God Loves Us

I'm a fan of a lot of things. Football, Seahawks more specifically, taking naps, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, a good pair of socks, roller coasters, date night with the wife, the sound of my girls laughing.

There is one thing I'm not a fan of. Being wrong. And believe me, there have been many times. The first thought that goes through my mind when someone tells me I'm wrong is, 'Nope. Nope. Nope. You're wrong!!' But it's true-nobody likes being wrong. This is what makes church very difficult. There is a tricky balance of talking about what we need to change in our lives.
We started going through the Book of Malachi this past Sunday at church. It's hard. We only got through 5 verses-but the water's about to get HOT! There will be a lot of sin talk on the horizon. But the message from the LORD to Israel through Malachi starts in an amazing, and if you're a Bible believing lover of Christ, predictable way. God loves us. The LORD says, 'I'm about to lay it down, but before I do I want you to know something very important-I love you.'

So how do I know God loves you and me? Jesus. Ok-wait. Thanks for the Sunday School answer-extra doughnut for you. Unfortunately, many people are cynical about God’s love, using political and economic progress as a measure of success. Simply meaning if we see strife in our nation, if we see strife around the globe-God doesn't love. At the time Malachi presented this message to Israel the government was corrupt, the economy was poor, and even those within the church were skeptical. Before Malachi they had heard and read the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah and some of them had not been fulfilled (yet). Thus, the Israelites assumed God had stopped loving them. They were wrong. This is where it gets tough-Malachi will tell God's chosen people-you're wrong. And I can tell by all the sin in your life! God loves all people because he made them.

So Malachi reminded these people, 'I have loved you!' Through Jacob will come the Messiah-the Savior of the entire world. God is telling us and reminding us today that, 'I have loved you!' Your savior has come in Jesus Christ! And he is not dead-he's alive!!

I'm a big fan of that.

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org

Baptism-What is it?

This past Sunday we participated in something that Jesus loves, His church loves, and myself being a pastor love-baptism!! The sign of a life transformed by Jesus. It glorifies God, it brings completeness to the person and brings joy to the church!...But what is baptism? Sadly, even church going Christians don't really understand why we do what we do. We are taught what to believe but not why we believe it.
What is baptism?
Romans 6:3-6 explains it well, 'Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.' 
So the first thing about baptism is that it's all about Jesus. It is understanding that Jesus lived, Jesus died, Jesus was buried, Jesus rose from the dead. It is saying Jesus is my God, died on the cross for me, and my faith is in him and my salvation comes from him alone! Jesus gave us the example of being baptized himself. We want to be more like Jesus and so we want to do the things Jesus taught us to do.
How do we baptize?
In Greek the word baptize meant to plunge, dip, or immerse, and so there will be some Christians traditions that will say you've got to go under all the way. In Mark, Jesus 'came out of the Jordan', so he was all the way in!! So get in the water!! Personally, I come at this from a little different angle. If someone wants to be baptized, I respect sprinkling, pouring or fully immersing. It's about the relation to God, not the relation to the pastor who gets you wet. This seems simple, but theologians like to make life difficult and tell you there are 'rules'. Eh.
Why do we baptize?
It's out of obedience. You are going public and saying, 'I'm on Jesus' side.' It was commanded in Matthew 28:19, 'Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.' So there's some actions there right? He didn't say, 'Go have church.' He gave us some pretty direct and simple instructions. So why do we baptize? Because we are instructed to do so. It's the outward sign of what God has done inside already. Which answers the question-will baptism save? No. It's what we do because we have been saved. Only Jesus saves. Your pastor can't save you, the local church you attend can't save you, being baptized can't save you-only Jesus!
Who do we baptize?
This is a question that can get a little hairy in the church. There are two schools of thought-paedobaptism and credobaptism. Paedobaptism is infant baptism, whereas credo baptism is the believer's baptism. Catholics, Lutherans, some Presbyterians will tell you that your child or infant needs to be baptized ASAP!! The problem I find here is that it's not Biblical. You can try and use tradition and logic all you want, but if it's not in the Bible...I'm sure we don't need it. We profess credo baptism because it challenges the Christian to articulate their faith. Baptism needs to be a sign of faith in your life. Therefore if you were baptized as an infant or in a church that doesn't believe Jesus is who he says he is, what does your baptism actually point back to? If you're in this position, I would love to talk to you. Your baptism has to point back to Jesus or you're just getting wet.
So what do we do with babies? Well, we dedicate them. The Bible never commands us to dedicate children, but it does give us an example in Luke 2, where Jesus, he’s a baby, his mom and dad take him to the temple and it says they, quote, “Dedicate him to the Lord.” They’re offering prayers, they’re doing it in the presence of God’s people, they’re covenanting to raise him to know the Scriptures and to serve the purposes of God.

So what signs do you have in your life? Are you a Christian, but have never been baptized? Your leader, teacher and savior is calling you. Are you a non-Christian? Jesus is the answer for your life. He died to save and rescue you. Will you accept him as your savior? I pray that you would, and be baptized.
Got questions? Email me!

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org

God is Preparing You

Reading the book of Jonah this summer was a highlight for me. Yes-the camping trips, fun days at the lake, awesome time with friends, etc. were great but reading a book of the Bible that I had kind of 'passed over' for years came back to life for me. I realized that Jonah was a representation of myself and even the church today. We have heard the call from God. The question is will we respond?
Jonah is a quick book-you can read it in 15 minutes. It has 4 chapters that capture this amazing journey of a man that says no with his actions by sailing in the opposite direction that God called him to go. He finally turns to God after spending a few days in the gastric juices of a fish and an entire city of 120,000 people are saved!! Sounds like an amazing journey but as we find in chapter 4, Jonah isn't very happy.
He was hoping that God would destroy a people who actually had a history of tormenting his people. He gives a message that has the opposite effect of what he was hoping-they were saved and then he finds a spot on a hillside sits down with his fingers crossed that God still would bring His wrath to a sinful people.
Instead he has an interesting exchange with a plant. Yup, a plant. It's pretty warm and so God prepares a plant to give Jonah shade to only be chewed apart by a worm later to make it wither. And so Jonah was back in the blazing sun. I find it fascinating that Jonah ends like this. Here we have one of the largest revivals in history and yet this great book ends with Jonah trying to get some shade under a withering plant!!

Jonah 4:10-11 sums it up: But the LORD said, 'You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left-and also many animals?'

Think about a typical day for you. What do you worry about? What are the things that irritate you about your life? Do they consume your thoughts? Do they consume you to the point where you actually shove God's voice out of your head because you're 'busy'?

Of all the items in my life I complain about I wonder sometimes if I lose my awe and wonder of the journey I'm on with God. Jonah just saved an entire city and now he is cursing this plant because he has no shade and wishes he were dead. Jonah is a book of priorities. If God's people want to put actions to the words they talk about on Sunday mornings-it starts with our priorities. It means we stop complaining about temporary things and concentrate on eternal things.

Think about your life right now-what can you stop complaining about so that you can concentrate on what God has for you right now! He is preparing you for something amazing!

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org 

Being A Man

This Sunday we had a special guest in our church service, David Jesse. David works for Promise Keepers which is an organization committed to challenging men across our nation to get into the Word of God daily and live out their beliefs daily. They hold weekend conferences and I was excited to hear that they were coming back to Washington (Kent-Showare Center) next summer-July 2015. I had the privilege to grab a coffee this week with David and as excited as I was about an event coming to town, I was astounded by the statistics that he gave me. The most staggering being this:

When a child is the first to attend church, 3 1/2% of the families follow.

When a wife/mom is the first to attend church, 17% of the families follow.

When a dad/husband is the first to attend church, 93% of the families follow. 

I think this goes way beyond church attendance. It goes beyond 'strategic planning' for church events. It shows that where a dad/husband leads-the family will follow. If a man wants to lead his family towards God it will happen. If he would rather lead his family towards the treasures of this world he will do so as well. 

Having a wife and 2 girls...ok...stinkin' cute girls-you got me-It's become clear that I'm starting to not just live my life, but I'm steering my family. And so the question becomes 'where' and not 'if'. Where am I bringing my family? 

'These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.' Deuteronomy 6:6-7

I know that as a dad I can love my daughters more. I need to pray for them every single day. I need to prepare myself for the 'dating days' now so that I will not implode when a young man walks through my door. I need to love my wife more. I need to show her that she is loved every single day. So that when disagreements come, there is no doubt that I'm not going anywhere. 

I know that as a man I need to love God more. I need to pray for his direction every single day. I need to reach out to other men around me and pray for them. I need to leave a legacy that didn't drag my family to church but decided that church is more than just a music style, fancy banners and programs. But that church is the body of believers. It's where I have completeness in my devotion to him. 

I realize this is a 'male heavy' blog post, but I want to challenge the ladies to pass this on. If you're married show it to your husband and ask for a response. If you're single, pass it on to your dad, brother, a family friend who needs to be challenged/encouraged. We are in a day where we have to stop being lazy about our faith. Your beliefs will be known by how you live. Not by what you like on Facebook. The vacations of summer are winding down. Let's get back on the battle fields in our  churches. 

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org

Amazing Things

I want to share with you one of my favorite passages from the Bible-Joshua 3:1-5. Whenever I'm faced with an impossible situation, I think of this story. I'm reminded that we serve a powerful God. A God that wants to work through us! If we underestimate God in these situations, we are throwing away an amazing gift!!

V. 1-2: Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp...God told the people of Israel to wait three days at the shores of the Jordan River (Joshua 1:11). All that time, the people of Israel saw a rushing river, swollen with spring rains laying in front of them. They must have asked, ‘How can we ever cross this river?’ It was one thing for a few spies to make their way across the river, as in Joshua 2, but here we are taking a nation of thousands, with all their possessions-how will we make it? At a moment like this, all the wonderful talk about living in the Promised Land probably sounded pretty distant. 

V. 3: ...giving orders to the people: 'When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levite priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Wouldn't Joshua want to send out the military? How about the engineers to look at building a bridge?? Instead, he sent the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, which was the visible representation of God’s presence with the people. Joshua knew this was a spiritual problem, not a feat of human engineering.

V. 4: Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.' 2,000 cubits was about one thousand yards. This was in respect of the ark of the covenant, but I think it was also so that these thousands upon thousands of people could see and know they were following the LORD.  

V. 5: Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.' To consecrate or to sanctify themselves meant to separate themselves from common things to focus on the LORD. This verse excites me because I believe the LORD wants to do amazing things today through his people!! Through you, through me, through HIS church!!

If you knew that God was going to do something amazing through you tomorrow how would you live today? Would something need to change? I have a feeling you already know the answer.

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org

Your Jonah Story

It's kind of funny how as we get older wonder and awe becomes sophistication and suspicion. That is our view of Jonah. As a child, Jonah was awesome. It had a huge fish swallowing a guy and then he throws him up on a shore of a city that was pretty evil-see the book of Nahum-and he was called by God to go there!!
What has happened as we become 'mature adults', is we use Jonah as a story to tell our kids, 'HEY! Straighten up! Follow God or this will happen to you! You will be swallowed by a fish! Spend a few days sloshing around in some gastric juices!' But honestly-that's what we do! Don't be Jonah because of this...don't be Thomas because of what he did here...don't be Sarah because she laughed here...and even Moses-don't be Moses because of what he did here...
When we start to sort people of the Bible into good/bad lists we are running the risk of becoming hypocritical, religious prunes. We need to realize that these stories are our stories. Stories of sin and redemption, death and new life. Like never before I realize my life is a lot like Jonah's. The Lord called me to ministry after high school, and I said no. Did I get on a ship like Jonah and head to Tarshish? No, but I believe 1 degree off is as good as 180 when we are talking about God's will for our lives.
So what is your Jonah story? The book of Jonah is 4 chapters-first 2 he runs away, swallowed up, says an awesome prayer inside the fish. The next 2 chapters-overturns an entire city for God. Does he still struggle? Sure. But God still uses him. I think for some of us we are still stuck in the first 2 chapters. Is it because we are still figuring out what sin is? Maybe. Or is it because you are too afraid that if people knew about your past life, things would change? Or is it that you truly believe that God has nothing more for your life than attending church and sitting in the same seat for the next 50 years? Sorry if your toes are getting stepped on, but my heart yearns to see God's people move. That we hear the word of the LORD and begin to move. Chapter 1 starts with the word of the LORD and Jonah goes the opposite direction. Chapter 3 starts with the word of the LORD and Jonah obeys. Is the LORD speaking to you? Is he leading, directing, pushing, guiding, or maybe even leading you through a wilderness so that you would obey him??

Frankly-I hope I become like Jonah. I live to be more like Christ, but along the way if I become more like Jonah, I'm good with it. A man called by God, messed up, repented, and then turned an entire city towards God!!! Yeah, I'll take that.

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org

Jonah 1:11-17

We are hoping that next week the sermons will be able to be recorded and will be up on the website, but reading is just as good! Here is a recap of our 3rd week through the book of Jonah.
Jonah 1:11-17
Without slowing down a bit and taking this story in, we might miss the fact that God uses Jonah even before he's swallowed up by a great fish! These sailors, who are being introduced to the LORD for the first time, have a huge decision to make about Jonah, but through that decision they will accept the LORD. Which is cause for excitement!! The church really needs to be excited more, right?? How many times do we hear that Bobby or Julie gave their hearts to the Lord and we are like, 'Oh, that's nice. About time.' Are you kidding me?? Break out the streamers and party hats!! Another name is added to the list of life!! Alright, I'll settle down.
V. 11: ‘And they said to him, ‘What shall we do with you, so the sea will be calm for us?’: The word of the LORD has come to Jonah-he says no by not saying anything at all. He boards a boat, has a sleeping problem and falls asleep during a storm. The sailors of the boat throw some dice around and find Jonah guilty of the storm. They figure out that Jonah’s God is at fault for the storm. Jonah reveals to them that his God is not just any god, but Thee God. He is Yahweh. The creator of the sea and the land. The sailors are terrified. Now, they look to the near future.

Jonah is not only the cause of the evil that has come to them but also their lifeline to the terrifying power behind it all. So Jonah’s words hold the key to their future as well as his own.

‘For the sea was getting more and more stormy.’ If they don’t get things right with Jonah-and soon-they die. Before the storm was bad enough to 'break apart' the boat, now it's gotten worse!

V. 12: ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied: Some may look at this and say Jonah has suicidal tendencies, but I would disagree. I believe by saying this Jonah has actually found relief. It means that he gets to stop fleeing. And yet in handing himself over to God in this way, Jonah is also at his most Christlike. He gives up his life so that others might live. He treats the lives of these good sailors as more valuable than his own.

‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’: We see this admission of guilt from Jonah. It doesn’t inform them of anything new but rather reminds them of what they already know, with the aim of convincing them that they’re not going to get out of this alive so long as Jonah is with them.

V. 13: Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. This is you, and this is me. We hear from the LORD, or in this case these sailors hear from a prophet from the LORD aaaaaaand instead. Sometimes 'instead' rules our lives. I know what the Bible says about giving buuuuuut-instead. I know what the Bible says about loving my neighbor buuuuuuut-instead. I even know what the Bible says about Jesus being the only way, the only truth, and the only way to eternal life buuuuuut-instead. 

The sailors rowed as best they can, but they couldn’t make it back to land. They had no power to save themselves. We have no power to save ourselves. 

V. 14: Then they cried out to the LORD, ‘Please, LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.’ The first prayer to the LORD in this story comes from the mouth of Gentiles. The picture on the deck of this ship has completely changed. Instead of everyone screaming to their own god, all of them are now crying out to one God, the LORD. This is one of the surprises of this great book that we’ve been reading. The people on this boat are not incidental to the story, instruments that the LORD uses to deal with Jonah. On the contrary, Jonah is the instrument that the LORD uses to deal with them. These sailors were worried about innocent blood. They tried to first row back. But now a choice has to be made. It echoes Pilate washing his hands of innocent blood (Matt. 27:24), but these sailors have no noisy crowd intimidating them, they have the God of heaven himself. The sailors acknowledge not only that the sea is his to do with as he desires (Ps. 95:5), but that Jonah is his prophet, so that the word of Jonah is the word of the LORD.

V. 15 ‘Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard and the raging sea grew calm.’ It happens as Jonah promised. As the water closes around his head, and sucks his body to the bottom of the sea, it calms. Like an angry lion suddenly tamed. Jonah by the grace of God accomplished the sort of thing Christ accomplishes: calming the sea, converting the Gentiles, and teaching them the name of the LORD.

V. 16 ‘At this the men greatly feared the LORD,’ For the second time the sailors fear a great fear (1:10), but this time it is described as the fear of the LORD, the reverent fear that is the ground for worship, thanksgiving and praise. All is well, and they know why.

‘and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.’ Vows of sacrifice are the fruits of gratitude. The vows also serve to show that the sailor’s conversion to the LORD will last beyond the time they get off the boat.

The fact that these Gentile sailors were ready to make sacrifices and vows to the LORD like this made me re-examine my vow to the LORD. These past 2 weekends I’ve had the privilege to lead 2 couples in marriage vows. As I think about my marriage, it would begin to be strained if I didn’t tell anyone that I had a wife. And yes, if Kelsey chose not to tell people she had a husband I would have a hard time with that.

Somehow, someway we have neglected letting others know about our vow to the LORD. It’s gone from something exciting and cherished to something moderate and secret. Maybe it’s time for you to go back to the beginning of your love with the LORD. Remember the fire you had in your soul, when you saw life for the first time.

I’m excited about what Jesus is doing in my life, I’m excited about what Jesus is doing in this community and in our neighborhoods.

He wants his people to grow. For his children to turn back and run to him, and as the church it’s not a duty-I know some of you think, ‘Here we go-invite your neighbors to church.’ Well, you know we talk about Jesus right?!?! The source of life!! Or maybe we are still consumed with 'instead'. 

It shouldn't be a duty, it’s a privilege that we share. Jonah simply shared the name of the LORD with these sailors and they gave their lives to Him. Think about your neighbor doing the same. 

V. 17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.  This verse is for next Sunday-Discovery Channel has Shark Week, we have Fish Week!!

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org