The End Times

Recently I gave a sermon called, 'The Day of the LORD is Coming' at our church. We are studying the book of Malachi (which is HARD) and we came to chapter 4 where it speaks of heaven and hell. Sometimes it's very hard to wrap our minds around heaven and hell and especially the end times; mainly because we don't want to, or we don't want to take the time to study.
Through my studies of the Bible, and yes that means Revelation, I've come to this conclusion:

I need to live in joy and not fear.

Ok...that sounds like a nice tweet and not a theological stance. Well, let me explain. As a Christian, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. I don't just know about Him, I believe in Him-which means I follow Him. I believe that when I die, I get to open my eyes and see my savior Jesus. I have a 'Blessed Assurance' that He will welcome me into His presence. Until then-how it happens, the signs, how Jesus will reach the lost...I don't know. I can read prophecy from the Bible and put together my opinion, but I need to realize that God is God. Isaiah 55:9, 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' 

Sometimes I fear 'End Times Prophecy' has become an industry by those who are looking to write a best seller (not all but some!). But instead of trying to convince you on how the end times will happen, I would much rather spend my time making sure you know Jesus. I want to see the Holy Spirit work in your life, because He convicts, He supplies your needs, He fills you!! We are privileged to be apart of the process. 

So what's going to happen, when will it all happen, are there signs that we can decipher now????????? Your blogpost title said End Times!!!!!

All great discussions around a cup of coffee, but there is ultimately a much better discussion to have.

Do you know Jesus?

You see, we will all have our opinions about end times, and even heaven and hell, but there are some non-negotiable items for me. 

Matthew 24:36, (Jesus speaking) 'But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.' So even though I might like putting together world events like a huge lego ship, I don't know when Jesus is coming back.

Matthew 25:46, (Jesus speaking) 'Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.' Yes, I believe when Jesus comes people are going to end up in heaven and hell, and be there forever. 

And yes, it's still my favorite: John 3:16-17, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.'

This is why it's so important you know Jesus. God's great commission for me is not to persuade people to agree with me on how the end times will happen-it's to bring people to the feet of Jesus and have them make a decision.

I hope that when you think of heaven and hell, and even the end times, you can find joy in knowing you win. That's right-YOU WIN, because JESUS HAS ALREADY WON. 

If you'd still like to have that discussion around coffee-great. This cup is on me.

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org

A Very Confusing Day

Yes, today is Halloween, October 31st, Harvest Day-whatever you want to call it.
Like most things you can find whatever information you want to try and argue your side.
Halloween is harmless because of  __________. Halloween is a devilish holiday because of ___________. Instead of trying to prove what Halloween is because of the past I wanted to pass my thoughts on the present state of Halloween.

I don't like it.

I don't like the types of shows on t.v. that glorify violence and horror. I don't like the costumes I see at Walmart that try and prostitute our children. I don't like seeing children running in neighborhoods without supervision. And yes, I'm not a huge fan of candy. I know, former youth pastor, weird.

So I can be an ol' crotchidy man or....

Since I know my children will grow to love trick or treating: I will not let my kids watch t.v. alone this time of year. My wife and I will always make the costumes that my children wear. I will always have time to walk my children around our neighborhood. When they get 'too old' for trick or treating we will open up our house to be the 'cool house' on Halloween. And by 'cool house' I mean parent supervised, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, costume contest, everyone out by 10pm house.
And yes, I'll let my kids eat candy really late at night-one night of the year!

I believe that we need to shield our children from certain things, but also let them be exposed to certain things. If truly all things can be used for good, why can't a time when we actually get to meet our neighbors be a good thing?

Soooo maybe I do like Halloween.

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

Connecting Your Ears to Your Heart

I'm a great listener. I can listen to hundreds and hundreds of your best stories, give a hearty laugh every now and then and even a fist bump if necessary. Now, am I going to remember those stories?? Well now you're asking quite a bit from me.
I don't think our culture has turned into people who don't listen, they just don't take the time and effort to connect it to their hearts. Yes, some of it has to do with selfish pride, and laziness. But I believe a large majority has to do with the simple fact that if you bring something to my attention that would trigger a change in my life...well...you're the hypocrite!! You're not a real friend!! Why can't I be who I am?!?
Sadly this is why so many people attend church for awhile, until they hear a message that convicts something inside of them and leave. Hopping from church to church until they can find a place that isn't so 'judgmental'. I've seen resistance to church, pastors, messages, but what if it's resistance to the truth? I believe that resistance to the truth isn't because people don't fully understand, it's just because they don't like it. Why can't God just be who I want Him to be? Why can't the Bible say what I want it to say?
Throughout the Bible we see covenants, or promises that God makes with His people. There is one covenant that sticks out to me very clearly. It's a covenant between God and Levi-it's found in Malachi 2:4-7. Starting in verse 4 it says, 'My covenant was with him (God speaking to Levi), a covenant of life and peace...' Yeah I'll take that. God, you're offering peace?? Yeah, my life is a bit crazy right now, I need some peace. Life?? Yeah, I'm good with living-I'll take that too.
But promises are worthless if they are only 1 way. True promises are between 2 people with communication on both ends. So what was Levi's end of the deal? 'Reverance...true instruction was in his mouth...walked in peace...walked in righteousness...turned many from sin.'
Ohhhh. So that's why Bible believing pastors talk about Jesus and sin.
The next time you're in church see if you're ears are connected to your heart. Don't just listen for the things you want, listen for the things you need. If your life is committed to resisting change and avoiding all kinds of conflict, you'll end up in a dark place all by yourself.

God gives forgiveness. He gives hope and He loves you. Stop resisting.

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

My Sacrifice

As we're going through the book of Malachi in the Bible, there are times where it feels like someone took a brick and slammed it in your gut. This is one of those passages-Malachi 1:6-14. So God is speaking through Malachi to the priests of the temple. Notice how when God wants change He first speaks to the religious guys. Clean up your act-how can people know me if you only live for yourself?! 
Here's the passage:

V. 7-9: “You placed defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.

So what's happening? Well the people were bringing sacrifices to the temple-good. The problem? They were missing eyeballs, missing limbs, they were sick and diseased. Since this was Pre-Jesus coming to earth, people would bring the best of what they had to the temple to sacrifice in respect to God, but also to say thank you for His blessings. Sacrifices were a way to honor God. And animals in this day would represent wealth.
Oooooooh. What would you guess would be the first way that he would approach the issue of honor? Where should he start? He starts in a place that you don’t want him to, which means you need him to, and that is to honor God with your wealth.

 How many of you know that God knows your bank account? He knows how much you make, how much you give, and how you spend it. Did you know that? He does.

Here’s the issue: God doesn’t want your money. God wants your heart, but your heart is an indication of your money, because Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is.” You can’t say, “I love the Lord; I just don’t give.” In the same way, a husband and a father can’t look at his wife and kids and say, “I love them; I just don’t give them anything.” 

And so he parallels this with how they treat the 'governor'. 

He’s referring to the paying of their taxes, that the governor would demand your taxes, and you would not try and get away with giving the governor a lame tax payment.

For example, let’s say you get your tax bill and the government says, “You owe x number of dollars.” And you’re like, “Yeah, I don’t want to pay that. I have a box of old baseball cards in my closet. I’ll bring that to the IRS office, leave it at the front door with a note saying, ‘My taxes are now paid,’ and I’m sure they’ll be OK with that.” God’s saying, “You’re conducting your affairs with me in a way you don’t conduct your affairs with others. You’re taking advantage of my kindness. You would never give these things to people you love." 

So as the brick hits your stomach-what does your sacrifice look like to God? Have you kept the best of your wealth for yourself? Have you kept your time only for yourself-is it time to give God your time and serve? 

God loves, God forgives, and I pray that as I look at my life and everything I have it would honor God-not myself.

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org

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