Whirlwind

Tomorrow I step into a brand new season of life. For weeks it felt like it would never arrive, but now it is here and it is almost overwhelming. Tomorrow I realize God's call on my life as a Pastor/Missionary. (!)

I am so excited. Monday is the official kick-start to my new life, but this weekend has some amazing things coming up as well.

Friday, our church in Waverly is hosting a regional Pastor's Conference for the Vineyard churches in Iowa. We will have 30 or so leaders attending and we are going through a class on "assimilation." The idea is to talk about getting first-time visitors to be regular attenders. This should be helpful as long as we keep in mind that church is about making people more like Jesus, and not just expanding the size of our congregations.

Friday night is the Vineyard Coffee House (our weekly outreach to Wartburg). We have some great musicians lined up and I am starting to get to know several students very well.

Saturday is going to be really cool. I am planning on being outside a lot and then, Saturday night, we are hosting a group of people from IHOP-KC (the main hub of the House of Prayer movement). We will be having a training with them, supper and also a prayer meeting. The head of the student body will be coming and addressing our community. It should be a grand time.

Its the Final Countdown!

Five (5!) days of work left until I am done at Nazareth. Woo Hoo! I am very excited to be done there and to start devoting my time more fully to the Vineyard and IHOPE House of Prayer.

Sunday's sermon went well, even though it was very unusual for me. My normal mode is to prepare (approx.) 6 pages of notes and have the sermon typed out word for word. I much prefer written communication, I can more accurately say what I mean with it. Not so for this last week.

I shared some of my anguish of preparing the sermon in previous posts. The topic was so overwhelming that I simply had to stop writing and start praying for the Spirit to guide my words. There was no way I could have written everything anyway.

And so, Sunday morning found me with no notes, just a stool and a Bible sitting before the congregation. I was confident of three things: that the Holy Spirit was with us, that God's Word is living and active and that the people gathered in that place wanted to worship the Lord. That makes for a very receptive atmosphere and I laughed at myself for getting so worked up. Jesus is the Shepherd of His church, not me. He will build it, He will teach it, I just need to be faithful with what He gives to me.

We started with John 4, talking about worshipping in Spirit and Truth and how the Father seeks worshipers. That is absolutely astounding to me. God, who is all-powerful, wants something, meaning He doesn't already have it. God has set up this world so that there is one things He cannot take by force and that is the human heart. He wants us to respond in love.

The greek word for "worshiper" is proskyneo which is derived from the word for dog in Koine Greek. I think that is beautiful, even though I was offended at the time when I first learned it. Then God revealed to me a story that helped to put things in proper perspective.

My in-laws have a golden retriever named Lucy. Lucy is huge (9o lbs) and, like all golden retrievers, wants your full and undivided attention. If you are in the house, she will look at you through the window with the saddest eyes you can imagine. If you go out to her, she gets so excited she can hardly contain herself. She jumps, barks and tries to force you to sit and pet her. But what Lucy really wants, more than anything else, is to come into the house where you are.

My in-laws have a front foyer area which is Lucy's designated area. Since she is an outside dog, they don't really like her running about the house. When Lucy is first let in, she is so excited. She makes you sit and pet her and then after you leave she circles and circles, finding the perfect spot in which to lie down. However, if you are anywhere in the house where she can see you, you can begin to feel her staring at you.

Lucy will just look and look. She loves watching us move about the house, but her eyes still have a purpose. She knows that if she looks long enough, someone will come and get her. Then, not only will she be in the house, but she will be with you, where you are. That is her ultimate goal. She wants to sit next to you. She wants you to rub her belly. She wants you to talk to her and include her in your activities.

Lucy also has this peculiar quirk - she absolutely has to touch you. It is not enough to sit next to you, she needs to lay her paw on your leg. Or her head on your knee. It doesn't really matter as long as she has some sort of contact.

I think that is a perfect definition of what we try to achieve in worship. To come into His house. To gaze on him. To humble ourselves before Him. To be with Him where He is. To touch Him. This is worship. That I would need to have a dog teach me such a valuable lesson shows just how far my heart has fallen from its proper place. Thank you, Lord, for Lucy.

Sore Throat

I came home from work early today. My throat started hurting Monday and has gotten worse throughout the week. This morning just kicked my butt. So, a trip to the chiropractor (Jen, you are amazing) was in order and then a long nap. I feel loads better.

I think it all came about from being over-worked and under-rested. Committing to three ministries is tough. I knew it would be, but there are only a couple weeks left. Enough sob story.

I am preaching again this Sunday. Bill (our preaching pastor), Amy and I sat down and charted out the Sundays until Advent. We are focusing on Worship and my objective for this Sunday is to define what worship is. I will be posting the transcript like I did for the last time I preached and possibly attaching a sheet of notes for further study. Needless to say, this has been a great week for a sore throat because, more than anything, I need to listen.

Worship is fundamental to who were are as human beings. We were created for intimacy and relationship with God which naturally leads to worship. Worship is a reality, a posturing of the heart, which I can certainly grow into. Sometimes Jesus seems so... human. Like a buddy I can hang out and have a soda with. That is really cool and all for Jesus came so that we could have some understanding of what God's character is like, but rarely do I have the proper sense of awe that I should. Jesus is KING of kings and LORD of lords. John of Patmos, Jesus' most beloved disciple, fell as though a dead man when he was confronted with Jesus' unrestrained glory - John, who knew Him best!

Lord, my prayer for this week is that You would teach us to worship You in spirit and truth. Thank you for Your Son Jesus and for Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Worship

I know posts have been a little thin lately. My apologies. I am getting this schedule ironed out.

I have been reading about worship lately. What is it? What does it mean? What constitutes proper worship? Here is the best definition I have found.

Worship is submitting our whole self in response to God's initiative.

On a Sunday morning service, one can go through the motions. One can perform all of the rituals, say the liturgy perfectly and sing every song in harmony, but if the self, the spirit and soul is not submitted and actively engaged with the Living God, one has not worshipped.

Worship is an internal reality that produces external results. (Did you know that sitting is never mentioned in the Bible as a position of worship. Standing, kneeling and lying prostrate are all covered, but not sitting.) If we merely focus on the external facet of worship, we miss the whole thing. The struggle is in the inner life, the position of our hearts before Almighty God.

In youth group on Wednesday night we watched a video on the fear of the Lord. It was good. Here is a teaching that would help many find the proper position for their hearts before God. Sure, it sounds old school, but that doesn't make it untrue.

For those that think things through I have this to say. Yes, daily life (work, family, play) can all be worship when you are fully yielded to him. I wonder if this is what Paul meant when he said to "pray without ceasing?" I rather think so, but getting to that point will be a work of grace indeed.

Excited

We had "Exploring Waverly" yesterday for all of the Wartburg Freshmen. We had 100 some students stop by and got around 65 emails so we can contact them about Friday Night Coffee House and our Wednesday Night Community Meal.

I am so excited for this fall. Things are really moving quickly. I pray that those students find a church home in Waverly. College is much harder without one. So I ask you to pray for these kids even as we are at the Vineyard. Thank you.

Sunday's Sermon

First, thanks to all of you who have asked how things went on Sunday. I appreciate your concern. Sermons are hard business. Monologuing for 25 minutes is no easy feat for me, and having something worth while to say is my main concern. Still, God is faithful. He reminds me that all I have to do is deliver the words He gives me faithfully and accurately. He takes care of applying them to people's lives. After all, He is their shepherd... I guess that makes me the sheep dog.

Here is the transcript from my sermon on Sunday. There were some more filler comments, but this was the majority of what I said. I would appreciate you looking over it, fresh eyes always make sure I am being true to Scripture.

Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved though faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do. Ephesians 2:4-10

I wish we had time to unpack all of the different layers of this passage. I wish we had time to talk about how this revelation changed and shaped the early church. I wish we had time to talk about how these verses changed and shaped the Western world as we know it.

But 30 minutes is such a short time for a passage like this. So what I want to spend our time on today is meditating on the goodness, mercy and grace of God revealed to us in Christ Jesus.

"[God] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." v5.

While we were still sinners, God sent his son, Jesus, to be our atoning sacrifice so that we might have life and fellowship with Him through the Spirit. While we were still sinners, God loved us. While we were still sinners, God knew what He needed to do to draw us back to Himself.

God has no "Plan B." Jesus is, was and always will be God's plan to draw humanity into deeper relation and revelation of Himself. From before the foundation of the world, God knew how this would all plan out.

God knew Adam would fall. God knew Adam and Eve would eat the fruit.

God knew things would go from bad to worse in short order. God knew that in one generation the spirit of murder would enter the human race. God knew that within ten generations from Adam, humanity would grow so evil, so corrupt that He would have to destroy everyone except Noah and his family. God knew that He would have to limit the span of human life to 120 years, or else mankind's own depravity would create a literal hell on earth.

But God also knew that love: pure, selfless, humble, sacrificial and persistent love could bring us back.

The Old Testament is full of love language from God to His people. One need only read Jeremiah or Song of Songs to hear the deep heartache of God for His people. King David spoke boldly of God's love for him and his love for God. The Prophets continue to bear witness to God's love and plan for redemption, the coming King.

Jesus came to set us free. He came when all of humanity was in bondage to sin, religious duty and obligation. He came at a time when humanity was utterly unable to save itself.

Jesus came to show us what God is like. He came to show us what God's Kingdom is like, to give us hope that life can be different than what we experience now. We don't have to remain in relational brokenness, sexual immorality, physical disease or indifference towards life in general. Jesus dies to set us free from all of that.

When Jesus died, we were justified in God's sight. We moved from being guilty to being innocent - not because of anything we did, but because we trust in what Jesus accomplished for us.

Accepting the work of Jesus on the cross is an act of faith - it is trust in the character, faithfulness and affections of God towards you. Accepting that work of Jesus means we put down our striving, we give up trying to clean ourselves up in order to present ourselves acceptably to God. We no longer do things so that God will like us more and have mercy on us. Instead, we operate from a place of confidence that God does love us, already, and that we are free to live in confidence before Him.

And that faith we have in God, that is not even our own - it is a gift from God. He wants us to come to Him, so He continues to prove Himself faithful. He gives us faith, he offers us a better life now that we could ever have made for ourselves.

Christians have sold the idea that salvation equals not going to hell for so long that we have actually begun to believe it. Surely, that is part, but salvation is so much more.

We have to get away from equating salvation with justification. Salvation speaks of the fullness, the completeness, the health and vitality of God made manifest in your life. Salvation is when you have the full force of God's character, Kingdom, power and authority behind you because you are so much like Jesus, God can't tell the difference!

Justification is our legal status before God. It is moving from guilty to innocent. This is a necessary part of salvation, but, by itself, is incomplete. We must add to justification something called sanctification.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus every day. It is conforming our selves to His will even as we lay aside our own.

Sanctification is doing the same things Jesus did for the same reasons He did them.

Jesus healed the sick - not for personal fame or glory, but because He had compassion on them. He saw people in bondage to Satan. He saw people who could not free themselves. He saw people who has the joy of the Lord and the peace of living in His Kingdom stolen from them. Jesus healed the sick to set people free, to begin establishing His Kingdom here on the earth.

Paul says in verse 10 that we are God's workmanship. We were created to do good works with right motivation. If you read your Bible because that is what you think "good" Christians do, you are missing the mark. That time will not be as beneficial to you as it could have been. We read the Bible because in it we find out more about God. We are hungry to hear His words, to know His thoughts, to understand His emotions and who He is.

The Bible is our launching pad into the heart of God. This is where our relationship begins. God still speaks. He has given us His Spirit to teach us, guide us, remind us and encourage us.

God wants us to have a vibrant and living relationship with Himself, right now. He had sent His Son to clear the way. He has sent His Spirit to encourage and equip us along our way.

It is God's desire to be with you and for you to be with him. He will do all that is necessary to make that happen. However, we have a part too. We have to trust Him, we have to put forth effort to follow Him, we have to crucify our sinful nature daily and live from His life within us. We have to realize that we can't live life in our own strength - we must submit to Him.

A portion from Jesus' prayer in John 17. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Jesus' last request before He went to Calvary was that we would be with Him where He is. He wanted us to see His glory. He wanted us to grow into unity under His lordship.

For those of us who believe, we know that this has only happened because of God's work in our lives. We know we cannot save ourselves in our own power. We know that our challenge is to accept what Jesus did for us and to live that reality as it is.

As Paul said, "We have been saved by grace through faith, not through works, so that no one may boast."

Hallelujah.

Whirlwind

Folks, life has been crazy here in the Dau house. Some of you have already started supporting us, thank you so much for that. It is a miracle of God that a young man can raise support from his family and friends in the midst of the worst economic downturn of his lifetime. You are wonderful people, I am blessed to have you in my life.

Things are kicking into high gear. Wednesday night kicked off our youth programming. I will be assisting with Thunder in the Desert our ministry to 9-12 graders. I am leading a group of excellent young men - I am very excited for this year.

Next Tuesday, the 7th of September, we will run a simulated coffee house for Wartburg students. We will start that outreach for real that following Friday. Coffee House has a special place in my heart because I was a Freshman the year it started. I volunteered to help wash dishes and that is where I found my connection to the Vineyard community. We have been praying for this new "crop" of students for months, I can't wait to see what God has in store.

Speaking of Coffee houses, my friend Jason and a couple of area pastors are opening a coffee house/ice cream shoppe in Waverly. They are hoping to be up and running October 1. Please keep them in your prayers. This is a wonderful (and much needed) business for Waverly and the potential to build relationships with people of all sorts is astounding. God, truly, is on the move.

I am also going to be preaching this weekend. My text is Ephesians 2:4-10. Please pray for me. How can I address such a deep passage of scripture in such a short time? This is, after all, that passage that changed the Western World as we know it through a drunk monk named Martin Luther. Woof. I ask for grace, wisdom and clarity of thought and speech. Amen.

And finally, I get to go to camp EWALU this weekend! I was there last weekend to marry my friends Kate Berry and Matt Jansen and now I get to hang out with my in-laws and wife. If you have followed this blog for a while, you will understand how much EWALU means to me.

As I said, life is crazy! I hope future updates will be a little more in depth, but this is a high intensity season right now. May God bless you all on this Labor Day weekend. Amen.