On Mission

This week is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  

College football starts back.  

There is nothing like Saturday afternoon football, wings and maybe even a few pigs in a blanket.  (Ok I confess, maybe more than a few....) That is relaxation and comfort to me.  Sitting down and watching football and eating more than I should.  I used to be such a football junkie that on any given Saturday, we would have to make our family plans around what time the Gators played.  God used friends and my wife to help me see that sometimes I was being really selfish wanting to plan the whole day around what I wanted.  Some days we still plan around Gator games, but others, I give in and don’t watch.  It can be very difficult for me to give up that comfort and entertainment but I know that it is what is best for my family.  

How hard is it for you to sacrifice things you enjoy for your family? For God?  

I have found that sometimes I need a shock or a shake to keep my heart where it needs to be.  The best way I have personally found to help me keep my perspective where it needs to be is going to the Dominican Republic.

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to go on a Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic.   While I was on that trip, God gave me a burden for the country.  Since that time it has been amazing to watch God open doors and opportunities for ministry.  In November, right after Thanksgiving, we will be taking another trip to the Dominican.

Maybe this is the exact thing that God wants you to do to help give you His perspective on what matters.  We all need wake up calls because we get stuck in our really small perspective of life but God’s perspective is so much bigger.  I am all for praying about going on a mission trip but sometimes I think we can use that as an excuse.  

We already know that God wants us to take a step of faith and simply go; that is one command as followers of Jesus we can’t dodge.  

We are all commanded to go, the question shouldn’t be if we go or not. It must shift to “When will we go?” 

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

- Brent Metcalf

High School Pastor, BCC

Dominican Mission Trip

November 26-December 3

For more details please contact brent@brevardcommunity.org

Perfection.

"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:46-48

Christ gave us an example to follow here: not to mimic a good person or mirror a loving companion, but rather imitate the perfection of God Himself.  

How do we do that? We show the people the same things God has shown to us. He promises to give us plenty of opportunities to do just that. 

It's easy to love people who love you. It's easy to love people that you are naturally drawn to. But we are called to have fellowship with those we may not have affection towards. 

Someone's view of God may be swayed in one direction or another based on how you, as His follower, treat those around you. 

You want to show the world Christ? Don't let your likes and dislikes govern how you love. 

You never know who is observing your life. What conclusions are they drawing? What characteristics of God are you revealing? 

People don't identify us as Christ followers by the amount of good deeds we do, but rather how God-like we are. People see a clear picture of God where they see a clear picture of love, as pure and perfectly expressed as we are humanly capable. 

If we are truly transformed by the power of His grace and washed in His redeeming love, our lives will show it. 

The Holy Spirit within us should rush like a fountain through our hands, our feet, our mouth, our eyes. If our heart is wrapped up in Him, it will show in what we do, what we look at, and what we say. 

Our worship should not be restricted to a Sunday morning. Sing praises to God and reveal His glory in the smallest details of your day. 

Want an awesome opportunity to show the love of God to our neighbors? Join us at the Community Picnic tonight! Just bring a few side items and join us at 6 PM or whenever you can get here! The weather is better than we anticipated, but the free food, fellowship, and fun will still take place upstairs in the Worship Center! We'll see you tonight!

Discipline Over Desire.

A few weeks ago the whole world was captivated by the Olympics - including me. 

There is something about watching people give everything they’ve got to compete at an event they have worked their whole life to be the best at. And it is obvious to those of us who watch that these athletes have given everything they have to accomplish their goal of winning an Olympic medal. And it’s also obvious to just about everyone who watches that if I (or anyone else for that matter) tried to do the things that these athletes do without the commitment and discipline that they put into their sport, would fail miserably. 

It doesn’t matter how bad I may want to swim like Michael Phelps or run like Usain Bolt; if I wasn’t willing to put in the work, I would never get close to my desire. 

To be a great Olympian, desire is not enough; it also takes discipline. 

I think the same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. 

It’s not enough for me to just say I want to know God or grow in my relationship with him; it also takes the discipline of being willing to do something to know him better and grow in that relationship. 

Mark 12:28-30 says that we are to love God with all our heart, mind soul, and strength.

God wants us to give all of who we are, not just our desire. 

So the question I have for you today is this: 

What are you willing to do to know God better? Is it just something you say or is it something you’re willing to give all of who you are to accomplish?

This week, will you be willing to take time out of your day to get in God’s word and spend time in prayer? Will you be willing to do more than just say you want to know God; will you actually do something about it? 

Olympians don’t win medals without discipline and commitment, and followers of Christ don’t grow in their relationships with God without a little commitment and discipline also. 

- Brad Snipes

Middle School Pastor, BCC

An Acts 1:8 Church

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest parts of the earth." - Acts 1:8

Brevard Community has grown into an Acts 1:8 church! 

That simply means we are sending members of our body into our neighborhood as well as to the remotest parts of the world and various places in between. Looking at the calendar from January to the present we have sent folks out into our community with vegetables and we regularly Prayer walk and build relationships in the Light and Hope Community (our Jerusalem). Two teams have gone to Montana, one has gone to Tennessee and another to New York (our Judea and Samaria). We have sent teams to The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Uganda, and South Asia (the remotest parts of the earth).

  

From now to the end of 2012 there are at least seven more trips scheduled to the these remote areas which include India, Thailand, Gambia, Cambodia, Dominican, Southeast and South Asia.

When we began as a church this was our goal: to be involved in taking the Gospel to all the world. God continues to give us more opportunities than we could have imagined. As we have been faithful in these  opportunities, the Lord has now allowed us to be a model and mentor to other churches as they seek to fulfill the Great Commission. 

Many of you have gone on trips and many have supported those who have gone with finances and with countless prayers lifted up for each one of these missions. Thank you for your faithfulness in all these areas of making Christ known.

It would be easy to become complacent or rest on our laurels. But we are reminded of the 2 billion people who have never heard of Jesus and the 2 billion more who have heard a little but not enough to trust Him as Lord and Savior. That reminds us of the urgency to take the Light into these dark places; whether it's to our neighbor or to the ends of the earth. So we will continue to go and invite you to go with us as Brevard Community continues to be an Acts 1:8 church. 

"May grace and peace be yours to the fullest measure",

Alan Perry

Missions Pastor, BCC

Transitions.

Change, New Expectations, New Responsibilities, Different Roles.

Each of those phrases brings out emotional responses in everyone. Some of us fear change. Some of us welcome new responsibilities. No matter what, life is filled with transitions. In nature it is innate, we move from the new life of spring, to the energy of summer, to the colors of fall, and finally to the chill of winter. Transitions in life are natural, God intended them for us.

I will be honest, I don't like change. I am a person who gets very comfortable with my life. However if you read in Ecclesiastes 3 there is a time for everything:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 2-8

Sobering thoughts from the Bible. 

So how do we handle times of transition? 

First we must not fear them, but see them as a time to grow closer to God.

Transitions are “wilderness” times where we discover or re-discover our identity and where God prepares us for the next chapter in our story.

Second we must remember that as Christ followers God is with us.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Remember God is always with us and He invites change into our lives sometimes just so that we can lean on him. Always remember God's goal is not to make us happy but to bring Himself the most glory! 

Finally as we go through transitions in life, cling to the promises of God's Word.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

    I set your rules before me. 

I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

     let me not be put to shame!

I will run in the way of your commandments

    when you enlarge my heart!

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;

    and I will keep it to the end.

Psalms 119: 30 - 33

The result of following God through His word is always positive. It is hard sometimes but the result is always what God had intended for us. 

This time of year always brings about a time of transition for families as students start school. Whether you have a child going to kindergarten, middle school or college, these times of change can be tough. But just remember that God is with you and them, trust in His word to guide you and because of this you can always know that God is in control of the Transition.

- Marty Burgess

College Pastor, BCC

Friendship.

There are differences between acquaintances and friends, right? 

There are some people - co-workers, neighbors, associates - that we know informally but are not as close to. 

Friendship, on the other hand, is much more. It's familiarity, companionship, intimacy, devotion. It's linking your soul with another. It's doing life together.

We are called to a friendship with Christ. 

Our relationship with our savior was never meant to be stale, surface-level, or occasional. We are called to something much deeper than that. 

True friendship with God is the only source of pure joy. 

Getting to know God should be our top priority. How do we do this? Read. Pray. Meditate - and do all of this with the right mindset - with the goal of simply knowing Him more.

Think about the last thing you prayed about. Were you devoted to your desire/request or to God? Were you determined to get what you wanted or to get closer to God? 

"Your father knows what you need before you ask Him." - Matthew 6:8b

God knows what you need before you even lay it at His feet. The point of asking is simply to get to know Him better and draw closer to Him. 

Make an Impact

"And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only had the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth EVERYWHERE, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His son from heaven, whom He raised from the sea, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." - 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10

Culture has a big impact on Christianity, but Christianity should be having a big impact on culture. 

Paul wrote this letter to encourage a new, young church in Thessalonica. The Christians there were persecuted believers, harassed by their culture and their economy. Thessalonica was a port city located on the Ignatia Way (essentially, the I-40 of Europe at the time). Because of this prime location, the new believers at Thessalonica could come in contact and share the gospel with many people traveling through buying, trading, and selling their goods. Then these people would continue on in their route and come in contact with other people down the way, and so on and so on until the Gospel was spreading like wild fire. 

This passage says that the word of the Lord "sounded forth" from the believers at Thessalonica. The Gospel was thundering out out of their city and spreading throughout the world. How? A few believers on fire for Jesus sharing His love at their work place, with their neighbors, at Starbucks (surely there was a Starbucks in Thessalonica?) and in their homes. 

You want to know how to make the switch from being impacted by culture to changing culture in the name of Jesus? 

Be bold. 

Share the Word. 

Show the World. 

What are you going to do with what you know? Go and make an impact on the nations. 


Just a reminder: We won't be having a MidWeek service tonight. Enjoy the evening with your family and friends! We'll see you next week for our small group prayer service!