Community Updates from Dr. Bob: 8/02/2023
We can learn so much from the perspective of a child. As Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 18:3-4
I think we can all learn important spiritual truths by reflecting on some of the experiences of the children in our midst. We’ve had a GREAT summer of student ministries, with kids of all ages engaging with God in new ways. If you missed Pastor Brett’s email this past Monday—the subject line was Student Ministry Summer Recap—it’s well worth going back to look at. God is at work among our youth.
What can we learn from their experiences? We can learn that being a disciple of Jesus goes well beyond fun and community. The Christian faith is not entertainment, but a real relationship with God—one that challenges us to grow, serve, and ask the hard questions about what it means to follow Jesus right now, right where we are. Because that’s where Jesus makes a difference in our lives, and that’s what all of us are really longing for… a God who comes near in times of trouble, in times of challenge, and in times of reflection.
That constant presence of God is what contributes to real joy, as we have learned through our sermon series on Philippians so far. We all have eternity in our hearts, and Jesus meets us there. We can bring our questions to him, our doubts, our wonderings. Even our preschool children have been engaging in these kinds of conversations. They ask, “Why can’t we see God?” and “What is God like?” and our volunteer teachers and helpers have been able to engage with them, interacting over these kinds of questions. Really, they’re questions we all ask: Why can’t we see God? What is God like?
The way of discipleship
As summer comes to a close and we enter the fall season soon, we’ll be looking more deeply at what it means to follow Jesus—what discipleship looks like, what it requires of us, and how we can grow in it. Exciting things are ahead in our church… for all generations of disciples. And as we enter more deeply into becoming the kind of church Jesus wants us to become, we’ll also find that we are moving much closer to being open and ready for the right kind of senior pastor God has for us, and that candidate will be all the more drawn to us as a community.
As we seek to become a church of people increasingly living as disciples of Jesus, reflect on the how we can live into his commands and engage with others over the way of Jesus:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:1-9
It’s only as we get serious about following Jesus, reach out to others, and invest in the next generation, that the gospel passes on through the centuries and among all people groups.
Continue in prayer
Please be sure to continue in prayer as school’s getting ready to start back up and our kickoff for the school year is coming. Pray about your role in discipling the next generation, and ask the Spirit to show you what steps are next for you. Pray that workers will be raised up. Exciting things are ahead that we’ll be highlighting in coming weeks.
More process groups coming
Coming soon we will be launching a new group on choosing to forgive. We all have hurts that—if left unchecked—will eat us alive and cause the root of bitterness to grow up in our hearts: See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15.
Choosing to Forgive (Robin Zamora) begins next Thursday, Aug 10 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom for 5 sessions. Whatever wrong we have endured, or whatever wrong we have done that still burdens us, this group can help us keep moving toward peace of mind. Click here to register.
Depression: Changes that Restore (Debbie Case) remains open to all on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at Elaine Tisler’s home in Upland. Register on the link and address will be sent. Click here to register.
Managing Anger begins tomorrow (Thu) at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom for 5 sessions. When we lose our composure, we often blame people, events and things. In reality, no one can make us angry without our permission. Join the discussion about this ever-so-human and often misused emotion. Click here to register.
Moving forward together
It’s exciting to be moving forward in this journey of discipleship along with you all.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6
