Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. ~Matthew 13:16-17

I spent last week with 14 high school students and four leaders serving the people of San Francisco and Oakland. While we were there, we had the opportunity to help feed the homeless, serve in a hospital, and deliver food to those who were sick. Besides helping others, we had the opportunity to help ourselves too. When I say help ourselves, I am not talking about a buffet or a much-needed vacation; no, we got the opportunity to help ourselves understand, hear and see. We could have worked in soup kitchens and passed out food to nameless people and had a very successful trip, but that is not what we did. We spent a week eating with people, walking with people, and hearing the stories of the people we served. 

On our first day in San Francisco, each of us was given $2.00 and four hours of time. We broke into groups of four and five, and were given the task of feeding ourselves and helping someone we met on the street. To feed four people with $8.00, when we typically spend that on a meal for ourselves, is difficult. But the most difficult thing about this exercise wasn’t feeding ourselves, but what to do with 4 hours of time. It raised questions of “what do homeless people do with all of their time?” “How do they find resources they need?” “How do they communicate with each other without cell phones?” This exercise helped set the tone for our understanding the people that we served in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as the people of Phoenix. 

Often in our lives we get so focused on what we have to get done that we don’t see what is going on around us. As we walked the streets of San Francisco it wasn’t hard to see people on their cell phones texting or talking, walking past and sometimes over, the poor and less fortunate. If we had our cell phones while in San Francisco, we might have found ourselves in a similar situation. Fortunately we didn’t, because we were forced to turn our faces away from our screens. This allowed us to see people, meet people and have face-to-face interaction with people we might not ever have noticed; and not just in San Francisco, but also within our own group. 

Often times we get so caught up in “liking” someone’s comments on Facebook or Instagram, texting our “friends” emoji’s or playing games that we neglect to see. But Jesus wants us to see. 

From the beginning, humans were created to be in relationships. We are told that it was not good for Adam to be alone. Yet as our society evolves, we spend less and less time in relationships and more and more time acting like we do. 

I got a lot out of this last week with our Sr. High teens in San Francisco, but if there was one thing that I truly understand after this trip is that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Eyes to see injustice, see poverty, see hurt as well as hope, love and compassion. God gave us ears to hear the cries of the poor, the sick, and the hungry, as well as the sound of prayer and songs of praise. However, it becomes very difficult to see these things if we are always buried in our phones, and it is hard to hear if we always have something in our ears. 

I would challenge you this week to set down the phone and turn off the music. Take time to look and listen so you might see and hear what or whom God is calling you towards. Maybe it is taking an extra bottle of water with you to give to someone on a street corner during these hot days. Maybe it is giving up your seat to someone else. Maybe it is getting together with a friend you haven’t scene in a while, actually face-to-face, and listening to what is going on in their lives. I challenge you to have the courage to set down the phone turn off the music so you can see and hear.

“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”  ~Romans 3:23 

No one likes falling down, but from the early stages of walking all the way through life, we fall down. Whether you are coordinated or not, falling down is a part of life - we have to accept that. So it isn’t a matter of if you fall, it matters what you do after you fall.

I mention this because I spent this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend skiing and snowboarding with the Senior High students from our church. Like the blind leading the blind, I tried my best to teach students how to ski and snowboard. If you have ever skied, you know that when you are leaning, one thing is for certain - you will fall. So, through the course of two days the students had lots of falls, and at times, got very frustrated with falling. 

Since I was the one teaching (and not learning), I spent my time going down the hill at a very slow, safe pace. Even if I fell, I simply got back up. However, at the end of the day, when everyone else was tired, I thought I would give it one more run. A run where I could let loose a little. Again, I am not good, and I try some stuff I hadn’t been able to do while teaching. On the last run, as I was approaching the lodge, I was going pretty fast and feeling pretty good, when all of the sudden I caught the edge of the board and fell. It was unlike any fall I had taken all weekend. This fall was so bad that I can’t really sit comfortably two days later. 

As I sat there on the ground pondering my life, I was glad for two things; 1) It was the last run of the day, not the first. 2) The lodge was only 500 yards away. As I crawled over to pick up my goggles that were jarred from my head, I realized, after one hard fall, how many of our students felt as they sat beaten up from falling all day. It was the feeling of defeat, exhaustion, and pain.

 It doesn’t matter if it is bunch of little falls or one big fall - it takes a toll on us. Falls don’t just happen on the slopes; they happen at work, with our friends, children, spouses, and especially in our relationship with God. Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Some of our falls are big and leave us crawling to gather up our bearing. Others are small, but over time leave us just as broken. 

 But falling doesn’t have to be the end. Falling doesn’t have to be what defines us, but often times we allow it to. We all sin and fall short, but just because we sin doesn’t mean we have to stop getting up. It doesn’t mean that we stop trying. Every time we fall, big or small, we must be willing to get up and try again, this time better than the time before. When we get up and fall back down again, we must continue to get up, continue to walk in Jesus’ path. 

 The good news is, no matter how broken and messed up things might be, we don’t have to do it alone. When we fall, when we sin, no matter how big or small, Jesus is always there with his hand stretched out to help us up, to knock off the snow and help us on our way. All we have to do is be willing to accept that hand and get back up. Because falling down shouldn’t be what defines us. What should define us is how we get up after the fall. 

Psalm 95:12-15

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Today marks the beginning of day three of our mission trip to Yarnell to help with the fire recovery. Our theme this year is Serve, Sweat, Grow. After two days we have had no problem serving and sweating, and today I asked the students a little bit about how they are growing. 

They have talked about meeting people who had lost everything in the fires. They mentioned stories about how they had heard that before the fires there wasn’t much sense of community or community pride in Yarnell - but now there is. They talked about some people who weren’t so nice to work for, but how they did it anyway because that is what they were asked to do. 

The thing that struck me the most was that many of them talked about our visit to the Shrine of St. Joseph on Tuesday. Before the fires, the Shrine of St. Joseph was the one thing that Yarnell was known for. Much of the area in the shrine had been destroyed, however the 14 stages of the cross that are depicted there remained; showing signs of fire damage, yet still remaining. 

We headed up the shrine going through all 14 stages. We started with the Last Supper, then quickly moved to Jesus praying in the garden, his arrest, trial, carrying his cross etc. The story of the cross was nothing new to anyone in our group. We all have heard the story and we all know how it ends. As we were going up one of our leaders noticed a sign on the station where the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes. It said, “Jesus did not have a lot, but what he did have was taken away from him. So no matter what you are dealing with, whether you have lost your job or your home, Jesus knows how you feel, as he, too, lost everything.” 

Our leader made the comment that the plaque wasn’t new, it had been there for years. She could imagine the impact of those words, written years earlier, on the people of Yarnell who would come there seeking to find answers to why they lost everything. Instead they would find Jesus. She then went on to say how it really puts life into perspective.

As we exited the 14 stations we come to a tomb with Jesus laying in it. One of our students went in to the tomb to look at a statue of Jesus laying in the tomb. He said when he was in there it hit him how big that moment was in the history of man. God coming to earth and dying for our sins really hit him and he couldn’t really explain what he felt, but he felt something. 

The reason we serve and sweat on missions trips isn’t just to do work, but to GROW in our understanding of who God is. For many of our students, the Bible has always been a book about Jesus, but they are starting to see it for what it is - a love story. The cross isn’t about punishment or judgment but about love  and God’s love for us. 

Being my first mission trip with the youth of Pinnacle, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I am finding is a group of teens who love to serve, and want nothing more than to grow in their experience and knowledge of God. I can only hope that the words of the Psalmist run true for our students; that they will flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. That they will remain planted in the house of the Lord and continue to flourish in the courts of our God - and when they get older they will draw on these experiences, these moments they have with God, and not walk away, but still produce fruit.

In reality, this isn’t just a hope for our youth, but for all those who have experienced God. No matter where we are in life, we must continue to grow in Christ so that we might produce fruit, so that others might also experience the love God has for us. Amen.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38

Growing up in Indiana, the house I grew up in is located on a small private lake. I spent many days on and around that lake playing, swimming and fishing. No matter how much time I spend around lakes, I cannot resist the urge to throw a rock into the calm water. If you have ever thrown a rock into a calm lake you will notice that at the point in which the rock enters the water circles form. I used to love to watch and see how big the circles would get. It always amazes me how big the ripples get despite the size of the rock. 

I mention this because as we are closing in on the annual Pinnacle Rummage Sale, I can’t help to think of the rummage sale as a rock thrown into the community of Scottsdale. This one event has dozen’s of people from PPC giving hundreds of hours of work to make it possible. But those aren’t the only rings that are made. There will be the rings of the lives affected on the Teen Mission Trip, which the rummage sale supports. There are the rings of all those who we get to meet through their donations. Rings of those who will be at the sale to purchase items and even bigger rings of the different people in the ministries that will get all of the items not sold.      

As I was thinking about all the lives that are and will be affected by the rummage sale, I can’t help but think how missional the rummage sale has become. Part of being missional is meeting people where they are and on their terms. It is about being present for people and through those relationships, through those encounters, we too get to share our lives…our lives in Christ with them. 

It is interesting how something like a rummage sale can literally open doors and conversations about PPC and what God is doing here. Not just with me, as the pastor, but conversations between neighbors and friends about what is going on at Pinnacle. As we walk along the shoreline in Lent towards Easter, and even our journey beyond Easter, there are lots of rocks along the way that are ready to be thrown out into our community; from Holy Week Activities, Vacation Bible School, Take Mama Away, the youth’s Mission Trip, the number of rocks goes on and on. However, it doesn’t matter how many rocks we have in front of us, a rock on the shore can’t make any ripple. For a rock to make ripples it needs to be thrown. With all the rocks that we have at PPC, we should stop simply making ripples and start making waves.

It seems like every time I write a blog I have just come back from a trip. This time it was a trip to Cornville (Sedona area) with 14 junior high students. For some, this might be your worst nightmare, but for me, I was sad because it was only 14, and not 30 or 40. Never the less those who went had an amazing time. The 14 students, 3 leaders and myself left PPC Friday night to go on a winter retreat, (again, winter is a bit of a stretch as it was mid to upper 70’s all weekend. So not much winter but we did have an opportunity to retreat).

When we arrived on Friday night, as with most trips I lead, there is a since of excitement; whether it being away from home, getting to stay up later, being with friends or trying to take advantage of the new guy or a little bit of it all, the excitement was overflowing. To put to politely the kids were having a good time that lasted very late.

Saturday morning, was much of the same, the energy level was high as we planned to take a hike to a place called Devil’s Bridge, I know what your are thinking a great place for a youth leader to take a bunch of Jr. High students. Despite its name, it was a really great hike. Once we got there we ate lunch, I took on a momentous task…asking 14 junior high students to be quiet for 30 minutes. It wasn’t because they were in trouble or had done something wrong, but rather to take time from typically noisy lives to simply spend time quiet with God.  

While they were quiet, taking in the beautiful Sedona Mountains, I gave them a question to pounder. The question was one that Jesus asked his disciple when he was alone praying, but could hear the noise and commotion of people discussing who he was.  “He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God” (Luke 9:18b-20). 

Who do you say I am? We had lots of different answers but several of our students responded by saying Jesus was “a good friend” and hearing that answer made me think about Peter’s answer. Peter answered by saying “The Messiah of God” which is correct, but for me it isn’t enough. In being “The Messiah” Peter leaves out the personal side of Jesus. He leaves out the side of Jesus that we get to know when we are still and when we are in our quiet times. The Jesus that knows the real us even when we are to busy putting on a show for other people or living a lifestyle that brings more glory to us than it does God. God know the real us.  

Jesus isn’t just “The Messiah” he is “My Messiah”, he is “Your Messiah”. Often times in our busy lives we see Jesus as the savior of the world, but forget that he is also our savior. He is there for us, not just others. He knows the real, the broken and sinful us, even when we pretend he doesn’t, he knows. 

Our world has become more and more noisy, with radios, TVs, cell phones, gaming devices, work, sports…. it goes on and on. We spend so much time every day making noise, so much time trying to hide the real us from the rest of the world that we often forget that Jesus is our Messiah. He died for us because he loves us and wants to spend time with us. We forget to simply be still with God and know…

As we were leaving from our winter retreat, I gave a challenge to all of our Jr. High Students. I will challenge those who read this this week the same challenge…spend 10 minutes a day this week, (A little over an hour total. The Jr. High did that in two days.) simply being still with God. Don’t try to hide from God and don’t ask God for anything, just allow yourself to be yourself. Simply spend time, in the quiet (no radios or TVs), in God’s presence and know…     

In Christ,
Frank