The Five – Page 2 – Peter Gowesky

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Carry the Conversation…

May 11, 2009 2 Comments

This week was definitely one to remember. I have never shared the platform with a sheep before! Last night was really a great time. I hope that you also had fun.

If you weren’t able to make the Five this week, jump over here and check out the podcast. Here are a couple pictures for you to enjoy too! I know that there are some really good ones taken by some of you, all you cell-photogs… If you have some photo’s to put up, try adding them over at the facebook page for the Five.

So, there was only one question this week… and just one comment…

1. Peter you are so crazy!

Guilty as charged!

2. Is the sheep going to wear a V-Neck next week?

Next week, sadly the sheep will be at a different location. Plus sheep don’t wear clothes! Come on man… You know better than that!

I love being able to spend time with all you guys on Sunday Nights!

~Peter

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Carry The Conversation

May 5, 2009 2 Comments

rawdeck3

So we picked up the conversation in Psalm 52 this week in our series, Raw Worship. We are investigating what happens when worship and life collide, or what should happen when worship and life collide. It is inevitable that we are going to be faced with all kinds of circumstances, good, bad, and everything in between. The question must be then, how are we going to respond to God in the midst of these circumstances.

Dean Mellen once again picked up and smashed it out of the park. If you weren’t there and if you were unable to hear Dean, make sure you jump over here and listen… Then, jump in the conversation, let’s interact with each others thoughts and comments… See we are better together than we are apart. There is so much I can learn from you guys, and so much you can learn from each other!

Here are this weeks questions/comments with response from Dean…

1. A cruel and calculating slash of the tongue is far more painful and devastating than a wild and angry strike of the fist!

The difference between the tongue and the hand is the depth of the hurt that can be done.

When we strike someone with our hand, it causes physical pain. Physical injuries heal in a relatively short time, if the injury is not too severe. But, the tongue has the possibility of leaving what can almost be permanent damage. The damage done by the tongue can cause emotional, psychological, and/or mental anguish. Those types of damage do not heal quickly, if ever. With God’s help we can learn to forgive those who hurt us with their tongue.

When I was growing up we used to sing, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me“. That is not true. The emotional scars that come from the tongue usually have far longer lasting results than what physical injuries carry with them. I agree that the tongue is far more painful and devastating than the hand. Paul agreed. Thatis why we rad in Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

2. We answered how do we respond to God in tragedy, but how do we respond to those who caused the tragedy?

David called upon God to deal with them according to their sin. He called down God’s judgment upon them. When we are in the midst of terrible tragedy, we tend to respond emotionally. Our first reaction may be to ask God to judge the sinner for his great sin.

Jesus taught us that as soon as we are able to, we need to move to forgiveness. When Jesus was on the cross (Luke 23) He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Stephen was being stoned to death (Acts 7) and he responded, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”

This is not an easy thing to do, but it has been modeled in the Bible, and repeated time and time again by the saints over the centuries. With some of the mass murders that have been committed in the last decade, there are many stories of believers who responded in love when their children or loved ones were tragicly murdered.

Only by God’s grace will we know how to respond when we are confronted by a terrible tragedy.

Carry the conversation…

~Peter

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Carry the conversation

April 27, 2009 1 Comment

Good morning! What a monday… Whew… Last night at the Five we began a new series called Raw Worship. We are tackling the question what happen when worship and life collide? If you were not there last night, check out the podcast here, and then jump in the conversation.

As usual, we had a few questions come in. Get those phones out! Text some questions… Let’s go! Well, here are this weeks questions. Thanks to Dean Mellen for answering these… (I mean after all, he did just learn how to text…) Let’s interact… Here they are:

1. Choice… of wording, Punishment or Consequence? By definition they are VERY different. God disciplines those He loves. He does not punish but there may very well be consequences. Is there rationale for your choice of words in selecting punishment?

One of the greatest challenges as a communicator is to choose the right words to communicate your intended meaning. What word best communicates what the speaker wants the listener to understand? “Punishment” by definition implies the infliction of a penalty on a wrongdoer. The word can have other connotations too. Some people use it to mean the treatment of someone harshly or injuriously.

In Psalm 1:4-6 the wicked demonstrate that they are wrongdoers by the choices that they make. God punishes them by not allowing them to stand in the judgment. God’s punishment for the wicked is that they perish because of their choices. Sin does bring punishment as well as consequences. The wages of sin is death. When we sin, there is a penalty that will be inflicted upon us, if we do not deal with sin God’s way.

2. Isn’t it true God accepts all forms of worship?

Yes! But I guess I’m not getting the gist of the question. Did I say something that would make you think that God does not accept all forms of worship?

~Dean Mellen

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Carry the Conversation

April 14, 2009 7 Comments

Good morning! So, monday spilled over into tuesday… just a wee bit. Sorry! Anyway, Happy Easter everyone. I hope that you all had a great time with friends and family celebrating the Hope that we have in Jesus Christ! If you were not able to be there Sunday for the Five, you can go here and listen to the sermon. Then join the conversation. As you know, I love to carry the conversation over from Sunday and really dig in and benefit from one another’s thoughts and conversation. So, text me a question next time… You can control the conversation… It’s like a choose your own ending novel! Let’s roll.

I got this sweet little vibration in my pocket while preaching, asking this: “Not sure that it was God’s plan. I think that scripture points out that this was Gods plan A. Humanly speaking it was the disciples plan b but in God’s word this was His plan A. Thoughts?”

I don’t believe that Easter was God’s plan A. I actually would disagree with you. In love of course… See, here’s the way I read it. Up until Genesis 3:7 Adam and Eve lived in a sinless state. This is the stage of humanity known as the age of innocence. Or more plainly put, it was a sin free environment. Sin did not exist in humans hearts until Genesis 3:7. I believe that God’s original intent, or His plan A was for humanity to live in a sinless state. Due to our sin, we created a need for a Plan B. Since God is a loving God one who desires a relationship with each and every one of us, He rolled out Plan B. That is the plan that we celebrate every year, Easter.

“When you said that you can’t find the plan anywhere in the Bible what did you mean? The entire Old Testament is filled with references to Easter being the plan of redemption, with Jesus the sacrificial lamb, crucified, and resurrected. Not sure I follow your first comments.”

I agree with you absolutely. I agree 100%. However, what I was trying to say was that in the first 62 verses of the Bible, which summarizes the entire age of innocence, we do not find one illusion to the fact that this plan, Jesus death on a cross, is what was desired.

From this point on however, it is clear that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, the Messiah, who has come to pay the penalty for my sins. I thank God for what He did for me. However, I believe that it was only because of my sin that Jesus hung on the cross to die. I don’t think that God had this as a part of His plan A. I believe He foreknew it, but did not plan it. I think we with our own free will messed that one up. I came across a video on Carlos Whittaker’s Blog. It is very challenging. It made me really think about my sin that drove Christ to the cross.

[vimeo 4122848]

I loved our conversation today. Don’t ever just take my word for it… Think for yourself… It’s okay to disagree. That is what makes the Body of Christ so beautiful. We are so diverse! I can’t wait to see what God is going to do next. You?

I love you guys!

~Peter

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Foundations- Holy Disturbance

March 9, 2009 3 Comments

Last night was exciting wasn’t it? If you weren’t able to be there, jump over here, and listen to the teaching. I am so excited for what God is doing at the Five. I was really excited to hear from all of you during the teaching part of the evening. You all had some great questions. In addition, thanks to those of you who just wanted to say Hi, and those of you who said, “Peter, you look great in maroon.” (Actually no one said that) But anyway… Let’s move onto the questions.

What is the background of the Penn Video?

This is a good question. It was recorded December 8th, 2008. It is a part of a series called, “Penn Says”. This is a form of a video blog, and a way that Penn responds and disperses information with his fan base. I saw this on someone else’s blog with a challenge to take quite seriously sharing the gospel with others. I was really challenged by the perspective given on evangelism from Penn. Interesting how God can use anything. Here’s the video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM]

Have you ever doubted God? Or just your devotion to Him?

Well, here’s where I’ll go first. I’ll open it up, and you can answer this question too. Have you? I can’t remember a time where I doubted God’s existence. I have always believed that God was here and active in my life. However, I know that there have been times when I have questioned wether God could or would do anything about my life circumstances. I know for me, it was hard to watch my dad suffer, and to question why is God allowing this to happen to a man who has served God with his life. I struggled with wondering if God was in control of this situation or not. I’m not proud of this, I have spent time confessing to God that I had not been as faithful as I desired, or as faithful as He desires me to be.

I remember a time about 5 years ago when I had just gotten done surfing. I was getting out of the water and I returned to my phone to find a voicemail. It was from one of my sisters and they were delivering some news to me. The news was negative in nature, and it had to do with the Church. Not my church but a church. I sat there and thought, “hmm… Is this really what I want to do with my life? Do I want to put myself out there to be hurt by people? To be accused, frustrated, tired, unappreciated?” I thought about it. Why is it that I do what I do?

I can honestly say it’s because God has given me so much. He loves me so much. I desire to make a difference in this world and help others come to know Jesus in a life changing way! So, have I doubted God, I guess. Have I doubted my devotion to Him? I guess. These are not high lights of my life. But they are there. God has been faithful to me in every situation, through every high and every low. He never changes. That is what is important to remember.

If your flock at home is divided, with you being the sole shepherd, should that be your main focus or do you take that effort and reach those outside in hopes that it is seen by the lost sheep at home?

Great question. I think that God has called each one of us to be good stewards of all that He has given us. (Including our salvation) Due to the fact salvation is a free gift, achieved only through faith, not by works; we should be diligent in telling others about this free gift. To say, ‘because there are lost sheep at home I don’t need to worry about those lost outside my home’ doesn’t make sense to me. To say, ‘because there are lost sheep outside my home, I will focus on them’ also doesn’t make sense to me. This is not an either or situation. This is a both and situation.

You are right by saying that those inside your home may take notice of your efforts outside your home. God is interested in everyone knowing Him. Whatever you do, don’t be discouraged. Keep up the hard work. Check out John 13:34-35.

Thanks for your questions! Let’s continue the conversation. What do you think?

~Peter