Navel-Gazing

In our quest to follow Jesus with all our heart, it's possible to wander away from the cross and into the deep, dark domain of navel-gazing. The good folks over at the Resurgence Blog recently posted about this dilema. I thought it was a good read and wanted to pass it along to you. Here's the link.

Harvest Time

Wednesday night I led a prayer meeting at Jubilee's newest location in Union. One of the things we asked God to do was to open our eyes to the fact that, "The fields (people's lives) are already ripe for harvest (a connection with God)."

It's so very easy to disqualify people from connecting with God by suggesting that they, "aren't ready", or that they, "aren't open" to the Gospel. That may or may not be true, but my approach is to let them tell me, rather than assume it myself. The truth is that there are many more people who are ready for, (Jesus says they are "ripe") and open to, the Gospel, than what I think and often believe.

With the prayer meeting fresh in my mind I took Jesus at his word during a morning breakfast appointment today. As the server was placing our food on the table I said to her, "Debbie (not her real name), we're going to say a quick prayer over our food before we eat. Is there anything we can pray for you, or your family as we do?" As she collected herself she asked us to pray for her son who was in a difficult spot at the moment. I asked her for her son's name and she gave it to us. She went on with her work while my good friend and I prayed for her son.

The next time she came to the table Debbie opened up about how her son was away at school and had just this week gotten himself into trouble, which subsequently landed him in jail. She said she was grateful for our prayers.

When we were done with breakfast and Debbie brought us our ticket I asked her if she attended a local church. She noted that she lived in another town over an hour away. I gave her an invite to Jubilee's Wentzville Location and told her to feel free to give it to someone else. I'm convinced that because we served Debbie by praying for her, she was very open to the invitation.

No we didn't share the gospel with Debbie, but the door is certainly open the next time we visit this restaurant, and you can be sure we will go back! In the meantime my short conversation with Debbie highlighted Jesus' words that "The fields are already ripe for harvest."

Stop disqualifying your friends and your family as not being interested in God. Ask God to open your eyes and then get involved in the harvest. Grab a sickle, or climb aboard a combine, because it's harvest time Jubilee!

What Do You See?

If you were asked to summarize the main point of Ephesians 5:1-2, what would you say?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice.

Would you focus on the call to imitate God and walk in love, or the description of us as beloved children who are loved sacrificially by Jesus? It seems to be our default mode to hear only the commands of the Bible while missing the descriptions out of which they arise.

The prescription to behave like God only makes sense as the outworking of the description that we are God's children who are loved by God. The commands of the New Testament always arise out of the descriptions.

When we focus on the commands instead of the descriptions we place ourselves, and others under legalism by trusting in our own efforts and merit to obey God.

However, when we focus on the descriptions instead of the commands, obedience flows out of an identity that has been radically transformed and shaped by the cross of Jesus Christ. And this makes all the difference in the world.

The Count Goes On

I've never really understood why some people don't agree with keeping track of Sunday morning attendance. Years ago I heard Rick Warren say, "We count people because people count." I think Rick is right (hard to argue with a guy named Rick).

For years now we have been counting how many people attend Jubilee's Sunday services, and this past Sunday we had 100 more people in attendance than ever before. All three locations (City, Wentzville, Union) combined had an attendance of over 450!

The reason this is such exciting news is that it represents more people hearing the Gospel story and more people experiencing the presence of God in worship. While we are extremely grateful to God for His grace at work in our midst, we continue to ask God for more. I want to encourage you to do two things this week that put you on the front line of God's activity in Jubilee.

1. Pray for more first-time guests in our Sunday services.
2. Invite someone to this Sunday's service

Our lives have been forever changed by the Gospel. Let's extend the invitation to others so they can experience the God-honoring life change that comes through being connected to Jesus.

The Significance of Prayer

If you've been a part of Jubilee Church for any length of time you probably are aware of the fact that prayer is a significant part of who we are as a church. This emphasis is not only visible within Jubilee, but also in our extended family of churches called Newfrontiers. (Newfrontiers-USA link)

As an example, I have been to a number of church conferences in my life, but I've never been to a conference where an entire session is devoted to prayer...not talking about prayer, but actually praying, apart from Newfrontiers conferences. The interesting thing about this is that most Newfrontiers conference attendees will tell you their favorite part of the conference was the time of prayer together.

I thought it might be helpful to give you a behind the scenes look at our prayer emphasis from the eyes of Terry Virgo who leads our Newfrontiers family of churches. Check out Terry's most recent blog post about the most recent prayer and fasting meetings in the UK. While you're at it sign up to receive his blog. It will give you a broader view of who Jubilee is and of our international connection.

Trusting God Changes Everything

Genesis 16 records a conflict between two women, Sari (Abraham's wife) and her handmaid Hagar. Things got so bad that Hagar makes a decision to leave and so she sets out on her own. Hagar is not really going anywhere as much as she is leaving behind Sari and the horrible situation she finds herself in.

Soon after her departure an angel of the Lord appears to her and says, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority." That's it? No promise that things will be better? No promise that God will change Sari's attitude towards Hagar? No promise that Sari will come to her senses and seek Hagar's forgiveness?

The only thing that changes for Hagar is the fact that she now knows what God wants her to do. Though her circumstances do not change, everything changes because she can now have confidence that God knows what she's going through and is an active agent in her life.

When difficult circumstances come we all have a little bit of Hagar within us, as demonstrated by our desire to flee as fast as we can. In running away from our difficulties however, we may also be running away from where God wants us to be.

Some things to ponder...

1. Do I let circumstances define God's will for me? (Do I assume that tough times means God is distant and uninvolved?)
2. Does the direction of my life indicate I am moving forward in God, or am I simply running away from things/people?
3. Is my hope and trust dependent upon a change in circumstances/people, or is my hope securely set on God?
4. Is my response toward others dictated by their response to me, or is it dictated by my relationship with God?

If you find yourself running away from something, or someone I encourage you to stop and turn to God. Ask Him where He is in your situation and what He wants you to do. Regardless of whether you've been treated unfairly, when you place your trust in Jesus everything changes. We do well to remember what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:31--"If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"

xxxposed...Who Are You Inviting?

According to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network every 2 minutes someone in the U.S. is being sexually assaulted. It's for reasons such as this that Jubilee is presenting the sermon series xxxposed starting this Sunday, January 31.

God's plan for mankind is redemption. Every area of life is in need of the redemptive work of a loving Heavenly Father. Sexuality is one of the areas that is most desperate for God's transformation. When it comes to sexuality, sin has so blurred the lines that they're simply not visible any more. People everywhere are living with the scars of sexual abuse and sexual addiction, many times too scared to even ask for help. One MO website estimates that 9 out of 10 cases of sexual abuse are not even reported.

You and I can play a profound role in experiencing God's redemptive power by inviting a friend or family member to this Sunday's service. Never underestimate the power of a simple invitation. I look forward to seeing you and your guests with the rest of Jubilee Church this Sunday.