What I'm Reading This Easter Weekend...

He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions

13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;

he shall be high and lifted up,

and shall be exalted.

14 As many were astonished at you—

his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,

and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;

kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

for that which has not been told them they see,

and that which they have not heard they understand.

© Daniel Loncarevic | Dreamstime.com

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

9 And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makest an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

-Isaiah 52:13-53:1-12

It's Too Late To Apologize

"It's too late to apologize..."  the  famous line of the song "Apologize" by the band One Republic, made even better by the sound of producer Timbaland in the background trying to sing "eh, eh, ehhhhh," brings to mind a powerful image.  This past weekend I preached from Revelation 3:14-22 where Jesus tells the church at Laodicea to be either hot or cold but not lukewarm because He'll spew lukewarm Christians out of His mouth.  As I thought about that image (which we demonstrated using a water balloon launcher and gum balls) the song "Apologize" came to my mind.   I began to think:  "How many people are going to try to apologize while they are flying through the air after being spit out of Jesus' mouth."  I certainly don't want to find myself in that position and I'm sure you don't either.  So what can we do so we don't here Jesus sing the line "It's too late to apologize... It's too late?"

© Michael Kempf | Dreamstime.com

We read John 14:15 and do what it says.  If we love Jesus then we will do what He says.  We'll live out what the words He spoke in all four gospels.  Not easy, but the reward is worth it.

It is a simple answer I know.

Not very in depth.

That's because following Jesus isn't rocket science.

Following Jesus is obedience.  

This week, as we remember everything Jesus did for us,

let's live out His truth so people know we belong to Him.

(Known by our love because of His love!)

Let's not find ourselves flying through the air with Jesus humming the melody:
"It's too late to apologize..."

Instead, let's join the chorus of the faithful singing the Foo Fighters famous song:

"There Goes My Hero!"

Let's put Jesus first, at the center of our lives.

Deadliest Catch And The Church

"You watch that crab fishing show don't you!"  I heard that many times this past weekend after the band opened our church service with Bon Jovi's hit "Wanted Dead Or Alive."  To answer your question, YES, I do watch Deadliest Catch.  It is one of my favorite shows!  However, it's not the reason we opened our worship celebration with it's theme song last Sunday.   

© Gator | Dreamstime.com

 
There are two reasons why we use popular, secular songs at New Life:


1. So people far from God can connect to His church.  Whether you know it or not, all people have common ground:  We're all sinners in need a savior.  Where can we hear about the savior?  At church!  The church is God's plan for reaching and discipling the nations.  So how do we connect someone far from God to His church?  By providing opportunities for them to find common ground between what they're familiar with and God.  Since God created the world and everything in it, we can use the world to glorify God.  PLEASE NOTE:  WE CANNOT USE SIN TO GLORIFY GOD.  What the world intends for evil God can use to save lives! (Genesis 50:20)  I don't know if Bon Jovi intended his song for evil, but I know that, last weekend, God used it for good! 

P.S. The Church is people.  When I say: we provide opportunities for people far from God to connect with His church, I mean for His people (those of you who have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior) to invite friends to an experience where they won't be alienated by people doing things that seem out of touch with reality.  The church only works when we reach out to those around us in the power of God.  At New Life, we seek to provide opportunities so people far from God can connect with Him by providing opportunities for you to invite friends to a fun, loving, and life-changing environment.  The world can provide the fun and even the love, but it can't provide real life-change for this life and the next!  Only God can do that.

2. So all of us will remember that God wants us to have a faith that's alive!  Every week, as the Worship Pastor, I look for songs that will help people remember the message preached on Sunday.  This week, Pastor Chris's message was titled "Dead Or Alive" from Revelation 3:1-7.  What better way to help people connect with his message than open with a tune many people are familiar with!  When people sing the chorus of "Wanted Dead or Alive" they'll most likely remember, "Hey we did this in church!" Hopefully, this will lead them to remember that God wants us to have a faith that is alive, not dead.  In two weeks we'll be learning that God wants us to have faith that is ether dead or alive.  He can't stand those on the fence.  In fact, the Bible says He spits them out of His mouth.  How far can God spit?  Join us on April 17th for a demonstration.

We had an awesome service on Sunday! God moved powerfully and it is so exciting to see Him do great things in the lives of people!  I am so blessed to be able to serve at New Life and I can't wait for what God has in store for us.  The best is yet to come!

5 Simple Ways To Read God's Word Daily

Life is crazy.  There is no doubt about it!  From raising kids to a 40 hour work week and overtime, there isn't much time to read God's word.  Getting God's word into our hearts may not be as you think.  Here are five simple ways to read God's word daily.

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1. Keep Bible verses in your car.  Whether you print them out or purchase memory verse cards at your local Christian book store keep Bible verses in your car.  When you're stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic, pull them out and read them.

2. Go to YouVersion.com and set up a Bible reading plan that fits your schedule.  In the morning while drinking coffee reading the latests on your favorite news site pop over to YouVersion.com and read your daily verses.  YouVersion has many translations for you to choose from and keeps track and even rewards you with badges when you accomplish goals!  

3. YouVersion.com mobile app.  Download the Bible app if you have a smartphone and use YouVersion on your phone!  The mobile app is fully functional and you can take it anywhere you can take your phone! They even have offline Bible's available if you are traveling on planes or lose signal.

4. Take a compact New Testament Bible in your lunch.  When you're on your lunchbreak read your Bible!  You may need to also pack a magnifying glass to read the text!

5. For those of you with more time available get a One Year Bible and read the daily readings.  The one year Bible is a chronologically based reading plan.

If you want to get the most out of your Bible reading, go to YouVersion or google "Bible Reading Plans"! Plans help keep Bible reading meaningful and transformational!