YAM eNews Week of June 8, 2003
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
NewsFlash—Training Day
Service Opportunity—Summer Sunday School Volunteer
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]—Tana’s Tales
Studying Romans With Pastor Charlie: Living Under The Law, Romans 6:14
The Gathering—Oh my God, you’re God, Part 2
Tuesday Bible Study—Big Rock Eight: Church, Ephesians 4:11-22
Soul Work—“Batter my heart…” by John Donne
=============================
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: “Oh my god, you’re God!” taught by Laura
Coming Up: Orientation… yup. Orientation :)
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
Coming in July—Song of Songs
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
=============================
COMING UP
SATURDAY, June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
TRAINING DAY: UNIQUELY YOU
Trying to figure out what you were made for?
Discover your divine design!
SATURDAY, June 21
8:00 to 10:00 pm
EXPERIENCE
Consuming Fire
alt.worship event
TFB Youth Room
SUNDAY, June 22
10:00 am
“They’re here…”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FRESHMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
Taco Saturday
Pool Party
MTA Los Angeles Art Tour
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
=============================
NEWSFLASH—TRAINING DAY
June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Ever wonder what God has planned for you?
Think you know, but want to make sure?
Wanna be involved in YAM leadership?
Ya gotta go to UNIQUELY YOU
See how your gifts and personality work together in God’s design.
Price is $25
If you need assistance, scholarships are available.
=============================
SERVICE OPPORTUNITY—SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEER
Helpers needed urgently for the Preschool Sunday School class beginning June 8th, one Sunday a month on a rotation with other volunteers. Both guys and girls needed.
Contact Lynne Foster ASAP if you can help:
tfbce@pacbell.net
=============================
[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
TANA’S TALES
Hi everyone-
I know that it has been a long time since I last wrote, but, as with you, life is extremely hectic. I am now in the 4 week of a 7-week term. I am at school, Monday-Thursday for about 14-15 hours a day. Classes are 3 hours long and I only have 30 mins in between. So I am always moving. Right now the church is gearing up for Hillsong Conference. It is a massive conference that they put on once a year. It is going to be a great opportunity, but more work than I will ever imagine! They said that college students get no sleep, which shouldn't be too much of a difference, considering I barely sleep as it is. But don't tell my parents that! This culture has taught me many things in the 4 months that I have been over here. The biggest lesson that I have learned is how to relax and not stress out about everything in life. For instance, I have 3 papers due tomorrow, and only one of them done, and I am in class till 3:30. Yet, I know that I will get them done and turned into the assignment box on time without any major problems. If this had been the case when I first arrived, I would be a complete basket case by now. So I am enjoying the Aussie culture. I am looking forward to my two-week break in July. It should be very relaxing and fun! I think that I will get up to the Great Barrier Reef and take multiple pictures of fish! I better get going, for in 20 minutes I have another 3-hour class, and I still have to eat. So I will talk to you all later.
Sincerely,
Tana Rice
=============================
STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Christian View of Life
LIVING UNDER THE LAW
ROMANS 6:14
The Types of Law
- Ceremonial Law—sacrifices, rituals, offerings, food restrictions.
- Civil Law—rules of government, judicial laws
- Moral Law—God’s ethical standards of behavior
THE IMPACT OF THE LAW
- The law is about control
o Galatians 5:1: The Law was never meant to make you a different person, but to control you.
o Matthew 11:28-29: When you became a Christian, you simply exchanged yokes.
- The law is a guardian, limiting access to God and his wealth, Galatians 4:1-6. The guardian’s job is over.
- The law produces spiritually illegitimate children, Galatians 4:21-26, 30-31.
- The law opposes an undeserved connection with God, Colossians 2:13-14.
- The law is a poor substitute for the God life, Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1.
FREEDOM FROM THE LAW
- We are freed from the law’s power, Romans 7:6.
- We are freed from trying to keep the law in order to get to heaven, Romans 3:20; John 8:32, 36; Romans 10:4.
- We are freed from the law’s punishment of sin, Galatians 3:13; Romans 8:1.
- We are freed to live a new life in God’s Spirit, Romans 7:6; James 1:25; 2 Corinthians 3:18.
- Pastor Charlie (typed by lks)
=============================
THE GATHERING—Oh my God, you’re God, Part 2
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
What is the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?
Here are a few from this morning: the Grand Canyon, the mountains, a meteor shower, a human-sized living catfish in an uncle’s bathtub, and the topper: a regular-sized catfish stuck in someone’s head (really, right in their scalp!). Well as amazing as these things all were, I guarantee you that Ezekiel and John the Apostle can top it.
Ezekiel and John wrote to people who were in trouble. Ezekiel was a prophet at the beginning of Judah’s captivity in Babylon. In fact, he wrote his book from Babylon and had his vision while at the Kebar River. John wrote to Christians who were experiencing persecution by the Roman government. John wrote his book, and saw his vision, on the island of Patmos, where he had been exiled. Both men wrote to people who were in seemingly hopeless situations.
Read Ezekiel 1:4-28 and Revelation 1:12-17a; 4:1-11.
- Grab a sheet of paper.
- Make two columns, one for each book.
- Now, look through the passages again and write down the descriptions of the place, the four living beings, and the “figure” on the throne.
- What is the same in both passages?
- What is different?
- What do you think Ezekiel and John felt after their visions? How did their lives change?
- How about the people they wrote to. What difference do you think this message made in their lives?
- How would your life change if you had a vision like theirs?
- What is keeping you from making these changes now?
- Laura
=============================
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
[A "Big Rocks" guide will be available sometime in June. This guide can be used to lead communal manuscript studies on your campus. Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com if you're interested.]
THE MENU
First: Read the passage a few times.
Second: What do you notice—who, what, when, where, how? Connections? Repeated ideas?
Third: Ask a bunch of questions about the passage.
Fourth: Map your discoveries using words, pictures, or symbols.
Fifth : Share your discoveries with your group and work together to answer your questions.
Sixth: Ask, “So what?” What difference does/should this passage make in our lives?
This Week: Big Rock Eight: Church--Ephesians 4:11-22
Here’s a few thoughts from Tuesday:
- The church—those who trust Christ with their lives—are part of the people of God.
- The people of God are all those who have faith in God.
- The dividing wall between Jewish believers and Gentile believers has been taken down.
- The church, though, is not the nation of Israel. God’s promises to Israel remain his promises to Israel.
- Our history as the people of God goes back to the beginning—both Old and New Testaments.
Thinking it through:
- This passage speaks a lot about peace. Peace is more than the absence of conflict; peace is also health and wholeness.
- How is your understanding of and connection to the people of God throughout time? Are there gaps in your learning? Do the Sunday school stories dance around in your head, with no apparent sequence? There’s a solution. God has supplied us with a record of our history as the people of God. That record is the Old Testament. Realize, as was stated above, that the church is NOT Israel. Some of the details only apply to Israel, but the record of what God is like and how he deals with his people applies to all believers.
- Here’s the challenge: decide today to get to know your spiritual history.
- FIRST, read the story line books in the Old and New Testaments: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Luke-Acts (Luke-Acts is chosen because both volumes, Luke and Acts, were written by the same author, and so have a consistency to the story). Don’t get bogged down in details. Jam through the story, if you have questions, write them down and keep going. The idea is to get the big picture.
- NEXT, read up on church history. The Pelican History of the Christian Church series is a good starting place. Each book costs about $12 and are probably available in your local library.
- FINALLY, start talking to older people at your local church. Ask them about the history of your congregation. Get a picture of what God has been doing in your local congregation.
- We are the people of God. This is who we are.
Coming up...
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
Big Rock Ten: Why Do Theology—Matthew 22:37-40
Completed:
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; Ephesians 2:1-3
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 4:11-22
--Laura
=============================
SOUL WORK—Batter my heart…
John Donne (1572-1631)
Holy Sonnets: Batter my heart, three-person'd God
1 Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
2 As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
3 That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
4 Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
5 I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
6 Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
7 Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
8 But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
9 Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
10 But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
11 Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
12 Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
13 Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
14 Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Read more John Donne
