July Oh Be Joyful news. PO Box Maroon Avenue Crested Butte, CO (970)

Transcription

1 July 2014 Oh Be Joyful news PO Box Maroon Avenue Crested Butte, CO (970)

2 of christ. for christ. in christ. /objchurch /objchurch

3 OBJ news From Our Pastor retreat One of Oh Be Joyful Church s six core values is RETREAT and there is a lot packed into that word. Retreat might not be the most common of core values in churches around the World, but it is important to us because God planted us in a place that people visit in order to get away from the pressures of the outside world and enjoy the beauty of His creation and the recreation that the surroundings of Crested Butte make possible. If Elk Ave on the fourth or our attendance at OBJ the last couple of weeks are any indication then there are a LOT of people in need of retreat! When we say retreat at OBJ we add a couple of components that are not often included in the typical definition of the word: spiritual and intentional. We believe that retreat is only complete when there is a spiritual component included, but that spiritual piece should be very intentional; even planned. We spend a lot of time planning our vacations and retreats, but we often neglect to set aside a space to interact with the Creator, the one who will minister most and most effectively to our souls in the midst of our time away. A great first step towards being intentional while on vacation is to plan to go to church and enjoy the fellowship, worship, and instruction that is best found with the local body of believers. And their our countless other ways to engage with God while on vacation. I d like to brainstorm a few for you right here: - get up early and listen or read through one of the books of the Bible. Maybe even listen to it more than once over the course of the time you are away. Pray that God will use His Word to deeply impact you. Do your VERY best to focus. If you are listening, perhaps reading it at the same time will help you stay connected. - connect with a friend you have made at OBJ over the years and get them to ask you some good and hard questions about your walk with Christ over coffee one morning in the cool air. Let the fact that you are away and with a friend you trust allow you to open up more than normal - engage in serving in the community here. There are a LOT of organizations and businesses that need help with various projects that your skill or labor could take care of. Serving while on vacation brings new meaning to your time away and gives you a chance to bless the neighborhood and let the name of Jesus be heard. - silence and solitude Plan a time in which you will get alone with God. No electronic devices, no distractions. Bring a journal and have several items you want to pray and think through with Him. Talk to him about each item and write down your thoughts as you progress. You get the picture. The idea is to actively engage with God rather than just hoping that it happens. Knowing Christ is transformational and Retreat with an intentional spiritual component is one of the best ways to spark your soul to grow more deeply in Christ. Take advantage of the privilege of vacation and plan it with Jesus in mind. servants Each summer for the past several years a team of leaders from CRU (formerly Campus Crusade) make their way to Crested Butte for adventure, discipleship, evangelism, and service. The summer of 2014 was no exception. What a blessing it was to be at various events around town that are volunteer heavy and see the CRU students and leaders serving. The team volunteered all over town and I look forward to visiting with my friends in the local government to hear how they were blessed by the Christ-like humility and service that they were provided. Standing up in OBJ on Sundays and looking out at so many people who are blessing our community is a great feeling! I am confident that as we strive to be ambassadors of humility and good will in our town that more and more lost people will want to know more about Jesus because they see Him shining through his followers. If you bump into a CRU staff member or student in the next few days please give them a big pat on the back. May we all be inspired by their commitment to bring hope and good to our town. -scott

4 OBJ news kids camp approaching VBS is taking on a bit of a different form this year. Rather than a traditional VBS, we will be having Kids Camp Monday, July 28 through Thursday, July 31 from 5-7 PM. Kids Entering Kindergarten through entering 5th are welcome to attend at no cost to campers. Light dinner will be provided and enrollment maxes out at 60 kids so get signed up early in the foyer or online! Come find out what s going on at CB Community Youth Contact Courtney Kirby, CB Community Youth Minister (865) courtneykirby@gmail.com CrestedButteYoungLife.com new offerings available at ohbejoyfulchurch.org If you haven t been to our website recently, check it out. There you will find weekly updates including links to download or stream our recent sermons, information about upcoming church activities, and resources to help you get more involved in the ministry of OBJ. women s bible study is back up and running After a brief break, Women s Thrusday morning bible study is back on! Adelaide Biggs will be teaching on Revelation and the 7 churches through July and starting in August Patsy Brown will be leading a study on the Psalms. If you d like to attend but need childcare, we can take care of that. Just give Abby Kunes a shout at Women s Bible Study takes place every Thursday at the church from 9-11 a.m. This Fourth of July parade saw OBJ youth in Elvis wigs riding townies while throwing out Twinkies. Now that s patriotic!

5 OBJ news scott brickert History Matters Meeting our brothers and sisters in Christ from times past None of us, if we stopped to think about it, believe that we are the first Christians on the planet, yet functionally, we sometimes think we are. At least I did, since I was ignorant of the people that had followed Christ before I did. I spent the past 8 months learning about church history and I am excited about who I met, and so this column in the OBJ newsletter seeks to get us better acquainted with the Christians God has loved, called and used to build His Church over a couple thousand years. John Wycliffe ( ) was an English scholar who graduated from Oxford and began serving King Edward III s cause of resisting Rome. His basis was the superior authority of Scripture. He developed the idea of responsible stewardship that demanded good service at all levels of both secular and ecclesiastical institutions. He condemned the corruption in the church and advocated poverty for clergy and church leadership. He took a strong stand against transubstantiation. He lead a group of Oxford scholars that translated the Bible into English and then sent it out with trained, yet poor, priests in teams of two, so the laity could read it for themselves. John Hus ( ) Following a generation behind John Wycliffe, this man read Wycliffe s writings and adopted his positions, which he taught from the pulpit of Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. He criticized the popes and contrasted them with Christ. He lost the shelter of the king, Wenceslaus, when he criticized the sale of indulgences. Summoned to defend himself at the Council of Constance, he was not given a chance to speak, but was tried by the Inquisition, from which there was no escape. He was burned at the stake in Hotspots Considering culture in the light of Christ If it were not for sin, humanity would be good and righteous. This is how the story begins in Genesis. Humans were good and righteous before God, relating well on a daily basis. This is also how the story ends in Revelation, with humanity living in goodness and righteousness in daily fellowship with God. Suppose that Genesis 3, the entrance of sin into the story, did not occur until much later, say, chapter 11? Wouldn t people have gone about the business of being human just like they did in the real story, except without sin? Planting fields, inventing metal tools, building cities, these are what humans do, and so much more. The sum total of human activity is what we call culture. Just as sin does not belong to the essential definition of humanity, it does not belong to the essential definition of culture. Human activities, from small to great, singular to plural, are not inherently sinful, by definition. Yet, you may be squirming in your seat, or at least have an irritating itch in the back of your mind. Maybe it is this: we are up to our eyeballs in sin. Whether individually or communally, we can t get away from it. Not that every single act or moment is sinful, but, like the smell of gasoline on our hands, or the dog that got skunked, we can t get rid of the odor. We live now, between the beginning of history and the end, when sin, rebellion and spiritual conflict define every chapter of the story. Or is that put too strongly? Should sin define the story now? It seems to me that, in Christ, the opposite is true. Freedom from sin defines the story. We are called to righteousness, goodness, love, peace and the whole lovely list of fruits of the Spirit. Sin is not the main theme of our story. Because of this, we are free to be human. We are free to create culture and interact with others in culture. However, we will find ourselves, in this freedom, conflicting at times with those outside of Christ, who are not free from sin; who, rather, love it and want more of it. Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, over in Lakewood, Colorado, is finding himself in conflict as we speak. He refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding and was sued. You can read Todd Barnes coverage of it here. (Please note, I am not endorsing Todd Barnes or Fox News, this is just an accessible source). While there are many aspects to the story that we could address, what I want to highlight are three of Mr. Phillips responses to the situation. First, he knows whom his authority or master is, namely Jesus Christ. Second, he knows he is in conflict with forces outside of and against Christ, and that he may need to resist. Third, he knows history. Consider this quote from Mr. Phillips: There s civil disobedience, Phillips told me. We ll see what happens. I m not giving up my faith. Too many people have died for this faith to give it up that easily. As Christians, we need to understand what civil disobedience is. One of the most accessible and understandable resources is Letter From Birmingham City Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. This letter clearly spells out the rationale behind what Dr. King was doing and why he was in jail. The tremendous gains our culture has made when it comes to racism were clearly begun by those who believed in Jesus and wanted to obey him in all areas of life. We also need to know history, like the story of John Hus, who died in the flames for believing in Christ and trusting in Scripture as authoritative and trustworthy. We are free in Christ to be human and create culture. What questions does this raise for you?

6 Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand. Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, Feed me til I want no more. - William Williams (1745) July prayer needs Upcoming Kid s Camp Those in our community and church body with health struggles For a continued spirit of unity within the OBJ body under Pastor Scott s leadership CB Community Youth Ministry Care & Share Foodbank Ministry The OBJ team of Elders Our Marriages and Families OBJ Sunday School Team OBJ Worship Team The community of Crested Butte and OBJ s role within it Our members & friends in missions throughout the world: Harol and Coni Knepper - Tanzania Shaw Family - Peru Iserman Family - France Ives Family - Argentina Bill and Patty Bokelman - Israel

7 OBJ news on-going church activities Sunday Schedule: 8 a.m. - Worship Team Practice 9 a.m. - Worship Service 9:30 a.m. - Children s Sunday School (midway through service) 10:30 a.m. - Post-Service Fellowship Ladies Bible Study: Thursday - 9 a.m. (OBJ Lounge - Childcare provided) celebrate recovery worship: Wednesday - 6 p.m. (OBJ Sanctuary) about the ministry of reconciliation Oh Be Joyful exists to bring glory to God through the ministry of reconciliation as outlined in Colossians 1:18 and 2 Corinthians 5: To be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, to sustain a vital relationship with Him, to be used of God to bring all people into this same relationship, to live in love and reconciliation with one another. As a church, we strive to be about the ministry of reconciliation through six areas: Ministry of Equipping Ministry of Harvest Ministry of Healing & Recovery Ministry of Retreat Ministry of Service Ministry of Worship To find out more about the mission of OBJ and the ministry of reconciliation, please visit ohbejoyfulchurch.org or facebook.com/objchurch additional ministries Crested Butte Community Youth Ministry - Courtney Kirby, Director courtneykirby@gmail.com (865) church staff Scott Winn - Pastor Jim Kunes - Elder/Associate Pastor Tyler Hansen - Elder/Worship and Arts Pastor Al Van Dyke - Elder/Trustee Mark Ewing - Elder/Trustee Oh Be Joyful Church was established in 1982 and is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention

8 Oh Be Joyful Church of christ. for christ. in christ. PO Box 175 (Mailing)/625 Maroon Avenue (Physical & Shipping) Crested Butte, CO (970) (Scott Winn) (Bulletin/Newsletter) ohbejoyfulchurch.org facebook.com/objchurch twitter.com/objchurch