Hiding What They Seek

Here's an article by Carolyn Arends with an intriguing sub-title: In my desire to be 'seeker-friendly,' I'm often guilty of concealing Jesus.

At New Hope we have chosen to have a strong worship-scripture focus to our Sunday morning meetings, rather than the more "seeker friendly" approach, partly for the reasons Arends mentions in her article. But I appreciated her asking the question in more of a day-to-day context, and it's food for thought for all of us.

You can read the article here: Hiding What They Seek

Only 47 days...

...till the UFO Parade!

Stay tuned...

Free Concert: Goodnight Charade

Steve Myers, our invaluable soundman and occasional worship-band-sub, plays bass in a Christian band called Goodnight Charade. (Their drummer, Matt Naden, has also come to play for us when Dustin is out of town.) You can hear one of their songs at their MySpace page, a tune called Grace and Sunrise that they recorded right here in our New Hope building!

Goodnight Charade has a concert coming up on Friday, April 3rd, 6:30 p.m. at Court Street Christian Church in Salem (which is, coincidentally, where Rich and Dee Bryson attend). Admission is free, and you're invited to bring items to donate for community ministry (for more info about the concert, you can read Steve's blog entry about it here).

Easter Choir!

Easter Choir rehearsals begin this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the church. It's only a three week commitment, so it's a great opportunity!

There are no auditions, and you don't need any music reading or choir experience. If you can carry a tune, you're welcome to join us!

If you have any questions, contact Brian Janssen at (503) 472-2218 or Brian.Janssen@newhopeconnection.com.

2nd Annual Talent Show

Our 2nd Annual Talent Night was a blast! Gerry Clark organized and hosted the event, and there was a terrific collection of talent. The acts included singing, instrumental solos (piano, saxophone and electric guitar), a magic show, jokes, video, and the Blumenstein Brothers' "Rhapsody in a Box" (you just had to be there)! There were over a hundred in attendance, and everyone had a great time.

Midway through the evening we had a dessert auction to raise money for this summer's Kids Camp, and we were excited to report that $607 was donated as a result!

I've posted a few pictures below, but I had way too many to include here, so please visit the Photo Gallery on our web site to see lots more!

Open House Farewell for Karl Laeger

Our own Karl Laeger is heading off to serve in Iraq soon, and everyone is invited to an open house this Sunday to wish him well. Karl is leaving behind his wife Keri and their two kids during this 1-year deployment, so if you're a part of our New Hope family, this send-off ought to be just the beginning of our support for them.

The open house will be from noon to 3:00 p.m. this Sunday, March 22, at 1723 SW Nicole Dr. (near Discovery Meadows Park).

Is this better or worse than a virus?

Saint Patrick

March 17th marks the anniversary of the death of Saint Patrick, a true man of God who is credited with converting Ireland from its Druidic Celtic worship to Christianity almost 1,600 years ago.

While the centuries have made it difficult to separate fact from fiction, it's clear that Patrick was a remarkable and humble man. For a brief history of this missionary's fascinating life, click here.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Talent Night on Friday!

Friday night at 6:30 p.m. we'll be holding our second annual Talent Night, and you won't want to miss it!

Last year's event was a lot of fun, and Gerry Clark has a full slate of acts that are sure to entertain. And don't forget there will be a dessert auction to help raise funds for summer Kids Camp.

So come along for the show, and years from now you can say "I knew them when..."!

Hope for "Desperate Marriages"

Today I read an interview with Dr. Gary Chapman, who was talking about his new book Desperate Marriages. I was encouraged with his stories and concepts, and if you are in a struggling marriage (or are close to someone who is), I think you'll appreciate this article:

Help for Desperate Marriages: An Interview with Dr. Gary Chapman

Question #8: Why do you have to go to church?

8. Why do you have to go to church?

The Christian life was not meant to be lived alone. We need each other for encouragement. I always shake my head when I hear someone say, “I don’t go to church, I can just go into nature and worship there.” Well, the New Testament believers didn’t follow that line of thinking at all. We are really kidding ourselves if we think we can grow spiritually without being around others who believe the same. The Spirit gives us “gifts” to be used in the church community--how can we do that if we’re not in that community? The Bible tells us to sing together in worship--how do we do that outside of church fellowship? We are to encourage one another--again, how can we do that when we aren’t regularly around other believers? (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 5:19-20; 1 Thess. 5:11) Even Jesus Himself didn’t go it alone; the Christian faith is to be lived with others, and that includes regular time at church (Heb. 10:25).

Question #7: What about out-of-body experiences?

7. What about out-of-body experiences?

I don’t know if the Bible really addresses this, but in my humble opinion, I’d be pretty skeptical about these stories. I think when someone is near death, their brain can do some pretty tricky things, and I think they’re more likely hallucinatory than spiritual in nature. Naturally, God does have the power to raise someone from the dead, and there were a few examples in the Gospels of Jesus raising some that had passed away (e.g. Matt. 9; John 11). But it doesn’t say what they saw while they were dead. The Bible tells us what we need to know about the afterlife--and we’re better off getting our truth from that Source rather than sensational or dubious stories. In short, I am 100% sure of the spiritual reality of heaven and hell, but I am very skeptical when it comes to out-of-body experiences. (Heb. 9:27)

Question #8 (last one): Why do you have to go to church?

Question #6: How and why is there hell?

6. How and why is there hell?

Hell was originally created for angels (like Satan) who rebelled against God. God says He will one day send these to eternal punishment there. But sadly, it will also be a place of punishment for people who reject God’s offer of salvation, choosing to live for themselves instead of their Maker. There are a number of folks who believe in heaven, but don’t believe in hell, but this is just wishful thinking on their part. How do we know there’s a heaven? Because the Bible tells us about it. But the Bible also tells us about hell, so it is just as real.

The clincher for me is this: Jesus believed in hell (Matt. 10:28; Mark 9:45; Luke 16:19-31), and so did his followers (Paul, James, John, etc.)(2 Thess. 1:8-9; James 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:4,9; Jude 1:7). If you’re going to claim that Jesus didn’t know what He was talking about when He mentions hell, well…you might as well throw out heaven and everything else in the Bible, right? But we dare not throw anything out. As terrible as it is to think about eternal punishment, it’s a reality. And that’s why we are so grateful to be saved (after all, that’s what we’re being “saved” from).

Tomorrow's question: What about out-of-body experiences?

Question #5: How do you know the Bible is true?

5. How do you know the Bible is true?

There’s a lot to this one, but we can rely on the Bible because of archeological evidence, fulfilled prophecy, historical accuracy, testimonies of those changed by it, etc. And quite frankly, it’s never been proven untrue! The Bible is so unique. It was written over many centuries by many different authors, yet it all holds together and tells one over-arching story of redemption. That’s because its ultimate Author is God Himself (2 Tim. 3:16). My pastor recently preached four great sermons on this very question. If you’re seriously wondering about the Bible (and two of your questions are on this subject), I think you’d enjoy these messages and gain a lot from them! (see sermons from December 7, 14, 28 and January 11).

Tomorrow's question: How and why is there hell?

Question #4: Why confess my sin? What sin?

4. Why confess my sin? What sin?

Sometimes we think, I never murdered anyone or robbed a store or cheated on my wife, so I’m not really a sinner. But the Bible tells us that we’ve ALL sinned (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:9-12; 3:23; 5:12). Sin is anything that is contrary to God’s will. That includes biggies like murder, theft and adultery, but it also includes smaller offenses like gossip, coarse joking, lying, pride, deceit, self-centeredness, law-breaking, rudeness, hurtful words…even after being saved, we still deal with sin (though once we have God’s Spirit in us, he will work to slowly “sanctify” us, making us more like Jesus). (1 John 1:8-10; James 2:10)

Tomorrow's question: How do you know the Bible is true?

Question #3: How do the biblical writers know what happened when they are writing 200 years later?

3. How do the biblical writers know what happened when they are writing 200 years later?

You may have heard from some biblical scholars that the books of the New Testament were written hundreds of years after the fact, but to be honest, these scholars have an agenda* to discredit the supernatural nature of the Scriptures and the God who gave them to us. The truth is, the Bible was written by eye-witnesses or those very close to the “action.” Not only that, but the authors were under the direction of God Himself (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). The Bible is completely true and trustworthy.

*This agenda comes from mankind’s natural desire to run their own lives rather than submitting to God’s will. This desire leads to two false views. The first is “There is no God” so there is no one above me to tell me what to do. The second is “I am god” as in New Age beliefs or “I can control God” in which Bible readers pick and choose which scriptures are “true” thus making themselves the authority for truth rather than the Bible itself. So, even if you are an “educated Bible scholar,” if you want to remain in charge of your life you will find ways to discredit what the Bible is telling you to do!

4. Why confess my sin? What sin?

Question #2: Why can the priests hear God, but no one else can?

2. Why can the priests hear God, but no one else can?

In the Old Testament times the priests acted as sort of a go-between. They represented the people to God and God to the people. But this is one of the reasons Christ’s coming to earth was so pivotal. After Jesus returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to actually indwell all who are saved! This doctrine is called the “priesthood of all believers,” and it basically means we have direct access to God through Jesus. While the Catholic Church considers priests to be a kind of go-between (e.g. in the confession booth), I believe the Bible clearly tells us we don’t need a priest to interact with God (Eph. 3:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:16; 10:19; 1 Pet. 2:9). God also speaks to all of us, so we can hear God…but He does it through the Bible. The Bible is His Words to us, and it’s all we need! (2 Pet. 1:3-4).

Tomorrow's question: How do the biblical writers know what happened when they are writing 200 years later?

Question #1: How can Jesus and God be the same?

1. How can Jesus and God be the same?

The Trinity is one of the great mysteries of God! It’s a paradox that reminds us that He is great beyond our comprehension, and it’s also just one of those things we won’t fully understand until we are in heaven. However, the Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4; 2 Sam. 7:22; Is. 43:10; 44:8; Rom. 3:30; 1 Cor. 8:4), yet He reveals Himself in three co-equal Persons (Matt. 28:19; John 15:26; 1 Pet. 1:2). Jesus is indeed God because there are traits attributed to Him that are only true of God (John 8:58; 1 Cor. 8:6; Phil. 2:10-11; Col. 1:13-20). (For a good sermon on the Trinity, see Dewey’s message from July 13, 2008).

Tomorrow's question: Why can the priests hear God, but no one else can?

Questions about Christianity

First of all, if you're a regular reader, sorry I haven't posted in a week (especially since you've had to keep seeing a strange picture of an elf on the president's shoulder)! This week will be different, I promise!

A few days ago, a lady in our church dropped by my office. She has an out-of-state family member for whom she's been praying for a long time, and she recently had a good phone conversation with him. He asked her several questions about Christianity, and she came to me asking if I had any suggestions of scriptures to help her answer him. I thought they were good questions, and I think they reflect that the Holy Spirit is really working on his heart. Yesterday I took some time to write out some brief answers with some Scripture references, which will hopefully help my friend as she responds.

But what would you say if this same lady came to you asking for answers? I thought it might be fun to pose these questions to you and let you think about what your responses might be if you were in my position. Each day for the next week I'll give you one of the questions, along with the brief answer I gave. Feel free to respond with the "comments" link at the bottom of each post, if you'd like. But hopefully this will stimulate your mind and spirit a little this week!

Okay, there are eight questions, and here's the first--he starts with a toughy:
1. How can Jesus and God be the same?
Tune in tomorrow to see how I responded--what would you say?