A Week with Southeastern (and Rain)

It never rains in Utah. It certainly never rains for very long. And that’s what I kept insisting, making me sound like a crazy person, as everyone observed otherwise.

A Week with Southeastern (and Rain), loganwolf.net

This past week we hosted our first mission team of the year, five students and one professor from Southeastern Free Will Baptist College in Wendell, North Carolina. I had two goals for the week. First, I wanted to focus on outreach. Staying involved and creatively engaging our community with the Gospel is a priority for New Morning Church. While we were able to do some volunteer work for the Parks Department, canvass a couple neighborhoods, and take free smoke detector batteries door to door, we were regularly thwarted by the inexplicable amount of rain. That was discouraging.

Second, I wanted, as much as possible in such a short amount of time, to immerse the group in the culture. I tried to get a jump start on this by requiring a bit of reading before their visit. Once they arrived, I took them to Temple Square and showed them around Provo. In the evenings I asked Grayson, Bryant, and Maggie to share personal experiences and insight. This a very unique place to minister with its own set of challenges and needs. I feel, maybe because the rain provided more time to talk and ask questions, that we were able to convey that point more clearly than we have to any other group. That was encouraging.

Are you planning on taking a short term mission trip this summer?

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“A New Covenant” in 5 Tweets

A recap of my message “A New Covenant” (from the series “Jesus Is Better”) in 140 characters or less.

  1. Out with the old [covenant], in with the new. #NewMorningProvo
  2. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect–He expects you to recognize that you can’t be. #NewMorningProvo
  3. “A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). #NewMorningProvo
  4. Our sin required a new covenant; God’s grace promised it; Jesus’ sacrifice provided it. #NewMorningProvo
  5. Jesus doesn’t offer you a new list of rules but forgiveness for your “sins and…iniquities” (Hebrews 8:12). #NewMorningProvo
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“The Main Thing” in 5 Tweets

A recap of my message “The Main Thing” (from the series “Jesus Is Better”) in 140 characters or less.

  1. The Law was the shadow; Jesus is the reality. #NewMorningProvo
  2. “We cannot understand the Old Testament, except we read it in its bearing upon Christ, as fulfilled in him” (John Broadus). #NewMorningProvo
  3. The Old Testament was “a shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:17). #NewMorningProvo
  4. To borrow from Stephen Covey, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing [and the main thing is Jesus].” #NewMorningProvo
  5. Have you lost focus? Turn your eyes upon Jesus. #NewMorningProvo
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Seek and Find [Photo]

Seek and Find [Photo], loganwolf.net“I Want to Be a Missionary: A Seek and Find Book” by LuAnn Nilson.

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Finding the Will of God

Yesterday morning I spoke in Great Bridge Christian Academy’s high school chapel via FaceTime. It was a Q & A moderated by my friend Marcos.

I was asked about the obstacles that we’ve faced in starting a church in Provo, what a typical missionary’s week looks like, how many people are attending our services, and specific ways they could pray for me and the work of New Morning Church.

The final question was, “What is the best advice you can us in relation to doing the will of God?” You can watch my recorded response below (I’m speaking to my iPad, not avoiding eye contact), but essentially my answer boils down to this–you don’t have to wait for a calling because you have already received a commission.

Do you agree or disagree? Do you think Christians tend to complicate this issue?

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“Replacing the Priesthood (Part 2)” in 5 Tweets

A recap of my message “Replacing the Priesthood (Part 2)” (from the series “Jesus Is Better”) in 140 characters or less.

  1. Are you banking your spiritual well-being on someone else’s relationship with God? http://bit.ly/ZyB2W9 #NewMorningProvo
  2. Jesus “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (Hebrews 7:25). #NewMorningProvo
  3. As our intercessor, Jesus isn’t before the Father pointing to our righteousness–He’s pointing to His. #NewMorningProvo
  4. You don’t need a good man; you need the God-man. #NewMorningProvo
  5. Jesus is God’s final Priest–promised, eternal, and without sin. #NewMorningProvo

Note: You can watch the video summary of part one of this message here.

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Just Google It! [Guest Post]

If there was a catchphrase that defines our culture right now, I offer the following: “Just Google it!”

Information at your fingertips. Whether finding facts, information on certain subjects, places to go, or deals to shop and don’t know where to begin—“Just Google it!” The information is given in a matter of seconds.

We are living in an age where technology is advancing exponentially. There probably has never been a larger chasm between two generations than today where young children are adeptly utilizing computers, iPods, and iPhones, and even teaching adults on their finer uses.  In the meantime, most grandparents stand back in fear of this technological monster that’s invading their world.  If you can’t work the TV or DVD player, ask your grandchild!

Just Google It! [Guest Post], loganwolf.netIn today’s world, I can instantly find the nearest Chinese restaurant, the score of a basketball game, eating habits of the koala bear for my daughter’s research paper, and what my college freshman is up to on her Facebook account.  But where can I find hope?  How about peace?  What about love or joy?  Though we live in the age of instant information questions still remain that Pontius Pilate was seeking two thousand years ago.  “What is truth?” and “Where can I find it?”

I performed a little experiment in the pursuit of truth and did what everybody else is doing when looking for information.

I just Googled it.

I Googled “hope” and the first item was information about support and guidance for homeowners. I Googled “peace” and found a list of organizations striving for world unity, stability and non-violence. I Googled “joy” and found the world’s definition equates joy with happiness. Finally, I Googled “love” and out jumped the “love calculator”. This web site calculates a person’s chance on having a successful relationship.

I “Googled” and the world provided me with answers. Yet, the answers the world provides end up being a dead end.  Why?  Because money and happiness are fleeting. Conflict is never-ending.  And love?  Loneliness is like guilt—it’s a gift that keeps on giving no matter how hard we ignore its pangs.

Though we have more information at our fingertips than ever before, people are still looking for answers. They are searching for hope, love, and especially the truth. Where do you find truth? And, how can we trust the source to be true?

Pontius Pilate asked, “What is truth?” even though the Truth was standing right before him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In the gospel of John we learn that Jesus is the Word. He is the source of truth and we are told that we can take Him at His Word. He defines grace for what the word truly means—a gift given to those who are undeserving. Faith receives grace and, in turn, the free and full forgiveness of sins right now. Not because of what we do or can become, but what Christ has already completed for us. That’s true grace. That’s taking Christ at his Word. And being God, we can full trust His promises to be true.

Like Pilate, the Truth stands right before you. Accept Him and you will find the way, the truth, and a life of peace, confidence and assurance that I can be already perfect—right now—by trusting in Christ.

Dave Malnes is with Truth in Love Ministry based in Idaho and coordinator of the beyeperfect.org campaign launched in Provo last summer. He authors the blog witnesswell.wordpress.com.

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