Jacob's Well Church

“Are you focused on another day of clenching your teeth, pulling up your boot straps and kicking yourself in shame, self-condemnation and guilt because of the continual cycle of failure? Are you trying to fight battles that Jesus has already won?”

Read more:
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/this-is-spiritual-warfare?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/the-true-princesses-among-us?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Reminder: Tomorrow, Thursday, August 29th 9am to 4pm Shoe and School Supplies Giveaway. First come first served. 3001 E 5th Ave Spokane, WA 99202.

No registration required and NO shoe exchanges from The Community Celebration.

https://youtu.be/aZ48qpOywhM

DC & JWC Combined Service Destination Church and Jacob's Well Church Combined Outdoor Service August 25th: Pastor Jon Meek speaking

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/churches-united?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

David is Dancing Again…by Eric Blauer

A gentle spring has started to flow out of hard ground.
Celestial streams, forced up out of the holy of holies
are pooling in the sanctuary and being stirred
by mischievous angel’s wings.

The deaf are coming to the waters, lured by a heavenly score.
Upon the wet sands of hope’s rippling shores, they dance again.
In the mist of Your waterfalls they are reunited
with the part of them that died.

You give them new feet for dancing.

They will ascend the heights and scale the mountains,
prancing along the precipice with rescued confidence.

Yes, You stand over premature graves and sing over us.
The claws of death try in vain to grapple
with the winds of resurrection.

Abbadon’s clutching fingers are pried
from the throats of reviving destiny.
The hearts that have died before their time,
rise up out of opened graves.

Yielding to the song of the Caller,
the One whose voice is
the sound of a thousand waters.
You sing over us, Great Son
and we dance at the sound of Your voice.

From: The Book of Common Prayer
“We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
To strengthen those who stand;
to encourage the faint-hearted;
to raise up those who fall;
and finally to beat down Satan under our feet”

A great day of worship and fellowship together. Jacob’s Well Church and Destination Church combined service and feast.

Thank you to all those who served to make this happen. Special thank you to the Signers for hosting this gathering at their beautiful home and property.

Honored to be celebrating Lion slayers…congratulations to all the 12 men Phasing Up!

Life Recovery Program is an 18 month program: 1 Steps-Phase 1-Phase 2-Phase 3-Phase 4-Phase 5(AfterCare)

Praise God for all the Staff, Supporters and Volunteers who stand alongside these men in the fight for rescue, recovery and restoration.

August 25th

We had the honor of baptizing people on Sunday! Baptisms are one of my favorite sacred moments to oversee in someone's spiritual growth in being a disciple of Jesus.

I have the opportunity to present the gospel, call people to Jesus and offer them an opportunity to publicly confess Him before people, powers and principalities. It's a public confession of a private commitment, but it's so much more as well.

Baptism is a simple act that reflects and includes multiple aspects of truth. Its depth of meaning parallels the mystery of being born. Contemplating such realities grows with one’s understanding of them.

To be baptized into Christ is also to be baptized into His body. It is why we all gather there to witness and confess our part in this sacred act. We welcome a new member into the family of God, not as a baby is welcomed into a home, but as a maturing, committed, obedient follower of Jesus taking their place as a servant of Christ within the family of God.

The apostle Paul told the Corinthian church that:
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭13‬) ‭

“This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬-‭27‬)‭

At baptism they declare their place and part in sharing the responsibilities within the people of God, a community, a family both locally known and loved in the church but also into and for the greater faithful church of Jesus that has come before us, witnesses and worships all around us and will exist beyond us when we die.

Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We baptize 'in the name of: Father, Son and Holy Spirit'. It's the trinitarian truth of who God is and it's the unifying truth of who we are as the Church.

It's a powerful statement that cuts across every reason to divide oneself from others. The Unity that such words mean frame the life we are called to live as peace making disciples of Jesus. The unity of God is an act of Divine inclusion that no other human institution can fully replicate.

"...we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭13‬) .

As I preached this message on Sunday at the baptism we had a number of people choose to take the step of Belief and Baptism at the rivers edge. Why, because when the gospel is proclaimed the Holy Spirit gathers those He has been drawing to Christ.

To God alone be praised.

JWC Baptisms 2024 JWC Baptisms 2024

Baptisms today!
Join us at Plante’s Ferry Park for our annual Baptisms & Picnic this Sunday(Aug 11) at 10am. We are baptizing 11 people!

“But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” -1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭

Plantes Ferry Park
12308 E. Upriver Dr.
Spokane WA 99216

Unload groups or passengers at plantes ferry Park historical marker, but park vehicles at lot B down the road a little.

Pastor Steve opened up our new series on Spiritual warfare. He had a number of great points that he covered so watch the video if you missed it. I found these thoughts were particularly powerful.

4. Loving service is spiritual warfare

Here is a quote from Dean Sherman’s book about spiritual warfare.

“The devil’s nature is to kill, steal, and destroy (Jn 10:10). If we come in and meet the needs of those who have lost possessions, health, or home through war, disasters, or other tragedy, we are undoing the works of the enemy. Serving people in physical ways is not just a social gospel. It is a command from God and it is direct spiritual warfare. Loving service drives out the destroyers that attempt to bring despair and ultimately, death... The Church as God’s representatives on earth can dramatically reduce the works of the enemy by meeting the basic needs of humanity. We must feed the hungry, house the homeless, visit the refugees, and assist disaster victims. This is effective warfare against the enemy...”

If the enemies’ plan is to kill, steal, and destroy, then effective spiritual warfare is doing the opposite of those things. Jesus said the whole OT law can be summed up in two commands—Love God and love your neighbor.

The parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrated that the way to love someone is to meet them in their place of need. This is what is called incarnational ministry. Our God is the perfect example of incarnational ministry. Humanity was needy, in a place where it could not help itself. God came to the place where we were to meet our need.

We must follow God’s example and go to the people who need, and then do our best to help them. I believe war, any war, has demonic origins and it is meant to steal, kill and destroy.

As the Church, as Christians, we can fight against that demonic influence by caring for refugees and comforting those who have lost and working to end the conflict. What about natural disasters?

In this in-between time, where Christ is victorious but evil has not been fully destroyed, the corrupted forces of nature wreak havoc each year on Christian and unbeliever alike.

As Christians, we strike a blow to the forces of darkness by caring for victims of fires, floods, windstorms, and school shootings (These are all disasters that have happened in the Spokane area).

In a world plagued by demonic thinking that says, “Look out for number one,” we can fight against that thinking by sharing some of what we have with others in need.

Not looking out for number one, but looking out for the other. All of us have family members, neighbors, or coworkers who have need. Sometimes the need can be as simple as caring for someone who doesn’t feel that anyone cares.

Some people today feel like no one cares about them. For some people, asking them how they are doing while actually listening to what they are saying, can make a world of difference.

One common demonic lie today is that you are alone. A good number of suicides could have been prevented through personal connection and the assurance that we are not alone.

As the Church, we need to be the people who show those in need that they are not alone. Serving and caring for those in need is spiritual warfare.

I made a mistake on Sunday, our outreach to the UGM men’s center is Tuesday next week.

Womens Crisis shelter outreach is this Thursday .

https://youtu.be/dM1sC6rN1U8

James 5:16 20 Pastor Eric A look at the often overlooked aspects of Elijah's prayer life.

"Weekend In the Wild" Women's Retreat Campout Sept 6, 7, 8. Registration brochures with details available at the church or contact LeeElla for a copy.

https://youtu.be/-2s36RUMDho

Pastor Steve James 5:12 15

Sermon: Christ vs. Bacchus: Unmasking the true Lord of the Party

I spoke this message back in August of 2018 in a sermon series I did called: Christ Against the Gods.

I thought I’d repost it in light of the recent Olympics firestorm ignited by the opening celebration involving the naked blue guy standing in as the Greek version of the same god who they called: Dionysus.

Main Points:
Christ confronts…the duality of good vs evil and liberates by life and love

Christ conquers…slaveish servitude to flesh the world and the devil

Christ commands…us to live free, feast and liberate others.

Paintings:
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

The Feast of the Gods by Jan Harmensz van Biljert

https://jacobswellspokane.com/christ-against-the-gods-sermon-4/

This short film is probably one of the best conversations on the wisdom on living well, authentically walking the Jesus life and pastoring fruitfully and fruitfully.

Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths...ask where the good way is and walk in it.
- Jeremiah 6:16

“We're not rich folk, but to me you're poor if you cannot offer hospitality.” -Alan Torrence

Watch Godspeed — Godspeed

Bible Translation Reading Levels.

It’s helpful to know what reading levels the various Bible translations are when buying one for yourself, making available in churches, ministries or when gifting Bibles.

Bible Translation Reading Levels - Bible Gateway Blog [Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, The Bible Table of Contents] [Browse the Bibles section in the Bible Gateway Store, where you’ll enjoy low prices every day] [Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?] Remove banner ads and expand your Bible reading experience us...

https://youtu.be/d7wI--NVKJA

James 5:7 11 Pastor Eric James brings up Job as an example of the wisdom He is calling us to embrace. I reflect on Job and the wisdom James is digging into in this story and these ve...

On Saturday former President Trump, the Republican nominee for this years election was within one inch of being killed by an assassin’s bullet.

If he hadn’t turned his head at the exact moment he did, that bullet would of ended his life. However you choose to view that, be it Divine intervention or extraordinary luck, it was historic.

Tragically, another attendee was murdered and two others were seriously wounded. It could of been even more horrific if the shooter hadn’t been killed by authorities.

Today everyone personally connected to this event has had their lives completely turned upside down by this manifestation of human and demonic evil.

Hell sets fires. 🔥

This is the ultimate orgin of all our problems according to the book of James. We have been teaching through this book in our church.

James‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭
“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”

James‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭
“In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”

James‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭
“Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!”

On Sunday I did my duty to remind all of us about these particular truths we have been studying.

James‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭
‭‭“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”
‭‭
I called our Church to follow Jesus, obey the Word of God and love and serve our community. This is my primary responsibility as a pastor.

But I’ve realized something after the last two Presidencies, the Covid pandemic and its aftermath: many people don’t want a pastor. They want someone to validate and promote their political, social, moral, and personal opinions or positions.

Even now I’ve witnessed the pressure coming from the various forms of media demanding everyone to conform and confess the sanctioned positions or actions or be anathematized by the political inquisition. I refuse to be pestered, pressured, pummeled or held prisoner to the pontifications of this frantic fever that has spread into every relational circle.

I reject this.

You are free to hold your own opinions, convictions and positions about whatever is the current tragedy or outrage, but I am free to disengage or disregard out of respect for the long game. I’m working for the sanity and sanctity of a healthy and whole life, not the satisfaction of everyone’s convictions, curiosities or concerns.

There’s a malaise and madness afoot and it has infected and fractured far too many people’s minds, hearts and relationships. I’m trying my best to avoid the pull to perform for the circus that’s at work pushing people to fulfill the will of this Machiavellian machine.

Obviously I have my own opinions, positions and convictions that inform my own political views and actions, but I don’t speak for anyone else.

Don’t confuse or contort my voice on public or private platforms for my position behind the pulpit. I try my best to handle accurately the word of God that is self-described as a two-edged sword. That means it cuts both ways folks, right and left feel the bite of its truth.

That’s not an abdication of duty, it’s a sacred responsibility of biblical wisdom, righteousness, justice, mercy and love. Avoiding favoritism and working hard to speak less and listen more is critical in this time. Seeking to live as a peacemaker isn’t a hippy-dippy cop-out, it’s a difficult practice of self-control and respect.

The spiritual discipline of learning to talk more to God than people is an inoculation to the virus that spreads from way too much contact.

If ever there was an embodiment of a multi-headed dragon beast marking head and hands found in the book of Revelation, it’s the 24/7 technological overlords pumping their poison into the mainstream!

For the love of God and the salvation of your own souls, turn it off or down. The human heart and mind wasn’t created to carry the weight and worry of an all-seeing, all-knowing AI dominated reality. You do not have the bandwidth to sustain the load. You don’t have the capacity to carry that concerns and convictions of the world-wide-web. If you’re constricted and caught in it all, cut yourself loose and breathe!

Act on what you can.

Do what you must as far as duty to God, family, church, community and country but abandon the illusion that you can save society, you can’t. The only thing that you can save is your own soul by surrendering it to Jesus. Leave the world to the only Savior: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

We are not gods, we are mortals, who live but a handful of decades.

Do your small part like reading your Bible, going to work, doing the laundry, helping your neighbor with their projects, pick up your dogs p**p, pay your taxes, vote, don’t be a skunk, porcupine or viper, be faithful to your spouse, stop yelling at your kids, go for a walk, eat some fruit and veggies, make love or art, tell someone about Jesus, water your garden, take your meds, tip those actually doing something, confess and repent, sing, say your sorry, go back to church, mow your lawn, show up on time, talk to someone different than you, give some money to something worthy and someone not worthy, lighten up, cry, laugh and quit all the self-loathing, stop self-medicating instead of actually facing your pain and problems, stop p**n and binge eating, enjoy a doughnut and write someone a card. Just manage the small stuff, gently, faithfully and calmly.

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” -1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭

And…pray for our leaders and the people of our country. May God help us be better people in the days ahead.

Some of us brothers from Jacob’s Well hung out with some of our friends at the Union Gospel Mission’s Aftercare Housing for men. Smoked Pork, Ribs and Burgers, homemade coleslaw, cherry pie…it was a feast! So grateful to be part of these men’s lives and stories.

https://youtu.be/HUaqEGG3_wU

July 7th Pastor Eric James 5:1-6 Differences between OT & NT giving

JWC men will be Grilling’ & Chilln’ with the men at the Union Gospel Men’s Aftercare Housing on Sunday July 14th at 6pm.

If you want to join us let Pastor Eric know, there’s still need for a few items for the BBQ menu.

Sunday night we will be building supportive friendships with men who have completed the Life Recovery Program by blessing them with some good food!

This is part of Jacob’s Well Church’s work to build bridges between the program and the pew to help men and women continue “Living Free”.

“At last we have freedom, for Christ has set us free! We must always cherish this truth and firmly refuse to go back into the bo***ge of our past.” -Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭

6pm
Location: 1234 E Sprague Ave,
Spokane, WA 99202