Denise, Emma and I are vacationing in Maine, so that means we get to relax and do what we want to do for a week. For me, that means I can finish a book that’s been on my nightstand for over a year: The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God by Greg Beale.
It’s not light reading as the author takes the reader through a highly detailed description of the temple, it’s significance as the dwelling place of God’s presence and all that means to us, His people. Dr. Beale has served as a pastor and college professor most of his life, so his books never scale the ivory tower of intellectualism or tumble down the cliff of abstraction. While always challenging and deeply Biblical, particularly in his sweeping command of the Old Testament, he brings it right down to where you and I live. We are witnesses to the saving power of Jesus and the dwelling place of God’s presence in this fallen world.
I thought Dr. Beale’s purpose in writing The Temple and the Church’s Mission is appropriate for NCCF at this moment in our church’s life: He writes:
The main point of this book is that our task as the covenant community, the church, is to be God’s temple [Ephesians 2:19-22 & 1 Peter 2:4&5], so filled with his glorious presence that we expand and fill the earth with that presence until God finally accomplishes the goal completely at the end of time! This is our common mission.
In order to reach that goal:
We as individual Christians, as members of a local church and as part of Christ’s church throughout the world must not merely share our lives and God’s word with one another, but we need to get out of our little fishbowls and manifest the presence of Christ through our words and lives, so that the boundaries of the temple, the church, will grow until the whole earth is encompassed with and manifests the presence of God. Through us, God will fulfill his promise in Habakkuk 2:14, ‘For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’
But, what does that look like and how can we experience the indwelling presence of God more fully? Dr. Beale puts it simply:
God’s presence grows among his priestly people by their knowing his word, believing it and by obeying it, and then they spread that presence to others by living their lives faithfully and prayerfully in the world… a persevering and joyous faith in the midst of trial is an amazingly priestly witness to the unbelieving world. It gets the world’s attention. Such a witness either sparks more persecution or it influences some who persecute to join the church. This is what ‘missions’ is all about.
So, let’s recap: God’s presence grows in us when we know His Word, we believe it and then we live faithfully and prayerfully. And, we need to remember that each one of us is on mission and want to be “so filled with his glorious presence that we expand and fill the earth with that presence until God finally accomplishes the goal completely at the end of time!”
One of the most heartbreaking episodes in my Christian experience is the occasional encounter with the person who has become disillusioned with the faith or defeated in their spiritual life and concluded “Jesus is not enough.” Having passed through a particularly difficult event or hardship or test of obedience, they are left joyless, defeated and hopeless. They “tried Jesus,” but He just couldn’t fix their relationship or absorb their grief or “help” them to “be good enough.”
A few men get together each Tuesday morning to enjoy friendship, a great cup of coffee and discussion of a good book. We are just finishing up John Piper’s The Pleasures of God and it has been rich. I think the author digs down to the source of this kind of disquiet in a wounded soul and demonstrates how Jesus can be, as one friend described Him, super-adequate:
Here we see the key to the triumph of obedience over disobedience. The key is confidence that what Christ offers is better than the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” Moses looked to the reward of God’s promises, he weighed that against the rewards of unrighteousness, and he rested satisfied in God… The writer of Hebrews calls this liberating contentment “faith”… The definition of faith behind this usage is given in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.” In other words, faith is the satisfied assurance that God will work things out in the future far better than I could work them out by relying on myself or by departing from the path of obedience – even if obedience means suffering now. Being satisfied with all that God is for me in Christ – past, present, and future – is the power to resist the alluring temptations of disobedience.
Simple faith in Jesus is the “liberating contentment” that will enable you and I to live a life that pleases God. Trusting in Christ brings that “satisfied assurance” that God has my best interests at heart, even when I am under intense pressure or suffering beyond my capacity to endure. Finding our complete pleasure and satisfaction in Jesus is the power behind our ability to resist the baubles and trinkets that will pass away in a moment at His coming. In other words, Jesus is more than enough for any and all situations we face in this life.
If you find yourself wondering if Jesus is enough… if He really can deliver on those promises you embraced at some time in the past, turn from your self-savior project and trust in Jesus. Ask Him to be the Lord of your life, to meet your every need and to reveal Himself to you, as He did in Psalm 16:11. Then you can join David in singing:
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Why a Pastor’s blog? There are a number of reasons, I suppose.
I was on the Web and came across a quote which addresses that question and may give us some insight into why, as Christians, we do whatever it is we do :
Our calling is to enjoy God as well as glorify Him. Real fulfillment relates to the purpose for which we were made, to be in reference to God, to be in personal relationship with Him, to be fulfilled by Him, and thus to have an affirmation of life. Christianity should never give any onlooker the right to conclude that Christianity believes in the negation of life. Christianity is able to make a real affirmation because we affirm that it is possible to be in personal relationship to the personal God who is there and who is the final environment of all He created. All else but God is dependent, but being in the image of God, man can be in personal relationship to that which is ultimate and has always been. We can be fulfilled in the highest level of our personality and in all the parts and portions of life… There is nothing Platonic in Christianity… The whole man is to be fulfilled; there is to be an affirmation of life that is filled with joy.
Francis A. Schaeffer
Death in the City (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press: 1969) 26
The apostle Paul put it this way:
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
Mark Richey is the praise and worship pastor, participating in and managing our worship team. You can contact him at 530.265.4799
10:00 – 11:30 AM each Sunday we meet for praise and worship followed by encouragement and prayer with Sunday School for the kids. We are currently using CEF curriculum across all age levels. If you would like to be involved in this ministry, speak to Pat Brennan.
What better way to kick off our pastoral blog on NCCFToday than with an encouragement to daily Bible reading?
Paul assured Timothy and us that the Word of God is:
able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:15b-17 (ESV)
In other Words, the Bible provides everything the Christian needs to know in order to enjoy God and live a life that pleases Him and fulfills His will for us. So, let’s make sure we spend time in the Word daily.
I recently bought a copy of the English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, which also gives you access to the study resources online. The ESV stands in the tradition of the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version — you can read more about it here.
But, what I really wanted to share with you is the online Daily Bible Reading Plan. This is a great strategy for anyone, but I highly recommend it to those of you who spend hours each day in front of a monitor or on the go, with a laptop or phone.
It’s the text of the ESV, arranged in a daily reading, which will take you through the Bible in a year. Each daily portion is drawn from divisions within the Bible: Psalms and Wisdom, Pentateuch and the History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets and the New Testament. The text is very easy to read, includes some translation notes and also contains a link, which allows you to listen to the text. The narrator’s voice is one of the best I’ve ever heard and I found that I actually enjoyed reading along with him!
Let’s glorify God by living in the love of Jesus – one way we do that is by taking in His Word daily, allowing the words of Jesus to abide or live in us:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:7&8 (ESV)
In Him,
Bo Salisbury
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
On Sunday evening November 16, 2008, we had our congregational meeting. Mark and Tyler were gracious enough to lead us in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord and Jesus spoke a word of encouragement to us, through Jim, from the Scriptures.
Jim led off with a restatement of the direction the Lord gave us two years ago and a recap of His providence in taking us down the road He’s laid out before us, even through a difficult and heartrending year. The following are a few highlights:
Outreach
We were blessed this year to partner with a number of ministries/churches in Nevada County and around the globe, resulting in the gospel being preached, Christians built up in the faith, widows and orphans cared for and solid relationships established. To view most of these ministries, see the Ministry Partners links in the sidebar on the NCCFToday site.
What Others Are Saying About NCCF
Jim pointed out that, through working with others in the community and abroad, we received a lot of positive feedback from visitors, concerning what the Spirit seems to be doing at NCCF. Many of them took note of our love for one another, a welcoming spirit and the fact that NCCF probably has the largest attendance of any church in Nevada County… 30 minutes after the service has ended 
Those unsolicited observations, expressed over and over, have been very encouraging and we thank God for His grace in this area. Our love for one another is crucial to our witness to the watching world (John 17 and John 13:35)
Our Main Objectives
It was very evident to us two years ago that the Lord was leading in a specific direction. Two objectives were at the top of the list.
1) Provide a Sunday morning and Tuesday evening meeting appropriate for the entire church, involving praise, prayer and the proclamation of the Word.
2) Begin forming small groups to strengthen relationships between believers, focusing on specialized areas of ministry, throughout the week.
Tuesdays and Sundays
Our Sunday morning assembly has undergone some very positive change, particularly in the area of praise and worship, as well as corporate prayer. The worship team meets an hour before we begin, for prayer and coordination with Jim, the media team and the Sunday teacher. The result is praise and worship, focused on Jesus, and a time of solid edification for believers. Pat has taken the Sunday School and nursery under his wing and come up with a unified curriculum from CEF. The result is a Sunday School, fully staffed with folks that love to tell children about the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Tuesday nights have been transformed into a celebration of sorts, beginning with a very large group for dinner each week, followed by youth group, Tina’s class for the kids between the ages of 7 & 12, the adult Bible study and, of course, a nursery. The majority of kids are from the wider Christian community and their friends, so we count it a privilege to minister to them and work hard to be faithful to that calling. The adult Bible study has grown substantially, as well. We have also been blessed with special events, featuring Jim Jessup, Joshua Lickter and our missionaries home on furlough.
Of course, we discussed how an attractive facility, as well as a cheerful staff, are vital to effective hospitality. We have been blessed with both. George and Sandy have the building looking beautiful with tasteful landscaping, a newly painted fellowship hall and a finished kitchen, thanks to Ralph and others. Linda keeps the place spotless and running smoothly. Mike is faithful with the coffee and a crew of women, too numerous to name, provide delicious meals, which are obviously appreciated, based upon the numbers of those joining us for supper!
Small Groups
Small groups fall into a number of categories, with the soire´ at the King’s home busting out to become a Big Group. So, we hope to see some from that group go out to plant more small groups. The college and career group meets at the Mack’s for a time of Bible study, prayer and fellowship. The women’s Bible study and fellowship have grown in number, seeing even greater growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus! The men’s monthly fellowship has grown considerably under Pat’s oversight and we have enjoyed the wisdom of older men in our fellowship, as well as good number of brothers from other churches providing us with a fresh outlook into what it means to be a Christian man. Of course, the men’s theology group continues each Sunday morning and are about half way through Grudem’s Systematic Theology… for the second time.
Finances
Mark Bauman gave us a somewhat surprising financial report. As mentioned, it was a tough year and we saw our giving drop dramatically in the Spring. However, we are finishing the year at the same monthly level of giving we saw back in the first couple months of 2008 and the trend is upward! Praise God for His provision. One new item in the budget is pastoral compensation and we have committed 10% of our budget to that end in 2009 with an adjustment every six months. Our long-term goal is to compensate one or more paid staff within 3-5 years, in faithfulness to God’s Word in 1 Timothy 5 and love for the upcoming generation of leaders at NCCF.
We have so much to be thankful for and we anticipate the Lord’s greater blessing in 2009.
