NT Class Wrap Up Tonight
Tonight at 7pm we wrap up our summer New Testament Survey course. This course has been a great study for many people who have been able to make it to a few classes.
This evening I will be teaching on the book of Revelation. This book is a mystery for a lot of people causing many to either disregard or misinterpret its contents. The aim tonight is to clarify its meaning while investigating its major themes in relation to God’s redemptive mission in Scripture.
Book: The Reason For God
I’m currently reading The Reason For God by Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. This is one of the best books I’ve cracked in a while. Written in an extremely sensitive and professional style, Keller presents articulate and thoughtful answers to common objections to Christianity such as:
There can’t be just one true religion, How could a good God allow suffering? Christianity is a straitjacket, The church is responsible for so much injustice, How can a loving God send people to hell? Science has disproved Christianity, You can’t take the Bible literally, and so on.
If you have ever wrestled with any of these questions or know someone who has (and I’m guessing we can all think of someone!) I would highly recommend this book!
Check Out My Bro’s Blog
My brother David just started a new blog which you can check out here. Dave is on staff as a worship leader at Allison Park Church and is a tremendously gifted musician and songwriter. He is planning on releasing his first album very soon.
Cribs Of Worship: Ambridge
This video is one of a series called Cribs Of Worship showing snapshots of the various MCM churches. This is the one from Ambridge. It includes a testimony from a woman who met Jesus Christ as a result of our City Reach outreach last year.
God Of This City Series
I’m pumped about a new series that we will be starting this Sunday called God of This City. The theme for this series comes from the song by the same title which you can listen to here. During this series we will be learning this song and declaring it over the greater Ambridge region.
This is a series in preparation for City Reach this year. During the next few weeks we will be looking into how God uses his people to bring transformation to the cities where he has called them.
As a part of the MCM-Pittsburgh network of churches we will also be showing video clips of the various churches in our network as well as testimonies of people whose lives were changed by City Reach in the past. We got to hear what God is doing at Ridgewood Church last week and this week ACC will be the featured church!
New Worship Blog
Matt Cooper, our new worship leader at ACC has just started a new blog for the worship ministry. Check it out here!
This Week: James River Band & Student Choir Live
This week we are pumped about hosting the band and student choir from James River Assembly in Ozark, MO in both 9:15 & 11:00 services. JRA is the largest church in Missouri with about 8,000 people attending weekly. They are bringing their entire 43 voice student choir!
This is especially exciting for Jessica and I because we both attended James River while we lived in Missouri for college. What makes it even cooler for us is that we served as leaders in their youth ministry which most of these students are still a part of.
This Sunday is going to be an awesome time in God’s presence that you won’t want to miss!
Wisdom From Proverbs
Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. -Proverbs 10:23 ESV
This verse stood out to me this morning as I was reading through Proverbs 10. Looking back at grade school and high school, we can all think of people who treated doing wrong like it was joke. One time at recess in 4th grade I remember watching two kids picking on another kid who just moved in from England. One of them began a fake conversation with the ex-Briton while the other kid ran behind him and yanked the new kid’s shorts off. Then they ran away laughing.
Why is doing wrong like a joke to a fool? I think its because according to this verse, the definition of a fool is someone who lives as if God did not exist. That means that a fool lives life with no fear of God. Therefore, they think that anything goes and there are really no consequences for wrong behavior.
Conversely, this proverb says that “wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.” I believe this is because a man of understanding has a changed heart and a changed perspective on life. Wisdom seems boring to a foolish mind, but it is pleasure and enjoyment to a mind of understanding.
In the New Testament theology we call this regeneration. It’s when we receive a new heart with new desires when we place our faith in him. He takes our old heart and gives us a new heart. When this happens we find that we actually enjoy the things of God and the ways of God. We come to find that there is infinitely greater joy in living for Christ than in living for the world.
My prayer is to continually allow God to refresh and regenerate my heart. I want to live with a healthy fear and reverence for God so that I can continually view sin as serious and enjoy the pleasure of living according to God’s wisdom.
City Reach 2008
That’s right folks, City Reach 2008 is just around the corner Aug 12-15. City Reach is the single largest annual outreach event that we do as a church. Three nights of special services for youth and adults, VBS for kids, free food, giveaways, and a Back-To-School Block Party on Friday night. This is an incredible opportunity to engage our community, meet new people, and share the love of Christ.
The following areas are available for you to sign up to help in: Passing Out Flyers, Evening Services, Kids/Child Care, Food, Block Pary, and After Event Follow-Up. If you have not yet signed up and would like to get in on the action, send us an email here with you phone number and the area of ministry you would like to participate in.
Back Safe & Sound
Had a wonderful vacation. Really enjoyed just hanging out with Jess and resting. Went to Cedar Point (rocked the Millenium Force twice), played a little golf, read some books, and ate out a lot.
I’m virtually never away from ACC on a Sunday morning, but this week I had the privilege of visiting this awesome church pastored by Ron Bradley, one of the most special mentors in my life. I really had forgotten what it was like to just go to church! It was so refreshing to just worship and receive ministry.
Glad to be back and excited to see all that God is going to do at ACC this summer!
