HDC | Apple Valley

Blood and Guts and Stuff

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:57:04 -0800

Slaughter. Sprinkling. Sacrifice.

I have one question after reading the first seven chapters of Leviticus.

"How in the world did they have enough lambs and goats and doves for all of the offerings that they performed?!"

We've read about three different offerings that require animal sacrifice, one of which being whenever someone unintentionally sins. That's a lot of blood.

The thought of slaughtering an animal is very vivid in my mind. This past October, I had the privilege to be a part of the team from HDC that went to Malawi, Africa. One of the experiences that we took part in was eating goat. This involved walking to another part of Dzuwa to purchase the goat, arriving to find that the goat had escaped from its pin, finding the goat, leading the goat by the hoof back to where we were staying, killing the goat, gutting the goat, skinning the goat, cooking all of the goat parts, and then eating the goat.

So when I read in Leviticus about all of the animals that have to be slaughtered for offerings, I get a little squeamish as I think about that goat.

However, what intrigues me most about this whole concept, is not actually the blood and guts. It is what they symbolize. I love that the offerings that the Levites made were a foreshadowing of what was to come. A foreshadowing of a time when blood would be shed for mankind. A foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice. A foreshadowing of the Savior. Even in the old testament, before a prophesy was ever made, it all pointed to Jesus.

The Levites were constantly reminded of their dependance on God through their offerings.

How often do we actually recognize and repent of our sin?

How often do we remember what Christ's blood did for us on the cross?

How often do we thank Jesus for being the only thing that could make us righteous?

That is why I don't mind reading about dipping fingers into blood and removing kidneys. I need to be reminded of the significance of the blood. The blood of my Savior. That blood was meant to glorify God through the redemption of mankind. Thank you, Jesus, for your blood.

Staci Horodyski

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Listen and Respond

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:40:54 -0800

In reading about the construction of the Tabernacle, it struck a familiar chord in me. It was not because I had read it before. This time it was different. It took me a few minutes, but I realized I had never read it with the understanding of what it takes to set up a temporary church before. Now that I have been a part of HDC :: Apple Valley for a few months, I have a new found appreciation for what the Israelites went through.

The first step was a calling. In Exodus 26:8 God said, "I want the people of Israel to build me a sacred residence where I can live among them." I love the fact that God wanted to live among his people. God gave HDC a similar calling: go to Apple Valley so people can impact their neighborhoods and share Christ's love. God wants to be visible in Apple Valley.

The next step was the response. As we see in the last few chapters of Exodus, the Israelites took God's desire to live among them and went to work. We see, in exacting detail, how they built the house of God. God called them, and the Israelites responded. In a similar sense, it is our turn to respond. Each weekend, dozens of people are faithful to answer God's call. They get to church early to set up chairs, assemble a stage, prepare children's classrooms. Just like the building of the Tabernacle, there are a lot of details. And just like the Israelites, our church has chosen to respond.

After the Moses and the Israelites finished the work, after they had responded to God's instructions, He showed up! "The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34). That had to be an incredible moment for the people of Israel. God calls us to be a church in Apple Valley. We respond each week to his call. And the greatest part: God shows up!

If we listen to God's calling and respond, God will show up.

Evan Nelson

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Forgiveness and Trust

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:20:00 -0800

Looking at Joseph this weekend was a great reminder of the need to forgive others. And though we spent some significant time on the subject, there is no way to cover everything that needed to be said. One of those topics that could use clarification is the relationship between forgiveness and trust.

When God forgave us, He made the choice "to remember our sin no more". As I mentioned Sunday, this doesn't mean God gets amnesia and no longer remains omniscient. It is rather a decision to not allow our past sins to negatively impact our present relationship with Him. That's the kind of forgetting that comes with forgiving as God does. We may not be able to literally forget what another has done (especially on those high magnitude offenses), but we can choose not to let the past influence our relationship in the now.

At the same time, forgiveness does not require that we place ourselves in the line of fire time and time again. In the story of Joseph, he likely had forgiven his brothers long before they showed up in Egypt. However, the full restoration of the relationship required a measure repentance. Joseph was not going to make himself vulnerable again until he knew that they had truly changed. Joseph had no resentment issues that we can discern, but he also had no desire to be violated again. In other words, forgiveness precedes a restored relationship. But for a relationship to be restored, one must acknowledge the wrong they have done. Once that is done, an individual has the opportunity to earn back the trust that was lost and in doing so, restore the relationship to its fullest.

Pastor Kurt

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Is God Love?

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:13:00 -0800

One of the first things that I noticed during the first week of Route 66 is the way that God's love is presented. At first glance, it almost seems as if His love is distant, or even lacking. While reading through Genesis, it is clear that God is good. It is clear that God is faithful. It is clear that God is personal. But is it clear that God is love? The New Testament is overflowing with verses about God's love for mankind and how we are to love one another. One of the most popular verses in the Bible is about how much God so loved the world. And the more that I read through the Old Testament, the more it made sense. God is love. I think that His love is manifested in all of the ways listed above. His pure goodness. His consistent faithfulness. His personal interactions. Our God, God with us, I Am, loved the people of the Old Testament with the same agape love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross. When God created a companion for Adam, He showed His love. When God continued His promise to Abraham, He showed His love. When God spared Noah by having him build an ark, He showed His love. Praise be to a unchanging, never failing, loving God!

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised." Genesis 28:15

Amen to that!

Serving Him,

Staci Horodyski

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The Singularity Issue

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:22:19 -0700

While sitting in the orthodontists office the other day (waiting for my
daughter to finish her appointment), a Time magazine cover caught my eye.
It simply said, "2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal". Now that got my
attention. So over the next few minutes, I read and soon discovered that
the writers of this story we're exploring what's called The Singularity.

So what is the Singularity? According to its proponents, it is a future
point in time when societal, economic, and technological change increases
at such a rapid pace that today's human mind will be unable to comprehend
its implications. Many who hold to this belief (they call themselves
Transhumanists or Singularitarians) are confident that this event will
usher in a new era for the human race. In fact the greatest hope they
have is that the singularity will lead to "post-biological humans" who are
able to shed their biological bodies and "upgrade their hardware." By
downloading themselves into a network like this, they believe they will
effectively become "immortal."

So what are we supposed to think about all this stuff? On the one hand,
this idea of exponential growth seems to make sense. It is undeniable just
how dramatic the economic, medical, computational and genetic changes that
have taken place in just the past 20 years. My phone does stuff right now
that my first computer never came close to accomplishing. And for the
most part, these advancements have been a plus to my own little world
(love the iPad). I believe we should leverage the technological
advancements as much as possible, without forgetting where our hope should
fully rest.

You see that is the big issue. Those hoping to find heaven on earth,
freedom from our broken bodies here and now is nothing new. Everyone I
know wants to be immortal, it's just they have different ideas of how to
get there. The Bible says that one day followers of Christ will indeed be
changed. The perishable will take on imperishable. Jesus will accomplish
this transformation through His Spirit and we will see Him as He is. Sin
removed, pain vanquished, temptation extinguished, and hope realized. That is the kind of exponential change I can believe in because our
loving, personal, triune God is truly running the show.

Pastor Kurt

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Bite Your Tongue

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:49:35 -0800

James 3:2-12

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Is your tongue bleeding? Is your tongue sore? Should it be?

This passage always brings to my memory the old adage, “Bite your tongue!” You know, the one you use to hear from your mom when you said something less than appropriate. When you think about it, it might not be such a bad idea.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we all become masochistic or wound inflicting, but wouldn’t it be a really good reminder; clamp down on that destructive little member of our bodies and remind yourself that what you say can hurt. It can scare. And it can set a destructive fire in your relationships, that perhaps you never intended.

If you think this is whack, check out what Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-30.

Any comment?

Brian Haney

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Looking Back

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:52:00 -0800

A friend sent me this video link of old Apple Valley and I want to pass it along to you. It is funny how much things have changed around here. You may not want to watch more than the first couple of minutes (sorry John Denver), but it does make you wonder what the future holds.

Kurt Thielen

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Do you know the Good News?

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:59:00 -0800

How do you know if you know something, or just know about something?

Like asking a blind man what a sunset was like, so is asking most “Christians” what the Gospel looks like. It is one thing to be able to describe what God did in sending His son into the world to take our punishment for our wrong actions, and quite another thing to really know His forgiveness and tell someone about it.

Growing up, and even still, it is sometimes hard to be motivated to share with people the power of the Gospel, because often I have such a limited and small view of it’s power. Not that I don’t believe it, but I often become so busy with the activity of being a Christian that I void the effect that the power of the Gospel is supposed to have in my life. It is the power to help me overcome myself and my sin and worship God in truth.

I know God. I know Christ. I know the Holy Spirit. But, I want to know Them. I want to rid myself of the practice of American Christianity and follow Christ with the power of the Gospel transforming my life. There is much more to Christianity than saying a prayer and going to heaven. There is much more to following Christ than going to church.

Do you KNOW this?

Check out Ephesians 1: 15-23, and together we can get to know Him better.

¶ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Brian Haney

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In the quiet...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:57:56 -0800

I have a confession to make. I don't like the quiet, and I don't like being still, and I especially don't like combing the two. I start to get anxious and fidgety and bored. But I didn't realize how much clearer I could hear from God if I was willing to slow down and be still. This week I was challenged with the thought of actually having quiet time with God. I'm talking literal quiet
time. Not just reading my Bible, saying a quick prayer, and then moving on to something new. But turning off my phone, shutting down the computer, closing my door, and giving God as much time as He needs. Just sitting in silence and waiting to hear from Him.

And for someone like me, it was a little uncomfortable. I wanted to do something. Get a glass of water, put my laundry away, anything. But I just waited, and I was surprised by the wisdom and encouragement that I felt. Wisdom and encouragement that could only come from God.

Maybe you're like me. Maybe you have been praying about something that you really need to hear from God on, and you haven't given Him the opportunity to answer. Maybe you just need to turn off the computer and spend some time in quiet and stillness. Whatever you do, don't miss out on what God is trying to tell you today.

Staci Horodyski

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Stones

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:26:32 -0800

This Saturday night I found myself with my pregnant wife in the ER. I got home from working and found her on her knees reeling in pain from a sharp stabbing sensation in the side of her pregnant belly. Never a good sign. So off we went.
Turns out that the doctors could not put their finger on it and just had to treat her pain and make sure the baby was doing okay. It was not until early the next morning that we figured out that it was a kidney stone. Yeah, nice huh, pregnant and dealing with this.
When I saw the culprit I was stuck with a thought: sometimes it is a small thing that causes a lot of pain. As I think through my walk with the Lord, sometimes it is the small things I allow to influence me that have caused pain and strain on my relationship with my creator. It is the permission I give to myself to react in an ungracious way because I’m tired that cause my kids suffer. It is the cutting sarcasm that gives my wife the impression that I don’t appreciate her. It is the small but constant surge of selfishness that runs through my veins that causes me to turn from my desire to glorify my God and turn to self gratification and pride.
What are the tiny stones in your life? What is it that may seem small to you, but cuts so deep? What is it in your life that you need to ask the Lord to help you “pass?”
My wife is doing well now. We are praying that it doesn’t happen again. And we are grateful for all of you that where praying for her this past weekend.
Brian Haney

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When God calls...

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 09:11:18 -0800

Change is never easy. Even if it is for the better. And even if God promises that He will be there every step of the way. I'm talking about the kind of change that could lead you down a different path from the one you're currently on. Where you close one door in order to open another. The kind of change where you have to ask yourself:
Am I equipped to handle this?
What if it is too hard?
Or can God really use me this way?
If you've ever asked yourself any of these questions, than you know what I'm talking about.
For the past three years I have worked in the Children's Ministry Department at the HDC Victorville Campus. There I have experienced meaningful relationships with volunteers, leaders who have demonstrated love and passion for Children's Ministry, and a sea of kids that I look forward to serving every weekend. I was happy and content. The only reason I think about leaving, would be if God were to call me to something new.
As soon as the possibility arose for me to oversee Children's Ministry at the Apple Valley campus, I knew. Yes, I prayed about it, sought advice from Goldly people in my oikos, took my time to examine what I could be getting myself into. But the truth is, God already had a plan for me, even before I had one for myself. And when the time came for Him to reveal that plan, I just knew. So I decided to say goodbye to the people, and the kids, and the program that has been my ministry for the past three years and am saying hello to a wonderful opportunity to join the community at the Apple Valley campus.
It's not like I'm moving out of state, or doing something that I don't want to do, but I am choosing to step away from a role that I thrived in, and stepping into something that takes a little more faith. And despite heavy convictions that God was calling me to this new role, I won't say that I didn't have my questions. That I didn't wonder whether or not I was ready to take on new responsibilities, or if it'd be too hard to leave the people I have come to love, or if God was really going to use me in this role? But I am encouraged to know that God has a plan for me here at this campus, and that He will equip me with whatever I need to bring Him glory and make this ministry His own.
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
I am excited to share in this journey with you. To be a part of a new team, to serve alongside another group of individuals who are passionate about the same things I am, and to have a new set of faces that I look forward to seeing every week. I can't wait to see what God brings to this campus through me.
Staci Horodyski

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Blizzard Conditions

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:51:00 -0800

Over the Christmas break, I took Wendy and the kids up north for a family vacation. The plan was to leave Apple Valley right after school and then drive the 8+ hours to Lake Tahoe. Everything was going as planned until the weather suddenly changed. Violent snow flurries filled the night sky and soon covered the frozen, winding roads. Cars were strewn across the highway and others had slid into nearby ditches. A slow processional of chained cars and trucks slowly made its way up the pass. Finally, as we approached the exit that heads to Mammoth, I noticed something: Every other car had their right turn signal on except me.   They had reached their destination!

For me however, my trip was far from done. We continued up HWY 395 all alone. No snowplows, no trucks, nothing at all on the roads. Most people I guess weren’t crazy enough to still be on the road. But I knew that my destination was Tahoe and the family fun we had planned was waiting there.

As I stared out the front window, watching those large flakes relentlessly sheet down on our Suburban, it dawned on me how much this trip was like life itself. It is really easy to get distracted by others whose destination is different than mine. To see people who get to exit the hard and winding roads at what seems to be a far more convenient time. To watch others enjoy the warm and relaxing comforts that come from being finished (even for just a while) with the struggles life’s blizzards bring.

Face it…life is tough sometimes. Visibility stinks. Stress happens. Confidence fails. Uncertainty creeps in. It’s just so easy to look at the blizzard and lose sight of the destination. Going somewhere important matters a lot. Getting there matters even more.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

And sometimes, like our trip to Tahoe, a journey's destination includes more than you could have hoped for. Happy New Year!

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From strength to strength.

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:51:00 -0800

Kids ministry takes energy. Every Sunday I have to bring my A game whether I feel like it or not, because if I don't, the kids can tell something just isn't right. If Miss Kati isn't happy, nobody's happy (or something like that).

This past week I was sick. Really, really sick. I even took my first sick day in 2 years of working here. Saturday night I went to bed wondering how I could possibly show up for work the next day. I simply asked the Lord for the strength I knew He could give, and I went to sleep.

By His grace I woke up the next day feeling right as rain. I had the energy (and my voice back!) to teach the Bible lesson and connect with the kids. It lasted all morning and afternoon, but come Sunday night I was back in bed with a fever until Monday night.

I'm happy to say that today I'm doing good, but I can't help to think how great that Sunday morning was.

God is so faithful to carry us from strength to strength. He knew exactly how much I needed to make it through that day, to make sure things ran smoothly, to give love to kids, to bring energy to the lesson, and to connect with my leaders.

I wonder today what you're going through. Are you in need of His strength just to get through a few hours, or maybe longer? Just ask Him because He is so faithful to answer.

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

or the courts of the LORD

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.       Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;

listen to me, O God of Jacob.       Selah

Look upon our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

O LORD Almighty,

blessed is the man who trusts in you.

With love,

Kati Smith

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God answers prayers...in 10 minutes or less.

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:26:22 -0800

Everyone passed the microphone around the room. A couple hundred women, and just a few souls brave enough—moved enough—to stand up and share what God had taught in the past couple months.
The end of our Beth Moore study asked us to recount what the Lord had taught us during our study of the Psalms of Ascent. More specifically it asked us which of the Psalms really impacted us the most. So the women began sharing.
The last woman to speak grabbed the microphone and said Psalm 130 was on her heart.
Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
To my cry for mercy.
“The Lord hears us,” she said.
But then her next few sentences were different than the other stories we’d been hearing. She told us that her daughter, who was sitting across the room, had lost her wallet at the grocery store that morning. She sat rocking her newborn baby, listening to her mom’s plea ring through the speakers. Even worse, she was a follower of Dave Ramsey’s financial plan—which means she had loads of cash in her wallet.
Her mother asked the women in the room to take that moment to pray because, after all, the Lord hears us.
The Bible Study director took the microphone back and began to pray for the woman, asking that the Lord hear us and would help her.
Praying can feel so trivial in these moments. We express with our words that we believe in a God who can in fact answer such prayers, but how often do we truly believe He will really do it?
Thoughts run through my head ranging from there is no way someone will return a wallet with wads of cash, to is God interested in where I put my wallet and how I’ll get it back?
Then, in front of 200 women, God decided to fully display His power in the most precise way, as if to say, “This is the sign you people are relentlessly asking me to show you so you can know I’m real and I hear you.”
The worship team starts playing music again. Two songs later there is an outburst of “Oohs and ahhhs” and the Director jumps back on the microphone.
I turn to see the commotion. A woman carrying a baby walked in the double doors of the gym moments before. This woman normally attends our Bible study, but that morning her daughter was too sick to check in to the nursery.
She went grocery shopping instead.
(I sincerely hope you know where this story is going, and if you do, you should already have goosebumps.)
The woman grabs and cart and notices…a wallet sitting inside.
Over the microphone she tells all of us that she opened up the wallet and recognized the woman’s face on her ID. She knew her from Bible study, and decided to drive over to the church to return her wallet.
And THAT, my friends, is how God answers prayers—tangible, real, everyday prayers—in 10 minutes or less.
We live in a world that begs us to believe God is no longer interested in our personal lives. But His Word begs us to believe that He is in fact interested, and listening.
God is both big and small, powerful and intimate. He holds the Universe in His hands, and He knows deepest places of our hearts. He desires to amaze us with His power and His great care and concern for His people. He stops at nothing—not even one lost wallet and a sick baby—to prove to us that He hears our cries.
I know God saw the need to reveal Himself to a group of 200 women on this last day of our study through the Psalms. It was a day of celebration and a chance to share with each other how He has spoken to us.
I can’t help but think the He knew all along that there were people in the room who still needed to hear from Him. He knew that someone (or 200 someones) needed to know He was listening. I know I did.

With love,
Kati Smith

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SQUINT

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:45:47 -0800

Exposing the culture to classical art is cool, but I'm more awed by the fact that this is a brief peek into the ultimate reality of the future. Indeed, "He shall reign forever and ever" (see Rev. 5:13; Phil. 2:10). Let's hear it for some hopeful "post-apocalyptic" for once, cuz I can't handle watching The Road again. Glory to God, forever!
http://www.knightarts.org/uncategorized/what-a-joyful-noise-650-singers-burst-into-hallelujah-as-part-of-random-act-of-culture%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8

Matt Coulombe

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Celebrate.

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:28:00 -0700

I have a serious confession to make: I love Halloween.

About half of you just cringed and reached for the nearest stone, the other half exhaled deeply in relief that someone else who loves Jesus also loves Halloween.

I accepted Christ in when I was in 7^th grade. That means I had a good solid 12 or 13 years of life to celebrate Halloween before I ever had the slightest clue that so many Christians thought it was “evil.” I was shocked at the revelation. How could anyone not like Halloween?

Halloween is full of memories and nostalgia for me. Every year my sisters and I would start preparing our costumes early. Where my Mom lacks in sewing skills, she makes up for in her incredible ability to shop, so she would buy us really elaborate costumes. I distinctly remember waiting so anxiously every year to be done with the day of school and rush home to finally wear the costume I’d picked out.

After getting ready we would drive to my grandparent’s house to find hand-painted pumpkins lining the steps up to the porch. My grandma would be decked out in her witch costume, complete with green face paint and a long gray wig. All of my cousins would come, and we’d go trick-or-treating through the neighborhood for what felt like hours. Afterwards, my Dad, uncle, and grandpa would sort through our candy to “make sure it was safe” before we could dig in. We always had to pay my grandpa a fee in the amount of any dark chocolate in our bags.

It was fun. I dressed up as Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast, not a zombie. We ate candy and hung out with cousins we only saw on holidays. We took cute pictures that my Mom can embarrass us with. We walked the neighborhood and got to know the faces of the people who lived in the houses and gave us candy every year. We didn’t celebrate anything in particular—we just celebrated. It was fun, people.

I really don’t know enough to comment on the reasons why some Christians don’t like Halloween, and I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. I can only say that there is a bright side to anything.

As people who have a hope in a big God, and a joy that we’re given to shine the light of Jesus in a dark world, I believe we should take every opportunity to do just that. Everyone in your neighborhood will be out with their families, random strangers might knock on your door, and hundreds of people will show up to HDC on Sunday night for Trunk-or-Treat. What should we be doing about it?

I hope we won’t turn off our porch lights and hide behind our doors, but instead extend our hands to the community and participate in some way. Even if you don’t carve a single pumpkin or let your kids wear costumes, see the incredible opportunity you have to be a light on this Halloween night.

Meet your neighbors for maybe the first time. Invite your Oikos to Trunk-or-Treat. Celebrate.

Oh, and come say hi to us in kids ministry this Sunday at the Apple Valley campus. Our volunteer team is going 80s, and I'm planning to put Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles to shame.

With love (and lots of candy corn),

Kati Smith

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On Politics

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:03:12 -0700

The political season is on us. I hate it. Nothing like seeing lie after lie filtered through some sort of spin to sanitize it and seduce us into some perception of hope and meaningful change, unless you have become jaded like me. To be honest, maybe the reason I hate it is because it reflects daily life so publicly. I stand accused of the same kind of action, the same deceptions the same unfulfilled promises to God and you probably do also.
We are often drawn to the “spin” of our self rather than the truth about ourselves. We often sanitize our actions and continue to practice the same hurtful things because we never confront the issues within ourselves. Perhaps we are afraid that we might be accused of inconsistency, of hypocrisy. The irony of it all.
We dread change that takes hard work or that hurts for a time. Much like the politicians hate to cut programs or taxes, or raise taxes because it might hurt for a time. Yeah I know what you are thinking, “it’s not the same, they are not dealing with their own money, it’s MINE and yours.” True.
But let me ask you; is your life your own? In confronting the sins of sexual immorality the Apostle Paul reminds his Christian readers of something: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6: 19 & 20.
So let me ask again; is our life our own? If we are the same as we were 2 years ago, the same wrongdoing plagues us, if we have the same level of impatience, if we have the same thoughts of superiority, or inferiority, I guess God just let us have a pass on the whole renewal of your mind thing. After all that is what our boss would do if we were a screw up, right. After all we all agree that the career politicians are doing the best job possible. Catch the sarcasm.
God is not man that we should question him. And his Son did not die so that we could continue to live as if he hadn’t. Man, I need to change, I need to vote myself out of office and submit to the creator of all things who has change that matters.
Brian Haney

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What do you question?

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:34:51 -0700

Do you question yourself? No really, do you question your motives and your heart? As I read 1 John something always hits me; I need to question me.
I am ready to question others, to question why people do things. I am ready to question if the church service was good, or if I liked the music. I am ready to question things outside of myself, but how often do I question me.
By nature I am selfish. I am opinionated. I am quick to speak, not always quick to listen. I am harsh and I am me. But have I not been given a new nature? Have I not been fundamentally changed?   Have I not received eternal life through Jesus Christ?
YES I have!
I have received a mind that can think appropriately and act out of love. I have received a nature that is not content with, “that is just the way I am.” I have been given the ability to question me against the light of God’s word, and to change.
Don’t give in to the mindset that good enough is good enough. God wants to change you, He wants to change me, but He won’t change me in spite of me. If we are content to say that we will always sin the same sins because we are sinners, we have misunderstood the work of God accomplished through Jesus Christ. We have a new nature. We have eternal life now, not just after death. If we are His, we will obey Him. If we do not obey, if we give ourselves license to not obey, then we are confused as too who we are, and whose we are. I have to question myself daily. I have to answer daily, “I want to follow Him, I want to obey him; I can obey him.” And so can you.
Brian Haney

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Hand and Name

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:38:00 -0700

Every so often I have the chance to take a study trip to Israel and one of the most moving events on those trips is a visit to the holocaust museum called Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem means “hand and name” in Hebrew and it comes from the words of Isaiah.

“To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial (hand) and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. “   Isaiah 56:5

Historically, Nazi Germany tried to cut off the name of the Jewish people and to blot them from the earth. They attempted to make these particular people less than human. As part of this plan, prisoners were loaded onto crowded railroad cars like cattle. Once they arrived at the camps, their clothes were stripped off and all personal belongings were confiscated. The Nazi’s final blow was to take away their names and simply give them numbers. Numbers, they believed, were desensitizing. Dehumanizing. It almost worked too.

But life is not just about numbers…it’s about faces. You see it is easy to ignore suffering and pain if it is nameless, faceless and without hands. But once a number gets a face…everything changes.

On my last visit to the museum, I entered the main hall as usual and looked around at the pictures of the men, women and children who had died. Their faces were so human, their lives so common. And as I surveyed their images that surrounded the entire room, I was so grateful to Jesus Christ. God always sees faces, not numbers. He is passionate about my hand and name. So much so, that He sacrificed Himself so that I could share His name. A name that secures my future, makes sense of my present and overcomes the junk in my past.

Kurt Thielen

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"Okay, Daddy"

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:37:37 -0700

"I don’t want to, Daddy.”
“I don’t care what you want, this is what you need to do.”
This is a pretty regular exchange in the Haney home.  We prefer to give the kids a voice to air their opinion and desires, but also to let them know that sometimes their opinions and desires are worthless to the situation at hand.
This may sound harsh, but let me provide an example: My 5 year old is extremely strong willed and very athletic; he thinks he’s invincible.  While helping me get a ball off the roof, he was getting ready to jump off the top of a ladder.  At this point in his life, his desires and opinions don’t line up with reality.  His desires and opinions, in this situation, are of little value.  In fact they are down right stupid.
Have you ever thought of your relationship to God in this way.  Perhaps you don’t understand why He has called you to love your enemy or serve those that you would not normally give a second thought.  But, perhaps your desires and opinions do not line up with the reality of being a child of the Kingdom of God.
While we are all growing in our knowledge of God and the work of salvation He accomplished through the death of Jesus, at this point in time we do not fully grasp how powerful His love is, and intern, how powerful our love for others can be as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
The fact remains that God is Holy.  His holiness permeates everything He is, including His knowledge, motivations, grace, love and every other aspect that makes up the perfect character of God.
On the other hand, we are not by nature holy.  And our selfishness and sinfulness permeates all of what we are, including our opinions and desires.  We must remember that it does not matter what we want, it does not matter what we think.  We are not the end all be all, HE is.  Sometimes we have to suck it up and say, " Okay, Daddy." And to me, that is humbling and motivating.
Brian Haney

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