A Pastor's Desire

I was sitting in my office today thinking and praying about what the Lord has been doing at FCF...and considering the exciting things that lie ahead. It's been amazing to see many people responding to the call to walk with deeper faith. It seems there is not a week that goes by without hearing someone say, "Dave, it's so good to not have to be living a religious life anymore...but to be freely serving Christ." Or statments like, "I am really enjoying how God is teaching and growing me right now." Of course, as a Pastor, these statements thrill my heart.

Honestly, FCF is a unique church. While we're contempory with creative elements...we aren't interested in entertainment. We're passionate about the truth of God's Word...and missional in our desire to have an impact in our community. We are not afraid to call people to a deeper walk of faith...yet not legalistic in our approach. We're not identified as young and hip...yet we're not old and dying (in fact our older people are as passionate and excited as our younger). Our church is filled with serious truth-seekers and people who have followed Christ for 50 years. Unique...yet beautiful.

As the Lead Pastor at FCF my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude toward Christ and great wonder as to why He would even use us at all. He is not only the reason we exist as a church, but also the reason we do what we do as a church. Why do we find it important to preach through books of the Bible? Why do we encourage people to be a part of a discovery group? Why do we get involved in community outreach projects and missions trips around the world? Why do we not get overwhelmed with activities that may be well meaning but are pointless to the cause of Christ? Because our desire for FCF is much deeper...

This morning, I couldn't help but to think about the Apostle Paul. Paul was a man who had seen Christ (Acts 9); taken to  heaven (2 Corinthians 12); and personally responsible for the spread of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. No doubt, Paul had one of the deepest relationships with Christ of anyone. Yet Paul wasn't satisfied. In Philippians 3, Paul said that His desire was to "know Him." Did you catch that? In fact he said that everything else was merely dung. Here was a man who knew Christ most deeply...who walked with an unrivaled faith in Christ...yet His desire was to detach from the normalcy of life and attach himself to Christ.

With that statement we find the reason FCF exists. Whether new to the faith or a long-time Christ-follower my prayer is that you would have a holy dissatisfaction with your knowledge and faith in Christ and that you, like Paul, woud just want to know Him more.

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12:18-29 - Monday

Monday – High Standards

Focus passage: Hebrews 12:18-21

Read: Exodus 19; Romans 4:13-15; Romans 7:4-6

I once worked for a supervisor who a reputation for being hard, harsh, and abrasive. This man set high standards and expected subordinates to meet those standards. His reputation and firm methods created a lot of fear in those who worked for him. Many couldn’t or wouldn’t submit to his kind of authority and left the company. But those who persevered eventually understood why he did what he did.

When God gave the law to Moses it created fear in the Israelites because they knew God required perfect obedience. The consequences for disobedience were frequently severe. Many of the people struggled and didn’t see why God gave them a law they couldn’t fully obey. They didn’t understand that He was pointing the way toward intimate relationship with Him.


1. As Christians, we have not come to a Mount Sinai full of darkness and gloom, yet some are still afraid of God. Why?


2. What gets in the way of our fully accepting the fact that Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we don’t have to?

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12 - Thursday

Thursday – But I Don’t Want to Practice


Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:9-11

Read: Job 5:17; Job 23:8-12; Proverbs 12:1; Psalm 119: 65-68


I’ve heard it over and over, “But, dad, I don’t want to practice. I just like to play the game!” My son likes sports, but practice…not so much. Why? It’s probably because it can be difficult, with lots of repetition of drills to hone skills and correct and improve technique. In this way each individual, and therefore the whole team, gets better. Games are then more fun and they have a better chance of winning. It takes a coaches firm and continued discipline to make good team.

Like a coach or a father, God disciplines us for our good, our betterment. That good that he desires in us is holiness, to be more like Christ. Like practice, the Lord’s discipline may not be fun, it may be painful, but it will produce good fruit for those trained by it. Since we know this is true, should we not willingly submit to it?


1. In unpleasant times, can you see God moving you along on the journey towards holiness?


2. How can you develop a positive outlook toward God’s training and correction and willingly submit?

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12 - Wednesday

Wednesday – A Parent’s Discipline
Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:7-8

Read: Proverbs 13:1; John 15:1-4; Revelation 3:19-20

As a father, I’m called to guide, train, correct, and rebuke my son. These are some of my greatest responsibilities and are summed up in discipline. Proverbs 13:24 says that, “…he who loves him (his son) is careful to discipline him.” That includes allowing my son to go through hard times or maybe even putting difficulty in his life on purpose. It can be in these situations that the opportunity for training, correcting, and growth are best found.

Today’s focus passage tells us that when we find hardship in life, it may be God’s discipline – he’s treating us as his son. It’s good to remember what discipline is and that God disciplines those he loves, his children!



1. Think about a time in your life that you’ve been through difficulty or hardship. Did you recognize the possibility that God might be training or correcting something in your life?

2. How can your experiences of being disciplined by your parents or you disciplining your children, help you and encourage you as God trains, instructs, and corrects you in the same way?

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12 - Tuesday

Tuesday – It’s Not Fair!!


Focus passage: Hebrews 12:5-6

Read: Psalm 66:8-12; Proverbs 3:11-12; 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

If the truth were known, most of us would admit that we don’t like to be disciplined. When we know it’s coming, we murmur under our breath, though it’s probably for our good. Even kids complain that “it’s not fair.” It’s easy to view discipline as a negative. But today’s focus passage from Hebrews reminds us not to make light of the Lord’s discipline (or chastisement) and to be encouraged that God disciplines those He loves.

It would be good to review the meaning of “discipline” or “chastisement.” In our verses today, the Greek word translated as discipline/chastisement means:

– to be instructed or taught; to train or to correct.

With this definition of discipline in mind, light may shed on how we can be encouraged by the discipline of our God.


1. What is your reaction to discipline? Do you try to escape it or do you embrace it?

2. Why do you think God brings up the subject of discipline right after the “faith” chapter – Heb. 11?


3. Looking ahead, how might you respond to the Lord’s discipline differently?

Hebrews Bible Study: Hebrews 12 - Monday

Monday – How Far?

Focus passage: Hebrews 12:3-4

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:13; Proverbs 3:11; Isaiah 40;
1 Peter 2:18-25

It’s amazing how far people will go when they find themselves in dire situations. Can you imagine the following situation?

Aron Ralston, an American mountain climber and public speaker. He gained fame in May 2003 when, while canyoneering in Utah, a boulder became dislodged, crushing his right forearm and pinning it against the canyon wall. Having not told anyone about his plans to hike, he assumed that death was certain. While surviving on a small amount of water, five days later, as the final attempt to free himself, he amputated his lower right arm with a utility tool. Six hours later he was rescued by helicopter and immediately became a celebrity. The incident is documented in Ralston's 2004 autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and is the subject of the 2010 film 127 Hours.

What would you have done in a similar situation? Imagine the thought process required to cut off your own arm. The writer of Hebrews is challenging the reader to consider what would be required to live a holy life. How far would you go to get rid of sin? That’s the question asked in Hebrews 12…would you be willing to lose it all to get rid of sin? Christ did!

1. It says to consider Christ who endured greatly. How does His example of endurance encourage your endurance?

2. How does Christ’s sacrifice help us not grow weary or fainthearted?

3. What are you willing to do to get rid of sin in your life? What stops you from doing this?