To any of you that follow my blog and use Apple’s iTunes, we are now podcasting E3′s sermons on iTunes. So if you want to follow the preaching here or make sure I’m not a heretic 
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Here is the link for iTunes: (East End Ecclesia podcast)
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Ok so I have to post a few pics of my new baby boy, Malachi Daniel. Malachi was born Monday Nov 2nd. Both Coleen and the baby are doing great. I’m so blessed to have 2 happy healthy little boys.
Just born, Malachi looking up at his proud mommy
Malachi snuggled up on the Hospital bed
Malachi and his big brother
Judah is a proud big brother
In the past I began recieving tons of spam comments. Due to this I changed the settings to require anyone who wants to make a comment to be registered. But since then no one has commented. Now this could mean no one is reading this blog. But it could be because no one could comment. So I’ve opened up the comments and you no longer need to be registered in order to post a comment. So comment away (if anyone out there is actually reading
A fairly prominent claim found throughout scripture is the reality that Jesus is Judge and will return in judgment. Now you would never know that this was a prominent claim by looking at popular Christianity in the west today. But if you skim through the scriptures or read any of the Church fathers you would find that the return of Christ in judgement is central to the Christian hope.
I think in the church today we often shy away from talking about the judgment of God because we don’t completely understand what this means. Naturally we love the concept of the mercy of God, we love the idea of God’s awesome love, but we don’t seem to have the same zeal for God’s judgment. Well there may be some fundamentalist Christians that seem to have zeal for God’s judgement, but I think their zeal may be wrongfully directed. The idea that Jesus is judge and is coming back in judgment is connected to the biblical hope of God coming to restore His kingdom over all creation. When the scriptures say that God is to judge it means that God is going to “put things to right.” Many in my generation love to talk about “Social Justice”. Which is a good thing. But what they are so often missing is that you cannot have “justice” without “judgment”. To seek justice is to infer injustice. Which means that something is wrong and that wrong needs to be made right. When we see such things as child sex trade, genocide, and events such as the Holocaust. No one sits by saying, “it is a shame these things are occurring but we don’t want anyone to be judged.” No we want to see justice, which also means we want to see judgment. As I walk the streets of my city, every day I’m reminded how jacked up things are. And just in case you haven’t left your house for a while, things are not ok in our world. The good news is that the risen messiah of God is not going to sit by, allowing things to continue as they are. No He is coming back as Judge, restoring order and justice to His creation. He is coming back to restore all things to their original intent. The coming judgment of God gives us hope knowing that the evil we see in our world today is not just a hopeless reality of life, but a perversion of God’s created order that will one day be dealt with bringing restoration.
Now it is easy for me to point out the most horrific realities of human history or to rejoice in the coming judgment against the systemic evil in the world. But it is another thing when I begin to include myself as part of the system. Now I know that this may shock most of you, but I’m not perfect Actually I’m pretty jacked up. There are aspects of myself that disgust me. I don’t want to be left as I am. But I have good news, God is judging me. The difference is that I’m being judged in light of the atonement paid by Christ on the cross. God is not going to leave me as I am, no, he is putting me to right. But instead of being condemned as part of the false system that is going to be destroyed, I’m being restored by the one who is both Judge and Savior. The way I see it, is that through the offer of Grace given to us by Christ we are allowed to “Repent” or “Return” turning from the corrupt system of the world escaping the coming judgment that will come upon all creation. Yes we all are judged, but if Christ really did pay our punishment on the cross, those who accept His offer are judged without having to face the consequence of our turning from our creator.Their is judgment without punishment because the punishment has been paid.
So as I look at the insecurities, the hidden evil, the horrible thoughts, and all the other things that I so much dislike within me. I can have hope knowing that the one who has rescued me from eternal serperation from God is also the one who is judging me (putting me to right) with grace. As I walk the streets seeing all of the perversion, violence, and injustice surrounding me, I can proclaim a message of hope because we have a God that is not going to sit idley by. No we have a God who is the great Judge and will vindicate His people and restore His creation.
o 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the
devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly places.
o It is critical to remember that our ultimate enemy is not physical, but spiritual. This is something
that has become quite real over the past year in preparation to plant East End Ecclesia. Sure we
have faced many physical setbacks and trials as we press on toward the mission set before us,
but the greatest trials we have faced have not been physical, but have been spiritual attacks.
Though the attacks of Satan that we have faced have been hard at times, there is also a bit of
encouragement found in these attacks. The reality is, Satan is not God. He is not omnipotent or
omnipresent, and he is limited in his resources. So if he is using his resources to attack you, he
isn’t using those resources somewhere else. So in other words Satan will not waste his time
with you unless you are a threat. So even though I have seen many attacks coming from the
enemy, I’m encouraged because this means what we are doing is a threat to the enemy. With
all that being said, the frequency and amount of attacks have been taxing. There have been
many days in which I have been left worn out, beat up, and ready to quit. There have been days
in which all I could do is drop to my knees and ask God for the strength to endure and seek
Christ for protection from the enemy.
o Today pray against the attacks of the enemy. Pray that God would provide protection for all of
those involved with this new church, along with those who will come along side of us as
leaders. I ask that you would please pray also for my family, that Judah would be protected, and
that Coleen and my marriage would be guarded from the attacks of the enemy. Pray that we
would not be discouraged by the attacks that will come, but be encouraged to press forward
giving no credence to the enemy.
o Paraphrase: Lord protect us from temptation and deception and keep us pure in the midst of the evil around us. o Focus 5 days praying that God would protect us from sin and compromise, as we establish East End Ecclesia.
o 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
o There seems to be 2 common responses to culture when it comes to the church. The first is a response of retreat. These are the churches that say that the world is so evil we must separate from it in order to remain pure. These churches often refuse to go to secular establishments, refuse to have non Christian friends, and often create a parallel “Christian” culture so that they will not have to involve themselves with the messy secular culture around them. This response has an appearance of wisdom, but it forgets that God has not just called us to be holy, but also to be on mission. The other error in this response is that it places trust in the external environment of the individual as the primary source of sanctification, instead of the internal work of the Holy Spirit. In other words by their actions they are saying that it is your environment that makes you Holy, not the work of God within you. On the other hand some churches respond to culture with a mentality of compromise. These are the churches that often say that we need to relate to the secular world in order to reach the world. In some ways this is true, but often for the sake of being “accepted” by the surrounding culture they accept many of the fallen aspects of the surrounding culture. In the effort to “connect” with the world they begin to “conform” or resemble the fallen world around them. This verse is part of a larger prayer that Christ prays for His disciples. In this part of the prayer Jesus is praying that we would not be separatists, yet also that we would not be conformists. In other words we are to be like Christ, who did not remain distant but instead came into the fallen world walking among fallen men. Though Christ “incarnated” or came into fallen human culture, He also remained pure, reflecting God’s perfect will “within” the culture of His day. o Today pray that we would not retreat from the messiness of our city. Pray also that while in the midst of the fallen culture we would remain distinct, reflecting God’s intentions not the city’s perversions.
o 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare
the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – 4 that I may make it clear, which is
how I ought to speak.
o This plea that Paul makes to the church of Colossians, I ask of you also. As I walk the streets of
the East End I’m often overwhelmed by the need I see in this area, the sheer number of people
living separated from God. I’m also burdened knowing that without God opening up
opportunities to preach and share the Gospel, I will be left with this message to proclaim and
no opportunity to proclaim it.
o Today pray that God would begin opening up doors for His word to be declared. Pray that we
will have opportunities to share the Gospel with people in the East End. Also pray that God
would establish this Church as an avenue to preach His Word and have it heard by the masses.
o 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on
the last day.
o Salvation belongs to the Lord. We can save no one; it is only God who can save. We are just
God’s chosen vehicles who He will use to proclaim salvation to those whom He will save. It is
the Spirit that draws upon the hearts of men, it is the Spirit that brings conviction, and it is we
who are to proclaim the Gospel to those whom the Spirit is drawing. We can preach all that we
want and do all the evangelism humanly possible, but unless the Spirit is moving in the hearts
of men and women, no one will be saved.
o Today pray that God would begin drawing men and women unto Himself in the East End of
Pittsburgh. Pray that the Spirit would be poured out over the city of Pittsburgh so that many
would be prepared to receive the Good News of our Lord Jesus.
o Paraphrase: Lord grant us forgiveness and repentance to be restored back to You,
and enable us to reflect and proclaim the forgiveness found in You to those
around us.
o Focus 9 days praying for forgiveness and closer communion with Him and for
opportunity to proclaim the salvation found in Christ.
o 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the
new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us
the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you
on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
o This is such a rich and powerful passage of Scripture. Within these verses Paul is both making a
plea to the believer to realize the fullness of our redemption in Christ, yet also calling us to
realize the responsibility of mission to those who are redeemed. We are given the ministry of
proclaiming the reconciliation found in Christ because we have first been reconciled back to
Him. It is so critical that we do not miss the first part of Paul’s argument. We are called to
proclaim that which we have experienced. It is so easy to get consumed with the mission of
proclaiming the restored communion with God found in Christ while neglecting our own
communion with God. I’ve heard it said that “if we preach what we have not experienced, then
all were doing is spreading rumors.” All too often we can fall into the trap of preaching about
the life changing relationship with God found in Christ, while our own lives remain unchanged
because we have neglected our relationship with Christ. Our mission to proclaim the Gospel in
the city of Pittsburgh will be left superficial, a mere “spreading of rumors” unless it is born out
of a deep and passionate relationship with the Creator.
o Today please pray that we will never lose sight of Whom we are serving because of a wrong
focus on what we are doing. Pray that our resolve for mission would grow out of a growing
intimacy with Christ. Pray that the transformative Gospel that I seek to proclaim would be
visibly seen in the transformation occurring within my own life. Pray that those who are serving
up here would not find their identity in what they do, but in the God they serve. Pray that today
we would all be reminded of the sacrifice Christ made for us, that we may be reminded of God’s
gracious love, and in these we would be motivated to share with the world what we have
encountered in Christ.
o In this passage, Jesus sends out His disciples in teams of two to go into the different cities to
proclaim the coming Kingdom. As Jesus sends out the disciples He tells them to find “people of
peace” to reside with and base their ministry from. This idea of finding “people of peace” is a
common practice among international missionaries, but it is also critical for us as we seek to
build the church in Pittsburgh. If we are to truly reach the lost within the multiple “tribes” of
the East End, we need to find people of peace within each tribe so that we can begin to reach
into the social networks in this area. Though we need equipped leaders to help carry the load of
ministering to those within this city, we will also need to connect with the “street” leaders
within the East End if we are to truly reach the city for Christ.
o Today pray that God would have “people of peace” within each of the different sub cultures of
the East End. Pray that He would connect us with these people of peace and that as we
encounter these people, they would be prepared to receive the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Pray
that we would have the discernment and boldness to go out and find the people of peace that
God has prepared.