In this modern day and age of everything being on the internet, I’m not sure how many people actually read the Des Moines Register anymore.   But being the old fashioned type that I am, I still do!  (I get made fun of for using a phone book!!   I’m told “no one uses a phone book these days – they look numbers up on the web” !!)   Anyway, back to the Register…..every Friday, there is a feature by Sophia Ahmad called “5 Things You Can’t Miss This Weekend”.  She highlights the 5 best things going in and around Des Moines for the current weekend – festivals, shows, tours, events, etc.    It’s a quick way to see at a glance the times, prices and details of events that you may want to take part in that weekend.

Well, here at LCC, we have something called “The Top 5”!   You may have noticed that we are starting to use it in our announcements from the stage on Sunday mornings and in the bulletins.   The section in the bulletin is called  “This Week’s Top 5” – a place where, at a glance, you can take note of the top 5 things going on at LCC.    Of course, we will continue to have other announcements listed in the bulletin as always.

In the near future, we hope to also have our website coordinate with a special front page section highlighting the “Top 5” too!  There will then (hopefully!) be a link to another page where you will be able to find all of the regular detailed announcements and ministry info.    By using the Top 5, we hope to streamline all of the information we need to convey to everyone here at LCC and others who may be visiting our website.

I’ve always enjoyed Ms. Ahmad’s column in the Friday Register….but every week I can’t help but think she’s missing one.   She should also include worshipping on Sunday!   To me, that’s the most important part of the weekend that I “can’t miss”!

-Jeana Smith

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."   At once they left their nets and followed him.
-Matthew 4:19-20 NIV 

One of the most frustrating hurdles to deal with when raising children is when the child appears to be “chronologically challenged”.  In other words when our wishes or instructions, as the blessed provider and mentor of our little carbon copies, becomes lost or confused in translation, detached from its relationship to time and space. It’s when the stated or implied time factor that accompanies our request retranslates from “NOW” to “when I get around to fitting it into my already set agenda”.

As adults, we would like to think we have moved beyond this childish inability to synchronize our lives with the lives of those around us, but unfortunately, in many instances, such is not the case. We simply become more polished and extenuate in our rational of why a sense of urgency may be unrealistic for us or at the very least, misappropriated at this time. Another way of saying this is we have better perfected our excuse-o-meters for not taking action.

We find this same practice, in higher frequency sadly, in the ministry of God’s kingdom as well. We act as though the instruction we receive from the word of God regarding our role in the building of this kingdom has with it an open and flexible timeframe, a ministerial cafeteria option as it were regarding the fulfillment of the great commission.

When Jesus called his first disciples out of the world, there was no hesitation, no debate, they didn’t first check to see if their TiVo’s were set or what the athletic department had planned. They recognized the Son of God’s authority even though they may not have understood it…and obeyed. We, as disciples called out of the world also are obligated and expected to react, to move when the Spirit and the word of God says MOVE. To smash the excuse-o-meters and engage in Kingdom construction when called, not when it fits.

Pastor Craig

Thoughts from my Souled Out Group:

Sunday night we talked about sin.  Yeah… not the best topic in the world.  But the good part about talking about sin is that we get to talk about grace.  God saved us from sin.  We deserved Hell, He stepped in, and if we accept that free gift we are saved.  Simple.   Wonderful.  Incredible.

During our discussion a question came up that has had me thinking for a few days, so I thought I would share my thoughts with my small group and my other readers (if I have any left, my blog has been neglected and left to starve to death.  Sorry!)  Here is the question: Do we really believe that all sins equally deserve Hell?

My Fundamental theological gut grunts “Yes!”  My (overly) sensitive heart says “Can’t be.”

I try to operate on the principle that my heart, which is a liar (see Jeremiah 17), is not my spiritual authority.  Instead I try to live and believe according to what the Bible says, it is the boss, whether I like what it says or not.  So what does Scripture say about sin and its punishment?

Any Pastor worth his salt would immediately refer to Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This verse boils down to a simple truth: sin = death.  “Death” is referring to the second death, namely, Hell.  So sin = Hell.  Clear?  I thought so, but…

What is meant by “sin” here?  Paul, the guy that wrote the letter, is in the middle of an argument about the ‘sinful nature’ of man.  He’s talking about the fact that men are born sinners, selfishly seeking their own gain instead of the ultimate purpose of creation: to glorify God.  So when he says that the punishment for sin is death he is NOT talking about stealing a cookie from the cookie jar or annihilating a race of people… He’s not saying that Little Suzie’s sin is just as bad as Mr. Hitler’s.  He’s saying that our sinful nature is a disease inside all of us, and it is terminal, and that Jesus is the one and only cure.

That being said, Little Suzie and Mr. Hitler have the same problemo… they have the same ‘sinful nature disease’.   And the end result of that disease is not pretty and not different: they will both go to Hell if they do not find the ‘Jesus cure’.  They are not going to Hell for cookie stealing and/or mass murder, however.  They are going to Hell because of a sinful nature; the individual sins are ‘symptoms’ of the disease.  So when Little Suzie steals the last cookie, her willful offense is not the deed worthy of Hell, it is not the disease, it is a symptom of the disease.  And, equally, Mr. Hitler’s disgusting plot is also a symptom, though a worse one, of the same disease.  Therefore the individual commissions of sins are not equal, but the inner nature that rebels against God is.  In other words, the symptoms are not the same, but the disease is identical.

Why does this matter?

1. It makes me sleep better at night knowing that my heart isn’t as far off the mark about justice as I thought it was.  I think Suzie deserves a time-out and Mr. Hitler deserves a prison cell on death row, shared with a large man named Chris who goes by Chrissy.  The Old Testament shows that God doesn’t treat all commissions of sin the same, either.

2. It makes me sleep worse at night, knowing that even though individual sins are not considered by God to be equal, individual sinners are only placed in two categories: Saved and Not Saved.  Those who are Saved did and do deserve Hell, but they will live by the sacrifice of Jesus.  Those of the Not Saved group will be permitted to carry their sinful lifestyle straight to the eternal death… Little Suzie and Mr. Hitler both, lest either one of them accepts the cure.  The majority of people think that if they are good enough, they will get into Heaven, but controlling the symptoms does not eradicate the disease itself… they are wrong, hence my deprivation of sleep.

3. When Christians like me realize that they truly deserve Hell, it changes their life.

-Mike

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus and his disciples were a Community Group? It’s true! Let’s look at the growth and chronology of the small order that would someday become the church.

Jesus entered the ministry phase of his life and formed a small core group with Peter, Andrew, James and John. As the group grows, they become closer and more intimate. Soon there are some ladies who join the band as well, Mary, Susanna and Joanna and others. Jesus would bring the group together for a time of teaching and study prior to sending them out to teach others. They would come together for service projects like feeding the hungry or giving medical aid to the sick. They would break bread together and pray with one another, holding each other accountable when they stepped off the mark. Jesus would proclaim them as friends and even though the friends might disagree from time to time, they would come back together under a common bond of faith. Their group consisted of a diverse montage of personalities that would help make up the dynamic of the group as a whole. They had a banker, a skeptic, one with a temper and another with compassion. They had a risk taker a scoundrel and a couple of providers and others. When their leader stepped down (or I should say up) another took his place. And as they grew, more and more groups would form, and meet, and teach, and serve, and spread. Until we have what’s called the CHURCH. All joined under a common vision, with a common faith in one spirit as one body for the purpose of glorifying one God. Kind of cool, huh?

If you would like to be a part of a Community Group here and Lighthouse, just give me a buzz and we’ll get you plugged in.

-Pastor Craig

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…”                                                                                                                                     Philippians 2:3-5

Paul’s admonishment is to encourage his Christian family to watch out for their fellow human beings. We seem to be metamorphicly accelerating into becoming very fragile creatures. We want the life we live to come faster, cleaner, in abundance, without interference from others; and we forget what happens when we’re moving at 100 mph and someone sticks a wall in front of us. The cry of whining response to the restriction of our self-indulgence is so cacophonous that it drowns out the legitimate report of those around us who may really be in need of help. I recall a story of a woman by the name of Catherine Genovese, of New York. Twenty eight year old Kitty, as she was known, was coming home from work in the early morning of March 14, 1964, when she was attacked only 100 feet from her apartment and repeatedly stabbed for more than an hour. During the attack 38 people were witness to it from their apartment windows and doorways. The assailant was scared away twice during the assault, only to return and continue his brutal violation…and no one called the police, no one came out, no one helped. When asked later by police why all spectators were reluctant to lend aid, their replies were varied in detail, but common in theme: self preservation. Though I understand the caution that should be employed when facing dangerous situations, I can’t reconcile the fact of no one notifying authorities. Police say that it’s very likely “Kitty” would still be alive had someone called when the attack first started, but one man claimed that when he realized what was happening, that because he was tired, he went back to bed.

Jesus calls us to a higher standard of altruism towards our fellow man. It baffles me that in an age when virtually nothing can go undetected by someone, that a crime of this magnitude and duration can occur without any involvement by those in witness, and not realize that something is drastically wrong with us. I don’t think this is the “attitude” Paul is referring to in his letter, which by the way, he’s writing while imprisoned, to encourage his brothers who are also suffering persecution.

-Pastor Craig

One of my most favorite passages in all of Scripture is found in Psalm 37, in the 4^th verse. It says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord that he will give us the desires of our heart. Some people think this is a lie, because they misinterpret the promise to mean that if we devote ourselves to God that he’s going to give us what we want and because they haven’t received their wants yet, then it must not be true. But for those of you who may be disappointed in God for not fulfilling his promises, I do have something for you to chew on; that is, try looking at the passage from the focus of where your delights lie, as opposed to what your wants are. Jesus said that where your treasure is, that this is where your heart is going to be found as well (Luke 12:34). If God is not providing the desires of your heart, maybe it’s because your desires are found in your wants instead of the Lord, who pours out his love into our hearts by his Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). For those whose craving is for the love of God, that want will always be met and satisfied. 

-Craig

Hey LCC,

A new quarter of "Souled-Out" begins February 14th. Class information and registration sheets are located in the church foyer, and we'll begin selling books on January 31st. We have some really great courses to offer and I know there'll be something for everyone. If you have any questions, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or check out the table in the foyer.

-Pastor Craig

You know, we as Christians spend a lot of time talking about compassion and kindness, as we should, but seem to fall short when placing Ephesians 4:32 into practice. The word “kindness” in this passage actually means “to be useful” and this is what our Lighthouse Community Groups are venturing towards this winter. Mission minded is the mantra for our groups this quarter and they are off to a great start. Several of the groups are digging deep and providing an entire Christmas for some of our struggling families, others are providing a Thanksgiving dinner, while still some are working at several charities for our underprivileged neighbors. They’re not just thinking about it, they’re doing it. James impels us to take our faith into the streets and be “useful” and this is what our LCC adult ministries are doing this holiday season.