it to communicate our vision and values. This week we thank our Children's Ministry Volunteers.

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10 Commandments for Marriage

Our current series, "Love Affair" is based on a similar series developed by Ed Young Jr. at Fellowship Church in Texas. In one of his messages he talked about the 10 Commandments for marriage. I have adapted the idea and created my own 10 Commandments. How would you adapt this idea? What points would you make under each of the commandments? In your opinion, which of these are the most important for marriage?

1. You shall have no other people ahead of your spouse.
2. You shall not make someone of the opposite sex into an idol for your spouse is a jealous spouse.
3. You shall not take your spouse’s name in vain.
4. Remember your date night and keep it holy.
5. Honor your wife that your days may be prolonged.
6. You shall not murder or be continually angry with your spouse.
7. You shall not commit adultery physically or in your mind.
8. You shall not steal or withhold regular physical and emotional fulfillment from your spouse.
9. You shall not bear false witness or hide what you let into your mind and with whom you have been spending time.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse (but be content with yours as a gift from God).

Comment on the MVCC Big Give

I want to challenge our church to take steps of faith that will allow us to go beyond simply supporting our current ministry. At first I was trying to imagine if our church could raise an additional $10,000 by the end of 2008 that would come from people in our church giving above their regular contributions. As I thought more about what would be exciting to accomplish this year the number began to grow...could we sacrificially raise $20,000 for special needs and gospel outreach in our community and internationally? This would be for missional goals and projects like:

• Another home makeover type project this summer or fall
• A pledge of $1,000 to the local food bank
• Beginning a youth pastor fund that would allow us to accelerate our time line for hiring a youth pastor and establishing a youth outreach ministry
• Funding community benevolence needs
• A generous gift to the West Park school and teachers
• $1,000 pledge to the Blood Water Mission for wells and medical care in Africa
• Another Tijuana mission trip to help the poor living downtown or in the barrios
• Assisting a downtown Buckeye Spanish ministry with doing outreach
• Making a contribution to the local Breast Cancer fund raiser this Fall
• Reaching out to single moms and their kids

In the course of these projects I'm pumped to think about the conversations we will be able to have about our passion for God and the importance of believing in Jesus with the people we're serving as well as people in our community . I've begun talking to different leaders about organizing these projects. Our church has never had a problem getting volunteers, but raising the money to fund these ideas will be the first time that our financial commitment would rival our proven commitment to get out and serve God.

I need some help developing ideas and suggestions for whether we think such an idea is possible. To reach this goal we would need 200 adults and youth (basically everyone at our church, plus some people who aren't yet attending) to contribute an extra $100 to this special goal. I know this will be tough with the bad economy and with many people in our church just learning recently how to give generously and consistently to our church and now being challenged to give beyond that amount. However, if we begin to pray and plan and work and set the example I believe that by October 2008 (our 3rd Anniversary) we are going to be able to celebrate one more huge accomplishment for our church for God's glory!

Week of March 23rd - Be a Peacemaker

Key Thought:
Our daily news is filled with reports of violence, hatred and chaos. By and large, people do not know how to relate to one another. Offenses are allowed to grow until they become huge issues of bitterness. Power is wielded for selfish reasons by those with authority and influence. Injustices and violence are perpetrated against innocent people all around the world, time and time again.

Just as the core cause can always be traced back to human sinfulness, the initiative to solve these deep-seated societal ills rests with people. These are men and women who are no longer ruled by the sinful nature, but who now possess the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. This righteousness hasn’t been attained or gained by the true children of God, it is a righteousness that has been bestowed or else given by God.

As the righteousness of Jesus Christ takes hold in our lives, one outcome will be our effectiveness in serving as peacemakers. We will keep short accounts with people in our lives. We will quickly and freely offer forgiveness. We will act with humility toward others. We will learn what it means to truly love others, both friends and enemies; both family and outsiders; both the lovely and the undesirable. Peace overtakes our world one Christ-centered person at a time. Have you received his righteousness and begun to be a peacemaker?

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Fighting For Peace (Easter Sunday, 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Romans 8:10-16
Tuesday – Romans 14:17
Wednesday – Romans 12:17-19
Thursday – Matthew 5:9; 18:15
Friday – Luke 23:33-35

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Do you remember a time that you put off confronting someone about a conflict that ended up being no big deal in the end?
2. Why is it so important to resolve conflicts? Why is it important to Christ that we resolve conflicts?
3. What does the righteousness of Christ have to do with helping me become a peacemaker?
4. Are there people in your life that you need to forgive who have asked for your forgiveness? What about people who haven’t asked for it?
5. Is there conflict in your life (perhaps going back years ago) that you have been unwilling to take responsibility for?
6. How does knowing that Jesus forgave the people who unjustly tortured and murdered him make it easier for you to forgive others?

Week of March 16th – My Legacy

Key Thought:
My kids are going to mimic my life. They are watching and learning from my life and they will probably act toward their family in the same ways that I act toward them. They will probably believe the same things that I believe. They will probably say some of the exact same things that I say. What I value, is becoming their value system. It’s scary to realize, I’m leaving them a legacy of lifestyle.

The way I live my life and the things my life produces are also leaving a legacy for other people in my life. Everything I leave behind that has me as part of its identity becomes my legacy. If people are afraid to take risks in life because I was too critical and harsh with them – that’s my legacy. If someone names a building after me because of my community service – that’s my legacy. If an old friend uses a quote from me – that’s my legacy. If my family is selfish and petty and lacking a work ethic – that’s my legacy.

My life can't help but make an impact. The question isn’t if I will leave a legacy, but if I will leave a Godly legacy. More important than being known as a good or even great man; more important than building buildings and growing companies; even more important than being a leader of people – the goal: am I leaving a Godly legacy? Are God’s priorities that I’ve discovered in His Word, being lived out in my life for others to see?

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Leave A Legacy (March 16th, 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – II Chronicles 17:3
Tuesday – John 13:13-15
Wednesday – Philippians 3:17-21
Thursday – II Thessalonians 3:7-9
Friday – I Timothy 4:12

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Have you ever seen a child mimic something from your life that embarrassed you?
2. Who is the best example of someone you looked up to as a teenager? Why was it important for you to have an example in your life?
3. Who looks up to you now?
4. Are you comfortable with playing the role of being an example to others? Is there one particular area of your life that you feel God has total control of and where you would be a good example to others?
5. If your funeral was today, who would attend, and what would be your legacy as expressed by your friends and family?

Week of March 9th – Eternal Perspective

Key Thought:
A person who is lying on their death bed is not going to say, “Bring me my awards, my jewelry, and all the cool stuff I have accumulated. I just want to spend my last few days looking at it.” This is because a person whose days are numbered has the perspective that focuses them on the important people in his/her life. This person often will also seriously consider the possibility of life after death and whether or not he/she is prepared for such a possibility.

Youth, health, and prosperity are often a recipe for a life that is lived oblivious to the need to prepare the soul for eternity. However, the Bible calls this person a “fool.” If you could imagine gaining everything that your heart could desire in this world, but in the process lost your soul, the Bible reminds us, that’s not a good trade. It would be better to have absolutely nothing for 60 or 70 years but to know that you had Jesus now and an eternity with Jesus later. Is your soul safe?

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Eternal Perspectives (March 9th, 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Psalm 39:4- 5
Tuesday – Matthew 16:24-26
Wednesday – Philippians 3:7-8
Thursday – Matthew 6:19-21
Friday – 1 John 5:10-12

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What are you focusing on that doesn’t really matter? What are you neglecting that does matter? What are you going to do to let God change you?
2. Have you ever given up anything in your life simply because you had the perspective that you can’t take it with you?
3. Where does God want you to become more generous?
4. Are you 100% sure that your soul is safe and that when your life comes to an end you will be with Jesus Christ?

Week of March 2nd - Redeeming the time

Key Thought:
The Epicureans are known for indulging their whims and fantasies, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Is this how we live for today – how we seize the moment? While living with an ever-awareness of the present is an admirable trait, to direct that focus exclusively toward our own desires, wants, and pleasure is not what God hopes for us. His will is that we seize the moment for His glory.

If my mind is consumed with regrets of the past or with dreams of the future I cannot fulfill God’s call for my life. Similarly if my mind is consumed with my own selfish moment-by-moment wants, I will miss countless opportunities throughout the day to be an instrument for God to accomplish tasks of eternal significance. The challenge is to learn from my past and then dismiss it with God’s help. Additionally, I must plan for my future and then leave the actual outcome in God’s hands. After I have, then I must live each day listening for his voice and responding to his call.

Living with the awareness of today's needs of the Kingdom of God is our goal. In an unseen spiritual plane there is a battle between two opposing and very real forces - God’s servants versus the kingdom of darkness, led by Lucifer. The enemy doesn’t necessarily have to create casualties as long as he can create distractions. Are you a casualty of this conflict, or worse, have you been lured to the sidelines? Get back into the action and redeem whatever time you have left!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Living in the Moment (March 2nd , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Luke 19:5, 9
Tuesday – Hebrews 3:7-13
Wednesday – Psalm 118:24; Prov 27:1
Thursday – James 4:13-17
Friday – Psalm 39:4, 5

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week –

1. Do you spend more time thinking about your past or your future?
2. When was the last time you realized that you missed an opportunity to impact someone because you were distracted by something?
3. What are the tasks of eternal significance that God might want you to accomplish today?
4. When does planning for my future turn into boasting (cf James 4:13-17)?
5. What would you do differently today and tomorrow if you knew that you had 30 days to live?

Week of Feb 24th - Spiritual Growth Through Pain

Key Thought:
In Luke 9:51 it says that Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem meaning that He resolutely set out to go the Jerusalem and wouldn’t allow Himself to turn away. This commitment to go to Jerusalem was with the full knowledge that He was facing torture and death in that city. He was moving toward pain not away from it! Jesus knew that this journey would culminate in His ultimate mission in this world, to die for the sins of the world and then raise from the dead. This final leg of His mission was to complete Him as our savior. To fail would mean that He was in some way incomplete as the Son of God and the Messiah.

Similarly, when we face pain in our lives we are allowing it to complete us. Another biblical word for becoming complete is to become perfect. When we allow God to speak to us and work in us through the pain we encounter we are inviting Him to make us spiritually perfect. This is the process of spiritual growth. Without pain we could not grow spiritually to the degree that God desires for our life.

That is why it isn’t strange for James to say that we should be glad when we go through tough times. Our perspective should be that although we aren’t masochists, we have an eternal and spiritual perspective that enables us to see deeper meaning for pain. An analogy would be the pain that a doctor or dentist causes us as they work to extract a dangerous appendix or a degenerative tooth. We know that the pain is going to be short-term and ultimately for our long-term welfare.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Know Pain, Know Gain (Feb 24th, 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – James 1:2-4
Tuesday – Job 6:25
Wednesday – Philippians 1:6
Thursday – Philippians 3:12-17
Friday – 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Do you believe that you have a high tolerance for pain?
2. In my life ______________ causes me a lot of pain.
3. Is there something that has caused you pain which now you can see had a hidden meaning for your life?
4. How has pain produced spiritual maturity in your life?
5. Can we appreciate God’s purposes for pain, while at the same time seek to alleviate it?

Week of Feb 17th – Dealing with Stress

Key Thought:
We have come to expect and accept stress as a part of life. Today I will drive my car somewhere, check the mail, write some checks, talk on the phone, look at my e-mails, do some work, accomplish some chores, experience stress, eat some dinner, go to the bathroom, etc. If you ask someone how they’re doing, a common response is, “feeling stressed out right now.”

Feeling “stressed” should be a sign of something internal that needs to change. Stress can be a reminder that my life is filled with responsibilities that need my laborious attention. The simplest answer to my stress is to pray and then work to fulfill my obligations. Those who are lazy or underachieve will feel stress all the time! Stress can also be a signal that you are over committed. Sometimes the best thing you and I can do is admit to someone else that we have taken on a commitment that we had no business agreeing to do. Then we need to beg out of the commitment and promise to be more careful next time before we over-promise. In the end, our integrity takes a hit, but chances are your integrity already was being questioned because you were not able to be as devoted to your task as was expected.

There is one more reason for being stressed out other than under achievement and overcommitment. That is when you stress about matters that you ultimately have no control over. These are the matters that rest within the domain of an authority figure who is above us. If you are a salesperson in a large corporation, you shouldn’t stress about your company’s strategy for increasing market share. If your retirement is locked into a company pension you shouldn’t stress about the returns. If you have a child who is living an independent adult life, you shouldn’t stress about their family and career decisions. The list of things we have no real control over is unending, and to stress about these things means that you voluntarily take on a burden that does not belong to you. When we face situations that we don’t control, they end up being difficult and wonderful life lessons that teach us that we are not sovereign. Fortunately we know the One who is sovereign and He will listen to us if we take our stress to him!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Stressed Out? (Feb 17th , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – 1 Peter 5:5-7
Tuesday – Matthew 6:25-34
Wednesday – John 14:1, 27
Thursday – Psalm 23
Friday – Matthew 10:16-20

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What do you find yourself worrying about the most?
2. What do your specific worries reveal about yourself?
3. Why is it that giving our worries to God is so easy and so hard all at the same time?
4. Is there an issue in your life right now that you have no business stressing over?
5. What issues do most people worry about that ultimately are God’s responsibility?

Week of Feb 10th – Don’t Be a Hater

Key Thought:
Recognizing that God is love, there might be no greater offense that believers could propagate than that of hatred toward others. All humans have been uniquely created by God and in His very image. All people are immensely dear to God and everyone is loved by Him. Every person has a soul and every person has the opportunity to be forgiven of the greatest offenses even until their final breath of life.

Yet, throughout history we learn of countless acts of hatred that have been perpetrated by followers of Jesus and amazingly some of these instances have occurred “in the name of Jesus!” The Gospel message is a reflection of God’s pure love for us. It is a story of His selfless sacrifice, His tireless pursuit of all mankind, and His patient waiting that allows us to come to Him of our own will, without any coercion.

How could Christians ever convince themselves that such things as: the Crusades, or the execution of the reformers, or the leadership of Hitler, or the justification of slavery and segregation, or the persecution of homosexuals, or the hatred of terrorists is OK in God’s eyes? I recognize that we live in an evil and unjust world that requires tough and lethal measures at times. However, these weighty responsibilities belong to our authorities whom God has placed over us to create an ordered and just world. You and I must pray and work for peace and never vengeance. We must pray for our leaders that they would have wisdom as they protect us, but we must just as earnestly pray for our enemies. We must even love our enemies. Not because I said so. Those are Jesus’ convicting words to his contemporaries who would have taken any opportunity to repay evil for evil against the cruel Roman occupiers.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Can I Hate a Terrorist? (Feb 10th , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Ephesians 4:31-32
Tuesday – Leviticus 19:16-18
Wednesday – Matthew 5:43-48
Thursday – Luke 6:22-36
Friday – John 15:18-25

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What is the definition of hatred?
2. Who have you struggled not to hate?
3. Why do we hate to be hated and why should we expect and accept being hated in certain circumstances?
4. What forms and behaviors reveal our inner hatred of someone?
5. Why is hatred among Christians unacceptable? How do we overcome hating?

Week of Feb 3rd – Inappropriate Words

Key Thought:
I remember learning, by experience, how sensitive Junior High students are about their self-image. Many years ago I was a Junior High Youth Pastor and I made a playful comment to an 8th grade girl in my group in response to a dig she made at me. As an adult I was easily able to handle her comment, but I could immediately see that my words had hurt her. I realized that Junior High students can dish it out, but they can’t take it. So, I decided that from then on I would choose to take good-natured insults from young adolescents, but would hold my tongue in response.

Words can truly hurt and even devastate someone. Words can ruin a reputation that has been built over a life time. Words can open old emotional wounds that haven’t fully healed. Words can stir up anger, hatred, resentment, and jealousy. Words have been used to incite violence and acts of bigotry. Words can change the atmosphere of a meeting or the feelings of a person from being upbeat and confident to being depressed and unmotivated.

What words come out of your mouth? Do you spread filth and discouragement? Do you delight in bringing people down with gossip and back-stabbing? Hopefully, Christ is in you and he is producing words that build up people and his church!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon Sticks and Stones (Feb 3rd , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Ephesians 4:29
Tuesday – Proverbs 19:1
Wednesday – Colossians 4: 5,6
Thursday – James 3:1-12
Friday – Romans 10:13-17

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. When was the last time that someone’s words hurt you?
2. Is there a time that you said something totally inappropriate and wished you could take back your words?
3. Why do some people use filthy and raunchy language? Is this ever acceptable for someone who claims to be a Christian?
4. What is the appeal of gossip? Why do Christians not feel convicted when they do this?
5. If you committed to only speak wholesome and edifying words, what impact would that have on the people and organizations you are around?

Christian ADD

Sometimes I feel like we all suffer from a type of Christian ADD. We hear God's Word, but before we have a chance to really apply it we're on to studying or learning about something new. Always filling our minds with content, but failing to take any steps forward in our spiritual growth. If we're honest, there have been many times that the quality of our application has been diminished by the quantity of our study. My hope for all of us is that God's Word is truly and actually transforming us into different people! Feel free to hit the "comments" button below and share any thoughts you have on the matter.

Week of Jan 27th - Laziness

Key Thought:
I find that I can easily feel self-righteous in this area of my life. There’s no way that I’m lazy since I have always been a person who puts a lot of hours into his work and isn’t shy about doing manual labor when it’s something I feel competent to do. Also, being involved in sports and being an achiever in the academic arena has caused me to be a person who has learned what it means to set and accomplish goals in life. I have a number of degrees and certificates of achievement that never fail to impress me. Yet, I realize as I think a little deeper on this topic that when I give myself a pat on the back, I’m in fact only comparing myself to others who haven’t achieved what I have in life.

However, Jesus demands that we compare ourselves to him. Am I as diligent and conscientious as He was? I quickly have to admit that there are areas of my life in which I am lazy. I am spiritually lazy. I am lazy when I encounter opportunities for nurturing or teaching my family. I am lazy when someone in need happens to be needy at just the wrong time for my schedule. I am lazy when I don’t creatively date my wife and work at helping her feel special. I am lazy when I don’t do my share of the household chores. I am lazy when I don’t organize my life to be sure that my priorities get accomplished. I am lazy when I don’t save money that could have easily been saved and given to the poor or to my church. I am lazy when I turn on the TV rather than exercise or help a neighbor with a project. I am lazy.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Ready, Set, Recline (Jan 27th, 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Galatians 6:7-9
Tuesday – Matthew 25:24-26
Wednesday – Proverbs 15:19
Thursday – Proverbs 10:26
Friday – Ephesians 4:28

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What is your primary thief of productivity?
2. Have you ever been caught in the middle of utterly lazy behavior?
3. What types of laziness drive you crazy when others act that way?
4. Why don’t laziness and following Christ fit together?
5. How have you seen the principle of, “you reap what you sow,” played out in your own life?

Week of Jan 20th - Anger

Key Thought:
What makes you angry?
How often to you get angry?
What do you do when you get angry?
Do you regret later what you have done while you were angry?

These are some important questions to ask about a very relevant topic. It seems like everywhere you go you meet angry people. You may even have an angry person in your own home. In fact, you might be the angry person others are thinking about when we ask the question, "Do you know someone who seems to get angry easily?"

The Bible tells us we can get angry…we just can’t sin when we’re angry. That’s hard to do. Recently I was angry about a lack of customer service I received. It was beyond ridiculous! A business had charged our credit card for more than $200 without authorization and it took them almost a year to fix their error. In the meantime, I dealt with feeling ignored and even feeling disbelieved. In the end I had to get angry to get them to take the proper action. I told them what made me really angry is that I was forced to be angry before they would respond to me. They fixed the problem in exactly 2 minutes! Even now they still haven’t taken full responsibility for their error and their lack of responsiveness in the situation. Throughout this ordeal I had to keep checking myself, “In my anger am I doing or saying anything sinful - anything that would dishonor God?”

I have learned that the good side of anger is that it is sometimes what we need to take the actions we have been too passive or cowardly to take. Anger can also help reveal the deep inner values and beliefs that we hold. If something doesn’t make me angry then obviously it’s not important to me. Conversely, if something petty or of a selfish nature makes me angry, I realize I need to change my value system. Lastly, we must identify if our anger is simply the result of being impatient with others, ourselves, or even or God!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Good and Angry (Jan 20th , 2008).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Genesis 30:2
Tuesday – Numbers 32:1-13
Wednesday – Exodus 32:19
Thursday – James 1:19-20
Friday – Ephesians 4:26

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What is something silly that angered you recently?
2. What is something significant that has made you angry?
3. Have you been hurt by angry people in your life?
4. What does our anger reveal about our values and beliefs?
5. What values and beliefs does your anger reveal that dishonor God?
6. When a Christian is quick to anger or loses control in there anger, what is at stake?

One Degree of Separation

One of my goals in 2007 that will continue to be a goal of mine in 2008 is to be a person who is in better touch with the real needs in my community and neighborhood. Sometimes trying to find needs leads me to people who aren't really needy...they're more like sponges. Trying to find the real needs in our community takes work. It's the work of building intimacy with people in our church so they will be honest about their needs and it's the work of building relationships with people that I haven't usually chosen to hang out with. After 2 and a half years of ministry in Buckeye I'm starting to make some inroads.

We've done 2 home makeovers and I was also doing ground work for a 3rd this past fall that fell through at the last minute. In each case it took a significant amount of effort and time for me to find people in genuine need. I have realized that I don't have relationships with those kind of people. What does God think about that?

With a lot of work I now am one degree of separation from significant needs. In other words, I'm closer to the needs. I know people who know the needs. I still am not immersed in the needs. I used to be 2 degrees of separation from needy people. Now I have some friends I can go to who are truly in touch with the needs of our community.

When I made it my goal to take my family during Christmas to help a family in "real need" I knew who to ask for a referral and the experience of helping this family in downtown Buckeye was incredibly rewarding (for us and them)!

I have recently had 2 very transparent conversations with friends from church who confessed that they had wanted to do more to help people. These were people who had the heart and the means to give, but didn't have an avenue. How do we get more in touch?

Biggest Loser

We are starting a series about losing the stuff in our life we don't need. I will be incessantly asking you, what you are holding on to that is not necessary, helpful, healthful, or in any way beneficial to your life. I'll tell you that I have some unnecessary weight that I carry around that is of absolutely no value in my life. The reason I cary it around mostly has to do with lack of discipline and poor choices. I choose what is immediately gratifying and the consequence is that I continue to hover at least 25 pounds above where I should be. The extra weight affects my energy level so that I can't be a dad 100%. It makes me more injury prone, so that I end up missing out on some exciting opportunities. It affects my relationship with my wife who would be more attracted to me if I changed my habits. It affects my ability to make a good first impression on people I want to minister to. You all know me and love me for who I am, but that isn't always good because I can become content in an area I shouldn't be content in. Unfortunately, I have a very healthy self-image so that part isn't motivating for me either. The main issue is that I need God's help to be more disciplined in how much and what types of food I put into my body. It will be difficult, but before the series is done about 4 weeks from now I want to drop from 220 to 208. I'll keep you updated how it's going.

Week of December 23rd - Blessed To Be A Blessing

Key Thought:
Sometime in the early years of Jesus’ life, “Magi from the East,” came to worship him as a King. Possibly this was as a result of the influence of the Queen of Sheba who was an admirer of the Jewish King Solomon, or perhaps as a result of the influence of devout Jewish leaders such as Daniel or Nehemiah whose careers flourished in the East. Somehow the Magi knew of the prophecies that spoke of a future Jewish King. Coupled with this knowledge was the decision of God to reveal to them through their study of the stars that the Messiah had been born.

Two aspects of the worshiping Magi strike me. First of all, they came and worshiped the child, Jesus of Nazareth, in spite of the fact that the setting for their introduction to the Messiah was either in a cave or in a humble house. Yet, they seem oblivious to this and honor Jesus in the same way as they would if the setting were an elaborate palace. Secondly, these wise men confirmed the arrival of a king who, considering the uniqueness of his coming combined with the fact that he had no physical kingdom to rule, was quite unlike any other king to date or ever since. The kingdom that Jesus would rule would be a kingdom marked by humility rather than power. His kingdom would be one in which it would be more blessed to give than to receive.

The Magi were blessed to be able to give their gifts to the Savior and we are also blessed to be able to give our gifts to Him! I hope that you worship Jesus now and throughout the year by giving generously to the church and to those in need.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Blessed To Be A Blessing (Dec 23rd, 2007).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14, 15
Tuesday – Acts 20:35
Wednesday – Matthew 20:20-28
Thursday – Philippians 4:14-19
Friday – 2 Corinthians 9:6, 7

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. How is the kingdom of Jesus different that any physical kingdom?
2. If Jesus is a king who are his subjects? Can a person be his subject and then later on choose not to be?
3. Why does Christ’s rule encourage an attitude of generosity?
4. Think about a time that you were reluctant to give up something for the benefit of someone else. How did it turn out and how did you feel?
5. The Bible tells us that we are more blessed to give than to receive. Why is that true?

Week of December 16th – We are blessed with a burden

Key Thought:
In The Lord of the Rings, Master Frodo unwittingly inherited a burden. Throughout the saga he had a group of people who supported him, but he was the only one who could carry the ring to its eventual destruction bringing salvation to the world. In some ways this burden felt like a curse, but to the astute observer this burden was also a blessing in Frodo’s life. Similarly, God gives a burden to his followers. In discovering this burden we also discover that although others can support us, they can’t carry our burden for us. As we pursue by faith this calling from God, and as He empowers us and gives us the wisdom necessary, we eventually discover that the burden is a blessing. In spite of the times when the burden feels like a curse, in spite of the times that the burden feels too difficult to continue carrying, we eventually discover a blessing that comes from the burden. Is your burden a justice issue? Perhaps it’s raising kids who are truly devoted to God and finding their own burdens. Your burden might be a huge weight you feel every time you remember that so many people in this world still have not believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are spiritually lost. Or, you may have a burden for children or youth, that they would begin to follow Jesus at an early age. I find that some people’s burden is simply to help me as the Pastor with my burden!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Blessed With A Burden (Dec 16th, 2007).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 11:30
Tuesday – Exodus 18:22, Deuteronomy 1:9-13
Wednesday – Isaiah 9:4-7
Thursday – Psalm 55:22
Friday – Romans 9:1-3

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Do you remember as a child or teenager having a cause that consumed you and maybe even annoyed your family?
2. Why is it that some people seem to live their lives in pursuit of a compelling personal burden while others seem to be rather apathetic or superficial about the purpose of their life?
3. When you think about the characters of the Bible, which one, other than Jesus, strikes you as being a person who is passionate about a burden or calling from God?
4. In Roman’s 9:1-3, Paul is so burdened for his countrymen who don’t know Christ, that he is willing to sacrifice his own salvation if it meant the salvation of the Jews. Can you imagine having a burden for other’s souls like this?
5. Do you have a compelling burden from God? If not, take a minute to consider what might eventually become a burden to you? What is it that really gets your blood going? What issue makes you highly motivated and can also make you angry?

Week of December 9th - We are blessed by needs and the needy

Key Thought:
When a friend or family member has something positive happen to them our response is often to say “what a blessing.” However, I have yet to hear someone respond with these same words immediately after receiving bad news. “Oh, the doctor told you that you need surgery…what a blessing” or “It appears that your baby will be born with a disability…what a blessing” or “I have this cousin that is really annoying and always trying to mooch money from the family…he’s a real blessing.” Obviously this type of attitude isn’t natural or easy for anyone. In fact, it almost sounds like something an insane person would say. Well, being thankful for needs isn’t insane, but it is difficult. The benefit of embracing needs and the needy in our lives is that such a commitment will always drive us back to God. Only with God’s strength, only with God’s encouragement, only with God’s grace can we put up with and appreciate neediness. Needs force us to remember that we need God!!!!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s sermon entitled Blessed With A Need (Dec 9th , 2007).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Matthew 5:3
Tuesday – Matthew 5:4
Wednesday – Matthew 5:6
Thursday – Matthew 5:10
Friday – Matthew 5:11

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Think of something that has happened to you that originally made you discouraged or even angry, but now you are able to view it as a blessing. Why did your perspective change?
2. If we could extinguish all personal need from our lives, what would that feel like? Would that be a relief or would it end up being a detriment?
3. Honestly, how much effort do you spend to avoid the needy people in your life? Do you believe God has brought those people into your life?
4. What character issues does God develop in us through needs and needy people?
5. Think about the last time you felt a personal need deeply. How did it end up benefiting you spiritually?

Week of November 18th - Praise

Key Thought:
Have you been publicly recognized for an achievement? How did it feel to receive the praise and accolades of others? I have felt the gratification of people who applauded my efforts in my job and it feels great! My wife praises me for my work around the house and for the effort I put in to being a dad and I love it! I don’t know about you, but I get goose bumps when I watch a program or a live presentation where some undistinguished and humble person receives recognition for a life of selfless sacrifice for the benefit of others. In all these cases, praise is being offered and it is utterly appropriate and necessary. Can you imagine a world without praise? Let me say that again, CAN YOU IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE NO ONE RECEIVED PRAISE? Any place that praise was absolutely non-existent would literally be hell. On the other hand, the Bible describes heaven as a place that is full of the praises of God. On the spectrum of praise, where does your home rate? Is it full of praise for God and others or is it a living hell? Recognizing all that God has done for us, it is inconceivable that a person would not make every effort to praise Him. Regardless of your current circumstances and standard of living, your life can be a slice of heaven if your home is full of praise.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon on Ezra 3:10-13 (Nov 18th, 2007):

Bible Reading:
Monday – Revelation 4:6–11
Tuesday – Psalm 96
Wednesday – Luke 2
Thursday – Ephesians 1:3–14
Friday – Psalm 50

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. Do you have any memories of praises you received as a young child? Why does this memory stay with you?
2. Why do you think that we are attracted to others who are full of praise?
3. Have you ever known someone who never said anything to you that encouraged you and praised you? Do you find that behavior inappropriate?
4. How appropriate is your behavior to God? Do you thank and praise Him often?
5. What natural ways have you discovered that you can express praise to God?
6. Why is praising God together with other believers, something unique?

Week of November 11th - Work as worship

Key Thought:
It has been said, “If you do a job you love, you won’t work a day in your life.” That’s the same feeling as when we do work for someone we worship – it doesn’t even feel like work. A person in love doesn’t complain if his sweetheart asks him to help her wash the dishes. A groupie doesn’t blink if a band member wants to come over to their house to “kick it” for a while, but they first need to clean up the place. If we love God and He calls us to an avenue of service or He stirs us to meet a need, the work we do for Him is worship. If you are “serving God” but it feels like work…like something you dread doing, then ask yourself 2 questions.

1) Has God himself asked me to do what I’m doing?
If the answer is “no” then your work is not worship

2) Am I in tune with Him and His loving-kindness in my life?
If God has in fact called you to serve Him in a particular way, but it is always a chore, you might not be in tune with Him.

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon on Ezra 3:8-10 (Nov 11th, 2007)

Bible Reading:
Monday – Genesis 2:1-3
Tuesday – Exodus 23:12
Wednesday – Exodus 28
Thursday – 1 Chronicles 22:15, 16
Friday – John 6:27-30

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What type of work do you do? Do you find your work fulfilling?
2. Can average people doing typical “worldly” occupations consider their work/career as a way of worshiping God?
3. Have you ever tried to consider a menial or undesirable task as a way to worship God?
4. How does a sense of God’s stirring/calling affect my attitude toward the work I do in my job? At church?
5. How does God’s Chesed love influence my attitude toward the tasks and responsibilities I have?

Week of November 4th – Sanctified Worship of God

Key Thought:
If someone you invited over for a dinner party showed up wearing old work jeans, a torn and stained shirt, dirt on their hands and face, and smelling like they worked at the local dairy, what would you think? Obviously if this guest is a 7th grade boy you wouldn’t think much of it, but if they’re an adult friend, you'd just have to take some offense at their disrespect. You especially will feel this way if you’ve spent the day cleaning your house and preparing a special meal for your important guest. To be invited into fellowship with God, knowing how powerful and awesome he is, and remembering how much he has done for us, means that we must offer mutual respect. God has demonstrated faithful commitment to us. This is seen through the word חֶסֶד [checed /kheh·sed/]: translated into English as “loving-kindness” and “mercy” and “goodness” and used over 200 times in the Old Testament. In response He asks that we demonstrate our love for him through sanctification. In other words, that by His standards we have a clean heart. The phrase “His standards” means that we cannot worship God on our own terms. Not only does the Bible forbid it, but it makes no sense. If I intend to worship or show respect to someone by bringing them flowers and they’re allergic to flowers, then I have not honored them. If I desire to please someone by publicly praising them, but they are embarrassed by publicity and prefer personal acts of appreciation, then I have done them no favor. Stop worshiping God by your definition of worship and begin to worship him through coming to him with a clean heart and a commitment to serve him in any role that he has prepared for you!

Sermon Highlights:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon on Ezra 3:1-7 (Nov 4th, 2007).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Leviticus 22:32
Tuesday – Numbers 3:13
Wednesday – Numbers 8:17
Thursday – Romans 15:16
Friday – 1 Timothy 4:5

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What examples can you think of where we worship God on our own terms?
2. How can we know that our worship of God is appropriate and pleasing to him?
3. Have you ever felt unworthy to approach God or to ask him for anything?
4. If sanctification is “clean and special for a purpose” would you say that your “feelings” have anything to do with worshiping God?
5. How does God’s “checed” affect your desire to be clean and to worship Him?

Week of October 28th - Worshiping God by Going

Key Thought:
There is something in us that drives us to settle down and create a secure and familiar life for ourselves. We feel secure being able to predict how our day and week will progress, and we become disturbed when we encounter disruptions to those plans. Those disruptions can take the form of unexpected and negative circumstances that invade our life, such as being laid off from a job, having a good friend move away, losing use of your vehicle, becoming ill, etc. A Christ-follower makes every effort to accept these circumstances as part of God’s plan. However, there are also times in our life when the potential disruption is not some random happening, but is offered as an option by God. We get to choose to disrupt our own life and routines or to simply keep things as status quo. It is in these moments of decision (when we feel the tension between doing what God has called us to do, and what our carnal nature wants) that we face a worship decision. Do I worship God above my own comfort? Do I worship God by allowing myself to enter a period of life that is no longer predictable, but is in fact now full of the unknown? Following God into the unknowns of life is very difficult, but God knows that and He is pleased that you would worship Him in this way!

Sermon:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon “Going” (Oct 28th, 2007).

Bible Reading:
Monday – Ezra 1:1-11
Tuesday – Exodus 17:1-7
Wednesday – Numbers 33:48-56
Thursday – Luke 13:33-35
Friday – Acts 13

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What routines are you currently comfortable with and enjoying in your life?
2. What are some of your long-range goals that you are working toward?
3. How would you feel if God asked you to make a change in your life that jeopardized your current routines and goals?
4. Have you already gone through a major life disruption? Was it by your own choice or did it happen unexpectedly?
5. Do you face a choice right now where God is asking you to step out of your comfort zone?

Week of October 14th - A Godly Family

Key Thought:
Regardless of the type of family you grew up in, God has called you to play a key role in helping Him make your current family perfect. As we learned last week, “perfection” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve “arrived,” but that you are in a “process” toward perfection (perfection meaning “complete, mature, lacking nothing, sufficient and adequate for the job you’re called to perform”). God is perfecting our church and part of that process is the work He’s doing to perfect our families. A perfect church is made up of perfect families. If you feel like your family is quite imperfect and you don’t see much hope of it getting better (let alone perfect), God is asking you to let him do the work required. It’s time to stop trying to fix everything on your own strength and fall on your face, humbly asking God to do a miracle. He knows better what a perfect family looks like and He’s the only one with the power to complete the job. All you have to do is be sensitive to his direction for what to do and when. Then, when he speaks to you about your family, be sure you don’t hesitate to respond. If God says that you need to confess your own sins that are affecting your family, then do it. If God is telling you to get some Christian counseling or to meet with the Pastor – do it. If God convicts you that you aren’t spending enough time with your kids or you’re not prioritizing your spouse, then change your priorities. God can also use other families as an example for you to follow, so make it a priority to build relationships with families you admire as being spiritual and committed (remember though, they are also in process, so don’t expect everything in their life to be perfect). Above all begin to pray and search God’s Word for His wisdom for your life. Only through obedience to God can you experience God’s blessing in your family. In the end an obedient and blessed family will bless other families!

Sermon:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon, “Picture Perfect Family” (Oct 14th, 2007).

Bible Reading:
Mon – Genesis 21:1-21
Tue – Deuteronomy 4:1-10
Wed – Psalm 133
Thurs – Acts 16:22-40
Friday – Genesis 32, 33

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What were the healthy and unhealthy patterns you observed in your family of origin? Have you repeated any of these patterns in your current family?
2. Do you find that there are common issues that most families are struggling with in our world today?
3. List the characteristics present in families that have moved significantly toward perfection? How many of these characteristics are present in your family? Which is one characteristic God wants you to let Him work on immediately?
4. What typically prevents families from moving toward perfection?
5. How does the issue of perfect families directly affect our church? What implications does this have for our witness to a lost world?

Week of October 7th - Commitment to your local church

Key Thought:
If you were fortunate, you stumbled onto Mountain Vista Community Church and immediately felt like this was “your church.” Other people struggle for months looking for the right church before settling on one. Some people are looking for a certain feeling the moment they step through the front door, while others are looking for something from the service or the children’s program. Some people showed up at our church their first Sunday with no real expectations. Whatever the circumstances for your beginning at MVCC, the day has come or will come when you will clearly see some of the deficiencies and short-comings of our church. Each of us face a moment of truth when we are confronted with the imperfections of “our church.” Will I be a problem finder or a problem solver? Will I “pile on” by being unsupportive and negative, or will I express confidence in God’s will for my church. God’s will for our church is that we are “attaining to perfection (Eph 4:13).” This is a process that is continuing and will never end. God willing, our church will outlive all of us and have a huge impact on this world for many years to come. In the process we can be sure of two things, 1) God is actively at work to make us perfect. 2) Until Christ returns, we will never be a “perfect” church. Churches that ignore their shortcomings cannot become mature in Christ. Similarly, churches whose members become aware of their problems and, instead of seeking a solution, choose to leave or grumble, will not achieve maturity. Our responsibility is to find out if God has called us to be a part of MVCC and, if he has, we must commit ourselves to it regardless of the issues that disappoint us.

Sermon:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that have stuck with you from Steve’s Sermon “Picture Perfect Church” (Oct 7th, 2007)

Bible Reading:
Mon – Ephesians 4;11-15
Tue – Matthew 18:15-18
Wed – 1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Thurs – Galatians 2:11-16
Friday – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week:

1. What originally led you to be a part of MVCC?
2. How long did it take you to discover that MVCC is not perfect?
3. What are some current strengths of our church? How do you think these strengths came about?
4. Is it discouraging to you to know that our church will never be perfect?
5. How can we be proud of our church without unintentionally creating unreal expectations in the minds of newcomers and friends whom we invite?
6. What does commitment to church mean to you?

Week of September 30th – Diligence

Key Thought:
Too many people are waiting for prosperity to find them. If you are hoping that there is some big payoff right around the corner that is going to be your financial savior, it’s time to stop dreaming and start promising. When you make a promise to yourself that you are going to stop being a servant to money, it means you’re ready to take control and that you are ready to stop passively wishing for someone or something to miraculously fix your life. This may sound devoid of faith, but in fact it is the very first step of genuine biblical faith. Some people think that God has let them down because they have been praying for him to solve the problem. However, they have not exercised any faith beyond simply praying about their problems. God has only promised to provide us with the basics for our lives. He hasn’t promised to bail us out of our self-induced financial dilemmas, and he definitely hasn’t promised to make us rich on this earth. He wants us to step forward in faith - demonstrated by practicing the principles of stewardship, generosity and diligence. Here’s the wealth equation: diligence, plus living in the U.S., plus your God-given common sense, plus sound advice, plus Godly discipline and contentment, plus patience, plus biblical wisdom will usually equal wealth. Sound too difficult? Everything worthwhile is difficult! It takes diligence to get out of debt. Then, it takes diligence to save and invest. However, if you choose to be a diligent person you not only will have wealth, but you will be able to better represent Jesus who was both generous and a hard worker!

Sermon:
Take some time to write down some important thoughts that stick with you from Steve’s Sermon “The Buck Starts Here” (Sep 30th , 2007)

Bible Reading:
Mon – Proverbs 10:1-5
Tue – Proverbs 12:24, 27
Wed – Proverbs 13:4, 7
Thurs – Proverbs 21:5, 6
Friday – Proverbs 6:6-11

Key Questions to Ponder During the Week –

1. What types of things do people do to get rich quick or to get out of debt quick? Why is it so dangerous to put our hope in these methods?
2. What are some of the wise decisions you’ve made in the area of finances? What decisions do you wish you could do over?
3. If Christians are to be different from the world, how does a Christian investor distinguish herself/himself from someone else who doesn’t know Christ and whose life revolves around money?
4. What are some Godly reasons we should save and invest? How much is enough savings?
5. What is your personal conviction about using money as something for you and your family to enjoy?
6. If you saved up an extra $50,000 beyond your goals for retirement and family goals, what are some causes or organizations that you would love to be generous with?

Week of September 23rd - Generosity

Key thought:
Many of us grew up in homes where we learned the value of money from an early age. Unfortunately we may have learned that value too well to the exclusion of other competing values. We encourage children to share when their friend comes over to play, but do we share our “stuff” with others? If I recognize that all my stuff and all my money actually belongs to God anyway and that I am simply a steward of it, then the question isn’t if I should share, but how much? The answer to how much often times requires the deeper question of how much do I trust God? If I trust God to meet my basic needs, then I can begin to give away more and more of what I have and in the process see that God truly is meeting my needs. This kind of trust has an immediate impact on my relationship with Him. If I trust him and give my money to the areas that are His priorities (church and the poor), then I can expect my relationship with him to become something that is very exciting and fulfilling. He may or may not return the finances back to me, but that really isn’t the point. The point is that financial generosity as an act of faith leads to a passionate relationship with Him!

Sermon:
Important thoughts that have stuck with me from Steve’s Sermon “Profit Sharing” (Sep 23rd , 2007)

Bible Reading:
Mon – Acts 2
Tue – 1 Corinthians 9:1-18
Wed – Luke 19:1-10
Thurs – Deuteronomy 15:1-15
Friday – Leviticus 22:17-22

Key Questions to ponder during the week:

1. Think about a time in your life when you chose to be generous (maybe originally you were reluctant), but then were glad you shared. Why is sharing with those in need such a fulfilling act?
2. Why do we slip into habits of selfishness and hording?
3. Why is it a priority of God’s that we give to the church? Why is financial generosity with our church so crucial in addition to volunteering?
4. If all Christians gave at least 10% of their incomes to further the Kingdom of God, what type of impact might that have on our community and beyond?
5. What financial commitment do you need to make to God today? Do you feel this is a big step of faith on your part? How do you feel God will reward you for this commitment?

Week of September 16th - Debt

Key Thought:
Millions of Americans, including many Christians, have been caught in a web of debt. Money is intended to be a tool and a resource, but for many people, money has become their master. Debt causes us to serve our money rather than allowing our money to serve us and our priorities. The test is to ask ourselves whether we are able to accomplish many of the priorities in our lives. Can we afford a family vacation? Can we deal with an unexpected expense? Are we generous with our finances toward the church and friends in need? These, and other issues, help to reveal that the reason we feel caught in a lifestyle that is always saying “we can’t afford to do that,” is that we have too much debt in our lives.

Sermon:
Important thoughts that have stuck with me from Steve’s Sermon “Act Your Wage” (Sep 16th , 2007)

Bible Reading:
Mon – Matthew 6:19-24
Tue – Matthew 13:45, 46
Wed – Matthew 19:16-26
Thurs – Luke 12:13-34
Friday – Joshua 6:17-19 & chapter 7

Key questions to ponder during the week:

1. Why has debt become such a major issue for so many people?
2. What are your convictions about using credit? When is debt appropriate?
3. Do you feel that it is important to pray and observe a “cooling off period” before making a significant purchase?
4. Do you feel that a lack of money management has become a sin issue for many Christians? For you?
5. What specific step(s) is God telling you to take with regard to credit/debt?

Week of September 9th - Stewardship

Key thought:
Our life is the first of a truckload of gifts which God has given to each of us. The more he has given to each of us including possessions, relationships, experiences, talents, knowledge, skills, and health, the more he expects from us. You see, he didn’t just give it all to us to be consumed in whatever whimsical manner we pleased. God gave it to us to be managed in a way that would bring Him the greatest glory. We get one shot at this life and in the end everything will be evaluated with the question, “so what have you done with the gifts I have given you.” Ultimately our goal is that the end result of our life’s evaluation is that our creator will say, “well done good and faithful servant.”

Sermon:
Important thoughts that have stuck with me from Steve’s Sermon “Minding the Business (Sept 9th , 2007)

Bible Reading:
Mon – mt 24:32-41
Tue – mt 24:42-51
Wed – mt 25:1-13
Thurs – mt 25:14-30
Friday – mt 24: 31-46

Key Questions to ponder during the week:

1. What things do you work hard at during the week and what goals are represented in the work you do?
2. Is there anything wrong with being a rich person or in pursuing wealth?
3. Define the word faithful. If your life came to an end today, what areas do you believe God would say you’ve been “faithful.” How have you been unfaithful?
4. Does God ask us to be faithful in ways that aren’t related to money, possessions or natural talents?
5. How does being a faithful steward demonstrate my trust in God? In what area does God want me to trust him more?