…a world rolling in wealth,
Stuffed with things,
no end to its machines and gadgets,
And gods—gods of all sorts and sizes.
These people make their own gods and worship what they make.
ISAIAH 2:7-8 [MSG]

Tonight, people will camp. Tomorrow, sales records will break (some already have been broken). The world will be ostensibly “remastered” once again. Apple will release its latest world-altering, culture-defining, universe-creating device. The early adopters and the have-to-have-its will be out in full force, determined to get ahold of the latest thing and all that it promises.

What’s being sold isn’t a phone, it’s a connection to a network of other people who have aligned themselves with a set of identifying values: “We are the creative misfits and social outliers that shape the world. We ‘think different.’” At least, that’s what Apple is attempting to sell. The product, then, is a symbol of something deeper to which people long to connect.

I realize, for most of us, the iPhone is merely a really cool phone. There isn’t anything overtly right or wrong about owning one. This isn’t an indictment against Apple. But, in the midst of the inevitable hysteria of this “newest, most revolutionary, ‘bigger than bigger’” device, pause. The iPhone promises to deliver, like so many other buy-able things, what it cannot. The iPhone is simply the latest example of what we already know: we live in a created world, where created beings create things that start out as objects of admiration and can occasionally become objects of worship.

Whether it’s a phone, a car, a pair of shoes, a house, or a garden hose, it’s worth questioning the unthinking consumption that can go into buying helpful, even great things. Remember, at the end of the day, the thing(s) we have to have today will likely become tomorrow’s paper weights.

Join us this Sunday as we continue to talk about navigating the sophisticated, market-savvy world around us in our series: YOU MAKE THE CALL. This week, we’ll talk about breaking from old habits that keep us stuck while cultivating new ones that take us where we intend to go. It’ll be a great opportunity to invite people who are wrestling with some of these questions.

See you Sunday,
Jeff
____________

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.- PSALM 18:2

I almost missed it.

Today, it was my day to get the kids ready and off to school. I’ll be the one solving the near-impossible task of getting three kids to three different soccer practices. I know, child’s play for many of you. For me: I think I’ve developed an eye tick, no doubt due to the low-level anxiety that has me believing I’ll leave one of my kids behind, or deliver someone to the wrong field. I know Saturday’s games will only exacerbate the whole issue. Amanda’s out of town this weekend. My awe of single parents, like my own mom, is not in short supply. Once everyone was accounted for this morning, I scurried off to the church office, anticipating meetings and preparation for Sunday’s message.

Then, I set out to write this brief note. At the top of my document, I typed the date: September 11th.

It is the date of a generation. Until I typed it, admittedly, I hadn’t paid much attention to it. But, this year, September 11th comes on the heels of a speech from the president about taking action against a new global terrorist threat. We re-learn what we’ve always known, but can blithely forget in the midst of all the stuff we have to take care of: the world is an uncertain place populated by human beings who occasionally act out in unthinkable ways. Whether it’s global terrorism, the threat of disease, or domestic violence, we long for an often elusive stability and peace.

It’s not surprising then, that in the ancient world, the ways in which God was described by his own people had less to do with his nebulous philosophical attributes (i.e.: omnipotence, vastness, etc.) and far more to do with concrete imagery. God gets words like: shield, rampart, fortress, or rock to describe Him. Whether the world is crazy somewhere far away — way out there — or it’s crazy right here, we cry out not for the all-knowing God but for the “strong-tower” God. That’s who we need, even in the midst of all that other important stuff we daily scurry around to accomplish.

This weekend, we’ll continue to aim our hearts at God and his wisdom as we continue our series: YOU MAKE THE CALL.

See you Sunday,
– Jeff

Do you ever feel like you’re making bad calls in the game of life?

We’re blowing the whistle on bad decisions. Join us for this empowering series about victory through God’s playbook of life so you can win through wisdom.

A couple good decisions could change everything.

During the weekend services, Mission Viejo Campus
Sunday, 9 & 11a

“Wisdom will save you…”– PROVERBS 2:12 (NIV)

Einstein forgot his own address.
Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant.
W.B. Yeats was denied a post at Trinity College in Dublin for spelling “professor” wrong on the application.
Virginia Woolf accidentally baked her wedding ring into a pudding.
Ben Franklin nearly killed himself giving an electric shock to a turkey.

The world is full of geniuses who fail to make good decisions. The world is rife with scandals that are generally the result of smart people being dumb. This is us. We’re all that way. The only difference between us and Thomas Edison or Virginia Woolf is that they’re they’re smarter than we are. So, everyone is susceptible to any number of actions that fall far beneath what our intelligence would otherwise dictate.

In retrospect, we’re not in need of greater intelligence. We can see the trail of occasional stupidity that has become more clearly defined as we age. In a time where there  is more information available to us, in speedier forms, than ever before, we need more than intelligence. We need wisdom.

We don’t need Yoda-style aphorisms for a galaxy far, far away. Nor, do we need kindly wizard-ishness fit for Middle Earth. We don’t need crotchety old guys spewing complaints about how great it all used to be. We need practically applied wisdom for our real lives, now. We want to know how to live in this world, today. We have big questions with difficult choices. We live where not everything can be forced into conveniently packaged little boxes with neatly defined categories. We need wisdom to know what to do and how to do it.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at wisdom. This will be a great time to invite people who, like all of us, are looking to apply wisdom to their daily lives in our very real world.

See you Sunday,
Jeff

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a hero to children and families in our community! There are many ways you can serve in Port Mariners.

Holding babies, playing with toddlers, computer check in, greeting families, classroom helper, and storytelling are just a few ways you can help. See all of our volunteer opportunities and sign up.

Please plan to attend our training luncheon.
Sunday, September 7, 12:30-2p, K-5th grade room
Lunch provided. Childcare available upon request.
Contact Rachel

Your words are so choice, so tasty; I prefer them to the best home cooking. – PSALM ‭119‬:‭103

Tomorrow my family and I will pack up and head home after a few days of camping along the California coastline. The views have been spectacular. The memories, permanent. The food: weird.

We eat weird stuff by the campfire. We determine that, in the spirit of the “great outdoors,” we ought to only eat foods that can be skewered with a clothes hanger. Food groups and nutritional considerations have new categories. Hot dog: healthy. Eat it before you eat a marshmallow. Some variation on the classic “trail mix” (granola, peanuts, chocolate chips, M&M’s, cereal) constitutes a reasonable snack between meals. Camping, it turns out, is a world where Gatorade has supplanted water as essential for life. It is dreamland for my kids. All hygiene and dietary guidelines governing an otherwise civilized society are completely abandoned.

But, I feel it.

I’m not sure how many marshmallows I can eat before I go into some kind of sugar-induced anaphylaxis. My frequent headaches and jittery-ness has got me convinced that the threshold is close. But, it’s camping. I’ve chosen this for myself. Truthfully, I  love it. But, I can’t sustain it.

It’s time for things that can be eaten with a fork. It’s time for things that aren’t vacuum sealed. It’s time to start eating things that don’t require an open flame to prepare them. I am in need of some, as the verse says, “home cooking.”

In the wanderings of my soul, the principle is no different. The interior longings of my heart can last for a while on sweet indulgences, golden-charred at fireside. But, eventually, I’ll return to what I really need: the long sustaining fullness of God.

See you Sunday,
– Jeff

Help Students in need in our Mission Viejo Community start the year off right!

Please purchase form the following list:
Elementary-sized backpack
Pens – blue, black, red
Pencils
Spiral notebooks
Two-pocket folders
1″ binder
Loose leaf paper
Glue sticks
Colored pencils
Crayola markers-thick
Crayola markers-thin
Highlighters

Next Steps:
Turn in your donation at the collection bins on the patio at Mariners Church Mission Viejo during the weekend services:
Aug 17, Aug 24, Aug 31

Join us for a Sorting Party with pizza, music and organizing of supplies! Sun, August 31, after the 11a service
For more info contact Maher, msalhani@marinerschurch.org