BUT, "GOD LOVES ME!" - Ephesians 2:1-10

Every month it seems something is in need of scheduled maintenance. Spark plugs need replacing, tires rotated, and oil changed in my vehicle (oh, I have two vehicles). I must have annual doctor visits to maintain a lower cholesterol count. Even my computer needs regular maintenance or unnecessary files will build up; slowing it down. I broke down this past year; buying one of those external hard drives so that we can do less deleting and more saving – something aches inside me – I’m just deferring the problem.

Do you know where I am leading you? Yes, I’m a Pastor; I care about spiritual things. It is true: you need spiritual maintenance. A couple good encounters with people who don’t live God’s way will leave you on the examination table needing repair. The world is a hard, selfish place. The Bible says, “Don’t be conformed to its image.” There must be a good amount of pressure from the world for the Bible to address it so straight up. You may say to yourself, “I don’t need any maintenance; I’m doing just fine.” Maintenance is still needed when we cannot see it. The need for your car to have a four wheel alignment will not be realized until many miles down the road as your tires begin to wear uneven. So it is with spiritual maintenance; you may not be able to recognize your need for a little adjustment now but in a few days, weeks, years, you will be in rough shape. You must allow the Scriptures to examine you, placing yourself under its diagnostics.

One of the primary Biblical texts to study for spiritual alignment is Ephesians 2. I will break it into two parts: teaching 2:1-10 on Jan. 4 and 2:11-22 on Jan. 11. Because I will be walking through the chapter verse by verse, I want this blog to turn a new corner. Here I will provide you additional scripture for further study and thoughtful questions to consider. I welcome your feedback.

Ephesians 2:1-10
This paragraph can be broken into two parts: Life without God (v. 1-3) and Life with God (v. 5-10). They are linked together by verse 4; the answer for getting across the line of life without God to life with Him. Another chapter in the Bible to help illustrate this transfer is Romans 6:1-11.

1. The result of sin is always the same, What? (Colossians 2:13; Romans 5:21, 6:23; James 1:13-15)

2. Will sin always keep you from God’s promises? (1 Corinthians 6:5-11)

3. Who took the initiative to move you from life without God to life with God? (2 Corinthians 5:18)

4. What motivated God to take such initiative? (Psalm 145:8, Habakkuk 3:2)

5. What three words describe the work of God in you? (Note: God does for you what God has already done for Christ.)

6. Think about the meaning of these three works in your life? What is their impact?

7. What is the main point of this paragraph: (Ephesians 4:17-32)

That you are saved by grace through faith.
That you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ, for good works.

TALE OF 3 STORMS

In this final message on stress, and how it can strengthen us, Pastor Greg and I want to bring you the telling of 3 storms in the Bible. This is important because it give us the ability to evaluate the reason and meaning of storms from different perspectives. All three storms have the same elements: wind, rain, clouds, lightning, and thunder. Each storm creates the same reaction in its participants - fear. A storm is a storm and the effects of a storm are universal - what is often different is the "why"?

"Why am I experiencing this storm?"

Also, every financial crisis plays out the same: loss of income, bills cannot be paid, losing house and reputation, wounded credit rating, etc. However, the reason for the financial crisis can be dramatically different from person to person. I read today in the newspaper about many Jewish families now struggling financially, and not due to their poor choices. They are experiencing financial ruin because of a deceitful money manager, Bernard Madoff. Their financial crisis is for different reasons than the person who lost their job or the person who is being choked by debt because for the past 3 years he has purchased unnecessary toys on easy credit. Each of these financial situations would create feelings of stress. Although the cause of stress is the same, the reason you are in the storm may be for a different purpose. At some point, you must ask the question, "why am I experiencing this storm?"

The first storm to investigate is Jonah's storm (found in the book of Jonah). The second storm is Paul's storm on his way to stand trial in Rome for his belief in Jesus Christ (Acts 27:13-26). The third and final storm is the disciples' storm in the boat with Jesus (Mark 4:35-41). Read up on these before Sunday.

As you look at these three storms side by side, you will notice some similarities in people's reactions. Those individuals who knew God and how to hear God's voice fared much better than those who did not know God or understand His ways. After looking at these real accounts of storms, you will understand more clearly how to face stress, use the 7 identifying questions to give reason for your stress, so that you may surrender your life to God and grow through whatever circumstance you are facing.

Our desire (God's desire) for you is that you be STRENGTHENED BY STRESS.

STRESS: FROM STUPIDITY OR FOR SERVICE

Pastor Ben here! I’m excited to share God’s word with you this Sunday. Because our time is filled up with a lot of good stuff I’ll make this to the point.

Life is hard, full of stress and life is not all about us. With those two ideas in mind, we can be strengthened by stress. Jesus knows exactly what is going on in our lives because He is always with us...and simply; He is a kind, engaged brother.

I’ve awkwardly entitled my message, “Stress: From Stupidity or for Service” because we are trying to figure out the purpose of our stress. By stress I mean pressure, not emotional turmoil. We need to investigate if our stress is the natural consequences of our stupid choices (I’ll define stupidity as knowing what’s best and choosing something else) or is it God using a hard time to prepare us to serve and minister to someone else.

Here are some of the scriptures we will be studying this Sunday: II Corinthians 1:3-6; Galatians 6:7-10; Daniel 3. See you then.

REJOICE YOU'RE GROWING - 1 Pet 4:12-19

As I prepare my teaching for this Sunday, I received a phone call from my mother about my oldest cousin's 14 year old son who was hit by a car going 35 mph. Still a day later he is recovering in the hospital with some bleeding in the brain. They are concerned, not sure, is everything working right? They have him mildly sedated so that he may recover quicker. Everyone is worried, hoping, and experiencing a little stress.

Now back to studying about how we are Strengthened through Stress. Wow! What am I going to say. This is one of the real stressful circumstances we face - often calling it a tragedy. The Bible talks about the testing of the heart. These things sure test my heart.

If I believe this event is an opportunity for growth, does that mean God causes these things to happen? No, that cannot be right. I know Romans 8:28 says, "God works all things for the good..." It doesn't say, "God causes all things" but that He works all things. Some things just happen. Why? Because we live in a broken world. At creation, God made a perfect world - a world experiencing perfect balance. We know, because of what I taught last Sunday, that we experience stress when our balanced life is thrown into imbalance. We may say, "I was thrown a curve ball (like your 14 yr. old kid being hit by a car).

God's perfect design was put into chaos when we decided to not trust Him or play by His rules. We decided to eat from a tree that he said would hurt us. We didn't believe. We wanted the story to be more about us; and the rest is history. We allowed sin to enter our environment by not trusting. This caused an imbalance in the systems of the world. Now things don't work perfectly. The Bible talks about the world groaning too deep for words. So on most days, you and I experience the imbalance of our world which causes stress.

The way to grow from stress caused by circumstance meant to test you or sharpen you is to respond in the opposite of what we did in the Garden of Eden. Commit (Entrust) yourself to God and continue to do what is right. God promises to work everything out for those who trust Him.

~Eric

An after-thought: it is hard for me to trust Jesus when I don't like the potential outcome.

VALUING DISCIPLINE - Hebrews 12:5-13

"Is it discipline?" One of the first questions you need to ask when facing a stressful situation. Often God will allow a difficult situation to blow against your house to discipline you toward maturity. Like a good parent disciplines their child so the Lord will discipline us.

Hebrews 12 offers a perfect picture of how discipline can help us grow in Christlike maturity. The Apostle Paul quotes the Proverb, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

What is interesting about this statement is the word rebuke, which means to expose, bring to light, and proving. This is true of stress - it exposes our weakness and reveals the strength of our faith.

Hebrews 12 uses the template of parenting to describe the discipline of the Lord and this Sunday is perfect to address this comparison because we are dedicating several parents and children to the Lord. Parenting is described by the Chinese as a tension between danger and opportunity. How true. Parenting is a dangrous occuption, the risk of success is huge, and the opportunity is great. I came across 10 tips for parenting this week in my study:

10 Tips for Stress-less Parenting
1. All kids can and do misbehave.
2. There are no perfect kids.
3. There are no perfect parents.
4. Parenting is a short season of your life.
5. Physical affection is therapeutic; give and receive hugs.
6. See humor (somewhere) in each situation.
7. Take a break. Exercise, listen to soothing music, read a passage from the Bible, or enjoy a cup of coffee.
8. Talk to other parents to ease frustration.
9. Overlook some behaviors.
10. Take comfort in knowing that the Perfect Parent (God) is available to help you. He has children who are out of control too.

If you are looking to be strengthened by stress, then you need to ask the Lord to show you how He may be using hardship to discipline you to maturity (don't get stressed out).

STRESS: IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK - Philippians 4:6-7

We are living in one of the most opportunity-filled times in history. Opportunity - to share the Gospel with people who are stressed out. You know, Gospel simply means - good news. There are a lot of people in need of good news. What good news? - that God can strengthen you through stress. That is good news!

God created you to handle stress. In fact, your bodies react very well to stressful conditions, when you allow it to rest as well. Through this teaching series on stress, I believe God wants to prepare you for effective living and ministry in the coming months. There are several stressful pressures that will try to distract you from good, loving ministry. God is revealing the season to you. Like a good sailor predicting the condition of the winds or a farmer predicting the weather, the Lord wants you to understand how to live successfully with stress, through stress, and around stress. I like what one Pastor said about living through storms, "the key to surviving a storm is to outlast it."

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

The emphasis of the first teaching by Pastor Greg is on changing the way we look at stress. Far from being negative, stress is often the means by which we break new ground spiritually. The key is in viewing God, rather than the devil, as active in our stress. Our point of view on stress will change when we connect with God through worship in the midst of our stress. In this way we can gain God’s perspective, which will then enable us to see God’s purpose and activity in our stress. In short, to be strengthened by stress we must acknowledge God and worship Him in the midst of our stress.

Remember, God is not stressed and He can lead us to experience His confidence and peace.

THE NEXT 4 YEARS -Romans 12:9-21

While studying and praying this week about the upcoming Sunday, I felt led to change my direction from a teaching on Water Baptism to a teaching on our response to the recent Presidential and National Elections. We are still going to witness the baptism of four individuals. What an awesome joy to witness a person finding forgiveness. Yet given the Election of a New President, Barak Obama, and the passage of several propostions and changing of political power in Senate and the House, I felt it was essential for us to reflect on God's thoughts about our changing environment.
The first statement that comes to mind is one from Jesus, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Love. It must be sincere. No Hypocrisy. Love is the most obvious sign of God's presence. "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to benefit another, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2-3)
My message for Nov. 9, the Next Four Years, is a reminder to take up the most challenging initiative ever given to humanity - "Love Your Nieghbor as Yourself." Romans 12 focuses on both loving people within your circles and outside it. I cannot teach through all of chapter 12 this Sunday; I will only cover verses 9-13. (It would take hours to teach the entire chapter.) There are 10 descriptions of Love given in these 5 verses, which I believe will shape our love toward all people. I will walk through these. It will give us a good start.
This is something we need to think about after Nov. 9. On Nov. 10, you and I will need to start applying verses 14-21 - the expressions of love toward outsiders, so allow me to give you 12 Expressions of Love toward outsiders. Once you resolve to love (from verses 9-13) - are consumed by it, you will find yourself given multiple opportunities to love those on the outside.

12 Expressions of Love Toward Outsiders:
(Romans 12:14-21)
1. Love blessing our Persecutors (v. 14)
2. Love interesting itself in Others (v. 15)
3. Love finding Points of Agreement (v. 16)
4. Love spurning unworthy Ambitions (v. 16)
5. Love consorting with the Lowly (v. 16)
6. Love avoiding Self-Esteem (v. 16)
7. Love refusing to take Revenge (v. 17)
8. Love endeavoring to Attract (v. 17)
9. Love keeping the Peace (v. 18)
10. Love entrusting its Cause to God (v. 19)
11. Love returning Good for Evil (v. 20)
12. Love winning the True Victory (v. 21)

Recongize, I only gave you the second half of this teaching. The emphasis is on being not doing; doing is the result and expression of being. Verses 9-13 focus on being while Verses 14-21 give the doing. God always works from the inside out. Think about it. Pray about it. Looking forward to your thoughts.
~Eric

A GODWARD PERSPECTIVE - Acts 4:23-31

I started reading through the Book of Acts several days ago. I am surprised once again at the boldness of the newly forming Church to evangelize the world around them. Their lives were totally oriented around the person of Jesus Christ. No cost was too great, no sacrifice too small, in comparison to their desire to follow their Lord & Savior.
As Hillside comes to the close of two very exciting months of pulpit ministry, I was moved to remind us once again how to maintain a God-centered Perspective. There are many pressures trying to move us away from the Heart of Father God.
What will keep us thinking about others first, putting aside personal preferences for the good of another, or sacrificial giving that then enables another to go do the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without continually reaching toward God's Perspective, we will not maintain a Vision for the Next Generation nor a Passion for Outreach & Missions.

SLEEPING GIANT - 8/24

God's people are a sleeping giant. The potential blessing, miracle working power, and love ready to be released through the Church is immeasurable. Deuteronomy 28:12-14 is the launching point for this message. God makes some pretty big promises to the Nation of Israel about having great influence in the World; IF they obey. In this sermon, I explore the locked potential of God's people when their hearts are fully devoted to Him. Our role as God's Ambassadors is amzing.