Hope Is Found in Jesus

As we begin a new Sunday message series at Celebration Community Church I will be sharing with you in these blogs from time to time a daily devotional from NewSpring Church entitled “Hope Is”…

If you would like, you can receive it directly from your YouVersion app.

³  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, ⁵  who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)

Imagine a child getting lost in the mall while Christmas shopping. Even if her parents had to search for hours and hours, would they give up on trying to find her?

Like a child separated from her parents, our sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23 says we have "all sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That sounds utterly hopeless, but like a parent who won't give up, God found a way to repair our relationship with Him.

God loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to have a relationship with Him. We could never pay the debt our sin created. When Jesus died on the cross, He took our punishment for us. When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved that He was more powerful than all of the sin, death, and evil in this world. When we ask Jesus into our lives, we are reunited with our Father in heaven, and we receive the power to overcome, just like Jesus did.

Jesus is the object and source of our hope. This is why Christmas is so important. Without Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, our sins would not be forgiven. We would still be apart from God, like a child lost in the hustle of the Christmas shopping season.

Hope begins with being reunited with God, and once we are, Jesus begins to bring hope to all areas of our life. There is no situation in your life right now that is too bad for the “living hope” promised to us in 1 Peter 1:3. Christmas is all about hope, and that hope would not be possible without Jesus.

Pray:

Jesus, thank you for paying a debt I could never pay. You are the reason I can have hope in all circumstances. Help me to remember that the same power that lives in You lives in me. You overcame the worst the world has to offer, and with You, I can do the same.

Reflect:

What’s one area of your life where you could use some hope right now? Ask God to help you have hope in all areas of your life.

I have hope and my hope has a name….Jesus!

P.K.

Give Thanks in All Circumstances

Have you ever noticed that some Bible verses seem easier to memorize than to put into practice? One that immediately comes to mind—especially during the Thanksgiving season—is “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

That word “all” is challenging because there are situations when we do not feel particularly grateful. The Bible teaches us that gratitude is not dependent  on  our circumstances.

At yesterday’s Celebration Community Church’s Leadership Academy Graduation I shared this story about giving thanks in all circumstances.

In her book, “The Hiding Place”, Corrie Ten Boom relates an incident that taught her to be thankful for things we normally would not be thankful for. She and her sister, Betsy, prisoners of the Nazis, had just been transferred to the worst prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and infested with fleas. Their Scripture reading from their smuggled Bible that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for their flea infested barracks, but Betsy persisted. Corrie finally agreed to somehow thank God for even the fleas.

During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings in their barrack without guard interference. Several months later they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.

Give thanks in all circumstances…

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle



Congratulations to Ashlee Haines, Jake Haines, Sheila Jordan, Garrett Kahrs, Talia Kahrs, Mary Laflamme, Stephanie Leithead, Cody Oberheim, Kathleen Spears and Isaac Williams, who for the last nine months read 8 books, wrote 33 papers, posted and replied to 21 forums, served in individual ministry internships and at C3 ministry events. Well done C3LA Class of 2015!

Remembering Our Origins

Yesterday as Debbie and I helped host the ECMA Thanksgiving Day Feast where we fed about 800 folks, I got to talking with a tableful of FHSU International students from Nigeria who were experiencing their very first Thanksgiving.

I shared with them the origins of Thanksgiving when persecuted Christians left their homelands and became refugees in a foreign land.  William Bradford the governor of their new community of Plymouth proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving in spite of having lost ½ of their brothers and sisters the year before to the harsh New England winter. These Pilgrims celebrated an abundant harvest that they had reaped with the aid of the Native people who welcomed them and taught them to plant and hunt the local game. The Nigerians were fascinated with the history of tour National holiday.   

I hope you never forget Thanksgiving’s beginnings. I also hope you never forget how blessed we are and how grateful we should be.  It is good and fitting that as Christians to remember that the holiday is not Thanks-getting,  Its Thanks-giving.

Remember to WHOM we are to give thanks. Remember WHAT we are thankful for. When we take for granted what God has done for us, we can become calloused, filled with pride and therefore outside of the will of God. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thess. 5:1

You see, it’s when we realize how much we have in the Lord, that we will truly begin to be thankful, and when you are thankful, your heart will abound with love for the Lord that has so graciously given all to you.

For a Christian, every day ought to be a day of thanksgiving.  
Today the day after Thanksgiving be sure to give thanks TO God FOR ALL He has given you.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday. Bring a non perishable food item for C3’s food pantry.  If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

If you have not yet turned in your Forward Faith 3 year commitment card you may do so THIS SUNDAY in the lobby at C3.

Bring in your wrapped shoeboxes THIS SUNDAY or next.

C3LA, Celebration's Leadership Academy will hold their graduation celebration this Sunday at 2:00 pm at C3. All are invited to come out and celebrate this special event with us.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

With today being Thanksgiving I got to thinking about all the people who I know that are truly grateful; people who live every day of their lives as a way to show their gratitude to God. Many of these people are a part of Celebration Community Church.  They remind me of a group of Christians who lived almost 400 years ago who survived the harsh environment in the New World, and decided to set aside a day in the fall at which they would express thanksgiving to God. They brought an offering to God, experienced a banquet and shared in fellowship together.  Today we know this as Thanksgiving and we will celebrate it as a national Holiday.  

But about 3000 years before the Pilgrims, God told His people, the children of Israel, the people who were true believers, I want you to set aside a day in the fall at which they would bring an offering to God, express their thanks to God, share a joyful meal together. It was called the Feast of Weeks or the Harvest Festival, They did that 3000 years before the Pilgrims did it and inspired God’s New World Christians to do likewise. Another name for that feast is Pentecost, the day we recognize as the birthday of Christ's church by God sending His Holy Spirit to live in the lives of believers.

Today we are to do the same. As you gather with your family and friends do more than eat turkey and watch football (Da Bears are playing the Packers in prime time). With joy, give your heartfelt thanks to God with song, an offering of praise and acts of service. Be sure to tell your children the real meaning behind this holiday.     

Celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the Lord your God by bringing Him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing He has given you.  Be joyful in the Lord's presence, together with your children..."  Deuteronomy 16:10-11  

Your grateful pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle



If you don’t have a place to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal please come join Debbie and me at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall at noon.

THIS SUNDAY 5th Sunday. Bring a non perishable food item for C3’s food pantry.  If you want to be baptized or have your child dedicated e-mail me kyle@celebratejesus.org

If you have not yet turned in your Forward Faith 3 year commitment card you may do so THIS SUNDAY in the lobby at C3.

Bring in your wrapped shoeboxes THIS SUNDAY or next.

C3LA, Celebration's Leadership Academy will hold their graduation celebration this Sunday at 2:00 pm at C3. All are invited to come out and celebrate this special event with us.

Forward Faith Finale

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40

Hebrews 11 has been called faith’s “Hall of Fame”. No doubt the author surprised his readers by this conclusion: these mighty Jewish heroes did not receive God’s total reward, because they died before Christ came.

We who have experienced God’s purposeful plan through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ should be EVEN GREATER examples of faithfulness because we know God’s ultimate truth!

As we conclude this “Forward Faith” series, I would like to commend YOU, one of the heroes in my personal “Hall of Faith” from Celebration Community Church who…

By faith you give up sleeping in on Sunday mornings to worship.

By faith you sign up to spend an hour in C3’s prayer room. (which will remain open)

By faith you make being a part of a small group a priority in your life.

By faith you give at least 10 percent of your income to Christ and His church.

By faith you teach your children to read God’s word.

By faith you disciple others and find joy in pouring your life into the lives of a few others.

By faith you dedicate time to to collect groceries on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and bag them on the night before to help feed people in need.

By faith you stick around for hours after church services to hang all of the Christmas decorations.

By faith you cut up donuts, prepare communion and greet guests outside the doors even when it is cold.

By faith you invite friends, coworkers, relatives and neighbors to church at Christmas time when they are open to receive your invitation.

By faith you … come to Unite Marriage Ministry events to become a better spouse. attend Celebrate Recovery to let go of your hurts, habits and hang-ups, make quilts to give to families who are hurting and in need of comfort, forgive those who have hurt you, discipline your children, take in an exchange student, accept rejection and mocking for Christ's sake, stand alone for God's honor when everyone else seems to be going with the crowd.

By faith you pray, read your Bible, worship God, serve Him by serving others and seek to share His Good News in word and deed and give generously to a Forward Faith Capital campaign. (If you haven’t yet you may still do so this Sunday)

It's all done by faith! Faith in what? Faith in the reality of who God is, what God has done and what God promised in His word to do. Faith is your heart's response to God's love and truth.

And remember this truth, that without faith it is impossible to please God….Hebrews 11:6

I THANK GOD FOR YOU AND YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO HIM.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

If you want to help sack groceries tonight (Wednesday) come to the Rose Garden Banquet Hall 2350 E. 8^th St. at 5:30pm

And if you do not have a place to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner join Debbie and I at the Rose Garden at 12pm on Thursday.

Together with us would they be made perfect

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40

The author of Hebrews is not saying that those who did not receive what was promised somehow missed out on God's blessings. Some of them died while being tortured, some lost their kingdoms, and some didn't see fulfillment of prophecies while they were alive doesn't mean they failed or got ripped off by God.

You see, all of these people of faith entered the afterlife with great reward. But it was not until us, the age of the church, that God’s work was completed. It was not until Christ's work on the cross that perfection of God’s plan was attained.

The Bible shows us that before the cross, those people who were counted righteous by faith went to Paradise. But although Paradise was a place of comfort (Luke 16:25), it was not in heaven, it was in the center of the earth, across a large chasm from Hades, the place of fire and torment. 

It was not until Christ was crucified that the sins of those faithful were paid for. It was then that he led those Old Testament saints to heaven, giving them the true gift of resurrection into eternal life. 

They had finally received the promise of salvation by faith, of eternal life. We, in the church age, live under a better promise than they had. For today, we do not have to look forward, waiting for an event which has not happened. We look back at the finished work of the cross, when the Son of God took the death penalty of all our sins upon Himself, dying in our place.

Tomorrow in this blog we will conclude this Forward Faith series by looking at how we can be the next generation of heroes of the faith.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle

A BIG THANK YOU to all who stayed around after services on Sunday to decorate for Christmas. Our building looks TERRIFIC!

Believe in the power of God’s promises

As we wrap up this “Forward Faith” series we have looked at the faith of Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Joshua, Rahab and other Old Testament heroes who experienced victory and are long remembered because of their faith.

We, too, can experience victory through faith in Christ. The same power that brought down the walls of Jericho. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us. To resurrect our marriages…to bring back from death’s door our financial lives. That same power is available to us to restore relationships…. renew our health, reclaim that which was lost. To overcome addictions….The power to change our lives.

²⁰ 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, Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

If you want God’s blessing on your life you must believe in the power of God’s promises. Never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Instead let it motivate you to pray more, believe more, trust more. Faith always works in the realm of the impossible.

Debbie and my “Forward Faith” Commitment pledge was larger than ever before, way beyond our capacity to fulfill it on our own. I once heard that you haven’t really believed God until you’ve attempted something that can’t be done without Him.

Your pastor and partner,

Kyle

PS Thank you to all of those who participated this weekend in collecting two vans filled with groceries on Saturday. And for those who stuck around and decorated for Christmas on Sunday.