When Reconciliation Does Not Work

Two messages in the last month and a half have addressed the topic of reconciliation (Peace in the Blended Family, Advent - Peace) in which I urged people to move towards relationships that have been damaged with a heart for peace. My great concern in addressing this topic is the ease in which Christians today discard or push away from a relationship without the necessary effort to reconcile and work through differences. They will talk to others about their grievances but not to the right people and then distance is created and hard feelings linger. No matter how painful it is to sort through the wreckage, I believe God is greatly glorified by healed relationships. It testifies to the reconciling God of the gospel.

Nevertheless, there are instances where reconciliation between parties may not work. Consider the follow examples...

• A sexually abusive father towards his teenage daughter - Though she will need to release her desire for taking her own vengeance (Rom. 12:19; 1 Pet. 2:23), and forgive her father when he asks repentantly (Mt. 18:21-35), reconciliation of the relationship may never occur especially if the father is impenitent.
  
• A destructive family member - There are situations within families where a member will choose a destructive path in drug abuse, physical abuse, alcoholism, or repeated infidelity that will make reconciliation impossible...or at least until they stop. The manipulative nature of their lifestyles may make separation necessary until they are penitent.
  
• A malicious co-worker - There are some people who are just down-right dangerous and must be guarded against. If they are bent on destroying you, precautions must be made. However, most people have reasons for their aggressions and if you can ascertain the reason, you might be able to reconcile.
  

If we find ourselves in a situation that seems irreconcilable, let us follow the Lord's instruction:

• Be at peace with all men so far as you are able (Rom. 12:14-18). Do everything in your power to reconcile with them. Eliminate offenses that you have caused!
  
• "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." (Luke 6:27-28). I believe Jesus said these things to people who find themselves in a irreconcilable situation. Even in that case, He give us some things to do.

May God grant us divine wisdom to discern the right coarse of action and divine love to make reconciliation possible. "To Him to the glory in the church..." (Eph. 3:21).

Meaning of Advent

“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet. 1:10-11).

These Old Testament men yearned to know something about the Messiah and the time of His coming. They yearned for the day when Israel’s glory would return like in the time of King David. Just like their ancestors in the land of Egypt, they cried out for a deliverer to come to free them from their enemies and for Him to reign in righteousness. They did not know what that would look like or what timetable God was on. They just longed for it.

You see the same spirit of anticipation and longing in the NT in the hearts of Simeon and Anna, the two elderly saints who were simply waiting, longing, praying, and fasting for the appearance of the Messiah. Simeon was promised by the Spirit that he would not see death until he had beheld the Messiah. Think of the yearning in his heart that was set ablaze by this. Anna was a woman who never left the temple but continued in serving night and day with fastings and prayers. Look at verse 38. “And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” There were many who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, the advent of the Lord.

That is what advent means - coming. Advent means the Lord’s coming. Throughout church history, the celebration of Advent spanned the four Sundays leading up to Christmas in which we look back to the OT in order to relive the anticipation for a deliverer. Why? To stir afresh a heart of gratitude for the blessings received in Jesus. It calls to mind the longings in our heart before we were brought to Jesus to find deliverance from sin.

There is another reason to celebrate advent. We, like Israel in the OT, await the Lord’s coming. All is not right. There are many things still left undone and we await the Lord’s return to set things in order and for righteousness to reign.

Trouble with blogging

As you probably guessed by now, my plan to blog during my trip to Israel fell flat due to the outrageous prices of wireless internet even at decent hotels! I love America... Here are some pictures that I took...

What a long flight!

We are finally in Tel Aviv where we stay the night. We will try to catch up on some sleep after a 11 hour flight! Tomorrow the tour begins and we head up to Caesarea.

Questions concerning Divine Election

Are we God's possession when He elects or when we believe?

I think this issue can be pictured as a coin with two sides – one side is God’s vantage point (which He has given us a tiny glimpse of) and the other side is our vantage point. From God’s point of view from eternity past, He elects/predestines those who will be saved and from that standpoint they are His by virtue of election. From our vantage point, we don’t know who God has elected until they believe in time, and from that viewpoint, they become His possession at the moment they believe.

Here’s the tension – Election is unconditional (without reference to deeds) yet justification is conditional (you must believe!). That’s how the Bible speaks about salvation. God elects before time without reference to our deeds (Eph. 1:4; Rom. 9:10-16) and we, in time, must believe the gospel if we are to escape judgment.

Here’s the bottom line: I must affirm both but I believe that God is the initiator of salvation because of the language of Eph. 1, Rom. 9. He is decisive in the saving enterprise and we respond in time because of what He has done.

Making Room

As of October 4, Harvest Bible Chapel will officially go to two services at 9 and 11 AM. It will be an important transition for our church and one that we all want to be ready for. How do we do that?

Choose a service - Have a talk with your spouse, your Life Group, and your friends and decide which service you will attend. Do this ASAP so you can think through your Sunday AM routine.

Lock in - Try to avoid switching your attendance times from week to week, attending the first service one Sunday to attending the second service the next Sunday. Lock in to one so that you begin to connect with your church family.

Don't worry about the Children - Harvest Kids (children's ministry) will be offered both services, staffed with wonderful, loving teachers and caretakers. Our children are the most flexible with life changes so if you are settled with a change of service time and routine, so will your children. Set the standard for them and they will follow.

Arrive 10 minutes early! - Arriving on time means that you will be 10 minutes late for the service after you have found a place to park, checked in your kids, grabbed a cup of coffee, and talked to a few people. Prepare your heart to engage with God and others by arriving early.

Meet someone new each week - The reason we are going to two services is to make room for more people. All these new people are looking for Christian community and fellowship so our hearts need to be large enough to love and receive them.

Are you ready? Get set...

Sign up to pray this week at Harvest

Gearing up for two services

October 4th is going to be a cultural shift for our church. We are going to two services on that date - 9 AM and 11 AM!

God is adding to our number week by week it seems and we need to make room for the growth. Perhaps you've noticed the crowded parking lot or our expanding children's ministry. My office gets converted into a nursery every week to make room for all the babies. Even the auditorium feels full!

All of this is exciting but I know there is a temptation in our hearts to be annoyed and inconvenienced by the expansion to two services since it means that we won't be able to see everyone each week. Those of you who serve on Sunday know that it means more work and sacrifice. Yet, God has given us a mission to fulfill at Harvest Bible Chapel:

Spreading a passion for the supremacy of God and liberating a generation through the life and love of Jesus Christ.

We cannot fulfill the mission if we bar the doors, circle the wagons to protect our intimate fellowship. If we did, we would find ourselves pushing against God who "desires all to be saved and come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). If we desire to impact the city of Rockford with the gospel, we must continue to put aside our personal comforts in view of the kingdom of God and its expansion (Mt. 6:33).

This is a crucial juncture in our church. Will we complain about the inconveniences or praise God for the vibrancy He is giving our church? Will we pull back because of insecurity or step forward in love to serve those who are yearning for Christian fellowship? Will we look longingly backward or forward with eager expectation?

I say we step forward in faith! Just watch God be faithful. Just watch God do "exceedingly beyond all we could ask or think" (Eph. 3:20-21).

God's Word is transforming!

You've got to read this quote by Carl Trueman. I ran across it again while preparing for this Sunday. He is talking about the power of criticism to shape our reality and how we need to hear from God to counteract the various voices.

"In other words, others might tell me I am a failure, an idiot, a clown, evil, incompetent, vicious, dangerous, pathetic etc., and these words are not just descriptive: they have a certain power to make me these things, in the eyes of others and even in my own eyes, as self-doubt creeps in and the Devil whispers in my ear. But ...God speaks louder, and his word is more powerful. You may call me a liar, and you speak truth, for I have lied; but if God declares me righteous, then my lies and your insult are not the final word, nor the most powerful word. I have peace in my soul because God’s word is real reality. That’s why I need to read the Bible each day, to hear the word preached each week, to come to God in prayer, and to hear words of grace from other brothers and sisters as I seek to speak the same to them. Only as God speaks his word to me, and as I hear that word in faith, is my reality transformed."

On the Road in Washington St.

Hey everyone! My family and I are having a blast seeing old friends, family, and beautiful sights. I've got a few sights that I want you to see with me. God's works are stunningly beautiful! For our last day in Washington State we took a scenic drive over the North Cascades Highway, then took a ferry out of Seattle to Bremerton and then ended up in Astoria, OR. Spectacular! Check it out...



Here's some shots from the ferry going out of Seattle heading to Bremerton...



I've heard so many good things going on back in Rockford at Harvest. It does my heart so well to hear that the church is thriving in my absence because the church is so much more than just one man. I thank God that Sundays have been great, worship has been awesome, and the Summer Gathering rocked. Just wait to see what God has in store for the Fall! See you soon...

Additional recollections of Czech Republic

Final updates from CR

Hi everyone. We are doing our final packing and finishing up English Camp today. All of us are full of rich experiences - sharing our faith, deepening friendships with people we will never forget, praying for their hearts to soften. It has truly been awesome.

The beauty of a camp like this is that you become good friends with people who have never been close to a single Christian by learning together, playing together, and eating together. It is a perfect environment to share the faith because they begin to trust you and listen to you. Each night after the message, the people gather in small groups to discuss it. These groups can last a whole hour and more. These are atheists or agnostics willing to talk about their objections to Christianity.

Two nights ago, I had the opportunity to speak to a married couple about their spiritual quest. Their questions were very deep but sincere. They were coming to believe that there must be an intelligent force out there since the world around them is designed with such complexity, but they were not ready to accept the Christian God. Last night we continued to talk about God as the wife had tears in her eyes. She was visibly touched but did not "feel" that she was a sinner. God is on the move here and I believe this couple will trust the Savior in time.

The Czech work is slow but steady. One does not advertise in a newspaper or on the radio to plant a church and opening Sunday have over 200 in attendance. You wouldn't even have one! You must plant a church the old fashioned way - one-on-one evangelism. Seeing this has been so invigorating to me. They are reaching people that would never come if they only received a brochure in the mail. Even in Rockford where mass mailings do work, the majority of the people will not want to come. They need someone they can trust to tell them of Christ which means that we need to befriend them.

Research reports that new believers will lose contact with their unbelieving friends in 12 months. They will not know any unbelievers after that. This must change for us if we are to fulfill the mission of God.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for your prayers. God is Great!

Here's an update from Ron...

On a lighter side...

Andy and Luke made the ultimate sacrifice out on the mission field. Click here to find out more...

Soul Stirring

In about 3 hours I will be presenting Jesus as more than a man...that he is Savior of the world. This will be the fifth message out of six and I plan to call them to a decision. Each night they listen and then sit in groups to discuss questions that I have put together. The majority of them are agnostic or atheistic and will talk about Jesus' life and its significance but will refuse to believe that the Bible is more than just an over-embellished tale. Many of them do not know one Christian outside those who put on the English camp!

Nevertheless, it has stirred them to think and to ponder Christianity and eternity. I will be meeting with a couple tonight after the service to talk about spiritual matters with them. They sit with me at meals. We have had good conversations but nothing spiritually deep yet. When they arrived for breakfast they mentioned to me that they did not sleep much because they were talking into the night. When I asked what they were discussion they said it was about God. They had deep questions to ask me but needed a translator so we have arranged to talk tonight through a translator. Souls are being stirred. This couple is just one of several people who want to know more.

Thank you for praying for us...keep it up!

Updates from Matt and Sarah

English Class Small Groups

Andy's class


Ron's Class


Sarah's class


Nick's class

Progress report from English camp

Hi everyone!

We finished our first full day of English Camp. Our schedule each day consists of the follow:

9 AM-12:00 English class - the whole camp is broken up into small groups for learning and everyone is around a table in the cafeteria. I do not teach but sit at a table by my self with a sign that says "table talk with John." It is for anyone who wants to ask me a question or whatever. One lady came to talk and was distressed about some guilt that she carried about her grandmother's death. She wanted to know if God would forgive and wanted to know how she would know for sure that He did forgive her. She is not a believer but God is drawing her through her pain.

1 PM - 5 Free Time/Activity - Today, most of the people went on a loooong hike and so did I. My daughter hiked with me and we joined Courtney who was also on the hike. I interviewed her about how things were going...



Tonight at the evening meeting, I presented to the camp that Jesus is creator of the universe from John 1. I sensed the group warming up to me and my tandem effort with the translator went incredibly well. We had discussion groups after the message concerning what they heard and most people vocalized their disbelief in God. KEEP PRAYING!

Leaving for the English Camp

Hi everyone! We've leaving for the English camp this afternoon which is about 3 hours away from Prague. Prague is such a beautiful city that I am going to be sad to leave it. Every building is as old as Moses...or at least older than America. We visited Jon Hus' church called Bethlehem Church which is a reconstruction of it and his statue that stands in a prominent place in the town square. Jon Hus was an early reformer in the 14-15 Century. He precedes Martin Luther by about 100 years. In fact, Luther was indicted by the Catholic inquisitors as being a Hussite.

Thanks for praying for us. We have met many of the church members of this small church plant here and have been encouraged by what we see. Two nights ago, one of the women in the group came bounding up to the lead missionary, Mark Potma, and announced that she had just recently trusted Christ! Her husband had committed his life to Jesus about a year ago. Both of them were Jehovah's Witnesses before turning to Christianity. They have now a passion to reach this cult. The husband already has a website focused on reaching JW's!

Prague at night

Prague is a magnificent city and especially so at night. It is one of the few old cities that didn't get bombed in WWII.

After we prepared for our English camp, had dinner with the Potma's (lead missionaries), it was 9:30 PM and we hit the town square and didn't get back until midnight. Wow, check out the pictures....





More sight-seeing is planned for tomorrow and then on Sunday, we are heading up to camp.

Day 2 in Prague

After a good night sleep, we all arrived at the ministry center/church to learn how to teach English and learn more about how the days at camp will go. (For those of you who do not know, we will be teaching English up at a week-long camp in the mountains. The Czech people are eager to learn English in order to open greater opportunities for employment and social interaction.)

Our apartment where we are staying while in Prague is about a five minute walk to the church so the pictures below show you what we saw walking this morning to the meeting.



For lunch we ate pizza, Czech style, which wasn't too bad and some carbonated water and tea. With a full stomach, I almost fell asleep in class because of the jet-lag. Later tonight we will be heading to Mark and Gretchen Potma's house (lead missionaries) to meet the rest of the English camp team around a fire...should be good fun. Tommorow we hit the town for sightseeing.

Leaving and Arriving

Hey everyone! We arrived in Prague safe and sound...and groggy. Wow, I think I slept all of 45 minutes during the flight. Here's a couple of videos that I made during our travels...

Pray for Czech Republic Trip

Pray for our churchs mission trip to the Czech Republic. We leave July 1.

Follow Pastor John on Twitter!

Yes, I finally started Tweeting. To be honest, I really like it because it is easier than Facebook or blogging - I don't have to write very much and I can update it by my phone!

If you want to follow what's going on with me, jump on Twitter and find me

Re-entering the City

In preparation for this Sunday's sermon, I have done quite a bit of reading that has kept my mind buzzing this last week concerning the Christian's role and responsibility in the public square.

After the defense walls were erected around Jerusalem in 445 BC under the direction of Nehemiah, it was important to repopulate the city with God's people (Neh. 11). The place was empty except for a few.

Similarly, our cities in America must be repopulated by Christians and strong churches who stay in the center to "seek the welfare" of the city (Jer. 29:4-7). When I think of the center of the city, I don't necessarily mean the physical center of the city, but its social, economic, and cultural center. Christians need to be where the ideas, plans, dreams, and values of the city are being created and that isn't necessarily the downtown area; much of that happens in the suburbs, too. As the city goes, so goes the culture.

Here's some articles that have stirred my thinking:

Tim Keller, A New kind of Urban Christian

James Davison Hunter, To Change the World

Harvest's Vision for Counseling

Isaiah 9:6 calls the Messiah “Wonderful Counselor” and so He is. Jesus said the Father would send “another Helper, the Holy Spirit, [the Intercessor, one called alongside to help] … that He may be with you forever.” (John 14:16,17) This is the foundation for our ministry of counseling at HBCR. As we minister in the power of God, to the glory of God, and for the Son of God, Who is preeminent in all things, we can summarize the ministry in six principles.

God-centered. It is focused on our God; it is localized in our relationship with Christ Jesus; it is Spirit-empowered, or energized by the work of the Holy Spirit. Rather than emphasizing problems or personal benefit, God’s transforming work in our lives is our concern.

Oriented toward Holiness. Christ-likeness is the goal of sanctification, which counseling serves to advance, rather than relief from problems or the promise of comfort. As the Apostle James (1:2-4) reminds us, trials are to be a joy for us because they produce endurance whose perfect result is maturity. The goal of the body of Christ is that “we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” God said it like this: “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Tempered by Love and Compassion. As God is love, so Jesus told us that others would know we were His disciples by our love for one another. We abide in faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. “A new command-ment I give to you, that you love one another…” (John 13:34) And “as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”(Col 3:12)

Spiritual in Nature. Believers are alive in the Spirit of God because they have been born of the Spirit and this new life is enabled by His indwelling presence. Our obligation is to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Romans 8:12f). Scripture makes clear that the flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with one another (Galatians 5:17), that we are to make no provision for the flesh in regard to it’s desires (Romans 13:14), and that we are not be taken captive by philosophy, deception, tradition, and other elementary principles of the world (Colossians 2:8). In contrast, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 provide us the perfect portrait: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God…we have the mind of Christ…We are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Founded on the Word of God. The Word of God is both Authoritative and Sufficient for all our needs. 2 Timothy 3:16 reads ”All scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” The word is “living and active and sharper than any two- edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart”(Heb 4:12)

Directed by Biblical Wisdom. Divine wisdom as preserved for us in God’s Word is what directs our lives. Rather than relying upon human wisdom and knowledge, we are to heed the Bible’s call for wisdom. Prov 2 “…Make your ear attentive to wisdom… if cry for discernment… seek her as silver…then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God…For the Lord gives wisdom; He is a shield…guarding the paths of justice…then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course…wisdom will enter your heart…discretion will guard you… understanding will watch over you…” Wisdom guards our counsel.

Every (obedient) Believer Competent. According the grace God has given each one, he can and should minister the manifestation of the Spirit of God which is given for the common good (1 Cor 12:7; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Pet 4:10,11), teaching and admonishing one another (Col 3:16); not turning aside to human philosophy (Col 2:6-9), nor the counsel of the wicked(Ps 1:1) for wisdom or insight; any and all ability of the believer to counsel is dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s influence and power. The obedient believer continues to abide in the Word of God and the Word abides in him and he will be fruitful. (John 15:4-11)

Bible Reading for the Summer

If reading through the Bible in a year is too aggressive of a reading schedule for you, try one of the following for the summer months (June through August):

Psalms.............(approx. 2 chapters per day)

John, Acts........(approx. 1/2 chapter per day)

Proverbs..........(approx. 1/3 chapter per day)

Ephesians 6x (approx. 10 verses per day)

National Day of Prayer

Just got home from our city-wide prayer meeting at the Coranado Theater. There was about 1000-1200 people in attendance and it was a real treat to pray with so many and to worship in song. I am thankful to live in a city where the Mayor and Chief of Police attend a prayer meeting and publicly pray to God! Part of the sweetness of the night was having Luke, my son, with me.

Keep praying for Revival!

How to H.E.A.R the Word of God preached

As I prepared to preach Nehemiah 8, I couldn't help but notice the eagerness of the listeners in Nehemiah's day. God was truly preparing the soil of their hearts to receive the Word. Is there a way to prepare our hearts to hear the Word preached or is the tenderness of our hearts completely up to the Holy Spirit?

Certainly, the Holy Spirit can break the hardest heart without people preparing for it. If that were not true, no one would be saved. Nevertheless, believers can ready their hearts for the Word preached by the following:

Humble your heart - Remind yourself how much you need Him
Engage your emotions - Use song to lift emotions to match the gravity of the biblical themes
Ask for help - Pray for divine assistance in hearing the Word - attentiveness and tenderness
Ready to write - Bring your Bible and a journal to take notes (active listener)

Gospel Coalition Conference

Last week was spectacular. I attended a conference and heard some world-class preaching with the likes of John Piper, Tim Keller, and Mark Driscoll. These men along with others were preaching through the book of 2 Timothy. Though they were preaching to an audience of primarily pastors, I believe the content of these messages would bless any of you who are eager to hear them.

Follow this link and click onto to any message that interests you. You can click on video or just audio.

www.thegospelcoalition.org/conferences/2009#t=schedule

Resurrection Sunday

Electrifying. That's the word I would use to describe this weekend at Harvest. Our Good Friday service was packed. People began the night perusing the art that was placed in the foyer depicting the Christ's atonement for sin. All the art was created by people within our church! As we entered the auditorium, all of our hearts were moved as we heard passage after passage being read to us concerning sin, atonement, and salvation. Near the end, the passages were from the crucifixion narrative which culminated in partaking the Lord's Supper. Songs were interspersed amidst the readings...I believe Christ was exalted.

Resurrection Sunday was also a high moment for all. It was our first Sunday doing two services which created extra work logistically but God was our help and strength. For me, I loved preaching twice and worshiping Christ again with everyone. The worship and praise was magnificent!

May God continue to be favorable to us as we seek to please Him and may He grant us all the boldness to speak freely of His saving grace among our acquaintances in Rockford!

In the world but not of it, pt. 2

The church ought to be a great demonstration of how good it will be in the Kingdom of God when it becomes the dominate culture. We are to participate in the present world, living openly before men while embracing the Kingdom culture. We are trying to communicate through words and actions that the longing of their hearts for love, peace, tranquility, and community can only be found in Jesus.

In the world but not of it

This is paraphrase of what we find in Jn. 17:14-18. We are left in this world for a time to represent the King and His Kingdom until He returns for us. While we wait, He has sent us to his enemies as ambassadors, proclaiming to them the terms of peace.
As such, we live in two cultures - the Kingdom culture and the culture of this present age. The Kingdom culture is the one that is outlined for us in the scriptures and its influence upon us grows as we embrace the scriptures and allow it to shape our life patterns. We are a sampling of the great Kingdom culture which will eventually be the dominate one.

We are to cultivate the Kingdom culture and redeem the current culture
Cultivating the Kingdom culture means that we at Harvest are cultivating an environment that encourages and stimulates the values that the Bible speaks of: holiness, goodness, wholeness, faithfulness, masculinity, femininity, hard work, selflessness, etc. at the same time as working for the good of the city around us so that Christ’s love is seen. We are not merely promoting a moralism but loving our neighbors and our city with Christ’s love – making this a better place to live rather than preaching at it or against it like Jonah while hating the city. It means learning as much as possible, staying in touch with the culture enough to understand its yearning so that we can show them how Jesus meets the deepest longings of their hearts.

Praying about your part?

One month ago, I gave a challenge to pray for three things at our church...to care about God's glory about our private pursuits...for revival in our church and city...to discover what part God would have us as individuals play in His great work.

If we are to have an impact in our city for Jesus' sake, consider involvement in one of the following opportunities:

• Prayer at the abortion mill this Tuesday, Mar. 10, for 6 -7 AM.
• ECFA Foster Care
• Safe Families for Children - a temporary (3 months max.) pre-foster care program
• STUFF - Mentoring parents of children in the foster care program
  
• Rockford Rescue Mission - leading Bible studies and mentoring guys, serving meals, childcare for women.
• Tutoring Club - providing meals, becoming a tutor of elementary kids
• Children's Hunger Fund - delivering food to needy families on weekly basis
• Summer Outreach to Chicago (June 22-26) - Still room for more on the team
• Foreign Exchange Students - open your home to one
• Spring Clean - Helping our church neighbors in cleaning up their yards - date TBA.

"But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jer. 29:7)

Liberate?

The second half of our mission statement at Harvest goes like this: "...and liberating a generation through the life and love of Jesus Christ." What does it mean? What kind of ministry would we do in order to liberate people?

Simply put, we would share the gospel which liberates people from their bondage to sin and delivers them from the judgment of God. This is ultimate liberation.

Having said that, most lost people do not see their separation from God as the biggest problem. They would much rather obtain help for their financial crisis, or emotional crisis stemming from some kind of loss. This is what's closest to them and if we address those needs, their hearts may open to hear the Good News. Instead of inviting someone to Easter or Christmas services, think about how you can love them, listen to them, help them, support them. Think about how Christ ministered to people - He helped them up on their feet (Luke 5) and gave them their dignity (Luke 7, John 8). In so doing, they had a better idea of God the Father's love for them.

Liberating people from bondage is simply alleviating suffering where we can in this city and in our church which will point people to the ultimate liberation in Christ.

Jesus proclaimed to the hometown crowd in Nazareth that His ministry would fulfill Isaiah's prophecy:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).

Let's follow His lead...

Calling us to pray

Last Sunday, we started a new series called City of God, Arise and Shine. It is a study through the book of Nehemiah which will take us through June with one break for Easter.

What moved me as I read the narrative in ch. 1 was the fire that kindled in Nehemiah's heart when he heard the disturbing news about the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem's walls were destroyed and her gates burned which reflected poorly on the glory of God. Up until this time, Nehemiah was content to stay in Susa with his cushy job tasting the king's wine, but something snapped within and he dropped to his knees to pray. Something had to be done. He must act. He could no longer live only to protect his own private interests. There were greater things to live for and perhaps to die for...but the first thing he did was pray.

For Harvest Bible Chapel to display the greatness and glory of God in Rockford, we must care about the collective witness of this church.

I want to challenge us to pray for our church for one whole month (Feb. 8 to Mar. 8) 3 times a week for 10 minutes. Pray for the following with your spouse, family members, and friends:

• To care about the glory of God above my private pursuits

• For revival (spiritual awakening) to come in our church and in the city of Rockford
  

• For God to reveal to me my part in this great work

Gospel Living

I came across a great quote the other day reading a book I highly recommend, The Prodigal God, by Tim Keller.

"Religion operates on the principle of 'I obey - therefore I am accepted by God.' The basic operating principle of the gospel is 'I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ - therefore I obey.'"

We believe this principle at the moment of salvation when we cry out to God to be saved but then it must be worked into our lives at the practical level. I call it gospel living. We must take it out of our doctrine file and put it to work every day. If we don't make an effort to do this, we will inevitable go back to our old way of thinking and doing. Listen to Keller again:

"We habitually and instinctively look to other things besides God and his grace as our justification, hope, significance and security. We believe the gospel at one level, but at deeper levels we do not. Human approval, professional success, power and influence, and family and clan identity - all of these things serve as our heart's 'functional trust' rather than what Christ has done, and as a result we continue to be driven to a great degree by fear, anger, and a lack of self-control...we only change permanently as we take the gospel more deeply into our understanding and into our hearts. We must feed on the gospel, as it were, digesting it and making it part of ourselves."

This has been such a good book for me to read since my tendencies are to do spiritual things to be approved by God instead of basking in the finished work of justification through his Son's cross.

Pro-choice arguments addressed

Here's a great article that addresses most of the Pro-choice arguments. Check this out and keep it handy... 39 Pro-choice arguments

Right to Life Sunday - Jan. 18

I'll be preaching on the evil of abortion on Sunday which is "Right to Life Sunday." While preparing the sermon, I came across a great article out of World Magazine giving a history of the fight against abortion. The bottom line is this: more must be done than simply working to overturn Roe vs. Wade. May God give us insight into what that means for Harvest Bible Church here in Rockford.

Take a look at the article...

Sacred Exhange - passing the faith to another

This Sunday starts our new series that focuses the attention on parenting and discipleship. I really sensed that after speaking about the roles of men and woman I needed to say something about parenting. I am making this a four week series but it will also touch on the need for discipleship (mentoring). Whether you are married with children or not, all of us are commanded to "disciple the nations." Parenting is just one form of discipleship.

For all you parents who have not read these books by the Tripp brothers, you need to pick them up. I have been helped by them...


You will be able to purchase these books in our lobby starting Jan. 18.

God at work!

I have been praying and asking others to pray for revival for our church, not because I don't see God at work among us, but because I want to see more.

What is revival anyway? It used to be that a church would have on its calender a week long event every year where a special preacher would come and deliver messages on personal holiness (kind of a "camp experience" for adults) and call it "revival." That is not what I have in mind. God may use a week long event to bring revival but what I'm talking about is more organic and less structured.

Revival is the extraordinary awakening of desires for God within a church that liberates people from enslaving sins, causes hunger for God's Word, and emboldens the church's witness in the community.

I just want to say that last Sunday as Andy was teaching on the sin of homosexuality I sensed God breaking and humbling us over our own particular sins. During the Lord's Supper, I continued to sense God at work among us. I believe that these are gifts from God and initial flickers of revival. Revival always starts with an awareness of sin and a humbling before God.

I am so thankful. Keep praying!

Through The Bible in a Year on Your iPod

The post below comes from Justin Taylor's blog "Between Two Worlds."  What a blessing!

Someone asked about getting the ESV audio daily as a podcast to coincide with the reading schedules. Here's how to subscribe to this in iTunes:

1. Go to the ESV Reading Plans page.
   
2. Right-click (Ctrl-click on a Mac) the “RSS” link of the feed you want.
   
3. Choose “Copy Link Location” or “Copy Shortcut.”
   
4. Start iTunes.
   
5. Choose Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast
   
6. Paste the URL from step three into the box.
   
7. Click OK.
   

For the original post, click here.