From Pastor Tom - John 3:16

Let me share a few thoughts with you from John 3:16.  You know the verse - it says:

                         "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,                                      that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

The verse is a twenty-six-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same.  Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions.  If you know nothing of the Bible - start here.  If you know everything about the Bible - return here.  We all need the reminder.  The heart of the human problem is  the heart of the human.   And God's treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.

He loves.  He gave.  We believe.  We live. 

He loves.

God loves you because he chooses to do so.  "God wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important... He did it out of sheer love..." (Deut. 7:7-8, MSG).  God's love for you depends on his goodness, not yours.  And since he is totally good, you are absolutely loved.  You don't need to win his love, you already have it.  And since you can't win it, you can't lose it.  He will love you forever.  You may step outside of his will, but never his love.  Mark it down.  He loves you.  So much , in fact , that...

He gave.

He gave his one and only Son.  Jesus is God's "one and only."  He is unlike any other person in history  Every quality we attribute to God, we can give to Jesus.  Jesus has an eternal life span, unending wisdom, and tireless energy.  Most of all, Jesus is sinless.  When he lived on the earth, he never sinned,  "He never did one thing wrong.  Not once said anything amiss"    (1 Peter 2:22, MSG).

We, on the other hand, do wrong things daily.  We stretch the truth.  We hurt people.  We take advantage of the weak and disrespect our family.  What should God do?  He has made his position clear,  "Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord"  (Hebrews 12:14, NCV).  Where does that leave us?

It leaves us depending on the 3:16 promise.  "God... gave his one and only son..."  Though sinless, Jesus took our sin.  God placed our sin on his Son and punished it.  When Jesus died on the cross, he died for us in our place.  Our response to this great gift is simple...

We believe.

We trust Jesus to do what we can't.  We don't trust our own efforts to save us.  We can't save ourselves.  We don't place our trust in other people to save us.  We believe in him.

We take similar steps of trust daily, even hourly.  Believing the chair will support us, we set our weight on it.  Believing water will hydrate, we drink it.  Trusting the work of the light switch, we flip it.  We have faith in the doorknob, so we turn it.  We trust power we cannot see to do work we can't accomplish.  Jesus invites us to do the same with him.  And when we do, when we believe...

We live.

God gives us brand-new life.  He gives us joy in this life and the promise of eternal life with him.  We have joy because we have his spirit living within us.  Little by little his Spirit changes us to be more like Jesus.  No guilt in life, no fear of death, he gives life, now.

And life for eternity.  In Heaven you will be you at your best.  No anger or sadness, tears or trouble.  Never weary, selfish, or defeated.

Clear mind, tireless muscles, unhindered joy.  And most of all, God!

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and the knowledge of God" (Romans 11:33, ESV). Heaven is a perfect place of perfected people with our perfect Lord.

Would you like to accept the 3:16 promise?  You can.  Tell God you accept him.

"Father, I believe you love me.  You gave your one and only Son so I can live forever with you.  Apart from you , I die.  With you, I live.  I choose life.  I choose you."

Jesus awaits your prayer.  Believe in him and you will...    Not..   Perish...                                    You will have life, eternal life, forever.

Pastor Tom

From Pastor Tom - Getting Connected Matters

The world has never been more connected. Companies have laid millions of miles of fiber optics and shot satellites into space so that people can communicate with each other. People all around the world are texting each other on smart phones. Yet people feel more and more disconnected.  We don’t feel nearly as connected to each other as people did a generation ago.

 We were created for Relationship - In fact the first thing God said was, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” God said that humans were not made for isolation. We were made for connection. Why? We were created in the image of God. The Bible says God is love. And to love, you’ve got to have somebody to love.

 The Bible says that that being spiritually connected means:

 We’re built like a Building - “In Christ you are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:22 NRSV). We are meant to fit together like bricks in a new building. It’s essential that the parts of a building fit together. You aren’t safe otherwise because there’s no support. Likewise, those who aren’t connected to a church family in any meaningful way have no support. Life is tough. We all need the support of people who care about us.

 We’re joined in a Body - “Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s Body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others” (Romans 12: 4-5 TLB). What Jesus Christ did when he was here in his physical body, he wants to do today through the church. We are the body of Christ on Earth. We are his hands. We are his feet. All of us have to play our part. Being part of the body of Christ means we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, and if we don’t play our specific part, the mission of the church is impacted.

 We’re born into a Family - “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church…” (1 Timothy 3:15 GW). This is my favorite metaphor for the church. Most people think that Christianity is a belief system. There are beliefs in Christianity, but it’s so much more. Christianity is a belong system. The Bible says we were born again into God’s family when we became a follower of Jesus. It also says that we’ve been adopted into God’s family.  Because we are part of God’s family, we should accept one another and love one another.

 We’re attached to a Vine - “Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me"  (John 15:4 GW). Being connected isn’t just a horizontal issue. It’s a vertical one as well. We need to be connected to God himself. Jesus says when we are connected to him it’s like being attached to a vine. Fruit not connected to a vine dies. It’s that simple.

 Two new opportunities for getting connected are starting this month at APC. 

 1.  Purpose Driven Life Bible Study  Starting July 9th at 6:30 pm we will begin a study on the book - "The Purpose Driven Life".  I will be teaching the study which will help us discover what God's purposes are for our lives. 

 2.  Sit and Sew  On July 19th starting at 9 am - Sit and Sew will be meeting in the Manse Hall.  This is an opportunity to meet with others and work on your crafts or learn a new one.  Quilting, Scrap-Booking, Knitting are just some of the crafts that you might want to share. 

 Let’s work together to stay connected.

 Pastor Tom