Here are some insights into the way of a buzzard, a bat, and a bumblebee.

            BUZZARD: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.
            THE BAT: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
            THE BUMBLEBEE: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom... It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
            In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up. Hebrews 12:2- "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."  Reminds me of the chorus to the song, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grown strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." May the Lord find us looking up to Him and turning our eyes upon Jesus!

God's Not Dead

                When your faith is tested can you explain what you believe? That is what the movie, "God's Not Dead" is all about. Here is an excerpt from a publication I received promoting the movie:  It's about faith and the limits one young man will go to in order to defend his belief in God. In the movie a college student enrolls in a philosophy class taught by an infamous and dictatorial professor. This professor demands that all of his students must sign a declaration that "God is dead" in order to get a passing grade. Josh, the student, refuses. He needs to take the class to meet his academic requirements, so the professor strikes a bargain: Josh must defend his position that "God is alive" in a series of debates with the professor in order to stay in the class. If he loses, he flunks. When Josh accepts the challenge, he gets more than he bargained for-- jeopardizing his faith, his relationships and even his future.

                How far would you be willing to go to defend your faith? How well could you defend what you believe? It's not a matter of if our faith will be tested, it's a matter of when! I encourage everyone to make the time to go and see this movie between now and March 30th because beginning Sunday night March 30 we are going to be using that movie to help us strengthen our ability to explain what we believe. This should be a very exciting and enlightening time so invite your friends and make plans to be a part of the discussion.

Newsboys has a hit song entitled "God's Not Dead," here are some of the lyrics to that song:

Let love explode and bring the dead to life; A love so bold to bring a revolution; Some how
Now I'm lost in your freedom; And this world I'll overcome

My God's not dead he is surely alive; He is living on the inside roaring like a lion
Our God's not dead he is surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion

Let hope arise and make the darkness hide; When faith is dead I need a resurrection; Some how
Now I'm lost in your freedom ; And this world I'll overcome

My God's not dead he is surely alive; He is living on the inside roaring like a lion
Our God's not dead he is surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion
Let heaven roar; And fire fall; Come shake the ground; With the sound; Of revival
Let heaven roar; And fire fall; Come shake the ground; With the sound; Of revival
My God's not dead he's surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion

40 days of Community is all about growing in our love for God and for others. Last week we learned that we need each other. There is power in groups of people getting together and doing life together! Today we want to see that we need to reach out together. There is a world around us that is in need of hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ and it is our responsibility and privilege to partner together, as a group, to do this. Rick Warren uses the word PARTNER to help us see what we need to do to help us reach out together. Remember we are Better Together!

P – Pray. Pray Together. Ask your group to pray for your friends and family who have yet to respond to the Gospel. Pray for opportunities to share with them the Good News about God.

A – Appeal.  Appeal to common interests. Find out what you, as a group, have in common, what you like to do. Make a list of those things and then talk about who you know that would also like to do something on that list who isn't yet a believer and invite them to join you.

R – Reach out in love. We are told to  'love your neighbor as yourself.' The old saying is true, "people don't care what you know until they know you care." Let God's love flow through you.

Ask God to give you a deeper love for other people. 

T – Tell your stories. The most effective way to let other people know about the great things that God can do in their lives is to tell them the story of what God has done in your life.  That is what makes a difference.

N - Nurture friendships. Just build friendships with them so you can build a bridge between your heart and theirs and Jesus Christ can walk across. Build a bridge that is strong enough to bear the weight of the testimony you want to share.

E - Expect God to act.  Expect God to do what only God can do-- change hearts and lives.

R – Represent Christ with your life. We need to walk the walk and talk the talk. We need to communicate God's love and we need to demonstrate God's love. We need to live it in our life and we need to share it with our mouth.

What is sharing the good news?  It’s one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. May we realize that we are Better Together and may we choose to  PARTNER together in an effort to reach our community!