Last week's "blast from the past" was dcTalk's Heavenbound, one of the groundbreaking songs of modern Christian music, in my estimation. I can't say that this week's selection was as influential on the Christian music scene, but it certainly does qualify as a blast from the past! Enjoy:


- Stryper: Soldiers Under Command

Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?"

Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later."

Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet... ever!"
Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing."

"Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!"

Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it - and live a blessed life.

John 13:1-17 (The Message)

Last Sunday's ABF Recap:

If it's been a while since you've been able to join us, we're using the book, Death By Suburb, by David Goetz, as a springboard into discussion about how we can avoid the lies of life that are so easy to believe and find Jesus and be His disciples in our suburban world. Goetz's thesis:

"I think my suburb, as safe and religiously coated as it is, keeps me from Jesus. Or at least, my suburb (and the religion of the suburbs) obscures the real Jesus. The living patterns of the good life affect me more than I know. Yet the same environmental factors that numb me to the things of God also hold out great promise. I don't need to escape the suburbs. I need to find Jesus here."

We've discussed several "toxins," or lies that we hear, and the author's suggested practices that can serve as antidotes:

The Toxin	The Practice
"I am in control of my life."	The Prayer of Silence
"I am what I do and what I own."	The Journey through the Self
"I want my neighbor's life."	Friendship with the Poor
"My life should be easier than it is."	Accepting my Cross with Grace and Patience
"I need to make a difference with my life."	Purusing Action, Not Results

After our time of breakout discussion and prayer, the question posed to us this past ABF time was: Why are we so concerned with the results of our service?

Some of the answers that were shared included:

*We want to know if our service will be worthwhile.

*We have a limited amount of time.

*We want the biggest bang for our buck, so to speak.

*Being concerned with results is cultural.

*We don't have tangible evidence that God is watching, so we look for affirmation/confirmation from others.

Along the same lines, we considered the question: What is a successful church? The Three B's (Buildings, Budgets and Butts) aren't always accurate statistics.

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Success is easy to define in some realms such as landscaping, home building, cleaning a child's room, etc.. Want to know if the job was performed successfully? Take a look. But when it comes to the realm of church,s success is a tough thing to define.

To illustrate an act of service with questionable results, Matt told the story of his volunteering to coach the Kindergarden/First Grade basketball team. It was a wonderful story, told best by Matt, and I won't be able to reproduce it in its full artistic flair. But to boil it down, he was experienced with coaching and providing structure, and "they were blessed to have him coach." After the first practice, though, it was clear that things didn't turn out as he had thought they would; the "results" did not meet his ideal.

Similarly, Jenn and I volunteered to be "teachers" for the Wednesday evening KidzClubs last year here at HCC. (The elementary school teachers among us will get a chuckle out of this.) We were assigned to one of the two Kindergarden rooms, and it could be described, at many times, as borderline chaos. I'm not sure what we thought we were going to accomplish when we initially volunteered (we have no training in education), but after a few weeks, our goal had morphed into simply ensuring the kids made it through the hour safely. Making sure they completely comprehended the lesson and learned their memory verse and completed their coloring assignment and finished their craft took a back seat. After a couple of months, our attitude wasn't the greatest because we weren't seeing much in the way of results... or progress. Then our Community Group read through Death By Suburb, and as we read the "Shirker Service" chapter it became clear to the two of us that our job with KidzClubs was to show up and to be good workers. That was it. It also helped us to see the big picture: working with the kids freed the parents up for evening Bible study, it provided the kids with a good/fun church experience, and we couldn't yet put a measurement on just what kind of impact it made on the kids. That's up to God. Our initial assessment of "results" was inacurate. Even though it didn't impact us directly, there were results beyond what we could see.

Matt phrased it like this: "God calls us to mundane, small things. We ought to be concerned with faithfulness, not results."

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. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
--Ephesians 2:8-10

Join us on Sunday as we expand on this idea and continue to work through Death By Suburb together.

From the folks heading up this ministry: "What is better than sharing what the LORD has given? When we give, we are doing something more than giving of ourselves; we are giving to glorify the LORD."

Place items in a non-returnable box, basket or container. Drop off at HCC on Monday, November 24, from 3-6pm, or make special arrangements. Donations will be accepted, as well. Questions? Call Judi Dalton, 330.650.1019.

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Prayer Requests:

• Continued prayers for the Colbert Family, friends of the Szugyes. Get up-to-date information here.
  
  
• Expecting Parents:
  • Joanna & Sam Stager
  • Rachel & Will McGinley
  • Allyson & Eric Lengacher -- A court date has been set for December 3 to grant custody of their adopted son to them! The appointment with the Embassy to grant his Visa has yet to be set in stone. Pray for this date to be set soon.
  • Christine & Jesse Dolan (twins!)
  
  
• Kevin (K2) Keller's job situation.
  
  
• Hannah Koons, daughter of Matt & Sara Koons, has a cast on her leg and is in the process of healing. Pray for her continued healing, and for the logistical changes that happen in a home when a young child has a cast.
  
  Have a request? Share it!

FOLLOW IN OBEDIENCE
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Job 40:1--5

Job's response prompts me to think of what this says to our twenty-first-century world. What needed messages it offers to our times!

The first: If God's ways are higher than mine, then I bow before Him in submission. The result of that attitude is true humility. Submission to the Father's will is the mark of genuine humility. And all of us could use a huge dose of that. How unusual to find a humble spirit in our day, especially among the competent, the highly intelligent, the successful.

Here's the second: If God is in full control, then however He directs my steps, I follow in obedience. What relief that brings! Finally, I can relax, since I'm not in charge.

I was speaking at a pastors' conference at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago not long ago. The most vivid memory of that conference was the large sign up front. It was hung above the platform for all in attendance to read each time we came together. In big, bold letters it read:

Relax Everybody, for Once You're Not in Charge.

The auditorium was full of pastors---fifteen hundred in all! And each one of us is usually in charge (we think), only to show up at this conference and be reminded to relax---we're not in charge. It was an encouraging relief for everybody in attendance.

That's the sign God stretched in front of Job. "You're not in charge of anything, Job; this is My responsibility. You're my servant; I'm your Master. I know what I'm doing." Since God knows what He's doing, however He directs my steps, I simply follow. What an encouraging relief that should bring!

What do you feel about letting God control your life---relief, frustration, panic? What can you do to help yourself relax in His control?

Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

Bible reading in the Gates Home has been focusing on the Old Testament lately. We've been reading First Chronicles, and the story at the end of chapter 13 really stood out to me. David was in the process of bringing the Ark back to Jerusalem, but he wasn't handling the Ark and treating the occasion the way that God intended, and in fact a man lost his life for touching the Ark. As a result, David left the Ark "with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had." This was a powerful reminder for me that the same blessings are available to my family (and yours) if I make my home a place for the LORD to live.

Enjoy your week. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.

RG