November 11, 2009 by admin.

This past Sunday, we wrapped up our series, “Gripped by Grace.” As a wrap up, one of our members posted this:

Ask yourself one question. Do I believe in God’s grace?

Or even more fundamental. Do I believe in grace?

If your answer is yes to either of these questions, then ask this question now.

If I believe in grace then why I am I such a grace-killer?

I know…first reaction to that question is, me? I’m not a grace-killer.

Then why is it that I can’t even leave my home without automatically judging my next door neighbor and that horrendous car that he/she drives?

Why can’t I make it through a day at work without automatically assuming the worst of the guy or girl who works in the cube next to mine?

Why can’t I even accept that my OWN sins are COMPLETELY washed away, and by nothing that I myself have done?

MY sins are washed away by HIS death. It doesn’t even matter that others around me are doing what I do all day long.

It doesn’t matter that I AM THE WORST and yet in God’s eyes the BEST.

BEST because I am RIGHTEOUSNESS in God’s eyes because of the work of Christ.

That’s right, I AM the righteousness.

My sins are not just covered by the blood.

I am MADE righteous by the blood.

*contributed by Austin Gentry*

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November 2, 2009 by admin.

Yesterday we watched again the DVD “True Faced” by John Lynch. At the crux of John’s message is that too often we spin our wheels trying to please God instead of accepting His amazing grace (undeserved favor). We must be reminded that as new creations in Christ Jesus, our spiritual DNA leaves God already pleased with us because of the work Jesus did on our behalf.

Are you tired of continuously trying to please God with a sense that no matter what you do, you’re not good enough? Do you dilligently read your Bible, attend Church, and pray; yet, you feel like you’re in the same place you’ve always been and God is still just out of reach, wondering when you’re going to get your act together? Watch the videos below, and if you’re interested, purchase the DVD at http://www.truefaced.com/blog/

Here are two videos from the DVD:
The Room of Good Intentions:

Caterpillars and Butterflies:

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June 26, 2009 by admin.

The church has a secret. Christians have a secret too.

 If you read my last post, you’ve heard a glimpse of that secret. Grace is the means by which we are justified and made right with God. Grace is also the means by which we continue to live in God’s favor for the rest of our lives - regardless of our sin (including future sins). It sounds nice doesn’t it? That is, until we realize the possible outcomes of this message.

Paul says in Romans 5 that the law (the 10 Commandments, most notably) was added so that sin might increase. But, where sin increases, grace increases even more.

This is starting to sound pretty dangerous. If people catch on to the fact that God will not stop loving them no matter how badly they screw everything up; that if they break each of the commandments multiple times a day (adultery you say? murder you say?), God’s redeeming love will not be cast away from them - chaos will unfold all around us.

Churches usually deal with this secret a couple of ways. One way is to misunderstand the secret and then tell people that it doesn’t matter at all what they do. They shouldn’t feel guilty about their sin, because God loves them anyway. They shouldn’t change any behaviors, because God wants to meet them right where they are and stay with them right where they are. This message starts to abuse grace and we’ll talk about the correct alternative in a little bit.

Another way churches deal with this secret is to be scared of it. Out of this fear (usually of losing control), churches will want to put lots of parameters around this secret, until it fits nicely into this box called “duty.” They emphasize all of the rules in the Bible until the Bible stops being a living breathing Word, and becomes a dry book of do’s and don’ts. What happens? People believe that in order to be a Christian, you have to fit within a specific checklist of behaviors, and if you step outside of those bounds, your salvation should be suspect. So, people sin (as we often do) and they want to hide it (possibly for years), because God must not love them, and the people around them definitely won’t love them either. We kill grace.

Neither of these ways of handling the secret is correct. To find an answer for both “grace abusers” and “grace killers,” Pastor Don pointed us to Romans 6. “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

If we understand this passage (and others) correctly, we will begin to realize that real Christians still sin, but that we don’t have to stay there - in fact, God put his Spirit in us so that we CAN’T stay there. The focus of our Christian lives should be the cultivation of the Spirit living in us and working through us. God has handled the sin, and will continue to handle the sin - we need to trust him on that. For churches, it’s not our job to beat each other up over how much we fail, but instead to encourage one another to live in the reality of our new identities.

I like the way this sounds for my life. No stress. No heavy burdens. Just living in the freedom of God’s love. But I don’t like the way this sounds for my neighbor. It’s possible that they could hurt me or sin against me? Yes. They can ask for forgiveness and I have to graciously forgive them as God graciously forgives me? Yes. OK, but how many times do I have to do this before I can write them off and give them the boot? “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven (or seventy times seven) times.”

This grace thing is going to be tough. Living honestly with my struggles in the midst of a community of other believers who have real struggles, in the hope that the Holy Spirit will work through us to make us more like Jesus? Are you willing to try it? Will you take the risk?

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June 9, 2009 by admin.

I gotta tell you, this past Sunday’s service was exactly what I needed. Usually these blogs consist of a summary of the message that was preached, but you should know that the sermons are only a portion of the service, and to get a whole feel for what Ada Pathway is like, you should really check out what’s going on from 10:30am - 12ish.

By about the third or fourth song during our worship time, people begin to sense that there’s something more going on than just a handful of people lifting their voices in praise. I start to notice that God is communing with us right there through the power of the Holy Spirit. The songs become less about lyrics and melodies, and more about hearts being poured out in prayer to Abba Father. “So what can I say?/what can I do?/ But offer this heart, oh God/ Completely to you.”

 The worship through singing, giving, and Scripture reading usually helps tune our hearts and minds to our heavenly Father in a powerful way. Pastor Don then preaches, and it’s exciting to see him preaching what God has placed on his heart. Currently we’re going through a 14-week series on grace, and you should know it is a very powerful subject. I wish I could describe it to you.

This last message was on our status before God, and how we have been justified because of grace. Pastor Don laid the foundation of what the word “justified” actually means. Many Christian circles (denominations aside) fall into the trap of short-changing grace. We like to emphasize that in our salvation we should bask in grace, because our salvation is a complete gift from God. Once the honeymoon is over however, our emphasis moves to sanctification by works, or “what are you doing for God?”

The reality of justification is this: the grace of God wipes clean your sins - past, present, and future. Not only that, it also ushers you into the full favor of God as your father. You do not have to work for God’s smile, you don’t have to keep looking over your shoulder to see if daddy is still smiling in approval.

I can’t begin to explain everything, but if you can come away with one thing, it should be what Pastor Don said to me after the service. ”The moment Jesus’ death on the cross becomes inadequate before God, is the moment God no longer approves of you.” It will never happen.

I needed this past Sunday.

We all did.

Will I see you there next week? I hope so.

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