If you have been near me more than 4 seconds in the last month, you have probably heard. If you see me on Facebook or Twitter, you have probably heard.
October 2, 2011, at 10:00 AM, Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North is launching at Marshall Middle School.
I knew a month ago that it would take a miracle to get this church going. Fortunately, the Founder and CEO of the church is in the miracle business. Jesus said "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), and He told us to "go make disciples" (Matthew 28:19). No doubt He is doing His job. We must, in His strength, be faithful to do ours. I was holding back tears at our run-thru on Sunday, just looking around and thinking, "Look at what God did"!
So this is your personal invitation to come. I would love to meet you and work together in making disciples!
If you are already faithfully serving in a church, I would like you to pray for us and come and visit us occasionally. Come on launch day and bless us as we go forth.
But if you feel God is calling you to be a part of an exciting new ministry, if you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to be a part of starting this church, come and join up with us. This Sunday's message is about the mission of Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North. Maybe you've been on the sidelines for too long and don't know how to get back in the game. This is your chance.
Our theme this year: Jesus is first!
p.s. - counting down...
God's Math: 0+0=1 (?)
1 Corinthians 3:3-11 - For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
It’s a sad testimony to the church when you hear people say things like, “All they ever do is bicker and fight at that church!" Too many churches have gone off-mission because all their energy is spent fighting their own members! There is nothing new under the sun. It has always been Satan’s way. If he can’t destroy a church from outside opposition, he will try to destroy it from within, a sort of Holy Civil War.
The Corinthian church had such a problem. People put themselves in two camps. While some wore their “Vote for Paul” t-shirts, others had on their “I Heart Apollos” buttons. It was like children picking sides for kickball!
But Paul wrote to them to tell them this was foolishness. And here we see an interesting display of God’s math. God says 0+0=1. Did you catch that? So neither he who plants (Paul) nor he who waters (Apollos) is anything. So planter Paul = zero, and waterer Apollos = zero. But then he says he who plants and he who waters are one… So planter (0) plus waterer (0) equals one!
This is God’s math. We tend to think we are something special, “this church would collapse without me.“ But the truth is, you and I are just links in God’s chain. A link by itself is nothing, but all together, they form one chain. Paul did his part and Apollos did his part. Individually, they are nothing. The same is true for you and I in the church. You do your part, and I’ll do mine. But unless God is in it, nothing is really happening! That’s why Paul said only God gives the growth.
I am so excited for the launch of this church on October 2. We have an amazing team of people all eagerly doing their part. Individually, we are all zeros. But linking together, with the Holy Spirit reigning through us, God is going to do big things.
Want to link up with us?
p.s. - is a zero, but slightly offended at being called “a big fat zero"
The Greatest One Word Sermon I Ever Heard
Maybe it is the only one word sermon I ever heard. I’m not sure. But it was the best. It was convicting, encouraging, challenging, and crystal clear all at the same time. The speaker delivered it from his heart. It stirred my emotions while bringing me to a point of deep mediation and self-examination. It stuck with me. I have thought about it a lot since it was preached. I even memorized it!
And here was the sermon, preached so eloquently by Sam Yacoub, our Worship Leader:
“Sweet!”
It was especially impacting because of when it was preached. Let me back up a step.
Church planting has been a battle. The enemy has come after us in every imaginable way. Name it, Satan has done it. He knows what we are about, and what we are about to do. He knows we are passionate about Jesus Christ and His Gospel, so the devil has been trying to derail this train before it gets out of the depot.
We have struggled financially. We have struggled with people leaving our group. We have struggled. And if you have ever struggled with anything (like, who hasn‘t? right?), you know it can become easy to put your eyes on the mountain before you and take your eyes off of the God who can move mountains.
And as we get closer to launch, it is also oh-so-easy to focus on what we need. We need this equipment, this leader, this much money. We need, we have to have, make sure we keep asking God for… It’s glaring us in the face, as the launch date of the church is bearing down on us. It’s pressure. And this is the first church I have ever planted, so it’s not like I have personal experience to draw on.
Anyways, at our Leader Team meeting a few weeks ago, we were discussing what was needed to get us to launch. After some discussion, I asked our Financial Assistant Michele what was in our account. She told the group. And Sam, still a relative newcomer to the group, blurted out a response. He said, “Sweet!”
Yeah, it is sweet! God forgive me for lamenting what we don’t have instead of celebrating what you have provided. How short sighted I can be!
I needed a brother who I knew would be committed no matter what happened, and God provided Dale.
We needed someone to handle the finances when we first got started, and what was the first thing God provided when we first got started? Take a guess. (You‘re right! It was Michele.)
We needed someone to handle facility and equipment issues, and God gave us Dave.
We needed people to head up Children’s Ministry, and God provided the best people in the Bloomingdales.
We needed someone who understands how Harvest works, and God provided Colleen.
We needed someone to work with our youth, and God provided a leader in Bob AND a whole youth group!
We needed a passionate worship leader, and God gave us TWO, in Sam and Laura Yacoub.
We needed contagious enthusiasm and joy, and God sent Dan and Alicia.
We needed someone to head up hospitality, and God brought Amanda and Ken to us.
We needed someone who can help design promotional things, and God loaned us Ryan and gave us Bob (a different Bob).
I needed a brother to come alongside and push me, and God brought me Neil Henretty.
I needed a wife who is supportive, confident and organized. God provided Erin quite a while ago, as if He knew what I needed!
There are so many others God has brought along at some point in this journey who have been such a blessing: Brookie, the Svestkas, the Waters, Iron Man, the Dunlaps, Cranmers, Ovenshines, Persics, Steigerwalds… I didn’t even want to start a list because I didn’t want to leave anyone out. If I did, I sincerely apologize. I love you and would not forget you intentionally. Just a lot on my mind lately. Trying to plant a church, you know? Leave a comment below if I forgot you and I will publicly apologize. :)
I think this is why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6: do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Cry out to God for what you need. But do it with thanksgiving, a grateful heart acknowledging what He has already done.
Sweet!
p.s. - blessed with the greatest people anywhere ever, but none of them think I am going to start doing one word sermon
The Don’ts and Dos of Prayer
One last word on prayer (for now). Many books have been written about prayer and countless sermons are preached on prayer, rightfully so, because prayer is a such a huge blessing for the Christian. So this little blog isn't going to be exhaustive. In just a few short verses in Matthew 6, Jesus taught so much about prayer. Let's take a look at what Jesus said are the DON’Ts and DOs of prayer.
- You DON’T Pray for Show (6:5-6)
People have asked me if they should pray for their car. I have been asked if it is OK to pray for your dog. As far as I can see, there is really one thing you don’t pray for. You don’t pray for show. There is a time and place for public, congregational prayer, but your prayer is never to be for a pat on the back from others. That’s why Jesus said the getting real with God means getting alone in prayer.
- You DON’T Pray to a Nothing (6:7-8)
When we pray, we don’t have to talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk to get God’s attention, as if He is aloof and only responds when we get on His nerves. Jesus said, “Empty phrases piled high, that’s what the Pagans do.” Even in our culture the idea is propagated that if we repeat a specific pre-fabricated prayer or two, a certain number of times, that makes God happy. Incorrect. God already knows what you need before you pray, so the recital doesn’t help. You aren’t throwing up words to a nothing, you are talking to the sovereign, living God! Then why pray? Prayer does not make God understand, it is so we can have the experience of Him understanding, knowing ourselves that He knows.
- You DO Pray as a Worshiper (6:9-10)
Jesus said to pray like this. Obviously not just repeating the phrases, He already covered that idea. But the “Lord’s Prayer” (or the “Disciple‘s Prayer“) gives us the ingredients that go in the recipe of prayer. The first few (what we find in verses 9 and 10) go under the heading of worship. We pray to the Father, through the Son, and with the Holy Spirit, and all with a heart of worship for Who God is, What He has done, and What He will do.
- You DO Pray as a Dependent (6:11-15)
God doesn’t file taxes, but if He did, how many dependents would He put down? The answer is: everybody in the history of the world. Whether they acknowledge Him or not, whether they bow the knee to Him or not, every single person is utterly dependent on God. The believer is the only one who truly gets this, and Jesus shows us that we are to pray for provision, forgiveness, direction, and protection. We desperately need God in these four areas, and Jesus said to get after these in prayer.
I recently finished a book on prayer. It was full of truths on prayer, based on the Word of God, but it didn’t really teach me anything new about prayer. And all those other books I have read, the sermons I have heard, the podcasts I have listened to - though they were all good - none have really taught me a lot about how to pray. The best way to learn how to pray is by praying.
Let’s get back to this glorious truth: God moves in the lives of His people when they pray.
p.s. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17