Archive for June, 2007
269 Days Until Mx08
June 19, 2007 4:09 pm
I had an important phone call last week: confirming with Dean Adamek of Rancho 3M in Guadalupe, Mexico that we will be headed South of the Border over Spring Break in March, 2008.
Obviously, we are very much in the planning stages of this trip, but I can give you some basic details:
- WHY: We are on a mission to support Rancho 3M in the care of orphans, especially preaching the gospel to them.
- WHAT: Spring Break in Mexico. We’ll be serving Rancho 3M by building stuff, cleaning stuff, painting stuff, and teaching the kids about Christ. We may also drive up into Ciudad Juarez to serve Gracia Soberana, our Mexican sister church. Way better than a week at the beach.
- WHO: this trip is open to high school students and their parents, with pastoral approval.
- WHEN: Roughly Saturday, March 15 — Saturday, March 22.
- WHERE: Rancho 3M in Guadalupe, about 35 miles Southeast of El Paso, Texas. (Cool! Google Maps has finally updated their maps of the region, and the ranch is now plainly visible.)
Here is an important twist: rules have changed since the last time we went to Mexico, and each Mx08 participant will need to have to have a valid U.S. passport to cross the border into and out of Mexico. The State Department website has all the information you could want.
You don’t need to rush right out and get your passport today. You should make sure that you are accepted to go on the trip (preference will be given to upperclassmen) before you spend the nearly $100 for a passport. But you might want to start getting the documentation together.
We’ll be letting you know all the details you need to know soon later in the summer and in the early fall.
If you want to get inspired for this trip, check out the Mx06 Blog Archive.
¡Vamos a Mexico!
Today Should Be A National Holiday.
According to Wikipedia, the first baseball game was played 161 years ago today in Hoboken, New Jersey. Apparently the Knickerbocker Club of New York was humiliated by the New York Nine, losing 23 to 1.
Perhaps in honor of this great day, our beloved Nationals will avenge last night’s heartbreaking 9-8 loss to the Tigers.
Monday Matters, 06/18/07
June 18, 2007 9:26 pmBIG MEETING Recap
June 14, 2007 10:28 am
At our five15 BIG MEETING on Saturday, Joe Lee preached to us from Matthew 6:10, telling us what it means to pray that the Lord’s will be done and his kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Joe explained that by praying this prayer, we are asking God that heavenly realities would begin to take place now. This prayer takes our gaze off the present and puts it on the future, and it should affect us in two ways:
1. It Confronts Us
This prayer exposes the ungodly desires in our hearts. It helps us see where we are more interested in doing our own wills than the Lord’s will. God helps us bend our wills to his will.
For parents, this may mean seeing your teens from God’s perspective, helping you grow in patience and compassion towards them.
For teens, this may mean killing independence and the desire to make decisions about music, movies, friends, etc. on your own.
2. It Commits Us
This prayer helps us to commit to obey God. Theologian Sinclair Ferguson explains:
“When we pray that God’s will be done, we are not blindly committing ourselves to ‘let things happen’ with a fatalistic attitude! No, such a prayer implies that we ourselves will seek out and then do the will of God.”
This prayer helps us take a step of obedient action, whether it be respect, gossip, lying, or confessing a hidden area of sin. Prayer leads to action. Don’t get preoccupied with how it is hard to pray. Instead, fix your eyes on Christ, talk to him, and watch your prayer life grow.
Some questions for discussion:
- Where do you need to confront your desire to do your own will?
- Where do you need to make a commitment to obey God?
“Shave Your Head”
June 12, 2007 2:33 pm
Check out this important New Attitude application by Eric Simmons.
Don’t forget that you can download the New Attitude messages for free!
The Gospel For Real Life: Chapter 2
June 11, 2007 5:58 pm
The death of Jesus Christ is the most remarkable event in all history.
In this chapter, Jerry Bridges asks one of the most important questions in the world: “Why did Jesus come to die?” He begins to answer this question under three important headings: Adam’s Sin, Our Sin, and God’s Holiness.
ADAM’S SIN
We will never understand the cross until we begin to understand something of the nature and depth of our sin.
Adam and Eve were created morally perfect. They were completely sinless and thus did not need moral restrictions placed on them.
[When they sinned,] in that instance they lost the moral image of God; they were no longer perfectly holy. They began to sin immediately.
The fall of Adam and the loss of God’s moral image resulted not only in guilt, but also in moral depravity or corruption… His fall brought guilt and depravity on all his descendants.
OUR SIN
Since we all have a corrupt sinful nature, we aggravate our condition by our own individual sins. Every day we sin, both consciously and unconsciously, both willfully and unintentionally.
We must realize that our fallen sinful nature affects and pollutes everything we do. Our very best deeds are stained with sin.
GOD’S HOLINESS
The basic meaning of the word holy is “separate,” and when used oif God it means, among other things, that He is eternally separate from any degree of sin. He does not sin himself and he cannot abide or condone sin in His moral creatures.
To put it plainly, God hates sin… God always hates sin and inevitably expresses His wrath against it.
The cross, then, is an expression of God’s wrath toward sin as well as His love to us. It expresses His holiness in His determination to punish sin, even at the cost of His Son. And it expresses His love in sending His Son to bear the punishment we so justly deserved.
We cannot begin to understand the true significance of the cross unless we understand something of the holiness of God and the depth of our sin.
Some questions for discussion around the dinner table tonight:
- Read Romans 5:12-14. How did Adam’s sin affect you?
- Read Romans 5:15-19. How did Christ’s death pay for your sin?
- Does it seem fair to you that Adam’s sin polluted you before you had a chance to do anything good or bad? Does it seem fair that Christ death cleansed you from sin apart from anything you’ve done? Explain.
- In light of what you’ve studied in chapters 1 and 2, what does, “Jesus dies for my sins” mean for you personally?
Monday Matters, 6/11/07
12:56 pmThe Gospel For Real Life: Chapter 1
June 9, 2007 9:59 am
CHAPTER 1: UNSEARCHABLE RICHES
“I know God loves me, but sometimes I wonder if He likes me.”
In this chapter, Jerry Bridges begins by pointing out that live is hard. There is suffering and trial, disappointment and heartache. Worst of all there are the ravages of sin. He explains:
Why do so many believers, including those deeply serious about their Christian commitment, live lives of quiet desperation? One answer is that we have a truncated view of the gospel, tending to see it only as a door we walk though to become a Christian… Another reason for our quiet desperation is that many people have a utilitarian view of the gospel. What can the gospel do for me?
In these views, we fail to see the gospel as the solution to ou greatest problem—our guilt, condemnation, and alienation from God. Beyond that, we fail to see it as the basis of our day-to-day acceptance with Him. As a result, many believers live in spiritual poverty.
But this is not how believers are called to live. Paul refers in Ephesians 3:8 to “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” These riches, the truth of the good news that is the gospel of Jesus Christ should radically alter the way we live.
We can begin each day with the deeply encouraging realization that I am accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ paid our debt, but it also tells us far more. It tells us that we are no longer enemies and objects of His wrath. We are now His sons and daughters, heirs with Jesus Christ of all His unsearchable riches. This is the good news of the gospel.
Only those who understand to some degree the enormity of their spiritual debt can begin to appreciate what Christ did for them at the cross.
Some questions for consideration and discussion:
- How confident are you in God’s love for you? Do you think God likes you? Why or why not?
- What’s wrong with a utilitarian approach to the gospel that focuses on solutions to personal problems, a more successful life now, and assurance of going to heaven?
“What The World Eats”
June 8, 2007 12:07 pmTime Magazine has posted a fascinating photo essay showing what 15 families from around the world eat in a typical week and listing how average weekly costs in local and US currency. Check out the slide show and be ready to thank God for the amazing bounty that we enjoy every day…
(HT:JT)
Did You Know…
8:19 am
…that one of an ostrich’s eyeballs is bigger than its brain? (I learned this from the back of a Corn Pops box.)
Please refrain from whatever jokes about me you are thinking about leaving in the comments section.
