Love for the World

Holidays can be challenging when we are confronted with hard-to-know-how-to-love situations. It may be a past hurt, difference in politics, or a lifestyle decision that makes a relationship difficult. We can find ourselves in the same bind that Joseph did in Matthew 1:18-25. He was torn between the just thing to do on the one hand, and the compassionate thing to do on the other. Justice required ending the betrothal, but compassion begged not to put Mary to shame (Matthew 1:19).

Later on in Matthew, Jesus will invite his would-be disciples into a new way of relating that does not pit justice against compassion (see Matthew chapters 5-7). In Jesus’ way of love, God’s justice and compassion are not at odds. God’s love is always just. And God’s love is always compassionate. 

Like Joseph, finding the way of love in our most difficult relationships requires: First, listening for the voice of God (notice Matthew 1:20 where Joseph “considers” his actions allowing space for God to speak). Second, a willingness to be wrong (see Matthew 1:21. Joseph had the wrong plan. Relationships built on love are free to admit mistakes). And third, we must respond in obedience (when God nudges, love responds. Joseph took action when God spoke. See Matthew 1:24). If you missed yesterday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

For Christ,

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Peace for the World

The first Sunday of Advent begins with the end of the story. Isaiah 2:1-5 offers a glimpse into the culmination of human history when God’s goodness and justice puts an end to all earthly conflict. Friends, because we know how the story ends, we can live differently today. We can trust God with our fear, uncertainty, heartache, and difficulty. This is the essence of Christian hope. It’s not wishful thinking - hoping that things might turn out okay. Christian hope is confidence in a future that God has already settled. Because I know who holds tomorrow, I can trust God with today. 

If you missed yesterday’s message you can listen to it here or watch the full service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Who Gets It

The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 says we can expect opposition to life in God’s kingdom. We can expect spiritual opposition. There are spiritual forces at play in the cosmos that want to “snatch away” the seeds of the kingdom planted in our hearts (Matthew 13:19). We can expect earthly opposition in the form of “tribulation and persecution.” Not everyone will be happy about the changes in our lives as we’re shaped by the rhythms of grace in God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:21). Lastly, we can expect opposition from everyday life. Jesus says, “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word.” The continual busyness, noise, and distractions of life work against us (Matthew 13:22). 

Now, more than ever, the world needs fully devoted followers of Jesus who are being profoundly re-shaped by the life-giving ways of God’s kingdom. Perhaps the soil of your soul needs some tending today? A few moments of silence. Some time in God’s word. A conversation with God. Fellowship with a Christian friend. 

If you missed yesterday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

 

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Sent Together to Heal

The final chapter of the Gospel (the Bible’s good news about Jesus) is that you and I are “Sent Together to Heal.” We can’t heal the brokenness of the world without allowing Jesus to heal our own brokenness. Put another way, without Jesus you and I are like a cell phone with dead batteries. A dead cell phone can’t do anything it was designed to do. But when we’re plugged into Jesus’ grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we charge back to life!  If you missed yesterday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel. Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve steve@clpc.org

Restored for Better

 

This month we’re learning to share the Bible’s central message about Jesus Christ (the “Gospel”) using a simple diagram developed by James Choung. Last week we saw how evil and human selfishness damaged God’s good creation. But God loved us, and the world, too much to leave it that way! So, 2,000 years ago the eternal God crashed into the brokenness of our time-space world in the person of Jesus. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus began a revolution of love and forgiveness to heal the world. Jesus’ work on the cross is the antidote to humanity’s spiritual contagion that the Bible calls “sin.” As we submit to the healing power of Jesus’ grace, our hearts, relationships, social systems and institutions are Restored for Better.

If you missed this message, you can watch it on our YouTube channel or listen our podcast. Yours for Christ, Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

 

Designed for Good

 

When you have the opportunity to share the Good News about Jesus with a friend, I want you to be able to explain what we believe. James Choung’s little booklet, “Based on a True Story,” unpacks the big story of the Bible using a simple diagram. This week we learned that the human ache for a better world points to a perfect world that once existed. There’s no need to get caught up in the evolution vs. creation debate to recognize that God created everything flawlessly. The portrait of God’s creation in Genesis 1 -2 is one of perfection and purpose. There is harmony with the natural world as humans care for the planet and the planet cares for us. There’s relational harmony between human beings, not strife, deceit, or abuse. And, there’s loving intimacy between God and people. In short, we and our world were Designed for Good. If you missed this message, you watch it on our YouTube channel or listen on our podcast.

Yours for Christ,
Pastor Steve

How Can Christians Say, ‘Jesus is the only way?’

One frequently asked question about our faith is, “How can Christians say ‘Jesus is the only way’?” What makes Jesus unique? What is the basis for the Christian claim that Jesus is Lord?

At first blush, such a claim sounds intolerant and unloving when so many other belief systems and worldviews exist. But the declaration that Jesus is Lord is actually very good news. First, it means that God is knowable. It is good news that we don’t have to guess what God is like. God has been fully revealed in Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection. Second, Jesus’ Lordship is not just good news for Christians. It’s good news for all of creation. Through Jesus Christ, God is restoring and redeeming the world.

A helpful article by Professor Marian Meye Thompson on this topic can be found on our denomination’s website. And, when it comes to how we talk about Jesus’ lordship with our questioning or other-believing friends, check out Question 52 in the Presbyterian Study Catechism.

If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Empower Every Life

What constitutes the “good life”? Is it more toys than your neighbor? Career success? Respect among peers? The right friends or spouse? Unbridled freedom? Psalm 1:1-6 says the good life (aka, the “blessed” life) is not about any of these things. Rather, the good life is about becoming a kind of person who lives well forever. The good life is like a well planted tree that draws life from a flowing stream and produces fruit in every season. As believers in Christ, our well-planted life draws from the life-giving stream of the Holy Spirit and from dwelling in Jesus’ instruction about the way God works (God’s “Law”). This is what we mean at CLPC when we say, “Empower Every Life.” It means we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s transforming power in our lives.

If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Also, here’s a Prayer Guide that offers a variety of spiritual practices to jumpstart your daily spiritual routine.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Embrace Every Person

Our world needs a different way of relating. We are divided, fractured, and polarized. We are quick to Tweet and slow to listen. Our dealings with one another are dominated by one-upmanship and pay-backs. We strive to gain the upper hand. Our world needs a different way of relating. 

Over the next three weeks, we’re focusing on each statement of CLPC’s mission. This week we examined what it means to “Embrace Every Person.” For us, at CLPC, this means relating to one another and the world in the other-worldly way of the Kingdom of God. Romans 12:9-21 paints a picture of human relationships governed by the love of Christ. “Embrace Every Person” means first, that I am embraced in the grace and love of Christ. Secondly, it means I embrace others in the body of Christ with that same grace and love. And thirdly, it means I embrace my co-workers, business associates, classmates, friends, and even my enemies(!), with the same grace and love with which I have been embraced. If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it here, or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Soul Friend

We have business coaches and career mentors. We have personal trainers and dieticians. We have therapists and counselors. But who in your life helps keep your soul in tune with God? In Celtic spirituality, that person is an anamchara – a “soul friend.”¹ An anamchara helps us pay attention to the Holy Spirit in our lives physically, relationally, emotionally, even financially, and vocationally. An anamchara helps us connect our whole life with the life of God in Jesus Christ. Even though the passage is not about this topic, some characteristics of a good anamchara (“soul friend”) can be found in James 5:13-20. A good “soul friend” is…

·     A faithful companion – Walks with us in suffering and song without trying to “fix” it. (James 5:13)

·     A fervent prayer warrior – Prays for us and with us, listening to the Holy Spirit’s whisper in our everyday lives. (James 5:17)

·     A trusted confessor – Helps us receive Christ’s forgiveness (James 5:16)

·     A reliable truth-teller – Speaks truth and asks questions when we start to wander (James 5:19-20)

You can watch the entire traditional or contemporary worship service on our YouTube channel here.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Thin Places: A Thin People

 

Do you have a special place where you sense the nearness of God? Maybe it’s on the water or in the mountains. Perhaps that special place is a quiet corner and a comfortable chair in your home. Celtic Christians of the Early Middle Ages called these locations “Thin Places.” They are settings where we sense God’s presence touching our earthly reality. 1 Peter 2:1-12 says the church is a place where Heaven and earth overlap. We are a ‘thin people!’ Heaven and earth overlap as “all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1) is replaced with God’s mercy in our hearts toward others (1 Peter 2:10).

Can you be a “Thin Place” in your home, workplace, or neighborhood today?

If you missed Sunday's message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Join us next time as our “Thin Places” series continues with a look at “Soul Friendships.”

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Away from God's Presence

In spite of Jonah’s disobedience (Jonah 1:1-3) and tepid verbal witness (Jonah 1:9), God still brings the sailors to saving faith in the LORD. What’s at stake is not the effectiveness of God’s salvation plan. What’s at stake is the condition of Jonah’s heart! Jonah is cold and indifferent to the spiritual, emotional, and physical peril of the others on his ship. While the sailors toss cargo, cry out for help, and frantically row against the storm, Jonah sleeps. May God awaken us from our slumber! We live in a world of neighbors, friends, co-workers and classmates in spiritual, emotional and physical peril. May God awaken us with hearts full of compassion for those hurting around us. 

If you missed yesterday’s message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Reversing Babel

The Pentecost story of Acts 2 reverses the curse of Babel in Genesis 11. First, Babel was a story of exclusion – bricks, mortar, and building walls. It’s a story of keeping the ‘bad guys’ out and the ‘good guys’ in. Pentecost reverses Babel with a story of wild inclusivity. The Pentecost story is for “all flesh.” (Acts 2:17) Second, Babel was about making a name for itself. (Notice the repetition of “let us” in Genesis 11:3-4). The Pentecost story is about making a name for Jesus and “the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2:11). Third, Babel was about a place, but Pentecost is about a people. The Babel-builders didn’t want to be bothered being “dispersed” (Genesis 11:4). But God’s plan all along was to form a people to be scattered among the nations as agents of God’s healing and reconciling love. This people formation begins with Abraham in Genesis 12 and culminates in the Acts community described in Acts 2:42-47.

Are you building for Babel or living for Pentecost? We build for Babel by making insiders and outsiders, bringing glory to our self-will, and staying put in the same old places. We live the Pentecost story by flinging arms wide open to the Holy Spirit’s movement and giving glory to Jesus as he moves us into unexpected places. 

If you missed yesterday’s message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Unbelievable

 

When the women returned from the empty tomb, the disciples found their story unbelievable. They said it was silly nonsense and idle talk (Luke 24:1-12). Honestly, the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is unbelievable! The boast of the New Testament isn’t just that Jesus temporarily stopped breathing or that his heart quit beating for a few minutes. He was flat dead and sealed in a tomb for three days. And, it’s not just the ideals of Jesus or his teachings that Scripture says were resurrected on Easter morning. Jesus’ body was raised. He walked out of the tomb and left it empty. What’s more, Jesus was not just raised for a while and then died for good later on. He was raised to an entirely new existence and remains alive in the world today. There’s no denying it. This is an unbelievable story. Unless it’s true…

Many of those same disciples who found such news unbelievable, gave their lives defending its truth. Their unbelief turned into faith when they encountered the risen Jesus. 

Jesus is alive and is encountering people today. Are you looking for Him? Are you willing to accept the unbelievable if he were to show himself to you today? If so, perhaps you’ll make this your prayer: “Lord, I can’t decide if all this talk of you being alive and at work in the world today is true. But I’m willing to see it if you’ll show me. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart open to you showing up in my life today.”

If you missed yesterday’s message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Healed by Jesus - Our Feet

 When Jesus approaches Peter at the Last Supper to wash his feet, Peter objects (John 13:1-11). Maybe it was false pride or overwhelming shame. Either way, Jesus insists he must have all of Peter, including his feet. Jesus shed his heavenly glory, put on our humanity, and poured out his life on the cross to cleanse us from sin – all the way down to the soles of our feet. Jesus’ salvation at the cross is utterly uncompromising. He settles for nothing less than our complete surrender to his healing touch.

Will you let Jesus wash your feet today? Will you submit to his cleansing? Take time each morning and evening this week to look at your feet and whisper this prayer: “From the top of my head to the soles of my feet, Lord, I surrender all.”

If you missed yesterday’s message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Healed by Jesus - Our Past

The Lenten journey to the cross is a path of surrender. During our series, Healed by Jesus, we’re exploring stories of Jesus’ healing touch in every area of life. The central figure in John 8:1-11 was a person with a past that needs healing. But the scribes and Pharisees who bring the woman caught in adultery also have histories that need Jesus’ touch. Theirs is a history of bitterness, condemnation, and self-righteousness. I like to imagine that when Jesus stoops to draw in the dust, he makes a circle around the woman and him. The circle represents a sphere of grace and forgiveness where there is no condemnation (see also Romans 8:1). Jesus invites the scribes and Pharisees to drop their stones and join the circle, but sadly, they walk away. Will you, like the woman in the story, surrender your past to Jesus and let him heal it with his touch?

I’m learning to follow Jesus, and helping others do the same.

If you missed yesterday’s message, you can listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Healed by Jesus - Our Hands

When Jesus entered the room, she was lying down sick with a fever. After Jesus left, she arose and the sickness was gone. The change began when Jesus touched her hand (Matthew 8:15). The story of Peter’s mother-in-law serves as a metaphor for Jesus’ healing touch on our lives. Sin is the disease, says Scripture, with which we’re all infected. In our sickness, we use our hands to push people away in fear and distrust. With our hands, we grasp for things and people to fill up what is lacking inside. With our hands, we point at others casting blame and shame. When we put our hands into the hands of Jesus, his healing touch begins to cure us. Our hands are set free, just like Peter’s mother-in-law, to live a life of gratitude and service in the name of Jesus.

If you missed yesterday’s message on Matthew 8:14-17, you can listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Great Commission

 Whether we know it or not, we are all disciplemakers. In the normal course of our everyday lives, through our words and deeds, we are making disciples. The question is, of who or what? Where are we pointing others in their search for success, beauty, goodness, love and justice? In his “Great Commission” Jesus, the author of life, invites us to point others to him (Matthew 28:16-20). A disciple of Jesus is one who is learning from Jesus how to live. A disciplemaker helps others do the same. Starting last Sunday, we are ending every worship service with this affirmation: “This week, I am learning to follow Jesus and helping others do the same.” If you missed Sunday’s message you can listen to it here or watch a recording of the service on our YouTube channel.

Great Commandment

 

Perhaps you saw the scuffle between two college basketball coaches Sunday afternoon following the game. The kerfuffle between coaches got physical and players from both teams became involved. It’s easy to point fingers and assign blame to the coaches, but mostly it reminds me how difficult it can be to love our neighbors! I was especially attentive to this news story just having preached on Jesus’ Great Commandment Sunday morning (Mark 12:28-34). The truth is, life is full of emotional scrapes and scuffles with our neighbors in the workplace, at school, or on the playing field. What’s brewing inside of us easily bubbles to the surface and often it isn’t pretty. Jesus’ Great Commandment invites us to let God’s love permeate our souls. As God’s love works on our hearts, we’re better able to love our neighbor and ourselves.

For more on this, you can listen to the sermon here or watch it here.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve

Empowered by the Holy Spirit

To kick off the Year of Making Disciples, we’re learning what a disciple is. Last week we learned that a disciple is not some sort of super Christian. A disciple is an “everyday ordinary individual” who has decided to follow Jesus. This week we learned that a disciple is “empowered by the Holy Spirit.” 

Without the Holy Spirit in our lives, you and I are like flat tires. Without the air of the Spirit (the Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, aka pneumatic) we’re powerless to live well, love others, and please God. This is what the Bible calls the “Law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-11). However, when we turn to Jesus, God gives us the Holy Spirit and a whole new way of living begins! If you missed Sunday’s message you can watch it on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ,

Pastor Steve