The Bible in ninety-days challenge brought us to the book of Leviticus today.  To read Leviticus as your devotional reading for the day can be tough on MANY people but I don’t want us to miss the beauty of it either.  I’ll admit, it is VERY difficult to read sometimes, but I believe there are some subtleties that speak VOLUMES to our New Testament theology (and if you study it in depth, there are amazing correlations to the New Testament).  If we’re not careful we can read right over them.  This week I want to share a couple of things that I have got out of Leviticus and some things I even saw for the FIRST time reading through it this week.

I think there are some key phrases in Leviticus.  One I saw today that I had never noticed before but I think it is important.  We need to remember that many, if not most, of the things in the Old Testament are a picture of the New Testament and of Christ.  The Old Testament, is a perfect set up for the New.  EVERYTHING points to Jesus.  Leviticus is no different.

This one phrase is all through Leviticus, and it jumped out at me today:  “Through this process the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven.” It shows up 14 times in the first 14 chapters.  I think I underlined them all.  It was always said after instructions on offering a sacrifice.  “Sprinkle blood here…. Pour blood here… Burn this here…”  When reading it, you might think, “Why in the world is God doing this?”  Here I think is the answer.  God is saying “You do it MY WAY or there is no forgiveness.  THIS IS THE PROCESS by which you will be forgiven.”  Sound familiar?

Acts 4:12 speaking of Jesus “There is salvation in NO ONE ELSE!  God has given no other name under heaven by which men must be saved (emphasis added)”. In other words “This is the process”

Galatians 3:22 “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.” In other words “This is the process”  And there are MANY other New Testament examples.

God was establishing the PLAN of forgiveness.  Not only that a sacrifice was needed, but that sacrifice can ONLY be God’s way.  And Jesus is that Way!

Finding Jesus in Leviticus,

Jeff

This is going to be brief.  Got some friends coming over to watch the Super Bowl in a few minutes.  GO COLTS!  Here are my ruminations on the day.

—  Funny how after 2 record setting Sundays in attendance, services can seem “down” when a few weeks ago it would have been a high.  Crazy how quickly

—  Started our new series today called “Desperate Households:  From surviving to thriving”

— Such a HUGE topic to take in.  All week long, even today, I felt I bit off more than I could chew.

— Hope today starts the process for couples to take their next step to thriving in their marriage.

—  Talked about “How do I divorce proof my marriage?”  Here are some excerpts:

• Preached from Matthew 19:1-12 (Jesus’ response to the Pharisees question “Can a man divorce his wife for any reason?”)
• According to Barna research group, 53% all marriages end in divorce.  Another research group shows that 1st marriages end in divorce 41% of the time, 2nd marriages 60% and third marriages 71%.
• God’s design for marriage is NOT divorce, but it also isn’t to just SURVIVE.  God has designed our marriages to THRIVE!
• Divorce proofing is the wrong question.  How do we make our marriages thrive?  THAT is the question.  Why?  Because when our marriages begin to thrive, we begin to eliminate the threat of divorce.
• There may be times in which Jesus “allows” or “permits” divorce, but He ALWAYS hates it!
• Just as much as God hates divorce, He also hates when we don’t offer those who are going through it or gone through it grace, hope and redemption.  We must offer divorcees HOPE!
• How do you know if you’re married to the right one?  If you’re married, you found em’.  THAT is God’s person for you!
• Husbands, in order for us to be leaders we must be going somewhere worthwhile and doing something worth noticing or not even our wives will follow us.
• We’ve made Matthew 19:9 our escape clause.  That verse may ALLOW divorce but it does not DEMAND it, yet that’s how we often use it.
• It’s funny how we take the allowances of Jesus VERY seriously but not His commands.  We take the allowances from Jesus on divorce seriously, but what about His commands to turn from your selfish ways, die to yourself, take up your cross and follow me?  Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church?  Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord?  Forgive one another 70 x 7 times (which by the way is 490 times)?
• Check out the sermon online later this week www.elementweb.net

—  Band NAILED it today.  Love the original song Till The End (Adam Cruz) EVERY time we sing it.  So powerful.  Those are the kinds of songs that the church needs to hear.  VICTORY  FREEDOM  POWER   So good!

— Next week we’re talking about the keys to intimacy in marriage, then the top 10 things I think we MUST know about marriage.

—  Don’t forget, Lord willing, on February 28th my parents and grandparents will be joining Sabrina and I on the platform to help us talk about “Creating a marital legacy”.  My Grandparents will be married 62 years this May.  My parents 40 years in August.  Sabrina and I 13 years in June.  I’m looking forward to learning from THEM.  I still have a LONG way to go in my marriage.

— You can submit questions online HERE.

—  Ok, shuttin’ er down to spend time with the family and friends.  I’m OUT!

Till the end,

Jeff

Hey Element Church!  Just wanted to remind AND invite you to join us for Enter @ Element Church.  It starts at 7 PM Friday night.  Enter is our monthly prayer & worship experience.  This month we will be sharing communion together AND the Adam will be unveiling two brand new worship songs inspired from our recent sermon series and ninety-day challenge.  During our prayer times we lift up our city, we pray for other churches and we pray for God’s blessing, guidance and protection for Element Church.  Got another BIG month ahead of us as we are taking on the issue of marriage on Sunday mornings and want to bathe that in prayer.  Worship is FULL VOLUME and our prayers are focused and intense.  Come out and join us.  Childcare IS provided!  If you’ve never been, why not now?  If you’ve haven’t been in a while, why not come back?  For your regular Enter crazies….LET’S DO THIS!  Enter is a VITAL part of what we do here at Element.  Hope to see you there.

Till the end,

Jeff

Marriages today are under attack more than ever.. Divorce rates are as high as ever. Infidelity is growing increasingly more common and accepted. Many of us would describe our marriages at best as “hanging in there” or “surviving”. However, we don’t believe that God designed marriage to survive, but to THRIVE! Since God designed our households to thrive, through the month of February we are going to take a look at what HE has to say about our marriage. We’re going to answer questions like “How can I divorce proof my marriage?” “What are the keys to intimacy?” “What do I really need to know about marriage?” and “How do we create a marital legacy?” Whether you are single, married, divorced or widowed, this series can help you move from surviving to thriving.

Each Sunday in February @ 8:30 ; 10:00 & 11:30 AM.  Also on Feb. 28th Pastor Jeff will be answering any question that you have about marriage. Visit elementweb.net for more details.

There sure seems to be a glaring difference in the way Abraham responded and how his son Isaac responded, to the delayed promise of God.  The original promise of descendants and blessing was given to Abraham, but it was also passed down to Isaac.  Both Abraham and Isaac experienced “trouble” with their wives and the ability to conceive.  Look at the two responses:

Genesis 15:2 But Abram replied “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?  Since you’ve given ME no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.” Three things stick out in Abraham’s response.  Complaint (what good are all your blessings) .  Blame (YOU’VE given me no children).  Selfishness (ME)

Genesis 25:21  Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. BECAUSE he knew the promise, He pleaded instead of complained.  Because he knew the promise, he petitioned the promise giver (pleaded WITH the Lord) instead casting him the blame.  Because he knew the promise, he asked on HER behalf instead of selfishly for his own.

I could be (and most likely am) way off, but this is what God challenged me with:  Plead don’t complain.  Petition don’t blame.  Pray selflessly not selfishly.

Till the end,

Jeff

Marriages today are under attack more than ever.  Divorce rates are as high as ever. In fact, Wyoming has the 3rd highest divorce rate of any state in the country.  Infidelity is growing increasingly more common and accepted. Many of us would describe our marriages at best as “hanging in there” or “surviving”. However, we don’t believe that God designed marriage to survive, but to THRIVE! Since God designed our marriages to thrive, through the month of February we are going to take a look at what HE has to say about our marriage. We’re going to answer questions like “How can I divorce proof my marriage?” “What are the keys to intimacy?” “What do I really need to know about marriage?” and “How do we create a marital legacy?” Whether you are single, married, divorced or widowed, this series can help you move from surviving to thriving. And on Feb. 28th Pastor Jeff will be answering any question that you have about marriage. So in order to have your question heard please submit them HERE.  If you attend Element church, this is a GREAT opportunity to invite them by sending them a link to this page or the church website.

What? Desperate Households: From surviving to thriving

When? Sundays, Feb. 7th – 28th @ 8:30 – 10 – 11:30 AM

Where? Element Church:  600 E. Carlson in Cheyenne

GREAT comments and commitments up on the ninety-days.com website.  Thanks for those of you who are submitting.  Encourage you to continue posting progress reports, encouragements and commitments regularly.

It’s only two days in to the challenge, but I am already loving the fresh things God is teaching me.  Love it when I see new perspectives in Scripture, or how a passage can mean something TOTALLY new to me based on where I’m at in my own spiritual life and relationship with Christ.  In yesterday’s reading I was really challenged by something from the story of Abraham (Abram).

In Genesis 15, God gives a covenant promise to Abraham that He will provide him with a son, and that son will be an heir and bring Abraham MANY descendants.  God even takes Abraham outside and says “‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can.  That’s how many descendants you will have!’  And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.” But God delayed (at least in Abraham’s eyes) to fulfill His promise.  And when he delayed, Abraham took matters into his own hands.

Abraham’s wife Sarah (Sarai) devised a plan to give him the offspring they desired.  She offered him Hagar, their servant, to sleep with and become pregnant.  Abraham went along with the plan, thus taking matters into his own hands and NOT trusting in the promise of God.  God delayed, and Abraham acted.

Genesis 16:15 I think, speaks more truth into the situation than we realize.  It simply says this (emphasis added)  “So HAGAR gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael.” (Ishmael would become the Father of the Arab nation, and enmity would be between he and Isaacs descendants forever)  GOD did not give him this son, HAGAR did.  The son God promised would come to him later, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90…WELL past child bearing years. (Which was WHY He delayed.  The time of Isaacs birth could ONLY be explained by God.  It was a miracle.)

Genesis 17:16 stands in stark contrast to 16:15.  Genesis 17:16 says “And I will bless her and give you a son from her!”

How many times do I take matters into my own hands because God delays?  I KNOW He will always provide.  I KNOW He will be my shield, protector and encourager.  I KNOW the promises that He gives…but I take matters into my own hands anyway.  My prayer yesterday, was to trust in GOD alone, regardless of how long He delays!  Or at least when I THINK He’s delaying.

Till the end,

Jeff

Hey Element Church!  SO EXCITED to hear about those who are taking the 90 day challenge and starting today.  If you haven’t yet, go to ninety-days.com and  check out some of the comments already made about commitments.  (Scroll down on that page to see them)  SO excited to see people stepping up and following what God has asked them to do.  Just wanted to offer some encouragement to you from the reading today.  God challenges Cain in Genesis 4:7 with these words “You will be accepted if you do what is right.  But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out!  Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.  But you must subdue it and be its master.” HOW do we do that?

You have a choice, TODAY, tomorrow, the next 90 days AND the rest of your life.  Romans 6:12-14 says “Don’t let sin control the way you live, don’t give in to sinful desires.  …give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have NEW LIFE.  …Sin is no longer your master…”

For those of you who have made commitments…GOD is with you.  If you are in Christ, the Spirit of GOD is your master.  This is day ONE, be encouraged, be strengthened, be free!

Till the end,

Jeff

What way to close out the first month of 2010.  Here are my ruminations on the day.

— Might as well start off with the big announcement huh?  Let me set this up as I did at church today…

• Today we shattered the previous non holiday attendance high.  The last two months we’ve pushed the attendance limit at Element.  We are quickly running out of space.  SO, what are we going to do?  We’re going to do what everyone expects us to do.  Today we launched our first ever building campaign.  ONLY this one is different.
• A few months ago, I was gripped with the fact that right here in our city, there are families who are legitimately trying to get back on their feet…some of them homeless.  I was moved by the fact that there are 18,000 applications for affordable housing in our city.  I was challenged by the fact that Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network (ministry organization) is trying to help homeless families get back on their feet but simply needs “more space” to house them.
• SO, for our first ever building campaign…for the first piece of property we own, we are going to purchase, rebuild, restore and redeem a home in our city for people who don’t have one.  That’s right, we are in the process of pursuing a four-plex apartment (two 2 bedroom, 2 one bedroom) that will be used for affordable, homeless transitional housing.  I know that brings up TONS of questions, I explained the plan in the sermon.  You’ll have to watch it to find out otherwise this will take forever.   Updates will be coming soon on the blog.  (www.elementweb.net)  You can watch it right now HERE if you want.  (select the service from the 8:30 hour.  The other two had technical difficulties)
• Imagine a single mom having a place to care for her family or a family being able to start life over again.  What kind of difference could it make  just being able to have a place to START?
• Why are we doing this?  Because THIS is the kind of fasting God wants (Isaiah 58:6-7)
• You’ll have to catch the sermon online cause I’ll just keep going.
• And like I said 2nd and 3rd service, I personally give you permission to SLAP anyone who says “Is that all the announcement was?”  WHAT OTHER ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD YOU WANT but that we are living for SOMEONE ELSE!?

—  We launched ninety-days.com today too.  I called out Element Church to a challange today for the next 90 days (Feb. 1 – May 1).  I asked, what will you do to break out of your status with your time, your talents and your treasure for the next 90 days.  I shared in service what I personally will be doing.  At ninety-days.com you can download the three Bible reading plans for the 90 days.  (1 chapter a day, through the NT in 90, or through the BIBLE in 90)

— Make sure and log onto ninety-days.com and let us know what commitments you are making so we can pray for you.  Would love to hear what God is challenging you to do to break out of your status.  You can make a comment to the post on the web0-s

—  Can’t say enough about what Adam and the creative team pulled off today.  AMAZING creative element during worship that was EXTREMELY powerful.  Steve Doolin did a live painting during the last song of worship (Surrender).  He painted the words “chained” on 2 canvases that were displayed on the platform.  At the climax of the song, he then ripped them to shreds with a razor knife only to reveal behind them to lit up signs saying “Breaking Free”.  It was a POWERFUL moment.

—  During that song we showed the live video of the creative element on the screens.  It worked PERFECT.  Thanks Adam and Jeremiah for all your hard work.  And thanks Steve for the OUTSTANDING job doing it.  So good.

— I couldn’t get a good shot of the finished project off my phone.  It was moving!

—  We showed the sermon live online today.  I believe there were over 20 viewers during first service. Glad we could offer that today to people who couldn’t be here.

—  Like I said above, we shattered a previous attendance high today (from last week).  I guess we’ll have to address space issues pretty soon too.  (And trust me, we’ve already been talking about solutions there.  Excited about the possibilities right where we are at)

—  That’s about it for today.  Announced the purchase of a home for the homeless, kicked off our 90 day challenge of breaking free, AND we WILL trust God to provide ALL along the way.  Sounds like a pretty good day to me.

—  Don’t forget.  How do we continue to advance?  1.  Respond to the standard ; 2.  Get over yourself ; 3.  Live for someone else ; 4. Work hard at what you want to be known for.

— Element Church, I LOVE being your pastor. Truly humbled, honored and privileged to lead you.  Can’t want to see what’s next.  The BEST is yet to come!

Till the end,

Jeff

Hey Element Church!  Like I said in this post HERE we are super excited for this coming Sunday.  I just finished running through my message and can honestly say, I am JUST as excited about the message and what God wants to do IN us as I am the announcement we are going to make.  We really do believe in what we will be telling you on Sunday, and thought it was important enough that we wanted to give the option of watching the sermon online.  Due to copyright restrictions we cannot put worship on the web, but the entire message will be live  and available for viewing immediately (Lord willing) on Sunday after church.  I have no idea if anyone will watch it, but we wanted to make it available.  If you call Element Church home, please make it a priority to get to church this Sunday, and if you can’t, to watch the service before Monday!  HERE is the link to watch live on Sunday.  See you there!

Till the end,

Jeff