SPCC Blog - December 2007

Gift Cards

nathan@spcc-cma.org — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Have you been to Safeway lately? They have this place called "The Gift Card Mall"... our family was on route for a Christmas party and the gift exchange was only gift cards. Having heard the radio commercial about the 250 gift cards at Safeway and needing to pick up appetizers for the party we made the stop. Some of you may know that it can be silly and pointless things that create high levels of excitement for me. But even I was not prepared for the sight of 250 gift cards in on [...]

A True Story about selling posessions

tkquick198@comcast.net — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Here's a story from a member of our church family about their own struggle with deciding to sell possessions rather than allowing them to become an idol.

Every year I feel my relationship with God grow deeper. As that relationship with God evolves, all aspects of my personal life are affected. I think differently, I see and hear things differently and I feel things differently. As my relationship with him grows, I start to receive clarity in differ [...]

Persecuted Scientists

bryan@spcc-cma.org — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Do you remember the movie, Ferris Beuhler's Day Off? Ben Stein played the teacher who took attendance and is famous for his line: "Anyone? Anyone?" Anyways, aside from that movie and a slough of other appearances in commercials for things such as eye drops, and more, he is behind a film documenting the persecution of scientists who propose intelligent design, showing that not just anyone is allowed to put forth theories of the origin of man...

Check out t [...]

You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

tkquick198@comcast.net — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

This English proverb has often confused people. If you eat your cake, aren't you "having" it? The intended meaning makes more sense to our modern ears if

we switch some of the wording around to, "You can't eat your cake and have it too!" Obviously once you've eaten your cake, you won't have it anymore. This proverb is meant to express the impossibility of having something both ways; if those ways conflict.

We'll be talking about this in more [...]

Never Too Old to...

bryan@spcc-cma.org — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Having turned 37 last month, and doing a little math on (1) what my age will be when my kids graduate from High School (47 for the oldest and 55 for the youngest) and (2) the fact that when my parents were my age I was 15, I began to sense a bit of dispair coming. But God graciously sent me some encouragement...

The first was thing was a sermon by John Piper on "Growing Old to the Glory of God."

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMe [...]

Resources on Materialism

tkquick198@comcast.net — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Here are a few additional resources for the series I am doing on materialism...

Further resources on Luke 12

John Piper Sermons:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/23/839_Loved_Flock_Do_Not_Be_Afraid_to_Give_It_Away/

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/23/590_It_Is_Your_Fathers [...]

A powerful moment

nathan@spcc-cma.org — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

Even now and then God graciously connects with your heart in a way so powerful it brings you to your knees in worship. In those moments my heart responds with a deep cry for closeness to Him. The longing for God is renewed in a fresh way...

I had one of those moments a few days ago, but it starts a few months back. CiY (JH fall retreat) is a JH conference that we attended for the first time this year. Thirty some students of ours went to Portland and joined a few thousand others [...]

Simple youth ministry

nathan@spcc-cma.org — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:00:00 +0100

So often youth pastors are hounded to have the next big event. We are told that students need and respond to glitz and glamor, that to reach them it must be new... Many youth groups clamor after events that are flashy and cost approximately the same as the gross national budget of a small european country. I must admit, I am not completely immune to this disease, and we do have many crazy and "unique" events here at SPCC. But I am always surprised when November comes around, and w [...]