Our Role 11am

Details (11AM)

October 8, 2023 • Curt McFarland • Acts 17:16–28

Before I turned 16, I was given a car. More precisely it was a 1966 VW Squareback with a broken engine and transmission. My first task was to rebuild the engine. I was given little instruction. I pulled the engine out, tore it apart, read the repair manual, and put it back together. When I turned the key, it only popped, banged, and wheezed. After several hours of trying to get it to run, someone who knew VW’s asked me, “when you put the engine together did you put the dot on the camshaft (the internal part that operates the valves) in-between the two dots on the crankshaft (the internal part that moves the pistons up and down)? I had overlooked that detail! I took the engine out again, tore it apart again, lined up the dots, put it back together again, put it in again. It fired right up. Details are important. For the past three Sundays we’ve talked about an uncomfortable subject: Christian evangelism. I’ve stressed the importance of trusting the Holy Spirit, listening to Him, waiting until He provides an opportunity, and then taking a little risk (walking across a room literally or figuratively), entering into a conversation, and being ready to share why you’re a Christian when the person asks. When we do that evangelism is easy, natural, fun. We do not need to force the conversation. We simply listen and then follow, confident the Holy Spirit is present, already preparing them for what we will say. This Sunday is the last in our evangelism series. Today it’s about the details: 1) What should I say? 2) How should I say what I should say? and 3) What happens next? I hope what’s provided this morning is practical and helpful as we pray, listen for the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and walk across rooms as He prompts us to, walking with courage, excitement, and genuine compassion. Walking together, Curt

Details (9AM)

October 8, 2023 • Curt McFarland • Acts 17:16–28

Before I turned 16, I was given a car. More precisely it was a 1966 VW Squareback with a broken engine and transmission. My first task was to rebuild the engine. I was given little instruction. I pulled the engine out, tore it apart, read the repair manual, and put it back together. When I turned the key, it only popped, banged, and wheezed. After several hours of trying to get it to run, someone who knew VW’s asked me, “when you put the engine together did you put the dot on the camshaft (the internal part that operates the valves) in-between the two dots on the crankshaft (the internal part that moves the pistons up and down)? I had overlooked that detail! I took the engine out again, tore it apart again, lined up the dots, put it back together again, put it in again. It fired right up. Details are important. For the past three Sundays we’ve talked about an uncomfortable subject: Christian evangelism. I’ve stressed the importance of trusting the Holy Spirit, listening to Him, waiting until He provides an opportunity, and then taking a little risk (walking across a room literally or figuratively), entering into a conversation, and being ready to share why you’re a Christian when the person asks. When we do that evangelism is easy, natural, fun. We do not need to force the conversation. We simply listen and then follow, confident the Holy Spirit is present, already preparing them for what we will say. This Sunday is the last in our evangelism series. Today it’s about the details: 1) What should I say? 2) How should I say what I should say? and 3) What happens next? I hope what’s provided this morning is practical and helpful as we pray, listen for the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and walk across rooms as He prompts us to, walking with courage, excitement, and genuine compassion. Walking together, Curt

Our Role 9am

October 1, 2023 • Curt McFarland • John 9

I can be so impatient. I want quick answers, quick results, quick fixes. This isn’t just with things … it’s with challenges in my life. I look for a shortcut to fix a health issue, a financial issue, a quirk in my personality, a relationship I’m in, a spiritual need I have. And I’m not much better with others. Someone shares a problem they’re facing and I think up a fast acting three-step solution. It's become increasingly clear to me, God has patiently emphasized, that people are more complicated than cars, computers, or cats (I was searching for a third “c”). When I’m given the privilege of talking with someone about a problem, they’re struggling with I need to 1) pray, 2) trust that God is, and will be, the source of any lasting change, 3) recognize my contribution may be one piece in a much larger process. This morning is the third of four Sunday teachings on evangelism. Do we listen to the Holy Spirit, and then do what He asks us to do, even if it isn’t the biggest, or (in our eyes) the most important aspect of the work God is doing in someone’s life? More and more … I hope I do, you too. I want to grow in patience, in my trust of God, in grace. We listen to the Holy Spirit, Walk Across the Room, enter the adventure.

Grace of Christ

Our Role 11am

Details (11AM)

October 8, 2023 • Curt McFarland • Acts 17:16–28

Details (9AM)

October 8, 2023 • Curt McFarland • Acts 17:16–28

Our Role 9am

October 1, 2023 • Curt McFarland • John 9