Category Archives: Salvation

Songs for Sunday, June 16, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

I have found myself thinking a lot about marriage over the past few weeks: the last Refresh & Restore Bible study was on Colossians 3:18-19 and what it is like for a marriage to be adorned in Christ, and Candice and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage next week.

All of this thinking about marriage has had me thinking a lot about the gospel. Paul, in Ephesians 5:32, says that marriage (which He refers to here as a “mystery” or symbol) “refers to Christ and the church”. Marriage, the love of a husband for His wife/a wife to her husband, is meant to be a picture of the gospel.

Why?

Well, the gospel is a picture of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The gospel is a picture of the King of kings leaving His throne, coming to earth in pursuit of His bride — to redeem her from her sin and death, bringing her home with Him.

This can be seen in the Bible through the marriage of a prophet named Hosea and his wife, Gomer. Now, the gospel gives us imagery for the Love Story of all love stories, but it is not necessarily nice and neat nor is it always fitting for the Hallmark channel. There’s death and blood and gore and sacrifice. There’s sadness and heartbreak. There’s…well, let’s look at Hosea and Gomer’s love story, or at least the PG-est version I can give you.

God told Hosea that his marriage would be a picture of the way that Israel had committed adultery against Him. So, Hosea was told to go and take a wife like Israel — a wife who would no doubt forsake Hosea and commit adultery against Him like Israel had forsaken the Lord (Hosea 1:2). And that’s exactly what Hosea did, and that’s the beginning of his story with Gomer (Hosea 1:3). They had a rough go at it, but God had a plan in the midst of what looks like a terrible calling.

Hosea and Gomer had a baby. God told him to name the child Jezreel so that when people heard the name of the child Hosea could tell them that the Lord was going to punish Israel for the bloodshed by the hands of Jehu (2 Kings 10:11 will give you the context). Imagine someone coming up to you and asking the name of your child. What would normally be a happy or at least a generically positive conversation would be: meet my son Jezreel; we named him that because God is angry over our nation’s sin and is about to lay down judgment for it.

Hosea and Gomer had two more children, although the language in Hosea 1:6 and 1:8 differ from the birth announcement of Jezreel (Hosea 1:3), meaning that Gomer was doing exactly what was prophesied of her — she had conceived their other two children outside of their marriage. These two kiddos had interesting names, too, as well as messages for Israel (Hosea 1:6-9). The first was a daughter named Lo-ruhama (No Mercy). The second was a son named Lo-ammi (Not My People). When people learned those names, they were to be told that, because Israel had forsaken the Lord — in the same manner in which Gomer had forsaken Hosea — that they were no longer to receive God’s mercy, no longer to be called God’s people, and that God would no longer be their God.

This is a truly terrifying message.

Mercy is God withholding the punishment deserved in favor of grace. Now, it was time for judgment. At face value, it appears that hope was lost for Israel because they had forsaken their hope — their Husband (Hosea 2:16) — all because their own desires were greater than their love for Him. This coincided with the fact that Gomer had left Hosea and had been sold into another man’s harem (Hosea 3:1-2). Hosea and Gomer’s marriage was to be a picture of God’s relationship with Israel, so if things are taken on the face of the terrible news, Hosea should just unmercifully cast Gomer aside and gave her a good riddance and so on. That’s what we would do today. Moses even allowed for such an instance (Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Matthew 19:7-9).

But GOD….

Look at the language of Hosea 2:14-15:

14“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15And there I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

God would pursue His people and woo (“allure”, “speak tenderly”) them back to Him. There would be times of trouble (“wilderness”) and it would take time, but His people would repent and turn back to Him. He would no longer call them Lo-ruhama (No Mercy) or Lo-ammi (Not My People) because He would once again show them mercy and gather them to Himself as His people.

What about Hosea? God told him to go and get his wife, even though she was “loved by another man” (Hosea 3:1). Hosea went to that man and BOUGHT (literally, redeemed) his wife for “fifteen shekels of silver” and some barley (Hosea 3:2). In the same way, God has sought us out in the midst of our unfaithfulness to Him (James 4:4) and “demonstrates His love in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Hosea paid a little money and grain, but Jesus paid for His Bride “not with perishable things such as silver or gold”, but with His “precious blood”, “like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). He loves us despite our sin and death and offers us love and life in Him alone. Knowing full well the depth of our sin, Jesus came to earth and, again, BOUGHT (literally, redeemed) us from slavery to sin and makes us His own forevermore.

What a love!

What a Love Story! And it is not over yet.

Revelation 21 gives us a window into heaven when Jesus’s Bride, the Church, will finally come home to Him. Look at the language here and how it fits with Hosea’s story. From the throne of God we hear these words:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes….” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Oh, what a day that will be when we stand before our King and with nail-scarred hand He reaches up to wipe away the last tear His bride will ever cry. The pinnacle of His mercy will be reached when His Bride comes home and dwells with Him in His house forever!

Now, I know that this is pretty heavy for a “Songs for Sunday”, but oh, how beautiful it is! It would be so easy to look at this and say, woe is Hosea, but we have all been Gomer. Yet the King of kings left His throne, “took on flesh, and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus, “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men”, was “found in human form”, and “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

And that is what we are singing about this Sunday.

We are singing and praising God because He has made us clean before Him by His precious blood. He paid our sin debt and offers His righteousness in exchange. And just like one of the songs says, “I’m undone at the mercy of Jesus! I’m undone by the goodness of the Lord!”

It doesn’t matter whether you deem yourself far off from God or close to Him, it is good for us to get to gather and make much of Him — to sing His praises and know that He is in the business of saving and His love casts out all fear and can cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is good for us to get to gather and point each other to Him. It is all we have to offer at Christ Community because for many of us, we remember what it is like to be loved like Gomer.

What about you?

If you are in or around Grenada, MS this Sunday, we would love to invite you to gather with us. It’s Father’s Day — bring dad, too.

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

  • Song | Washed Clean —
    Scripture Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:17-18, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 8:2, John 8:34-36, Psalm 51:2, Psalm 51:7, Jeremiah 33:8, 1 John 1:9, Titus 3:4-5, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 3:34, Ephesians 2:1-2, Acts 26:18-19

3He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.

  • Song | Man of Sorrows —
    Scripture Inspiration: cf. Isaiah 53 and John 1:11, 29; also Galatians 3:13, 21; 1 Peter 2:24; Mark 14:16-62; Matthew 26:39-44, 26:67-68, 27:26-30; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10; Psalm 145:3; Revelation 4:11; Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew 20:28; Titus 2:13-14; Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 6:23; John 8:36; John 20:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
  • Song | Jesus Paid It All (O Praise the One) —
    Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 11:28-30, John 19:30, Colossians 2:13-14, 2 Corinthians 4:15, Hebrews 12:28-29, Isaiah 1:18, Jeremiah 13:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 11:19, Revelation 4:10-11, Romans 6:4, Revelation 5:9-10

8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  • Song | I Got Saved —
    Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 46:1-4, Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Psalm 36:9, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 26:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 103:12, Psalm 51:9, Psalm 32:5, Psalm 107:10-16, Nahum 1:13, Isaiah 6:5, James 2:13, Zechariah 7:9, Hebrews 9:5, 1 Peter 2:10, Psalm 25:7, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 85:4, Acts 3:21, Galatians 2:16-17, Romans 5:8-9, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Hebrews 6:5, Colossians 2:13-15, Psalm 25:11, Numbers 4:19, Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:10-13
  • Invitation | What He’s Done —
    Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 7:33, Mark 15:22, Luke 23:33, John 19:7, Matthew 26:26, Colossians 1:19-20, 1 Peter 1:19, John 8:36, Isaiah 53, Psalm 147:3, John 3:16, John 15:13, Romans 8:5-8, 1 John 1:9-2:2, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, Hebrews 2:14, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 15:50-57, Revelation 4:1-11, 1 John 5:4, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 5:12, Philippians 4:8
  • Offertory | Good, Good Father —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 5:25, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 25:23, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 119:68, Nahum 1:7, Psalm 68:5, Psalm 36:5-7, John 3:16, John 15:13, Romans 5:6-8, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:6-8, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 139:4, Matthew 5:48, Romans 11:33, Ephesians 3:8, 1 John 4:7-11

Songs for Sunday, June 9, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday is coming!

I can remember times in my life when what I thought and felt about Sundays varied. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share a bit of my testimony.

As a kid, I can remember being excited about church coming up and a lazy afternoon afterward. I loved Sunday School where we would get equal amounts of Bible story time and puzzles, coloring, crafts, or playdough. The singing was a big hit for me — go figure. I remember getting excited when the preacher got excited. I remember the excitement of being home in the afternoon with no work to do or chores to accomplish — just time together playing or relaxing, just togetherness. And once I got saved, all of that just multiplied more and more because I had a gratitude and awe to Jesus that wasn’t there before.

As a teenager and young adult things shifted a bit as I started to serve and lead more, especially after being called into ministry. There were times when the joy I felt conflicted with my work ethic and desire to accomplish something or check off boxes. Sunday hit different with a job description, and when ministry became my bread-winning vocation, it shifted to something sad. In my foolishness and latent adolescent zealousness, my weeks culminated in Sundays meaning all of the work Monday-Saturday produced the worship gathering on Sunday morning and night. I found myself mired in a spiral of fearful work rather than worship in the fear of God. I feared committees and potential of lost pay rather and lost the joy of gathering with my faith family I had when I was a kid.

Then…I quit.

I found myself burned out and empty. I had long since put my hope in my work ethic and abilities and lost sight of what I was doing — WHO I was serving. Thankfully, I had a teaching license and our house had not sold when we had moved away, so I tucked tail, moved back home, and tried to start anew.

That first Sunday back was one of the most terrifying and convicting of my life. I had never been a visitor to a church other than coming in view of a call or visiting preacher. Now, I found myself in a new church where nearly everyone there knew I had been a pastor and had questions as to why I was coming to sit a pew and fade into the background. Through the whispers and the questions, I wanted to sink through the floor and disappear. I had hoped that some of the feelings from my childhood would return — that being able to be more of a part of the congregation would awaken something in me, but that is not how things work. The idolatry of work over worship took years to accomplish and would not be undone by an awkward day in a pew.

Eventually, something happened in me. The desire for God that I felt in the beginning began to return. I can’t tell you how many mornings I spent in the Word (at least a year and a half) hoping for some spark or feeling to return. I can’t tell you the number of prayers prayed where I found myself hoping He would listen to a shameful quitter, or worse one who had made a vocation of serving Him all about what I could do or accomplish. Just like it was in my marriage, laziness in a relationship would not be undone by a few sincere acts or gestures. BUT GOD.

In the seeking and searching, He was there. He had never moved. It was me who had moved. I think David described it better than I can in Psalm 40:1-3:

1I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

I was mired down in the swamp of my sinful idolatry and foolishness and could not get out under my own strength. My legs had pumped and climbed and were spent in exhaustion. The solidity of the shore was too far away, BUT GOD reached out, plucked me from the clay, and moved me all the way to the solid foundation of the ROCK, Jesus. Just like one would a toddler who had fallen, He held me and made sure I had my feet under me and on Him. The voice I could barely lift to Him in prayer began to croak out a new song, voice crackling out of unuse but the melody, the “song of praise”, began in my heart and eventually made it out of my lips.

Sunday regained its significance. It is the day we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection. He died for our sins, yes, but more than that, He rose! He is in the business of making dead things live. He is in the business of protecting His children, His sheep, from danger, even if that danger is their own stupidity and wandering. Those He has made alive will never die.

I look forward to Sunday because when “I waited patiently for the LORD”, He answered me and “heard my cry”.

I look forward to Sunday because when I was through with His work, He was not through with me.

I look forward to Sunday because it is not about my feelings but about His faithfulness (even though God has given me more joy now than in worshiping Him and serving Him than ever before).

I look forward to Sunday not because of vocation or religious devotion. I look forward to Sunday because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and the magnificent truth that He walked out of the grave I deserve.

What about you?

Is Sunday a religious experience for you? Does it tick some kind of box on your righteous-living or to-do list? Has it been a while since you have gathered? Are you afraid that He knows your heart and might somehow abandon you?

HE hasn’t moved.

This Sunday at Christ Community, we will point you to the One who hears your cry and can pluck you out of whatever is miring you — whether it be the grave or the swampy ground of your sin. The songs will point to the finished work of Jesus on the cross and the vacancy in His borrowed tomb all the way to when His people will dwell with Him in heaven. The preaching will point you to Jesus by His Spirit and through His Word.

Maybe today is a good day to quit the exhausting clamber out of of the mire and reach your hands out to the One who has already reached out for you.

Peter, one whose testimony includes betraying and abandoning Jesus, said it well: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). His mighty hand is reached out to you. Grab hold of Him because He cares for you.

Sunday is coming.

I look forward to gathering with my brothers and sisters — all of which have a testimony of hopelessness and helplessness BUT GOD.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

22“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Songs for Sunday, June 2, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am excited to gather with my faith family in worship of our resurrected King, Jesus Christ!

The last few weeks — the whole month of May, really — have been sort of a whirlwind for me. This is not to say they have been bad, just to say that it has been a lot, one thing right after another or multiple things all at once. One passage has come up time and again throughout the business: Ephesians 4:17-24, especially verse 20.

Here’s what that passage says:

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Like I said, verse 20 — “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” — has been on my mind; really, it has been convicting me. Years ago, that would be my go-to verse to lob at others whose holy living needed a good kick in the rear, but the more I seek to know Christ and to put Him on (Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:12-14), the more I find myself giving the kick to my own rear. This has increased more as I have been studying and writing the last few sections of the Refresh & Restore Bible study on Colossians. I cannot write about what God wants for His people to do or to live like without realizing first that it is what He has called me to do and live like.

There is a quote from the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Colossians that has stuck with me: “It is difficult to see how Christianity can have any positive affect on society if it cannot transform its own homes.” Essentially, if we profess that our dead hearts have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5, Colossians 2:13-14), then our lives are to be being transformed by Christ, too. If not, that is “not the way [we] learned Christ…assuming [we] have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20-21).

My hope for Christ Community Church tomorrow and for all time is set fully in Jesus — in His transforming and saving work and ability. I pray that the preached Word will penetrate hearts and illuminate truth by the power of His Holy Spirit. We don’t have programs or gifting that can convince people to no longer live in futility and ignorance and sin or to move them any closer to God than they are (Ephesians 4:17-18). No, only Jesus can do that. Jesus can take those who are walking in the “futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17) and renew the “spirit of their minds” (Ephesians 4:23). Jesus can put away our “old self” and give us a “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24). And it is Jesus we will point people to tomorrow.

We will sing to and about Jesus.

The subject of our preaching will be Jesus as revealed in His Word.

The substance of our hope is this Jesus whom His Spirit will testify in our hearts.

So, tomorrow, you are invited to hear about Jesus, to be taught in Him, “as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). We have no other move, no other hope. There is nothing that can compare or substitute.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

20Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy Name. 22Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You.

***NOTE: We are revising the lyrics of this song to better reflect the love of God — that which we read about all through Scripture, that which was “made manifest” as we read in the verses above. Many might be familiar with the Greek word agape that describes the unique love of God; the Hebrew word for that type of never-ending, never-failing, never-stopping, never-giving-up love is chesed. It is often translated “steadfast love” in the Old Testament. This is a word God uses to describe Him and His love over 500 times!

This is an opportunity for the theology of what we sing to more specifically reflect the Scriptures, and therefore more accurately reflect the love of God as He shares it with us in His Word. The word “reckless” in the original lyrics was meant to show that God lavishly pours out His love for us. He does! He has poured out His love on us and made it manifest through the gift of Jesus Christ for our sins. Let’s praise God for and sing about His steadfast love!

WALK — Friday, May 24, 2024

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 
“Awake, O sleeper, 
and arise from the dead, 
and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:3-14

Today’s passage is heavy, and it builds on the idea of our walk with Jesus being a part of our real, everyday lives. It also makes it a bit tougher because we see that He made us to stand out rather than blend in.

When I was a kid, we were poor, and the marker of a school kid living below the poverty line was their shoes. Walmart shoes came in two colors: brown hiking shoes or brilliant white tennis shoes. I ended up with the latter. Those brilliant white shoes gleamed and stood out to all who were waiting to make fun of the poor kid and show off their new Nikes or whatever. It was like my shoes were glowing and putting a spotlight on me. 

You may not want to be in the light, but if you are saved, you are called to walk as a child of light – to visibly be a part of the “fruit of light”, “all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:8-9). The world is dark. All the things that are cool or popular or, in the present day, considered to be normal in the eyes of the world are dark. But we are not to be a part of such. Just as Paul told the Ephesian church, the works of darkness are still “unfruitful” today. You see, dead plants do not bear fruit. If we have been made alive in Christ, He bears fruit in our lives. And that fruit makes us stand out.

Another analogy in today’s passage is the issue of inheritance. You can probably gather with the shoe story that an inheritance is not looming in my future. Those who walk in darkness and are still walking in the death due to their trespasses and sins will have “no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5). No, those who walk in darkness have no lot in the light. Darkness cannot exist in the light, and Jesus is the Light (John 8:12) and “in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This is just the way things are. If one flips on a lightswitch, darkness has no choice but to leave. A single flame from a small match is enough to beat back the darkness around it. 

If you are saved, you are called to walk in the light – to live a life that is “pleasing to the Lord” not the world (Ephesians 5:10). You will not be perfect, but you will not participate in the darkness. You will stand out. When God saves you, He lights you up! So, this light that you have been shining this week on mission is not something that is easily put out. I urge you to live your life in such a way – let the light of Christ shine in you in such a way – that when people want to know what’s wrong with you, the only answer is Jesus!

Application: 

  • Think about the story of the brilliant white shoes and the call to walk as children of light in Ephesians 5:8-9. Why do you think you (or we) are so afraid to stand out for Jesus?
  • Consider the challenge of living a life pleasing to the Lord rather than conforming to the world (Ephesians 5:10). How does this reflect the transformative work of Jesus in our lives, and how does it impact the way we live our lives?

WALK — Thursday, May 23, 2024

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

It would have to be extremely hard not to have what Jesus did for us on our minds as we are constantly bombarded with images of Jesus’s death here at the Great Passion Play. There is a particular memory from last year’s trip that has stuck with me. 

We were sitting at the top of the seats for the play, and all were facing the set. It was quiet, and we were tired (which you are likely more than a little bit of this morning). The sun was setting but the beams of light coming through the trees were magnificent. Everything seemed so serene and peaceful, but there right at our eye level at the top of the set was the cross. We were taking requests for which songs to sing, and the song that became our song last year was requested: “What He’s Done”. Those words hit differently that evening:

See, on the hill of Calvary
My Savior bled for me
My Jesus set me free
And look at the wounds that give me life
Grace flowing from His side
No greater sacrifice!

As John drew our attention to the empty tomb part of the set, I found myself overwhelmed with awe and gratitude. Now, I know that it was just a set and not the real deal, but Jesus really died for me. The wrath of God due for my sin was really poured on Jesus. Thankfully, Jesus really rose from the dead! 

That is a lot of really, which leads to the point I really am making. If Jesus’s death and resurrection are real and He saves people, bringing them from death to life, shouldn’t this affect our real, everyday lives?

To a certain extent, it is easy to live out our faith publicly in another state on a mission trip and surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ. What happens when we get back home? If Jesus really has “good works” prepared for us to “walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10) like we have been studying about this week, doesn’t He have plans for us at home, too?

Think about the chorus of “What He’s Done”:

What He’s done! What He’s done!
All the glory and the honor to the Son!
My sins are forgiven, my future in Heaven!
I praise God for what He’s done!

What better way is there to praise Him than by walking with Him and our lives being a testimony to what He’s done?

Application:

  • Pray and ask God to help you see His plan for you to be on mission when you get back home.
  • Pray for two other students and two adult leaders by name and specifically ask God to show them His plan for them to be on mission when they get back home, too.
  • Think of someone back home who does not know Jesus that you are going to see regularly. Ask God to save them and to prepare you to get to show Him to them.

Check out today’s Refresh & Restore Bible Study — “Adorned with Thanksgiving to Jesus in All of Life”!

"Before the Throne of God Above" from Revelation 4 (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 4:1–11In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison move beyond Jesus’s letters to the churches and into the next part of John’s vision. In Revelation 4, John is invited through an open door into heaven—and what he sees is the throne room of God.At the center of everything is a throne, and seated on it is the Lord in all His glory. From this point forward in Revelation, the throne becomes the focal point of the entire book.John describes the scene the best way he can: the brilliance of precious stones, a rainbow surrounding the throne, flashes of lightning and thunder, and a crystal-like sea before it. Surrounding the throne are twenty-four elders and four living creatures who never cease to worship the Lord.Together, Keith and Jamie discuss:✔️ Why Revelation 4 marks a shift from the letters to the churches to John’s heavenly vision✔️ What the throne room reveals about God’s authority and security over all things✔️ Why John uses comparisons (“like” and “as”) to describe the glory he sees✔️ The mystery of the twenty-four elders and what we can—and cannot—know✔️ The constant worship of the living creatures crying “Holy, holy, holy”✔️ Why heaven’s worship centers on God simply because He is worthyIn the throne room, everything points to one truth: God alone is worthy of worship.“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "Before the Throne of God Above" from Revelation 4 (The KING is Coming)
  2. " Lukewarm Yet Not Without Hope: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Laodicea" (The KING is Coming)
  3. "Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming)
  4. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love" (Advent 2025)
  5. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)

WALK — Wednesday, May 22, 2024

     17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Ephesians 4:17-24

Today is our “fun” day, but hopefully, meditating on this passage can lead to some good gospel conversations along the way. Note that meditating here is not the criss-cross-applesauce-hummmmm sort of meditation you see on TV. It is a Bible term that means to think on or occupy one’s attention with something. This passage is good for us to occupy our attention with and think about.

Ephesians 4:17-24 builds on our first passage, Ephesians 2:1-10. We know what it means to be made alive in Christ after being dead in our trespasses and sins, but it is important that we know what it means to live the life that Jesus gave us.

First, it means that we are different than the world – not just outside differences that can be seen or sometimes faked, really different from the inside out. We do not get to do whatever we want to do in ignorance anymore. We are no longer alienated (or separated from God) like we were before and given up practicing whatever kind of sin we enjoy and get away with it willy-nilly. If that is our life, we are dead. Paul makes it clear: “that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20-21).

That leads us to the second part. We must take off the old, dead self and put on “the new self” that Jesus is making us into being (Ephesians 4:24). We are not strong enough to just stop sinning and be like Jesus. We are strong enough to sin – enough to earn us death. Only Jesus is strong enough to give us strength for the “good works” He has prepared for us (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 2:10). When He makes us alive in Him, the old, dead life does not satisfy. Little by little, as the “spirit of [our] minds” get “renewed” (Ephesians 4:23), we become more like Jesus. More and more the “once walked” (Ephesians 2:2, 4:17) becomes less still struggling. 

How does this happen? Jesus works through His Word and His Spirit, like He is doing right now during this quiet time. That’s good news!

Application:

  • Meditate on what it means to be different from the world as in Ephesians 4:17-24. How does being made alive in Christ produce a change in us that goes beyond what can be seen to change us from the inside out?
  • Think about the illustration Paul gives about taking off the old self and putting on the new (see also Colossians 3:5-17). What does this mean, and how do we do it?
  • Reflect on the significance of having our mind renewed by the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? How does our mind being renewed contribute to our being transformed to be more like Jesus?

WALK — Tuesday, May 21, 2024

     1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3

Summer youth trips are always exhausting. You drive hours and hours away from home. Sleep less than you know you should after staying up late laughing, talking, and playing. You get tired and, let’s face it, a little bit grumpy. If we are not careful, we can let our grumpiness or our hangry-ness to affect things or those qualities in others to affect us. There’s a lesson in that.

We looked yesterday at the difference between death and life, namely walking in our sin and whatever our heart devises and walking according to what Jesus has for us. This part of Ephesians builds on that. Today, we see Paul – who is in prison because he participated in the “good works” God had “prepared beforehand” for him to do (Ephesians 2:10) – urge the folks in the church at Ephesus to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they had] been called” (Ephesians 4:1). We are going to look briefly at what that means and what that means for us.

To walk “worthy” of one’s calling in Christ is a simple idea. If one has been saved, Jesus has made them alive, like when Jesus stood at His friend Lazarus’s tomb and called him out of death by his name (John 11:43-44). We looked yesterday at how part of His saving us is Him having a plan for our lives and having work for us to do. The idea of walking – or living a life – worthy of that calling is for our walk to be impacted by what He has done for us. This does not mean perfection; it means pursuit. If a husband is living a life worthy of his wife or vice versa, it means that the relationship impacts the way that life is lived. For us, that means that Jesus saving us – making us alive and putting His Spirit within us – impacts the way we choose to live our life. This is something we must do actively, not something that just happens to us.

Application:

Paul is specific in what he urges the Ephesians to do, and that goes for us, too. To walk in a manner worthy of our calling – worthy of reflecting our relationship with Him, he gave us some qualities. Let us consider how we can live out these qualities today:

  • “humility” – Having a correct view of ourselves by putting others first (Philippians 2:3-4).
  • “gentleness” – Having self-control and kindness in how you treat others (Galatians 5:22-23).
  • “patience” – Having a long-fuse, meaning that you are not quick to anger (James 1:19-20).
  • “bearing with one another in love” – The love you have for a person means you treat them with love despite wrongs done to you (Colossians 3:13).
  • “eager to maintain unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace” – Jesus saves us and adopts us into His family, which is an unbreakable bond and worthy of seeking peace over strife. This peace is won by His love (Colossians 3:14, 1 John 4:19-20).

WALK — Monday, May 20, 2024

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10

To walk with Jesus, we must first be saved. The Bible makes it clear that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and that because of our sin we were (or still are if not saved) “dead in the trespasses and sins in which [we] once walked” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Look at that language: dead. And what killed us? Sin. Trespasses. Living lives of disobedience. Living in pursuit of our passions and desires. Living out whatever sin our minds and hearts dream up. You cannot just do whatever you want to do and live however you want to live and expect no consequences. Our sin puts us on death row. 

There is a phrase that originated from the practice of escorting death row prisoners to execution: dead man walking. That is the way of sin. But God! If we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, He makes us alive “in Him” (Ephesians 2:4-5)! We no longer have to march toward our death because of the sentence of sin; we are freed to walk in Christ and with Christ! There is definitely a difference between death row and being freed from prison.

As we looked at above, before Christ we are dead men and women walking in our sin and whatever ugliness our hearts and minds can come up with. Jesus saves us – makes us alive – to have something different. He has a plan for our lives. And His plan is marked by His life. He has “good works” that He has “prepared” for us to do and participate in. We are supposed to no longer walk toward death (how we “once walked”) doing whatever we want but instead walk in life toward what He wants. Think about it this way: the God who saved you had planned for you to be on this mission trip before you were ever born or born again! Let that sink in and walk with Him and what He wants today.

Application:

  • Think about the imagery of being a “dead man walking” in the context of our sin and disobedience. How does this affect the way you understand the consequences of your sin?
  • Consider the difference between being “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” and being “made alive” in Christ. How does this transformation impact the way we walk or live our lives?
  • Think about the significance of God having a plan for your life and having “good works…prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” How does this fit in with your thoughts about being on this mission trip?
  • Pray for at least four of our youth and two adults on the trip and ask that God make the “good works” He has planned for you and them clear today.

WALK: A Quiet Time Guide for the 2024 CCC Youth Mission Trip

This year, our CCC kiddos and chaperones are going to be partnering with the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, AR again to help with work they need done, act as extras in the play, and to share the gospel with people who are visiting the Jesus statue and other attractions during the day.

This is a good opportunity for our kiddos and chaperones, not just to serve the Lord but to grow closer to Him as well. Each morning — just as we would if we were at camp, we will be walking through a specific study in our individual quiet times. We want to share that with our faith family back home as well. This allows for good conversations when we get back, but primarily, it gives people an opportunity to specifically pray for our kiddos, knowing what they are studying and praying about while on mission.

This mission trip is going to be a wonderful time of fellowshipping with one another, serving the Lord, and growing together in our individual walk with Christ. Let that last part sink in: growing together in our individual walk with Christ. Just like one of us could not pull this mission trip off by ourselves – and especially not without the Holy Spirit, we need each other. That sort of togetherness is called the Church!

This week, we are going to all be on the same page – not just united in our work but literally on the same page of the Bible together as we are studying the same passage each day for our quiet time. This will be time spent alone between each individual and God, essentially making time for Him and hearing from Him in His Word every day. This will bring us closer to Him and closer to one another! Our passage for each day, Monday-Saturday, will come from the book of Ephesians and teach us something about what it means to walk with Jesus (Colossians 2:6-7). You see, walking with Jesus comes out of believing in Him. It is active and daily. It is a term that means our lives reflect a relationship with Him and that we act increasingly like Him and continually progress in what we know about Him – how we know Him. Walking with Jesus is living in our relationship with Him. No relationship thrives without time spent together. Lord willing, by the time spent with Jesus in His Word and with His people, our walk with Christ – our relationship with Him – will become stronger.

Here are links to each day’s reading and devotion:

Free Water for Those Who are Thirsty

We are glad to get to offer free water, but we want to share something much better that will last much longer. We offer the good news that Jesus saves!

This might produce a few questions. Why Jesus? Saves from what? These are good, valid questions.

What It Means to Be Saved

Imagine someone swimming who has gone out over their head and is drowning. They cry out for a lifeguard to help. Thankfully, the lifeguard hears them and is able to rush to their rescue, pulling them to safety on the shore. That person has been saved from drowning.

This could also apply to someone who has been stuck in a burning building and fallen unconscious from inhaling all the smoke. Firefighters are called to the building and discover them. The firefighter picks up this totally helpless individual, carries them out of the building, and gets them to the paramedics. The firefighter and paramedics have saved this person from certain death.

In the same way, God provided Jesus to save or rescue every sinner who puts their trust in Him. No matter what we have done or who we are, Jesus can save us. Through Jesus, we find salvation by and eternal life by putting our faith and trust in Him.

The Bible describes this in John 3:16 –

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Why We NEED to Be Saved

You might be thinking: well, it makes sense for someone drowning or trapped in a burning building to need to be saved, but what about me?

The Bible teaches us that all of us have sinned. Sin is an archery term that describes missing the bullseye. The bullseye is perfection and goodness. We might try to do right and good, but we fail at that. God is right and good, and our missing the mark or failing in this way separates us from Him.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the “wages of sin is death”. This means that our sin has earned us death and that there is nothing we can do to earn our way out of it. Thankfully, that is not the end of Romans 6:23; check out the full verse: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God has made a way for us! Just as John 3:16 tells us above, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. He died in our place and offers us life instead. That’s good news!

How You Can Be Saved

The only way for us to be saved is to turn from our sins (and the punishment we deserve because of them) to Jesus and put our faith and trust in Him. We turn from our sin because we realize that we are in trouble and deserve death because of them. We turn to Jesus because we realize that, just like the person who was drowning or trapped in the burning building, we cannot save ourselves. 

To put our faith and trust in Him means that we believe that Jesus fully paid the penalty for our sins and offers us forgiveness. The Bible teaches us that Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree (the cross)” (1 Peter 2:24). Here is how the Bible tells us we can be saved:

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

This is what it means when we say put our faith and trust in Jesus; we confess Him as Lord and give our lives over to Him, trusting that He knows best and acknowledge He is God, asking Him to take charge of our lives. We tell Him that we believe He is who the Bible says He is: the Savior who died for our sins and rose again. If we do this, not just saying some magic words but genuinely believing and seeking Him, the Bible tells us that we are saved!

We would love to pray with you and help you if you have any questions, and especially to help you find a church where you live. If you would like to contact us, use the form below:

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