Faith Bible Blog

If you haven’t been in a cave, then you know of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti six days ago, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis that’s developing now.  Over 200,000 are now estimated dead with many of the living in desperate need of food, water and medical care.  Christian and non-Christian alike are working hard to help mitigate and relieve some of the incredible suffering that’s now taking place.

For believers, we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s resources.  That means that we should be saving up funds to spend on others, and not just ourselves.  Jesus tells the story in Luke 16 of an unrighteous, worldly steward who knew enough to spend his master’s money in a way that would benefit his future.  And Jesus argues that if an unbeliever knows enough to do this, how much more should Christians be investing God’s money into things of eternal consequence!

With that in mind, I wanted to make you aware of a variety of solid, trustworthy and less-heard-of relief organizations that are now hard at work in Haiti:

• Churches Helping Churches – an effort launched by James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll to specifically help solid Haitian churches that have been flattened or otherwise destroyed by the earthquake.  Hospitals, schools and other major buildings get all the attention, but biblically solid churches need to exist in Haiti for them to truly thrive.
• Childrens’ Hunger Fund – this organization is primarily focused on bringing food and the hope of the gospel to kids.  Francis Chan (pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley) sits on the board and they have been operating in Haiti since before the earthquake.
• Missionary Flights International – they provide air support to missionaries working in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  Since the earthquake, they have been shutting supplies there as often as the airport will let them land.  Here’s a report on MFI from our own Eric Verkouteren…

As the Lord would providentially have it, I’m sitting in the parking lot of Missionary Flights International in Fort Pierce Florida, awe struck of the mercy god supplies. As an established organization, MFI organizes and partnerships with missionaries in Haiti to be a support chain in the supply of personel and goods. In response to the recent earthquake, this operation has expanded it’s daily flights and services beyond what it can withhold. As I walk around the hanger I see over 200 volunteers packing and sorting supplies. In talking with the Vice President Larry Cambell, he acknowledges the donations of some 100,000 lbs of supplies just today! MFI normally operates three restored DC-3 aircraft, but the demand has quickly exceeded the capacity of the organization.

Supplies being loaded at MFI (by Eric V)

In talking with Mr. Campbell he explained, ” The need is beyond our limit. With the generous support of Hendrix Motorsports we have two corporate jets shuttling workers and personnel. But we are still overwhelmed. We have 100,000 lbs of supplies sitting on the hanger floor with no way to get it down to Haiti. We need a C-130 or other aircraft to acomplish the task.”
Surely the need will continue for the next few months. Acording to Mr. Campbell, the US military has taken over the airport in Haiti, the flights are leaving several times a day. As I write I’m watching the supplies be loaded, personnel making their last phone calls, and more supplies arriving by the pallet. I’m stirred and I hope you are too to seek the lords hand, and to reach out how He may lead. More than just a temperal need, there is a spiritual need beyond what we can imagine.
Let’s rally in Christ…
In Him,
Eric

John Culture & Politics, General News, Missions compassion

Erick General News

Dave Dietrich and I have been away doing some training and preparation for the roll-out of a major change to how we communicate as a church.  Here’s a screen capture:

Mmmm…. Do you feel the mystery & suspense?

We arrive home tonite after spending time here.

Can you guess where we were?

Here’s some of the guys we were with.

John Church News, General News website

So yesterday, we got the MSJC mailer that lists summer classes.  Right now, I’m wishing I was a kid again.  There’s some FUN stuff listed that’s happening this summer.  Here’s a sampling:

LEGO Battle Bots, ages 8+
Students learn to design and build their own motorized battle cars and other vehicles.  Using principles of simple and complex machines, gearing and mechanical advantage, students will try to help to flip, push or smash their opponent’s battle vehicles.  Brain over brawn through applied physics.  Lessons demonstrate the use of mechanical lifts, nets, drills, ramps and more to disable or overcome other bots.
July 6-10, 1:30-4:30pm

Junior Engineering 1, ages 5-7
Using LEGO Educational Division Materials and LEGO Technic elements, children will learn by doing.  Course covers gears, levers, wheels, axles, structures, forces and simple machines.  This is an integrated science and math class and is the first class leading up to the Robotics Academy!
June 15-19, 9:30am-12:30pm

Summer Horsemanship Day Camp, ages 8+
Your children can learn to ride and care for a horse while having fun with other kids their age.  Campers are divided into riding groups and take riding classes each day as well as classes in horsemanship with our instructors.  Our philosophy is to have fun while emphasizing safety & sound technique, in a non-competitive environment. Activities include: horsemanship, barn chores, riding lessons and gymkhana.
July 6-10 or July 13-17, 8am-12pm

Basic Forensic Anthropology, ages 15+
Are you curious how characters on TV shows can tell so much from a skeleton?  In this class, students will learn how forensic anthropologists can determine information such as age, sex and race from human bones.  See what they look for to determine if trauma or disease could have been involved in causing death.
July 13-17, 1-4pm

And there’s SO MANY more!  Visit www.msjc.edu/ce for more information about these and other classes being offered this summer at the Menifee campus.

PS – There’s a number of classes for adults as well.  Even some to help those who are still learning about their computers and the internet!

John General News community

Well, today was the last day of the conference.  We had a great time and are also totally ready to come home.  Here’s the highlights…

Session 1 = Ligon Duncan – he wrapped up 2 Timothy, preaching from 4:6-22.  He exposited the closing comments of Paul, revealing how your theology informs and affects your methodology in ministry.  He had some very good points as we worked through the text.

Session 2 = D.A. Carson – Chris and I both felt that Carson really surpassed our expectations.  He was one of the better guys at the conference, and that’s saying something.  He taught from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, and was real faithful to the larger context of 1 Cor 8-10 as well.  He contended that the biblical message should never change, though the messenger may flex according to his audience.

Lunch & Afternoon = We had a decent break from lunch till 7pm, so we headed downtown and ate at Al’s Beef – they have one of the top-rated Italian Beef sandwiches in the nation.  It was, in fact, delicious.  After that, we stopped into Ed Debevic’s briefly just to get insulted (it’s a 50’s diner with attitude) and then walked to the Navy Pier.  The Navy Pier is on Lake Michigan and used to be an actual Navy Pier.  Lots of attractions, shops, ferris wheel, an indoor aboretum, sailing ships and more.  It was fun to walk around.  From there, we headed to Borders where we both chose some books, settled into chairs and saw about 90-120 minutes slip away while we skimmed and read.  Wonderful!  At 6:30pm, we realized that we’d lost track of time and so caught a cab to Park Church where the final event was held.

Evening Session = this was a separate event from the conference, featuring John Piper and D.A. Carson reflecting on life in ministry and at seminary.  Piper gave his life story and lessons learned, as a professor turned pastor, over the span of about 90 minutes.  Then Carson came and gave an account of his life so far, as a pastor turned professor, sharing lessons and reflections along the way.  After this, there was a time of Q&A — where they answered questions that people had texted in during their talks — sounds kinda familiar, huh? 

At about 10:30, we got onto the L for the ride back, getting off at our stop around 11:15 and discovering that it was pouring rain!  So, after a 10 minute walk in the rain, we arrived at our hotel soaked and weary, but full of thankfulness for the week.  So, thank you for your prayers.  It’s been a great week.  And… we’re ready to fly home tomorrow, see our families and then be with you again to worship together on Sunday!!

We love you guys,
John & Chris

John General News

It’s after 11pm on Wednesday and the second day of the conference is winding down.  It has been a good day.  Both Chris and I have stayed up late for the last couple nights and woke up fairly tired today, but God sustained us and gave us (increasingly) sharp minds & hearts.

Here’s a brief run-down on what we heard & did:

1st Session = K. Edward Copeland = taught on 2 Timothy 3:1-9.  Really pushed us to understand that ministry is tough & will be tougher in the last days, but that the end is written and the King will win, so our ministries should be bold & courageous in light of the coming conclusion.

2nd Session = Bryan Chapell = FWIW, he has GREAT books on preaching and on using illustrations in preaching.   Teaching from 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5, worked to demonstrate how a faithful preacher speaks God’s Words directly to the hearers.  The Word reveals the voice, hand and heart of God to sinful people in order for them to see & love Jesus.

Lunch = we grabbed lunch at the convention center & sat in on a walkthrough of Logos Bible Software.  We both already use it, but always appreciate seeing demos to learn more about how to use it.  It’s like the Photoshop of Bible Software.  LOTS of capability and always learning some new feature that we’ve never discovered before…

Workshop 1 = Josh Harris – taught on ministering in a church-hopping society.  Josh took us to Heb 10:19-25 to show the connection between holding fast to the gospel and being involved in a local congregation.  He then unpacked how to minister to, teach and be an example to people uncommitted to a local church.

Workshop 2 = CJ Mahaney – was scheduled to teach on Trinitarian Pastoral Ministry and decided to change topics.    Instead, he taught from 1 Peter 5:1-4 on Peter’s charge to elders to shepherd, as its given in the context of suffering.  He talked through the task, manner & reward of faithful shepherding.  This message was OUTSTANDING – definitely a highlight.

Dinner = our brains and hearts were saturated and our rear-ends were sore, so we skipped the evening seminar and headed downtown to walk, talk & eat.   We walked a couple miles, ate at Portillo’s (famous for their Chocolate Cake Shake – delicious!), saw the Water Tower (pictured below with Chris clowing around in front), and had a Pomegranite tea at Argo Tea (whom I really hope will open branches on the West Coast one day).  We talked through things we’d been hearing at the conference and about future things that we’re praying about for FBC.  A great & refreshing evening!

And now, it’s near midnight and we’re both exhausted.  Last day of conference is tomorrow, so time for bed so that ears & heart are fresh for the morning.  Thanks for your continuing prayers on our behalf!

John General News

The conference started today and was excellent!  We’re now back in our rooms, worn out & ready for bed.  Here’s a brief recap…

AM — Had the free breakfast at our hotel, then rode the L train to downtown.  Ended up meeting a couple pastors from Seattle area and talking with them for the whole ride – a PCA guy named David and a nondenominational guy named Dan — very nice guys & clearly good friends.

Once downtown, we walked around a bit, then went into Macys on State St.  Apparently, its the second largest departement store in the world.  It was definitely big.  I think Herod’s in London might be bigger.  The goal of our stop there was to visit a store inside of it.  Here’s the bag, can you guess/read it?

Levenger.  They make great stuff for reading & writing — pens, paper, notebooks, etc.  Very cool stuff, though a bit spendy.  If you stop by the retail store, they give you a free custom Circa notebook, so we each had them make one for us. 

After that, we walked around downtown for a while longer, taking in the sights, the sounds and the surprising lack of smells.  We probably walked over 3 miles total, doing most of the Magnificent Mile and then walking back to our L stop.

My digital camera is on the fritz so I’ve taken a fair number of pictures but hardly any have come out.  This is the best, which isn’t saying much…

After our brief excursion downtown, we headed back, grabbed our stuff and got ready for the start of the conference.  Here’s a brief rundown on who & what we heard over the rest of the day:

Session 1 = Tim Keller = Paul demonstrates that any effective ministry of the gospel will go after the idols in culture and the heart.  Drawing especially from Acts 19:23-41, Keller described how to discern, expose and destroy such idols.   It was excellent!

Session 2 = John Piper = Kicked off the exposition of 2 Timothy, preaching from 1:1-12.  He really worked through the text in a helpful way, describing how the white hot flame of God’s gift to Timoty would be fanned to fire by the grace of God found in His Word, so that Timothy would have unashamed courage to speak openly of the Gospel and to suffer for it.

Dinner break = hopped in a cab to go to Portillo’s and learned that it’d take 30-45 min and cost $25 each way.  Two other guys from the conference also had climbed into our cab and were being driven to Giordano’s.  We asked for Gino’s East and the other guys joined in — two youth pastors from Philadephia – their names escape me right now, but both seemed like good guys, one was a TMS grad.

Gino’s East Pizza is the other style of classic Chicago pizza pie.  While delicious, I think Giordano’s retains my preference as the best I’ve had.

After dinner…
Session 3 = Phil Ryken = Ryken took over at 10th Presbyterian in Philadephia after James Boice died.  He preached from 1:13 – 2:13, expositing the mandate for faithfulness in ministry.  I’d never heard anything by Ryken before — he worked carefully from the text and at the end, caught fire a little as he spoke of God’s faithfulness, even when we are faithless.

Session 4 = Mark Driscoll = Driscoll preached from 2:14-26 and was very engaging.  He did not spend a lot of time working through the interpretation & meaning of the passage, but dwelt long on the application of the passage to life & ministry.  It sounded as though this was an area where he felt inadequate and under conviction of his need to grow.  In fact, as he described how this passage was assigned to him, he remarked that him being invited to come & teach this passage was similar to inviting a drunk to teach a sobriety seminar. 

Chris and I then chatted with an old friend who now serves at Desiring God in Minneapolis, and then headed back to our room for a bit of rest.  Tomorrow holds the promise of much more.  Thanks for your prayers for us!  We miss you and are looking forward to being at home with you on Sunday, at church.

John General News

So this afternoon, we flew to Chicago to attend:

It starts tomorrow, so we checked into our hotel and then went out for some authentic Chicago pizza.   It was INCREDIBLE.   We ate at Giordano’s and it was unlike anything I’ve ever had.

Here’s a picture from the Giordano’s website because I accidentally left my camera at the hotel…

A flaky, buttery crust, with pizza, sausage, and fresh mozzarella, then another layer of crust, with a delicious sauce spread across the top.  I’m close to saying, “it’ll change your life.”

So we’re doing well, have had some good conversations, are looking forward to being challenged by the exposition of 2 Timothy at the conference, and are now back in the hotel room, resting up for the start of the conference tomorrow (Tuesday).

Thanks for your prayers!  We’ll try and post a bit of news from each day while we’re here.

John General News

We’re revamping the blog and getting ready for live Q&A every Sunday after the sermon.  It’s not likely that we’ll get through all the questions each week, so we’re going to try and tackle more of them on the blog.

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John General News

Due to a excessive glut of hotel points and airline miles, Beth, Abby and myself have been away on holiday.  Today concludes our time in the city of John Calvin (and the surrounding area).  We’ve visited the International Museum of the Reformation, the Reformation Wall and St Peter’s Cathedral (where Calvin preached).

We also went to the far side of the lake to see Chateau de Chillon, a beautiful castle set on the edge of Lake Geneva.  Oh, and nearby are chocolate factories!  Yum!!

From here, we stop off in the Alps for a bit and then head up north to see the city of Martin Luther.

Read more…

John General News