What is the reason for life?  What is the purpose of life?  How can you know?

John, the friend of Jesus, begins with a declaration:  “In the beginning was the word . . . this word was the life of men.”

John gives us a sign.  He declares that Jesus is the word of life and the authority of life.  Here is a person who is our sign to life, our reference point in life.  In Him was life and this life has come down.  He has become one of us.

John addresses the central questions:  “What is life?  Where can it be found?”  John finds the answer in asking the question:  “Who is Jesus?”

John’s Gospel presents proofs of life, signs of life.  Jesus gives us the signs and then becomes the sign.  He is the central hinge in life, the divine word of God who has come down and demonstrated His life as the light of men.

But John does more than that.  He expects a response from his readers—a response of belief.  “Believe” occurs 98 times in this gospel.  As Thomas believes after seeing the sign, so should we.  We must see.  We must respond.  We must believe.

John concludes with these words:  “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples which are now recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and by believing you may have life in his name”.

As John begins with a declaration of faith, he concludes with doubting Thomas’ expression of faith, “My Lord and my God.”  John presents the work of Jesus as signs and the person of Jesus as the sign.  Jesus is to be seen as the center of life, the sign of life and the Son of God in life.  Jesus is the sign to be believed in order that the questions of life end in the Him, the Sign of Life.

We begin a 40 week study on the Gospel of John next Sunday, September 19.  I invite you to join us.

God proved himself faithful through people who were willing to make hard decisions and do hard things who truly developed our church. Nothing was easy.  A couple examples from  the modern-day history of our city will help here.  In the past few decades First National Bank had the option to move out west and set up all their headquarters there.  But they made the difficult decision to build downtown.  This meant more costs, way more difficulty in building, and more time.  But it was a huge blessing to our city.  The World-Herald faced the same decision and came to the same conclusion.

Over and over again this has been true in our church, too.  Single men and single women making hard decisions to bless our church.  Families giving sacrificially to keep us alive.  We should thank families like Kyle and Cheryl Dyer.  Kyle ran sound and set-up for Core for 6 years straight, week-in and week-out.  A huge sacrifice for him, but at the same time Cheryl was a patient, gracious wife, pregnant wife, mom, mom of 2.  This is a family who made and continues to make sacrifices that none of us see.  They didn’t just make a one-time sacrifice, but they consistently gave stuff up because of the greater joy of seeing Jesus change their friends.

And imagine if you were that dear lady at a nice, big, comfy church in Florida.  Some young kids in Omaha need some money to launch a church.  What would you do?  Thankfully, this lady heard Jesus, obeyed Jesus, and gave.  Now, you are with us hearing about the goodness of Jesus in the city of Omaha.  She was a lady who may never hear of the fruit of her sacrifice, but she gave anyway.  She gave because of the greater joy of seeing Jesus change lives.

It is quite stunning when the Bible declares that men are the image and glory of God

For most men, this means we must be broken, chiseled, cut up, and rebuilt by Jesus.  And for some strange reason Jesus loves to do this breaking and rebuilding process in the community of a local church.

This is why we are excited to share about a new leadership development track for men in Core called Porterbrook Learning.  For this first year of Porterbrook we chose not to announce the training in a large scale way, and yet God put it on the heart of 12 young men to step into the learning track.  This was no easy commitment for them.  It is a commitment that costs money ($600 per man), time (at least 5-6 hours per week, plus days off from the job), and energy.

Porterbrook is a high level, community-based educational track that develops men as leaders for Jesus’ mission, especially through the local church. The curriculum is built around the gospel, while addressing men at the levels of competency, character, and missional living.  While the learning will require lots of time alone reading, the real work happens when these men gather weekly in smaller groups, called cohorts.  These smaller groups mean that the learning isn’t merely intellectual.  It isn’t about spitting some facts about Jesus back out on a fill-in-the-blank quiz.  It is about our hearts and minds being changed by Jesus.

So if this year’s Porterbrook Learning is already closed, why should you care?  Here is why:

1. You can pray for these men. Pray that their minds will be developed with rich, gospel-centered theology.  Pray that their hearts will be broken and rebuilt by the grace of God.  Pray that they will be developed as leaders in our church and future church plants.
2. You can begin preparing now for the next year of Porterbrook. You don’t have to be a church planter or future elder to participate in Porterbrook.  But you do have to save up some money, set aside some time, and stick it out on your commitment.  Now might be the best time for you to prepare for next year.  Will you?
3. You can ask God for our men to be the image and glory of God. Core is in a place where we desperately need men – young and old – to toss off their love affair with porn, weak hobbies, and conveniences.  We need men who will lay down their lives for their friends, families, and church.  Indeed, this is truly the image of God: one who becomes humble and makes sacrifices for the good of others.

God’s faithfulness took shape in families who stabilized Core. The parallels between our church and our city are striking here. The first dwellers in Omaha, after Native Americans, was a family of 5.  They lived in a little log cabin – freezing in the winter, burning in the summer.  It takes a lot for a man to lead his family, with 3 children, to settle on the other side of the river.  In Kainseville (later called Council Bluffs) was comfort, amenities, conveniences.  In Omaha City – nothing.  But families were willing to make the move, buy or build houses, settle in to jobs, and stabilize this city.

I believe the same was true for Core.  Early families like the Goetz’s, the Pribble’s, and the Dyer’s provided the backs that our church was built on.  It wasn’t easy, especially when the wives were pregnant and the babies were crying.  But God gave them power, longevity, and all sorts of grace to last through those early years.  The megachurches around them had top-notch children’s ministries, easy ways to get connected, and more conveniences.  Core, well, was a church plant.  If they wanted something, they had to make it happen.  God was faithful through those early families who laid the groundwork for what you and I now stand on.  It cost them a lot, and we should be grateful for how God sustained them.  Some of them are still here; others have moved out of town.

In particular there are four things that stand out as we recount God’s faithfulness in the early years of Core.  Here is the first:

God’s faithfulness was shown in risk-taking leaders willing to do the hard work.  These leaders were even a little crazy. The early leaders for our city, Omaha, were blinded by ambition – and that ended up being a very good thing for our city.  Their naive optimism kept us alive when our city’s sewage was stinking and the streets were big mud holes.

In many ways, the same was true for Core.  Early leaders launched our church with a little-bit-crazy sense of optimism.  I have heard Ethan say that he thought he would simply preach and the throngs would come.  Ethan’s preaching is strong, rich with theology, and he is an orator you like to listen to.  But the theory didn’t quite work.  Yet it got our church going.  It gave us a few tools to keep building the airplane in the air.  God was faithful through Ethan’s preaching and teaching.  We should thank God for Ethan’s bold, risk-taking leadership, along with the other men and women who were crazy enough to start our church 10 years ago.

From the beginning Jeff had a passion for integrity in handling the finances of Core.  I talked about setting systems up so that we would be above reproach from start to finish, and he was already ahead of me.  He wasn’t content with good ideas.  He was tenacious about integrity.  He thought it through, made sure God was honored, and got to work.  God used Jeff as Core transitioned from being $13,000 deep in credit card debt to having a good savings account set aside for the future.  His passion and work was instrumental through this time.

While Jeff’s job was growing, so was his family.  He met his wife, who was a single mother at the time.  Jeff stepped in with love for her and her son.  They were wed and suddenly Jeff went from being single to being a married man with a son.  Not long later their second child arrived.

A few months back, Jeff and the elders of Core agreed that his role as financial coordinator wasn’t going to be a long-term plan for a career.  It wasn’t the best fit for his personality and gifting, even though his passion had carried him through thus far.  We began praying for God to make clear a time when Jeff could transitioning off staff and pursue other opportunities.  We believe God has provided that opportunity now.

As Jeff transitions off staff, he will continue to serve as a Home Community leader for Core.  Still, he will be missed on staff.  We will miss Jeff’s lightning-quick Bible trivia answers and his witty comments that are nearly just as fast.  And I personally will miss walking in to say, “Wazzup Jeffrey to the D?”

Workers. The helpers who pull people together, propel mission forward, and make things happen in a community.  The ones who take something messy with no movement and actually help it go somewhere.  And it takes a lot of work.

Laborers. This means exhaustion.  Some people have a special call on their lives to labor and work to the point of exhaustion.  There are dozens and hundreds of Christians who serve at their convenience, when it is nice and easy.  There are only a few who serve when they are exhausted, tapped, and worn out.

Paul clearly says that these kind of people need to be recognized.  One of the workers and laborers in Core for the past seven years has been Amy Zakrajsek.  This morning our church honored Amy (and another coworker, Jeff, whom we will post on tomorrow) for her years of service, sacrifice, and faithfulness.  Amy rode the rocky waves of Core staff.  She held on through the hard times and the easy times.  She worked far more hours than we could have ever paid her for, and she did it in a way that honored Jesus.

Amy is transitioning off of Core’s staff now.  The leaders of Core had been anticipating this and praying with Amy about how best to make this transition.  God has brought Amy’s heart closer and closer to her family and her home, and we wanted to help her in that journey.  In the past few months, God has worked to make it possible for Amy to actually make the transition off of staff.  This is good and healthy for her, her family, and our church.

Amy will continue to serve in many ways in Core, among Home Communities, Redemption Groups, and ladies.  She simply won’t be on paid staff, which is a huge bummer in light of the yummy treats she used to bring to staff meetings!

Thank you, Amy, for everything.  May Jesus be your greatest reward.

This morning a leader in Core clued me in to some great writing on singleness.  If you have the time, you should read all of these posts.  In short, the author highlights how the pains of singleness are gospel blessings from Jesus.  And she does it in a transparent, gracious way, with the hammer set to the side instead of about to fall on your head.  The author is Fabienne Harford, part of an Acts 29 church in Austin, TX.  I pray that you are as encouraged from these writings as I was.

• Intro Post
• Blessing of Singleness #1: Loneliness
• Blessing of Singleness #2: The Pain of Freedom
• Blessing of Singleness #3: Losing Control
• Blessing of Singleness #4: The Pain of Rejection
• Blessing of Singleness #5: The Lack of Physical Intimacy
• Blessing of Singleness #6: The Pain of Misplaced Shame

Does anyone know of other gospel-driven blogs for singles?  If so, leave a comment so we can check it out.

NOTE: This is a guest post from Jeremy Solomon, a member of Core. We hope his work is as beneficial to you as it is to us.

“It’s not about feelings.  It’s about obedience!”

For myself, this chorus line has sung in my head for years, with me being its author.  Often it’s happened with worship music, whether in church or a song coming to mind in life.  Sometimes it has come upon a prophetic message (both my giving and receiving one) that couldn’t be random or pre-conceived.  And a few times it has come when neighbors become new believers, knowing that I had a role to play in each story.  In such times, my focus is on the Lord, and something brews inside: joy.  Whether by actions or my simple presence, I know that I am a part of God’s Kingdom, and the building of it here on Earth.

When reminded of such humbling truths, I rejoice inside, but oddly enough I am also afraid of the satisfaction that stirs.  After all, my purpose, along with the whole of creation, is to glorify God, right?  Would I not be selfish to seek joy for my heart?  “I’m here for God’s glory!  He’s not here for my happiness!” I rebuke myself.  At best, I’ll think of these feelings as a by-product of Christian living, but they’re never to be pursued.  So I instinctively ignore the joy, thereby squelching it, removing it from the days to come.

A reserved, unemotional response to faith is common, but fortunately for each of us, this is not a biblical perspective.  As John Piper writes in The Dangerous Duty of Delight: The Glorified God and The Satisfied Soul, our pursuit of God and His work is not a jail cell of ineffectual living.  In fact, not only do we have an invitation to seek joy in the Lord, but it is a duty of our being.  As Piper says, “Maximum happiness [in the Lord], both qualitatively and quantitatively, is precisely what we are duty-bound to pursue.”

Think of this for a moment.  Does it not leap out at you as controversial, if not frightening?  Piper refers to it as Christian Hedonism, and while we may want to strive for obedience, the author explains our duty to pursue joy.  And in doing this, we accomplish both.

Read the full review and synopsis (available as pdf).

Core Community Church invites you to join us for our 10th Anniversary Celebration.  It has been 10 years of God’s faithfulness.  There are stories to tell, honor to give, and gratitude to be expressed.  At the center of it all is Jesus Christ, the One whose story we’ve told countless times these past 10 years.  And the One we will tell many more.  Come join us and invite your friends!

• Saturday, September 11 @ 7pm
• DoubleTree Hotel – Downtown Omaha, 1616 Dodge Street
• Semi-formal dress
• Please RSVP to amy [at] corecommunity [dot] org, or call us at 402-342-1701, or reply to the Facebook event, or just leave a comment on this blog.  Just let us know you will be there!

Childcare available on a first-come, first serve basis

• Located at the Core Offices, 1235 South 13th Street
• Provided by Jennifer Webb and team, childcare professionals
• $30 per child
• Childcare is available beginning at 6:15pm for your convenience
• RSVP to amy [at] corecommunity [dot] org

You are also welcome to join us for our regular Sunday gathering on Sunday, September 12 @ 9:45am

• DoubleTree Hotel – Downtown Omaha, 1616 Dodge Street
• Children’s Ministry provided onsite

Help us get the word out to Core friends from the past.  Please pass this along to folks who are out of town, were a part of Core years ago, or are fellow church leaders in our region.  Thanks!