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CrestviewKids: Parent’s Night

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At CrestviewKids tonight, we are having a Parent’s Night at 6PM.  This means a meal followed by singing the songs we’ve taught the children, the memory verse and summarizing the lessons under one big heading with a craft that supports it.  I love Parent’s Nights.

This night, in particular, we are looking at two months: November and December.  The November verse was 2 Corinthians 9:7 on giving and the December verse was 2 Corinthians 13:14, a clear verse on the Trinitarian flavor of the Bible.

The five lessons we will summarize are:
The Triumphal Entry – Jesus entered as a king; people plotted to kill Him.
The Widow’s Offering – Man looks outward; Jesus knows our hearts.
Jesus Washes The Disciples’ Feet – Jesus came to serve and calls us to do the same.
The Last Supper – Jesus is our Passover Lamb to be slain.
Jesus Promises to Send The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit reveals to us who Jesus is.

There’s a lot that can be said about all of these lessons, but if we take their message together what rings true is that Jesus came on a mission to serve by giving His life.

His Triumphal Entry positioned Him to be in Jerusalem and even though He was hailed as a king, people were plotting His death.  His dealing with the Widow’s Offering assures us that He’s God and He knows our true selves, pointing us to our need of atonement.  His washing the disciples’ feet shows His life was meant to serve.  The Last Supper clearly connects Jesus’ work to dying.  And in promising to send the Holy Spirit, we’re shown that God wants us to understand why Jesus came to earth.

I hope you will look to Jesus this holiday season and find Him to be the One worthy of your belief and worship.

Leadership Email: Hold The Rope

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Here’s the email I wrote to leaders in Reno County Monday, December 17:

Happy Holidays Everyone.  This will be my last post of the year in light of the next couple of weeks (plus, my wife is due to deliver our 4th child Dec 31).  I hope you’ll indulge me a story from the church world that may very well relate to our lives as leaders.  One of the earliest missionaries to leave England in what we know as the modern missionary movement went to, at that time, the unknown world of India.  And, when he was leaving, he told his supporters: “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.”  He understood the importance of uniting people around purpose.  I don’t know of a better way to end this year and begin looking to another one than to urge you to consider how you will hold the rope.  How will you hold to purpose more effectively in the coming year? 
Recently, I received a card from the Kansas Leadership Center on Holding to Purpose.  This resource was designed to help us engage in civic leadership more effectively.  It’s based on experiences shared by KLC Alumni in a Nov. 15, 2012 On the Balcony conference call, hosted by Ed O’Malley.  Here’s some bits and pieces from it:
“Holding to purpose is about maintaining focus on what you value and want to accomplish.  Staying grounded in an individual or collective group purpose is critical for progress.  The more provocative your vision, the more difficult the journey.”
What does hold to purpose mean?
·         Remembering to step back and evaluate whether the work you’re doing contributes to your purpose
·         Staying focused on the big picture beyond the small details
·         Remaining open to the possibility that your purpose might evolve as you engage people whose values and priorities are different from your own.
How do you help a group hold to purpose?
·         Challenge the assumption that there isn’t time to develop a shared purpose
·         Spend time diagnosing: listen and ask questions, specifically, “Why?”
·         Remind people there’s a difference between purpose and strategy
·         Repeatedly state the purpose.  Keep in top of mind at all times. 
How can you find and hold to your personal purpose?
·         Identify your passions and what you value to help you determine purpose
·         Engage others in your purpose, so you remain energized in the work
·         Pursue activities that relate to your purpose
·         Find someone who will hold you accountable and steady in your purpose
Principles and competencies related to holding to purpose:
·         Distinguish technical vs. adaptive work – adaptive work is rooted in values which will help you hold to purpose
·         Choose among competing values – to hold to purpose, you might have to sacrifice other things you care about
·         Take care of yourself – you stand a better chance of holding to purpose when you’re at your best
·         Give the work back – it’s easy to lose sight of your purpose if you don’t focus on your priorities
So, have a very purposeful and fruitful end of the year/start to next year and see if this doesn’t result in our making progress in those issues we deeply care about.  

Weekend Recap – Sympathizing

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My 12/16/12AM sermon, Sympathizing, from Hebrews 4:14-16 not only continued our Christmas in Hebrews series, but also helped orient us in light of the amazing tragedy of last Friday.  You see what we most desperately need is the solid foundation that God is not apathetic or aloof from the troubles of this world and this life.  We have a Savior, in Jesus, who was tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin.  We have a throne of grace that we can access because of Christ and receive mercy and find grace to help in times of need.  We don’t have to raise our fist and wonder at God, but humble ourselves before Him, for He surely knows the pain of searing loss.  He knows the cries of the hurting.  And, He responds by actually doing something to remedy this for eternity.  I hope you were encouraged in these things this Lord’s day and have a blessed week.

“Go” Tell It On The Mountain

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Today, at Crestview, we are having Matthew Ellison from 16:15 in to talk missions strategy with us again.  It’s fitting that we have him in this time of year as Eva Everson writes in her two part post The First Christmas Song: Go Tell It On the Mountain.   She concludes:

This year, as you sing “Go Tell it On the Mountain,” think beyond the story in the lyrics. It began with a few shepherds in a field, it moved to the lowly and the rich—the sick and the dying, both physically and spiritually—in Israel, and was then given to 11 men standing on a mountain. 

Now it lies with you and me. Let us go.

Here’s the lyrics to this beloved Christmas song:

Weekend Preview – Jesus, The Helper

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Jesus, the Son of God, took on flesh to help mankind.  For two weeks, I’ve highlighted, in my Christmas in Hebrews series, how He’s done that.  Specifically, last week, I made a connection that Jesus doesn’t merely help people — He specifically helps the offspring of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16) those relating to Him by faith.

This Sunday, Lord-willing, we hope to look at another great incarnation text from Hebrews (Hebrews 4:14-16) and see how it is exactly that Jesus helps believers.  And, we will see that Jesus comes to help us when we are most needy.  He does this as a sympathizing High Priest.  Come, then, seeing how Jesus passed through the heavens to come and help you.  He was tempted as we are when He walked on earth.  His incarnation makes His help real and tangible.  Come, ready to be helped by Him this Sunday.

End of Year Giving – CTC/YF

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I happy to serve on the board of an amazing non-profit in our community.  Here’s an end of year financial appeal that I helped write.  If you’re looking for a place to give some money that makes a difference in the lives of others (besides your local church), this is a wonderful organization.

Dear Supporters,

As we near the end of another year, if you’re like us, you are probably thinking about the things that really matter.  It seems that the end of year always seems to focus us and orient us to the most purposeful and most important things in life.  And, we’re writing you because we believe that you agree with our work of increasing positive youth behaviors and helping Reno County children and youth stay away from drugs and alcohol and graduate high school.

If we were to summarize our purpose it would be: creating healthier choices for children and youth in Reno County through mentoring, substance abuse prevention, and strengthening families.  We would love for you to partner with us through some strategic programs we offer:

YouthFriends:  School-based mentoring to help increase academic achievement and high school graduation through productive relationships.

Communities That Care Leadership Program:  Our Youth Leadership Group at Hutchinson High School and Hutchinson Middle School 8 promotes positive youth development and substance prevention activities by giving opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles to elementary children, peers, as well as adults in the community through school or community presentations, a middle school summit, community service, and other intentional activities.

Parenting Classes:  These various opportunities help equip parents with tools to encourage positive outcomes as well as enable children and youth to make good decisions, including the positive choices of staying away from substance abuse.

We hear great success stories from students, volunteers, parents, and teachers about Reno County Communities That Care and YouthFriends.  Teachers report that students who have YouthFriend mentors have better attendance at school and make better grades.  Middle school students tell of the positive impact of our Youth Summit and how presentations from our youth leadership group have changed their lives for the better.  These students intend to make better decisions when they enter high school because of the positive influence of our CTC Leadership group.
 
Would you please consider giving a tax-deductible gift before the end of this year to benefit any of the above programs and to improve healthy youth and children’s behavior in Reno County.  Please indicate which program you would like to contribute to and 100% of your contribution will go to that program.  Thank you for your contribution and partnering with us in improving the future of our youth and community.

We would also like you to “Save the Date” for our annual meeting to honor all volunteers and donors who are dedicated to making a difference for youth and children in Reno County.  The meeting will be on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 from 4:00-5:00 at the CTEA at Hutchinson High School.

Sincerely,

Sondra Borth                                                  Phil Auxier
Executive Director                                          Board Chairperson
For more information, feel free to contact Sondra at 620-615-4012 or borths@usd308.com.
______________________________________________________________________________
Enclosed is my gift of $______________
I wish my gift to benefit:
____YouthFriends
____CTC Leadership Group
____Parenting Classes
____Area of greatest need
Please mail gift to:
Reno County Communities That Care and YouthFriends
1520 N. Plum
Hutchinson, KS  67501

Crestview Kids Prep – Holy Spirit

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Tonight at Crestview Kids, we are studying the Holy Spirit.  Our verse for the month has been 2 Corinthians  13:14, which highlights the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We’ve also sang the Sovereign Grace Music song, “Three In One” this month.

Why study the Holy Spirit?  On the one hand, Jesus’ credibility stands on the Holy Spirit being sent.  After all, Jesus was the One who promised that He would send Him (in John 14).  In a much deeper way, though, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who teaches us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  If we want children who love the Gospel, then, they must love and understand the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible.

Leadership Email — Coming Up for Air and One Thing

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Here my leadership email to leaders in Reno County this week:

For the past few weeks, I’ve really been hammering on our need to diagnose the situation.  And, I want to diagnose our situation of diagnosing the situation by coming up for air today.  So, let’s take a deep breath.  Seriously.  It’s Monday.  Breath.  And, as we jump in, a quick review:  We started highlighting the importance of diagnosing and followed that up with a couple of reasons why we misdiagnose: we rush into solutions or we try to find pain-free fixes to problems.  Then, we emphasized the importance of determining whether our problem is adaptive or technical.  So, coming up for air today, let me try and “Give The Work Back” by asking you to define this difficult challenge of diagnosing.  Why do you and I tend to misdiagnose or rush right past this important piece?  What might be some potential solutions to your lack of practice in diagnosing the situation? 
I know these are hard questions for a Monday, but your consideration of them is an act of leadership and leadership is a difficult, risky work.  I think we all wish that leadership was easy and the world would just cater to our best laid plans, but the reality is that leadership is an opportunity for us to propel our purposes in the world.  We can make a difference.  Today, what’s one thing that you could practice in this whole diagnosis piece that might further your leadership?  That’s what I’m hoping all these weeks of engaging in this subject might provoke.  My hope is that we would make progress on the issues we care about.  So, will you join me today by stepping back from the minutiae for a second and asking diagnostic questions?  It just might help us make that progress we long to see take place.  

Weekend Recap – Sharing Flesh and Blood

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My 12/9/12AM sermon, Sharing Flesh and Blood, from Hebrews 2:14-18 is now online.  This sermon is the second of four during my Christmas In Hebrews series, highlighting truth about Jesus becoming man from the book of Hebrews.  The sermon, specifically, highlighted the benefits that believers receive because Jesus was born in the flesh: we receive the destruction of death, deliverance from death’s fear, and Jesus’ work as High Priest.

It was encouraging for me to think about how Jesus had to be born to make these realities, well, ahem, reality.  If Christ doesn’t come and live these out, then I am left to fight death myself or I am left to be high priest (or at least rest in someone who does the job better).  But, Jesus came and finalized the work of a High Priest.  He put death to death.  In Christ, then, especially during His incarnation, we have great hope for living and benefit in amazing ways.

I hope you’re being encouraged in these truths this holiday season.

Tweets From Revelation 21

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In late May, I began 202 days of journaling through the 404 verses of the final book of the Bible, Revelation.  To go along with my personal study and preparation to preach through this book in 2013, I’m trying to tweet something from every verse.  Today I finished chapter 21.  Here’s a compilation of my tweets followed by the reference.

Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 | Revelation 4 | Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 | Revelation 8 | Revelation 9 | Revelation 10 | Revelation 11 | Revelation 12 |Revelation 13 | Revelation 14 | Revelation 15 | Revelation 16 | Revelation 17 | Revelation 18 | Revelation 19 | Revelation 20


One day this world will be replaced by new heavens and new earth. (Revelation 21:1)
God compares the new creation to a wedding day. (Revelation 21:2)
The new covenant will one day see final fulfillment as God dwells with His people. (Revelation 21:3)
Struggling with death? Crying? Mourning? Pain? God will wipe away your tears. (Revelation 21:4)
God gives us trustworthy and true words: He will make all things new. (Revelation 21:5)
God freely gives eternal satisfaction to all who come to Him. (Revelation 21:6)
Enduring to the end in the Gospel demonstrates our adoption. (Revelation 21:7)
Rejecting the Gospel and its life-changing power will result in eternal destruction. (Revelation 21:8)
In heaven, both grace and justice are emphasized. (Revelation 21:9)
The bride of the Lamb is seen as a holy city coming down from God’s heaven. (Revelation 21:10)
The Lamb’s bride radiates with His glory. (Revelation 21:11)
The Lamb’s bride is like a city of completeness. (Revelation 21:12)
The city, picturing the Lamb’s bride, is orderly. (Revelation 21:13)
The foundation of the city is devoted to following the Lamb. (Revelation 21:14)
God allows the city, picturing the Lamb’s bride, a regal measurement. (Revelation 21:15)
The city lies foursquare: perfectly symmetrical to the God to whom it’s united. (Revelation 21:16)
Even the measurements speak of the city’s holiness. (Revelation 21:17)
The city’s building materials are resplendent and glorious. (Revelation 21:18)
The city walls are jewels. (Revelation 21:19)
Each jewel points to the beauty, glory and majesty of God Himself. (Revelation 21:20)
Pearls and clear gold — showing the riches of glory found in God. (Revelation 21:21)
No temple. Why? We meet with God in Christ alone. (Revelation 21:22)
No lights needed, either.  The Lamb’s glory illuminates all. (Revelation 21:23)
In the Lamb, both nations and kings find true glory. (Revelation 21:24)
The gates of this city are open: perfectly secure in the Son. (Revelation 21:25)
All nations will glorify and honor Christ. (Revelation 21:26)
The only people in heaven are those relating to God through Christ. (Revelation 21:27)