Lake Tapps Christian Church

The challenge with living obediently everyday is that it's everyday. If you like following rules, daily obedience can bring comfort like auto-pilot or cruise control. If you're not into rules, daily obedience can seem inconsequential, after all it's the big picture we're after. Is my daily obedience really that important? Today in the story of Ruth we see two things paired strongly together: obedience and love. We discover that because God is love our obedience is risky. Everyday obedience is engaging, active, requires us to keep on our toes.

Our limits direct us, but they don't define us. We are given a lead role in God's mission. Today the hero of our story is a woman. Not just a woman, but one with severe limitations. She's a widow, she's barren and she's a foreigner. The interesting thing is that even though the odds are stacked against her she is not a charity case. Yes, God meets her need and He also asks her to contribute. We all have limits and we all have a lead role in God's mission. Today we learn that our limits don't define us, they direct us. Welcome to the story of Ruth.

Everyday things are typical, ordinary and not that impressive. Most of us put our lives in this category. Today we focus on a family that makes some good choices and some bad ones. The crazy thing is that God is with them through it all. When the bad choices turn to good ones God is ready to offer life and hope and love. God's doing big things with my everyday things.

We like to endure with sports not with people. Enduring a relationship feels like a lot of work. Even so, Jesus doesn't back off, instead He calls us to connect for the long haul. Today we discover how to endure the tension we have with others. The nice thing is that we don't have to fix our friends instead we're instructed to build them up. When I build others up I find joy in helping, I find joy in blessing them. And sometimes we even begin to see a difference in their life. One of the reasons why I think Jesus says to focus on building each other up, because when you build up it’s harder to give up.

Today we're focusing on the tension in the church caused by growth. When one groups knows the answers and another group doesn't you'd think they'd be perfect for each other. What we find is the 'know it alls' struggle with forcing answers on the newbie's. The newbie's feel the pressure to fit in even if they don't believe in what they're doing. It's created a huge division. The interesting thing is that Paul says the the newbies will keep learning, and the 'know it all's' don't actually know it all, they need to grow in this one area. Check this out.

Today we’re discussing how small things, can become big things, which can distract us from the main thing. Our opinions and preferences can start small, but can turn into issues that distract us from living our best lives. Scriptures tell us our best lives are a life of walking in love and serving Christ. When we live that way, we will be pleasing to God and accepted with human approval which in turn is us living our best lives.

Today we're tackling a topic that is the source of great tension. One of the challenges with faith is that it stirs up deep conviction within us. Sometimes our convictions aren't in agreement with others, even those who go to the same church. Last week we learned that we won't sin by how we handle non-sin. Today we learn how to love others in the church even when our strong convictions don't line up.

Today we’re beginning a series called Living Well in the Tension. There are differences in the church that have created a chasm between believers. They're not differences of opinion on the important stuff like God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and the Bible. The divisions come from issues like where you live or what you do, or how you vote or how your kids behave. We create separation, give each other the cold shoulder and keep our greetings short and sweet. When it comes to church our one of greatest sins is focusing on non-sin.

It's tough to know how to handle our social responsibility as Christians. There is so much need it can be hard to know where to start. When you couple this with the fact that most of our responses won't solve the problem--we are stuck. Today we find encouragement from the first century believers, they had a plan for unsolvable persistent problems and it works for us today.

Yes it is true that Jesus called us to “go” and some are able to jump up and head off to anywhere on the planet while others feel pretty glued down. Are we supposed to feel guilty about this? Naw…we are supposed to realize the journey of a life time begins with a step and is lived out one step at a time, with interruptions and detours galore! For some the “go” means a great distance, for some it is just across the room…and that is okay. One step at a time as God leads us on a path of getting to know Him better and working in us developing our story. Can we learn to tell our story without being worried? Can we “go” and be excited about what God has done in our lives? Absolutely!

We often hear “serve” at church and immediately think of stacking chairs or teaching Sunday School…fear not…to “serve” is so much different. We are all called to serve and it might surprise some to find out that while we are called to serve our families, our friends, our coworkers, our community…sometimes we have to serve ourselves first! The idea of serving should never come from a place of feeling guilty or a position of needing to be needed but rather a place in response to what God has done for us and in relations to how the Spirit is moving in us today! What does a new heart move us towards?

Justice is one of those things that I feel in my heart and think in my head. I love the idea of fixing what is broken of making wrong things right. I long to be a part of a God sized movement of justice. Thanks to Amos, today we discover why justice has a hard time gaining traction in our lives, our church and our culture.

Chalk it up to coincidence or luck if you want, but we think there’s something bigger going on when the impossible happens. Are you searching for hope? Are you waiting for a miracle in your life? Today might just be the day When Pigs Fly.

Chalk it up to coincidence or luck if you want, but we think there’s something bigger going on when the impossible happens. Are you searching for hope? Are you waiting for a miracle in your life? Today might just be the day When Pigs Fly.