The crowds… followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. – LUKE 9:11

The world is full of duo’s necessarily bound together for all of time. In fact, so common are the pairing of many things, you only need one to be aware of know the other:
– Peanut butter and _______.
– Macaroni and _______.
– To quote the erudite rap trio of my youth, the Beastie Boys:
“I like my sugar with coffee and _________.” (cream).

Clearly, I’ve been on a bit of health kick at the outset of this year. As such, all of the above pairings are presently prohibited. But, you get the idea. Whether it’s Batman and Robin, Ross and Rachel, thunder and lightning, or shake and bake, there is another famous pairing often overlooked in the Bible. It’s a pairing critical to understanding Jesus’ message.

The ministry of Jesus can be characterized by the dual components of announcing or, to use a more Christian-y sounding word, “proclaiming” something called the Kingdom of God and secondarily demonstrating what that Kingdom message actually looks like. So, throughout the accounts of Jesus’ ministry there is a consistent pattern: proclamation and demonstration.

For most contemporary followers of Jesus, we are fine with Kingdom proclamation, so long as it’s accomplished with some measure of skill and tact. But, we’re a little more resistant to any demonstration of that kingdom. Sure, we want it to be real and somehow tangible. But we don’t want a few things that may go with it.  After all, we don’t want to believe something that may not be true — because something miraculous, by definition, has to fly in the face of the plausible outcomes. We live in a world of rational thought, medical experts, data, and causes and effects. Additionally, we don’t want to associate ourselves with anything that may fall into the category of side-show circus chicanery at the hands of church illusionists who pray on the simple minded. And… we’re highly private people who don’t want to admit that the pressure on us to seem perfect is often greater than our very real and glaringly imperfect pain.

But, we do need God’s intervention into our lives in pointed and real ways. We have giant needs for our marriages, our physical health, our mental health, our addictions, our past wounds, and our secret lives — all of which are always inching closer and closer to that place where they can no longer be managed or smoothed over. So, despite all of our reservations, despite how foolish it might seem to us and to everyone else, we do the most honest thing we know how to do: we ask God for help. We fearfully, and faithfully look to God to powerfully re-link the dynamic duo of His Word with His deeds in us. We need healing for our brokenness.

This week, we’ll ask God to do one thing we desperately want but are afraid to publicly seek — healing. There will be no illusions. There will be no circus. There will be no fake exaggerations and made-up stories. But, we will boldly ask God to heal us with His power. In so doing, we will seek God to UNLEASH the IMPOSSIBLE in us.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

Are you living the life you’ve always wanted? Are you the person you hoped to be? Join us for a breakfast with speaker and discussion. Listen to stories on how our extraordinary God is bringing about some powerful and compelling changes to people’s lives…maybe to yours!

Saturday, January 31
8a, MCMV Lobby, $10

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song. God sends us times of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. — excerpted from Streams in the Desert

Rest has a peculiar role in my life. I want it desperately. I know it’s what my soul needs. But…

Apparently, there’s an art in resting I have not yet found. I’m envious and in awe of those who seem to possess it with any kind of facility. The prospect of rest, real rest, is unnerving for me. I know rest is vastly different than laziness or its twin, procrastination. Rest is purposeful and restorative. Yet, I panic when I actually encounter it. I’m uneasy in stillness. I’m troubled by the idea that nothing is produced in rest. Rest might be the most difficult of any discipline I’ve come to know.

This week I got sick. Not terribly sick. I had a cold. I was sick enough, however, to warrant spending my day-off on the couch (Monday) and an additional day off of work (Tuesday). In both cases, I could produce nothing. I slept a lot. I drank tea. I slept more. I took my “forced leisure,” as the writer says so painfully well.

Now, I’m back. I’m at work. I’m thinking about all the great and innumerable things that have to be accomplished in the now shortened work-week. Somehow, I’m beginning to understand something:  the world still functions, people manage to live their lives, kids grow, paint dries, trees conduct photosynthesis…  despite the fact that I missed a day of work this week. Perhaps, I’m a bit less of a big deal than I’d have myself believe. Maybe some time in the distant future, I’ll stop missing the days I miss. Who knows? Maybe, I’ll even find a way to be grateful for them.

After all, God is UNLEASHING the IMPOSSIBLE.

Join us this week as we continue in our series, UNLEASH the IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t forget, we’ll also take a few moments to honor Ethan Hulse, our beloved ultra-cool hipster worship leader who is moving on from his full-time job here at Mariners. If you’ve been a part of the Mariners community for any length of time, you know two things:
1) that Ethan, with his leadership, talent, and commitment to Jesus has shaped our church worship culture indelibly and 2) that our love is often best expressed in mockery. Said better, “We mock because we care.” So, to show your love, dress a little like him. If you already fall into the same sphere of coolness as Ethan, well then, just ratchet it up a notch. Click here for some inspiration on how the “cool ones” dress.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

In faith we believe God can and will bring healing to those who ask. Join us as we set aside time during the service to invite those in need of physical, emotional or spiritual healing to be anointed with oil and prayed over for healing according to James 5.

Sunday, February 1
during the weekend services at 9 & 11a

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’ Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.'” ACTS 2:12-13

Big news this week: two climbers free-climbed the “Dawn Wall” of El Capitan in Yosemite. People have climbed this monolith before. But, what made this ascent historic was that the climbers used only their hands and feet on the natural rock face to do so (Previous attempts required climbers to drill spikes into the rock face, essentially creating artificial “holds”). For 19 days, the world — mostly outsiders to the sport of climbing — have been closely following the news coverage surrounding this particular adventure which started on December 27th.

“How do they do it?” We all wonder. They climb. They sleep (in what climbers apparently refer to as “porta-ledges” slumbering in aluminum shelves that suspend them over certain death). They eat. They stretch. One news outlet reported that they spent a lot of time in the ledges staying limber by practicing yoga. Why does something like this capture the minds and attention of people?

Whether you were one of the “amazed” or the “perplexed,” or if you thought that maybe “they have had too much wine,”  there is an irrepressible magnetism that surrounds people who pursue the impossible. When asked why he chose to tackle such a feat, one climber said:

“For me, I love to dream big, and I love to find ways to be a bit of an explorer. These days it seems like everything is padded and comes with warning labels. This just lights a fire under me, and that’s a really exciting way to live.”

This Monday, we honor another big dreamer. The nation will pause to consider a different ascender and an entirely different climb — one that has still yet to be summited. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the perfect example of what happens when people do not take the world as a fixed reality. He looked from a valley floor and said, in effect, “we all have to get over this mountain together.” I suppose in that respect, Dr. King is more akin to John Muir, than a climber. Perhaps his work was more about calling people to the daunting trials of ascent and the inexplicable beauty in all the peaks that still could and must be climbed.

Jesus calls people to a life with Him in which people choose an impossible brand of life — a far cry from the lives of the ordinary people. Those who would walk with Him are not bound by the things that make the most sense with the softest padding and clearest warning labels. Jesus invites people to follow Him into a life where “impossible” is not a boundary, it’s a launch-pad…

…Or, perhaps a “porta-ledge.”

This week we’ll take a closer look at the magnetism of people who are in pursuit of God’s impossible kind of life, in the second week of our series: UNLEASH THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Also, as a valued part of our church family, I want to invite you to help us learn and improve the way we communicate the heart and mission of our church to the world around us. This is an important endeavor for us over the next year and it all begins with feedback from you. Would you help us by clicking this link and filling out a brief questionnaire about who we are as a church? I would really appreciate your input as we continue to become who God has called us to be together. (The deadline for the questionnaire is Friday, January 30.)

See you Sunday,

Jeff

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  PHILIPPIANS 4:11

I’m about to say something that I’m pretty sure is out-of-bounds. I teach the Bible regularly. I read it for study and for personal devotion and insight. I believe it is holy, authoritative, and inspired by God. I believe it reveals God’s story in and through the world.

What if I don’t believe the apostle Paul (the writer of the letter to the church in Philippi)? I mean, I believe him. It’s just that when he says he’s “learned to be content in all circumstances,” I hesitate a little. All circumstances? All? Really… All? This idea — unencumbered contentment — at least for me, is as amazing as the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

I’m skilled at finding reasons to be discontented. In the greatest moments of my life, I can find a way to undermine everything good. Paul wrote a lot of his letters from prison. He knows really awful circumstances. I’m a virtuoso in the art of discontentment, I rarely need tough circumstances to become dissatisfied.

Maybe that’s why Paul wrote his oft-quoted line a few verses later, which detail the source behind the miracle of contentment: “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” He’s not talking about personal achievement or landing that new job. He’s talking about contentment. He credits Jesus as the way in which he finds contentment. It’s as if he knows too that it’s nothing short of a miracle to find contentment.

OK. Maybe, I believe him after all. He’s not Superman. He’s like me. Apparently, he needs the very power of God to find contentment… in all circumstances.

This week we’ll start our new series called: UNLEASH THE IMPOSSIBLE. We’ll look at some of what God will do in and through our church over this next year. I could not be more excited about it. I can’t wait to get started.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

Women’s Evening Bible Study: Esther
Tuesdays, beginning Jan 13, 6:30-8p, MCMV Upper Room
Come as you are to study the Bible with women in our community.

Women’s Morning Bible Study: Restless
Thursdays, Jan 15 – Mar 5, 9:30-11:30a, Upper Room, $30
Do you feel restless? What if this feeling wasn’t a bad thing but a longing for God that could push you forward to lead the life for which you were designed? Bible study teacher and author Jennie Allen walks you through a practical plan to identify threads in your life and how to weave them together for God’s glory and purposes.

Christmas Eve Service Times
Wednesday, December 24: 4, 6 & 11p candlelight service
Childcare available for infant through age 5 at all but the 11p service.

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.  ISAIAH 42:1-2

“Dad, she hit me.”
“Well, he said I was stupid.”
“You are!”
“Shut-up!”
“Hold it! Both of you. That’s enough!”

I’m not sure when I entered into that particular conversation. I’m not sure which brother-sister or brother-brother combination it involved, specifically (I have two sons and a daughter). I’m not sure who started it. I’m not sure how it got resolved. I’m not sure what any of the innumerable times I’ve had this exact conversation really involved: broken toys, obscured television viewing angles, disrespect. Who knows?

People, it turns out, are magnetically attracted to conflict. A lot of it is superfluous. Usually, it’s born out of moodiness or hunger. Or, moodiness born out of hunger. Some of the time it’s merely one person’s attempt to gain attention. Other times, it involves a mildly insidious and intentional undervaluing of other people. But, there’s always conflict. Always.

When my kids are in conflict, they ask me to step in and help them find a resolution they can’t bring about by their own effort. Though, this is sometimes not the best choice for helping to resolve anything ( I’m also a magnet for conflict. It’s not uncommon for me to exacerbate squabbles between any of my kids by an overreaction that later necessitates my own apology.) The world is a place where grown adults have a hard time acting like responsibly trained kindergarten graduates: calmly displaying understanding, sharing feelings, and seeking resolution. No, the world is crying out too: “Dad!? Help!”

Four times in the writings of Isaiah, someone named “the servant” is featured in extended passages. Some theorize that this servant is a collection of righteous people — faithful Israelites in the midst of exile. Others say that the servant is a reference to a Hebrew prophet like Jeremiah or Isaiah, for example. But, Christians see those servant passages as pointing to one person, Jesus. The way God has chosen to deal with His creation-in-conflict is in a person who comes, not armed with divine weapons wielded in displays of intimidation, but as a “servant.”

That servant came into the world as a baby. In short, the arrival of this long awaited servant in a tiny package is Christmas. Christmas (Jesus) is God’s plan to restore our world. Jesus the one thing we need but can’t give to ourselves. So, this coming week we’ll acknowledge that Christmas isn’t only a time to give gifts, get dressed up, sit with our family, and eat too much (virtually repeating the Thanksgiving table of one month prior). No, we’ll acknowledge (hopefully) that we need Jesus and that He’s the most scandalous and surprising of all things: a servant-savior called “Lord.”

This Sunday, in final preparation for Christmas, Doug Fields will talk about Joy. It will be a great time to rightly orient our own hearts at Jesus this Christmas. Mark your calendars for Christmas eve services: one service where you can lend a hand (there are limited opportunities on the 23rd and more on the 24th) and another that you can plan on attending with invited friends. Merry Christmas.

See you Sunday,
Jeff