Collision MUMC

8.22.2010

2010-09-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Being cleansed by the living water.

We are good at getting dirty. We learn to like the mud. Sometimes we get dirty from others around us because they have so much dirt that it flings onto us. Sometimes we don't want to take the time to be cleansed. How often do you shower?

As you may have noticed, I am not talking about just a regular shower. I am talking about us letting God cleanse us. It is so easy for us to get dirty. We just live as we want to live. We make something or someone more important then God (sleep, TV, etc.). It can be that easy. But the problem with being dirty is that we can't hear that small voice because our minds and lives are so cluttered. And we can become embarrassed and just try to cover up our dirtiness. Just like Adam and Eve when they left the Garden of Eden.

How much time are we taking to let God cleanse us? Is it once a week, Sunday mornings at church. Do we only take one shower a week? And do we feel clean from taking just this one shower? How can we expect to feel cleansed by God if we are only allowing Him to clean us once a week?
Everyone gets dirty and needs to be washed. The Bible says, "Everyone has sinned." God wants to wash us because only He can. He takes delight in cleansing and healing us.
He wants to round off the rough edges.
Psalms 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God."

So how are we supposed to let God cleanse us?
Worship, sing, pray, celebrate the Sacraments. Remember what Jesus has done for us. Spend time reading and reflecting the Bible at home. Be real with God.
Ask Him, "Where does the work need to be done God?" After all, God doesn't choose perfect people. Because no one is. We are all a work in progress. It makes Him happy that we want to be like Him.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 33:6-8

Songs:

Grace like Rain

This is our God

You lifted me out

8.15.2010

2010-08-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Water is such a fundamental part of life. We need water everyday to live. And since it is always at our reach it can be easily taken for granted. Water can also be a force of nature that we fear.

A well was known as a sacred place of life giving opportunity. It was believed that God was present at the wells.

In John 4:5-26, There is the story of the Samaritan woman who came to the well. She was an outcast. It was improper for her to speak 1st to anyone because of her position. But one day at the well Jesus spoke to her. He said I thirst.

While it is so easy to say that Jesus just thirsts for water, a simple drink. It is that he thirsts for this Samaritan woman. He thirsts for this sinner. To have a relationship with her. Jesus thirsts to have a relationship with us all.

So often we feel like we need to clean ourselves up before we can enter into that relationship with Jesus. But here's the truth...Jesus will meet you right where you are. He has already been walking beside you, even before you asked him to. He already knows everything you have done or haven't done. What cleans us is not something we can do on our own. If you are trying to clean yourself before having that relationship with him, you will never get there. You will just prolong your silence. Some of you may worry about contaminating Jesus with your sin. But that cannot happen. We feel like we have to do something for Jesus to love us. But we don't.

It is only by his living waters that you will be transformed. And to receive his living waters all you have to do is ask.

He loves you just for who you are.

He thirst for you.

You don't have to be silent.

You can be a living vessel to share his love with others.

He seeks to be in union with you .

You can be made whole.

8.8.2010

2010-08-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Living out your Faith
Here are some questions to ask yourself...

1.) How are you living out your Faith?
2.) Do you seek God for all your decisions?
3.) Do you align your family with the Gospel?
4.) Are you living out your faith in your home and community?

One great Scripture story that tells us of a man living out his faith is that of Noah. How much faith do you think it took Noah to do what God told him to do? Can you imagine what it must have been like for Noah when he heard God telling him to build an ark? He probably thought, why me? I am just a simple man. What do I have to offer? But he listened. Because he was faithful and he obeyed. He checked off YES to all 4 of the previous questions. Can you say the same?

As we learned in the story of Noah, living out our faith isn't always easy. We are always going to be faced with challenges. But we have our faith to hold onto instead of hiding and saying it is just too hard. Some acts of faith might seem strange to us, or take us out of our comfort zone. But if it is the will of God you will never know who's life it will change. Maybe even yours...

I challenge you to act out your faith to everyone around you. Prayerfully ask God where He wants you to spend some extra time to change someones life.

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3
Scripture story of Noah: Genesis 6-9

We used a clip from Bill Cosby's Noah. Check YouTube for a full version.

8.1.2010

2010-08-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met someone that was in love with Jesus but didn't attend Church? Why do we need Church? I am sure this has been a question that people have struggled and disagreed on for years plus.

As God's children we are called to worship Him. Our church home is a place where we can step out of our everyday distractions. The material lifestyles we can easily become accustom to. A place where we wrestle with who God is? What He is like? To be part of the body of Christ.

Worship shapes us. It helps us enter into the presence of God. Sometimes when all we do is worship alone we can make Him into less, or the image we want Him to be. Rather than all that He is. He is faithful to ALL generations. And to know Him you must know He is a God of His people. As His people we are in a community of faith. We are learning in our worship to grow into His will. God is growing us for Him. For His purpose.

This doesn't mean that we cannot worship outside the walls of the church. It is actually just the opposite. God is active and present in His creation. He is there to restore His world.
God gives us the eyes to go back out into the world and see what He is doing. He calls us to take our worship out into the streets. To sing, to give of ourselves, offering, sharing the gospel, etc.
To bless God in all that we do.

Scripture: Psalms 100

7.25.2010

2010-08-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

++Odd for God++

Do you ever feel like the decisions you make for yourself or your family go against what's the 'norm'? I find myself in this situation quite often. One of my latest decisions was to home school my children. Not a lot of people in our family support this decision. And as I understand their concerns for the welfare of my children, this was a decision I prayerfully considered. And one I feel strongly that God has led me to home schooling.
But this brings me to my point of the sermon. So many people want you to follow the 'norm'.
It is easier and normal to the world. It is what we are used to seeing everyday. But who's to say it is the correct way?
Apart from my earlier example of home schooling and onto the example used in our service (Star Wars). There is evil out there. These forces of darkness want us back on their side. To turn our backs on Jesus. To love ourselves.
And at times, no matter how much we want to be faithful we give into our temptations. Every one of us. But as Christians we know that we can ask for forgiveness and choose to follow what is good and righteous. Christians are odd. We don't want to conform to what others want us to be. We want to be what God created us to be. And we do this by following the path of Scripture.
Scripture tells us to LOVE.

To love the Lord your God with all your heart
and To love your neighbor as yourself.

But God doesn't expect us to do this all on our own.
God gives us armor.
He gives us the breastplate of righteousness.
The helmet of hope and salvation.
The shield of faith.
Shoes of readiness to go forth and share the good news.
The belt of truth.
& the sword of the Spirit
With all this God given armor, we are never without Christ's presence.

Jesus was odd. And as Christians aren't we just trying to be like Him?

Scripture:
Ephesians 6:10-17

3.7.2010

2010-03-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

Bearing Fruit

Going through the Motions

Have you ever been stuck in autopilot?

Having the mindset, "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee."

Sometimes we go through the motions not realizing what we are actually doing.

Day after day, doing the same ole' thing.

Alarm clock goes off

get out of bed

get dressed

brush your teeth

drink your coffee

head to work

gripe at the traffic

etc...

Did you stop and "live" each moment?

In the present.

Today is a gift, relish in it.

Live in it!

Thank God for every little bit of it!

Even if we are bored.

Even if we are in despair.

We are still here! With another breath.

Stop always trying to rush through the current moment to get to the next.

We don't know the end of our story, we only know this moment.

TODAY!

Life is too short to only do routine things.

Make the most of your time.

How can we produce anything if we aren't living purposefully?

God wants us to bare fruit.

He has created you to produce fruit.

Sometimes it takes a while.

But we have the opportunities to show love or selfishness everyday.

Jesus talked, welcomed, and invited EVERYONE.

Where are the moments that change us?

Share with others, they can see changes in your life.

Let us produce the fruit so we can nourish others.

So He can grow us into His image.

Spread the fruit.

Scripture:

Luke 13:1-9

James 4:13-15

Music:

Heart of Worship

New Doxology

Resonate

Sing to the King

Videos: (click on video link to watch)

Stranger than Fiction clip

The Motions by Matthew West

2.21.2010

2010-03-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Temptation

We all know the power of suggestion is very strong. Most of the time we don't even know we are tempted by something until someone puts it in front of our face. But what makes something a temptation to us? It has to be available and we have to know about it.

For example, when we are hungry and go to the grocery store, we tend to buy more than we needed because everything looks so good and our stomachs are telling us to buy it. It is so easily accessible right there in front of your nose. We usually don't even second guess it, we just pick it up and place it in the basket and move on to the next thing we spot. We go through temptations like this everyday. We live in this instant gratification society. We want things NOW and so we go and get them. It is that easy, right? We rationalize our actions because we want the things we are tempted towards.

During the time that Jesus was in the wilderness, he was also tempted. God led him to this place to be tested. He hadn't eaten for 40 days, Jesus was starving. We get hungry after an hour of not eating. And what do we do? Go to the fridge and see what there is to snack on. The devil was telling Jesus to turn the stone into bread so he could eat. Jesus was tested to want things NOW. But Jesus choose to trust in God. Jesus had faith in Him, not trying to manipulate God. It wasn't easy. It was uncomfortable and difficult. Jesus was obedient to God. He choose to wait for the things God had in store for him.

What do you want more? To feel good in the moment? Or to please God?

Would you trade your Heavenly Father, when it can sometimes be difficult to follow?

Or to worship something else? Just because it is easier.

We all have situations we tend to follow. We aren't perfect people, but if we love God we should be trying to follow His plan for our lives. Ethics should be dictated by Jesus, not by culture.

Your mind is our best defense. Have your mind prepared for temptations before they arise. If we don't think ahead how will we respond? Take time to think, pray, and talk before you make a decision.

Scripture:

Luke 4:1-13

Lectio Divina ~ Spiritual Reading

2010-02-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

~Silencio
(this is not one of the traditional steps in Lectio
Divina, but it can be helpful as you prepare yourself for
this type of spiritual reading)
In this step we take time to step out of our information
grabbing self and allow God to bring us into a receptive mind set. We open ourselves to let the Scripture speak to us in a deeper way than just the surface information gathering mode we are used to.
~Lectio
In this step we read the text aloud. We "taste" the words as they roll off of our tongue. We hear the words as they encounter us. Some people will burn incense here to engage their sense of smell to symbolically take in the text with their sense of smell as well. Read the passage aloud four or five times and let it soak into all of your senses. This is often compared to putting food into our mouth.
~Meditatio
In this step we take the words we have encountered through our senses and we "chew" on them. If Lectio is putting food into our mouth, then Meditatio is the act of chewing on the words. In this step spend time thinking about the passage. What word of phrase jumped out and really caught your attention. Think about that and "chew" on it a while. Some people find it helpful to take that word or phrase and find other passages where it is used, read commentaries or theological dictionaries, and other ways to help you discern what God is saying to you.
~Oratio
In this step we open dialogue with God about what we've
read. We share our feelings of love, joy, anger, frustration, conviction, and more with the God who brought those words out to us. We pour out our heart in openness and honesty to God. Some people find it helpful to journal in this step, others who prefer to process things externally will talk with other spiritual friends or simply talk out loud with God to engage the way that they best can express themselves to God in response to the passage read.
~Contemplatio
In this step we step back and reflect upon what God wants to
do in us and through us. We abandon ourselves to the arms of God and how He loves us. The image here is represented in Psalm 131:2 of a weaned child being held by it's mother. The unweaned child wants something from it's mother, milk. The weaned child just wants to be with its mother. So here we take time to just let God guide our thoughts as we rest in His loving embrace.
~Incarnatio
(this is not one of the traditional steps in Lectio
Divina but it can be helpful as you prepare yourself for this type of spiritual reading)
In this step we move back out into "real life" with the word
that God has given us during our time of spiritual reading. We take that word and bring it to life in our reality. We move here from where we were determined to put into practice an appropriate response to the ways God has encountered us in this time.
We learned about Lectio Divina during our last Sunday's worship. At the time of service the Scripture we practiced this Spiritual reading with was
John 15:5
"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."
The words/phrases that really caught my attention were:
"I am the vine"
"fruit"
"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22,23)
I know we can "try" to be all these things. To possess all these character traits, but we can never be truly successful without his help. He is the vine. We must know him. We must love him. We must remember ALL he has done for us. We must grow to be like him. In our actions, in our thoughts, in our love for one another.

2.14.2010

2010-02-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

Love

"I am the vine, you are the branches"

We are the branches.

Jesus is the vine.

God is the gardener.

The connection between the branch and the vine is how we survive.

God puts us all in places we need to be to attach us to Jesus. But we can choose to cut ourselves off from the love of Jesus.

God is the gardener but He will not prune you if you want His love. He wants you to live into the wholeness He has in store for you. God wants you to grow. He wants you to be fruitful and multiply. And He gives us all we need to grow through our knowledge in Jesus Christ. Living with Jesus changes us little by little.

Obey God's commandments and you will abide in His love.

Come to worship. What better way to tell God you love Him then by saying, "I love You"

Pray. Spend time alone with God. Share your feelings and thoughts. Share your heart.

Search the scriptures. Studying the Bible can transform you.

Participate in Sacraments. Baptism and Communion. Remember what these mean.

Volunteer. Sit and just be with someone. Love them. Show others Gods love.

Do something to show God you love Him EVERYDAY!

God cares about the attitude of our heart.

Scripture:

John 15:1-11

Music:

Revelation Song

No sweeter name

Hosanna

2.7.2010

2010-02-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

Going onto Perfection

We get tarnished here on Earth. We have been masked by dirt and sout from earthy things. By money, status, jealousy, judgement, etc. But little by little God cleanses us. He is polishing us. He is working the tarnish from the world off of us. He is restoreing us back into what He made us to be.

God initiated a goal for us and He continues to call on us to reach this goal. He grasps hold of us to see that we can be made perfect by Him. We aren't there yet, but our goal is to know and be like Christ.

Not just to know the data of who Christ is, but to know Christ. To be in relationship with him. To finish each others sentences. To be humble and loving the way he has shown us.

We should be straining with ever fiber of our being to reach this goal.

Are you thinking, where am I supposed to even start? How?

Well the good news is that we don't do this all on our own. We can communicate with our Father through prayer. He restores us through prayer, reading the Bible, worshiping. We are all instruments to be used by God. But we have to place ourselves in His hands so He can cleanse us and polish us back to the image He placed in us when He created us. One of the ways we can put ourselves at the feet of God is by Communion. Bow down to the one true King. Let Him change you little by little.

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-16

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sister, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made."

All phrases of perfection are grounded in faith in Christ and what he has done,
not what we can do for him. We cannot perfect ourselves; only God can work
in and through us to "continue his work until it is finally finished on the day
when Christ Jesus returns." (1:6)
Music:
You never let go
All we need
Mighty to save
Because of your love

Challenge yourself

2010-02-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Consider this a challenge.

Consider this an invitation.

Consider this on open door, an appeal, a motive.

This blog is an open area to talk informally with one another; exchange views, opinions, etc.

A place to grow Spiritually together as a community outside of our Sunday morning worship.

I ask you, how are we to hold each other accountable in our growth if we aren't sharing what we are learning?

1.31.2010

2010-02-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

Living a life that makes a difference.

Any single one of us can be influential to others.

As Christians we need to be reaching out to people in love.

To walk with others and meet them where they are. If someone is hungry, they don't want shoes. They need to be feed. We need to make sure we are walking with them to see what others needs are so we can help fulfill that need. Not just give them what we think they need.

Even as Christians we need others to walk with us. We need other Christians to hold us accountable. Or we need others that will challenge our faith. When they challenge our faith, it makes us grow stronger and could possibly change the life of someone else.

In order to do this we need to do these things:

1.) Grow spiritually ourselves so that we give God opportunity to speak to us in ways we can recognize His voice.

2.) Open ourselves to walking with whomever we cross paths with to help them understand us and so we can understand them.

3.) Give them opportunity to become part of the Christian community if that is a decision they want to make.

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

Music:

Hosanna

Sing to the King

Solution

All the Earth

Challenge yourself

2010-01-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

There are two things we can do primarily that help us live into Sanctifying Grace in our lives. The first is called "personal piety" which is an old phrase that basically means our personal devotional life. That's our prayer time, studying the Bible, fasting, and pretty much anything we do to help ourselves grow in love with God.

This week I challenge you to add something: time, a new discipline, prayer for something/someone, to your personal piety time.

1.24.2010

2010-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying Grace is the actions of God in our lives that continue to form the image of Christ in us.

We can't live our Christian life all by ourselves. We all have roles in the body of Christ. We all need encouragement. We need coaches and teammates, people to run along side of us to remind us of our goal. That we are striving each day to have the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. To be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.
But have you ever felt just tired and burnt out? Sometimes we fall down. We need to ask for help but don't because we fear looking vunerable. But when we fail to ask for help we can lose sight of our goal.
One way we can encourage is by praying for others. We don't need to know specifics of what that individual needs prayers for. God already knows. There are times that we cannot pray ourselves. But we can know that someone is praying for us.
This week we handed out prayer cards. Everyone received a card with someone elses name on it to pray for them this week. In addition we are to find someone who has not asked to be prayed for and pray for them.

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13

Music: Holy is the Lord
Everyone
O'Praise Him
Revelation

My thoughts

2010-01-18T12:46:00.000-08:00

With technology as advanced as it is these days, things can be at our fingertips within seconds.
I recently signed up to be on Twitter. A site that follows anyone and everyone throughout their daily activities. I signed up to follow my favorite band Third Day and their lead singer Mac Powell. On the page it shows "following" and "followers". That made me think. In today's world we follow so many people, mostly celebrity's, athletes, singers, etc. But can we say they follow us? We make them up to be these all important people, but do they even give us a second thought?
Thinking about this reminds me again of why I am so thankful that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. And YES, He follows me too! He would be following every one of us on Twitter. But the really nice thing is, we don't need ANY form of technology, social network, telephone, or anything else to follow and be followed by Jesus Christ. For He loves us so much, that He knows our every action, our every word, even our every thought. He cares so much for us. That is why He follows us.

Challenge yourself

2010-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

How have you acted in love today?

Have you said hello to a stranger?

Have you held the door for the woman with the stroller?

Have you intentionally prayed for someone today?

How have you acted in love today?

Leave it in a comment...

1.17.2010

2010-01-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Justifying Grace

Justifying Grace is that single moment of acceptance of God into your life.

Not from anything we have done, but just accepting God's love for us.

When we are cleansed from our sins, guilt, injustices. When we are unchained from the fears of death.

We are forgiven even though we don't deserve it. We are all sinners. We all need His forgiveness.

Close your eyes and visualize Jesus standing in front of you saying, "Your sins are forgiven."

What a powerful moment! Did you feel it?

The only way of life is a life in Jesus. The only evidence to that faith in our hearts, is the way we live our lives. To bare the fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

He made you new so you can grow each day to be more like Him.

Don't judge yourself by who you used to be...Praise God for who He is making you now.

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Ephesians 2:8-10

1.10.2010

2010-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Prevenient Grace

Prevenient Grace is the Grace that comes before we know God.

It is the Holy Spirit teaching us to love before we know it is from God.

God is patient. He waits for us to respond to the love that surrounds us.

He is standing there with His arms open for us and is just waiting for us to run up and embrace Him.

Everyone is welcome. God's grace is open to all of us.

Scripture: John 1:1-5