Core vs. Cultural

“Every Change gives you an opportunity to distinguish between what is Core and what is Cultural.”

I heard this quote at a conference in Cincinnati recently and it got me thinking: What do I believe is changeable? Where is the line of distinction between core elements and cultural practices? Core elements shouldn’t be changed. Cultural practices can be.

What is core and what is cultural at Storehouse church?

Jesus was the perfect Son of God who paid the price for my sins and yours - Core. (John 3:16-21)
The Bible is the inspired Word of God - Core. (2 Timothy 3:16)
We are here to Love God and Love People – Core. (Matthew 22:36-40)
Worship through rocking music that captures our emotions – Cultural.
Offer Communion every week – Cultural.
Meet in a rented middle school building – Cultural.

And the list goes on and on.

We must be willing to change what is cultural, when needed, in order to magnify, communicate, emphasize, resonate what is core. The cultural serves the core. Not the other way around. If we confuse the two, we elevate what isn’t eternally significant and reduce what is.

Where have you confused the two? Examine what you believe is core and see if it really is.

Let’s be willing to change whatever it takes to share what is truly core with everyone.

Wedding Eve

Well it's 11pm on the eve of my wedding. Been a long time since I've posted anything to the Storehouse Blog, but I am sitting in my new house alone and I'm feeling very reflective so I've decided to share some thoughts with the blogosphere.

I got home from our rehearsal about 2 hours ago and as I'm reflecting on the last year or so, I'm realizing that engagement can easily be all consuming. It colors the way you think about everything, and you think about this one day, the wedding day, all the time. Every conversation, every website you visit, every thought as you go to bed, it's all wedding all the time. Why? Well because you want everything to look great, you want people to leave your wedding talking about how amazing you are, how much attention you paid to all the details, how fun it was, it's all about you and people celebrating you.

For the first time in about 6 months, I feel truly relaxed. Tonight for the first time in a long time, I slowed down enough to give God some real quality time. I read my Bible, I prayed, and really, I just sat in silence and listened.

I'd like to say I came up with some revolutionary principle or something profound but what I am hearing is something we should already know. God wants us to be completely preoccupied by Him! Similar to the way I was consumed by my engagement. He should be part of every thought, every decision, every conversation I have. I should pay attention to every detail of His Word. Why? For His glory! To bring Him praise! That that everyone might know what Jesus is doing in my life and how He has changed me, and how He saved me, and how He loves me, and how free and accessible all of that is to those that call on His name.

Turn to Him, rest in Him, and be consumed in Him, For His glory

It Sometimes Happens In Steps!

By Rhonda Nichols, Mission Trip Coordinator

My passion for relief work started in high school with a trip to Hull, Illinois. At the time it seemed like a fun thing to do, and since I did most of the activities held by my youth group, I went along for the adventure of it. That trip led me to go the next year to California and then to Blue Creek, Ohio. Each trip blessed me as I blessed others. Little did I realize that each one was planting a seed in me that God would have blossom in my adult life.

After high school, I let life carry me away from relief work. Nursing school and then the start of my career led me to many excuses to not join in on trips. For awhile I also drifted in my faith and allowed the culture around me interfere with my relationship with God. It's amazing to see God continue to work in someone's life even when they are resistant to Him. I can see clearly the path God led me down to get me where He wanted me to be.

In 2007, I sat in church and heard the announcement for the second trip to Mississippi. When a couple of my good friends decided they were going to go, I let the desire that I had been trying so hard to resist run free. I took a step of faith that work would let me have vacation time for the trip and I signed up. That trip was amazing and reminded me that I LOVE relief work. I love knowing that God has used me to restore someone's hope and help them get back into a home.

The next year, as I prepared to go again I was asked to be a leader. I agreed somewhat reluctantly as I believed that my spiritual gift was not leading. God has been changing me though. You see from that first trip I almost didn't take to the next where I almost didn't lead, God was working on my heart. When Gustav hit soon after we left Mississippi in 2008, I knew that there was no waiting for someone else to form a trip. Pam Grosso was feeling the same way I did and together she and I took a team in January of this year. We did all the planning, preparing and leading, which before we didn't believe we could do on our own. With God we CAN do anything!

An exciting new time is happening with this ministry. The Mississippi effort ended in Pass Christian and so our trips there are over. However, the work God started in me and Pam will continue as we are branching to new sites to take Storehouse members for relief work. This October we will be going to New Orleans. Only God knows where He will send us next, but one thing is certain, I will be letting you know and probably trying to recruit you to go!!!!

Taco Pizza

By Jamison Nesta, Children's Ministry & Connections Pastor

I heard someone say recently that he believes there will be pizza in heaven. This man was a missionary to Latin America who also shared that while touring churches in the US to raise support, he was often served tacos. People must have believed that tacos would more "align to his ministry calling". He tired of tacos. He desired more pizza.

Later that same evening I encountered something truly amazing: taco pizza. I'm not sure if you've ever tasted this blended cuisine, but it's an interesting marriage of two vastly different foods. Maybe it was the late hour or the potentially day-long wait my pizza endured before I selected it from its display, but this taco pizza was less than wonderful. I found myself desiring pizza the way it's supposed to be.

Certainly this isn't a commentary on bizarre food combinations. Eat what you like. But this taco pizza got me thinking. In the mind of the missionary, taco pizza was like experiencing the best of heaven and the worst of earth at the same time. Who would choose this option? Once we've tasted even a small bite of what God has offered, why would we attempt to make it better by adding our own dirt to it?

Jesus promises peace, hope, uncondtional love and unfathomable forgiveness. How can we add to that and think we can make it better? Let's rest in the true promise of God and understand that it's His strength, comfort, mercy and grace that gives us remarkable life, not our stress, worry, judgement and selfishess.

How are you trying to unnecessarily add to God's perfect gifts.

Yard Sale for World Hunger

Come support our Yard Sale to raise money to help feed native missionaries working at a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (East Africa). Money will also be used to help feed the children in their orphanage – The Furaha House – Joyful House - as well as local Massai in the surrounding community.

This is a prayer request from the base leader, Philip Nasari:

“May i just share some of these needs that you can pray with me - first is 'Hunger' It is a world crisis and our crisis here in kilimanjaro and to the communitie we are trying to reach. There is a huge lack of food in our nation and worse enough we failed to get rain this year so next year it will not be easy for everyone. We are in shortage of even maize and beans in our base and am trying to get help even from my family up the mountain. Now among the Massai's it’s worse. Please pray with me as i trust God to get some food for our base and even to help the surrounding community. Basically buying maize where by 1bag (80kg) ~$50 and beans 80kg ~ $150.”

The Yard sale will be on Sat. June 27^th: 8:00-5:00

Location: 413 Penn Rd – Plymouth Meeting 19462

If you have any items you would like to donate, you can contact Deborah Karr here.

Other Yard Sale needs:

• Folding tables to put items on
• Help setting up Sat. Am

Prayer requests:

• A Sunny Day!
• People to come and shop!

The Battle is Real

By Josh MacDonald, Worship Leader

Ephesians 6:12 "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."

Over the past couple of weeks, through a number of circumstances, I have become abundantly aware of the reality of the spiritual battle raging around me and those close to me. Often, I tend to relegate spiritual warfare to the fantastical and sensational place that the media puts it. Images of heads spinning, horned monsters and the sounds of creepy violin music, or make believe, in other words, are what I think of and then dismiss quickly most of the time. But, as we learned last year in the Supernatural series, our battles with illness, unfortunate circumstances, relationship issues and the like are far more than coincidence or bad luck. Paul says that we live in a "dark world". We, as God's people, are called to be His light. Our enemy wants nothing more than to extinguish our light, and he will use every weapon in his arsenal, every last one, to do so. I've been reminded this week to never let down my guard, and to know that I'm on the winning side. I should expect trouble in this life, but as we sing in My Glorious, my God will save the day, and all will say, "My Glorious."

Follow Me

As Christians we are to be followers of Christ.

Jesus used the word “follow” many times in the Gospels. He said “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:38). He told the rich young ruler, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matt. 19:21) He evangelized Levi the tax-collector with just two words: “Follow Me” (Luke 5:27). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). He also said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). His last words to Peter were similar to His first words: “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:22).

Following Christ means we make Him Lord of our daily lives. If I could boil this 'crazy love series' down to one theme it would be, 'following Jesus'. Literally, reading His Word and doing what it says. Not doing what we think makes sense, or what other Christians are doing, but actually taking bold steps to listen to God's Word and apply it to our life.

Let me ask you this question, "Are you following Jesus?" Now, I know that you love Jesus. I know that you are committed to doing good Christian things, but my question is, “Are you following Jesus?”

I know many of you are. If so, please share your story. (If not, share the things that are holding you back!)

Click the 'comment' link below and share a story of how you are following Jesus. Where is He leading you? Have you been convicted of something that you are turning from? Are you changing any habits or lifestyle choices in response to God's Word? Have you developed a deeper sense of compassion for something and begun to act on it?

What does it look like (from your experience) to follow Jesus?

Crazy Love

Posted by Chris Paredes, Associate Minister of Community Life

Last night in House Church we watched a video that challenged us to think about our homes not really being our homes and the silliness of our possessions. A difficult but good discussion. My Young Life leader used to say this about stuff, "in the end, it's all gonna burn."

Tonight, Sheri and I had just returned to her house after a relaxing dinner when I heard a siren in front of her house. Down the street, smoke was billowing out of the roof of the house on the corner. In minutes the roof and upper level of the house were in flames. Thankfully everyone made it out safely. Across the street stood a sobbing mother and two teenage sons as they watched their possessions burn. They were devastated. A crowd of friends, neighbors and family gathered and comforted them.

I can't say enough about the firefighters and police of King of Prussia and Bridgeport. They were amazing. Smoke had been coming out for maybe 30 seconds before they arrived. And they arrived in full force. They heard the alarm and there was an immediate response of obedience, it is expected, it is required.

How are you doing with responding when God is sounding an alarm? When He has told you a path you are on is the wrong one? How do you respond when He brings you someone in crisis? When you feel that nudge or conviction on Sunday, how good are you at making the change come Monday? I'd love to see some comments on this post so blog away...

Subtle in message but not in heart

By: Rachael Clarke, house church co-leader

Writing mass e-mails used to make me nervous. Am I being grammatically correct? Does that paragraph make sense? Is this sentence lame? Not to mention the foot tapping and drumming of the keys without actually typing. These questions whirled in my mind because, 1. I’m an editor (and therefore a perfectionist to a fault—with stubborn red pen and White Out on my hands to prove it), and 2. I overanalyze too much.

Then I became the official mass e-mailer of my house church (HC). Okay!, I thought. I can do this. Just get the info out there, don’t think about it, and send it. During our first gathering I scribbled down notes on every video, every thought shared, and all my own personal inklings throughout the night. I figured that if I recreated the evening on paper, then it’d be easy to write the HC email.

After returning home that night I found that I was actually excited to write the e-mail, and to share what just happened that evening. I signed onto gmail, got out my horribly scribbled notes, and the words just flowed from thought, to fingers, to keys, to screen. And this process, so mundane to all of us, was invigorating to me, and I felt more alive and fulfilled as I wrote each sentence.

The next day I received several heartening, and humbling, e-mails, and I was so thankful to be a part of my HC in this way. This past HC I still wrote down a synopsis of the evening, but I did it because I didn’t want to miss anything we shared—not because I wanted my email writing to go smoothly. So many insightful discussions and thoughts have risen out of only two HC gatherings. And peoples’ willingness to be open and share has been very humbling and encouraging.

Here are a few thoughts in particular that were shared at our last HC:

"True love is revealed with actions."

"Charity is about giving without expecting anything in return."

"God puts people in your life for a reason."

At our last HC I also shared something personal in my life, and after sharing I had doubts that I had shared too much. At the time I had a strong feeling that I needed to share what I did, and I listened to God as he put the urgency in my heart.

After writing my weekly e-mail I received a response from someone that revealed to me why I had shared what I did. She told me that she, too, is dealing with the same issue, and that my sharing my thoughts was very encouraging to her. I felt so humbled. And on top of that, days earlier I had come across a quote that I wanted to hang on to, but didn’t know why. At the time I copied and pasted the quote, and sent it in an email to myself with the subject, “good quote.” After hearing from this woman I knew why I had saved it, and I sent her the quote:

"It is comfort--seeing others are missing the pieces that we, too, are missing. And it is hope--seeing others have found the pieces we seek. We will find them, too." -Jen Lee (poet)

God has been working in subtle ways, yet the feeling in my heart and the encouragement I feel is not subtle at all.

Others...

Last night my House Church met again for the first time since Easter. We dove right in with some deep questions based on the new Crazy Love series and we had some great things to celebrate. We had 3 visitors to our group, big win! A couple from our House Church answered the call to leadership and launched a new House Church last night, HUGE win! I could talk about that forever, but something moved me about 3 weeks ago and I need to share it.

During the last series "More Than a Job", JR shared a story about a CEO who summed up the entire mission of his organization with one word, "Others." That word has been echoing in my head ever since. Others, others, others. We get a lot of questions about why we do what we do or why we do things the way we do them at Storehouse. The answer is almost always: others.

When you think like that, it is hard not to be motivated, excited, and energized. It's changing the way I pray, thinking of myself less and thinking of others more. It's changing my perspective, I can always find something to complain about in my life, there is almost always something that could be better, but if I'm thinking of others first, it's amazing how my troubles seem to disappear.

Perhaps the toughest question I have ever been asked was from a friend who was wretling with some truths about God and the cross. He asked me, "I just don't understand why Jesus had to die on the cross, if he was God's son, why did he have to die?" The answer: for others.

Our Prayer Posture

At The Gathering last Thursday night, we took some time to talk about our prayer lives, and I shared the following story by way of confession:

Every night before we put Luke to bed, Tiffany or I will read to him from his "Good Night Bible." It breaks down stories from the Word of God into toddler sized chunks, and includes devotional responses that conclude with prayer. The other night as we finished reading, Luke interrupted our normal routine which was to close the book, lay down, and pray. He said to me, "No Daddy, we have to kneel." As proof, he pointed to the little cartoon character who is depicted in prayer section, and sure enough he was kneeling. I couldn't help but smile, because in that moment I knew God was speaking directly to me through my son, reminding me that posture is important in prayer.

While the Bible doesn't command any particular posture when praying, it does portray many different options. There's standing, kneeling, bowing, lying prostrate, hands raised, head raised, head bowed, etc. One thing all of those postures have in common is that they aren't just randomly done or a matter of preference (or laziness!), but rather they are a reflection of the heart of the one praying. For example, in Luke 22 we see Jesus praying on his knees, signifying submission to his Father in the moments before his arrest and crucifixion. His posture, as well as his prayers communicated, "not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:44).

Examine yourself. What is your most common prayer posture? What does it communicate about your heart? If you're like me and the answers to those questions sting a little bit because of the sins they reveal, maybe right now is the right time to humble yourself, get as low as you can get, and ask God to help you make a change. 

National Day of Prayer Observance

National Day of Prayer Observance

Additional Information: The Chapel is located in Valley Forge National Historic Park. All are invited to come and pray for our country.

Location: Washington Memorial Chapel
PA Route 23
Valley Forge, PA 19481
Start Date & Time: 05/07/2009 10:00 AM
End Date & Time: 05/07/2009 05:00 PM

Coordinator: Ben Emlen
610-783-0120
wmcproperty@verizon.net
Website: http://www.washingtonmemorialchapel.org
More Info: MapQuest directions

Does my spiritual life fit in at work?

We have a tendency to compartmentalize their life. We say, “Well, I’ve got a spiritual life and I’ve got a secular life.” My spiritual life involves, well, spiritual things: like Bible reading, going to church, doing nice things. That’s my spiritual life. And that’s over in one compartment.

Then over here is my secular life. That’s my work, my job, my career, my business decisions, my finances, my pension plan, all these things, that’s my secular life.

And God says, “Neh, no. That’s wrong.” All of life is spiritual. The word secular isn’t in the Bible. Everything you do counts, it all matters to God. Listen, God is as interested in your work as He is in your prayers. In fact, I would suggest that He is more interested in it, because you spend more time working than you do praying.

He’s interested in every area of your life. The fact is, that your relationship to Christ is like marriage. Marriage is a full time relationship, and so is your relationship with Christ. How about if I came up to my wife and said, “Honey, I’m going to always act married when I’m at home.” No Way! I’m married when I’m at work, at the mall, and at home. The same is true with your spiritual life. It must become who you are, not just something that you do.

How about you? How does your spiritual life intersect with other parts of your life?

Attend Storehouse this Sunday to further this discussion.

Softball After Church This Sunday

Grab your glove and bat (or just show up if you don't have one)! There's a group of folks who are playing a friendly game of softball after church - This Sunday. You are invited to join in the fun.

Good Friday House Church Near You!

Join one of the many Storehouse Church House Churches for a unique and powerful Good Friday service. All of our House Churches will be following the same format. The evening will consist of a DVD discussion led by Pastor JR, followed by a time of worship and communion.

For more, click here

What Really Matters?

by Chris Paredes

About two weeks ago I spent a day at the bedside of my dying grandfather. It was an extremely emotional day and the two weeks since then have been tough. It's hard to watch someone who was once so vibrant as he passes from this world to the next.

In one of his last lucid moments, my grandfather made a confession of faith to my sister. He's 91 years old and it took us until now to have that difficult conversation, which actually was pretty simple once it happened.

As painful as this time is, it is bringing a lot of perspective to my life. I've got to be honest, it is taking everything in me to post to this blog right now. Things like blogging, facebook, twitter, myspace, email and all of our other virtual relationships seem really stupid in light of the passing of someone who you have a real relationship with. Regardless, here's some of what I have learned in these two weeks.

-My family is amazing, more amazing than I've ever realized. I love them deeply.
-There is absolutely no replacement for a face to face conversation.
-Death brings out the true heart of people (both the dying and those around them).
-Even in death, God is purposeful, he left nothing out when He created us.
-We spend far too much time worring about our lives here, and we often ignore eternity.

I hope that what God is doing in me right now can somehow encourage you to go and live face to face with someone. God Bless

This Changes Everything This Sunday!

In the final week of the 'This Changes Everything' Series we will look at the power of God.  He is all-powerful.  He is in total control, but what do you do before the power of God shows up?  How do you keep your faith when you are waiting for God to answer your prayer? 

Of course, we are also anticipating our Easter Sunday celebration.  Traditionally, the Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday.  Jesus was welcomed into the city as people layed down palm branches (think red carpet).  Little did they know that the power of God was going to show up in a way that would make all generations proclaim, "This Changes Everything!"

Watch the promo video for this Sunday's message, here.

My Brain Is Melting

by Ross Deitrich

Let's play a game. I'll give you a quote, you tell me what movie it comes from. Are you ready?

"Last night, Darth Vader came down from the planet Vulcan and told me that if I didn't take Lorraine out that he'd melt my brain."

You guessed it - Back to the Future - easily one of the best films of the 1980s. Do you remember the scene that quote describes? Picture Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) dressed in a radiation suit, standing over his teenage father's bed, blasting him awake by pumping Van Halen at full volume into his ears through headphones controlled by Marty's Sony Walkman. It was one of the funniest, most creative scenes in the movie.

As I look back now on George McFly's mind melting experience, I see it as eerily prophetic of our times. The Sony Walkman was the first compact, portable music player, and it revolutionized how we listened to music. It was the grandfather of the iPod that so many of us have today. But the changes of the last few decades haven't been limited to music. Technology as a whole has exploded and saturated our lives to an extent that few in the 80s could've ever imagined. In addition to iPods we all now have cell phones, laptops and desktops, connecting us at a moment's notice to each other and the internet. Once on the internet we have email, facebook, youtube, wikipedia, hulu, countless blogs, games, news sites, and entertainment options to occupy every second of every minute of our time.

We tend to view these advancements in a positive light, and of course there are many positive things that have come out of them. But here's my question, and maybe you can relate...  If all of these advancements are good, why does it seem like technology is melting my brain? Why, despite the wealth of information that is now at my fingertips, do I feel like I'm getting stupider? And is "stupider" even a word? I think I just made my point. 

You may be nodding in agreement with me so far, but hold on...I haven't even gotten to the really frightening part yet. Technology has not only been melting my mind, but God has recently been revealing to me that it is also melting my spirit...my heart...my affections...for Him and his Word. Can you relate to that as well? 

If your answer is yes, I've got some homework for you. I'm going to give you two links and ask you to read some of the same things that God used to open my eyes to my current situation. If you do find that God convicts you like he did me, please let me know (there is an email link at the end of this post). Repentance sticks better when it is done in community. In God's strength we can work together to make changes that will loosen the grip that the idol of technology has over our hearts, and see our affections for Him renewed!  Here are the links:

Facebook Faceoff

A Quote: "I understand that one of my desires as a Christian should be to know God more deeply; the reality is that I spend very little time actually getting to know Him. Too often, my hours are spent pursuing other human beings through convenient electronic means like Facebook. My life can quickly become all about striving to know my buddies better than my Lord."

Taking A Sabbath From Technology

A Quote: While technology has many worthwhile purposes, it demands a high price from us. Studies have shown that our increasing media dependency is crippling our attention spans, wounding our ability to create meaningful relationships, and generating a false expectation that we should be able to be contacted at every hour of the day.

Happy Bottoms

This Sunday is the Storehouse Diaper Drive. Bring a donation to Church with you! The diapers will go toward, "YoungLives". They have been reaching out to teen moms in Norristown since 2003. Their goal is to come alongside these young girls with love and support at a critical time in their lives.

YoungLives meets every other Thursday and at each meeting the girls have the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After meetings they are given an opportunity to have their practical needs met through access to FREE diapers and baby wipes.

View More Information

Being the Church by Chris Paredes

We often say that the people are the church. We believe that the church isn't a building, a collection of programs, a group of ministers, or some council of elders, the people are the church.

As winter is lifting and spring is here (by the way, when you finish reading this, go get your free water ice from Rita's), we are ready to go out and be the church. There are some great people in our community that are living out the Gospel every day and we're excited to partner with some of them this spring. On March 29, we're going to collect diapers and baby wipes for YoungLives so that they can bless the teen moms they are ministering to with free supplies for their babies. We're also going to link arms with our neighbors and help Norristown Weed and Seed to clean up Norristown on April 11th and 18th*.

I am extremely excited about these events. Mainly because they are not Storehouse events. Not at all! They are kingdom events. They are opportunities for us to BE the church. We didn't plan anything, we have no team leader, no committee, we're just showing up with the hands and feet of Jesus and I believe God is going to bless many lives as a result.

Hearing the Gospel is nice, teaching the Gospel is good, but there is incredible, earth-shattering power unleashed when we live out the Gospel!

*You can find more details about these events on the calendar section of our website at www.storehousechurch.com

Never Underestimate God

By Josh MacDonald, Worship Leader
Never, ever, ever underestimate God. I keep thinking I’ve learned that lesson, but then realize I am once again looking through the lens of my humanity to decide what “can” and “can’t” be done. This weekend at the retreat, God again shattered my personal “can’t barrier” when he showed up in life-changing power during Friday night’s worship and teaching session. After very little practice for the band, and a whole lot of personal distractions, I felt extremely ill-prepared to lead anyone in worship. Yet, in spite of my perceived insurmountable hang-ups and quite a few adventurous notes from the band, God did unforgettable work in many lives that night. All I can do in those times is give all the glory to God. My takeaway from that night was to walk in obedience and let God worry about the results. He’s the one, the only one, who can make the seed that I plant grow. (1 Cor. 3:6)

Moved by compassion

By JR Rushik, Lead Pastor

Just read John chapter 11 this morning.  It's the story of Lazarus' resurrection.  In the past I've always focused on the power of God to bring something dead back to life.  And rightly so, that is the main point of the passage.  This morning I noticed something different. 

Jesus was moved by compassion.  You'd think a pastor with a seminary degree would know this, but it was a fresh insight this morning...  Jesus begins to weep after spending time with the sisters who were mourning the death of their brother (v.35).  He could not contain his compassion.

Compassion is the core emotion that drives ministry.  Think about it.   Without a healthy dose of God-inspired compassion - ministry can feel an aweful lot like a chore.  Has ministry ever felt that way to you?  Like a chore?  It gets that way when we lose focus on WHY we are doing what we're doing.   An outward focus fills our hearts. When a heart is filled with compassion it naturally overflows in life giving activity. 

Compassion is the fuel of ministry.   How's your compassion level?  

In Him all things hold together

by Tiffany Deitrich, Children's Ministry Director 

I recently came across this remarkable video that I thought was so interesting that it was worth sharing.  In this video segment, Louie Giglio, founder of Passion Conferences and pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, tells a story of how as he was preparing to speak on the Glory of God in the human body, he came to learn of an amazing protein molecule called Laminin. For the explanation of what Laminin is, you'll have to watch the video, but I can tell you that it is a powerful reminder of the reality that Christ holds all things together.  I hope you find this as fascinating as I did!

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.   Colossians 1:15-17

He is, because that's who He is

by JR Rushik, Lead Pastor

I was just doing some devotional reading of John chapter 4. Toward the end of the chapter Jesus returns to His original stomping grounds; the place where he did his first miracle. This is the place where everyone was skeptical of his divinity. They just couldn't imaging how 'the messiah' could be someone that they watched grow up.

A royal official approaches Jesus and asks for healing for his son. Jesus simply says, "You may go. Your son will live." (John 4:50). Then, the man took Jesus at his word, went home and found his son had been healed at the very moment that Jesus spoke those words. WOW!

Here's the part that struck me. Jesus was in a place where people doubted his credibility, yet instead of standing on a rock, pounding his chest and making all sorts of noise about the miracle he was about to perform. In absolute humility Jesus quietly said, 'Go. Your son will live."

Why didn't Jesus use this occassion to 'make a name for himself'? Or to prove to his hometown crowd that He has divine power? Why didn't Jesus draw attention to himself?

Why not prove himself? Because Jesus was secure in who He was. He never did a miracle to prove himself to others. His motive was always love.

He was who he was, because that's who he was... Humble - AND - Powerful!

It's a good lesson for me. I don't need to DO more stuff to prove that I'm a devoted follower of Jesus - no, I just need to BE a child of God.

How about you? Is your relationship with Jesus more about BEing or DOing? What's your motive behind WHY you do what you do?

Take some time to reflect on your true identity in Christ. Then rest in the fact that Christ is sufficient and there is absolutely nothing that you need to prove. You are complete in Jesus!

God is faithful

By Josh MacDonald, Worship Leader

One thing I’ve found about God is that He always accomplishes His purposes, one way or another. The best times for me have been when I’m in step with him, making my purposes His purposes. It is those times that I believe Jesus had in mind when he said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14) I’ve had the privilege to be a lead worshiper at Storehouse for almost four years now. During that time, I’ve seen a whole lot of changes. Many faces have come, and almost as many have gone. More than a few times, change was brewing and I began praying for the next right person to come along and fill the vacancy. In every case, God has been utterly faithful, though often his timing was not what I expected and sometimes the person filling the spot was far from who I had pictured.

We are again at a crossroads in the worship ministry at Storehouse. After more than three years of faithful, passionate, able service, Michael and Julia have felt called back to their roots. As soon as their house sells, they will be packing up and moving back to Atlanta where both have family. While I am extremely saddened at the prospect, and admittedly a part of me has wanted to run over their For Sale sign with my car, I have never doubted that God’s purposes are being accomplished. He has big things in mind for them, just as He has big things in mind for Storehouse. I have no idea what the details will look like, but I love resting in the knowledge that He will guide us one step at a time straight into the center of His plan. He’s never let me down yet.

When Sinners Say "I Do"

My wife, Tiffany, and I recently attended a marriage conference in Hershey, PA. It was supposed to be a time to focus on the Lord and our marriage together, and while that did happen, it wasn't the ideal God-centered, romantic getaway I had envisioned. In fact, when the first session started with a comical skit of a husband and wife bickering back and forth about getting to the conference on time, it almost perfectly portrayed Tiffany and I only a few hours prior. Things hadn't started off well.

You would think that at a Christian conference, while being bombarded with practical Biblical teaching, drawn into amazing worship, and surrounded by hundreds of other Godly couples, that my interactions with Tiffany would be the picture of Christ-likeness...but you'd be wrong. All it took was the addition of a sick 9 month old daughter to inject a little stress into our time, and our Christ-likeness towards each other caved under the weight of unmet expectations and frustration.

Fortunately for us, the conference was called "Marriage and the Mercy of God." It's message wasn't that marriage is meant to complete you, but rather that marriage is meant (in part) to SANCTIFY you. And at that point what was obvious to Tiffany and I was that if sanctification is to take place in our marriage, MERCY and GRACE need to be the foundation. That is why the Gospel is such good news!

In America, we've stripped the word love of much of it's meaning. We "love" our favorite sports teams; we "love" the television show LOST; we "love" barbeque chicken pizza. And even when we say we love our spouses, much of the time what we mean is the dumbed down, selfish, "you complete me" love of Hollywood. That is NOT love, and more often than not it will lead you to a place of disillusionment and disappointment because another person can NEVER complete you! Many people never figure that out...they simply divorce and move on under the assumption that they chose the wrong person, and that there must still be someone out there somewhere that can complete them.

1 John 4:10 says that, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." The Gospel shows us what love truly is! It is self-sacrificing; it is forgiving and gracious; it pursues even at great cost; it extends MERCY. A few verses later 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because He first loved us." This is good news! When we look to the love that God shows us, we can learn how to love our spouses with the REAL THING. It won't be easy. Dying to self never is. I'm HORRIBLE at it right now...but God' grace is real and I'm thankful that Tiffany knows that as well, because she's been extending it to me a heck of a lot lately.

SO, all you couples out there who are finding marriage to be a lot tougher than you thought it would be (translation: all of you) - look to the cross and keep saturating yourself with the love of God. It'll make all the difference in the world.

Note: Tiff and I bought a book at the conference that we're looking forward to reading together. It's called "When Sinners Say I Do: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage." If you're looking for a good resource for your own marriage, I'd highly recommend it! You can purchase it here.

House Church is back!

This Sunday, Jan 25th, marks the launch of House Churches for the spring. And what better way to kick off the semester than with some deep discussions about Great Sex. That's right, we're going to be taking a close look at what God's word says for us about sex and these scriptures are sure to generate some intense conversations.

But more than conversation and Bible study, House Churches are the place to connect into the body of believers at Storehouse. One attender is quoted as saying, "I knew I needed to get connected to other people, and that's why I come." For many, House Church becomes like an extended family, that you actually love to be around. I know that's hard to imagine for some of us, but don't take my word for it, make this year the year you become part of the community at Storehouse.

If you have never visited a House Church, now is the perfect time. There is no need to sign up, no application, no secret handshake, all you need to do is SHOW UP. It's that easy. The calendar section of www.storehousechurch.com lists all 12 House Churches along with directions to each one. Find the location or time that works best for you and check one out this week!

The Gathering

Thank you to Brian and Tracey Akamine from Partners for Families for sharing with us at the Gathering. They challenged us to take link arms with him in ministry to our neighbors in Norristown.

For more information visit:
http://partnersforfamilies.blogspot.com/