“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…” – Acts 4:8a

“We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard” – Acts 4:20

“Give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word” – Acts 4:29

The Christian walk hinges on keeping in step with the Spirit. Last Sunday Kevin reminded us that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things and told us that a great name for the book of Acts would be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”. God is always at work in your life. His Spirit is working in you and through you and around you. Even if you’re an ordinary person.

To begin moving to the extraordinary, he urged us to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking within us and then do the small things He asks us to every day. Don’t wait until you feel that you are ready. Many people who have done extraordinary things didn’t feel ready at the time.  They listened and then stepped out in faithful obedience. Then God gets the glory because His involvement is plain to see. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” – Acts 1:8

When you listen and act at the direction of His Spirit, be ready to talk about the work He is doing in and through you. Tell your family.  Tell your friends.  Tell your co-workers.  The Holy Spirit leads us to speak.  It is through telling your story that God will reach out and change people around you.

This week be prepared to follow those three steps:

• Listen 
•  Act 
• Speak

June 27, 2010
Peace, Dave

Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”  Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. – Acts 3:4-8

Peter healed the man lame from birth, who was carried every day, to sit at the Temple gate called Beautiful, where he would beg for money.  But on this day, God had a divine appointment planned.

Building upon Pastor Scott Hoffman’s message of 6/6, we are again reminded of the importance of waiting on God in prayer, listening for His Voice, and then moving out in His supernatural power. Pastor Joe observed that Peter and John went to the temple to pray every day, and how central prayer was to the life of the early church.

On this day, when Peter and John were about to enter the temple, the lame man asked them for some money. Peter and John looked intently at the man and Peter said, “Look at us!”  The man eagerly looked up - expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”   Peter took the man’s right hand and helped him up, and as he did the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. All the people saw him, and many who heard believed. He jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk.  Then walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the temple, holding tightly to Peter and John! 

Joe remarked that the Book of Acts should really be called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit” . . . the dynamic Spirit-empowered early church . . . moving in miracles, signs, and wonders. He reminded us that healing and miracles did not end with the death of the apostles, as some denominations might believe . . but are gifts for today!!

Joe also shared that the “power center” has now shifted away from the West – to the East; to Asia, and Africa. . . .where revival is taking place in great numbers. Sadly, in this 21^st Century, we struggle in the West with our desires; prayer seems to have become inconvenient.  And while Satan has tried to shift prayer to programs – and sacrifice to comfort, we may very well need to make changes in order to resemble this model blueprint of what a church should be. Our greatest evangelistic tool: Christianity with POWER.

What does this mean for Grace?

It’s not about just accumulating biblical knowledge . . . it’s about applying what we learn — being doers of the Word —lest we become irrelevant and powerless.  God finding us … and us hearing the voice of the Spirit in these last days. In the Name of Jesus, the church has been given the power to heal; to do what Jesus did - heal the sick, and cast out demons. Let us be about our Father’s business; we have surely been given the Power!

A “GLOW” . . .

In closing, Pastor Joe told the story of someone seeing a “glow” coming from The Barbaric Bean very early one morning and came by, anxious to see what it was.  And what was it?  Just some spiritually-hungry, local pastors gathered together to pray in the early morning, at a little coffee shop in Ocean Grove . . . AND THE POWER OF GOD SHOWING UP. 

• WAIT
• LISTEN
• MOVE OUT

June 13, 2010
In Christ, Janet

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!  Amen. - Ephesians 3:20-21

Because we serve a risen King Who overcame sin and death, and is alive today, we, too, have received power to be His witnesses in His church, and to the ends of the earth.  (see The Acts of the Apostles)
 
Although Pastor Vincent is on sabbatical —we are not. In his absence, we are to be a church that has grown — not one which has just gotten by.  God has provided  “exceedingly, abundantly” for us!  (Eph. 3:20-21) 
 
Let us pray every day.  Let everything be under-girded with unceasing prayer.  Let us be honest with God . . . and bring all our concerns to Him; let us pour out our hearts to a God that hears . . . Let us pray — and listen.
 
Let us be in the Scriptures.  His revelation; our manual for living. . . being transformed by studying and meditating on the Word of God.

Let us grow together.  Corporately.  Let us spend time praying and seeking God’s will together, and believing Him for miraculous signs and wonders in our midst.  Let us fellowship; get to know one another’s needs.  BE the church. . . . show the world that we are His Church. . . asking God for His unique call on our lives to serve here at Grace — and beyond. Let us figure out what it is that God has called us to do, and step up — together . . .and do it! 

Let us give!  Let our giving go UP over the summer — instead of down.  Let us test God in this!  (Malachi 3:10)

Finally . . . Let us be ready; prepared; dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
A birth of a miracle is taking place right here at Grace Christian Church.  Are you in?

June 6, 2010
In Christ, Janet

Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:43-47

When you are beginning on a journey it’s usually a good idea to know where you’re headed.  There may be detours along the way and you might end up in a different place than you thought you would at the beginning, but having a goal is essential.  Otherwise you might as well not get up from the couch.

We are on a journey together here at Grace toward God and His Kingdom.  What does that look like?  What does that mean to you?  How should we invest our time and other resources that God has given us?

Let’s dream together.  This week’s soul training exercise is to spend time dreaming what the ideal local church would be.  The dream that you would like to see come true for Grace.  Then write an essay describing that dream.  It can be as short as a sentence or as long as you would like to make it.  And then please just add it as a comment to this thread.  I want it to become a reminder and a guide about where we’re headed.

I am excited to be on this journey with you and I can’t wait to hear your dreams.

May 23, 2010
Peace, Dave

How can people have no feelings?
How can they ignore their friends?
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no.

And especially people
Who care about strangers,
Who care about evil
And social injustice.
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend.

I have always found the song “Easy To Be Hard” from the musical “Hair” haunting.  It’s a beautiful song that breaks my heart.  It makes me ask myself, do I really love people or do I love the idea of loving people?  Am I so concerned about the good of mankind that I overlook the person right in front of me?  What’s the truth and what’s a mask?

Sometimes, even thinking about helping people overwhelms me.  I just don’t feel like I have any resources left; love, time, money, energy or whatever.  And the older I get the more I come to realize that everyone is hurting and everyone needs help.  Everyone needs a friend.  Sometimes I harden my heart.  And sometimes it becomes a habit.

That’s why it’s so great to rub elbows with people who are rolling up their sleeves and doing what it takes to be a friend to those in need.  At our dinner on Saturday that focused on Haiti we heard from two people from Aslan Youth Ministries, Doug Eagles and Mecca.  They talked to us about what Aslan was about both locally and in Haiti.  In general and in specific about their upcoming mission trip where young people from New Jersey will be going to Haiti to be friends to the Haitians.

Doug showed us a slideshow about Aslan’s Haiti work which was fantastic but I was especially impressed with Mecca.  She was confident and poised.  We asked a ton of questions and she answered them all.  She knew what she was doing and why she was doing it.  And she’s only fourteen!  It was beautiful.

I want to send out a million thanks to everyone who’s been working to make our summer themed potlucks special and focused on different parts of the world that Vince is visiting and we reach out to.  The food has been fantastic.  Great activities.  Camaraderie, sharing and fun.

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Peace, Dave

As a result, I’d go to a church for a few years and then something would happen.  I’d have a falling out with another church member.  Or the pastor would change and the new one was too Scripture-light or liberal.  Or I’d hear from a friend that they’d started going to Wonder Church X and that their pastor was an amazing teacher.  And off I’d go.  Hippity-hop.  There were times I’d go for months and months from church to church to church.  It was easy to do.  There are a lot of churches in a pretty tight radius.  Sometimes my divorces were painful but it was pretty easy to settle into a new relationship.  But although I was constantly in motion something inside me seemed stagnant.

I’ve changed the way I look at church a lot over the years.  I try to ask myself what I can do for it instead of what it can do for me.  I don’t look for a new church because I get hurt or offended or whatever.  I stick around (although I do take the occasional few months off here and there).  And it changed and deepened both my relationship to my church and to Jesus.

Now, I’ll bet your wondering what in the world this has to do with what Grace is doing while Vince is away.  Although I’m pining for Vince big-time and looking forward with longing to his return, I’m really blessed by the speakers who’ve been filling in for him while he’s away.  My goal (we’ll see how this goes) is to do a post that touches on each one of their messages at some point or another.  Not necessarily in any particular order.

Our theme for this season is “This Is Church” and each of our speakers has been developing this theme as we move through the Book of Acts and see how the early church did it.  It’s wonderful to enjoy the diversity in style and viewpoint and experience.  It reminds me of my old church-hopping days, but instead of leaving my church and going to hear different speakers they’re coming to us.  Lenny even brought his church with him!  I’m enjoying this hop-churching more than ever I thought I would.

And there’s more to come!

Peace, Dave

That’s one of the reasons I really enjoyed our potluck dinner and time of focus on the continent of Africa.  We brought food.  We ate together.  We talked and celebrated birthdays.  We listened to music and stories.  We prayed and we played.

Bonnie and Jenny did a fantastic job of bringing Africa (and especially Swaziland) to us and our children.  The were flags and pictures from Vince and Katinka’s trip there.  There was mealie-meal (rough corn flour that’s a dietary staple) and we learned how to grind and cook it.  We also had the privilege of being read a wonderful book, “Learning to Swim in Swaziland: A Child’S-Eye View of a Southern African Country” by Nila K. Leigh.  It was a great book and I learned a lot about the country.  One of my favorite parts was the story that explained why dogs chase cars.  But I’m not going to tell you.  You have to read it for yourself!

Then we played two African games that were just fantastic.  The first was called “Boa Constrictor”, a game from Ghana.  In essence, you mark out a large square 0n the ground.  Then everyone stands around the edge of the square and one person is chosen to be the head of the boa constrictor (we all took turns).  That person goes into the middle of the square.  They then chase the people around the edge of the square and try to tag one (the people on the edge aren’t supposed to stray very far from it and the snake cannot leave the square).  When someone gets caught that person joins them in the square and holds their hand.  This process is repeated until everyone ends up part of a long, winding snake.  It reminded me of crack the whip, because when everyone is running together you can really get jerked around.

The second game was called “Mouse”.  Azama taught us this one.  She’s from South Africa and it was great to have her take part in our African cookout.  For this game everyone stands in a big circle holding hands except for two people, the mouse and the homeowner.  The mouse begins inside the circle and the homeowner outside.  The people in the circle spread out as much as possible while holding hands and lift their arms up to make arches or doors.  Then the homeowner calls “Mouse, will you get out of my house?” and the mouse replies “No!”  Then it becomes a chase game very like duck-duck-goose.  The mouse darts out an arch and then the homeowner darts in.  They have to weave in and out of the arches until either the homeowner catches the mouse or the mouse completes the full circle.  When I was the mouse I was ALWAYS caught.  But it was still a boatload of fun.

This is church – celebrating our differences while realizing our unity in Jesus Christ.  More than even eating together (although it pains me to admit it).

Peace, Dave

God didn’t make me fast.  I have a long torso and short legs.  And I’ve contributed to the situation over the years by eating myself into what the wretched BMI categorizes as obesity.  As a result I’ve never been much of a runner.  Or athletic at all, really.  I like to read.  I like to eat.  I like to sleep.  But there are (of course) times when I become convinced that fitness and health are of paramount importance.  When that particular delusion strikes I often attempt running as a cardiovascular solution.  Only on a treadmill.  Only in a gym.  And when I do, one of my chief motivational statements is a corrupted version of Eric Liddell’s famous quote, “God didn’t make me fast, but when I run I feel His pleasure”.

So I have to confess that I approached the Hope for Haiti 5K on June 12th with a good deal of trepidation.  I had signed up to participate as a walker.  Which might not seem like a big deal, but it was to me.  I don’t do sporting events.  I even resent sporting analogies in sermons or business meetings (I know.  It was painful for me when Vince preached that whole triathlon series.  Yikes!).  My normal modus operandi would be to volunteer to help at registration or run a hospitality station.  But when Christy and Jaclyn questioned my apparent lack of involvement in the race (I was trying to duck and hide and sleep in that Saturday morning) I thought, just for once, it would be interesting to participate.  Not fun.  Not challenging.  Interesting.  Of course, the fact I didn’t need to attend organizational meetings was a bonus, too.

It was great.

So many people were involved.  People who go to Grace.  People who used to go to Grace.  People who go to Relevant.  People who used to go to Grace and who now go to Relevant.  And a whole bunch of other people besides.  I got there kinda early because I wanted to make sure I could find parking and I’d also messed up my registration and needed a little straightening out (of course).  So I had time to chat with some people I hadn’t seen for a long time as well as with others who’d I’d just seen the day before.  You know that great feeling you get when you run into someone you love in a place you weren’t expecting them?  It was like that doubled and then trebled.  Except the person I ran into was my church.

I think that this was the first time I saw so much of my church out in the real world mixed in with everybody else.  And it was beautiful.  I don’t know what other lessons I’m going to learn this summer while Vince is away on sabbatical but this is a big one.  The church is beautiful when it is in motion.  When it is running and walking and being wheeled in a stroller to help others, especially people in need.

Many thanks to all of you who made that morning possible.  My eyes were opened to a whole new face of what the church can be.  You are all terrific.

Peace, Dave

And we also heard about yesterday’s Hope for Haiti race, spearheaded by Christy and Jaclyn, which was very successful.  Successful in terms of raising funds (the donations are still being counted!) and successful in raising awareness that people in Haiti are suffering, and that Jesus is with them in their suffering.

God willing, this will be a week filled with opportunities to demonstrate what “church” is- not a stucture made with building materials, but a group of people who are God’s hands and heart in the world.