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Seeker Sensitive
[Pastor G Blog ]
05/04/2011 8:02 pm
By Robinson, G. Laine
In recent years, some churches have either been labeled or labeled themselves, as seeker sensitive churches. I have often wondered what this means, because like any other term, it can mean so many different things to different people.
While talking with my youth pastor the other day, the conversation turned to getting people connected to the church and terminology thats inviting, engaging and encouraging. I said “what are we seeker sensitive or something?” While the words were still flowing from my mouth the thought immediately came to my mind and I answered my own question.
I thought about the words of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ when He said to Zacchaeus salvation has come to your house because “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 NASB. So if seeking was so important to Jesus then it should be important to us. Sometimes people come to our house and sometimes we have to seek them and when we find them we shouldn’t run them off. How exciting to think that someone can come to our house and we tell them tht today Jesus wants to come and stay in your house.
Likewise the Father is also about seeking. As Jesus shared timeless truths with the woman at the well, the word was presented to her concerning worship. While many think that the Father seeks worship and we say that He desires our worship, the truth of the matter is, He is seeking worshippers. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. John 4:23 NASB
Notice in this verse that the Father is seeking the person. Our father is really not interested in what we can offer Him or what we can do for Him, He is completely in love with us and it is us that He desires. He has been seeking and chasing after us since the time that He asked Adam where are you until the day that He asked you and sought after you and found you. So what’s my definition of seeker sensitive? It’s simple, having a broken heart for the lost and doing all I can to find and restore them.
Jesus!...the Trojan horse?
[Pastor Dustin's Blog ]
05/04/2011 3:28 pm
By Szeluga, Dustin
Matthew 10:34-39 (The Message)
34 "Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut - 35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law - cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. 36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. 37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me. 38 "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.
We find here the demand of the Savior to his disciples. Simply put, its the demand to have Jesus invade our very being and to prefer him more than our own flesh and blood. He is love but, when we beg him to “take our lives and do with it what he wants”, his invasion of our privacy can be intrusive and abrupt. Kinda like the story of the Trojan horse...
In one version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of 30 men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greek army entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war.
Jesus wants to invade and conquer, not be a foot note to your story. Remember your are not the center of anything except Gods love. Except the fact that he loves you and wants you to be like him...he’s more than kinda worthy, HE IS!
Pastor Dustin
Hello My Name Is
[Pastor G Blog ]
03/15/2011 8:51 am
By Robinson, G. Laine
Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing about the life change that takes place when we commit to being a disciple of Christ. When God does something, it is big, sweeping, and radical. While the sanctification process may take a while, there is a noticeable difference that should happen when your priority changes.
When you commit to being a disciple of Christ, the first thing that changes is who you are. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Word says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; and behold, all things are made new.” That sounds pretty radical to me. Did you know that when you say yes to Jesus as Savior, you are also saying yes to Him as Lord?
The Lordship of Christ is all a part of the disciple making process. We have to be willing to become what He desires for us. You see, when God calls you and changes you, He also gives you a new name. You will no longer live according to your old name, but according to your new name.
So, as you allow the Lord to shape and make you into this new creation, receive your new name. Embrace the newness of who God is making you into. You have been made alive in Jesus, the mysteries are being revealed, and the destiny and plans for your life are made known. It’s an awesome place to be and it’s just good “to be.”
Pastor G.
The Disciple Transformation
[Pastor G Blog ]
03/08/2011 4:19 pm
By Robinson, G. Laine
I’ve been doing some studying lately about becoming a disciple of Christ. My good friend ken Adams has been sharing some great thoughts with me about moving from discipleship programs to actually making disciples. You see Jesus did not command us to start a program, He commanded us to start a spiritual revolution.
Discipleship is not a program, it’s an intentional, hands on, in your space and face infusion of Jesus. We are talking about a process that transforms people from being fishers of food to fishers of men. The discipleship process is not real unless those that you disciple are able to do with others what you have done with them.
In my upcoming blogs I’ll share four things about the life change that takes place when you submit to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. There is truly a transformation that happens. Be blessed and be ready to be transformed.
Pastor G.
///where's my burn victim
[Pastor Dustin's Blog ]
02/16/2011 10:59 am
By Szeluga, Dustin
“The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind."
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live."
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
This is a simple story of hope and how effective hope really is. To simply put it you must be a “teacher to burn victims”. I’m reminded of the simple yet prolific verse in Matthew 5:
“You are the light of the world...” vs 14
We carry around a hope inside of us, His name is Jesus! Share him with someone today.
Pastor Dustin
///it's a new day...
[Pastor Dustin's Blog ]
02/02/2011 11:09 am
By Szeluga, Dustin
James 4:14 says “How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone.” [NLT]
I have been stuck on the idea that life needs to be lived to the fullest. This is not a thought to over complicate and even “christian-ify”. But one that deserves attention to our thoughts. The Lord has held me captive to the imagination of living life better, fuller, and even different than the last year. I’m sure, with it being February, that some have already let their New Years flames come to flicker and slowly die out concerning resolutions. I am not proposing you make another resolution to stack onto another that didn’t work but to, as Paul says, “Consider your ways...”
We live such short lives as James says in the verse above. It frightens me to think that 2011 will be like 2010. I can’t allow the creativity of God to lay dormant another year as I live my day to day life. I know what you’re thinking: “But you have to live day to day, bills have to be paid and kids have to go to school”. With that in mind I know we all cant go skydiving one weekend and bungee jumping the next, but we all can do something different this year compared to last.
Some practical ideas are as follows:
save some money and take a cruise with the family...allow yourself fun time!
instead of sitting in on the weekends be spontaneous and take a drive around...it’s not much but at least your doing something and its cheap!
visit a new coffee house every saturday morning and take time to journal and read.
get the family together and do a puzzle once a week on the kitchen/living room table.
go bungee jumping or sky diving...it’s okay to go extreme
You get the picture. Do something out of your norm. Get up, grab the kids and wife, or take yourself and make a change. Lets not look back on 2011 and say we missed it. Challenge yourself with the task of doing something new every day, every week, every month or something big once this year.
Psalm 3:5 says “I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.”
You’re alive and you have purpose...don’t waste it.
Pastor Dustin
So You Think You Can Dance
[Pastor G Blog ]
01/10/2011 4:12 pm
By Robinson, G. Laine
Some churches may tell you not to try this at home, but at The Verge we welcome your creative dance ability. I’m sure that judges will fill some seats and evaluate the authenticity of your moves but don’t let those judges and stiff bones stop you from busting a move when they crank up your favorite worship song!
Dancing in Church can be a hot button topic. Some may feel it’s irreverent and we should be more at a place of bowed obedience than wild exuberance. I mean really though, who else was like David. Do we take this one character and build a whole liturgical doxology on this one individual. Well we kinda did that for the one named Jesus, but then again, He was, sorry, is Jesus.
It’s hard to determine a persons intention in dancing in church. I’m speaking exclusively from a pew participation place, not the professional streamer swingers and leapers that wear the matching outfits. I mean just a pew person that wants to express with their body in a worship service, their love and adoration toward the Lord.
As for me, I love it. I love to see the saints free to dance and shout and spin and jump. It’s refreshing to know that people are truly glad about the goodness of the Lord. So if you think you can dance, bring it to The Verge we’ll give you an opportunity to express yourself. However we do reserve the right to ask you to stop if it’s simply a hott distracting mess.
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