Keep The Doors Open

There is an old saying in the church-"Keep the lights burning". Historically the church was one of the places in town that had electricity. The thought was that especially on the weekend if you kept the lights burning and especially on a Sunday night the community would join in. And for a time that worked. Most people in the Andover area have electricity in their homes and so now the church is expected to have electricity. Apparently electricity is no longer novel.(And neither are Sunday night services) Bizarre how things change.

So how do we as a people of God, communicate the timeless message of Jesus our generation? How do we Keep the Doors open so people can see the grace and goodness of Jesus and experience his life in their own lives. Honestly it's a big question, one every generation has had to answer. The first time we see the Church wrestle with his question is in Acts 15. It is a fascinating passage that moves from principle to people. Take some time to read Acts 15 before the weekend. Ask these two questions. 1. What doors is God opening for me(or the church) in sharing his love to those around me? 2. What attitudes or actions do I have that work to close doors for me(or the church) in sharing his love to those around me?

"...they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." Acts 14:27

It's God's way of grace to use us to "open doors of faith" to many who have yet responded to the Gospel Message. I want to encourage you to continue to Pray and Watch. Expecting God to "open the door of faith" so those you know and love will experience an "open door of faith" in their lives. As you Pray and Watch ask God to openly reveal all the doors of opportunity and faith he is asking you to walk through. I am convinced I miss doors of opportunity everyday because I am not "watching" as I should.

Pray and Watch Prayer: Father, please send your Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of these people.(name them) Draw them to Jesus and make them kingdom workers.

What a great time of the year. Many around you are asking "fall questions". Should I go to church somewhere?? Should I get my kids involved in Sunday School, Youth group?? Should I join a group?? Let people know you are diving in. Ask them to dive in with you. I believe God blesses each one of us with many opportunities to "open a door of faith" for those we associate with daily. KEEP THE DOORS OPEN!

I Look forward to seeing you this weekend.

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Church-A Team endeavor!

I hope you are enjoying the last weeks of Minnesota summer! Just like MN-we go from 90's to 70's and all of the sudden I need a blanket. So enjoy. BUT--don't forget to pursue our Lord in the different paces of summer. Paul writes "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord....I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.....Phil. 3:8-10. I don't think there is ever a time we should feel comfortable putting Jesus and our walk of faith "on the shelf for a while".

I had opportunity to contemplate this scripture a bit last week. Several things challenged me concerning living this out on a daily basis. One thought challenged me concerning both now and eternity. What if this is the whole standard of expectation and evaluation. Will I be eternally evaluated on my passion for knowing Christ and letting that saturate my whole being.

I want to encourage you to consider how that will be worked in your life this year. How will you grow toward knowing Christ fully???? "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Col 1:20

This weekend: We will continue our study in Acts by looking at chapter's 13-14. This is Paul's First Missionary Journey and marks the beginning of the Gospel message saturating all nations. As we consider the Gospel message saturating our city we see the importance of the Body and the power of a team. Most of us recognize that few accomplisments in life are done alone. This is true of the church as well. The Gospel will never saturate the ends of the earth or every city in our county and world until the church works in unity. It's exciting to see how our gifts can be used in a team to see the Gospel spread to every area of our county and world.

See You this weekend!

God Bless

Pastor Randy

Alive

Last week I told you about a recommended new technique for CPR. Here is a place to watch. It's about five minutes and will probably come in handy some day. And yes you will have to download the Bee Gees song on your own--

http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

I find it interesting that we can learn a simple technique that can save a physical life-but don't often think about the fact that we can carry the message of Christ wherever we go and can have an eternal impact. What a blessing we can be to those we are in contact with during the daily routines of life. This truly does take life from ordinary to extra-ordinary.

This week we will see an incident in Peter's life where he is called by God to be involved with something and someone he is not sure about. His heart is definitely not into the call he receives but responds anyhow. I think eventually he is glad he said YES. Read all about this incident in Acts 10-11:18.

Whatever you do today--Spend some time reading God's Word. You will never be sorry.

Look forward to seeing you all this weekend.

God BLess

Pastor Randy