Jesus Christ | Craig T. Owens

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League Of Extraordinary Christians

January 18, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Good friends of ours, Jeff & Becky Kennedy, were at church this morning. Jeff brought us a challenging word entitled “The League Of Extraordinary Christians.”

I love the narrative in Acts 4:13: When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Peter and John were ordinary men who walked with Jesus.

By ourselves, we are ordinary; Jesus is the extra.

Extra Time With Jesus + Ordinary Me =
Extraordinary Christian

Ordinary people don’t change their worlds. Ordinary churches don’t attract hungry, hurting people.

But extraordinary people and extraordinary churches are world changers!

I desire for 2009 to be an extraordinary year. I desire that people take note that I have been with Jesus.

Are you ready to spend that extra time with Jesus? Are you ready to be extraordinary this year?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Book of Acts, extraordinary, Jesus Christ, sermon. 4 Comments »

What A Gift!

December 22, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

the-gift1

I am so proud of our team for the great Christmas play they presented last night called The Gift! The play was written by our very own Kevin Simonye, and the entire cast and crew were students and parents from Bethel Assembly of God.

The play was a look at how parents can get so caught up in what they believe will make “the best Christmas ever.” Some parents tried presents, some tried trips, some tried inviting lots of family members, and some tried outrageous decorations. But when all of the parents’ plans fell apart, the kids showed them that the real meaning of Christmas was The Gift God gave to all mankind when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

I am so thankful for this incredible gift! And I am thankful for a highly dedicated and extremely talented team that put on such an excellent Christmas play! Check out some highlights.

And in all of your busyness this week, please remember to celebrate the real reason for the season—God’s gift to you is Jesus! God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Christmas, Christmas play, Gospel of John, Jesus Christ. Leave a Comment »

A Tale Of Two Funerals

December 6, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

I was involved in two funerals in the last three days, and they couldn’t have been more different.

At both funerals people said goodbye in their own way.

At both funerals family members cried.

At both funerals there was singing.

At both funerals the life of the deceased was celebrated.

At both funerals loved ones grieved.

The huge difference was how they grieved.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those Christians who have died so you will not be sad, as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Paul says that we are sad, we grieve, but we grieve differently when we have hope. What hope? The hope of life after death. The hope that only belief in Jesus can bring. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die” (John 11:25-26).

At Thursday’s funeral the family grieved deeply because they had no hope of life after death, no assurance, only wishful thinking.

At today’s funeral it was a joy to grieve with a family because they had such solid hope! They have an absolute, unshakable assurance that their loved one has life after death. And that makes all the difference in the world in how they will grieve.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Thessalonians, assurance, death, eternal life, funeral, Gospel of John, grief, hope, Jesus Christ. 4 Comments »

The Village That Wasn’t There… Yet

November 27, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

In my devotional time I am studying the life and leadership of Joshua. This morning I was beginning to read the sleep-inducing list of boundaries and towns that were assigned to each of the Israelite tribes (Joshua 15). I read the description of the territory for the tribe of Judah, and I must admit that I sorta glossed over the names of all of the towns. I got to the last verse and was ready to move on, and then it hit me.

As a pastor I’m always thinking ahead to my next series of messages, and currently I’ve been thinking about our Christmas series. So all of a sudden it jumped out at me — something I didn’t read in that list of towns. I went back and re-read the list a little more slowly this time. Nope, still not there. I looked a third time at all 38 cities: still missing. There are a couple of very notable figures that dominate the Old and New Testaments, and they have something in common — King David and Jesus both come from the tribe of Judah. And both of them were born in Bethlehem.

But in the list of towns in Judah’s territory, there is absolutely no mention of Bethlehem.

This town either didn’t exist, or it was so “insignificant” that Joshua didn’t even think to mention it. It would be almost another 500 years before David would be born in Bethlehem, and then another 900 years or so after that before Jesus would be born in this tiny village.

God had in mind for the greatest earthly king in Israel’s history and the King of all kings to come from such humble origins… from a village that didn’t even make the list. On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m grateful to belong to a God who has time after time made a “Bethlehem” for me at just the right moment!

My friend, if you are facing a difficult situation today, know that God already has the answer. He already has a Bethlehem prepared for you!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bethlehem, David, Jesus Christ, Joshua, provision. 1 Comment »

All Means, Um, All

November 20, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

We started a new Sunday evening series called “All.” At least that’s the abbreviated title—the full title is “all the church taking all the gospel to all the world all the time by all the means necessary.”

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19). I am more and more amazed and disappointed in how this gets watered down…

“All the church can’t mean me because I’m nothing special.”
“All the gospel only means the part about ‘getting saved,’ right?”
“All the world is only for people who are called to be missionaries.”
“All the time is just for special ‘evangelical outreaches.’”
“All the means is just whatever happens in a typical church service.”

I checked Webster’s Dictionary and all means “wholly, entirely, completely.” I even checked my Greek Bible dictionary and discovered that all means, um, “all.” I think the problem comes from another word in that verse: therefore. If I don’t believe that I belong to Christ, then I’m not operating in all of His authority. If I’m not operating in His authority, I will more than likely find all the excuses I can to avoid being a part of the all Jesus intended.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: evangelism, Gospel, Gospel of Matthew, Great Commission, Jesus Christ, missional, no excuses, sermon. 6 Comments »

Observations From Family Court

November 6, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

I was in court today. Family Court, to be specific. I was there supporting a family who is attempting to gain custody of their niece. She is a lovely young lady, and they are a beautiful family. In waiting for their hearing to take place I sat through about a half dozen hearings.

Judge Jennie Barkey was incredible to watch. She was loving and firm and decisive, and clearly only had in mind the best for the children. In fact everyone in court today only had the best in mind for the kids. As Judge Barkey’s decisions were announced some smiled, some frowned, some cried, some laughed, and one skipped out of the courtroom. I was emotionally drained before the hearing I was there for even began!

I was moved at how petitioners, social workers, advocates, and friends all were single-minded in their desire for the best for the kids. Some may not have liked Judge Barkey’s rulings, but that didn’t take away from the focus on the kids. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said that kids were the picture of God’s Kingdom, and He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them. I pray that I can always have that same single-minded desire to only desire and work for the best for the most innocent and vulnerable in our community. It’s what Jesus would want, and it’s what He blesses.