Hey Everybody…
We learned last Sunday that when Jesus came to “save his people from their sins,” it was SO much more than simply a rescue from the eternal consequences of our sin. We learned that God’s salvation for us is a “material rescue from all danger and harm.” Wouldn’t you like to be saved from all manner of danger, suffering, and harm? But are there limits to this for you? Are there corners in your life that you’d simply prefer the Savior stay clear of? I’d like to explore with you a radical rescue Jesus wants to perform in your life and mine. For many, this might just be in the “off limits” category. I’ll explain more in Deeper Thoughts below. But first… · Are you ready for some yummies and fun?? THIS Sunday night, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. join us for a delicious potluck fellowship dinner, live nativity, and lots of friendship. Chris Nicholson’s world-renowned pork loins will lead the festivities. You’ll bring some additional sides and desserts--Click here to let us know what you’re bringing! o A live nativity with alpacas, mini goats, and the real Mary & Joseph can be the backdrop for your family pictures and are sure to thrill the kiddos… and adults… o And then… around 6:15 or 6:30-ish, we’ll gather in the sanctuary for a super-fun Christmas Pageant presented by our kids and teens! · Make plans and invite friends for Christmas Eve at Mt. Hope! On Sunday morning, December 24th, we’ll have a simple and meaningful family service. Then, in the evening, two candlelight worship celebrations, 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. · Oh…and don’t miss our continued Mt. Hope Prayer Experience testimony videos… this week, Al Villaflor shares his experience with prayer; the last two weeks Sherri shared hers, and I shared mine as well. Click our names to see those videos! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who have no hard corners for God to poke around in. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… We have all been hurt. At least once. Some hurts are minor. Simple disappointments, subtle rejections, a biting word, mistakes and miscommunications. These get under our skin for sure. They burn a bit, but we typically get over them without much fanfare as time moves on. Occasionally--perhaps rarely—we will have the tough conversation with those who hurt us, and a new and healthier relationship can emerge. But then there are hurts that mark us profoundly. Sometimes permanently. A harsh and stunning betrayal. A deep offense. Destructive and harmful behavior. These are the stories that are terribly difficult to name: Abandonment. Abuse. Adultery. Addiction. Assault. Alienation. For most of us, at least one deep wound is in our story. We keep it very well hidden. But it is there, quietly lurking layers below the surface. We don’t think about it every day. But subtly, quietly, imperceptibly, it still has energy and drives much of our emotional life. Would you like a Savior from this? What happens when we are deeply hurt is extremely common. But it is emotionally and spiritual paralyzing all the same. It eats away at our self-confidence. It leads us to walk on eggshells in any situation that feels remotely similar. It drives us to avoid certain relationships or certain situations for fear of being wounded again. It can torment us with unforgiveness, bitterness, or anger. It simmers and then manifests in irritability, emotional unavailability, and anxiety. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Wouldn’t you like a Savior from this? For many, this is in our “off limits” category not because we wouldn’t like to be free of it. We know it is quietly killing us. But the thought of being delivered from it seems wildly impossible and far too difficult to confront. Even God seems incapable to fix it. He certainly wasn’t there to save us from the hurt before it happened--or so it seems—so how could He possibly help us now? “Ummm… Chris… you’re killing me, bro. Did you have to bring all this up today? Isn’t the Christmas season supposed to be about joy, and peace, and hope??” There was a Savior born in Bethlehem. When God announced this Savior, His message was clear: “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Your sins are forgiven. You get this, right? So how can this be a “material rescue” from the impact of all the hurts and wounds that others have wrought in your life? Your sins are forgiven. Check. But how about theirs? At the root of every deep hurt is somebody’s sin. Sometimes it’s multiple people’s sins. Sometimes it’s our own sin. Sometimes it’s a combination of their sins and my sins. Sometimes we are purely innocent, and they alone have sinned. And Jesus has come to save us—to “materially rescue us”—from all of it. SO…if you’ve read this far and haven’t bailed on me yet, can I ask you to come just a little bit further? This Sunday, I want to show you Jesus. I want to show you how Jesus rose above all the profound and desperate hurt he encountered, and how he can rescue you from yours. I know it’s not really the mood we would prefer for Christmas. But I bet for a lot of us, these things Jesus wants to rescue are indeed lurking below the surface no matter how joyful the Christmas songs, how yummy the cookies, how beautiful the decorations, how exuberant the celebrations. I’ll give you just one reading assignment before Sunday, and then let’s go there. It will be joyful--I promise—for the joy of deliverance will be the greatest Christmas gift you could ever receive. The freedom, the abundance, the comfort, the peace that will explode as you receive salvation from this deep wound… Oh… it’ll be awesome! Read this: Matthew 2:1-23. Do you notice the part of the Christmas story that we typically leave out of all the musicals and carols? (** Parents, see a special note below my signature line.) It’s right there in verse 16-18. Its impact was every bit as profound as anything you’ve encountered in your life. And Jesus rose above it. Way above it. Let me show you how. Oh, beloved… we have a Savior! Let’s invite him into our deepest corners and find His victory. This will be SO good… (BTW…Looks like a rainy Sunday in the forecast… c’mon anyway… we’ll have umbrellas, the heat will be on, and the coffee hot!!) Much love, joy, and peace…in Jesus!! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
0 Comments
Hi All…
It is spray painted on nearly every highway overpass between here and Indianapolis. It is held up on poster boards at NFL football games. It is scrawled in chalk on railroad freight cars across the nation. It is even tattooed on the biceps of a fair number of brawny faithful. It is the phrase, “Jesus Saves!” But what does this mean? Jesus saves from what? Do I need to be saved from anything? Careful here… beware of just glazing past this as one who has declared themselves to be a Christ-follower. Don’t just “check the box” that you already have all that needs saved because you have confidence in your eternal destiny. Let’s look a little closer in Deeper Thoughts below. But first… · Are you ready for some Christmastime fun? Our annual Mt. Hope Christmas Party and Christmas Pageant is NEXT Sunday, December 10! o Potluck fellowship dinner from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Chris Nicholson’s world-famous pork loins will be our main dish; we need your help with the sides, drinks, and desserts. Click here to sign up for what you can bring! o From 6:30 – 7:15-ish, our Kid’s Connect and our youth ministry are teaming up to bring you a fun celebration of Christmas in drama and song. A live nativity will be a part of the evening as well… Ryan Sauder’s beloved llama doppelganger returns this year! o Parents, please note we have rehearsals both tomorrow (this Saturday) and next Saturday. Ping Chris Bowen for details—240-422-6287. · Not enough Christmas fun for you? Ladies… on Saturday, December 9, you’ll be getting together for cookies, tea, and crafty gift-making, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Click here for info and RSVP! · And lastly (for now…), mark your calendars for Christmas Eve candlelight services 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, December 24. We’ll also have a low-key Sunday morning worship service at our normal time Christmas Eve morning. OK, that’s it today for you email-skimmers and you who don’t have anything in your life that needs fixed. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts It was shouted by the angels to a rather unsuspecting crowd. Not only did it startle them; it downright freaked them out. They likely hadn’t bathed in weeks. That’s an irrelevant and smelly point to our story except to set the stage that these were roughneck fellows working a hard manual job devoid of most creature comforts. If they had a family, they likely saw them only a night or two every week or more. Romance, family dinners, or attending their children’s events were cherished moments precious few times per year. Some scholars suggest they were known as “Bedouins,” a nomadic sheep-tending people who wandered the deserts of North Africa, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, most notable that they may have been Arabs—a people often antagonistic towards the Jews. Other scholars consider that these were just Jewish local boys from Bethlehem tending flocks on neighborhood farms. Whether they were Jewish or Arab is unknown. But we do know they were the least likely to be the heralds of important news. And yet God chose to surprise them with the most important message of all time. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born,” the angels declared. It was “good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” they said. Did you catch it? “Good news… that will be for all the people.” That means you. It means me. So, what do you need a Savior for? What needs to be saved in your life? The concept of salvation implies a rescue. In the New Testament, it is the Greek word “sozo”, which means “material deliverance from danger and suffering.” It is a complete and thorough rescue from all that brings harm. If you grew up in a Bible-teaching church, you have been relentlessly encouraged to receive Jesus as your “personal savior.” I am certain that a vast majority of you who read this newsletter have done just that—put your faith in Jesus as the Son of God who forgives all your sin and will take you into heaven. We have been “rescued from our sin” by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This is all absolutely biblical and very good. You should be certain you have “checked that box” and trusted Christ to save you from your sins. (If you have not, let me know…I can help you do that!) But is this all that needs saved? I desperately need a one-way ticket to heaven, to be sure. With the death rate right at 100% for my kind, I need the bedrock certainty that none of my deep-seated sin issues will trip me up when my time has come and I see those proverbial pearly gates. And thanks be to God, He has given me this certainty in the baby born in Bethlehem who would later atone for all my sins. But there are a few other lingering and pesky problems in my life that could use a little help. How about you? How about your anger, frustration, sadness, and fear? None of these are sins in and of themselves; they can lead to bad choices, but these painful emotions are normal, not wrong. Or how about loneliness? Or stress and anxiety? Or boredom? Or self-loathing? Or your gripping sense of insufficiency, insecurity, and insignificance? Could you use a Savior in these matters in life? This Sunday, we begin our four-week Advent celebration—advent meaning “the arrival of a notable person or event.” When the angels declared to smelly shepherds that a Savior had been born nearby, a notable person had very much arrived. But as we study this, let’s look carefully at what needs to be saved. “Would You Like a Savior?” is our Christmas teaching series. Let’s go deeper than the traditional and predictable narrative of the baby, and Incarnation, and Joseph and Mary, and shepherds and wise men. Let’s talk about you and me. Do we not only know salvation from our sins and a free ride to eternal bliss, but do we also know the complete and thorough salvation of everything broken within us? Can a baby born in a Bethlehem stable really fix the long list of ills that haunt my daily life? And yours? Come with expectant and open hearts this Sunday. Let’s see what God might be able to do. Sherri and I cannot wait to see you and share our love for you. Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey All…
Now…don’t mistake me when I go upstage and turn on a microphone. No, your pastor is not going all “cult” and thinking he is divine in any manner. Much the opposite. But I won’t be preparing a sermon for Sunday, and neither will we have a special guest…er…well, unless you count the Sovereign Lord of the Universe as a guest speaker (though He is always present; always speaking). God Himself will be the voice to us on Sunday, and He is going to speak through you. Yep. You. (Oh, and I’ll have a bit to say too.) I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… · We will be sharing in Communion (The Lord’s Supper) this Sunday. Come prepared to thank God for your salvation. You online livestream folks, prepare some juice and bread from the kitchen to participate as well! · Next Sunday, December 3 begins the Advent Season. We’ll launch a new four-week teaching series through Christmas Eve called “Would You Like a Savior?” Consider inviting some friends and loved ones for a joyful celebration of Christmas and the power of the Gospel. · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant--Sunday night, December 10, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. Join us for a potluck dinner 5:00 – 6:30 p.m., and then a wonderful presentation of the Christmas story from our Kids Connect and youth ministries from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. o We need you to bring some amazing yummies! In addition to Chris Nicholson’s world-famous pork loin and applesauce, click here to sign up on Perfect Potluck to help us coordinate! Don’t forget to bring a card to say what your delicious dish is, and any common allergens. · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Last chance to RSVP as we need a solid headcount--click here for more info and to sign up! · New believer’s small group: starting in December, Chris and Sherri Eads will be leading a midweek small group for those who want to start all the way at the beginning with the basics of the Christian faith. Click here to let us know you’re interested, and we’ll give you all the details! OK, that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who mistakenly think you have nothing meaningful to say. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… It is unmistakable to me that every single Sunday God speaks through me or whomever else we have teaching, leading, or ministering to us. It’s the biblical concept of “anointing,” that God brings a special addition of His power, wisdom, and revelation to any preparation or human thought we have put into our ministry role. You see it every week in how Ryan Sauder, John Dively, or others on the worship team bring us into the presence of God. They are good musicians for sure, and their hearts are so inclined to love God through song that it is nothing short of inspirational. But you know that this power is not from themselves, do you not? The pull… the draw… the sense of God’s presence: This does not come from human hands upon instruments, vocal perfection in song, or preparation and energy. No, this comes from God and is called “anointing.” You see it in how Chris Bowen, Kristie Zoller, Eva Moore, Jessica Sauder and others in our children and youth ministries make an impressive impact in your kid’s or teenager’s lives. We all see this sincere love and attention they have for your beloved children. They deeply care about each of their stories, each of their needs and wants, each of their fears. This is not because they have any particular talent with young people, though they clearly do. No, the strength of their affection and attention to your loved ones comes directly and supernaturally from the heart of God and is called “anointing.” You see it when the Word of God is opened by any of our teaching team here at Mt. Hope. That connection and relevance you sense—and we hear about from you so often—is not coming from any intellectual prowess or creativity on the part of our teachers. No, it comes from God as He “anoints” His Word just as He promised He would do (see Isaiah 55:10-11). But have you ever considered how God is anointing your life and your story? You might think that you have a mediocre, milquetoast, semi-boring life. You might think that God doesn’t notice much of you, and we for sure wouldn’t either. But if you think this way, you are terribly mistaken. The scriptures reveal that God is tremendously and supernaturally involved in the intimate details of your life. Carefully cataloguing every minute and hour of every day in your life, He has been collecting your stories in a journal He keeps right there by His side. He has been journaling about you since the very beginning of time, contemplating each moment, each incident, each reaction, each nuance of you with incredible joy. Don’t believe me? Do some reading of God’s revelation in Matthew 10:29-31; Psalm 139:16-18; Ephesians 1:4-5. So how will your story be the voice of God to us on Sunday? There’s a great tradition around Mt. Hope. It is the “open mic” of sharing testimony of God’s work in our lives. And you have something to tell us, no matter how simple or small you think it may be. We are a family—siblings every one of us, adopted together into this really big home where God is the Father, and we are the kids. This Sunday, our sanctuary becomes a massive Thanksgiving dinner table where we will tell of the goodness of God in our lives. We will regale each other with stories of how God has worked—in bold, supernatural provision, or in hidden wrestling amid troubling circumstances, or in subtle transformation of our hearts and minds. As we pass the microphone around the room (don’t worry… we won’t stick it in front of you unless you ask for it!), listen closely to the subtle and not-so-subtle ways God has been moving among your family. As each story is shared, I’ll do my best to listen to the Holy Spirit for the scriptural truth that has been manifested in your story. I’ll add some biblical commentary that will be entirely unscripted but will match your story with the promise of God from scripture. So…be thinking and praying. What can you give testimony to God from your life? For those who are uncomfortable sharing in front of a crowd (which I fully understand are many of you!), we’ll have a mechanism where you can write out a story of God’s work on a notecard that I can share for you. Sincerely: no pressure. I don’t want anyone to feel that you must share anything. And logistically, all hundred or so of us who are there this Sunday can’t all speak up. But many of you need to. God has been forging an anointed story in your life that we need to hear. Will you prayerfully consider if you have one to share? I’m so looking forward to this service and can’t wait to see you all. In-person, 10:00 a.m., or online-livestream for those who are out of town. Join us, one and all! Much love…Sherri and I are immeasurably thankful for each of you being in our lives. Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey All…
I sometimes get tired of talking about adversity and troubles in life. Don’t you? I’m sure you’re like me and would prefer to always be cheerful and speak only of wonderful things. But as we study the scriptures, this topic cycles back into our field of view every handful of weeks. Life is full of challenges, adversity, and trouble… so I suppose it’s no surprise that God has much to reveal to us on the subject. There’s someone I want you to meet this Sunday. In addition to the Apostle Peter--on whom we are basing our fall teaching series “Effective Faith”—who was no stranger to adversity, there’s a real-time example right here in our immediate context you need to hear from. I’ll tell you more about him in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…a few quick items: · Don’t be late to church this Sunday! We have a baby dedication and a baptism celebration early in the service. This is going to be super-cool! · Teens – Don’t miss youth group this Sunday night, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. at the church! You’re going to get a deeper dive with the fellow I want you to meet in the morning. Parents—be sure your teenager makes plans to attend. More on this in Deeper Thoughts below. · We have a brand-new episode in our weekly “Prayer Experiences” video series. Click here to see Jameson Zoller share his journey with prayer. Growing up as the son of our beloved Pastor John, he still had to forge his own journey and experience with powerful prayer. Don’t miss this compelling story! · NEXT Sunday, November 26, our Sunday worship service will include a really joyful Mt. Hope tradition as we open the floor for testimonies of things God has done in your life. As a part of our Thanksgiving holiday celebration, be thinking of what you could briefly thank God publicly for. So many amazing things have been happening in lives in our church—we want to share with each other as the family of God. · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant – Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect dramatic Christmas presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it for you email skimmers and you who never have anything go wrong. Ever. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… We are really good at trying to dodge adversity, are we not? Oh… and we’ve generally gotten pretty good at not just wanting to dodge it, but in actually dodging it… for the most part. We live in an incredibly prosperous time in human history. My wife and I were contemplating this earlier this week. We had just received frustrating news that our insurance company had decided a recent fender-bender on our newly debt-free Toyota was a “total loss,” dropping us into the greatly unwanted, excruciating, and toilsome hardship of buying a new… Wait… we paused. And prayed, “thank you, God, that we live in such a time that our largest first-world frustration is picking out which brand-new SUV to buy with the insurance company’s money…” Life is not always so burdened with grandiosity. Sometimes the hardships are far more legit. Take the Apostle Peter, for instance. We’ve been studying his life and letters to discover what “Effective Faith” really looks like. His story, like ours, had a lot of high points and prosperity. But it also had immeasurable pain and suffering—perhaps a tad more than we most often experience here in our Northern Virginian comfort. On the prosperous side: Peter owned a business. It was a fishing company, and his business partner was a good man and likely a best friend—John, the son of Zebedee. Peter was married; the implications from scripture are that his wife was super-supportive of his impulsive and audacious lifestyle. In spirituality, he had a front-row seat to the greatest spiritual movement in human history, seeing Jesus in all his glory; walking on water right next to him; performing miracles in his name; and getting to preach the kick-off sermon for the largest church planting project ever—the Day of Pentecost and the founding of the Christian religion. On the suffering side: Peter’s bold faith and outspoken support of Jesus led to more than one round of imprisonment, beating, and unfathomable legal trouble. He had sharp and painful disagreements with his closest allies. He watched every one of his closest friends be tortured and executed. And then ultimately, he himself was tortured and crucified. That is simply no fun. It is from that keen experience of legitimate hardship that Peter could write to every Christian who would dare to read his letters that we should “not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Hmmm… I’m not sure “overjoyed” really describes my attitude when the heat is turned up. How about you? Perhaps your story has some significant and sincere hardship right now. You roll your eyes--and rightly so—at the Eads’ little sorrow over a totaled automobile, as you right now are suffering the truly big stuff. You’re going through a divorce. Or a terrible medical crisis. Or a financial collapse. Or unemployment. Or an estrangement from a loved one. Or a suffocating loneliness and isolation. Or an intractable addiction. It is different for each one of us. But we all take our turn through the unquestionably difficult seasons of life. I want you to meet a dear friend of mine this Sunday. He’s going to join me in our teaching time—I’ll open up with some exploration of the scriptures like we do each week, and then I’m going to have you meet David Wickward and hear his story. He is a young man in his twenties that has been profoundly living for Jesus from the context of a lifetime with a significant physical disability. But to meet him, you would never know he is disabled, were it not for the obvious external appearance. His spirit, his faith, his warmth, and his abundant love for Jesus speak profoundly to me. And I know he will speak to you as well. (And then in the evening, David will be sharing with our teenagers at a special youth group event, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.) Do a little advance reading before Sunday, will you? Let’s look at what Peter has to say about adversity--1 Peter 3:17—4:19. Also read a bit from Peter’s co-laborer, the Apostle Paul: Romans 5:1-5 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 6:4-10. Oh friends… I know I say this every week. But don’t miss this one. God is going to speak to and shape us all, I promise. Mmmmm…. Gonna be good… Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hi All…
It was an odd invitation, to say the least. I’m not sure what motivated him to say “yes,” but he did. With vigor. The results were mixed and led to unfathomable results—many wonderful and some frankly awful. I’m curious if you would have found the promise in the invitation that attractive. Would you have said yes? Let’s talk more about this in Deeper Thoughts below. But first…don’t miss these great invites, all wonderful, I promise: · We have a brand-new episode in our weekly “Prayer Experiences” video series. Click here to see our beloved Leigh Villaflor share her story of God leading her through immense personal challenges to powerful victory. · Tomorrow, November 11, 9:00 a.m. – noon, join us for a Mt. Hope campus workday to spruce things up for the holidays. But even better than helping us fix up things around the facility, you’ll be sure to enjoy the fellowship, friendships, and hang-out time. Click here to email Kristie Zoller to sign up, or just c’mon out!! · Don’t miss “Stories from the Street” at Old Ox Brewing, TOMORROW night, November 11, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to grab tickets—they’re only $5.00! · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant – Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect dramatic Christmas presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who just indiscriminately say yes to everything. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… It looked like he just walked off his job. I think sometimes we envision his response as something like an “invasion of the body snatchers.” When you read the story without imagining the surrounding context, it seems like Jesus walked past while he was working, threw out a casual invitation to come along, and he just walked out. It’s almost like he was in a trance or something. (Do you remember the Jet Blue flight attendant a few years back who had had enough of his job and quit right before the flight took off? He just popped the cabin door open, deploying the emergency escape slide, slid down to the tarmac, and walked back to the terminal…er…actually… to the awaiting airport policeman. Most epic “walk off the job” ever. But I digress… back to Peter…) He was casting nets from the shore after a long night fishing on the Sea of Galilee. That was hard work, by the way. This was long before motorboats and powered hoists for the nets. It was all rowing, and lifting, and lugging. All night long. And apparently today, it included some overtime along the beach to make up for a lousy overnight deep-sea haul. As Jesus walked by Simon Bar Jonah and his brother Andrew he called out, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” That seems like an odd promise. What is fishing for men, anyway? But the response—at least as it was recorded—was super-simple. And super-decisive. “At once they left their nets and followed him,” Matthew wrote. A more academic study would reveal that certain rabbis or philosophers would make such an important invitation in those days. But it wasn’t unexpected, and it certainly was not a casual ask. It was more akin to an invitation to an internship or residency in a prestigious institution. It meant to join an intensive course of study that would utterly consume the student’s life. Those who answered were called “disciples,” which meant something more than just being a schoolboy. It was a position of great distinction. Typically, the more popular and powerful the teacher, the competition to be chosen as a formal disciples was fierce. With that understanding as a more thorough backdrop, it makes sense why Simon and Andrew would drop everything to accept the invitation. To do otherwise would be to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime. It turned out, hindsight being 20/20, that it was, in fact, the opportunity of all time. Word had spread like wildfire about this wild-eyed rabbi from Nazareth. The famed and equally charismatic prophet from the south, John the Baptist, had recently baptized Jesus in a very public display of grandeur, even with reports that a voice from heaven declared Jesus to be God’s own son. After a 40-day sabbatical in the desert that was anything but restful, Jesus returned to Galilee and began to preach in all the synagogues. He spoke with power and authority—something synagogue goers had never experienced from their rather sleepy and boring pastors. He was dramatic for sure, stepping on the toes of the folks in his home synagogue so much that they tried to throw him off a cliff. And then he got to casting out demons and healing people. The word about him became electric. But then it got personal. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick. A very high fever had gripped her, and it was likely going to be fatal. They got word to the newly famous miracle worker, and Jesus came to their home. He healed her. And then later that night he healed the entire town from all manner of diseases and demons. It was after all this that Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow him. You can read all about it in the Gospel of Luke, chapters three and four. This makes way more sense in context, does it not? But I’m still curious. Would you say yes? Would you be willing to refocus your life and invest in such an intensive course of study that would utterly consume everything about you? And what of that weird suggestion of “fishing for men?” Does that even appeal to you at all? This Sunday, Pastor Will Cravens will be continuing our fall teaching series, “Effective Faith,” where we’ve been studying the life and letters of the Apostle Peter. Those of you who know Will probably see him as I do—a modern expression of the same bold following of Jesus that Simon Peter lived. As Will shares unfathomable of stories of life-change coming from the most desperate of inner-city streets, you will be stirred. And the question will be clear. In the context of your life, your home, your circumstances (you don’t have to travel anywhere to follow Jesus, BTW), the question remains. Jesus asks it: “Will you follow me?” God will help us figure out what that means for our immediate context… this Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Can’t wait!! Please don’t miss it. It will be a phenomenal morning. Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey dear friends…
Have you ever been absolutely certain that you had something in hand, only for it to slip right through your fingers at the last moment? You nailed the job interview; they never called you back. You were certain you had aced the test; the score was dismal. You just knew your team was going to win the championship; you got shellacked. Has this ever happened to you spiritually? Emotionally? I think it might happen more often than we realize. I’ll have more to say about this in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…a few quick updates: · Church Facility Workday, NEXT Saturday, November 11, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Make some friends, have some fun, and brush up the campus for the holidays. Email Kristie Zoller to RSVP and let her know the things you’d like to help with! · Join Pastor Will Cravens and his crew of missionaries to the homeless for compelling “Stories from the Street” at Old Ox Brewing, Saturday night, November 11, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to grab tickets—they’re only $5.00, but they will sell out quickly!! · Good grief, Charlie Brown… can it be true?? Christmas is upon us!! o Ladies… mark your calendars and RSVP for Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! o Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party, Pageant, and Pig-Out (Ok…it’s not really called that…but I thought it was cute…) Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect musical presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it today for you email-skimmers and you who never get anything wrong. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… Peter was certain he had nailed it. He got Jesus’ praise, for sure. Not only did Jesus call him blessed for what he had just said, he even gave him a brand-new nickname, one that would stick for at least a couple thousand years. He was finally able to ditch his pesky given birth name—Simon—which, while in Hebrew had a lovely meaning of being a good listener, in his native Greek language had a less flattering connotation of being “flat-nosed.” But he had indeed listened well. All those profound teachings from the Rabbi had finally sunk in. While his other buddies were still bickering over where everyone would sit in Jesus’ upcoming regal court, or which Jewish prophet Jesus was reincarnating, or which sacramental law he was going to break next, Simon was carefully calculating what he really believed about Jesus. And then it was test-time. When pressed, he raised his hand like an anxious schoolboy and blurted out the answer. “Oooh… oooh… I know! I know! You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!!” While I might have just added a phrase or two for dramatic effect, Jesus was clearly impressed. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” These were not insignificant words. A revelation from the Father was unheard of among even the most faithful Jewish men. We men are mere mortal sinners; only the great Patriarchs ever got to meet with God. Even then, they never related to him as Father. To even suggest such intimacy and familiarity with the Holy Creator was nothing short of blasphemy. But Peter saw right through all the religious complications and theological obstacles. He was convinced that Jesus was so much greater than the suffocating rigidities and dogmas he had grown up with. Deep down he just knew this man was more than a prophet, more than a teacher, more than a man of God. He was the very Son of God—God incarnate, come to save the world--and Peter—from their sins. Do you remember when you first had that enlightenment? When you first believed? When the fog of understanding finally lifted and you saw with unmistakable clarity that Jesus Christ was very real, very present, very personal, and very much your savior? It was electric, was it not? (Some who read this may still be shy of that magnificent breakthrough. Doubt and fear and questions still dominate your mind. If that’s you, worry not. You’re on the right road, and the breakthrough is still coming, I promise. Keep seeking. He will find you. He said He would—you can find it right there in Philippians 1:6.) But where are you today? Fast forward through all the months and years of normal human hardships; the massive weight of daily circumstances and responsibilities; the press of perpetual anxiety, faltering relationships, insurmountable debt, and never-ending disappointments. Has it caused your faith to cool? Or stagnate? Or falter? I think if we are super-honest with ourselves, we realize that white-hot faith can chill far quicker and far easier than we wish. It certainly did for Peter. In just…oh… something like a handful of days. Once Peter had his God-sized revelation of Jesus as the savior of the world, Jesus set right away to explaining how that salvation would come to be. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Peter would have none of it. “Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Why would he think that? If Jesus was God-incarnate, how could he suffer and be killed? If he were come to save the world—or at least Israel from their wretched Roman oppressors—how could he save anything if he were killed? Dead guys can’t save much. They are dead. This round, Jesus was not impressed. He gave Peter another nickname. This time it was ugly. “Get behind me, Satan,” Jesus called him. Ouch. He continued: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but rather the things of man.” Friends, I think this is where we all trip up. We may love Jesus well enough. We may have all manner of useful faith. We may be inspired and encouraged and enthused by his love for us. Church might bring us a mountain of joy—especially when the music is brilliant and the preacher is on fire. We have no shortage of faith in Jesus. But we still have in mind the things of men. This Sunday, as we continue our fall teaching series based on the life and letters of the Apostle Peter, let’s take a look at how we can drift so quickly to fixing our minds in the wrong direction and miss our victory by half. You can read the stories before Sunday—and I hope you will. Matthew 16 and 17 are where you’ll find them. Do a little reading in advance and see if you can find yourself in the story. But do not let the devil bring you any shame. There’s a whole lot of victory coming in Peter’s life… you’ll see it in John 21, and Acts 2, and Acts 3… and 4… and 5… and… Let’s pick up some bold faith and the even bolder Jesus. We’ll find Effective Faith, I promise. Keep seeking. He will find you. He said He would… Much love… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hi All…
It may explain a tremendous amount about why we tend to cycle through our repeated challenges over and over again. Have you noticed it? Those impulses and reactions we have; those internal messages of self-doubt, fear, or self-hatred; those troubles, difficulties, and sufferings we go through in life—they all seem to keep popping up time and time again. There may be a specific source to it all. And there is certainly a solution to it all. This is going to be a “don’t miss” Sunday as we discover it! I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…a few quick updates… · This Sunday, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Communion). Come with hearts prepared to worship with great thankfulness. And you online live-stream folks: get your crackers and juice ready and worship with us!! · This Sunday night, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Trunk or Treat!! Join us--and bring all your neighborhood kids—for an uplifting, joyous celebration of fall with candy, games, costumes, prizes, hayrides, popcorn, and more… to include Chris Nicholson’s world-famous funnel cakes!! All are welcome—with or without kids. Come hang with our neighbors and have some fun!! · Mark your calendars for a super-big Saturday, November 11: · 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. – Church facility and campus workday: Help us spruce up the church for the holiday season and make some new friends! · 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Ladies…join us as we make lotions and such for holiday gifts. More info to come! · 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Old Ox Brewery – “Stories from the Street”: Join Pastor Will Cravens and others as they share stories and testimonies of ministering to the homeless. Click here for more info and to get tickets! · Be sure to click here check out this week’s video testimony about prayer and the power of God from our very own Grace Robinson! OK, that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who’d rather just keep getting pummeled without knowing why. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I’ve been scouring the scriptures for a revelation from God about this. I have discovered something I hadn’t fully comprehended before, though I suppose it should have been super-plain to see. I’m curious if you have missed it, too. By now I am certain you’ve caught the teaching of Ephesians 6:12. I hammer on this fairly regularly in our Sunday teachings. It tells us that the things we battle with are not as they seem; that we are not really battling against our natural “flesh and blood,” but rather we are in the fight of our lives against “rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Besides the obviously spooky imagery this conjures up, do you know the real backstory to all this? I’m not sure that I did. The Old Testament has a number of fairly vague references to these spiritual forces, most of which are a tad confusing and don’t seem to shed much light on the subject at all. But then Jesus bursts onto the scene, and things change dramatically. Almost from the get-go, Jesus starts addressing these spiritual forces with stunning authority. And he addressed a lot of them. Scores of them in the Gospels, in fact. The Greek and Roman culture of his day had long believed in dark spiritual forces. It was not hard for them to envision troubled people having some sort of demonic influence in their lives. In fact, the Greek word for “demon” was interchangeably used by the Greeks for all manner of spiritual realities—often translated in classical Greek as “god” or “gods”, with the idea that most divine activity in our lives is purely negative. (Gee, that’s uplifting, eh?) So, when Jesus started calling out evil spirits in the troubled people around his town, the crowds were not at all startled by his identification of a spiritual source to their difficulties. It matched what they had always thought—that all those weird folks were suffering the unfortunate plight of being on the bad side of the always-negative “gods” who were looking for a few pitiful souls to pick on. The crowds were stunned, however, that demonic spirits instantly submitted to his commands. Right about now, I imagine you’re wishing you’d decided to be an email skimmer today. I know these concepts are way outside of our comfort zone. In our day, we’ve backed off any awareness or acknowledgment of the existence of evil spiritual power. Perhaps partly due to how spooky it can be; perhaps because we are so scientifically advanced that we can answer most people’s problems with far more natural explanations; perhaps because some religious groups have way overdone the whole demons and evil spirits thing. Whatever the cause, most Americans--and most American churches—simply ignore (or even reject) the idea that there might be certain spiritual forces influencing any of the things that are going wrong in life. We are 100% squarely ensconced in the idea that everything wrong has an entirely natural reason—be it physical, psychological, social, or political. But does the life of Jesus reveal something different? As we continue our fall teaching series, “Effective Faith,” we need to turn our attention to another “what’s next?” in the life and letters of the Apostle Peter. We are searching out God’s Word to reveal to us all the things that He has provided for us: “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). One of the things Peter reveals to us is quite victorious. He tells us that we have an “enemy, the devil,” who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). “Um…Chris… Not encouraging. Spooky, bro. Spooky.” Hold on. Keep reading. The next verses: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith…and the God of all grace who called you…will make you strong, firm, and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:9-10). If your image of the evil spiritual forces arrayed against us leads you in the direction of Hollywood’s imagery of devils and demons (think “The Exorcist”), then you’re not envisioning what the Bible describes at all. This is—in part—what I have been discovering this week in the Word of God. It’s way more encouraging, way more empowering, way more uplifting and freeing than I had imagined this topic would be. So…if I haven’t scared you off just yet, and you’d like to get a firm handle on how, why, and what the spiritual realities around us are all about, then jump in with us this Sunday. I’ll make it very navigable and easy to comprehend, no matter what your background is. If you’d like to do a little advance reading before Sunday, check out a few stories from Jesus and Peter: Matthew 4:23-25; Matthew 9:27-10:1; Luke 4:31-37; Luke 10:17-21; Acts 5:12-16. This will be good. I promise. God is SO good to us… Much love, Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey All…
|
Chris EadsMt Hope Pastor Archives
May 2024
Categories |