Fall Creek Christian Church

This Week...Red Letter Challenge: Hearing and Obeying the Teachings of Jesus Jesus said some pretty amazing things. People quote him. Others write books about what he said. Theologians parse his words down to the very letters to squeeze out as much meaning as they possibly can. Some Bible translations put all his words in red so we don't miss them. Beyond the study, the "Wow!" and the highlighting of his words, there appears to be a disconnect between the hearing of them and the obeying of them among his followers. Crazy, right? Well, the time has come for that to end. For the next 40 days, we will be challenged through our Sunday morning messages, groups/classes and a personal devotional book to connect hearing and obeying. The goal? To be molded by the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus.

This Week... Jesus Has Sent Me Ananias who? He slips in and out of the pages of scripture so fast that we hardly notice him. It's a wonder we even find his name. I doubt there's this huge line of people in heaven waiting to get to talk to him. Abraham? A big line. King David? His autograph is a hot commodity. Joshua - the warrior leader? No doubt everyone is looking for a fist bump from him. Ananias was just "a disciple" that the Lord Jesus himself tapped for a big job. The job? Lead Saul, the soon to be Apostle Paul, to Christ. Lay hands on him. Give him the Gospel. Baptize him. Then what? Disappear from the pages of scripture to never be heard or seen again. Easy, right? No. Beyond hard. Saul was hunting down people like Ananias and Ananias knew it. So, why not just slip out the back and remain out of the Biblical story? Well, he was a disciple. It's like this... 

This Week...What Child is this? No doubt this question circled around and around in Joseph's head. We don't know how he first heard about it - his betrothed being pregnant. Mary may have told him. If she did right after the angel spoke to her, she then disappeared for three months to her cousin's house. If later, maybe his mom or his aunt noticed the enlarging womb and told him the earth-shattering news. What a shock! None of it made sense to him. This was not something Mary, his Mary, would ever do. He was right, of course, but it took an angel to enable him to overcome the evidence of infidelity. Now what?

This Week...Horns and Shouts Joshua definitely feels like one of those guys that you want on your side. He was fearless and up for whatever. After spending so much time with Moses and the Lord, this man was ready to fight wherever and whenever God told him to do so. As the first fight neared, how outrageously odd it must have felt to hear the Lord's battle plan. If not for the amazing demonstrations of God's power he had already seen and the in-person visit from the Lord's army commander, he probably would've chuckled and said, "Yeah, right!" The battle plan was more than a little suspect. Joshua (and all of us, too) needed to understand and embrace the reality that God loves to accomplish impossible tasks by impossible means inviting imperfect people to be a part of it. Think Jesus with the five loaves and two fish feeding thousands using the disciples as the waiters. What were Joshua's orders? 

This Week...A Living Sacrifice Even the most casual study of the interaction of people with God in the Bible reveals an inseparable connection between obedience and sacrifice. We were made by God and for God. We simply do not function as we were made to function independent of him and his instructions. His call for unconditional obedience is non-negotiable. Jesus wasn't fuzzy about this truth and many stopped following him because of it. "Deny yourself, take up your cross(die) daily and follow me" isn't a real crowd-pleasing slogan.  Abraham was tested by God again and again and again. His final test? Sacrifice your son. God's tests will either break us or bring us to the heights of a relationship with him where the returns are out of this world. What did Abraham do? Great question! 

This Week...Never Forget We are challenged repeatedly in scripture to remember. Too often, the urgency of the moment and the power of our emotions draw us into patterns of thought that distract from the information we have stored in our memories. This information, when sourced from God's word provides the correct perspective on our present realities and the wisest course of action in the midst of those realities. Bottom line: Forgetting is a real problem with real consequences. As we near the end of our study in Esther, we find our two heroes, Mordecai and Queen Esther, working very hard to make sure that this mighty deliverance of the people of Israel from the scheme of her enemies would never be forgotten. They had no confusion or lack of appreciation of the imperativeness of remembering. This week we will find ourselves challenged and encouraged to "Never Forget."

This Week...Hard Obedience At some level, all obedience is hard. Surrendering our mind, will, body and heart to God for his purposes is not only a tough choice to make, it's a tough choice to maintain. It's one we need his help to make. Now, add to that struggle a directive from God that is so hard that you simply can't make sense of it. Your heart sinks. The cold sweat breaks out. Surely, God doesn't want me to do that. During this series we'll be looking at a snapshot of five people who were asked to do something so hard, that either an angel or God himself had to give them the orders, or they simply couldn't have believed it was really coming from God. The truth is, all of us have been and are going to be called to hard obedience. These stories will help encourage and prepare us to yield ourselves when those moments come.

This Week...Greatness The greatest of all time or the G.O.A.T., as it is often called, sparks lively debates in our culture. Typically, the reference is directed to a sports figure. Opinions are plentiful and passionate. Interestingly, Jesus had much to say about greatness. Not surprisingly, we see Jesus' comments on greatness wonderfully reflected in the conclusion of our adventure with Esther, Mordecai and King Xerxes. Are you great? Are you willing to walk in the sandals of heaven's G.O.A.T.? 

This Week...Victory The opportunity for victory and victory are not the same things. Last week the people of Israel were given a chance, for which, they rejoiced. But now, it's time to fight. The anti-Semites that permeated the entire Medo-Persian empire did not die when Haman died. He was the front man, not the army. What will happen now that the day selected by purim (lots) months earlier has officially arrived? Does their story help us understand what Paul said when he wrote, "I have fought the good fight."? Don't miss this timeless discussion.

This Week...The Big Turnaround We all love the turnaround story. The story that begins with a person in a very bad place, either by their own choices, the choices of others or just because of the reality we live in a fallen world, but ends with their triumph. Most of the time they have had to make some hard decisions, sacrifices and/or commitments in order for the turnaround to become a reality. The book of Esther is just such a story. In the chapter this week, we see much of the extent of this turnaround for Esther, Mordecai and the Jewish people.  

This Week...A Time to Speak King Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is a time for everything, "a season, a time for every activity under heaven." As we come to Esther 8, we find that the time has come for Esther to speak. For years, she has kept her identity secret in word and, as far as we know, in practice. She was born and raised Jewish. Yet, at her adopted father's instruction, she told no one. Once the genocidal edict was issued, she could no longer be quiet. Too much was at stake. Her position, her privileges and even her life were nothing compared to the need to step up and speak out. She, however, was no bull in a china shop. She was shrewd. She was humble. She was patient. And yes, she was bold. It's time to find the answer to the question that Mordecai had asked way back in chapter 4, "Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?"

This Week...It Just So Happened C.S. Lewis made this quote-worthy comment many years ago, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." It wasn't by chance that Mordecai and Esther were in the capital city of the Medo-Persian empire. It wasn't by accident that Esther was stunningly beautiful. It wasn't by chance that Mordecai overheard the plot to kill the king and saved his life. It wasn't by chance that Haman took offense at a Jew and plotted to annihilate all the Jews. It wasn't by chance that Esther refrained from telling the king her true desire for one more day. The "it just so happened" moments of life remind us to maintain our hope and confidence in Jesus even in the midst of the darkest of days. 

This Week...The Intersection of Life and Faith Esther's bold words have been spoken -- "If I die, I die." She came to a decision. It was not necessary for her to live, but it was necessary for her to do what she must. It is true that she was only one person, but it was also true that she was one person. In God's economy, one person matters. She felt compelled to act. She said she would act and then prepared to act. But, would she? The revelation of one's core convictions are found not in their words but rather in their actions. What was revealed when her professed faith intersected with life? What is being revealed as our professed faith intersects with life? There is much to be seen as we continue through our study of Esther.

This Week...Such A Time As This Esther was scared. Understandable, evil had crept in and was now threatening her very existence and that of her family. This week we look at just a few verses that hold three very important questions. First, “Can we be protected from evil?” Second, “If we do nothing, what will happen?” Third, “How do we know what to do?” We will dive into these questions as we continue to see God moving through the book of Esther. 

With the fate of the Jewish people on the line, Mordecai knows the clock has begun to tick. He attracts Esther's attention and then tells her that it's time to rise up and save her people. Not only does the news of Haman's plan come as a shock to Esther, but Mordecai's request puts her back on her heels as well. "Umm...Mordecai, I don't think you know just exactly what you're asking." So, here it is, Esther's crisis of faith. It wasn't her first one and undoubtedly wasn't her last. If we are following Jesus, we will experience them, too. What we do next will leave an indelible mark on the timeline of eternity or...not. 

Five years after Esther ascended to throne as queen, another foreigner ascended to power, the number two position as a matter of fact right behind Xerxes himself. He crosses paths with Mordecai who we have just met in chapter two and road rage ensues. Hatred of Mordecai and hatred for all of the Jews came very easily to Haman. He was proud and he carried grudges. Haman knows which buttons to push with Xerxes and before he's done, another bad idea becomes an irreversible law of the Medes and Persians. Pride, hatred, conspiracy, revenge, genocide...it feels as if we're reading today's headlines. Where is God? 

As we continue further into chapter 2 of Esther this Sunday, we nearly get whiplash at the pace of the story. We are barely introduced to our two protagonists, Esther and Mordecai, and the next thing we know she's queen of the entire Medo-Persian empire and Mordecai is risking his life to expose an assassination plot against the king! Whoa! Nothing less than the providential hand of God is at work. Look for it as you read this chapter in preparation for our conversation. Esther whose name is most commonly interpreted as "star" (her Jewish name Hadassah means "myrtle") is argued by some to be more appropriately interpreted as "hidden." An interesting foreshadowing to the complete absence of any overt reference to God. And yet, his presence is undeniable and his voice loud and clear.     

The author of Esther continues his conversation about this pagan king, his queen, and his advisors all the way through verse four of chapter 2. (You already know that because you've been reading the story...right? ) The author is simply letting us know what happened in order for Esther to ascend to the throne as queen of the Medo-Persian empire. However, it also exposes through this king the hard truth that we are not in control. We may acknowledge that we're not, but secretly we think we are and find ourselves doing life as if we are. Sooner or later, the delusion of control is exposed and we find ourselves in places we really don't want to be. There is a better way. We'll talk about that this weekend!  

How does a book where the name of God never appears, where there is no prayer, no worship, no mention of Jerusalem, no mention of the promised land and only one vague reference to the Jewish law make it into the Bible? The book not only is in the Bible, but it contains one of dearest stories to the Jewish people even today and is celebrated every year during the Feast of Purim. The name of the book is Esther. The answer to that initial question is found in the reading and study of her story as she, an orphaned, exiled Jewish girl, rises to become queen of an empire and saves her people from annihilation. This week we begin our journey with Esther. As we engage, our hearts will begin to rise in passion to take our place in our world for such a time as this.

This Week...A Debtor No More "I'm debt free!!" the caller proclaims into the telephone. The host celebrates with them and they continue their conversation about living in the rare air of a debt-free life. I change the station. Some of us know that wonderful feeling and some of us didn't even know that was a thing. In our story this week, we find two people who are both debtors to God. They both encounter Jesus, but only one walks away debt free. Free, from that moment forward, to live her best life. Their story invites us to assess our own level of spiritual liberty.