reDirect Pictures

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No Club JV Tonight (7/15)

Just a quick reminder that we will not be having Club JV tonight (7/15), because of our trip to Pioneer Waterland.  It was a blast, especially Alex’s rendition of “You are my fire” down the Dark Slide…

Club JV OTR!

If you are on our mailing list, you might have already received a flyer about this, but next Tuesday (7/15), we’ll be taking Club JV on the road again…and this time, we’ll be spending an entire day at Pioneer Waterland! So, if you’ve been dreading going outside because of the heat or are just bored out of your mind, come with us to ride on a lazy river, cruise down water slides, or play water nukem! We’ll be leaving from the Warehouse at 10am and will be returning there at 4pm. The cost is $8, which you can just bring with you to the Warehouse, along with this release form. And don’t forget to bring your friends! (Note: we won’t be having Club JV that night.)

More of Alex’s thoughts

As promised, since we were a little bit short on time last Tuesday, here are some extra notes from Alex’s talk on Matthew 6:1-18. If you remember, he was talking to us about our motivation for doing things, as it is so often to make ourselves look good in front of other people. I mean, I don’t know about you, but whenever I do something nice for someone (like hold a door open or something), I pretty much always hope that someone else is watching so that they will think I am a great guy. Know what I’m talking about? Jesus, however, challenges us to something completely different in this passage: he challenges us to do “religious” things (like giving to the needy, praying, and fasting) in secret, so that we are more likely to do them for God and not for other people.

Why would Jesus say this? And how can we actually do it? Well, in reading Alex’s notes, he was going to cover this in more detail, but had to fly through it because of time. If you remember, he used another “R” word, rewards. And he said that if we are Christians, we don’t need to impress other people here on earth, because we have a God in heaven who sees all of our good deeds and will reward us for them one day. And while on the topic of rewards, he mentioned that an amazing gift offered by God is eternal life in heaven, but that there is no way that we can earn this: in other words, no matter how many doors you hold open, no matter how much money you give to the poor, no matter how many grandmas you help across the street, no matter how great your friends think you are, you can’t make yourself good enough to get into heaven. The only way to obtain eternal life is to believe in Jesus Christ, who was killed on a cross 2000 years ago. On the cross, this crazy exchange took place: Jesus, who lived a perfect life, was punished for the wrong things that we do. We, if we choose to believe, are given eternal life as a gift, even though we deserve to be punished…

Finally, Alex mentioned a third R, “requests”. And he said that through prayer, our desires grow closer to God’s desires, and that as a result, we won’t be so focused on trying to impress other people. Jesus even includes a model prayer for us in verse 9-13. And it is in prayer that we admit to God that we need His help!

So, 3 R’s. Recognition: what is our motivation for doing things? Rewards: God sees everything and will reward the good deeds done in secret. An amazing gift he offers is eternal life, but we can’t earn this. We can only receive it, and only if we trust in Jesus and what happened on the cross. Requests: as we pray, we’ll be made more like Jesus, and we’ll start to desire that God would look good in front of other people, rather than us!

Thoughts?

Only 9 spots left for reDirect!

Just as an update, there are only 9 spots left for reDirect, so sign up soon!  Don’t know what reDirect is? Check out the reDirect page in the Events section. Want to register? Go directly to the Registration page.

Dan in Real Life, Episode 3: “?”

I need your help…after making two Dan in Real Life videos, I need some ideas for the next few episodes, and I know you all are creative. In fact, the only reason we have Dan in Real Life 1 and 2 is because a few of you came up with the plots! So, can you think of anything? Something funny that has to do with my life here at the church office? Post your ideas below!