Good Monday Morning!

A little chilly this morning as the Kansas weather continues its crazy, normal patterns.  Great chances of rain in the next week so continue to pray for that. 

Yesterday we looked at keys to identifying a true gospel message – focused on Jesus, leads to freedom and brings joy to life.  A false message is one that lifts up someone else, promises to solve all your temporal issues and has a power based on something other than the Lord.  If you need to watch it again go to YouTube and search mabcvideo.  That’s how I get there.  You can even subscribe!

We also talked a little about being able to clearly discern if something is from God or from Satan.  This morning I want to encourage you to focus more on being a disciple of Jesus.  The Greek word for disciple is mathetes which means pupil or learner.  When associated with Jesus, it is widely recognized as someone who adheres and follows the teachings of Jesus.  Adhere means to hold fast or to stick by as if by gluing, suction, grasping or fusing.  Of all of those, I like fusing as the best goal for us to have as followers of Jesus. Fusing means blending or melting.  When I blend marshmallows and butter to make Rice Krispy treats at some point they melt together and it is impossible to visually discern the butter and marshmallows.  They make one really good base for a sweet treat.   That should be our goal as followers – to have a life so sweetly blended with that of Jesus that it might become hard to differentiate between the two.  It would be irresistible!           

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

      Galatians 2:20 NIV

We won’t get there on this side of earth but we should aspire to live a life such as this.  In our men’s life study class yesterday we discussed the words aspire and desire.  Aspire means “to long for something”.  It is an internal focus.  The Greek word for desire means to have a “passionate compulsion.”  It is the drive to live a life like Jesus.  Desire is an external action that means to “stretch out or reach to obtain a goal.”  As I told the men, I can’t take my little old Ford Ranger pickup and park in the Ford dealership garage and hope that it becomes an F-150 pickup overnight!  As much as I would like that!  It takes effort, not osmosis.

Do you desire a life that looks like Jesus?  Patrick Morley, a leading men’s author, says that “a bible, a small group and serving someone else will solve most of your problems.”  Do you have a bible?  Most homes do but they have a layer of dust on the cover.  Are you in a group that helps you grow?  Not a social group but one that digs into scripture so that you can KNOW Jesus, not just know about him.  And, are you serving?  Jesus said he “came to serve and not be served.”  (Matt. 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 14:14-15)

Friends, we will never “accidently” become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  In the Great Commission Jesus alludes to a process when he said “go and MAKE disciples.”  It will take effort and it is a lifelong pursuit that we undertake.  The ending point only comes when the Lord calls us home.  Reach out and stretch this week to become a disciple for the first time if you never have.  If you are a disciple…don’t settle for the bare minimum.  Strive for next level discipleship.

P.R.
Rick Neubauer

I hope you enjoy the warm week ahead! Temperatures expected to be in the mid-70’s all week with a high on Thursday over 80!

I received an email this morning from Christianity Report speaking about persecution.  Christianity Report is an organization that gathers faith-based news from several sources and compiles some of the highlights in one place.  I decided to do a little research into the worldwide persecution of Christ followers going on in the world today.  Interesting stuff.  Remember the quote I shared from Tertullian, the early church theologian, this past Sunday?  He said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”.

The actions we find in Acts chapter 8 carried out by a man named Saul are alive in our world today.  Verse 3 says Saul began to destroy the church.  He was going home to home, dragging off men and women to prison.  Open Doors International’s world watch list says that 1 in 7 Christ followers around the world are persecuted.  The rate in Asia is 2 in 5 and in Africa that number is 1 in 5.  Open Doors estimates that approximately 310 million Christ followers face high or extreme levels of persecution.  I didn’t use “Christian” here because it is hard to define.  Some studies show that a number of people identify as Christian in religious surveys just because they aren’t Jewish or Hindu or Islam.  Some identify as Christians because they occasionally attend church.  I am using “Christ-follower” here because if you go through some of what these persecuted followers do, you aren’t just checking a box because you don’t identify with other faith backgrounds or you occasionally attend church.  In many countries attending occasionally and picking the wrong Sunday can land you in prison!

In Syria right now, an Islamic coalition is using extreme oppression to stop Christianity.  They are using starvation by restricting food into certain communities, cutting the pay of workers identifying as Christian, threatening violence and overturning Christian cemeteries.  Reports of suicide bombers awaiting orders to attack churches are being heard.  Despite being one of the oldest Christian communities in history ( first century AD) the number of Christians has drastically dwindled in the past 15 years of so.  In 2011 it was estimated there was about 1.5 million Christians in Syria and today the estimate is closer to 300,000.  Violence, homes being taken by force or having neighborhoods where power was cut off forced many Christians to “scatter.”  (See Acts 8:1)

In other news, countries that are experiencing the greatest growth in the number of “Christ followers” include the Asian countries of China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Remember, 2 in 5 Christians in Asia are being persecuted!   In these countries, the church is highly regulated by the government.  In these countries the church is highly regulated by the government.  Censorship of content is almost assured.  In China, no one under 18 can attend church.  The growth is coming from underground churches where the risks are the greatest.  You are not a nominal Christian in these countries…you have to really love the Lord your God with all you have. No hokey-pokey “Christian” is going to risk loss of job, home, family or the threat of prison for being partially in on Jesus.

Keep this in mind as we move through the next couple of chapters in Acts.  The threat in many places is just as great today as it was in the first century AD

Pastor Rick

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness,  faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I Timothy 6:11

Good Tuesday morning this week!

Remember Sunday when I said that we haven’t been called to an easy road?  Well, at home we are finally unpacking our office “stuff.”  I picked up “my laptop” and headed to the church to get some work done yesterday morning and when I unpacked by bag and pulled out the computer?  Sherry’s older computer!  The Microsoft Office software on it must have been on a one-year subscription rather than a life time purchase. And I didn’t have my church email list to send out anything anyway! So I sat in my church office with no way to write put together my Monday morning writing.  I always write it out in Word before copying and pasting to the email.  So we are a little late…it’s never easy!

Sunday we read about Stephen using his spiritual gifts of serving and miracles.  Doing so and standing strong in the faith cost him greatly as he was stoned.  It may seem standing for Christ ended badly but I am a firm believer in Romans 8:28 that God uses all things for good for those that LOVE him and are called to his PURPOSE. As a result of Stephen’s death, a new chapter in the “church movement” is initiated!  Up until now all of the church growth had been in the “neighborhood.”  It is estimated that it Stephen’s death occurred 2-3 years after Jesus ascended into heaven after giving them the directive to be his witnesses.  Now, the Gospel begins to fan out into Judea and Samaria.

After Stephen’s death, persecution of the followers of Christ began to ramp up.  The followers, with the exception of the apostles, began to scatter out into Judea and Samaria.  Along with them went the message of Jesus.  From here on out, in the midst of persecution, the gospel will grow like wildfire.  Each one taking the message of Jesus and sharing it in new places to people who needed to hear the message of hope.  This persecution seems to be greatly perpetrated by a man named Saul who was present at the stoning.  Saul is man who will one day be called to God’s purpose and fall deeply in LOVE with the Lord.

We need to be faithful at home first with the sharing of the Gospel through our spiritual gifts.  If we LOVE the Lord and give ourselves to his PURPOSE – as Stephen did – great things will begin to happen.  Please take some time to explore the Missions Fair this coming Sunday.  Maybe your part of the mission will be the “Pew Prowlers” I talked about. That simple task will free someone else up to use their gift which will in turn free up someone else.   It will be much like the apostles appointing the seven to take care of the widows.  It says after that the message spread and the number of believers increased greatly.

Every one of us has a part to play and no part is too little.  Please pray that God would show you your part as you visit the ministry teams before and after worship this coming Sunday.

Pastor Rick

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness,  faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I Timothy 6:11

It is going to be a beautiful day and looks great the whole week.  No rain in the 10 day forecast at this time though.  Hopefully you can get out for a walk and soak us some Vitamin D!

Today is pretty much a potpourri of thoughts!  One interesting one that I had heard about before as I thought about it came from Wilma Arbogast.  It was in reference to 1 Corinthians 13.  She said we should insert our name in the passage wherever the word “love” is used.   I have included verses 4-7 here to help you out:

(Your name) is patient and kind. (Your name) is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. (Your name) does not demand (his/her)  own way. (Your name) is not irritable, and (Your name) keeps no record of being wronged. (Your name) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. (Your name) never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Give it a try and see how you feel.  I know I have some areas to work on!

I am including a picture from a birthday celebration this past Saturday.  Our oldest daughter Tina’s birthday was Saturday and she and her boys came over for a dual celebration Sherry’s birthday.  This was one of the gifts Tina got for Sherry.  Sherry loves her coffee and her bible so it is appropriate.  There were other gifts but this tiny little bookmark got the most conversation over the evening as we played board games and ate cheesecake.  It doesn’t seem like a significant “gift” but it probably brought the most joy.  Your spiritual gift may be just like this little “coffee spill” bookmark.  It may not seem significant but you will never know how much joy your gift will bring if you don’t share it!

A note to the men of the church.  We are starting a new book study in our 9:10 am Life Group on Sunday, March 23.  The book is called “Dialed In,” a study of the qualifications of elders and overseers from Titus 1 and the letters to Timothy.  It is an easy read with discussion questions and an inventory at the end of each chapter. I will be ordering books tomorrow morning and the church is funding them.  Let me know if would be interested in joining us. Guys, if you are already attending “I gotcha!”

P.R.

Rick Neubauer

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness,  faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I Timothy 6:11

I know that some of you are not all on board with the spiritual gifts series and push.  I get it!  I am hoping you will see that understanding your spiritual gifts and actually using them are going to be the driving force between seeing MABC actually grow and thrive and not just exist.

You see, the early church didn’t care much about attendance.  They were concerned with ENGAGEMENT!  Engagement is emotional involvement or commitment to something.  People get passionate about things they are involved in such as a hobby or a sports team.  Football fans are passionate about their team.  Fans will show up in sub-freezing weather, tailgate for hours and then sit for three hours or more in the cold to cheer on their team.  They will spend hundreds of dollars on tickets and merchandise because they are passionate and engaged. They are not just spectators but they cheer when their team scores or makes a great play.  They moan in agony when things aren’t going their way.  They don’t just go and sit for an hour and then leave.  They are invested and engaged.

We are not ever going to be an attractional church where people will come because we have a flashy band or the latest and greatest video boards and cool graphics.  We aren’t going to have camels and a petting zoo at Christmas. I know of a megachurch in Wichita that actually built “camel doors” into their church design just for Christmas!  We aren’t going to have advertising on TV.  Our livestream right now is not a multi-camera production that people are going to be “wow, you gotta watch this church’s service!’  Those are just the cold hard facts.

We are a church that will need to make an impact in our neighborhood by engaging community and the people in our community.  We need to focus on using our gifts in a few ways.  One way is to benefit those already here by helping them grow in the Lord and become engaged followers. We also use our gifts to create an environment that is welcoming and comfortable to those who happen to visit. Another way is to use them to reach those who aren’t here now or don’t know Jesus. We are planning some events to serve community and engage our neighbors.  Our centennial celebration will not just be a celebration for us but an opportunity to engage our neighbors. Hopefully you will plan on sticking around on March 23 to visit with our teams about where you can engage.

This is not just about enlarging our attendance but to engage people so that they may see the goodness of God – his compassion, mercy and love (1 Peter 2:9). People who use their gifts and are passionate about their church are “attractional” in and of themselves.  We don’t just want people to attend – that includes you – but we want them to be engaged by becoming followers of Jesus. Culture is shifting and looking for community.  Younger people are especially interested in being a part of something that is impactful in community. In the early church, the people were engaged…daily…not just for an hour on Sunday. You are the body of Christ and are important in helping the body grow.  If a child was not growing, we would be concerned and do everything we can – passionately – about helping the child grow.  Let’s be that passionate about helping the body of Christ grow and trusting that the Lord will help us to grow in return if we are obedient to the Great Commission. That’s how we ensure another hundred years of MABC.

Let’s be an engaged people passionate about showing the goodness of Jesus to those that need to know about him.  Let’s be passionate and engaged about finding those that need to know about Jesus and his desire for them to his followers!

Have a great week!  If you haven’t done your inventory, please take the time to do so. I believe that gifting evolves with time and spiritual maturity.  I also believe God pulls some of your lesser gifts to the forefront depending on your place in the body at any given time.

Pastor Rick 

But you man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness,