They Give And Take Away

I am so mad at Costco right now.

For those of you who know how much I enjoy the costco experience you know how hard it is for me to be mad at Costco.

Remember Mystic Pizza?

Remember how delighted we were that our Costco was finally carrying Mystic Pizza?

Well, it seems, they were just toying with us.

No more Mystic Pizza.

It seems I was unsuccesful as a Mystic Pizza Evangelist.

Up In The Air . . .

No way it could be mistaken for a bird it was definitely a plane.

A really BIG plane.

I got out of my truck to see kind of BIG plane.

People came out of their houses to see kind of BIG plane.

High school kids quit baseball / softball activity to watch kind of BIG plane.

Did I mention it was a BIG plane?

Stockton has an airport.  The kind of airport that offers flights directly to Las Vegas.

Every once in a while a plane of some size will fly over (high above) in route to Sacramento or other destinations.  We never hear them and only see them if we happen to be looking up.

This plane was preparing to land either at the airport or at the mall because it was low and loud and BIG.

We thought the plane was landing in the street it was that low!

It looked like a military Boeing C-17 or a Lockheed C-5, but as I am not an aviation expert (nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night) I can’t be sure.

Nothing on the news.  Nothing in the online version of the paper.  Let’s see how long it takes to have some snippet (if any) of this unusual event.

Sunday Recap

Yesterday we announced the start of a church wide campaign that will launch Easter Sunday.

The leadership has unanimously decided the time is right and this particular campaign will equip us fulfill our mission of becoming a relevant community of faith devoted to loving God and serving others.

In preparation for the campaign we will spend the balance of our time leading up to Easter Sunday working through the major themes in the Colossians.

The message Sunday was introductory lesson and an extended announcement of our campaign plans.  We’ve chosen the campaign (by pursuit.org) MADE:  Created To Make A Difference.

Our Sunday Night Celebration was a great success.  We had about 65 people and a marvelous time.  Our playlist covered a wide range of songs and genres and the chili, cornbread, cobbler & cola that followed certainly allowed the evening to end well.

From a musical standpoint our little group has reached the first benchmark (You guys sound pretty good for a church of christ group).  Now on to benchmark number two (you guys sound pretty good)!

Law And Order Tackles Biblical Interpretation

I caught the last 1/4 of Law and Order (I know it was the last fourth because math is in my blood – now if they could only find a cure) last night and was intrigued when the plot line turned biblical.

Since I only caught the last 1/4 I missed all the choreagraphed maneuvers of detective work and such but quicly caught the story line.

  • Mr. A runs a religious group to return Jews to Israel in preparation for the rapture and return of JC.
  • Mr. B (aka the bad guy) was over billing for services rendered (hmm, that sounds an awful lot like . . .)
  • Mr. C (friend of Mr. A) discovers the deception and heinous over billing and wants his money back.
  • Mr. B kills Mr. C and after some police trickery is caught and put on trial.
  • Mr. A (at this point known as Reverend A) lies on the witness stand to protect his organization and thus, from his point of view, hasten the coming of the Lord.

The police detectives catch up with Reverend A in the church and ask him why he’s willing to lie and let a murderer go free.

Mr. A says these are necessary things because the time is closer than it has ever been for the rapture and the return of JC.  He recites the rise of the European unions, the demise of the US economy, the conflict in the world as evidence that Armageddon is surely around the corner and on the coattails of Armageddon would be the return of Jesus Christ.

The police detective asks to see his Bible, turns to Matthew 24 and reads:

“No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son.  Only the Father knows.”

She looks at him and says “you don’t know when Jesus is coming back.  No one knows.  Only God knows the time.“  She continues by saying “God will do what God will do when God wants to do it.”

I don’t remember it word for word but I do remember the goosebumps and do remember thinking wow, that police lady can bring it!

The Rains Came Down (and the floods came up)

In no way do I claim to speak with a prophetic voice (pathetic perhaps but not prophetic).

However, not long after the message on building your house on the right foundation and the certainty of storms, it started to rain.

It didn’t stop until early this morning.

Our backyard is a lake.

Our garage has again taken on water.

It doesn’t rain much here (frequency) but when it rains here it pours.

Ever notice that no matter how long or how hard it rains someone talks about the disruption of the rain followed by something like: “but we sure needed the rain.

Its like the ark floating by and someone tells you: “this is very inconvenient, but we sure needed the rain.

Message Notes

Firm Foundation (Matthew 7:24-27)

Two Kinds of People

  • In our text today we will two kinds of people who build two kinds of houses with two DIFFERENT results.
  • His words are an encouragement and a CHALLENGE for us to make the right decision.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NCV) “Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.  It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock.  Everyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house, and it fell with a big crash.”

The Foolish Person

  • The foolish person hears the words of Jesus and makes the decision to DISREGARD the words of Jesus.
  • It is the equivalent of building a house on the SAND.

The Wise Person

  • The wise person hears the words of Jesus and makes the decision to LIVE by the words of Jesus.
  • It is the equivalent of building a house on a ROCK.

The Difference Between The Foolish Person & The Wise Person

  • The difference between a wise person and a foolish person is a DECISION.
  • If you are not building on Jesus Christ you are building a house without a FOUNDATION.

Psalm 127:1 (NCV) “If the Lord does not build the house, the builders are working for nothing.”

The Wise Actions of A Wise Person

  • APPRECIATES the gravity of the situation.
  • ANTICIPATES the reality of changing weather.
  • ACCEPTS the teaching of Jesus Christ.
  • ASSERTIVELY builds upon this firm foundation.

A Curious Ending

  • Jesus ends his sermon with a splash and a CRASH.

Poll Results

Wow!  I’m not exactly sure what to say about the poll results.

They are exactly the results (in the exact order) as mentioned in the book I read.

Yes, the top 3 phrases people most want to hear are:

1.  I Love You (94%)

2. I Forgive You (59%)

3. Dinner is Ready (41%)

Is anyone else surprised that our simple, unscientific poll netted the same result as the big time magazine study?

Of course had “You can buy another guitar” been one of the phrases that would have yielded poll results that would have been slightly skewed!

The 3 Phrases Most People Want To Hear

In a book I just read one of the characters (in conversation with another character) talked about the three phrases most people want to hear.

For the sake of investigative research, let’s see if our sampling is the same as what the character says in the book.

Select your top three (you don’t need to rank your choices but you can only pick three) and then click on the VOTE button at the bottom.

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Westside Praise

I received my copy of Carry Me by Westside Praise today.

I know a few of the singers behind the project and while that might be construed as a basis for bias I was, nevertheless, greatly impressed.

What a refreshing delight it has been to be encouraged by the freshness of sound and heartfelt offering of praise.

That’s what really impressed me – In the mix of harmonies, rhythms and lyrics you can hear the hearts of people who love God.

Message Notes

What Does God Want?
Matthew 7:21-23

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED SO FAR

  • Jesus said entrance into the kingdom of heaven requires a DIFFERENT kind of righteousness.
  • If you want to go to heaven you must enter through the GATE that leads to heaven.
  • If you want to go to heaven, you must travel the ROAD that leads to heaven.
  • If you want to go to heaven, you must follow the GUIDE that knows the way to heaven.

OUR TEXT TODAY

Matthew 7:21-23 (NCV) “Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’

WHAT WE SEE IN THIS TEXT

  • You can’t TALK your way into the kingdom of heaven.
  • You can’t BRIBE your way into the kingdom of heaven.
  • You can’t SNEAK your way into the kingdom of heaven.
  • You CAN enter the kingdom of heaven.
  • Entrance into the kingdom of heaven is exclusively reserved for those people who commit to carrying out the DESIRES of the King.

WHAT IS IT THAT GOD WANTS?

  • God wants all PEOPLE to be saved and to know the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:1-4 )
  • God wants all people to humbly obey him by doing what is RIGHT to others.?  (Micah 6:8)
  • God wants all people to humbly obey him by being KIND to others.  (Micah 6:8)
  • God wants you to love him ENOUGH to serve others. (Matthew 22:37-39)
  • God wants you to live a life that makes a DIFFERENCE.  (Colossians 1:9-10)

APPLICATION

  • If you want to be part of the kingdom, what’s IMPORTANT to the king must be important to you.
  • God only adds new believers to a group of believers who EMBRACE and EMBODY His kingdom values.

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