This morning was the memorial service for Eve Christie, a woman of great faith and prayer who was a long-time member of NewLife before moving to a different church in 2008.  Eve died last Wednesday of cancer at age 68, but she left a legacy of the power of prayer and the joy of trusting in the Father through even the most difficult circumstances.  One of the verses shared during the service was Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Eve’s life was most certainly about Jesus Christ, and praise God that in death she has only gained a greater relationship with Him. 

One of my most treasured memories of Eve had to do with prayer, of course.  Read more »

One of the highlights of my week this past month has proven to be Fight Club, the new men’s group that began meeting on Wednesday nights in May.  What a privilege it has been to see men sharing their lives and struggles with each other, encouraging each other with Scripture and from personal experience, and forming real friendships.  I have found that while there is a place for Bible study, there is also great benefit to beginning with our issues and struggles and then bringing Biblical wisdom into those specific situations.  One passage in particular that has ministered to our group has been Micah 7:8-9, which reads:

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.”

This passage speaks powerfully to those times that we find ourselves having sinned against God and feeling like we are not worthy to be forgiven.  Read more »

Whenever I am reading through the Bible, I always experience a sense of welcome familiarity upon returning to the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – that feels like returning home after a long trip.  As rich as many of the Old Testament books can be, they often require an understanding of the history and key people of Israel, as well as familiarity with the general scope of the Bible.  But the Gospels are familiar ground, the stories of Jesus’ life both beautiful and easier to relate to. 

This summer, beginning on June 13th, I’ll be preaching through different interactions with Jesus found in the gospel.  Read more »

For this week’s post, I wanted to turn things around on you and ask your opinion on something:

What do you think of topical sermons?

Over the past three and a half years at NewLife, I have tried different approaches to preaching.  For some series, I preach through a book of the Bible (e.g. Colossians) or the life of an important person (e.g. The Life of David).  For other series, I stay more topical (e.g. Death and the Life after that, Why Believe?).  My current sermon series, which I have called “Practical Christianity,” falls more on the topical side, in that each week deals with a specific topic (love life, parenting, work, money, etc.), but I am coming at it from the perspective of how to work out the implications of the gospel into each realm of your life (as Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13 – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose).
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Jerry Bridges, in his book The Gospel for Real Life, tells a story about a Southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance (equivalent to about $500,000 today) to a former slave who had served him faithfully all his life.  The lawyer for the estate duly notified the former slave of his inheritance and told him that the money had been deposited for him at the local bank.  However, weeks went by, and the former slave never called for his inheritance, and so that banker called again to tell him that he had $50,000 to draw on at any time.  The former slave replied, “Do you think I can have fifty cents to buy a sack of cornmeal?” 

You see, the former slave had rarely handled money in his life, and so he had no comprehension of what $50,000 was.  He had no idea how much money was available to him, and so as a result he was asking for fifty cents when in reality he had enough money to comfortably live on for the rest of his life. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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This past Sunday, we celebrated a baptism service as one of our newest members, Anthony Varesio, was baptized.  Many people come from traditions where infants are baptized, and then confirm their baptismal vows in their teenage years.  In our tradition, as we understand the Bible, we believe that baptism is a public expression of an inward reality, that an individual has died to his or her old self, been washed of his or her sins, and has been raised to new life in Christ.  Consider Romans 6:3-4 – “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  Baptism is a way of identifying oneself with Jesus in His death and resurrection, and therefore something we believe should be experienced by those who can consciously make such a profession of faith.  Finally, it is also an act of obedience, keeping in mind that Jesus, who himself was baptized in Matthew 3:13-17, commanded us in his Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded us.

My baptism holds a special significance in my life.  Read more »

The story goes that there once was a man who, in order to seek God’s will for his life, was fond of opening up his Bible and reading whatever verse he first laid his eyes on, so that he might obey it.  One day, as this man was going through a particularly difficult time with his family, he sought the Lord for guidance.  Opening his Bible and pointing, he found his finger resting on the second part of Matthew 27:5, which read “Then Judas went out and hanged himself.”  Puzzled by the Lord’s directions, but still hungry for a word from God, he called a “do-over” and flipped to another page, where his eyes fell on the latter half of Luke 10:37:  “Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”  Flustered, but chalking it up to coincidence, the man decided to give his method one last chance.  Saying a quick prayer, he flipped the pages and inserted his finger between two of them, pointing to the end of John 13:27.  There, staring up at him, were these words:  “‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him.”

Beginning this month, I have challenged our church to make a greater effort to memorize Scripture, so that we might be people who are led and transformed by the truth of God’s Word.  This month’s verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” which reminds us that the sins of past have been forgiven and that we now belong to Jesus and have His Holy Spirit giving us new spiritual life (among many other benefits of salvation).  However, as the above story reminds us, one of the greatest cautions with Scripture memory is the folly of taking verses out of context, so that they speak things which they were never intended to speak.  Read more »

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

So… how’s your New Year’s Resolution going?  Still going strong?  If you’re anything like me, you know how difficult it can be to sustain any change, no matter how minor or important, for much longer than the time it takes to type this line.  On January 1st I find myself writing down all of the things that I want to do differently in 2010, on January 8th I’m still working on half of them, and by January 15th I’ve lost the list and can’t remember what it was I wanted to change in the first place!  Like most people, however, the more accountability I have, the more successful I will be.  If I try to go it alone, I am probably doomed, but if I go with others, I am more likely to make it. 

All of this is to first of all say a big CONGRATULATIONS! to all who Read more »

Today’s Pulse of NewLife is written by guest writer Anthony Varesio.  Anthony and his wife Carrie live in Glastonbury, and have been attending NewLife for about eight months.

Testimony of Gratitude

This past week I found myself in the hospital with a rather disconcerting medical situation.  As I lay in my cardboard hospital bed, attached to a rat’s nest of tubes and wires, I awaited for the revolving parade of various medical professionals to poke, prod, scan, and otherwise find ways to make my stay a “spa of discomfort”.   The spaces in-between offered time for me to sip on a brew of my family woes, financial challenges, the haunting of tasks and responsibilities that I inevitably must face and a myriad of other troubles that have been gnawing at me for some time.  I craftily created a cozy little hot tub of self-pity in which to bathe in.  Then my first hospital meal was served……. Read more »

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11)Way back in January of 2008, many of us began a two year journey through the Bible.  I started the Bible in Two Years reading campaign because I believe that spending regular time in God’s Word is the best way to put ourselves in a place to know Him and be transformed by Him.  My hope was to create a campaign that would help people find both discipline and community in their Bible reading.  In order to achieve that, Matt LaCroix, our web guy, and I created a website (http://newlife-glastonbury.org/bibleplan/) where the day’s reading would be posted every day and could be sent automatically every morning to one’s email inbox.  There was also a discussion component on the site, where anyone could post their thoughts on the day’s reading.  Finally, I set aside one Sunday morning every two months where I would preach a shorter sermon based on something in the readings from the previous two months, we would end the service early, and then break up into small groups in order to discuss a pertinent question or two and check in with each other for the purpose of accountability. Sounds great in theory, of course, but discipline is difficult for a reason! Read more »

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