Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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The Born Anothen Church
in Belvidere
There are three annual worship
services that bring the born anothen Church – women and men of
faith who shed the separations and distinctions that Jesus mocked who are
gloriously antithetical/anathema to religious people in our increasingly
divided nation fed by churches whose Biblically Christocentric
allegiances and affections are skin/institutional deep and only coincidental to
Him as betrayed in their penchant for talking with pride more about their
denominations, pastors, and idols than Jesus Himself – in Belvidere together:
the Good Friday service on the corner of Lincoln and Main, National Day of
Prayer at the Community Building and Thunder Park, and “Heritage Days Community
Patriotic Worship Service” at the Community Building.
The most recent patriotic worship
service on 26 June 2016 modeled Someone better for Belvidere, Boone
County, and maybe even…
Everything about and everyone
involved in the service honored Jesus as the remnant Church of Belvidere
and Boone County moved closer together.
Despite resistance from ___ (You
fill in the blank!) who don’t like to mix God and country and don’t believe
America has been especially and exceptionally blessed to praise Him and bless
Him by loving inclusively as perfectly modeled in Jesus, feel spiritually
superior or “more saved” than other parts of Christendom and don’t want to be
tainted by worshiping with whatever they call us, and weren’t about to
sacrifice a week’s income aka offering/collection to thank God for America and
pray for America in these perilous times with “other” Christians, the Community
Building was packed with people who shed such insulting nonsense to experience
music, proclamation, prayer, peace, and unity that just may have signaled the
born anothen Church in Belvidere.
Indeed, after a dozen years as an undershepherd
on the corner of Lincoln and Main, I’m more excited and positively anticipatory
about a fresh awakening and deepening of an identity among Christians in
Belvidere that recognizes the Church’s integrity is measured by honoring
the One who incarnated, lived, died, rose, and reigns to bring people together
in, through, and for Him rather than enabling separations and divisions.
More than ever in my experience in
Belvidere and Boone County, we have pastors who genuinely love each other and
feel called to complement rather than compete with each other for souls.
More than ever, Belvidere and Boone
County have been blessed with pastors who love Jesus by the book.
More than ever, Belvidere and Boone
County have pastors who know previous separations and divisions are to be
overcome not celebrated, accommodated, or enabled.
Jesus did not come to divide the Church.
He came to bring it together in,
through, and for Him.
More then ever in my experience in
Belvidere and Boone County, I felt that confirming call for the courage of
Christian unity to look up, stand up, speak up, and act up for Jesus on June
26.
Join the Church!
You will be glad you did!
Your membership will make Belvidere,
Boone County, and maybe even…better!
Let us pray together (This
prayer is a summary of the prayer on June 26):
“Today, O God, we thank You, most of
all, for the eternity available to all in heaven/paradise by grace through
faith in Jesus.
Knowing we will spend a lot longer
time with You than anybody else gives us strong calm sanity in the midst of
every disappointment, disillusionment, disaster, storm, stress, and test.
We are trees planted by the water;
and we are not moved to distraction but to greater devotion to You for Your
presence and protection and recognizable sooner than later positive providence
in our lives.
We thank You for everyone who has
planned, prayed, participated, and surrendered this worship service to You.
We thank You for today’s messenger,
Adam, who is a man of courage and passion and consistent salt, light, and
leaven; and we are excited to hear Your Word today through him.
We thank you for churches that have
surrendered income and overcome the kinds of denominational bias that Jesus
mocked in Matthew 15, 23, and His high priestly prayer of John 17; and I pray
today, O God, and forgive me if I am wrong or out of step with You, that every
church and pastor who has risked revenue and lesser recognitions to the higher
allegiance and affection and peace and unity and purity of being Church
will be so extraordinarily, staggeringly, blessed by Your graces for their
obedience that the brilliance will not be blinding to the selfish and
arrogantly parochial and worldly but rather guiding to what You really meant
when You lamented yet offered, “O Jerusalem, O America, O Belvidere, O nations,
how often I would have gathered you together as a hen gathers her baby chicks…”
We thank You that as You will bless
the remnant, those women and men of faith in America who still believe in You
by the book, You will cause them to bless this nation and help reverse damning
trends.
We thank You for courageous and
faithful people in government and education and media and commerce and churches
who are bold to speak for righteousness with a greater need to love than be
liked…and who call evil evil and good and good and will not enable the darkness
for political or personal gain and fame.
We thank You for people in America –
like those in this community worship service – who are looking up and standing
up and speaking up and acting up for Jesus.
We pray increased passion to seize
every moment to say a good word for You that calls everyone back to You as the
only source of personal serenity and eternal salvation.
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Blessings and Love!
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Look up! Stand up! Speak up! Act up for Jesus!
Salt! Shine! Leavenate!
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