Ask God to Change the World

Just like in Jesus' day there are crowds and multitudes of people all across the world who are dying - physically and spiritually. the kingdom of the enemy is still strong but the kingdom of God is stronger. According to Barna research and other statistics, a little over a billion people claim to be followers of Christ, carrying on the teachings of Jesus and announcing the Good News about this Kingdom. Matthew records in his gospel account that Jesus went to the towns and the villages teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. Matthew says that Jesus healed every kind of disease and illness, and when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

When I traveled to Cambodia in August I saw great crowds of people who fit this description - confused and helpless; but you don't have to travel across the world to see this, right? Watch the news, look at communities in disarray after a disaster hits, spend an afternoon downtown and watch people as they run to and fro like mice stuck in a cage. You can see it in their eyes or the blank look on their face - I've been there, you've been there - it's the look of spending all our waking energy on keeping busy, trying to fulfill some purpose or just searching for that purpose.

Thank God that he had compassion on us and became our shepherd, gently leading us to quiet streams and still pastures - in other words - no matter what adversity comes our way having a peace in our lives knowing that we belong to something greater than all that's around us; someone greater than we could begin to comprehend. Jesus said to those that followed him - and to those that still follow him - "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." He didn't just say to them go (although he did say go many times); he told them to pray for God to send more workers into the fields.

Riverside is a place where we gather to love God and love others. Loving God means that we commune with him, we have a daily and ongoing relationship with a living God - and the acting out on that relationship is worship. Loving others means that we have fellowship with those who are the body and are the hands and feet of Jesus to those who have not yet found his Kingdom. We are committed to being a body that is whole and balanced with Christ as the head of his church.

We do much on a regular basis to accomplish this simple model of loving God and loving others. We gather frequently for worship through the message, giving, prayer, fellowship and the arts. We go frequently to serve the least, the last and the lost regionally, nationally and globally. Since our conception as a church in Penn Hills and Oakmont we've been a mission's supporting and sending church. But God is also saying to us, pray.

Each month, usually the second Sunday evening at 6 p.m., we are gathering to fulfill this call - to pray for Pittsburgh, to pray for the United States and to pray for the world. Please consider joining us for an hour of prayer each month and watch the bulletins and website of dates and times of our prayer gatherings. We'll spend some time receiving information and updates on various regional, national and global missions opportunities and reports that we are taking interest in as a church and we'll pray. It is important to God that we pray regularly; and it is vital to the world that we are faithful to do so.
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The next mission's prayer gathering happens Sunday, November 11th at 6 p.m. in room 105. Click Here to Read more!

Making a Global Impact, Locally

This past Saturday the choir from Riverside Community Church met for the morning to impact the world here in Pittsburgh. We took a ride downtown to the World Vision Gifts in Kind warehouse in Sewickley (right outside of Pgh) to volunteer with the sorting of a shipment of clothing. We at Riverside have been sending various volunteers and small groups to the warehouse over the past year (mostly on Saturday mornings) to volunteer our time - in some small way - to make a difference all over the world. Each time we are able to sort thousands of pieces of clothing, books, supplies, etc. In other words- a 3-hour commitment at the warehouse with 10-20 volunteers on any given Saturday morning will literally affect thousands of people across the world.

World Vision is a very large organization, and we've not only finacially supported them but we've been able to support them with resources and volunteers. World Vision at any given time is at work in over 100 countries. They have ongoing community development programs, sponsorships and temporary disaster relief efforts. For more information on the Gifts in Kind warehouse in Pittsburgh, visit http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/gik_IDC?Open&lid=pittsburgh&lpos=main.
Click Here to Read more!

For All You Have Done

This is a new song that I wrote last week - again with the theme of being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ as a direct response (a.k.a. worship) for all that He has done in our lives!

For All You Have Done

Found love, found grace, found mercy
Found hope, found strength
Found everything we need in Jesus Christ!

With these things we’ve been given
We choose to give them back
To change the world for Jesus Christ!

Pour out the fragrance of your love
Send out the richness of your name we will carry

Your fame through all the earth; your name inside our hearts
We offer our lives to you, for all you have done
Our hands will be your hands; our feet will run with yours
We offer our lives to you, for all you have done

Your spirit lights the darkness
Your light, your flame will burn
Inside our hearts for all to see!

Your call, your movement made real
Serve God, serve others
Love our neighbor and love our God!

Pour out the fragrance of your love
Send out the richness of your name we will carry

Your fame through all the earth; your name inside our hearts
We offer our lives to you, for all you have done
Our hands will be your hands; our feet will run with yours
We offer our lives to you, for all you have done. Click Here to Read more!

Voting Missionally and Biblically

Thank you for visiting this link to check out the sermon manuscript which outlines our missions strategy called the PEACE Plan. Click on the read more link below to read the abbreviated sermon manuscript. God bless!

Sermon Title: Facing the Giants Pt 1
Sermon Theme: RCC Missions Goals & Strategy
Speaker: Dave Longstreth
Date: Sunday, May 18, 2008

***ABBREVIATED MANUSCRIPT***

Introduction
Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life and Founding Pastor of Saddleback Community Church has clearly and succinctly identified some of the biggest problems that we face in this generation all over the world. He calls them the Global Giants or Global Goliaths if you will. So today we are going to talk about Facing the Giants.

Many of you here remember some of the global campaigns that we took part in from the past started by Rick Warren and his church in California: 40 Days of Purpose, 40 Days of Community, even the structure of our adult Christian education classes that were once illustrated as a baseball diamond – remember these – Classes 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501?

Well in the past few years Rick Warren and a few hundred churches around the world have been silently developing and beta testing something called the P.E.A.C.E. plan, which begins with identifying 5 of the greatest problems in our world today (the Global Giants). The second part of this plan then studies what Jesus did during his earthly ministry which also just happened to be the 5 antidotes to these problems.

So this is what we’re going to accomplish today – identifying the problems and then revealing the solutions, then I’ll do my best to stay out of the way and just let God speak to you about what’s next.

Opening Text
Matthew 24:36-40 (NLTSE)
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’”

Main Points
1. THE GIANTS: The Five Biggest Problems that Our Generation Faces

a. Spiritual Emptiness
One of the biggest problems that we face in this generation has also been one of the biggest problems since the creation of humanity – Spiritual Emptiness. We are empty without a relationship with the one who made us. Billions of people across the world are spiritually empty; in fact in a world of over 6 billion inhabitants only about 2 billion claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.

We as believers know that Jesus is the only way to have an eternal relationship with God and it doesn’t matter how well-off those other 4 billion people are who don’t know Jesus – if they don’t have eternal life, then that is the biggest and most important problem that we face in our world today.

Here’s what the Bible has to say about spiritual emptiness in John 6:64: “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes noting. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.”

And also in the book of John,
“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:34-36 NLTSE)


b. Corruption and Injustice
The second problem in the world today that we’re talking about is the Giant of Corruption and Injustice. This occurs when leaders are egocentric or self-centered. Corruption and injustices many times cause the other big problems. Many of the problems that face nations and kingdoms could be solved if we just had leaders who were willing to lead with courage, character, conviction and maturity.

Now the definition of corruption and injustice is when someone who has more power abuses that power to take from someone with less power the good things that God intended for them: their life, their liberty, their dignity, the fruits of their love and the fruits of their labor.

The book of Ecclesiastes records, “Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.” (Ecc 4:1-3 NLTSE)

That’s kind of a downer, isn’t it?

The book of Luke records the disciples arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. (Can you imagine this? I mean come on, there they are, hanging out with Jesus, you know, who’s walking on water, giving sight to the blind, feeding thousands, forgiving sins and they are arguing behind his back who is going to be the greatest among themselves?) Anyways, in Luke 22:25, Jesus gets wind of their conversation and says to them…

“In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.”

Jesus knew that corruption and injustices were a big problem in his day, and they are still big problems today. You don’t have to go very far to find a self-serving leader or corruption and injustice, do you?

The sad fact is that there is a dramatic shortage of Jesus-type leaders in the world today – and this is cause for so many of the world’s problems.

Most people don’t know what to do with power – they make the mistake of thinking that the power and influence given to them is for their own good rather than the fact that they’ve been given power and influence for the good of others.


c. Extreme Poverty
The third problem that we’re talking about today is the Giant of Extreme Poverty.

Lamentations 4:8-9 says, “Their skin has shriveled on their bones, it has become as dry as a stick. Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food.”

Rick Warren says, “Poverty keeps billions of people in miserable, desperate, dehumanizing conditions.” 3 billion people in the world live on less than $2 per day according to the United Nations. That’s half of the world! Of those – over a billion people live on less than $1 a day.

So it’s pretty safe to say that 1 out of every 2 people in the world are living in extreme poverty, worrying about what tomorrow will bring them if they wake up alive…

Will they have enough food to eat, will they have to choose which of their children doesn’t eat, will they worry about whether they’ll have a roof over their head or if their children will have any kind of hopeful future.

The truth is, billions of people are living in these kinds of conditions because of circumstances beyond their control – sometimes it’s corrupt leadership that puts them there, sometimes its poor education – but no matter what their cause, most of the time they cannot help the fact that they live in poverty and have little or no hope of getting themselves out of their desperate situation.

The problem with extreme poverty that really gets me is that it is many times preventable. Jesus says that we will always have the poor – that’s because there will always be people who make a lot of money, people who make an average income and people who make far less than average…

One billion people live on less than $1 per day – that is extreme. It is extreme when people live in the same community where there are million dollar mansions and just a few blocks away in the slums people can’t afford the basic necessities such as food, water, shelter and clothing.

This is poverty that we can change, this is poverty that we are compelled to change.

Each of us here today are wealthy compared to the other half of the world. If you make more than $100 per week then you are in the top 15% of wealthiest in the world. If you make more than $34k per year then you are in the top 5% of the wealthiest in the world. And if you make a six figure income – over $100k per year – then you are in the top 0.66% wealthiest in the world. Extreme poverty – it’s real and it’s everywhere.

d. Pandemic Diseases
The fourth problem that we’re talking about is the Giant of Pandemic Diseases. Pandemic diseases are diseases that infect humans; they are infectious diseases – and although diseases like cancer kill many people – it is not infectious like HIV/AIDS, malaria and others. Now this doesn’t mean that we won’t also address those with cancers or heart disease or other diseases – it just means that we can make a significant difference in some of the big pandemics that are ravaging the lives of millions of people across the world.

Most diseases that people are suffering from across developing countries are diseases that we’ve had cures for since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We have the cure to diarrhea, the number one killer of children under the age of 5; we also know how to prevent it.

We know the cure for malaria, too. We know how to prevent malaria – its simple and its not that expensive either; remove stagnant water, buy a few bed nets, spray some DTT and yet this year over 500 million people will get infected from a mosquito bite.

We also know how to prevent the spread of the HIV virus which causes AIDS – yet this is the big one that is destroying Africa and South East Asia.

Have you heard of the tsunami-a-week statistic? Well when the tsunami hit South East Asia back in December of 2004 – over 240,000 people were killed in the first week.

We have a tsunami in the world every eight days because according to the United Nations, 30,000 children die of preventable diseases every 24 hours! That means we have a tsunami every eight days.

8,000 people die every single day from AIDS.

In 2002, only 8 deaths were reported in the US from Malaria – but every day over 2,700 people die from the disease, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

And then there are water-borne diseases. Now this one really gets me – every day over 3,800 children die from diseases associated with a lack of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. That’s one child every twenty seconds.

…As long as it takes me to step over here and take a drink of water…

Another child has died because they can’t have this. And yet we take it for granted, don’t we?

Pandemic Diseases – often preventable and even curable…


e. Illiteracy and Poor Education
Finally, the fifth major problem that we’re talking about is the Giant of Illiteracy and Poor Education. Do you realize that half of the world cannot read or write? Half of the world is functionally illiterate. That sounds the same as the statistic for Extreme Poverty – I wonder if they go hand-in-hand?

The fact is that children living in poverty are unable to access good education. Often the standards and facilities of the educational institutes they can afford are lower than those available to children of higher-income groups. And all too often we see poor children dropping out of school earlier to support their families, especially in developing countries. We see this in rural Cambodia all the time.

Poor education vastly contributes to the entrenchment of the cycle of poverty. Corruption and injustices are also entwined with poor education as the lures of income and education are promised to families with younger children, and then their children are taken away and forced into slavery or the sex trade.

So you see the problem of illiteracy and poor education is something that feeds the problems of corruption and injustices, the problems of extreme poverty and pandemic diseases and even the problem of spiritual emptiness.

That’s why a multifaceted solution to any one of these problems is necessary. You can’t reduce or even put an end to pandemic and preventable diseases if you don’t lift people out of extreme poverty.

And you can’t lift them out of poverty if you don’t address corruption and injustice.

And you can’t win the war against corruption and injustice until you overcome illiteracy and poor education.

You can’t just evangelize people, get them saved to go to heaven and hope that all these other things will somehow magically take care of themselves.

This is why we need to have a purposeful, holistic approach to what we do as Christians to serve others and what we do as the mission of our local church. We are the body of Jesus – his hands AND his feet, called to love him AND to love others. We are called to serve God AND to serve others.

I was moved by a quote that I heard a couple of years ago at a WCA conference by Bono, the lead singer of a rock band named U2. In a recorded interview he told Bill Hybels the same thing that he addressed at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast earlier that year – he said…

Quotation
“The one thing, on which we can all agree, among all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and the poor… God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them…” (Bono, at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast)

Transition Text
Again, I am reminded that if we are to be the church that Christ came to establish, then we will live as Christ lived.

And this is what it says in Matthew 20:28 (Msg):
“This is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served
– and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

What did Jesus spend his time here on earth doing?

What did he teach us to do in response to these Global Giants –

And furthermore – how did Jesus model it for us in his life and in his ministry?

From these things we are able to clearly articulate 5 antidotes to the 5 Giants that we talked about. So here they are…

2. THE SOLUTION: The Five-Part Mission of RCC (P.E.A.C.E.)

a. Promote Reconciliation
Matthew 16:18 & 19 records Jesus as telling Peter and the disciples, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

What did Jesus do – he planted a church and he gave the keys to Peter. So our model for combating the evil, global giant of spiritual emptiness is by Promoting Reconciliation (Promote Reconciliation) and we do this through 1) planting churches, 2) partnering with churches, 3) and evangelism.

I think that Jesus was successful, right? Look around – we are here because Jesus came to reconcile humanity with its Creator – Jesus worked through his church to reconcile us to God. I really like what Rick Warren says about the local church, it’s true and it’s something that we have to react on. He says…

There is an army of over a billion volunteers sitting in pews every week just waiting to be mobilized and our challenge is to figure out how to get the average person sitting in the average pew involved in addressing the biggest problems that we face in the world today.

Are you hearing this? We are an army. Rick’s not the first person to call the church an army though, is he? First of all I think of the armies of the Lord throughout the Bible, and then I think of the armies that went to war in the “name of the Lord.”

Well here’s the truth – WE ARE AT WAR! Only this war isn’t against flesh and blood but rather against the powers and principalities of a dark kingdom that are just thriving on the torture and mutilation of human spirits and physical lives all over this planet. And we have sat around doing nothing about it for all too long! It is time to stand and fight.

So we begin by fighting in the war for souls.


b. Equip Servant Leaders and Fight Injustice
So Jesus did not just give us a message – he gave us a model – and our model for combating the evil, global Giant of Corruption and Injustice is by Equipping Servant Leaders and Fighting Injustice (Equip Servant Leaders and Fight Injustice).

How did Jesus model equipping servant leaders for us? First, he demonstrated what a servant leader is. Remember Matthew 20:28, “Even, I, the Son of Man, came here not be served but to serve others and give my life as a ransom for many.” Jesus simply said, “I am modeling how you are to lead and you are to lead by serving.”

Now Rick Warren spends a lot of time equipping servant leaders and he points this out to us, he says…

“Jesus loved everybody, and he fed the five thousand, trained the seventy, discipled the twelve, and even within the twelve he mentored three. Peter, James and John were the three he mentored most.” Jesus invested the maximum time in those who would bear the maximum responsibility.

Jesus showed us that we are to mentor and equip leaders who will be others-centered rather than self-centered. This is something that I learned at Valley Forge Christian College, one of our Bible Colleges here in the Northeast that we support. In fact we’ll hear from them next week. Anyways, the point is that to combat corruption and injustices we need to first fight injustice, then remove leaders from power and influence and then replace them with servant leaders.

It’s a daunting task, but I’m up for it – are you? It doesn’t take very many pictures of children forced into prostitution or suffering from extreme poverty to make equipping servant leaders and fighting injustice one of my missions in life!


c. Assist the Poor
Next, Jesus modeled combating the Giant of Extreme Poverty by Assisting the Poor (Assist the Poor). And in Jesus’ very first public sermon he reads from the book of Isaiah and announces his agenda for ministry. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord… has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)

Not enough evidence? Well there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible just on the poor, second only to personal redemption. So it’s safe to say that the Bible speaks a whole lot about spiritual poverty and physical poverty. How did I miss this at Bible school? It wasn’t until the past few years that this really got my attention and gripped my heart.

Some passages to consider include…

1 John 3:17 (in the Message version): “If you see someone in need, and have the means to do something about it, but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love in you? It disappears!”

James 1:27: “What God considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering.”

Proverbs 19:17: “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord – and He will repay you.”

“God is with the poor and vulnerable and God is with us if we are with them. Assist the Poor.”


d. Care for the Sick
Jesus also modeled for us the need to Care for the Sick; this combats the Giant of Pandemic Diseases. Matthew 9:35 says, “Wherever Jesus went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.” In fact the Bible tells us that he went into every village preaching, teaching and healing. 1/3 of Jesus’ ministry had to do with caring for the sick. So we see that Jesus spent a great deal of time modeling for us the need to care for the sick.

Jesus was the healer and the Bible shows us that Jesus was full of compassion, mercy, tenderness and caring. Matthew 14:14 says, “Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Luke 6:36 reads, “You must be compassionate just as Your Father is compassionate.”

And Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:2: “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

If we’re going to be like Jesus, we have to learn to be full of compassion, mercy, tenderness and care for people when they are sick. We must develop a heart about compassion, care about the things that God cares about and care for the people that God cares for – everyone, and especially those without a voice – the least, the last and the lost.

How can we demonstrate this heart of compassion and act on it? We must be prepared to go to the sick, no matter what their sickness or how they got it.

And we must be willing to relieve embarrassment, give hope, help to get the right medicine to them, teach healthy habits and ask God to heal those that are sick.



e. Educate the Next Generation
And finally there is the question of how we address the Giant of Illiteracy and Poor Education. We simply but purposely Educate the Next Generation. Jesus educated people – we all know that he was a teacher, THE teacher.

The Bible says in Matthew 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

Teaching was also 1/3 of Jesus’ ministry. And teaching the children was very important to Jesus. It was recorded in the gospels that the people were trying to bring the children to Jesus but his disciples tried to shoo them away. Jesus then said, “Allow the little children to come unto me; for as such is the kingdom of God.” In other words, the kingdom of God is in the next generation.

Jesus also says in the gospels, “It would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be thrown into the ocean than to hurt one of these little ones.” I am not a smart man, but I think that children are important to Jesus, right?

Teaching children about knowledge and past experience is a responsibility for every person, not just for parents. Somebody passed that information onto you that helped you to grow and succeed in life. And God expects you to do the same for other people who are younger than you.

There are five building blocks that help people to grow: knowledge, perspective, conviction, skills, and character. Jesus modeled all five of these in how he trained his disciples.

Now according to Warren, “studies have shown that the number one determining factor of whether a child makes it in life or doesn’t is the presence of a caring adult in his or her life, somebody who could relate to him or her. It doesn’t have to be a parent. The parents may even be absent. If there is one caring adult in that child’s life, the likelihood of that child making it goes up exponentially.”

Educate the next generation – it your responsibility as a parent, in your profession and as a member of the body of Christ. It doesn’t matter if you are not a parent, you are called to help educate the next generation. It doesn’t matter if you have already parented your children – you are called to educate the next generation. It doesn’t matter if your profession isn’t a school teacher or daycare worker or if you aren’t the Sunday school teacher or member of the PTA – as a member of Christ’s body, you are called to educate the next generation.

The Bible says in Psalm 78:6-7, “So the next generation will know, and all the generations to come – know the truth and tell the stories, so your children can trust in God.”

In Proverbs 22:6, “Teach the children how they should live, and they will remember it all of their lives.”

If anyone living in poverty has sustainable hope…

If any community that is plagued by diseases can have them prevented and even cured…

And if any enslaved people have any hope for freedom…

We must educate the next generation and allow individuals, communities and nations the chance to think for themselves and sustain civilized lives.


RECAP
So Jesus spent his time here on earth promoting reconciliation, equipping servant leaders and fighting injustice, assisting the poor, caring for the sick and educating the next generation. This isn’t my plan, its not Rick Warren’s plan, it’s not an American plan or a United Nations plan – this is a Jesus plan.

Quote
Billy Graham said, “The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and the helpless.”

Conclusion - Recap
There was a clear point in time, and it was just a couple of years ago during the summer of 2006 that my heart had changed significantly – and it was one of those instantaneous types of changes. I was at the WCA Leadership Conference and had seen and heard about these types of things and I realized how blessed I really am and how I really don’t deserve any of it, really…

It was also something that Bono said in his interview with Bill Hybels that got me thinking. He said, “An accident of latitude and longitude can decide whether your child lives or dies.” And I thought about it for a moment.

And there I was, sitting with hundreds of leaders around me; yet completely alone for that moment standing before God hearing Him say to me, “What will you do with what I’ve given you?”

When I think about what it was that moved me to compassion like I’ve never known, what it was that gave me the resolve to spend the rest of my life doing everything that I could within my power to inform, inspire and integrate others into service and action –

It wasn’t a picture of a malnourished child in Cambodia…

It wasn’t even a picture of child suffering from AIDS in Kenya…

It was a picture of my little girl with a big smile on her face…
Beautiful clean hair and skin…
Nice clean clothes…
Nutritious food on her plate…
A warm and safe home to live in…
Enough toys to keep her attention…
A loving family and friends involved in her life every day…
And an amazing church to grow in with all the best hopes for success as she grows up.

And then I just realized that it was like Bono had said… Why was my daughter here with so much hope, so much opportunity and someone else’s daughter over there with no hope and no opportunity? That is reason enough to die trying to save the rest of the world.

Jesus said, “This is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served – and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

And it was said of Him in 1 John 3:16, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

Application and Point of Decision
So how will you respond to this? When you are sitting here today with people all around you but you really find yourself alone with God asking you this one question, “What will you do with what I’ve given you?”

How will you respond? And how will you spend your life responding? Let us pray.

Father in heaven, hear our hearts today, we rejoice in your compassion and mercy,
You have given us all that we need and have blessed us beyond measure,
We offer our lives as living sacrifices, for all you have done.
Let your kingdom be done here on earth as it is in heaven,
And help us to stand against the evil giants of our day; and to serve you and others.
In the name of Jesus who modeled this for us, Amen.

Benediction
So now I leave you with the words of Jesus before he ascended into heaven, his great commission to his disciples and to us: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God bless you!

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We Are Your Church

This is a new song that I wrote the other day about being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. As Bill Hybel's says, "The local church is the hope of the world."
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We Are Your Church

We are your church, the body of Jesus
And we’ll be your hands, to a world that needs us
Justice and mercy, compassion and love
These are things we strive for, Lord
A cup of cold water for the dry and the thirsty
Help us to be your hands

You told us to go and change the nations
Share the Good News, tell of your salvation
Justice and mercy, forgiveness in love
These are the thing you offer to us
The way to the Father for the wayward orphan
Help us to be your feet

So we must go and change the world
So we must go and change the world
So we must be your hands and feet
So we must be your hands and feet

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Thanks so much for reading my song!
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Missions Prayer Meetings

Last night was our first formal missions prayer meeting at Riverside Community Church. To my great joy we had 14 people show up. Of course I hope and pray that we'll grow each month and my goal is that in one year we would have a tenth of our church joining together once a month in prayer for regional, national and global missions through RCC - that's about 70 people joining together in prayer.

In our first prayer meeting we had a time of welcome and relationship building in simple conversations.
Then I explained the five global giant problems and the simple 5-part solution P.E.A.C.E. We also talked about RCC supported missionaries and missions organizations, shared a few announcements of some local opportunities in the next month or so and then we prayed in small groups for regional, national and global missions. At the end of our meeting we prayed in "mission hall" at the church where our supported missionaries flags and profile pics are located.

Our next prayer meeting is being held on Sunday, November 11th from 6-7 pm in room 105. No need to rsvp, just show up and bring someone with you. We will be meeting regularly on the second Sunday of each month from 6-7 pm in room 105 unless that evening needs to be rescheduled due to holidays or other pressing church events. Please email me for more information or questions. - Dave
Click Here to Read more!

Featured Mission

World Vision - Cambodia: Peace and Justice Program

Cambodia is located in South East Asia bordering Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Cambodia is now a free kingdom that not too long ago suffered through the famous "Killing Fields" genocide. The country was so-called "cleansed" from those who were part of the old political system. Anyone who had any ties with the former political system, educators, doctors, those with any form of education (even those who wore reading glasses) were executed by Pol Pot's regime. While the regime only controlled Cambodia from 1976-1979, Pol Pot's regime maintained strongholds and continued his terror until his death in 1998. The last of the Khmer Rouge turned over their guns in 1999. Since then there has been peace and two successful elections for government.

However, corrupt leadership and politics are much to blame for Cambodia's present day problems. There are injustices taking place that we in America could not imagine in our own country. "World Vision Cambodia commits to the aggressive pursuit of strategies to work with Cambodian children and adults, in communities and within the government, to address and improve issues of peace and justice that affect the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized."

The following is taken from WVC Peace and Justice Program highlights:
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From 2006-2010, WVC Peace and Justice Program will seek to address four identified critical roadblocks to achieving peace and justice. These are:

1. Violence Against Children
2. Worst and Hazardous Forms of Child Labor
3. Breakdown of Morality, Family Values and Sense of Community
4. Power Abuse and Exclusion that Hurts the Poor and Vulnerable

Violence Against Children:
Significant time and resources will be expended towards combating violence in identified communities as well as making sure that boys and girls who are survivors of violence in target areas receive effective care and healing services. Key Target Groups: Boys and girls who are survivors of violence (e.g. rape, physical and mental abuse, neglect).

Worst and Hazardous Forms of Child Labor:
Specific and tested interventions that contribute to the elimination of worst and hazardous forms of child labor will be identified and implemented. Survivors of child labor often have a distorted view of themselves and the environment in which they exist. Their need for caring, restoration and reintegration into their communities will be at the heart of all program activities. Key Target Groups: Vulnerable children within WV target areas which include children working in factories (e.g. brick factories), child domestic laborers, scavengers, trafficked children, survivors of commercial and sexual exploitation, etc.

Breakdown of Morality, Family Values and Sense of Community:
Intentional efforts towards transforming the breakdown of morality, family values and sense of community will be employed so that boys, girls and adults in target communities have transformed values, attitudes and actions resulting to increased trust, respect and co-operation leading to more peace. Key Target Groups: Boys and girls in peace clubs and children's clubs, parents, teachers, village chief, police and religious groups/leaders.

Power Abuse and Exclusion that Hurts the Poor and Vulnerable:
Program implementation will employ purposive actions that counter power abuse and exclusion that is detrimental to the quality of life of vulnerable children and their families. The goal is to enable people in target communities to harness their collective capacity to analyse local power abuse problems, identify solutions, and mobilize themselves to protect their rights and curtail the threats posed by abusive persons in authority. Key Target Groups: Communities in WV target areas, children and youth clubs, teachers, local authorities, persons in positions of authority, national agencies (especially those who have a mandate related to human rights violations).

World Vision is an international Christian relief and development organization working to promote the well-being of all people - especially children. World Vision seeks to serve people who are poor worldwide, regardless of race, religion or ethnic origin.
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Click Here to Read more!

Making the PEACE Plan Personal

Please refer to previous posts "The PEACE Plan", "5 Global Giants", "The Solution", "The Plan" and "PEACE Trips" prior to reading this post so that it makes sense.

The following content is a summary of what Rick Warren has laid out in his global peace plan.
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The PEACE Plan begins with Christians understanding how the Great Commission of Jesus impacts life on a daily basis. What does it mean to live "on-mission" 24/7?

The PEACE Plan has three components to help every believer be a world-class Christian:
1. Personal PEACE
2. Local PEACE
3. Global PEACE

Personal PEACE is what each person can do within their circles of influence as it relates to the five areas (planting churches, equipping leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation). Below is a list of suggestions you can use today to begin living on-missions in each of the five areas. These are given just as examples to get you started. use your creativity to add new actions for each area!

Plant Churches. What I can do...
- Believe God could uses me to host a new group!
- Begin praying for two to four people who do not have a relationship with Jesus.
- Invite them to my new small group.
- Seek opportunities to share the Good News through my testimony.
- Invite and bring someone to an evangelistic church service.

Equip Servant Leaders. What I can do...
- Invite two to four believers to share the responsibility of my small group.
- Encourage them to pair us as spiritual partners to grow in God's five purposes for their lives.
- Help a believer take their next steps with God in their spiritual journey.
- Meet with someone over coffee to share what God is doing in my life.
- Invite and bring them to my small group.

Assist the Poor. What I can do...
- Pray for people in my spheres of influence that are in financial need.
- Ask God to make me aware of people living in poverty around me and commit some of my time, talent and money (beyond my tithe) to assist these people on a regular basis.
- Seek to help them in practical ways through job searches, budget planning or assisting in debt reduction.
- Teach them a new skill or provide tools through classes or training.

Care for the Sick. What I can do...
- Do an act of practical kindness to someone I know who is sick; them them a meal, offer to shuttle them to the doctor, do errands or shopping for them, watch their children, or send an encouraging note.
- Pray for healing, strength, comfort and peace with those I know who are physically suffering.
- Commit to praying daily for two weeks for that person.
- Communicate genuine concern by following up with that person.

Educate the Next Generation. What I can do...
- Look for someone younger with whom I could build a relationship and become a mentor.
- Encourage someone around me who may be struggling as a result of a bad choice or who lacks an educational opportunity.
- Help them enroll in English as a Second Language classes.
- Offer to tutor or support them.

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Please feel free to share some creative ideas that you have for any of these 5 areas of PEACE. In your comment, state which area(s) of PEACE and then your idea. Thanks for your feedback! Click Here to Read more!

PEACE Trips

Please refer to previous posts "The PEACE Plan", "5 Global Giants", "The Solution" and "The Plan" prior to reading this post so that it makes sense.

The following content is a summary of what Rick Warren has laid out in his global peace plan.
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Each PEACE trip is a comprehensive strategy, which attacks all five problems because they are entwined. Non-government organizations (NGOs) have historically had a tendency to specialize in just one problem area and governments have historically tended to ignore the spiritual dimension, but churches are uniquely called to care about all of the problems.
PEACE teams come along side other churches to empower and equip them to be healthy, balanced churches, fulfilling the great commission while utilizing the resources in the harvest to address the evil giants in their community. This allows the work of the small group to be both sustainable and reproducible. PEACE teams will be planting churches in areas where there is no church to partner with.

PEACE teams are equipped to train local churches to address the five evil giants in their community using their resources and other tools that are easily reproduced. This allows the local church members to be fully empowered to do PEACE themselves without the dependence on outside resources.

In the past there has been much criticism on the effectiveness of short-term missions trips. The PEACE plan stands out, in that we are training churches to connect directly with the local church in the area that they are reaching out to. Each PEACE team looks at the effectiveness and health of the local church since they too are called to live on missions and are the most effective avenue for eradicating the evil giants in their area. We are intentionally short-term because it forces us to rely on the local church in the area rather than our own people.

Our purpose in sending out short term trips is to help demonstrate for the indigenous community what they can do for themselves and what they can do for others. Financial dependence carries the implications that they can't do things for themselves and they can't help others. By utilizing short-term trips to empower and equip the local community all efforts become sustainable and reproducible. Click Here to Read more!

The Plan

Please refer to previous posts "The PEACE Plan", "5 Global Giants" and "The Solution" prior to reading this post so that it makes sense.

The following content is a summary of what Rick Warren has laid out in his global peace plan.
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The PEACE Plan is what Jesus did and this is how we can continue His strategy:

1. Plant & Partner with Churches (to address the Giant of Spiritual Emptiness)
- Most 501c3 organizations in the past 50 years exist because the local churches weren't doing what they should have been doing. This is due to the fact that much of the talent and expertise would go outside of the local church because churches didn't understand how to work with an entrepreneurial spirit or because the local church was too slow. Ministries such as Young Life, Campus Crusaders, Billy Graham Evangelism, World Vision, and the like were started because the local church wasn't reaching these needs groups effectively. In fact, history records over the past 50 years that most of the major accomplishments in these areas were NOT made by the local church but rather by these great organizations that were out on the battlefields doing the work.
Churches in past have taken a posture of saying, "We will pray, pay and stay out of the way." And so not to discredit the work of these organizations - but these accomplishments are only a drop in the bucket to what could be done. All of our agencies combined could not get it done - haven't even come close - this is because the VAST MAJORITY of believers (99% of them) sit in the pews doing nothing in these areas. We are not going to solve the world's greatest problems when 99% of the workforce is unmoved and immobilized. We have to figure out how to get the average person in the average pew involved, this is the beginning of P.E.A.C.E.

Technology has changed what it means to be missional, because now through the power of email, Internet, satellite, broadcast, etc. - ordinary people can be global Christians. Encourage each member of our churches to experience PEACE on a personal-level, local-level, cross-cultural-level and a global-level just once. If they do it just once, they'll be hooked - and how could they not?

The missions strategy of the 20th century has been first pray, then study, then give and then maybe someday go. Well Rick would suggest that we should adopt a new missions strategy for the 21st century that is first go. Don't pray, don't study, don't give - just go! Then come back and you'll want to pray, you'll want to study and you'll want to give.

As recorded in Romans 15:20 and I Corinthians 3:8 it only takes a day or two to plant a church. What global impact would be made for the kingdom if every church had a baby? The mark of physical maturity is the ability to reproduce. The mark of spiritual maturity is having a baby. A church that has not parented another church is still an immature church.

2. Equip Servant Leaders (to address the Giant of Corrupt Leadership)
- Refer to 2 Timothy 2:2.
- Teach others to be others-centered and then "pass it on".

3. Assist the Poor (to address the Giant of Extreme Poverty)
- Refer to 1 John 3:17, James 1:27 and Proverbs 19:17.

4. Care for the Sick (to address the Giant of Pandemic Diseases and Care for those who Suffer)
- Refer to Luke 6:36

5. Educate the Next Generation (to address the Giant of Illiteracy and Lack of Education)
- Refer to Psalm 78:6-7 and Proverbs 22:6

Agencies and organizations have been doing PEACE for years, the only change we make is how it is done and who is doing it. It's time to turn the tables and set them properly. The local church will be in the battlefields doing the work while the organizations support them.

We must move the local church from self-consumerism to unselfish-contribution. We need to teach our members to serve God by serving others. Faithfulness to Christ means taking risks, just read the parable of the talents and you'll see that Jesus despised the one who "played it safe."

We must ask ourselves what God could do through us if...
...we didn't care who gets the credit...
...we didn't care about our reputation...
...we didn't care about getting rich...
...we didn't care about getting criticized...

PEACE is a grassroots church-to-church strategy, helping churches around the world to make a difference together. Through PEACE, local congregations will become the heroes. Because of their location, motivation, longevity and credibility - local churches are the only grassroots organizations that can effectively address the five evil giants. Click Here to Read more!

The Solution

Please refer to previous posts "The PEACE Plan" and "5 Global Giants" prior to reading this post so that it makes sense.

The following content is a summary of what Rick Warren has laid out in his global peace plan.
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These are 5 things that Jesus focused on during His time on earth that we can learn from:

1. Jesus planted churches.
- Matthew 16:18 - and now His church is 2.3 billion strong

2. Jesus equipped leaders.
- Mark 3:14 & John 13:15
- Jesus spent 3 years training his disciples whom He entrusted the keys to His Kingdom
- Jesus loved everybody, fed the thousands, trained the seventy, discipled the twelve and mentored the three
3. Jesus assisted the poor.
- Luke 4:18 - this is His agenda (there are over 2,000 verses on the poor)
- Be careful to not only look at missions through evangelical blinders - see that it is more than just souls for heaven later - it is for souls AND lives in the present (His Kingdom in heaven and on earth)

4. Jesus cared for the sick.
- Matthew 9:35

5. Jesus educated people.
- Matthew 4:23
- Jesus spent His time like this: 1/3 teaching, 1/3 preaching and 1/3 healing
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Reformation (to reform)
"If the first reformation was about Believing - then we could say that this reformation is about Behaving. In the past 50 years the church in America has essentially cut off the hands and feet of Jesus. We've been acting as nothing more than a mouth - a big mouth. We've been known about what we say, not by what we do. In fact, we're known more by what we're against rather than what we're for." (Rick Warren)

I like what Rick says here. I must agree that we as the American church at large have been guilty of this - and it may be the media's fault or our own (or both). This isn't to discredit that churches should be about "being" and what we "believe" - only that we should ALSO be about "doing" and "behaving". The gospel is whole - and the holistic gospel is this: personal salvation AND social salvation. Christ didn't just come to establish His Kingdom in heaven some day when we die - but also to bring His Kingdom alive in our present lives here on earth - though it cannot be compared to what eternity will be. This reformation (as Warren refers) is about finding balance so that we aren't just about personal salvation or social salvation. Generally evangelical churches have focused the majority of their efforts on personal salvation while mainline churches have focused the majority of their efforts on social salvation. Where are the churches that are focusing their efforts on a balanced view of the two? Let us be an example to others what a balanced church looks like and acts like. Let us be known for what we're for and what we do instead of just what we say or what we're against.
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So here is the SOLUTION as Warren states it. Matthew 10 and Luke 10 (the sending out of the 70) shows us how we do PEACE. "Ordinary people, empowered by God, making a difference wherever they are."

1. Ordinary People
- Revivals start in ordinary people's hearts
- This isn't only for the superstars or professionals
- This is a plan for the lay person

2. Empowered by God
- Any time God tells us to do something, He gives us the power to do it

3. Making a Difference Together
- No loners should go on missions trips because they come back and have no one to share their experience with - then over time it just fades away
- This is a Group-Based strategy

4. Wherever They Are
- Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, The Ends of the Earth
- Personal-Level, Local-Level, Across Regional & Cultural Barriers, Global-Level
- This is not about Location - it's about Dedication

PEACE can empower and equip each member of a local church to address these global giants in a holistic manner throughout their local community (Jerusalem), nearby communities (Judea), regional area crossing cultural barriers (Samaria), and globally (to the entire world).

This is a massive effort to mobilize 1 billion Christians around the world into an outreach effort to attack the five global, evil giants of our day. Click Here to Read more!

Five Global Giants

If you've been following my posts keep reading - if not, please read the post titled "The PEACE Plan" as a preface to this one.

The following content is a summary of what Rick Warren has laid out in his global peace plan.
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These are the 5 Global Giants that ravage the lives of billions - not just millions:

1. Spiritual Emptiness
- Over 4.5 billion people in the world do not know Jesus Christ
- Of these, 2 billion never even heard the Christian message

2. Egocentric Leadership
- Self-centered or corrupt leaders are abusing their power to serve themselves instead of using their power and influence for the good of those who need help the most

- This is what happens when servant leaders become celebrities
- Refer to Zech. 10:2, Ezek. 34:8, Prov. 11:14

3. Extreme Poverty
- More than 8 million people around the world die every year due to extreme poverty related issues
- Over 3 billion people (half of the world's population) live on less than $2 a day
- Over 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day
- Refer to Lam. 4:8-9

4. Pandemic Diseases
- Currently, 300 million people suffer from curable diseases, most of these are under the age of 5
- There are over 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS resulting in 15 million children losing one or both parents
- Pandemic is an epidemic spread over a vast geographical region
- Refer to Jer. 28:8

5. Illiteracy and Lack of Education
- Over 3 billion people are functionally illiterate (don't have the reading/writing skills necessary for ordinary practical needs)
- This just isn't illiteracy but also poor education
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Everyone has failed to solve these problems. There is only one force on this earth that can solve these global giants - that is the local church (with Jesus Christ as the head) - an army of 2.5 billion people just waiting to be mobilized.

Government + Business + NGOs + Local Church = Solution

1. Government's Role
- The government provides security to its people
- The government provides freedom to its people
- The government sets and enforces laws

2. Business's Role
- Businesses provide jobs which is the outlet out of poverty
- Businesses provide capital to invest
- Businesses provide and educate in management skills

3. NGO's Role
- NGOs provide expertise to the specific areas

4. The Local Church's Role
- The local church has universal distribution (we are the largest network on the planet)
- The local church has the largest volunteer pool (hundreds of millions)
- The local church has credibility in their communities (where none others have this - the local church is trusted)
Only a COALITION can solve these global giant problems with Christ as our model and our leader. Click Here to Read more!