Preschool Splash Day Pictures
Check out the pictures from our recent Preschool Splash Day! And, don’t forget to mark your calendar for our Big Kids Splash Day on July 30!
Click HERE to visit our Flickr page!
Summertime and Mission Part 2
In the first part of this post we focused on remembering that the summer presents great opportunities to live on mission for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a corporate opportunity HERE and we talked about praying for open doors to demonstrate and declare the Gospel to people throughout our day.
In this post you will find ideas written by Jonathan Dodson, the pastor of Austin City Life and a great writer as well. I first read these ideas through the Resurgence Blog. The post was called “Simplified Missional Living.” It is a list of ideas on how to live our “ordinary lives with Gospel intentionality.” Read, enjoy and try one!
Eat with Non-Christians
We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
Walk, Don’t Drive
If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.
Be a Regular
Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.
Hobby with Non-Christians
Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
Talk to Your Co-workers
How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
Volunteer with Non-Profits
Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
Participate in City Events
Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
Serve Your Neighbors
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!
Summertime and Mission Part 1
The summer is of course the time for family and vacations. I hope you will have some great time enjoying your family this summer, whether it’s a big trip to some magic kingdom or just going to the pool. Summertime also presents some great opportunities to live on mission for God as well.
One big opportunity is the “Bethel Summer Program” Missional opportunity. What an incredible chance for us to serve those less fortunate and really bless some children and their families. Read about here on our website and sign-up for an afternoon!
Most of our opportunities will just come through our ordinary activities. Steve Timmis defines living on mission as “ordinary life with Gospel intentionality.” It’s going to the pool, grocery store or wherever, but with our eyes and hearts open to what God may want us to do. It could be as simple as helping someone you see in need or striking up a conversation with a neighbor.
Let me encourage you with a prayer and some ideas for being intentional about pointing people to Jesus in and through your ordinary life.
First, I would encourage you to begin regularly praying Colossians 4:3-4. Paul was asking for prayer in this verse, but it is a fantastic thing to pray for ourselves as well. Pray this at the beginning of your day. Put it on an index card and put it on your dash board and fridge.
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:3-4 (ESV)
Bill Hybels paraphrases this prayer and makes it personal in his book “A Walk Across the Room.” (Which by the way would be a great summer reading!).
“My life is in Your hands, God. Use me to point someone toward you today – I promise to cooperate in any way I can. If You want me to say a word for you today, I’ll do that. If You want me to keep quiet but demonstrate love and servanthood, by Your Spirit’s power I will. I’m fully available to you today, so guide me by Your Spirit.” A Walk Across the Room page 37
I can’t imagine what would happen if Crossbridgers all over Fort Bend County and Southwest Houston began praying this regularly and by faith responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Get Into The Story
I love this new series we are in called “THE STORY.” I am very excited for the weeks ahead as we continue to walk through the storyline of the Bible.
Here is a list of great books that I would recommend that can build your library and help you dive further into studying. I have broke them up by subject, but they are all tied to helping us growing in our confidence and understanding of the Bible.
Children and Family Reading
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name (Zondervan, 2007) by Sally Lloyd-Jones
The Big Picture Story Bible (Crossway 2004) by David Helm
Click HERE for the Amazon Link
Trustworthiness of Scripture
God Wrote a Book (Crossway, 2004) by James MacDonald
Biblical Theology
According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible (InterVarsity Press, 2002) by Graeme Goldsworthy
The last book on this list is one I am referring to a lot in my studies for this series.
I hope you will pick up one and grow in your understanding of the grand story we are living in now.
Weekly Update 6-11-2009 “Image Bearers”
Dear Image-Bearers,
If you remember our time together on Sunday, that is what we are; the image-bearers of God! I pray we will live in light of the worth we have as creations of God! And Jesus loved us so much that He bore the wrath of the Father in our place so we could become His creations again!
I am encouraged so far by our response to our summer Missional opportunity, “The Bethel Summer Program.” If you don’t know what that is, go here and learn more about it. For those of you who have signed up, way to go! If you have not signed up, will you pray about giving one afternoon to serving some people in the name of Jesus? Come on! What are you waiting for? Take a risk and follow Jesus into something uncomfortable.
Also if you are a Student (6-12) or have a student, go to our student page on our website to see an updated list full of the summer activities. We have some awesome stuff planned for students to connect and build some great relationships.
I’ll see you Sunday and we will continue our journey through the Bible as we look at Genesis 3-4.
I love being your Pastor!
Chuck
“The Story” Has Begun!
This past Sunday we kicked off our series “THE STORY.” This series will give us an overview of the Bible, what I’ve been calling a 30,000 foot overview of it. This first message in this series was a 30,000 foot overview of the whole series itself. We walked through what the storyline of the Bible is all about.
The Bible is 66 separate books (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament), written in three languages, over a period of 1000 years with more than 40 authors of different ages and backgrounds on 3 continents. It includes history, sermons, letters, a hymnbook, geographical surveys, family trees, travel diaries and a love song. However, it only one story.
The Bible is the Story of God redeeming His creation through Jesus Christ for His glory. Jesus the Christ is the centerpiece, the hero of the Bible. We talked Sunday how everything points to, explains, and magnifies the person and work of Jesus the God-man.
In the middle of the message I read something about Jesus being the hero of the Bible and the whole Old Testament pointing to Him. I am putting here for you to print and review and use to spur you on to worship Him. This is from Tim Keller, the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.
Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”
Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receives the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.
Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.
The Bible’s really not about you — it’s about him.
