Peripatetics: The Art of Walking

The Little Things Do Matter

So much happens before you even get to the main service at our church.

There are people who direct traffic.
There are name tags for every person who signed up for one.
There are greeters who help visitors get situated.
There are people who make the coffee and put out all the fixins for it.
There are teachers in every children's classroom.
There are nursury workers who got their and sanitized the toys and got all the necessary supplies ready.
There are people who charged the batteries for the hearing aids for visitors.
There are people handing out bulletins.
There are people who stuffed the bulletins with various inserts.
There are people who filled the communion cups and made sure there was enough bread to go around.
There are people who set up the chairs.
There are people who practiced a few times to lead the worship service.
There was someone who typed up all the power point slides with the words on them.
There was someone who designed and printed the posters on the wall for the various upcoming events at our church.
There are people who set up the microphones and run two different sound boards while the service is going on.
There are people who run all the visuals during the service.
There are people who record the sermons and burn them onto CD's.
There are people who made all the copies for the various classes.
There are people who make sure there are necessary teaching tools, like DVD players and televisions and white boards/markers/erasers in each classroom.
There are people who make sure the light bulbs are changed.
There are people who set the thermostats and change them if needed.
There are people who took sign ups and do the accounting for the retreat.
There are people who unlocked the doors.
There are people who designed the building and the classrooms and the nursery and the parking lot.
There are people who mowed the grass.
There are people who taught the classes.
There was one guy that delivered the sermon.

I could go on and on...you got the picture, right?

And it's human nature to put a "higher value" on the guy that taught the class or gave the sermon than on the guys who ran the sound board. I mean, the preacher has the education and the experience and the public speaking skills and affects the masses, right?

But Paul has a different mindset. Check out this from 1 Corinthians 12: 14--18 (from The Message):

"I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different but similar parts arranged functioning together. If Foot said, 'I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body,' would that make it so? If Ear said, 'I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive, I don't deserve a place on the head,' would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it."

Later on, it reads, "An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on it's own."

I know what you're saying anyway: Yeah, but the senior pastor really is the most important...he affects a lot of people each and every week. But that's because we tend to look at the crowds. The individuals, and their stories, kind of get lost in the large mix.

But try telling the young couple about to leave their newborn in the nursery the first time that the grandma greeter who walked them through the process and calmed them down so they could hear the sermon didn't matter.

Try telling the person who got their name corrected from the misspelling of last week and didn't go into church a bit miffed that the administrative assistant wasn't important.

Those teenagers who got their own room downstairs really do appreciate the guy who donates his time and resources to get original old-school video games and the guy who works for Sony who got them their PlayStation games...and they had such a good time they invited three friends who came to know the Lord.

The senior citizen who got to hear the sermon for the first time because we had the hearing aids got ministered to.

Could you imagine if you didn't get to take communion with your church family because they ran out of cups, juice or bread or the ushers forgot your row?

Those kids who got the Bible story painted on the wall have a visual image of David and Goliath...

The baby who didn't get sick because of the diligence of the child-care crew...

The folks who got burned at another congregation who decided they could attend a church that gave them free coffee and let them bring it in the service...

The folks who never knew that someone picked up that same empty cup they forgot to throw away but are pleased to come into an air-conditioned, well-lighted auditorium...

You may not have a sophisticated ear but you've lost your mind if you don't think a whole lot of feedback or a misspelled word on the video screen would break your worship.

Again, I could go on and on...

But everybody has a place, and they're all equally important...as you can tell when the masses become individuals.

So, for today...can you point out something that might've been "behind the scenes" that now you're thankful for since you've been made aware of it? Write it down in the comments!

Brent 4:08 AM

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Thursday, August 25, 2005

Variety

I have long hair that I wear in a ponytail.
I wear jeans to work every day, pretty much.
Ditto on the Birkenstocks.
I enjoy punk rock music, and Mississippi Delta blues (acoustic--thank your Robert Johnson, and electric--thank you Muddy Waters).
I don't enjoy politics or believe government really changes hearts and minds.
I love stupid movies.
I think teenagers are highly enjoyable.

I could go on and on about who I am and what I like, but that's enough to give you a general picture.

And I'm different than everyone on our church staff...and they're different from me.

There are people who like Star Trek.
Some like to talk about, and be highly involved, in the political process.
Some like classical music, or bluegrass or jazz.
Some are highly disciplined and structured, others not so much.
Some like sports, others not so much.
Some are into excellent films (the fact they use the word "film" only highlights their interest in them).
Some don't like teenagers.

I could go on and on about hwo these people are and what they like, but that's enough to give you a general picture.

We're all different...with different interests and passions.

And I think three of us have the same spiritual gift...maybe even more. And I cannot tell you how much I think that's a good thing. And I think Paul thought it was a good thing, too, if I'm reading 1 Corinthians 12: 4--11 (from the Message):

"God's various gifts and handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's spirit. God's various mnistries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God Himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what and when."

I love the phrase "Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits." When we get saved, we are all given a spiritual gift. The reason we have it is because we can show who God is to the world. And the Holy Spirit doles them out as He wishes, too.

What's cool is the Paul prefaced all that by saying that they'd all look different. There's a variety of gifts.
A variety of effects.
A variety of ministries.

Which is why people can have the same spiritual gift and apply it in different ways. For example, I think it's safe to say our senior pastor has the gift of teaching. I also think, at this point in my life, that's where my gift lies. It looks extremely different.

Our ministries are different.

The effects of our ministries are different.

And that's a grand and glorious thing that should be celebrated...because that's the case all over the world. And the Kingdom is beg enough for all of them.

So, for today, is there a ministry that makes you raise your eyebrows a little bit (I've got my own...like the people who run "Hellhouse 14"--one of those Christian "alternatives" to haunted houses)? How does this section of Scripture affect your thinking?

Brent 6:24 AM

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Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The Growth Curve

My spiritual growth in Christ was painfully slow...most of the ground we've covered before: I grew up in a church where spiritual growth meant going to church and taking part in the liturgy, which was pretty formal. Evidence of growth meant you became an altar boy and took the confirmation class.

Not long after that I was in exile for three years from just about anything spiritual, so that was a total void in the growth.

When I started going to church again I was in a Bible study of guys who were pretty much raised in the church and new all the stories and heard lots of sermons & Sunday School lessons. They were sharp and accepted me immediately so that wasn't the problem, it was really more that I was trying to imitate them rather than grow in Christ. And, because I was looking like them and talking like them and doing what they did (or not doing what they didn't do) the leaders of my youth ministry had no cause to be alarmed or concerned. I imagine they were very pleased with my "growth."

But then came university. I was being discipled by a guy and sharpened by some friends who each embodied this, from Ephesians 4: 14-16 (from The Message),

"No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love--like Christ in everything. We'll take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love."

Remember this passage is in the context of the nature of being part of the spiritually gifted community. So, Paul is telling us that another part of the giftedness is that spiritual growth should be "the norm" and not the exception.

There's a parallel from real life, too. When a baby is born in a hospital, there's usually a couple of medical professionals on hand who immediately spring into action. The doctor cuts the cord and begins to take care of the new mom. The nurses then take the baby and check the vital health statistics and give the baby it's first bath. Then they hand the baby back to the proud parents, who take it and show the family and then feed him/her and rock him/her and eventually, they take the baby home.

What doesn't happen is that those health professionals clap and applaud the birth and then leave the room, followed by the parents leaving the baby on a little bed and walking out.

Not at all...in fact, there'd probably be criminal charges forthcoming if anyone did that. Rather, everyone simply assumes the baby is going to grow. The health professionals ensure that the baby is healthy and able to deal with what the world can throw at him/her before they leave, and before they leave they turn the child over to parents, who, ideally, will make sure the baby gets fed and bathed and played with and all that.

Everybody assumes the baby will grow.

Unfortunately, we sometimes fail to realize this in our churches. That the "grown-ups" (or "growing-ups" might be a better term) will treat the younger believers in a similar fashion. That because we have a spiritual gift, we should use it to help those "babies" in our midst have the best chance to get fed, bathed and played with and all that.

Or, in the words of The Message, "His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love."

So, you see, us "growing-ups" have the charge to ensure the babies are breathing the breath from God and getting nourishment, so they can become growing-ups, too...who will in turn repeat the process, thereby keeping the Kingdom from becoming a "mile wide and an inch deep." Or, they won't leave the babies to fend for themelves, either.

For today, in the comments, do you see the Church (not just our church, but rather the WHOLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH) fulfilling this obligation? If so, how has that encouraged you? If not, what should it be doing to be more effective?

Brent 4:28 AM

Comments:

I dont think we as the Church do a very good job of helping the weaker in the faith grow. I think we all need to encourage each other, and do everything in our ability to lift them up and help them grow.-RM (brent i was smashed and removed like Edom in the game of foosball tonight, and i wanted to tell you ive been HUMBLED in that game. i can honestly say i have no foosball pride left)

posted by  Anonymous : 9:23 PM

 

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005

The Questionnaire

The guys in my Bible study had been talking about our spiritual gifts. Not that we knew anything about them, but we were trying to guess what ours might be and which ones the other guys had. The conversation was really not that serious or enlightening.

So, our leader said he would go to the Christian bookstore in town and see if he couldn't find some sort of book or something to help us discern our gift. The next week he came back with something called the Modified Houts Questionnaire.

We spent one winter Saturday morning over breakfast filling in little bubbles in response to various questions. It took about an hour. Once we were finished, there was this little chart and we had to go back and cross reference our various answers with point values in columns. The higher the point value in the gift area, the more likely it was that was your spiritual gift.

You can imagine the fun that ensued when we went around the table and said what gifts the test said we had.

I scored off the charts in two areas:

Martyrdom...

...and Celibacy.

"You'll get killed in some gruesome way and you'll never ever get to have sex!" Benner yelled in the restaurant louder than we all realized. The chaos and laughter that ensued over the 50 or so jokes about my gifts was worth taking the test. We had a ball that morning...and they even kidded me about it at my wedding.

But the reality is that we all do have a spiritual gift. Check out Ephesians 4: 11--16 (from The Message):

"He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love--like Christ in everything. We'll take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love."

There is the reality that, when we were saved by Him, He gave us a spiritual gift. This is a very short list of some here (we'll be looking at a longer list later in the week) but the focus here is on the REASON we have the gift:

To train others to be skilled in the work Christ has for them. Helping others form into fully mature believers in Christ...

...both inside and outside...

...to live like Christ.

So, we're gifted. With this gift comes the reality that we're to use it in some way to help the Body mature in Him.

And I can assure you from experience you likely won't find out what is is from a test or questionnaire (seeing as how I'm alive and married, I'm either VERY far from the will of God or the test might've had some inherent flaws or something like that). Rather, you're more likely to figure it out by simply diving in and serving somewhere...and one of the clues will be whether or not you truly deep-down enjoy that particular service opportunity.

So, for example, if you have a chance to teach a Sunday School class and you dread the preparation and effort and delivery of the lesson, you're probably not gifted as a teacher. However, if you really enjoy getting the room ready for the party that night, you're probably big in the area of hospitality (yes that's a real gift...and a valuable one at that).

But the point is that you're seeking it out...

And the question for today is, well, I'll let you ask them. What questions do you have on finding out your area of giftedness?

Brent 5:02 AM

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Monday, August 22, 2005

The Early Walk vs. The Real Walk: Ephesians 4: 1--6

I was raised in church. Literally.

My mom took me to church for the first time when I was six-weeks old. Not that I remember, of course, but she brags about that. I don't think I missed many Sundays after that. Sure, there was an occasional 3-par golf day game when my dad could convince my mom to let me go about once or twice a year, but you can believe I was in church every other Sunday.

And that was my spiritual life. You went to church. There were some classes I took called confirmation classes that lasted about 6 weeks so I could take communion when I was older. I served as an altar boy. But that was pretty much it. Every night I'd kneel at my bedside and pray the Lord's Prayer and somehow it became a tradition that my mom and I recited the Nicene Creed, too. But that was my spiritual life.

No wonder I left the church and walked away from God when my dad died when I was 13.

No walk. Just religion.

Three years after that I got back involved in another church. One that talked about a relationship, but I was a teenager. It seemed more important to me that I started acting like the Christians I was now hanging around with...which was generally a good thing. You know, I stopped cussing. I stopped seeing certain kinds of movies and started attending church services in addition to youth group stuff. I began to give money to the church. I got involved in a small group Bible study. Good stuff like that. Occasionally, that could be dangerous, though. Like the night there was a record-burning deal. I wasn't much of a thinker so I got minimally invovled (hey, I really enjoyed most of my records so I just burned the ones I really didn't like that much) but I should've seen how silly that was.

Again...

...it wasn't a walk. It was just a new way of doing religion for me.

Then, it all clicked. About the end of my senior year, God was showing me that it wasn't by walking worthy that I'd have a good relationship with Him, but rather the other way around: If I had a good relationship, I'd walk worthy.

I didn't know it at the time, but it was straight out of Ephesians 4: 1--6 (from The Message):

"In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for The Master, I want you to get out there and walk--better yet, run!--on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands, I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline--not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and mending fences.

You were all called to travel the same road in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you think and do is permeated with Oneness."

Funny, but I never knew the stuff I was doing to try to make God (or my parents) happy was really "strolling off, going down some path that goes nowhere."

I had all these fits and starts. You know? I'd get some new devotional book and read it and then after a week or so it'd be gathering dust on the shelf. I'd go to some camp thing or weekend retreat and get all fired up by the great speaker or incredible band (one time, DC Talk was just getting started and they were at our conference) and then that would wear off, too. I'd try to pray and wind up falling asleep more often than having any kind of prayer life. I'd make commitments to go to Sunday School and then stop (sure, I'd go to services and youth group that night, but NEVER youth Sunday School).

That strolling to nowhere and those fits and starts were all because I was trying to manufacture spirituality from the outside in. You know what I'm getting after. If I could just clean up a bit on the outside then for sure it would pave the way for me to have a great relationship with Christ.

But I had it all wrong.

True spirituality is an inward thing...a heart and mind geared in sync with the heart and mind of Christ. Then the thing that's real on the inside will have some things that show up on the outside.

So, for today, how do you draw the line between focusing on the outward and the inward? Why is this hard for us to do? How will focusing on the inward stuff lead to a "worthy walk" that Paul talks about in these verses?

Brent 7:24 AM

Comments:

I think we should focus on the inward first. I think that as you change on the inside your actions will change and you will show your faith outwardly. but i think it all starts with the heart. im not saying that the outward is not important, i think that it is very important. i believe that the heart is much more crucial, because the outward doesnt give you a personal walk with God the inward does.- Millard

posted by  Anonymous : 8:53 PM

 

Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health. Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. (proverbs 4:20-23)

posted by  Free and Living : 12:27 AM

 

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Sunday, August 21, 2005

Getting Ready For Class Tonight

In order to prepare for class tonight, you'll want to read over a couple of passages:

First, read through Ephesians 4: 11-16. Take note of what each one of us has. How were they gotten? How does this fit into the big picture of who we are and what we're supposed to be doing as a Church? What should be the natural course of our Christian life? What's the motivation behind this life?

Next, review 1 Corinthians 12. All of it. What's the nature of the church? What's your role within it?

Finally, think through how that might look in a "practical" sense in your life.

And, we'll see you in class tonight at 6:30! Get there on time, as we'll be taking a look at a scene from "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Brent 4:02 AM

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Saturday, August 20, 2005

Hey Everybody!

Don't forget that we have a service project tomorrow afternoon in the Dungeon! Simply show up at NOON and we'll be stapling 5,000 lists to grocery bags for the upcoming CCA food drive in September. It's very important that you e-mail me at brent@crossroadsbible.org ASAP and let me know if you're coming, too (for pizza and staplers, both of which will be in ample supply & need!).

Brent 6:43 AM

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Sometimes, we can lose sight of the forest because we're focusing on the trees. And, I felt that way as I reveiwed our lessons from the week, so, to sum it all up with regard to our ability to declare and demonstrate the undeniable reality of Christ in our lives we need to understand...

...from Acts 2, that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This gives us the very real power to live supernaturally instead of naturally.

...from Acts 13, we should remember that God has a very long history of redeeming His people. He has, all throughout history, remained faithful to restore His people to Himself no matter what they do.

...from 2 Corinthians 5, we should have the proper motivations for declaring and demonstrating that Christ is real and able to change our lives. Some of the greatest "crimes" in the Christian life are committed because Christians are motivated by something other than the "love of Christ compelling" them to do so.

...also from 2 Corinthians 5, as Christians, we should be out-living the world. We should be living a life so abundant that the world is drawn to that lifestyle, and more importantly the reason behind that lifestyle. All too often, Christians are living this legalistic life that no one else would want to be a part of.

...and finally, from Galatians 6, we should remember that, as ambassadors for Christ, we should both take sin seriously as well as restore sinners gently. This is part of the abundant life, and a vital one that will lovingly set us apart from non-believers.

So, for today, what really stood out about what you learned this week?

Brent 6:28 AM

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Friday, August 19, 2005

Yesterday I left off with the admonition Paul gave us in 1 Corinthians...that we're amabassadors for Christ. He uses another phrase to describe them, "living letters." The idea is that we're representing Christ, making following Him attractive as we "out-live" the world. I also pointed out my observations that we, as a tribe, generally fail to do that...and thereby make Christ unattractive.

So, how do we make it more attractive?

Like Charles did for me.

See, I grew up in a very formal church environment where Christian growth was measured in things like attendance or service, and even then only on one day a week. When I attended a different church (largely because of the youth leaders) I immediately began to feel uncomfortable. These people had their own language, it seemed like. They did strange things, like sing together. They gave away their money. They didn't do a whole long list of stuff I liked to do. It was a tough time for me because I really loved Christ of the Bible and was having trouble adjusting to my new church surroundings.

It wasn't long before I was off to college. Since I'd had most of my high school Bible study group going to the same school, at the encouragement of our youth pastor, we started praying for somebody to sort of take over our discipleship.

Enter Charles.

He sorta showed up in our lives. He met one of the guys in my high school study at the college campus, strolling across it. He tried to evangelize Scotty. Scotty was already saved, and then Charles mentioned that he was looking to disciple some guys as he had some time. Scotty said that he had a bunch of guys looking for a leader. Answer to prayer! We didn't even do a background check.

Charles was one of the biggest dorks in the history of ever. He even graduated from a college that was one of our football rivals...and he had the strangest job ever. Just meet college kids and disciple them.

But over time, Charles really grew on our group. He hung out with us. For all four years of our college experience. The good times. The bad times. The stressful times. The "Hey, I'm just going to play basketball at the student center, wanna come?" days. The once a week meetings for lunch, just to talk about Christ and our walk. The weekly Bible studies (which he put up with us calling it "Chuck's B.S." because we thought it was so funny, but he thought was horrible) he led us through for three years...most of it in Romans.

So, how did he out live us?

I'll never forget it. I had sinned. Big time. And in public, too. I was sorry on about 100 different levels...least of which was affecting my "witness" to my fraternity brothers (who, by the way, thought all of this was funny)...but I was really wrecked about it. Needless to say, my lunches with Chuck were always on Monday, so he was getting the story first-hand.

He was the living embodiment of Galatians 6: 1--10 (from The Message):

"Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day is out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the owrk you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Be very sure now, you who have trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness ignoring the needs of others--ignoring God!--harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

So, let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every tie we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith."

Yep. That's what Chuck did.

He reminded me not to get tired of doing good.
He reminded me that I'd still have some consequences of my actions. You do reap what you sow.
He shared with me things from his experience and maturity.
He trusted the Holy Spirit would do the growth work in my life, and didn't try to manage my behavior or use guilt as a motivation.
He was doing the work God gave him to do in a creative way. He sunk himself into it.
He saved his critical comments for himself.
He forgave me.
He restored me.
He shared my burden.
He completed Christ's law...by loving me.

He out-lived the world.

And that's what we need to be about.

So, for today, who are the "Chucks" in your life? How do they "out-live" the world? And be SPECIFIC...and how can WE out-live the world?

Brent 4:25 AM

Comments:

i dont know if it's more important that there are "chuck's" in our lives or more important and fightening that there aren't...

posted by  Anonymous : 8:57 PM

 

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Thursday, August 18, 2005

There's an old saying that the two worst people to be around are reformed smokers or someone who has been born again.

The theory is that both are irritating because they're so excited about their newfound experience that they won't shut up about it. They become rude and inappropriate and self-righteous and a whole lot of other negative stereotypes.

And, in some ways, Christians never get past that. They simply stay that way.

But, if we're to truly declare and demonstrate the message of Jesus Christ, shouldn't there be a way to do so in a way that's actually ATTRACTIVE to the listening audience? I mean, surely the negative stereotype can be broken.

I believe it can if we follow some of the tenants from 2 Corinthians 5: 14--21 (from The Message):

"Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life; a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, and you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from tthe God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering the forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God used us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend to you. How? You say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong so we could be put right with God."

We should notice that this follows yesterday's lesson (re-read that passage below for more context) and there are a few things from both passages that will help us avoid being annoying as we represent Christ to the world:

1. We should truly care about others. That means you'll probably develop a meaningful relationship with them before just hammering away with truth of the Message. (yesterday's passage)

2. We should realize that the message will appear odd to the watching world (yesterday's passage).

3. We should stay focused on the true message and not on the little "rules" we have for cleaning up Christians...in other words, focus on what the Word focuses on instead of what man focuses on.

4. We should be living a more abundant life...the resurrection life. Sometimes I wonder if our tribe sees that often we aren't.

5. We should be encouraged that we're new creatures, living as a true ambassador for the Lord, living a life of forgiveness of sins through Christ...in relationship with Christ.

Now, I realize that's a lot to digest, so for today, I'd like to ask you to comment on whether or not you think we're "out-living" the world. Why or why not? How can we do better at being an ambassador?

I think that would go a long way to what we're going to talk about tomorrow from Galatians.

Brent 4:47 AM

Comments:

I think we as Christians are outliving the world. I saw this when i went to Ireland this past summer. The Christians there were truly living abundant lives for Christ and they were so joyful about it. It made everyone we came in contact with to "Want what they have." I think that we should live in such a way that people will "Want what we have." In 1 Peter 2:12 it says " Live such good lives amoung the pagans that...they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." That is truly outliving the world. -Millard

posted by  Anonymous : 8:56 PM

 

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Wednesday, August 17, 2005

This time of year is kind of an "in-between" time for youth ministry. The summer ministry is over, and we're not quite at "full-tilt" until after Labor Day. Sure, we have some small group stuff going, but other than that, it's pretty much doing a lot of planning and preparation for the upcoming year.

While you can plan some things without doing it, most of the time you have to evaluate what you did last year. Did it "work?" Could we do it better? Is there something else more effective? Those kinds of questions are vital to keeping ministry fresh and active.

Another reality is that it's a good time to focus the ministry...you know, spend a few lessons reminding everybody why we do what we do. In fact that's what we're doing for all of Sunday School (which we've evaluated and will try to make better) for the entire month.

And for me, once I get reflective it's hard to stop. Occupational hazard, I guess.

One part of the Bible that I wind up when I get to these times is from 2 Corinthians 5: 11--14 (from The Message):

"That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how we'll do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We're not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we're on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God. If I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do."

If you look closely, you'll see a lot of correct motivations to do ministry.

For example, we know that everyone will face judgment, and one motivation is to get people ready for that reality.

Another is because we deeply care about people.

Another is because we are genuine...not fake or false.

And ultimately, it's because we are compelled by the greatest motivation: Love.

So, for today, I'd like for you to kind of take stock on a couple of things...such as what are some ways you can be doing ministry each and every day? It's one thing for those of us who are in the ministry full-time, because our JOBS are to minister. But what are some false motivations for ministry? How does this passage help you change motivations?

Brent 3:01 AM

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Tuesday, August 16, 2005

I'm definitely a history-o-holic.

In college, my senior year had room for one elective per quarter, and I took upper-level history courses instead of easy classes to get A's. My favorite was on the causes and results of the Vietnam "conflict."

I can't get enough of movies with a historical basis like "J.F.K." by Oliver Stone. I love to watch the movies and then read books they were based on as well as the books with differing opinions of those books. I could lead tours at the 6th Floor Museum here in Dallas. No kidding.

The Civil War is another particular area of expertise. Of course, growing up in Alabama helps that...but even beyond being saturated with first-hand field trips to various sites and battle fields, I'll sit and watch the Ken Burns directed PBS special on 7 DVD's if I have the chance.

It even flows into sports. I can reel off some 110 years of history of my favorite college football team...the players, the coaches, the great games, stuff like that. In fact, every time I used to go to visiting stadiums I would always buy a program to get an insight into THEIR great games and traditions and such.

And you don't even want me to hit channel 55 on my television. That's the History Channel. If I start watching at like 10PM I could wind up at 2AM and never even realize how long I had been watching.

So, obviously, that leads into the Bible...which is one of the reasons I really like the first five books of the Old Testament. So much history.

And it's why I like Paul's speech in Acts 13 (and by the way, Acts is a history of the church). He gave a sermon...in fact, you might want to read from 13:13 to 13:43. Too much to type here...sorry. If you can read it from The Message, much the better.

Anyway, take a look at how Paul brings the Gospel message to the people assembled. He gives them a history lesson!

He talks about the ancestors in Egyptian exile...and how God provided for them.
He talks about Samuel the prophet...and how God provided for them.
He talks about Saul the king...and how God intervened.
He talks about David...and how God provided.
He brings up Abraham's name, in reference to their rich heritage.
He mentions the greatness of the prophets.
He quotes Isaiah.

And the history lesson has a point: What God promised all of them has come true for the chidren. The Good News. God has raised Jesus and because of that, we can now live life as it was meant to be lived.

So, have you ever thought about the history lesson...how faithful God has been to His people all throughout ages and history? Well, read the sermon, and then answer this question if you don't mind: How does the reality that God has been so faithful to so many over the course of history give you encouragement in the right here, right now of your life?

Brent 4:05 AM

Comments:

It's really encouraging to me that he has been so faithful over the course of history. If hes been so faithful throughout history i know that he will continue to be faithful to us, and that really encourages me in my walk with the Lord. cause i know that he was, is, and will always be faithful.- millard

posted by  Anonymous : 6:03 PM

 

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Monday, August 15, 2005

When I was a kid there were a couple of best-sellers in Christian circles that involved pretty much scaring the pants off everybody. One was called "Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth." The other was called "The Late, Great Planet Earth."

Now, I don't remember much about the books, but I did read them. All I can say is that I'm glad I read them, even in their hysteria because it awakened some sort of interest in what the Bible says about the end times.

Now, before seminary, those things were pretty fuzzy.

I knew there was a rapture. Basically, God would call those people who are alive to heaven to be with him.

I knew there was some sort of tribulation period, where it would be really good times for 3 or so years and some horrific events for the remainder of that 7-year period.

I knew there would be some judgements. For some reason, I always thought that there was pretty much a movie screen of your life that you and God (and maybe others) would watch and then you'd listen to His "review." I also knew that those people who weren't Christians would get tortured forever.

And don't even get me started on how great the book of Revelation is to a 14-year-old boy with no one to help straighten him out on it. There were locusts that were demonized. There were all sorts of hail, fire and brimstone (and I still am not real sure what that is) stories. There were the 4-horsemen of the Apocolypse. For a kid who was very into the rock group Kiss at that age, the book of Revelation was required reading. A guy even came to our church one time and told us that John was getting a vision of the future and using words he knew to desribe them, and the "scorpions" with "stinging tails" was actually a vision of the group Kiss...so, apparently, God would be using a rock group to ring in his version of the end.

And, somehow, someway, Jesus becomes King and we all live happily ever after.

Like I said, before seminary, that's sorta how the end plays out.

But, could you imagine that, if after the rapture happened, some people figured out that Scripture was transpiring right in front of them? They'd be reading the book of revelation and when they saw what was going on, somebody would say, "Hey, that's what's going on now! It says so right here in this book! God's plan is unfolding! Let's see what else it says so we'll know kinda how it ends!"

Well, that's what Peter has happen in Acts 2.

See, about a month and a half before those events. Jesus died. Then he rose again from the dead. He appeared over a couple of weeks' time to the various disciples. Then, one last time He told them He was leaving and if they would go to Jerusalem and wait, then the Holy Spirit would come upon them.

So, they go to Jerusalem and wait.

And they did.

For a few days.

And the Holy Spirit did come upon them. The evidence is that, by and large, a group of untrained fishermen with lack of formal education were speaking foreign languaged which they'd never studied. They were speaking to the visitors from "out of town" about Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Some people thought they were drunk. Most in the crowd didn't know what to make of the happenings.

Then Peter stands up and quotes from the O.T. prophet Joel 2 where he wrote that the Holy Spirit would come upon mankind and people would see wonders.

He was telling them that the days Scripture was talking about are here. Right here. Right now.

I can't imagine the mindset of the disciples, frankly. They'd see their rabbi/teacher brutally executed for something He didn't do. Then, they'd seen Him alive and walking among them. They'd eaten with Him again. They'd touched His side. And then He left them again...this time for good...but He'd give them a helper.

Then He arrived.

Now I feel safe in saying that when Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them, that they brushed up on their OT knowledge a bit. Probably even studied that Joel passage a few times.

And now they were living it out.

How exciting that must've been. They even said to the crowd that these were the days Joel was talking about.

God at work in their midst...just like He said He would be.

And today, I'm wondering about the reality that Scripture says there will be a time when we sit down with our Heavenly King and have wine with Him at His table, in a dwelling place He builds for us. And I wonder if we'll recall those Scriptures at that point. If so, I'm guessing we'll begin to understand how excited they must've been to be part of God's redemptive plan for the world.

But the reality is that the Holy Spirit is being poured out on all of us (read Acts 2: 14--21)...and we need to understand that reality. That we've been empowered to tell others about the reality of Christ, just like Peter did in his first sermon, and some 3,000 people came to Christ. So, because we've been empowered we should be telling others about Him.

So, for today...what are some of the reasons we struggle with declaring the work of Christ to the world around us? How can we get over those and learn to depend on this Holy Spirit?

Brent 6:24 AM

Comments:

I struggle sharing Christ with people that i'm not comfortable with, i become timid about it, even though i know its one of the most important things i can do for Christ, and at times i just get tired of watching my every action to make sure i am being an example of Christ, (and a lot of times i am a horrible example of Christ) but i think we can all get past that by having people around us who are struggling with the same thing, and encouraging and pressing each other on.- Millard

posted by  Anonymous : 7:22 PM

 

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Sunday, August 14, 2005

Back into the swing of things after the start of school?

Well...okay...anyways...

if you'd like to get a jumpstart on class tonight, you'll definitely want to read:

Acts 2: 14--to the rest of the chapter. Take note of the O.T. quote used and why it might be the one Petero chose to preach on. What were the end results?

As an aside, you'll want to glance over Acts chapter 13. What particular people are highlighted and why do you think they are?

Look over 2 Corinthians 5: 11--21. What can you glean from this passage that might help as you "declare and demonstrate" the message of Christ?

Finally, read Galatians 6: 1--10. What can you see that would help us "out-live" the world?

Yes, we'll have a pretty busy Bible tonight, but I think we can cover it all as we go through our church's vision and purpose. See you tonight at 6:30PM!

Brent 4:51 AM

Comments:

thanks for the heads up :)
see you tonight

posted by  Anonymous : 10:42 AM

 

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Saturday, August 13, 2005

I've always liked the Olympics. Sure, I'm from a large country with resources for good athletic training abilities so my nation wins a bunch. But what I'm usually fascinated with are the human interest stories. You know, the Kenyan athletes who have to train barefooted or the kid from a South American barrio who makes the team.

And of course, the always-occuring moments of drama that athletics can unexpectedly bring.

My memory is fuzzy on this particular one, but it involved track and field. Sprinting in particular. If I remember correctly there was a highly-favored sprinter in a longer sprint who was pretty much going to win the gold medal, they were just going to see if he broke the world record or not.

About halfway through the race, the young man tore his hamstring, making it impossible for him to finish. He fell, and was in agony on the track.

What happened next was on the wrap-up for the Olympics as a wrap up. His father, in tears at the watching of his son's dream crash right in front of him, scrambled out of the stands. He bolted past the security guards. He ran to his son. He picked him up. He put his arm around him to support him, and together they walked about 100 yards to the finish line. The son in pain and tears. The dad became very dignified and proud, very composed and calm.

The dad poured himself out. He gave up the joy of celebration and being a dad of an Olympic champion in order to assist the guy who would now finish last in the medal race. In interviews afterward, the dad said he wasn't at all embarrassed and he was never prouder of his son who he helped to do the very best he could under the circumstances. He gave of himself to serve his son.

It's a mindset that impressed me. An attitude that leads to giving God glory in Philippians 2: 5--11 (from The Message):

"Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of diety and took on the status of a human slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death--and the worst kind of death at that--a crucifixion.

Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth--even those long ago dead and buried--will bow and worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father."

Now, I'm not saying that media coverage for a short time is comparable to what God did for Christ...but on a small scale, it illustrates the point. The dad emptied himself and served his son...and he got more acclaim than he ever would've if he'd just sat there and let the paramedics do their job. The world was drawn to the love a dad had for his son. He wasn't dignified at all. He just served his son.

But we're supposed to have that attitude in every day life. We're supposed to imitate Christ is that regard. We're supposed to make a conscious choice to have a humble attitude...that everyone is more important than us. That the status quo of our lives is unimportant compared to anything else going on in the lives of others.

It's a tall order.

But one that we're supposed to fill.

Any suggestions on how to do that?

Brent 6:13 AM

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Friday, August 12, 2005

Is anybody reading this anymore?

It's an awful lot of work, and I'm wondering why no one comments. I mean, I don't mind doing it if it's helpful to anyone's spiritual walk...

..but I don't want to waste our time, either.

Now, I don't like it when people solicit comments through guilt motivation and I hope you don't take it that way, because I envisioned this as a on-line community of sorts where the readers interact and sharpen each other.

Is that realistic?
Is it just that summer doldrums keep people from reading?
Is it that the spiritual life is too personal and introspective to comment?
Is every day too much to do this? Should I go to once a week or something?

A little insight would be helpful...

Brent 6:21 AM

Comments:

Brent -
Please, please don't stop. I too have wondered why there aren't more comments. I enjoy reading what others are thinking here as well. But even without that, you are not wasting your time.

posted by  Kathleen : 7:35 AM

 

i read these pretty much everyday and it has helped me in my spiritual walk greatly. i just figured out that i can comment tho.(im a Millard we have these sort of issues...) but its definitly not a waste. thanks for putting in the time everyday for these! -Ryan

posted by  Anonymous : 5:59 PM

 

Thank you Brent for the time you take to write. Just letting you know that it doesn't go to waste, only some of us aren't very verbal type people. Thanks for the effort you put in and I'll try to be more open in response... Maybe it will help someone else.

posted by  Anonymous : 8:17 PM

 

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Thursday, August 11, 2005

On my first mission trip to Holland, we found ourselves spending so much time doing the work of the mission that we soon realized the team needed some time together as a team. All day every day, they were out individually talking to people about Christ or building relationships or whatever that we didn't see each other.

So, the mandatory dinner hour became a highlight of our day.

The entire team would close up the house we were using to visitors, and we'd spend two hours together. The first hour we'd eat and download our experiences to each other. The next hour we'd check the responses to our web site and read the e-mails from home out loud to together.

There were times of laughter. Tears were shed...usually by the moms on the trip with us getting mail from their children. We'd pray. We'd sing. We'd goof around. There were 14 of us.

Well, since we'd told our friends that we'd be through with dinner by 7:30PM and there were two hours of daylight after that, many of the people we met would congregate on our porch and wait for us to finish our dinner hour.

One time one of them asked me, "What do you do in there?"

I told him.

He said, "I heard you singing. Why would you do that together?"

I told him.

He said, "Sometimes you were laughing so hard. It seems like you all have so much fun together and like each other. Are all of you relatives?"

The peculiar thing is that I told him we kind of were...it actually was a good chance to talk about the reality that even though we were all so different that Christ makes us all family. It was pretty cool that he noticed our unity and asked about it.

But it should've been expected in some ways. Read Philippians 2: 1--4.

"Since therefore there is encouragement in Christ, since there is consolation in love, since there is fellowship of the Spirit, since there is affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also the interests of others."

I've found, for reasons I'll bring up on Saturday, that there is a link to our reverent worship and our attitudes.

That's right. I said "our attitudes."

See, as I see it, showing unity is a choice. It's a choice we can make (see verse 3) because there is encouragement in Christ. Because there is love. Because there is fellowship. Because there's affection. Because there is compassion. We can be intent on one purpose: The glory of God.

In everything we do.

Imagine how different everything we do would be if we all chose to consider others more important than ourselves. Our parents. Our teachers. Our friends. Our pastors. Our bosses. Our children.

Imagine what others would see.

I'd think it'd be the reality of Christ. His glory.

And that's what it's all about anyways.

Brent 6:53 AM

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Wednesday, August 10, 2005

I saw a fun movie last night. G-rated and everything.

It was called March of the Penguins. It was produced by National Geographic and was a documentary (unlike most of the G-rated cartoon fare these days) so it bordered on educational.

Basically, it was the story of how penguins reproduce. They hop out of the ocean near the South Pole, and walk 70 miles away from the ocean on the ice shelf. Well, I wouldn't exactly call it walking. They waddle and slide 70 miles. It takes a week or so of constant waddling/sliding.

The penguins are built so that they have enough food reserves to go some 4 months without returning to the sea to get food.

All the Emperor Penguins jump out of the water on pretty much the same day.
They waddle/slide in lines for a week.
They arrive at the same place, often on the same day, each year.
They get to the same location despite constant shifts in the ice in that region that cause new glaciers that block their route.
They choose a mate.
They reproduce.
Once an egg is born, the papa penguin's feet are made to hold it off the ice and their bellies overhang to keep the wind/elements off the egg.
They show the egg to the sun to warm it every so often.
The mom waddles/slides back to the sea to overstuff her belly so she can feed the newborn.
When she gets back, the male repeats the process. If they're a day or two late, a penguin has a special pouch in his throat with a day or two of food reserves he can give to the baby penguin.
All the while, the ice melts as summer comes, making the walk shorter while they trade off food runs.
All the while, the baby penguin is growing strong enough to walk on the ice.
They all walk back to the sea together and spend three months doing whatever it is penguins do and then they repeat the process.

But I was truly struck by that "extra-food-in-the throat" thing. God even provides for the penguins in a "just-in-case" worst-case scenario. He built penguins with an extra food pouch. Wow.

Reminded me of Psalm 29, and how we saw yesterday the reasons to worship God...and how it flows into today's lesson a bit from verses 10--11:

"The Lord sat as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace."

Yep.

The Lord is King. He always has been and always will be.

He loves us.

So much that the hairs on our head are numbered. He provides for the birds of the field. Jesus said that. He provides for the penguins at the South Pole. How much more will he provide for us?

He will give us strength.

We will be blessed with peace.

Wow.

The eternal King of the Universe will give and bless us.

Wow.

So, for today, how has the Lord already given to you? How has he already blessed you? How does this encourage your worship of Him?

And by the way, go see the movie with "God-eyes." You won't be able to miss His glory.

Brent 3:28 AM

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Tuesday, August 09, 2005

I'm fascinated by thunderstorms. I always have been. It's one of the perks of growing up in the Deep South. In fact, one time I was at a church listening to Dr. John MacArthur talk about his new book and a real, live, Alabama thunderstorm rattled the roof and windows. He made the comment that since he lived in California he'd experienced several earthquakes...and if given a choice or those or storms, he'd take the earthquake.

Not me.

I love the rain. That hard-driving, windswept rainstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning. I can't get enough of it. I especially like being outside right before they roll in, too. You can even smell it.

I'll watch documentaries on tornados, or if there's a hurricane I'll tune into the Weather Channel for up-to-the-minute videos. I just don't write down my observations like David did in Psalm 29: 3--9 (from The Message):

"God thunders across the waters,
Brilliant, His voice and His face, streaming brightness--
God, across the flood waters.

God's thunder tympanic,
God's thunder symphonic.

God's thunder smashes cedars,
God topples the northern cedars.

The mountain ranges skip like spring colts,
The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.

God's thunder spits fire.
God thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.

God's thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees--we call out,'Glory!'"

If you read this set of verses in the New American Standard version you'll see that it's God's voice that does all those things...which I think should've been noted in this translation. Maybe the translator interpreted God's voice to be synonomous with God Himself.

Because David was comparing the thunderstorm rolling in to the power of God.

His voice thunders across the waters.
It echoes in stereophonic harmony.
It smashes the hardest of wood...breaking trees in half.
It makes entire countries skip, like when we're startled by surprise thunder.
It shakes the wilderness. Lightning flashes.
It makes trees dance.

And the result: We fall to our knees. We give God glory.

I guess that's why I've been drawn to storms. We all need that reminder that God is God and we're not...and there's not one thing I can do to prevent or start a thunderstorm. All I can do is enjoy them (if I'm able to be near shelter) and revere their power...and that powerful reminder that God is so powerful that the best David can do to show us how powerful He is is by using a storm as an example.

So, for today, how does God's power being alliterated by a thunderstorm teach you about Him? What do storms and God have in power in other ways than listed here? What ways do we need to let God be God and realize we're not Him?

Brent 5:12 AM

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Monday, August 08, 2005

For some reason, a few media scenes come to mind:

In The Lion King, when Rafiki told Simba that it was time...and Simba ascended Pride Rock to assume his leadership of the Pride Lands. All the animals bowed low in reverence.

At the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, when, after all the battles were fought, Gandolf placed the crown on the new king's head in an elaborate ceremony and as he walked among His subjects, they all bowed low in reverence.

On the television show M*A*S*H*, when Radar O'Reilly was being shipped home from his station in Korea when the surgeons had to go into surgery and there was no time for goodbyes. Hawkeye Pierce, a superior officer, in an unprecedented move (as Hawkeye didn't salute any officers as a matter of principle), saluted Radar out of reverence for the work he did supporting the 4077th.

Whenever you see the news and people are meeting the President, they show respect in a variety of ways. One time, a British citizen made the news because she hugged the queen, which is NEVER done without permission...she was a good sport about it, but the breach was made.

It's interesting that in our lives we have so many ways we show respect to leaders, too. They're symoblized in the movies we see, the shows we watch, etc.

But showing reverence to God...giving Him glory...is a different matter. I mean, technically, we don't see Him. Yet, in Psalm 29: 1 & 2, that's what we're told to do (from The Message):

"Bravo, God, Bravo!
Gods and all angels shout 'Encore!'
In awe before the glory,
in awe before God's visible power.
Stand at attention!
Dress your best to honor Him!"

If I'm reading this correctly, we're supposed to give God a standing ovation.
We're supposed to whoop and cheer and yell during it.
We're supposed to give Him glory.
We're supposed to look at His creation and be awestruck by it.
We're supposed to get prepared as if we were a military outfit getting ready for an inspection by our superior officer.

I get that. In my head.

I'm supposed to do that.

But why does it seem so hard to do that?

So, for today, let's discuss that. What are the things that keep us from giving God the credit He is due? How do we overcome those? How would this help our worship of Him?

Brent 6:55 AM

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Sunday, August 07, 2005

Wow...it seems like summer really flew by; almost like we were gearing up to go to Juarez just yesterday. But now, we're going to be spending the month of August (and going back to school) with our more formal Sunday School classes. You know, the videos that match the lessons; the discussions; the praying...all of it.

So, to get ready for class tonight, we're going to be studying the things that CBC is passionate about as a church. We'll talk about all sorts of stuff from our vision to our mission to our purpose and even some "values and beliefs." Tonight we'll be talking about the glory of God.

Read up on Psalm 29, and ask yourself why God might be worthy to be our king...

And then read Philippians 2, and ask yourself how we can practically make him our king here in 2005.

See you in class tonight...6:30PM, and we'll be showing a scene from Lord of the Rings for all you hobbit fans out there!

Brent 7:41 AM

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Saturday, August 06, 2005

Even after all this time, I'm still fascinated by C.S. Lewis' interpretation of human nature as told from one demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood. I love this quote:

"And all the time the joke is that the word 'Mine' in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything. In the long run either Our Father or the Enemy will say 'mine' of each thing that exists, and specifically of each man. They will find out, never fear, to whom their time, their souls and their bodies really belong--certainly not to them, whatever happens. At present the Enemy says 'mine' of everything on the pedantic, legalistic ground that He made it: Our Father hopes in the end ot say 'Mine' of all things on the more realistic and dynamic ground of conquest."

So, for today, how would your days be different if you really understood that your 'time, souls, and bodies' were really not your own...but God's?

Brent 5:59 AM

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Friday, August 05, 2005

As I'm getting ready for the fall teaching sessions (beginning in September) on the fruit of the Spirit, I was thinking of making a t-shirt. Just some symbols on the front of it and some sort of CBC thing on the back (or vice-versa), and the symbols would be for the respective "fruits."

So, for example, the first one, LOVE, would be a red heart. The second one, JOY, would be one of those yellow smiley-faces. The third one, PEACE, would be a "peace sign." After that, it gets kind of tricky, so I'm looking for help.

First, read Galatians 5: 22-23.

Now, make suggestions for symbols for the following "fruit":

Patience
Kindness
Goodness (I thought of a referree signaling touchdown?)
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control (I thought of that "buster" symbol, like in Ghostbusters)

Also, what if, any reference to CBC would you like on the shirt?

Ready...

GO!

Brent 4:39 AM

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Thursday, August 04, 2005

I've been reading this landmark book with my youngest daughter, and have enjoyed it more as an adult than I did in college. The letters from the head demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood seem to take on a new brilliance with each reading. Anyway, here's a section that stood out recently:

Of course, I know tha the Enemy also wants to detach men from themselves, but in a different way. Remember always, that He really likes the little vermin, and sets an absurd value on the distinctnes of every one of them. When He talks of their losing their selves, He only means abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever. Hence, while He is delighted to see them sacrificing even their innocent wills to His, He hates to see them drifting away from their own nature for any other reason. And we should always encourage them to do so. The deepest likings and impulses of any man are the raw material, the starting-point, with which the Enemy has furnished him. To get away from those is therefore a point gained..."

I've found that most of the time a teenager has fears of giving their life to Christ, it's because they fear "losing themselves" or becoming somebody completely different. How do you think this quote would help them, if at all? What are some practical applications you can draw from this reality?

Brent 4:54 AM

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Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Here's a quote from Louis Giglio, in his new book "i am not but i know I AM." The quote comes right after he tells a story about taking a wrong turn while jogging in Manhattan:

"How can you run down the middle of a New York freeway and not know it? I think the same way you can live your entire life completely oblivious to the grand story of the Creator of the universe that is unfolding all around you. The same way you can spend your days making so much of someone as small and transient as you or me, and so little of someone as glorious and eternal as God.

That's why this book is not about you and making your story better, but about waking up to the infinitely bigger God Story happening around you, and God's invitation to you to join Him in it...

The story already has a star, and the star is not you or me...

And here's why it matters--if we don't get the two stories straight, everything else in our lives will be out of sync. We'll spend our days trying to hijack the Story of God, turning it into the story of us. Inverting reality, we'll live every day as though life is all about you and me."

So, for today, what can teenagers actually DO in order to "wake up" to the work of God going on around them so quickly that they don't even notice the story unfolding?

Brent 4:11 AM

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Tuesday, August 02, 2005

I read this book called "The Gutter: Where Life Is Meant To Be Lived" by Craig Gross. Here's a quote that I thought you might find provocative:

"When Jesus hung on the cross, He did so desiring that every person would accept His free gift of life. The only qualifier is that you believe in Him, and I'm not talking about a belief of existence here, either--even demons believe that. I'm talking about a belief in the values, standards, and purpose of confessing that Jesus Christ is who He said He is and will do what He said He would do. It's a belief that's so strong, you aren't afraid to articulate it, which is exactly what the next stepping stone calls for. Romans 10:9 says, that if "you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Four verses later, the Bible says the same thing: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

So, for today, what do you think the difference is in believing in His existence and truly believing in Him?

Brent 4:08 AM

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Monday, August 01, 2005

Last night, I was unable to sit in on Abby's chat with the girls (for obvious reasons) and I had a situation to help deal with so I missed Matt's talk to the guys. So, why not fill me in on what you learned and what you can apply to your life from the wisdom they gave you?

Brent 6:26 AM

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This is only a test with the new page.

posted by  Brent : 7:12 AM

 

abby talked about how our lives shouldn't be about the "shoulds." the christian walk is meant to be about pursuing God with our whole heart (which also means being honest with Him about issues of our heart, no matter what they are--He knows them already anyway), because that's what He desires of us--not just doing what we know we should do. the rest will be, as you always say, outward manifestations of inward realities. we can't change from the outside in.

posted by  kaylah : 10:35 AM

 

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