The Journeymen's New Look

The Journeymen (our men's small group) has been meeting for several months now. We have enjoyed good food, good fellowship, and good discussions and now we are wanting to improve upon that. Starting June 25th (this is to substitute for our July meeting) we are going to try some new things to make it easier for more men to get involved with the Journeymen.

Here is what is new:

• Location: Now meeting at the church in the fellowship hall
• Times: 9:00am-11:00am
• What is Going On: We will still fellowship, eat, and have a devo, but we are adding on small projects around the church to get our church looking good and running great
• Cost: Free

We are hoping to get more men involved in the Journeymen! So plan to come (even if it is for part of the time) and spend some time locking arms with the men of our church!

LIfe Lessons With Dad

Like all dad I am going to make this sweet and simple for this week! So here is a brief look at lessons that my dad taught me that also my heavenly father has shown me over my life.

God Our Father

Creator (Genesis 1:1)

o   As a dad we can create the atmosphere of our home

Love (John 3:16)

o   No matter what we love those around us

 Justice/ Discipline

o   Our Father will invoke justice when needed

  §  David- Dead child

  §  Moses- Never saw the promise land

Wisdom

o   James 3:17

 ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (NIV)

Our ultimate goal is to do what our heavenly father has done and that is to leave an amazing legacy 

I Will Not Bow

What do we think of when we hear the word "worship"?  Most people think of corporate worship on Sunday mornings.

Well what is the purpose of sing our worship? Here are some examples from the bible

o   It can bring relief: (Story of Saul being tormented and David played the harp to relieve him)

o   Cause breakthroughs: (When the worshippers played their music the walls of Jericho fell)

o  Sometimes a worship song has the words we just can't find to express how we feel towards God.

But worship is just so much more than singing on Sunday mornings or just singing period

Worship Defined (Webster's dictionary)

·      The act of showing respect and love for a god especially by praying with other people who believe in   

      the same god : the act of worshipping God or a god

·      Reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence

·      Great admiration or devotion

Main Question: What do you worship? 

(Taking a look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego)

Daniel 3

 1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, (That is, about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide) and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Points #1

o   They used people of “influence” to push their cause.

 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

 Point #2 

o   They used the instruments that the priest and the worshippers of God used to announce their god.

•  Jericho: Horns
• David: lyre & hard

8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Point #3

o   The world doesn’t like it when you take a stand.

 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Point #4

o   This is a picture of true faith

 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

Point #5

o   They truly trusted what God could do when things got real bad.

 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

   They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

   So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Point #6

When we truly worship God with our life others will see the results

Final Thought

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 

Time to Get Weird! Because Normal Isn't Working

Starting June 26th we will be entering the world of weird for five weeks. Here is what we will be looking at over the next five weeks:

1. Weird in God's way
2. Weird is Better
3. Weird Desires
4. Weird Way to Save the World
5. A Weird View of Money

Keep up with us over the next few weeks as we explore this world of weird. 

Until there here is a first look at the new intro video for our series. 

Reinvention Is Here

This past Sunday we launched our reinvention at Journey Church here is what all happened!

The Vision: "Reach In, Reach Out"

Part 1: To reach in and take care of each other (ref. Acts 2:42-47)


 ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.


Part 2: Reach out to others outside the walls of the church (ref. Matthew 28:16-20)

 ¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Two key words on moving forward

• Focus
• we must stay focus on the vision
• Purpose
• we must act with purpose

The Ministries We Will Be Focusing On

1. Student Ministry
1. Nursery
2. Children
3. Youth
2. Hospitality (HOP)
3. Small Groups

Who Are We Looking For

• Those who are willing to be used
• Here I am send me concept

The Definition of Reinvent 

1. To make as if for the first time something already invented
2. To remake or redo completely
3. To bring into use again

Not So Small

One of my favorite parts church life is fellowship! I have seen how important relationships are in churches and that is why I am sure a huge supporter of small groups. Actully I like the term "connection groups" better. With this in mind this is why we have small groups at Journey. I feel like this is a great way to get connected with other people where you can get to know each other more, disscuss God, and eat. So if you are looking to get connected in here at Journey this is a great way to start getting connected. At this time we have four great groups:

Adult Bible Study                                                                                     

• The purpose of this small group is to "dig deeper" into the bible. Each week they will study a chapter out of the book of the bible that they are study and then proceed to discuss that chapter. At the end of each group they are given study questions to get them ready for the next week.    
• They meet every sunday morning at 9:00 am in our classroom. 

Connections                                                                                              

• The purpose of this small group is exactly what it is called, "Connections" so basically they "connect". Each month they meet at a home and eat, hang out, play games, and have a short devotion. 
• They meet the first Saturday of every month at 6:30p at the Nickell's home

Journeymen                                                                                                 

• The purpose of the Journeymen is to have a time every month where men could get together and talk about topics and situations that affect men everyday. 
• They meet the second saturday of every month at 9a in the church gym.

Roots Part 7: Spirit-Led

In part seven we looked at what life by the Spirit truly looked like


Galatians 5

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

1^st Key: Life by the Spirit looks different then life by the world.

·       Life by the world (verses 19-21)

o   Things that pleases the flesh

·       Life by the spirit (verses 24-25)

o   Passion and desire to walk with Jesus

2^nd Key: Using the gifts to live in the Spirit

·       God have given us talents and gifting

·       God sent his spirit for extra gifts to use

3^rd Key: Making sure the results of your gifts add to the body of Christ

·       Test the results when you use God’s gifts to scripture

o   Video: Fruit of the Spirit

o   Fruit of the Spirit (Verses 22-23)

Final Though: 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

We must remember tis phrase, "I am God’s original masterpiece"

Roots Part 8: Pray for the Cause

In the final part of our Roots Series we looked at the war we fight and how we can make a stand...

Scene Setup: As the war for independence rages on, eldest brother, Gabriel, sends a letter home illuminating the struggles of a soldier in battle. His siblings sit on their front porch and read his report with eyes wide open and pride for his participation.

Overveiw: War can sound romantic when it is far away, but when a warrior is on the battlefront there is little but the reality of suffering and death. It is much easier to read a letter and attribute heroism to the one who is on the front line than it is to join the battle ourselves. We are all the recipients of letters written on the battle front. The Apostle Paul writes to us of being chased, harassed, beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and eventually martyred for the cause of Jesus. We sit on our clean verandas in our fancy clothes and smile as we read the letters outloud to one another. Even when Paul's battles are within his Christian communities, we remain disconnected from our responsibility to enter in. Paul, the letter writing apostle, writes to his friends all over the Middle East and addresses pride, church splits, jealousy, control issues in relationships, backsliding, backbiting, gossip, and so much more and we chuckle at his ability to chart a course through such unclean behavior. Yet when it pops its head up in our midst we want our professional clergy to deal with it. If we happen to be the perpetrator of any of these spiritual offenses we want everyone to ignore our sin and assume our best intentions caused it. In a spiritual revolution launched by some of the greatest heroes of all time we have become like well dressed little children reading letters from far away that sound so brave and romantic. Our own world is filled with spiritual attrocities. Christians are being killed by people of other religions all over the world every single day. Do we pray? Are we moved by the martyrs in our worldwide Christian family who suffer because of their faith? Do we sacrifice and send money? Do we enter into the pain and suffering in any way? People who track this kind of thing report that there are more Christian martyrs in this century than in any other century. Perhaps the title of this clip is the best place to start. As our Christian brothers and sisters pray with their blood, perhaps it's time for us to "Pray For The Cause" and then as God leads, begin to follow His lead into a bigger role.

Main Idea: The Horror Of The Front Line Can Seem Romantic On The Porch

The Cause:

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (New King James Version) 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

     

Causalities

o   Matthew 5:10-12 (New King James Version) 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

      

Adamant

o   Ephesians 6:18 (New King James Version) 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--

      

Useful

o   David made himself useful

§  To his father (1 Sam. 17)

¹⁷One day, Jesse told David his son, “Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. ¹⁸And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they’re doing ¹⁹—Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley.”

²⁰David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready. ²²David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers. ²³While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.

     

Sincere

o   His Efforts were sincere (1 Sam. 17)

³²“Master,” said David, “don’t give up hope. I’m ready to go and fight this Philistine.” ³³Saul answered David, “You can’t go and fight this Philistine. You’re too young and inexperienced—and he’s been at this fighting business since before you were born.” ³⁴David said, “I’ve been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I’d go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I’d grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. ³⁶Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I’ll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. ³⁷God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.” Saul said, “Go. And God help you!” ³⁸Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. ³⁹David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, “I can’t even move with all this stuff on me. I’m not used to this.” And he took it all off. ⁴⁰Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

      

Effort  

o   He put forth the effort when no one else would (1 Sam 17)

¹¹When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine’s challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.

Final Thought: Our Bible is a record of real men fighting real battles against dangerous foes who took their lives. Our King has now called us into the battle. And even if we are stationed at our home base, we can still engage the enemy and support those at the front lines.