Oh man, I accidently went outside. Summer hit me in the face and then proceeded to drip down my body.
Tomorrow we get to go to the second best part of church....POTLUCK!!!
Seriously, what could be better than watching a room of Godly folks try to eat and communucate at the same time? "Constrain yourself pastor!"
Oh Yeah, my best friend (Laurel) will be coming on to make comments on this site from time to time. Don't try anything funny.
Hope to hear from you!
Tell me what you think re: the blog or I will only type frog.
-Joel
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Hello!
Who is Jesus?
Who cares?
So what?
The apathy of the “evangelical” church in America bothers me. It seems that the only things that excite faithful parishioners are happiness and financial freedom. Conversation’s about Jesus, who is called “Christ” or “Messiah”, seldom reaches the head of the timely geyser of information that bubbles through our days. Why? I think it is because Jesus doesn’t really speak to the needs of our lives.
And how could He? Didn’t He die over two thousand years ago? What does He know of high fuel prices, addiction, depression, job markets, divorce, housing, health care, inflation, bureaucracy, relationships, illness, and insecurity? Jesus and the book that tells about Him is outdated and ridiculous. It is obvious to anyone that the pressures of our modern world call for something more substantial than the good teachings of a Jewish carpenter. We need answers for global warming, our economy, and the future of America. Let’s move forward!!
Sound familiar?
This is the teaching of our age. There is nothing new about it. History has mocked the Bible, its writers, followers, and the Lord of creation from the beginning. Why would the depraved age we live in be any different than any other depraved age?
Our world is in a constant effort to “..gather around them a great number of teachers to say what there itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”- II Tim. 4:3-4
Also, because mankind was made by God to Worship Him, they seek spirituality. “But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.”-II Tim. 3:1-5.
The world doesn’t need some new teaching to “move forward”. The world needs conviction of sin that leads to repentance and an acceptance of the complete work of Jesus Christ on the cross for their sin that they might be made righteous by that work before a Holy God. The church needs to deliver this message. Not a “gushy gospel” of the love of Jesus and how he wants to be your friend and give you stuff. That “gospel” condemns, it does not save sinners from the righteous judgment of a Holy creator.
One of the five axioms of Sk8church says that we must give a “clear, confrontational, Gospel” message every night the ministry has its doors open. This means that as staff/leaders, we are expected to go cross grain to the apathetic “christianity” that pervades our culture by declaring the Gospel of the finished work of Jesus Christ (God in a body) on the cross.
Skatechurch has been faithfully doing this for almost twenty-two years. I have had the privilege of being held accountable by this ministry for almost nine years. I can’t tell you the extent of the blessing me and my family have enjoyed through our involvement with the leaders and the kids that make up the ministry of Skatechurch. All I can say is that I want to do more! But I can't do it without you. Without your prayers and financial help, I am unable to work at Skatechurch because I must provide for my family first. With your help, I can be involved in the task of furthering the Kingdom.
This blog is where I will post irregular but frequent updates about what God is doing at Skatechurch and how I am involved. I hope this is an encouragement to you.
If you are not one of our regular supporters, and you are interested in this ministry; you can get more information and donate online, tax-deductible, at Skatechurch.net.
Who cares?
So what?
The apathy of the “evangelical” church in America bothers me. It seems that the only things that excite faithful parishioners are happiness and financial freedom. Conversation’s about Jesus, who is called “Christ” or “Messiah”, seldom reaches the head of the timely geyser of information that bubbles through our days. Why? I think it is because Jesus doesn’t really speak to the needs of our lives.
And how could He? Didn’t He die over two thousand years ago? What does He know of high fuel prices, addiction, depression, job markets, divorce, housing, health care, inflation, bureaucracy, relationships, illness, and insecurity? Jesus and the book that tells about Him is outdated and ridiculous. It is obvious to anyone that the pressures of our modern world call for something more substantial than the good teachings of a Jewish carpenter. We need answers for global warming, our economy, and the future of America. Let’s move forward!!
Sound familiar?
This is the teaching of our age. There is nothing new about it. History has mocked the Bible, its writers, followers, and the Lord of creation from the beginning. Why would the depraved age we live in be any different than any other depraved age?
Our world is in a constant effort to “..gather around them a great number of teachers to say what there itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”- II Tim. 4:3-4
Also, because mankind was made by God to Worship Him, they seek spirituality. “But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.”-II Tim. 3:1-5.
The world doesn’t need some new teaching to “move forward”. The world needs conviction of sin that leads to repentance and an acceptance of the complete work of Jesus Christ on the cross for their sin that they might be made righteous by that work before a Holy God. The church needs to deliver this message. Not a “gushy gospel” of the love of Jesus and how he wants to be your friend and give you stuff. That “gospel” condemns, it does not save sinners from the righteous judgment of a Holy creator.
One of the five axioms of Sk8church says that we must give a “clear, confrontational, Gospel” message every night the ministry has its doors open. This means that as staff/leaders, we are expected to go cross grain to the apathetic “christianity” that pervades our culture by declaring the Gospel of the finished work of Jesus Christ (God in a body) on the cross.
Skatechurch has been faithfully doing this for almost twenty-two years. I have had the privilege of being held accountable by this ministry for almost nine years. I can’t tell you the extent of the blessing me and my family have enjoyed through our involvement with the leaders and the kids that make up the ministry of Skatechurch. All I can say is that I want to do more! But I can't do it without you. Without your prayers and financial help, I am unable to work at Skatechurch because I must provide for my family first. With your help, I can be involved in the task of furthering the Kingdom.
This blog is where I will post irregular but frequent updates about what God is doing at Skatechurch and how I am involved. I hope this is an encouragement to you.
If you are not one of our regular supporters, and you are interested in this ministry; you can get more information and donate online, tax-deductible, at Skatechurch.net.
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