Day 4: Father of Faith

Day 4:  Father of Faith.
(GENESIS 12 - READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER)

It takes a lot of effort and faith to move your family to another city. You face the uncertainties of whether you will like the culture of the new place, whether that new job will work out, what it will mean for your spiritual life. If the move is an act of obedience because you believe God is calling you, the stakes are higher still.

But what if the history of the world hinged on your decision to relocate?

Abraham, the man called “the father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11) moved with his extended family across hundreds of miles from Ur on the Euphrates River, eventually into Canaan (in modern geography: Iraq to Turkey through Syria into Israel). Faith indeed. But that was just the beginning. 

Look at this call:
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you. Genesis 12:1–3

To be called means to be sent: “Go.” To be called means to stand somewhere in the great timeline of God’s plan in the world: “I will make you a great nation.” To be called means to be elevated by God: “I will make your name great.” To be called means to be blessed in order to be a blessing to others: “I will bless you [...] you will be a blessing [...] all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
“All peoples on earth”? Four thousand years later, we know that the faith of Abraham, whereby he was right with God, is indeed a world-changing force. Abraham “believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:3). This kind of faith––openhanded, submissive, obedient, trusting––is the only way to be right with God. Millions of believers today––young and old, men and women, Chinese, Nigerian, Argentine, Swedish, American, Irish, Eskimo––are all called to this faith that binds us to our Creator. Then the blessings of heaven flow throughout the earth. 

PONDER:  How might your faith in God allow you to be a blessing to others today?

REFLECTION or DISCUSSION

In this passage, God calls Abraham to leave everything that was familiar to him so that, through Abraham’s faith, he would be a blessing to others. 

Read Genesis 12:1-4 as a family. God asked Abraham to move to a new place. How did Abraham respond to this call? What would it be like to move away from everything that is familiar to you? In what ways did Abraham have to trust God? What are some places where you have to trust God? On a sport’s team? At school? At home? What would it look like for you to trust God in those places?
 

DAY 3 - Starting Over

Re-imagining our place in God's Plan

DAY 3 - Starting Over

Genesis 9:1 (ESV) - And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.  (READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER)

When the last gun fired the last shot of the bloody U.S. Civil War, the quietness of peace came over the land. The severe judgment of war was over, but then the questions: How can a nation be restored? Will it be possible to start over? How do we repair our souls? The work ahead was not just about putting buildings back up where now there were cinders and ashes, but about reconstructing the soul of a nation. It took decades. It took faith and courage.
When we think of the story of Noah and the flood, we most likely think of the act of salvation—where a few human beings and species of animals were preserved in a great boat through the waters of judgment. But the climax of the flood story is the period of restoration that began when the survivors of the flood heard a sober call by God: be fruitful, increase, fill. God’s first call to Noah was to build a boat of salvation, but the ultimate call was to lead people into the “fruitful” life. Not just repopulation but true restoration.
Each of us come to some point in life where we need to start over—perhaps numerous points. Restarts include coming to faith for the first time, surviving a divorce, finding a job after the discouragement of unemployment, rehab after a difficult surgery, moving to a new city. In every restart we honor God when we obey his call to be fruitful, to increase, to fill. God wants to use us to bring value into the world. That includes work for which we get paid and work for which we do not. We bring value by building communities and relationships. We bring value when we get people connected to God.
Your start-over may look daunting. But the fact that God calls us to start over tells us that we will not need to do it on our own.

PONDER:  In what ways is God asking you to start over at this point in your life? What is the next courageous thing you need to do to make that happen?

Discussion or Reflection

When God flooded the Earth, he was hitting the reset button. God was starting fresh with creation and he gave them a new starting point. In some ways, God may be asking your family to start fresh. Where might you (your family) need to hit the reset button?

Read Psalm 23:3 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11 as an individual or as a group. What are things that are life-giving for you - your family? Things that get you excited? What are things that drain you (us as a family)? Where do you (does your family) need to hit the reset button? (In the ways we talk to others / one another? In our busyness? In our lifestyle? etc.)
 

Day 2: CHOSEN AND SENT... to build a Barge

Called... re-imagining our place in God's Plan (Day 2)

Genesis 6:5-8 (ESV)
⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
(READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER)

The twentieth century was the most violent in the history of the world. Over 100 million people were killed in two world wars. This past century gave birth to words like holocaust, genocide, terrorism, and suicide bomber. Though these terms may be new, the reality of horrific and unimaginable evil is nothing new in the millennia of human history.

Genesis 6:5–22 records that in the days of Noah the “wickedness of man was great in the earth.” Three times in verses 11 and 12, the word “corrupt” describes the state of affairs in the ancient world—rotten, full of decay and ruin. God is sorry and grieved to his heart and pronounces judgement: “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land...for I am sorry that I have made them.” End of story? Almost, but for a man named Noah, who walked with God and found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The story of Noah and his ark is often told as a cute and quaint Bible story, but Noah’s world was full of genocide, terrorism, violence, and pure, raw evil. In the midst of it, God chooses and sends Noah to take part in God’s own redemptive purposes. He gives Noah a monumental and ridiculous task: build a floating barge the length of one and a half football fields, fill it with two of every species and enough food to feed your family and the floating zoo. In the eyes of Noah’s world this is crazy, but God promises his deep, abiding and loyal commitment, covenant, to Noah. Twice the narrative states that “Noah did all that God commanded him” (6:22, 7:5) and the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that by faith, Noah took on the monumental task.

Noah’s obedience and faith-filled feat is a stark reminder that God can and will use anyone to be part of his redemptive plans—plans of rescue and restoration. He many not always call someone to monumental, “barge-building” tasks, but he does want his people to be part of his redemptive, gospel-centered work in this fallen world.

PONDER:  WHAT STEP OF GOSPEL-CENTERED OBEDIENCE MIGHT GOD BE ASKING YOU TO TAKE TO GET INVOLVED IN THE MESSINESS AND RUIN OF THIS WORLD?

Discussion or Reflection
Noah lived during an unstable period of history. God was grieved by his creation, and he chose to use Noah as a part of his redemption story. The reason God was able to choose Noah is because Noah had proven himself faithful.

Read Genesis 6:9. Noah followed God every single day. What are some ways that you follow God? Noah saved many animals, as well as people, when he built an ark for God. What are big things God might want to trust you with?

DAY ONE - CALLED OUT OF HIDING

Genesis 3:9-10 (ESV) - ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
(READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER)

The cry of the desperate mother filled the store as she frantically searched for her lost little boy. Ben, where are you? Ben sheepishly stepped out from behind the rack of dress shirts. Crisis over. Mother relieved.
In the opening pages of the Bible God calls out—not frantically but persistently to Adam and Eve: “Where are you?” Like Ben, Adam and Eve were hiding—but unlike Ben, they were playing no game. The setting in which God calls out sounds idyllic, soothing, peaceful; he is taking a stroll in the garden in the cool of the day. Yet for Adam and Eve there was no peace as they hid among the trees—hiding their shame, their nakedness, their guilt, their sin. Yet, God calls and pursues them. He calls out: “Adam and Eve, where are you?” God is not ignorant of their whereabouts but rather, his calling out is the first picture of God pursuing fallen, sinful human beings in order to rescue and restore them.
Adam’s response to God’s gracious pursuit is fear and hiding. “I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” This blunt confession of Adam rings true to how humanity lives even today. Why was Adam afraid? Because his true, naked, fallen self was exposed. What does he do? He tries to hide from God’s presence “among the trees.” Today, people do the same thing— hiding one’s sin, brokenness, and nakedness “among the trees”—and there is a whole forest full! The human race hides behind the trees of denial, respectability, busyness, false intimacy, status, wealth, power, alcohol, or drugs. The forest is full and it is not hard to find a tree to hide from God’s pursuit. Yet God calls— not because he doesn’t know where people are—but because in fact, he does see us. The “hound of heaven” pursues us with what John Wesley described as a “gracious pursuit with a view to recovery.” Time to come out from behind the trees. God is pursuing. No need to be afraid. God calls: Where are you?

PONDER:   DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU ARE HIDING OR RUNNING FROM GOD?  WHAT DOES YOUR "TREE" OR HIDING PLACE LOOK LIKE?

Discussion OR Reflection

God allowed Adam and Eve to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the one tree that was off limits. In that moment, sin entered the world.

Read Genesis 3:9-10 again (individually or as a family). How did Adam and Eve react when God called out to them? Why? Have you ever done something wrong that made you feel like hiding? What happened? Read 1 John 1:9. How does God respond when we mess up? How is God’s response encouraging to you?

A February ReCap

BAPTISM CELEBRATION (Feb 8)We had the opportunity to xaptize SIX kids and teens at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center on Sunday Night, February 8.  It was a great time!  Check out the video [HERE]

SENDING OFF GRANT (Feb 14)
Grant Delahunt (our Saturday Night Cajon player) has decided to take this semester off of college... sell all that he has... buy a 1992 Volvo Station Wagon and live out of the back of it for the next three months while serving the homeless.  We had the opportunity to pray over him before he left.  AWESOME NIGHT.  Follow his journey at his blog [LINK] or Facebook [LINK]

BABY DEDICATION (Feb 15)
Lifting up a child and their family to the Lord as they choose to follow God... THAT NEVER GETS OLD!  Congrats to Dylan and Taylor Tynes and baby Gibson!

TAKING THE TURN - The Chronological Gospels
As we have been going through the Gospels from the birth of Jesus to His resurrection, we have come to the last week in the Ministry of Jesus life.  We covered John 12 and his anointing [listen online] last weekend and we move to the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY this week [READ Matthew 21-22].  It is an exciting time as we lead up to Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection!

Here is a quick survey I would love for you to take... as we begin the move to our new facility some changes need to be made in our approach to ministry.  We want to serve both Paragon and the surrounding community as best as we can with all that we have... so let us know how that might be possible by filling this out.  THANKS!

A QUICK SURVEY

Coming soon!

Some years ago the London Transit Authority was receiving a lot of complaints because their buses were driving past customers who were standing at the bus stops. The Transit Authority put an explanation in the paper that has become infamous with public relations departments. The explanation said, “It is impossible for us to maintain our schedule if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers.” Clearly, that company had forgotten its purpose.

Of the five thousand new companies that are started each year, only one thousand remain two years later. After five years, only two hundred are left. Corporate consultants say that the common denominator among all those failed companies is that they have no clear purpose; they lack a specific goal and direction. Steven Covey, famous for the Franklin Covey time management system once said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Today, I want to remind you, as well as myself, that the main thing in any church is to reach people for Jesus Christ. The mission of the church is given to us by our Lord in Matthew 28:19-20. We are to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them grow spiritually. Evangelism (sharing the gospel) and discipleship (bringing people along in the gospel) should be the driving force behind everything we do.

Andy Stanley wrote a book not too long ago called “The Seven Practices of Ministry.”  The basic outline and summary has been posted in my office since we started Paragon.  Here are the seven.

1.     Clarify the Win. When all is said and done, what is it that we want to look back on and celebrate? What is the goal to be accomplished?

2.     Think Steps, Not Programs.  Your programs should take people somewhere, not simply fill up their time. Ask yourself, “Where do we want our people to be?  What do we want them to become? Is our programming designed to take them there?

3.     Narrow The Focus.  Focus is the key to achieving excellence and making an impact. Each ministry environment should be designed to do no more than one or two things well.  (DO A FEW THINGS WELL)

4.     Teach More For Less.  The less you say, the more you will communicate. Learn to say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it.

5.     Listen To Outsiders.  The needs and interests of insiders have a tendency to determine the agenda for the organization. Focus your efforts on those you’re trying to reach, rather than those you’re trying to keep.

6.     Replace Yourself. One day someone else will be doing what you are doing. Embrace the inevitable and prepare now for the future.

7.     Work On It.  To maintain your relevance, your sanity, and your effectiveness, you must carve out time in your schedule to step back and evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it.

I must admit, in the last three years, that piece of paper has become white noise in my office.  It is something that I forgot was there, even though it is posted right over my desk. 

Since our family meeting back in June, I began to think over these seven and I really began to think a lot about them.  Clarify the win… why do we do what we do?  Think steps on how to achieve that win.  Focus on the win and keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t settle for what has happened, but evaluate it and make sure your target win is up front and center.

Our win at Paragon, our main thing, like I said earlier, it to reach people for Christ and see them become fully devoted followers of Him.  As I “work on it” I have seen that we can improve in these areas.  You see, we minister in a city with 85,000 people living in it and that doesn’t even include the many we can “reach” in west ABQ.  In the three years we have been in existence, we have see 80 people get baptized.  While I am excited for the 80 and what God has done and is doing in their lives, there are a lot more that need to be reached.

As I have evaluated, I have seen myself and others become a little too focused on the upcoming services and less focused on the gospel and taking it out.  That has to change.  As a church, we have never been called to get people to come to us, we have been called to go out to all of them.  When Jesus says in the book of Acts to go to the uttermost parts of the earth, that does not exist inside the walls of the church, it just starts there.

That is why the leadership of the church, and many spiritual leaders outside of the church, have been praying for God’s direction for Paragon.  We want to make sure we are staying on mission and doing what we originally set out to do… not to become just another church in Rio Rancho, but to reach Rio Rancho and the surrounding communities for Christ.  We desire to make a difference in this world by responsibly using what God has given us in the ways of our time, our treasure, and our talents.

Through these two months of prayer, we feel God is leading us to make some changes at Paragon.  In the very near future, we will be making changes to our worship services, our kids ministry, our adult ministry, how we “make disciples,” and even where we meet.

While change is rarely easy, I am excited about what is to come and how God will use these transitions to glorify Himself.  I cannot wait to see how God will use us to reach this community in a whole new way.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.  I cannot promise that I have all of the answers, but I can tell you that we have sought God’s direction in this and have not made any of these decisions out of haste or desperation.

We want to reach more people for Christ and believe this will be a great new start in the process of seeing that take place.

THANKS!