This Sunday @ COMPANY122

We're moving forward with the Politically Incorrect series and this week's statement is:

"Those who won't work should NOT eat!"

Whew! How do we get our heads around that one?

Come on Sunday night to find out. We're meeting in Building A this week to make room for the VBS setup in the gym. We'll do CONNECT in Common Grounds and out on the Plaza from 9-10PM.

It's Communion Sunday and we have a challenging message as well as a fantastic call to worship led by Miguelito.

It's also our last opportunity to see Mr. David Harrison before he takes off on Monday morning to spend the next two years in Uganda. Make sure you show up to wish him well and join us in prayer.

See you all on Sunday night IN BUILDING A @ 7:30PM.

NEW COMPANY122 T-SHIRTS - Check them out!!!

Oli has done a fantastic job of designing us some new t-shirts with the COMAPNY122 logo. We're even ready to put in an order. So if you like what you see and want to get hold of one from the first run, then email me at: jparker@grace-church and let me know how many and what size.

Those who won't work should NOT EAT.

What did Paul mean when he wrote: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."?

Seriously, I'm asking.

What did he mean and how does it relate to us today? How would God appropriate this verse for us?

Post some comments or send me an email.

The Problem of Evil...

Being a Christian isn't about knowing all the answers is it? But it isn't saying, "We can't know enough to make any decisions about spirituality" either.

There are a lot of questions being asked at COMPANY122 at the moment. Here's one response I found to the Problem of Evil:

Hell? No! Friday's Feelings.

There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ's moral character, and that is that he believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.

Bertrand Russell, atheist

Hell is God's great compliment to the reality of human freedom an the dignity of human choice.

G.K. Chesterton, Christian

Who is right? This is a difficult issue. D.A. Carson offered the following conclusion on hell:

"Hell is not a place where people are consigned because they were pretty good blokes, but they just didn't have the right stuff. They're consigned there, first and foremost, because they defy their maker and want to be at the center of the universe. Hell is not filled with people who have already repented, only God isn't gentle enough or good enough to let them out. It's filled with people who, for all eternity, still want to be the center of the universe and who persist in their God-defying rebellion.

What is God to do? If he says it doesn't matter to Him, then God is no longer a God to be admired. He's either amoral or positively creepy. For Him to act in any other way in the face of such blatant defiance would be to reduce God himself."

Hell? No! Can Hell be a part of evangelism?

I'm reading more about Hell this morning as I prepare to speak on Sunday night. Douglas Groothuis has this to say about the doctrine of Hell:

"We should encourage biblical preaching and teaching on hell set in its proper theological setting and presented with much prayer and compassion. As Francis Schaeffer said, the doctrine of hell must be taught 'with tears.'

Our everyday witness must involve a warning as well as a welcome. We welcome people to find eternal life in Christ, but we must also warn them of the eternal death that awaits those who reject the gospel. Pascal said, 'Between heaven and hell is only this life, which is the most fragile thing in the world.' Given the biblical warnings about hell, the non-Christian ends up betting his or her eternity that Christianity is a lie. We should challenge people to investigate intently the claims of Christianity, considering all there is to gain and all there is to lose."

Is he right or can we ignore the doctrine of Hell and simply love people into heaven?

Hell? No! Sharing the hope we have...

Ever seen this?

Are you willing to risk your life for an enemy? Because truth be told, it’s not even your life is it? It’s your reputation or your embarrassment that you’re risking most of the time. Christ gave everything. He filled the sand with crimson. And we are surrounded by the terrorists he gave His life for. And we’re watching them die. We’re watching them roll on the ground as they try to put out the flames of hell. Because we’re not willing to share the hope that we have with people who have no clue.

Hell? No! Tuesday's Musings...

We're talking about hell this Sunday night and I'm beginning to pull a sermon together. I've been pondering the fate of those who haven't explicitly heard the gospel today: can a good God send people who haven't heard the gospel to hell? Well, there's a lot to be said about that question alone, but one thing I have been thinking about is general revelation: there is no-one that is totally ignorant of God. All of us have some knowledge of him and will be judged according to that. God 'will give to each person according to what he has done', not according to what he had no opportunity to do. Those who have really never heard the gospel today are in a similar position to those who lived

before Christ. Is it not possible for them to respond to the knowledge of God they do have?

Pastor Gene put it this way to me: Light received brings greater light. Light denied can bring the night.

We'll explore this together on Sunday!

"You don't need the bible, creeds or the Church to be spiritual"

C.S. Lewis tells a story of an officer in the RAF who, after listening to a talk on Christianity, burst out with the protest: "I've no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know that there is a God. I've felt him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe in all your neat little dogmas and formulas about him. To anyone who has met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!"

And Lewis remarks that, in a sense, he quite agreed with that man. He may well have had a real experience of some sort in the desert, and "when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real."

"In the same way," Lewis writes, "if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he will also be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point.

The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has masses of experience just as real as the one you could have had from the beach; only while yours would be a simple isolated glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America."

(Mere Christianity, p.121)

This Sunday at COMPANY122 is a sweet ONE WAY event as part of the Politically INcorrect series! We’ve prayerfully and tactfully planned some elements that we hope remind all of us that ONE WAY IS THE ONLY WAY.

Pastor Gene made a distinction last week between diversity and pluralism. No one disagrees that there are differences in this world and that diveristy for the most part is a good thing. However, the argument of pluralism, that truth is relative and everyone can be right is fundamentally flawed.

The mantra that there is no absolute truth allows us to live the lifestyle we want without the threat of ever being wrong. But if truth is our main concern then we have to accept that these views all present claims that contradict one another – and they cannot all be true.

What if I asked three of you to describe my mother? Tell me her height (and don’t be cruel). Tell me her hair color. And tell me her weight. Three suggestions. The reality is that I would probably get three different answers. And if more of you submitted a response the diversity of answers would increase.

Now two points:

1. Firstly, you can’t all be right. My mum cannot simultaneously satisfy all these descriptions.
2. Secondly, sincerity is not enough. Any one of you could sincerely believe that your answer is correct. You can even persuade a million people that you are correct. But if my mother doesn’t satisfy your description then you and your followers are wrong. Truth is not relative.

And this is the case with religion too. Every religion can't be right because they fundamentally contradict one another. And Christianity makes the "wildest claims" of them all. So it makes sense to start with Christianity and try to disprove it first. If it stand the test then it is right and every other religion is wrong. If not, then we can move to the next one.

So, here's an idea of what will happen this Sunday:

1. Mig and the band will open with a music set to lead us to worship.

2. Brett Kunkle from Stand To Reason will present a case for Christ as the only way.

3. Mig will lead us in a "One Way" response before we grab pizza and soda and return to our tables.

4. Tim will lead a Q&A session will you munch and muse. You can text your questions in for Brett to answer. Put him to the test - more to the point, put Christianity and Christ as the only way to the test!

Please be praying now for God’s will to be so done and for the free reign of the Holy Spirit to be evident on Sunday!

No One Laughs at God...

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

Lessons in Leadership: Into Practice

JD recently passed something across my radar: an article on "stupid" leadership mistakes. I was glancing over ot again earlier today and sheepishly relating to the top ten with my own moronic moments, when it occurred to me that God is blessing COMPANY122 in spite of my faux pas'.

The fourth lesson in the list is Delegating tasks instead of responsibility. Tony Morgan writes: "When pushed into a corner, I naturally revert back to my perfectionist tendencies. I know in my mind the way it should be done. And, if I let myself, I'll fall into the trap of thinking I'm the only one who can get it done. First of all, I'm not that good. Usually someone else can do it better. Secondly, the failure to empower others with real responsibilities is a guaranteed recipe for limiting the potential of your ministry. This is the number one reason that most churches don't grow beyond a couple hundred people. In those situations, the pastor will, at best, delegate tasks. Real leadership development doesn't happen, though, until an effort is made to build a team and give away ministry responsibility."

In the past few weeks I've seen this lived out at COMPANY122. I'm certainly not that good. But thanks to Casey and Oli joining in the office fun and ministry run we have certainly succeeded way beyond my abilitiues and despite my tendency to delegate tasks instead of responsibilities. As I've let go of the reigns more their talents have been unleashed to take us to the next level, and the next.

But even our combined efforts fall way short of what is needed and we acknowledge that it is God who ultimately has His hand on COMPANY122 right now and is blessing us silly. Lesson learned and praise Him!