First day of school

Well, tomorrow is the first day of school for my kids, and also for me! I am extremely excited to start back to school. I have 3 semester's left, just 5 classes to complete my Master's in Theology, woohoo! I'm really looking forward to this term's class. Term A I am taking , "New Testament Strategies for Evangelism and Discipleship". Picked up my books today and they both look like winners:

1. "Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament" by Richard Longenecker. This is a collection of essays by current leading theologians on the topic. Great looking stuff too. Some of the essay titles are as follow: Taking Up the Cross Daily, Becoming Like God Through Christ, They Believed in Him. I think this book is going to be awesome!
2. "Evangelism in the Early Church" by Michael Green. This book starts with a quote from Billy Graham, "...It has given me great personal encouragement." Sounds like a great endorsement, right? This is a thoroughly deep dive in what the Evangel is. Great stuff.

Needless to say, I can't wait to get started and dig into class. In Term B, I'm taking Spiritual Development. More to follow on that as we get closer.

Here's praying for a great semester!!

In the essentials...

There are some quotes that just stick with you, and for me this is one of them. This quote which is often attributed to St. Augustine is one of my favorites: “In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in omnibus caritas.” This famous motto appeared for the first time in Germany in AD 1627 and came originally, it is believed, from Rupertus Meldenius. It was utilized among the peaceful theologians of the Lutheran and German Reformed Churches, then found great welcome among the Anglicans. In English, it is translated most often as:

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.

Anyone who listens to Hank Hannagraf, aka "The Bible Answer Man" hears him use this quote all the time. Great quote, and how true it really is.

Christ is THE Creator!

VBS this week sure has been awesome. Our theme has been The Egypt File and dealing with creation. The reality is, as we learned in our theme verse Psalm 139:14, we are fearfully and wonderfully created by God!

To close VBS week, we'll be doing a VBS themed Sunday, where the kids will get to come in and sing all the songs they learned all week. It is going to be fun! Also, I get to deliver my first sermon as a part of the LifePointe family, and I am really excited. I'll be focusing on Heb 1:2, "...but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things,through whom also he created the world.", and wrap up the week with a message on Creation and why the Bible account of creation is fully trustworthy! I have really enjoyed researching and writing this message, and am almost complete. Here is a little snippet of the message:

God is relegated to a God of the Gaps

The Bible reveals God as the “a posteriori”: that is the “Prime Cause” of all things. As Christians we acknowledge that there is one God, the Father, from whom come all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:6).

However, in theistic evolution the only place for God is that which evolution cannot “explain” or the designer working quietly, and very slowly, behind the scenes. In this way God is not the Prime Cause, He is reduced to being a god of the gaps, or a god of the “plan B’s”.

What this process does is that it undermines the trustworthiness of God’s Word. As Christians we believe that the Bible is the one and only source of truth given and inspired by God. (2 Tim 3:16)...

Hope to see many of you there Sunday!

Wow, VBS the time is here!

Gideon’s Three Hundred Men - Judges 6
"1Then(A) Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside(B) the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them,(C) by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2The LORD said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand,(D) lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' 3Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,(E) 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'" Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

4And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' shall not go." 5So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink." 6And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7And the LORD said to Gideon,(F) "With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home." 8So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him(G) in the valley. "

This is one of my favorite scripture passages. As you can see, Gideon goes to fight the Midianites with some 30,000 soldiers. But God knew that Gideon's victory would not glorify God if it were done with a mighty human army. So, God tests Gideon's faithfulness by paring back the army to just 300 men. The odds were awful, and no one in their right mind would think Gideon would stand a chance. But as the story goes, God delivered the victory to Gideon. Everybody glorified God because the victory was due to God alone.

I draw strength from this passage, as we all can, because 1 plus God equals a majority! Nothing is impossible for, or with, God. As I think about VBS, and how quickly it came upon us, and how much still seems left to do, I draw strength from the story of Gideon knowing that God will work it all out!

Hope to see many of you at LifePointe this week for VBS! Keep us in your prayers!

The Egypt File- Vacation Bible School Baby!!

Hard to believe it, but our Vacation Bible School starts this coming Monday. It's about decoding the past, creation, God's creation, understanding that we (humans) do not come from apes, or monkeys, or lemurs, or fish. We are created in God's image. We are God's crowning achievement in creation. We are the object of God's love and affection, and the reason why he sent Jesus Christ to redeem us, to save us, or as the great quote goes, "Jesus was everything and became nothing, so that we who are nothing could become everything we were created for!"

But I do not want to write about what we're going to learn this week. If you want to learn more come join us at LifePointe. Just follow the links on this blog. What I want to talk about how truly wonderful the church (in a larger since) can be.

This VBS which starts Monday, came in a pack that tells the Director (me) that we need to start 6 months out to pull off this event. We at LifePointe started working on this VBS 5 weeks ago, but truly with God all thing are possible! What I am impressed by is the dedication of the church members. I won't mention specific names because I know they would rather have it that way. But the truth is, what I have seen is truly the church in action.

In the early church, those who had gave for the betterment of the church. Those who could, would, for the betterment of the church. Those who knew, shared for the betterment of the church. Seeing church member dedicate time, resources, and make sacrifices for the church...that is what it is all about.

Jesus served: He fed people, He healed, He washed feet, He bore burdens. He modeled church for us. He modeled community for us. It is a beautiful thing, and I am blessed to be a part of this ministry.