Plans for September 25th & 26th

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

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CHICKEN & RICE THIS SATURDAY

Each Saturday from 10:30am-1:00pm, we serve our streets a meal of Chicken & Rice, along with the Gospel. Volunteers are welcome to join us. Chicken & Rice Ministries is our flagship work. It serves as the invitation to all in our streets to come and know Christ. If you would like to come and serve, please contact us.

TENT GATHERING AT 10AM THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, I look forward to seeing everyone at the Tent Gathering. As we gather this Sunday for our Tent Gathering, I wanted to go over the schedule with you. This Sunday, our schedule is as follows:

  • 9am-10am: Coffee and Conversation. As you arrive, grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Enjoy having conversation with one another and the chance to be together. Also, if you’re willing, some will be setting up for the 10 am service. We welcome your help, if you’re able.

  • 10am-11am: Tent Gathering Service. *At 10am, bring your camping chairs or blankets to make for yourself a place outside, underneath our tent. We will gather to worship as we set our eyes upon Jesus. Highland, I ask that we would be in prayer for the name of Jesus to be exalted in our corporate gathering; that those who wander, or are deceived throughout our streets, would hear that Jesus saves, and repent! We will conclude and dismiss following this service. So, breakfast will be offered but not lunch.

We are strongly encouraging social distancing and masks will be available for those who would feel most comfortable wearing one. If you have a mask, please bring one for yourself to use.  We ask that you stay home when you are sick. We also ask that you cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Finally, keeping your hands clean using sanitizer or by washing them with soap is vital. If you have a personal bottle of sanitizer, bring it and keep it on you for your personal use throughout gatherings.

OTHER RELATED INFO

  • Van route riding requirements: windows down, masks worn and no more than 10 on a van.

  • Wednesday night studies, Pillow Party and prayer sessions have been canceled.

  • Children’s Ministries, Life Class & Breakfast will not resume until a later date.

*All proposed plans remain contingent upon medical information available to us throughout the foreseeable future. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. I rejoice over you, Highland. I look forward to being with you Sunday.

I love you, Highland,

Rob

Plans for September 19

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NO TENT GATHERING THIS SUNDAY 9/19

9:00 COFFEE AND CONVERSATION WITH CHAPEL-STYLE WORSHIP AND DEVOTION

As you arrive, grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Enjoy having conversation with one another and the chance to be together. As weather allows, we will hold a chapel-style service. Billy Holbrook will lead us in worship. Justin Jordan will lead our time of devotion and prayer.

No van route will be offered this week.

We are strongly encouraging social distancing and masks will be available for those who would feel most comfortable wearing one. If you have a mask, please bring one for yourself to use.  We ask that you stay home when you are sick. We also ask that you cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Finally, keeping your hands clean using sanitizer or by washing them with soap is vital. If you have a personal bottle of sanitizer, bring it and keep it on you for your personal use throughout gatherings.

Other Related Information

  • Wednesday night studies, Pillow Party and prayer sessions have been canceled.

  • Children’s Ministries, Life Class & Breakfast will not resume until a later date.

*All proposed plans remain contingent upon medical information available to us throughout the foreseeable future. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. I rejoice over you, Highland. I look forward to being with you Sunday.

Highland, you are loved!

Series Closer

Highland, as we closed our series on generational sin last Sunday, this is the final post. We will soon begin our series working through I Thessalonians from start to finish.

For the last 6 sermons, we have been sea-sawing back and forth between Ezekiel 18 and Exodus 20 to get a better grasp on generational sin. In Ezekiel 18:1-4, we see the people of God under Babylonian rule and they, rightfully, are upset because they see their life in bondage as God’s punishment for their prior generations’ sin. But, the “sour grapes” mentioned are the fruits borne of sin, not the offering of our Lord; He just spells out the outcome and consequences of sin, but He desires each of us to walk according to His ways. The Lord makes clear the benefits of a life lived in agreement with Him, He also spells out the consequences of a life lived that is not in agreement with His heart and His Word. Be assured, He is love and His ways lead to life but, in His love, He will not obligate us to obey Him.

Ezekiel’s Correction of Their Misguided Mindset, Ezekiel 18:1-4

“The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?

As I live” — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — “you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. Look, every life belongs to Me. The life of the father is like the life of the son — both belong to Me. The person who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:1-4).

About the sour-grapes statement: The Israelites were allowing this saying to circulate throughout their days. This saying/proverb picked up a lot of traction because it’s based on how they felt about God’s Word, but their feelings were not based on truth and they were misguided by their feelings.

What the statement means: The proverb means that the sons and daughters who were in captivity felt that they were having to pay for their past generations’ sin. When you see someone eat something sour, then as you observe, typically, onlookers will whence and recoil at the thought of being offered that which is sour. Furthermore, the statement indicates that the sour grapes were an inevitable and unavoidable option, hence, the children’s teeth are set on edge, meaning that they are expecting to receive the sinfully-offensive and hostile nature of their father’s relationship with the Lord.

The Lord’s Response, Ezekiel 18:29-32

As the dialogue continues, the Lord responds and expresses His heart toward each of His people, by making clear that He delights in relationship with each and every one! He goes on to make clear that He takes no pleasure in anyone’s death, but those who repent remove their stumbling blocks which result in punishment, receiving a new heart and a new spirit - therefore, ‘repent and live!’

“But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Is it My ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?

Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment. Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. So repent and live” (Ezekiel 18:29-32)!

Anyone who repents, declaring Jesus as Lord, will live

When one repents, they see the grotesque work of sin evidenced in their hearts. They see sin in every way (in motivations and relationships and the brokenness it produces)! They see sin as offensive toward God and they hate that they have offended Him, Who is love. Their sorrow over sin is not over being caught doing something wrong but their sorrow over sin flows from knowing that they have disappointed the heart of God.

The gospel tells us that Jesus came to save sinners. That He came and dwelt among us, living a sinless life, then willingly laid down His life to satisfy the wrath of God toward sinners; that while we were still enemies of God, He died for us. So, what the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God does for us, that we might live through Jesus (Romans 8:1-4).

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).

When a sinner sees that beauty of Jesus as supreme to any version of the created beauty of this world, then they run to Him in repentance - and, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are renewed to share and delight within the desires of our holy God! When we obey, keeping with the fruits of repentance, the Lord mends and restores our relationships with others and sets right our relationship with His creation for generations to come!

Jesus redeems the repentant, offering a ‘spirit of adoption’ to those under the curse of sin

“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed. Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed. The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:10-14, HSCB).

Highland, we are family. Those of us who’ve looked at the law, seeing God’s holiness and our sinfulness; acknowledging that there’s nothing we can do to rid ourselves of the curse of sin or make ourselves right with God. Jesus, Who hung on that tree for us, bore our penalty of sin due to us in His body - offering us the chance to call our Maker, “Father”, a new heart and renewed spirit to those who repent, declaring Him to be Lord. While we still deal with the residue of sin, we are no longer defined by the curse of sin. He took upon Himself the curse of sin, offering to those who repent His righteousness, that, by His spirit, we might be able to share in a heart agreement with our Heavenly Father, as sons and daughters of the Most High. The results in the mercies of God being upon us, our children, and our children’s children for a 1000 generations!

Highland. I am grateful for you.

i love you,

Rob

Plans for September 11th &12th

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

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CHICKEN & RICE THIS SATURDAY

Each Saturday from 10:30am-1:00pm, we serve our streets a meal of Chicken & Rice, along with the Gospel. Volunteers are welcome to join us. Chicken & Rice Ministries is our flagship work. It serves as the invitation to all in our streets to come and know Christ. If you would like to come and serve, please contact us.

TENT GATHERING AT 10AM THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, I look forward to seeing everyone at the Tent Gathering. As we gather this Sunday for our Tent Gathering, I wanted to go over the schedule with you. This Sunday, our schedule is as follows:

  • 9am-10am: Coffee and Conversation. As you arrive, grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Enjoy having conversation with one another and the chance to be together. Also, if you’re willing, some will be setting up for the 10 am service. We welcome your help, if you’re able.

  • 10am-11am: Tent Gathering Service. *At 10am, bring your camping chairs or blankets to make for yourself a place outside, underneath our tent. We will gather to worship as we set our eyes upon Jesus. Highland, I ask that we would be in prayer for the name of Jesus to be exalted in our corporate gathering; that those who wander, or are deceived throughout our streets, would hear that Jesus saves, and repent! We will conclude and dismiss following this service. So, breakfast will be offered but not lunch.

We are strongly encouraging social distancing and masks will be available for those who would feel most comfortable wearing one. If you have a mask, please bring one for yourself to use.  We ask that you stay home when you are sick. We also ask that you cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Finally, keeping your hands clean using sanitizer or by washing them with soap is vital. If you have a personal bottle of sanitizer, bring it and keep it on you for your personal use throughout gatherings.

OTHER RELATED INFO

  • Van route riding requirements: windows down, masks worn and no more than 10 on a van.

  • Wednesday night studies, Pillow Party and prayer sessions have been canceled.

  • Children’s Ministries, Life Class & Breakfast will not resume until a later date.

*All proposed plans remain contingent upon medical information available to us throughout the foreseeable future. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. I rejoice over you, Highland. I look forward to being with you Sunday.

I love you, Highland,

Rob

'Visits the Iniquity of the Father's Sin'

Sunday, we continued to examine God’s command to not create for ourselves and worship idols. We then took a closer look at the passage to best grasp God’s revelation that He visits the father’s sin to the third and fourth generation.

God says: “Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands” (Exodus 20:4-6, ESV).

While the Lord makes clear the benefits of a life lived in agreement (in covenant) with Him, He also spells out the consequences of a life lived that is not in agreement (intentional violation of his covenant) with His heart and His word. Be assured, He is love and His ways lead to life but, in His love, He will not obligate us to obey Him.

As one reads this passage, it certainly sounds like God is being vindictive - but the generational consequences are rather the results streaming from a father’s choice to live in opposition toward God, hating God. Idolatry and wickedness (as defined in Exodus 20:4) influences the household for generations to come. The father’s sin often results in his children carrying on the practice of that sinful lifestyle and therefore the penalties remain. Fathers, if our household sees us celebrating sin or probably more likely, being apathetic toward our sin, we are inviting our children to participate in that sin and/or that apathy.

We must then answer this question: What about if a child of a sinful family repents during that time of penalty; will the Lord forgive and restore them?

Yes, upon yes!! While the residue of sinful consequences remain, sin does not define us nor mark our days. Here are just a few examples of how we see the Lord showing His faithful love to those who share in heart agreement with Him, acting out of obedience.

In the life of King Josiah, he took the throne of Judah. He was eight when he rightfully took the throne. His father and grandfather were evil and conducted their lives in sin. When he took the throne, clearly he was dealing with the penalties of his father and grandfathers’ sin - He, though, lived in faithfulness to the Lord; he sought to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord (2 Kings 22:1-2).

In Psalm 106:28-31, Phinneas takes a stand for God’s righteousness amongst the sinfulness of Israel and the Lord credits that act of worship to him as righteousness for generations to come.

So, coming back to our starting point, the sour grapes are the fruits borne of sin, not the offering of our Lord; He just spells out the outcome, but desires us to walk according to His ways.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday, Highland, as we continue working through this series on Sunday morning.

I love you,

Rob

Plans for September 4th & 5th

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

We celebrate with Jonny and Alana the birth of their daughter, Sunnnie! Beck (pictured) will be a great big brother!

We celebrate with Jonny and Alana the birth of their daughter, Sunnnie! Beck (pictured) will be a great big brother!

NO CHICKEN & RICE THIS SATURDAY

TENT GATHERING AT 10AM THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, I look forward to seeing everyone at the Tent Gathering. As we gather this Sunday for our Tent Gathering, I wanted to go over the schedule with you. This Sunday, our schedule is as follows:

  • 9am-10am: Coffee and Conversation. As you arrive, grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Enjoy having conversation with one another and the chance to be together. Also, if you’re willing, some will be setting up for the 10 am service. We welcome your help, if you’re able.

  • 10am-11am: Tent Gathering Service. *At 10am, bring your camping chairs or blankets to make for yourself a place outside, underneath our tent. We will gather to worship as we set our eyes upon Jesus. Highland, I ask that we would be in prayer for the name of Jesus to be exalted in our corporate gathering; that those who wander, or are deceived throughout our streets, would hear that Jesus saves, and repent! We will conclude and dismiss following this service. So, breakfast will be offered but not lunch.

We are strongly encouraging social distancing and masks will be available for those who would feel most comfortable wearing one. If you have a mask, please bring one for yourself to use.  We ask that you stay home when you are sick. We also ask that you cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Finally, keeping your hands clean using sanitizer or by washing them with soap is vital. If you have a personal bottle of sanitizer, bring it and keep it on you for your personal use throughout gatherings.

OTHER RELATED INFO

  • Van route riding requirements: windows down, masks worn and no more than 10 on a van.

  • Wednesday night studies, Pillow Party and prayer sessions have been canceled.

  • Children’s Ministries, Life Class & Breakfast will not resume until a later date.

*All proposed plans remain contingent upon medical information available to us throughout the foreseeable future. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. I rejoice over you, Highland. I look forward to being with you Sunday.

I love you, Highland,

Rob

'For the Lord your God is a Jealous God...'

“‘You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…’”
— Exodus 20:4, ESV

Highland, below is a recap of Sunday’s sermon. This sermon-series is centered on understanding generational sin, our personal relationship with the Lord and the character of God. Here is the framework of our series:

Our Overall Emphasis: An In-House, In-Heart look at Highland. Through Ezekiel 18, our purpose throughout this stint is for us to take an in-house look at our hearts, Highland; our personal relationship with the Lord, as it relates to the outworking of HIS righteousness in our lives.

Our Hope: Lord, give Highland a spirit of repentance so that we can experience a season of refreshing.

SUNDAY’S SERMON

Often, we will confuse jealousy and envy. To envy is to crave what someone else possesses, which leads to coveting. To covet is to become envious of another or another’s possessions, resulting in our personal bitterness or hatred. I was at a kid’s birthday party a few years ago; at this party, it was time for the birthday boy to open gifts. We all sat at the table watching this child open one great gift after another and the children were all in awe! Eventually, one child became so envious over all of the great gifts that the birthday boy was opening that he began to get upset and sob. To envy to the point of coveting always sours joyous moments, leaving us bitter over someone else’s possessions. The 10th Commandment, ‘Do not Covet’ is in place to reveal this form of sin lurks within our hearts and the Lord directs us to turn from a life of coveting.

But, let’s examine jealousy in the proper context, Highland; let someone speak ill of one of you, or mistreat you, you will quickly see me act jealously. Additionally, Carrie and I have a solid marriage but if someone were to handle her in an inappropriate fashion, my jealousy will fiercely defend her and our marriage - there is a proper form of jealousy that comes from being a defender for just causes. This is the form of jealousy that the Lord is using to describe Himself in this command.

The Lord describes Himself as “jealous” because He is committing Himself to these people and He maintains a proper sense of belonging. Typically, we see jealousy as a negative outworking, mostly, because people who are jealous are dealing in sinful situations while, probably, wrestling with sin and insecurity themselves throughout that situation, too.

Scripture shows that us that the Lord is jealous over His name, His glory and His righteousness. At Sinai, He offers each of these to the Israelites, by entering into a covenant with them. In so doing, they become His people and He becomes their God. In being a covenant-keeping people, they take on His name (His covenant), they display His glory and they share in His righteousness.

To those who repent, declaring Jesus to be Lord, Romans 8 tells us that they receive a ‘spirit of adoption’ - meaning that the Holy Spirit, indwells those who repent, making us sons and daughters of God which also brings us into covenant with Him. Like the Israelites, we then declare that we belong to the one, true God and that He belongs to us. Again, through repentance and Christ-crucified, we become heirs sharing in God’s name, glory and righteousness.

As a shepherd properly oversees His sheep, or, as a father properly cares for his family, so our Heavenly Father is a jealous God; He maintains a proper sense of belonging toward His children. He jealously desires for us to find our salvation, our rest, and purpose in Him and in Him alone!

The Lord’s jealousy of us is His pursuit of us! He pursues us because He loves us and He knows our every need and desires to satisfy our every need in His presence. He designed us; He knows our inner-workings even better than we understand ourselves. Even when we leave Him for lesser things, He chooses to come after us! Why? So that He may offer us Himself because He is and will always be our greatest good. When we submit to Him as Lord, His life-giving spirit produces in us “life-abundant!” His jealousy of us, or, His pursuit of us, results in us finding our life’s most meaningful purpose - to know Him and to glorify Him, our Defender, our Redeemer.

We must understand that God’s jealous pursuit of us is meant to be for the purpose of offering us our greatest good. Our greatest good is found when we are in covenant with God. When our heart’s declare, “I am my beloved’s and He is mine!” This results in the cultivation of faithfulness within our hearts. That faithfulness then has the opportunity to be cultivated in our children, our grandchildren, and to a thousand generations.

Highland, let us always rejoice over our “spirit of adoption” that is offered through the redeeming work of Jesus, then sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Highland, I love you. I rejoice in serving you, in honor of our Lord. May we continue to glorify our Lord together and may the Lord respond by continuing to offer us His goodness - the only form of true “good” we could ever know.

Grateful for you,

Rob

Location & Mailing address

3408 5th Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31904

phone Number — (706)249-9424