This coming Sunday at Crossroads (July 18) Pastor Lisa Vanderleek will share a message from Luke 4:3-37. The message is entitled “The Onion Sermon”. As Jesus began his ministry, different people had different reactions to his message. Some rejected him right away. Others were amazed by his teaching, and still others recognized him as the Son of God. Just as an onion has layers, so too does our life of faith. We have layers of rejection, amazement and recognition as we discover the person and message of Jesus of Nazareth. How do you react to Jesus, or to His message?

This coming Saturday 10 youth and 3 adult leaders will be going to St. Catharines (otherwise known as Niagara Serve) for a weeklong youth service event. I am excited, and thankful to be a part of this team. This is my 15th SERVE experience, and I have seen God work in amazing ways in all the participants, those served, those leading the site, the youth and adult SERVE-ants. The social time, worship time, motivational speakers, faith-stretching experiences, service opporunities – all surrounded by fun, laughter, and God’s Spirit touching the deep places in our hearts.

Please pray for the team, and for all the others involved in Niagara SERVE. There will be aroiund 50 youth plus adult leaders. Pray also for the Host Team as they work out all the details. Pray for a life-changing experience. The youth going from Crossroads are: Esther Andringa, Zach Biel, Tabitha David, Brandon Hong, James Roberts, Danielle Roberts, Janelle Sennema, Zach Vanderwel, , Cody Walton, Scott Yoshikuni. The adult leaders are Sue Crossman, Norm Sennema and Ralph Vanderwel.

God’s Mission, what on earth God is doing!
Do you think of God as on a mission?
Do you see God as active in the world, or passive?
And if God is active, what is it that God is doing?
I believe that God is on a mission; I believe that God is active in the world for a specific purpose.
I believe that the God that created this world is now at work restoring this world, remaking it into the paradise that it was first created to be!
The bible is not first of all a rule book, or an encyclopaedia of information; the bible is first and foremost the record or story of God’s plan of recreation, or rescuing this world from the mess that we made it.
The bible begins with a perfect creation; and it ends with a perfect (or new) creation.
But in-between it is a twisted story of good and evil intertwined, and ultimately a story of how God overcomes the evil with good.
This is what God is up to in the world; this is what God is doing everywhere, all the time.
And this is what God is doing in Falby Court!

What is a community of grace?
A place where all people are welcomed and blessed, no matter who they are, what they are like, what they have done or not done, or how they stand in relationship to God.
Jesus models this with His disciples, a motley crew of followers from a variety of backgrounds – spiritual, social, moral, personality type.
To be part of a community of grace is wonderful, but to be a community of grace is difficult.
Grace is undeserved blessing, which sounds so nice when applied to us, but is so much harder when applied to people that annoy us, or offend us, or mistreat us, or take advantage of us.
Does being a community of grace mean that we are nice, respectful, patient with everyone?
What about speaking the truth in love, providing accountability, gentle rebuke?
When is it time to say something about someone’s unhealthy or harmful behaviours?
What does being a grace community look like in this specific instances:

• Someone who is loud, obnoxious, full of themselves, and talks your ear off?
• Someone who does not show up to fulfill a church role, without letting you know?
• Someone who makes foolish choices, and asks for help with the consequences?
• Someone who never helps with anything, but is always ready to complain when things go wrong?
• Someone who is always right, and very opinionated?
• Someone who always changes the conversation to be about themselves?
• Someone who lives a lifestyle that is morally disturbing to you?
• Someone who smells, has obvious personal hygiene issues?
• Someone who is always down, and brings you down when they talk to you?
• Can you think of other examples?

Have you experienced a community of grace?
How would your describe a community of grace?

Too often we think of church as a place where we go.
The connection between ‘church’ and a building is rooted in the very word itself, which comes from the Old English word “circe”, which is derived from the Greek word “kyriakon” meaning “the Lord’s (house)” from the Greek root word “kyrious” mean “Lord”.
Constrast that with the Greek word used in the bible: “ekklesia”. This word literally means “the called out ones”, referring to meeting or religious assembly.
In the “circe” sense, we do not have a “church”, i.e. a house for the Lord; but in the “ecclesia” sense we have many “churches”, i.e. religious gatherings. Continue reading churching where we are

Yesterday I watched video clips that depicted the cruel torture and death of Jesus on the cross, something that I have done many times around this time of year.
For my own spiritual journey, watching these graphic scenes has helped me to experience the depth and horror of what Jesus endured, as well as to identify with the billions+ of victims of horrific abuse throughout the centuries.
Yesterday again, I was disturbed… but in a different way. Continue reading disturbing video clips

This morning I talked about 2 Samuel 7, and the theme that I attempted to unfold was: WHEN GOD SAYS NO, HE HAS SOMETHING BIGGER, BETTER IN MIND.
Anyway, I just so happened to check out a Rob Bell dvd called ‘Kickball’, and I think he says it better.
So if you missed the message this morning, or want to hear it from a different perspective, watch this.

For those interested in knowing where I am, you can check the link here.
Though I am not really a church planter, these nice church planting people let me into their club for the week. Of course, you have to be a certain kind of person to be a real church planter; I could probably not survive the boot camp.
But this is where my desire to do church in a completely different kind of way can be stoked.

I wanted to let you know about Durham Youth House, the only shelter for homeless youth In Durham Region. This shelter is located downtown Ajax (82 Kings Crescent, Ajax) and is meeting a great need in our area. If you go to the web page, you will find more information, but also ways that you can get involved. I have been in dialogue with the staff there, and the Lord willing, we will be able to partner together in this work.

www.durhamyouth.com

Hey everyone, thanks for checking in.
The last two days have been very busy, lots of walking, exploring and fun-having.
Sorry about not posting pictures these last few days, you will have to come on Sunday to see and hear more.
Today was a great day at the Six Flags America park.
We hope to leave at 7am tomorrow morning.
So off to bed I go, a good night sleep before the long and winding road.
Please pray – thanks for a great week, ongoing impact in the lives of all of us, especially the youth, and for safe travels home.