Archive for March, 2013


Mar 9

Session 1 Recap: Lane, “Why Are Friendships So Important?”

2013 | by Michael Kelshaw | Category: Clarus 13

Editor’s Note: Michael Kelshaw is the Head Minister at Trinity at the Marketplace in Albuquerque NM. He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Timothy Lane’s message from Friday evening at Clarus, March 8, “Why Are Friendships So Important?,” from Ephesians 4:1-16.

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The 2013 Clarus Conference (One-Anothering the Word) is concentrating on the necessity of relationships within authentic Christian community. Dr. Timothy Lane opened by showing us Paul’s emphasis of the importance of relationships and how Christian relationships should look.

Dr. Lane unpacked the passage by asking three questions:

1. Why are our relationships so important?

Ephesians 4:1-16 gives us a great vision for why we need relationships with one another. The language of Ephesians 4:12-16 is all about being built up, growing up, and maturing. We need relationships with one another so that we might become more like Jesus, Himself—being conformed to His image. God is accomplishing something greater in relationships than we even thought—not just giving us happiness or intimacy—but making us into the very likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. The reason why our relationships are so important is because of the glorious thing that God is doing in them.

2. What are some basic gospel virtues (character qualities) that are essential to this?

Dr. Lane, then defined the virtues that Paul mentions in Ephesians 4:2: humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. Humility is the ability to look at your own sin before we look at other people’s sin; gentleness is when one’s strengths and gifts are bridled by the gospel to empower others, rather than manipulate them; patience relates to how we deal with the sinful offenses of others; while forbearing love relates to how we deal with what simply annoys us. Both patience and forbearance have to do with being humble and gentle with someone for a really, really, really long time. This is how we are to walk in the grace of God in relationships.

3. Who is going to enable us to do this?

The reality is that we often are not humble, gentle, patient, or forbearing. So who will enable us to do this? Paul points us to Jesus—not just as a model—but also as Savior! Jesus is not just humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing, but he is humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing WITH US! Because Jesus saves us and acts toward us in this way, in His grace, we are able act this way toward others.

In Ephesians 4:4-6, Christian community is grounded in the Triune God, who redeems sinners and welcomes them into the rich communion of the Trinity. As His redeemed people we can enter into relationships in profound ways—but only because of His grace. That means that we are bound to one another in profound ways because of what God has done, and He enables us to now move out into relationships with other people.

Dr. Lane reiterated that this topic is vital for us to consider because our very sanctification is involved. So let us ask God to grow us in “One-Anothering the Word” with each other by His grace, for His glory, and for our joy in Him.

Mar 8

Welcome to Clarus!

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Clarus 13

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
—Hebrews 10:24-25

There’s a conference out there for almost every field of study or work. Conferences are encouraging for their substance, and for the people you hear speak, the people you attend with, and the people meet while you’re there.

Today begins the first day of our annual theology conference weekend, called, Clarus. Our theme is, “One-Anothering the Word,” based on verses like the one above. As we gather this weekend, we gather to encourage one another, and to do so by hearing, singing, praying, and by speaking the Word of God to one another.

Click here for a refresh on this year’s theme and an introduction to this year’s speakers, Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane. Click here for a rundown of the conference schedule. If you have any questions throughout the conference, look for conference staff with Desert Springs Church name badges and let us know how we can help.

In addition to being joined by our speakers, Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane, we will also be joined by a number of fine publishers, schools, and ministries in the Books and Resources Room:

Publishers

Schools

Ministries

Stop by the Books and Resources Room to visit with these organizations and browse a selection of hundreds of books at deep conference discounts.

You probably heard that the conference is sold out. That’s true. There’s no room left. However, if you missed the opportunity to register, you can listen to the audio for the conference, which will be posted to the Clarus site early next week. In addition, Paul Tripp will be speaking at both worship services on Sunday morning and the Books and Resources Room will be open before and after both services.

Welcome, and enjoy the conference!

Mar 6

We Don’t Drift Toward Holiness

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

In Sunday’s sermon, “Living Out a New Identity,” we considered Peter’s words when he wrote in 1 Peter 1:15, “as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”

In his devotional book, For the Love of God, Volume 2, D.A. Carson makes this insightful observation about Christians and holiness:

People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

 

Mar 4

Clarus Is Sold Out, and What That Means

2013 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Clarus 13

ClarusSoldOut

We are pleased to share that Clarus has officially sold out!

This is a simple truth, but with deep meaning. Not really. But we would like to tease out some of what this means for this weekend’s conference.

First, this means that more people will be with us than in previous years.

That’s wonderful. A full house is exciting when you’re almost anywhere: a concert, a baseball game, a movie. But a full house to hear the Word of God is the fruit of the work of God in the lives of the souls of those who come. May each person leave filled with a vision of God and love for his church.

Second, this means that some people who hoped to attend will be at home. 

That’s a sad thought! We want you to know that saying “no” by publishing the “Sold Out” banner this morning was met with a frown by the planning team, since we know that some will be left out. Thank you for understanding.

This means that we won’t be selling registrations at the door this year. And, just to be clear, only those whose names are written in the Clarus book of registration will be able to participate in the conference. So, even if you are going to one session, you can’t let someone else attend in your place. God is glorified in your problem-solving creativity, though!

For those who aren’t able to join us at Clarus, the conference audio will be available at the Clarus site early next week.

Third, this means that we need to use every seat.

Plan to sit next to someone. That’s right: no seat between you and that person you don’t know. It’s okay. Scoot in. And even consider siting in the very, very front row. This is unheard of on Sunday, but go ahead and give it a try at the conference.

Also, don’t make plans to save seats for your friends. Here’s what we mean. You can save seats for a person who came in the room with you and put their stuff down with you. But you will not be able to save seats for people with whom you hoped to meet up with. Ushers will be around to help with seating ahead of and shortly into each session.

With that, let’s look forward to being with one another in the Word this Friday through Sunday at Clarus. Oh, and if you weren’t able to register in time, still come on Sunday for our regular Worship Services with Paul Tripp preaching.

Mar 1

Counting Down and Digging In to Plant Churches

2013 | by Clint | Category: Church Planting

This past Sunday morning Pastor Ron Giese gave an extended update on our Sunrise North Africa Partnership, also known as SNAP. With the launch of our first global church planting couple in January 2014 fast approaching, we are calling the new monthly update our “Countdown to Sunrise.” This is a time to focus our prayer, effort, and giving in a unique way toward the end of planting churches among the unreached of North Africa.

A Bit of History

Sunrise North Africa Partnership (SNAP) is DSC’s top global missions priority. It began back in 2006 when the Elders decided to expand the global missions focus by adopting an unreached people group (less than 2% evangelical Christian). Seven years later we are on the brink of sending out our first home grown family to North Africa. They are slated to leave January 1, 2014. (For a running countdown till their departure, visit the SNAP home page). We are also seeking to partner with Redemption Church (our first local church plant) to send out our second church planting family to North Africa in 2015.

Ever wonder why we call it Sunrise? Look here, or here: Isaiah 9:2; 42:6; 49:6; 58:8; John 1:5; 2 Corinthians 4:6, 1 John 2:8, Revelation 21:23.

Financing the Mission

God has already moved in amazing ways among us to support these efforts financially. The overall church budget has basically been frozen (no growth) over the past few years, leaving all the financial growth of the body to shore up this commitment to church planting. Since late in 2010, DSC folks have given over $150,000.00. Across two fiscal years, this represents a 50% increase in the missions budget, and about a 5% increase in the overall church budget (all of which is going to planting new churches). What a wonderful gift from God to grow our church in this commitment to His mission of making disciples and planting churches locally and globally.

Much of these funds have been used to get Redemption Church on their feet. From the very beginning of Redemption Church, the goal has been to help them a lot up front, then wean them off of DSC financial support. However, because church planting giving is a bit behind this fiscal year (see the bulletin), we are already cutting back from Redemption faster than originally planned. This is not ideal as Redemption Church is eager to stand on their own two feet, yet still in need of our support some this and next year. Any extra giving to church planting this fiscal year will help us slow this drop off.

Supporting the personal income, travel, training, and ministry budget of one family on the ground in North Africa can average $1,500 weekly. For two families, we will need to double that to $3,000. As a church we are currently at just over $1,500 given per week to church planting. Our goal is to continue increasing that as God provides so that in 2014 we will be able to store up funds for the second family coming from Redemption, and continue to support our first family.

Do you know if your church planting giving is being counted?

Some folks at DSC seem to have increased their giving each month, even by the expected $1 per day or $2 per day since 2012. However, if it is not clearly designated to “church planting,” any giving to DSC is counted toward the general church budget.

When it comes to giving toward church planting, you can use United Way, online giving at DSC, or you can write a check on Sunday mornings and place it in an offering box. Just be sure to designate it using the online fields or your check memo line to make sure it gets counted correctly.

Stay tuned for the next Countdown to Sunrise in March, and stop by this blog and the missions blog for upcoming efforts this spring to help the DSC body think outside the box when it comes to serving and supporting SNAP.

For more details on the finances, check the SNAP home page.

To keep up with the latest on SNAP, be sure to subscribe to the Missions Blog.