By Paul Goeke 

At our retreat this weekend, it became apparent to me just how much people have been touched by what God is doing at The Well.  I had a chance to shut up a little bit and just listen to people talk about what has been happening.   I realized again that God's hand in people's lives is not just an idea, a notion, or belief. It's real. I saw people from vastly different backgrounds and situations - some feeling close to God, some far.  I heard about people being loved and challenged.  I heard about people being encouraged and stretched.  I heard people laugh…belly laugh.  I heard people boast in their weakness.  I heard people be bold and stout-hearted.  I heard people wanting, asking to grow and learn.  I saw tears in people’s eyes as they sang of their love, Jesus.  And I saw them linger - linger to sing just one more song.   I saw people play cards, and eat queso, and talk till obnoxious hours of the night about the dream that God has for The Well. 

We’re in the book of Matthew (now chapter 16) and yes, he’s gone and done it again.  Jesus went and messed up people's perception of him.  So many people think that Jesus was basically a tame pre-incarnation of a sit-down protestor who roamed the Galilean countryside in a flowing gown while saying really deep socio-religious-political stuff of the same caliber as 60’s peace, love, and rock-n-roll songs. Or at least they think that he was a moral teacher who went around putting unrealistic demands on people.

And he goes and messes it up.  When the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other self-righteous religious folk get in Jesus’ face and try to put the burden of truth on him (like we so often do) by demanding miracles and playing doctrinal trivia, Jesus doesn’t respond by nodding his head and squinting his eyes gently with a grin akin to a pot-induced stupor and say, “Wow guys, you really have some good points.  I understand that miracles are really important to your world-view.”  No, he pretty much gives them another theological punch in the nose, calls them wicked, gives them a quick answer and gives the first century Galilean version of “Jesus, out.”

As we’re going through the book of Matthew, Jesus seems to repeatedly give the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other self-righteous religious folk a theological punch in the nose.  After calling the religious people hypocrites, Jesus tells his disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees.   Although the thick-headed disciples start arguing with each other about bread (yes, they argued about stupid stuff just like us), they soon realize that Jesus was referring to the danger of the Pharisees' teaching that, like a little bit of yeast, works it ways through an entire large hunk of dough.

By Paul Goeke

Okay, so last week, the part of the Sermon on The Mount we went through dealt with lust.  But if we are going to talk about lust, I’ve got to at least mention this: Sex is not bad!  God invented it.  It is not as if God is looking down and thinking, “What are they doing?  How did they come up with that?”  HE made it up!  It is not something that he begrudgingly allows – as if to say, “Well, I guess I’ll let them do that crazy thing they do.”  No.  We can be very happy that we serve God – who created sex in all its glory.

By Paul Goeke

Last Sunday evening, we camped out on Matthew 5:27-30 for a while.  Jesus comes with a straightforward message about lust:  It is adultery.  It was so great that we could get together as a group of people and talk honestly about this stuff without mincing words or dancing around the issues.

The majority of people who read this have or have had a struggle with pornography or lust.  Some may struggle with lust in their minds, some with emotional affairs, some with internet porn, some with sexual addictions, some with unrelenting unwanted sexual feelings. 

By Paul Goeke

There are some places and times in which we have to prove ourselves: job interviews, try-outs, etc.  This is just reality.  But guess what, that’s where it stops.  No more of this proving yourself mess.

Somewhere along the line, we have been taught that we need to prove how smart, good-looking, deep, capable, open-minded, progressive, tough, nice, successful, humble, wealthy, and needed we are.  We have been taught that we have to do this with everybody – friends, family, and even God.   Well…it stops here.  No more.  Not here.

By Paul Goeke

It has become a discouraging reality to me that there are a large number of people who have a deep, profound dislike, even hate for Christians.  What is perhaps more discouraging is that many Christians have lived and spoken in ways that make such dislike understandable.

So, I feel the need to apologize for the times that I have misrepresented Jesus.  I am the king of selfishness.  I haven’t done a very good job of taking care of the sick and poor.  I have looked down on other people.  I have been arrogant and crass.  I have had long-term horrible attitudes and shameful thoughts.  I have been harsh and flippant and careless with my words.  And worst of all, I have spent portions of my life failing to communicate the central focus of what Jesus is about.   While Jesus has called us to walk in a certain way, the main focus is not what we can do for Jesus, but what he has done for us.  Jesus is about providing a way for frighteningly flawed people to be embraced by a perfect God, live a meaningful life, and enter a perfect place.   That’s what the cross is about.  That’s what the entire Bible is about. I am sorry that I have in many ways failed to communicate this.  I am genuinely asking forgiveness for this.

By Ryan Neuhaus

Too many of us who believe and follow the teachings of Jesus find all kinds of reasons not to love those who are around us.  We are too busy, too tired, too scared, too selfish, or too “you name it.”  God called Jonah to love a pagan nation by speaking the truth to them, but Jonah was too prideful.  Therefore the Lord disciplined Jonah by throwing him into the sea, swallowing him up in the belly of a big fish, and vomited him out onto dry land three days later.  It was because of the Lord’s discipline that Jonah obeyed.  Do we need to be disciplined?  Do we need a big fish experience to break us from our self-focused life, so that we can love and serve those around us?  What is it going to take to awake you from your slumber?

By Paul Goeke

Last week, I was really surprised by the uproar caused by certain people who leaked the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book before it was officially released.  It wasn’t as if people were slightly perturbed by it – they were deeply offended.    No one really seemed to be worried that the leaks would negatively effect the sales or finances of the book; they just felt that the person/people who leaked the book should “be fired,” “charged with some sort of crime” or “be shot” (actual quotes) because they ruined people’s fun. 

By Ryan Neuhaus

It is not fair that God would call a man who had an affair with another woman, and then killed her husband, a man after his own heart.  How can this man be a man after God’s own heart?  The God of all creation is unfair…he is unfair because we as selfish human beings do not get what we deserve.  We deserve to be punished for our selfishness.  We deserve to reap what we have sown.  We deserve to be separated from the Lord of lords, but thankfully the God of all creation is not fair.  He is not fair because he shows “no partiality and accepts no bribes.”  He is not fair because he does not give us what we deserve.  He is not fair because Jesus Christ had to experience and endure my punishment, my guilt, and the wrath of His Father that was supposed to be directed toward me.  I am grateful that the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not fair in this respect because all people can benefit from his mercy.