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Praying through Good Friday

As we prepare our hearts and minds for this Easter weekend its good to think deeply about the Cross of Christ. We will be fasting and praying through lunch today to ready our hearts and minds for tonights Good Friday service and for those who we have invited to Easter services. To help here is a list of ten (11) helpful things to pray through from friend and fellow pastor Tim Chambers of Christ Church of Joplin. Read through them. Pray through them. Praise through them. Ask God to bless the weekend, fill the building but more importantly fill hearts with the Good News of Gods great grace, love and mercy in Jesus.

Ten (or Eleven) Things to Pray on Good Friday

By Pastor Tim Chambers

1. Make me understand sin in light of the cross. I don't want to evaluate it from my own senses. I want to know the hurtfulness of sin by knowing the price that was paid for it.
2. Allow me to understand righteousness in light of the cross. Let me see clearly there the perfection of Jesus, that I may long to be fully clothed in him and in him alone.
3. Teach me obedience through the cross of Jesus. Set his submission there before me as a standard, causing me to renounce my own will and follow his obedient example.
4. Let me understand eternity in light of the cross. I want to see history as the cross reveals history. I want to see the future as the cross reveals the future.
5. Make me understand service to your church in view of the cross. We each have gifts, and by those gifts we serve. But our model for service is one who gave himself to suffer for her whom he loved.
6. Allow me to see people in the light of the cross. Let me know their value and determine their need by what it reveals.
7. Confront arrogance and division in your church with the message and the power of the cross. Bring my pride to the cross and let it die.
8. Stamp a picture of the cross upon my soul. Let the cross of Christ dominate my mind, my will, and my emotions. Touch my heart with what is revealed there.
9. Capture my children's hearts with the love Jesus showed when he died for them at Calvary.
10. Raise the cross above this city. Let it be a beacon to all who are weary and broken and sick of sin. Let them see the Son of Man lifted up from the earth and let them be drawn to him.
11. May the love of Jesus that was demonstrated on the cross capture the affections of all the nations. Let him see the reward of his soul’s anguish and be satisfied.

Original Post

Set List for Yesterday...

Here are the songs we played yesterday at Mystery click the title to find the version closest to the one we did...

Skeleton Bones - John Mark McMillan's album "The Medicine" is good...you might want to get the whole thing. (We've also done "Death in His Grave" from the same album)

In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross - Anything Sojourn is good!

Help My Unbelief - Red Mountain Church puts out some good stuff...this is one of my favorites from them.

How Deep the Father's Love for Us - there are a ton of versions of this song...pick the one you like!

Fullness of God - Jordan Whitmore of Austin City Life...the One EP is worth getting too!

What is Lent? Should I participate?

Today is Fat Tuesday, and people all over are doing something to celebrate – eating another doughnut, planning a big meal tonight, or all out partying until midnight tonight. Maybe you’re one of the ones celebrating today, or maybe you’re been asked the question, “What are you giving up for Lent?” and you have no idea what the person asking you is talking about.

Lent can be beneficial, but also harmful. The purpose of Lent isn’t to lose some weight or kick some habit. Lent isn’t a way to curry favor from Jesus, or prove that you’re on the Christian Varsity Team. If you’re observing Lent, if you’re thinking about it, or if you’re wondering why mess with it, Bruce Benedict of Christ the King in Raleigh, NC has some good words for you:

WHY BOTHER WITH LENT?

The Lenten Season starts on Ash Wednesday. For many recognizing Lent, that day marks the first day of a forty-day fast from something.

The day before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday). Many people have at least a day of feasting before the season of fasting. Perhaps no city in America celebrates Mardi Gras better than New Orleans.

The weeks leading up to Mardi Gras (again, the Tuesday before the first day of Lent) as well as the actual day are a season of parties and parades throughout New Orleans. Many revelers— especially those who have traveled to New Orleans to celebrate—gather on Bourbon Street on Tuesday evening. The party goes long into the night, ending at Midnight on Tuesday night. Since Lent starts at 12:01 a.m. on Ash Wednesday, the New Orleans Police Department gather at Midnight on Mardi Gras, form a wall of officers and horses, and use that wall to clear Bourbon Street.

In the minds of many, that’s a great picture of Lent: Party up to the last minute before the Lenten Season starts. Get what you can before you have to give it up. Feast before you have to fast. It’s the reason the celebrations associated with Mardi Gras are often referred to as Carnival—a word that comes from the Latin for “goodbye meat.”

In the minds of many, that’s also what makes the Lenten Season at best a disappointment and at worst a farce. It seems almost hypocritical to celebrate the Seven Deadly Sins before suppressing them.

CONFUSION REGARDING LENT

There is much confusion in the American Evangelical Church regarding Lent. To be sure, the Bible doesn’t require us to recognize seasons like Lent or even Advent. In Romans 14:5, Paul writes that the celebration of holy days is a matter of Christian liberty. Paul continues, “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord” (Rom. 14:6). Therefore, any recognition of Lent must be done in a way that honors God.

As Jesus made clear when he quoted Isaiah to the Pharisees, external actions void of heart- engagement are not honoring to God.

Well did Isaiah prophecy of you hypocrites… ‘This people honors me with their lips, but

their heart is far from me.’

Therefore, any special attention to the Lenten Season that honors God must include heart-level repentance and real faith, not external obedience to church tradition.

So the Lenten Season and its encouragement to take an extended time to focus on the death and resurrection of Christ provides us with an opportunity to honor God as well as a temptation toward sin. There can be a real value in marking this season, but only if done with a heart that seeks to honor God.

Go HERE if you'd like to read the whole article from The Resurgence.

ALL CHURCH WORK DAY - Lets Get Ready for Mission!

On Saturday, Feb 26th we will be having a church work day from 9 to noon. We are doing this for a couple reasons. First, Art Walk is just a couple weeks away and there are some things we need to clean and repair. Second, Jesus has given us this amazing place to serve him from and we should honor that gift by keeping it nice. The goal here is that we have a flood of people show up for just a couple hours to get things done instead of having a few people spend many hours on multiple days. There will be all kinds of things to do.

Leaders Who Last Seminar

Fellow Acts 29 church and Mystery Supporter, LifePoint Church in Ozark Mo. is hosting author of Leaders Who Last, Dave Kraft in a leadership conference Sat. March 5th. Cost is $30 and includes lunch. We will caravan Sat morning from the church building. Talk to Jeff Holingshead if you are interested in attending. You can register at Lifepointozark.com or through Mystery church.

A Praying Church

From the message this past Sunday here is the list pastor Steev gave in regards to the substance of Christian prayer. You might also find it good to listen to the entire message. And Mystery highly recommend the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller. You can purchase it at our resource wall or via Amazon.

This is not an exhaustive list but merely some thoughts on the content of a Christians prayer as we look at the Apostle Pauls example in Acts and Ephesians.

Prayer Should be:

God Centered

Trinitarian

Reverent

Worshipful

Thankful

Thoughtful

Confessional

Repentant

Relational

Intimate

Kingdom Minded

Missional

Intercessory

Intentional

About Listening as well as Speaking

Specific

Simple

Spirit Filled

Corporate

Continual

Confident & Expectant

Personal Renewal Pt 7 - Family

Reading Specific to Renewal as Family

• Bible – Acts, Rom, Eph, 1 & 2 Cor, Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy
• Total Church by Steve Timmis

• Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris

• What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever

• The Trellis and the Vine by Marshall and Payne

Personal Renewal Pt 6 - Missionary

Reading Specific to Renewal as a Missionary

• Bible – Luke, John, Acts, Rom, Gal, 1 John, Exodus, Nehemiah, Isaiah,

• Culture Making by Andy Crouch

• Crazy Love by Francis Chan

• Radical Reformissionary by Mark Driscoll

• Total Church by Steve Timmis

• Generous Justice by Tim Keller

Personal Renewal Pt 5 - Servant

Reading Specific to Renewal as a Servant

• Bible – Matthew, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Rom, Gal, *Philippians, James, Philemon, Hosea

• Humility by CJ Mahaney

• Generous Justice by Tim Keller

• Total Church by Steve Timmis

• Radical by David Platt

• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn (Specifically for issues of Money/Worldliness)

Personal Renewal Pt 4 - Learner

Reading Specific to Renewal as a Learner

• Bible – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Eph, 1-2 Tim, 1 John, , Psalms, Isaiah

• Basic Christianity by John Stott (Great starting place for presenting Jesus to people)

• Basic Christian Beliefs (And Corresponding Workbook) Great for new Christians

• Doctrine by Mark Driscoll

• Death by Love by Mark Driscoll

• Prodigal God by Tim Keller

• The Trellis and the Vine by Marshall and Payne

Personal Renewal Pt 3 - Worshiper

Reading Specific to Renewal as a Worshiper

• Bible – John, Rom, Gal, Eph, Col, Heb, Rev, Genesis, Deut, Psalms, Isaiah

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer

• What is the Gospel by Greg Gilbert

• Desiring God by John Piper

• Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

• The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Llyod-Jones

GIVE 10 - SAVE 10 in 2011

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. – 2 Cor 8:9

The Reason We Give

• We are commanded to give as worship – to honor God with our first fruits

• We are commanded to give to further the ministry and mission of Gods church

• We’re called to give to keep our hearts from loving money, things and the world more than God

• We are called as Christians to be radically generous with our money to express the counter cultural kingdom the gospel creates within a world that does not know God

• We are called to be people of restoration and renewal in a world where money is an answer to many physical needs. We use our resources to create culture and counter the darkness

The Way We Give

• We give to our church. We partner with God’s people as a family and community of worshippers and missionaries to collectively do the most good in the world. Our primary giving is to the church we belong to. A people of one mind and one mission in the places God has placed them. All Christians should be members of a local church where they are confident that the leaders are stewarding well the collective resources of its members, motivated by the gospel, without reproach and with much prayer and wisdom for God’s glory.

The church is God’s primary means of reaching the world so the work of ministry and mission should flow from and through churches so that Jesus’ church is glorified above any other organization, individual or agenda.

• We given to charity. We want to live content lives not trying to keep up with the world. This means simplified lives that allow us to be radically generous. We strive to give 10% to our church and above and beyond through the church and other areas of opportunity God presents us with in the world.

The Challenge to Give

• Commit to trusting Jesus in all things; seeking to live a life content with Christ as your greatest treasure, living below your means and prayerfully asking God for a generous and joyous heart.

Give 10 Save 10 in 2011

• Commit to Tithing 10% of your “first fruits” monthly – Plan for and Pursue Generosity

- If you are already giving 10%, prayerfully ask God to show you how much to challenge yourself to give above the tithe

- Include Other Christians from Mystery in your decisions and plans

• Commit to Saving 10% of your income monthly – Plan for & Pursue Freedom with money

- Set Goals for things you would like to accomplish for the kingdom in the future

- Set goals for ways to enjoy God’s blessings in ways that bring joy to you and others

- Include Other Christians from Mystery in your decisions and plans

Personal Renewal Part 2

This is a first of a series of posts listing some of our Relevant Reading that corresponds to the Personal Renewal Plans we are engaged in as a church this semester. Read the previous post for an explanation of how to use these resources.

General Reading on Renewal

• You Can Change by Tim Chester

• The Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney

• A Praying Life by Paul Miller

• A Quest for More by Paul Tripp

• Renewal as a Way of Life Richard Lovelace

Personal Renewal

We began the new year talking about an emphasis of Renewal this year. In the book of Ephesians (Our Current Sermon Series) Paul teaches that the new life of a Christian flows from a spirit of renewal in our minds (Eph 4:23). Putting on the new self and growing in the gospel is a process of ever increasing understanding of the knowledge of God, our selves and the person and work of the gospel. When we find ourselves dry, stagnant and lifeless its because we have forgotten the gospel and are failing to apply it to our selves and situations. (2 Pet 1:9).
This month we gave PRPs or "personal renewal plans" to everyone attending Mystery. (You can download a printable PDF here) The purpose of the PRP is to assess where we are in our gospel Identity - Worshiper, Learner, Servant, Missionary and Family, and begin to address our deficient areas with Gods Word and with Gods people in gospel communities throughout the week.

This series of posts will include relevant reading and resources to help you, alongside others, best address the "flat spots" in your PRP wheel. There are bible readings, basic books and books to for those who want to dig deeper.

When it comes to your area, select a resource, discuss it with your CG leaders and those in your group. Ask someone in the group to read the same resource with you. Set aside a time once a month where you can meet and process what you are learning together. Look for ways in which what you are learning directly apply to the steps you have committed to taking in your 120 days of renewal and pray for the Holy Spirit to transform you more and more to be like Jesus.