10 Minutes This Morning

How to be used by God

2009-10-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

1) Start where you are, with family and with friends whom you already know.

2) Be yourself with them. Don't think you have to be like anyone else to be effective in helping people discover the love of Jesus.

3) Include them in your interests and hobbies, building and deepening your relationship in the process. You are more "alive" when you're doing things you like to do.

4) Do other things together, cultivating intentional friendships with those who haven't yet experienced the personal love and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ.

5) Pray for those people regularly by name, and look for their needs in terms of transcendence, significance, and community.

6) Find a way to genuinely serve them. Reach them through their hearts more than through their heads.

7) Be especially prayerful and available when they face tough times, knowing that as people face crises they often turn to balanced, spiritually centered, trusted friends.

8) Respond with "I care" statements and actions. Make sure your actions speak louder than words.

9) Ask leading questions rather than telling them answers. Remember that most people prefer to discover the truth themselves.

10) Invite them to make a step toward God. Ask them what God is teaching them. Ask them how they would like you to pray for them.

CRITICAL Monday Morning Letter from John

2009-08-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry about having to use the word critical, but I needed to get your attention. Most of the time critical message means "real" problems. By "real" the world usually means physical or financial, rarely is critical used to speak of spiritual problems. Today I want to invite each one of you to our upcoming Wednesday night classes. Known as F3 (Food, Fellowship and Feasting on the Word). The evening starts with a meal at 5:45 followed by classes for all ages. The following letter describes the series of lessons I will be teaching to the adults. Be sure to not miss this opportunity to get to know your church family and to enjoy a mid-week spiritual lift.

God bless,

John

F3 will be starting on Wednesday, September 2nd! Looking forward to seeing you there! Please read letter below...

Growth Doesn’t Just Happen!

One of the greatest fallacies in Christianity is that growth is automatic. Each one of us probably knows someone who started out their faith on fire only to see them slowly slip back into their old way of life. This phenomenon is not a new one or unfortunately not that unusual. Paul sites many of his own number that “shipwrecked their faith” (I Timothy 1:19-20). He also warns the Ephesian elders to “keep watch over themselves” and “even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth” (Acts 20:28, 30). Paul himself tells us that he battles daily the temptations of sin (Romans 7:14-20).

We would be greatly mistaken to think that, “I’m alright just where I am in my relationship with the Lord.” Everyone one of us has areas of our life that God needs to transform into Christlikeness. Becoming like Christ is Spiritual Maturity. Becoming a mature church is becoming a church full of mature Christians. It doesn’t happen with great programs, music or preaching, but with each one of us admitting our shortcomings and surrendering ourselves daily to God’s will for our lives.

We can begin to list the common areas of struggle in our lives: marriages, parenthood, personal relationships, finances, depression, disappointment with God, church, or even self. These are all symptoms of a greater problem; a lack of connection with God. Overcoming our personal struggles and separation from God isn’t easy and won’t be solved by a class, series of sermons or just old will-power.

However, there is hope! Jesus came to give us life back and life to its fullest; the key ingredient to having a fulfilled life is a personal connection with Him and with a community of believers devoted to fulfilling His will, the church. This is why the leadership has decided to start from ground zero re-establishing Biblical teaching and direction for this body. A series of classes designed to lead us in this direction will begin with Wednesday evening classes, September 2^nd and following a great meal at 5:45pm all adults will meet in the auditorium for a series of classes on:

Discovering Church Membership

What does it really mean to be a biblical Christian?

What does it really mean to be a part of a local church?

Why do we do what we do the way we do?

These classes will be followed by:

Discovering Spiritual Maturity

What is spiritual maturity?

Is there anything I can do to get out of my desert of spiritual dryness?

Can my faith be a dynamic, powerful faith that inspires me to love, serve and follow Christ no matter the cost?

These classes aren’t a guarantee, by they can be a spiritual GPS to get you started this body of believers and you individually on the path God has purposed for you.

*** Come prayed up, fired up, and mainly just show up for this exciting time at BFCC!***

Home from France

2009-08-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

It is so great being back with all of you, I really have enjoyed the last two Sundays, especially worshiping and preaching in English. Sometime soon we will have an evening and share many of the events of this summer's mission trip. The trip was a success. Romuald is a young man with a great heart and a great desire to learn. We enjoyed our time in class together and I will continue to work with him via the internet. I also taught the book of Acts to the church this summer, however, we didn't finish the book. I will continue teaching the class on Sunday afternoon via Skype. This morning I connected with the Poitiers church, so we will have live video and audio. The class will be entirely in French, if anyone would like to attend please contact me.

Being in France for the summer also helped me realize how easy it is to forget the simple things in life. Maybe it was because of limited resources, or limited speech (even a fluent speaker is still recognizable as a foreigner). Whatever the case, I really didn't miss much except my family, friends and worshiping with the church here. That is the reason I've been sharing about simplicity. Much of my life is filled with things at the time seem so important, but in reality don't effect the my life that much. God's Word confirms this outlook on life as we saw two weeks ago. This last Sunday I address the simplicity of God's will for His church. I would like to challenge each of you to review the following scriptures and commit yourself to discovering God's role for you in this body of believers. Whether you are a long-time member, new member or just began attending, if you are willing to serve in a ministry to help us fulfill God's commission you are welcome to contact anyone in the leadership. If you don't know where to start email me at bethalto.pastor@gmail.com. Here is a summary of yesterday's sermon's notes.

May God bless and a hope to see you soon,

John

Z thinking is God's ultimate desire for mankind.

I Timothy 2:1-4

2 Peter 3:1-9

Church is the vehicle through which God wants to fulfill His will

Eph. 3:10

Each of us needs to commit ourselves to:

Prayer

Love and Unity

Unity does not come from consensus or compromise but uniquely from connection.

Connection to God and thus connection to one another

John 17:21,23

Vision-Seeing people and the world the way God does.

Evangelism Show and Tell show them transformed lives and tell the who did it.

Luke 6:46 LOOK it up!

Shake the Walls now!

2009-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great Sunday, I want to really send a thanks out
to the worship team for adjusting at the last minute to our typical
Sunday services. I pray that you were as blessed as I was from a
little departure from the "normal" Sunday format. I really believe
that we often miss the blessings of God because of our neglect of
prayer. In James 4:1-3, James writes,

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from
your desires that battle within you?
You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you
cannot have what you want.
You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask
God. When you ask, you do not receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you
get on your pleasures."

Prayer is not a way of getting what we desire, but a means to
align ourselves with what God desires. As I challenged myself and all
of you yesterday, please set a alarm at noon or some other convenient
time to stop and spend five minutes in prayer with God. It is
necessary for spiritual growth to develop habits that help you
fellowship with God in a very personal way, that is why I suggest a
daily time in His Word, if you don't know where to start try the
gospel of John or the book of James. Some of you might be drawn to
David's prayers in the book of Psalms. I'll be praying that God with
give you the commitment and resolve to develop these healthy habits.

Please drop me a quick email if you would like
(bethalto.pastor@gmail.com) to share how God is working in your life.
(Let me know if it is alright to share your testimony with others).

The doorway to Faith

2008-07-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

Faith is the doorway

I’ve always been fascinated with the unknown. I love the movies, stories and the experiences that deal with the mysterious. What is on the other side of the door? Even as a kid I would imagine the woods as an undiscovered land full of mystery. Recently in a historical drive back from California on the Route 66 trail it wasn’t the nostalgic roadside stops, but wondering, “What is behind that mesa?” that got my blood pumping.

I guess that is what is so exciting about this “living by faith” thing. Knowing the Master of the universe who loved me and died for me has this great plan for my life. What can be a bigger thrill that waking up trusting that God has this incredible plan for your day.

For those of you who don’t care about what is “behind the mesa” or must get through your day “ticking off the check list” that is great! Just remind yourself to invite Him in to the planning session for the day. Either way God desires you to be involved in His daily planner. One thing I’m learning through life and especially through this series of sermons on Hebrews 11 is that God doesn’t want our lives to look the same, but He wants us all to live by faith.

Thanks for being an awesome body of Christ to learn, grow and minister with. It was a great night of VBS, everyone looked terrific. I know many kids felt Christ’s love through you, no one can ever take that from them.

God bless and I’ll see many of you tonight,

John

July 13th Sermon Summary
Hebrews 11:4

Abel’s faith was a doorway from religion to righteousness
Abel’s faith was a doorway from continuing status quo to challenging it
Let God’s Word challenge your status quo, remember faith is belieiving God’s word and regulating your life accordingly

Living By Faith

2008-07-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Living by Faith

Yesterday we began to look at one of the New Testament's greatest chapters Hebrews 11. Throughout the letter of Hebrews we have seen the superiority of Jesus to the old Jewish covenant. The author is trying to encourage the readers not to give up or settle for a lesser faith. In chapter 11 he shows how God has always been pleased by those who put their trust in Him.

As we go through this chapter we will see that those who live for God on this earth are radically changed, they are not just "religious" people. Much of our culture has grown calloused to the gospel or have a clouded view of Christianity due to the lack of examples of people living by faith. That is why these messages are important, we are to be those examples. Never underestimate the power of a brief encounter, a kind act, or a helpful hand. Living by faith is seldom the great deed or immeasurable sacrifice, but having a new perspective on life's daily events.

We are seeing God do great things in our body because you are living out your faith. Your families, friends and neighbors are taking notice of how your faith is transforming your life. In doing so they are being presented the power of the gospel. We can go on and on with the facts, philosophies and historicity of the gospel, but no one can argue with a transformed life. As we looked in Hebrews 10, we can take some very practical steps to help us grow in our faith.

(from verses 22-25)

- draw near to God-take some time to be alone with Him

- make Him your anchor-our lives are governed by His truth and will not our emotions

- encourage others-remember God wants to use you to build up others, putting self last is the
cure for selfishness

- don't neglect the body- we have a tremendous church family, be sure to stay connected in worship and in our new Sunday School classes.

The relationships formed will strengthen your faith.

Thanks for being a blessing, John

Reflections on Life, death, and 90 Minutes in Heaven

2008-04-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have used this blog to write. Life is very busy and tonight I cannot sleep. Most of you at BFCC are familiar with all the circumstances surrounding several of our members. Pat Tierney is now on hospice and we have several others being treated for cancer. I am greatly humbled by Pat and Brenda's faith and strength, as well as, that of all of those within our body who are suffering. Visiting with Pat and Brenda last evening (Thursday April 3) I found myself so limited on what to say. However, I was reminded of the passage of scripture in Hebrews "Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured the cross" (ch. 12). Pat and his family know that heaven is that joy that we all are created to enjoy eternally with Christ. God certainly has the power to miraculously heal, but all healing is temporary. By faith in Christ and through his grace we have confidence when facing our own mortality. I thank God we have heaven and the presence of Christ awaiting each of us.

On the subject of heaven, I must address the issue of Don Piper's book 90 Minutes in Heaven. I know it is a best seller and I don't want to question Mr. Piper's sincerity, but as a teacher and student of God's Word and as a leader of this congregation I am compelled to put the claims to this book about heaven in context of God's inspired word. No one can argue with experience, but my experience and that of others must align with God's Word.

What is great about 90 minutes in heaven is that it reveals our world's thirst for answers to life after death. The popularity comes from the question, "What happens after I die?". Many people are reading this book hoping to find answers, hopefully we can use this book to relate to them the good news of Jesus Christ. Mr. Piper also clearly states his faith in Christ as the source of salvation, rather than many movies and books in our culture that speak in generalities about faith and being a good person.

However, the limited description of heaven in 90 minutes, does not resemble that of the three inspired views of heaven that we have in the New Testament. (Stephen, Paul and John) Don Piper's description is more reflective of our modern cultural view of the afterlife than of the Biblical view of heaven.

Here is one apt summary:

"Piper’s heaven was a place of reunion with loved ones, a place of beautiful music and a place of literal pearl (or “pearlescent”) gates and literal streets of gold. It is a heaven that can be so easily described to a human mind using mere human words, as if it had originated in a human mind. Piper is able to describe it in some detail, but what he presents is surely far too human to be heaven."

Callies.com book review

It seems (I have read only excerpts of the book) that little is mentioned of Christ in these 90 minutes, whereas the Biblical descriptions are completely based on the presence of God. The reason I write this is to encourage all of us to be biblical-minded readers of this very experience oriented book. Our faith is based on the Word of God and not only on experience. We must not get caught in the rapture of experience as the basis for our faith. God works daily in our lives that is not a question, but be careful not to fall into believing for believing sake. Heaven is beyond are comprehension, what we can know and need to know is clearly revealed in Scripture. We must be rely on Scripture to interpret our experiences, not allow any experience to reinterpret Scripture.

We live in a time of experience and feeling, therefore we all must be vigilant to study Scripture to effectively live, experience and teach others how to know God and enjoy a life and relationship with Jesus Christ. I am extremely thankful for so many in this body who are no only witnessing to others about Jesus Christ, but praying for and ministering to others who are hurting in this body. Thanks for all you are doing in His name!

May God bless,

John

Illinois weather like life

2008-03-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon I was on my bike enjoying a windy yet sunny ride around town. It was close to 80 degrees. Two days later I was slipping and sliding blindly through the hospital parking lot during a snowstorm. It was an incredible two days of rollercoaster weather.

Sometimes our lives are like this weather pattern. We experience incredible moments when we see God doing great things, then the storm comes. What can we learn? Good question!

First, we can't really do much about the weather, just like so many things are out of our control. However, the same God who is sovereign over the sun, is in control of every facet of our lives. He guarantees us that nothing will given to us that we cannot handle. That in the end is more than a rainbow, there is an hope and peace after the storm.

Secondly, we are strengthened through the storm. Our enjoyment of the good days, allows us to experience God's grace, yet is during the storm that our faith is grown. It is in the midst of the trial that we are purified and prepared for greater service to Him. This is why the author of Hebrews tells us, "We are not of those who shrink back and are destoryed, but those who believe and are saved." (Hebrews 10:39)

No matter whether you are enjoying the sunshine or wading through the storm we are getting ready to celebrate His resurrection. I want to encourage you to take the time and make the effort to turn your hearts and minds to our risen Lord as we remember the great hope we have because He lives.

We have several events and activities to help us share in this celebration:

1. Palm Sunday is Friend Day. Be thinking and praying for your friend who doesn't have a church home. On March 16th we want to give you the opportunity to invite someone to attend with you so they can experience God's love and joy with us.

2. Palm Sunday evening is going to be a great time to enjoy our Easter program. Mitzi Fuguitt has been organizing this program with some of our talented students and adults. I'm sure it will be uplifting and entertaining. Bring your family and your favorite dessert to enjoy with others after the show.

3. This Easter Sunday we will have a special prayer time at 7:00am followed by breakfast at 7:30. Several of the guys here have volunteered or been volunteered to help cook a great breakfast. If possible plan on attending the 9am service, because we are certain to have a crowd at the 10:30 service.

Plan now to take advantage of all these activities to celebrate with your church family!

May God bless,

John

PS Remember this Saturday to spring forward one hour!!

Stay The Course!

2008-02-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

We aren't sailing on a peaceful sea, but trying navigate through an ocean filled with dangerous and faith-killing obstacles. Therefore, we don't get sloppy in our faith, but pay attention.

Last Sunday we looked at the following passage:

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Hebrews 2:1-4

No one every wakes up and says, "I think I'll throw my faith away today!". It is a slow and often unnoticed slipping away that ends in a hard heart containing a dead faith. The book of Hebrews was written to people like us, believers and followers of Christ who can easily drift away. This passage is the first of five warnings to us. Drifting causes doubt, doubt produces a dullness towards the Word, dullness leads to despising and ultimately this despising changes to defying the Word. It begins when we drift away from the basics of our faith. The key is keeping our eyes, thoughts and lives focused on Jesus Christ. We can practically do this daily by reading His Word, real communication through prayer, and acknowledging His glory in worship.

I encourage all of us, especially those who have been in the faith awhile, don't get sloppy. No one is above silently slipping in a ritualistic faith rather than holding fast and paying attention the real faith in Jesus Christ. Take some time, evaluate, mediate, and deliberate (just had to have 3!!) and STAY THE COURSE.

God bless,

John

Does our company determine our character?

2008-02-13T03:41:00.000-08:00

Good Morning,

Tonight's study will begin a section of Acts that deals with some specific examples of how the early church dealt with persecution from the outside, pollution from within, and politics in the body of believers.

However, my favorite verses in these chapters come from chapter 4, "They took note that they had been with Jesus." What stood out to the religious leaders was the fact that these men (Peter and John) reminded them of Jesus.

Ever notice how easy it is to be negative around negative people or how you can just slide into being positive in a positive group? Of course, we are all human! Time with the Lord, time in His Word will effect you. In Hebrews 4 we are reminded the the Word is living and active, spend time with Him and people will notice.

God bless,

John

What is attractive about our lives?

2008-02-12T10:40:00.001-08:00

I often joke with Laura that it was my wit and timing that won her heart. As we face the onslaught of the commericialization of Valentine's day, let's challenge ourselves to think about the attractiveness of our lives. There will always be someone more witty, with better timing, more beautiful, handsome, winsome, more humility, more confidence than ourselves. This is why we must turn to Jesus. Having His presence in our lives trumps any personality trait or self-accomplishment we could imagine.

"People may view the church as irrelevant, but when they get down to who Jesus is they usually show more interest." -Warren Bird in Lost in America

A church or a person filled with the spirit of Christ will attract attention and because they are filled with Christ's spirit they will reflect this attention to His glory. This is why we are going to spend the next several Sunday mornings looking at the book of Hebrews. This letter/essay was written to those who had accepted Jesus as Lord, but like ourselves, had some doubts about their decision. This series of sermons will hopefully let us see the glory of Jesus Christ and better reflect that glory in our lives.

This will be a great time to invite friends, doubters, and others who are looking for a real picture of who Jesus is not merely religious jargon about Him.

May God bless,

John

Great thought from last night's study!

2008-02-07T02:05:00.000-08:00

Last night we looked at Acts chapter 3. In verse 19 Peter tells the crowd, "Repent and turn to God..." That word repent had already been used in Acts and it will continue to be used in the presentation of the Gospel to the return of Christ. However, "Turn to God" is interesting, considering the context. Remember Peter is in the temple area, people who were there to worship, pray and fulfill what they believed God was calling them to. Yet, with all their religious activity they still needed to "turn to God". A valuable lesson and thought for us today. I believe it is a healthy process to evaluate the reason or our motivation for all our activity, even religious activity. Is my walk with the Lord more about pious activity or is my life a reflection of the transforming grace poured upon me because I have turned to God? I appreciate thoughts given to me such as this and ask that you let me know what you think or if God speaks to you through His Word today.
May God bless,
John

Acts study picking up steam!

2008-02-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well after about 5 days of sickness and fever I'm planning on teaching tonight. We will be looking at Acts 3 and preparing for some very pivotal chapters. In chapters 4-6 we will see how Satan tried to destory the work of the early church through persection, pollution and politics. (Three "P's") However we want to say it I believe we are all learning the value of seeing how the early church acted and reacted to attacks. They prayed for strength, wisdom and courage to boldly preach and teach the gospel. I pray that we can be that type of church, in doing so we too will see God do amazing things in our lives. So bring an appetite at 5:30 and be ready to dig into God's Word at 6:30 every Wednesday. I also want to say "Way to Go!" to all of you who are bringing your friends out to enjoy our studies together. Truly you are an inspiring group of believers!

See You Tonight,

John

Why have a blog?

2008-01-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

The message is universal and unchanging, but the methods are always changing. That is why this blog. The is a great communication tool and accountability device. I preached on Sunday the 20th about setting the alarm clock up ten minutes and starting your day with the Word and prayer. If you would like to check out this blog, I will be trying to post a thought each morning starting Feb. 4th, the day we get internet at our house. This is a great tool to share "virtually" our thoughts and prayers with each other on a daily basis. Our website bethaltofcc.com is already linked to this spot. Marking bethaltofcc.com as a favorite will also allow you to keep up with all the activities and events this body is doing to help "make heaven a crowded place."

May God bless,

John

A new habit

2008-01-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

We started a new sermon series today entitled "5 Habits that allow God's grace to transform our lives." Today's sermon emphasized the need to establish good habits. The first one mentioned was to "Buy an alarm clock." This helps to establish the Principle of Priority. If you're reading this in the morning, I hope that means you set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier.