Church Blog https://www.newcbc.org Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:21:52 -0500 http://churchplantmedia.com/ A New "Picture" Of Realm https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-new--picture--of-realm https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-new--picture--of-realm#comments Thu, 17 Jan 2019 20:00:00 -0600 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-new--picture--of-realm  

The last few weeks we have been introducing you to our new church family database called “Realm”. This will allow you to access contact information, pictures and other group information from our church. Last week you saw how you can begin to GIVE online if you choose to do so. Not to worry, for those who still want to give the old way, we will continue to take up an offering each week.

If you did NOT receive a formal email to sign up for Realm, you might check your spam folder. Some have found it there.

One more reminder: To access Realm, go to the cover page of our website, newcbc.org, and find the top, far right drop-down called RESOURCES. Click on the option, REALM ONLINE COMMUNITY and look at the options.

On that page you will find links to very helpful instructions, including How to Use Realm, How to Give Online, How to Edit your Profile Information, and the one I want to address today, How to Add, Update, or Delete Your Photo.

Instead of having a prolonged time of picture taking at the church on several Sundays and making appointments to do so, we would like YOU to take your own pictures and insert them into the database following the directions on the website.

First, you will need to take a selfie, or have someone take a picture of you with a smartphone. Make sure it is just a head shot. Anything more and you will look too small on Realm. Then email it to yourself and make sure you save it in a picture file on your computer. From there you can access it following the directions on the Realm helps listed above on how to add a picture. If you don’t like the picture you added, just delete it and add a different one. You can update it at anytime.

On each individual profile page (there will be a separate one for husband, wife, and one for each of your children) you will see two dots below the box where you will insert your picture. One is for your personal picture, the other is for a family picture. This is new to this database. Now we can see what you look like up close AND see a picture of your whole family! By the way, you can update pictures of your children every year, since they tend to look older at a quicker rate than adults do. (Right?!)

As we ALL become more familiar with Realm, we will be adding more helps in this Resource section of Realm Online Community. Make sure you check these first before calling the office to get help. However, we are happy to help if these resources are unclear or unhelpful.

At this time of year when many of us are taking pictures, especially family pictures, this would be a great time to insert that picture in Realm so we ALL can see it.

May you all experience the “good tidings of comfort and joy” that only comes through Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with Us.

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The last few weeks we have been introducing you to our new church family database called “Realm”. This will allow you to access contact information, pictures and other group information from our church. Last week you saw how you can begin to GIVE online if you choose to do so. Not to worry, for those who still want to give the old way, we will continue to take up an offering each week.

If you did NOT receive a formal email to sign up for Realm, you might check your spam folder. Some have found it there.

One more reminder: To access Realm, go to the cover page of our website, newcbc.org, and find the top, far right drop-down called RESOURCES. Click on the option, REALM ONLINE COMMUNITY and look at the options.

On that page you will find links to very helpful instructions, including How to Use Realm, How to Give Online, How to Edit your Profile Information, and the one I want to address today, How to Add, Update, or Delete Your Photo.

Instead of having a prolonged time of picture taking at the church on several Sundays and making appointments to do so, we would like YOU to take your own pictures and insert them into the database following the directions on the website.

First, you will need to take a selfie, or have someone take a picture of you with a smartphone. Make sure it is just a head shot. Anything more and you will look too small on Realm. Then email it to yourself and make sure you save it in a picture file on your computer. From there you can access it following the directions on the Realm helps listed above on how to add a picture. If you don’t like the picture you added, just delete it and add a different one. You can update it at anytime.

On each individual profile page (there will be a separate one for husband, wife, and one for each of your children) you will see two dots below the box where you will insert your picture. One is for your personal picture, the other is for a family picture. This is new to this database. Now we can see what you look like up close AND see a picture of your whole family! By the way, you can update pictures of your children every year, since they tend to look older at a quicker rate than adults do. (Right?!)

As we ALL become more familiar with Realm, we will be adding more helps in this Resource section of Realm Online Community. Make sure you check these first before calling the office to get help. However, we are happy to help if these resources are unclear or unhelpful.

At this time of year when many of us are taking pictures, especially family pictures, this would be a great time to insert that picture in Realm so we ALL can see it.

May you all experience the “good tidings of comfort and joy” that only comes through Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with Us.

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2018 Year End Announcement https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/2018-year-end-announcement https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/2018-year-end-announcement#comments Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/2018-year-end-announcement  

 

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Erica's Testimony on Father's Day https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/testimony_2 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/testimony_2#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/testimony_2  

Last year at this time, I was home, crying. Going to church was out of the question. I had recently lost my dad. I wanted nothing do with church or God. I was angry. I actively contemplated taking my life to end the agonizing pain of being without my dad. It didn’t matter to me that I had a husband who loved me or three boys who needed their mommy or a niece who needed me. I just wanted the pain to stop.

I grew up trusting in the Lord and in his goodness and love. But when my dad died, that trust died. My dad had become one of my best friends. In the last few years of his life, I probably saw him every other day. My dad loved my boys and me so much. He was an amazing man. I could not imagine life without him.

So, when that text came at 5AM, that my dad needed to go to the ER, I panicked. My mom thought it was probably a visit like others before, seeing as he was in his seventies with COPD and cancer. But my dad would never return home. I still envision the walker my mom put in the back of her car, just in case he needed support on the journey home-the walker he’d never use.  

Each day my dad remained unresponsive, my heart shattered. I wanted one more day. I need to hear his voice one more time.

I hated seeing my mom have to make the hardest decision of her life-letting my dad go be with Jesus. I am still amazed at how strong she is. I hated the doctors ushering us outside his room as a medical team gathered inside to stop the instruments supporting his life. I hated hearing the tubes being removed from my dad’s throat and listening to him gag. I wanted to vomit. To scream. To go be with him. Death was minutes away from separating me from my dad. I hated Death.

Once allowed to return to my dad’s room, the pain was intense as we awaited the flat line. We prayed for him and sang to him. We each held his hand and collected our final memory with him.

I’ll never forget my brother wailing and my mother’s feet beating the hospital floor when my dad’s chest did not rise again. In a breath, our entire world changed. The grief was unfathomable. I was already struggling with postpartum depression, so my depression grew worse.

I spoke at my dad’s memorial service with confidence that God is still good, and my dad is in Heaven. But reality set in. My dad was never coming back. I began to feel my speech was a lie. I wanted nothing to do with my parent’s faith, especially their God. I remember screaming into the sky, “You’re not real! This is all a big lie! You’re a liar! You said if we pray…you said to trust you… My dad was the biggest prayer; he trusted you, and look what you did to us!” So, I stopped believing in God. I could not rationalize how a good Father could do what He did. Life became more hopeless to think Heaven was none existent. My depression grew worse. The panic attacks were almost daily. My dad’s death consumed me. I was so depressed that when I gave birth two weeks later, I did not want to hold my baby. What I wanted most of all was to die.

I feasted off of lies I told myself, which only fed the depression. I was terrified of my thoughts. I had no idea who I was anymore. I stopped going to church. I stopped speaking to people. I stopped wanting to get out of bed. I couldn’t care for my children to the point of being dependent on the almost daily help of one of my best friend’s, Rachel Hontz and my aunt Kim Thiele. I lived in paranoia. I cried all the time. I hated myself. I hated God. And I hated anyone who told me I could rejoice because my dad was in a good place.

“Your father would be so angry with you!” I will never forget these words. My mother spoke them in urgency and in love. She knows best how much I love my dad-how dark everything seemed without him. But she was right-if my dad knew I was wanting to take my life, that I was not loving his grandsons well, that I was crying without hope (the very opposite of the gospel message he spent our entire relationship making sure I understood), he would be so disappointed. And I never wanted to disappoint him, not even in death. I will always want my dad to be proud of me. For him, I wanted to grieve well. I wanted to live as though all he taught me and invested in me mattered, because it does. As one of our members Susan Timm, reminded me: I wanted to live a life that was a reflection of his legacy, not an opposition to it.

Though my father’s death meant the actualization of one of my worst fears, I have to tell you that it was the trial that drove me closer to God than I have ever been. Either I believed in God or I didn’t. And if I did not believe, then I could just live my life how I wanted and be as self-absorbed as I wanted. But I had seen too much of God’s goodness in my adoption story, through my parents and the church body to keep God dead. God had to be real, or I’d lose my mind entirely.

A friend of mine who had become a quadriplegic in his early twenties, said to me, “If my accident and not turning away from God after it, or your dad’s death led one person to Christ, wasn’t that worth it?” Absolutely not is what I told him six months ago. My response startled me. It forced me to see that I did not believe in the urgency of the gospel, and in the rawest sense, I did not know God.

But God. Those are my favorite words in this chapter of my testimony. Through prayer, amazing support from family and friends, therapy, and a mentorship, I found a faith stronger than I ever imagined. What I learned is that I grew up in church, in a Christian school, and in a Christian home, but I did not understand the depth of who God is nor did I grasp the scriptures I’ve heard for the last 23 years. I use to wonder how could so many people raised in the Lord and in the church just walk away from it all? How could believers turn away from God and live in blatant and total opposition to him? I never understood it until I was living it. When I experienced my hardest trial, and could not have my deepest longing fulfilled, which was to have my dad back, God felt so cruel and unloving that to reject everything pertaining to him felt freeing. But I was far from free. I was living in my own hell and forcing my family into with me.

I never understood depression until I was living in it. I thought it was all mental and that you could just turn it off. I did not think a true believer could struggle with a mental disorder-not if he loved God enough. I was so very foolish, wrong, and humbled by such flawed thinking. Depression is real and it is a liar and it feasts off of every insecurity, taunting, leading you to flirt with the brink of no return.

But God. God gave me a mentor who was lovingly firm with me and reminded me about who Jesus really is, not who I wanted him to be. She pushed me to the scriptures-to find Truth, not the way the world defines it, but real truth that gives you purpose and hope. She encouraged me back into church and to a body who is going to not give up on me and who is going to preach Truth week after week until it sinks in. After losing my dad, so many people in this body helped carry my family through waves of grief. Thank you.

What I have been reminded of this season is this important truth: God loves us. He wants to be good to us. He wants to use life experiences and sorrows to bring us closer to him. And He will, at all costs. That is why today, I can smile. I can tell you that I am the happiest I have ever been in all of my life. I have joy in the Lord. My dad would think it’s the greatest story that his death is the event that drove me closer to the God he loved more than anything.

Fathers, love your children. Live in a way that points them to Jesus. I know you will not be perfect. But if my parents had preached one gospel and lived another, I would have walked away from God and this church for good. What helped me return was the more I learned about God, I finally understood what my parent’s faith had been all about. Affirm your children. Pray for them. Pastor Sunday gave me one of the most beautiful thoughts after my dad died; it was that he believes my dad still prays for me in Heaven. Never stop praying for your children. Let them see you actively living out you faith; that will be your greatest legacy.

And children, of any age, do not spend your days thinking you have time. Time to get it right. To make amends. To tell your parents you appreciate them. To live for God later. Love your parents. Thank them because they love you and want to protect you. I know parents can seem like hypocrites. Remember, Christians fail. God is working in them. Don’t shut them out. Don’t reject the faith they are teaching you about. Listen about the God they desperately want you to know. Because really knowing him and who you are in him, will save your life.

And to those who may be in a season of darkness like I was, dawn will come. God can heal, restore, and save. Talk to people about the darkness that imprisons you and the lies that scream at you. Show your cuts and scars. Share your fears. Look around you. We are all broken. But we can help each other. Don’t feel ashamed of who you are or the thoughts you desperately try to hide. When I got sick, I saw women and men start to open up about similar mental battles. We need to all talk about the unspoken mental illness and how it impacts Christians, not hide it. Don’t reject God. Don’t stop going to church. Don’t, and I beg you, please don’t ever stop wanting to live. God can save you from yourself and from the hell you’re trying to claw your way out of. And you need him; you cannot do it on your own. And though you may not believe this or have long forgotten, please know that you are important. You are beautiful, remarkable, and strong. You are so loved.

It is my mother and father’s love, faith, and legacy and my Heavenly Father’s love, goodness, and faithfulness to me that allows me to stand before you today, closing this chapter of my testimony with a line my dad loved to say, based off Philippians 1:6, “I’m not the man I ought to be, but thank God, I’m not the man I used to be.”

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I miss you.  And Happy Father’s Day to all of you.

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Last year at this time, I was home, crying. Going to church was out of the question. I had recently lost my dad. I wanted nothing do with church or God. I was angry. I actively contemplated taking my life to end the agonizing pain of being without my dad. It didn’t matter to me that I had a husband who loved me or three boys who needed their mommy or a niece who needed me. I just wanted the pain to stop.

I grew up trusting in the Lord and in his goodness and love. But when my dad died, that trust died. My dad had become one of my best friends. In the last few years of his life, I probably saw him every other day. My dad loved my boys and me so much. He was an amazing man. I could not imagine life without him.

So, when that text came at 5AM, that my dad needed to go to the ER, I panicked. My mom thought it was probably a visit like others before, seeing as he was in his seventies with COPD and cancer. But my dad would never return home. I still envision the walker my mom put in the back of her car, just in case he needed support on the journey home-the walker he’d never use.  

Each day my dad remained unresponsive, my heart shattered. I wanted one more day. I need to hear his voice one more time.

I hated seeing my mom have to make the hardest decision of her life-letting my dad go be with Jesus. I am still amazed at how strong she is. I hated the doctors ushering us outside his room as a medical team gathered inside to stop the instruments supporting his life. I hated hearing the tubes being removed from my dad’s throat and listening to him gag. I wanted to vomit. To scream. To go be with him. Death was minutes away from separating me from my dad. I hated Death.

Once allowed to return to my dad’s room, the pain was intense as we awaited the flat line. We prayed for him and sang to him. We each held his hand and collected our final memory with him.

I’ll never forget my brother wailing and my mother’s feet beating the hospital floor when my dad’s chest did not rise again. In a breath, our entire world changed. The grief was unfathomable. I was already struggling with postpartum depression, so my depression grew worse.

I spoke at my dad’s memorial service with confidence that God is still good, and my dad is in Heaven. But reality set in. My dad was never coming back. I began to feel my speech was a lie. I wanted nothing to do with my parent’s faith, especially their God. I remember screaming into the sky, “You’re not real! This is all a big lie! You’re a liar! You said if we pray…you said to trust you… My dad was the biggest prayer; he trusted you, and look what you did to us!” So, I stopped believing in God. I could not rationalize how a good Father could do what He did. Life became more hopeless to think Heaven was none existent. My depression grew worse. The panic attacks were almost daily. My dad’s death consumed me. I was so depressed that when I gave birth two weeks later, I did not want to hold my baby. What I wanted most of all was to die.

I feasted off of lies I told myself, which only fed the depression. I was terrified of my thoughts. I had no idea who I was anymore. I stopped going to church. I stopped speaking to people. I stopped wanting to get out of bed. I couldn’t care for my children to the point of being dependent on the almost daily help of one of my best friend’s, Rachel Hontz and my aunt Kim Thiele. I lived in paranoia. I cried all the time. I hated myself. I hated God. And I hated anyone who told me I could rejoice because my dad was in a good place.

“Your father would be so angry with you!” I will never forget these words. My mother spoke them in urgency and in love. She knows best how much I love my dad-how dark everything seemed without him. But she was right-if my dad knew I was wanting to take my life, that I was not loving his grandsons well, that I was crying without hope (the very opposite of the gospel message he spent our entire relationship making sure I understood), he would be so disappointed. And I never wanted to disappoint him, not even in death. I will always want my dad to be proud of me. For him, I wanted to grieve well. I wanted to live as though all he taught me and invested in me mattered, because it does. As one of our members Susan Timm, reminded me: I wanted to live a life that was a reflection of his legacy, not an opposition to it.

Though my father’s death meant the actualization of one of my worst fears, I have to tell you that it was the trial that drove me closer to God than I have ever been. Either I believed in God or I didn’t. And if I did not believe, then I could just live my life how I wanted and be as self-absorbed as I wanted. But I had seen too much of God’s goodness in my adoption story, through my parents and the church body to keep God dead. God had to be real, or I’d lose my mind entirely.

A friend of mine who had become a quadriplegic in his early twenties, said to me, “If my accident and not turning away from God after it, or your dad’s death led one person to Christ, wasn’t that worth it?” Absolutely not is what I told him six months ago. My response startled me. It forced me to see that I did not believe in the urgency of the gospel, and in the rawest sense, I did not know God.

But God. Those are my favorite words in this chapter of my testimony. Through prayer, amazing support from family and friends, therapy, and a mentorship, I found a faith stronger than I ever imagined. What I learned is that I grew up in church, in a Christian school, and in a Christian home, but I did not understand the depth of who God is nor did I grasp the scriptures I’ve heard for the last 23 years. I use to wonder how could so many people raised in the Lord and in the church just walk away from it all? How could believers turn away from God and live in blatant and total opposition to him? I never understood it until I was living it. When I experienced my hardest trial, and could not have my deepest longing fulfilled, which was to have my dad back, God felt so cruel and unloving that to reject everything pertaining to him felt freeing. But I was far from free. I was living in my own hell and forcing my family into with me.

I never understood depression until I was living in it. I thought it was all mental and that you could just turn it off. I did not think a true believer could struggle with a mental disorder-not if he loved God enough. I was so very foolish, wrong, and humbled by such flawed thinking. Depression is real and it is a liar and it feasts off of every insecurity, taunting, leading you to flirt with the brink of no return.

But God. God gave me a mentor who was lovingly firm with me and reminded me about who Jesus really is, not who I wanted him to be. She pushed me to the scriptures-to find Truth, not the way the world defines it, but real truth that gives you purpose and hope. She encouraged me back into church and to a body who is going to not give up on me and who is going to preach Truth week after week until it sinks in. After losing my dad, so many people in this body helped carry my family through waves of grief. Thank you.

What I have been reminded of this season is this important truth: God loves us. He wants to be good to us. He wants to use life experiences and sorrows to bring us closer to him. And He will, at all costs. That is why today, I can smile. I can tell you that I am the happiest I have ever been in all of my life. I have joy in the Lord. My dad would think it’s the greatest story that his death is the event that drove me closer to the God he loved more than anything.

Fathers, love your children. Live in a way that points them to Jesus. I know you will not be perfect. But if my parents had preached one gospel and lived another, I would have walked away from God and this church for good. What helped me return was the more I learned about God, I finally understood what my parent’s faith had been all about. Affirm your children. Pray for them. Pastor Sunday gave me one of the most beautiful thoughts after my dad died; it was that he believes my dad still prays for me in Heaven. Never stop praying for your children. Let them see you actively living out you faith; that will be your greatest legacy.

And children, of any age, do not spend your days thinking you have time. Time to get it right. To make amends. To tell your parents you appreciate them. To live for God later. Love your parents. Thank them because they love you and want to protect you. I know parents can seem like hypocrites. Remember, Christians fail. God is working in them. Don’t shut them out. Don’t reject the faith they are teaching you about. Listen about the God they desperately want you to know. Because really knowing him and who you are in him, will save your life.

And to those who may be in a season of darkness like I was, dawn will come. God can heal, restore, and save. Talk to people about the darkness that imprisons you and the lies that scream at you. Show your cuts and scars. Share your fears. Look around you. We are all broken. But we can help each other. Don’t feel ashamed of who you are or the thoughts you desperately try to hide. When I got sick, I saw women and men start to open up about similar mental battles. We need to all talk about the unspoken mental illness and how it impacts Christians, not hide it. Don’t reject God. Don’t stop going to church. Don’t, and I beg you, please don’t ever stop wanting to live. God can save you from yourself and from the hell you’re trying to claw your way out of. And you need him; you cannot do it on your own. And though you may not believe this or have long forgotten, please know that you are important. You are beautiful, remarkable, and strong. You are so loved.

It is my mother and father’s love, faith, and legacy and my Heavenly Father’s love, goodness, and faithfulness to me that allows me to stand before you today, closing this chapter of my testimony with a line my dad loved to say, based off Philippians 1:6, “I’m not the man I ought to be, but thank God, I’m not the man I used to be.”

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I miss you.  And Happy Father’s Day to all of you.

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What Do We Mean By "Gospel Care"? https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-do-we-mean-by--gospel-care---part-1- https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-do-we-mean-by--gospel-care---part-1-#comments Tue, 29 May 2018 14:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-do-we-mean-by--gospel-care---part-1- What exactly is “gospel care”? Perhaps you have asked yourself that question as this term has been increasingly heard at New Covenant in recent weeks. Is its use meant to communicate that at New Covenant we truly care about the gospel? That is certainly the case. We care deeply about the gospel message of God’s redeeming love demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. We believe these gospel truths are central to who we are as a church. In fact, we consider ourselves a “gospel-centered” church; meaning, we believe that this gospel message is not only the good news that brings us into a saving relationship with God the Father through Jesus, but it is also the key truth we need to apply to our lives daily through the power of the Holy Spirit as THE means God uses to change us more and more into the image of Christ to his glory. At New Covenant we care deeply about the gospel.

However, when we use the term “gospel care,” we are saying more than just that we care deeply about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are specifically identifying actions and activities that ought to be present in our life together as a result of the gospel’s transforming work in each of our lives. Timothy Lane’s definition is helpful: “Words that express the fuller meaning of [gospel care] are discipleship, informal helping relationships, one anothering, growth in grace, conformity to the image of Christ, sanctification, change, growth in godliness, the fruit of the Spirit, faith and obedience, and increase in wisdom.”

The term “one anothering” is especially helpful. Think of all the New Testament commands to one another: abound in love for one another (1 Thessalonians 3:12), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), confess your sins to one another (James 5:16), outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10), etc. A personal favorite for many is Hebrews 10:24: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...” Unfortunately, the way this verse usually gets translated takes away some of its impact. As the writer to the Hebrews penned this sentence under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the object of the command for us to “consider” is not “how” but “one another.” The verse literally reads: consider one another toward the end of stirring up [or provoking!] one another to love and good works. What we are to consider is not a how-to. What we are to consider is those around us in the body of Christ. We ought to view them as our brothers and sisters in Christ purchased by His precious blood, holy and dearly loved by God the Father, chosen before the foundation of time for the purpose of doing good works which he prepared in advance for them to do, glorious trophies of grace in whom God is working out his eternal purposes with the promise to complete what he has begun. That’s what we mean when we say gospel care: all the ways that we interact and relate to one another that spur on the process of sanctification by the power and beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Think for a moment about the broadness and diversity of one anothering, of ministering gospel care. It happens in our everyday conversations with one another when we point a brother or sister to the riches of God’s Word and help them draw on his grace for the moment. It happens when you pray with someone in the church foyer after a Sunday morning worship service. At the same time, we have specific ministries of care at New Covenant that are designed to create space for the Holy Spirit to work to foster gospel care for another in the body. I hope that when you think of these types of ministries Gospel Communities is the first that comes to mind. Gospel Communities exist as a means for the members and regular attenders of New Covenant to apply the truths of the gospel to their lives in the context of relationship. When New Covenant was formed in 2010 the elders affirmed the importance of the ministry of the gospel to one another by commissioning our small groups and making them the primary means of adult discipleship for our church.

Another way to view our ministries of gospel care is as a continuum of care. As one moves across the spectrum of care ministries from gospel conversations to one-on-one personal ministry (or mutual care) to group sanctification in a Gospel Community to formal counseling relationships that apply God’s Word to the difficult issues of life in a fallen world, the focus, depth, and intensity of care increases.

It is our prayer that as we continue in our life together, the Spirit of God will use the various means of his grace -- people, ministries, pastors, elders, counselors, lay counselors, Gospel Community leaders -- to minister the gospel to one another so that every person at New Covenant is transformed increasingly into the image of God, for his glory and our eternal good. Please join us in praying toward that joyful end.

 

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What exactly is “gospel care”? Perhaps you have asked yourself that question as this term has been increasingly heard at New Covenant in recent weeks. Is its use meant to communicate that at New Covenant we truly care about the gospel? That is certainly the case. We care deeply about the gospel message of God’s redeeming love demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. We believe these gospel truths are central to who we are as a church. In fact, we consider ourselves a “gospel-centered” church; meaning, we believe that this gospel message is not only the good news that brings us into a saving relationship with God the Father through Jesus, but it is also the key truth we need to apply to our lives daily through the power of the Holy Spirit as THE means God uses to change us more and more into the image of Christ to his glory. At New Covenant we care deeply about the gospel.

However, when we use the term “gospel care,” we are saying more than just that we care deeply about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are specifically identifying actions and activities that ought to be present in our life together as a result of the gospel’s transforming work in each of our lives. Timothy Lane’s definition is helpful: “Words that express the fuller meaning of [gospel care] are discipleship, informal helping relationships, one anothering, growth in grace, conformity to the image of Christ, sanctification, change, growth in godliness, the fruit of the Spirit, faith and obedience, and increase in wisdom.”

The term “one anothering” is especially helpful. Think of all the New Testament commands to one another: abound in love for one another (1 Thessalonians 3:12), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), confess your sins to one another (James 5:16), outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10), etc. A personal favorite for many is Hebrews 10:24: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...” Unfortunately, the way this verse usually gets translated takes away some of its impact. As the writer to the Hebrews penned this sentence under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the object of the command for us to “consider” is not “how” but “one another.” The verse literally reads: consider one another toward the end of stirring up [or provoking!] one another to love and good works. What we are to consider is not a how-to. What we are to consider is those around us in the body of Christ. We ought to view them as our brothers and sisters in Christ purchased by His precious blood, holy and dearly loved by God the Father, chosen before the foundation of time for the purpose of doing good works which he prepared in advance for them to do, glorious trophies of grace in whom God is working out his eternal purposes with the promise to complete what he has begun. That’s what we mean when we say gospel care: all the ways that we interact and relate to one another that spur on the process of sanctification by the power and beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Think for a moment about the broadness and diversity of one anothering, of ministering gospel care. It happens in our everyday conversations with one another when we point a brother or sister to the riches of God’s Word and help them draw on his grace for the moment. It happens when you pray with someone in the church foyer after a Sunday morning worship service. At the same time, we have specific ministries of care at New Covenant that are designed to create space for the Holy Spirit to work to foster gospel care for another in the body. I hope that when you think of these types of ministries Gospel Communities is the first that comes to mind. Gospel Communities exist as a means for the members and regular attenders of New Covenant to apply the truths of the gospel to their lives in the context of relationship. When New Covenant was formed in 2010 the elders affirmed the importance of the ministry of the gospel to one another by commissioning our small groups and making them the primary means of adult discipleship for our church.

Another way to view our ministries of gospel care is as a continuum of care. As one moves across the spectrum of care ministries from gospel conversations to one-on-one personal ministry (or mutual care) to group sanctification in a Gospel Community to formal counseling relationships that apply God’s Word to the difficult issues of life in a fallen world, the focus, depth, and intensity of care increases.

It is our prayer that as we continue in our life together, the Spirit of God will use the various means of his grace -- people, ministries, pastors, elders, counselors, lay counselors, Gospel Community leaders -- to minister the gospel to one another so that every person at New Covenant is transformed increasingly into the image of God, for his glory and our eternal good. Please join us in praying toward that joyful end.

 

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Disasters, Prayer, Hope https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/disasters-prayer-hope https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/disasters-prayer-hope#comments Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/disasters-prayer-hope Dear New Covenant Family -

The horrific damage of Hurricane Harvey is hard to imagine. The death toll so far is around 70 precious lives. The hurricane caused severe flooding because it hovered once it hit dry land, dropping around 40-50 inches of rain in only one part in Texas. Scientists are calling it the “1-in-a-1,000-year flood.”

The heroic efforts to rescue people stranded and now volunteers stepping in to restore lives and homes are all very moving. During the worst part of the flooding neighbors, firefighters, police, National Guard, churches, and those from out-of-state rose up to the occasion to rescue families caught in homes, people stuck in cars, and much more.

And that’s not all…

This weekend Floridians are preparing for Hurricane Irma. Leaving at least 10 dead in the Caribbean; it currently remains a category 5 hurricane.

Dozens of wildfires are raging through the western United States. At least 80 large fires in 9 states are currently burning covering a territory of 2,200 square miles. Many homes and state parks are under threat. Thousands of people will be displaced

Lest we only have eyes on our country...the past few weeks flooding in South Asia (north India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) have displaced 200,000 people from their homes.

How can we respond?

Pray:

“As Christ followers, our first inclination in times of struggle and strife should be to fix our eyes not on the disaster itself, but on the God who promises His steady presence throughout it. When we find ourselves slipping into dangerous patterns of worry on behalf of those in need, prayer is our best and surest remedy” (Ed Stetzer).

My suggestion is pray with others - before meals, in your small group, at church, with friends. We can pray for God to be glorified, for the gospel to shine bright, for the flood waters to recede, for families without flood insurance to find help, for homes not to be burned, and for churches to be first responders with hope and help.

In your praying reflect on the gospel. Only in the cross, the death of God’s only Son, do we truly connect disaster with hope. To quote one writer, the gospel stands as eternal proof that no matter how deep the waters get, even if they drown us--our condemnation has been taken by Christ and removed forever.

Donate:

Here are just two reputable and well-established relief organizations. There are many other worthy organizations and local churches in TX and FL who are working very hard to assist families.

  • Southern Baptist Disaster Relief: The relief arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, the North American Mission Board is committed to being on the ground for all hurricane relief efforts. The group reports it has already served 60,000 displaced Texans and prepared thousands of hot meals, and offers a link for sending financial gifts through the North American Mission Board.

  • Samaritan’s Purse: The Christian relief organization mobilizes thousands of volunteers. It offers a way to donate to the relief group’s efforts to assist families in conjunction with local churches.

In Christ,

Patrick Havens
phavens@newcbc.org

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Dear New Covenant Family -

The horrific damage of Hurricane Harvey is hard to imagine. The death toll so far is around 70 precious lives. The hurricane caused severe flooding because it hovered once it hit dry land, dropping around 40-50 inches of rain in only one part in Texas. Scientists are calling it the “1-in-a-1,000-year flood.”

The heroic efforts to rescue people stranded and now volunteers stepping in to restore lives and homes are all very moving. During the worst part of the flooding neighbors, firefighters, police, National Guard, churches, and those from out-of-state rose up to the occasion to rescue families caught in homes, people stuck in cars, and much more.

And that’s not all…

This weekend Floridians are preparing for Hurricane Irma. Leaving at least 10 dead in the Caribbean; it currently remains a category 5 hurricane.

Dozens of wildfires are raging through the western United States. At least 80 large fires in 9 states are currently burning covering a territory of 2,200 square miles. Many homes and state parks are under threat. Thousands of people will be displaced

Lest we only have eyes on our country...the past few weeks flooding in South Asia (north India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) have displaced 200,000 people from their homes.

How can we respond?

Pray:

“As Christ followers, our first inclination in times of struggle and strife should be to fix our eyes not on the disaster itself, but on the God who promises His steady presence throughout it. When we find ourselves slipping into dangerous patterns of worry on behalf of those in need, prayer is our best and surest remedy” (Ed Stetzer).

My suggestion is pray with others - before meals, in your small group, at church, with friends. We can pray for God to be glorified, for the gospel to shine bright, for the flood waters to recede, for families without flood insurance to find help, for homes not to be burned, and for churches to be first responders with hope and help.

In your praying reflect on the gospel. Only in the cross, the death of God’s only Son, do we truly connect disaster with hope. To quote one writer, the gospel stands as eternal proof that no matter how deep the waters get, even if they drown us--our condemnation has been taken by Christ and removed forever.

Donate:

Here are just two reputable and well-established relief organizations. There are many other worthy organizations and local churches in TX and FL who are working very hard to assist families.

  • Southern Baptist Disaster Relief: The relief arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, the North American Mission Board is committed to being on the ground for all hurricane relief efforts. The group reports it has already served 60,000 displaced Texans and prepared thousands of hot meals, and offers a link for sending financial gifts through the North American Mission Board.

  • Samaritan’s Purse: The Christian relief organization mobilizes thousands of volunteers. It offers a way to donate to the relief group’s efforts to assist families in conjunction with local churches.

In Christ,

Patrick Havens
phavens@newcbc.org

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Serving The Next Generation https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/serving-the-next-generation https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/serving-the-next-generation#comments Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/serving-the-next-generation  

What comes to mind when you think of the children at New Covenant? Gift? Joy? Future? Potential? Nuisance? Necessary evil? At New Covenant, we want to be a church that truly loves children well. Perhaps you have noticed that we have been seeing exciting growth in the number of children who are part of our church. God is graciously giving families in our church new children, and he is also bringing many new young families to our church.

Psalm 145:4 says “One generation shall commend Your works to another.” At New Covenant Bible Church, we love the next generation and desire to see them raised for God’s glory. We seek to serve families who are raising their children to bring glory to God through Spirit-transformed lives by the beauty and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So what are some ways that we can all serve the children and families at New Covenant?

Pray - Regularly pray for the salvation of our children. Pray that our church would love families with children and be a source of help and encouragement. Pray that God would give grace and wisdom to parents to faithfully raise their children to fear the Lord. Pray for our teachers and volunteers in the nursery and children’s ministry.

Serve - We have many in our church who faithfully serve families in some way by caring for children in classrooms or in the nursery. I’m so grateful for their loving service which often goes unnoticed. But we could use more help! If you are a member of New Covenant, please prayerfully consider serving in the children’s ministry in some way. We have many opportunities through various nursery times, Sunday morning classes during both services, and AWANA on Wednesday nights. We have some volunteers who serve regularly and also some who serve on a rotation so that there is less time commitment. If you are interested in learning more about where you could serve, contact me at dleeper@newcbc.org

I found the following excerpt from an article on the Gospel Coalition Blog very helpful and convicting.

“This type of service is also a great way to grow in love toward the parents in your church. At the risk of being captain obvious, parenting is hard work. Bearing the responsibility for someone else’s children so that weary-worn parents can be nurtured in the corporate gathering is one of the most practical ways you can carry the burdens of your fellow members (Gal. 6:2). Additionally, children provide a unique window into the life of a family. The more you know the particular struggles parents face as they raise the children God has placed in their homes, the more sympathetic and tenderhearted you will be toward them. Nursery also gives you a profound sense of gratefulness for the precious saints who labor to oversee nursery and children’s Sunday school as part of their regular ministry to the church. If John 13 has anything to teach us about the character of Jesus, these brothers and sisters just might be some of the most Christlike people you ever encounter.”

What a helpful reminder that Jesus modeled and taught that we should show love toward one another by serving each other!

“In our cultural context, picking up saliva-soggy Cheerios off the floor, changing a diaper, and telling a toddler about Jesus may just be the closest thing you ever do to washing someone’s feet.”

You can read the whole article here.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/brothers-serve-in-the-nursery

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What comes to mind when you think of the children at New Covenant? Gift? Joy? Future? Potential? Nuisance? Necessary evil? At New Covenant, we want to be a church that truly loves children well. Perhaps you have noticed that we have been seeing exciting growth in the number of children who are part of our church. God is graciously giving families in our church new children, and he is also bringing many new young families to our church.

Psalm 145:4 says “One generation shall commend Your works to another.” At New Covenant Bible Church, we love the next generation and desire to see them raised for God’s glory. We seek to serve families who are raising their children to bring glory to God through Spirit-transformed lives by the beauty and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So what are some ways that we can all serve the children and families at New Covenant?

Pray - Regularly pray for the salvation of our children. Pray that our church would love families with children and be a source of help and encouragement. Pray that God would give grace and wisdom to parents to faithfully raise their children to fear the Lord. Pray for our teachers and volunteers in the nursery and children’s ministry.

Serve - We have many in our church who faithfully serve families in some way by caring for children in classrooms or in the nursery. I’m so grateful for their loving service which often goes unnoticed. But we could use more help! If you are a member of New Covenant, please prayerfully consider serving in the children’s ministry in some way. We have many opportunities through various nursery times, Sunday morning classes during both services, and AWANA on Wednesday nights. We have some volunteers who serve regularly and also some who serve on a rotation so that there is less time commitment. If you are interested in learning more about where you could serve, contact me at dleeper@newcbc.org

I found the following excerpt from an article on the Gospel Coalition Blog very helpful and convicting.

“This type of service is also a great way to grow in love toward the parents in your church. At the risk of being captain obvious, parenting is hard work. Bearing the responsibility for someone else’s children so that weary-worn parents can be nurtured in the corporate gathering is one of the most practical ways you can carry the burdens of your fellow members (Gal. 6:2). Additionally, children provide a unique window into the life of a family. The more you know the particular struggles parents face as they raise the children God has placed in their homes, the more sympathetic and tenderhearted you will be toward them. Nursery also gives you a profound sense of gratefulness for the precious saints who labor to oversee nursery and children’s Sunday school as part of their regular ministry to the church. If John 13 has anything to teach us about the character of Jesus, these brothers and sisters just might be some of the most Christlike people you ever encounter.”

What a helpful reminder that Jesus modeled and taught that we should show love toward one another by serving each other!

“In our cultural context, picking up saliva-soggy Cheerios off the floor, changing a diaper, and telling a toddler about Jesus may just be the closest thing you ever do to washing someone’s feet.”

You can read the whole article here.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/brothers-serve-in-the-nursery

]]>
Holy Husbands-Faithful Fathers https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/holy-husbands-faithful-fathers https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/holy-husbands-faithful-fathers#comments Thu, 18 May 2017 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/holy-husbands-faithful-fathers  

Another mother’s day has come and gone, and it is incumbent on all husbands and fathers to remember the call of scripture to model godliness as a holy husband and a faithful father so that appreciation for moms doesn’t just occur on one Sunday per year.

Hear these words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 -

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between you reyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Over 400 years ago a reformed scholar and pastor, Richard Baxter, commented on this passage, and his words are as true today as they were then, because the Word of God stands forever. Let us all learn and take to heart these pastoral, poetic and heartfelt words from Pastor Richard Baxter. (1615-1691)

As the persons of Christians in their privatest capacities are holy, as being dedicated and separated unto God, so also must their families be; HOLINESS TO THE LORD must be, as it were, written on their doors, and on their children, their possessions, and affairs (Deut.6:4-9) ....Let governors maintain their authority in their families. For if once that be lost, and you are despised by those that you should rule, your word will be of no effect to them; you do but ride without a bridle; your power of governing is gone, when your authority is lost. And here you must first understand the nature, use, and extent of your authority; for as your relations are different, to your wife and your children, so also is your authority. Your authority over your wife is but such as is necessary to the order of your family, the safe and prudent management of your affairs, and your comfortable cohabitation. The power of love and complicated interest must do more than magisterial commands. Your authority over your children is much greater; but yet only such as, conjunct with love, is needful to their good education and felicity (happiness)...Be a good husband to your wife and a good father to your children, and let love have dominion in all your government, that (those you govern) may easily find, that it is in their interest to obey you... If you would be skillful in governing others, learn first exactly to command yourself. Can you ever expect to have others more at your will and government than yourself? Is he fit to rule his family in the fear of God and a holy life, who is unholy and feareth not God himself? Or is he fit to keep them from passion, or drunkenness, or gluttony, or lust, or any way of sensuality, that cannot keep himself from it? Will not (those you govern) despise such reproofs which are by yourself contradicted in your life?

 

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Another mother’s day has come and gone, and it is incumbent on all husbands and fathers to remember the call of scripture to model godliness as a holy husband and a faithful father so that appreciation for moms doesn’t just occur on one Sunday per year.

Hear these words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 -

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between you reyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Over 400 years ago a reformed scholar and pastor, Richard Baxter, commented on this passage, and his words are as true today as they were then, because the Word of God stands forever. Let us all learn and take to heart these pastoral, poetic and heartfelt words from Pastor Richard Baxter. (1615-1691)

As the persons of Christians in their privatest capacities are holy, as being dedicated and separated unto God, so also must their families be; HOLINESS TO THE LORD must be, as it were, written on their doors, and on their children, their possessions, and affairs (Deut.6:4-9) ....Let governors maintain their authority in their families. For if once that be lost, and you are despised by those that you should rule, your word will be of no effect to them; you do but ride without a bridle; your power of governing is gone, when your authority is lost. And here you must first understand the nature, use, and extent of your authority; for as your relations are different, to your wife and your children, so also is your authority. Your authority over your wife is but such as is necessary to the order of your family, the safe and prudent management of your affairs, and your comfortable cohabitation. The power of love and complicated interest must do more than magisterial commands. Your authority over your children is much greater; but yet only such as, conjunct with love, is needful to their good education and felicity (happiness)...Be a good husband to your wife and a good father to your children, and let love have dominion in all your government, that (those you govern) may easily find, that it is in their interest to obey you... If you would be skillful in governing others, learn first exactly to command yourself. Can you ever expect to have others more at your will and government than yourself? Is he fit to rule his family in the fear of God and a holy life, who is unholy and feareth not God himself? Or is he fit to keep them from passion, or drunkenness, or gluttony, or lust, or any way of sensuality, that cannot keep himself from it? Will not (those you govern) despise such reproofs which are by yourself contradicted in your life?

 

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Yahweh Nissi https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/yahweh-nissi https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/yahweh-nissi#comments Thu, 11 May 2017 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/yahweh-nissi  

How many of you have connected the name Yahweh Nissi with your wayward son or daughter? I know I hadn’t.

I have a son and daughter who I love very much. My wife and I committed them to the Lord at an early age. They both made a profession of faith as well as a commitment to be baptized at a relatively early age. They eagerly attended church with us up thru college age, attending children’s church and then youth group. The spiritual road ahead looked promising but living the life of a twenty and now thirty- something somehow got in the way of a truly fruitful, committed Christian life. Church attendance and personal Bible reading dwindled while unbelieving friends replaced Christian ones. Jobs, houses, and children now occupy the days. At times, we now even wonder if their god is our God.

My wife and I continue to pray for our children. The truth is we have been doing this for years. However, if you were to look into our discouraged hearts we were experiencing a lack of faith that things might change which was fueled by disappointment.

Now let’s get back to that Yahweh Nissi connection. During my devotions this year I have been reading an excellent book called Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler, published by Zondervan. Here is an excerpt from one of those devotionals:

The Lord my Banner (Yahweh Nissi)

Reflection: Isaiah 49:22-25

“Though you may be living for Christ, your children or children you care about may not be. You may have done your best to share your faith when they were young… reading the Bible, teaching them to pray, bringing them to church, and modeling the love of Christ. Yet they strayed, pulled away by a thousand enticements.

Year after year you pray, but little seems to happen. Things may have gotten worse. Sex, money, drugs, partying, illness, apathy… whatever it is, you know your loved ones will self-destruct if they do not find their way back to God. Perhaps you have become so discouraged by what you see that you have stopped praying.

Yet Scripture tells us that those who hope in God will not be disappointed. Notice that it doesn’t say those who hope in God usually won’t be disappointed. It flat out says they will not be disappointed. That means that ultimately you won’t be disappointed in God’s faithfulness even if your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or neighbors are failing in school or living on the streets or engaged in illicit relationships or drinking themselves to death or working so hard they have no time for God. You may agonize over their choices and their circumstances, but you can’t afford to let that agony push you into premature conclusions about where they will end up. The whole story has yet to be written, and it can still be influenced by your hope and by your prayers. Disappointment is nothing but a premature conclusion, causing you to stop reading before the story’s end, making you abandon your hope in God, and enfeebling your ability to pray. While it is true that human beings are ultimately free to accept or reject God, your prayers may help to create a greater opening for grace to work.

Instead of giving up, pray that Yahweh Nissi will unfurl his banner for all to see, rescuing these children from whatever captivates them. Join with other prayerful people – parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, grandparents and neighbors – to remind God of his promise to contend with those who contend with you – to save the children you love and to bring them home again.”

If you are struggling with disappointment over the spiritual direction of your dear ones, I hope Isaiah 49:22-25 will be an encouragement for you as it was for me. My prayer for you is this Scripture from Isaiah will arouse your fighting spirit on behalf of your children. That you will praise Him for His power to save the children in your life!

 

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How many of you have connected the name Yahweh Nissi with your wayward son or daughter? I know I hadn’t.

I have a son and daughter who I love very much. My wife and I committed them to the Lord at an early age. They both made a profession of faith as well as a commitment to be baptized at a relatively early age. They eagerly attended church with us up thru college age, attending children’s church and then youth group. The spiritual road ahead looked promising but living the life of a twenty and now thirty- something somehow got in the way of a truly fruitful, committed Christian life. Church attendance and personal Bible reading dwindled while unbelieving friends replaced Christian ones. Jobs, houses, and children now occupy the days. At times, we now even wonder if their god is our God.

My wife and I continue to pray for our children. The truth is we have been doing this for years. However, if you were to look into our discouraged hearts we were experiencing a lack of faith that things might change which was fueled by disappointment.

Now let’s get back to that Yahweh Nissi connection. During my devotions this year I have been reading an excellent book called Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler, published by Zondervan. Here is an excerpt from one of those devotionals:

The Lord my Banner (Yahweh Nissi)

Reflection: Isaiah 49:22-25

“Though you may be living for Christ, your children or children you care about may not be. You may have done your best to share your faith when they were young… reading the Bible, teaching them to pray, bringing them to church, and modeling the love of Christ. Yet they strayed, pulled away by a thousand enticements.

Year after year you pray, but little seems to happen. Things may have gotten worse. Sex, money, drugs, partying, illness, apathy… whatever it is, you know your loved ones will self-destruct if they do not find their way back to God. Perhaps you have become so discouraged by what you see that you have stopped praying.

Yet Scripture tells us that those who hope in God will not be disappointed. Notice that it doesn’t say those who hope in God usually won’t be disappointed. It flat out says they will not be disappointed. That means that ultimately you won’t be disappointed in God’s faithfulness even if your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or neighbors are failing in school or living on the streets or engaged in illicit relationships or drinking themselves to death or working so hard they have no time for God. You may agonize over their choices and their circumstances, but you can’t afford to let that agony push you into premature conclusions about where they will end up. The whole story has yet to be written, and it can still be influenced by your hope and by your prayers. Disappointment is nothing but a premature conclusion, causing you to stop reading before the story’s end, making you abandon your hope in God, and enfeebling your ability to pray. While it is true that human beings are ultimately free to accept or reject God, your prayers may help to create a greater opening for grace to work.

Instead of giving up, pray that Yahweh Nissi will unfurl his banner for all to see, rescuing these children from whatever captivates them. Join with other prayerful people – parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, grandparents and neighbors – to remind God of his promise to contend with those who contend with you – to save the children you love and to bring them home again.”

If you are struggling with disappointment over the spiritual direction of your dear ones, I hope Isaiah 49:22-25 will be an encouragement for you as it was for me. My prayer for you is this Scripture from Isaiah will arouse your fighting spirit on behalf of your children. That you will praise Him for His power to save the children in your life!

 

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What The Bible Teaches About Crossing Cultures https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-the-bible-teaches-about- https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-the-bible-teaches-about-#comments Thu, 04 May 2017 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/what-the-bible-teaches-about-  

As our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces become more and more ethnically diverse, how should we respond? What cues can we as believers take from Scripture that will make us more ethnic friendly and winsome? What is the essence of cultural diversity from a Biblical perspective, of which we should be aware?

I invite you to join me as we study that pertinent topic together in the 9:00 AM Sunday morning class for adults and MS & HS students during the months of May – June.

Have you ever stopped to consider how many stories in the Bible are cross-cultural encounters? How about Sarah and Hagar, Abraham and the Hittites, Joseph in Egypt, Moses in Midian, Ruth from Moab, King David and Uriah, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Daniel in Babylon, Esther in Persia, Jesus and the Samaritan woman, Philip and the eunuch from Ethiopia, Peter with Cornelius, and Paul in Athens – and a bunch of other places, to name a few.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a cross-cultural book. Scripture is full of narratives of God's people crossing cultures as they lived out their calling. And here is the important thing - much is instructional for us today as we interact with “others” around us.

In this class we will examine principles that will help you feel comfortable interacting with people who are racially different than yourself. This series is based on a new book, Crossing Cultures in Scripture: Biblical Principles for Mission Practice. Don’t buy the book ahead of time! I can sell it to you in class for half price ($10) if you desire a copy.

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As our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces become more and more ethnically diverse, how should we respond? What cues can we as believers take from Scripture that will make us more ethnic friendly and winsome? What is the essence of cultural diversity from a Biblical perspective, of which we should be aware?

I invite you to join me as we study that pertinent topic together in the 9:00 AM Sunday morning class for adults and MS & HS students during the months of May – June.

Have you ever stopped to consider how many stories in the Bible are cross-cultural encounters? How about Sarah and Hagar, Abraham and the Hittites, Joseph in Egypt, Moses in Midian, Ruth from Moab, King David and Uriah, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Daniel in Babylon, Esther in Persia, Jesus and the Samaritan woman, Philip and the eunuch from Ethiopia, Peter with Cornelius, and Paul in Athens – and a bunch of other places, to name a few.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a cross-cultural book. Scripture is full of narratives of God's people crossing cultures as they lived out their calling. And here is the important thing - much is instructional for us today as we interact with “others” around us.

In this class we will examine principles that will help you feel comfortable interacting with people who are racially different than yourself. This series is based on a new book, Crossing Cultures in Scripture: Biblical Principles for Mission Practice. Don’t buy the book ahead of time! I can sell it to you in class for half price ($10) if you desire a copy.

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A Servant Song From Isaiah https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-servant-song-from-isaiah https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-servant-song-from-isaiah#comments Thu, 27 Apr 2017 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.newcbc.org/resources/church-blog/post/a-servant-song-from-isaiah  

Last February, a second-hour Sunday morning class began a study of Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the last and most well-known of four servant songs in Isaiah. The objective of the study is to burnish the class participants’ knowledge of and love for the Lord Jesus Christ through the examination of his person and work as presented in the servant song. Because all of scripture points to Jesus Christ, the class necessarily includes discussion of passages outside of the servant song. To the extent that the objective is achieved, the study should be eminently practical.

Isaiah began the servant song in Isaiah 52:13 by quoting God as saying, “Behold, my servant.” Who is “my servant?” The answer can be clear to anyone who believes the New Testament. Yet there can be profit in trying to answer that question from the perspective of a Jew reading the first three verses of the song just after Isaiah wrote them, when there was no New Testament.

Our God said that his servant “shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” That certainly speaks well of the servant. This is one worthy of notice, especially if the reader understands the servant to be high and lifted up and exalted by God. If that reader is familiar with the rest of the book of Isaiah, he might observe that the Hebrew words rendered “high” and “lifted up” were used by Isaiah in portraying his vision of “the Lord sitting upon a throne” (Isaiah 6:1) and in depicting the One “whose name is Holy” (Isaiah 57:15). So we have a servant of God about whom words are used that are applied elsewhere indirectly or directly to God himself. What, if anything, does that say about who the servant might be?

In Isaiah 52:14 the servant is described as one whose “appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” The man to whom words of exaltation were employed in the previous verse is one who in some part of his life did not even look human. Under what scenario can one imagine such a thing happening? What would account for that? Can this verse and the preceding one really be speaking of the same person?

Isaiah 52:15 says three things: 1) that the servant shall sprinkle many nations; 2) that “kings shall shut their mouths because of him”; and 3) that the kings see what has not been told them and understand what they have not heard. Does not “sprinkle” have to do with a duty of a priest? The words “nations” and “kings” seem to indicate that somehow the servant would be involved with those outside of Israel. What is it that kings had not been told and had not heard that they now see and understand?

As people who remember Christ’s death each communion Sunday and celebrate his resurrection each Lord’s Day, we can exult that the servant about whom God spoke as being exalted is himself God, that his appearance owed to a love that surpasses knowledge, that he is our great high priest who has sprinkled the nations with his own blood, and that people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” will be ransomed thereby.

We can benefit from seeing ourselves as contemporaries of Isaiah befuddled by the gospel elements of his servant song if that makes us thankful to our God for our ability to make sense of it and to delight in it. If the exercise strengthens our resolve to boast only in the Lord, especially when the words that are a stumbling block to some and folly to others are to us altogether true, then we are blessed.

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Last February, a second-hour Sunday morning class began a study of Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the last and most well-known of four servant songs in Isaiah. The objective of the study is to burnish the class participants’ knowledge of and love for the Lord Jesus Christ through the examination of his person and work as presented in the servant song. Because all of scripture points to Jesus Christ, the class necessarily includes discussion of passages outside of the servant song. To the extent that the objective is achieved, the study should be eminently practical.

Isaiah began the servant song in Isaiah 52:13 by quoting God as saying, “Behold, my servant.” Who is “my servant?” The answer can be clear to anyone who believes the New Testament. Yet there can be profit in trying to answer that question from the perspective of a Jew reading the first three verses of the song just after Isaiah wrote them, when there was no New Testament.

Our God said that his servant “shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” That certainly speaks well of the servant. This is one worthy of notice, especially if the reader understands the servant to be high and lifted up and exalted by God. If that reader is familiar with the rest of the book of Isaiah, he might observe that the Hebrew words rendered “high” and “lifted up” were used by Isaiah in portraying his vision of “the Lord sitting upon a throne” (Isaiah 6:1) and in depicting the One “whose name is Holy” (Isaiah 57:15). So we have a servant of God about whom words are used that are applied elsewhere indirectly or directly to God himself. What, if anything, does that say about who the servant might be?

In Isaiah 52:14 the servant is described as one whose “appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” The man to whom words of exaltation were employed in the previous verse is one who in some part of his life did not even look human. Under what scenario can one imagine such a thing happening? What would account for that? Can this verse and the preceding one really be speaking of the same person?

Isaiah 52:15 says three things: 1) that the servant shall sprinkle many nations; 2) that “kings shall shut their mouths because of him”; and 3) that the kings see what has not been told them and understand what they have not heard. Does not “sprinkle” have to do with a duty of a priest? The words “nations” and “kings” seem to indicate that somehow the servant would be involved with those outside of Israel. What is it that kings had not been told and had not heard that they now see and understand?

As people who remember Christ’s death each communion Sunday and celebrate his resurrection each Lord’s Day, we can exult that the servant about whom God spoke as being exalted is himself God, that his appearance owed to a love that surpasses knowledge, that he is our great high priest who has sprinkled the nations with his own blood, and that people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” will be ransomed thereby.

We can benefit from seeing ourselves as contemporaries of Isaiah befuddled by the gospel elements of his servant song if that makes us thankful to our God for our ability to make sense of it and to delight in it. If the exercise strengthens our resolve to boast only in the Lord, especially when the words that are a stumbling block to some and folly to others are to us altogether true, then we are blessed.

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