Sermon titles

One of these days, we should record our conversation about picking a sermon title. Usually, it's pretty straight forward. But, once in a while, we think of a title that's a little edgy or just too funny. This Sunday at ZPV, I will be preaching on grace. So, I thought of the following titles: Lavish Grace, Extravagant Grace, or Chocolate Covered Grace. So it's not a big surprise, I went with the first option. But consider this: Do we really live like we believe in God's grace when it comes to ourselves, our new life in Christ, our interaction with fellow Christ followers, and with a world that is not exactly laying out a red carpet for the church? So, let's start chewing on those ideas now.

And while the "Lavish Grace" title won out, there may be a treat this Sunday anyhow.

In Christ,
Pastor Joe

ZPV August Prayer Letter

August 19, 2009

Dear Zion of Petroleum Valley Prayer Partners,

In just a few weeks, school opens, and we wrap up another summer. Continue to pray for ZPV as we are almost in the middle of our second year. And by the way, thank you for all the support as the Olkowski’s celebrated our second full year at Zion. God is working here, and it’s our privilege to be part of it.

Here are the prayer needs for ZPV:

• Our combination meeting, DRIVE, with both campuses is August 30. Please pray for continued unity for both sites.
• As school starts, so will our youth meetings at our home and after Friday night Karns City High home football games at the church. Pray for God to impact these students.
• Our new EQUIP classes start on September 15. We will have two (yes, we’ve doubled our number of classes!) offerings this year for the adults: Bible story 201 (OT Testament with poetry and prophets) and a Beth Moore study on the fruits of the Spirit for the ladies.
• On September 20, we won’t go to church (ok, we will for a bit). We have our first ever One Day event where we will go out and bless our community with work projects. Both Zion campuses will participate.
• As a whole, Zion would like to see the commitment to pray rise in our church and in the area. We have some ideas, but the best way is for God to convince us! We want to trust Him to work and not just us doing things on our own. Pray for the mission and vision of Zion as a whole.
• For the Olkowski’s, our first birdie leaves the nest over Labor Day weekend. Trish and I will take Jessyca to Boston while she attends Northeastern. Ally’s (sophomore) volleyball season will start soon as well as Mike (8th grade) in football. We are excited about the school year for all three kids.
  
  You receive an update from me each month, but feel free to let me know how you are doing. You can email me at joe@zionlife.com or directly to ZPV’s address.
  
  You are a blessing to us!
  
  In Christ,
  
  
  
  Pastor Joe
  Zion of Petroleum Valley

HG Wells' fiction

H.G. Wells cornered the market on new ideas. In terms of science fiction stories, aliens, time travel, mutations, and space travel are common themes. One could argue that Wells thought of these things first. Every sci-fi movie and book owes a nod to him. However, he also thought traditional ideas kept mankind primitive and from evolving (yes, Wells loved Darwin). Back in the early 1900’s, he shook the world with radical ideas of sexual freedom (he had an “open” marriage), birth control, and especially faith in mankind to grow and improve through education and technology. It sounded good until that pesky WWI started. Wells tried to preach his gospel again, but WWII and Hitler crimped his style. At the end of his life, he was frustrated that no one listened to him.

Wells offered a band-aid for terminal cancer. The cure is beyond ideas. Jesus offers a solution that touches our very nature. Since mankind hit the earth and abandoned God, he has tried new things, but he has needed a nature transplant all along. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" So, rather than pass death along, we believe in Jesus, and he changes us at the source. We do not just live radically different or adopt a radical philosophy. New social rules or technology or education will not improve us personally or as a race. We become radically different only when our core nature changes. In fact it’s so different, we splash living water on everyone around us.

Pastor Joe

Just an update

Hello ZPV,

Trish stunned me the other day when she mentioned that school starts this month. We are two-thirds done with summer! Where does time fly? Well, I'd better make sure we all know what's going on.

• The Extreme Makeover Series continues this Sunday, August 9 with Pastor Paul.
• Men@Millers continues every Saturday at 7AM for about an hour, guys. Some buy breakfast; some buy coffee. The only Saturdays we don't meet are the first Saturdays of the month.
• Our next DRIVE meeting at the Clarion campus will be Aug. 30 at 6PM. Come hear what God is doing all around Zion!
• The next ZPV BBQ will be Sept. 13 after church!
• Also, later that day, we will have a DZ101 (Discovering Zion). If you've not attended one, this is where you can learn all you've ever wanted to learn about Zion. We meet from 4-6PM.
• Say, why don't skip church one Sunday? Actually, on Sept. 20, Zion will participate in One Day. We are currently meeting with community leaders to see if there are opportunities for us to bless them in Jesus' name: park clean ups, fix ups, helping neighbors, etc. If you happen to see a need in your community, please let me know. We are not committing to anything yet, so please don't make any promises. Yes, we will meet briefly that morning, but the majority of our time will be in service.
• And, there is always need for more prayer (frankly, we don't pray enough!). Trish is at ZPV at noon each Friday (during summer) with one agenda item: pray for Zion and our community. There are only a few meetings left.
• For students, don't forget Thursday nights at our home. Until school starts, we meet from 7-9PM. Yes, we'll open the pool if the weather allows. Come for some fun, hanging with friends, and hearing from God.
• And, also for students, we will open the church up for games and snacks after KCHS home football games. Details later.
• Need to be baptized? What's stopping you? Let me know and we can set it up.

Wow, we often think of summer as a slow time! I'm begging God to work in our lives and in our community. It's so much more than activities; they provide the opportunities. I want to be on board with his plans.

See you Sunday.

Pastor Joe
Zion of Petroleum Valley

Check the plans

Over our vacation last week, we visited the birthplace and homes of John Adams, our nation's second president. While there, I learned that Adams and Jefferson debated on the extent of the federal government's role. In fact, there was such sharp disagreement, they did not speak for years. I marvel how men like this can create a government almost from scratch and wrestle with issues so involved we still discuss them today. What did they use for a guide? How did they combine their various resources and philosophies of government to write our Constitution? The magnitude of the task is astounding. Since then, our form of government and founding documents have served as a blueprints for many others.

We need blueprints, but we also need a master architect in life to write the blueprint. Good thing we have one, huh? This is especially true when it comes to our families. As a husband and father, I often wish I had the write answer for every situation. It's not as easy as Ward Cleaver made it out to be. But, I do have blueprints written by my Master Architect. I can check the plans, see how the growth is going, make adjustments where needed, and correct any mistakes. But, checking the blueprint is not a passive activity but an active one.

Starting this weekend on August 2, we will start the Extreme Makeover: Your home edition. What does our Master Architect (God) say in his blueprints (the Bible) about our homes and families? While we all can admit areas to improve, this series may be especially relevant for friends and neighbors in need.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Joe

Stand certain

I once had a cordial discussion with a friend from a denomination different from my own. We were discussing how we knew we were saved. She confidently asserted that she did this activity and that activity. Every religious check box had been marked complete. I told her that I believed differently. While I understand that good works are a result of my salvation, they don’t make me saved. When I see God work in me and through me, it further assures me I belong to him. My salvation is based on the work of Christ on the cross – not by anything I’ve done.

Well, my friend did not get it. It just seemed more concrete to her to have this objective standard of works than simply by faith. So, I asked, “How do you know you done enough?” After a long silence she said, “I don’t know.” I do know because I know God has already accepted what Jesus has done. The resurrection proved that.

So, on what do we depend? How well we perform religion? How good we are? How much I give? How often I go to church? Or, we can depend upon God’s claim: We are saved by his lavish grace (Eph. 2:8-9) and held there by his love (Rom. 8:38-39). This does not grant us a blank check to live anyway we want, but I can rest on Jesus’ perfect fulfillment rather than my own imperfect attempts.

Hearts of Mighty Men

One of my favorite chapters in Scripture is 2 Samuel 23 which lists David’s mighty men. These were men of great valor, faith, and especially loyalty to David. At one point, David was out on the battlefield, and his hometown of Bethlehem was held by the enemy. Whimsically, David said, “How I wish to drink from the well at Bethlehem.” He was not commanding or dropping hints. However, out of their loyalty and affection for David, the three mighty men (Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah) broke through enemy lines, retrieved water from the Bethlehem well, and brought it to David. David was moved beyond words. He was overwhelmed not so much by the gift but by the bond these men held for him.

Someone showed this kind of love and affection to my family and me. No, they did not break through enemy lines or risk their lives, but their hearts beat similarly. Last Sunday, I mentioned (at the spur of the moment by the way) about God’s working in my life to live more contently and frugally. I briefly mentioned the repair of our wheelbarrow. So, what did I find later that day at ZPV? A brand new wheelbarrow! A nice metal one too that will not easily split like our old one. To the giver, thank you! While the gift itself is so appreciated, it’s the affection and care behind it that encourages us even more. The Zion family has always been so welcoming. My children experienced the true church. The heart attitude is greatest gift of all.

By the way, this illustrates the church in action: Kindness is never forced…it just happens. Thinking of others occurs first. Sacrifice and not seeking thanks is the norm. This is our testimony to the world, Zion (John 13:35). We treat each other based upon the fruit of the Spirit not by our own initiative but by God who works in us. Our community will see this authentic, organic, and spiritual fruit and want to experience it themselves. I do not mean simple material gain but being the church and not just attending the church.

And, thanks again.

Pastor Joe