Greenlaw Baptist

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."  Galatians 5:22-23

What a Christian Looks Like . . .

As I entered Greenlaw Baptist I felt a sense of peace.  The congregation welcomed me in with a warmness surpassing the other churches I have attended thus far.  Let me describe the welcome so you understand what I mean. A typical welcome at the churches I have visited so far is a firm handshake from a greeter or two and a bulletin. Conversely, at Greenlaw I was greeted and warmly welcomed not only by the greeters but by everyone that I made eye contact with. Later in the service, during another typical church ritual of greeting someone before you sit down for the sermon, (which is often lost in most churches with a insincere hand shake an apparent sense of duty) I was greeted with warm smiles and at least three people grabbed  my hand to "warm it up for me".   My hands were a little cold today.

I sat in the last row (as usual) and felt like I was surrounded by a very kind and loving congregation. From reading the weekly activities in the bulletin and listening to the pastor's sermon I discovered that this church is encouraged to allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in their lives.  I don't know about you but I would like to attend a church full of loving, kind, gentle, patient, and faithful people. Surely, I would like others to think of me in the same way.

I was encouraged in my faith this week and challenged to walk the same way.  I ask myself and encourage you to reflect: Am I doing my part at my church to ensure that our visitors feel the same way?  Are the fruit of the spirit apparent in my own life?   Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell in me and use me as he wills?  I teach it in Sunday School but am I living it?

Continue to pray for Greenlaw Baptist pray that they step out in faith and use that kindness to further God's kingdom. 
   

I had a dream...

When I attended First Assembly I spoke with a member of the congregation who told me that I should visit the Presbyterian Church she had attended previously.  I figured that was as much a word from God as anything, so I wrote it down for the next available date which was suppose to be last weeks service.  Because of a family commitment I had to change my plans and move that visit to this weeks service. 

So I had every intention of going to the Presbyterian Church tomorrow but I had a dream last night and will be going to Greenlaw Baptist this week instead.  In the words of Paul to the church in Rome:

"I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you(but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. "   Romans 1:13 

To the Presbyterian Church, I promise I am still coming, the Lord willing, next week

Back to my dream....

I dreamt that the pastor of Greenlaw Baptist is praying for a miracle, and is expecting by faith for God to answer his prayers. 

I believe that God gave me this dream because he would like to provide for the church of Green Law Baptist.  I will be praying for their Spiritual, Physical, and Financial growth and asking for God's blessing on this church.  This church is struggling and needs our prayers.  As I attend I would encourage them to remember the promise of  Romans 5:3-5

"...More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Stay strong church and remember the calling that we are to be a light to this world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.  God will provide if we are doing his will.

Christ Church of Flagstaff

"Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  Luke 12:48b

Everyone in who lives in Flagstaff, knows that CCoF (as it is fondly called) is one of the largest, if not the largest church in town.  The congregation is at least 800 and currently they have 4 services with at least 2-3 hundred people in each service.

As I walked into the sanctuary I already had some preconceptions:

1.  Big churches are filled with people who come to church once a week so they can feel better about themselves for the rest of the week. 
2.  No one is going to talk to me and I should be able to sit in the back without any problem, do God's business and get on with the rest of my weekend. 
3. I'd be amazed if anyone even brought a bible.

...needless to say I was not in the right mindset

As I began to worship I asked God to help me pray and help me to seek his will for CCoF. And that is when it hit me.  Do you realize how much God could use these people?  Do you realize the impact this one church could have on the City of Flagstaff if they could lay "self" down and let God use them.   As I stood there, I was overwhelmed with this excitement and felt the my heart urging them on,  crying out for them to respond to the "Whisper of the Holy Spirit."   Lord help them to have the courage to be your hands and feet.

It gives me confidence every time God confirms my reason for attending listen to this:

Worship ended and a young man stood up and quoted Matthew 9:37-38

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.""  

WOW!!! 

This church, like so many of the churches in town has devoted the month of January to hearing God's whispers and acting when God leads you to do something.  If you have not read the book The Power of a Whisper by Billy Hybels please do!  I have posted a link to his website.  Today the pastor urged his congregation to listen to God and to do his work and to expect great things when we follow God's will. Clearly the leadership in this church understands what God is trying to do.  Hopefully the people respond. 

Pray for the congregation at CCoF as they create Neighborhood Groups designed to reach out to each neighborhood in Flagstaff.  Pray for a passion for the lost and the strength to act when God calls. 

This is not a Critique!

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time."  1 Timothy 2:1-6

I must admit.  I have belonged to one denomination my entire life.  I have been a member of only three churches (Calvary Foursquare, Sonrise Foursquare, and Canyon Chapel Foursquare) and only had 3 pastors (Rev. Fred Dawson, Rev. Phillip Laswell, and Pastor Rich Taylor.)  I have grown accustom to the teaching, leading and worship styles of these three godly men.   I realize that these are not the only men on this planet or in Flagstaff for this matter that hear from God and obey his leading. And our God who, in his great wisdom placed these men in their respective churches to minister to the needs of their individual congregations.  

I believe that in this process God is helping me to see the judgements I use and will help me to overcome them.  I pray that the Lord would move in his timing and his judgement as he so chooses and will have me  pray as he would lead me to.  It is not for me to determine the correct worship style, or the correct way to preach,  therefore you will not see me critiquing any of this.

To clarify one matter: I will correct any teachings that are not consistent with the word of God and back this up with scripture as I see a need and God leads.

Please pray with me that this ministry would be one of unity and that I would be able to be a blessing to the Body of Christ as I take this journey.

Flagstaff Christian Fellowship.

During the worship service at FCF this week we sang the song " Create in me a clean heart; O' Lord".  A lovely hymn based on Pslams chapter 51.   The words go like this:

Create in me a clean heart o' Lord and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast not your Holy Spirit from me. 
Restore in me the joy of my salvation
Renew a right spirit within me

As I was singing it I thought to myself.  I have sung this song a million times before, and by the looks of the crowd they have too.  How many of us really mean what we sing? Are we stopping to think about the words we are singing?

Create a clean heart Lord.....FORGIVE ME LORD
Cast not your Holy Spirit from me.... LORD SPEAK TO ME, BE WITH ME
Restore in me the joy of my salvation ....HELP ME TO REMEMBER ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME
Renew a right spirit within me....HELP ME TO SEEK YOUR WILL FOR MY LIFE; NOT MY OWN.

Are we just going through life talking the talk and not walking the walk?  I don't know about you but I have and I am tired of it.

At the next worship service you attend, don't just sing the words listen to them, meditate on them and mean what you are singing. 

Continue to pray for Flagstaff Christian Fellowship as they study continue to study the book of  Romans.

Which is more important? Virtue or Love?

There are two parts to the salvation message.  The first is while we were yet sinners Christ died on the cross for our sins,  thus providing us with a way of escape from those sins and providing us access to the very thrown  of God.  This is what we share a believers.  The knowledge that God will not hold our trespasses against us.  The next step of faith is virtue.  As Christians we think we need to work the rest of our lives to live up to that unobtainable perfection that only Christ was able to obtain and hold all others to that same perfection. 

But we are missing the point!  Christ called us to be virtuous, yes but he also told us that his greatest commandment was this:  That we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves.  So I ask you which is most important?

1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 says:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." 

You see God wants us to be virtuous, but If we do not care about our fellow man then why are we being so virtuous?  Is it for the glory of God or our own glory?

Take the Westboro Baptist Church for example. (The point is not to pick on Westboro but to examine ourselves).  They live this virtous life, they believe just like we all do that sin is wrong and that our nation needs a saviour.  The difference is that while they are right in that our nation needs moral guidance, they are not sending out this message in love.  The truth is that their protests are coming back as a noisy gong and a clainging cymbal.  People are tuning them out and their words are coming back void. So you see, we can not change hearts and minds without love.

How are you choosing to love?  How are you being the hands and feet of Christ to this world?  Are you living the great commission?  Are you choosing to do God's greatest commandment?   

A great friend of mine has started a non-profit organization called the Good Campaign.  I am praying that you pray and ask God what you can do to show his love.  I am going to post a link to their website so you can join.  

In the mean time:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Please pray for Christ Church of Flagstaff this week.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER...

Romans Chapter 12 Verse 3-8 says:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

I submit to you: if the old addage is true, birds of a feather flock together, then perhaps each church in our community of believers is strongest at one of these motivational gifts.  Imagine what God could do if we just learn that each church has a part to play in the body of Christ and start working together to form one cohesive body, rather that claiming our church or denomination is better! How would our community respond?  Where does your church fit into this?  Remember the common bond between us, that is Christ saved us by his grace and mercy by dying on the cross for our sins.  Lets start there! 

Remember to pray for our Flagstaff Christian Church family this week. 

Confirmation

Thank you First Assembly for welcoming me to your service this morning!

What a confirmation from God!

Today's sermon was about hearing from the whispers of God and stepping out in faith to do what God is asking you to do.  

There are three ways that God can whisper

- Call to Action 
   52 Churches in 52 Weeks
- Call of Admonishment
   Spend more time praying
- Call of Assurance
   The Flagstaff Covenant of Churches are united with me in prayer for
      - Repentance as a community
      - Celebration of Christ in praise and worshi
      - Heart of Prayer
      - Unity of God's Church


I am amazed and how God is leading and ask for your on going prayers as I visit Flagstaff Christian Fellowship next week. 



  

First Assembly

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. "

2 Peter 1: 5-8

Lord, may we always seek after righteousness, do your will, put you first in our lives,  trust you always and continually love one another so that we may be effective and productive in our faith.  May this be the prayer for First Assembly.  Amen

Why I am doing this.

God has led me on a spiritual journey to heal his land and prepare his people for his work.  During the next year I will be traveling from church to church praying for the saints and asking the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts and minds of his poeple to share the Good News, restore the unity of his church and to heal a broken and depraved generation. 

This is the plan;

I will be praying for one church per week and seeking the will of God for this church prior to my attending. 
I will not let my presence be known and will soley be there to pray for that church and its congregation. 
I will blog for the week on scripture read that week and the experience of the service attended. 
I will attend in the order of which God's leads.

I am hoping that each church is willing to open thier heart to God's calling and recieve what he is trying to tell them. 

1 Corinthians 1:10 says:

"I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."  NIV