I was inspired when Mark explained on Sunday that he is on a mission to find the perfect chocolate. He told us how chocolate-induced headaches sent him on a search for headache-free chocolate, providentially leading him to dark chocolate.

According to Mark, in the Quest for the Perfect Chocolate, he has not found anything better that Trader Joe’s Truffles:

What do you think? What’s the best chocolate product out there?

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Many of you haven’t been to Rancho 3M yet. Over the next month or so, I’m going to take you on a tour of our destination. If you’d like to learn more, click the link on the sidebar.

The administrative buildings from the front driveway. The chapel is on the left.
The chapel. We’ll be leading the church service here on Sunday, April 9.

One of the bunk rooms. Your new home away from home!

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For those of you who aren’t going to Mexico, you might be interested to keep up on the news about the trip. Check out the Mx06 Blog: VamosAMexico.blogspot.com. Please pray for us as we prepare for the trip!

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I’ll be closing the voting booth tomorrow morning, so if you haven’t voted yet, please do so soon.

Did you know that this was the t-shirt design last year?

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WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU?

Did you know that the Bible has so much to say about food? Mark reminded us yesterday in his message, Eating and the Glory of God, that the gospel changes how you live, and this includes our approach to eating. Mark taught us from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that when we eat, we are doing one of two things: 1) thanking God, or 2) sinning. So there are two ways that we need to approach food:

1. Eat Like A Temple. What does that mean? It means that when you remember that your body is a temple, you will eat aware of the God of that temple, and grateful to the God of that temple. In light of God’s magnificent provision of food and gift of pleasure in food, how can we not be grateful? Mark went on to explain that how we eat matters to God. Eating certain foods won’t make us more godly, but eating with a grateful heart will.

2. Eat Like A Slave. Here, Mark meant that we need to eat remembering that we are not our own. As Christians, we have been “bought with a price” - the ransom paid by the blood of Jesus. We weren’t purchased just to be free and independent, we were purchased to belong to a new owner: God himself. And this redemption affects our bodies as much as our souls.

For Further Thought And Discussion. Here are some questions you can use with your parents to think more and talk more about this message:

• In your own words, what does it mean to eat like a temple and eat like a slave?
• Explain from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 why it matters to God how we eat.
• Describe your attitude toward food. Is food an escape? A diversion? An idol? A part of your life that is disconnected from God and the gospel?
• How often are you grateful to God for food? How often do you begin a meal by thanking God for your food, even if you are by yourself?
• What change can you make to your eating habits this week to be more grateful to God for food and to worship God with food? Do it.

Categories: Monday Matters, five15 blog
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Our entire team last year:

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As members of the Mx06 Team, you get to pick the design and colors of the Mx06 shirt this year. The first step is to pick the logo; once we’ve done that, we’ll choose colors.

I’m putting this up to a popular vote, (vote on the sidebar to your left!) but it’s on the honor system: only those going to Mexico with us may vote, and you may only vote once. You have until the end of the day Tuesday. Here are the options (ignore the colors for now). Try and imagine these on a t-shirt:

1. Mx06 Block

2. Juarez Swirl

3. Mx Outline

4. South of the five15

All these designs are courtesy Andrew The G.

Categories: MX06
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Parents, I hope you are enjoying and benefitting from the Sunday night “Called to Evangelism” classes as much as I am.

I was especially helped by Bob’s lesson on the “How Good Are You?” booklet Sunday night. I did not know how important it is to use the law to show someone their fundamental inability to come to God, and how to use the law to show them their need for the gospel. It was one of those lightbulb moments.

I want to encourage you to bring what you learned in the class into your home. This booklet creates a wonderful teaching opportunity with your teens (or younger kids). This could work a couple different ways:

• If your teen is not converted, review it with him, helping him see how he is not obeying God’s laws, and how he needs a Savior. Review it often.
• If your teen is converted, use this booklet as a way to sharpen her understanding of the gospel, and teach her how to use it evangelistically with her friends.
• If you aren’t sure if your teen is converted, review the whole thing booklet together, and especially focus on point 3. See if you can determine together which car your teen is in and when they made the transition from one car to the other.

Hope this serves you. I would love to hear any stories you have about how this goes.

Categories: Thursday Thoughts For Parents, five15 blog
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There was quite a bit of wind last night and this morning. That always makes me think of Psalm 29. Around here, wind sends some leaves down and occasionally drops a few limbs. But look at how Psalm 29 describes the voice of the Lord:

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon…
The voice of the Lord… strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Let’s just put this in perspective. My voice–makes some noise. It might fog up a mirror for a moment. The air that escapes from my mouth might rustle a leaf or two if I were close enough. But what a demonstration of God’s power: his voice strips the forests bare.

If you see the wind blowing today, think of Psalm 29 and cry, “Glory!”

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¡Blogamos a Mexico! This is the only official blog of the Mx06 trip. Details:

• Destination: Rancho 3M, Guadalupe, Mexico.
• Date: April 8-15, 2006.
• Goal: Serve Dean and the Ranch in any way we can for a week, including making it possible for Mark to teach hermeneutics to the entire staff.
• Menu: TBD.

I’ll be providing regular updates, fun features, and more. Check back hourly.

Categories: MX06
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