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Camp Recap 2018

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I was able to attend Youth Camp with our students this past week at YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO.  Our camp was put on by Generate (a program of YM360).  It was a great week (as most camps typically are).  Three things stand out:

  1. Relationships – camp enables relationships to flourish in ways they typically don’t throughout the year.  There’s intensive time to talk to students, hear their concerns, give some advice, share time in the Word together, and get a similar experience.  This is really the end game.  Our group (mostly pictured above) was also able to make new friends (Webstar from Kenya is in the middle of this shot).  Camp is really about relationships.
  2. Fun – camp is a fun place to be.  The setting we chose this year stood out…surrounded by the Rockies on every side.  But, games of rec, fun in the rooms/free time, and even meals give camp an energy.
  3. Teaching – our camp pastor was Afshin Ziafat.  He did a great job of incorporating daily devotions, the theme of the day at camp, and helping us make progress through a wise understanding of the Bible.  He was a blessing to us.

I don’t know if you attend camp, but you’d be welcome to join us next summer as we head back to Estes Park for Generate 2019, July 15-19.

Weekend Recap – Live Like Christ

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My 7/22/18AM sermon, Living Like Christ (1 Peter 2:21-25) is now online.  This sermon really helped show how Jesus empowers our living.  We are sojourners and exiles in this world.  How do live lives of forsaking sin, doing good for effect?  We live like Christ.  I hope this sermon encourages this kind of living in you.

Weekend Recap – Living in the Workplace

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My 7/15/18AM sermon, Living in the Workplace (1 Peter 2:18-20) is now online.  This sermon continued to explore who we live as sojourners and exiles in the world.  The workplace affords us a great opportunity to avoid sin and do good for effect.  I hope this sermon encourages you.  Here’s a graphic made to go with the sermon, too:

In this case, the passage highlights ways Christians may be treated unjustly.  Peter’s wanting us to showcase our identity in Christ, though.  This should be what is heard when we’re treated unjustly.

Weekend Recap – Living Under Governing Authorities

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My 7/1/18AM sermon, Living Under Governing Authorities from 1 Peter 2:13-17, is now online.  While there’s much I could point out, this sermon sought to unpack how we need to forsake sin and do good for an effect in the world we live.

I opened with a quote from Jonathan Leeman’s recent book, How the Nations Rage, which really captures Peter’s heart in this passage.  Leeman writes:

“God’s common grace grants many a nation better than it deserves, but I have little confidence that America will long remain strong, prosperous, and free without any concept of God’s righteousness and justice somewhere in the background. That’s not because I believe in a civil prosperity gospel: obey God and the nation will be blessed as his chosen people. It’s because I believe the way of God’s righteousness and justice is the way of wisdom. And prosperity and flourishing ordinarily come to the wise. The nation can be strong apart from God’s righteousness, like a totalitarian state is strong. Or it can be “free,” in some impoverished and mangy sense of that word, like a stray dog is free. But it won’t be both. Which brings me back to healthy churches. If there is hope for the nation, it’s through the witness and work of churches. Our congregations have the opportunity to live transformed lives as a transformed culture through a transformed politics in their own fellowships right now—all for God’s glory and our neighbors’ good (p.238).”

There’s a lot of areas for growth here, but Peter’s words are stiff enough.  I hope this sermon encourages you to do good in the public sphere.

Books I Read in June 2018

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Like I mentioned in May, I’m trying to do a better job this year of keeping track of books I’ve completed reading.  As usual, there are some books/things, I’m always working in like the Bible (praying through the Psalms of the Day and doing lots of reading in 1 Peter and Ecclesiastes in different translations), Sonship, as well as Crestview’s Leadership Pipeline material.

Some titles I worked through in June:

Redeeming Money – Paul Tripp
Jesus In His Own Words – Robert Mounce
Your Best Year Ever – Michael Hyatt
Martin Luther – Herman Selderhuis
I hope you’re enjoying a summer of reading, as well.

Weekend Recap – Baptisms and Lord’s Supper

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The audio (and video) from the Baptisms and Lord’s Supper at Crestview from yesterday are now online.  It was a big day for our family as 2 of our children were baptized.  I appreciated Caleb Gaeddert and Tom Dixon providing some framework for our practice of these two things.  Here are some pics of the day:

I hope you had an enjoyable Lord’s Day.  Access the audio and video of our Baptism/Lord’s Supper service if you’d like to see highlights from yesterday.

Weekend Recap – Exilic Living

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My 6/17/18AM sermon, Exilic Living from 1 Peter 2:11-12, is now online.  The sermon really got at what it means to live in this world.  And, for the believer, the call (in light of who we are in Christ) is to forsake sin, having a life characterized by honorable conduct, making a difference in this world.  Our lives should be compelling to the watching world around us.  Too often, they aren’t.  So, I’m hoping God uses this sermon to encourage others to really live.  (I also incorporated this quote from Shawshank Redemption at the beginning of my sermon)

Weekend Recap – Spiritual House

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My 6/10/18AM sermon, Spiritual House (1 Peter 2:4-10), is now online.  This passage dug down deep into our lives to expose an identity in Christ, which should change everything about how we live.  Specifically, this passage showed that we are a holy priesthood (vv. 4-5), unashamed, honorable believers (vv. 6-8), and God’s people (vv. 9-10).  I hope it encourages you.

Paul Tripp on Identity

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This coming Sunday, June 10th, Lord-willing, I’ll be preaching on 1 Peter 2:4-10.  This passage talks about believers being living stones, believers, a chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, people for His possession, God’s people, and receiving mercy.  This identity is to loom large in–define–our lives.  Unfortunately, too often, other things carry the storyline of our existence.  Here’s a series of posts from Paul Tripp that provide some insight into our identity amnesia.  I hope you’ll dig into these and benefit.

I Am My Success

I Am My Relationships

I Am My Righteousness

I Am My Possessions

Getting Identity Right

Worship God As Creator

Worship God As Sovereign

Worship God As Savior

Weekend Recap – The Word Works Love

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My 6/3/18AM sermon, The Word Works Love out of 1 Peter 1:22-2:3, is now online.  This sermon got at one of the big problems in our world: how do we make people loving?  And, the simple answer is that we can’t.  However, God is up the challege of changing our desires and longings.  He has news that affects our lives, grows us, and the fruit of this is love.  I hope this sermon encourages you to grow in love.