IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
Newsflash—Ministry Opportunity
Newsflash—New YAM email address!!
Newsflash—Top teen shows for the 2002-2003 season
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]
Studying Romans with Pastor Charlie
Suggested Study Plan For Romans
The Gathering—Isaiah Experience
Tuesday Bible Study—Big Rocks
Soul Work—Memorizing chunks of Scripture
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CALENDAR
SUNDAYS
Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Current Study: Pastor Charlie is teaching through Paul’s Letter to the Romans
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: A worship experience led by Tom and Laura.
Next Week: Tom on, “Is there evidence for Jesus’ resurrection?”
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am—restaurant changes, meet in the patio or see Mike N
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
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COMING UP
SUNDAY May 4
@ 5:00 pm
SEE SPOT ROCK
visit http://www.seespotrock.com for more info
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, August 29 to September 1
COLLEGE BRIEFING
Forest Home
In our world we are often faced with hard and challenging situations.
What do you depend on during these times?
Jesus Alone!
…CHRIST IS ALL THAT MATTERS… Colossians 3:11 NLT
Cost: $145, $25 non-refundable deposit due at sign-up
Scholarships available, ask Laura or Tom
Visit http://www.gospelcom.net/foresthome/collegebriefing2003.htm for info
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NEWSFLASH—Ministry Opportunity
ARE YOU A COLLEGE STUDENT / YOUNG ADULT LEADER WHO WANTS TO ATTEND SOUL SURVIVOR 2003?
If so, now you can...
Here's how it works. Soul Survivor needs around 150 volunteers for the running of the five-day camp (details listed below).
College student/young adults can now attend the conference as volunteers for a reduced price of $99! This price includes
all meals and camping fees.
You (along with your group) will be assigned to a part of the camp for the five day period. Each volunteer will be asked to work
approximately 4-5 hours per day.
This is an opportunity to serve, giving college student/young adult groups a way to take a major part in what God will be doing
at the Soul Survivor 2003 Summer Camp. In addition, you will also aid in the Saturday service project called The Noise, where
the entire camp will be sent to downtown Santa Ana for five hours of service in needy areas. You will also have a chance to attend
the main meetings and workshops, with worship led by Tim Hughes and Matt Redman.
Details:
- you must be 18 or older
- you must sign-up with your college/young adult group
- completed volunteer forms are required for all volunteers
- each volunteer will work 4-5 hours per day on average
- for more information and to receive volunteer forms, contact info@soulsurvivor.net with "volunteer" in the subject heading.
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Newsflash—New YAM email address!!
tfbyam1@hotmail.com
This address will be checked every few days. Feel free to give it out to friends who may want more information about YAM.
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NEWSFLASH—Top teen shows for the 2002-2003 season
According to the Neilson ratings, here are the top teen shows for this season:
[I know most of you aren’t teens, but…]
American Idol (Fox)
The Simpsons (Fox)
Joe Millionaire (Fox)
Malcolm in the Middle (Fox)
King of the Hill (Fox)
Friends (Fox)
Survivor: Amazon (CBS)
The Bachelorette (ABC)
Survivor: Thailand (CBS)
The Bachelor (ABC)
CSI (CBS)
Looking at these shows, what are the values of our culture? Discuss your thoughts with a friend.
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[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
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STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Christian View of Life
What God has done for you.
Romans 3:21-31
Main Sections of Romans
Sin—1:18-3:20
Salvation—3:21-5:21
Sanctification—6:1-8:39
Sovereignty—9:1-11:36
Service—12:1-15:13
In seminary they teach lots of “ologies.” Theology (study of God), Christology (study of Christ), Soteriology (study of salvation),
and many more. The one ology they do not teach is but-ology. What’s but-ology? Here’s an example:
John 9:25 “I was blind BUT now I see”
Our passage today falls in the category of but-ology. After two an a half chapters dealing with the darkness of sin, Paul turns
the corner with a “but.” 3:21 “But now God…”
Here’s the details:
- Salvation was designed by God, v. 21 “God has shown us”
- Salvation is unearned, v. 21 “not by obeying the law”
- Salvation is unhidden, v. 21s “promised in the Scriptures long ago”
- Salvation is through faith, v. 22 “when we trust in Jesus Christ”
- Salvation is available to everyone who believes, v. 22 “and we all can be saved in the same way”
- Salvation is necessary, v. 23 “for all have sinned, all fall short of God’s glorious standard”
- Salvation is undeserved, v. 24 “god in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty”
[DEFS: “freely” means without cause; “justified” means to be acquitted, to declare guilty people guiltless]
- Salvation comes through a person—Jesus Christ, v. 24 “he has done this through Jesus Christ, who has freed us by taking away our sins”
[DEFS: “redemption” means to release by paying a ransom]
- Salvation costs god a lot, v. 25 “for God sent Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement”
[DEFS: “atone” means to make amends, to become reconciled]
Our response to what God has done for us:
1. We ought to be humble.
2. We ought to hate sin.
3. We ought to love Christ.
4. We ought to share the good news.
--Charlie (lks)
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SUGGESTED STUDY PLAN FOR ROMANS
1. Read a chapter a day. When you’ve finished the book, start over. By the end of the series—about six months—you will have read Paul’s Letter to the Romans eleven or twelve times. How cool is that?
2. Memorize! Three plans:
LIGHT LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2—a total of 25 verses. Memorize one verse a week and you will finish in about six months.
MODERATE LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2 and Romans 12— a total of 46 verses. Memorize two verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
HEAVY LOAD: memorize Romans 12:1-15:13— a total of 71 verses. Memorize three verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
To know it, you gotta DO it!
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THE GATHERING—Isaiah Experience
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
Today I did a little recital from Isaiah 52:13-15 and 53:1-12. I decided I wanted to memorize these verses when I saw a man who I thought may have been Jewish and I wondered, how would I approach someone of the Jewish faith that I wanted to share Jesus with. Since Isaiah was written approximately 800 years before Jesus and had long since been part of accepted Jewish scripture and Isaiah being one of their prophets, I thought this could be a good bridge.
I didn't realize just how significant these verses were until I started working on memorizing them. I found in the memorization process (for me at least), I had to repeat them over and over and over again to really drill them in deep. Through this constant repetition, not only did the words themselves start to find a permanent place in my head, but their meaning really started to sink in as well. If you read through this passage, and think about what Jesus went through, for me, I just went, Wow. This is so incredible. The whole thing is such an accurate description of what Jesus went through, what He experienced, what He
felt, and the reasons He did what He did.
I felt after memorizing this, that this passage became "mine." I can bring it with me anywhere I go. Sometimes I run down the beach, and, if no one's around, I would say the passage out loud. But I truly do carry these words with me wherever I go.
I encourage you all to just read this, and think how each line applies to Jesus' life and death.
I'd also encourage you to find a particular passage that has importance or significance to you. Spend some time to make it part of who you are, and you, part of what it is. These are the words of God, how awesome is that!?!
You all have a great week,
Under God's grace, mercy, and love,
Tom
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TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
Big Rock One: The Word--2 Timothy 3:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Big Rock Two: God--Psalm 145:17-21; Hebrews 12:4-11
Big Rock Three: Man--Genesis 1:26-31; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Big Rock Four: Sin--Genesis 2:25-3:7
This week: Big Rock Four: Sin--Ephesians 2:1-3
First: Get out your bible and read the passage a few times.
Second: What do you notice—who, what, when, where, how?
Third: Divide the passage into chunks that make sense.
Fourth: Summarize each chunk with a crispy sentence.
Fifth: Using the passage as your guide, try to answer your questions.
Sixth: Ask yourself, “So what?” What difference does/should this passage make in your life?
Here’s a few thoughts from Tuesday:
- There are probably four 'actors' in this passage: believing Ephesians/Gentiles (pronoun 'you'), Satan (the ruler of the kingdom of the air), those who have not trusted Christ (pronoun 'them'), and believing Jews (pronoun 'us'). Take some time to figure out what the passage says about all four actors.
- Notice that the passage begins and ends with a statement of status--it begins with 'dead' and ends with 'objects of wrath.' Being the original listeners (they probably listened to the letter being read) had just heard an awesome thanks to and praise of Jesus Christ (see 1:15-23), what do you think they were feeling by the time they heard "...by nature children of wrath"? What thoughts and emotions were they experiencing?
- Notice the first word of verse four--'but'. That's a change in direction--and the change is awesome. There is a stark contrast between the sin-caused-death described in verses 1-3 and the God-cause-life described in verses 4-10. What thoughts and emotions do you experience as you think about sin in contrast to God's great love?
Coming up...
Big Rock Five: Christ--Isaiah 9:1-7; John 1:14-18
Big Rock Six: Redemption--Isaiah 53:10-12; John 3:16-21
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--Ezekiel 36:22-32; John 16:5-15
Big Rock Eight: Church--Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ephesians 4:7-16
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
[the above preview may change, but it probably won't]
--Laura
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SOUL WORK—Memorizing chunks of Scripture
An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture
Dr. Andrew M. Davis, Pastor, First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C.
Dr. Davis gives a good method for memorizing large chunks of scripture. Take up the challenge by memorizing one of the Romans portions Pastor Charlie suggested.
