Church guide

TV NEEDED for Lowell Center Alpha Group The Alpha Outreach needs a large TV screen (Min. 32 in. wide) with HDMI hookup, for loan or donation. Please contact the church office, 805-473-2766 or Pastor Paul @ [email protected]

Pastor Andy, Sunday, August 11, 2019 What does Jesus do when you're full of grief and sorrow, when you're confused and scared, when you're afraid, when you're depressed or stressed out? What does God do? Jesus feels what you feel. When your heart breaks, His heart breaks too. But that's not all! Jews, to this day, pray Psalm 30 during the eight days of the Feast of Hanukkah. Psalm 30:3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from the depths of what feels like hell...4 Sing praises to the Lord...5 For his anger is for a moment but His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Now that phrase, "anger for a moment"... that's what we feel, we feel like God is angry with us because bad things happen and it seems like God is not there. But, He is not angry with you. God loves you. We live in a broken world. And on top of all that pain, we endure feeling like God is angry with us, or has left us. And this is why Jesus gets so angry, so indignant. We are His precious ones and it shouldn't be this way. What is God doing when you're in grief? God is with you. God feels the pain you endure. And God is also working, behind the scenes to bring resurrection and life. Right now, I want you to know that you're completely loved right where you are. Jesus wants to give you the opportunity to come close. So take your lament to Jesus. Bring your doubt to Jesus. Speak the words of anger you need to speak to Jesus. That's what it looks like to trust Jesus when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. God is with you. God has not left you. Take heart; the morning light is coming.

ALPHA is coming. The preview dinner for the Fall Alpha Film Series is Wednesday, August 28, 6:00 - 8:15 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Explore the theme "Is There More to Life Than This?" If you enjoy the evening, you can join us for the series, which takes place in homes around the 5 Cities during September and October. Learn more or to make reservations: mycoastal.org/alpha. Invite a friend!

Pastor Paul Prayer of Exchange: Lord Jesus, I am a sheep. By nature, I get lost. I am easily distracted, anxious, and fearful. I need a shepherd. I reject all false shepherds...I reject the voices that lead me away from you. I reject the voices that seek to steal, kill, and destroy. You, alone, are the Good Shepherd. You alone are MY Good Shepherd. Thank you for laying down your life for me. Thank you that you know me. I want to know you, as you know the Father. I want to recognize your voice, above all others. I want to help other lost sheep find you. Amen

Pastor Paul: Jesus took on our full humanity and became a sacrificial Lamb for us. The punishment (justice) that brought us peace was upon him. That word, peace, is Hebrew is "shalom". Shalom is wholeness, healing, soundness, justice, and reconciliation. This is what life looks like when the Good Shepherd has his way in our world!

(Pastor Paul-John 9: I am the Light of the World) "Imagine what it would be like to be prayed for, and not be healed; and then, to be told that you were not healed because of your lack of faith. This is a double burden-the burden of the suffering itself, and of the shame of lacking faith. Jesus reverses the equation. Instead of requiring faith as a pre-condition for healing, the blind man is healed as an act of pure grace, and his raith is the RESULT of that healing." This is good news!

Pastor Paul July 21, 2019 "If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32) More than 400 years ago St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged prayer-filled mindfulness by proposing what has been called the DAILY EXAMEN. The EXAMEN is a process of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God's presence and to discern his direction for us. This prayer can be summarized using the acronym, "TLC." I invite you to turn off your screens at the end of your day and enter into a time of listening prayer: T - Thank God for the ways you experienced his grace, his presence, his work, his gifts during the day. L - Lament the sorrows, pain, disappointments, losses of the day. C - Confess your failures - where you ignored his grace, his presence, his work, or his gifts; where you missed or avoided opportunities to love others as you are loved in Christ.

One of Pastor Paul's Favorites! Psalm 8 How Majestic is Your Name 1 O LORD, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of you fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of you hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Pastor Andy, July 14, 2019 Spend time with Jesus. Your appetite will change. You'll get sick of the polluted water. Don't be too discouraged when you sneak a sip. That's an old habit. You break bad habits not by focusing on "not drinking polluted water." You break bad habits by starting better habits: spend time with Jesus, for in His presence you'll be fully satisfied. Spend time with Jesus. The knot of lies about who He is and what He wants from you and for you will unravel. The Truth will set you free. And you'll never have to worry about sharing your faith or convincing anyone or anything. People will ask you, "What are you doing? You're so happy. You are so free in admitting your mistakes, but at the same time you're so kind and loving and patient. What the heck is going on?" They will insist on you telling them about Jesus. Spend time with Jesus. The shame you feel about what's been done to you, about what you've done, will finally wash away. You'll learn who you truly are. You are God's beloved child. Jesus adores you. Spend time with Jesus. The purpose and adventure you've been searching for...He's got it for you. And in His presence He will equip you so that you will not fail. Spend Time with Jesus.

Pastor Andy, July 14, 2019 Jesus doesn't leave us. Jesus is with you, right now, continually inviting you...Come with me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. Come to me all you who are thirsty. And the moment we give him permission to heal our wounds...that's the moment Jesus does what he always does: Jesus stands in between me and the death I'm drinking in. All the punishment I deserve, Jesus endures. And instead of death, I get His life. This is the miracle of Jesus. The holy and perfect and glorious God of the Universe humbles himself to rescue me, to rescue you a rebel fighting to hold onto polluted water. And in the presence of Jesus the Holy Spirit starts to pour into our minds and hearts itself.

Pastor Andy, July 7, 2019 If you believe what Jesus said is true, that He is the Living Water, then you must go to Him, right now. Don't wait for a feeling. Don't get lost in the symbolism. Don't wait for everything in your life to line up just right in order for you to actually speak to Jesus, to listen to Him, and then to obey. Go. Speak to the living God Who is with you, Who has never left you. Be honest with how you feel. Tell Him what you want. You need time in your day to do this. Have you made that time? Trust Jesus with the circumstances you currently face, with the grief that feels overwhelming, with your precious hopes. You do this by speaking to God while holding onto truth. You're not talking to the God who has ditched you in frustration. God has not left you. God doesn't love you less or favor you less. Sure, you might be struggling with a character flaw, a habit, a way of thinking which continues to trip you up. God is not disappointed in you. God adores you. Speak to Him and listen to Him on the truth of who He is. God loves you. Where you are guilty, Jesus was judged for you. Where you are wounded and hurt, Jesus has suffered with you. Where we are poor and needy, Jesus gives us his provision. Out of an infinite ocean of love and grace for you, your Creator and King has forgiven you and given you His very life on the cross. Out of an infinite ocean of love and grace for you, your Creator and King has given you a brand new spirit within you which thirsts for life, a thirst which is only satisfied in the presence of life itself, and life has a name... and life's name is Jesus.

Pastor Andy July 7, 2019 God is faithful to you even when you you forget. God loves you even when you doubt Him. God adores you even when you condemn yourself. So how is God going to prove to you that He is head over heels in love with you? The Gospel of John is an account, chapter by chapter, of how Jesus is the answer to every single one of God's promises to you and for you...so that when you trust Jesus...you will experience the everlasting life God promised to you starting right now.

Pastor Andy Rock, June 30, 2019 You are free from condemnation. You do not have to condemn yourself or anyone else because your Savior, your Redeemer, Jesus himself, has silenced all condemnation by dying in your place. You are free now to live honestly, to pursue a life of love and hope and obedience. You can follow Jesus. And you do so by preaching and believing the good news of the gospel to your own heart, by speaking the Gospel truth to those whom you love. So let us proclaim together the hope we have in Jesus: My Heavenly Father chooses me and adopted me because He loves me. Jesus died for me on the cross, forgiving me of all my sin and giving to me a worth I could never earn. I am free from condemnation. I have the Holy Spirit within me and the Holy Spirit has given me a brand new heart with a new appetite for God's Kingdom and God's will. I choose to set my mind on Jesus and the power of his cross. Jesus forgives me and loves me, even when I mess up. And when I do fail, I'm reminded once again of the staggering breadth and depth of His love for me: there is now no more condemnation, only love.

Pastor Andy Rock: Communion Jesus is telling us:"I am your Peace Offering. As you trust me, as you look to me, I will be the Peace Offering you eat to nourish your soul; to remind you that you are forgiven, loved, and reconciled to your Heavenly Father. I will die, as your sacrifice, as your Peace Offering. Jesus is saying to you: "You won't sacrifice an animal to remember that your sin separates you from God. My flesh will be ripped and torn so that you don't have to endure the pain of your rebellion. When you eat my flesh you will understand you are now reconciled with God and how much I love you." Jesus is saying to you: You used to sprinkle blood on the altar during the peace offering to symbolize that your sins are covered and paid for. Now I want you to drink deeply a greater truth. My blood will be shed so that you are completely forgiven. I am your Peace Offering. It is finished." The Apostle Paul explains this truth in the book of Ephesians:2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace... And so each Sunday when we receive communion, this is what we do. We eat the bread, the Bread of Life, remembering that Jesus' body was ripped and torn so that we are now reconciled to God. We drink the grape juice, to remember that we are now His forgiven, beloved, and worthy sons and daughters by his blood shed on the cross. We eat these elements as an act of trust, as an experience where we get to taste the goodness of God.

Pastor Andy Rock, Sunday June 23, 2019 Today invites us to make a decision. You're going to work to satisfy your soul. You can keep on trying to satiate your hunger with things and people and experiences which will never satisfy. Or you can nourish your heart and soul with Jesus. Jesus is offering you real food, food that will sustain you and satisfy. The food is Jesus himself. Jesus is Your peace. Jesus is your forgiveness, your atonement, your hope. On the cross proves that He is head over heels in love with you. You are so precious to Him.

Pastor Andy Rock June 23, 2019 What does Jesus want us to know? Does being a Jesus follower mean you can now walk on water? That you never have to buy bread again? No. Jesus is teaching us that He is the source of life, like bread. Jesus is teaching us that he can conquer chaos and death itself, that with Jesus in our life...in our boat..,we will have everlasting life no matter what storms we face. Jesus has eternal life for you...eternal life which starts right now. Jesus has this incredible gift and He really wants to give it to you. And the receiving of this gift, called eternal life, requires your engagement. It's a kind of work. You don't earn eternal life. You can't make yourself worthy of it. But to receive what Jesus is giving...the receiving requires you to engage your heart and your mind. Does that make sense? This is difficult because we often want something that will help us turn our brains and hearts off. We want to go numb...to watch or to eat or to medicate so we don't have to feel and think. Jesus is saying to us:"I have eternal LIFE to give you...and life isn't being numbed out. Life is...well, it's being fully alive. So I'm asking you to engage your heart and mind as I give you, each day, this incredible gift called life-ever-lasting, eternal life, abundant life...the good life. This life is a gift and it only comes from me because as I've told you and shown you, I am life. I am the gift. It's my presence with you that brings you life.

Pastor Andy Rock June 16, 2019 Trying to go it alone isn't working. Constantly doubting Jesus isn't working. Not waiting for Jesus or asking for His help isn't working. Assuming I have to come up with all the answers by myself isn't working. Not waiting for Jesus or asking for His help isn't working. Pretending I can run through the brick walls of fatigue or grief or depression or addiction all by myself isn't working. Pretending I can manage massive storms all by myself isn't working. Maybe this Jesus guy can actually be trusted. Maybe He's God. When Jesus asks you to join him on an adventure, to take the responsibility of caring for someone else, to risk making the move towards reconciliation, to tell your story of how God is working in your life...you have to start somewhere. We start with being willing. We offer Jesus our willingness and he'll enter into our little dingy of life that's being hammered by the storms of this world. And when Jesus gets into your boat, good things happen. This story is the Gospel. I'm more broken than I want to admit. I want free food and free healthcare from God. And at the same time I don't want to get involved with what God is doing, nor live the adventure of joining Jesus in His work...that's for professional Christians. Then Jesus chooses me and I believe but still I insist on living my own way. And when that way is just about to kill me...the, and only then, do I finally understand that I am more loved than I could ever dare to hope. The God who walks on water, the God who can defeat death by rising again, the God who keeps on forgiving me despite my sin and my rebellion, the God who can keep on choosing me despite my fear and disbelief, this God...this Jesus...steps into my boat. This Jesus wants you. Jesus wants you to join Him in the adventure and responsibility of His Kingdom. Offer him your resources. Offer Him your time. Offer Jesus your whole heart-the good, the bad and the ugly. Jesus wants all of you. Are you willing?

Pastor Andy Rock, June 16, 2019 Anytime we wade into the waters of being present with someone we love who is in great need, we fear that we won't be enough, that we won't have the words we need, that we won't be able to help. But we don't just offer ourselves. When we show up to love someone, when we choose to make a difference, when we say yes to serving, we offer ourselves and we also offer the presence of Jesus. Jesus is with us. We're not doing this alone, remember? Take the risk to say yes to the adventure and responsibility Jesus is inviting you to take on. Not only will you have no regrets when you die, you'll have no regrets right now! Your past refusals don't matter. Will you say yes to Jesus right now? Offer him your sack lunch. See what he does with it? Offer him your time and your energy and your resources! Offer him your wounds and your hurts. Jesus will take them all and make miracles with them. Why? Because Jesus wants you...Jesus wants to share with you - yes, you - the joy of creation, redemption, worship, restoration, and salvation.

Pastor Andy Rock, June 16, 2019 Research shows that at the end of our life we will not regret the mistakes we've made as much as we will regret the opportunities we failed to act upon. Of course we will all regret our mistakes to some degree, though we know now that God has used those broken moments to create in us a character and a heart of profound depth and strength. What gnaws at people who are facing the end of their life are the moments they they failed to exhaust their potential when they were given the opportunity to take the endeavor, the adventure, head on. The biggest regrets we will have in life is our failure to act courageously and generously, to risk more of our time and energy for something truly wonderful, and instead choosing the endless and pointless hamster wheel of entertainment and comfort. Jesus gives us the responsibility, the invitation, to be part of something incredible. Will you respond with "that's impossible?" or will you act courageously? Jesus is asking you, right now: Are you willing to join me on the adventure? Will you trust me with what you have to offer? Will you trust my math? Life is a test...an endeavor, an opportunity...to watch Jesus do miracles with your time, energy and resources if you'll trust Jesus with them.

Ben and Lydia enjoying one of the slides out here at Mustang! Come join us! Discounted price and private cabanas today only!

Easter with Coastal Community!

These kids have been practicing for weeks! Come see their wonderful Christmas performance this Sunday, December 10th at 10:00am. They have some really, really good news.

Also New Member's Class continues after service in the sanctuary.

Young Life Hoe Down Tonight!!!