That's a pretty good question, actually. You have your story. I have my story. They don't match up but just because it's true for you doesn't mean it's true for me. Right?

But then Christianity comes along and says that there are just certain things that are ultimately non-negotiable. You are either on the right side or the wrong side -- and in the end, your side matters.

That seems pretty harsh. Unfair even. Especially such a shifty, turbulent world. So for someone, anyone, to take a stand that this is right and that is wrong -- that just seems pretty arrogant. But is it?

Maybe the way Christianity view that whole question is more nuanced than the way the story is usually told. Maybe when you have more information about what Jesus is actually about, we see that this whole exclusion/inclusion question works completely different from what we thought.

That's why author Nicholas Davis writes about this:

The question “Does a person really have to go through Jesus to get into heaven?” is clearly a divisive one within evangelical Christianity today. Some might wonder, “Why is Christianity so exclusive?” This is a good question, but there is an even better question to ask...why is Christianity so INCLUSIVE?

Read the whole article here. It might give you a different perspective.

United Baptist Church has recently begun hosting another church, Restoration Foursquare Church. They meet to worship on Sundays at 4:00 pm, and hold a youth meeting called Summit on Wednesdays at 6:00.

You can read about in the Concord Monitor.

To some, this might seem odd -- one church letting another church use their building. Why would we do this? The answer is actually pretty straightforward: we do this because it's not about us -- it's about Jesus.

You see, this building that we meet in is not our building. It was built for the advancement of God's Kingdom, through the proclamation of his Good News in Jesus Christ. Therefore his building at 39 Fayette Street belongs to him. UBC only holds it in trust -- you might say that we manage it for God. This building is here because God provided through the work of hundreds of faithful people who worked hard and gave generously over decades to build and maintain this facility.

So it simply isn't right for us to keep this treasure to ourselves. Part of the mission God has laid on us is to use the tools he has provided for demonstrating his love for this old broken wounded world. And the tool we have closest at hand is our building. So when we make our building available, to serve and love our neighbors, and to proclaim his Good News in Jesus, we are doing ministry. The only territory that matters is territory for God's Kingdom -- and that territory is a matter of the hearts of the men and women all around us.

That's why we rejoice in the opportunity to partner in the gospel along with Restoration Foursquare. We bless them with what God has blessed us. And in turn, we are confident that RFC will bless us. Then together, through our sharing in the joy and labor in the Spirit, we both will bless God our Savior.

So pray for RFC that God will use them to reach and love people for Jesus's sake. And pray for UBC that we will be able to do the same in our own way. And finally, pray for our work together. We don't know what that will mean yet, but we look forward to seeing how God will work and what he will do. The Gospel is a beautiful thing. Together we can hold it higher for all to see.

"The more the world changes, the more it stays the same." That's how the old saying goes. Computers, the internet, and smartphones all seem like they have changed everything, and they have -- but they haven't. Not really. Our very human hearts still long to feel as though we are OK, even though we suspect we are not. We still long for human connection, even as we fear the vulnerability that it brings. We still long for stability while hungering for new things, and desire to do what feels good, even if it kills us.

In short, humans are still human regardless of the device that holds our attention.

Sometimes, when it comes to the command of Jesus to make disciples, we forget that, and we fixate on using technological means to tell people about Jesus. These technologies might be printed tracts, christian movies, or evangelistic revival services. A method doesn't have to involve computer chips to be a technology. Other people may fixate on music concerts, light shows, or social media to draw in crowds to hear the News. Either way, we are making the same assumption -- that the message requires machinery.

The Good News of Jesus is pretty powerful stuff. So whether it is delivered on a little folded piece of paper, or through a 40 foot projection screen, God can and does use all of these means to penetrate and soften hearts. Making disciples for Jesus, however, does not require machinery, or marketing, or any other kind of technique. Churches don't have to invest enormous amounts of money in electronics and software. They can still make disciples, and do it very effectively. All you need is a table, some chairs, and some food.

Hospitality is the oldest form of evangelism. Or, to use different words, you could call it friendship and sharing. This is good news for Churches like ours. We don't have a big budget. We don't have lots of people. And frankly, the ones that we do have are kind of old and a little tired (don't worry, this is not news to us. Just calling it like it is). But that doesn't have to stop us. We can still make friends. We can still invite people to sit with us and eat while we listen, and talk, and share our lives. It can be in your home, or in a coffee shop, or at a picnic table. It really doesn't matter. It's about you and your friend, sharing food, and time, and your lives.

And when we do that, crazy things happen. You might find yourself sharing Jesus along with the entree. We serve up gospel love, along with dessert. Our guests may ask for seconds, or they may let the dish pass. That is not our concern. Our job is to love, to share, to serve. But still, experience shows that many people discover they have a taste for a spiritual food they had never tried before, and they find that it satisfies something they have been desiring for years.

That's the writer of this this article on Biblical Hospitality discovered. Read about what happens when you start just loving your neighbors for Jesus sake, and comment on your thoughts and experiences.

We’ll be holding a very simple Ash Wednesday service at United Baptist Church this evening. When I have mentioned this to people, a large percentage of them respond with some form of the question, “But…why? You aren’t Catholic.”

And that is certainly true. We aren’t Catholic. It’s pretty clearly spelled out in the name.

But why should Catholics get to have all the fun?

Not that Ash Wednesday is fun exactly, but it is a powerful and physical way to remind ourselves that our fate is in God’s hands. The good news, of course, is that when we trust our fate to him, he promises that all will end well.

Before we talk more about that, here’s quick primer on the whole Ash Wednesday thing. Ash Wednesday is the traditional first day of the season of Lent. Lent encompasses approximately 6 weeks leading up to Resurrection Day, and has traditionally been a time to focus on repentance and sharing in the human suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to know more about Lent, you can read a great article on the site InternetMonk.com.

Ash Wednesday is often observed by a worship service of which the centerpiece is the minister or priest taking a bit of ash mixed with oil onto his finger, and drawing the shape of the cross on your forehead. This is called the “imposition of ashes.” At that same time, the minister will say something like, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In other words, it is reminder that in the end, every one of us is going to die.

In world obsessed with youth, with accomplishment, with winning, with beauty, and with feeling happy all the time, this might seem like kind of a downer. But for Christians – that is everyone who trusts in Jesus for rescue from sin and death – that’s not bad news. In fact, the Good News of Jesus Christ is inextricably bound up with death – both his death and ours. Because Jesus death destroyed the power of sin that separates us from the Living God, and because his resurrection opens eternal life with God to all who believe, death is no longer a downer, but actually the path to True and Better Life with the Source of All Life.

It is as Jesus told his disciples, "And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

So when we remind ourselves and each other that death is certain, we are using death as a lens to look past death to our resurrection in Christ. Death is not nothing. It is real, and it is hard. But because Jesus has transformed death by his own death and resurrection, he has transformed our death as well. The meaning of death is changed from hopeless darkness into a bright and certain hope. And we who trust in him get to share in that hope. We get to rely on that hope. We can face death with confidence and even joy because we know that the end has been re-written.

But to ignore the dying part, and just focus on the resurrection part is not really telling the whole story. There is no resurrection without death on the cross. No Easter without Good Friday. That’s why we do Ash Wednesday. The suffering and death of our Lord Jesus is so big, and so important, that it is worth meditating upon it for six weeks. And we start on Ash Wednesday by undertaking a simple symbolic physical act that ties our death to his.

You don’t have to be Roman Catholic to do that. That’s why we are a Baptist church holding an Ash Wednesday service. In the end, it isn’t about being Baptist, or Catholic, or Orthodox or any other flavor of Christian experience. It’s about Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. Because it is Jesus Christ who is Good News for all people.

Since when do Baptist churches pay attention to Lent?

Well, lots of them don't. In fact, this is probably a pretty good question since I would guess that most Baptist churches don't. But that doesn't mean that none of them do. At United Baptist Church, we are learning about all the seasons of the church calendar and how they can help us to walk closer to Jesus.

At UBC, we look at the church calendar as a simple plan that helps us walk through the Jesus Story together every year. Lent is the part of the plan that leads up to the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the celebration of his resurrection. Therefore, it is generally used as a time to remind us of our need for repentance and doing things to actively bring our focus onto Jesus. There are many ways to put this into practice, and many people throughout the history of the Christian church have found lent to be a refreshing time of renewal in Christ.

The blog InternetMonk.com  recently published a very helpful introduction to Lent originally posted on the blog of Mark D. Roberts. It provides a very nice explanation of lent and the practices of Lent for folks who might not be familiar with it. I'd like to share a couple of useful quotes here, but you can read the whole piece here.

First, let's address some of the objections about Lent just being one more thing that we are required to do. Lent is neither recommended (it's not even mentioned) nor prohibited in the Bible. I find it best to look at it in a similar fashion to committing yourself to a plan to read the entire Bible in one year. It's not required so it's not bad if you don't do it. On the other hand, good can come from it if you do it. But remember this:

Then there is the issue of fasting. Fasting is the spiritual practice of depriving yourself of something for a period of time, in order to devote additional time and energy to prayer, meditation, and Bible study. There are lots of ways to fast, and lots of reasons to fast. To my mind, one of the most important reasons is to bring my idolatry out in the open.

Of course, there is no requirement saying that fasting is the only way to observe Lent. Instead of taking something away, you might do just as well to add something to your life. Pick something specially intended to take your mind off yourself and focus it on caring for and serving others, and of course, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's the whole point. Lent is NOT about doing something to get God to love you more, or earn points you can trade in for divine favors. It is simply a traditional time to do simple things that get our minds off of ourselves and our own agendas, and ask God to work in our hearts through the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus.

Family Promise Needs Your Help. Family Promise is an innovative interfaith Hospitality Network of congregations and volunteers working to meet homeless families’ immediate needs for shelter, meals, and comprehensive support services in a non-sectarian program. To learn more about how Family Promise works, click here. United Baptist is supporting Family Promise as a host congregation and through volunteer effort.

Family Promise is putting the finishing touches on the Day Center on the IHM Campus. They are almost ready to begin hosting families. To supply the Day Center and begin hosting families, there are still a list of needed supplies – things like dishes, kitchen supplies and tools, bedding and linens, office supplies and equipment, and so on.

If you would like to help Family Promise help families as they make their way out of a tight spot, you can donate items on the list below. If you have items on the list that are in good condition, Family Promise is happy to receive your donation. If you would like to purchase something new to donate to Family Promise, they are also happy to receive your help.

By the time you read this, is it possible that some of the items on this list may already have been offered by someone else. So please email Gail Page at gailpage90@gmail.com to make sure your item is still needed, and to confirm where and when to drop off your donation.

To see the WISH LIST CLICK HERE.

 

I have a vision of a church whose worship seeks out all the resources of its members and utilizes all their skills. Where the hymns are sung with zest, perception, and expression, and accompanied by every instrument anyone can play, including hands, and feet and smiles. And where the unfamiliar music of another generation is learned until it is loved.

A church with liturgies that are never mechanical, and spontaneity that is never trivial.

Where the least of its meetings are conducted like royal appointments, and its greatest days are marked with solemn hilarity.

Where organizational efficiency is always at the service of caring love.

Where even poor efforts are done with painstaking diligence, and commended with tolerant hope.

Where brilliance of mind or skill only serves to light up Jesus Christ and His Gospel; where no one can hog the limelight, no one gets too much attention, and no one gets left out.

Of a church where outsiders get as much welcome as old friends; where no one stands alone unless they need to; where the awkward ones are accepted, and the pleasant ones are disturbed by hard realities.

Where the first to hear a complaint is the offender, and the last to air it is the sufferer.

Where peoples’ interests are worldwide, without being worldly, and personal without being petty.

I have a vision of a church which shares an invincible passion for learning and giving, whose life is energized by a glad acceptance of the Cross as a way of life.

Whose self-critical humor puts people at ease, and whose self-denial disturbs and braces them.

Whose sympathies are so warm and imaginative that no one has the nerve to indulge in self-pity; and whose ideals are so high that slightly soiled notions are shamed into silence.

Whose convictions are firm without being rigid; whose tolerance extends even to the intolerant; whose life is an admonition, whose love learns even from its opponents, and whose faith is infectious.

I have a vision of a church that is like that because from time to time it hears its Redeemer’s voice speak with such authority that nothing will do but obedience, nothing matters but God’s love, and others coming in can only wonder, and wish, and ask…

-from the heart and mind of Reverend John Peck, 1978

If you are looking to make friendships with brothers and sisters from other churches in Concord, you might find Community Bible Study is a great way to go. CBS has a long history in Concord and many have found it enriching to the spiritual lives and an excellent way to build bonds with other Christian communities with whom we share a common Lord.

If your schedule prevents you from joining us for Alpha on Wednesdays, this Tuesday night option might be a solid opportunity for you to continue to grow as a disciple of Christ. For details, see the letter below.

Does your spiritual life need a little more life?

Does the gospel feel more like old news than good news?

Does your Christian walk seem a little more like a treadmill than a journey?

The Christian life is a long walk over all kinds of spiritual terrain. Sometimes the views are amazing. Sometimes you go miles just looking at mud. Sometimes it’s really hard, and other times you find yourself striding along even though the way is steep and full of rocks.

Here’s the thing – whatever the shape of the territory we find ourselves in, Jesus promised to be with us. He sent his Holy Spirit to inhabit us and give us strength, and comfort, and light to see our way. This promise isn’t just a figure of speech. It is real.

But we all go through times when it just doesn’t feel real.

So the question is, how can we open ourselves to the working of God in our hearts so that our faith seems like more than a test we have to pass? How can we find Living Water in muddy pools, and be nourished by the Bread of Life when it seems everything has gone stale?

Well, there is no secret formula. It is actually pretty basic. We must simply go back and re-set our anchor in Jesus. We refocus on the truth of Good News of Jesus Christ, and pray for God to refresh us through his Spirit. And the best way to do that is in community with other like-minded people, all seeking God's living presence together.

That's what Alpha is about. It doesn't matter if you have been in the faith for decades, or if you don't buy into Jesus at all. All questions are fair game and all doubts are up for examination. Together, we talk about what we really think and how we really feel and we ask God to show us his real self.

That’s what I’m praying for United Baptist Church this fall. That together, as a community of Jesus-followers, we will immerse ourselves one night a week in God’s Good News for us in Jesus. And that as we come together, God will be present with us in a way that renews, restores, and refreshes our spirits together.

If that is the kind of recharge you could use, please accept my invitation to attend Alpha at UBC.

Come out Wednesday night September 9 at 6:15. Don’t bother cooking. Be our guest and let us feed you dinner. After dinner, we’ll watch a DVD presentation called “Isn’t there more to life?” Then we will take half an hour or so to talk in small groups about what we heard. That’s it. We’ll be done by 8:45.

Come to the first night. If you find that intriguing, keep coming. We’ll be doing this every Wednesday through the middle of November. On the weekend of October 23 we’ll throw in a special weekend event as well. But there is no commitment, no registration, no one will be taking attendance to see if you are doing your duty. Come to as many as you think will benefit you.

Come and see what God has in store for UBC.

Even if you think you are doing fine, please come. Your participation and prayer will be a great benefit to the rest of us.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Grace and peace.

Pastor Dave Denis

To disappoint is to fail to satisfy hopes or expectations. We are human, and therefore ignorant, blind, selfish. How shall we help feeling let down when God does not act according to our hopes? Many men in Scripture were disappointed, and cried out their complaints against God—Job, for one, in almost unbearably vivid language; and the psalmist, who again and again asked, “How long, O Lord” “Hath God forgotten to be gracious?”

Elisabeth Eliot died this week. Yet, as those who know her understand, she died to live again in the resurrection of our Lord. If you don't know who she is, I encourage you to root around and learn more about her. There are many books and articles by her and about her that you can access through the internet.

35 years ago, she wrote an extraordinary article in Christianity Today called "No Disappointment in Jesus?" I like this article because it refuses to paste a falsely cheery veneer on life. Life is full of disappointments, and for those who seek to live life informed by faith in Christ, those disappointments often spill over into your faith. Click on the link to read the article.

God can handle our disappointment, our frustration, our anger. God is no delicate flower who must be coddled and protected. He is the God who gets his hands dirty. He is the God who purposely left behind all the privileges of royalty (deity!) and abased himself to become human. He is the God who, for the sake of his people, walked intentionally into his own betrayal, torture, and humiliating execution. He has received the brunt of our disappointment -- the worst we can dish out.

He took our disappointment and transformed it. He didn't make it go away, but he made it into a way to repair our broken relationship with God.

We need not stuff our disappointment down and cover it up. We can offer it up to him. We may be surprised at what the can and will do with it once we give it up.