Hurting God

Ephesians 4:25-32 states,
25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and give no opportunity to the devil. 28Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Inside of FHCC there are many new Christians. Sure, we have people who have been attending Catholic or Christian churches all their lives, but the majority of these who now attend FHCC confess that they never were biblical Christians before now. This is phenomenal news, and a testimony to the true purpose of our church, which is to proclaim Jesus and His work, and to lives that give glory His work (aka - Holy (Sin-free) living. The problem, however, is that sinning is still easy to do long after you become a biblical Christian. So what are we to do?

Option #1 - Embrace Pop-Culture Christianity
To remedy the struggle we face against temptation, and to ease the utter guilt and hypocrisy we feel when give in to sin, we could do what most "evangelical" churches do today and EMBRACE sin as an acceptable part of a Christian life. Sure, they still profess sin as the vehicle that keeps us from God, and the cause of our separation from God, but they belittle sin to nothing more than an inconvenience after salvation. Proof of this is in their sermon topics, altar calls, and qualifications for ministry. Rarely will today's pastors preach against sin, call for biblical repentance (a complete forsaking of sin by BIBLICAL standards) on the part of their people, or ask ministers in their church to abstain from sinful practices.

Simply put: A modern Christian's view on his sin after conversion is: a tragic mistake, but understood by God, because God knows that we are just human, after all, and live in a fallen world.

While Option #1 is sure to fill seats long after the trends fail in the church, the truth is that it lacks biblical support, mocks the work of Jesus' death on the cross, forsakes the role of the Holy Spirit, and ultimately kills the physical and spiritual life of the believer. Jesus said that He came to bring LIFE, so clearly this is not a solution for our church.

Option #2 - Love Jesus and Rely on the Holy Spirit
Christians need to embrace the fact that life is HARD, and in many ways gets HARDER after conversion. Now, instead of giving in to peer pressure and sleeping with people who are not our spouses, we actually have to say NO to them and our hormones. After conversion, we are compelled to say NO to drinks after work, office gossip, pornography, cheating on our taxes, and every other form of tolerated sin in our society. We need to embrace the truth that following Jesus means "picking up our cross" and "dying to the world" every single day. This is hard, but we must do it if we love Jesus.

Jesus loves the Father, and He, therefore, loves what He loves and hates what He hates. Scripture tells us that the Father loves people and hates sin. So, it was for this reason (love for the Father) that Jesus came humbly into the world to destroy sin inside the life of a believer (Romans 6:1-14). It was our sin that nailed Him to the cross, it was our sin that made Him suffer, and it was for a "sin free" life for His believers that He went ahead with the act. Jesus did not die so that we may go on sinning (Romans 6:1)! He died to that we may be made righteous (holy, clean, blameless) in His sight and be brought near to God! It was also that work of Jesus that we might receive the Holy Spirit inside of us and remain clean and free from sin!

Every Christian possesses the Holy Spirit. He enters inside at the time of conversion, and serves as an "inner light," "inner Torah/law," for the believer's life. He too loves the Father, and seeks to direct the Christian AWAY from sin, and into righteousness. It is His voice the believer hears when faced with temptation calling him/her away from the situation. It is His wisdom that illuminate the mind of the believer in seeing the complexity of sin. And when a Christian ignores that voice, denies that wisdom and sins, it GRIEVES the Holy Spirit, denies the work of Jesus on the cross, and alienates us from God. Sin sucks!

Simply put: Life is hard. Life as a believer is really hard, but it is the only life worth living. The difficult task of following Jesus honors God, promises eternal life, and provides hope and power to the dismal circumstances of this world. I would much rather struggle against sin, then accept it into my life with all of its lies, turmoil, and death. I would much rather honor the Holy Spirit and the work Jesus did to make Him available to me, then mock and grieve the Trinity and become religious with sin.

To all Christians: please stop grieving the Holy Spirit with your sin. Repent one more time, and honor the Holy Spirit by following His leading. Read your Bible every day. Go to church and join a Bible Study. MAKE CHRISTIAN FRIENDS THAT YOU CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE WITH. Fight the good fight! (I Timothy 6:12)

Practical Atheism

Once, while I was an undergraduate (Spring 2002?), I made the three hour trek to Austin from the very tiny town of Waxahachie (in Texas). I went with a group of fellow students and a professor down to an Anglican seminary to hear a talk by Stanley Hauerwas on euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. During his talk, he said something that struck me to my core, and it has been with me ever since. He said something like, “We’re all practical atheists anyway.” Of course, what made the comment so striking was that he is a Christian and was speaking to a large group of Christians.

So what’s a practical atheist? Well, let’s define “theism” first. “Theism” is a philosophical or theological belief that some kind of divine being exists. Christians are theists, but not all theists are Christians (Jews can be theists, Muslims are theists, and there are certain forms of philosophical theism that wouldn’t count as any kind of formal religious belief). Now onto “atheism.” “Atheism” is a philosophical or theological position that denies the existence of any divine being. It doesn’t matter if the divine being is like God in the Christian tradition or just one of many different gods like in certain forms of Hinduism. For convenience, I will write as if the atheist position merely denied the existence of the Christian God. An atheist, then, is a person that holds this position. I think we can now make a broad distinction between the theoretical atheist and the practical atheist. The theoretical atheist is one who actually believes, or would affirm if asked, the atheist position. Let’s say that the theoretical atheist is someone who has thought through the issues and decided there’s no God. On the other hand, it doesn’t matter what the practical atheist believes. The practical atheist is one who lives as if there is no God. The practical atheist may affirm the existence of God, but that affirmation may play an insignificant role in her larger worldview. Therefore, we can assume that most theoretical atheists are probably practical atheists (thus, living out what they believe), but a practical atheist may be either a theoretical atheist or a theist (since practical atheism is merely a claim about one’s actions).

Okay, we have the definitions down. Let’s go back to Hauerwas. He was talking to Christians as a Christian and claimed we were all a bunch of practical atheists. Now, we know what he meant. He was indicting all of us, including him. He was saying that, despite our alleged belief in God as revealed in Christ through Scripture, we live as if the whole thing is just a nice bedtime story. We don’t take the crucifixion seriously. We don’t take the resurrection seriously. We don’t take the Great Commission seriously. We surely don’t take his return seriously. Instead, we strive for a life of comfort, and we reject the call to be radically dependent on God. And in so doing, we unwittingly participate in the rebellion of a sinful world doing its darndest to dethrone the One True King.

Are you a practical atheist?

If yes, then you’re either a theoretical atheist or a theist (Christian). If you’re a theoretical atheist, then we need to have a different conversation. However, if you’re a Christian, then what follows is explicitly for you. Above, when I wrote that being a practical atheist doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re also a theoretical atheist, I wasn’t being quite accurate. In fact, there good reason to think that it does entail your being a theoretical atheist. You’ve got lots of beliefs you don’t know you’ve actually got. For example, I’m sure you believe that there are more than five fish in the ocean. I’m also quite sure that you’ve never consciously held that belief before just now. You’ve got more beliefs you don’t know you’ve got than you could ever actually count. You’ve also got some false beliefs in your head too. Don’t believe me? Have you ever been wrong about something? You were wrong because you had a false belief. The tricky thing about false beliefs is that we always think they’re true, otherwise we wouldn’t believe them. Of course, once you realize that you were wrong about something, you no longer hold that false belief. So you’ve got lots of beliefs (more than you know you’ve got), and you’ve got false beliefs (but you can’t recognize them because you think they’re all true). The upshot is that it is really hard to tell what we actually believe about anything, and it’s even harder to tell if our beliefs are true (I mean really true, like “the sky is blue” is true). The best way to find out what you really believe is to look at how you behave. It’s reasonable to suppose that any action is the result of a desire and a belief. For example, if you desire some milk, and you believe that there’s milk in the refrigerator, you’ll likely act on that belief in order to fulfill your desire. In other words, you’ll get up and go the refrigerator.

So what’s all this got to do with being a practical atheist? It’s really quite simple. The practical atheist acts as if there is no God. All of those atheistic actions are the result of some desire and some belief (or combination of beliefs). It’s plausible to suppose that one of those beliefs is the belief that God doesn’t really exist (or maybe that God doesn’t care, but then the belief isn’t really about the Christian God anymore). You may respond, “But I do believe in God.” Okay, you say you do, but you’re actions indicate that you really don’t. How do you know what you believe anyway? Your atheistic belief may be one you don’t know you’ve got. But when it comes to acting, that belief sure makes its influence felt. And if you really do, somewhere deep down in your subconscious, believe that God doesn’t exist, then you’re a theoretical atheist—you’re certainly not a Christian. Practical atheism just is theoretical atheism, although the theoretical part may be unconscious.

What’s the remedy? Be practical Christians. Live like the Bible is true (which it is). Take your Christianity seriously! Learn what it teaches, why it’s true, and let it influence your actions—even if you don’t like it. There’s no guarantee you will like it. I’m sure Jesus didn’t enjoy the cross, but he did it. Why are we any better? Otherwise, quit playing games, give up your “Christianity,” and just go be a full-blown, conscious atheist. (For the record, I’d much prefer you to take your Christianity seriously than for you to become that full-blown conscious atheist.)

Jeremy Green

South Campus - COMPLETED!

On Sunday, November 30th, the FHCC South Campus was finally completed! Media installed, fridge and coffee-maker plugged in, and multiple security cameras wired to protect the Lord's investment. Now, to continue on in the ministry and love of Jesus for Forest Hills.

THANK YOU, FHCC, for making this venture possible, and leaving us debt-free!!

Media Space:












Learning Space:









Rec. Space:










Office Space:

Take the Survey

As Forest Hills Community Church continues to grow in age and maturity, it is vital that we stay connected to those we seek to serve. It is our belief that there is no greater travesty than a church unable to minister because of a simple lack of knowledge.

We thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in this crucial survey. We value your ANONYMOUS feedback.

sincerely,
pastor jeremy & the FHCC family
www.fhcchurch.com

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Hosea-Recap

As some of you may know, FHCC is working its way through the powerful book of Hosea. This Old Testament prophet was called to not only verbally proclaim God's heart for His people, but to go the distance and actually LIVE OUT God's heart...and heartache. The wording and imagery of this little book is certainly overwhelming, and I was unsure how our community was going to respond to such a "raw" message. As always, I have been incredibly humbled by the response.
Over the past four weeks, not only has attendance remained strong, but we have seen an increase in new people attending and returning. At the same time, and I think is even more incredible, our response time at the end of the service has been awesome! People are not "rushing out" of the theater on Sunday mornings, but they are lingering to pray and get right with God and each other. The COMMUNITY aspect of FHCC is beautiful and I cannot wait to see it grow stronger in the coming weeks and months.

This week, we kick off week #5 of Hosea, and it is powerful. God is going to use some incredibly intimate and personal language to describe His desire and plan for our live, and you are not going to want to miss it! Invite a friend, bring a stranger, and let's keep allowing God to change us as we are moved to dependency on His INTOLERANT LOVE.

Missed a message? Click Here!

I Can See the Light!

Here we are entering into week #3 of the renovation process. It is amazing what God has accomplished, and I have to give a shout out to some of His people:
Jorge, Wincess, Eddie, Anthony, Cathi, Natalie, Angel, Freddie, & Magaly....YOU ROCK!

also, from God's PA church:
Chris, John, Rob, and Smitty...You KILLED it last week! THANK YOU!!!

Let's all keep praying and giving our best, and let's get this baby knocked out and OPEN!
jeremy
www.fhcchurch.com

South Campus Renovation: Week II

Thursday, October 2nd, started week #2 of renovating our new South Campus. We completed the framing of the Counseling and Media offices, and framed out a completely new bathroom.

We are on track to be moved in by mid-October. Now, let's just pay for it...










Looking out of the Counseling office to the front of the Center.










We even began hanging drywall this week!

South Campus Renovations: Week 1 - Part II

Last week was awesome! Volunteers from the church were able to complete the demo, sub-floor, and frame 2 rooms. It was really cool to have so many show up to help, encourage, and supply dinner. (THANK YOU, MAGALY!!!)

May week #2 go even better....

Below: Angel, Freddie, and Magaly take a break with some pizza from the neighboring Pizza joint.









Eddie makes sure the job gets done right.









Jeremy shows Wincess how to frame. (Yeah right! more like the other way around.)









Praise God for the minivan!!

South Campus Renovations

Here is a summary of what has happened at our South Campus, so far:

1 - Demolition Completed - September 18









2 - Lumber and Construction Purchased - September 22


3 - Flooring 75% Completed - September 25

Theology Matters

As we wrap up our 6-month series on I Corinthians, we find ourselves back at the beginning with Jesus. The teachings on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are incredibly important matters, in fact, Paul refers them as "the issue of most importance." (I Cor. 15:3)

It is vital that we all know and understand who Jesus is and what it means for us to be His followers and disciples. If you have a question about ANY issue we have talked about in all of I Corinthians, now is your chance to fire away. We love you, and want you to KNOW the truth about God, ourselves, and our world.

Feel free to post ANONYMOUSLY as always....

Real Communion

Spiritual Gifts

Over the next 3 weeks FHCC will be examining the Gifts of the Spirit as described in I Cor. 12-14. This a very important, and often misunderstood, portion of Scripture that MUST be understood if the church is ever going to radically change a world or community for Jesus.

Therefore, IF you have a question, comment or concern about this portion of Scripture; please FIRE AWAY. Every question asked on this blog WILL BE ADDRESSED during our Sunday services from now until August 10th, 2008.

And, of course; you can post ANONYMOUSLY.

Manly Men for Jesus

You can get the WHOLE message on iTunes, or request a FREE DVD via our website: FHCChurch.com

What is a Christian?

I love being a Pastor of a growing church, because I get to hang out with REAL people, who have REAL problems, and need REAL solutions. It is a very cool gig and I thank God everyday for the opportunity.

A few weeks ago, I got a FANTASTIC question from a guy who is new to the church. He grew up nominal Christian, surrounded by so-called Christians, but saw very little difference and meaning in being a Christian. Needless to say, he is a skeptic of real Christianity at the least, but he says he sees something beyond reality taking place at FHCC under the guise of Christianity, and he wants to know WHY. "Why are the Christians at FHCC so different?"

My response was simple: "This is what Christianity is: living and demonstrating Jesus in EVERYTHING." Blown away, he then asked for a FORMAL definition of a Christian. Below is how I replied,

"Based on a BIBLICAL understanding and teaching of Jesus and His followers, a Christian is:
One who believes that Jesus is God, Man, Messiah; the only suitable atonement for all sin, and publicly declares this confession through a regenerate life of holiness and compassion, which in turns draws others into a personal relationship with Jesus.

I.E. Faith + Works (A CHANGED LIFE, which is made capable only through faith, and testifies to the faith for the glory of God) = a Christian.

See: Romans 10:9-10; James 2:17-19; ESPECIALLY I John 4:7-10"

My man now attends and serves every week at FHCC, as unto Jesus. He is a Christian.

Hawaii??

How awesome is our God and His love for NYCity???

I have never been to Hawaii, nor do I know anyone in Hawaii, but somehow, word of Forest Hills Community Church spread to a church in Hawaii. They heard of the passion and zeal that our church leadership team has for Jesus and His people in Forest Hills, and they knew that God is wanting to do something big in Queens. So this incredible church in Hawaii, has recently begun praying for our little church, and beseeching the Lord to have His way in our hearts and city. How awesome is our God and HIS church!!!

Now, to all of us at FHCC: let's not disappoint. Let's not handle church, and our relationship with Jesus, like everything else in our life. Let's not turn this incredible opportunity into a fad or a religious event. Let's seek Jesus! Let's live like Jesus! Let's allow Jesus to change our city and our world FOREVER!!!!

Why do we talk about Jesus?

Preacher gets a little fired up at points, but it is all true. Almost like two sermons in one.

We preach Jesus, because He is incredible!

Matters of Conscience

Intimacy

New Believer’s Class 102: Religion Kills, but a Relationship brings Intimacy. While God certainly has created laws and ordinances that He expects us to follow, He wants us to obey Him out of love. Join us for a FREE 8-Week Bible study on the what it really means to be a in love with Jesus. This class begins TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2008. Click to Enroll.

*** This class is open to ALL attendees of FHCC.

Google vs. YouTube

Ah ha!!! Now we can put embed videos on the web, without INSANE, Freaky, and totally unrelated videos attaching themselves to us.

Thank God, for Google...kinda.

Divorce Hurts

Happily Single...and Happily Dating

Relationships at FHCC

Joins us during the month of May for: CHRISTIANS GONE WILD: Relationships

I love this!

Beautiful.

Comedy

Which Bible is for me?

The cool thing about Pastoring at FHCC, is that the place is full of NEW-Christians. Regular Joes who were caught up in religion/atheism/or agnosticism, came to a service or event, saw a changed life, and decided to get on board with a very real Jesus too! It is awesome, and a true fulfillment to the mission of FHCC.

But along with this incredible situation, comes incredible questions, which sadly most Pastor's never get like, "What kind of Bible should I get?" GREAT QUESTION!

Ok, so in reality, MOST Bibles are great. The only exception would be those created by a Cult, ie. Mormons (Mormon Bible) and Jehovah's Witnesses (New World Translation). These Bibles just down-right stink, because their text and meaning have been altered to serve man's purpose. The real Bible serves God's purpose, and glorifies Him alone.

So, now that you know what kind of Bible NOT to get, here is my take on the others:
New International Version (NIV) - the most popular Bible amongst normal people under 60. I use this Bible to PREACH from, and this version is the one FHCC typically distributes.

King James (KJV) and New King James (NKJV) - a fine Bible, but too hard to read. No, it is not the most accurate by today's standards, and the wording (ie. "thou," "thy," and "goest") is more of a distraction to reader causing them to ignore the true meaning of the text. But, a fine Bible nevertheless.

Living Bible (NLT), the Amplified Bible (AMP), etc. - these versions are the most popular among TV-preachers, because of their "freedom" with the original text. Let me give you an example, if the Bible says, "I really love you," the Amplified says, "I am madly, passionately, and on the verge of dying, because of how much I love you." It's cool, and chicks dig these versions.

New American Standard (NASB) and the English Standard (ESV) - these are MY Bibles!! I love 'em, because they are "word for word", for better or worse, translations from the original Hebrew and Greek. Sure, they may be a little awkward to real aloud (like the KJV), but you're getting solid Bible without being a Hebrew or Greek master. ALL of my STUDYING and SERMON prep comes from my NASB Bible. This is the Bible I recommend to everyone who is serious about loving Jesus. But again, you can still love Jesus passionate from the others listed above.

Now, I did leave one popular translation OUT of the mix; The Message. In short, the Message is NOT a sufficient Bible in my opinion. It is a paraphrase of the Bible, and no one I know or meet is an idiot. This version of the Bible came out a few years ago to help "simplify" the Bible for today's readers. Again, I know how bad public schools are, but no one is as simple as the Message.

So, there you go, and the really GOOD NEWS is that FHCC has recently purchased some great NIV Study Bibles for our members. Rather than pay the ridiculous price for these bibles, FHCC is absorbing a portion of the cost and selling them for only $20.00! Supplies are limited, but if you want one; just ASK.

Awesome Service

Man, what an awesome service today! We moved into our new home (theater #2), which is bigger, closer, and just plain cool, and we had a GREAT turnout with many new people attending. Loved it!

But what made this service so cool, however, was the message. Jesus laid it out for us plain and clear. Check it out: Listen Now.

Alive in Christ!

In case you haven't seen the baptism video yet, or if you just so happened to stumble across this blog, here it is again.



The song that I used is from a band called 'A Glorious Unseen'. Check them out here.

New Believer's Class

Every week individuals are making a decision to follow Jesus with their lives. While this is the GREATEST decision a person can make, it can sometimes be a little difficult to carry out. Therefore, FHCC offers a FREE 8-Week “New Believer’s” Course on the what it really means to be a “Christian.” (Free workbook and Bible provided.)

Sample of Topics to be discussed:

What is a Christian? How do I read the Bible?
What does God expect from Me? How do I pray effectively?

NEW Classes* start Tuesday, April 1, inside Martha’s Country Bakery, Forest Hills, at 8pm. Seating is limited to provide the best learning environment, so please enroll with us today.

New Believer’s Class
Where: Martha’s Bakery, Forest Hills (next to Johnny Rocket’s)
Time: 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Cost: FREE with online enrollment

We're ON!

We are very excited to announce the launch of FHCC's OFFICIAL blog!!

This simple and effective medium will allow the leaders in the church the capabilities to post Events, Sign-Ups, Prayer Requests, and Thoughts online, and provide you the opportunity to respond.

So, enroll in the RSS feature and never miss a post!

See you soon,
jeremy