The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
A Matter of Trust

When I was in 8th Grade, my parents accepted a call to leave my Dad’s flourishing job as a state sales manager for a growing auto club business in Kansas for a direct support mission work in the Kiamichi Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. This little country church, while filled with wonderful excited people, could only afford to pay my Dad a meager salary. The Kiamichi Mission paid what it could, but the family support required a great deal of fundraising with concerned churches and Christian people. While many gave generously, we moved to the area with about $1000 a month needed just to pay the bills for our frugal lifestyle.

My parents were firm believers in tithing as taught in Scripture (“tithe meaning tenth). As long as I remember, they always tithed and added offerings for special needs beyond regular needs. They still do this, even in retirement. Often they did so when they didn’t know how the bills would be paid, but the Lord always provided.

With the income from outside support still short by so much, my dad says my mother came up with a plan of faith. They should not only tithe on their income, but would tithe on the amount of income they needed. This was risky. If the Lord didn’t provide, they would be in a real financial hole. My dad agreed to the challenge of trust and they gave the additional offering.
The following month support came in from places that had never helped before. New supporters picked us up and we received the full support needed. God, through his people, honored my parents’ trust in his promises. They claimed the promise in Malachi 3:10. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

I’m not saying that support was not ever tight, but through faith in God’s promises, the Lord always supplied our need. Not only this, but he also provided growth in our church family and he provided less expensive ways of doing things. I’m not telling you this to build up my parents, as special as they are to me. The reason is to demonstrate the fact that you simply can’t out give God.

Stingy people may have money, but they cheat themselves out of blessings. Trust in God and your cup will overflow. He provides more than money for those who give with generosity.
This Sunday we will continue our series, The Dedicated Church Member; Outwardly Focused Christians with a message titled, The Generous Christian from Matthew 6:19-24. Plan to come and see how God uses us to accomplish His mission through generous giving. I hope you will be with us.

Trusting,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
The Gap

Jason Bonnicksen shared the following story in a message.
“The year was 1930, and it was the year of the Naval Conference in London. King George was to address the opening session. Radio was in its infancy, but through this media the king’s message was to be carried around the world. However, just before the king was to go on the air, a young engineer working for the Columbia Broadcasting Station--ironically--discovered a broken wire in the transmitter.

There was no time for repairs; the world was waiting to hear the message of the king. The young engineer thought of a quick solution: he took a piece of broken wire in one hand, and a piece of broken wire in the other hand, and for fifteen minutes, he took 250 volts of electricity through his body so that the king’s broadcast could be heard “ -adapted

When I read this story I couldn’t help but think of the words of the prophet in Ezekiel 22:30 and how they apply to the church today... I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.

The young engineer sacrificed his own comfort and risked his life in order for the world to hear the message of the King. He literally stood in the gap because the speaker was important and so was his message.

As important as King George was in 1930, the greatest man ever, the great King of the Universe, Jesus Christ, Lord of the universe has sent a message. The only one who can fill the gap between Him and every recipient is the church and every member of the Lord’s church.

It has been the primary task of the Lord’s church from her inception to fill that gap and be a transmitter of Christ’s message of everlasting love, forgiveness and eternal life to a world desperate for hope. He gave us that job when he told his disciples in Act 1:8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Some of us feel uncomfortable standing in that gap. The young technician experienced 250 volts of electricity through his body for 15 minutes for the message of a mere mortal man. Christ followers in the early church experienced beatings, burnings, beheadings, crucifixions, stoning, rejection and every form of torture for the sake of being that conduit of Christ’s message to the world. In the US today we have the freedom to share this message every day, yet statistics show that very few church members today have ever shared the message of Christ. There are followers of Jesus in some foreign nations today who put their lives in jeopardy for the Gospel every day.

Yet, in our comfort, we fear rejection. We fear “not being cool” if we speak a word for him. There is no greater source and there is no greater message that can lead to no greater life than what we have in our hearts.

Today is the day we should share Christ. Not tomorrow, but today. Are you willing to stand in the gap for others on behalf of Jesus our Lord?

Sunday we will continue the thought-provoking series The Dedicated Church Member; Outwardly Focused Christians with a message titled My Jerusalem, based on John 14:1-6 & Acts 4:1-22.

Last Sunday we challenged the church family to a 90 Day test of self-giving.

The challenge was to:
1. Ask nothing from my church.
2. Do not complain in any way.
3. Commit to at least two hours a week serving others.
4. Commit myself to an hour a day of praying for my church, the leadership and the people who are going through struggles.

Almost everyone there accepted the challenge. What will God challenge and encourage you to do this week. Come and see.

Standing with you in the gap,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
What Do You Do to Help?

A first grade teacher asked her students, "What do you do to help at home?"

One little girl said, "I dry the dishes."

One of the boys said, "I sweep the floor."

Another one said, "I feed and water the dog."

Every student in the class had something to contribute except for one boy sitting in the back. The teacher looked at him and asked, "What do you do to help out at home?"

The boy replied, "I just try to stay out of the way."

God did not intend that any member of Christ’s body just stay out of the way. What if part of your physical body took on that attitude? Your body would constantly be trying to work around that part. Your life would be a mess.

What about the Lord’s church? What if every church member just stayed out of the way? A Gallup poll discovered that only 10% of church members are active in any kind of personal ministry in their church. 50% said that they have no desire or interest in serving in any ministry.

When a church is filled with this kind of member, the Spirit is quenched because it all becomes about three people, “Me, Myself and I.” When we study the person and work of the Holy Spirit we learn that he can only operate in people who are more interested in others than self.

Churches filled with people who are seeking opportunities to serve others are dynamic, Spirit filled and full of life! Churches who are the opposite are essentially spiritual zombies. They walk around imitating life, but have no joy or life inside.

Which kind of church member are you? If everyone in your church was like you what kind of church would it be? You know what kind of church and church member God is seeking to use. He’s not looking for the one who just stays out of the way.  Is he looking for you?

Sunday we will continue to our series of messages titled The Dedicated Church Member, Outwardly Focused Christians with a message called I Will Gladly Serve based on Matthew 20:20-28 & Philippians 2:1-18. Come and be challenged and encouraged by the Word of God. Come to share in the amazing fellowship which is FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH of Clovis. You will be glad you did.

Seeking to help,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Just Show Up!

I don’t know where I first heard it. It’s been a quote I’ve used so long that it may be my own. It’s not based on research. It is based on my experience. Here it is; “Nine tenths of ministry is just showing up.”

If you want to make a difference in the lives of others, you must show up. If you want to encourage your church family, it is difficult to do so if you are not there when they get together.

Actually, this statement is true of almost every endeavor in life. If you want to make the most of your educational experience you must show up. In fact, at school, if you miss too many days or have too many tardies, the school will give you detention or, if it gets too bad, retain you at the same grade level for the next year.  If you don’t make it to your job, your work won’t get done. Your boss will get frustrated. Your fellow employees will become resentful and you may find yourself on permanent unpaid vacation.

If you fail to show up at home, your spouse will wonder what you’ve been up to. Your chores at home will be left undone and your children will not receive the direction and encouragement that you need to give them. Space and time do not allow me to show you the numerous other obvious examples that apply to this “showing up” principle.
The writer of Hebrews understood the value of just showing up.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

Much of Hebrews is about encouragement. If you read these words, you see that a big reason for us to “just show up” at church gatherings is for encouragement and accountability. We need each other.  We need to see each other. We need to get together for the purpose of worshipping together, praying for each other, speaking to each other and more.

We do not come out of some fear that God will get us if we don’t. We do not come just so we can feel like we’ve done our religious duty for the week. We do not come because there’s nothing more important today.

We come because we need the fellowship. We come because we want to encourage the family of God. We come because we love Jesus Christ and want to honor him. We come because, without us, our ministry will go unfulfilled and we will miss amazing opportunities. We come because the most valuable moment of our week is worshipping God together with his family. We come because “nine tenths of ministry is just showing up.”

Yes, you can watch the preachers on TV or online. You can pray at the lake while you are fishing. You can read your Bible and pray at home. You can find many substitutes for church attendance, but none of that compares to the ministry that happens when we worship together with the family of God. People are not perfect. People will fail you. Some people will frustrate you, but that is why they need you. You could make the difference by just showing up. Attending church services is a joyful and exciting experience. If it is not, you need to ask yourself what your expectations are. Are you looking to be entertained? Are you seeking your own comfort? Or are you looking to be used by God? It really is about your expectations and personal attitude. You can’t complete that final tenth if you don’t do the first nine. Find God’s joy in your heart by committing yourself to your entire ministry.

This Sunday we will continue our series of messages in the theme The Dedicated Church Member; Outwardly Focused Christians with a message titled, Worshipping with God’s People based on Acts 2:41-47 & John 4:21-24.

I hope you will be there to share in the day. Bring your friends and family and see if you can complete the other tenth of ministry when you get there.

Showing up with you,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Reject the Club

Have you ever been a member of a country club? I have not, but I understand that, for a fee you get to be a member. Membership includes perks like use of a nice quiet swimming pool, a wonderful restaurant that only allows members who dress a certain way, opportunity to play golf on a first rate coarse and professional quality tennis courts, use of banquet and meeting facilities and numerous other perks. On top of that, there is the prestige of saying you are a member. However, when the club allows the “wrong kind of people” to come in or some of the facilities begin to lose their luster members begin to grow disgruntled. Complaints begin to flood the suggestion box and membership begins to dwindle. Why does this happen? The reason is that membership in a country club is about the members and keeping them happy.

Over my 46 years of fulltime ministry and almost 70 years of being part of the church I have never met anyone who would consider him or herself to be a member of a “country club church.” On the other hand, I have met individuals who complained about and sometimes actually left their churches for the following reasons…

• They didn’t like the music.
• There wasn’t anyone their age or their children’s ages.
• The building was too hot or cold.
• The sermons were too long.
• The preacher wasn’t their kind of preacher.
• The church asked for money.
• The order of service was changed.
• The service was too long and they were late for the restaurant.
• Their name wasn’t mentioned when they gave or did something.
• The new carpet was the wrong color.
• The building wasn’t being maintained properly.
• There weren’t enough quality contacts for their business.

The list could go on for ages, but you get the point. Those were people who thought the church was for them. It was for making them happy because, to quote an old credit card commercial, “membership has its privileges.” Like it or not, whether their church was a country club or not, they were “country club members.”

The problem is that modern church culture has created a “consumer” mentality among attendees. If the church doesn’t fit their personal needs, just go look for another one that does.

On the other hand I have met numerous individuals who have held a deep and passionate love for their church. Many of them have experienced the same inconveniences as the people mentioned above. They understand that the church is not their “club.” The church is the body of Christ. Rather than expecting the church to meet their personal wants and needs they love giving themselves to God’s work and to the lives of others. These are committed followers of Christ who understand that the church family is made up of imperfect human beings who do imperfect things. But they love God’s people and want more than anything to see them grow in Christ and reach their potential in him. They have a passion for reaching out to people who don’t know Jesus personally with the message of hope and eternal life.

As a result, they are happy in their church family. These are people who place attendance on high priority. They seek out others for the purpose of helping them grow. They look for ways to serve, not because they feel guilty, but because they want, more than anything, to make a difference.

You see, attitude makes the difference. Are you connected to the Lord’s church? Do you understand that Christ died for the church? Do you see that Jesus loves the church, his bride and he seeks to make her holy by the washing of the water through the Word (Ephesians 5:26).

What is your attitude? Is it joyful and self giving or negative and self centered. Are you a country club Christian or self giving follower of Jesus?

This Sunday we will begin a series of messages called The Dedicated Church Member; Outwardly Focused Christians with a message titled, A New Attitude, based on Philippians 2:1-11 and other passages.  I pray that you and I will be encouraged and challenged to become more enthusiastic, life filled, happy and committed members of Christ’s family.

Rejecting the Country Club way,
Jon  

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Overcoming Evil With Good

Watchman Nee, the Chinese evangelist, tells this true story.

A poor, Christian Chinese farmer had rice fields high in the mountain. Every day he spent hours pumping water into the rice paddies; but when he returned to the fields the next morning, he would find that his unbelieving neighbor, who lived down the hill, had opened the dikes and drained the water to fill his own fields.

For a while the Christian ignored the injustice, but at last he became desperate. His rice would die if this continued, and this was his livelihood. So he gathered his church, and they prayed and discussed the situation and came up with a plan. The next day the Christian farmer rose early in the morning and first filled his neighbor’s fields; then he attended his own. He counted his neighbor more significant than himself; his looked to his neighbor’s interests as well as his own.

Soon the neighbor wanted to know the Jesus whom the farmer served as Lord and master. He was converted by seeing how the mind of Christ radically reordered the attitude and thinking of another man. Christ-like humility amazed him.

The Apostle Paul inspired such activity with his letter to the Roman church in Romans 12:14-21.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

One of the most difficult things for us as human being to do is to get over it when people do us wrong. It makes us feel justified to get revenge. In fact, some people believe it is their duty to make the wrongful party pay dearly for the injustice. One problem with “payback” is that we usually get it wrong. We don’t know what was in the heart of the person who hurt us. If we get them back, we may do too much or too little. Only God knows their heart and what they really deserve. That is why we should always leave it up to him.

But the truth is that evil will always exist in this world due to the existence of sin in the world. Besides that, we have our own imperfections and are undeserving of handing out revenge to another. That is why that when we deal with evil that is sent our way, we need to avoid revenge because when God is in our hearts, we should respond in grace and love. In so doing we overcome evil with good.

This Sunday we will share the final message in our BUT, GOD series. This one is titled, But, God Can Use Evil for Good based on the life of Joseph from Genesis 37-45. Hopefully, you will learn how that God can keep those bad things in life from defeating you. Plan to join us with this special story.

Your fellow overcomer,
Jon
 

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
The Greatest Love

A little boy was concerned about his little sister who was dealing with a special illness. The doctor told the family that the little girl was in desperate need for a blood transfusion and soon. After checking everyone in the family, it was found that only the little brother had the same rare blood type so the doctor asked the boy if he would be willing to give blood to help his sister get well. The boy thought carefully and with a serious look on his face he quietly replied, “Yes, I’ll do it for her. I love her.”

The boy was placed in the special donor’s chair and the area on his arm was swabbed and prepped. The needle was gently inserted in his arm and with a somber look on his face he watched the blood flow into the tubes.

When they were finished, the boy looked at the doctor and quietly asked the question. “How long will it take, Doctor?

The doctor asked, “How long will it take for what?”

“How long will it take for me to die?”

The boy thought he was sacrificing his life so his sister could live. Friend, that’s what I call, “LOVE!”

When Jesus Christ gave his blood for us on the Cross, he gave it all knowing he would die. He made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so that we would not have to do so. That is definitely what I call “LOVE!”

Jesus said It this way in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Prior to verse 13 he issued the command for us to love one another as he has loved us. Like the little boy in our story and like Jesus, we must practice sacrificial love for each other, laying down our own wants and needs for the sake of others. When we do that, we truly learn what love really is. It’s not always easy to put others first, but when we do, the blessings from above flow into our lives. That is why I love to refer to our FCC family as “THE LOVE ZONE!” When God’s love flows out of us to others we get into that “ZONE” and people want to find out where that love came from and how they can find it for them.

Learning to love like Jesus,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
The Source of America’s Greatness
 
It has been interesting to observe the responses of foreign national visiting the United States to the differences that have surprised them since coming to the World Cup Soccer competitions. I’m pretty sure they had seen all of the criticisms of our nation that had come from the American media to their countries. They have been stunned by the abundance and variety of products available for purchase here. I heard several comments calling Walmart a museum. The portions of food available in the abundance of restaurants has been beyond anything they have at home. They have tasted things that we take for granted like, of all things, Ranch Dressing, that they are packing into their luggage. They find Americans friendly and hospitable beyond their expectations. They can’t believe that you get ice and water free of charge in every restaurant they find. Buckee’s convenience stores blow them away (happens to a lot of Americans who live in other regions of the country too). But truthfully, they really don’t understand what really make’s America great.

Henry W. Grady was speaking on the greatness of America, and he said, “I stood by Hampton Roads in Chesapeake Bay, and saw there deployed the great naval strength of America. And then, on the shore, the parading might of our armies. And as I looked at the navy and as I looked at the army, I said, ‘Surely the strength of America is to be found in its military and naval might.’”

The great orator said he stood under the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. And as he watched the processes of democracy, he said, “Surely the greatness of America is to be found in its Senate, in its Congress, and in its legislative processes.”

Then, he said, “Sometime later, I was the guest in a Georgia home, in a farm of an old friend that I knew from boyhood days. And at the end of the day, when the work was done, he gathered his family around him, opened God’s Holy Word and, after reading from God’s Bible, the family knelt in prayer.”

And the great orator said, “As I knelt with my old friend and his family in the circle of that evening prayer, the great armies and navies of America faded away. The Capitol Building with its Senate and its Congress faded away. And there came to my heart the conviction that the strength of America is found in its godly people.”

When I first read Grady’s observation, I thought he fell short by not saying that God is the secret. But then I thought, “No, he’s right. God’s presence and activity in America would be useless if it were not for people who have embraced God and his ways into their lives. God does not do anything if it isn’t through lives of his people.

 That’s why we need to embrace the words of 2 Chronicle 7:14, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

For the past 250 years God has blessed America because Americans have blessed God. This Sunday we will celebrate God’s work in our nation with a God and Country or Faith and Freedom celebration. We will worship God and thank Him for America. I will share a message with you titled America's Only Hope based on James 5:13-20 and 2 Chronicles 7:14 and others. Plan to join in the celebration of God and America.

Celebrating with you,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Established, or Stuck in the Mud?

D. L. Moody told a story of a man who was asked by his ten-year-old son, "Daddy, why don’t you ever go to church with us?” The father replied, "I don’t need to go to church, my faith is established.” Later that day the man drove his horses out of the barn and hitched them to the buggy. As he and his son drove out of the yard, the horses became mired in a mud hole. The man tried in vain to extricate them, whereupon the boy observed "They’re not going anywhere, Daddy. I believe they’re established:”

What’s the difference between established (grounded) and stuck in the mud? There are people who never go to church services and some who go to church every Sunday who are still stuck in the mud. Sometimes we have issues with our purpose.

Why do you stay away from worship services or why do you attend regularly? Do you stay away so you can worship God? Do you attend services for that reason? True worship is the issue of our relationship with God. Religious acts mean nothing without a sincere heart.
If you are truly giving God your heart in every situation then you will not be stuck in the mud. However, to keep your praise to yourself is to mire your life in the quicksand of self-centeredness.

God created us for the purpose of worship. As I said in my sermon last Sunday, He has placed within us a God shaped hole in every heart that is filled only through worship. Unfortunately we often worship things that are the wrong shape? If you worship pleasure, you will be left empty. If you worship fame, you will only feel distant. If you worship material things you will feel poverty inside. God wants to fill you and keep you moving forward. To be truly established in Him you must place him above everything in your universe. If you refuse to worship him, you will only be established in the muck and mire of personal mud.
The Psalmist writes a song of worship through which his heart is elevated far above the heavens. In coming humbly before God he empties himself and cries out for an audience with the Almighty God so that he can lift him up. As a result, the Lord hears his desperate cries and lifts him above the world’s spiritual gravitational pull which would otherwise leave him in the mud.

“Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” –Psalm 66:16-20
If you seek him and his presence, he will hear your cry and strengthen your life with his amazing love.

Sunday we will continue with our series, BUT, GOD, with a message from Genesis 31 titled, “He Hears Your Cry!” Do you ever wonder if God hears you? One line from our Psalm says, “But God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” If you feel a desperate need for God’s presence and for his attentive ear, come Sunday and see how God can respond to your cry.

Digging out of the muck,

Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
They Keep Moving

Mary Brumbaugh’s husband, an airline pilot, often had difficulty locating items around the house. One day he asked Mary, where the saltshaker was. Annoyed, she responded, "How on earth can you find Detroit at night in a blizzard, but you can’t find the saltshaker in your own kitchen?"

"Well, darling," he replied, "they don’t move Detroit!"

In the 15th chapter of Luke, Jesus lines up three parables in response to criticisms by the religious leaders about his habit of welcoming and even eating with sinners. Each parable has to do with something lost and the joy of its owner finding it. First he tells of the shepherd who lost a lamb and left the other 99 behind so that he could locate the lost one. The second is about a woman who had 10 coins, but misplaced one. She cleaned every nook and cranny of her house until the missing coin was found. The third parable is about a rebellious son who demanded his inheritance ahead of time so he could enjoy it. After blowing it all on a wild lifestyle he found himself destitute and lost. When he was at his lowest point he decided to return to his father’s house and offer himself as a slave. Much to his surprise, the father ran to him and welcomed him home with a big party in his honor. He was so happy to have his insubordinate son home that he completely forgave him for his rebellion. But, the son he received was not the same one who had left. He was humble and repentant.

Notice that each of the parables ends in rejoicing. Each missing treasure is lost in a different way. The lamb carelessly wanders away; the coin disappears through neglect of its owner; while the son is lost because of rebellion. But still, each one equally finds rejoicing when the relocation occurs.

People are like the missing treasures. Some of us get careless about our journey and are easily sidetracked losing our way. Others of us are neglected by our spiritual guides and simply disappear. But many of us rebel against God and against the plan Jesus has for our lives. We willfully turn our backs on God and run away. Like the pilot’s saltshaker, we just keep moving around.

God is seeking those who are lost no matter the reason for disappearance. He wants everything that belongs to him to be back in his presence. When we come back, there is awesome rejoicing in heaven and in heaven’s family. Because we move so much, God gives us shepherds and fellow disciples to keep track of us. He does not want us to be lost, whether by distraction, by neglect or by rebellion.

When someone is found and renewed to a right relationship with Jesus Christ, we should always rejoice with heaven over the return. We have a tendency to move around too. We all need to be welcomed whenever we come back.

This Sunday’s message will come from this amazing chapter as we look, not so much at the lost or prodigal son, but more at the amazing loving Father who receives his son back. Sunday is Fathers Day and we will encourage Dad’s to follow the amazing example of the loving Father in the parable. This is another segment of our BUT GOD series. It will be titled, “But Dad!” We will honor Dad’s with gifts and a Mexican Stack dinner provided by the ladies of the church. Plan to come and celebrate our earthly and heavenly Dads this Sunday.

Desperately trying to stand still,

Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Fly to the Light

Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky has a huge worship center that around 9,000 people. Sometimes birds get in and the facilities department has the job of getting them out. The last thing you want on Sunday morning is a bird dropping bombs on the people below. Yet, shooting the birds may not be the best approach and poisoning them is rather inhumane. The goal is not to destroy but to save. To save the birds they turn off all the lights to make it is dark as possible. Then at one of the lower exists they open the door and outside they turn on all the lights to make it as bright as possible. The bird instinctively flies to the light and escapes.

When we look around us, the culture in our world seems to be getting darker. The longer we as a people do not come to Jesus the darker and darker things become. In that darkness, Jesus shines even brighter. As he shines, the stronger our instinct is to come to him.

Do things look dark? Are things getting darker in your life? The darker things get the closer we need to be to him who said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

Our Vacation Bible School theme this year has been all about Jesus as “the light of the world.” It is called ILLUMINATION STATION! Jesus wants you and me to reflect him and his light to the world, thus becoming ILLUMINATION STATIONS!

This Sunday, Josh McVey, our Associate Pastor and VBS director will bring a message for us titled, JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, based on the John 8:12 passage. I hope you will come and share in this exciting message an celebrate the Light of the World with us and our VBS kiddos.

Becoming an ILLUMINATION STATION with you,

Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Can One Pig Start a War?
 
Many people believe that one person cannot truly make a difference. Yet, history teaches us better.

The story is told that in days past the state of Rhode Island was electing a state legislature. There was a thrifty Federalist farmer who started for the polls late in the afternoon, and on the way, he heard the squealing of a pig. He looked around to see the pig with its head caught in the mesh of an old wire fence. The farmer knew that hogs would often kill and eat a trapped pig. So the farmer stopped, rescued the pig, and was too late to cast his vote.
Now the story gets interesting. The Federalist farmer was too late to vote, and the election was decided by one vote in favor of the democrats. "IF" the farmer had voted, the Democrat would not have been elected.

But the irony does not stop here. In those days, the legislature selected the person who would be the US Senator for the state. By a one-vote margin, a democrat was sent to the Senate from Rhode Island. When arriving at the US Senate, the motion was placed forth about going to war with England, which passed by one democratic vote. You still with me?

Following this train of thought, the Revolutionary War was fought because in Rhode Island, a pig got caught in a fence. Whether all of this story is true or not is certainly debatable, but parts of it are entirely accurate. In American history, more than that you care to count, ONE VOTE--one person--made a tremendous difference.

(adapted from a sermon by Jerry Watts)

When we search the Bible, we find a multitude of stories about how one individual made a world changing difference simply because of the relationship that person had with God. Honestly, the illustration above seems incredible, but this Sunday, we will look at a man whose very existence combined with his righteous life and obedience rocked the entire population of the world. In fact, if it weren’t for the man Noah, there might not be a human population in existence today. This Sunday we will continue our BUT GOD! series a message titled, But Noah! Based on Genesis 6:1-9:17. I hope you will join us in this exciting reminder of how you can make a difference for the Kingdom of God and in the world around you.

Striving to make a difference,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Better Than The Old One

During the late 1800’s an English evangelist named Henry Moorhouse made several trips to preach in America. On one such occasion, he was walking through a poor section of town. He noticed a small boyexiting a store with a pitcher of milk in his hands. Suddenly, he slipped and fell breaking the pitcher and spilling the milk all over the sidewalk.

Moorhouse rushed to the child’s side and found him unhurt but terrified. "My mama will whip me," he kept crying. So Moorhouse helped the boy up and led him back into the nearby store where the preacher purchased a new pitcher. Then he returned to the dairy, had the pitcher washed and filled with milk. With that done, he took the boy and the pitcher home.

Putting the youngster down on his front porch, Moorhouse handed him the pitcher and asked, "Will your mama whip you now?"

A broad smile spread across the boys tear stained face, "no sir, cause this is a lot better pitcher than we had before."

In grace God saves us. He doesn’t patch up our old lives that have been shattered by sin and Satan into a million pieces. That would not do. His reputation is at stake. We are His workmanship! He makes us new again.

Our text for the next message of our “BUT GOD” series shows us that God doesn’t ignore our sin, but rather completely and totally forgives us. There is nothing we have done that made us new. It was God’s powerful work, through the sacrifice of His perfect Son that not only made our forgiveness possible, but sure and complete. In fact, when he has completely removed our sins and their consequences, he can now give us works that can please him. They are his works in us. God has completely taken the old sinner’s spiritual DNA and reverse engendered it to make us capable of performing in ways that please God. The reason it works so well is that the works we now perform were planned by God long before we even knew him.

Sunday, when we resume this great series, I will share a message titled, The Product of Grace based on Ephesians 2:8-10. Come and see how God has made you His product, His Workmanship. Now, the new you is better than the old one.

His product,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Remembered or Forgotten

A man was walking down the street hand in hand with his wife. He saw an old friend walking toward them. As the two grew nearer, the man began struggling to recall the old friend’s name. He pondered and strained his brain for remembrance. At the moment they met the name flooded into his mind. In great relief he reached out and shook the hand of his old friend. He turned to his wife and said, “Honey, this is my very old friend George! George, this is my wife, uh, uh, uh.” He had forgotten her name.

To be remembered is a great honor. To be forgotten is a tragic disgrace.

When you look through Scripture, one of the most tragic lines is…They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, (Psalm 106:21). Similar words are found in Deuteronomy 32:18, Judges 3:7, 1 Samuel 12:9, Psalm 44:20, Isaiah 17:10, Jeremiah 3:21, Jeremiah 13:25. The greatest insult to God is when the people he created, loved, sacrificed his only Son to save, and to whom he offered underserved forgiveness, find a way to crowd Him out of their minds with other self-centered thoughts and loves. It must break his heart for us to lose track of his name and his amazing value to our lives.

It is not likely that we forget him on purpose. We seldom just decide one day, “I’m going to stop thinking about God. I’m going to simply forget him and all he has done for me.” What happens is that we begin to fill our minds with things foreign to him until he just gets flushed from our memories.

Amazingly, God never forgets us. He never forgets his promises or his covenants with us. But, you can imagine how much it hurts him when we forget him.
However, when we remember him and his precepts (i.e. teachings, law, instruction etc…) he is honored and gives us life. Psalm 119:93 says, “I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”

As a nation, it is a shame if we forget the men and women who have defended our nation and our personal freedom. For many, Memorial Day is just another day for a barbeque, a day to do our own thing. But, it was designed to be a day to remember passionately those patriots who gave it all. Many died in war. Some were wounded (some permanently) physically, mentally, emotionally and other ways because they cared about the principles upon which our great democratic republic was founded. It is also a time to thank God for our freedom and for all who have laid their lives on the line for us, whether in the military, police force, fire departments, ambulance service, or even in the federal, state and otherwise security agencies such as the FBI, CIA, NSA, HSA and others. We should also remember the sacrifice of the spouses and family members who lost loved ones serving our country, and/or who had to keep the home fires burning while their loved ones served in dangerous situations.
 
We should never forget and thus dishonor their memories and their service. Let us set aside this Memorial Day weekend to lift up God and to lift up all who gave so much for us.
This Sunday the FCC family will celebrate these memories with a special Memorial Day emphasis. We will worship God and thank him for these very special Americans.  There will be special music, worship music, prayers and a message titled, I WILL NEVER FORGET based on Psalm 119:89-96 will be included. Above all, we will remember the sacrifice of His life that Jesus gave for us on the cross.

Remembering the memorable,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
THE WINDOW

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.

Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band - he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything? It didn’t seem fair.

At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved and never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence - deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

He was astonished to discover that it faced a blank wall!

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

What do you see out the window of your life? Many people can never get past those blank walls. Some who have 20/20 vision are blind to the wonders of God’s blessing and creation because their vision is obscured by bitterness, selfishness, anger, hatred or unhappiness. Others, who may have little, or no, physical vision, have wonderful spiritual eyes to see the beauty of God’s creation and the wonder of the potential he has for them. James speaks of two kinds of wisdom in chapter 3 and verses 13-18. One is the wisdom of God while the other is that of man, or the world. God’s wisdom is vast and beautiful while that of man is limited and ugly. It really does come down to what you see.

It is the time of year that we celebrate the education of our young people, especially those who have accumulated the credits required for Graduation. This week will be Graduation Sunday. While we only have one Senior graduating this year, we celebrate him, his family and his accomplishment. Josh will share a sermon titled, Built to Stand: Grounded Discipleship in an Unsteady World based on Colossians 2:6-7. The wisdom of this message will be valuable to everyone so you won’t want to miss this celebration.

Seeing the beauty of God’s wisdom,

Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
If Mama Ain’t Happy…

Some years ago, Jeanette Case of Erie, PA shared the following submission with the Readers Digest:

Last year when I called my parents to wish them a happy New Year, my dad answered the phone. "Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?" I asked him.
 
"To make your mother as happy as I can all year," he answered proudly.
 
Then mom got on, and I said, "What’s your resolution, Mom?"
 
"To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution."

There’s an old saying, “If Mama ain’t happy; ain’t nobody happy.”  This probably isn’t fair when you count the many ways mothers sacrifice their own happiness and comfort for the sake of their families.

In many homes, the last one to sit down at the table to eat is Mom because she won’t sit down until she makes sure that everything has been placed on the table and that everyone has what they want or need.

Mothers often play the role of chauffer taking kids to school, daycare, dance lessons, gymnastics, all sorts of sports practices and games, to the doctor’s office, to visit friends, to church youth activities and more.

Mothers often do without new clothing or shoes so that they can provide those “necessities” for each member of the family. They ignore their own leisure time so they can help with homework assignments, make sure baths and preparation for bedtime is handled, making lunches for school tomorrow, washing, drying and ironing school clothes and Dad’s clothes for work.

They lose hours of sleep praying for the safety and benefit of their children. Often, when the children have left the house for college or to build families of their own, Often, when their children are undergoing trials or wandering away from godly living, they will pray all night and all day for their children to be obedient to God or, even, to turn back to God.

The real question here is, “What makes Mama happy?” Well, it appears what makes Mama happy is usually a happy family, filled with love and commitment to Christ; when her children are busy serving God and active in a Bible Believing, Christ honoring and God serving church. I know that made my Mama happy. It always made the Mama of my kids happy too.

Proverbs 31:30-31 concludes a litany about the godly woman with these powerful words of honor: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

  This Sunday is Mothers Day!  The First Christian Church family will honor all mothers and all women. Our message will take a look at Jesus and his mother, Mary, their relationship and how we can learn from the way they connected and honored God. The message is titled, “Jesus and His Mom” and will be based mostly on John 2:1-12 and John 19:25-27. I hope you will join us. Be sure to read the article about our Mothers Day celebration in our newsletter.

 Celebrating all Moms,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Beam Me Up!

When I was young, one of my favorite TV shows was Star Trek. As the Starship Enterprise and her brave crew crossed the final frontier exploring strange new worlds seeking out new life and new civilizations boldly going where no man has gone before. One of my favorite parts was the magical transporter that would reduce the body of a human into molecules, capture them into a beam that would transport those molecules to the destination desired by the brilliant engineering chief, Scotty and reformulate the molecules back into the original body of the traveler. Whenever Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock or any of the explorers on a planet, another star ship or other-worldly location got into trouble, all they had to do was speak into the transmitter and say, “Beam me up, Scotty.” Immediately they would beam back to the ship. What a cool concept.

Amazingly, Christ-Followers have found a similar, yet real way to be transported to the heavenly realms for daily connections with God. When God rescued us from the spiritually dead condition in which we lived before we knew Christ as our Lord and Savior and resurrected us to a new life in Christ, he spiritually transported us to be in his presence in heaven.

“What?” you ask, “But I’m living in Eastern New Mexico or Texas or Oklahoma or somewhere on planet earth. My goal is heaven, but that’s in the future. I’m trying to enjoy the right here and now, not the sweet by and by of the pie in the sky!”

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:6-7, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

In chapter 1 Paul describes how God raised Christ up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm” (see verse 20). Now we find out that we were beamed up with him. HOLY TRANSPORTER, BATMAN! THAT’S INCREDIBLE!

Many people look to religion as a means to find and reach up to God. In their search all they find is disappointment and failure. Why is that? Because our sins hold us back. We can never do enough to find him, much less reach him. However, the GREAT NEWS is that God came looking for us through his Son, Jesus Christ. When he found us, spiritual zombies, languishing in a “living death” he reached out to us through having his Son take our place and dying on the cross and being raised from the dead so that an undeserved relationship with God can be received as a gift and eternal life can be had. Ephesians one tells us that the Holy Spirit was given to all who received this gift as a down payment on eternity. Through the Holy Spirit we find connection with God. 1 Corinthians 2 describes how the Holy Spirit connects to our spirits through a better understanding of God’s Word. Romans chapter 8 tells us that another huge connection comes in our prayer lives as we communicate with God. The Holy Spirit connects again with our spirits and tells God the things in our hearts that are too hard for us to express verbally.

We have that connection with God as we are seated in Christ with him in the heavenly realm. It’s important that we look forward to our new bodies and that presence in heaven, but let’s not sell our current situation short. If you are in Christ, you have been spiritually beamed up to have that perfect place beside him. You have access like you never knew before! Start enjoying it! Start relishing it! Start making the most of it today! You don’t even have to say, “Beam Me Up.” You’re already there.

This Sunday I will share with you another message in our “BUT GOD” series titled, “Sit Down.” We will share more about this amazing access God has given to all who believe. Come and experience that “BUT GOD” relationship. Bring your friends, family and neighbors to let them see what God has in store for them.

Beamed up into His presence,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
But, Grace!

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the [commotion] about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

In Ephesians 2, it begins by telling us that in the past we were sinners condemned to death. In Verse 4 it says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
 
“BUT GOD” is all about GRACE! People often cry out for justice. But the truth is justice is the last thing we want for ourselves. Justice brings us condemnation because of sin. What we really desire is GRACE!

Religion is often perceived as “man’s search for God.” But I ask, “Why would you want to find God? And if you did find him, what would you do with God?” For us to find God would be too traumatic because we are not anywhere near worthy. His fierce anger would be overwhelming.

But Christianity is about God’s search for mankind. He sent his Son in human flesh to reach out and connect with us. And when he did, he offered love, mercy, grace and LIFE to all who would receive him. In order to make the offer of such blessing free of charge, he had to take our place by sacrificing his own life.


Sunday’s message from our series, BUT, GOD! Is titled, “DEAD, BUT ALIVE!”  Could you use new life? Do you know someone who needs to be restored to life? Come and bring them to hear about how they can be “DEAD, BUT ALVE!

Living by grace,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
BUT GOD!

There was once a young illiterate couple named Dave and Carol. Dave and Carol had recently confessed faith in Jesus Christ and were baptized. Wanting to be more involved in the activities of the church, they regularly attended the Sunday School class for young married couples. The couple noticed that, in this particular class, the men all had the same shirts, often worn during group activities. Desiring to be part of the group, Dave was eager to get his matching shirt, so Carol made one for her husband. But after the next meeting, Dave came home with a look of disappointment on his face. He had his shirt, but at the meeting he noticed that all the men had little emblems on their shirts--Dave’s was plain. So Carol, undaunted by her inability to read, embroidered three words which she copied from a sign in a store window across the street. Dave wore it at the next meeting. This time he came home bubbling with joy. He told Carol that all the men really liked the inscription that Carol had put on his shirt. They said it so aptly described the wonderful change they had seen in his life. It turned out that his wife had written, "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT."

The second chapter of Ephesians begins with a “Bad news, Good news” description of the members of the church in Ephesus that explains Dave and Carol’s lives and the life of every Christ follower. The first three verses give a grave description of what our unbelieving past. It describes people who were spiritually dead, people who were into a life of disobedience and followers of the mentality of the world and not only of the world, but also the evil one who influences the world and all who are disobedient. It describes people who were filled with self and passionate about sinful cravings. The writer, Paul, completes verse 3 saying, “we were deserving of wrath.”

This is not a pretty picture of our past, but it is, not only accurate, but a vivid description. Without Christ we are without hope, without joy, without opportunity for heaven and without life. There is no one whose personal history does not include at least some of Paul’s description.

The world in which we live is in the same boat; hopeless, joyless and lifeless. However, two words show up in Scripture that turn the entire mess of our lives and of our world completely around. Those two words are, "BUT GOD!”

The NIV separates the two words with the valuable prepositional phrase, “because of his great love for us.” However, they still go together, “BUT GOD.”

In the following verses we learn the result of that powerful phrase. We are made alive through Christ’s resurrection and given access to God, seated in his presence.” Ultimately, we learn, “It’s a grace thing.” We are not saved because of our goodness. No, it is because of his desire to come and rescue us and pull us back on his level. There is no reason to boast because verses 8 and 9 tell us that this is not from ourselves, but from God by his amazing grace. Someone created an acrostic for GRACE years ago…

God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s 
Expense
 
By his grace you and I are not what we once were! Glory be to God!

This week we will begin a new series of messages on Sunday mornings titled “BUT GOD.” I think you will find encouragement and challenges to walk in the “BUT GOD” life! Invite your friends to come and take part. Our first message is, “Every Saint Has a Past! Every Sinner Has a Future!” This is based on Ephesians 2:1-3 and following. I’ll see you Sunday!

By His Grace,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
The Peril of No Burden

Shortly after coming to Christ, Sadhu Sundar, a Hindu convert to Christ, felt called to become a missionary to India. Late one afternoon Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalayas with a Buddhist monk. It was bitterly cold and the wind felt like sharp blades slicing into Sadhu's skin. Night was approaching fast when the monk warned Sadhu that they were in danger of freezing to death if they did not reach the monastery before darkness fell.

Just as they were traversing a narrow path above a steep cliff, they heard a cry for help. Down the cliff lay a man, fallen and badly hurt. The monk looked at Sadhu and said, "Do not stop. God has brought this man to his fate. He must work it out for himself." Then he quickly added while walking on, "Let us hurry on before we, too, perish."
But Sadhu replied, "God has sent me here to help my brother. I cannot abandon him."

The monk continued trudging off through the whirling snow, while the missionary clambered down the steep embankment. The man's leg was broken and he could not walk. So Sadhu took his blanket and made a sling of it and tied the man on his back. Then, bending under his burden, he began a body-torturing climb. By the time he reached the narrow path again, he was drenched in perspiration.

Doggedly, he made his way through the deepening snow and darkness. It was all he could do to follow the path. But he persevered, though faint with fatigue and overheated from exertion. Finally he saw ahead the lights of the monastery.

Then, for the first time Sadhu stumbled and nearly fell, but not from weakness. He had stumbled over an object lying in the snow-covered road. Slowly he bent down on one knee and brushed the snow off the object. It was the body of the monk, frozen to death.

Years later a disciple of Sadhu's asked him, "What is life's most difficult task?"
Without hesitation Sadhu replied: "To have no burden to carry."
(Copied)

Modern America culture has pressed us to believe that the best life is one with no needs, no pain and no burdens. When we see someone in pain we may want to help, but culture says, “Mind your own business! You will just take on someone else’s problem and make yours harder. They will just drag you down.”

Do we understand that the heat generated by carrying the injured man saved the life of the missionary, while the monk froze to death because he had nothing to keep him warm? We not only survive, but we thrive by the warmth generated by helping others through life.
Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. This is related to verse 1 which tells us it is our job, as Spirit led people to help those caught in sin to be gently restored, all the while examining ourselves for issues that could cause us to stumble along the way. It is inconvenient and even frightening to help someone we know and love to turn back to God. However, if we love that person, just as Christ loved them and us, we will do what we can to restore that person to fellowship with God and his church. It is not for us to condemn, but to restore them.

However, if we fail to pick our brother of sister up and carry them back to God, we stand on the precipice of freezing spiritually. If you will take on the burden of the friend and his/her sin, it won’t be easy, but it will bring a blessing that lasts into eternity.

Sunday we will share a message with two titles, No More Lone Ranger Christians and Bearing One Another’s Burdens from Galatians 6:1-2. My prayer is that you and I will be inspired to experience the fellowship of carrying one another’s spiritual load. The result will be a much closer walk with each other and with God.

Lifted and Lifting,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Fish or Talk?

A Fish and Game Warden had a friend who was quite the fisherman. The friend would go fishing almost every day. Day in and day out he came back in a very short time from his day on the lake having caught his limit. The Warden’s curiosity grew, but he didn’t want his friend to think he suspected anything was wrong so he asked his friend if he could go fishing with him. The man was happy to bring him along. Once the boat had come to rest and the anchor dropped the Warden began to bate a hook while the friend reached into a box under his seat. He pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit the fuse and handed it to the Warden saying, “Just toss this out a ways and you’ll get more fish than you can imagine.”
The Warden was shocked and said, “I can’t do that. It’s illegal!”

As the fuse had almost burned down, the friend replied, “Well, are you gonna’ fish or just talk!”

A lot of people claim to know about the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, but for some reason they have never claimed the explosive power that is the Resurrection. Jesus said, Because I live, you also will live.
-John 14:19.

The Apostle Paul claimed this incredible power which made a powerful difference in his life every day.  The power had changed him from a persecutor of Christ Followers to a passionate missionary for Christ. He was a man of dynamic faith and testimony. In Philippians 3:10-11 he wrote, “II want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

When you think about the “Easter Story” do you consider it to be nothing more than just a “really nice story”? Do you take comfort in knowing Jesus is no longer in the grave? Or have you been empowered by receiving all that God has for you through such an amazing, game changing, event in your own life?
Are you gonna fish or just talk?

This Sunday is Resurrection Sunday! Great celebrations will go on at FCC and in the homes of our church family members. But I can’t wait to bring you a message at the 8:00AM Sunrise Celebration that I have titled, “Explode Into Life” from Philippians 3:10-14. We will talk about how Christ’s Resurrection in yours and my lives can bring dynamic power to our lives for every day. Plan to attend and bring your friends and neighbors to this potentially life empowering day. I’m also Excited about the very special Gospel presentation that will be presented at 10:30AM by our Resurrection Choir titled, ARISE MY SOUL, HE IS RISEN! This is the first Cantata we have had in many years. God has worked in the writers of this presentation and in the members of this choir for the presentation. Plan to celebrate our Explosive Jesus!

Empowered by him,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Good News and Bad News about Palm Sunday

John and his friend George went golfing together one Saturday morning as they had for 24 years. They were fanatics about their golf game. Later that day, John returned home completely exhausted and plopped down in his easy chair. His wife was quite concerned since he was more exhausted than usual after his Saturday golf game.

She asked him if something went wrong with the game. He replied, "No, I had the best game in years!

As a matter of fact, I started out the first three holes at 4 under par, including a hole-in-two on the 3rd." "So why are you so worn out?" she asked. "Well, George had a heart attack and died on the 4th hole."

"What!? Are you so exhausted from trying to save him?" He said, "No, honey, it was quick and there was nothing anyone could’ve done. BUT AFTER THAT, IT WAS JUST HIT THE BALL, DRAG GEORGE, HIT THE BALL, DRAG GEORGE..."

The good news is: John had a great game of golf! The bad news was George-- Dead and dragged all over the golf course!

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem it was as if the local team had just won the Super Bowl. Ancient historian, Josephus, says that there could have been very nearly 3 million people in town that day, celebrating the coming of the Messiah. That people were throwing palm branches and coats in the pathway of Jesus of Nazareth as he rode the donkey colt. They were crying out thing like, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” or “Hosanna” (meaning save us, Lord) or “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” all praises to the anointed one of God for whom their people had been expecting to come for centuries.
 
Sadly, about 4 days later the same people were crying out for his blood. He would be beaten, mocked, humiliated and crucified naked on a cruel cross. Oh, how fickle people can be.

His greatest day of admiration turned into the most painful days ever.  But there is better news. 3 days later he would turn the world upside down by his resurrection from the dead.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday! We will celebrate our Messiah, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. Come join us as we share a message titled, “Hosanna! The King is Coming” based on Zechariah 9:9, Psalm 118:25-29 and Revelation 19:11-16. Bring someone with you to experience a unique presentation of the Gospel.

Hosanna!
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Good People at Church?

She had seldom been to church a day of her life. In fact, she never thought she would ever go to church, but someone invited her and she came. Much to her surprise, she loved it! Not only that, but she heard the message of Christ’s love and grace instead of one of “I’m good! You’re bad, and you don’t belong here!” that she had always thought she would find at church! She realized that Jesus was the answer for her life and surrendered her life to him and was baptized on her third visit! She and her young children never missed a Sunday. Then the devil tried to creep in. The complaints came to the church board, “Her dresses are too short. It’s a distraction to the men who are serving the Lord’s Supper.” “Someone needs to talk to her.”

The young preacher said, “She’s a new Christian. Give her some time to figure out what is appropriate. Short dresses may be all she has to wear that are dressy.” Thankfully, the complainers held off and she began to show up in less provocative attire and the complaints faded. This is a true story from my early ministry.

Where did we get the idea that church was for “good people?” I don’t think we got that from Jesus. Perhaps it came from his greatest enemies, the Pharisees. John’s account of the confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus in John 8:2-11 is a classic example.
The religious leaders (Pharisees) brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery. The text does not mention her clothing, but we can assume that she was likely not in the conservative apparel most commonly worn by Jewish women in the first century. Pulled from the bed of another adulterer, a man, who was conspicuously absent from the scene, the woman was brought straight to Jesus so that he could render a judgment on her sin. To the shock of the men who had brought her to Jesus, exposing her to public disgrace, he turned the tables on them by holding up a mirror through which they were forced to see their own sin. They had not anticipated this kind of self exposure. But, Jesus wasn’t interested in their little moralistic “gotcha” games. Read the story and see what I mean.

From the beginning of time, sin has been a part of the human condition. The devil has sifted each of us with his crafty tricks. He knows where we are weak and, no matter how hard we try to get it right, we have a knack for caving in to those deceptive moves. Yet, for some reason, we try to put on the mask of perfection, especially at church. One of the sneakiest ways we can do this is to point out the “obvious sins” of others. But this leads to arrogance, which the Bible points out is just another sin for us to commit. OOPS!

The church is not a museum to display perfect saints. The church is a hospital for sinners. When someone says they can’t go to church because they are sinful, you can tell them, “Hey! You will fit right in!” You’ve heard the true saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven!” God loves and wants sinners in His church. He sent his Son to die for sinners. When you see people at church that don’t seem to fit that “perfect” picture you envisioned of church people, you can know that we are all in the same boat. “I was sinking deep in sin, but love lifted me.”

This Sunday I will present a message connected with this, titled, Love the Sinner; Hate the Sin, based on John 8:2-11. I hope you will bring someone who needs to know the love and grace of Jesus with you.

Imperfect, but loved,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
A Matter of Submission

A family living out on the prairie had a buggy with a well-trained horse to pull it. The horse followed every command it was given But one day someone came up with the brilliant idea to train a mule to pull that buggy. The man who was training the mule had a bull whip and knew how to use it. When that mule was hooked up to the buggy, he began to kick. The owners thought that bull whip would teach him otherwise. So, the more he kicked, the more they whipped. And the more they whipped, the more he kicked. It went on for hours. At the end of the day, the mule had learned nothing. The buggy had been kicked to pieces. Are you like the horse or the mule? That mule was not meek. The horse was just as powerful, but he was meek.

When we are meek in spirit, God can direct us and use us. There were two fundamental differences between the horse and the mule. The horse trusted his master; the mule did not. The horse was submitted to his master; the mule was not.

Ephesians 3:20 says, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

When we are fully submitted to Jesus, he can impower us to do amazing things for him.
This Sunday Josh will be delivering a message to the FCC family titled, Strength Under Control based on Matthew 5:5. Plan to be there and be given this special message Jesus shared in his Sermon on the Mount.

Striving to be under His control,
Jon

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
True Riches

A tax officer asked an old man to declare his wealth. The Old man declared his riches like this:

• A mansion in heaven
• Everlasting life
• Peace that passes all understanding
• Joy unspeakable
• Devine love that never fails
• A crown of life
• A faithful wife
• Healthy, Happy & obedient children
• Loyal friends
• Songs in the night

The tax officer closed his book and said: “Truly you are a very rich man. But your wealth is not subject to taxation.”
As we have worked through the past 40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life, we have learned some very important lessons about generosity. We have discovered the following…

• Generous Giving Allows You to See God as Your Provider
• Generous Giving Allows You to Overcome Financial Fear and Worry
• Generous Giving Allows You to Bring Order to Your Finances
• Generous Giving Allows You to Fight the Dragon of Materialism

 
And this Sun day we will examine a 5th benefit of Generous giving with… Generous Giving Allows You to Experience True Financial Freedom based on 2 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Matthew 6:19-21.

We have not been badgered or placed on guilt trips to give. We have not been threatened with hell or made to think we were making God angry if we don’t tithe. We have been taught the blessing of giving generously to God’s work and to experience the abundance we receive through generosity.

We have been challenged to test God in the only place where God allows such testing through Malachi 3:10 when He says, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

As we close our series, we are being issued a challenge to put God to the test by “Trying the Tithe.” If you try the tithe (give the tenth or your income).God will not let you go without, simply because you were generous. Please be in prayer about this great challenge and seek God’s leading in this matter.

Truly rich where it counts,
Jon