After the Wilderness

Marshmallows. Toothpicks. One Bible. Four kids.

That's what Family Night looked like for us as my children sat proudly beside their marshmallow-and-toothpick creations from the evening's activity. Together, we flipped to the New Testament and read about Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. We talked about temptation, about Jesus' complete dependence on His Father, and about the same help that is available to us when we face temptation.
 
Though the lesson wasn’t about baptism, my mind couldn’t help but wander to these connected events. Right before this passage, we see Jesus being baptized. He is then led by the Spirit to the wilderness where He fasts for 40 days.

It's an interesting sequence: the good and God-ordained practices of baptism and fasting, followed by temptation.
 
It’s a reminder that the enemy delights in interrupting God's work through distraction, deception, and discouragement. Luke tells us that after every temptation had ended, "the devil departed from Him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13). The enemy’s opposition is intentional and persistent. We shouldn’t be surprised when he tries to do the same in our own stories, especially when taking steps of obedience.

Friends, take heart! Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33)! We know God holds the victory over all powers and dominions, all sin and all darkness, and every single one of Satan’s schemes.
 
We see Satan meddle. But we also see God’s full heart on display. When Jesus is baptized, the heavens open and the voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, but He is not alone. God provides angels to minister to Him (Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:11).

After leaving the wilderness, Jesus begins proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14–15).
 
If you've repented and believe, share this good news with your neighbors, your friends, your family, and yes—even through baptism.

We are living testimonies of God’s goodness. Following Jesus’ own example, baptism is a beautiful opportunity to publicly proclaim God’s work in our lives and to give Him the glory due His name! It doesn’t save us, but it points us to the One who does.
 
If you're a follower of Jesus and haven't been baptized, I'd encourage you to ask yourself why. Maybe it's uncertainty about baptism. Maybe it's fear of standing in front of people. Maybe you've convinced yourself you can always do it later. Or maybe you simply haven't given it much thought at all.

There is no shame or condemnation in asking the Lord to lead you. He is a loving Shepherd who welcomes honest questions and faithfully directs His people.
 
We'd love to open God's Word with you, answer your questions, and walk alongside you as you prayerfully consider baptism. Our baptism class begins this coming Sunday. It isn't a commitment to be baptized—it's simply an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and prayerfully consider whether this is your next step of faithful obedience.

Today, my daughter ran away.
Shoeless—but helmeted—she pedaled as fast as her lanky seven-year-old legs could carry her. Desperate to reach her favorite place, she zipped through the best “shortcut” past the swim teacher’s house, cautiously navigated a busy main road, and made it straight to the safety and comfort of Grams’ house.

My highly fashionable minivan pulled into the driveway just as she rapped on the front door. I watched as my mom answered—confusedly trying to piece together a bike, a van, and a clearly defeated little girl.

We sat, three generations, soaking in the warmth of the setting sun. Tears flowed from my precious little one as she unearthed the day’s wounds, big and small. “I feel like I have all the pieces trying to stay together, and then they just crumble,” she said.

And while I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of our household drama, her processing reminded me of the Lord’s sanctifying work within family—those life-on-life relationships where we love each other best and hurt each other most.

There were a dozen parallels I could have drawn from our unexpected evening (as I’m sure you could too). But most striking was the reflection of our church family, as we also love each other best and hurt each other most.

And yet, what a gift.

God, in His kindness, uses us to refine one another. We point each other back to Him, encourage one another through Scripture and truth, and sand down our rough edges—all within the gravity of our shared humanity and desperate need for grace.

A friend recently described our church body as a sea of faces—faces that have hurt us and have been hurt by us. And yet, we walk forward together pursuing His truth, light, forgiveness, and reconciliation. We extend the Lord’s grace. And by His mercy, we become a picture of His ongoing work of restoration.

We're an imperfect body. And still—as a family—we keep showing up. We press into the good things and hard things together. And in doing so, we get a sweeter, fuller glimpse of God’s heart for His people—His limitless love and His redeeming grace.

This summer, we’re diving into the book of James, exploring its call to pursue wisdom together as a community in Christ. We’ll reflect on passages like James 4:6, which says:
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”

And James 5:16:
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,
that you may be healed.”

We're a fellow flawed people— showing up, growing, and pursuing Christ together. If that sounds like you or you have questions about that, come join us Sundays at 9:30 AM. We’d love to share our story and hear your story.

At Free Church in Cañon City, CO, we gather every Sunday to worship, study God’s Word, and proclaim the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Today, we turn to Luke 23:44 and journey through one of the most astonishing claims in history: the resurrection of Jesus.

The Unbelievable Truth of the Resurrection
“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:44-46)

The story of Jesus’ crucifixion is filled with undeniable drama—the sky darkens, the temple curtain is torn, and a Roman centurion, witnessing these events, declares, “Surely this was a righteous man.” But what follows is even more astonishing. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, secures Jesus’ body, places it in a tomb, and the women who had followed Him observe where He was laid. Then, silence.

Then, the unthinkable happens.

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away… but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” (Luke 24:1-3)

Angels appear, shining like lightning, proclaiming that Jesus is alive. The women rush back to tell the disciples, but their words sound like nonsense. Peter runs to the tomb, finds only linen wrappings, and leaves wondering what has happened. The absurdity of it all is undeniable.
How are we supposed to believe such an impossible claim? We live in a world that demands proof. If someone told you today that a man had risen from the dead, would you believe them? Likely not. And yet, this message has endured for over 2,000 years.

Skeptics argue that belief in the resurrection is nothing more than a psychological crutch, an invention of the oppressed to endure suffering, or a tool of manipulation wielded by religious authorities. Some prefer to treat it as a metaphor rather than a historical event. Yet, the Bible presents it as an undeniable reality.

What if the resurrection isn’t just a hopeful story but a divine declaration? What if God truly raised Jesus from the dead?

"e message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Yes, the resurrection is humanly absurd. A lifeless body doesn’t simply walk out of a tomb. But if we believe in a God who created life, why should we doubt His ability to restore it? The disciples did not believe at first either—until they saw the risen Christ with their own eyes.
This truth changed everything. Peter, who once denied Jesus out of fear, boldly stood in the same city where Jesus was crucified and declared:

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs… You, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead.” (Acts 2:22-24)

This message is not just history—it is an invitation. The resurrection is not valid because a preacher claims it to be true or because our ancestors believed it. It is valid because God Himself has testified to it. The resurrection is not just an event; it is a promise.

“Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)

One day, every person will hear His voice. Some will rise to eternal life; others to judgment (John 5:28-29). The difference comes down to one thing: faith in Jesus Christ.

“If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (Romans 6:5)

The resurrection is not just a belief—it is the very foundation of our hope. God has given us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, secured through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3-4).

At Free Church, we proclaim this message boldly because it has never changed: Jesus is alive, and He’s coming back.

Will you believe?

The Power of the Resurrection: A Life-Changing Reality

He is risen! What a profound truth—one that changes everything. As we celebrate Easter here in Cañon City, CO, we proclaim this life-altering reality: Christ is risen indeed!

The Deep Longing for Resurrection
The desire for resurrection is deeply ingrained in us. We were made for eternity, and death was never meant to have the final word. Recently, I came across the concept of ghost bots—AI-generated avatars designed to replicate deceased loved ones. A grieving father even expressed his desire to “resurrect” his dead son through AI. This longing for permanence reveals a truth imprinted on our hearts: we were made for more than this life.

The Resurrection Changes Everything
Easter Sunday is a reminder that Jesus Christ has done the unimaginable—He has conquered death. The resurrection of Christ is not just a historical event but the cornerstone of our faith. It confirms His power, His identity, and the fulfillment of God's promises.

The Apostle Paul emphasizes this in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19, stating that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain. But because He has been raised, we have a hope that is unshakable.

The Empty Tomb: A Historical Reality
The resurrection is not just a matter of faith—it is historically verifiable. The empty tomb is one of the strongest pieces of evidence. In Luke 24:1-12, we see that women were the first to discover the empty tomb, followed by Peter and John. If the resurrection were a fabrication, no one in the first century would have relied on women’s testimony, as it was not highly regarded at the time. Yet the Gospel writers recorded it because it was true.

The Invitation: Experience the Power of the Resurrection
Easter is more than a tradition—it is an invitation to experience the life-changing power of the resurrection. If you are searching for hope, meaning, and a relationship with God, we invite you to celebrate with us.

Join us this Easter at the Free Church, located at 3000 E. Main St., Cañon City, CO. We gather for worship at 8:00 & 10:45 AM, and we'd love to celebrate the risen Christ with you! We will also have a fellowship hour at 9:30 AM with Breakfast Burritos, photo booth, and egg hunt for the kid. We have SO much to celebrate on Easter, and it is a joy to celebrate together!

If you’re in Cañon City, CO and looking for a church family, we welcome you with open arms. Christ is risen—come and see what that means for your life today!

For more details, visit our website or download our church app to stay connected!

I’ve always enjoyed asking questions, and finding answers, about what seems obvious (but really isn’t).  In so doing, many times discovery is right around the corner.

The above question is one of those inquiries.  Why do we call the 8 day period, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday, with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in between, Holy Week?  [And, by the way, what is the meaning of Maundy?]

ORIGIN OF HOLY WEEK

Christianity.com tells us that “some of the first uses of the name Holy Week appeared in the 4th century, from St. Athanasius (the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt) and St. Epiphanius (of Constantia) when Good Friday and Holy Saturday were recognized as holy days by the 4th century church.  By the end of the 4th century, the tradition had been established of honoring the various events of the days of the week (just before Jesus’ death).  These included:

• Judas’s betrayal and introduction of the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday 
• the Passion and death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday
• His burial on Holy Saturday
• and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday

I find this interesting.  Apparently the early church (1st century through 3rd century) did not openly celebrate “holy week” (reason?  Perhaps because the church was under increasing persecution?  It wasn’t until the A.D. 325 conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine that the Christianity became legal and recognized.)  This means, of course, that later church tradition, rather than Biblical mandate, instituted these observances.

There could be other events which the Bible describes that might be celebrated, such as Holy Monday: Jesus cleansing the temple courts & cursing the fig tree.  Yet perhaps it’s not best to multiply such things.  The multiplying of traditions – and requiring worship and observance of such things – often encases simple faith and walking with God with unnecessary extra baggage.

By the way, if you’re interested, the “maundy” of Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin “mandatum” (or “command”).  It points to the day of Holy Week in which Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples in the upper room.  At that supper, He instituted the observance of the Lord’s table (we call it “communion”) and gave the “command” to “love one another as I (i.e., Jesus) loved you” (John 13:34).

IMPORTANCE OF HOLY WEEK

My personal preference is away from traditional obligations and to keep my walk with Jesus simple.  So I am not inclined toward 40 days of “Lent” or even observing every possible aspect of Jesus’ pre-crucifixion week.  The tendency of the church throughout the ages is to turn tradition-oriented practices into measurements of righteousness before God.

Still, the events of the week before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion are important to know, if for no other reason, they provide a stunning spiritual blindness on the part of Israel’s leadership and Jerusalem’s population.  Compelling to me is Jesus weeping over the city as he rode the cold down the mountain of Olives.  His heart broke for what would happen to people because they “did not recognize the day of (their) visitation.”  Striding in their midst was the God who created the world, and the innocent Lamb who would be crucified for their sins.
 
Peter put it simply.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous (one) for the unrighteous (ones), that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit” [1 Peter 3:18].

Whether or not you celebrate church traditions or the events of Holy Week, may I urge you to fully understand the critical importance of Jesus Christ’s death in your place on the cross.  Worship Him for the life that comes to you through His remarkable, undeniable resurrection.  These two historical events, when recognized and embraced, can change your life and eternity.

Let Jesus bring you to God.  He has fully paid the penalty for your sin.  Believe in what He did for you on the cross, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Embrace by faith the new life He will give when you trust Him.

Come to our worship services this Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  We will speak of how Jesus loved us to the very end.

Leadership.  What is it?  How important is it?  And where do we find the kind of leaders we need?

On a recent Sunday evening, Pamela and I watched a report by Nora O’Donnell (CBS news, 60 Minutes) on the state of our United States Navy to face the challenges coming from Pacific arena.  It was a fascinating 27 minutes.  She interviewed Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, commander of the US Naval Fleet in the Pacific.
 
Leadership is his duty.  Readiness, combined with capability, to do what the Commander-in-Chief (i.e., our President) calls for when defending our allies (and specifically Taiwan) from China’s intentions to invade and take over that island.

China has become openly aggressive in and around the South China Sea, as well as in international air space and waters.  It has declared its intention to attack and assimilate Taiwan within the next several years.  This threat to Taiwan’s freedom requires leadership and strength on the part of her allies.  On the part of Admiral Paparo.  “We are living in the decade of concern,” he admits. “The Chinese navy has numbers which exceed that the U.S. Navy.”  Strategy and leadership in the years ahead is undeniably critical.

This is true not only for our country when considering international challenges.  This is true for the health and future of our church, the Free Church of Cañon City.  Today, the church remains the hope of the world.  Our church is the hope of Cañon City.  It is a key lampstand of the Lord Jesus.  It must be led well.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Having studied leadership for decades, I understand leadership to be “wise, timely initiative with others, humbly for the glory of God and purposefully for the benefit of people.”  Leaders take initiative.  They seek to become like the Lord Jesus in every way.  In the arena of church ministry and effectiveness, they step forward at the urging and calling of God’s Spirit.

They also understand the mission of the group – the church -- they are leading.  They have thought carefully about how to help the group accomplish that mission.  Positively, they make leadership investments which help people successfully accomplish that mission.  Their leadership must promote the health of the church in key areas.  And, negatively (if you will), leaders take proactive steps to guard against whatever seeks to diminish or destroy God’s purposes through the church, and in people’s lives.

At the Free Church of Cañon City, the key group of leaders is our Elder Board, in partnership with our ministry staff.  They are to be men of spiritual character, coupled with clear-headed thinking about the purpose of the church.  They must also be capable of prayerfully, wisely leading in such a way that our mission (“helping people become like Jesus through the community of the church for the glory of God”) is accomplished through Gathered Worship, Communities, Core Groups, and Serving.

In short, elders are (to be) humble yet initiative-taking leaders.  They are examples.  They are watchmen.

IDENTIFYING NEW LEADERS

In the next few weeks, our Elder Board, through Nominating Committee, will be seeking God’s wisdom, through God’s people, in identifying new elders to serve on the Board in the next term (2023-2025).  Those nominated will be invited to an orientation regarding Elder leadership.  If you are a member of this wonderful Free Church of Cañon City, please do the following.

First, pray for the Holy Spirit to identify and call godly men to this important role of ministry.  Paul said to the elders at the Ephesian church, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock (note: the order there!) in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28).

Second, consider nominating individuals you regard as truly qualified to serve in this role.  Read 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 for a refresher of the character of elders.  The present Elder Board and its Nominating Committee welcome your prayerful suggestions.  We will be looking for 2-3 new elders to be affirmed by the membership at our June 25, 2023 annual meeting.

Our church is a wonderful treasure, a gift from the Lord Jesus to this community.  We have had good men serving as elders whose terms are expiring (i.e., Don Burr, Dyle Knifong).  May the members of this body spend time praying, considering, and affirming those whom the Spirit would call to this ministry.

It is important!

Just about every generation of humans arrives at a point where heads are shaking and hearts are lamenting.  “Our world is a mess.”   Unless you stick your head in the sand to remain oblivious to the world around you, the evidence before us is compelling.  Any newspaper or news cast gives ample testimony.  The one I read on most days offered these headlines:



But Christians understand, better than most I’d argue, what kind of world we are living in.  It is small, and it is badly broken.  And, it won’t get better by simply staying-the-course.

Prompted by God’s Spirit, Paul said it:


If this is the only world in your future, your future is dim.

THE CHRISTIAN’S LARGER WORLD

In his book, On Christian Truth, Harry Blamires says it well:



Our citizenship is in heaven.
Our wait is for a Savior, the risen, living Lord Jesus Christ.
Our hope is in complete transformation (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, Romans 8:18-21).

If you have friends who are reading only the paper…well, offer them Philippians 3:20-21.  They too could step into a larger and hopeful world.

Allow me to gently challenge you for a moment.  Especially if you are under 30 years of age.

Turn off your smartphone.  Power down the TV.  Come to Sunday worship this weekend with a purpose.

“I’m gonna get to know a gray hair.”

I’m not challenging you to become bosom buddies.  Rather, give a godly gray hair some of your time and attention.  You may never be the same.

I did this week.  It took all of 30 minutes.  But I came away amazed at what God the Holy Spirit could do in someone’s life.  I’m still worshipping His Wind.

Of course, you’d never know it by just looking at him.  Quiet, unassuming.  Doesn’t walk very fast.  Can’t see very well.  Likes it when the preacher speaks louder.  “I can hear YOU,” he shared with me.  “You speak up.  I really appreciate it."

I just started asking questions: “Tell me about your life?  How did you meet your bride?” (they’ve been married and faithful for over 6 decades!)  “How did Jesus find you?”

That’s when the worship started, when he shared with me how he used to go fishing every Sunday morning instead of to church.  But a new preacher came to the local Baptist church, an interesting one.  At his wife’s urging he went.  And the Word of Life was both clear and powerful.  “I learned for the first time that Jesus had died for me, in my place.  I couldn’t get over it.  It took me by the throat.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Within days, at the next worship service, he stepped out, went forward, and the Spirit claimed his life, by grace through faith.  It was so powerful to hear him explain it…

…AND how his life changed immediately in the days afterward.  He was never the same man.  By the power of God.

Now, he’s in his 80’s, but with a sparkle in his eye when he explains the moments he met the Savior.
 
It was the best 30 minutes of my week.  Could be yours too…if you come to church with a purpose.  “I’m gonna get to know – and listen to – a gray hair.”

I dare you…

Being a technology luddite, I am almost never on social media.  So I hadn’t heard.

Until this week.  Have you?  The Spirit of God is blowing where He will through the Asbury University campus (Wilmore, Kentucky).  More precisely, in Hughes Auditorium. 

What began as a normal (and required) chapel service on Wednesday, February 8, has become a quiet, unrelenting bonfire of prayer, repentance, praise and Presence.  As the midweek chapel concluded with a song from the gospel choir, ten students stayed and prayed. Christianity Today reports that what is happening “defies easy description. Students did not leave.  They were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of transcendence, and they did not want to go. They stayed and continued to worship.  They are still there.” (https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/asbury-revival-1970-2023-methodist-christian-holy-spirit.html) 

What’s more, students from campuses around the Midwest—and from around the country (as far away as California)—are flocking to Asbury.  Each night, thousands are packing the auditorium.  As inside space evaporates, they stand outside the doors, the windows.  Praying. Singing.  Reading and reciting Scripture.   Many say that they “hardly even realize how much time has elapsed.  It is almost as though time and eternity blur together as heaven and earth meet…something unusual and unscripted is happening” (CT).

Some have been praying for this for years.

NOT THE FIRST TIME

Historians would remind that Asbury has been the site of revivals like this several times, “as early as 1905 and as recent as 2006.”  In 1970, as revival broke out at Asbury, classes were shut down for over two weeks to give room to step into God’s manifest presence.

Further back, the American colonies and then the newly formed United States experienced several revivals – the “First Great Awakening” in the colonies (1730 -1750), the "Second Great Awakening” (1790’s-1820’s) which fueled the anti-slavery movement, and the “Third Great Awakening” (1890’s-early 20th Century).  Segments of our history when the Holy Spirit used the worship and prayer of Jesus’ disciples to challenge our country’s spiritual lethargy.

A professor at Asbury recently wrote, “In previous revivals there has always been fruit that has blessed both the church and society…Likewise, I look forward to seeing what fruit God will bring about from such a revival in our generation.”

WHAT ARE WE PRAYING FOR?

I am challenged to evaluate what I am praying for on a regular basis.  In a book I’ve read with district pastors (Transforming Prayer), the author challenges me not merely to seek God’s hand (i.e., His gifts), but first to seek His face (His presence).  Jesus taught, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these (other) things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  “Seek ye first…what a verse!” Sara Groves quietly sings.

Praise God for what He is doing in a special way on the east coast.  Kentucky news broadcasts are featuring this remarkable visitation from God.

Shall we not pray for a similar visitation…for the good of the body of Christ, and the world around us?

See you Sunday.

As I write today (Wednesday), the death toll from Monday’s 7.5-7.8 magnitude twin-earthquakes in eastern Turkey and northwestern Syria has climbed to over 11,000 human beings.

Rescue teams worldwide have raced “to reach people buried under buildings. The U.S. Geological Survey has projected a possible death toll of up to 11,000 people, while a senior World Health Organization official said it could rise to more than 20,000” (WSJ, Feb. 7, 2023).  Beyond the quake, a major snowstorm is pummeling the area.  Airport runways are compromised.  Roads have disappeared.  Turkey’s president is begging the world for help.

It’s a race against time and conditions to rescue the dying, the trapped under layers of rock and earth, concrete and steel.

Men and women.  Young people and children.  The toll mounts.  Imagine every person today living in Canon City, Penrose, and Florence suddenly losing their lives in a matter of minutes.

8,000 have been pulled alive from the rubble.  A baby and her mother trapped for 29 hours.  Another woman stranded for 22 hours.  Yet another child buried for 18.  The searching continues.

EVIDENCE OF CREATION’S GROANING and THE CREATOR’S HEART

Prompted by the Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote it plainly to the Roman Christians.  In 8:21, he describes the physical creation as enslaved to deterioration, to corruption.  In 8:22, he hears creation lamenting (deep weeping, groaning) as it suffers the agony of dysfunction.  Of course, the world does evidence the beauty of an Artistic Creator.  But ever since Adam invited sin into his God’s gift of creation, the world itself is very broken, shockingly unpredictable and unsafe. Under the curse imposed by a holy God, nature itself often, and vividly, reminds us that sin destroys (cf. Genesis 3:17).  Our home is a fallen creation compromised and wrenching, violently crushing life.

When it does, people find themselves buried, tossed into utter helplessness.  Apart from outside intervention, they will die and be gone forever.

The image of God in us ignites sacrificial efforts of recovery.  Desperately clawing through rubble, rescuers mirror the selfless heart of a Savior, God who chose to became human.   Who willingly left his glory to dig through our gore.  A Savior relentlessly seeking, and saving, the buried, the trapped, the helpless, the lost.  And in so doing, to show us the actual heart of His Father.

WATCH THE NEWS and PONDER OUR RESPONSE

May I urge you to watch the news?  Look at what videographers transmit back through our news stations.  Look long and linger over pictures of rescuers urgently scrabbling through the debris.  They call out, they dig, they strain to hear any sound of possible life.  At any possible signal, they burrow to save a soul.  

They are modeling our Lord’s heart for those under the earthquake of sin and rubble of sinfulness.  Even here, in our safe, stable community, there are hundreds, thousands, so buried.  Desperately needed is the rescue available through the gospel of life.  We follow a searching, digging, clawing Savior who  looks over his sweaty, dirt-stained shoulder to say, “Please!  Join me!!  Dig for the lost!!!”

Who near you – near me -- has a life that has been demolished by the earthquake of sin?  Are we praying that they might cry out for help?  And, are we willing to search and dig and pull someone out of the rubble?

“For the Son of Man (and his disciples) has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10)
See you Sunday morning!

Decades ago, I played the game.  I’ll admit it. I didn’t care much for the guys in the striped shirts (yep, they were all guys back then).  

And, I gave my share of “lip” when one of their whistles stopped play and the hand was pointed at my waist (again, back then, the referee would point to your waist when you committed a foul and play did not continue until you raised your hand).  Competitive juices prevented me from ever fully admitting my round-ball transgressions.

Today, I’m blowing the whistle, seeing the game from a very different angle.   My weekly experiences are teaching me that becoming a good basketball player – and becoming like the Lord Jesus – both take practice, time, and game minutes.
 
BECOMING LIKE JESUS TAKES PRACTICE 

New referees often are assigned games played by newbies to basketball.  Newbies, at the start, are not very good.  To say the least.  All the time – very frequently – they don’t understand the rules.  They are unskilled at ALL the basics: dribbling, pivoting, passing to teammates, shooting, ball handling, rebounding, playing defense.  They are also often out of shape, which means tiring easily.  And sometimes, when ALL those basic skills are just not happening no matter how hard they try, they give up.

There’s just very little that looks like the game of basketball when new players -- who haven’t put in the time practicing basic skills -- nevertheless try to play the game.
 
If you’re a new Christian and feel a bit daunted at the very idea of thinking and living like Jesus, hear this.  IT’S NORMAL!

But if you’re new to following Jesus, it’s important that you quietly, off-the-court-of-life, practice the basics.  Here are a few I’d suggest – reading the gospel of John 3-4 times a week with a spiritual friend, and talking about what you are encountering.  Praying together for one another – especially about applying what the Holy Spirit is telling you in your reading.  And reviewing what becoming like Jesus looks like, to get a picture of what the Spirit wants to produce in your life.   Here’s the picture the Spirit has given disciples at the Free Church of Canon City:

• LOVING God supremely and others sacrificially
• ALIGNING with God's Word
• PARTICIPATING in the life of the church
• ANTICIPATING the return of Jesus
• SEEKING the good of our neighbor and world

BECOMING LIKE JESUS TAKES TIME

My life in basketball began in 5th grade.  Mr. Louis Bjorn, my 5th grade teacher, loved tennis and basketball.  He willingly volunteered his afterschool time to open the school gym 3 afternoons a week for 4th-6th graders to come and bounce the ball.  He started me dribbling, aiming for the corner of the square on the backboard, urging us into pick up games.

Through the grades and with each successive year, I spent more time with the ball and a basket and friends.  It simply took time to learn how to move in a coordinated way with the ball and with teammates.  The more time we spent, the better we all became.

Being shaped into the image of Jesus takes time, but it needs to be “time well invested,” and with others.  There’s no substitute for hanging with other disciples who also want to become like Jesus…not merely talking about the weather or sports or your last vacation.  Rather, talking about Christ and the challenges of Him living in you and you living like Him.  When this is our focus, the image of Jesus emerges more and more.  The Apostle John spoke of Christians who begin as “children,” then grow to be “young men,” and finally mature into “fathers” (cf. 1 John 2).

BECOMING LIKE JESUS TAKES GAME MINUTES

Game minutes.  That’s when you are on the floor during a real game, where playing great defense and offensive scoring proficiently are a must.  Frustrating your opponent’s attempts to score, and prevailing past your foe’s attempts to keep you from scoring.  Again, great basketball requires a team – a group of players who love the game and work hard together to play team defense and unselfish offense.

Playing well against a determined opponent can bring out the very best, and so it is with becoming like Jesus.  Our lives are an important “game” and the stakes are high.  When temptation lures, we need to live like our Savior lived by quoting and applying Scripture.  When a neighbor’s life is broken and needs Jesus, we need to live like our Savior offering grace and truth.  When forces threaten the unity of our church, we need to live like our Savior bringing a word of peace and humility, that our enemy not destroy our fellowship.

Jesus said His church would prevail against the gates of Hell.  Each day we suit up, our objective is to become more like Jesus even as He lives more in and through us.

Practice.  Time.  Game Minutes.   The Free Church in Canon City is a great team.  In the weeks and months to come…let’s become more and more like our Savior.

Okay…so you can “Google” that question.  You know what?  You will get scores of articles offering many answers, often with long explanations.

He (and sometimes she) is:

• a person with the church office of minister
• someone with the authority to lead religious services
• the leader of a Christian congregation
• someone who gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation
• a man who is older and experienced in the faith
• the spiritual leader and teacher of a protestant congregation (hmmm…what is a protestant congregation?)
• an overseer of the flock of God
• a clergyman
• someone responsible for spiritual nourishment
• a preacher of the Word (who holds nothing back!)

And on goes the list.  It can be confusing.  Kinda like asking, “What is a trunk”?  (is it the back of a car, the bottom of a tree, that chest in your attic, or the front of an elephant?)

How would you define the role of serving as a pastor?

Perhaps we should consult the Bible?  What might the Spirit of God tell us?

ACTUALLY, PASTORS ARE SHEPHERDS

You might be surprised to discover that the word “pastor” (as we commonly use it) does not actually occur in many English translations of the books of the Bible.  The word pastor occurs most often in the King James Version (or translation) of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible.  In both those languages, the term is actually “shepherds.”  Pastors, then, are individuals who watch over, care for, and protect a herd of sheep or goats.
 
The Bible uses the metaphor of shepherding sheep to describe the work spiritual leaders do of caring for a group of people.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah -- speaking for God, tells God’s chosen people (Israel) that the Lord gave “shepherds” for his people.  These shepherds were leaders who were to self-lessly care for God’s people, especially leading them to know God, His word, and obey Him.  They were given responsibility for nurturing God’s “vineyard” (a metaphor God used to speak of His people).  Shepherds were to be loyal to the Lord, and servant leaders of His flock.

Yet so often – too often – these shepherds (usually priests or false prophets) were unfaithful, disobedient, and used their position of leadership to ingratiate themselves, misusing their authority. Often, they faithlessly also led God’s flock to worship and serve other gods.

In the New Testament, the word “pastor” (or shepherd) is used only once.  Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus gave “gifted individuals” to lead His church (Ephesians 4:11).  “Shepherds” and “teachers” (or perhaps “shepherd-teachers”) were given to the body of Christ “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”  Elsewhere (cf. 1 Peter 5:2), Peter exhorts those who are “elders” of churches to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you.”  Verses 1-4 describe what that shepherding should look like, and elders will be evaluated by the Chief Shepherd (or pastor) when He returns. Paul, speaking to the Ephesian church elders, exhorts them to the work of “taking care” of the flock of God selflessly and diligently (cf. Acts 20:26-35).

The work of “shepherding” God’s people may involve all the kinds of things found in the bulleted list which began this article.  But at the heart is the work of taking care of “sheep,” people who belong to God and are in the “flock” (or body) of Christ.

PASTORS ARE…

Pastors are to be godly shepherds, and clear-headed, spiritually mature leaders.  Thus the writer to the Hebrews says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).
This week, and through this weekend, you have the opportunity to get to know Pastor Brent Lively, a gifted shepherd who is coming to offer himself as the lead shepherd of the Free Church of Canon City.  Welcome him (and Charda his wife).  Get to know them.  Talk with them and ask questions.
 
And pray, both about God’s will and your decision (as a member), that the will of the Lord Jesus might be known and affirmed by our congregation.

When’s the last time the Lord spoke to you?

What did He say?

If you paused when you read the above questions--paused long enough to reflect and think—I’d be very curious to know what you concluded.  “When did I hear the Lord’s voice?  And what did He say?”

As this new year begins, it is truly the time for this church body, the disciples of the Free Church of Cañon City, to be listening for the Lord’s voice.

IF HE SPEAKS, WILL WE HEAR?

A most beautiful moment in the Bible is recorded in 1 Samuel 3.  Eli, Israel’s High Priest, was not in touch with the Lord, nor were his worthless sons.  But a youngster had been entrusted to Eli’s care by his godly mother Hannah.  1 Samuel’s author tells us that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (3:1).

Translation?  Eli and his own sons, responsible for communicating God’s word, were not listening.
 
But God wanted to speak, and he knew a young boy would have receptive ears.  And so in the middle of the night, God audibly calls out his name: “Samuel!”  Not knowing who was calling, Samuel ran to Eli.  “Here I am!”  Eli demurred, “I did not call my son.  Go lie down.”

But it happened again.  Still Eli sent Samuel back to the covers.  On attempt number 3, Eli realized the Lord, Yahweh, was calling his young servant.  His advice was wise.  “If the Lord calls you, say Speak, Lord, for your servant hears” (3:9).

And so the Lord did speak.  “Samuel!  Samuel!!”  When the Lord says your name twice, he truly wants your attention. Samuel was ready, and the Lord filled his ears and heart with important, critical revelation.

I love that story.  I’m convinced we often gag God.  Our ears are not open.  Our minds are not ready.  We are taking in too much cultural, social-media noise.  Our receptors are over-loaded.  If God speaks to you, will you hear?

LET’S START LISTENING IN THIS 1st MONTH OF 2023

These are days when we must listen to the Lord.  This coming Sunday, we will begin listening to His voice through the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

The following Sunday, we will be listening to what the Spirit has to say to us through our Senior Pastor Candidate, Rev. Brent Lively.  Following his visit, we must hear the Lord’s voice about calling Pastor Brent as our Senior Pastor.

May I encourage you to slow down just a bit, shut out the competing noise, and ask the Lord himself to speak to you…and to us together…about what He wants to reveal to us.

“Here we are, Lord.  Speak!  Your servants are listening.

The Christian Bible is a small library.  On its shelves are 66 “books,” 39 written before Jesus was born; 27 written after his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.  The Old Testament books were written in the ancient Hebrew language (with the exception of Daniel, written in Aramaic), while the New Testament books were written in 1st century “koine” (or common) Greek.   Written by over 40 different human authors, though with One Divine Author (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16).

There are some 31,102 verses in the Bible found in 1,189 chapters (23,145 verses in the Old Testament; 7952 verses in the New Testament), on average 26 verses per chapter.

Interestingly, Psalm 103:1-2 are the verses exactly in the middle of the library.  These at the heart of the Bible display David’s heart:

These books, chapters, and verses found in 66 books were written over a period of 1,500 years, from as early as 1450 B.C., to as late as AD 90.

The parts of the Bible composed over centuries, by authors who lived in different eras and different places – some writing narrative, some poetry and songs, a few writing biographies while others composing letters – is it possible that there is one “big picture” idea that unites all the volumes?  
 
WHAT IS GOD OUT TO DO?

Some years back, the great missionary statesman and pastor Stanley Ellison wrote an important article in the missions volume entitled Perspectives.  His piece tackled the question of a unifying idea for everything found from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.  He titled it “EVERYONE’S QUESTION:  What is God Trying To Do?”

Dr. Ellison’s article is brilliantly helpful because in it he distills all the thousands of truths in the Bible’s library,  pointing to one overarching, synthesizing idea.  It’s an idea that helps us see what God has purposefully been about in our world since the opening chapters of Genesis.  Building on Ellison’s insights, here is the BIG IDEA of the Bible:

In other words, all of the 66 books and 31,000+ verses are ultimately communicating this message.  There is one true God who is in the process – through His plan – of reclaiming His rule and redeeming people through the Lord Jesus Christ.  And, of course, the last book of the Bible, assures us that God will completely fulfill what He set out to do.

WE WILL BEGIN 2023 CELEBRATING THE TREASURE OF THE WORD

New Year’s Day 2023 is Sunday.  We will begin our 2023 gathered worship year in Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible (176 verses), 22 stanzas each of 8 verses, all of which extol the unique treasure and value of the Bible.  It is the one small library, breathed out to us by the one true God, which tells us our need, and what a loving seeking God has done to reclaim and redeem us.
Should you be in town, join us for pancakes at 9:00 AM, and worship at 10:00 AM.   Out of town?  Tune in our live-streamed service at www.efreechurch.org.  Let’s begin the year together saying to the God who sought us and saved us.

“Open our eyes, that we may behold,
wondrous things out of your law.
We are sojourners on earth;
Hide not your commandments from us!”
Psalm 119:17-18

I know from talking to pastoral colleagues around the country.  It’s a difficult decision to know whether or not to have a gathered worship service on a Sunday which is also Christmas Day.

Why?

Well, because most church decide to have multiple services on Saturday, Christmas Eve Day.  If you are gathering for worship on Saturday evening, why come back again the next morning?

Would it not be a better call to encourage God’s people to invest Christmas Sunday morning at home, in family time?

But wait a minute! (some would argue)…Sunday is still the Lord’s Day (the Christian version of the Hebrew Sabbath).  Is it not more fitting to be faithful on Sunday and come together for worship, despite it being Christmas Day…or perhaps because it is Christmas Day.

LET'S BE CLEAR – NOT LEGALISTIC

Honestly speaking (may I do that as your interim pastor?)…there is no “right” or “wrong” answer to the question which heads up this weekender.  It’s not a matter of Scriptural command whether we gather in worship on Christmas Day, or we offer one another freedom to celebrate the day at home.  To make this a matter of “right vs. wrong” is to unfortunately do what has often crippled the joy and unity of Jesus’ church; namely, to impose a command without a clear justification in Scripture.

Paul said it to the Christians in the city of Colossae: “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath; these are a show of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (2:16-17).  Unfortunately, we often are legalists at heart.  Paul counsels that we limit what we may want to codify.  “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:15).

In addition, our call to be worshippers is not tied to a service or an event.  Worship is a lifestyle, even as Paul made clear in Romans 12:1-2.  It’s a moment-by-moment, living-sacrifice honoring of God in all we do in all of living.

STILL…YOU’RE ALL INVITED!

Nonetheless, we are offering a Christmas Day worship service (at 10:00 AM) for all who desire to come and sing together, pray together, hear a message from God’s word together, and encourage one another.  We will meet in the name of Jesus, remember the wonder of God’s birth as a human being, and be reminded that “The Wise Still Seek Him” (a message about the magi, Matthew 2).

Happy Birthday, dear Lord Jesus.  We love being your disciples.  Thank you for being our Savior.  May you be present in our gathered worship this coming Sunday morning, Christmas Day.

Throughout the history of Christian movement, there have been 3 ways in which Jesus’ leaders have organized and governed local churches.  You should know!  The three ways are not “all the same thing.”

One form of governing the church is called EPISCOPAL governance.  “Episcopal” is a word found in the Bible, in the New Testament, meaning “overseer” or “bishop.”  Churches with this form of government are led by a bishop.  Final authority for decisions effecting a church lies with him (or her).  This is the form of governance used by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican (or Episcopalian) Church.

A second form of governing the church is known as PRESBYTER (or “elder”) governance.  Churches with presbyterian governance agree that final authority for decisions effecting a church likes with a group of “presbyters,” or elders.  These are usually individuals selected based on qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  This form of governance is used by Presbyterian churches, as well as some Lutheran and Methodist fellowships.

A third form of governing the church is CONGREGATIONALISM.  In this form, final authority for decisions effecting the church lies with the congregational membership; that is, with those who have become members of the church as directed by the church’s by-laws.  A “congregational church” may have “overseers” and “elders” in leadership, who have a measure of decision-making authority.  But that authority is granted to them by the members as outlined in the ministry’s by-laws.

GOT QUESTIONS?
You may have at least 2 questions when you think about our church, the Free Church of Cañon City.

• Which of these “governing forms” is what the Bible calls for?
• Which of these do we – the Free Church – use?

If you are asking, Which church governing form is Biblical?,  it is fair to say that you can make a case for any of these forms.  Your preference will depend on what practices in the historic church you see as “prescriptive.” Also, how you interpret the importance of certain passages which speak to church organization.

Those who prefer the EPISCOPAL form see much of the early Apostles’ authority handed off to a leading priest or bishop.  Thus (they would argue), the priest or bishop should be in charge.

Those who prefer the PRESBYTERIAN form emphasize the New Testament passages where a plurality of elders in a local church appear to have been given authority to lead, with the constituency in submission to that group.

Those who prefer the CONGREGATIONAL form recognize that the Scriptures teach there are to be elder-leaders in the church.  Nonetheless examples found in the New Testament books suggest that often, elder-leaders brought pending decisions “to the entire congregation” for affirmation and implementation.  In other words, leaders took steps to ask for and secure congregational agreement.

WHAT ARE WE…THE FREE CHURCH?
The Free Church of Cañon City is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America.  Our “free church movement” began in Europe, and came to the United States with immigrants in the 19th century.  Free Churches from the beginning adopted the CONGREGATIONAL form of church governance.  Meaning?  Free Churches recognize that, under the Lord Jesus Christ, final decision-making authority lies with the membership of the church.  
 
Our church is such a fellowship.  Our by-laws direct that leaders who have delegated authority from the membership must bring key decisions to the membership for consideration and approval.
 
IMPORTANT UPCOMING MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
All of what you’ve just read is meant to prepare our congregational members to make some important decisions in the next 45 days.

• On December 11 @ 4:30 PM, our members will gather for the presentation of a Senior Pastor candidate, to lead our staff and ministry for years to come.  Why?  Because according to our by-laws, the Free Church’s congregational members are to vote on who the Senior Pastor shall be. This meeting will prepare you to prayerfully investigate before you vote.
  
  
• On January 10-15, from Tuesday through Sunday, our congregational members will have the chance to meet the candidate with a view to voting “yea” or “nay” on his candidacy.
  
  
• On January 22 @ 4:30 PM, the members will vote.  According to our by-laws, the vote for someone to be our Senior Pastor must be at least 75% affirmative.
  
  

“Congregational” governance is based on the view that God’s will for a local church is indicated, by the Spirit of God, through the vote of the membership.  Bottom line?  Our congregational membership meetings are important!

Therefore!!!   Please be praying, and planning to attend this Sunday’s meeting.  And may the Lord Jesus Himself, who has final authority in His body, the church, indicate His will for our future through us.

See you Sunday!

It is hard for me to fathom it.  Still, it is undeniably true.  I am making my way through year 70 of life.  Should the Lord permit, sometime next fall, I will fully own that milestone.

Through seven decades of life, I’ve seen many countless leaders come-and-go.  Way too often, leaders that I have thought would finally provide the kind of example and direction so desperately needed—either politically or spiritually--fell short.
 
Often, woefully short!

As a student in High School, I blindly believed in the personal and political leadership of Richard Nixon.  How naïve and foolish I was.  Year after year, decade after decade, I’ve seen fellow disciples exhibit similar gullibility.  How easily Jesus’ disciples – longing for a genuinely moral and wise leadership -- are fooled by those courting their allegiance while seeking political power.
 
Looking back over the 40+ years in Christian ministry, I have also, too often, placed confidence in “this” church leader or “that” Christian apologist or “this” Christian author, only to later discover how compromised their lives actually were. Today, even as Billy Graham’s Biblically-informed voice fell silent when he graduated to heaven in 2018, no evangelical leader of consequence has been able to inherit Graham’s mantle.

Genuine, humble, worthy leaders seem very few, and far, far-between.

GOD’S PROMISE TO PROVIDE A LEADER
 During these days of Advent, we find hope in the prophetic declarations of Isaiah.  His heart, his mouth, and his pen were full of the word of God.  Speaking to ancient Israel, compromised in darkness and destined for exile, the promise of a remarkable, future leader breaks through.  A coming day when

“To us a child is born, to us a son is given.
And the government will be on His shoulder,
and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Father of Everlasting, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end.
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
from this time forth and forever more.

What’s more!

            “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
            (Isaiah 9:6-7)

HE HAS COME…and WILL COME AGAIN
Of course, Bible students understand that in his first coming, the Lord Jesus Christ is this divinely promised, zealously-given, leader worthy of our faith, love, and loyalty.  Gabriel tells Mary that her birthed-son “will be great, called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32).  Matthew identifies Jesus as the “great light” (Isaiah 9:2) that “people dwelling in darkness” and “in the region and shadow of death” must see.

Unfortunately, Israel’s leadership did not sufficiently see Jesus as this light.  They did not welcome him to take his place on the throne of David.  Instead, they crucified Him, settling for and embracing yet another generation of failing Jewish and Roman leadership.

But God’s promises must be fulfilled in full!  Isaiah’s prophesy requires that the zealous Lord will again send this Light.  There is coming a day – as sure as the word of God is true – when this Wonderful Counselor, this Father of the Ages, this Prince of Peace will arrive and take His place, rightfully, not in a manger, but on David’s throne.  The world will experience a government of peace to which there will be no end.  In which there will be justice and righteousness from this time forth and ever more.  Every knee will bow.

On Advent Sunday #1, Alan Donald reminded us how much all creation groans in eager expectation, awaiting His arrival and the revelation of the sons/daughters of God.  On Advent Sunday #2, Associate Pastor Loren Kolman will anchor our expectant hearts in God’s promise of a truly worthy Leader.

See you Sunday morning for Gathered Worship!

There are moments when, as a pastor, you could wish for all the world that the earth would open up beneath your feet and swallow you up instantaneously.   Self-inflicted, pastoral moments of extreme embarrassment.

“What moments?” you ask?
 
Two that I can vividly remember, on two separate occasions.  Twice (you’d think I would have learned after episode #1) I have stuck my foot in my own mouth asking a woman in my congregation, “So, you’re expecting!  When are you due?”

“I’m not expecting” came the reply, each time.

So it is with some hesitation that I ask you, “Are you expecting?”
 
EXPECTING WHAT?
 No, I’m not inquiring about whether or not you are great-with-child.  I’ve learned my lesson.

But I am asking about whether or not you are anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Christ.   How often do you think about this?  And, should the Lord Jesus return today, would you be prepared to meet Him face-to-face?

The Lord’s imminent return was a huge factor in my own spiritual journey.  As a boy, hearing preaching about the Lord’s return moved me to a step of faith in Christ.  I didn’t want to be left behind.  I was discipled in a church that spoke often and taught often on the coming of Jesus.  By the Lord’s grace, I was permitted to attend a theological institution in which the coming of the Lord Jesus was consistently emphasized.  I recall the chapel in which Dr. Walvoord humbly said, “I rise each morning asking the Lord, ‘Is it today?’.”

So I ask you, again, “Are you expecting?”  Are you expectant?  Do the Apostle John’s words inform your hope about today, or perhaps tomorrow?

ADVENT THEN and NOW
If the Gospel accounts accurately describe the level of expectation which existed when God the Son first came to earth, very few were expecting.  It is startling to realize that only a few awakened shepherds, Simeon and Anna in the temple area, and a few more foreign magi, were fully aware someone truly special (and foretold!) had arrived.

Even Joseph’s quest for Bethlehem lodging met with a “we have no room” response.  A small picture of the larger problem.  No awareness nor room for the arrival of the Maker of heaven and earth?  You’re kidding.

The world was not kidding.  “He was in the world—the world that was made through Him—yet the world did not know Him.  He came to His own (i.e., Israel), and his own people did not welcome Him” (John 1:10-11).

Truly today – though some mention of Jesus’ return surfaces now and then – we are so often just as unaware and unexpectant as were those when He came the first time.

Here is a quiet call for us to eagerly expect the Lord Jesus to come.  He will be returning.  Such is the promise of Scripture from a God who cannot lie.
 
As you come to worship at the Free Church during the weeks of Advent, come expecting.  Our teaching series messages, entitled “Eager Expectation,” will tune our hearts with anticipation for the arrival of Someone of whom it is promised  ”Behold! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7).

Sometimes, a great idea gets little attention.

Rather than being recognized, it is ignored.  Rather than being applauded, those in charge are dismissive.  Deserving to be the front page, it can be buried in the classifieds.

Sometimes, a great idea needs a relentless advocate.  This certainly was true when it came to our nation’s oldest tradition—the observance of Thanksgiving Day.

BEFORE PRESIDENT LINCOLN
Yes, it’s true that the U.S. President who established an annual Thanksgiving Day, on the last Thursday in November, was Abraham Lincoln.  He did so via a Proclamation, issued on October 3rd, and published in Harper’s Weekly magazine on October 17, 1863.  To be sure, other Presidents previously had the idea.  Early on, President George Washington declared November 26, 1789 as a national day of thanksgiving; President James Madison did something similar in 1815.  But those special days came-and-went, and the idea of a re-occurring day went unsustained, until…

Well, until a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879) embraced the conviction that such an annual day should be a permanent fixture in the American way of life.  Sarah began her quest 36 years before Lincoln’s Proclamation.  In 1827, she was the editor of Boston’s Ladies’ Magazine, and in that publication, she began writing essays calling for a permanent national holiday of thanksgiving.  Nineteen years later (1846), then editing the Godey’s Lady’s Book, she called for a letter-writing campaign to fan into flames the cause.  Her goal was to deluge Washington’s politicians and the presidents – month after month, year after year -- with letters calling for the establishment of Thanksgiving.

With the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, southern states (beginning with South Carolina) began seceding, eventually establishing the Confederacy and Jefferson Davis as its President.  As the carnage of the American Civil war multiplied, each president called for days of “fasting and prayer” for the success of their armies (Union vs. Rebel).  Two months after the extraordinary bloodshed at Gettysburg, Sarah Hale personally wrote President Lincoln on September 28, 1863, asking him to use his powers to create the holiday.  Lincoln said, “I will.”  Her passionate, extraordinary letter is often cited as the major impetus behind Lincoln’s decision.

A THANKSGIVING CALL FOR UNITY
There was a different tone to Lincoln’s October 3rd Proclamation.  Though the nation was under the heavy pale of suffering and death as the war dragged on, Lincoln chose to focus on the blessings bestowed by the hand of the Almighty.

He did not ask for God to favor the north nor the south.  Rather, he simply asked the whole of the American people (“in every part of the United States, and also those at sea, and those sojourning in foreign lands”) to “offer up the ascriptions justly due Him for such singular deliverances and blessings.”

Also, that they “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged.”
Ask, Lincoln urged, the Almighty’s hand “to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to enjoy the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”
Lincoln had become keenly aware of the “every-watchful providence of Almighty God,” and called the American people to their knees.  Sarah Josepha Hale’s idea finally found the front page.

THANKSGIVING SUNDAY AHEAD
 Great ideas require great leadership to bring about great results.  We can be thankful for a godly woman who, captured by a great idea, refused through almost 4 decades to let it be ignored.  Grateful that a President realized that for our nation to be great again, it needed to have an annual, national holiday of Thanksgiving.  Would that the Almighty would give us another President like Lincoln in these days when a cultural civil war is badly dividing our nation.

May I encourage you to come to worship the Almighty this Sunday for our Thanksgiving Sunday service?  My second encouragement is that you find Lincoln’s proclamation,  print copies off for all your family members, and prayerfully read it out loud together at your Thursday thanksgiving meal.

Great ideas require great leadership for great results.  See you Sunday.

As a Middle School boy, I fell in love with two things.

The first was the Bible.  Shortly after I bent my 9-year-old heart (and knees) before Christ, my parents gave me a new Scofield Reference Bible.  I still have it.  It is all marked up with blue, green, yellow underlining.  King James Version with many old-English words I’d never encountered before.  But it didn’t matter.  The Spirit began speaking through the Word, and I was understanding it.  My hunger for the Scriptures in the Library only increased as at age 12 I was baptized.

The second was Basketball.  My growth spurt came later, which meant I was shorter than the Middle School cheerleaders.  No matter.  I found a ball the summer rec department was throwing away and began bouncing it, shooting it, and imagine that I too could be John Havlicek or Sam Jones of the Boston Celtics.  Every Sunday I watched them play on the TV.  When Dad fastened the fan backboard and a hoop on the double car-garage, I drove the lane, shot, and rebounded any miss for countless hours.

In high school, Bradford’s basketball coach was also the cross country coach.  That meant running cross country in the Fall for Jerry Verwey before playing ball for him in the Winter. Which meant long distance running.

Which I hated.  Thoroughly hated.  Each fall afternoon, along the Kenosha (WI) shoreline of Lake Michigan, 15 of us would gather to run mile upon mile.  My body never hurt so much.  My breath was never in such short supply.  The rigor of running messed with my head.  Every day when classes ended, the mental battle began.  Do I go to another day of CC practice, or not?
The only reason I was there was because I wanted to become something else.  A decent, competitive basketball player.

By God’s grace, it worked.  Jerry Verwey was a terrific coach, and as a senior, I was an all-conference guard.  But the battle didn’t end.

When invited to play ball for a small college in Indiana, my struggle with the physical discipline of the sport continued.  The demanding nature of collegiate-level training and practice multiplied exponentially in the Lancer gym. Coach Kammerer crafted relentless practices which wrung one out like a dishrag.  Again, each afternoon, I would sit in the library at 3:00 PM debating if I were going to go to the next practice.

I did.  Day after day.  Yet so often, I hated what I needed most.

Yet again, by God’s grace, it worked.  Coach’s demands, and patience, made me a much better player than I ever thought I could be.

THE POINT?

Why this extended autobiography of days (and ability) long since past?  There are experiences in your life, designed by your heavenly Father (and Coach), which you may be tempted to hate.  The experience may go on for some time.  They may be demanding, exhausting, relentless  You may wonder for hours why as a son or daughter of God you are being required to go through such things.  You may question the purpose for them.  You may agonize over the toll required.

Indeed, you may hate what you need most.

Your Coach knows.  And He’s not kept from you the purpose.  Listening to Him and not quitting is what you are called do…as well as not hating what He is putting you through.

This Sunday, we will explore this important proverb.  My son, do not despite the Lord’s discipline, or be weary of His reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom He loves, as a father the son in whom He delights (Proverbs 3:11-12).

See you Sunday morning.

One of the great challenges with Sunday mornings is what I would call the “shelf life” of sermons.

What do I mean?

I mean that most sermons tend to “go in one ear and out the other.”  Communications studies have demonstrated that we retain 5% of what we hear, 40-50% of what we hear and see, and 80%+ of what we hear, see, and do.  As most church attenders only “hear” the sermon, 95% of it vanishes into thin air.

Perhaps you learned about the “shelf life” of certain commodities or materials in a Middle School science class.  Shelf-life is defined as the period of time during which a material may be stored and remain suitable for use.  More broadly: the period of time during which something lasts or remains popular.  For example, buy a half-gallon of milk, and the “shelf life” printed in and around the carton’s cap indicates that you can drink the milk unspoiled for about two weeks.

Unfortunately, the shelf-life of a sermon merely listened to may be less than 24 hours.

THE SHELF LIFE OF PROVERBS – can be extended by the wise!

For the past 8 weeks, we’ve been drinking in God’s wisdom from Proverbs.  Our contention is that God has provides this Old Testament revelation to give us a compass for living.  Hearing, visually seeing, and living specific proverbs can keep us pointed in the direction that pleases God and betters us.

So, are we wiser today after 8 weeks of engaging with this Biblical compass?  Can you identify a specific wisdom truth that is changing your life?  We can extend the shelf-life impact of God’s proverbial revelation by both revisiting and intentionally applying what we’ve discovered.
Here are some of the key “compass” truths encountered over the past 2 months:

• God has breathed-out these timeless proverbs, inviting us onto a “path of right progress” (Prov. 1:1-7), a path which begins with a choice to fear the Lord.
• A righteous person lives the wisdom of the proverbs, enjoying the favor and joy of the Lord God himself (Proverb 15:8-9).  He/she finds true blessing and real goodness in life.
• Conversely, a fool refuses to be instructed, choosing rather to be naïve, willful, or scoffing at God’s wisdom, ruining his/her life and future (Proverbs 1:7, 10:8, 12:15).
• There is deep wisdom in trusting what God has said, and acknowledging God in all that is done (Proverbs 3:5-8).  Straight paths from the hand of God are the reward.
• There is both life-giving power or life-destroying power in the use of the tongue (Proverbs 10:19).  Effective remembering of this calls for surrendering the tongue’s use to our Father (and His Spirit within), and readily confessing when misuse occurs.
• Few things are as life-shaping as companions and friends (Proverbs 13:20).  Choose well and walk wisely.
• Families which thrive in the midst of cultural storms are Jesus-centered, God-fearing, and in the habit of thinking and acting wisely together (Proverbs 23:24-26).
• Wise use of anger mirrors our God’s expression of anger, an emotion-of-energy channeled well in holy and godly ways (Proverbs 16:32).

FOLLOWING THE COMPASS

I cast an eye at a newspaper cartoon almost every day entitled “Pepper And Salt.”  Most days, it makes an important point, humorously.  Recently, it pictured a man was seated in a swivel chair.  To the left, another was twirling the chair wildly, causing the seated man to whirl around.  Another (to the right) gleefully said, “Spin him another 30 seconds…he may be ready to see things our way!”

It struck me that this is what God’s enemy seeks to do with people, even Christians.  Spin someone around mercilessly until he/she has no idea how to look at things, or finding truth north.

When read and meditated on, the truths in Proverbs stops the spin.  “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied” (19:23).

We’ll see in in our gathered worship this Sunday.  Come prepared to give long life to the life-giving Word.

I’ll admit it.. I’ve lost touch with today’s popular heroes.  Honestly, I am at a loss to name any without doing a Google search.

Our dictionaries clarify for our thinking that a hero is “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.”  “A person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities, regarded as a role model or ideal.”

As you consider those descriptions, who comes into your mind?  And why?

THE BIBLE’S HEROES
The closest thing we have to a “Hall of Fame” of heroes in the Bible is found in the 11th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews.  In that chapter, the Holy Spirit lists those God designates as deserving commendation because they lived their lives by faith in God (“All these…commended through their faith…” Hebrews 11:39).

What does that mean?  It means that they lived with a faith assured of things hoped for and a steady conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).  In other words, they believed that God exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (11:6).

Please note this important about the Hebrews 11 list – which includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and others.  None of these faith-heroes was perfect.  In fact, reading their Scriptural biographies makes it very clear their living was often flawed. Just like our own lives.
 
But while our God calls us to share in his holiness, his commendation of our lives does not depend on achieving perfection.  Rather, God is looking for a heart which is solidly confident God exists, is who creation, the Scriptures, and Jesus reveal who He is, and eagerly rewards those who are sure of what is ahead and confident of what is not yet seen.

God loves when we completely trust Him, what He has promised, and his invitation to seek Him each day with our obedient living.

HEROES AROUND US
This week, I was greatly encouraged by a conversation I had with one of Jesus’ disciples, part of our body.  As we talked, it was clear he wanted to know what God has said and honor God with his life choices.  By faith, he wanted to make wise choices that aligned with God’s word and honored the Lord.

In response, I simply said, “You are one of my heroes.  Thank you for your heart for trusting and following Jesus.”

There are many of these kinds of heroes in the body which is the Free Church of Cañon City.   A church family, a church team with many who are rock solid about who the Lord God is and trusting them with their lives and their future.

As you come to gathered worship this Sunday, come ready to worship the Lord, but also to encourage those around you who truly are heroic in their living.  Not perfect…but rock solid on living each day by unwavering faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We hear Paul the Apostle tell us by the Spirit of God that “all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20).  Indeed, we count on the reliability of God’s promises.  Hebrews 6:18 assures us that “it is impossible for God to lie.”

Our thinking, our lives, our experience, our future—all of these things and more count on the promises of God to those who by grace through faith are in His family.

So, when we read in the volume of the Proverbs that the pursuing and using of God’s wisdom will bring about the best things in life – things like long years and healing to our bones and favor and success with God and man – can we count on what sound like promises in the Proverbs?”

SOME SAY “No!”

There are some Biblical scholars who insist that the sages who authored the sayings in Proverbs promised too much.   That they were “too optimistic in their promises.”  Perhaps they “confused their belief about what ought to be the case with what actually is the case.”
 
Still others suggest that Scripture’s proverbs “are not promises but probabilities.”  Thus they are not sayings you can truly count on, but rather statements that are generally true.  They contain an element of truth, but not the whole true.

But, as Dr. Bruce Waltke points out in Volume I his two-volume work on the Proverbs, “these solutions deconstruct Proverbs and the canon (of Scripture), and so undermine Christ’s and his apostle’s claim that all Scripture is inspired of God, who does not author confusion, and that the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35, 1 Cor. 14:33).   He urges thinking about what Proverbs promises that does not undercut Scriptural credibility.

WHAT PROVERBS OFFERS

Dr. Waltke reminds us of several important realities which underscore confidence in what Proverbs promises.

First, the promises of Proverbs are regularly validated by experience.  Experience consistently demonstrates that what they describe results in the consequences stated.  The sober, the cool-tempered, the diligent usually experience health and wealth, not the drunkard, the hothead, the sluggard.  It is simply true that “sound wisdom and discretion…will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.  You will walk on your way securely” (Prov. 3:21-21).

Second, the comprehensive volume of God’s proverbs includes “counterproverbs,” which qualify the promises.  That is, if all we read are the positive proverbs, we are not getting the full picture God gives us about life.  Proverbs includes sayings which acknowledge that the righteous can suffer and that the wicked have treasures for a season.   Some describe the suffering of the innocent.  Thus the fullness of the sayings in this volume paint the full picture, and not just the rosy one.

Third, Proverbs frequently reminds us that the reward of the righteous is often described as a blessed future that extends beyond death.  Like the hope expressed and promised in the New Testament, God’s own do not demand that all of God’s blessing be experienced in this first life.  There is an extraordinary future that lies “beyond our clinical death;” indeed, God’s promise is to ultimately uphold justice.

Derek Kidner, whose Old Testament commentaries are well worth the investment, reminds us how valuable this portion of God’s library is.

Bottom line – you and I can count on Proverbs to be truthful Scripture, and an indispensable compass for navigating everyday living.