Planting Covenant Grace.

What am I doing? Why would I want to do this? Did I make a mistake?

Have you ever said those words before? I have. I said those words when I started playing high school football and I was introduced to hell week. I also said those words when I got my first job working at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I remember clearly saying those words on my first day of Marine Corps bootcamp. In a different way, I have said those words when the sanctifying work of marriage began to take place ( no, I did not question why I wanted to get married, or whether I married the right one, it was more like...this thing called marriage is definitely more than sex and food...it is HARD WORK. More on this topic later).

I have recently spoken those words in the current phase of life that I find myself in...Church planting.

Before I decided ( or accepted the call ) to plant, I was a college pastor for Rancho Community Church( RCC ). It was an awesome job! According to the lead pastor, I could stay there as long as I wanted...I never had to leave if I did not want to. Everything I needed was at my disposal: amazing facility, tech stuff, advertising, etc. People naturally just came to our college gathering.

So what happened? The Gospel. During my time at RCC I began to understand how amazing the good news was from God. God had acted in history by sending his Son to earth to bear the sin of creation, and reconcile and redeem the world ( 1 Peter 3:18 ). This historical news stirred my heart and soul to the point where I could no longer be in what I considered to be a " safe place". I wanted to spread this news, and I knew that the best way to do this, to take new ground, was to plant a church in places that are in need. So here I am now, three years later, on the verge of launching a new church in September of 2011.

The journey so far has been an interesting one. I have grown in ways that I would have never imagined. There have been some real deep pains, and real exciting times. Through it all, God's hand has been evident. I will be taking some time to share with you where I am really at with all of this, and in the process I hope that God will encourage you. I will leave with the first lesson I have learned so far in planting:

To see the power of God, you need to be in a place where it is needed.

I will pick this up in part two of this blog.

On journey,

Sabo Cortez.

Sabo's Ministry blog: Family and Thanksgiving.

Sabo's Ministry blog: Family and Thanksgiving.: "Every Thanksgiving is the same for me. I have to think about what I am going to make, how I'm going to make it, and how will I coordinate ev..."

Family and Thanksgiving.

Every Thanksgiving is the same for me. I have to think about what I am going to make, how I'm going to make it, and how will I coordinate everything so that it all comes out at the same time. I come up with some plan to make it all work, and I launch myself into the execution of what I thought was a brilliant plan.

     I think you know how the story unfolds. Nothing ever goes according to plan...well, at least in my world. I could not get the turkey done on time. Someone comes up with a new idea of how to make gravy. All the kids decide at once, without any planning or conversation, but through telepathy or something, to destroy our happy habitation through the seemingly systematic spread of every object they can find all over our floor. The story can go on and on. Yeah, it is a little stressful, but only because I want things to go according to my plan.

     We finally get everyone seated for prayer, the meal, and the ensuing conversations about a variety of topics. When the meal ends, the family settles in to digest what I hope is a meal that is free of salmonella, and my wife and I start clean up. Eventually the family leaves, I pray with my kids, put them to bed, and I reflect on all that took place that day. I wish I could share with you all the sweet emotions I have when I see my family gathered together. I get pretty emotional over this because I don't get to see my family too often due to how busy our schedules are. So these moments we have together are precious beyond words. I look forward to seeing every one of them, and my heart would be broken if one of them decided not to come for whatever reason. I love my family, and I am thankful for them.

     I think that church can be much of the same thing as thanksgiving. There is a lot of preparation that takes place. It can be stressful at times because of personalities and things that do not always go according to plan. But it is all so worth it. It is worth it because of the price that God paid to bring a people to himself. Acts 20:28 tells us that God shed his own blood to set a people free from slavery, bondage, and condemnation. These people are precious to God, and they are loved in ways that we will never be able to fully understand.

    Church is precious because of the price that was paid for each person that has gathered together. I get flooded with emotion when I hear people singing in unison about what God has done to redeem and bring them to himself. As I hear these people sing, I realize that this is no ordinary gathering...something special has happened in the life of every person coming, and it is nothing short of a miracle that they have turned from worshipping idols, to worshipping the living God.

     Church is the gathering of a family for thanksgiving. God serves us through his Word, Worship, and the shared gifting of his people. This is not just some event...it is a FAMILY GATHERING. Read the New Testament, and you will find that the most common language used of God's people is of family. We are brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, etc towards each other because of what God the Father has done.

     Sunday for me is a time of great joy as we gather together to celebrate this reality. But it is also a time of sadness because for some people this gathering of God's family is so easily traded for lesser things. I am not trying to be a legalist in commanding people to be at church...the heart behind wanting people at church is because I truly believe they are missing out on something that is amazing, and we are missing out on what God is doing in their lives.

     I am thankful that we get to gather together for thanksgiving every week as a family of faith. My heart truly is moved by the presence of my brothers and sisters. I pray that God would grow my heart, and the hearts of the people of the church to see sunday as something more than just a weekly event in which they spectate.I pray that people would practically devote themselves to being a part of the building up of what God considers to be extremely precious, the people, the church, which he purchased with his own blood.

Unlike my attempts to serve cooked turkey, what God serves is always on time, always good, and always satisfying. I can see why people would want to miss my dinners...but I cannot understand why we would want to miss what God serves up to us weekly. Don't neglect the gathering of the family ( Hebrews 10)...you miss out, and we miss out on having you here.

Loving the fam...Sabo.

Learning to love our neighbor.

I get the amazing privilige of speaking to an amazing group of people today that are growing together as a family faith. This family of faith is called " Covenant Grace", and it is a new church plant in the French Valley area of Southern Cal.

     We started meeting two weeks ago in a precious sisters' home, and we have grown to the point where we are now looking for a new place to meet. I am trusting that God will provide a place for us soon. I would ask you guys to pray with us in this venture.

     As exciting as growth can be, I am asking God not to let us become just a crowd of people getting together for an event. I have seen many people, and I myself have been guilty of just coming to church to do my thing because it is what I have always done. I have had a tendency to come to church without preparing my heart to come and worship through singing and submitting myself to the Word of God. I have had a tendency to come to church, and to want to leave quickly because I have more important things to do instead of encouraging my family of faith towards God in Christ.

     It is easy for me to come to church and to listen to amazing talented musicians lead us in worship, and to be exhorted through the Word. But is this really the gathering of the church? I mean, if this is all church really is,  I really could do this at home by listening to Hillsong worship and John Piper, D.A. Carson, or CJ Mahaney on my Ipod or PC.

     I think that there is more to this gathering of the church than what you and I may be used to. I think that this gathering of what we know as church was meant to show the world something else...not just the talents of a few people. I see something powerful happening when a group of people gather together in the name of Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour...something so powerful, it points to the reality of God ( John 17 ).

     This afternoon, as Covenant Grace gathers, I want to share God's heart for us as the church. I think that we will be stoked to see what it is that God has intended for his church to live into. I am looking forward not just to serving you through the Word, but I look forward to seeing each and every one of your faces, and I seek to be encouraged by the gifts that God has given you.

     I look forward to worshipping with you this afternoon. See you at four!

Love you guys and gals,

Sabo.

Learning to love.

I have been married for ten years now to a truly amazing woman. I wish I was more eloquent to tell you of how amazing my wife is. No, she is not perfect, she is a redeemed sinner who is growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus like the rest of us. It seems to me though that when I see her, God seems to be working so much quicker in her life than mine!
     Being married for ten years now ( yeah, I know that many of you are thinking I am a rookie still ) I have found it easy to fall into a pattern of loving my wife. I can get into the routine of saying certain phrases, or doing certain things that at one time really held a special meaning for her and me. I know that my wife likes me to listen to her, or go shopping with her, or make dinner for her or with her. I tell her regularly that I love her, and I try to show her that through letting her sleep in while I watch the kiddos, or regular kisses, or going to work to provide like a good husband should.
     Even though I have done those things, my wife is wise. She knows if what I am doing comes from the heart or not. She is not interested in what I can achieve for her, as much as she is interested in my heart attitude towards her.
     She can see and sense things I cannot. It is then that she begins to ask certain questions that allow me to examine the motivations and passions of my heart, and she is usually right in her assessment of who I am.

I was recently reading Mark 12:29-31. In this passage Jesus reminds us of what the most important command is in all of scripture: To love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.
God is not content with our little christian achievements, be it intellegence in doctrine, sacrifices we make, etc. What God really wants, and demands is a total relationship with him...one that is intimate, loving and passionate. A relationship where he is truly the center of all our thoughts, actions, and passions.

Just like my relationship with my wife, I have had to re-examine why I do what I do towards God. I think that much of what I have done is ritualistic and detached. There are so many things that have occupied my mind in recent months, and none of them have to do with a heart that is overflowing from a relationship with Jesus. I have been doing many things for Jesus, but not being with Jesus. I have achieved many things for Jesus, but have not been really loving Jesus. There has not been tenderness or intimacy in my prayers with him. My best thoughts of the day have nothing to do with him...but with what I can accomplish.

I am not sure how many of you find yourselves in the place that I am describing, but if you are, let me encourage you to do something; Go find a place to be alone...remind yourself of who you are talking to, remember what it cost to bring you to himself, and confess. Confess ( agree with God ) where you are at, and ask God to re-open your eyes to the wonder of who he is, and do the things you did at first that stoked the fires of your relationship with Jesus.

And for those of you who are married, it would not hurt to follow the same process with your loved one. It is amazing to me how fires get stoked when you think of them choosing to be with you, giving everything up to join you, and they now walk with you through your highs and lows...and still love you!

Marriage is an amazing thing.
Our salvation is even greater!

Love you all,
Sabo

This new season of life.

In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.
 This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.
2 Cor 2:14-17

For the last couple of months, I have had the tremendous opportunity to teach bible to an amazing group of juniors and seniors at Linfield High School. With every class, I have always begun by teaching about the Creation ( Gen 1-2 ), Fall ( Gen 3) and redemption ( The rest of the scripture ).
     It is amazing to see the look on students faces as they look at Adam and Eve's sin which include:
- Questioning the goodness of God
- Experiencing shame and guilt
- Covering themselves against God and each other
- Blaming God and each other
- Death

The students realize that what Adam and Eve did is exactly what they do, and for the first time they see the truth of scripture in their own lives. As they see their rebellion against God, they see the need for the promised child of Gen 3:15. The child who would come to reverse the curse.

     Jesus is precious for those that know whom they were, and where they came from. For those that believe that he is the promised redeemer, and give their lives over to him and his rule, we begin to experience the redemption promised. We see God as good. We see our guilt and shame taken away. We experience a growing transparency with God and each other. We see reconciliation take place between God and us, and with each other. We begin to experience an eternal quality of life here and now that will only grow in intensity throughout eternity.

     God is calling, and redeeming a people for himself that are zealous to see his kingdom established here on earth. As these people gather together, they are known as the church of God, and it is through the church that God makes his manifest wisdom known to the world ( Eph 3 ). These gathered people respond to God's Covenant of Grace, and they live together in such a way that makes the world take notice.

     I am thankful beyond belief for the opportunity given to me to start a new church of a redeemed covenant people, who will live together in such a way, that we will be the aroma of Christ wherever we go. Starting November 14th, 2010, we will be gathering a core group of brothers and sisters to begin this process. Pray for us, and pray for me, since I feel so inadequate for this task. I take comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who feels this way ( 2 Cor 2:14-17 ), but my confidence needs to rest not in my wisdom or gifting, but the source of those gifts, God.

May God be pleased to reveal his Son through us!

Love you all,

Sabo Cortez