Spend time with the “Men of Mariners” at this year’s “MAN CAMP” at Forest Home. Speakers include Kenton Beshore, Kyle Zimmerman, Jeff Maguire and Eric Heard. GET OUTDOORS, EAT, BE KNOWN, HAVE FUN, MAN UP! Details and register here or search “man camp” on our website.
MAN CAMP
Fri, Jun 3, 3p–Sun, Jun 5, 11a, $199, Forest Home
Join us as we take you on an interactive, educational, and spiritual adventure around Orange County. Learn how you can provide hope, and make a difference, in the lives of abused, abandoned and neglected children. Search “Foster Bus” or click here to register.
FOSTER BUS EXPERIENCE
Sun, Jun 5, 12:30-3:30p
Meet in Life Development Bld r206
Spend time with the “Men of Mariners” at this year’s “MAN CAMP” at Forest Home. Speakers include Kenton Beshore, Kyle Zimmerman, Jeff Maguire and Eric Heard. GET OUTDOORS, EAT, BE KNOWN, HAVE FUN, MAN UP! Details and register here or search “man camp” on our website.
MAN CAMP
Fri, Jun 3, 3p – Sun, Jun 5, 11a, $199, Forest Home
I read a quote today that I found in an old journal. It says,
“You will consistently perform in alignment with what you believe to be true about yourself.”
Let me take this moment to remind you of a few things that are true about YOU:
– God is pleased with how he designed you (Gen 1:31, Eph 2:10)
– You are God’s kid (John 1:12)
– God’s Spirit is with you, and in you (1 Cor 3:16)
– Jesus calls you his buddy (John 15:15)
– You are new, clean, and have a fresh start (2 Cor 5:17)
– God gives you new strength today (Isaiah 40:29)
– You don’t have to be afraid-you’re stronger than you think
(2 Tim 1:7)
– Jesus is with you…still…right now (Matthew 28:20)
May you believe what’s true and act accordingly.
caleb
P.S.: Stop by our Step In table on the patio this Sunday. We’ll have some fun surprises there over the next month. StepInHB.com.
P.P.S: Listen to recent messages here.
We had a great wrap up of our Community Nights this week. I want to thank all of you who were a part of our five-week time together. Community is such a big part of our church and I love seeing us come together to connect and grow in our relationships.
Our summer calendar is out, so please make sure you grab one on Sunday morning. We have several fun events planned and we will be kicking off with a luau in June. Yes, there is a very good chance that tiki torches and Hawaiian food will be involved. We are even working on a roasted pig. It’s sure to be a fun event for all ages.
Also, don’t forget about VBS in July! Start thinking now of children and families you can invite. It is a great week of fun and growth for the kids and also a time for parents to enjoy a small break from the kiddos.
Finally, we will continue in our series, “Things We Wish Jesus Never Said.” This week’s story is about a situation we can all find ourselves in. Have you ever given up on God because He didn’t do what you wanted him to do? There is a very good chance we all have at some point in our lives.
Have you ever traded God for something else in your life? Something at the moment that seemed so big, but years later you wonder why you did it? This week, we are going to ponder this dilemma in our lives and I think you’ll find Jesus’ response shocking, yet it is so Jesus. It’s another great week to invite someone. I look forward to seeing you Sunday.
Blessings,
Jeff
Jesus is enough. My prayer for you this week is that you’ve been experiencing that truth as the world is constantly pulling at us and telling us that Jesus is not enough. The world tells us that we need to grab a hold of temporary things to satisfy our deepest longings and navigate pain and challenges. I hope you’ve been walking in the truth that we unpacked together last week in John 6.
This week, we continue in our series, Things I Wish Jesus Never Said. It will be a perfect weekend to invite your friends and neighbors as Kenton discusses some of the greatest questions they may have like… Why does Christianity seem so exclusive? Why does Christianity have to be so hard? Is it really worth it for us to follow Jesus?
This promises to be a weekend you won’t want to miss as we look to God to speak to us and find the full, abundant life promised in a relationship with Jesus.
Can’t wait to see you guys this weekend.
Peace,
Kyle
“There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity.”
– JOB 1:1
Consider for a moment how familiar you are with this phrase: “I’m going to lose it!” Though I don’t always say it with those words exactly, I know it well (and so do the people that are closest to me). Rarely does it require me to specifically announce the sentiment that generates it. I only need the right combination of fear, insecurity, frustration, loneliness, or unresolved conflict from my past to set the fertile ground for a spectacular unwinding.
If ever there were a person in the Bible who deserved to “lose it,” it’s Job. Job’s story is a famous one. It’s a story riddled with incredibly weighty questions about the nature of God’s relationship both to humans and to their accuser, Satan. It chronicles the suffering of a man, who though full of integrity, is subjected to unimaginable loss. The Book of Job records the conversations of Job’s “wise” friends who imagine Job is deserving of his punishment for something he did that he’s unwilling to confess. They pile-on in his grief, begging him to confess something they believe he clearly had not reconciled with God.
Yet, Job is honest and unwavering. He has suffered and does suffer. He asks the great answerless question we all ask in the midst of trial: “Why?” He suspects, like all of us do, that there will be a satisfactory justification for his disease, financial ruin, and the death of his loved ones. But, we know the answer already — that there is no “because” big enough to address the depth of the pain behind that “why.” Job encounters God, not in his tenderness, but in his majesty — that undeniable mystery of God’s other-ness, his ungraspable supremacy.
In reading this woeful narrative of sorrow and struggle, I can’t escape myself in it: What is the value of having integrity at all? Why does he continue, throughout the story, to be committed to a life of obedience locked in an honest intimacy with the God of the universe who has not made his life easier, more convenient, or safer? Why doesn’t he resign himself to the idea that none of his devoted life of faith to God has resulted in any observable benefit? Why doesn’t he lose it?
I think the answer lies in what is meant by “complete integrity.” Integrity has its roots in the idea of being integrated: whole. Consider the alternative: disintegrated: falling apart — losing it. Maybe, when we “lose it” we’re actually describing the reality of becoming less of ourselves. Job is the story of a person who is unswervingly committed to being whole — being the one God intended him to be. The experience of “losing it” ALWAYS leaves us wondering where “we” went in the course of some outburst. To exclaim “I’m losing it!” is to declare, “I am disintegrating!” To be full of integrity is to be fully us. That, after all is said and done, is who God created us to be…us. Our faith journey is to live in the fullest reality of who God is shaping us to become — our fully integrated self.
This week we’ll pick up where we left off in our series: THINGS I WISH JESUS NEVER SAID, coming face to face with one of the scariest things Jesus ever said. Don’t miss it. But, before that, we’ll host DATE NIGHT on Friday from 6:30pm – 9:30pm. Let us know if you’re coming and whether or not you’ll need childcare by registering here.
See you soon,
Jeff
Join us as we consider our view of Jesus and look at some of His most well-known and often most controversial statements. Let’s live and love like He intended. Click here for more info.
Sundays: 9 & 11a
Listen to weekend messages from Things I Wish Jesus Never Said
We’ll come together for this fun series on “Practicing your Promise” to find encouragement and get the tools we need to strengthen our marriages. More info and register.
BUILDING HEALTHY MARRIAGES
Friday, May 20, 6:30-8p, Upper Room
Guest Speaker:
James Choung
Hear from Lead Pastor Jeff Maguire & his wife Amanda as they share key values to help us sharpen the tools in our “marriage toolboxes.” Before we send you out to your favorite date spot, we will provide a programmed night of serious fun with meaningful interaction and thought provoking conversation. Search “Date Night” or click here for more information. For questions email Kasaundra: kdomen@marinerschurch.org.
DATE NIGHT
Fri, May 20, 6:30-9:30p
Meet in the lobby