Wilsonville Swap & Play To Close

As New Life Church looked to start a campus in Wilsonville, the first desire was not to start a worship service, but to be a group of people who are a blessing to the city. As we looked around Wilsonville, we observed a high population of young families, particularly those living in apartments near the church. In January 2011, Wilsonville Swap & Play was started as a way for New Life Church to serve the needs of these families. It has provided a safe environment for mothers to take small children to play, meet other families, and share resources. Wilsonville Swap & Play operated for a year before New Life Wilsonville opened and has been a resource to many families over the last two years. They have offered classes for preschool children such as art, cooking, music, dance, soccer, and gardening. They have connected with moms groups and participated in city events. Above all, they have provided a place for moms to develop friendships with other moms.

Recently, due to space constraints, the leadership has felt that Wilsonville Swap & Play is no longer able to provide the exceptional experience they want for their members and the community. Though New Life Church is still committed to find ways to bless the families of Wilsonville, the Swap & Play will be closing at the end of the month. Please pray for the leadership as they seek new ways to invest their time and talents in the lives of the people of Wilsonville.

Church Library Books

New to the Library 

Children’s Library
The Prayer That Makes GOD Smile by Stormie Omartian
The Stable That Bob Built by Cindy Kenney

Teen
A Reason to Live (For Teens and Their Friends) by Donalyn Powell
Freedom in Christ 4 Teens: ULTIMATE LOVE (The Real Thing) by Neil T. Anderson
From BLAH to AWE by Jena Lucado Bishop
GOD Loves UGLY by Christa Black
Light for My Path for TEENS (Illuminating Selections from the Bible)
Little Pilgrim’s Progress (from John Bunyan’s Classic) by Helen L. Taylor
You are NOT Your Own (Living LOUD for God) by Jason Perry

Fiction
Joshua by Joseph F. Girzone
The Heavenly Man (Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun) by Paul Hattaway

Bible
All the WOMEN of the BIBLE by M.L. del Mastro
Praying the 23rd Psalm by Elmer L. Towns
The Book of PSALMS
The New Oxford Annotated Bible
The Old Testament (Text and Context) by Victor H. Matthews and James C. Moyer

Non Fiction
A Life of Balance by K.P. Yohannan
A Woman JESUS Can Teach by Alice Mathews
Blended Worship (Achieving Substance and Relevance in Worship) by Robert E. Webber
Building a Church of Small Groups by Bill Donahue
Center Church by Timothy Keller
Choosing My Religion by R.C. Sproul
Firestorm (Preventing and Overcoming Church Conflicts) by Ron Susek
God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life (The Myth of the Modern Message) by Ray Comfort
God's Will God's Best for your Life by Josh McDowell and Kevin Johnson
How We Love (Discover Your Love Style, Enhance Your Marriage) by Milan and Kay Yerkovich
Hurt People Hurt People (Hope and Healing for Yourself and Your Relationships) by Sandra D. Wilson, Ph. D.
Kids in CRISIS (A Workable Plan for Successful Parenting) by Ross Wright
Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles
Moments Together for Couples (Devotions for Drawing Near to God and One Another) by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
Passion and Purity (Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control) by Elisabeth Elliott
Reading and Hearing the Word (From Text to Sermon) by Essays in Honor of John H. Stek
Seeing What is SACRED (Becoming More Spiritually Sensitive to the Everyday Moments of Life) by Ken Gire
The Battle for the Beginning (Creation, Evolution and the Bible) by John MacArthur
The G-I-F-T for all People (Thoughts on God's Great Grace) by Max Lucado
The Hunger for Significance by R.C. Sproul
The Peacemaker (A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict) by Ken Sande
The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
Ultimate Issues by R.C. Sproul
What is GOD Really Like? By Graig Groeschel
Why Jesus Matters by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

Give Us Each Day Our Daily Bread

Father, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread…

The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is about our daily needs. God loves you and cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). He wants to be asked for daily help for your daily needs.

Whether you feel the need of daily bread or not, consider praying in this way: 

• God, thank you for my refrigerator, for my grocery store, for my cookbooks and for my microwave. 
• I trust you, not my job, for my provision and security. 
• Don’t ever let me think I have no needs! 
• Keep me content with what I have and with what I don’t have (Phil. 4:11-12)! 
• Guard my heart from loving money or a savings account or anything else that would keep me from trusting You. 
• Give me what I need, not more or less (Prov. 30:8-9). 
• More important to me than food is the success of your kingdom (Luke 12:31).

Your Kingdom Come

Father, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come… Maybe add these “kingdom” prayers to your list:

• God, reign in the hearts and lives of me, my family and my church. 
• Show us our need of repentance because of the nearness of the king. 
• Spread your rule to those who reject it now. 
•  Bless your church, your kingdom embassy. 
• Increase both the depth and the extent of your rule in and around us. 
• Let the institutions of this world reflect the rule of King Jesus. 
•  Expose the evil of the ruler of this present world so he might be rejected. 
• Prepare me to enjoy your reign in heaven by my joyful submission today. 
• Come, Lord Jesus!

Father, Hallowed Be Your Name

How might you build the Lord's Prayer into your prayer life? 

Here are two questions to ask yourself as you pray:
1.    How does what I’m praying about reflect my privileged relationship to God?
2.    How does what I’m praying about connect to God’s primary concern?

Use simple petitions like these to begin to implement the Lord’s Prayer as a template for your prayers.

"Father"

• Never let me forget what it cost you to make me your child!
• Remind me, you are all I had hoped a perfect father might have been to me.
• Thank you for adopting me.
• Comfort me.
• Help me learn from your discipline.
• Grow our relationship because of this time in prayer.

"Hallowed Be Your Name"

• Cause me regard you and your character as completely unique and holy.
• Make your name known and revered in  the life of my family, in my friends, among the lost people I will see today and among the nations.
• I confess I do not regard you as holy, in fact I run from your holiness. Please cleanse me and make me holy like my father.

8th Annual Middle School Auction

The Annual Middle School Auction is a week away and is an event that you will not want to miss. Please come and support the efforts of our Middle School Youth to raise money for their Dalit Missions Project on the evening of March 20 at the Riverfalls Campus.  

The Details:

• Rummage Tables open at 6:00 p.m.
• Free Pizza arrives at 6:30 p.m.
• Short Presentation & Auction Begins around 7:00 p.m.
• We will wrap up by 9:00 p.m. 
• Cash or check to New Life Church 

Here is just a sampling of some of the generous donations that will be on the block: 

• Roof & Gutter Cleanings from Monte Wallenstein
• Round of Golf (plus coaching) with Tom & William Kendall
• Jeannette Kramer’s Famous German Chocolate  Cake
• Alex Fuentes’ Famous Salsa
• Catered Pork Tenderloin Oscar (stuffed with Dungeness Crab) Dinner for 2 by Rick Ohmie
• 3 Day/2 Night stay at Eagle Crest Condo near Bend
• Large Gift Basket from Bob’s Red Mill
• Horseback Riding Lessons by Catherine Kendall
• 3 Hour Guided River Float on the Clackamas & Cookout by Grayson & Cale Haugen
• Senior Photo Shoot by Andie Reavely
• Furniture, toys, household goods, craft supplies, goodies, & much more!

For donations call Gay Haugen (503-319-6438) or Cheri Cummins (503-655-6092). 

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 10. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night.


Combined Service at West Linn High School

All New Life Church campuses will join together for a combined worship service at the West Linn High School Auditorium at 10:00 a.m., Sunday, March 3. Nursery and Treasureland classes will be provided at New Life Riverfalls for children up through second grade. A shared meal will immediately follow the service. The church will provide fried chicken for the event. Please bring a side dish and dessert to share. We will also have the 2012 Annual Reports and an updated Church Directory for you. You will be glad you came!

 

Hospitality Defined

In conjunction with the Hospitality Challenge, here is a quick article defining the gift of hospitality.

Hospitality Challenge

Do you have a gift for hospitality? I believe that it is prevalent in New Life Church. Perhaps you have had friends and neighbors over to celebrate the holidays, perhaps you have had friends over to watch a game, your Life Group may meet in your home, or you may find yourself inviting others out for lunch after church. Each of these is an example of hospitality.Hospitality is also apparent in the way you welcome people into the church on Sunday mornings and so generously contribute to our monthly shared meals.

Having identified this strength among us and having seen how it honors God and blesses others, I now want to challenge us even further. Let's intentionally use hospitality in 2013 to build relationships with, and show the love of God to, people who are not in the church. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have dinner with one person or family in the next 8 weeks (see rules below). Together we can see what God will do as we are not only generous to one another, but to those who are far from God as well.

Hospitality Challenge - Have at least one person over for dinner between February 1st and Easter (March 31st).
Rules: In order to "count" it must be a person/family who is not from our church, does not believe in Jesus, and is not a family member. You may choose to team up with someone from your Life Group (working together is always a bonus and is often more fun) or be as creative as you like. Please share your stories with us so that we can pray together and celebrate together.

Bless Your Neighbors

Dave Ferguson shared some good ideas on the Verge Blog this week. It struck me as an easy way to think about the relationship building process. He gave 5 key activities:

    B- Begin with prayer. We want you to ask, ‘God how do you want me to bless the people in the places you’ve sent me to?’
    L- Listen. Don’t talk, but listen to people, their struggles, their pains, in the places God sent you.
    E- Eat. You can’t just check this off. It’s not quick. You have to have a meal with people or a cup of coffee. It builds relationships.
    S- Serve. If you listen with people and you eat with people they will tell you how to love them and you’ll know how to serve them.
    S- Story. When the time is right, now we talk and we share the story of how Jesus changed our life.

Who will you bless this week?

Happy Anniversary New Life Wilsonville!

New Life Wilsonville is one year old today!

On January 1st, the first Sunday of 2012, New Life Wilsonville had their first baptism as Ricky Belendez gave his public testimony before the church. One week later, on January 8th, they had their first public worship service and were officially launched as a campus of New Life Church.

Please continue to pray that the gospel will be made known in Wilsonville through the people of New Life Church.

Start the New Year with a GOOD BOOK!

Non Fiction
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
Grieving the Child I Never Knew by Kathie Wunnenberg
Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George
Women After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
Parenting from the Heart by Marilyn Boyer
When Mothers Pray by Cheri Fuller
Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson
A Women's Journey to the Heart of God by Cynthia Heald
Weather of the Heart by Gigi G. Tchividjian
MARRIAGE: Experience the BEST by Dr. Steve Stephens
Empowered by PRAISE by Michael Youssef
Unrealistic Expectations by Barbra Minar
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
RUTH Under the Wings of GOD by John Piper
Emotional Purity (an affair of the heart) by Heather A. Paulsen
The Heart of ANGER by Lou Priolo
Beautiful in God's Eyes (the treasures of the Proverbs 31 women) by Elizabeth George
52 Simple Ways to Share your Faith by Roberta Hromas
When Children Pray (teaching your kids to pray with power) by Cheri Fuller
Choosing REST by Sally Breedlove
Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor (sharing our lives as women of God) by Donna Otto
Speak up with Confidence (A step by step guide for speakers and leaders) by Carol Kent

Fiction
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (special read aloud edition)
Thank You for being a Friend by Jill Briscoe
MOTHER by Kathleen Norris

Children’s Books
Heroes for Young readers GLADYS AYLWARD (Daring to Trust) by Renee Meloche
My Child My Princess (A parable about the King) by Beth Moore

DVD
Galilee: The Land Where Jesus Walked
  

Let it Snow!

When it snows, there is always the question as to whether to go to church.  For your safety and to aid you in making a decision, we have developed the following policy. Weekdays:If West Linn High School is closed that day, the church’s activities will also be cancelled. Sundays:If snow or ice on the roads makes travel treacherous where you live, don’t attempt to come to services. Check the blog or our Facebook page for any official announcements about weather cancellations. 

Bob and Barbara Montgomery in the News

Bob and Barbara Montgomery were featured in the Oregonian this morning. They spoke about the difference the Lord had made in their marriage, about New Life Church and about Coffee Cart. They have been married a mere 64 years! You can read the article here.

What do you love?

After the fall, the affections were misplaced on wrong objects; in sanctification, they are turned into a sweet order and harmony, the grief placed on sin, the love on God, the joy on heaven. -- Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

Take Time for Rest

Sometimes, when the leaves are falling, and the sky gets dark at five o’clock, the world looks like I feel. We seem to be running short on time and energy together. This is a busy season. Halloween has come and gone. The elections are behind us. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year loom before us. Add to this the daily stresses of bills, shopping, traveling, studying, cooking, eating, working, parenting, and others and it’s hard to keep up.

At times like these, I am comforted by Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34. In these verses we are reminded that we are not able, through worry, to add even a single hour to our lives. He goes on to tell us that God knows what our needs are and promise us that when we seek God and His righteousness, He will take care of our needs. So why do we worry so much? We have no need to be anxious about food or drink or clothing or the many other things that burden us, because God loves us and provides for us.

Today, rest. Take some time to pause and step away from the flurry of activities. Again, Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” So sit and drink some coffee or tea, pray, read, reflect, or give thanks. It is a busy season, but it is in busy seasons that it is most important find moments, hours, or even days of rest.

CB America Hurricane Sandy Relief

There are many CB America churches along the Atlantic Coast line that have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Please uphold them in prayer! If you would like to make a contribution through CB America to help the churches and communities impacted by the storm, CB uses PayPal Service for online giving. You do not need to have a PayPal account to contribute to Hurricane Sandy Relief using this service. To do this visit the CB America website.

Library - New DVDs and Books

DVDs
Bibleman
     Divided We Fall / A Light in the Darkness
     A Fight for Faith - LIVE
     Lead Us Not into Temptation / Breaking the Bonds of Disobedience

ODYSSEY
    Welcome to Whit's End

VeggieTales
     Larry Learns to Listen

Sheila Walsh
     gigi: God's Little Princess DVD Treasury

Theo: God's Grace

Buck Denver asks... What's in the Bible?
     Israel Gets a King (1 & 2 Samuel) Volume 5
     A Nation Divided (Kings & Chronicles) Volume 6

BOOKS
PARENTING
GRACE BASED Parenting: Set Your Family Free by Dr. Tim Kimmel

TEEN SECTION
Horsefeathers! by Dandi D. Mackall
Tomo (I was an Eighth-Grade Ninja) by Bud Rogers
The Action BIBLE (God's Redemptive Story)
The Shining Sword by Charles G. Coleman - Book 1
Song of the Trumpet by Charles G. Coleman - Book 2
Sugar Creek Gang by Paul Hutchens
     The Green Tent Mystery #19
     The Bull Fighter #20
     The Timber Wolf #21
     Western Adventure #22
     The Killer Cat #23
     The Colorado Kidnapping #24

Prayer Week

This is prayer week at New Life Church. We are using Colossians 1:10-12 as our theme passage for this week,

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Would you join us for corporate prayer, even for one hour, sometime during prayer week? We have every reason to expect God will be pleased to do great things in and through us as we pray.

Prayer for Missions

Several months ago Agnes Spidal gave me an article from E.M. Bounds about the role of prayer in missions.  I remember reading it and being convicted.  Then the article sat on my desk under a pile until last week when I cleaned off my desk.  This simple article, convicted me again and I knew I needed to share it with others.  I brought it to our Global Outreach Committee meeting last week and it encouraged us to be in prayer that the Lord would send laborers into His harvest field from New Life Church.  If you would like to read some of Bounds' stuff on prayer you can click here.  The chapter on prayer in missions is chapter 13.  You can click on it on the left side of the page.

For now, I'll just give you a few quotes that really inspired me:

The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the spirit of missions. Our Lord Jesus Christ was Himself the first missionary. His promise and advent composed the first missionary movement. The missionary spirit is not simply a phase of the Gospel, not a mere feature of the plan of salvation, but is its very spirit and life. The missionary movement is the Church of Jesus Christ marching in militant array, with the design of possessing the whole world of mankind for Christ. Whoever is touched by the Spirit of God is fired by the missionary spirit.

The key of all missionary success is prayer. That key is in the hands of the home churches. The trophies won by our Lord in heathen lands will be won by praying missionaries, not by professional workers in foreign lands. More especially will this success be won by saintly praying in the churches at home. The home church on her knees fasting and praying, is the great base of spiritual supplies, the sinews of war, and the pledge of victory in this dire and final conflict. Financial resources are
not the real sinews of war in this fight. Machinery in itself carries no power to break down heathen walls, open effectual doors and win heathen hearts to Christ. Prayer alone can do the deed.

Is the harvest great? Are the labourers few? Then “pray ye the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his harvest.” Oh, that a great wave of prayer would sweep over the Church asking God to send out a great army of labourers into the needy harvest fields of the earth!

Why We Love The Church

There are a lot "Christian" books out there these days which take delight in speaking ill of the local church.  They say most churches are too judgmental, too narrow minded, too hypocritical, too old school, too conservative, too cliquish, and too boring.  In addition these voices say that the church is not concerned enough about social issues like homelessness, aids, world hunger, genocide, and the environment.  I would say, that some of what they are saying is very true.  One doesn't write a book if there is nothing to write about.  And as the old proverb goes, "if the shoe fits, wear it."  Churches need to look at these criticisms and see if they are true.  We should ask, are their changes that should be made as we repent of sin in the church and seek to be the church Christ has created us to be?  Sadly, the message that many of these "anti-church" books are giving is, "let's all leave the institutional church and really be the church."

I recently read a book called, Why We Love the Church, In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.  DeYoung is a 30-something pastor in middle American and Kluck is sportswriter who attends DeYoung's church.  The two have teamed up to write this book as well as the famous Why We're Not Emergent.   In the book they take turns writing chapters.  DeYoung's chapters are more intellectual and more preachy.  Kluck's chapters are more stream of thought and more every day man.  I have to admit, the preacher side of me really liked the DeYoung chapters but the part of me that really wants to know what the average church attender is thinking really appreciated the Kluck chapters.  The point of the book is to say, no, don't abandon the church, it is the bride of Christ.  Be a part of it, pray for it, show grace to other people in it just like you want to be shown grace, be willing to serve and lead the church toward being all that God wants it to be.

Let me give you just a few quotes to stimulate your appetite for this book:

In the first chapter DeYoung gives us some questions to ask when the church is in decline:  Are we believing the gospel, are we relying on the power of the gospel, are we getting the gospel out, are we getting the gospel right, are we adorning the gospel with good works, are we praying for the work of the gospel, are we training up our children in the gospel?

Going to church is not a quaint waste of time, but an essential part of a person's spiritual life and growth.  ~Kluck ~

Again, later in the book DeYoung gives some good questions for church leavers:  Are you rejecting the church or the faith, are you trying to have your cake and eat it too, are you making an idol out of authenticity, are you repeating the mistake of the previous generation?

Church isn't boring because we are not showing enough film clips, or because we play an organ instead of a guitar.  It's boring because we neuter it of it's importance. ~Kluck~

We need the church in visible manifest and sometimes hidden beauty.  We need the church of individuals and institutions.  Most of all, we ought to love the church- in all her organic and organizational mess and glory.  ~DeYoung~

If I could leave you with one thought, it's this:  Go.  Go to church.  Don't go for the coffee, the presentations, the music, or the amenities.  Don't even go for the feelings you may or may not get when you to because, no offense, these feelings may or may not be trustworthy most of the time.  Go for the gospel.  Go for the preaching.  God to be near God's Word... There are many people leaving the church, and supposedly finding God.  But I found Him here, and by His grace, I'll keep finding Him here.  I love my church.  ~Kluck~

 

Extra Pews Donated to Church Plant

 

On Tuesday, September 11, 13 pews were picked up by ten dedicated men from Outward Church in Salem.  It was not an easy task!  Half the pews were located in our upstairs attic and had to be lowered from the balcony.  The men carefully hoisted them down and loaded all the pews onto two large flat bed trailers.  They were grateful to have the pews and were are pleased to help a fellow church.  One pew was saved to donate to the West Linn High School dance team since they requested one. 

River Baptism 2012

We had another beautiful day on the Clackamas River for our baptisms. Please continue to pray for those who were baptized Sunday, Casey House, Perrin Dean, Sadie Hayhurst and Aurora Feuerborn. Thank you, again, to the Haugens for being such wonderful hosts!

Want to Serve Missionary Kids?

Tim and Wendy Tutty are hosting a Black Forest Academy (BFA) "Information Hour" on Monday, August 13 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at 6131 Barclay Street in West Linn. If you are interested in missions, or if you are in a ministry pointing others toward missions, please come! Eric and Lynette Sturgis, missionaries to BFA, will discuss how anyone can serve there. Childcare is provided. If you plan to attend the shared meal, arrive at 5:30 p.m. and bring a potluck dish.

Eric & Lynette Sturgis: Serving at Black Forest Academy in Germany introduce themselves:

Our heart for missions began in our younger years while growing up, largely because of exposure to missionaries at church and in our homes. In 2003, God strategically laid Black Forest Academy on our hearts. One of our former youth leaders shared about the ministry of BFA and challenged us to "check it out." The seed was planted and over the next few years God continued to prompt us to pursue coming here to serve Him.

As of 2010, we have been serving missionary students and families at BFA - Eric as a guidance counselor and Lynette as a school nurse. Eric helps students transition in and out of BFA. The Guidance Office staff also monitors graduation requirements and guides students as they explore their next steps. The nurses care for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the students, as well as injuries and advising the dorm parents when needed. We are so grateful to be able to use the experience and skills that the Lord has given us to serve in this capacity.

Black Forest Academy is a wonderful place to use God given skills to serve missionary families and students. There is a need for elementary teachers, secondary teachers, support staff, guidance counselors, counselors, dorm parents, resident assistants, maintenance workers, business office staff and personnel staff. There is a place for everyone! You can check out details at teachbeyond.org or bfacademy.com. Come join us in this vital ministry, serving missionary kids and reaching the ends of the earth with the Gospel through education. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions at esturgis@teachbeyond.org.

Think God works only through superstars and burning bushes? God works, unseen, through ordinary, flawed people. Beginning this Sunday we'll begin to look at the Book of Esther, in which God isn't even mentioned!

Outdoor Worship Service and Picnic

On August 12 all of New Life Church will meet together for an outdoor worship service at Willamette Park in West Linn.  The service begins at 10:00 a.m. and a picnic will follow.  Please bring a main dish plus a salad or dessert.  We hope to see you there! (No worship services will be held at any of the campus locations on August 12 so we can meet together.)

Czech Republic Mission Trip Update

The following update came from Justin Schroeder who was on a mission trip with Karen Hellweg and several others from the Portland area. They were in the Czech Republic serving in an English Camp with Josiah Venture.

Camp was amazing! Such a great week, despite the illness. Zach and Caro were the only ones of our team to make it through the week without vomiting. Gracey and Sean, fortunately, got much better as quickly as they became sick, and were up and running within hours. I was #26 to come down with the vomiting/fever bug on the very last night of camp, which meant I spent the last night (which are always epic) laying in bed. I believe about 36 people total had the virus during camp.

The thing is, though, that none of that stopped the energy of camp, and it was probably meant to be. No one was sent home, and those who weren't sick were full of life and energy that made this one of the sweetest camps ever. We had a super fun and crazy time, and got to make some great friends with the students there. At the end of the week, many had intense spiritual conversations with the Czech youth group members, and one girl accepted Christ right there at camp!

After camp was follow-up. Half the team went to Trebic, and a few of us went to Jihlova (YEE-hlo-va), the other town involved with the camp. It was a great chance to hang out with the students in their element, to relax and adventure as peers and to get those who had formerly not seen the local youth group a really good intro/plug-in to their respective churches. I think most of our team found the follow-up to be the most precious time of the whole trip.

After we said goodbye, we went to Prague! The last couple days were spent in the chaos of this beautiful city. First was the debrief, where Nate and Rob (of JV) essentially commissioned us BACK to carry on the spreading of the gospel in the places we live, not just for a couple emotional weeks in a foreign country. After debrief, we walked, shopped, toured, got lost, hit up all the major must-see points, got lost, and had a great time bonding as a team one last time. It was a magical time but also I'm still sore from all the walking.

I am so so extremely proud of this team and everything they accomplished this past week. It was truly incredible to see the way God worked through each member in a unique and powerful way. Not only did many people in various leadership roles express how impressed they were, but the students took to these Americans in a rich and beautiful manner.

So Gracey and Karen made it home safely to Portland! I immediately began the whole process over with another team and am back in eastern Czech ready to start camp tomorrow. Well sort of ready. Mostly just exhausted. And Caro, Zach and Sean are on a plane back to America as we speak!

Side note: as I am here at this new training, I'm seeing SO many people I've met in the past and have been catching up right and left with all sorts of individuals from all different towns and places in the country I've worked with. It is incredible to hear stories of people I knew back in those towns who have become Christians or are growing in their faith, leadership, and lives from the catalyzing effect camp had on them. Often times our job here is only planting a seed, but four years in and I can personally testify that God is bearing TONS of fruit in this country.

Ok back to the not-side-note. The middle note, if you will. Or whatever:

So thank you for helping make this journey possible through your prayers and loving support of each member. Please pray that the Denver team makes it home safely. Also please pray for each of these Americans, that this experience will not be lost in their personal lives and walks and that their growth will be evident from this point forward. Finally, pray for all the students, Christian and non-Christian alike, that God will continue his powerful movement through this atheistic nation, and that His light will once again shine from the Czech Republic.

God bless.

Peace, Love, and Kouzelné Hroch,

-Justin

A New Sermon Series: Gospel Lens

This week we began a new sermon series on looking at life through a gospel lens. This series is intended to help you understand your own life, and speak with others, from a gospel perspective. Here is a quick summary of the differences between a gospel lens and a Christless lens.

GOD’S STORY
If we view life through a gospel lens, we believe God’s story…

• Creation – God is the Creator and Originator of all things. This means that I exist because of Him and for Him. It also means that my value and identity are defined by Him.
• Fall – We rebelled against God and His word. This is sin. We die, through our rejection of God, because we are separated from the only life giving source. This rejection of God results in a broken world consisting of shame, suffering, death, inequality, and injustice.
• Redemption – God brings us into righteous relationship with Him by His work through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We put our faith in Him to accept this salvation by grace.
• Restoration – God has made us to be a new creation in Christ and continues to work in us through the work of the Holy Spirit. This means that He has prepared and enabled us for a new way to live, a new way to relate to others, and a new way to work. We anticipate that one day He will make all things new, resulting in a perfect relationship with him and an end to sin, shame, suffering, and death.

OUR STORY
If we view life through a Christless lens, we believe our story…

• Creation – I am what I determine myself to be. This means my value and identity are determined by someone else’s or my own opinion of me. I thereby establish myself or someone else as god.
• Fall – My problem is that I am not what I or someone else would like me to be. This results in my shame. Alternatively, I may believe that I am already perfect and acceptable in my own eyes. In this I deceive myself with pride. Beyond me, the world is broken and needs to be fixed because of suffering, death, inequality, or injustice.
• Redemption – It is through my work that I am saved, healed, or made acceptable by making up for my problem. Alternatively, I may hope that someone else will change my circumstances so that I will no longer have a problem. In this case I, or someone I determine, is savior.
• Restoration – I or something else can fix me and this place if I will just work harder and more effectively. My future hope is dependent upon my circumstances, resources, and abilities.

You may notice that the components of these stories relate to one another. The outline for the Gospel Lens series will address each component in turn: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.

GOSPEL COMPONENTS

• Creation addresses our identity. This is how we answer the questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why do I exist?
• Fall addresses where things are broken. This is how we answer the questions: What is the trouble or pain? Where did it come from? Whose fault is it?
• Redemption addresses how we hope to fix our brokenness. This is how we answer the questions: What has to be fixed? What is the solution to my problems? Who will be able to fix this?
• Restoration addresses what our future hope is. This is how we answer the questions: What do I hope will be? How will it become that way? Who will make it so?

Travis AFB Mission Team Report and Dessert

Hello faithful prayer and financial supporters,

We are so thankful for all of your support in prayer and finances for the Travis Air Force Base Mission Team! Our team would like to share with you some of what God did on the trip. Would you join us at The Pylate’s home (2590 Oxford Street, West Linn) for Strawberry Shortcake and a time of sharing on Friday July 13^th at 7:00 PM?

Please RSVP to let us know you are coming so we will make enough shortcake!

Thanks,

Pastor Nathan for the Travis AFB Mission Team