The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, August 12, 2026, we continue our message series "Wacky Worship" with a look at Doorframes & Cornerstones.   God knew we would need reminders in life to keep our focus on what is important, true, and right.  We're looking at those visual reminders from the Bible this week.  Join us at 6:00 p.m. for in-person Bible study and worship as we look at another ordinary thing to show us more about our extraordinary God and draw us closer to Him.  A little wacky, but a whole lot of positive, uplifting, & encouraging truth!

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page.  We go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website. (the "Past & Future Messages" page).  Watch anytime!  

This week's message, August 5, 2026, was week 3 of our message series called, "Wacky Worship."  It's wacky ideas that use ordinary things to connect us to our amazing and extraordinary God.  

This week, we considered the topic of brokenness.  World view wants perfection.  That's wat fills advertising and social Media. . . the best and most perfect is on display, calling us in to chase the perfect body, the perfect look, the perfect . . . . well, you fill in the blank.  And the Enemy speaks to us, telling us – “you’re broken.”  Unlovable.  Limited.  Less than.  But good news - God speaks, too.  Whose voice do we hear?  Whose voice do we want to hear? 

Let me share with you God's voice and God's heart for us - His most cherished part of creation. 

We usually tend to think marred or broken things can’t be beautiful.  But consider "Crackle Glass" – made by plunging hot, partially blown glass into cold water, then reheating it.  It fractures the surface but keeps the inner walls smooth and structurally sound.  The result is truly beautiful.   Light shines through it, and what looks like broken pieces of glass is a beautiful mosaic.

God does the same thing - making those broken pieces of our lives beautiful!

Consider diamonds.  A diamond is one of the most highly sought after "precious stones."  It is also highly valued.  But have you ever looked at uncut diamonds, drawn from the earth in their natural state?  Not very pretty - look at this.  they are just chunks of stone.  But after a master craftsman works on them, making cuts and polishing them, the are beautiful.  A standard diamond has 57 or 58 facets ("cuts").  A princess cut diamond has 50 to 58 facets, and a radiant cut has around 70 facets.  The cuts are what make it beautiful.  The craftsman carefully cuts the facets, polishing them, and the quality of the cut (craftsmanship) makes it valuable.

God is the Master craftsman of our lives.  He carefully polishes the cuts He allows to happen in life.  What He allows, He allows for a reason; there is purpose for all the pain we experience. 

Malachi 3:3: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."

So when you experience the cuts of life - those deep moments of pain and loss - keep in mind that God is going to polish and refine what has happened to make you even more beautiful, so you will be a precious jewel to God, His treasured possession.  Malachi 3:17 - New King James Version - “They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels.”

God is in the refining process, making us precious jewels each day.   Each cut.  Each cross we bear.  Each catastrophic event.  God is cutting and refining diamonds!

He is making you more beautiful through the cuts of your life.  

There is another scripture that shows us how God sees us - as His jewels. He takes pride in what we are becoming.

Zechariah 9:16 – “On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.”  Read that again - God sees us and will use us as a sparkling jewel in a crown.  

Each of us are being prepared, cut by cut, to sparkle.  And God wants us to show ourselves to the world like precious jewels, not to be hidden, to be displayed.

Displayed like a city on a hill.   He sees us as valuable.  Beautiful.   And because that is how God sees us, it's how we should see ourselves.  Only then can be be what God wants us to be - sparkling jewels.  Isaiah 62:3 says: "You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God." 

We exist for God’s glory, and we do  that be letting His light shine through us through all our cracks, tears, scars, and fractures.

2 Corinthians 4:7 – “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts . . .     We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. . . .”

That's important to understand - our bodies allow God's light to shine through us though our cracks. Our flaws.  Our imperfections that exist in bodies that were designed to be temporary, imperishable.

Of course the world displays perfection.  So we want to be perfect.

But none of us are.  Not one.  Every person has flaws.  Scars.  Damages.  Weakness.  But 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.”  It's in the weak moments we realize our need for a great God.  It draws us in to His power and glory, humbling us before Him.  The world view, of course, is that humble isn’t great.  Go big.  Show pride.  Have arrogance even.  All good.  But James 4:6 - God “gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God put us on this Earth to be His servants.  Humble servants.  They are the ones who share His love, light, and truth.   That’s done in how we relate to each other.   Shared experiences.  We pour out our stories . . . struggles . . . triumph over obstacles.

An egg isn’t useful until it’s been broken and poured out.  And we don’t show how amazing God is by perfect lives.   That's unreasonable because nobody is perfect. 

What is reasonable is that our shared experiences of coming through the struggles of life are what allow us to share God with others.  Our tests become our testimonies.  Our broken moments allow us to share God with other "broken people."  

Soil must be broken up for planting; it can then produce a harvest.

Broken clouds produce rain.  Broken grain gives us daily bread.

Broken bread gives us strength.  And it wasn’t until the alabaster box was broken that the fragrance filled the room.

All of our lives have broken moments, broken dreams, broken plans, broken thoughts.   But God doesn’t break things so He can fix them.  He fixes broken things so He can use them.  He refines and polishes the cuts and fractures of our lives so we can shine.

All our Bible heroes are imperfect, broken people.

Jacob cheated.  Moses stuttered.  Noah got drunk.  David had an affair, murdered a man to cover it up.  Rahab was a prostitute.  Sarah talked her husband Abraham into sleeping with another woman . . . and he went along with that disaster of a plan.  Martha worried.  Thomas doubted.  Zacchaeus was short.  Lazarus was dead.  Jonah ran away.  Gideon was afraid.  Peter was angry; known to draw a sword & fight.  And James and John wanted special seats beside God, a bit arrogant wouldn't you say?

In our brokenness (awareness of our need for God), we’re receptive to God’s tender voice.  John heard it, and knew how much he was loved.  Called himself the "disciple whom Jesus love," and he was called to do great things for God.  So are we.   When we reach the place in life when we want the Healer more than the healing, God's polishing happens.  When we can say, "I'm okay, God, with whatever you want for me and I will trust you," the refining happens.  In our surrender, the healing begins and the victory is assured.  

Broken things are blessed things.  And broken things make beautiful things if God is the artist of your life.  Broken crayons still draw beautiful pictures.  Today, we pray for you to know that you aren’t alone.  God is with you.  God is strengthening you.  Polishing you.  Refining you.  You will shine like a diamond on the crown of God.  And during your refining process, keep Psalm 34:18 in mind - “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”