Renew Family: health and vigilance, wisdom and patience beyond worry.

Disease is one of humanity’s oldest enemies. Throughout history, outbreaks of various types have swept through populations leaving destruction in their wake. So it’s no wonder that as this new virus begins to stretch across the globe, we see a corresponding surge of anxiety and fear. Although people everywhere vary in their responses from outright panic to eye-rolling mockery, what is the appropriate response for Christians when sickness hits our communities?

Wisdom, Not Fear

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

—2 Timothy 1:7

This Scripture applies in this situation as much as in any in our lives. Fear doesn’t protect us from anything and it is not God’s way for His people. As Jesus questioned, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Luke 12:25). Instead we should seek the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer, walk in love and not in self-preservation, relate well in community, and take reasonable precautions.

Let your reasonableness (or gentleness) be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:5-7

Our Reasonable Response

Continue reading “Renew Family: health and vigilance, wisdom and patience beyond worry.”

A Love Story.

There once was a husband and wife. They had a simple life together, and were happily married. They spent time together doing the normal routines of life, and felt very content.

One day, the woman was out with some new girlfriends, who were talking about an exotic vacation they’d taken with their husbands. It sounded super romantic and exciting, and the ladies were gushing about how amazing it had been.

The wife went home, and her house seemed a bit more drab than before. Her husband arrived home and greeted her with his usual warm smile and hug, but she wistfully looked past him, still thinking of the romantic vacation she’d heard about that day. She silently mused while she cooked dinner, “Why doesn’t he take me on an exciting vacation?” That night on their evening walk, she seemed disinterested and discontent. Her husband was patient, giving her space, content to wait until she was back to herself again.

He always wrote her notes. Throughout their whole marriage he’d written her a simple note each day, reminding her of his love for her. Before, she’d enjoyed seeing these notes each day, and she’d read and re-read them, grateful.

Now, she found herself ignoring them, eager to find out more about the exciting, romantic escapades these other couples had. She found herself following their Facebook pages, thumbing through their photos, enamored with their experiences. She read more about these exotic locales, and what sorts of vacation packages they offered couples. She noticed that their husbands always looked well-dressed and handsome, smiling and laughing. She began to spend more time with these women and ask them more about their intriguing lives. The other women loved the attention, so happy for the affirmation that they were doing marriage right. They talked about their exciting bedroom-experiences, about their glamorous date-nights, the goose-bump romance they experienced all the time. Nothing about their words was wrong, but the woman always left feeling like she must be missing out on something more. 

She also found herself increasingly critical and discontent with her husband. Each night, he’d come home, eager to spend time with her doing their simple nightly routine. He soon realized his notes to her were going unread. She started suggesting he dress different. She suggested he go on a diet. She also seemed anxious about her own appearance and unhappy with their life. She started dressing like the other women, and mimicking their hairstyles and mannerisms. Plus, she wouldn’t stop obsessing over those exotic vacation experiences.

“Why don’t you ever take me to fancy restaurants? Why don’t we have wild, passionate sex all the time? Why don’t we take exotic vacations and have romantic goosebumps experiences all the time? What’s wrong with us? I wish we had a marriage like those other people do.”

The husband, ever patient, wept over her words and the sadness in his wife’s heart. He pleaded with her:

“I love you. I want you. I want you more than an experience. I want you more than a spectacular encounter withyou. I love you more than anything. You’re my bride. Perhaps someday we’ll enjoy something spectacular together, but more than anything I just long for us to love each other for who we are.” 

He looked her in the eye and asked,

Do you want me or  do you want an certain experience that involves me? I long to be loved, just like you do, for who you are, not simply for your potential for giving me a certain experience.”

His words cut, but helped her see clearly. Though it was hard, she knew what she needed to do. Those friends weren’t evil, but they just weren’t helpful to her. Their experiences were simply that. Their experiences.

Marriage

She unfollowed their pages. She kindly declined invitations.

She pulled away from all influences that took away from her pure love for her husband.

She quit comparing her experiences to others, she quit comparing her husband to theirs. She immersed herself in the truth about how GOOD her husband was to her, and how kind, gentle, and loving he had always been. Of course, she would still welcome an exciting experience together, but she found herself so overwhelmed with love for him, that that was enough.

The anthem of her heart toward her husband was, “You are enough for me.”

Over their lifetimes, they experienced both excitement and sorrow. They were able to enjoy a beautiful vacation to Hawaii, and even splurged for a few date nights out on the town. But the beauty was that those things were no longer what she sought. She just sought him. And so, she stayed by him even during trying years, when there was no money for exciting vacations, when times were hard.

And finally, in the end, when he was aged and needed full-time care, she was able to faithfully love him to the end, even when it was hard, even when it was painful, even when there was a cost. The years of faithful devotion during ordinary days had forged a bond so sure that nothing could jeopardize their love.

It lasted forever.

“This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church.”
—Ephesians 5:32

Leading our families through Advent: the Christmas Journey

Advent 2013

Advent is the season where we prepare our hearts for worshiping on Christmas Day as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.

The Verge Network has created a printable e-book to help us lead our families in preparing for this special day. In the e-book you’ll find a Scripture to read as a family for each day from December 1 through December 25, along with a picture for your child(ren) to color. This picture could also be used as an ornament on your tree if you choose.

Advent 2013In this 23-page e-book you will find:

  1. An easy-to-understand guide to preparing your family for the true meaning of Christmas
  2. Daily Scripture readings for the month of December
  3. Pictures for your children to color and use as ornaments

*Since it is December 3rd already, tonight or family will begin with “The Promise” (Genesis 9) at the end of the Flood (Genesis 6:9-8:22), and I’ll read aloud from The Jesus Storybook Bible, pages 38-47.

The word “advent” comes from the Latin word Adventus, which means “coming.” The purpose of the Advent season is to help us focus on the coming of Christ to be with His people, and to seek and save that which was lost. Advent traditionally begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas and lasts through December 25th. This year, the Advent season begins on Sunday, December 1st.

Our hope is that is reading stories from the entirety of the Bible, your family will see together that the coming of Jesus was prophesied and anticipated long before His arrival, and that the Christmas story doesn’t begin with Mary and Joseph, but actually begins all the way back in Genesis 3.

Every story in this guide can be read from your family Bible using the Scripture references provided. Most days also have an option to read a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones [ hardcover | Kindle ], which is an excellent resource for younger children, and helps connect each Bible story to the coming of Jesus.

» Need a copy of the JSBB? » Email hello@Godrenews.us and we’ll give you a hardcover copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible as a gift from RENEW.

Until He comes,

Jeff

What kind of church is RENEW?

The most common question we (Jeff and Kari) are asked these days is this:

“What makes this new church-plant any different from all the other churches all over the place?”

This is usually asked by people who are fed up with church or frustrated, or who have been hurt or who are searching (aren’t we all?). Most recently someone asked me to answer that question in four sentences. While we might want to do it with only four words — as in our core values of Grace, Renewal, Hope, and Love — those are not quite specific enough to describe the why and how we will live as a church family.

So, in four sentences, here is what we said:

1.We exist to spread the gospel, making disciples, furthering God’s Kingdom.

This direction is contrasted with spreading our church name, making followers of us, furthering our own empire.

2. We equip people to go live for God where they already are.

This means in their workplaces, communities, families, and current spheres of influence, rather than programming frequent events and asking people to come to us and support our activities.

3. We let resources flow through our church.

This means keeping our operating expenses as ridiculously low as possible so that funds can be used to bless and serve a world in need of hope, rather than on creating a comfortable environment for ourselves.

4. We encourage multi-generational, family-modeled ministry.

We make every effort to find avenues where all ages and life-stages are learning and serving together, rather than dividing people into homogeneous and unnatural groups.

Now here’s the thing: while God’s word clearly spells out how He wants us to live, exactly what that will look like is going to vary with each person, church, family, situation.

But we must think long and pray even longer to ask God who He wants us to be.

There are a few ways to contribute to God’s work with RENEW: by praying, joining us, or giving.

(Please note: our response is sure to eschew any talk of being a “better” church, because competition in the Kingdom of God is anathema. Jesus uses all kinds of local churches. We compete with the powers of darkness and only try to out-do one another in showing honor and embodying love.)

What kind of church shall we be?

The most common question we (Jeff and Kari) are asked these days is this:

“What makes this new church-plant any different from all the other churches all over the place?”1

This is usually asked by people who are fed up with church or frustrated, or who have been hurt or who are searching (aren’t we all?). Most recently someone asked me to answer that question in four sentences. While we might want to do it with only four words — as in our core values of Grace, Renewal, Hope, and Love — those are not quite specific enough to describe the why and how we will live as a church family.

So, in four sentences, here is what we said:

1. We exist to spread the gospel, making disciples, furthering God’s Kingdom. This direction is contrasted with spreading our church name, making followers of us, furthering our own empire.

2. We equip people to go live for God where they already are. This means in their workplaces, communities, families, and current spheres of influence, rather than programming frequent events and asking people to come to us and support our activities.

3. We let resources flow through our church. This means keeping our operating expenses as ridiculously low as possible so that funds can be used to bless and serve a world in need of hope, rather than on creating a comfortable environment for ourselves.

4. We encourage multi-generational, family-modeled ministry. We make every effort to find avenues where all ages and life-stages are learning and serving together, rather than dividing people into homogeneous and unnatural groups.

Now here’s the thing—while God’s word clearly spells out how He wants us to live, exactly what that will look like is going to vary with each person, church, family, situation.

But we must think long and pray even longer to ask God who He wants us to be.

There are a few ways to contribute to God’s work with RENEW: by praying, joining us, or giving.

  1. Please note: our response is sure to eschew any talk of being a “better” church, because competition in the Kingdom of God is anathema. Jesus uses all kinds of local churches. We compete with the powers of darkness and only try to out-do one another in showing honor and embodying love.