Author Archives: Lummer Steve

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

DREAM BIG/STAY HUMBLE – Colossians part 2

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Watch the sermon here:

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ” – Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)
1. By looking at Jesus and what He created we discovery who God is.
1 (2)
vs. 15, 16 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:
 
 
2. Creation was Jesus idea.
jesus-idea
 
vs. 16b all things have been created through him and for him.
Psalm 19:1  The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
 
 
“Creation was meant to glorify God. The task of the Christian is not to worship nature, but to join nature in worshiping God,”
join-nature
Psalm 148:1-5  – Praise to the Lord from Creation

148 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.

3. – 7 Million Cars.

Junk-Yard-Pittsburgh

In America, more than seven million cars are junked every year. In New York city alone there are over 70,000 abandon cars on the streets. We throw away 40 billion metal cans, 26 billion bottles, and 65 billion bottle caps annually.
Indestructible plastic appears everywhere. Oil spills pollute our beaches and chemical rail and expanding industry destroy our forest.
 
 
4. Saving souls or saving trees?
saving-souls
There seems to be a conflict between those who are in the “soul winning” business and those who are in the “tree hugging/saving business.
This is ridiculous…We need saved souls who can live meaningful lives in God’s beautiful world of nature which is yearning to be free from pollution and destruction.
Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
5. We need to care about creation because Jesus made it!
6. We are owners of nothing and stewards of everything.
owners

Psalm 24:1 “A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Maybe our God is much bigger than we know! – Maybe it’s more than just about us.

bigger

For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
 
 the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. – Colossians 1:23
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Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

Dream BIG/Stay HUMBLE – Colossians part 1

humble

Here is the video and talking points to this message.

“since we heard of your  faith in Christ Jesus and of your  love for all the saints; 5 because of the  hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.”         – Colossians 1:4,5 

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE CITY OF COLOSSAE. – COLOSAL – (kolossós, “large statue, )

Maybe Colossae received it’s name from becoming large overnight .

Antiochos The Great  is said to have relocated 2000 Jewish families from Babylonia and Mesopotamia to the city.

The city was decimated by an earthquake in the 60s AD

Colossae was destroyed, ultimately, by the Turks in the 12th century

The book of Colossians was written by Paul around 60 A.D.

Paul’s name literally means “Paul the little” – or “small”.

God’s ways are not our ways.

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” – Matthew 20:16

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” – 1 Corinthians 1:27

“if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20

 

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” – Psalm 34:3

  1. God can become small to us when we are so far away from him.

2. We need a close up picture of our creator!

3. The nearer we get to him the bigger he becomes to us.

THE CREATOR IS GREATER THAN THE UNIVERSE.

TALLER THAN TIME.

LARGER THAN HUMANITY.

BIGGER THAN OUR RESTLESSNESS.

 

1. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN  BIG STEPS INTO SMALL?

vs. 4 & 5 since we heard of your  faith in Christ Jesus and of your  love for all the saints; 5 because of the  hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

Which you heard in the “word of truth” of the Gospel

Our small faith becomes BIG faith

Our small love becomes BIG love.

Our small hope becomes BIG hope.

 

2. AWARENESS = NEARNESS

vs. 9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

“Two men looked out from prison bars,
One saw the mud, the other saw stars.” – Dale Carnegie

 

3. THE CREATORS INTENTIONS  FOR CREATIONS ACTIONS.

Vs. 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Our styles of relating to each other and to our creator

We all have a predominant style:
Move Against
Move Away
Move Toward

 

Conclusion: our problem .

When the pieces don’t look like the picture and the process doesn’t look like the promise .

Many of us have made it here on BROKEN PIECES.

vs. 4 & 5 since we heard of your  faith in Christ Jesus and of your  love for all the saints; 5 because of the  hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

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Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

Guest Blogger Monty Sears

m sears
“Light Afflictions”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even tho our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceedingly and eternal weight of glory
ONE: The Bed  –  John 11:1-4.  
 
TWO: The Tomb  –  John 11:32-35. 
 
THREE: The Chair  –  John 12:1, 2.  
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Discovery Prescott

Rites Of Passage – Part 4

rites-of-passage-1
We wrap up our four week series today called “Rites Of Passage” .
Here are the talking points:
This weekend we wrap up the book of Philippians.

What a fascinating way to develop our spiritual journey.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a kind of sherpa, if you will, to accompany us on our own pilgrimage through this life. 

 

Rite of passage is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another or one season to another. It involves a significant change, growth or progress of status in society.
This talk I believe is GERMANE to our culture today – We are attempting to everything and the results turn out poorly. Instead we might attempt doing the right things with excellence.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
VIDEO  Nick Vujicic: We Can Do All Things in Christ!
 
THE 3 RULES OF MOUNTAINEERING.
IT’S ALWAYS FARTHER THAN IT LOOKS.
IT’S ALWAYS TALLER THAN IT LOOKS.
IT’S ALWAYS HARDER THAN IT LOOKS.

“its not an adventure until something goes wrong” – Scott Brady
 
Making mistakes and having things “go wrong” or “not as planned” are a essential part  of growth for our spiritual journey.  …… As important as forest fires winter and insects are to the life of a healthy thriving forest.
 
We only grow by being BURNT, BROKEN, BENT AND BITTEN.
 
 
Paul is writing this book in a Roman Prison. – and he writes these words.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13
 
1. BEFORE DOING “ALL THINGS” REMEMBER TO START WITH SMALL THINGS.
 
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. – Luke 16:10
 
“God will entrust you with something bigger after you have proved yourself faithful in the small things.” 
 
“Don’t despise the day of small things.” – Zechariah 4:10
 
The problem most of us face is we see so many “big” things and we forget or don’t even know how they originally started.
 
 
 
 
 
2. MAYBE “ALL THINGS” NEED TO BE RIGHT THINGS 

“You can be anything you want to be.” …..”If you can dream it you can do it.”

How many of you have those statements before?
these are phrases that almost all of us have agreed we’ve heard throughout our childhood.

While it sounds so great and inspirational, it’s actually could be a a lie.

Take me for example.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics.

There were three simple steps to accomplishing my goal.

  1. Make 24.3 points per game in the NBA
  2. Be selected to represent the United States in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
  3. Be 6’9.”

That’s not my gift set. You would laugh watching me try out for the NBA. If I would have seriously pursued that dream, I would be lost wondering why life didn’t work out. God had something better in mind for me than I did for me.

The same goes for all of us.

We can’t be anything we want to be because we can only be who God made us to be. Our dreams are important, but God’s desires for us are even greater. 

Adopting His vision for our lives sets us free to be who He wants us to be, rather than who we think we should be.  

So how do we discover what we’re supposed to do with our lives?

Replace the lies we’ve been telling ourselves about who we should be by being honest about our obstacles and opportunities.

Our lies wear us out by pursuing goals that God never meant us to chase. A pipe-dream life. Unreal and unattainable. Both are not us. The lies have to die so you can finally live.

God’s miraculous plan – STOP AT 3:46 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYuVx2LU5QM

“Close some doors today. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they lead you nowhere.”

What doors are open for you? Do they match up with your skill set?
 

If yes, these are your opportunities. You were created exactly the way you are for a reason and have a great purpose in being here on this planet. God has put something incredible in your grasp.

 
Reach out and take it. 
 
Try “ALL THINGS” AND DO THEM POORLY OR THE RIGHTS THINGS AND DO THEM WITH EXCELLENCE.
3.  “ALL THINGS” BUT MOSTLY PRAISEWORTHY THINGS.
“whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:8,9 (NKJV)
 
 
Rites of passage to to an amazing life with your creator in this creation is developed through small things/right things and praiseworthy things.
 
 
ALL THINGS MIGHT NOT JUST MEAN ALL THINGS IN THE GOOD TIMES.
ALL THINGS MEANS ALL THING IN THE HARD TIMES.
 
 
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Put it on a coffee mug. Put in on a T-shirt. Tattoo it on your body. Put the quote on one of those inspirational posters. The message is “you can do anything you set your mind to!” You can follow your dreams because Christ will strengthen you. You can put it on football posters, superhero posters, jumping in the air triumphantly posters, weight lifting posters, and of course “standing on the edge of a cliff” posters.  One meme that I came across said, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something when the Bible says you can do all things through Christ. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  (Philippians 4:10-13 ESV)
This is about contentment.  Paul discovered the secret to being content in every circumstance. He knows how to face anything that comes at him, whether it is the worst of times or the best of times. It is not about triumphant living. It is not a mantra that will enable you to follow your dreams. The passage doesn’t match the tone of an inspirational poster. Paul talks about being content when he is brought low and when he is hungry and in need.
 
 
ALL THINGS WOULD BE:
 
HARD THINGS/PAINFUL THINGS/HURTFUL THINGS
MONOTONOUS THINGS
CONFUSING THINGS
FRUSTRATING THINGS
TOUGH THINGS
ALONE THINGS
FAITHFULNESS WHEN NOBODY NOTICES THINGS
MISUNDERSTOOD THINGS
BEING FORSAKEN THINGS
ENDURING THE BROKEN THINGS, THE THINGS THAT BURN US, BITE US AND BEND US.
If we wanted to be accurate we could still make some posters though.
One poster could have someone pulling their pockets inside out with a couple moths fluttering out. I CAN DO ALL THINGS!
Another poster could have someone getting last place in a race. I CAN DO ALL THINGS!
One poster could have a picture of someone face down crying on a pillow. I CAN DO ALL THINGS!
Another poster could have someone looking in their cupboard only to find one can of peas. I CAN DO ALL THINGS!
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Discovery Church

RITES OF PASSAGE – PART THREE

 

rites-of-passage-1

Here are the talking points to this message.

Rite of passage is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group or season to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society.

What’s Your Biggest Regret? (Nobody Wants To Admit The Worst One Of All) Video
 
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14 ( NIV)
 
 

1. Live in the Moment and Measure in the Decade.

“Forgetting what is behind (to a point) and straining toward what is ahead”. vs. 13
Time is measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments, experiences and seasons.
Your destiny is hidden in your history!
 
FOUR THINGS WE CANNOT RECOVER.
* A stone after it is thrown.
* A word after is is said.
* A opportunity after it is missed.
* Time after it is gone.
 
We don’t want to live in the past, but we certainly want to learn from it.
 
 
2. GOD IS ALREADY THERE.
 
Psalm 139:16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.
 

3. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BE YOURSELF.
Most of us live our entire lives as strangers to ourselves.
There never has been and there never will be another YOU –
FINGER PRINT
VOICE PRINT
EYE PRINT
LIFE PRINT

vs. 13, 14 But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
 
Yes, you owe it to yourself to be yourself ….Or even more important, you owe it to the one who designed you and destined you to be you!
God loves you and all of your tattoos!
. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” John Muir

4. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO NOT GIVE UP ON YOURSELF.
“Let there be light.” those four words are still creating galaxies at the outer edge of the universe.  God is still shaping to person he originally had in mind.

 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14 (message)
 
Our true identities get buried beneath the mistakes and missed-steps we have made in the past.  Who we are meant to be get lost in the insecurities we’ve acquired and the lies we’ve believed.  
We are held captive by others expectations !
We are uncomfortable in our own skin.
We spend way too much emotional, relational and spiritual energy trying to be who we are not.
WHY? – because it’s easier and we think it’s safer. But, trying to be who we’re not amounts  to forfeiting our spiritual birthrights!
IT’S NOT THAT WE ARE JUST LYING TO OURSELVES…..SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY WE END UP LOSING OURSELVES.
 
If you are still breathing, God hasn’t given up on you….So don’t give up on yourself.
Remember, it’s never too late to be the person you might have been.
 
In The End …Your creator  says.
 
“BE MINE” and please Be  yourself!

 
God would like to introduce yourself to yourself.
There never has been and there will never will be anyone like you . But that isn’t a testament to you. It’s a testament to the God who created you….Some never discover the God- given identity that makes them unlike anyone else.
 
You were created an original….please don’t live life as a copy.
 
Romans 12:2 Mold me, Shape me, until I think like you Lord.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jer 31:3). 
Jesus once said “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13

God’s love is unconditional, His love is eternal, His love is effectual, and His love rescues us from the wrath of God that our sins had brought.
“I can’t make you love me, but you can’t keep me from loving you”
and thankfully that is true and proven true in Scripture.
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Discovery Church

Rites Of Passage – Part 2


What a fascinating way to develop our spiritual journey.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a kind of sherpa, if you will, to accompany us on our own pilgrimage through this life. 

Philippians is the eleventh book in the New Testament. Paul and Timothy first visited Philippi, in Greece, during Paul’s second missionary journey, which occurred between approximately 49 and 51 AD. and it is  written from a jail in Rome.

 

 
Rite of passage is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group or season  to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society.
We are going to look in the book of Philippians at 4 or 5 RITES OF PASSAGE the if navigated correctly help us start Moving from and ORDINARY LIFE to an EXTRAORDINARY life.
Philippians 2:5-11 (the message)

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, becamehuman! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

 
 

 

 
 
1. I WOULD RATHER BE HUMBLED THAN HUMILIATED?
 
Vs. 8 He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 
 
Pride is concerned about WHO IS RIGHT …..Humility is concerned with WHAT IS RIGHT.
. WE CAN REALLY FRUSTRATE THE GRACE OF GOD.
 
But we have a cure for it!

Humilify VIDEO

 

 
“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6

Humility isn’t denying your strengths; it’s being honest about your weaknesses.
 

WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT… HUMILITY

God humbles us for our own good : Deuteronomy 8:16 

 God hears the prayers of the humble : 2 Chronicles 7:14 

God saves those who are humble : Psalm 18:27 

God preserves the lives of humble people : Psalm 147:6 

Those who are humble become wise : Proverbs 11:2 

God cares for the humble : Isaiah 66:2 

God will exalt the humble : Luke 18:4 

We must be humble in dealing with others : Philippians 2:1-11 

We should humble ourselves before God : James 4:10

 

 
 
3. DON’T YOU LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE DOESN’T LEVERAGE THEIR ____________AGAINST YOU?
(fill in the blank)
Family , Wealth, Togetherness, Strength, Brains, Speed, Talent, Spirituality, Religion, Coolness?
 
Vs. 6 ” Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. “
 
He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.  – Phil. 2:6 (Message)
 
In other words ….Jesus didn’t leverage being God over us….He didn’t take advantage or use “being God” against us.
 

 
Humility, according to Thomas More is, “that lowly, sweet root from which all heavenly virtues shoot.”
 
Stay  humble or you’ll stumble. 
 
FEELING SMALL IN CREATION AND HOW IT CAN HUMBLE US.
God created the human mind so that, among other things, we would be able to discover the beauty of his creation. God created us to be scientists – to be discoverers. 
What about our amazingly ordered universe, the development of life on our planet, and the intricate systems that keep us and other beings alive – well, it just blew me away. You see, I always understood that God is an intelligent being, but being reminded – even in a small way – of the intelligence and creativity behind this world of ours – fills me with awe. And of course, contemplating the greatness of God also fills us with humility.
 
 
CREATION/THE EARTH AND THE UNIVERSE KEEP ON GIVING AND SERVING US …..IT IS A REMINDER OF HOW WE ARE TO SERVE.
Jesus set the example just like He set the order of things – to humbly serve.
 
 
Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
 
4. SERVING OTHERS PREPARES YOU TO LEAD OTHERS.

 
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phil 2:10-11
 

Pride OR Humility? (Questions) VIDEO

Communion

 
Has everyone been served?
 
 
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Discovery Prescott

RITES OF PASSAGE – Part 1

rites-of-passage-1

Rite of passage is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society.

Philippians 1:1-6

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the Bishops and  deacons

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.

THE BACK STORY TO PHILIPPIANS.
The best way to get a grip on Philippians is to get the “back story” from Acts 16 (Paul arrives in Philippi around 50 A.D. )
Philippi is near today’s modern day Kavala, in North eastern Greece.. Philippi as the first city to be evangelized in Europe.

Some quick key points to Philippi

1. Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi Acts – 16:11-14

This is the first person according to historians to come to Christ in Europe!
Lydia
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city  to the river, (Gangites River (or the Crenides river) where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.  

A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay.” So she persuaded us. — Acts 16:14-15 World English Bible

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BaptistryAtPhilippi

2. Paul and Silas in Prison because of a teenage demon possessed girl. –  Acts 16:16

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

3. Jail house rock.

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

So here we have Two families (households) that have come to Christ.

One by a river and the other in a jail.

Now fast forward about 10 – 15 years….Paul is in another Prison, this time in Rome writing back to the Church he started at Philippi.

Philippians 1:1-6

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the Bishops and  deacons[a]:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.

We have “rites of Passage’ but have we ever thought about the RITES OF PASSAGE FOR GOD?

NOT JUST WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR US TO GET TO GOD….BUT WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR GOD TO GET TO US?

RITES OF PASSAGE OF JESUS TO GET TO LYDIA AND THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER?

1. It took a DREAM.

2. It took a RIVER.

3. It took some JAIL TIME.

4. It took some PRAISE and PRAYER.

5. It took an EARTHQUAKE.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

Paul saw him about to destroy himself and shouted, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:28). The jailer called for a light and came in trembling before Paul and Silas and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RIGHTS OF PASSAGE  FOR GOD?

1. TO GET TO US HE HAD TO BECOME LIKE US.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

2. TO GET TO US HE HAD TO LIVE LIKE US.

“ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

” Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” – Hebrews 2:18

3. TO GIVE US LIFE HE HAD TO GIVE UP HIS.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – 1 John 15:13

“who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” – Galatians 1:4

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. ” – 1 John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Jesus went through the RITES OF PASSAGE to get to you. He suffered, obeyed, gave up, sacrificed and loved even when we did not love him back.

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The RIGHTS OF PASSAGE OF GOD to get to you.

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

 

 

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Books I'm Reading, outdoors

BACKPACKING WITH THE SAINTS

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Diving into this tonight at the suggestion of a friend.

The only problem with me reading this book is now I know I will need to do this.

Here is the review on the Jacket cover.

“Carrying only basic camping equipment and a collection of the world’s great spiritual writings, Belden C. Lane embarks on solitary spiritual treks through the Ozarks and across the American Southwest. For companions, he has only such teachers as Rumi, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Thomas Merton, and as he walks, he engages their writings with the natural wonders he encounters–Bell Mountain Wilderness with Søren Kierkegaard, Moonshine Hollow with Thich Nhat Hanh–demonstrating how being alone in the wild opens a rare view onto one’s interior landscape, and how the saints’ writings reveal the divine in nature.

The discipline of backpacking, Lane shows, is a metaphor for a spiritual journey. Just as the wilderness offered revelations to the early Desert Christians, backpacking hones crucial spiritual skills: paying attention, traveling light, practicing silence, and exercising wonder. Lane engages the practice not only with a wide range of spiritual writings–Celtic, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi Muslim–but with the fascination of other lovers of the backcountry, from John Muir and Ed Abbey to Bill Plotkin and Cheryl Strayed. In this intimate and down-to-earth narrative, backpacking is shown to be a spiritual practice that allows the discovery of God amidst the beauty and unexpected terrors of nature. Adoration, Lane suggests, is the most appropriate human response to what we cannot explain, but have nonetheless learned to love.

An enchanting narrative for Christians of all denominations, Backpacking with the Saints is an inspiring exploration of how solitude, simplicity, and mindfulness are illuminated and encouraged by the discipline of backcountry wandering, and of how the wilderness itself becomes a way of knowing-an ecology of the soul.”

Now to make plans of my own.

My saints will be:

Frank Boreham, John Muir, Ed Abby, Henry David Thoreau, a little Leonard Sweet  and some good maps.

Thanks Eric N for the tip on this one.

“there are those who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” – Aldo Leopold- A Sand County Almanac

steve

Steve

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Discovery Prescott

Four converging streams at Discovery.

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“A RIVER WENT OUT OF EDEN TO WATER THE GARDEN…AND BECAME…FOUR [STREAMS].” GENESIS 2:10

1. Biblical Absolutes.

these are the truth statements provided for us in the Bible. As an absolute, we mean that these concepts are true no matter when or where we live. For example, the Bible makes it clear that all of us are sinners. That’s true whether you lived in 15th century England or 21st century Mexico, or even 24th century America should such a day ever come. Biblical absolutes stand tall regardless of current culture. The Bible’s insistence that Jesus is the only means of salvation is absolutely true, even though modern thinking wants to open up other roadways to God. No matter our ideas or preferences, absolutes are absolutes–even in a culture that wants to define truth as what works for you.

2. Personal Convictions.

comprised of those things that we have personally chosen as expressions of our faith in Christ. For some of us, there are things we won’t do because of our own convictions. The Apostle Paul dealt with these at Corinth when the issue of eating meat that had been previously offered to idols arose. Some felt that such eating was inappropriate while others didn’t wrestle with the idea. We should note that Paul didn’t take a side or establish either view as a standard or absolute, but instead made room for each person to follow their own heart and asked them to respect and love each other enough to allow for different choices.
3. Personal Preferences.

This  group is filled with all sorts of ideas. It’s “the way we like it” category of opinions and ideas. Music styles, Bible versions, carpet colors, ministry models, and so much more offer different approaches baed on what I personally enjoy most. And yet, while these are the lowest group on the conviction scale, they are often the largest source of conflict. You see, many of us (especially when we’ve taken our eyes off of God’s harvest) simply want things to be the way we like them.

Now, having preferences surely isn’t wrong. You can prefer certain styles of worship expression or decide that you like the New King James Version better than the old one, but when personal preferences aren’t kept personal, problems arise. Any time these start climbing the ladder into the other categories, trouble will soon erupt.

If I insist that my preferences are really my convictions, I will find myself easily offended. If try to make my Convictions into Community Standards, I will become demanding and difficult for others to work with. And if we try turning our Community Standards into Biblical Absolutes, we end up treating our ways and traditions as equal with the Bible.

4. Community Standards

This second level of conviction contains the rules we choose to live by in our community of faith. They are not Biblical directives, but they are agreed upon standards that allow our place in the body of Christ to be evident. For example, most of us worship on Sunday mornings. While local churches have been doing that for a very long time, it’s not a Biblical absolute, is it? We don’t discount congregations that choose to meet on different days, but we have our own agreed upon practices that we maintain. We also choose certain behaviors to either act out or avoid. Here, we often see a church’s membership standards or the “understood” rules we live by. We may not be able to offer chapter and verse to insist that everyone act as we do, but in our community, this is what we do.
Let’s Get along so we can move along.
Steve
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