Belief of vs. Followers of

Jamey’s talk last night at the weekly meeting on faith and works really coincides with what God has been teaching me in my life this past month. I’ve listened to a number of sermons by Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, JR Vassar, and John Piper on various topics, but the relationship between works and faith/why we do good works if we are saved by grace through faith, has presented itself as the common theme. The topic of faith and works is widely discussed among the countless world religions including Christianity. In Christianity and the gospel of grace, we believe that we cannot work our way to heaven; it is a free gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9). As mentioned at the weekly meeting, in James 2 it discusses faith and works by saying, ”…The demons believe and tremble… ” and “…faith without works is useless” (some translations say dead). Jamey Pappas explained to us that these verses aren’t contradictory; in fact, they support the same message of true belief in Jesus. He explained that there is a difference in the belief IN something and the belief OF something.

Another way to put it, and what God has been teaching me this past month is that we (Christians) are called to be FOLLOWERS of Christ not just believers of Christ. If we have a belief OF Christ, then it is an acknowledgement of Christ’s existence and nothing more. If we are followers of Christ than we believe IN Him and are compelled to live a life that follows Christ’s example (to the best of our abilities). And if we live a life that follows Christ’s example we will be a unified body of action, serving one another, spreading the gospel, and seeing God move in big ways.  The Church, or the body, needs Followers of Christ, not believers Of Christ. God is continually teaching me how to be a follower of Christ.

I leave you with a passage from C.H. Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students:

“Of all I wish to say this is the sum; my brethren, preach Christ, always and evermore. He is the whole gospel. His person, offices, and work must be our one great, all-comprehending theme. The world needs still to be told of its Saviour, and of the way to reach him. Justification by faith should be far more than it is the daily testimony of Protestant pulpits; and if with this master-truth there should be more generally associated the other great doctrines of grace, the better for our churches and our age.”  (Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, pg.89)

Steve Cairns, First year intern

San Salvador Spring Break 2010!!!

Come join us for the San Salvador Spring Break 2010. In a nutshell the trip is a Fun Cross-Cultural Ministry Opportunity. It is going to look something like a cross between a missions trip, vision trip, Stinter support trip and a regular old Spring Break fun time.

This will be an opportunity to get first hand experience at cross-cultural ministry alongside our STINTers in San Salvador. It is our desire that this trip would connect our heads, hands and hearts to the many aspects of doing ministry in San Salvador.

We will be learning a new culture and bringing the Gospel to Salvadorian College students as we step out in faith and trust the Lord to do amazing things.  We will also be showing love and compassion through community service opportunities which will be done in partnership with GAIN (Global Aid Network) and alongside Salvadorian college students.

All this isn’t enough. Here are some more reasons to get you thinking…

1) El Salvador is beautiful and warm and tropical

2) The STINT team would love the encouragement from you.

3) Many Salvadorian students are lost and need to hear the gospel.

4) If money is an issue, you can raise support for it. God is fully able to meet the needs of those who step out in faith. Don’t ever let money be an excuse to not do something for God

5) The surf is world class

6)It is an awesome trip and you will be bummed if you miss out.

The dates are March 19th through the 27th. There will be an informational meeting on Tuesday following the weekly meeting in the lobby.

If you have any questions feel free to email Jacob Douglas. jacob.douglas@uscm.org

24/7 Prayer Week (Week O’ Prayer)

This next week at the Swanson Center (CLICK HERE FOR MAP) we’re gathering as a movement for five straight days of uninterrupted prayer.  There will be different areas of the Swanson Center sectioned to guide in you prayer for your family, friends, campus and world.  We’d love for you stop by anytime you’re free next week and take some time to encounter God through prayer.

Log into google using the login and password bellow to sign up for a time to be there so we can truly have a week of uninterrupted prayer!  If you have trouble managing the google calendar, just e-mail us at 247prayerwk@gmail.com and we’ll put your name on the calendar for you!

login: 247prayerwk
password: prayer10

Veritas Talks Online

If you were unable to make it to last weeks Veritas discussions, or just want to listen again, the talks are now online.  You can find them here.

Ways you can help with the needs in Haiti now

I’m sure you’re following the sad news regarding the earthquake that hit Haiti Tuesday evening.  Many of you, are asking what can be done to demonstrate the love of Christ in response to this terrible tragedy.  Obviously praying is crucial as they deal with great loss and devastation around them.  Another way you can tangibly be involved would be to give financially.  Slo Crusade is partnering with Global Aid Network (GAiN), the relief and development arm of Campus Crusade for Christ. GAiN already has containers with 1 million meals in it in Haiti and eight more containers of food and critically needed supplies ready to ship to Haiti.  GAiN’s primary need at the moment is financial resources to distribute the goods they have to the people of Haiti.  If you’d like to give, simply go to http://www.gainusa.org

Also, you can put together Crisis Care Kits to be sent over. Each kit  should include the following new items in a 2 gallon ziploc bag:

• 1 medium sized bottle of shampoo (12-18 oz)
• 2 bars of soap
• 1 medium toothpaste (4-6 oz)
• 3 toothbrushes
• 1 box of bandaids (30 or more)
• 1 fingernail clipper
• 1 sturdy hair comb
• 2 hand towels (no wash cloths)
• 4 pocket-sized packages of facial tissue
• 1 small stuffed toy (beanie baby sized)
• $2 for shipping

There will be a table at the weekly meeting to drop them off each week.

If you are having questions where God is in the midst of this tragedy check out the excellent article  “Where is God in the Midst of Tragedy?”

Old wine. New skins.

Not sure if you can relate, but when I don’t have a set book to read through… I find it hard to get into God’s Word on a regular basis.  As such, I chose Luke.  Though I have spent some time here before… the Lord is revealing new things through scripture that I often pass by!  Even still, there are certain passages that I have to read through several times because I do not understand what they are saying!  Is that meant literally?  Figuratively?  And even after the fifth read through… I am thinking, “I still don’t get it.”

Instead of skimming over the passage, I chose to do a little research!  I was told about the website—blueletterbible.com a while ago but never took full advantage of it.  The times I have used it, I can’t seem to choose a commentator out of the 20 listed!  But.  Good news people.  I found one I like!  David Guzik!

I want to share what I learned in Luke 5:33-39.  The passage reads:

“The religious leaders complained that Jesus’ disciples were feasting instead of fasting. “John the Baptist’s disciples always fast and pray,” they declared, “and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are yours always feasting?”  Jesus asked, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom?  Someday he will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”  Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.  New wine must be put into new wineskins.  But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. `The old is better,’ they say.”

So of course… the questions began.  What does He mean by the clothing?  And the new and old wineskins?  Read through it again… still didn’t get it.  But I found answers!  This passage is between the religious leaders and Jesus.  The first part of the passage has some significance which I could explain, but for our purposes, not important right now.  Let’s discuss the parables of the clothing and the wineskins.  If you have a new piece of clothing, you would not cut a patch out and sew it on the old piece of clothing.  Why?  For obvious reasons—but because the new one is now tainted and the old appears even more aged than before!  Because there is a new, non-faded, refreshed piece of fabric to compare it to.  What He was trying to communicate to the Pharisees is “You can’t fit my new life into the old forms.  I haven’t come to patch up your old practices.  I come with an entirely new set of clothes.”  They were trying to fit Jesus in a “box” if you will—of the old law.  But that is not why He came!  He did not come to put the new wine into the old wineskins.  The new wine (Him) must be put into fresh wineskins, as it would burst through the seams of the old wineskins.  At the end he says “But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new.  They say, “The old is better.”  The Pharisees did not want the new—they were convinced the old was better.

I think we do this some times!  Jesus tells us:

“… To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” –Ephesians 4:22-24

So why, at times, do we choose to walk in old ways?  We in our sin believe that other ways besides the new ways will satisfy and this will never be true.  Don’t try to fit your old life into the new.  It will not work.  Jesus makes it clear that the fresh and the new are far better.  His wise words are trustworthy and true.  May we do everything we can to cling to the moments we realize the new IS INDEED far better.  And do everything in our power; even to the point of shedding blood (like Jesus did) to flee what is old in our fleshly desires to obey what He is telling us in Ephesians 4.

Passed on to you with the help of blueletterbible.com by: Alyssa Nixon, first year intern.

Fragments of My Life…

I was recently reading through the blog of a very good friend of mine who is currently in India doing ministry through art. She had posted this verse, from John 6 about the boy who offers up his scraps of fish and bread to Jesus to feed the five thousand, which really embedded itself deep within my heart.

Lately, my mind has been pulling me in a million directions all at once. As I think of the various roles and responsibilities the Lord has asked of me for this season of my life, I am left wondering how will I ever accomplish all of this? Or even more so, how will I be able to do all of these things well?

However, through this passage, I am reminded that like the young boy in John 6, I too am called to give Jesus the fragments of my life so that He may transform it into something life-giving and multiply it. It is not my perfection that He seeks, but a teachable, willing heart. So here I am. Here are my 4 years of college education, here are my naive ideas about what it takes to be a leader in ministry, here is my faith that is fueled by a strong community, here is my seemingly insufficient knowledge of truth, here is my desire to love others well, here is my love for exploring the beauty of creation, here are my experiences in building intimate relationships, here are my entitlements to certain freedoms, here are my fears about the future and failures from the past, here is my value for creativity, here are the things I find comfort in, here is my heart for the world…

What do you have to give?

Lauren Slavik, first year intern.

Open House & Open Mic Night this Friday!

Come see what the Swanson Center is all about!
Stop by between 7-10pm for some free food, coffee, apple cider, hot chocolate, games, friends, books, and entertainment!

Check the google calendar for directions —->

Email theswansoncenter@gmail.com to sign up for an open mic spot
(singing, musical instruments, poetry, comedians, and mimes are all welcome)

“Beyond These Walls”

This weekend Jacob and I had the chance to attend EPIC Conference in SF, rainy SF! God chose to use worship as a major way of speaking into my heart, and of getting me excited to see the city influenced for Christ. David Gaulton led us in many powerful songs, but ‘Beyond These Walls’ has put a prayer on my heart. One of the lines says “would they hear your voice, in every word I speak”, what a great picture of being used by God. The message was powerful as the 450 of us sang this prayer and then moved beyond the walls of our conference center to bring hope and life transformation through Christ to the city of San Francisco.

Check out more about Epic’s Asian American Ministry in Slo @ http://epicslo.com/

The Importance of Prayer

This last week, I was in Denver being trained on how to lead a summer project. This covered everything from making a vision plan to buying flights to what to do if someone is bitten by a monkey. Yes, bitten by a monkey…it actually happened on a summer project last year! Needless to say, the conference was quite comprehensive. When my team and I arrived in Denver, we met together with staff members and students who were leading summer projects all over the world. In fact, there were 87 different international summer projects represented going to 33 countries. Considering the number of people at this conference, I was a little hesitant when the emcee said that each of us had to introduce ourselves to the entire audience. As we moved from one person to the next however, I started to get a big picture of what God was doing in the lives of these leaders and what God was going to do in the lives of each of you students that answer His call to go. It truly did have a huge impact on me.

Right before attending this conference, I listened to a sermon by John Piper on prayer as part of my staff training. He said, “Until we believe that life is war, we will not know what prayer is for.” That quote has been dominating my thoughts since then. I have always seen prayer as a way to communicate with God about the needs of myself and others. But prayer should be more than that. It should be seen as an opportunity to bring nations and peoples before Him. Prayer is the work of missions! In other words, missions is not effective without prayer behind it at all times, for it is God who must do the work. So as I sat taking in all of these names at this conference and listening to where each person would be going, my heart continually turned towards prayer and has remained there as I continue to think about the summer. I pray that as you think through whether or not to go on summer project and even as you go throughout your week, that you remember to keep others in your prayers. It is not just important, it is life-changing!

Here’s the link to my blog if you want to check it out and the sermon if you want to listen:

kylefletcherccc.com

Prayer – The Work of Missions