“Dear Church” Everything – Love = Nothing

Pastor Zach Bearss

October 6, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: EVERYTHING – LOVE = NOTHING: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: OCT 6, 2019

CONNECT
Each week during this sermon series, Pastor Zach will be reading a letter written to ClearView.  This week Pastor Zach and Catherine wrote the first letter to our church body.  Please read it together.
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Dear Church, we have been a way for a while.  2 months to be exact.  Our time was a gift, it helped us as a family to step back, rest, think, pray and reflect.  God’s timing is perfect, we were able to have some sweet family time together before Anna took off this year to serve for 9 months with Aim doing the World Race.  To be back last week was such a gift.  To be warmly welcomed, to see the way God has been moving in this place.  I entered the week apprehensive of starting back, not sure of myself, wondering how things had gone.  Each day we have discovered the amazing ways in which Jesus had been working here.  The sick being cared for, men praying together, women studying and fellowshipping, challenges faced, conflicts worked through, new people coming through the doors, ministries being reached out too, the poor being fed and helped, marriages being mended, new small groups being formed, missionaries being supported and loved, a prayerful process about future and our budget, over fifty teenagers coming together in small groups and  other gatherings, children volunteers stepping up in greenhouse for another school year, our musicians and worship leaders gathering for prayer and worship together, people in the hospital being cared for, meals being brought, the grieving being comforted, communion being prepared, people being welcomed. We see life and ministry.  Not just that it has all just remained, but it has grown since we have been gone.  This is a special place that the Lord has made.  DO not grow weary in doing good, in reaching out, in growing in your faith.  We know at times it seems routine and it seems mundane, but if you could see with Kingdom eyes, if you could see the darkness and the brightness of your light as you love Him and love others you would not doubt.  So let us press into seeking and loving our Lord, let us press in to reaching our community, and let us press in to the heart of our Father.  Your Pastor, Zach and Catherine Bearss

ENGAGE
Read Matthew 16:16-18. and discuss these 3 points:

  1. Who created the idea of the church?  Who’s is it?  Who sustains it?
  2. Upon whom does Christ build His church?  Discuss the life of Peter.  Did he live a perfect life?  Are we the same today?
  3. What will not overpower, prevail against, or be superior to the church?  Why do we think otherwise in light of the news of the day?

APPLY
If you were to write a letter to our church, what would it say? 
(Extra homework: take a few minutes before you gather together to write your letter down and read it to the group.)

PRAY
Pray for one another that the Lord would reveal or confirm to you how you are to specifically fit into this local body of Christ that we call ClearView.

 

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“Dear Church” Everything – Love = Nothing 2

Pastor Zach Bearss

October 13, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: EVERYTHING – LOVE = NOTHING: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: OCT 13, 2019

CONNECT
The word HABITUATION  means: “.a general accommodation to unchanging environmental conditions”  Name one or two things in your house that others would notice right away that they are out of place, broken, or not completed, but you have gotten used to them being there like that. 

ENGAGE
Read Revelation 2:1-7: The letter to the church in Ephesus.  Discuss the positive things Jesus lists about the church.  Now discuss the one negative things.  Which is more important to Christ?  How do we get this mixed up in the church?

Read Ephesians 1:15-16.  What had the church been commended for 30 years before by Paul?

Read I John 4:7-11, 19,  and Mark 12:28-31.  What is to be our first priority in being followers of Christ?  

Read Luke 15:25-32.  How can the older, righteous brother be compared to the church of Ephesus in Revelation?

APPLY
Read Ephesians 3:17-19. During John’s lifetime he was transformed from being known as a Son of Thunder to the Beloved Disciple. In the same way, how has Christ’s love transformed your life over the years by His love?

PRAY
Ask God to reveal and then confess to Him where you have left your first love and filled it with other priorities in serving Him that have moved to the top of the list instead of loving Him first.

The thing that defines you is that you are beloved son and beloved daughter of God, and that His love is perfect.” –Chris Tomlin

If your small group worships together, consider singing “Good, Good Father” to close out your time together.

“Dear Church” Hate Well

Pastor Zach Bearss

October 20, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: HATE WELL: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: OCT 20, 2019

CONNECT
Read out loud together the letter written from Steve Smith, pastor, to the church of ClearView which is attached to the bottom of this document. Discuss how you have experienced the church loving well.

ENGAGE
Read Revelation 2:1-6, Proverbs 6:16-19, Romans 12:9, Psalm 101:3-7, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 97:10.  If our hearts are to be synced with God’s heart, what are we called to hate well?  

Read Luke 18:11-14, Matthew 7:1-5.  We get mixed up on what we are called to hate as Christians.  What should we hate in our own lives first?

Read Romans 5:8, I John 4:10.  How did Christ demonstrate His love for us but at the same time demonstrate his hate of sin?

APPLY
Read James 4:7-10.  Ask the Spirit of God: what are some very practical ways for you personally to humble yourself before God so you can love well but also  hate the things that God hates well?  How will this motivate you to action in a very practical way?

PRAY
Pray this prayer to close, also written by Steve Smith to Pastor Zach;
“Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father be with you; and may the Holy Spirit come upon you and disturb you and trouble you, and set before you an impossible task and dare you to do it; until in desperation you fall on your knees and remain there until he fills you with his power which alone will enable you to do it; and then…only then, may the Lord grant you his peace.  Amen.

“Dear Church” The Dangers of Tolerance

Pastor Zach Bearss

November 3, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: THE DANGERS OF TOLERANCE: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: NOV 3, 2019

CONNECT
Read outloud together this letter below from Dick Siever to ClearView Community Church.  Dick is currently the Founder & President of Ingage, Inc. and Former Community Director of Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, CO. 

Dear Church: You will always have a special place in my heart. You are blessed with amazing leaders and staff who care for you and care for this community…The attenders and people in the church that I have met have huge hearts. You love and care for each other, and you love and help meet the needs of your community. Your annual Blitz food drive should be adopted by every church in America. The way you reach out into B.V. and serve is wonderful.  Here is my prayer for you: That you would continue to deepen your faith in God and respond to His command to love yourself, each other, and especially your neighbors in Buena Vista.  Love, Peace, and Joy–Dick Siever.

ENGAGE
Read Revelation 2:18-29.  What are the things that Christ commends the church of Thyatira for?  What are the things listed that He holds against them?

Read Revelation 1:14, 2:18, 19:12, 19:15 What is the significance of Christ’s eyes and his feet in His description of Himself in regards to the Church of Thyatira and for us today?

Referencing Jezebel in the Old Testament (I Kings 16, 18, 21, II Kings 9) and in the New Testament (Rev 2), compare the similarities between Jezebel in the Old Testament and Jezebel in the New Testament and how it was affecting the church of Thyatira.

APPLY
To tolerate means “allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference.”  What are tolerant of in our society today that the Lord stands against in His Word?

Read II Peter 1:3-8, I John 3:7-10. Jezebel claimed to have a special “gnosis” or knowledge as a prophetess that others did not have.  Have you ever experienced this attitude personally?  How did it make you feel spiritually?  What does Christ have to say about this type of attitude?

PRAY
Pray for one another, that we would be marked by love for Christ and for others and yet yearn for His holiness in our lives and for the Lord to reveal in our hearts when we are tolerant of things in our lives that He wants removed.

“Dear Church” Hold Fast

Pastor Zach Bearss

November 10, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: HOLD FAST: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: NOV 10, 2019

CONNECT
Did something stand out to you in the sermon or did you learn something new?  Please share with the group.

ENGAGE
Read Revelation 3:7-13.  What did Christ commend the church of Philadelphia for?  What did He hold against them?

Discuss these 3 items mentioned in this passage and their significance:

1. THE DOOR (Rev 3:8):  Christians can suffer with a purpose. (I Peter 4:12-13)
2. THE KEY (Rev 3: 7): We can grow in suffering to the level we surrender to Christ’s authority.  (James 1:2-4)
3. THE PILLAR (Rev 3:12) If I can see how the Father has brought resurrection and good out of Jesus suffering than I can trust that He will bring good out of my suffering. (John 16:33)

APPLICATION
How are you doing with closed doors in your life?  

In your suffering, where can you recognize that something good is happening IN YOU while something bad is happening TO YOU?.

In Revelation 3:10, endurance (perseverance) is translated “hypomone” and means “steadfastness, constancy, endurance: in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety be even the greatest trials and sufferings.”  It is the same word to describe Christ in Hebrews 12:2. How can we follow Christ’s example to endure in our difficult circumstances?

PRAY
Pray for one another that God would break through in our hearts to live a life of faithfulness and endurance and to recognize what He is doing in us to mature us through these trials of life.

“Dear Church” Lukewarm Laodicea

Pastor Tom Dages

November 17, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: LUKEWARM LAODICEA: PASTOR TOM DAGES: NOV 17, 2019

Read Revelation 3:14-22

 
Q-Spiritually speaking what does it mean for us to be medicanaly hot or refreshingly cold? Give an example of someone in your life  who was refreshing or therapeutic? 
 
Q-Was Jesus threat to spit them out as a church or as individualls? 
 
Q-Have you ever felt the fires of refinement which led to the purifying of your character? Describe how painful it was. Describe the fruit which resulted? 
 
Q-Being clothed in the righteousness of Jesus describes what biblical doctrine of salvation? How does justification come to us? Can you describe when you were justified by faith? How often do you celebrate your justification? 
 
Q-Describe a time when God broke through and helped you to see a sinful tendency in your heart which you hadn’t seen before?
 
Q-Martin Luther the great reformer said repentance is to occur everyday in the life of a Christian? What is the difference between repentance which occurs at salvation and daily repentance in the life of a believer? 
 
Q-Why is sustained fellowship with Jesus so vital to see the fruit of repentance on a daily basis? 

“Dear Church” Wake Up and Come Alive

Pastor Zach Bearss

November 24, 2019

DEAR CHURCH: WAKE UP AND COME ALIVE: PASTOR ZACH BEARSS: NOV 24, 2019

CONNECT
Read this letter out loud together from Mike Jeffries, who is a friend to our church body and instrumental in orchestrating several of our missionary trips to Nicaragua and travel to Israel. 

Hi friends at Clearview-
You’ve been on my mind lately…who am I kidding, BV is always on my mind and in my spirit!

But lately I’ve been in places where you are spoken of in exceptional terms.  The past few days I’ve been at the National Youth Workers Convention where I saw reminders of my friends there at Clearview, from the not-so-quite life size blue boat at the Noah’s Ark exhibit booth to the college professor who marveled at the high proportion of extraordinary leaders who have come through BV.  Last week I was in Nicaragua, where two of the missionaries from your church sent out are still quite legendary.  And the week before that, I was with a bunch of Young Lifers who talked about your town like it was their long-lost home.

Of course, I know the secret that not all these people know.  I know that you church raises up seasoned leaders who are trail-tested and unafraid, ready to go wherever God leads.  Mountains aren’t in your way; mountains ARE your way.  You take the challenges that would make others fail and faint.  You’ve been trusted with more highs and lows than most.  Through it all, you have been strong and steady, courageous and compassionate.

Thanks for blazing forth in so many of the places I love, like Israel and Nicaragua and BV.  I love traveling with you.  Thanks for loving your town.  You live in true community every day.  Thanks for loving your pastor and your ministry staff team and volunteer leaders.  They’ve become my great friends and they get to be who they are because you’re who you are.
Mostly, thank you for loving Jesus in a way that makes me braver than I was before. –Mike.

ENGAGE
Read Revelation 3:1-6.  What things did Christ commend the church of Sardis for?  What things to He hold against them?

Read I Samuel 16:7, Luke 16:15, Proverbs 4:23.  Discuss how looks can be deceiving when we can only look to outward appearances.

APPLY
Read Colossians 3:1-4. Is your life more concerned about the things of this world: what people think, your success, your comfort, that you are always in control, or that you are always right? Or it focused on eternal matters and walking with Christ daily?

“A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life.” –Henry Blackaby.  Do you need to wake up spiritually?  Have you fallen asleep at the wheel? Or are you walking vibrantly with Him?

Discuss how these steps help us to have a courageous and life giving relationship with Christ:

  • REMEMBER 
  • HOLD FAST
  • REPENT

PRAY
During this season of Thanksgiving, take time to remember God’s goodness to you and thank Him for all He has done for you.