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With all the rain over the last month, I’m reminded of how Psalm 72 describes leaders as “rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth”.

What does that mean?

For me, it reminds me that God's gospel is power. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1:16).

The Prophet Isaiah echos this same conviction.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Which is great news! It means...
+ The parts of my heart that I've blocked out can be be healed.
+ My boredom can become excitement.
+ I can confidently say "goodbye" to the things that are already dead in my life.
+ My deferred dreams can be re-engaged again.

And it's all because of what Jesus has done for me. His grace for my judgment. His freedom for my limited perspective. His confidence for my hopelessness. His dreams for my failures. His love for my rejection.

And you have the same promise, too. So do your children... your grandchildren... your spouse... your friends... The gospel falls like rain on everybody - even those we may not expect it to. . . and God's promise is that its work always accomplishes getting His world back. Indeed, nobody is "too far gone" to have a seat at the table.

See you tonight at the Luau Dance or Sunday for worship! Love you more than you know. -pt

How Not to Invite Others to Join You (from personal experience)

1/16/2020

Will you be at the table, this Sunday?

I hope you will.

We want to discover how we can invite others to join Jesus at the table. It will be practical, biblical, and encouraging. In the meantime, here are three ways not to invite others to join you (brought to you by my personal experiences!).

1. Don't send a text invite to [Life] Group without first proofreading it. I invited a friend to our group by texting him, "I'll pick you up tonight. Make sure you inflate Jenny (his wife), too". Yeah... awkward and embarrassing.

2. If you invite someone to a meal, make sure you know the menu. Back in college, I invited a friend to a service project with dinner afterwards. We arrive at dinner after delivering care packages to cancer patients at a local hospital. It never crossed my mind to check the menu... pasta bar with copious amounts of garlic bread. My friend is gluten-free. Oops. I took her to get soup and salad afterwards.

3. Don't invite a Michigan fan to a Saturday service at 5:00 p.m. during football season. Undefeated Michigan was playing Wisconsin. My friend, Ryan agreed to come to church with me if he could follow the game on the ESPN app. I told him "sure". Just as the sermon ended, Michigan scored a touchdown, breaking the 7-7 tie to win the game. No joke. I say "amen" and he shouts, "touchdown!". I couldn't have timed it better myself. I'd like to think he said a "thank you, Jesus" prayer later in the service.

Scared, intimidated, or don’t really know how best to invite others to join you at the table? This week’s message is for you. See you Sunday.

Love you more than you know. -pt

I recently read a blog article by Jasmine Bina about building your brand and strategy. To summarize she say, "Better will always be a losing game for your brand." She outlines four ways to "own different":

Create a new category everyone else is blind to.
Move from utility to lifestyle.
Change the focus.
Change the reality.

While I'm not endorsing (or endorsing) the article, it made me think about how Jesus' invitation to "come, follow me" doesn't necessarily makes us better... but different.

By Jesus inviting people like Levi, you, and me to the table, He creates a new understanding that others are blind to. The Pharisees miss it. People today even miss it! I mean, what would it look like to be part of a church where you belong with Jesus long before you know it, accept it, or participate in it?

Living a lifestyle of following Jesus looks very different than checking the boxes of what Christianity may expect "good people" to do. For Jesus, it's not enough to only go to church and live the other 167 hours of the week as if his invitation doesn't always apply. Following Jesus is a lifestyle, not just a collection of activities we check off a list. Indeed, Jesus has come to bring us life (24/7), and to bring it abundantly! (John 10:10)

Jesus changes the focus of those who are at the table. I'm not going to say much about this right now... just pay attention to the sketch (skit), this Sunday.

And, through Jesus' invitation to us to participate and be joined together with Him in His life, death, and resurrection, our reality is forever changed. We are never apart from the Creator of the Universe. We are never far from divine power and presence. Our eternal reality is secure in the One who died and came back to life to never die again.

Notice that Jesus' invitation doesn't necessarily make us better people (though, we do become more like Jesus who is understood to be the best human being to walk the earth)... but, for sure, Jesus' invitation to us to follow Him makes us different people. Perhaps, people who have such a humble spirit that welcomes people we wouldn't expect to walk with us - with Jesus. . . who craves to be with Jesus every moment of every day (not just one hour a week). . . who focus on different things when they're with others at the table. . . and who life a different reality now and in our forever future.

Different. Not, necessarily better. What do you think?

Love you more than you know. -pt

January 02nd, 2020

1/2/2020

Have you ever felt left out? Like an outsider? Like you don’t belong?

I have. . . and it’s not fun!

I remember having tears in my eyes. Rage was building inside of me. I had just moved from the rural fields of Central Nebraska to suburban Detroit. For the last four years, I played center on the basketball team for the last four years (I was 5'8" and there were only 6 guys on the team, so it wasn't like I had any competition... but don't tell that to a 13 year old jock!). It was the first day of 8th grade basketball try-outs. I knew the game and yet didn't know the drills. I understood the language and yet didn't know anybody well enough to play cohesively. And even though I could run with the rest of the guys, I knew I didn't socially belong. I was an outsider from Nebraska in a pool of suburban kids who had been playing ball together since elementary school. And no matter how hard I tried, there was no way of earning an invitation onto team.

That was a really hard week.

Good thing Jesus doesn’t leave any of us out! The Apostle Paul nails it when he writes, "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:12-13)

What if Jesus extended an invitation to you to have a seat at the table - regardless of who you are and what you've done?

What if Jesus invites someone to the table and you don't think they should be there?

What if there is always more room at the table... and people are dying to take their seat?

Could it be that Jesus wants to invite more people to the table... and He wants you to extend the invitation because you're already there?

Let’s kick off the new year by discovering what it means to have a seat “at the table”. You’re invited (and your friends and family are, too!). Bring your Bible and invite someone else, this Sunday. Can’t wait!

Love you more than you know! -pt

Pastor Tim's Blog

Rain

How Not to Invite Others to Join You (from personal experience)

Not Better... But, Different.

January 02nd, 2020

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