Game Changers | Fourth & Long
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
Galatians 2:10 NIV
In high school and junior high, I played football. In the glory days of youth there are many memories of sports moments that were “game changers.” One play could change the entire outcome of the game. I recall one game where we were behind and the coach called in an unusual play. It is called a “flea-flicker” pass. It was fourth down and long yards to get a first down. I threw the ball to my wide receiver and friend of mine named Tim. He pretended to run with it but instead stopped and then proceeded to stand still as everyone ran towards him. Meanwhile since the defense is focused on the wide receiver, I can sneak down field undetected. I ran as fast as I could and deep down the field as I could run. My friend Tim, at the last minute, planted his feet and threw the ball as far down the field as he could possibly throw. Somehow, in this crazy play, I was able to catch the ball and waltz into the end zone unscathed. The play was a “Game Changer”, as we went ahead in the score with only seconds left on the clock. We took a calculated risk but the payoff changed the game.
Caring for the poor is a game changer. It changes us from the inside out. It also changes those we share our resources with. It is a sacrifice of time and money to do local outreach like CROSSROADS. We make sandwiches for the homeless, and also bring food to schools through The Sheridan Story ministry to help kids who suffer from food scarcity. This last Saturday, I was at the Grocery Giveaway at CROSSROADS of Inver Grove Heights. I prayed with a woman who was struggling with medical bills. She was grateful for the food because her husband had his legs amputated recently and could not support the family any more. She shared with me that the groceries she took every month have helped her and her children tremendously. Our church has been a game changer in her life. The Apostle Paul challenges the Galatians to be “game changers” by remembering the poor and helping them. Paul himself collected many offerings to help widows and orphans who were struggling. It is a reminder for us to care for the least, the lost and the left behind. May we be game changers this week as we remember the poor. May we continue at CROSSROADS to reach out to the least, the lost and left behind.
In Christ’s Love and Service,
Pastor Paul
Game Changers | Free Agent Pickup
Questions To Consider:
- When you hear the phrase “child of God” what does that mean to you?
- What is your definition of adoption? How does one incorporate a non-biological son or daughter into the family?
- What is our inheritance as children of God?
Game Changers | #1 Draft Pick
UNPLUGGED
UNPLUGGED
One way to get “unplugged” is to try something new. Who doesn’t love a new beginning? So often, I look back on life and see the many new beginnings God has given me, and it reminds me of God’s persistent love. I have made so many mistakes in my life and yet God continues to shape me and mold me in the image of Christ. Many of us would like change to come to our lives, but if we are honest, we would prefer change to happen with a quick fix. For me, I have done many years of fad diets. They only work for a short period of time. To make lasting change, I had to change how I thought about food and exercise. “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”―Albert Einstein
Emotionally Healthy Christians – Pursuit of Happiness (Unhealthy Emotions)
“…and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.” Acts 26:3 NIV
Psychologists have discovered happiness accumulates. If we have a particularly happy day, it will boost our well-being over the next two days. If we have a particularly unhappy day, it carries over for the next 4 days! “Chronic Happiness” is defined as 3 happy days for every bad day. People who demonstrated chronic happiness were better physically in terms of stress responses, the immune system, and cardiovascular health. Talk about healthy emotions! Happy people are also more effective at their work. In a research study of physicians, physicians did better on diagnosis and treatment plans on their happier days, and had the best patient satisfaction scores. When we are happy, we make more quality decisions and exhibit more creativity! However, most of us don’t know what causes unhappiness and what fosters happiness! (By the way, clergy are no more or less happy than the population at large.)
The founders of our country drafted the Declaration of Independence so we could pursue happiness. This July 4th read the entire document. You may be surprised by what it contains. The most popular phrase is a reminder of how the original 13 Colonies wanted to be free to engage in, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Freedom was important to them.
Psychologists have learned happiness is often a matter of perspective and not actual events. Some people can suffer a great deal like the Apostle Paul did and still be happy. Psychologists believe you can even redeem a terrible day by ending the day on a high note. Paul was imprisoned and yet while in chains spent his evening praising God. He became shipwrecked and yet his pursuit of God allowed him to experience happiness in the midst of strife. May you be like Paul and allow God to bring happiness to your day. May you accumulate days of “Chronic Happiness,” so you may share your joy with others.
Questions To Consider:
1. How do you best experience “happiness? What activities make you happy? What people make you happy?
2. What do you do to bring happiness to others?
3. Would you say you are in a state of “Chronic Happiness?” Why or why not?
In Christ’s love and service,
Pastor Paul Marzahn
Emotionally Healthy Christians – Emotional Journey
Whether we realize it or not we are all on a spiritual journey. We move in and out of relationships with others. We move along the path of life also experiencing an emotional journey. Some would even call it a roller coaster of faith. Our spiritual and emotional journey goes through ups and downs, sharp curves and sudden stops. It is scary at times and sometimes unpredictable.
Saul (also known as Paul) had such a journey. He started out with a different name and job description. He went from persecuting Christians to becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Paul experiences extremes lows of being persecuted, jailed, stoned, and tortured. Throughout these mission trips, Paul suffered multiple beatings from opposing groups. In Lystra, he was stoned by a group of Jews so badly that they left him for dead. The Apostle Paul mysteriously alludes to “the marks of Jesus” on his body in Galatians 6:17. Some scholars believe he refers here to the scars left by this beatings. Paul experienced an emotional and spiritual roller coaster that eventually led to death. Paul (on the same day as St. Peter) paid the ultimate price for his Christian faith: martyrdom. He was beheaded outside the walls of Rome on June 29, 67 A.D.
Each of us experience an emotional and spiritual journey similar to the Apostle Paul. We may not have been tortured for our faith, but may have experienced times of persecution. We have also experienced extreme emotional highs and times of joy. Like Paul, we too are called to embrace the journey and realize God is with us. God is with us in our joys and in our sorrows. God is with us in all we do. May we live our lives in a way that glorifies God in the journey. Questions To Consider:
- Describe one of your favorite journeys when you were younger? More recently?
- What are some of your spiritual highs and spiritual lows?
- Have you ever suffered because of your faith? Why or why not?
Emotionally Healthy Christians – Social Awareness
- Practice listening to family members, friends, and fellow employees without interrupting them.
- Observe those around us and try to gauge how they might be feeling.
- Seek first to understand then be understood.
- To communicate our empathy we should keep our body language open and regulate our voice to show our sincerity.
Questions To Consider:
- Why do you think there were tensions in the early church between Jews and Gentiles? How were they resolved?
- What are some tensions in the church today? How do you feel they can best be resolved?
- On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate yourself on social awareness?
- Of the four tips for growth, which one would you like to work on this week?
Fathers Day
“So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, ‘Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.’” Genesis 27:27 NIV
The study reports:
- If both father and mother attend regularly, 33 percent of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41 percent will end up attending irregularly. Only a quarter of their children will end up not practicing at all.
- If the father is irregular and mother regular, only 3 percent of the children will subsequently become regulars themselves, while a further 59 percent will become irregulars. Thirty-eight percent will be lost.
- If the father is non-practicing and mother regular, only 2 percent of children will become regular worshippers, and 37 percent will attend irregularly. Over 60 percent of their children will be lost completely to the church!
Pastor Paul Marzahn
Emotionally Healthy Christians – Self Management
- Would you consider yourself an emotionally mature person? Why or why not?
- When is a time when you “lost it” emotionally and lashed out at others? What triggered the event?
- How do you allow the Holy Spirit to control your thoughts and speech?
- What are you currently focusing on in your faith to become more emotionally secure?
Pastor Paul Marzahn