Hey friends,
This Thursday we are meeting at the Refuge for our last summer gathering. We are going to order Fox’s pizza, so everyone bring $3 to pitch in. We’ll cover the drinks.
We’re also going to be playing games, so please feel free to bring your favorite board game, card game, or if you own a Wii you can bring that too!
We are about to order new shirts for the 2009-2010 year and you can play a part in deciding which design we choose. There is a new page listed on the website titled “shirts” (look above). Go to the page, find your favorite shirt and then leave a comment telling us which one you like best. The shirt that receives the most votes will be our shirt for the coming calender year. You can even suggest a different color for a particular shirt and we might just follow your idea! Voting ends August 9th.
Hello folks. We’re nearing the end of the summer, which blows my mind! It has come and gone so quickly. We only have two more summer bible studies together before we take a break and then enter into the fall. This week we’ll be meeting at my house, and then we’ll gather at the refuge for our final meeting. If you have a lawn chair, bring it for tomorrow, because we’re going to do our time together outside. If you’re following along in the book, we’re focusing in on chapter thirteen. See you tomorrow.
According to statistics, most of you between the ages of 18-22 will quit regularly attending church. What’s your excuse? The Bible speaks a sobering truth that trumps whatever your reason is for quitting: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19). In other words, if you quit on the church it probably means that you were never really a part of the faith. If you love Jesus you will love his church.
Hey folks. This week we are meeting at Buddy and Janice (and Jillian) Gundy’s house for our gathering. Directions are below. I’ll see you Thursday at 6:30.
What is missions? What is the purpose of missions? And what is the power of missions? These are important questions for every believer to think about.
joshuaproject.net
Missions is the church’s task to make disciples of all nations. Every believer in Christ plays a role in missions. As bodies of believers assemble into local covenant communities, they are to work together to obey and achieve Jesus’ words to the disciples just before he ascended to His throne. He told them to “make disciples of all nations.” “Make disciples” is an imperative verb; it is a command. Missions is obedience to our Lord. And if we are going to be fully obedient to Jesus, we must go to “all nations.” When Jesus used the word we translate nation, he wasn’t thinking about geo-political countries, he was speaking in terms of people groups. He told the disciples (and us!) to go to all the people groups in the world to make disciples. A disciple is a pupil, or an apprentice; it is an understudy. It literally means to follow Jesus and to imitate him. This is what missions is: it is obeying the Savior’s command to go find all kinds of people and to bring them to Him so that they can begin to follow and imitate Him.
John Piper has stated the purpose of missions well, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” The reason we are commanded to engage in the act of missions is that there are a whole lot of people who are living their lives for their own glory, not God’s. Our goal in missions is to bring more individuals into the enjoyment of God and the conscious decision, desire and delight of worshipping Jesus.
So what fuels the success of missions? Jesus told the disciples as he was departing from them to wait until they were clothed with power from on high before they did anything else. He went on to explain that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and then they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So the disciples went to Jerusalem and began to pray, presumably what Jesus promised them would happen – that the Helper would come, that the gospel would spread and that the church would prevail. When the Holy Spirit falls on the apostles in Acts 2, Peter is emboldened to preach the gospel courageously. He exposits the Scriptures and reveals how prophecies from long ago were pointing to Jesus. He exposes the sinfulness of all the listeners present and their desperate need of forgiveness in Christ . When he finished we are told that the listeners were cut to the heart and asked what they should do in response. Peter tells them, “Repent and be baptized.” In other words, they should turn from their lifestyle of sin and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, and they should now identify with Him. In this account we are given not just a description of missions, but a prescription. The power of missions is fueled by the Spirit, the Word and prayer. These three elements are all crucial and necessary for the success of the church’s endeavor to share the good news about Jesus.
Hey everybody,
Tonight we’re meeting at Troy and Emily Gardner’s house. They’re making nachos! I hope everyone is able to make it. See you at 6:30.
Yo! Tomorrow night is going to be legit people. We are going to be at the Kent’s for our weekly gathering, but we’re inviting you to COME AT 6PM instead of 7pm because…
we are GRILLING BURGERS and PLAYING CORNHOLE, or throwing the frisbee (or football, or whatever).
We are also SHOOTING OFF SOME FIREWORKS (sorry, they won’t be as good as Sunday night’s 
but it’ll still be fun).
Also, if you’d like to swim bring your trunks
To summarize…FOOD, FUN, FIREWORKS and FELLOWSHIP. Bring your friends.
See you tomorrow.
