Keep Pointing in Waterloo

2 people who are now with Jesus.

As many of us know, Pat Haley, one of our worshipers at Waterloo, has been battling lukemia for the last several months.  Last Friday she passed away at University of Iowa hospitals.  The funeral is at 11:00 a.m. today over at Cedar Valley Community Church in Waterloo.

Also this morning, Paul Dunbar, Steve "Sonic" Dunbar's father, died after his long battle with cancer.  Funeral and visitation arrangements are being made today, and will be communicated shortly.  

Please be in prayer today for these families as they are rejoicing with their loved ones who are no longer in pain and in the presence of Jesus, but are grieving at their loss.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

get off your duff

You know what "duff" is Christian-ese, for, right?  Of course you do.

Here are a few opportunities in our community that have been passed my way.  Now, I'm passing them on to you:

Vigil for Marcellous Andrews - 200 Cottage St.  Marcellous Andrews was the young man who was recently beaten to death in Waterloo.  Tonight, at 8pm, there will be vigils held around the state in his memory.  Thanks to Joyce Ankrum for putting this on our radar.

Bridges out of Poverty - Elks Club, Waterloo.  I've heard fantastic things about this one day class designed to help us help others take clear, practical steps out of poverty.  Sally Hollis has taken this class, and said that it is definitely worth the day.  It will be held from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Elks Club on Wednesday, September 21.

Skyward Fall Concert - Cedar Falls Bible Conference Grounds. Chris and Clint Herbert would like you to know that you can help out ushering at this free concert at the Cedar Falls Bible Conference Grounds.  The concert is this Saturday, August 27th.  Contact Nancy at 277-4848 if you'd like to help out.

Let's keep on taking advantage of opportunities to get out into our community!

go deeper.

In case you missed it this past weekend at Waterloo:

• We talked about Jesus' culture being one that is centered around the Word together.  People who follow Jesus do so by living life in the Word of God together.

• We saw that as we do, God shapes who we are.  And when life brings us to a defining moment, who we are will be revealed.  Allow God to put good things into us by spending time in his Word together, and we can expect to produce good things in the defining moments of our lives.

• Finally, we realized that if we are to embrace God's mission for our campus in Waterloo - if this next season is to be a defining moment for us - we will have to be in groups together, centered on the Word, allowing God to produce in us what is necessary for us to fulfill our mission.

So, here's your next steps:

• Sign up for a small group by clicking here.  We will be launching several new Waterloo-specific small groups, led by people from our campus.  You'll also have an opportunity this weekend to sign up via an insert in the bulletin.
  
  
• Sign up for a class by clicking here.  A class is a more open, more topical group that meets for a much shorter season.  Of note for our campus specifically are: 
   
  • Urban Compassion - Tuesday evenings, at Quakerdale, taught by Pastor Carl.  This is your first step in the journey towards our mission in Waterloo.
    
    
  • Church Diversity - Tuesday evenings, at the Waterloo offices, taught by Pastor Jesse.  This is for those who have been a part of one of our Urban Compassion classes or events and would like to take another step towards becoming a multiethnic church.
    
    
  • Jesus' Words - Monday evenings, at the Waterloo offices, taught by Lynn Brown.  A women's Bible study centering on the things that Jesus said about our lives here today.  Info to appear on the website soon.

whatcha reading?

Sorry for the absence on the blog recently.  Summer finally caught up with our house in a good way, and we headed out for a vacation to see my wife's family in Seattle.  Just got back this weekend.

But that's not what I wanted to share with you this morning.  Rather, I'd like to ask you:

Whatcha reading?

Sunday mornings for me always involve reading.  In fact, I've got a Sunday morning ritual.  

Up early for set up.  Finish at about 8:00 a.m.  Head over to McDonald's.  Get some breakfast burritos and a Diet Coke.  Hop on some free wifi.  Then, sit and have some devotions with my YouVersion plan.

It's got me in the book Jude today - which (who) is my son's namesake.  Jude - the guy who wrote the 2nd to last book in the New Testament that bears his name - was the half brother of Jesus.  Yep, half brother - he shared a mom with Jesus, but not a dad.  You get it, right? (Hint: think virgin birth.)

Jude is an epistle, like many of the books in the New Testament.  An epistle is an occasional letter, or a letter written to a specific community to address a specific set of circumstances.  Most epistles begin with the author introducing himself.  Often, the author would include in their introduction a subtle reminder to their readers that they had the authority to write what they did - that their words were binding, and demanded action or correction.  

Sometimes they would remind their readers that they were an apostle - someone who was in the original Twelve that Jesus had selected and called.  Paul would sometimes remind his readers that Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and therefore had the same calling that compelled him to write.

Jude does something a little different.  Here's how he begins his letter:

"Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James..."

That got to me this morning.  Think about that: if you were the half brother of Jesus, wouldn't that be authority enough?  I mean, wouldn't you play that card in your small group, in your family, or any other scenario in which you were giving your opinion about life and life with God?

Not Jude.  Sure, he appeals to his association with James - the other half brother of Jesus, leader of the church in Jerusalem, and author of the New Testament book which bears his name.

But Jude doesn't use his family relationship with Jesus for leverage.  Instead, he places himself underneath Jesus.

Brother of James.  Servant of Jesus.

I love that.  I love the humility there.  "I grew up with him, but make no mistake: we're not equals.  He's in charge.  Not me.  I serve him, just like you serve him.  So, as a fellow servant, and as someone who is now leading in his church with my brother, listen to this."

That's what I'm reading this morning.  That's how God is speaking to me directly.

So again, I ask you:

Whatcha reading?

community links

As my family has made the move back into Waterloo, I've been pleasantly surprised to find out how intentional our city has been to connect its residents to all of the activities and happenings in Waterloo.

Below are some of the links that our house uses to help us connect as a family to our community at large.  Take a look especially at volunteer opportunities in our town.  Hope you find them helpful.  Oh... and feel free to post in the comments section any links that you might have!

Waterloo, Iowa Travel Blog

Main Street Waterloo - Dedicated to the revitalization of Downtown Waterloo, Iowa.

Waterloo Center for the Arts

Phelps Youth Pavilion

Pulse - Entertainment

Waterloo Bucks

Waterloo Black Hawks