I Don't Care

It might sound mean to say it, but it’s true. I don’t care. I don’t care about your history. I don’t care about your problems, your issues and disgraces. What I really care about is which way you are facing.

Religious people think that in order to be ‘okay’ with God, we have to be really, really good. They usually have a long list of things you should do and a longer list of things you shouldn’t do. Then they look and see where everyone around them is with regard to their list. If you happen to show up in their place of worship, they will measure you up and see ‘where you are.’ Or in other words, see how well your doing compared to themselves.

I’m so glad that Jesus had a completely different approach. Jesus hung out with the roughest and dirtiest people of his society. The people who loved to spend time with him did not measure up to the religious standards. Additionally, Jesus constantly and purposely irritated, annoyed and condemned the really neat and tidy religious people.

So why was this? Jesus didn’t care about the outward religious performance of people. He cared about their hearts. If their hearts were not soft toward God, no amount of good behavior could make up for it. The screw-ups of society knew they were screw-ups and they knew they needed someone to fix them. And that is what Jesus loved. This is what religious people forget.

So I don’t care where you are in life - divorced, broken, addicted, proud, angry, unemployed, employed - whatever. What I care about is your heart. Which way is it facing? Is it facing Jesus because you realize he is the only one who can fix your brokenness? Or is it facing inward, making excuses, justifications and hiding your brokenness?

Everyone is broken. Some people just hide it better. Others find grace.

Fixing my eyes on Jesus,

Pastor Jason Wolfe

Strong Young Men

“I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” 1 Jn. 2:14b

Strength can be a scary thing. I had a football coach who was built like an M1A1 tank. He loved to do ‘blow out’ work-outs in the weight room. His biceps were as big as my thighs and he had that crazy look in his eyes and a smirk on his face. His strength was a bit scary.

But worse than a intense football coach, the combination of strength and foolishness can be deadly. This is why it is young men who fill our prisons and cause most of the problems in our country. Young men are strong because God created them to be so. And most are fools because it takes a lot of work to pound the fool out of a boy and no one seems to have time to do that anymore (except for the military). Therefore, most of our young men are growing up to be strong fools who wreak havoc on schools, cities, families, women and children. Or they are ego-maniacs who stare at their abs in a mirror all day but never do anything worth while or productive.

Strength is not evil. Strength which is combined with wisdom and courage can be an awesome weapon for good in the kingdom of Jesus. Life Church MUST have Strong, Wise, Courageous Young Men because there are so many strong fools all around us. This is why I am thrilled to see young men playing strategic roles in our church. My prayer is that Life Church will be a boot-camp in godly masculinity and that young men will be sent out from here to fight against the forces of darkness all over the world.

So young men, pay close attention to the verse above. We need you to be strong and to be FILLED with God’s word, and to fight to overcome the evil one. Use your God given strength for GOOD and for the Gospel. Put down the remote, the video game controller, the newspaper, the porn magazine, the whiskey bottle – and pick up your bible. It is a sword. Read it, study it, learn it, believe it – then gather some courage and take that sword into battle against the forces of darkness.

Pastor Jason Wolfe

Healthy Masculinity

Usually when you talk about what it means to be a “masculine man” most people envision belching the alphabet, bulging biceps, speaking in sentence fragments, spitting contests, and igniting our farts with a bic lighter. While these aspects are often byproducts of a gathering of men; they DO NOT characterize a healthy ideology of masculinity.

Jesus, the greatest Man who ever lived, embodied a healthy ideology of masculinity. This one man died so that we all might have life. Likewise, God calls men to die so that others might live. This begins with your family. The bible speaks of a wife & children as a reward – not a ball and chain. You are to lead them. You are to teach them about Jesus. You are to love them. You are to protect them. You are to help them find life in Christ. The only way you can do this is if you first realize your own need and “behold the man” – Jesus, and find strength in Him.

Another manly stud of the bible was the Apostle Paul. Here is something he said: “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” 2 Cor. 12:15

Our goal is that Life Church would be filled with men who’s hearts resonate with this statement and whose lives embody a healthy ideology of masculinity because they are being spent so others can have life. I believe our wives, children, and grandchildren would be forever grateful.

Pastor Jason.

Life Giver part 1

Hi my name is Kevin McGillicuddy and I am part of the launch team for Life Church Lancatser. This is my story of how during college God got a hold of my heart and changed me. God gave me life when I had none what so ever. I did not grow up religious or Christian but God met me one rainy Sunday afternoon on my living room floor while I was face down crying my eyes out.

I met Jesus during my freshman year of college, before that I lived by the standard of “I’m a good person and my good will outweigh my bad”. So I went to church every now and then growing up but only to make God happy and ensure my safety from hell. God was just this force I had to appease and try not to draw too much attention my way from Him. After High School I started to wonder if there was more to life. I was ready to go to College get drunk and break commandments when my mind kept wandering back to what is life all about? I quickly ignored and move on. So my very early into my college party career I found myself sitting in a dark basement drinking nasty light beer with blacked out windows hoping the cops didn’t show due to loud music. I sat there and it hit me – is this all there is to life? I thought “am I doomed to commit the same actions as my father and grandfather? Is life just a serious of events that I experience but ultimately never are new or unique?” The ramifications of the classic “there has to be more to life then this” hit me like a ton of bricks.

Those questions really rattled me because at that time, and it made me think about what I would leave behind when I died. I wanted to leave something good and not just fade into history.  There had to be more to life than experiences, taxes and death. I left the party and went home to my apartment sad because I could not enjoy my sin. I caved in and said I should go to church since it has been awhile.

Part 2 coming next week

Life Giver part 2

When we last left our hero (me), he was leaving a drunken frat party and heading home for the night with much on his mind. This is the conclusion of my story of how I found new life in Jesus. You can read part 1 here

The church service was very stuffy, I was the only dude in jeans and I just woke up an hour an ago. I did not get much out of the sermon but pejorative glances. One the way out I was handed a CD, which was poorly recorded with some cheap PC microphone. The CD said on the front “Are you good enough to go to heaven?”  I knew the answer was yes, but I thought I would give it a try. The CD took me through Gods standard for good people – the Ten Commandments. I learned that only perfect people go to heaven I learned Gods standard for “good” was perfection. The CD stepped me through the commandments: don’t lie, don’t steal, and don’t commit adultery or lust which is adultery of the heart. I tapped out by the third one and admitted guilt before God. At this point though Gods standard seemed a little unfair and I thought He should get a grip! I then learned that just like me God is selective about who He invites into his house. He is holy the bible says that law breakers of His rules can’t enter into his rest. I would not want perverts or murders staying the night at my house either. At this point I thought what about my good works ?? Just like our courts in America, me helping the United Way will not make the judge excuse my crimes.  The bible even says our good deeds before God are like soiled rags. Even at best we can admit they are often they are tainted with bad motives. I was running out of options, God is just and He made me and the rules and He was going to His justice. I knew I could not resolve to live a good life, since I have failed already and I knew payment must be made for the crimes against God.

I felt hopeless and literally started bawling my eyes out. Then I learned about Jesus and how he came and lived a perfect life that I failed to live and died to take the punishment I deserved. God punished Jesus in my place on the cross. My heart was so contrite and tender as I submitted to Jesus that moment. No one has ever done anything so great for me before. He took the wrath for my sin and He gave me His perfect life. I was offered amnesty and I took it. I put my faith in him and turned from my sin to a new life of loving Jesus. God is still just because my sin was paid for because Jesus paid for it for me.

• By seeing my sin, I saw Jesus.
• By the Bible showing me my true self, I did not miss the grace I needed
• By seeing my disease I did not despise the cure which is Jesus Christ

Kevin McGillicuddy