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Hello Friends: 2.2.12- Staff Perspective
February 2nd, 2012
Hello Friends,
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Hello Friends: 1.26.12-Persistence
January 26th, 2012
Hello Friends,
A few days ago I was reading Luke 18 in my daily devotions. Jesus told a parable about a widow that wouldn’t leave a judge alone. He taught this parable to show his disciples (that’s us, by the way) that they always pray and not give up.
If you have your Bible nearby I encourage you to read Luke 18:1-8 and notice a few things along with me.
1. The Plea
This widow had a particular plea: “Give me justice against my adversary.” In other words, “HELP ME!” How many of you have prayed that kind of prayer? I know I have. “Help” prayers are very common – perhaps the most common of all prayers on this planet. And I don’t think God minds it. He asks us to bring him our concerns, worries, and fears. He’s big enough to handle our stuff.
What are you passionate about? What makes your heart beat and your voice sing? Perhaps it’s your family, physical fitness, a hobby or upcoming event. Those are all wonderful things, but I ask you this question: Are you passionate about Jesus?
Notice the word “eventually” in the Judge’s statements. Eventually means possibly, someday, not now but perhaps soon. We tend to think of “eventually” like a child thinks about “maybe” from the mouth of a parent. Parents toss the word “maybe” around all the time in answer to our persistent children. Frankly, we know how frustrating that word is our to kids, but it’s SUCH A GOOD WORD (am I right?)!
Do you ever hear a “Maybe” from the Lord? Rather than quit, perhaps it’s an invitation to persistently and passionately keep praying.
Do give up. Keep knocking. Jesus encourages us in Matthew 7:7 to:
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Blessings,
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Hello Friends: 1.19.21- Dig Down Deep
January 19th, 2012
Hello Friends,
Take a good look at this verse in the Old Testament.
“For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” Ezra 7:10
Go ahead and read it again.
Did you see the progression? Did you notice the obvious steps?
Ezra first devoted himself to the study of the Word. Then the actual doing of it (which is called observance in certain versions of the Bible). After that, with confidence, he taught it to others.
This is such an important concept for us to capture. The Word of God must get into our souls and affect the way we live before we run around trying to get others to believe it.
This reminds me of the word of Jesus in Luke 6 when he said that those “who hear my words and put them into practice is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.”
Church: let’s dig down deep!
Blessings,
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Hello Friends: 1.12.12- Imagine
January 12th, 2012
Hello Friends,
IMAGINE WITH ME…
• Imagine people focused on the person and purposes of Jesus Christ.
• Imagine a commitment to the reading of, interaction with, and the application of God’s Word.
• Imagine God-inspired passions that are limited only by the voice and direction of the Holy Spirit.
• Imagine a widespread influence upon the region in which we have been sovereignly and strategically placed.
• Imagine a place where those who are lonely, hurting, or frustrated can find love, acceptance, and forgiveness.
• Imagine being a force that reaches tens of thousands with the Good News of God’s love, and makes room in our family and facility for those who come to Jesus.
• Imagine connecting believers into healthy Christian community to love, learn, and live in unity and with purpose.
• Imagine developing every believer into a maturing disciple who is alive in worship, faithful in stewardship, empowered by prayer, filled with God’s Spirit, and obedient to God’s Word.
• Imagine releasing disciples to become servants in significant Kingdom ministry that is matched by his or her gifts, talents, passion, personality and experience.
• Imagine one day hearing the voice of the Lord say: “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant!”
This is how I imagine West Salem Foursquare Church.
Do you?
Blessings in 2012,
Blessings,
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Hello Friends: 1.5.12- 20/20/20 Groups
January 5th, 2012
Hello Friends,
This month we are dedicating ourselves to the reading of and interaction with the WORD OF GOD. For 31 days let’s read the Bible together. Visit our website at www.wsfc.org for the daily reading portions of Scripture. Every weekday in January the WSFC Ministry Center is open THREE-TIMES A DAY for 20/20/20 Groups:
20 Minutes of journaling on a passage
20 Minutes of sharing gems you’ve gleaned
The following is a good and helpful explanation of how to Journal your discoveries in Scripture.
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16
As we read God’s words, we begin to see how God responds to things. Doing regular devotions re-patterns our mind and transforms our spirit. Then when we face situations like Jesus did, we begin to respond in the same way. We begin to understand that His words always build, strengthen, affirm, and give life.
Journaling is an excellent way to both record and process what God has spoken to us. It’s also a useful tool to use at a later time, to reflect on and review some of the ‘gems’ that you have received. Without writing them down, you may forget those blessings and some very important lessons! And while journaling is a very personal time with the Lord, you may want to share some of your daily journaling with your small group. Through discussion, you may be able to look deeper into what God is speaking to you, gain new insight and even encourage others.
You’ll need three items: a Bible, a pen/pencil and a journal. There are many journals you can purchase at a bookstore or a plain notebook will do. The Life Journal is handy because it offers “how to” instructions to help you get the most out of your scripture readings and devotions. There’s a section for special prayer requests where you can record the day you began praying and the day God answered your prayer. It also has a Through-the-Bible Reading Plan, using daily scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments to guide you through the entire Bible in just one year. Life Journals may be purchased from Welcome Center or you can also use our online daily devotional at www.wsfc.org.
Next, set aside a certain time in your schedule each day and find a quite place where you’re not likely to be distracted. Many find peaceful meditation sites in nature, by the beach, in the back yard, or in a favorite lawn chair. It’s not important when you do your devotions, but that you make it a very important part of your day. Give God the best part of our day, whatever time that is. For morning people, it’s a great way to start your day. For others, it’s 20-minute lunchtime appointments with Jesus. For the night owls, it’s the final act of the day, the time to quiet their hearts and hear God’s voice.
Now what? One way to do your devotions is to follow the simple acronym, S.O.A.P. which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application & Prayer.
Open your Bible to the reading found under today’s date. Take time reading and allow God to speak to you. Highlight, underline or place a mark in the margin of your Bible, next to the scriptures that stand out. When you are done, reread the passage you marked, look for one that particularly spoke to you that day, and write it in your journal.
What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words, in your journal.
Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of your life. Write out how this scripture can apply to you today.
This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation, so be sure to listen to what God has to say! Now, write it out.
If this seems a little overwhelming, take it slow and keep it simple. No matter how you decide to do your devotions, the important thing is to show up for the appointment, because God is always waiting for you!
Blessings,
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Hello Friends: 12.21.11- Merry Christmas
December 22nd, 2011
Hello Friends,
On behalf of all our WSFC staff, key leaders, elders and council, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas to you and yours. We are so blessed. The words captured on the wall of our lobby say it so well:
“We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are one happy people.”
Psalm 126:2
Denise and I are so happy to serve as your Lead Pastors. We are simply following the model of our Senior Pastor Jesus Christ. He is the one that came as the Ultimate Servant. The Incarnation (God with us) is affirmed in Philippians 2 when it says:
“Christ Jesus…Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In coming to earth in human likeness, Jesus displayed how WIDE, LONG, HIGH and DEEP is his love for us. Join us this Christmas as we celebrate the vast dimensions of his LOVE. Our celebration services are Friday, December 23 at 6:00 & 7:30 PM and Saturday, December 24 at 4:30 & 6:00 PM. All are invited and welcomed!
Blessings,
Pastors John & Denise
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Hello Friends: 12.15.11- Just the Beginning
December 15th, 2011
Hello Friends,
“When the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci went to China in the sixteenth century, he brought along samples of religious art to illustrate the Christian story for people who had never heard it. The Chinese readily adopted portraits of the Virgin Mary holding her child, but when he produced paintings of the crucifixion and tried to explain that the God-child had grown up only to be executed, the audience reacted with revulsion and horror. They much preferred the Virgin and insisted on worshipping her rather than the crucified God. As I thumb once more through my stack of Christmas cards, I realize that we in Christian countries do much the same thing. We observe a mellow, domesticated holiday purged of any hint of scandal. Above all, we purge from it any reminder of how the story that began at Bethlehem turned out at Calvary.” (Taken from The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey)
How true this is? How quickly we tend to forget that the birth of Jesus was really the beginning of the end. And the beginning of the end for Jesus was most certainly the starting point for those that would come to believe in the Son of God. The miracle of his Birth has everything to do with our salvation, restoration and Kingdom welcome.
The facts of Christmas, rhymed in carols, recited by children in church plays, and illustrated on cards, have become so familiar that it is easy to miss the message of the cross.
That is the purpose of his coming.
That’s why we call him Emmanuel: God with us.
Take time during this Christmas season to rediscover Christ in Christmas and may the journey lead you to a point of confession that HE IS LORD!
Blessings,
Pastors John & Denise
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Hello Friends: 12.8.11 The Red Cup
December 8th, 2011
Hello Friends,
Ah…
The Red Cup.
You know what Red Cup I’m talking about, don’t you?
Not the Red Solo Cup that you find at parties, ala Toby Keith.
Instead, I’m referring to the Red Cup at Starbucks. Many folks have come to believe IT is the official beginning of the Christmas season.
More than Christmas music, frosty sidewalks, Black Friday sales, or precariously hanging lights from the eves. I’m here to declare that the new official start to Christmas has become the Red Cup….or so I’ve been told (don’t shoot the messenger).
And if that is indeed true then we’ve placed a lot of symbolic weight upon a circular piece of graphically enhanced cardboard with a plastic lid and overpriced java within. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a fan. I’ve dropped quite a bit of cash for that designer caffeine fix. The baristas know me by name and often have my drink ready when I walk in. I have a Starbucks Gold Card for crying out loud.
So, I too have waited with bated breath for the Red Cup to usher in the days of Christmas.
But hopefully Christmas doesn’t begin and end with a Red Cup. Hopefully there is more to this season than that. More than a cup. More than lights. More than gifts. More than shopping. More than church services. More than family meals. More than white elephant exchanges, office parties, fruitcake and figgy pudding (what IS that stuff anyway?!?).
Hopefully JESUS is in the mix.
He is the whole point of Christmas. Everything else is…well…a Red Cup. The point is, plain and simple: JESUS.
Be excited about JESUS. Anticipate JESUS. Talk about JESUS. Put down the Red Cup and LIFT UP JESUS!!
Blessings,
Pastors John & Denise
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Hello Friends: 12.1.11- Grasping the Ungraspable
December 1st, 2011
Hello Friends,
Christmas is crazy. I’m not necessarily referring to the hustle and bustle of the season. Not to mention the overspending. Who can understand the frenzy at Wal-Mart to get a cruddy DVD player? Why all the hype? Does the holiday music really have to start filling the stores around the end of October?
The first and foremost one is that God would become a baby. Please don’t miss the magnitude of this:
God and Baby.
Big and Little.
Powerful and Weak.
Go figure. How is it possible to have the fullness of the Godhead reduced down into an 8 pound 10 ounce bundle of energy? It’s similar to the task of putting a nuclear power plant into a thimble! In the end we are grasping the ungraspable and that might be just how God wants it. In Ephesians 3:19 the reader can find two tension-filled concepts that emphasize the absurdity of the Gospel. In Paul’s prayer he asks “that Christ might dwell in our hearts and that we might be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” This prayer seems simple enough. It’s the desire of earnest, growing believers to have Jesus be at home within our hearts. And we most certainly want to have the love of Christ flowing in and through us.
But then it gets weird. Paul goes postal and the Bible gets bizarre. It’s says, catch this: “and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
How does one know what can’t be known? The love of God surpasses knowledge according to this passage. So how can we know it then? It’s like roping the wind or catching a sunbeam or defying gravity. Doesn’t this sound absurd? But wait, there’s more…
Try comprehending how we as humans can be filled with all the fullness of God. Finite simply cannot contain the infinite. Right? That goes back to the whole nuclear power plant/thimble scenario! I can understand how we could have a part or portion of God fill us up. In Exodus 33, Moses was allowed to see only God’s back side because if he saw the magnitude of God’s being then he would not live. The fullness of God’s presence is simply more than we can handle. And yet Paul has the audacity to pray for us to be filled with the full measure of God! Can we really handle it?
I’m convinced that God thrives on this craziness. He loves the tension and the absurdity because it fuels the mystery and feeds our faith (or lack thereof). Just when we think we’ve got God all figured out we unwrap another layer of his complexity. That’s what makes Christmas so ‘wonder full’ – the knowing what can’t be known – the being filled with someone so much bigger than ourselves.
This is grasping the ungraspable and that might be just how God wants it to be.
Join us at our services over the next few weekends and at one of our Special Christmas Services on Friday, Dec 23 at 6:00 & 7:30pm and Saturday, Dec 24 at 4:30 & 6:00pm as we try to grasp the ungraspable LOVE OF GOD together!
Merry Christmas you and yours.
Blessings,
Pastors John & Denise
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Hello Friends: 11.24.11- A Heart of Thankfulness
November 23rd, 2011
Hello Friends,
May I recommend a few basic things for your Thanksgiving Day? It’s a day for the most basic things. The basics are always best.
Thanksgiving Day may be the best of all our holidays. There is no confusion about the purpose of this wonderful, uniquely American day. It’s all about a few basic things, shared by family, friends, and guests.
Here’s the basic picture: Our family’s good china and silverware, passed down two or three generations. Turkey with stuffing. Mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, butter, salt and pepper. Sweet potatoes with marshmallow and molasses sauce. Green beans. Cranberry sauce slid whole from the can onto a small garnish dish to be sliced and served on the table. Golden brown crescent rolls by the dozens. Three kinds of olives. Two kinds of pickles. A variety of six or seven cut vegetables on a sectioned relish platter. And of course, pumpkin pie with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Sparkling cider in crystal stemware during dinner and coffee after. Turkey sandwiches later on in the evening. It’s a wonderful life…
Add to this scene one more basic thing, not just for this one day of course. Nurture this one basic thing, whether or not you gather with family, or have the big overflowing feast. Add this one basic thing to your lifestyle and your character…
A heart of thankfulness.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6 – 7
“Give thanks for all things, for this is the will of God concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
A heart of thankfulness will settle your focus. If you set your heart to be thankful, putting sarcasm and harsh opinion aside, then you’ll more easily focus on the Lord Jesus and give Him thanks.
A heart of thankfulness will settle your differences. If you set your heart to be thankful, putting your family and relationships up to the Lord Jesus in prayer, then you’ll more easily love and serve those with whom you’ve had differences up to now.
And, well… basically, a heart of thankfulness will settle your dinner. If you set your heart to be thankful, then you’ll rest when you would have been worrying and your Thanksgiving dinner will just sit better.
The basics are always best. Stick to the basics. Seek to grow in a heart of thankfulness.
Blessings to you and your family, especially that you would have a thankful heart.
Pastor Rich and Sandy Marshall
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