COMOPOLITAN MOVE OVER

As we introduced our series within a series, we looked at the importance of a foundation for Ethics. It's kind of wierd to talk about foundations in a service that tries to reach those who don't buy into the whole "foundation" philosophy, but no one present objected so...

For Table Talk we looked at Jerry Springer and dialogued about what he means when he tells people to, "Take care of yourself, and each other."
I found a great article that created a fake Jerry Springer show with a traditional Cartesian rationalist, and his postmodern girlfriend, it's pretty funny and you can read it
here.

The cover of our bulletin/magazine/art-by-ryan, mentioned a quiz that one can take to determine whether one's relationship with God is just a fling, and was taken from Tim Kimmel's book, Why Christian Kids Rebel.

1. Do you go through your day thinking of all the things you could do that you know would make God smile?
2. Do you have a passion for worship that goes beyond the time set aside for it in you church service?
3. Do you go through your normal day with a mind-set of wanting to walk closely with God?
4. Do you enjoy the people you go to church with, think of them throughout the week, and pray for them on a regular basis?
5. Do you want more than anything else to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ?
6. Do you feel hurt when you sin?
7. Do you take responsibility for your wrong actions?
8. Do you serve in areas of God’s work that stretch you and force you to function outside all your areas
9. Do you give money sacrificially, offering to God more than “tips” that can be easily spared?
10. Do you have an ongoing love for the lost people that surround you?
11. Do you live and long for opportunities to tell people how your relationship with Jesus started?
12. Do you have special areas of passion God has placed in your heart that you go out of your way to meet, such as the hungry, the homeless, the sick, youth, foreign missions, or the disenfranchised?
13. Is your concern for God’s influence in the world bigger than your immediate family and local community?

Kimmel then explains that, "If you couldn’t answer yes to the majority of those questions, your attitude toward Christ may be more like a hobby than a life-changing relationship."

For the next three weeks, we will continue to look at foundations for:Holiness, Fear, & Love, and maybe will even get someone to challenge the place of foundations at all.

If You Give an Apostle Salvation

If you give Peter salvation,
he will bless the Father for the new birth he grants His people,

this new birth will remind the apostle of the majestic hope of final salvation;
which will make him want to tell those suffering for Jesus, that even though they are suffering, they can rejoice about the final day when Jesus Christ will return, and bring the fullness of salvation,

The fullness of salvation will remind the apostle of all of the ancient prophets of Israel that were waiting for salvation,
but did not live to see it fulfilled.

Thinking about how amazing this fulfillment is, will make Peter think of the angles who are so excited and curious about the final fulfillment, that they eagerly watch and wait.

QUESTIONS:
1. What does “Salvation” make you think of?
(What thoughts does the idea of Salvation trigger in your mind?)

2. What about “Salvation” is offensive to the “World”?

3. “Our Lack of Suffering is, in part, due to a lack of nerve on the part of the church to challenge our world with the message of the cross and to live according to the teachings of Jesus with uncompromising rigor”
-Scot McKnight

Do you agree?

Does the “offensive salvation” necessitate suffering?

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QUESTIONS:
1. How Would Jesus Have Responded to the American Revolution?
2. What Conflicts with Christianity Do we face in Our Culture?
3. What should our Response to Moral Conflicts Be?
4. Is it our Biblical responsibility as Chrsitains to call Political Leaders (back?) to the task of working for Justice?
5. Should We Call non-Christian Leaders to this task?

Christmas at River Haven

Thanks to all who came out to spend part of their Christmas morning with our friends at River Haven. Hopefully after they get their new tents and get settled we will be able to have a service for them again soon.

Christmas Service

Hello Community,
If you would like to worship God with us this Sunday, we will do so through giving gifts to the River Haven Community in Oxnard. We will be meeting at River Haven at 10:30am to give the water containers that were donated, and possibly to sing carols with our friends there. If you need directions scroll down and you will find a map from when we last held a service there.

Hope to see many of you there, if not, have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our king.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Do you think you know the story of Daniel's three Hebrew companions? If do you great, if not, fear not soon you will.
This Sunday we are going to watch "Rack, Shack, and Benny" a video which will tell the story of these three Hebrews in exile, a bit better than Darren and my videos and skits. After watching this amazing musical, we will be exploring the implications of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego's actions on our lives.

Morality of the World

The New Testament is never interested in conduct and behavior in itself. I can go further to say that the New Testament does not make an appeal for good behavior to anyone but to Christian people. The New Testament is not interested, as such, in morality of the world. It tells us quite plainly that you can expect nothing from the world but sin, and that in its fallen condition it is incapable of anything else. There is nothing, according to the New Testament that is so fatuous and so utterly futile, as to turn to such people and appeal to them to live the Christian life…. The Truth is that it only has one message for people like that—the message of repentance.-Martin Lloyd-Jones (Faith on Trial)

I mentioned this quote in passing last week, (not super sure if anyone caught it though) and it has been challenging me. I have two questions relating to it:
1. What does this quote imply for Youth Ministry, especially for teens parents who hope that youth groups/summer camps will produce such morality?
2. Without giving much credit to the religious right, does this effect our role in politics as voting Americans? Do we vote for morality that will be regulated on others?