Friday, August 8th

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Friday, August 8

1 Peter 2:4-11 (ESV)

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
and
“A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God\'s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

FBCG was founded 120 years ago, in 1894, by a handful of Swedish immigrants who came to this country, in part, to find religious freedom. They worshiped together for 10 years before constructing their first simple church building. Over the next half-century or so that tiny church family sometimes struggled for survival but continued to worship, care for each other, and proclaim the gospel. Then as Geneva and the surrounding communities began to grow significantly in the 1970’s and 80’s the church also began to grow. Along the way facilities were expanded, property purchased, and more buildings added. Today FBCG is a church family of over 4,000 that gathers on two campuses and in six worship services every weekend, and we are expanding our facilities again through the “Growing to Serve” expansion project.

As I walk around the project watching it take shape, I often think about several things. First, it strikes me that even though FBCG has changed in so many ways over those 120 years, some things have not changed. We still worship with all our hearts; we still care for each other; and we are still called to proclaim the gospel with clarity and conviction. Second, as I watch concrete blocks and other construction materials being carefully put into place to form walls and floors and ceilings, it often hits me that every single brick or block or beam in both our campuses could represent a person or family that has gone before us. I have no idea how many thousands of men, women, students and children have worshiped, served and given generously so that FBCG could remain faithful to God’s call for 120 years; I just know that the church ultimately is not made of bricks and mortar, but of people who love and serve Jesus Christ. Peter writes:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I know we’ve left the ancient story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem to jump into what Peter has to say about the church, but I want us to notice the parallels.
Just as the walls of Jerusalem needed to be built up with stones, the church is built up with “living stones”- or people. Just as Nehemiah longed to rebuild the wall because it symbolized the glory and blessing of God, so the church is to be a “spiritual house” that offers “spiritual sacrifices” to God.
Just as the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem regained their identity as the people of God with a restored wall, so we find our identity in and through the gospel, which in turn, builds and shapes the church.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God\'s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is what fills my heart as I walk around the Growing to Serve project! We get to do this! We are invited by the Lord Jesus himself to play our part in the great story of God’s love for the world! We get to play a part in building and being his church! We belong to him and we get to proclaim his “excellencies” to the world around us!

Just as those who have gone before us in faithful worship, service and generosity, we now get to take our place as “living stones” in the spiritual house called the church.

What an incredible privilege we have!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Thursday, August 7th

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Thursday, August 7

Nehemiah 7:66-73

The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. There were 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests.

The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.

Have you noticed yet that Nehemiah was a pretty smart guy who paid attention to detail?

He paid attention to the plight of the exiles in Jerusalem even when his own life was comfortable.

He paid attention to God in prayer and knew what God wanted him to do.

He paid attention to the King and knew the right time to reveal his sadness to Artaxerxes.

He thought about the project in great detail and asked the King for everything he needed.

Once the wall was rebuilt we are told that he paid attention to the people who lived there; counting every single family and every single member of each family along with all their horses, camels and donkeys.

And now we are told he records their personal contributions to the great project.

Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests.

From the contributions listed it appears Nehemiah is now focused on furnishing the Temple, which had been under reconstruction since the return of the first exiles under Zerubbabel a decade or so earlier.

He is noting in some detail the generosity of those who made the work on the Temple possible.

Some gave gold; a “daric” was a Persian coin worth about $5, so a gift of 20,000 darics would have been something around $100,000.

Some gave silver; a “mina” was a pound of silver, worth around $300. So a gift of 2,200 minas of silver would have been over $600,000.

Some gave fine clothing or bowls that would have been necessary for the priests to conduct proper worship.

Just as Nehemiah listed the names of the people and families that contributed to the physical work of rebuilding the walls (see chapter 3), he also notes the gifts of gold, silver and other items that were given in order that the Temple be completed for worship. Notice that Nehemiah does not list the names of those who gave so generously, perhaps to protect them or to avoid shaming those who were not able to give in that way.

The point is, I think, that the work of rebuilding the city required everyone to do their part. It required visionary and competent leadership; tireless work by those who did the rebuilding; and generous giving by those who were blessed with resources of gold and silver.

The parallels to the church are obvious. The church needs people called and gifted to lead; people willing to serve; and people willing to be generous with their material wealth.

The sense you get when reading the story of Nehemiah is that everyone was expected to play their part in the project. Everyone was expected to contribute something.

Were there some who avoided getting their hands dirty with the work? Maybe. Were there some who kept their gold and silver for themselves? Probably. Were there some who just observed the work rather than sharing in it? Very likely. But if so, those who failed to participate did not share in the joy of the finished project, and did not have their names recorded in the great story of Nehemiah.

The question for us is, are we observers of the great story of God’s work in the world, or are we participants?


Pastor Brian Coffey

Wednesday, August 6th

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Nehemiah 7:4-25 (ESV)

The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:
These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, 2,172. The sons of Shephatiah, 372. The sons of Arah, 652. The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. The sons of Elam, 1,254. The sons of Zattu, 845. The sons of Zaccai, 760. The sons of Binnui, 648. The sons of Bebai, 628. The sons of Azgad, 2,322. The sons of Adonikam, 667. The sons of Bigvai, 2,067. The sons of Adin, 655. The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. The sons of Hashum, 328. The sons of Bezai, 324. The sons of Hariph, 112. The sons of Gibeon, 95.

If you’re like me when you see lists of ancient names like this in the Bible you tend to “skim” just a bit! After all, the names are strange to us, hard to read, and harder to pronounce! Yet, there are a number of places in scripture where God gives us long lists of names like this. Sometimes the lists of names are genealogies; sometimes they are lists of people who were involved in a certain event; and sometimes, as in this case, they are a census of sorts. In fact, scholars tell us there are over 2,500 personal names in God’s word!

So why is this long list of tongue twisting names along with precise census numbers included in the story of Nehemiah? Why does God want us to read these names some 4000 years after the event? Wouldn’t the story be easier to read and just as significant without this list of names.

The answer is, of course, yes, it would be easier to read; but no, it not be as significant without this list of names. And here’s why!

Think of this part of chapter 7 as a kind of ancient Facebook page. Now, I know Facebook is a Pandora’s Box of the useless and trivial piled on top of photos of what your friends ate for supper last night, but hear me out. At some kind of fundamental level Facebook exists because people matter. We build our profiles, post our comments and share our photos because we believe we matter to someone and because we want to stay connected in some way to the people who matter to us.

I think that’s why the Bible includes so many names, and that’s why Nehemiah went through the painstaking process of taking a census of the people living in Jerusalem. He did it because people matter.

At FBCG we believe that people matter to God; not just people who look like us, dress like us or talk like us; but all people! Our “Serve the World” initiative includes local ministry partners like Emmanuel House that enables working families, many of them refugees from war-torn regions of the globe, to escape the cycle of poverty and purchase their own homes. We have global partners like “Stephen’s House” in Ukraine that will one day provide a compassionate ministry to young men with special needs, young men that are largely forgotten and cast away by their own society. Our “Growing to Serve” ministry expansion project includes new space dedicated to “Masterpiece Ministries”; a ministry for special needs kids and their families. We do these things simply because the Bible tells us that people matter to God.

So go ahead and try to read that list of names again! And when you come to names like Zattu, and Zaccai, and Binnui, ask God to help you pay attention to the people all around you who need to know that God knows their names!


Pastor Brian Coffey

Tuesday, August 5th

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Nehemiah 7:1-3
After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

A friend who coached one of my sons travel baseball teams years ago used to like to say to the boys when they were cleaning up the dugout after a game, “Leave it better than you found it!” What he meant, of course, was that he wanted the boys to not only clean up their own gear and pick up any empty Gatorade bottles they had tossed in the dugout, but also to scour the whole area for trash so that the next group would arrive and find a clean ball field.

“Leave it better than you found it.”

That’s a pretty good standard to apply to many situations when you think about it. And, in his own way, that’s what Nehemiah is doing here in chapter 7.

I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

It’s easy to miss what is going on here because we are so far removed from that time and culture. Historians tell us that the gates of an ancient city were usually opened early in the morning, to allow the day’s commerce to begin, and then closed at sunset, to keep the city safe. Here Nehemiah suggests the added security measures of opening the gates later and closing them earlier. He is simply taking extra precautions because he knows that even though the walls and gates have been rebuilt, their enemies have not gone away.

I think Nehemiah is making sure that he “leaves it better than he found it.” He is preparing to hand over leadership to Hanani and Hananiah and he wants to do everything he can to help them be successful in their task. He has rebuilt the wall of the city but he now focuses on leaving a leadership infrastructure that will ensure the long term survival of the people make Jerusalem their home.

I think there’s a lesson for us as the church in all of this. Our church family today is made up of roughly 4,000 men, women and children. But while we are the FBCG church family today, not one of us was here in 1894 when the church was founded! We have inherited this ministry from those who have gone before, and someday we will also pass it on to those who come after us.

The question is, will we leave it better than we found it? Like Nehemiah, will we long for God’s best for his people? Will we carefully inspect the walls and gates of the church to see where they may need to be strengthened? Will we each be willing to do our part to pray and serve and give so that, like ancient Jerusalem, the church will be able to stand against the enemy? And, when the time comes, will we hand the leadership baton to the next generation in a way that will encourage their future success?

Nehemiah left Jerusalem better than he found it; may we do the same!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Monday, August 4th

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Monday, August 4

Nehemiah 7:1-3
After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

After leading the colonies to victory in the Revolutionary War and serving two terms as the first President of the United States of America, George Washington refused to serve a third term even though his election was certain. He refused for two main reasons; he wanted to return to his plantation in Mount Vernon and he simply believed it was better for the future of the nation that leadership not be focused on one man.

In many ways Nehemiah was a leader much like George Washington. He led the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem which also served to rebuild a people. He inspired a rag-tag group of downtrodden people to not only rebuild the walls and gates of their city, but to courageously fight off enemies who sought their destruction. Then, when he had accomplished so much, and could easily have laid claim to an enormous amount of control and power in the city he had rebuilt, he decided to entrust leadership to
two men named Hanani and Hanahiah.

After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.

In the first 6 chapters of the story we see Nehemiah’s extraordinary vision and leadership. In chapter 7 we see his extraordinary humility and wisdom. Think about it! Nehemiah is the one who risked his life and reputation by sharing his sadness over Jerusalem with King Artaxerxes. He is the one who put the entire plan together. He is the one who inspired the people with his vision of a restored Jerusalem. He is the one who endured the taunts and threats of a very real enemy. Now, just when you think he would be thinking about enjoying the position of respect and power that he would inevitably have had in a rebuilt Jerusalem, he hands leadership over to others.

He chooses Hanani because he was the one who brought the news of Jerusalem’s sad situation; and he chooses Hananiah because he is both a soldier and a man who fears God.

Then he gives them detailed instructions about how to keep the city safe now that the walls and gates have been rebuilt.

Why would Nehemiah choose to delegate authority and leadership instead of holding on to it as his right and privilege? We aren’t told Nehemiah’s reasons but I think we can make some guesses based on what we already know about the man.

We know that the whole project was never about Nehemiah; rather, it was always about God and his desire for his people. Nehemiah knew the city didn’t belong to him, but rather to God. We also know that Nehemiah’s vision was born in prayer before the God of heaven, so we can assume that just as he began the work in obedience to God, he also stepped back in that same obedience.

What can we learn from Nehemiah?

I think we can learn that it’s not about us! Whatever leadership role God has given you, whether it be as a parent, a Sunday School teacher or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, it’s not about you! God’s call on our lives is always about his will and the people he loves.

Pastor Brian Coffey

Thursday, July 31st

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10 Minutes with God:

Thursday, July 31st, 2014

Have you ever stopped to think about all that is supposed to be included in the well balanced life?  In order for us to be “healthy”, we are supposed to find time to work hard, but not over work.  We should of course make time for family, that is a priority.  We need to have space for other vital relationships (friends and if you are married, couple friends).  You need to be sure to work-out (your body is a temple after all), eat right, stay up-to-date on the latest cultural events, be politically informed, leave a little space for entertainment or refreshment and in the 8 minutes that you have left, sleep.  As Christians, we add to the list our daily devotions, spending time in prayer, serving in our community and in the church and making it to our small groups.  It’s exhausting just thinking about it all.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t mean to suggest that these things aren’t important.  They are.  It is important to read God’s Word and to serve, to pray and to be healthy.  It is all important but when you add it all together, you can begin to see how easy it is to lose our focus on our God given mission in life.  There seem to be a million different things coming at us every day, vying for out attention and clamoring to be done immediately.

I often think of this as a modern day problem, an unintended consequence of the advancement of technology or something like that.  Sometimes I even find myself longing for the good old days, simpler times and all of that.  As it turns out, the problem has always been there.  We saw the potential for this yesterday in the life of the disciples from Acts 6.  In the infancy of the life of the church, there was a very real threat for them to become distracted from their primary mission, “prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).

Even Jesus was not immune to experiencing the pull of warring priorities.  Take a look at Mark 1:21-39:

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

29 And immediately he[f] left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Most of the time I think of these last few verses as a model for prayer, and they are, but in the larger context of Mark 1, there is something else going on here that stands out to me.  I think that Jesus is also modeling what it looks like to stay on mission.  When the disciples wake up and find Jesus, they essentially say to Jesus, “where have you been, everyone is waiting for you.”  The people had seen the miracles and the demons that were cast out, and they wanted more.  When morning arrives, there is a gathering of those looking for Jesus to do more of the same and they are wondering when he is going to get to work.  Jesus’ reply however isn’t to return and meet the requests of those waiting for him.  Jesus instead tells his disciples, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Kevin DeYoung, is his book Crazy Busy comments on this passage saying, “When all Capernaum waited for his healing touch, he left for a desolate place to pray.  And when the disciples told him to get back to work, he left for another town to preach.  Jesus knew the difference between urgent and important.  He understood that all the good things he could do were not necessarily the things he ought to do.”

Jesus understood his mission and his mission determined his priorities, not the other way around.  In the end, nothing could deter him from that mission.  Jesus is the perfect example to us of what focused and purposeful living looks like.

Pastor Sterling Moore

Friday, August 1st

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10 Minutes with God:

Friday, August 1st, 2014

I used to run cross-country. This will come as quite a surprise to many of you that know my complete and total aversion to physical activity of any kind these days. I signed up for the team my senior year of high school mainly because several of my friends were on the team and I had nothing better to do. This is a perfect example of negative peer pressure. I thought it sounded fun but seriously under-estimated the amount of running that was involved. Considering I spent most runs in the back of the pack, my grandpa used to say I spent all my time staring at elbows. He was very supportive of my running career.

If you have ever been to a cross-country race, you know that the finish line is typically marked with a large, bright banner that was hung as high as possible so that it would be visible to the runners.  This was always a critical point in the race for me.  Primarily because I was in a heated battle to avoid finishing last.  When there are 100+ runners in a race, it looks really bad to finish last.  Secondarily, however, the moment that my eyes could see the finish line I had hope.  It was always at that moment that I knew I could make it. As soon as I could see the finish line, I ran with more purpose, commitment and determination (but unfortunately, the same speed).

As we conclude our time in 10 Minutes with God this week and the consideration of Nehemiah’s example of a purposeful and focused life, I want us to take a few moments to consider how we live this type of life in our own relationship with Jesus and in our own call to model the gospel.

Let’s take a look at Hebrews 2:1-2:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Ironically, the author of Hebrews uses the example of running a race as a model for how we can/should live out our lives in Christ.  These verses follow the list in Hebrews 11 of those who had gone before them and demonstrated a focused and purposeful faith.  People like Enoch and Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Samson, Gideon, David and others whose focus was fixed on God and that ultimately guided their actions and their choices.  In light of this “great cloud of witnesses”, Hebrews essentially instructs us on how to run.

There are a couple of things that stand out to me in these verses.  The first is the need to get rid of that which is slowing me down.  Most of the week we have talked about distractions.  The author of Hebrews calls it sin.  I love that these verses are blunt.  Sin in our lives is the equivalent to running a marathon while carrying a backpack full of rocks.  It makes it really difficult to progress, to keep running.  The solution is clear here: get rid of it.  If we are to run with the sort of effectiveness and impact of those who have gone before us, we have be willing to identify sin in our lives, confess it as sin and receive forgiveness.  Confessed sin is weightless and consequently we can run freely.

Lastly, and I think most critically, we are taught to look to Jesus.  In the NIV translates this phrase by saying “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”.  In the immediate context of the book of Hebrews, at the conclusion of a marathon there would oftentimes be a public figure or a celebrity of some sort seated on an elevated throne, ready to greet the runners at the conclusion of the race.  Drawing from that imagery, these verses remind us that the key to running is to understand what we are running towards, to see the finish line and not to take our eyes off it.  Herein lies the essence of purposeful and focused living: we look to Jesus and we don’t remove our eyes from what awaits us at the finish line.  2 Corinthians 4:18 says it this way: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Run well.

Pastor Sterling Moore