Heaven: Our Home

As we have gone through this series on Heaven, we have been looking to scripture to fuel our imagination as to what Heaven is like. We have been pushing ourselves to think and explore about our final destination. As we conclude this series, scripture confronts us with this reality: just imagining Heaven is not enough. It is more than our destination, it is our home. Just like where we live now, our homes grounds us, centers us, and determines our entire orientation. Where you live right now determines, what you consider to be “up north” or “out west.” Your home determines what roads you are familiar with and what Wal-Mart you go to.

It is the same with Heaven. When we take the leap from simply imagining Heaven, to having a strong knowledge it is where we belong, it effects what we value, what we pursue, and how we determine success.For a believer, Earth is not our home, Heaven is. Most of us sense that we belong in Heaven, but the problem is we expect this to be Heaven. This life is not Heaven, and if we have that expectation, we will be disappointed. However, the good news is, we can start, even now, investing and preparing and re-orientating ourselves for the true home we were made for.

In what ways do you think people expect Earth to be Heaven? What are some ways we can orientate ourselves according to our true home? I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Heaven: What will our bodies be like?

One of the hardest things to imagine about Heaven is our bodies. It just seems so foreign, so fictional to be in a different body in an entirely new realm. It is hard to get those thoughts out of a dreamy vague picture, and into a reality so vivid, that it changes our perspective. Paul addresses those questions in a letter to the church in the Greek city of Corinth.

Paul teaches that everyday we see an obvious picture of what happens to us, when we look at growing plants. At some point a seed was placed into the ground and the shell or fruit surrounding it, began decomposing. God grows that seed into a beautiful tree far greater than the small seed that was put into the ground. Paul argues the same miracle of God growing that tree precisely how He wants it, is the same miracle of our bodies dying and becoming something profoundly greater. Paul teaches us that it should not be hard to imagine God creating a new body, because of all the incredible variety of creation here on earth and throughout the universe.

This understanding of our future invincible bodies, should give us peace as we now live in this perishable body. Fear of death should not paralyze this life. In fact, we should live in a healthy balance of longing for what is to come, while we celebrate what He has given us here on earth.

What are some things that you long for in heaven? Why is it so hard to overcome our fear of our mortality? Share your thoughts with your Church.

Heaven: What are we going to be doing?

Is Heaven going to be boring? Eternity is a hard thing to grasp: year after year, century after century, millenium after millenium. Psalm 16:11, tells us, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." So we know that Heaven will be incredible beyond our imagination, but what could we possibly do that will continue to be exillerating epoch after epoch?

Genesis 2, gives us some insight. It describes what Adam and Eve did before sin entered the world. What we find is they "worked and kept the garden." They actually had a job and a responsibility. We may think of work as a punishment placed on the human race. But when we really stop to think about it, working, creating, accomplishing, exploring, are some of the most energizing things about our lives. It is what makes us feel most alive. Certainly there are things that contaminate work, making it painful and monotonous. But think about the pleasure of an author holding his newly published book for the first time. Or an architect, at the ribbon cutting of a building that was at one point only an idea in her head. In Heaven, our work will contain only the exhilarating elements.

What are some things about work that are truly enjoyable? What are the things that contaminate it? How can you recapture that joy and vision and creativity that you may have lost?

Heaven: What will our relationships be like?

Loved ones, bring some of the richest joy, this life has to offer. Though I am not one myself, I have observed the overwhelming joy of a grandparent with their grandchild. We are all aware of the joy two best friends have, laughing together and sharing experiences together. The beautiful familiarity found with siblings. The rich companionship blossoming in a vibrant marriage. But, people can also bring the worst of this life. Poisonous bitterness can ravage us. Someone’s competitive spirit can instantaneously ruin a friendship. Two family members succumbing to pride can block reconciliation indefinitely. No matter what anyone says, words hurt far worse than sticks and stones.

But imagine all the beauty without the beastliness. Imagine all the laughing until we feel like throwing up, with none of the insecurity. Picture all the companionship with none of the competition. Frankly, it is hard for us to grasp the potential exhilaration relationships will bring us, when all sin has been abolished. One day when we are in heaven, and we have eternity to laugh together, explore together, discover together; we will finally see the relational capacity we were meant for. Prior to Heaven, even the best moments we long to have back, are a vague, muted version of what we will have. As for right now, the scripture calls us not to wait to make that a reality. Today, we are to put away all the things that are toxic to our relationships, and embody all that will vitalize them.

What are you looking forward to the most about being with other people in heaven? What do you imagine yourself doing? What do you think is an important thing you want to embody, to purify your relationships even now.

Happy Anniversary!

This week marks the 7th anniversary of West Pines Community Church! We have much to thank God for as we think through our history. I immediately think of faces who have found the Lord through the work God has done in our church. I think of our church home, and the deep friendships that wrap around us, supporting each other. The sweet fellowship and in depth study during small groups. I think of the baptisms and the baby dedications. Some of my most cherished memories are the times of communion, especially the one where we jotted down confessions on scraps of paper, and they were literally nailed to a cross. I think of the many outreach events and service projects that we have given so much together, to serve our community. What a beautiful work God is doing through our church family.

Whether you have been apart of the Body for a few weeks or several years, share with your church family how being a part of West Pines has impacted you.

Heaven: What will it be like?

Even since childhood, we have wondered what happens to us when we die. The simple question of what will heaven be like, is not just a childish question, it is something we all still carry with us. Especially, as we grow older, we become more and more aware of time passing by, real thoughts of life and its length. But is there anyway that we can know what comes next? Should we just accept the bland, stale imagination of our culture: halo’s and harps and white robes?

Scripture paints a far more vivid and tantalizing picture of heaven. In Romans 8, we learn that all of creation, fruit and trees and animals and flowers, are groaning, waiting to be set free. In other words, one day God will finally set free all of creation in the final day. At that time, we, who are believers in Jesus, will live eternally with Him on the New Earth. So as incredible as this creation is, this is a muted, chained, under-performing creation, that longs to be set free for its potential. This passage says that, the worst, most depressing, despicable parts of this earth are not even comparable with how incredible the New Earth will be. This give us hope in the midst of our suffering.

Have you ever taken time to search scripture and use that as fuel for your imagination about Heaven? Share with your Church family, how thoughts of Heaven encourage you through difficult times.

Baptism

Many of us who have grown up at church, were baptized at some point. It is something found in some form, in every Christian church. It is obvious that there is a rich tradition behind this, but what is it that makes it so significant? Is there something in the water, that is doing something to us? Baptism is a powerful symbol, that represents something so significant that, it makes this symbol indispensable. Though my wedding ring is simply a symbol, I wouldn’t dream of not wearing it. Like a wedding ring, baptism is a powerful proclamation of a personal commitment.

What does baptism represent? It represents that, since I have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as my salvation from the penalty of my sin, and have committed to make Him the boss of my life, I share in the effects of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Specifically, the wrong things I do, my sin, used to have total control over me. But now that sin, died with Jesus. I have a new life, just like Jesus had when He rose from the dead. I am literally buried in the water, like Jesus was buried, and raised out of the water, like Jesus was resurrected, to walk a new kind of life, one that desires to live God’s way. For those of us who have been baptized, we look back at our baptism as a marker, to remind us that we are to be living a life that has victory over sin.

What has been your baptism experience? Even if you were baptized as a baby, have you considered being baptized as a believer, to symbolize the new life you have because of Jesus? Have you ever used your baptism as a reminder that you have a new life of victory over sin? Share your thoughts with your church family.

Ancient Paths Part 6 - Communion

Here is the link to Part 6 of our Ancient Paths Series. Our teaching time was followed immediately with a time of communion together as well as a luncheon after the service. We had a great time!

Communion

The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion or The Eucharist, is a practice that every expression of genuine Christianity upholds. Though it may look different in various traditions of the faith, the essential elements of bread and wine, representing the Body and Blood of Jesus, are present. There is no doubt, Communion is a religious part of our faith. We partake of these symbols as a way of remembering and proclaiming His sacrifice. But there is also another important facet.

The context of the Lord’s Supper is extremely significant. We participate in this together. It is not something we practice privately. In fact, we administer it to each other. Communion reminds us of the unity we are called to because of Christ’s sacrifice. When we take communion we are to examine ourselves to see that our lives reflect the life we are proclaiming. Do we love each other, radically as Jesus did? Do we unite, forgive, serve, protect, heal, as Jesus modeled through His death? It reminds us that we are bonded together by something stronger than anything that could divide us. Jesus’ selfless sacrifice.

What have been your experiences with the practice of the Lord’s Supper? How has it impacted you? Have you sensed a deeper connection to the rest of the body because of Communion? Share your thoughts with the rest of your church.

Ancient Paths Part 5 - Bible Study

Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting this earlier, but click here if you'd like to download/listen to this past Sunday's message on Bible Study. It was a great challenge to each of us who heard it, and I hope it will benefit you as well.

Bible Study

There is one particular ancient path that perhaps is the most easy to detect God’s power working in our lives. That practice is studying the Bible. Interestingly, the Bible tells us of the unimaginable benefit it is to us to study it. In fact, it says that as we get more serious in our commitment to God, we will begin to feel increased hunger to study it. For most of us, studying isn’t something we naturally enjoy. In fact, even the word, “study” may bring us back to the terrors of homework. It seems like studying just takes the place of something we would rather do.

But a hunger to study, all depends on the material we are studying. A child with a new toy, will rip open the box to find the directions to study, so he knows how to put it together. People in a burning building will frantically find an escape route to study. A new mother will study everything she can find about how to care for an infant. The same athlete who dreads school work, will pore over a play book. The problem is not that we don’t have time, or don’t know how, it is that we don’t know how essential the material is!

Share your thoughts and experiences with the rest of your church family: What are the biggest obstacles to setting regular time to deeply study the Bible? What inspires you to make studying the Bible a priority?

Ancient Paths Part 4 mp3

Hello everyone!

You can download/listen to this Sunday's message on fasting right here. If you weren't able to make it, I'd encourage you to check it out. Also, let's try and put the message in practice this week. Let's choose to take a day and fast and see how God changes us and our vision of Him.

Fasting

If there is a Christian practice, that initially sounds the least appealing to participate in, it would be fasting. Not eating for a set period of time, as a way to draw closer to God, seems like something monks do in some monastery in the Tibetan mountains. Yet we see Jesus expect that we, His followers, will use this practice of fasting (Matthew 6:16, 9:15). Also, we see many occasions where God’s people fasted, all throughout the Bible. So what good does denying ourselves food really accomplish?

The Bible says that those of us who are believers are at war with our own flesh. We have desires that though our bodies want to indulge, we know are wrong. When we give into our flesh, we end up saying things in pride, or cheating, or gossiping, or lusting, and in the end when we face the consequences, we have regret. Though our culture encounters this war of discipline on a physical level, like exercising and dieting, it endorses and even aims to indulge the flesh, while trying to sweep the consequences under the rug. God has given us the powerful tool of fasting, to help war against the flesh, and draw closer to the heart of God. Fasting then in turn, makes our prayers more pure, our battle against sin and its consequences more victorious, and our sense of God’s direction more acute.

I would love to hear your thoughts on fasting. Have you ever participated in this ancient practice? What was your experience? What is the thing that makes it the most difficult? When are times that you have felt compelled to fast?

Ancient Paths Part 3 mp3

Hello everyone. In case you are wondering, here is the link to download Sunday's message. Check it out, and let us hear your thoughts!

Confession can be an incredibly freeing experience. We’ve all seen examples of how humble confession has the power to restore broken relationships between family and friends. As important as confession is in our relationships with others, it is even more important in our relationship with God. Today we talked about how Jesus set the pattern for confession in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12). Jesus intended that confession (the acknowledgement of our guilt and the request for forgiveness) would be a consistent practice of ours. We also talked about how confession can be both spontaneous and structured. We can spontaneously ask God for forgiveness the moment the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our hearts, and we can set aside time to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things in our lives that we need to confess to Him.

What about you? Has confession (spontaneous or structured) been a regular part of your life? If so, what does it look like for you? Have there been times in your life where you felt far from God because you were suppressing His conviction instead of confessing your sin? What were the consequences in your life of suppressing instead of confessing? Have you ever felt guilty receiving the free gift of God’s forgiveness?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

BTW – Here’s a passage I referenced today that would be a great passage to meditate on throughout the week.

Ancient Paths - Part 2 PRAYER

Hello everyone! In case you missed it, here's the link to this past Sunday's teaching on continual prayer. If you didn't get a chance to hear it, be sure to download it and check it out!

Prayer

There may not seem to be anything novel about prayer. Everyone knows it is a primary feature of religion, and every Christian knows it is something we should be doing. But it can be so difficult. It seems like it takes extraordinary concentration to pray for any extended length of time. If you are like me and have found that to be difficult at times, we are not alone. Godly men and women throughout history have thought through why it is so easy for our minds to wonder. But there are many who have had vibrant, thriving prayer practices, which makes relationship with God extraordinarily personal. What’s the secret?

The Bible reminds us that we are in God’s presence all the time, but not in some distant kind of way, as if He’s a lifeguard scanning the beach, getting an overview of what’s happening. He’s personally orchestrating everything in our lives. He is more intimately present with us than any of us could possibly imagine. We all know that when we are in someone’s presence, its more awkward to be in silence than to communicate. The secret to constant prayer, is the realization of how thoroughly present He is with me right now! Awareness of God brings constant communication.

I would love to hear your thoughts: What makes it most difficult to praying continuously? What things distract you the most? What are some things you do to constantly remind yourself that you are in God’s presence?

Ancient Paths Part 1 mp3

You can now listen to or download Sunday's message here. Feel free to download it and share it with a friend...

Gathering

In our first teaching in the series, Ancient Paths, we talk about a practice that has been preserved for millennia: gathering. It’s so obvious –but sometimes getting to church on Sunday morning feels impossible. And yet, something eventually clicks in the brain of a Christ-follower, and suddenly gathering becomes indispensable. In fact, it is common to look back throughout history to see Christians that actually risked brutal death just to gather! What could possibly inspire that level of commitment to this practice?

In the teaching this week, we discover in the scriptures (Hebrews 10:19-25) what makes the ancient practice of gathering so irresistible. It’s not to get God-points, it’s a truth injection. Also, having other Christians active in our lives is critical. The Bible says, the church is a body, and body parts are freaky when not attached to the rest of the body! And those parts don’t do well unattached. If you lost a finger, you would throw it on ice and speed to the hospital! We can’t afford not to Gather!

I would love to hear your thoughts about this ancient practice in two ways: (1) What benefits do you experience by gathering with other believers? and/or (2) What obstacles try to get in the way of gathering?

Message Series Trailer

Ancient Paths Trailer from West Pines Community Church on Vimeo.
Join us beginning Sunday, July 20th at West Pines Community Church for an exciting new message series called Ancient Paths. Each week, you'll have an opportunity to interact with Sunday's message right here on speakupwpcc.blogspot.com.