June 15, 2008

Happy Father’s Day! Psychologists and sociologists tell us that the impact of a father in our lives is profound. For good or bad, a father’s influence helped shape who you are today. Our God always has been and always will be understood as Father. Scripture tells us every family on earth derives its identity from the fact that God is a father. The prophet Isaiah expresses it this way; “O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter…” Isaiah broadens our understanding of fatherhood as one who molds and shapes our lives. Like a potter with clay, a true father is not simply a catalyst for life, but also one who gives “hands-on” formation and direction. It’s challenging, costly, sacrificial and necessary. Unlike God, our earthly fathers make mistakes, fail, and hurt us. But most have done the best they could. If you are able to bless your dad today, take that opportunity. Look around for a father you can encourage, it’s not an easy job, but much is at stake.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

June 8, 2008

No matter the words; “Once upon a time…” or “In a galaxy far, far away…”, every story has a beginning. These opening words set the stage for what we are about to learn. Though many of the stories that enrich our lives are fictional, the story of mankind is very real. As it unfolds, we find a challenge issued which will resonate throughout all the ages; Does God have the right to be your God? Every test we face is simply a variation of the original attack on God’s authority. This doubt was planted in Adam and Eve by a crafty serpent long ago. Though motivated by our own selfish desires and lust, all temptation at its core is an attempt to seat ourselves on the throne of God. Often coming in the guise of a storm, and in clusters, it’s through our resistance and standing firm that we grow. Like a mighty oak, we become stronger as the storms force our roots to go deeper. May we, like Jesus, draw near to our Heavenly Father, resisting each scheming trap and putting the devil to flight, having found no place of opportunity in us.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

June 1, 2008

As a newborn baby, we learned within hours of our birth, that an action on our part brought reaction.  It began innocently enough; you cried because of hunger pangs and you were fed.  I cried because of irritation and my diaper was changed.  We cried because of anxiety and we were held.  What a wonderful life!  But at some point we moved toward manipulation with our cries.  They became less of an alert to need and more about satisfying our greed.  We began the quest of fallen humanity---"Let the world revolve around me!"  When you and I face temptation, it's an opportunity to demonstrate who is at the center of your life.  Can I manipulate my circumstances to serve my purpose instead of God's?  Though our tests are covered with the sweet icing of desire, at their center is the question---Who owns my life, and for what purpose?  Hopefully an infant grows out of crying in order to get their way.  Some of us never do.  May you and I begin to view temptation as an opportunity to demonstrate ownership--God's.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

May 25, 2008

One of the most unusual encounters Jesus had while here on earth happened immediately after His water baptism. As He came up out of the water the heavens opened, the Spirit of God came upon Him, descending as a dove, and the voice of God was heard from heaven! “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” As we read on, we find that the beloved Son of God’s pleasure is led to a wild and barren place to be tempted by the devil. At first glance these two events seem incongruous. How can someone in the perfect will of God find themselves in a place of temptation? Even the Son of God Himself?! Perhaps the words of George Sweeting give us a clue; “Every temptation is an opportunity to draw nearer to God.” We all prefer the heaven opening, Holy Spirit descending, God speaking type of experience. But could it be that there is a place of greater nearness to God when all around us speaks of His absence and unconcern, and our hearts are being lured away to disobedience. Yet in that barren place we stand, not out of human strength or goodness, but out of love for Him Who first loved us. Are we not drawn nearer to Him when we resist the devil in the face of his greatest temptation?

Pastor Mike Rothwell

May 18, 2008

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” These familiar words are as appropriate for our daily lives as for the theater. If someone counted the ways our lives demonstrate a love for God, how long would it take? Actually the measure of our love for God must be examined against our stewardship in relation to a world that’s lost and broken. The scriptures reveal that Jesus viewed a person’s claim to love God and a person’s actions toward the outsider as inseparable. One explains the other. The more we focus on our own lives, the less we are concerned about giving life to others. The more we are awakened to the love of God, the more committed we become to giving from ourselves that others might live. Love is not so much about prolonging and perpetuating our own lives as about giving new life to others. How much do I love Him? Let me count the ways...the names...the faces...the actions...

Pastor Mike Rothwell

May 11, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day! Each year we set this day aside to acknowledge, honor and celebrate our mothers. After all, that’s where each of us got our start! Of course what we honor today is not simply the process of one human being giving birth to another. As miraculous as that is, what we are called to remember today are the years of love, sacrifice and giving, that follow. Mother’s Day, in one form or the other, has been celebrated since ancient Greece. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People are what their mothers make them.” That seems to unjustly place a lot of pressure on moms, but it does reveal the powerful impact of a mother on her children. We all realize there are no perfect moms or dads, but I feel one of the greatest things a mother offers her child is demonstrated in the life of Mary—the mother of Jesus. Luke tells us in his gospel how the shepherds found the newborn Jesus with Mary and Joseph, amazing them as they told of the angel’s proclamation. As Mary listened and looked at her new son lying in a feeding trough in a filthy stable, she treasured those things in her heart. Moms have the ability to treasure within themselves the dreams and hopes for the future of their children, even in the midst of the beauty of “the manger”. Please make it a point to honor Mom with your family today. Chances are she has carried your treasure for years.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

May 4, 2008

When we think of Jesus, we don’t think of Him as being angry. As a matter of fact, you probably don’t associate anger with being a Christian. But Paul wrote to the Ephesian church to be angry, yet not sin. He went on to say that anger, held over a period of time, gives the devil an opportunity in our lives. Anger is simply an emotion which occurs when what you want to happen isn’t happening. The problem isn’t the emotion, it’s what we do with it—where we go with it. Anger is going to lead somewhere. Mark’s gospel records an instance when Jesus got angry with some religious leaders ( which seemed to be His prime source). He was distressed by their hardness of heart toward a man with a shriveled hand. The Bible says Jesus looked at the leaders in anger and then healed the man. Jesus’ anger was produced by injustice, it was divine, because some things are worth getting angry about. Are the things that anger you, larger than yourself? Does it fuel healing and restoration through you? We can learn a lot about a person by what makes them angry.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

April 27, 2008

Jesus didn’t come into the world merely to expose sin—Moses through the law had done that. Christ came to eradicate it! He came to remove its deadly power and to make men whole. How quickly you and I become “lawmen”, pointing out the failures and sins of others. How unlike Jesus we are when we do. How long would we last if God was as quick and severe in judging us? Mercy is never swift enough when dealing with our own sin. What about its mission to those around us? As He began His sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy”. Matthew Henry said, “We must not judge the hearts of others nor their intentions, for it is God’s prerogative to try the heart, and we must never step into His throne. We may counsel and help the person, but we are not to judge him”. May you and I truly understand that when we condemn others, we are least like God.

Pastor Mike Rothwell

April 20, 2008

Have you ever had an opinion about someone which completely changed once you got to know them? You may have watched them from a distance or been told things about them by others which proved to be inaccurate once you met them. Sadly that’s often the situation with God. Many of these who claim to know Him best, have accurately portrayed Him least, and once we meet Him, we’re amazed at who He really is. I mean it’s not like we can find God hanging out at Starbucks and begin to get a clearer understanding of who He is as we observe Him. Or is it? Jesus said He was sent to demonstrate to those around Him what God is like. Then He said he was sending those who follow Him to do the same. Could it be that people have an incomplete, mixed-up view of God because our rhetoric far outweighs our demonstration of His life? May you and I live in such a way that a thirst for God, the true God, is created in those around us. May we not give an answer before the question is even asked. Anyone for Starbucks?

Pastor Mike Rothwell

April 13, 2008

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked by Queen Victoria for the secret of his ministry. His reply is challenging; “I guess the reason is because God has all there is of me.” Wow! Is it possible for us to live such a yielded life? And if it is, how would you gauge such a thing? Perhaps the Scottish writer George Macdonald grants us insight into this question when he says, “The love of our neighbor is the only door out of the dungeon of self. We must not choose our neighbor but take the one God sends, the one next to you at the moment, the one whom any business has brought your way.” Could it be that God’s door of freedom for you and me is as near as the person next to us? To love God and our neighbor is at the heart of the Kingdom. May we do both with all that is within us!

Pastor Mike Rothwell

April 6, 2008

The invitation of Jesus is to live in this world as a citizen of an entirely different Kingdom—a different purpose—different loyalty—different fulfillment. Following Jesus is not about saving us from pain and suffering, but from meaninglessness. Our purpose is to live in such a way that God’s unshakable Kingdom impacts a world which is constantly shaking. Our lives must unashamedly proclaim the reason for the hope we live in—right in the midst of a hopeless world. Is it costly? To answer this invitation costs nothing less than everything we are and everything we have. But as the price is paid, we find life beyond measure!

Pastor Mike Rothwell

March 30, 2008

Jesus makes a very interesting statement during His sermon on the mount. He says that you and I, as Christ followers, are responsible to light up the world! Think about it. If you walk into a dark room, the problem is the absence of light, not the presence of darkness. A light is lit so that something else may be seen. What a staggering thought that the world takes its conception of Christianity primarily from the light we produce and not from the Bible or Christ Himself. Jesus goes on to say that if we are shining as we should, people around us will give God glory because of our good works. Wherever you find darkness, don’t complain—shine on!

Pastor Mike Rothwell

March 23, 2008

From the earliest days of Christianity, followers of Christ have greeted one another each Easter with a triumphant shout -- "He is risen!"  To this, a glorious response would be given -- "He has risen, indeed!" How amazing that God in the flesh entered our world with a very normal birth, but a supernatural conception.  His death also seemed common, but His resurrection wonderfully supernatural. You and I are most easily influenced by the things we see, touch, taste, smell and hear. Yet, the scriptures teach us that the unseen world is more "real" than the temporal things which move us. May we live empowered by the same Spirit that raised Christ form the dead, "as seeing Him as unseen". Remember, "He has risen, indeed!"

Pastor Mike Rothwell

March 16, 2008

What are you becoming? No, it's not a "What do you want to be when you grow up" question. Each of us is in a constant state of becoming something. More loving, more serving, more yielded to God? More bitter, more fearful, more self-consumed? The apostle Paul committed his life to serving any and all in order to reach a wide range of people. Though he was free of the demands and expectations of everyone, he voluntarily chose to be a servant on behalf of Christ, to anyone. Even at this moment, you are becoming something. What have you chosen, a greater demonstration of Jesus or a greater demonstration of self?

Pastor Mike Rothwell