The Andros Team

March 14th, 2010

Today our Oak Hill campus director Richard Bradstreet along with Robert Bradstreet, Ben Foss, and Nate Jillson will be joining EABC’s Andros team on their trip to the Bahamas to work with our missionaries there. While there, they’ll stay in a village called Red Bays where they can spend time with the teens and villagers that will be benefiting from their service there.

Not a vacation

You may think, “Mission trip? To the Bahamas? Yeah, I’m sure those surfers REALLY need Jesus”.

Well they do, but that’s not why they are going. Over the course of this week, the team will be:

  • Building a multi purpose building for church groups, teen activities, and housing for missionaries
  • Putting a roof on a church
  • Building shelves in a library
  • And a few other small projects

Pray for them

Will you join your Atmosphere leaders in praying for these guys as they travel? The team leaves today at 6 AM and will be returning next Sunday at 10:30. Pray for their safety. Pray for wisdom for the leaders. Pray for salvation of the lost there, and success in the projects. Please don’t forget to lift them up.

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uAsked Next Week

March 13th, 2010

Next weekend at Atmosphere we will be answering your questions. We would love to hear what you want to know more about. Anything goes, so CLICK HERE and let us know what you want to hear us talk about. Here are some of the questions that have been asked thus far:

Questions:

- Do the music you listen to and the movies you watch affect your christian walk and is it wrong to watch or listen to them?

- Why do some Christians oppose things like Harry Potter and Twilight and yet others embrace them without a second thought?

- Why is it so easy to give in to temptation when I know that it is wrong?

- If you have done everything to overcome your past, you are in a fight club, walking through the steps to change, and moving forward, how do you keep growing if others continuously bring up your past and won’t drop certain problems in your life?

What About You?
Let us know what it is you want to know! Fill out the uAskend question form.

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Prepare Your Soul 3.12.10

March 12th, 2010

This weekend we will be in week 2 of What If? This series is about more then what we are preaching on the weekend. We are looking at not only the Lewiston/Auburn area, but the whole state, New England and even reaching further. We are asking very simple questions, yet ones that dig deep into what it is we believe. As we prepare for this weekend meditate upon this passage from Matthew.

Matthew 22.37-39 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

What a heart challenge, what a great thing to set our minds, actions and hearts to doing. What if we did this? What would our lives look like?

“Lord, grant that my religion may not be occasional and partial, but universal, influential, effective, and may I always continue in thy words as well as thy works, so that I may reach my end in peace.” Pg 40 Valley of Vision


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Pray for Each Other

March 11th, 2010

Colossians 1.9-13 -

A Prayer for each other today -

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking
that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience with joy,
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.


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What do we need to do?

March 10th, 2010

So we have talked about actually believing God and why it matters that we trust completely in Him, but how do we get there?

What can I add to my life?

  • Reading the Bible | you might not like reading, but if you are looking to grow in your walk with Christ, this is something that cannot be neglected. God’s Word is active, and powerful in the life of His people, and change will come if you trust in what it says about the Jesus.
  • Join a Student Life Group | We have discussed how messy community can be, but we should realize that only when we are meeting together with other believers will deep growth happen. Many of the Atmosphere leaders can attest to how they have benefited from being in a Gospel-centered community.

What can I change

  • Pray more often | Praying means that you are trusting that the sovereign God of the universe is going to take care of things for you. Do you trust him enough to pray instead of worry when things go wrong?
  • Be more open | Great blessings come when you are open with those around you. If you keep everything to yourself, no one will be able to speak the words into your life that you need to hear. Keeping to yourself hurts the Church.

What can I remove

  • Friends | For some of us believers, being around old friends isn’t conducive to our growth in Christ. At least not until we can responsibly handle the worldly pressures that will inevitably arise. Again this isn’t to say we will never be their friend again, but rather we need Christ to speak into our life before we can speak into theirs.
  • TV | Are there shows that are worldly that you need to stop watching? Are these shows filling you up with crap instead of the truth of the Word?
  • Internet | Maybe you aren’t addicted to porn (if you are, you need to stop) but are you wasting time on-line when you should be in the Word and worshiping Christ? How can you take this temptation away?

This is not a complete list, so what are some things you can add/change/remove in your own life? Comment below.

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Valley of Vision 3.10.10

March 10th, 2010


“Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit”  pg. [xv]

Valley of Vision is a series of blog post that will contain quotes from the book Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

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Reflections from Rumney

March 4th, 2010

A few weekends ago I had the privilege of speaking at Rumney Bible Conference’s Snow Camp with Oak Hill worship team member, Cody DeGraff leading worship. Here are some thoughts from Cody and me, the messages I preached and the song list from Cody.

Thoughts from Cody:

This past weekend I had the privilege of leading musical worship in NH at Rumney Bible. Experiencing God‘s impact on roughly 200 teens, youth leaders, pastors, and staff was an amazing experience. Not only did some accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, but there were many that rededicated their lives to Christ. I truly believe God spoke through Josh every time he preached.
One thing that really stands out was a guy who came up to me, and started thanking me for the musical worship. We sat down and prayed together. Then he asked me how old I was. When I responded that I was only 18 he looked at me with complete shock, and  then told me, ”You  have motivated me to want to serve God more! Because I am 17 years old, and if an 18 year old can do it then so can I!”
PRAISE GOD! He is moving!!!! I pray that God works in these teens to put Jesus as their Treasure and not their worldly desires.

Songs From Rumney:
Friday Night -

You Are Holy (Prince Of Peace) – Micheal W. Smith

Here I Am To Worship – Tim Hughues

Open the Eyes of my Heart – Sonic Flood

Everlasting God – Chris Tomlin

Saturday Morning -

It Is Well With My Soul – Horatio Spafford

Mighty To Save – Hillsong

Mighty Is The Power Of The Cross- Chris Tomlin

Take Me In- Petra


Saturday pm -

This we Pray – Cody DeGraff
It Is Well With My Soul -Horatio Spafford
Here I Am To Worship- Tim Hughues
Agnus Dei – Micheal W. Smith
Majesty (Here I Am) – Delirious?

Sunday -

It Is You – Newsboys
Mighty To Save – Hillsong
God Of Wonders- Mac Powell

Thoughts From Josh:
Rumney was a whole new experience for me. I had never even been to something like this, let alone speak at it. Scott and the team were amazing and this palace was the real deal. Above all of this I would most definitely say God showed up in a real and powerful way! A week and a half later and I still can not put into word what the Spirit did through this weekend not only for the students, and leaders, but also me. All I can think about is 1 Cor. 1.21 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (emphasis mine) I did not say anything profound, or amazing, but nonetheless the Holy Spirit used it. For that reason I am thankful!

If you were at Rumney join in the conversation below!

Messages From Rumney:

Friday Evening: due to technology problems we did not capture the message

Saturday Morning: What is your treasure?

Saturday Evening: Prodigal God

Sunday Morning: Simon Says


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The Calling

March 3rd, 2010

Atmosphere Church is pleased to invite you to The Calling, May 8 2010. Please join us for a day of God glorifying equipping, featuring speaker, Jared C. Wilson, author of Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing a Drive-Thru, Feel-Good Savior

COST | $15 per person, $12 for groups of five or more, only $10 for Atmosphere attendees

WHEN | Saturday, May 8th 9:00am-4:00pm (Late registration begins at 8 a.m. Lunch will be available for $5)

WHERE | 560 Park Ave. Auburn ME, 04210

Were looking forward to you worshiping with us!

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Valley of Vision 3.2.10

March 2nd, 2010


“Thou God of all grace , thou hast given me a Saviour, produce in me a faith to live by him, to make him all my desire, all my hope, all my glory.”  pg. 44

Valley of Vision is a series of blog post that will contain quotes from the book Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

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Book Review: University of Destruction

February 24th, 2010

University of Destruction by David Wheaton is about being a true witness to Christ during college. Wheaton has many good spiritual points including a particularly useful three part section towards the end outlining what is necessary to keep one’s faith in college. These “Game Plan Fundamentals” include decent instruction on the interactions with God, peers, and authorities.

Unfortunately, this book was not what it could have been. Wheaton is often patronizing in his delivery and it is difficult to believe that his theories would aid very many people in returning to Christ before heading to College.

Missing Community

Besides his condescending writing style, he encourages the believer to keep non-believers simply as acquaintances. He actually tells us that we should not have active communication with unbelievers more than a few times a month lest we fall into their sin. While I agree that the biggest influence in our life should not be an enemy of God, we should be more than an acquaintance to them. If believers are involved in the local Church, and a small group or fight club (groups of three believers that encourage each other daily) they may be able to be good friends with non-believers meanwhile maintaining their faith.

No Repentance

Wheaton writes:

“When you became a Possesor (a true believer), God forgave every one of your sins—past, present, and future. Therefore, you don’t have to ask forgiveness when you sin; rather, confess your sin and claim the forgiveness He has already given you at the point of your salvation.” (pg. 147)

Now would have been a good time to talk about what true repentance is, but no such definition can be found. There is a brief reference to it near the end of the book, but other than that, he only encourages confession- which is only half the work. I think it was Luther who said, “The life of a Christian is one of daily repentance”. If you are going to teach about being a true believer, why leave repentance out?

No Gospel

Finally, Wheaton explains salvation but his audience is those who profess belief while living sinful lives. His solution? Offer the sinner’s prayer- the very thing that put these people in the spot they are in now. After having the reader pray this prayer, he excitedly confirms that, if they meant it, then they are now saved. I am sure this is not the first time this audience has heard this. Besides this potentially false hope, the motivation for most of his advice is moralism rather than the Gospel. As a (better) book about how to stay Christian in college has been written, this could be aptly titled: “How to stay morally religious in college”.

Ultimately I would not suggest this book to Christian students going into college. As I said, he has some decent points about how to keep faith in Christ, but the not so good outweighs the good here, and for a good book about retaining one’s faith, I would stick with How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski.

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