A Look at Sunday, April 30, On Spiritual Warfare and Building Update

Rights not to Die For

     In New Hampshire, the motto and attitude is "Live Free or Die." That motto originated from a toast by General John Stark on July 31, 1809, and it was officially adopted by NH as the state motto in 1945. It expresses a prevalent attitude not only in NH, but in most of America. In our country, there is a pervasive spirit of being independent, demanding our rights, and wanting to be free to do what we want. This spirit shapes everyone. While there are some positive aspects to this spirit, it has easily degenerated into a selfish, self-centered, only-care-for-me lifestyle.
     And it has carried into the church.
     The Apostle Paul also faced it with the Christians in early Corinth. Sunday, we are going to see how Paul took his rights and freedoms, and transformed them into something that was for the greatest good, something that can bring us the greatest purpose for our lives, too.
     This Sunday, we also are going to have a baptism of four adults. Baptisms are always such a high point for me as we see how God has worked to bring people to faith in Christ. To him be the glory!

The Spiritual Battle Is Alive and Real

     These past couple of months have been some of the worst I have gone through in my 35 years of ministry. Things have not working out in some key areas and new challenges have been coming that hadn't been anticipated. It had reached a point where I was discouraged; I didn't want to look at my email and have to read about some problems; I didn't want to have to sit through another meeting that was going to be difficult; frankly, I didn't even want to show up at church. There were times when I thought of someone who worked third shift on an assembly line and wondered if there might be a job opening I could apply for. Throughout this time, I still read the Bible, I still prayed. I obviously came to church. Fortunately I felt carried by our worship team to focus on God and how great he is, on Jesus and what a wonderful Savior he is and what he has so graciously given me. Sunday worship was a much-needed spiritual pit stop.
     But, the weeks continued on with a sense of frustration, of helplessness at seeing some things happen, especially with our building program that were just out-of-control and no one's fault. I came home recently after another meeting, with some chest pain. Driving home I was trying to think of what the signs were of a heart attack. I couldn't think of any except chest pain. When I mentioned it to my wife, her initial response was to want to drive me to the hospital. I figured there had to be more signs than just one, so, I slept on it--or tried to sleep. No pain in the morning, so I'm guessing it was at worst, stress-related.
     The next day, my Leadership Journal arrived, a journal for Christian leaders. The theme of this issue stood boldly in red letters against a dark background: "Spiritual Warfare: How to respond when the battle comes to you." In the editor's comments, he talked about how we, as biblical followers of Christ, will read what the Bible says about spiritual warfare, but when it comes to actually believing spiritual warfare actually happens, we become spiritual cynics. Maybe in Africa. Maybe in South America. But here? In America?
     Without hesitation or apology, I truly believe this has been happening to me and to others. Pastors interviewed for this issue talked about "atmospheric" changes in their church. Peaceful, unified congregations suddenly broke out in episodes of fear, suspicion, distrust or bitterness. I have seen this here. And then I also thought about Nehemiah's experience with building the wall of Jerusalem. No sooner did things start to move ahead than the enemy showed up to try and stop the work. They resorted to fear tactics, ridicule and insults to try to break the spirit of the people into giving up what God had put into Nehemiah's heart. And they kept it up until the wall was completed.
     I reflected on these things, and thought: "If we were in the midst of a spiritual battle, what would it look like?" There would be a spirit of fear, of frustration, of a sense of helplessness that God can't handle things, that God can't bring whatever is needed to complete the task.
     Nehemiah responded in the best way: he prayed. He took their insults and let the Lord deal with them. And he kept the faith. He responded to his enemies in the first round of attacks by saying to them, "The God of Heaven will give us success." (Neh. 2:20).
     Nehemiah was a great leader. But more importantly, Nehemiah's God was a great God. And that great God is still the GREAT God. I consider myself very average. I'm an average Christian, an average pastor, an average husband, an average father. There is not much about me--as everyone who knows me understands--that is anything but average. But I began to realize that average is OK when God, who is great, is working in me. I can't make a couple of hundred thousand dollars suddenly appear to help us with our building or budget. I can't instill the confidence and hope in hearts that are frustrated or fearful. But I can trust in God. I can point out to God where and how I think the enemy is working and I can do what the Bible says to do: "Stand firm in the Lord and in his mighty power."
     I am nothing. God is everything. I have nothing that is going to help in this battle. But I put on the spiritual armor that God has supplied me with, and, with faith in God, I want to join hands together with everyone else as we face our challenges.
     Challenges are opportunities for God to work, to shape me to become a better follower of Christ, a better pastor to my flock, a better husband and father. And I choose to trust God as I look ahead, no matter  what I presently see with my human eyes. I also eagerly ask for prayer for myself and for our church as I and we continue to be God's people, with a deep desire to honor God and bring him glory.
     The battle is real. But so is our God!

Inside Work on the Building

     This week and last week, things were happening on the inside to get ready to start to close up the walls. All the rough electrical work has been done, the plumbers has finished their work to this point. Insulation is going into the walls. The sheet rockers have been working. All of a sudden, the kitchen, the bathrooms and the lobby is looking like something is there. Enjoy a few pictures below of the progress.

Stacks of drywall ready to be put up.

One side of the kitchen.

HVAC units ready to go in their place on the roof.

A Glimpse of Sunday, April 15 & Building Update

I'm Free to Do What I Want

     It seems like every region of the country, and even from country to country, has a perspective on what a true Christian should or shouldn't do. For a long time, and even today, when I lived in the South, a true Christian should never play cards. That even included playing "Fish" with your kids, lest they grow up and get sucked into playing poker.
     Back in the time of Martin Luther, if you were a theology student, you would go to the local pub and talk about theology over a pint of beer with Luther, among other professors and priests.
     What should a Christian do or not do when it comes to a variety of practices that some would say, "Don't do that" or others would say, "Loosen up. I am free to do that."? Where do you draw the line in these areas that can help a person know when they should or should not do certain things?
     This Sunday, April 15, I'm going to begin a series on understanding how to exercise the freedom we have in Christ. How far can we go when it comes to enjoying all that God has given to us? When should I refrain from exercising my liberty to do certain things that others might never do?
     This series will help you develop your guidelines. It may also shake you up a bit.

Moving Ahead Slowly with the Building

     This week, the outside of the building is getting prepped for applying the stucco finish. The white material is insulation boards, and over them will go the wire mesh and then the stucco finish. Inside, the drain pipes were wrapped with insulation. Why would you wrap drain pipes with insulation? That's what I asked also. The reason is that in the winter time, the cold air or water that is in the pipe from the roof, will make the pipe cold. The pipes are in the space above the ceiling tiles and under the roof, an area of about two feet. The cold pipes will meet with the warm air from the heated room below. When the cold meets with the warm, you would have condensation forming on the outside of the pipe and that would cause water to drip down, eventually causing spotting on the ceiling tiles. Wrapping the pipes in insulation eliminates that problem and, so, no water dripping down.
     The ceiling and lighting consultant met with Steve Roy and I last week and will have a finished plan for us on Monday. This will make sure that our front entry lobby and main lobby will tie in together and be one look. Following his plan, then the electrician will be able to finish running his wires, outlets and switches. When he's done, then the sheet rock men will come to put up the walls and enclose things.
 

Business Meeting Reminder

     Also this Sunday is our business meeting to approve the line-of-credit application to finish the building work. This is an important step as we finish. We are very close to finishing and want to do that in the next month and a half. We also want to keep praying for God to close the gap of providing the money for what we need to finish, but we will need the cash loan while we wait for all our pledges to come in, as well as extra money that God brings. We want to get to the point of being debt-free again as quickly as possible. So join with me in praying and giving to this end.

     Enjoy the pictures below:

A Glimpse of Easter Sunday & Building Update

"What's the Big Deal about Easter?"

     People may not say those words exactly. But they consciously or subconsciously are thinking them. How do I know? Easy. Our whole society is reminded of Easter. You can't help but be reminded of Easter. But, that doesn't mean they know what Easter is all about.
     You may have friends who are like that. This Sunday is Easter. And it is a BIG DEAL! Fact is, it is the biggest deal anyone will ever find on planet earth--or anywhere else in the universe. It's the biggest deal for two reasons. One reason is because of what happened on Good Friday is proved on Easter Sunday. And what happened on Good Friday is incredible! The other reason is because all that Jesus did for us on the cross is FREE! There's no better deal than that.
     If you have a friend who is wondering what the big deal is about, invite them to come this Sunday because that is the theme of my message. They will understand why Easter is such a big deal. I would also encourage you to graciously take the initiative and ask your friend if they know why Easter is such a big deal. It's a simple, low-key question that can easily open the door to talk about what Jesus did for us. And it could be the question God uses to help your friend get interested in knowing the answer and then coming to church.
     Our Easter service features our worship team leading us in some great, uplifting songs that celebrate Easter. We are going to have a couple of drama segments that will be bookends to my message. It's a celebration you will enjoy--that anyone would enjoy. So make sure you come early. We always fill up the seats. If you invite someone and they come with you or meet you there, suggest they come at 10:15 to make sure you can all sit together.

A New Look on the Inside

     This week on the building, we finally get to see the inside. The brick is up, the outside doors are on, the windows are in, and the temporary wall is down. You can see these in the pictures below, but when you come to church you can really get a feel for things. Enjoy the pictures!

Looking from the new front entrance into the main lobby.

Looking at the new kitchen from the stairs coming down from the Wing.