FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Fight for Your Faith”

Supplies: Bible; paper and pen

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Have you ever worked really hard to do something that you really wanted to preserve, to keep just the way you did it?  I knew this family when I was a kid, and the mom was a neat freak.  She didn’t just tidy—she did spring cleaning almost daily.  While the kids were at school, she dusted every room, scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen, and vacuumed the whole house.  Every. Day.  And because a clean house was so important to her, when the kids got home from school, they weren’t allowed to go to their rooms.  They could play downstairs or do homework in the kitchen, but that was it until bedtime.  She didn’t want them to mess up the clean.  It was so important, she was willing to fight for those dust-free dressers and clutter-free floors.  Woe to any person who put a footprint on those fresh vacuum tracks!

Take turns sharing something your worked hard for that you wanted to keep.  Maybe you built a really cool tower with blocks or Legos and didn’t want to tear it down.  Maybe you drew an amazing picture on a chalkboard and didn’t want anyone to erase it.  Maybe you spent all day cleaning your room until it was spotless and didn’t want it to get messed up again.  Ok, maybe not that last one, but something, right? What made it so important to you?  What did you do or what were you willing to do to preserve it?

READ

Read Jude 1-16 together.  Paraphrase for younger children. 

THINK AGAIN

Jude wrote this great letter to all believers.  It’s not just to the church-goers of his time—it’s to anyone who has started a relationship with Jesus.  Jude warns us about a pitfall that many followers of Jesus stumble into.  He knows how great it is to start a saving relationship with Jesus, to have our sins wiped clean and be given a new heart.  We feel incredible, full of the power of the Holy Spirit.  Often we don’t recognize the darkness that other people are bringing back into our world.  Our friends begin to tease us because of our new faith.  The notice we’re acting differently—being nicer, not gossiping, helping people—and they tell us to lighten up and chillax.  Or worse, they start calling us names.  You turn to a friend who goes to a different church, and they tell you that it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you believe in God.  They twist the Word around and suddenly you’re not sure what’s right and what’s not.

When that starts to happen, Jude says we need to FIGHT FOR OUR FAITH.  We have to be willing to take a stand and defend what we believe, what we know to be true.  Just like the examples you shared earlier, we have to value the purity of our faith, of our relationship with Jesus so much that we’re willing to rock some boats to keep it strong.  

APPLY

What are ways your can fight for your faith?  What are some things you can do to keep your relationship with God strong when other people are trying to mess it up or tear it down?  Share some ideas with each other.  Write them down.  Put them some place where you can all read them again.  This is one of those things that comes up again and again, and it’s good to have a game plan.  

My guess is some of you have already had your boats rocked a little.  Someone has walked on your clean carpets a little and you’re maybe wondering what’s what.  That’s ok.  Doubt and questions are normal at times.  If you have some questions about God or about faith, take some time to talk about them now.  What confuses you?  Is there anything about Jesus that just doesn’t make sense? Whatever’s on your mind!  Mom and Dad, if you’re not sure about some of these answers, you can always contact our Children’s Pastor Karin Orwig or our Youth Pastor Scott Perschall (or even Pastor Todd).  In fact, any of our pastoral team would be delighted to answer any questions you may have.  If that’s what it takes, do it!  Fight for your faith and for the faith of your kids!

PRAY

Jesus, You did an amazing thing.  You died on the cross so I could have a relationship with God the Father, so that I could know forgiveness and be saved.  That is so important, Jesus, and I’m willing to fight for that truth in my life.  Give me the courage I will need to hold on to my faith in the middle of darkness and difficulties.  In Your Name we pray, Amen.

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

EXPLORE IT - Jude Week 1

Our Scripture passages for this week and next are from the book of Jude.  This short letter is only twenty-three verses long and tucked away in the back of the New Testament right before the book of Revelation.  It is written by Jude, a very common name in this time.  The Greek work for Jude (Iou,daj) can also be rendered as Judas, Judah, and Judea.  The most famous man with this Greek name is Judas Iscariot.

Because this is a very common name, the author specifies who he is in the opening of his letter.  By declaring he is “a slave” or “a servant” or Jesus, we identify this Jude as one of the few involved in the early church.  With his declaration to be a brother of James, we recognize this Jude as being the brother of Jesus.  The recipients of this letter would understand James to be the brother of Jesus.

We know this letter was written prior to A.D. 68 because Peter borrows some of the material from this letter in his own letter we know as the book of 2 Peter.  Jude wrote to Christians within the church, alerting them of false brothers in the faith who were infiltrating the churches.  These false believers and false teachers were encouraging division, doubt, and cynicism and being motivated by greed and lust.  Jude is emphasizing Jesus as Lord and even though freedom comes with our faith, it is not a license to do whatever we wish.  These teachings from Jude are very timely as we too need to be alert for false teachers trying to lead us astray.  We need to heed Jude’s instruction to pray, persist in faithfulness to God, and continue to be merciful to one another.

Blessings,
Pastor Amy

PREPARE FOR IT! - Saturday Reading - Book of Jude

Tomorrow's sermon will include the following scripture.  

Let's read it together today to prepare our hearts.

Greetings from Jude

1 This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.

I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

2 May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

The Danger of False Teachers

3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. 4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. 6 And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. 7 And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.

8 In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. 9 But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) 10 But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. 11 What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.

12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.

A Call to Remain Faithful

17 But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. 18 They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. 19 These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

A Prayer of Praise

24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

Living On Mission with Jesus

Living On Mission with Jesus

What do you think life is like in the Kingdom of God?  It’s probably not what most people expect.  Matthew 9 gives us some examples of the things Jesus did when He was preaching and teaching about the Good News of the Kingdom.  He healed a paralyzed man to prove that He could also forgive sins.  He befriended a tax collector.  He hung out with sinners.  He feasted instead of fasted.  He healed a sick (and unclean) lady on His way to raise a young girl from the dead.  He healed two blind men.  He exorcised a demon that kept a man from talking.  These things surprised and confused folks.  They didn’t expect a holy man to touch an unclean woman or to hang out with sinful people.  That was against the rules.  Wasn’t it?  Every time He demonstrated the way of the Kingdom, it went against religious traditions and WOW people didn’t like that…but they did like the miracles, and they did recognize that He had authority.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (Matthew 9:35-38)

We are called and commissioned to be His workers and announce the Good News about the Kingdom.  People will probably be confused because most have such a distorted view of God and His Kingdom.  Have compassion on them.  Heal them.  Befriend them.  Hang out with them.  Love them.  Give them a glimpse of the Kingdom.  We serve a mighty God who longs for people to come to Him and gain eternal life.

Let’s practice living on mission and get caught RedHanded – LovingOurCity.

Pastor Angela

Contend Together - A Letter From Pastor Todd

Dear PoC Contenders,

I’m really looking forward to worshiping with you this coming Sunday.  Summer has roared by with such speed and I have missed being with all of you.  I’m excited to jump into this next sermon series, “Hey Jude: Put Up Your Dukes!”  I believe God has a lot to show us through this short but powerful New Testament letter.  I’d encourage you to go ahead and read through this great and wonderful “put up your dukes” scripture.  

Years ago, I helped direct a youth camp.  One night I was given the task of supervising a late night talk that was taking place in the tabernacle between some college-aged men and a group of female campers.  I didn’t know what the talk was about, but I sat in the back and listened to what quickly became a hot mess.  The men intended to talk to these young ladies about how to keep the bar high and how they should not settle for less when choosing to date someone.  A fine message  - Yes!  But, what I saw in the delivery was another motive, another agenda.  These self-appointed message-men, obviously, were taking great pride in being “that sweet guy” who offered such “cute” advice.  After the talk, those winky-eyed college men each received about a hundred hugs (the pay-off) each with all the “You are a princess” drama and tears that you would expect.  There was no mention of God, no mention of Jesus, no mention of the Bible.  It became clear to me that these young men were finding their significance in being “knights in shining armor” more than in being messengers of wise Gospel.

When I spoke to them that night, I had intended to bring a very positive and uplifting word about our shared hope, but a great big “BUT FIRST . . .” that could not be stopped rose up out of my chest and out of my mouth.  I couldn’t proceed to the message until I had first addressed this very “false” display that I had witnessed.  My message was, “Guard your heart . . . God must have the spotlight.”  I felt as if the most pressing thing at that time was to pull the focus back to God, to His Son, to His Spirit, to His Word, and to His mission.  Truth is, very wise men and women have had to have the same talk with me over the years.  It’s a needed understanding.

This is what we see happening in Jude.  Jude looks forward to talking to the church about the hope of Jesus’ salvation, but other things are happening.  A great big “BUT FIRST” rises up within Jude and contends for listening ears.  I think His message is just as meaningful, powerful, and applicable today as it was then.

I look forward to contending with you and your family this week.  Invite.  Invite.  Invite.

God is not done saving us.

Your Pastors Are Praying For You!