We love Scotty Smith.  Scotty, pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN, is this year's Breakaway speaker.  He is one of the most popular speakers in our denomination and has authored several books.  But best of all, he is honest, relentlessly practical, gospel-driven, and compassionate.  You will be encouraged by his talks.
We love the beach.  Breakaway happens at the Doubletree Hotel in Cocoa Beach.
We need time together.  Like you, my wife and I are incredibly busy.  We have separate careers that often pull us in different directions.  We need a weekend like this to talk about our marriage and nurture our relationship.
We like to have fun.  There's plenty of laughter and fellowship at Breakaway.  If you're a little new at UPC and want to get to know people, here's your chance.
We love the Sunday morning worship experience at Breakaway.  We always end the weekend with a time of recommitment around the Lord's Supper.  Jonathan Noel will lead us in worship.  It's a time to reflect on what we've learned and where we need to go in the future as couples.
We love Seth Hammond.  He'll be the emcee at Breakaway this year!
We cannot afford not to go.  I know the $299 cost is daunting for many of you.  Think about it, though.  That buys two nights at a nice beach hotel, two meals, four marriage-building talks by Scotty Smith, time with your spouse, and a chance to grow in relationship with others at UPC.  It's a bargain you shouldn't pass up.

Ray came up with this list of "one anothers" that are NOT in the Bible, yet unfortunately are often practiced by Christians:

"Humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, disapprove of one another, run one another's lives, confess one another's sins, intensify one another's sufferings, point out one another's failings..."

Here are a few more I came up with:

• Avoid one another
• Gossip about one another
• Judge one another
• Lose patience with one another
• Feel superior to one another

Each one is a call to repentance.

When I think back to my childhood and young adult years, I'm grateful for a father who provided for me, who didn't pressure me to follow in his footsteps, who was there for me at critical times in my life, and who didn't give up on me when I made countless stupid decisions. He did a lot of things right. But I wish he had blessed me.

When I say "blessed," I'm talking about the Old Testament practice when Jewish fathers formally passed along the covenant blessing to their sons. I'm preaching on "A Father's Blessing" on Father's Day. I'm studying Genesis 48 about the time the elderly Jacob blessed Joseph and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. And I'm seeing that it was an incredibly important thing for fathers like Jacob to bless their sons. Kathy Peterson writes, "It is very important to children to have the blessing of the father. Without it, they are mentally, emotionally and in one way or another also physically deeply, deeply hurt. The pain and damage of this lack of the father's blessing can be overcome, but only with tremendous struggle and only because the love of God the Father can compensate for any and all loss, finally."

The good news is that if you missed out on your father's blessing, there are plenty of substitute fathers who can bless you - if you ask. There are pastors, teachers, professors, coaches, elders, spiritual moms, mothers, older siblings, and other father figures who can serve as mentors and speak words of blessing and affirmation over you. But you need to let your need of blessing be known. Every human being needs blessing. It's a sign of maturity to ask someone to take you under wing and care for you.

From my study of Genesis I see the following characteristics of a blessing:

• A blessing must be spoken.
• A blessing must be spoken repeatedly and often. (Notice how often the word "blessing" appears in Genesis 49:22-26.)
• A blessing is unconditional. It's based on the intrinsic value of the person, not on what he or she does. It's striking how often in Genesis the younger or less likely son is elevated in blessing over the older, more likely son (see Genesis 48:13-19).
• A blessing should be physical. In Genesis 48, Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh is reinforced with a kiss and an embrace.
• A blessing should be personal. Often the Genesis blessings were associated with the giving of a new name. Or the blessing was uniquely adapted to the person's traits.
• A blessing is anticipatory. In Genesis, the blessing usually looked forward with faith and confidence to the fruitful life of the child. (Of course, some sons forfeited their blessing by sin and unbelief, and their future was grim. See Genesis 49:3-7.)
• A blessing is sacrificial. Often the one giving the blessing gives gifts or privileges to the recipient of the blessing. For example, in Genesis 48:22 Jacob gives Joseph a piece of land.

The essence of blessing is the affirmation of a person's value. A blessing acknowledges and bestows honor upon someone. A good example is when God the Father blessed God the Son in Matthew 3:17. He said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Of course, the value of the Son of God is incomparable to the value of a human being. Nevertheless, for those who by grace are adopted into God's family, there is a marvelous and mystical union with Christ that brings us into filial relationship with God. So the Christian can hear God say about him or her exactly what God said about his own Son, "This is my son/daughter, whom I love; with him/her I am well pleased."

I urge all parents, especially fathers, to bless their children in ways similar to what you find in the Old Testament. Speak words that communicate unconditional pleasure in your children; be physically affectionate; express confidence in the future fruitfulness of your children. Perhaps you can recite the Aaronic benediction over your children when they go to bed at night (Numbers 6:24-26). Or come up with some other creative approach that is all yours. It doesn't matter much what you say, as long as you say it with regularity, with physical touch, with sacrifice of time and energy, and with unconditional love.

Of course, every earthly father or mentor is a sinner. We will fail those we are supposed to bless. That's why, if you're still looking for your father's blessing, you need to realize that only God's blessing will fully satisfy your aching heart. It's when you hear and believe that God takes great delight in you and rejoices over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17) that your search for a blessing will finally come to an end.

But when I'm really honest with myself, and take a deeper look, I see something far uglier at the core of all those other sins: self-absorption. I often wonder if I've ever really loved anybody. When I look closely at some of the "loving" things I do and say, I see "self-serving" written all over them. I shudder to guess how often, when I think I'm serving people, I'm actually using people.

C. S. Lewis once wrote a poem entitled "As the Ruin Falls." I think these lines pretty much say what I feel about myself:

All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin:
I talk of love--a scholar's parrot may talk Greek--
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

Thank God, Jesus died for my egocentricity. I pray that the gospel will daily make its way more and more from my head into my heart and change stone into flesh.

• Safety: Having a traffic signal at Rouse and Lokanotosa Trail will help prevent accidents and make exiting the church property on Sundays much safer.
• Exposure: Rouse Road will be busier than ever when all four lanes are opened up. That means more people seeing UPC and checking us out in person and online.
• The need for better signage: At present, we have a small identifying sign at each entrance, and a temporary vinyl banner in front of the Worship Center. It would be great if we could get a large, classy sign installed where that temporary banner is located. It will be expensive. Is there someone out there just itching to donate money so we can put a permanent sign by the street? Because of our visibility to more people, it's important that they be able to identify us quickly. Quality signage pays for itself.
• U-turns: As you have already noticed, you can no longer exit the property by the fountain and turn left. You have to turn right and do a U-turn at Blanchard Park. So if you don't like making U-turns, you should exit at Lokanotosa Trail where you can turn both ways.
• Opportunity: As east Orlando grows, so does opportunity for reaching people for Jesus. There will be more people walking by the church on the beautiful new sidewalk. There will be more UCF students riding their bikes by the church. There will be more activity coming from Blanchard Park. The horse farm that leases land from us is under new management and will be attracting new people. And of course, human need is always growing due to the lingering effects of sin.

So let's be thankful we live in a growing city that provides new, improved highways like Rouse Road. And let's seize the opportunity to be a church that equips people to know God, grow together, and serve others. Because that's what the hearts of people are aching for.

For the rest of his life Judson would endure 108-degree heat and suffer from cholera, malaria, dysentery, and other miseries for the sake of the gospel. During one period he spent 19 months in a Burmese prison and was tortured. Two of Judson's wives and seven of his 13 children preceded him in death. He lived in Burma for 38 years until his death at age 61, with just one trip home to America after 33 years.

Before his death in 1850, Adoniram Judson translated the entire Bible into Burmese. He also wrote a dictionary that all later missionaries would use. Today there are close to 3,700 congregations of Baptists in Myanmar who trace their origin to Adoniram Judson. When I was in Japan last year, I met a pastor from Myanmar who told me of the persecution and suffering he and his family have faced in their country. Both the legacy and the lifestyle of Adoniram Judson live on in Myanmar.

How did Judson do it? What was the source of his strength and determination? A firm belief in the sovereignty of God. Late in life Judson wrote, "If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings."

To learn more about this man who gave his life away that others might find it, go here.

Here are the 15 I presented:

1. What do you love?
2. What do you hate?
3. What do you aim for or pursue?
4. What do you expect?
5. What do you crave, wish for, or want?
6. What do you NOT want?
7. What do you worry about?
8. What do you think you need?
9. Where do you go to find refuge, escape, safety, comfort?
10. What or whom do you trust?
11. Whom must you please?
12. What do you fear?
13. Whom do you fear to displease or disappoint?
14. From whom do you want approval?
15. From whom do you fear rejection?

Here are the 15 I presented:

1. What do you love?
2. What do you hate?
3. What do you aim for or pursue?
4. What do you expect?
5. What do you crave, wish for, or want?
6. What do you NOT want?
7. What do you worry about?
8. What do you think you need?
9. Where do you go to find refuge, escape, safety, comfort?
10. What or whom do you trust?
11. Whom must you please?
12. What do you fear?
13. Whom do you fear to displease or disappoint?
14. From whom do you want approval?
15. From whom do you fear rejection?

During my sermon I used a PowerPoint illustration developed by several members of UPC: Ruthie & David Delk and Christy & Johnny LaLonde. They call it the Gospel Cycle. My rendition is somewhat condensed from theirs. But I think you'll find it an excellent visualization of living by faith in Jesus as over against living by law. Check it out here.

By the way, when I say "member" I mean an active member, and by "church" I mean a healthy, gospel-centered congregation where the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are administered; God's Word is taught and preached as the inspired, authoritative Word of God; and church discipline is practiced. Thousands of Christians are on the roll of no local church. Perhaps they don't see church membership taught in the Bible. Or, they've been hurt by a church in the past and are reluctant to get hurt again. Or, they are confused by the plethora of Christian denominations, sects, and ministries out there these days and can't decide what to do. Or, they just like their existence on the periphery and don't want to give up their independence. Whatever the case, they are missing something very important to their own spiritual growth and the advance of the Kingdom.

Here are nine reasons why I believe it's vital to be a committed, active member of a local church. I'm sure there are others, but these will suffice.

1 - Church membership helps you guard the peace and purity of the church. In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus explains how to handle conflict with another Christian. A key part of his teaching is to "tell it to the church" when other avenues of resolution fail. Unless one is a committed member of a church, it's difficult to see how he or she would practically apply this command.

2 - Church membership gives you the privilege of being accountable to church leaders. Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account." If one hops from church to church, or refuses to join a church, how will he or she obey this verse? And if there is no set of criteria to determine who is "inside the church" and "outside" (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), for whom are church leaders responsible?

3 - Church membership gives you a tangible way to express commitment to a family of believers. It's great to say in a general way that one loves the church of God. But it's even better to get up in front of a church, look brothers and sisters in the eye, and affirm a set of commitments, vows, or promises. In our denomination (the Presbyterian Church in America), a person must affirm five vows to become a member of one of our churches. It takes courage to make those promises, and even more courage to stick to them. But there is great blessing in making a verbal commitment of love to a group of believers.

4 - Church membership gives you a powerful way to tell the world you are a follower of Christ. In Mark 8:38 (NIV), Jesus says "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Of course there are many ways to share your faith with others. But to say that you are a member of a particular church can be a great way to come out of hiding and witness to non-Christians.

5 - Church membership pulls you into the grand story of God's covenant love. God has made a covenant with us through Christ. "Covenant" speaks of a costly commitment sealed with an inviolable promise. The covenantal nature of church membership is very precious to God, and when we covenant with other believers we are imitating God. As Walter Henegar puts it, "The Church is the Bride of Christ. He has sworn himself to her - and to us. Should we not do the same?"

6 - Church membership encourages a sharing of the work load in a church. Ephesians 4:16 speaks about each part of the body (i.e., church) doing its share of the work. By formally committing yourself to a local church, you are more likely going to feel a healthy obligation to contribute your time, talents, and treasure to the work of that church.

7 - Church membership helps you distinguish between "neighbor" and "household of faith." God calls us to love everybody. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. But Galatians 6:10 (ESV) says, "Let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Paul is making some distinction here between the kind or quality of love we give to non-Christians and that which we give to our fellow Christians. But how do you know who belongs to the household of faith? By going through the process of church membership, one normally has to profess his or her faith to a governing body of church leaders. This process helps identify (not infallibly of course) false professions from true.

8 - Church membership keeps you from showing favoritism. Because we are sinners, we gravitate toward people who are like us, even within the church. We form cliques. We avoid difficult people. But when you become a church member, you realize you cannot do that; you cannot pick favorites. You are part of a family, and all members of that family are equally important. That's the point of Paul's discussion about the church in 1 Corinthians 12:21 (ESV) - "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" In other words, church membership is good for the flesh.

9 - Finally, church membership helps you stop trying to be the Lone Ranger. This was implied in some of the other reasons, but it deserves to be repeated. I am growing more and more tired of the "me and Jesus" view of the Christian life. The older I get, the more I see how much I need the family of God. As a church member, I am able to remind myself often that "two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9, ESV).

Here at UPC, we ask people interested in membership to go through a course that I lead called "Discovery Weekend." The next one is May 21-23. It consists of just three sessions: Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday evening. You can go here for more information and to register for the course.

If you are not a member of a church, I hope you'll seriously consider the benefits and duty of committing yourself to a body of believers through membership. I know that every church does it somewhat differently. The point is, it's important to be an accountable, contributing member of a congregation of God's people.