|
You and I, as followers of Jesus, currently find ourselves living as foreigners in a strange and at time, hostile world. Although we're temporary residents of particular nations here on earth, we're actually eternal citizens of another land. But God has planted us here to be the ambassadors of a different kingdom and to lead others to a better home whose architect and builder is God. Look at what the author of Hebrews writes:
"It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith--for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." Hebrews 11:8-10 This Sunday, at 9:30am, as we continue our series in I Peter, we will begin to look at the second major section of this letter, and the longest of the three. In this section, Peter challenges his readers to remain focused on the hope of Jesus and the promise of heaven. He urges his audience to take the grace they have received vertically, and extend it horizontally to an unbelieving, sometimes hostile world. Peter shares how this principle is key to living as elect exiles in a foreign land. Join us this Sunday, at 9:30am as we dive into I Peter 2:13-25 Special Announcement: At 10:45am, following our worship service on Sunday, we will have the opportunity to meet with leaders within the Calvary Family of Churches. The purpose for this meeting is to hear more about the vision, mission and purpose behind the Calvary Family of Churches (CFC). They will also be sharing details on how the CFC would come alongside Parkside and provide us with resources in order to help us become a healthy, growing Great Commission, Gospel-Focused church for our community. Note: This meeting will take place in the worship center at 10:45am. For those who attend our service online, the meeting will be available via livestream. Simply stay online at the end of the service and the meeting will begin at 10:45am. Please continue to pray for our church council as we seek God's will and direction for our church family. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug So far in our study of I Peter, we've learned that as elect exiles, living in a foreign land, we should expect pushback and opposition to the way we conduct ourselves as followers of Jesus. We've also been reminded that, as we encounter opposition, Christ is our hope and heaven is our home. These two truths were delivered by Peter to a group of Christians who had been scattered, distressed, tempted and tested. With this letter, Peter took on the role of a coach or personal trainer, encouraging the early church to pull together, support one another, and to keep the end goal (heaven) in mind.
Amazingly, even today, many of us are still in need of a personal trainer, a coach, who like Peter, will encourage us to not forget our kind, loving heavenly Father who held us in His arms, protected us, and fed us just what we needed to grow. New believers feel free to ask God anything, sharing everything with him. But as we advance in biblical and theological knowledge, an erosion begins to occur. We drift from the childlike intimacy with God and before long, that caring Father seems distant, uninterested in our everyday problems, even a bit irritated by our constant mistakes and nagging requests. We need a Peter to come alongside and remind us of who we are and our role in this world. This is the message of I Peter 2:4-12. Join us this Sunday at 9:30am, as we continue in our series called, Resilient Hope. In I Peter 2, we will be reminded that we are God's chosen people, living stones, royal priests, called on by God to pursue holiness so that a world without God, might come to know Him and accept His free gift of salvation. Please join me this Sunday at 9:30am, as we continue to wade through the book of I Peter. Special Invitation: Immediately following this Sunday's service, I am inviting you to join with me, and our church council, in praying for the future of Parkside Fellowship. We will meet in the large Sunday School room directly across from the Fireside Room. The most critical key to any church revitalization and renewal is prayer. Prayer is the foundation for beginning any new direction a church might take. It anchors the future and the past by drawing us closer to the Lord. Prayer produces faith. Prayer leads us to confession. Prayer leads us to humility. Prayer leads us to make God glorifying decisions. Prayer is a privilege. It is a powerful tool. Prayer is where you meet God. Prayer is where you and I are shaped. So let's pray! We will also spend time around the communion table, as we remember that Christ died for his bride....the church. Thank you for praying for our church. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Last Sunday, we kicked-off a brand new series called, Resilient Hope. In this series, we are reading the book of I Peter together and diving into some of the incredible truths and insights that Peter gives us about God, the gospel and our pursuit of holiness. Last week, we focused our time on the question, "How can I remain joyful in the midst of suffering?" In his opening remarks, Peter emphasized that our hope, in the midst of pain and suffering, grows stronger as we focus on the promise of heaven.
This week, Peter will address the question of, "How can I stay clean in a corrupt society?" Throughout history Christians have responded to this question with all sorts of extremes. However, the Bible tells us that we, as believers, have a mission to accomplish in this world, and therefore we can't afford to lock ourselves outside the world. Charles Swindoll writes, "The Christian's solution to the problem of holy living in an unholy world is not isolation, but insulation." This week, I Peter 1:13-21 will challenge us to be different from our depraved society without completely separating ourselves and living as underground Christians. Join us this Sunday at 9:30am as we continue to walk through the book of I Peter. Reminder: As our church leadership, along with our church family, continues to discern where God is moving, so that we can join with Him in what He is already doing, please continue to pray in 4 specific ways:
Thank you for praying for our church. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Together, I and II Peter form a combination of encouragement and admonition. The book of I Peter was written to encourage the early church, which had been scattered due to persecution. These early followers of Jesus were living in uncertain and unstable times. Through his letter, Peter reminds the church that they have a living hope in the person of Jesus Christ. Though separated by centuries, the difficulties that were facing Peter’s audience are very similar to what Christians are facing throughout the world today, and we need a similar encouragement and admonition to remain faithful to the Lord in our trials and suffering.
This Sunday at 9:30am, we will begin a series titled, Resilient Hope. Through Peter's letter to people just like us, my prayer is that we will find encouragement and hope as we live in a world filled with pain and disappointment. How Christians respond to suffering is what separates us from the world. As we begin this series, I want to encourage you to take time and read the entire letter of I Peter in one sitting. I believe understanding the context in which this letter was written will help us better understand the individual topics addressed by Peter. Also, this Sunday, we will be having a good old-fashioned hymn sing. Come ready to give praise and glory to our God, as we sing some of your favorite hymns! Please continue to pray for our church as we continue to watch where God is working, so we can join him in what he is already doing. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Would you like to see a movement of God that is only explainable by the Spirit of God? Are you interested in discovering where God is working and how to join Him in His work? This Sunday, (tomorrow) at 9:30am, we will take a peek at Acts 5:12-42, in order to see how God worked through the Holy Spirit in the early church, and how we can join with God as he continues to move through today's church.
NOTE: Join us for an all-church meeting this Sunday (tomorrow), August 28th at 10:45am.
Thank you for being a church that prays for one another. For God's Glory. Pastor Doug This Sunday, August 21st, Parkside Fellowship will host our 5th Annual Good Neighbor Project.
NOTE: The morning will begin at 9:30am, as we gather together in the Worship Center for a time of scripture reading and prayer before splitting up into our project groups. Just like last year, there will be 2 serving options: 1. Campus Clean-up at Beaverton High School. After our time together in Worship Center, we will head-over to Beaverton High School. We will meet at 10:00am at the front entrance of the school (near the flag pole). Our focus will be on picking up trash, weeding, trimming hedges, etc. I will have gloves, garbage bags and a few gardening/weeding tools. If you have gloves and tools that you would like to bring, that would be awesome! Tools needed: rakes, gloves, pruning sheers/tools, hedge trimmers, broom or two (we have garbage bags). 2. Fill Backpacks with School Supplies. Over the past 3 weeks, we have been collecting school supplies. On Sunday, you will have the opportunity to help pack 72 backpacks, that have been donated by the North American Mission Board, with these essential school supplies. Once completed, these backpacks will be delivered directly to Beaverton High School, where they will be distributed to students in need. At noon, we will all gather back on the Parkside campus for an all-church bbq. Make plans now to join us for this special Sunday of loving our neighbors. If you have any questions, please email Pastor Doug at doug.boyd@parksidefellowship.org. Please consider joining us in our Worship Center this Sunday, August 21st at 9:30am, as we strive to bring love and hope to our community. Serving Together, Pastor Doug Join us this Sunday at 9:30am, as Pastor Norm completes our summer series, Postcards with a Punch. Only 13 verses long, the tiny memo that is II John would have barely filled a single sheet of paper. It's like a note we might write and drop in the mail to a close friend. However, as I've shared throughout this series, short does not mean insignificant, and the letter of II John is no exception. II John contains three principles we can spend the rest of our lives putting into practice. These aren't complicated, but they are difficult, because navigating between unconditional love and discerning truth will always be a challenge for followers of Jesus.
First, loving others is a fundamental expression of authentic Christianity. Nowhere does John dismiss the idea of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. One of the greatest forms of witness we can have is to show love toward each other and those outside the church. Second, embracing the truth is equally important. The one who loves you the most is the one who tells you the truth. It isn't loving to let a person engage in destructive, ungodly behavior just because we don't want to offend them. This means we need to know the truth, grow in the truth, and study Scripture and sound theology. If you don't know what you believe and why, you won't know where to stand on any doctrinal or moral issue--at least not with any solid conviction. Take time to study and be strengthened in the truths of God's Word. Third, love and truth are not mutually exclusive. We must know the truth and take a stand for it without backtracking, compromising or downplaying its importance in the role of a follower of Jesus. At the same time, we need to be gracious and winsome in our witness. As I Peter 3:15-16 states: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." We must stand for the truth, but at the same time, we must extend love and walk in grace. We must love within the banks of love and discernment...and learn to live in the tension of grace and truth. Note: Good Neighbor Project is scheduled for Sunday, August 21st. This will be our 5th year taking a Sunday morning to blanket our city with the love of Jesus. We will accomplish this by rolling up our sleeves and helping get Beaverton High School ready for the upcoming school year, filling backpacks with school supplies and individually providing our neighbors with a gift bag. The day will conclude at noon with an all-church bbq. Make plans now to join us for this special Sunday of loving our neighbors. Finally, John Crisan (wife Syliva, son Alex), went home to be with Jesus on Sunday, July 31st. On behalf of Sylvia and family, I want to invite you to attend a Celebration of Life service for John. This special time of remembrance will take place tomorrow, Saturday, August 13th at 10:00am in the Fireside Room of Parkside Fellowship. Please join us for this special time of remembering the life God gave John and the love and laughter he shared with his family and all who knew him. Also, please pass this information along to those who would be interested in attending. See you Sunday! Pastor Doug Too often, Christians believe that just because we follow God, that somehow we should be immune to life's challenges. But if you've followed Jesus for any length of time, you know that's not always the case. During the rough seasons of life, it can be easy to turn our back on God, believing that He has turned his back on us. The book of Habakkuk shows us that there is another option for dealing with our struggles, fears and doubts.
Habakkuk saw God unleash His wrath on the world. Confused and upset, he asked God the question we all want to ask: "Why?" Like Habakkuk, one of the best things we can do with our doubt is to present our questions to God and spend time with Him in prayer. In Habakkuk 3, the prophet is finishing a long conversation with God. He reflects on who God is, remembers the past faithfulness of God and ultimately cries out: "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:18 Remembering who God is, His faithfulness in the past, and His promises for the future gives us confidence to trust God with what's happening right now. Even though we live in a sin-filled world with loss, hardships, doubt, stress and fear, we can choose how we respond. The difference when we face each day with Jesus is that we have the ability to experience joy, peace, love and security even in hard times. Take time today to read the book of Habakkuk, and then ask yourself: "Is there anything about my response to doubt that needs to change?". Join us Sunday at 9:30am, as we take a deep dive into the postcard book of Habakkuk. Note: Good Neighbor Project is scheduled for Sunday, August 21st. This will be our 5th year taking a Sunday morning to blanket our city with the love of Jesus. We will accomplish this by rolling up our sleeves and helping get Beaverton High School ready for the upcoming school year, filling backpacks with school supplies and individually providing our neighbors with a gift bag. The day will conclude at noon with an all-church bbq. Make plans now to join us for this special Sunday of loving our neighbors. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Brennan Manning, author of the Ragamuffin Gospel and Abba's Child, began speaking mostly to evangelical Protestant audiences after his status as a divorced priest made him unwelcome in many Catholic churches. A small, nondescript man with a head of snow-white hair, he would usually start his talks slowly, until the Holy Spirit took over and he would immediately launch into a passionate speech about the grace of God. Below is one of those speeches:
"Why is Brennan Manning lovable in the eyes of God? Because on February 8th of 1956, in a shattering, life-changing experience, I committed my life to Jesus. Does God love me because ever since I was ordained a priest in 1963, I roamed the country and lately all over the world proclaiming the Good News of the gospel of grace? Does God love me because I tithe to the poor? Does he love me because back in New Orleans I work on skid row with alcoholics, addicts, and those who suffer with AIDS? Does God love me because I spend two hours every day in prayer? If I believe that stuff I'm a Pharisee! Then I feel I'm entitled to be comfortably close to Christ because of my good works. The gospel of grace says, "Brennan, you're lovable for one reason only--because God loves you. Period." Using the power of his own story toward semi-transformation, this aging, outcast-priest from New Jersey embodies the saving power of the gospel of grace and invites anyone who will listen to join him on the venture. This should be attitude of the local church. That God intends the best for us, that sin and failure are inevitable but forgiveness is guaranteed, that a supportive community bears burdens and comforts the needy. I wonder how different the church would look to a watching world, if Christians everywhere simply loved one another, just as God has loved us. This is the main point of I John 4:7-21. Join us this Sunday at 9:30am, as the apostle John invites us to examine our lives in order to see if we pass the "love God, love others" test. Note: Good Neighbor Project is scheduled for Sunday, August 21st. This will be our 5th year taking a Sunday morning to blanket our city with the love of Jesus. We will accomplish this by rolling up our sleeves and helping get Beaverton High School ready for the upcoming school year, filling backpacks with school supplies and individually providing our neighbors with a gift bag. The day will conclude at noon with an all-church bbq. Make plans now to join us for this special Sunday of loving our neighbors. See you Sunday. Pastor Doug Join us this Sunday at 9:30am, as we continue our study in I John. The book of I John can seem at times, confusing and repetitive. I John tends to follow a meandering path around a number of different themes and topics. The Apostle John begins by pointing us to the idea of walking in the light, before moving on to the need to confess our sin to God. He then goes back to the theme of light...then to love...then back to sin again...then to truth...back to light, and so on. This is what makes the book of I John so hard to study. But remember, even with all its twists and turns, the overarching theme of I John is this: Close fellowship with God and with his son, Jesus, is the key to a joyful, discerning and confident life. I John is ultimately about loving God and living in the confidence of our relationship with Him.
I love how the Psalmist expressed his love for God in Psalm 73:23-26: "Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." Make this the prayer of your heart today. Let us desire nothing but God, possess nothing but God, and pursue nothing but God. I want to encourage you to stay after the service and check-out one of our discipleship opportunities that meet every Sunday at 10:45am. Below are the details for each: Study #1: Prayer that Moves Heaven Facilitator: Martha Bailey Time: Sundays at 10:45am Study #2: Psalms and Proverbs Facilitator(s): Mark Hester and Jonella Malinowski Time: Sundays at 10:45am Thank you for being a church body that prays for one another. Blessings. Doug |
Our PastorDoug Boyd - Sr. Pastor Archives
December 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed