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| Gospels in a Verbal CultureI am wondering if the Gospel stories differ because in Jesus' verbal culture, He has repeated those teachings, parables, and miracles so many times that many of them are not identical (they are not intended to be identical) and yet they all represent what Jesus has taught.
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| YIA Curve Balls(1) Incidents at the Shower Facility - On Monday, first day of YIA, we went to a nearby public swimming pool for shower like last year. We did so without a permit for it was not required. However, as we went in, the "door guard" from the school district is giving us trouble. He demanded a permit from us and turned us back. That was pretty terrible for us. How did you handle showers for 20 counselors? We ended up taking showers in different homes on Monday. Smart Josh made a few phone calls and learned the rules of the pool and we pushed our way in on Tuesday. The "door guard" wasn't happy. On Wednesday, I personally called and went to the facility and the Dept. of Recreation staff said staff from both department have discussed and we are OK to use it. We were happy campers!! What happened next was this: after we finished showers, as I came out from the facility, the "door guard" came after me accusing us saying we have left the showerheads on after we finished. Now, this is what made the situation interesting. As I finished up with shower, I was the last one. I chatted with an old man about our ministry with the kids at AMMS. He has observed us knowing that we did not use the pool but only the showers. Actually, he has also seen that I have turned off all the showerheads after I finished. So, as the "door guard" accused me, this man defended me. I didn't even have to say a word to defend myself. It must be the Lord. In fact, this is not he first time I have seen this: The Lord defended me when I was unjustly accused. Who would you trust?
(2) Friday, July 3, 2009 - A few days before YIA, we were happy to receive confirmation from the school district that we could use AMMS to run our day camp. In fact, we could use it for two weeks. However, quite immediately, we discovered that July 3rd was a holiday and the school system will shut down. We couldn't use the building. What we have promised is a two-week camp and July 3rd is a mid-point. Therefore, we need to come up with a solution so that the children can be taken care of. Another problem is that two key counselors are leaving early Thursday night. In view of these, we had at least two options. One was to run Sports Camp at Russo Park Playground (more than just tennis but also soccer, basketball, and baseball) while VBS and Arts Camp continued at the NECP building. However, this would be a logistic nightmare. This is because children arriving at NECP building would need to be immediately transported to Russo, back and forth. We only have one church van. Russo also almost certainly has the bathrooms locked. The solution therefore, is to create an outdoor event at AMMS so that we can have some fun with the parents and kids. This stone can kill more than one bird. This is how we have the Family Fun Day. However, this led to curve ball #3.
(3) Portable Toilet - You never know ministry involves portable potties. Howeve, this is exactly what we need to deal with. Outdoor event with no water and no bathrooms is a no go. Ruth found us a company that rent these portable units. Order was quite immediately placed on Wedneday for the rep was pushing us. We were promised to have two units delivered on Thursday. On Friday early morning, we found that they were never delivered. Family Fun Day preparation continued in faith. (What else could we do for the kids and families were arriving?) Frantic calls got us a second promised delivery of 3 units between 10:30am - 11:00am. Again, they never arrive. After some more calls, the deliverer finally arrived at 11:30am. So, the whole morning we were thinking about portable toilets. However, the Lord is still faithful and the Family Fun Day was well-received. The weather was excellent. We had also distributed flyers about our Jr. Youth Group events this summer.
The Lord has brought us this far. Today, a part of the Houston team has arrived from Pittsburgh. They are tired. We are looking forward to a very full YIA VBS and Science Camp this coming week.
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| YIA 2009 Family Fun Day8am sharp leave for AMMS set up - grills, 4 tables, canopy, chairs, blankets, 5 water coolers,... 9:00 – 9:20 – mingle and hang out
9:20 Introduction
9:30 – 10:30 - specific area activites:
Art – sidewalk chalk, mural
Sports – baseball, dodgeball, kick ball
VBS - Bible story, craft 10:30 - 10:40 Break - Italian Ice!
10:40 – 11:30 – Games together
The Collector
Wawa Cup Relay
Simon said...
Water Balloons 11:30 – 1pm Lunch What they learned Face Painting
Explain the YIA Week
Info about church…..and future programs | | |
| Jr. Youth Group ScheduleThis is for all the kids in the community!!
Are you in Grades 5-8? Then this is for you!! Put these Wednesday nights on your calender!!!
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Place: NECP Building
Address: 3300 Tyson Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19149
July 22 Game Night
August 5 Water Balloon Balooza - Come prepared to get wet!
August 19 Photo Scavenger Hunt
September 2 Game Night Bring A Friend!
Questions? Call Becky or Maranatha at 215-331-6344. | | |
| Nature of Jesus' Call19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-19)
Jesus did not call these disciples to repent but to follow Him so that they will be made into "fishers of men." Fishers are people who catch fish. Then, what is the appeal in being able to "catch" people? The fish catching metaphor was used in Jeremiah 16:16 with a negative connotation; however, in Matthew 13:47-48, the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a net that gathers all kinds of people into it and then these people will be sorted in the end. If this is the case, then when Jesus called his first group of disciples, He was called them to become gatherers of men, men of many kinds and many ethnicity and also restorers of the Kingdom of Israel (Ezekiel 47:10, Matthew 28:19). Some will be judged and others saved. Jesus has called these fishermen to follow Him so that their skills might be upgraded for a bigger task. Their skills are utilized, developed, but their tasks transformed and enlarged.
If people gathered by these disciples are not only those who will be saved but also those who will ultimately be judged and condemned, these disciples are not called to do a particularly pleasant job. They will meet people who thirst for the word of God and others who disregard and ignore the word of God (Matthew 13:1-23). However, it is clear that the elects are gathered through their work, but then it is an irony that cults want to establish a pure/regenerate church only with regenerate people as if the last judgment is possible now and that they have the mind of God to know who the elects are.
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