Upcoming Events for FCMC

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Pastor Jesse
Hi Everyone!
Summer is here!  And with it comes a change of pace.  That is true for FCMC, too!
1)  Tomorrow, we’ll be helping out with the last Young Lives CLUB until the Fall.  It’s the Father’s Day Club – and while most of us will be doing our usual forms of service, our very own Kent Wehmeier will be on a panel with a few other fathers answering questions from teen moms!  Keep Kent and that other dads in prayer that the Holy Spirit will give them wisdom as they field questions.
2) Discipleship Huddles continue.  Tuesday lunch at noon Hurricane Grill on 210 and Wednesday evenings at 7:00.   We’re praying about a third.
3) Be praying for the Wehmeier’s neighborhood as they are making plans to connect with their new neighbors – an Ice Cream Social may be in the works.
4) Stewards meet next Sunday.  Pray for wisdom as we seek the God’s leading for FCMC.
5) Our next worship service is on Saturday, June 13 at 6:30 at Faith Community Church (3450 CR210).  We’ll be focusing on what it means to listen for the Holy Spirit.  Come celebrate what God is doing on the First Coast with us!
Need prayer?  Let us know…
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How’s Your “In”? Missional Micro Post.

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

How’s your “in”? How are your relationships with the other Christians in whom you are investing your life? (Are you investing deeply in the lives of a few other Christians? — Well, that’s a separate topic.)

A few years back I heard a pastor named Randy Frazee talking about “refrigerator-rights friends.” Those are the kind of people who are so welcome in your home that they can come over and get whatever they want for themselves out of your refrigerator – and you don’t think twice about it. You don’t feel like you have to serve or entertain or even necessarily give them your attention. His point was simple: we need those kinds of friendships. “Love one another” ought to translate to, “Help yourself to what’s in the fridge… Oh, and if you’re out today, could you pick-up some milk?”

Do you have some of those kinds of people in your life?

In our adventure with missional community, we’re getting there. We can walk in when we’re expected without ringing the doorbell. We help with the cooking and clean-up. And if our houses could still use a little straightening up when people arrive – well that’s okay.

That kind of openness with our homes leads to a deeper openness in our own lives. We’re more likely to bear one another’s burdens, speak the truth in love, and love people for who they are when we begin to live together like family.

And I know they didn’t have refrigerators back in his day, but I’m pretty sure that’s the kind or relationship Jesus enjoyed with his disciples.

Blessings on the journey.

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Fine Wine (John 2:1-11)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Last Saturday, Darren and Crystal were with us.  They are doing something extraordinary that is pointing to Jesus.  And it’s kind of like fine wine.  I’ll explain.

You may already know the story of Jesus turning water into wine.  Very briefly, Jesus went to a wedding and (as his mom pointed out), they ran out of wine.  That would have created a very embarrassing situation in 1st Century Galilean Jewish village life.  The host and the groom would not live it down.  Lawsuits against the caterer may have ensued.

But Jesus was there and that changes everything.  He, a little reluctantly, saved the day by turning water into wine.  But the details make all the difference.  The scripture tells us he turned ceremonial washing water into very fine wine.  And John’s gospel tells us this miracle was the first sign that Jesus performed and his disciples noticed and put their faith in him.

Jesus’ sign was really fine wine.

And that’s what I see Darren and Crystal doing.  They are intentionally growing their family through adoption – adopting a two little girls from Somoa.  At least one of these girls has special needs.  The lives these girls are going to experience will be very different because Darren and Crystal have chosen, in love, to make significant personal sacrifice to bring kids into their family out of a desperate situation.  Instead of an orphanage with care-givers, they will have a family with a mom and dad!

In terms of beings a sign that points to Jesus, I would say what they were doing was like really fine wine.

What they are doing also resonates with the early church.  In the Greco-Roman world, children were considered a burden.  Many times, babies who were unwanted, blemished somehow, female, or who had special needs, would be “exposed”.  They would be set out beside the road.  Christians rescued them because Jesus, contrary to the values of his day, taught that children had value.  He even said, “Let the children come to me -and do not hinder them.”

When the early Christians did that, it was noticed.  It impacted the culture.  It was  sign that pointed to Jesus.  You know, the cool thing about pointing to Jesus in such a way is that the whole course of history can change for the better.  Wherever the Christian faith took root, the culture began to treat children better.

It was like really fine wine.

Last Saturday at our worship celebration, Darren and Crystal shared their story.  Darren did a beautiful job drawing the connection between adoption and the gospel (Christians affirm that we are adopted into God’s family) and then Crystal sang an oh-my-that-was-amazing song she’d written for their daughter whom they have not yet met. Well, a guy walked into our worship gathering just as Darren was beginning to speak.  I do not know who he was, and it turned out that ours was not the meeting he was looking for.  But he sat politely through Darren’s talk and then excused himself.  Later it occurred to me that our accidental visitor heard a very clear presentation of the gospel.  And the illustration was standing in front of him.  What Darren and Crystal are doing provided the best proof I could imagine to point to the power of the gospel to change everything.

So, the question this raises in my own mind is pretty significant.  What is the quality of “my sign”?  How well am I pointing to Jesus?  Is it “fine wine”.  How’s yours?  These questions may be helpful in evaluation.

  1. Does what you are doing point to Jesus?
  2. Is it missional?  In other words, does it line up with God’s will and activity in the world?  (In case you are wondering, God has ALWAYS had an interest in rescuing orphans.)
  3. Does it bless the world?
  4. Does it demonstrate love?
  5. Do you need God’s help for it to go well?

If we can answer “yes” to each of the above questions, then we are probably on the right track.

 

 

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Updated: The Lord’s Prayer Life Shape (The Hexagon)

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Hexagon Lords PrayerDrawn from Building a Culture of Discipleship by Mike Breen and the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Key Scriptures: Matthew 6:9-15, Luke 11:1-4

In the Matthew 6 (part of “The Sermon on the Mount”), Jesus tells his disciples to “Pray this way.”   He gives them not just words to pray—but a way to pray that is clear and balanced.   “The model for prayer taught us by Jesus is shallow enough for a Baby to bathe in and deep enough for a elephants to swim through.”

Prayer is the most powerful thing a Christian does. Without prayer, our work and service often becomes empty and unproductive. It has been said that we can never do more than pray until we’ve prayed.

There are six parts (classically known as the six petitions) to the Lord’s prayer—thus our tool to help us remember is the Hexagon. When we pray the six phrases of the Lord’s Prayer, we are planting the seed of kingdom life in our hearts.

Luke 11:1-4 – “Jesus never taught his disciples how to preach – only how to pray” (A. Murray).

1) Praise God for who he is!

“Our Father in heaven, holy is your name.” The preface teaches us to draw near to God to God with reverence and confidence as children to a father, able and ready to help us. Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Remember and proclaim the Father’s Character – who God is – and who we are. Begin times of prayer by praising God for who He is!

2) Ask for Heaven to come to Earth!

When we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking for the Father’s Kingdom of light and love to advance against darkness and hate. Our desire is to see heaven come to earth in every situation. Dallas Willard wrote, “Heaven is God breaking into our reality.” What are our realities? Ask God to break into them.   For example: if our reality is sickness, God breaking in would bring healing.  If our reality is fearfulness, God breaking in would bring courage.  If our neighbors are disconnected, God breaking in would bring community.  If our friends have rejected Christ, God breaking in would bring faith.

3) Ask for your daily needs!

“Give us this day our daily bread” is a straightforward way of asking for the Father’s provision. We have needs and in asking for God to meet them we acknowledge that God has the means to feed us whatever our hunger is. Some are reluctant to bother God with things so trivial as our own personal needs. But God is not above being concerned about these things. He wants us to humbly acknowledge our needs and our dependence on him for everything. Pray for your own needs!  God is a loving father who is wise enough to know our needs and who likes to hear from his kids. 

4) Ask for God to forgive you (as you forgive others.)

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”. Here we ask for the Father’s forgiveness and express our commitment to forgive others. When we refuse to forgive the transgressions of another we are saying, “God, my sins against you were not as bad as this person’s sins against me.”   But we owe God more than we can imagine for the forgiveness he gave us in Jesus. Jesus tells a parable about a man who’s master forgave a huge debt. Later the man refused to forgive someone a little. The master was not pleased (Matthew 18:21-31) Jesus is clear—God’s forgiveness of us includes our forgiveness of others. Besides, when we forgive others, we experience something of the joy and life of God! We are all sinners in need of grace. God has forgiven us our sins at the cost of his own suffering. Remember the Canyon and the Cross.

5) Ask for God’s guidance!

Praying “Lead us not into temptation” is asking God to guide us in more circumstances. God is very interested in each of us and desires for us to represent Him in his kingdom well. Here we are asking God to give us the strength to be in the world but not of the world– and to lead us through it. It is okay to ask God to guide in big things and little.

6) Ask for God’s protection!

“Deliver us from the evil one” is acknowledging both the problem of evil in the world and our need for the Father to protect us from it. Our souls have a strong and destructive enemy, but “Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world.” The name of Jesus is greater and God will answer this prayer.

When you work through this prayer, use it as a pattern to pray for all sorts of things. God is interested in every aspect of your life. Of course, he knows what’s going on already, but he wants to hear it from you. Bringing our praises, our requests, our needs, and challenges before God makes a difference in our hearts and opens our eyes to the ways that God is at work around us.

Questions for Reflection:

1) How can this pattern of prayer help bring both depth and bredth to our prayers?

2) Are there other patterns of prayer that you know of that have been helpful. A.C.T.S.—or praying the scriptures, for example.

3) Sometimes people have a hard time praying for their own needs, fearing it might be selfish. How does Jesus’ teaching on prayer address that.

4)  Sometimes people have a hard time praying for the needs of others. Where do we pray for others in the Lord’s prayer?

5) In many prayer groups, health concerns dominate the prayer needs.   While it is certainly important and good to pray for those facing illness , how can following the Lord’s prayer keep us from falling into that rut?

6) Is God saying anything? What will you do about it?

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Worship This Saturday Night!

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Pastor Jesse
Second Saturday Celebration Tomorrow!
1) The First Coast Missional Communities worship gathering is this Saturday night at 6:30 at Faith Community Church.
2)  We are looking forward to Daren and Crystal Libby being with us.  God is doing something really cool through their lives.  They will be sharing the story of their journey toward adoption. You can read some of their story at www.Journey2Family.com.  And if the Lord leads you, there are ways you can partner with them on their journey.
3)  We’re continuing our series on BELLS (Bless three. Eat with three. Learn Christ.  Listen for the Spirit. See yourself as sent.)  This month our focus is “Learning Christ” and we’ll be looking at John 2:1-11 in which Jesus reveals himself through a sign of turning water into wine.
4) Remember to pray for us.  By the way, if you know anyone who has adopted a child or is interested in adoption, invite this month.  I believe they will be encouraged.
God is good.
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