This week the Jewish feasts of passover and unleavened bread are taking place. Did you know that Jesus and the disciples celebrated passover? What exactly is the passover feast all about? Why, of all times did Jesus choose this time to lay his life down on the cross for us?
Join us as Pastor Joe teaches on the passover celebration Jesus held with his disciples often referred to as the last supper.
As disciples of Jesus we understand that we don’t live for ourselves. Jesus calls us to love and God and others around us. But did you ever consider that we’re not even just living for the people alive right now? God’s plans working through his people time travel across generations to bring about His will. We live in the blessings of God that other generations sacrificed to gain and the sacrifices we make today, in the grace and power of God, can be the blessings of future generations. Join with Pastor Jonathan Evans as he shares the story of Elim Grace and a vision for how we can sow to the spirit for future generations in our city
Over the past few weeks social media has been full of various interpretations of today’s total solar eclipse. God tells us in Genesis that the stars, the moon, and the sun are among other things for “signs”. What kind of signs are they? How do we interpret them? Pastor Jonathan brings us a word on our response as disciples to signs and conspiracies.
In past Vision Forwards I’ve shared reasons behind adding a third service and moving towards expansion. This past Sunday we had our largest attendance ever and the interesting thing was that most of those present were a part of us. Yes, there were some guests. But what it showed was that if we all showed up every weekend we would be bursting at the seams.
Some may enjoy seeing and talking about numbers and size increase. Others may not. Either way, I’ve tried to steer us as a congregation towards an understanding of our growth as “growing a big people in Christ”. I’m seeking to set us on a trajectory of “growing a big people, not a big church”. Like all growing families, you have to not only maintain your home but at times make upgrades. Create more room. Add an addition. Tear down and remodel.
As we embark in a few months on a capital campaign to raise funds for a new and final expansion of our building, we cannot afford (in any sense of the word) to build for the sake of building. We must see that what we are about and what we are about to embark upon is not strictly for us nor by us. And it’s not solely for this moment or season.
There are two words that come to my mind and stir my heart as I think forward to our expansion: One Elim.
Past, present, future — we are One Elim.
PAST — We are one church with those who have gone before us in the past. We are united to them and they to us in the death and resurrection of Christ. We are one body. One church. We have been called with them into the salvation of Christ and the kingdom of God. For what purpose? To build Elim Grace upon the gospel of Jesus Christ and to faithfully serve God in the gospel of His Son within the boundaries of our dwelling. We are the generation previous generations prayed for and to whom they faithfully entrusted a calling from God.
PRESENT — We are the present generation God is calling to serve. He is equipping and empowering us to walk in His plans and promises. We are those born and born again for such a time as this. The call to us is, again, to “grow a BIG people in Christ”. Big in His grace, mercy, love, faithfulness, generosity, courage, faith, hope, joy, power — in everything He gives for life and godliness. We are not living for ourselves. Serving for ourselves. Building and expanding for ourselves. We are not living for the moment without giving thought to both those who have gone before us and those who will come after us. We are One Elim, a part of something larger than ourselves. Something eternal not temporal.
FUTURE — One day we will be “those who have gone before us”. I have asked our current elders to consider and to remember that it is their privilege and their responsibility to hand off their eldership to the next generation. We cannot assume that there will be a new generation of elders. We have to pray and to work towards that. We must take joy in the part we have to play now and the part we have to play in the generation to come. The same goes for me as Senior Pastor. I am always praying and keeping my eyes and heart open for who the next pastor of Elim Grace will be.
Our young families are also our future, the next generation. But not only them because they are young in age. Regardless of age or generation, the great joy and task, the vision and the mission, is to pass along the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. To commend the great works of God we have seen to those who haven’t yet.
JESUS IN EVERY GENERATION
As we build and expand with steel, wood, and concrete; as we build with blueprints, machines, and tools; we build in the Spirit of God. We do more than amass numbers. We enter into God’s good and eternal plans and purposes for His people, His treasured possession. We are at once part of something past, present and future. Jesus who saved us and called us, He lives forever. And because He lives forever, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. And because He lives forever and never changes, He forever lives to build, to purify, to fill, to send His church. He forever lives to advance His kingdom on earth. He forever lives to save by the power of His gospel.
So, again, as we embark on a capital campaign and expansion, we must know and feel that it’s not strictly about us nor for us. It’s a part of a long and ongoing process God has begun from eternity that includes us. My hope and prayer is that we will want to be a part of what He is doing now and what He wants to do in us and through us tomorrow.
Dear Elim Grace, we are One Elim — past, present, and future generations. We do not live for our own generation, but we live for Jesus. For His will, for His fame, and for His glory in every generation.
One Elim. This is the vision that will carry us forward. Together.
Pastor Jonathan
The Resurrection of Jesus makes all things possible. When we say that as Christians, we aren’t saying that whatever we want will come true. We’re saying that what each of us most desperately needs – whether we recognize it or not – has been provided by the God of the Universe. We can be forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished by his life, death, and resurrection. He is risen!
Dear Elim Grace,
Pascal once wrote: “I do not admire the excess of a virtue like courage unless I see at the same time an excess of the opposite virtue, as in…extreme courage and extreme kindness. Otherwise it is not rising to the heights but falling down. We show greatness, not by being at one extreme, but by touching both at once and filling all the space in between.”
You have heard me say that as we grow bigger we must also grow smaller. In other words, as we grow in number, we must also grow in community. For us this means ensuring we are each in some kind of ongoing smaller community of believers, whether a small group or Bible study. We must fill the space between growing bigger as a congregation and growing smaller in fellowship.
Another example is in our personal daily/weekly schedule. As we go faster and fill our calendar, we must also go slower and rest. If you take more time to work, you have less time elsewhere. You must learn to fill the space between working well (not always more) and resting well (not always less).
A last example is the space between judgment (discernment) and trust.
There are, to be sure, fools and enemies all around us. You shouldn’t trust a fool, they don’t have a clue. You shouldn’t trust an enemy, they mean you harm. Yet, not everyone around you is a fool or your enemy.
Still, we have all of us become suspicious of everyone and everything. We can’t take our car to the mechanic without suspecting they might invent a problem. We can’t go to a doctor without suspecting their ability to diagnose and treat. We can’t call a plumber or repairman without suspecting they only did half the work they billed us for. We can’t read a news article or look at a picture without suspecting it’s fake. (The opposite extreme is swallowing and believing everything.)
Because we now are suspect of everyone, we find it difficult to trust anyone. Within the Body of Christ and the family of God, this must not be. As the Bride of Christ and a “city set on a hill,” this cannot be. The danger is that we are “falling down” rather than “rising to the heights”.
Jesus is the Lion AND the Lamb. Filling all the space between. C.S. Lewis called Jesus “the Avalanche AND the Rose”. To live in Christ is to live in the “AND”. To grow in the “BETWEEN”.
Somehow, Jesus filled the space between not entrusting Himself to anyone (because He knew what was in their hearts) and giving Himself to the world He loved. He served the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, the sick and the healthy. He washed His disciples feet, including His betrayer’s. He laid down His life for friend and enemy alike.
As Christians, and as we grow a BIG people in Christ, we must seek to “rise to the heights”. We must be shaped and conformed in every trait of God’s character. Reflect and walk in every aspect of the image of Christ. Continually be filled with and bear every fruit of the Spirit. We must fill all the space between.
Pastor Jonathan
I almost always carry a pocket knife and a small notebook with a pen. That’s because in the course of my day I often find the need for those tools. We carry with us things we find useful to our daily tasks and mission.
As we follow Christ there may be things that were once useful to us that He bids us lay down. And other things we must take up.
Pastor Bill asks us to consider what we’re carrying with us on the journey as we follow Jesus.
Dear Elim Grace,
That’s how I begin everything I write publicly as a pastor. “Dear Elim Grace”. I do this because you are the “reader” or the “listener”. I am writing to you as your pastor. You are the context for what I have to say — our church, our mission, our vision. This serves as a protective measure as well. If I don’t specify to whom I am writing, anyone can take what I am saying as directed towards them. They might take exception. Take it out of context. So publicly stating or naming that it is you I am writing for has helped me discern what to say, when and how.
That’s not always been the case though. There was a season when I assumed an audience. Where I assumed everyone needed and wanted to hear what I had to say. That simply wasn’t and isn’t true. And, I would argue, isn’t true of most of us.
When you share a thought, give an opinion, post your observation, deliver your criticism, to whom exactly are you writing? Do you have a name and face in mind?
What if we’re not created to carry the weight of knowing the news from all around the world? What if we’re created to carry with grace the weight of what’s happening within the boundaries of our own dwelling? Our home, our neighborhood, our workplace, our church, our town or city, our sphere of influence? So what if our insights and opinions and criticisms are meant to be shared not with the many but with the few? What if you were created to influence not everyone but someone? What if your words matter less to many but more to a few than you think?
Here’s what I’ve come to realize as your pastor (and I hope model well for you):
1. As much as I want to “change the world,” God didn’t call me to “the world”. He hasn’t given me a platform that includes everyone everywhere. The bottom line is most people don’t care and most people don’t know who I am. Still, I know who I am writing to. Who is your “audience”? It can’t be no one and it can’t be everyone. Don’t assume your audience, know your audience.
2. God has called me to Elim Grace. A very specific people, a very specific context. Knowing my “audience” has freed and enabled me to write with confidence and clarity. I know whom I serve (God) and the people I am called to serve (Elim Grace). So I name you, “Dear Elim Grace”. My words are addressed to you. They have nuance and tone specific to you. While some may “overhear” outside of Elim Grace, they are not my primary responsibility. You are. I write with you in my heart. Do you know your “audience”? Does your “audience” know you? If so, name them.
3. God blesses me through, in and because of my relationship to you. And He blesses you through, in and because of your personal relationship with others. Better said, with “one another”. Your voice can only grow as you walk in humility and faithfulness to “one another”. To the one who is faithful in little and to a few, to them more and many may be given. But not a single one of us starts with more and many. We all start with little and a few. Who are the few that you love? The few that love you? That trust your voice?
Dear Elim Grace, the voice we’ve been given has a much smaller reach and influence than we may imagine. The truth is we overestimate the impact our voice has on many and we underestimate the impact our voice has on a few. But it is more likely through a few that you will have an impact on many. Those few are the “context” for your life. So think of them. Name them. Address them. Love them. Serve them. Let their life shape and direct your words.
If anything alive stops growing it begins to die. That applies to our friendships, our family relationships, and our relationship with God. As disciples of Jesus we are under orders – a mandate to grow up into Christ. If we aren’t becoming more Christlike, we’re becoming less Christlike. Our love for others either grows or dies. If nothing changes in your life right now where will you be in ten years?
Listen along with us as Pastor Bill returns to teach on how change and new life is always possible with the Holy Spirit.
Being afraid is not an experience that many of us would say we desire. In fact, we usually avoid things and people that make us afraid. In several places in scripture, the “fear of the Lord” is described as the beginning of wisdom. So fear of the Lord is a good thing. What exactly is the fear of the Lord then? Why is it a good thing and how does it bring wisdom?
The book of Ruth is fascinating. God is at work everywhere yet rarely directly mentioned. His covenant love through providential control of nature and people is on display as God brings about his purposes to rescue through two women, the people of Israel through King David, and through David’s line the whole of creation through Jesus Christ!
In each season of a child’s life there are certain and unique dangers. So in each season of a disciple’s and church’s life there are present dangers to our growth in Christ. This growth comes about as we both continually proclaim the good news of the kingdom and receive the good news into our hearts. We are responsible for both and outgrow neither.
In the parable of the sower there are four dangers I see to be aware of (Luke 8:4-8, 11-15).
A FIRST DANGER: An enemy
In verse 12 Jesus points out a first danger. There’s an enemy who comes to devour the seed. Peter, who heard this parable, would later write, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Notice Peter says “seeking to devour“ not “devouring”. The lion doesn’t always get his prey.
Our enemy, the devil, comes specifically to lie, steal, kill and destroy. How might he do this? The devil will come and try to (a) lie to you about the goodness of God (b) steal the truth from you either through error or exaggeration (c) kill your faith by getting you isolated (d) destroy you by hardening your heart against others and against God through anger, bitterness and unforgiveness.
As we grow in Christ, we know tests, trials and temptations will come. But when does the enemy come? At pivotal moments. Are you in a pivotal moment right now? A successful moment? A disappointing one? Stressed? Angry? Hurt? Suffering? Exhausted? The enemy is an opportunist. He is timely. He comes at pivotal moments in our life.
I see the opportune time being our current growth and unity. We must be aware what the enemy may be seeking to do at a time like this. The solution is to (a) resist him, firm in our faith. Engage the mind, exercise the heart. The strength of Christ outlasts the strength of the enemy; the authority of Christ outranks the authority of the enemy. (b) We should not and we cannot stand alone: “your brotherhood throughout the world” face the same. We need one another to persevere.
A SECOND DANGER: No roots
A second danger is no permanence, having no roots, in time of testing (verse 13). The testing pulls you up or blows you away. In short the solution is to put down roots. There needs to be a permanence in your life which only comes from putting down deep roots in God. How do we do this?
We put down roots by digging into our past: the enduring Word of God, our church history, unity across generations, confession and forgiveness amongst one another. We must send down roots beyond the immediate. Beyond being in the moment. Beyond today.
In actuality the danger is not tests, but no roots. Tests are to our faith what coal or wood is to a fire. The coal/wood is no hindrance to a burning fire. So tests are no hindrance to a burning faith in Jesus. They are fuel.
Yet, we need to be fanning into flame our faith by staying rooted in the Word, in fellowship, in the Spirit. We need to be watering the seeds to stimulate and cultivate growth. This past Summer we started a family garden. In the beginning, watering meant soaking the soil, not just wetting the surface. It took digging below the surface to see how deep the water had penetrated the soil. To know if the water had reached the seed.
In the parable Jesus points out there was “no moisture” (Verse 6). You need the water and life of the Spirit every single day to grow and stay rooted in God. Keep pace with the Spirit as He leads you to put down deep roots.
A THIRD DANGER: Busyness
A third danger to our growth in Christ is busyness, the crowding out of what’s needed (vs. 14). The solution is refuse to crowd out what’s of first importance for your life and in your life not with bad things but with good things. Paul was incredibly busy and everywhere he went he taught and preached on many things. Yet, he never failed to emphasize and preach ONE THING everywhere and everywhen: Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:3-5; Gal 1:16).
The danger is not being busy. The danger is our busyness, the slow (not fast!) drifting away from what matters most in life. Don’t choke on the cares and busyness and pleasures of this life. But since it can be hard to perceive when we are, how do I know if I am? I’m living from one day to the next, i.e. you very often feel like you don’t have time to spend with Jesus.
Jesus said a lot of things were good but only one thing is necessary: intimacy, communion, with Him. Somewhere I read that parents will spend roughly 75% of time with their children by age 12. 90% by age 18. As a parent, do we want to spend all our time driving them round? Does our busyness choke off actual time spent with our children in relationship?
There was a season as pastor that I used to come in Sunday’s at 8am, grab a coffee and pray over my sermon and our services. Now, and I can’t tell when precisely it happened, I find myself doing “good things”. Taking care of this or that detail. Good things but unrelated to the “one thing” I know I need to be doing first.
Intimacy fuels activity, activity doesn’t always fuel intimacy. We cannot afford to crowd out intimacy and communion with Jesus with activity for Jesus. We can build a big church without the Spirit, but not a BIG people. You can build a good life without Jesus, but not an abundant and full one. Either intimacy with Jesus will weed out your busyness or your busyness will root out your intimacy.
A FOURTH DANGER: Little joy
Through the parable Jesus says God wants to produce a hundredfold in your life (vs. 8). A “hundredfold” is an extraordinary harvest, prolific, evidence of divine blessing. It is the inbreaking of the kingdom and life of God in your life (vs. 1). The danger, then, is having little to no joy in who God is and what He’s done for you.
We can find ourselves in a similar position of heart as Israel did. “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things…” (Deuteronomy 28:47) Somehow amidst the abundance they experienced and received from God, they lost their joy. Their delight in God. As a result, their generosity towards others dried up and their worship towards God became hollow.
One solution to this danger is a return to finding God beautiful before useful. We can lose our joy in God both in abundance and in scarcity. But for both the solution is the beauty and goodness of Christ. I remember watching my wife’s Aunt Elaine battle cancer. She would come to our Touch Down services as long as she physically could. Sitting in the back, with eyes closed and hands raised, she worshipped and loved Jesus with everything she had. As long as she could she praised God. If she could find joy in Jesus in her sickness, how could I not find joy in Jesus in my good health?
The life of man is but a breath, like a single leaf hanging by single strand of spider web. Yet, by comparison, the breath and word of God is life and power. Can you create billions of stars and galaxies? Can you divide a sea? Can you split the ground? Can you heal the sick and raise the dead? Can you forgive sins and break the power of sin? Can you remake your heart a new creation? Can you resurrect the dead? Can you make all things new? Can you create a new heaven and new earth? Jesus can (Heb. 1:3), because Jesus died.
Jesus one day taught a striking lesson to his disciples. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24-25) I remember this verse being preached over twenty years ago and me offering my life to God while I looked at the country of Mexico on a map. I surrendered my life to serve God in that country as my parents had (and still do). Yet, I never went back.
Fast forward 23 years later and my life looks very different than I imagined it would in that moment of prayer. The fruit, though, is beyond anything I could’ve hoped for. In your quest for joy, you can imagine your life going a certain way. But when you surrender it to Christ, daily taking up your cross, the life you sow to Him will look nothing like the life He raises for you. “Behold I am making all things new,” He says. Find your joy in Him and you will be well-equipped to withstand the other dangers to your growth in Christ.
