Men's Night Part 2

On September 1 we are hosting our second Men's Night. If you missed the first one the audio is on our website. Last time we discussed The Art of Manliness, this time we are looking at The Art of Marriage. We are encouraging all our men to attend, especially men who are married or plan to get married. We do ask that no one under 16 attend the event, as the content of the message will be somewhat sensitive. So mark your calendars men! Invite your friends and neighbors! Don't be late! There will be worship, some announcements of upcoming events, teaching, Q&A, small group discussion, and of course food! We hope to see you there!

MEBC

Metro 101 Coming Soon

On June 26th we are offering our 2 hour membership/information course for Metro East Baptist Church. If you've been attending for a few weeks or months and want to become a member or learn more about our church, this class is for you. Childcare is available. If you are a member, I would encourage you to invite your friends who might be interested in Metro East.


Click HERE to sign up.

Savoring The Summer

Summer is upon us! Its a time when life speeds up and slows down at the same time. While summer is perhaps my favorite time of the year, it can present some challenges to church leadership. Usually attendance goes down, giving can drop a little, things move a little slower and a little more laid back, and people are consistently going on vacation. In light of this, I thought I would share a few things about how we can, as a church, savor our summer.

Take A Vacation

I encourage our families to get away and spend some time together. This obviously means that you will have to miss worship a few times, but so be it. You have my permission to be out at least once this year! I want to encourage our dads to take charge when it comes to vacation. Read this article by C J Mahaney about fathers and vacation.

Commit To Attendance

When you are in town, try and be at worship on Sunday mornings. Don't allow yourself to miss on consecutive weeks if you can help it. Try not to set the tone with your kids or friends who are in town that church isn't a priority.

Get Excited About Ecclesiastes!

Yep! We are beginning a sermon series in Ecclesiastes as soon as we are finished with the Pillars Series. If you have not read Ecclesiastes, I'd encourage you to do so. Also be sure to bring your non-Christian friends as we will be addressing some of the most universally asked questions in history.

Attend Metro 101

If you are not yet a member of Metro East, this is our required membership class. The next date is June 26 at 5PM. I will be teaching this two hour course about our church and doctrine. If you know people who are interested in Metro East I'd encourage you to invite them to attend.

Whats Up With Hell?

In case you didn't know, hell has recently been a huge issue in popular culture due mostly to Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. I thought I would take some time before our Member Meeting on July 17th to do some teaching on the issue and take questions afterward. Be sure to attend!

Read

I have put together a summer reading list for our church. I encourage you to pick some of the books, or others you'd like to read, and really dig in this summer. If you have any questions about the books, please let me know.

Give

I know summer can be more expensive due to traveling and other issues. Thus far our giving has been very good. Though we realize giving will likely go down some, we ask you to commit to being faithful with your money this summer and continue to bless and support Metro East financially.

Get Missional

Use your summer to engage non-Christians. Take some risks with your neighbors. Use your grill, boat, house, jet-skis, etc., to bless those who live near you. Pray about dialoguing with someone about the Gospel, see what God does.

Let's enjoy the summer!

GB

Summer Reading List

Here are a few books from different categories I'd like to recommend to you for your summer reading. I have read most of them or plan to, so if you have any questions about them be sure to leave a comment. I would suggest you pray about where you most need to grow and be stretched, and pick a few books from the list below.

Theology/ Biblical Studies

40 Questions About Interpreting The Bible

No Other Gospel

King's Cross

The God I Don't Understand

By Grace Alone

What Is The Gospel

Think

Why We Love The Church

Surprised By Hope

The Christian Faith

Election and Free Will

Discipleship

Trellis and the Vine

One to One

Cross Talk

Note To Self

Crazy Love

Radical

History

Jesus Made In America

Historical Theology (huge volume!)

The Legacy of the King James Bible

Turning Points

Church History in Plain Language

Five Cities That Ruled The World

Apologetics

The Reason For God

Mere Christianity

Apologetics To The Glory of God

Not God's Type

God And The New Atheism

Marriage

When Sinners Say I Do

Intimate Allies

Sacred Marriage

Sex, Romance and the Glory of God

Parenting

Gospel Powered Parenting

The Faithful Parent

Age of Opportunity

Shepherding A Child's Heart

Dont Make Me Count To Three

Give Them Grace

Get Outta My Face

Thriving At College

Evangelism

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

Bringing The Gospel Home

Learning Evangelism From Jesus

Leadership

Derailed

Leading With A Limp

The Longview

Leaders Who Last

Spiritual Growth

When People Are Big and God Is Small

The Contrarians Guide To Knowing God

You Can Change

A Praying Life

Christ Formed In You

Counsel From The Cross

Resolving Everyday Conflict

Depression

Just Do Something

Rid of My Disgrace

Children

The Long Story Short

Jesus Storybook Bible

Get Wisdom

Fiction

The Lord of the Rings

The Hobbit

The Chronicles of Narnia

Biography

The Narnian

Churchill

Manhunt (Not exactly a biography, but an account of the search for John W. Booth)

Here I Stand

If you have a chance, let me know which ones you plan to read.

Good reading!

GB

New Song: "All To Us" from Chris Tomlin's newest album

Mens Night

I am really excited to announce our first MEBC Men's Night. On Thursday May 5th the men of MEBC will gather for a night of worship, teaching, and discussion. I will be teaching on The Art of Manliness. What it means to be a man in our culture might be one of the most confusing issues we are facing today. I hope to look at some of the models of masculinity that are popular, and then show how radically different the Christian view is. I hope you will make plans to be there. Please feel free to bring your sons who are able and willing to come. Be sure to invite your friends who might not be Christians as well. I hope to see you there!

Pastor Greg

When You Fast

After yesterday's sermon, I realized that fasting is somewhat foreign to many of our people. Someone approached me after the sermon and said they had never heard a sermon on fasting in the 23 years they've been a Christian. Wow! If something like that is true for you, don't despair, you are not alone. For whatever reason, I was exposed to fasting early in my Christian life through the writings of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. Being a little more familiar with it, I think I assumed too much in my sermon Sunday. I realized I may have failed to explain exactly what you are to be doing when you are actually fasting. What takes the place of food?

As I said in the sermon, fasting is feasting on God alone. He becomes our food in fasting. However, there are some practical things you can do when the hunger pangs hit, or when the lunch break starts. What we mainly should be attempting to do is meditate and pray. Here are some ways you may want to do that throughout the day and when you have some down time:

Rapid Reading

Attempt to read 2-4 chapters in a small amount of time. Don't skim and don't rush. But set a good pace, think through each sentence, and absorb several chapters within 10-15 minutes. I would suggest Romans 5-8, Psalm 1-10, entire letters of Philippians, Colossians, or 1Peter, Isaiah 53-55, Ruth, or Revelation 2-3. Once you have read, write down few things that stuck out to you, and turn them into prayers of worship, praise, confession, or thanksgiving. Here are some questions you may want to ask:

• What does this text tell me about God that I can praise Him for?
• What does this text tell me about myself that I can confess?
• How does Jesus ultimately fulfill this text and answer this sin?
• What does God want me to ask of Him based on this text?

Thank Him that you are saved through the grace of Christ, not through your performance, therefore you can believe/obey/embrace the truth of this text.

Meditative Reading

Take one small passage like Psalm 23:1, Romans 8:1, Philippians 2:5-11, Colossians 3:1-4, John 6:27, or some other passage that you've come across lately in your reading, and pore over the passage. Read it several times; to yourself and aloud. Read slowly, pausing over each word, thinking deeply about it. As you read, emphasize a different word each time through. Ask why that word was used rather than another. Think how the text would be different if a certain word were left out. Then answer these questions about the text:

• What is the basic truth of this text?
• What can I adore God for this?
• What sins occur when I forget the truth of this text? What do I hope in/rely on/trust more than Jesus that causes this sin?
• How is Jesus the ultimate fulfiller of this text or answer to this sin?
• What do I need from God to realize this truth in my life?
• Why is God showing me this truth today?
• What would my life look like if this truth became explosively true in my inner being?

Thank Him that you are saved through the grace of Christ, not your performance, therefore you can believe/obey/embrace the truth of this text.

Specific Prayer

During times when you would normally be eating, use the time to "scope in" some specific prayers. Make a list of a few prayers you want to see God visibly answer over the next few days, weeks, or months.

Chew On One Verse or Truth

Another option is to take one verse or one attribute of God, and chew on it all day. As many times as you can, think through it, pray through it, ponder it, say it to yourself, and let it become alive to you.

These are just some suggestions, you may want to use some of your own methods. The point is simply for us to commune with God and allow Him to be our food. I hope you will try this as well as be present for our 627 Prayer Service.

Praying and Fasting,

Pastor Greg

Members Meeting This Sunday

Don't forget about the members quarterly meeting this Sunday evening at 7PM! 


MEBC STAFF

Baptism Sunday

On April 17th we will be baptizing a number of people into our fellowship. If you have come to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and wish to make that public with baptism, please let us know by Monday April 11th. 


You can sign-up online HERE or you can come forward at the end of one of our services this Sunday. Please note that by requesting baptism you are publicly affirming your commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as well as requesting membership into the body of Metro East. 

Pastor Greg


UPDATE!!!
As of 4:30pm, Monday, April 11, the deadline has been reached for baptisms occurring on April 17.  If you are still interested in Baptism, please contact one of the staff members or elders at your convenience and we will schedule you for an upcoming Sunday.  

Wordle and 1Timothy

Wordle is a cool site! You paste a bunch of text into a box and it displays (in pretty cool form), the most frequently used words in that text. I pasted my sermon notes from the 1Timothy series (about 25,000 words) and here is what I got:

You can change the font and layout HERE.

Pastor Greg

12 Down, 2 To Go

This Sunday will be our next to last message in our series through 1 Timothy. One of the last things Paul dealt with in the letter was money, which is a highly sensitive topic in general, but especially sensitive given the way the Bible speaks about it. We are covering two sections this Sunday from chapter 6; verses 3-10, and verses 17-19. The two sections seem almost contradictory, but as we will see, when taken together, they form a wonderfully joyful way to handle money. I hope you will not let a hard subject deter you from attending or bringing a friend. I really think you will be encouraged and challenged. I hope to see you there!


Love ya, 
Pastor Greg

627

One of the promises I made to you as a church was that we would be a praying church. There are many venues where this takes place such as ABF's, worship services, and our weekly prayer meetings on Wednesday nights. I would however, like to devote a few evenings a year to coming together with our entire body (adults, students, and children) for a time of worship, fasting, and prayer. 627 will be one of those evenings. 

627 was taken from John 6:27 where Jesus said: "Do not labor for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life." On April 20th, we will be laboring in prayer and fasting for the kind of food that only Jesus can provide. I am calling for the entire church to fast on April 20th (more details on fasting to come) and come together at 6:27PM in the worship center, for a time of worship and focused prayer for our church body and our city. Childcare will be provided, so you will need to register HERE. The elders will be leading this prayer meeting, and Jason and the band will be leading us in worship. This will be an important time for our church. So I encourage you to come!

Pastor Greg 

Soul Tinkering

While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves — blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do. (AW Tozer, The Pursuit of God)

Missions Sampler 2011

This Sunday from 9-11AM is our 2011 Missions Sampler. The Missions Committee is currently working side by side with the ABFs to create a mission experience similar to the one we had in 2008. Instead of countries they will feature support ministries. Specifically: Aviation, Medical, Education, and Technical Services. 


The purpose is to show how support ministries help make missionaries day to day activities a little easier and provide a way for you to find out what the next step would be if you were considering entering the mission field. In addition, several ABFs will be working together to create a life-like village market in the main “Lounge” area. It will be fun and educational for the whole family, so mark your calendar!

Worship services will be at 8AM and 10:45AM as usual. ABF's will not meet. 

Hope to see you there!

Maybe The Best Kids Bible

I mentioned the way we interpret Scripture here in our recent Metro 101 class, namely that it all point to Christ and His work. I referenced, The Jesus Story Book Bible, a children's Bible that is written from this perspective. I would highly recommend it to all our parents...and adults! 

You can purchase it here.

Pastor Greg

New Song: "Stronger" by Hillsong United

30 Reflections On Turning 30

I posted over at YEARN my 30 Reflections On Turning 30. My 29 Reflections On Turning 29 is the most visited post on my blog, for whatever reason. So if you are interested, click HERE.


Pastor Greg

Calling All Leaders

In some sense all Christians are leaders. Some will never pastor churches or lead large organizations, but all Christians have someone under their authority that they are called to lead. This is the burden of the message this week from 1Timothy 4:11-16. I want to call all of  us, and as usual especially the men, to lead well in whatever context God has placed us. We must rid ourselves of the idea that some leadership is sacred/spiritual while other leadership is secular/worldly. All leadership matters to God. 


If you are a young leader this will bear particular weight on your life as well, since Timothy was a young man when Paul wrote to him. So invite someone with you this weekend and come prepared to wrestle with this particular issue through the lenses of the Gospel and Scripture.


Pray that I have the energy to preach after a bought with food poison this weekend.


Love ya more than ya know!
Pastor Greg

Coming This Sunday: The Promise and Prevention of Falling

Greetings MEBC!


I love being able to take a Sunday off from time to time knowing that the Word will be faithfully presented and expounded. I appreciate the work  James did last week from 1Timothy 3, I know many of you were challenged and refreshed. 


This Sunday we will be in 1Timothy 4:1-10, which is a pretty stern warning against falling away and rejecting Christianity. My prayer is that this text will renew in us a fresh desire to trust the Gospel more, and help us see the importance of the body of Christ for our walk. As always, I encourage you to bring a friend if possible. 


We are also partaking of the Lords Supper this Sunday so come prepared to see and savor Christ in the supper. Hope you will join us.


Love ya more than ya know!


Pastor Greg

Metro 101

This Sunday February 27 from 5-7PM we are offering Metro 101, our membership/information class. Pastor Greg will be teaching on the history of MEBC, history and current status of the Southern Baptist Convention, MEBC vision and values, and how to get plugged into this church. Child care is available upon registration. 


If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Metro East or becoming a member, this would be a great event to attend. 


Sign up HERE.

Women's Conference

WHEN
Saturday, April 2 from 9:00am to 12:00pm


WHERE 
Metro East Baptist Church 333 N. 143rd Street E. Wichita, KS


COST 
Early Bird Registration through March 20, $7 
After March 20, $10


CHILD CARE
Free child care for kids up to 5 years is available! Note child’s name and age on your registration form. Child care deadline: March 20.


Session 1 (9:15-9:55) 
Brooke Seager: Fighting for Contentment

Brandi Thorne: Establishing Routines & 1st Time Obedience 

Janice Hansen: PMS - Perfect Mother Syndrome
Heather Wiens: Bible Study Methods: How to Study the Bible Independently

Kathy Gray: Love is a Choice, Give 100% of Yourself
 



Session 2 (10:05-10:45) 
Brandi Thorne: Reasonable Habits & Simple Training Vs. Harsh Rules & Mindless Spanking

Kathi Bragg: How to Respect Your Husband 

Dr. Jennifer Brannon: The Sexualization of Childhood – Becoming Too Sexy Too Soon

Susan McConeghey: Prodigal Children

Dick Daeschner: Friendship Evangelism


Session 3 (10:55-11:40)
Brooke Seager: Busy Women, Broken Hearts

Janice Hansen: PMS - Perfect Mother Syndrome

Kathy Gray: Filling Your Child's Emotional Love Tank

Jan Yost: Relationships: Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law

Heather Wiens: Feminism and the Bible



REGISTER HERE

QUESTIONS: Contact Susan McConeghey at 650-4356. 

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Don't Lose Christ

"For if once we lose our belief in justification, then all true Christian doctrine is lost.  There is no mean between the ‘righteousness of the law’ and ‘Christian righteousness.’  Anyone who strays from “Christians righteousness’ must fall into the ‘righteousness of the law’; in other words, when people lose Christ, they slip back into reliance on their own works." (Martin Luther, Introduction To Galatians)

Conference Recap

James, John Piper, and Me

As many of you know, James and I attended the Desiring God Pastor's Conference this week. Here are a few random thoughts about the trip.


Flying Really Is Funny
Watching people try and cram luggage, get off and on the plane, find their seats, turn off their cell phones, and get to their proper gate is just hilarious. We had more laughs in the airport and on the plane than anywhere else. 


I Am Socially Challenged
Leave it to me to try and open the door to the wrong room in the hotel. Leave it to me to ask someone who can barely speak English for directions to Starbucks. Leave it to me to make a fool of myself when ordering at a restaurant. If you ever travel with me, it's best if you do the talking!


The Same Temperatures Are Different
Five degrees in Minnesota is different that five degrees in Kansas. Trust me!


God Is Doing Something In Our Day
To worship with 1700 pastors who all have the same vision to see Christ glorified in their lives and churches is amazing. The first conference Desiring God hosted for pastors twenty something years ago had 80 people. God is definitely doing something in our day that we should be grateful to be a part of.


James Gets It
We are fortunate to have him on staff. He and I are on the same page with nearly everything. He loves the Gospel and he loves Metro East. Pray for him, his family, and his ministry here.


I Can't Sit Long
I found myself getting pretty antsy listening to the other speakers this week. I love being able to preach, especially at Metro East. I am thrilled that God lets me do this!


See ya Sunday,


Pastor Greg

New Song: "I Come By The Blood" by Sovereign Grace Music

New Song: "Grace Unmeasured" by Sovereign Grace Music

Thoughts On Prayer

James Allen and I will be attending the upcoming Desiring God Pastor's Conference. The theme this year is The Powerful Life of the Praying Pastor. The speaker I think I am most excited about, besides Piper of course, is Paul Miller who wrote A Praying Life. Here are two quotes from the book that have really impacted the way I think about prayer.

"A praying life isn't simply a morning prayer time; it is about slipping into prayer at odd hours of the day, not because we are disciplined but because we are in touch with our own poverty of spirit, realizing that we cant even walk through a mall or our neighborhood without the help of the Spirit of Jesus." 

If you try to seize the day, the day will eventually break you. Seize the corner of his garment and don't let go until he blesses you. He will reshape the day."

Just So We Don't Forget

3 Bible Questions

A helpful way to interact with your Bible and allow it to read you, is to ask questions about the text. But the questions I was told to ask as a new Christian were purely academic questions: "Who is the author?" "What's the historical background?" "Who is the audience?" Those have their place, but they do not get to our hearts very well, at least in my opinion. Here are three questions I think can be a little more helpful to your Bible reading, and can be used for any text. Tim Keller wrote a blog post recently about these as well.


1. How can I praise God because of this text?
2. What should I confess and repent of, because of this text?
3. What should I ask God for because of this text?


EXAMPLE
Those are pretty simple, but powerful, questions. Let's try them with Psalm 16:11.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1. How can I praise God because of this text:
"Father, I praise you that the path of joy, pleasure, life, and fullness is at your right hand, and that I don't have to search in sinful areas to find it. You make it known to me!"


2. What should I confess and repent of, because of this text?
"Father, I confess that I too often seek pleasure and joy, in rebellious and sinful ways. I dig my own well that cannot hold water. I do not immediately go to your righthand when I need to be refreshed. I repent of my sinful ways of finding joy."


3. What should I ask God for because of this text?
"Father, I pray that you would make me know your pleasures so deeply and richly, that the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of this life would seem worthless and futile in my eyes. I ask that you would be my joy and pleasure and nothing else."

Pastor Greg