X'treme Praise - Tuesday, March 28th

Coming to New Life Robinwood this Tuesday night at 7 PM. Invite a friend and come enjoy a night together.

X'treme Praise is a High School choir from Community Bible Church in Central Point, Oregon. They have been preparing for the "Live Out Loud" Tour since September. This will be an exciting time to worship the King together. Come be encouraged to worship!

Concert Info:
March 28th, 7:00 PM
New Life Robinwood

Middle School Auction

The Middle School group began supporting 2 students (Binod and Sowjana) in India last August through an organization called the Dalit Freedom Network. The support is to give the opportunity for the two Indian youth to attend a Christian school, since they would otherwise be unable due to their low socio-economic status and their low place in the Hindu caste system. Our Middle School class has faithfully been providing $40 a month to send to these two youth, but we wanted to do something more. We are unable to send items to them in a care package due to the corruption and greed of the postal system - the items would either not make it to them, or they would be taxed to receive them. So we decided hold an auction, and the money would be sent to world partners working in that area to purchase gifts for Binod and Sowjana. The middle schoolers have been bringing items of their own to auction off, and last night we held the big event. There were 21 youth there, along with many parents and leaders. We started the evening with a pizza party and a recap of how God calls us to give and why we are giving. Brian Cochran officiated the auction, and after an hour of biddings and winnings, the group was able to sell everything that was brought and raise $211.50 for Binod and Sowjana! What a way to share our treasure (beyond the money raised) with God's work on the other side of the world!

Change is inevitable!

After several comments we decided to reprise our picture from 1993. Somehow it didn't have the same feel (at least not for my crushed leg)!

The more things stay the same, the more they change. . .

Extreme Makeover & DELTA Ministries

EXTREME GET TOGETHER

Episode Airs Sunday Night, April 2nd, 2006 (subject to change, check your local listings)
God has a wild imagination and occasionally HE provides unique opportunities. DELTA Ministries was handed such an opportunity when it was discovered that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition had accepted a special family submitted to the show by DELTA staff members. DELTA Ministries was introduced to Sadie Holmes while planning a community outreach in Orlando, Florida. DELTA Ministries was moved by her story and submitted her name to the show. Sadie Holmes, a single mother of five living in Altamonte Springs, Florida, became burdened to help those in her neighborhood who are without adequate food, clothing or lodging.

Sadie credits her relationship with the Lord as what helped her overcome drug addiction and led her to establish an organization to help others in need. Moved by their plight she started her own nonprofit ministry, Sadie Holmes Help Service, collecting provisions and using her home as a resource center. Last year, two hurricanes hit Florida damaging the home. While repairing this damage with limited insurance money, a fire broke out and destroyed the rest of the home leaving nothing but a burned out shell. With the needs of the community still great and no place else to go, Sadie cleaned out the house and continued to use the shell of a home to run the nonprofit organization. Now, Sadie has a beautiful new home in addition to an adjacent building to continue her nonprofit ministry to her community. During the filming (Feb 17-24), DELTA sent a short-term volunteer team to Orlando to participate in the show. In addition to submitting the family, DELTA’s Team Leader, Asher Sarjent, was instrumental in securing a $50,000 college scholarship to Belhaven College- Maitland Campus which was presented to Sadie during the week.

Visit Delta's web page for the rest of the story!
Extreme Makeover

Sharing Your Treasure

Our "Sharing Your Treasure" training last Saturday attracted some would-be evangelists from New Life Church. I was especially encouraged by the number of young people who, first, have Christ for their treasure. And second, who have a desire to share Him. Please pray they will meet with good success talking about Jesus.

Thirteen Good Years

Thirteen years ago, Tuesday, I began as the Senior Pastor of what was then West Linn Baptist Church. The Oregonian wrote about my start as a "young pastor."

Graciously, the Lord didn't allow some of the ideas represented in this article to destroy the church. His faithfulness is more obvious looking backward than it is looking forward. In retrospect we can see He was faithful, where trusting His faithfulness in the future requires an act of faith.

I am so thankful for his work in me, and in our church for the past thirteen years! It is and has been a privilege to serve as your pastor.

Worship Gathering

Our first Worship Gathering was last Saturday night at New Life Church Robinwood. We had a blessed evening singing, reading Scripture, sharing testimony and praying together.

The room was lit with candles. The atmosphere was special for kids and adults of both our congregations.

All the comments I heard were from men who told me they thought we ought to do it more often. I hope this event and many others will help New Life Church make God their treasure!

Beating People with Bibles

This recording gives new meaning to the term "Bible-thumper." Enjoy -- but don't follow their examples!

Plan Ahead

Summer's coming so here are a few future dates for you to put on your calendar. Several highlights include: Sports Camp, 65th anniversary, Outdoor service & Picnic, Outdoor baptism, Day camp at Robinwood and more.

Seniors Luncheon Music

My favorite music group played
yesterday at the Seniors' luncheon...

Truth Matters!

Here is a unique opportunity to settle some confusing questions in your own mind or to get a clear way to explain those same questions to a friend. This Truth Matters! seminar is about the Da Vinci Code and how Christians should understand the challenges is poses.

The presenter, Jon Swanson, was a classmate of mine at Western. This seminar is the week the Da Vinci Code movie opens in theaters!

Truth Matters! 6th Annual Portland Metro SEMINAR

The Worship Gathering is Coming!

The Worship Gathering at New Life Robinwood. Our time together begins at 7:00 PM.

Psalm 96Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend The Worship Gathering at New Life Robinwood on March 11th. This will be a time to WORSHIP our God through song, prayer and Scripture and to CELEBRATE His Son, Jesus. Invite a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker to come so they may learn to treasure God, and as a result, spread the news of His excellence,trust His promises, and give our lives away for His purposes.

Psalm 96:1-6(New International Version)New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Leadership Summit Follow-up

Some of the material in our Leadership Summit yesterday came from this extremely helpful book. I recommend it if you are looking for ways to get more done with less stress. As far as personal productivity books go this is one of the best I've ever read. The thing that made the most difference was his insistence on boiling down every project into small enough steps that you act on them. No longer (Or, honestly, not as often)do I put off doing something because now I know what to do AND the thing to do is never very big.

A Prayer for Today

Confidence

O God, Thou art very great,
My lot is to approach thee with godly fear and humble confidence,
for thy condescension equals thy grandeur,
and thy goodness is thy glory.

I am unworthy, but thou dost welcome;
guilty, but thou art merciful;
poor, but thy riches are unsearchable.

Thou hast shown boundless compassion towards me
by not sparing thy son,
and by givine me freely all things in him;
This is the foundation of my hope,
the refuge of my safety,
the new and livng way to thee,
the means of that conviction of sin,
brokenness of heart, and self-despair,
which will endear me to the gospel.

Happy are they who are Christ's
in him at peace with thee,
justified from all things,
delivered from coming wrath,
made heirs of future glory;

Give me such deadness to the world,
such love to the Saviour,
such attachment to his house,
such devotedness to his service,
as proves me a subject of his salvation.

May every part of my character and conduct
make a serious and amiable impression on others,
and impel them to ask the way of the master.

Let no incident of life, pleasing or painful,
injure the prosperity of my soul, but rather increase it.

Send me thy help,
for thine appointments are not meant to make me independent of thee,
and the best means will be vain without super-added blessings.

-- Valley of Vision, p.140

Psalm 115

The messages at New Life Church tomorrow will be from Psalm 115. The book highlighted below written by John Piper and Jonathan Edwards would be a great follow-up if you would like to get a better perspective on the glory of God. It has helped me trust God that his glory and my good are one in the same pursuit, not separate and opposite desires.

God's Passion For His Glory By John Piper / Crossway Books In his essay, The End for Which God Created the World, the great theologian Jonathan Edwards proclaimed that God's ultimate end is the manifestation of His glory in the highest happiness of His creatures. Pastor John Piper has devoted the past thirty years of his ministry to exploring the implications of this stunning truth for life and ministry. Understanding that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him has made all the difference for John Piper and this truth can transform your life as well. Edwards saw that truth more clearly than anyone in his day. His relentless God-centeredness and devotion to the biblical contours of doctrine are desperately needed in our time to counteract postmodern pragmatism and relativism. His radically God-centered view of virtue has great relevance now for cultural transformation and world evangelization. Edwards's moral vision can do much to reform contemporary evangelicalism as well. In God's Passion for His Glory, Piper passionately demonstrates the relevance of Edwards's ideals for the personal and public life of modern evangelicals through his own book-length introduction to Edwards's incomparable essay as well as the inclusion of that original, unabridged work (for which Piper supplied copious notes). The result is a powerful and persuasive presentation of the things that matter most in the Christian life.