Two Kinds of Wisdom

What kind of wisdom are you paying attention to today? Is it the wisdom of this world or wisdom from above? James reminds us that the world’s wisdom is marked by “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:14). In contrast, God's wisdom is “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

According to James, we are driven by earthly wisdom when we feel distant from God and believe our needs aren't being met (James 4:1-3). The good news is that God is always near, and what we need can be ours for the asking (James 4:2).

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

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Loneliness and the Church

James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my sisters and brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Loneliness is a trial that many people face. However, we learned yesterday from Robin Johnson (CLPC’s Director of Mental Health Ministry and Adult 55+ Ministry) that while loneliness is a common emotion, “it is not normal.” As ones created by God for connected relationship, we’re not designed to endure loneliness. Robin encouraged us to “pay attention to the quality of our [existing] connections” and to foster new connections. Robin invited us to join her very own Project UnLonely by being “Illuminators” to those we meet. Illuminators pay attention to others with healthy, loving curiosity. Illuminators meet others with a friendly smile, a verbal greeting, or compliment.

If you missed yesterday’s message, or would like to learn more about Project UnLonely, you can listen to the podcast here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Contentment

The Tenth Commandment is God’s invitation to contentment. A contented life frees us from wanting everything we like. It also frees us from an “if only” mindset – those thoughts like, “If only my life, job, spouse, partner, kids, etc., were more like that person’s…” However, a contented life is not one without ambition, goals, and dreams. Instead, it’s a life that entrusts all our deepest longings to God’s faithful care. Like all the commandments, the Tenth Commandment invites us to trust God. 

A pathway toward contentment is gratitude. For the next thirty days, take five minutes each day to write ten things you can be thankful to God for. These “ten things” don’t have to be deep or profound and it’s okay if they repeat from day to day. Just make sure you list at least ten things – and stick with it for thirty days. You may be surprised at how your sense of contentment grows as you do.

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

No Stealing

The eighth commandment, “You shall not steal,” isn’t just about robbing banks or carjacking automobiles. It is about proper ownership. Lewis Smedes, in Mere Morality: What God Expects from Ordinary People, suggests a threefold test for the things we possess: 

First, is it FAIR? Have I come to own what I have by negotiation or contract with a party acting freely and responsibly, or was force, manipulation, or deception involved? 

Second, do I CARE? Am I careless with what I own, or careless toward others with what I own? For example, caring for my yard after Hurricane Beryl by gathering downed tree limbs is caring for my property. But placing those limbs in my neighbor’s driveway is not! 

Third, do I SHARE? Do I help others own what they need out of what I have? As physical beings, God has created us to own things we need and to need things to own. Even rightful ownership, when it deprives others of a share of what they need, is a form of stealing.

Look for an opportunity to share something this week. If you own multiples of a thing, consider loaning the newer or better of them. Also, look for an opportunity to borrow something this week. In a culture of affluence and self-sufficiency, lending and borrowing builds community and invites us to think about our relationship with the things we own.

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Adultery

Perhaps the subject line grabbed your attention? Don’t stop here. Read on!

“Do not commit adultery” is another terse prohibition in the second half of the Ten Commandments. The ‘second tablet’ teaches us how to love our neighbor well. Like the legal expert who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29), we are often inclined to look for loopholes in these commands. We might say, “I’m not stealing, I’m just borrowing,” or “I’m not coveting, I’m just admiring”. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does away with loophole thinking. He declares, “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. (Matthew 5:28) Being an expert in human psychology, Jesus knows that adultery takes place long before a physical act is committed.

The Seventh Commandment acknowledges the incredible power of human sexuality to create or destroy intimate human attachments. While violating the bond of marriage reflects the pinnacle of sexuality’s power to destroy, it is not the only way we break the Seventh Commandment. In an increasingly pornified culture with its false ideas about sexual freedom, this commandment invites us to rethink how we use our bodies and express our desires to create true human intimacy.

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Sabbath Rest

The fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath is God’s invitation to rest. Our culture idolizes workaholism. From an early age we teach, “The early bird gets the worm” and “Idleness is the devil’s workshop.” In contrast, Sabbath rest invites us into the other-worldly habit of disciplined inactivity. It is a 24-hour pause from producing and consuming that reminds us that God is all we need. Our world does not need more busy people. We need more rested people. How could you carve some Sabbath rest into the rhythm of your week?

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

The 10 Commandments

The second commandment (no graven images) is about God’s desire to have relationship with us. Images are static. But relationships are dynamic. God never changes, but we do. As we grow and mature, God desires to relate to us in new ways. Images, in the form of preconceived notions about God, can get in the way of relating to the Living God.

Is God surprising you these days? Are there things going on in your life that feel uncomfortable or strange? Rather than chasing an image, consider that God may be revealing something new and drawing you closer.

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Basic Words for Life

The Ten Commandments (literally ten words) constitute God’s vision for a life of human flourishing. Fresh out of 430 years of slavery and in stark contrast to centuries of oppression in Egypt, God initiates a relationship of covenant with Israel shaped by welcoming invitation (Exodus 19:1-5). This Summer, we’re committing to memory the Ten Commandments which lie at the heart of God’s covenant relationship with us. Below are lyrics and a link to a song we’re using to help us. 

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

The Perfect Ten
Number one, we’ve just begun, 
  God should be first in your life. 
Number two’s the idol rule; 
  Those graven images aren’t nice. 
Number three, God’s name should be 
  Never spoken in jest. 
Number four, Sabbath’s for 
  Our worship and for rest. 
Number five, we all should strive 
  to honor father and mother. 
Number six, don’t get your kicks 
  From killing one another. 
Number seven, life is heaven 
  When you’re true to your mate. 
Number eight, don’t steal and break 
  This rule for goodness sake! 
Number nine, don’t be the kind 
  Who goes around telling lies. 
Number ten, don’t covet when 
  You see your neighbor’s house or wife. 
 
That’s the list and God insists 
We stay away from these sins; 
That is why we memorize 
Commandments one thru ten.

The Perfect Ten, by Kathie Hill

Three Personal God

You were made in the likeness of a relational God. You were created in the image of a God who exists eternally in a tri-unity of perfect relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s why friendships matter and betrayal hurts. That’s why we crave connection and genuine love. The doctrine of the Trinity (“One God in three persons”) is not some abstract theological concept. On the contrary, the Trinity has everything to do with what makes us human. 

Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org 

Reversing Babel

One way of understanding the story of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) is that it reverses Babel (Genesis 11.) The Babel story was about exclusion (building a fortress to keep others out) but the story of Pentecost is about inclusion (all the nations of the earth hear the message of God’s salvation.) The Babel story was about making a name for itself (read Genesis 11:4!) but the Pentecost story is about making a name for Jesus. The Babel story was about a place, but the Pentecost story is about a people (cf. Acts 2:42-47.) 

Wanna know more about how you and I can live the Pentecost story? Listen to the full message here or watch the entire worship service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

What We Know

As the writer closes 1 John, he wants his readers to know they have eternal life: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13) Eternal life is not some far off distant possibility that only happens when we die. Eternal life is a present reality for those in God’s kingdom. The late Dallas Willard was so confident of this reality that he once remarked, “I think that when I die, it might be some time until I know it.” (“Dallas Willard, a Man for Another ‘Time Zone,’ Christianity Today, May 8, 2013). For this reason, 1 John closes with the admonition to “keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) John longs for his community to settle for nothing less than the wide-open goodness of God’s eternal life in Christ. 

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

Giving to Others

1 John 3:16 makes it pretty clear. Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to do the same for others. Sharing our “worldly goods” (1 John 3:17) with those in need is proof that we are on the side of God’s truth and not just faking our faith (1 John 3:19). But how much? When? With whom? I read one commentary on this passage that said we ought to “give till it hurts.” I think John knows how this kind of thinking can pitch us down a path of “debilitating self-criticism” (1 John 3:21, The Message). 1 John wants his congregation to live in freedom and love, not in guilt and self-criticism. 1 John reminds them that God (not us!) is a God of unlimited resources. He boasts, “Whatever we ask we receive from [God]” (1 John 3:22). Giving that flows from my own resources tends to treat others as projects and problems, while giving that flows God’s generosity reflects Jesus’ love for people. 

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

Practice What?

Love is supposed to define us as children of God, yet there are times when loving ourselves and others can be difficult. When we stumble, wrestle with old habits, or feel disappointed by others, we can wonder if Jesus really makes a difference. However, 1 John 3:1-7 reminds us that we are a work in progress. The writer assures us that we are God’s children now, and that more is to come. "What we will become has not yet been revealed," as it says in 1 John 3:2. Years ago, I heard someone put it this way: "God loves me just as I am but too much to leave me that way.” 

No matter the trials you face today, remember that God's love doesn’t depend on having it all together. It's grounded in the simple truth that you are a child of God.

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

Why Are You Doing This?

Palm Sunday begins the culminating week of Jesus’ story of salvation. In Mark 11:1-11 Jesus enters Jerusalem as a very different kind of king. Instead of a seasoned warhorse, Jesus rides on a colt “on which no one has ever sat.” (v.2) Instead of armed soldiers flanking Jesus, we see a rag-tag collection of followers who have taken up life with Jesus. Instead of the spoils of war trailing this king, the people put down the very clothes from their backs. Jesus is coming as king, but his kingdom is one where the first are last, where the least are greatest, where those who lead are those who serve, and you lose your life to find it. This is God’s story of salvation that begins this week. 

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

Fiery Snakes

Numbers 21:4-9 is a troubling story of grumbling Israelites and lethal snake bites. After nearly forty years in the wilderness, Israel wants to go back to Egypt. They’re tired of the food, displeased with the beverage choices, and done with God. In response, God sends fiery snakes and the people quickly repent. But rather than take away the serpents, the story ends with God telling Moses to put a snake on a stick as an object for healing. This story is weird, strange, and difficult to understand. But asking three key questions can begin to unlock its meaning. What does this passage say about God? What does it say about me? What does it say about God’s relationship with me? If you’re curious to know how we answered these questions, listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Promise of Rules

What good are rules? We live in a culture that values freedom and autonomy. I like rules that preserve my power and possessions, but dislike rules that cramp my style and spoil my fun! The Ten Commandments are rules designed for my true freedom. They are a gift from a personal God who delivered Israel “out of the house of slavery.” In Christ, I too have been delivered from slavery to every death-dealing power that exploits me. The Ten Commandments are God’s vision for flourishing life by way of loving relationship with God (Commandments 1-4) and with one another (Commandments 5-10).

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

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Like A Flood

1 Peter 3:21 reminds us that our baptism “corresponds” to the Noah story in Genesis 9. A flood of God’s mercy, through Christ’s death and resurrection, confronts our sin and frees our conscience for new life. Like we sang Sunday afternoon at 4:30 worship, “My chains are gone I've been set free; My God my Savior has ransomed me; And like a flood His mercy reigns; Unending love amazing grace.” Where do you need the flood of God’s grace today? Where do you long to see the wildness of God’s love splashed about in your life?

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

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

A Teacher Worth Listening To

As Jesus’ ministry goes public (Mark 1:21-28), it’s clear that his teaching and healing go hand in hand. Unlike the religious scribes, Jesus teaches for transformation, not just information. He proves this as he casts out the unclean spirit (Mark 1:25-26). Jesus has come to set you and me free from all powers that have control over us that are not of God. Is there an arena of life where Jesus’ teaching is just information? What would it look like to invite Jesus’ transformation into that habit, relationship, attitude, or problem? If you missed yesterday’s messages, listen to it here or watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

Yours for Christ, 

Pastor Steve

steve@clpc.org

Just Do It

We learned yesterday that saying ‘yes’ to Jesus involves being still and listening, but it also involves responsive action and obedience. Just like the boy Samuel was told by Eli to “Go, lie down … and say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’” (1 Samuel 3:8), sometimes the best way to say “yes” is to stop what we’re doing and listen. However, saying ‘yes’ to Jesus also means taking action, without hesitation, just like Simon, Andrew, James, and John do in Mark 1:16-20. They respond to Jesus immediately. God is not served with thoughtless, impulsive reaction. But neither is God honored with stall tactics and excuses. Is the Holy Spirit nudging you today? Is it time to take action and say “yes” to Jesus today? 

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

Pastor Steve

Yours for Christ, 

steve@clpc.org