International MissionsWhat a great celebration on Easter Sunday! God was present and hearts were turned to Christ. Many thanks go out to Carol Peterson and her crew who made such a wonderful breakfast. There were several people who helped to make this breakfast a smooth transition between the services. We are so blessed with many gifted and talented people at our church.
This weekend is what we refer to as Faith Promise Weekend. It is where we focus in on how the Church of the Nazarene is an International Church. We have over 702 missionaries ministering in over 159 world areas.
There will be a dinner on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center featuring a Mexican fiesta buffet, musical selections by our children’s choir, and fellowship with great people. That event and our regular Sunday morning worship services will highlight our guest missionaries, Steve and Debbie Baker from Mexico. Guest Worship Artist, Rick James, is set to provide us with praise and worship leadership during the weekend. It is during this weekend that we collect “promise” cards to determine how much we will give to the World Evangelism Fund over the next year to minister around the world. Plan now to be a part of this weekend of seeing God’s hand at work internationally.
We will also be emphasizing prayer for our Haiti team which is leaving a week from today. The 19 team members are planning to renovate the dormitories at our Seminary/Bible College near Port Au Prince. Another goal of the team is to investigate the next location to build a church in the near future. Apostle Paul closes his letter to the church of Ephesus by asking them to pray for him. This is what we would like you to pray for the ones going to Haiti next week. “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” Ephesians 6:19-20.
May God show you His presence today as you seek Him with your whole heart.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
Nothing But the Blood
This week is what we refer to as Holy Week. It is this week that the whole Christian calendar hinges on. Everything we are about as followers of Jesus Christ culminated in this week over 2,000 years ago. Judas betrays Jesus, the disciples eat the Lord’s Supper with Jesus Himself, Jesus goes to Gethsemane with a few of His disciples and is weighed down with the burdens He was carrying for you and for me. He was arrested, put on trial, falsely accused and lied about, found guilty, disowned by Peter, mocked, and hung on a cross. But three days later, He is raised from the dead. Jesus has conquered death and the grave. This one act of redemption was secured once and for all. Still today we feel the power exuded from the cross and resurrection. It all happened as He promised it would and it is still happening today.
I think of the hymn, “Nothing But the Blood.” Look at the words as they speak of the freedom found only in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb.
“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.O precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow.No other fount I know – Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
“This is all my hope and peace – Nothing but the blood of Jesus.This is all my righteousness – Nothing but the blood of Jesus.O precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow.No other fount I know – Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
If you were to look at all the events that took place within this holy week, you would come across a passage that mentions Peter denying Jesus to those trying to say that Peter was one of His followers (Matthew 26:69-75). He was afraid and not living up to what he said he was going to do. I believe, like Peter, that many people will realize how foolish it was to let time pass before seeking restoration. Restoration never happens by ignoring what pulled us away from God. In John’s gospel, he includes the reinstatement of Peter in the last chapter (John 21:15-19). My prayer is that many will feel the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and be set free on this wonderful Easter Sunday. There truly is nothing more powerful than the blood of Jesus. It was shed to cover a multitude of sins. Praise God we are covered by the blood.
This Thursday we will provide a time of reflection in our Worship Center as we participate in “the Last Supper.” Come any time between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. and spend about 15 minutes reflecting and praying for the Lord to fill you with His forgiveness and grace as we enjoy communion together at the feet of Jesus.
Have a blessed day and remember to invite someone to our Celebration Services on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Plan to come in between the services for a wonderful Easter breakfast held in the Family Life Center.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
Taking Hold of Life
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19
I am so grateful for a church that is mission minded and generously gives to see the Gospel go to the ends of the earth. We have looked at Paul's instruction to Timothy and have realized that we are all rich in many ways. But the key is to be rich in good works, ready to distribute to those in need. We also need to remember that it is not just meeting a physical need, but to meet a spiritual need. All good things come from the Lord. The fact that we are able to give is only a testimony of God’s provision in our life.
When Paul instructed the rich to “do good,” he used the word, agathoergeo, which is a compound of agathos and ergos. The word agathos means good or beneficial, and the word ergos is the most common word in the New Testament for work, presenting the idea of someone who is very active. When you put them together it means to do works that are beneficial, excellent, or helpful to others. It puts intentionality to our giving. It shows someone working hard at giving to the right people and to the right places.
There is also a sense of excitement portrayed when Paul doesn’t stop at “do good.” He continues to say, be rich in good deeds, be generous, and willing to share. It’s almost as if he is saying, “Use the resources God has entrusted you with to leave people in better shape than they were before you encountered them. You should be excited about every opportunity that comes your way to be generous.”
God requires everyone to be a giver. He exemplified that when He came only to give and to serve. So if God has blessed you financially, then you are called to go above and beyond what others do because you have the ability to do more. So let me share something you can be excited about.
This Sunday we will be taking a Legacy Offering during the morning services. We want to give to things that will make an eternal impact in our community. Our We Care Ministry has met with Hope House and decided to give Sunday’s offering to help families get a good start who finish their program. The mission of Hope House is to eliminate homelessness and alleviate poverty. I was impressed with how they work closely with several agencies in town as to not duplicate their services and meet as many needs as possible. Brochures will be available on Sunday with details of this effective ministry to the less fortunate.
I urge you to go before the Lord and allow His Spirit to speak to your heart about how much He wants you to give in this offering. Rather than just thoughtlessly drop money into the offering basket, be intentional about joyfully giving to the Hope House which will use it to impact families and give them a good start to a new life. Let us rejoice together that we have the ability to make a huge difference in others for the Kingdom of God.
Sunday is also the beginning of Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday and continues on to Easter Sunday and beyond, providing many opportunities to invite new guests and celebrate the life God has given to us.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
Led By the Spirit
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).
Have you ever taken a trip to a place you have never been before and tried to see all there was to see in a short time? We call that vacation time at our house. We always leave late, never have enough time to see everything we want to see, and we find out later that there was something really cool that we missed. It seems that we always end up taking the longest and hardest route possible. Then you learn in a conversation with someone that they could have saved you time and energy because they knew the area really well. But why would you stop and get directions when you can figure it out on your own? I thought everyone knew that.
This verse says that the Holy Spirit wants to guide us through life. He wants to guide us as we walk into the future. It uses the Greek word odegeo, and it is the word for a guide who shows a traveler the safest course through an unknown country. That is what Jesus did when He ascended to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Guide. This word implies that the Holy Spirit knows the best way in which we should go. He knows how to avoid every trap and every attack; He knows the safest and fastest route to take. I have caught myself saying, “If I only knew where God wanted me to go or if I only knew what decision to make.” There you have it, we have access to what the Father says because the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, will not speak on His own, but only what He hears from the Father.
We see throughout the Gospels where Jesus is being led or guided by the Spirit. Take John 11:1-11 where Jesus was led by the Spirit not to go to Bethany to see Lazarus when His friend was sick and on his death bed. Hostile Jewish leaders expected Jesus to go to Lazarus’ aid and were waiting there to trap Him. Jesus didn’t go right away to Lazarus, in fact, He waited a few days after he died. It must have been difficult for Jesus not to go and intercede for Lazarus. But the Holy Spirit guided Him to stay away from that place because there were people waiting to stone Him. It wasn’t until these leaders left that Jesus was led by the Spirit to go to Bethany, where He raised Lazarus from the dead.
There are many stories of Jesus avoiding the religious leaders with intentions of killing Him. He was supernaturally guided by the Spirit, escaping any confrontation before His time had come to reveal Himself.
In the book of Acts, we see the Early Church being led by the Spirit on many occasions. Acts 16:6-9 mentions how the Holy Spirit kept them from preaching and led them to do certain things. God still speaks through the Holy Spirit today. We just need to be in tune with the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit. Being led by the Spirit is one of the privileges we receive as children of God. Romans 8:14 says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” The word “led” is the Greek word ago, which is the picture of someone gently leading someone else. This shows that the Spirit will lead us, but we must extend our hearts and hands to Him first, for without our cooperation, He cannot guide us anywhere. Without the Spirit, we are left to find our own way.
So today, be extra sensitive to the fact that the Holy Spirit wants to lead and guide you to places only He knows. If only I would have stopped and asked for directions from someone who knew the way, I could have enjoyed my vacation a little more. Maybe next time – or not.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
Worthy of our Praise
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, O descendants of Abraham His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.” Psalm 105:1-5
God is so good to us. We are to make known to the nations what God has done for us. As a church, we have a big opportunity to tell others of our Lord by serving. This Sunday will be our Upward Awards Night in the Family Life Center. There will be two sessions happening in order to house all of the children and their families. We are looking for people to come and help greet and serve families as they come to hear the Gospel presented. We need lots of people to help us have a smooth night. Be sure and sign upon Sunday.
Thank you for being Jesus to someone today. I was just thinking about how so many people do so many things in and around the church. We have an awesome church of fellow servants. God is using the strengths He gave us to make an eternal impact all around. What a joy to serve the Lord and serve others in His name.
I’m looking forward to being with you this Sunday as I begin a new series from the Book of Galatians.
Take time to see where God is moving. Ask the Lord to make you aware of His presence as you seek Him with all of your heart.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org
