"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  Most of you know this verse, or at least have heard it in some form or another.  It is practically identical in every translation available to us, but The Message paraphrases it this way: "We've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us."  I don't think I need to take time convincing all of us that we are less than perfect. 

But something I never noticed before became very clear to me lately.  I've heard this verse my whole life, but it was not until recently that it really took on a new meaning to me.  Look at the terminology that Paul - the author of Romans - uses: "For all have sinned..."  I don't know a lot of Greek but what little I do know tells me this: the word for sin means, "to miss the mark, to be off-target."  The picture is one of a bow and arrows. 

I'm no archer but I know that if I miss my target, I was obviously aiming for something in the first place - hence, the target.  Well, what was that target?  The verse tells us: "the glory of God."  We were aiming for God's standard of what it means to be "righteous" and we missed...terribly.  None of us have the precision or the skill to continually shoot the arrows of our actions into the target of God's glorious righteousness.  That is what sin is.  

But for the longest time, I believed that my sin only affected me.  It was a personal thing: I had to confess it to God; I had to deal with the consequences; I had to live with it; I, I, I.  And of course if my sin affected someone else, I apologized to them.  But it took me a long time to realize that my sin was against God personally.  Whether or not I was conscious of it, my sin was an all-out attack on God.

The Bible is clear about this kind of thing.  "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9).  David said, "Against You, You only [God], have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight" (Psalm 51:2).  "The sinful mind is hostile toward God" (Romans 8:7).  Need we say more?  But in order for that to really sink in, we have to go back to our first passage: "For all have [missed the mark] and fall short of the glory of God."

If we miss the mark, what are we hitting instead?

Every time we sin, I believe that we pierce the heart of God with our actions.  I think it's clear that the weight of Scripture which we just looked at supports that.  Have we considered the serious nature of our wrong actions?  Do we realize that every sin - every thought of ill intent, every thing we do, every thing we say that does not line up with God's standard - is like an arrow straight through the heart of God?

When Joseph was presented with an opportunity to have this guilt-free sexual relationship with his bosses' wife (Genesis 39), what did he say?  "How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"  We say, in retrospect, "Well, that makes sense, because the Ten Commandments say, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'" True.  But when Joseph said this, the Ten Commandments were not even written yet!  Moses would not even be born for another 450 years, but Joseph understood the heart of God.  You can almost hear him saying in that verse, "How could I do this and pierce the heart of God like that?"

But this isn't a pity party for God.  Even though his heart has been broken time and again since he created Adam and Eve, he never stopped loving His Creation.  Despite the fact that every sin finds its target in the heart of God, our arrows of sin cannot stop His heart from loving us.  That same author, Paul, would go on to say, "God demonstrated his love in this: that while we were still sinning, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  In other words, "God showed us how strong his love for us really us: that while we were still sending arrows of sin into his heart, Christ died for us."  May we never take that lightly.  God's Love has overcome Sin's Target, because His Love is greater than all our sin.

**********************************************************************

Just as a reminder for those of you interested in our Valentine's Dinner: on Thursday, February 12, we will have our annual celebration for Valentine's Day.  If you are interested in getting a ticket, call me at 631.2636, ext. 1-267, get it from Joe on Thursday, or stop by the Mosaic Table in the atrium on Sunday.  The festivities will start at 6:30pm, and this is going to be a very special occasion.  Dress up real nice; extra credit for Tuxedoes, guys!  Get your ticket ASAP.

The electives continue this Thursday, but it's not too late to come for the first time or to bring some friends!  I hope you will do that, because these 3 electives are already so, so good - and they're only 2 weeks into it!  There's still a lot of time to learn and grow in the image of Christ.  I hope you will be there.

Have a great week!

Jonathan

Hey everyone:

Well, we started our Bible electives last Thursday and, considering the weather, we had a good turnout.  But we know that many of you were not able to come.  We feel bad about that.

So we wanted to start off on the right foot.  Here is what we are doing this Thursday, January 22: starting promptly at 6:30 P.M., we will be serving A FREE SPAGHETTI DINNER (you read me right).  Now, we will be taking an offering that night – so you will want to be ready to give to that, but the spaghetti dinner is free.  There is one catch.  If you are thinking of just coming to the dinner and then leaving before the worship and Bible study, the charge is $5.  But come promptly at 6:30 P.M., eat dinner with us.  WE WILL STOP SERVING AT 6:55 P.M.

We will begin worship at 7:10 P.M. sharp and then go to our Bible study electives.

MOVING TOWARD PURPOSE in the Andrews Chapel. My brother, Pastor David Drake, is a phenomenal counselor.  This elective is for those who feel stuck in some issue and need to get free from it so they can grow.  It’s not too late to join this elective.

DISCIPLESHIP 201 in the CrossPoint Theatre. I’m teaching this one.  I am talking in this series about some of the major things people would have thought when they first heard Jesus say, “Follow Me.”  This week I am sharing some stuff that I learned that will absolutely change the way you think about the Bible and about following Christ – guaranteed!

LIVING SINGLE AGAIN in the Fireside Room.  Facilitated by John Ciavatta and Charity Demko.  This elective  is based on a New Video Series Designed to Help you In Relationships.  Whether you've never been married or have been through divorce, Living Single Again will help guide you through the maze of starting a romantic relationship.  

Through some miscommunication, for which I (Pastor Deone) take full responsibility, the first video was not shown in its entirety.  For those of you who were present last Thursday and especially for those who were absent, you can visit LIVING SINGLE AGAIN’s website and watch the first session in its entirety.  Click here to watch the video.

Moving forward in this series, during each session the entire video will be shown, with discussion following.  So, we look forward to you coming back to join us – or joining us for the first time – as we explore the following topics:

Part 2: "Why Do Relationships Come Unglued?"

Part 3: "How to Super-Glue Your Next Serious Relationship"

Part 4: "Establishing Parameters To Successfully Glue a Relationship"

Part 5: "Testing the Glue"

Part 6: "Keeping the Glue from Getting Contaminated"

Part 7: "Eliminating Toxins from the Glue"

Please share this information with those that you may have invited last week, or with those who might not be on our mailing list/have access to this blog.  I am looking forward to seeing you this week.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 631-2636, ext. 1-206.

Blessings,

Pastor Deone

Hey everyone

I am sure we have all heard the song, “But baby it’s cold outside.”  Well, that’s what is going to be like on Thursday, I hear.

But it will be nice and warm inside The Chapel as we launch our Winter Bible Studies together.  We will kick off the evening at 7:00 P.M. with some praise and worship.  Our in-house recording artists (Kurt Coffed and Beckie) will lead us in a time of worship.  Have you heard their new CD?  It’s really cool.  We have some that you can purchase if you would like.

We will then proceed to our Bible studies.  And there are 3.

MOVING TOWARD PURPOSE
This elective is a repeat for people who couldn’t get in on it last fall.  Rev. David Drake (yes, he’s my brother; but more importantly, he’s an outstanding counseling and gives great wisdom) will teach this study.

His elective is designed for people who feel like they are stuck in life for one reason or another.  Things like bitterness, anger, depression.  People were really helped and we believe they will helped this semester.  We meet for this class in the Andrews Chapel.

LIVING SINGLE AGAIN
An 8-week video series – facilitated by John Ciavatti and Charity Demko
Meeting in the Fireside Room Whether you've never been married or have been through divorce, Living Single again will help guide you through the maze of starting a romantic relationship.  This course is for every single person--whether you're single, dating, courting, or even engaged.  Living Single Again enables you to take healthy steps with hope toward your future and future relationships.  Through Living Single Again, you will discover the glue that holds relationships together and learn how to cement a relationship for a lifetime. You will also learn what causes relationships to come unglued so you can avoid past emotional pain in the future.  With Living Single Again you will find sound advice on when and how to attempt a new close relationship.  You will learn how to set up boundaries to protect and guide you through the dating maze.

DISCIPLESHIP 201
CrossPoint Theatre – taught by Pastor Deone
This is a new series. You did not need to take last fall’s bible study to be involved in this one.  Anyway, we will look at what the first-century men and women would have understood when Jesus said, “Follow Me.”  How do we communicate to people that there is something powerfully different about us because we are disciples of Christ?  Find out this winter.

I look forward to seeing you this Thursday.  Plenty of hot chocolate or coffee or tea and brownies after for our dessert fellowship.

Blessings

Pastor Deone