Culturally Savvy Pt 1

Weekly Bulletin

Announcements

• All House Group Hosts and Facilitators, there is a manditory meeting
Monday Night 7pm at the Inge’s house. Dessert and Drinks provided.

• Outreach/Mercy Ministry team meeting this Tuesday night May 1st.
We will be meeting at 8:30 pm at Joe Muggs Coffee.

• Children’s Church Volunteers Needed. We are growing and in need of people
to help with Mystery Kids. If you have children or would like to serve in our
children’s ministry please see Kacey Ball to find out how you can help.

Prayer

If you have a prayer need please email: prayer@mysterychurch.com

• Pray over the poverty in this area--its effects on children and adults.
• Pray against the addictions of the city that give false hope and comfort.
• Ask God to give you compassion for people and a heavy heart for the city.

Sermon Texts

Exodus 5 & 6, John 14:1,6,18, 25-27, 29, 16: 33, Eph 3:8-12, 14-21, Phil 3:3,7-11,12-21

Deservedness

“Man puts himself where only God deserves to be and; God put himself were only man deserves to be.”- John Stott

PODCAST

You can now listen online to our Sunday teachings or take Mystery with you on your iPod.
Visit mysterychurch.com and click on "listen" in the main menu. Find the current weeks teaching as well as past sermons from our Sunday night worship service.

You can also subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. SUBSCRIBE NOW
Aint technology grand!



Love Live Enjoy

For the Week

Long time not personal update so here goes....

Well it has been nuts around here latey. We are almost 2 months into meeting outside the home and nearing our first month since publicly launching our new service. We have had 50+ people a week and have seen lots of new faces in the last few weeks and hope to see some of you again really soon.
Childrens ministry, after a packed Easter, realized the need for more volunteers very shortly. If you are interested please see Kacey on Sunday.
Home groups are in full swing. If you would like to get involved in one of these they meet Wed. night and are currently studying John Stott's Basic Christianity (a must read for any Christian or anyone with questions about Christianty). Theres fun conversation and great food to boot. Look for Anna Link On Sunday's or email us at info@mysterychurch.com.
I spent the last week in bed sick with all sorts of crud and in the process lost me trusty Mac to hard drive failure. Back your junk up kids, back it up...
We began and new series on Sunday mornings, teaching through Exodus through the summer. Our three weeks into Exodus have tought us the following: God is good. God is big. And God takes himself very seriously. For more seriously sadly than we take him. He is soveriegn, severe, sufficient and most of all is the means to our salvation. His grace and his love are without merit and compare.
See you Sunday.

Steev

Conversations about Christ

There is a great post by Ed Stetzer over at The Resurgance on Starting conversations with people about Jesus.

"Sharing Christ can be a challenge in our culture today. It often seems like we've become the guy at the front of the supermarket peddling a newspaper subscription—the one everyone avoids. There are always challenges that come with the opportunities. But how do you deal with these challenges? Part of it is finding a starting point."

It's a good easy read and subject that we must address if we are indeed to live out the mission of Christ in our lives and for the city.

Full Post here: Beginning a Conversation about Christ.

Not for thyself O church

“These places of worship are not built that you may sit here comfortably, and hear something that shall make you pass away your Sundays with pleasure. A church in (Joplin) which does not exist to do good in the slums, and dens, and kennels of the city, is a church that has no reason to justify its longer existing. A church that does not exist to reclaim heathenism, to fight with evil, to destroy error, to put down falsehood, a church that does not exist to take the side of the poor, to denounce injustice and to hold up righteousness, is a church that has no right to be. Not for thyself, O church, dost thou exist, any more than Christ existed for himself. His glory was that he laid aside his glory. . . . . To rescue souls from hell and lead to God, to hope, to heaven, this is [the church’s] heavenly occupation. O that the church would always feel this!” -Spurgeon

On Being A Missional Church

Dr. Tim Keller on being a missional church.

Click the image for a short video from the Desiring God Conference.

Good stuff to think about as we address our city and the cultures we live in.

Religion or Redemption?

“The first question is this,“ do I believe that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, or to make them into good people? Do I think the Gospel is at all a moral message“ or is it a redemptive message? Only the true Gospel would compel me to love and bring Jesus to people so far off.” – Mark Lauterbach