Christmas Plans

Sometimes it's helpful to post our schedule on here so people know where we'll be during the busy holiday season. So here goes:

1. My semester ends on Thursday, December 17.
   
2. On Saturday, December 19 we head to Chicago to be with my family for a few days.
   
3. Fly to Terrace from Chicago on Christmas Eve Day! Unfortunately we're heading straight through Vancouver and won't be able to see all our Seattle/Lynden/Bellingham friends this Christmas. But we're very excited to go back to Terrace and spend the Christmas and New Year's with Pam's family!
   
4. I'm preaching at Terrace Christian Reformed Church (the church of Pam's youth) on Sunday, December 27.
   
5. Return to Chicago via Vancouver on January 5.
   
6. Back in Grand Rapids late on January 5 because school resumes the next day!
   
7. Preaching at my home church (Christ Community Church of Plainfield) on January 17.

Thanks for reading our blog and have a blessed advent season!

The Lost Boys of Sudan

If you're anything like me it's hard to imagine what is happening throughout the world unless there is a face attached to a story. One such event is the genocide and poverty in Sudan. It has been in the news a lot in the past few years but I never really understood what was happening there.

That was until I watched God Grew Tired of Us. The film follows some of the Lost Boys of Sudan on their journey from Sudan to Ethiopia then Kenya and finally to the United States. The film was very entertaining at parts, but it's most powerful moments came during the testimonies about their families and the immense longing they had to know their estranged mothers, fathers and siblings. I also appreciated it for the profound and wise commentary that the Sudanese refugees gave on American culture.

Here is a video of one of the main characters of the movie, John Bul Dau being interviewed on a very good Canadian show called The Hour.



Please rent the movie and learn the story of these men.

Our Next President?

I'm hoping Ron Paul's next Presidential campaign gets some traction. It would be great to see a Ron Paul/Mike Huckabee ticket!

Yogurty Goodness!

Due to popular demand, here is my yogurt recipe. I shall note that this is a recipe that has changed over time and crafted to perfection.

List of required ingredients/materials:

• big soup pot (with lid)
  
• three 1-quart jars and lids
  
• sieve
  
• thermometer
  
• measuring cup
• one 6 oz. cup of yogurt (Pick one with a few different yogurt cultures in the ingredient list. I like the Brown Cow brand. Either plain or flavored is fine. Note that the picture below has packets of yogurt cultures, I have found that a cup of yogurt works better.)
  
• ten cups of milk (higher the fat content = sweeter yogurt)
  
• 1 big towel

Instructions:

1. Heat milk to 180 degrees on medium/high heat. Stir constantly while heating.
   
2. Turn off element/stove and place lid on the pot. Let sit for 30 minutes. Even though this sounds unimportant this step will make your yogurt less tart and much thicker.
   
3. Take lid off and let cool to 140 degrees.
   
4. Remove one cup of milk from the pot into a small bowl and stir in the yogurt.
   
5. Put the smaller mixture back into the pot. Stir well.
   
6. Sieve the mixture into 1 quart jars. Place lids on the jars.*
   
7. Rinse out the pot. Place jars in the empty pot and fill pot with hot tap water (around 120 degrees Fahrenheit). See picture below.
   
8. Place the lid on the pot and wrap completely in a large thick towel for incubation. see picture
   
9. Check the temperature of the water every couple hours to make sure it is between 110 and 130 degrees.
   
10. After 5-8 hours remove jars from pot and place in fridge to cool.
    
11. Enjoy your yogurt with fresh fruit (like peaches or blueberries).

*At this point you need to be careful that the temperature of the milk doesn't fall below 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Knowing God - Sermon

This past Sunday I preached at my home church, Christ Community Church in Plainfield, Illinois. This was the 4th time I preached in church and the first time I have preached at a morning service (the other 3 times were all in front of small groups at evening services).

My sermon is posted on the church's website. Click here to listen to or download the sermon.

During the sermon I refer to the two images below.

From 2009

From 2009

Thanks for listening!

Thoughts on Alaska, Part 2

This blog post is a continuation of an earlier post titled Thoughts on Alaska, Part 1. The earlier post is more general while this post will include some of my theological reflections based on my work in Anchorage.

My Missions/Evangelism professor Pieter Tuit encouraged our class with some words that I hope I will never forget. He said, "You are instruments of God, nothing more and nothing less." What he meant was that I am not essential for God's plan of salvation for people I talk with (because God can do things however He wants to) and yet I am something that God will use to do His work. I tried to keep that attitude at the forefront of my mind during my work in Penland Parkway.

1. People want to know the Truth.
   

   As I entered Penland Parkway for the first time I had no idea how people would respond to my being there. Pastor James (of Trinity CRC, the church where I served) had warned me that I would likely be cursed but most of the time the residents just wouldn't answer their door. My perception going in was that most people have already made up their minds with regards to Christianity. This meant that I would either be trying to convince them of something they didn't want to believe or I would be telling them something they already knew. I figured there would be some people out of the 300 or so who would be interested and it was my job to find them and connect with them. After visiting the first few trailers I realized my ideas were wrong.

   Many of the people I talked with in the trailer park were receptive and appreciative of my visit. Not only this but it seemed as though they were just waiting to hear what I had to say. Although I was in a very poor area, I would guess I would have experienced a similar reaction. I would guess that one out of every four people I talked with did not attend church and were (at least superficially) interested in Jesus. Before I went out into the neighborhood we, that is me and the church, prayed fervently that the Holy Spirit would prepare people to accept the Gospel. I was shocked at how real the answer to that prayer was.

2. It is the Christian's responsibility to provide others with a decisive moment regarding their faith in Jesus.
   

   Before this internship I underestimated my role in God's plan of salvation for other people. This attitude really affected my demeanor in talking with people in Penland Parkway. When visiting with one person I caught myself being perhaps overly polite. He said, "I don't believe in any God. I'm an atheist." To which my knee-jerk reaction was to say, "That's OK. Have a good day and thanks for your time." Two seconds after leaving their doorstep I realized that my language was not accurately portraying the truth of the Gospel.

   I then began to think seriously about my role in the lives of the people with whom I was talking. I would knock on each door with the Jesus Film easily visible to the resident. When someone rejected me I never saw it as them saying no to me personally but rather he or she was saying "No" to Christ. With many of the people (some of whom even said they were Christians) there was a visible immediate reaction once they saw the video in my hand. I was really saddened for those people who shuddered at the sight of the DVD in my hand, and yet I also feel that I was doing God's will in bringing them the message.

3. Christians need to evangelize with the same perseverance as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.
   One other thing I was surprised about were the amount of JW's and Mormons in the trailer park. Not only this, but I was also shocked at how those people were thoroughly trained to reject any conversation with me. I have studied Mormonism in particular at some length so I was looking forward to discussing their faith in the same way that Mormons expect to converse with any Christian they encounter. I never got this opportunity, despite the proportionally large number of JW's and Mormons.

At our previous church (Faith Reformed in Lynden) Pastor Paul would often refer back to his cross-cultural experience in Chiapas, Mexico and how that shaped his faith. I now understand how such an experience can influence a pastor and, although it was difficult at times, I have learned lessons about God and humanity that will hopefully remain in the forefront of my future ministry.

Year Two at Seminary

Tomorrow I will resume my education at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Going into the year, I have a lot to be excited about, one of those things is the possibility of receiving a seminary scholarship from Logos Bible Software. The generous folks at Logos are offering a $1000 scholarship for seminary students. To me it shows Logos' dedication to excellence in preaching and Christian scholarship (and I'm not just saying that to win the scholarship, I really believe it).

Here's what my class schedule looks for first semester.

• Hermeneutics (3-day seminar)
  
• Apologetics
  
• Systematic Theology
  
• New Testament Narratives
  
• Hebrew Fundamentals
  
• Heidelberg Catechism

Some other highlights from the upcoming semester are a visit from Ben, Liza and Claire in October, lots of great activities with the youth group at our church (Shawnee Park CRC), and preaching at my home church in Illinois this Sunday. I really hope to preach more often this semester, as the more often I do it the more comfortable I am being in the pulpit.

It's gonna be a great year!