“Lord, keep me from committing the greatest sin in departing from him, for i can never in this life perfectly obey and cleave to Christ.”
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
On March 20 at the Park Ave. Campus, and March 21 at Oak Hill, we will once again be answering your questions. Josh Otte, Worship Pastor at Windham Baptist Church, will be joining our Josh to help answer you. Use the form below to ask us whatever it is that you want to know about life, theology, and ministry. (If you can’t see the form below, or want to listen to past U Asked sermons, please go to our sermon page)
The Fall 2009 semester is over, and we are getting ready to officially relaunch this blog. It has been a while since last summer when we all met, and many of you who are in school weren’t able to be with us. It is our goal with Atmosphere U to equip you in your study of the world and the Word. We hope we can help.
Who is this for?
In a word: everyone.
We will be writing specifically for those who are entering, going through, and leaving college. But in looking into education and continuing in the faith, we have realized that this will be beneficial for people in High School and in the work force. Everyone needs the encouragement to keep the faith against all odds; college isn’t the only place that will attack your faith.
Who we are
I (Jakob Guy) will be doing most of the editing and writing on this blog, but expect to see some of our friends here as well. I have limited experience with secular schooling (2 years in High School) and now attend a Bible College; I am slightly sheltered from the world. So, some of my good friends who have been through secular college will be adding their input along the way.
Getting involved
You have a few ways to get involved here no matter where you come from:
We hope you enjoy reading, and are blessed by what comes out!
Here is the video from this weekend. May it encourage you to seek the Spirit and do what Jesus asks us to do in His word.
The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.
Love ya guys!
Between Thursday and Friday each week I have multiple meetings focused on how the Gospel needs to change us as individuals and a body. Saturday and Sunday evenings I am faced with challenging messages (like this one) from Josh. Sunday mornings I meet with my Fight Club- me and two other guys who will (lovingly, not literally) punch me in throat if I don’t deal with my sin issues. Mondays, my small group meets where we attempt to build up and challenge each other, and Tuesday mornings I meet with a group of godly guys for prayer and encouragement.
I hate it
The sinful, prideful, arrogant Jakob doesn’t want any of this. Deep down, my flesh hates it: “Community? Really? Why on earth would you want others involved in your life? You can and should do this on your own! Why let others challenge you when you are doing just fine!?”
I don’t want to be part of Gospel-centered communities because they hold me accountable for my sins and encourage me to grow. They challenge my heart. They force me to look at myself and my actions and compare them to God instead of others. They speak the call of Gospel into the life that I so want to be in control of.
I need it
But I cannot imagine being away from any of it! I sometimes wonder what my life would be apart from these people, the Church, God…
What would it be like if I dropped the Fight Club? If we ended our small group? If I quit Atmosphere? Nothing. Nothing good anyway. Pastor Cousineau talked about that in a recent sermon- if I stop moving forward I begin moving backwards. That is why I need my small group, Fight Club, and everything else: they hold me accountable for my sins and encourage me to grow. They challenge my heart. They force me to look at myself and my actions and compare them to God instead of others. They speak the call and the comfort of Gospel into the life that I so want to be in control of.
Being part of the body of Christ is vital to staying connected to the head.
We showed this clip at Atmosphere Park Ave. this past weekend. We hope that you can take the goal of Atmosphere and run with it into the community that you have been called to.
Tomorrow (Saturday, 2.6.10) at 8:00 we, as Atmosphere Park Ave. will be sharing a meal together as we discuss what the Gospel says about our need for community. Please join us in this!
As we prepare to sit down and eat together at Park Ave. tomorrow night, let’s consider the purpose behind the meal together.
We are coming together to:
Come, join together with us tomorrow night as we do this and more. Join the community of believers that will be gathered at the Park Ave. Campus. Hear why we need other believers in our lives from the Word of God. Add your thoughts as to how to live in community in light of the Gospel.
May we be united in faith, and meditate on this truth:
I therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call– one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4.1-6)
As mentioned in Sunday’s post, Atmosphere is constantly getting many opportunities to serve in churches and areas around the State and even some across the nation. For a small taste of why we need your constant prayer and help in this, here is Josh’s schedule of speaking for the next month or so. Please keep him in prayer through it all.
Feb 4th – 7th | Verge 2010 Missional Community Conference
Josh flies out this Thursday for Texas. Pray for his travels, and as he works to connect with conference speakers, build a firmer foundation for our Student Life Groups and learns how we as Atmosphere can be more missional minded. He will also be working on some writing and reading while he’s gone, so pray for his productivity. Follow good quotes, highlights and photos from him on twitter.
Feb 13th | Atmosphere and 5:00 Service
In addition to preaching at Atmosphere Park Ave. and Oak Hill, Josh will be preaching at the 5:00 Saturday evening service. This is also the weekend where a number of us will be away at Snow Camp, so pray for us, but also for Josh, Tim, Richard, Carol, and others as they try to meet the needs at Atmosphere while missing some of us.
Feb 19th -21st | Winter Blast: Rumney
Josh will be speaking 4 times: once on Friday evening, twice on Saturday and lastly on Sunday evening. Pray as he prepares the message of the Gospel, and for his travel, wife, and kids as he will be away for the weekend.
March 12th | Winter Bash
Josh joins Joel and Janna at the True Love Waits Winter Bash: Message for Hope and Purity. Pray that he will have the right, Gospel-centered message for the teens that attend. May Christ be glorified there.
Above all pray that the gospel goes forth, God is made much of and that he stays healthy. Also for his wife and kids since he will be gone a lot.
This might help us better understand what our role in the lives of others is:
“We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by and excessive. Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost unheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry.” (Francis Chan- Crazy Love, p.25)
Is that what the Bible calls for? No, look at what James says about our communication with one another:
“…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1.19-20)
Our Conduct
Look again at how you use your social media accounts. Are you bitter? Angry? Do you show the love of Christ even when you aren’t near other people? Christ called us to lives that are worthy of His calling (Luke 14.27; Eph. 4.1-3) are you living that?
Real Friends
So if we are supposed to live lives worthy of the calling of Christ, why don’t we? Do you think you don’t have time to show love? Are you too busy? Do you care? Here are some ways to show that love of Christ and live according to the calling:
Are there other ways to live lives worthy of the calling even while you’re on-line?
Open doors for leaders, open doors for Atmosphere –
Many times you can hear a message like preached this weekend and thoughts like these run through your mind; “Well I’m glad Josh has a chance to minister”, “oh I can never join the leadership team, I don’t have what it takes”, “I can’t be on mission my life is too busy”, “I don’t know enough about Jesus, or the Bible to serve Him.” To be honest none of us have what it takes, but when God opens doors for Atmosphere and works in and through us, we will walk through them. Many times these open doors come to the leadership, whether it be speaking engagements, special meetings, youth group development, new campuses etc… What everyone needs to understand is that when a door opens for the leaders, it opens for all of us.
Open Doors:
Doors are opening fast within Atmosphere, many times it seems faster then we can move through them. What are these doors? New campus opportunities, new Student Life Groups starting along with new speaking engagements for some of our leaders. We have the chance to host regional conferences and trainings (The Calling & Lead) as youth ministries from around Maine contact us for partnering. All of these things are great and we as leaders can see God’s hand leading in these things, yet with all of these open doors we start to see the need for more people living on mission.
Our Needs:
1) Prayer – We need hundreds of people on their knees praying for what God is doing, discernment in what we are to do, what open doors we are to walk through, what ones we are to pass by. We also need to be praying for the hurting people that are walking into SLG’s or our campuses on a weekly basis.
2) People – We need more leaders. We need adults who are willing to give up their lives for the sake of the Gospel. We need students who look at their fellow students and are broken knowing they do not know Jesus, and are willing to live on mission for them. We need Student Life Group leaders, who can commit to reaching their friends for Jesus. We need College aged guys and girls who want to give up everything for the sake of the cross.
3) Passion – We need students who have a passion for art, music, graphic design, sound, web design, and above all Jesus. When these things and Jesus collide the effect is a blessing to the body. What passion has God given you that you can serve him with?
Connecting:
Connect with us. Email us, follow us on twitter, subscribe to our blog, become our friend on facebook, or fill out the form below, just get connected! Know what is going on, find out where you can serve, help, and grow in your faith. Jesus is worth giving the whole of your life to!
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