What is in that bag on your back?
We all have it… that pack slung across our shoulders. What's in it? Does it weigh us down making every step harder and the journey longer? Or is it full of what we need? And not just what we need for the journey, but so much more? Always something that supports and empowers us. Think for a moment about what sits on your shoulders. Does it push you down or pull you up?
Take a moment and read 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1. Ignore for a second the specific first century Corinthian issues pastor Paul is addressing and look at the basic worldview principles he is explaining. Do you live in a world of scarcity or abundance? How you answer that question will shape every part of your life. Scarcity or abundance? In your marriage? In your health? In your finances? In your parenting? In your vocation?
Scarcity or abundance? What do you think Jesus wants you to know about the nature of his world that we live in? Meditate on 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1, pray through it, struggle with it, and listen for the Spirit. What is he saying to us?
I can't wait to worship together.
Pastor David
Taste and See
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
May 13, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs
Resurrection
August 19, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs
Is it really that important? "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 and 19). All of Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. This event is the very fulcrum of history. If Jesus stays in the grave he joins the ranks of the many failed would be messiahs of his day. Instead Jesus rises in victory and the world is never the same. We are never the same. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our rescue from sin and death, and the renewal of God’s good creation. All of 1 Corinthinans has been building to this powerful articulation of the centrality of the resurrection. This Sunday we will focus on the reasons why we can have confidence in the historical reality of Jesus rising from the dead and begin to explore how it really does change everything. I look forward to worshiping together this Sunday. Pastor David
Learn and Be Encouraged
August 12, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs
Read two things: All of 1 Corinthians 14 and the below excerpt from Annie Dillard. "On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. " Now read, meditate on and pray through 1 Corinthians 14. In what ways could we all come to worship this Sunday with greater expectations and deeper preparation for God to speak? I can't wait to worship together. Pastor David
Then Face to Face
August 5, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs
How do you know that? The Corinthians prided themselves on their knowledge about spiritual things, and it made them miserable people. As they grew more knowledgeable, sophisticated, and experienced as followers of Jesus, they grew less loving, more divisive, and toxic to the people around them. This is terrifying to me. How can we avoid hurting ourselves and those we love in our pursuit of knowing God? Read, meditate on, and pray through 1Corinthinans 13:8-13. May we learn together how to love each other well, even as we too grow in our knowledge, sophistication, and experience. I can't wait to worship together. Pastor David