Binding and Loosing

“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18-19)

In other words, our earthly labor has heavenly significance.

I’ve decided that Mission Blitz Sunday ranks right up there with Easter and Christmas. Christ’s incarnation and his resurrection propels us into God’s mission in the world. If you missed it, hundreds of CLPCers packed Celebration Hall Sunday morning before scattering into our neighborhoods. Mission Blitz underscores that the church is not a building but a people. The church is not separate from the members. We are the church. We are on God’s mission for the world.

Some worked on a Habitat house. Some worked at Cross in the City. Some worked at Clear Lake Elementary School. Some worked right here at CLPC preparing meals for elderly or overnight packs for a local women’s shelter.  This is only to mention a few of the ways we were worshipping by serving. One church – scattered on mission. What a great day!

This weekend’s text is Acts 1:6-11. If Jesus is coming back (refer to last weekend’s message) then exactly where has Jesus gone? If Jesus’ resurrection was a physical and bodily resurrection, then where is the resurrected Jesus? This is question #2 is our series “REALLY?? Six Provocative Questions at the Heart of the Christian Story.”

See you this weekend and invite a friend to join you!

Binding and loosing,

Steve

Monday Message - Feb 18

Jesus is coming back! And when Jesus does come back, he’s not going anywhere. His home will be with us. “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things [will] have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) The story of humanity and the planet will end with the totality of Jesus’ reign on earth as it is in heaven.  

In the meantime, we prepare ourselves, our communities, and our world for the kind of reign that Jesus will bring. That’s what’s behind this weekend’s Mission Blitz.  Like last year, we’ll gather as one big church family on Sunday morning February 24. Doors open at 8:45. We’ll worship together briefly at 9:00 in Celebration Hall, then continue our worship by serving the community starting at 9:15. It’s going to be a great day that you won’t want to miss!

Training

“In times of crisis we don’t rise to the occasion. We default to our training.” I heard Kevin Ford say something like this during a recent conference I attended in Orlando, FL. It is truth we often recognize in our professional lives and in the field of athletic competition, but one we don’t tend to apply to our Christians lives. We simply assume that because ‘Jesus lives in my heart’ I will naturally do the right thing. While it’s true that only Christ can enable us to live differently, we must cooperate with Christ’s redemptive power in us in order to see our lives genuinely changed.

Daniel defaults to his training in times of crisis (Daniel 6:10). Daniel established daily habits to allow God to form and shape his character. Three times a day Daniel carved out time from his busy schedule to be in God’s presence. Daniel does not leave his character formation to chance or good intentions.

· Spending 10 minutes every day in prayer and 10 minutes every day in Scripture (the “10/10 challenge”) allows God to form our character for times of crisis.
· Worshipping with God’s people week in and week out (the “52 challenge”) orients the narrative of our lives to the bigger story of God’s work in the world.

We ended last weekend with Daniel in the Lion’s Den – a true cliffhanger! Read Daniel 6:19-28 to see how the story ends and the effect that God’s faithfulness to Daniel has on the king. I look forward to worshipping with you as we conclude our series on the book of Daniel.