Illuminate Community Church

11/28/2021 - The Prophet - Hebrews 1:1-3 - Pastor Jason Fritz

For many, tomorrow will be a special day of eating and football. Personally, I plan to be at the youth Turkey Bowl. The arm strength is gone, but the mind strength is…kinda still there?

Anyway, Advent is upon us. The word “advent” means arrival so this is why Christians celebrate the first coming of Jesus and what it means for us today. In Jesus' time not everyone agreed as to who he was but there was no doubt Jesus was extraordinary. The people said, “When he speaks he has authority.” At his arrest the soldiers fell back. When Old Testament prophets spoke, they spoke as mere men—weak and frail men standing side by side with the people pointing them to God. Jesus, even in his humanity stood above men and said, “Look to me, believe in me I am the prophet who gives you direct access to God." 

One of the unique things about ancient prophets is that he or she spoke of future events. They foretold of wars, famine, elections and many other things. They also foretold of the Messiah. Some of these prophecies related to his supernatural arrival. For example, Isaiah said the messiah would be born of a virgin. Other prophecies were obscure, yet detailed. Things like the place of his birth in the small town of Bethlehem or that he would arrive in Jerusalem on a donkey. There were dozens of very specific prophecies. Since Jesus himself was a prophet he too foretold of future events, but he did so in a unique way. The greatest example of this is that he predicted his own death and resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 

If you are the most ardent skeptic, I want you to think about this - who could predict his own death at the hands of others…with pinpoint accuracy? Who could predict that he would rise from the dead…and then do it? Sounds ridiculous, right? But to predict—and accurately so—that is not of this world. You see Jesus not only MADE prophetic predictions, he FULFILLED them. He is the ultimate prophet sent by God. Prophets spoke on behalf of God and Jesus proved he came from God by his own resurrection power. So then, we should listen to what the prophet has to say!

11/21/2021 - Thankful for Salvation - 1 Peter 1:1-12 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Are you ready for Thanksgiving next week?! I will exercise an additional 15 minutes and the sweat pants are already laid out!

Perhaps above all else, we should take time to thank God for our salvation. Peter gives us a starting point…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,​ ​to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,​ ​who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Peter is writing to Christians who he terms as, ”strangers in the world.” You will be a stranger in the world if you choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus because the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world are very different. The kingdom of this world says to look out for number 1. The kingdom of God tells you to think of others as more important than yourself. The kingdom of this world tells you to live in unrestrained passions; the kingdom of God tells you to exhibit self-control. The kingdom of this world is ruled by Satan, the kingdom of heaven is ruled by God. A good question to ask yourself is this – Does this world seem strange to me? If not, then perhaps you have bought into it a little too much.

Notice the reason for our hope according to Peter. It is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Why is there hope in that? His resurrection (the historical evidence for this is overwhelming) leads to your resurrection. Jesus has the power to raise you from the dead unto eternal life. This is what sets Jesus apart from all other religious leaders. You can visit the graves of Mohammed and Confucious; you can see the ashes of the Buddha, but you cannot unearth the bones of Jesus because they are not here.

But there’s more...When a person places their faith and trust in Jesus, they are destined to receive an inheritance. I don’t know if you have ever received an inheritance but the inheritance that Jesus has secured for you is unlike any other because it will never perish. It’s already there, waiting for you. So what is the Christian response to all of this? The answer is found in verses 6-8.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,​ ​so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.​ 1 Peter 1:6-7

Peter has been forthright in telling us we will face trials that cause us to grieve. He also says this suffering is necessary​ because it makes our faith stronger if we allow God to do his work in our hearts. Best yet, there is praise and honor to be received when we see Jesus face to face. So we can be thankful for our salvation and our suffering. Let’s let both have their proper place in our lives during this season of gratitude.

11/14/2021 - Thankful for Unity - John 17:20-21, Philippians 3:8 - Pastor Jason Fritz

I am so thankful for the unity we have as a church family. 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Many tables will be fully reunited this year and yet there’s a good chance that you might be facing some family drama. There remains at least a few things in the world that continue to divide. This is supposed to be the occasion when we look forward to family time but what if things are a bit dysfunctional right now?

Maybe you’ve noticed that some Christians bring the worst of the world into the church. Social media might carry some blame?? We find ourselves getting irritated at what others have to say. They push our buttons and rub us the wrong way. As a Christian, you think to yourself, “God, I know I’m supposed to love others but can we please make an exception? This person is just not lovable! “How am I supposed to love someone I feel like ignoring? How do I get along with someone who doesn’t get along with me?” 

What if these people attend your church?

So when Jesus prayed for future believers in John 17 isn’t it interesting that he said this…“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21

Do you see the point of Christians loving Christians? Jesus says there is a powerful result. Unity creates belief. How will the world believe that Jesus was sent by God? Not if we solve every controversy. Not if we are unanimous on each vote. Not if we never make a doctrinal error. When we love one another the results are worth every bit of sacrifice.

But how do we do create unity? See the answer below…

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Philippians 3:8

There’s a five-ingredient recipe here for you to serve unity on this year’s holiday table: truth, sympathy, love, compassion and humility.

11/7/2021 - Thankful! - Celebration Sunday - Philippians 2:14-18 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Our church family has many reasons to show our gratitude for what God has done. We celebrated our largest outreach event at Treat Street, we’ve added over 200 people in small groups, over 100 Sunday and midweek volunteers joined the team, and beginning Saturday, the opportunity to serve our city through Serve Week. Oh yeah, and we have a permanent church home through your generosity!  It’s been a time of spiritual transformation for Illuminate through Bigger, Smaller, Deeper. There is an excitement and a joy every time we gather together and it continues this Sunday with baptisms and baby dedications. At the same time we should remember that we have an adversary and he wants to steal the light of our joy.

The light of our joy can be stolen by the powers of darkness who fight against us.

So Illuminate, how do we keep “shining like the stars in the sky” as Paul says. He further explains that you and I shine in this world filled with darkness by holding fast to the word that gives life. Holding fast means “to fix one’s attention.” The “word of life” is another way of emphasizing the gospel. It is the word of “life” because it is there that we find truth regarding where life may be found, namely, in Christ. 

The Word: explain it, embrace it, protect it, offer it to others by making it known, and focus upon it with dedication and devotion.

Let me say this with as much clarity and sincerity as I can. The one thing that will prevent your light from being snuffed out by the darkness of this world is holding fast the word of life. The one thing that will protect you from becoming crooked and twisted like the world around you is holding fast to the word of life. The one thing that will guard your heart and ward off the confused influence of a society such as ours is holding fast the word of life.

10/31/2021 - The House of God - Bigger Smaller Deeper - 1 Chronicles 29 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This Sunday marks an important day in the life of Illuminate. That little commitment card you received over the last two Sundays represents the work of God in our hearts. We are anticipating great things from the Illuminate family as we prayerfully consider what we will offer above and beyond our regular giving. The Bigger, Smaller, Deeper vision will be yet another, “Only God!” moment for us. As always, for His glory!

I am reminded of a beautiful prayer found in 1 Chronicles 29. It might surprise you to know the inspiration behind it. King David was getting old. He lived in a palace and yet God had no house of his own for the people to gather and worship. Before his death, he wanted to make this right. So he began by leading the way himself. He gave of his own resources and then the leaders gave afterward. This gave birth to excitement and a joy that fueled the people to give as well. The total amount for God’s house of worship - the temple, was raised in one day!

This causes David to break out in prayer…

“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 1 Chronicles 29:10-16

Notice that David emphasizes more than once, “God, it all belongs to you.” Throughout this Bigger, Smaller, Deeper sermon series I’ve been trying to impress upon you this one fact: Giving is not about money, it’s never about money. It’s certainly not about what numbers you write on your commitment card. It’s not about building new space for kids, students, visitors and the expansion of outreach. It’s about your heart, your faith and your relationship with God. It’s about our commitment to the work of God in the Valley and even throughout the world. If we have trouble with our giving, it’s probably because we’ve never figured out that everything comes from God. We don’t own a thing. It’s all loaned to us and someday God will take it all back.

I read the story of a pastor who gave a powerful sermon titled, “God’s Ownership” and it rubbed a wealthy congregant the wrong way. The wealthy man invited the pastor to visit his house and then walked him through his palatial estate and said, “Now are you going to tell me,” he demanded when the tour was completed, “that all this land does not belong to me?” The pastor smiled and replied, “Ask me that same question a hundred years from now.”

If everything belongs to God and if he owns it all then there is no need for you to worry about your stuff, because it is not your stuff. It is all his stuff. You will find real contentment and real satisfaction, both in God and in life, when you finally realize that God owns everything, controls everything, and provides everything.

10/24/2021 - Kingdom Investing - Bigger Smaller Deeper - Matthew 25:14-30 - Pastor Jason Fritz

By now you’ve probably heard me say several times, "Illuminate’s desire is to be a gift to our city,” and “We want to make disciples and take as many people to heaven with us as possible!” This Saturday night we are praying for our biggest outreach event yet at Treat Street. Only God can make this happen. Likewise, our Bigger, Smaller, Deeper future vision is God-sized. To make this happen we need to be on our knees in prayer and we need to understand that we are stewards. A steward is the "ward" of what belongs to someone else.

A wise pastor put it this way: "Stewardship is not about occasional acts of generosity, or now and then making contributions to good causes. It's not even about money - it goes deeper than that. The core of stewardship is seeing things differently . . . seeing everything with new eyes."

It's not complicated. In fact, Jesus tells a story about it in Matthew 25. The point is this: We must realize that everything we have - our existence, our life, our goods no matter how we got them - all come from God and belong to God, and we are stewards of these things. Once we see it this way, we live it this way. We administer well God's goods on behalf of God. That's what stewardship is. 

When we die, God will ask us, "Well, how did you do in administering everything I gave you?" Imagine how off-base it would be if it turns out we spent our whole life thinking all these things belonged to us. You can count on it; God will not reward us for being misers.

Christians should be generous…and more.

It's an interesting word, “generosity." It comes from the Latin word "birth," and at its root it means "someone of noble birth". It can, without us intending it, carry the implication of bestowing some of our own riches on other people. Now that is not all bad, but what we need to do is move beyond generosity - as though we were giving away what rightfully belongs to us by birth or however we got it. What we all need to do is go beyond generosity and arrive at stewardship - the realization that it all belongs to God, no matter how we got it, and we are administering it on God's behalf.

In the end, we want to hear from Jesus, “Well done good and faithful steward, enter into the joy of your master!”

10/17/2021 - Generosity - Bigger, Smaller, Deeper - Pastor Jason Fritz

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

It’s not like Jesus needs money. It’s not like he’s poor and has to take out a loan. The truth is, the money is already his because he is God and God owns everything.

Jesus gave several powerful sermons and parables about giving and generosity and never once did he say to his disciples: "Now pass the plate.” He’s not after the money, he’s after your heart and your money is the quickest way to your heart. We know this to be true in our own lives. We spend money on what we value and what we’re passionate about. Our heart follows our money and our money follows our heart. So when we are intentional about giving to God what we’re saying is, “Our hearts are following you God, just look at where our money goes." It goes not to the temporary happiness of yet another purchase, but toward that which has eternal consequence.

When we started our Bigger, Smaller, Deeper vision series I began by saying this will be a journey of transformation. No better way to have your heart transformed than to evaluate its' affections. Those affections are made tangible by following the money.

Thankfully, we have the example of a generous first century church in the city of Philippi. Yes it’s true, words like “joy" and "cheerful” are the consequences of giving to the God whom you cannot possibly outgive. Think of God’s generosity toward you by sending his son to give you eternal life! The Illuminate family has all we need to accomplish the future vision of the church. That’s the good news. So there remains a challenge for each of us to speak with God and ask him, “What is my part?"

10/10/2021 - Serving at Illuminate - Bigger, Smaller, Deeper - Pastor Jason Fritz

Shortly after WWII came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the old country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of orphaned children starving in the streets. Boys and girls walking around in the bitter cold searching for food after losing their parents. Early one chilly morning a US soldier was making his way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his Jeep, he spotted a little boy with his nose pressed against the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was making a fresh batch of dough for the doughnuts. The hungry boy stared there in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his Jeep to the curb, got out and walked quietly over to the little guy was standing. Through the steamed up window he could see these mouth watering doughnuts, piping hot, coming out of the oven. The boy salivated and released a slight grown as he watched the cook place them on the counter. “Son, would you like some of those?” The boy was startled. “Oh yeah, I would!” The soldier walked inside and bought a dozen and stuffed them in a bag. He walked up to the boy and with a big smile said, “Here you go.” As he walked away he felt a tug on his coat, the boy looked up at him and said, “Are you God?” 

We are never more like God than we selflessly serve another person. Read the words of Jesus as he explains his purpose for coming to the earth...

"...even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28.
 
His purpose is our purpose…

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Serving others is good work. This is the reason why God created us, gifted us, and saved us so that we can be a blessing to others. Serving gives you life here and now and God will reward you in the life to come. The question is - What are you going to do about it? If you’re not serving others, then it’s simply a matter of not following God’s plan for your life. By his grace, God continues to draw people to Illuminate. This means we have many opportunities for you to bless others. So, if you’ve been on the bench it’s time to get in the game. We won’t be all that we can be without you!

10/3/2021 - Bigger, Smaller, Deeper - Outreach At Illuminate - Matthew 25:31-40; James 1:22-25 - Pastor Jason Fritz

The heart of Illuminate from day one has been to serve our community and beyond. Five years ago my garage was the drop off center as we collected basic necessities for orphans and refugees. 

Today we have nine local outreach partners and seven international outreach partners. The Illuminate family has provided a mobile kitchen to feed and minister to the homeless and also a bus for Teen Challenge which among other things, they use to join us for services. We do this because anyone who claims the name of Jesus must have the heart of Jesus and he came not to be served but to serve. He is our leader and our example in all things. But there’s something more going on than what you might realize. According to Jesus, when you show moral kindness to others, especially your fellow Christians, it’s like showing kindness to Jesus himself. In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus speaks of a future judgement of the nations. And here’s what he says...

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:31-40

Did you notice this judgment is based solely on one’s moral kindness toward those in need? There’s at least three things to take away from Jesus’ words…

1. We cannot afford to be indifferent towards Jesus and His return. 
2. We can’t afford to be indifferent towards the resources that God gives us. 
3. We can’t afford to be indifferent towards the needy people all around us.

We have a really big goal ahead of us church. What if we sent 500 Jesus ambassadors from Illuminate to serve our city in one week? That’s what we want during Illuminate Serve Week November 6-13. Together, we’ve been praying, “God what do you want to do IN me and what do you want to do THROUGH me?” Serving our city is part of the answer!

9/26/2021 - Deeper - The Portrait of a Disciple - Luke 14:26-33 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Over the last two Sundays I have shared the future vision of Illuminate with three simple words: Bigger, Smaller, Deeper. We read about the promise of Jesus to build His church. Because of this, we want to accommodate all those He brings through our doors. As Jesus grows his church the challenge is to stay connected to each other. This is why we want to grow smaller. This was the model Jesus himself used. Yes, Jesus was in a small group. Small groups are the lifeblood of the church. It’s where the “one another’s” of the Christian life take place. Smaller gatherings allow our spiritual roots to deepen so that we can become disciples. “Deeper" is all about becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20

Simply put, a disciple is a learner of someone else. The Greek word used in the New Testament is mathetas and it describes someone who follows in the footsteps of another. Ancient Rabbis said that a good disciple is covered by the dust of his teacher. This is why God put you on this planet. The fact is, we are all followers of someone, even if that someone is yourself. However, when we are covered in the dust of our Rabbi Jesus, our lives will never be the same. We’ve been asking God this simple question: “God, what do you want to do IN us and THROUGH us?” The answer begins with becoming a disciple!