Missio Dei Church

e-weekly 5/20/13

Aaron — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:11 +0000

MOTHER’S DAY PHOTOS: Rescheduled for May 26th.

We will be offering free family portraits as a blessing for our mothers and their families this Mother’s Day, May 26th.

RELATIONSHIPS CONNECT GROUP: Starting June 9th @ 6:30pm

Connect Groups are something new at Missio Dei in 2013. We’ll offer 6-8 week groups at various times throughout the year for those who may want to join a group, but either haven’t been able to join an existing Community Group, or still feel new to our church and aren’t ready for a long-term group. Our next group will be studying ‘LoveLife’ by Mark Discoll and will meet in South/West Asheville on Sunday evenings starting June 9th. Please RSVP by filling out a Connect Card, or emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required.

BAPTISM CELEBRATION: June 9^th

We will hold a baptism celebration here at the church on Sunday, June 9th during the services. If you desire to be baptized or have questions regarding baptism, fill out a Connect Card and write Baptism on the back or email email hidden; JavaScript is required

MEMBERSHIP CLASS: Monday, June 10^th and 17^th @ 6:30pm

We will be holding our next membership classes Monday, June 10^th and Monday June 17^th, here at the building. If you want to join the church body or would like to know more about Missio Dei Church and what membership means, we encourage you to come. Childcare will be provided upon request. To sign up, fill out a Connect Card and write ‘Membership’ on the back or you can email: email hidden; JavaScript is required

SERVE WITH MISSIO DEI KIDS!

We need more volunteers for our vibrant kids’ ministry, including ‘check-in’ positions as well as assistants for our 2-3yr class. All positions serve on a rotation. If you would like to serve, please contact Bre Larsen at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITY: Operation Good News

We will be planning a short term mission trip to War, West Virginia from June 22nd to 29th. War is the southernmost town in West Virginia. With the decline in the coal industry, 80% of it’s population is on government assistance. Needs include those gifted in service, organization, food outreach, evangelism, music, and discipleship. This will be a first step in developing a long term relationship with this community. For more information, please fill out a connect card and write ‘War’ on the back, or contact Jim Adkins at: email hidden; JavaScript is required

COMMUNITY GROUPS: Sign Up Now!

We believe Community Groups are the best way to begin living out the gospel and the vision of MDC. And there is no better time to join than now as we begin a new teaching series on Mark, “Crown & Cross: the unfolding epic of the Savior-King”. We will be digging into this gospel account of Jesus’ life and ministry and discovering afresh its implications for our community and the world. To sign up for one of the several groups we have meeting throughout the week, fill out a Connect Card or email: email hidden; JavaScript is required

ARE YOU AN ARTIST?

Help us fill the church walls with art. To sign up to paint/draw for the sermon, email Suz Roach at email hidden; JavaScript is required

ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK?

Make sure to follow Missio Dei Church on Facebook so you can stay up to date on events, announcements, and happenings in the body. You can find us at facebook.com/mdcasheville.

Kids Ministry is Growing!

Aaron — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:51:27 +0000

Our kids’ ministries have been blessed to see rapid growth over the last few months! In order to continue to facilitate growth, we need immediate help in the 11am nursery and we’ll be launching full kids’ ministries at our 11am gathering in April. This will require a new crop of teachers & assistants for each of our four classes (2 yrs-5th Grade). All positions serve on a rotation. Covenant membership is required for teachers, but not for assistants or nursery volunteers. If you love kids, and have a desire to serve the body of Christ by helping disciple children, we’d love to talk to you. Please contact Bre Larsen at email hidden; JavaScript is required for more info.

Day 1: To Absorb the Wrath of God

Aaron — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:07:14 +0000

If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.

God’s law demanded, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.

Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial—it is treason. It defames God and destroys human happiness.

Since God is just, he does not sweep these crimes under the rug of the universe. He feels a holy wrath against them. They deserve to be punished, and he has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign at the core of reality. Therefore, God says, “Cursed be every- one who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26).But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore God sends his own Son to absorb his wrath and bear the curse for all who trust him. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).

This is the meaning of the word “propitiation” in the text quoted above (Romans 3:25). It refers to the removal of God’s wrath by providing a substitute. The substitute is provided by God himself. The substitute, Jesus Christ, does not just cancel the wrath; he absorbs it and diverts it from us to himself. God’s wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn.

Let us not trifle with God or trivialize his love. We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us. But when, by grace, we waken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the [wrath-absorbing] propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Preparing for Lent

Amy Fitzpatrick — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:06:07 +0000

For the next 50 days, we will be posting a chapter daily from John Piper’s “The Passion of Jesus Christ-50 Reasons Why He Came to Die.” Hopefully it will serve as a guide for you as you look toward Easter. Traditionally Lent is a season of the Church calendar for fasting, prayer, repentance and spiritual pilgrimage.

To learn more about Lent and its origins, check out this detailed article by Elliot Grudem.