The eNews Week of March 28, 2004
If you would like to contribute to the YAM eNews, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
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IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
JESUS: The ONLY Way? What if…
TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
SUNDAY GATHERING— The only way to God
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EAT, Last Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EAT is April 25
Meet in the TFB patio
SUNDAY GATHERING @ 10 am on Sundays—TFB College Room
BIBLE STUDY @ 7:00-9:00 pm on Tuesdays— TFB College Room
Current Study: True Spirituality? Learning Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark
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JESUS: The ONLY Way? What if…
Last week at the Gathering, we concluded that the most offensive thing we can say is that Jesus is the only way to God. Today, Pastor Charlie talked about this very subject (funny how that works out, eh?).
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Check out the context of the story (John 13:5-14:15), then think about this...
Here’s the question: How would life look if we acted as if Jesus was the only way to the Father?
How does this affect your career choice? Your current job? Your friendships? Your sleep? Your eating?
Think about it and put your thoughts in the comments.
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TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
Tuesday Bible Study now starts at 7 pm (or thereabouts). Bring dinner if you wish—Laura Sp. does! —and come walk through The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Mark.
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EVENT SUGGESTIONS
Wednesday Bingo
Maritime Museum
Horse racing
Bowling night (last went 1/30/04)
Food night
Summer at a lake
Camping at Catalina
Road Trip
Super bowl
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
El Capitan
Yosemite
Mini-Golf
Have a suggestion? Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
Would you like to get involved in planning an event? …are you ready?... Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
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SUNDAY GATHERING— The only way to God
About Jesus, part 4
WHO JESUS IS – THE ONLY WAY TO GOD
Pastor Charlie
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.”
John 14:6 NIV
MYTH #1 - ALL RELIGIONS ARE BASICALLY THE SAME.
MYTH #2 - ALL RELIGIONS HAVE EQUAL CLAIM TO THE TRUTH.
MYTH #3 - CHRSTIANITY IS A NARROW-MINDED, INTOLERANT RELIGION.
TRUTH - JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD.
Jesus is the way -- He’s the path to a lifetime of adventure, fulfillment, challenge, and purpose.
Jesus is the truth -- He will provide you with wisdom that works for everyday life and for the turbulent times as well.
Jesus is the life -- He, and He alone, can give you a secure future for all of eternity.
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The eNews Week of March 21, 2004
If you would like to contribute to the YAM eNews, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
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IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
JESUS: Cultural Images
TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
SUNDAY GATHERING— Jesus Offers Forgiveness
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EAT, Last Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EAT is March 28
Meet in the TFB patio
SUNDAY GATHERING @ 10 am on Sundays—TFB College Room
BIBLE STUDY @ 7:00-9:00 pm on Tuesdays— TFB College Room
Current Study: True Spirituality? Learning Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark
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JESUS: Cultural Images
Action Figure Jesus
Dress up Jesus
Sports Figurine Jesus (especially note the basketball Jesus, holding the basketball so the children cannot reach it!)
Porcelain Jesus
Glow in the Dark Jesus
And, of course, Buddy Jesus
This year Passion Jesus entered the scene. Obviously, this image is in a different category that the ones listed above, but issues still come up. And all of a sudden, Jesus is popular once again. Today, Pastor Charlie talked about two misperceptions of Jesus—Moral Teacher and Myth—that cannot stand against the evidence. At the Gathering, we talked about how the most offensive thing we can say is that Jesus is the only way to God.
How do we clearly speak this offensive truth in a world that loves Jesus—sometimes makes fun of Jesus—but mostly, misunderstands Jesus?
How do we speak this truth in a way that communicates the offense without being offensive?
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TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
Tuesday Bible Study now starts at 7 pm (or thereabouts). Bring dinner if you wish—Laura Sp. does! —and come walk through The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Mark.
=============================
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
Wednesday Bingo
Maritime Museum
Horse racing
Bowling night (last went 1/30/04)
Food night
Summer at a lake
Camping at Catalina
Road Trip
Super bowl
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
El Capitan
Yosemite
Mini-Golf
Have a suggestion? Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
Would you like to get involved in planning an event? …are you ready?... Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
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SUNDAY GATHERING— Jesus Offers Forgiveness
About Jesus, part 3
WHO JESUS IS – THE SON OF GOD
March 21, 2004
CLAIM #1 – JESUS WAS JUST A GOOD MORAL TEACHER.
“It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate Son of God and that only he who believed in him would have everlasting life. If God could have sons, all of us were his sons. If Jesus was like God, or God Himself, then all men were like God and could be God Himself…. I could accept Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice, and a divine teacher, but not as the most perfect man ever born. His death on the cross was a great example to the world, but that there was anything like a mysterious or miraculous virtue in it, my heart could not accept” (Gandhi, The Message of Jesus Christ, p. 12).
“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about Him being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 55-56).
CLAIM #2 – JESUS IS A MYTH.
“Myth” - an invented story, a fictitious person
Jesus is a myth can mean that He never actually existed in history.
“The memory of any stretch of years eventually resolves to a list of names, and one of the useful ways of recalling the past two millenniums is by listing the people who acquired great power. Muhammad, Catherine the Great, Marx, Gandhi, Hitler, Roosevelt, Stalin and Mao come quickly to mind. There’s no question that each of those figures changed the lives of millions and evoked responses from worship through hatred. It would require much exotic calculation, however; to deny that the single most powerful figure—not merely in these two millenniums but in all human history—has been Jesus of Nazareth. Not only is the prevalent system of denoting the years based on an erroneous 6th century calculation of the date of his birth, but a serious argument can be made that no one else’s life has proved remotely as powerful and enduring as that of Jesus” (Man of the Millennium, Time Magazine, Dec. 6, 1999).
“I am a historian; I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” (H.G. Wells)
Jesus is a myth can mean it is a myth created by His followers that He is the Son of God.
“As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful…. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.” (Albert Einstein, Saturday Evening Post, 26 October 1929).
CLAIM #3 – JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD
Matthew 26:62-67
John 8:57-59
John 10:30-33
Jesus is believable because of His sinless life.
Hebrews 4:15
1 Peter 2:22
Jesus is believable because of His miracles.
John 2:18-22
John 11:23-27 & 38-44
Jesus is believable because of His fulfilled prophesies.
If Jesus is God’s Son then…
God must exist and He can be known through Jesus.
Jesus’ life gives us a clear picture of what is the best way to live and how to find true meaning and fulfillment in life.
Jesus’ death gives us a clear path to experiencing God’s love and presence and to live with God forever.
Jesus is alive here and now.
WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?
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The eNews Week of March 7, 2004
If you would like to contribute to the YAM eNews, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
NEW STUFF
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
SUNDAY GATHERING— Jesus Offers Forgiveness
=============================
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EAT, Last Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EAT is March 28
Meet in the TFB patio
SUNDAY GATHERING @ 10 am on Sundays—TFB College Room
BIBLE STUDY @ 7:00-9:00 pm on Tuesdays— TFB College Room
Current Study: True Spirituality? Learning Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark
=============================
TUESDAY TIME CHANGE—now at SEVEN!
Tuesday Bible Study now starts at 7 pm (or thereabouts). Bring dinner if you wish—Laura Sp. does!—and come walk through The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Mark.
=============================
NEW STUFF
This weekend we received our first subscription to Relevant Network. If you’d like to check out a book to read, put your name, the title of the book, and the checkout date on the clipboard by the door. Here’s the list of new stuff:
Music CDs
Telecast, the beauty of simplicity
Anthony Skinner, forever and a day
Desperation, live worship for a desperate generation
Enter the worship circle, third circle
@nonymous, accelerate in slow motion
Books
Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace: Visual Edition (already checked out!!)
Louie Giglio, The Air I Breathe
Ben Pasley, Enter The Worship Circle
Mike Pilavachi, Soul Survivor
The 250: Evangelism Ideas For You Campus
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EVENT SUGGESTIONS
Wednesday Bingo
Maritime Museum
Horse racing
Bowling night (last went 1/30/04)
Food night
Summer at a lake
Camping at Catalina
Road Trip
Super bowl
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
El Capitan
Yosemite
Mini-Golf
Have a suggestion? Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
Would you like to get involved in planning an event? …are you ready?... Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
=============================
SUNDAY GATHERING— Jesus Offers Forgiveness
About Jesus, Part 2
Luke 7:36-50
Pastor Charlie
THE MEANING BEHIND THE WORD FORGIVENESS
We all ‘take up’ sin. Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10
We all ‘carry’ the punishment of our sin. Romans 6:23
Jesus acts to ‘take away’ our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1,2
Forgiveness is only necessary if someone has done something wrong and only effective if it comes from the person wronged.
All wrongdoing is in the final analysis doing wrong toward God. Psalm 51:3,4
THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCING JESUS’ FORGIVENESS
Luke 7:36-50
Jesus’ Forgiveness Gives Me A Humble Heart.
Jesus’ Forgiveness Gives Me A Devoted Heart.
Jesus’ Forgiveness Gives Me A Sacrificial Heart.
Jesus’ Forgiveness Gives Me A Caring Heart.
Jesus’ Forgiveness Gives Me A Peaceful Heart.
“If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” (1 John 1:8,9, NLT).
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The eNews Week of March 7, 2004
If you would like to contribute to the YAM eNews, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
SO, DO YOU READ THIS THING?
SUNDAY GATHERING—Jesus offers love & life
JESUS OFFERS LOVE AND LIFE
=============================
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EAT, Last Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EAT is March 28
Meet in the TFB patio
SUNDAY GATHERING @ 10 am on Sundays—TFB College Room
BIBLE STUDY @ 8:00-9:00 pm on Tuesdays— TFB College Room
Current Study: True Spirituality? Learning Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark
=============================
EVENT SUGGESTIONS
Wednesday Bingo
Maritime Museum
Horse racing
Bowling night (last went 1/30/04)
Food night
Summer at a lake
Camping at Catalina
Road Trip
Super bowl
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
El Capitan
Yosemite
Mini-Golf
Have a suggestion? Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
Would you like to get involved in planning an event? …are you ready?... Send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com or share your idea at one of the gatherings: Sunday 10 am or Tuesday 8 pm
=============================
SO, DO YOU READ THIS THING?
New section added: “Event Suggestions”
NOTE: there’s still time to speak your mind!
Please copy these survey questions into an email and send your responses to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
Do you read eNews?
If yes, how often?
On a scale of “1” to “5” (“1” being “it REALLY annoys me” and “5” being “I just love this thing!”), how do you like receiving the eNews notice through the email? How do you like reading the eNews online?
What do you find helpful in the eNews?
What do you not find helpful?
What would you add to the eNews?
What would you take out?
Are you willing to contribute to the eNews?
If yes, how often?
If no, why?
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SUNDAY GATHERING—Jesus offers love & life
What love and life look like… John 3:16-21
The POINT: God expressed his love by sending his only Son to save the world. Those who trust the Son live a pure forever life. Those who do not trust the Son live a pure forever death.
Read John 3:16-21
What is pure forever life?
What is pure forever death?
TEAMWORK
Case Study: Real Pure Forever Life
You are talking with some Christian friends when one friend says,
“God loves me no matter what I do, so I might as well live like the devil.”
The other friend says,
“I work hard to keep myself holy so that God will still love me.”
How do you respond?
Take another look at The POINT.
Think about it: If we who trust the Son are really living a pure forever life, why do we keep messing around with the stuff that belongs to pure forever death?
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JESUS OFFERS LOVE AND LIFE
Pastor Charlie
John 3:16
Essentials to prepare for eternity:
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S LOVE.
“God so loved the world…”
1 John 4:9-10
1 John 3:1
Four dimensions of God’s love:
Ephesians 3:18-19
Wide -- it is everywhere.
Long -- it lasts forever.
High -- it is above our mistakes.
Deep -- it can handle everything.
APPRECIATE GOD’S GIFT.
“. . . that He gave His one and only Son . . .”
Romans 3:22
2 Corinthians 5:21
World Religions – DO!
God’s Religion – DONE
ACCEPT GOD’S PROPOSAL.
“ . . .whoever believes in Him should not perish . . .”
Titus 2:11
Romans 3:22
Acts 16:31
ANTICIPATE GOD’S PROMISE.
“. . . should not perish but have eternal life . . .”
1 Peter 1:4-6
John 1:12
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
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