tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63915509797321032122024-03-17T22:02:53.733-05:00The Periodically Welcome to the Bethany Community Church blog. We periodically publish blog posts on theology and how it intersects with everyday life. Sometimes you'll see posts about an upcoming event at BCC.
Our greatest hope is that you see the gospel weaving through every post as we proclaim Christ and prepare His people to worship Him forever. Ben Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506352459575288592noreply@blogger.comBlogger218125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-56947936965103334132024-01-19T12:03:00.001-06:002024-01-19T12:03:20.589-06:00Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is coming!<p>What a blessing it will be, Lord willing, to bring Psalm 139:13-16 before you this Sunday--on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. When preparing a sermon, there is so much to say, but one cannot get to everything. I'm leaving a small portion of my sermon here on the blog in case I can't get to it on Sunday. What is below is a screenshot of my manuscript. The screenshot speaks to how to lovingly and graciously talk to our friends who may have a pro-choice standpoint. Notice I say "friends" because they are made in God's image as well. They have a soul that we want to see come to know Christ as their Savior. With that in mind, I've come across the acronym SLED. Hope it is helpful!<br />Ben Davidson</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJUtHlxQoWeYVRKhhFuRMPKSK-Jk5xPvyYWGkmk210LN86S5S06ZFRFa5F46SJYJ1dYE3XGhD-csZLV-DMM83FcO2flQi4VLwHxTZrmia5zu-2z-yGpXsv_R5BIrQGIZMr66ir-6R5e1JroSt6MEPxKeZgnS-HD2XYjJIi4YI8fZeO5yVkcUeWMVBODQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="611" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJUtHlxQoWeYVRKhhFuRMPKSK-Jk5xPvyYWGkmk210LN86S5S06ZFRFa5F46SJYJ1dYE3XGhD-csZLV-DMM83FcO2flQi4VLwHxTZrmia5zu-2z-yGpXsv_R5BIrQGIZMr66ir-6R5e1JroSt6MEPxKeZgnS-HD2XYjJIi4YI8fZeO5yVkcUeWMVBODQ=w432-h418" width="432" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Ben Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506352459575288592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-38874023874167265552024-01-01T11:40:00.001-06:002024-01-01T18:49:34.914-06:00Opportunities & Inconveniences: Making Best Use of the Time in 2024<p>It was the end of the week and my paper was due on Monday. I had about 25% of my paper done; the rough draft that is. I had studied and mapped out the passage I was writing on in Ephesians chapter 5, but inevitably things came up and my laptop closed. With an appointment a few towns over - and in an effort to remove myself from distractions in my home - I decided to leave early and go to a coffee shop there.</p><p>I set up my office-away-from-home and planned to spend several uninterrupted hours writing my paper. I had roughly 3 hours to spend at the coffee shop until my appointment would necessitate I leave. I was nearly one hour in with a lot of work yet before me when I noticed a woman in front of me.</p><p>From my table I noticed her at the checkout aisle asking a lot of questions with her strong accent to the barista. After ordering, while she waited for her food, she began taking pictures of the coffee shop and menu with permission from the workers. When her food came she began taking pictures of it. I wondered if she had traveled here. I thought,<i> I always like to have pictures of myself in places I visit, let me offer to taker her picture</i>.</p><p>"Would you like me to take a picture of you at this coffee shop, ma'am?"</p><p>This began what would become a 2 hour conversation.</p><p>I learned that she was not visiting, rather she was a reviewer for TripAdvisor reviewing restaurants and coffee shops. She was from Russia, but she now lived in the area. She travels often and whether local or in a different country reviews the restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels she visits.</p><p>We began talking about her trips. Quickly you could tell that this woman was a storyteller. She told the stories well. She asked me what I was working on. I told her about a Bible class I was taking, and how I was writing a paper on a passage from Scripture. She shared that she's not a religious person and doesn't know much about Scripture. After discussing some more she asked me, "What does your religion say about this . . ." and she continued to detail a question about something she encountered on her trip.</p><p>"Ahh, what about . . ." and she asked another question about a topic that culture might consider polarizing. She told me about how she is a professor at a college vocationally, and then told me more fascinating stories about her trip. She was delightful to talk with, but I worried about the time I had left to write my assignment before my appointment, worrying, <i>How am I going to get this done? I have no more time left this week with other commitments. It really should get done now . . .</i></p><p>After a while she said, "I've kept you so long; I've just enjoyed our discussions! I should let you get back to writing. Do you need to keep writing?"</p><p>I remember thinking to myself,<i> Lizzy, you can write about God's exhortation in the book of Ephesians to make the best use of the time and walk wisely, or you can<b> live</b> it. What good is it if you write about making the most of every opportunity for the kingdom of God, but foolishly neglect an opportunity in front of you? Don't just write about it, practice it now!</i></p><p>"No, you're fine!", I replied, "Please, go on!" and I closed my laptop that had been sitting open. I wanted her to know that I was fully invested.</p><p>We kept talking about her travels, and she asked me if I'd traveled. I told her about a mission trip I had been on, what we did, and why we went. We chatted right up until the time that I had to leave for my appointment. As we got ready to leave and walk out together, she told me that she enjoyed talking with me, and that it was just what she needed that day. I remembered that I had a "What is the Gospel?" tract in my wallet from the Outreach Resources at Bethany, and I asked her if I could giver her something.</p><p>I handed it to her and said, "Earlier you asked me what I was writing about. This tract talks about what I'm writing about, and why I'm passionate about it. I hope you'll read it!" She said she would when she got home, and she thanked me for talking. I reciprocated that it was great to meet her and enjoy her company!</p><p>This story's outcome would have been much different if the Holy Spirit hadn't convicted me and opened my eyes and heart to see the situation rightly and make the best use of the time; namely to care more about the <i>person</i> before me and the <i>opportunity</i> He gave us both, rather than the open laptop and delay in getting my paper done. How tragically ironic would it have been to remain consumed with thoughts of getting my paper done on the subject of making the best use of the time for the kingdom, and squander the opportunity literally in front of me.</p><p>Friends, we don't always hit the mark. I am saddened to think of the opportunities I have had to point others to the Gospel message and did not. In those times, thanks be to God that He does not discard us, rather He transforms our hearts and minds to more and more seek first the Kingdom as we walk with Him. He teaches us and empowers us, forgiving us when we fail, giving us new opportunities, and empowering us to proclaim as we should.</p><p>Please join me in saying a prayer for this woman. I am praying that this upcoming year the Lord would continue to grow me in walking wisely with Him and with others. That He would help me to look carefully how I walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Not being foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).</p><p>- Lizzy Blanchard</p><p>Note: If you would like to grow in your outreach and evangelism efforts, Bethany is here to help you! Visit the Dutch Lane Cafe for outreach resources to help you as you seek to reach your neighbors and others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are free resources and some for purchase. Items include equipping books, gospel tracts, BCC business cards for inviting to church, and free evangelistic gift bags to give to people without a church home.</p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-31057997799925595272023-12-19T15:39:00.000-06:002023-12-19T15:39:11.034-06:00Christmas and Loss<p>For some, Christmas is a wonderful and joyful time, filled with family and friends and many fun festivities. For many, though, Christmas holds a mix of emotions including joy and pain. The mix of emotions is certainly true for our household. During the merriment and fun with our two children there is the reminder of two others who are not with us this Christmas. On our beautifully lit and decorated tree is an ornament placed annually as a testament to their absence.</p><p>Even as I'm preparing this post and writing these things out, the emotions rise and tears flow as they always do when I get close to this subject . . . </p><p>The loss of loved ones comes in many different forms and with this holiday having such a family element to it, it is almost impossible to not experience some of the weightiness amid the joy. Honestly though, I remind myself that in some ways, this should not really be a surprise, for even the wonder and joy of the very first Christmas was the foreshadowing of suffering and death. The One Who at His birth would be named, "Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) inherently was marked for death that He might be "pierced through for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). And yet, our own losses still hurt.</p><p>For our family, this hurt came in the form of miscarriage . . .</p><p>Two years ago, at this time of year with the holidays and after almost a year of infertility, we innocently and excitedly planning for our third child, were informed by our doctor that our little one had no heart beat and was not with us any longer.</p><p>We were hurting and I was devastated that I was wrestling with God and my feeble understanding of Him in ways I would have never dreamed before this. Two months later, certainly not done grieving, but we could at least see our way through the haze more often than not, Jennie and I had our own little memorial service together. Having no body to bury or any great entourage of people who knew to be able to comfort us, we thought this was the best way to help provide some closure and together turn this over to the Lord. As a part of that time, we each wrote up some thoughts we shared together. I chose to write mine as a letter to my departed child. It seemed most fitting to in some way recognize their personhood though they never took a breath in this world and continue to allow me to walk through much of what I had begun to process over those two months.</p><p>Below is some of what I wrote and with Jennie's permission would like to share with you. One month out and it was still raw and even rereading it for this post, I again feel it fully. My hope though in reentering into this personally and inviting you into my grief is two-fold:</p><p>First, if you are hurting during this holiday season or have experienced something similar, I want you to know you are not alone and it is okay to carry that with you. God always uses the hardest things in our life to make us the most of who He wants us to be in Christ. Rather than reject the refiners fire, it is our greatest joy and wisdom to embrace that which burns and purifies us so.</p><p>Second, for both my sake and yours, I want to bring us back to the truths we can cling to even as we suffer in loss. Psalm 119:6-7, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; Teach me your statutes . . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn your statutes."</p><p style="text-align: center;">Memorial Thoughts (2/5/22)</p><p style="text-align: left;">What would it be like if you had been born in August 2021? You would have been just shy of three years younger than your sister. You would have been a fifth little body in a high chair around our table, a fifth joyous smiling face, a fifth loud voice adding to the chaos of our dinner table. You would have been the third hug for daddy in the morning, a third child to rock and then lean over the crib to give a kiss to each night . . . I would have loved to see you interact with your brother and sister, see them know and get to know you in ways they'll never understand or know they missed out on at their ages.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I was tempted to start this paragraph by stating, "we thought you were," but truly this is how it should be worded . . . You were the answer to Mommy and Daddy's hopes and prayers for another child we'd been trying to have for a year unsuccessfully, we just only experienced the blessing of that answer in you very briefly.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I know we'll never know what gender you were, and yet when I think of holding your little fetal form in the palm of my hand I envision a boy, everything else I dream of is a little girl . . . a bright eyed, beautiful little one in a pink dress dancing around the kitchen with Daddy like I do with your sister. I picture tea times with you and her, I envision getting to walk you down the aisle and give you away with a big hug and kiss . . .</p><p style="text-align: left;">Early on when Mommy and I first found out we probably had lost you, one of the only things I could do as an act of prayer to God and trust in hopes of your life possibly being restored to us was to think of names for you. We (me and Mommy) want all our kids' names to have meaning, something to live toward. That's how I was raised and what I was often reminded of by Grandma. I came up with two names for you . . . maybe a first and middle name . . .</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Anastasia - from the Greek "anastasis" for resurrection and thus my greatest hope while we waited for that second sono.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Teras (or maybe Teresa) - from a Greek origin, in English it is defined as "an organism (as a fetus) that is grossly abnormal in structure due to genetic or developmental causes," or "A malformed fetus with deficient, redundant, misplaced, or misshapen parts." In Greek it is also often translated as a "sign" or "wonder" like what God showed to Pharaoh in Egypt to prove His power in Exodus. That was also my prayer for you . . . that God would take your broken fetal body and make you a sign of His great power by healing, or even for the stage we were at, resurrecting you.</p></blockquote><p>I so badly wanted those names to be true for you . . .</p><p>I told Mommy, maybe it would be harder to have lost you after seeing and holding you, but man, I would have loved to hold you . . . even if you'd already left us in spirit . . . right after I got off the facetime call with Mommy when we found out we'd probably lost you, I went over to the little stocking we had to give to each set of grandparents to excitedly tell them about you and I just held it and cried . . . cried so deeply from within myself . . . it hurt so much to lose you. It felt weird and wrong to think that the only thing you had to your name in this world was a $.50, tiny, poorly made, Christmas stocking bought in a pair from the dollar store. :( You are worth everything to us and we would have gladly given all our worldly possessions up if it would have meant we could have had you!</p><p>I like word pictures and plays . . . I take after your Great Grandpa Smith in that, but a few statements that strike me as so sadly picturesque as I pondered this . . .</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Miscarriage Memorial</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">When the Womb becomes a Tomb</p></blockquote><p>Then came the further medical decisions and with them an emotional deadness inside that led to great hurt at both your loss and the thoughts of all that would entail while still wanting to recognize your personhood. You are of infinite, eternal value to God and also to me and Mommy! We love you soooo much!</p><p>Overtime I've realized part of what hurt was not getting to touch you and let you know my physical love and affection, part of what hurt was not being able to protect you, especially in thinking about all that followed after initially losing you, and part of what hurt was all the hopes and dreams you had brought. . . things so subtle and subliminal I would have never realized I even had them till you were gone. I told Mommy, I don't know how it's possible to miss someone you've never really met and has only been alive for two months, but man I did, I do, and I will always miss you!</p><p>I love you my dear sweet Anastasia! I rejoice in the resurrection, trusting a good God that I will be satisfied with His actions both now and for eternity, but hoping that I will get to meet and know you . . . do life with you for eternity in ways I won't have in this lifetime.</p><p>Let me add one more thing . . . God has brought good from this. I wasn't always very sure of that, but now a little further out, can say it is true. I don't know fully what all that entails, but it has been so good to see Romans 8:28 is followed by Romans 8:32 where God has proved this is for all our good. His whole plan and every action can be trusted looking through the lens of Christ's death on our behalf. One other noticed good that has come from this is it has united me and mommy even closer. Our loss of you has forced us to grieve all the deeper with each other and find an even better companion and greater solace in each other than we would have known. </p><p>We still miss you, but we walk by faith and are thankful for the blessing you have been, even ever so briefly in our lives!</p><p>Love always,</p><p>Daddy</p><p><br /></p><p>This side of eternity I will never understand this loss fully, nor will I ever be able to fully separate myself from it (not that I should or even want to). There is and will always be a deep hurt there. But in the deep hurt, there is also, by God's grace, a deeper hope.</p><p>God both used and still uses His Word and His people so much now and during that time to draw me to Himself. Even in the long days and weeks where He felt so far away, the truth is, He was always drawing me closer to Himself. I would never have known Him in ways I do now outside of Him coming to me in my pain and again, how much this is embodied in Christmas . . . The Savior coming to those lost . . .</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them . . . For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:2 and 6).</p></blockquote><p>Our Savior entered our world that He might free us and draw us out of it to true life in Him. He took on our mess, got dirty with our sin, suffered the pain we deserved, and died the death that should have been ours.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us," (John 1:14)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21) </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins . . . For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him . . . He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; . . . " (Colossians 1:13-20).</p></blockquote><p>That is and has to be my hope this and every Christmas in both the joy and the pain. Christ the babe, my Savior and King.</p><p>So here I, and hopefully you with me, stand having tasted of loss in the midst of a season of joy. Able through our great God to hurt and yet rejoice in the midst of pain because of Him.</p><p>This song came to mind as I was writing this and so I will close with the lyrics to it: </p><p style="text-align: center;">Come Thou Long Expected Jesus </p><div style="text-align: center;">Come, Thou long expected Jesus<br />Born to set Thy people free;<br />From our fears and sins release us,<br />Let us find our rest in Thee.<br />Israel's strength and consolation,<br />Hope of all the earth Thou art;<br />Dear desire of every nation,<br />Joy of every longing heart.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Born thy people to deliver,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Born a child and yet a King, </div><div style="text-align: center;">Born to reign in us forever,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.</div><div style="text-align: center;">By Thine own eternal Spirit</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rule in all our hearts alone;</div><div style="text-align: center;">By Thine all sufficient merit,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Raises us to Thy glorious throne.</div><p style="text-align: left;">May the Lord grant you the fullness of His joy and peace as you enter into this season and all it entails in your life!</p><p style="text-align: left;">- Phil</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">P.S. As a point of hope for us after all this, God has again decided to bless us with a little one in the womb over this season this year . . . a girl :). We are encouraged and excited, yet holding far more loosely to this child, seeing her as the Lord's (like all our kids) and trusting Him to do what is good and best whether we get a few more days and weeks or the rest of our lives with her.</p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-45545363412232548812023-11-07T10:34:00.000-06:002023-11-07T10:34:06.469-06:00Pizza and Neighbors<p>A couple of years ago, Jeff decided to get a pizza oven - his mid-life crisis purchase. He has enjoyed learning how to make pizzas and sharing his new found love with family and friends.</p><p>This summer we prayerfully decided to do a once a month neighborhood pizza night in our driveway as a way to get to know our neighbors. We have lived in our home for 11 years and shamefully had not met many of our neighbors. We invited everyone on our street and those behind us on the other street. We put flyers in their doors not knowing if anyone would be interested. The first night, as we were setting up chairs and tables, we were anxious and felt a bit silly wondering if anyone would come. We were shocked to have 8 households show up and several we had never met before. We were surprised at how much they enjoyed meeting each other. We had neighbors and even their children asking us when the next pizza night was. The last pizza night of the summer, so many came that we ran out of pizza. I think Jeff made around 20. AND that final night, the rain that had lasted throughout the day stopped an hour before we started and began again an hour after we ended. Thank you Lord!</p><p>We have been able to build on some relationships since then which is what we had been praying for. Our desire is to be a light, presence and a blessing within our neighborhood.</p><p>If we could offer any encouragement, it would be this. We were blown away with the desire people had to know their neighbors. People do want community. We are grateful for the relationships that have continued and deepened since the pizza nights. Lastly, we did nothing fancy...just chairs and tables in our driveway, pizza and water to drink. By the end, people were bringing their own dishes to share! Now we have names and faces with houses in order to better pray for them.</p><p>-Janet Leman </p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-68533896607027027372023-09-08T16:25:00.002-05:002023-09-12T10:48:49.789-05:00An Honest Question to Ask Yourself in Evangelism<p>I stared down at my growing to-do list wondering, "How will this all be accomplished this week?"</p><p>I reviewed the tasks, both big and small, that filled the lined paper on the counter before me. Maybe you can relate to strategizing when you will run errands, get the groceries, arrive at the events, practices, or meetings, pay the bills, and more.</p><p>Conveniently for us, there are some things that enable us to spend less time engaging in some of these activities. We can do things like setting up recurring payments for bills, opting for store pickup for our groceries, choosing autoship and door deliveries, mobile ordering our coffee for pickup and more. This allows us to make pit stops rather than full blown excursions before turning to the next thing on our list.</p><p>Before you think to yourself, "I know what's about to come next; "<i>but</i>... "that precedes the condemnation of our modern conveniences and full schedules." Allow me to share a few points of clarification before we proceed:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">1. <i>Modern convenience isn't inherently evil</i> (I'm thankful for the convenience of sharing this blog on the internet where you can opt to read it at any time on your laptop or smartphone)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">2. <i>Having a full schedule for God-glorifying reasons - in obedience and response to the opportunities and responsibilities that God has given us - isn't bad</i> (I think of Paul's day and night labor and in toil in 1 Thessalonians 2:9)</p></blockquote><p>With this clarification in mind, I do not aim to critique avenues - which can be a great aid in efficiency - rather to healthily inspect our greatest aim. It is worth examining what our <i>chief</i> aim is, which informs our every other aim and action. </p><p>What is our chief aim as Christ-followers while we are yet in the land of the living? What has God Himself commissioned us to do while we go about our everyday living?</p><p>As a part of our purpose to worship and glorify God, we have been commissioned to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19 ESV)</p><p>Read with me Matthew 28:16-20 in which Matthew records Jesus' instruction to the disciples that extend to us today, "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."</p><p>Our aim as we glorify God and prepare to worship Him forever is to help others do the same as we go and make disciples. This requires sharing our faith as ambassadors (evangelism) and contending for the faith.</p><p>Similarly, in Acts chapter 1 Jesus tells the disciples before His ascension of how they will be witnesses to the world, "So when they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea an Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing in to heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven'" (Acts 1:6-11).</p><p>Praise God that the Holy Spirit will aid His disciples, including us today, in doing what He has commanded: witnessing to the world of the Gospel, until the day of Christ's return. As I think about how - by the power of the Spirit - I might prayerfully accomplish this, I find myself first asking this honest question:</p><p><b>Is my life conducive to achieving the great commission or my greatest convenience?</b></p><p>Making the best use of my time as it relates to my calendar can be a good and wise thing, but not if it comes at the expense of making the best use of my time in these evil days pertaining to the great commission.</p><p>Are there times where I have opted out of personal interaction with someone in line at a store because I didn't "feel like it"?</p><p>Are there times when I have put my comfort and convenience as a priority over the gospel mission of making disciples?</p><p>Have I sought opportunities to get involved in the lives of others I might encounter, or have I limited easy opportunities to interact with others for the sake of convenience?</p><p>Do I ask God in prayer for opportunities for His plan, or to optimize mine?</p><p>I pray that you'll join me in asking God to open our eyes to those around us, to engage in the opportunities He has already given us, and to rightly see people around us as souls with eternal destinations before worrying about how quickly we can get to our next one.</p><p>What a privilege it is to be a part of God's plan of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18)! Consider reaching out to a friend or care group member for encouragement and accountability and for ways that you can actively engage in this ministry this week. Here are some ideas:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Go into the grocery store or coffee shop to order if you might normally order online</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Strike up a conversation with the person next to you at your child's sporting event</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Bake a treat to deliver to your neighbor and ask how you might be praying for them</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Stop into a local store that you've never visited and begin forming a relationship with the person behind the counter</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Say "hi" when you see someone on your next walk around your neighborhood</p></blockquote><p>Get creative and see how many interactions you can have in a week with individuals and continue from there!</p><p>I hope you will join me in prayerfully putting this question before us and adjusting accordingly:</p><p><b>Is my life conducive to achieve the great commission or my greatest convenience? </b></p><p><b>- </b>Lizzy Blanchard </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-9620223868856948922023-08-11T10:35:00.006-05:002023-08-11T10:38:30.644-05:00Your Neighbors <p>The article below is a great encouragement as you consider ministering to your neighbors--whether you live in the country, an apartment, or in a subdivision! Click <a href="https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/next-door-strangers" target="_blank">here</a> to read. <br /><br />Take care,<br />Pastor Ben <br /><br />PS-Our outreach team is looking at the website <a href="http://blesseveryhome.com">blesseveryhome.com</a> as a resource for BCC. Take a look and let us know what you think!</p>Ben Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506352459575288592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-74419717075987032022023-07-31T12:36:00.000-05:002023-07-31T12:36:09.487-05:00Thankful in Prayer When It Comes to Suffering<p>On Sunday, Pastor Ben mentioned the following as it relates to being thankful in prayer when it comes to suffering . . .</p><p>1. To perfect us and grow us in spiritual maturity<br />Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. <i>29</i> For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, <br />Romans 5:3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, <i>4</i> and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, </p><p>2. To display His faithfulness<br />1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.<br />Psalm 119:75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. <i>76</i> Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.</p><p>3. To teach us our own weakness and to cause us to depend more on Him<br />2 Corinthians 1:8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.<i> 9</i> Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.</p><p>4. God wants to increase our usefulness<br />2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort<i>, 4</i> who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. <i>5</i> For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.</p><p>5. To keep us from becoming too comfortable in this world<br />Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. <i>19 </i>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.<br />Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, <i>21</i> who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.</p><p>6. To create opportunities for being a witness for Christ<br />Philippians 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,</p><p>7. To cause us as Christians to recognize our need of one another and to cause us to draw closer to one another<br />Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.</p><p>8. His infinite wisdom<br />Psalm 147:4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. <i>5</i> Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. <br />Romans 11:33 Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! <i>34</i> "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"</p><p>Summary - To what does Paul relate suffering<br />Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,</p><p>Pastor Ben mentioned a few prayer apps and they are listed here:</p><p>Five Psalms</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbgzwjsm5EWkuSVf1OqpXtzBMiWYljqZqLxlmFs-keboH8Vq27w7mzvIMAOM6-EWgnZGwTVH8egkXblI8wywy8SIkTd4WKmwtRVrEWF6rCh4qNoyO3S35h6OalfEpCYxcMxm1hJq9m-v_xoeKVAaennwzPkrkWO_pQdo1Ief1DaeJw1gCenrePqDlgKk/s224/Five%20Psalms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbgzwjsm5EWkuSVf1OqpXtzBMiWYljqZqLxlmFs-keboH8Vq27w7mzvIMAOM6-EWgnZGwTVH8egkXblI8wywy8SIkTd4WKmwtRVrEWF6rCh4qNoyO3S35h6OalfEpCYxcMxm1hJq9m-v_xoeKVAaennwzPkrkWO_pQdo1Ief1DaeJw1gCenrePqDlgKk/s1600/Five%20Psalms.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><p>PrayerMate</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZtvIjLZ99vzU0MNvaJ5JZ5bRDSBuPqdOpssQV7zc61zBylnEqzgKgskKnO4sUdN05t9lj-_CXeDv_TS59vdMjc9Hq8J_zU5sRYceHhzqCtda37HcZO3qHD-qOVSh8MI52yCaMKDkJd8U5Ht-Ly8agsZ10VQZbEMCy4iKM-QH5GWsSbrmpaB_vogKXM4/s225/PrayerMate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZtvIjLZ99vzU0MNvaJ5JZ5bRDSBuPqdOpssQV7zc61zBylnEqzgKgskKnO4sUdN05t9lj-_CXeDv_TS59vdMjc9Hq8J_zU5sRYceHhzqCtda37HcZO3qHD-qOVSh8MI52yCaMKDkJd8U5Ht-Ly8agsZ10VQZbEMCy4iKM-QH5GWsSbrmpaB_vogKXM4/s1600/PrayerMate.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p>Bless Every Home</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgNwwxm6hNb6h02cjnOA9598mWlECGtDCrD2EFRGHpc9fJU9KJjg-zY2mXitvdp-K5IpBrhbaNGkIRyIeXykW31CSWaz2GnKuYvrLCVuJxlZBzfKk0Ba0i1ssM24fg2C-TNuxOasyexBBsC-lzkpfMEkiWTLTFWnQm6OGtzbKbsOkQxlZHWUSteV_D4I/s224/Bless%20Every%20Home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgNwwxm6hNb6h02cjnOA9598mWlECGtDCrD2EFRGHpc9fJU9KJjg-zY2mXitvdp-K5IpBrhbaNGkIRyIeXykW31CSWaz2GnKuYvrLCVuJxlZBzfKk0Ba0i1ssM24fg2C-TNuxOasyexBBsC-lzkpfMEkiWTLTFWnQm6OGtzbKbsOkQxlZHWUSteV_D4I/s1600/Bless%20Every%20Home.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><p>Unreached of the Day</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAu1xVEhJJ5gtawBhqGrSJtYr3Yut0g4gdgoTW3SD4Sd0UKinbDDe5gpbdKlG8_UaaTJm4FSRrk6vNvIq8qsAMRP9Qgkt3TJFqvvAcvbe3IzrSlkDopxDmKJUd9jkFaJb0WujEcDKAM-2lM_9AKHErXBid7jwx1WIjJib367TgFRVXb832ftN4AWVds3s/s224/Unreached%20of%20the%20Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAu1xVEhJJ5gtawBhqGrSJtYr3Yut0g4gdgoTW3SD4Sd0UKinbDDe5gpbdKlG8_UaaTJm4FSRrk6vNvIq8qsAMRP9Qgkt3TJFqvvAcvbe3IzrSlkDopxDmKJUd9jkFaJb0WujEcDKAM-2lM_9AKHErXBid7jwx1WIjJib367TgFRVXb832ftN4AWVds3s/s1600/Unreached%20of%20the%20Day.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-8306829170505452672023-07-28T15:35:00.000-05:002023-07-28T15:35:18.559-05:00An Anchor<p>On November 24, 1572, the sun had set on the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, ushering in an end to what had been a rather peaceful day. However, just around the corner, in the home of one of the most influential men in church history, the scenery was vastly different. The beloved reformed minister John Knox, stricken with pneumonia, lay on his death bed.</p><p>Sensing the end of his life and his last breath were near, he gathered his remaining strength to look at his wife Margaret and said, "Go. Go where I cast my first anchor." Immediately, she knew exactly where he was wanting her to turn. Without hesitation, she opened the divinely inspired pages of Holy Scripture and read to her dying groom the following words from the gospel of John, chapter 17. </p><p><i>When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.</i></p><p>To continue reading the rest of Pastor Jordan's post, please go <a href="https://bethanycommunitychurch.churchcenter.com/pages/blog-post">HERE</a></p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-52809897584471279242023-07-14T15:41:00.000-05:002023-07-14T15:41:06.084-05:00My Biggest Unplanned Lesson from Sabbatical<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">Our family was so blessed and felt so loved by BCC allowing us the privilege of stepping away from the ministry for a time of sabbatical! Going into that time Jennie and I each made some plans for things we'd like to do and get out of the time away. In spite of all this, one of the most important lessons I learned over sabbatical was not one I planned or even realized I needed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As part of my time away I scheduled to meet with other leaders from various churches and ministries seeking to gain wisdom in how to advance the family discipleship culture of our church. During one of these meetings, a wise, older man encouraged me that one of, if not the best thing, I could bring back to BCC, even more than great new plans, was what God taught me over the time. I appreciated his input, but still being fairly early into the time away, didn't really know what that might look like or mean. A few weeks late the realization hit home very hard. Taking his advice, I want to make sure not to waste what I've been challenged with and am learning, so I desire to share it with you too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">About three weeks into our sabbatical, I couldn't place my finger on it, but I found myself disgruntled and unhappy. It felt like there was a lack of peace in our family and my relationship with both my wife and kids felt at odds. Still I was oblivious. One night, putting my son to sleep, as we lay in his bed together talking, having just fought what I perceived as another parenting battle, he said something along the lines of, "Daddy, sometimes it seems like you don't like us." Taken aback I quickly affirmed my deepest love for him and that "Daddy would always love him no matter what," but his words sat very heavy on my heart. Later that night I asked Jennie about it, hoping to brush it off as a child's midnight musing trying desperately to say something to stay up a bit longer. She was gracious, but did not ease by conscience encouraging me to process it more. So I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and racing mind. The next morning, I brought all these thoughts and the pain I felt at possibly causing my child pain to the Lord, having no further comfort or clarity from the night's sleep. In that time together the Lord started me on a path of far deeper realization about myself as well as my shepherding of my family. </p><p style="text-align: left;">To finish reading this post by Pastor Phil, go<a href="https://bethanycommunitychurch.churchcenter.com/pages/blog-post"> HERE</a></p></div><p></p><p><br /> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-81504710083259135222023-06-30T18:17:00.000-05:002023-06-30T18:17:56.668-05:00Gen-X Church, Part 1: The Attractional Church<p> <b><i>Note: The following is adapted from my notes from our last Sunday Evening Service when we introduced a new series: "Gen-X Ecclesiology." The goal of the series is to look at some of the major movements in the American Evangelical church over the past 50 years. The first night, we talked about the rise of the "attractional model," or the "seeker-sensitive movement" and how part of the outgrowth of that movement was the megachurch.</i></b></p><p><b><i>These notes haven't been sufficiently edited but I thought it was better to put out something "okay" than "nothing at all."</i></b></p><p>As we think about the attractional model, the most prominent spokesperson of that model remains Rick Warren. Over the years, people have asked me about my opinion of Rick Warren and I've tried to be fair. I believe he's a brother in Christ but seriously mistaken in some areas. I think one example shows not only why I have concerns about his ministry but is a great example of one of the primary problems with the attractional model.</p><p>Last year, as Warren argued against the expulsion of his church from the SBC because of their position on female pastors, he pointed to his accomplishments as evidence of the "rightness" of his position. He mentioned that he had baptized 56,631 new believers and sent nearly 27,000 missionaries overseas. He also noted that he had trained 1.1 million pastors, more than all the SBC seminaries put together.</p><p>None of those statistics have anything to do with whether or not there is biblical justification for women pastors. To be fair, he later attempted to address the biblical arguments for women pastors, but his first instinct was an appeal to pragmatics: this must be right because of the good things that are being accomplished by our church.</p><p><b>The History of the Seeker-Sensitive Church and the Rise of the Megachurch</b></p><p>There are three terms that are related but not identical. The <b><i><u>attractional</u></i></b> model refers to a philosophy of how to do church. The <b><i><u>seeker-sensitive movement</u></i></b> is an example of that attractional model that really took off in the 1970s and 80s. The <b><i><u>megachurch</u></i></b> was the fruit of these church philosophies.</p><p>There have been large churches before the seeker-sensitive movement. For example, some point to Charles Spurgeon as an early example of an evangelical megachurch. Spurgeon became pastor of a church in 1853 and in 1861 oversaw the constructing of the The Metropolitan Tabernacle, which could allow 6,000 to hear the Word preached. The building housed a SS, preacher's college, conferences, orphanage, poor house.</p><p>Institutional Church Movement of the 19th and 20th Century, according to David Eagle in "Historicizing the Megachurch," was an early precursor to the megachurches of today. The movement saw the need for a church to not just be in use on a Sunday morning but throughout the week. And so you had these larger buildings that could house other events during the week like debates or theatre productions or social programs.</p><p>The attractional model in its contemporary sense appeared as a part of what we call the seeker-sensitive movement in the 70s and 80s. And as religious historians talk about the megachurch and seeker sensitive movement, they understandably sometimes conflate them and use the terms interchangeably.</p><p>In 1975, Bill Hybels started Willow Creek in Palentine, Illinois. Five years later, on Easter Sunday, Rick Warren moved a bible study from the living room of his condo to a local high school gymnasium and Saddleback was born. Before launching the church, he surveyed his neighborhood in Orange County, California in Saddleback Valley and asked people why they didn't come to church. People responded that they didn't find services interesting or they were turned off by all the requests for money.</p><p>The argument made by Hybels and Warren went like this: Seekers don't find Christianity appealing because they don't think the Bible is relevant. Therefore, changes to the church service should be made to attract unbelievers, in areas such as music, creative packaging, and the preaching.</p><p>Eagle writes:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The megachurch burst into the American consciousness in the 1980s. Megachurches differed from their predecessors by offering their participants a single organization to meet their spiritual, emotional, educational, and recreational needs. In 1989, the vanguard of the megachurch movement, 37 year-old Bill Hybels, said, "We're on the verge of making kingdom history . . . doing things a new way for a whole new generation." A 33 year-old Rick Warren, pastor of the then 5,000 member (now 20,000+ member) Saddleback Community Church echoed similar sentiments:</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>There's a trend all across America moving away from the small neighborhood churches to larger regional-type churches. It's the same phenomenon with malls replacing the mom and pop stores on the corner. People will drive past all kinds of little shopping centers to go to a major mall, where there are lots of of services and where they meet their needs. The same is true in churches today in that people drive past dozens of little churches to go to a larger church which offers more services and special programs</i>. . . <b>[we'll come back to this]</b> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Writing in Christianity Today, Lyle Schaller, a prominent evangelical spokesman for the megachurch movement, proclaimed, "The emergence of the 'mega-church' is the most important development of modern Christian history. You can be sentimental about the small congregation, like the small corner grocery store or small drugstore, but they simply can't meet the expectations that people carry with them today." This echoes the well-known marketing consultant Peter Drucker's claim that megachurches "are surely the most important social phenomenon in American society in the last 30 years." </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Several historians agree that megachurches lack precedent. Take Patrick Allitt. He sees them as an innovation of post-WWII America. "America's new megachurches," he argues ". . . were designed to provide an entire way of life, including schools, gymnasiums, dining halls, study groups settings, therapy sessions, aerobics classes, bowling alleys, and sometimes even Christian-themed shopping." "Megachurch," Martin Marty says simply, "is . . . an invention of the Age of Greed."</p></blockquote><p>As more and more churches adopted the seeker-sensitive movement paradigm, you had more megachurches.</p><p>In 2015, if you had a church of over 1,000, you were in the top 1 percent of Protestant congregations. A megachurch is usually over 1,500 or 2,000 depending on what source you're using. Again, Eagle writes:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">They [Thumma and Travis] estimate that in 1970, 50 churches with an attendance of more than 1,500 people existed in the United States but by 2005, that number had grown to more than 1,200. [Latest numbers from Hartford: 1,642 megachurches. 810 in the south, 405 in the west, 309 in the Midwest, 118 in the northeast. California has the most megachurches.] In Thumma and Travis's words, "while megachurches are not an entirely new phenomenon . . . the rapid proliferation of these churches since the 1970s . . . is a distinctive social phenomenon."</p></blockquote><p><b><i>That change obviously drastically affected how people viewed what "church" is</i></b>. The megachurch produced multi-site and multiple services during this time. While multiservice churches existed prior to the 1970s, this is when they started becoming commonplace. By 2016, about 1/3 of churches offered multiple services. Jonathan Leeman in <i>One Assembly</i> notes that "in 1990 ten churches nationwide were multisite; in 2019 over five thousand were . . . There are as many megachurches today in the greater Nashville area as there were in the entire country in 1960." </p><p><b>Philosophy of the Attraction Model</b></p><p>As Jared Wilson observes in his book <i>The Gospel-Driven Church</i>, though the phrase "seeker-sensitive church" is waning, the underlying philosophy remains enduring. Wilson uses the phrase "attractional church" in his book: "I (and many others) use the term attractional to refer to a way of doing church ministry whose primary purpose is to make Christianity appealing." There are three things the attractional model is built on that Wilson focuses on: consumerism, pragmatism, and legalism.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">1. Consumerism</p></blockquote><p>"In considering its reach, the attractional church is essentially asking: Who is our customer? What does our customer want?"</p><p>"An attractional church conducts worship and ministry according to the desires and values of potential consumers. This typically leads to the dominant ethos of pragmatism throughout the church. If a church determines its target audience prefers old-fashioned music, then that's what they feature in order to attract those people."</p><p>David Wells addressing the consumerism in evangelicalism in his article, "The Bleeding of the Evangelical Church." He says that what shapes what we do as a church - what ministries to offer, what to do on a Sunday morning, is:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">. . . a marketing ethos. In one sense, this should not be surprising at all. Americans are nothing if not consumers, consumers of images, of relationships, and of things . . . We have 7% of the world's population but we consume 33% of the goods and services . . . Our whole society has been transformed into a consumer's heaven and we are nothing if not a nation of buyers, thoroughly at home in, and thoroughly a part of, the life of commerce. We move in and out of it much like fish do through water. It is in this commerce that we live and move and have our being. <i>So the Church's willingness to adapt to the marketing model for thinking about itself really is not remarkable.</i></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">It is not that theological beliefs are denied, but that they have little cash value. They don't matter. I likened the situation to that of a child who is in a home but who is ignored. It is not that the child has been abducted; the child is there. The child is in the home, but has no legitimate place in the family. And, again, research which I have had conducted strongly points to the fact that where this kind of theological character is crumbling, there the centrality of God is disappearing . . . In the broader culture we learn that 91% of people say that God is very important to them but 66% go on to say that they do not believe in moral absolute truth. "</p></blockquote><p>There are two implications of the consumerism of the attractional church model: First, the primary purpose of the Sunday morning is evangelistic not discipleship. Second, members of a church are consumers not disciples. We'll come back to this, but even in a church that would reject the attraction model, consumerism still creeps in.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">2. Pragmatism</p></blockquote><p>It isn't wrong to be practical. "But," says Wilson, "when we assume certain tangible or visible results from our application and obedience, we have turned from practicality to pragmatism."</p><p>There are several implications of the pragmatism of the attractional church model: First, the primary question shaping ministry is not "what is biblical?" but "what works?" Second, it becomes important to produce an experience. Third, preaching moves from discipleship of believers to meeting felt needs of unbelievers. Fourth, deep theological teaching vanishing from the church. Finally, the structure of the church changes without careful thought. The church becomes faced with questions like: Should we do small groups? Multiple services? Go multi-site? Increase paid staff? And we base our answers based on whether or not we think those ministries will "work," not whether or not they're biblical. It may not be wrong, for instance, to increase the number of paid staff, but the reason we do so can't simply be that we think it will draw more people.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">3. Legalism</p></blockquote><p>Wilson makes an interesting point about legalism and the attractional model:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">We've moved from holiness to legalism. The great irony in this is that the most attractional churches pride themselves on not being legalistic. For some pastors, the reason for adopting an an attractional approach to ministry was to reject the legalism of their upbringing. The generation that gave us the church-growth movement was, in large part, reacting to the negative fundamentalism that dominated American church for many years. This "traditional" way of doing church was characterized by an unhealthy focus on prohibitions, which came at the expense of the gospel of grace."</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">When the gospel is peripheral, occasional, or incidental to our mission and our preaching, we cannot trust that the gospel is truly drawing and shaping those who respond. Pragmatic methodology is legalistic because legalism is what happens when you disconnect the Christian's "do" from Christ's "done" in the gospel."</p></blockquote><p>There are two implications of the legalism of the attractional church model: First, the metrics for success become man-made. Second, those who chose a methodology that potentially attracts fewer consumers are viewed as doing something morally wrong.</p><p><b>Evaluative Thoughts</b></p><p>There are some strengths that have come from the Seeker-Sensitive Movement and Megachurches. These churches have traditionally been conservative on social issues. The movement helped churches reject the negative aspects of fundamentalism, characterized by a fear of culture and shutting oneself off from the world. The movement also helped the church engage in caring for the physical needs of people in our community, a hallmark of faithfully biblical churches. Finally, it helped the church be willing to change some aspects of the church that were extra-biblical and an unnecessary obstacle to unbelievers.</p><p>Unfortunately, there are significant weaknesses. First, the attractional model altered our concept of what the church is, something we still haven't fully grappled with. Is church an assembly of brothers and sisters coming together to sing, read, preach, pray and see the Word? Or is worship like a concert I attend where I expect to be inspired?</p><p>Second, we individualized the worship of the church . . . no longer corporate. It's a place we go to get experiences. Third, it created an environment in which bad shepherds thrive. The main preacher becomes the "brand" of the church and there is an instinctive desire to protect him. Fourth, it minimized the importance of doctrine.</p><p>Finally, the attractional model failed to achieve the goals of the attractional church model. Numerous studies bear this out. For instance, according to a survey of megachurches conducted by the Hartford Institute:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">* 68% of attendees have been there less than five years, compared to 40% of non-megachurch attendees. But that doesn't mean there are more unbelievers because only 2% of attendees at megachurches said they were not a committed follower of Jesus Christ before they began attending the church. Furthermore, only 6% of attendees said they had never attended services prior to coming to the current megachurch.</p></blockquote><p>I'm grateful for how God used even methodologies I strongly disagree with to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly he has used the attractional model. But a far better model is to first look at what God's word says that the church is to be and do. For me as a pastor, Paul's words are clear. My task, even if difficult at times, is thankfully simple:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (1 Tim. 4:1-5).</p></blockquote><p>- Pastor Daniel </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-41236259551425739952023-06-16T15:22:00.002-05:002023-06-16T15:22:39.652-05:00Remind One Another<p>Excellence, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. It is with these qualities, according to the Apostle Peter, that we are to make every effort to supplement our faith. Furthermore, if these qualities are ours in increasing measure, they will keeps us from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8). Another way to say this is that if we strive to supplement our faith with these qualities we will, by God's grace, be effective and fruitful in the knowledge of Christ. This is a word of encouragement for us as we live for our beloved Savior!</p><p>Peter continues by warning us that the person who lacks these qualities is blind and shortsighted, forgetting that he has been cleansed from past sins (v.9). So, what must we do? Be diligent (make every effort) to confirm our calling and election because if we practice these qualities we will never fail (v.10).<br />Another word of encouragement for us as we live for our beloved Savior! Persevere. Press on.</p><p>The trouble is we often forget. We get mixed up in our priorities and we need help getting back on track. And so, as believers in the Lord Jesus we follow the example given here by Peter, namely, to <i>remind</i> one another of these qualities (v.12) and to stir one another up by way of reminder (v.13).</p><p>In the strength that God supplies, may we regularly remind one another.</p><p>- Pastor Blake</p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-38781829748286679152023-06-02T15:22:00.000-05:002023-06-02T15:22:28.754-05:00What Is Worship?<p>When we hear the term worship, we often go right to the part of the gathering when we sing. For this blogpost, I will be generally referencing worship as it relates to the musical portions of the gathering on Sundays and I will seek to share what worship is and how by God's grace, worship could be practiced when we gather.</p><p>In his writings to the Ephesians, Paul says, ... "<i>be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart</i>..." </p><p><b>WORSHIP IS MORE THAN MUSIC</b><br />Worship is an action taken to show reverence, awe, and dedication to something. We're always worshiping something, whether that is God, ourselves, or any number of other things. <b>Worship isn't just singing. It's a lifestyle formed from our habits and the inward meditations of our heart</b>. Everyone worships what's most important to them. So, what does it mean to worship God rightly?</p><p>We must recognize that God is worthy of worship to begin with. He is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 22:13). He is the Creator (Gen. 1:1). He is the Light of the World (1John 1:5). He is all these things and more. God is worthy of honor and praise because He is the creator of all things and is above all things (Col. 1:17).</p><p>Worship is the action of recognizing the majesty of God and putting Him above all else. With this definition, worship is indeed not just singing. It is every part of our life. We worship in all things when God is placed on the throne of our hearts and our actions reflect that reality.</p><p>In future posts, I'll share some practical ways that worship is pursued during our gatherings.</p><p>- Pastor Mike</p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-70019354154604319432023-05-19T14:58:00.000-05:002023-05-19T14:58:33.266-05:00Do You Know the 3i's?<p> Do you know the 3i's? If not, go <a href="https://www.bethanycommunitychurch.org/about/purpose.asp">HERE</a></p><p>The 3i's are associated with the portion of BCC's purpose statement that reads "proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord." As we consider that statement, it begs us to ask how we are doing in our proclamation -- to ourselves and to those who don't know Christ. The reality is if we consider our identity in Christ and what He has done on our behalf, outreach and evangelism become less "scary" and a joy to participate in! So evaluate with your care group, family, or your ministry team where you think you are in general or in a specific relationship. Are you....</p><p>Investing?</p><p>Imparting?</p><p>Imploring?</p><p>(See the link above for the definitions of those words)</p><p>What area do you need to grow in?<br />Pick a specific person in your life....how can you progress in the 3i's in that relationship? Pray as a part of the BCC community for God to use us as His ambassadors this week!</p><p>Take care,<br />Ben D.</p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-88075086105776196972023-03-21T12:35:00.004-05:002023-09-12T10:47:10.940-05:00Outreach Encouragement<p>Recently Pastor Ben wrote to our care group's Outreach Discussion Coordinators. We thought it could be helpful for all to read. Enjoy!</p><p>Hello,<br />Feel free to email or read this to your care group. Thanks for carrying the banner of outreach to your group.<br />BD</p><p>While on sabbatical, I read <i>The Unadjusted Gospel</i>. It's a book of messages given at a Together for the Gospel conference in 2006, so its writings include R.C. Sproul, Mark Dever, John Piper, Ligon Duncan, and others.</p><p>In the book, Mark Dever writes about how the gospel should reflect itself in the lives of the church in holiness, love, and other ways. Daniel's sermon on 1 Sam 5-6 helped us gain a larger view of holiness. It is being set apart from sin, but this is motivated by a deep devotion to God. Dever writes: "Think of the command, 'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy' (Lev 19:2). Peter quotes this very verse to some young Christians in Turkey in the middle of the fist century. 'Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.' (1 Pet 1:15-16)."</p><p>This should cause me to stop and ask myself: Does my life reflect holiness of God? Or do I act so much like the world that non-Christians around me have no questions to ask me about the Lord? Is the awesomeness of God reflected in my life? Is God presented in my life as One who is unique, holy, set apart, and distinct?</p><p>Dever goes on to say, "In our day, we treat casualness as the height of intimacy with God. But it was not so in the Bible. Consider the responses that people in the Bible have to God." Job 42, Is 6:5, Ez 1:28<br />These passages point toward people bowing in devotion and worship to a God of Wonders!</p><p>Consider the non-Christians around you - neighbors, co-workers, classmates, or family.</p><p>First, consider devoting yourself more fully to God as a living sacrifice to Him. Spend time with him, reflect on the gospel, and then spend time doing something for your non-Christian friends in the next month that might make you seem "weird" to them - but you are doing it as unto the Lord. It might just start with you saying, "I know I should know your name by now, but I don't or at least I have known it and forgot it." Then ask if there is anything they need during these winter months that you could help them with. Consider delivering a meal. Bring over some dessert. Or in light of last month's OC discussion, invite someone over for dessert. Tell them, "We just wanted to let you know we care about you because God cares about you and me."</p><p>Next steps:<br />1 - Go around your care group and have each person say a name of a non-Christian with whom there is a relationship or at least a proximity of life like a neighbor.</p><p>2 - Then brainstorm ideas together of how you can put your holiness on display to those friends. See some ideas above.</p><p>3 - Let your care group know how it goes! Pray for one another.</p><p>Have some fun with this! This stuff is exciting!<br />Ben D.</p>Christine Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946809145942690183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-46082463464097313202022-05-17T11:34:00.005-05:002022-05-17T11:36:19.099-05:00Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord: Witness on the Plane<p>I was flying from Phoenix, AZ to Chicago, Il, at the end of a week-long business trip. I sat in the aisle seat. The lady next to me in the middle seat, Connie, was the wife of a pastor of a Bible believing church in the Phoenix area. The guy next to her in the window seat, Gary, was a leader what we would consider to be a cult. Connie and Gary started to talk about the differences in what they believed. I could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation as Connie faced away from me as she talked, and Gary was facing me when he replied. It did not take long to figure out that Gary was not a Bible believing Christian. I was praying for Connie as they started to discuss the differences in their beliefs. I was content just pray, and refrain from joining the conversation until Gary got to the point where he discounted the importance of Christ's atoning death on the cross and the resurrection. At that point I felt compelled to join what ended up being a three-hour conversation.</p><p></p><p>I believe that Connie and I did a credible job of loving sharing the truth of God’s Word and the centrality of Christ’s atoning death, His burial, and His resurrection to the Christian faith. And of the need to personally accept Christ as Savior. It was evident that Gary has heard these truths before but has chosen to believe a lie over the truth (Romans 1:25) and that Satan has blinded Gary to the truth (II Corinthians 4:4). We ended agreeing to disagree.</p><p></p><p>It is amazing that God put two Bible believing Christians next to Gary to witness to him concerning the truth of God’s Word. Who knows what impact down the road this may have on him. But I am also wondering if God arrange it not so much as a witness to Gary, but perhaps as a witness to someone in the seats in front of us or behind us that may have heard our conversation. It might have served as an encouragement to their faith in Christ or planted a seed that may one day result in that person coming to faith in Christ. Only God knows now, but we may find out in eternity.</p><p></p><p>Through this experience, I keenly felt the importance of the admonition in 1 Peter 3:15 of always being ready to give an account for the hope that is in you.</p><p></p><p>_________</p><p>Jim Pratt</p>Ben Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506352459575288592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-79219058558820074172022-03-02T13:37:00.003-06:002022-03-02T13:38:00.342-06:00Images from 3/6/22 Sunday Message on Marriage<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvkFdJPyVeJqWWYYtU3NDrT5YEtxhD3lfrWrsWzFw_Da2jefiyOuyV5mlxg_Ao_7NySiVzDcrokf9Lmla9tCsBzpwSYpPYHVKdZXuPJKfRp9nrbqDy3oRlGbydM-cZB6Y2YW5HQe-w88yCMrkuS49c3bOJqdthmXyTStruQinSW8F30lv2r3I_qAE=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvkFdJPyVeJqWWYYtU3NDrT5YEtxhD3lfrWrsWzFw_Da2jefiyOuyV5mlxg_Ao_7NySiVzDcrokf9Lmla9tCsBzpwSYpPYHVKdZXuPJKfRp9nrbqDy3oRlGbydM-cZB6Y2YW5HQe-w88yCMrkuS49c3bOJqdthmXyTStruQinSW8F30lv2r3I_qAE=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtxb-17u9RQfkLauHz2PPzy6E9sXLJbsu6GQ9s1AJ1w8raZ-p6ZYs4z1dvy0sS72aj8X7JLrWHTszr3CB2v3CRx0njGN-XAoOvVV_Zht6akS5stgKLcDzfdQD6pQRbx_BSptMMo-WwTnt7e_9liSR4tJn-CxGzUdBQaBAHeQrEMLRVJPG57A1ry5c=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtxb-17u9RQfkLauHz2PPzy6E9sXLJbsu6GQ9s1AJ1w8raZ-p6ZYs4z1dvy0sS72aj8X7JLrWHTszr3CB2v3CRx0njGN-XAoOvVV_Zht6akS5stgKLcDzfdQD6pQRbx_BSptMMo-WwTnt7e_9liSR4tJn-CxGzUdBQaBAHeQrEMLRVJPG57A1ry5c=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCJMzy-FWDmfgFoPVqwrPaqWYkexxjUgLqi8Zs70TXED4ZAm2dxSlg0c9kackTvC01NMAKPy1SA9ulCXg9Eh7CZ4ewhue2bB5yW2zbJtKLjPRGxzSDsRxCvy3X6_-ob2AkC4sQ6opNx9LDPOHMlDUWWwv0JA1vx8SI-TZcgo-yQl5-GSYDC7KawcM=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCJMzy-FWDmfgFoPVqwrPaqWYkexxjUgLqi8Zs70TXED4ZAm2dxSlg0c9kackTvC01NMAKPy1SA9ulCXg9Eh7CZ4ewhue2bB5yW2zbJtKLjPRGxzSDsRxCvy3X6_-ob2AkC4sQ6opNx9LDPOHMlDUWWwv0JA1vx8SI-TZcgo-yQl5-GSYDC7KawcM=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjnAhFDjDcBYAyaIaQf6Rxg-EANgUM5At-3O2HbseExbUNZroiBEWLOlqGMWTj2w0Q21JF4_GMbw3GJJ_Db4pKXA-HP_XDOjJ5TqENVrhwM_d4Toi2CywG3uHTXSM-FbGITCAof-r9nLbdf94fHJXHj_LFXrLj0BN13-I6GEKHYZlgTAwTmkCB7TQ=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjnAhFDjDcBYAyaIaQf6Rxg-EANgUM5At-3O2HbseExbUNZroiBEWLOlqGMWTj2w0Q21JF4_GMbw3GJJ_Db4pKXA-HP_XDOjJ5TqENVrhwM_d4Toi2CywG3uHTXSM-FbGITCAof-r9nLbdf94fHJXHj_LFXrLj0BN13-I6GEKHYZlgTAwTmkCB7TQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9BCwNV3LiTNFeDnR_OPTu5VOtdfTrX2uDWSH4KSR_vQ3OzGtCTFjBr3nIYpaWjdSsE-XvFC4agkJ0GBcwyg7uyG3ffDxBY_5qBLQKLrA5cpiyx2JX8Ic-XwC4f4xruzzJ610Wpsmi0rkt-und2O1soDD5iL3rSQaJkRKhCoaCZsNsFkMYdgy4Gus=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9BCwNV3LiTNFeDnR_OPTu5VOtdfTrX2uDWSH4KSR_vQ3OzGtCTFjBr3nIYpaWjdSsE-XvFC4agkJ0GBcwyg7uyG3ffDxBY_5qBLQKLrA5cpiyx2JX8Ic-XwC4f4xruzzJ610Wpsmi0rkt-und2O1soDD5iL3rSQaJkRKhCoaCZsNsFkMYdgy4Gus=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Ben Davidsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506352459575288592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-82132190917630903272022-01-03T11:24:00.005-06:002022-01-03T11:29:15.684-06:00A Prayer Update from Mark and CharityDear Partners in Ministry,<br />Greetings to you as we conclude our 16th year of ministry to China. We praise the Lord for a fruitful year of ministry. Although we experience each day both the blessings and curses of living in a technological age, we are so thankful to be able to use these tools to spread the gospel of Christ, to bring clarity to Biblical Truth, and to help Chinese pastors know and preach God’s Word. Pictured above is a Zoom class on Monday where we continued our study of Biblical Counseling, this week keying in on the importance of forgiveness.<br /> <br />Philosophy of Ministry<br />The goal of all we do to serve the Chinese church is to raise up and equip nationals to do the work of the ministry under the authority of God’s Word to His glory alone. <br />...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ... Ephesians 4:12 <br /><br />It is because the philosophy of our ministry is and has always been about raising up and equipping nationals for ministry that we have not seen a lot of change in our ministry even in the last two years. During that time, our location from which we are doing ministry has changed, but the focus of the ministry has not changed. We praise the Lord that we have seen the impact of the ministry greatly increase in the last two years. The changing political situation in China is deeply troubling. We are reminded of our insignificance and God’s sovereignty as we continue to watch the situation. We often discuss the situation with our elders, leaders at ABWE, and different pastors of our supporting churches. They are helping us to think through the best options to insure a sustainable ministry into the future. Please be praying with us in this. Mark plans to begin courses towards a masters in Biblical Counseling this January. We believe this will help with the ongoing ministry to China, with personal and family growth, and with additional future ministry the Lord has for us.<br /><br /><br /><div>Impacting churches inside and outside of ChinaWe shared with you in the Christmas letter that our weekly users of the Chinese Bible Study Toolbox (CBST) have increased in the last year from around 1500 to consistently over 5000. Right: Table shows the top ten countries these users are coming from and the approximate number of users per country per week.<br /><br /><img height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgRXUUl3K-zILFuLSl-fieGxqTVHC8wt6Nh_jI2PcErQo5YjTYPvxPt2BAjSNpSH0tlETSY4hxyE2r5aKi_UBNs17HFYWaCV5GF5vECZ15FIfCYsrTALbWjKcej1xNPDX3a46KbNp6nrfztMqUpJwLrbhaNl1ssewTz-Pd4Dmqpb4cFws2utz-yjJy9iDm8q5zVzUFUavsOoNEFvt2hC0Gnj5Fh=w400-h274" width="400" /><br /><br />“我们属于加拿大的一家华人教会。我们团契目前在用敬虔的丈夫,贤德的妻子这两本书作为我们家庭主题学习内容。” Jennie Liu<br />We belong to a Chinese church in Canada. Our fellowship is currently studying, The Exemplary Husband and The Excellent Wife as our family study. <br /><br /><br /></div><div><img height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiSFUPZlulFBkwDCWkjmWg5UkvMfb91uxUjiuqejo3RWU_6XGjNevRXDvFmScq3lF5yXANykjoMnc92HQ3wIV3KDflqLInNd2YOb2Vx54tgsPoJIPKVP3Z-Bj2F9t7H7tbw1UP30K56AAOu-EHXVWNHgHmeiX_ABQ5zvnOI1LjwNKqXQ4Jsk_VLh3nUtjUqfTtVF7qWpmD7AQbRgz4umb8tk7lq=w800-h504" width="800" /></div><div><br />The blessings of faithful employees helping to lead the translation work at IRC<br />Above: Yisa (Isaac) with his wife Xiaofeng at an office fellowship way back in 2016. Isaac began working at the IRC Beijing office back in 2015. He has been a very faithful employee over the years. In the 7 years he has worked for us, he has done most everything at the office and currently oversees the finances as well as the administration of multiple translation projects. This year I have been giving him more responsibility as he moves into a COO type position (Chief Operating Officer). When this picture was taken back in 2016, they did not have any children. Now Xiaofeng is pregnant with their fourth child. Pray for Isaac as he takes on more responsibility at the office, along with the responsibility to care and shepherd his family and serve in various ways at his church.<br /><br /><br />“每次研经工具打不开的时候,我都好心焦啊,感谢主,可以正常使用了!好开心!”<br />Each time that I cannot open the CBST, I become very anxious. Thank the Lord that normally there is no problem. I rejoice! <br /><br /><br />Planning as the Chinese government exerts more and more controls on religion.<br />In the quote above you can hear first hand an issue that is of concern tobelievers in China. That issue is that the government is stepping up its blocking of religious websites and social media groups. We thank the Lord that it has NOT impacted the Chinese Bible Study Toolbox (the user quoted above is probably experiencing a local internet issue or a time when the website is being updated). In late October, our other website was blocked for users inside the Mainland. We quickly launched a new site with a new web address (<a href="http://www.shengmingbaoxun.com/">www.shengmingbaoxun.com</a>) and it has not had any issues. <br /><br />We learned several things during this time. One is that we need to have multiple web names for our websites known to the users (for those that understand, they block the name not the IP address). We have now put this in place for the China muzhe website as well as the CBST and continue to think through this issue. In the end, we believe that <a href="http://www.chinamuzhe.com/">www.chinamuzhe.com</a> website was blocked because of 1) its popularity, 2) its name contained “China” and “muzhe” - shepherd, and 3) it contained Sunday school material for children. Most of that content on the China muzhe website is downloadable and had been widely distributed on social media. What a blessing that it continues to be used. <br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjCLPgv2xGltQQN9-agy_RjGv_xHuGDCnkfCKo4T2yOANf5pEQFH4tnktfrGuVepilMYTtU0-LQBrWIRMNzDWEoZ7IcSk5wwoye8skeTvIxz0fOVAMoj2YuweCsfS9jsgEOtLaMskSk-F6uiDG-VxAmhN1xk9BCXPhWp8O2bSFEI-eokotQZkPmbQAowR6vAVCpYYI0u8CK1OyZokJWEAjtnE8s=s0-d-e1-ft" /><br /><br />Continued work with the House Church<br />We are blessed to continue to be ministering to different ones in the Chinese house church we were apart of in Beijing. We recently started a class on parenting with 5-6 couples. This is a blessing for several reasons. <br />1) It is a blessing to see Longqi (upper left corner) take leadership in our study. Mark read a book on eldership with him four years ago and he has taken leadership in his family and at church very seriously. Charity has spent time discipling his wife, Lina. Longqi has invited some other couples to join in and study the same material we taught five years ago at the church.<br />2) We are thankful that although we have been out of the country for nearly two years, these couples still desire fellowship and discipleship relationships with us.<br />This illustrates how our philosophy of ministry has worked out in a practical way as we see this couple equipped and doing the work of the ministry.<br /><br /><br />“感谢上帝,《研经工具》已经陪伴我走过4个年头,受益匪浅。无论是主日学还是平时的查经,第一件要做的事就是把《研经工具》打开。谢谢参与《研经工具》事工所有弟兄姊妹,你们为上帝做工的心志和辛苦的摆上必蒙上帝的记念!” Brother Liu<br />Thanks to the Lord, the CBST has been my companion for 4 years now, I have benefited greatly. Whether it is preparing for Sunday School or my regular Bible Study, the first thing I do is to open up the CBST. Thank you to all the brothers and sisters who have worked on the CBST. Your resolve to serve the Lord with your hard work is a display that will surely not be forgotton by God.<br /><br />This is all made possible through your love for Christ, your prayers, and your partnership with us. <br /><br />We thank the Lord for you! Mark & Charity <br /><br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-63024259646483686032021-12-06T15:22:00.002-06:002021-12-06T15:22:42.733-06:00A Prayer Update from Gary and Barb Bennett<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi430k7qNfxjyyBA4A5Z3rXlm-KG2hczXAmoylFAJYVoBelmlKzZ1L-6tSVOBmtTXh6jOl-yF1FRn8F5KrfyR_ArLm5BkwRhimPPXsQAG1_dwxYZc5fg5vGDXQQulyaRQAStWNZiC8jbJrcsm9gnIHd7O9OnvU52kvBbSZvZZZUAZOVBbvn4GCN1jLY=s1468" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1468" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi430k7qNfxjyyBA4A5Z3rXlm-KG2hczXAmoylFAJYVoBelmlKzZ1L-6tSVOBmtTXh6jOl-yF1FRn8F5KrfyR_ArLm5BkwRhimPPXsQAG1_dwxYZc5fg5vGDXQQulyaRQAStWNZiC8jbJrcsm9gnIHd7O9OnvU52kvBbSZvZZZUAZOVBbvn4GCN1jLY=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>1. Pray for our colleague Nick Pirolo who has just come back from home assignment and is working on accreditation for our University program CLIR. Praise for wisdom and discernment for him and the others as they meet with officials and try to figure out the way forward. We are reminded of the lyrics from CeCe Winan's song "move the unmovable, break the unbreakable, Lord we believe". It really is going to take moving the unmovable, but that is God's specialty. <br /><br /><br />2. Continue to pray for one of our NCM professors Alphonse and his radio teaching program. God is using him mightily, so pray for wisdom and direction for Alphonse as he continues to teach God's Word.</div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-42027957674260557982021-11-01T08:10:00.003-05:002021-11-01T08:10:45.439-05:00A Prayer Update From Catherine Coon<div class="separator"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1iaugNLcaa0OEqjegJLciuRNGcgyuntGacJkXX2fFGyQ0HQ6OTnxR1nrop4NXbJI1Co6C0VWwl55G6CxNP_ecRXUSvgk0i-kyCBK2AtlD5BzXMlYGbHA9Pc-31NIeGmlZVIDqr3f2L3UDxfagzIvNL8XM2o9xPQ09qWuKMqrVRJmzTaYwH7zVRdv4=s512" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1iaugNLcaa0OEqjegJLciuRNGcgyuntGacJkXX2fFGyQ0HQ6OTnxR1nrop4NXbJI1Co6C0VWwl55G6CxNP_ecRXUSvgk0i-kyCBK2AtlD5BzXMlYGbHA9Pc-31NIeGmlZVIDqr3f2L3UDxfagzIvNL8XM2o9xPQ09qWuKMqrVRJmzTaYwH7zVRdv4=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><u>Personal</u></div><div>• Praise that my move from Fremont to Cottonwood went well.</div><div>• There is still much to do on the house, as well as much catch up from helping my mom move. I’d appreciate prayer for wisdom in handling all that needs to be done.<br />• Pray that I will settle in well and have a clear sense of how God would like me to be involved in the neighborhood, church, and larger community.<br /><br /> <br /><u>Hope Alive!</u><br />• Pray for a smooth transition of the executive director position of Hope Alive! from me to Caleb Smagacz at the end of the year.<br />• Pray for God’s guidance as we work on my job description for my new responsibilities with Hope Alive! after the transition.<br />• Pray that the Ugandan government will have a realistic plan to get all students back in school in January. Except for a few very special classes, schools have been closed for 19 months.<br />• We continue to provide educational classes for our students. Pray for the encouragement of all involved, that good learning will take place in encouraging and safe settings.<br />• Small acts of terrorism have been taking place in Uganda. Pray for safety for our students, staff, mentors, and their families.<br />• Pray that our students (and staff and mentors) will grow in their walk with God during these challenging times.<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3366cc;"><u></u> </span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-89878699275023914352021-09-23T07:49:00.000-05:002021-09-23T07:49:34.904-05:00A Prayer Update from Jill Hostetler<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ohZG26ktV-hMAuJrvZP1SEc2UIeABOa1H3MSh0Vpnt7Lj0ENpjsDbp-uC_ucAVyTajnCQwWAhj-Dto0jsvyj-pAJlTkJA0by0zA2Bb4tU8ES32ENOFA_QueMjaeO_4ePpxcyigHNluE/s300/Jill+Hostetler.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ohZG26ktV-hMAuJrvZP1SEc2UIeABOa1H3MSh0Vpnt7Lj0ENpjsDbp-uC_ucAVyTajnCQwWAhj-Dto0jsvyj-pAJlTkJA0by0zA2Bb4tU8ES32ENOFA_QueMjaeO_4ePpxcyigHNluE/s0/Jill+Hostetler.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div>1. Pray for our after-school Good News Clubs. Praise God we have been able to restart 4 clubs.</div><div><br />2. Pray for a 2 week course I am taking at the CEF International HQ (Sept 19-Oct 1).</div><div><br />3. Pray for many children to attend our outdoor neighborhood outreach at our CEF office in October. <br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-89385747289007826392021-09-07T07:38:00.002-05:002021-09-07T07:38:13.455-05:00A Prayer Update from Dougg and LeAnn Custer<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTX6u3LQN0yJqAtblfWJkjAGpJ8SC4C_mzxcotygE6cFsdbr3TS6oYZyV2u6uJbz0QJAnN6rypEIeFmtbj1pEbMOB4F1S2SHEIx2e3V1tuUr7JdzwVGVbzcAjvYOjbhlStIyFWJRoIJ0/s2048/Dougg+and+LeAnn+Image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="2048" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTX6u3LQN0yJqAtblfWJkjAGpJ8SC4C_mzxcotygE6cFsdbr3TS6oYZyV2u6uJbz0QJAnN6rypEIeFmtbj1pEbMOB4F1S2SHEIx2e3V1tuUr7JdzwVGVbzcAjvYOjbhlStIyFWJRoIJ0/s320/Dougg+and+LeAnn+Image.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Praises:</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Great Mobilization Ministries Team retreat full of praying for each other's ministries as well as for more workers, encouraging each other, and training to enhance our effectiveness. </li></ul><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Ministry and Cultural Preparation Trainings this summer went very well - one was in person, and the other on Zoom. We all feel like we are hitting our stride!</li></ul><br /><br />Prayer Requests:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>For these missionaries who were trained and are nearing departure, that God would use the cultural and ministry training to make them better disciples in South America, Southeast and Central Asia, India, Japan, Europe and Africa. </li></ul><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pray that God would provide visas and open borders for the 14 fully supported units excitedly awaiting deployment to their field of service.</li></ul><div><br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Decisions are being made to hire a mobilizer for those working in the Disciple Making Movement as well as a media mobilizer, someone who would produce videos, brochures, etc. for the mobilizers to use on campuses, in churches and at conferences. Pray for all the details to be worked out.</li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-5928587306315899862021-08-30T07:00:00.001-05:002021-08-30T07:00:00.240-05:00A Prayer Update from Sam and Jamie Hornbrook<div class="separator"> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZUsVq7dkGuLCSYTvPg3WYz8HB8XQ7Kj4uz9JJa-Sce7PmLq5GgewKMv_i1jHwVxyRh4Rdgkuvnfsey-8gL73o1fX9oTmjf73JF_1d2AHn2cEOTGKgcz_IiHSEsdt22e1K2eJ_46fhJk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZUsVq7dkGuLCSYTvPg3WYz8HB8XQ7Kj4uz9JJa-Sce7PmLq5GgewKMv_i1jHwVxyRh4Rdgkuvnfsey-8gL73o1fX9oTmjf73JF_1d2AHn2cEOTGKgcz_IiHSEsdt22e1K2eJ_46fhJk/" width="320" /></a></div><br />1. We are grateful our daughter Nicole spent two months with us this summer while she worked for a company in California. The internet allows you to do things like that these days. Nicole is 20 years old and will be starting her Junior year of college at Purdue University in just a few days.<br /><br /><div>2. We continue to have discipleship classes with our next door neighbors. We meet with Rosi the nurse and the elderly lady, Tere. Both are very excited and grateful for the gospel. The Lady Marisol had a conflict with her mother, who is Tere, and has refused to attend the class for over a month. We pray she will humble herself and come back, but also trust the Lord to reveal what is in each person's heart.<br /><br /></div><div>3. The third wave of covid is filling up hospitals and taking the lives of extended family members of church families. We are thankful that we have not had a death because of Covid yet, in our church.<br /><br /></div><div>4. We continue to meet as a church but are back down to about half of our congregation attending as people are concerned about public events.<br /><br /></div><div>5. Praise the Lord with us for a church member who returned to the fellowship of the church after 2 and a half years of being church disciplined. The result is she is now a single mother, but has come back and given her testimony of repentance and restoration to the Church. We thank the Lord for bringing Paty back to Himself and to our church!<br /><br /></div><div>Thank you so much for praying for us and giving faithfully!<br />Blessings in Christ,<br />Sam and Jamie Hornbrook</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-53111170963435066642021-08-23T08:10:00.001-05:002021-08-23T08:10:19.327-05:00A Prayer Update from Catherine Coon<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUIg-NZuHqp5qV0JvmMsEA6vKqs0izSUlQNVjG-ohWAoVyhxE6DyrY0_MQ2fMEO2OwNiBeqFqxIRRcqIHDOFfpI33yK4K5Fwfh8zZhv1ioOFCZQ4D1wHOPA0HKDf5ZQwmYcpb01qStq8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUIg-NZuHqp5qV0JvmMsEA6vKqs0izSUlQNVjG-ohWAoVyhxE6DyrY0_MQ2fMEO2OwNiBeqFqxIRRcqIHDOFfpI33yK4K5Fwfh8zZhv1ioOFCZQ4D1wHOPA0HKDf5ZQwmYcpb01qStq8/" width="240" /></a></div><br />1. My mom has successfully moved into independent living in a senior residence center and is settling in well. We are very thankful.<p></p><div><br /></div><div>2. Hope Alive! students are doing much better with the tutoring that we are providing while schools are closed than they do in their very large classrooms (60 – 100+ kids). We are looking for ways to increase what we are able to offer as schools continue closed due to the pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. The transition to a new executive director for Hope Alive! is moving forward well. Caleb Smagacz is in Uganda with his family. He and I continue to meet via Zoom. The expected date for handing off the baton is January 1, 2022. I will then focus on fund-raising, partner development, and curriculum development and hope to travel to Uganda two or three times a year for a few weeks. Please pray that the transition will be smooth.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-27938655319612834432021-08-16T08:20:00.000-05:002021-08-16T08:20:03.194-05:00Meditations on 1 Peter (Part 4): EngageOften when we are experiencing hardship, our natural tendency can be to turn inward, focusing on our pain and isolating ourselves from God, the body of Christ, and those who sin against us. Often, we may spend hours crying, but we do not direct our cries to God (Hos. 7:14). We may think no person can understand the depth of our sorrow. We may simply have no words to express what we are feeling. We may feel too ashamed to draw near to God or others because of the devastating effects of sin in our lives. The last thing we feel like doing is interacting with someone who has hurt us. Even if we don’t actively retaliate, we very purposely avoid. However, Peter is clear that if we are going to glorify God in our suffering we must engage with both God and people.<br /><br />Our relationship with God is the foundational relationship of our lives. The quality, depth, and intimacy of this relationship affects how we interact in all other relationships – with ourselves, with others, and with our circumstances. Peter makes it clear that we must actively engage with God. We can’t be passive in our relationship with God at any time, but especially in times of suffering, we have to be actively pursuing and cultivating our relationship with God. We must be continually turning to Him in humble dependence and trust. <br /><br />Peter describes this active involvement with many different verbs throughout the book of 1 Peter. Peter encourages believers to rejoice in God’s mercy in causing us to be born again and giving us an inheritance. Peter tells us to hope in God (1 Pet. 1:13, 3:5). We are believers in God who call on Him as Father (1 Pet. 1:17, 21) We are to fear God (1 Pet. 1:17). We are to honor Christ as Lord. We are to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand. These are more than just commands. They describe how we are to respond in our ongoing relationship with God. <br /><br />Finally, we are to cast our cares on the Lord. He does care about us, and He does take care of us. We are to actively take our concerns to Him. We can talk to Him and know He hears. We can voice our questions. We can explain our concerns and ask for help. Then we must actively choose to trust Him and wait with hope for His strengthening and deliverance. This casting is not just a one-time prayer offered up as we then seek to solve our own problems in our own wisdom. In an ongoing relationship, we must engage with God in moment-by-moment dependence as we walk through suffering.<br /><br />Secondly, as we walk through suffering, we also need to engage with other believers. We are involved in a brotherhood of suffering (1 Pet. 5:9), and we need each other. We must be encouraging and strengthening each other. In 1 Peter 4:8-11 Peter exhorts his readers, even in the midst of hardships, to love one another earnestly. Sometimes suffering provides us an excuse to back away from loving and serving others, but each believer is to use his gift to serve one another. God will supply the strength to serve. Sometimes our suffering may limit or shape how we can serve in the immediate context. That is ok. There is a mutuality in the one-anothering of the body of Christ. We should always, in some way, be both receiving from others and giving to others, and the degree and nature of this giving and receiving changes depending on our situation in life. What is important is that we be cultivating an attitude that acknowledges our need for the body of Christ and makes loving and serving one another the priority. <br /><br />Finally, we are to actively engage with unbelievers or others who have sinned against us, even those who may be persecuting us. This is not a popular idea. One of the first things we teach our kids is to stay away from kids who aren’t kind to them. As adults we make rules about what behavior is acceptable from others if they want a relationship with us. Any relationship that costs more than it gives is likely to be abandoned pretty quickly. But 1 Peter is so clear about how to relate to difficult people. We are to follow the example of the Lord Jesus – both on the cross and throughout his whole life. He did not take vengeance. He didn’t revile those who reviled him. He didn’t slander or threaten. He didn’t return evil for evil. He didn’t fear them but feared God.<br /><br />But that is not enough. It is not enough to refrain from evil. We must actively do good to those who harm us. We must bless those who curse us – not just ignore them. The way to overcome evil is by doing good (Rom. 12:21). We must learn to love our enemies. We need to grow so that concern for the welfare of their souls and God’s glory become more important than our concern for our personal rights. Peter is clear that a Christlike response to suffering provides a tremendous opportunity to display the glory of God (1Pet. 2:12, 3:1, 15-16). It also provides a powerful gospel witness, even causing the unbeliever to ask us about the hope we have (1 Pet. 3:15). Sometimes wise love will be difficult to discern in specific situations, but we know that the way is found in following in the footsteps of our Savior, who entrusted His soul to God and actively engaged with sinners.<br /><br />1 Peter 4:19 offers a concise summary of Peter’s message on how to face suffering:<br /><br />Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><div><br /></div><div>Kim Anderson</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6391550979732103212.post-41868514005976050302021-08-09T05:00:00.001-05:002021-08-09T05:00:00.217-05:00Meditations on 1 Peter (Part 3): Entrust Yourself to GodPeter encouraged his readers to expect suffering. He encouraged them to embrace suffering – to accept it willingly because it is God’s will for His people and because of the opportunities that it provides. The teaching of Scripture is that suffering for the sake of Christ is a gift of grace (Phil. 1:28) that brings great reward (Phil. 3:9-10, 1 Pet. 4:14). Peter also encouraged the suffering Christians to follow the example of the Lord Jesus and entrust themselves to God.<br /><br /><br />To entrust means to “hand something over to someone (usually a right or authority).” In entrusting ourselves to God, we give up our right and authority to do whatever we want to with our lives. We give up our right to do whatever necessary to make our lives turn out the way we want. We hand over the responsibility for the care, keeping, and outcome of our lives to God. 1 Peter 5:6 speaks of this attitude of submission. “Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God.” Humbling myself means giving up the right to determine the course of my life. It means choosing to believe that whatever circumstances God sends into my life are the best ones for me. I am experiencing my best life now. God sends the perfect mixture of toil, trouble, and blessing to work the highest good for me and the highest glory to Himself. To entrust means we give over the responsibility for the keeping of our physical body and eternal soul to God, and we commit ourselves to walking in obedience to Him no matter what the cost.<br /><br /><br />How can we entrust ourselves to God? Peter gives us many compelling reasons. First of all, our God cares for us personally (1 Pet. 5:7). We are not simply expendable pawns in His cosmic plan to establish His kingdom. He set his love on us when we were wandering like lost sheep. Christ bore our sins on the cross. He redeemed us with his precious blood. He adopted us as his beloved children. He is the God of all grace. He promises to strengthen and restore us. He has not left us. He is rescuing us even now in the midst of the worst suffering.<br /><br /><br />We can entrust ourselves to Him because He is faithful. God will do what He says. He promises that those who humble themselves under His hand will be exalted in due time. We will share in His glory. Our inheritance is sure. This suffering is only for a little while and then He will bring us into our full inheritance. (1 Pet. 1:3-5) We may face shame and humiliation at the hands of others. Our bodies may crumble apart under the curse of sin, but someday we will share in Christ’s glory.<br /><br /><br />We also can entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator because His hand is mighty. Power belongs to God. He is actively at work and nothing can stay His hand. No one can thwart His plans for His kingdom or his plans for our lives.<br /><br /><br />We can entrust ourselves to God’s care because He is the one who justly judges. We may suffer unjustly in this life at the hands of others, but we know that God does see. He does care. No one will get away with any evil they have committed. Human judges may show partiality but not the judge of the nations. <br /><br /><br />We can entrust ourselves to Him because we belong to Him. We are His chosen people. We are a people for his own possession. Like Israel, the church is God’s treasured possession. He has covenanted in His steadfast love to complete His work in us and bring us into His heavenly Kingdom. He will never desert us. Even the most stable human relationship may fail but God will not forsake his own.<br /><br /><br />And finally, we can entrust ourselves because our Savior entrusted Himself to His Father. He knew that His Father could be trusted. He knew that God’s eternal plan was better than temporal relief of suffering. Christ knew that the joy found in God’s eternal plan was better than any human plan for happiness and security. And we have seen the outcome of entrusting. Yes, Christ died a horrible death. But that was not the end of the story. God raised Him from the dead. Sin, Satan, and death were defeated. Eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, and fullness of joy spread to multitudes. God has used the worst evil of all eternity, the sacrificial death of the perfect Son of God, to bring about immeasurable good. The cross is irrefutable proof that our good, wise, powerful God can work all things for good, even our greatest sorrows and pains. <br /><br /><br />Lord, help us in the midst of suffering, to follow the example of our Savior and entrust ourselves to your care. <br /><br />Kim AndersonUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0