Dear Friends,
Some of you are old enough to remember a word processing computer program called Word Perfect. It was a popular competitor for Microsoft Word in the 1990s. Apparently, it’s still around.
Also apparently, this phone call to the Word Perfect Technical Support phone number never actually took place. But it’s fun to imagine it did.
"Word Perfect Technical support; may I help you?"
"Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
"What sort of trouble?"
"Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
"Went away?"
"They disappeared."
"Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
"Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?"
"How do I tell?"
"Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?"
"What's a sea-prompt?"
"Never mind. Can you move the cursor around on the screen?"
"There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
"Does your monitor have a power indicator?"
"What's a monitor?"
"It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on?"
"I don't know."
"Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that?"
....."Yes, I think so."
"Great! Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall."
....."Yes, it is."
"When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"
"No."
"Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
....."Okay, here it is."
"Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."
"I can't reach it."
"Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"
"No."
"Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"
"Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle-it's because it's dark."
"Dark?"
"Yes-the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window."
"Well, turn on the office light then."
"I can't."
"No? Why not?"
"Because there's a power outage."
"A power... A power outage? Aha! Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?"
"Well, yes. I keep them in the closet."
"Good! Go get them and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
"Really! Is it that bad?"
"Yes, I'm afraid it is."
"Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"
"Tell them you're too stupid to own a computer."
Any of us who have ever found ourselves stymied by technology will have some level of sympathy for the computer user in this apocryphal phone call to the tech support professional.
But the story illustrates a pretty basic spiritual principle as well.
In the upper room with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus emphasized their need to abide in Him even when He was no longer physically present among them. In the same way that a computer can’t do anything when the power supply is cut off, so we can do nothing of any significance in advancing God’s Kingdom if we’re in the dark and disconnected from the One who is the source of life in our lives. “Apart from me,” Jesus said, “you can do nothing.” Nothing.
Our posture as follower of Jesus should be the posture of men and women who are weak, needy, dependent, and coming back over and over again to God to acknowledge that apart from Him, we can do nothing of any lasting spiritual value.
All of us have cables and cords in our house that we regularly plug our devices into. And we’ve all seen what happens if we go a day or more without recharging any of those devices. When their dead, they’re useless.
Jesus tells us to abide in Him because if we’re not constantly connecting to Him, relying on Him, drawing spiritual life and energy from Him, we will become spiritually impotent. Spiritually useless.
So how do we abide? How do we draw our life from Him over and over again throughout our day?
I think there are three key elements to abiding. Three essential practices that help us cultivate an ongoing spiritual connectedness with Jesus.
First, we need to establish and regularly reflect on our identity as children of God. The foundation for our lives needs to be the nature of the relationship we have with Him. We need to remember who – and whose – we are, and then live our lives accordingly.
Second, we need to remember what our priorities ought to be. We’re called to worship God. To follow Him. To serve Him. And to tell others about Him. We stay connected to Jesus by keeping these vital priorities front and center and not allowing ourselves to become distracted by lesser things. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We abide by showing up for that assignment every day.
Finally, we abide by staying in regular contact with Jesus.
When I have to go away on a trip, Mary Ann and I text during the day and typically FaceTime at some point. We stay connected. If we don’t, we drift.
Abiding with Jesus means we make it a point to daily hear from Him by spending time in His word, and daily speaking to Him in prayer. When we don’t, it’s easy to drift.
Remind yourself regularly of your identity as a child of God. Forgiven. Accepted. Beloved.
Continually realign yourself around the priorities God has set for you. Put them ahead of your own priorities. Seek first His kingdom. Worship. Follow. Serve. Tell.
And stay in touch. Practice the presence of God. Speak to Him often. Listen to Him regularly.
When things aren’t working in your life the way they should be, check to see if for some reason you’ve become disconnected from the source of your life. If there’s a power outage, it’s not because God ran out of power. It’s because you lost the connection somehow.
Reconnect. And then abide. And you will bear much fruit.
It’s almost time for your Date Night!
Just over a week from now, on Friday night, February 21 at 6:00 pm, we’re turning the worship center into fine dining establishment. You’ll have a gourmet dinner for two for just $40 per couple.
Childcare is available for free for children through 5th grade (we just need to know the names and ages of your kids so we can be ready for them).
If you’ve been waiting to sign up, wait no longer! We’ll be ordering the food and making all the plans in the next week. So decide right now to do something special with your spouse on the Friday after Valentines Day.
You can register by clicking here. (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=9936bd7120&e=fbb0a4052b)
And following our date night event, we’ll be hosting a six-week Art Of Marriage study designed to help you strengthen your relationship as a couple.
The study begins on Sunday morning, March 2 at 8:30 am, right before our morning worship service. Child care will be available. And you’ll enjoy the video presentations and the discussions that will follow.
You’ll each need a workbook, which we’ll provide. We just need to order them for you. Click here (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=e6448c2b69&e=fbb0a4052b) to register for the study and let us know if you’ll need child care!
Our Roots students have a big weekend ahead at the end of this month. It’s their D-Now discipleship weekend event.
Register your student by clicking here. And if you have any questions about D-Now, email coleperkins.rcc@gmail.com (mailto:coleperkins.rcc@gmail.com).
The D-Now Weekend will wrap up with a bake sale after church on Sunday, March 2. Plan now to take home some baked goods and support the Roots ministry with a donation that morning.
The next Redeemer Men’s Institute get together will happen on Thursday night March 6. Our discussion will center on what Spirit-led decision making looks like, and how we can make wise decisions for our own lives and for our families.
Also men – if you haven’t blocked out the weekend of March 28-29 on your calendar yet, do it now. Our Men’s Spring Retreat happens that weekend at the Cross Heirs Retreat Center, with our special guest speaker, Jared Wilson.
Registration opens next week. Space is limited. The cost is $100 which includes four meals and one night’s lodging. We’ll start on Friday night at dinner time and wrap up after dinner on Saturday. We’ll be back home in time for church on Sunday.
Scholarships are available. Please don’t let the cost keep you from coming.
If you have questions, email Matt Gurney at mattgurney.rcc@gmail.com (mailto:mattgurney.rcc@gmail.com).
Also coming in March. Our annual Church Business Meeting. Complete with cheesecake.
Okay, full disclosure. It’s not Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake. But it’s still cheesecake. And it’s a great time for an update on what’s happening at Redeemer this year and where we believe God is leading us as in 2025 and beyond.
Sunday, March 9 at 4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome!
Here’s our New City Catechism questions for this week.
Question: What does the law of God require?
Answer: Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.
Here’s a link (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=5f8b8d44c7&e=fbb0a4052b) to a two minute video where Juan Sanchez talks about this week’s question and answer.
(https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=7f39993b6d&e=fbb0a4052b)
And here’s the link (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=ddf70ebd1b&e=fbb0a4052b) to the song for families based on this week’s question and answer.
(https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=3c160ba266&e=fbb0a4052b)
And again this week, here’s a link (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=e7fab91276&e=fbb0a4052b) that will take you to a Spotify playlist of the songs we’ll be singing together this Sunday!
Throughout history, dynasties and empires have arisen and eventually fallen. It happened with Babylon centuries before Jesus was born. And the same pattern has repeated itself over and over again through the ages. The Bible tells us in Revelation 18 that before Jesus comes to establish His Kingdom in its fullness, there will be a catastrophic collapse of a world power that is aligned against God and His word. We’ll explore the fall of Babylon the Great in our study of Revelation 18 this Sunday.
See you in church.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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