Here is the opening to what I’m sharing this Sunday:

Imagine if you will for a moment a scene in Afghanistan, where you are the U.S. Commander of an outpost and you’re confronted with a mob of Afghan people who are dragging a prisoner to the gates of the U.S. Military base….and spokesman for the mob is shouting in broken English that the man they have captured is an insurgent, guilty of plotting against the presence of American troops in their country.

You recognize the person who is making the accusations against the prisoner…he’s the imam of the local mosque, a well respected man in the town.

The mob is calling for the immediate execution of the prisoner – they are asking you to do this in deference to the presence of our troops…they don’t want to be mistaken as insurrectionists themselves.

You call for a translator and try to get to the bottom of what’s happening here. Why should this prisoner be executed? The answer comes back that he has blasphemed Mohammad and declared himself as the rightful leader of the region who will bring a new jihad against your military base.

You try to ask the prisoner what he’s done, but he just stays silent.

As the commander of the base, you’re on thin ice. You’ve been reprimanded by a brigadier general and a major general for the way you’ve mishandled diplomacy with the locals…one more write up and you’ll probably be transferred and busted down a rank….or worse, face a court martial.

You don’t know if the prisoner is guilty or not. You know virtually nothing about him except that he’s at the center of a growing crisis.

The imam is getting hysterical, demanding the prisoner’s death. You don’t know why they consider him worthy of death.

You don’t understand his religion, the culture is alien to you, the mob is growing in size and volume teetering on the verge of a riot….and you’re job, you’re FUTURE is on the line.

What will you do? Sacrifice this one insurgent whether he’s guilty or not…. or defy the mob and risk a riot and the loss of many lives? (Not to mention your career)

Execute one potentially innocent man in order to save a lot more lives who are potentially guilty?

We will be reading about the trial of Jesus in Luke 23:1-25.  Pilate is under the extreme pressure of the world and religion as he decides what to do about Jesus’ claim to be king.  As you read his story, think about the pressures life has put on you at times – and think about Christ’s claim as king over  your life. What did Pilate try to do, and what did he  ultimately do, and what can we learn from observing his actions?

Small Group leaders, your leader’s guide can be found here: leaders guide 23-1-25 – note that the title of the message has been changed.

See you Sunday!

Have you ever felt really confident about your ability to do something, only to find yourself unable to do said thing under pressure and be humiliated as a result? One event from my childhood sticks out in my mind as I ponder this subject.

When I was in 7th grade, my parents sent me to a private Christian school (ugh…long story).  It was a small school, but wanting to provide opportunities for sports participation they formed a basketball team and joined the circuit of other private schools who played each other.  As I said, ours was a small school and among the young lads who were thrown into this situation, I found myself to be one of the tallest of my peers.  We had been playing basketball during lunch break and I had started fancying myself as a decent player…A contender with height and skills to be a star for our burgeoning team. When our uniforms came I wore my jersey over my t-shirt just so everyone would know that I was a basketball player.  I talked loudly about our new basketball team to the neighbor kids, speculating on how our team was going to own the other teams and imagining myself being carried off the court by my fellow players because it was my three point shot which clinched our spectacular win.

At our very first game, when I arrived at the gymnasium it was held in, I had no idea how nervous I could really be.  I felt cold and immediately self-conscious in front of all the strangers that were there to watch the game.  I started trembling (I assumed from the cold) and my hands started sweating.  Our coach told us to take the court and start warming up. We formed up in lines to do lay ups. My hands were getting more and more sweaty, and my teeth started chattering – and suddenly, the ball was thrown to me and it was my turn for a lay-up.  I can still see it all in slow motion.  I dribbled the ball as I ran toward the basket – took one step and started to launch and lift the ball toward the backboard –  that’s when I noticed that the other team had cheerleaders who were practicing behind the basket on our side of the court, and they were watching me.

I wish I could tell you that I performed the most graceful and stunning lay-up in the history of lay-ups, and that the cheerleaders swooned at the sheer magnificence of my athleticism.

Did I mention that my hands were sweaty?

Just as I began to lift the ball toward the backboard and launched off my left foot – the ball slipped off my moist palm and shot straight into the huddled squad of cheerleaders, who screamed and scattered like swans being shot at by a drunken hunter. The confusion of losing the ball so suddenly caused me to stumble off my hop and I came down hard on my ankle and I fell as a tumbling mass of humiliated, pre-teen angst.  I got up quickly and laughed and tried to shake it off, but I had twisted my ankle and was having trouble putting weight on my foot.  From a lay-up.  During warm ups. In front of Catholic cheerleaders and everybody.  I’ve since come to realize that I have zero skills at basketball, and take my rightful place in front of the TV to watch other people play.

That’s sort of like our story in the Gospel of Luke this Sunday.  Sort of.  We’ll be reading Luke 22:54-62, the account of Peter denying Christ.

Why do you think Peter denied Jesus, and do you relate to that at all?  Have you ever felt like you’ve denied what you know about him, or denied his plans for your life?

How do you react to falling down like that?  What do you do?  As you think about Peter’s story later on, what do you think Peter did with this failure – and what can we learn from that?

That’s what we’ll be exploring this Sunday – and what the small groups will be discussing this coming week.  If you’re a small group leader, here is the study guide for this week: leaders guide 22-54-62

We are currently working together with Christian Service Mission to provide needed relief items to tornado victims in the Birmingham AL area. Below are the most current needs. You can also visit their Facebook for up to the minute info.

Most current needs:

Cleaning supplies-buckets brooms ect.

30 quart plastic containers

Bath Towels

Baby and adult diapers

Bug spray

Gatorade

Sunscreen

Ponchos

Trash Bags

Tents

Disposable plates and utensils

Personal  Hygiene items

Can Openers

Chain Saws

Non perishable food items- peanut butter and jelly

Tarps

Duct tape

Construction  supplies

Yard tools

Please bring any items for donation to the Eastgate office Tuesday- Friday 10am-3pm or to the Eastgate meetings on Wednesday and Sunday. We will be delivering these donations May 23, 2011 so the final day to bring your donations is May 22,2011.

This Wednesday be sure to come see David Payne’s portrayal of C.S. Lewis!