Sunday    

“He has risen.  He is not here”  Mark 16:8  

John’s Recollections
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.  

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.  

Jesus Appears to His Disciples
¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  

Jesus Appears to Thomas
²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  

The Purpose of John’s Gospel
³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe^[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.                                                                                                                John 20

Saturday

What would you have done after witnessing the end of all your hopes and dreams, as did Jesus disciples?   The unthinkable had happened and now it was all over.   The One on Whom they had staked their future is dead.    

How do you live your “Saturdays?”    

Does Saturday teach us something, something much bigger than we can possibly imagine?  I think so.  

Sunday is coming.  

                                              Friday

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
“The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.”
And he came up to Jesus at once and said,
“Greetings, Rabbi!”
And he kissed him.
Jesus said to him,
“Friend, do what you came to do.”  

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶ Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
⁵⁷ Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”           Matthew 26:47-56

Thursday

And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said,
“Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another,
“Is it I?”
He said to them,
“It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them,
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
                                                               Mark 14:17-23

And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.                                             Luke 22:39

Then Jesus said to them,
“You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written,
‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Peter answered him,
“Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
Jesus said to him,
“Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
                                                                 Matthew 26:31-35



                                                   
                                       Wednesday

"And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.
And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him."     
                                                                                                 Luke 21:37-38  

"With Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread approaching, the chief priests, elders, and scribes plot to kill Jesus."                                                            Matthew 26:3-5  

"Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, 'Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people'.”
                                                                                                  Mark 14:1-2  

"Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.
And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
'What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?'
And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him."         Matthew 26:14-16



Tuesday

And he began to speak to them in parables.
“A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying,
‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another,
‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”                    Matthew 21



Monday    

“In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it,
“May no fruit ever come from you again!”
And the fig tree withered at once”.                             Matthew 21:18-19  

And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them,
“Is it not written,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
But you have made it a den of robbers.'”                    Mark 11:15-17  





I have recently read three books written by people who have had near death experiences.  Typically those who have this experience  see a light, move toward it, feel a great peace, don’t want to go back, but are then urged to do because their lives still a purpose to fulfill.    Once returned to life on life these people indeed do usually live with greater peace and purpose.     

Of course, Jesus raised people from the dead during his earthly ministry.    Does this still happen today?   And are there people whose near death experience does not include a foretaste of heaven, rather the opposite?   The following testimony is worth considering.   Pastor Jeff  

http://www.cbn.com/tv/1432634068001
   

"Where is your faith?"
Luke 8:25

Does your faith depend on how you feel?  The following is important food for thought for 21st century believers

“Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods ‘where they get off’, you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith  

“The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?”  

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity pp. 125.

How Does Spiritual Growth Happen?

Spiritual Growth is not automatic.  It requires a whole life investment of yourself.  However this investment is not the kind of investment that compartmentalized like work, where it can be to the detriment of the other parts of your life; rather this investment is like putting on a new pair of glasses.  Once on, these new lens cause you to see the entirety of life with a new clarity and new purpose.

I hope the following reflection helps you see a little more clearly how the simple mundane things of life matter immensely in your life with Christ.  In Christ, Jeff  

 

C.S. Lewis highlights an important aspect of spiritual growth when he says  ". . . . the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it.  It comes the very moment you wake up each morning.  All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.  And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger life come flowing in.  And so on, all day.                 This process takes time to produce change in us but over time it has a profound effect.  As Lewis goes on to say, "We can only do it for moments at first.  But from those moments a new sort of life will be spreading through our system because we are now letting him work at the right part of us.  It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface and a dye or stain which soaks right through.

“. . . .grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
II Peter 3:18 (NIV)

The Reality of Heaven and Hell
Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The following passage from the Great Divorce by CS Lewis reminds us that each of us is choosing our eternal destiny, not at one decision point in our lives (important at that is!) but even more so in each and every moment of our lives.  Each moment is a decision point in which we become more like Jesus or less like him, more the kind of person who can accept living with God or more the kind of person who can’t.   Hope this helps you to grow in Him!   In Christ, Jeff  

 “We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed lon g enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision... Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good.

I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road... Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good... It is still "either-or." If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell... But what, you ask, of earth? Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.1

“I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road... Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good... It is still "either-or." If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell... But what, you ask, of earth? Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.¹  

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”
Matthew 7:13-14



Your Purpose in Life

"we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

"Lord, as I reflect on this passage, I realize that with giving me life you have also given me a purpose for this one life you have given me to live.  Help me to live your purpose today, right where I am, with the people among whom I live, believing that you have given me all that I need for that purpose today.
'Give me today my daily bread (everything I need for today)'  Amen."  



"Jesus told his disciples. . . . that they should always pray and not give up."
Luke 18:1 (NIV)

Dear CLC Family!

This is a maiden voyage for me!!!  I don't recall ever hearing a recording of the brilliant CS Lewis (my far away mentor in the Christian Faith) teaching and preaching.  And you get to share in this great moment.  Take 9 minutes of your time and listen to how God hears your prayers and then the difference that praying makes!

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/03/01/cs-lewis-on-prayer-audio

REMINDER! Spring Time Change!!  Up an hour earlier for Worship on Sunday!

Learning the Bible
Thursday, March 7, 2013

IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST EPISODE you can watch it here:        http://www.history.com/shows/the-bible/episodes
The next four episodes will continue on each of the next 4 Sunday nights at 8:00.

 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
        and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/How_Accurate_Is_The_Bible_4?
utm_source=DAYG_TRUSTING_THE_BIBLE_4&utm_campaign=
DAYGO_TRUSTING_BIBLE_4&utm_medium=email  

 

http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Revelation_and_Interpretation_
page1?utm_source=DAYG_TRUSTING_THE_BIBLE_4&utm_campaign=
DAYGO_TRUSTING_BIBLE_4&utm_medium=email

 

 

 

Please Note:  If you missed the first Bible Series episode Sunday night on the History Channel check out this link to see when it will be rerun!!

http://www.history.com/shows/the-bible/episodes

  

A Circle 4 Outreach Opportunity

  WHEN?

Saturday evening, March 9 at 6:30pm    -    Wade will speak to the outdoorsmen
Sunday morning, March 10 at 9am & 10:30am    -    Wade will deliver the Message

WATCH                                                                        

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fmqjfXPgw

http://www.wadenolan.com/video/video.html

INVITE!!!!!

Wade will fascinate with his worldwide harrowing adventures at the same time drawing non-church-goers (and church goers like me!) into the compelling reality of Christ.

His scripture will be:
        "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."              Ehpesians 2:10 (NIV)

Please think of everyone you know who may not be connected to a church or to Christ, in particular men who love adventure, pray for them and then invite them to this special worship service!!!!!

 

March 4, 2013 - The Mark of the Christian

The Mark of the Christian

"Father, I pray that they can be one.  As you are in me and I am in you, I pray that they can also be one in us.  Then the world will believe that you sent me."
John 17:21 (NCV)

 

  

Dear CLC Family,



In yesterday's message I gave four ways that we can "wear" the "Mark of the Christian" in a way that others can recognize the reality of jesus.  Here's a quick review;

REGRET  -  Do I display genuine regret and sorrow when I have not loved another      believer as I should have.  do I regret the breach in a relationship even when the breach was caused by a "truth" that I needed to stand on.

A SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS - Am I willing to let go of offense and choose to "take it" when someone wrongs me, choosing to respond in love without compromising truth.  Am i willing to never disparage the character or impune the motives of another believer?

DISAGREE DIFFERENTLY - Do others see my disagreeing with others believers in a way loving ("speaking the truth in love") that it astounds unbelievers.

A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY - Am I willing to view conflict as one of the best witnessing tools available to me?  The opportunity to show unbelievers that "the Father has sent the Son"?



Dear CLC Family,  
We have a terrific opportunity to see the entire Bible depicted in 5 weeks with a quality never before seen.  I hope you take advantage of this opportunity!  The more I think about the Old Testament the more I realize that it, too, points directly to Jesus. 
In Him,
Jeff 

"(God's) grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began."
2 Timothy 1:9 (NCV)

 
Producer Mark Burnett has been responsible for some of the biggest hits of modern television, including Survivor, The Apprentice, and The Voice. His wife, Roma Downey, starred for ten years in the TV series Touched by an Angel. But they believe their five-week miniseries that sweeps through the entire story of the Bible (airing on the History Channel Sunday nights beginning Sunday, March 3) is the most significant work they have done to date.

Burnett and his wife have produced a mini-series that is not only "not disappointing," but actually rises to the top of the "Wow" scale. Attempting to take on the whole Bible in 10 hours is pretty much an impossible task for just about anyone, but apparently not for the Burnetts. They really have produced something of epic proportions.

Over the last 3 1/2 years, Mark and Roma have been driven by the singular vision of producing a project that would honor the sacred text, yet bring it to life for a new generation. The end result is something that has the feel of a $150 million big budget film.

A half year of filming in Morocco, hundreds of extras, an Oscar-winning editing studio and a score that brought back together for the first time after "Gladiator" the incredible Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerard – all this helped to bring the Bible to screen like no other film in history. The cast made up of gifted actors coming from across the world reflects the global influence of the Bible – a Samson from the African diaspora, an Irish David, and a Portuguese Jesus, just to name a few.

Obviously, the most challenging role of the entire series is that of Jesus. Diogo Morgado rises to the task, presenting Jesus as a powerful yet compassionate and humble character.  

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/review-the-bible-this-time-hollywood-got-it-right-90992/#HXrIqC3eTmZkqibR.99

  Watch a preview!!!!    http://gnli.christianpost.com/video/the-bible-extended-look-8394