Last Oasis of the School Year!

So this last Wednesday night---May 9th---was the last Oasis of the school year. Sad.... and happy! Sad because we'll now have a number of short breaks this summer (we're back ON for 2 weeks starting June 6th). But happy because it really was a great year at Oasis! There is such an amazing group of students that make up Oasis! It's fun to think back over the events we had, the memories we made, and the Savior we worshipped. Thank You, Jesus, for seeing us through another school year!!

This last Wednesday we closed the year on a talk about what it means to "be a disciple" of Jesus. So many of us simply consider ourselves "Christians" (and that term is fine!) but the hard thing about it is that it can mean almost anything at all to be a Christian. And I say that because that term ("Christian") is not defined anywhere in the Bible. And so, while it's totally fine for us to call ourselves that (we've been called that for centuries, after all), it can be difficult because there are people on both sides of every political view and on both sides of every ethical and moral issue and every social issue that would call themselves Christians. See, the Bible only uses the term "Christian" 3 times. The followers of Jesus were given a different term... perhaps a more direct and narrow term... they were, of course, called "disciples." It's pretty easy to define what a disciple is according to the Bible. The word "disciple" or "disciples" is used over 300 times in Scripture!!

My primary concern is not what students call themselves, though. My primary concern is that they know what a disciple of Jesus looks like... my main premise was that they should see "disciple of Jesus" as their identity and everything else as a role. If you're a Christian, you're a disciple first, and a student, employee, baseball player, show choir performer, or guitarist, etc. second.* 

*In the Great Commission, some of the last words Jesus said to His disciples before He left earth, He gave 3 aspects that make up a disciple's identity:

1. Rational - you're a learner. There is content to the Gospel and to being a disciple. There are facts to know. Now, discipleship is NOT fundamentally about how we perform or what we know, but about who we are. Most of us get this backwards. It starts with who we are in Christ. Out of that flows new actions, thoughts, and behaviors. Here are some good "nutshells" of these facts: *"We are imperfect people, clinging to a perfect Christ, being perfected by the Spirit." Another is, "The wonderful news of the Gospel is that Jesus frees us from trying to impress God or others because He has impressed God on our behalf. Jesus was perfect for us, in our place." 
2. Relational - as a disciple, you are part of a community. You are a member of the body of Christ. We should fight hard against the urge to be individualistic, self-centered, or narcissictic. It's not just about us. We were saved into the body of Christ---the Church. This is so hard for us to get our minds around, since our Western culture is SO individualistic. But we need to model this to the world. Being saved by the grace of God, we should in turn give grace to everyone else. Most importantly, the disciple is now living in a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are one with Christ; united with Him. We should talk and relate with Jesus like we would anyone else. 
3. Missional - you're a missionary. You've been given a task as a disciple of Jesus. So as you live in community with the Church and with the content of the gospel, you build relationships with non-believers and talk to them about what Jesus has done. 

Read Matthew 28:19-20 for yourself and see how these 3 aspects pop out. 

If Jesus would have remained dead, all further discipleship to Jesus would have ceased. But Jesus didn't remain dead. He's fully alive today, in the flesh even---in a perfected, resurrection body. He's just not on the earth, but in heaven. So being a disciple of Jesus continues. The real question is "will you fight to be a disciple of Jesus?"

Consider these 3 aspects often as you head into the summer. 

*Much of this content is from Jonathan Dodson, found in his book Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

YOU by Amena Brown

A post by Olivia Wolfe

 Professor: You are a Christian, aren’t you, son?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Professor: Is GOD good?

Student: Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful?

Student: Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Professor: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Professor: So who created evil?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student: No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student: No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Professor: According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student: No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
 
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir … Exactly! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

P.S.
 
 By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.

Life Issues - Week #1

The Influence of Media

Do Not Love the World - 1 John 2:15-17 

James Pruch

This last Wednesday we started a new series in Oasis called "Life Issues," talking about some of the everyday life stuggles and influences we have. Every day, whether we realize it or not, we are influenced. Perhaps the most significant way that this happens is through media. Media is simply the many channels of communication that try to get us to love something, namely ourselves! Whether it is wearing Axe Body Spray to get the girls or logging onto to Facebook to envy someone's life or possessions, we are influenced by communication. The problem isn't media (whether social, news, entertainment or otherwise), per se. The problem is that we use media to get what we want. We use media to get approval from others, comfort in life, and power over people and our destiny. 

The Apostle John writes to some Christians 2,000 years ago who never had iPhones or Facebook or body sprays or designer clothes. But they were continually at risk to love things other than God. Most of John’s first letter is about how loving God leads to loving others. But in our passage, John takes a detour from talking about loving others, to address loving the world. He talks about loving the world because he wants to make his point clear:If you love the world, you cannot love God. And if you do not love God then you cannot love other people.

 In 1 John 2:16, John points out three things that are "in the world." First, he points out the desires of the flesh. This comes from our inner sinful nature that move us to want what is contrary to what God wants. Second, he mentions the desires of the eyes. We see things that are pleasing to our eye and we crave them. This could also mean any kind of intellectual desires or aesthetic desires—things that are not necessarily tangible. Finally, join points to pride in possessions (or life). This is pride in what we have. One scholar wrote that this person seeks to "impress everyone he meets with his own non-existent importance.” So John boils what is in the world down to three things. These three things are basically summarized like this: an unhealthy desire in what we do not have and an unhealthy pride in what we do have.

What we see is that sin is inherently anti-social! Life becomes a refrain of “I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want!" When our lives sing this tune, we cannot love God, or other people for that matter. We are in the darkness and are blind and cannot tell where we are going. If you love the world, you cannot love God. But if you read John, what we see is that Jesus came to do away with this kind of life. The world--this narcissistic kind of living--is controlled by the evil one (John 12:31; 16:11) and 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the work of the devil.” We can draw the conclusion then that John essentially says, “Do not love what Jesus came to destroy.”

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to destroy this kind of life so we can love God. Jesus destroyed the desire for approval because, by faith in him, we are approved by the Father. He destroyed the desire for comfort because our true comfort lies in the fact that we no longer serve the devil as our father, but we serve God as our Father. Jesus destroyed a desire for power because we can rest assured that he reigns over the world, so we do not need to reign over anyone--even ourselves. 

Media—the world—offers you what you can only find in Jesus. You may not believe this. But only Jesus can deliver because his promises come with a new life. And faith in him is the only way to receive him and the new life he gives. He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy leaden, and I will give you rest.” He said, “If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink.” Go to him. He wants you to come. That might mean getting rid of Facebook or TV or a cell phone. It might mean simply cutting back. Whatever the case, God must be our treasure, not the world. As John says, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

A Prayer about the Good of Good Friday - by Scotty Smith

This post was originally posted here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2012/04/06/a-prayer-about-the-good-of-good-friday-3/

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”Luke 23:34

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46

     Dear Lord Jesus, it’s the painfully glorious day in Holy Week we call “Good Friday.” I’ve always felt somewhat conflicted about calling the day of your crucifixion “good.” On one hand, it seems quite insensitive and self-serving. That there had to be a day when you, the God who made us for yourself, would be made sin for us is not good at all. The necessity of your cross underscores the crisis of our condition, the “badness” of our brokenness, the darkness of the day.

     But on the other hand—the bigger hand, that you freely and fully give yourself for us on the cross is quintessential, archetypal, never-to-be surpassed goodness. There never has been and there never will be anything more deserving of the appellation “good” than your death for us, Lord Jesus.

     For out of the same heart and the same mouth came these two cries from the cross: “Father forgive them” (Luke 23:34) and “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). The first required the second. The second secured the first. Taken together, both of them buckle my knees, still my heart, and loose my tongue for proclaiming the greatness of your glory and grace.

     How can I begin to offer you worthy worship in response to what you’ve accomplished for us on the cross? It’s like wanting to paint the most magnificent landscape I’ve ever seen, but with a palate of three colors and both of my arms in a cast. It’s like having a passion to write a great symphony in honor of you but knowing I’m just a kazoo player who doesn’t read music. It’s like desiring to cook you a great banquet with my microwave oven, a loaf of white bread, and a can of processed cheese.

     There’s no way any of us can possibly offer a response congruent to the magnificence of your mercy and the measure of your grace for us at Calvary. So like everything else we have to offer you, Jesus, take our humble praise and purify it, magnify it, and cause it to be a sweet aroma in your heart. “This, the pow’r of the cross: Son of God—slain for us. What a love! What a cost! We stand forgiven at the cross.”

     No one could ever take your life from you, and we could never find life on our own. Because you were fully forsaken, we are forever forgiven. Because you exhausted God’s judgment against our foul sin, we now live by the gift of your perfect righteousness. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! So very Amen we pray, in your all-glorious, all-gracious name.