The Compass Point Plan and Process: Praise

This summer at Compass Point Church we are communicating our Plan and Process. This Plan and Process states what our purpose but it also serves as a guide for how we will do church. We’ve adopted the following statement to provide the framework for our thinking:

 Compass Point Church exists to PRAISE God by PARTNERING people with Jesus and His church so that they can    PROGRESS toward Christlikeness in order to PERFORM the faith and PROMOTE Christ in the world.

 At the heart of our plan and process is worship (PRAISE). Over the last couple of weeks our church has explored what it means to worship God. So far we have discovered that worship cannot begin until we recognize who Jesus is today. He is not some guy walking around Palestine with a robe on nor is he some guy surrounded by a bunch of children. Rather, Jesus is the majestic King of kings and Lord of lords who sits at the right hand of the Father far above all rulers, powers, dominion, and authorities. He is exalted. Unfortunately, too often, we fail to recognize Jesus this way. Instead, we have chosen to view Jesus as a sort of genie in a bottle. We think that he exists to answer all of our requests as if he were some short order cook. The challenge to us is to wake up to the reality of who Jesus really is. We wake up by realizing his glory and his worth. We pay homage to our King by submitting to the One that sits enthroned. Our submission starts with us offering ourselves to him. We truly must give up the right to ourselves in order for us to begin entering into a state of worship.

 Once we realize who Jesus is then we are ready to worship. As we begin to understand all that Jesus does and has done then we begin to realize that worship is not an act of duty but of L.O.V.E. LOVE is an acronym that describes the fourfold dimension of our act of worship. First, worship is an act of Loyalty. We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. God invites us to engage him with the entirety of our being. Second, worship is an act of Oblation. Oblation is an older word that we do not utilize much but it is a perfectly excellent word to describe our act of worship. Oblation refers not only to a sacrificial offering but also to the act of making a sacrificial offering to God. Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices . . . which is our spiritual act of worship. We are to be oblates (one who gives their life to live for another) of Jesus. Third, worship is an act of Vivacity. True worshipers will worship God in spirit . . . for God is spirit. The key to remember here is that the word spirit refers neither to the human spirit nor to the Holy Spirit. These are usually the two options presented. When the text says that God is spirit it is not referring to God in a metaphysical way or a way that he is in of himself. God is so much more than spirit. Rather it refers to the way in which he works in the world. He works in such a way that it is life-giving, energetic, and exciting. Therefore, if this is the way that God works then our worship must be life-giving, energetic, and exciting. However, it is to be tempered by truth. As a result, worship is an act of Exactness. We are to be truthful and precise in our worship. We must create an accurate picture of who God is when we worship.

 Worship is not about us but it is about our amazing God. However, there are indirect benefits to the worshiper. In fact, real worship ought to be transformative. Worship transforms the worshiper into a person who is Loyal to Jesus, an Oblate of Jesus, Vivacious about Jesus, and Exact about Jesus.

The Gratitude Project #7

“For we are God’s fellow workers.”
1 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV)

This verse should provoke a sense of excitement. We can be excited that God has decided to utilize his people in doing his work. How cool is that? We can say that we get to work side-by-side with God. Sure, God could have chosen to do things differently where he unilaterally imposes his will upon his creation. However, he chose to give us gifts and talents so that we can join him in the work that he is already doing. Wow!

This verse should also provoke a sense of reverence for God. God is laying his reputation on the line so that we can join him. He certainly has given us everything, including his Holy Spirit, to ensure the quality of the work but too often because we are human we tend to mess things up. We tend to let our own emotions and preferences stand in the way of God’s work. Instead of willingly submitting to his desires for us and submitting to the role that he has for us in the work; we often pretend to be something that we are not. For example, many of us have our own individual preferences or ideas of what a church ought to be. Many of these ideas provide helpful insights but they might not be concerned with what God’s concerns are. As God’s fellow workers we have the responsibility to seek out his desires for our church and pursue after them relentlessly.

Too many well-intentioned Christians have a passive attitude when it comes to the church. These Christians think that they can just sit back and allow God to do his thing. God can certainly just do his thing in his church; however, he has chosen to recruit us in the process. He expects us to do something. For instance, he has given us instructions that we are to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We do not need to pray about this and see if this is what God would have us to do. We simply need to do it. We can pray about methodologies and strategies but let us not ‘pray’ ourselves into inaction where we do not get around to making disciples.

We can be thankful that God has chosen to include us in his work of redemption in the world. God’s choice to allow us to be a part of his work means that he has given us all the tools that we need to accomplish our task. This leads to another thing for which to be thankful: We have been given every resource to be God’s fellow worker.

The Gratitude Project #6

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. . . So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:34, 36 (ESV)

This perhaps is one of the most inspiring passages of Scripture in the entire Bible because it speaks to the reality of what Jesus does for us. The bible describes humanity as people who are enslaved to sin. Our enslavement happened because of the introduction of sin in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve succumbed to the Devil’s temptation. Jesus comes along and reverses what Adam had done. Jesus displayed victory over the devil’s temptations. Jesus cast out demons. Jesus taught with authority. He did all this to prove that he alone was qualified to set humanity free.
Say the word, ‘free,’ slowly to yourself. Do you really understand the full scope of what it means to be free in Jesus? Unfortunately, many of us do not realize the true freedom that we have been afforded in Jesus. We do not know what it means to be out from under the bondage of sin. The hymn writer attempted to capture this freedom when he penned, “My chains fell off and my heart was free!” We are no longer under bondage to sin. Just let that thought sink in for a moment. This means that you do not have to sin. Sin is now a choice. When we sin we choose sin instead of Jesus. No longer do we have to do those things that we do not want to do. It is Jesus who rescues us from our sinful lifestyle. We can praise God because we no longer have to obey our lusts, worries, doubts, fears, etc.
Some of you may have grown up in the church and even would consider yourself a Christian but you are bound by guilt and shame of the sins of your past. Cling to this verse. No longer do you need to feel guilt or shame because you are now free. Perhaps, you need to repent and really come to Jesus so that you can experience the freedom that Jesus declares He has given to us. Let us be thankful for freedom!

The Gratitude Project #5

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

Too often we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to do. It is part of our fallen nature to be a selfish person and allow the universe to revolve around our own personhood. Somehow we feel that we are God’s gift to the universe. Have you met someone with that kind of attitude? It abounds everywhere and there seems to be no escaping it any time soon. Perhaps, if you are honest with yourself you are this kind of person. This verse is for all of us, especially, those of us who have big egos and the command is that we humble ourselves.

Humbling yourself is to cause yourself to be made low. The Bible describes this as ‘considering others better than you.’ For many of us this is a difficult thing to do. We feel that we are so important that if we were to let go of those things then they would fall apart. As a result, we become anxious about everything. Anxiety really is brought on because we consider ourselves so much more important than everything else including God. Scripture says that we are not to worry about tomorrow. When we worry and have anxious thoughts we are acting on the belief that we think we know how to handle a situation better than God does. Stated another way, we are denying by our actions that God is sovereign and in control of our lives.

Certainly letting go of things means that there are concerns that arise. So, do as the text says, ‘cast all your anxieties on him.’ He’s big enough to handle them. More importantly, he wants you to bring those worries to him because he cares for you! We can be thankful that we have a God who not only is able to handle all of our cares but also he cares for us.

The Gratitude Project #4

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

At first glance this may seem like an impossible task—to walk as a wise person in such an evil period of time—but we can be thankful to God that He supplies everything that we need to accomplish this task. Too often we Christians walk with our heads hung low in self-defeat and self-pity. When God gives us a command to ‘be careful how we live our lives,’ we can be assured that it can be accomplished. You can walk as a wise person. You can experience victory over the evil one. You do not have to fall prey to the schemes of the devil.

I am thankful for the tools that God gives us for a wise life. To be wise means to be skillful in life. What Paul is urging the believers in Ephesus to do (as well as us today) is to be skillful in living the Christian life today. We do not have to buy into the consumerist philosophy that abounds in our culture today that only ends in gloom and despair. The Proverbs say that possessing a wise life allows one to live a full life. This is the abundant life that Jesus promised those who follow Him.

Paul outlines in Ephesians what God has done to allow His followers to live the wise life: He chose us in Christ, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, He has made known to us the mystery of His will, He saves us by grace through faith, He made us part of His kingdom, He puts us in a new society (the church), He gives us new life. These are just a few of the things that God does for us.

Take some time this week to thank God for challenging you to live the wise life. But not only that, thank Him that He gives you everything that you need in order to be successful at it.

Navigating through Life

As a church, we desire to point people to the Way (of Jesus Christ). In order to do that we are looking to improve our Sunday morning format. One of the areas that we are looking at is the teaching time. Normally, we would just to book studies and deal with items of reality as they come. However, we feel that there may be some pertinent topics that need to be covered and would like to take a break from our normal operating procedure. Please use the comments to interact with us about some of the topics that you would like to have biblical solutions. Possible topics, for example, could be: How to share your faith, Basic elements of what Christians believe, Relationship, Building a healthy biblical lifestyle. What are your thoughts?

The Gratitude Project #3

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (ESV)

The apostle Paul had such deep appreciation for the Thessalonian believers that whenever he prayed he bubbled over with thanksgiving for them. He remembered three specific categories of how they encouraged him: work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in Jesus. Paul recognized that the believers believed in Jesus and lived out every day of the week and not just when they met together. Paul witnessed how their work that they did was motivated by their love for Jesus, for each other, and for Paul himself. Paul relished in their unwavering belief in the ‘blessed hope’ of Jesus.

The Thessalonian believers were completely sold out to Jesus that their life reflected that commitment. What would our church look like if we had this kind of commitment? We all came to encounter Jesus through someone who was completely sold out to Jesus. Some of you were more difficult to present the gospel to and some of you were easier. But take time to remember the circumstances surrounding the events of your new birth. Were you hardened and someone took the time to love you and keep with you? What caused you to finally give your life to Jesus? Was it someone’s fantastic apologetic arguments or was it because of their willingness to live out their faith, to love you, and point you to the hope of Jesus? Probably most of us would fit into the latter category. I would encourage you to take some time this week to remember that person(s) who was influential in leading you to Jesus. Take time to be thankful for that person. If you can, call that person to tell him or her thank you.

The second thing that you are encouraged to do is to be that kind of person to someone else this week. Be the person who demonstrates faith, love, and hope to someone who needs Jesus. If God can take someone like the Thessalonians (and all their baggage) then God can certainly take someone like you and allow you to be someone for whom someone can be thankful for later on in life.

The Gratitude Project #2

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. . .”

1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)

 As we embark on our fourth week of a year’s worth of gratitude we simply cannot ignore 1 Timothy 1:15. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Let that phrase sink in for a moment. Remember what you were before you came to know Jesus. Some of you had a pretty rough life before Jesus. Some of you were caught into drugs, alcoholism, addiction, and other illegal issues. Some of you grew up on a Christian home and may not have tampered with the ‘hard stuff’ but you had issues of pride, resentment, self-assurance and other internal sins. The thing that both groups have in common is that before Jesus you were sinners. There cannot be any pointing of the finger to who was the worst or who had the worst kind of life because life without Jesus is not a good place to be.

Think about who you once were and what you once did before Jesus came into your life. Isn’t it amazing that He saved you? He didn’t have to come into this world but He did. Think about the change that He has brought about in your life since coming to Him. Hopefully, you can say that you truly are not the person that you once were. Just thinking about this ought to drive our gratitude for one thousand years (if were able to live that long)! But because we are mere humans we often forget about the great salvation that Jesus has provided for us. Let us take time to remember often the salvation that He gives us. In our remembrance, let us thank Him for such a wonderful and amazing gift.

When we are truly thankful for something we want to let others know about it. Why not take time this week to demonstrate your thankfulness by telling someone about when you met Jesus. Hopefully, you will share this with a person who does not know Jesus yet. Perhaps, by God’s grace you will be the one to witness the truth of this verse first-hand this week: That God really does save sinners! Be thankful!

The Gratitude Project

The Gratitude Project is a challenge to our church community to offer thanksgiving for the next year. We live in a society where lots of complaining goes on and it gets pretty depressing. We also live in a very cynical and overly critical society. If something is not done to our liking we complain or criticize it. Unfortunately, this attitude has crept into the church. As a result, the church has really lost touch with the concept of being thankful.

We studied 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” As a church we desire to take this passage very seriously over the next year. We challenge everyone who attends Compass Point Church to be HOT or to have a Heart Of Thanksgiving. We realize that this is a very difficult challenge. It is easy to get into our little cliques and complain about everyone and everything. Instead of doing that let’s get together to offer thanks to God.

We do not just want to direct our thankfulness to God alone but want to direct our thankfulness to the people around us. First Thessalonians 5:19 tells us that the Spirit can work more efficiently when we have a thankful attitude. This thankfulness toward one another will help build unity and love that we desperately long to enjoy. When we complain and criticize we “quench the Spirit’s fire.”

We want to offer a place where people are truly thankful to God and for each other.

Are you up to the challenge of the Grateful Project?

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to the blog site of Compass Point Church! We are a church who desires to follow Jesus in our current context. As part of our efforts to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a technological age we are starting this blog page. Everybody is welcome to participate on this page. On this blog we will have information about our church’s activities, encouraging devotional thoughts, and, as part of our year of thankfulness, we will be posting ways/things for which to be thankful.

Please feel free to leave your comments–keep them clean and encouraging!