December 26, 2008
A Prayer for Christmas Day (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Posted by JRL
Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil
by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
December 15, 2008
Christmas Prayer
Posted by John R Loppnow
Lord, Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness,
send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”
(Henri Nouwen)
December 15, 2008
Kingdom Impact
Posted by Pastor Yana Ahn
For last two weeks, many people have asked, “What is Kingdom Impact?” I am so glad that you are asking!
Kingdom Impact is a church-wide outreach initiative to “extend God’s Kingdom,” by sending our members OUT to the communities here and beyond. Remember the Live concert this past summer? If Live Concert was an outreach effort by bringing people IN to the yncc community, Kingdom Impact is an outreach effort of sending yncc members OUT to impact the communities for His Kingdom.
We, as a whole church, will be engaged in reaching out to people, by simply serving a meal to the homeless, building a house for a innercity family, teaching SAT for innercity youth, or preparing AIDS caregiver kits. Don’t miss out this exciting invitation by God to join Him in what He is doing around the world, this coming January.
There are many opportunities for you to volunteer to set up/prepare/coordinate some aspects of Kingdom Impact. If you are interested in, please contact us at .
December 6, 2008
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Posted by John R Loppnow
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
December 3, 2008
Fanning the Spiritual Flame
Posted by Posted by John Loppnow
Question: What do you do when you realize you are lukewarm?
Answer: You do something drastic!
If some small change would have made the difference in your spiritual life, you would have made the change a long time ago.
You might:
Start a seven day fast and devote extra time to seeking God.
Take a sabbatical and pray like you haven’t in years.
Confess to your spouse, your elders, or to trusted friends and ask for help.
Seek spiritual counseling from another pastor or counselor.
Take the week off and go to a hotel alone with no cell phone, no computer, and no books but the Bible.
Read a children’s bible and pretend like you’re hearing the gospel story for the very first time.
Repent to your family for your lack of spiritual passion and leadership.
Tell your church honestly that you are struggling and invite them to pray for you.
You might turn off your computer now and go somewhere and cry and repent deeply.
Whatever you do, it should be drastic and you should do it before another voice talks you out of it.
November 30, 2008
First Sunday of Advent
Posted by John R Loppnow
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
That was a prayer that millions of followers of Christ are praying across the world today (Sunday).
In future posts I’ll be talking about the meaning and significance of Advent. I’m curious who knows what Advent is all about? What has it meant for you? How can we thoughtfully enter into Advent? My sense is that when we understand the signficance of Advent we will be drawn deeper into conversation with our loving Father by the Spirit.
November 15, 2008
Pray for the Week
Posted by Pastor John Loppnow
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
November 14, 2008
Questions to ask while dating
Posted by Pastor John Loppnow
Preparing for the most important human relationship is is very beneficial and pays off in your future marriage. There are many ways to prepare for your marriage even if you aren’t currently dating. Reading books on dating and marriage is a great way to prepare. Reading a book with a few close friends is even better. One of the most important elements in preparing for marriage is to realize the reality of marriage in general and specifically with the person you are dating or engaged to. Asking yourself questions as a couple is a good way to prepare for marriage.
I often send people a file with 99 questions to answer in the pre-marital process. And the feedback I get is very positive. I’ll include 10 questions here. If you are interested please respond with a comment here. The 99 questions are divided into 5 categories: Family Background, Conscience, Compatibility Potential, Relationship Skills , Past Relationship Patterns. I’ve included 2-3 questions in each category to give you a little taste.
Family Background
1. What made you feel special in the family?
2. How were conflicts handled by your parents?
Conscience
1. What do you feel strongly about? Rights and wrongs?
2. How do you handle it when you are wrong?
3. Do you understand my perspective?
4. Do you validate my perspective when I explain myself to you?
Compatibility Potential
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your personality?
2. How good at nurturing are you?
3. How do you handle your money?
Relationship Skills
1. Are you good at reconciling and making up?
2. Do you initiate conversations? Apologies? Affection?
3. How open are you to get help for our relationship from someone else outside of the relationship?
Past Relationship Patterns
1. What were the patterns of your previous relationships?
2. What did you do well?
3. What do you wish you had done differently?
4. What did you argue about?
November 13, 2008
Holiday Plans
Posted by Missions Dept
Already it’s November, when we begin to think about the holidays – Thanksgiving & Christmas. Each year during this season, I feel a tension between celebrating the season as the rest of the world does and celebrating as Jesus would be delighted. For surely I feel that the real reason for the celebration is being pushed away and away.
One thing I always think about as I am doing Christmas shopping for people around me, is, “where is the gift for the birthday boy?” What would I get for Jesus? Can I get anything for Him? What would I give Him? What would make Jesus delight on this day?
Many thoughts and ideas…but what about presenting one people or nation who is yet to come into the family of God? Interceding for that nation or people, giving toward the mission to that nation, or making a specific plan to reach out to them?
Jesus came to save the lost and to give life, and life abundant.
Jesus came, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus came not to condemn, but to save.
Would you join Jesus on this season of celebration for what He has come for? Give Jesus His birthday gift!
November 12, 2008
“Missional”????
Posted by Pastor Yana Ahn
Recently, a few of us were talking about what it means to be “missional.” In fact, we, YNCC, are to become a missional community that connects, serves and extends. So, what does it mean to be missional? What comes to your mind when you hear the word, ‘missional’?
Here are some of responses we shared together;
• Living beyond myself — looking outside of me, looking into God’s heart
• Living with a purpose
• Intentional — having direction of life . . .
• Sharing the hope of Christ with those without the hope . . .
• Requires more than crossing a border, taking a Short Term Missions (SMT) trip.
It requires a life HERE and NOW being missional—being intentional for Christ with the purpose of sharing the hope of Christ in wherever you are — whether in a classroom, in a marketplace, in a boardroom, or in a PTA meeting, etc.. Only then, crossing the border doesn’t really mean much, and we learn to truly become missional.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word, “missional”, YNCC becoming a missional community? Would you share your thoughts? Thus, together, we may enlarge our understanding of what God has called us to become? Welcoming your input. . .
Yana
Missions Pastor