Here is the special “Love” playlist from Saturday night:

Once again, thank you Sara for compiling this list!

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I finished Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters last night. What a fascinating book. I couldn’t help but notice that one of Screwtape’s frequent instructions to his nephew Wormwood is to try to convince the “patient” that his church is both flawed and worthless. The aim is to get the Christian to minimize his involvement in the church by maximizing his discontent, that is: to keep him from growing through his involvement in the church.

Here’s a sample (remember that this is a demon speaking; everything is backwards!):

One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately, it is quite invisible to these humans…

When he goes inside, he sees the local grocer with rather an oily expression on his face bustling up to offer him one shiny little book containing a liturgy which neither of them understands… When he gets to his pew and looks round him he sees just that selection of his neighours whom he has hitherto avoided. You want to lean pretty heavily on those neighbors… Your patient, thanks to Our Father Below, is a fool. Provided that any of those neighbours sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous.

At bottom, he still believes he has run up a very favourable credit balance in the Enemy’s ledger by allowing himself to be converted, and thinks that he is showing great humility and condescension in going to church with these “smug,” commonplace neighbours at all. Keep him in that state of mind as long as you can. (pp. 22-24)

Some more:

Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that “suits” him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.

The search for a “suitable” church makes him a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil. What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise—does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going. (pg. 64)

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Interested in coming with us to Mexico over Spring Break? Registration starts tomorrow night.

Here’s what you need to know:

• When: March 15-22, 2008.
• Where: Rancho 3M, Guadalupe, Mexico.
• Who: 40 students and parents. The roster fills up fast, so get your registration form in early! We start by filling the roster with Seniors and Juniors, and then open it up to Sophomores and Freshmen.
• How much: plan on $800, although that depends on the airfare we are able to negotiate and how much we receive through fundraising. It could be less.
• You will need a valid U.S. Passport to go.
• Registration begins tomorrow night and runs through Sunday, November 4. You can register at the five15 meeting tomorrow night, at the Welcome Center the next two Sunday mornings, or at the church office during the week.

Categories: Mx08, five15 blog
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Sometimes people ask for the song or the artist that makes it on the five15 playlist. In case you are interested, here is the playlist from the 10/06 five15 BIG MEETING. Don’t forget: if you’ve got a song you want to see added to the playlist, click “Suggest a Song” above. I have begun creating a new playlist for every five15 meeting, so listen out for a different batch of songs tomorrow night.

Thanks, Sara, for compiling this list for us!

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Don’t forget that we’ve got not-so-big on Saturday.  As you know, this is for 9th-12th grade students and their parents.  See you for Pizza and Ping-Pong at 5:15pm.

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Hope y’all had as much fun as I did. I think Nick had the highest score among the teens for something like 167. And it was fun watching Charis outscore Mr. Mullery by 8 in the last game.

What do you guys think? Is this something we should do again sometime soon?

If you had a good time bowling, please thank Gabe.  He made it happen!

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Don’t forget about bowling tomorrow at Bowl America at Fairfax Circle. You can come even if you haven’t signed up yet. $10 will get you shoe rental and two games. Grab a quick lunch and meet us there!

Here are some directions. This route takes you right by the new Potbelly’s in Fairfax City. Delish. See you there tomorrow!

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In today’s Washington Post, sportswriter Thomas Boswell captures well the mood in Yankee Stadium as the Bronx Bombers were knocked out of the pennant race by those perennial basement-dwellers, the Cleveland Indians:

“Before the crowd of 56,315 in the Big Ballpark could muster its rhythmic chant of “De-rek Je-ter,” Grady Sizemore of the Indians had already hit the third pitch of the game from 19-game winner Wang into the center field bleachers for a leadoff home run. There’s no silence so deep and sweet as Yankee-fan silence.“

I never thought I’d find myself pulling for the Indians, but I did for the last few days. The Nationals are always first in my heart (as far as baseball goes), but now my American League allegiances return to the long-time Yankee-rival Boston Red Sox.

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We had a great meeting Saturday night at the five15 BIG MEETING. Incidentally, it was the biggest five15 meeting we’ve ever had: almost 200 of us!

After worshiping God together, some announcements, and a vigorous five15 Challenge, we talked a little about the test of obedience. We thought back to what we learned on the last few Sunday mornings: a true Christian is a person who believes in the Son of God, obeys the commands of God, and loves the people of God.

At the end of the 19th century, James Reavis claimed to own the state of Arizona. The problem was that there was no proof. The only evidence he had were some phony land deeds, and no one really believed him. Just saying that he owned Arizona wasn’t enough. He needed to prove it.

In the same way, it’s not enough for us to just say that we’re Christians. There needs to be proof and the proof is in the obedience. A (teenage) Christian obeys the commands of God. I think we all know what obedience is: it is doing what God has said to do and not doing what he has said not to do. And it’s doing it all the way, all the time. Delayed obedience is not obedience. Partial obedience is not obedience.

In other words, outward, visible obedience proves the inward change that Christians claim to have. And that inward change provides the motive and power to obey. J.C. Ryle explains how this works:

“Obedience is the only reality. It is faith visible, faith acting, and faith incarnate. It is the test of real discipleship among the Lord’s people.” JC Ryle, The Duties of Parents, 19.

Maybe the most important thing to remember is that as teenagers, obeying God means obeying your parents. It couldn’t be much simpler or clearer.

We ended by writing down: what are three ways God is calling you to obey? I hope the Lord brought some things to mind. Talk to your parents about where God is calling you to obey Him more fully.

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In case you missed it, here are the announcements from the five15 BIG MEETING:

HARVEST CARNIVAL

• We need your help! The Harvest Carnival is an event that we put on for the younger kids.
• We’ve got lots to do, so please sign up to serve. Look for the table in the lobby on Sunday morning.

BOWLING

• We’re going bowling Sunday afternoon (October 14) at the Bowl America bowling alley at Fairfax Circle.
• Plan on grabbing a quick lunch and meet there at 1pm.
• $10 gets you shoe rental and two games.
• Yes, there is a Redskins game that day, and no, I don’t know if it will be on or not.

WHAT’S ALLOWED ON five15 NIGHTS

• Inside, the basement auditorium and the bathroom are fair game. The rest of the building is closed.
• Before and after meetings, you are welcome to go outside.
• Stay where you can be seen from basement auditorium doors.
• The woods are off limits.
• The upper parking lot is off limits.
• PARENTS: I need your help. Please know where your kids are, what they are doing, and who they are with.
• We will be monitoring the building and grounds. Teens, if we find you somewhere you’re not supposed to be, we’ll need to have a chat with you and your parents together.
• Why am I making such a big deal about this? Not much good happens in the dark. This is for your safety.
• Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Categories: Announcements, five15 blog
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