Pastor's Perspective - Easy Allegiance

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." - Luke 6:27

Who ever said that being an authentic disciple of Christ was 'easy'?

Jesus challenged those 'who hear', then and now, to do things that fly directly into the flightpath of our fallen flesh-focused nature.

Why?

Because He knew that to truly be His meant to imitate all that He taught and personally modeled throughout His earthly ministry - even on the Cross. Because He knew that grace is the anti-venom that destroys the bitter root of resentment we all tend to grow and feed. Because He knew that it would be amazingly difficult to hate people we pray for continuously. Because He knew some commands were so contrary to our flesh that it would require His direct help and intervention by the Spirit in order to succeed - leaving Him with all the glory.

Just a reminder, that being an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ isn't about easy - its about obedience! Easy allegiance is no allegiance at all.

Join us this Sunday to take 'The Right Step' - 9 & 11AM.

1stchristianchurch.org

Pastor's Perspective - Blameless

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. - Job 1:1

The Bible states that..
Job was blameless.
Noah was blameless.
Zechariah & Elizabeth were blameless.
David was blameless.
New Testament church leaders are called to be blameless.
Christians are called to be blameless.

Blameless = If someone brought an accusation against you, nobody would believe them.

Are you blameless?

Living blamelessly is a lifestyle - a walk - a consistency - "mundane" - yet precious to our heavenly Father.

Pastor's Perspective - Burned Biscuits

I received this from one of my dear sisters here at FCC, Linda House. The author is unknown. It was simply too good not to pass along. Enjoy it and let it be a timely reminder for all of us that graciousness is one of our strongest family resemblances in God’s big family.

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every
now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made
breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago,
my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in
front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all
my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my
day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I
do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat
every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom
apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget
what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he
really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said,
"Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And
besides - a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone."

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not the
best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just
like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that
learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each
others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a
healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the
good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet
of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give
you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

Pastor's Perspective - Righteous Anger

When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. - 1 Samuel 11:6

So many are deceived by the notion that the presence of the Holy Spirit in them and on them manifests in such a limited spectrum, and often in such self-blessing/edifying ways. In this instance, the same Spirit we have, caused Israel's first king to get a righteous indignation about something worth getting angry about.

Reminder: There are STILL things in our homes, communities, nation and world worth getting angry about.

Have you prayed lately that the Holy Spirit would provoke a righteous anger in you?

I dare you.

Pastor's Perspective - Who Do You Fear?

'Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?' - 1 Samuel 2:29 NIV

In this verse God is speaking to Eli the high priest. Eli's two sons (Hophni & Phinehas) also served as priests in Shiloh with their elderly father. However, they were wicked and self-serving; taking the best of the offerings given by the people to God. Eli knew about their disobedience and irreverence for God and did absolutely nothing; resulting in his sons' deaths, and a family curse.

I'm (Steve) troubled by the fact that so many self-identified "Christian" parents deal with their children in fear instead of faith. Fear is playing the "what if" game. "What if I make my children go to church with me. Maybe they will resent me later." "What if I discipline my children sternly. They might hate me later in life." In contrast, faith is simply taking what God said in His Word at face-value and doing it "what if"-free!

When it comes to church attendance and biblical discipline, do you honor your children more than God?

Remember! God called you to be the parent. If you want your kids to honor God throughout their lives, it begins with you honoring Him.

I look back on the many times my parents made me go to church as a kid, and love them for it. I remember being disciplined many times as a child, and I'm a better man today for it.

Friends, God knows what He's doing! Fear Him more than your children. They'll thank you some day for it.

Pastor's Perspective - VIP Pass

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:17

On October 25th I joined 97,000 of my closest friends down in the Rose Bowl to enjoy one of my favorite bands on the planet – U2. A former church member, dear buddy, and Bono fanatic named Jeff Maclean had invited me to join him; and the opportunity to see the boys from Dublin was too intoxicating to pass up. Our seats were only seventeen rows up, directly across from the monstrous stage, in the middle of a section packed with young LA celebs. Before the concert began, Pastor Rick Warren rocked my night by stopping on our row for an unanticipated chat (a divine confirmation I’ve included in the ‘Introduction’ of the book I’m currently writing – Songs from the Pit).

About midway through the band’s exhilarating set, Jeff returned after making a pit stop upstairs, with a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. While making his way back to our seats, a man he didn’t know stopped him and asked him if he would like a couple of VIP passes. Being a smart college boy from Florida, Jeff took .3 seconds to decide, and accepted! After high-fiving till our 40-something shoulders were dislocating, we flashed our lanyards at the field security dude, and like giddy teenagers again, watched the rest of the concert just two rows from the front of the stage, literally looking up to see the band. To cite one of the band’s songs – Magnificent.

That night as we left Pasadena, we couldn’t help but bask in what a great surprise the Lord had orchestrated for us. I believe God found great pleasure as our heavenly Father in providing two of His sons with a cool opportunity. Just being there in a record-breaking event would have been enough. But, if there is anything I’ve learned about my Father is that He is a lavishing parent with impeccable timing. In an effortless love gesture, He filled our hearts with gratitude, praise and a reminder of His reality and presence.

I love the above verse because it reminds me of that night. It reminds me that in one man, Jesus Christ, we are each offered an unmerited gift, that allows each member of humanity a VIP pass into God’s majestic eternal presence – if we’ll just believe – if we’ll just trust Him – if we’ll just take it!

Will you?

Have you?

Friends, I’m hungry for the day when I’ll stand before another stage - a throne – not for a band – but before the Lamb. Now that will be magnificent!

Pastor's Perspective - A Kind & Encouraging Letter

The following is a letter I recently received from an out-of-state guest who came our way a few weeks ago. It is a kind, encouraging and beautiful description of God's presence in our weekly gatherings, and the ministry excellence of those who serve with me. Thank you Gerald!


Pastor Steve,

I was recently working in Birds Landing, California and had a Sunday to explore the region. It was a grand day, full of sun and just cool enough for a jacket. I took the drive to San Francisco, went straight thru the beautiful downtown area and proceeded to the Golden Gate Bridge. There, I walked out on to that magnificent structure with thousands of other people and spent an hour or so just taking in the view, snapping several shots and even grabbed a sandwich to enjoy while I gazed. It is almost unbelievable what people were able to build so many years ago (1930’s) and is still awesome today. I then drove across the bridge and headed north to a State Park to see the California Redwoods that I had heard about all my life back in Illinois. The Parson Jones tree stood 310’ tall and was 1300 years old. It was so large that I had difficulty trying to take good pictures of it. The entire forest was filled with these giants, each one 3-4 times larger than any tree I had ever seen. Such a wonderful walk among nature, so quiet and the majestic trees were an unforgetable experience. It’s no wonder the native Americans thought they were of a holy design. I then drove by the Infineon Racetrack, such an exciting “road race” for us Nascar fans. I just couldn’t leave the area until I had seen this track that we in mid-America only hear about on Race-day.

The day had been absolutely fantastic, I really enjoyed all the sights and sounds of California but, the best part of the day happened earlier that morning in Suisun City at the First Christian Church (your church). I gathered with 100 strangers (brothers and sisters in Christ), as we worshipped the Lord through inspirational songs, we heard testimony from the song-leader about a trial in his life that was just too hard for most people to talk about, yet he and his family got through it with strength that only the Lord could provide. I watched the congregation pour out their hearts to Jesus in worship, praising Him, honoring God and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. God’s Spirit did “witness to our spirit” just as the Bible says. I saw people from many races and creeds come together under one roof, one house, one accord. We sang, we worshipped, we listened, we were taught, we were strengthened, we were glad. This time in my day meant more than all the rest combined. We surely serve an awesome God.

Gerald Brown

White Construction, Inc. - Indiana