Sunday’s worship service had the potential to be the worst of the 4 gatherings we’ve had. Going into the first song, my spirit was not right. I mean, where are all the people who’ve been coming out or who we are walking with during the week, etc, etc, etc. Then Clete, in beautiful pastoral fashion, drew our attention to the reason we gather – making much of Jesus. He said that if we were down because of who was not there then our focus & source of satisfaction was way off. And then he directed our attention full into the face of Jesus. In that small moment the bigness of idolatry in my heart was revealed. This “worst service” turned out to be the sweetest one we had so far as we worshipped the Lord in prayer, song, & word. And it was cool that by the end of the service a few of the peeps I was missing had slipped in…but not nearly as satisfying as just worshipping the Father, Son, & Spirit!
I began the sermon by showing a before and after picture of Restore peep Steve Decker – through God’s grace he has lost over 150 lbs!
I then opened up Acts 3 & 4 as we looked at two even more dramatic before & afters. A lame man is made to leap, picturing the power of God in salvation. A man who battles cowardice grows in courage, picturing the power of God in transformation. Is there a before & after of you that causes people to wonder & ask why? And because we are all a “work in process” not a “finished product”, is your life in Christ a continuing portfolio of before & afters? You can listen to the message below.
Next week we go hardcore in our study through Acts as we look at Ananias & Sapphira. I’ll tell people if they are not at “church” they’ll be struck down too;)
Please pray for this great group of young men who are part of the Discipleship Group Susan & I are leading. Some of them know, love, & follow Jesus. Some of them don’t yet. And some may be called into ministry. I love all these guys. Please pray fervently for them.
Finally, please pray for Aaron & Jackie Acosta (Isaac, Ben, Micah, Judah) as they prepare to move to Detroit to be on mission with us in the 48202/206. They are hungry to serve, grow, and be trained to lead a Discipleship Group. As an added blessing they are gifted musicians who will lead in worship. Here’s a song they wrote and played.
I’m floored & humbled by the 1 Tim 4:12 kind of young adults who’ve been connecting with Restore. Last night 2 of them who are part of our new BoEd Dgroup, Matt & Maja Golden, poured into us some of the highlights of the recent T4G Conference. It was so good I asked Maja to put together a blogpost on some of what they shared.
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“My heart is reminded of Hebrews 10:24-25 as we met last night. ‘And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.’”
“John Piper emphasized that being in a small group (missional community, Bible study group, etc.) should awaken in us a “deep, joyful, confident sense that being in a small group of Christians for prayer and ministry to each other” is one of the best things we could do for our own soul and for the good of those around us, for the glory of Christ. When we meet regularly to pray for each other and strengthen each other to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and as we fellowship under Christ, we are reminded that we are all in it for the long-haul. Not only are we given the privilege to meet and learn from one another but we also have the privilege and responsibility as Christians to be committed to the work of the Lord – the spread of the Gospel in full confidence of it’s power.”
Tabithi Anyabwile probed the question, “Will your Gospel transform a terrorist?” He emphasized that the word terrorist is not solely about the stereotypical terrorist but is ultimately about any we are reluctant to share the Gospel with because of terror, or fear – family members, lost friends, neighbors, alcoholics, prostitutes, etc. This statement by Tabithi has buried itself in my mind and my heart:
As a committed Christian, is there an evident mark that certifies that you have a deep and unshakable confidence in the Good News of Jesus, because if you do not, the person you are sharing the Gospel with will know that.
“Unreached and lost people need us to be confident in the Gospel that gave us life in Christ. I have to constantly remind myself that when sharing the Gospel, people will not only look into my doctrine but will look deeply in my life to find evidence of that confidence in Christ. Last night, I had the privilege of bearing witness to that. A young girl looked me in the eyes and just said ‘thank you.’ She shared stories about how she notices the difference in the lives of those who say they are Christian and those who really live like Christians should. This is a solid reminder that our lives should be radically different if we are proclaiming Christ as our Lord. She went on to share, in complete honesty that she wants God in her life but she doesn’t want to rush it. I was encouraged to see the Holy Spirit working in her life to urge her to be an authentic Christian, even if she doesn’t believe in that now, I know the Spirit is doing mighty works in her. As Jeremiah 29:13 reads, “You will seek me and you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart.” She doesn’t want a “False Conversion,” as termed by Mark Dever at T4G, and as committed Christians we must be on guard to clearly articulate the Gospel and be aware not to present a church without holiness, suffering and sacrificial love, and fall into presenting mild versions of prosperity teaching. We are the church, this is our responsibility.
We all long for our lost friends, family and the unreached, to give their lives to Christ. In God’s mercy, we are invited in that mission but as we invest in each other’s lives, we must recognize the danger in frustration and depression in looking for instant fruitfulness when sharing the Gospel. It is our job to be faithful (plant seeds) and is God’s mercy to soften their heart to the understanding of the Gospel. I want to end with an encouragement and instruction from John Piper, a humble, faithful servant of God, as we continue to meet weekly; as we are commissioned to make disciples of all nations we must remember to have faith, pray and wait. Rely solely on God and have full confidence in the Gospel – that which changed your life. As my husband shared last night, we must know that God’s work does not end when He rescues us from bondage, but He equips us to rescue others in the name of Christ.”
God’s work does not end when He rescues us from bondage, but He equips us to rescue others in the name of Christ.
Under the leadership of Tony McDuffy & John Ribbing, Restore Church is privileged to partner with Central Detroit Christian Community Development for a 6 week flag football league, April 14. Registration opens at 10:30 AM followed by games at 11:00 AM (ages 5-8), 12:00 PM (ages 9-12), and 1:00 PM (ages 13-16). Location is Hutchins Middle School at Hazelwood & Byron behind the Herman Kiefer building.
Here are 3 things you can do:
1. Pray – for enough workers; for a great turnout; and for many kids/adults to meet, love, & follow Jesus.
2. Play – if you are between ages 5 -16 we’ve got a spot for you. (Maybe a future Wolverine will be in our midst!)
3. Participate – we need referees, coaches, and encouragers.
I want to give a quick update on what is happening in the Bontrager house.
Around 4 weeks ago we moved to a house on Lawrence Street between Linwood and Dexter roads in the 48206. We have fallen in love with our neighborhood and have had a great time connecting with so many wonderful people on these streets.
The kids especially have connected with so many other kids in our area. Clete (our 10 year old) has his best bud from school just living a street away now, so that has been cool for him.
The other night we had 11 teens on our front porch till 11 pm. Had to break up the fun time they were having so I could get some sleep (I think I’m becoming an oldster).
This past Saturday our neighborhood association put on an Easter Egg Hunt and Cookout for the kids and adults. It was a really fun time as neighbors connected with neighbors. We felt a real sense of community. I do want to thank Keith Greenwood for spearheading the efforts. He did a great job!
As we were having fun and enjoying our neighbors I thought about the community that Jesus will build in the new City. Only because of the resurrection can this even be possible. You talk about a fun time. I can imagine Jesus will have some crazy cookouts for us kids. I’m looking forward to it. I doubt hotdogs will be on the menu!
I also doubt we will be playing at abandoned houses that have been burnt out. If the streets are paved with gold I can’t imagine what the houses will be like.
I don’t know that we’ll have the bandwidth to post on every worship service now that we are meeting weekly but since so many of you have been praying I wanted to give a quick glimpse into yesterday’s Easter celebration. Wow, it was a beautiful time! We were honored to have fellow pastor (El Shaddai Church) and good friend Tony McDuffy share some words and lead us in prayer (He knows how to grab the horns of the altar!). Our hearts were filled with praise as we lifted our voices in song. And we opened Acts 1:1-8 to see how the advance of the gospel is unstoppable. Not because of us, but because of Jesus! Jesus is living. He resurrection is so irrefutable he turned a bunch of fraidy cats into fearless cats! Jesus is working… by His Spirit through His followers. The gospel advances through the ages not because of eloquent preachers but because all God’s kids get His Spirit for mission! Jesus is returning. His return is not dependent on our performance but on His promise, and He has a pretty good track record of keeping His promises – so let’s get after it in the freedom of knowing the victorious outcome! Please fervently pray that God will give us the privilege of being part of this great gospel advance.
Worship services are not the whole church pie, but they sure are a sweet slice of healthy body life. For that reason we are really pumped for the launch of weekly worship services this Resurrection Sunday. Launching weekly worship services was not the next “step” on some planning timeline. It’s the result of what God has been doing in our Discipleship Groups, THE Story study, and our community. I have no idea what is going to happen, but I know Jesus will be lifted up!
If you are in the area you are invited to join us Sundays at 2:45PM 1926 Virginia Park St 48202 as we gather to connect with one another, celebrate the gospel, and go in grace. We will be kicking off a series through the Book of Acts, The Unstoppable Advance: The unlikely, incredible, & ongoing story of all kinds of people meeting, loving, & following Jesus. More details below.
In our new Bo-Ed Discipleship Group we are covering our Gospel Identities of Family, Servant, Learner, & Missionary. Last night we looked at our Servant Identity. New D-group member, Matt G, shared a spoken word that powerfully paints the picture of being slaves to sin and points us to Jesus as the One who frees us from sin’s guilt & power. This was a perfect set up for walking through the vertical (Jesus became a bondservant to set us free, purchasing us from the slave market of sin) and horizontal (We are now worship Jesus as Lord by submitting to Him and serving those around us for His glory) implications of the gospel. You can check out the lyrics at the bottom.
We are servants of God who serve those around us.
Ask anyone you know, “what is sin?” and get a wide range of or opinions descriptives/ Anything from lying, stealing and killing, or any act that can be labeled “vindictive”/
And though these things are true, if we stop here, we leave ourselves with a surface perspective/ Which “keeps us afloat” but blinds us to what sins true depth is/
See sin acts are just that, sin in action… for an instant/ but this instance isn’t the source, it’s more like a cough or a sneeze… it’s a symptom/
It’s a signal that screams something wrong is underneath/ but we don’t see what’s underneath so the outside is what we treat/ like when you were a kid and all you wanted to do was brush the fronts of your teeth/… remember?
Listen, sin is deep rooted and it is drastically effecting our health/ but instead of wanting release from it, we use it to create wrong relationships and in some cases material wealth/
See our sin has become leverage to gain STUFF that only exalts self/ and we’ll never be free from this bondage unless we are deep rooted in something else/
Or someone else…but I’ll get to that in a bit/ First let me address the fact that instead of confronting our sin, we tend to hide from it/
Like when your friend says “Im fine bro, it’s just a sore throat man, I got this”/ let’s be honest, that’s just him not willing to admit that he is sick “enough” to see the doc yet/
See you have to address your sin for God’s grace to be upon you/ Because if we ignore our sin nature, we WILL play the fool/ Like Owen said, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you/ Remember that confession is step 1, and repentance is step 2/
In order to leave something, you have to first realize that you’re in it/ So how could you ever be repentant of something that you never admitted to begin with?/ That is the definition of being SIN SICK/
So pour it all out before God and stop hiding your mess/ die to yourself daily, crucify the flesh/ and conform to Christ’s image, until there is NONE of YOU left/ So that when communion comes, you can rightfully enjoy your “drink and your 2 step”/ (confession/repentance)
So I’m pleading with the Church, let’s stay honest with ourselves/ Know that sin unaddressed just builds up like dust on your shelves/
You don’t know it’s happening, till someone comes and runs their fingers through it/ and when they kick up your dust, at that very moment you LOSE IT/ You SNAPPED and everyone who saw, thinks that it happened at the drop of a hat/ but we know it’s a different story if we rewind the tape back/
See sin doesn’t just pounce at first, it prowls and creeps/ and it waits to empty us out in those times when we prove to be weak/ and we are left like a flat tire… but AFTER a slow leak/
And Jesus said it the best, so allow me to quote He/ who told us that it is out of the abundance of our heart that the mouth THEN speaks/
But don’t we all like to cling to “God knows my heart, that’s what it’s all about”/ And “it’s whats on the inside that matters, that’s all that really counts?”/ and I agree…
But let me ask you…
If our words are the product of our hearts overstock, that have forced their way out/ Do you really want God to know your heart after what came out of your mouth?/ Think about it…
And let me make it plain son/ for every hurtful word you say there is PLENTY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM/ I Said (repeat)
So how do we fix it? Our reaction is an attempt to try to clean up our actions, in hopes of portraying a better person/ but the moment we do this, we have just taken the proper sequence, and reversed it/
And it’s just like us, to submit to our sin and allow it to change the proper order of events/ we do it with most everything, just think of this in the pre-martial sense/
For those who get that, it might make you tense, but I’ll leave it because I’m after the bigger picture/ Plainly put, SIN is what leads us to think that we can be CHRISTIAN but live a life that is in blatant contradiction to the scriptures/ ITS SICKNESS
So if we can’t fix ourselves, then what on earth can we do?/ I mean Jesus even called religious people white washed tombs/ On the outside all glamour, but on the inside, nothing but doom/
He told us to wash our inner self, and then the outside would become clean/ And we say “sure, but how to I wash what I can’t see?/
The answer is to not lean on your understanding of things/ but to trust in the Creator of all, to whom nothing is unseen/
So instead of seeking worldly remedies to cling to/ cling to Jesus… and let the Author of faith use His offer of grace to redeem you/ and then He’ll fill you with HIS Spirit in order to clean you/ and send you out into the world in order to advance his kingdom/
FULL surrender to Christ is the goal, but luke-warmness is a plague/ God demands that you go ALL IN or FOLD, the only way He accepts that your allegiance as pledged/
So you gotta pick a side, either a life of sin, or repentance/ but if you play the middle ground, just know that the devil owns that fence/
So don’t waste another second, run to Jesus like He was holding a stop watch/ cuz everyone of us has a final countdown and we don’t own that clock/
God can get His glory from showing us grace and perfect love, but also from wrath in perfect justice/ and He’ll decide how He get’s His glory from us when we face Him at Judgment/
and there is no way to avoid, having to give your life’s account/ so will you be welcomed with open arms? Or spit out of His mouth?/
So I thank God for Jesus, who for my sin paid the entire cost/ without His redemptive work, this sinner would be forever lost/ cuz like Piper said, every sin will be punished, either in hell or on the cross/
What a two months it has been! Sunday we completed our eight week run through THE Story with Happily Ever After (No fooling!). What was lost in the garden is more than regained for all who trust in Christ! It was exciting to talk about the full reverse of the curse and dwelling with God forever. My heart was also heavy, however, for some of my friends who have not yet to come to Christ. Will you pray with us that the Spirit will continue to work in hearts?
Please pray for this great group of young men who are part of the Discipleship Group Susan & I are leading. Some of them know, love, & follow Jesus. Some of them don’t yet. And some may be called into ministry. I love all these guys. Please pray fervently for them.
Finally, please pray for Aaron & Jackie Acosta (Isaac, Ben, Micah, Judah) as they prepare to move to Detroit to be on mission with us in the 48202/206. They are hungry to serve, grow, and be trained to lead a Discipleship Group. As an added blessing they are gifted musicians who will lead in worship. Here’s a song they wrote and played.
