A Thought Provoking Post From Dr. Moore

I do not know Dr. Moore but I have been reading his writings fairly regularly over the past 6 months. I would suggest clicking on the link below and taking a careful read. If you've ever wondered how your faith influences your daily decision making, this post is going to make your head spin. It is the ethics final that Dr. Moore is giving in his ethics class. Enjoy!

Moore to the Point by Russell D. Moore

6 Years in the Making

In just over one month, Journey Fellowship Church will celebrate it’s sixth anniversary. It was six years ago this coming Sunday that we revealed our plans to the world and began the process of leaving certainty and stepping out on faith. The past six years have been fun, scary, heartbreaking, uplifting, and all around crazy. In May, we will spend a few weeks remembering the heartbeat of who we are and what we are as a church.

On Sunday, May 2^nd we will tell the story of how the church came to be. There is a story behind the beginning of JFC, believe it or not and there are some verses that remind us of who we are and why we do what we do. I would encourage you to read Isaiah 61:1-4 in preparation for that Sunday.

Then on Sunday, May 9^th we are going to begin talking about our vision as a church. Those three words that you hear from us all the time- Jesus, Family, Community. Why is Jesus such a big deal at Journey Fellowship Church? Why does God call us to follow Jesus? This would be a great Sunday to bring a friend who does not know Jesus as their Savior, especially if they have questions about what Christians really believe about Jesus.

On May 16^th, we will talk about the Family. Why is family such a big deal to God and to the church? What can a family do that no other group of people can do? There is so much that has happened to families in America over the last 50 years. God is truly calling churches to return to the importance of the family and to partner with husbands and wives and children to build stronger families for the sake of the Kingdom.

On May 23^rd, we will talk about Community. We will talk about the community we live in and serve. We will talk about why community is so important and how God uniquely equips churches and individuals to have an impact on the communities He puts them in.

I am praying that through these four weeks, all of us, myself included, will gain a fresh sense of strength and purpose for the church God has called us to. We are together for a reason. We have lived for 6 years for a reason. We have a purpose and vision. Each of us is called to be a part of what God is doing here at Journey Fellowship Church. I pray that God will continue to move in your hearts and in the hearts of those who we are around so that men and women could be saved and the Kingdom could advance.

I love you guys and love being your pastor!

Ryan

What You Think About Jesus...

I read extensively both books and online and occasionally I come across something that is too good not to share. Many people more intelligent than I have written recently about the rise of "new atheism" and its most vocal adherents- Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Both men are intelligent and well spoken and both are strongly opposed to the spread of Christianity or religion in general.

What is interesting is an article I came across recently in Portland Monthly Magazine. The piece was an interview between Hitchens and Marilyn Sewell, who is the recently retired pastor of the First Unitarian Church of Portland. In the article, Reverend Sewell takes issue with Hitchens' lumping together all Christians in his book God is Not Great. Reverend Sewell describes herself as a "liberal Christian" and states that she denies the doctrine of the atonement (that Jesus died for our sins) and that she does not take the stories in the Bible literally. Hitchens' response to her statements is incredibly telling.

"I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian." (to read the entire article click here)

What is amazing is that in his study of Scripture to refute Christianity, Hitchens has stumbled onto a truth that Reverend Sewell has missed in all her years of serving in the church. When you do not believe what Scripture tells us about Jesus, you cannot be a Christian. Period.

We can argue for days about how all of the rest of it works out, but we cannot argue about one thing. The person and work of Jesus is not up for debate. Even a "new atheist" knows that.

What do you believe about Jesus? How is it affecting your life today?