At High Point we’re all about
Reaching People for Christ and Changing Lives
We invite you to gather with us at our 9 AM and 11 AM Sunday services as we experience the love, joy and power of God.
PASTORS SHAUN & AMY GUSTAFSON
OUR PURPOSE
Where God is leading us
POINT MEN’S BREAKFAST
Saturday, July 27 @ 9 AM
NIGHT OF WORSHIP
Wednesday, August 7 @ 6:30 PM
YOUNG ADULT TUBING TRIP
Saturday, August 17 @ 11 AM
DR. JERRY SAVELLE
Sunday, August 18 @ 9 & 11 AM
LADIES’ CONNECT
Saturday, September 7 @ 9AM
BRING A FRIEND SUNDAY
Sunday, September 15
FROM THE BLOG
Insight and wisdom from High Point Leadership
04
Jan '19
Finding your Purpose
04
Jan '19
Happy New Year, High Point Family!
With the start of the new year, it is a good time to talk about finding your purpose. Why is it important to discover your purpose? I believe one of the main reasons is that if you don’t know your life’s purpose, you won’t know what you’re aiming at. “If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time,” as the saying goes. Not having any target in life is the equivalent to a hunter going in the woods and shooting off a bunch of random gunshots through the trees and saying, “wow, I sure hope something good runs into that.”
We need to discover our purpose, and we also need to help our children work towards discovering theirs. Sometimes parents tell their kids, “Honey, you can be anything you want to be.” That statement isn’t really accurate—If it was, many boys and girls would grow up to be pro athletes. A more accurate statement would be, “Honey, you can do great things in life. God has a wonderful plan for you, and I know you can fulfill it with His help.” So how do we find our purpose and help our kids find theirs? A major key is in Joshua 1:8. It says, “Study this book of instruction (meaning the Bible) continually, meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” How do you do this? How do you meditate The Word of God until it starts directing you from the inside out, so that you prosper in the plan God has for your life? I found that God will illuminate certain scriptures to people based on what their calling is, and there will be different scriptures that God illuminates at different key points in your life. I believe there are certain scriptures we are to meditate on in different seasons of life.
When I first gave my life to Christ, I used to struggle a lot with fear. The first scripture that the Lord started illuminating to me was 2 Timothy 1:7 that says, “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.” I would read that scripture often and think about it whenever I went to bed, meditating on it at night. Overcoming fear was the first key for me being able to fulfill my destiny, so that’s where God started with me.
Then during my latter years of college, Jeremiah 29:11 stood out to me So I kept it before my eyes, thinking about it often and meditating, “I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” At that time in my life I met my husband Shaun, and I still wasn’t completely sure what God was calling me to in my future, but that scripture started directing me into the plans of God.
In the next season of our life, Shaun and I were in a training period and it wasn’t easy. We barely had enough money at times to get by. We prayed much and learned to believe God for our basic needs to be met, which wasn’t always easy. In that season, I sensed a strong pull towards Isaiah 55 and I read that scripture multiple times every day. I especially meditated on Isaiah 55:1-3 which says, “You who thirst come to the waters and you who have no money come buy and eat, yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and your soul shall delight itself in abundance.” I just kept meditating these scriptures, believing even though we were lacking monetary means, God would supernaturally provide for us as we let our souls delight in His goodness and abundance; that He would supernaturally get the provision to us, and He definitely did.
Then in the next season of our life, God was preparing us for our calling of marriage and family ministry as well as preparation for pastoring a church one day. During that time, Ephesians 3:20 was strong in our hearts to meditate. It says, “Now to him, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all, much more than we could ask or think, according to His power at work in us, be glory forever through Christ Jesus.” Through meditating this together daily, Shaun and I experienced many miraculous breakthroughs, including knowing where and how to start the church that we now pastor. We had a miraculous breakthrough for finding a house when we were moving back to Minnesota, and the house that we found to rent, through the total grace of God, was two and a half times bigger and better than our prior house and half the price. It was an absolute miracle! We also had a miraculous connection to amazing babysitters, which we were praying to find for our kids and had a phenomenal breakthrough when we found a place to rent for starting our new church. We experienced miracle after miracle for everything we needed by putting God first and meditating the scripture God had put on our hearts.
As scriptures strongly stand out to us, we focus on them and God uses these scriptures to direct us in the right direction in our life, and He will do the exact same thing for you! As we focus our attention on these scriptures—targeting them—at certain seasons in our life, the meditation of these scriptures bring wisdom and revelation on the inside of us. This wisdom and revelation then produces the outward result of prospering us in our life and calling.
If you’ve never meditated scripture before, or if you haven’t been doing this regularly, I’d encourage you to start doing this daily. When you are patient and consistent with meditation, it does bring about major wonderful results. The key is to not just do this for a week or a month, but instead to stay focused; day after day, month after month—you will see consistent results. Also, ask the Lord to give you a verse to meditate over each one of your kids. Then print it or write it and place it up on their wall so that you remember to pray it over them each night before they go to bed, so they hear you saying it. There may be times when the Lord adds another verse for your kids based on their season in life. You can be creative with this and have someone who’s a great artist paint that scripture for their wall or print it with a nice graphic design behind it and frame it for their wall.
Remember, the key for you, as well as your kids, for prospering in the life God has called you to is to meditate the specific verses God puts in your heart, like a target you are pointing your arrows at. When you do, you will begin to move forward in your life’s purpose like never before.
May this year be your most prolific,
Pastors Shaun & Amy
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30
Nov '18
Wrapping Compliments 101
30
Nov '18
Merry Christmas, High Point Church!
As you’re checking off your shopping lists this year, it’s important to remember that you have more to offer those around you than what your bank account shows. In fact, some of the best gifts I’ve ever received never had a price tag.
“Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” – Proverbs 16:24 NLT
Currently my office shelves are full of notes, letters, and cards from youth students who seem to know the perfect time to give encouragements. Those are some of my most treasured gifts. Why? Because our youth students know how to give a good compliment!
Have you ever received a gift wrapped hastily in old newspaper? Or stuffed in a crinkled paper bag? Maybe the state of the wrapping didn’t make a difference to you! Until you received another gift, wrapped with obvious care, a large bow and silk ribbon, and quality wrapping paper. That’s the kind of gift that makes its way on Instagram and is remembered for a long time to come!
We can do the same thing with our compliments – either wrap them nicely or stuff them in a crinkly Star Tribune sports section. This is what I’ve learned from our students
So, here are 3 tips that I hope will help you give some well-wrapped compliments this season!
- Be Genuine
The ultimate worth of a compliment can be determined by the amount of sincerity behind it. Little does its extravagance matter if it’s not given out of a sincere heart.
The “wrapping” for a genuine compliment happens beyond the words. How much thought went into your encouragement? Did you look beyond the obvious to find something really meaningful? Did you take a moment to look the person in the eye when you said it?
A quick “you’re amazing” or “I love that sweater” are nice to hear, but they don’t in themselves demonstrate a lot of genuine thought. Those kinds of passing encouragements can start to seem especially insincere when added up over time, like socks gifted every Christmas (C’mon, Aunt Karen, where’s the love?).
Here’s my experience – if you could easily say it about a plate of food (i.e. “This burger is wonderful” or “That is some beautiful cheesecake”), it’s not a memorable compliment. We use those kinds of phrases all the time for just about anything. I know your friends and family are more important to you than your food!
Perhaps the easiest way to start the process for a genuine compliment is to find something you genuinely appreciate about the person. Are they peaceful around you when your life is hectic? Do they treat your kids with unconditional kindness? Do they demonstrate leadership skills that you’ve learned from? What do you sincerely love about them?
Let them know, sincerely, right out of your heart.
COMPARE
- “You are such a great person.”
- “You are such a great example of selflessness to me and the rest of this family.”
- Be Specific
I tried to hold out, but I can’t hide my love for what I do, so here comes the worship analogy! What I’ve noticed since joining the High Point worship team is that the songs that really seem to ‘pop’ in the congregation are the songs that dig beneath the surface to describe a specific aspect or outcome of God’s character.
Let’s take “What a Beautiful Name” for instance. What a great song! Brooke Ligertwood’s worship hit actually rated #1 in CCLI’s top 100 songs for the last two years, and for good reason. It’s theologically rich, catchy, touching, intimate, upward-focused… and it’s specific.
Every chorus of “What a Beautiful Name” repeats a simple line, “What a beautiful / wonderful / powerful name it is,” but each line is preceded by the reason for its truth – a background that gives the simple line its deep impact:
“You were the Word at the beginning / One with God the Lord Most High / Your hidden glory in creation now revealed in You our Christ. . . . What a beautiful name it is.”
“You didn’t want heaven without us / so Jesus You brought heaven down / My sin was great but Your love was greater / What could separate us now? . . . What a wonderful name it is.”
“Death could not hold You / The veil tore before you. . . . The heavens are roaring the praise of Your glory. . . . Yours is the name above all names. . . . What a powerful name it is.”
If this song was originally released with only those three main lines, it’s not like it would have been inaccurate. No one could argue the truth of God’s beauty, wonder, and power, right? But those lines likely wouldn’t have been as impactful as they are without the specific references to why His name is beautiful, wonderful, and powerful.
The same goes for the compliments we give to each other. I could say you’re great, but what does that mean? Why are you great? What did you do that made me notice your greatness?
I’m not going to downplay the time this takes. It takes attention and thought, but even the simplest lines will be impactful if you can back them up with specific examples.
COMPARE
- “You are amazing!”
- “When I passed by Kids Club earlier I saw you teaching and noticed that all of the kids were captivated by the funny voices you used to tell the story. You are amazing with children!”
- Be Generous
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” – Proverbs 12:25 ESV
If you think of it, say it.
Often God puts thoughts in our heads that are exactly what someone else needs to hear. If you feel something kind to say sitting in your heart, don’t let it decay there! Let the person know. Something the youth students are especially good at is noticing when another student or leader is having a difficult day, and doing what they can with their words to turn that day around.
I’ll never forget one of the nights when I was really contemplating whether I was the right person for the job. I received a homemade art piece from one of the youth with a handwritten thank you on the back, specifically referring to some messages I had given that had helped them grow spiritually. That artwork has a proud place in my office and still encourages me to this day.
There’s never a bad time to encourage someone. Many of us need it, even if we don’t show the need. What Happens When a Compliment is Well Wrapped?
Before I learned these compliment wrapping techniques from the students, my encouragements to them would look something like, “You’re really a great student. I’m glad to have you on my team!” Certainly the compliments would lighten their faces for a moment, but they didn’t seem to stick. Self-esteem was still low, youth teams were falling apart, and I could see that a lot of students were still going home as discouraged as when they arrived.
After the encouragement notes and cards began coming in, I started to format my compliments more like the youth did. Instead of saying, “You’re a really great student” I would be more genuine about what I really appreciated: “You have been such an incredible help to me cleaning up after youth group is over.” Instead of saying, “I’m glad to have you on my team,” I would be more specific about their value on the team: “You have been one of my best greeters. Last week I watched you talk to one of the students who has been most shy as soon as they walked in the door, and even this week that student spoke up in small groups. You are so good at helping other students feel like they fit in!”
What happens when a compliment is well wrapped? Suddenly the youth greeting team grew. Suddenly students wanted to start using their creative talents on the media team. Suddenly students became more vocal about their desire to be worship leaders. I didn’t pay a penny. The youth leaders just started to take the time to give genuine, specific, and generous compliments!
I know this is a busy season for many of you. And the busyness tends to strip away our ability to deal sensitively with hyper kids, opinionated parents, or equally occupied spouses. Please remember that your gift giving doesn’t need to wait until Christmas! Start now. Wrap your compliments well and watch the difference it makes with your friends and family. “Compliment Christmas” can go on all year at your house, at your job, or in your school. It won’t cost you a thing, and it will enrich the lives of everyone around you!
-Catherine Lexvold, Worship & Youth Director
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God’s Glory Restored in Us
“…For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
I remember when one of my Bible college professors opened our first class of the year with a glass jar in his hands. He told the class that the jar was symbolic of the glory of God. He began to describe in great detail how perfect things were at the beginning in the Garden of Eden. The class was completely quiet as we heard him elaborate on the glorious beginning Adam and Eve experienced. Suddenly, he picked up a hammer and shattered the glass. He then described with deep compassion how the glory of God was shattered from mankind. He asked, “Have you ever met someone who is a little rough around the edge?” as he pointed to the sharp glass fragment sill in his hand. Then he picked up more pieces off the floor and remarked, “Have you ever met someone who is edgy and impatient with people? Or have you known someone who cuts others down with their words, always finding things to ridicule?”
Since sin entered the world with the fall of man, it doesn’t take long to look and see what this professor was illustrating. The more someone has experienced sin, the more they develop a sharpness and anger toward people. Whether a person is watching sin through media or experiencing it personally, it is like someone is taking that person’s heart each time and pouring sludge into it. The more sludge the heart is filled with, the more the enemy is able to work through a person to try to destroy them and those around them.
Even though God’s holiness, His glory, and His perfection were all shattered in the life of man through sin, Jesus came and made a way for God’s glory to be completely restored in us when we choose to accept Him and walk in His ways. His ways are clearly laid out for us in Scripture. 1 Peter 1:16 tells us, “Be holy for I am holy.” Since we still live in a fallen world, how do we walk in this holiness and love others from a pure heart as Christ loves us?
This is a question many have had, even in the church. Occasionally when we are sharing the love of God with someone and invite him or her to pray the prayer of salvation, they may say something like, “Oh, I can’t do that. I’m too sinful. I could never live my life right, the way I would have to in order to be a Christian.” Or they may say, “I think God is mad at me. He wouldn’t want me after all I’ve done.” What these people are really saying is, “I know God is holy and I also know that in my own strength and ability I have some major imperfections. Therefore, I don’t think He would want anything to do with me.”
The truth is, God gets great pleasure and glory from taking someone the world has considered a failure and making them into a great success! He enjoys showing Himself strong in the life of anyone who will look to Him and ask for help, because He is no respecter of people. He desires to help everyone, whether they are rich or poor, tall or short, black or white. It makes no difference to Him, but He is a gentleman. He doesn’t force Himself or His ways on anyone. He always waits for an invitation. When He gets an invitation, He always shows up immediately. He is always ready and waiting to freely impart His life, love and holiness into anyone’s life that will call upon his name. Let us look at how we are able to partake of His holiness in our own life, which includes loving others with His love.
One of the descriptions we found when we looked up holiness was, “The holy people of God are called to holy living precisely because they have been made holy in Christ. Not as a means to that holiness.” Therefore, holiness is not something we can earn. The Bible tells us God alone is holy (see Revelation 15:4). Therefore, we can only be holy as He is holy though having a covenant with Him and receiving His holiness in us.
When we enter into that covenant through repentance of our sins, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we freely become partakers of His holiness. In other words, He made us holy through Christ when He came to abide in our heart. As a result of His holiness living in us, we then have the power to daily make the choice to walk a life of purity for His glory.
-In love, Pastors Shaun & Amy
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Want To Call High Point “Home”?
Our 2-Part Connection Point (New Members) class is held every quarter.
Join us Sunday, May 19 and May 26.
During the 11 AM Service, upstairs
Be sure to check out our event calendar for future class dates.
