The Kingdom of God Has Come Near You

"The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, "Peace to this house." If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near you." -Luke 10:1–9 NIV

Towards the middle of his ministry, Jesus sent out His disciples -- His apprentices -- to go out and personally bring a glimpse of the Kingdom of God to people who are suffering -- to heal the sick. He tells them that when they heal the sick to make sure the people know what is going on, to tell them "the Kingdom of God has come near [them]." This past Sunday was Worship Through Service at Creekside Covenant Church, a time where instead of gathering to worship God together at Redmond Junior High School, we disperse and worship Him -- like our predecessor disciples from 2,000 years ago -- through our service of others. While we were not called to heal the sick, we were called to be the bringers of the Kingdom of God, to go to places that were experiencing brokenness and say with our actions, "The Kingdom of God has come near you." What an amazing opportunity.

From the many projects, came many stories. Share and ask others to share their stories from that day. My story started even before Sunday. Three days before we headed out to serve, I met at City Hall with the head of Code Enforcement for the City of Redmond. I was there to pick up vouchers for the dump for one of our Worship Through Service projects. When we sat down to sign the paperwork, she shared how thankful she was that we were doing this, how so often she finds herself frustrated, charged with enforcing the City's Municipal Code, and unable to help people who are sometimes stuck and cannot help themselves. "I felt like there was nobody I could call. Now, I know that I can call Creekside and you might be able to help." On Sunday, we used these vouchers to haul three truckloads and three trailers of junk from the yard of a man who was at his wit's end, overwhelmed, feeling that there was no one who could help him and then seeing hope appear through a dozen people -- strangers from Creekside -- who showed up to help.

This was just one of more than half a dozen projects that Creeksiders undertook this past Worship Through Service Sunday. In each and every project, those served felt blessed, humbled and honored that people would come and help them. Those who did the serving also felt blessed, humbled and honored to serve them. It was an example of God's upside-down economy in action where the giver and the receiver each walked away with more than they brought. And throughout, God received the glory, God received the worship through our service, and we all sensed that the Kingdom of God was near indeed.

Free Indeed (from Kim Hjelm)

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed - John 8:36

My friend, Krisann had a specific prayer request this week. It was that the Holy Spirit would “be in me in an extra powerful way”. She asked for this as she was leaving on a trip that was “way, way out of [her] comfort zone”. Where was she going? To Angola, Louisiana…to the Louisiana State Penitentiary. She was going with a ministry team from the Evangelical Covenant Church and they would be participating in worship and chapel services, presenting a seminar, and meeting and praying with inmates—including men in solitary confinement and on death row. I understand why she would be “quite anxious about this trip”!

Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. It has an inmate population of 5,108 men, of which 86% are violent offenders and 52% are serving a life sentence. Eighty-four men are on death row. At one time, LSP was labeled America’s worst prison, a dangerous place without hope. To get a glimpse of what Louisiana State Prison is like today, watch this 12 minute video (You have to watch both Part 1 and 2...to the end...to get the full effect!). I guarantee you will be amazed.

“Life” Angola – Part 1
and
“Life” Angola - Part 2

Now for some questions to provoke some thoughts…please share your answers/ponderings on the Creekside Facebook Page

• What was your initial reaction to the video?

• Some of the men that spoke on the video are murderers…they actually have killed someone. They have broken the 6th Commandment, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). They will be in prison for the rest of their lives. Now think of Jesus’ message in Matthew 5 that says that we have also broken the 6th commandment if we are angry with our brother. Whoa…are we guilty of murder and should we be on death row?

• The men talk about their community, what it means and how important it is. Can you compare that with our Creekside community? What can we learn so as to improve our community?

• What are your thoughts about the idea of God being at work in the prison…is it possible for God to work in a place like a maximum security prison and with men that have been told they are of no worth or value? How is God at work at Creekside? In Redmond? In your heart?

• A lot of credit for the transformation in the prison was given to Warden Cain, mainly because he showed God’s love and that he has love and passion for people. Sound familiar? It should! It has been our “Memory Verse” for the last 10 weeks: LOVE GOD-LOVE PEOPLE. How can this story of one man, making such amazing changes for the Kingdom, help you to show God’s Love and have more love and passion for people in your daily life?

• An inmate has been reported as saying, “If I was given the choice of freedom from prison without God or life in prison with God, I would choose God.”

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

These are only a few of the verses about freedom within Scripture. Has your idea about what freedom actually means been altered not only with this glimpse into prison but through the messages from our study of the Rules of Life (The 10 Commandments)? Remember…

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Are You Rich?

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’" “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” -Luke 18:18–27 NIV

Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. -Philippians 4:11–13 MESSAGE

Last Sunday I shared how I had discovered from the Global Rich List that I was indeed rich. Not just a little rich, but 99.12% rich (compared to the entire population of the world).

Now, I don't feel guilty that I'm rich. But, it does make me think about the words of Jesus above, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." For those of you who can't quite get the picture in your head, Jesus is saying that it is really hard, impossible perhaps. Like I said, I don't feel guilty -- and I am not calling you to feel guilty either. Jesus never encouraged anybody to feel guilty. Instead, He regularly invites us into a better way of life and then highlights those things (often good things) that keep us from realizing this Kingdom way of life. For most of us, I believe, it means we need to give more of our money away. But, it’s not about the amount, it's about giving more and more of it away.

Churches will often talk about tithing. Tithing actually means a 10th, and comes from the Old Testament practice of giving a 10th of all you had. Pastors today will often take the fact that "tithe" is an Old Testament word to say that it is a guideline or even starting point. My perspective? If your giving (to church or elsewhere) does not prevent you from doing something you want to do, you are probably not giving enough. If your giving does not prevent you from doing something else, you are by definition giving out of your abundance. God calls us to more -- not because He needs cash, but because He wants us to trust that He will provide for us even if we give away more than we think we can afford. That is countercultural. Giving is not about the amount, it's about the trust. But Doug -- I have to prepare for my kids' college, I have to be secure, I don’t know if the economy is going to hold. Yup. It’s hard. But it’s where we meet God. It's how a rich man gets through the eye of a needle.

Ask yourself these questions:

- are you rich?
- would Jesus agree with your answer?
- do you feel guilty? (if so, it is not from Jesus)
- do you trust Jesus with your life enough to give away more than you think you can?
- what do you fear would happen?

Pray this prayer: God, don’t let these things that look so much to the world like blessings cause me to miss out on the blessing of knowing – really knowing you – the only real satisfaction I could ever know. Please God, do whatever it takes to cause me not to become dependent on things other than you. Amen

Belovedness and a countercultural community

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. - Exodus 20-16

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. - Philippians 2:3

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. -1 Peter 2:1–3

The church is called to be a sign, foretaste, agent and instrument of God’s reconciling love and forgiveness. - Missional Church, Darrell Guder

Hi Everybody

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be a people who live differently, have different values and different ethics than the world. God calls us to be a culture within a culture, a countercultural community in the way of Jesus. Before Jesus followers were called Christians, they were merely said to be of "The Way." That is, the way of Jesus. The Way stood out. The Way was different. Not because of what they were against, but because of what they were for. The Way stood out because of how they loved one another and how they loved those who were not people of The Way.

Similarly, followers of Jesus today are called to be a people of The Way, to be a countercultural community that together tries to figure out how to actually live out the ways of Jesus. This is the heart of discipleship. It is difficult -- if not impossible -- to be a disciple of Jesus alone. It takes a community. One of the things I love about Creekside is that we are a people who strive to be a community of people committed to be on this journey together. Over the past several weeks, we have seen the reality (and the difficulty) of this countercultural journey in our call to seek restoration instead of anger, to seek relationship and not lust, and most recently to seek the good of others, before our own. These are admittedly difficult things that are only possible to do if as part of our rhythm of living this way we continually seek to connect to the love of Jesus Himself. It is His love that changes us, it is His love -- the Bible says -- that allows us to really love at all. Connecting to our belovedness by God, however, is not just a Sunday thing. We are so often bombarded by things that distract us that we must return regularly to this well of love if we are to have any hope of living out the type of life we are called to live out.

So, a few of questions:

-Do you feel that you are able to enter into the belovedness of God?
-If so, what practices are helpful to you in doing so?
-What questions do you have about entering into the belovedness of God?
-Whom do you know who can help you to develop a rhythm of entering into the belovedness of God?
-In what ways is God calling you toward a more countercultural way of life?

Jesus invites us into His love and then through that, to be a countercultural community that shines like a signpost of the Kingdom of God, reflecting the image of the King. He does not intend this journey to be a burden, but rather a joy. Jesus says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:9–11). I am daily excited to be a part of this joyous journey with each of you.

Peace, hope and love

Doug