Archive for September, 2007
I Haven’t Forgotten You
11:31 amRYE Recap
September 9, 2007 8:45 am
So how was it? I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Anyone got any pictures? I would love to create a photo gallery.
Tell us your stories: who did you meet, what fun did you have, and most importantly: how did God meet you?
Why RYE?
September 5, 2007 4:51 pmOver the weekend, I announced that RYE07 will be THIS Saturday, September 8 at Covenant Life Church. Some might wonder: Why RYE? We just got back from our annual five15 Retreat. Why not just get on with our BIG MEETINGS? Why take an entire youth meeting to do this?
RYE07 has been in the works for several years. Dave Brewer and I started by planning a way to get 10:31 and five15 together. As we talked, we realized that since we have stopped doing Celebration Conferences, we really don’t have much chance to do stuff with other Sovereign Grace Churches. And so the idea was born: instead of a joint youth event, how about a Regional Youth Event? Invite the youth ministries from the other area churches so that we can stand in an auditorium with 1000 or so other students and parents and see this important point:
We’re not alone.
What happens in our personal devotions each morning is part of something much bigger: we are in a church. And what happens in our church each Sunday morning and Saturday night is part of something much bigger: we are in Sovereign Grace Ministries. This is a really good thing: rather than trying to figure this stuff out on our own, we get to learn from each other. We can to encourage each other and pray for each other and labor alongside each other. five15 is better for it. And on Saturday afternoon, we’re going to have fun together, worship together, and hear God’s word preached together.
Here is a map that shows where the area churches are coming from:
A New Month, A New Moleskine
September 3, 2007 7:47 am
Saturday morning, I creaked open the spine of a new Moleskine, savoring the fresh bookstore smell, the crisp binding, and the smooth, empty pages. A world of possibility awaits.
It took me 20 months to fill up my last Moleskine journal, each morning recording my meditations on Scripture, meaningful verses, writing out prayers, and copying favorite quotes. It is fascinating to me to flip back through almost two years’ worth of meditations and see how God met me each morning. It is not a little disturbing that almost two years’ worth of spiritual life can be summed up in a 240 page journal.
But that’s the truth of it. This little tool has helped me think about God’s word. It has helped me slow down and think and pray and write, and I trust it has helped me grow. Today I inscribed the first page with one of my favorite verses:
“Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!”
(Psalm 57:8/108:2)
Of course there is no command in Scripture to keep a journal or to write out our meditations. But many have found it a helpful practice and a useful way to grow in the grace of God. If you don’t follow this practice, you’re no less a Christian. But give it a try! Start small and start tomorrow. Try it for a few weeks. If it doesn’t work for you, bag it. I must have gotten started on half a dozen different journals before the practice actually began to stick.
For those of you who keep a journal, what do you do?
RYE07
September 1, 2007 8:25 am
One week from today, RYE07 begins. What is RYE07? Glad you asked.
RYE07 is our first ever Regional Youth Event: basically a giant youth meeting with the youth ministries from:
- Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD
- Solid Rock Church in College Park, MD
- Sovereign Grace Church in Frederick, MD
- Chesapeake Community Church in Joppa, MD
- Grace Community Church in Kingsville, MD
- Grace Community Church in Ashburn
- and of course: five15!
This meeting is for the high school students (rising 9th-12th grade) and their parents from all five DC area Sovereign Grace churches. The fun begins at 3pm with a cookout and games on the back lawn of Covenant Life Church. We’ll be led in worship by the 10:31 band (that’s Covenant Life’s youth ministry), and then Bob Kauflin will be addressing us on the topic of worship.
We’ve got a lot of fun stuff planned, and some surprises, too. We’ll be done by about 9:30 so that you can get home at a reasonable time to be ready for church the next morning.
I’d recommend carpooling with some friends and splitting the gas money.
High school students, mark your calendars! Here are the details, in summary:
- WHO: Rising 9th-12th graders and their parents. (Parents are encouraged to come!)
- WHEN: September 8, 2007, 3:00pm—9:30pm.
- WHERE: Covenant Life Church. Directions.
- COST: $0.00, but you might want to bring a few bucks to buy a commemorative RYE07 shirt.
See you there.
Retreat Photo Gallery 6
8:07 am
Retreat Quotes: Session 6
7:11 amSteve Whitacre
Philippians 3:10-15—Now I See What’s Next
“What he is aiming for is the attainment of the very purpose for which Christ called him. Anything less would be a betrayal of that calling.†D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers, 89.
“The implications are staggering. Christians should never be satisfied with yesterday’s grace. It is a shocking thing for Christians to admit that they have grown little in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. As Paul would later exhort Timothy, we are to be diligent in the Christian responsibilities laid on us, so that others may see our progress in both life and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:15-16)… We are not to leave old truths and prior steps of holiness behind, but as new truths and applications of old truths open up before our eyes, they should shape our knowledge and our living so powerfully that others see the improvement. Our sins become less and less excusable; those who are most saintly are invariably most deeply aware of how sinful they are and of how odious sin is to God. Holiness becomes more and more attractive. The glories of the world-to-come make all the glories of this world fade into dull grays by comparison.†D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers, 89-90.
