Pastor Roger's Blog

Jesus in HD - A Passion To Serve

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Jesus in HD - A Life of Worship

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October 24, 2008

Hi Friends,

                One morning this week I found myself awakened around 3:30am.  Unable to go back to sleep I decided to get up and begin my day with some quiet time with the Lord.  I was drawn to Psalms 4 as I remembered something I had read the night before.  At first I focused on verse 4: “In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent”.  I am not aware that I am feeling anger but I was intrigued by the instruction to search my heart and be silent.  There are challenging realities facing our Deer Flat family, whether economic and financial, relational, emotional, physical and more.  Rather than becoming anxious I think the Lord was calling me – perhaps calling us as this verse is written in the plural as if addressing the community of believers – to spend more time in silence and in His presence. 

I then began to look at the rest of the chapter.  Verse 5 speaks of trusting the Lord.  Verse 6 asks that the light of God’s face might shine upon us.  And then in verse 7 I read this: “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound”.  I wondered if this was a word from the Lord for our Deer Flat family for such a time as this.  This is not a time of abundance.  Sadly our economy may even get worse before it gets better.  But David the Psalmist writes from his experience that God can give us joy – a joy even greater than in times of abundance.  A joy that is not limited to times of economic blessing.

Hard times?  Yes.  Will things get even worse?  Possibly.  But as we keep our eyes on Jesus there is a joy that can be ours in spite of our circumstances.  May the Lord help me – and our Deer Flat family – to live out this joy and trust we see in verse 8: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”.

This Sunday, October 26^th we continue our series on “Jesus in High Definition”  with a message taken from Luke 22:24-27 on “A Passion to Serve”.  Jesus modeled a passion for one and a compassion for all.  I invite you to join us at 9:30 or 11:00am this Sunday as we consider together how to be more like Jesus.

A friend,

Roger

October 17, 2008

Hi Friends,

                This Sunday, October 19^th, we continue our series on “Jesus in High Definition” with a message on “A Life of Worship”.  Pastor Samuel and I will be team preaching, with a special guest.  Life changes when we have an authentic encounter with God!  Have you ever had what you would consider to be an authentic experience with God?  I think most of us are tired of boring and meaningless religion.  What we need and long for is an authentic encounter with God that changes us from the inside out.  Nobody I know needs more religion.  Religions are a dime a dozen and religious experiences are offered by a number of scam artists.  But what we want is an authentic encounter with the living God.  Our staff prays and works week after week so that we can create a worship experience that allows us our best opportunity to experience God every Sunday morning when we come into the Deer Flat “family room” of worship.  Pastor Samuel and I believe we have a word from the Lord for us on living  a life of worship.  I hope you can join us.

I want to encourage you to check out a couple of movies.  The first is “Fireproof”.  It is a low budget box office success, with a powerful message on protecting our marriages.  The second movie is “Call + Response” – a documentary with gripping images from the brothels of Cambodia to the brick kilns of India.  This film exposes the fact that there are more slaves in the world today—some 27 million—than at any previous time in history. All the profits from this film’s ticket, music, and DVD sales will go to projects designed to end trafficking or help former slaves get a new start.

Life changes when we have an authentic encounter with God.  Living a life of worship is strengthened as I am mindful of what the Spirit of God is doing in our world today.  Worship One!

A friend,

Roger

Jesus in HD - Introducing Jesus To Our World

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October 10, 2008

Hi Friends,

                This Sunday, October 12^th, we will continue our series on “Jesus in High Definition”.  I will be speaking on “Introducing Jesus” from John 12:21.  Life changes when we introduce people to Jesus.  Life changes for us and for those we bring to Jesus.  Recent studies show that one-half of American churches reported no new conversions this past year and two-thirds of American churches are either plateaued or in decline.  Why are so many churches today boring and lifeless and why are so many Christians today powerless and joyless?  I believe it has something to do with the flame of our passion to bring people to Jesus.  In my message for this Sunday we will be studying the story of Andrew who spent his unassuming life bringing people to Jesus.  While his brother Peter became a great leader in the church, Andrew is remembered fondly for his faithfulness in introducing people to Jesus.

                This past week is being described as the worst ever on Wall Street.  Some have lost millions in stock investments.  Some have lost their life savings.  Confidence in our financial system has been deeply eroded.  Global markets around the world are reeling.  The fear that grips Wall Street has now spread to main streets across our nation.  Here in the Treasure Valley many are feeling the profound effects of the economic downturn.  Some are out of work while others hope to keep their job.  Others are grateful to have a job while at the same time finding it harder and harder to make ends meet with higher gas prices and heating prices and grocery prices.  As a staff we are praying for our Deer Flat families and the financial challenges many are faced with.  We are looking for ways to help one another as we are able.  The financial challenge is also impacting our church budget.  We are making adjustments in our budget for the rest of the year and into 2009.

Having said all of that, I want to invite us to keep our eyes on Jesus.  He is not anxiously pacing across heaven wringing His hands and asking what He should do next!  Jesus is still Lord of the Church. 

This Sunday we will show a video portraying the devastating floods in Haiti in recent weeks.  As difficult and real as our problems are, there are others living with even greater problems.  This Sunday we will take a special offering inviting those who are able to give for the great need among our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

This is a time for us to be the church – for one another and for our world.  This is who we are and why we are here as a Deer Flat family – to be like Jesus and help others be like Jesus.  Thank you for your faithfulness.

A friend,

Roger

Jesus In High Definition

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October 3, 2008

Hi Friends,

                This Sunday, October 5^th, we will have Bishop Matt Thomas with us.  Bishop Matt will be joined by his wife Marlene and their daughter in law Chelsea.  Bishop Matt will bring a message from John 3:30 on “Getting Small”.  I am looking forward to his message as we consider how to become less so that Jesus can become greater in our lives and in our world.  As a part of our worship services, Chelsea has given us her blessing to bring a video tribute to her late husband Mitch.  One of my favorite stories from Mitch’s memorial service last weekend came from a time a few years ago when Mitch was living in Annapolis, MD with some friends.  One of his roommates came back into their apartment one morning and awakened Mitch to tell him that there was a homeless man sleeping in Mitch’s car.  Mitch rubbed his eyes and said, “I thought my change had been disappearing lately.  That’s okay.  Tell him I have to be at work by 11:00am and he just needs to be out of my car by then.”  Mitch’s friends said that this homeless man began to take up “residence” in Mitch’s car for some time after that. 

                When we are born, we cry and the world rejoices.  Our goal should be to live in such a way that when we die, we rejoice and the world cries.  I invite you to join us this Sunday as we ask Jesus to show us how to become more like Him for our world today.

A friend,

Roger