Reflections on Backpack Radio, Episode #164

Reflections on Backpack Radio, Episode #164: Cults, Heresies, and World Religions with Doug Powell (listen here)

My husband wanted me to start by looking at iWitness World Religions and iWitness Heresies and Cults, apps created by Doug Powell (apologist and musician) and now available for downloading. But I’m, like, apps schnapps—let’s talk about cults. Doug, please develop an app that will allow me to point at someone and my phone will immediately read, “Cult Member” or “Cult-free.” The wisdom-seeking folk will want to listen to this episode. Is now an appropriate time to admit that I got my first smart phone and sent my first text message in June?

But CULTS. To get started, let’s go to the eighties. Here’s Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality.” Tina Fey is also making a new sitcom about a woman leaving a doomsday cult. So cults are hot!

I guess, then, my hope is to whet your appetites for more—which you can get from the show. My guess is that all of us have been touched by cults. Once, I had dinner with the Moonies! An old college friend had drunk the Kool Aid, so to speak (oh, that’s the wrong cult!), and married this complete stranger in a big stadium. This was back in my All-Faiths-Are-Equally-Valid days and so, when my ultra-PC friend urged me not to call them “Moonies” but to kindly refer to them as members of the Unification Church, I did so. Actually, there isn’t much to tell because I asked the wrong questions—but I do remember being spooked and hearing about how much property they owned in Manhattan (tons, friends, tons). The last I heard, she had left the cult and was a single mom in Phoenix. I met her once again at an IHOP, and she looked amazing.

Besides that, there has been the troubling goodness of numerous Mormons in my path. They have been among the best of my students—those Mormon kids have been respectful, and they’ve turned their homework in on time. So what if they’ve got mysterious ideas about owning their own planets? Surely, they’re okay, right?

Then, there’s that Shaker village in Massachusetts we visited. I think they died out because no one had sex, but they made awesome furniture! (Make love, not war? Make a chair, not a baby!)

Finally, I must confess to having seen a lot of Tom Cruise movies, so I’ve also encountered Scientology. These encapsulate my cultic experiences. Or do they?

I’ve already confessed to offering no cohesive apologetic to the Moonies. In the same way that I wouldn’t know what an “app” really was if it hit me in the face, I’m not so sure we’re entirely aware of what a cult really is. Perhaps this is the first step in fighting the good fight—and why this app might be important. Sure, it’s easy to self-righteously identify David Koresh, but what about the subtle heretics who speak gently but authoritatively? I’m personally more interested in the way Christian groups harbor cultic tendencies, as opposed to the obvious nutcases who want us to make friends with aliens or marry our cousins. What dangers lurk among us?

One interesting question has been raised on this topic (by my husband and me, on the couch): Can a group be doctrinally-sound and still be a cult? Of course, this begs another question: what does it mean to be doctrinally-sound? In other words, Can genuine Christians—True Believers—be in a cult? What does it look like when groups begin with the Bible, with Jesus?

It almost seems as if the word cult defies definition. There are sects, heretics, and cults. It’s all very confusing. Basically, you want to be in the historic Christianity camp. Here’s how you can figure out if you’re in a cult. I’ll try to make it fun, by writing my own app-like quiz. These traits are adapted from the International Cultic Studies Association, which I picked out from about a million online resources (http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm). The emphasis is on adapted. I’d encourage you to check out the original source, since I messed with it considerably.

• Do you think your leader knows completely what he’s talking about and you can trust him because he’s so wise and you’re an idiot anyway? Plus, questioning is not a great option. You don’t want to be contentious—especially since your leader is so brilliant and, well, as already mentioned, you’re an idiot?
• Is the whole questioning process equivalent to trying to get off the Island in “Lost” or like finding the wardrobe that will take you to Narnia?
• Have you signed any papers or jumped on a disturbing bandwagon because your friends are doing it (plus, you’re an idiot, so what do you really know?)
• Does your leader have a Napoleonic complex? Does he have an answer for everything? Does he ever just stop and say, “Wow. You’re right. I was wrong. I’m so sorry.”
• Does your group think they’ve got a handle on Truth unlike anyone else?
• Does your group pretty much feel uncomfortable with Other Christians?
• Could someone get rid of the leader, if necessary? Would it be like a coup?
• Is there anything unethical going on? Are you just standing there watching? Seriously?
• Do you feel guilt and shame because you’ve failed, AGAIN, to present your papers to the authorities? Do you find yourself trying harder to be good or getting physically ill because you can’t do it or are you even thinking about suicide?
• Is there an in-group and an out-group? How does your group grow?
• Do you sorta think there is “nothing else out there”? Are you scared to leave, like really scared? How does one leave? Who has left and why?

Once we start talking cults, Christians might move into self-examination. Can the traits of a cult be in place, even if it’s not a cult? What does it look like when a church manifests cult-like traits? What constitutes mind-control or brainwashing? What does a healthy church look like? At what point does a church become unhealthy enough that you just have to get out of there? Can you find the back door? Do you have your running shoes on? Are your kids okay?

More than anything, Christians might want to ask themselves if they’re hearing the full Gospel in their churches, if there’s genuine transparency and accountability in their leadership, and if there really is freedom of expression or is there merely a charade of discussion, a pretense of humility?

Jennifer Bell is mostly a writer, but she’s also an English teacher. The author of two books of fiction, she lives with her husband and two kids in Phoenix.

Is Homeschooling A Necessity? (Episode #123 from February 3, 2013)

Is Homeschooling A Necessity? (Episode #123 from February 3, 2013)

Oh, wow, I’ve got so much to say about this one. I should begin by admitting that I’m a homeschooling failure. There’s a long, ugly story behind this admission, but it’s probably enough to say I married my husband under the pretense that I would cheerfully put aside my unsuccessful career and give our unborn children the best “Classical” education ever—which would amazingly involve Socrates, Shakespeare, and trips to the opera. Then, when the kids started toddling over with those wretched Spot books (Spot Goes To School, Spot Goes To The Circus, Spot Goes To The Farm, Spot Goes To The Holocaust Museum, Spot Suffers An Existentialist Crisis), and when my homeschooling supermom friends trembled with excitement over new curriculum and set up spiffy classrooms in their living rooms or planted pesticide-free gardens, I broke down and announced, “I can’t do it.” I think I added, “This will kill me.” Knowing me, I probably put it this way: “Tim, you’re killing me.” Yeah, that’s what I said.

Though I was met by support from most people in my life (lots of Christians), who affirmed that it’s not a moral issue and homeschooling isn’t for everyone, I got the distinct impression that I was blowing it: as a mom, a wife, a woman, and a Christian.

That said, my kids are in school now.

This episode of Backpack Radio features Joel McDurmon of American Vision, who argues convincingly, albeit maybe a little over-the-topishly, that education must be private in a truly free society. He says that public schools stem from the idea that there is no original sin; therefore, the implication is that we can perfect ourselves by controlling our environments. Such thinking influenced the development of insane asylums, prisons, and public schools. Education literally means “to lead out of . . .” It follows, then, that we might ask ourselves who’s doing the leading and where are we going. Keeping in mind that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, McDurmon argues that homeschooling is mandated for Christians.

Frankly, he’s convincing. I can’t say that I think he’s full of it. Public education is godless. Parents are the ones responsible for their children. The thing he just doesn’t discuss (and, actually, I’m not so sure I’ve really heard anyone discuss) is how this is connected to women, and what it means to be a Christian woman. The “woman issue.” In postmodern parlance, we’re talking the “feminist discourse.”

(Pertinent Side Note: No one would really call me a feminist. “I’m just a girl,” to quote No Doubt, a semi-lackluster band.)

Before my rightwing friends tune me out, give me a chance. I’m only going to raise some questions and drop some comments, and—who knows?—maybe these all stem from personal feelings of inadequacy and my own unwillingness to really give up my self-life by buckling down and homeschooling.

• I really, truly, completely, wholehearted think teaching—teaching children, specifically—is a gift. One is automatically a parent when one gives birth, but giving birth does not automatically turn one into a gifted teacher. I just don’t fully get why we “cheapen,” if you will, this gift. I know kids who have gotten fabulous educations at home. I also know kids who were kinda cheated, kids who don’t know where the Mississippi River is. Am I going too far?

• What about a woman’s vocation? Are moms allowed to have other vocations too? I don’t really have any answers. I still haven’t come to terms with my own role as a writer. I did, at some point, have an acute awareness that it’s something I better do or else. But I’m a mom too.

• If Backpack Radio would like to do another show on this topic, I’d suggest the guys talk to three kinds of Christian women: the Christian women who send their kid(s) to private schools, the Christian women who send their kid(s) to public schools, and the Christian women who homeschool. Let them talk. But get some honest broads. I know some women who have no desire whatsoever to do what they’re doing. I’d like to hear from them—though it’s tough to get them to talk. And then I’d like to know if I’m just trying to couch my selfish ambition in theological backtalk.

• So, like, yeah: it often seems like the homeschooling agenda is imposed on the woman in the name of godliness, and she takes it on quietly—also in the name of godliness. (By the way, I know plenty of women who love it, choose it, and thrive at it.) This all makes me question what is the role of the wife, how is vocation defined, how important is talent, etc.

• On education: I’ll be honest. I hate the idea of sending my kids out there into the arms of the public education system. I’m scared of porn on the Internet. I’m scared of mean girls. I’m scared of pervs. I’m scared of pretty boys. I’m scared of secular humanism. And I’m a little disillusioned with parts of private education (the meanies and pervs don’t go away). In the name of protecting kids, private education might withhold knowledge. Homeschooling has its problems, too. I value a lot about the school experience: learning how to line up at the drinking fountain, going on field trips, having a lunch box, learning classroom etiquette—the whole socialization process. I think a lot of homeschooling moms dismiss these things as insignificant, but I’m not really sure. Obviously, one has to trust in God, accept the sovereignty of God, and know that a child might do well in a variety of circumstances.

• There’s this tension, if you ask me, between living as if the ideal were already in place and between living with the reality of a fallen world. The ideal might be—I’m really not sure—that we homeschool. In an ideal world, marriages would be such that women thrive, men would help in a real way, talent would blossom, kids would be attentive and eager, et al. Do we—not just in this area, but others too—live like the ideal exists? In other words, should single moms homeschool, no matter what? I have to tell you this: there have been other areas of my life in which I’ve tried to live according to an ideal, and I freakin’ fell apart.

That said, it’s very hard for me to remove the discussion from its context: what about the women? Give the show a listen. What do you think?

Jennifer Bell is mostly a writer, but she’s also an English teacher. The author of two books of fiction, she lives with her husband and two kids in Phoenix.

Sermon Notes: 'ALL GOD’S THINGS, ALL GOD’S GLORY'

Intro:
Commentator NT Wright talks about how some birds like sparrows seem to spend all their time on small scale activities: they make nests, grub for food, and squawk. Others seem to spend all day soaring in a grand, wide-ranging and majestic manner. He goes on to say that some Bible teachers may be more like one or the other: some are all nuts and bolts, practical and detail oriented and others are more overarching, big general truths sometimes even vague platitudes. Paul is both and eagle and a sparrow, though. He zooms in on the street level and then zooms back at out the end so you can get the Google Earth view as well. And that’s what I actually want to draw out today. 

As we hear these verses read to us, please keep in the forefront of your mind 1 Corinthians 10:31 – this verse’s theology is really the focus of all the New Testament writings, indeed, the focus of the whole of Scripture. This verse encapsulates the whole of good Reformation theology as well as its theological heirs. This is even the focus of heaven itself: to do all things for the glory of God. Here’s what 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

We’re going to read through our passage and see how Paul applies this key principle. But as we unpack these details, please keep in mind that everything we discuss in these verses today arises directly from the biblical mandate that (in the words of Colossians 3:17) “whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we are do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  This means all of life is to be lived for His name sake, His glory, His purpose, His honor, for God and God alone. With these things in mind, let us go to the Lord in prayer to prepare our hearts for the reading and preaching of his Word from 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1.

Principle 1 - “ALL THINGS SHOULD BUILD OTHERS”
                                    1 Corinthians 10:23-24 and 10:32
                                                           Application of Principle 1: 1 Corinthians 10:28-29a

BACKGROUND INFO FOR CORINTH
The Corinthian Meat Market seems to have been located along the Lechaeum Road, traveling just north just off the city center. We have found the ruins of the fish market (Fish scales have also been recovered), N of the Roman basilica. Corinth’s meat market was mentioned on a fragment of a Latin inscription on a stone found near the Lechaeum Road. The dedicatory inscription reads: [names of the benefactors] built this macellum...and piscarium (fish house).  In Pompeii, immediately adjacent to the macellum is a storage pen for animals. Had these animals been sacrificed, the priest's portion (the shoulders) would have been missing. 

possible gods w/shrines, sanctuaries or temples being adored in Corinth:
-Demeter (of the field) - Dining rooms in lower half, cult areas (sacrificial pit, etc) upper
-her daughter Kore (ancient Greek fertility cult), on an incline on N slope of Acrocorinth
-maybe Dionysus/Bacchus (to the Romans)
-probably Apollo
- Shrine found to the Egyptian goddess Isis
-Egyptian deity Sarapis. In stories he offered help to followers, mixture of Egyptian and Greek
-the cults of the dead
-the cults of the heroes (eg, Hercules)
-the Roman domestic religion, including the imperial Cult
-offerings (clay models of body parts) to ASCLEPIUS, god of medicine/healing. Spas/temples
-Famous temple to the erotic Aphrodite, w/ temple prostitutes
-Temple to Poseidon, god of the sea

“Place religion at the heart of social life as surely as it must be placed at the heart of cultural activities of every sort. For most people, to have a good time with their friends involved some contact with that God who served as guest of honor, as master of ceremonies, or as host in the porticoes or flowering, shaded grounds of his own dwelling. For most people, meat was a thing never eaten and wine to surfeit never drunk save as some religious setting permitted. There existed – it is no exaggeration to say it of all what the fairly rich – no formal social life… that was entirely secular. Small wonder, then, that Jews and Christians brackets [held] themselves aloof from anything the gods touched… Source: Ramsey MacMullen, Paganism, p40 from B. Witherington III

-Paul does ban taking part in sacrificial feasts in the temple
-He does not ban eating in the restaurant connected to the temple but prefers they not
-He does not ban eating the meat sold in the market
-He does not ban eating at someone’s house however … 1 Cor 8:1-13 and then 10:23-11:1, a non-cultic context but even then, abstain if need be b/c Idols are not real but perceptions of them are and so are the demonic forces which lie behind false religious systems

EXAMPLE PROBLEMS: the wine would almost certainly be offered in the name of Dionysus and the gods were often sung to or honored in other ways – thanks to the god for the food, for example. Maybe a Christian could pronounce a different name over the cup – Jesus?

Ancient invitations - Not from Rome, from Egypt

-“Antonius son of Ptolemaus invites you to dine with him at the banquet of the lord Sarapis in the house of Claudius Sarapion on the 16th from the ninth hour.”                                             -“Appolonius invites you to dine at the table of the lord Serapis on the occasion of the approaching coming of age of his brothers at the temple of Thoeris”
-“The god calls you to a banquet being held in the temple of Thoeris tomorrow from the 9th hour.”         
-“The [city officials] invite you to dine at the temple of Demeter today, which is the 9th, at the 7th hour.”

-Dining invites: birth, adolescence, political advancement, marriage, death and entertainment. withdrawl in a certain situation could present a positive opportunity to talk about the gospel, especially in light of the Greco-roman after dinner table talk. Or it could lead to social isolation.
failure to do so could result in these things:
-compromise their monotheistic confession
-confirm rather than challenge their friend’s idolatrous assumptions
-endorse idolatry and hence, demons

3 principles about the gray areas:
-what is safe for one Christian may not be for another
-discernment takes knowledge AND love
-we shouldn’t demand our right if it hurts others

why? REASON - 10:24 – “do not seek the good of yourself but the good of the other” or
paraphrased as “not my good but your good be done” ... Matthew 22:39

THE GOSPEL
What Jesus has done is why we are free in the first place.
what has he done? How are we free? So what? How can one become free?
Galatians 6:2 and Galatians 5:13

Principle 2: “ALL THINGS are for God’s Glory”                    - 1 Corinthians 10:25-26 and 10:31

• Application of Principle 2
• 1 Corinthians 10:27 (implies we can and may eat with non-believers, sharing social settings with them)

10:26 flows from his doctrine of creation (1 tim 4.4) and God’s sovereignty (1 cor 8.6)

Here cites Psalm 24.1, like Acts 10.15… see Psalm 89:11

1 Timothy 4:3–5 and Colossians 2:16

“Paul is thoroughly Jewish and biblical in his understanding that creation is good and that the food we receive has been provided for us by God and should be received with thanksgiving and with the understanding that food, like everything else in creation, exists to fulfill the purpose God has in mind for it, namely, his glory. As far as the Christian is concerned, whatever food is found in the market is part of God’s gracious provision should be thankfully received as such.”
SOURCE: Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner, Pillar Commentary, pg. 489.

AND HIS PASSION FOR MISSIONS TO THE WOLRD…
Luke 10:8 and1 Corinthians 9:22

APPLICATIONS:
As a result, "do not judge on the basis of your συνείδησις" means: do not look at all the stuff you can get at the market from your own personal moral code but from God's perspective, because the earth is the Lord's.

We do not need to hold to Kosher food laws as in Judaism. We also do not need to be concerned about the food laws of Islam, 7^th Day Adventism or Roman Catholicism. We also do not want these folks think we are identifying with their beliefs if we do hold to these laws however that does not mean we would throw our Christian freedom in their face.

Now most of this discussion is about not allowing any pagans to think you identify with their false beliefs or causing weaker Christians to have a moral crisis. In the previous section there was much talk about not having a lax attitude towards idolatry because arrogance can lead to spiritual compromise. But I think when we add in the discussions from 1 Corinthians 8 and especially  9, we can perhaps make some application about our behavior towards outsiders in these matters.

For example, I have had some Muslims in my house. My wife and I have served them food. We have went out of our way to serve them things they would find culturally and even religiously acceptable so as to avoid needless offense. I have also eaten at a popular local spot with some of my Middle Eastern friends at a place called Zam Zams. Muslim own and frequent the spot and its name is based on a Koranic legend about a magical well called the ZamZam Well. The Muslims I speak to do not think I believe the legend because I eat at the restaurant, rather they are glad to know that I have been to some of the places they like. Similarly, the Muslims who have come over do not think Islam is right – I make sure they know otherwise – but I have tried to remove needless roadblocks so that I may witness to them better. I also make sure they know I do not do this because I believe it helps me find favor in God’ s sight – it does not. Yet, these acts can show Christian love and give us a chance to speak about Christ’s grace and mercy and how dietary restrictions do not earn merit with the one true and living God.

Also See Romans 14:7; 14:14; 14:15; 14:19; 14:20; 14:23; 15:2; 15:3 

EXAMPLES I. “ALL THINGS SHOULD BUILD OTHERS”
II.                     “ALL THINGS are for God’s Glory”               

            1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1                   (see 1 Corinthians 29b-30)

(10:29-30 – “I have freedom in Christ – and I defend that right to my freedom -
b/c ALL THINGS are God’s for His glory  but I limit it b/c ALL THINGS should build up others”)
or, to put it another way “Christian liberty must be moderated by Christian charity”

PAUL 1 Thessalonians 1:6 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9

The Corinthian slogan 10:23 (and 6:12) vs. Paul’s slogan 10:31

Panta exestin ‘all things are lawful’
 - Ou panta sympherei - not all things are helpful
Panta exestin ‘all things are lawful’
- Ou panta oikodomei - not all things build up
Panta exestin ‘all things are lawful’
Panta eis doxan theou  - ‘all to the glory of god’                                                                        

 “Nothing can make a person like Christ more than caring for one’s neighbors”
– John Chrysostom homilies on Corinthians 25.3

JESUS - Philippians 2:4- Like the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.11-12

Challenging applications for today:    

-Christianity must affect your social life
It should not look identical to the world’s. you may have to sacrifice. Certain club settings, certain bars, certain concerts, certain casinos … And if you are a Christian living in the East, say in India or Hong Kong, this is still a very live issue with almost a one to one correlation. Many weddings would be given in the name and honor of gods … this may affect how some of us here should think about such things as Day of the Dead ceremonies. To some folks, it’s just a time where families get together and eat. In others, maybe they remember their family members who have dies – ok. But in more traditional cultures, especially in Latin america, these times can take on another level of significance in people’s minds that borders directly on the occult – you better think about this! -2 dangers – syncretism and separatism but …

CONSIDER: we shouldn’t ask how far can I go but rather what are my motives?

Challenging Questions for us to ask ourselves today?

-Have we thought long and hard about the places we go and the events we are part of – have we sincerely asked if they can be done as to the glory of God? Remember, sin can not be to the glory of god since God commands against it – this is why in the Corinthian correspondence things like idolatry, sexual immorality, drunkenness and the like are all condemned.

-Do we even consider our brothers and sisters in Christ when we decide what we are going to do
where we are going to go, how we are going to do it, and what we invite them to? This consideration must include the strong and the weak as well as those of differing backgrounds (Paul mentions Jews and Gentiles both). We must consider the affect it has on them.

-Do we consider how what we do appears to the non-believer? What are their thoughts on the matter? What is the common cultural consensus about it and if we act cavalier in this regard, could it potentially look as if we are endorsing pagan notions about reality in any way? Could our actions in these matters end up being an impediment to the non-believer in that it could even hinder them from becoming a Christian? We must imitate the apostle in this matter!

-Is everything we do to the glory of God in a serious way? Not just lip service but for real … are there things we are involved in which we know are not honoring to him – perhaps they do not build up others or present a poor witness – things which maybe lawful but not profitable?

-Have we thought about how our eating and drinking are to be done in a way that does bring glory to God? What about other key areas … how can our vocation bring glory to God – we must execute these actions in a way that does bring him glory!

-Do we even care about bringing God glory in a sincere manner or are we more concerned about our liberty to do what we want to – do we even care about building up others and not needlessly offending them? or are we more interested in demanding our rights and our freedom? If so, we need to change, we need to repent!Are we willing to say this from 1 Corinthians 8:13?

CLOSING -1 Peter 4:11

Hip Hop Worship Songs @Roosevelt [videos]

Some examples of what we have done during our music time of the service @RCC

Life Song (Hip-Hop) from Roosevelt Church on Vimeo.

Manna Man (Hip-Hop) from Roosevelt Church on Vimeo.

Our Good Friday Art Piece

By His Blood  
3ft x 3ft aluminum sheet metal mounted on 4ft x 4ft hardwood finish plywood twice varnished.

painting is on the right, getting ready to be displayed

The purpose of the piece was to invite the congregation of Roosevelt Community Church to participate during Good Friday service. Prior to the service each attendee was given a note card that was to be filled out towards the end of the service and placed in a box. Member artists Laura Artusio, Faith Smeets and Bishop Ortega then took the note cards and transferred the words onto the panel. Using acrylic paint markers the artists covered the whole panel by overlapping a variety of fonts and sizes of handwriting. The piece was allowed to dry overnight and on the following day the artists covered the panel with crimson and cadmium red oil paint.

- Anthony Vasquez, anthonyvasquez.com

Art is able to evoke a wide range of emotions. Anything from shock and anger to admiration and enjoyment. I believe however that the most powerful function of art is to communicate truth. Truth about our world and our place in it.

As a Christian, the truth I believe is that our world is a messy place filled with people who have had messy things done to them and have done messy things to other people. Yet there is a God who through Jesus enters into our mess and through startling self-sacrifice heals all who come to him of all their mess.

The art piece we began on Good Friday illustrates this truth. At the end of our Good Friday service people dropped into a basket cards on which they had written down the things that have scarred their souls. Things like anger and impatience. Things like pride and jealousy. Things like abuse and addiction. All of these things were then written onto a canvas. It was a communal confession that powerfully displayed the collective ugliness of our sinful words, thoughts, actions.

Fortunately and amazingly, the story does not end there. Jesus in the most divine act that has ever occurred dies a bloody death, giving up his life in order to remove the stain from our lives and in so doing heal us of all our sins and sorrows. This is symbolized by the red paint that was applied to the canvas later that weekend. The paint covered the entire canvas, resulting in a stark mass of bright and dark red paint strokes. Indeed, enough strokes to cover even the darkest things on that canvas.

I hope this piece helps many in our city discover for themselves this true story about our world and apply to their own souls the words written by the ancient Jewish prophet Isaiah, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…and with his wounds we are healed.”
 
- Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor  Roosevelt Community Church

            Phase 1: The Sin                                                                  Phase 2: The Blood
 

THE ART OF THE CELL w/Dr. Fazale Rana is TONIGHT!

	Date:	Friday, March 1, 2013 | 7:30 – 9pm
Location:	924 N. 1st Street Phoenix, AZ 85004
Link:	www.rooseveltchurch.org
Title:	The Art of the Cell
Speaker:	Fazale Rana

 

 

Dr. Fazale Rana will speak on how art can help us understand the creative beauty found in biochemistry.

Local artists will be creating and displaying pieces inspired by microbiology.

 

Here is the event page:

Pastor V on The Gospel Coalition Blog

Pastor Vermon's first post for the Gospel Coalition:
'WHY I WANTED TO GO TO THE MILLION MAN MARCH'

Why I Wanted to Go to the Million Man March

He has another coming soon and is working on a few more over the next week or two.

Pray His Words - Study Questions

Study Questions for February 24, 2013

Sermon: Pray His Words

by: Vermon Pierre

Series: Pray

Audio

Video

1. Read over the following passages. What do they tell us about the significance and importance of Scripture?

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

Jeremiah 23:29 - Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 

Isaiah 55:11 - So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me      empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it 

2 Timothy 3:16–17 - ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2. How would you describe the Bible’s influence over your life?  Do you regularly try to apply the teachings of the Bible to your life? Why or why not? What practical steps might you take to make sure the Bible occupies a central place in your life?

3. Below is a list of categories for prayer along with verses to use in each category. Take some time now in groups of 2-3 to share with one another from these categories. For example, share with one another areas in your life where you need wisdom or people in your life you want to be more bold with when it comes to talking to them about Jesus.  Then pray together, using the verses to provide the context, themes, and even the actual wording for your prayers.

I. Prayers about God

Psalm 25:6 - Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 

Exodus 15:11–13 - ¹¹ “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? ¹² You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. ¹³ “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

Matthew 6:9–10 - ⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

II. Prayers concerning yourself

·         Confession of sin and protection from sin

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Matt 6:13 - And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

·         Contentment

Proverbs 30:8 - Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

Philippians 4:11–13 - ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Wisdom, discernment of the will of God

Philippians 1:9–10 - ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 

Colossians 1:9 - And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Bold and clear witness about Jesus

Ephesians 6:18–19 - ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

Acts 4:29 - And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness

Colossians 4:2–4 - ² Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— ⁴ that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

III. Prayers concerning other people, our world

Salvation. Salvation salvation salvation!

Matthew 9:37–38 - ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 

2 Thessalonians 3:1 - Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 

Romans 10:1 - Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

People in crisis

Romans 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Love for one another

1 Thessalonians 3:12 - and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 

2 Thessalonians 3:5 - ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. 

Philippians 1:9 - And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

God’s grace in Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 16:23 - The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

Galatians 6:18 - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Philippians 4:23 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:28 - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

2 Timothy 4:22 - The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.