Mark McGwire's Brother -- Jay

Listen to this language that Jay McGwire uses to describe why he exposed his brother's steroid use:
"My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom -- which is the only way to live. " Source: ESPN
That sounds like the theological teaching that we would espouse about repentence with Jesus Christ and walking in the light of the Gospel on a Sunday morning at The Bridge or even moreso at Conquering Addiction on Tuesdays. WOW!

Membership Covenants

When we designed our membership covenants at The Bridge, we had not ever heard of The Village (Matt Chandler's church in the Dallas area). I, personally, feel that The Village is the top church in American at developing sincere disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. They have been spending the last 3 years redesigning their membership covenants and they unveiled the new work this week. I suggest you read through and notice the similarities and differences to ours. The ones that we address in membership classes such as marriage, church discipline, walking in the light (confessing sin to fellow believers) and authority of the pastors and elders are to be especially noted. Notice the first one which is the authority of Bible -- do you hear that a few times a day around The Bridge?

I covenant...
• to submit to the authority of the Scriptures as the final arbiter on all issues (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
• to pursue the Lord Jesus Christ through regular Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and practice of spiritual disciplines (Luke 18:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Ephesians 5:1-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22).
• to follow the command and example of Jesus by participating in the ordinances prescribed to His Church:
° by being baptized after my conversion.
° by regularly remembering and celebrating the person and work of Christ through communion.
• to regularly participate in the life of The Village Church by attending weekly services, engaging in biblical community and serving those within and outside of this church (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25; Titus 3:14).
• to steward the resources God has given me, including time, talents spiritual gifts and finances. This includes regular financial giving, service and participation in community that is sacrificial, cheerful, and voluntary (Matthew 25:14-30; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 1 Peter 4:10-11).
• by God’s grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, to walk in holiness in all areas of life as an act of worship to Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13-16, 4:1-3). Believers should strive to put certain attitudes and actions to death, while stirring and stimulating love and good deeds through the Spirit. Below are a few examples of actions addressed in the Scriptures:
° I will practice complete chastity unless married and, if married, complete fidelity within heterosexual and monogamous marriage. Complete chastity and fidelity means, among other things, that regardless of my marital status, I will pursue purity and abstain from sexually immoral practices such as adultery, premarital sex and pornography (Romans 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, 10:8; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).
° I will seek to preserve the gift of marriage and agree to walk through the steps of marriage reconciliation at The Village Church before pursuing divorce from my spouse (Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11; for the role of the church in the process of divorce, see Paul’s concern for the resolution of legal matters within the assembly of the church in 1 Corinthians 6).
° I will refrain from illegal drug use, drunkenness, gossip and other sinful behavior as the Bible dictates (Romans 1:28-32, 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18; James 3:3-18).
• to refrain from such activities that the Scriptures would deem foolish (Romans 14:14-23).
• to take seriously the responsibility of Christian freedom, especially actions or situations that could present a stumbling block to another (1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
• to submit to the discipline of God through His Holy Spirit by:
° following the biblical procedures for church discipline where sin is evident in another -- the hope of such discipline being repentance and restoration.
° receiving righteous and loving discipline when approached biblically by fellow believers (Psalm 141:5; Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; Hebrews 12:5-11).
• to do the following when I sin :
° confess my sin to God and to fellow believers .
° repent and seek help to put my sin to death (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5; James 5:16; 1 John 1:6-10).
° to submit to the elders and other appointed leaders of the church and will be diligent to strive for unity and peace within the Church (Ephesians 4:1-3; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5).For more information, e-mail membership@thevillagechurch.net.

Schedule of Building Progress

Monday, February 2
Concrete stain worship area (everybody out)
Tape and mud continues in BK area
CT cabinet arrives at Butler Supply

Tuesday, February 3
CT cabinet is set ready for wiring
Floors are finished
Govro finishes main bathrooms
Missouri Natural Gas sets meter

Wednesday, February 4
Ameren pulls wire, sets transformer, and hooks to CT cabinet
Govro sets toilets and dividers
Carpeting on risers, back hall, coffee shop

Thursday, February 5
Govro does bathroom sinks.
Crystal fires up our heating units.
Savage Electric fires up our lighting system
Trim goes on all walls
Small detail work and preparations on stage

Friday, February 6
Dozens of details like mounting paper towel dispensers, toilet paper racks, etc.

Saturday, February 7
Dozens more details. You can help.

Sunday, February 8
God is in business!!!
9:00 Rob Pierce preaching debut on John 10:10
10:45 Ricky Horton of the St. Louis Cardinals
12:00 MAC athletes eat at E-Hall.

Is this crazy? YES
Is it possible? Philippians 4:13

Answering Questions #4

Our interesting question about the faith this weekend is "What is the 'unpardonable sin?' The Bible talks about the unpardonable sin being "blaspheming the Holy Spirit." (Mark 3:29) When we look at that vague scripture in light of other Scripture, "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" must be a complete and utter rejection of Jesus Christ. Instead of being a singular act which has been improperly preached for a long time, it is an ongoing rejection of the Redeemer, the Messiah -- Jesus. That is the only sin which cannot be pardoned. If we die without knowing Christ, we are bound for hell -- the blood of Christ is our pardon.

The Holy Spirit testifies about the truth of Christ. If we refuse that testimony, we cannot be pardoned. That is an ongoing refusal until our death, not a singular act. Stop walking around wondering if you said something bad one time when you were 14 that insulted the Holy Spirit. Accept Christ on His terms, and no matter what you have done you will be pardoned.

The Shack -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

One of the most popular books in America right now is the The Shack by Paul Young. Just a couple of quick comments.
The Good -- Strict orthodox evangelicals hate this book because they think it plays with things that just should not be played with. I want to point out a couple of positives. As a professor of literature, I have to say this is a magnificent piece of writing. It is of epic proportions. That being said on a worldly level, on a spiritual level, the book does use its creativity to show a warm, delicate relationship between the persons of the triune God. Also, it does provide hope to people who have experienced the unspeakable horrors of a fallen world. The only hope is Christ Jesus, and on this fact the book is correct.
The Bad -- There is just inherent danger in speaking dialogue through fictional characters that represent God. Every word must correctly represent what we know God would say, and, quite honestly, we just don't know God that well. Mr. Young's fictional statements from God through the mouths of the characters who are the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are going to be gone through with fine tooth comb because they must. Mr. Young fails on occasion.
The Ugly -- These failures of Mr. Young are heresy or border on heresy. This makes jumping up and down and recommending the book impossible. Even the most trained eyes can miss the heresy and develop some strange notions about God. It is just a much better idea to get our ideas about God straight out of Scripture.

Unless you feel very comfortable that you can enjoy the literary masterpiece that is The Shack and ignore it affecting your understanding of God, you should leave it on the shelf. Probably just ought to leave it on the shelf.