CONTEST: Teacher Appreciation

Our teachers have helped us to become the people who we are today.

This past week, we were given another challenge: thank any teachers who helped you to grow spiritually by sending them a letter, calling them on the phone, emailing them, etc. Then take a short video of each member of your family saying who they thanked and how they thanked them, and upload it to Facebook or Instagram tagging @fccbrea in the video. If you do not have Facebook or Instagram, you are also welcome to email the video to us directly at info@fccbrea.org. Please make sure you include your name or family’s name in the body of the email or social media post.

Videos need to be submitted by Wednesday, MAY 06, at 12 PM. Everyone who submits a video will be entered into a raffle, and the winners will be announced during this Wednesday’s 7 PM online family service, so be sure to tune in on Wednesday night!

GUIDED REFLECTION: The Lord's Prayer

We invite you today to reflect slowly on The Lord’s Prayer, how Christ tells us we should pray in the Sermon on the Mount. As you pray slowly, ponder each accompanying Bible verse and commentary from Pastor Nick.

The Lord’s Prayer

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray...”

-Luke 11:1

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever”

-Matthew 6:9-13

“Our Father in heaven...”

1. CONNECT WITH GOD RELATIONALLY

You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15 NLT).

God loves for us to call him our Father. Establish your intimate relationship with him and thank him for the relationship you have with him.

“...Hallowed be Your Name...”

2. WORSHIP HIS NAME

God’s name is a place of protection—the righteous can run there and be safe (Proverbs 18:10 MSG).

What are his names?
Righteousness – He makes me clean
Sanctifier – He has called me and set me apart
Healer – He heals all my diseases
Banner of Victory – He has defeated my enemy
Shepherd – He speaks to me and leads me
Peace – He is my peace in every storm
Provider – He supplies all of my needs

 “...Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...”

3. PRAY HIS AGENDA FIRST

He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your primary concern (Luke 12:31 TLB).

God’s priorities:
Saving the Lost
Guiding those in authority – parental, spiritual, governmental, workplace
His will in us

“...Give us this day our daily bread...”

4. DEPEND ON HIM FOR EVERYTHING

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (Psalm 121:1-2 NLT).

Ask God for what you want and need and then trust him for the answer.

“...Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors...”

5. GET YOUR HEART RIGHT WITH GOD AND PEOPLE

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness
(1 John 1:9).

Ask God to check your heart and motives. Receive his forgiveness for any area that he brings to mind.

Forgive anyone who has offended you in any way. You can even forgive people in advance.

 “...And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one...”

6. ENGAGE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

Take your stand against the enemy and fight the good fight of faith. Every lie that the enemy has told you should be replaced with the truth of God’s Word.

“...For yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever.”

7. EXPRESS FAITH IN GOD’S ABILITY

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).

End your prayer time by reminding yourself of God’s ability. Return to praise and make your faith declarations.

“Yours is the Kingdom” – all rule belongs to You
“Yours is the Power” – all mightiness flows from You
“Yours is the Glory” – Your victory shall be complete

-Nick LeMonds
Pastor of Local and Global Impact, Visitor Assimilation, and Saturday Night

Gratitude Challenge

“What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God’s people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God. The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God’s people and with everyone else. Now they are praying for you and want to see you, because God used you to bless them so very much. Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!”

— 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (CEV)

Have you ever been amazed by the kindness of someone? What did it do inside of you? Maybe it moved you to tears. Maybe it caused you to smile. Or perhaps you felt compelled to tell others about what you had witnessed. What Paul decided to do in his letter to the church in Corinth was to acknowledge and thank those who he knew were living so generously. Everyone likes for their effort to be acknowledged. That may not be the reason why we do what we do, but it helps to know that our efforts were not in vain. That they achieved something. Their purpose had been actualized.

Today, I want to leave you and each member of your family with a challenge. To thank the person that invested their time, effort, money, and energy in your spiritual formation. This can be a current or former Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, friend, parent, spouse, neighbor, current or former pastor, sibling, or maybe even your child. Someone that walked alongside of you. Stepped into your story in a meaningful way and journeyed with you. Someone who taught you what it meant to follow Jesus. Let them know the outcome of their commitment to obedience. There is something about gratitude that brings wholeness to our hearts and completed joy to theirs.

The ways you can go about thanking them are many. Consider writing a handwritten note and sending it to them in the mail. Maybe you give them a call or write them an email. Post something on social media. Leave a sign on their lawn or write a note in chalk on their driveway. Maybe your kids write a note to your person thanking them for sharing Jesus with mommy because now mommy has been able to share Jesus with them. Then they will know that their faithfulness had exponential effects! Get creative with it. But make sure it is meaningful and heartfelt.

When you and your family are done thanking your people, let us know who they are! We want to put together a video montage to honor those who have so thoughtfully invested their lives. Video yourself and anyone else in your family saying two things:

1. The name of the person who you would like to thank.

2. A one sentence reason as to why you want to thank them.

So your video might sound like this: “Thank you Dave Lorenz for teaching me that true joy comes from knowing Jesus.”

Please send your video(s) to info@fccbrea.org so that they can be included in this very special video montage. We look forward to hearing about all the people that have shaped our church family!

Click here to watch last night’s family service and see a video message thanking all of our teachers.

-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church

Indian Head

This post first appeared in July of 2013 as a devotional from Barclay Press.

Bible Reading: Matthew 17:1-13

Another of my favorite hikes is found at Quaker Meadow Christian Camp. As a camp counselor, I loved to take a small group of students on this tough and strenuous hike early in the morning. Our goal: Get to the top of the granite mountain in time to watch the morning sunrise.

From the top of the mountain the views are amazing. Miles and miles of forest filled with pine trees and sequoias. In the early, predawn hours the only sounds you could hear was from the wildlife rustling through the bushes and trees or flying overhead. I enjoyed sharing this peaceful surrounding with this small group of students.

This peace is finally broken as the sun begins to appear, rising up through the trees in the distance. Shortly after sunrise, the camp bell rings, waking campers who are still sleeping. Within minutes, the valley below is filled once again with laughter from hundreds of young people. But nothing brought me greater joy than to be surrounded by students removed from the distractions of the world back home, experiencing God’s creation.

There is something magical and transformative about being in such a place, at that hour and with my special friends.

Prayer Suggestion: Pray for a spirit of transformation and a new, deeper understanding of peace and joy this week.

-Pastor Rick Ellis
Pastor at Friends Community Church

The Beatitudes, Part 1

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

— Matthew 5:3

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Photo by Lindley Webster

Click here to read the introduction to this series on the Beatitudes.

The New Living Translation reads, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” The first Beatitude, the first blessing spoken by Jesus, is the realization that we are in need of a Savior. We are poor in spirit; we must humble ourselves and come to Christ. And if we do act on our realization of needing a Savior, our blessing, stated in verse 3, is the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be blessed with eternity with our Heavenly Father. This thought is not new; Isaiah shared a very similar idea proclaiming God’s words for God’s people.

Isaiah 57:15 (NLT)

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
    the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
    with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
    and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

How do these words from the Old and New Testament encourage you? Do you understand your need for a Savior? What emotions do you feel knowing the kingdom of heaven is yours?

We live in a world that encourages selfishness, personal independence, and haughtiness. Jesus’ directive of being poor in spirit opposes the world’s view of self-sufficiency. No need for a Savior if we are expected to do it on our own. I must say, that is exhausting! James 4:7-10 shares practical ways to humbly follow Christ in a very selfish world.

Summarize James 4:7-10 in your own words. How do these verses help you realize a need for Christ and not a need to rely on yourself?

I pray that we are poor in spirit, not only today, but always!

-Pastor Darcy Webster
Associate Pastor of Operations and Pastoral Care