Judging

Joseph Stowell once wrote, “Discernment in Scripture is the skill that enables us to differentiate.  It is the ability to see issues clearly.  We desperately need to cultivate this spiritual skill that will enable us to know right from wrong.  We must be prepared to distinguish light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement, and principles from pragmatics.”

The disciple of Christ is called to judge rightly.  This is not a judging of people, but of the teaching from leaders, pastors, and other disciples of Christ.  In John 7:14-24 Jesus provides us with practical ways to judge rightly between right and wrong, truth from error, and light from dark. What is God’s Word really saying?  How can we discern between truth and error?  And how can we know that Jesus’ words are truth?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we search the words of Christ for truth and seek to cultivate the skill of discernment in our own walk with Christ.  May we be prayerfully prepared to encounter God this week and allow him to mold, change, and encourage us in our faith.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Life in Christ is Hard

Dave Ramsey once said, “If we want to be thin we should do what thin people do.”  In other words, if we really want to be healthy there is a price to pay, sacrifices that must be done.  Many of us who desire to be more healthy would love to wake up tomorrow morning having been completely transformed overnight, with no effort or sacrifice on our own part.  But that is not reality.  Transformation takes effort, time, and sacrifice, but many are not willing to pay the price.

After teaching the crowd what they must believe and give up to follow him, Jesus witnesses a mass exodus.  The cost of being his disciple was too great to many, so they left.  Why did Jesus not stop them from leaving?  What about the price was so high?  What is the difficulty in following Jesus?  What encouragement is there in is teachings for the true disciple of Christ?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we study what John 6:60-71 teaches us about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ and why that cost is too great for so many.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

The Strength and Value of the Gospel

“A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. ‘I couldn't read it,’ the friend explained. ‘Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.’ ‘Not Gutenberg!’ the book lover exclaimed in horror. ‘That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!’ His friend was unimpressed. ‘Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German’

(Our Daily Bread, June 7, 1994).

Many times the values of something is in the eye of the beholder.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the old saying goes.  But when it comes to the gospel message, those who have a relationship with the Creator understand it’s true value.  It’s strength to affect a life is beyond measure and it’s value is beyond comprehension.  Those who do not know God intimately do not understand that in hearing the gospel message they are being introduced to a life-altering message.

What is the gospel?  How has the gospel affected us?  What strength lies in the gospel?  What are we do with the gospel once we hear it and believe?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community as we look into what 2 Timothy 2:1-2 has to say about the gospel and our responsibility once we hear the Truth.

Striving to know Christ and make him known!

Discipleship

As a former football player I have played under all types of coaches.  From very angry and animated coaches that I was sure were going to have a heart attack in the middle of a game to very relaxed and almost carefree coaches, I have played under them all.  One of my favorite (and most successful) coaches I played under was my sophomore year in high school.  At our first practice he made it clear that he wasn’t a “yelling and screaming” type of coach.  If he ever yelled at us we knew we had done something extremely wrong.  His coaching style was one of teaching, correcting, guiding, and never being idle.  Instead of yelling at a player he would pull them aside and calmly correct their mistakes.  It was possibly the most enjoyable year of football I had ever played.

 

Paul has spent eighteen months in Corinth, preaching the gospel message and encouraging those who come to faith in Christ.  After this significant time in Corinth he moves on to Ephesus, but doesn’t stay for long.  He begins to move from city to city, “strengthening all the disciples” (Acts 18:23).  But something amazing happens while Paul is on the move.  A man named Apollos appears, teaching the truth of the Gospel Message.  Priscilla and Aquila hear him speak, but then pull him aside and do something unexpected.

 

What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?  How does one become a disciple of Jesus Christ?  What is the role of a disciple of Jesus Christ?  The answer to these questions is more simple than we may assume.  And like my favorite football coach it may not be what we expect.

 

May God prepare us this week as we study and explore the role of discipleship in the life of a believer.  This passage may be challenging to our hearts and so we pray that we would be open to God’s movement of change within us so that we may become more obedient children of our Father in Heaven.