Beirut Trip - Wednesday

Our trip to Beirut, Lebanon has been powerful, inspiring and challenging, and all of that in only our first two days! We arrived safely late Monday evening and got up early Tuesday to assist in the food program to the Iraqi refugees (see the picture of the bags of food that we handed out). Tuesday afternoon we went on some home visits to meet and encourage some of the Iraqi families. I simply cannot go into detail on this blog what these dear families have endured in Iraq since the war began. I will share more in person when I'm back in the states. Below you see a picture of our home visit team: Bob Moss, Bashir, Milad, Amal and myself. All of them are amazing and godly people, doing powerful work with these Iraqi families! Amal's ministry with the women is one of the most inspiring things I've witnessed in recent memory!

Wednesday morning (Today) we assisted again with the food program. Over the past two days we have provided food to 200 Iraqi families who are trying to begin a new life for themselves in Lebanon, or are waiting on United Nations approval to move to other countries. Wednesday afternoon we again did home visits. We have visited with 10 Iraqi families in their homes and I must say these have been some of the most difficult, but inspiring stories, conversations and encounters I've ever had.

Tonight we will be sharing a dinner with Camille & Hoda Melki, the founders and leaders of Heart for Lebanon Ministry. Camille and I were at Anderson University together and I am truly inspired by the leadership and direction he provides to a variety of ministries here in Lebanon. He's one of the most effective leaders I've spent time with in recent years! Tomorrow we will spend most of our day ministering to the H4L staff and leaders. That will be an honor for me after seeing them in action over the past few days. Friday morning Camille plans to take us on a bit of sightseeing and then Friday evening we have been invited to a dinner celebrating Camille's recent ministry at the Mediterranean Bible College where he served as President for the last 6 years before beginning the H4L ministry.

God is powerfully at work in Beirut, Lebanon! My prayer is that we can be equally as effective in Mooresville, Indiana! I know we will! See you all soon!

Battleground: The World (Persecution)

The world could be defined by the following equation:
Satan's domain + Human sinful nature = The World

Humans are faced with a variety of battles they must fight throughout their lives. For Christians the battles can typically be in one of three areas: The World, The Devil, and The Flesh. This week we look at the battleground we call "The World". Another way to express it is to look at the various ways the world persecutes us! Here are three of the primary tactics "The World" uses against us:

1) Distraction: The world wants to divert our attention away from God! The world tempts us with many lesser things! God offers us unrivaled blessing and yet we pursue other "gods", we worship and serve other "masters". Just a few of the biggies are: Money, Sex, Power and the need for More! God's Word is clear that we cannot serve both God and money. His Word is also clear that sexual immorality is like worshiping something created rather than the Creator. The pursuit of power mimics the pursuit of Lucifer as he sought to sit upon the throne of God. And finally we find ourselves pursuing more and more and more and more of all of these distractions! Psalm 141:8 says, "But my eyes are fixed on you, O sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge - do not give me over to death". The Psalmist understood that to allow ourselves to be distracted from God, to have our eyes fixed on anything else...would bring death. He also understood that to fix our eyes on God would provide refuge during the battles we face in this world.

2) Diminishing: The world wants to devalue the image of God in us! We are told countless lies about who we are and who we can (or cannot) become! We're told that we should conform to the ridiculous expectations of the world: That we should all have supermodel good looks, movie star charisma, pro athlete abilities, and enough money to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous! God's Word, however, paints a picture of love, hope, redemption, acceptance, forgiveness and privilege! All given freely to us by God through His Son, Jesus! We are made in the image of God! We are children of the King! We have been given and imperishable inheritance from God! We owe no explanations, no excuses and no deference to the world! 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that we are a "dwelling place of the Holy Spirit". Do you realize what this means? God has chosen to dwell IN US! What do we need from the world? Nothing! If God is for us, who can be against us!

3) Domination: The world will persecute the people of God! It has persecuted millions and millions of believers before us! Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you". But He also said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." From the Old Testament prophets...to Jesus...to His followers...Stephen...the Apostles...to modern day...Dietrich Bonhoeffer...Jim Elliott...Cassie Bernall...Rachel Scott...to the 171,000 Christians who are martyred each calendar year...We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who cheer us on as we follow and serve our God even against the domination and persecution of the world!

So what tactics do WE use against the world? Well, ours are the common, everyday disciplines and practices that Christians have used for centuries:

1) Worship: Jesus said we were to "worship God and serve him only". As we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, we are less tempted to worship or serve lesser masters and lesser gods!

2) God's Word: His Word is truth! It speaks the truth to us about who we are in Christ, who we can become through Him! His Word is the light for our race through this world! The Apostle Paul called God's Word "the sword of the Spirit", it is one of our most powerful weapons in battle!

3) Prayer: It was Jesus' intimate times alone with His Father in prayer that sustained and equipped Him for the battles He faced against a world that hated Him! Jesus prayed for us! That we would be sustained by God while we were in this world and that God would use us to show the world that Jesus came to reconcile it all to God!

Next week we look at the battleground of spiritual warfare...the devil! We cannot fall asleep and wrongly assume this battle is not raging around us! It's time to engage the enemy! Join us!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Battleground Sermon Series - Begins April 19

We hope everyone will join us over the next 3 weeks as we explore the three primary battlegrounds that we contend on throughout our lives:

1) The World: It's the place Satan was sent after his expulsion from heaven, it's the place Adam & Eve were sent after sinning against God. So Satan's domain + Human sinful nature = A challenging battleground for all of us!

2) Spiritual Warfare: This may be the most difficult battleground to fight because it can appear to be unseen. Satan and his angels hate the people of God! Satan and his angels hate the Church that Jesus established! This means war! This battle is very real, we must engage it!

3) The Flesh: This is where it gets personal! This is the weakness, failure, and temptation that comes with our sinful nature. This battleground is internal so it often goes unnoticed and unconfronted. This is the battleground within us!

You will not want to miss any of these opportunities to learn and understand the battles that face all people, but especially the people of God! You will especially want to be here on the closing week as we have a special closing to this series that you will NOT want to miss!

Hope to see you this Sunday!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

WILL STARVE FOR FOOD

Truelife Student Ministries (Junior High & Senior High Youth Ministries) is doing the 30 Hour Famine in association with World Vision on April 24-25. The Famine will be part of the Rock of Love Tour with Meridian Church of God and Avon Community Church of God. Each participant has to raise at least $30 for world hunger and then take part in a 30 hour fast. It's going to be tough but together we can do it. All students who desire to take part in the famine must have a parental consent form filled out and turned in ASAP. See Pastor Jeremy for more information about the 30 Hour Famine.

Voices of Lent: Jesus!

Today was a great day for Mooresville Church of God! Today was a huge success for a lot of reasons, here are just a few:

- We saw countless MCHOG people bring family, neighbors, friends and co-workers to be a part of our resurrection celebration! Thank you to all who invited and brought guests today!

- We had hoped that today would be another opportunity to increase our momentum and effectiveness in reaching unchurched people. With an attendance of 240 we certainly had opportunity to minister and reach out to many people who are not normally within reach of our influence! Now comes the task of following up with these good people and inviting them to connect with the ongoing life and ministry of our congregation! Very exciting!

- We saw several of our ministries "knock it out of the park" today as we celebrated Resurrection Sunday! Music & Worship, Children's Ministry, Techincal Ministries, Ushers, Greeters, and countless individuals who gave time, talents, energy and expertise in creating an exciting and effective worship environment! Also a special thanks to Kathy Marine for coordinating our Welcome Center and preparing our visitor packets! Too many other names to mention...I'm afraid I would forget someone! I deeply appreciate all of you!

Now are you ready for the two things that make today a GREAT, GREAT day for all of us? Here they are...

- At the end of the service we invited people to make a decision to know Jesus Christ personally. We also invited people to recommit to Jesus. We had 4 persons recommit their lives to know and follow Jesus Christ! We had 3 PERSONS WHO MADE A DECISION TO KNOW AND FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST FOR THE FIRST TIME! Praise God for His powerful and ministering Spirit! Thank you Lord for doing what only You can do...SALVATION!

- At the end of the service each Sunday I ask myself one question: "Did we honor God with our efforts today?" The answer today, without question, is YES! We had the privilege of bringing honor and glory to the only One who is worthy! Lord Jesus we honor You...we thank You...we praise You...we bow our knee to You, for You are worthy!

BATTLEGROUND - Beginning Next Sunday - April 19
Now it's time to set our sights on a new series and new opportunities for ministry! Beginning this coming Sunday we will begin a 3 week series entitled "Battleground". We will look at three primary battlegrounds that we find ourselves on throughout our life:

1) The World: Money, Sex, Power, the world tempts us toward lesser things than God's best!
2) The Devil: This is spiritual warfare! It is a reality that we MUST recognize and engage!
3) The Flesh: This is where it gets personal - weakness, insecurity, failure, sin.

We must fight the good fight on all of these battlegrounds! We CAN WIN as we seize all the provisions God has for us throughout the battle! You will not want to miss these next few weeks! Join us!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope - April 23

Tell your boss and co-workers! Call all your family members! Tell your friends and neighbors! Dave Ramsey is coming LIVE to Mooresville Church of God! OK, we admit, it's live via webcast, but still he will be broadcasting live and We will be one of the few Mooresville locations hosting this event!

Dave is going to spend some time teaching and explaining what has been happening in our economy, how we should be thinking and responding in the handling of our money, and offering HOPE for a better financial future! Then he will be receiving questions live via phone, email, facebook, Twitter, etc.

We want the entire Mooresville Church of God congregation to come, be a part of this important chance to affirm our commitment to handling God's money in responsible godly ways! But more importantly, we want you to invite friends, family and co-workers who may be struggling and discouraged due to the present economic situation! THIS IS AN OUTREACH EVENT! The point isn't to get people to our church, the point is to minister to the financial situation of many people in our community! So let's do our part to LET EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS IMPORTNAT EVENT!

Here's the baic information one more time:

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope
Thursday, April 23 - 8:00 pm
Mooresville Church of God
Live Webcast - Shown live in our Sanctuary

We hope to see everyone there!

Pastor John's Upcoming Mission Trip

Please be in prayer as I prepare to travel to Beirut, Lebanon April 26 - May 2 to work with Camille Melki and the Heart for Lebanon staff as they minister to Iraqi refugees, victims of the 2006 war in Lebanon and other needy people groups in Beirut.

I will be traveling with Rev. Bob Moss, the Sr. Pastor of Salem Church of God, Dayton, Ohio. Many of you will remember Bob as our former State Minister here at Indiana Ministries. Bob has a long-standing ministry with Heart for Lebanon and at the Mediterranean Bible College in Beirut. We will be going with some specific purposes and goals in mind:

1) To help me connect with the ongoing ministry of Heart for Lebanon and return home as an advocate for the ministry and needs they are facing in Lebanon. Some of you know that I attended college with Camille Melki and have known him for many years. I have been burdened to connect with the significant needs he and his staff are meeting and facing as they carry out the Great Commission in a difficult part of the world!

2) We will spend a couple of days teaching and ministering to the Heart for Lebanon staff. We hope to encourage, refresh and edify them as they carry out the important work they are doing each day in Beirut. Please pray that we will have wisdom to know how we can best teach and encourage them during these sessions!

3) To help me learn and understand the unique challenges and opportunities of doing mission work in this part of the world. I hope to bring mission teams back to Beirut in the future and I hope to learn the best practices in preparing and leading teams in the Middle-East countries.

4) Please pray that God will use this trip to instruct and inspire me as I carry out my leadership and ministry at Mooresville Church of God! I have sensed God's leading to be a part of this trip and I know if God is in this that He will use it to challenge and change me in ways that will benefit the work and ministry He has called me to lead right here in Mooresville!

Thanks in advance for your prayers for a productive and powerful experience as we minister and serve in Beirut! I deeply appreciate all of you and your partnership with me in this mission endeavor!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Voices of Lent: The Servant Girl

Many thanks to my daughter, Abby Crump for her beautiful portrayal of the servant girl at Caiaphas house. Thanks also to Terry True for a powerful testimony of his encounter with God while on a mission trip! And as always, thanks to the many talented people who lend their vocal and musical abilities to us each week in worship! You all are a blessing to God and to us!

We have a choice to make as we walk this path of faith: Will we follow and respond to "The Crowd" or will we follow and respond to "The Cross"? Peter encountered both and had his choice to make. What choice will WE make?

When Peter encountered this servant girl while at the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas, he encountered something that we all can relate to: He encountered the pressure, the temptation and the oppression of "The Crowd". This girl represents the ways that the world recognizes us and the ways that they see us as followers of Jesus Christ. So what was it that this girl saw in Peter that helped her to know that he had been with Jesus? And in the same way, what does the world see in US that let's them know that we are with Jesus?

Mark 14:66-72

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷ When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. ⁶⁸ But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway. ⁶⁹ When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." ⁷⁰ Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." ⁷¹ He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about." ⁷² Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.

The crowd will recognize...

Who We Are...Our Character

The girl first recognized Peter's face. She saw how he acted, how he carried himself. She got a glimpse of the person that Peter really was. She got a taste of his character. Sadly, Peter didn't handle the situation very well. The impression left with that "crowd" wasn't very good as Peter called down curses on himself and those around him.

However, Luke's account of this story indicates that when Peter denied knowing Jesus, that Jesus looked directly at him. So you could say, that "the cross" was also observing who Peter was and how he handled himself. Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him, so it is likely that Jesus felt great compassion for Peter at that moment. Though it must have been a great burden to see one of his followers buckle under the pressure of "the crowd".

The Company We Keep...The People We Devote Our Time To

The girl recognized that Peter was one of "them". Who are "them"? Well the people Peter spent his time with were fisherman, tax collectors and religious zealots. All of whom would have been looked down upon by the High Priest and his followers. She would not have thought highly of any of Peter and his buddies!

However, Peter had seen who JESUS spent His time with: Prostitutes, lepers, sinners, lost people, sick people...people who in the eyes of most Jews would have been unclean, rejected, unacceptable to God. So Peter knew that Jesus calls us to spend our time with what the gospel of Matthew calls "the least of these". The crowd may not want to associate with the people that the cross calls us to reach out to!

The Place We Call Home...Where We're from and Where We Plan to Go

The crowd recognized that Peter was from Gallilee. They likely identified this due to his accent and dialect. The crowd will also notice us by "what we say" and "how we say it". We can't fall into the trap of using our Christian lingo in ways that non-believing people will not understand.

However, Peter had been taught by Jesus that he was not made for this world! He had been taught that he was, right now, in the present day, a citizen of another country, another world! AND SO ARE WE! We must seize the promises of God and live like today with the hope and knowledge of heaven on our mind and heart! People will be drawn to the joy, hope, promise and peace of someone who knows they were made to be with God!

The Crowd or the Cross? It's not an easy choice sometimes. Neither choice is promised to be an easy path! Jesus had to make the same choice: As He entered Jerusalem to great fanfare He could have given into the adulation of the crowd, whipped them into a frenzy and gone to war with the Roman and Jewish leaders! But instead...Jesus...consciously...chose the path to the cross. He stopped outside the city, wept over the fact that so many had not recognized the Messiah (Himself!) while He was with them. So many had chosen the crowd, the easy path, instead of the path that leads to real, full, eternal life! Choose this day which path you will follow! The crowd or the Cross!

In His Grip,

Pastor John