And So It Begins
Week Three, Part 3
(Shared at Harvest Church as part of our series on Church Growth.)

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All four gospel tell the story of the Last Supper. Each one providing information that helps us draw a very complete and detailed description of that night. And I think it’s on this special night that Jesus fulfills the work he came to do, not just on the cross, but as He spends this last night with His closest companions.

Now, let’s look at the cliff notes version of what happens. I think we are all familiar with the scene, but I want us to look at the subtitle actions that I think sometimes we miss.

Matthew 26:20:
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve?

Mark 14:17,18b:
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating...

Luke 22:14,15:
When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

John 13:1
It was just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come Him to leave the world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed the the full extent of His love.

What’s happening?
This is a picture of community. Jesus has gathered with His apostles, and they are experience an intimate moment together. They are reclining at the table. They're about to share in a meal. But it’s not just a meal, it the fact that they were together. Jesus had been looking forward to to spending this time with them.

Look at how John words this. “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed the the full extent of His love.”

Let me take you back to Friday night and our time at our small group. How sweet was that time together? Whether you were there for meal and the study, or just the study, it was a sweet time of fellowship. I mean, were you looking forward to that time together like I was? Were you excited knowing that that evening you would be with other believers?

There are so many examples of Jesus making time to just be with people. To share a meal. To talk, to get to know. To hear and share stories. To encourage and build up. To have fun, laugh, cry, and be real.

Jesus wasn’t just God, he was man. And like men, he had friends. He developed relationships with people. I mean think about it. First there were the 12, 12 men that he called his friends, friends that he would pour into. But of the 12, there were 3 who made the inner circle. Peter, John and James, grew closer to Jesus then the other disciples. They saw things the other didn’t. They heard things that the others didn’t. But even in the 3, there was one who was even closer.

But it’s more than that. Think about Mary Magdalene. Think of Lazarus, and his sisters Martha and Mary. Think of Joseph of Arimathea who after the Crucifixion and asks for the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus who came to Jesus in the evening early in the gospel of John and then again appears with Joseph to help bury His body.

Think of all the dinners at the homes of tax collects, at the home of Peter’s mother-in-law. On and on it goes, Jesus building relationships, relationships that build up ones faith. Jesus was about sharing life.

Jesus lived in Community.

Thanks for reading!

- jay

And So It Begins
Week Three, Part 2
(Shared at Harvest Church as part of our series on Church Growth.)

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What Mattered Most in Jesus’ Ministry?
So last week I asked the question, Why did Jesus come?

This week my question is this, What did Jesus DO, while he was here?

Now right away, we as good and faithful, church-going people, we might immediately think, well, this is easy, Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world that those who believe in His name, and have faith what He did, may have eternal life. And that would be correct, if my question was, What did Jesus come to accomplish on our behalf.

But my question is, What did Jesus DO while he was here? So think more, every day of Christ’s life and ministry.

(Go ahead, grab a piece of paper and make a list of the thing the Jesus did while on earth.)

Okay, so let’s look at what the gospels have to say about what Jesus did while he was here?

When we look at what Jesus did while He was here, we see a very simple approach to what He did. He taught people about God, His love, His kingdom, and how to have a relationship with Him and what it means to follow Him. He shared life with the people He surrounded himself with and loved them for who they were. And three, He served those who were in need. I think most of the events in His 3 years of ministry fall into one or more of three categories.

Jesus’ Ministry was about...

1. Knowing and Loving God.
2. Knowing and Loving People
3. Serving Others.

Now, I have been flipping through the stories and the events the gospels account. Have you ever done that? Just turned the pages of Matthew or Mark or Luke or John and just glance over some of the things that we see Jesus do?

I mean, there are so many stories that demonstrate on or more examples that of worship, community and outreach. And early this week, I was looking at a few of them and thought these would be great examples, but then yesterday, as I was putting some of the final touches on this message, I thought, what one event demonstrate all three. And that’s when it hit me. The Last Supper.

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Before we break down how we see Jesus' ministry in the Last Supper, where in the gospels do you see Jesus demonstrating what it means to Know and Love God, Know and Love People, and Serving Others? Why not take few minutes to share the stories that come to mind? Use the comment section below to share your thoughts. And be sure to return again tomorrow as I post part 3, and begin to talk about these three simple things the Jesus does.

Thanks for reading!

- jay

Learn more about the, And So It Begins series at the And So It Begin webpage. Just click on this link here: And So It Begins.

And So It Begins
Week Three, Part 1
(Shared at Harvest Church as part of our series on Church Growth.)

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The Problem with Doing TOO Much...
So here’s what I want you to imagine.

You visit a church. It’s a good church of good size. It’s a church that has been recognized by it’s denomination for being a solid church with great programs. The church is known for having talented and popular staff members, some of whom speak at various ministry conferences and events around the country. It’s a good church, serving it’s members and the community for 40+ years. And for the most part, your visit to this church is a good one. So good, you want to know more about this church.

So you grab a couple brochures from the “Welcome” Table. You want to read up on the church and it’s ministries and programs. You also visit the website, surfing through its pages, reading about belief statements, mission statements, vision statements. You go to the web page for their student ministry and you read about their ministry, their purpose statement, their mission statement, their vision statement. Then on to the children’s ministry where you repeat those steps. beliefs, mission, vision. Then onto the ministry for adults, and  again read their beliefs, mission, vision.

Two guys actually visited this church. Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger. To protect the church, they call the church, First Church. They did a study among churches investigation how they operated, what ministries they sponsored and how well they communicated their ministry and it’s focus.

Let me read to you what they had to say about their visit to First Church.

(Here was read, a selection from the book, Simple Church, by Thom S Rainer and Eric Geiger. Information about the book is provided below. Due to copyright issues, I have chosen not to post the quoted section but if you are in church leadership, I highly recommend you reading Thom and Eric's book, Simple Church..)

Now let me ask you, what do you think about when you hear the description of this church, its leadership, and its ministry?

As we take this time to prepare the field, we’ve come to the point where we must evaluate WHAT it is that we have been called to do. But not just the WHAT we do, we also need to evaluate the HOW we do what we do.

You see, we are at a place in the life and history of this church where I believe we have an opportunity to create a culture where we as a church are able to focus on what matters most. And when I ask myself, “What matters most?” my answer is simple,

1. That we love God with our all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind.
2. That we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
3. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing the, in the name Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that Christ commanded.

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 Tomorrow I will post part 2 of the message, so be sure to join us here on the blog!

In the meantime, have you ever experienced a church that share a similar problem being too busy? When you look at what the church offers in the way of ministries, did it appear that each individual program held it's own ideas of ministry, purpose, and vision? What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Share your comments below in the comment section.

And as always, thanks for reading the blog!

- jay

Learn more about the, And So It Begins series at the And So It Begin webpage. Just click on this link here: And So It Begins.

I just sat down to download the video from today's worship service at Harvest Church. This morning we cover the third part in our series, And So It Begins. But when I plugged everything in and powered it up, I found no video. Nothing.

Apparently, the little red lights was on, but no one woke the hamster to power the device. So that means there will be no video for week three of the series. It also means, I really need to get ahold of a reliable HD camera to record the weekend messages at Harvest Church.

So here is what I am going to do. This weeks message was a bit long as we had a lot to cover.  However,  it can easily be broken down into four parts which I will share here on the blog in a manuscript format. I will also post the study sheet and a link to the book I referenced. What I can include is the parts of the book I quoted. (You need permission to do that.) And if I can find the time this week, I might go ahead and try to record a few short videos talking about each of the four parts, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

I'm pretty bummed that we didn't get it recorded, but I guess after a weekend of pretty awesome ministry, satins got to try to do something to discourage and hinder the process.

So be sure to keep an eye on the blog this week. I will be getting everything ready tonight.

- jay