Our next baptism is coming up! If you are interested, be sure to attend the Baptism Class on Sun, Apr 13 at 12:45p in the Upper Room. Ages 8 and up are welcome to be baptized. Register online.
Sun, Apr 27, 9 & 11a service, Worship Center
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Easter Volunteers Needed!
We have many Easter volunteer opportunities. Check ’em out and then sign up!
A Note From Jeff Maguire
Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon. Psalm 31:24
This weekend, across all Mariners’ campuses, we’ll familiarize ourselves with a phrase that has become one of our rally cries: BE FEARLESS.
That idea is somewhat unconventional in a world governed by fearfulness. Corporations spend exorbitant amounts of money to artificially create fears that can be (for a small price) alleviated by the purchase of the goods they sell. The statistics on the use of anti-anxiety medication are quite telling – up 30% from a decade ago. People generally resign themselves to a life that is, at least somewhat, centered on coping with fear. Foremost of the anxiety creating factors in peoples’ lives: money. People talk often about how money-issues create a kind of captivity that feels virtually inescapable. School loans, car loans, mortgages, saving for the future, keeping a roof over our heads, and an occasional Starbucks all add up. We find ourselves fearful that we’ll never be able to get out from underneath it all.
While the issue of money is a broad conversation, with a multitude of implications, one of the most compelling remedies for the grip money (or, the stuff we’ve accumulated with it) has on our lives, is learning to release our control over it by taking courageous steps toward generosity. This Sunday, we’ll take those steps together. We’ll look into the face of the needs surrounding our church community – big needs like: feeding and clothing at-risk families and children, education programs for the underprivileged, extending basic medical care here and abroad, job training and literacy classes, homeless shelter renovations, and improving the living conditions of kids in foster care among others.
Perhaps you’ve heard us use the phrase: “The beauty of our church is always best expressed outside the walls of the worship center.” We believe in it wholeheartedly. This weekend, we’ll put that idea into practice. We’ll raise money and keep NONE of it for our interior church needs. The church never looks more beautiful than when it’s generous. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we bravely live out generosity
See you Sunday,
Jeff
Marriage Mentor Program
Learn from a certified marriage mentor couple how to enrich your own marriage and successfully work through challenges together. Contact Mike Kenyon to sign up!
Easter Choir
Join the Mariners Church Easter Choir and be a part of our Easter services! Fill out the online form to get started. Contact Ethan for more info.
A Note From Jeff Maguire
Don’t turn a deaf ear when I call you, God. If all I get from you is deafening silence, I’d be better off in the Black Hole. I’m letting you know what I need, calling out for help and lifting my arms toward your inner sanctum. — Psalm 28:1-2 (MSG)
In looking at what the psalmist, David, writes, we can sense (and perhaps personally relate to) what he’s feeling: fear, desperation, longing, and loneliness. He seems to be worried that God may not hear him or notice him. He says, to God — in personal pronouns — I’d be better off in the “black hole” (literally: “the grave” or “realm of the dead”). In effect, to be ignored by God is worse than death itself. So, he calls out seeking God’s attention.
The imagery in the second verse is one of lifted hands. It is the imagery of little kids longing to be held by their parents. It is some of the clearest speech that kids have with their parents. It requires no words, no clarification. There has never been a parent confused by the meaning of a child who stands at their own feet with raised hands. It means “pick me up”. It means “hold me”. It means “make it (whatever “it” is) better. It says: “I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE. I NEED YOU.”
This Sunday as we seek God for help in healing our relational, personal, and physical wounds, we’ll say that very same thing. We’ll hold out our hands and we’ll, perhaps fearfully, extend them to God saying:
“I really, really need you. I’m scared. Whatever happens, just don’t ignore me.”
As we look back over the past eight weeks of the relationship series Beautiful Mess we’ve found an undeniable trend: people are longing for restoration, longing to rediscover hope, and longing to see God make beauty out of the messy wounds of their present and their past.
Truthfully, we don’t always understand how God works in healing. This Sunday won’t be a sideshow act. There will be no magic tricks. It will simply be a group of people — God’s “dearly loved children” — asking to be held by our father, longing for his power to work in and through us. Bring anyone who is “weary and heavy-laden” and in need of new hope and new life.
I can’t wait to see you Sunday,
Jeff
Volunteer in Port Mariners
Everything from check in, cuddling babies to leading a small group.
If you’re interested contact Bailey for more information.
A Note From Jeff Maguire
I can’t pretend – at least not at the moment. As I’m working my way through Leviticus in the Daily Message, I’m not necessarily awash with inspiration. I know, I’m supposed to find every single instance of God’s Word to be brimming with personal meaning. But, if I’m honest, I’m merely working through it. I don’t remember all the specific provisions for how to properly make a grain offering for the priests. No, I can’t say I recall exactly what the priests are supposed to do with someone who suffers from an oozing skin lesion.
But, in the middle of all the regulation and unending lists of which animals with “cloven hooves” the Israelites are allowed to eat, there was this:
31“Do what I tell you; live what I tell you. I am God.
32-33“Don’t desecrate my holy name. I insist on being treated with holy reverence among the People of Israel. I am God who makes you holy and brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am God.” – Leviticus 22:31-33
In this passage he sums up all of what he intends for his people: “…live what I tell you. I am God.” In other words, “I’m the one who rescues you. I’m the one who establishes the ways in which I am to be remembered and celebrated. I’m the one who establishes how you’ll live. I’m the one who calls you to live uniquely in the world. I’m God – you’re not”.
God is so confusing. He says things I don’t like. He acts in anger one moment. He moves in compassion and mercy the next. God may hold the universe together, but He also permits a number of things to be present in the world that I wish He’d deal with in a more timely manner. But, while I might choose to challenge God in this idea – I’m not him. I don’t get to be God (though, I might try to act like it every now and again).
In everything, I’m challenged to love and serve people that God loves – even people I might not like. I’m called to live a life of obedience, even when it marks me as a bizarre outsider to the rest of the world. I’m supposed to stop play-acting God’s role in my world – even though the world is His to begin with.
This week, we continue in our relationship series called, BEAUTIFUL MESS. We’ll be challenged and encouraged. Next Sunday, March 9th, we’ll hold a healing service as we join God in restoring broken and messy relationships back to the beauty He intends.
See you Sunday,
Jeff
A Note From Jeff Maguire
The apostle Paul is a troublesome case for the Jewish leaders under Roman rule. He’s a Roman citizen. He’s a former member of the Jewish ultra-righteous group called the Pharisees — he was a kind of militant punisher of people “distracted” by the heretic, Jesus. But, after an inexplicable encounter with the risen Jesus, he completely rearranges his life. Jesus gives him this commission (which Paul recalls for a king when on trial):
“I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.” — ACTS 26:17-18 [MSG]
Jesus sends Paul out not merely to explain the truths about Himself. But, instead He sends Paul out to “open the eyes of outsiders.” Clearly, a lot of the language here is more visceral than simply understanding a truth about God. How will people understand Jesus’ offer of “sins forgiven” if Paul is unable to live a life rich in grace and forgiveness? How will people fully embrace the notion of “a place in the family” if Paul refuses to live with genuine familial affection toward people unwelcome everywhere else? How will outsiders gain any picture of “real living” if Paul can’t seem to model it, frequently short-changing the rich, full life of walking with Jesus for a cheap counterfeit version?
I can’t help but read my own life into the text here. I wonder about the degree to which my own life really embodies this commission — Jesus’ offer of “eyes opened… sins forgiven… a place in the family… real living.” I’m more apt than I like to admit to ignore people who deserve care and a place at the table. I’m quick to jettison life with Jesus if it can’t keep up with my need for speed and comfort. I do understand that life with Jesus is the life God intends for us. I’m finding that it is a much greater task to live as if I actually believe it to be true.
See you Sunday,
Jeff
P.S.: I’m looking forward to continuing our relationship conversation this weekend in the BEAUTIFUL MESS series. As a reminder, this weekend we’ll pick up where we left off, talking about sexuality. Please plan accordingly if you have young kids.
A Note From Jeff Maguire
It is one of my great hopes — passions really — that we would be a church of people who are committed to reading the Bible. So many people have their image of God shaped by everything except the Bible. Yes, the Bible is occasionally confusing. Yes, God appears to do things that don’t make sense. And, yes, without context some of it can be a bit tedious. But, the broadly sweeping story of God is one in which He longs to rescue people out of captivity (whatever that might be) leading them into wholeness, becoming the people He intended them to become. We miss that story when we only read the Bible in excerpted form.
We may hear about God’s goodness from something quoted to us. We may hear about Jesus’ life during a Sunday sermon. We may get wise insight on how to live from a devotional website. But, generally, we aren’t forced to wrestle with the difficult stuff of the Bible when we encounter it in tiny chunks. Our faith grows when it is stretched. We need to ask big questions and wrestle with weighty doubts. I want us to be a church where people can own their faith — not with arrogance but with humble confidence — with a persistent heart for people who don’t yet know the full story of God’s great love. Let’s read together. Pick up a Daily Message at the bookstore or download the mobile app.
Last week, I mentioned something in my note about the “mobile-app” version of the Daily Message (Mariners’ daily Bible reading plan). A number of people either stopped me and asked about it on Sunday or called the church to ask about the mobile app. So, let me walk you through the process of downloading the mobile plan for reading your Bible on an Apple device. I know many of you do not have an Apple (iOS) device. But, the process should be virtually the same for those of you with Android and Windows smartphones as well.
- Visit the app store and search: “YOUVERSION.” Then, add the app to your phone.
- Open the app and search: “PLANS”
- In plans, search: “DISCIPLESHIP JOURNAL’S BOOK AT A TIME”
- Start your reading.
See you Sunday,
Jeff