September 4, 2019
Believers Church
Pastor Doug Logan spoke at the Mission: Home conference in Trenton, MI back in 2015. The text for the sermon is the parable of the prodigal son and Pastor Doug relates this story to the mission our families have at home. Pastor Doug underwent a 7 year disconnection from his own son who wanted nothing to do with God or church. The sermon is full of insight and passion as he walks us through God’s approach to His children who disconnect from Him.
September 1, 2019
Believers Church
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24
As I rolled toward my nightstand, slapped the alarm off, grabbed my phone, and squinted my eyes open, this was the verse-of-the-day staring back at me. A few minutes later I sat down with a latte, opened my bible, and read my devotions for the day, where the theme continued,
“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night…”
“For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!”
Psalm 92:1-2, Psalm 92:4-5
The subject of rejoicing and thankfulness continued as I read through Spurgeon’s morning devotional. God was clearly driving home his will for my day. I was off to a great start. It was going to be a really good day…
Then the day began… I looked at my email, prioritized my task list, and got to work, expecting a joy-filled day of serving the Lord with all my might… But by 10 am, I had made little progress. I was still working on my first task. New problems were coming in and my task list was expanding. The pressure was on… I needed to pick up the pace. After all, people were depending on me. Then around noon I received an email informing me someone was stepping down from ministry. They were leaving the church. I didn’t know how to fix this problem either. By 3 pm I was back to spinning my wheels on a task that should have been done by noon.
That’s when an unsuspecting brother approached me for some technical help. He was caught completely unaware of my inner turmoil. He could hardly get the words out before I lashed out at him for not being able to handle his problem without my help. A few minutes later, after he apologized, I discovered his dilemma was a result of my own work from a previous day. I had made his simple task of putting files on the church server literally impossible to do. Ah… Another problem to fix. A few hours later, as I rushed to close all the windows at church so I could get to a counseling appointment, I slammed my fingers in a window and explicitly mouthed out a profanity… I don’t think it was out loud. I hoped not. There were people outside below the window. After all, I’m a Christian, right?
What happened? How can someone start the day so well… and end it in such a mess? Have you ever had that happen to you? Have you ever asked the question, “How did this happen?” at the end of a bad day? It is at the end of days like these that my mind recalls Jesus’ words,
“The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41
The Apostle Paul aptly puts it this way,
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing…”
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Romans 7:18-19, 24
Have you ever echoed these words of Paul, loathing your own wretchedness? Sometimes we come to find that no matter the grandeur of spiritual influence we receive, our flesh remains just as wicked and wretched as it ever has been and ever could be. Even if we begin the day ‘in the Spirit’, we cannot expect any forthcoming good under the power and confidence of our flesh… no matter how good our intentions might be…Only God is good. We are not… We never will be… We never can be… at least in our flesh. Our only good is in crucifying our flesh and surrendering to God’s Spirit. Life has a way of showing us that… sooner or later… and often many times over.
“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…”
Philippians 3:3
Where do we go spiritually at the end of a day like this? Do we raise the white flag in defeat, slink into our bed, cover our face in self-pity, and enter into a state of non-existence? Perhaps… Maybe that’s the best recourse. To count it all as refuse, right? We may end our days in discouragement and defeat. We may feel we have forfeited the race… or even been disqualified. But the next morning we roll over, slap at the alarm, wipe the sleep from our eyes, and start another day…
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23
We then sit down in our favorite chair, take a sip of coffee, crack open our bibles to read,
“For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage…”
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”
Psalm 94:14, Psalm 95:1-2
It’s hard to believe. For some strange reason of grace, God has given us a do-over. God has granted us yet another day… that we might learn what it means to rejoice and be glad in it. Though we had failed God, God has not failed us. Maybe this day we will find an even greater reason to rejoice, than the day before… Perhaps this time around we will have more appreciation, for the source of our joy. Maybe today we will be a bit wiser, in surrendering to the Spirit… and a bit more wary, of placing any confidence in our flesh. We have an opportunity to rejoice… again.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
Philippians 4:4
August 28, 2019
Believers Church
Even though it’s summer, the homeschool group has had some happenings over the past couple of months with our weekly recess. We have continued our weekly recess every Thursday at 3:30 in area parks.
Recess is a time for parents and children of homeschool families to gather for about 45 minutes at an area park. The purpose of recess is really two-fold. It is for the kids to be able to get together, play, socialize, and get some exercise. It is a blessing for the kids to be able to build their friendships with other kids in our group. In addition to the benefits for the kids, it is also a time for the parents to engage with each other. Parents need it just as much as the kids do and so recess is also a time for the parents to get together for the encouragement and fellowship that we need.
With summer quickly coming to an end, and fall upon us, the homeschool group will be busy with upcoming events during the traditional school year. One such event is a Homeschool Picture Day. It is a time for our families to have their kid’s pictures taken as well as an invitation to other homeschool families in the area. Last year, the photo day brought many families from the community down to have their photos taken.
With the photo day, we are also going to use it as an opportunity to display homeschool curriculum to anyone that is interested in taking a look at what some of our group’s families use. Choosing the right curriculum for your kids can be a daunting task and so we will also have options on display for any families that attend the photo day to view. We would like to provide this service to any families that are considering homeschooling or just looking to change their current curriculum.
Once we move into fall there will more field trips and educational activities to come. The purpose of the fields trips is, like recess, a chance for families to fellowship and engage with each other but is more than that. It is also an opportunity to get us out into our community more and sometimes out of Menomonie to engage with the larger world and find some educational lessons that you can not get at home.
If you know anyone who would be interested in learning more about homeschooling and curriculum, having their homeschooled child’s picture taken, or attending recess, please reach out to our group or email homeschool@jfbelievers.com.
August 25, 2019
Believers Church
Read about what God has been doing through Shofar Mission in the Philippines.
During the latter part of July and early August, our short-term missions team taught four Ministry Training Institute classes, three women’s discipleship classes, hosted a youth leader’s follow-up, taught in the Bantayan Jail, preached at six different churches, led a children’s outreach in Cebu City, taught science lessons at two city schools, hosted a 3-day summit for university students, and held two live radio broadcasts in downtown Cebu City. Whew! What a ride it has been. We’re thankful for all the ministry that God has allowed us to be a part of in the Philippines. Our heart is to build up local churches and disciples for the furtherance of Christ’s Kingdom.
After the team left, we jumped right back into our normal rhythms of campus outreach and primary/secondary education.
This semester, Street Level Ministries is meeting twice a week for dinner and bible study to accommodate students’ schedules. We’re also actively pursuing more ministry opportunities at one of the universities in the city, as God continues to point us back to students there. Aside from weekly meetings, we’re also utilizing our new “banana stand” to get out on the streets for live Street Level Radio broadcasts and Word on the Street Magazine distribution.
Primary and secondary schools are in full swing (well, aside from a holiday nearly every week!), which means more students are being taught why they believe what they believe. Through Shofar’s Exploring Creation Science lessons, students from grade 4 all the way to grade 12 discover how the sciences of biology, geology, astronomy, chemistry, and human anatomy support God’s creation.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers for Shofar Mission. If you are compelled, please remember to pray for the following:
August 22, 2019
Believers Church
The Nehemiah ministry recently undertook a large roof project that involved some major repairs on the leaky rooftop above the radio room. The Nehemiah crew started Thursday evening by removing all of the old steel that was causing some of the leakage. The old steel was re-purposed at the JFB campground to build a new woodshed. There were some small repairs and prep work completed that evening as well. We also needed a hydraulic lift for the job. Thank you Brian H. for not only helping us out with the entire project but also in providing us with the much-needed hydraulic lift. So then the end of the first evening arrived.
The next day we welcomed Adam M. and Bryan V. from JFB Duluth in order to both oversee and help us with the application of the new roof materials. We left no stone ‘uncovered” with this project. We applied several layers of material including rolls of tar-type material and new steel panels. Lastly, Brian used a chainsaw looking tool with a large circular blade that cut notches into the stone walls to tuck flashing into. The entire project took us one evening and two days to complete. Adam and Brian did a fine job in both helping and directing us through the large roof project we undertook. The Nehemiah ministry at JFB Menomonie are very grateful and thankful for their assistance.
You may have also noticed the new patio awning we finished installing a few weeks ago over our front patio. It really gives the patio a nice clean look. Despite the fact that it’s cranky, it’s very easy to set up. Did you catch the joke? It’s a “crank” out style awning. Well maybe that’s not so funny. The Nehemiah ministry also has some brick repair to do on one of the corners of the church. There are new bookshelves in the works for the church entryway as well.
Thank you again for giving us the privilege of working on and around our church. God is so good in letting us be a part of this ministry. We not only grow closer as brothers in this ministry but we grow stronger in our construction skills as well. Some of us have no background in construction at all and yet God gives us the desire and ability to get the projects finished well. Praise God that He is so Good!
August 19, 2019
Believers Church
Find the latest news from JFBelievers church plant and Street Level college ministry in River Falls, WI.
This last month we officially opened The Blind Munchies Coffeehouse on August 1st in River Falls! We spent the last month getting it ready for customers. This preparation included setting up the register, bakery case, and some decor. We also had a training day for the volunteers from Menomonie that will be helping. The website and Facebook page are also officially running – check out the links below.
The coffeehouse is serving up fresh bakery from Menomonie along with coffee drinks, tea, and specialty sodas. Our open hours are starting with Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sunday evenings.
We have already had some customers and look forward to getting to know the community through it.
School will be starting in just a few short weeks. We are looking forward to getting onto the University of River Falls campus again, and being a part of some events. These events include a table at the campus organization fair, a few coffee giveaways from the Blind Munchies, and some bonfires (of course with smores).
