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New Believers!

One of the most exciting things about church life is seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ.  This past weekend our focus was on the new birth and the changes that happen in a person's life when they open their lives to Jesus and make Him their personal Savior and Lord.

It was thrilling to see so many people make the decision to step across the line of faith and turn their lives over to Jesus.  It was an amazing weekend of spiritual harvest.

As I was reflecting on what God did in people's lives this weekend I thought about a very important passage in the gospel of Matthew.  Take a look at what Jesus said:

“Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain:  The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts.  The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy.  But like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word.  The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.  The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.”  -- Matthew 13:18-23 (NLT)

Here are a couple of good reminders for us from this passage:

• New believers need to be reminded that their decision to commit their life to Jesus Christ will certainly be challenged by the devil.  If you are a new believer, the best thing you can do is to quickly get connected with a Bible-teaching church and with other Christians who can help you start growing in your new walk with the Lord.  At our church we have a great 4 week study that will help you do both of these things.  It is called Basic Training.  Get signed up for it right away.  You will be glad you did.
  

• All believers should be reminded that we have the privilege and responsibility to pray for and support those who are new in their faith.  We need to pray for their strength and for their protection from the traps and tricks of the evil one.  We need to pray for a great start and sustained commitment for them in their spiritual journey.
  

If you are a new believer in Jesus -- Hallelujah!  Get started on your pathway to spiritual growth.  If you have been a believer for a while, Hallelujah for you too!  Take up the role of a helper in prayer and encouragement for someone who has recently started their walk with Christ!

Pastor Dale

Focused?

Focus is an amazing thing.  Think about light.  Focused light has great power.  A laser beam is, in essence, a very focused, concentrated wavelength of light.  Because of its focus, the power of the light is magnified and intensified.

The same principle applies in the way we approach our lives.  An unfocused life is like diffused light.  There is a lot of waste and limited impact.  However, when we get focused, everything changes.  We begin to see results.  In fact, growth and improvement in any realm of life starts with focus.

Focus is something we have to fight to maintain.  It doesn't happen without attention, concentration and effort.  A broad band of light becomes laser light only when strict boundaries and discipline are enforced on it.

This is true for us as well.  The kind of focus that brings positive and powerful results requires discipline.  Staying focused on the right things is a lifelong, daily challenge and responsibility.  But when we enforce the discipline of focus on our work, our relationships, our walk with God or any other area of life, we can anticipate incredible and significant growth, progress and impact.

Let's discipline ourselves to live focused lives.

Pastor Dale

New Seasons

One of the signs that summer is over and a different season has started is the sight of school buses on the roads and school children making their way to class again.  While there is a bit of sadness that comes with the close of vacation time, there is also a sense of excitement and anticipation.

As we get ready for a new school year, and the new schedules and activities that start fresh each September, let me encourage you to make sure you are prioritizing your spiritual life and needs.  The only way to experience the fulness of God’s blessings in any area of life is to put Him first.  This certainly includes new seasons of life.

Here are a few good reminders for all of us as we exit summertime and head into fall:

• Design time into your daily schedule for God.
  

• Make church attendance a high priority.  Make the big decision that you and your family will be in church each weekend for worship and the study of God’s Word.
  

• Maintain family times.  Establish a family meal together each evening, if at all possible.  Commit to a brief family devotional time before going to bed.  This continuity will do wonders for your communication and connection with one another.
  

• Have faith!  Believe that this season is going to be a good season.  Believe that God has some wonderful things He is going to teach you, show you and do for you.  Anticipate with great excitement a new season of His blessings and favor.
  

Also, don’t miss this coming weekend at Church of the Redeemer.  We have planned a special weekend to help us all get ready for this new season.  I am excited about what God is going to do!

Pastor Dale

On the Grow!

Steve, Christi and Elijah

Justin, Jessica and Jadyn

Terry and I received some wonderful news last month.  We are expecting two more grandchildren!  Both Steve and Christi and Justin and Jessica are expecting babies sometime early in 2009.

As you can imagine, we are all very excited.  We love our 2 grandchildren, Elijah and Jadyn dearly, and are looking forward to adding to the clan!  I suppose it is time to buy a couple of additional high chairs for the kitchen!

Pastor Dale

Mom, Dad and Ministry

Today my wife and I had the opportunity to spend some time with my parents.  Mom and dad have been involved in pastoral church ministry since the early 1950’s.  As we talked, I asked Dad what he personally considered to be some of the most rewarding things about ministry life.

As he reflected back over the years, I heard real joy in his voice as he reminisced about some of the people he had the privilege of leading to the Lord, some who have gone on to heaven and many others who continue to serve the Lord today.  He spoke of several of these folks by name, and with genuine affection.  I could sense the pleasure and satisfaction he felt in knowing that he had made and continues to make a difference with his life for the sake God’s Kingdom and people.

As I reflected on their 50+ years of pastoral life and experiences, I was reminded of some of the things I believe to be essential keys to effective ministry.  At the top of list is a love for people.  To have an effective ministry a person must possess a true love for people and for their welfare, now and eternally.  Mom and dad certainly demonstrate this kind of love.

Second, effective ministry is the result of a commitment to stick with it -- living and serving with endurance and faithfulness.  Mom and dad, by their example, have proved that fruitfulness and fulfillment come with a lifetime of faithful service to God and others.

I am so very proud of my parents.  Through the tough and challenging times of ministry, as well as the joyous times, I have watched them live with integrity, passion, commitment and incredible love for the local church.  What an example they have set for me, and I honor them!

Pastor Dale

Remembering Dan Dickson

This past Sunday afternoon many in our church family had the opportunity to celebrate the life of Dan Dickson.  As Dan was preparing to come to our midweek service on Wednesday evening, he went to be with the Lord.  He was 53 years old and had been a part of our church for almost 21 years.

As I thought about Dan’s impact on my life and on our church family through the years, and listened to different folks sharing their memories of Dan, a single theme surfaced.  Dan was, at the core of his being, a true servant.

Dan Dickson was a man who supported the work of the church in the background, away from any limelight or glory.  Every weekend, during our services, you would find Dan working faithfully in our parking lot ministry.  He served on our facility support team, helping maintain our buildings and grounds.  He kept the trees on our church property properly pruned.  Dan didn’t miss a church service unless he was out of town or sick.  He was someone that could be counted on -- a true contributor of his time, treasure and talents.  Not only did Dan serve, he also encouraged others to serve.  By his words and example he challenged others to step out of the stands onto the field of servanthood.

With beautiful simplicity, Dan lived a selfless and profound life.  His service made a difference.  Dan, in his unique way, contributed to the advance of God’s Kingdom and the salvation of many folks through the years.  No doubt, when Dan took his final breath last Wednesday, I believe his first breath in heaven was accompanied by a “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

What a great lesson his life teaches us.

Thank you Dan for your faithful service over the years and for leaving a legacy that challenges us to humble, selfless and simple service for Jesus Christ.  Thank you Lord for the gift of Dan Dickson’s life.

Pastor Dale

Mouth Check

A couple of days ago, as I was getting ready to head to the church office, I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit in my heart.  It was one of those moments when I realized that He wanted to talk to me about something, or more specifically, to correct me about something.

In the quietness of this early morning encounter, the Lord reminded me of a statement I had made to someone the day before -- a little comment that grieved the Lord.  It really didn’t surprise me that He was bringing this to my attention.  Although it was now about 12 hours past the event, I remembered feeling a twinge of conviction when I said it.  However, because of the flow and fast-paced nature of the interaction at that moment, I had moved on without acknowledging or dealing with my comment immediately.

I had not said something profane, impure, irreverent or even unkind.  I had not gossiped about someone.  But I did make a quick comment that was insensitive and self-focused.  And now, half a day later, God was bringing it back to my attention.  It was something He was not willing to let slide.  And I am grateful for His persistence.

As the Holy Spirit reminded me of my words, I felt the sting of Holy Spirit conviction in my heart.  I felt sorrow as I saw myself and viewed my comment from God’s perspective.  In that moment I asked the Lord for His forgiveness.  I also asked Him for the grace and power to be more careful with my words.

The Bible has a lot to say to us about our words.  Here are some Bible verses that I reflected on following this event that are great reminders to all of us:

“A truly wise person uses few words ...” -- Proverbs 17:27 (NLT)

“We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way.”  -- James 3:2 (NLT)

And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself. -- James 3:6 (NLT)

When was the last time God showed up in your life and talked to you about your talk?  I am glad that He is committed to helping us tame our tongue!

Pastor Dale

Multi-generational Church

One of the things I love about our church is our multi-generational congregation. When you look around and observe the ministries of our church you find people of all ages. It truly is a family of faith -- from the youngest to the oldest.

One of the exciting ministries of Church of the Redeemer is our OASIS Ministry -- Older Adults Strong In Service. The folks in this ministry are actively involved in many different areas of service within our church congregation. They are true helpers, workers and supporters, without which our church could not fulfill its God-given mission. The OASIS group also has some wonderful times of fellowship and fun together.

This past Saturday the group gathered for a delicious catered lunch and hymn sing, along with a devotional time. From the reports I received, it was a tremendous time of fellowship and worship.

If you are an older adult, let me encourage you to get connected with OASIS. It is a great place to build friendships and to become a more active part of what God is doing at our church.

Thanks OASIS for being such a blessing to Church of the Redeemer!

Pastor Dale

Vacation and Grandkids

My wife and I recently took a vacation break with our family.  We had a great time together.  We especially enjoyed having some fun with our 2 grandchildren.  Jadyn is about 9 months old now and Elijah is 20 months old.  Here are a few pictures.  I hope you enjoy them!

Pastor Dale

Blessings and Breakthroughs

When was the last time you had one of your prayers answered in a clear, specific way?

Prayer is something a lot of people talk about, and some occasionally practice.  Sadly, very few folks really discover the joy of an intimate personal prayer life.  Many blessings and breakthroughs are ready to be released to people who pray.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the importance, power and joys of a life of prayer:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” -- Philippians 4:6, 7 (NIV)

These verses are incredible!  They are full of great wisdom for us.

During our upcoming weekend services we will take a closer look at Paul’s instructions on prayer and how we can apply them.  I will be sharing 4 things every person needs to know about prayer.  I believe that this message will help you to understand some of the reasons for prayer.  It will also inspire you to begin practicing prayer at a whole new level -- in a way that gets answers from God and brings new joy to your life.

Don’t miss this weekend’s worship and teaching!  Make sure and invite a friend to join us for this important message.

For more information or directions about service times and locations at our Gaithersburg or Frederick campus, check out the link below:

www.church-redeemer.org

I am looking forward to seeing you!

Pastor Dale

Impact

Here is a great lesson from my wife, Terry.  I know you will enjoy it! -- Pastor Dale

What kind of impact do our attitudes, actions and decisions have on others?

I was recently reading the story of the children of Israel while they were slaves in Egypt.  Pharaoh kept refusing Moses’ request to let them leave Egypt.  Finally God released the last plague upon the Egyptians, the death of their firstborn sons and livestock.

Pharaoh’s bad decisions affected his family, and it also affected all the people of Egypt.  His stubbornness brought problems, pain, devastation and death to many others.   People lost their children, grandchildren, loved ones, and livestock because one man had a hard heart and disobeyed God.  

We see examples of this principle throughout Scripture, starting in the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve and continuing into the New Testament and the early church.  Any time leaders, workers, parents, husbands, wives and young people make poor decisions or respond with the wrong attitudes and actions, there is a negative impact on the people around them.  It might be a hard heart like Pharaoh, a resistant or rebellious spirit, gossip, anger, complaining, or a variety of other things, but the end result is problems and pain, devastation and death for others.

I tried an experiment the other day to see what kind of impact I could silently have on another person’s attitudes and behavior.  I was standing in line at a store waiting to checkout.  There was a little girl in the shopping cart in front of me with her grandpa.  He was busy dealing with the clerk and during this time the little girl kept staring at me with the ugliest scowl on her face!  I don’t know what was going on in her life, but she wasn’t happy.  I decided I would continue to smile at her to see if I could help her with her bad mood.

It became one of those battles to see who could last the longest -- her and her scowl or me and my smile!  I could feel myself wanting to turn away as I kept looking at her.  I had to struggle to keep smiling.  Her scowl was having a negative impact on me!  But I was determined to keep smiling at her.  Finally she turned her head from me and later looked back at me with a slight improvement in her countenance.  Whew!

Here is a good lesson to remember.  We all have an impact on those around us.  Many times the negative attitudes and actions overrule the positive ones.  I want to live my life in a way that honors God in all I do.  In the decisions I make, the actions I take and the attitudes of my heart, I want to be very careful to avoid bringing problems and pain, devastation and death to those around me.   

May God help all of us to live in a way that produces a positive impact on others!

Terry

Leaders

Good leadership is something that is needed in every part of our culture.  In the home, church and community, God is looking for leaders -- someone He can count on and use to positively influence people.

What does it take to be a good leader?

Here are a few things we all need to know about being a good leader:

1.  Good leaders remember that someone is watching and taking their lead from them.  They understand the importance of their example and influence.  They conduct their lives with others in mind.  They realize that real and positive leadership starts with being the right personal example to others.

2.  Good leaders understand that responsibility is a good thing -- something to be embraced, not avoided.  Leadership is all about accepting responsibility to be a servant, a help and blessing to others.  It involves consistently choosing to demonstrate responsible actions and attitudes in all relationships and duties.

3.  Good leaders are learning and growing.  They have developed an appropriate degree of self-awareness that makes them sensitive to inconsistencies in their character and weaknesses in their example.  As they see these things, they take action to address them.  They have a teachable spirit.

4.  Good leaders look back from time to time to carefully inspect the fruitfulness of those who are following them.  Are good things happening in the lives of those they are influencing?  Are they actually taking people under their care to new levels of spiritual life, character, productivity and responsibility?  Are they truly growing?  If not, they assess and determine what needs to be done to improve this situation.  They immediately take strategic steps to improve the quality of fruit they are producing.

5.  Good leaders honestly own up to their mistakes and failures.  Nothing engenders respect more than an appropriate, honest and sincere owning of one’s mistakes and failures.  Admitting to imperfections, weaknesses and needed areas of growth also helps followers do the same.  It is an expression of humility that attracts God’s grace in a person’s life.

6.  Good leaders are good followers.  To be a good leader a person must first learn how to follow and must maintain the characteristics of a good follower.

God is ready to help us become good leaders!

Pastor Dale

Faith or Feeling?

“We live by faith, not by sight.”   --  2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

One of the most important lessons we can learn in our spiritual journey is to live by faith and not by our feelings.  It is something many folks have a hard time understanding and putting into practice.  Faith over feelings is a critical Kingdom principle.

The focus of our culture is very different.  We are constantly bombarded with the message that feelings are “god.”  The world tells us that, when emotions speak, we are obligated to act.  The result is unnecessary problems and pain.  When feelings are in charge we will always make bad decisions.

Living by faith is a countercultural and counter-intuitive way to live.  It means that we do what God asks us to do, whether we feel like doing it or not.  It involves trusting that obedience to God’s Word, even if it is void of good feelings, brings blessings and positive results.  Conducting ourselves according to this principle is essential to a solid and stable Christian walk.  It is also a key to being used by God.

I think about all the prayers I would have never prayed, sermons I would have never preached, key decisions I would have never made if I had waited until I was “feeling it.”  I also think about the incredible things God has done in my life as a result of choosing to walk by faith and obedience instead of waiting for my emotions to inspire me to act.

Many years ago I saw a little diagram in a booklet that really brought this truth home to me.  If my memory is correct, it was a picture of a train -- an engine, a rail car and a caboose.  The engine was labeled “Faith,” the rail car labeled “Obedience” and the caboose labeled “Feelings.”

The lesson of the diagram was clear.  The power of the Christian life is found in the engine called faith.  Linked to faith is obedience -- doing what God says to do.  Often the last thing to come along for the ride is our feelings.  When we follow our feelings rather than our faith we put the caboose at the front of the train, and the result is no spiritual power or progress.

What is leading your life -- faith or feelings?

Pastor Dale

Pause

A couple of months ago my wife shared with me the essence of an article she had recently read in a Christian publication.  It was titled “Pause.”  The basic theme of the author was the importance of working strategic “pause moments” into life for the sake of reflection, renewal and recreation.  The premise being, effectiveness in life and ministry is determined not just by the things we do, but also by taking time to “not do”-- establishing strategic “pause moments” in our daily schedule.

Jesus, during His earthly ministry, understood the value of this:

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” -- Mark 1:35 (NIV)

It seems that Jesus started each day in “pause” mode.  Before He launched into daily activities and responsibilities of ministry, Jesus found a solitary, quiet place to be alone with His Father.  Everything He did during His days flowed out of the perspective and power He received from God during these vital times of pausing from the tasks and demands of hurting and lost people.  It was a key to Jesus’ ministry effectiveness.

Going back to Old Testament times, especially in the life of King David, we see the “pause principle” in operation.  Whenever David took up his pen and poured his heart out to God on parchment, he would often land on “pause moments.”  Before he went any farther expressing himself in worship, prayer or praise we often observe him taking a moment to think about his words, his emotions and the greatness of his God.

During those times of reflection, David would insert a word into his poetry that let everyone know what he was doing.  The word is “Selah.”  Roughly translated it means “to pause and think.”  Not only did “selah” describe David’s commitment to take time out to reflect on God’s greatness and power, it is a command to all of us to do the same.

What about you?  Are “pause moments” a part of your life?

Pastor Dale