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discipleship Tag

May 21, 2024

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, HCC, Jesus

by Brendon

0 Comments

Dwelling.

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Brendon

“ I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt….” – Leviticus 26:11-13a

In today’s world, the thought of who you are with is becoming more and more apparent and judged.

Oh you hang out with that crowd….

Oh, I didn’t expect you to be hanging out with that kind of person…

Oh you believe the same thing as them??

It’s almost like the people we hang out with or dwell with will determine what everyone will think of us.

It’s like the question, what high school did you go to? The answer will determine everything someone needs to think and know

about you.

However, what if we start to think about the people we dwell with. The people that we do life with. The people that influence us the most. The people that can determine what your outcome in life could be like.

God makes this statement over all of the Bible.

In Genesis we see Adam and Eve had a very personal relationship with God. In Gen. 3 we see it noted that in the cool of the evening, God came to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden. But we see that because Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree they were not supposed to, they hid from God. ( Gen. 3:8-9 ).

In Leviticus, we see that already, God is wanting to dwell again with his people. God leads them out of Egypt and along the way they fall away from God over and over and will continue to do so. ( Lev. 26:11-12 )

In the prophet Ezekiel’s book, we see that after God brings a valley of dry bones back to life, God make mention to covenant of peace and that God’s dwelling will be with his creation. ( Eze. 37:27 )

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul makes this claim again that God desires to dwell among his people and they will know Him and know that he is their God. ( 2 Corin. 16c)

Then again in Revelation, the apostle John writes in Revelation 21, that behold, the dwelling place of God is with his his creation. That He will dwell with them and they will be his people. ( Rev. 21:3 )

We can see that God from the beginning of life, to the end of life, has one goal….to dwell or be with close contact with his people.

And in seasons of life it is incredibly hard to understand and really embrace this truth. The truth that God really does love you and desires a relationship with you.

In seasons of winning: when you have great health in your family or when you get the promotion you worked so hard for or when you move to a new location that brings new life to our heart or when you have a healthy baby come into the world or when you win the lottery!

In seasons of losing: when health is an issue, when you lose your job, when you don’t get that promotion, when you look at your bank account and it is not where you thought it would be, or when you look at your house and see all of the repairs that you are not able to make, or when you look at your relationship with your spouse and it is on the rocks or when you lose a loved one.

God still, desires to be with you.

Life is hard. Jesus tells us that in John 16:33.

Even when we fall away from God.

Even when we forget about the things he calls us too.

Even when we stop thinking about him.

Even when we don’t feel his presence because of what is going on in our life.

Even when……..

God desires to dwell with you.

Whatever season you might find yourself in today, rest in this peace, that God desires you.

With all of your shortcomings. With all of our mistakes. With all of our doubts and fears. With all of our thoughts that lead us away from Him.

God still and wants desires a relationship with you.

May 21, 2024

in DTOTD

by Brendon

0 Comments

Persuading…not coercing or manipulating

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Brendon

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others……Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ was reconciling us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” – 2 Cor. 5: 11a, 17-18

Have you ever been persuaded to do something? Or maybe to buy something? Or maybe even to sign up for something??

I started my credit history this way. I was on a mission trip to Boston, which was one of my favorite cities in the country, but at a Red Sox game at Fenway park, I was for sure overwhelmed with where I was and all that I was experiencing. I remember walking through the concourse of Fenway and just marveling at the history and the structure of the ball field. I also remember how cold I was. I had just purchased a new hoodie thinking that might be warm enough for the night…I was wrong. So as I was walking around, I heard the question “Would you like a blanket?”

I stopped and looked at a table with a bunch of fleece Red Sox blankets. I wanted one. So I listened to this dude talk to me about getting this blanket and I found myself filling out a form to open my first ever credit card, to get a blanket for free! Great deal!! I know, I was young and vulnerable and cold and gullible. However, as I read the passage above that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, I realized how easily I was persuaded to sign up for something that I didn’t want or need at the time, just for a blanket.

What if it was that easy to persuade someone to know and believe and follow Jesus?

We see it all the time in our worlds, people are persuaded to buy that item that is on sale for the next three and half minutes. We are persuaded to go to the place that has a deal on all of its meats in the market so we can get the best price for our favorite cut of beef. We are persuaded to believe someone is wrong to vote for someone else. We are persuaded to follow the crowd of whatever the new thing to ‘cancel’ is. We are persuaded by others to doubt ourself about what we believe. We are persuaded in all sorts of ways.

What if we were able to be persuaded by God every day of our lives?

Persuasion in this case is not making mention to someone tricking you into something, but really the complete opposite in persuading someone by the words you speak and the life you live to show Jesus’ love to those around you, to the point that those around you want to know who Jesus is because of the way you live your life.

May 13, 2024

in Alleviation of Poverty, Child Welfare, Church, DTOTD, Global, Guest Services, HCC, Local, Natural Disaster Response, Outreach, packapack, School Outreach, Serve Teams, The Sharing Shed

by Brendon

0 Comments

Faith without works, is dead

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you say to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

– James 2:14-17

Serving others, out of a humble heart, is not an easy choice that not everyone will make.

In the church, we talk about serving all of the time. And to be honest, we have too. Serving is of vital importance to every church’s existence and operational ability. The church was not created to be a paid enterprise organization that is able to pay every single person that changes a diaper or leads a small group. As crazy as it sounds, the church was created to be a vessel of people that would pour into the people around them and inside the walls of the church building to be able to lead those to knowing and following Jesus.

There is one thing about learning about God from an academic stand point, but it is something completely different when it comes to following Jesus’ example of life here on earth.

When we see the disciples, which eventually become Apostles in the book of Acts, get called by Jesus, very early on we see the disciples both learning things and unlearning things. The disciples are learning from Jesus about what life could look like and unlearning what they have been taught since they were kids. Jesus also takes the moments to send his disciples out, very often, the disciples are sent out to serve and to preach the good news of Jesus.

You see when you begin to follow Jesus, and become his disciple, we find that serving is intertwined with your faith and your deepening understanding of who Jesus is for us and through us.

The problem we all face, is that serving has become somewhat of a ‘glamour’ seeking endeavor. Serving has been distorted to be into something that we can brag about. If you read Thought #8, you may be thinking, this sounds a whole lot like hospitality, well because serving and hospitality go hand in hand with our discipleship to Jesus.

You see as we get closer to Jesus, we see that Jesus had a natural rhythm to life that we can emulate. It may not be as deep or as perfect as Jesus’, which is no surprise, it can be lived out in a daily way.

” ………….But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:43-45

Serving is not about your ability to brag about where you serve or how many people you serve. Serving is about the love you have for Jesus overflowing out of our hearts towards others. It could look like this:

Having a meal with family friends that don’t know Jesus. (hospitality)

Planning a VBS while on a mission trip in Ethiopia. (serving)

Wiping the nose of an upset 3 year old at church in the middle of the summer. (serving)

Stopping to listen to a hurting friend or coworker. (hospitality)

Cleaning the bathrooms at a church that doesn’t have anyone to clean the church on a regular basis. (serving)

Reaching out to your neighbor about the doctors appointment they had. (hospitality)

Could it be hauling furniture from The Sharing Shed to a family in our community? (serving)

As our love for Jesus grows, our hearts for hospitality and serving increase.

There is a forward-facing part of serving and hospitality that is undeniable and very real.

When we serve someone or a group of people, there is a very real and undeniable focus put on you and the same goes for when you show hospitality to someone or a group. As Christians, we are called to go and make disciples of all nations, of anyone that will listen and accept the good news of Jesus and to lead them to following Jesus and his commands. Which means we will be looked at and unfortunately, potentially judged for our actions.

Jesus gave us a new command in John 13 by saying ” we must love one another, like I have loved you…..BY THIS, all people will know you are my DISCIPLES.” – John 13:34 & 35

Then again in John 17, Jesus says ” I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of this world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world…..I do not ask this for these only, but also for those who WILL believe in me through their word, that they may be one just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me….” – John 17:15-21

To James’ point, can we have faith with out works….yes but it doesn’t mean much. On the flip side of that, can we just serve others with out the faith behind it….sure but that also doesn’t mean much because there is nothing attached to the deed. Sure you could be looked at a good person, but in the discourse of salvation, serving to check a box on a to-do list, doesn’t lead to being a disciple of Jesus.

Serving should first and foremost always come from the outpour of love that Jesus has given you and now you attempt to give to others.

As much as bible study and worship and small groups and prayer and silence and solitude are important to your discipleship with Jesus, if we neglect to serve also, then we are missing the whole picture of being a disciple of Jesus.

The question then is, where will you serve to be able to breath the life and love of Jesus out to others?

If you are reading this and are not serving, here is a painted picture worth thinking about:

Here at Harvester Christian Church, there are hundreds of places you can serve…….hundreds really.

Recently I asked just some of the ministries around HCC, what kind of volunteer numbers could they use right now…….150…..Meaning, we could use 150 more people to come and serve the church and the guests that are coming to church each and every week and month.

That number gets even larger when asked what would a dream number of volunteers be….one ministry said 200, another said 270!!

Imagine the kingdom impact we could make as a church if we all took one opportunity to serve in some way….what would it look like, what would it feel like, how would you be used to impact someone else’s life?

Can I challenge you…..take a moment and think about where you would want to serve, just TWO TIMES…what ministry would be it, how would you be serving?

Could it be that you want to help guests find a parking spot with our parking team?

Could it be opening a door for one of our disabled guests that struggle to open the door themselves?

Could it be serving behind the cafe counter helping our guests with some donuts to make the environment of Sunday morning warm and welcoming?

Could it be holding a crying baby until they fall asleep in your arms so that the parents can go and worship?

Could it be leading a small group of 2nd graders to help them understand how much God loves them?

Could it be flipping switches on our tech team in that back where if we didn’t have people, our services wouldn’t happen?

Could it be having conversation with our online guests to welcome them and help them have the best online experience they can?

Could it be helping a new family walk from Guest Central to Kids Check in to help them feel calm and welcomed as they bring their kids to Harvester Kids?

There are so many opportunities for you to step out, in faith, and serve those coming to Harvester Christian Church.

The question is, will you?

If you are interested, let us know or join us for Discover Harvester on June 9th, here is a link – Discover Harvester –

January 10, 2024

in Discipleship, DTOTD, Jesus

by Brendon

0 Comments

DTOTD – Thought 1

” Behold, the dwelling place of God is with Man…..’ and Behold, I am coming soon……Behold, I am coming soon…….I, Jesus have snet my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches…..Surely, I am coming soon.” Rev. 21:3b, Rev. 22: 7a, 12a, 16a and 20b

Life.

What is it? Why is life the way it is? Where did life come from? How did we get here? What made the earth so beautiful? What made the earth so cruel? Is there a system for life? Is life random? Can we predetermine life? Can we determine our own outcome? Why does bad things happen to good people? These amongst others, are some of the most asked questions in history. These are questions that people have asked that have led to incredible discovery, adventure and knowledge.

I love a good question. One that makes you think and ponder and research and read and learn and underline until you come up with your own answer. Some of the questions listed above might be one of those questions for you. Maybe you have other questions that keep you up at night.

As my kids get older, the more inquisitive they become. They also are beginning to ask a lot more questions. Some good, some bad and some that just don’t make any sense. However, I am trying to foster a place in our home where questions are welcomed, which means I have to keep myself in check when one of those ridiculous questions comes out. One of those questions or maybe we can consider it a thought, was this….

” dad, can I really believe that God created the world when everything else tells me that it was something else other than God? “

I got to baptize my son a few years ago and part of me wonders if I should have waited, but part of me also knows that Jesus has his life in his hands and he is now learning and growing into his own belief. My role in his life now is to guide him always back to Jesus. We were lying in his bed before bedtime talking about this and we read out of his big encyclopedia on how the people that put the book together thought the earth was made.

And we began to talk about it more and more until we got to a point in the conversation where he understood that in order for him to really dive into his faith he had to wrestle with 5 words….

” In the beginning, God Created……”

The first five words of the bible. That is what my son was wrestling with. I have a feeling that most of us in our present context, feel the same way. We are all wrestling with whether or not there is a creator or whether this is a bang.

There are seasons of life where we will lean on our faith in an understanding of that God created life. But then there are seasons of life when we question the very reason for life. Some of us battle that question so hard that it leads us to unimaginable pain and confusion.

But if there is a first thought that we can have each and every day…..it might be a good way to start with this:

Thought 1 – God, desires to be with you.

Whatever the season of life that you are in, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are in a good season or a bad season, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are happy with what you see in the mirror or hate what you see in the mirror, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are in the job you love or a job you hate, God desires to be with you.

Each and every morning when you wake up and shake off the sleep grog, God desires to be with you.

Even when things are hard and you don’t know what is next, God desires to be with you.

If you are going to start your journey off with a thought, start with this one.

God, desires to be with you.

Let that be your rock.

Let that be your anchor.

Let than be your life line.

Let that be your compass.

Let that be your prayer.

November 7, 2023

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD

by Brendon

0 Comments

BUILDING

” He said to them, ” But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, ‘ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ” Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock, I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matt. 16:15-18

Each of us have a natural instinct to build.

Whether it be a child wanting to build a lego tower, fire house scene, kitchen scene, fantasy dream land, or even a fort on the couch. Maybe as a teenager it is building an identity or building friendships or building grades or building a foundation to drive or building knowledge for college. As an adult, we continue to want to build, whether it is a home, a family, a career, wealth, influence or maybe it is just building a tree house for your kids.

Building seems to be a natural process all throughout life. Building could be equated to work or learning or just getting older. There is something in the passage above that struck hard at a conference last week.

As Christians, we tend to fall into the same category of wanting to build things. We want to build our understanding of the Bible. We want to build our standing in the church. We want to build a place for us to call home.

The interesting part of building when it comes to church, is that it is not about you or me.

Building a church, is what Jesus said He would do.

The disciples are this point in their walk with Jesus, are maybe starting to grasp who it is they are walking with. We see in this passage in Matthew 16 that Simon Peter states it blankly and bluntly. Peter states, while they were standing in a place that was known as the gates of hell, it was a large rock opening that burned red due to sulfur under ground. But with boldness and clarity Peter claims that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God.

Jesus greets that answer with exclamation! Isn’t it interesting

There is another place where Jesus references building a space. In John 14, the beginning of the farewell Discourse that he is having with his disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus says this:

” Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare(build) a place for you?” – John 14:1-2

Not only is Jesus stating that here on Earth He is going to build HIS CHURCH, Jesus also states that He is building a room for anyone who believes.

As much as we try to control the areas that we can build in our every day lives, Jesus is working diligently behind the scenes building both the church and rooms in heaven.

Jesus will build HIS church. Not me.

Jesus will build HIS church. Not you.

Jesus will build HIS church. And the Gates of Hell shall never prevail.

Jesus will build a room…for you.

Jesus will build a room…for me.

Jesus will build a room…..for all to hear and accept the message of love and grace.

Jesus will….

Breath a deep breath knowing that not everything depends on you.

August 30, 2023

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, Guest Services, Local, Outreach

by Brendon

1 Comment

DTOTD – step out of the crowd

” …but it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but TO serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

It is really easy not to serve. Seriously. I get it. There are so many reasons that we could choose to not serve. Busyness. Calendars. Appointments. Homework. Dinner routines. Not sure where to serve. Not sure how to serve. Covid. Pandemics. Fear. Unsure of your place. It’s not for me. They don’t need me, they have plenty already.

I recently read an article by Danny Franks titled 4 Reasons Volunteering Within the Church is Crucial. In the article, he tells of a study, ” While 84% of respondents said their church encourages every adult to serve in some capacity, only 30% said they have personally served in the past year.” My upbringing was probably a little different than yours. I was born into this world with a pastor as a dad. One that was hard-working and passionate about what he did. My mom took the step to be a stay-at-home mom to raise me and my 3 siblings the best should could. But it also meant that we were at church a lot until maybe I could drive myself. But for some reason, I still showed up on Sunday mornings for church/youth group. I can remember being in middle school and going to help at church whether it was just to play with friends or to help run through drywall to take a wall down to revamp a space for students. As I entered high school, I was one that everyone knew and looked too. Not sure if I was the best person to always be looked to, but my youth pastor saw something in me that I did not know was there. He put me on stage to host our weekly youth services. He had me pray on stage. He had me lead group discussions. And after I graduated he helped me make the decision to go to bible college. Going to bible college was well, small and isolated. I went from living on the East Coast where I could drive to 2 of the largest metropolitan cities in the country, to finding myself surrounded by corn and bean fields. It was a world unlike anything I knew about growing up. It was flat and you could see as far as you wanted to. In this rural community, one thing remained true. Serving became something that not only was taught but it was expected. Every year in bible college there was a dedicated week to serve on a mission trip or in an area that you may have never been to. Serving on the weekends at local churches whether it was with adults, students, or kids was always welcomed. After graduating from bible college, my personal service became serving students full-time both on the East Coast and then back into the Midwest. Even when it came time to step away from full-time paid ministry, I knew God always called me to serve. Whether working in the church or in the business world there was no question that I would still make it a priority to serve in student ministry and eventually moving to the adult ministry.

Serving has always been something that has been there in my being. It has been ingrained in me to serve is to be Jesus to those around me. Even in my darkest, most confusing, most fearful moments of questioning what I was doing, where I was going, how I was going to be a good husband, how I was going to be a good dad, how I was going to provide and lead my family…..serving provided clarity of who I was and what I was supposed to be doing. Service to others didn’t take something away from me. It provided an anchor and a constant in my life.

There are a few things that I have learned about serving others that I want others to experience either for the first time or for someone stepping back into serving after a break.

Serving allows Jesus to work in you and through you – It is always interesting seeing in scripture, the rhythm that Jesus shows to his disciples. Serving always was part of what Jesus showed them for everyday living. In a recent cohort, Greg Curtis, the Guest Services Pastor at Eastside CC in Anaheim, CA, taught me this term – Outcome-based Discipleship. Essentially, this was all about the process of going and doing while learning and growing about Jesus. Hearing that phrase made me think about this idea that putting ourselves in places to serve not only allows us to show the love of Jesus to others, it allows Jesus to continue to mold us into his image.
Serving brings community – Have you been in a church where you just feel left out? Maybe it’s because at church you feel like just another face in the crowd. Can I encourage you to step out of the crowd? It is super easy and comfortable to come to church and just sit and sing and listen and sing and leave. I tried that, but it didn’t last long. Take a step out of the crowd and find out where you could serve. Whether it is inside the walls of the church or outside of the walls. When you take the step to serve, God will guide you to a place where you will find a community of people who will love you and care for you.
Jesus commanded us to do so – Not just in Mark 10:45, where Jesus says he did not come to be served but to serve but Jesus also shares in John 13, after getting on his hands and knees taking the place of a servant and washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus commands his disciples, ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as. I have loved you, you also are to love one another. BY THIS, ALL people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” ( John 13:34-35) Jesus did not say the commandment was to learn about him and sit on your butt and not do anything. Jesus did not that just going and attending a Sunday church service and going home is enough. Jesus said, love other people. Jesus commanded us to go into the world and tell others about his love and grace and to baptize those who believe. Jesus tells us that we are going to be his witnesses in our towns and regions and all over the world. Jesus tells us to pick up our own cross and follow Him daily. If we are to show love to others like Jesus showed to us, then that means we must step out, make sacrifices, and follow his calling to serve others.

” For you were called to freedom brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through Love, SERVE one another” – Galatians 5:13

God has huge plans for you, both in and through your life. You have the chance to be part of serving others to allow them to get to experience Jesus in a way they never have before or maybe for the first time ever. If you ever feel inadequate or maybe not ready or any of the other excuses we can use to stop us from serving you are not alone. Just look in scripture at all of the mess ups and the failures and the messed up people that God was able to use. Whether it is someone who tries to run away from God and ends up getting swallowed by a fish, or someone that follows Jesus for three years and then denies knowing him at all….those guys still gave testimony to who God is and brought about change in an entire city that was known for being crazy and the other is the one who leads the start of the early church.

In our weakness, God supplies strength. Take a step out of the crowd and see how you can serve those around you. Get ready to receive the blessings of knowing exactly you who are and your purpose no matter what.

August 9, 2023

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, Guest Services

by Brendon

0 Comments

DTOTD – Seasons

Seasons come. Seasons go.

That is the phrase and saying that we say about life. Have you ever used that phrase in a conversation with anyone?

Sometimes, that can bring a sense of peace to those that are working through a hard time or maybe even someone who is a season of plenty.

The interesting thing about that phrase is that it also pertains to our discipleship process.

In a conversation yesterday, along with a few others from across the country, a conversation centered around serving and what it means and how it is beneficial to our becoming like Jesus.

In this conversation, I was struck by something that was said by the leader of the cohort. He said this, ” People must serve to be discipled.”

Strong statement.

However, that statement is one that I would truly stand by. But…..

That statement does not mean that if you have a season of life come about that does not allow you to serve or is not the right time, then that season is for you to step away.

Jesus came to this earth to show love and grace and truth and to serve others, ultimately to give his own life as a sacrifice for ours on the cross.

The Gospel of Mark states in chapter 10, ” The son of man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”

We continually see Jesus serving and teaching and serving and teaching.

But there is something about Jesus’ life that can sometimes get overlooked. That in reality might not be nearly as long as what we think about it, but there are times when Jesus need to have a moment of rest or retreat from the continual serving that He did.

Multiple times in the Gospel we see Jesus retreat to a quiet, desolate or place of loneliness to be alone with his heavenly father. He would go to be quiet and to pray and to reset his heart.

In our lives, we all have those seasons. Where we feel an immense pressure to serve or succeed or to do things. But in those seasons we also seem to feel the weight of serving more and more.

Jesus said this in Matthew 11: ” Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When you find yourself in a season where you are overwhelmed and feel an immense burden of responsibility……maybe it is time to take a season of rest.

I was once asked the question, ” Brendon, are you having fun with what you are doing?” The question came at a very weird time in my life, one that I was not ready for or expecting. However that question led to one of the darkest but yet life giving seasons of my life. The follow up to my answer, ” I think I am.” was this….” That’s good. Because if you are not having fun with what you are doing, then it might be time to take a step back and find the next thing God has planned for you.”

It takes a lot of courage and patience and prayer to follow that guidance to take a step away. Especially if you are taking a step back to reconnect with God in a way that you have not had time to do so.

But if you do find yourself in a season of stepping back, do not fill the time with other things.

Fill the time that you used serving, with a chance to run to Jesus and allow him to embrace you and give you the rest you need.

Season come. Seasons go.

Jesus’ peace and rest is always available.

June 27, 2023

in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, HCC, Local

by Brendon

0 Comments

DTOTD – The Lost Art of _______

” Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ” What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, ” he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’ – because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” – Acts 17:18

There are a lot of things in our world that seem to be mystifying. Things that blow our minds as to why they happen, or where they happen or when they will happen next. There are also things in our world that shock us more than we can comprehend. Like when someone does something good for someone else, or someone helps someone else for no apparent reason. In the book of Acts, we see that the spread of the Gospel is a mystifying event. It is something that is so different to people that it draws them in to listen. It captures the attention of people that like to sit around and talk all day long. It attracts conversation with people of all sort of backgrounds and history and literacy rates.

In this current section of Acts 17, we see that Paul is by himself in the city of Athens, waiting for the other disciples and crew that were traveling with Paul to catch up to him after they made Paul flee from Berea, the last city they were in. Paul found himself with an urge and push from the Holy Spirit to talk with the people of Athens and all of a sudden Paul finds himself in the middle of one of the largest conversations he could have found himself in.

” So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said ” Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription ‘ TO the unknown God’. What therefore you worship as unknown , this is I proclaim to you…..” Acts 17:22 & 23

What I love about Paul and the way that he interacts with people of different cultures and cities and backgrounds, is that he takes the time to know them, before he introduces them to anything new. Sometimes it takes longer than others. But here we see that Paul finds himself in a surrounded space with people that literally sit and talk all day long about religion and gods and anything else they can muster up a conversation about.

There is no where to do that in todays world. If you track along with Paul and his missionary journey’s throughout the book of Acts, you will see that it is full of conversations that he is having with other people. Whether the people accept what he has to say is another question, but there is something that Paul has that seems to have been lost over time. Something that would really change the way that life could react and respond too if we all took the time to do this…

There is a lost art of listening to each other in our culture.

We live in a world that demands to be right and demands to be the best. No matter what it might be, whether it is a work promotion, adult recreational basketball league game, kids swim meet, or how good your lawn looks compared to your neighbor that you don’t particularly care for. We live in a world that demands a certain amount of callousness versus porousness towards one another.

What I love about the rise of Christianity and the spread of the Gospel, is that it was determined on the ability of the disciples to be bold in what they believed, which was that Jesus is the son of God and he died and rose again for the forgiveness of sins and that Jesus is coming back. But they also had the ability to listen to those people that were sent too. They did not take offense to each and every single person that said something against what they believed, they listened and either decided to move on like Jesus commanded them too back in Matthew 10. But they listened before they approached.

What would it look like if we took that approach in today’s world?

If we fully listened to another person or another party and instead of jumping at the first chance to we have to prove them wrong or to show our disdain to what they said, we listened all the way through the conversation and gave the other party some dignity even if we don’t believe everything they say.

The lost art of listening to each other could change the way we view everything.

Instead of seeing just the billboards or the ideologies being pushed through tv shows or books or memes or whatever media. Instead of seeing someone wearing something different than you and you immediately judging them, instead of jumping to conclusions of why someone went to a place that you would never go, instead of a blasting someone on facebook for supporting something….

what if we started an open-hearted conversation and listened to each other?

” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, ” We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed. among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Acts 17: 32-34

Even the people of Athens that were intrigued at what Paul was teaching wanted to ‘ hear ‘ more about what Paul was talking about. And in the end, their ability to listen by Paul and their willingness to listen to the message of the Gospel, Dionysius goes on to lead the church of Athens and is now considered a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. There is a very large difference in a conversation between hearing and listening.

When you find yourself in a conversation, try listening, wholeheartedly. Better yet, the next time you spend time in prayer with God, try this…..

Just listen for his still and quiet voice.

May 16, 2023

in Church, DTOTD, Outreach

by Brendon

0 Comments

I saw a reel

“……that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by him this man is standing before you well.” – Peter from Acts 4:10b

I saw a reel today…

How many times have you said this in a conversation? As our culture shifts to more and more of a digital landscape, seeing the bits that a reel provides, has started to shape the way we view the world. It shows the highlights and maybe sometimes shows the vulnerability that we as humans tend to show much more seldomly.

The book of Acts is one that is intriguing and one that provides a ” reel ” into what the early church operated as. A place of belonging and love and forgiveness and grace and teaching and sharing and eating and being with one another. It gives us a view into the world that the apostles and those that followed Jesus, both during his life and those that came to believe in Jesus after the Ascension to Heaven. It gives us a glimpse into what the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do.

” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…..” Acts 4: 8a

” And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…..and at this sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language and they were amazed and astonished….” Acts 2:4 and 6-7a

” And they were all filled the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31b

Imagine what the Instagram or TikTok world would look like if these were the reels that people saw?

Imagine what our world would look like if these were the reels that we saw on a daily basis?

The book of Acts shows us also that this group of believers, a very small group of believers, made waves of impact. In todays culture, making an impact in the world is much harder than ever. There is an ever growing conception that the church is not useful or the church is not relevant. But in todays world, the church, might be the most important gathering place of all. There are culture wars, there are political wars, there are actual wars where people are dying, there are wars in our schools over what is needed and what is not, there are wars in our neighborhoods about what should be allowed and what shouldn’t be. There are wars in our own homes that can lead to devastating outcomes.

I saw a reel, just earlier today with a young person challenging a pastor about repentance. Her question was a valid one, it went something like this, ” what good is repentance if you just stated that we are all going to suffer no matter what? Why should I repent if I am still going to face suffering?” The pastors response was received, whether or not the young person believed him is another question. The pastor, filled with the Holy Spirit began to speak about the hope and the light at the end of the suffering that as a Christian we have, that when we give our lives to Jesus and we allow him to be a part of the suffering, that there is hope that those that do not believe in Jesus just don’t have.

” And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Here is a reel for you….

I saw a reel and went something like this:

” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

You have the same Holy Spirit as Peter and John and the rest of the believers of the Early Church. You have the same Holy Spirit that fills you with a boldness that gives you power and strength to speak the truth in love and grace. You have the same Holy Spirit in you that gives you access to the creator and author of Life. You have the same Holy Spirit that brings life back from the dead. You have the same Holy Spirit that heals wounds. You have the same Holy Spirit that mends relationships. You have the same Holy Spirit that carries in tough times. You have the same Holy Spirit that gives light to the darkness.

I saw a reel, that showed the church rise up in a way that no one expects to unleash love and hope and grace and truth in a world that needs more and more of all of those.

The book of Acts is a reel…of how some uneducated and common people took the message of Jesus to a culture that did everything it could to stop the spread of that reel. What that culture didn’t know….

is the that the reel would continue to spread to the ends of the earth and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

discipleship Tag

From the HCC Outreach Team: