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Rocket Quotes

January 18, 2008 8:15 am

Here are the quotes I read at Rocket…

First, Randy Alcorn, on soberly assessing the direction of our lives:

“Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist who made his fortune inventing dynamite and other powerful explosives, which were bought by governments to produce weapons. When Nobel’s brother died, one newspaper accidentally printed Alfred’s obituary instead. When Alfred read it, he saw himself described as a man who became rich from enabling people to kill each other in unprecedented quantities. Shaken from this assessment of his life, Nobel resolved to use his fortune to reward accomplishments that benefited humanity. One of the many rewards he funded was the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Nobel had a rare opportunity—to look at the assessment of his life at its end, but to still be alive and have opportunity to change that assessment.

“Let’s put ourselves in Nobel’s place. Let’s read [or write!] our own obituary—not as written by uninformed or biased men, but as an onlooking angel might write it.” Randy Alcorn, In Light of Eternity, 154.

This is the story that prompted us to write our own obituaries:

______________ was well known for…
______________ spent free time…
Friends of ______________ said that the most important thing in the world to him/her was…
______________ hoped to devote his/her life to…
Three words that described ______________ are:
______________ made a difference in the lives of others by…

And Charles Spurgeon on the church:

“I know there are some who say, “Well, I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to the church.”

“Now why not?

” ‘Because I can be a Christian without it.’

“Are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s commands as by being obedient?

“What is a brick made for? To help build a house. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick.” Charles Spurgeon, in Josh Harris, Stop Dating the Church, 45-46.

Categories: Rocket—08, five15 blog
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Thursday Thoughts For Parents: 01/17/08

January 17, 2008 8:15 am

Parents, here are the Rocket Discussion questions, in case you lost your booklet:

MESSAGE 1 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What is a Christian?
How does a person become a Christian?
Do you think you are a Christian?
If yes, why? When did you become a Christian? How confident are you that you will go to heaven when you die?
If no, what do you think it means to become a Christian? What is keeping you from becoming a Christian?
What are you living for?
What do you get most excited about?
What do you think about in your free time?
If you had an entire day that was yours to spend however you wanted, what would you do?
Talk about your obituary.

MESSAGE 2 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What does our world tell us that parents are for?
What does the Bible tell us that parents are for?
How am I doing as a dad/mom?
If you knew for sure that I wouldn’t get angry, is there anything you’d want to tell me about my parenting?
What are Dad and Mom most passionate about?
Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home? Can you give me some examples?
Are you aware of my love for you?
Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
Do you have any observations for me?
Does my relationship with Dad/Mom make you excited to be married?

MESSAGE 3 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What do you get most excited about?
What do you think I get most excited about?
What does God get most excited about?
Describe your level of passion for the church.
How is God calling you to grow in passion for the church?
Where is God calling you to serve in the church?

MORE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR LATER ON

What did you enjoy most about Rocket?
How did God meet you at Rocket?
What did you learn?
Who did you get to know that you didn’t know before?
What is one way you’ve been encouraged?
Based on what you heard at Rocket, what is one change you think God is leading you to make in your life?
What is one step you can take to make that change?
How can I help you make that change?
Who can you encourage at church tomorrow for how you saw God’s grace in their life today?

Categories: Discussion Questions, Rocket—08, Thursday Thoughts For Parents
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Why It’s Called Rocket

January 16, 2008 11:15 am

That question came up a lot. It leads to a lot of lame jokes: “We’re gonna take off!” “It’s a blast!”

But here is the main idea that I hope sticks with people:

The direction you’re pointed makes a big difference in where you end up.

Each of the messages was intended to help us know that we are pointed in the right direction, and they are now online:

Enjoy!

Categories: Rocket—08, five15 blog
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Rocket Photo Gallery 3

January 15, 2008 12:40 pm

Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger image:

Categories: Rocket—08, five15 blog
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The House Is On Fire…

8:50 am

In one of the messages at Rocket, I asked everyone to think about this scenario:

Your house is on fire. You know that your family and pets are safe. What do you grab as you run for the door?

I was impressed with how honest people were: they admitted that they would grab the Wii or the X-Box, the camera or maybe the computer. A few would grab a Bible or some treasured possession.

What would you take and why?

Categories: Rocket—08
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Rocket Photo Gallery 2

January 14, 2008 12:40 pm

Click on any of these thumbnails to see a larger image:

Categories: Rocket—08
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In the first Rocket message, we looked at a little booklet called 2 Ways to Live. Produced by Matthias Media, this is a simple and compelling explanation of the gospel. If you lost your booklet, there is an online version of the Two Ways to Live.

Here’s the basic idea:

God is the loving ruler of the world. He made the world. He made us as rulers of the world under him. But is that the way it is now?
We all reject the ruler—God—by trying to run life our own way without Him. But we fail to rule ourselves or society or the world. What will God do about this rebellion?
God won’t let us rebel forever. God’s punishment for rebellion is death and judgment. God’s justice sounds hard. But…
Because of His love, God sent His Son into the world, the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God’s rule. Yet by dying in our place, he took our punishment and brought forgiveness. But that’s not all…
God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now gives life, and will return as judge. Where does that leave us?
There are two ways to live: A) Our way, rejecting the ruler—God, trying to run life our own way, resulting in condemnation by God and facing death and judgment. Or B) God’s new way: submitting to Jesus as our ruler, relying on Jesus’ death and resurrection, resulting in forgiveness by God and eternal life. Which way do you want to live?