Wealth 4- Spiritual Simulous

Here is a link to a great post from John Piper concerning the Check Uncle Sam is sending out

Economic Stimulus Payment & Christ

Wealth 5- Generosity

“There is no more evidence of the power of the gospel than radical generosity”- Tim Keller

Wealth 3- A Test

What is wealth for? All we have is all we have been given. So in everything, including our possessions, we are to bring Honor to Jesus Christ our Lord.

How can we honor God with our wealth?

We Should Enjoy Money and Possessions as Blessings

We Should Regard Wealth as an Opportunity

We Realize Money and Possessions are Simply Tools
Tool to build Jesus’ church
Tool to meet needs
Tool for mission
Tool to exemplify Jesus and bring God glory in our culture

We Understand Wealth to be a Test

A Test: Long on to your checking account online or take a look at your last bank statement. Where is your money going? Who is getting God's money and who are we honoring? Outside our normal living expenses like rent, bills and food who receives God's blessing through you?
When God provides for you generously and you find your self with extra and use use it for your joy, does Jesus get the credit? Who is worshiped in it's use?

Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth”
Matt 6: 19:24

Wealth 2- An Experiment

Where does wealth come from? It comes through wisdom. Then where does wisdom come from? It begins with the fear of the Lord. So then wealth has its inception in the goodness of God.
How does this change our view of Money and possessions? If everything is on loan from God, given by him to manage not own, how should this effect the way we use our resources and wealth?

Experiment: Take a dollar from your wallet and write on it "Jesus' ". Now put it back in your wallet. Next time you go to spend this dollar (and all the dollars in your wallet) ask yourself if you are managing HIS gifts well. How long can that dollar go? Who will it go to when it finally leaves your hands?

Proverbs 22:2 “The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of the them all.”
1 Sam 2:7 “The Lord makes poor and makes rich…”

Wealth 1- Heart and Hands

This past week we talked about the role of wealth in our lives from our series in Proverbs. The next few days will have some thoughts and quotes about money and possessions in the Christians life. Enjoy, ponder, repent and rejoice.

"Riches and poverty are more in the heart than in the hand. He is wealthy who is contented. He is poor who wants more." - Bishop Hall

"The universe will not fill a worldly person, while a little will suffice for a heavenly heart. Parents, do you seek the lasting happiness of your children? Then lead them to expect little from the world and everything from God." Charles Bridges

Loving God

"Our love to God can only be a response to His love for us. If I do not believe God loves me, I cannot love Him. To Love God, I must believe that he is for me, and that he accepts me as a son or daughter, not a slave....We cannot love God if we think we are under his judgement and condemnation...It is the blood of Christ that cleanses our consciences so that we may no longer feel the guilty. When our sense of guilt is taken away because our consciences are cleansed by the blood of Christ, we are freed to love him with all our hearts and souls and minds" - Jerry Bridges

I Ain't Skeared

“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” Acts 18:9-10 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” Romans 10:14-15,17

Are you loving your city with the gospel? How? Are you sharing it with your words or are you settling for the “I preach with my life” excuse? I must say I have bought into this myself. The thought of verbally sharing the gospel with a stranger is terrifying. What if they reject it? What if they reject me? But shouldn’t the greater question be what if they don’t? What if, as Jesus told Paul, he does have many people in your neighborhood, work place, your own family that are just waiting to hear the good news of God’s love and grace. What if the reason our friends were not Christians was not because they did not believe the gospel, but because I didn’t. Is the God who rescued you from death, not powerful enough to save others? Are you trusting more in him or yourself? Who’s waiting on you to love them with truth, with words? I have found in my own life that evangelism is far more about my faith than those to whom I’m sent.

Jesus Trip

"...There is certainly more to Christianity than the Jesus trip." - J.I. Packer

A WEEK OF FEASTING

Next week is another busy and fun time for Mystery. Wednesday the 14th we are having Grillin -N- Chillin, a gathering of all our home groups on one night as one big happy family. Its at Memorial Park just north of the church building.
Friday Night the 16th is our first all church member gathering and cookout at the Inges house.

MONDAY NIGHT CELEBRATION-JOIN US

Join us as Mystery celebrates the re-birth of people in our family.This Monday May 5th 6-8pm
at Nate & Erin Karnes House in Oronogo. Their will be food, fun and a wonderful time as a church and with our friends. Invite someone you know.
Contact Erin Karnes about helping with food..

Abuses

“Do you suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused? Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?”– Martin Luther

TRAINING DAY SATURDAY MAY 3RD

Just a reminder this is only a week and a half away. this is required for all leaders and open for anyone wishing to attend. please let us know if you will be coming so we can arrange food and seating. This meeting will be held at the Inge's Home.

APRIL MEN OF MYSTERY

NEXT MEN OF MYSTERY NEXT MONDAY APRIL 28th 7-9pm at Pizza by Stout. Bring a Brother - Become a Brother.

Wisdom is...pt1

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom."
Charles Spurgeon

News For the Week of April 22nd

Hello Mystery Family

Few items of interest, things to mark on your calendar and to be in prayer for:

1. Leader Training Day
Pastor Sudhakar will be with us the weekend of May 3-4th. Saturday May 3rd we are having a leadership training day at the Inges house. If you are over an area of ministry (that makes most of us as this is a church plant) please plan to attend this event. It will be from 10am -2pm on Saturday the 3rd and cover evangelism training and home/cell group training. He will be sharing how they do things in India and how that might be useful to us here in Joplin. Please come show your support and learn how to be missional. This is required for leaders but it is open to anyone wanting to come and learn.

2. Cinco de Baptismo!!
Monday May 5th is our second Baptism celebration as a church!! This is what it is all about guys. Come join us Monday Night Conco de Mayo to celebrate as a family the good work of Jesus Christ amongst us. There will be food, games and lots of water. We need to support hose being baptized and we need to see what God is doing. The church is bearing fruit and this is a wonderful opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good!! Please be in prayer for the baptism candidates as this is an exciting but tough time as the powers of this world and the sin in our souls does come against those submitting to Jesus in baptism. Pray and pray hard for the church and for these people.

3. COVENANT COOKOUT
We are having our first ever Covenant Cookout Friday May 16th from 6-8pm. We will be praying together, eating good food and drinking good drink. It will be a night of vision, prayer and worship as we prepare for a new season as a church and for the season of summer ahead of us. If you are in covenant with Mystery, just shy of making it a requirement, we are asking that you make EVERY EFFORT to be at this event.

4. Prayer Nights.
Dont forget we gather every Tues night at 9pm downtown at the International House of Prayer (the old dioko coffee house) to pray for the church and the city. Join us it is one of the most authentic things we do.

5. Last but not least ...
Please remember that we are a new church still and that anyone and everyone makes a difference. Covenanting with Mystery is committing to be in a home group, committing to attending our sunday worship gatherings, faithfully being in prayer for the church, the city and the people you know and work with, and living intentionally as missionaries in the places we work, play and live.
It is very easy to forget that each person actively involved makes a huge difference. People are visiting Mystery and need to see people their loving their church, people are watching us live our lives and need to see people loving their church and applying the gospel to every area of their lives. Continue to Risk talking about Jesus, Commit to Faithful attendance, Continue to Trust the gospel and live for the glory or God. Great things are happening. Persevere in Prayer, Study Scripture, Enjoy God and Live as Missionaries and not consumers. Your church needs you, your friends need you, the city needs you- and we all need Jesus.

ENJOY

Women of Mystery

The women of Mystery are getting together for a new study in a new location.
Join the ladies Monday Night (Tonight) at Butterfly Koffee Klatch, located in University Plaza on 7th and Duquesne @ 7pm.
Women of Mystery will be studying the book of Philippians. Come, bring a friend and enjoy.

All or Nothing

“If Jesus rose from the dead, you have to accept all he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”
- Dr. Tim Keller

Fear in the Face of the Awesome

"There are two kinds of fear: The Bible talks a lot about fear of God--fear in the face of something awesome. That kind of fear is the type of fear that makes someone want to change. But a fear of other people makes you want to stay the same, to protect what you have. It's a stagnant fear; and it's paralyzing." --Win Bulter of Arcade Fire

NEW SERIES STARTS SUNDAY

A church called Mystery is beginning a brand new study this week in the book of Proverbs. We will be exploring what it means to gain wisdom and live with in an understanding and awe of God rather than enamored with ourselves. Proverbs is full of poetry, meaning, insight and imagery.
What skills does wisdom offer for those of us who want to stop living foolishly and start living life? Come find out how to gain Principles and Practices for True Living. Its a great week to invite a friend as we begin a new study that will take us into the summer months.

If no one else does

“Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.”
- Jonathan Edwards