E-Note From Pastor Andy 2-27-15

February 27, 2015

Dear Eastridge Church,

Sunday I shared a message where I issued a Discipleship Challenge with everyone.  I called it the B. E. L. L. challenge.  I first came across the formula given by Alan Hirsch in his book The Forgotten Ways, which impacted me greatly, which goes as:  Christology →  Missiology →  Ecclesiology.  Our God/Christ is the one who determines the mission (God’s Mission) which then determines or shapes the church.  It is to say “the church doesn’t have a mission, but the mission has a church.”  Our God is a missionary God.  The Church is God’s tool in fulfilling His mission in the world “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 2:4). 

Our churches need to be centered around God’s mission and the mission should shape everything we do.  At the same time we have been chosen as God’s ambassadors to the world to fulfill the mission.  Our lives should resemble our Christ.  As Christians the Living God resides within each of us through the Holy Spirit.  We reflect (or reflect poorly) the image and character of God to those around us.  If you are a follower of Christ, do people see Jesus when they look at you?

The B.E.L.L. Challenge:

BLESSING—The Hebrew for “blessing” (barak) means “to empower to strength”.  We seek God’s blessing and pass that blessing on to others.  *Bless 3 people this week (one person in our church, and one outside our church and the third person from either category).

EATING—Sharing food has always been central to a life of community.  We want to place worship and communion back where it began, as a provider’s delight in the middle of the shared table.  This is why the New Testament speaks about the need to practice hospitality.  *Eat with 3 people this week (1 person in our church, 1 person outside our church and a third person from either category).

LISTENING—We believe that God is capable of speaking to us.  We do not confine Him to any particular medium, but we try to be attentive to His voice, wherever and whenever it speaks.  *Take time to listen to God for 1 hour/week (listening, not talking).

LEARN—We desire to take on the image of God and to participate in His plan.  We seek out knowledge about God to help us to do this.  *Study Jesus’ life a little bit each week from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  From now until Easter you can read through the Gospels several times, learning from Jesus.  How did he live?  With whom did he interact?  What were his commands?  Then “go” live like Jesus did.

Let’s be the church that God has called us to be!

Prayer

On Saturday morning at 9am Pastor Daniel leads a prayer meeting.  On Sunday morning at 8:30am Pastor Josh will lead a prayer meeting before the morning worship service.

Movie Night

Pastor Daniel and Gloria are having a movie night at the church where they are showing Courageous on March 7^th at 5PM

Easter Egg Hunt/Easter Breakfast

We are planning on having our annual Easter Egg Hunt at the church on Easter Sunday.  We will need candy donations again and this year we are going to make the plastic eggs available for you to take home and fill the eggs with candy.  This will cut down our time stuffing eggs.

The Stewards are planning on having an Easter Breakfast before the morning service.  We will have more details in the next few weeks.

Easter is one of our big four outreach events to invite people to attend the services who do not have a church home.  I encourage you to pray about who you may invite to join you on Easter Sunday this year.

Gaither Vocal Band

Central Community Church is having the Gaither Vocal Band in concert on Friday, April 10, 2015.  The Church is located at 6100 W. Maple we have more information on the information desk in the church entryway.

MNU Night at Worlds of Fun

MNU Night at Worlds of Fun is Friday, April 24th, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  This event will once again be one of the many fun-filled activities of our MAX event.  Join in the great times of fellowship and support for MidAmerica Nazarene University to make it a wonderful 41st year!  By attending this year’s MNU Night at Worlds of Fun, you will not only have fun, but will help present and future students attend MNU.

Visit www.mnu.edu/worldsoffun to order your ticket online.  Online tickets are printed instantly from your home or office, so be sure to have a printer handy. No refunds or credit will be issued for unused online tickets.  Online tickets are $26.50 (plus tax) prior to Wednesday, April 4, and $30.00 (plus tax) after April 4

Favorite Quotes of the Week

"The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of a person." - Richard Foster

"I claim the holy right to disappoint men in order to avoid disappointing God." – A.W. Tozer

"God is more eager to forgive us than we are to be forgiven." - James Bryan Smith

I’m looking forward to worshipping with you on Sunday,

Pastor Andy

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