WHAT GOES ON AT YAM?
The Gathering--learning how to make God look good 24/7, Sundays at 10 AM, on the TFB campus, in the Young Adult room
Eating together--most Sundays, around 11:30 am, give or take...
Tuesday Bible Study—Tuesdays—bring your bible, bring your brain, 8 pm, YAM room
HomeBase--fellowship in homes
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
HomeBase—Trial Run
Tuesday Bible Study—Deuteronomy 6:4-9
The Gathering—Atheism
Resources For Living Out The Lesson
Know God— Have hard questions?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CALENDAR
Every SUNDAY, Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Every SUNDAY, The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Most every SUNDAY, Eating together @ 11:30 am—see Mike N for info
Every TUESDAY, Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
SUNDAY, Feb 2 @ 5 pm All Church eat and share ministry stories (generally known as Potluck and Annual Meeting, but that seemed a bit boring)
FRIDAY, Feb 7 @ 6 pm Movie Night—TFB—Legally Blonde
FRIDAY - SUNDAY, February 28 - March 2 College Winter Camp at Harmony Pines—Cost $97
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HOMEBASE—Trial Run
On January 25, we met at the Stine’s for fellowship and discussion. We munched on veggies, brownies, and crumb cake (yummm). We listened to Daisy’s funny, non-bark (she’s one of those shrunken collies—you know, a Shetland [see http://www.dogpatch.org/sheltie/ for info on Shelties]—debarked for her own safety). We had non-musical worship… hold on now, what’s non-musical worship? Well, this time it was answering the question, “What is your favorite thing about God, and why?” [Aside—music isn’t worship, you know.] After the worship time, we looked at and listened to Jim’s nifty new banjo, and spent a few minutes watching the end of the dog show—crucial stuff. We then retired to the front room to get to the meat of the evening.
First, we looked at Romans 1:14-17, where Paul says that he is obligated to preach the gospel to people of all cultures and education—a Gospel he is not ashamed of, because it is God’s power at work. What followed was a good discussion on what it means to evangelize across cultures in our daily lives—work, school, transit commuting. The conclusion? Doing all this—this cross-cultural Good News telling—is much more difficult than talking about it.
The next HomeBase is TBA
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
Big Rocks, Week 2—The Word
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy). It is a record of the sermons/speeches given by Moses before the children of Israel entered the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness (due to their disobedience and lack of faith). Moses spends the first few chapters retracing Israel's history--God's covenant keeping and their covenant breaking. Deuteronomy 6 stands near the beginning of Moses' address on the covenant responsibilities of the people of God.
Last time, we looked at 2 Timothy 3:10-17, where Paul says the Word of God is just that--the word of GOD. He then tells us that it is useful for getting the facts, for having our faults revealed, for correcting our errors, and for training us in righteousness. Today's passage gives us the OT perspective. The first two verses give us what Jesus considered to be the greatest commandment--Love God with everything you are (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27). That basically sums up the whole Law. For twenty-first century Christians, the next few verses seem a bit odd. Verses 6 through 9 contain five commands concerning the Law (the contents of Deuteronomy, meant to guide the people of God toward holiness).
1. Have these words on your heart (heart being the center of the self--not just mushy feelings).
2. Impress them on your children
3. Talk about them wherever you are and whatever you're doing.
4. Tie them as symbols on your hands.
5. Bind them on your foreheads.
6. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Commands 1 through 3 seem normal, but commands 4 through 6 are a bit odd--are we supposed to go around wearing holy headbands? Maybe. At the very least, our whole-self love for God should be so evident, our commitment to obeying our Lord should be so clear, that when people look at us they know whose we are.
How do we do this? Well, at the most obvious, we must know what the Word says if our lives are going to be filled with it. But it’s more than that. When we go out to lunch on Sundays, do we talk about God-stuff or world-stuff? When you’re commuting, do you think about the Bible and what it looks like in your real life? God’s word is not meant to be facts simply crammed into our heads. God’s word—according to 2 Timothy 3:10-27 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9—is meant to change our very way of being.
It’s kinda like this. Have you ever eaten strong garlic or onion and then, hours later, realized that your breath and your sweat smelled like garlic or onion. God’s word is like that. When we eat it and digest it—not just taste it—it oozes out of us.
Next week we’ll be looking at Psalm 145—God
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE GATHERING—ATHEISM
Read what Atheists have to say for themselves:
Get a Christian perspective and strategies for talking with atheists:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RESOURCES FOR LIVING OUT THE LESSON
Online Apologetics Index
Religion News Blog
Awesome Books
Bruce & Stan’s Guide to CULTS, RELIGIONS, & SPIRITUAL BELIEFS
By Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz
with Dr. Craig Hazen, Biola University
Bruce & Stan’s Guide is a reader-friendly book that covers One-God religions, blended beliefs, philosophical religions, and no God beliefs. This is a great resource, priced at around $12.
The Case for Faith
The Case for Christ
by Lee Strobel
The Case for Faith makes the case that it is reasonable to believe in God, while the Case for Christ directs people to belief in Jesus as THE way, truth, and life. An excellent book to give to your unchurched friends. Both books run around $12 each.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
KNOW GOD--RESOURCES FOR WALKING THE WALK
Have hard questions? Gink World has some answers. Here’s what they say…
“Can we truly answer a question to any ones satisfaction?
No, we can’t. In fact, this answer will not be satisfactory to some. All we can do is answer with what we believe to be right. We agree, and accept, with people who disagree with us. We think it’s cool; it opens dialog, and allows us to grow as Christians. So, while we cannot truly answer a question to everyone’s satisfaction is all right, we trust God.”
Check them out. Check them against God’s Word.
