The Preacher Dude’s Blog

NEW Fenway Church Blog

DW’s thoughts, upcoming events, multimedia, church news, and more…

Meeting Sundays 10:30AM & 1PM @ 69 Kilmarnock Street Boston www.fenwaychurch.org

http://fenwaychurch.blogspot.com

My friend Jaeson Ma preached at NewSong church last Sunday.  He writes about the miracles God did on his blog.

http://jaesonma.com/spiritual-awakening-in-southern-california-newsong-church-la/

To watch the message he gave as God began to move on vimeo click below.  He says, “If we take 1 step toward God, he takes 10,000 steps towards us.  You cannot seek God; God is seeking you!”

http://vimeo.com/5803590

To get a sense of what NewSong is about check out their website.

http://www.newsong.net/

Many times we walk into a church and leave wondering why we just did what we did especially if it involved strange incantations or mystic dancing.  Worse yet we might leave bored or disinterested from the formality or hype of it all.  At Fenway Church, we hope that never happens (although it might)!  Over the next month, we will listen to messages and participate in meals and discussions about why we do what we do and what it typically looks like at our gatherings.  That way next time you find yourself jumping up and down at a service, shouting out at a prayer gathering, or listening to a guy preach at you from the stage of a club you will know just why you’re doing it.

Sundays 10:30AM @ 69 Kilmarnock St.  Boston
August 9  - “Why We Worship”
August 16 - “Why We Preach”
August 23 - “Why We Go” - Ralph Leo, missionary to Arabian Peninsula
August 30 - “Why We Give”
Septem. 6 - “Why We Pray”

“Why We Do What We Do” - Dinner & Discussions - Mondays @ 7pm
August 10 - September 7 @ 874 Beacon Street, 3rd floor
Please sign up for dinners on Sundays.

July 5 - “Collision: the Culture and the Gospel” - Jesse Sudirgo (no parking due to Red Sox game)

July 12 - “Responding to Failure” - Jan Horjus & Jeremy Jackson  (no parking due to Red Sox game)

July 19 - Guest Speaker - Ian Ashby, Team Leader of Newfrontiers Northeast

July 26 - No Sunday Service - Join us at Celebration Northeast at 9:30AM at Gordon College’s Chapel (free)

Click here for directions to Gordon Chapel.

My family and I will be on vacation in Montana visiting Betsy’s family from July 8 - 21 enjoying the mountains, outdoors, and family.  We will miss all of you, and I already can’t wait to be back and hear the reports of all God has been doing in your midst during our absence.  I pray you are growing in faith and love this summer and also finding time to rest.  My prayers as always are for you!

This Sunday Fenway Church will be hosting our first “healing service” at 10:30AM at 69 Kilmarnock Street, Boston (the club called “Church”).  The purpose of the  “healing service” is to give Jesus an opportunity to stretch out his hand and heal those in our gathering who may be physically sick, disabled, or emotionally wounded. We believe there is nothing special about a “healing service;” it is simply a reminder that Jesus is always able and willing to demonstrate his love and power through doing what he only can do - miraculously heal the sick.  We will hear stories of Jesus followers in our midst who have been miraculously healed and who have prayed for others and seen miracles happen.

There is an amazing story in Luke 5 where a man with leprosy (a permanent and deadly skin disease) comes to Jesus and says, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus reaches out his hand and says, “I am willing. Be clean!”  This weekend come yourself or invite a friend who may be wondering if God can or would heal them and experience Jesus.

In faith & love,
David W.

SUNDAY JUNE 28 @ 10:30AM HEALING SERVICE @ CHURCH THE CLUB (parking available in rear)

The gospel is good news and it includes the healing of the sick. Hear testimonies of people who have been healed and receive prayer for any sickness. Guests are welcome so bring a friend.

Is it ok to be excited about Jesus? Some of you have never thought of that question. For some of you the answer is an immediate yes, but think about it more closely. In a culture where religious practices are often associated with reverence, reflection, individuality, quiet, and separation from society, materialism, “the world,” excess, or the state, what role does excitement, enthusiasm, and a corporate expression of joy have in our culture today?

To find the most relevant and popular examples of true excitement you would probably have to look no further than sporting events and concerts. It seems that when the masses are being entertained it is completely acceptable to jump, slap, shout, scream, dance, and drink (as long as you are not spilling your beer on anyone). I live a block from Fenway Park so I know just how excitable and exuberant Red Sox fans can be (especially at 2am). The massive roar you hear coming from the ball park after a big hit still gives me goose bumps as the crowds in unison celebrate their hero’s feats. Before, after, and during concerts, teenage girls (and many others who would probably rather not be named) gasp, faint, scream, and convulse as their gorgeous boy rockers brush by them.

Yet, when it comes to religious expression in America today it seems like the proverb “better too little then too much” is the general consensus. Centuries of religious traditions have promoted a view that church gatherings are silent, somber and candle lit events. Towering cathedrals and high ceilinged sanctuaries that magnify every echo of a mother hushing her kids reminds the rest of us to stand in awe and be quiet. Publicly, it is definitely not PC to talk about your religious views unless you’ve just won the Super Bowl or you are wearing a “Jesus is my homeboy” T-shirt. I hear a lot of rhetoric on the separation of church and state, and it sounds a lot to me like, “Keep your faith to yourself!” In our culture, religious faith has become (or so we are told) a deeply private and personal affair. Even Christians have bought into the hype where the favorite term for Jesus has become “my personal savior.” It’s like he didn’t die for the sins of the whole world or something…

In a culture promoting a faith emptied of truth, religious expression devoid of passion, and worship absolved of excitement, the question - is it ok to be excited about Jesus actually - becomes a penetratingly, relevant one. Is there a model for an exuberant expression of faith or are we all condemned to the miserliness of trendy, new (but of course sophisticated and 100% offense proof) modern religious views and practices? The good news is there is.

Right from the beginning an ancient, “religious” book called the Bible is filled with terms like rejoice (literally to spin about wildly), celebrate, dance, sing, shout, clap, resound, play skillfully (are we describing Mardi gras?), and much more. When you get to the end, a song like the roar of many waters and the sound of loud thunder and like the playing of many harps fills heaven as multitudes of people join in the celebration of the Lamb.[1] In fact the celebration gets started early as heaven rejoices over every person who meets Jesus on this side of eternity.[2] This means heaven has been running the current longest going party (2,000+ years) that threatens to (and will) consume all of eternity as billions of lost people are swept into relationship with Jesus. The real question is have you joined this show stopping party or not? Unfortunately, many will find themselves on the outside looking in not because they chose the wrong style of worship but because they couldn’t get excited about Jesus. And what Jesus is after is a red hot, passionate, and exuberant people who know him and can’t stop thanking and praising him for all eternity. Let’s explore this a little bit more…

There were two prevailing attitudes towards Jesus when he was on earth. In Jesus’ home town, people thought they knew who Jesus was a carpenter and a brother.[3] They took him for granted just like 9 lepers in Luke 17. They departed from Jesus and on their journey home discovered they were suddenly healed yet never bothered to return and thank Jesus and apparently just moved on with their new, “blessed” lives. However, there was a tenth leper who when he found out he was healed rushed back to Jesus shouting praises all the way and fell at Jesus’ feet thanking him. To which Jesus responded:

“Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God? Rise and go your faith has saved you.”[4]

In other words, Jesus sees our response to what he does for us as a barometer of our faith, and it is faith that saves us. To Jesus, the leper’s response signified a vibrant, all consuming faith. That leper was EXCITED and not just about his healing but about WHO healed him. The religious people of Jesus hometown got to hear him preach, teach but because they THOUGHT they knew who he was Jesus couldn’t even do any miracles because of their lack of faith. The other 9 lepers were just content to be healed no need to get too excited about this Jesus fellow. Sounds real personal and PC to me…

And here is where the rubber hits the road. Because to be a real follower of Jesus today means having to buck a few cultural and religious trends. It means celebrating like the Red Sox won the World Series on a Sunday morning. It means risking being a Jesus Freak. It means publicly giving thanks and praise to Jesus for your success at your job and school. It means being extroverted with your faith not introverted. It means engaging in a corporate, exuberant, and public celebration of Jesus because you are so in awe of who Jesus is and what he did on the cross. It means wanting the whole world to know that Jesus did it not only for you but he did it for them too. It means you have got be EXCITED. It also means Christian gatherings will be filled with such a life-giving faith that the presence of God will be present to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and save souls through prophecy.[5]

Now people get excited in different ways. Some people are frozen stiff in the presence of greatness. Some people are so overcome they scream and then faint in disbelief. Some people pound their chests and slap one another on the back. Others jump up and down dancing for joy; still others shout at the top of their lungs. I don’t know what you do when you get excited, but I am asking you if you met the Jesus I know get excited about HIM. If you haven’t met him yet, I’d love to introduce you.

When you hear the name Jesus what thoughts run through your head?  A man with a halo, a good man, a cross, a church, love, gentleness…  It is not often that we associate Jesus with sex workers, loose women, and notorious adulterers.

Yet in Luke 7, we find Jesus not only associating with but being identified with such company.  A renowned prostitute takes a daring yet calculated risk as she ignores the accusations and judgments of a town and cares for and works on Jesus’ feet.  In this drama-filled scene, Jesus risks condoning a sinner and finds himself defending his own reputation all the while protecting a woman who experiences a love so foreign to the lusty demands of men and the fading ecstasies of sex.  A love that brings peace instead of brokenness, eternal hope instead of despair.  A perfect love that drives out all fear of failure and unmet expectations.  A love that accepts instead of condemns.  Redeems instead of judges.  A love that never fails. A love that only one man has ever truly demonstrated.

Meet the Jesus of the gospels, the man the religious choose to ignore and the “sinners” have yet to meet.

“Knowing Jesus”  Sundays 10:30AM

At the club called CHURCH, 69 Kilmarnock St.  Boston

A Loose Woman & Jesus - May 17

Jesus & Racist Neighbors - May 24

Fat Cats & Jesus - May 31

My wife, Betsy, is coordinating this event to serve the community in a really practical way.  We are working with the city’s Boston Shines program.

If you are live in the Fenway Community, feel free to join us.  Details are below!

Meet at the corner of Peterborough and Kilmarnock at the playground near the club “Church” at 10AM on Saturday April 25.

We will be cleaning up two local parks (one on the corner of Peterborough and Kilmarnock near “Church” and one near the corner of Hemenway and Boylston street). I’m looking for 15 people who are interested (and not already helping out Dave Csinsi with the Pine Street Inn brunch). It should be lots of fun and Boston Parks will be providing pizza for us (as well as gloves, trash bags and other supplies).

As we remember the death of Jesus today, I am reminded that it is only at the cross that we can see who Jesus truly is.  It is only at the cross that we can understand Jesus’ complete commitment to the Father’s will and the depths of his love for us.  In the midst of the brutality, mockery, and hideous evil of the cross, we see love, forgiveness, and the promise of life.  We would do well to dwell upon it for it is at the cross that we see Jesus for who he truly is - the awesome Son of God.

His sacrifice has defeated sin and death.  And even in death, we remember his words that in “three days he would rise.”   Based on the resurrection our hope for eternal life is assured.  Based on the cross victory over sin and death has been won.  Thus, we can pray with full confidence as we seek to spread the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth and to the last people groups who have not heard his name.

²⁵Save us, we pray, O LORD!

O LORD, we pray, give us success!

Psalm 118:25

Prayer this morning consisted mainly of praying for our Resurrection Sunday service, for our friends, and for one another.  It was really great to lift up many people by name and ask God to bless them and draw them closer to Jesus.  Chris emailed me today and reminded me more about the dynamic Jesus we love and serve.

“I was struck today by the image of victorious resurrected Jesus as depicted in Revelation - no longer the humble peasant from Galilee he now sits enthroned at the right hand of God the Father - King of Kings, Lord of Lords, perfect, righteous, no longer suffering as he did on the path to the cross, no longer maligned by the religious rulers, no longer tempted; he is King forever.

I want to hear some of that Jesus.”

Humble yet glorious.  A servant yet King.  Dead and now alive.  Let us celebrate the King this Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.

Psalm 118

²⁴This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Jesus, we rejoice in who you are.  A humble Servant and glorious King.  You have demonstrated your awesome love for us on the cross.  We rejoice each day that we know you.  We live to serve you alone.