We are forever getting confused into thinking that scripture is mainly about what we are supposed to do rather than a picture of who God is in the world. The basic message of the Sermon on the Mount is not about what works but rather about the way God is. Cheek-turning is not advocated as what works, but taught because this is the way God is- God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount. His teaching is not a stratagem for getting what we want; it is a picture of life that is available now that we have seen what God wants and what he does in Christ. We seek reconciliation with our neighbor not because we will feel so much better afterward, but because reconciliation is what God is doing in the world in Christ.

…

Part of the difficulty with the Beatitudes is that they seem abhorrent to us- in particular, we do not honor, or like to be, the meek. To be meek is, we think, to lack ambition and drive. You can’t be meek and survive the rough and tumble of the world. And that may be so, if the rough and tumble of the world is all there is. Granted, to be meek or peace-loving in a world that knows nothing but mechanisms of getting ahead at the expense of others will more than likely not lead to getting ahead in life. It is no wonder that Jesus’ first followers lived in renunciation and want. They are as Bonhoeffer notes in The Cost of Discipleship, “the poorest of the poor, the most tempted of the tempted, the hungriest of the hungry. They have only him. Yes, and with him they have nothing in the world, nothing at all, but everything, everything with God.” And yet Jesus saw and felt their suffering and had compassion on them. It is these Jesus calls blessed, not because they are somehow unfortunate but because they have responded to his call that leads to true life.

Announcements:

• THIS SATURDAY- I was notified yesterday that there will be a city wide clean up. A flyer of the event has been posted below. If you are interested in helping Pastor Steven and his 3 kids Saturday morning in picking up trash in a park or parking lot, please let me know ASAP (972-921-2516). We will meet at the High School at 9am on Saturday to receive our instruction on where to go. A lunch will be provided by The City of Kodiak.

• Mothers’ Day

  • For the past two years, the women of CBC have led all aspects of the service on Mothers’ Day. Would you like to join us this Mothers’ Day, May 10? Please let Marilyn know by texting or calling her at 907.539.2386 and letting her know what role or roles you would be comfortable with taking. We’ll be looking for 2-3 short messages, scripture readers, ushers, musicians, prayer leaders, and if you have a reading that you would like to provide that would also be welcome. If someone is inspired to provide a children’ s sermon that would also be great.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 29 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

If we read verse 41-44 in isolation, you could make the case that this was indeed the deeply spiritual point of his teaching. However, if we look at it in context, i.e. reading it after verse 38-40, we are forced to see that Jesus means something quite different- forcing us to reevaluate how we preach and teach this passage. It’s like one of my professors once said, “The bible can ruin some of the best sermons.”

Jesus in these preceding verses speaks harshly regarding religious leaders and systems that take advantage of the poor. He says, “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” and after this statement, he draws everyone’s attention to the fact that this widow has given everything she has to live on, her whole life- essentially pointing out that the temple system is devouring this widow!

Jesus ridiculed a system that took advantage of the most dispossessed people among them. But are we able to see that his critique must still be preached today? What people and what systems are in place today that ask for such an allegiance that bolsters the riches and pride of men while dispossessing the already down trodden? And are we preaching and hailing the success of these people and systems or are we preaching for the needs of the poor? Jesus has shown us what he condemns, may we be faithful enough to do likewise.

Announcements:

• Music for Sunday, April 26

  • This Sunday is an open opportunity for any who would like to join us up front in leading the music/worship experience here at CBC! If you would like to join in vocally and/or instrumentally, please text or call Marilyn Davidson at 907.539.2386 and plan to be at the church for rehearsal at 9AM on Sunday morning. It would be great to have a group and all are welcome!

• Mothers’ Day

  • For the past two years, the women of CBC have led all aspects of the service on Mothers’ Day. Would you like to join us this Mothers’ Day, May 10? Please let Marilyn know by texting or calling her at 907.539.2386 and letting her know what role or roles you would be comfortable with taking. We’ll be looking for 2-3 short messages, scripture readers, ushers, musicians, prayer leaders, and if you have a reading that you would like to provide that would also be welcome. If someone is inspired to provide a children’ s sermon that would also be great.

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The School District has asked pastors to share the opportunity for an upcoming event concerning Suicide Prevention. The flyer below will provide you with more information

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

The following is from his well-known book, The Pursuit of God, an influential book in his time and even today.

_____________________

Our pursuit of God is successful just because He is forever seeking to manifest Himself to us. The revelation of God to any [person] is not God coming from a distance once upon a time to pay a brief and momentous visit to the [human]’s soul. Thus to think of it is to misunderstand it all. The approach of God to the soul or of the soul to God is not to be throught of in spatial terms at all. There is no idea of physical distance involved in the concept. It is not a matter of miles but of experience.

To speak of being near to or far from God is to use language in a sense always understood when applied to our ordinary human relationships. A man may say, “I feel that my son is coming nearer to me as he gets older,” and yet that son lived by his father’s side since he was born and has never been away from home more than a day or so in his entire life. What then can the father mean? Obviously he is speaking of experience. He means that the boy is coming to know him more intimately and with deeper understanding, that the barriers of thought and feeling between the two are disappearing, that the father and son are becoming more closely united in mind and heart.

So when we sing, “Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,” we are not thinking of the nearness of place, but of the nearness of relationship. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray for a more perfect consciousness of the divine Presence. We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.

Why do some persons “find” God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian expereience? Of course, the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of His children. The difference lies not with God but with us.

…

Let us say it again: The universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no stranger or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of [humanity]. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures. (And this we call pursuing God!) We will know Him in increasing degree as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice.

Our God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen.

Announcements:

• We have VBS on August 3-6th. We will be needing volunteers to help serve and lead during this time. I am looking for one person to help lead this. If you are interested, please call, text, or email me. 972-921-2516 steven@kodiakcbc.org

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to his Word, so the beginning of love for the (family of God) is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that he not only gives us his Word but also lends us his ear. So it is his work that we do for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to him.

Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

The person that can no longer listen to their brother or sister will soon be no longer listening to God either; they will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.

Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by him who is himself the great listener and whose work they should share.

__________

Lord, help me to listen. May I be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Announcements:

• This Sunday is Potluck Lunch Sunday

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• I am so proud of our church and the way we came together to create a worshipful experience in so many ways during Holy Week. Thank you everyone! We are a strong and faithful church!

• We will be having a night of fun for our kids on May 22 (a Friday) from 5-7. The aim is to be low-key with video games and a movie… and even some pizza for good measure.

• The Christian School has emailed all pastors in the area in order to spread the word that they are looking for a preschool teacher and an administrator assistant.

  • The flyer below will give more information

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

Experience the Art & Devotional Journey

Experience the Art & Devotional Journey

For this past week, Community Baptist Church has hosted a presentation of the Stations of the Cross. If you missed it, a digital copy is available online. Read the devotional writings and see the art created by our own members and community contributors.

I would like to take you on the biblical journey of Holy Week through the lens of the Lord’s Prayer. We will be looking at each line of the prayer and discuss how Jesus fulfilled and manifested this reality.

Our Father which art in heaven

God the Father rules from heaven, but heaven is not a far removed place. It is so close that it can be seen through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus shows us the way God rules. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey- a clear sign that he saw himself and was proclaiming himself to be the long awaited messiah prophesied in Zechariah 9. He then entered the temple and drove away the animals, making it impossible to perform sacrifices. He then condemned the whole religious system that turned “The House of Prayer for All Nations” into a “den of thieves.” Clearly this was a claim of authority over the religious/legal system.

Hallowed be Thy name/Make your name Holy

All of Jerusalem was shouting to make Jesus king- only to change their tune in less than a week’s time as they feverishly screamed, “Crucify Him!” Here we see that they were willing to use the name of God in vain. They were using God, and their whole religious/legal system to justify their own ambitions. Jesus made God’s name holy by not succumbing to the fallacy of using God to justify ungodly ambitions.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

Jesus prays in the garden for the will of God to be done. In the life of Jesus the true intention God has for humanity stretches all the way back to Genesis is displayed. God created humanity to be his image bearers in the world, working to make the world fruitful– all while trusting and having communion with God, working with God. We are not as mindless servants, but we are created to be co-laborers in the world God has created. Jesus shows us how to submit and work with God according to his plan. In the life and death of Jesus we see what it means to trust in God. The fact that Jesus died as a rebel (according to the Roman Empire and the Religious Legal System of Jerusalem) tells us that faithfulness to God will look like rebellion to a world that is already rebelling against the will of the Father. Jesus shows us what it means to be the image of God in the world.

On earth as it is in heaven

Jesus shows how God rules by sacrificial love. Jesus washed feet. Jesus called out hypocrisy. Jesus spoke truth. Why? Because he was showing the world what the Kingdom of God is– the true reality that the world was and is still unable to see.

Give us today our daily bread

Jesus on the last day, broke break and gave it to his disciples. His last act of community was in sharing a meal. He gave them the holy meal that they were then compelled to go out and share with the rest of the world. Even today, the disciples of Jesus share this bread with one another as a remembrance and an enactment of the provision of God.

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

Jesus hears the thief on the cross and promises him that he will be with him in paradise- displaying to the world around him that God has a forgiving and giving disposition. He looks upon the crowds gawking at his suffering body on the cross with compassion. As they cheered for his execution, Jesus prayed, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”

Lead us not into temptation

Jesus prays in the garden that this cup would pass him by- praying that God would make there be another way to redeem the world. The temptation of Adam and Eve (in another garden) was still present– the desire to do things our own way– Do things according to my will. But Jesus prays that God’s will be done. Jesus faced the ultimate temptation and yet came out from this time as faithful to the will of God.

Deliver us from the evil one

Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many; delivering all who place faith in him from the evil one. Jesus has delivered us from the evil one. May the Spirit lead us in this victory over death and Satan.

Announcements:

• Stations of the Cross Art and Devotional Journey is this week (Holy Week) M-Sat, 4-7 each day

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

• Breakfast on Easter Morning provided by CBC Men- meal will be at 9:30 that morning.

• Easter Worship Service- 11am

  • We will have many visitors; great someone you don’t know and welcome them

• Easter Egg Hunt- 12:30pm

  • We will be announcing this to the community; we are not sure how many will attend.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

This week, let us contemplate this at-one-ment with the Father which is made possible only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why? Because he loves us.

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• Pastor Steven is looking for a family that is willing to host a weekly Bible Study/time of fellowship

  • This could be a great thing to invite the hesitant church-goers to

  • If you are interested in hosting this, let Pastor Steven know

• Stations of the Cross Art and Devotional Journey will be this coming week (Holy Week) M-F, 4-7 each day

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

• Breakfast on Easter Morning provided by CBC Men- meal will be at 9:30 that morning.

• Easter Worship Service- 11am

  • We will have many visitors; great someone you don’t know and welcome them

• Easter Egg Hunt- 12:30pm

  • We will be announcing this to the community; we are not sure how many will attend.

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

Before Jesus asks the disciple who they think he is, he asks them who people say he is? They respond by telling him that many think he is a prophet or perhaps John the Baptist. There are many ideas poking around wondering and projecting onto Jesus who he is. Jesus of course, knew all this. He knew the ideals and expectations that were being placed on him. He seems to refer to himself as the Son of Man as a way of feeding into this ambiguity. The son of man could be a term to refer to just a human being. It could also mean an heavenly being, or it could mean a specific heavenly being referred to in Daniel 7 to be the one that would come and redeem Israel at the consummation of God’s Kingdom.

In Texas, our jargon uses the term coke to refer to many different types of soda. If you went to a restaurant and ordered a coke, the server would immediately reply, “Which kind?” I learned rather quickly that if you order a coke in chicago, they will hand you a coca-cola… and not the sweet nectar of Texas– Dr. Pepper. This comical phenomenon of jargon highlights the very problem the disciples had with Jesus and his understanding of being messiah (being king).

We know that Peter had a very different understanding of kingship than Jesus. But to be fair, Peter was only voicing the common consensus among the people of Israel. And if we are willing to admit it- this is the same understanding of governing most have today.

When Jesus begins to tell the disciples that he will be hated and betrayed, beaten and crucified, Peter speaks up and speaks out against Jesus. But before we condemn Peter, we must admit that many, and perhaps including ourselves, do the same. We want a strong, no-nonsense leader. Someone who will regain glory and power for our people. Someone who will bring victory over our enemies and make them respect us once again. Peter was only doing what any of us would have done.

Jesus rebukes Peter because he knew what to call Jesus, but he didn’t know Jesus’ character. Many will and have come that know Jesus’ name and perhaps have spoken wonderfully about him. They might have given some of the best sermons, done some great things, or even filled that expectation of what influence and leadership are hoped to be. But Jesus tells us that on the day of judgement he will say to many, “I never knew you.”

Peter knew Jesus’ name, but Jesus knew his name as well. “Get behind me Satan,” he says. Why would Jesus elicit such harsh words? Like Satan, Peter knew Jesus’ name, but didn’t take part in his most vital command: “Follow me!” Follow me even to the cross.

Stanley Hauerwas writes, “To be a follower of Jesus it is not enough to know the basic facts of his life and believe them to be true. It is not enough to know his story and affirm it. Rather, to be a disciple of Jesus means that our lives must literally be taken up into the drama of God’s redemption of this creation. To follow Jesus means to adopt his story as our own, a story that teaches us how God’s rule in this world is constituted.”

The world and perhaps even those that know Jesus’ name will shout at us, ‘But that will never work! That isn’t how rule and authority work and function! It is complete foolishness!’ The disciple is one that takes up their cross in the midst of this and says, ‘Yes, but we know this is the way that Jesus, the Christ, rules the world… and we can’t help but follow him.’ And in this way they remember these words of Jesus:

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• If you are interested in contributing to the Holy Week Devotional/Art Project, please use this link to get more information: Holy Week Project.

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists. This image shows a tension, a desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear. A story about an elderly woman brought to a psychiatric center exemplifies this attitude. She was wild, swinging at everything in sight, and frightening everyone so much that the doctors had to take everything away from her. But there was one small coin that she gripped in her fist and would not give up. In fact, it took two people to pry open that clenched hand. It was as though she would lose her very self along with the coin. If they deprived her of that last possession, she would have nothing more and be nothing more. That was her fear.

When you are invited to pray, you are asked to open your tightly clenched fist and give up your last coin. But who wants to do that? A first prayer, therefore, is often a painful prayer because you discover you don’t want to let go. You hold fast to what is familiar, even if you aren’t proud of it. You find yourself saying: “That’s just how it is with me. I would like it to be different, but it can’t be now. That’s just the way it is and this is the way I’ll have to leave it.” Once you talk like that, you’ve already given up believing that your life might be otherwise. You’ve already let the hope for a new life float by. Since you wouldn’t dare to put a question mark after a bit of your own experience with all its attachments, you have wrapped yourself up in the destiny of facts. You feel it is safer to cling to a sorry past than to trust in a new future. So you fill your hands with small, clammy coins which you don’t want to surrender.

…

When you want to pray, then, the first question is: how do I open my closed hands? Certainly not by violence. Nor by a forced decision. Perhaps you can find your way to prayer by carefully listening to the words the angel spoke to Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, and the women at the tomb: “Don’t be afraid.” Don’t be afraid of the One who… invites you to let go of what you are clinging to so anxiously. Don’t be afraid to show the clammy coin which will buy so little anyway. Don’t be afraid to offer your hate, bitterness, and disappointment to the One who is love and only love. Even if you know you have little to show, don’t be afraid to let it be seen.

It is a long spiritual journey of trust, for behind each fist another one is hiding, and sometimes the process seems endless. Much has happened in your life to make all those fists, and at any hour of the day or night you might find yourself clenching your fists again out of fear.

Maybe someone will say to you, “You have to forgive yourself.” But that isn’t possible. What is possible is to open your hands without fear, so that the One who loves you can blow your sins away. Then the coins you considered indispensable for your life prove to be little more than light dust which a soft breeze will whirl away, leaving only a grin or a chuckle behind. Then you feel a bit of new freedom and praying becomes a joy, a spontaneous reaction to the world and the people around you. Praying then becomes effortless, inspired and lively, or peaceful and quiet. When you recognize the festive and the still moments as moments of prayer, then you gradually realize that to pray is to live.

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a Catholic Priest, author, theologian, and professor at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. After serving in this capacity for many decades he retired to work with and minister to people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• If you are interested in contributing to the Holy Week Devotional/Art Project, please use this link to get more information: Holy Week Project.

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

They are the city on a hill. This metaphor carried a weight of connotation. The City on a Hill was often referred to as Jerusalem, the place where the Temple is, the place where God could be found. In the Greek, the word for city is polis. This is where we get our English words like police, policy, or politic. A city was a place where all types of people mixed and talked, argued, overheard each others’ problems, knew about the greatness and the weaknesses of others. In the midst of this place of rubbing elbows, or getting on with living, of having tense moments, of coming together when a need is found, of where people and not policy or perfection are central- this place is called the light to the world. Why? Not because of them, but because they have made a decision to be a people that have God in their midst. The City of God is a group of people that have committed their lives to Jesus, in short- the church.

This is the honest example of what humanity looks like with all its problems and all its compassion- with all its hurts and with all of its healing. This is not a show. This is not a well manicured and prettied up sequestered entourage of holiness. This is people. But this is people with Jesus in their midst. And Jesus calls this group, he calls us, “The light of the world… a city on a hill.” This is not up for debate. We do not become this later. We are not a ‘let’s first get the furniture right, the clothes folder and put away, the dishes cleaned, the kids toys out of the living room’ kind of people. We are a ‘come on in and mind the mess’ kind of people. We are a city, we are a family– we are the people of God.

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• Science Fair Tomorrow!!!

  • When: open to the public from 5-8

  • Where: Kodiak High School Auditorium Foyer

• If you are interested in contributing to the Holy Week Devotional/Art Project, please use this link to get more information: Holy Week Project.

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Thursday Bible Study with Mitchell and Sarah 6-8pm

  • Mitchell’s cell number: 907-942-0381

  • address: 1815 E Rezanof Dr.

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org

(This week, I would like to share a lesson from author, teacher, and scholar- Dallas Willard 1935-2013. He is best known for his book, The Divine Conspiracy. However this quote is from his final book, Living in Christ’s Presence.)

People are relational beings. That’s why the truth of the Trinity is so important for us to understand. We are not made to live alone, and we can’t actually do that. But we have to be careful that our relationships to others are places where the love of God dwells. To love God, we must love our neighbor as ourselves. To do that is to inject what is good for God into all relationships.

In a fallen world, human relationships are generally dominated by attack and withdrawal. We get busy sizing people up when we come in contact with them. We ask, “Are they going to attack us? Perhaps I had better be careful and withdraw before they have an opportunity to attack.” That makes it impossible to love our neighbors. It makes it impossible for us to come out to them in the presence of God and manifest God’s love in our relationships.

We don’t attack people in the love of God. We don’t withdraw from them. We accept them. We love them. Loving our neighbor is part of what goes into loving God. As John teaches us in his letter, you cannot love God and not love your neighbor. They don’t fit together, because God actually does love your neighbor. It seems very unlikely to many as they look at their neighbor, but God does love them.

He loves the neighbor who is your enemy, so he very naturally says, “Love your enemies.” To love your enemies means to seek what is good for them, in dependence on God. Of course the best thing that could happen to your enemies is that they would come to know God, and our blessing on our enemies is designed to help them be in a position to know the God that we know. To love our neighbor is not to help them do the bad things they want to do to us. It doesn’t mean to help them get their way, because very often the worst thing to human beings is to get their way. So we need to know how to stand in the world under God with our neighbor in an attitude of love.

Announcements:

• Link to the CBC Calendar

• If you are interested in contributing to the Holy Week Devotional/Art Project, please use this link to get more information: Holy Week Project.

• Community Good Friday Service- Friday April 3 at 6pm

Church Weekly Schedule

• Sunday worship at 11am

• Sunday School at 9:45am

  • I am teaching through the Gospel According to Matthew

  • Youth/Children’s Group! Daniel and Emily Mendez are heading up the Youth Group Bible Study at 9:45

• Wednesday Prayer Posse 12pm

• Grief Share meets each Sunday from 3-4:30

• Trail Life each Sunday from 2-3pm

• Pastor Steven’s Office Hours 8-4 Mon-Thursday

  • I have an open sign (if it is on, I am here)

  • If I am not in the office at these times, I am meeting with someone

  • Call or text me 972-921-2516

  • Email steven@kodiakcbc.org