Pastor's Weekly Musing
Hey everyone!
This week, I've asked Stephanie Fournier to give the weekly devotional. Steph and Matt (and their three kids) all serve diligently and joyfully at Meadows, and have been since the day they showed up years ago.
Steph leads our award-winning hospitality team every Sunday, she's part of the Ladies Connect leadership team, and OH BY THE WAY -- she's in the middle of pursuing a Masters Degree in Theology from Life Pacific University. She's the real deal.
Enjoy her devotional!
This week, I've asked Stephanie Fournier to give the weekly devotional. Steph and Matt (and their three kids) all serve diligently and joyfully at Meadows, and have been since the day they showed up years ago.
Steph leads our award-winning hospitality team every Sunday, she's part of the Ladies Connect leadership team, and OH BY THE WAY -- she's in the middle of pursuing a Masters Degree in Theology from Life Pacific University. She's the real deal.
Enjoy her devotional!
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Community: Created for Relationship
Do you have a friend who you could call in the middle of night? A friend who shows up just when you need him or her, sometimes when you didn't even know it? A friend who you can cry with and laugh with? Perhaps friendship and community has always come easy for you, or if you are like me, maybe friendship and community is something that you didn't realize required intentionality and is a large part of God's design and plan for His creation.
Jesus knew how to make friends. He was friends with a wide variety of people ranging from prostitutes to tax collectors to fishermen and zealots. His twelve closest friends are who you and I know as the disciples. He lived with them, ate with them, ministered
with them, prayed with them, and loved them. Jesus didn't choose the disciples based on their profession, experience, wealth, or social status. In fact, quite the opposite -- Jesus chose his disciples based on their willingness to say yes, their willingness to be made willing, and their willingness to share life with Him. When Jesus first met Simon Peter and Andrew, He simply tells them "come with me, let's go fishing". He didn't entice them with small talk, or even take them out to lunch, He pretty much inserted Himself in their lives and said let's go. In Matthew 4:19, "Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him". The disciples were willing to be made willing and said yes to Jesus.
It is not surprising that Jesus sought out relationships with people since our God has been relational from the beginning. The Doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God as three eternal and inseparable, yet distinct persons. This relational evidence can be on full display through the sending of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Father created us for relationship, out of relationship.
Now community and friendship don't just happen in a vacuum. With families, careers, and obligations we can't just grab twelve people and say let's go on a road trip. However, we can look around at our current circles of influence: our jobs, church, school, gyms, our very own neighborhoods and really take time to see the people that we encounter each day. From there we can intentionally choose to go deeper. We can take the time to ask the questions, to advance past small talk and really seek to find out who these people are that we interact with on a regular basis. Now don't get me wrong, this can be super uncomfortable and definitely awkward, but it is so so worth it.
Jesus did this with His own circle. He loved thousands, He spent time with many, He shared life with the twelve disciples, and He held three people in particular very close to Him. Jesus' inner circle consisted of Peter, James, and John. We can see the depth of their relationship when Jesus chose to take the three of them to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus wasn't feeling his best here and as we can see in Matthew 26:38 Jesus Himself gets very vulnerable, "Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Jesus chose the three people He was closest to share his despair. Those relationships weren't built overnight, nor were they established without intentionality. Jesus, Peter, James, and John had spent hundreds of hours together, living, eating, and working together. Essentially, they were doing life together. God wants this way of life for all of us. He wants us to have a community who celebrates us when we succeed, and He wants us to have friends who are there in times of trial and hardship. He also understands that this is not easy since we are, well, human. Relationships aren't easy, they are both messy and beautiful, challenging and invigorating, and they require intentionality, vulnerability, and availability in order to grow and deepen.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31 NIV).
Our Lord created us for relationship with Him and with one another. Let's intentionally set out to identify other people to invest in, build relationships with, and be vulnerable with. We are called to really enjoy the people God has given us right now, in this place, to love and do life with. If you haven't found your people yet, let me encourage you to take that first step because your people are out there looking for you too!
Much love,
Stephanie Fournier
Do you have a friend who you could call in the middle of night? A friend who shows up just when you need him or her, sometimes when you didn't even know it? A friend who you can cry with and laugh with? Perhaps friendship and community has always come easy for you, or if you are like me, maybe friendship and community is something that you didn't realize required intentionality and is a large part of God's design and plan for His creation.
Jesus knew how to make friends. He was friends with a wide variety of people ranging from prostitutes to tax collectors to fishermen and zealots. His twelve closest friends are who you and I know as the disciples. He lived with them, ate with them, ministered
with them, prayed with them, and loved them. Jesus didn't choose the disciples based on their profession, experience, wealth, or social status. In fact, quite the opposite -- Jesus chose his disciples based on their willingness to say yes, their willingness to be made willing, and their willingness to share life with Him. When Jesus first met Simon Peter and Andrew, He simply tells them "come with me, let's go fishing". He didn't entice them with small talk, or even take them out to lunch, He pretty much inserted Himself in their lives and said let's go. In Matthew 4:19, "Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him". The disciples were willing to be made willing and said yes to Jesus.
It is not surprising that Jesus sought out relationships with people since our God has been relational from the beginning. The Doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God as three eternal and inseparable, yet distinct persons. This relational evidence can be on full display through the sending of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Father created us for relationship, out of relationship.
Now community and friendship don't just happen in a vacuum. With families, careers, and obligations we can't just grab twelve people and say let's go on a road trip. However, we can look around at our current circles of influence: our jobs, church, school, gyms, our very own neighborhoods and really take time to see the people that we encounter each day. From there we can intentionally choose to go deeper. We can take the time to ask the questions, to advance past small talk and really seek to find out who these people are that we interact with on a regular basis. Now don't get me wrong, this can be super uncomfortable and definitely awkward, but it is so so worth it.
Jesus did this with His own circle. He loved thousands, He spent time with many, He shared life with the twelve disciples, and He held three people in particular very close to Him. Jesus' inner circle consisted of Peter, James, and John. We can see the depth of their relationship when Jesus chose to take the three of them to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus wasn't feeling his best here and as we can see in Matthew 26:38 Jesus Himself gets very vulnerable, "Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Jesus chose the three people He was closest to share his despair. Those relationships weren't built overnight, nor were they established without intentionality. Jesus, Peter, James, and John had spent hundreds of hours together, living, eating, and working together. Essentially, they were doing life together. God wants this way of life for all of us. He wants us to have a community who celebrates us when we succeed, and He wants us to have friends who are there in times of trial and hardship. He also understands that this is not easy since we are, well, human. Relationships aren't easy, they are both messy and beautiful, challenging and invigorating, and they require intentionality, vulnerability, and availability in order to grow and deepen.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31 NIV).
Our Lord created us for relationship with Him and with one another. Let's intentionally set out to identify other people to invest in, build relationships with, and be vulnerable with. We are called to really enjoy the people God has given us right now, in this place, to love and do life with. If you haven't found your people yet, let me encourage you to take that first step because your people are out there looking for you too!
Much love,
Stephanie Fournier
________________________________________________
Wasn't Family Sunday awesome? We had dozens of our kids join us in our services, and what a beautiful sight to see our church families taking communion together, praying with each other and worshipping together. I love this church!
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Every week at Meadows:
- Prayer Gathering on Mondays at 10 AM
- MYG and Connect on Wednesdays at 7 PM
- Prayer Gathering on Mondays at 10 AM
- MYG and Connect on Wednesdays at 7 PM
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OH YEAH, DON'T FORGET:
This Sunday is Spring Forward Sunday, which means we lose an hour of sleep (boo), but we gain a TON of day-light (yeah!).
And in case you were wondering: YES, your smart phone will automatically change the time for you, so you don't have to wake up every 20 minutes out of fear of sleeping in. You're welcome.
This Sunday is Spring Forward Sunday, which means we lose an hour of sleep (boo), but we gain a TON of day-light (yeah!).
And in case you were wondering: YES, your smart phone will automatically change the time for you, so you don't have to wake up every 20 minutes out of fear of sleeping in. You're welcome.
________________________________________________
This Sunday, we'll continue our series, The Heart of Christ.
We've seen Jesus described in the New Testament as gentle and lowly, as compassionate, as our Advocate and Intercessor, and we even looked at the Old Testament word hesed.
This week, we'll ask -- is Jesus enjoyable to be around? If the new Testament teachs us anything about Jesus, it's that many -- especially the least-likely -- really loved to "draw near" to Him. He was and is a good friend.
Join us this Sunday for Part 5 - Friend.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the walkway!
Pastor Ronnie
We've seen Jesus described in the New Testament as gentle and lowly, as compassionate, as our Advocate and Intercessor, and we even looked at the Old Testament word hesed.
This week, we'll ask -- is Jesus enjoyable to be around? If the new Testament teachs us anything about Jesus, it's that many -- especially the least-likely -- really loved to "draw near" to Him. He was and is a good friend.
Join us this Sunday for Part 5 - Friend.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the walkway!
Pastor Ronnie
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