And... We're off!!!

Last night was our first official CSF Wednesday night of the new fall '12 semester and it was amazing! We had 49 students show up last night (with still more students saying they weren't able to make it because of beginning of the year meetings for sports and other activities). It was certainly a blessing from God that we had such a huge turn out! Last night we kicked off our new series "10 Things Jesus Never Said." We started with "The Most Important Thing Jesus Ever Said" focusing on Jesus' words in Matthew 11.28-29.

To set the stage for everyone to clearly see why the most important thing Jesus ever said can be found/summed up in Matthew 11.28-29, I took everyone on a journey. I borrowed a lot from a series that I wrote for junior high week of camp that I preached this past summer and just shortened the whole series into one blitz through the story that we are living as a part of. And so I began with scene/act 1 of our story: Creation. In the first four words of the first verse of the very first book of our Bible, we encounter the hero of our story. "In the beginning God..." In this one verse, we discover a lot about our hero. God is very powerful. He's able to create things out of nothing. We also learn that He's a God of organization and has plan because of the mere fact that He creates! We also notice that God creates a bunch of things, ranging from plants and animals, to planets and stars. And then He gets to man, but when He creates man, He does something a little different.

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”       Genesis 1.27

The Greek word that some of the early church fathers used to describe the trinitarian nature of God, was perichorisis (Sorry if the spelling's wrong...haha). This word means a close, intimate dance. The three persons of the Trinity are engaged in a close, intimate dance, where they are moving as one unit. This shows us that God is in relationship with Himself, and since He created us in His image, we can safely say that we were created to have relationships with God and with other people! But something horrible happened.

Scene/Act 2: Infection. We rebelled against God. We sinned and because of our actions, a deadly infection was introduced into our world, and it began to destroy everything. It broke relationships, it killed people, it significantly distorted creation. Everything changed, and God was no longer able to have the kind of relationship that He wanted with His most beloved creation because they were infected. But our hero didn't just give up on us, He worked on a plan.

Scene/Act 3: Infiltration. The way that a doctor develops a cure for an infection that he has never seen before, is that he takes a clean, uninfected culture and places it within an infected test area. If the culture becomes infected, it's a failed test, and the culture is discarded. But if the culture remains uninfected, that culture holds the cure to the infection within itself. This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus came and lived in the middle of this infected area and lived a completely sinless, perfect life! Because He did that, the cure was developed within His blood. Now that the cure had been developed there was one thing left to do, and that's administer it.

Scene/Act 4: Redemption. For Christ to administer the cure, He had to shed His blood. And so, in the greatest act of sacrifice in all of human history, Jesus went to the cross, willingly died there, and shed His blood so that man would have the opportunity to once again be able to be reunited with the hero, their creator, God. But God still desired a genuine relationship with His beloved creation, and so for them to genuinely choose Him, God had to take the same risk that He took in the beginning of our story, and give us a choice.

Scene/Act 5: Decision. The cool thing about this journey through this story, is that we are not the only ones who have traveled this road. And so we also have examples to look at and evaluate before we make our decision. In the OT, God taught Moses everything that He and the Israelites needed to know in order to enter into the Promised Land, and so Moses delivered the message to the Israelites and after telling them everything that God had said, Moses said:


“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  Deuteronomy 30.19-20 (NLT)

We have arrived at a crossroads in our journey, in this story, and we find ourselves at a similar situation as Moses. Though we aren't set to enter into a Promised Land such as Israel or anything, we are faced with the opportunity to enter into the promised land of heaven and eventually a renewed/restored earth! And so here at the crossroads we are faced with a choice of life or death.

God gave advice to travelers who were here before. He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, saying:


“This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.’”    Jeremiah 6.16 (NLT)

In the NT, Peter says the devil is going around like a roaring lion looking for people to devour. In the NT, the devil is also called the father of lies, and he's done a scary good job at devouring/deceiving people, because all around us we hear people saying that it doesn't matter which path you choose, you'll end up at the same place! So here we stand at the crossroads, with a crowd of people, each telling us which way to go. With all of this noise in our life, how are we supposed to find the old, godly way in which to walk? It's simple. You see, right there, in the midst of this crowd, is Jesus calling out for you to come to Him. He's uttering the greatest thing that He ever said:


“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”    Matthew 18.28-29 (NLT)

How do you find the right path? Jesus is right there telling you, it's Him! He is the way! With this 'great invitation' Jesus summarized a lot of what He came to do and accomplish. He identified the destination of our journey, and offers to walk with us as we progress into the next scene/act of the story.

That was the basic outline of what the sermon was on and how it went. Afterward we all enjoyed pizza that we ordered and hung out to meet new people and catch up with others to see how their summers went. I know I keep saying this, but it truly was an amazing night full of fun, fellowship, and laughs! I'm sure I can speak for most everyone in CSF when I say that this semester is going to be a great semester! If last night was any indication of how CSF is going to be this year, I'm super excited to see how God's going to move in/through CSF and how we are going to impact the campus here at Lock Haven University!! =)

Pat

It's Back!!! =)

So after a long and eventful summer, SCHOOL IS FINALLY BACK!!! Today was the first day of my 2nd year as CSF campus minister at Lock Haven University! I have to admit, I haven't been this excited for a new school year for a long time (if ever)!!! =) This semester we're going to be talking about sayings that Jesus never said, but for some reason people, including disciples of Christ, fall victim to believing that He did in fact say them! If you're in the area, I personally invite you out to hear what Christ wants to share with everyone this semester! If you're not in the area, I'll try to post some highlights and notes after every Wednesday night like I did last semester. I'm so pumped that I can hardly contain myself! haha =) I do humbly ask that if you are reading this, would you take a couple of minutes to pray for LHU, CSF, Emily and I, and the ministry that's going to take place on this campus over the next school year! I have a special feeling that God is up to something that's going to completely blow us away and I'm SO excited to be a part of it and experience it first hand! I know this is a short blog entry, but  my OT Research Final Paper is calling my name, haha. =) Look forward to sharing more with you in the near future! =)

Pat

Greater

I just finished another book! This time I was able to read and review a book that's set to come out 9/4/12. It's called 'Greater' by Steven Furtick. This is one of the better books that I have read within the past while, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is finding themselves in a position where they might be currently or in danger of becoming stuck in a spiritual rut. Basing the book off of John 14.12, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father," Furtick uses the story of Elisha as he creatively takes the reader on a journey to discover a greater life! You will feel challenged to embark on living your life based upon faith rather than complacent conformity, yet encouraged to see that all you need to do is take one small step of faith at a time! This book is fairly quick read. I had it done in three days. If you have a chance to get the book when it is released this coming fall, I HIGHLY encourage you to do so! I believe I'm going to implement this within the campus ministry, as a small group study since I think young adults and especially college students could greatly benefit from the message that Furtick conveys!

- Author's Website
- More Info


"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

"Dying to Live Again"

I recently read a book by Tom Riley on the subject of baptism, called "Dying to Live Again." While the book didn't fully live up to what I was expecting, it was very helpful in allowing me to use Paul's letter to the Romans to understand a little better just what role baptism plays in a Christian's life. I would certainly encourage anyone to read the book. It's a fairly quick/easy read. My only critique of the book in regards to what I feel it to be lacking, is that I wish Tom had gone into more detail and listed out the various views of baptism that various Christian denominations hold and the major differences between them. I know that would be more commonly found in a theology or a doctrine textbook, but I'm the type of person that likes to look at what certain groups believe and how they come to believe (what Scriptures support their position, interpretations, etc). I think after reading Romans a little more closely and intensely, the idea of baptism is that it is the point at which a person fully becomes Christ's. It's a way for a person to die, with out physically dying. Looking at Paul's words surrounding this section of Romans, he references, as examples, the fact that in a marriage, the only way for the covenant to be broken, is for someone/something to die. Either that's the husband/wife dying, releasing the other from the covenant, or a person breaks the covenant and kills the relationship (adultery/unfaithfulness). Likewise Paul also uses the illustration of a slave and how after a slave dies, his/her master no longer has any say over him/her. In the same way, until we accept Christ, we are still subject to sin and are considered to be slaves to sin. Through the act of baptism, we identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, meaning that we die and then are 'raised to a newness of life' (a new life). After our 'death' we are no longer slaves to sin and sin can no longer keep us from pursuing an intimate relationship Jesus. That's not to say a person who has accepted and been baptized into Christ won't struggle with sin. However a Christian who has given his/her life over to Christ and has been united with Him in baptism, has the greatest advocate that anyone could ever have on his/her side, and if any of us who have this status find ourselves in a particular sin, Jesus will continue to wash us clean and forgive us if we turn to him and confess/repent. The entire book of 1 John really captures this concept as well as the life of a new Christian (any Christian for that matter), but I'll end with quoting three specific verses.

"⁸If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."         - 1 John 1.8-10 (NLT)

Preparing for "Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After"

I recently had the chance to read and review Craig Groeschel's book, "Love, Sex, and Happily Ever After." Let me just start by saying that this book is absolutely phenomenal! Craig writes in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even though I myself am already married, there were still plenty of practical pieces of advice that I have taken from this book and have implemented within my own life and marriage. I HIGHLY recommend this book for ANY and EVERYONE in the age range from Junior High to Adult!! Whether you’re just starting to become interested in the opposite sex or have been sucked into one bad relationship after another, this book will definitely challenge you to reconsider your top priorities in your relationships and will challenge you to become a better person! I’m a campus minister at a secular university, and I’m going to purchase a hard copy for my wife to read and to have on hand when she meets with college aged girls and deals with counseling concerning love, sex, and relationships! I can’t really say enough about this book that will do it justice, but I can say that I’ve read plenty of other books on relationships and this one is arguably in my top two of all time! Do yourself a favor, get a copy and read it!

- Author's Website
- More Info
- Read Chapter One
- Author Bio

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

The Gospel of Yes

I received a book from the publishing company that I am doing a blogging for books program for last month in order to do a promotional video for it. The book was called "The Gospel of Yes." Even though at times this book did seem to remind me of the movie 'Yes Man,' I think the overall premise behind what Mike Glenn was getting as was an important one that we can all can be reminded of. In 'The Gospel of Yes' Mike grabs on to the idea that when we are created by God, we are given a special 'yes', a special destiny within our lives that can only be unlocked by turning to God and walking in faith. This 'destiny' isn't a pre-scripted, step-by-step manuscript that your life follows, but a hidden gateway to a new way of living that's hidden in Christ. While I think the idea that Mike is getting at with his book is one that is nearly identical with the fact that we get a new life through Christ, born from above/again, it is a very interesting book to read and see how Mike sees this new life in Christ unfold in the lives of the people around him and in his own, which has led him to understand the new life in Christ in a new light. Overall if I had to rate 'The Gospel of Yes,' I would probably give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a book to mull over and to help you think more about the new life that Christ unlocks for those who give their entire lives over to Him, this book might be a good one or an interesting one for you to read. This book is set to be released tomorrow, June 5, 2012.

- Author's Website
- More Info

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review."

How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

I've recently been reading a lot, and so I need to catch you all up on the books that I've finished so that you guys might become interested in reading them for yourselves! =)

A very close friend of mine bought me this book recently and told me to read it. It's called "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?" by Andy Andrews. At first, I couldn't help but think to myself, "OK, why is Seth sending me this book? Is he trying to recruit me to some vigilante task force?" Then I read the book, and let me tell you, if there is any book that I think you should read this year before the month of November, this should be it! Andy talks about how throughout history there have been many, many different movements that have led to the deaths of many, many people, but the one question that always came to mind is the question of how this was possible? In nearly every case, the number of those who would eventually be killed, was vastly superior to that of the people who were killing them. Why couldn't these poor people simply rise up and overthrow this other group? How were these people able to succeed in killing 11 million people? The answer is simple, contents Andrews. They were lied to. The main reasoning behind writing the book, Andrews explains, is to in essence 'light a fire' underneath the rears of people in America when it comes to actually knowing what these people we are electing into political office to lead us are promising us. There are so many cases where a candidate will promise one thing, only to do the exact opposite once they received the necessary votes to win. The pleasant surprise for me from this book, was that in spite of its primary focus on politics and voting, there are many illustrations that have stuck in my head as a preacher/teacher. I highly recommend that you take some time out of your day to read this book, as soon as you can! It's very quick read (I read it in about 30-45 min), but it's packed full of interesting thoughts and convicting truths. If you have any other specific questions about the book that you would like to know about before you read it, feel free to ask me! =)