Eclipse

evangelism can be hard

As we continue talking about sharing our faith with others I know the topic can be intimidating. For most of us the thought of talking with our friends or strangers about Jesus can totally freak us out. And while we know it shouldn’t be that way the fact remains that it is. So rather than shame us or make us feel bad I want to talk about what those obstacles are and why it seems hard for us. We will start there next time we pick the topic up on Wednesday night.

The video below is a funny way to think about some of the excuses we have for sharing our faith. It is called the “Evangelism Linebacker” – very funny.

allow me to reintroduce the Christ

This video is amazing and will cause you to think about who you really follow and why. Watch and Pray!!

back to community

This week we picked back up in our series on Acts as we try to get a picture of what community is really supposed to be like. Sunday we studied Acts 16 and the way Paul was redirected by God from doing ministry in one place to doing it in another. It is a strange and awesome story as we think about God being able to lead and guide us as we pursue him. What a great and unexpected application to community - let God lead you to people to love and care for them and be sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit that you might even embrace the unexpected.
As we start back into this series let me remind you that we have a journal you can pick up to help you study Acts on your own during the week. You can either read it on pace to match our topics in Sunday School or you can read it at your own pace. They are $10 and you can get them from booth in the youth room.

kris' friend - tom

Some of you have asked about my friend Tom Vetterani. You can go to a website that his dad updates daily and send him a note to let him know you are praying for him - it would really mean a lot to him. You can get there by going to www.caringbridge.org and then when it asks you who you want to visit type in tomvetteranijr. Thanks!

how can we know what is outside our box

Truth. Some seek it and I guess some don’t care, but for most of us the idea of knowing what is really true is at least interesting. We had a conversation on Wednesday about how to know what is really true. The point I was trying to make is that the best way to know about what lies beyond our world is for someone who is or has been there to tell us about it. The point is for us to know about God – who is the most important thing “out there” he must speak to us. Good news, he has!! Both through the Bible and even more clearly through Jesus. Check out John 1:1-15 and 2 Peter 1:20-21. The Bible is not a collection of made up stories, it is Truth that comes to us from the most reliable source. Thank him that he has not left us in the dark and go listen to what he has told you.

To help us understand this idea better I used an illustration from the book we have been using this Summer called Distinctives by Von Roberts. If you are interested or confused my amazing assistant Tracy (thank you Tracy) typed it up for us. Read on and enjoy what Von says (that I tryied to retell you):

Is there anything out there?
"Imagine that a group of people was born in one locked room and lived all their lives within it. These people have frequent discussions about the world outside . . .

when a bridge falls

Yesterday a bridge fell with people on it. You like me may wonder "Why?" While we may never know all the reasons God does something we can have faith through hard times. We will talk about it some on Sunday, but here is something that has helped me. What follows is a copy of what another pastor, John Piper, has said about the tragedy. John lives in Minneapolis where the bridge collapsed. Every thing else in this post are John's words. You can read more that he writes by going to John Piper's Blog at www.desiringgod.org/blog.

Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed
August 1, 2007 | By: John Piper

At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge.

There are no firm facts at this point about the total number of injuries and fatalities. When we crossed the bridge Tuesday on our way out of town, there was extensive repair work happening on the surface of the bridge with single lane traffic. One speculates about the unusual stresses on the bridge with jackhammers and other surface replacement equipment. This was the fortieth anniversary of the bridge.

Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.