July 01, 2008

Created to Do Good Works

As I’ve been reading the New Testament Reading Guide along with our church, I came across a sweet verse today from Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

1. We are the Majesty’s Masterpiece. The word “workmanship” in the Greek sounds like our English word for poem and refers to what is composed or constructed. It was used to refer to any finished work of art, whether a statue or a song, a poem or a painting. The emphasis is on God and brings us back to Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created…” You and I are masterpieces of the Majesty.

Deuteronomy 32:6: “Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”

Psalm 100:3: “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his…”

Isaiah 43:21: “The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

Isaiah 60:21: “…The work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.”

Zephaniah 3:17 says that “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God delights in you because He designed you just the way He wants you to be. He breaks out into song when He thinks of you because you display His splendor.

I was asked a great question recently by someone who wanted to know why I think some people don’t serve. A number of responses started forming in my mind but one answer came right to the top: People will serve when they fall more deeply in love with the Master because service is an outflow of a growing relationship with Jesus. As we talked some more it became clear that our “being” leads to “doing,” not the other way around. Servants serve because of their devotion to the Master. What we do must flow from who we are. Friends, we must understand who we are before we start serving. The motivation for ministry must be love for the Master.

2. We are Recreated in Christ. The first thing to settle is your identity as a believer. You are the Majesty’s Masterpiece. The second push on the doorbell is what God did: “…created in Christ Jesus…” The word created means to bring something into existence, and is used in the New Testament of God’s creativity. If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you are not only His masterpiece but you are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 gets right to the heart of this truth: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Galatians 6:15 adds, “…what counts is a new creation.”

If you’re not sure you’re “in Christ,” the first nine verses of Ephesians 2 are just what you need. You can go from being dead in your transgressions and sins and being an object of God’s wrath, to being made alive with Christ, seated with Him in the heavenly places. Before we can treasure Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 2:8-9 must first be true in our lives: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

3. We are Saved to Serve. Once we figure out who we are and what God has done, then we can figure out why we’re here. Look again at Ephesians 2:10: “…to do good works…” The word “good” means something profitable that benefits others. And the word “work” reminds us that it involves effort because by nature we are selfish and focused primarily on three people: me, myself and I.

Some of us shy away from the phrase “good works” because we know that we’re not saved by what we do. That’s true, but we are called to care and because of God’s grace at work in our lives we have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Good works are not the root of salvation but they are the fruit of saving faith; they are not the way of salvation but the walk of salvation. A person is not saved by good works but a saved person works.

Still not convinced? Listen to these verses:

Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Titus 2:14: “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Titus 3:8: “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.”

Hebrews 3:16: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

4. God Has Prepared Our Paths. In His glorious grace, God has not only told us who we are, what He has done, and why we’re here, the fourth ringing of the doorbell determines where we are to do good works: “…which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This literally means “to make ready beforehand.” We could say it this way: God has not only prepared us for good works; He has prepared good works for us. The deeds that God wants us to do have been decreed beforehand. It’s an amazing truth that our good works have been prepared for us even before we were born. Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” David says a similar thing in Psalm 139:16: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Ephesians 1:11 teaches that we are predestined to salvation; Ephesians 2:10 says that where we serve has been predetermined. Our deeds are selected; now we must make sure we do them. The phrase “to do” is translated “walk” in some versions and literally means to go here and there or to tread all around. This truth gives me great comfort because I don’t have to search hard for what God wants me to do every day. I just need walk in the ways that He’s prepared for me. It’s not up to us to go out and figure out what we should do for God. God has already taken care of that. It’s up to us to find out what God has for us to do. Sometimes I wonder how many times I have missed the good works that God has prepared for me due to my selfishness or busyness or sinfulness. But then I take comfort in God’s sovereignty again, knowing that He will use someone else to meet the need that I was intended to meet. I’ll just miss out on the blessing of being a blessing to someone else

Don’t miss out on what God has for you today!

 

June 30, 2008

Fruit in Mexico

As a result of what our first Mexico Missions did, the missionaries are now using the Community Center for ESL Classes.

Way to go, guys! 

June 29, 2008

Making the Most of Missions

It’s been cool this summer to have so many people going out on short-term mission trips.  This morning we’ll commission a teenager who is going to Belize and hear a report from two women who just returned from Kenya.  This afternoon we’ll have an orientation meeting for the second Mexico team as we hear from the first team that went to Mexico.

In my preparations for that meeting I came across this humorous yet helpful link called Ten Ways to Ruin Short-term Missions Trips and Ten Commandments for Short-term Mission Trip Participants.

June 28, 2008

Praying the Word

Emily has posted another update from the DR.

Have you ever prayed Scripture back to God?  Here’s what I prayed for her this morning from Ephesians 3:14-21.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen Emily with power through his Spirit in her inner being, so that Christ may dwell in her heart through faith. And I pray that sweet Emily, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that she may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

June 27, 2008

A Rose in Pontiac

Thanks to the generosity of Chuck Lucas, our family has been able to attend the Pontiac Holiday Tournament the last several years.  It was a treat two years ago to watch Derrick Rose play, who became the NBA draft’s #1 pick last night.  He is now a Chicago Bull.

Now if I can just get some Bulls tickets…

June 26, 2008

Missionaries at Work

I was able to observe our 5-Day Club missonaries last night and was moved by what happened.  Here are some observations.

-The missionaries knew all the names of the kids and used their names throughout the hour.
-The teaching was energetic, interesting, engaging and biblical.
-The kids were very involved and interacted well.
-The kids had a lot of questions and the missionaries did their best to answer them. 
-Most of the kids are from homes where there is a lot of hurt.
-When it came time to present the gospel, the kids seemed to really understand it.
-When those who were ready to receive Christ went into a “smaller” group for counseling they seemed very sincere.  If the missonaries sense someone is just following the crowd or not ready, they tell the child to wait until they’re “really ready.”  I like that.
-Two boys told me that they asked Jesus into their life on Monday.
-Last night two girls indicated that they had placed their faith in Jesus.

There are four clubs going on this week—one in Odell, one in Campus and two in Pontiac.  Please continue to pray for them.

June 25, 2008

Relishing Romans 8

Take four minutes and allow the truths of Romans 8 to cascade over your soul today.  I love this section of Scripture and I like this guy’s accent.  I wish we had video taped David McClure reciting Jonah last Sunday.

June 25, 2008

A Puritan Poem

Grant me never to lose sight of
the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
the exceeding righteousness of salvation,
the exceeding glory of Christ,
the exceeding beauty of holiness,
the exceeding wonder of grace.

June 24, 2008

One Way or Many Ways?

A new study released by the Pew Forum finds most Americans don’t feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise.

This quote really troubled me: Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching.

While we live in a pluralistic country, as believers in Jesus we must teach what Jesus himself taught.  He is the only way to heaven: “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. There is no other plan but the person of Jesus. There is no way to get to heaven unless we go through Him. Jesus is very inclusive in the sense that everyone is invited to a relationship with Him as John 6:37 states: “…whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” But, His claims are very exclusive in the sense that there is no other way to Heaven except through Him. The exclusivity of Immanuel is emphatic.

How does this mesh in a pluralistic society like ours that values variety and excludes exclusive truth claims? Though Christianity still dominates by sheer numbers, the U.S. now has a greater diversity of religious groups than any country in recorded history. Did you know that there are now more Muslims in America than there are Methodists? It’s helpful to remember that the world of the biblical authors was filled with paganism and pluralism as well. In the midst of all this doctrinal diversity, the Bible makes some rather startling claims that run counter-cultural to the mantra of religious tolerance.

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus made it clear that the way to heaven is pretty restrictive: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Peter boldly states in Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men…”

1 John 5:12: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

These passages are extremely exclusive and overwhelmingly clear: Jesus is the only way to heaven. His statements of divine authority are incompatible with the homogenizing views of religious pluralists. The claims of Christ are outrageous but they happen to be what G.K. Chesterton called “the wild truth.”

Here are a few observations about John 14:6.

When Jesus uses the phrase, “I AM,” He is once again claiming the name of Yahweh for Himself from Exodus 3:14. He is God in human flesh. He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Gate, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Vine, the Alpha and Omega, and the Resurrection and the Life.

Notice that this verse begins with the word “I.” In fact, eleven times in just six verses, Jesus uses the personal pronoun – I, me, or my. We are not saved by a principle or a force but by a person. Jesus did not say that He knew the way, the truth and the life, or even that he taught these great principles. He declared Himself to be the embodiment of the way, the truth and the life. While answering all of life’s questions, Jesus doesn’t offer a recipe to follow; instead He gives us a relationship with Himself. His plan is wrapped up in a Person.
In the original, the words way, truth and life have the definite article in front of them so that the verse should read, “I am the way (that is, the only way), I am the truth (that is, the only truth), and the life (that is, the only life).”

All three concepts are active and dynamic. The way brings to God; the truth makes us free; and the life produces relationship. Without the way there is no going, without the truth there is no knowing, without the life there is no living.

The context indicates that the idea of “the way” predominates. We could put it like this: “I am the way that reveals the truth about God and gives life to those who believe.”

There is only one avenue to salvation. With Christ removed there is no redemptive truth, no everlasting life and no way to the Father. While other religions offer systems of thought that try to bridge the gap between man and God, Jesus is the only one who has succeeded in bridging the divide.

Since every word of this astonishing statement challenges the fundamental beliefs of our culture, let’s look at this verse a little more closely.

1. Jesus is the way. Jesus does not merely show the way; He is Himself the way. This has a twofold meaning. He is the way from God to us in that all divine blessings come down from the Father through the Son. He is also the way from us to God. The only way to get to God is through Jesus. He spans the distance between God and sinners.

A story is told of a missionary traveling to a remote village. He was given a guide to take him there because they had to walk through the jungle. As they started their journey, the path was clear and easy to follow. But then it vanished and the guide had to cut through the vines and the thick undergrowth with his machete. The missionary got nervous and asked, “Where’s the path?” To which the native replied, “I am the path. Just follow me”

2. Jesus is the truth. The word “truth” in Scripture is used in two ways: true as contrasted with false, and genuine as opposed to fake. Jesus is authentic and trustworthy. When we look at Jesus we come face-to-face with certainty and reality. The Bible describes truth as not just something that is simply intellectual; it also has a moral dimension to it. John 3:21 refers to doing the truth: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light…” Jesus reveals God and exposes guilty people.

Truth is the scarcest commodity in the world. We hear people say, “that might be true for you, but it’s not for me.” Researcher George Barna has discovered that nearly 75% of Americans do NOT believe in absolute truth. Here’s the sad part of that. Without the clarity and consistency of absolute moral truth, we are reduced to doing what seems right, what feels good, what produces the least resistance, and what provides the greatest personal fulfillment.

Jesus rises above our cultural confusion and shouts out, “I am the truth. Get to know me and you will discover that which is totally true and transforming.” Truth is a very exclusive thing because it implies an objective standard. It is not something that changes with the whims of emotion or time or culture. What was true 100 years ago is true this year because, as Hebrews 13:8 states: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

In 1992, some Christians at Harvard University organized the Veritas Forum. Their purpose was to explore the truth and relevance of Christ by “raising the hardest questions of the university, society, and the human heart.” They were convinced that if Jesus was the Truth, He could stand up to thorough examination. They prayed and planned and invited people to their first discussion expecting about 100 people. Amazingly, 700 truth-seekers showed up. Now the Veritas Forum has emerged on over 70 secular campuses with over 200,000 participants. (Discipleship Journal, Issue 120).

Friend, if you’re searching for truth, ask your questions. Research the relevance of the Bible. Seek after truth. Winston Churchill once said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” Jesus is offering you a personal relationship with Himself.

Do you remember that scene from “A Few Good Men” when Jack Nicholson said to Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth?” Can you handle the truth? Don’t run away when it’s right in front of you. Pilate voiced the question on many minds today. Even though Jesus was standing right in front of Him, he queried in John 18:38: “What is truth?” He didn’t take the time to find out. Friend, you will find what you’re looking for in Christ as John 8:32 declares: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

3. Jesus is the life. All through the gospel of John life describes the principle of spiritual vitality. Just as death spells separation from God, so life implies communion with Him. We are dead without Him. We become alive when we surrender ourselves to Him. John 5:24: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Since Jesus is life we will only find meaning when we commit to His lordship. John 1:4: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

I can think of three ways we can put this powerful passage into practice.

1. Place your faith in Jesus. He is the only way! Look again at the last part of verse 6: “…No one comes to the Father except through me.” That little word “except” means that apart from Jesus there is no way to be saved. You cannot get there by trusting yourself. And you cannot come to the Father by jumping through any religious hoops either. The only way to come is to go through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. 1 Peter 3:18: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Are you ready to do that right now?

Jesus is the way that must be followed; He is the truth that must be believed; and He is the life that must be lived. Be like Thomas and ask your questions and then when you find what you’re looking for, instead of being a “doubting Thomas,” be a “decisive Thomas.” When he looked at the overwhelming evidence as he put his hands into the wounds of his Savior, Jesus saw into Thomas’ soul and said, “Stop doubting and believe.” I love Thomas’ response in John 20:28: “My Lord and my God!” Can you say the same thing? Will you stop doubting and believe?

2. Tell others about Jesus. Brothers and sisters, we don’t have to make Jesus more palatable to people. He is truth and can stand up to thorough investigation. Our job is to tell others about Him. By the way, the exclusive truth claims of Jesus do not mean that we should demonstrate an exclusive spirit. Ravi Zacharias captures this well when he writes: “Without the undergirding of love, the possessor of any conviction becomes obnoxious, and the dogma believed becomes repulsive to the one who disagrees with it. The early church also lived in an intensely pluralistic culture in which it had to deliver an exclusivistic message, but the believers were distinguished and recognized by their love…being possessed of a conviction is a necessary part of following God, but doing so with love and patience are necessary handmaidens.” (“Deliver Us From Evil,” p. 83).

3. Live your life for Jesus. Because Jesus is the great “I AM,” those of us who know Him should have our lives shaped by Him. Are you living for Him right now? Do you need to come back?

Bobby Fong, a former Harvard student, puts it this way: “Truth is not only that which awaits discovery but also that which was once known but is now threatened by forgetfulness.”

June 23, 2008

Ready to Go

A sidewalk preacher stood on a soapbox downtown and started a rousing sermon on salvation, ending with, “Brothers and Sisters, if you want to go to Heaven, come stand by me!”

Half of those standing around joined the preacher, and he went on, raising his voice and fervor, again with the call, “Brothers and Sisters, if you want to go to Heaven, come stand with me!”

Half of those left came over and the preacher continued, ending again with the call to Heaven. This time, all but one man came over.

“Brother!” the preacher called, “Don’t you want to go to Heaven when you die?”

The man said, “Oh sure, when I die. I thought you were taking a load up now!”

If you want some clean humor everyday, sign up for free emails from Mikey’s Funnies.

June 22, 2008

Jonah in High Speed

Pastor Dick is preaching on Jonah today and David McClure is reciting the entire book before the sermon!

Here’s another rendition of this amazing book.

June 21, 2008

When All That’s Left is Forgiveness

Here’s an email from Sue Shavers, sent from Heathrow Airport, about what God did in Kenya:

Well, Were in Heathrow airport. The trip is almost done and I don’t even know where to begin with what to tell you. It has been a glorious trip and so much was done!!! The people we met and the things we saw were amazing and a true testament to God’s greatness and power. There were all told 65 professions of faith and we saw about 750 people in the clinic. The things we saw in the clinic were so sad yet inspiring as we saw the perserverance of man. We saw so many burn victims and people who had lost everything including family members to the violence in Eldoret and other places. They stated that all that was left for them to do was to FORGIVE. Isn’t that amazing??

June 21, 2008

Pontiac Prison Picture

If you live in the area, don’t forget to gather at the courthouse in Pontiac at 10:30 this morning for a community photo shoot to support the PCC.

June 20, 2008

Emily Update

Yeah!  Emily has just posted an update from the Dominican.

June 20, 2008

Out of Africa

I just called Ken Marley to get an update on how Kathy and Sue are doing in Kenya.  They are about to board a plan to begin their long journey back home.

They have had a great week.  One story Ken told me was about a woman who was beating and cutting herself to get rid of demons.  Once she heard the gospel and responded, she was immediately at peace.

I’ll be interviewing Kathy and Sue on June 29th in both services so we’ll hear more then.

June 20, 2008

Finding Fruit

We spent Wednesday and Thursday at my parents in Wisconsin and were able to go strawberry picking. 

I noticed that the best berries were often hidden but were certainly worth the effort to find them.  How’s your fruit today?  Is it hidden or easy to find? 

June 18, 2008

Musing About Mexico

As our team recovers from their ministry in Mexico, I decided to email Willard Baker this morning to find out his thoughts about the trip.  Here’s his response:

It was great. I enjoyed being able to serve God in such a way; the people there were great. God left me with such a blessing the first Sunday when we got to take communion with them.

June 18, 2008

Figuring Out the Flood

Whenever disasters hit, its natural to ask the “why” questions.  Whether that’s some bad health news, a relational rupture, earthquakes or floods, we want to know why these things happen.

I came across a fabulous sermon from a pastor named Erich Schumacher from Northbrook Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  His town has faced evacuations and many of his church members have been affected.  I love how he weaves the story of redemption through his sermon.

Let’s pray for him and his church and listen to how the Lord might have us reach out to what some are now calling “Katrina in Iowa.”

June 17, 2008

5-Day Clubs

PBC has three teenage missionaries in training right now (this is their second week) to prepare to teach boys and girls the good news this summer.  Please pray for Michelle Anderson, Lydia Bill and Devyn Woodburn as they finish up this week.  We received a call yesterday that two little girls responded to the invitation during one of their “practice presentations.” 

If you’d like more information about this ministry, see here or call the church office to find when a club will be offered in your neighborhod (815.842.3844).

June 16, 2008

Hasta Luego

Here are some final pictures of the PBC team in Mexico.  Pastor Jeff called a short time ago to say they are now in Houston.  They should be back in the PBC parking lot by 11:00 p.m.

June 16, 2008

From Kathy in Kenya

Kathy Marley and Sue Shavers are now in Kenya.  Here’s part of an email that Kathy just sent…

We had awesome worship on Sunday! The young people led the worship and music and prayer. I kept comparing their height to assure myself that these were really children—they were so professional, passionate, real, and it was so amazing and inspiring. I was very comfortable as if these were adult men and women, that I forgot their age…The first day is always somewhat confused as people find eachother, show up very late, and generally things look chaotic. Then God’s spirit settles in and makes order of chaos, and mighty things begin to happen! I was busy getting our clinic up and running to help Lorraine Wilson, a very hectic thing at all the rooms at once. Later when my part slowed down I was able to go out with translaters to talk with four groups of Kenyans about salvation, our sins in God’s eyes and His remedy. one lady Maria Myokabi prayed to receive Christ. She was at first very shy in front of the others, but then very open…I was a little at a loss, trying to connect her to someone to disciple her but God sent one of the pastors at the huge church we are ministering at strolling by and he warmly received her and greeted her and invited her to be a part of the mother church and she was very pleased…Love and prayers in His power for His Glory, His Name, His renown…nothing this foolish old lady could do—only the Mighty God of the Universe could bring all this together and orchestrate all this!!!!!  Goodnight! It is already lights out-this took an hour to type!  Kathy

June 16, 2008

Commissioning Prayer

June 16, 2008

Time to Go Fishing

I remember when I was young and my dad would wake me up early to go fishing.  Because I was so excited I was usually awake before he came down to my bedroom.  This morning we had our alarms set for 3:30 a.m. and both Beth and I woke up before they went off! 

We’re excited for Emily as she prepares to leave for the Dominican and prepares to catch little boys and girls for Christ (see Luke 5:1-11).  She’ll be gone for 7 weeks. 

If you’d like to keep up with what she’s doing, you can read her blog here.  Here’s what she posted last night:

to all my dear readers, (haha…. Kara!)
well, 12 hours from right now, i’ll be on the plane to miami. then, later in the afternoon our flight takes off to santiago. i’ll be in jarabacoa for training for the first few days and then on to constanza where i will be for the rest of the time. as soon as i find an internet cafe, i’ll try to update everyone on what’s happening. thank you so much for your encouragement and prayer. today, as i was commissioned in church and talked to many people afterwards, i felt so supported by my church family- thank you so much! oh p.s. if you want to leave me comments on here, i’d love to read them. i changed the settings so that now you can leave a comment even if you don’t have a google account; just click anonymous and then sign your name so i’ll know who you are. or you can email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Happy Summer

June 15, 2008

Christo Salvador and Obrerofiel

Pastor Jeff has posted another update.  God is really using this team and they are learning a lot.  Pastor Dick will be preaching this morning.  They will return to Pontiac late Monday night.

Beth Hanna and Paul and Grace Becker are the missionaries they are staying with.  They are supported by PBC.  One of their ministries is to communicate Christ through the Latin American world via a website called Obrerofiel (which means, “Faithful Worker”).  Three of our sermons have been translated into Spanish by Sarah Schwerin (one of the PBC members on the trip) and are posted here and here and here.

Please pass this site along to anyone you know who speaks Spanish.

June 14, 2008

Winding Down in Mexico

Here’s another report from Pastor Jeff.

June 13, 2008

Carrying the Torch

Lynette Duncan went out to support Julie Renken as she helped to escort the Special Olympics Torch from Dwight to Pontiac.  Julie will be officially welcomed as a new member on Sunday and is in Colin and Lynette’s small group.

When I asked Julie for permission to post this, this is what she said:

“Those crazy Duncan’s.  It was such an inspiration to have Lynette show up.  I was truly touched.  I wanted to give up so many times but kept praying for the strength to continue.  Thank goodness I took membership classes b/c I kept remembering: ‘No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man but God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when tempted He will provide a way out for you to stand up under.’  Lynette kept that temptation away.

Riding into 25 mph winds for 22 miles was quite difficult and we even had a few crashes due to the wind blowing us in to each other. 

I wouldn’t mind if you put it on your blog.  It was definitely a challenge.  I think I can truly say that I beat what this stroke did to me by completing the torch run.  I couldn’t have done it without PBC.  Thanks for teaching me to surrender!”

June 13, 2008

Dia Cinco

Pastor Jeff has posted another report from Mexico.  Please pray for Pastor Dick’s voice to return as he is scheduled to preach on Sunday.

June 13, 2008

Baby Bottle Project

If you’ve been saving your spare change in baby bottles for the Caring Pregnancy Center, please return them on Sunday.

June 12, 2008

Kenya Team Takes Off!

Kathy Marley and Sue Shavers are heading to Kenya tonight.

Here’s an update from the airport…

Hi!  We are soon to board our very full plane—enormous lines of people being rescheduled due to weather and cancelled flights…we have met all but one of our team and are bonding wonderfully!! It is already fabulous being together, but the stories are beginning to be shared of the spiritual warfare in the past week trying to thwart God’s plans. What a mighty God!!!  Gotta go—bye!

June 12, 2008

Two Updates

Here’s a report on activities yesterday in Mexico including a video of the team mixing concrete.

Emily has posted an update on her preparations for the Dominican Republic.

June 11, 2008

Save Pontiac Prison Community Photo

On Saturday, June 21st at 10:30 a.m. everyone is invited to come to the square in downtown Pontiac to show support for the employees and families of the Pontiac Correctional Center by participating in a panoramic community photo.

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