How to Invest: Part 1

We talked yesterday about how to invest in your spiritual life. I am continually reminded how easy it is to get 'stuck' in a cycle that is so counterproductive to a vibrant relationship with God. It happens because of one thing: God is not the squeaky wheel. He doesn't shout his way into your life, he doesn't pout or pitch fits for attention - He Is God. He's already done all that He needed to do. The rest is our part. And when we don't invest time, energy and attention His way, we are the one's who suffer the consequences. What consequences? A spiritual rut. A God who feels distant. A questioning of our faith.

But other voices cry out for more time, more energy and more of your attention. Since God isn't screaming at you, it's easy to say, 'Well, I'll spend time praying tomorrow.' 'I'll read the Bible on Tuesday.' 'I'll go to church next Sunday.' 'I'll sign up for small group next semester.' Before you know it, you look back and you can't remember the last time you prayed, read the Bible, took a walk and listened to the voice of God, or had a great conversation about spiritual truths with a friend. It's no wonder that you also can't remember the last time you felt the presence of God.

Like any relationship, you have to invest. You will get out what you put in. The scale won't always be perfectly balanced, but it is largely true.

So, why don't you commit that this week will be the beginning of something different. Invest in your spiritual life and in your relationship with God starting today. No one can do it for you.

Understanding The Bible

Guest blogger Sammy Frame will teach one of our iD courses for this upcoming semester.  Interested?  Here's what Sammy has to say...

The Bible. Sixty-six books carefully written and compiled, spanning more than two millennia. Throughout its pages you can find the words of truth, the words of life, time-honored and time-tested principles that have proven priceless for countless generations. It has structured and shaped our world in profound ways. In it, God’s story unfolds, unbroken, precious, vibrant, and compelling. Tens of thousands of words so precious, so valuable, so rare, that mankind still searches through them looking for hope, promise, and eternity. A book so delectable, so enjoyable, and so fantastic that the ancient rabbis would compare it to the sweetest thing they knew: honey.

You can get your complete copy today from christianbook.com for $1.69.

So … maybe it’s not as valuable as it once was. And, despite how easy it may be to acquire a copy (we’ll give you one for free at PCC by the way), it doesn’t always seem that easy for people to read. For many it comes across as cryptic, old, irrelevant, boring, and (depending on the translation) difficult to read. Most folks tend to think of it as more like spinach than honey: good for you, but not all that tasteful. How, then, can a book that tells the story of God, the best selling book of all time, have come to this? How could the most important document in world history not be enjoyed?

In part, the answer lies not in its age or how exciting it seems, but in how we read it, in how we understand it. Like all communication, the Bible has to be interpreted, and interpretation can be a difficult thing to do. So, starting the evening of Sunday, January 11, let’s talk about how to interpret scripture. Let’s look at the Bible and wipe away the confusion. Let’s regain the excitement that the ancients felt whenever they encountered this beautiful, powerful book. Let’s learn and exercise some methods of interpretation together that will bring forth meaning from the Bible that we’ve never encountered. Come and join me for “Understanding the Bible”, an 8 week iD course on Sunday nights from 5:00 to 7:00 in the Art Room at Powhatan Elementary.

Perhaps, though, the Bible isn’t a strong point of connection to God for you or you don’t have much difficulty with it. Part of what PCC endeavors to accomplish in our community is to guide people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. PCC’s iD program seeks to accomplish just this. If the Bible course doesn’t do it for you, try looking at some of our other course offerings that will help you along your journey of growing to become more and more like Jesus. Perhaps Chauncey Starkey's “Experiencing God” class, Bob Pino’s “The Tabernacle”, or Kevin Salyer's “S.H.A.P.E.” class can help you further your knowledge and love of Jesus. Check out all of our course offerings here.

Conformed Or Transformed

Guest blogger Bob Pino serves in various ways at PCC; an inspiring musician, small group host, teacher, mentor, faithful pray-er and good friend, he also helps spearhead our iD team.  Bob is passionate about discipleship and the need to grow in your faith through bible study, fellowship, accountability and the word.  Here are some of Bob's thoughts relative to iD.

In the New Testament Paul writes to the Romans to prepare the way for a visit he plans to make to the church at Rome. His plan was to work among the Christians there for a while and then head to Spain. He wrote to explain his understanding of the Christian faith and its practical implications for the lives of Christians.

I am challenged by Paul when he writes these words:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12.1-2

Before Christ I was being conformed by the world. I would see things and hear things that were mans’ ideas, desires and opinions.  I could agree with them, make up some of my own, and - by the world’s standards, as long as I wasn’t hurting anyone - I could pretty much do , say, or believe what I wanted. When I accepted Christ in my life on September 20, 1979, everything went crazy. It took over 10 years for me to realize that without pursuing a relationship with Christ through transformation, I was just another person that went to church on Sunday and did what I wanted to the rest of the week. I realized that in order to know Him and to be transformed by Him, I would have to study His Word. It was then that Christ began to go from my head to my heart. This is a daily process in the life of anyone who wants to be a Christ-follower.

The Bible says in John 1 vs. 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. “ If I believed that, then studying the Word was to study Christ! How awesome! My life started to change because Christ started to change my life. My outlook, my thought process, and my attitude began to be different and the cool thing was that people - even my own kids - would ask,“What’s different about you?” It was my mind being transformed by the washing of the Word. 

I heard a wise Christian man say, “Imagine that you’re holding a glass of dirty water. It’s full of all kinds of particles, sand, and dirt. If you were to start pouring good, clean water into that glass and let it overflow, eventually all the dirty water would be gone and you would have a glass of perfectly clear water. Your life works the same way. You are renewed by the washing of the water of the Word of God. You may be carrying particles of dirt from the past. You may have old destructive habits or mindsets that you are trying to get rid of. But the more you pour God’s Word into yourself, the more clean and alive everything becomes. Don’t choose to sit around with that mucky, dirty water on the inside of you. Allow His Word to cleanse you by reading and declaring it over yourself every day. As you choose His Word, you choose His life, and you’ll experience His hand of blessing in ways you never dreamed.”

I am happy to tell you that the staff at PCC believes in the study of God’s Word. For my wife and me it’s the main reason we attend PCC. This January, through the iD program, we will have at our disposal several classes to choose from that will help us to be transformed by the study of God’s Word. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the journey or you’ve been following Christ for years. We never get to the point where we know it all or where we have arrived. Even our pastor, who has his PhD, is in the Word learning, seeking, understanding, and growing as he leads us.

Registration is now open and you can choose to grow and be transformed, or you can be conformed to the world around you and miss the rich blessing of our Lord who will get you through life with strength, peace in the midst of storms, joy beyond measure, and the ability to love and serve the One who gave His life for you! Come to the registration table on Sunday, or go online and register today! It will change your life!
For more information, check out the PCC website, where you can read more about specific courses, or call the church office (804.598.1174)

iD

At PCC, our mission has two parts:  to reach people, and then to guide them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  We are pretty good at reaching people.  Not flawless.  Not perfect.  We can certainly get better.  But we're pretty good.  And reaching is easier to measure.  Attendance.  Baptisms.  It's just easier to measure the 'front door' of the church.

The rest of the journey is more nebulous.  It's harder to gauge where someone is in their faith journey or how close they are to becoming a fully devoted follower.  Nobody ever 'arrives', right?  Nobody ever wakes up one day and says, "well, I'm headed for my final exam.  If I get through this class, I'll be a fully devoted follower.  Glad that's over!"  No, we're always striving.  Paul put it like this, "Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [perfection]. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philip. 3:13-14, TNIV).

At PCC, we have two primary ways that we make available for the Christ follower to "press on toward the goal" of becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.  One is the Small Group.  Small Groups study the Bible in the context of friendships.  The other is our i.D. program.  This is where you can get some Bible teaching in the context of an instructional setting.  These are classes, and the idea is to to give you experiential learning, but to also give you information.  They are for a defined term and then they end, which is why we put them on a semester system.

These classes are designed for a wide range points on a spiritual journey - from those who are new to faith to those who have been Christ followers for decades.  If you want to go deeper, check out an i.D. class.  This program offers the completion of our package for discipleship at PCC, and we believe that those who take advantage of i.D., and small groups are well on their way to becoming fully devoted follower of Christ.  So, come check out what we're offering...you'll be glad you did!

For more information on PCC Small Groups, click here.  For course descriptions and online registration for iD courses, click here.

Next Step

Following Jesus is an ongoing process. Are you ready to take the Next Step?

PCC offers Next Step as part of our iD program; it's a seven-week course designed for those who have taken PCC 101 and now find themselves ready to look further into what it means to incorporate faith into their lives. Here’s what others said about their Next Step experience:

“I was so excited to see this class was starting! It was
exactly what I needed as a new Christian!”

“Explained a lot of unanswered questions.”

“I learned a lot and enjoyed meeting others from
church.”

“Helped me worship God and read the Bible daily.”

Interested in taking the Next Step? Classes begin this Sunday, April 27, 5:15 – 6:45 at Powhatan Elementary School. There are still a few openings in this class. You can sign up here or through the church website.

Questions? Contact beth@powhatancommunitychurch.org for more information.