metro church

Richard is in heaven!

2009-06-10T13:17:00.001-07:00

Richard’s in heaven!

Dear friends,

Our beloved brother Richard Felipe went home to be with the Lord early this morning Wednesday, June 10th. As many of you know he battled with cancer in his flesh but his spirit stayed strong throughout. He has received the ultimate healing and he is now in heaven! Please pray for his family during this time. There will be a memorial service to celebrate his life; please check our website at www.metrochurch.org for the details, which will be posted as soon as they are available.

In Him,

Metro Staff Family

Where would we go?

2009-04-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

These days are dire. If you listen to the news, it's hard news after
hard news... Earthquakes in Italy destroy lives and even history, our economy is bleak. I heard a statistic the other day that one in five children in the US is homeless (someone please prove me wrong!), over 129,000 children in the US are awaiting adoption, bankruptcies are at a new high, joblessness is 10%, laws are changing that actually are beginning to encroach on our freedoms... there is no escaping it... You simply cannot ignore the climate. I heard a message the other day that the church is designed to flourish under these kinds of times. Agreed. History shows that. But it's still scary. This morning, Peter's words in John 6 were a fresh reminder to me....

John 6:68

Simon Peter answered to Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

1 John 2

2009-03-27T08:51:00.001-07:00

Jr. High Pancake Brunch

2009-03-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

We got a great summer camp lined for the Jr. High students and Minh is trying to give the kids ownership in raising the funds to go. On April 4th from 8:00am to 10:30am, they're going to be throwing a big breakfast and they're going to be asking for a suggested donation of $5.00/person.

contact info@metrochurch.org or Minh (mnguyen@metrochurch.org) for any more details.

Women's Beauty Brunch

2009-03-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Women of Metro -

You are beautiful!

Let's celebrate the fact that our God did a marvelous work when He made you.

We're having brunch this Saturday at the church offices - 9-11am... March 14th.

Come in your jammies, with food to share and a heart open to be with your beautiful Metro sisters.

Life without fear

2009-03-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

This week, in the homework for the Womens' Bible Study, Beth Moore asked the question- and not just rhetorically, "can you imagine living without fear?"
What would that look like?
How would you change?
Would you make different decisions?
What if we lived truly ONLY for an audience of ONE?

I immediately placed the question over my computer and desk to see daily...

What would your life look like without fear?

Where Do You Stand On Proposition 8?

2009-02-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

On March 5, the California Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments about the constitutionality of Proposition 8, a ballot measure voters approved last fall to the displeasure of many liberals in our state and around the world. Prop. 8 adds this language to the California Constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Only 14 short words that may result in years of legal battles in California. See, “Gay Couples Await Thursdays Prop. 8 Challenge,” http://www.ocregister.com/articles/court-marriage-laguna-2320172-gay-city.

I agree with Prop. 8, even though I sorrow at the need to add the language to our constitution. I am, however, squeamish about one of the arguments used to justify the amendment.

First of all, for Christians to call the proposition a “protect marriage” or “defense of marriage” initiative seems to me both self-serving and self-righteous. I think we have lost standing to use the issue of homosexual marriage to defend the sanctity of our God-ordained institution. As a group, Christians’ record of divorces, broken homes, spousal and child abuse, infidelity and sexual addictions rivals the world’s.

If we want to protect the sanctity of marriage, we need to start with our own house before we knock on someone else’s door. We could do a lot more for the defense of marriage than a constitutional amendment does if we would just remain true to our marriage vows in thought, word and deed. Many of us have had good cause to repent for our failure in the area of marriage. And some of us still need to confront the habitual sin destroying our marital intimacy.

Second, the way God created the universe needs no defense. It simply is the way it is. I, in my faux compassion, might have done things differently. I may have decided everyone has the right to love one another anyway they choose. I may have determined that any form of love, after all, is better than indifference. But there is a good chance I would have messed things up.

God, who is neither arbitrary nor capricious, designed the world with an unequalled and magnanimous intelligence. Rules and laws derived from him were created for our best interests. And in that Genesis 2 act of completion that formed male and female from one man, God set in motion his best plan for mankind. He did this knowing that we would corrupt his original purpose to such an extent that it would take Jesus, the one-time sacrifice for all sin, to make things right.

For a list of the ways man has corrupted God’s design, read Romans 1:18-32, an account of godlessness and wickedness of men. Sins including on that list include idolatry, sexual impurity, homosexuality, envy, gossip, arrogance and disobedience toward parents. These actions stir up the wrath of God, Paul writes. “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,” he admonishes, “they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

And that is why, my own and the church’s failings aside, I am for Prop. 8. In both prayer and advocacy, I want to agree with God. For me to be silent, I feel, not to challenge the powers of darkness at work to destroy mankind, is approval of wickedness by inaction.

But I am called to much more than speaking the truth about God’s design. My motive has to be love from a pure heart. And to do that, I need to connect to and try to understand Jesus’ heart of love toward homosexuals and his longing to set them free from the bonds of the enemy in order to live healthy lives.

I believe the root of the drive for homosexual marriage is the desire to be blessed by God. And even if all the Christians in California got out of the way, God is never going to bless that lifestyle, whether or not same-sex marriage is legal. It would be such a hollow victory for those who believe a civil rights violation is all that stands between them and happiness.

We know differently, and that is why we are charged with not only being ambassadors of the Gospel of truth but also with allowing Jesus to break our hearts for people who not only crave God’s blessing but who also desperately need his healing and redemption.

You see, Prop. 8 isn’t about us. And even though it says so, it’s not really about marriage. It’s also not about politics or judgment, and it’s not about anyone’s agenda. This may sound patronizing and condescending to people whose understanding has been dulled by Satan’s lies, but what Prop. 8 is really about is loving people enough to ask our government to stop the legitimatization of a practice that will only lead to their ultimate destruction.

So I am praying that the courts and the legislature will uphold Prop. 8. And I am also praying for freedom and salvation for members of the homosexual community in our city. Part of that prayer comes from Isaiah 56: 4-5. Although God was speaking to eunuchs, I am theorizing that the blessing in these verses meant for those forced by circumstance into sexual abstinence will apply with much more grace to those who choose sexual purity out of obedience to God:

"For this is what the Lord says: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant – to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off."

Perhaps that doesn’t offer as much as some desire in this life, but it provides everything in the life to come. And it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment.

Handling the Word of God

2009-02-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

Zondervan, publisher of the New International Version of the Bible, is conducting a “Bible Across America” tour in honor of the NIV’s 30th anniversary, reports the Los Angeles Times. “Hand-Copying the Bible, One Person Per Verse,” Los Angeles Times, Feb. 17, 2009, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bible17-2009feb17,0,3674654,full.story. The tour will take six months, across all 50 states and include 90 cities, during which 31,173 people will copy one verse each, two times, to create two completely handwritten versions of the Bible. One will be donated to the Smithsonian Institute, the other to the International Bible Society. Zondervan plans to publish the handwritten bible as “America’s NIV.” http://www.bibleacrossamerica.com/home.php.

Isn’t this an incredible project, both timely and relevant? Many believers evidently agree, lining up the past two Sundays at Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest and Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rolling Hills to participate. At a time when many people consider the Bible an anachronism, others across the country are reaffirming its worth word for word and line by line.

As I read about believers cherishing the opportunity to reverently transcribe printed text into their own script, I was reminded of 1 John 1:1: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

John was speaking of Jesus, the Word made flesh, authenticating his existence as both God and man. The Bible is about as close as we can get to that hands-on experience John speaks of. We long to have all our physical senses, not just our spirit, engaged in our love affair with Jesus. And that, I think, is why we sometimes have such convoluted relationships with Jesus the Word and the Bible the word.

How do we create the balance that seamlessly weaves the two together?

Perhaps, like me, you find Bible study hard and memorizing scripture even harder. We would rather hear the word of God directly from the original source. But I’ve found the flaw in that reasoning: My spiritual organ is still largely encased in unredeemed flesh. I don’t hear well some of the time and don’t always interpret what I hear accurately. Because of that, I’m forced to delve deeply into the written word for confirmation. It’s a necessary tension.

Others of you may be so uncomfortable with this uncertainty that you’d rather rely on scripture as your only source of revelation. There’s nothing wrong with that, I suppose, except that you might be missing a rich well of affirmation and an intimacy that you won’t find anywhere else. I think that without a live interaction with Jesus, the word of God becomes a rule book, easy to dismiss as out of touch with changing cultural and moral values. A steady diet of Jesus the Word keeps scripture alive, urging us to the relevancy of conforming our actions to its wisdom.

I think the focus of our private devotions should be the integration of our relationship with Jesus and our relationship with the Bible. And I think at that juxtaposition, both our physical senses and spiritual being’s craving to know Jesus gets met. What do you think?

The poet William Rose Benet put it this way in the first stanza of “The Words of Jesus”:

When you read what he said
It never stays on the page,
It comes alive in the air. Aramaic or Greek
I have not, but the words glow and speak
Even in English, the words have joy like rage,
They step over aeons, march over ages,
They are not antlike marks on whispering pages!

Seek God for Los Angeles 2009

2009-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

When Katie Couric of “60 Minutes” interviewed Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who last month guided U.S. Airways Flight 1549 safely into the Hudson River, among the questions she asked him was this: “Did you at any point pray?” He replied, “I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane.” click here for the story.

If you are an intercessor, that is perhaps the best validation you’ve ever heard. And it’s a timely comment considering that on February 25 Metro Church will join other churches in our city, and along with congregations around the nation, will begin the annual 40 days of prayer for our respective cities.

How do you pray for your city? It’s daunting, and that’s why WayMakers, an Austin, Texas-based ministry, publishes a guide that walks us through the process. The guide is a daily devotional that includes daily scriptures and prayers that are jumping off points for that day’s prayer focus. For example, here’s the prayer for March 20, “Seeking God to work with his people to break the bonds of injustice”:

“Change the economic structures of our land to reflect your kingdom. Expose the bonds of wickedness that are within our reach. Show us ways that our own financial decisions may keep others trapped in cycles of injustice. Give us ways to free others from oppression. Bring the dawn of a new day of abundance for all in our land.”

Timely, isn’t it? After each reading, you follow the prayer prompts but can also allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into a tangent that will be your part of complete prayer diagram for that day. At the end of the 40 days, you feel a sense of completeness, that indeed the city has been fully enveloped in prayer. You can pick up a prayer guide on Sunday.

Across our city, people are passengers in lifestyles serving as the vehicles of their destruction. Do you have their backs?

“I have posted watchmen or your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah 62: 6-7.

(to buy a prayer guide as pictured above, you can purchase them on Sundays at our church, or here)

Worship Realignment Has Me Out of Joint

2009-02-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

When Pastor Steve asked me how I like the worship realignment, I told him I don’t like it at all. It makes me uncomfortable. I’m not sure what to do on Sunday without music. Probably a lot of you feel the same way. But before I explain why I think we should give the whole thing a chance, let me tell you the story of our dog.

My son begged and begged for a dog. We said no after no. We weren’t dog people. We had never had a dog and didn’t know how to raise one. A dog would tear up the furniture. The entire concept of dog ownership was so overwhelming, I would not consider it. Finally, after about the 100th time my son tried to convince me he needed a dog, I said, mostly in exasperation, “If you really want a dog, you need to ask Jesus to change our minds, because that’s the only way it’s going to happen.”

About a week later, my husband said, “I’ve completely changed my mind about getting a dog. I think we should adopt one.” My son and I looked at each other in astonishment. His dad didn’t know he was praying we would change our minds, and in that moment, when I saw my son’s faith in Jesus’ love for him become cemented in his heart, I knew the Holy Spirit had spoken. We were getting a dog. That Saturday, we adopted an eight-week-old puppy.

That was two years ago. Now, my husband and I laugh at how apprehensive we were about dog ownership. Most of our fears were never realized. We learned to incorporate our dog into our family and adjusted to his needs. We love our dog more than we ever thought possible. For us, the reality of dog ownership makes our notion of what it would be like pretty ridiculous.

At times, our conceptions of what we are going to appreciate or enjoy are entirely wrong. We miss a lot being resistant to change. You have to adopt the dog to love it.

Church, we need to adopt this worship experience. I say that not just because it invades my own comfort zone. You only had to be there last Sunday to realize how inexperienced we are initiating spontaneous worship.

Twenty people were invited to stand and recite the names of God. Did it sound to you as it did to me more like an exercise in reading than an exercise in worship? Weren’t you waiting for some people to realize we were extolling the names of God, to drop their decorum, and to say those names like they really meant them? It’s true, we were doing what we were told to do, but doesn’t that exemplify the status quo? And that says to me that we do need to break the mold, that we need to learn how to be priests and worshippers ourselves instead of waiting for the appointed leader to take us into the Holy of Holies.

I suggest we don’t waste any more time before figuring out what our heart of worship looks like. And if that means we have to journey through our dissatisfaction, or fear, or criticism, or self-righteousness or just plain stubbornness, let’s do it.

Then, perhaps at the end of these 40 days, we’ll get another crack at that list of God’s names. Will anyone be able to say “I am your Savior” without weeping? Or, “He is the Lion of Judah” without a melody? And maybe someone will shout this in wild abandon: “THE one who heals me! The ONE who heals me! The one who HEALS me! The one who heals ME! I KNOW THAT GOD!!”

When we can do that, we would have gotten the message.

“Sing God a brand-new song! … worship God!
Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,
Take the news of his glory to the lost,
News of his wonders to one and all!
For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs. …
Bravo, God, Bravo! …
Bring gifts and celebrate,
Bow before the beauty of God,
Then to your knees – everyone worship!
From Psalm 96 (The Message Bible)

There Is a Seat in Our Church for Ted Haggard

2009-02-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

How many of you watched the HBO special, “The Trials of Ted Haggard”? Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, whose now infamous documentary “Friends of God” highlighted Haggard’s influence in the evangelical movement, revisited the former pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs after the spectacular and very public exposure of his secret life that involved sexual immorality and drug use. click here for the story.

Pelosi’s latest film follows Haggard, “exiled” from Colorado to Arizona, as he moves from home to home of kind “strangers” and attempts to find employment in the secular world. He is heartbreakingly unsuccessful and appears more bewildered than repentant about how he reached this low point. Although he is quick to acknowledge his wrongdoing, most of his confessions seem to be more lip service than brokenness about how sin has affected his family, devastated his former church and subjected the name of Jesus to ridicule. To give him the benefit of the doubt, however, much of his transparency in these areas may have been left on the cutting room floor. And Jesus is big enough to uphold his own reputation.

For me, the most telling point of the documentary was this quote: “The reason I kept my personal struggle a secret is because I feared that my friends would reject me, abandon me, and kick me out, and the church would exile and excommunicate me. That happened and more.”

That resonated with me. And he and I are likely not alone. I think one of the greatest failings of the Body of Christ during my generation is that we don’t live up to the lifestyles we advocate. Many of us live with secret sin because we don’t believe our church family will still love us if we tell the truth. And those of us who have had a taste of the respect and honor that accompanies ministry are reluctant to give that up by divulging the extent of our weakness in the struggle against sin.

Ted and I are very similar. We both war against the strongholds of pride and fear of man. Unlike Ted, thankfully, I’ve never had to face the fear of public exposure because, well, I don’t have a public. And I also am a member of a church that is a safe place to talk about secret sin.

My transparency has been more of process over the years than a one-time revelation. Over time, the Holy Spirit has prompted me what to reveal and to whom. Some of my sin is highly embarrassing. I don’t really want people to know such intimate details about me. I’ve discovered that instead of alienating people, though, my honesty has encouraged them to be honest right back. We confess our sins to each other and promise to become a place of prayer and accountability. Instead of rejection, I’ve found deeper relationship and realized that once the secret had lost its power, the sin habit was a lot easier to tame.

James 5:16 puts it this way: “[M]ake it your habit to confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”

So Ted, if you are reading this, please know that you are welcome at Metro Church to rub shoulders with the rest of us sinners. In fact, I’m saving you a seat.

Fasting: The Newest Addition to America’s Menu

2009-02-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

It has become fashionable to fast! At least that’s what the Los Angeles Times Health Section reports last week. Science now supports “intermittent fasting” not only as a weight-control method, but also as a way to reduce the risk of disease and prolong life. “Running on Empty: the pros and cons of fasting,”

Now maybe all of us who have been putting it off can start fasting stigma-free because, hey, everyone is doing it. “There is something kind of magical about starvation,” the Times quotes U.C. Berkeley professor Marc Hellerstein.

Levity aside, don’t you just love it when science “discovers” something the Bible has been saying for thousands of years. To be fair, the Bible appears more concerned about fasting to promote spiritual health than as a diet.

As Christians, we fast when we want to clearly hear the voice of God in a particular situation or when we are especially burdened by circumstances beyond our control and approach God for relief. To be effective in this context, fasting is accompanied by prayer. It is often selfless, in that the person fasting is depriving himself for the benefit of another.

In Acts 13: 2-3, the church at Antioch was worshipping and fasting when the Holy Spirit instructed them to set apart Barnabas and Saul (aka Paul) “for the work to which I have called them.” The church fasted some more, laid hands on the men and sent them off. The rest of Acts is the history of how these two men transformed the known world with the Gospel. But what came first was the fasting and prayer of nameless saints who were obedient to the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 17:21, Jesus answers his disciples who were wondering about not being able to cast a demon from a child. Jesus reminded them, really as a sort of footnote to an explanation about how our faith should be able to move mountains, that “this kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus is rather famously known for not fasting, at least not in the way the Pharisees expected from a Jew. But read Matthew 4:1-11, the account of Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness and temptation by Satan. Then, alone expect for the Father, he fasted and prayed for 40 days before he commenced his public ministry.

The Old Testament has a lot to say about fasting, too, mostly in conjunction with holidays and rituals, sacrifices and offerings that clearly applied to both Israel’s spiritual health and physical well-being. The most well-known example of this is found in the first chapter of Daniel.

So, it isn’t such a leap to assume that our Father, who is both prodigiously extravagant and unreservedly practical, would also connect spiritual soundness with physical health. A Savior who is so unashamedly mindful of our needs that he couples the very act of culinary deprivation with increased life (in more ways than one). With apologies to Professor Hellerstein, I’d say fasting is much more about the miraculous than the magical.

And this begs the question: Is there any “sacrifice” we make to honor, glorify and edify Jesus that doesn’t in some way end up benefiting us as well?

Who was St. Valentine?

2009-02-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, the official holiday of romance expressed through such sentiments as flowers, candy and Halmark cards. Did you ever wonder who St. Valentine was and what he (she?) did that made his (her?) name synonymous with love?

Guess what? There isn’t one recognizable St. Valentine! The Roman Catholic Church has come up with a list of three suspects – a priest, a bishop and a martyr – all named Valentine, but can’t really pinpoint which one was the saint. Pope Gelasius I established the feast of St. Valentine’s Day in 496, noting that Valentine was among those “whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.”

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages, almost a thousand years after Gelasius, that St. Valentine’s Day became associated with courtly love, the medieval notion of chivalry, nobility and admiration and the precursor of today’s romantic love. Courtly love wasn’t exchanged between spouses, however; it was a secret passion for someone you shouldn’t be involved with. Experts differ about whether it was primarily innocent or not. About the same time Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the poem “Parlement of Foules,” which may have been the first association of romantic love with St. Valentine’s Day.

The St. Valentine’s Day we know today – the one that places the love focus on couples --is the product of centuries of smart marketing and advertising. And a special day to highlight the behavior couples should be displaying to each other the other 364 days a year doesn’t seem out of order.

I always feel empathy for single people on St. Valentine’s Day. I used to be single for a long time and remember how alone I felt when everyone else it seemed had flowers on their desks come February 14. You feel the stigma when your desk is bare, but have too much dignity to send yourself flowers. Because the day falls on Saturday this year, people will probably be celebrating it on two days: Friday to get those gifts at work and Saturday for that special date.

So here’s my suggestion for single Christians on St. Valentine’s Day: Have a love retreat with Jesus. After all, true romance – what you can’t purchase at See’s Candy – is about intimacy, and the best way you can learn intimacy is through your relationship with Jesus. On a love retreat you can tell him all the ways you love him, then sit in silence as he tells you all the ways he loves you. Be prepared to be swept away!

Jesus has a love language just for you and secrets he will whisper that only you and he will share. Your relationship with him is special in that no one else relates to him the way you do. He wants to tell you how unique you are to him and wonderful past recounting, but he will still shower you with affirmation about your beauty, and your value, and your importance, and your desirability until your human brain cannot comprehend Jesus’s vision of loveliness which is you.

So much of our prayer lives are about intercession. We worship him for who he is and the things he has done. We enjoy his presence when he inhabits our praises. So why not take a day in which all we do is allow our hearts of love for him to enlarge? A day in which we ask for nothing except how to love him and how to receive his love? A day of learning what devotion to him really looks like?

Let me tell you something that no one talks about but which I think is true: The purity of your love relationship with Jesus as a single person will change slightly once you’re married. It’s not severe, but will be enough of a subtle shift that you will mourn its loss. I think that difference is one of the gifts God bestows on the single Christian lifestyle that makes it not only achievable but something to aspire to. Take advantage of it while you have the chance.

So this Saturday, when so many others are romancing the one they adore, find a secluded place and rhapsodized the One you adore. Then, come Sunday, join the rest of us saints and sinners, single and married alike, as we worship our Savior (whatever that will look like then, thank you, Jess). Take time to really listen to people. Pray for someone. Ask a new person to lunch. Make coffee. Teach Sunday School. Open your wallet. Be part of the all the things we do as a loving community that outshine not only the myths but also the realities of romantic love.

Because wasn’t Pope Gelasius right in choosing to celebrate good men whose acts are known only to God? While February 14 has become the symbol for placing your acts of love in the spotlight, February 15 and all the days that follow should be about the thousands of acts of love that keep the Bride of Christ healthy and functioning but conducted without fanfare or trumpet blasts and sometimes in secret, only for the honor of God.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:9

Do Octuplets Need a Father?

2009-02-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

What do you think about Nadya Suleman, the Los Angeles-area single mom of six who last month gave birth to octuplets? “Octuplet Mother Also Gives Birth to Ethical Debate,” Washington Post, Feb. 3 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020303935.html; “Octuplets – Why?” Los Angeles Times, Jan. 28 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-woodwell28-2009jan28,0,1139601.story.

I applaud her decision to remain firm in what must have been extreme opposition to carrying eight babies long enough for them all to survive (even though No. 8 was a surprise). But after I learned that she was unmarried and that she possibly had all 14 children by in-vitro fertilization, I wondered, what was she thinking: 14 children less than 8 years old?!! The world’s response has been largely negative.

Many people believe she should have used “selective abortion” to eliminate most of the fetuses and give the remaining few a better chance to be born healthy. Others are indignant that she might not be able to support her children and rely on public funds to take care of them. Still others are disgusted that she might take advantage of the publicity and use her children as a meal ticket. Some, like me, are uncomfortable with a single women choosing to birth and raise children without a husband. Everyone in the world seems to have an opinion about what Nadya should or should not have done. So I wondered, what did she do that was so wrong?

Psalm 127: 3-5 extols children as a gift from God. Sons are a heritage and children a reward; a man is blessed “whose quiver is full of them.” He will not be ashamed before his enemies. The children of a good woman will “arise and call her blessed.” Proverbs 31:28. Jacob had 13 recorded children, even though they did not all have the same mother. Genesis 46.

The Duggars have 17 children, or possibly 18 now. (See “17 Kids and Counting,” on TLC). Although we may question their sanity, no one appears to vilify their choice to raise a large family or, presumably, to make money as participants on a reality TV show.

The Duggars are outspokenly Christian and have an intact family. Jim Bob, the dad, is always around. The kids are clean and well-behaved. Mother Michelle never raises her voice. They are always grinning. That is a family we don’t worry about. And even though Jon and Kate, with sextuplets and twins (see “John & Kate Plus Eight,” also on TLC), snarl and nag at each other, Jon pretty much does his share.

Do you think, perhaps, we are frightened by a single woman so blatantly and unapologetically in control of her own reproduction?

Women yearn for children, and that longing doesn’t always remain dormant until a man and a consecrated union makes the conception, birth and rearing of children morally acceptable. Advances in technology make pregnancy possible without the sin of unmarried sex. Even though I don’t agree with Nadya’s choice, I understand why she made it.

Christians almost universally believe in the God-designed family unit: One male plus one female equals children. We believe that family is created by the blessed union of marriage. God exemplified what he wanted family to look like when he created Adam and Eve and instructed them about how to live together. He reaffirmed families when against cultural odds he miraculously shepherded the marriage of Mary and Joseph, the union into which Jesus was born. We celebrate the validity of what God created and zealously guard it as best we can.

But the reality is that we don’t all live in Duggarland. Death, divorce and irresponsible fathers force many women to raise their children alone. Our church recognizes the struggle these families have. More than that, the men in our church empathize. I’ve been in meetings at which strong, stoic men have wept and prayed over the needs of the fatherless. Although nothing organized to step into the place of absent fathers has materialized, I believe a process is in incubation. At the right time, the Holy Spirit will implement the plan. And it will likely be big enough to include the Nadyas of the world – or at least in Los Angeles.

So I’ve decided to reserve my judgment about Nadya’s motherhood. I may never know whether she is incredibly brave or extremely foolhardy. But this I do know: even if those 14 precious souls she created have a male figure in their lives, they still need a Father. I pray someone introduces them.

40 days of Experimenting

2009-02-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

An exciting day in church today... as we came in... there was no music. no sound system.

no singing.

A guitar sat untouched the whole service as Pastor Steve talked about worship, asking questions like...

What is worship?

What has it become?

Is it an idol?

Does it require singing or music?

Can you worship the Lord without music?

Jess Cates (worship leader) came up and spoke about Elijah and the building of an altar in the "contest" between the prophet and the prophets of Baal... He spoke about sacrifice, and how Elijah was seeking only to please God - how he gave what was costly (water, during a drought) in the effort to glorify the God.

The curtains were drawn and a large mess of stones and sticks lay scattered on the stage.

An altar was constructed.

Communion was offered from one cup and one loaf. Each came forward to receive the elements. There was no music - only the sound of Psalms exclaiming the wonders of the Lord.

People were given the opportunity to express praise and worship in short prayers out loud and the spontaneous blessing went on for minutes.

Talk about worship... let's talk about worship.

Come next week... and see what the Lord has in store for us!

Coming up...

2009-01-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

There are lots of exciting things happening around Metro these days!

1 - NEW! Midweek service... Tuesdays, 7pm at the church offices and Elements Chapel. 1320 Arizona - Santa Monica... Childcare is provided for birth-voting! Come study and worship with us.

2 - OOOOOH! Metro Sweethearts' Dance. Feb 21 - 8-11pm at the offices. This is a formal event for our married and engaged couples at church. Tickets are $20. Desserts will be served, a short dance lesson will be given. Go out to dinner beforehand with your sweetie, and come enjoy the couples from your church family.

contact liberty for information or tickets.

3- WOW! Women's Bible Study starts this week - also at the church offices. Beth Moore's ESTHER will be studied. These are fabulous studies, come join us! (Thursday nights)

4 - GROW! New class offered on Friday nights, "FOLLOW CHRIST 101" - taught by Hans - 7.30 pm.

Oh Holy Night

2008-12-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the quality of the image, but for those of you who missed on Sunday - this is one of Metro's favorite Christmas traditions, having Louis sing "O Holy Night" in it's original French - complete with the true and AMAZING translation of the poem - as it was actually written.

Louis preceded the song with a small history lesson of the song - which you can read about by clicking here.

Here are the lyrics that you cannot read behind Louis, as he is accompanied by Jenny Smith. As you can see, the widely sung version of "Oh Holy Night" lacks some of the power with which it was originally infused:

English Translation of Minuits, chrétiens / Cantique de Noël: (N.b. the English version of 'O Holy Night' is not a direct translation of the French.)

Midnight, Christians is the solemn hour

When God as Man descended unto us

To erase the original stain (sin)

And end the wrath of his Father.

The entire world trembles with expectation

In this night that gives to us a Savior.

Fall on your knees, await your deliverance.

Noel, Noel, here is the Redeemer,

Noel, Noel, here is the Redeemer!

The ardent light of our Faith,

Guides us all to the cradle of the infant,

As in ancient times a brilliant star

Conducted the Magi there from the orient.

The King of kings was born in a humble manger;

O mighty ones of today, proud of your grandeur,

It is to your pride that God preaches.

Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

The redeemer has broken every shackle

The earth is free, and heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was once only a slave

Those who had been chained together by iron, love now unites.

Who will tell Him of our gratitude

It is for every one of us that he was born, suffered and died.

Stand on your feet, sing of your deliverance.

Noel, Noel, sing of the Redeemer,

Noel, Noel, sing of the Redeemer!

Children's Ministry photos

2008-12-15T11:19:00.001-08:00

Minh and Suzie took some great photos yesterday at church!
for more images of our kiddos, take a peek at http://metrochurch.smugmug.com/Youth

Christmas party fun

2008-12-07T19:47:00.001-08:00

Pastor Steve tells the kids the Christmas story... Their suggestions
for animals that may have been at the stable: donkeys, dinosaurs,
sheep, elephants, mustangs, Pluto, Mickey...

Scenes from the nursery -Peace on Earth

2008-12-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today is the sweetest day in the nursery... Every happy little person is having so much fun playing.
And they're playing TOGETHER!
We are calling it "Peace on Earth."

Haves and Needs - December 2, 2008

2008-12-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

We're going to start posting some things here, every few weeks - things we have/things we need for our church family to see and share.
here are some that we know of now... if you are interested, you can either post a comment below - and we can have people get in touch initially that way... or email Liberty

ROOMMATE WANTED - FEMALE
"Patti and I are battling the times, by transforming our living room, into an extra room, and our dining room, into our living room. We now are looking for a nice female to share our place with. Utilities (internet, phone, cable, hotwater, gas), and rent will be $400/month. Patti and I are often out working, filming, or at Christian meetings of some sort, and are not often home. We are really easy going, and need someone who is the same.
Please forward to your friends, as we are looking for someone to move in immediately =*)"
Sandy Sunshine

TWIN BED AVAILABLE for FREE
Jay and Liberty have an extra twin bed... no mattress - available.
Let us know if you're interested.

an addition to our family!

2008-12-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving Day, Marco and Hayley were blessed to have baby G join them!

If you're interested in bringing them a meal, send an email to Liberty.

lworth at metrochurch dot org

Praise God for another happy, healthy baby in our church, which seems to be growing, "from the belly up!"

Metro/Elements Family Fun and Christmas Party

2008-11-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

METRO/ELEMENTS
Christmas Party

Sunday, *December 7th 5pm -8pm
At the Metro/Elements offices
1420 Arizona Santa Monica

Kids will have a special “Happy Birthday Jesus” party and potluck in the little chapel while the adults mix and mingle at the main party. Around 6.30-7pm, kids will present a song and the two parties will join for the telling of the Christmas story, some singing and an open mic Christmas talent portion.

COME! Bring a friend!

Sign up to RSVP at church on Sunday, or email Liberty Worth at lworth@metrochurch.org

Potluck signups will also be at the tables after church.

BRING:
Yourself, a little spiffy
A friend
A song, poem, story or piece of artwork to share and inspire
Your potluck item
An ornament to exchange

See you there!

Advent Conspiracy

2008-11-19T20:04:00.001-08:00

We've got a Facebook page!

2008-11-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

So after making a great case for it... Metro Calvary Chapel has moved onto the Facebook scene. Okay, not the "scene" - but we are there as a place to connect with each other... so join us!
look for us....

and post some of your fun Metro photos on the group's page, too!

For now, the group is "closed" so that members need to be approved or invited - that is to avoid random viewings of personal things that may be posted, but feel free to pass on or refer other people to our group page.

Retreat... Garbage junkies

2008-11-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Scenes from the retreat

2008-11-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Liz and William show off some hard won lip gloss (aka armpit gloss?) they won while playing "garbage"

Scenes from the church retreat

2008-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Costumes to (the very yummy!) dinner before the carnival... There were lots of animal sitings ... Some ladybugs, bumblebees, an elephant, a monkey, a peacock, a panda and frog. There was the gospel writer - Dr. Luke, Gideon, the Queen of Sheba, a Roman Centurian, David the shepherd and the one and only Tree of Life. There were both angels and demons present, though we all know who wins in the end!

Who Are Your Neighbors?

2008-10-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reading in
Proverbs 27. Verse 10.
"Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father
and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away."

This reminded me of something that has been on my heart a lot lately.
A few weeks ago, I was home with my 2 year old son and 3 men came crawling through our back window... apparently to finish up a robbery they'd started earlier in the day when I was out of the house. I hadn't even noticed things were missing until after the police were in the house with me later. We were unharmed, and ran out the front of the house as the men ran out the back when I started screaming... but the experience shook up our family and really brought a lot of things to light.
The most important comfort to me over the days following the incident (besides my faith in God's protection and leading us to this home in the first place) was the comfort of my neighbors. By the end of the first day, I had 13 neighbors (many of whom I already was on a first name basis with, but also many new ones) come to check on me. I now have at least 6 of their cell phone numbers on my speed dial, and instructions to call if I ever need anything. When I got scared to walk into my house alone, my neighbors walked with me through the house and gave me hugs when I needed it. When I had workers come to give quotes on security systems and the like, my neighbors walked right up to my porch to make sure these were good people talking to me.
One of the police officers that first day said, "Don't give up on your neighborhood. It takes good people to make a good neighborhood."
He was right.
I've been thinking a lot about who my neighbors are. It really does take a village to raise a family in safety and wholeness these days, especially in Los Angeles.

When I need instant help, I can't call my family - they all live between 4 and 40 miles away. I need to call my neighbors. And I actually have church family pretty close, too. In a church our size, there are enough of us, that most of us have someone from our Metro family who lives pretty near to us. Wouldn't it be awesome if you knew that someone from your spiritual family lived a few minutes away and could help you out in a time of need?
To me, that is what being family is about. Finding those people and as we say in our family, "doing life with them"

We've made it very clear to the people that we meet - "hey, we have room in our life for new friends." This is LA, and one of the hardest things about LA is how often people move in and out of the city. There is a lot of turnover, and it's hard to find people who are committed to you. But if you look, you'll find them here at Metro...

here are some fun ways to break the ice at getting to form better bonds with your Metro family:
1 - go on the fall retreat!
2 - join a small group (sign ups are happening again soon! if possible, find one CLOSE to you)
3 - if you have free time, call the church office and volunteer to come help with a project
4 - join one of the prayer meetings that happen during the week
5 - find a service opportunity - lots of ministries need help
6 - ask someone to lunch after service

some fun things that we've done as a family as well...
-hosted parties and invited people over
-set up a standing weekly date with another family that whenever we're free, we do Saturday breakfast with each other
-get on facebook, and find some metro friends there
-introduce ourselves to people we've not met before at church "Hi. I haven't met you before..."

Here's to creating a family here... in LA ... the kind we can call on.

FALL RETREAT

2008-10-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

This coming week is our annual all church Fall Retreat!
If you haven't signed up yet, but want to, contact info@metrochurch.org ASAP.
You don't want to miss this...

Staff interview - Vanessa Sokic

2008-10-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Vanessa and her husband Phil are our amazing youth group leaders here at Metro, read below to learn more about the friendly voice who answers the phones in our office!

What is your name and where are you from?
Vanessa Sokic, that's a hard question for me to answer. I was born in Texas, but was raised in Florida and Ontario, Canada.

How did you come to know Christ?
I grew up knowing Christ, but I never understood what it meant to walk daily with Him and to have a personal relationship with Him until April 2006. Although I knew what right vs. wrong was, I decided it was fine to take things into my own hands and ask for forgiveness later for many years. I heard a sermon on surrender and I learned that God would take care of all my problems. He would make me pure and that was when I hit rock-bottom. Since then, I feel like I have been on the fast-track for growing in Christ.

Do you have family? children? single? Married?
Yes, my husband of almost 5 years, Phil. and our three cats, Oreo, PingPong, and Two.

What is something really fun about you that we might not guess?

I can tap dance.

Closest friend at Metro
the other Vanessa...

What small group do you attend?
Phil and I lead the youth group on Friday nights and we were attending the Trabun's group for a year. I'm also a part of the women's Thursday night group.

Favorite Metro event
I love the all church retreats, and the weekly eventful staff meetings

What do you do for a career outside of church?

I moved to LA with the purpose of becoming an actress, but God obviously had other plans for now. That is still a passion that I hope to pursue... and right now I am in the church office full time.

If you could do one thing in the next 5 years, what would it be?
to go to Africa and to start a family, not necessarily at the same time

What is your favorite pair of shoes?
ooooh, my new pink pumps (ouch)

What ministry positions do you hold in and out of Metro?
My extended family is my first ministry. I am a Metro youth leader, women's Bible study leader and serve on the welcoming committee and I sing in worship, too. I also take seriously the ministry I have to my neighbors and friends who don't know the Lord.

Most encouraging verse in your life right now.
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Staff interview - Nicole (Niki) Woolsey

2008-10-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

As a part of getting to build community together here on this blog, we thought it would be fun to interview some of the staff members here. Niki Woolsey is the new Little Kids Ministry Director at Metro and here are some fun things to know about her:

What is your name and where are you from?
Niki Woolsey. I was born in Northern California but, after 40 something moves, I'm pretty sure I'm from everywhere.

How did you come to know Christ?
I was so fortunate to grow up in a Christian home with parents who really nurtured me towards a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

Do you have family? children? single? Married?
I am married to Chris and we have 2 kids, Cassidy (2004) and Connor (2007).

How long have you been at Metro?
We have been going to Metro for 12 years (since '96)!

Closest friend at Metro?
Liberty Worth

What do you do for a career outside of church?
Mommy.

If you could do one thing in the next 5 years, what would it be?
Become a better wife, a better mom, and a better servant for Christ.

What is your favorite pair of shoes?
It's too hard to pick just one. Something high and sassy!

What ministry positions do you hold in and out of Metro?
Little Kids Ministry Director

Most encouraging verse in your life right now.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matt. 6:34)

Favorite place to travel to:
Anywhere! I'm easy to please!

String of Pearls

2008-09-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

This week's sermon was about 1Thessalonians 3 - and Pastor Steve discussed temptation as:
1. lure, enticement to sin
2. our being put to the test
3. refining suffering in patience.

Pastor Steve also defined AFFLICTON as being - "Pressed upon, pressed together" - reminding us that we can trust God when He is the one applying the pressure.

The questions he asked that are great to consider in your quiet times this week:
How does God change us? (by trials, tests, and being proved) What is the test you are taking right now? How many times have you failed it? If Jesus and Paul learned through suffering, did you think that you would escape it as a follower?

These are tough things to consider, but we need to remember what this is about. I Thess 2:4 says, "We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts."

In 1 Thess 3, Paul reminds the Thessalonians that this persecution was part of following Christ...
"We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted"

As Pastor Steve taught about this, he said "God had in store for Paul a long string of trials to shape him. He suffered many things for Christ"... which brought to mind the image of a string of pearls.... quite literally a clam endures suffering and goes through discomfort in the process of creating a pearl.
When you look at this string of pearls, what might some of the pearls be? Look at each one individually - name the pearls of suffering that you know the Lord has placed in your life...
(ex. loneliness, betrayal, insecurity, a tough relationship...)

Now read:

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

and
Romans 5:3-5
we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

When we look at suffering with worldy eyes, it is hard to see purpose. But God's view is one of purpose. He knows why this suffering entered your little clam shell. He wants it to irritate you to the point of surrender to Him, so that He can create a thing of beauty.

Metro Open House

2008-09-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Metro's office has recently relocated to a new location in Santa Monica. The clean up and renovations are complete, and we would like to invite you to our Open House BBQ. This will be a great time for fellowship and to meet new people! We look forward to seeing you all there!

There is no parking in the lot, as we will be using the space for the gathering, but there are a couple spacious lots in the area. Follow this link to see the public lots just steps away from the office. http://parking.smgov.net/pdfs/Parking_Map_Apr07.pdf There is also parking on Arizona Ave. and on Santa Monica Blvd.

What? Open House BBQ

When? September 28 from 1pm-4pm

Where? 1320 Arizona Ave. SM (at the corner of 14th St)

What's for lunch? We will be serving delicious BBQ chicken and tri tip

How much does it cost? Only $5/plate

Please RSVP as soon as possible and pass it on!

info@metrochurch.org

A minute to refocus

2008-09-16T15:02:00.001-07:00

Did you take 3 minutes to tell God how amazing He is this week? I mean, 3 focused minutes.
Read this aloud to the Lord and focus for the following 3 minutes on your own words of praise.

"Bless you, Lord Jesus.
you are amazing.
I love you and I am in awe of you.
You alone are worthy to be praised.
Nothing else compares to you.
My entire life is in your hands
and I bow at your feet, my king."
(now take 3 minutes.)

Now, take a deep breath.
on the inhale, attach the words
COME LORD JESUS
and on the exhale, attach the words
COME, HOLY SPIRIT.

(there, doesn't that feel better?)

10 minutes of prayer

2008-09-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday morning.
Driving to church, I was praying and getting into a place of prayer and I realized that I didn't pray as much as I would have liked to this past week. People and situations came to mind... things that need real, dedicated prayer... Richard and Jeff both had major surgeries this week. There are marriages and families in great need... the Rodriguez' twin boys are having hearing tests, Vanessa's mom is having more chemo this week, my own father is in a continual battle with cancer.
And though I did pray for each of those situations and many more, looking back, I wish I'd prayed more for each of those... truly been able to talk and listen to God about each of those at length.

As you look back at your week, which one situation comes to mind that you wish you'd dedicated more time to praying about?
Take 2 minutes right now to lift up that situation to God.

which was the second situation that came to mind?
Take 3 minutes to pray and talk to God about that.

I'm sure many other situations come to mind.
Don't get overwhelmed by all of them.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- write down a list of the things that are on your heart that need prayer.
Take 3 of them to focus some time on.

See if any verses come to mind as you focus in prayer about the situation.

And leave the rest to God. and He will give you REST.

P.S. If you don't know a lot of verses, I'd encourage you to buy a Bible Promise Book to use while you are praying. The $2-3 investment, is well worth the payoff of having the Word of Life ready at your hand.
A great way to work scripture into your prayer life is to journal. One one side of your page, write the things on your heart and mind. Across the page, find scriptures to write out - at length - that address your situation. You'll be amazed to find how applicable the Bible truly is.

New Communion Procedure

2008-09-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

This week at church, we tried out a new way of handling communion.

Our communion was distributed in the front of the auditorium by our elders and as you came forward, the elder read your nametag and said, "Christ's body, broken for you, 'Caroline'" etc.

What did you think about the way we handled communion?

Sermon application - Thessalonians 1

2008-09-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

This week, Pastor Steve's message was entitled, "Living what you believe", as he began his new series on Thessalonians ("Living in the Last Days")
text:

1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you 2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

As I was listening to the sermon, I took feverish notes, very excited to think about how many ways this sermon and passage of scripture could be applied to questions about our own lives.
Steve highlighted the points at the beginning of FAITH HOPE and LOVE. ... Funny, Paul touches on that later in 1 Corinthians 13... These are so key... and I realized that as we look at the above passage and listen to the sermon from this week, we can use the following questions and insert our own situations to make the questions especially applicable.

For example, what is going on in your life?
Are you under stress? relaxed?
Are you a parent? Are you single? Are you a student?
Think of your current circumstance and apply it to the blanks below, and see just how personal this gets.

1 - Faith, Hope and Love... What do these look like in our circumstances?
What does faith look like in the context of "______________"
What does hope look like in the context of ______?
What does love look like in the context of___________?
(Pray about the answers, wait on God for the answers...)

2 - If I don't have a hope that endures (about _______), where am I putting my faith? ("The ability you have to labor in love, is going to be affected by your hope and faith")

3 - (verses 7-9) - Everyone was talking about the Thessalonians faith, hope and love.
Is anyone saying that about me in this situation, ___________? Why? Why not?

4 - Pastor Steve mentioned Paul's desire for this church to become a mature church. To labor in love is a mature thing to do. As Steve put it, "Those of you who are parents understand that there are things that you do for love that you would not do for money"
What is the Lord asking you to do (as you grow in maturity) - that you would not do for money, but you would do for the love of Christ? What might you do in love in ___________(said situation) that you would not do for money?

5 - When we place our hope in Christ, our faith in Him, and are filled with love, it is not hard to trust Him.
What are you holding onto in your own hand that you might be able to let go of if you really allowed yourself to trust Jesus? (If you hold things in your hands, they become areas in which God does not have control)

6 - verse 6 - They became imitators of Paul and of the Lord.
Who are you imitating in _____________?
(Make sure it is God!)

7 - verse 6 - "in spite of severe suffering... you welcomed the message with joy."
Have you received God's word in affliction? with joy? This becomes an example.
"Your identity is NOT: your past, your failure, even what you did last night. Your identity is HIM."
What are you assigning to your identity as _____________ that is not of God?

8 - verse 8 - "the Lord's message rang out..."
How do you share your faith in_______________?

And a few final quotes from the message,
*"If you are living for this life, you are probably hopeless. If you are not living for heaven, you are not really living. Heaven is real. We need to live for it. It should cause us to live differently"
9 - If you were living for heaven and not for this life, how would your current situation with _________ be different?

Nametag Sunday

2008-09-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

We all know that it's hard to wear a nametag and not feel totally uncomfortable, but we also come to church eventually hoping to find people that not only know our names, but can share our lives and walk with us as we seek the Lord.
This Sunday is "Nametag Sunday" - we're all doing it, so can you. We feel weird wearing them, too, but we want to know your name and we want you to know ours.
So be prepared to smile, write your name and meet some of your Metro family.

New Bulletin Board

2008-09-06T11:29:00.001-07:00

Check out the fellowship hall at the entry of our church auditorium for our new Metro Family Bulletin Board!
We will have a place to list jobs, roommate requests, haves/needs.

see you Sunday!

Our Pastor, Steve Snook

2008-09-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

What do you do at Metro?

Senior Pastor, founded Metro in 1989.

Tell us about yourself.

I have been married to Tamara since 1987. We have three children:
Stefen (1989)
Canaan (1992)
Kylie (1994)

Favorite Things:
I love being with my family
Any activity with Tamara is amazing
Dates with my daughter and reading together
Riding dirt bikes, surfing, and golf with my sons

How did you come to know Christ?

Saved in 1968 as a young boy, but as 12...

Do you have a life verse?

Romans 8:28 (my dad and grandfather's also), Proverbs 3:5,6 and Matthew 6:33

Welcome, Metro Family...

2008-09-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

and so we begin... with a simple desire to encourage, inform and become a better family...
This is our new metrochurch blog.

It's our desire to use this forum as a place to share what is on the heart of the church leaders and pastors... to introduce leaders and elders, share about ministries and missionaries, communicate what is inspiring our walk as a church.