Discovery Christian Church

This past Sunday we worshiped at Discovery Christian Church, 170 Scharberry Lane, Mars, PA 16046, www.discoverypgh.com, Matt Mehaffey, Lead Pastor.

 

Scripture – NIV

Psalms 110:1-7 –

The LORD says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

The lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

Genesis 14:17-20 –

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Matthew 22:41-46 –

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “ ‘The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Romans 8:18 –

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Luke 12:8 –

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.

 

Bob’s thoughts:

On many drives through this area we had noticed a mysterious-looking building and were tempted to check it out. Today we were surprised to learn it was the new home of Discovery Church. Seems to be perfect in many ways for their use; I believe in divine guidance. From our visit today it is a “new” church in a blessed home.

We sat in our usual location in the back, and the first song was a drum solo to me (I should have muted my hearing aids). After the one song the pastor, Matt, made some announcements then segued into the message and we settled into the comfortable seats. One of the missions they are involved in, “6K Run for Water”, sounded so much like the situation in Malawi, we were happy to support their efforts.

The message started with Psalm 110:1, which I would guess most Christians understand, but maybe not as many by verse 4. I thought this was the most understandable preaching of these verses that I have ever heard; maybe God was pointedly putting this on my heart. The recognition by the congregation was apparent.

If our faith is secure in Christ, we cannot continue to sweat the small stuff. Many are on paths of self-destruction, but we must keep in mind that Christ is still in charge. Our fears fade when we pull back and see the big picture.

We were grateful for our time with the pastor and welcome group after the service.

 

Jan’s thoughts:

February 2016 was the last time we visited this church. Since then they have moved and have a new pastor, so it was a new church to us.

The building is spacious with areas designated for all kinds of events and uses. There is an indoor playground, a mini golf course, and the pastor mentioned during the service that when they bought this building it included a commercial kitchen. Arrangements can be made to rent the facilities through the church website.

The announcements included the World Vision Global 6K for Water. This event will take place Saturday, May 21, 2022, and will help provide clean water to children in communities worldwide.

The church is using the book Core 52 by Mark E. Moore to increase understanding of the Bible. This is something many churches might consider. They graciously gifted us each with a copy of the book.

The pastor’s message was based on chapter 12 of this book and focused on The Messiah, the meaning of the word and the concept as anointed one, chosen one, savior.

He gave a clear explanation of the reference to the Order of Melchizedek, which was something I’ve never been quite clear about. In the course of this he also made it clear that we do not ‘give’ God 10% of our income; we return it to Him, since all we have belongs to God.

He pointed out that it is usually the smaller questions that consume our thoughts but we need to remember that the big picture is taken care of so we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. We need to give context to our struggles and remember that God sees it all and will deal justly with the world.

He urged us to also keep in mind that Jesus Christ is both King (Ruler) and Priest (intermediary, go-between with God the Father), and we need Jesus in both of those roles.

This church celebrates Communion weekly, and I was very pleased to partake as it has been some time.

We appreciated the time given by the pastor and the ladies at the welcome desk for conversation following worship.

 

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we lift this church to You and pray their hearts are open to Your word as it is preached. We ask that You continue to bless and encourage the pastors, staff, and congregation in their mission efforts. Amen.

Discovery Christian Church

Today we worshiped at Discovery Christian Church, meets at The Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township, PA 16066, 724.779.1010, www.discovertogether.com, Toney Salva, Founding and Lead Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

James 1:1-2 –

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

James 1:19-23-

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror.

James 1:27 –

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Bob’s thoughts:

We often see the signs to this church in an area where we frequently shop and dine, but I was surprised how well the signage was carried all the way through the development to the building. It was so complete, with even some humor added, that I couldn’t believe there was nothing at the building. We drove around a little bit and settled on the door nearest the most cars. A simple sandwich board sign would have sufficed. Later when the lot was fuller there would not have been much question.

I always thought when we followed the arrows to Kennywood something to help you find your way home would be helpful…such as signs on the back of those leading to the church to get back to 19 or 228.

Coffee was available for a token fee with free refills. The attendant introduced herself and pointed the way to the worship center, as did another couple we spoke with. This church has been here for a while but no cross is displayed yet.

I was lamenting not being able to hear the female lead singer over the instruments and almost immediately she sang without accompaniment. I enjoyed her voice and the praise team overall, and the volume was bearable for me.

I found it odd that we were welcome to take Communion but requested not to present our tithe. As it was I heard nothing about confession of sins prior to Communion so we declined to participate.

I am still not sure why we would not be welcome to give an offering.

The sermon was the first of a series on the book of James. With some logical suppositions, we can assume that James was there for Christ’s first miracle of turning water into wine and perhaps that was when he became a follower. I always thought it would be fascinating to know more of Christ’s growing up and interactions with His younger siblings.

One of the greatest lessons from James is to find joy in our trials. I must admit, I’m often thinking ahead to the joy and rewards after the trials. Another important call from James is to not just read or listen to the Scriptures but to take them to heart and act upon them. The message developed well and brought to light some good points.

Jan’s thoughts:

We have seen signs for this church for some time along Route 228 in Cranberry, though this was my first time inside the Regional Learning Alliance building. As we turned off the main road and into the complex, the signs continued popping up and even displayed a sense of humor with “Don’t give up!” and “You’re almost there!”

Indoor signage was ample, and several folks were generous with conversation as well as directions to the worship area.

The music was presented by a talented group, though many songs were unfamiliar to me. The volume was not overwhelming.

The message was the first in a series entitled “religious” and each of the five weeks of the series will involve walking through successive chapters of the book of James. This first week was an introduction to James’ identity as Jesus’ brother and that James is believed to be the oldest of the New Testament books.

The pastor noted that Job is considered to be the oldest book of the Old Testament and both Job and James state clearly that people of faith should expect to encounter trials in this life. However Proverbs 29:11 states just as clearly that it is foolish to give full vent to our anger and we should be slow to speak (or these days, to post on social media) in the midst of our trials.

He declared that if we are to be ambassadors for Christ in our world, we must return to the mirror of God’s Word daily in order to fix what is out of place in our hearts before we go out into the world.

He then likened believers to mops, saying that we are not clean, but we can be used as long as the Water is changed daily, concluding with the admonishment that we are the mop, not the cleaning solution for the world.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray we all do more than just listen to Your Word but that we are inspired to act in Your Name. Amen.