Hope

In Romans 5, the Holy Spirit says through Paul: 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Bill Bouknight shared this story at preaching.org: “A Rabbi wrote about his experience in a Nazi concentration camp. One evening in the winter of 1944, his father, who was also a prisoner there, took him and some of their friends to a corner of the barracks. He told them it was Hanukkah, and began to light a wick placed in his melted margarine ration.

“The son protested this waste of precious food. His father said, ‘We have seen that it is possible to live up to three weeks without food. We lived almost three days without water once. But you cannot live properly for three moments without hope!’

“If one’s hope is based on circumstances, one must always live in fear. Circumstances change as quickly as the weather. But if one’s hope is based on an ever-faithful God, one can smile in the face of the foulest circumstances. God is bigger than any problem one can ever face.”

This week, my prayer for you is that you will enjoy the hope that comes only from an awareness of the presence of God – and that you will share that hope with others as you proclaim God’s Word.

-Mike Johnson

Back to School

Thank you to all who donated so generously to our school supply drive! You are blessing nearly 70 children in the apartment complexes we serve. It was wonderful to see the Bennet family and Ginny and Oliver Dostie helping sort and prepare supplies for yesterday’s first distribution event. And of course, our rockstar, Rita Thompson, organizes this event for us every year.

On Sunday, August 22, we will recognize all our children and school teachers as they begin another school year. On that day, you will have the opportunity to select a child’s name to pray over this school year. Here’s how it will work:

1. Select a name from the display in the church foyer, then write her/his name and your name on one of the sign-in sheets.

2. Contact the parent/guardian of your selected child. Encourage the parent/ guardian to share any prayer requests.

3. Write or call your selected child and invite them to share any prayer requests at any time.

4. Greet the person you are praying for before or after our assemblies.

5. PRAY FOR THE CHILD WHOSE NAME YOU HAVE SELECTED EVERY DAY.

For those of you who are worshipping with us online, we are working on plans where you can participate in praying for a student as well. We’ll have more information about that as soon as possible.

Obviously, you don’t have to wait until August 22 to start praying over the coming school year.

-Mike Johnson

Uncompromised

Meet a man forced to live in a fast-changing and godless society. He faced fears about the future, concern for his safety, and discouragement as the world seemed to be falling apart at warp speed. Sound familiar? His name was Daniel, and with the power of hope, humility and wisdom, he not only thrived, but he also changed an empire. Daniel lived thousands of years ago, but he has so much to teach us today!

So today, we begin a sermon series journey called, “Uncompromised.” Over the next several weeks, we will look at the first few chapters of Daniel. And as we examine his life, we’ll seek answers to some difficult questions:

• What is my role as a Jesus follower in today’s rapidly changing culture?

• How can I stand firm in my faith and still connect with people who seem so different from me?

• How should I respond when people say my views are unloving, or bigoted, or narrow minded, or archaic?

• How do I help my kids engage in culture with losing them to it?

Together, we will explore why panic and despair are never from God. We’ll see how humility disarms even our greatest of enemies. We’ll come to understand why genuine respect can cause those who will have nothing to do with God to listen to us. Standing for truth is about more than winning arguments. It’s about winning hearts. And if we’ll learn the art of connecting before correcting, we can respond to culture’s hard questions without compromising grace or truth.

I look forward to taking this journey with you.

-Mike Johnson

Be Ready to Say ‘Yes’

I am tremendously excited that we are restarting Bible classes today! It has been fourteen months since our classrooms were occupied by babies, children, teenagers and adults. Our nursery workers are ready for our babies. Lori Gallaher and her team are ready for our children. Dakota Thornton is ready for our teens. Dan Nix is ready for our adults.

In the coming weeks and months, we fully expect Bible class numbers to steadily increase as more people are vaccinated and feel comfortable being with us in person. This means we will need more class offerings, which means that we will need more teachers. At Mandarin, we don’t want those who volunteer to teach to be expected to fill that role until they burn out. In fact, ideally, we like for our adult teachers to teach for no longer than a quarter at a time. But the only way we can keep our teachers fresh and energized is by having a deep pool of volunteers.

In the coming weeks and months, there will be opportunities for training to teach or assist with an adult class. When that opportunity arises, would you please consider saying ‘yes?’ The training may reveal that you were wired for teaching all along, you just didn’t know it.

In the coming weeks and months, there will be opportunities to apprentice with a teacher in our children’s ministry. When that opportunity arises, would you please consider saying, ‘yes?’ The opportunity to partner with one of our existing gifted teachers may reveal that you are wired for teaching as well.

I can tell you from experience that there are few joys that compare with seeing Scripture come to life in the hearts of others because God used you as His tool to teach the Gospel. Be ready to say, ‘yes!’.

-Mike Johnson

Remember to be Forgetful

The servant lifestyle requires a certain kind of forgetfulness, the ability to forget about ourselves long enough to prioritize someone else. In I Peter 5:5 (NLT), the apostle writes, “All of you, serve each other with humility, for God sets himself against the proud, but He shows favor to the humble.”

Humility means we hold an accurate and unbiased assessment of our strengths and weaknesses. We understand our abilities, and we’re aware of, but we don’t fret over, our limitations. We see everything we have as a gift from God, for we know that without Him, we have nothing. This kind of humility makes it easy to look at the people around us, asking ourselves, “how can I help?”

One night, Jesus answered this question about help when he took a towel, wrapped it around his waist, poured water into a bowl, and began to wash his disciples’ feet. Washing another’s feet was typically a task reserved for the lowliest of servants. But Jesus, speaking without words, shows that no act of service was beneath his heart of love. Even as the shadow of death darkened the upper room, Jesus placed the needs of His disciples above His own.

The key to humility is knowing who you are. Jesus knew that He was the Son of God, the King of Kings, the Savior of the World. We know that we are children of the King. When we understand who we are, we’re comfortable grabbing a towel instead of grabbing the spotlight. Jesus didn’t care if someone mistook him for a lowly servant because He knew serving and giving His life was His mission in life (Mark 10:45).

Now it’s our mission, and it’s easier when we are secure enough to remember to be forgetful.

-Mike Johnson