Want to know your strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and inclinations as a Christian leader? Check it out here.
With so many great blog posts and articles commenting on the beauty of Good Friday and Easter, I thought it would be beneficial for us to listen to God's comment on what transpired. Spend some time slowly reading through this text and contemplate what it means for you. He was rejected so you could be accepted. He was beaten so you could be healed. He was broken so you could be restored. He was condemned so you could be released. Think on these things, meditate on what it's saying, and come Sunday rejoice in all of the benefits His resurrection guarantees.
2For he grew up before him
like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had
no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that
we should desire him.
3 He was
despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief;
and as one
from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
4 Surely
he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet KEEP READING
As we packed up the PAC after our last TeenRock of 2009 this past Sunday, I grabbed a couple of our volunteers, interns, and the band to spend a moment reflecting on the past semester.
We laughed as we shared stories such as "the time when Michael and Weston dressed up as Latvian Cyclists." We cried when we recounted tales of tragedy and trial but still found comfort in the lessons that the Lord taught us through them.
Truth be told, it was a telling moment for me to hear the spectrum of experience from these amazing people, and for the rest of the evening, I found myself reflecting on how far God had brought me and this ministry since this time last year. I could pinpoint a host of things that I never would have anticipated, but the defining element that will mark 2009 will be:
Race
For those reading this who are relatively new to the Student Ministry culture at The Austin Stone Community Church, TeenRock is racially diverse. Our ministry at Reagan High School opened up the KEEP READING
Though you trust Jesus for your salvation, you may be a bit like me and struggle with feeling accepted by God in light of your sin. I know that if I find myself struggling with sin in the same area of if I just go a few days without spending time with God; I lose the confidence to approach and enjoy Him. Maybe He's unhappy with me, maybe He won't even listen to what I have to say, He's not going to want to meet with me. Ultimately this is a symptom of not trusting Jesus, not believing the gospel. Take a second and think about this: what is the basis of your confidence before God?
Let's say you feel confident before Him as His child when things are going great (victory over sin, fruitful time in prayer and the Word, living on mission) yet you feel disqualified and defeated in the times of struggle and dryness. What is your confidence resting on? Your works: ‘God accepts me because I live holy; God welcomes me because I am consistent in prayer and His Word; God loves me because I live KEEP READING
A sermon that has really impacted me is called The Openness of the Kingdom by Tim Keller. (You can download it here.) The cost is $2.50 but all proceeds go to support the ministries of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It is a riveting look at how Jesus tries to get across the importance of the Kingdom of God, the central organizing principle of the Kingdom, and how we can live according to that central principle. That message always works on my heart in terms of the gospel, salvation, God's Kingdom and all that we are to be about in light of God's grand plan for redemption and renewal. Here are a few quotes:
"When our relationship with God unraveled, all other relationships unraveled."
"The Kingdom of God is the reintroduction of God's presence into this world to turn this world into the home that our hearts most desperately want."
"The purpose of God's salvation is to restore and renew this creation."
"If you're part of His Kingdom, you're not just out to save souls, though KEEP READING
The AustinStone strives to be a Gospel-CenteredChurch. If you have been around the church for anyperiod of time you have heard the gospel mentioned. You've probably heard that the gospel shouldnot only be how one becomes a follower of Christ, but should be the foundationand power for the rest of our lives. Paul says of the gospel, "It is the power of God for salvation to allwho believe....." This begs the question,how? How do we as followers of Christkeep the gospel foundational to our lives? How do we make all our actions gospel-motivated? How does the gospel enable us to fight sin?
These areall questions I have wrestled with over the past few years. For me the foundational question I must askmyself is, what is my identity? What is the thing in my life that I find worthin? I often find my identity and worthin so many things other than Jesus, but over the past few years I do feel likeI have had some victory in this area. The Biblical truth of adoption has helped a great deal in KEEP READING
I can hardly think of a human action that more clearly depicts the Gospel than adoption. And I don’t know if you feel it yet or not, but I believe that God is doing a work of stirring our church towards adoption. On a regular basis I hear the great and wonderful news that someone from our church body has adopted a child, I see the heartbreak on our people’s faces when they’re great anticipation of being able to finally pick up that child is crushed by another news of delay, and I see the curious look on young couple’s faces… even singles as they hear the same stories and contemplate adopting for the very first time. God is doing something. If you feel the same stirring, I’d like to let you know of the tentative calendar of our “For the Orphan Network”. Please email oliviaengstrom at gmail dot com if you have any questions.
September 27 at 9am – Library
Sharing God’s Heart for the Orphan: Creating a Culture of Orphan Care and Adoption
October 18 at 10:30am – Cafeteria
Adoption 101: A KEEP READING
The last couple of weeks we have been talking about Confession. It's a scary word. To reveal ourselves as we truly are is a scary thing. It was actually one of the very first consequences of fall of man.
Gen 3:6-10: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. (8) They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" (10) He said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid KEEP READING