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Worship September 2017

Church Family,

I hope this month finds you well as we are heading into the Fall season. It’s been a great season of ministry, and I am thankful to God for how He continues to move in our lives and our church! On a personal note, I want to thank you all for praying for Annaclaire and I as we have welcomed our new daughter, Presley, into the world. She is now  approaching two months of age, and she is so loved! We want to thank you for loving our family so well through this season. We are so thankful that Presley has this church family to grow up with, and we know she will be raised up in the Lord, to know Him and to know His love for her. Thank you all for every meal you made, every kind of word, and every prayer. We are so grateful!

On another note, I must confess, being a father is not as easy as I thought it would be. I knew there would be challenges, and I knew there would be hurdles, but just like every father, I want to be the perfect father for my daughter! I never want to mess up. I want to be there every second, doing exactly what I need to do in order to take care of her. Before she was born, I told myself I would demand perfection from  myself. She deserved for me to be perfect. So how do you think this worked out? I’ll tell you - the whole idea of being perfect was given up the second I held her. I figured out quickly, and I know now, that I cannot be perfect. I will do everything I possibly can, to be the best father I can be, but I am not perfect. I will mess up. Our daughter will cry, and as much as I want to fix it immediately, there’s not always much I can do. Sometimes all I can do is hold her close, let her cry, and do my best to comfort her. After all, she is a baby who hasn’t quite learned how to control her emotions yet! And as I think about perfection, and how far away I am from being perfect on every level, as a husband, father, friend, pastor, I miss the mark everyday. But I am thankful that I am loved by my Heavenly Father, who is perfect. Our daughter is loved by our Heavenly Father, who is perfect. As I continue to try and be this perfect father, and as I mess up, I want to live my life to point to my heavenly father who is perfect in every way. I want to point to our   Savior, Jesus, who gave himself up for the sins of the world. Jesus is our great High Priest. He is our Good Father. He is our Perfect Savior. So I hope that I can encourage you to understand that you will not be perfect. But you have a Perfect Savior, who is a Good Father. He knows what you need. He provides what you need. So I encourage to live your life, not as one trying to be perfect, but as one who is pointing to a Perfect Savior in Jesus.

Jared

Spiritual Development September 2017

Principles for Living with Gospel Purpose

At the most recent Growth Initiative weekend we talked about how to live with gospel purpose.  This simply means that you are living your life with the intention of building relationships with others so that you are able to share with them the truth of the gospel and  invite them to repent and believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.  For most Christians this may seem very intimidating because we tend to freak out when we think about sharing the gospel with others.  At this last weekend, we looked at some principles from the book Sharing Jesus without Freaking Out by Dr. Alvin Reid that help us think about evangelism correctly. 

 Here are a few of those principles that we examined:

1. God created you for his glory, to advance his gospel with the gifts, talents, and opportunities he gave to you.
2. In order to share Jesus confidently and consistently with others, first share him confidently and consistently with yourself.
3. Shifting from giving an evangelistic presentation to having an evangelistic conversation takes pressure off the witness and relates the gospel more clearly to an unbeliever.
4. God has sovereignly placed you in this world at this time with the abilities and gifts you have to bring glory to him and show the joy of the gospel with others.
5. Effective evangelistic conversations connect the unchanging gospel with the specific issues people face.
6. Expect people to be open to the gospel, and learn to share Jesus where they live.
7. Talk to the actual person in front of you about Jesus inside of you; let them see and hear the change Jesus makes in you.
8. Developing a lifestyle of sharing Jesus consistently flows out of a plan to share Jesus regularly.

As we think about reaching those in our homes, our churches, our workplaces, and our communities, these principles help us to see that sharing Jesus should be a natural part of our new lives in Christ.  We also shared about a tool called the 3 Circles Life Conversation Guide that helps you begin gospel conversations with other people.  For more information about this tool, you can download their app, visit their website at lifeonmissionbook.com, or check out the book Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations by Jimmy Scroggins and Steve Wright..

 At the conclusion of the last session of this weekend, we challenged people to think of one person that you know needs to hear the gospel and to pray for opportunities to share with that person in the upcoming weeks.  I would encourage everyone to do this same thing and be open to the opportunities that God will give you to share with anyone that comes your way.