Life Group September 7, 2008: Getting to Know Christ the Man

We’re going to continue with our study on the evidence for the life of Christ and the New Testament, but I want to share a little bit about what this study has done for me and my personal faith. I’m a history buff. I read tons of biographies and history books. I’ve read about everybody from George Mueller, to Thomas Jefferson, to Thomas Edison, to Adolf Hitler, to Napoleon, to Socrates, to George Patton, and on and on. As I study these people and their lives, I eventually get to know them. I feel like if I saw them on the street I would recognize them. If we conversed I would have questions to ask them. If they were speaking I would have a frame of reference to determine their words and ideas by. In essence, they become as real as if I had sat in a room with them for hours on end and asked them questions.

Even though I had read the Gospels many times, I had never looked upon them in the same way I’d looked at other historical records. I looked upon the Gospels as nothing more than sacred documents to my faith, and they are, but they’re also more. As a result I don’t think I had a complete knowledge of Jesus Christ. I didn’t necessarily feel the same way about Him as I did about Thomas Edison. In a way, I didn’t know His entire character. When I thought about Jesus, I thought about Him in terms of Almighty God.

Now, He is almighty God, but thinking about Him only in those terms negates much of the richness of what being a Christian is all about. Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. One of the things I understood, but did not physically apply to my life is that there is no relationship without a man. In other words, I had a great understanding of Almighty God, and I knew the mechanics of how He saved me, but I didn’t fully understand the importance of Jesus Christ in terms of applying my faith to my everyday life.

As I studied the evidence for Jesus Christ, it struck me that He was every bit as much of a man as Napoleon, yet I knew the man Napoleon much better than I knew the man Jesus Christ. So I began to read the Gospels with an emphasis on getting to know Jesus Christ the man, not the founder of my faith, not the Son of God, not the miracle worker, but as a man. What’s more, when I began to really look at Christ as a man, my relationship with Him became much more palpable and real.

Why is this important? Why can’t you have a fulfilling faith just being in awe of the almighty God and recognizing His omnipotent power and grace? Why can’t you just worship God the creator, I AM, the Alpha and Omega?

First, let’s take a look at life worshipping the Almighty God, and life worshipping the Almighty God while having a relationship, a real relationship, with Jesus Christ.

(Ecclesiastes 4:1-3) Now, this was written by the wisest man in the world. He had it all. Wealth, pleasure, power, incredible knowledge and vast wisdom. But what did his experiences teach him? (Ecclesiastes 2:14) Solomon had looked at life and realized that there was no savior. There was no relationship with God. His life was entirely meaningless and everything he had accomplished was meaningless. Life was futile, yet this is a man who worshipped God, built the temple, and led God’s people to their pinnacle. Yet he came to the conclusion that life was futile.
Let’s read Romans 14:16-18. The tone of this verse and the experience of the author are completely different from Solomon’s in Ecclesiastes. Both had contact with God, but while Solomon had come to the determination that it was better to never be born than to live a full life, Paul’s relationship to God brought peace, joy, and the understanding that he was pleasing to God. What was the difference?

To understand why Solomon was unfulfilled in all of his glory, and Paul was filled with joy and peace, we must understand the character of God and why a complete understanding of Jesus Christ’s role in our relationship to God is essential for joy, fulfillment and peace.

Let’s talk about the character of God. Complete this sentence with the first word that comes to your mind. God is _______. Typically we think God is love, and this is truth, but we must also understand that while God is the embodiment of love, this is not a complete picture of his character. God is also the embodiment of justice, and the two are not mutually exclusive. (Ezekiel 18:4) The idea that God is love is revolutionary. Pagan gods were gods of things. The Greeks and Romans had gods of love, peace, weather, etc. The Canaanites worshipped Baal, the god of fertility. God is not the God of love, God is love. God is not the God of Peace, God is peace. God is not the God of Justice, He is Justice. If God were to completely remove Himself from earth, there would be no love, peace, or justice on earth.

Remember when Moses asked who was speaking to him from the burning bush, God answered I AM. He didn’t say He did things, or He felt things, or He had certain authority. God doesn’t do good things. God is good things. Without God there is no good. And when we reject God, we actually reject goodness, because He is everything perfect. This is why our rejection of God is so heinous to Him. It says that we reject all that is good for all that is evil. We reject love for murder. We reject peace for war. We reject justice for crime. This is what we are saying when we reject God, because He is love, peace, and justice.

So we must understand this, that because of our fallen state, we are an abomination to God. He is perfect good and cannot abide evil. In other words, because God is just, it is absolutely impossible for Him to have relationship with us. He cannot abide our sin, and He cannot allow it to go unpunished.

So the next question becomes, what punishment does our fallen state deserve? The answer is death and separation from God. In fact, punishment is not even the most accurate word for it. Cause and effect or consequence is more accurate. Imagine it like this. You are a pianist, but you become convinced that you will be become a better musician without your fingers. As a result of this belief, you remove your fingers. Now obviously, you are no longer a pianist. You cannot play. You cannot experience the joy of creating music with the piano. You can hear the piano from afar, but you can no longer have interaction with the piano because you chose to remove yourself from it.

In the same way we are removed from community with God. He still gets as close as he can, but we can only view Him from afar. This is a punishment, but it is also the natural consequence of our fallen state. Let’s look at what relationship was like with God after the fall. (Exodus 19:11-25)

This is as close as we can get to playing the piano without our fingers. The presence of God is literally fatal to us because He is the embodiment of justice and sin is part of our nature. He can no more have relationship with us than dry wood can withstand fire. The fire cannot occupy the same space as the dry wood without destroying it. The very natures of the two are mutually exclusive. The fire does not choose to burn the dry wood. The fire consumes the wood because of what it is. In the same way, God destroys sin because He is perfection, justice, and holiness. Sin and God are mutually exclusive; therefore because of the very natures of man and God, we cannot inhabit His presence.

This circumstance is not pleasing to God. God loves His creation. John 3:16 affirmatively tells us this and names it as the purpose for Christ.

Now, we do not have the power to eliminate the stain of sin from our being, so we are cut off from relationship with God. We do not have the power to change what we are. So God must provide another means for relationship. There is only one logical way to reestablish this relationship. Read Philippians 2:7-9.

This is how we get from Exodus to Christianity. In essence, you have the piano saying to the fingerless pianist, you can no longer make music with me as you once did, so I’m going to change my nature so that you can play me. I’m going to make my keys wider so you can press them. It’s not going to be the same as it was, but the more you play me, the more perfect the music will become, and eventually, by continuing to have relationship with me, the music will be perfect again.

This is the role of Jesus Christ in our life. It’s not perfect, but because He became a man, we can have relationship with Him again. As we continue in our relationship with Jesus Christ, our perfection increases and our sin nature is reduced. The relationship with Jesus Christ changes who we are. Through our relationship we become more perfect until the day when we are completely perfected in Him.

This is why understanding who Christ the man is, is so important to a complete faith. This is how we have relationship with God. Unless we view Christ as a man, and relate to Him as such, we have no connection to God and Christianity just becomes a religion.

As a practical matter how might this work? How about this, God does not feel rejection like we do. When we reject God, it is an affront to His holiness and causes Him to seek justice. Jesus Christ feels the emotion of rejection in a way that we can relate to. When we reject Him, He feels the same emotions as we feel when a loved one rejects us. I don’t know about for you, but these impacts the way I think about sin. I empathize with it. I understand it. And it changes how I think about sin. It’s not just me doing a bad thing, it’s me looking at a man, like me, who was tortured and died for me, and then watching me spit on that sacrifice and reject Him. For me, this gives me much more motivation to avoid sin than offending a perfect being of justice that I cannot comprehend. I can relate.

Without this real relationship, you’re missing out on the Christian faith. So as we continue looking at the evidence for Christ, perhaps you’ll look on the Gospels in a new way. Read them with a fresh perspective. Read them as if you’re in a room with Jesus Christ, and asking Him questions about who He is as a man. Get to know His character, His passions, His hobbies, and His ideas. Learn about the culture and history that surrounded His life. As you begin to develop this relationship with Jesus Christ, I believe He will become more real to you, and motivate you to a greater life of holiness and passion for the lost.

Prayer Walk

On Saturday, September 6 at 9:00 AM, Campus Church and the Campus Community Life Group will be participating in a prayer walk for our local schools. Our group will be praying for Northwest Classen High School. Meet us there and join us as we intercede for the young men and women of OKC. The school is located at 2801 NW 27th Street in Oklahoma City.

Here is what we will be praying for our schools.

"Thank you precious God for loving each one of us enough to send Jesus the Christ, your virgin born Son, to die and show your love for us. And after His resurrection and ascension, you sent Your Holy Spirit to be our guide, protector, comfort, and power.

"e ask you to place your wall of protection around this school, the Staff, and the students. Please grant each Staff member the heavenly wisdom to mix with their knowledge so they may guide each student to become all that You have designed and prepared each student to be and do." Ephesians 2:8-10

We can't wait to see you there.

August 31 Life Group: Messianic Prophecy

Last week we did some historical background on the gospels. We established that we know who wrote the Gospels, approximately when they were written, that they were eyewitness accounts of Christ’s life, and that they are historically sound and reliable. In other words, we have more evidence for the reliability of the Gospels than we have for any other ancient text in history.

Again, we don’t want to lose sight of why we’re studying the evidence of Christ’s life. This isn’t so we can win debate competitions or prove intellectual superiority. In fact, most people who ask the kinds of critical questions do so in an effort to justify their lifestyle. (Proverbs 26:4)
We are looking at these things in an effort to build our own faith and to have an answer for those who are really search. We are preparing ourselves to defend our hearts from those who would make us doubt by looking at the evidence for Jesus Christ.

Today I want to look at Christ Himself. When you’re asking questions about Christ, what is possibly the key question that we need to answer about Christ in order to establish that our faith is in something real, tangible, and not just based on some stories about a good man who did some good things? (Luke 24:44)

Let’s start looking at the evidence for Christ being the Son of God.
1. Isaiah 35:4-6/Matthew 11:5
2. Isaiah 40:2-5/Mathew 3:1-3
3. Isaiah 49:6/Matthew 12:14-21
4. Isaiah 50:6/Matthew 26:67; 27:30; Mark 14:65
5. Isaiah 53:5/Matthew 27:26
6. Isaiah 53:7/Luke 23:8-10
7. Isaiah 53:9/Matthew 27:57-60
8. Zechariah 9:9/Luke 19:35-37
9. Zechariah 11:12/Matthew 26:14-15
10. Zechariah 12:10/John 19:33-37
11. Isaiah 7:14/Matthew 1:23-25
12. Micah 5:2/Matthew 2:1-6
13. Psalm 34:20-22/John 19:31-36

On its face, this seems like pretty convincing evidence that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, but let’s look at the arguments against these prophecies.

1. It was all a coincidence
There is a conservative estimate that there were 100 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Some say there are as many as 425. Jesus Christ fulfilled each and every one of them.

Matthew Stoner is a mathematician. He did a study on the likelihood that one man could fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament. The odds that one person would fulfill just 8 of the Old Testament prophecies is one chance in one hundred million billion. This is a number so great it is literally beyond human comprehension. If you took one hundred million billion dollars, and you covered the state of Texas with them, it would cover the entire state to a depth of two feet. If you then marked one of the silver dollars, blindfolded a person, and had them wander the entire state, what are the chances they would pick up the marked coin? The exact same as one man fulfilling 8 of the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Christ fulfilled at least 100 such prophecies. (Acts 3:18)

2. The Gospels were Altered
Were the gospels altered in order to conform to Old Testament prophecies and enhance the reputation of Christ?

One of the greatest evidences against this argument is actually the critics of Christianity. The Jewish Talmud was written around 170 years after the time of Christ. It attempts to discredit Christianity and is highly derogatory of Jesus, but nowhere does it question the authenticity of the Gospel stories. Nowhere does it say, “His bones really were broken, just like the other criminals.”

Nowhere does it say, “He was not betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.”

Another great evidence of the truth of the Gospel stories is the lives of those who wrote them. In other words, why would Matthew fabricate a bunch of fulfilled prophecies, knowing it would bring persecution, in order to bolster the reputation of a Messiah he knew to be false, and eventually dying the death of the martyr without ever renouncing those beliefs. There was no power to be gained from lying. Only persecution and death.

3. The intentional fulfillment argument
Some argue that Christ knew of the prophecies and intentionally fulfilled them. Ironically, since we believe that Christ was God, this is actually accurate, but the critics mean it in a different way. There are some prophecies where this argument could work. Sure, Christ could have ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey with the specific intent of fulfilling the prophecy.

Could he have controlled that Judas would sell Him to the Sanhedrin for 30 pieces of silver? Could he have controlled his lineage? Could he have controlled the place of his birth? Could he have controlled how he was executed? Could he arrange that his bones would not be broken on the cross? Could he arrange the exact date of his birth as predicted by Daniel in Daniel 9:24-26? These are all events out of the control of a normal human being.

This seems to be the most common of the criticisms of Christ’s fulfillment of the prophecies, so let’s look at it a little more closely.

a. A Plot from Birth
To say there was a plot would mean that from His birth, His parents would have had to engineer a series of events to give the Child the life experiences and credentials needed to fulfill the prophecy. It was also obvious that Mary carried the stain of an apparent out of wedlock pregnancy, so it seems incredible that these parents would have engineered this type of life for this kind of baby. The odds were against them. In addition, this child would have to grow up and meet the expectations of His parents and then proceed to fulfill the works attributed to the Messiah. In order to accomplish this, here is what Mary and Joseph would have had to do.
a. They would have had to ensure that both Mary and Joseph were of the lineage attributed to Christ in the prophecies.
b. They would have had to be sure that Christ lived in all three places prophesied as his home which were Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth.
c. They would have had to ensure that a king would try to kill Jesus by massacring all boy babies in Bethlehem.
d. They would have had to have him crucified on a cross
e. They would have had to make sure his bones were not broken.
f. They would have had to make sure his hands and feet were nailed
g. They would have had to make sure vinegar was given to him on the cross
h. They would have had to make sure Roman soldiers gambled for his belongings
i. They would have had to make sure that he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver
j. They would have had to make sure he died on Passover
k. They would have had to be sure he lived 490 years after the Babylon captivity
l. They would have had to be sure he lived under Roman rule
m. They would have had to be sure he lived under Caesar Augustus
n. They would have had to be sure that a vile emperor would take over for Augustus (Tiberius)
o. They would have had to be sure that his ministry would reach the Gentiles

We’ve merely looked at a fraction of the prophecies this morning. The truth is that there are hundreds of prophecies, all written hundreds of years before the life of Christ. Some of them are extremely specific. Some of them are very broad.

Against incredible odds, Jesus Christ’s life fulfilled each and every one of them. No mere man could have fulfilled these prophecies, only the one true Messiah.

Have An Answer Party

Campus Community recently hosted a party welcoming this year's Seniors to the college department. The evening started out with feasting on hot dogs and also consisted of volleyball and Wii bowling. Josh shared about the importance of having an answer when asked about our faith and when confronted by the different situations we face on a daily basis that would challenge our faith. The evening finished out with roasted marshmallows and fireside worship led by A.J., Caleb and Courtney. Thank you to everyone that helped out with the party and to those who came.

The Reign of a New Champion

This past Sunday evening saw a new darts champion ushered in. With Keri B out of town the oppurtunity was left wide open for a new champ to take over. Newcomer, Bailey was as surprised as the rest of us when her last throw hit the triple 18 and brought her the victory. Kenny D came in 2nd, Jamie M 3rd, Jamie D 4th and Kent came in for a sad last place. It's alright Kent, I know you'll have a comeback! Kudos to Bailey! Will we see a face off next week, Keri?

The evening was capped off with a discussion revolving around the passage of Luke 14.25-35, where Jesus gives a challenge to anyone who would decide that they might desire to follow Him. The challenge is to consider what it is that we are willing face for His sake and to be sure that we are indeed ready to go against an army that might be twice our size and not turn back.

www.haveananswer.com

Where the Last will be First

Much discussion occur following a lesson on how love for others is really just an overflow of God's grace in our loves which overflows in to the lives of others.

We look forward to learning about prayer and its intersection with our study of the Hedonist Christian lifestyle.




Keri celebrates going from a usual last place finish (just speaking truth here), to a first place showing against a large 8 person field on Sunday night.

If you wish to challenge her dominance, come to the Deason home next Sunday night at 7:00 PM!

Sunday Morning Life Group

Sunday mornings at Campus Community start out at 9:00a.m. with some great food (usually cooked by Keri, who, just less than a year ago claimed she couldn't cook anything, but who is now nearly world famous) and some hang time. Recently we have been going through a book by John Piper, Desiring God. Through last week's lesson, I was reminded of the importance of reaching out to the lost and bringing them into the kingdom of light. Of course, I knew that yes, absolutely I need to be ministering to those who don't know Jesus. But, I feel as though I have forgotten the pressing need that people have in this regard. I feel God stirring my own heart to do something more than what I am doing now, to be more intentional about what I am doing for His kingdom in regard to those still in darkness. I am praying that He will continue to stir my heart as He shows me the path to walk on. And I am trusting He will lead me just as He has promised...

Nomads 3: Feast, Fun, and Purpose

Nomads Weekend @ Heart Of God Ministries. Part 3 and last of the Nomads series




Feasting at Nomads isn't as easy as it sounds. As you can see from these two pics, there are Good Times and Hard Times to be expected. Look at Ryan and Abbigail's face in the pic to the left. Ryan is reaching out for water in order to prevent the inevitable. They are eating Grub Worms, Eel, Fermented Duck Egg, Pickled Pigs Foot...etc. The infamous Food Eating Contest at Nomads is the Feast to End all Feasts. Those who endure are worthy of honor and pride. Thumbs up Abbigail and Ryan. You did well. You lost, but you did well.


Fun could be interpreted as Ho-Down at Nomads. Worship was very celebratory and led to much dancing, clapping, shouting, and laughter. Of coarse, if you're the type that enjoys hanging out in grass huts and developing strategies for changing the world, then you definitely missed your golden opportunity. If you think that I might have suffered some over the weekend by missing out on my weekly dose of Ultimate...your wrong. We played the Ultimate game of Ultimate, Primitive style, in the woods and around the trees. There was even a nasty septic smelling tar pit in one the goals.

The purpose of the weekend was manifold...Celebrating Jesus, Celebrating God's Heart for the World, and Celebrating our opportunity to jump on board with God's call on our life. We heard great teachings that ranged from Celebration (imagine that), to Intimacy with Jesus. We heard testimonies from those that are losing their lives for the sake of those who are dying. Some of the stories were difficult to stomach, such as the woman who is caring for three hundred abandoned children from Sudan. These kids have murdered in the name of revolution, seen their 9 year old soldier friends murdered by other children under order, witnessed the killing of their mothers and fathers, and have been struggling to survive without anyone on their side. I'm pulling it back as I type this...it's hard to ignore the needs outside of my living room. I really do experience a healthy pain of compassion that begs for my action in God's purpose in this world.

I hope that you guys have enjoyed your window into Nomads. See ya...this is K-Dog over and out (oao)...catch ya on the flip side (cyotfs)...stay cool (sc)...

Nomads #2: Aradhna

Nomads Weekend @ Heart of God Ministries is an outdoor missions conference that is hosted every year in Choctaw OK. College students from around the country join HGM's celebration of Jesus Christ. This is my 2nd post of a 3 part series...Nomads.



Aradhna made no small contribution to the weekend.

Chris Hale (Sitar) and Peter Hicks (Acoustic Guitar) sat on the stage, paused with huge grins, and began to jam. It is so clear how much joy Chris and Peter have just worshiping Jesus. These guys emote a presence that can easily make you jealous so that they can invite you to join them. I should have taken some pictures of all the grins around me as the whole crowd gladly came to worship and enjoy Jesus with them.






Chris and Peter must have put some effort into being the outcome of a collision that included Ghandi, George Harrison, and Simon and Garfunkel all on the same bus...but neither of these three could have danced on their bottom while playing a guitar or sitar like Chris and Peter. As the show rolls on more parts of the band emerge. First a local S. Indian drum percussionist who sat down on the floor next to Chris and naturally flowed into the grin session. After a few more songs, two other musicians set up behind Chris and Peter with a Bass guitar and Drum set. Unbelievable.

OCU Luncheon

Every Thursday, during the school year,the BCM at OCU has a free lunch to get to know some of the students on campus. Our family tries to frequent these lunches when possible. We have been able to meet a lot of great students at this lunch and have found it to be a great oppurtunity to meet students that haven't yet heard of the great power of Jesus. This Thursday was the last one for this school year, but we will take the opportunity next year to meet more students and hopefully help them discover the wonderful news of Jesus.

Tiffany's Last Stand

Sunday 04/27/08 was Tiffany M's Last Stand on Ultimate for a while. Tiffany left today for "The Middle East" and will be there for two years doing athletic training and service.

Tiffany has not only been a very key recruiter for the ultimate games but also a very competitive player on the field. She is known by all as being extremely aggressive (to the point of not being fair at times), very fast, shrewd (as in always manipulating her way onto the team with the best players), and will even flat out fight her sister at times if it means a win. Let's raise the roof for Tiff as we review her Last Stand.

A very windy day made the game tough on everybody, especially the fast runners that play deep. Tiffany, Jermain, Curt, and Kyle were all staying pretty deep and playing really hard. Jermain's speed had gotten the best of Tiff on more than one occasion. It was Tiff's last game and she needed to walk away with her chin up. On with the stand...


Little does Liz know what is about to take place. Tiff is so sneaky Liz won't even notice. Tiff is about to break.










The Disc draws back, Liz sighs and mumbles, "I hate that!".









The Disc is coming over their heads. Tiff has broke passed Jermaine AND...









makes the catch and a goal to boot. Jermaine excused Tiff's goal by claiming that he "pulled back"??? Ya right, he was just hoping to cool the trash talk after Tiffany burned him : )

Nomads #1: The Nomad Experience

It's Friday early evening and our van pulls up a long gravel drive to Heart of God Ministries. We see log huts with weaved grass for roofs. A bunch of dudes and dudettes with red bandanna headbands seem to be taking control of this village we are entering into. The Village is composed of many Casts. These Casts include The Red Bandannas, The Gray Haired Travelers, the Dread Lock Hippies, The Young Intellectuals, The Young Travelers, The Little Wild Ones, and Those Of Which We Cannot Speak. Being a family of Young Intellectual Hippies without a single dread lock and only slight signs of graying made it difficult to choose a place in the village to lay our tent. We staked claim next to a Young Intellectual Traveler with shaggy hair who's tent was next to his girlfriend. We'll call him Sam B and her name was Cybil (Nuts! I think I forgot her name again!). Our village was named "Gaddi". The Gaddi are a nomadic people who live in the Himalayas of northern India. Pray for the Gaddi people as they continue to struggle as a people while the land of their heritage is continuing to change as more and more Tibetan refugees make their homes in the Gaddi's homeland. Think about the impact that radical Christianity could have among Tibetan refugees and the Gaddi people.

After feasting on some killer Indian food catered by Gopuram (that doesn't sound very villagy... and yet it does), we wondered about the village with a dignified granola like strut. It was awesome to see everyone setting up their tents, scoping out the woods, and meeting new people. Later that evening worship begins. I have to admit that worship was my personal favorite of all of the village activities. Not only did we worship on Friday night, but we also finished the night with meditative worship in Hindi with Aradhna. There will be more to come on Aradhna.

We slept well on Friday night, but have to admit that Saturday morning was a bit over the top. Aside from the temperatures getting down to 40 we also had a boiling attitude among the villagers in the morning. The hot attitude was possibly ignited by some barking from our psychotic wire hair fox terrier at 5 am. We pulled Baxter into our tent to get that situation under control, but our best was just not good enough. At 6am we awake not to the barking of Baxter, but to the rage of a maniac who screams at the top of his lungs shouting, "WOULD SOMEBODY SHUT THAT DOG UP!!!". Jamie and I can't help but wonder if he was shouting at us. 10 minutes later the same man screams, "CAN SOMEBODY BRING ME SOME TOILET PAPER!!! I NEED A PLASTIC BAG...QUICK!!!" At this point Jamie and I are simply stunned. We were so stunned that we began to laugh hysterically in an attempt to forget about his personal assault on our family and the unforgettable reality that this man just might have ruined both his tent and his reputation in one fell swoop. At best this man may have preserved his tent though not his reputation if someone was capable of getting both toilet paper and a plastic bag to him in time.

Sunday afternoon we had a great game of Ultimate Frisbee. There were over 28 players not to mention lounging spectators catching up on some sunshine. The wind was blowing but there were some great games. Kurt from Edmond definitely set the pace for the rest of us...not that anyone caught up with him.

What started out as a typical game of darts at Sunday Night Homegroup ended in absolute surprise when Jamie D pulled off a stunning victory with a single toss closing out 57 points! (Triple 19) Keri, Jamie, and Julie were just hoping that it didn't get too late before they were able to close their games out.

During our Bible conversation Jamie D wanted to know what we thought some of the different gifts of the Holy Spirit looked like in practical use. We discussed Wisdom, Knowledge, Prophecy etc...we were reading from 1 Cor 12.

Everybody Smile!

Not exactly sure what Kenny is doing here...probably eager to answer all questions!







SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!

Marriage Anyone?

This past Sunday night at Homegroup we hit on a spicy topic for all. Why did Jesus say we won't be married anymore in Heaven?

Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

This question and verse certainly opened up a lot of very good discussion on "exactly what is heaven going to be like?" Lots of great questions and seemingly deep thoughts...deep as in "I know it doesn't seem like I'm making a lot of since, but you just aren't digging DEEP enough...YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!" We really did have some rich fellowship around the subject of Heaven, the Resurrection, our Inheritance, "How satisfying will heaven be?", "Will we have needs?"...etc, etc, etc. We also had a rich time of worship and prayer, then...

On to darts. Jamie G came on the court as reigning victor from last week...and well...Jesus did say, "Many who are first will be last." Jarred took the first game and Jamie G enjoyed the pleasure of being...well 5th out of 6!

Revelation 8.3-4

"Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand."

The subject of worship is something that I have been studying in my small group lately and I was very moved by this particular verse because it gave such a clear picture of what happens when we pray. There is actually an altar in the heavens that is present before the throne of God and the prayers of all the saints are offered on that altar. It gives me confidence that even when it feels as though my prayers have dissolved into the air as soon as they have left my lips , that indeed they really are presented to God Almighty. And certainly he takes notice of the pleasing aroma that they bring before Him.

Some of us are taking a break after yet another game of Ultimate. We played at the OUHSC field. Kristen M is awarded with the shortest game play ever. She waddled off the field in a hurry after attempting some barefoot play, saying "My feet hurt real bad!" Adam (white shirt) was no doubt, the MVP of the day with killer flicks and snags all afternoon. Jermaine ran everyone ragged and "Samurai" is convinced that Americans are tricky. Liz showed up with her Chihuahua...he was having abandonment issues occasionally breaking free, prancing like a prince out on the field...my kids were running right behind him.

A Gentleperson's Game (yeah, we're politcally correct)!

This Sunday we had our inaugural Campus Community Ultimate Frisbee game! The day was marked by an overwhelming show of sportsmanship along with a peppering of sarcasm.





The wind was the most ferocious competitor, but we nevertheless had a blast (as Phoebe is showing you here)!







Believe it or not, despite the smiling faces, this picture was taken after four back-to-back games.







We finished the night off with darts and fellowship on God's word.
The group discussed the role of money in our lives and questioned just how Jesus expects us to interact with this world with our money. We concluded from 1st Timothy 6:3-12 that, at the very least, we should be content with God's provision of food and clothing, and that we should flee from the pursuit of riches. As for a bright line test, we left it to the Holy Spirit to draw practical lines in our lives through conviction.

James 4:4

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

There are so many things this world can give us. Money, friends, lifestyle, candy...etc. Sometimes we want so many things that we think will make us happy. However, in turn...some of these things will only make us an enemy of God. I believe that there is a clear boundary between what we want and we really need, and I believe the Lord sets this boundary for each of us.

I have learned throughout my walk with Jesus that I never want to have an attachment to any worldly thing that could tear me apart from my Savior.

Hebrews4.15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews4.15-16

This is something that I love about Jesus- that He dealt with the same difficult things that I face in this life- disappointment, pain, loss, temptations to follow after things that aren't from the Father, being mistreated, anything and everything I've ever faced- yet, he was always able to confront each situation in a way that honored His Father and that did not serve Himself. It is because of this that I know that I can come before his throne and ask Him for help. He knows how harsh this life can be and He has compassion on me. He invites me to come with confidence and boldness, telling me not to be ashamed or afraid. It is His desire to extend grace to help me, because, just as when he obeyed, it gives the Father glory. This word gives me hope because in it I find the promise that I can overcome the world, just as Jesus did.

Mark 8:34-38

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
(Mar 8:34-38)

"Follow Me". I can't believe that Jesus said that to me?! This moment with Jesus and the disciples is a constant resounding word shared personally between myself and Jesus. I remember the first time that Jesus said this to me...I had no doubt in my mind, and still to this day do not doubt it, that Jesus is speaking personally and specifically to me as he has commanded the disciples.

I'd like to sound humble and say that the cross did not have an attraction to me...that I struggled to decide to follow Jesus...but the truth is, I was crushed by the beauty of the cross. There was nothing about this invitation into death WITH Jesus that did not excite every sense within me. There was nothing about HIS death that did not bring me at one single moment the greatest amount of pain and joy in the same instance.

I was so tired of my life I was ready for suicide...I welcomed Jesus' invitation to come with Him and die. I hated the world so much...I hated who I was in it...I hated what people did to me...I hated the whole cursed thing...Jesus invited me to take endless pleasure in the one thing that the world never gave me. The world never gave me Jesus and Jesus is inviting me to betray all past loyalties to this world and to live and walk IN HIM, THROUGH HIM, LIKE HIM, and WITH HIM.

So beautiful. When I consider his agony, all that I know is His Love. When I consider his crown, all that I know is the most unforgettable King whose very death and suffering has become his commanding power through love. Jesus, The Cross, and Salvation...So Beautiful. I will follow Him...I just can't believe that he would let me. This truly is, His choosing, not mine. I will come and follow Him.

Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
(Mat 7:21-23)

The first time I read this verse with understanding, I realized I hadn't made any prophecies, I hadn't cast out demons, and I knew I hadn't done many mighty works. When I read that Jesus was going to tell people who at least thought they had done all these things that they were going to hell because He never new them, I was scared to death. I knew I had to find out what exactly Jesus expected from me before I could be saved.

This verse is Jesus' challenge to us all to measure and make sure we are confident in (and why we have) our salvation through Him!

Ultimate Frisbee

Whether your new to the sport and can't even throw a disc or you can jump like Michael Jordan and catch like Steve Largent Ultimate is a guarantee for fun. We usually play at least once or twice a month. It's a very competitive but accessible afternoon for both novice and pro, boy and girl, winner and loser, rich and poor, short and tall, green and purple, Republican and Democrat, decaf and regular...you get it. When we post the date and place you gotta make it.

OU Heasth Science Center Map go HERE
For more information on Ultimate go HERE

Home Groups

Home Group at the Deason's...

Home Groups are a place to fix our sight on Jesus, connect with friends, and meet needs. The Deason's have been doing Home Groups since 1994 from Norman OK, to Chicago IL, to Ft. Collins CO, and even in national forests surrounded by hippie's and Rasta's (camp fires and homes have their common ground). Home Groups don't replace the wonder of corporate worship in a local church but since the inception of the church they have proved their power in simplicity and purpose.

In a Home Group open discussion about the Bible gives you a place to ask even the zaniest of questions and also a place to share your most meaningful thoughts. A Home Group is one of the few locations in our free country where you can legally loiter without buying anything! Extended worship and prayer provide a place where we can slow down and both be quiet and lift up our voice and shout to the Lord.

In The Begining...

You don't even know what it's like to have to manage hundreds of thousands of comments and emails in like a day! You are probably thinking that this is like the first post on the blog...like I said, You Don't Even Know!

These are some friends of mine that I dance, pray and do beat box with. They're pretty much famous and you pretty much rock.

Feel free to hang and comment. Peace Out