Dear Refuge family,
Have you seen those “challenges” online? Take the <INSERT CRAZY THING> challenge, etc. Well, I have something FAR better than Tide pods (seriously, don’t eat those). Sunday we listened to Paul’s story in Acts 22, and I shared my own, even down to the same word count! I’m attaching Paul’s, and mine, below. Here’s my thought: what if we – as a congregation – took the same challenge? Paul’s account is 437 words, and sure, I was geeky enough to match it exactly… but 400-450 seems a fair challenge target. Honestly, since then I’ve written another that’s longer (more like a blog post length) but the first one inspired the second! (True intentions revealed: my hope is it whets our collective appetite to find numerous ways to articulate our faith.)
In terms of 1 Peter 3:15 and giving reasons for faith, one member (thanks, Tim!) shared a GREAT video from Voddie Baucham about “why we can believe the Bible”. Not only is it some great supplemental listening I’d highly recommend for your OWN edification, but also something great to share on your FB feed or social media (or email to folks who will benefit). You can find it below in the recommended links.
This Sunday we’ll be pausing for a topical message, and then we’ll be finishing up the fantastic Book of Acts. NOTE: we’ve decided to start the Sunday service live stream about 10-15m before service… allowing the link to be up and findable a while before 10am. That should help folks find the link early and log on in real time… but naturally, if you watch it later, you’ll have to “jump ahead” to find the start of service several minutes forward. Hopefully it’s more of a blessing than an annoyance, but thanks for your patience as we continue to learn how to best work this virtual service. Feedback is welcome!
Coming up, we have a Tuesday night Philippians ZOOM study that will add to our midweek options – I’ll explain more Sunday! Also, restrictions have shifted so we can have small meetings at restaurants again, so look for a return of on-site Men’s Breakfast soon! And continue to pray for our virus, our community, and reopening as we learn to live in the circumstances God has placed us in.
Thanks again to Debbie for the financial update at last week’s service. If you missed it, you can watch it here. Have a blessed week and I hope to see you soon! – pastor james
Below are recommended weekly articles and links, plus the basic ZOOM links for service and midweek connections.
- Back to Basics – a fantastic primer from Voddie Baucham: why we can believe the Bible
- 60-second Psalm – Your Saybrook Minute with Ben: Psalm 11
- As we have highlighted black voices in 2020, we discovered the “Just Thinking Podcast” and apparently, we weren’t alone. It is now apparently the number 1 Christian podcast in America! Recent episodes include important conversations about current events: check out the list here.
- James and the Popcorn Theology crew look at Christian Bale’s pre-Batman film “Equilibrium” and discuss how it mirrors aspects of the story of Paul the apostle, as well as a restricted society stripped of many activities, “locked down” (even to their own emotions): sound familiar?
- Persecuted Church: threatened with death for being Christians: please pray for Christians in Laos.
This Sunday…SUNDAY SERVICE 10am – Church YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/c/RefugeChurch
