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“If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Luke 4:7
JUNE 26, 2022

Our church picnic was held at the Tipp City Park Shelter. This shelter is where it all began: we had our first church service when Jesus called us to be a church. The Holy Spirit guided and counseled us. It is only through God’s Will does a church gets planted. It was the Will of God that our church was born.

God’s power and plans provided us with all that we needed. A church, a building to meet in, and a park shelter (such as for today’s service and picnic).

Here we are, again today, close to God’s natural creation.

When we are outside and feel the wind blow, reflect on this Scripture verse: John 3:8 says, “The wind blows wherever it pleases.” It is the breath of God breathing into our lungs and the touch or kiss of God on our cheeks.

When we hear the birds sing, it is like they are in spiritual harmony singing to God. Birds remind us to look above, into the heavens, and learn about the spiritual realm.

In Bible Study, we talked about how God relates and speaks to us through general revelations, also called natural revelations, such as in nature - the beauty of the trees, sky, and birds. When you see the majesty of mountains or oceans, you know that only God could have created something as spectacular as they are!

When a baby is born, you cannot help but gaze with astonishment or wonder at God’s creation.

We also talked about special revelations when God is revealed to you in a personal relationship. Special revelations are when God speaks to you and touches your heart, soul, and mind through Scripture or a specific message.

Perhaps you hear God calling you to Himself. Maybe you are experiencing increased affliction, troubles, or setbacks, and there is a persistent voice. His voice may be reminding you that you need to come to Him in a more serious or unbroken devotion and dedication. Do you have this persistent voice asking you to devote time with Him, pray, or go to church?

God has amazing plans for you. He wants to be with you. God is calling you into a personal relationship with affection.

When we seek God intently, He shows up, and everything changes.

If you can’t find God, start to worship, and He will find you. He is right here with us, hearing our voices, watching His church praise and worship Him.

You can have faith knowing that Jesus is present whenever we gather. Feel His presence. Acknowledge Him at this moment! Allow Him to indeed be in your life in every moment.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

There have been many eagle sightings around Tipp City. I have heard that they fly over the park as well. The eagles remind me of Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Worship brings us into the mind of Jesus. This is how we fight our battles in true worship, in Spirit, and truth, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Worship is a powerful force because God not only shows up, but He defeats our enemies when He comes. The Lord’s joy fills us and breathes new life, strengthening us and encouraging us. He shows up in supernatural ways when we worship Him.

To heighten our joy and comfort us, we are gifted with the beautiful presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in us as a people. We can take hold of that joy if we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into a renewed existence, regenerating our dead inner human spirit. We become sensitive to the spiritual things of God.

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful and powerful part of who God is. We need Him in our life.

John 3:1-16 (NIV) Jesus Teaches Nicodemus 3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Nicodemus was a religious man; however, he was not born again. Being “born again” means that you become children of God; this applies to everyone, not just to Nicodemus.

1 John 5:1, he says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God...”

Read John 3:4-5
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."

“Born of water and Spirit” means “born again” (“water” refers to cleansing, and “Spirit” is the “Holy Spirit”). The point is that we need both.

The prophet Ezekiel explains that the Spirit does the work. Notice the words “I will” in these verses.

Ezekiel 36:25-28
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

People say that being a Christian is too hard, too strict, or “I will not have fun anymore.” I have also heard them say, “I have too many vices; God will never accept me.” Notice how people “think” it is what they must do?

All they must do is believe in Jesus Christ, and the Spirit says, “He will” cleanse you, “He will” put the Spirit in you...He will change you. Ultimately, this means He will prepare you for eternal life.

Go back to John 3, verse 6. Jesus explains that this new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit and how you are born again.

John 3:6
6 “Flesh gives birth to flesh, (this is your first birth) but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.” (You are born again)

John 6:63 makes this very clear.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”

Go to John verses 7 & 8
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. (Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit - the Greek word for Spirit is “wind”) You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is with everyone born of the Spirit.

The Spirit is God, not just a force. The Spirit is the Third Person in the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is free. He goes where He wills.

The point is that the wind (the Holy Spirit) is mysterious. It has a will of its own. The Holy Spirit comes and goes by His laws. We do not control Him.

What is verse 8 teaching us? With acceptance, belief, and faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit brings about our new birth. Change happens in us.

Remember when I asked earlier if “You have a persistent voice calling you? This is The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is continuously working on or convicting people. He is helping people see their sin and unrighteousness, so they recognize that they need God.

If you have been called...don’t ignore your calling...This is a VERY SPECIAL CALLING! He has CHOOSEN YOU! He is pursuing you! Answer that call and come to Him with serious, unbroken devotion and dedication.

Every day is a new beginning...you will not be behind in this series.

FROM THE GROUND UP SERIES

Discover hidden truths in the ancient books that will make your heart burn and your soul sing!

Sunday April 21, 2019
Easter Sunday – He’s Alive! And You Are Too! Maybe More Than You Know. . .

Yes, the date is wrong. Easter was April 21, not April 23. But it doesn’t matter. Everyday is “Easter” now. Because Jesus has made that one event in history the penultimate day in all history. Jesus is alive! And because of that, you are too! “In Him” you live and move and have your being (Acts 17:28). Where you there when they nailed Him to the cross? Believe it or not, you were! Since you live and move and have your being in Him, when He died, all died (2 Corinthians 5:14). When He rose, YOU rose too (Ephesians 2:6). He now sits at the right hand of the Father. You do too! You are alive and maybe just don’t know it.

There is so much life available to us now if we simply take Christ up on His offer and begin intentionally to partake in the Divine Nature He’s carved out for all humanity (2 Peter 1:4). He’s become the Reality for all humanity. In fact, the darkened, obscured view of life many of us are “trapped” in has nothing to do with our Reality. Jesus is all Reality ---as the Scripture says, “Reality is found in Christ!” (Colossians 2:17). There’s an amazing you hidden in Him that is yours for the living (Colossians 3:1-3). God has sent you this message today---open your eyes from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to the power of God (Acts 26:28). Receive the forgiveness of sins that is already yours in Jesus. Embrace it. Accept it. It’s true! You’re a beloved, forgiven, purified, sanctified and accepted son of God in Him. He’s made the ConneXion. Begin living it out today! You can!

Sunday April 14, 2019 The Great I AM Part 3

We’ve gotten in our story to where we’ve finally seen that Jesus is the Great “I AM” that has come in the flesh to be with us. Just WHO and WHAT did that include? What can we learn from the I AM statements in the book of John? And what does it have to do with one of the holiest things we can do in life--meet together and participate in the Holy Eucharist, with reverence and holiness?

“Take, eat!” Jesus said. This My Body, given for you! THIS DO in remembrance of me! We’re going to do that in a special way Friday night. Today, we’re going to study why and why it’s important that you be there, and take this Eucharist all Eucharists, with a reverential spirit.

Much of the content of this sermon was excerpted from a sermon Billy Graham gave in China on Easter Sunday, years ago! Our thanks to Mr. Graham, and the Christ who used him to share this!

1. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger” (John 6:35).

Jesus fed the physically hungry. But Jesus’ greatest concern was for people with spiritual hunger. A doctor said some time ago that more people die of loneliness and guilt and depression and insecurity and heart hunger than die of physical starvation. Bread in the Bible is the symbol of spiritual life. People all over the world are the same; they have an inborn hunger for something, and that something is Christ. People cannot be satisfied with anything less than Christ. Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (Cf. John 6:33). “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51).

2. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)

Scientists say they do not know what light is. We know the effects of the sun, but we don’t exactly know all about it. We know that no plant or animal or human life on this earth can live without light. God put the sun a precise distance from the earth. If the sun were a few kilometers closer to us, we would all be burned up. If it were farther from us, we would freeze to death. What the sun is to the earth, Jesus Christ is to the human heart.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Turn on the light!

3. Jesus said: “I AM THE DOOR” (JOHN 10:9)

Every building has an entrance somewhere. The Kingdom of God also has an entrance. It is Jesus Christ. In fact, He is more than just the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. He is the kingdom of heaven.

John 14:5-6 New International Version (NIV)

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jacob had a dream of a stairway to heaven. (Genesis 28:12)

Jesus tells Nathaniel that he would “See ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”” (JOHN 1) Jesus is the only door. Jesus is life. He is the door. And He is the Kingdom

4. Jesus said, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1).

It was close to the time when He was to die, and He was having a last meal with His disciples. He said some wonderful things to them.

He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5).

When you receive Christ, He gives you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit produces fruit in your life. What kind of fruit?

Love. He gives you supernatural power to love even people you don’t like. Joy is another fruit. Joy in the midst of all kinds of problems and suffering.

There’s peace. You have peace in your heart. And then you have:

patience,
gentleness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
self-control.

These are produced by the Holy Spirit. And you can live that kind of life with the help of the Holy Spirit.

5. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

In the Bible stories we’ve been reading, how many shepherds have we encountered? Abel. Abraham and Isaac had herdsmen. Jacob was a shepherd. The Israelites were shepherds. Moses got fired from his prince job and became a shepherd. God’s people are supposed to be shepherds of all around them. Who is your flock?

Sheep could not exist without a shepherd. The wolves and the wild dogs and the thieves would get them. And they would wander off, because sheep cannot see very far.

The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). Man is like sheep. We wander around blind; we get lost. We’re lost from God. We’ve strayed from God. Are you that one lost sheep? Jesus Christ would have died on the cross if no one had been lost but you. God loves you and He’s searching for you. The shepherd lives with his sheep. He gives them food and protection and security. Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Whatever happens, however sick you may get–you may lose a child, you may lose a father or a mother–Jesus is with you. You’re the sheep; He’s the shepherd. He loves you, and He gave His life for you. When He died on the cross, God took all of our sins and laid them on Him. PSALM 123

6. Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

He offers us eternal life.

7. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)

In John 6:44, He says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

This is how we come to God. The Holy Spirit will use an incident in your life to speak to you. It may be when you’re quietly meditating or thinking. Or it may be when you’re walking down the street with thousands of people. In the midst of all those people God can speak to you.

Sunday April 7, 2019
The Great I AM Part 2
Moses, Did You Know?

At Christmas time, we often sing the song "Mary Did You Know," and it has a great line in it. It's sung with incredible majesty especially as done by the Pentatonix. It goes like this, and I'll use a visual to underscore the majesty of the moment. "

This sleeping child you're holding, is the Great I Am!" Think about the significance of this statement. "This sleeping" little Child Mary was holding was God with a human face. He was the very Word that upholds all the Universe. He was the one in

Whom we live and move and have our being. In His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension we all share. Jesus was the Great I AM who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3. Is the Great I AM that is with me and you.

"The Great I AM" that spoke to Moses, and went through Scriptures that showed how He Himself said as much---before Abraham was, He says in John 8:58, "I am!"

Think about that as you live this week---wherever you go, whatever you do, Someone is there, Someone is with you----"I AM!" Think about in the context of how you live your life in the Presence of this Being. Think about what you can do because He IS.

Next Sunday we're going to explore seven statements of Jesus in John where He further explains what He is. And in doing so, we're going to learn about things available to us now that can deeply enrich our life, and give us joy.

God is! Jesus is with us! "I AM!" God encourages. Rejoice in that truth this week.

Sunday, March 31, 2019
“The Great I AM” Part 1 - Exodus 3

Who is God? How do I know God exists? And, who am I? How can I find out.

Interestingly, in Exodus 3, Moses asks the same questions.

Moses asks, “Who am I? that I should go to Pharoah?”

And God answers him by telling him who He is---The Great I Am. Moses would find out who he was, when he finds out who God was.

You will too!

Notice how God answered Moses’ question, “Who am I?”

12 . . .God said, “I will be with you.”

That’s who you are Moses! Someone I’m with, and will always be with!

Pay special attention to this phrase: “I will be” or “I AM”. . .with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

Moses will resist God’s call. It’s a common theme. We do too! Notice how slyly it begins. 13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. [c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.”

Just think about the meaning of that phrase: “I AM!” Think about it slowly, in parts. 1. I (a Person, a Being, a Primal Being, an Uncreated Being that is an “I” and has personality and personhood) 2. “I”……….AM!

That’s it, in a nutshell.

I AM! I EXIST. You are not alone! I . . . AM! And I . . . AM with you!

Where ever you are, whatever you do, I AM! I AM with you!

I AM WITH your mouth, I AM WITH your job, I AM WITH your family, I AM WITH your spouse, and I AM WITH you, even when you are grocery shopping.

GOD IS PRIMAL EXISTENCE

Eyer – ashe – eyer (Hebrew)

ASHE – BECAUSE, WHAT, WHO, THAT

I EXIST BECAUSE I EXIST

I WILL EXIST BECAUSE I EXIST

I AM WHO I AM

EXISTOR

I will be who I will be

I AM THAT WHICH EXISTS.

Word exist:

EXO –out ISTEMI – standing

To stand out of having not existing.

You and I exist because we once didn’t exist, but we now stand out from not having existed.

GOD JUST . . . IS Consider this analogy:

Billy Graham said that concept should floor us, astound us, change us. But it doesn’t. We treat God like “hydrogen.” We acknowledge it exists. But we never spend a moment thinking about it.

What will some people say when God asks:

1. Did you believe I existed? ANSWER: Yes Sir! 2. Why did you not act like it? Why did you not seek me? Why did you not live for me?

How has the fact God is The Great I AM changed you? How will you answer that question, if asked by God.

“I AM” God tells Moses, and us too. Rejoice in that truth, and live like you believe it!

Sunday, March 24, 2019
Exodus 2 – The Best is Yet to Come

Moses came to an amazing place of transition in his life journey. The King of Egypt---his very own foster grandfather---had ejected him. He was ejected and rejected by the people he tried to help and save. He was ejected, rejected, and probably dejected too. Maybe you’ve been there yourself.

But God was, and God was

. God took him to a place called Midian. Dry. Desolate. Midian was so different from Egypt. It was a place, like Jesus, that Moses would have to carry his cross, and learn a few things. Maybe you’ve been, or are in, a bit of desert too. But cheer up. God was with him (and is with you too). God guided his journey in the land of rejection. And God guides your journey their too.

God let Moses stop at a well, where so many amazing things happen in scriptural stories. At this well, he meets the woman who is going to be his wife, and gets connected with a man he will live with for the next 40 years, the priest of Midian, Jethro, who engages Moses in shepherding. It’s like in the land of rejection, instead of ejection, he finds himself in a place of protection---and of getting ready for his real life mission.

Perhaps the same thing is happening to me and you. I know for one I worked 40 years for a vision and mission that I thought was my own for a people I thought would be mine forever. But I was rejected. And I was ejected. And for a while, I was sad and dejected.

But when I “came too,” I saw what God was doing. He’d given me wonderful mentors, friends who too chose to journey in this place and take me along with them. And as the dust settles and we share life together as a little flock, we're sensing something amazing is coming.

Maybe you’re in a place of rejection and dejection. But if Exodus 2 tells a universal story, you are in a place of protection. Enjoy. And fasten your seat belt. The best is yet to come!

Sunday, March 17, 2019
Let’s Bring Back Holiness

Our society has lost a sense of holiness. We see things so secularly, so transiently. We focus on what we call real life, which is often our way of referring to the daily grind, where we, like everyone else out there, work for pleasures and treasures. We’ve lost our sense of who we really are in God, a people who have been saved to be His. We’ve lost ourselves as being a holy people belonging to a holy God with a holy heritage and an even holier future.

Do you see yourself, life, child, home as holy?

We saw how the Israelites got caught up in Satan’s “system” in Exodus, chapter 1. A cruel overlord (Pharaoh, a type for Satan) worked them ruthlessly. All kinds of Genesis1- 3 things were being fulfilled here. One was that God’s people were “increasing and multiplying and filling the land.” The other was that they were suffering the effects of partaking of the Tree of Knowledge, and living by toil and hard labor. They were living for treasures and pleasures. Often, these “treasures” and “pleasures” were not even for them but for their cruel overlords, who exacted unfair things from them and placed unfair burdens on them. But God was going to set them free. And guess what---God has and will set you free, if you care to learn how.

Exodus 2 sets the story up---and there are all kinds of parallels and prophecies of Jesus.

EXODUS 2 IS OUR FOCUS TODAY. And a consistent theme is sounded:

LET MY PEOPLE GO! Bring holiness back to our lives!

Exodus 2 New International Version (NIV) 2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

Ok. This is actually more interesting than it appears, and shows how to do Bible study richly, if you’re so inclined. Here’s what you can deduct from this. Notice first, they still retained a tribal identity (Levi man, Levi woman). The Israelites still had awareness of what tribes they were from, even though they’d been in Egypt for 400-plus years. They kept that knowledge. Apparently, God’s people were aware of where they came from, especially their spiritual heritage. But as you read on, they had a sense of even more!

PICK UP HERE

Sunday, March 10, 2019
LET MY PEOPLE GO

The Israelites---all 70 of them, moved to Egypt. As we saw, they had too. There was a famine in the land, and the Lord had sent Joseph there ahead of them to become second in command to Pharaoh, the ruler of one of the greatest ancient kingdoms of all time. Genesis 50:15-21

So God Planned It All---To Save Them From The Famine---but also to grow them into a mighty nation! He prophesied to Abraham years ago in a dream.

(Genesis 15:12-16) 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

God was giving a prophecy not only for the Israelites, who would live in Egypt and in slavery and would be liberated.

He was also giving a prophetic pattern for us.

As Abraham’s children through Jesus (Gal 3:23) we live as strangers in the Egypt of this world.
While God blesses us with light, we move through a lot of darkness.
This system has a low level of morality, which Genesis says Sodom did.
And this system enslaves people---to working for treasures, with hard schedules, and to sin.
Egypt is the system. Pharaoh represents Satan.

Special Focus Theme for January/February - VICTIM OR VICTOR

Victim or Victor

“From the Ground up Series” Special Focus Theme for

January/February We’re doing a series called “From the Ground Up” at Community ConneXions Church. It’s taking us through the remarkable stories in the Old Testament God gave us all to find examples to learn from and resources to empower our daily lives.

Here is one resource we all need a lot of help with---how not to become a “victim” but a victor, through the challenges life throws us. How many times have we felt stuck, have we thought there was no way we could crawl out from some situation we were plunged into or some position we placed ourselves in?

When you look at the stars of the book of Genesis, they faced many “victimizing” circumstances as well. There was a lady who could never have a baby and was past her prime years for doing so, and yet ended up doing so.

There was a man whose dad had nearly sacrificed him to God, and somehow grew up without a bitter attitude toward God or his dad. There was a man who was a deceiver and a liar, and who did devasting things to destroy his family, yet ended up overcoming his negative tendencies. Parents parented poorly and children who seemed destined for failure, yet somehow families survived, and reconciliation was achieved.

All of these individuals had significant barriers to the success they so long to achieve. But somehow, these biblical stars overcame astounding things! And became victors, and not victims, in the drama of life. There is an amazing subtheme that’s emerging from the book of Genesis as we go through it, from the ground up. A pattern of salvation, of overcoming, of victory over victimhood, would be repeated in story after story, human after human, from this point on. The overcoming God has an overcoming name He wants to belong to all His overcoming people---Israel, an overcomer with God and man. Want to be a victor, and not a victim, a lot more in life? Join us, and learn from the heroes of the book of Genesis, From the Ground Up!

Sunday, January 6, 2019
The Faith of Abraham

So far, we’ve seen the earth and the universe as it was at its very beginnings... .when it was fresh and unspoiled. When God created the world in a majestic display of power, culminating with a man and woman made like Himself.

Also, just two chapters into the Genesis story, the tragedy began!

The destruction of God’s marred masterpiece. Humanity and God's beautiful creation became distorted. Man became distorted, and it was all the devil’s work. God took some stop-gap measures to mitigate the destruction, including the flood of Noah and the Tower of Bable. However, these were only stop-gap measures. God had a plan to destroy Satan's work. 1 John 3:8 New International Version (NIV) The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. The plan involved the saving of mankind and creation by producing a miracle child.

The miracle child was going to come in two phases — a prophetic version named Isaac, whom we would study today. Also, a final version named Jesus, whom we all live in freely saved forever.

At this stage of our biblical journey, we looked at the birth of the first miracle child, Isaac. However, what was scarier, we got a chance to look at something even more bizarre and amazingly prophetic. We were given a chance in Genesis 22 to look at his near death at his father’s hands. We studied the story in depth and asked ourselves what Abraham thought that enabled him to endure such a test from God so successfully as we saw a scripture in Hebrews filled in that blank.

HEBREWS 11

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

This story has some powerful implications for Christians today. For one, as unpopular as it might be to say in today’s Christian circles, could you honestly say that in this situation, Abraham’s family was his first ministry? Additionally, when it comes to asking your family to make sacrifices, what did Abraham teach his son about ministry? Furthermore, what does it make us realize that might happen to us and our beloved whatever---our job, our home, our dream, our life achievement---is there a possibility that God might see if we’d be willing to give it all up for Him if he wanted us to?

And finally, how at the end of the story, Abraham didn’t have to sacrifice his only begotten son. Only one Father in the Bible ever went through with that one. So we are blessed because He did. For God so loved the world---and all of us---that He gave His only begotten Son. He did this all the way, and simply because to Him, we were worth it.

This was an amazing and disturbing story. Perhaps it’s all right when we allow the truth of God to make us a little “uncomfortable.” After all, He gave up His sin-free, rich universe for us!

Sunday, November 11, 2018
Genesis 10-11 The Tower of Babel
THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN MAN TRIED TO BUILD

The sons of Noah were like Adam the Sequel---they became the ones whose progeny populated the earth. Genesis 10 gives an overview of that, covering the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, but not in that order. The tale is going to narrow soon, to concentrate on a single descendant of the sons of Shem, from whom the "Hebrews" (sons of Eber mentioned in the chapter) would come.

But before that, this new generation of humanity showed the same proclivity that Adam and Eve did in their "new beginnings." Just as they wanted to take of the tree of "knowledge" to become like God, the humanity that was now forming wanted to build a tower "to the heavens" to reach God, and to hence "connect" with God, by their own steam. And had not God stepped in and prevented it by confounding their ability to comprehend each other, they would have at least assumed they succeeded. Like all human efforts to become "invincible," whether it is the building of a Titanic or the building of a Nazi Reich, all such efforts are doomed to failure. Because we'll never to be able to become "like God" on our own steam. You can't become like God by your efforts, your planning, your perfected life plans, your anything.

It will never be something we simply could "take" on our own as if we were somehow equaled to Him.

But oddly enough Adam would be "sequeled"---by the new Adam, Jesus Christ. And finally, humanity would not only be "like" God---but a single person Jesus Christ would be fully human and fully God. Humanity would somehow become one with the Divine Nature. But it gets better than that. Christ would then receive the Spirit of God as a glorified human (John 7), and make it so freely available to all that we could share in that nature! That's better than becoming like God. In some mystical way, it's like becoming one with God.

We do so through the one who is "the Stairway" to Heaven. Or as He liked to say, "the life, the truth, AND The Way!" (John 14:6) Cheer up, brothers and sisters. And lighten up too. You can stop your frantic efforts to build your "life legacy," your Babel, to keep you safe and warm and alive. God's got our back. And Jesus Christ, our true High Tower, has got our destiny back as well. Rather than us sons of Adam trying like God to be equal, put your trust in Christ, His Sequel.

And begin to relax in the "Garden" God wants your life to be.

Sunday, November 11, 2018
Thanksgiving and Communion

A Greek Orthodox priest shared a marvelous concept with me, which want to share with you, for Thanksgiving Communion Sunday weekend. He teaches how "giving thanks" is the ultimate act of "communion." Here's what he explained.

When you give thanks, you obviously are giving "thanks" to someone. It would be meaningless to simply "give thanks" and there not be a receiver of the thanks. Being thankful, to both God and man enables the life of "communion" (or ConneXion as we say it) to all. You simply can't be "thankful" to nothing. Giving thanks always requires a recipient.

In ancient times in ancient Israel, the system that God set up was not so much a system of sacrifice as it was of "Thanksgiving" and "thanks" living. There were offerings of thanksgiving. There were tithes that were not rent checks to a Cosmic Landlord, but tokens of thanks to the One from whom all came. There were days and weeks spent harmonizing with and communing with God, nature and each other. There was a sense of God's gracious ever giving love and a sense of reciprocity owed Him by us, His "grateful" creatures. How the world would change if we simply "gave thanks" and lived "thanks."

Is it any wonder, the ancient church called what we call "communion" the "Eucharist"--- the cup of blessing, the cup of thanksgiving (1 Cor 10:16)---a perpetual giving and living of thanks.

The Eucharist is so much more than just a symbolic "reminder" of something Christ did long ago. The Eucharist is a place of grace, a place of His presence, and its mystery defies our ability to nail down exactly what transpires in God's presence when we take it. But as the Apostles believed, like the early church fathers believed, like the "catholic" church believed when faith was truly catholic, and the orthodox church believed when doctrine was truly evangelically orthodox, the Presence of Christ was present and still is the True Thanksgiving meal we take whenever we meet together. Communion is "thanksgiving." Communion is the "Eucharistic" presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And happy is she or he who finds this out and enjoys it weekly.

We do now at Community ConneXions Church. And it's changing the landscape of our culture and our impact. Why don't you consider joining us, and sharing the life of thanksgiving with others as well?

Sunday, October 21, 2018
Genesis 2 – “Life can be “juicy” - Full of Joy and Richness”

In discussing what happened in the Garden of Eden, Jesus said something amazing about Satan.

John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

So Satan was a murderer in the Garden of Eden In Genesis 3. He did not “hold to the truth.” There is “no truth in him.” That’s interesting because C. S. Lewis says something similar about the “lie” that sin represents. It comes from a Bible Gateway resource I get and quotes from various portions of his writings.

Let me share part of it with you.

"I think one may be quite rid of the old haunting suspicion—which raises its head in every temptation—that there is something else than God—some other country... into which He forbids us to trespass . . . He “doesn’t appreciate” or just chooses to forbid, but which wd. be real delight if only we were allowed to get it."

That’s just like the lie the serpent told Eve in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3 New International Version (NIV) The Fall

3 Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Look at what the serpent deceived with---the sense that there was some “delight” God is forbidding us from. In effect, he is saying, “there is something else than God.” There is some other delight than what He offers.

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

But here’s what Lewis concludes about the “deceitfulness” of sin. "The thing just isn’t there. Whatever we desire is either what God is trying to give us as quickly as He can, or else a false picture of what He is trying to give us-a false picture wh. would not attract us for a moment if we saw the real thing." That’s so true. Like we learned in Genesis 3, if Eve had known what would happen, they’d have seen that there simply wasn’t anything better than what God was trying to give them. This was what sin resulted in.

1. A sense of shame about them, I believe physically and spiritually.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

They “hid” from each other.

2.An instinct to “hide” from God.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

3. A sense of fear and shame

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

4. All the curses, and the ultimate banishment from the Tree of Life.

3 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Therefore God does really in a sense contain evil—i.e., contains what is the real motive power behind all our evil desires. He knows what we want, even in our vilest acts: He is longing to give it to us. He is not looking on from the outside at some new “taste” or “separate desire of our own.” Only because He has laid up real goods for us to desire are we able to go wrong by snatching at them in greedy, misdirected ways.

The humans wanted something that God wanted to freely give them. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

God wanted us to have everything He is and has. Christ proves that He’s given us

His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New International Version (NIV)

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He is going to let us be everything His human Son, Jesus, is.

1 John 3 New International Version (NIV)
3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Notice the phrase there. We shall be “like” God, the way Jesus is like God! The only way we can be like God.

We’ll never be like God is some independent way, as if we could “be” on our own without relying on Him. That’s apparently what Satan wanted!

Isaiah 14:13-14 New International Version (NIV)

13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. [ a ]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

Catch that phrase. “I will MAKE MYSELF like the Most High.”

We can never make ourselves “like” the most High. But we can be like Him as He grants us to be, through the tree of life! And forever more, we can completely and joyfully transparent in Him, naked and without shame.

Life can be "juicy"---full of joy and richness. When we take of the tree of life and live in the Garden of God, with God!

1 C. S. Lewis, Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/cs-lewis-daily/2017/10/24

Reverencing the Eucharist

In preparation of our upcoming “From the Ground Up” Series, we gave holy reverence to the Eucharist on Sunday.

Christ gave us an amazing gift right before He died. He gave us the gift of Holy Communion, which we are planning, more often than not, to call The Eucharist at Community ConneXions Church. The Apostle Paul recorded it for us in an explanation He gave to the Corinthian church.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25 New International Version (NIV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks,

Note that phrase---when he had “given thanks. The word used is the Greek word “eucharisteo.” It’s not hard to see where the English version of it (Eucharist) came from. This word shows up in at least 5 of the biblical descriptions of the event. It’s now wonder the early church called it “The Eucharist.” Or to put it in modern vernacular, they called it “The Thanksgiving.” It was “broken” in their presence, just like Christ’s body was broken for us. Christ said:

“This IS my body . . . this do in remembrance of me!”

“This IS the new covenant in my blood. . . this do in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:28).

We remember Him. And when we remember Him we remember what we were created to be. Before the creation of the world, God chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight “in Him” (Ephesians 1:4). Humanity and God were to be communed into one in Him. He is our communion---and by eating His flesh, and drinking His blood, we have eternal life (John 6).

The early church believed the real presence of Christ was in The Eucharist. Luther the reformer did too---His whole life, including His body and His blood. They talk of the Eucharistic “Parousia” or “advent” or “coming.” In an age where God has chosen to not be “visible” in a tangible way, He is present in the mystery of the Eucharist. He is really present---the whole Jesus is. When we partake of His life, we partake of every aspect of His life. We partake of His purging of sins (“the purgative” phase), we partake of His lighting our hearts with His life (“the illuminative phase), and as we intensely and vigorously participate in the Diving nature, we partake in a perfect union with Him (the “unitive stage”)---our spirits and God’s Spirit are one (1 Corinthians 6:17), and our souls sing to God with the joy of a being filled with the life of God, healed with the life of God, and thrilled with the life of God, as we live it out loud and give it the way He designed us to share it! It’s a very holy communion. And it’s a very healing one as well.

At Community ConneXions Church, we’re going to journey with Jesus “From the Ground Up.” We’re going to study deeply the biblical revelation of life and the meaning of life from the same book Jesus studied and learned, the Old Testament. With the lens of Jesus being our “reading glasses” we put on, we’re going to see Jesus in surprising ways in the stories we read. And we’re going to see the hidden truth of the Triune Life of God surface as well.

Come to join us in this journey. Your life will be forever changed when you do.

From the Ground Up: Reverencing The Bible

As we prepare for our sermon series "From the Ground Up," we want to prepare ourselves to not only read the bible but to reverence it.

We began by noting how Acts 2 records that after 3000 people were baptized right after Christ's resurrection, they lived out a certain lifestyle---they were devoted to "the fellowship," they were devoted to "the breaking of bread," they were devoted to prayer, and they were devoted to the "apostle's teaching." What was the apostle's teaching? They taught Jesus, and because of Jesus' special training with them, they knew how to see Christ in the Scriptures! Look at how Christ trained them in this in Luke 24:27 and verses 44-49. He showed them how to see Him in the Scriptures.

The bible is an amazing book and is to be studied with reverence. So on this day, we considered how:

Kings were commanded to read Scriptures all the days of their lives (Deut 17:14-20).
Scriptures were read to family-integrated groups (Exodus 24:7, Deuteronomy 31:9-13).
Jesus grew up hearing the Scriptures read in spiritual gatherings (Luke 4:16-21).
The early church publically read the Scriptures (1 Timothy 4:16).
Families were encouraged to share the Scriptures with their children (Deuteronomy 4:6-9).
Paul rejoiced that Timothy had been taught the Scriptures from infancy (2 Timothy 3:15).

The Bible is not an ordinary book. It's inspired (2 Timothy 3:16). It can make you wise unto salvation in Jesus. It can help you make major decisions because it contains "living words" (Hebrews 4:12). It can even help you distinguish what the "spirit" wants versus just what your "soul" wants.

There are guidelines you can use when reading the Scriptures:

Pray first . . . and read the Bible regularly.
Read the Bible analytically. Understand as a whole. Understand it through the lens of Jesus.
Read the Bible systematically! It may profit you more if you make a plan to read it through.
We must read the Bible persistently. Don't give up, even if it gets hard. A breakthrough will come, and so will a blessing!
Read the Bible completely. We're to live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
Read the Bible reverently. It is worthy of your adoration. It is worthy of your love. It's associated with holy things, like prayer (Acts 6:4).
Read the Bible expectantly. There is a message from God for you in it. Don't give up. It will come.
Read the Bible fervently!
Read the Bible collectively (small groups, church, etc.)
Use Bible helps and commentaries.

The Bible is a gift that doesn't need to be ignored. You'll be enriched, blessed and honored if you make time for it. We're going to do so with our "From the Ground Up" series beginning September 30. Come and join us!

Come journey with us, from the Ground Up, beginning with the Old Testament, through a series of Jesus and the Early Church. Discover hidden truths in the ancient books that will make your heart burn and your soul sing!

There is a God, he speaks through a Book, and he speaks to people like you.

Christians need this foundation. Understanding the Old Testament will enrich your understanding of the New Testament. Do you know all of the stories and the theology or their meanings? Today, real people experience failings, flaws, struggles, and doubts. You will relate to the people in the Old Testament, as it tells about utterly human people, like us. You will realize that God made promises full of grace to the people in the Old Testament, centuries before Christ came, and these promises continue for us, yet today.

You will discover and live Scripture like you’ve never experienced it before! You will not be able to wait until the next Sunday... you’ll find yourself reading page-after-page, digging deep into Scripture, letting God speak to you in such incredible ways! It shouldn’t be a surprise, making the Guiness World Record, the Bible is, by far, the best-selling non-fiction book and the most widely distributed book.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never read the Bible, or know the Bible from front-to-back, you will gain more understanding from this teaching and learn more of what you need to know. Experts are not needed...not when God speaks to you.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 19:7

We invite you to journey with us Octovber 7th (or any Sunday)!
Community ConneXions Church is an ancient-modern church, upholding Scripture with holy reverence. We are a Christ-centered community of followers, immersed in the community for the glory of God. We are the Body of Christ, sharing and connecting, in love and faithfulness, welcoming and accepting everyone!

September 9, 2018

From the Ground Up: A Sneak Preview with Genesis 22

So what is going to look like when we begin to look at the Old Testament "from the ground up?" We did sneak preview this Sunday, looking at the famous story in Genesis 22, where Abraham, one of the best father's I know of in the Bible, taught his son, his son of the promise, how to worship God. They were going to sacrifice to the Lord. And guess who was going to be the sacrifice? Abraham’s son was. His “only son” “whom he loved” the story says. Guess who that is beginning to sound like?

It was an amazing story, and one of the most poignant in the Scripture. It was full of prophetic references to Jesus. And it was also full of important lessons for us today. Do we teach our kids to serve God, and yes, even to sacrifice for God, or do we teach our kids attitudes of entitlement by giving in to their demands to be “entertained” when it comes to God?

But think about it.

Is the only way to bring our kids to God is by giving them theme park like Sunday school programs? Are there ways ever our kids can learn how to "sacrifice" something---even if it's their time and attention---in family-integrated worship to God? Do programs like that truly empower a spirituality that lasts in children, even more so than some of our "entitlement" approaches do?

ConneXions is asking that question.

And we're going to take more an ancient-modern approach to a kids place in church. They belong in services. They can learn. In fact, at ConneXions, they are. Come and meet some of our 11-year-olds who can tell you as much about the bible as some adults can. Fathers like God, and Abraham, have a lot they can teach us about how to teach kids to worship. Both of them were dads who taught their children to serve, sacrifice, and sometimes even be willing to be a sacrifice. I think it’s what the early church fathers did as well.

At ConneXions, you might see a transition take place in your child, as they learn to give themselves to the God who's given them everything. During this sermon series, we’re going to give the kids a bible they can use and track with as well.

We’ll all be sharing Jesus---from the ground up!

September 2, 2018

SERMON SERIES PREVIEW PART 2: God's Facebook - And His Most Important Tweets

Our current president is famous (or some would say, infamous) for his daily interactions with social media, his headline making tweets, and his otherwise revolutionary use of social media for an occupant of the Oval Office.

Well, guess what? I'd like to propose that God Himself has put a few “tweets” out there Himself. God Himself went "digital." At least, developed His own version of "Facebook" 2000 or so years ago. Because it says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, He did something not only with His words, with which the Bible waswritten,but with His living Word, Jesus Christ. It says He’s made it possible to see more than just a “book” in the “face” of Jesus. He’s made it possible to see the "glory of God," in the "face of Jesus Christ." His "words" or Word became "flesh" (John 1:14). The "Word" became flesh with a face---the face of Jesus. And when we saw Jesus, we saw God (John 14:9). God’s . . . Facebook!

But for all you Trump fans, it gets better. God has "tweets." Well, not exactly, headline-making messages sent early in the morning. But messages, nonetheless, “posted” or written for the whole world to see, daily. It’s you and me. We, His people, are messages from God written by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, known and read and seen by all. Notice how Scripture words that in 2 Corinthians 3:

3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

You are a letter from Christ. What are you saying about Him? Are you cloudy, obscure? Are you straightforward and glowing? Have you liked God’s “Face”(book) Jesus. Are you going viral? By exposing ourselves more and more to Jesus and reflecting more and more of his glory, we can do that. We can spread His life. To top it off, we can use our social media to project the "spiritual/digital" message God has made us---as we continue to constantly "like" God's "Facebook"---Jesus the Christ.