Expectations are a funny thing. Some people say not to have any, so you won’t get disappointed. Some say if you don’t have any, you won’t grow or challenge yourself. I’ve always been one who likes to shoot for the stars and hold the bar high. Some people could accuse me of being a dreamer. I don’t enjoy stress or hardship, but at the same time I want more. More of Christ, more of true life, more of his will on earth and in our lives.

I’m not satisfied with the state of the world. I want to see the kingdom come down. I want to see all be reconciled with the King. I want to see us grow and live the great adventure he is calling us to. I’m haunted by choice of Israel in Chapter 8 of 1 Samuel. They choose to have a human King “like all the other nations” did, rejecting a theocracy and Yahweh as their King. The scary part to me was that God let them have their way. He tried to reason with Israel and warn them of the consequences, but they wanted what they wanted and God let them have their way.

This makes me wonder, have I ever done the same thing. Would I even be aware of it. Could I be missing out on God’s best and settling for my will to be done? The truth is only God would know it and I hope with God’s help I could discern it and correct it.

One of my former Pastors told a story of a time when he wanted to surprise his son at school. He was planning on taking his son out of school just before lunch one day to for a special lunch together. He went to school and as he looked through the classroom window he saw his son getting in trouble for doing something inappropriate. The father felt it wasn’t the right time to reward his son by taking him out of the classroom for a special lunch. It would have to wait. He left the school saddened that the opportunity was missed. His son never knew of his father’s plans that day. He didn’t even know what he was missing.

Like the child in the story, am I missing out? Does God have more for me and unknowingly I am not ready for it. Do I even know that I am missing something? Do I want God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? What would that mean to my daily life? What would have to change? I am I willing to pay the price? Have I become complacent?

This next school year I don’t know all that God has in store for us, but may we have all that he has in store for us. Your will be done and Your Kingdom come down this school year. May we know what it is to have True Life.

  In His Son,

Matthew Gillis

Youth Pastor

 Sr. High Youth Group:    Mondays— 7:00-9:00pm       

 Jr. High Youth Group:    Wednesdays—7:00-8:30pm

 Jesus spent his entire earthly ministry pouring his time and energy into the small community of his twelve disciples.  He was seeking to teach them many things about God’s kingdom, but he was also trying to prepare them to carry on in community after he was gone.  He wanted them to be able to become the core community of his Church which was to be born on Pentecost with the pouring out of his Holy Spirit upon that initial body of believers.

 It is interesting that the times we see Jesus getting the most frustrated were times when the disciples just didn’t seem to be “getting it.”  How difficult it must have been for the Lord to patiently live and work with his disciples day in and day out, hoping that someday the message would get through to them. 

 At their last Passover meal together, Jesus pulled out all the stops and personally demonstrated for them the essence of community that he desperately wanted them to learn.  Before the meal, Jesus transformed himself into a menial servant and went to work washing the feet of the twelve guests – his disciples.

 After he finished he sat down with them and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and you are right, because it is true.  And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow.  Do as I have done to you.” (John13:12-15)

 True community begins with this humble example of Jesus.  True community begins with a willingness to serve one another in love just as Christ loved us and gave his life for the redemption of the world. 

 My friends, we still have much to learn about community because we still have much to learn about serving one another in love.  My prayer is that the Lord will teach us and form in us a courageous desire to go deeper in our life together.  To be his people in our world.

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As we enter a new church year together – along with all the increased activity that the autumn season brings – I must ask you a question. What are you doing to grow in your faith? How are you going to be learning from Jesus in the next year?  

Far too often, we give in to the inertia of the status quo… especially when the demands in other areas of our lives increase. In other words, we simply become content with the way things are with our faith. My opinion is that it is just not right that we think about our spiritual lives as being a peripheral concern… they are a primary concern. Spiritual growth needs to be a priority in all our lives and in Pilgrim Covenant Church. We need to keep growing deeper in our faith.

“How do I start?”  You may ask. Well…  I’m so glad you asked, because I have a great way for you to begin something new this fall to jumpstart your efforts to grow spiritually.

On September 16th an opportunity to “move forward” begins. For 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings there will be a bible study led by yours truly at the church parsonage. The study will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will conclude at 8:30 p.m. At this point I am thinking about diving into the books of Ephesians and James. 
 
If you have never been part of a group bible study (or haven’t been for a long time), I beg of you to please consider taking advantage of this opportunity to experience how God shows up in remarkable ways as we read scripture and learn together. Who knows… maybe two or three home bible studies will be created as a result of this fall effort. That is my prayer.

This is an open bible study. Anyone may come on any given Tuesday night September 16th through November 18th. Everyone is invited!  

So I leave you with my original question: Are you going forward, or are you  sliding backward?

I believe that movement toward each of these goals begins as we tend to first things first.  The “first things” I have in mind begin with our personal relationship with God.  So many of these good things that we crave in the depths of our souls have their foundation in our connection and our life with God.

This fall I will be bringing a series of messages entitled “Connecting with God” focusing on more effectively connecting with the source of our lives.  We will be invited to grow in our faith by exploring ways we can connect with God through prayer, worship, scripture, creation, and service.

This is how Richard Foster describes the invitation to embark upon this journey in his book entitled “Prayer”:

“God is inviting you and me to come home, to come home to where we belong, to come home to that for which we were created.  His arms are stretched out wide to receive us.  His heart is enlarged to take us in.  For too long we have been in a far country: a country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country of climb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation.  And he welcomes us home: home to serenity and peace and joy, home to friendship and fellowship and openness, home to intimacy and acceptance and affirmation.

We do not need to be shy.  He invites us into the living room of his heart, where we can put on old slippers and share freely.  He invites us into the kitchen of his friendship, where chatter and batter mix in good fun.  He invites us into the dining room of his strength, where we can feast to our heart’s delight.  He invites us into the study of his wisdom, where we can learn and grow and stretch… and ask all the questions we want.  He invites us into the workshop of his creativity, where we can be co-laborers with him, working together to determine the outcomes of events.  He invites us into the bedroom of his rest, where new peace is found and where we can be vulnerable and free.  It is also the place of deepest intimacy, where we know and are known to the fullest.”

-Pastor Dennis Anderson