Last week the TGC Blog published a nice piece about DSC’s missions strategy, focusing on what DSC’s purpose to do less better has meant for our work among the Achi in Guatemala. Here’s a section from the beginning of the article, “Why Less is More in Missions“:

“Reactive and sporadic.” That’s how many members of Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, would describe their mission efforts prior to 2004. Plenty of good intention, but little deliberate strategy.

Perhaps you can relate.

Around 2004, however, a group of lay and staff leaders at Desert Springs sought “church missions coaching” with Sixteen: Fifteen, an organization that encourages, equips, and mobilizes congregations in their call to reach the nations. The church ultimately decided to adopt a “least reached” people group: the Rabinal Achi. These peaceful agricultural people dwell in the mountains of Guatemala, where they’ve managed to maintain their Mayan identity for centuries.

For almost three decades, encompassing much of the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), Rodrigo and Carol Barrera, a couple serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, had been laboring to translate the New Testament into the Achi’s native tongue. But as of 2004, the project was still incomplete.

Click here to read the story of how DSC partnered with the Barreras to complete this translation of the New Testament for the Achi of Guatemala, and how DSC’s focused strategy helped make this possible. Learn more about DSC’s Rabinal Achi Partnership here, and about the ongoing work of local and global missions at DSC through the DSC Missions Blog.

In October we announced the theme for Clarus ’13: “One-Anothering the Word.” Here’s a short video from Ryan explaining what that means:

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

The conference is a measly $30, and special rates are available. But that price will go up at the end of January, so make plans now to come, and register online. To learn more about this year’s conference, visit the Clarus site.

Russell Moore raises a great topic in his article, “How to Deal with Holiday Family Tensions.” Here’s his introduction:

We tend to idealize holidays, but human depravity doesn’t go into hibernation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. One thing that will hit most Christians, sooner or later, are tensions within extended families at holiday time. Some of you will be visiting family members who are contemptuous of the Christian faith and downright hostile to the whole thing.

Others are empty nest couples who now have sons- or daughters-in-law to get adjusted to, maybe even grandchildren who are being reared, well, not exactly the way the grandparents would do it. Still others are young couples who are figuring out how to keep from offending family members who are watching the calendar, to see which side of the family gets more time on the ledger.

Click here for Moore’s advice to Christians around the holidays, and especially those with difficult family situations.

Two additional articles are worth checking out as well. In, “Family Feuds and Tensions over the Holidays,” Justin Taylor summarizes a helpful booklet by Timothy Lane, Family Feuds, available at the Resource Center and here for free. Then, at The Gospel Coalition Blog, Kathleen Nielson offers, “5 Aims for Holiday Family Gatherings.”

In Sunday’s sermon, “From Restlessness to Contentment,” Ryan preached from Psalms 130-131. Together, these two psalms that take us from crying to calm, from restlessness to rest, and from pride to trust. These are timely psalms for an age of busyness, noise, and self-promotion.

Here are a few resources on this psalm, the theme of contentment, and preaching God’s Word to ourselves:

• “‘Peace, be still’: Learning Psalm 131 by Heart,” David Powlison
• “Contentment,” Timothy Keller
• “Forgiveness: the Foundation for Fear (Psalm 130:3-4),” Sam Storms
• “How to Really Talk to Yourself,” Ryan Kelly

Ryan quoted part of Powlison’s article that is worth including here. In what he calls an, “anti-Psalm 131,” Powlison clarifies the meaning of Psalm 131:

My heart is proud (I’m absorbed in myself),
and my eyes are haughty (I look down on other people),
and I chase after things too great and too difficult for me.
So of course I’m noisy and restless inside, it comes naturally,
like a hungry infant fussing on his mother’s lap,
like a hungry infant, I’m restless with my demands and worries.
I scatter my hopes onto anything and everybody all the time.

On Sunday we announced details for this year’s Christmas Store, DSC’s largest annual local outreach. By helping children and parents provide gifts for one another on Christmas, we are praying for conversations about Christ in order to share about the free gift of God’s grace in the gospel.

Watch this video for a brief introduction to the heart of this ministry, and click here to learn more.

Here are details from the Christmas Store page about how each of us can be involved:

We have approximately 3,500 items to purchase as a church body. Christmas trees are up with tags listing needed items. Please consider taking 8-10 tags per family unit. Most of the items can be purchased at the dollar store, or for under $10.00. Bring the item back, unwrapped and with the tag on it, so we will know which ministry/church it is to go to. Deposit the item in the box that matches the tag by Sunday, December 9. If you would like to serve at a Christmas store, you can sign up at one of the kiosks in the foyer. For more information, please contact Carolyn Rush at 505.797.8700.

Examples of Christmas tree tags include sports balls, baby dolls, legos, children’s books, school supplies, winter clothing items, tools, wallets, diapers, baby toys, and jewelry.

Christmas provides us with unique opportunities for inviting friends and family to church and for sharing the gospel. Let’s pray, each of us, with the Apostle Paul, “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.”