Message

God’s Will/My Will: From Diminishing to Flourishing – Spirit – Am I filled with the Holy Spirit? Filled up!

1 Cor 2:6-16, Isaiah 61:1-3, Jeremiah 31:33-34

Current Message Series: Creation, Word, Jesus, Spirit, Community
Time is always moving on.  Another gift of spring just dawned on the calendar, spring breaks are beginning, soon the flower bulb and leaves will burst open to receive the sun.  Thank you Jesus, Lord of all creation!  Sunday, we look at the revelation of God in the Holy Spirit!  Like I said, time is moving on.  And just as flowers bloom and leaves unfurl, reaching with open arms to the sun, so ‘God longs for us to pay attention to the Spirit dwelling within us!’ (Curt Thompson)

The connections coming Sunday for us from God’s Word will open us up to the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s working in our everyday lives.  No surprise, just as Jesus is centrally active and present in Creation and in Scripture, so too, the Holy Spirit is integral in Creation, Scripture, and in the life of Jesus.  And no surprise, the Holy Spirit’s life and breath carries over to each of our lives everyday.  And as we will also find out Sunday, life in the Holy Spirit does good things in us and for us in healthy ‘well being’ and secures our most needed attachment.  And surprise, surprise – wanna improve the function of your prefrontal cortex, increase neural plasticity, develop new connections and networks of neurons in your brain?  Live your life in the fullness of the Spirit! 

More coming Sunday.  Key text will be from 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.  Also read Isaiah 61:1-3 and Jeremiah 31:32-33.  How does it look to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  And how can one be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Sunday’s a comin’ – see you in the sanctuary,
   Pastor Mark 

Message

God’s Will/My Will:From Diminishing to Flourishing – Christ – How is Jesus in the center? Cross and Resurrection

Romans 12:1-3 (The Message), Jn 3:16-17, Jn 15:5, Isaiah 53:5, Luke 24:34

Sunday is a central message of what’s central in life (and in death – Q&A#1 of the Heidelberg Catechism).  It’ a message at the center of our 5 week worldview series and at the center of Scripture.  A message at the center of all life, of history’s purpose and meaning – it’s that central.  Central to our flourishing, central to our happiness, central to living life well.  The what and the who of this central message are one and the same – JESUS! 

Whether you’ve never met Jesus, don’t know much about Him, or you’ve known Jesus for a long time, the questions of the centrality of Jesus in our life are the same.  Two questions quickly present themselves.  The first question is basic, yet of profound impact and influence, Do you know Jesus and is Jesus central in your life?  Everything else in life is peripheral and everything else finds its gravity and orbit circling around JESUS.  This central life in Jesus, the life we’ve been created for, the life we’re looking for, involves what Scripture reveals as ‘dying and rising in Jesus.’  So, the second question follows, Are you engaged in daily ‘dying and rising’ in Jesus Christ?  When we are, life finds its orbit, its meaning, its beauty, its purpose.  

Do you know Jesus and is Jesus central in your life?

So central, so basic, so authentically real, is life in Jesus Christ.  As basic as bread and water, as oxygen and blood, is the life we are offered and given in Jesus Christ.  “It is for freedom that you have been set free.  So stand firm (Jesus central) and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  (Gal 5:1)

The invitation has been given to us, “Come to me… come to the table… find the life you are looking for.”  In preparation for Sunday, read Psalm 63 and 107.  And as you read, hear the invitation to the life you’re truly looking for, the life you were created for, the life Jesus offers and gives.  Where are you in the knowing and receiving of God’s love that is ‘better than life?’  Of what crowd of people in Psalm 107 do you come from as described in Psalm 107?  Sunday we will celebrate communion together as God’s household, gather around Jesus (centrally), feast together following worship with a fellowship meal, and be sent out to tell others the Good News – in Jesus, the life we are looking for is found.  Bring your offerings of praise, of worship, of confession, of thanksgiving, of money, of food and drink.  

See you Sunday, it will be a God reorienting of life experience, 
   Pastor Mark   

Message

God’s Will/My Will: From Diminishing to Flourishing – Word – How is the Word welling and dwelling deeply? Abiding (Water and Rooted)

Mt 7:24-27, Ps 1/19, Jer 2:13, Ps 92:14

How does the Word of God (Bible) shape you?  How does it speak into your daily life?  What is its place, space and influence in your heart and life in following Jesus?  

Sunday we will look at what the Bible says about the Bible and wonder together what place it is to have, if any, in our lives. Come and see for yourself, the beauty of God’s revelation, as Psalm 19 proclaims, ‘sweeter than honey, more precious than gold.’  

Lord, we come, “Speak, O Lord, as we come to you, to receive the food of your holy Word, take your truth, plant it deep in us, shape and fashion us in your likeness.  That the light of Christ may be seen in us.  In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.  Speak O Lord, and fulfill in us, all your purposes for your glory.” (Vs 1 of Speak O Lord, by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend)

Here is a sampling of our texts for Sunday, strap in, we are heading to the moon and back!       

See you Sunday,
   Pastor Mark   

Message

God’s Will/My Will: From Diminishing to Flourishing – Creation/Worship – How does this look? Head, Hands, Heart

Psalm 139, Genesis 1-2, Col 3:17, Rom 12:1

Sunday we begin a new 5 week message series on foundational understandings of our being created for relationships.  Every year, I engage a 4-5 week series on Worldview.  More relevant than ever, a Biblical Worldview is necessary for believers to engage, as there are many other worldview presented to us on a daily basis.  Relationship is at the center of what it means to be a human being, created in God’s image.  We have been created by God for relationship in every aspect of our lives: with God, with one another, and with God’s created world.  To know this truth and to live in this reality, every moment of every day, is truly living life as we have been created for.    

This 5 week series, we will experience a different order of worship where we open with a brief gathering time, something simple to focus our attention on God, and then we will have the message, much earlier in the service than is usual.  This will give us ample time for reflection and response to the message where we will engage in conversation with God through prayer and song.  Whether you are getting bored or I’m getting bored, I think the rearranging of our worship experience could bring about some good outcomes for our worship time together – let’s get on board.  

If you are able this week (and I think you are), read Genesis 1 & 2, as well as Psalm 139 (the Psalm of the Week for the Read Through the Bible readings), and reflect on these two questions, “How well does God, the One who created me, know me?” and “What is the purpose for why God created me?”  

See you Sunday,
   Pastor Mark   

Message

God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – At the Crossroads – Go to the other side

Gal 5:1 w/ Jn 1:5, Mark 1:38, Luke 8:22

Ash Wednesday yesterday marked the beginning of the Lent season 2023.  Lent is a focused and intentional, waiting and seeking, of the incarnation of Christ in our daily dying and rising in Him.  That sounds like a sentence of too many big words for us to begin to understand.  So try this: during Lent into passion week, we experience the transcendence and immanence of God in Jesus, God with us.  Hmmm… another sentence with big words… 

Let me try and make it more understandable.  Too often, we see God as One so beyond and uninvolved in our lives that God stands behind a curtain or our expectations, outside the real influence of our lives.  This can be a disillusioning place to be and exist.  The more we push God to the margin, behind the curtain of our everyday life, the more outcomes, whatever outcomes of actions and words, depend on us alone.  Yikes.  That doesn’t seem like a good ‘life space’ from which to live.     

Lent is a time where we wait and seek God, looking and waiting for God to find us.  It’s a posture of receiving and listening, as the Spirit of God nurtures our life.  

Sunday, we welcome Donn Hansum from Volunteers in Action to share with us the work of VIA.  We will conclude our current series on Freedom in Christ from our Text of the Quarter, Galatians 5:1.  After the service a download will be offered to talk through the worship vision of Crestview Church. 

We will reflect Sunday on the theme of ‘At the Crossroads – crossing over to the other side” with a few texts of focus: John 1:5, Mark 1:38, Luke 8:22, and Matthew 28:18-21.  See you Sunday,

Pastor Mark 

Message
God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – Work, Language, Love
Gal 5:1,1 Tim 4:12, Col 3:1-17

We’ve been talking much about freedom the past few weeks.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  (Galatians 5:1) Here is what I am wondering about: What are the Gospel implications (freedom) for work, language, and love?    

Colossians 3:1-17 quickly came to mind for me in asking these questions.  And then I remembered something I read during summer sabbatical by Eugene Peterson about the Gospel implications for work, language, and love.

Much of it can be summed up in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, in word and deed, do it all for the glory of God.”  Love it.  “Whatever you do” covers it all… mentioning ‘word and deed’ covers work, language, and love once again… and ‘do it all’ makes it a triplet!  

So what are the implications of the Gospel in terms of work, language, and love?  And what does it have to do with freedom?  Come Sunday, we can reflect on it together.  

Sunday we: 
A – we worship God together and celebrate communion.
B – we celebrate community with a fellowship meal and celebrate David Boyd’s work among us with a big “Thank You!”  
C – we take our fun to the outdoors with a winter hike at Brainard Lake.

Looking forward,
   Pastor Mark

Message
God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – Self Forgetfulness
Gal 5:1, 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7

Are your emotions easily excitable? Are you often ‘hurt’ by criticism? Is your sleep affected by rehashing conversations past, or engage in frequent ongoing self-conversations with yourself? Are you offended when someone doesn’t agree with you? Do you hunger for other’s approval? Do you place yourself in the ‘courtroom’ of self-loathing judgment with regularity?  

Hmmm… tough questions. Paul in 1st Corinthians 3 & 4 gives us the key to being free of it, think less of self.  The key to building a good foundation for living life is to be rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The key to growing in good soil for living life is to think of one’s self less. What does this mean, what does this look like, how can this be? Won’t I lose myself if I think of myself less? EXACTLY. But it requires a bit more unpacking to better understand.

Tim Keller says in his book, The Art of Self-Forgetfulness, “Gospel humility is a blessed self-forgetfulness.  Not thinking of myself as in modern cultures (puffed up humility), or less of myself as in traditional cultures (groveling humility). It’s simply thinking of myself less.”  Guess we have to just get over ourselves.  Kinda.

Looking forward to Sunday, as we discern another way toward greater freedom in Christ,
   Pastor Mark 

Message
God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – Discernment – Discrimination
Gal 5:1 with Ps 119:125, Ph 1:10, Pr 2:11, 2:9. 16:21, 28:7

I’m continually amazed at God’s love for us when it comes to freedom and choices.  The freedom to choose is a central way we image God.  God gave this freedom to Adam and Eve from the very beginning.  As best I understand it, love can only be love if there is freedom to choose. From desire, to direction, to decision, to devotion – freedom to choose is paramount.  

And with the freedom to choose, comes a most necessary quality of ‘being’ and of ‘engagement’ – Discernment.  What choice or decision or direction is best or better?  What is worse?  Is one choice right or wrong, or more right and more wrong?  What about good or evil?  With freedom comes discernment, responsibility, the need to be able to discriminate between these choices, directions, and resulting outcomes…

How can I gain a heart of understanding and discernment that leads to freedom?

How can we know which way to go, what choices are good and right?  Is it possible to gain wisdom in discernment between the two?  Is there guidance we can seek to live in the spaces and places of true freedom?  Is it even possible to cultivate goodness, righteousness, faithfulness – in pursuing wisdom?  Can true love and expressions of devotion be known and enjoyed in living life?   
The answer is ‘Yes!’  Not only did God create us for freedom, devotion, and faithfulness, God has made a way for us to be truly free, to choose what is good and right and better.  And with this WAY, he gives his grace and power, and avenues of relationship engagement with Him, to walk in freedom.

Scripture is filled from beginning to end with good news, about wisdom and discernment, guidance and choices, that lead to freedom.  Wisdom can be known through every direction the story takes – in both the wise and unwise, discerning and undiscerning directions.  Scripture also reveals to us a central barrier to wisdom and discernment – a sinful nature and resulting sin – leading us away from freedom.  But the good news of Jesus and his ‘Kingdom come and his will be done’, opens the door to freedom.  And more than that, gives us the grace and power to walk in freedom.  

And this brings me back to discernment, how can we gain it?  Jesus uses the language of a ‘narrow road’, and in finding it, it leads to life (call it freedom).  There is another road that is ‘broad’, and many find it, and it leads to destruction (call it slavery).  And so we are back to choice and discernment.  What will we choose? 

In preparation for Sunday, read Galatians 5:1 (Text of the Quarter), Psalm 119:125, Philippians 1:9-11, and Proverbs 2:9. And ask, how can I gain a heart of understanding and discernment that leads to freedom?

Looking forward to Sunday. See you there,
 Pastor Mark

God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – Examine/Spiritual Disciplines

Gal 5:1 with Mt 3:7-11

Freedom!  It is a beautiful state of being, worthy of pursuing, and a much desired way to live life.  Freedom is something that people will risk their lives to obtain.  Ever spoke to someone who has lived in an oppressive country, under an oppressive government?  It’s powerful to hear their testimonies of what freedom means to them!  Coming from ‘oppression and slavery’ to a place of ‘freedom’ is exhilarating – the gratitude is undeniable.  Our country has long been a sought after place to come for safety and refuge, the promise of a better life that comes with ‘freedoms.’  My grandpa and grandma had a family of 7 when his country was rocked by a world war.  How quickly everything changes!  Simple everyday freedoms are gone in an instant and increased burdens on the human spirit grow – and the tragedies pile up.  For many who have lived under tyranny in this world, who have tasted freedom, the fight for maintaining freedom, continuing to live in a state of freedom – is worth fighting for.  Human freedom is a place where goodness can flourish.  Human slavery is a place where misery abounds and the human spirit dies.  Our own country’s history, of the schizophrenic existence of these two realities side by side, reveals the truth of both realities.  We can learn from it. 

Once our freedom in Christ is tasted, known, embraced – it’s worth fighting to maintain, to continue living in a state of freedom.

Our Text of the Quarter (TQ): “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free.  Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  Paul speaks of freedom in similar ways I opened with.  Once our freedom in Christ is tasted, known, embraced – it’s worth fighting to maintain, to continue living in a state of freedom.  What does Paul mean when he says, “Stand firm then and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  It implies there are ways that freedom(s) can be lost, or at the very least constrained, diminished.  

It reminds me of Ben Franklin’s spoken words to the assembly in Independence Hall, at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, we have ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’  It was spoken in passing at the end of the conventions deliberations, and was jotted down in Dr James McHenry’s notes.  It speaks of a profound reality, lived out in the lives of humanity.    

Don’t misunderstand.  I’m not making the parallel that our freedom in Christ, meaning our salvation, can be lost.  Nor am I giving a naive glowing review of Benjamin Franklin.  I am, however, making the parallel that any freedom can be constrained and diminished, including our freedom in Christ. Paul states it clearly here.  

How can this happen?  ‘Let me count the ways…’  There are many biblically revealed ways spoken of in Scripture.  But I’ll focus on a couple.  Freedom in Christ, freedom from sin and sin’s power and penalty, is a gift to be received.  Jesus earned that for us.  Keeping that freedom from being constrained or diminished requires ongoing engagement and growth in following Jesus, ‘a walk.’  And how we embrace and engage that walk with God leads toward continued freedom or toward a constraint, a diminishment of that freedom, call it ‘a burden of slavery.’  

Just as with freedoms that come with living in a free society requires a continued walking in those freedoms to continue in freedom, so it is with freedom in Christ.  And Paul is encouraging us to remain in freedom.  Just as with diminishing freedoms a country and government can engage in, so too, certain followings of Jesus or lack thereof, or old patterns of sin, engagement with the ways of darkness, leads to diminished freedom in Christ. 

For two weeks now, we have gained some knowledge of how to remain in God’s freedom.  For two weeks, we have explored some practices that keep us in freedom: Embracing God’s grace and power; and embracing a life of forgiveness (receiving and giving of it).  These things fulfill Paul’s prayer for us to remain in freedom and refrain from the burden of slavery.  This week we explore another avenue for walking in the freedom of Christ: Examen.  Examen is one spiritual discipline among many that helps us daily walk in freedom, keeping us from burdens that diminish freedom.  Come and learn all about it, as we learn together how to live and walk in the freedom of Christ.  Examen is only one practical way of MANY ways to continue walking in the freedom of Christ.  I’ll name a few on Sunday.  

See you Sunday,
    Mark Quist 

Message
God’s Will/My Will: Freedom – Forgiveness

Gal 5:1 with Mt 5: 12-15, Mk 1:1-8, Lk 3:1-18

Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  This verse echoes in my mind with another closely worded text from John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”  

In these weeks leading up to the Lent season, and a walk toward Passion Week, we are taking a look at what the Bible has to say about freedom.  This theme of freedom dovetails well with our months-long focus now on the integration of God’s will and our will.  And this Sunday, the intersection of these themes are embodied powerfully in forgiveness.  

Forgiveness may be the most essential quality of imaging God.  Forgiveness may be the greatest avenue for experiencing freedom.  Forgiveness received and forgiveness given may be the most powerful change agent for good the world has ever known.  Forgiveness may be the hardest thing we ever do… but well worth the receiving and giving. 

Forgiveness isn’t easy to understand… so many questions.  Is it unconditional or conditional?  Does forgive mean forget?  How do justice and forgiveness meet?  These are only a few questions.  Yet, on the other side of forgiveness is freedom.  

How do you understand forgiveness?  Can you describe it with a one word synonym or adjective, or a simple phrase?  What about unforgiveness?  As you reflect in preparation for Sunday about forgiveness, come ready to share your descriptive characterization of forgiveness.    

Our texts for Sunday are from Galatians 5:1, John 8:36, Matthew 6:9-15, Mark 2:6,10, Colossians 3:13, and Psalm 103. 

Did you know that all the sciences reveal that forgiveness is very good for your overall health?  Makes sense to me.  It’s God’s design for our well-being – take a good look at Jesus.  God made a way of forgiveness so that might be well – very well.   

See you Sunday,
    Mark Quist