Can't improve Christianity, it's already perfect.

Remember products that were supposed to be better than their counterparts or products that “improved” the original?

Who could ever forget the new Coke? Coca-Cola thought it was time to update Coke because it had been losing market share. Some smart people thought they needed to redo the formula and rebrand. It launched in 1985, renamed Coke II in 1990, and was discontinued in 2002. Coke spent over four million dollars on development and marketing, and was left with 30 million dollars of unused product. It was a big flop.

In 2001, Apple introduced the world to a new product that would change everything. It was called the i-Pod. The i-Pod was a portable media player that could play downloaded music, videos and more. Five years later, Microsoft launched a “better” product called the Zune. The Zune would do the same thing as the i-Pod but consumers were already hooked on the Apple device. Millions of dollars and six years later, the Zune was discontinued.

The world is always trying to make things better. Better cars, smarter phones, louder speakers, better-tasting food, etc. And that includes Christianity. Take Mormons for instance. Joseph Smith claims Jesus spoke to him about special tablets. Smith “found” these tablets and interpreted them, writing a companion to the Bible. Smith is claiming a new and improved Christianity. But that just isn’t the case. 

Christianity is already perfect because of Jesus Christ;

“2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ” – Hebrews 12:2

Our faith is already perfect because He made it perfect through His life and His actions on the cross. While our faith cannot become more perfect, certainly we can be better followers of Christ. So, if there is anything that could become new and improved, it’s us.

New through our belief of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and improved because we have turned from the old self and set our eyes on Jesus. Who provided something better for us, a reconciliation with God that leads to salvation for all eternity.

Can the church get better? Certainly, because we the church can get better. But our faith, our faith is perfect in Jesus.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Prepare yourself for Easter!

Do you know what Muhammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith and L. Ron Hubbard all have in common? They’re dead. All of them. If we knew where their grave was located, we could go see it, read the tombstone to find out when they were born and when they died. They are all dead.

That’s the difference between Christianity and every other religion in the world. They celebrate someone who is dead. We worship someone who is alive! Alive and at the right hand of God waiting to come back to claim His bride, the church.

This coming Sunday is our annual celebration of an empty tomb. It’s Easter and we have some special things planned for that morning. Scripture reading, special music, and of course I will wrap up my “I am” Easter series on that Sunday too.

But this isn’t just a time for us to celebrate the empty tomb. It’s an opportunity to share the Gospel message with people who may not have heard it before.

We will see people at our church on that Sunday who come once or twice a year, or maybe they have never been to our church. In either case, we need to put our best foot forward to reach these people for the kingdom.

Sit in a different spot Easter Sunday. Roam around and shake hands. Introduce yourself to unfamiliar faces and maybe some familiar ones that you haven’t spoken to yet. Greet people when they walk through the door, wave and smile. Let’s show the love of God to all our visitors and to our fellow members on Easter Sunday.

Be in prayer for those coming that day. Let’s ask God to bring us people who need to hear the Gospel and that God is already working on their hearts to accept Christ. Be in prayer for the leadership team as we prepare for the service, ensuring the message of God’s love for His creation is heard loud and clear.

Finally, come ready to worship! Before you walk into the building ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your worship on Easter. Give everything to God! Let’s celebrate the freedom we have because of our faith in an empty tomb!

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:1-3)

Hallelujah! Our Lord lives! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

What are you allowing in your home?

Something reached out and grabbed me today. I was reading 2 John, which has the least number of verses in the New Testament, when I got near the end it made me think of the different “Christian” pastors, teachers, etc. that are out there penetrating our ears on a daily basis.

John is writing a letter to a woman. We are not sure who she is or where she is when he writes the letter. In the letter, he commends her for her household walking in the truth. Then he writer switches to warning her of false teachers. False teachers are very common in this day and time and they were winning over people with their slick words and charismatic character.

Then in verses ten and eleven, John writes, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

This teaching that John refers to is the teaching of Jesus Christ. Anyone you let in who does not teach this but teaches something that is contrary to that of Christ is wicked. Conversely, anyone who allows that into their home is part of the wickedness.

We could apply this simply to false teachers of the word. People who claim to be pastors or teachers, who are in it for personal fame and fortune, or people who want to circumvent the Gospel. But I think it goes beyond that ideology.

I think when we apply it to our lives today, we find there are things that we watch, listen to or read that go against the teachings of Jesus Christ. Things that we say entertain us, but in reality, affect how we think and live. Things that take our focus away from God and living righteously.

In these days leading up to Easter, take the time to examine what you are allowing into your home. What is going against the teachings of Jesus Christ? How is it affecting your world view? How is it affecting your heart? Wickedness can come in many different forms, so be careful what you let into your home.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Eastern, an opportunity to share Jesus!

Easter is almost here! Boy, that’s hard to say. It feels like we just started the new year. But here we are, just a few weeks away from an important day of remembrance in our Christian faith.

Easter, just like Christmas, isn’t a holiday that we are commanded to observe. We observe it by choice because of church tradition. The Council of Nicaea in 325AD chose the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox to observe Easter. The council was trying to establish a unified date for the Christian community to celebrate Easter at the same time.

The origin of the word Easter is unknown. There is an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with spring and fertility whose name is Eostre or Eostrae and it’s thought that Easter came from that word.

The tradition of eggs and bunny’s dates back to the middle ages. The egg represented a new life or rebirth. Children in Germany began to hunt for colored eggs in gardens, a tradition that became more well known in the 18 Century in the United States.

While Easter is based on a historical event, all of the ideas behind how we celebrate it are all based on tradition, not scripture. Nonetheless, it’s an important date for us.

It’s when we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s one of two days of the year we will see a large number of people come to our church and it may be the only time to come.

This is a great opportunity for us to share Jesus. We will be in a four week series about Easter that will culminate with Easter Sunday, proclaiming Christ as King. God with us who revealed Himself to us, dying for us, to take on our sins, so we can be reconciled to Him.

It’s an incredible story that every ear needs to hear. Help us by inviting everyone you can to our Easter service on April 20th. Help us pack every pew so the Gospel can be proclaimed and we might see some saved.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Fear not! Be bold!

Did you know you can smell fear? Research suggests that there is a chemical reaction when

people exhibit great fear. When we have great fear, a pheromone is released through our sweat,

which gives off a specific odor.

My first night of bootcamp, you go through and get equipment, change out of your civilian

clothes and put on the uniform, get a haircut and go to the barracks for the first time. In the

Marine Corp, you have a formation platoon for a week before getting dropped to your training

platoon.

After getting all our stuff squared away, we head to the barracks where they teach you how to make your rack

(bed), how to lace your boots and a few other tidbits of information that are good to know. During that

instruction phase, I remember a drill instructor asking if we could smell something funny in the barracks. He

said, that is fear. He said,“We always smell it the first night.”

We all have something we fear. Spiders, snakes, heights, we all have some type of phobia. For some, speaking to

strangers can be a phobia. Something that grips them with fear. I’m actually not the outgoing guy most people

think I am. I am nervous every Sunday and I am usually nervous before talking to a stranger. I have to force

myself to start the conversation.

I try to remember the words of Moses as he spoke to the nation of Israel. I talked about it this past Sunday.

When handing over the reins to Joshua, he told the people,

“Be courageous and strong. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”– Deuteronomy 31:8

In times of fear, we often forget that God is with us. We tend to allow the fear to grip us and have control over

us. Emotions are a powerful thing that can make the steadiest hand tremble. We have to learn to control our

emotions and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through whatever we are facing. Even if it’s just speaking to a

stranger for the first time so we can share the Gospel message.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles and disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly

proclaimed the Gospel. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you possess that same Holy Spirit. It’s not a lesser Holy

Spirit, that doesn’t have all the power as on the day of Pentecost. It’s the same one.

So, fear not! Be strong and courageous and go share the Gospel to all the world. Even strangers!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

When Sticks and Stones Come Your Way, Duck

Social media can become pretty unsocial. I have noticed more and more people posting

negative things about Christians or accusing Christians not to care because of the actions of

a certain politician. The world has a negative view of Christians. Some of that is prophetic

and some of that is our fault.

Let’s first look at what we can’t fix, people not liking us because we are believers in Christ.

Jesus is speaking to the apostles and giving them one last lesson before He is arrested. He

speaks of how the world will hate those who follow him, “If the world hates you, know that

it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but

because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”. That’s

from John 15:18-19.

There are some things you don’t have control over. How someone feels about you based on your belief you can’t fix. You can try. You can treat them with incredible kindness and let them see Christ in you. But be prepared for it not to work. And that’s ok. As a believer we are commanded to try. As I mentioned in our Sunday night class recently, you can’t force someone to accept the Gospel.

Which takes us to the thing we can control, which we just mentioned. We can control ourselves. One reason non-believers don’t like believers is because over the years we have given off a bad vibe. Those Christians who think they are better because they have the Holy Spirit. Those Christians who have bad reactions in public or say the wrong things when the time comes.

We can have better control over ourselves if we do what James says in chapter one, verse 19, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Seems easy enough, right? I mean, how hard can that be?

Well, at times, it’s really hard. But we have to do our best, then pray God fills in the gap where we fall short. Remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter two, verse 13, “13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God is working in you. You are and will always be a work in progress. Don’t worry about sticks and stones. But be aware of your words that can hurt others and your

and Jesus’ reputation.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Be An Influencer, Show Others Christ

Can you imagine teaching yourself Greek at four years old? Being the top of your elementary school at 5 or enrolling in college by 14? Now imagine, because of an illness, you pass away at 28 years old and you were such a positive influence on your community 7,000 people show up for your funeral.

That’s what happened in 1843 when Robert Murray McCheyne passed from typhus. McCheyne knew early on that God was calling him to something great. He committed himself to prayer every morning. He wrote poetry, hymns and letters concerning faith, God and the church. By the age of 22 he was the pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Dundee, which had over 1,100 regular attenders.

McCheyne was a great influencer of his day. This was before the internet, cell phones and social media apps. In 28 years, this young lad in Scotland had such a positive influence on his community, that men openly wept as they walked down the road after learning of his passing. What’s amazing is that he still influences us today.

When I think of McCheyne, I think of First Timothy chapter four. In verse 12, Paul writes, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Paul was telling a young Timothy to not let your youth be a stumbling block for people. They can and will look past it if you make these things a priority.

What is it that is a stumbling block between you and sharing the Gospel with others? We sometimes find that our minds work against us, and we convince ourselves that we are unworthy to share the Gospel, to act in a way that points people to Christ. Of course we’re not worthy, none of us are worthy. God chooses to use “unworthy” people for His purpose.

Sometimes we convince ourselves of some reason why we can’t share the Gospel or teach, or sing, or play or whatever the church may need. We need to stop making excuses. Go, live a life that points people to Jesus. Become an influencer for Christ, for the Kingdom, for God.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen