Tribulation = Time to Trust.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about tribulation. What is tribulation? What is THE Tribulation?

The dictionary defines tribulation as a state of great trouble or suffering. Health, loss, confusion, and generally rough times are also tribulations. So, what do we do when we go through a period of tribulation?

Jesus spoke a message to a group of people about “THE” tribulation, and the last half of that being the “GREAT” tribulation. Here at Recreate, we don’t dwell on the tribulation and end times too much, but the world does talk about it, and we will confront it today.

It’s important to differentiate between the general concept of tribulation, which we all experience in life, and the specific biblical event known as the Tribulation period. We firmly believe that those who trust in Jesus in this age will not face the Tribulation period, but we will still encounter tribulations in our lives. However, these tribulations can be seen as opportunities to deepen our trust in God.

What is the Tribulation period? A seven-year period of intense global turmoil and divine judgment first prophesized in the book of Daniel but most famously described in Revelation. There will be widespread famine, chaos, natural disasters, and generally, really, really bad times. A charismatic leader called the Antichrist who will rise up, and Jesus will return at the end of the seven years, destroy the Antichrist, bind the Devil, throw him into the bottomless pit, and establish an earthly kingdom that will resemble the earthly garden of Eden.

It’s going to get really bad but really good, too. That’s a good general description of the Tribulation period. The Tribulation is a time of trust. Trust in Jesus, and those who do will be removed before the Tribulation in the Rapture. In the twinkling of an eye, they will be called up to heaven to be with the Lord. Enoch and Elijah are the only two who avoided death and went straight to heaven, but there will be a lot more in the Rapture.

Michael drills down into the Rapture across many verses, so be sure to check the verse catalog below.

And as previously stated, believers will suffer tribulations. You will have some tribulation just because you follow Jesus, but it is worth it. Trials and tribulations occur to everyone, so Mark 13: 9 - 13 speaks to believers in the future.

Three promises to consider:

1. If you trust Jesus, you won’t have to face the Tribulation.
2. You will face periods of tribulation.
3. If you trust in Jesus He will help you through any tribulation you might have.

Trust in Jesus!

(CSB Bible Notes) 13:13 You will be hated indicates the animosity unbelievers often feel toward Christians because of the name of Jesus (cp. 1Pt 4:16). Jesus did not warn his followers so they could seek safety but so they would endure faithfully.

Verses can be found in Mark 13: 9 - 13, Revelation 3: 10., 4: 1 - 2, 4: 18, 1 Thessalonians 1: 10, 4: 16 and 5: 9, 2 Thessalonians 2: 3, 2: 6 - 8, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Daniel 9: 24

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Don’t Be Afraid of Tomatoes!

Today, Pastor Michael discusses the importance of not fearing as a believer. He draws a parallel from history, when people in the past, many centuries ago, were afraid of tomatoes because they were called ‘poison apples.’ They believed tomatoes were lethal, but in reality, the acid in tomatoes was reacting with lead from pewter plates used in those days. Just as a prepared soul has no fear of the end, we, too, should not fear the unknown. Remember, this message is not just about tomatoes; it’s about our faith and how we face the unknown.

It’s Wednesday evening, and the apostles are leaving the temple, having spent three days there. They are commenting on how impressive the buildings were there. By this time, the sun is going down in the west, silhouetting the temple and making quite the impression. Jesus told the apostles that not a stone would be left of these buildings, and this made the apostles question the reasoning of that statement, asking Him privately when that would happen. They mistakenly equated the end of the buildings with the end of the world.

Jesus replied, in His longest teaching on the end times, describing events and conditions that are the beginnings of sorrows. The early indicator that something major is coming.

Getting back to our theme, don’t be afraid; the problem is not the end times, the problem is the fear in us. If you are a follower of Jesus, you do NOT have to be afraid!

(CSB Notes) Jesus prophesied (announced, not merely predicted) the destruction of the great buildings. Symbolically in the withering of the fig tree (11:12-14,20-21) Jesus had already prophesied their end. Some question the accuracy of not one stone will be left upon another because some stones remain today in the Western Wall, but this was not part of the temple itself but the foundation that supported the platform on which the temple stood.

Verses can be found in Mark 13: 1 - 8.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

You Can’t Outgive God.

Today, Pastor Michael is expanding upon where Jesus cleaned the temple out of all the folks doing business inside, instead of worshipping. He runs them out and comes back on Tuesday and the religious leaders come out to meet Him, wanting to know what on earth He was doing back at the temple. The next day, Wednesday, they try tripping Him up again. So now, we’re at the point where Jesus is betrayed and arrested.

Jesus knows this. All of it.

So He just sits down on one of the low benches, around the Temple. There were a bunch of offering boxes around and He saw many people coming and going. He watched quietly until one special woman, a widow, approached the boxes. She reaches out and deposits two tiny little coins, and Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “She is giving more than anyone else.”

His disciples marveled at that assessment, wondering where it came from. Jesus taught them that she gave all she had; others simply give out of a surplus.

The core idea of this message is: You Can’t Outgive God!

(CSB Bible Notes): Stewardship is measured by the sacrifice we make, not by the amount we give. The widow’s willingness to give all she had represented better stewardship than the large gift of the rich who retained abundant resources. The amount left after the gift is a more significant figure than the amount of the gift. Christian stewardship involves sacrificial giving that counts the need rather than the availability of resources for personal use.

Verses can be found in Mark 12: 41-44.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Toxic Leadership.

Today, Pastor Michael talks about something we universally seem to run into: Toxic Leadership.

Everyone seems to have a story or know someone affected by Toxic Leadership. But it hits closer to home than we think. The biggest group of people who should answer to their role in leadership are YOU and I. While we may not have the “title” of “Leader,” leadership is really and truly about power and influence.

Today’s core theme, knowing that, is: Truly leadership seeks to serve, not to be served.

In today’s lesson, we’re with Jesus about 48 hours before he will be crucified. He is talking to His disciples about toxic leadership; those leaders (the ‘scribes’ in those days) were more concerned about being served than serving others. Their love of recognition is what Jesus is calling them out for.

All pride is ugly, but spiritual pride is extra ugly.

So what can you do? Lead. But be a leader like Jesus, all about serving OTHERS.

Verses can be found in Mark 12: 38-40.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The Offense of the Cross.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about Easter, the biggest day in Christianity! And bluegrass music in Peru, but that’s another story.

The cross is a symbol found everywhere. The cross of Christ is everywhere but misunderstood, and Michael wants us to see it in a new way. A writer, the Apostle Paul, said the cross was offensive. He was writing to a group near Galatia, and they were treating Christianity as ‘just another religion.’

If a person feels good works can you into heaven, a cross is an offense.

The cross is not a symbol of self-will but of a willingness to give up self. The cross is also offensive to human pride. The cross is offensive to human reason.

The offense of the cross paid the cost!

Verses can be found in Galatians 5: 11, Philippians 2: 8, and Colossians 2: 13-14.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Refuge at The Lord’s Table.

Today, Pastor Michael is talking about so many things: regrets, sins, finances (or lack of them!), relationships, and how the world can turn all of that into a rough place. We need a refuge, a shelter from all of that. We need a place to go when we are hurting, stressed and confused. Is there a refuge like that?

Yes, God has made that place and welcomes you into it.

The core idea today is this: “Chaos in my situation, contentment in my soul.”

(CSB Bible Notes) 23:5 The image shifts from shepherd to friend. The identification of the Lord with a shepherd emphasizes his care and protection, but he is much more than that for a person who is in close fellowship with him. While protection from enemies is still implied, it is intensified with the image of a banquet (table) that is served while the enemies look on. In Jewish society oil was a symbol for rejoicing (104:15) and was also used in the welcoming of guests.

Verses can be found in Psalm 23.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The Chosen One.

Today, Pastor Michael will tell us a story about a “Chosen One.” We seem to love stories about somebody special who shows up to save the day!

The idea of the Chosen One has been around so long that it’s almost become a cliche, but there are historical roots. God gave us paradise, and we messed it up by violating His one and only rule. But God sent His Chosen One to fix what is broken in US. The brokenness, bitterness, jealousy, anger, pride, and all the secrets that tear apart relationships take your peace and separate you from God.

The point is that when we try to fix ourselves, we might get some things fixed for a while, but then something else gets broken. So, we do need a hero; we need a Chosen One.

Good news: God sent one!

The Chosen One has chosen YOU. Will you choose HIM?

(CSB Bible Notes) The scribes identified Messiah as David’s son (vv. 35-36), but David identified Messiah as his Lord. Therefore, Messiah was not just a descendant of David. He was David’s Lord.

Verses can be found in Mark 12: 35 - 37.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

The REsource and THE Source.

Today, Pastor Michael is kicking off on “Scarcity Mentality”, a mindset that forces one to focus on only the lack of resources.

The heart of the message is, “Use the resource, trust the source.” The source, Jesus, will never run out!

Jesus is on His last trip to Jerusalem, coming from Galilee, knowing He will be crucified, rise from the grave, and defeat death and the devil. He is coming down from Samaria with ten men, lepers, who are calling out for mercy. These men had a true scarcity mentality, as lepers of those days had almost no resources available and were shunned by society.

Jesus told the men to go and show themselves to the priests, and they were healed. One, a Samaritan, came back to Jesus and gave thanks. Jesus asked, “Were not ten cleansed?” as ten were who cried out and Jesus told the ten to go to the priests. Yet, only one, a Samaritan, a foreigner, came to give thanks for the healing.

Jesus told the man that his faith had made him well. The other nine used the resource but did not trust the source…the Samaritan trusted THE source: Jesus.

(CSB Bible Notes) It is striking that the only one of the ten men who had healed and returned and thanked Jesus was a Samaritan . . . a foreigner. This is in keeping with Luke’s theme of the universal outreach of the gospel. Jesus’s statement your faith has saved you implies that the Samaritan was healed physically and spiritually.

Verses can be found in Luke 17: 11-17.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.