The church of Laodicea was in hot water with the Resurrected Jesus precisely because they weren’t hot or on fire for Him. Nor were they cold, either. He told them they were lukewarm and because of that He was going to spit them out. That’s how repulsive He found their faith. Lest we hear the same things from Him, let us take our spiritual temperature:

• What is your vision of the Resurrected Lord Jesus? Rev. 3:14
• Do we have a lost passion for Jesus? Have we settled and we don’t realize it? Rev. 3:15
• Have we lost touch with reality? Do we think we’re fine? Rev. 3:17
• Have we lost our grip on the truth? Have we been deceived? Rev. 3:17

How you answer these questions will tell you a lot about your spiritual temperature. Before we think anything incorrect, Jesus’ motive for such a hard rebuke is motivated by His love for us and His desire to see us be in a spiritually healthy relationship with Him (Rev. 3:15,19).

What are the antidotes to spiritual apathy? We’ll be studying those in the weeks to come. For now, though, I leave with you the prayer that I included in my sermon on Sunday from A.W. Tozer:

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' Name, Amen.” (from The Pursuit of God)

In pursuit of Him along with y’all,
Pastor Andy  

Please read and mediate through Rev. 3:14-22 for our time together on Sunday.

​“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
Luke 24:5

If the birth of our Lord Jesus changed time, in that all years became measured before or after his birth, then His resurrection changed all of history. For all lives will be measured according to their response to Him being raised from the dead. Just as He fulfilled every messianic promise in the Old Testament and prophetic prediction of a Messiah coming forth, He is the fulfillment of our faith; so it is by faith that we live (Rom. 1:17). His grace is not without effect because by His grace, we are what we are (1 Cor. 15:10). So, these questions remain: how have you responded to His resurrection? How has His grace impacted your life?

He is risen!

Pastor Andy 

Please read Rev. 3:14-20 for our time on Sunday.

Today, Jews all over the world are celebrating the Passover with a seder meal. They are remembering their ancestors' experience in Egypt, sacrificing a lamb and putting its blood over the doorposts to be protected as the angel of death passed over Egypt. Messianic Jews and gentile believers celebrate Christ as the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) sacrificed to protect us from eternal death. How thankful we are that He chose to give His life for us.

This weekend, we'll celebrate through:
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Good Friday Service: At 7pm, we'll focus on the sacrifice Jesus made. Noah Smith will be sharing a message and Kit Bellman will be presenting a soliloquy as Mary. We'll also celebrate communion by intinction (dunking bread in the juice). Livestream will be available for this service.

Resurrection Sunrise Service: At 7am, the Fredericktown area churches will have a joint service for about 30-45 minutes. Jerry Ernst, pastor at Cornerstone Community Church will share a devotional message and Kyle & Ashley will lead singing.

Resurrection Services at NewLife: We'll have both services as normal, 9:00am and 10:30am. Please make sure to scoot to the center of the aisles, so there is plenty of seating it's not hard for visitors to find seats. We do not have any baptisms scheduled, but we'll still collectively celebrate the new life we can all have in Christ! Nursery & 3yo-K class will meet as normal. Andy will do a kids minute for the elementary kids who will then be given an activity bag and remain in the service.
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Looking forward to celebrating together as a family,

The NewLife Staff

I can do all this through Him who gives me strength, Phil. 4:13, NIV
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Paul’s letter to the Philippians is both a thank you letter from a grateful missionary and an explanation on how to live the Christian life. The secret? It’s living this life in Christ. It’s learning to be content in Him and through Him as we face the ups and downs of life. It’s the centering of our lives on Him and having His hope as an anchor for our souls (Heb. 6:19) even when hope doesn’t make sense. It’s believing whole-heartedly that to live is Christ and to die is gain. It’s having the same mind as Christ and following His example of humility. It’s pouring out our hearts and needs to Him with thanksgiving because it’s a privilege to be able to pray that way and to know Him at all, let alone to have His peace. It’s having a mental framework in Him through which we approach life. It’s all of life lived in Christ. 
Though our study of Philippians is concluded, let’s continue forward in Christ, locked in with Him! 

Pastor Andy

P.S. This Sunday, we'll welcome Earnie & Sharon as they share about their ministry in Spain. Be prepared to give a special offering for their ministry and to stay for a potluck meal with them after the ONE service!
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Questions for reflection and discussion:

1. Through which part of Philippians did Jesus speak to you? How are you responding to Him?
2. In what ways are you growing in Christ? What areas do you still need to bring into His Life and Lordship?
3. How are you currently learning contentment? 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Phil. 4:8,NIV

Happy Belated St. Patrick’s Day! While the rest of the US was likely celebrating in ways that don’t line up with Patrick’s life and ministry, let us remember that Patrick prayerfully put on his armor before he would go and minister. He wrapped himself in God’s love, presence, and protection which enabled him to have a bold and significant ministry. It’s a biblical practice seen in Esther's and David's lives as well as Paul’s life as expressed in Philippians 4:4-9. In this passage we see God’s promises of peace and His Presence with us. He Himself is wrapping around us and in Christ we must respond by wrapping ourselves back into Him.

We do this by:

• Rejoicing in the Lord, 4:4
• Letting our gentleness be evident, 4:5a
• Knowing the Lord is near, 4:5b
• Turning our anxiety into opportunities to pray and know God’s care, 4:6
• Thinking on what is true, noble, etc. 4:8

The most profound understanding of this passage will come through meditation upon it and prayerful implementation. Remember, we are to put these into practice, 4:9. And then we put it into practice- again and again. We keep bringing our worries, our hearts, our minds, our lives to God through Christ, again and again and again. The invitation is there for us and the welcome is guaranteed with the Father because of having Jesus in our lives. 

Let’s keep pouring out our hearts to the Lord so we’ll know His peace which transcends all understanding in Christ! 

Pastor Andy

Please read Philippians 4:10-23 for our time together on Sunday.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

1. Which of these practices are you naturally drawn to in your life?
2. Which one of these practices do you see yourself needing to implement this week?
3. Are you wrapping yourself in His Presence and Peace? 

Some things are just inevitable in life. We all know that includes taxes and death, but it also involves conflict. This is equally true for those who are followers of Christ. When you put together a group of people who have their own preferences, thoughts, ideas of what should happen, etc., you're going to have conflict.

Paul urgently pled with two women in the Philippian church to have the same mind (of Christ) because they were in significant conflict. He was intervening so that the cause of Christ would not be hindered in the church of the Philippians. When we have the same mindset as Christ (Phil. 2:5-11), the focus is on Christ Himself, His purposes, and not our preferences. As we talked on Sunday, when we walk in tune with Him, that helps us live in harmony with one another.

Paul gave us some practical suggestions on handling conflict in Philippians:

Be in a good place with Jesus for having these types of conversations, 4:1.
There is no replacement for sincere, personal and direct communication, 4:2.
Be willing to have an outside person help mediate the conversation, if needed, 4:3.
Bear with one another and forgive one another, Col. 3:12-13.

Keep standing firm in Jesus and not against one another!

Pastor Andy

Questions for reflection and discussion:

• Are there any difficult conversations that you have been avoiding?
• Has Jesus been asking you to forgive someone? Have you forgiven them? 

My Fellow Citizens of Heaven,
​
I want to thank you for your patience with me when I did not feel well preaching on Sunday! In my fuzzy mindedness, I didn’t get a chance to share something I had prepared for my sermon, so I will do so now. It’s this: don’t wait. Don’t wait to mature in Jesus. Don’t wait to deal with the idols and spiritual issues that block your growth in Him. Don’t put Him off until later.

It’s not a secret that we all can easily fall prey to the “Tyranny of the Urgent” and not press into the most important aspect of our life: Jesus. Yes, we have family and work responsibilities, bills to pay, (our cars don’t put gas in themselves-yet!), etc. But at the core, who or what is in charge of your life as you go about living it? I called it a Lordship issue on Sunday. The answer to this question is the difference between the Christ-Directed Life and the Self-Directed Life, with the results having ginormous implications for each of us, depending on how we answer.

Don’t wait to answer this question: Who is your Lord?

May Jesus lead us by giving us clarity and insight as we ponder this!  

Pastor Andy

Please read Philippians 4:1-5 for Sunday.

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
Phil. 3:8, NIV

As he declared the repurposing of his life in Jesus, Paul intimately shared his heart with the Philippian believers. It’s in this sharing that we get to have an inner look at Paul's motivations and see “what makes him tick”, as the old saying goes. Christ is so valuable that immediately everything changed for Paul the moment he met Jesus. It became Paul’s goal to keep pressing on to take hold of Jesus because that’s the reason Christ took hold of him. It doesn’t end with Paul! Christ has taken hold of us. Let that be what drives you toward Jesus today and each day. May this become the daily purpose of our lives until we see Jesus face to face. Until that day, we’re still a work in progress. 

On the journey with you, 
Pastor Andy

Please read Phil. 4:15-21 for Sunday. Please begin praying now for Jesus to meet us and move amongst us, including your own heart, in our services on Sunday. ​

Question for reflection or discussion:

• Are you pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of you? Seriously though, are you? 

Dear Friends,
The Lenten season is upon us! In the church calendar, today is Ash Wednesday, the formal beginning of Lent. This season leading up to Holy Week culminates on Resurrection Sunday. At this point in the year, Christmas is a memory and it can be easy to become weary, discouraged or cynical. We find ourselves in the midst of uncertainty in the world- people of wealth and positional power getting away with evil actions and all sorts of other worldly craziness on the increase. Jesus anticipated this. He even affirmed this about the world: “In this world you will have trouble.” But that’s not all He said! He went on to say, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV) Let us take heart indeed, looking to the Resurrection of Jesus, knowing that He has indeed overcome the world.

What does this have to do with Lent? Lent is the a special time of remembrance. During this season we give up something or take on a new spiritual discipline to prompt our hearts to be mindful of Jesus. I had a friend who said he was giving up chocolate for Lent so he could lose weight. That’s not the point! I would encourage you to prayerfully examine if Jesus wants you to give up something that would give you more time with Him, such as social media, doom scrolling, fasting from food, or something else. Or perhaps you could take up reading a devotional in this season for your spiritual encouragement. Whatever you do, make this about Jesus and not you (Col. 3:17). As we walk into this season of Lent, may Jesus impact our hearts so that we can be impact makers for Him along all of our life’s paths! 

Seeking His Face with you, 
Pastor Andy 

Please read Phil. 3:1-16 for Sunday.

Questions for reflection or discussion:

1. How is Jesus currently impacting your heart and life?
2. What is something you can do this Lenten season to be more mindful of Jesus?
3. Who is Jesus wanting to impact through you?

After Sunday’s services, I had several people approach me, text me, and email me to let me know about either their conviction about complaining too much or wondering if I was intentionally speaking about them. With that said, as I sit down with my Monday morning devotions, I read in Proverbs 19:11 - A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back. (NKJV) A fool always loses his temper, but a wise person holds it back (ESV).

Okay, God, what do you want me to share with NewLife?

Brothers and Sisters – what we say matters and one way we can be lights in a crooked and perverse world is allowing the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit in us – self-control, gentleness etc. Solomon is not saying we should never feel or that we should mask our feelings and never be authentic. What I believe the message here is as it is with Paul later in the Scriptures – control your tongue. What you say will build up the Kingdom or tear it down.

Pause long enough to seek out the Spirit’s guidance to either speak or not. Just because we want to speak about how we feel does not mean we should or the timing or situation is right to do it. As Paul challenged the Church in Philippi- and us- we are to be imitators of Christ, to live a Christlike life. In being obedient to God, we will learn to control our tongues. Lament to God – don’t complain to one about another. Seek God’s wisdom and heart to know how to move forward.

We must be wise in what we say and how we speak. Our words do matter and they affect those around us – those who follow Christ and those who don’t. If you want to know more about this, be prayed for, etc. – Let’s Talk.

Blessings my friends,
Kyle