Church guide

Life with Jesus is an adventure, don’t go alone! #GoingTogether

This week at Restoration Church we start our mission and vision series by exploring the nature of a Going God, an aspect of our Lord that can be seen in the Trinity. The Father who shows up to His children, desiring a relationship with all His creation. The Son who humbly left His throne in Heaven to come to Earth, becoming human so that He might die to pay the price for our sins. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us, unifying us to the power and glory of God, equipping us to serve and convicting us to reflect God’s character. God has always been moving and He will never stop. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1879218/going-god-matthew-28-16-20

As we finish the book of John, we see an awesome moment of God’s grace and love. Even after denying Jesus three times, Peter is welcomed by his Savior. More than that, Jesus fully restores Peter to his ministry. By calling Peter to “feed” His sheep, Christ also reminds us all that our faith in God is shown through our works of love (James 2:18, 26). All believers are called to care for God’s flock. But just as Peter asked, “What about John?”, it’s too easy for us to compare ourselves to those around us. We see other believers who are better at ministering to those in need, who seem to have ever-abundant faith in God, and always seem to know the will of the Lord. Even more superficially, we see other believers who are more prosperous or never seem to struggle with anything, and we ask: “Why can’t I be more like that, Lord?” But remember how Jesus responded to Peter: “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (v22). In in current terms: you do you! Each of our faith journeys are unique, our own individual experience of the sacrificial love of Jesus. If we love the Lord in return, then we need to pour out that love to everyone around us. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1869177/you-follow-me-john-21-15-25

Ask yourself: is the world getting worse or better? With what seems like constant stories of violence and hate, it’s hard to not feel like the world is growing darker by the day. On the other hand, there has always been evil in the world—we just didn’t have the 24-hour news cycle to flood us with one depressing story after another. But better, worse, or the same, we know that the Hope of the world is still the same as it was two thousand years ago: Jesus! No matter what the state of the world, the answer remains the same. We need Jesus, and fortunately, forgiveness is freely available. In the second half of John 20, Jesus leaves His disciples with a mission, sending them out to spread this very Message. In the same way, we as believers are also sent, just as the Son was sent from the Father—sent to share this Good News of salvation, forgiveness, and peace. And just as Christ was sacrificed for our sins, we must live in sacrificial love, laying down our lives for those whom we are sent. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1849838/peace-be-with-you-john-20-19-29

I love Palm Sunday. One of my earliest memories is of marching around the church sanctuary waving palm branches in peoples’ faces. But as small child I didn’t understand the significance of this act of worship…very much like the people of Jesus’ time. As He entered Jerusalem on that day, Jesus was fully accepting the title of King. The very act of riding into the city on a new colt declared that He was the king of the city. But as the people waved their palms and shouted "hosanna," they really didn’t understand what was really happening. They were expecting a worldly king, one who would overthrow Rome and reestablish Israel as a mighty nation once more. Alas, Jesus didn’t come to fight physical battles, He came to secure His spiritual, eternal Kingdom. What kind of king do we expect in our lives? Are we hoping for a conqueror, one who we will follow only as long as our battles and struggles are removed? Or do we seek after an Eternal King of our heart, one we will praise no matter the circumstances? https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1833295/king-jesus-john-12-12-19

In his gospel, John emphasizes 7 distinct miracles performed by Jesus. So, it shouldn’t be surprising to us that as our Savior hung on the cross, there were those who asked: why does He not save Himself? At the time that John was writing his account, there were some who were spreading the notion that Jesus hadn’t come in physical form but had been instead a being of pure spirit. But John stressed that Jesus had indeed been fully man, suffering and dying as a man to save us. If He has only been spirit, He could have avoided the pain. Instead, He took our beating, our crucifixion, and even separation from His own Father God—all so that we might be spared! Just as the serpent was raised in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9), Christ was lifted up to save us. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1823541/jesus-death-john-19-28-42

Simon Peter get’s a bad rap. Yes, he denies Jesus—not once, but three times!—only a short time after he says he’s ready to die for Him. But don’t forget, Peter is also the only person (that we know of) other than Jesus who walked on water. Peter’s faith in Christ was strong, it’s just that his passions were somewhat misplaced. He was ready to fight and die for the Kingdom of God, not yet understanding that God already had a plan, and its fulfillment required the sacrifice of His Son. We’ve all been Peter. So many times we prepare ourselves for battle, only to realize that Jesus already won the war. Even while we were sinners and enemies of God, Jesus died to save us (Romans 5:6-11)…even while we were denying and doubting, He laid down his life to be our ultimate Hope! https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1780793/denial-john-18-12-27

In the second half of John 17, Jesus prays for His disciples, asking the Father to fill them with joy. But He doesn’t ask that they be taken out of the world—even though the world will hate them! Instead, He asks that they be protected from spiritual attacks, while teaching them this truth: that the Kingdom of God only comes about by Sacrificial Love. Jesus also prays for future believers, specifically that we be unified, just as the Father and Son are unified. Unity of churches is the catalyst for revival. Faith in Jesus helps us to overcome our own brokenness and love one another. As our Savior laid down His life, we should lay down our desires and wants, sacrificing for the need of others. Jesus gave all He had, shouldn’t we do likewise? https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1762202/disciples-john-17-6-26

Imagine this: after three years of following your teacher and friend—the man that you believe to be the long-awaited messiah and very Son of God—tells you that He’s leaving you. More than that, He tells you He’s going to die, and that your life is about to be filled with sorrow. How would that make you feel? This is exactly what occurs in second half of John 16. Jesus explains to His disciples that He’s returning to the Father, and they will be alone. But then He gives them a promise—that their sorrow will quickly turn to joy. This was probably hard to understand, since they didn't know that Jesus would be resurrected after three days, but we can rejoice in that knowledge. We know that Jesus died to pay our sin debts and rose again to give us new life. Now that’s joy! What’s more, Jesus promises that the Father loves us and wants a deep relationship with every one of His children. And like the Good Father that He is, God provides for our needs—we only need ask. The Father created us to have this relationship with Him, but because of sin, it was broken. Through the sacrifice of Jesus that relationship is restored. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1744418/father-john-16-16-33

As believers in Christ, we know we’re in an ongoing spiritual battle (Eph. 6:12), but it’s often easy to forget that the Holy Spirit partners with us in our struggles—even as He’s fighting in ways we cannot see. What’s even more amazing is realizing that the Spirit was with us even when we didn’t know Him, convicting us of our need for salvation (John 3:5-8). Once we are saved, the Spirit continues working in our lives, giving us life (John 6:63), even as He comforts and teaches us (John 14: 15-17, 25-26). The more we understand what the Spirit is doing in our lives, the more aware we are of how He’s working in those around us. In our passage this week, Jesus teaches that the Spirit talks to the world—specifically about sin, righteousness, & judgement, three things that most of us find difficult to talk about. The joy of this message is that the Spirit is already working to convict the world, so if we don’t have all the right words, it’s alright. The Spirit has our back. https://restorationclearwater.org/media/169935-621245-1733529/holy-spirit-john-16-4-15

Sermon Notes from Mark Wise...

This week we continue our study of the Gospel of John in chapter 15, verses 1 to 16, where Jesus urges His disciples (and by extension, us) to abide in Him. He explains that He's the True Vine from which we're the branches that, ideally, will bear holy fruit. God the Father is described as the vinedresser, who prunes and tends us so that we are healthy. In this example we can infer that the Holy Spirit is like chlorophyll (if you remember your 5th grade science, that's the stuff that mixes with sunlight to give plants nutrients), flowing through the Vine into the branches to help us grow. The result of all of this is us producing abiding fruit. So, what is abiding fruit? As Blake preached on Sunday, it's not about quantity, but how we handle the amount we're given; it’s not about wealth or power. It is about a relationship with God and one another. True fruit is what sticks and stays (John 15 verses 4, 5, 7, & 9). How do we cultivate such fruit? Three ways: 1. Abide in the Word–Trusting God’s Word will bring about prosperity (Psalm 1:1-3). 2. Abide in prayer–Bring concerns to the Lord (James 5:13-16, Ephesians 6:17-18). 3. Abide in Love–Jesus’ new commandment for us to love one another (John 15: 12-13, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14) In short, read your Bible, pray, and go to church!

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We’ll be hosting a Game Night during Blast Friday at Restoration Cafe! Come hang! #GameNight #GoodTimes

In the truly great man or woman, #anger and #love go hand in hand. Anger at those who exploit [and] love for those whose need is great. #WilliamBarclay #Mt21_12t17