Bobby's Blog

What Does Jesus Look Like?

2009-11-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

It is fascinating to me how interested we are in looks. So much of our existence is determined by looks, not only what we look like, but by what we see as we look around. We want to be seen and want to see and this is so evident when we look in a mirror. When we look into a mirror we are both seeing and being seen. Scary isn’t it?

Perhaps that is why we are so enamored with mirrors. It serves two purposes at once, seeing and being seen. Watch how many people walk by a mirror and then count how many do not take a glance. Why?

Well, we just have to look. How does my hair look? Is there something in my teeth? Wow, I look good. Oh, I look awful?

Now, change course just a little with me. Have you ever wondered what Jesus looks like? Children do. They ask. We fumble around for an answer. Maybe others ask to? Not children, but adults, longing for a glimpse of hope. Maybe Jesus is real. If I could just look at Him, see Him, then I will believe.

Well, I will tell you a little secret. I want you to know that I know what Jesus looks like. As the pulpit minister you probably know that I am privy to such inside information:), but I just can’t keep it to myself. It is too good, I have to tell you. Are you ready? In order to know what Jesus looks like, go look in a mirror.

23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
-James 1:23-25 (NIV)

Striving to Be Like Jesus and Too Often Avoiding Mirrors,
Bobby

FPU #2

2009-08-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

We started our second Financial Peace University Class (FPU #2) this past Sunday evening August 23rd. What an amazing evening it was. Let me provide you with a recap of our first class and then tell you about this second class.

n our first FPU we had 116 adults (all from Westside) take the class. A total of 114 of them completed the entire class and together saved and paid off a combined total of $509,413.00. The response to and the result of this class was so positive that we immediately planned another class at which we would invite the public, include our children and teens, and members of the Hispanic community all learning how to get out of debt and avoid getting into crippling debt by the way we handle our money.

So begins FPU #2, with another tremendous response. Here is a snapshot of our first evening together.

124 - adults taking FPU in English
8 - adults taking FPU in Spanish
30 - Kids in Financial Peace Jr.
31 - Teens in Generation Change
10 - little ones in the nursery
32 - volunteers serving

All of the people above represent 75 households. Of the 75 households:
45 households are Westside members
35 households are from our community.
62 - guests in the adult class
10 - guests in K-6th grade
7 - guests in 7th - 12th grade.

Our guests are here to get on the road to financial peace. May God bless us as we serve them. May they see Jesus in us. May the find also the road that leads to Eternal Peace.

Which road are you traveling on?

Possessions and The Possessed

2009-08-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing possess us more than our possessions. Perhaps, the primary path to a person heart is rooted in their possessions. They take up so much of our time and talents. Much of life can be seeking stuff, getting stuff, using stuff, fixing stuff, getting more stuff, and on and on it goes.
Maybe that is why God choose to say so much to us about how we handle, view, use and let loose our possessions; our stuff. A quick search of several topics in God’s word yields the following number of times God speaks about each topic: Baptism - 40; Prayer - 275; Faith - 350; Love - 650 and what about our possessions/wealth/finances/treasure/stuff - 2,350. Seems to me God wants us to understand something important here

“...Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 (NIV)

So, what does your life consist of? What we drive, where we live, what we wear, what we own, where we vacation, or any other marker of wealth and status is not our means to an abundant life. The abundant life is not one of earthly possessions, but it is a life where God is abundantly (exceedingly) present. Let us make a choice today to recognize, respond and rest in the excessive presence of God in our lives. Let God possess us.

What does your life consist of?

Excuse me, do you have the time?

2009-08-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

It has been quite awhile since I have asked anyone, or heard anyone ask, “What time is it?” Maybe you hear it all the time, but I cannot remember how long ago it was that someone actually asked me or anyone near me for the time. Why?

Maybe we do not ask one another what time it is because we live in a time obsessed culture. Many of us always know what time it is, and the rest of us don’t care what time it is. We are so driven by the time. The time is displayed everywhere, in our home, car, office, school, stores, on street signs, etc…. Sitting here in my office I can tell you what time it is by looking at the time on my computer, the display on my office phone, the watch on my wrist or on my cell phone, by the way all four of them have different times.

What I do hear people say is, “I wish I had more time.” “I don’t have enough time.” “Where did the time go?” How are you doing with the 168 hours that we all get each and every week? How do you spend your time? If you were to inventory and account for your time before God today, what do you think He would say?

It is said: “There is no time like the present.” Jesus tells us to live today, now, this moment "present in His presence." Jesus came as a servant. He calls us to be like Him - to be servants. So, how much time did you spend serving Him today? Excuse me, do you have the time?

Striving to Be Like Jesus,
Bobby

Living Like Jesus

2009-07-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have heard it said that Jesus showed us what it looks like when some gets it right. Gets what right you might ask? Well, get’s life right? You know, lives life the way it was meant to live. Look around you. There is no shortage of advise or opinions on how to live life. Friends, family, strangers, celebrities, politicians, professors, yes, even preachers, and the list goes on and on, they will all tell us how we should live.

But, only the author and perfecter of life holds the keys to true life. Only His way is The Way. Only His life is The Life. Only His life is True Life. Only His life is Abundant Life. I do not know about you, but I want His life. Life to the fullest and richest in Christ Jesus.

So, come closer. I’ll tell you a secret. I know how to get that life. I know how to have life to the fullest. Shh, lean in, pay attention, listen carefully, watch the messiah, come and see, follow Him, do what He does, say what He says, think what He thinks, it is the only way. Now that is living. When we live like Jesus, then we will know the life He is talking about, the rich abundant life.

Do you trust Him? Do you believe Him? Join us Sunday morning for lessons that will challenge our sensibilities and mess with our world. Lessons that will pierce our very center of being. Lessons that will ask us to live like Jesus. What will we do? Will we go away sad or mad, because the cost to self and what “I” want is to great, or will we dare to live. Come on I dare you.

Thanking God

2009-06-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday our lesson was entitled ‘Thanking God.” The sermon explored the idea of thanking God in prayer and that the absence of a thankful life can rob us of so much in life. So, in the spirit of thanking God in prayer I submit this prayer to God as you listen in.

“Dear God I thank You that our house was broken into last week, while we were at YBC attending Pre-teen Camp. I thank You that my son who discovered it handled everything just right. I thank You that no one was hurt. I thank You for the friends and neighbors who came over and helped me fix the door and make our house secure again. I thank you for the people at YBC who took up a collection while I was gone that covered half of what we lost. I thank You for the people in our congregation in Bakersfield who took up a collection that covered the other half of what we lost. I thank You for the example my children saw in our community of believers who put their faith into action. Yes God, I thank you that our house was broken into and that what was meant for evil was turned to good by your love and power. Thank you God.”

What will you thank Him for today?

This Sunday’s Lesson: “The PERFECT Father.” Hmmm, I wonder Who it is about?

Striving to Be Like Jesus,
Bobby

Benevolence Bazaar Blessings

2009-04-01T15:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Benevolence Bazaar. What an overwhelming response we had from so many people in so many ways. Here are some of the blessings:

We had many people donate items for the sale. Too many to count.

We had over 85 people unselfishly give of their time throughout the month of March and all day Thursday, and Friday before the sale, and all day Saturday of the sale.

Many people in our community were blessed by getting items that they needed at a good price, and by feeling good about their money going to benevolence.

Two different families visited with us Sunday morning because they were touched by the event.

I am so thankful to God for this church family and the way we all came together to serve God, one another and our community. God is moving among us to accomplish His purposes. Thank you for joining Him in His will. As we move forward in 2009, let us not lose focus or hope in our great and mighty God to accomplish even more than we can ever ask for or imagine to the praise and glory of His name, even during these tough economic times.

May He call on us to care for His people and our community again and again and may we continue to answer His call to Love God, Love our neighbors and love one another.

God Bless You,
Bobby

March Madness

2009-03-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

the church office

Have you heard of the term March Madness? Usually it refers to the NCAA basketball tournament as 64 college teams play in a tournament to decide the NCAA National Basketball Champion for this basketball season.

It is amazing how many people tune in for this tournament. What is further baffling is the lost work and productivity estimates. During the 19 day tournament it is estimated when considering streaming video, internet score updates, office pools and office conversations about this tournament that it results in a range of 1.7 billion in lost productivity in the United States. What? Are you kidding me?

I want you to know that as your church staff we have entered into a March Madness of our own. No, not the NCAA tournament, but a time of Bible study, prayer and discernment. We have changed our “staff meeting” format and time for the month of March.

We now meet Mon - Thurs 8:30 am - 9:30 am.

We open God’s word and listen to what He has to say to us reading Proverbs and Psalms.

We are spending more time in prayer.

We are evaluating how we use our time, what tasks we need to complete, and who has the talents to get them done.

Overall God is blessing our time of madness together. As we find joy in the LORD, He is refreshing us and we hope and pray it is for His glory and for your blessing.

So whenever you hear the term march madness over the next few weeks, and no matter where you are when you here it, please stop and say prayer for us to become more like Jesus, as we seek to serve you better in love.

God Bless You,
Bobby

Be Holy

2009-03-11T15:01:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday our lesson was entitled “The Cross and Persecution” from Galatians chapters 5 and 6. Disciples of Jesus Christ were being pressured to accept a message of salvation that included having to be circumcised. God rejects this message. Personally I am greatly encouraged by God’s rejection of salvation by circumcision. Similarly, I am encouraged by God’s rejection of anyone’s message that we are justified by what we do. Galatians 5:4 (NIV) clearly states

4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

What? Alienated from God’s grace? Now that is scary. Perhaps the scariest verse in God’s word. Especially when we consider the “Christian” landscape of doctrine and practice. “Do this, believe this, unless you do this or believe this you will not be, no - you are not saved.” What? I choose to believe God over people.
Yet choosing God also means inviting persecution. Some folks just can't accept God’s position on this. Sometimes we struggle with believing that God loves us that much. Well, God does love us “that much.” Can you dare to believe it? What do we do once we believe it? How does it change our lives? We must do something, right? We just don’t sit around thinking we are holy without life change, do we? God provides the answer to this also. God’s answer is:

“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

Imagine a life, your life, shaped by the life of God. Imagine a life, your life, lived by, led by, and in step with the Spirit. Imagine a life that has crucified the sinful nature and is now all about the fruit of the Spirit. Imagine this life is your life. Imagine the possibilities.

Join us Sunday March 15th for “The Cross and Holiness.”

Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus,
Bobby

What Counts?

2009-03-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

What counts is a question that I think everyone deals with. Who wants to spend their life on things that do not matter? There is so much to do that we cannot do it all, so then we ask ourselves, what really matters? What counts?

6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6 (NIV)

Announcing a seminar that focuses on helping us to design our life after the pattern of Jesus. A seminar that focuses on equipping everyone of us to love and care for people. Now this is something that really matters, it is what counts?

“You must decide whether or not you will design your life after the pattern of Jesus, or design your life around the best thinking the world has to offer”
C. Gene Wilkes

Shepherding Now

with Dr. Lynn Anderson
May 1-3, 2009
at the
Westside Church of Christ

Open to Everyone

More details will be shared with you over the next few months. Please prayerfully consider attending this seminar as we continue to love God, our neighbors and one another to the praise and glory of His name.

The Bulletin a Better Way

2009-02-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

the church office
(episode 2)
“The Bulletin - A Better Way”

In last week’s episode we shared with you our current struggles with and costs of producing both a Bulletin and an Order of Worship each week. This week we will share with you our current plan that we hope is a “better way” to serve you. Consider the following:

· We can email it, hand it out Sunday morning and cut our costs by about half.

· We can send it by email without any of the printing/handling costs.

-We currently send it by email to over 100 households.
-Try it for a month if you do not get it this way yet.
-I am sure you will prefer it.
-You will help us by reducing costs and improving our timely communication.
-When sent to you by email, you get it the day we send it out, and again at church on Sunday, but with reduced cost.

· What if you do not get or like email. No problem, call the office at 831-4460 and tell us to mail it to you. We will mail it first class and you should get it earlier than you would by bulk mail.

· The bottom line: we know how important it is to communicate with one another and we are committed to getting this information to everyone who wants it, in the way YOU want it. So do not worry, we will meet your needs. Let us know what you wish and we will make it so.

Thank you for your patience and understanding

Christ Centered - Jesus Focused,
Bobby

the church office

2009-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Bobby’s Blog
the church office
(episode 1 - part two)
What happened to the church bulletin?

In last week’s episode we began to share with you the current status of our beloved bulletin. It is difficult to accept change and especially when we change something that has been done a certain way for so long. However, as you know, we stopped mailing the bulletin out at the end of last year as we tried to adhere to new postal regulations and work out some bugs with our mailing software. Today’s episode tells you what we discovered as we evaluated the situation further.

In the course of researching this situation we learned that the bulk mail out of the bulletin fell short in effectively communicating with you in several ways:

· For the post office, bulk mail is not a priority mailout and therefore some of you would get it one or two weeks after we mailed it and sometimes not at all.

· Because of the time issue the Bulletin and Order of Worship contain redundant information and are not a wise use of resources.

· The labor to complete the bulk mailout (compile, print, label, place two stickers on each piece of mail, collate, complete the bulk mail out sheet, drive to the bulk mail department on Pegasus - near the airport) is ridiculous.

· The production and resource costs of both the Bulletin and the Order of Worship seem unwise when there are others ways to get to you the same important information:

320 Bulletins x 2 pages = 640 pieces of paper
¨ 2 stickers each = 640 stickers
¨ 2-3 people to label and place stickers
¨ Fuel/time costs driving to bulk mail
325 Orders of Worship x 3 pages = 975 pieces of paper

Watch this space next week for “ The Bulletin - A Better Way”

Thank you for your patience and understanding

Christ Centered - Jesus Focused,
Bobby

the church office

2009-01-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

Bobby’s Blog
the church office
(episode 1 - part one)
What happened to the church bulletin?

I am glad you asked. I hope the following helps answer your questions and concerns.

We stopped mailing the bulletin to you because we were working with our data base software company to comply with the new postal regulations concerning bulk mail.

The new postal regulations make it more difficult and more costly to send bulk mail out.

In the interim we decided to combine the Bulletin and the Order of Worship into one document and pass it out on Sunday morning. We received favorable comments about this decision such as:

· I like getting this information here at church, in my hand, instead of at home with all the other mail I get.

· I like getting this information at church because then I can respond to requests for help in ministries, sign up for things and generally have more conversations about what is going on at church when I am at church.

· It helps me to be more involved in what is going on here.

· I feel like I know more about what is going on here.

· It gives me something to do during Bobby's sermons.
(O.K. I threw this one in there just for fun - right?)

Thank you for your patience and understanding

Christ Centered - Jesus Focused,
Bobby

Go Go Gadgets

2009-01-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

Now I added gadgets. Can you believe it. I know it is a little sloppy looking now, but I will clean it up as I learn.

Twitter Away

2009-01-27T14:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a day: a blog, facebook, and now twitter. Pretty soon I might have my own web site and domain name..

Facebook of Course

2009-01-27T13:56:00.001-08:00

There is just no stopping me now that I am a blogger. I now am on facebook. What is next twitter?

My First Blog

2009-01-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it. I have enterd the world of blogging. I am sure you are as thrilled as I am. Now what do I do?