Dear Church Family,
I have bridges on the brain. Specifically, I want to build them with YOU, YOUR GROUP and our SHOWING PROJECT PARTNERS. I hope that you won’t miss the SHOWING FAIR on Sunday, May 5.
“Building Bridges Inside and Out” means:
• All our people GROWING in groups
• Our groups SHOWING God’s love; and
• Our church KNOWING how God is working
By the way, I didn’t have time last week to write the normal, forward-looking Pastor’s Blog, and so here’s a retrospective one.
If you heard yesterday’s message, you know that TODAY, Monday, April 15, is Day #1 of the Love Like Crazy Challenge. (I hope you have a Phil. 1:9 reminder band on your wrist, dashboard, desk or dresser.) As you’ll remember, the Apostle Paul commanded the whole church family at Philippi AND the whole church family at 10885 N. Stelling Rd. to “join in imitating” him and his cross-friendly pals (Phil. 3:17). Here’s the first of 104, “Paul-style” inspirations from each verse in Philippians:
Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.” So…
1: 4/15 (1:1) Today we’ll grab towels and say, “We’re butlers, caregivers and waiters for the Lord.”
Here’s the last thing on my mind: an AMAZING COLORING PAGE that my friend Kristen Adams designed for us. It illustrates Phil. 3:20-21. Notice the present state of drab Old Earth on the lower half of the page, full of injustice, greed, violence and godlessness. However, that’s not the whole story, because the crucified, buried and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ has ascended and reigns over all. That’s reality. If we believe, then we belong to HIS HEAVENLY WORLD. What’s more, those citizenship papers give us a world of confidence to live HIS WAY until THIS COLONY becomes HIS COUNTRY when OUR KING comes out of heaven.
And he will. As Phil. 3:20-21 tells us, Jesus himself will personally reconfigure our beaten up, cross-carrying bodies to be like his radiant and unbreakable one. Look, the transformation is starting…
Jesus is coming…
Now he’s here and he’s brought heaven with him! (Hellish conditions are gone for good.) Look below at the happy people on the bottom right who have gained Christ, been found in him and resurrected.
Please let me know if you’d like a blank coloring page for your family. Finally, I’m looking forward to seeing you at Good Friday Service at 7:00 PM and Easter Services at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM.
With eager anticipation for that last picture (Phil. 3:20),
Darren