Update from Global Compassion Network

Posted on December 23, 2013 by blund

Last year, several of from our Haiti team traveled with Global Compassion Network to spread hope. GCN gives a 2013 report, and not only is it encouraging to see all that the Lord has accomplished, but there are some great photos of our team members as well! Please pray for GCN – and all the ministries/missions we support! – for the years ahead.

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How to Think About Sex, Dating, & Relationships

Posted on December 10, 2013 by blund

Gerald Hiested, who recently authored Sex, Dating and Relationships: A Fresh Approach (Crossway, 2012) with Jay Thomas, was asked a few questions to help us understand what the Bible has to teach us in these fields. This interview is copied from Between Two Worlds.

Your book looks at three fundamental male/female relationships: (1) the family relationship, (2) the neighbor relationship, and (3) the marriage relationship. But many add another category: (4) the dating relationship. Why do you find this last category problematic?

As you’ve noted, in our book we argue that Scripture recognizes three distinct types of male-female relationships—the “family” relationship, the “marriage” relationship, and the “neighbor” relationship (by “neighbor” we mean anyone who is neither a blood relative or a spouse). We mark these as distinct relationships based on the observation that each relationship carries with it an explicit sexual ethic. The Levitical sexual codes (Leviticus 18) clearly prohibit sexual relationships between blood relatives. And all throughout Scriptures (Proverbs, Song of Songs, 1 Corinthians 7) we see that sexual relations within marriage are not only permissible, but commanded.

Likewise, the sexual ethic of the “neighbor relationship” is detailed in 1 Corinthians 7:9 and 1 Timothy 5:2—namely, that sexual activity is prohibited. We go into this in more detail in the book, but the crucial observation here is that the sexual boundary for all non-married relationships is complete abstinence. And this doesn’t mean only abstinence from sexual intercourse, but abstinence from all sexual activity. So in chart form, it looks like the below.The problem with viewing a dating relationship as its own distinct category of relationship is that—being a modern invention—it lacks any explicit scriptural boundary regarding sexual relations. Feeling left to our own devices, we have invented our own guidelines of sexual purity. And those guidelines are all over the map. Some are fairly conservative, while others are not. In either case, the legitimization of dating relationships as a distinct category of male-female relationship has introduced an enormous amount of subjectivity into Christian pre-marital relationships. Continue reading →

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Sermon: “Kept by the Advent King” from Psalm 121

Posted on December 3, 2013 by blund

Advent: Psalms of Ascent
December 1, 2013
“Kept by the Advent King”
Psalm 121:1 – 8

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How the Gospel Affects Grocery Store Tantrums

Posted on November 13, 2013 by blund

Ever had a child give a wild meltdown in the middle of Bill’s Groceries? Do you remember the feelings of frustration, embarrassment, and exasperation? In the middle of your anger and your child’s tantrum, what does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have to say to that? Read this great article by one parent, Gino, who with his wife Jill have dealt with this very question!

Parenting and Grocery Store Tantrums

by Gino Curcuruto

As parents of four children, my wife Jill and I don’t have to leave the house to have opportunities to disciple not-yet believers in Christ. Add to the mix that we also need to be reminded of and apply the gospel to our lives, and you have a small community on mission within the confines of our home! We don’t only go to missional community to make disciples; we are a missional community that makes disciples. We are always making disciples, especially when parenting our kids. This means that when a kid holding Legos in one hand and a lightsaber in the other wakes me up at 5:30 a.m. to tell me he’s hungry or has to pee, it’s discipleship time. I don’t get to throw the gospel out the window because it isn’t time to gather with others for worship or our weekly meal yet.

If we are to see the mission of Jesus move forward in our homes and neighborhoods, something more than a scheduled series of events or classes is needed. While these events and classes might be valuable equipping tools to help resource our people, only when we approach everyday life situations as opportunities to bring the gospel to bear on each other’s lives will we consistently learn how to walk in obedience to all that Jesus has commanded.

DISCIPLESHIP IN ALL OF LIFE
In the mess of everyday life, we must apply the gospel. Applying the gospel is speaking the truth of what Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension has done for those who believe. The gospel radically changes who we are, and often in the ordinariness of everyday life, we forget who we are in the gospel. We are sons and daughters, made into new creations through the Christ. So, applying the gospel is reminding a believer of their identity in Christ by speaking the work of Christ into their particular situation, and by showing how Jesus is better than the current idol they are desiring in that moment. But to know how to bring the gospel to bear on their life, you need to not only need to know the gospel, you need to know the person too. You need listen to them, you need to hear or see what they struggling with. Applying the gospel requires proximity, life together. Paul said that it is through speaking the truth in love to one another that we grow up in Christ (Eph. 4:15). Continue reading →

Posted in ministry | Tagged discipleship, family, parenting, piety | Leave a comment

Hold On to the Promises

Posted on November 12, 2013 by blund

Several weeks ago, a number of us went over to the Surf Ballroom to catch the Run Tour headlining Sanctus Real. It was a great concert, and their song “Promises” is a great encouragement from Romans 8:

From the lyrics:

Oh, if God is for us who can be against us
So, if you feel weak

Just hold on to the promises (hold tight)
Hold on to the promises (all right)
Jesus is alive, so hold tight
Hold on to the promises

Read all the lyrics to the song here.

Romans 8:31 – 39
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Posted in blurbs, Media | Tagged Romans 8, Sanctus Real | Leave a comment

Upcoming Events this Week

Posted on November 11, 2013 by blund

There’s all sorts of activities coming up in the life of our church family! Are these events on your schedule?! Make sure they are, and then come join us! To see everything coming up, head over to our Calendar & Events or visit our Facebook events page.

Do you want to receive these announcements as soon as they’re posted? Subscribe to our newsfeed or “like” Zion on Facebook, and you’ll be updated with the latest information. See you soon at one of our upcoming events!

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Preparing for Worship: Nov 10

Posted on November 8, 2013 by blund

We will be using the following songs and passages from the Word of God in our corporate gathering this Lord’s Day. Please prayerfully use these resources to prepare your hearts to “come into His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).