The Discipline of Celebration

There are a few things that every culture in the world holds in common.  Relationships, cuisine, and ritual are a part of every culture and civilization.  Here’s one more: celebration.  In every people group you will find some form of celebration.  We see it in birthday parties, weddings, and graduations in our own culture.  Jesus himself celebrated regularly.  How convenient that celebration also happens to be one of the 12 classis spiritual disciplines.  We experienced it yesterday as we celebrated the resurrection.  Every worship service is designed to have elements of celebration.

Throughout the month of April, we will be practicing the discipline of celebration. We’re starting by encouraging you to celebrate recreation. What do you do to rest or have fun? What are your hobbies? What helps you get away from it all and recreate? This week, make an intentional effort to recreate. Celebrate the hobbies and pastimes that give you life. We’d also like you to take a selfie picture (or have someone take your picture) while doing your recreation. Send it to office@ferrysburgchurch.com. We’ll share with the church the ways we recreate.

The Whole Week

Holy Week is bookended by two remarkable Sundays.  Yesterday was Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem to great fanfare.  Yesterday, it was a day of victory.  Palm Sunday was Jesus’ out-and-out claim to be the promised Messiah.  Next Sunday we will celebrate the greatest victory ever - Jesus’ resurrection from the grave.  The temptation is that we can simply hop from one joyous Sunday to the next.  It’s a temptation we must avoid.

The space in between these two Sundays is what makes them so joyous and great.  Jesus didn’t just conquer death.  He first bore the sins and sorrow of the whole world.  We can’t get to Easter without Good Friday.  Without death there is no resurrection.  So as we go through Holy Week, make sure you stay connected to the whole week, not just the Sundays on either end.  A great way to do this is at our Maundy Thursday service.  Another is to spend some time reflecting on Christ’s love and passion on your own.  Having connected to Jesus’ death makes Easter even sweeter.

Spiritual Discipline of Fasting

We’re on the third month of practicing spiritual disciplines as a church family. This month, we’re focusing on fasting and its importance. Yesterday, Pastor Nate challenged us to fast for 24 hours. For some of us, this seems like an insurmountable task. We’ve simply become accustomed to eating. If you feel led to participate in the 24-hour fast this week, something I’d like to encourage you with is Romans 12. In Romans 12:1, Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” When Paul writes “present your bodies,” this is connected to the idea of a living sacrifice, which calls to mind priestly service. Spiritually speaking, our bodies are brought to God’s altar. This is a reference to our entire being! When we give our bodies to God, the soul and spirit go with it. Our thoughts and our desires are brought before the Lord. When Paul says, “I urge you,” he’s reminding us that the will is to be the master over the body. The thinking of our age says that our body must tell the will what to do; but the Bible says that our will must bring the body as a living sacrifice to God. The body is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. Keeping it at God’s altar as a living sacrifice keeps the body where it should be. May we remember this as we practice the spiritual discipline of fasting this week!

The Last Sunday of How It Used to Be

One year ago today, on March 8, 2020, we had the last worship service of the pre-Covid era.  We had no idea how radically life would change over the next few months.  When Council suspended services last March, we figured it would be a few weeks and then back to normal.  As things remained closed we allowed that it could be a bit longer.  But once things opened up, we would all be back together worshipping and sharing hugs.  The road back has been far more gradual than we suspected.  We still haven’t achieved “how it used to be.”  We wonder if it will ever be like that again.

As I think back on that last Sunday of pre-Covid, I am struck by how fast everything changed.  I had no idea!  Yet God did.  Covid has not caught God off guard.  Coronavirus is not a surprise to God.  It hasn’t sent him scrambling to accommodate his plan to this new development.  God knew about Covid from eternity.  He knew how human sin would lead to this.  And as difficult as it’s been for you and me and millions of others, God has woven this painful time into his beautiful plan.  I wonder how we’ll see this experience in another 5, 10, or 50 years?  There will be plenty of perspectives.  We may never understand why.  But looking back, I believe that we will see God co-opting the consequences of sin to create a goodness that could not have happened any other way.

Every Longing

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God has placed eternity in your heart; a deep longing for things that are beautiful and forever.  At the very core of our being we long for goodness, redemption, relationship, and beauty.  It’s why we are so taken by a painting, so struck by a beautiful view, so entranced by a song.  It’s why we get married and pursue friendships.  God has set a longing in your heart for the things only he can grant us.

Most of this world’s problems can be traced to our settling for cheap alternatives.  We settle for revenge instead of justice.  We settle for sex instead of love and intimacy.  We settle for something quick and easy instead of something that comes slowly but lasts forever.  So don’t confuse your longings for anything less than God intends.  And understand that when your longings are truly satisfied, God alone has brought that satisfaction.

GEMS and the Joy of Connecting

When the GEMS season kicked off last September, we weren’t sure how our GEMS ministry would help girls build relationships with one another, with counselors, and with Jesus this year. We just committed to connecting, not cancelling. Our season started with outdoor meetings and a GEMS & Grownups outdoor event. As Covid cases rose in November, we explored creative alternatives to continue our GEMS ministry. Counselors dropped off packages to GEMS with lesson materials, craft supplies and treats. In December and January, we mailed materials to GEMS and met over Zoom. Several weeks ago we prepared package pick ups for our GEMS & Gals night. Then, last Monday, we had our first in person GEMS gathering since early November. Our counselors and GEMS were thrilled to be together! 

Being unable to physically gather for several months made us cherish our opportunity to be together again. While we are thankful for all the alternative ways we found to share God’s love through GEMS in the midst of a pandemic, gathering in person at the appropriate time is a real joy. GEMS is a relational ministry and nothing beats being together. As a church family, we long for relationship, too.  As Covid cases continue to decline and more and more people are vaccinated, we can look forward to more opportunities to safely gather in person with our church family. What joy!

Black History Month

February is Black History month.  Why does Black History Month matter to a mostly white congregation in a mostly white community?  One answer is found when we start to think about the way our lives are better off for the contributions of African Americans.  Black scientists and inventors.  Public servants and advocates for justice.  Athletes and entertainers.  Innovators and soldiers.  We celebrate Black History Month because men and women of color have contributed greatly to our society.

We also celebrate it because those contributions were made against the current of racism, even subjugation.  We recognize these accomplishments because, from the outset, the societal deck was stacked against them ever happening.  These men and women overcame not just the normal obstacles that we all face.  They played on a tilted field and still prevailed.  That’s why we honor these achievements. 

Yet it is perhaps even more important for us as the people of God to remember Black History Month.  It forces us to look beyond our own experience and honor the experience of other parts of God’s family.  In considering the achievements of our black brothers and sisters, we are reminded again that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, black nor white.  We are all children of God by faith.

Staff Transition

Yesterday we shared with you the news that Samantha Francart, our Youth Director, will be leaving FCC this summer to do mission work in Nepal.  Sam has given us four excellent years of leading student ministry and contributing to our vision.  While we are sad to see this partnership end, we are both grateful for Sam’s work and excited for the new work that God has called her to.  Sam remains committed to FCC and our students over the next several months and will step down at the end of May.

As a church, we remain committed to our students as well.  We will be working over the next several months to find a new person to lead our student ministries.  As we adjust to a new environment and the impacts of Covid, we will review this position to clarify the kind of person we want to hire and the kind of work we want them to do.  Please pray for our leadership as we engage this important process.  Pray for Sam as she finishes her time at FCC and prepares for ministry in Nepal.  And pray for our students as they say goodbye to Sam and prepare to welcome a new leader.

Decisions

We all have to make decisions every day. Sometimes they’re big decisions, and sometimes they’re as easy as which cereal to have for breakfast. Yesterday, Pastor Nate challenged us to think of a big decision that we have to make and ask for someone to pray for us as we discern God’s will in this decision. As we yield to the Lord and His timing, there are four questions I presented to the youth group yesterday that I want to challenge you with as well. When you’re thinking of this decision that you have to make, ask yourself:

1.     Am I willing to do whatever God wants in this area?

2.     Do I already know deep down what I should do?

3.     Could this be what God wants me to do?

4.     What else could I do to find out what God wants?

The first question is really a question of pride vs. trust. Do we trust that God has the best plan and way forward for us? The second question is us listening to the Holy Spirit inside of us. He will bring either peace or restlessness as we wait. The third is a little trickier, but as we look to the Word and reflect on God’s character, we’re able to understand God’s heart for us and for our paths forward. Finally, the fourth question is a reminder for us to ask others to join us in prayer over the decision. Richard Foster writes in his book on Spiritual Disciplines, “God will implant a spirit of unity when the right path has been chosen and trouble us with restlessness when we haven’t heard correctly.” As you lean into God this week for guidance, I encourage you to wait, yield, and listen for His good voice of love and guidance.

Meditation and Remembering

This is the last week that we will be practicing the discipline of meditation. We’ve suggested some different ways that you can experiment with meditation, including reflecting on Scripture and other writings, and considering what we can turn over to God and receive from him. This week we’d like you to spend some time meditating on a memory from your life. You can think about an important event in your life or simply let God bring a memory to mind. Where was God in that event? Where was the grace? How was God faithful to his promises?

Seeing God’s presence in the events in your past can sharpen your vision to see God in the present. As with all forms of meditation, God will never reveal himself in a way that contradicts the Bible. It’s always a good idea to make God’s word the litmus test. We hope it’s been helpful to spend time meditating this month. There’s no reason it can’t continue to be a regular part of your spiritual journey!

A Prayer for America

God of all the earth, who has called to yourself people from every nation, race, and tongue, we come to you on behalf of our country. We have much to repent of, much that would disqualify us from your blessing. We appeal to you not because you love America more than any other nation, but because your people, your children live here. Not on the merits of our nation, but on the vastness of your compassion.

Father, it has been a tough year - a year filled with sickness, division, and contention. As we transition from one president to another, the threat of violence looms over our country. We ask that you would calm tensions and restore civility. May we disagree vehemently but not violently. May our debating result in understanding, not hatred. We pray that our greatness would be found not only in our economy and our innovation, but in the way we defend life and take up the cause of the powerless. May America reflect your will for a nation on your earth. Inspire your church to lead the way and set the tone.

Thank you for entrusting us with freedom and opportunity. Teach us through this difficult and dark year just how valuable these are. Teach us to be faithful stewards. We have no more claim on you than any other country. But this is our country. So we ask that you would shed your grace upon us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Story of Redemption

In November, Mark Hartman came to FCC to share his story of being wrongfully imprisoned and the way God used that to bring transformation in his life.  This 10-minute video is well worth your time.  Mark shows that God is always at work.  FCC is an important part of God’s work and Mark’s story too.  

You Are What You Do

At the very core of who we are is our identity in Christ.  It is this identity that will last into the age to come.  Beyond that, our lives and even our personalities are made up of the choices we make.  We are shaped by the habits and practices we commit to.  Exercising regularly over many years will have a significant impact on your body and your mind.  The way you choose to spend money or the people with whom you spend your time will influence the person you become.

In 2021 we are inviting you to commit to habits that will shape your soul in positive ways.  Each month we will practice a classic spiritual discipline.  In January we will practice meditation.  We are encouraging you to spend five minutes reflecting quietly on a Scripture, a memory, or a truth three times a week.  The more you do it, the more you will benefit.  This week we are suggesting you spend your time meditating on Psalm 1.  The promise is that over time, you will notice positive changes in your life: more peace, more awareness, more like Jesus.

The Fourth Candle of Advent

One of the really big hurdles in my seminary training was our oral comprehensive examination.  I sat at a big table with five of my seminary professors.  They took turns asking me questions.  “What year was the Council of Nicea?”  “What is the difference between infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism?”  “List all the covenants found in the Old Testament.”  It was brutal.  We spent hours reviewing lecture notes and receiving tips from those who had gone before us.  One of my classmates was asked a most interesting question by one of our professors: “Sum up the Bible in one sentence.”  How does one even begin to do that?  Well, this classmate must have been living clean, because he came up with a wonderful answer.  John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Yesterday we lit the final candle of Advent.  It is the candle of love.  As my classmate so insightfully noted, the whole reason Jesus came to earth was love.  Jesus didn’t come for any other reason than because God so loved the world.  Christmas is a celebration of God’s amazing love for us.  Let’s remember how deeply we are loved by God.  So deeply that He sent His own Son for us.

The Third Candle of Advent: Joy

The desert and the parched land will be glad;

    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;

    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. (Isaiah 35:1-2)

The desert and the parched land will be glad.  Not because the rains have come.  But because the Lord has come.  Not because there is escape from the blazing sun.  But because there is no escape from the glory and salvation and healing power of God.

The desert can rejoice and be parched.  For joy isn’t based on circumstances but on promises.  Hands can be feeble and strong.  For a day is coming when even those that cannot walk will leap like deer.

The glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.  We light this candle in great joy.  Our God is faithful.

The Second Candle of Advent: Peace

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Who would have thought that peace would come from such an unlikely place?  Who knew peace would come not from a palace, but from a stable?  Who guessed that peace would be born to a couple just a few months after a shotgun wedding?  How could peace come through a man of sorrows?  How could peace arrive from someone who was despised?

But Christmas teaches us to look for peace in the most unlikely places: in eyes swollen from a crown of thorns, in a teardrop falling from those eyes. In unlikely circumstances, in a stable, lying in a manger. Christmas shows us that God is capable of bringing peace in and through all situations. Peace can come from the most unlikely place. In fact, it most often does.

The First Candle of Advent

There’s a lady I‘ve visited who would sometimes ask me about hope.  To her this word had come to mean “wishful thinking.”  We hope that things will turn out a certain way, but they may or may not actually work out according to our preferences.  But the hope that we have in Jesus is more than just wishful thinking.  Wishful thinking cannot bear the weight of Covid and hardship and broken relationships.  So what’s the difference between our stated preferences and the hope Jesus offers?

The difference is in who is making the promises. Wishful thinking begins with me - in my imagination and desires and solutions. Christian hope begins with God - His desires and solutions and vision for the future. When we light the first advent candle of hope, we aren’t just making a wish. We are claiming something that is as good as done. God has made a promise. And even when we can’t see it being fulfilled yet in our lives, we can live in the certainty that it will indeed be fulfilled. Hope can survive the hard times because it knows who has made the promise. One of the most beautiful expressions of our hope comes from the prophet Habakkuk: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (3:17-18)\

Psalm 100

A Culture of Honor

It can be hardest to love those who are closest to us. Have you heard this saying before? During this time of extreme togetherness it might ring more true than ever for you. Bill Johnson recently said, “A culture of honor is celebrating who a person is without stumbling over who they’re not.” This is exactly what we need to cultivate right now: a culture of honor. Sometimes it can be extremely difficult when all we see is the negative in a person. Sometimes we see so much potential and so little to celebrate presently. However, we saw David honoring Saul in the Bible even though there was so much he could have stumbled over (1 Samuel 24-28). We also saw Jesus honoring Peter even though Peter said and did some pretty ridiculous things (Matthew 16:18). So, how do we cultivate a culture of honor in our own lives? I’d like to suggest doing something that I took the time to do this weekend. It helped to reshape my thinking! Think of five people who are close to you. Maybe they’re family members, co-workers, roommates, or friends. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the deposit of God—the gold—in each person and for a plan on how to intentionally celebrate him or her and call them into their true identity. Let’s learn how to celebrate the people in our lives rather than stumble over who they’re not.

On Winning

We figured it would take several days to figure out who won this presidential election.  We were right.  News sources have now called the election for one candidate, but there are still legal challenges that will need to play out.  It will take another week or two for the states to certify their results.  But I want to remind us all of something very important.  Regardless of whether your guy won, our Guy has won.  Because of Christ’s victory, we get to face challenges that are not ultimate challenges.  No loss can take away from our victory in Jesus.  No earthly victory can add to it.  So whether your guy won or lost/wins or loses, Christ is risen.  I leave you with this picture of the victory as it is even now being celebrated in heaven.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

-Revelation 7:9-10