Post your questions for the upcoming series:    Any Questions?

Matt Chandler is a pastor in the Dallas, Texas area. On Thanksgiving morning he experienced a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors discovered a tumor on his brain. The next day, he went into surgery. This week, he learned that his prognosis is not good (click here to read).

I recently viewed a short statement from Matt. The video was made after the tumor was discovered, and before he went into surgery. Please watch this video and learn from a man boldly proclaiming trust in God not because circumstances are good, but because he believes God is good all the time no matter what.

And please join me in praying for Matt and his family.

Shane

True satisfaction here on earth will always carry with it an element of dissatisfaction. Have you come to terms with that truth?

Or are you still trying to find that ‘magic bullet’ that will fully satisfy you this side of heaven?

If you heard my recent sermon, then you know that biblical contentment brings anticipation not satiation. True, biblical contentment does not mean our desires are satiated (satisfied to excess). Rather, biblical contentment brings JOY, and with that JOY an anticipation of even more JOY in the days ahead. Biblical contentment propels us ‘further up and further in’ to our relationship with the infinite, matchless God whose goodness cannot be exhausted.

But, as C.S. Lewis wrote, we are “half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum  because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” [Click here to read Lewis' entire essay on this topic]

We need habits that turn our hearts away from contentment dead-ends - status, duty and addiction - and back toward our infinite God. One such habit is called “detachment.” Click here to download a brief introduction to this important spiritual habit. Put it into practice…and get on the pathway to SATISFACTION!

May your heart find true satisfaction in God’s goodness.

Peace,
Shane

Anyone who’s been around Westport on a Sunday morning knows that we’re in the middle of a BABY BOOM! By the end of December, we will have had around 20 babies born to Westport families in 2009. And I know of at least 5 already pending for the first half of 2010!

I remember well the excitement of new babies. I also remember the exhaustion and frustration. Where’s the instruction manual?!

I just came across a FREE on-line resource for parents of young children talking specifically to issues of how to train and discipline toddlers. This is a high quality resource from a trustworthy organization, FamilyLife (where Aimee and I worked for 10 years). Now that I’m on the other side of going through the toddler stage with 4 kids (in 5 years!), I can say with all earnestness: what you will hear in these videos is absolutely critical to getting a good start in your parenting years.

Don’t miss this. Make it part of a series of date nights. Drink coffee if you are still trying to survive the sleepless nights. Use toothpicks to prop your eyelids open. Talk it through. Try it out. Hang in there. You won’t regret it!

You can find the resource here.

Shane

Are we there yet? We all like to know the skinny on where we are in relation to where we are going. It started the day they strapped us into the car seat and took us on our first drive home. And…we’ve never gotten over it. We are hard wired to look down the road, to yearn for our future.

This week we kicked off our annual Roadmap series to help us celebrate where we’ve been and look forward to where we are going. Imagine with me for a moment that God invited us on a Cosmic Roadtrip. I’m sure I’d be fighting for shotgun, how about you (hey..we’re human)? How would He describe the destination and all the milestones along the way? I was thinking it might look a lot like this - we’ll call it God’s Roadmap:

What does God's "Roadmap" look like...where is He taking us?

God’s ultimate destination is simple: making His glory known to all people, in all nations at all times. This is what God calls us to also…showing off His Roadmap - pointing people to the exotic destination of God’s Glory. It’s quite a view. Good thing we ALL got to ride shotgun!

This week, we talked about the fact that God loves to shine His favor down on people who are doing work that complements His work…(Psalm 90:16-17).  We mentioned that Westport cares deeply about the work of helping people see ‘God’s Roadmap’ - the beauty of His glory.  To accomplish this…we highlighted three ways our environment helps the cause:

We care most about:

Transformation not Information
Community not Isolation
Servanthood not Consumption

If you missed this week’s opener, make sure you check it out online - and then join us for Part Two on August 30th.

In the mean time…here’s what I’ve asked everyone to do in the next 7 days:
Take 30 minutes to evaluate your participation in Westport’s “4 Practices”

Participate in Worship
Find a Group
Serve on a Team
Invite your Friends

See you next week…

No getting around it: forgiveness forms the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus illustrated it in the beloved parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32 ); the Apostle Paul summarized it succinctly: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the us (Romans 5:8).

Jesus spent a lot of teaching time exposing the depth of sin each person carries, even religious leaders, and the magnitude of forgiveness that each one needs. His parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:21-35 , that I covered in my sermon, summed it up first in story form, then with a final comment/warning: the extent we offer forgiveness will be the extent of forgiveness we receive from God. I don’t know about you, but that sobers me!

I greatly appreciate the teaching of Peacemaker ministries on the overall topic of conflict resolution, and in particular on forgiveness. Their “4 Promises of Forgiveness” provide concrete choices we can make to move beyond the abstract call to forgive and actually live out forgiveness.

Often we have one particular person with whom we struggle to forgive. I definitely do. This person rarely admits fault or asks for forgiveness, and presumes upon my forgiveness. He routinely is oblivious to the impact of his choices on those around him. Several years ago, now, he wounded me deeply, but would not acknowledge it. He vehemently denies to this day that his actions were wrong. I knew that forgiveness was the right answer, but living it out was a trial. It required me to daily wrestle with God with my anger and desire for revenge. I had to regularly step out of the ring, put down my gloves, admit my sinful wrath toward him, and humbly seek reconciliation that would, yet again, be spurned.

The hard work paid off. Though my heart remains wounded, and I long for reconciliation, I can also say that I am free from bitterness. I do not hold his wrong in my heart as a grudge. Since this is a relationship I do not believe I can walk away from, this is where I will remain until he acknowledges his wrongs and accepts my forgiveness. Sometimes, I get into a place of pity - woe is me for having to endure this. But then I think of my God, who stands ready to forgive all who would come to him, but remains spurned by so many.

Remember, holding a grudge is like drinking poison and wishing for the other person to die. May God grant you patience, endurance , and joy in forgiveness.

Shane

In my sermon regarding the 8th commandment, “You shall not steal,” I emphasized the link between the commandments of God and the creation of God. God didn’t create something new with the commandments, rather He provided boundary markers to point His people toward the kind of life He established in His creative work as recorded in Genesis 1-2. When I read the creation account in Genesis, three words emerge regarding the kind of life God created us for: Trust. Work. Give. Trust God to provide for our needs, work as co-stewards of the rest of creation (what an honor!), and give ourselves freely, generously to the world around us.

But the story changes in Genesis 3, when the serpent perverts God’s way, replacing Trust, Work, and Give, with Doubt, Scheme, and Take. The serpent’s message: God cannot be trusted, so you need to scheme to make life work for YOU, and take all that you can to hoard and spend for your pleasure and glory.

When God commands us, “You shall not steal,” he is pointing us down his original path leading to the best life possible. The apostle Paul picked up on this in Ephesians 4:28, commanding those who steal to stop stealing and get to work, so that they will have something to give to those in need.

I believe what God is holding sacred before us through this command is generosity. He created us for giving, and he wants us to enjoy it abundantly. It’s in this area I recommend a couple resources for you to explore. First, you’ll find some solid teaching segments, many with video teaching from world-renowned communicators, at the Generous Giving website. In addition, Randy Alcorn has an excellent little book - and I do mean little - on the secret of joyful giving called the Treasure Principle. It may be little, but it carries a powerful punch. I highly recommend it.

May God grant you strength and favor as you seek to overcome the urge to doubt, scheme and take, and discover the joy and freedom of living the life God designed for us involving trust, work, and generosity!

Best,
Shane

Hard Times are defining moments.    They will either make us trust God more, or they will make us trust God less.

That’s really all we have to know about Hard Times.  This is a moment that will change me.  No matter the outcome of this moment - I will either trust God more in the process, or I will trust Him less.

The question is:   How do I learn to trust Him more in Hard Times?

This week, we discovered that God takes great pleasure in watching us learn to trust Him more.  We learned from a mom in 2 Kings 4 who was facing a very hard time.   Using empty jars, God met her need in a UNIQUE way.  He COLLABORATED with a lot of people, and His miraculous provision was PROPORTIONATE to her faith.

Listen to this week’s message and then answer these questions for yourself:

1. What’s Your Jar Story?
2. Who will God collaborate with in your Jar Story ( OR  How will God use YOU in someone else’s Jar Story?)
3. How big will your jar story be?

Feel free to share your “Jar Story” below

I came across a Wall Street Journal article that illustrates what we learned and discussed in our CRAVE sermon series. Research in the field of “behaviorial economics” is being used by major corporations to encourage employees to change destructive behaviors like smoking and overeating. The research shows that the companies need to fight desire with desire - offering increasing financial incentives for giving up bad habits. Yep, paying people to lose weight or stop smoking! Here’s the core of the argument:

“Such approaches stem from the field of behavioral economics, which challenges the conventional economic doctrine that consumers always act as informed, rational decision makers. Instead, behavioral researchers have found, people often exhibit irrational, albeit predictable, biases that lead them not to act in their best interests.”

Hmmm…sounds a lot like Paul’s description in Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Our desires are not neutral. They need to be trained. Remember the CRAVE definition of fasting: “With fasting, we let go of something good, to reach for something great.” We regularly engage in spiritual disciplines like Bible Study, fasting, solitude and confession because we want MORE than this world offers.

May God satisfy you this day with his unfailing love, that you may discover His deeper joy (Ps. 90:14).

Shane

Study.

Doesn’t that word bring back bad memories from school days - all-nighters, final exams, the silent, endlessly slow ticking of the clock in study hall? Everything about the word seems to say BORING!

And I’m one who LIKES to learn.

We need to reclaim the word study from the realm of boredom and refresh it. We need to get into the same realm as excitedly reading up on how to tie a new fly, or learning a cross-over dribble, or preparing a meal that overwhelms the palate with delectable flavors….or whatever comes to mind that brings refreshment, joy, and freedom.

This is especially needed with the discipline of Bible Study. Too many of us have sat through stale, dry presentations of the Bible. What a tragedy! The Bible is a literary marvel, full of heart-thumping stories, stirring poetry, and deep wisdom. Even more importantly: the Bible contains within its covers the treasure of true freedom, the freedom we crave at the core of our being.

Sometimes the hardest part is simply getting started. If you haven’t heard my sermon, listen here. I liken Bible study to the detective work from our favorite TV show, movie, or novel, involving the practices of investigation, meditation, and memorization.

To help you get started, I thought I’d highlight some great resources. First, every Christian should own a copy of Living by the Book by Howard and William Hendricks. It is irreplaceble as an easy-to-read, thorough, understandable, helpful aid to unearthing the treasures in the Bible. Simply a must-have-and-read.

Next, our own Tim Kimberely has created some outstanding websites to help us. The first is BibleMap.org. This helpful website uses Google Maps to help us get oriented to the world in Biblical times. The second side is HeLives.com, where you can find such helpful posts as 50 Tips for Reading the Bible.

Lastly, a professor at Dallas Seminary, Dr. Thomas L. Constable, has created a comprehensive, but very readable, commentary on the Bible and made it available to all. This is a very helpful tool.

May God fill you with an insatiable desire that propels you to ever greater depths in His Word.

Shane

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.           Romans 11:33-36