RESTORE: A New Community

June of 1999, my wife, sister-in-law and I were traveling through Southern Colorado on our way back from a family reunion. We stopped at a gas station to fill-up and go to the restroom. I went to the restroom, came out, paid for the gasoline and went back out to the car to find my wife and sister-in-law laughing. Long story short, my sister-in-law had misread the bathroom sign and used the men's restroom. On top of that, she was in there when I was using the restroom. This continues to be a story that we laugh about.

The journey that was taken was filled with good memories. I could continue to write about moments I've had with people - some resulting in a lot of laughs, some resulting in laughs afterwards.

One continual journey is parenting. I enjoy seeing my kids learn life. I enjoy having those teachable moments come about and then seeing things "sink in." I have had my moments of learning, as well. The journey brings about a newness of knowledge and application.

As the Christian goes from conversion to heaven, there is a journey. This journey is to get as many people join in with this new life as possible. All those people who join in to create a new community. A community that presents a bigger, new life. With all that said, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Need for Togetherness ~ God, when setting up mankind, said "it was not good for man to be alone." We are created to be together with others. Sometimes that pertains to marriage and other times it means that we work better in life being with others. Being all by yourself presents several negative things, but we need to think about being with people as we go through life. The church that Jesus set up creates a great environment for togetherness. Let's get some more to come along with us in this eternal life journey.
• Exciting Times ~ Excitement is attractive. When you're excited others will be excited. Though the church community is not as new as the church in Acts 2, you can choose to get excited and promote the excitement to others. Then they will get excited, then others will get excited and the snowball continues. Get excited! Be excited!
• Being Sent Out ~ As Jesus sent out a group of individuals ahead of Him, we, too, are sent out. We are being sent and He, in a sense, follows up as we plant-and-water, plant-and-water. This is very exciting for me to think that God is following behind when I am planting-and-watering. As a Christian, you are being sent out - enjoy the privilege.

To go from rundown to restored is a journey. The journey is part of the joy. This all brings about a new community of those who are restored. I enjoy joining in with God in the effort to bring others along in this journey, adding to the new community.

Now it's your turn...how have you been impacted positively in the new community?

RESTORE: Restored From Within

Whether it is the first of the year or maybe a life changing birthday, people have a tendency to want to make a change in their life. Sometimes that change can come easy, where other times it is much more difficult. On occasion the change agent will be like an asteroid hitting the earth; creating a huge reason for change.

To change your body weight/figure in order to fit into a certain size clothes may only be enough motivation to achieve the goal. However, if the reason for the change is to create a healthier lifestyle, then the change will be more likely to stay and the pounds will likely come off, naturally.

Regardless of the change that will take place, it must come from within. The "mind" or "heart" is the anchor for which the change must stem from to have a greater effect.

Sunday, we looked at Romans 12:2 as a means to transform our minds, not wanting to conform to this world. Being something different than the world is as much of a challenge as it is a reward. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...  

• Draw Closer ~ When you spend time with people and become closer to them you start to understand them more. The closer you draw to God you will start to understand Him more. The text describes the principle of being able to recognize what God wants and you will respond quickly. I think this is spot on. I can remember the times in my life which I was closer to God and it seemed to spill over into other areas. It was exciting!
• Rid of the Old ~ A few years ago I was restoring our bathroom. It needed it because there had been a leak in the shower area. This was a first for me and the project presented itself with plenty of challenges. There was more damage than I had planned on. I needed to rid the project of the mold and dry rot that was behind the wall. To start to restore/transform, we must rid ourselves of that which is the old and found deeper than the surface. May your process of riddance be successful!
• Opened Eyes ~ We must be able to see the need for change before we can change effectively. With closed eyes we will not be as likely to see God being active in their life. We will overlook things that come into our life as "not from God" when, they likely could have been from Him. I love to see where God is at in my life; how He is directing me to people who need to know of Him. May you keep your eyes opened to see the possibilities!

Are these types of things a challenge for you? For many it can definitely be a challenge, but the outcomes can be awesome. The great part is that God will present you with an overflowing amount of examples that show He is working with you in your life. I either go to bed or wake up (or sometimes both) looking forward to what is going to come forth in the next day. I look forward to today!

Now, it's your turn...what will you be open to? or How has God been working?

RESTORE: Called, Not Employed

Who do you work for? Or, if you do not have a job, what consumes your life? What are your priorities or what makes up your daily routine?

We all have something that we "do" in our life. The real question is, what is the overarching reason we do the things we do?

For some that "thing" may be for money, support our family, job security, resume building, or because we have to. There are going to be various reasons, but I want to eliminate all the reasons Christians do things, except for one...that we're called.

For some this approach may come as difficult to understand or really wrap your mind around. The concept basically boils down to thinking that we serve God first and everything else falls under that. Too often we separate working/school/retirement and church/God as two different things. We will "change clothes" as we move from one context to another.

As we think about that, here are some applications to the sermon to choose from to use this week...

• At the End of the Day, Keep "Him" On ~ It can be easy to want to come home at the end of a work day and change clothes. Our challenge is to keep Jesus on, no matter what. Whether you are at work or ready to change, keep Him on through it all.
• Revel in Your Calling ~ To partner with God in the Kingdom is simply awesome! I challenge you to think about what you are doing in life, then pointing it all back to the fact that everything falls under Kingdom work. Enjoy teaming up with Him! Look forward to the next thing that comes your way!!! I sure am!
• Not Dividing ~ It is easy to find events that meet you interests. But once "church" comes into the picture, we want to separate. However, these two areas should be in one, with the spiritual being the trump layer. Think about what you do, but keep it all under the "spiritual." This concept keeps all ideas in check...we're here basically for Him...Enjoy it!

Keep in mind that whatever you do, it should be ran through the "spiritual" filter. Everything is done because we're called, not because the job asks/demands. We look for ways to see God and to serve God. When you look for these, it is amazing what comes your way, each day!

Look for them...they are right there in front of you!

Now it's your turn...what have you been involved in where you "saw God" in or following the instance?

RESTORE: Engaging the Culture

Think of what your culture is like. How would you describe it? Are those descriptions good, bad, or neutral? Are they simply describing the culture or are they promoting or tearing down the culture in which you live? Is it describing a culture or a subculture in which you live?

Lots of things change in culture. Some changes may enough to create a subculture within the culture. Some changes are simply the culture evolving into something different.

When you see those changes come into your culture, how are you at adapting to them? Does the "previous" outweigh the "present"? In other words, are you standing your ground to make sure you are most comfortable or are you able to adapt?

Sunday we looked at the idea of "engaging the culture" in which we live in order to make our world restored back to the greatness of which God hoped it could be. We, as His body, are called to live it out. But, in order to, live it out, we must be able to engage the culture for best possible impact.

• Engage the Language ~ There are words that have changed in their meaning and context over the years. This is not new to the "2010s" decade. This has been going on for years. Bread used to mean something you ate, but when I was born it also meant money. Crack used to mean a break in the surface of an object (or could go all the way through) but it also points to a drug. Cell was basically a term in biology, but now will refer to a phone. Turn the channel used to actually mean what it said, but now you hit a button and nothing turns. The list could go on and on. The point is, we must understand where our culture is when it comes to language so that when someone responds to our invitation to come to our house to talk about their faith and they use the word "crib" we'll know what they mean!
• Engage the Fashion ~ Fashion is also one of those revolving changes in culture. When I was in the upper primary grades the "jean jacket" was coming back in style. My parents wore those when they were teens and I had a hard time believing them. Then a few years later, the "bell bottom" came back. Along the way, tie-dye has been in style again. Shoes have changed, too. I remember when I wanted nothing to do with a "dress up" shoe for everyday, but now I like that type of a shoe to wear with jeans, but now they are "casual" and not "dress up." How about another area of fashion is make-up and hair styles. They have come and gone over time. However, now it is a social norm to have a guy wearing some make-up. How do you feel about that? Or a guy in earrings? Tattoos - another subject. Hair length - another subject. Someone predominately dressed in black clothes, does that bother you? You will be amazed if you will just sit down and talk to the type of people you snub your nose at and you will see they have a "heart" and something worthwhile to share. But we can disengage them and lose out on being effective in sharing our faith.
• Engage the Challenges ~ When a person is learning something new, they are going to become frustrated and probably have times they will want to talk themselves out of trying to accomplish the task. My son picked up learning to ride a bike without training wheels really quickly. However, there were times he wanted to have them put back on - even after he had actually learned how. He was challenged to be able to get on the bike and start pedaling all by himself. I was there to encourage and foster his learning. When you look at something different in your culture with eyes that you've never looked at the possibilities before, it will come with challenges. The fun part is, it will also come with victories. Work through the challenges and failures to get to the victories. They will come! Anticipate them!

Keep in mind that "engaging" does not mean that you start practicing the things that you find odd. It means that you will take an active role in learning about your culture so that you can have the most impact you can have in order to succeed in being a follower of Jesus.

I can just imagine there were times which Jesus was not wanting to be with certain people, but He knew that in order to be the most effective, He would embrace them. He engaged the Samaritan culture, which is a great example of doing something He wasn't used to, but He did it anyway!

Now it's your turn...What can you do to effectively engage your culture/subculture?

RESTORE: A World Re-Imagined

If you were to imagine an alternate life than what you are living what would it look like? You'd probably keep your family but possibly choose something that still changes the picture from what it is at the moment. A different house, car, or career may be one of the top choices that you select. Maybe it is something additional to what you have now, be it a vacation home or sports car. Regardless of what it may be, you can imagine it - and may frequently imagine your life differently.

I want us to imagine what a life would look like if more of the people we knew and the place we lived had a life in Christ. Beyond going to church but was able to get excited about the possibilities that came about when we looked at life as being on God's team and joining forces with Him day after day. Being open to the Holy Spirit's working in our lives and taking advantage of the moments which He brings our way to share about Him.

Sunday, we began a series called RESTORE. Taking the concept that we can help take what we "imagine" and turn it into an outcome, trying to restore our world into something better. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week.

• Imagine ~ Think of what you would like different in your school, neighborhood, home, career, church, family, etc. Then, try to think about what you can do to make it become closer to what you imagine? What vision do you have and how can you carry out that vision to accomplish the task?
• In the Beginning ~ When something is new it has a shimmer (literal or figurative) that is very appealing. All things are good and fun and interesting. Over time, things tend to lose that shimmer. Sometimes we polish or repair the item(s) to get it back to the way it was in the beginning because "in the beginning" it was good. Similarly, after man messed things up through sin, God found a way to make things all better, and put that plan into motion through Jesus.
• Reversing Time ~ Time is something you cannot have back. Once it is gone, it cannot come back. Challenges us to take advantage of any time we are given. Though time cannot be taken back and the effects of a mistake cannot always be changed, we can understand that we can be forgiven. Forgiveness is a process of restoration - be it for yourself or toward someone else.
• Look for the New ~ Upon completion of the restoration there will be something new that comes about. As you imagine what the new will be like, look for that to be showing up at the end of the period. The "new" is imaginable and take advantage of what comes along the way.

"Imagine...the world living as one" is possible. It may not be that probable, but our job is not to make sure it comes true, but to make sure that we do what we can to help accomplish the task.

May you carry out the vision you have to make an area of your world better by utilizing the passion and drive you have.

Now it's your turn...what do you imagine, in your world of influence, that needs to be changed?

Graphics and sermon skeleton are graciously shared through Open Resources and can be found here