Ultimate apologetic

I had a friend who’s car suddenly stopped dead. It ran perfectly moments earlier. He popped the hood and checked a number of possibilities. Others came to help and mentioned that their car did the same thing and it was this or that. Fill in the blank. None of it corrected the problem. Wait…could it be? Yes, he ran out of gas. Hours were spent on the possible solutions at the neglect of the obvious.

As Christ followers, we spend tremendous time on good things, but sometimes we forget the obvious. But, it’s a pleasure to see us account for the obvious. Last week was a tough week for the family. One of our members experienced a tragic loss. The body sprung into action and genuine concern. Not only did this begin the long journey of healing for one of us, it spoke to the community. They saw more than just activity or program. They saw what Jesus said they should see: By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).

I support all we can do to minister to one another and reach our community. But, I am especially pleased to see when we don’t neglect the obvious. God is among you, Zion. Keep shining.

Too safe?

“Wear a helmet!” “Buckle up!” “Make sure you have enough insurance!” “Wash your hands!”

I agree with these comments, but I admit cringing when I hear them. New cars have more and more air bags and trunk safety releases. I’m sure it’s happened, but I know of no one who’s ever been trapped in a trunk. Handrails, guardrails, and warning labels dot our landscapes and lives. Playgrounds have become so safe they’re almost no fun anymore. When I was growing up, the city oiled the streets (don’t ask me why). One kid wiped out his bicycle, gashed his knee, and went home crying. He was back in an hour bandaged up and out riding again. We survived.

Now, before someone leaves a comment that I’m advocating running with scissors and your shoes untied, I’m not. Please leave the lectures at the door; we know to be wise and safe. But, what bothers me is that I think we often carry our safety mentality to our faith. We want safe Christianity. We leave the mission’s trips to those who bungee jump on the weekends. Rather than speak to our neighbor about our faith, we leave that to the sky divers. We choose the path of comfort instead of writing that check to meet a need. Leaps of faith are little hops into wading pools instead of the deep end. Where are those Christ followers that the book of Hebrews describes as “…men of whom the world was not worthy” (11:38)?

I’m sure that these people did not stand in open fields during a lightning storm and made sure their saddles were well cinched on their horses. But when it came to faith, they lived dangerously. Read Hebrews 11 if you don’t believe me. I wish I lived more on the edge. Can we take those leaps of trust and faith? God has proved himself reliable over and over again. Maybe it means inviting that neighbor over. Or, it looks like getting in someone’s life who has a huge problem. It could take the form of being a better spouse. Or disciplining your kid, adopting a child, writing a missionary, keeping a commitment, or just praying and trusting that God works in someone’s life. Yes, our knees may get gashed, but our faith should work without a net.

Pastor Joe

February ZPV Prayer letter

Dear Zion of Petroleum Valley Prayer Team,

Laser beam. Focus. Concentrate. Center. Hub. Focal point. These words describe Zion for the next few weeks. Starting March 14, our series EPIC will begin. God tells his story from Genesis to Revelation, and every person under creation has a part. We are looking beyond a single Easter service. We are telling God’s grand narrative that leads up to Easter and then beyond. If anyone is looking for an outreach push at Zion, this is it. We are putting our focus on the six weeks of EPIC. So, your specific prayers for EPIC would be appreciated!

• Pray for our clear communication. We want to be accurate and challenging story tellers. Personally, this type of presentation is outside my comfort zone, but I think it will be effective. Jesus used stories all the time. Now, we are telling the story of which he is the main character.
• We have laid out the challenge for each member of the Zion family to start praying for at least that one person who needs to hear. Pray for boldness and receptive hearts.
• Western PA is experiencing record snow fall this winter. While the start of EPIC is a month away, we are praying against excuses and reasons not to come.
• Pray that God prepares hearts. All that we do cannot change a heart; we need God to do that. We want to see his kingdom grow.

I am very excited about this! EPIC continues through Easter all the way to April 18, 2010. It stretches us on multiple levels, and we are trusting God. I look forward to writing you in April to report what God has done. Thanks for joining with us!

Pastor Joe
Zion of Petroleum Valley

Generations

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been preparing and collecting old family documents for my family reunion last month. Included in this family history is my parents’ marriage certificate. In a twist of fate, I noticed that my wedding day was only one day before my parents’ wedding day. Since my mom died when I was young, I never really thought about when my parents were married. Trish and I picked the day only because it was available at the church we attended. I wonder what my dad was thinking that day? “Strange…close to this day I was starting my adult life with a new wife. Now, my son begins his…” Dad never mentioned anything, and he’s gone now so I can’t ask. Each generation goes through its firsts and lasts of significant events. Sometimes these memories bring pain, but they often bring good thoughts.

Zion of Petroleum Valley (while still young) is having a generational moment. This weekend, our new campus, Zion of Jefferson County, will join us for church and lunch afterwards. I remember getting our team together and wondering what the future holds. We received so much support from Zion in multiple venues. But now it’s time for us to pass on what we’ve received. This is another step in our growth as we have been sent, we now get to send along with Zion of Clarion County. This is fun! After a few more campuses, I may feel like a grampa.

Pastor Joe

The Voices in my Head

Ok, this is the last time I’m telling the story. Everyone wants to know what happened to my eye. It looks like Trish slugged me. While innocent of that, I was trying to fix the garage door for her though. I noticed that one of the wheels was off track, but I needed to remove a part in order to correct the problem. Enter the voice in my head. It said, “Don’t do this alone…the part is attached to the spring…dangerous…get someone to help you keep the tension off the spring.” I did not listen to the voice; I thought I could do it myself. While I did remove most of the tension on the spring, once loose, the part flew out of my hands, smacked me right at the eyebrow, and left a gash. No stitches needed, but I did do some impressive bleeding. The swelling has gone down, but the blood has pooled into a nice bruise.

Last Sunday, we saw Jesus’ example in prayer. If the perfect human of all time needed to spend time in prayer, how much more do we? When we pray, we express our dependence on God. But like me and the garage door, we want to do it ourselves. By not praying, we show our arrogance. Asking, praying, and depending on God is a mark of maturity. And with garage doors, it’s less painful. We have this great gift of prayer available to us to help us in times of temptation, need, service, pain, and even in success. I encourage you to read the first part of Luke 11 for more insight directly from Jesus on prayer.

Repent

I’ve been thinking about light switch and outlet covers lately. Yea…I know…I’m a deep thinker. I think about them because we painted almost every room before moving in two years ago. That means we removed the electrical covers. Two years later, there are still outlets and light switches without covers. Isn’t that pathetic? Come on, Joe…grab the screwdriver and put all the covers back on. After dinner last night, that’s just what I did. I repented of my electrical cover negligence. I took specific and measurable steps. I grabbed the screw driver, found the covers, found the screws, and checked all around the house. The job is not done. A few of the covers were cracked. The next step is to stop off at Lowes, purchase the remaining covers, and install them as soon as I get them home. See? It only took me two years to complete a twenty minute job. But, I did repent.

Jesus’ first sermon started with the word REPENT! It means to change one mind. Do a one-eighty. It’s an appropriate message for the start of the year. As the message began to take hold in my mind, I remembered many things that have yet to be finished. These things go far beyond household chores but extend to heart issues. Lessons have not sunk in yet. I need to be in a repeated state of repentance. God is working, and he gets all the credit. Over the years, the same projects seem to come up. They are just not getting done. I can wait until next year or take the steps I need to take. What needs to be done on my end? Is there anything I need to remove? Anything I need to start? Any bridge to burn? Any phone calls to make, sin to confess, attitude to adopt?

How about you? The good news is that repentance is a good thing. We shed the crud and become more like Jesus. The other good news is that he gives the grace, self-control, and power that we need. We need not rely on our flesh to do a spiritual thing. Those electrical covers have been off long enough.

Update on ZPV news

As you know, the roads last Sunday morning were horrible. While we heard of a few spin outs, we have not heard that anyone was hurt. We discussed ways we could get the word out for mornings like last weekend. We could send out a phone tree message, email, website post, etc. What would work for you? Pastor Trent invites you to send him a note to trent@zionlife.com. For example, we could have postponed services until 4PM that day. The roads were safe by then. And so you know, we have snow plowing service for the white stuff, so our parking lot (at least) should be accessible.

• Speaking of last Sunday, an audio version of the message is available online (from the Clarion campus), http://www.zionlife.com/media/message.aspx?messageID=74 as are all Zion messages. It's a good one, and I encourage you to take the time and check it out.
• For the rest of December, the Olkowski, Gibson, and youth (FUEL) groups will not be meeting. No Garage December 20 or 27.
• We still have invitations for the Christmas Eve Family Celebration service. Plan to bring your kids as there will be a special part for them. If you need invitations before Sunday, let me know. The ZPV service starts at 7PM. Clarion will have the same service at 5PM and 7PM. We may need help with childcare for the wee-little ones. Any volunteers?
• Be sure to check the worship folder this Sunday about our next EQUIP course starting in January!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Joe
Zion of Petroleum Valley