WHY JOIN A SMALL GROUP?

Everything in life revolves around relationships -- everything. God reveals Himself to us as a relationship through the Trinity and guides and teaches us through our personal relationship with Jesus (John 17:6-8).

The most important relationship is a personal relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ -- a vertical relationship.

The Bible, our guidebook to daily living, repeatedly confirms the importance of community. Relationships provide us the opportunity to live out our beliefs according to Scripture and be a living testimony of Christ to the world. These horizontal relationships create balance in our lives. The best horizontal relationships are commitments to live with others, to become connected with others in a basic Christian community. Small groups are our best setting to explore and experience both of these types of relationships.

Small Groups Provide:

1. An opportunity to Study God's Word in community and discuss how it practically applies to our lives.

The Bible is God's guidebook to daily living. In the same way we exercise our body for fitness, we need to exercise our minds to better understand the Bible. Studying the Bible in a group significantly improves our retention and promotes a more in-depth understanding. The group discussions sharpen our Bible skills and provides us insights on how to practically apply God's Word in real life situations. In a small group setting, you can ask questions, participate in a discussion of the text, and hear others share insights and illustrations of the truth you are trying to grasp. The Bible must be applied to your own personal situation; small groups challenge us to do just that.

2. A safe haven to honestly share our life struggles and better deal with daily stress and pressure.

Every Christian needs a spiritual family. We all need a place where we feel safe to share our feelings with others and allow others to authentically share their feelings with us. We need a family where we are cared for, nurtured, challenged, guided and prayed for; where we can ask straightforward questions and disclose our struggles. Small groups provide excellent support in times of crisis, change, and stress. You'll have a sense of stability and security because you know there are people who genuinely care for you and are committed to supporting you.

3. An opportunity to live out the "one another's" in the New Testament.

Every Christian needs a laboratory for life. There are over 50 "one another's" in the Bible: we are challenged in scripture to love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, and stimulate one another to love and to do good deeds. The small group offers a warm family setting where the "one another's" can be lived out. This is especially important for experiencing the full essence of God. A list of New Testament 'one another' and 'each other' verses are listed in the training section of the small group library.

4. An opportunity to develop leadership skills you never knew you had

In groups we can share our daily lives, as well as share simple group tasks. Sharing in this way creates a very special bond of fellowship and at the same time offers you the opportunity to grow in God's service. The small group process provides the setting for natural sharing, so no one feels pressured or obligated. Instead, we develop our natural talents for service in a loving and caring environment.

5. Effective opportunities to share the gospel with family, friends and neighbors

Time and time again we see people connecting with God and His community because they felt comfortable attending a small group event when invited. Many who feel threatened or find church services unappealing are much more receptive to an invitation to a casual Bible discussion in a home or office setting. In a small group, your unbelieving friends can ask questions and express honest doubts without feeling out of place or foolish. In the understanding small group setting they can take their first steps in connecting with the good news of the gospels in an inviting way.

6. A place for prayer to become more meaningful to you

We are totally dependent on God and prayer with God; our communication with God through prayer acknowledges our deep need to commune and converse with Him. Small Groups provide you the opportunity to develop your prayer walk by allowing you to take small steps (such as one sentence prayers) without feeling pressured. The more comfortable we become with prayer the more we experience amazing results in our personal relationship with the Lord.

Throughout the Old Testament and the New, small groups have been a way in which God ministers to the lives of people, helps meet one another's needs, and equips His followers for ministry and service. Without small groups God would not be able to accomplish His purposes in the lives of His people.

Yours in Christ,
Roger

God Bless,
Roger

This article was borrowed and adapted from Rolling Hills Covenant Church article "Why Join A Small Group" http://www.rollinghillscovenant.com/why-join-a-small-group

THE UNOPENED GIFT

What if you gave me a gift and I never opened it? Would you be disappointed? The real disappointment would be; it would become a worthless gift because I don’t receive any benefit from a gift I never open.

Jesus Christ is God’s Christmas gift to you. Yet some of us have gone Christmas after Christmas and never opened the best gift of all – God’s gift of salvation. Why even celebrate Christmas if you’re not going to open the biggest gift? It doesn’t make sense to leave unwrapped the gift of your past forgiven, a purpose for living, and a home in heaven.

Jesus Christ says to you, “I can replace the frustration in your heart with peace. I can replace the guilt, resentment, shame, and grudges with forgiveness. I can replace the worry and anxiety with confidence and faith. I can replace depression or despair with hope. I can replace emptiness with meaning and purpose. I can replace confusion with clarity. But I’m not going to break down the door of your heart. You’ve got to invite me in.”

It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from, if you want Jesus in your life and you are ready to do as he says, the door is open.

It doesn’t matter what your religious background is; God didn’t send Jesus to give you religion. He sent him so you could have a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Below is a prayer I prayed years ago when I opened the gift of Jesus. It’s a pretty simple prayer. If these words express the desire in your heart, read them as if you are talking to God.

Prayer:
Dear God, I’m scared, but I want to get to know you. I don’t understand it all, but I thank you that you love me. I thank you that you’re with me even when I didn’t recognize it. I thank you that you are for me; that you didn’t send Jesus to condemn me but to save me.

I admit I never even realized I needed a Savior, but today I want to receive the Christmas gift of your Son. I ask you to save me from my past, my regrets, my mistakes, my sins, my habits, my hurts, and my hang-ups. Save me from myself.

I ask you to save me for your purpose. I want to know why you put me on this planet. And I want to fulfill what you made me to do. I want to learn to love you and trust you and have a relationship with you.

I need peace with you, God, and I need you to put your peace in my heart. I need you to take away the stress and fill me with your love. Help me be a peacemaker, to help others find peace with you and each other. In your name I pray, amen.

Love and blessings this Christmas
Roger

Adapted from "Open Your gift from God" by Rick Warren at www.pastors.com/blogs/ministrytoolbox

MY PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL

As I prepare for setting off to Israel, I must say it is a very exciting time for me. As we read the Bible, from Old Testament to New Testament, we read about the history and spiritual significance of so many places found in this area.

To be able to walk the places that Jesus walked, to see the very places described in the Bible that are so important to our faith, being there physically, seeing and touching these places with my own eyes is truly the longing of my heart.

As we read in 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Yes, the Apostle John was describing his personal, physical relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What I am looking forward to is having the opportunity to see, look and touch the very places from which he ministered.

I have heard time and again about the enormous spiritual significance of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. We read from Jewish writing the significance of the place…

“As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the foundation stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.”
-- Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim

There is truly a spiritual battle going on in the world we live in. The physical earth we live on is so much more than just physical, it is also spiritual. Any time we write off the significance of Israel, Jerusalem, or the Temple Mount, and the importance that place plays in our lives, we do so at our own risk. Whenever we ignore the Spiritual Battle going on in the world for the souls of man, and for the sacred places on earth, we are ignoring God’s active presence with us in the world.

Yes, I understand that places don’t hold as important of place in the eyes of the Lord. Remember he said to the woman at the well in John 4:21-ff, Jesus declared, (21) "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (22) You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (23) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Worshiping the Lord in “spirit and in truth” is more important than making a pilgrimage to certain historical and spiritual sites, but it is still very exciting for me to go and see these places that have played such an important role in the history of our faith. Pray for me as I travel, I treasure your prayers. And I look forward to returning (Lord willing) with lots of stories, pictures, and experiences to share with you all. See you in a couple of weeks.

God Bless,
Roger

The Just One Challenge

(A Letter from Bob Russell)

The Presidents of our Bible Colleges are concerned and I am certain most of us reading this share their concern. We are seeing a declining number of students interested in ministry, an alarming drop in students with a desire to preach the gospel. Why? Various factors may contribute: the secularization of society, the postmodern mindset that denigrates anything authoritative, the declining number of teems in Christian Service camps, and the passive involvement of ministers in the lives of teens. Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is this: we are not recruiting future laborers for the potential harvest. While the Restoration Movement is actually now witnessing its most significant influence in a century, we may soon be experiencing a severe shortage of ministers and missionaries.

That’s a crying shame! The independent Christian Churches are one of the few Christian movements that have actually experienced an increase in church attendance over the past two decades. We now have more mega churches per capita than any other movement. Some of our new church plants serve as models for the evangelical world, and some of our preaches are
being called to pulpits of denominational churches that want to return to Biblical principles. More and more doors are opening for us! The opportunities for future evangelism and influence are beyond what we could have imagined 30 years ago!

That’s why I’ve joined with over two dozen of our college presidents who have issued the Just One Challenge—asking God’s people all over this nation to pray for just one more worker for the harvest field. Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers in his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38).

The Just One Challenge is a unique, united effort on the part of these presidents to motivate thousands of our people to intentionally pray for and recruit future preachers. Of course we all know that genuine prayer results in action, so I want to invite Christian leaders al across the country to join with us in honoring the Lord’s request.

Let’s make the most of this present opportunity and aggressively, wisely pray of laborers for the harvest field….because “as long as it is day, we must do the work of him who set me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4)

Yours in Christ,
Bob Russell, Retired Senior Minister Southeast Christian Church Louisville, Kentucky

NOTE: Bob Russell will be the speaker for the Boise Bible College Spring Conference—May 10-12, 2011.

THE CALL OF JESUS

"When Jesus calls you to follow him, he isn't asking you to become a nice person, or to do your best at helping others.

He didn't die so you could feel good about the things you've screwed-up, or so you could carry a sentimental hope of being re-united beyond the grave with the people you love who have died.

His call is a command for you to comprehensively and absolutely walk away from the way you do life now so you can follow him down an exclusive path through the narrow gate that leads to the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:13-14). – Jon Walker, Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship (Leafwood, 2010)

Jesus calls us to make a radical change in our lives. To be transformed into new people, a new creation. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Christianity isn't about becoming religious, it is about becoming a whole new person, living in a personal relationship with the living God who is actively involved in our lives day in and day out, no matter what we are doing. The call of Christ is to be changed!

Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Be CHANGED! Be TRANSFORMED! Give up the old way of living and begin living a new LIFE, and abundant life in Jesus Christ.

Love you all,
Roger

New Service Times

This Sunday, September 12, 2010 we will be starting our new services at the Myrtle Point Christian Church.

The First Service will be our
TRADITIONAL SERVICE, which will start at
9:00 a.m.

The Second Service will be what we call our
CONTEMPORARY SERVICE, which will start at
10:30 a.m.

The Traditional Service is designed to appeal to those who are familiar with church and enjoy singing lots of the old songs that have come down through the ages; hymns and older choruses.

The Contemporary Service is designed to appeal to a new generation of people seeking God who enjoy a more lively style of music, with drums and a more upbeat feel (some people might call it Rock 'n Roll). It will be lively, it will have a youthful appeal, but at the same time it will honor God and bring glory to His name.

If you have often thought of yourself as a Christian, but have found it hard to go to church this service might be for you. If you have felt that the church was old fashioned, out of touch and boring, you definitely need to come and try out our new Contemporary Service.

Hope to see you there this Sunday
Love and Blessings
Roger

Grace Changes People

He'll never change. She's a lost cause. She's obsessed with success and power. He only wants his way - he doesn't even care for God or others. Perhaps you've heard these or similar sentiments about the people who impact your life. Maybe you even silently agreed.

Many years ago a man "made it big" before the age of 20. Arrogance and ruthlessness characterized his leadership. He mocked the values he learned as a child. People assumed he was a lost cause. Yet one day he woke up in prison - old, alone, humiliated, desperate. He must have prayed, "Lord, I'm powerless to undo the mess I've made ... help me!" - for God heard and the grace of God filled his life.

Grace changes people ... and even entire countries. King Manasseh renounced his anti-God attitudes and broke the cycle of bitterness (2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 7-13). His story reminds us all that God's grace is available to everyone who will genuinely call on Him.

Although you can't make decisions for someone else, accept God's grace in your own life today and extend it to others. Then pray for our country's leaders that they, too, will experience the grace of God - and take this nation in God's direction, and not their own.

May the Grace of God be with you all this day and always
Roger

This article adapted from the Presidential Prayer Teams "Vantage Point Devotional" Mon, September 6, 2010