This week we take a look at Core Beliefs number 4 and 5.

I want to encourage you to read through them and chew on them a bit.
What does it mean that we are all equally deserving of an eternity apart from God?
If that’s true, how should that effect the way in which we interact with the people around us?
What is the significance of Christ’s sinless life?
What does it mean to be fully human?

I’m looking forward to this one!

I was truly blown away and blessed by this past weekend. I can’t remember the last time that we had a weekend that was that busy.

Friday was a prep day for the Garage Sale for our team headed to Peru. We were overwhelmed with “stuff” for the sale by your generosity. Thank you for contributing!

Saturday started early with the Men’s Pancake Breakfast. It was great having a venue for guys to gather and get to know each other a bit better than what a typical weekend allows. We hope to look for many different types of opportunities to do this again! Don’t miss it.

The rest of Saturday was spent working the Garage Sale. Almost $1500 was raised for the Peru team. Sweetness!

Sunday was Pathways at the Park, and even psychotic weather could not spoil our day. It started cold, the service was hot and then the rains came, but you were not deterred. Honestly, I think the rains may have been one of the great things about the weekend. Instead of having people spread all over the park to eat, we all huddled under different canopies and roofs to eat and talk and get to know one another better. The kids? They were wet anyway and a little rain was not going to stop them from getting more wet (is that possible?).

The church is the people. You / We are the church. Not a building. Not a place. This weekend, I saw the church connecting and growing and laughing and playing. It was awesome.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday (please read with your best “Tractor-Pull Announcer Voice”)…we will not be meeting at Heatherwood Middle School. Instead, we will be meeting at T.A. Sullivan Park at Silver Lake at 10am for music, BBQ, Water Slides (hopefully not due to the rain), and great conversations.

Invite your neighbors. Bring a chair, something to share, and meat to prepare.

I wanted to make you aware of a few items to be praying about within (and outside) of our community:

Both Sharon Anaclerio and Connie Pace are facing surgery this week, so we ask for your prayers for them.
Pray for Suzy Selin’s mother who is battling cancer.

Whether you are a baseball fan or not, you’ve got to get excited about the fact that our local 12 year old all-star team is headed to the biggest stage that Little League has to offer. It is the place that every 10-12 year old baseball player dreams of playing - the Little League World Series.

Here is the website where you can stay up to date on their progress as well to find out when they are on ESPN. (Tell me that doesn’t give you bragging rights in the sixth grade!)

At the Inner Core of the earth is molten lava. This is then wrapped in layers that we have named the Outer Core, the Mantle, Upper Mantle and the Crust. I am the last person here to be giving a science lesson, so let’s not head that direction. I would be embarrassed very quickly. However, I’m going to go out on a “scientific limb” here and make a statement that I have done ZERO study on, but am absolutely confident that I am correct. Ready? Hold onto your seats…cause here it comes.

If the center of the earth were made of Jello (R), it would greatly effect the Crust of the earth.

I know. I’ve got no fancy experiments to back me up. I haven’t read it in a scientific journal, but I remain confident. What we find in the Core will always affect what we see on the outside. Especially when the pressure and stress are applied.

Now if you can go there with me, let’s talk about what is at YOUR CORE. The CORE of who you are…the CORE of what you believe about God. Because what you believe about God will ultimately affect what you see on the outside.

Here at Pathways, we have two sets of “CORES” that are important to us. We have Core Values, which we talk about a lot. Call that our Outer Core. We also have Core Beliefs, which are what shape our Core Values. Let’s call that our Inner Core. This week begins an exploration of the Core Beliefs of Pathways Church. What we discover here will inevitably affect what we see on the outside.

There are themes that run throughout Scripture.

I believe those themes are there for a reason.

The primary reason they are there is because God is trying to teach us something.

This weekend we’ll look at a theme that can be found in the story of almost every major character of Scripture.

It’s Not about Us (You)…It’s About God in Us (You).

I believe that God is doing and wants to do some significant things here through His people.

He always has.

We must first understand the depth of this truth…

…It’s not about me…It’s about God in me.

If you are looking for something exciting to do right after church tomorrow, you might want to pack a picnic and walk over to Freedom Field (across Bothell Everett Hwy.) for the State Championship game of the 12 year old all-stars. Mill Creek will be playing Richmond for the title at 1pm. This Mill Creek team is INCREDIBLY talented and many believe they have the capability to be playing on ESPN in the Little League World Series this year.

Good Luck Mill Creek!

Mill Creek Team Page

Recently, I have been challenged by this idea: the idea of “Living in Expectancy with an Ability to Respond, as opposed to Expectations and Responsibility”.   The first phrase speaks of verbs… the second speaks of nouns.  A verb is living and active, A noun is dead.  There is Gospel and Law in every aspect of the scriptures, there is Gospel and Law in every aspect of our lives and relationships…  The Gospel is all about verbs…  The Law tends to be a bit “noun-ish”.  Yet, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it…  He came to give Verbishness to our Nounishness.  So where does that leave us??  In the middle of a grammar lesson???  Or with a challenge to Live in Expectancy with the Ability to Respond.  Even if you hate Grammar… come on out on Sunday and be challenged with me to see the difference between: confessing and confession; loving and love; singing and song; dancing and dance; building and A building…  Expectancy and Expectation; Ability to Respond and Responsibility….  Thoroughly confused???

So was I, until this all began to sink in. See you Sunday!!

In case you weren’t there on Sunday, here is the video we put together to say ‘thanks’ to Central Christian Church.

Thank You CCCEV from Pathways Church on Vimeo.