Light Shines in the Darkness

There is salvation in no other name than Jesus! So when people get around us, do they recognize that we have been with Jesus?Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series, saying, "All that Jesus began to do, we continue..." We are looking for Book of Acts happenings to abound in us today. The Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved.Let us be faithful to speak of the things Jesus has done in and through us, the urgency of the whole truth. Half truths create complacency, but the full truth creates urgency. Why was the early church so urgent in sharing their faith? They were convinced of the goodness of God as well as the judgment of God. We must live ready to meet our Maker!

We are a culture who hates to wait! Addicted to the dopamine hit of the immediate, the temptation is to get lost in scrolling. Pastor Mike Patz continues our Reorient series saying, "All that Jesus began to do, we continue..." We are looking for the Book of Acts to be happening in us today. The key is the promise Jesus made, "You will be baptized in the Holy Spirit." If you want the power of Acts 2, you need to wait like they did in Acts 1. This power comes from God, and the waiting time to receive is about preparing for the power. Be willing to wait on Him, and be fully filled with the Holy Spirit today!

Pastor Mike Patz continues our look at the gaps between the early church and the modern church in the Reorient series. All that Jesus started we continue... we are looking for the Book of Acts to be happening in us today. The devotions of the disciples included "the breaking of bread", which we now know as the Lord's Supper, or communion. The Book of Acts church was regularly remembering Jesus, the Passover Lamb, through celebrating communion together. If you're oppressed, afflicted, or depressed, the breaking of bread is good news for you! When the bread is broken, the presence of Jesus comes closer. He breaks bondage, heals, and sets free! May our expectation of experiencing Jesus being present with us become a greater reality, right here, right now!

In this message of our Reorient series, Pastor Mike Patz takes a look at the Book of Acts chapter 2, focusing on the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship. Luke wrote the Book of Acts three decades after the time of Jesus. How did the disciples turn the world upside down in that short period of time? The early church was devoted to the temple, the table, and the word of God. It is not enough to go to church and hear the gospel. We have to continue at the table in fellowship, following Jesus' words to take the gospel to all people. His word always brings life. As a church, we want to reorient our lives in seeing the kingdom of heaven embodied in us on earth! What Jesus began, we must continue to do, going from being hearers of the word to doers of the word, with others.

Do you have a clear vision for your life? What do you burn for in your heart? When you get a vision, you can see farther than you could before. You're seeing with your heart, and you'll start to live by faith, and not by sight.Pastor Mike Patz open the Book of Acts chapter 1, as he begins a new series, Reorient. Greenhouse is a movement of disciples who reorient their lives around Jesus' call to make more disciples. We ask for people to receive the gift of sight, for as a church God has given us a vision that is clear! The words of Jesus are our compass. Spiritual growth is our goal; we burn for making disciples that make disciples. Jesus wants us to continue what He started!

These days, social media is used to mask the truth of our lives. It's like the fig leaves in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. In the series, Love Lies and Redemption, Pastor Mike Patz looks at the lie that comes when shame is allowed to control our lives. Our shame is literally killing us. We've been covering ourselves since the fall in the garden. Shame is the name of the game. Shame says you can either be fully loved or fully known but not both. It tells us, don't be vulnerable. Yet the best marriages, families, and businesses are vulnerable. God gave Adam the opportunity to reveal himself. There was no guilt. Nakedness is more than a lack of clothing; it's when someone knows you, fully. Even when we do Him wrong, God still desires to connect with us! God reveals, you can only be fully loved when you're fully known. If we're covered by God, we feel security, peace, and shalom. When we are fully loved and when we are fully known, that is like a slice of heaven!

These days, we don't exactly have great examples when it comes to relationships. In the series, Love Lies and Redemption, Pastor Mike Patz looks at the lie that we need that perfect someone to complete us. Jesus always took things back to the creation, because before the fall we have a picture of what God intended for us. In Genesis 2, we see Adam in the garden. He did not tell God he was lonely; it was God's idea that man needs someone to compliment him. Adam knew his purpose and mission for life before he was given a mate. We cannot look to humans to complete us! If you come to God and still feel empty, lonely, and incomplete, you don't need a guy, you need your Master. Until you have God, everything else in your life will never be enough. The best way to know you are ready for a relationship is when you realize you're already complete in Him.

In Genesis 1, God had created everything so good. But in verse 26, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone!" No bueno! Adam is in a perfect relationship with God, and it still isn't good. Pastor Mike Patz begins a three-part series, Love Lies and Redemption, the lies that we believe about relationships, and the truth that sets us free. Today we are tackling the lie that I'm good by myself. I can do it alone! These days people are increasingly lonely. Surface level relationships are not working. Our anxiety, our addictions, and our sins cannot be healed alone. We're told there is a God-shaped void inside every man; yet according to God, there is a human shaped void that only people can fill. You'll never be fully you until you're part of a godly community. When you're in life-giving community, you're going to thrive! God is not a me; He is an us, the perfect Trinity.

Do you know anyone who will ask for forgiveness before they even do anything wrong? Pastor Mike Patz has been teaching word by word from the Sermon on the Mount. He concludes the series, warning us with these words of Jesus in the Lord's Prayer, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Know this, you're going into battle. This is why Jesus gave you the exact prayer you would need, deliver us from the evil one! There is a tendency of humans to radically overestimate our capacity of handling things that we shouldn't even try to handle. In 1 Corinthians 10:12, the early church was warned, "take heed lest you fall..." Consistently we overestimate ourselves. Forget about confidence in yourself. Cultivate a God-confidence!The word for temptation can be used for the word "test" or "temptation." Ask, "Is it a test, or a trap?" Don't be led to stumble! God doesn't tempt, but He does allow tests. Temptations come! Pleasure. Pride. Power. Beware of looking down on others in the areas you may feel strong in. We must recognize there is good and bad in each one of us. Tests are not evil, but temptations are laden with evil. It is Satan who tempts us to stumble and rush ahead of God's plan. None of us are good; Jesus prayed "deliver us..." There is a personality behind all evil, and it is the devil. The evil one depends on us not detecting him when we're in the midst of temptation. Father, we need your protection and deliverance against the demonic. The snake came with venom, but the Lamb came with the antidote! On the cross, Jesus invites us to begin to live "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony"! Jesus is greater than any power found in the world. He invites us to use His words, "Our Father in heaven, we ask that your kingdom will come. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food again today, and forgive us our sins. Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen."

In America, we are a nation of debtors. In the ancient world, debt was a matter of life and death. Prisons were places where debtors would be sent. Foolish people would go into increasing amounts of debt, bringing along their spouse and children. In light of this, debt brings to mind anxiety. God's answer to that was redemption. Someone would agree to come alongside you to forgive the debts. "Debts" is a strange word. In Hebrew there are eight different words for "sin", and one of them is translated debts. In more recent days, this is where we get the phrase, "The borrower is a slave to the lender." Pastor Mike Patz continues this segment on the Lord's Prayer in the School of Jesus series by reading Matthew 6:9-15.So, why do we need to pray, "forgive us our debts?" Why do we even need to continue to pray for things that have already been forgiven? Religious, or churchy people functually feel like the debt has never been paid. The longer you live like that the more your life will be destroyed. Jesus brings the picture brilliantly, "forgive us our debts!" The ripple effects of sin vary. Some are small, and others are much larger, weighing you down. Sins of thought, sins of the mouth, debts of deed... Lies, gossip, looking lustfully, greed. Unforgiveness will weigh you down in this life and destroy you in the next. When one has sins on their account, it weighs them down. When we come to God admitting our sins of omission and commission, we are able to let go of the guilt of sin. Daily praying "Search me and know me" brings the lightness of heart that we need. Forgiveness sets us free in this life and prepares us for the next. Praying "forgive us our debts" allows you to be free of sin in this life, and eternal life to come. Jesus' prayer is genius! In the same breath He shows us that forgiving others brings freedom to us. The evidence of forgiveness in my life is my willingness to forgive others. Never forget how much we have been forgiven. Jesus gave His life so we can be loved much.