• March 10 – The Invitation
• March 17 – Those Who Left
• March 24 – Long Distance Disciples
• March 31 – Toward the Cross
• April 7 – To the Ends of the Earth

We’ll learn what discipleship really means, the importance of counting the cost, life transformation, and what discipleship looks like in modern times.  See you there!

Sometimes the valley prepares you for the vision. What would Joseph have been like if he hadn’t been thrown in the pit, sold as a slave, and shut up in prison on trumped-up charges? The pit, Potiphar, and prison prepared Joseph for the palace (Genesis 50:20). We see the same kind of preparation with Moses tending sheep in exile for 40 years (Exodus 2). Or Daniel and his friends being forcibly removed from Jerusalem and marched to Bablyon as prisoners.

We can look at those instances and say, “See. Just wait. God has a purpose in all of this. He’s preparing you for something greater!”

But sometimes the valley comes after the vision, in spite of the vision, because of the vision. Abel died at the hands of his brother because he was faithful to the vision (Genesis 4). Elijah was hunted because of the vision (1 Kings 17) and then went through debilitating depression after God had used him in a powerful way (1 Kings 19). Jeremiah was thrown in a cistern where his feet sunk into the mud (Jeremiah 38:6). John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus was crucified, and most of the disciples died in exile or as martyrs.

And we ask, “What happened? Didn’t they have a vision from God?”

Yes, they did. And the vision was more important than their comfort. It was bigger than life. It was greater than death. It was more real than the passing things of this earth.

The valley comes with the vision.

Pastor Marshall Bowers

Pastor Marshall Bowers will be the new pastor at Renew Community Church sometime in June or July 2012.

He brings a mix of rich experiences, including pastoral care, preaching, teaching, and administration to this position.

Until Pastor Bowers arrives, our head elder Jay Perry will be preaching and helping out as much as he can.

We begin to experience a prayer reformation when we realize prayer isn’t about getting what you want; it’s about getting closer to God.

The Bible marking class will continue at 4:30pm.

We look forward to great music and fellowship as we worship this weekend.  Don’t miss it!

AAA-TC is our Seventh-day Adventist High School program that is available for our youth. The campus is at Minnetonka Christian Academy, and the students sit in classrooms that are linked live via video to other Seventh-day Adventist campuses in Georgia and Tennessee. Some instructors are physically at our Twin Cities campus, and other instructors are at the other campuses. All the students see and interact with the teacher and the other students in real time. This is the education of tomorrow happening today!

I invite you to attend this special worship service tomorrow and see firsthand how the Lord is impacting and leading our youth. Renew Community Church is proud to support AAA-TC both spiritually and financially. Please consider bringing a special offering for our High School program.

Also continuing this Sabbath is the Bible Marking Class, which follows the worship time at 4:30 pm. See you Sabbath!

Also, following our worship time this sabbath we will share some light fellowship food. The goal here is to socialize longer while having something to eat. This is more stand- or sit-and-chat food, not the big entrees that we regularly bring to fellowship meals. So bring some food and invite a friend!

• 2 pm – Bible Marking Class
• 3 pm – Conversation Worship Time
• 4:30 – Food and Fellowship Time

Children and youth classes are led by Susanne Covington.

Adults are currently studying through various core Bible topics using a Bible marking system.

But the ark had been missing ever since the first Temple in Jerusalem
was destroyed. So this room was empty when Jesus died. Why then did
the curtain have to tear? What was the big deal?

Bible scholars have pointed to the tearing of the curtain as symbolic
of the new covenant in Jesus Christ; that what used to be off-limits
in the Old Testament was now given free access to all believers in
Jesus. And scholars point to this text in Hebrews: “Let us then
approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (4:16). Our
focus is no longer on a Temple on earth, but on the Sanctuary in
Heaven, where Jesus has gone before us as our High Priest.

All worship and prayer in ancient Israel, while focused on the God who
is King in Heaven, was thought to be channeled through the Temple.
This is why Daniel the prophet continued to pray towards Jerusalem
even after the Temple had been destroyed in the 6th century BCE
(Daniel 6:10). Evidently the ark of the covenant had been lost or
hidden when the destruction happened, and it was never recovered. The
Temple was rebuilt, but there is no record of the ark being moved back
into it. Yet the priests continued the rituals and the people
continued to worship towards the Temple.

Maybe, just maybe, when the curtain tore, God was revealing the
emptiness of the Temple. Instead of inviting people into the Most
Holy Place, God was showing there was nothing holy about it without
His presence filling it.

His Son Jesus, sent to heal the sick, cast out the demons, and save
from sin was nailed to the cross as a base criminal, receiving an
execution far less humane than what modern dictators today receive for
international war crimes. The Bible says that the religious leaders
that condemned Jesus wanted Him to die in time to celebrate the
Passover (John 19:31). These actions are so uncharacteristic of the
actual legacy the rabbinical Jews left the world in the first several
centuries of the Common Era. It seems that both Jews and Christians
alike recognized how empty the Temple had become when Jesus hung upon
the cross.

I have felt how empty my own heart is in worshiping God. There are
times that God has torn the veil away and revealed the lack of His
Spirit in my heart. I think this is exactly what God desires when we
look at Jesus on the cross. This is what God is really like: He dies
for you, He comes back to life for you, He brings you back to life.
We just need Him to tear the curtain down and let the secret out: we
are empty. We need to be filled once again with Him. Let Jesus, who
walked out of the tomb, walk into your Most Holy Place.

This is what the Living Ark series is all about. Take a listen to the
first episode, “On the Move.” Track with the series over the next
several weeks. And let God tear the curtain in two.

Pastor Adam

Lions Park is right across Adams Street from our regular location, New Creation Lutheran Church.  Let’s enjoy worshiping the Creator outdoors!  There will be no regular sermon, but instead an open testimony time to share the ways God has called us to step out in faith and what He did and is doing now.  We will also have a potluck-style fellowship meal afterwards.  This is picnic-style, so bring a dish ready to share.  Invite a friend!

Where: Lions Park in Shakopee, Adams Street (Just across the street from New Creation Lutheran)
Shelter 2 (across the parking lot from the children’s playground)

When: 3 PM

If the weather is bad, we will meet at New Creation Lutheran.

See you there!

This series by Michael Sady will answer your questions and show you new questions to ask about living in the days just ahead.

Michael Sady will teach you sound principles of reading and understanding the prophecies of the Bible.  More than that, he will show you another compelling example of a person in a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to check out the website for this event, www.DecodeProphecy.com.  You can check out the event schedule, register for FREE, and send invitations to your friends.

Decoding Prophecy starts September 8!
AmericInn Hotel Conference Room
Canterbury Road and Highway 169