...all things new

Dads, wear the pants!

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:12:00 +0000

In this message, Mark Bowen (from Evergreen Community Church in Lakeville, MN) gives a compelling view of fatherhood from the life of John the Baptist. Specifically, Mark explains how these six characteristics of John's life are necessary to "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers."

1. John was poor in spirit. (Matthew 3:11 and 5:3) - His admission of moral bankruptcy was the foundation of his moral authority.

2. John obeyed by faith. (John 1:29-34) - This simply means that he obeyed God with incomplete information.

3. John had doubts and asked questions. (Matthew 11:33) - John found himself in prison because, in his trust of God, he was willing to be unpopular and when Jesus didn't follow his script, John took his resulting doubts directly to Christ.

4. John denied himself. (Matthew 3:1-2) - Interested in one the main ingredients in itching powder? Mark reveals it here.

5. John led courageously. (Mark 6:17-29) - He was willing to make the unpopular decisions and to be demonized because he was poor in spirit.

6. John fulfilled his limited role in the saving of civilization.

Mark's message woke me from a daze of confusion in my own fatherhood. It left me with a powerful new vocabulary and fresh vision for the big leagues of being a dad to which all other minor league experiences are only preparation. Watch it, I dare you. If it isn't one you hand out to all the dads you know, I'll give you your money back.

Mark Bowen - Main Session - 2011 GCC Pastors Conference from Great Commission Churches on Vimeo.

The Church in Culture: a helpful interview

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:28:00 +0000

Chandler, Horton, and Keller on the Church in Culture from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Hell - We are talking about real people here... (video) Francis Chan

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:54:00 +0000

HT: Z

G.O.S.P.E.L.

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:04:00 +0000

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

(HT: My bro-in-law)

Your morality is your leader

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:14:00 +0000

We all have a morality. We all navigate by that morality. Choose wisely. Our morality can lead us in circles.

HT: Mockingbird

The Japanese Tsunami - A Summary of Video, News Articles, Opinion, Biblical Responses and Charitable Opportunities

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 03:27:00 +0000

It all happened while we watched and gasped. Never before has the world been exposed to such vivid and comprehensive footage of a disaster of this magnitude. The Japanese Tsunami is unique among all natural catastrophes in its power and exposure to the world. The images have been riveting but it is critical for us to remember they are indeed real. Real people were consumed. Real people were scrambling from those horrifying waters. Mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons spent their last moments in abject terror and were washed away in an instant. And because we watched it happen on computer and TV screens, it seems distant and unreal. And the pain and suffering will continue. Radiation leaks, homelessness, disease, mourning, rebuilding and the fear of recurrence - these will be the new normal in these coastal towns.

It is right for events like these to completely rock our sensibilities. It is right to mourn, normal to question, and good for us to respond in tangible ways. The following articles and links are provided for us to enter in to this tragedy in a way that is honest, human, charitable and hopeful.

In the end, comprehensive answers may elude us. But we can draw comfort from the God who holds our tears in a bottle (Ps. 56:8) and who was willfully crushed under the full weight of the world's sin and agony to deliver all of those who would trust Him into a place where tsunamis happen no more.

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:1–6)

From The Boston Globe's The Big Picture

News Stories - What happened?
Powerful quake, tsunami kills hundreds in Japan - An AP article summarizing the events
Updates and Video of Japanese Earthquake’s Aftermath The latest news updates from the New York Times
Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth's axis From CNN
Stone In The Pond: Charting The Path Of The Tsunami - animation of the NOAA model
The Japanese Tsunami - The Big Picture
Japan Floods Nuclear Reactor Crippled by Quake in Effort to Avert Meltdown - from the New York Times
Nuclear Experts Explain Worst-Case Scenario at Fukushima Power Plant This is provides a solid explanation of the possible meltdown (HT: my buddy Doug Dale)
In Minamisanriku, Heartbreak as 9,500 Remain Missing - Time Magazine. This is a town of 17,000.

Human Reaction and Biblical Answers - What are we to think?
Sympathy for Japan, and Admiration by Nicholas Kristof
A Prayer for Japan by John Piper. Here is a moving excerpt from that prayer:

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.

From The Boston Globe's The Big Picture

NPR Interview w/ Piper regarding the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean This is a remarkably helpful piece and one I have gone to time and again when faced with the inevitable questions that accompany profound suffering.

Charities - How can we respond?
Crash Japan A dear friend of mine in Hamamatsu City and Makoto Fujimara both mentioned this organization as a great place for disaster relief donations.
UPDATE 3/17/11

Thursday, 17 March 2011
JAPAN DISASTER APPEAL

In the days following WWII General Douglas MacArthur appealed for 1000's of missionaries to come to help rebuild the devastated nation. Unfortunately only a fraction of that responded to the call. Today we are appealing once again for Christians to come help Japan rebuild. These are some of the things that CRASHJAPAN, a national network of churches, missions and ministries is prepared to facilitate in Northern Japan in response to the disaster.

1.2 Water Supplies
2.2 Bulk Food/Meals
3.1 Provide Shelter for Victims/Evacuees
3.2 Provide Shelter for Relief Workers/Volunteers
4.1 Medical Equipment and Supplies
4.2 Basic Medical Care or First Aid
4.3 Non-Prescription Medicines
5.1 Provide Clothing, Bedding, Blankets
6.2 Personal Hygiene Items
7.1 Trauma Counseling
7.2 Spiritual Support
8.1 Debris Removal and Cleanup
8.2 Construction and Repair
9.1 Transport / Shipping of Goods and Supplies
9.2 Point of Distribution / Final Delivery
9.3 Provide Storage Space, Warehouse Facility
9.4 Transportation of People
10.1 Web Development, Web Support
12.2 Fund Raising
12.3 Financial Management
12.4 Volunteer Management
12.5 Manage/Mobilize Volunteer Networks
13.5 Language Interpreters

If you are able to help in any of these areas - please contact us at 213-457-3154 in the US at 050-5534-5729
If you are able to donate funds please contact pnethercott@crashjapan.com
If you are able to send a volunteer team please contact bthompson@crashjapan.com
If you are able to send relief supplies please contact yhari@crashjapan.com

Churches Helping Churches - these folks have done an excellent job leveraging relationships between churches to mobilize relief efforts in Haiti and now they taking what they have learned to Japan.

World Vision - World Vision is assessing the role they might have in aiding victims and is planning to create child-friendly space for children to play as a first step.

American Red Cross From the website of the American Red Cross:

Since early Friday morning, we have been in close contact with our colleagues in the Pacific region to offer our support and learn more about the humanitarian needs. The Japanese Red Cross has indicated that it would accept financial support from the American Red Cross for its role providing first aid, emotional support and relief items to those displaced.

On Sunday, the American Red Cross will deploy a disaster management expert from its Washington, DC headquarters to Japan for a week-long mission. She will serve on a seven-person, international team focused on providing high-level support and advice to the Japanese Red Cross, which continues to lead the local earthquake and tsunami response.

You can donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting "redcross" to 90999 as well.

God have mercy.

How should we respond to the tragedy in Japan? from Summitview Community Church on Vimeo.

Prayer is good for us... and the world - Part 3

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:46:00 +0000

This is the third and final post in a series offered to reinforce the first emphasis in Summitview's 2011 Vision, namely, to grow in prayer as a church.

4) Pray for your neighborhood.
Aaron Ritter (my co-pastor) shared this great idea with me recently. He had a burden to know each of his neighbors by name and to pray for them consistently. So he printed out a map of the neighborhood and set out to meet them and put a name next to each address. Now he and his family have a map that they pray through once a week.

Our family isn’t nearly as organized as Mr. Ritter’s, but praying for our neighbors has definitely opened our eyes and softened our hearts to the folks we see every day. Our family is now strategizing about how to serve our neighbors and open up conversations about the Gospel.

There is something immediate and everyday that happens when we pray for the people across the street that doesn’t happen when we pray for lofty and faraway things (which we should pray for as well). We are more likely to unite our sweat with these prayers and see them answered. But this is critical: you will soon find it is not enough to know their names and pray for them – you must know them and that takes time. Busy families might legitimately ask; “When would we have time?” And the answer is, hopefully, sometime in this life (2 Cor. 5:16-21). Start with praying for them. Drop off some cookies. Have them over for dinner. Serve them. Your Spirit-soaked, broken heart will find the time.

5) Pray continually (1 Thes. 5:17).

“I will pray for you.”

Chances are you’ve said it and if you have said it, chances are you didn’t do it. It’s an occupational hazard for the pastor. It began to wear on my conscience and move me to ask some simple questions. Why do I need some formal, set-aside “prayer time” to present these requests to God? Do I believe in some formula that will enable God to get better reception of my prayer signal? As silly as it sounds when I spit it out, I think I do.

Unceasing prayer requires us to pray as life comes. A prayer queue often ends up being a prayer graveyard. We can pray when the need arises. Simply, honestly, right then and there, present your requests to God. He is looking for our dependence not our assistance in His hearing.

There is a positive spiritual momentum that develops with this habit. Our sensitivity to each moment and our desire for God’s interests in every situation begin to increase. It affects our hearts. This is important because the other reason I’m not faithful to pray for situations as they arise is my lack of boldness and concern to simply ask, “Can we pray right now?”

6) Pray with each other.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (Matthew 18:19–20)

I learned to pray at 5:45am on a hogsback overlooking Fort Collins in 1996. The crazies I had just jumped in with thought it would be a good idea to pray at this spot every day at 5:45am for 40 days (they read it in a book or something). Looking back, those crazies laid the foundation for my understanding of prayer.

Collective prayer exposes you to the impulses of God’s spirit in a variety of people. Hearing their passion and burdens awakens the heart in a way that private prayer just can’t. I recall a time when a dear friend and I were praying while hiking on the last day of a weekend backpacking trip. He was crying. His cracking voice was begging God to save his friend. It was simple, heartfelt and deeply convicting. Laziness or hesitation on that day would have stolen that life-changing moment.

There are obstacles. It’s always awkward to begin and our self-consciousness can be distracting. That never changes and it doesn’t mean that something is wrong. It simply means you are moving in a direction that is unnatural. Push through and you will find a “liveliness” and focus in praying together that may explain Jesus’ promise in Matthew 18:19-20.

A few thoughts that help keep my “many words” in check (Matthew 6:5-7):

I need to pay attention to my words. Is this how I normally communicate? Do I say things to buy time to think or to fill the void? Would I speak this way to a friend? It may mean my focus is more on impressing God or others than on honest communication.
Keep my prayers short. Long prayers may cause others to drift and lose focus.
“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.” – John Bunyan
If I don’t have anything to pray, wait. I shouldn’t expect more from rushed prayer than from a rushed conversation with a friend. Prayer is not something to “get through” or “check off.” In fact, these approaches may relegate my prayers to nothing more than religion.

The Gospel begins with our utter dependence on God and, actually, it ends with our utter dependence on God. This means that the life of someone who believes this good news should be shot through with simple, dependent prayer. May it be so.

The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise. - Richard Sibbes

Additional Resources
Praying is good for us.... and for the world – Part 1
Praying is good for us.... and for the world – Part 2
Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
The Weapon of Prayer E.M. Bounds

Prayer is good for us... and the world - Part 2

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:52:00 +0000

This is the second post in a series offered to reinforce the first emphasis in Summitview's 2011 Vision, namely, to grow in prayer as a church.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20–21)

Fundamentally, it's our pride that makes (biblical) prayer difficult. Prayer that builds our self-righteousness, seems to come easy and with many words (Luke 18:11-12). But dependent prayer, serious crying out to God, is opposed by an inertia called pride. So prayerlessness or poorly motivated and religious prayer can only change through genuine humility and repentance. Listen to Jesus' brother James:

You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4] You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? [6] But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:2-10)

Humility is the first order of business to mature in any area of life. Without humility, practical instruction actually becomes a road to self-exaltation (which is never mature). But humility is the safeguard that allows practical tips to be genuinely useful.

I guess I know my own tendencies and so I will speak for myself. I need to be careful with any list of practical suggestions. My heart is quick to grab them, implement them to the degree that (I determine) entitles me to expect some results or feel good about my effort. Practical tips to grow in prayer (which is fundamentally an expression of dependence on God!) can easily be twisted into an exercise in pride. So, while I believe these things can be helpful, I also believe we should proceed with caution and... humility.

(continuing the list from the last post)

3) Pray with your family.
Praying with your spouse
The idea is pretty simple. You can pray with your fig leaves on in every other context but not with your spouse. It may be one reason praying with your spouse is so difficult – it’s more honest. But that honesty can lead to more frank expression of your real needs to God. The resulting peace will beckon you back to honest prayer in times of anxiety.

Praying with your kids
As a pastor, I pray with a lot of people and, yet, nothing has done more for my soul than consistently praying with my kids. If you are a parent (especially a dad), commit to regular prayer with them and persevere. It will be awkward. They will get distracted. You will be tempted to think it is a waste and you will always try rush through it. Don’t give up. Gritty stick-to-it-ness, not eloquence or ease, wins the day.

Here’s how it reinforces your own prayer: there are little ears listening and you know it. There are certain things that I pray in front of my peers that don’t make sense in front of my kids. (Chances are those things don’t make sense in front of God either.) This forces me to communicate the simple essence of my plea and strips me of my pagan desire to be heard because of my many words (Matthew 6:7).

Praying with my kids has required me to seriously consider what I should expect in prayer as well. Kids will fearlessly bring every request to God. That’s good and bad. The freedom is good and the idolatry isn’t. There are times my childrens' vulnerability before God moves me to tears and, yet, I am terrified at how quickly God can be relegated to Santa Claus. In that crazy mix, I am motivated to pray biblically (or, say it another way, "according to God's will." - 1 John 5:14)

To that end, our family has been trying to keep four categories in mind as we pray. They have helped us build a "prayer vocabulary" that is more well-rounded and biblical than "God, I pray you would give me a pony." I remember them via the acronym A-C-T-S and my kids (especially when they were pre-reading age) remember them via pictures (you can grab a copy of our prayer guide here). Every time we pray, I'm reminded to lead my kids to pray through these categories:

Adoration (telling Jesus what you love about Him)
Confession (telling Jesus the truth about your sin)
Thanksgiving (thanking Jesus for all He has done for you)
Supplication (asking Jesus for help) with a focus on:

Personal character and love for Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19, Colossians 1:9-12).

Needs in the church.

Neighbors (more on this in the next post).

Sponsored children and missionaries.

People groups around the world. We have also used a world map and Operation World to pray through a variety of different people groups. This builds a heart for the world and brings perspective to the abundance our children enjoy.

When they begin to read, laminate the guide and you can begin to write things in each category to order your prayers for the evening (which you need to do with kids).

Parents, do you kids hear you pray? Do they hear you proclaiming God’s greatness back to Him? Do they hear your gratitude for the Cross? Your burden for the world? For their souls? For the souls of your neighbors? For the advance of the Gospel? For the good of the church? They should hear a burden for God’s interests in your prayer. They should see that you really believe that “the horse is made ready for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). This may impact their relationship with God more than anything else you do. It may just revolutionize your life as well.

Prayer is good for us... and the world - Part 1

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:54:00 +0000

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. (James 5:13) Any other response to our troubles is functional atheism. Because the Gospel begins with our utter dependence on God, a church that isn’t praying earnestly is really guilty of hypocrisy. A self-reliant church will, at best, glorify itself and, at worst, it will burn out.

Recognizing our constant drift toward self-reliance, the first emphasis in Summitview’s 2011 Vision is a greater dependence on God as evidenced in our prayer. Specifically, we want to grow in understanding prayer biblically and in praying together. But this emphasis on prayer is not about self-righteous, religious performance. Instead, it flows from our firm belief that God has a mission for the church that is purposely outside of her ability. By design, our cries for God's support are answered in ways that bring us joy (John 16:24) and reveal His greatness to the world (John 14:13 and 15:16). This is the purpose of our redemption:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added)

Our prayer then, in content and in God’s answer, is for our good and the good of the world.

Beyond Intent
Now nearly everyone agrees that prayer is good and, most believe, it should be a greater part of their lives. It’s what sets prayer apart from the other disciplines: inherently we know we need it and, inherently, our self-sufficiency makes it extremely difficult. To go beyond intent to intentional practice requires overcoming the great inertia of our pride.

The posts over the next couple of days are offered, not as a sure-fired prescription for that effort but, as possible means of grace in what Jude calls “building yourselves up in the most holy faith.”

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20–21)

1) Pray “according to God’s will.”
Being a good Father, God listens to all of our prayers and, being a good Father, He doesn’t answer every one (Luke 11:13). Developing a biblical understanding of what is actually according to God’s will (1 John 5:14) is a great aid in prayer. Many people have fatigued in their requests because they asked for things that God has never promised.

Here is a pretty thorough collection of New Testament passages on prayer.
A.W. Pink’s book “The Ability of God” is a fantastic resource on the prayers of Paul as well.
This message from Faithwalkers 2010 includes a section that addresses “praying for what we already have” in His promises.

2) Pray through a list.
There is a certain sense of futility in a big, unorganized mess. Our minds can be so cluttered with possible prayers that it can be overwhelming to even begin.

Start with a list. In the battle for our attention, the best weapons are often a pen and paper. Write down what comes to mind. You will see categories emerge within the list (family, work, neighbors, the city, the church, etc). Group your prayers in these categories and assign certain things from each category to each day of the week. This will give you a “well-rounded” list of things to pray every day. I have found that this kind of list allows me to stay on track and the categories themselves will remind me of time-specific things that I can pray for each day.

You can then take these daily lists and throw them on index cards or create a reoccurring appointment for each day in your electronic calendar (Google Cal, iCal, Outlook, etc) including your list in the “Notes” section of the appointment.

I generally work to refresh this list 3-4 times a year. This keeps me engaged and able to adjust to new needs and responsibilities.

(more to come in the next post)

Our heads need a hammer so our lives will be a nail

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:45:00 +0000

Feb 13, 2011: How Much More from Summitview Community Church on Vimeo.

God is familiar with the density of the human head and, at times, He remedies the situation with a rhetorical hammer. One such hammer is the "How Much More?" device used throughout the bible. The argument goes like this..."if we see this good result from these limited conditions, how much more should we expect a great result under better conditions."

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

"But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" (Luke 12:28)

In Genesis 14, we begin to see Abram's distinctive life emerge from the soil of God's promises. His reckless love for Lot, his willing proclamation of God's ownership and his rejection of greedy and self-sufficient ways stand out like a redwood in Times Square. But, here is the kicker, he had less than we do. He heard mysterious promises and we've see their fulfillment. Abram knew God was up to something big and we know it was the redemption of His people through the slaughter of His Son. Abram witnessed God's faithfulness in his circumstances and we have seen it demonstrated on the Cross.

And, so, here comes the hammer... if Abram was motivated to such great love, worship and rejection of sin by these mysterious promises (Genesis 12:1-3), how much more should we be, knowing their fulfillment in Christ?

Thankfully this hammer, like all hammers, has a purpose greater than noise (or guilt). It's purpose is to drive a nail and that nail, it seems, is a life driven deep into the world proclaiming that, by God's grace, "things can be different."

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14)

Additional Resources
Message Notes
Discussion Questions

The soul that feels "it's no use" needs Good News.

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:52:00 +0000

Sin is a least five things.

First, it is common among every living person (Romans 5:12).

Second, we cannot be naive or overly "spiritual", it is attractive. I wouldn't exist if it wasn't. We do what we want to do and when we sin there is a part of us that wants it. Sin's promise of satisfaction is real and it delivers temporarily with horrible repercussions to our consciences, our faith and our loved ones.

Third, it is self-fueling. The tiny drop of pleasure provided by sin leaves us craving for more. Without an alternative, our thirsty souls will return for more. We trifle with this self-fueling to our own peril. Tolkien's Gollum aptly pictures the progressive implosion of our souls. Eventually, our attention will be adhered to the object of our sinful (read God-less) desire.

Fourth, it is, then, horrible. It strips a person of their dignity and it leads them to despise God and use others - the very opposite of the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40). Sin destroys. Idolatry destroys. Unbelief destroys. There is no avoiding the destruction of God's image when we sin. It is anti-God and His purposes. We tend to see only the vilest and fullest expressions of sin as horrible but that is a deceptive device of the devil. Every rape began with a rogue sinful idea. Every murder's root is an undercover bitterness.

Fifth, it is NOT the Christian's master. In Christ, we have been delivered from bondage to sin (Romans 6:6) to walk in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4). But, just as soon as the celebration of our freedom begins, we find that a battle still rages in our soul (Romans 7:14-20). Is this freedom real? How do we experience it? Peter gives us a glimpse in 2 Peter 1:3-4:

[3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Here Peter tells us that an intimate knowledge of the one who saved us and what he has promised us in salvation is God's means of deliverance.

This session of "How The Gospel Changes People" (Summitview's Leadership Training) entitled "How the Gospel Addresses Sin" unpacks this idea to provide hope for those who are tempted to feel that sin has won and there is no longer any use in trying to resist it (Jer. 2:23-25).

Additional Resources
Teaching Notes
"Kill or Be Killed" - a series of supplementary messages to "The Mortification of Sin" by John Owen
Leadership Training Resources from Summitview

"the whole cause of our trouble"

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:05:00 +0000

We see now that the whole cause of our trouble is that people do not base their lives upon God. They have set themselves up as gods, and the gods are fighting one another, and life has become chaos.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones in "The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith"

Am I even qualified?

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:39:00 +0000

NOTE: Parents you could remove “leader” and “lead” with “parent” and this post would be instantly applicable.

Good leaders ask themselves this question. They ask because, 1) as good leaders often do, they have ventured beyond their natural abilities and, 2) as good leaders, the have humbly listened to the critiques of those they lead.

But there is a danger in this question. While it hangs over our head, we can go passive and wait for some confirmation before giving our whole heart. As a leader, I often find myself hungering for that atta-boy, that unanimous letter of recommendation that will give me permission to courageously take the point. But that isn’t leadership, at least as the Bible defines it.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:1–3)

Notice how this issue looms over Paul and how he addresses it.

“You yourselves are our letter of recommendation.”

But isn’t that the problem? Doesn’t that just reinforce the idea that our qualifications depend on what people think of us? Not if we look carefully at what Paul is saying.

The Corinthians are Paul’s letter of recommendation but not in a resume-"facebook-friends"-"twitter-followers"-"linked-in-connections" sort of way. The passage doesn’t say that Paul is written on their hearts, it says that the Corinthians are written on HIS.

Paul’s qualification as a voice of leadership to the Corinthians was that HE LOVED THEM not that they loved him. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that they didn’t love him (which is why they might be tempted to think he was trying to commend himself).

So, when you face insecurity over your qualifications, remember they begin with the answer to a simple question: Do you love the people you lead? Paul's love for the Corinthians was so intense that it became a source of confidence in his own leadership. When criticism rises don’t first defend your actions. Examine your heart. If you those you lead aren't "written" on your heart, start there because your lack of love may be the disqualification you fear.

Additional Resources
The Pastor and Personal Criticism - C.J. Mahaney (this is the first post in a series by C.J. which is applicable to more than pastors)

Is there a central message to the Bible?

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:18:00 +0000

The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Tennyson "Theirs but to do and die"

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Real sacrifice is foreign to my own world. Part of me longs for the nobility to storm the beaches at Normandy and yet, I know, I come from a different and more entitled age. Oh for a few of us to change...to usher in good through our sacrifice. Oh to resurrect the Light Brigade!

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854

Written 1854

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack; Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Are their 600 left today who would make this Charge of the Light Brigade?

Is this perpetual sadness a problem or is it just being realistic?

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:39:00 +0000

Dr. David Powlison - Help! I'm Always Sad from CCEF on Vimeo.

The Johnny Cash Project

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:21:00 +0000

You are all invited. Regardless of your ability or stature, you are all invited. It is a fundamental component of the Gospel and now, those who steward Johnny Cash's legacy have brought this Gospel idea to create his last music video: "Ain't No Grave." At thejohnnycashproject.com everyone is invited to bring their creative expression to a frame of this video. The concept is brilliant and the result is a rich expression of the effect of a life that put Christ on display- not in its perfection but in its redemption.

2 Corinthians 4:7:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

It is hard to imagine anyone but Cash having the ability to draw thousands of people together to consider his hope in Christ and to, together, create to express it. Thank God that he still does and thank God there ain't no grave.

A few days conflict will be crowned

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:06:00 +0000

The believer is to persevere in his Christian course to the end of his life. We have known many who have gone into the field, and liked the work of a soldier for a battle or two, but soon have had enough, and come running home. There are so many professors and so few Christians indeed; so many that run and so few obtain; many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out conquerors. Few have the courage and resolution to grapple with the difficulties that meet them in the way. Israel came joyfully out of Egypt, but when their bellies were a little pinched with hunger, they were ready to fly from their colours, and make a dishonourable retreat into Egypt. Many who profess the gospel fail to endure when trouble comes, and alas! their hearts fail them. O how many depart from Christ at this crossroads! Do not say you have royal blood running in your veins, and you are born of God, except you can prove your pedigree by this heroic spirit; to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. How uncomely a sight it is to see a bold sinner and a fearful saint; one resolved to be wicked, and a Christian wavering in his holy course; to see hell keep the field while the saints hide their colours for shame. Take heart, O ye saints, and be strong; your cause is good. God himself adopts your quarrel. He shall lead you on with courage, and bring you off with honour. He lived and died for you. For mercy and tenderness to his soldiers, there is none like him. Christ poured out his blood as balm to heal your wounds. He never turned his head from danger: no, not even when hell's malice and heaven's justice appeared in the field against him. A few days' conflict will be crowned with heaven's glory. In a word, Christians, every exploit of faith causes a shout in heaven while you slip out of your enemies' hands.

William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour; 1:15-17

Taken from Voices From The Past

How do we "take heart and be strong?" Consider him who endured (Hebrews 12:1-2) and pray for the Holy Spirit to help you want what you have in Christ. For more on that, check out "The Disciple and His Devotion" from Faithwalkers 2011.

Children Should Celebrate Christmas...

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:00:00 +0000

He Gave the Right to Become Children of God 12-19-2010 from Summitview Community Church on Vimeo.

Week 4 of our series from John 1 - "From His Fullness We Have Received" entitled "He Gave The Right To Become Children of God"

"He's Here" (video) from the Jesus Storybook Bible

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Video: An inspiring recitation of Hebrews 9 and 10

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Ryan Ferguson brings it from memory:

Prayer: It is either effective or a work for idiots (Spurgeon)

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

We find a powerful reason for expecting prayer to be effective in the fact that it is an institution of God. In God's Word we are over and over again commanded to pray. God's institutions are not folly. Can I believe that the infinitely wise God has ordained for me an exercise that is ineffective and is no more than child's play? Does He tell me to pray, and yet does prayer have no more of a result than if I whistled to the wind or sang to a grove of trees? If there is no answer to prayer, prayer is a monstrous absurdity, and God is the author of it, which it is a blasphemy to assert. Only a fool will continue to pray when you have once proved to him that prayer has no effect with God and never receives an answer. If it is indeed true that its effects end with the man who prays, prayer is a work for idiots and madmen, not for sane people! - C.H. Spurgeon, "The Power in Prayer"

Unpacking Hebrews: John Owen on Melchizedek as a type of Christ

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:45:00 +0000

From Owen's commentary on Hebrews 7:1-3:

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only king of righteousness and peace for the church (see Isaiah 9:6; 32:1-2). Christ is not only a righteous and peaceable king, as were his types, Melchizedek and Solomon, but he is the author and dispenser of righteousness and peace to the church. "'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Christ is righteous and reigns righteously; but this not all, he is "the LORD Our Righteousness."

"From His fullness we have received" - Part 1

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:09:00 +0000

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:16)

Much more than the Giver, Jesus is the Gift of Christmas. Part 1 of Summitview's series "From His fullness we have received" examines how.

"All things were made through Him"- from Sunday, November 28th.

Hebrews for Advent: 2010

mmajeski@summitview.com (Mitch Majeski) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:03:00 +0000

I love the book of Hebrews. With every passing year, I sense a growing need for the truth it contains. In an effort to strengthen faltering believers, the author of Hebrews thoroughly examines the person and work of Jesus Christ. To give them strength, he gives them Christ.

For several years now, Hebrews has been my anchor throughout Advent. It is the perfect companion to celebrate the Incarnation and it strengthens me for the year to come. But the endeavor is more profitable with the collective input of a community.

So if you
-are weary and need a boost of strength (Neh. 8:10),
-need something to stimulate your study,
or
-would like to add 5-10 minutes to your current reading plan,
here is the plan that will start on December 9th and go through December 26th:

December 9th - Hebrews 1:1-14
December 10th - Hebrews 2:1-3:4
December 11th - Hebrews 3:5-4:2
December 12th - Hebrews 4:3-13
December 13th - Hebrews 4:14-5:6
December 14th - Hebrews 5:7-6:12
December 15th - Hebrews 6:13-7:3
December 16th - Hebrews 7:4-17
December 17th - Hebrews 7:18-8:7
December 18th - Hebrews 8:8-9:10
December 19th - Hebrews 9:11-28
December 20th - Hebrews 10:1-18
December 21st - Hebrews 10:19-11:3
December 22nd - Hebrews 11:4-31
December 23rd - Hebrews 11:32-12:3
December 24th - Hebrews 12:4-17
December 25th - Hebrews 12:18-29
December 26th - Hebrews 13:1-25

in .pdf

For Google Calendar and iCal users, here is an .ics file to import the schedule into your calendar. Join in on the conversation (with devotional questions each morning at 5:30am Mountain Time) and follow me and #HebrewsForAdvent on Twitter.

Additional Resources
Advent Devotionals from Christ the King Presbyterian (Raleigh, NC) (excellent resources for individuals and families)
The Advent Conspiracy