Pastor John’s Blog

Seven years ago I walked into a meeting room to listen to our ministry leader give a monthly update. He said something along the lines of “This year I experienced one of the most profound moments of my life, in fact, apart from the birth of my children, it was likely the most profound moment.” What was it? A total eclipse of the sun. We were living in Little Rock at the time, not in the path of totality, and I didn’t care to take the drive up to Missouri, but after hearing this, I was sure we would drive wherever we had to this time.

…even in the midst of challenges, those who know Christ have a peace, a hope, and a joy that gives us the ability to acknowledge that we truly are blessed. That’s one of the things I love about Valley View. I love coming on Sunday and seeing joy pour out of so many, even in the midst of some very real challenges many are facing. We don’t pretend life isn’t hard, and yet we lean on the joy of knowing Christ and the power of community to get through the pain.

Who has God put on your heart to invite? They might be the beginning of a chain of eight or more families of a new spiritual family tree. God might use you to change the spiritual legacy of generations throughout our community just by taking one step of faith to invite someone. And over time, as we plant new family trees, our prayer is that these seeds grow into a mighty forest throughout all of Southwest Louisville!

Everyone wants to encounter God at church, that’s why we come. And when we do encounter God, when we experience His presence, we want others to know and experience that too. In fact, Bob makes the point that a worship service filled with the awe and joy of God’s presence is one of the most powerful evangelistic tools the church has today. Where else can one encounter the presence of God in such a powerful and tangible way? Even a pre-Christian (a friend of mine says that instead of ‘non-Christian’ – I love it) can sense that something powerful is at work in a worship service where God is moving.

After leaving Mammoth Cave we went to the Corvette Museum. A few years ago a massive sink hole opened up right in the middle of the main showroom of the museum. It swallowed up 7 or 8 collector Corvettes. Where did this sink hole come from? A cave that was deep under the structure, one there long before the museum. This dark cavern lay dormant for so long and yet eventually ate away at the life above it. 

How do we gain clarity in the spiritual realm of life? One of the songs we sing at church has the line “a sound mind so that I can see clearly.” How do we move toward a sound mind? For us, the starting place is the Word of God. It’s through God’s Word that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and guides and directs us.

Henri Nouwen in his book on the story of the Prodigal Son says it this way, “It often seems to me that the more I try to disentangle myself from the darkness, the darker it becomes. I need light, but that light has to conquer my darkness, and that I cannot bring about myself. I cannot forgive myself. I cannot make myself feel loved. By myself I cannot leave the land of my anger. I cannot bring myself home nor can I create communion on my own. I can desire it, hope for it, wait for it, yes, pray for it. But my true freedom I cannot fabricate for myself. That must be given to me. I am lost. I must be found and brought home by the shepherd who goes out to me.”

Last week I ended the midweek letter with a thank-you and a prayer request: Thanks for helping in the search for Lynn Murray, and a request for prayer that he would be found soon. Less than thirty minutes after that email went out, the call came in that Lynn had been found and was alive! I guess I should have asked you to pray sooner!

Rob was the first guy I heard talk with passion about comic books. I liked comic books but he LOVED comic books. This was in middle school, back when comic books and magazine racks were in every gas station and grocery store. Rob was so passionate about collecting comic books that he had learned the day and hour when deliveries were made to each store in his area. I went with him one time to meet the delivery truck at one stop, then watched him carefully, reverently, sift through the stacks to find the copies in the best condition. Watching him and listening to him talk about comic books made me want to know more about them. I wanted that kind of excitement. I wanted to be like Rob.

Our memory verse for February is John 15:13-14. Verse 13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus is primarily referring to his coming death in this verse, yet also the general principle holds true that the greatest act of love one can show is laying down their life for someone else. And there’s another application that points to the active and intentional living of a life of sacrifice, day after day, year after year, living your life to serve others, saying no to self and yes to Christ and his plans. Behind all of those selfless Sunday School teachers I encountered was a person who was giving leadership to them and our Children’s Ministry for all of those years: Eddie Lee Brooks.