Wii-Treat on Saturday, March 29th

This Saturday bring friends and come have food, fun, and just enjoy the evening of Mosaic! We will have Nintendo Wii to enjoy and some yummy food! We hope to see you all there. It'll be a great evening!

Easter Weekend

This is a reminder that there is no Mosaic next week (March 22nd) since we are observing Easter.

Good Friday Service
Fri, March 21st - 6pm, 7:30pm

Easter Services
Sat, March 22nd - 5pm, 6:30pm (regular Sat. worshippers are encouraged to attend these)
Sun, March 23rd - 8am, 9:30am, 11am

The last, the least, the lost

Last night, Angels Ministry (a homeless ministry in our church) came and spoke about an outreach opportunity for our shepherding group. As we spoke with David and Mary Anne it was clear that they love serving in this way, because they have an opportunity "to be Jesus in skin and bones".

Mosaic is asking that every person in our group volunteer on April 20th. We are going to prepare, serve a meal and fellowship with the homeless on this night from 3-6pm. We discussed and answered questions about what this will be like, what to expect, what we need etc. Pray about where God is leading you to help serve.

Last night I remembered a portion of a book that we read previously in Mosaic. The excerpt below is found in "Dangerous Surrender" by Kay Warren.

The bottom line "proof" of our love for Jesus is a surprising measurement. It's not found in the ways we've typically used to evaluate our spiritual maturity. Proof of our love for Jesus is found not merely in attending church, reading the Bible, singing praise songs, being part of the choir, teaching a Sunday school class, or serving as an usher or an elder (although each of those activities is an important part of a growing spiritual life), but in loving and serving the sick, the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.

You can't physically give Jesus shelter, fix him a meal, or put a clean shirt on his back; you can't visit him in a prison cell or offer him a drink of water. But when you do it for them - for the least - you are doing it for him. And when you're not doing it for them, you're not doing it for him.

Ouch.

This teaching was brought home to me in a powerful way during the visit to Mother Theresa's Home for the Dying in Calcutta. It seemed as though everywhere I looked in the "Mother House" and in the Home for the Dying there were crucifixes on the walls with a plaque above them, reading "I Thirst". Teresa has these words affixed to the crucifixes as a constant reminder to the sisters and volunteers why they were
serving the poorest of the poor. You can I cannot go back in history and give Jesus a drink of water to quench the thirst he experienced as he hung on the cross, but we can certainly quench the thirst of the "least of these" on a daily basis. I cannot stop the pain Jesus felt while the nails ripped his flesh, but I can kneel next to a woman in
excruciating pain and wipe her brow. I cannot cover Jesus' naked body, left exposed to ridicule by soldiers, but I can clothe a child whose only shirt is torn and filthy. If, as Teresa said, Jesus is seen in his "most distressing disguise" of the poor, then when I meet their needs, I am offering love to my Saviour. Conversely, when I do not chose to meet their needs, I am neglecting him.

Deliberately choosing to enter into the experience of a fellow human being sets the stage for God to make an entrance. As Sister Dolores says "The dying are moved by the love they receive.... Because of this, they believe that God must be even kinder, more generous, and so their souls are lifted up to God." Choosing to suffer with
proves our love for our Saviour and at the same time proves to the least, the
last, and the lost that there is a Saviour who loves them.

Are you beginning to understand that compassion is about making a decision? It's
not an emotion that hits you out of the blue; expressing compassion is a deliberate choice. When you stop changing the channel and stop denying the evil and suffering, you can begin to cultivate some new habits, some new Christlike patterns of response.

We are most like Christ, when we choose to offer the gift of our presence and chose to absorb within ourselves the suffering of the least, the last, and the lost. Are you looking for Jesus? That's where you'll find him.

Fully Stirred

I was awakened. Unable to sleep. My heart has been stirred. Last night in Mosaic we heard both Travis Ratzlaff and a message that God delivered to me at the most unexpected time. Months ago, TJ had given me a tape. "On it", he said, "is one of the best messages I've heard preached here at our church!" So, I promptly handed out the tape to get converted to CD. However, it wasn't until this past week, that the message arrived on my desk - right when I needed it most.

For those of you that want to listen to for the first time, want to hear it again, or want to share it with someone else, here it is. Listen and ask yourself the following question:

"In what areas/ways is God stirring my heart in response to this message?"

CAUTION: This message may just evoke you to live out your faith in a new dangerous way!

Click the image below if you want to download the mp3:

How are we to serve?

This week Drew Hinds was interviewed and he spoke about how God has used significant relationships in his life to shape him. He also spoke about how God is allowing him to share his faith with others. The leadership team acknowledgd that Drew and Christin live lives that welcome others and through their love people come to know Christ!

Jason and Andy shared about service and what true service is.

"God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love."
- My Utmost For His Highest (Jan 17th)

Andy then read a passage of "Dangerous Surrender". Ultimately, when we serve others, we serve Christ. We can't serve Christ by giving him a drink on the cross when he was thirsty, or by putting clothes on his back, etc. But we do serve him when we serve those around us. We do when we enter into relationship and let ourselves be hurt by the things that are hurting others.

So, this week be challenged to ask God, "Because of my love for you, who are you calling me to serve?"

20/20 Vision

I'd like to share with you the vision statement and values for Mosaic.

It is our prayer that:
- People encounter Christ and are transformed
- People are equipped for outreach through teaching, encouragement, relationship
- People engage a lost world for Christ

In short: encounter. equip. engage.

encounter - a significant event where the outcome is a lasting transformation

• Examples: Peter preaching and the early church
  Acts 2:37 – They were cut to the heart and asked, "What should we do?"
  
  An encounter with Christ brings a realization that there is more to life than what you are currently experiencing. It brings with it a desire to change, and ultimately, a transformation as Christ molds us into his image.

equip - preparing one with sufficient qualiteis and gifts to accomplish a given task

• Example: early church
  Acts 2:42 – Devoted themselves to hearing the word, meeting together, prayer
  As soon as they received Christ, they knew they had much to learn. They devoted themselves. I picture a group of people intent on knowing and learning about Christ - singularly focused.
  
  I believe God honors this pursuit by not only opening their eyes to spiritual gifts he’s already given them, but also granting them abilities in other areas as well. I want to encourage you to not limit what God can do by the areas in your life that you believe God has gifted you. Sure, God can and will use those gifts, but he can also give you what you need in situations that you previously felt incapable of serving.

engage - Intentionally choosing to commit oneself to something

• Example: early church in response
  Acts 2:44 – All the believers were together – selling their possession and good, they gave to anyone as he had need. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of the people.

I want to also share the values we identified that aid in the pursuit of this vision.

• Authenticity – a sincere faith that is transparent and real. One that pursues holiness
• Prayer – represented by an intimate, daily walk with God. This is our spiritual foundation and where all action flows out of
• Community –a place to belong. One where you can grow through teaching, encouragement, and spurring
• Outreach – Sharing God with others so that they may come to a saving knowledge of him

I believe a faith journey begins with an encounter - a real, personal, shocking jolt to our conscience that we need Christ. Through this our “eyes” are opened. This leads us to obedience where we desire to align ourselves into right relationship with Christ. As we pursue this, we find that we are on a path that leads to holiness. It is this path that our love for Christ overflows into a love for others and ultimately service. If we try to jump the gun and pursue any of these other things first, we’re going to end up not finding the joy that Christ has for us. We will most likely make a mess. But if we continue to take steps on the path that Christ sets before us we will find true peace and joy.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” - Eph. 1:17-19

Evangelism Ministry Opportunity

This last week we spoke with Trisha Goldsmith and Jennie Pino. We are looking forward to partnering with a ministry that Jennie oversees. We are excited to be a part of what God is doing as we see him draw people to himself.