A Very Bloody Affair

Sorry guys, the american dream doesn't fit through the eye of a needle.

Jesus is messing things up again. Steve Hart, Pastor of Vintage Faith Community puts it like this;

"The basic gist of the series is this: faith in Christ is catastrophic. Knowing Christ fundamentally re-arranges not just your activities but your very sense of “self” – who you know yourself to be – and the purpose for which you live. If your faith in Christ isn’t catastrophic – if its not massively transforming – you may not have confronted – or been confronted by – the real Jesus. He dismantles you, pulls you through the eye of the needle (a very bloody affair), and then re-makes you into a disciple who makes disciples. This is Christianity.

The question we are asking is simply this: what do you really treasure?"

Maybe i am just synical, or have been around church people too long, but often I feel like sermons are just a person's excuse to hear themselves talk. This one, however left me feeling very uncomfortable, just what a good sermon should do. Please listen to it here.

~*~ Missions Statements ~*~

As a community we decided to throw out a couple of ideas, hoping we could discuss and choose a statement that would describe us best...that might not happen but I thought I could post some of our ideas for your reading pleasure.

Sara Harris

"This is the way I see our Mission. Our mission has many facets and they are all connected:

To live for Christ to our neighbors, our co-workers, and to each other. To serve one another in love and to grow more and more into a family of Christ. To continually point one another back to Christ and to be sent out to our neighbors in Perry District. To love the orphans and the widows, the broken-hearted and the lost. To show God’s love to those who have never know it and, in doing so, to know God more and more.

This said, here is the statement I came up with:

We are going to be a light to our world, walking with Jesus and seeking out opportunities to serve our Perry District Community, our neighbors, and each other."

Anna Whitlow

"Perry Street Missional Community is a community of believers drawn together by God alone to advance His Kingdom, and glorify His name. By His Sovereignty we have been placed in a community that is slowly dying without the Gospel. As missionaries to this area, we realize that our lives are not about us and our own comfort, but about proclaiming Christ’s salvation to Perry through our words and deeds. Whether it be a loss of our time, money, or efforts, we will work to partner with other churches and believers in Perry as the Body of Christ to serve those around us. Selflessness will be a common theme as we grow together in the knowledge that the things of this world are fleeting. We will continue to speak truth to one another in boldness and remain teachable as we continue to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word. We recognize the fact that God has ordained every person to be a part of this community for some time and we are the family of God. We will strive to love and serve each others sacrificially just as Christ has done for us"

Anna Rowe

"We believe we are adopted into the family of God and therefore live life and love one another as we have been loved. Because of what God has done for us we are able to be used by him and believe we are sent to restore the brokenness in our city, not as a project but as a natural part of our life. As those sent by Christ we will take accountability for our own growth and those in our community."

Mine

"We believe God has brought us into an active and developing relationship with Himself both personally and as a church community.

Therefore we are on mission both to each other (the church) through decipleship and to non-believers in our lives (neighbors) through pursuing honest and volunerable relationships in order to draw others into a deeper relationship with Christ for His glory.

The heart of our dual mission (Church+Neighbors) is relationship (community) because relationship is the heart of the gospel. Relationship requires pursuit, volunerability, forgiveness, honesty, willingness to grow and to serve."