In honor of fathers and future fathers:
A free gift for fathers from Mark Driscoll here (All men should download this….even if it’s for preparation)
A pulling no punches, no nonsense article on manhood
Other links:
A list of what gospel intentionality looks like…..
Interested in being a part of a church plant? Advice for people in the first year of a church plant.
Enjoy!!
And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted yourself against the Lord of heaven…And you have praised the gods of sliver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. - Daniel 5:22-23
As we look upon this verse in Daniel we can see that a man has taken gifts (Romans 1:22-23) from the Lord and begin to give them praise. He completely disregards the giver of the gifts, and the sustainer of his very breath. Many of us can relate to Belshazzar here, we take many gifts that God has given us and turn our affections or emotions over to them. We begin to give more thought or care to the approval of others, controlling what goes on around us, or just simple desires for material possessions. Regardless of what they look like for each of us we take the affections and love that are meant for Jesus alone and give them over to these idols.
But this is when we return to the gospel of our Lord and Savior. When the Lord reveals the idolatry of our heart we can confess to Him and repent of our ways. If we approach the throne of grace with a true repentant heart we can rest and trust in the gospel. Isaiah 44 says, ” Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a [KEEP READING]
Since our “For the City” Vision Series this past Fall, the Community team has been receiving stories from people all over Austin who are beginning to see mission as a lifestyle. God is moving in our city.
Quinn Smith drives the same route to work everyday. He began to notice a homeless couple sleeping on the side of the road; the same couple at the same place at the same time everyday. He saw this as an opportunity to share the love of Christ, so he began riding his bike to work everyday in hopes of talking to them. He began having conversations with them and playing with their dog.
A few weeks later they moved to a camp in the woods several blocks away and invited him to visit. He accepted the invitation and really started to get a picture of who they were. Quinn saw how oppressed they were by Satan and couldn’t imagine them sober because of how lost they were in alcoholism.
Though they were professing Christians and even prayed with him sometimes, Quinn found it difficult to know how to approach them. About the time he was really starting to feel hopeless for them, the husband, Daniel, became severely ill, not having had anything to eat or drink for three days. Although Daniel did not want to go to the hospital because he was ashamed of his dirty clothes, Quinn took him and Daniel spent several days recovering and sobering up. Maggie and Daniel returned home with a resolution never to drink again and are still sober. Quinn saw four weeks pass with Daniel and Maggie [KEEP READING]
Below is an excerpt from Wold Harvest Mission resource: Gospel Encouragement
“The gospel is the best news we could ever hear. The gospel is about Jesus Christ and his power to transform our lives and relationships, communities, and ultimately, the nations. Through this gospel, we are freely given a new identity-an identity not based on race, social class, gender, a theological system, or a system of rules and regulations. Rather it is a new and perfect identity based solely on faith in Christ, an identity that defines every aspect of our lives. We are now forgiven, righteous, adopted, accepted, free, and heirs to everything that belongs to Christ. So even our sin, weakness, and failures do not define who we are. Because of this good news, we no longer have to hide from our sin and imagine that we have it all together, for God knows and loves us as we are, not as we pretend to be. Receiving and resting in the truths of the gospel translates into a Christian life of joy, peace, freedom, and love. So the gospel also gives us a new way to live and relate to other people. It frees us from sin’s stranglehold on our lives, liberates our conscience, and releases us from living according to the principles of this world. Since our new identity and new way to live is based solely on faith, the gospel excludes all manner of boasting and arrogance. Everything that we have has been given to us-thus it is called the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20: 24). Moreover, this gospel has [KEEP READING]
Below is a link to a two part training on the Implications of the Gospel by Jeff Vanderstelt given at Cornerstone Simi Church, in Simi Valley California. Jeff walks through how to live out the beauty of the gospel in community and mission, as well as the practical nature of how to engage the unbelievers around us with the gospel.
go here for the training: http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/special/media_player.html
Many Christians in Modern North America, including myself, have typically grown up around other ‘Christians’. This is especially true when it comes to those of us who grew up in rural Texas and the Southern parts of the United States. This is an area that is informally known as The Bible Belt. Unfortunately most of us that have grown up in these areas have rarely come in contact with people of differing ethnicity, a different culture, or differing religious views. There simply isn’t much diversity in many places like these. This has and can lead many of us to unfortunately only see the world as we see it. We don’t have any reference or context for life outside of our city, state, and even our country. We really don’t have a context or understanding for the staggering number of people in this world who don’t believe in the same things as we do when it comes to religion, God, and Jesus Christ.
I was recently made aware of some mind-blowing statistics dealing with people of other religions and whether or not they personally know a Christian. It is hard for us who have grown up in America, especially in the Bible Belt, to imagine living a life where we don’t know any Christians. However, according to the statistics below the majority of the followers of other world religions do not know even ONE Christian personally. Here are the statistics:
- Only 10.4% of Muslims in Asia personally know a Christian.
- Only 13.3% of all Muslims worldwide personally know a [KEEP READING]
EXEGESIS (ěk’sə-jē‘sĭs) Critical explanation or analysis; to interpret
We need to exegete…culture in the same way that missionaries have been so good at doing with diverse tribal culture of previously unreached people. We need to exegete…the themes of Rolling Stones…, Dennis Rodman, Madonna, (and) David Letterman…We need to comprehend that the Spirit of the Living God is at work in these cultural expressions, preparing the hearts of men and women to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have to find, in good missionary fashion, those motifs and themes that connect with the truths of the gospel. We need to learn how to proclaim, “That which you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you.” This is the missionary vision at its best.
-Craig Van Gelder
Questions your MC can ask in the process of understanding your culture and mission:
- What are the emotional needs of the elderly, families, teens, singles, men, women, children?
- What are the social, economic or educational needs of the same?
- What are the flaws and difficulties with the systems of the community?
- What is their worldview?
- What redemptive analogies best fit this culture?
- What does this culture understand about the basic components of the gospel story?
- What questions are being asked in the culture that point to their need for the gospel?
US Literacy Facts That Impact Our Exegesis:
Did you know that in the USA…
- Over 50% of [KEEP READING]
The Gospel Centered Life Curriculum is now available to order. You can order Participant Guides by emailing Chelsea: chelsea@austinstone.org
This would be a great guide to help your group grow and get on mission over the next few months. What’s inside the curriculum? Check it out:
Week 1 - The Gospel Grid
Week 2 - Pretending and Performing
Week 3 - Believing the Gospel
Week 4 - Law and Gospel
Week 5 - Repentance
Week 6 - Heart Idolatry
Week 7 - Mission; The Gospel Propels Us Outward
Week 8 - Forgiveness
Week 9 - Conflict; Gospel-Centered Conflict Resolution
Want to be one of the first groups to pilot this material? Contact Chelsea to order your copies. (Participant’s Guides are $5 a copy. We offer the material at cost.)