The Distillery Church

Sufficient…Really?

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10 (NKJV)

This is a great verse.  It brings comfort and hope; it calls to people who want more out of life to “choose Jesus” because He has more to offer than a meager existence.  Everyone wants more from life, especially when life gets really difficult!  Churches prefer to focus on verses like this because, well, it feels better than the reality of life’s difficulties.  It makes for better promotional material – God loves you and He wants to make your life easier!  I like that idea, but it isn’t the whole story.

Life has difficulties: bad days, bad weeks and bad years.  Things don’t always go our way and it can feel like the whole world is against us.  You know – “the man”.  What do we do at these points?  Sure we hope for a brighter tomorrow, but sometimes that seems to take more energy than we can muster!  What does God have to offer at these times?  “Don’t worry, be happy!”?  Heaven is coming soon, so try and make it!?  You’re not alone (although it feels like that), so toughen up, you can do it.  God knows that life is difficult (people seemed to hate Jesus ‘cause, well, He loved them too much?).  So what now?

The apostle Paul had some experience with this issue.   In 2nd Corinthians he discusses his “thorn” which he wanted gone, but God allowed to remain.  This thorn humbled Paul – it reminded him of his frailty and weakness.  More than that, in fact God used that weakness to demonstrate His power or strength.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities [weakness], that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor 12:9 (NKJV)”

God, I believe, is not using Paul as a demonstration of His strength, simply to show off.  Rather, His strength is being used to hold Paul up from falling down to the dust.  God knows life is hard and could at times even crush us, but His grace (love that He has for us, just ‘cause) will keep us going.  We may feel beaten, but God is there, stemming the tide that wants to drown us.  We may get wet, we will see the flood waters rise, but His grace is enough to keep us from drowning.

Yes, I want it to be “all good”!  I want the trials to end and life to be easy, but that isn’t the way it is.  Indeed God wants us to have life more abundantly, and I believe we will see glimpses of that here, but between those times, when the flood waters well up, God’s grace and strength is enough to keep us going.  Then as others look on and see the waters rise and the devastation mount, they too may see God’s grace – and that is good for everyone!

Life is hard regardless of having faith in God or not.  You can blame the bad on Him; you can say He gets let off easy when destruction hits the world – whatever.  For me, I like knowing God has the strength to hold back the flood.  I can’t do it alone, I need His power and I need to see His strength at work in the life of others.  His grace is sufficient, so now I can get some rest for the next challenge is on its way…

Eat, drink and be merry…Really?

Everything has a time and all activities have a season under heaven…

This is the conclusion of Solomon in chapter three of Ecclesiastes. Yet he seems less than satisfied with this and wants more (at least it seems like this to me). He says that “there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil — this is the gift of God (Ecc. 3:12-13)”. Yet throughout the chapter and the book he seems distressed at the temporary state that life is; what does it all mean? Why do we live? Is doing good enough? Perhaps enjoying your toil and labors is the best you can hope for, but shouldn’t there be more?
He states in chapter 3:11, “… He [God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” So our hearts feel eternity, but our minds fail to grasp the forever. Is this not the definition of frustrating? The gift of God is to eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die…? That seems cruel – eternity rests within our hearts, yet we fail to understand it. There must be more to this puzzle.
Indeed there is much more! Unfortunately for Solomon his kingdom lacked one critical part – he was king and God was a side note at best. When Jesus came to the Earth, He revealed that the Kingdom of God was the real place to be – not this earthly kingdom. What we lack is the understanding of eternity, which after all, resides within our heart. Earthly kingdoms pass away, but God’s kingdom last forever! This is where we will pick up the discussion this week.
In Luke 9:23-27, Jesus talks about the way we save our lives and that is what Solomon really wanted to understand (so much for his wisdom)! The meaning of life is not a mystery; we just may not like the answer.

Good Morning Mr. Sunshine!

This week we began a series of discussions that seemed light and therefore appropriate for the unofficial beginning of summer – the meaning of life. Our Biblical portion of things will start with a look at Ecclesiastes. We talked briefly about Solomon and his wisdom, wealth and women (about 700 wives and 300 concubines). The main focus of this week was our own values; what does life mean to us?

So to you, I will pose one of the most challenging questions we struggled with: What activity or event gets you out of bed in the morning with a feeling of joy and anticipation?

It is a tough question. What do you dread? What makes you want to hide under the covers? These are easy and plentiful, but as for the joy that moves you up and out – that can be a greater challenge! So tell us what is your life giving event.

God in Three Persons

This week’s discussion was centered on the theological idea of Trinity – God in three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. Using John 14 as a guide, we looked at how Jesus explained that knowing Him was to know the Father and the Spirit was an extension of both. The explanation was itself as challenging as the idea of God being Triune.
So we, being a tenacious bunch tried to explain this “important” idea. Through different examples and models we sought to clarify the idea of Trinity, but alas we seemed to have no better success than Jesus. What developed however was a sense that the intimate relationship between these
“three persons” is far deeper and more connected than we can grasp. Is it in this relationship that the importance of God’s Trinity lays?
The answer: yes, that seems to be the most important part of God – relationship. He not only is “one” with Son and Spirit, but He desires the same intimacy with us. God is not found in academic explanations, but rather He is experienced and known buy His love.
Do you know God by His love or by theological descriptors that do more to keep you away from Him? Do you want a relationship with God or an advanced degree in theology? What does God want?

Yea God!

Sunday’s gathering was another example of God’s faithfulness and desire to meet with us (everyone, not just those who attend the Distillery). We began with worship, lead by Carolyn and Martin. As the children participated with us, things were lively and full of energy! After communion the children went to their church and we continued worshipping in song.

We moved from singing to seeking God in discussion, although this week was less a discussion and more of an invitation to allow God’s passion for us to be found. We looked at Simeon, who is briefly mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. He wanted to see the Christ prior to leaving this world and God, having great love for Simeon, honored his desire. So it was, when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple for his required dedication at eight days old, Simeon having been informed of this by the Holy Spirit went to the temple and held the Messiah in his arms. In his delight, Simeon proclaimed God’s salvation for the world through Jesus! God’s love for Simeon and all of us was on display.

In addition, we looked at Song of Solomon which tells of the passionate love between the Bridegroom and his beloved Bride. As an allegory, this “song” demonstrates the passionate love of God for his people. Although difficult and temperamental, God loves us and stands by us, longing to be with us in a full and honest relationship. In both these accounts, we see God’s passionate love for us and it’s with this understanding we went to prayer. Our desire was to be “naked” before God, anticipating His coming to us and drawing us to Him. Indeed God was faithful and as one member put it in a later discussion, “yea God!”

Chains – Philipians 1

Sunday’s gathering began with musical worship, lead by Carolyn.  After several songs and a prayer reading, we began the discussion of Philippians, chapter 1.

Our focus was on Paul’s chains, as he was in prison at the time of the letter’s writing.  We, however, first discussed Paul’s joy in writing this letter and his excitement over the faith and partnership shared with the church in Phillipi.  It was evident that he was encouraged by these friends in the cause of Christ and wanted to assure them that his “trouble” was well worth it!  He rejoiced in both those presenting the gospel from a passionate heart as well as those who only wanted to stir up trouble for Paul – if Christ were being preached then so be it.

As for our focus, we talked about our own chains.  That being, those things that we deal with which provide God an opportunity to use us in His ministry to the world.  Is it found in a life purpose or in the day to day living that we do?  Will our chains keep us from living or will we offer them to God that He may be glorified?  Why chains, did God put us in them or are they simply the result of life in a fallen world?  These were some of the questions we discussed – what do you think?  Keep the discussion going…

Advent Week 2 – You Spent How Much?

This week we delve into the idea of spending less, perhaps forgoing one purchased gift – replaced by a “homemade” one.   The issue however seems larger than just one or two presents.  It is said that Americans spend some $450 billion on Christmas annually, thus $1,500 per person in the US.  WOW!  I like gifts, but debt sucks!  I like gifts, but guilt over not giving “enough” is frustrating!  I like gifts, but I really want to love Christmas.  More specifically, I want to make sure that love is flowing out of me and not frustration from the Christmas ritual of buy, wrap, run and give, failing to spend enough time with those who matter to me.

How do we make Christmas better and escape from the perils of excessive gift giving?  During our discussion we began the process of unpacking this issue.  Gifts, we decided aren’t the problem, as much as the complexity that belies the whole thought process behind getting gifts for people.  We tried to balance the ideas of obligation and equity with the real joy that comes from blessing our loved ones with material gifts that demonstrate our genuine affection for them.  Ultimately it became apparent that the core of giving is the desire to share ourselves with those we love.  Often this is in the form of “presents under the tree” but also it comes from the giving of ourselves.

What then does this look like?  Well simply put – time.  Perhaps it comes in the time we spend selecting that “perfect” gift or in helping others during this season.  Putting others at the forefront of our minds and making them a real priority seems to be the essence of Christmas.  At least that looks to be what Christ demonstrates in His coming on that wonderful day.  Jesus, we agreed, was not obligated to come but rather joyfully accepted the job when the Father asked.  Our need for reunion was more important to God and Jesus, than any “inconvenience” the job would create for them.  This seems like a good model to begin with and may lead to a merrier Christmas and a happier New Year!

Run Away, Run Away (oh and spread the good news)

Sunday’s gathering featured great worship, prayer and discussion!  We began with Martin leading in musical worship, during which time we also celebrated communion.  The kids kept the energy up with dancing and the playing of instruments!  After the children went to their class time, we finished with quieter worship and prayer.

Our discussion focused on Acts 11:19-30.  We placed emphasis on the first few verses which focused on the spreading of the Good News, with a little help of some persecution.   The message was spread as the followers of Christ (who were called Christians in Antioch), fled their comfort zone as a result of the stoning of Stephen and the persecution from the Sanhedrin.  This brought us to consider our own willingness to share our faith with others. 

We also discussed the contemporary church’s nature and response to how the message of Christ is shared, or rather controlled.  This idea stemmed from the dispatch of Barnabas to “look in” on what was going on with those Christians who were sharing outside the traditional Jewish base.  Is the modern church a bit of a control freak?  Well you decide for yourself, but we had a good time going over this passage.

We hope those who can make it next week, will join us.  Until then, read Acts chapter 12 and share your ideas on what God has said and is saying with those who want to listen.