Senior Pastor Jeremy Peugh
"Thoughts From Our Pastors" written by Senior Pastor Jeremy Peugh
Philippians 1:6 (ESV) And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.--Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
I wonder how many times we've heard people say, "God has a plan for your life." We nod, smile, and then go on our way. I'm not sure most of us truly believe that--at least, our lives don't always reflect that we believe it.
What does it mean to think that God has a plan for us? We are fallible and make so many mistakes. How could anything be perfect in our lives? Maybe we know ourselves too well. I immediately think of my shortcomings and all of the stupid things that I have done in my past, and trust me I have done some very stupid things. I have been careless in a plane not seat belted with the door open as we take off, I have been prideful and gotten injured snowboarding and then forced by my wife to go home because I refused to show that I was hurt, and I have been unkind in how I have treated others.
The thing is, the plan isn't perfect because we're perfect. The plan is perfect because God is perfect. Let's say it this way: God has a special plan for each of our lives. In fact sometimes God can use our broken past to help others in our future. That does not mean that we should do whatever we want because then we can help others later, but I believe that God can use our past to influence others' futures.
Let's think about that plan. In the Philippians passage, Paul told us that God saved us and started a good work in us. The Spirit is still with us, nudging us forward, and in Ephesians, Paul wrote that we are God’s workmanship. The two verses before that tell us that we're saved by God's grace. We have nothing to do with the act of salvation--we haven't earned it, nor do we deserve it. We are born into the kingdom of God as a gift. God does it, and we receive it. Yes, we believe, but that's not doing anything to earn our salvation.
As we think about God at work in us, we remind ourselves that, broken as we are, God is perfect. Nothing we can ever do is good enough to satisfy God's perfection. Only Jesus, the Perfect One, is good enough. Nothing but our faith in Him makes us acceptable to God. That does not mean we do not move towards God and learn, but what it means is that even though I am not good enough to ever deserve God’s grace, God has given it to me anyways. It is because of this gift that I give my life to God. I let God use me and shape me into the person that God has for me.
Paul goes on to say that we are saved through Jesus Christ so that we can do good works. God has prepared us for the kind of life He wants us to live. His Word makes it clear how that life works. His Spirit enables us to live a new life. We cannot do it on our own, but through God’s spirit we are able to live into His plan.
See the plan for our lives is perfect, because it comes from God. God's plan for us includes obedience and service to Him from a sincere heart. God holds out directions for a full, satisfying life. Our role is to align ourselves with that plan and allow our will to be shaped by God. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus and His ability, not on ourselves and our disabilities.
Pastor Jeremy
Monthly Mission Focus:
So this week I want to give you a link. This will take you to our SoCal District NMI Facebook page. It will show you pictures and videos from some of our local mission trips. Click here to check out the photos from our Work & Witness trip that just returned from Haiti or the Ojos Negros trips that are just south of our border.
Wednesday Night 4 Week Bible Study Fellowship:
Wednesday 6:30pm at Hilltop Park we will be discussing God as being missional and what that means for us. How does a missional God impact how we should be missional? If you would like to come, talk about who God is let us know so we can have the proper amount of food there. Also please bring some money to pitch in for pizza & drinks.
Senior High Camp:
July 29th– August 2nd, $325. High School students there's still time to sign up for our Senior High Camp. We would love to see you and your friends be able to go. For more information and registration, see Chelsea or you can go to our district website: socalnaz.org
Fall Festival Planning Meeting:
THIS Sunday, July 22nd after service please join us for a small meeting about what we are wanting to accomplish for our fall festival. We want to make sure that we have all hands on deck for these outreach events so please come and be a part of the planning meeting.
Summer Nights Outreach:
Thanks for all that came to the Summer Nights event. Our next event is August 12 from 5-7pm. We’ll be gathering together at Hilltop Park for an all church BBQ. This is the last one for this summer, so make sure you set this time aside in your calendar. This is a great time to invite friends, co-workers and other people you have been witnessing to.
Women's Ministry Bunco Night:
Friday, August 10 at 7pm, $5. Ladies, are you looking for a way to casually invite your friends to church? This event is a great one to do that with. We'll be playing bunco, eating snacks and winning prizes! Join us!
Offering:
To all those who give during out service or online, THANK YOU!!! The money you give goes to helping our community and the global church. If you missed giving this week, just visit our giving page here and give online.
We also are set up to receive Faith Promise through our online giving here just make sure that you select Faith Promise instead of general offering.
Tithing is a discipline that will strengthen your faith and the church cannot function properly without your support. If you consider Mount Carmel your church home, please pray about being obedient to the Lord in this way.
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