It's been a while

 It's about time I wrote another warehouse.  I figure now is the best time to get you all updated with info going on here at WestK.  On Feb 1st, 9 of us guys from WestK are going to a all day men's ministry event called "step it up". If you are interested let me know asap.

Also, you will probably see a church-wide email go out talking about Harry Chanzu.  Harry is an African man from Kenya who has been attending WestK for about 6 months now.  To put a long story short, the eldership and I approached Harry to see what we can do to help his family (wife and 2 children) move to the USA from Kenya. They have been separated as a family for the past 2 and a half years and he has 3 more years on his PhD. to go. We want to bless him.  Well, within the last month, God has leveled all the hurdles that would have kept his family from moving here to be together.  Harry has already obtained the visas for his family and has everything in order and now the last thing is to buy plane tickets for his family.  I priced them out to be roughly $3,000 total ($1000 per ticket).  I brought Harry on stage yesterday and he and I had a conversation for about 15 minutes.  Our people responded very well.  Then I asked our people to get involved and then asked that we would be generous as a church family.  So far we have collected a little over $1000 of the $3,000.  I'm hoping to receive more the next 2 weeks.  If you would like to participate with us in this, please send checks to WestK with "Helping Harry" in the memo.  Later this week we will be sending out more information on how you can get involved in this process with West.  If you have any questions please feel free to call me at the church office (269-375-2202).

Lastly, I want to let you all know we had 10 people go through our membership class last week.  Well, this has sparked the eldership to wanting to communicate this material to the whole congregation and explaining what is the church and defining church membership.  So starting in May I am planning on doing a sermon series called "Why Church."  I'm very much looking forward to this!

I need your help

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last sent out a WestK Warehouse.  As I imagine it has been with most of you, I have been very busy in the office.  One of the things I am super excited about, and am hoping to roll out to all of you at our church’s Thanksgiving dinner, is our new membership information.  This describes the purpose of a church member and how it will function at WestK.  Described are the roles and expectations of members to the covenant community as well as the roles and responsibilities of the leaders to the church.  We are not finished with this yet, but God willing, it will be done very soon!

One of the things I enjoy doing here in the office but don’t get a ton of opportunities to do is to brainstorm about future sermons series.  Most of the time when I get a good idea I will write it down, but never get to fully explore the possibilities.  Luckily, I was able to spend a few hours brainstorming on Friday afternoon before talking 11 students (along with some of our awesome youth staff) to Great Lakes Christian College for FUSION – a student ministry retreat.  This brainstorm session quickly turned into a planning meeting with Nic as we explore the Christmas season.  I don’t want to tell you what we are doing just yet, but I guarantee it will be fun, encouraging, and very much gospel-centered. 

Keep in mind, November and December are filled with opportunities for you to invite and bring family, friends, and co-workers to church with you.  The closer it gets to Christmas, the more apt that person is to accept your invitation to go to church.  So start asking now on a weekly basis and watch what God will do with it.

Now… I would like to do something I haven’t done with a Warehouse so far.  I would like to hear from you.  But, there is a catch.  I would like to hear what you are going through, some of the questions that you have about your faith and/or the Bible, and spiritual issue that you are/have struggled with.  I will be doing sermon series planning for 2014 here soon and your answers will help me as I look ahead to next year.

Saved people serve people...

Have you ever heard the phrase, “be careful what you ask for because you may just get it”?

Well, you asked for it, so starting this week we are kicking off a 5-week sermon series on finances.  That’s right.  For the past couple of months I have had a number of people approach me on Sunday mornings and ask me about doing a finance class or information of budgeting or wanting to know more on tithing.  So, as a response I am going to attempt to tackle most, if not all, of the questions regarding finances I have been asked in the past few months.  This series is going to be a lot of fun and hopefully very challenging as well.  I’ve barely got past the planning stage and I’m already excited!

A catchy slogan that I have fallen in love with recently states – Saved People Serve People.  This four word slogan is not only brilliant, but it is biblically accurate.  Throughout the New Testament we discover the call for Christians to serve (Romans 12:1-8; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 12:7-31; 1 Peter 4:10-11).  Jesus also explains that he did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28).  In fact, our Father in heaven is not a God that takes, but a God that gives.  John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that he “gave” His only Son.  The truth of the matter is that saved people do serve people.  If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ and have salvation in him, then you are called to serve people.  The crazy thing is that our response is not “I have to serve people,” but rather “I get to serve people!”  As a new creation in Christ, the Holy Spirit works inside of us to make our desires the same as God’s desires.  So each one of us (Christians) now have a growing desire to serve others.  The best thing about this new desire is that it is for a GREAT purpose.  Saved people serve people so that served people will become saved people.  If you don’t think that is biblical, look up 2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2.  We serve others so that those who are served will also become saved!

So how do we respond?  I’m glad you asked that question.  This past week we had a welcome ministry team meeting.  During this meeting Nic laid out the plan for how we are going to be approaching our welcome ministry and how we would like to see our people participating in it.  Our hopes are huge and so is our need!  We need YOU.  Yes you read that correctly.  We need your participation in this.  In fact, we want your whole family to participate.  It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, we are inviting you to serve in this ministry.  If you have a 5 year old, then we are inviting you and your child to serve in this ministry.  If your mother is 80 years old and can still smile, then we are inviting you both to serve.  This ministry is pretty much open for anyone who wants to help make visitors and regular attenders feel at home here at West K.  If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please shoot Nic Sims an email at nsims86@gmail.com or fill out the “SERVE” application at the welcome center. 

What's your win?

When was the last time you experienced a “win”?  In a sports game, it’s whoever has the highest score (except golf – if golf was won by the highest score I would win every time).  But I’m not referring to a sport.  I’m referring to your involvement and interaction with Christ and His church.  When was the last time you experienced a win when it came to your faith?  Whether it was taking a next step by trusting God with a relationship or your finances, or taking an opportunity to participate in what God already is at work in?

One thing I know about a “win” is that it is a reason to celebrate.  As a body of believers, we need to constantly celebrate the wins.  With that said, I want to share with you something that I would consider as a win.  I asked Nic Sims to write about his experience with a win this past weekend:

Saturday afternoon, I was in line at Aldi with my wife when I heard a young man and woman behind us talking.  I didn’t listen to the conversation but certain key words like “pastor” and “elder” stood out to me.  I started to get the idea that they were looking for churches to attend in the area.  I almost didn’t say anything but just as we were bagging up our groceries I went back and said, “Hey, I noticed you all were talking about churches in the area. I work at West K around the corner; you should check it out if you want.  We have a good college/young adult group there.”  At that I left the store feeling a little bit awkward and like an eavesdropper.  I felt that way until I ran into the young man in the hallway at church the next morning. 

I want to point out 2 wins in this situation.  The obvious win was that this guy took Nic up in his invitation.  Simply put, he showed up.  While he is already a Christian, getting a believer, who is not already attending regularly at another church, connected to the local church is a huge win in my book.  This win is one we all get to share in and experience together.  The second win, however, is not one that everyone gets to share in.  The second win in this experience was an individual win.  It was a win for Nic.  He could have said nothing and walked out of the store.  Had he done that, he would have had to feel awkward by budding into a complete stranger’s conversation.  He would not have chanced that this guy could have responded badly or gone into a long drawn out conversation on theology or potential doctrinal differences.  But, if he had just walked off he would never have experienced the win of taking a chance for God.  He would not have experienced the win of simply experiencing what God was doing in the same isle in a grocery store.  Lastly, he wouldn’t have experienced the win of having someone show up to church simply because he asked. 

Here is the thing, winning teams like to win.  When a team goes without a win for an extended period of time, one of two things happen.  They will either become used to it and view it as the norm, or they long for a win and begin taking every opportunity to experience the win.  Something awesome about this particular win on Sunday:  not only did that guy take Nic up on his invitation, but he also took me up on my invitation to come over and watch the Lions game with some guys.  You might be thinking “so what’s the big deal with that?”  Let me tell you that every new person that visits our church and most non-Christians I know that don’t attend a church have a longing to connect with other people.  They want to know and be known by others.  Having this guy over to hang out and watch football gave him that opportunity to connect with fellow believers, and before he left Sunday night he made it a point to thank me for the invitation and to inform me that the simple act of inviting him to hang out is HUGE!

So I ask you again, when was the last time you experienced a win?

Preaching vs Teaching

1 Cor. 15:12-19

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

 

Interesting words from the Apostle Paul.  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul starts the chapter with these words:  “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Paul reminds Christians of the Gospel he preached to them.  As I read this, I started pondering the difference between Christian preaching and Christian teaching.  Christian preaching always draws back to the Gospel, namely to the resurrection.  If it is not centered on the resurrection, it cannot be called Christian preaching.  Christian teaching, however, doesn’t necessarily draw every lesson back to the resurrection.  Christian teaching can focus on many other aspects of theology, doctrine, morality, etc. without having to explain the ties to the doctrine of the resurrection.

Why is that?  Why doesn’t Christian teaching always have to bring it back to the resurrection like Christian preaching?  Well, that’s because Christian teaching is intended for those who have already obtained faith in Jesus Christ and have hope in the resurrection.  For someone who has not received Christ and has not placed their hope in the resurrection, Christian teaching is useless.  For them, Christian teaching is just a morality issue.

As you engage people in conversation at work, school, or wherever, let me persuade you to consider what part of your faith you share.  If the person is a Christian, then by all means discuss any of the Christian doctrines and teaching that we hold too.  But, if the person is not a Christian and you are sharing your faith with them, then attempt to keep your conversation geared to the “hope we confess” (Heb. 10:23).  For a non-Christian, Christian teaching does nothing but give them some suggestions at moral living that they may or may not agree with.  But Christian preaching (sharing the gospel, the hope of a resurrection – and something I believe we are all called to do) is the starting block of the faith God desires in them.

 

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.  When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”

 

Vital ingredient to evangelism

Have you ever made cookies or a cake, but you forgot a vital ingredient?  After you bake it, you have what may look like it is supposed to be, but the flavor or consistency is less than par.  Well, I once made cookies and halfway into mixing the ingredients realized that we didn’t have any sugar or vanilla.  I had already melted the butter, mixed in an egg, put in the salt and baking soda, and added in the brown sugar.  But when it came time to put in the regular sugar and vanilla… I had none.  To solve this catastrophe, I made the brilliant decision to add in powdered sugar.  I figured since the package says sugar it would work as a substitute for regular sugar and since it tastes good on French toast, it would also suffice for the vanilla. After 9 minutes in the oven, I discovered my good intentions fell far from my desired results.

In Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus gives us what we call the Great Commission.  In a round-a-bout way, what it says is we need to be reaching people with the Gospel and helping each other to obey Christ.  Now, I am huge on our need as a church to be sharing the Gospel and following Jesus in obedience.  I promote the need that we as a congregation have to be doing those two things as a church, as well as through individual efforts.  Every Sunday I attempt to preach a sermon that is Gospel centered and challenge all of us to trust God more. 

Interestingly, a few weeks ago the Jr. & Sr. High Sunday school started studying the book of  1 Timothy.  As I was preparing the lessons for each week, the Holy Spirit very much revealed to me that I am trying to spiritually bake cookies without a vital (probably the most important) ingredient.  Read 1 Timothy 2:1-7

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he states, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone…”  Now I want you to know that I do pray, and this isn’t about me not praying long enough or frequently enough.  What the Holy Spirit revealed to me through Paul’s letter to Timothy is that I am missing out on the role that prayer has in regards to evangelism and Gospel acceptance.  Go ahead and read verse 3-4 again.  God wants all people to come to know him through Jesus Christ, and our prayers for that play a vital role.  Simply put, God has chosen to use the prayers of His people to accomplish His will.  What that means is the progress of the Gospel in the world (in Kalamazoo) is dependent on the prayers of God’s people in the church.  And the motivation behind praying for the gospel acceptance is because God is passionate for lost people.  Check out Ezekiel 33:11 – “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn! Turn from your evil ways!   Why will you die, O house of Israel?’”

Ok…So what do we do with that?  Well, I’m glad you asked because starting on Friday, October 11 from 6:30am-7:00am I will be holding a weekly prayer gathering.  It will be every Friday at that time and we will be praying for the spread of the Gospel in our area and I want to invite you to be a part of this each week. 

As a congregation, we need to be viewing Kalamazoo as our primary mission field.  It is very hypocritical of us as a church to send people to international missions while neglecting the mission field that we live in.  Looking at the model of evangelism in Acts 1:8 we see that the early church was to view their mission field locally first and then spreading outwards.  As a congregation, we want to live out that model.  So to lay it out to you as clearly as I can, here is what Acts 1:8 looks like for our congregation in order of priority: 1) Each person’s own family, 2) Kalamazoo, 3) The west side of Michigan, 4) The state of Michigan, 5) Our nation, 6) International.  We want to encourage you to start from the beginning.  Start by reaching your own family for Christ.  If your family is saved, then it’s time for you to move to #2.  Please don’t accomplish #1 and think you are done.  #1 is only the beginning.  I am confident we are going to be experiencing God moving in powerful ways as a church, and I want to encourage you to continue to be a part of it!

 

Will you walk through the pit to get to the promise?

Sunday we kicked off our Fall ministry season here at WestK and boy was it exciting.  Our worship service was terrific; I saw long-time members welcoming new people and inviting them to over for dinner later in the week (and them accepting the invite)!!!  We also had one of our largest Sunday school attendances for the college age bible study.  After service we hosted a church picnic at Oshtemo park, and it was awesome seeing so many of you there. There was tons of food, fun, and laughter.  We gave out a ton of “appreciation awards” to those who have been involved behind the scenes at WestK, serving faithfully in a variety of areas. 

                My favorite part of Sunday might seem a little odd, but I want to share it with you anyways.  While at the park we started up a game of whiffle ball.  There is an actual whiffle ball field there, with homerun fence and backstop, close to the pavilion we used for the church picnic.  At one point it looked like there was 20-30 people (including kids) out there playing.  When I finally joined in, I joined Chris Golland and Jason Penn at playing outfield.  Well, Tim McConnell got up to bat, and I did what any loving, encouraging pastor does to a faithful member of his church when playing a highly competitive sport like whiffle ball… I started in with the mocking and harassment (in Christian brotherly love of course).  On the second pitch Tim hit a home run.  Now that wasn’t my favorite part.  My favorite part of yesterday occurred in the next inning when Tim got back up to bat.  From the outfield I once again started to yell out my loving encouragements with the words, “Fluke! Fluke! Last time was a fluke! Easy out!”  And to my surprise on the first pitch Tim once again crushed the ball over the fence.  As he rounded the bases he humbly questioned my encouragement my chanting, “Fluke huh!?! Fluke!!!”  Gotta love that guy.  The reason that was my favorite part of yesterday was because less than 2 weeks ago that guy almost died from a number of serious stomach ulcers.  Make you wonder if he should have been out there playing ball in the first place.

               In the sermon I mentioned that some pits in life can only be figured out in a rear-view mirror.  This is very true for Joseph (Genesis 37).  Joseph’s life can be characterized as a series of pits.  One after another, Joseph faces pit after pit, but the beauty of Joseph’s story is it reminds us that God likes to use the pits to lead to his Promise.  For Joseph, it wasn’t until the end of his story that Joseph looks back and acknowledges that God used the pits in his life to position him in a place where he would receive the promise.  For so many people over this last year, like Tim, I have seen them go through pits in their life, not knowing why God was allowing them to experience that particular hardship in their life.  But instance after instance we have seen God move in these pits of life, and in every instance it leads people into a closer relationship and deeper trust in God.
            I don’t think we will ever see an end of pits (not until Jesus comes back).  I also believe we have not seen the end of God using pits to lead people into a greater relationship with Him.  We will all face pits in life, some deeper than others.  But God is ready to use those pits for His Glory and our benefit.  I think it was Matt Chandler who once said: “If God asks Jesus to go through the valley of the cross, we shouldn’t be surprised to go through ours.” 
             I want to encourage you, whether you are in a pit right now, coming out of one, or unknowingly about to be tossed into one, God knows exactly where you are and what you need.  He wants you to experience his saving grace and increase your trust in him.  So when you find yourself in a pit remember, the deeper the pit the greater the deliverance.  There is no pit too deep that God cannot bring you out of.

Psalm 18:1-19

I love you, Lord, my strength.

 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
 The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
    and the foundations of the mountains shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire came from his mouth,
    burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
    he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
    the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
    with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
    at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.