Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

Jul 02 8:14 AM

Serve Others and Serve Yourself

Jul 02 8:14 AM

Friday, July 2, 2021

Today, I want to share this truth, which I hope will encourage you and challenge you: serve others and you'll serve yourself.

Friday, July 2, 2021

Romans 12:4-5

For the past two Life Lifters, we've been talking about how to improve our serve. We don't mean a tennis technique, but a personal technique of serving others. So far, we have said that we have to learn to serve like Jesus Christ (Mark 10:45), and the only way to know what your spiritual gifts are is to serve. You can't just study, you have to deploy and put it into practice. Today, I want to share this truth, which I hope will encourage you and challenge you: serve others and you'll serve yourself. I get this from Romans 12: 4-5. It says, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, who are many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

He's saying, just like our body has hands, feet, eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, shoulders, a back, and knees - all these different parts that all function differently, so does the church. The church is referred to as the body of Christ. It uses the metaphor of our body as a picture of the church. Some people in the church are an eye, some are a nose, an ear, a hand, a foot, etc. Nobody is an armpit, by the way. We all have different parts in the church, but we are all one body.

So, here's one of the many things I draw from that: If my foot needs the help of my hand, and my hand helps my foot, does the hand helping the foot, help the hand? Yes, because when my foot has a problem, my hand fixes that problem, and then my entire body feels better. If my eye has a problem that my hand can fix, and my hand fixes the problem, my eye feels better, but so does my hand because my whole body feels better. Using your gifts in the church will take energy, commitment, devotion, time, talent, treasure, etc. But here's the thing, when you serve in the church, which is the body, you make the whole body better. Then, because you're part of the body that you've made better, it benefits you. Whenever you give your life away, God gives it back to you. The Bible even says, "He who tries to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my [Jesus'] sake will find it" (Luke 17:33). One of the ways to do that is by serving in the church. The Bible again and again teaches that when you give your life to others, God gives you more satisfaction. Who are the most unhappy people? Narcissists. What's a narcissist? It's a person who only thinks about himself, or only focuses on herself. I'm sure you know people like this - they only call when they need something. They're always unhappy. The happiest people in this church are the people who are always serving, always looking to help others. They never have a self esteem problem, never a lack for friends, they grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, and that's how they improve their serve.

If you want to get better at serving, then serve others. And when you serve others, you'll find so much fulfillment that you will realize you actually served yourself. Father, thank you so much for this principle of serving others, and how it benefits the service of our own self. Help us as a church. Help every Bible-believing church have more and more people who understand the joy of serving, and may our church be better for it. Why? So that we can bring you more glory, because we're doing the work you want us to do on earth. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 30 8:14 AM

Serve to Find Your Gifts

Jun 30 8:14 AM

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

There are different places in the Bible that tell you all the spiritual gifts that God gives to people. So once you understand and believe that, the next question is how do you know what gifts you have?

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

This week, we're talking about how to improve your serve. And I'm not talking about how tennis players yell and sound like they're having a seizure because they think it makes them serve better. I think the belief is that when you exhale, you exert more power, but anyway I'm not talking about that kind of serve. I'm talking about the towel over the arm, "How can I serve you?" type. Like a waiter serves us when we go to a restaurant, we want to have that attitude to serve. Last time, in June 28th's Life Lifter, I argued that if you want to improve your serve, serve like Jesus Christ. Mark 10:45 tells us that Jesus Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.

Today, I want to help you with this by helping you find your gifts. So for instance, the Bible teaches that when you become a Christian you have spiritual gifts. You have certain gifts, others have certain gifts, everybody has different spiritual gifts, and different gift combinations. The Bible says the moment you become a Christian, you have spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is a supernatural ability to do certain things well. The Bible has different gift lists in different places in the Bible that tell you all the spiritual gifts that God gives to people. So once you understand and believe that, the next question is how do you know what gifts you have? The answer is, you have to serve to find your gifts. You're never going to find your gifts by just thinking you have certain gifts. The only way you know is by serving.

Once you serve, and you do it well, and you do it effectively, and others affirm that, then you know, you got the gift. I get that from 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. Look at what it says, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." God works out these gifts. And if you notice, it's through the Trinity, verse four says, "the same Spirit," verse five, "the same Lord," verse six, "the same God." That's the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father in that order. He's saying God works through us to manifest these gifts. Well, if God is going to work through us to manifest these gifts, guess what we have to do to discover the gifts? Gotta use them. Some people want to know their spiritual gifts without using them. That's like saying, "I want to know how to drive a car, but I never plan to get behind the wheel." I mean, it's silly. Some people say "I want I want to buy $1,000 set of golf clubs, but I never plan to play." There are a lot of people who have spiritual gifts, but they have no desire to use them. That's almost antithetical to being a Christian. But here's the thing, if you want to know what gifts you have, you have to use them.

At Lakeshore, we teach a three step process. Here's the first number one, discover what spiritual gifts there are, and which ones it seems you might have. We have a class called Discover Your Purpose where we will help you get a start on what your gifts are. The second is deploy. You have to get out and use your gifts. Once you get out and use them, you'll start to say, "I thought I had that gift, but I used it and it didn't work. Or, I used it and it did work." Trial and error. So, the steps are discover, deploy, and then develop. Once you know from deploying what your gifts are, you develop those gifts. Just because you have a gift does not mean you're automatically great at it. I have certain gifts and I'm not always automatically great at them, I have to work at it. I have the gift of teaching, I don't just roll out of bed able to teach automatically. I have to learn the material I'm teaching, and I have to own it and do it well. So you have to develop your gifts. But here's my point, God gave you some amazing gifts, and if you don't use them, you will lose out. So how do you use them? You deploy them. You use them. The number one place the Bible talks about using your gifts is in the church. I've never met a pastor or a church in my life that said, "Oh my goodness, we don't need any more volunteers." I've never met one. And it's certainly not the case here. We need your gifts here. For those of you who serve in our church or your church, if it's a different one, good for you. You get it. For those of you who don't, maybe you've never understood that using your gifts is natural, and it's a work of God in your life as we just saw in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.

Here at Lakeshore we will help you to take Discover Your Purpose. We'll help you try a ministry. If that ministry works out, great. If it doesn't, we'll help you find the next one. But we're here to help you because the only way we'll understand what gifts you have is to deploy them. Father, thanks for these amazing thing called gifts. Forgive us for not using them as you want, and encourage everybody watching to use them the best way they can, starting right now. Whether it's in the church or someplace else, help them in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 28 8:08 AM

Serve Like Jesus

Jun 28 8:08 AM

Monday, June 28, 2021

This week, I'm going to talk to you about improving your serve. That's right, I'm going to teach you how to play tennis. (No, not really!)

Monday, June 28, 2021

Mark 10:45

This week, I'm going to talk to you about improving your serve. That's right, I'm going to teach you how to play tennis. (No, not really!) I want to talk to you about how you can be a better servant of God. So, I'm going to give you three things to consider when it comes to serving God. The first is this: When it comes to serving others, serve like Jesus Christ. Think about Jesus Christ. He came to earth in the most humble of fashions at Christmas with no place to lay his head at the inn, but in the manger. You know that whole story. From then on, Jesus Christ lived his life in abject humility. But he came as God, and because he came as God, he deserved to be served. Yet, what a God he is to do the exact opposite. He came to serve us. Mark 10:45 tells us, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus Christ came to earth to serve us. What is service? Serve-us. Jesus Christ served us in the greatest way. Ultimately, his death on the cross was the greatest serve to us. He lost the perfect serve by giving his life on the cross and taking our place on the cross. And if you want to be like Jesus Christ, you have to learn to serve others.

You know, I'm kind of still in mourning because Drew Brees retired as quarterback of the New Orleans Saints (a great football team). So, I've been curious to see who's going to win the backup quarterback battle. The Saints have two guys, a guy named Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. Jameis Winston came from Tampa Bay. He was the first round pick number one overall draft pick a few years ago from Tampa, won the Heisman Trophy at Florida State University. He is professing to be a Christian, and I believe it. He said, "One of the things I learned from Drew Brees, and one of the things I practice, is I just want to serve everybody I can. I serve. How can I serve you? How can I serve you? How can I serve you?" When someone like Jameis says that, that convinces me he's a Christian because he has the fruit of being a Christian: he's serving.

If you want to be most like Jesus Christ, serve people. If the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served, and to give his life as a ransom, the ultimate service to humanity in the world, so should you. Are you improving your serve? Are you serving like Jesus Christ? "How do I do that, Vince?" Simple. Learn to say this phrase with sincerity to as many people as you can, in as many situations as you can, "How can I serve you?" You start talking to someone and say, "Hey, how are you doing? How can I serve you? How can I help you?" If you do that, I am telling you right now, you'll find a lot more joy because the world suggests to us that when people serve us, we're powerful. It's powerful to have people under you who serve you. There's a place for that, I suppose, but even the greatest leaders who have "people under them," are serving them as well. I want to be a great leader, and I want to keep getting better and better at improving my own serve. Do you serve like Jesus Christ served other people? Start by serving your family. Your spouse, your children, your parents, whatever the situation is, and then serve others. And here's another thing, serve in the church. Use your gifts in the church. We're going to talk about this, but man, the church needs your gifts. Our church needs your gifts, every church does.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, I pray that you help us improve our serve and serve like Jesus Christ. Help us to give our life away to others. Thank you that you didn't call us to die on the cross for others, but you did call us to sacrifice. Help us to find joy in that, so that we improve our serve. In Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 25 8:12 AM

It's a Seamless Story

Jun 25 8:12 AM

Friday, June 25, 2021

Today, I want to give you a third reason why I believe in the Bible, and that's this...

Friday, June 25, 2021

2 Peter 1:20-21

This week we have been looking at reasons why I believe the Bible. Today, I will give you the third and final reason. There are many, many, many, many reasons to believe the Bible, but I'm giving you three significant ones from two very significant passages. On June 21 and June 23rd I said the first two reasons I believe in the Bible are because it is God's inspired word to us, and because the Bible equips us for every good work. Those reasons came from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It is one of the most important passages in the Bible about the value of the Bible. We talked about how everything the Bible asks us to do is good and our nation was built on Judeo-Christian values. So many things that people have done culturally, nationally, governmentally, individually, and church-wise, have been good because they follow the direction of the Bible.

Today, I want to give you a third reason why I believe in the Bible, and that's this: it's a seamless story told by many. The other important passage along with 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is 2 Peter 1:20-21. Let me read it, unpack it, and explain what I mean. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." In other words, those who wrote the books of the Bible are all, in a sense, prophets because they professed the truth of God through their writing. And nothing in the Bible came from the prophets' own interpretation. It wasn't a human thing. The Bible wasn't the byproduct of man because it wasn't even a man's heart to try to write inspired scripture. The only people that had it in their heart to write inspired scripture were people who didn't write inspired scripture, like Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, which is a completely non-inspired book of God, and other cult leaders, to be sure.

So, "no prophecy ever had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." In other words, the Holy Spirit inspired men to write what they wrote. not in a mechanical dictation sense where they went into a trance, but in a sense that God put it on their heart to write these things, and he and they did, and God superintended it. In fact, this is called the doctrine of inerrancy. The Bible is without err in the original manuscripts, but here's what I want to say. You could say, "Yeah sure, the Bible is inerrant because that's what the Bible claims. That's a circular argument: the Bible's without err. How do you know that? Because the Bible says so." But here's what I want to say. Notice how it says all the prophets were inspired by God to write the same thing. How many of you could get 40 people together in a room and say, "Let's write a story about God," and they would all write the same thing? You know, the Bible has about 40 different authors. So how many of you would like to do it with 40 different authors over a period of approximately 1500 years? The first books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - were written by Moses in about 1400 BC. The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, was written around 95 or 96. AD. That's 1500 years! 40 different authors over 1500 years on multiple continents with multiple backgrounds: fishermen, fig pickers, doctors, lawyers, scholars, everyday people, etc. And yet, what comes out of it is one message. The Bible has no contradictions in it. It may seem to have some, but there's explainable reasons for the very, very precious few that seem to contradict. It's seamless. So, it proves to us that it is God's word. This could never happen if man tried to do it on his own.

That's why I believe the Bible. I hope not only that you'll have confidence in the Bible for yourself, but that you will have confidence in the Bible to tell others that the Bible is God's inspired word, is useful for good works, and is without err because of all the proof of all the authors and all the time and the one unified message as a result. I hope that inspires you to share your faith and have confidence in the Bible. Father, thank you for this truth. Help us not only believe this about the Bible, but actually read the Bible and be inspired to live it out every day. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 23 8:17 AM

It Equips for Good Works

Jun 23 8:17 AM

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

This week, I'm talking about why I believe the Bible.

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

2 Timothy 3:16-17

This week, I'm talking about why I believe the Bible. On June 21st, I said the first reason why I believe the Bible is because it is inspired by God. It is breathed by God and is literally God's word. We saw that in 2 Timothy 3:16. Today, I'm going to give you the second reason why I believe the Bible, which is that it equips us for every good work. Look at what 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

First, Paul says it's useful for those four things, which are basically life manual things, and then it goes on in verse 17, which is where I want to focus: "...so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." In other words, the Bible is not just a source of information, or a source of inspiration, it's a source of application. This verse is saying that everything that the Bible says is good, and everything the Bible asks us to do is a good work. The second reason I believe in the Bible is because it is good.

You say, 'Oh, that's very subjective, Vince, "The Bible is good."' Well, let me tell you how the Bible has helped so many different people in our nation. Do you know that the whole judicial system is based on biblical principles? The law talked about how to judge, and we have Lady Justice with the scale and the blindfold. We have the 10 commandments. Our Judeo-Christian value system for law was based on the Bible, what is good, what is bad. The morality of the Bible has affected virtually every culture on Earth. The truth of the Bible helps people know what to do. The people that have lived out the Bible have never had history point back and say, "What you did was wrong." Never. Have Christians done wrong things? Yes, but it wasn't sanctioned by the Bible. So it doesn't say that everything a Christian does is right, what it says is whenever a Christian does what the Bible says, then they do good works.

Finally, on a personal level, when you live out the Bible, nobody says,"My goodness, what a horrible life." No, it's good. So many people try so many different things, and it doesn't work, but the people who finally get their life, right how do they get it right? They come to the Bible. It's what happened to me on November of 1983. For 22 years I lived a self-ruled life, trying to figure out everything on my own, doing made up good work. You know what good works were to me? Whatever was convenient, that was good. Whatever I was doing, that was good. Everything else was wrong. If I didn't do it, but you did it, and I didn't like, it was wrong. It was very subjective. The Bible is absolute, clear, concrete. When we do what it says, we do good works. We see it in nations and countries. We see it in groups. We see it in cultures, we see it in our own individual lives. The Bible is the source of good works. Somebody asks why I believe the Bible? It's because everything in the Bible is good. Everything that God tells an individual to do in the Bible is good. Everything God tells the church to do is good. We have seen this for 2000 years. That's why so many cities in our nation were founded by Christians. So many hospitals were founded by Christians. That's why you still see house Methodist Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, Baptist Hospital. Why? Because Christians did good works. History is loaded with people who lived out the Bible in good works. That's another reason why I believe the Bible, and I hope because you live it out you realize all the good things it inspires you to do when you live it out.

Father, thank you for your Word. It helps us know good from wrong. And because it is the source of good, we can believe in it. I thank you for this truth in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 21 8:13 AM

It's Inspired By God

Jun 21 8:13 AM

Monday, June 21, 2021

Why do you believe in the Bible? Why do you believe the Bible is worth living for? Do you have an answer for that?

Monday, June 21, 2021

2 Timothy 3:16

The Bible is the basis for everything we do at Lakeshore. It's the basis for all our services, all our groups, all our studies, all our events. It's the basis for Life Lifters. The Bible is the basis for everything we believe as a Christian. It's the basis for everything we do as a Christian, it's the basis for truth that every Christian lives for. But here's the question: why do you believe in the Bible? Why do you believe the Bible is worth living for? Do you have an answer for that? If somebody says, "Hey, man, I don't believe the Bible. Why would anybody believe the Bible?" What would you say?

I want to spend a few Life Lifters explaining why I believe the Bible. I'm going to give you three helpful reasons to believe the Bible. Here is the first. I believe the Bible is true, I put all my faith in the Bible because it is God's inspired word. The Bible is inspired by God. I get that from a very important passage, 2 Timothy 3:16. It says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." So, the beginning of the text says all scripture, not some scripture, most scripture, or just Jesus' words (the words that are in red), but every word of scripture is, as the NIV translates it, "God-breathed." That's a literal translation. Some translations say inspired. And the Greek word for "God breathed" literally is Theos-pneuma. Theos meaning God, and pneuma, where we get our word pneumatic from. If you have a door with a wind cartridge, also called a pneumatic cartridge, the door doesn't just slam shut, the air in the cartridge helps it close gently. Pneuma is almost like breathed or spirited, and is also the word for the Holy Spirit. The Hagios Pneuma, or Holy Spirit. So what he's saying is that God breathed the scriptures. All scriptures are God-breathed. They're they're literally God's word.

Then, Paul says the scriptures are profitable for teaching, for rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. What's the difference between correcting and rebuking? Rebuking is showing where something is wrong. Correcting is showing how to make it right. So, the first reason why I believe the Bible is because it's inspired by God. It is God's word. The Bible again and again calls itself God's word. One of the other things I say is, "If you don't believe the Bible is God's Word to us, where else are you get to get God's word?" If God is truly a good God (and he is), and if he cares (he does), then he would provide direction. How else has he provided direction? He doesn't provide it any other way except through the Bible. It is inspired by God. Do you believe that? And if so, tell people. So you say, "Vince, that's not enough." Believe me, when you tell people the Bible is God's word, and if God's a caring and loving God, he would never leave us directionless, then the next thing to say is, "what else is inspired like this?" We will give you some more help in the next two Life Lifters, but the most important thing today is that even if some of you don't know if you believe the Bible, please know that it is God's word. It is inspired by God. It is his word to us. Not some scripture, not the New Testament, not Jesus' words only, but all Scripture is inspired by God. I hope it gives you confidence, and I hope it also gives you confidence to tell others why you believe in the Bible.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for this precious book called The Bible. We trust in it because it is your word. You have breathed it to us, you inspired it for us. It is profitable for every good work. Help us to have confidence in it and share our belief in it to others in a way that they will believe too. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Jun 18 8:19 AM

Take Courage

Jun 18 8:19 AM

Friday, June 18, 2021

I don't know what situations you face, what difficulties you have, what problems, what circumstances, but God wants you to take courage. What does that really mean?

Friday, June 18, 2021

Acts 23:11, Matthew 14:27

Today, I want to say something. Somebody out there watching right now needs to hear this: Take courage. You need to take courage. I don't know what you're going through. I don't know what situations you face, what difficulties you have, what problems, what circumstances, but God wants you to take courage. What does that really mean? Take courage means to take heart, to be of good cheer, to be encouraged. Why? Why does God want this for you? Because God is with you. And he's got you. He's got the situation that you're facing right now.

We see this illustrated wonderfully in Acts 23. The apostle Paul was a Pharasee. He was one of the Jewish leaders, he had an encounter with Jesus and became a follower of Jesus. Now, he was sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went, and people didn't like that. So, Paul was arrested for doing that and found himself on trial in front of a council called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin were the Supreme Judicial Council for the Jewish religion. They were the ones to uphold the Jewish law. There was a plot going on to kill Paul because he was now preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We see in Acts 23:11 the following, 'The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."'

First, you see how the Lord stood near Paul? Next, this was God's way of saying to Paul, "Even though your circumstances look bleak, I've got you Paul. I've got this situation. Take courage, I am right by your side. Paul, you faithfully preached the gospel in Jerusalem, just as I've asked you, and now I have another assignment for you. You're going to preach that same gospel in Rome, in the center, the capital, of the Roman Empire. So Paul, take courage, you're safe with me." This is essentially what God was saying to him.

I don't know what plans God has for you and your life, but I do know he wants you to remain obedient to Him in whatever circumstance you find yourself. He wants you to trust him and trust that he's got your best interest in mind, just as he did for Paul. These words, "take courage," are the same ones that Jesus spoke to his disciples when he walked on water. He was meeting up with the disciples as they were out on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. They thought he was a ghost, and they were scared. We see this in Matthew 14:27, 'But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."'

Take God's courage. When you take his courage, fear disappears. Fear goes away. Fear flees. Take courage. I don't know what fearful situation you're in, but I know God wants you to take courage. The Bible is clear: when we remain obedient to Him, to God, blessings follow. The Bible is clear that our circumstances may not change but God replaces our fear with his peace. It is a peace that we cannot explain. It is only of God. So, stay the course, remain obedient to God, trust in Him, take your courage. I hope you find that encouraging today. Don't just go and have a great day, go and make a great day.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Jun 16 7:49 AM

Worship - More Than A Song

Jun 16 7:49 AM

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

In our culture, oftentimes worship is expressed in the form of music, visual arts, dance, or literature. But today, what if I was to tell you that the foundation of worship has nothing to do with any of these?

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Genesis 22:2-13

I want to ask you a question. When I say the word worship, what comes to mind for you? Maybe for you, it's music. Maybe it's a modern chorus that we sing here in church on Sunday, or maybe it's an older hymn. Maybe when you think of worship, you think of an experience that you've had with God, a closeness that you've had with God, where you've experienced his goodness, faithfulness, grace, or mercy. In our culture, oftentimes worship is expressed in the form of music, visual arts, dance, or literature. But today, what if I was to tell you that the foundation of worship has nothing to do with any of these?

I want to take a look at the passage where the word worship is used for the very first time in the Bible. We have to go back to the Old Testament, back to the book of Genesis chapter 22. For a little background, we're going to be taking a look at Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Here we find Abraham and his wife, Sarah, and they're getting on in years in life, and they still have no children together. So, Abraham held on to that promise, even though he was getting up in age. It wasn't until Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was 90 years old (their bodies were as good as dead, the apostle Paul tells us) when Sarah conceived and gave birth to their son, Isaac.

Fast forward into Isaac's life. Now Isaac is a young boy, we're not exactly sure how old he is in Genesis 22, but I'm guessing he's probably somewhere between seven and 10 years old. So, Abraham is around 110 years old and God tests Abraham in this chapter. We pick up in verse two, 'Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you." Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I in the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."'

When I look at this passage, I see the foundation of worship as two things: first, obedience; second, sacrifice. When you look at the way Abraham was obedient. When God told him, "I want you to sacrifice your son, Isaac," he got up early the next day. He didn't put it off or procrastinate. He got up and he prepared. He prepared the wood, he prepared the donkey, he prepared his servants. He was obedient to what God had called him to do, even though God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and God is asking him to sacrifice his one and only son. It didn't make sense, but Abraham was obedient. The second foundation of worship is sacrifice. Abraham made huge sacrifices. If you think about it, he's 110 years old at this time. He had to go on a three day journey on a donkey through the mountains. He sacrificed comfort, and he sacrificed an easy life just to follow God.

We pick up in verse six, 'Abraham took the wood for the bird offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"

'"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

'"The fire and the wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"'

'Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the land for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. When they had reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.' - There's that obedience piece again, following through on what God called him to do. - 'But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

'"Here I am," he replied.

'"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said, "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and they're in the thicket, he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.'

Abraham remained obedient, and he was committed to making the sacrifices that God called him to do. Worship without obedience and sacrifice is not sincere. However, worship that results from obedience and sacrifice is life changing. It was life changing for Abraham, and I know it will be life changing for you. I want to encourage you today to pursue obedience to God, and willingness to make sacrifices for him that he calls you to do. Not sacrifices that he doesn't call you to make, but sacrifices that he calls you to make. I want you to make that obedience and that sacrifice the foundation for your worship. When you do, there will be a closeness to God, and the worship that you give him will never be the same. I hope you find this encouraging. Don't just go and have a great day, go and make a great day.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Jun 14 7:48 AM

Bypassing Burnout

Jun 14 7:48 AM

Monday, June 14, 2021

We are living in an interesting time right now with COVID. So many of you are working from home, the lines between work time and family time, they've blurred and they've melted together. Some of you are questioning your ability. Some of you are questioning is it time to throw in the towel. And if you're having any of these thoughts, you may be bordering on burnout. And I want you to know this, you're not alone.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Mark 6:31

Before we start, I just want to established something. I am not the main chef in my house. My wife, Laura, is the one who does the bulk of the cooking in our house and the reason for that is because she's so much better at it than I am. I can remember one time when Laura asked me to help (now I'm a pretty good helper), but this particular time, I wasn't so good. She needed to run out, she was making lentils. They were boiling on the stove, and I had one job to do, which was to watch the lentils and stir them. Well, I got distracted, and I totally forgot about the lentils. After several minutes had passed by without stirring them, I started to smell something coming from the kitchen. I ran in and I looked in the pot, and all of the water had boiled off. Now, I just had a bunch of blackened, stuck together massive lentils that were stuck to the pot. The pot was ruined, dinner was ruined, we had nothing to eat ready that night, and my wife was upset. So, it is very easy to burn lentils and you can burn lentils when three things happen. One, there's too much heat. Number two, the water boils off. And number three, we neglect to stir them. Just like lentils can get burned, so can people.

People can get burned out, and I know so many people today are feeling that way. People get burned out by three things. They become frustrated, they're exhausted, and they neglect their spiritual disciplines. That's what I want to talk to you about today because I believe that burnout can be avoided. We are living in an interesting time right now with COVID. So many of you are working from home, whether it's five days a week, or maybe just a couple of days a week, the lines between work time and family time, they've blurred and they've melted together. And if you're like me, sometimes I find myself working until eight or nine o'clock at night, because those lines have blurred. Some of you have kids or grandkids who are doing school at home online, or maybe a hybrid program. So your relationships are stressed because you're trying to do work, but the kids need help. I know it becomes a very stressful situation for me when that happens. Or maybe you're at a job where you're short handed, and the same amount of work has to get done, but now you've got fewer people to do that same amount of work. Some of you are just plain tired. You've been in this situation for a long time, you're going and going. Because of all of this, you're frustrated, you're exhausted and you've begun to neglect your spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, prayer, worship, and fasting. Some of you are questioning your ability. Some of you are questioning, "Is it time to throw in the towel?" And if you're having any of these thoughts, you may be bordering on burnout. And I want you to know this, you're not alone.

Not only are you not alone, but it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, God doesn't want it to be this way. He wants us to bypass burnout. In the Gospel of Mark, we are given a glimpse of a busy season in Jesus's ministry. Jesus's popularity was picking up and people wanted to be around him. In Mark 6:31, we read, 'Then because so many people were coming and going, they did not even have a chance to eat. He said to them, "Come with me, by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."'

I want to take those three statements that Jesus just said, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" and break them down. Come with me by yourself. Jesus wants to spend time with you. That's right, you and you alone. No kids, no spouse, no parents, no friends, no significant others. Just you and Jesus. Why? So you can have a conversation with him. So you can not only talk to him, but you can listen to him. And we listen to God through our prayer time, through our Bible time. Sometimes we listen to God just by sitting and being quiet. He wants to give you his peace. And I want to encourage you to get away by yourself with Jesus.

Number two, he says "to a quiet place." A place that's free of distractions. A place that is remote or isolated, secluded. Silence your phone, shut off the TV. Maybe you need to close your door if others are around. A place where you can give your full attention to God and listen for his voice. Listening is such a lost art. We've lost the the the skill of listening. We spend more time trying to figure out what we're going to say to people next than we do actually listening. I believe it can be like that with God as well. I want to encourage you to sit quietly, don't say a word, and just listen for the voice of God. Try and push out all distractions. Try for 30 seconds, then 60, then 90 seconds. Try it for a few minutes. As you read your Bible, pray, and just sit and listen and let God speak to you, you will begin to find rest.

And that brings us to the very next point where Jesus said, "and get some rest." Rest is a byproduct of getting away by yourself with Jesus and being in a quiet place. It happens naturally. There's something about the times that I've spent when I'm quiet, alone with Jesus, where he has spoken to me through worship, where he has spoken to me through His Word, where I'm just listening, and I can hear the voice of God, not an audible voice, but I can hear it deep inside my heart. And God answers questions for me, God leads me, God challenges me in those times. And we see in Matthew chapter 11, that the rest that Jesus gives us is rest for our souls. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened," all you who are burned out, "and I will give you rest." He goes on to say, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." In other words, walk alongside of Jesus, be yoked together with him, strapped together with him. He says, "I'm gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Does your soul need rest today? Get away and spend time with Jesus in a quiet place. I want to encourage you, burnout is avoidable. We just need to get away and spend time with Jesus in a quiet place and you will get that rest. I hope you find encouragement in that today. And don't just have a great day, but go and make a great day!

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Jun 11 8:14 AM

Our Deepest Relational Need

Jun 11 8:14 AM

Friday, June 11, 2021

You have to realize that relationships have limits. You say, "But Vince, if relationships have limits and I have love-needs, and they can't meet my love needs, then where do I turn?"

Friday, June 11, 2021

Proverbs 20:6, Proverbs 18:24

Today, I want to talk to you about this truth: all human relationships have limits. I think you know that, but I think we sometimes forget it in the heat of relationships. Sometimes we put too much on people. We want people to meet needs they can't meet. We want people to love us in ways they can't love us. We want people to be something for us that they can't be, and the problem is not them. The problem is in our expectations. Relationships are important, you have to have relationships. The worst thing you can do to a human being is to put them in solitary confinement in prison. But you have to realize that relationships have limits. You say, "But Vince, if relationships have limits and I have love-needs, and they can't meet my love needs, then where do I turn?" You turn to the lover of your soul, to God, to Jesus Christ.

I get that from a couple passages in Scripture from the book of Proverbs, that great relational handbook. Proverbs 20:6 says this, "Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful?" The proverbs writer is saying what we have said before, which is that you have very few close friends. But this passage is also implying that there are limits to what people can do to meet your needs. Then, Proverbs 18:24 says this, "A man of many companions may come to ruin." Remember, we said companion are close friends. You can't have too many close friends.People will say that you can't have enough good friends, and I understand that, but you can't have too many people that are close friends because it's just physically impossible. And the text even says that if you do that, you'll just come to ruin because you're getting pulled in too many different directions.

The rest of that verse says this, "But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Nobody knows for sure. But this seems to be proverbs doesn't necessarily do this a lot. But it seems to be a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our brother. He's our father, he's the Son of God, he is our Savior, but He is also our brother in a certain sense. He is the lover of our soul, and he will love you in a way that no human being can. Are you making sure that your most important relationship needs are being met by Jesus Christ and not by human beings? Because humans can't do it. And they'll let you down and they'll hurt you not because they're intentionally doing it, although sometimes they do, but because they can't. Only Jesus Christ can. Are you letting Jesus Christ love you? You know, to become a Christian is the way you start letting him love you. And if you are not yet a Christian, you can't experience the love of God. When you say, "Jesus Christ, you are God. Jesus, I am a sinner, I sin, I mess up, I make so many bad decisions that hurt you, others myself, my family," and when you believe he died on the cross in your stead, in your place for your sin, and you receive him into your life by faith alone you become a Christian. Then you have his love, then you have the love of God. And you will have your deepest love needs met through Jesus Christ. You need your human love needs met, but there's a limit to that. Jesus Christ is infinite. And he'll meet your deepest needs in ways you never dreamed possible, because he's the lover of your soul.

Father, I pray that anybody who has over-relied on a relationship to meet their deepest needs, I pray that they would desist from that and turn to you. And if they haven't turned to you for the first time, I pray they would do that now. Just communicate what we just said and how you're our only hope. For those of us who already have, help us to stop over relying on relationships to meet our deepest needs and to turn to you. God, just meet our deepest love need. We pray this in your son's name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

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